Summary: Ling has finally achieved his goal and become emperor, but now a whole new problem presents itself when Ling is kidnapped. With the help of Al and Mei, Lan Fan has to find her lord and get him back, before the rest of the empire realises what has happened. But when betrayal is the root of the problem, how can she know who to trust? Of course, the whole thing becomes even more of a challenge when feelings come out into the open.

And wow, an actually good sounding summary, I am so proud

Okay, wow... um... this was actually a rather long chapter... for the final section but I just had to sort of... summarise.

Um... I don't think this should end up with too many chapters... I guess I'll just have to see how it works out.

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, though the OCs (eg. Ono, the Shii clan) are mine, just... made off the top of my head and... heehee... I own people...

Ling: Wow... that's just a little weird *laughs*

Oh shush, you can't talk... you're starving in the gardens...

Ling: *frowns* when do I get to eat then...?

We- hey, I just had an idea- this is a spoiler right here so don't keep reading if you haven't finished FMAB or whatever but- don't you think that Ling could have been Gluttony if he didn't become Greed? heehee

Ling: I'm fairly certain I should be offended

Lan Fan: *glares* don't insult the Young Lord

Fufu...

Anyway, I just realised, this kinda has spoilers for the ending of FMAB regarding Ling, Lan Fan, Fuu, Al, Mei... um... let's just say everyone.

Enjoy!

Chapter One: Missing

"That new Emperor is a fool! Our very own Ono would have been a much better ruler. Simply because this Ling Yao found a philosopher's stone! Pah! I bet he only came across it by accident anyway!"

"Well… if you really feel that way, perhaps you'd be happy to help the rest of us out. We came up with a plan that'll make our clan the most powerful of all of them. Ono will be emperor for many centuries to come, and we shall be respected, as is our right!"

"Then… what's the plan?"

"Well…"

"My Lord? My Lord, where have you gotten to?" Lan Fan felt close to tears, the emperor- Ling- had been missing for a half a day and she couldn't find him anywhere. 'He's probably collapsed somewhere again…' she was worried, but she also a little irritated, 'he's emperor now! He shouldn't be acting like this anymore… though… I suppose… if he acted any different, he wouldn't be Ling… and I wouldn't like him to be anyone else.' She checked another room, "but I'm his bodyguard and he makes my job so difficult! He probably doesn't even care!" She sighed, "no, he probably would if he thought he as troubling me a lot," 'that's one of the reasons I admire him so much…' Lan Fan sighed again, 'honestly, he's the only one who can make me feel so indecisive like this!' she thought to herself exhaustedly before deciding to try the kitchen again.

About half an hour later, Lan Fan decided she would be able to find Ling quicker if she got help. That being said, she couldn't ask just anyone. Resolutely she headed to Mei's room, 'if Mei and Al helped me, I'd be sure to find him quicker', normally, Lan Fan would hate the idea of asking someone for help- not to mention, she would feel guilty about interrupting Al and Mei's lesson on alkahestry- but, in truth, now that Ling was emperor, she would have to worry about his safety even more. And the time he's been gone for was no small thing.

The country of Xing is composed of fifty hereditary clans, from each clan; the emperor marries the daughter of the chief and has her bear him an heir. Those born compete in order to become the next emperor; Ling discovered a philosopher's stone in Amestris, this gave him the needed boost to gain the place of emperor as the previous emperor's health failed him. However, because of this, certain other clans- especially the Shii clan and the emperor's son Ono, who had, until Ling's return been the favourite for becoming the next emperor- resented Ling for it, feeling bitter over the loss, though they all accepted it to some degree.

Lan Fan felt that some of the clans might attempt something, in the early years of Ling's rule, while loyalty is still rocky, so that they may take the place of power instead. As his bodyguard, she absolutely couldn't let that happen, Lan Fan paused, 'no… that isn't it, even if I wasn't assigned his bodyguard, I'd still want to protect him'.

