Chapter Text
It is a beautiful morning in Alphonse Elric's eyes, the soft chirp of the birds, the steady, soft flow of a small current in his appointed chambers by the gardens. Xing was such a green empire. Whereas Xerxes was hot, a never-ending desert, Xing was full of vegetation; trees, rivers, and cold yet humid temperature. He feels a pang of guilt as he remembers why he is there; as future king, the heir to the Xerxesian throne, he has to choose his future mate among one of Xing's many clan princesses, a beautiful omega who will leave their country for the sake of a peace treaty, and forge a new pact, strengthening both empire's resources.
But he can't help the guilt he feels to take his future mate from his homeland.
His older brother has always liked to point out every princess would feel honored to be chosen as his future mate. A short distance from their homeland to their new home would not make much difference, but as he feels the peaceful chill in the air as he breathes, he knows the contrast will be too clear for his future mate to feel homesick.
A soft knock on the small parlor outside of his bedroom startles him out of his thoughts, and he quickly walks out of his room to answer.
"Yes?" he calls, opening the door. He is greeted by a beautiful maiden of long dark hair braided in a spiraling circle behind her head, with freckles on her cheeks that cross her small nose bridge, soft black dots painting her beautiful porcelain face, big innocent eyes looking up at him curiously, and then all of her face turns red. Before Alphonse can ask once again what the cute young girl needs, a growling panda peeks over her shoulder, and before it can attack, she grabs it, squealing an apology as she runs away.
"Scaring the princesses already, Al?" an amused voice asks from the other side of the hall as the girl runs away.
"She's one of them?" he asks in surprise, running a hand through his messy, dusty blond hair and wincing. "No wonder she ran away," he groans, looking at his long grey pajamas and light blue unbuttoned gown- most of the buttons had opened during the night, from too much twisting and movement on his bed while sleeping, leaving his toned chest visible.
Edward snorts, reaching his brother, raising his left hand to snap his fingers in front of his eyes, and Alphonse blinks in confusion. "Yes, of course. She was flustered because you're a mess,"
Alphonse blushes and groans, moving to the side for his brother to enter. He wants to protest and prove his point, but he knows it is pointless to argue with Edward Elric, and instead, he asks, "How was your night?"
Ed huffs. "Good enough. Stupid Ling wouldn't have been able to do anything, even if he had tried to if you were wondering," he crosses his arms walking to the bedroom, making a straight beeline to the walk-in closet "Have you chosen what to wear today?" he asks, surveying his clothes carefully arranged in the wardrobe.
"Have you?" Alphonse retorts at his brother's pajamas. As an alpha prince, he wouldn't dare to set foot outside his chambers in pajamas, but it was clear Ed, as an omega prince, didn't give a shit.
"I'm not the one looking for a mate. It's you who have to woo the princess, not I," Edward replies as Alphonse selects a grey pair of traditional Xingese and Xerxesian harem pants, an article of clothing both empires shared as conventional attire. He then grabs a long chang shan of dark satin and red embroidered spider lilies.
"Will you join me today?" he asks as he begins to undress.
Ed flops down onto his bed, tugging a pillow under his arm. "Nope. I'm not supposed to be here, remember?" he asks, frowning at the memory of the condition the counselors of both empires had set for him to join Alphonse. His chambers must be next to the heir prince Ling as a warning to any Xingese alpha that would try to court Ed, and he must remain ignorant of his brother's advances with the Xingese princesses, as to not influence the prince's Alphonse decision, nor present a threat as another omega before the princesses.
' As if I wasn't his brother, ' Ed thinks with a frown. 'As if I couldn't defend myself and bite any bastard's head off at any moment if they tried to court me without my consent!'
"Brother, be nice," Alphonse admonished, buttoning his Chang Shan.
Ed smiles- he loved his baby brother and knew that Alphonse loved him back and felt joy to know Alphonse was going to start his family. They had a strong brotherly bond that not even their father could understand, but then again, there wasn't much King Van Hohenheim could understand; ever since their mother died, he had become a distant father figure. Ed was sure their tutors were closer to him and his brother than their own father.
"Ed! There you are!" Ling shouts, startling both brothers. The alpha prince had jumped down from the roof, entering through the window and running to the bed were Edward lay, flopping down on the other side, making the golden-haired boy sit up.
"What do you want?" he groans, turning and trying to push Ling off the bed.
The alpha prince seemed unfazed by Ed constantly poking him in the ribs; he knew Ed thought of himself threatening, but this omega, in particular, could only be dangerous when using alchemy or pissed off -or so he hoped-. "Ouch! After last night, I thought you would be more gentle with me this morning," Ling pouts, jumping off the bed when Ed lets out an indignant gasp and grabs a pillow. Ling then addresses Alphonse. "Anyway, you are due for breakfast in the east garden with three of the princesses. Lan Fang will take you,"
As if on cue, a knock was heard, and Ling began to push Al out, ignoring all of the pillows thrown at him by Edward. Alphonse looks back, bewildered, and doing his best job to look regal as he is shoved out of his room into Lan Fan's steady hands when he stumbles.
