light_a_spark | Rajmuat, Copper Isles

The change in climate when he stepped through the portal was enormous and Roy wondered if they were just in a different season or if he should be grateful it wasn't. The sun was already warming his dark jacket and he was soon going to wish he had changed into more comfortable clothes. The thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind as he forget about the heat and noticed the city stretching out in front of him. He'd read about Rajmuat already, but knowing the city's history didn't prepare him for just how beautiful it was.

He stood there as long as his worrying allowed him and then he moved along the cobbled path leading towards the city walls. He could have sworn that one of the shapes gliding through the sky above the city was a Kudarung, but it was too far off for him to be sure and he was more than not imagining it.

It wasn't too long of a walk and he wondered if maybe he'd find someone willing to lead him to the palace. He had no desire to get lost inside the city. Not today, anyway. He imagined getting inside the palace would be enough of an adventure as it was. Unless Dove had received the letter he'd send the previous day. He should have waited a bit longer, but once Hawkeye had talked him into going to the Isles to find Aly, he hadn't had much patience left. With a bit of luck, Aly would just be waiting for him at the gates and scold him for worrying or writing to her Queen of all people. He wouldn't mind the scolding if it got rid of that other feeling of unease that something had happened, something had gone wrong.

It didn't take more than a moment for Taybur to pick the tall luarin man out of the masses of people headed down the road towards Rajmuat. Or perhaps it was the dark blue uniform and look of slight bewilderment. Either way, he waited for the other man to pass him before he stepped forward to catch up to him. "General Mustang?" he asked quietly though without a hint of thought that he could be wrong.

Roy stopped instantly and turned around to face the man, his gaze sweeping over the man's uniform. He pushed aside his disappointment as he realised that Dove must have sent the soldier and he nodded. "That's me."

"It wasn't the most difficult guess," Taybur acknowledged with a wry smile. He held out his hand. "Taybur Sibigat, captain of Her Majesty's guard."

The name was familiar and Roy instantly shook his hand. "I figured it might make thinks easier to stand out more," he admitted, explaining why he was still wearing his uniform. "Good to finally put a face to the name, Captain."

He looked amused at the comment but only nodded. "Same here. The Queen asked me to bring you to the Palace."

Any illusions that Aly might have been in Rajmuat faded, but Roy didn't let it show. "I am grateful, your city looks like just the right place to get lost for most of the day."

"You'd be lucky if it were just a day," he replied, starting down the road again, expecting Mustang to follow. "Some of the neighbourhoods are still a mystery to me, and I've lived here my entire life."

"I was counting on the palace being a prominent land mark to move towards," Roy explained. He wanted to ask about Aly, but she was a spymaster and he hadn't quite figured out yet what he was allowed to ask in public.

"And then standing at the gates asking if your friend can come out to play?" Taybur asked, giving him an oddly sympathetic sidelong glance.

"I hadn't figured that part completely out yet," Roy admitted, "but I suppose that would have been the gist of it. I wasn't sure if my letter would have been read yet."

"You won't wonder again after you meet our Queen," he said. "She wasn't surprised to hear from you."

"That either means she's worried as well," Roy said, "or Aly predicted I might show up. That or I'm getting predictable even to people I haven't met yet."

"She told Dove to watch for you," he acknowledged. "No one here's worried." The word 'yet' hung in the air for just a moment.

Roy nodded shortly as he looked around rather than look at Taybur walking beside him. "We were supposed to meet up," he said. "It's harder not to worry when you know nothing of what's going on."

"I know," he agreed. "She knows what she's doing."

Roy nodded. "Which would be why I didn't turn up a week ago," he smirked at Taybur.

He couldn't help chuckling. "So you have a three week limit?"

"It would seem so," Roy allowed. "I'm too used to knowing everything that goes on."

Taybur glanced over at the man and raised an eyebrow significantly.

"As much as possible at least," Roy relented.

"Of course," Taybur agreed, looking amused. "She must appreciate that."

"Honestly, I don't much care if she does or not," Roy said easily.

"And yet here you are," he pointed out.

"I care about her," Roy replied, glancing sideways at Taybur.

