Bedtime Story (FullMetal Alchemist; Edward, Al, and Trisha; # 61)
Title: Bedtime Story
Author/Artist: Satai_Aalann (a.k.a. Sabina-san)
Character/Pairing: Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, and Trisha Elric
Fandom: FullMetal Alchemist
Genre: Family
A/N: None of the characters belong to me. They belong to Hiromu Arakawa.
Theme: #61 Stories
Childish giggles emanated from the study that had once belonged to the now missing Hohenheim. Trisha was busy finishing up the dishes in the sink, and she smiled, glad to hear her sons happily playing. She found herself missing Hohenheim, and at the same time, sad that she couldn’t really explain why he had left. She knew her eldest, Edward, was eternally angry for the abandonment, and she wished she could explain it in a way that he could understand. Trisha found herself looking out the window above the sink, which overlooked the main road in Resembool. She stared for a few minutes, hoping to see the blonde hair of the man she loved bobbing down the road.
She heard a squeal of laughter, which snapped her out of her reverie. Trisha looked down at the completed dishes and sighed. She needed to check up on her boys. She smiled and walked over to the study to find her boys playing with wooden horses they had transmuted from blocks of wood. Edward and Alphonse, now five and four years old, were on their hands and knees, crawling and moving the horses like they were galloping across the floor.
“My knight is on the search for a maid to save!” Ed proclaimed.
“And her name is Winry!” Al cried out.
Ed stopped short and sat up to protest. “Is not!”
Trisha couldn’t help but laugh at her eldest’s indignation. Her laughter made both her boys look up. Both of them grinned up at her and Al even scrambled to his feet to run to her. She knelt down and brought her youngest son into her arms.
“It sounds like you two were having fun,” she stated.
“Yeah! We were on a quest!” Al cried out enthusiastically.
“Oh? What kind of quest?”
Edward ran over to join them, and Trisha extended an arm to wrap him up in her embrace as well. “Al and I were going to save a maid trapped in a tower by an evil dragon…and we were going to use our alchemy to save her!”
“Is that so? What brave boys I have!” Trisha replied. The boys beamed at her. “But I do know my brave boys need to get plenty of rest if they want to save that pretty maid in the tower.”
Edward groaned because he knew what was coming. “Do we have to?”
Trisha nodded. “Yes, dear. Growing boys need to go to bed to get enough sleep.”
“But we’re not tired!” Al whined.
“How about this? If you get ready for bed now, I will tell you a bedtime story.”
“Okay!” Edward shouted as he wriggled out of her embrace.
The boys both raced out of the room and down the hallway toward their bedroom. Trisha couldn’t help but laugh at her boys. She stood and took a step toward the forgotten wooden horses when she felt a wave of dizziness overtake her. Trisha clutched to the wall to keep her balance as her sight clouded over to black with white stars. She waited a few moments for the dizziness to pass before she released her hold on the wall. She grew afraid, knowing an epidemic had been sweeping the country. She had heard all of the symptoms, and dizziness was one of the first symptoms.
“I just got up too fast,” she murmured to herself, trying to be reassuring.
Trisha went over to the horses and put them on a shelf next to Hohenheim’s beginner’s alchemy book. She ran her fingers gently over the spine, remembering the wreaths of flowers he used to transmute for her. She then left the room and walked down the hallway to Ed and Al’s shared bedroom. There, the boys were already tucked into one of their beds, waiting patiently for their mother’s story. She went over to the bed, and Al jumped out from under the covers.
“Lay in the middle, mama!”
“Will there be enough room for the three of us?” she asked with a laugh.
“Always!” Ed said.
Trisha crawled under the blankets and felt her oldest son snuggle up against her. She placed a gentle kiss on the top of his head, and she knew he appreciated the affection. Al crawled in on her left side and nestled up to her. Trisha wrapped an arm around Al to keep him from tumbling out of the bed before she kissed him on the top of his head as well. Once the trio was comfortable, Trisha spoke up.
“What story do you want to hear?”
“One about knights going to rescue a princess!” Al cried.
“Yeah!” Ed concurred.
Trisha laughed. “Alright.” She paused before she began the story. “Once upon a time, there were two very brave and handsome knights named Edward and Alphonse.” She looked down to see that her boys were delighted that the knights were named after them. “They had heard stories of a beautiful princess of Amestris, who was trapped in a tower and guarded by a fearsome dragon.”
“How big was the dragon?” Al asked.
