I stared out the window of my room, watching, waiting for the alchemist to show with his brother whom my father, Shall Tucker was supposed to be training for the State Alchemy Exam. I didn't really care about what went on in my house anymore, as I didn't really leave my room. My spine just didn't want to heal. Four years I'd been contained in my bedroom, and I hated it. I wanted to travel and have adventures. I wanted to get out, and I wanted to fall in love. As I looked out my window, I saw Colonel Mustang walking with a short kid, sadly, probably two inches taller than me, and…a suit of armor?

"Maya," I heard my father call, "aren't you going to come welcome our guests?"

"Sure father, I'll be there in a minute," I replied.

I then heard the door to my bedroom open. I turned to see Nina, my adorable little sister, standing there. "Are you coming Sissy?" she asked in her little baby voice. I smiled and sat up from my windowsill. Then I followed her outside to where the Colonel stood with Edward and Alfonse Elric. It seemed as if our dog Alexander had already made Edward's acquaintance. He had Edward pinned to the ground and was looking up at Nina and me with his tongue hanging out.

"You know that's bad Alexander," scolded Nina, whom was holding onto my hand with one of her little ones and holding the door open with the other. My father appeared behind us both and immediately started apologizing for our dog's behavior.

"Alexander, come here," I ordered, gently but firmly. Alexander jumped up from Edward and raced toward Nina and me. He sat down by my feet, and I patted his head.

Edward seemed to have just taken notice of me, as did Alfonse. I saw them stare at me up and down and tried to think of something else so I wouldn't blush. I turned to go back into the house with Nina and my father. Again, he started apologizing for the books and papers that were scattered all over the place. I heard him mention that we've lost a woman's touch around the house, and it got me thinking about my mom.

"Sissy?" Nina asked, pulling on my sleeve. I snapped back and saw her looking at me, worried.

"It's nothing Nina," I assured her. She didn't like it when I spaced out like that. She knew I was thinking about our mom. She was pretty smart for a four-year-old.

Nina suddenly let go of my hand and went up to Alfonse.

"Daddy, Bigger Brother's clothes are funny. They're like our pots and pans. Aren't they heavy?" she asked as she stared into the suit of armor's…helmet. Alfonse laughed.

"Don't worry, Bigger Brother is very strong."

Alfonse looked at my father and then looked embarrassed. I turned and saw my father gazing at the suit of armor. I cleared my throat rather loudly, and he snapped out of it when he saw me looking at him.

"Mr. Tucker, I'm sure you'll have a chance to talk to these boys about their unusual traits. Until then, please take them as they are." said Mustang.

"Maya, why don't you take Nina to play in the courtyard for a while?" my father suggested to me. I rolled my eyes and took Nina by the hand as she whined. She didn't want to leave Alfonse's side.

"Don't worry Nina, it's just something that us girls can't handle," I said with a little spice in my voice. I couldn't help it. I didn't like being kept out of things. I was the same age as Edward, and yet I couldn't know about this stuff, just because I was a girl. "If Dad is so worried about being sexist all the time, why does he always make me leave when he gets on the subject of alchemy or his stupid experiments?" I thought, frustrated. However, I just walked out into the courtyard with Nina and sat on the porch while she ran around with Alexander.

When I saw a shadow to my left, I looked up over my shoulder to see Colonel Mustang. He looked down at me. "You look well," he said, half the curve of a smile on his lips.

I looked back at Nina again, folding my knees up to my chest. "Not as well as I should be," I replied.

Mustang sat down next to me on the porch. "It could be a lot worse."

"You think I don't know that?" He didn't say anything, and so I continued. "I just want to be able to do something besides sit in my room and read all day. Don't get me wrong, I love reading, but I want to do something more. My life has gotten so boring. My father won't even let me study alchemy."

Mustang rested his elbows on his knees and folded his hands in front of him. He looked so tall, scrunched up on the porch. "I think he's just gotten a little overprotective," he said. "You did almost die, you know."

I nodded. "I know, but I should have healed by now. I should be able to play with my sister or take my dog for a walk without getting exhausted."

He placed a gloved hand on my shoulder. "You'll get your adventure soon enough," he said. "Just wait until you're finished growing up first, alright?"

I smiled, though I wanted to roll my eyes. Roy Mustang could be an ass sometimes, to everyone, but he always knew what to say. "Why'd you bring them here, Roy?"

He smiled at the informality in which I spoke to him. "Figured you could use some friends, Maya." Then he patted my shoulder and stood up. "Send word if you ever need anything from the military."

I snickered. "Yeah, alright, you guys will definitely be the first ones I call." Both of us had bits of sarcasm in our voices. However, he and Hughes probably would be the first ones I'd call if ever in trouble. I smiled and saluted Mustang as he went back into the house to leave out the front door.

