Chapter One: A Single Daffodil


Daffodil symbolizes regard and chivalry. It is indicative of rebirth, new beginnings and eternal life. It also symbolizes unrequited love. A single daffodil foretells a misfortune while a bunch of daffodils indicate joy and happiness.


Morning sunlight seeped through the green semi-transparent curtain. The room felt strangely fresh this morning, but the woman standing by the door paid it no heed. She made a beeline to the crib where her baby lay sleeping.

She sighed with relief when she saw how peacefully her baby was in the dreamland. It was rare that he slept through the night, normally he would cry at wee hours out of hunger or need to change his diaper.

Well, who was she to refuse a good night's sleep?

She hummed a tune to a lullaby while her hand reached to touch the baby's cheek. Then, suddenly, just before her finger made contact with his skin, the air around it rippled. To her horror, she saw her baby rippling along with the air, like a broken image above rolling waters.

When the ripples were gone, so was her baby. In its place was a log of wood about the size of the child, covered with moss and dirt, still on the bed as if mocking the young mother for mistaking it to be a sleeping child.

The woman screamed.


"Is this a joke?"

The colonel in blue leaned in his seat, smiling tiredly. "Unfortunately, Fullmetal, no. Believe me, I'm hoping that it is."

Edward Elric glared at Roy Mustang. "But people being kidnapped by fairies? Are you for real? How can little people with wings that only exist in fairy tales kidnap people?"

"I don't think they can, Fullmetal. How victims' families describe the perpetrator isn't something that I can control." Roy's voice sounded a bit annoyed, now. "For some reasons all of them believe the culprit are fairies."

Edward skimmed the papers. "Cute," he grunted. "So I need to look for tiny people with butterfly wings. Seriously, Mustang, if this is a prank – "

"As much as I like making fun of you, this isn't one of those instances, Fullmetal." Roy glared. "I've got better things to do than to fake documents to make you believe that fictional creatures have been stealing people."

Edward sighed. "Right, you're too lazy to do that anyway. But why is this case assigned to me? This reeks of people trying to make a laughingstock. 'Hey, look, that's the Elric kid! Let's make him chase fairies like a like a baby he is!' Not funny." He caught the sheepish look Roy sent him, and his eyes went wide. "Wait, are you serious? Someone did say that?!"

"Calm down, Fullmetal," Roy said. "No one actually said that, though it might be implied in their action. Have you checked the location yet?"

"No," Edward admitted, immediately moving to search for the name of the place. "Uh… Faeburn? I haven't heard of that place before."

"It's a small town north to Posterim," Roy explained, "and its location is right at the East-North border. No train goes directly there, you'll have to reach that town through Posterim. The Northern Command had as much say as the Eastern does in this case. Apparently they thought this is a joke and gave the case to us. To you, specifically."

Edward gave an ugly scowl. "Who's the one who said that? Let me punch their lights out."

"It was a Brigadier General, Fullmetal. You'll be signing your death warrant if you actually do that."

Edward slumped in his seat. "Doesn't make me want to punch them any less."

Roy smirked. "But this is actually a good opportunity for you to make a name for yourself, don't you think?" Upon meeting Edward's questioning gaze, he elaborated, "They think you're a kid, so they're making fun of you by giving you this ridiculous mission. This is an opportunity to prove yourself to them."

Edward's eyes strayed away from Roy's. "Haven't I done that numerous times already?"

"Yeah, you weren't named the Hero of the People for no reason." Edward's eyes met Roy's again. "We can't help the fact that you are very young and many people will still think of you as a little kid." The colonel smirked. "Add to the fact that your height is…"

"Are you calling me short, Colonel Bastard?!" Edward roared instantly.

"Oh, someone's temper seems to be especially short today!" Roy teased. "I see that you're a little ticked!"

"Stop calling me little, you goddamned Colonel Bastard!"

Roy was openly laughing by then. "Let's check the case file first. I haven't really taken a look at it either."

Still scowling, Edward opened the file. "People of all ages disappearing in their own house… changed into logs of wood or rocks?! What the hell?"

