New story! Hoorah!

I've had this idea for a while now and only just got it down on paper- er, computer. Also, just so you know, I'm trying to make every chapter a minimum of three pages, size eleven font, which should hopefully prevent short chapters! And once again, I will be doing my best to update daily. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Truths and Legends

Prologue: The Night the Elrics Died

The gunshot was louder than it had any right to be on that still night. The people of Rizembul stopped dead in their tracks.

"What was that?" somebody asked. "It couldn't have been- that wasn't- it wasn't, was it?"

"A gunshot-"

"-But who would-"

"-In Rizembul? What-?"

A hubbub of frightened voices began; parents calling for their children, nobody really sure what they had heard. It couldn't have been a gun, surely, not in Rizembul- who would want to kill anybody in Rizembul? Rizembul was small, peaceful, timeless. Things like murder didn't happen here- crime was a city thing, it didn't belong in this tiny, picturesque village. It couldn't be- it couldn't be- it couldn't be-

"Where did it come from?" somebody asked. "Who... why...?"

That was the question nobody could quite bring themselves to voice: Who's being shot at?

And then that question was answered as a terrified Trisha Elric came running down the road from the mansion.

Trisha was not dressed in her usual expensive, sensible clothes, but in her nightgown, and her hair was not pulled neatly away from her face as it normally was, but hanging loose. Her feet were bare and scratched from the run across the stony ground, and her face was pale and coated with a sheen of sweat.

"Trisha?" Doctor Rockbell rushed towards the panicked woman. "Trisha, what's-" he cut himself off as she threw herself at him, clutching at the front of his shirt.

"You've got to help us, please, please!" she begged, wild-eyed. Doctor Rockbell rubbed her back soothingly, a worried frown on his face.

"Of course, Trisha, of course we'll help you, but what's happening?" he asked. "Trisha?"

However, Trisha did not answer him- instead she looked up with wide, horrified eyes. "Oh, god, my boys!" she cried, and wrenched away from him to run up towards the mansion again.

"Trisha, wait-!" he called, but she ignored him. "Trisha, it's dangerous, please!" he began to run after her, accompanied by a few of the other residents, while others went back to their houses for weapons, or to lock their children safely away from whatever danger was to be found up at the mansion.

They were a good way behind Trisha, but it didn't take them long to catch her up- she was stood alone in the trees, gabbling to some unseen person.

"Don't hurt them, please! I'm begging you, don't hurt them!"

"Trisha!" Doctor Rockbell called. "Trisha, get away from them, get away! TRISHA!" he yelled. "We'll save your boys, Trisha, but get away!"

Perhaps she didn't hear him, or perhaps she simply didn't listen, because she stayed where she was, sobbing for whoever it was she could see that they couldn't to leave her sons alone, please-

Bang.

Trisha fell silent and staggered back, crumpling to the ground.

There was a horrified silence.

"Trisha?" Dr Rockbell asked, tentatively. He walked towards her, slowly, cautiously, the rest of the village holding their breath behind him. "Trisha?"

"Doctor Rockbell, is she...?"

He placed his fingers on her wrist, on the side of her neck- but instead of a pulse, he felt nothing.

"She's..."

He swallowed. "Trisha..."

He looked up at the people of Rizembul, hovering respectfully, concernedly around him a few meters away. His throat constricted as he saw the fear in their faces, and he felt tears pricking at his own eyes- Trisha was one of his wife's closest friends, and one of the kindest, sweetest people he'd ever met.

"I- I'm sorry." he said hoarsely. "She's gone."

The people of Rizembul stared, unable to believe what they'd just heard.

Gone?

Dead?

Hesitantly, shakily, someone broke the silence. "We... we should search for her boys... she... she wanted to save them..."

"Y-yeah." somebody else agreed. "I never even knew they had any kids..."

"I don't think anyone did... I... it doesn't matter now, anyway. Let's find them, and Professor Hoenheim... get them to safety."

Dr Rockbell nodded. "We have to prevent anything else..." he trailed off.

The villagers began their search, combing the grounds of the mansion first- they found Hoenheim Elric dead by the open front door of the grand house.

"Who could've- who- why?"

"The Elrics have never done any harm to anybody..."

"Oh, fuck, the kids! We only heard two shots, right? Do you think- maybe there's still time..."

"We should search the house, we've already looked through the grounds."

Doctor Rockbell took a step towards the front door, but then stopped as a small voice spoke up.

"It's too late." the voice said quietly. The group turned to see Winry Rockbell.

"Winry, what are you doing here?!" Dr Rockbell shouted, a mixture of angry and frightened that his child was here, where there likely still was a murderer hanging around.

Winry merely shook her head and repeated herself hoarsely. "Too late."

"Winry, what do you mean it's too late?" asked somebody else, slightly more gently than the frantic Dr Rockbell. "Why is it too late?"

The ten-year old girl looked around and bit her lip. "I was following you, but then I thought it might be dangerous so I went home... w-well, I was going home... I went along by the river 'cause it's faster," her breath hitched. "There were two boys, and, and, and-!" she gave a gasping sob.

"It's okay sweetie, shush, it's okay... she's panicking here, people, give her some space! Okay, love, in your own time. It's okay."

Winry gave a few more quiet sobs, and then continued. "The first one yelled to the second one... he said, he said, 'Al, quickly, this way!" and then they were running towards that place, you know, where the river goes between those really high rocks, and..." she swallowed. "They just... they just... fell..."

"They fell off those rocks? Oh god, there's no way they could've survived that..."

"S-somebody looked over, and, and he said, 'Well, they're dead now,' and then I ran here."

The girl sobbed again, and then started to full-out bawl. Dr Rockbell rushed to his daughter's side to try and comfort her while the rest of the group stood in horrified silence.

"The kids too?"

"But who would... why would anybody want to kill the Elrics?"

That was the question that nobody could answer.