As many of you may or may not know, I am a Disney fangirl. I've been a fan of Disney and its movies ever since I was a little kid—in fact, the first movie I remember watching was Bambi (yep, scarred for life at age 3).
That being said, I'm surprised it's taken me this long to write a story based off a Disney movie. This one is one of my absolute favorites: The Princess and the Frog. I already worked out the majority of the cast, but rather than post the list, I'll reveal it as I go to save time and space. Just know this is an EdWin fic, so you can probably guess the leads right off the bat.
I AM NOT INCLUDING SONGS BECAUSE PEOPLE GET BUTTHURT OVER ME TRANSCRIBING THEM.
Another personal note I'd like to make is that, yes, I have been to New Orleans. No, I have not been to Mardi Gras, but based on the amount of Mardi Gras beads that are in my house, you wouldn't guess that; they're from my grandmother and my mother, both of whom have attended Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Beignets are delicious balls of dough and powdered sugar. And King Cake is the absolute best. Jazz played on the street in New Orleans is beautiful, and I normally don't care for jazz! Also, my sister might be into voodoo…
Enough talk.
OWTF!
Deep in Southeastern Amestris, there was a town on the river called Resembool. It was a large town, known for three things: music, food, and automail. As a result, it was a melting pot of people from all walks of life, hoping to make their way in the crazy world they lived in.
One of those girls was a wide-eyed dreamer named Winry Rockbell.
Winry was the daughter of the two best doctors in town, and she often went with them on visits to their patients and suppliers of medicine. That was how she met her best friend, Mei Chang, the younger half-sister of the heir to the Xing Apothecary Company, Ling Yao.
On one such occasion, Pinako Rockbell, Winry's grandmother, watched the two while their parents were discussing supplies. She worked on a flower crown for Mei while she told them the story of "The Frog Prince".
"…and they lived happily ever after," Pinako finished, placing the flower crown on Mei's head.
"That was so cute!" Mei squealed.
"I would never, ever, ever kiss a frog!" Winry declared.
"Is that so?" Mei asked, grabbing her cat, Buttermilk, and putting a frog mask on him. "Well, here's your Prince Charming, Winry! Kiss him!"
"EEP!" Winry squealed.
The cat managed to get away, but Pinako took the mask off.
"Girls, stop tormenting this poor little kitty!" she sighed. "Poor thing."
"Hello, Mrs. Rockbell!" Mei's father greeted the old woman.
"Daddy!" Mei called. "Look at my crown! Isn't it pretty?!"
"Yes, it is!" Ling, Mei's brother, agreed, a big smile on his face.
"Thank you for watching her, Mrs. Rockbell," Mr. Yao told Pinako.
"It wasn't any trouble. Let's go, Winry."
Pinako, Winry, and Winry's parents all headed back to the house, where Winry started tinkering with an automail arm Pinako had left on the kitchen table. Sarah, Winry's mother, smiled as she looked at her daughter.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Fixing this arm," Winry replied.
"Don't disturb your grandma's work, sweetheart," Yuri laughed.
"Oh, no, she's a big help," Pinako said, coming into the kitchen. "She's got an eye and a passion for it. I have no doubt she'll be an engineer someday."
"You really think so?" Winry asked excitedly.
"Our little girl's got a gift, Sarah!" Yuri declared, lifting Winry into the air.
That night, Winry looked out her window, dreaming of the automail shop she'd have someday, when she spotted the 'Wishing Star'. She held her trusty wrench close to her chest and closed her eyes.
"Please, please, please, please…" she whispered. Her eyes landed on a frog that was sitting on her windowsill. She stared at it for a moment before it croaked, making her scream and run out of her room.
TEN YEARS LATER…
Winry sighed as she walked through the door, dropping a little change into her savings jars.
"Well, Winry, rough night for tips, but every little cens counts," she whispered to herself. She glanced at a picture of her parents and smiled sadly. "Don't worry, Mom and Dad. I'll get there, soon." She turned to her bed and flopped down as she fell asleep. Almost immediately, her alarm clock started going off. She turned it off with her foot and got out of bed. She opened her closet and picked out a fresh shirt and coveralls.