"Nina, promise me that you'll be all right out here alone?" I called to her. "I want to go to the library to get a book. I'll be right back," I said. Nina nodded, I walked back inside and to our large library, which had so many books to read on alchemy. I stopped at the door when I heard other people walking my way. I hid around the corner and saw my father lead the Elrics to the library, to start their studies for the state exam. I waited for my father to leave, then went into the library myself. Alfonse turned and saw me. Edward seemed to be too enveloped in his book to notice anyone else had come in. I tried not to stare at Edward as I walked to the aisle I needed. I had to admit that he was pretty damn cute.

"Hi there…uh…Maya is it?" asked Alfonse, trying to start a conversation.

I spared him of the tension that seemed to already be there. I smiled, "Yes, that's right. You must be Alfonse."

"Please, just Al, and it's nice to meet you," he replied.

I nodded and returned to finding the book I wanted. However, my curiosity got the best of me. "How long have you two been studying alchemy?"

"Since we were little kids," answered Edward, speaking for the first time. I peeked around the shelf and saw him looking back at me with the book he was reading still open in his hand. "And you?" he asked me.

"Since about two years ago," I replied. I didn't want to tell them the whole story of why I started studying alchemy. It was just based on a theory, and a theory it still remained. I didn't know, yet, if I was right. I found the book I was looking for, Alchemy: Its Purpose, Its Temptations, and Its Consequences.

"So, you know the rules of-" Alfonse started.

"Equivalent Exchange, yes," I finished for him.

"Then you must know how-" he started again, and I finished for him again.

"Your soul was attached to a suit of armor and how Edward lost a leg and an arm? Yes, you both tried to perform human transmutation. You tried to bring someone back from the dead." They both looked away from me. Edward's expression looked pained. I felt sorry for him at that instant, but I wondered, "Whom were they trying to bring back?" "I suppose I'll leave you to your studies then," I said, looking away from them.

"You're like us too," Edward said. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to face him.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Your bandage isn't sticking too well; I can see it through your shirt," he said, gesturing to the long white bandage that went down my back. I glared at Edward.

"I would never try to bring someone back from the dead. Yes, my spine is auto mail just like your arm and leg, but not for the same reason," I snapped. It went against the laws of nature, science, and religion to bring someone back from the dead. I left the library, angry that Edward would even suggest that I'd be dumb enough to try to reverse the pattern of the deceased.

|| Dinner ||

It was pretty silent. I tried not to look at Ed or Al, and my father desperately tried to make conversation.

"So, Edward, have you made any progress with your studies?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I've got to speed up; there's so much I don't know," Ed replied.

I tuned out of what my father said to that and looked to my right, out the window into the darkness outside. A lot of things flashed through my mind. I thought about the library, my sister, my mother, Edward…"Whoa, wait a minute. Maya, get a hold of yourself. He's an accusing jerk of an alchemist that thinks too much of himself."

"Maya?"

I snapped out of my thoughts. My father was looking at me, and so was everyone else. I suddenly felt my cheeks burn.

"Yes Father?" I replied, pretending not to notice that the others were staring at me.

"I was just going to tell Edward that maybe he could show you a few things, as you've been wanting to learn alchemy for a while now," he said, smiling as best he could.

"But, she told us that-" Edward began, but I kicked him underneath the table. I made sure to hit the leg that wasn't auto mail. He winced and glared at me. I shook my head ever so slightly, a silent plea, telling him not to tell my father what I'd told him earlier that day. Edward cleared his throat and turned back to my father. "She told us that today," he said.

I relaxed and told him a silent "thank you" with my eyes. He nodded slightly. My father actually seemed to take no notice of the suspicious behavior and kept talking. This was when Nina took notice of Al not eating.

"Bigger Brother isn't eating any of his dinner!" she exclaimed. Al looked as if words had failed him. "That won't do, you need to eat to get grown up!" Nina explained to him. She handed Al a piece of bread. He tried to decline, but something made him stop and take the bread anyway. I continued to look at my sister.

She was too adorable.

|| Edward ||

After Maya's father had stopped taking interest about Maya and turned to talk to Al, I began to rub my leg.

"Damn it, that hurt!" I thought to myself. Nina had started to fret about Al not eating. I looked up and attempted to glare at Maya. However, I saw that she was staring at Nina with what looked like admiration in her eyes. A small smile played onto her lips, and something made me drop my grudge. "Her father must not know that she studies alchemy. Why wouldn't she want him to know?" I pondered that thought.

I couldn't help but look back up at her. Her smile was simple, yet still pretty. There was a gentle elegance about Maya. Yet, I couldn't help but think that she was hiding something. Then again, so was I, from a lot of people. Most thought that Al's body was just a suit of armor, until they opened it to find nothing inside but a transmutation circle.

|| Later: Amaya ||

I was holding Nina in my arms. She had fallen asleep in my lap as she watched me read a book. Something made her watch my eyes move as I studied.

