Eldest Elric

Learning for Love

For a while, all I did was stay in our father's study. It was a neat room with shelves of Alchemy books. His little desk still had piles of paper on it, though it was all useless now. My father had taught about Alchemy. That mine was different. He had told me of how I was born half dead and would have never lived as long as I have now. That he saved me. I didn't completely understand why he would use his life to save mine, but he had said it was obvious. "You're my baby girl." That seemed to say it all between us.
He had trained me. Built me up. The man was everything to me. My savior. My father. Even now, i dearly miss him with ever cell in my body.
My father had taught me a little about alchemy and how mine was different. It was like his. I didn't understand. He taught me more on fighting than my 'different' alchemy. Because I learned fighting from him, I never really got to the books. So, I studied in that room. For days my brothers didn't see me. Only at night did I come out to comfort our crying mother. When she would fall asleep, I would check on my baby brothers. Ed and Al seemed fine with playing outside. Our mother seemed fine without our father. It seemed just fine. Even if I wasn't feeling fine.
Sara Rockbell and her nice husband would come over every now and then with fresh apples or potatoes. My mother and Sara are great friends. It was on this day that I woke up in the Study. My father had been gone for a few weeks already and I learned all I could from his books. Transmutation, History of Alchemy, every mineral was memorized, every diagram, every single word. It was now in my head and like a second language.
I could understand it and learned it well on my own. My brain was good at remembering everything. Maybe I had a photographic memory? At this moment, I didn't care. The birds were singing softly outside of the window and I could hear a soft hum outside. My mother was hanging the laundry. Eddy and Al were at the Rockbell's. They had a kid around Ed's age. I really liked the Rockbell's.
When I was younger, I fell from the stairs and broke my arm. Urey was the kind Rockbell Doctor that had fixed it for free. His nice wife gave me a sucker for not crying at all. I have always liked them. Pinako would invite us to diner and my mother trusts' them a lot. It was on this day I thought of something. I could learn more. There are other places with other books. For now, I need to learn what I can.
My body moved as I left the room. Seeing the house in daylight again made me smile. As I walked outside I took a deep breath. My shoes made no sound as I walked to the side of the house to greet my mother. Seeing my mother in daylight made my smile bigger and I wasn't the one for smiles. Her back was to me as she hung the wet clothes. She wore her usual blue dress with the white apron over it and gray sandals. Her skin was slightly tan as she hummed an unknown song.
I could smell fresh grass and lavender when I came near her, "Mother." My one word startled her as she dropped a Al's shirt. She turned to me with a surprised face and gave me a smile, "It's about time you came out." She joked as she picked up the blue cloth. I put her words aside and went to the point, "May I go to the Rockbell's?" My voice was soft as I watched her carefully. Her brows went together in confusion and I answered her question before she asked it, "I would like to learn some medical things from them and their books." I kept it short because I didn't want her to think too much on it. My mother didn't know that I know that she is sick. My eyes catch a lot of things. She gave me an even bigger smile, "Of course Elizabeth! Be back before diner and bring your brothers." She seemed awfully cheerful today. Must be the good weather. I gave a faint nod and began the walk.
It wasn't long before I was outside of the Auto-Mail house. Den, the black and white puppy, began to yip happily from the other side of the door. She is a few months old and was a present to Winry from her parents.
After going up the stairs I knocked twice before the door was answered by a short old lady. Pinako had worn features and smile lines, she was about as tall as Edward and only came to my shoulder. I gave her a small nod and kept my face blank.
She smiled slightly, "Why, hello Elizabeth. Are you here to get your brothers?" Her voice crackled some from the years of smoking her tobacco pipe. A tug of my lips was the closest to a smile from me, "No, actually. I would like to speak with Sara, if she is home." This surprised the elderly woman as she just looked at me for a moment. She soon stepped aside to let me enter and called for Sara. Had she thought it was about my mother? I suppose she knows too then.
Sara came into the room with her hair pulled into the usual twin braids. Her blue eyes looked at me for a moment before she leaned to my height, "You wanted to speak with me, Elizabeth?" Sara was soft voiced too. She smiled at me slightly, but I could see the worry behind her eyes. "No need to worry, Sara. My mother is fine." I spoke without thinking because I don't like it when people worry. Even if it is not over me. She quickly eased at my words and Pinako tensed. I don't think Sara understood that it meant that I knew. It didn't matter much to me if people knew what I knew. "I came to ask you if you could help me." It wasn't an actual question because I stated it.
They Rockbell women looked shocked once again. Of course they didn't expect this from me. I'm the silent bookworm that act just as her father. Asking for help was never my thing so this was a big step from my comfort zone. "What do you need help with?" Pinako spoke this time, like she was investigating a murder. I replied instantly, "I would like to learn about doctoring." That too took a moment to respond to. In the end, Sara gave a big smile and agreed.
I am going to learn all I can from this world because I hate not knowing. If it took me years, I would put in the time. Learning was all I had left to do. There are so many question I have and so many answers I need to find. Something in my mind urged me to learn and find the answers. So, I will. I will find out why my father left us. I will find out what he is hiding. I swear, I will find a cure for my mother. That's all I want and I will do anything to find out. There is no time for me to be a kid.
I need to find the answers before it is too late.