DISCLAIMER: If you're searching for the one who owns FMA, I suggest you to pay her a visit in Japan.

Author's note:

Special thanks to cutebutdeadlyalchemist -hope I got your name right- for the review on previous chapter!

Here finally is chapter seven... Took me forever, I know (one month approximatively in fact), but I've been so damn busy with school lately taht I don't know how I've managed it. Even now I should be studying chemistry or putting the final note to my (other) story... All that business will end in another month though, as I'll be handing my project. Then I shall be able to put as much effort as I'd like into this.

As for the chapter in itself, it's a tad longer that the others, but I like it that way. It's never as good as it sounded in my mind, but oh well, I guess it does that to everybody. Enjoy- and please remember to tell me your thoughts about it! It gives extra-motivation, I guarantee.

CHAPTER SEVEN : TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

"I swear. You should've seen that," managed to pronounce Madame Mustang despite her smiling so much it hurt.

Katarina Mustang was now laughing so hard that she was bent in two, tears coming up to her eyes. Even Tim had turned around so he could hide the smirk he was trying to retain. The only one who absolutely didn't feel like cracking up was Roy, arms folded and an uncharacteristic pink flush across his cheeks.

"Stop it. I-it's not even close to be funny," he mumbled. "I mean, I was caught off guard, it doesn't count. And besides-"

"Suuuuuuure." His aunt waved off the excuse, looking pretty much satisfied with the effect she was causing. "If I had known that girl had such an effect on you, I would have brought you there sooner- just for the sake of starring at your wonderfully lost in thought face."

She then mimicked the expression he had back on the Hawkeye's doorstep, mouth half-open and the most hilarious dumbfounded frown Amestris had ever seen.

"… But aside from this incident, did anything interesting happen back there? I mean, you probably didn't go all the way to Eildenbourgh just to make fun of your favourite nephew's facial expressions…" Tim proposed as a change of subject, much to the said nephew's delight. Roy guessed it was a compromise for the smirk he was trying to hide with all his will.

"Oh, right, something did happen. Our little Roy-boy would love to have the opportunity to tell the whole story himself, wouldn't he?"

The child cleared his throat, glad that he would be able to get the attention off his meaningless shock from earlier. Folding his arms so he could get some composure, he raised his head to look at the ceiling and began his narration.

"Riza? Do you know these people?"

The sudden arrival of man in the doorstep got time back on its track. Riza blinked a couple of times before looking at her father sheepishly, not sure about what she was supposed to say. Madame Christmas gave her nephew a gentle push on the back. The boy, who had yet to recover from his shock, gave a funny looking jerk before averting his gaze to the tall man nervously. A carefully measured smile on her lips, Christmas decided it was about time to break the ice.

"I presume that you are Berthold Hawkeye, also known as the one who can master fire alchemy. Am I correct?"

"Whatever your sources are, your presumptions are indeed correct, madam." Despite is calm and composed tone, the frown he gave showed that he wasn't sure if he could thrust those strangers.

"I have heard great rumours about you, and therefore was wondering if we could have a word. See…" she said while giving Roy a sideways glance so he knew he was supposed to say something.

"Oh. Huh, glad to meet you, Mister Hawkeye," the boy managed to say. He bowed his head a little in a respectful manner. "My name is Roy Mustang, and she's my aunt, Madame Christmas. I have come here in order to ask you if I could become your apprentice."

An uneasy silence followed, during which Hawkeye carefully studied the young man from head to toe. Roy nervously gulped a couple more times than necessary, trying to look as unimpressed and confident as possible. It felt like every single part of himself, including his thoughts, were coldly analyzed, something he didn't quite appreciate. The alchemist blinked and averted his gaze to his daughter. For a moment he looked like he was about to say something, but he shut his mouth and sighed instead.

"Alright. You may come in. I shall consider your proposition." The man turned around and disappeared into the house. "Riza, if you'd be as kind as showing them the way…"

In a matter of minutes, all of them but Hawkeye sat in a small yet confortable enough dining room. The wooden furniture gave it a warm atmosphere, incredibly contrasting with the outside look of the residence.

"Well, for sure I didn't except that," muttered the boy, allowing his hand to caress the wood grain of the table.

"That is because you give appearances too much importance," claimed a harsh voice from behind.

Roy jerked as if a bolt of electricity had gone through his spine. He turned around upon hearing a dry laugh accompanying his reaction, curious to know where the alchemist had gone before joining them.

"He ruined the outside façade of the house in order to keep unwanted visitors away," the blonde girl explained while staring at her feet.

"A strategy that sometimes fails, apparently. You may take a seat," mused her father before sitting on a rocking chair set apart from the table along with a small desk covered in papers. He joined his hands before his face, continuing his careful study of the visitors. "I am not completely against the idea of having an apprentice, but I am yet unsure if this boy can fill the task. Have you studied alchemy before, Roy?"

