Part IX

Wishful Thinking

"I'm back!" Fionnuala's voice sounded throughout Mr. Bailey's house for all to hear.

Mr. Bailey was the first to greet them; apparently Edward and Alphonse were still at work downstairs. "Oh, welcome back." His gaze moved to the other two standing behind Nuala. "It seems we have company."

"This is Lydia, and her younger brother Wolfgang."

The three exchanged greetings as Fionnuala walked to the door that led to the basement. She peeked inside, feeling the lightest sensation of excitement in her stomachin a sheepish sort of way. The lights were on, and it was still quiet. "Edward! Alphonse!"

"What is it, Nuala?" It was Al's voice.

"I was thinking we should go out for an early dinner. And there's some people I want you to meet."

It took a minute for the brothers to come upstairs, and by then Fionnuala, Mr. Bailey, Lydia and Wolfy were waiting to leave.

As they were exiting the house, Fionnuala was introducing them. "These two are Edward and Alphonse Elric." Lydia greeted them, while Wolfy blankly stared at Alphonse, probably perplexed by his size. "And this is Lydia and her younger brother Wolfy."

"Oh yay. A new addition to the wacko names club," Edward muttered, diverted. The only reply he received was a sharp pain and finding himself on the ground, legs in the air.

Edward's taunting continued throughout the rest of the night, generally irritating Fionnuala. To her, it was an old game she wasn't in the mood for. At the table, they had only just opened their menus when he asked snidely, "So you going to order noodles, Noodleface?" It was probably the lamest taunt he could have made, which was probably for the best. If the remark had been hurtful, there were two adults who would have put an end to it.

Fionnuala amused herself with explanations of his behavior. If only it was something like him being jealous of Wolfy because she was paying more attention to him this evening. If only it was some it was some episode of a childish romantic drama. It wasn't at all that she wished Edward was in love with her. Heaven forbid, no! The thought simply justified his actions, and made the situation much more pleasant. Wishful thinking.

Fionnuala sighed with bored exasperation. "You're going to have to get more creative with your insults, Edward. You're fighting a losing battle."

Edward shrugged, leaned back casually and looked down at his menu. "Eh, perhaps." But then he looked up at her with narrowed eyes. "Or maybe I'm just censoring my language in the presence of your child friend here."

Fionnuala's eyes narrowed. She was going to get back at him for this one, and she would do it with flying colors. "Yeah, well, you know what? Your village called."

This retort was just as random as his first jest was weak. Edward blinked, confused.

"They want their idiot back—"

"WHY YOU LITTLE—"

"And they specified that he was loud, annoying, and really small."

A few days had passed since the threesome had arrived. Each day just seemed to fly by as the brothers did their researching, and Nuala would study as well, but she also spent a great deal of time with Wolfy. Sitting all curled up in a corner with a book made her back hurt after a while. How Edward and Alphonse could stand it for ten hours straight, she never really understood.

In the times that she wasn't filling her mind with formulas and equations, she went to Wolfy's, ate with them, ran errands with them, and went wherever Wolfy asked her to go. Every so often Lydia would assure her that this was rather odd behavior for him. From what Nuala had pieced together, he was generally detached, and this was caused by his busy lifestyle at home near Central. Apparently, there had been newspaper articles written about him in the Central Times; his career as a performer in the capital was to be launched very soon after his return from his vacation, and any spare moment he might have had was spent practicing. He didn't bother touching the piano when he had come to Lydia's house, she had said, not until he had played for Fionnuala. His reasons for becoming so attached to her had eluded all of them, and they weren't going to find out any time soon.

Fionnuala gladly accommodated his requests for her presence, in part because she pitied him. His soul purpose in life since he had sat down to play the piano or hold a pencil or a brush, was to accelerate into a professional career. That meant skipping all of the development that a child acquires in their late childhood and their teenage years, and that was something Fionnuala could only begin to fathom. She knew a little of what it was like, to some small degree. She had spent three years away from home. Three years away from what her life could have been at home. But she chose not to linger on such thoughts, and focus on being kind to Wolfy. If anyone needed some form of friendship, it was him.

Unfortunately, of any time for them to be forming a friendship, it had to be at a time when it could be used against her.

The town of Durham may have been small, making it a less suspicious place for a group of fugitives to make a hideout. Yet in an obscure alley, just inside of what was Durham's downtown, such a group had carved a little notch for themselves.

