This idea's been floating around in Our head for a while, so... -shrug- It appeared on paper today at school. xD Pirates! Again! xD

Disclaimer: Don't own! Song is 'Kryptonite' by Three Doors Down.

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Light poured into the window. The girl looked up, scowling at the other females who were cavorting around the vicinity. This was finishing school, and for Rose Mustang, this was life. For now.

She sighed, turning away and beginning to step down the stairs. She'd been constantly thwarting the teachers; wearing slippers to bed, throwing things, sitting on other ladies, the works. And all to get out. She wasn't supposed to be part of this dignified world, and she didn't want to be. So when she stepped down the stairs, she deliberately tripped, sliding down in a blur of green silk and red hair.

The woman in charge for this particular class, a large woman with a snaggletooth everyone called Madam (the woman, not the tooth) because she didn't exactly disclose her true name, stalked over, a rather grotesque (in Rose's opinion) scowl on her face. "Rose," she said, as menacing as something with three chins and a blob for a body could be, "You've just blown your last chance. I told you before that you're much too rambunctious, and here you are jumping down the stairs. I hope you're glad that we're about to summon your uncle."

Rose stared. Madam probably took it as shock, or fear, but Rose was overjoyed. Not only was she about to be out of this place, but she was going to her mother's brother. Roy Mustang, quartermaster of a pirate ship. The Duchess. Long ago, she knew, her mother had been the captain, but now they had a new one. Some kid. She didn't really care about that. So Rose just nodded, trying to look disappointed. Madam, of course, jiggled in response. "Good," spat the older woman before waddling off. Rose watched her go, then shrugged and returned to her room to pack.

/ I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind /

The next day, there was a ruckus in the front grounds. Apparently there was an arrival. Rose, of course, was right out front, watching the man step out of the carriage with a rather dignified air. Was this really him? He had her complexion, and when you looked closely, you could see his eyes were dark blue, not obsidian, but other than that there were no real similarities. His hair was black, hers was rosy red. He had narrow eyes, as if he were Xinganese, but then again, her mother hadn't been. So he obviously wasn't, either, unless he was some bastard child, which Rose also knew he was not.

Despite the differences, Rose knew full well that this man was her uncle Roy. And it wasn't only the blatantly obvious fact that he'd come to the academy asking for her. It was also that this man reminded her of her mother. Kari had looked about as much like Roy as Rose did, but maybe it'd been their stance. Whatever it was, Roy was very reminiscent of her mother, and that was what made her trust her uncle the most.

/ I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time /

So down she'd gone, out the door with a suitcase full of her worldly possessions. (These did not include, of course, the finery she'd been wearing only a day ago. Those belonged to the school.) The small girl had come out of the finishing school in a frock and some simple slippers, and never looked back.

Roy took one look at the girl in front of him, flashed his (trademark, though Rose didn't know it) smirk and lead her up to the carriage, where she sat and waited. She could see Roy drop a small pouch into the hand of Mistress Dickens (a tall, spindly woman who was the complete opposite of Madam in appearance and owned the school), who expected payment for feeding, clothing, and housing the girl for the three years she'd been there. Obviously Roy didn't care about losing such a hefty amount. Maybe he really was a pirate. After all, she only half-believed it.

The darkhaired man came back, seating himself opposite her. She stayed quiet, but got fidgety, and realized that Roy was staring her down. Looking up curiously, the girl asked uncomfortably, "What?" Obviously Roy hadn't realized he was staring, because he mumbled something about Kari and looked away. Of course, Rose was interested now. "What about my mother?"

Roy smiled distantly, looking out the window as if he were gazing at something only he could see. "You look a lot like her," he replied quietly. "It's a little unnerving. I'm sorry." He shook his head, then looked back out the window, leaning on his elbow.

Rose shook her head. "No, it's alright," she replied. "It's been said before. Anyway.. Where are we going?"

Roy's smirk returned. "The harbor, of course," he replied as if they were going on a picnic. "Where else?"

/ I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon /

And so they'd gone, in the elegant horse-drawn wagon with the man in the front sitting and driving the horses on. Rose had enjoyed watching the scenery go by, the hills becoming plains which became the moor. It was beautiful, the greens becoming blue and all the colors in between.

Finally, they arrived, driver hopping off the bench in front and coming around to open the door. Roy lead his niece out, and she stared around the harbor. People were coming and going, and a few drunks were staggering dangerously around the edge of the dock. There were vendors lining the place, standing in their small, flat boats and yelling advertisements at anyone who was unfortunate enough to walk past them, calling things like "Hey! C'mere! I've got rum!" or "Don' listen to 'im, 'is prices are way to 'igh!" Neither of the Mustangs, of course, cared much about them. They were going somewhere.

