I will be updating this frequently so stick around for the ride.

This is a story where the Romance is secondary, but still important. It will be developed slowly. So, she's not going to just meet Envy and get on screwing him!

While Envy isn't in this chapter, he will be in the next one.

This story is one I developed after seeing a lack of good EnvyxOC fanfiction, plus I had an interesting idea for an alchemist.

Please review! I'd love to get your opinions and comments (questions will be answered ASAP).

It was hot outside. Cooler than Ishbal, but not by much. Ed and Al stood across from a greying man with a wrinkled face and brown, almond eyes.

"Marion Avarie?" The old man scratched his head and give them an odd look.

"Yeah," Ed said. "Is she in this town, we heard she was."

The man nodded. "She is."

"Is it true she performs alchemy without a circle?"

The man nodded and smiled, "she's an amazing alchemist."

"She clapped her hands?"

"No."

Ed and Al glanced at each other.

"So, she had transmutation circles drawn or tattooed on her?" Ed asked, his voice edging with anticipation.

"No."

Ed glanced at Al with a grin on his face, "she must be using the philosopher's stone."

"No." The man gave another odd look at the two. "She used no stone."

"How do you know?" Ed was getting annoyed now which made his brother nervous.

The man shrugged. "You don't have to believe it. But I've seen it with my own eyes. She's performed alchemy from over 200 yards away." His eyes harshly met Ed's. "You don't have to believe me."

"Where can we find her?" Al asked.

"Go down this road," the man said as he pointed to the north. "Turn right on the next road. About halfway down there's a short fence on the left. Go through that and she's the third one down on the left."

No sooner had the directions been spoken and Ed was racing down the street. Al shouted appreciative thank you's and gave a bow before hurrying after his brother.

The town was lively as they made their way down the path. Both sides of each road had colorful houses and people seemed happy and content with their life. "This has to be one of the happiest towns I've ever seen," Al said. If he had a flesh face, a gentle smile would have graced his lips.

"I'd be happy too if our town had a philosopher's stone." Ed cast a cautious glance at his brother. "Hopefully this isn't like Reole, where it's a fake stone."

Al looked at the ground, trying to pull himself from the sad recollection of Reole's fake prophet.

They stopped when they reached the chain-link fence, located precisely where the old man had said.

"This can't be right," Al said.

Before them, lay a field of green grass with rows of rock stones bearing the names of those who had passed.

After a slight hesitation, the boys walked down a pebble trail to the third row down on the left. The persistent crunching noise as feet met ground slipped to silence as they reached the monument bearing the name, 'Marion Avarie'.

Ed groaned and threw his arms up in the air. "That bastard. He couldn't just say we were looking for a dead woman."

Al placed a comforting metal hand on his brother's slumped shoulders, but it did little to settle the disappointed look spread across the boy's face.

"What are you doing here?"

The brothers turned to the source of the feminine voice and jumped when they saw her. How she had managed to walk up to them so silently down that noisy path eluded them.

Long brown hair was teased into a single braid, bordering the right side of her pale face and accentuating a pair of deep blue eyes. She was pretty, not the most gorgeous girl they had ever seen, but still pretty. Thin arms clutched several flowers.

"Sorry," Ed said as the two of them backed down the path. "Just a hopeless search." Al followed him close behind. They stopped and turned however, after only traveling a few feet. Ed stood silently next to Al, watching the girl as she kneeled in front of Marion Avarie's grave, placing the flowers in a small vase that had been placed in front of the stone.

"You know her?" Ed asked while his brother glanced nervously at him. "Marion Avarie?"

"Yes," the girl said in a level tone, not turning to face them. "She was my mother."

Ed looked at Al, his excitement returning. "Is it true she didn't need a transmutation circle to perform alchemy?"

The girl's body stiffened and she remained facing the grave. Her voice came out as sharp as a blade. "She was a skilled alchemist. She helped build this town from the ground up. Her skills in alchemy were certainly extraordinary, but I find it tragic that she is remembered for her alchemy and not the amazing achievements she used it for."

