C31: A clue

"Use your soul power, not to harm your people, but to reunite the kingdom."

[Hi, Lu... Remember me?]

The words echoed in his head over and over again. A very familiar voice, more than anything to Alan. His eyes flickered and he instantly got up from the bed.

Who was that? What did she want? He started to wonder. But the voice was too familiar to overlook the matter.

No one else called him Lu, except his dead wife... "Liana Grey." But for a matter of fact, he knew that she was dead. But as they say, true love never dies... And this was the only woman he loved for real in his life.

'Ahhh... Must be a wonderful dream. Having her back,' he laid back on the bed once more. Now, come to think of it... How did he get into the bed in the first place?

The last thing he remembered was the people laughing and enjoying the drunk night.

He was still wearing the white long-sleeved shirt with the brown trousers. He had grown quite fond of the hard bed, unusual for a king. Mainly because he was a little commoner before he became the king and grew prideful.

Pulling away the blanket he was covered in, he jumped off the bed. "Damn... Who got me to bed?" He asked himself, pacing his way towards the door.

And just when he reached for the doorknob, there was a knock on the door, more like someone was trying to break into his room, forcefully.

"Alan! You bastard! Wake up!!"

It was the same devilish voice. Elijah Rayworth. "Wait up!" Alan yelled as he grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open.

"Finally... I had to come —" She paused as her gaze fell on Alan's body. Her eyes filled with utter amazement. Alan's shirt was unbuttoned, and his chest was bare.

Elijah couldn't stop staring at that manly chest, but when Alan saw this, he quickly started to do his buttons.

"Uhh... Why the hell did you barge in again?" Alan asked the woman, staring at her dumbfounded face.

"Sorry – I — Ahem!" She coughed proudly once more, retrieving her pride. "You see, we have new members. Rick and Katie came in... Come down and listen to what they've got to say. It's a clue for the bloodstone" she said, turning around to take her to leave.

Alan narrowed his eyes at her, but simply... Not because of her pride. Because her hips were dancing in front of his eyes.

"Oh!" Instantly, Elijah turned around once more. Only now did Alan notice the coat she was holding in her hand.

"This... You remember the old man?" She asked him.

"Yes... Why?"

"He asked me to give this to you. He has grown quite a liking to you, Winry and the other two." She handed the coat to Alan.

"And I must say, for a non-leveling mage, that water serpent skill was epic!" She added before taking her to leave.

'Honestly... I don't even like white." Alan raised the coat in his arms, checking out its color. It was a white overcoat with a pattern of green lines drawn on the edges.

But this was all he had, and it was better than just wearing the goddamn dirty shirt and the trousers. "Haa... This is better, at least —"

When Alan turned and saw him wearing the overcoat in the mirror, he was utterly astonished. Just by seeing him.

"Ho..." he smirked, looking at himself. "Guess the tastes in my past life doesn't matter, cause this bad boy makes me sexy!"

***

"So... You two. What happened in Riverria... Why did Rick and you separate?" Riza asked from the siblings, getting both her feet up.

Katie glared at her little brother. She seemed to be pissed. "Hmph!" She huffed and said, "Why don't you tell them? Stupid brother!"

She huffed angrily and looked away, though, from the inside, it did hurt her.

"Tch! I didn't want my sister to take care of me forever... I wanted to become stronger too! So I went on my path and found the true spirit inside me!" Rick answered, pridefully than ever.

Katie got mad upon hearing this. "Idiot! I took care of you cause you were my little brother! I love you, you know!!"

Rick glanced at her, annoyingly. "Bleh... You love everyone. I'm just... An imp in your eyes. A weight that mom and dad put upon your shoulders."

"Ahhh!!! Stop lying to yourself! I loved you! I just wanted to see you happy. And..." she paused, looking away pridefully.

"...that's why I wanted you to leave the Foxes and come back to me, later."

Rick stared at her, annoyingly once more. "Pfftt! Like you could stop me!" He howled.

"You!!?!?"

The siblings started to fight each other on the couch once more.

All the others sighed while watching this drama. "My God... These sisters and stuff." Luke said to the team, laying back on the couch, waiting for Elijah to arrive.

Everyone was sitting on the couch down at the inn. They were waiting till Elijah took Alan down, so they could finally discuss their plans.

Winry, however, had other things to wonder about.

'Alan... How did you manage to pull off that stunt? And what did you have to tell me before that quest? And...' her cheeks flushed as she thought about this. 'You kissed me in front of everyone yesterday!'

Then, the sound of footsteps came from the stairs. Everyone turned their heads to look at the person approaching them.

It was Elijah and Alan. And the one who was very flashy at the moment was the 'new' Alan.

Winry's eyes sparkled as she saw the grey-haired boy, stepping down the stairs. Her heart raised like never before, making her whole body overheat.

But the most offended one was not Winry, but Riza. She couldn't wait to have a taste of Alan's dragon already, but now, she just wanted to jump on to the boy and do it right away.

Alan came to the table and sat in the middle of Katie and Rick. (Not by his own will, fate led him there.)

Rick and Katie both didn't like the smell of Alan. Both of them stared at him from the corner of their eye.

"Good morning."

That was Alan's first words.

"Good morning!" All the others said, and the siblings followed.

"Now... Let's start with these clues of yours. What do we have a lead on? And who's this blood mage... I don't know anything about it." Alan spoke as if he was the leader of the team.

It felt weird for him to be in the spotlight of a rebel organization... But... What can he do? He just went with what fate led him to.