Chapter 1

Love in Moonlight

This story was originally meant to be a part of my fic, "Alchemists and Monsters," but I'm having terrible writer's block and my brain could only focus on this part of the story. So I made it a prologue story.

Elincia and Alicia are Erin and Alice Elric's Xerxes-born past lives. Both were Van Hoenheim's students before the fall of Xerxes. How they managed to escape will come later. Elincia has more of a sweeter demenor than Erin, though.

And yes, the name came from Fire Emblem. It was just to perfect.

I do not own Fire Emblem, Yu-Gi-Oh! or Fullmetal Alchemist. Just Elincia and Alicia.

It was a cool summer's night in Egypt and in a lush, walled garden; a young man of sixteen with hair of gold, black and red as well as crimson/violet eyes had just stepped out of a large palace. Dressed in fine robes and golden jewelry, this young man was clearly of noble blood. And not just any noble. He was the Pharaoh of all of Egypt, given the name 'Atem' upon his birth.

Atem had recently become pharaoh after the death of his father, Pharaoh Aknamkanon, three moons past and had also inherited the Millennium Puzzle, a golden object in the shape of a pyramid with an eye on it that was supposed to have mystical powers. Although three moons had passed, Atem was still struggling on how to be as great a ruler as his father was. But that didn't stop some of his advisors to constantly tell him that he needed wives to bear his heirs.

Although it was customary for the pharaohs to take more than one wife, Atem wanted to wait until Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of love, in her own way to present a wife that would not only be the perfect mother of his children, but to love Atem as he was, not that the fact that he was pharaoh.

Back to the present, Atem walked until he was at the southern edge of the immaculate garden. In this section there was a large pond that was filled with the healthiest of fish the Nile could produce, for it was created by man to send the waters of the Nile underground and into the deep pond. There were many flowers and orchids that gave the area a pleasant natural aroma as the section was protected by the many rare and exotic trees like guardians.

It was Atem's favorite spot to go to when he needed some well-earned rest from the havoc of ruling a great kingdom. With his affairs currently in order, Atem had another reason to come to the area aside from the beauty and the fragrances: the persistent badgering of immediately building a royal harem. The young pharaoh laid down on the grass and looked up to the starry form of the goddess Nut and the full moon that Khonsu leads across her every night until Ra returns from the Duat to start the next day. (A/N: Or underworld for those of you who don't read Rick Riordan's books or study mythology)

It was from basking under the glow of the moon that the pharaoh closed his eyes and began to wish. A wish for a wife who would accept him as he was and would help get the advisors off his back. A wife who, in case of an emergency or if he would be away for something, could lead the kingdom just as he would. Someone who he could trust. Someone with whom he could freely shed tears to. Someone who would make him smile.

"Please, O Hathor. Please grant my wish. It is all that I ask." The pharaoh whispered.

Just then, a dim, unfamiliar light caught the pharaoh's eyes. This was followed by the sound of someone carefully moving through the bushes. Cautious, but curious, Atem moved from the pond and into a cluster of large ferns, keeping him from sight. He waited in complete silence before the figure tripped onto its back, exposing it in the moonlight.

What Atem saw stole his breath.

Under the moonlight was a girl no older than him and bearing strange features. Her skin was as white as the moon itself and her hair was a mane of pure gold that just went past the middle of her shoulders and tied in a braid. Among the features Atem could see, he liked her eyes the most; a solid golden color with a fire, though small at the moment, was bright as Ra himself. Despite being dressed in a tattered tannish-grey dress and covered in spots of dirt, which clearly indicated she was poor, this girl was the loveliest creature Atem had ever seen.

But despite the beauty before him, there was still one question in Atem's mind: how did she get in?

The young pharaoh's mind snapped to attention as the golden girl crept out of the moonlight and into the shadows. Atem waited for her to move for several moments until she did, making her way to a single tree. It was a vanilla bean tree that his father received a friend when he was a child. As a child, Atem would help the servants pick the beans from the tree and would get a treat made with the vanilla as thanks.

