The Bloody Alchemist

Harsh Realities (Splitting Apart)

Cecelia woke up suddenly. Finding herself cold in a dark room. She was laid back on a small bed with white sheets. She didn't know where she was. Her mind was both overwhelmed and completely blank. Her eyes bore into the plain ceiling, ears straining to hear anything in the dark room.

        A click sounded from somewhere, and the room was flooded with light. Cecelia squeezed her eyes shut. The familiar clicking of military-issued shoes filled her ears. Squinting into the bright light, Cecelia peaked at who was approaching her. The fuzzy silhouette was unmistakable.

        Fuhrer King Bradly stood over her on the bed. "Back among the living, are we, miss Cecelia?"

        Cecelia forced her burning eyes open and Bradly's shape cleared slowly. She didn't know if she should scream or cry, but with hardly the strength to even sit up, she opted to wait for him to continue.

        "I'll take advantage of your silence if you don't mind," Bradly sat in a chair that was beside her bed. Now Cecelia was sure that this was a hospital room. "Where should I start? Well, Mustang's men have been sent to different stations of Amestris and the capable Riza Hawkeye is now my personal assistant. She'll do quite well by my side, I have no doubt. Despite the scattering of his forces, Mustang has chosen to keep his rank as Colonel. The Fullmetal Alchemist was close to leaving the military, but after reminding him of his childhood friend Winry, he has also decided to stay amongst the military dogs. Both Alphonse and Fullmetal will continue their search to regain their bodies."

        The Fuhrer glared at her, but Cecelia kept her eyes on the blank ceiling. "That just leaves you, miss Cecelia. I am sure I don't have to remind you of those who are counting on you here in Central," Cecelia thought of Gracia and Elicia. Bradly knew her ties to them all too well. "Of course you are now vaguely aware of the plans that my Father has, and of what I truly am. So knowing that, should you act out of turn from here on, it will result in dire consequences."

        Bradly then waited in silence for her response. It took Cecelia a moment to figure out how to respond. She thought of Hughes, of Mustang, of Ling, and of her brother, Elis. She thought of the Elrics as well. There were so many more things that had happened within the past forty-eight hours that Bradly very clearly did not care about.

        "Giving up my watch won't take me off the list of sacrifices, will it?" Bradly's silence was answer enough. "And if I were to speak out, my family, Elicia and Gracia, they will suffer."

        Bradly again let his silence speak for itself.

        Cecelia forced her incredibly sore body to sit up, she now looked directly into Bradly's eye. His eye patch covering the proof of his inhumanity. "I'll stay apart of the military. I will keep my title as one of your dogs, Bradly. Just know I'll never be on your side. But this is the best way to protect my family."

        Bradly continued to glare at her, silently judging her decision. Finally, he stood and smiled. "I'm glad we are in agreement here miss Cecelia." He walked towards the door, and before he walked out, he turned back to her and spoke with an ominously calm tone. "And just know Cecelia, next time you find yourself on the wrong side of my sword, you won't be leaving with only a blade in your shoulder."

        Cecelia bit her tongue and glared daggers into Bradly's back, having the overwhelming urge to scream until her head popped off.

        Cecelia paced around her hospital room. The hospital wouldn't let her check out without a superior officer acting as her guardian. Funny that she could join the military at her age, yet she could not even make decisions for her own care. Nurses informed her that Mustang was on his way to escort her out, but that was nearly thirty minutes ago. So she continued to pace, contemplating what all had transpired over the last few days.