"Good night, Garfiel's," she muttered. "Good morning, Duke's."
She ran out the door just in time to catch the trolley to Rush Valley, the automail section of Resembool. It was where all the automail shops are located, and that was where Winry applied her skills to earn enough to open her own shop. With so much traffic around the area, there were also a couple of diners. While she worked evenings in Garfiel's Automail, during the day, she worked in one of the more popular diners. She had good cooking skills she'd learned from her granny, which helped make the diner more popular and helped her earn more tips.
However, in Resembool, not everybody was a hardworking, hopeful automail engineer. No, Resembool tended to attract the rich and the eccentric, too. And the insane. Just that morning, a man by the name of Solf J. Kimblee was conning a bald man into buying a hair tonic. It worked a little too well, turning the hapless customer into a furry monster as Kimblee flipped his money into a pocket. Kimblee watched around the corner, however, as Ling Yao, the mayor, came by in his fancy car with his sister. He glared and began formulating a plan.
Also in the city that day was a prince from the land of Xerxes, Edward Elric. He stood on the deck of the ship he'd arrived on, letting everybody snap all the pictures they wanted. His servant, a little shit named Envy, was right behind him, carrying two suitcases. Ed tossed his hat to the crowd, glad to be rid of it as crazed fangirls pounced on it. He followed a group of street musicians past Duke's café, where he saw a pretty blonde girl picking up cups.
"Hey," he greeted her flirtatiously.
"Hmmph," she huffed, turning away. He shrugged and kept walking.
Inside Duke's, Winry continued serving all the customers she could as Cornello, the cook, hit the bell repeatedly. She put out the orders as fast as she could, just as Ling entered the restaurant.
"Good morning, Winry," he greeted her. "How about—"
"Beignets, hot out of the oven," she said, putting a plate in front of her.
"Oh!" He clapped his hands happily. "You are truly a goddess! Keep them coming!" Winry let out a laugh.
Suddenly, the door to the diner flew open as Mei entered.
"WINRY!" she squealed. "WINRY! WINRY!"
"Whoa, what's got you so excited?!" Winry asked.
"Prince Edward Elric of Xerxes is coming to Resembool!" Mei's eyes were full of stars. "And Ling invited him to our ball tonight, to mark the start of Festival Amestris!"
"That's great, Mei!"
"The only problem is, what if he doesn't like me?" Mei sank into a chair. Winry smiled as she walked over with another plate of beignets.
"Well, my grandma always says the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach."
"THAT'S IT!" Mei grabbed one of the beignets. "I'm gonna need about two hundred of these for the ball tonight!" She reached into her purse and pulled out two handfuls of bills. "Will this cover it?"
"Yeah!" gasped Winry as she counted the money in her head. "This should cover it just fine!" She let out a cheer. "I'M GETTING MY AUTOMAIL SHOP!"
"AND I'M GETTING MY PRINCE!" Mei cheered.
"AND I'M HOPEFULLY GETTING MORE BEIGNETS!" Ling added.
"Edward!"
Ed turned to see Envy standing behind him. The small servant was still holding the suitcases from earlier; evidently, he had spent his time trying to keep up with Edward.
"Hey, Envy!" Ed greeted him.
"We were supposed to be at the Yao mansion an hour ago! I've been looking for you everywhere!"
"What a coincidence. I've been avoiding you everywhere."
"Can you please take this seriously?!"
"I am, I am. I just thought we'd look around a bit first."
"Sir!" Envy facepalmed.
"Hello, there," a voice said from the shadows. They turned to see a tall, thin man in a white suit with a matching fedora. "Welcome to Resembool! My name is Kimblee." He handed a card to Edward, who took it.
" 'Tarot Readings, Charms, and Potions,' " Ed read aloud. " 'Dreams made real.' "
"Follow me, gentlemen!" The two followed Kimblee down a dark alleyway, where he opened a door to a small shop. Over the door, it said, 'Solf J. Kimblee: Voodoo Master'.