He watched as the girl approached the tree, looked around to make sure she wouldn't get caught, and then began to pluck a couple of ripe vanilla beans and broke off several of the tree's white orchids, stopping once in a while to smell the flower. Unable to see more, Atem carefully crept through the brushes toward the girl, careful not to get caught himself.

But then, just as he was close enough, he carelessly stepped on a twig, snapping it. This did not go unheard of by the girl and, in a panic, began to run to the southeastern wall. Realizing what he did and without thinking, Atem stood up and struggled to make his way toward the fleeing girl, knowing she had nowhere to go.

"Wait! Wait a minute!"

He managed to make it through the bushes to find the girl placing her hand on the wall and created a circular opening, enabling her to escape while causing the light show Atem had witnessed earlier. But just as he was about to go through the opening after her, the opening closed just as it was created.

The girl had escaped not only from the garden with the vanilla, but with the pharaoh's heart as well.

After losing the girl, Atem immediately went to one of his advisors and keeper of the Millennium Necklace, Isis, and told her what he had seen, hoping that she could help him locate this mysterious girl. Isis, a wise and intelligent woman, could see that the young pharaoh would not rest until he had found her again.

"Very well, my pharaoh. Tell me. What does this girl look like?"

Atem answered her, grateful to the priestess.

"She had moonlit skin with eyes and hair that were as gold as Ra's sun."

Upon hearing this information, Isis' eyes widened, having heard of a people with those features before.

"M-my pharaoh. Do you mean to tell me that you have met with a Xerxesian girl?"

It was Atem's turn to ask a question.

"Xerxesian, Isis?"

Isis answered him truthfully, still in shock at what the pharaoh had seen.

"Xerxes is-was a country far from here where the people mastered philosophy and above all, alchemy. I had been there once when I was a child and I will admit that Xerxes rivaled Egypt in civilization. And the only characteristic the Xerxesian people shared were golden eyes and golden hair."

As Atem heard this, he noticed that Isis had used past-tense words during her explanation. That led him to another question.

"What happened to Xerxes, Isis? What did the Millennium Necklace show you?"

Isis was hesitant. But she knew that such information should be given to the pharaoh.

"I fear that Xerxes has been wiped out, Your Majesty. Her buildings are her carcass now."

Knowing the pharaoh wanted to know more, Isis spoke.

"I sensed a dark deed had been done onto the country by her royal court happen two moons ago. In minutes, the entire nation fell silent. I could not sense any survivors. If what you have told me about the woman is true, then maybe there are possibly more than one Xerxesian left. But the odds are…she might be the last of her people."

The pharaoh froze in shock. An entire kingdom…that rivaled Egypt…disappeared in one night? He could not find the words that would describe the shock and the sorrow over the last Xerxesian who now wanders the city streets, alone. Isis, sensing the pharaoh's grief, spoke.

"What do you wish to do now, my pharaoh?"

After a moment of silence, the pharaoh spoke, more determined than ever.

"When Ra returns, send several search parties around the city. I will partake in the search as well. I wish to bring the Xerxesian to the palace as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, with the Xerxesian…

As the pharaoh began preparations for the following morning, the Xerxesian girl ran down the shadows of the streets, hiding from the public eye and guards. With the items in her hands, she sneaked her way toward an abandoned house and went inside. Inside, there were two beds between a single fire, one of them occupied.

Careful not to wake the occupant, the girl crept over to a jar and placed the items she took inside, just in time as another, younger Xerxesian girl sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Elincia? What in the world are you doing up, big sister?"

The older Xerxesian, Elincia, was startled for a moment, but then sighed in relief as she spoke in a gentle voice.

"Just checking something, Alicia. Go back to sleep. Remember. You have your birthday tomorrow."

