A.N: I like to think that this story fits in canon. There will be a lot of original and confusing stuff though, so be prepared.

SETTING SAIL

Chapter One: Mirrors, Stones, and Rich Bastards

The town of Limerick was perched at the shores of the huge Mirror Lake, which actually served to disguise the crater of an extinguished volcano. The lake was so large on misty days you couldn't even see the other side – you couldn't even see the island in the middle of the lake at all.

But if the day was clear, the water stretched out motionless like a flat surface. It danced with the sunlight, reflecting the sky and the clouds and making an inverted copy of the island, so it looked as if a golden diamond were immersed in the middle of the lake.

That island was where the Academy was located, and on clear days you could see it from Limerick in all its mysterious glory. The superstitious folk from the mountains thought it a place where sorcery was common and demons lurked around every corner, and even avoided the mention of its name. But the people of Limerick depended on it, as it was, for them, and for all the surrounding islands, the center of civilization. The Academy was famous for training the best mathematicians, architects, engineers, scientists and investigators, for its great library and the rare materials and objects that were made there. Most of all, the Academy was famous for its Alchemists, many of whom ended up in the Marines as experts in some matter or another.

The Academy was part of everyday life in Limerick. Students and Alchemists came and went all the time, or even lived in the town. The only way to tell them apart was if they had a second purse hanging next to their money purse, though some preferred to hide it, or if they had rings around their fingers, though some preferred not to wear them. No dark spirits. Just normal people, strolling the streets, looking for supplies for their experiments.

Which was, actually, my case.

I stalked decidedly towards Limerick's Alchemy shop, my purse heavy at my belt. My investments in Jumma's wine business were starting to pay off – I had just this morning received my part of the profits from the selling of the first crates. And, to me, that was a great relief, a safety net. If I suddenly found myself in need of money, I could count on Jumma to sell a couple of crates and have some coin before too long. If the situation was really dire, I could sell my shares of the business for quick cash.

If you have never been poor, I don't expect you to understand what a relief it is to own something of value that you can count on as a source of regular income. With a full purse for once I could finally buy the Irsha I needed to replace my nearly spent stones. And, if what I'd heard was true, I needed to get there before another Alchemist beat me to it.

The owner of the shop was Frell, a middle-aged woman with the amazing ability to imprison her customers in a cage of gossip and meaningless stories, and keep them there for hours. Even if you were just passing by in the street she'd somehow manage to get you to come inside her shop, and then you could pretty much give up on your whole afternoon, because she wouldn't let you out until sunset. I normally avoided her like the plague – sometimes I even went to the length of bullying my friend (the term friend used loosely here) Will into getting my supplies for me, even if he hated me for days afterwards.

Today, though, I was in a hurry. I couldn't afford leaving this matter up to Will. As soon as he'd told me about the new shipment I'd grabbed my rainy day money and didn't hesitate to stuff it all inside my purse. If what he'd said was true, if it really was a seventy percent, then maybe I'd have just enough for one stone…

When I opened the door the bells above it jingled, and Frell, who'd been sitting at the cashier humming to herself, immediately looked up and her face lit with a huge smile. "Oh, girl, am I glad to see you. You've been avoiding me, haven't you? Always sending that boy instead. But let's leave what's gone, gone. Did you know–"

I quickly cut her off before disaster occurred. "I'm here for the Irsha."

Her face fell slightly. "Oh, the stones, the stones, always the stones. That's all you Academists are ever interested in – and the more expensive stuff like heat rods and water-mirrors never gets sold."

I gave an apologetic smile. "I can make my own heat rods at the…"

"At the labs, yes, yes, I know. I was at the Academy once too, don't forget. Ah, in those times, one had to travel to the Green Sea to buy Irsha, a five-day trip through storms and wind. No handy little shop just downtown all stocked up, waiting for you." She rolled her eyes. "But then again, that's the reason…"

"The stones," I reminded her. "I heard you got a new shipment." Her incessant chatter was already starting to pound on my brain. I could never really stand excessively friendly or talkative people, they got on my nerves with their babbling. But since Frell was my only supplier, I did try to make an effort towards her. Which, for me, didn't mean much beyond holding back insults and being, at least, half-civil.

She smiled. "Already? I was hopping to keep the secret for a bit longer." She kept talking to herself as she crossed the room towards the far shelf, where the Irsha was displayed in orderly boxes. My breath caught at the sight of the square, red one sitting dead in the center. There were glimpses of black reflections inside. Seventy percent.

"It's this one," she invited, making a grand gesture with one arm. "You can look at it, but if you drop it…"

I immediately reached for the red box, tuning her out. Inside it I counted six stones, all round and smooth and absolutely black like huge marbles. As I tilted the box, the light shifted on their surface like water, catching it in a shy golden wink. When I touched one, I felt the power it contained humming against my fingers impatiently, and suppressed a shiver of excitement. I had never seen such pure Irsha in my life.

Frell was watching me carefully. "It's going to cost you," she warned. "It's seventy percent, it just arrived a couple hours ago from the Grisly mines. Best quality I've seen in twenty years."

"How much?" I asked breathlessly, still entranced.

"Twenty thousand Beri for one stone."

I bit my lip. That was more than I expected, but then again, it wasn't completely unreasonable, if it came all the way from Grisly. The trouble was, I only had eighteen thousand in my purse. Normally, I'd consider myself rich, but right now it seemed an awfully small amount. I could probably strike a deal with her for eighteen thousand, but then I'd be left penniless, with no means to pay next term's tuition at the Academy. I quickly calculated the figures and numbers in my head, the lending fee of lab equipment, the food for this month...