"Lan Fan… has Ling gone missing again?" Lan Fan paused in her musings, looking up to see Alphonse Elric and Mei Chang looking at her, though Al was smiling gently, Mei's expression was better described as evil, "I knew it, she's completely in love with him." Lan Fan heard Mei mutter to herself. A slight blush formed on her cheeks, "I'm not in love with the Lord, it is my duty to protect him, that is all." Mei gave Lan Fan a look that stated she clearly didn't believe her words, 'it's true though, I admire the Young Lord, and I suppose I do… care for him to some extent, but it isn't love! Definitely not.'

She sighed, "I have no wish to bother your studies, but if you would aid me in my search for my lord, I would appreciate it, he has been missing since morning and I'm worried that he might have collapsed again." Al laughed, "of course, if he's been without food that long, chances are he has collapsed," Mei sighed, crossing her arms, "honestly, what kind of emperor is this irresponsible?" she wondered aloud, however she spoke fondly, so Lan Fan didn't take offense on behalf of him, rather, she found herself silently agreeing with the young Xingese girl.

Mei smiled, "well then, we'd better get looking for him, right away!" Al smiled, nodding his agreement, before Mei added, "then we can right back to your studies," Al smile dimmed, before he jumped to his feet, "but Mei, we've rarely had any breaks from this as it is, I can only hold so much new knowledge in my head before it explodes!" Mei frowned, "your head isn't going to explode, besides, we're having a break right now, to look for Ling!" Al sighed and Lan Fan could tell he had realised he wasn't going to win this fight, 'they're like a married couple' she thought to herself distractedly.

Mei walked out of the room, "let's go look for Ling then! The sooner we find him the sooner I can get back to teaching you Alphonse!" Al sighed, before nodding, "yeah, Mei, it'll be great."

Lan Fan turned to Al, "she's a bit different when it comes to teaching alkahestry," Al nodded, "yeah, but… to be honest, I don't really mind, I like how she gets so serious about things. And I am genuinely enjoying the lessons, I've learning so much about Xingese alkahestry, Mei is really an amazing teacher." Al smiled happily, and Lan Fan swore she could hear wedding bells, 'no matter how I look at it, those two are very fond of each other, to say the least.' She thought to herself, smiling softly.

"Well, let's go look for Ling then."

Lan Fan nodded, "yeah."

"Yes, we've managed to get in!"

"Don't talk so loudly, you fool, there's no point sneaking in like this if we get caught!" The man who had been reprimanded gulped, then nodded quickly, "my apologies," he whispered.

Looking around they cautiously began to move forward, "we need to find the emperor and get out of here!" one of them whispered, "I know, as we discussed, we'll split up and check the different places our informant told us we might find him. Make sure you aren't spotted, look out for that bodyguard of his; she can sense the presence of people. Meet back here again in half an hour, if someone is here; stay back until they're gone. Everyone understand?"

They all nodded affirmatively before splitting into groups of five; there was a sense of tension in the air. All present knew that the emperor had the ability to sense the presence of people, just like his bodyguard, and both were very capable in fighting.

It was a tricky task they had ahead of them, and they had not had much in the way to prepare for it. Rather, they had been told to improvise, and they were nervous about whether or not this plan would succeed.

A grumble could be heard from between the trees, and a quiet, pained mutter of, "food…"

Lan Fan sighed, "this place is far too large, I've been looking for him for almost the whole day now, and I obviously haven't come anywhere close to where he is, I haven't been able to detect his chi yet."

Al looked around, "it would be a lot easier if I knew how to do that thing Lan Fan and Ling mentioned, I could probably find him quicker if I could detect his chi, I still haven't gotten a chance to learn that yet," he sighed, "I'm still stuck on that stuff about the 'dragon's pulse'," he heard a sound behind him and turned to see someone disappear behind a corner. Curiosity sparked, Al moved toward the corner, upon reaching it, he paused for a moment before jumping around the corner, ready to catch whoever had been hiding behind it.

No one was there.

He frowned in confusion, "oh, okay then," and turned to look for Ling once more.

