Joy & Sorrow (Part 2 - Richard)

[Present Day]

After Oliver returned from Xing, he requested to stay with his father. As the conditions in the Central city were stable now, and Roy was promoted to a General, he agreed to his son's request. Roy enrolled Oliver in the most secure and reputed school throughout Amestris, which was situated in Central City. The school was a 100-year-old school, where mostly the children of high society used to study. It was like a fortress due to the continuous presence of military guards. So, Roy thought it to be the perfect place for his only child to study.

It had been 4 days since Oliver joined his new school, but making friends was a difficult task for him like always. He liked to study rather than play with other children. He didn't even like the teachings in the school because he found it very easy. He only agreed to attend the classes like other children of his age, when Roy promised him to teach alchemy during the weekends. So, to keep his promise, that day also, he was sitting through the maths class, waiting for it to get over. The skinny brown haired maths teacher was also eagerly waiting for the class to get over.

After some time, the bell rang and the maths class was over. The maths teacher took his books from the table, used the duster to erase everything on the board. He then dusted off the chalk powder accumulated on his formal attire and his eye glasses. Then he called Oliver by his full name while looking toward him.

Oliver was looking at some birds outside through the window. So, when he suddenly heard his full name, he startled and quickly stood up.

"Yes, Sir!" Oliver responded while looking toward the maths teacher.

"Can you please come with me?" The teacher asked.

Oliver got out of his seat and followed the maths teacher to his room.

The teacher's name was Richard Green, and he was an old employee at the school. He was an Amestrian born, middle-aged man. When Oliver entered inside Richard's room, he saw it was filled with books. It was like a mini library.

"I suppose, we are meeting for the first time?" Richard asked while putting the books he was holding, on his desk.

"Yes Sir," Oliver replied.

Richard pulled out a chair and asked Oliver to sit. Oliver sat on the chair which was a little high for his height because his feet were not touching the floor. Then Richard pulled out a chair for himself and sat in front of Oliver.

"So, you are the son of General Roy Mustang, the famous flame alchemist?" Richard smiled.

"Yes sir," Oliver replied.

"What do you think about my teaching style?" Richard asked with a smile.

"It was great," Oliver answered hesitantly.

"Really? Well, I saw you looking out of the window throughout the class," Richard said.

Oliver thought that his teacher was about to complain his father. So, he started apologizing to Richard. "I will pay more attention from the next class. Please don't tell my dad," He pleaded.

"I am not going to complain your father, Oliver," Richard informed.

He then sighed and looked into Oliver's eyes, which made Oliver a bit nervous. So, Oliver slowly averted his eyes.

"You do have the eyes of your mother," Richard said.

Oliver's uncomfortableness suddenly disappeared when he heard about his mother. He looked directly toward Richard with widened eyes.

"You know my mother?" He asked anxiously.

"Yes, she is a good friend of mine," he replied and continued, "You haven't met your mother yet. Have you?"

Oliver narrowed his eyes and answered with a sad voice, "No... My father never told me anything about her."

"The truth is… your father and mother had a quarrel long time ago. So, your father never lets your mother meet you. You know she is very sad about that," Richard said.

"Dad can never do that," Oliver said skeptically.

"Why don't you ask your mother yourself?" Richard said.

Oliver was instantly overjoyed when he learned that he could meet his mother. A big grin appeared on his face and he asked curiously, "Do you know where my mother is?"

"Of course, after all, your mother and I are good friends," Richard replied confidently and with a smile.

"Can you please take me to her?" Oliver requested.

"Why not? She will be very happy to see you," Richard answered.

Oliver couldn't stop smiling. He was very happy that he was finally going to meet his mother.

"When can we go?" Oliver asked anxiously.

"During recess, meet me at the back gate of the school. Okay?" Richard replied and asked for confirmation.

Oliver nodded and answered with "Okay".

"Now go, you have a class to attend and don't tell anyone about this, because if your father finds out that you are meeting your mother, he will beat her like always and take you away," Richard added.

Oliver was surprised to find that his father hit his mother. Still, he was so excited to meet his mother that he agreed. After that, he went back to his class and eagerly waited for the recess.

After some classes, recess time came, for which Oliver was waiting. He got out of the classroom as soon as the teacher left the class and went to the back gate by hiding from everyone. When he reached the gate, there was no one nearby except 2 guards, who were standing there. One of the guards saw Oliver and approached him.

"Hey there, are you looking for someone?" The guard asked.

When Oliver looked toward the guard, he noticed his dark skin and scarlet eyes. He understood that the man was an Ishvalan, but he still thought him to be the school guard. Then he remembered that he was not supposed to tell anyone about his meeting with his mother. So he panicked when the guard asked him the question.

"No one," Oliver stuttered.

"You must be little Mustang. Don't worry… Mr. Richard told me about you. He is waiting over there in that car," The guard pointed toward a car waiting outside the gate.

Oliver took a sigh of relief when he learned that the guards were with Richard. He thanked them and ran toward the car which was waiting outside the gate.

When he entered inside the car, instead of Richard, he saw someone else. A big muscular middle-aged Ishvalan man, wearing a suit without a tie, was sitting in the car. His name was Rolan, and he was part of IFF (Ishvalan Freedom Front). IFF was a group of Ishvalan who were fighting for making Ishval a free country. The group was considered a terrorist organization by the Amestrian military because IFF was involved in the killings of many Amestrian soldiers.

"Hello Oliver," Rolan greeted politely.

Oliver was afraid of the giant man sitting next to him. Still, he gathered courage and asked, "But, the guard told me, Mr. Richard was waiting, who are you?"

"Richard had some urgent work so, he left. You can call me Rolan and I will be taking you to your mother," Rolan replied.

Meanwhile, the driver started the car and left that place. Soon they reached a warehouse at an unknown place in Central City. As soon as they reached there, Oliver got out of the car and shouted excitedly, "MOM…MOM…MOM"

He was very excited to meet his mother, but no one was responding to his words. After a few moments, Rolan interrupted from behind, "Oliver…your mother is not here. Sorry, we lied to you that we know your mother."

Oliver turned around and looked at Rolan with disbelief. He gradually understood when some IFF militants started gathering there. Tears from his eyes started sliding down his cheek and he started hiccupping.

"But, wh…why would you lie to me about m..my mother?" He sobbed.

"We had to," Rolan replied.

Oliver understood that he was kidnapped. So, he tried to run away even in that hopeless situation, where he was surrounded by IFF militants. Soon, Rolan grabbed him and picked him up. Oliver kept on crying and resisted a lot, but he was just a child held by a giant-sized man. Rolan took him inside the warehouse, where the leader of IFF was waiting for them.