Chapter 2. Now I have to go do Latin homework, even though it's 11:00pm. Enjoy!

There was glass bottle on the nightstand of Roy's bed with an odd white liquid in it which he found when he woke up in the morning. Roy lifted it and held it for a moment, studying it's contents. "Sir." a voice said as the doors opened to reveal Geraldo. "If you would meet me out by the river I will help you apply it with the instructions I received." he said fairly quietly. The prince nodded and stepped out of his king-sized bed. He decided against changing his clothes considering the 'potion' that would change his hair color might do damage to his clothing if it were to get any on them.

Roy walked down to the river behind the palace to where Geraldo was seated on the bank. He sat next to him and they were silent for a moment. Then Geraldo started explaining what would happen. "First, you will soak your hair with water, then I shall scrub this thick liquid in your hair and let it sit for quite some time. After this, I can take out the liquid with a towel." he paused, then continued with, "You cannot take it out with water because that is how you wash it out. Understood, master?" Roy nodded and dunked his entire head into the lake, coming back out soaked. He then turned so his back faced Geraldo and closed his eyes so his servant could get to work.

Finally, the towel made its way to Roy's once raven-colored hair to dry it off. The servant removed it slowly and when he was finished, he said, "Sir, this is really quite a change."

Roy picked up a portable mirror which had been brought out by his servant and took a look. His hair was a light chestnut color, no longer dark black. It was odd, and he felt it took away from his handsome face. Luckily, that was not necessary when he would be a commoner. "I love it." he said, bringing himself to a standing position. "I will be going now. Do you have the clothes I asked for?" he asked. Geraldo handed the prince a sack which had been on the grass not far off. Roy looked into it and grinned. The clothes were perfect, definitely from the east side. "Thank you. You may leave now." Roy said, receiving a bow from his servant, who walked off back into the palace.

The market was bustling with people from the east, but no one from the west was to be seen. This was to be expected when most households in the west could easily get their servants to run errands such as buying food for them. The people around him were all poor and struggling, some on the ground begging for money or food. Others were searching through small sacs in hope of finding extra change to support their family. Whenever Roy had previously visited the market, he had never seen such sights. Instead, there were crowds of westerners who had gone just to see him. Even those from the west didn't seem so poor at the time as they watched him. It was different mixing with them, seeing their everyday lives. How could he have been so ignorant?

He walked through the marketplace as he observed what was going on until suddenly he felt something hit his shoulder. Roy turned around to see a cloaked figure walking away from him, assumed to be the one who hit him. He couldn't help but get angry at this person's actions. Was this how all commoners acted to each other? There was giggling coming from his right, two girls in ragged clothes. "The princess is so cold-hearted!" he heard one whisper to the other as she laughed. Princess, this rude person? Roy couldn't help but feel a little intrigued by this woman, and decided to turn and follow her.

"Hello, ma'am? I believe we just bumped, I wanted to apologize..." Roy Mustang said respectfully with a smile on his lips. He touched her shoulder, hoping to get her attention. She stopped and pulled off her hood, revealing long blond hair which was strikingly familiar. No way, Roy thought. It had to be the woman from the other day, the one who didn't look at him!

She turned around, revealing a soft, beautiful face with deep brown eyes. "As you should. Bumping into ladies isn't very gentleman-like." she said, and once again turned away from him and walked away. Roy certainly wasn't expecting such a reaction. This girl was beyond rude, she was downright disrespectful. Not only that, but he felt rejected for once in his life. Plenty of girls had been looking at him when he was there, so why had she not bothered? Even though every bit of Roy disliked the way she was acting, he wanted to see what she thought of him as a prince, without her knowing who he was, even though she would say the same thing whether or not she knew.

Instead of just walking away like he should have, Roy followed the woman thinking of the right words to say to express his thoughts. He realized there was no other way than being blunt. "Miss." he started. Roy was going to be as suave as possible. "I heard you were a princess, and I don't want to offend you or anything, but is this true?" he asked simply, realizing he wasn't very successful.

"A princess? No, sorry to say I'm not. I'm going to guess you're a little out of your element." she responded, stopping in her tracks. Roy hadn't noticed that they were not longer in the market, but instead on a dirt path with broken down houses on the sides. He was in the east now and was curious as to why the two girls called her a princess if she wasn't one. "You know, some people have these fantasies where anyone can be a princess, but there is always one thing these fairy tale princess' don't have: money." she finished, looking at Roy with a fierce stare.

"How did you guess I'm not from around here?" he said, hoping she welcomed the change of subject. They continued to walk, and Roy took in the surroundings. There were people on the barren land who were attempting to bring up crops from their miniscule decaying gardens. Roy couldn't help but feel bad for these people.

"Sorry to say, but you are quite obvious." she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "First of all, your eyes. They show pity on us, like you have a better life than us. Second, your face. Not one scratch, bruise, or speck of dirt." said the girl.

"You don't either." retorted Roy, studying the girl's face. It looked baby-bottom smooth, and equally as clean.

"You're very naïve." she told him. "I don't know where your from, but women aren't allowed to do dirty work that would cause such changes in one's skin. Then again, no noble has to do dirty work." she finished bitterly. "Although I am glad we don't have arrange marriages here in the east like they do in the west." added the girl with a sorrowful face on. Arranged marriages?, thought Roy. Maybe he really was naïve. He would have to do something about these supposed arranged marriages if they really were happening. To take away the rights of women in marriage was absurd, even to the womanizing prince. "And lastly, you asked if I were a princess. I guess I could be one if you wish. Illegitimate Princess Elizabeth, 'Riza,' Hawkeye, at your service, sir." she said in a mocking tone.

Roy smiled, glad he finally knew the mystery woman's name. "Nice to meet you, my lady. I'm -" he paused and realized he couldn't use either Roy or Mustang as a name. "Maes. Maes Hughes." he finished, wondering where this name came from in his mind.

"Nice to meet you, Maes. Now may I ask what a noble is doing in the east disguised as a commoner?" Riza asked as the two continued to walk side-by-side.

"I was curious as to what life was like here." Roy responded. He looked to the sky and realized it was becoming dark faster than expected. Surely he hadn't spent the whole day with Riza? They had barely talked a decent conversation. He stopped looking up at the sky and turned to the woman, whose gaze had followed his.

"It's almost time for the sun to set. It is my day to cook dinner, so I should be getting home." sighed Riza. "While you may be an arrogant fool, you are welcome to -" she was suddenly interrupted by the sound of barking in the distance behind them, which was slowly growing louder and louder. Roy saw a small shape running on four legs towards them, and before he knew what hit him, he realized it had been a dog. Roy laid on the ground, his commoners clothes in the mouth of the dog as he sat on top of him. "Down, Hayate!" commanded Riza Hawkeye, and the dog obliged. "He doesn't care much for males, even though he is one." she explained calmly, leaning down to pet the dog.

"So I see." Roy said as he wiped dirt off his clothing. "Sorry I'm not a girl." he muttered grouchily. "Anyway, maybe we will meet again." said Roy Mustang. The girl only nodded, not continuing what she would have said without the interruption, to Roy's displeasure. He turned and walked back to his palace with a smile on his face.

The color washed out as easy as Geraldo said. One drop of water and the color dripped out, revealing his natural night-sky color. He let out a large yawn and walked to his palace, wondering what the following days would bring him.

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