More weeks had past since Ed's birthday. He and Al were getting more and more into their studies. I had to make sure that Nina left them alone more often. I could tell that both of them were getting nervous as E-day, as we called it, drew ever nearer.

"It's always the same; first; the written test, second; the interview, and third; the practical exam," explained my father to Ed and Al, who sat at the table with him. I sat on the floor, rubbing my sleeping sister's back while she lay on top of Alexander, who was also asleep, in front of the fireplace.

"There's no way to know how many will apply, but the state only accepts one or two each year," he said.

Ed couldn't believe it, "One or two? You're kidding me!"

Al seemed a little nervous, "Uh, what kind of stuff do they do in the interview?"

My father did his best to explain, "Well, for me, they only asked questions. But I've heard that every one is different. Sometimes they may do a full physical," he said.

This worried Al. What would happen if they opened up the suit to examine him and found nothing inside but a red transmutation circle? They would let neither him nor Ed be state alchemists if they knew what they'd tried to do when they were younger. It goes against everything that alchemists learn, despite the fact that they have enough power to do it. Equivalent Exchange was the term. You can't gain anything, without losing something else. Most alchemists remained away from that sort of science as much as they could.

"If you pass the first two, then you move onto the hardest part; practical skills," my father continued. "Half of the people show their research like I did, and half of them perform on the spot. You two have a plan, right?"

I glanced at Ed and Al, and by the looks of their facial expressions, they did not have a plan.

* * *

The day of the exams finally arrived. I stood outside the auditorium where the written test was given with Nina and Alexander, waiting for Ed and Al to come out. I was pacing, nervously, anxious and dreading to hear what the results were. When the two of them finally walked out of the auditorium, neither of them looked too confident.

After a moment of looking at their solemn faces, I asked, "How did it go?"

Ed answered first, "I didn't finish, and my wrist feels like it's going to fall off," he said.

I looked at Al, hoping for a better response. I didn't get much of one.

"I got through it, but next is the interview," he said, very nervous about the possible physical examination.

We waited for the time of the interview to arrive. I sat with Ed and Al on the grass while Nina kept Alexander busy.

"There's got to be a way," Al muttered.

Just then, Colonel Mustang came up to the three of us. His expression was hard, and I almost rolled my eyes at the fact that, as dear of a family friend he was, he never friggin' smiled! He asked to speak with Ed and Al. They followed the colonel, and I remained behind to watch Nina. A few moments later, they came back. Ed didn't look happy.

"Al can't continue with the exam, otherwise they'll find out about our past and what we did," he said.

I glared at Mustang. He just stared at me for a moment and turned to walk away. I got up and followed him.

"You didn't think he was going to pass the written exam, did you?" I asked, angry that Mustang would put Al through all that work, just to destroy his hopes. Mustang didn't answer, but kept walking. I didn't follow; I knew that he'd had doubts in Al and decided not to advise him to not take the exam.

The time for the interview seemed to come too fast. Al, Nina and I remained outside and waited for Ed. He came back out, not long after, and he was done for the day. The next day was the practical exam. Most of my time the rest of the first day was spent in the library. Nina watched me read until after the sun had set.

"Sissy, I need to do something. I'll be back in a little while," she said, sliding off my lap.

"Okay Nina," I said, watching her skip out of the library.

The door opened again, about a minute after she was gone, and Ed walked in. He saw me, sitting on one of the small sofas that were placed near the windows and walked over and sat down.

"Hey," he said quietly. He seemed to be quite interested in the floor.

"Hey," I said, closing my book and looking up at him.

Ed sighed, and I felt bad for him. He looked so stressed with all this pressure being put on him.

"You shouldn't worry so much. Do you really think Al's going to hate you if you don't pass tomorrow?" I asked, leaning more towards him. He looked the other way and didn't respond.

I heaved a frustrated sigh. If he didn't want to talk about it, then why was he here?

"Alright, obviously you don't want to talk about this," I said, opening my book again.

He looked at me with frustrated eyes, but they softened soon enough.

"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous," he said, seeming very interested with the floor again.

I rolled my eyes and pulled his chin up so that he faced me.

"Edward Elric, read my lips," I said, and I spoke with my words spaced out, "you're…going…to…pass."

