Backtrack (A FMA Fan-Fic)

Wishing Well

Finally the day came where the state alchemist arrived in this town. I was tingling with excitement. I’ve been waiting for what seems like my entire short life for this faithful day.

I jumped out of bed the moment my eyelids popped open and I was aware of my consciousness. Racing towards my fathers’ bedroom, I nearly tripped on everything, however I kept up my mad pursuit for nothing could stop it. This was everything to me.

“Father!” I shouted and I jumped on his bed, nearly ontop of him. I startled him, waking him up from his peaceful slumber. It was the only time he got away from such an obnoxious abomination—me. “Do you know what day it is today?! Why aren’t you up yet?!”

“Éclair, relax, he’ll be here on the first train. Why don’t you get out of your nightgown and into something a little more presentable? Do you still have that dress? The nice green one?”

I shake my head, “I’m not wearing that! I can’t do alchemy wearing that! The wind will blow it up! I’ve gotta show him I’m strong and can handle my alchemy!”

My father sighs, “you’re a lady Éclair, you must act like one.”

I shake my head, “but I don’t wanna be a lady. So I’m not going to be a lady.” I put my hands on my hips and boast, “I can be anything I want to be.”

“Alright, at least put on something presentable though. You don’t wanna look like you were raised in a barn, now do you?”

I groan, “okay!” and I run back to my room to find something that didn’t look like a barn. It wasn’t hard since everything I pretty much owned looked like a barn. So, I wore it anyway.

It wasn’t much longer after that that the train arrived. I dragged my father behind me, his hand in one, my book in the other, trying to rampage through the town to beat the train that was supposed to be carrying one of the men I look up to.

My father warned me, “Now Éclair, behave yourself. You need not to appear as a fangirl.”

I beam, “I won’t!”

“Contain yourself too.” He warned.

I nod, “okay!”

A man in a long tan coat left the arrived train. He had long blonde hair tied neatly back into a ponytail and glasses. He looked somewhat old. After disembarking the train, he placed his briefcase-like suitcase down and peered around, as if he was looking for a familiar face. It continued until he saw my father waving to him. He then picked up the suitcase and paced over to us. I noticed a little girl was following behind him at a distance. I wonder if she followed him here too. No way was she going to have him. He was mine for today.

“You must be the town’s alchemist, it’s nice to meet you,” The State Alchemist shook my father’s hand. I beamed up at both of them with a grin full of warmth. The State Alchemist noticed the warm feeling and gasped, “she has such a warm, gentle, loving feeling to her smile. Beautiful.”

“I’m Éclair.” I blushed, “are you really a State Alchemist? Because Zanner said you weren’t.”

“I’m as real as it gets.” He smiled, however something hinted to me that he was lying. I felt cold chills run through my spine, as if someone was watching me.

I then looked at his face again. I’ve seen it before, somewhere. It seemed so familiar…I just could not remember where I had seen it before. “I haven’t seen you before, have I?” I raised an eyebrow.

His eyes flashed with fear. Did I see him before, “no, you must be mistaking me for someone else.”

“Oh,” I fum. I look down, then up again and smile, “well, I saw you a few minutes ago so that means I have seen you before!”

He smiles back at me, “energetic, now aren’t we?”

My father nods, “it’s typical for her. She’s a good girl though, whenever she stops fighting the men.”

“They always loose.” I smile and giggle.

The Alchemist nods, “alright, let’s go help some people from the large storms, now shall we?”

I nod eagerly, “okay!” and I run ahead.

I hear my father behind me, “I’m sorry about her. There’s nothing I could’ve done now.  I don’t see why I was left in the duty to raise her alone, but her mother—“

“It’s alright; you couldn’t’ve done anything better. She’s strong, reckless, and eager. If she wasn’t raised how she was, her future would be in jeopardy.”

After awhile of fixing almost everything, all that was left was the area around the town’s well to be fixed. I watched in amazement and awe as the Alchemist fixed nearly everything in the town that my father couldn’t do alone, or didn’t know how to fix.

It was now that I felt I could boast about myself. I ran out in front of the Alchemist, "I can do alchemy too!" I boasted to the state alchemist. He was rather proud of his skills. He looks at me as if he wasn’t expecting that I could use alchemy.

My father shook his head in shame, addressing the man I boasted to, "That's my daughter Éclair. She's a bit of a wild one, but she's capable of much understanding."

The state alchemist bent down to look me in the eyes, " You know girls don't normally use alchemy—"

"But I can! Watch!" I drew a circle on the ground around the broken well, before fixing it. The man was amazed at my skill. He wasn’t expecting my knowledge and power.

The state alchemist's eyes widened. He was shocked at my power. "Wow. Repairing a well—“

My father nods becoming unashamed of me, "She helps me repair the housing and roofing. She's got very well-developed powers, which are strangely stronger than most others. Some are even stronger than mine."

“It’s the fact that when she uses Alchemy her eyes glow. They are typically a light lavender…but they become so vivid. Is this normal?”

My father nods, watching me dance around happily because I impressed the Alchemist, “yes. They’ve always done that. Scared her mother. When they do it strengthens her powers. I’m always afraid they’ll bring on something more, a rebound even. Perhaps even Regret.”

“Regret can’t come out simplify, she’d dominate Éclair before coming out. However Éclair has the ability to counter her. She’s done it for this long so far.”

I walk over to the two men and smile, “tah-dah! Did you like it?

"We may have to take her into the military confinement due to her strength" the man told my father. Confined to the military...I'd be a state alchemist then!

My father shakes his head in disproval, "The further knows about the HW project. I don't think that'll be necessary—"

The alchemist let a think smile run across his face, "Better be safe sometimes. She can stay for now"