"Wow," Ed breathed. Envy rolled his eyes.
"This guy's a fake, Your Highness," Envy whispered into Ed's ear. "We should get out of here before things go south."
"HEY!" Kimblee growled. "I am anything but fake, you little twat."
"Why, I ought to—" Ed stepped in between the two before things could escalate.
"We're interested in seeing what you can tell us, Mr. Kimblee," Ed said.
"Right this way!"
The two entered and a shadow threw Envy and Kimblee's hats onto a hat-rack in the corner. Kimblee smirked as the two foreigners took seats at his table. He extended his tarot cards, and each of them took three cards.
"Now, you, Prince Edward, are from across the sea, in Xerxes. You come from two prestigious lines of royalty, but your parents cut you off for being a playboy. Now you have to get marry an heiress to have the money you once had, but you don't want to get married. You just want to be free and… hop from place to place. But freedom takes green, and in your future, I see green."
"Load of baloney," snorted Envy.
"Now, as for you, little shit, you've been pushed around all your life, by your brothers and your father and your sister. And, if you were married, you'd be pushed around by your wife. In your future, though, the you I see is the you you've always wanted to be."
Ed suddenly felt very uncomfortable. He glanced at Envy, who was staring at the last card with a malicious grin.
"Now, shake my hand, gentlemen, and we'll begin our deal."
Envy and Ed each shook one of Kimblee's hands, and Kimblee smirked. Suddenly, crazy voodoo magic started happening. Colorful smoke and lights filled the room as snakes erupted from the ground and tied Ed to his chair. He tried to escape as Kimblee used a talisman to prick his finger. Ed was surrounded by what can only be described as colorful clouds of plasma and light as he shrunk down. Envy stared in shock.
"I hope you're satisfied," Kimblee chuckled. "If you're not, blame my friends on the other side."
"Thank you, Mr. Yogi! I'll sign the papers tonight at the costume ball!"
Winry smiled as Yogi took the 'For Sale' sign from in front of the building, along with his much-larger companion, Scar. She felt nothing but joy as she looked at the building. It was rundown, dusty, old, had cracked and broken windows, and trash littered the ground outside.
It was the most beautiful building she'd ever seen.
"One arm, please," a voice said. Winry turned to see her granny there, holding a toolbox and a medical bag. "Little things to help you get started."
"Your toolbox… and Dad's medical bag?"
"Every automail engineer worth their salt can patch up wounds as well as metal. Now, go on and open the door."
Winry smiled widely as she threw open the door. Pinako shook her head with a smile as she looked around. Her granddaughter had a lot of work to do.
"Over there will be the surgery area. My workbench will go there, and I'll store parts in this area. Oh! And I'll add a big waiting room, too!"
"You're your parents' daughter, all right. They wanted to open a clinic in this building."
"Well, time to get started!"
The two spent the afternoon cleaning up the old warehouse, chucking out garbage and sweeping up dust. Winry was the happiest she'd been in ages, and Pinako couldn't help but feel that same energy as they worked. They made a lot of progress, and at the end of the afternoon, Winry headed back home to get ready for Mei's party.
"Where could he be?"
Mei was pacing back and forth near Winry's beignets.
"Mei, I'm sure he's coming," Winry assured her friend. "He's just running late, that's all."
As if on cue, Prince Edward of Xerxes was announced. Mei quickly patched her makeup and entered like the 'delicate lady' she was. Winry rolled her eyes as Mei began dancing with the prince, and Yogi walked up next to her, dressed as a clown.
"Lovely night," Scar muttered, grabbing some beignets.
"Did you bring the papers?" Winry asked.
"Yes, about that, Miss Rockbell," Yogi murmured. "I'm afraid you've been outbid."
"What?"
"A fellow came by and offered to pay in cash, so we're selling the building to him. We have to go, now."
"Wait!" Winry stepped in front of Yogi and Scar, blocking their path. "Do you know how long it took me to save that money?!"
"And a little woman like you, running an automail shop in Rush Valley all by herself?! Preposterous! Good day, Madame!"