Rose noticed that Roy looked as though he was set on going somewhere. Looked to be toward a boat. However, instead of that, he took an abrupt turn and she nearly fell off the deck. "We need to go somewhere," was his only explanation. And off they went, back toward the small village.

/ I feel there's nothing I can do /

They walked slowly through the town, Roy reading the signs above each bar carefully. They walked past the Dancing Lion (which Roy deemed "too mangy" for whoever he was looking for to go to), the Orange Doppelganger ("Too expensive"), and finally they were standing in front of a rather lively one, even in the early evening. The large, carved wooden sign above the door read Ambrosia, and from the door spilled a beam of bright orange firelight. "Here we are," announced Roy. Rose looked at him in confusion, but the man simply strode in, looking around the bar. The redhaired girl trotted after him, puzzled. There didn't seem to be anyone around that her uncle would be looking for -- Or so she thought. So she thought, until he made a beeline for the woman who was sitting in the corner knocking back pint after pint.

This woman.. Rose could honestly say that she was very beautiful. Then again, with her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail so she didn't get any in her drink, and the color high in her face, you could only say that she was pretty when she was sober. Right now, she was just totally out of it, and it showed. Roy, on the other hand, didn't seem to care as he sat himself down in a stool across from the woman, waving a hand to Rose to tell her that she should sit down as well. "Hey, there, Riza," he said. "How long've you been here?" Obviously, he'd dropped any pretense of being dignified. He was a swashbuckler and that was all there was to it.

Riza hiccupped, looking up at him. "Wha' 'bou' you?" she asked, training unfocused mahogany eyes upon the darkhaired man in front of him. Shaking out the leather tie out of her long blonde hair, the gunner plunked her drink on the table, sloshing rum onto the already-sticky surface. Rose could bet that she'd spilt lots more than just rum on that table, regarding the multiple random-colored blotches on the table. Or maybe it hadn't been just Riza. Whatever the amount, there'd been quite the number of spills.

Roy smirked at his crewmate. "Just came to get you," he replied with a wave of his hand. "We're just about ready to sail. Got us a new crewmate, too," he added, jabbing a thumb in the direction of his niece. "Kari's daughter."

Riza was stunned. She blinked, looking the girl up and down. "Kari's?" she repeated. "You sure 'bou' tha', quar'ermas'er?" Rose winced slightly under the gaze. Whatever she'd been expecting from these pirates, it sure wasn't a check-out session.

"Of course," replied Roy, snagging Riza's mug while it was on the table and taking a long swig. Riza gave him a dirty look, but he just slammed it back on the table. "Needed that. Anyway.. Yeah. She's coming with us." And that, really, was all it took. Roy made sure to toss a couple of coins down on the table for whoever had brought the blonde woman her drink. "Let's go, then. Cap'n's waiting," said Roy, with a tone that suggested that this captain didn't exactly deserve his title.

/ I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon /

The group, which had just expanded to three, trudged back outside. It was just about sunset now; the sun was a little ways above the surface of the ocean and it was a bright orange. The dock was a little quieter now, except for in congested areas the small crew didn't venture towards. They just went back toward the ship, which from here looked like a large shadowy mass. However, when they got up close…

It was beautiful.

Rose had seen ships before. There was a river in the town the finishing school was located near, and when they were allowed into the village she'd often stand by the water and look at it. When she was small, there'd been a small river there as well, that the traders came in by. (She'd met a lot of friends that way, by hanging around the docks. Some who stood out especially well were a pair of small blonde brothers. She couldn't remember their names, or their faces, and she felt bad about it. But she knew she'd see them again.) This ship, on the other hand.. it was nothing she'd ever seen before. The only word to describe it was magnificent. The sails were obviously linen, and they billowed with the warm evening breeze. The hull was dark, with windows all up the back, and two poop decks rather arranged like stairs. There were portholes with glass, and cannons lined the level below the portholes. She could easily guess at the makeup of the insides based on this. Deck, residential, weaponry, bilge, and between those were the other rooms. There were four masts, and upon them were yards and yards of a fine linen she could guess the pirates had stolen. And atop the highest mast…

Atop the highest mast, in the birds' nest, sat what looked to be a boy around Rose's age. He spotted the approaching crewmates, and immediately shimmied down one of the ropes, coming to meet them. Large leather boots clomping on the wood, he trotted down the ramp and stepped right up. The boy was wearing a large hat atop a mop of messy blonde hair, which he'd pulled back into a loose braid. He was wearing a clean white tunic, a large-buckled leather belt, and dark pants. He was also rather short. He was actually the same size as Rose, and she was quite small, even for a girl. "And this is?" the boy questioned, looking at Roy.

Roy's face immediately split into a smirk. "My niece," he replied proudly. "Hands off, Ed."

Ed immediately began to laugh. "Yeah, yeah." He looked Rose in the eye, and immediately bowed deeply, smirking as he did and tipping his hat.

"Captain Edward Elric, at your service."