“Oh…as big as this house!” Trisha exclaimed.
“Oh no! That’s so big!” Al responded.
“Don’t worry, Al! We could beat a dragon that big with our alchemy,” Edward stated matter-of-factly.
“Really?” Al asked his brother.
“I think you could. After all, you both take after your father.”
Edward snorted. “Yeah, well I’m going to be better than he was!”
Trisha did nothing but smile. She knew anything she said would be discounted by Edward until Hohenheim returned home. I hope he does…she thought. “So, hearing about the dragon, Edward and Alphonse mounted their trusty horses and headed out to the East, where the princess was being held captive.”
“In Xing?” Edward asked.
Trisha nodded. “Yes...in Xing.”
The story continued in that way, with Trisha telling little bits and the boys interrupting with questions or more details. By the end, the boys had used alchemy for fantastic feats of bravery, defeated the dragon, saved the princess to bring her back to Amestris, and then the boys fought over who the princess was. Al insisted that it was Winry, but Edward denied it. Trisha settled it by creating another princess who was the sister of the first one mentioned in the story. Al named that princess Winry. Edward didn’t have a name for his princess, but he told Trisha that she was as pretty as his mother.
The boys were then tucked into bed with kisses on their foreheads before Trisha extinguished the kerosene lamp in their bedroom. Both boys whispered good night as they settled down under the blankets for a night full of blissful dreams. Trisha couldn’t help but smile at their serene faces. They brought such joy to her life. As she left the bedroom and shut the door, Trisha was hit with another wave of dizziness. This one was more acute than the previous wave. It lasted longer and made Trisha slip to the floor to ease the sensation of the world heaving around her.
When the wave passed, Trisha felt her body trembling with fright. She wasn’t afraid for her own well-being for she knew she was going to die. No one survived this illness once it was contracted. She was afraid for leaving her boys alone without their parents. She wanted to write to Hohenheim immediately to tell him to come home, but she had no idea where he had wandered off to. He hadn’t told her when he left, and he hadn’t written in the two years following.
Oh Hohenheim…why couldn’t you tell me where you going? Your boys need you…I need you…
Trisha stood, trying to dispel the despair she was feeling. She knew she had limited time before she would die, and she needed to set htings in order. But, what broke her heart the most was she knew that tonight was the last bedtime story her boys would share with her.
Author/Artist: Satai_Aalann (a.k.a. Sabina-san)
Character/Pairing: Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, and Trisha Elric
Fandom: FullMetal Alchemist
Genre: Family
A/N: None of the characters belong to me. They belong to Hiromu Arakawa.
Theme: #61 Stories
Childish giggles emanated from the study that had once belonged to the now missing Hohenheim. Trisha was busy finishing up the dishes in the sink, and she smiled, glad to hear her sons happily playing. She found herself missing Hohenheim, and at the same time, sad that she couldn’t really explain why he had left. She knew her eldest, Edward, was eternally angry for the abandonment, and she wished she could explain it in a way that he could understand. Trisha found herself looking out the window above the sink, which overlooked the main road in Resembool. She stared for a few minutes, hoping to see the blonde hair of the man she loved bobbing down the road.
She heard a squeal of laughter, which snapped her out of her reverie. Trisha looked down at the completed dishes and sighed. She needed to check up on her boys. She smiled and walked over to the study to find her boys playing with wooden horses they had transmuted from blocks of wood. Edward and Alphonse, now five and four years old, were on their hands and knees, crawling and moving the horses like they were galloping across the floor.
“My knight is on the search for a maid to save!” Ed proclaimed.
“And her name is Winry!” Al cried out.
Ed stopped short and sat up to protest. “Is not!”
Trisha couldn’t help but laugh at her eldest’s indignation. Her laughter made both her boys look up. Both of them grinned up at her and Al even scrambled to his feet to run to her. She knelt down and brought her youngest son into her arms.
“It sounds like you two were having fun,” she stated.
“Yeah! We were on a quest!” Al cried out enthusiastically.
“Oh? What kind of quest?”
Edward ran over to join them, and Trisha extended an arm to wrap him up in her embrace as well. “Al and I were going to save a maid trapped in a tower by an evil dragon…and we were going to use our alchemy to save her!”
“Is that so? What brave boys I have!” Trisha replied. The boys beamed at her. “But I do know my brave boys need to get plenty of rest if they want to save that pretty maid in the tower.”
Edward groaned because he knew what was coming. “Do we have to?”