Ed flushed. The younger brother held his hands up and distanced himself from his brother, avoiding the association. This was entirely missed by the girl, her back, remaining to them.

"Well.." Ed labored over his next words. The offensiveness of this introduction was gradually draining their opportunity at obtaining useful information.

"I'm sure your mother was a wonderful person," Al interjected. Ed glanced at him in relief when the girl's posture relaxed. "My name is Al and my brother is Ed. I know our interests in her alchemy seem superficial, but—"

"We have some questions we need answered," Ed continued.

The girl glanced at them over her shoulder and returned her eyes forward, but said nothing.

Seeing this as an invitation, Ed gained an impish grin. "She didn't use alchemy circles, right?"

The girl nodded.

"And she had no tattoos anywhere on her body of transmutation circles?"

The girl nodded again.

"And you're sure about that," Al asked.

"Yes."

"Did she clap her hands together?"

The girl shook her head.

Ed began to silently jump while Al waved his arms for him to calm down.

"So, she used the philosopher's stone, right?"

"No."

Ed froze, shocked at the response. "Of course, she used the stone."

The girl stiffened again. "My mother used no stone. Why would she need some pebble to perform alchemy?"

Ed's face scrunched in anger. "It's not just some pebble, it's the phil—"

"My mother used no stone to perform alchemy." She turned her head and glared at Ed. Her gaze was so sharp and harsh that Alphonse slowly edged further away. "Get lost." Her eyes returned to the stone in front of her and the air was silent.

The boys didn't move immediately.

"I said, get lost." The girl's voice was dripping with anger.

Ed began fuming and opened his mouth to speak more but Al grabbed his arm and dragged him back down the path toward the entrance to the graveyard. As they stepped away, the girl began softly murmuring. Her voice was so quiet the Ed couldn't make out a single word.

Reluctant to give up, the brothers inquired throughout the town but only received the same response. No circle. No hand clap. No tattoo. No stone.

"It's impossible," Ed groaned as he pressed his back against the cold stone wall of building in an alleyway, sliding down slowly. It was night, a whole day wasted with this stupid town.

"I don't get it either, brother." Al couldn't find sense in it either. "Maybe she just hid the stone. Wore a necklace or something. Put it somewhere no one would think to look!"

"Yeah," Ed said. He leaned his head forward into his knees. "Maybe."

"That has to be it," Al said, clapping his hands as if the enigma was solved.

Ed didn't respond. Al sat down and the boys remained in silence for a few minutes. This was a situation that just lacked any sense at all.

"Emilee," a little girl cried from around the corner.

The brothers turned their eyes in that direction, hearing soft footsteps slowly coming to a halt. "What's wrong, Kimmy?"

That voice. Ed quickly crawled across the ground and peeked around the corner. Al snuck a look as well, but with a view several feet above his.

"My toy's broken" the girl whined. She held out some sort of broken toy to the girl they had seen earlier at the cemetery.

"Again?" Emilee spoke in a tone of sadness but a bright smile lined her face.

The child nodded her head vigorously.

"I'll fix it, okay?"

The child grinned and didn't seem bothered when Emilee made no motion to pick up the toy. She also didn't ask her to put it down on the ground. But the child didn't edge closer, she simply stood still, continuing to hold out the toy as before.

A flash of light and the toy was mended.

"What?" Ed screamed.

Emilee and the child jerked their heads towards them.

Ed came out from behind the wall, pointing an accusing finger. "You have the stone."

Al followed his brother out, but very clearly wished he could've kept hiding. Ed caused so much trouble when he was angry.

"Is this your friend?" The little girl looked up at Emilee who merely shook her head.

"Go inside," Emilee said softly and the girl hurried back into her house, stealing only one more glance at the brothers before disappearing.

She turned to the brothers. "I'm not using a stone."

Ed glared. "Then—"

"I don't have a tattoo either."

Ed groaned and threw his arms up. "When will you stop with the lies!"

The girl's eyes narrowed and she stomped her foot. "If I tell you I'm using some pebble will it end your rude accusations or simply perpetuate this madness?"

"It's not a pebble," Ed shook his fists at her in frustration.

