Chapter 2.

The first thing that Winry Rockbell noticed when she woke up was that it was cold. ... Very cold.

The second was that Edward Elric was beside her... lying half-naked, a sprinkling of snow around him.

And the third was that they were in the middle of a large, empty and snow-covered courtyard.

"... Ed?! Ed you idiot, wake up!" Winry whispered harshly, prodding his side as a wild panic took over her heartbeat, making it bang against her chest. The blonde lying in the snow simply groaned, turning over onto his side away from her and covering his head with his metal arm.

"Ughh it's too early to be awake Winry, go away... and I think we need the heating on, it's freezing..." The alchemist mumbled, shivering as the cold seeped into his skin. It was a final jab in his side that made me yell, sitting up sharply and glaring at the attacker kneeling beside him.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT... ...for..." His voice faded away as his eyes widened, taking in the view that he definitely was not expecting to find.

"For God's sake..." Winry muttered, standing up and brushing the dirt-embellished snow off her clothes before holding a slightly shaking hand out to him. Ed stared at it for a moment before taking it, stumbling upright as his legs reminded him now numb they were.

"Where do you think we are?" The question was hardly out of Winry's mouth when there was the noise of an opened door being slammed against a stone wall, accompanied by a group of shouts.

"Prince Edward!" Three people were running towards the couple across the snow, waving their hands about and their expressions frantic. Winry raised an eyebrow, glancing up at the astonished boy next to her. "Prince...?"

A small cry came out of the blonde girl's mouth as her hands were yanked behind her back, being twisted painfully by metal-covered hands. A man wearing a metal suit of armour had grabbed her, a stern frown furrowing on his face as he glared down at her, seeming furious.

"Oi, let her go!" Ed's expression flew from a surprised expression to a harsh scowl across his face- he didn't care who this guy was, but nobody mistreated his Winry. But his metal hand froze as the man suddenly nodded, letting Winry go and stepping back, his head bowed.

Ed caught her at once, frowning and holding her tightly, only to have her tugged away out of his embrace.

"Prince Edward! You must return to your royal duties at once!" A rather short man with spectacles and withering brownish-grey was standing next to him, clutching Winry's arm and tightening his grip as she tried to pull away.

"What the hell are you talking about?! I'm not a prince... and let Winry go!" Ed shot at him, making a move forwards to try and shove the man's hand away from his girl's arm. The man's eyes widened in shock and he let the blonde go at once.

"I-I'm terribly sorry, your majesty... Is this servant girl some friend of yours?" Winry shot the man a glare as he stuttered in front of Ed, bowing his head in respect. The alchemist stared.

"Uh... Yeah, she is... OW!" He winced as a sharp pain suddenly flew into his arm, Winry glaring at him with her hand still raised from the sudden whack she'd given him.

"Tell him I'm not a servant you idiot-" She was interrupted by the man with spectacles frowning at her, raising his head up and pointing with outstretched arm.

"Go back to the kitchens at once! You will be punished for treating the Prince in this way, you ignorant wretch!" He turned to Ed again, nodding and looking down.

"I'm terribly sorry your majesty, but I think you must be ill... We must keep you inside until you recover." With a nod to the guards, Ed found himself gently grabbed and picked up, causing the boy to struggle furiously as he yelled, reaching out for the blonde girl who stood there with wide eyes.

"Winry...! Win-" Then everything went black.

Winry watched in horror as Ed was grabbed by the guard, a sharp blow being delivered to the boy's head as he struggled- he went limp, dangling lifelessly in the armoured man's arms.

"L-Let him go!" Her sentence ended in a sharp gasp as a sudden pain erupted across her face, causing her eyes to water. The man with spectacles had slapped her.

"I said, get back to the kitchens." He clicked his fingers and called over to a passing housemaid, who stopped with wide eyes, hurrying over at the whole scenario. "Take this girl back to the kitchens... And make sure she gets back there, or I'll halve your wages!" He snapped, causing the housemaid to wince and nod hurriedly. With a glance at Winry, she led off, stopping to make sure that the blonde girl was following her.

Holding back her anger, she followed after her, glaring at the man's back as she stumbled onwards, clutching her sore cheek. A worried pang hit her chest and she glanced back, watching as the guard carried Ed inside through a wooden door opposite from the courtyard, the man who slapped her following.

"A-are you alright?" The housemaid was now beside Winry, looking at her anxiously, biting her pale lip. She had a pretty face, shrouded by dark blonde hair and dotted with two deep blue eyes.

"I-I'm fine, guh... That guy hit me so hard..." Winry prodded at her cheek experimentally, wincing as it protested.

"He's hit me a few times too, when I was in the way... I just try to keep away from him, but that's kind of hard, seeing as he's the King's Advisor and all... Well, the Prince's adviser, ever since the King vanished, Prince Edward has been up for crowning, he'll be king soon..." The girl suddenly blinked, her pale cheeks blushing as she looked at Winry with an apologetic look.

"A-ah I'm sorry! I didn't mean to babble on... You probably know this all already..." She shook her head, turning her head to focus her eyes on the ground as they moved on through a doorway, down into a dark, cramped corridor.

"No, it's alright... I don't know, actually, I'm not from around here..." Winry smiled at the housemaid, who glanced back at her as she led on into a large steamy kitchen.

"You don't know...? Where are you from then?" Winry opened her mouth to answer when a large woman waddled over, dressed in crisp white clothing and carrying a ladle in her hand.

"Stop talking and get on with your work! ... You! Where is your uniform?!" She zoomed in on Winry, causing the girl to blink in alarm.

"She's uh, new here, Miss..." The housemaid curtseyed to her, keeping her head down. The woman's eyes narrowed and she made a 'phooey' noise, waving her hand at the girl.

"Then why didn't you tell me, you ignorant idiot? Stupid girl... Go back to your work!" The girl simply nodded, picking up her long skirts and dashing off, giving Winry a faint smile as she ran past her. The blonde watched after her, frowning at her treatment; her vision was suddenly blocked by a large sheet of white and she stumbled backwards, pulling the bundle of fabric off her face, blinking down at it.

"Don't just stand there blinking, girl! Get to work! Bunch of lazy sods round here I swear..." The fat woman turned to the bustling crowd of girls in the kitchen, slapping her ladle across her hand and yelling at them all.

Winry stood there, holding the apron in her hands and sighing, before slipping it over her head and moving across to one of the tables, taking an unoccupied space by the end. A few of the girls lifted their heads up to stare at her, but quickly looked down again as the fat woman stomped past, still shouting.

Her heart was painfully heavy as she started kneading the dough in front of her- just earlier on, she was so close to kissing him, to finally being with him...

And now? Everything was wrong. Drastically and mentally wrong. Maybe she'd finally gone insane from lack of Edward Elric....