"Yes, sir," he responded a bit too nervously for his taste. "I more or less master its basics, but that's about it."

"Hmmm. I see. And why would you want to learn anything more about it?"

"So I can help others with it, of course. Isn't alchemy the art and science of the people, created and used in order to help them?" His voice wasn't shaking anymore, nor was his tone hesitant.

The man nodded. "Tell me, boy, where to you live?"

"I'm from East City, sir."

"Surely you did not intend the boy to go all the way to Eildenbourgh daily just in order to get some lessons," he pointed out, his eyes going to Madame Christmas. "Do you intend to let him live here?"

"It was the idea. "

"As I said earlier, I am not refusing to teach to your nephew, but neither am I convinced. Since I have been refusing the State licence for the past few years, we," –he stopped his gaze on Riza for a split-second- "are a bit short on money. An apprentice requires several hours of formation per week. I can sacrifice some time that would normally be reserved for my research, but if he is also going to live here, then I am afraid I could not afford it."

"If money is a concern, then of course I will be willing to pay you more than enough to cover the precious time you'll take to form Roy. It'll only make it easier for you to make ends meet."

Hawkeye nodded once again.

"I shall then consider it more seriously."

He pondered for a moment, lost in thought, before speaking up again.

"This leads me to my last question. Will the boy be able to keep up with school if I allow him back there earlier two times a week for supplementary lessons along with those I will already teach him daily?"

"He has proved to be able to manage himself more than once before."

Hawkeye nodded one last time. "Then you may bring him over next Wednesday for a two week trial. If he succeeds, I will teach him all I know about alchemy. We will talk about the fees later."

The man got up and walked to the window, turning his back to all.

"Riza, would you please show them the way out? Just in case they have already forgotten it."

"Follow me," the girl invited as she left the room.

"Wow," said Katarina. "Just- wow. So you're really going to be an apprentice? I mean… no jokes?"

"Yeah, that's the point. If I get through the trial, that is."

"Hey, it can't be that bad," offered Tim. "I'm sure finding the master itself was a much harder task–and see, we did!"

"I guess." He gave a shrug as he said so, in order for him to look like he wasn't half nervous about it.

Chris chose this very moment to take a much uncharacteristic motherly frown while looking at her only and favourite nephew. She got up and clapped in her hands, making everybody but Tim, who followed her movements by the corner of the eye, jump in surprise.

"If you really want to be able to stand whatever it is, though, you need to get some rest first. Curfew time, young man."

"That's unfair! Why can Katarina stay up and not me?"

"That's 'cause I'm older than you, shrimp," slipped the girl with a sufficient smirk on her face.

"It also applies to you, young girl. It's late enough and you have some very important State exam tomorrow."

Roy allowed himself a snigger while he got to his room. He waited a bit on the doorstep in order to hush a: "That's what you get for boasting" before closing the door. He could've sworn Katarina answered something back. He heard something considering him, Tim, her mother, a conspiracy and a vast repertory of carefully chosen swear words.

"Eildenbourgh station," announced a clear voice as the train stopped.

Roy jolted up to his feet, hitting his head on the luggage rack as he did so. Madame Christmas shot him a funny look before standing up herself, as calm as one could be.

"Jittery, are we?"

The boy didn't even bother to answer and focussed on recollecting his suitcase. He had not realized how much his world was going to change before only a few minutes ago, as he stood waving to Katarina and Tim. When he started to think about the two weeks –and maybe more if he did succeed the test- he was going to spend far away from home, it almost felt like a farewell. He did intend to pass the trial, though. He haven't been reread all his alchemy books again and again in the past week just for the sake of it.

"I don't know how much longer you feel like staring through the window, Roy-boy, but you'd better get off if you don't want to spend the next two weeks trying to find your way back home," mocked Madame Christmas, the hint of a smirk on her lips. He hurried out of the cabin without a word.

His eyes scanned through the small crowd gathered at the station, trying to catch a glimpse of his master's –how the word sounded delightful to his ears- face. Ultimately, though, the only person he was able to recognize was Riza, looking at his nervous face with what he could swear was hardly confined amusement.

"Thank you for coming along, Madame," she told Christmas, "but your presence is not required anymore. You can still come along, but since the arrangement has already been made..."

"Ah, I shall be going, then. Thanks for taking care of the boy, Miss Hawkeye."

Christmas then left with barely more than a goodbye for her nephew. Roy swallowed hard. Obviously, things had been said behind his back, and he had no single clue what it was. It surely didn't help the butterflies happily flying in his stomach.

"Sorry, but we'll have to walk home. My father was busy, so he sent me instead."

The girl's voice awoke him from his reverie.

"No problem," he assured as he followed her through the village's streets. He cleared his throat after a while, trying to ease the atmosphere. "Well, I certainly wasn't excepting to meet you again as your father's apprentice."