"We just want to know how you're performing alchemy without a circle or anything," Al said, intentionally calmly.

"You're using the philosopher's stone, right?" Ed almost foamed at the mouth.

The girl picked up a rock off the ground and eyed it. "Here's your rock." She laughed and tossed it straight up a few times, only a few inches. Ed just stared at her, confused and irritated.

Without warning Emilee brought her arm back and chucked the rock at the Elric brothers who ducked and scattered. The rock struck a window behind them, shattering the glass.

"What the hell, you hag!" Ed screamed. The only thing keeping him from attacking the girl was Al's firm grip as he held the angry, flailing boy to his chest.

The girl laughed again. "Watch," she said.

Her eyes focused on the broken window. In a matter of seconds, it had been returned to its original condition.

"Your eyes," Ed said slowly.

"My eyes?"

Ed had seen them flicker when she fixed the window. He was sure of it. "Do it again," he demanded.

Emilee reluctantly complied. She broke the window again, this time with a rough kick instead of an aimed projectile. Al glanced around nervously, hoping no one would be drawn to the sound of smashing glass.

Ed walked closer to her against his brother's pleas. As she repaired the glass, Ed began to shout in excitement. It was as if some part of the puzzle was solved. "Your eyes, something is wrong with your eyes."

"What?" The girl stared at him with her jaw striking the floor, luckily not literally. She crossed her arms, flipped around and continued walking down the road in the direction she had originally been traveling.

"Brother!" Al sputtered.

"Wait!" Ed shouted after Emilee. "That's not what I meant!"

"Fuck off." She didn't look back once.

Ed turned and looked at Al with eyes widened. "Her eyes. Something strange happened with her eyes."

"What do you mean, Ed? Why would you say something like that to her?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Ed grunted, annoyed. But his face grew softer. "But I saw something happen to her eyes."

"What? What did you see?"

"I don't know. They changed color or something." Ed shook his head vigorously back in forth as if trying to wake himself up from drowsiness. "I didn't get a good look. But I'm sure of it." He sighed. "I need to see her do it again."

Al couldn't help but laugh. "Brother, she'll never show you again now."

Ed couldn't help but smile sadly. "I'll figure something out. We'll try to talk to her tomorrow." He stood up straight and began walking down the street. "For now, let's go crash at that lodge we saw earlier."

"But brother!"

"Geez, what, Al?" Ed flipped around. "Gonna complain about my word choice again. I know it was stupid."

"No," Al said quietly.

"What then?"

Al rubbed the back of his head and then pointed the opposite way down the alley. "The lodge is that way."

Emilee closed the door behind her and locked it as she got home. She didn't turn on any lights and crept up the stairs, careful to avoid the squeaky step about halfway up. Her silent trek down the hallway to her bedroom was only interrupted by her pause in front of the door of the other bedroom.

She opened the door. Her eyes glanced over the books and framed photos of her and her mother that lined the shelves before whispering "goodnight, mom" and quietly shutting the door to the empty room.

In her bedroom she walked to the bathroom and sighed, releasing her hair from its bond. As if on cue, it poofed out, forming thick waves down her back. She brushed her hair and teeth, the typical nightly routine.

Pain gripped her chest as she remembered the rude boys. That rude boy. She let her hands rest on the edges of the sink and she gazed into the reflection in the mirror. Her eyes. Her right hand snaked up and brushed her cheek, just under her right eye.

They were the same blue they always were. There wasn't anything strange about that. There was nothing wrong with them that she could see. She gritted her teeth and gripped the sides of the sink tighter. Her face fell until she was looking into the empty sink.

Her one-sided conversations with her mother by her gravestone weren't enough. They were never enough. They would never be enough. Not until, by grace of God, her mother actually responded. So, no—they would never be enough.

Emilee collapsed on her bed, face first on the pillow. It took her a few moments to find the motivation to slip under the covers. She closed her eyes and willed sleep to come. It didn't for a while, leaving her enough time to relive that stupid situation with that stupid boy. "Go to Hell, Ed." She muttered before drifting off to sleep.