Disclaimer: Arakawa owns FMA, and XCD is a collaborative effort of the Xingians on the Royai Forum.
Notes: Thank you to all of my lovely fellow Xingians. This is dedicated to you, and some of you might see yourselves in there – it was hard to fit everyone in, but some were easier than others. His is my contribution to Xing Celebration Day – have a good one!
"Xing Celebration Day" by Dailenna
Xing Celebration Day was just as it sounded – a giant festival that covered the whole nation of Xing. It was a time in which the people took pleasure in the fact that they were there, and they were, quite indisputably, Xingian.
The day itself was the day in which the legendary Arumei founded the great country, and in honour of their beloved founder, Xingian children everywhere were named accordingly, whether male or female. In one section of the celebrations alone were at least three women named after the founder, each with a different variant of the feminine name: Mei-Chan, Mei-Ling, and Meimei. Also in the celebration was a small panda named Xiao-Mei, named just as respectfully as her owner.
In this portion of the celebrations, however, you would be hard-pressed to find any male variation of the founder's name. This was because the Xing Celebration Day had two distinct sections to it. The first in the morning, in which male and female Xingians remained separate, and the second at night, when all joined together, celebrating with such flair and revelling as only the Xingian people could.
The night celebration filled the streets with brightly coloured lanterns and loud music, as people whooped and hollered in joy of their nations. Festivities would often last all night, and in the following morning, those who went to bed early could rise to see the very last people clearing off the street to get a half hour's rest before heading off to work once again. But that is not for now – if you'll observe the light in the sky, you can see that it is still quite clearly morning, and amidst the Xingian noble ladies we can see a guard, feeling very out of place.
As a woman, Ran-Fan wasn't allowed into the men's morning celebration, not even to protect her master. Instead, the general had reassigned the male and female guards so that, if they did not usually, for this day alone they would be protecting a Xingian of the same gender as themselves. Ran-Fan's unswerving loyalty did not help the occasion.
The women's celebration was held in the Imperial Gardens, cultivated personally by the Second Princess, who had been given the title Curator of the Imperial Gardens in honour of her green-thumbed work. The Second Princess was here, sitting on one of the richly coloured rugs – which was really more of a tapestry than anything else – and enjoying the conversation of her sister, the First Princess, who had just returned from a voyage to distant lands.
Watching the women here only made Ran-Fan feel more uncomfortable – all of the Xingian women who had climbed so high as to be in the court were present, and although her young master was a prince, she felt out of place. If something was to happen to these women the men wouldn't be able to function as a society – these, after all were the cream of the crop.
From her post, Ran-Fan kept an eye on her temporary mistress – the Minister of Rentanjutsu herself. She would have thought that the woman's proclivity for the Xingian alchemy would mean she didn't require a guard, but it appeared that all other possible mistresses had their own entourage standing around the garden. The Minister was certainly quiet enough that it appeared a guard was necessary, but a gleam Ran-Fan caught in her eye gave her a feisty look, and Ran-Fan couldn't help but think that she was unneeded here. She could be of more use practicing her skills until the male and female Xingians joined together later in the day.
All the other court members who were present had their guards stationed around the area, all guards women, of course, just for the occasion. Ran-Fan could see the new Minister of Clan Affairs and the retired Minister talking together, possibly swapping ideas for clan bonding. The Xingian clans were fierce in their loyalty to the Emperor and the Empress, but had at one time or another butted heads on issues of state. The Minister of Clan Affairs worked to prevent any major upheavals within and without the clans, in order that Xing could progress without prolonged internal debate.
Of course the general was here as well, filling her position as both the Empress' guard, and as the Ambassador of the country. There weren't any foreigners present for her to keep her eye on, but the Empress was quite indisputably sitting on one of the rugs, leaning back on a silk cushions provided for her. Several of her fellow Yao Xingians sat by her, supplying fresh conversation. Other than the imperial gold of her hair ornaments, the Empress could have just been another noblewoman conversing with her friends.
Ran-Fan shifted her weight a little, feeling nervous at being in such company. It was honouring enough to be in the presence of the clan leaders – there were the female leaders of at least five of Xing's clans present – but this was a little too much for her. She tried to distance herself from the laughter and conversation, and the last thing she heard before she managed to block all sound from her ears was the leader of the Zhizhu Xingians announcing that she would recount any story her fellow party-goers could request.
Time flickered by, inch by inch, drop by drop, until the sun was high in the sky and beginning its slow descent. The women were led from the garden so that servants could come and clean the morning decorations away, and Ran-Fan followed at a polite distance, keeping an eye on her temporary mistress.
Inside the Great Palace the women proceeded towards the East Hall, where they began to indulge in musical competitions. Ran-Fan, unlike most Xingian women, had never been able to play an instrument. Since she had learnt to walk her instruments had been her fists and her feet, and the sounds that they made could hardly be considered melodic. The women of the Xingian Court, however, were proficients. It was a requirement of a virtuous woman that she should be able to produce harmonic sound from at least one of the traditional Xingian instruments – it gave the image of an enlightened and aristocratic woman.
A Chan Xingian composed herself in a lady-like manner before taking up the sticks of the qinbar, and paused for a moment before striking the first block. Each connection after that added to the round wooden sound in the air, and Ran-Fan took the chance to examine the faces of the other guards. She didn't expect to see anything suspicious, but it shouldn't be said that she hadn't tried her duty.
