Roy Mustang was sixteen years old when he enlisted as Berthold Hawkeye's apprentice. He had lived in a pub most of his life, so living in the small rural town where the famous alchemist resided was unusually quiet for him.

"Teach me Flame Alchemy."

"I won't teach anyone flame alchemy. The secrets of it are my secrets, and no one else's."

"I beg you, please, teach me!"

The old alchemist tutted. "You're young, and naïve. You have a lot to learn before you can even dream of learning flame alchemy. Tell me boy, what age are you?" He stared at Roy, standing up to get a good look at him.

"Sixteen, sir."

"Only sixteen… Fine. I'll teach you, but not Flame Alchemy. I haven't quite perfected it yet, but I can teach you basic alchemy."

Roy's eyes lit up, but his smile disappeared as he saw the somber look on the other's face. "Thank you."

"You will stay here. We have a spare room upstairs. You will study during the day, and will have Sundays off. Your spare time will be taken up with doing chores. Clearly we can't keep a house this big clean on our own. How does this sound to you?"

Roy sighed quietly. He knew it would be a lot of work, granted, but he wasn't sure he could cope with the amount of work suggested, and chores.

"Excuse me, sir. You said we… is it not just you living here?"

"No. As my wife died a few years back, it's now just me and my daughter," he chuckled. "She does a good job at cleaning and cooking."

The alchemist stretched. "It's almost time for dinner. Will you be staying tonight? You may begin learning tonight if you wish."

"No…" Roy shook his head, "I have a hotel booked in the town. If you don't mind, I'd like to phone my mother and talk to her before I start."

"Fine, fine. Off you go then, boy." Hawkeye shooed him out, and Roy bowed his head quickly as he left.

As he stepped out into the rain outside, Roy smiled to himself, tucking his hands into his pockets. Finally, I get to learn alchemy. As he reached the iron gate at the end of the garden, he heard muffled yelling from inside the house. He turned back to look at the house, but saw nothing. Thinking he imagined it, he turned away again, continuing out of the path and into the street.

Soaked to the skin because of the rain, Roy finally reached the small hotel where he would be staying. He changed his clothes in his room, leaving the rain covered ones hanging up. He wandered downstairs, requesting use of the phone. He dialed in the number for central, and then the number for the bar he called home, praying that someone was there to pick up. Thankfully, the phone was picked up after three rings, and the husky voice of Madame Christmas answered.

"Good evening, mother."

"Ah, Roy-Boy. How did it go?"

"Good! He's taking me on," he answered. With a dejected sigh, he added, "He won't teach me Flame Alchemy though."

"Well, you did say that was to be expected. You said most alchemists don't share their secrets, right?"

"I did. I'm hoping that one day, he'll tell me the secret of his alchemy. But for now, just the standard kind is enough for me. Oh, and I'll be staying out here. He's offered me a room at his house. I'm pretty sure I have to earn my keep though. Chores, you know."

"Maybe you'll learn how to clean properly. I've seen the state of your room, you know."

Roy sighed. "I know, I know. I can't clean it when I'm all the way out here, though, so you're going to have to do that yourself."

"Don't be so rude, or I'll be on the first train over there to bring you home!" She chuckled, before returning to talking, her tone noticeably softer than before.

"Good luck, Roy. I hope you find what you want out there."

"Thank you, mother." He paused a minute, waiting to see if she had anything else to say. "Well then, I guess I should be getting to bed. I've been using the phone for a while, and it's not exactly free."

"Alright, son. Goodnight. Don't forget to call once in a while."

"I won't, don't worry. Night." He hung the phone up, throwing cens onto the counter for use of the phone. That was it. He was on his own.

As he trudged up the stairs, his mind wandered to the house he had been in earlier. It looked dirty, and he was pretty sure he had seen bugs inside it. He was not looking forward to living there, especially if there was anything more dangerous than bugs lurking in the building.

Roy settled into the bed of his hotel room. The cream carpets and white curtains reminded him of the guest room back home, and he shuddered thinking about the change of atmosphere he would have tomorrow.

Roy bounced of bed at 8am, ready to get to the Hawkeye's house for nine. It was cold outside, but at least the rain had subsided. He trekked through the little village and out the other side, before walking up the path that lead into the house. He knocked on the door, and it was opened almost immediately by Berthold.

"You were waiting for me," Roy noted as he stepped into the house.

"Of course. You're late." Roy checked his watch; he was sure he'd left in time, and sure enough, his watch read 8:55.

"Anyway, you're here now. I will show to your room, and then we can begin." He took off up the stairs before Roy had a chance to even react. He grabbed his case from the floor, following the older man up the stairs at breakneck pace.

His room was cramped, but it was nowhere near as bad as he expected it. It was a little dusty, but there were no visible signs of bugs, and the bed sheets looked fresh. Had they cleaned it up for his arrival? Roy would never know, but the lack of living creatures in his room pleased him greatly.

"Downstairs now. I have the books all set out for you." Books? No one had ever mentioned books. Roy had seen alchemists- they transmuted with a circle, some even with just their hands. He didn't think books would be involved, at all.

There was a small table in the center of the room, and on it lay a few open books, a pen, and paper. The seat was pulled in close to the table, and Hawkeye pulled it out, offering it to Roy, who gladly took the seat.

"Learn the concept of 'All is one, and one is all'. That is one of the main principles of alchemy. I will give you until the end of the day. I'll be in my study if you need me in an emergency. Those books will tell you all you need to know." With that, Hawkeye turned on his heel and marched out of the room, leaving a bewildered Roy with the books. He flicked through the first few pages of the books, before deciding the only thing he could do was actually read them. With the pen in his hand, Roy made notes on everything he could find on 'All is one and one is all'.

It was dark before he moved from the table. A dinner was set on the table, clearly without him noticing. It was still hot, so without taking into consideration what it was or how I got there, he ate it, barely even pausing to chew. According the clock on the wall, it was 7:00, and he only had a little more time to figure out the riddle proposed to him.