A princess's day off

[Guest]

After her encounter with the twins, Ao had figured out she needed a map. And she found one. She had found her way to central, hearing it as a popular epicenter for ongoings. Curiosity piqued her interest, considering the only culture she had ever experienced was her own.

Dodging in and out of a restroom she felt like she stood out a bit with her odd clothing compared to the people around central. Deciding to fix that problem, by quickly grabbing another store clerk and purchasing some different clothes, she slipped back into a restroom to change to something less 'sore-thumb' like in appearance.

On her body sat a floral-print dress with a bow in the back and a sunhat. Looking around, she found herself fitting in much better. She managed a smile and decided to glaze around for something to do. What did people do in Amestris? From what she could see, they only yelled and ran around frantically. With a sigh and a frown she planted her small body onto a bench and closed her eyes. If Sonai was here, he'd know fun things to do. But of course he was still on his 'police action' mission which annoyed her more so. Maybe she needed to get her mind off of it all. Slowly she wondered if maybe she should have waited for the twins, but the danger made her feel happy, like she could get away when she wanted. Away from her duties and the world where she is a wordless doll for people to adore.

A smile on her face now, Ao wondered if Sonai did fun things while he was here. However that thought made her frown. What did he consider fun here? It could be something completely different. Would this place change him? She chewed her pale pink lips and let out an exasperated breath. The warm honey color of her hair flitting in the soft wind beneath the shades of green blue and white. She inhaled the scent of flowers softly before, stretching out her arms with a groan. She was still sore from sleeping what little she did on the stony floor of the cave. Her body ached and her legs were tired. However she didn't show it and simply watched people come and go from the bench on which she sat.

[Spade Aeries]

"Hey there..." Spade grinned from behind a pair of flashy sunglasses. He lowered them to the tip of his nose and bent down to meet her eyes. "I couldn't help but notice how much you resembled those flowers blooming next to you..." He stood back to his full height and sat beside her on the very opposite side of the bench so she wouldn't be weirded out by his advances. Flipping wavy brown hair from his face, he ran his hands through it, to keep the wind from blowing it back as it was.

He had come straight from his apartment to go food shopping so he didn't starve. The alcoholic couldn't very well live off liquid...unfortunately. He needed to get microwavable meals so he could survive the next couple of weeks before he had to go out and buy more. What a boring, depressing cycle. He would eat out more, but eating out alone was depressing. And he refused to take a girl he had just picked up out to a fancy restaurant. The last time...he had been to one was with Shirley. Spade planned to leave it at that. He would fool around with women, but he would never give them or him the illusion that it was real.

"You look Xingese. How gorgeous." 'Course that would never stop him from flirting.

[Guest]

Ao had been zoning and for a moment it seemed she was looking right through Spade. Her thoughts convulsing simply o her Xingese worries before she finally realized that a man was speaking to her. Recovering from lala land she looked at him strangely, his words sounded foreign... oh wait they were. Luckily she had been taught Amestrian while she was young and could talk. "Huh? Me? No no, you're seeing things." She laughed lightly. "Why would a person look like flowers?" Ever-so sheltered Ao didn't know the man was flirting and in fact thought his comment was silly.

"You are strange approaching me if you know where I yield from." She blinked and looked at him curiously. "Are you an assassin perhaps?" The blues of her eyes slitted as she watched him warily while he sat beside her. He was strange to her with his wavy brown hair and the shades. The pale skin on top of it making the strangeness even more for her. It was her first trip to Amestris and it showed. As well she wasn't used to conversation. The gorgeous comment admittingly made her blush faintly. She sniffed and looked away stubbornly. "What is your name?" she asked curiously, the suspicious glare dropping almost immediately.

[Spade Aeries]

...

Okay, Spade obviously failed...epically. He needed to try a different approach...possibly. Cocking his head to the side, he brought a navy-blue gloved hand to his smooth, shaven chin in thought. Okay... Now, how to react...?

He smiled gallantly at her, "It's a simile for how beautiful you are." Spade winked from over top his sunglasses, leaning back on the bench. "And if I were an assassin...I'm sure you would have realized it yourself," he laughed lightly, wondering why she had said such a thing. Wait... Spade blinked. What if she was someone important? Like...an ambassador or something? She really looked Xingese, but Spade was adherent to embarrassing himself. He couldn't just assume, yet..she didn't deny it. Didn't she imply that his assumption was correct with her question the followed? She did very much so appear to be wary of him. Well, ...she had good sense. Spade laughed inwardly. Time to test out his theory.

"I'm Spade Aeries; I run Central HQ," he said in perfect Xingese.

