Ch. 1

Rebellious

"Roy Mustang!" a shrill, angered voice bellowed out through the house. "Get down here!"

Grudgingly, a raven-haired boy of sixteen poked his head out of the door to the upstairs bedroom. His dark eyes locked with his mother's and hardened. Growling to himself, he trudged down the stairs to meet his mother.

"Stand up straight boy!" his mother snapped, slapping his face and straightening him. "Now listen here. We're not sending you to school just so you can slack off. You'd better pay attention and keep up."

"What do you mean?" Roy asked, his tone flat.

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

"No, I don't think I do," Roy shook his head for emphasizes.

"Don't think that your teacher and I don't talk!"

"I know you do."

"Roy Arthur Mustang! Don't play games with me!"

"If you'd tell me what this is about, maybe it wouldn't feel like one," Roy shrugged.

"Your schoolwork," his mother's voice trembled. "Your teacher has informed me that you're falling behind."

"Last I checked, I was keeping up. I'm turning in all my work and getting good grades on tests and homework. I'm not failing."

"But you're not doing as well as you were."

"It's getting harder."

"Your teacher also said that you've been reading a book."

"Not unusual," Roy shrugged. "I read books all the time."

"This one, though, looks suspiciously like an alchemy book," there was a pause. "Have you been studying alchemy?"

"No."

"Don't lie to me Roy," his mother warned. "You know how your father and I feel about alchemy."

"I know. 'It's never to be used. It is the devil's magic and is taboo.' I've heard it before mother."

"You haven't answered the question Roy!" her voice rose. "Are you studying alchemy?"

"So what if I am?" Roy shot back. "It's not like you can stop me."

"So you are!"

"No, I'm not," Roy glared. "But even if I was, I wouldn't tell you."

Although she wasn't satisfied with his answer, Roy's mother grumbled something and then addressed him. "Fine, go to your room and back to what you were doing. But remember, if I ever catch you doing alchemy-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Roy rolled his eyes as he turned his back on his mom and went back up the stairs to his room.

Roy went into his bedroom and sat on the bed, looking at the slanted ceiling. Despite the mansion he lived in having many gorgeous rooms filled with luxuries and extravagance any person could dream of, Roy had chosen to move into a rather simple room instead. It didn't have a fancy bed or desk or anything like that. Compared to the rest of the house, it was a commoner's room. Roy liked it best that way.

"Geez," he grumbled, lying on his back. "Why'd I have to be born into this stupid family anyways? People always want this lifestyle, but what's so great about it? It's so stiff and strict," he rolled to his side. "I hate it. 'Roy do this. Roy do that,'" he mocked his mom's voice. "'Roy, we don't send you to school to play around,'" he switched to a deeper voice, imitating his father. "'Son, you have to buck up. Become a solider. Go to war. There's no greater honor than to serve. Fight, fight, fight. Kill, kill, kill.' Sheez. Can't I just do something I want?"

Sighing, he slipped his hand underneath his pillow, pulling out a thin, leather bound book with the words "Alchemy Elements" burned on the front. Its pages were yellow and aged and they crinkled at the very brush of air. The leather smelled of old, dirty cowhide and moth balls from the previous owner.

He had found the old book in a store on his way home from school. This was one of three he currently had on alchemy. The other two were "Basic Alchemy" and "Alchemy in Action". He had picked up the first one, "Basic Alchemy", out of curiosity and rebellion. His parents had always told him that alchemy was black magic and was never to be touched. So naturally, when he saw the book on basic alchemy, he had to get it. He wanted to know what was so bad about it. At first, he was reading it, just seeing if he would get caught; he just wanted to prove he couldn't be controlled. But as he got farther into the basic book, he realized that alchemy may be something for him. He tried it once, on his way home from school. That's when he realized he had the talent.

Since then, he had picked up two more books and was almost through with his second, "Alchemy Elements". This one he found extremely interesting as it described the differences between the elements in alchemy and how circles are limited by the insignias in them.

He opened the book carefully to the page he had marked. It was near the end of the water element chapter.

"Huh…fire," he mused as he turned the page. "'Fire is a most useful element, though hard to wield and master. It takes someone of exceptional skill to do so. It is also limited as things cannot be created. One must have a spark first before using alchemy to control fire. The spark can be brought about by a number of things including matches and ignition cloth, a special, rough material that, when struck hard enough against itself, will create a spark. It is also useless in the rain."

He looked at the basic circle. Something inside him clicked. An urge welled up and he felt like he had to try it. He had to attempt something like this, something so amazing that his parents would see he wasn't a failure. If he could master fire…if he could become a great alchemist…then maybe…maybe he'd be accepted…maybe…

"Roy! Dinner! And I expect you to eat! You're getting too skinny!" the piercing call of his mom shattered his thoughts.

Taking another look at the circle, he reluctantly closed the book, slipping it back under his pillow, and went to meet his torturers.