"Nina, why do you watch me like that?" I asked when I felt her climb onto the little couch that rested in the library and sit next to me.

"You look calm when you read," she answered. I put my book down by now and given Nina a weird look.

"And why does that interest you?" I asked her, truly curious.

"You've been so scared about your back lately, and when you read it's like all the worries go away," she smiled up at me. I knew she adored me. She's said she hoped to be like me when she grew up. I carried her into her room after she fell asleep, just down the hall from mine (down the opposite way was where Ed and Al were staying).

And now, as I sat down on Nina's bed, with her still on my lap so I could undo her braids, I looked outside at the moon.

I longed to be on the other side of it, away from this condemned place, on my own adventure. I couldn't help but envy Ed and Al. After they're done training and studying, who knows what they'll get to do and where they'll get to go?

I sighed as I finished undoing Nina's braids and placed her into her bed. I kissed her forehead and placed her hair bands on her dresser as I walked out of the room, closing the door behind me.

"Is she the only reason you stay here?" a voice asked me. I turned to see Ed, leaning against the wall. His red coat was off and so were his gloves. I tried not to look at his exposed muscles as I thought of a response.

"I'll be honest with you," I decided. "If it wasn't for Nina, I would've left this place two years ago, when my mother left."

Ed looked a little surprised when I told him my mother had left us.

"Your mother…left?" he asked, confused.

"Yes, so my father says. She didn't like being poor back then, so she went off to live with her parents," I said bitterly. "It doesn't make sense to me, but I guess she didn't want to at least take her children with her."

It was silent once again. I looked away from Ed at the floor as I tried to hold back the tears. I could feel his eyes burning a hole inside me.

"Why didn't you want him to know?" he finally asked, referring to what happened back at the dinner table.

"My father gets angry when I express the idea that I want to learn alchemy; he says a girl my age shouldn't be concerned with it, that girls shouldn't learn it at all," I spat.

"Well that doesn't seem right," said Ed.

"You think?" I asked sarcastically.

Just by the way he looked at me; I could tell Ed was trying to, for lack of a better term, figure me out. I couldn't deny that I did keep a lot from people. I didn't have any true friends, and I always had looked after and cared for my sister. After my mother left it was like someone had ripped out the friendly part of me. My relationship with my father had definitely gone to the dogs, and there were times when I thought about running away. Then I would look at Nina and think about what would happen if she were left here alone with my father.

"I can help you if you want," Ed suddenly muttered. I looked back up at him.

"Is he talking about what I think he's talking about?" I thought. "What do you mean?"

He leaned off the wall and took a step closer to me. "Alchemy," he whispered, getting close to my face. I stared at him for a moment. I had been right when I'd observed him outside my bedroom window, earlier that morning. He was about two inches taller than me. I'd also been right in the library. He was even cuter up close.

I whispered back, hoping no one else was there to hear me. "You would teach me?"

"Well, not teach exactly. I could just help you out a little bit," he said.

For the second time today and in a long time, I really smiled. I threw my arms around him. "Thank you, Ed!" I exclaimed as quietly as I could, trying not to wake anyone. It took me a moment to realize what I'd just done. After blushing, I awkwardly pulled away from him. Ed still had the look of surprise on his face when I backed away.

"Um…you're welcome," he finally choked out.

A silence took place then, and I could feel the red on my cheeks. Ed seemed to be deep in thought about something.

"Well…I guess I'll see you in the morning," I said quietly.

"Yeah…good night," he replied, still appearing to be thinking hard. He walked back to his room as I walked down the hallway to mine.

"He's going to help me learn alchemy! Finally, I might be able to take Nina and get out of this place! Once I learn to fight for myself I can finally go on my own adventure!" I thought, excitedly. I changed into my pajamas and climbed in my bed. As my head hit the pillow, I was able to fall asleep and dream of leaving this town and exploring the other wonders that the world held, waiting for me.

For the next few months, Ed and Al studied hard in the library, learning all they could about taking the state alchemy exam. Ed taught me all sorts of things that I could do. He taught me how to draw a transmutation circle, so I could really practice my alchemy. We began to grow closer to each other. I became good friends with Al as well, and so did Nina. The times we spent with the two brothers in the library were really something to remember. Most of the time it was work, but sometimes it was just pure fun. I couldn't remember ever laughing or smiling so much before. I'd finally found people that I could truly call my friends.

There was one day when Nina came in with a camera and took pictures of the four of us. She had placed them in a small book, which I now kept in my top dresser drawer, except for one of them. It was of Ed and me. I kept this one in a frame on top of my dresser. We were both sitting on the floor in the library with books surrounding us. Nina had made me get really close to Ed. So I was behind him, hugging his neck with my head on his shoulder.

We were both smiling. I wished that every day of my life could be as carefree as that day was.

But life isn't that fair.