I'm not trying to drag this story out, honest. I just want to spend a little time exploring the characters of the children. I was 8 when my sister was born and I hated how much attention she got. Now she is 11 and I am still jealous but I accept it is just me being petty. This is a short chapter but I haven't quite figured out how to conclude this part of the tale, so there is at least one other chapter to come. Thanks for reviewing everyone, I do love reading comments. FMA isn't mine.


She ran as fast as she could toward the hill. The trees began to get thicker and the climb steeper but she pushed on. What drove her was panic mixed with anger that only he had ever caused her. What was worse was putting his cousin in danger all in the name of tormenting his sister.

'Jimmy you get back here now! You too Trisha before I tell your father!'

Her breath began to leave her and she could no longer yell. Trisha was only ten and followed Jimmy everywhere, much to the dismay of Grace. She was happy at first to baby-sit for Uncle Al and even for mother now and then, but now all had changed. Jimmy had always been some form of trouble but now he seemed to cause it exclusively for her when he was at home.

Mother and father were spending time with Uncle Al so she had been left to keep an eye on her brat of a brother and her naïve cousin. For a while they had happily and quietly been playing around with their damn alchemy books, but then they vanished. They were banned from the forest but that's exactly where she saw them running to. Calling them seemed only to increase their speed and they were soon out of sight.

Suddenly Trisha appeared out of the clearing and stood quite confidently in front of her. Something was up so she approached slowly. The footing was deadly underneath so she took each step with great care as he remained still with a beaming grin on his face.

'When I get a hold of you pair you regret the day you were born. Where is Jimmy?'

'It's James!' he yelled from behind her. Grace whipped round to see her brother slam his hands to the floor. In an instant bars grew out of the ground around her and a cage formed. They had tricked her once again.

'Let me out of here now Jimmy!' she cried but he was already making his way down the hill with his cousin in tow. Trisha looked unsure about it all but Jimmy was her hero so she followed him to the last.

'Jimmy, get back here, you know I can't get myself out of this!'


'Is Grace going to be okay?' Trisha asked as they cleared the woods.

'Of course she is. She can get herself out of that she just refuses to do alchemy.'

'Why is that?'

He snorted 'I don't know, but she should do it. She has alchemy in her blood but she doesn't take advantage of that. I'll bet when she does some alchemy she'll have so much fun she'll never want to stop.'

Trisha still felt unsure about leaving her elder cousin trapped so far away. Plus, when daddy found out she was sure to be scolded. But James seemed to know what he was doing so she was happy to leave it as it was.

They played for about an hour before Edward and Winry appeared over the hill with Al beside them. Trisha jumped up at the sight of her father and ran toward him leaving James where he was. She laughed as she ran into his arms as she always did.

'So what have you been up to, you haven't been causing trouble for Grace have you?'

'No daddy, we have done something good for her…'


Winrys voice was sore from shouting. Once Trisha had revealed their 'good intentions' Ed had started toward the forest without a word to James. However the storm in his stride meant James knew he had done wrong. Winry had given him a thorough telling off not only for trapping his sister but for leading Trisha down the wrong path. She looked up to him like an older brother and loved to have him around. She did have other friends to play with when he was away but none were as amazing as James.

She gazed out of the window toward the forest. Dark had begun to set in and she could see little but she kept her eyes fixed on the edge of the wood. She didn't dare think of the state Grace would return in. James was in his room and that was where he would stay there until he was ready to face his sister and apologise. He knew little about her and perhaps it was time to clear things up.


She was sat quite still on the ground when he found her. Her knees were brought up to her chest and she had buried her face in her crossed arms. His anger at his son was taken over by pity for his daughter. He could see she had been crying and it made his heart sore.

She was aware of her father next to her cage but she couldn't face him. If she hadn't given up on learning alchemy she could have got out herself rather then be outwitted by her younger brother and cousin. Instead she had called for about fifteen minutes before realising they had really left her there. That was when the tears had begun to form and no matter how much she had tried to hold them back she had cried. She hadn't just cried, she had wailed after taking advantage of being alone. It had been years since her last real cry.

The cage vanished but she did not get up straight away. Edward could sense something was eating at her so he placed himself next to her and waited until she was ready to talk. They sat for a few minutes before she took a breath and spoke.

'I'm sorry,' she choked.

'What for Grace?'

She gulped hard, 'I couldn't take care of James and Trisha properly. Once he had me in here…I couldn't…I couldn't…

'Oh Grace,' he sighed putting his arm around, 'you have nothing to be sorry for.'

'But if I could do alchemy…'

'You have your reasons for not taking any interest in alchemy. Your mother never cared for it. It is not the answer to everything daughter. I will have to talk to James about this more sternly then I have been doing. You should be blaming me if anyone.'

She finally turned her golden eyes upward at him. There were still tears in the corners of those gleaming orbs but she gave him a weak smile.

'Okay daddy, it's your entire fault and I blame you for everything.'

He laughed, 'That's my girl. C'mon, your mother will be worried sick.'


Just in case you didn't all know, Jimmy is a nick-name if James, she uses it to annoy her brother.