Red
There was one color that Riona was never allowed to wear. Anything else was fine, but both her parents forbid the use of one particular color, much to her own confusion. It was odd that her parents could come to firm decision, together, without having some form of argument, but this was the one thing that they both agreed on with a passion that little Rio was far to young to grasp completely.
And it wasn't just her parents, either. Her entire family- Uncles Havoc, Breda, and Fallman; Ed, Al, and Fuery, and even Winry- all supported the odd rule.
She was never allowed to wear red.
She never understood why, but she accepted it and followed it. Which was why, when the big Military Ball came up, just like it did every year, and her parents told her she was finally old enough to go with them, she chose a nice and soft white dress with blue trim. She never admitted it, but she was a little jealous when Aya had showed off her pretty red dress. Still, she was content with her white-and-blue-trim outfit, and had even let her mother braid her dark curls.
And she'd had quite a bit of fun, too- she danced with all the generals, each one commenting on just how cute she looked in her white-and-blue-trim dress and how grown up she looked with her hair braided down the back- and let her mother and father show her off to everyone else and make them quite jealous because they didn't have such a lovely daughter.
And then there were firecrackers. Or at least that's what she thought they were. She liked firecrackers, but neither of her parents did- they said the sound reminded them of something from a long time ago. But for some reason everyone screamed when these firecrackers went off. And she was knocked off her father's shoulders and landed hard on the ground. Tears welled up her in eyes but she was strong and refused to let them fall.
Until she looked down and realized her dress was red.
"She got lucky. It just grazed her arm; nothing too damaging. She may have a scar, though…"
Riza nodded as the doctor droned on about proper treatment. For a moment she considered reminding him that she was a military woman and knew how to keep a bullet wound clean, but she fought that urge and instead stroked her daughter's hairline, smoothing out the messy locks. The braid had come undone sometime during the night and the long, dark hair Rio sported was now a heap of tangles.
Riona had fallen asleep a few hours earlier, right after the good doctor had wrapped her arm in bandages and given her something for the pain. Blood was beginning to ooze out of the wound, staining the bandages red, and for a moment the mother was reminded of the pure, unadulterated terror she'd felt when she'd seen the red stains on her only child's dress.
Shaking those thoughts away, she rolled her shoulders and brushed away a blonde lock, suddenly desperate to just get home and put Riona in her bed. Roy was on something akin to a witch-hunt, with the help of everyone from their office, and Ed and Al. Gracia and Winry were sitting with her waiting for news to come back, trying to comfort a very shaken Riza.
Their company did little to help her nerves, but it was reassuring. Taking one more glance at her child, she came to a decision.
The previously white-with-blue-trim dress would be burned after all of this. And she'd let Roy do the honors.
Author's notes: That ended up darker than I intended, but whatever right? And OMG YES!!! I FINALLY updated. You can put away the pitchforks and torches now.
My Royai muse has deserted me lately, I'm afraid to say. So updates will probably take forever, but I'll try to keep it going. Um… please review! They make me happy!