"Remember, be a gentle alpha!" Ling instructs, closing the door behind Alphonse's back, and as he turned back to face Edward, a pillow smacked him in the face "And you need to learn how to be an omega," Ling smirks, skipping to the bed and grabbing the last pillow that hadn't been thrown from Edward's arms. "Now. I need to talk to you,"
"What?" Edward barked, trying to grab the pillow back. "Give it back!"
"Forget the pillow, Ed," Ling sighs, throwing it out by the window. "I need you to listen to me, this is important," he grabs the golden-haired omega by the shoulders, gently. After all, he was a prince, and he took his duties to heart; they would bicker and tease one another relentlessly, but Ling would never hurt this omega. He had known Edward Elric since he was on his dippers and took a personal vow to protect Edward when he learned the omega to be too selfless to see for his needs before the others.
Edward crossed his arms defensively in front of his chest, his molten golden eyes shone like cold steel, glaring at the alpha. "I'm listening,"
Ling hesitates for a moment. To involve Ed would only add heat to the fire that was running haywire between their empires, but he couldn't let the omega out of sight. Not only was Edward under his supervision, but the omega would probably castrate Ling for not warning him of the dangers his brother was about to face. "But first, you have to promise you'll listen 'till the end,"
Ed tries to relax, but the sudden seriousness his obnoxious friend had developed had him on edge, "Promise," he mumbles reluctantly.
"I'm serious, Ed. No interruptions,"
"So am I! Spit it out already! Is the treaty canceled?!" he growls, fear creeping into his voice, eyebrows furrowed. They needed this treaty, or else there would be blood and resources lost from both nations.
"No. But you'll want to have it canceled," Ling retorts, back straight, shoulders square, eyes opened, the complete composure of a dominant alpha, and yet, Edward Elric remained unfazed, "There is this group of revolutionaries…" he began to explain, but the words seemed to escape him, "they want it to be broken,"
Ed quirks an eyebrow. "That's it?"
"They want to kill your brother," Ling blurts out, all tact gone, "and any of my cousins he chooses as his mate,"
Ed takes a deep breath, the omega surprisingly calm for a life and death situation, especially one involving his brother. "Do you know where they are or the reasons?" he asks carefully.
Ling braces himself, suddenly remembering the last time Ed behaved in such a way. He was visiting Xerxes when Alphonse had been reported missing, and the palace was in havoc. Ed had calmly moved across the palace, yet when he saw someone suspicious, he would explode. He would growl in such an un-omegan way that had many of his victims trembling in shame. "No. It was reported that the treason comes from the lower clans and some Xerxesian noble trying to destroy the treaty, but we sent the spies to arrest those we suspected, and they returned with nothing."
Ed eyes burned like liquid, heated gold- you could never know for sure if the omega was in his feral mode because his eyes were already gold, but if you were at his mercy, you were doomed to know the difference. "No? Accusing Xerxes nobles is grave Ling, you know we keep them with a sword at their throats at all times to ensure something like this doesn't happen,"
"I know!" he repeats moving away from the omega "The council just told me to fix it because they know this mess is on our part, and I don't know how to except-" he cuts himself off, because not only did he involve his favorite omega, but he was sure Edward was going to shove the plan up his ass. He jumps off the bed for good measure.
"What!" Ed growls.
"Here is the plan," he smirks, now that he has a reasonable distance from the angry omega. "You and I shall pretend we will mate for the treaty,"
"Why the hell would I do that?!" Edward barks, his small fangs trying to appear threatening to the alpha than can only smile wider at the weirdly enticing view.
"Because only then can your little brother choose his future mate without worrying. We cause a diversion into thinking we are the ones mating for the sake of the treaty, and any assassination attempt they make will be directed at us," Ling argues, carelessly relaxing against the wall, but ready to jump away at any moment, should Ed decide to attack.
Ed's nose scrunches in disgust at the thought, "Ling, I love you like my stupid older brother, I don't think I can fake a relationship with you for the rest of our stay,"
Ling smiles, "Acting is an art for the noble Ed, you must be aware that such skills are required in the royalty," he raises his hands in defeat as the omega growls, "But, I don't plan for our diversion to bear fruit here. The emperor wishes for all his alpha children to present him with a unique gift for the right to defy my place as heir to the throne, but he also said I could join in the contest and present him with something that will secure my place on the throne."
Edward frowned, "Your father is a bastard, but is he allowed to do that?"
"I am heir to the throne until someone else presents the emperor with something of great value, and I am not willing to wait for it to happen when I can secure my place for once and for all,"
"What are you going to give him?"
"I am going on a quest for the Philosopher's Stone in a few days, and considering who you are and how you are, I thought you might wish to join me,"
Edward huffed in annoyance- despite knowing all too well, the prince of Xing meant no offense; he feared the plan would backfire.
