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Could it be? For a moment Ling had thought his eyes deceived him, that after all those years he'd seen her again, in a foreign country of all places. He ditched his two friends, from boarding school and now university, who had been so kind, mostly the younger brother, to let him come along with them to visit their old teacher in the South so he could have the chance to see more of Amestris beyond the limits of East and Central.
He couldn't care less for Edward's screams, he ran. What in the world was she doing in Amestris? Let alone with a theater troupe!
Ling ran to the group of Xingese performers, one person among them, disappearing inside through the back of a building. After nearly colliding with three different people he managed to follow after her. She entered a room and left the door open.
Ling steadied his breath, gently knocking against the doorframe, he shouldn't peek inside.
“Yes? Director?”
Ling could see her arranging a costume out of a trunk, the blue and turquoise of the Green Snake. They watched that opera once, as children back home when an opera troupe passed by the city. She hadn't noticed him.
Ling knocked again.
“Yes?” She said barely turning around, then fully turning with her eyes wide, her posture becoming defensive “Mister?”
“Lanfan, how could you have forgotten the scented sachet I gave to you? Or was it too embarrassing to wear it while working?”
She stared, her body still tense. Then, realization.
“Young Master–”
“I can't believe it! After all the trouble I had and all the scolding from mother for embroidering it myself.”
“Young Master, I would never–! It has worn out over the years!”
Lanfan ran to the doorframe, her fists clenched. Ling couldn't help but smile.
“What is Young Master doing here?”
“Passing by. What are you doing in an opera troupe?”
“I… this servant had nowhere to go.”
Ling frowned, both at what she said and the use of ‘this servant’.
“What do you mean?”
“Young Master shouldn't concern himself over this simple matter–”
“Lanfan, what do you mean by having nowhere to go? Tell me, please?”
Lanfan looked around the small room, walked towards the trunk, closed and gestured towards it.
“Please, come in.”
Ling entered the room, it had a few costumes on display, the white robes of the White Snake, colorful robes for the dancers and background characters. An improvised dressing room perhaps? He sat on the trunk, patting the empty space left.
“I can't–”
“Will you tell me what happened? If yes, then sit too.”
Lanfan looked back at the open door, then sat down beside him, skittish and tense.
“Grandfather passed away a while after Young Master left to study abroad, this one was kicked out of the household by the First Madam. The Second and Third Madams begged her to keep this one as a maid, but the First Madam was hellbent on having me kicked out since one had no use in housework or sewing.”
Lanfan played with the hem of her tunic, simple plain gray fabric. She sighed softly, almost impossible to hear.
“I never learned any typical skills a maid would need, no household would take a useless servant, so I took all the martial arts and acrobatics grandfather taught us as children and joined an opera troupe. All I needed was to learn how to sing so I could play as a Wu Dan.”
“So, you're Xiao Qing?”
She perks up and quickly glances at the blue and turquoise robes.
“Yes, this is the first time I'm allowed to perform as a Dan. Mister Zhang is a strict teacher… No one has come close to taking the leading roles from his hands for years.”
Ling smiles, she seems less tense, if not a little appalled by talking about her teacher.
“And he plays…?”
“Bai Suzhen. He's the leading star of the troupe and also the teacher of all who perform Dan roles.” Lanfan covers her mouth with one hand, a learned delicate movement, unnatural to how she used to move.
Just how much can happen in six years? Has she been training this entire time? Was she kicked out by his first stepmother right after he left? Things have changed, she had changed so much.
There's a tightness in Ling’s chest he can't quite explain.
“As strict as he is, he got all of us to tour around the country, we even performed at the capital!”
Things have definitely changed drastically. He looked at the blue and turquoise of the costume.
“And now, we are in a foreign land on tour.” Lanfan smiled from the corner of his eye “Young Master must see it, this one remembers how much Young Master liked the play when that troupe passed by the city and the Third Madam took all of us children to watch it, the little Young Mistress could barely walk at that age.”
“That is true, we were very young. Meimei cried from the noise.” He said, chuckling.