I smiled, and so did he. I let go of him and leaned back on the sofa again.

"You think so?" he asked, blushing a little, probably from me being so close to him before.

"I know so," I encouraged him.

Just then, Nina came back with paper and her crayons. She saw that Ed was here and walked over to a table and sat with her back facing us. I knew what she was doing. She normally did this when she was making a surprise for me. It was silent between the three of us. I continued reading my book, Ed watched me read, which made me blush, and Nina drew her picture without a word.

* * *

The clock struck eleven, and I looked up from my book in surprise. I turned to Ed and saw him quickly turn his head so that it looked like he hadn't been staring at me. I saw Nina, asleep on the table. I got up and walked to her. Just as I was about to pick her up, I remembered that I couldn't without her help. She was too heavy for me to lift on my own.

"I'll carry her," said Ed, walking next to me. I nodded and let him pick Nina up from the table. I gathered all of her things that she'd brought. A piece of paper was rolled up, and I unrolled it and saw that Nina had made a drawing for Edward. She drew him, sitting on the library sofa. I was sitting next to him reading a book, and his face was turned toward me. Nina had painted a smile on his face and rosy cheeks, a blush, on mine. I figured she'd want to give it to Ed herself, so I rolled it back up. I followed Ed upstairs to where all of our rooms were, and opened Nina's door for him.

"Just sit her up in the bed so I can get her braids out first," I said, while I put away all of her things and put the rolled up piece of paper on the stand next to her bed.

"Okay," Ed said, placing Nina on his lap and sitting on the bed. I sat opposite him and started taking out Nina's braids. A tear fell from my eye and rolled down my cheek. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Maya, what is it?" Ed asked. I was a little surprised at how much he sounded like he cared.

I sighed. "How long will it be before I can carry my sister to her bed? How long will it be before I can play in the snow? How long will it be before I can finally get out of here?" I responded, wiping away another tear.

Ed stayed silent; he didn't know what to say. He was thinking, hard. I finished taking out Nina's braids, and Ed laid her down. We each left her room.

"Maya," Edward stopped me from walking the opposite way to my bedroom.

I turned, "Yes Ed?"

He took a few steps and stopped right in front of me. These close interaction moments seemed to be happening more and more often. "Well, I don't know if your father would be too happy about it, but…" He trailed off for a moment and looked down at the ground. I waited impatiently for him to continue. "My friend Winry, see, she's a really good engineer; one of the best I've ever seen. Maybe she could upgrade your auto mail. It'd heal way faster than the piece of crap you have right now."

I was amazed. Could this girl really speed up the healing process of my back? Would I be able to hold Nina again? Would I be able to have my adventure without worrying about the stupid metal in my back?

"She would do that for me?" I asked, bewildered.

"Well, if I asked her, I'm sure she would agree to it," he assured me.

I leaned against the wall, thinking it over. "Where is she from?"

"You'd have to come back with Al and I," Ed answered. "She lives where we used to live."

My excitement dropped a few thousand levels. "Ed, I don't think I can leave Nina behind," I said, skeptically. " I don't know if you've noticed, but our father isn't exactly the best dad in the world."

Ed was clearly confused, and the way he looked at me told me he was also angry. "What do you have against your dad?" he asked. "What did he ever do to you?"

I hesitated, "You don't understand," I said. "You don't know what I've been through."

"You think I don't know what you've been through?" Ed snapped. "My dad left and didn't even come back when my mom died!" He suddenly yelled at me.

Out of reflex of anger, I yelled back. "MY MOM DIDN'T LEAVE, ED!" I hadn't meant to say it. It just slipped out from anger and annoyance. I covered my mouth with my hand, quickly.

Ed's face suddenly softened, and he became suspicious. "What do you mean?" he asked.

I turned away, "Nothing," I said. I hoped he'd drop it. He didn't.

"Maya, tell me," he said softly, taking my hand.

I slowly turned back to face him, "Alright, but you have to understand, Edward. I love my father, but I don't think that he's the same man anymore," I said, solemnly. Ed nodded, urging me to continue.

