The Definition of Love

Summary: (( EdxWin, A/U )) During a medeival plotline, Edward Elric is the prince over the lands of Central and Resembool. Winry Rockbell owns a farm and shop with her grandmother Pinako, in which the king had decided to build over. A mysterious, beautiful woman is to be Ed's wife...but she has a little task for him to complete for her, before she will marry him, and she draws something horrible upon him.

Chapter 1

"Equivalent exchange...it's a lot different than most people have ever imagined..." whispered a young prince to himself, that of age eighteen, with thick golden blonde locks of hair that trailed down to his mid-back, even when in a pony tail. He was defiant, and headstrong as well for that matter. But many women were enlighted to be in his presence, and had hopes of someday being wed to the handsome prince. The King and Queen had tried many times indeed to get him together with a lovely woman of the high rank of a lady, and all of them were refused for one matter or another. He was extremely hard to grasp when it came to purifiying love.

A messanger entered the room, seeing the prince with a thick, brown, hard-covered book laying in front of him as his eyes scanned the pages intently, absorbing the information as it came to him. "Sir..." the messanger interupted, making the prince shiver in a shrill of suprise. He let out a sigh to calm his nerves, before looking to the elder questioningly. "Yes...?"

The man smiled to the royal, "We have yet come across another beautiful, young woman for ye to meet. The King and Queen have ordered ye to come out this instance to meet the lovely woman." he explained, bowing in authorized respect before trodding along his way, out the door.

The prince only sighed in frustration, shutting his book gently, not even bothering to save his page. He needn't do that, for he could find where he left off in a heartbeat. He was, after all, a prodigy. Standing up, he unruffled his clothing of any wrinkles and fixed her hair up slightly, wanting to at least be a good impression, for if he hadn't been one, he would hear it from his father tonight.

Still inside the privacy of his room, he heard a loud, booming yell, "EDWARD ELRIC! Get down here NOW!" Ed cringed at the sound that filled his ears, and quickly made his way out of his room, and downstairs to a lobby type of room, smiling the whole way at the woman he saw, and how her beauty shined perfectly through her light blonde hair and emerald green eyes. She was indeed a very graceful and beautiful woman, if even this was concluded at his first sight of her.

Extending a hand out to her, while kneeling down, she gave him her hand, in which he gently kissed. She hadn't giggled as he had expected, or even got giddy over him like all of the other women that were brought to him. All she did in response was smile faintly, in a sweet looking way. "Nice to finally meet you, Prince Edward." she inquired to him, bowing faintly. That gesture definately showed that she was at the rank of a lady, and not royal. Ed smiled, "Yes, pleased to meet you as well,...?" he said, pausing in a questioning tone for her to tell him her name.

"Madison. Madison Lenai." she inserted into his trailing sentence. Ed nodded, "Beautiful name." he complimented slyly, letting go of her soft hand as she drew it back to herself. "Yes, thank you, sir." she replied, being just as smooth in words as he. Ed was definately impressed with her, in many ways, too. His mother smiled happily, before finally speaking up. "Why don't you both go out into my garden, and have a pleasant chat with one another? Who knows, you may actually be just the one we've been looking for all this time, Madison." she stated with a slight wink to the younger woman, who nodded in reply blankly.

Realizing her sudden lack of emotion, Ed pondered about it. He couldn't help it. She looked almost...unrealistic with that blank look to her features, that had astonishingly drained the flow of color from her cheeks as well. It was remarkably questionable. But, shaking the thought from his mind, he smiled to her and took her hand in his again, leading her outside of the castle in which he lived to a beautiful garden that his mother called her own.

Yes, Trisha loved the garden more than any other nature itself. The only things she loved more than it were her son and husbond. She cherished the garden with her heart and soul, and if anything were to happen to it, she would most likely be lead into a pit of dark depression.

"This place where you live...Central...it's something I've never imagined before. I grew up in more of a country type of place." Madison explained, as her and Ed walked side by side in the thick bushes of flowers and other plants. He chuckled, "Cental isn't that amazing. You should check out the village further south from here, Resembool. It may be owned as our lands, but it's definately different than this area here." he explained, his gaze cast upon nothing but thin air.

Madison smiled faintly, and it almost looked like a smirk. Ed then sighed, and said, "But father is going to rebuild over the land. There's a grocery shop there followed by a large farm that is owned by the Rockbell family. They sell off their extra goods to townspeople and such to make a profit for themselves. I don't know what they'll do when it's gone..."

Madison looked up at him with her bright eyes, her arm latching to his. "They won't be able to do anything...they'll be lost, and very poor if that happens." she said, looking up at him pleadingly. Ed didn't dare look at her, of fear that he would be lured into her opinion too easily. "Oh well, tough luck. I can't change father's mind by now anyway. It's already been decided." Madison sighed in a bit of sorrow, before her eyes darted around narrowly. She had something up her sleeve.

