Royai: Before, During, After

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The road was old and beaten. A quiet little road with cracks galore, and not a single soul in sight.  He thought that it would be a lively little town, bustles of people everywhere, little shops, but much to his disappointment, the only buildings in sight were a few run-down homes. What am I getting myself into? He thought. Finally, he got to the Hawkeye estate. It was a rather... curious place. Almost all the grass was brittle and brown. There were no flowers in sight, with an exception of a few dying dandelions. He looked beyond the grass and saw a small two-story house atop of a low hill. Most of the windows were boarded up haphazardly and it was dark inside. He walked up to the old building and knocked on the door. For several seconds, there was no answer until much to his surprise, a girl with cropped blonde hair and blue eyes opened the door.

"You must be Roy Mustang. Please, come in." She gestured inside and opened the door wider. He did as tell and walked inside the house. He was stunned. Roy had been under the impression that Hawkeye was a rich, classy man with a nice house and a of course, lots of money. Not that it mattered to him, but it was perplexing how things could get mixed up like that. The walls had green wall paper with considerable tears in it and only a small lamp illuminating the mostly dark hallway. It was dead silent besides the soft crackling of the fireplace in the living room. More than these observations, Roy was confused by the fact that a grand total of none of the newspapers had mentioned that he had a daughter, much less one his age.

"I apologize. You must be terribly confused. My name is Riza Hawkeye, Master Berthold Hawkeye's daughter. You may call me Riza. I do most things around here so if you have and questions or need anything, talk to me."

Riza had a quiet, yet steady voice like one you would expect from a shy child except, or course, much older.

"My name's Roy Mustang, but you seem to have already known that. Does anyone besides your father live here or- "Riza's eyes darkened and her face turned away slightly. Roy knew that look all too well- he saw it in the mirror each night for a long time after the started living with Madame Christmas.

"No. It's just been my father and I for a very, very, long time." She said sadly.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. It's not my fault, and it's certainly not yours. Now I'm going to show you your room. I will then make lunch at 12 o'clock sharp. If you are not hungry, then don't come down." She led him down the dusty green hallways until they reached a small, plain room with one bed and a shelf, presumably for his clothes and books.

"Thank you, Riza." Roy said. He seemed to have caught her off guard, as her face twitched a little. Was she not used to being thanked?

"For what?"

"Showing me to my room." Roy thought of what kind of person her father may be if his own daughter wasn't used to something simple as being thanked.

"Oh. I'll go tell Father that you're here. Please, start unpacking." Riza's lips turned up a little into a very slight grin. "And you're welcome."

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Roy walked downstairs to the smell of bacon. He was about to say something but then stopped himself. Riza looked so at peace. He wondered if she was always this way while cooking, or if it was just now, but no way he would ruin her bliss.

"Good afternoon, Mister Mustang."

"Please, call me Roy. After all, I'm not calling you Ms. Hawkeye."

"Master Hawkeye will be here soon. According to him, I am to treet our guests with absolute respect. Anyways," she plated the bacon and some rice onto an old dusty plate. "Here's your lunch." She started doing the dishes.

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⏰ Last updated: May 22, 2018 ⏰

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