Bewitched (RoyEd)

Chapter One

Edward held the red heart shaped stone firmly in his hands in front of Winry’s chest as it admitted a dim glow. His hands were shaking, weak with hunger only a human heart could satisfy. It made him sick, his entire being, what he was… but he was desperate this time. If he waited, he could be dead in the next 24 hours. His dull yellow eyes watched as the stone pulled out her heart without needing an incision. The dim glow grew brighter as the heart contained in the orb of light surfaced out of her chest. For a minute, he paused, staring at Winry’s peaceful face. She looked so serene in the red glow given the circumstances, and Edward hated himself. He hated everything he did, but he needed to do it to survive.

“I… I’m sorry, Win.” Ed choked out quietly. “I waited too long, and you were the only…” His voice gave out as he held back his tears. The only thing left to do was to finish what he started. It’d be pointless to change his mind now. She already passed on. With his free hand, he reached out to the orb that safely held Winry’s heart and slowly pushed it to his chest. The light faded as the orb effortlessly slipped inside his chest. He could feel his strength returning, his thoughts becoming more clear as he stared down at Winry’s lifeless face, realizing just exactly what he did. A drop of water fell onto her face. Was it raining? Edward looked up, realizing he was in Winry’s bedroom. He was crying. There was no point in holding back now. His body trembled as he let the tears flow freely, his hands gripping tightly at the sheets on either side of Winry’s body.

The process wasn’t usually this emotional, but… Everyone else was easy to capture and take from with no emotional bond, but Winry was different. Edward had loved her back. When he first said the three little words to her, they weren’t meaningless like they were with everyone else. He meant them. His words weren’t meant for the purpose of surviving. They were for the purpose of which they stood.

His tears slowly came to stop, leaving him to just stare at Winry’s face as silence enveloped him. He hated how peaceful she looked. He hated that he had to do this to her. He hated what he was and how selfish it was…

“I love you, Winry…” Ed muttered, releasing the death grip he had on the sheets and slowly reached his hand out to touch the side of her face. It was still warm, but slowly losing warmth. “...I’m sorry.” His hand traveled up, moving her blonde bangs away before he leaned down and pressed his lips gently against her forehead. “I really did love you…”

Officer Maes Hughes stared down at the body of the young girl. She was too young to have slipped on into the afterlife by herself, but there was nothing around that could have killed her. There were no marks, scars, or bruises on her body. From the information he received from the girl’s grandmother, she had no medical problems. She was a perfectly happy and healthy young lady. Reasonable and possible causes of death were slowly slipping through his mind and becoming slim. They’d have to get an autopsy on her body. It’d be the only way to find out.

“Do you think…” Jean Havoc’s voice started beside him. Hughes turned his eyes away from the body to look at his partner. “Ehh… Nevermind.” he dismissed with a wave of his hand.

“What were you going to say?” Hughes prompted. “My mind’s at a blank.”

There was a slight moment of hesitation before Havoc spoke again.

“I was just thinking… You know the rumor about the girl whose body was found at a camping ground? And during her autopsy they discovered that her heart was missing without as much as a scratch on her skin.”

“Do you really believe something like that is true?” Hughes questioned the other officer. “How would that even be possible? There’s no way.”

Havoc nodded his head. “I know. Just remembered it.”

There was a moment of silence as the officers’ eyes did a final scan of the scene, looking for something they may have missed. Nothing new was found. The body was clean of any injuries that they could see, no blood was visible… It wasn’t a murder. Maybe suicide? Overdosing? The girl’s grandmother, through tears, told him that she would never do such a thing. He wanted to believe the elderly lady, but…

“We’ll have to just get an autopsy on her body.” Hughes spoke up quietly.

He hated this part of the job. It was always the hardest. He set his hand gently on Havoc’s shoulder and lead them out of the room and down the stairs to where the girl’s grandmother was waiting. Her eyes were dull, head resting in her hand as she sat at the dining room table staring out the window. She turned to look as she heard the officers’ approaching.

“There’s nothing we can find that would have killed her.” Hughes told the elderly woman solemnly. “For now, we’ll just assume it’s suicide-”

“Don’t you dare tell me that my Winry killed herself! She would never do such a thing!” Her hand slammed on the table, hours of keeping herself composed came undone as tears leaked from her eyes. Neither of the officers knew what to do.

“I’m sorry, ma’am.” Hughes practically whispered. He turned to Havoc. “Go contact the hospital for transportation for the body.”

Jean Havoc nodded and stepped outside without a word, leaving Maes to try and comfort the small, frail old woman. Gently and slowly, not to disturb her, he rested his hand on her shoulder as she wept quietly into a handkerchief.

“She was…” The elderly lady choked out between sobs, pausing to sniffle her nose. “...She was studying to become to doctor. Like her parents, and… now…”

All Hughes could offer her was a sympathetic rub on her back as she continued to cry. He could feel her small frame trembling beneath him with each choked out noise she tried to hold in.

“She even had a boyfriend… Edward… Such a nice boy, he was... I’ll have to tell him that… Winry’s….”

“Shhhh.” Maes whispered. “You don’t need to think right now.”

The grandmother’s sobs. after a while, turned into quiet sniffles as Hughes continued to rub her back consolingly until the medical team arrived to take away the body of Winry Rockbell.