“Young Master cried too, when the White Snake died.”
Ling choked on air, suddenly fully turning his head to her again. Lanfan was still smiling.
“I did not!”
“Young Master most certainly did.”
There was mirth in her voice, in her eyes. Ling felt his face getting warm.
“Well– Even if I did, I was a child. Bai Suzhen is a tragic heroine.”
Lanfan covered her mouth again, her eyes still smiling. She looked relaxed, it was as if the years apart never happened.
“Do you–” Ling coughed, his voice cracking for a moment “Do you remember when we tried to imitate the acrobatics of it?”
“Yes, grandfather and the Second Madam were so furious we tried using real swords.”
Ling laughed. He remembers getting quite the beating from his mother, silk shoes can be quite the weapon in the right hands. Not as bad as Lanfan who was made to kneel outside for hours on end.
The courtyard of his mother's quarters was probably the happiest place of his life. He trained, played, spent the happiest years of his, of their childhoods there.
Ling missed those days greatly, the days before his first stepmother just shoved him away to study abroad. Something about the first Young Master of the house getting a formidable education, or maybe she just truly hated his mother for being someone who could have a child and hated him by proxy.
“Remember how we watched the fireworks? Or when we sneaked to climb on the tree to watch the street during new year. Or those nights playing in the courtyard!”
“Grandfather playing the dizi…”
“As we kept telling each other ghost stories of the past.”
Ling gently touched her shoulder, Lanfan froze.
“I missed you.”
Her faced softened.
“This one is glad Young Master is well. This one has also missed those happy years.”
“Now, Lanfan, we are not master and servant anymore, you don't need to speak like that.” the hand on her shoulder went to hold her hand “We are childhood friends! There are no hierarchies between friends, yes?”
Her face flushed, her eyes wide. Lanfan tried to pull her hand away.
“I would not dare–”
“Humor me just this once? I always saw you as my friend, and now I get to brag that my friend is a star.”
“Young Master…”
“You used to call me A-Ling, jiejie.”
Her face was funny, not angry or scared, just a funny embarrassed face, her cheeks red and her expression a little pathetic.
“One– I can't, Young Master is still a noble, I'm a mere actress.”
“But jiejie is my elder, and famous!”
A strangled sound left her throat, Lanfan tried to pull away again, her face flushing even more.
“Young Master shouldn't be so casual…”
“But we are friends!”
“We are not children anymore–”
“Please? For years I couldn't even see you. Is it so bad I miss my closest friend?” He whined, grabbing her other hand.
Lanfan looked away. Ling tried not smiling, he had to keep up the pitiful act to win over her sympathy.
“Please?”
Another moment of silence and she turned back to look at him and opened her mouth until a cough startled them both and made Lanfan quickly get up and pull her hands from his grasp.
An older man at the door, his hair cut short like an Amestrian, his clothes were the plain robes performers wore underneath their costumes.
“Little Miss Orchid, just who is this young man?” He asked, arching his eyebrow.
“Mister Zhang! He– He is my childhood friend Young Master Yao! That's all!” Lanfan squawked.
Ling eyes went wide. Well, that was a surprise, especially considering how flustered she still looked.
“How adorable. Friends are still not allowed backstage, childhood or not. Boy, leave.”
He got up and quickly curtisied the man, Mister Zhang, and smiled.
“My apologies, sir, I just haven't seen her in so long so I just followed so we could catch up.”
Mister Zhang looked him up and down, his face still mildly annoyed.
“Well, maybe you two could catch up later, we have to get ready and Little Miss Orchid,” he turned to Lanfan “I want this boy out of any of the rooms we are using as dressing rooms.”
Lanfan nodded and suddenly grabbed his wrist to drag him outside. Out of the room and past a still annoyed Mister Zhang, though the small corridor and then past the same door he entered the building.
Ling realized her hands were more calloused than he remembered at fifteen.
“I'm so sorry, Young Master–”
“It's alright, jiejie said her teacher was strict.”
“Please do not call me that.” Lanfan squawked again “And Mister Zhang means well.”