"Now wait just a second—" Winry grabbed at Yogi's sleeve, only to lose her balance and fall into the food. She looked at her costume and felt her eyes pricking with tears.
"All right, Winry!" Mei declared, coming over in her ballgown. "Time for the beignets—" She let out a soft gasp as she looked at her friend. "What happened?"
"I'm… not having a good night," Winry confessed. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
"Let's get you cleaned up." She looked over her shoulder as she helped Winry to her feet. "I'll be right back, Edward!"
Winry carefully selected a pale blue gown with a fake diamond crown as she put her hair up into a bun. She looked at herself in the mirror, but even though she was probably the prettiest girl at the ball, she felt like a rotted pumpkin. Her dream had been stripped away by a heartless real estate agent, and nothing was going to make her feel better.
"I'm sorry about Mr. Yogi," sighed Mei. "He's so cruel to just take away your dream like that."
"It's… fine. It was a stupid dream, anyway."
"No, it wasn't. My dreams are about to come true because of you. I hope you find a way to achieve yours." She took a deep breath. "Wish me luck." She headed back downstairs.
Winry stepped out onto the balcony, the wrench she always carried in her bag in her hand. She stared up at the Evening Star and shut her eyes tight.
"Please?" she whispered. After a moment, she opened her eyes to see a frog on the balcony railing. "Very funny, Evening Star." She pouted and rested her chin in her hand before glancing at the frog. "Let me guess. You want a kiss."
"That'd be nice," the frog replied. Winry screamed and stumbled backwards, right into Mei's bookshelf. Stuffed animals fell down and the frog came in.
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" she yelled.
"WAIT!" the frog begged, as Winry began pelting him with stuffed animals. "You have a very strong arm, Your Highness!"
"Don't come any closer, or I'll…" threatened Winry, holding up Mei's copy of The Frog Prince. The frog hopped onto the dresser.
"Wait! My name is Prince Edward Elric—" Winry smashed the book onto the frog "—of Xerxes!"
"Hold on. Wait. If you're Prince Edward, then who is dancing with Mei downstairs?!"
"I don't know. One minute, I'm tall and charming to everybody, and the next, I'm tripping over a pair of flippers!" He glanced at the book. "I know that story…"
"The Frog Prince? Why am I not surprised?"
"That's the answer!"
"What is?"
"You have to kiss me!"
"Oh, hell no. I am not kissing a frog."
"But, you have to help me!"
"Why should I? I've had enough disappointment today, thank you very much!"
"Listen, I come from a wealthy family! If you help me get back to normal, I can help you in return! There must be something you want!" Winry glanced at the wrench on the floor, then back at Edward.
"Okay, but just one kiss." She shut her eyes and leaned in, making contact as more of the green plasma surrounded the two of them.
Excitedly, Ed looked down to see… he was still a frog.
"Fan-fucking-tastic," he muttered, before looking on the floor. The dress the princess had been wearing was in a heap, a slight movement within. "What the…?"
"Hey, how'd you get up there?" he heard her voice ask, as another frog came out of the dress. "And how'd I get down—" The other frog screamed as it hopped onto the dresser.
"What the fuck?!" Ed yelled.
"What did you do to me?!" the frog sobbed. "I'm green and I'm slimy!"
"It's not slime; it's mucus," Ed corrected matter-of-factly.
Note: Never try and correct Winry Rockbell when she's confused and pissed off.
"You—you—"
The frog tackled him, right out the door. After that, they struggled to get away from the partygoers, all of whom were trying to catch the party-crashing frogs until they got tangled up in balloons that floated away.
Kimblee watched it happen, a displeased expression on his face as he watched Envy run off.
"You let him go?!" Kimblee screeched.
"He was gasping for air! He's no good to us dead!" Envy, disguised as Edward, replied.
"No, as long as we have his blood in this talisman, we're fine. Just keep it up and seduce Miss Chang."
Part 2 coming soon!
So, what do y'all think? Let me know in the comments!
So long and thanks for all the fish!