Too tired to care, Alicia laid back down as Elincia crept over to her bed. And fell asleep, knowing that she had her sister's birthday present safely tucked away until morning. But her thoughts did turn to one thing: the man who was chasing after her. Although it was common to fly rather than fight when getting caught stealing from another's garden, something about that man's voice seemed…concerned. As if he wanted to talk to her than arrest her.

Shaking her head, Elincia muttered to herself as she fell asleep.

"Don't be silly, Elincia. You're just tired. There is no way he would rather talk instead of locking you up."

The Next Morning with Atem…

The following morning came and the parties that were to search for the Xerxesian girl had been dispatched, while Atem was on his own, cloaked to prevent anyone from recognizing him. He had left his duties to his advisors for the day once they learned that the pharaoh had a keen interest in this mysterious girl and what the pharaoh planned to speak to her about.

Shop by shop, Atem would ask a shopkeeper or a customer if they had seen the golden girl, but no luck. He searched uptown, the east side and the west side vigorously. By the time he reached down town, the young pharaoh was beginning to lose hope of ever seeing the girl again.

That is…until he saw a flash of gold leave a shop and down an alley. Curious, the pharaoh followed the figure until it stopped a bit, allowing him to catch up and identify the figure. It was the girl from the night before, carrying a small basket of ingredients down towards a dilapidated house, carefully watching for anything.

Elated that he had found her, the pharaoh continued to follow the girl until she went into the house. Careful not to get caught this time, Atem crept to one of the boarded-up windows and listened to the conversation inside.

"I'm back, Alicia. Gahiji and Eshe are grateful for fixing their pottery and paid us in food this time. Talk about lucky."

"I still can't believe you found that vanilla, Elincia. And with Mr. Gahiji and Ms. Eshe giving this to us…"

Now he knew the name of the girl from the other night. Elincia. Truly a name fit for a rare and exotic creature. But who was this Alicia? It was then that Alicia spoke.

"I still wish you did not have to steal that vanilla, sister. It would have been fine to go without. But what if you were caught?"

"Now don't talk such things, Alicia. I wanted to get you a present you would love. And in these hard times, sometimes people need to steal just to survive. Besides, it's not like anyone is going to miss a few beans and orchids."

Atem could not keep his curiosity contained anymore. Straightening himself up, he knocked on the door, unaware that it alerted the two sisters in fear and defense. Atem waited until the door opened and Elincia's face came into view.

"Yes?"

Just then, Elincia saw the cloaked stranger's face thanks to a gust of wind that moved the hood of the cloak. It was the man who chased after her the other night.

Quickly, Elincia closed the door, only to have the pharaoh's foot keep it from closing completely. Pushing the door open, despite Elincia's strength to close it, Atem walked in and held up his hands in defense as Elincia started to look for a weapon.

"I did not mean to frighten you! I just want to talk!"

Elincia was about to reach for a piece of wood when Alicia called out.

"Sister! Wait!"

Like Elincia, Atem turned his head to see a second Xerxesian girl sitting on the straw bed. She was no older than ten and her hair went to the very bed she was sitting on. The child clasped her hands together and begged Atem.

"P-please, sir. I-if it's about the vanilla, my sister only took it as a birthday present for me. It's my fault for even mentioning it to her so many times when we cannot afford it. Please! If you are to blame anyone, blame me!"

"Alicia! Don't be so foolish!" Elincia hissed to try and defend her sister.

But Atem, now seeing the situation, gave a warm smile and knelt down.

"Your sister is right, child. Do not worry, little one. I do not wish for your sister to be arrested."

This surprised both sisters.

"R-really?" Alicia asked.

The pharaoh placed a hand on Alicia's should and reassured her.

"Really."

Alicia was grateful, but Elincia was still cautious. She confirmed this as she spoke.

"If you are here to talk like you said, what do you wish talk about then? And who are you, may I ask?"

With a smirk on his lips, Atem looked to Elincia and spoke.

"My name is Atem. I am the pharaoh, or ruler, of Egypt. And I have come to make you, Elincia, my queen."

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