"The people call those logs and rocks 'stock'," Roy elaborated. "Apparently it is a type of something they call 'changeling'. Do you know what that is?"

"'A child believed to have been substituted by fairies for the parents' real child in infancy'… Child? But there are teenagers and adults missing, too." Edward's eyes scanned the paper and narrowed. "All female, with the exception of children under seven."

"Apparently it is believed that a human should be the one milking the fairies' babies or at least be the one taking care of them." Roy twirled a pen in his fingers. "A female human, that is. People also say a midwife is needed to bring a fairy child to the world. Some even say that human milk is necessary for a fairy child to survive."

"How do you know all this?" Edward asked suspiciously. "You never come across as the type to enjoy this kind of fairy tale."

"If I'm throwing you headfirst into this kind of case where you might be the one going missing later," Roy lifted his brow and stared straight into Edward's eyes, "I might as well tell you."

"Eh, fair enough," Edward shrugged. "But fairies? Come on, Mustang. They aren't real."

"Well, the townsfolk seem to believe they're real enough to kidnap people. Whoever did this needs to be knowledgeable about it enough to convince people that fairies are the ones doing this. Knowing about the creatures themselves should help."

"Alright," Edward nodded, seeing the logic behind Roy's reasoning. "But you haven't told me the most important thing. What can ward these fairies off?"

"Iron," Roy smirked. "Steel is preferable. If these creatures really are real, you'll be more than safe, especially considering a seven foot tall armor will be coming along."

Edward gave a grin. "That's true, isn't it? It feels good to have safer mission every once in a while. Why can't you give me more of these kinds of mission?"

Roy shook his head. "Don't take this too lightly. All kinds of mission have dangers. We wouldn't want to scare the kidnapper and have them running away before we can catch them."

Edward nodded. "Don't worry. I'll do this one quietly."

"Alright then. Just to be clear, your mission is to catch the kidnapper and find the missing people." Roy's eyes were downcast. "… or whatever is left of them."

"Roger that," Edward's tone was grim. He understood perfectly what Roy meant. "After I'm done with this I expect to get a long time off to do my research, you hear me, Mustang?"

"That can be arranged. It all depends on your results, of course." Roy's smirk was playful. "Besides, you'll have to get an astounding result to own up to that General in the North."

Edward's face contorted into a dark, determined smile. "That's all the encouragement I need." He stood up and scooped the files into his arms. "I'll just go and wrap this case up quickly then."

"You do that, Full – " Roy's words were cut when he saw something fell from Edward's pocket. "Fullmetal, you dropped something." He stood up and picked it up, finding it to be a photograph of four people; a man who seemed to be crying, a young woman carrying a baby close to her chest, and a little kid being lifted by the man. His eyes widened when he recognized the little kid to be Edward.

Before he could comment on anything, the photograph was snatched from his hand. He turned to look at the young alchemist, who had put the folder on the chair he previously sat on, clutching the edges of the photograph tightly in his hands. His face was red with embarrassment. "It was nothing, alright?!" he roared before Roy could say anything. "Granny Pinako said she has a copy and she wants me to have one – she forced me to bring it with me – I planned to leave it but I forgot it was there – I swear I never wanted to – "

"Fullmetal, calm down," Roy put his hand on Edward's shoulder. "There isn't anything wrong with carrying a photo of your family around."

Edward stared at him, still red-faced. "You're not going to make fun of me?"

"Would you rather be made fun of?" Roy's brow shot up. Then he smirked. "Though I have to tell you I see no difference between the you now and the you then. You don't seem to have grown – "

"Finish that sentence and I swear I'll make sure you'll have to do a lot more paperwork from now on."

Roy smiled. "Alphonse looked cute."

Edward mirrored Roy's expression, albeit with more gentleness that Roy thought the boy was capable of. "He's always been." He shuffled awkwardly after he said that, face flushing once more. He coughed. "Uhhh. There should be a train heading to Posterim soon." He looked up to Roy, face starting to fade into its usual color. His eyes blazed. "When I'm done with this case, I want you to call that General and have him to come here so I can gloat all I want, alright? I wanna see how his face looks," he stated as he gathered the documents he deposited on the chair and started off to the door.