She shot him a glance. "You are not his apprentice yet."

"No, but… huh, never mind, alright?" He pouted and looked away. Was everybody against him?

"It's not that I'm against it," she said as if reading his thoughts. "But after seeing the previous one running away with tears in his eyes after only one week, I hardly see how you could make it up…"

"Greaaat."

"… if I remember well, he was begging to his mom, too. But I'm not entirely sure… She is sure to remember though. 'Said he was never the same again."

A chill ran up Roy's back as he stiffened, horrified. Was alchemy training that hard? He had to stop walking so he could deposit his suitcase on the ground and wipe his moist hands against his clothes. 'Have a little more confidence,' he tried to encourage himself. 'It can't be that bad, the guy was nothing more than a filthy coward… nothing much to be afraid of…'

It took him a good five minutes before gathering enough courage to look away from his feet. Only then did he saw what probably was the widest grin Riza's face could bear.

"Oh well... guess I'd better tell you if you are to keep making that face. Nobody has ever asked to become my father's apprentice. He only wanted me to tell you that so he could see how you deal with pressure."

This time, she had to bit her lip in order not that laugh at his grotesque expression.

"… Riza? Are you alright?"

Berthold Hawkeye actually sounded concerned as he looked down at his daughter, standing on the doorstep with the corner of her lips irresistibly curving into a smile. His eyes from her to the boy standing at her side, his own mouth twisted down to contrast the girl's expression. Passing a hand through his hair, he himself couldn't help but to let an amused smirk appear on his face. Following the lack of answered, the alchemist ended up shrugging off his interrogation. One doesn't question a miracle.

"Well, well, if it isn't young Mustang here! Enjoyed your trip?"

It took Roy all his self-control to answer a carefully measured: "Yes, sir."

"Good, especially since your stay might not be as enjoyable starting now. Let's proceed to the trial without any further ago, shall we?" Hawkeye turned around, disappearing in the corridor. "Grab your most comfortable clothes and meet me outside in five minutes."

Looking down at Riza in order to try to get some encouragement only left him even more clueless: she stood there frozen, a confused frown on her face. Her amber eyes clanged desperately at Roy as if she wasn't sure whether she'd see him again or not. She apparently had no idea of what was going on.

"Great," he mumbled again, resigned to meet his fate.

When he walked to Mr. Hawkeye later, shorts and tee-shirt and sweater –just in case, Riza had said in a low voice that could only mean she knew what she was talking about- on, he was surprised to discover that whatever trial he was going to go through clearly didn't include his teacher even moving his pinkie. He waited for him in a suit as suitable as a suit can be, scribbling on a piece of paper he hid upon seeing him.

"We are going to take a walk," the man calmly announced. "In the meantime, I'd like you to answer a few of my questions in order for me to evaluate your level in alchemy… no, there's no need to walk towards the street, boy. We're heading into the woods."

He had said so while casually pointing the dark, uninviting forest that spread from the back of his yard to clearly far enough to get lost.

"First, let me ask you: what is the basic form that is used in every alchemic transmutation to symbolize both the deconstruction and reconstruction of matter as a cycle?"

"… and the three steps of transmutation being?"

"Acknowledging, destructing and reconstructing."

"Wasn't it more something like: understanding, deconstructing and reconstructing matter?"

"Aren't those synonyms?" asked Roy, his voice a little shaky to have spoken so much.

"One might say, but I personally prefer the later formulation," his master pondered before abruptly announcing: "Here. We have arrived."

"Arrived where, sir?"

For the first time in half an hour, the boy raised his head to take a look at their surroundings: they had reached a dream-like clearing, with a clear watercourse dividing it in too. Only when stepping in to get a better view did he noticed the ground was covered in ashes. He shrieked in surprise, stepping back to wipe his soles on the grass.

"To the place where you will begin your formation, if you really want to know. You have two weeks."

Roy frowned before meeting his master's gaze.

"Yeah, I already know that, but-"

"During those two weeks, you'll have to find the answer to the following question: 'How does fire meets and perfectly matches the very fundament of alchemy?' It also implies you won't be leaving here unless I allow you too. Do not worry; I will come to check out on you every now and then, even if you don't notice me."

The kid was now rendered speechless, looking up at his master to try to get any clue that this whole situation was another made-up story to see how well he resisted to pressure. He ended up being very disappointed.

"Oh, I almost forgot: you may take this knife. And this stone too. Who knows, it might help you. Remember not to stray too far away from this spot or chances are I'll never be able to retrieve you. That is all."

Before Roy could make any objection, he felt something hit his head every so softly; then, heavier than a stone, his felt himself sink to his knees and his whole body collapse against the soil. Unable to make the slightest movement, he drifted to sleep with the sounds of the footsteps that could have showed his the way home fading away in the distance.

Hope ya'll liked it! See you next time- and remember to review!

- LilDemonWarrior