For the Love of a Brother
Introduction
"I... I'm not sure if I'll be able to do all of that..." Edward muttered, though a small part of him could recognise that the rich couple in front of him didn't really care.
"Then please do stop wasting our time!" The woman told him sharply, indefinitely. The man at her elbow started to lead her away with his head held high.
Edward knew this was his only chance to save Alphonse, damn it, there was no other solution!
"Okay, wait!" Edward snapped, causing the couple to turn and face him once more. "I agree." He told them with his head down, his hands forming shaking fists at his sides.
A smug smile graced both of their lips, though to Edward they looked just predatory.
"You agree to all of our conditions?" The older man inquired in a drawling accent.
"Yes," Edward whispered, sounding defeated, but he heard his own voice and quickly regained his stubborn pride. "I will work in your house as a slave, in turn for you adopting my little brother!" He shouted, and with that he turned tails and ran, to go get Alphonse and take him to the manor. They had doctors there that would take care of his little brother, private doctors.
As the nobles watched the boy speed off, the man scoffed.
"He won't be that to you much longer, boy." He said, and though under his breath, his mistress caught wind of it and what bubbled up from within her was an excited, sadistic laugh.
Alphonse really had grown terribly sick not long after his mother's death. There were no relatives, and no one to bring him back from death's door except Ed, who was having a hell of a time trying to. But sickness mixed with starvation and horrible living conditions don't bode well for someone failing to recover.
As far as Ed was concerned, it was the only way.
The 'noble' couple had been perusing the streets under the false pretence of shopping, which, in a way, they were doing. When they stumbled upon the dark alley with Alphonse in it, tears sprang to Sara's eyes.
After having recently found out about Mrs. Middleton's infertility, they were on the prowl for a 'poor child' that they could 'save' or in other words, adopt. Like everything, they had placed extremely high standards on how this boy (as that's the gender they'd decided upon) would look, speak and act - and Al fit the bill to a capital 'T'.
Though they didn't reveal it to Ed, the strange rich couple also had a strange obsession with collecting blonde-haired slaves, and Edward, being strong and young, was the next thing they set their eyes on acquiring.
Trying to take Al from Edward didn't work - Ed wouldn't let him go and Al wouldn't leave without his brother, but would not promise to 'take care' of both boys. Like hawks, they pulled Ed up the street and aside, proposing a deal and setting out rules.
Edward, growing up in a sheltered life with only his mother and younger brother, was naive to what being a 'slave' really meant. He thought of it only as a job or profession, unaware that slaves were considered mere possessions, unaware that the Middleton nobles had rightfully 'bought him' with the price of adopting his younger brother.
But he would find out soon enough.
So, this is my first fan fiction... Ever. I hope it's okay. I mean, I sure enjoyed writing it. ^u^ Review please? Even if you hate it - it only takes a couple words to sum up your opionion! Also, on another note, this is a brotherly love story, no Elricest.
*JUST SOME NOTES: In this AU, Ed is 12 and Al is 10, and they haven't discovered Alchemy *yet* because Hohenheim left (with all his possessions, not leaving behind anything on alchemy for Ed and Al) when Ed was two and their mother was still pregnant with Alphonse! It is set in a warped sort of victorian-london Amestris, too.
BTW, sorry this is so short, but this is just the introduction, the first chapter is longer, I promise.