"Think about it, Ed. They will believe our mating is the real deal, and they would rather have a Xingese princess mating to an alpha prince of another nation than the alpha heir to the throne mating to a Xerxian omega. That will cause an uproar,"
"This could bring great danger to our nations," he argues, "Your people will go after my head because they will think I am unworthy to be Empress, and my people will go after your head for the same reasons. And what the fuck are you talking about searching for a philosophical stone?! Do you even know what that thing is? We fought wars to eradicate it from our nations."
"Oh! I'm not looking for the stone here," Ling pushes himself off the wall, raising his hands when Edward growled in warning, never mind they had known each other since they were toddlers. "There are rumors, about Amestris knowing many methods to develop the stone and where to find some that already exist,"
Ed bit the inside of his cheek to keep the raw fear tingling over his skin. "That can't be possible,"
"Oh, and I already contacted your eldest brother,"
"You contacted Endy?" Ed snarls.
"Yes, and he quickly agreed,"
"Of course he did! That idiot would do anything to annoy me and get me out of Alphonse side,"
"Don't be like that, Endy is nice," Ling said, remembering all those times they had sparred. The beta prince was humble, patient, and polite, Endy Hohenheim; the prince who decided to take the king's name and wanted the crown couldn't have it because of his betan gender. The crown needs an alpha, and only a male alpha could take the throne; otherwise, the duty would fall on a worthy noble or citizen.
"Endy is an envious asshole!"
"He is not, but that is beside the point!" Ling mutters, "All I ask is if you want to make this easier. I know that you would prefer to hunt these guys down one by one, but you could hurt Alphonse, and if you plan to keep this a secret, he will be angry with you." he tries to reason with the golden omega, make him see what a good idea his own plan was. However ridiculous it actually sounded.
"He will be angry either way, if I tell him I am protecting him once again, or how I never told him I was 'falling for you,'" Ed snorted at the idea, "Which is one of the stupidest shit that has come out of my mouth."
"We could just elope?" Ling suggests, resting his chin on his hand, "Make some scandal, let the lesser make their assumptions, and have a little adventure as we search for the stone?"
Ed snorts. "That's certainly not my way. He will see right through it,"
"Then explain to him how you are under the pressure of choosing your own mate, and you finally couldn't keep denying yourself these feelings for me and how you love me, and-"
"Don't flatter yourself that much," Ed groans.
Edward turns on his heels, leaving the room, he was cruising through the door, ignoring Ling carefully following.
He needs to protect Al. His people's tradition had made him know far too well; his existence's meaning was to protect his baby brother. In Xerxes, Alphas have the power, but Omegas are respected and venerated; and among all Omegas, the ones of royal blood were born to protect the kingdom and their familiars. To serve as Truth will.
Edward had been poisoned, scarred and beaten nearly to death for Alphonse's sake. All he had ever known was to love and protect his brother. There were times in history where younger Omegas were forced to protect their elders, and all of those cases had ended with a death or many; that is why Xerxesian omegas are only required to protect those younger than themselves. But not Edward Elric. He would protect everyone if he could, and as he heard a pair of bubbly giggles from around the corner, he knew he had to let Al be happy. Be it that he may or may not find his mate in the Xingese empire, he had to take the risk.
Seeing him smile and flirt with the small Xingese princess had made his decision for him.
"We leave today," he said, knowing all too well that Ling was one step behind. "Your people in the shadows better make the opposition follow us or else you'll regret making me leave my brother's side,"
Ling smiled at the warning. "Understood,"
***
Alphonse has had a wonderful day. Mei was such a beautiful girl! So intelligent yet so shy, so strong yet so delicate, humble but with an ardent resolve. He smiles wide, treasuring the memory of her smile, her laugh, her big, dark eyes brightening, and his grin only intensifies with happiness at all the topics they had discussed over a stroll in the gardens. He feels terrible for the other Omegas trying to gain his favor with coquettish smiles, playful touches, and their enticing scents, but Mei outshined them with a simple smile.
"Brother!" he calls, entering Edward's chambers. They were surprisingly quiet, and for a moment, he thought his brother was sleeping until he enters the bedroom and finds it empty, the bed perfectly made -so unlike his brother- with a single envelope sitting on the foot of a pillow. He grabs it, and reading his name neatly written by his brother's handwriting, he opens it and wastes no time in reading.
>>
" Al.
Ling and I were bored out of our minds, we went on a trip. Take care, be careful, and enjoy yourself.
I'll return before you propose to that cute Mei princess.
Love you,
Edward.
PS: Yes, we are doing something stupid, but I promise to be careful. DO. NOT. WORRY."
<<
He was startled by the sound of drums and feet rushing to the room, all he could hear was a voice screaming.
"HIS MAJESTY PRINCE LING IS MISSING!" closely followed by "HIS MAJESTY PRINCE EDWARD IS MISSING!"
And so the rumors began.
"You think they eloped?"