Hello everyone! Thank you so much for reading this. I have been on a tremendous Fullmetal Alchemist kick lately and of course, I was immediately drawn to the precious ball of sunshine known as Alphonse Elric. I found a very interesting theory on TV Tropes that suggested that perhaps Trisha Elric was mentally/emotionally abusive to her sons, especially Al. Of course, my strange brain drew connections to Mother Gothel from Disney's Tangled. I feel like Al's optimism, loyalty, and resilience really fit the character of Rapunzel. I desperately wanted to get this idea out there. I cannot draw to save my life, so rather than make Al-as-Disney-Princesses fanart, I wrote this. Without further ado, Here it is, the first of its kind, the Fullmetal Alchemist Tangled! AU.

-OWO-

This is the story of how I died.

Just kidding! This is actually a very fun story and the truth is it really isn't even mine. This is the story of a boy. A boy named Alphonse Elric. And it starts with the sun.

Once upon a time, a single golden drop of pure sunlight fell from the heavens. This small drop of sun fell all its way from the heavens and landed in the soil on a fjord, from which it grew a magical golden flower. The flower's golden petals gave only a small indication of the power which coursed through its plant-y veins. A simple bystander would not know of the power standing before him. But the aged woman approaching was anything but a simple bystander. There was something queer about her aside from her hobbled gait and wrinkled flesh. An odd smell seemed to follow her, almost as if her body was falling fragmenting off rather than simply decaying as an old person does. Or perhaps the scent was the stench of desperation. Perhaps it was that desperation that allowed her to see the flower for what it truly was. But we'll get back to her later.

Centuries passed. On an island a hop, skip, and a boat ride away, a kingdom grew. This kingdom was ruled by a beloved King and Queen. The Queen was about to have a child. Pregnancies had always seemed to be cursed in her family. Her own mother had nearly been killed by the strain of carrying her. The queen was running out of time. The king and the rest of the kingdom realized it was time to look for a miracle, or, in this case, the magic golden flower.

They would not find it. The old woman, looking not in such a bad way as the had before, would not allow it. She was not actually a human, merely a copy of one. An immortal copy with the ability to live forever but without the ability to remain young forever. She was truly crumbling into dust until she found this flower. Her lack of basic humanity might be what drove her to selfishly keep the flower for her own for all those years. The flower had kept her young for those years, and to access those powers, all she had to do was draw a transmutation circle around the base, focus her energy, and allow the power to wash over her. When the flower's magic had run its course, a beautiful young woman stood in the old lady's stead.

She admired the flower's handiwork, the smooth, spotless skin, the luscious hair and lips, as she always did after the transmutation. A rustling and a light behind her warned of a search party's approach. She was well prepared to hide her precious flower from those heathens. She placed a makeshift fake bush over the flower and rushed away, hoping to avoid contact that could lead to awkward questions. She spun and scampered away, in her haste knocking the bush askew and exposing her precious flower to the lanterns of the search party. She was relegated to the bushes as the party carted her prize away.

Back at the castle, the flower was picked, made into an infusion, and given to the Queen to drink. The flower's magic healed the Queen, and she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, with beautiful golden hair and eyes the color of stardust. The baby was named 'Alphonse' and was officially given his mother's surname, Elric. Unbeknownst to him or his parents, the flower's abilities had been passed to him through the Queen. The kingdom celebrated his birth by launching a flying lantern into the sky.

For that one moment, everything was perfect.

And then that moment ended.

In the dead of night, the homunculus known as Mother Trisha snuck into the palace and stole the newborn prince from his crib. The baby's cries woke his parents, who immediately raised the alarm and sent out search parties yet again, trying to find their precious child.

In all fairness, Mother Trisha was fully intending to return the infant prince. She had no use for babies. The sniveling balls of poo and goo held no allure for her. She simply took the child to milk it of its powers. She planned to perform a simply transmutation to remove the child's abilities and then return the now-normal infant to its parents.

Of course, it wasn't that simple. 'Best laid plans' and all.

The magic wouldn't transfer directly to her. In desperation, she instead took the magic and placed it in a necklace, just a small gold chain she happened to have with her. Ready to be done with the entire venture, she tried to leave with the necklace, leaving the baby alone on the ground. But the farther she got from the baby, the older she become. The magic would not work when separated from the baby. Hobbling back, she scooped the baby up. It could not be allowed to get away, but what would she do with it? It could not be allowed to get away from her. She would raise it as her own, far far away from everyone that could take it away. A tower would do nicely. Yes, it would.

She erected a will hidden tower in a natural gorge, the only entrance concealed by a thick wall of ivy. Within that lonely tower, she raised the prince as her own. All he had to do was clap and touch her, and instantly she would be young again.

Trisha had found her new magic flower, and this time, she was determined to keep it hidden. The prince grew up with no knowledge of the outside world.

But the walls of that tower could not hide everything. Each year on his birthday, the King and Queen released thousands of lanterns into the sky in the hope that one day their lost child would return. On his birthday, he would steal to the window and watch the 'floating lights,' not knowing they were meant for him and praying that his mother would not find him staring so foolishly at the sky.

Mother Trisha planned to keep him there forever, locked away from the keeping her young and beautiful until the end of time.

Of course, it wasn't that simple.

'Best laid plans' and all.

-OWO-

Yah I know its boring but it is a first chapter y'all. Cut me some slack :P If you hadn't guessed, the repeated reference to 'best laid plans' is a reference to my favorite poem of all time: "To a Mouse" by Robert Burns. I highly recommend that you check it out! Please review! I would love to hear what you guys think!

Mwah ;)