“Of course. I should be the one apologizing for the trouble.”
Lanfan nodded, then silence, an awkward silence.
“We are going to do a demonstration at the main commercial street tonight, the troupe, just to gather curious eyes until we depart to South City for a proper theater.”
“Like back home?”
“In a way… Will the Young Master come to watch?”
Ling felt something in his chest, something warm and fuzzy and somewhat nostalgic.
“I would never dare miss it.”
Lanfan finally relaxed again. The feeling intensified, Ling clenched his fists behind his back.
“It's just a simple acrobatics demonstration, it's not a proper show.”
“Still, I'm honored to be invited by you, Miss Lanfan.”
She flushed.
“Well, you did ask me to not call you so casually.” Ling smiled and leaned down a little “Or should I call you Little Miss Orchid?”
“Please don't.” She groaned.
Ling leaned back and laughed.
“Of course, of course. See you later, Miss Lanfan.”
“See you later, A-Ling.”
With that she vanished so fast Ling could only hear the door closing. The use of the affectionate nickname sunk in, his face warming and chest feeling ever fuzzier. Ling couldn't help the grin from ear to ear.
“Why are we even out? If I wanted to watch a Xingese clown I could just look at your stupid face.”
Ling rolled his eyes. Edward could be meaner, which means he's mostly in a good mood.
“I fancy myself as more of a Sheng than a Chou.”
“A what now?”
“Heroic male role.”
He heard a snort.
“Brother, stop.” Alphonse hissed.
“In what world is this idiot heroic? Not ours for certain.”
“I'm plenty heroic.”
“Are you? As far as I remember from the dormitories, you always got us into trouble.”
That was not true, Edward got them into trouble a lot of the time, mostly due to his temper. Ling simply liked to sneak out to eat outside of curfew, not nearly as bad as trying to fight a professor!
“It is in the past, are we not friends?”
A grumble along with a sigh.
“Don't mind brother, he's mad about earlier.”
“I am not!”
Ling turned around, hands behind his back as he kept walking backwards.
“I apologized already!”
“For vanishing and getting lost, which doesn't really bring back all the time we lost searching for your stupid ass.”
He could be meaner. Alphonse rolled his eyes.
“Well, it was very rude and definitely a bad move, but at least it got us invited to a show. It's something to write back to granny and Winry.”
“Tsc.”
Alphonse rolled his eyes again while shaking his head.
“Don't mind him. What is the show about?”
Ling slowed his pace to walk beside Alphonse, it wasn't wise to walk beside a still grumpy Edward.
“It's not the proper opera, mostly scenes where the choreography is supposed to emulate fighting! It has a lot of acrobatics and tricks with weapons. If I remember correctly, it would be midway through the actual opera.”
“So, like dancing while handling weapons?”
“That too. A lot of jumping and balancing as well.”
Alphonse nodded, Edward grumbled again. They walked a little slower than Ling would have liked but it's not like he knew much about the city to begin with. It took a few minutes until they reached the commercial street. He realized there was the front of the building from earlier where the actors entered through the back. It was a shop, probably rented or borrowed just for tonight.
There was barely a crowd other than some curious onlookers. They arrived on time, thankfully. After only a few minutes some musicians set up their instruments, then the sound of drums and plates, flutes playing high pitched notes. The cacophony of sounds and instruments mixing and starting to attract a crowd.
Suddenly acrobats in colorful costumes came from the dark, jumping and rolling as the rhythm marked every step they took walking. The bright colors, shiny and with patterns Ling hadn't seen in years in person. He missed home.
Blue silk, the water, in tapestries being waved and the acrobats kept on jumping. The music slowed for a moment, the acrobats doing one final flip until a dramatic pose. The blue silk disappeared and there were the two snakes in combat poses.
Mr. Zhang looked like an entirely different person as the female lead, his face painted in white and red like a Dan. Then, Lanfan all dressed in blue and turquoise, her face painted as well. So different with all the heavy makeup, and yet her eyes were just the same.