The man collapsed against the wall, turning to his comrade he gasped, "that was too close," the other frowned replying harshly, "well, if you weren't so slow it wouldn't have been!" Turning, he saw the other three heading into the gardens, grabbing onto the other's arm, he ran after them, dragging his companion behind him.

Mei frowned, "where have you got to Ling?" she wondered aloud, 'I wanna teach Alphonse some more about alkahestry,' she thought to herself, feeling childishly like pouting. She sighed, 'actually, it's more like I wanna spend more time with Alphonse' she frowned at that thought, before shrugging and poking her head into another door to look around.

While looking around in the room, Mei heard movement outside, turning quickly; she focused on the door, as the sound got closer. Mei remembered a time when she had been a child; she had been in her room, playing with Xiao-Mei, when she had heard voices outside. Someone had come into her room and grabbed at her, acting instinctively she had run away, not able to perform much alkahestry yet. He had chased her and in the end, nearly caught up to her, before Mei's uncle arrived on the scene and subdued the man. It seemed, he had been from a rival clan, hoping to eliminate some of the competition, though the plan had been sloppily executed.

Mei had been young at that time, and it had scared her to no end.

As memories of that time flashed through her mind, the sounds got closer and her fear grew, then Xiao-Mei nudged at her cheek with her nose. Snapping out of it, Mei took a deep breath, 'things are different now, what are you doing Mei? Getting so worked up over a memory, whoever it is, you can handle them, easy!' that decided, Mei balanced herself, stepping into an attack position, ready for whoever came through the door.

She stiffened as the door opened, and prepared herself to attack, when Al stepped through cautiously, he started when he saw Mei, "Oh, Mei," he smiled, "sorry, I didn't realise you were in here." He laughed sheepishly and Mei felt herself relax instantly, only Al could calm her down so quickly like this.

Without another word, she walked forward and hugged him, burying her face in his chest, "M-Mei?" Al stuttered, blushing slightly, Mei didn't respond, simply tightening her grip on him. After a few moments, Al smiled gently, then he wrapped his arms around Mei, hugging her back tightly.

They heard him before they saw him, rather, the group heard his stomach. The five of them moved through the bushes and saw the emperor lying prone on the grass floor, groaning, "food." One of them bent down and prodded the teenager cautiously, as though expecting him to leap up and bite it off. Another nudged the man beside him, whispering, "he's even more useless than we thought." He started laughing, the one next to him did as well, and soon, all five of them were struggling to hold in their chuckles. At that moment one of them flew back in a spray of blood, hitting a tree, he slid down and started coughing, clutching at his front. When the other's turned to help him, he waved them off, "it's only a shallow wound."

"Oh? What a shame, I guess my hunger's affected my fighting." They all turned at the sound of the voice, the emperor, Ling of the Yao clan now stood proudly and determinedly, he sword unsheathed and held loosely in one hand, already red with blood.

Despite the shock of the sudden change, it was a sight to behold.

However, these men, had all trained in fighting, just as the emperor had. His bodyguards were nowhere to be seen and their advantage was added to when another group of theirs stumbled across the conflict and joined in.

Ling was knocked unconscious, his sword taken from him, almost all of them had been caught by the man's blade, one had been killed. But the emperor had been subdued, and the plan could commence.

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes had been watching, and during the fight, the owner of those eyes had run off in search of Lan Fan.

I don't know how well I got their characters but... I did my best.

I hope this sounds interesting to you guys!

And... yeah... it's kinda obvious who I ship F3

Al: *tilts head cutely* who do you ship?

Well... one of them is you and Mei

Al: *blushes*

Mei: Yay! Does that mean we're going to be a thing in this?

Meh... who knows *tries to smile mysteriously* *ends up looking like I'm in pain instead*

But seriously, I might have you guys happen, or I might just continue to hint really obviously at the two of you, like what happens in the actual anime and manga and stuff, because yes, it is hinted very heavily in that anime and manga

Review! Let me know if you think this idea is any good!

And wow, I've uploaded a lot today, on Christmas too! Like... wut.