Roy gave a chuckle. "I'd rather not. That person is scary enough when there's nothing pissing her off, I don't want to see her when she's annoyed."

Edward stopped mid-step. "Wait. 'Her'?"

"Yes, Fullmetal," Roy's grin was amused. "The Brigadier General is a she."


Edward sat on the train quietly, hands cradling the photograph of his family. After hearing Roy's words about his opinion on him carrying it, he felt more at ease with putting the photograph in his pocket.

Sure the face of the bastard of a father in there kind of ruined the picture. But there was a baby Al and a smiling Trisha in there too.

"Brother, can I see that photo?"

Edward looked up to see Alphonse's face, who was sitting across of him. He smiled. "Sure, Al," he said, handing the picture to Alphonse's outstretched hand.

"You know, I don't remember ever taking this picture," Alphonse said with a laugh. "I guess I was too small to remember."

Edward laughed. "I can barely remember it either. I just remember being lifted and a flash of light."

"I guess we were both too young then." Alphonse stared at the photo, sighing. "Here, Brother," he said, handing Edward back the picture.

Edward shook his head. "You hold on to it. If I keep it I think it'll end up being crumpled or torn." He looked out to the window, seeing trees whizzing past. "How long do you think it'll be until we reach Faeburn? We still have to change trains after we get to Posterim."

"I'm not sure, but it must be another half a day at least," Alphonse speculated.

"So it takes a whole day to reach that village at least," Edward sighed. "I hope no one else was taken."

"Yeah," Alphonse agreed. The rest of the trip was spent in relative silence, the brothers simply enjoying each other's company. Occasionally, they would exchange words and chatted about whatever crossed their mind, but they would always lapse into the peaceful silence that eventually lulled Edward to sleep. Alphonse woke him up to change trains when they reached Posterim, and soon they were back on tracks to Faeburn.

"What do you think about this case, Brother?" Alphonse asked between the silence of the car.

"It's ridiculous," Edward answered bluntly. "The notion of fairies kidnapping people is just plain idiotic. People steal people."

"That's true…" Alphonse muttered. "But then, where do the missing people went to?"

"We'll have to hope for the best," Edward stared out of the window. The sky was still glaringly blue, but another hour or two and it would start changing red.

Soon, they reached the small station in Faeburn, which was more of a stop than a station. The platform was small and old, the red bricks peeking underneath the crumbled cement covering it. A blanket of soft moss grew happily on the dulled corners and moist bottom, but overall it was still strong enough to hold. The road to the town itself was no more than a small dirt path not unlike that of Resembool – the difference was that this was narrower in size and was surrounded by tall trees of the forest.

Edward looked up to the sky. "It's getting dark," he noted. "We should go to the town."

"I wonder if they have an inn we can stay in," Alphonse muttered lowly.

Edward shrugged. "If they don't, we'll just ask someone to lend us a room. If all comes to worst we can always camp outside."

Alphonse looked surprised at that. "Wouldn't that be dangerous?"

"That's true…" Edward sighed. "Let's think about that when we get to it. For now let's just go there first." He started to walk down the dirt path, Alphonse following closely behind. His eyes swept through the thicket as their feet worked through the way. The trees were tall, so tall. They blocked whatever light the sun still provided, leaving them under the looming shadows and occasional rays of golden dusk light.

Then his eyes caught glimmers of white.

Edward stopped in his tracks, forcing Alphonse to stop as well. He ignored Alphonse's confused call and instead narrowed his eyes as he scanned the forest once again, taking care to spot white this time. He couldn't find it. He frowned in confusion, still searching.

"What is it, Brother?" Alphonse's voice drew Edward's attention away.

"No… nothing," Edward shook his head and resumed his march. "Let's go, Al."