Trisha nodded. “Yes, dear. Growing boys need to go to bed to get enough sleep.”
“But we’re not tired!” Al whined.
“How about this? If you get ready for bed now, I will tell you a bedtime story.”
“Okay!” Edward shouted as he wriggled out of her embrace.
The boys both raced out of the room and down the hallway toward their bedroom. Trisha couldn’t help but laugh at her boys. She stood and took a step toward the forgotten wooden horses when she felt a wave of dizziness overtake her. Trisha clutched to the wall to keep her balance as her sight clouded over to black with white stars. She waited a few moments for the dizziness to pass before she released her hold on the wall. She grew afraid, knowing an epidemic had been sweeping the country. She had heard all of the symptoms, and dizziness was one of the first symptoms.
“I just got up too fast,” she murmured to herself, trying to be reassuring.
Trisha went over to the horses and put them on a shelf next to Hohenheim’s beginner’s alchemy book. She ran her fingers gently over the spine, remembering the wreaths of flowers he used to transmute for her. She then left the room and walked down the hallway to Ed and Al’s shared bedroom. There, the boys were already tucked into one of their beds, waiting patiently for their mother’s story. She went over to the bed, and Al jumped out from under the covers.
“Lay in the middle, mama!”
“Will there be enough room for the three of us?” she asked with a laugh.
“Always!” Ed said.
Trisha crawled under the blankets and felt her oldest son snuggle up against her. She placed a gentle kiss on the top of his head, and she knew he appreciated the affection. Al crawled in on her left side and nestled up to her. Trisha wrapped an arm around Al to keep him from tumbling out of the bed before she kissed him on the top of his head as well. Once the trio was comfortable, Trisha spoke up.
“What story do you want to hear?”
“One about knights going to rescue a princess!” Al cried.
“Yeah!” Ed concurred.
Trisha laughed. “Alright.” She paused before she began the story. “Once upon a time, there were two very brave and handsome knights named Edward and Alphonse.” She looked down to see that her boys were delighted that the knights were named after them. “They had heard stories of a beautiful princess of Amestris, who was trapped in a tower and guarded by a fearsome dragon.”
“How big was the dragon?” Al asked.
“Oh…as big as this house!” Trisha exclaimed.
“Oh no! That’s so big!” Al responded.
“Don’t worry, Al! We could beat a dragon that big with our alchemy,” Edward stated matter-of-factly.
“Really?” Al asked his brother.
“I think you could. After all, you both take after your father.”
Edward snorted. “Yeah, well I’m going to be better than he was!”
Trisha did nothing but smile. She knew anything she said would be discounted by Edward until Hohenheim returned home. I hope he does…she thought. “So, hearing about the dragon, Edward and Alphonse mounted their trusty horses and headed out to the East, where the princess was being held captive.”
“In Xing?” Edward asked.
Trisha nodded. “Yes...in Xing.”
The story continued in that way, with Trisha telling little bits and the boys interrupting with questions or more details. By the end, the boys had used alchemy for fantastic feats of bravery, defeated the dragon, saved the princess to bring her back to Amestris, and then the boys fought over who the princess was. Al insisted that it was Winry, but Edward denied it. Trisha settled it by creating another princess who was the sister of the first one mentioned in the story. Al named that princess Winry. Edward didn’t have a name for his princess, but he told Trisha that she was as pretty as his mother.
The boys were then tucked into bed with kisses on their foreheads before Trisha extinguished the kerosene lamp in their bedroom. Both boys whispered good night as they settled down under the blankets for a night full of blissful dreams. Trisha couldn’t help but smile at their serene faces. They brought such joy to her life. As she left the bedroom and shut the door, Trisha was hit with another wave of dizziness. This one was more acute than the previous wave. It lasted longer and made Trisha slip to the floor to ease the sensation of the world heaving around her.
When the wave passed, Trisha felt her body trembling with fright. She wasn’t afraid for her own well-being for she knew she was going to die. No one survived this illness once it was contracted. She was afraid for leaving her boys alone without their parents. She wanted to write to Hohenheim immediately to tell him to come home, but she had no idea where he had wandered off to. He hadn’t told her when he left, and he hadn’t written in the two years following.
Oh Hohenheim…why couldn’t you tell me where you going? Your boys need you…I need you…
Trisha stood, trying to dispel the despair she was feeling. She knew she had limited time before she would die, and she needed to set htings in order. But, what broke her heart the most was she knew that tonight was the last bedtime story her boys would share with her.