The music picked up and the acrobats made way for the snake sisters, each with a weapon in hand. The White Snake carried a spear, the Green Snake carried two swords. The acrobats vanished and more actors carrying weapons appeared and the dance started. The complicated spinning choreography of fighting. Twirling with grace and precision, weapons hit one another on the beat of the music.
It slowed again and most of the actors disappeared into the shadows leaving only Lanfan and four others carrying spears. Ling gasped in pure delight, the most crucial ability a Wu Dan needed to know, spear kicking!
She slowly walked to the center of the formation, then the music picked up pace again and the four actors started throwing and juggling the spears. Lanfan kicked them high as they passed through her. She twirled and kicked two spears at once, then a pose, her swords held above her head.
The other actors returned and the battle was about to begin once again and the music stopped in one dramatic formation of the water creatures against the warriors, the snake sisters obviously leading the water creatures.
Ling felt like a young boy watching it all over again, the difference was that Lanfan was not beside him clutching at his arm, too amazed and distracted to realize it, but there, performing dressed in beautiful shades that resembled water.
Another actor came from the shadows, the scholarly costume and Sheng makeup. He bowed to the crowd that formed and smiled.
“Esteemed guests, thank you for your presence!” came in Amestrian with very little accent “Allow us to show an excerpt of The legend of the White Snake. Our troupe is touring Amestris and will soon head to South City. We invite you to come and watch.”
Most of the actors and acrobats left, leaving only the trio that would argue at the broken bridge. The music started again, less drums and more melodic.
“Why are they singing in falsetto?” Edward very rudely took Ling out of his trance.
“It's easier for a big audience to hear, like how opera here people extend the notes until there's no air left.”
Ling almost missed Lanfan chasing the man around with the swords in hand until she was stopped by the White Snake, begging and reasoning to not kill her husband despite his betrayal.
“What are they saying?”
Ling felt his eye twitch for a moment. He brought that upon himself by never trying to teach his friends a single word in Xingese.
“The man betrayed his wife, the one in white, and her sister, the one in blue, is trying to kill him in retaliation.”
Edward snorted quite loudly. It was funny, this was always a hilarious scene in the opera regardless of the troupe or regional style.
“Serves him right.”
“She forgives him.”
“Boring.”
“Brother!”
“It's a classic love story, it's more complicated than that.”
The sound of their voices, mostly Edward complaining, was muffled by the actors' voices. Ling smiled once he heard Lanfan sing how that ungrateful man should die by her sword. She was good, especially since it was a debut of sorts.
She had a good voice and elegant movements, he wished he could have seen how Lanfan learned to sing well in the past years. How he wished he could have seen how all her efforts brought her to this moment. To see her triumph, on a proper stage and not a simple street performance.
In that moment seeing her dressed as the Green Snake, Ling decided he had to go see her again in South City. All he had to do was convince his dear friends to come along.
“Can you find your way back on your own?”
“Of course.”
“We are not coming back to get you again! You'll sleep on the street if you can't!”
“I know, I know. Ed, it almost feels like you care about me.”
“As if!” He sputtered.
Alphonse sighs, almost inaudible.
“We're friends, of course we care. But the warning stands, Ling, if you can't make it back we will not leave in the middle of the night just to pick you up.”
“I know, no need to worry. I paid attention earlier.”
Alphonse nods, grabbing his brother by the arm.
“We're not sleeping soon, but if you do take too long, knock on the window until we wake up to open the door for you. Better us than our teacher or uncle Seig in the middle of the night.”
Ling smiled and nodded. Edward mumbled about not getting up just to open the door for an idiot as Alphonse dragged him back to their old teacher's home. Ling waved as they walked away, then turned to the remaining actors disassembling what they put up for the street performance.
“Miss Lanfan.”
She turned around holding dozens of prop spears, still in full costume. Then her face softened into something that could be almost called a smile.
“Did Young Master enjoy the show?”
“Of course! Truly, all of you are masters of your art!” He chuckled.
“I cannot take such high praise, I am the one farthest from being a master.”