But I knew, as I watched the light shift on the black surface, swirling inside in wisps of gold, that I needed one of these stones. A seventy. I would never have dreamed of holding one, let alone owning it. This opportunity was too great to pass, even if I ended up broke afterwards.

I needed to buy one now, before other Alchemists got wind of it and came in hordes to pillage the shop.

I was about to open my mouth when a voice said from behind me, "I'll take the whole box."

I whirled around, snapping the lid shut, fingers curling around it possessively. The man's voice had been light, almost careless, as if it didn't cross his mind that Frell could actually say no. He was standing with a calculated casual air, dressed in the finest sea-blue velvet vest, adorned with silver cuffs and silver buttons. Just to buy one of those buttons, I would have to save up for a year.

He wore a smug smirk on his face. His eyes were a cruel, unfeeling blue, lighter than his vest, like ice.

It said much of my amazement with the stones that I hadn't heard him come in. Normally I was pretty attentive to my surroundings, and the presence of this bastard especially I never failed to notice. I felt my lips curling back in a snarl. "I was here first, Almer. Back off."

He kept speaking to Frell as if he hadn't heard me. "The whole box should be a hundred and twenty thousand, right? I can throw in a couple thousand more for good measure. Compensation for making your stocks run out so soon, if you wish."

Almer had this way of talking, of moving, that could turn from polite, respectful and charming one second to disdainful and cruel the next. The latter was usually how he acted around me, or any commoner for that matter. He would look at us like we were dirt on his shoe, like we were too dirty to even come near his shoe. The former he reserved for convincing middle-aged store owners to sell him what he wanted, or the Tutors at the Academy to believe that I was, in fact, the one who'd mixed potassium with water, and that he had nothing to do with it. For example.

I whirled back to Frell, speaking quickly. "I only want one stone, Frell. I'll pay the twenty thousand. Almer can have the rest."

"Will you even be able to steal that much before the end of the day?" he asked innocently from behind me. "I remember last term you had trouble just paying your meager charity tuition."

I ground my teeth internally. He knew that accusing me of stealing would set me off. I never stole. Stealing was for desperate, hungry people who were not clever enough to get by without breaking the law. I was desperate, and had been hungry at various stages in my life, but I was clever enough. I never stole. Everybody who knew me knew it. Frell knew me. I hoped.

I just needed to convince her not to sell him all the stones… As I stared pleadingly at her, her eyes wavered. Almer was one of her best customers – it was probably only due to his extravagant spending that her shop was staying afloat. There were many Alchemists in Limerick, but losing him would undoubtedly mean a huge blow to her business. I kept staring, now cursing myself for not coming by more often. If I had, maybe she would have fallen to my boundless charm, enough to tip the balance in my favor…

Right then the door to the shop opened again. I was so focused on the situation that I didn't catch more than a glimpse of the newcomer. Black hair, red vest, was what I saw of him before dismissing him.

But he made us all start, momentarily breaking the tense atmosphere, when he shouted "Whoa! Amazing! What is this thing!" He ran through the shop like a cannonball, and stopped short in front of the water-mirror, his eyes wide, his jaw hanging stupidly. "It moves!"

I watched him for a second before focusing on Frell again.

"I'll help you out with the shop," I offered, trying to keep the desperate edge off my voice. "I'll work in the afternoons."

"Ten thousand extra," Almer said impassively, and my stomach dropped. A fake smile spread over his face. "I wouldn't trust her with the shop. She couldn't even clean the Academy corridors without lifting lab material."

I faced him, hackles raised. I'd taken up the cleaning job last term because it paid well, and I'd wanted to have enough to help Jumma out with his wine business. And I didn't steal. "You don't even need them," I hissed. I didn't usually let my emotions get the best of me, but Almer drove me mad. My voice rose as I talked, until I was almost yelling. "Everybody knows your father gifted you a new set last week! Mine have almost run out! And besides, I was here first! I have the right to make my purchase!"

"Tell you what," he drawled out slowly, his cruel eyes never leaving my face. "I'll pay double price. The whole box for two hundred forty thousand. How does that sound?"

Damn him. Damn his money and his family to hell.

I watched somberly as the door slammed shut behind him and he crossed the street, the box under his arm. He shot one last triumphant look at me before turning the corner, his lips curled up smugly. I took a deep breath to steady myself.

What had ever possessed me to think that making an enemy out of Christian Almer, the son of the wealthiest man in the area, was a good idea?

He had screwed me. My fingers started trembling. I wanted that Irsha. It would have meant so much progress in my investigation, a step closer towards my dream. I had just lost the best opportunity I'd come across in my life, to the most arrogant, hateful, and cruel noble in this part of the country, who would never truly appreciate the worth of those stones. Damn him.

I was still standing, jaw tight, when I noticed that the noise around the shop had stopped. Red Vest, who had been trashing around and toppling things over while we argued, was now staring at me silently, in a serious way that didn't let on what he was thinking. He didn't look to be much older than me, either. Who did he think he was to stare at me like that? "What?" I snapped. "Wanna laugh? Go ahead, you won't be the first."

He remained silent, and, after a moment, turned back to the shelves to examine more objects. I breathed in – no need to take it out on the poor guy. I methodically picked three fifteen percents and brought them to the counter. Their color was dull, grey, completely unlike the majestic black and gold from the Irsha Almer had walked away with.

Frell didn't meet my eyes as she charged me for my purchase, and, for once, didn't try to hold me back when I left either.

A.N: Luffy makes a proper entrance next chapter! Be kind and leave a review, guys!