Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist!

This chapter is extended, with some more content.(I felt like the 700 words really wasn't enough for a chapter.)

Enjoy!

~~13~~

Closed eyes and a blissful smile on a pale face.

Bright blonde hair swirled around the young girl as she twirled around in the winter air, arms outstretched. As she settled down, she let out a content sigh. Bright gray eyes scanned the buildings around her.

"It's so much warmer down here in Central."

In the background, a man in blue was shivering in the cold. When the girl noticed, she sweat dropped and laughed awkwardly.

"Maybe we should get inside?" The man nodded vigorously.

Once they had gotten inside, the girl was led to a dorm room that would be hers for the rest of her stay. She thanked the escort, Sergeant Mills, and bid him goodbye. She threw her heavy winter coat onto the couch of the living room, and checked her bedroom. Acceptable.

She wandered into the small bathroom, and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She did this every day, to make sure she was still her. It was a habit now more than anything. But every day, she was surprised at how much she looked like her mother.

Dear Mother,

The train ride to Central was uneventful. I was at least hoping for someone to try and take the train hostage, but no such luck. We'll see on my way back in a few weeks. An escort met me on the platform, as was arranged. It's so much warmer down here! Not that anyone really noticed, of course. They were all shaking in their boots over the zero degree temperature. It feels like paradise! I'll write more after the exam is done.

Love,

Katarina

Katarina sighed. She really would have liked a fight. Now she'd have to wait for the State Alchemist exams.

~~13~~

Katarina walked into the large hall for the final test in the State Alchemist Examinations. A panel of judges sat on one end in a large balcony, and the Fuhrer stood to the side, flanked by two musclemen.

"Miss Katarina, please begin." The young girl smirked. She took the chalk from the attendant, and crouched down to draw the circle on the floor around her with a minimal twist of her body. In another blink of an eye, the full alchemical sequence was drawn out. Murmurs filled the room at the speed.

Then, the girl pulled on a black glove, inscribed with a strange symbol.

A high pitched whistle broke through the silence as a booted foot was slammed into the transmutation circle at her feet. Columns of rock jutted out of the ground all over the hall.

As soon as the transmutation was done, another eerie note came from between her lips, her hand snapped out outstretched, palm to the floor, and the columns before her were sliced in half with a powerful burst of wind.

"Well done, Miss Katarina." The Fuhrer walked up to her, a chuckle in his voice, and held out his hand as if to shake.

"I am proud to welcome you into the Amestris State Military. You will be a welcome addition. As you may already know, all State alchemists are given a unique title, that is based on your actions and abilities, with that being said... I hereby grant you the following title, and all that comes with it. Welcome to the military, Songbird Alchemist."

Kat's face lit up, splitting into a grin as she shook the Fuhrer's large hand, while thanking him.

"You will have your new assignment in up to a week. Now, may I say congratulations on becoming the second-youngest state alchemist, as well as the only ever female graced with the title. This," he held up a pocketwatch, "is how you will be recognized for what you are. Good luck, Songbird."

~~13~~

She rounded the corner of the hallway in Central HQ, only to be stopped by a solid mass. Covered in sparkles. She slowly looked up, hooded eyes forced into a nonchalant stare.

"YOU ARE THE YOUNG GIRL WHO HAS HAD THE PRIVILEDGE TO BECOME A STATE ALCHEMIST!" It wasn't a question. The huge man wasn't looking at her, but when he glanced down, he froze mid-pose.

For once, she cursed her looks.

"O-Olivier?!"

~~13~~

Well shit.

Kat took a second to compose herself, upon which she looked straight at the mustachioed man in front of her.

"No, Major. My name is not Olivier. It's Katarina."

The major was still speechless, and Kat sighed. This was one of the reasons why her mother didn't want her to travel to Central, even pulling a multitude of strings for her last name to not be mentioned.

Damn it all to hell.

"I'm sure there is a tradition passed down to the Armstrong line to hide pregnancies or children or something?" The thirteen year old girl winced at her pathetic try to snap the Armstrong man from his catatonic state.

"WHY YES! I DO REMEMBER SUCH A TRADITION! SO YOU ARE OLIVIER'S DAUGHTER?!" She winced again and stumbled back at the volume.

"Yes, sir."

"NO NEED TO CALL ME SIR, YOUNG KATARINA! UNCLE ALEX WILL BE JUST FINE!"

~~13~~

Dear Mother,

I swear, this was not in any way in my control. I was quite literally cornered and slung over his shoulder. It was terrifying. I am currently in your old room, on a small reprieve from Aunt Catherine's torture- I mean, attentions. Mother, I am quite impressed with your collection of swords. Would you mind terribly if I brought some of them with me when I return to Briggs?

Which brings me to the greatest of news! This almost neutralizes the fact that I am practically never alone anymore. I've passed the State Alchemist Exams, and my new title is the Songbird Alchemist. My assignment, as you have probably arranged yourself, is Briggs' Alchemical support. I shall see you soon, mother, if I can escape the clutches of our family.

Katarina

P.S. What should I say when they inevitably ask me about my father?

~~13~~

Katarina sat at a long ornate table with her mother's family. She was dressed in an uncomfortable dress brought out from storage.

She was told this was the only box that could be saved after Olivier Armstrong left. If she had harbored any doubts, she now understood perfectly why her mother had hightailed it out to the most remote part of Amestris.

If she had to endure this every day of her sixteen years outside of the military, no wonder she'd honed her skill with swords. Kat was told her mother used her clothes as practice dummys.

She had already answered countless questions, politely bouncing back the conversation in the direction of Armstrong Family Traditions. It was very easy to keep the conversation centered there, at least for a while. Unfortunately, as was bound to happen, the dreaded question came up.

"Say, Katarina, dear, who did Olivier get married to?"

Kat decided to recite word-for-word what her mother had written. Minus a few choice words.

"I don't know my father, mother says he 'got himself killed' before I was born, which is why my name is Armstrong, and not something else. She doesn't like to talk about him, but refers to him most of the time as 'that man' or 'that bastard'."

"Well, that sounds very much like Olivier!" Booming laughter filled the dining hall.

"All I really know about him is from deduction: He must have had really bright features to get me this coloring." At this, her new-found family looked at her closely.

Too closely.

Physically, she was very much her mother's daughter. But the coloring, as Kat had pointed out, was different. Whereas her mother was the epitome of Amestrian with blonde hair and blue eyes, her daughter seemed to be a bleached copy. Her hair was shades lighter, and her heavily lidded eyes were bright gray.

"Tell us, how did you first get into alchemy?" She couldn't tell which of her aunts asked this question.

"There was this old alchemist in the mountain town I was born in- my mother was carted off to it's hospital when she went into labor- and he decided that he would gift his collection of books and notes to me as a present. I'm told by the townspeople that he was impressed by how loud I screamed when I was born. He died soon after. Unfortunately, all his notes and some of his books were in Drachman, so I learned the language and alchemy at the same time."

Kat yawned wide, her eyes watering.

"May I be excused? I'm tired," from this family, "and I need to rest up before returning to Briggs tomorrow."

"You must be tired after the exam, sweetie. I'll have a maid show you back to your room so you can sleep." Kat looked at the large grandfather clock near the entrance to the dining hall (read: escape route #1). She sighed in relief when she saw the time. 1000.

…

Who eats dinner at ten o'clock at night?!