Hey peeps! After about a two weeks without an update, I hereby present chapter four of Steel and Ice. The review replies have/will be sent and thanks to those who reviewed! Mild cussing in this chapter(I know it's just one word but it's still a fair warning.)I think that's enough of my ramblings for now so, on to the chapter! Btw, I don't own FMA...I just own Amberand the plot.

Chapter Four
Fighting Amongst Frenemies
Edward

I woke up the next morning and was surprised to see Amber's bed made already. I quickly got up and dressed, remembering that Amber and I were going to fight each other to today. I raced downstairs to the small patch of grass near Winry's house and saw Amber kicking a tree.

"Wouldn't it be easier to practice with a moving target?" I asked, getting her attention. She turned around and I noticed that she wasn't wearing her usual skirt. Instead, she had on sweatpants and a tank top. Her hair was up again and a couple of beads of sweat decorated her forehead.

"Good morning to you too," Amber said as she wiped away the sweat. "No alchemy," she said while taking in a deep breath. "Ready for me?" she asked as she took a fighting stance.

"Let's get this done with," I said as I took my own position. After a few seconds of nothing, I charged at Amber fist in tow. She dodged the punch and backflipped and in mid air, kicked my chest. I fell backwards and recovered quickly, ready for more. Amber charged at me this time and threw a fearsome punch that I dodged. I aimed a kick at her neck which came in contact quickly and threw her to the ground. She then swung her leg under mine, making me fall as well. We kept it up for a while and when I knew a big blow was coming, I used alchemy and brought out my armblade and pointed it at Amber's neck, who was pointing a lance at my neck.

"You cheated," we both spoke at the same time. Neither of us moved, our gazes locked. She looked fierce, like a warrior who wouldn't give up for anything. We both were breathing heavy, beads of sweat trailing down our faces. There was a small trail of blood coming from Amber's mouth from the punch I delivered to her face and there was a small bruise on her arm...I don't even want to think about how I look.

"Amber! Ed!" called out a voice from the house. "Breakfast!" I turned to the house to see Winry poking her head out of a window. I heard a thud from beside me and I figured that Amber had dropped the lance. I retransmutated my arm back to normal and we both headed to the house without another word. We both sat down across from each other at the table and proceeded to eat.

"You're pretty good Edward," Amber spoke after a while.

"Thank you," I replied without bothering to look at her. "You were pretty good yourself."

"Thank you and your welcome," I heard Amber say as silence consumed us all again.

"After breakfast," Winry began. "I'm going to check up your arm and leg."

"Great," I said while smiling at Winry.

"You don't have to eat Al if there's nobody in there..." Amber said without bothering to look at my brother.

"You know?" he asked.

"Yeah..." Amber answered. "I've known all along."

"Oh..." Al said, embarrassed.

"You could've said something..." I argued.

"I chose not to..." Amber replied as she got up. "If you'll excuse me, I'm done and gonna go take a shower."

"I don't know what Roy sees in her..." I mumbled as she walked away.

"I don't know about you but she's nice..." Winry said as she picked up hers and Amber's dishes.

"What are you talking about?" I yelled. "She's mean and cold!"

"Have you bothered to get to know her?" she asked me. I didn't know how to answer that so I did the only thing I could, keep my mouth shut. "There ya go," Winry finished saying as she walked off to the kitchen. "Come on Ed, time for your check up..."

"Coming Winry," I said as I followed her.

Amber

I got out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my hair, jeans and a black tee, sighing about the long day that awaited me here. It hasn't been so bad...I mean, Winry and I are becoming great friends and Al's been the caring person that he's been always, or so Win tells me anyway. I headed to the room I was sharing with Edward and dropped my stuff on my bed sitting down on one end of it. I unwrapped my hair from my towel, letting it cascade down my back and form a small pool of light brown hair on the bed. I have to trim the ends but other than that, I'm fine with it.

"Amber?" I heard someone at the door call. The voice sounded male...definitely not Edward, he's mean to me all the time.

"Yes Al?" I replied as I pulled out my bag from under my bed. I opened it and started to look for my comb so I could untangle my hair. I was hoping for silence...but you can't have everything in life...especially me.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"Sure," I said while putting my bag back under the bed and started to comb my hair. The door opened and Al stepped in, walking over to his brother's bed and sitting down on it.

"You said you wanted to meet our teacher right?" he asked me, a hopeful tone escaping him. I nodded, starting to struggle with a knot in my hair. "Well, she's staying nearby and Winry made plans for us to go over there to spend sometime with her...just wanted to tell you that."

"Thanks Al," I said while finally undoing that knot. He started to walk away when I felt him looking at my arm.