"Good to know," he said, not quite questioning Roy's intentions but leaving the impression of it.

Roy snorted and he gave up trying to memorise where they were going as he'd long ago lost track of the turns they'd been taking. "I imagine I'll be having this conversation a few times while I'm here."

"I can't imagine why you'd think that," he replied disingenuously.

"I'm sure that you can," Roy shook his head.

"Those of us here have been waiting a long time to meet you," Taybur said by way of explanation. "Then there's the fact we've never met one of her men before."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "One of her men?" he asked in amusement.

His eyes were amused as he looked over at Roy. "You wouldn't phrase it that way?"

"Depends," Roy said. "Has she been keeping a harem without telling me so?"

"Anything's possible," Taybur admitted. "But probably not that one."

"Good to know," Roy said lightly. "Otherwise this would have turned into a rather awkward conversation."

"You mean where you ask me if I make this trip often shepherding men down to the castle?" he asked.

"I'd probably be more likely to ask you exactly where those men are," Roy mused.

"Doing their duty of course," he said easily, gesturing for Roy to precede him across a stone bridge.

"Soldiers all of them?" he asked, taking the lead over the bridge. He couldn't help looking around alert for... something.

There was movement all around but none of it seemed out of the ordinary as they approached the statue of a kudarung outside the gates of the palace. Taybur shrugged, a fond smile coming to his lips. "The girl has a type," he said quietly.

"I'm not sure she'd appreciate being called a girl," Roy smirked and he stopped for an instant, looking up at the kudarung. "I think I saw one flying earlier."

"She'll cope," he replied, watching Roy look at the kudarung. "I'm sure you'll see more. They flock to the palace."

Roy nodded. "Aly told me about them," he said. "There's one on the ring she got from your Queen."

He smiled, his eye flicking down to the a very similar ring on his hand. "They recognise her. It meant a great deal during the revolution." Taybur gestured for Roy to continue towards the gate.

"I remember reading that," Roy agreed and he cast a final look at the statue before he followed Taybur. "I believe you were mentioned in it too."

He raised an eyebrow. "Which book did she give you?"

"Recent History of the Copper Isles," Roy replied with a smirk. "It was interesting."

Taybur chuckled, rubbing his mouth with his hand. "We'll have to find you some of the more - detailed - ones."

Roy tilted his head curiously. "Involving the cunning one?"

"Quite possibly," he said, starting to grin.

It was met with another grin and Roy shook his head in amusement. "I'm already liking you, Captain."

"There are quite a few more, hrm, sensational tales of her origins that Aly would like to make disappear," Taybur said, nodding to the soldiers as they passed into the palace grounds.

"Sensational tales?" Roy repeated, for a moment distracted from his worrying and just highly entertained. "This I definitely have to hear. Any examples?"

"A popular notion seems to be that she's the Trickster's daughter," Taybur said, likewise amused. "Who was hidden away in the Land of the Gods until she was sent to his defence."

Roy laughed. "A half-goddess? I can see where she would be annoyed."

"I think she's more insulted at the implications that she'd have to be divine to succeed," Taybur said fondly.

Roy managed not to ask the obvious question and nodded. "I can imagine that as well and I would fear what she'd come up with to prove it if no one did believe her."

He shook his head, giving Roy the point without argument. "Other stories claim that Aly is our Queen's half-sister. A bastard luarin child raised to protect her sisters."

"Oh, I'm sure she loves that even more," Roy commented, stopping to take in the ground.

Taybur nodded in silent agreement, pausing as well to let Roy look at the rolling grounds and gardens leading up to the white stone palace.

"I can see why she missed this," Roy said softly.

He glanced over the palace with a proprietorial and fond air. "It never stops being this beautiful."

Roy hummed in agreement, trying not to examine the mix of emotions and he settled back on being worried and wanting answers. "Which way?"

***

When Queen Dovasary received word that Taybur and the new arrival had entered the palace, she quickly drew her meeting to a close and dismissed her ministers. This was going to be interesting enough without five extra pairs of eyes to see and tongues to gossip. That and she knew what Aly's reaction would be if Dove discussed a spying mission in front of any other than those who already were aware. She called Boulaj and sent her for some tea and refreshments. Not that she thought the man would allow himself to be diverted, but because Umma would eventually here of this, and even now Dove would prefer not to receive the look that would result.