It didn't take long for them to reach the place. The town was more like a village than anything. It was crowded and noisy, but not with life. Instead, the air was thick with a sense of grief and loss. The people were crowding around a house, where they could hear lamenting wails above the buzzing whispers. They could hear words being shouted above it all,

"Let's go to the forest and hunt those fairies down!"

"We can't go to the forest! What if we anger the fairies and our daughters are killed?"

"The offerings don't please them anymore, what else are we supposed to do?!"

Slowly, Edward approached someone who sat at the outer circle of the house and tapped his shoulder. "Excuse me, what's going on here?"

The young man with sandy blond hair stared at him, clearly startled. "Wha – oh. You're not from around here, are you?" his wood brown eyes narrowed.

Edward fished his pocket watch and showed it to the young man. "We're from the military. They sent us to deal with the disappearances."

"The military?"

The young man's disbelieving voice raised above the murmurs, and soon all attention was drawn towards the alchemist in red and the boy trapped in the armor. Alphonse took a step back while Edward squirmed uneasily. There was a shift in the air, and the atmosphere grew tenser somewhat.

"What's the military doing here?" a voice asked from the crowd.

"What do they want?" another demanded.

"Nothing, we were just sent to investigate the disappearances," Alphonse answered, a tone of restlessness in his voice.

A shrill and broken laugh resounded from inside the house. "Investigate?!" a young woman stumbled out, a little wobbly and clearly very upset. "What can the military do to take back my child? My baby?! The fairies took him, no one can retrieve my baby!"

She stepped menacingly towards Edward and lost her footing right in front of him, and ended up grabbing a handful of his collar. She pulled herself up. "It's too late for investigations. Too late for that! My little Ray is gone and there's nothing – " she looked up to meet his golden eyes with her red-rimmed ones, and her dark brown orbs grew wide with surprise. "…your eyes," she muttered with a voice that dropped to a whisper all of a sudden. "They're gold."

"Y-yeah, it's hereditary," Edward stammered. When the woman's eyes went even wider and then suddenly narrowed accusingly, he wondered if he shouldn't have answered her.

"Faeling!" the woman screamed to his face. "Faeling! Give me back my son! Give him back to me!"

Her grip made its way to his throat, and soon he was struggling to pry her impossibly strong fingers away from his neck. "My child!" the woman screamed, over and over again, not letting go of her hold even as the townsfolk and Alphonse wrestled her vengeful hands away. "My child!"

Edward couldn't tell how long it took, but the townspeople finally managed to free him from the crazed woman and held her back from lunging to him again. He coughed and hacked, gulping the air in gratefully. "What the hell was that?!" he rasped painfully. "What makes you think – " cough, cough " – I can give you your child back?"

No one answered the question. When his coughs finally died down, Edward looked up to see the townspeople, but they were staring at him with eyes that screamed of distrust, anger, and fear. He stared back questioningly.

Alphonse pulled and helped him stand. "We're sorry if we did something wrong," his voice echoed from inside the helmet. "But we don't think we've done anything to you." The townsfolk shifted uncomfortably, and Edward could sense the guilt they felt.

"What's a faeling?" Edward muttered softly, more to himself than to anyone.

At that, the townspeople once more fixed their gaze to him. Some were outright accusing him with their eyes. Some looked confused, and some upset.

"I believe you are Major Edward Elric?"

The attention was drawn away from him at once. Edward turned to search for the deep voice that resonated with calming charm, and spotted the speaker at once. He stood a bit away from them, the air of authority hanging about him in a way that reminded Edward of the big shot generals in Central at once. His dark hair and leaf green eyes stood out the most, although his black attires was somewhat eye-catching as well. "Yeah," he confirmed with a tone firmer than he really felt. "Sorry, you are…?"

"I'm Kaiser Lotus, the mayor of the town," the middle aged man smiled. "Your commanding officer contacted me to inform your arrival this afternoon. He told me that normally you'd stay at an inn, but unfortunately we have none here. You'll have to stay with me for the time being." His words were directed at him, but his eyes swept through the crowd with a cold warning. Soon they were settled to him once more, inquiring. "Though I was under the impression that the Fullmetal Alchemist was the one wearing the armor…?"