"You hurt your arm..." he said while walking over to me.

"Yeah," I replied, showing the bruise to him. "It's a little swollen but it'll be fine."

"If you put the bruise in against my armor it should go down a little...brother does that all the time..." he informed me.

"It's okay...I practically live with these," I said while putting the comb away and letting my hair down. I could sense Al's shock at my casual demeanor but I didn't bother to say anything else either. Now's not the time for any of this. "When do we leave for your teacher's?" I asked, while looking at Ed's bed.

"In an hour...I think," Al said while finally leaving the room. I breathed in deeply the fresh air that was circling in the room and smiled slightly. This was nice...everything seems to be going well...

Some time later...
(if I don't write a name, it means that it's third person POV)

"Amber!" called out Al's voice from downstairs. "Time to go!"

"Coming!" yelled out the female from the guest room. She looked out the window and upon seeing slight rain clouds, she decided to take a jacket with her. She checked herself in the mirror and after deciding to put her hair up in another bun, dashed downstairs.

"You're not wearing a skirt..." Edward muttered.

"Pretty observant runt..." Amber said while putting on her jean jacket. "You thought I only owned that huh?"

"Well you're-"

"Don't go there," she said with a mean glint in her eyes. "That's a useless reason, not to mention sexist."

"She has a point there Ed," Winry said in agreement.

"You're taking her side?" he yelled.

"Yeah..." Winry said with a smirk. "Let's go!"

"Right!" Amber said while walking out the door, the rest of the group following. Winry lead the way and they followed, Edward being the last in line since he wasn't too eager about the whole thing.

"Here we are," Winry said as she knocked on the door. They were allowed inside and Amber took in all her surroundings with suprised eyes. She wasn't used to this...well, not much anyway. They were led to a room where a woman was sitting up on the bed, eating. She smiled at the sight of her two students, regardless of the sin they'd committed and seemed confused at the new face that joined them. She knew Winry well but not the other girl, then again, something in her eyes was telling her that she knew someone close to her.

"Hi teacher!" cried Al with sheer excitement. Edward mustered a small wave while Winry smiled.

"You seem familiar," Izumi began, referring to the girl beside Edward. She kept thinking until a face came to mind. "Your mother's name is Melinda, isn't it?" she finally asked. Izumi watched as the young woman's face fell slightly into a fearful and sad state.

"Was," Amber corrected. "You knew her?"

"She was briefly Dante's apprentice..." Izumi recalled. "She gave up after a while. You have her eyes..."

"I've never been told that," Amber stated, slightly sad and afraid at the same time. "I've always been told that I take after my father," she finished saying one of her hands turning into a fist, she didn't like the talk about family.

"I assume he was a State Alchemist, just like you," Izumi said, slightly smirking. Amber's eyes widened at the fact that she was read instantly. Al was confused at Izumi's words...what was she getting at?

'How much does she see?' Amber asked herself, regaining her composure. "Y-yes," she answered. "He was...my Alchemist name is Elemental Alchemist."

"I can safely deduce from that, that you control the elements," Izumi said with a smile.

"No kidding," Edward muttered.

"You're not helping!" Amber yelled.

"Like I'd want to anyway!" Ed yelled back.

"May I interrupt?" asked Izumi.

"Yes!" yelled Amber and Ed at the same time but failed to notice.

"What do you think of Equivalent Exchange? I'd like to hear your take on the principle..." Izumi said, wondering if this girl was really smarter than Ed.

"It's just a load of bullshit," Amber answered frankly. Winry and Al looked at Amber in surprise since she just used a cuss word. Al found it even harder to believe that she didn't live by Alchemy's main rule, why? "It's not fair nor equal. It's just fancy talk that I believe has absolutely no truth."

"Why's that?" Izumi asked.

"It's not the same for a daughter to lose a father than for a father to lose a daughter," she answered. Edward tuned out as soon as the word father escaped Amber's lips.

"Why do you say that?" Izumi asked, hoping for a broadened answer.

"A father can have another daughter but a daughter can't have another father," Amber answered, sure of herself and about what she was saying. Izumi smiled, this girl really did know what she was saying. Al looked at Amber in surprise, he couldn't believe that she lost her father to Alchemy.

"Why did you bother to join the military?" Izumi asked. "These two have perfectly good reasons," she continued, referring to the Elrics.

"The stone..." Amber said while looking quickly at Ed. "But mine has nothing to do with that, I have no false limbs. I'm just looking to find something that I can't put into words..."

There you go, chapter four. This chpapter gives some insight into what goes on in Amber's mind. That's all for now and I'd appreciate to hear from you guys. Until next time! Laters!

Laski