Chapter 23: Attack From A Hawk's Eyes

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       DeAnna rolled to her side on the new large bed and saw Edward sleeping next to her while he was fully clothed.   "This is so awkward sleeping next to a boy in the same bed!  But I am married to Edward now so I need to make the most of it.  Besides, I want this to be a happy marriage.  But what if I'm not very good wife material and I fail him?", DeAnna thought.  Then he saw Edward stretching and finally waking up.  He greeted, "Good morning, DeAnna!  How did you sleep last night?"  Then he noticed DeAnna's lack of confidence on her face so he asked, "What's wrong?  Is there something bothering you, DeAnna?  You can tell me anything.  Please speak because I will listen."  DeAnna told her husband, "I am scared if I end up not making a good wife for your standards.  Honestly, I understand if you should run to Winry's arms instead of mine."  DeAnna sobbed so Edward grabbed a tissue for her as he held his wife tight in a big hug and said, "Now, now.  Everything will be ok.  You'll see.  I'm not expecting perfection out of you and I understand if you make mistakes.  We all do!  Heck, even I made a few costly mistakes including my use of alchemy when I was a child!   But I love you and I just want you to be happy.  Can you please smile for me, my butterfly queen?"  DeAnna wiped away her tears and smiled as she looked into Edward's eyes.  He patted her head and praised, "That's what I like to see!"  Then he added, "Your antennas tickled my face when I was trying to sleep, DeAnna.  It was so cute, but they made me feel ticklish so I giggled while you were asleep."  So DeAnna replied, "I am so sorry. Did my antennas bother you?"  Edward smiled, "Not at all!  I choose to look at it that you were showing a unique way of affection.  That is so adorable!" 

        DeAnna blushed and she thanked her husband for helping her to cheer up.  They exited their bedroom together and saw that Alphonse was making honey buns in the oven.   "Yum! Those smell like honey!", DeAnna exclaimed.  Alphonse commented, "They will be ready soon."  Then Zoe whimpered as her tail swished.  "Are you hungry, Zoe?", DeAnna asked.  So she went to go feed Zoe and put refreshing cold water in another saucer so Zoe could eat.  The oven beeped so Alphonse carefully removed the honey buns so they could cool down for a few minutes.  Edward had sipped on a mug of hot tea while he read the newspaper.  "It says in this article that the butterfly kingdom is going to be torn down so everyone that was there when you tried to enter now has to vacate.", Edward read in an article to DeAnna.  Alphonse told DeAnna, "Because they discriminated you and treated you with such disrespect, Truth probably did some justice on your behalf."  DeAnna got upset as she shouted, "I don't care if Truth is trying to reward me for being mistreated!  That was my kingdom, you idiot!"  Alphonse frowned as he sighed, "I am sorry, DeAnna.  But what's done is done.  You might want to take a good look at Edward for a moment."  

       DeAnna looked at Edward who had a sad look on his face as his right hand was placed on his heart.    He asked, "Do you remember what this means?"  DeAnna commented, "I forgot because it's been awhile.  What's going on?"  Edward said, "Ouch!  You hurt me, DeAnna.  My heart is ripping into tiny pieces."   DeAnna got up from her seat as she cried into Edward's shirt, "I told you I'm a terrible wife!    I've failed you again and I may never be able to be the type of girl that you desire!  I love you, but my emotions and struggles gets in the way of everything.   I'm so sorry for breaking your heart, Edward!"    He brushed his fingers through her medium length red hair and caressed DeAnna's head as he calmly answered, "Shh....it will be ok, DeAnna.  My wounded heart will heal, but I don't like seeing you act mean or rudely because it makes me sad.  This is not the DeAnna that I've worked so hard at training.    But you know what?  I'm not going to give up on you.  After all, you're my wife and I will help you to get through whatever it is that is making you stumble."  Edward kissed DeAnna's cheek as he said, "I love you and I always will."  DeAnna smiled as her tears started to dry up then she answered, "I love you too!"  So she went back to her seat and Alphonse served everyone some fresh honey buns.  DeAnna couldn't wait to sink her teeth into one, but she was also hungry.  "These are yummy!", she told Alphonse.  He smiled and thanked her for the compliment. 

       After DeAnna got showered and dressed, she went outdoors to water the flowers as well as the tree.  She saw a bunch of butterflies fluttering towards her as she commented, "At least all of you respect me.  My former kingdom rejected me and now it's getting torn down, but you are all welcome to stay if you'd like."  The butterflies twitched their antennas so DeAnna asked, "What's wrong?"  Then she heard a large hungry hawk cawing as it was trying to swoop down to eat DeAnna's butterfly friends.  

        Edward saw the incident and he ran up to his wife then he shouted, "Be very careful, DeAnna!"  Alphonse and Zoe also saw DeAnna in her second battle, but to defend her butterfly friends this time.  "A butterfly princess against a giant bird? This will be an interesting fight to see!", Alphonse commented.  The giant hawk swooped downwards so DeAnna clapped her hands together to create thunder alchemy.  It shocked the giant hawk with great power, but his claws scratched DeAnna's arm.    "Ow!", she cried.  The Elric brothers asked, "Are you ok, DeAnna?"  She huffed and puffed as she was regaining strength despite her bleeding arm.  DeAnna then hovered as she flapped her butterfly wings and her antennas became glittery.  "Woah!  Is this a new alchemy ability of DeAnna's or something?", Alphonse asked.  Edward nodded, "It could be, especially since she's grown so strong."  Then a giant ice shard was formed by her antennas and it pierced the hawk's heart so it died instantly.  DeAnna landed safely on the ground as the Elric brothers cheered for DeAnna's victory.  Then all the butterflies flew over to thank her for saving them as they all gathered on DeAnna's wounded arm.  "I think they are trying to do something special for you for saving them, DeAnna.", Edward commented.  The butterflies got together to create strong bursts of string and it created a bandage wrap around DeAnna's injury.  "Thank you, my pretty butterfly friends!", she said cheerfully.  Then she got out some honey to feed her butterfly friends as Edward and Alphonse watched with a smile.  "She loves them, doesn't she?", Alphonse inquired.  Edward nodded, "Yes.  But they are also part of her own kind before we came into her life.  Even as her husband, if the butterflies that she spends time with here makes her happy then DeAnna's happiness is also my happiness."  As the sun went down, DeAnna was getting hungry too so she also had a few licks of honey as the butterflies went back to their home.   Then she skipped happily inside with the Elric brothers and Zoe following her.

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