"Oh no, no, it's not me," Alphonse quickly dismissed the assumption while putting a calming hand over Edward's shoulder. "It's him. I'm his younger brother, Alphonse Elric."

Kaiser looked at them with slight bewilderment, but soon he was motioning them to come with him. The two brothers happily did, eager to get away from the townspeople's unnerving stares and the woman who still struggled to curl her fingers around Edward's neck.

"I apologize for Chrysan's behavior," Kaiser said as they walked through the empty streets. "Her baby had just gone missing this morning. She has been hysterical since."

"It's okay," Edward muttered, even though he was still annoyed that the woman decided to attack him. "Just please keep her away from me."

"Duly noted," Kaiser gave a wry smile. "I believe it's because of your coloring, Mr. Elric. You have an… unusual eye color."

"Genetics," Edward grumbled.

"You were wondering what a faeling was, yes?"

Edward nodded. "Can you tell us?"

They turned to a two-story green and white house, with red shutters and brown roof. "A faeling is believed to be an offspring of a human and a fae folk," Kaiser explained as he pushed the green wooden gate open. "Sometimes, they live in the fairies' realm, but sometimes they prefer to stay with their human parent." He motioned the brothers to come in.

Edward and Alphonse stepped in. "And they believe that I am one?"

"You cannot blame them, Mr. Elric," Kaiser huffed a small laugh, pushing the gate close once more. "Golden eye color isn't something that is considered natural here, after all. That color is usually associated with elemental fairies, more precisely flame ones, along with the color red, orange, and yellow."

Alphonse coughed when the word 'flame' was mentioned, while Edward contemplated about which pissed him off more, being accused as a half fairy or associated with a type of them that are closely related to fire… which reminded him too much of Roy Mustang. "Believe me, I think I'd know if I were half imaginary creature," he said.

Kaiser took a set of keys from his pocket. "You may say it that way, but that wouldn't change the way the people feel about you. To be completely honest I feel somewhat angered as well to look at your eyes. They look too fairy-like to be completely human for me."

Both Edward and Alphonse took a step back. "Angered?" Alphonse muttered uneasily. "Why?"

"I'm smart enough to know that it'll be useless to beat you up and try to get the missing people back," Kaiser put the key in the hole and turned it with a click, "but many won't hesitate to do that to you. Too many people have gone missing, and we're getting desperate." He turned the doorknob and pushed. "I included." He took a deep breath. "My daughter… she was one of the missing people as well."

Edward gazed carefully at him. "I still don't believe that fairies are the ones that got those people missing."

"Believe what you want, Mr. Elric, but I honestly believe that it is best if they are taken by fairies after all. While we have no chance of retrieving them, we have no chance to meet the kidnappers either."

"Wait… how is that a good thing?"

Kaiser turned to stare at them. The door behind him swung open with an ominous creak and revealed the dark room beyond. "If it were a human that took my daughter away from me," he began, voice dangerously low, "I swear to God I'm going to be the one to kill them."


A/N: New story! Yay!

I'd like to thank Brenne, who presented the idea of meshing FMA world together with fairy world. Granted, I wouldn't write much of fairies here since I don't think fairies are real myself (but if they are, cool! Just please stay away from my future children, thank you) but learning about the lore and incorporating it into this story is really enjoyable. Anyway, thanks a lot, Brenne! I hope this first chapter is enough to hook you in, and also a bunch of other readers because I'd really like to have more of them... *cue sheepish laugh*

I'll use a lot of flower references here, since fairies are associated with nature and I think this will fit the story. Like you see, the chapter names are named after flowers and what they symbolize. I took them mostly from Wikipedia (bless that website) and theflowerexpert dot com(bless this website too). There will also be a lot of other references. The crazed woman's name, for example, is Chrysan. I took it from the flower chrysantemum, which in Japan, China and Korea is used in funerals to symbolize a mother's lament and/or grief, particularly the white ones.

I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review, tell me what you think!