The last note rang out and the women applauded politely as the Chan woman returned to her seat and the Tao Xingian who followed made her way to the stage eagerly. She lifted a Xingian flute to her lips and played a piece with a faster tempo than the other woman's.
It took some time for each of the women to perform their chosen pieces on their instrument of choice, but as they did so the sun began to sink a little more. They may not have been able to see it, as it had long passed the windows on this side of the palace, but the quality of the light began to change, and Ran-Fan knew that it wasn't long until she would be able to return to her master.
In due time the sky turned a dusty pink, and the Empress stopped the chatter that had arisen with a single word. "The sun sinks," she told them when their eyes were all on hers. "It is time to prepare for the evening's festivities."
A thrill of energy seemed to rush over the party, and as the Empress dismissed them all, each woman headed towards her quarters to change her clothing for the celebration that night. Ran-Fan knew that somewhere on the other side of the palace the men were doing the same thing. She herself was supposed to change also, but the difference between her clothing change and those of the upper-class women was that theirs would be entirely for style, whereas hers was supposed to hide her among the crowd. They were ornate pieces of fabric, but designed for movement as well, so that she was able to do her job.
The sun finally sunk to the horizon, staining the sky a brilliant red, and the women emerged in their exquisite new outfits, bejewelled and poised. At this point they would wait for a male escort to appear and guide them out to the festival outdoors. From there they would be able to celebrate amongst all other Xingians, noble and commoner alike.
It was not long before male guards returned to their female mistresses, all eager to be protecting their usual patron. Ran-Fan considered the impractical nature of needing to wait for her escort. Indeed, she should have been the one escorting him, but tradition was as tradition was.
There was a small fuss when the young prince arrived in the women's quarters, and he paused momentarily to bow respectfully towards the Empress. She smiled benignly at him and waved him off. The prince grinned cheekily and turned towards Ran-Fan with a hop, greeting her with a simple incline of the head. She bowed stiffly at the waist, rising when he said her name.
"Ran-Fan."
She straightened up.
"Let's go – I wish to catch the end of the sunlight before we must walk by the light of lanterns. It somehow isn't the same as natural light."
"Of course, Young Master," she said, and followed him as he turned and began to walk off.
Boundaries were often broken on the Xing Celebration Day, and although Ran-Fan and her master were hardly considered equals in the social structure of their country, there was an unspeakable bond between them. They were together, and that was all that mattered. She would protect him with her life, and should he die, her own dagger would find its place in her heart.
She could not live without him.
Later that evening a pair of young Xingians sat on a grassy hillock, watching the fireworks burst in the sky. They had left the hustle and bustle of the main road, and avoided the parade that was now winding its way through the streets of their beloved capital, surrounded on all sides by cheering citizens. They had escaped the city and all of the loud, crowded places, with only a minimal amount of small coloured paper squares settling on their hair and clothing – they had ducked through a shower of the paper to get through a group of revellers.
Avoiding the main party had taken time, but eventually they had found this small place of serenity, where the noise was only in the background, and the peace was overwhelming. A soft wind rustled through a near-by tree, and a bright red firework exploded over the velvet sky, sending bright beams in every direction.
The youth was stretched out on the side of the hillock, one leg propped up and his arms behind his head. The grass around him rose up so that any person would have to be within a few metres of the pair to see him lying on the ground. His female counterpart sat cross-legged, a little distance away, her watchful eyes belying her relaxed position, and the grass tickling at her back.
"Ran-Fan?"
"Yes, Young Master?"
"Does it bother you?"
She turned her head towards him uncertainly. "Does what bother me, Young Master?"
"That you were placed into the royal service so young, because of your heritage?"
It was true that she had been placed into this duty young. She had been given no choice – her family was indebted to the royal line, and one from each generation was bound to be given as a protector. Her father had died soon after her birth, and had not fathered any other children, thus she was the only one left to take up his yoke.
"The Emperor has been good to my family, and it is my honour to serve his in kind," she told the Prince, bowing her head solemnly.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see lines appear between the Prince's eyebrows as he frowned thoughtfully. "But in fulfilling your duty to the Emperor, you are not able to fulfil your duty as a woman."
The comment struck Ran-Fan unprepared. She had never put a lot of thought into the matter, because she knew that serving the Emperor was a greater task given to her. She had never felt inclined toward motherhood, in any case, and children hadn't seemed to take any particular liking for her either. Despite that, what the Prince had said was true – while her grandfather and father had been able to marry and have children to give into service of the Emperor, she was a woman. To have children of her own would be impossible if she was to continue protecting the Prince – it was hard enough looking after a boy the same age as her, let alone a small child as well.
"By serving the Emperor I serve a greater cause," she finally replied. "If he wills me to leave my post and give birth, I will, but until then it is my duty only to protect Young Master."
The Prince gave a sigh beside her, and propped himself up on his elbows. "I wonder if there is a way that you could do both . . ."
She blinked warily. "Young Master?"
"Oh, nothing," he said, frowning once again before hoisting himself up off the ground. "Let's go back to the palace – all of the good fireworks have been used. We can go into the gardens for the finale later."
Ran-Fan leapt up from the grass and waded through it to follow her master back into the city, where they would blend into the crowd just as well as any other nobleman and his guards.