[Guest]

Ao frowned as he winked. "Is something in your eyes sir?" Yes Ao was oblivious to someone hitting on her. It was something people didn't dare do in Xing for obvious reasons,. but of course here, she wasn't princess Shuskei Ao Rui, a pedestrian on the streets of Amestris without her bodyguards. Her blue eyes however looked upon him with eyes that seemed to ask what he was talking about, though being called beautiful did give her a soft red in her cheeks. Her head turned away a moment, she may have been married, but she was still young and sometimes her changing hormones confused her. That and it wasn't often she interacted with men anyways.

She looked shocked when he spoke in Xing, but smiled softly finding it sweet that he would try talking in her language. Of course, she found it odd, was he trying to trick her? It was possible, but it wasn't a sure thing. Nodding her head, she held out her hand, deciding to be polite and humor him.

"I am Shuskei Ao Rui, It is a pleasure to meet you, Aeries." Her voice sounded more sweet in her known language and seemed to ring like a soft bell. Pushing a bang of her brown hair behind her ear. "It is odd to find an Amestrian who speaks well enough Xingese?" It sounded more as a question because Ao wasn't sure if it was true or not, but from the few people she had run into they all seemed to only speak Amestrian and were slightly afraid when she had come in in her Xingese clothing. She wondered if her husband being here sparked a sort of xenophobia.

[Spade Aeries]

Spade slapped a hand to his perspirated forehead. Come now... was she serious? He sighed and lowered his hand and replied in a sulking tone: "That's right, just something in my eye..."

Everything changed then. When she spoke, the foreign words swarmed into Spade's calculating mind. One that everyone called genius, but one he doubted in himself. What was he hearing? No, the name had to be wrong. He looked at her closer with scrutinizing emerald eyes. No way. He had been hitting on a 15-year-old child!! Oh, and she was the Empress of Xing too. Shit!! Spade was ashamed of himself. What a terrible lecherous playboy he was! All well. Just had to move on now...

He rose from the bench and knelt in the dry dirt below--royally like a knight would be in shining armor. He looked up to her, a twinkle in his eye. "My beautiful Shuskei Ao Rui, it is a great honor to meet you." He bowed elegantly, an arm across his strong chest. He raised his hand slowly and by the time it reached its place on his shoulders, the facade melted away. Before her now knelt a long, wavy-haired womanizer who reeked of booze and cigarettes.

He stood up, brushing the sepia dust off his jeans. He returned to his seat and shot her a crooked smile, but his eyes remained entirely serious. "It is terrible to lose a husband being so young..." He removed his sunglasses and folded them in his shirt pocket. "Fort Briggs has always had a dangerous climate..."

[Guest]

Ao looked at him and smiled sweetly; innocently as she was. With a soft shiver she only just realized it was colder than in Xing. Then again Xing had always been a warm climate. Her eyes reflected softly at the thoughts in her mind. She was concerned about everything. Would Xing be ok without either her nor Sonai there?

Suddenly the man stood and she was confused. What was he doing? As he moved she caught the strong odor of a bitter alcohol and some kind of strange smoke. He bowed courteously before her and said another compliment upon her before rising once more. She was blushing faintly, but came to and nodded. "Thank you. As it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

As he continued his words, she blinked. "What do you mean? My husband is fine." She laughed and waved her hand. "Silly man. You must have worded wrong." Her words sounded wise and yet it was clear they were full of fear. What was he talking about? He was implying the emperor was... was.. The thought alone brought a sting to her eyes and before she realized it there was a sudden drip of warmth down her cheeks. Her eyes burnt and once realizing this, she let out a sort of whimper and rubbed her eyes, wiping away the tears with ease. "Sorry something.. in my eye as well." She lied slightly. It was cruel someone decided to try and pull such an awful prank on her. Her hands rested on her chest with a sad look of pain on her face.

[Spade Aeries]

Tears. Tears!! Tears. Spade has a short mental breakdown inside. His heartbeat sped up and his blood ran cold. His bangs gathered the sweat from his forehead in the midday heat. She didn't know. This poor youngly-wed girl had no idea that her husband had died at Briggs when he wandered off in a blizzard. The fool. Making a beautiful girl cry like this. Spade's arm hair stood on end. It was a sin. Unethical! He shuddered. Something had to be done... But using his usual methods wouldn't work on her let alone be appropriate considering...well, her age, status, and more... Spade bit his lip. Shit. Life really sucked!

