Pride & Prejudice

Chapter One

Did you know that some kinds of spiders adopt miniature frogs?

It's true! The frogs are defended by the spiders from many of their predators, and the spiders are defended against their most fearsome predators, ants, by the frogs!

Fascinating, no? That even something like spiders, as dangerous and seemingly cold and uncaring for other life, can adopt a frog, can come to care for life.

"Selim! Selim, I give up!" A little girl giggled. "You're too hard to find!"

The girl was named Aza, and she was a good friend of the young son of the head of the country. With her reddish hair and bluish eyes, she was clearly from Aerugo, the country to the south that had been at war with Amestris for many years. She was dressed in a cute little blue dress.  

A shadow stretched across the hall of the manor as a little boy popped out, leering behind the girl. "You were much closer this time, Aza. You're getting better at sensing chi."

Aza tried to cover her slight fear as she clasped her hands over her chest, fiddling with her thumbs as she drew inward. "Ah, thanks, Selim! I've been working really hard on that."

Selim narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You still have work to do on manipulation, though.  Anyone could see that you're nervous."  

"I-I..." Aza fumbled, before releasing a shaky sigh, "Yeah, you're right.  But you know I'm like, the worst liar.  Ever."  

"Yeah, that's true," Selim nodded.  "But be careful.  It's an important skill to have to get yourself out of situations where you can't battle your way out, and one of these days you're going to get into trouble, and I'm not going to get you out of it.  

"Wah! You're so mean, Selim!" Aza puffed out her cheeks, stomping her foot as her hands became little fists at her side. "You're a big bully, you know that? It's not my fault that I'm super duper weak, you know!"

"You should be getting stronger!" Selim retorted. "I've been training you, working to help you teach yourself alkahesteric theory, for what? To get yourself killed? You have a place in my plans, Aza. Don't make me change them."

"I don't even know why you hang around me, honestly," Aza sighed. "I mean, seriously, I'm as average as humanly possible. I don't understand it. You're like...some kind of otherworldly, super powerful being, and I'm just...normal."

"Exactly," Selim gave a dastardly smile. "You're normal. You're perfectly, unimaginably, undeniably average. And that's what makes you special, Aza. You can help me gather information I couldn't gather on my own, because nobody will ever suspect you. That's why we're working on your stealth, your abilities to sense things that others cannot, your skill in detecting lies. Now, shall we continue our game of hide and seek? This time, you get to hide."

Uh oh.

That never ends well.

"Ah, okay!" Aza was nervous again. "Well, I'll get hiding then...!"

"Please, do try to make it interesting."

"Yes, I will!"

* * *

"See you tomorrow, Aza!" Selim's form waved from the front of the manor as Aza walked into the cold, her breath reminding her ever so slightly of a dragon as it echoed in front of her.

"See you tomorrow, Selim!" She waved, her spritely form disappearing into the darkness as the streets of Central swallowed her whole.

Aza had never been quite this tired before. It was all she could think of as she walked herself home in the darkness, unaware of the shadowy form that was just behind her, ensuring that she was able to return to her home in the slums on the other side of town safely.