“But you do! You were amazing.”
Her face contorted a bit, embarrassment maybe, he couldn't tell under the heavy makeup.
“I'm not as good as my seniors, I have a long way to go.”
“It makes you even more amazing then, your first big role and you sang like someone with years of experience.”
She looked away and held the prop spears tighter. It felt like Lanfan was trying to hide in her collar like she did when they were children.
“Do you want help?”
“No need.” She mumbled.
Lanfan didn't shoo him away, so Ling simply kept following her around as she picked and stored props away. Then suddenly she spoke again.
“Will Young Master come to South City as well? We'll only be able to do the full opera there.”
There was something in her voice, in her eyes. Expectation perhaps, hope even.
“Of course! It's unlikely I'll be there for the first few shows, but I'll surely find a way to see you again.”
Lanfan covered her mouth again, the same practiced elegance that was unnatural to how she moved from earlier. Then she looked up, still covering her mouth, a hint of a smile in her eyes. Ling smiled. Before he could speak again, a girl from the troupe called for Lanfan.
“I must go, I hope to see the Young Master soon.”
“Yes. I'll see you in South City.”
Lanfan nodded, the hint of a smile still there in her eyes, then walked away. Ling waved even though she did not turn back to see.
He turned around, the slight light of street lamps in the dark of the night. All there was left was to go back to the Curtis’ house and hopefully wake up Alphonse and not Edward.
Ling knew the way, mostly. It was dark and Amestrian buildings look pretty much the same with the lights off and closed windows unless you were in the far countryside. Maybe he turned around the same street lamp twice, but it was alright, he just had to keep walking.
The streets were quiet, Ling stopped and squinted towards a sign. He did not pass through that before, it wasn't a third turn thankfully. He kept on walking and turned around a corner, an almost straight deserted path that seemed to be the back of the street he was in.
It was darker but still clear enough to see and hopefully not fall face first on the ground. As he kept walking, a sudden eerie feeling. A shiver crawled up his spine. How strange.
Ling took a deep breath and kept walking, it was the night's chill, he should have brought a coat. In the distance he could make the faint noise of night life, maybe he did take a wrong turn, but people meant he could ask for directions to the right street at best, at worst he'd have to deal with the insufferable impracticality of Amestrian clothing and defend himself in a fight.
The eerie feeling did not leave, now it was almost as if eyes were watching him cross that deserted backstreet. Ling clenched his fists and quickened his pace, the muted sounds got a bit louder, it helped muffled his own heartbeat on his ears.
The feeling slowly got more suffocating to the point Ling almost turned to look back, but then annoyance, the backstreet seemed way longer and darker than it appeared at first. Another shiver and suddenly something, not far but also not near. Two wine red spots, eyes, in the dark the shape of a mask around them, he could vaguely make the shape of painted white teeth. It reminded Ling of the Jing makeup and masks, symmetrical and exaggerated.
Whatever, or whoever it was, the eyes crinkled with amusement. Red like wine, red like blood. It was not a mask, a mask cannot smile like a face. Ling stumbled back and bumped into something. He turned around quickly and–
“Young man, you should not be here.” Said a short bald, almost lizard looking man. He seemed concerned, big round eyes staring at him.
“I– My apologies.” Ling croaked out “It seems I've got lost.”
He could still feel his heartbeat on his ears, much louder than before, barely hearing what that short man said next.
“Where do you need to go?”
“Uh– Just the main street from the station and I can make my way just fine.”
The man stared some more, almost as if he was suspicious of Ling.
“Walk back until the last lamp you saw and turn left, keep walking until you see the sign of a hat shop and then turn left again. Keep walking and you'll get there.”
Ling tried to smile, it probably looked more nervous than he'd like.
“Thank you, sir. I apologize again for bumping into you.”
The man smiled and nodded, he really did look very much like a lizard. It could be the lack of illumination.
Ling darted in a quick pace following the directions. Just what was it that he saw? A ghost? A devil? The feeling of being watched did not stop until Ling reached the street where the train station was.