The palace was as impressive inside as it was from the outside, but Roy was too focussed on the meeting ahead to take in a lot of its beauty. If something had been wrong, he doubted that he would have been greeted the way that he had been by Taybur. Knowing that still did very little to put his mind at ease and he was blaming old age. Something he felt even more when Taybur led him towards the young queen. Dove might not have been his queen, but he snapped to attention before bowing before her. "Your majesty."

She nodded and gestured for Roy to come closer as she did him the honour of standing and offering him her hand. "General Mustang," she replied. "I had hoped to meet you under better circumstances."

"The feeling is entirely mutual," Roy said wryly, moving forward to take the offered hand. He bowed as he gave her a hand kiss, careful to not actually touch her skin.

Dove flushed slightly, not realising his intention until he'd already bowed over her hand. "Will you sit down?" she asked, waiting for him to straighten up again before she reclaimed her hand and sank back into her seat. She glanced up at Taybur and nodded to him. With a short bow, the man turned to leave.

Roy made no sign that he noticed the blushing and moved to the right side of the table, figuring the room was too large to sit on the opposite end. "Thank you for receiving me," he said as he took a seat.

"Your letter wasn't altogether unexpected," she replied, beckoning to Boulaj to pour them tea.

"Your captain suggested something to that nature," he replied as he watched Boulaj for a moment. "Which leads me to guess that Aly was aware this might happen."

She nodded. "Not in the way you might think," Dove said. "Rather when she returned, she mentioned that if she ended up out of touch for a period of time, a particular General might show up worried about her."

It did settle some of the frustration he'd felt building up, though it robbed him of a chance to scold Aly and get rid of some of the tension he'd been dealing with. "She knows me too well," he allowed.

"It's Aly," she said with a shrug, thinking that explained everything.

He hummed, but he was tired of the small talk. "So how worried do I need to be?"

Dove twisted her lips, an unconscious imitation of Aly's manner. "The last report I received was four days ago. She's due for another in the next day or so. She's not hurt at all if that's what you're worried about. Just frustrated."

"But she hasn't missed a check in?" he asked.

"Her last was the backup time," Dove admitted. She studied Roy across the table as she reached for her cup of tea and took a slow sip. "Shall you stay until she returns to Rajmuat?"

He frowned and he knew that going back would just have him worrying more. "If you don't mind the intrusion on your hospitality, your majesty."

"I wouldn't have asked if you were not welcome," she said, still studying him.

He nodded. "Thank you, I think I will. I believe I was driving my subordinates crazy," he said with a wry smile.

"So they 'suggested' you come here?" Dove asked, slightly amused.

"I believe that's one way to put it," Roy allowed and he chuckled. "You sound like you're familiar with those kind of suggestions."

She smiled back at him. "I have been known to receive them from time to time."

"I'm certain Aly would claim ignorance if she was here," Roy said, his fondness for her obvious in his tone.

Dove chuckled and sat back in her chair, obviously studying Roy. "So tell me about yourself."

He looked amused and copied her as he leaned back and met her gaze. "Are you saying Aly refused to answer when you asked her about me?"

"Not at all," Dove sad. "I know what she said. I'm curious about what you'll say."

"She'd have said that I'm a General," Roy decided, not quite answering. "Not too long ago I would have disagreed with her, but I'm not now."

"As your letter suggested, yes," she replied, raising an eyebrow.

"If I asked you to tell me about yourself, would you not say that you're Queen?" he asked, smirking at her.

"I'd give you the credit of already knowing that," Dove said, shaking her head at the smirk.

"Point," he allowed, "but the rank can be defining."

She looked curious. "And is it?"

"I find it too easy if I were to just answer this," he said lightly. "Aly speaks highly of you, so I expect that you are more than capable of figuring it out for yourself."

"Then tell me more," Dove said, her bearing regal. "I'd like to hear about your world from you."

His world he could more easily talk about and Roy nodded. "Well for one thing, we don't have magic, only alchemy."

[Preplayed with the awesome