I quickly looked around, making a quick decision. I led Ed down the hall to my room. I closed the door behind us. "I can't risk anyone else hearing," I said. "Promise me you won't try to fix anything between my family. We're already destroyed." I turned to Ed. He stood, taller than me, in my room. He took a look around before promising. So, I continued. "I remember the night my mother left," I said. "It didn't seem like she was going to leave at all." Ed was still holding onto my hand, and I held his in return. "I remember her tucking me in that night, and she seemed perfectly happy with our less than average lives. She gave no sign that she was ever going to leave us."

I looked into Ed's eyes, looking for any sign that he didn't believe me. Instead, I found pity and understanding. I didn't expect it, and I looked away. "I know it doesn't mean much, but, supposedly, she left that night. The next day was when my father finished the talking chimera." My voice cracked as I finished.

I felt Ed grow tense. "You think that your father…" he trailed off.

"Yes. I think my father turned my mother into a chimera," I said. A tear slid down my face, then another and another. "I mean, doesn't it make sense? The very next day he had that talking chimera, and now, my mom never replies to Nina's letters!" I rambled on and on. "She never replied to mine! Is there any other explanation besides the fact that she never loved us, which was obviously not true?" I said, still crying.

Ed seemed to be at a loss for words. Of course, what kind of response do you make to something like this? "When did you first start thinking this?" he said, after a few moments of silence, in which I kept trying to wipe away my tears.

"When she didn't reply to the letters that I wrote her, that's when I had my suspicions," I said quietly. The tears were finally coming to an end. Then I realized how much I'd just revealed to Edward in the few short months that passed since he and Al had arrived. I blushed at how vulnerable I felt. Immediately, I tried to end the conversation.

"We should get to bed," I mumbled. It was sort of a rushed good bye after what I'd just told him, but what else could I say?

Ed, however, wasn't in that big of a hurry. "Wait, so you're just going to let this go? Haven't you ever looked around to see if there's any proof?" he asked.

"And what could I do or say if I was caught?" I replied with doubt.

Ed didn't answer, and I opened my bedroom door for him. "Good night Ed," I said, not looking at him. "And good luck tomorrow." I felt him pass me as he left my room, and I closed the door, leaving him alone in the hallway.

* * *

This was it; the day of the practical skills exam. We all were outside, ready to wish Ed good luck. I mumbled my hopes that he'd pass without looking at him. He mumbled his thanks in return and turned to go inside, but Nina stopped him.

"Big Brother, wait," she said. Ed turned back around and saw Nina, looking nervous.

I smiled a little as I remembered the picture that Nina had drawn in the library. "Go on, Nina," I encouraged her.

She walked up to Ed and handed him the drawing. "It's a circle to help your wish come true," she said, referring the transmutation circle that she'd drawn right above Ed and I sitting in the library. "And Sissy's there with you, too. She can make you smile."

Ed looked up at me, and I blushed madly. Then, he smiled. "See?" Nina exclaimed. "She makes you smile!" Ed thanked Nina and patter her little head. Before he went to finish the exam, he gave me one last look. I met his eyes for a moment and got the strongest urge to do something reckless again. However, I decided against it, and I just looked away.

Al, Nina, Alexander, and I waited for Ed outside. For some reason, I was particularly nervous today. I paced back and forth in front of the others.

"You should relax a little, Maya." Al said, suddenly. "I'm sure Ed will do fine; he's worked hard enough," I knew Al meant well, but his reassurance wasn't helping much.

However, I sighed and stopped pacing. "You're right, Al," I said. "He'll do fine." I sat down beside Al, who had Nina on his shoulders.

After a moment or two, we all saw a huge balloon-looking thing appear from behind the coliseum where the interviews and written exams were held. As we watched, the balloon suddenly began to fall. A hole had appeared on the side.

"That can't be good," I said, worried. Then, a bright light shone from behind the coliseum. I had to close my eyes for a moment, it was so blinding. After I opened them again, there were little flower petals floating all around us.

"Magic flowers!" Nina exclaimed, and she held her little hands up in the air, trying to catch some of the petals.

Immediately, I knew. "He did it!" I smiled brightly up at Al.

"See? Nothing to worry about," Al said back. Even though he couldn't physically smile, I knew he was just as relieved as I was.

We waited for Ed to come back, so we could all congratulate him.