At the very end of the alley, leaning against the worn brick, was one who seemed the most distinguished. His hair was jet black, and the consistency of its color was interrupted only by a white headband, wrapped multiple times around his head. All around him were others in ages close to his, and while he was not the eldest, he had by far the most commanding presence. His eyes were keen and almost as dark as his hair, and if one came face to face with them, he might immediately feel that whatever he had to say was insignificant. What he did have in common with the others was the fashion of tying a headband so that it hid the brow.

"Keanan," said a young women whose face was that of the same girl that had spoken to Fionnuala in a hotel restaurant, but in this sketchy setting, it was far less cheerful. "Why even bother with her? It's such a waste of time."

Keanan, as he was known, turned his dark eyes briefly towards the woman. "If you know something better to do in this excuse for a town, let me know. My reason remains, she snitched on us and ran like a dog with her tail between her legs, and it's time the dog's owner give her a good beating before I leave her to rot on the streets. No one pulls that kind of crap on me and gets away with it."

A few of the others nodded in agreement. The woman crossed her arms and bit her lip, seeing that there was no persuading him.

The corner of Keanen's lip curled into a grin. "Are you losing your nerve, Ariana?" A couple of the others lightly snickered under their breath.

Ariana ignored them, and answered curtly. "Of course not. I just think that it's stupid for us to pick a fight with so small a person."

"Chill. I just want a little entertainment while we're here. We'll leave soon, I promise. Now, you say that she's always with some boy?"

Ariana felt something very sinister was brewing in Keanan's mind. Ordinarily, she would have been excited to hear his next great plot, but something deep down told her that this time, it wouldn't be so simple. But her loyalty to Keanan and the group was greater than the doubt, though it bothered her so. "Yeah, a harmless little thing. Follows her around like a baby."

"Have him here by tomorrow afternoon." He nodded towards Ariana and three others.

"Fionnuala!" She heard Mr. Bailey's voice call from the top of the stairs that led to the basement. She looked up from her book.

Remembering that her mother told her never to use "yeah" when speaking to an adult, she replied politely. "Yes?"

"There's a note addressed to you here."

Surprised, she set down the book, got up and walked to the bottom stair. "From whom?"

"Ariadne, it says."

Fionnuala made a face. "Weird. I don't know anyone named Ariadne." In any case, she walked up the stairs and accepted the note from Mr. Bailey.

"What's it say?" Alphonse asked as Fionnuala sat down, her eyes quickly looking over the tattered piece of paper over. She squinted at it, as though it might make more sense of it if she looked at it differently. Thinking maybe the brothers could help her, she read scribbled nonsense aloud.

The exceptionally lovely girl's pet dog is being held beneath a marked man's sharp blade.

"In English, please?" Edward requested.

"I wish I could, Ed."

"It's either a weird joke or… maybe it's some kind of code?" Suggested Alphonse.

Fionnuala bit her lip. If it was a joke, somebody had a very odd sense of humor. The implied violence and handwriting suggested that it was urgent. Whoever had written it did it in a hurry.

"Sounds like a prank to me." Edward added nonchalantly.

Nuala must have reread the note fifteen times by now, trying to break it down. What if it was important? No, why would she get a coded message? It seemed too fantastical, like it was out of some adventure novel. Stuff like that never really happened. Or did it?

"Maybe you have to rearrange the letters or…wait." She flipped the paper over. "Ariadne" she said out loud. An idea came to her. She flipped it over again, and examined each phrase, suddenly realizing the possibilities. "Marked" had seemed to refer to "The Marked" gang of her past. "Exceptionally lovely girl" "sharp blade" … "pet dog"

"Oh no." She said, feeling her stomach turn over.

"What is it?" Alphonse asked worriedly.

"Please God, no."

"What?" Edward demanded. Fionnuala scrambled to get up and rushed up the stairs, skipping every other step in her hurry, and ran out the door and into the street. She could hear her heart beating in her ears, and her breath coming in panicked gasps.

She had sprinted all the way to Wolfy's house, and standing on the porch with a troubled face was Lydia. "Lydia!" Too frightened to stop to catch her breath, she shouted. "Where's Wolfy?"

"I wish I knew," she replied with a distressed tone. "He disappeared a little while ago, and I went looking for him. But he isn't in any of the usual places. I'm extremely worried."

Fionnuala started running again. "Wait! Where are you going?" Lydia cried, but she received no answer. Nuala felt helpless. She had no idea where to look. He could be anywhere, if she had interpreted the note correctly. She stood at the corner of the market, trying to decide what to do next. But she wouldn't have to.

Nuala suddenly felt a hand snatch her wrist and jerk her to the side. She found herself on the ground in a merchant's booth, currently not in service, and standing above her was Ariana. "Hoped you come this way. Come on. We have to move before the others come looking for you."