The Empath Alchemist {Edward Elric X Reader}

6

The citizens of Central City were blissfully unaware of the secrets that this town held. Being located directly in the middle of Amestris was never deemed to be something other than convenient for the locals or intriguing to visitors from foreign countries. People had no reason to believe that anything more could be made of their middlemost city, and Fuhrer King Bradley preferred to keep it that way.

His job was not simple. Bradley was responsible for the entirety of the militia as the head of State and Government. Thousands of lives were practically in his hands, and he held the very trust of those thousands of people as well. King Bradley was viewed as a fierce yet gentle man by those who inhabited Central City. His wife could vouch for these honorable titles, for she often spoke highly of her powerful husband to other military officers and subordinates. She would describe him as perfect, and though his position in the military came with its trials, she couldn't have asked for a more perfect man to watch over her and stay by her side. It had only been the two of them, the Fuhrer's wife having been unable to bear children, so understandably the times when the Fuhrer was away were the times when she was the lonliest- the most anxious. Even so, as frightening as her intrusive thoughts would get, she found comfort in the fact that he was doing all he could to protect their country whenever he was away. He was risking his life to protect the lives of many. That was the only reassuring thought that allowed her to fall asleep at night when he was gone for so long.

Now why was it that Roy Mustang aspired to take his title?

Bradley's job was tiring, unpredictable. He carried a lot of pressure on his shoulders, the fate of the country's livelihood resting in him. Roy understood this. He probably understood more than anyone. The Colonel had wanted this position for as long as he could remember, and even after he adopted (Y/n) that aspiration of his never faded. He was going to be the future Fuhrer. Not only did he want this job because it was a longtime dream of his, but because he had tactics and ideas that he believed would be much better suited for ruling the country than what the current Fuhrer did. For example, Amestrians and Ishvalans had been living with years of built up tension between them that had not been addressed or even attempted to fix. Bradley thought it better that they continued to live in hatred toward one another because it was not necessary to strive for a better relationship due to the possibility of 'things getting worse'.

Roy thought that was a load of shit.

Things had already gotten worse, much worse. One of Ishval's natives, Scar, had been on a State Alchemist murdering spree for months likely due to some grudge he was holding against the entire militia involved in the Civil War- and Roy's daughter had been inches away from falling victim to his scheme for vengeance. If that wasn't worse, then Roy wasn't sure how much longer Bradley was willing to allow this until it got even more out of hand. If Roy were Fuhrer, the first thing he would do would be to begin building up the relationship between the Ishval citizens and Amestrians from the ground. He refused to let people continue to live in this state of ignorance, refusing to address that biggest mistake executed on the military's behalf. If the Ishvalans were still suffering from the catastrophe and driven to Scar's levels of hatred, why should the majority of Amestris be able to move on?

Roy would have to let those thoughts wait for now though, for he was focused on something a smidge more urgent at the moment: (Y/n) and her Alchemy. He had gotten to work with Maes when the kids left for Rush Valley, and though the General had been rather helpful the Colonel couldn't help but notice that his behavior was rather odd. The Flame Alchemist had no real reason not to believe that the person who he traveled to Central to speak with about his daughter was not his closest friend, but still something felt off about their interactions. Maes was a tad less enthusiastic than normal and he seemed a bit uncharacteristically eager to hear as much as he could about what (Y/n) had told him about her alchemy. They had been talking in the General's office, throwing hypotheses and theories around that could give them a clue about (Y/n)'s situation. They agreed to meet another day in Eastern when the sun started setting. As Roy left his office with Riza, something stood out to him.