aaaaah I love this chapter a lot and I hope you enjoy it~! I had to improvise a bit since we don't actually witness the inn burning down but I think this might have been at least a bit how it went. I did sort of base it on what happened in 03 but minus lyra obviously.
anyway, Enjoy~!

Later that evening, Deliylah was curled up in bed with Alphonse sitting close by, reading a book. All of a sudden, she bolted upright, causing Al to jump in surprise. "Deliylah? Whats wrong?"

"I can smell something."

"What kind of something?"

She kept silent for a moment, her eye fixed on the wall. "Fire. Something's on fire! Al, I think the building's burning!"

Although Al could not smell it, at her statement he realized that the crackling of flames was louder than what could come from a fireplace. "You're right! We need to tell Mr. Halling, he has no idea!" He bolted up, grabbing his luggage.

Deliylah grabbed his arm. "Al, I think Khayal is still here, I didn't hear him leave!" She quickly slid into more covering clothes and bolted down the hall, where flames had begun to lick up the walls.

"Deliylah, be careful," Al cried out, bursting out of the room behind her. She ignored his advice and moved to jump through the wall of fire where she could hear faint screams for help. "No, don't, you'll get burned! Get out and go get Mr. Halling, I'll get Khayal!"

"But Al, you might not be able to touch him! You're made of metal, you could burn him!"

"It's our best chance, I can get him, you can't! Get out of here, now!" He shoved the luggage into her arms and pushed her downstairs.

Deliylah wretched the front door open, throwing herself outside. After tripping on the bottom stair, she threw the suitcases onto the safety of the sidewalk, hiked her skirt up, and raced down the street, her feet pounding on the dirt. When she reached Mr. and Mrs. Hallings house, she pounded on the door with her bare fist, her other glove still tightly clenched in her hand. "Mr. Halling, Mr. Halling, please, come quick! Your inn is on fire!" Seconds later he threw his door open.

"What? The inn?"

She nodded, out of breath, pointing to the smoke now reaching for the sky. "Al went to get Khayal, but it's not good, the whole place is up!"

Deliylah and Mr. Halling got back to the inn just as it crumbled, the supports cracking and breaking under the weight of burnt wood. Deliylah covered her face with one hand to protect it from flying coals. "KHAYAL! NO, KHAYAL!" He darted forward, but Deliylah was faster, nimbly dashing over cinders and remaining flames. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the faint glint of Alphonse's back, and she hauled wood off of him until he was able to stand, Khayal curled up in his arms, sweat and tears dripping from his frightened face.

Over the next few hours, the whole town had gathered around, giving their condolences and observing the crumbles ashes of what was left of the inn. Deliylah rubbed her neck, sore from the sudden amount of stressful heavy lifting and work.

"Alphonse! Deliylah!" Deliylah spun around to see Ed walking towards the two. "What the hell happened here?"

"The place the went up in flames. Al and I were still inside, but I got out in time. Al stayed in to rescue Khayal, but don't worry, they're both ok."

She then turned to Khayal, who was sitting on the ground. "I saw some of Yoki's underlings hanging about the inn last night," he mumbled.

Deliylah gasped. "What? You think they started the fire?"

Ed nodded. "They did. I overheard a conversation between him and one of his subordinates. He was told that they had 'had a few run ins with them before,' so he told them to burn it down. I tried to get out as soon as I could and warn you, but I guess I was too late."

"What a dirty thing to do," Deliylah whispered softly, surveying the wreck of the inn. Mrs. Halling was crouched on the ground clutching the burned sign that had once hung over the door. Mr. Halling placed his arm around her trembling shoulders.

"The reason my dad tried to learn alchemy was because he wanted to save this town…" Khayal muttered. Then he had an idea. "Hey, Ed, you're good enough to make gold, right? Can't you just whip up some gold to help my dad… and this town?" He pleaded hopefully.

But Edward turned away. "No."

"Come on, it's not gonna cost you anything!"

"Alchemy is based on the law of equivalent exchange. Why should I give you free money?" Even Deliylah thought he was being cold.

Khayal leapt up, snatching Ed's collar in anger. "You scumbag! You call yourself an alchemist?!" Deliylah moved forward, placing a hand on Khayals, silently telling him to let go and back off.

"Alchemists work for the people, right?" She heard a mutter. Ed shrugged Khayal away. "If I gave you money now, it'd just end up as taxes in Yoki's vault. I don't feel like being used by all of you just to get by," he said, re-adjusting his jacket. "If you're so desperate, then leave town and find another job."

