A/N: This is my first angsty Elric fanfiction. Please enjoy it.
No flaming because flames make Arianna unhappy. And I don't like being unhappy.
I'm trying, okay? Really, I am. Any suggestions; tell me! I will fix it! I'm usually a good writer so I've been told... but lately I can't write as well.
Gomen nasai~
Summary: Al and Ed find a little girl in a tunnel, a traumatized girl by the looks of it. Seeing how she has no family, she is taken in by them only to be sent to Mustang's house every time they have a mission. But one day, only Al comes home, in a state of shock. Will he recover his brother's tragic death? Will he ever be able to look into Shelby's eyes the same way ever again?
"Brother, I'm scared." Al said for the third time since they'd entered the damp, dark tunnel. Drops of water fell from the roof every now and then, making a small, echoing dink as they fell into a pre-made puddle below. The blond never replied to his brother, staring off into space, trying to hear the name. "Brother?" Al asked, concerned now. "Shh!" Ed said, holding his hand up to Al's face. "Annicka!" They heard a girls voice scream from a room in the back of the long tunnel. Ed gave Al no chance to ask questions, he dashed off before Al could even open his mouth. Sobbing was heard from a corridor that branched off from the tunnel, just as dark but steeper and slowly filling with water. The ground was murky and as Ed made his way to the room, he lost his shoes, one at a time, in muck. "Hello?" He said quietly, not wanting to scare whoever was there. He leaned over and peeked into the room, seeing a small child huddled in a corner, hiding her face and crying. Hearing his voice, the girl slowly looked up, staring straight at Ed with golden-hazel eyes that matched his perfectly. Slowly, Ed walked over and sat down next to her. The water was already up to her elbows when she was sitting and on the steeper side of the room, it'd engulfed a small cot. "Who's Annicka?" He asked her quietly, putting a hand on her head. She pointed towards the cot and Ed looked slowly. There was a girl laying on the cot, eyes closed, paler than the purest snow. Had she been alive, Ed was sure she'd have been a very respected child.
"Anni-chan... I don't think we should come in here anymore. It's very wet and dark." Shelby whispered as the sisters made their way to the back of their tunnel, fifty feet underground as opposed to the leveled part they were walking on now, that was hardly twenty or so feet underground. "It's always wet and dark, you fool." Annicka replied rudely. "Now keep walking!" A small, inaudible whimper escaped Shelby's lips but she continued following her older sister. When they finally made it, Annicka flopped down on the cot on the farside of the room and watched Shelby, who had taken a seat on a rocking chair with a book to read. Thunder crashed fifty feet above in the city of Central, rain slamming down over the streets and dribbling underground through the open hole into the tunnel their parents had made as teenagers and covered with a wooden box. A small river formed, branching off into the three different corridors and slowly filling the gaps of the steepest parts of the tunnel. "Sister?" Shelby asked, waking up from the small nap she'd taken to fight her fears of storms. Her sister was laying face down on the cot, the water covering most of her body. "Sister?" She repeated, getting up and slinking through the water that raised up to her hips and flipping her sister over, using all her strength. Her face was pale, her mouth a small bit open, eyes closed, she was colder than ice and no air escaped her parted lips. "Annicka?" The nine year old whined, nudging her sister. "Anni-chan, wake up... the rain finally stopped and the water is really cold." Shivering, Shelby tried again. "Annicka!" There was no response. Her sister was gone, Shelby knew it.
Screaming, the small child slunk to a less steep corner where the freezing water was only up to her knees in sitting position. "Annicka!" She cried, tears leaking down her cheeks. "I'm scared, Annicka! Please, wake up, Annicka!" Sobbing, the small child pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead on her knees, allowing her long brunette hair to hang like a curtain over all open spaces between her legs and her body. Her heart was racing and her body was shaking from both the cold water and the fear she had. There was no more family for her. She'd never been underground without her sister. Never climbed ten feet worth of a ladder to get out. She never had to. But now she did, and she was horrified.
Scooping the girl up, Ed gave her a gentle smile. "I'm Edward Elric, you can call me Ed. What's your name?" She watched him, her eyes red and puffy from so many tears. "I'm Shelby Jolie. You can call me Shelby." She choked out, her voice cracking. "It's going to be alright, we'll get you home safe. Where do you live?" Shelby held up a small finger, pointing back behind her. Frowning, Ed stopped as he reached his brother Al. "Where did your parents go?" Her finger fell, as did her small smile. "They died two years ago in the rain. Mama got sick and daddy did too, while helping mama." Ed closed his eyes, remembering when he'd lost his mother. "I'm sorry." Al piped up, taking her carefully from Ed's arms. "We can take care of you. You'll be fine, I promise." Shelby smiled. "Hi. I'm Shelby, who're you?" Al followed his brother nonchalantly, helping her up the ladder. "I'm Alphonse Elric... er- Al." The sun blinded the trio as they stepped out of the tunnel. Ed was amazed by the fact the no matter how sad the day could be, the sun was always up and shining. It reminded him of Al.
Shelby stayed at the hotel with Al, wearing seven year old Elysia's clothes, while Ed was at work in the day. She wasn't picky at all and actually hated being given things unless it was her birthday, which she said was November 22, a week from now. That day, Ed walked in, dropping his jacket on a chair and sighing bitterly. "Shelb needs to stay with Mustang for a week...We have a mission." Shelby glanced up from the puzzle she and Al were solving. "You have to leave?" Ed smiled at her and gave her a small hug. "For seven days. I'll come right back, so will Al." Frowning, Shelby stood up. "I want to go too." She said, dryly. "You can't." Al said quickly. "It's dangerous. Just stay with Mustang for the week and we'll come and get you the second we get home, okay?" Shelby whined quietly. "What if you don't come back? I'm scared to be alone." Ed furrowed his brows. "You'll have Uncle Mustang. Remember him? He'll be watching over you. You won't be alone." Shelby stomped on the floor. "He's always drinking at night and yelling at me to go to bed!" Al got up as Ed hurried off to the restroom, rubbing his head, to take a shower. "Shelb... it's that or Hughes. Remember last time you went to Hughes?" She scoffed quietly then looked up at her 'older brother.' "Fine. I'll go to Uncle Mustang. But I'm not gonna like it!"
A/N: Al is going to be a bit out of character once the real drama happens, don't like it, don't read it.
I hoped you liked this chapter. I like it. 3
Please comment and such~
Enjoy it and read my other fics on here.