- - - - - - - - - -

About an hour later, Ed was sitting in a room upon a seat, taking on requests of people that had wanted to speak to him. He always let anyone speak to him, and everyone was quite grateful for this. Most royals didn't let peasants speak to them so formally. But, even so, he was always annoyed with it all. He had to do the same thing each day in here, only with different people most of the time.

A young man entered the room and sternly stood a good few feet away from his prince. "Prince, I have a request." he started, waiting for a reply. Ed blinked his eyes faintly, and nodded to him. "Go on..."

The man looked a bit relieved, but regained his composure. "My marketing line of clothing had persuaded many customers to buy from me this past year. I would like to know, if I may raise my prices, how far I could?" he questioned, confidence filling his voice with every word.

Ed pondered about this for a moment, before nodding in approval. "I'll allow you to raise your prices by...ten yen. Does that sound resonable?"

The man nodded back with a smile. He bowed to the prince in honor, before leaving whilst saying, "Thank you, your highness."

Ed sighed as he leaned back in his chair, waiting for yet another person to spill their problems upon him, for him to clean up. Suddenly, a girl that looked around his age burst into the room unexpectedly. Her light blonde locks were pulled back into a high pony tail neatly, as two thick strands outlined her face in a frame. Her sapphire blue eyes glittered in anticipating anger.

"PRINCE! I declare you tell me why the Rockbell farm and shop are to be rebuilt over!" she exclaimed, coming up to to leave the same amount of space between him and her as the man that just left had. A white peasant blouse and a long, flowing blue skirt was her apparel. She definately was a peasant, especially under the cold look of Edward Elric's hazed, golden pits of sheer emotion.

"It's not my doing, ma'am. 'Tis my fathers. And I suggest you show more respect toward your prince, especially when you are on terms with him here." Ed growled in a bliss of anger. How dare this woman just barge in like this and start yelling at him!

The rude girl growled deep in her throat. "Make him change his mind! Me and my grandmother need that farm!" she yelled in agrivation, her eyes dark and cold as the glared holes into the prince before her.

Ed was used to the glaring, seeing as it was a common trait of himself. "Miss, may I ask of your name?" he seethed through clenched teeth, his tone threatening as if to tell her that he wouldn't be reluctant to punishment.

"Winry Rockbell is my name!" she seethed back, crossing her arms over her chest. "And you, bastard, have no right to build over our land! What are we going to do without our farm! How will we get food! WHERE CAN WE LIVE!" she questioned all in a row, waiting impatiently for answers.

Ed's right eyes twitched at her interference with him, as he rose from his seat, glaring back at the girl with as much insenity as she was putting to him. "Bastard! Are you now MOCKING me? Get off your lazy ass and find somewhere else to build a farm, or even better, somewhere else to LIVE that is OUT of this kingdoms range!" he yelled back to her, astonishing the girl with his words.

Winry's eyes had widened exceptionally, before casting upon the ground below her. "You fucking bastard...how can we start a new farm with no money, no goods, no nothing? You just don't understand!" she exclaimed, clear lines of tears running down her face in small streams, before she started to sob and ran away from him as quickly as her legs would take her.

Sorrow and pity over-fell the young prince as she ran off, crying. He sighed, looking downward before sitting back down in his seat, his fingers coming up to massage his temples to soothe him from his fury of the ferocious fight with the woman name Winry Rockbell, granddaughter to the owner of the southern farm.

At the back door was Madison, her eyes narrowed at the prince as the smirk was back to her features. She had seen the whole incident. She calmly walked out into the room, acting as if she saw nor heard nothing. Seeing the beloved prince looking quite exhausted and angry, she made her way to the front of him, giving him a sorrowful smile. "You are my chosen one." she conceived to him thoroughly.

He looked up to her eyes with a questioningly look, while muttering, "Chosen one...?"

Madison nodded, crawling into his lap and cupping her soft hands around his cheeks. "To marry me, one of the most beautiful ladies in the land, and I know you want to, you must give me a valid definition of 'Love'." she whispered into his ear with her warm breath, which made him relax under her. "You must find a woman that you love, that is outside of this castle. When you find her, the pain shall wither away." she whispered yet again, nuzzling his cheek against her own.

Ed was befuddled beyond belief. "Pain? I don't really have pain of anything..." he started, before Madison interrupted him. "Yes you do." she stated, as crimson colored blood could be seen soaking the white sleeve of his shirt, his right arm magically disappearing in a blue aura. He choked on his breath, trying to say something, scream, but just couldn't. The same fate happened to his left leg, blood staining his pants. His breath finally caught up to him, breathing heavily and at a fast pace, as his heart raced.

"Equivalent Exchange my dear, is such a painful thing to overcome." Madison's voice cooed to him.

A blood-curdling scream asounded from him, before unconciousness took over.

- - - - - - - - - -

A/N: Well, that only took a few hours to type! It's really good in my opinion though. I think this is the longest chapter I have ever written in my life...Oh well, anyway, please leave me a review of what you think! Flames are welcome, 'cause I don't care if some people don't like my story. It's your choice to like it or not, and I can't change your mind, so, yeah.

- Jessi