"Kid, I know you won't understand, but the mines are our homes…" Mr. Halling retorted, "… and our graves."

Deliylah empathized with the Hallings. Ishval had been home to her, and many of the people in her village had wanted to stay and fight. They wanted to spill their blood rather than run like cowards. Deliylah just hoped that Youswell weren't ready to die for their mines.

She heard Al running and realized Ed had walked away. She bowed apologetically to the townspeople and ran after them. "Brother! Hey, big brother, hold on! Are you real going to abandon these peo-"

"Al," Ed cut him off. Al stopped, and Deliylah caught up with him. They were by one of the exits to the mines, and Ed was observing large carts full of what looked like dirty coal. "How much culm do you think is here?"

Al paused for a moment, wondering why Ed was asking a question so off topic. The he looked at the carts and made an estimate. "Uh, one ton? Maybe two?"

Deliylah tapped Al on the elbow, since his shoulder was a bit high up. "What's culm?"

"Waste from coal mines. Dirt, coal dust, and stuff like that. Brother, be careful! What are you thinking?" Edward was trying to climb on top of one of the carts.

"I'm gonna do something slightly illegal, so you might want to look the other way for just a second."

Al gasped. "Huh? You want me to be an accomplice?!"

"What, you won't?"

He sighed, crossing his arms. "You're gonna do it even if I say no, aren't you?"

Ed shrugged, clapping his hands together. "Aagh, if we don't get caught… we wont get caught." Light shined from the pile of culm and what looked suspiciously like gold began to emerge from the dirt.

Alphonse put his face into his palm. "Aw man, aren't you supposed to set an example for me?" Deliylah tipped her head, incredibly confused, and Al could see it. "Edwards making gold out of the culm there. I dunno what he expects to do with it."

Ed hopped down from the cart, mounds of gold where dirt used to be. "Well you see dear brother of mine, I have a plan."

"Is it like the plan in Lior where you tricked Father Cornello?"

"Sort of, yeah. I'm gonna trick him into selling the mines to me."

"Wait, is that what all this gold is for?"

"Yeah, but it's illegal to make gold, so he's not keeping it."

"What, you're gonna sell him out to authorities?"

"No, no, that'd get me in trouble, too. I'm gonna convince him to 'sell' me the coal mines with this gold, then when he's not looking I'm gonna change it back to rock. By the time he finds out I'd have given the coal mines to the town and Yoki is out of business."

Deliylah clasped her hands together. "Edward, that's brilliant!"

He laughed. "Ah, if it works it will be. Come on, we have to get this gold to Yoki's estate."

When every bar of Ed's fake gold had been piled into a large, brilliant room, Yoki and his subordinates were having to pick their jaws up from the floor. Ed, Al, and Deliylah took in front of the pile. The plan had been set in motion.

"Now, I'd like you to sell me the rights to the coal mines," Ed stated. The subordinates made their way around and gawked at the gold. Yoki was speechless. "Is it not enough?"

Yoki stammered, shaking his hands wildly. "P-Please don't be absurd! With this much gold, I can say goodbye to this miserable post," he whispered to himself. He seemed to be overjoyed. "Oh, and… um, if you wouldn't mind…?"

"Oh yes," Ed grinned, "I'll make sure to put in a few good words to my superiors~"

"Oh, thank you, my dear alchemist~!" Yoki was almost crying with joy. Deliylah was having a hard time hold back a chuckle at how utterly stupid and gullible this man was. She usually didn't like thinking such things, but under the circumstances she gave herself a bit of leeway.

"But making gold is illegal, so in order not to get caught, I'd appreciate it if you could write a document saying that the mines were handed over 'free of charge?'"

"Oh, I wouldn't mind at all! Well then, lets do the paperwork right away! I must say, good sir, you really are a sly one, Mr. Alchemist sir~"

Ed chuckled. "No, no, nothing compared to you, my dear Lieutenant~"

Al sighed. "He's enjoying this way too much," he whispered to Deliylah.

They exited the building brimming with satisfaction. The plan had worked. "We need to get to Hallings house before Yoki notices." They power-walked down the road all the way into town, where they burst into the house. Most of the coal miners were gathered in Mr. Hallings living room, and each face turned sour where they saw Edward.

"Hi everybody! You're looking cheerful today~!" Ed greeted their angry looks.

Khayal scoffed. "What're you doing here?" he practically snarled at Ed. "Hey, hey, should you be talking to the new proprietor of this joint like that~?"