He held out a quivering hand. It hovered there a moment before traveling to her shoulder where it came to rest. She felt much colder than him. But it was like seventy degrees out! He blinked, ordering his mind to focus on what mattered rather than the little things. This here was a dire moment. Don't fuck it up Spade Aeries you bastard! He was thankful that one: he didn't have a hangover and two: he wasn't drunk. Chaos would have ensued. He had to focus--to calculate the best way to approach the situation.

"Princess Ao... Emperor Sonai has passed on," he said lightly, his voice no longer holding the lazy slur it always did. It was very obvious that the brigadier general was completely focused, wary, and aware of every word, sentence, and movement down to the motion of Ao blinking. "They...must be looking everywhere for you. You..are the sole ruler of Xing now." He tried to smile, though his eyes remained affectionate. Time for the Spade-attempt-at-humor-cheer-up-method! "Please don't start a war with Amestris anytime soon. I'd hate to fight such a breath-taking empress."

[Guest]

Ao was stiff as her mind tried to register the news. Her husband... was dead? No that couldn't be right. Sonai was coming home. He would be here soon, right? Yet.. somehow she had a feeling it was true. The pain could only be equaled to a stab in the heart. Her eyes clenched shut and she grit her teeth, "I-I mustn't cry." she whispered to herself. "Not here." Shakily she stood as she looked at Spade softly, her eyes almost covered in a never-ending sadness. "It was better someone told me. I am sure it was not easy for you to do. I thank you for that." Her hands held over her chest as she gave a brief bow. "But as you say perhaps... I should get home. Xing will be in a state of chaos... without a leader."

She was young and it showed in her eyes, that pain and yet she was strong. She had to go on. She had to hold it in, lest Xing look weak. As much as she wanted to just tear herself apart she knew that one life to save herself would only dishonor Sonai's name. She had to go on. As Spade joked she managed a weak grin. "No worries, I'd rather prefer having peace. I do not wish to see people die. In fact could you tell a miss Reila in about a week I would like to see her. I will be allying Xing with This Fort Briggs in Sonai's place. I just need a time to.... organize my people." She said half heartedly, her blue eyes clouded by distraught and frustrated feelings. Would she be the end of Xing? She wondered and thought; it was possible.

Her hair blew briefly in the wind and her face still had a beauty to it. In a way however it was like a winter beauty. A sadness that struck as cold and yet enraptured the once warmth around it. Her cyan eyes seeming to block off her mind for now. "I have one more request of you, if you don't mind. I need a couple of guards on the way back. The loss of one royalty is enough for Xing." she said weakly. "If not, it is ok. I'll manage on my own if I hurry." Her eyes were on him and yet they were miles away; lost in the whirs of her mind. The wheels sending her stuck in circles of her duties, there was no time to mourn. She was trusting this man with a lot and at the same time distrusting those around her. To keep the people around them out of the loop, her words were all in Xingese.

[Spade Aeries]

It was clear from her eyes that she didn't know what to do. To take on such a heavy responsibility was too much for anyone let alone someone so young. Spade stared at her, his own eyes feeling heavy with rejection. How could the world be so cruel? He stood up with her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He had no words; he only looked down and shook his head. She was being strong. There were no sobs or wails that echoed in his mind from his past experiences. But that was exactly the problem.

She already knew she had to bear the weight of her country now. It was terrible that she couldn't shed her grief first, but...Spade understood. He understood and could only shake his head and manage his usual flirty joke. And she was entirely right. What was she doing here in Central City, Amestris anyway? Ah hell, it didn't matter really, did it?

Spade let his arm drop and tried to smile. "I will tell her." There was no use explaining the oddity of allying only with Fort Briggs or that the Fuhrer was purposely arranging everything. Still, Spade did not want to fight her. Ever. It was so terrible. "Remember," he tried, "you can do it. No matter what it is." Peace... they were all after the same thing. So why, why-- Spade was getting sappy. He hit himself over the head and laughed nervously, attempting to melt the winter in her eyes into the season it was supposed to be. "Right, right, take my helicopter! I'll have Josef escort you back to Xing. It's only twelve hours away! No sweat. Just after you step off the helicopter, pretend you've never met me."

<3 [EXIT THREAD] <3

[Guest]

There was an awkward silence as she listened to his words. Her mind was bothered, but she let that slip past as she watched him explain what she was going to do. She would head home, be there in half a day and then it was up to her. With a slight bow she smiled and leaned up, kissing Spade on the cheek as a form of thanks. "I am greatly thankful for all you have done to help. Please be safe and if our paths cross again may they be in good times." With that said, she turned and walked off, remembering what he had said: she needed to act as if she never knew him. Acting.. Ao needed to become very good at for the sake of Xing. It shone in her eyes as she vanished to find the man she was looking for.

[ehnn crappy exit post XD]

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