"What are you-" before the elderly miner sitting next to Khayal could finish his sentence, Edward shoved the documents in his face. "What is this?"

"Ownership papers. Then confer on the holder the rights to mining, sales, distribution, and all subsidiary businesses in this town." His smirk was getting wider and wider. He couldn't wait to get to the end game.

The miner gingerly took the documents from Ed's hands, looking them over. "How did you get… HEY! This says it's been signed over to Edward Elric!"

Both Khayal and Mr. Halling cried out in disbelief. Murmurs went through the room like how they had in the inn. Ed grinned wildly.

"Yep! From this moment on, this coal mine belongs to me!"

"No way!" the whole room yelled.

"Believe it~" Ed said, shrugging. "But, we're just three vagabonds moving from place to place."

Deliylah nodded, just as Edward had told her to. "We don't really need the mines, in fact their more of a burden than not."

Al agreed with her just according to script. "These documents will only be in the way, so…"

Mr. Halling got the idea. "You want to sell it to us? How much?" he asked, unsure of the deal.

A sly grin ran across Edwards face. It was like deja vu. "What, afraid you can't afford it?" he quoted the chief. "If you want something, you have to pay the price. After all, this deed is printed on high quality goatskin parchment, stamped with a gold seal. Not only that, but in a spectacular feat of craftsmanship, the deposit box is inlaid with powered jade. This is the work of a true artist, and hey! The key is made of real silver!" When he finally finished blathering, he laid the documents in front of the chief. "Well, this is just a layman's opinion, but taking all this into account…" he chuckled before continuing, "How about the price of one nights stay and two meals for three at your place? Would that be fair, chief?"

Silence lingered in the house, then Mr. Halling burst out laughing for the first time since the night before. "Ha ha ha! You're right! That is expensive!" He slammed his fist down on the table next to the documents, causing them to flutter. "I'll buy it!" His eyebrows were furrowed, but not in anger. Fire was in his eyes, and the frowns of the surrounding miners were turning to smiles of realization and joy.

At the moment, the door burst open, and a very distressed looking Yoki threw himself inside, his subordinates in tow. "Mr. Alchemist, what is the meaning of this?!" he screeched. In his palm sat a handful of rock.

"Well, well, Lieutenant, I just sold the deed to the mine to the chief here." Ed's cocky reply caused Yoki to nearly howl in astonishment.

"No, but that's not what I'm here for! The gold bars you gave me have all turned to rock! Can you please explain that?!"

Deliylah heard Al lean over and whisper into Ed's ear. "When did you change it back?"

"Just before I left," he said, letting out a content whistle. "I don't know anything about any 'gold bars.'"

"Please don't act dumb! We exchanged a pile of gold for the ownership documents! This is fraud!"

Ed laughed, holding up the documents that Mr. Halling had just finished reading over. "Huh? The deed was given to me free of charge! See, you signed it! It says so right here!"

Yoki was trembling in anger. "The deal is null and void! You two," he motioned towards his subordinates, "Takes those documents from them! Now!"

But they didn't have a chance. Many of the miners had stood up and were putting themselves between Edward and Yoki. Deliylah hadn't really noticed before, but each and every single one of them was huge. They loomed over the three, cracking their knuckles and grins all around. By the time they settled down, the subordinates were on the ground.

Ed decided to make one more point. "Oh, Lieutenant?" Yoki yelped. "I'll make sure to tell the higher-ups about your corruption and incompetence, so please look forward to it~" He smiled sweetly.

Yoki slumped to the floor, his jaw at his knees.

The miners, on the other hand, bumped fists and patted shoulders, whooping with satisfaction. "Alright, we did it! Bring out the booze!" The crowded around Ed, Al, and Deliylah, thank-you's being spoken all over the place. By the time the party was over, each and every miner was drunk and Edward was on the floor in a food coma, his head in Deliylah's lap.

"Aaaah, I can't eat another bite~" He mumbled contently.

Al fumed. "You're sleeping with your stomach out again! Sheesh, you're so sloppy."

Deliylah giggled, then looked down at the blonde boy snoring in front of her with a sigh. "You really are better than most state alchemists…" she whispered.

oh boy oh boy oh boy the train is next the train is next the train is next
by the way the main reason im even bothering to write out the chapters with youswell and the train is because a. i want more chapters and reading material and b. it gives deliylah and the brothers more time to feel comfortable with each other rather than BAM friendship
also no this wont be an OCxEd fanfic, she just really admires Edwards selflessness. (ok so i really ship deliylah with ling and i think thats who shes gonna end up with)