In a land far, far away, lies the Kingdom of Fiore, a small peaceful nation of 17 million, and a place filled with magic! Found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace, for most, magic is merely a tool, a mundane part of everyday life. For some, however, magic is an art, and they have devoted their lives to its practice. These are the mages. Banded together into magical guilds they apply their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore. But there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest, one from which countless legends have been born... a guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name... is Fairy Tail.
The leader of Fairy Tail, Master Makarov is a legend in himself. Under his guidance, every member of Fairy Tail can fulfil their whole potential. But that's not all - everyone is accepting and welcoming to all. They are, in fact, all one big family!
Though of course, they cannot all work together all of the time. When they undertake smaller, everyday jobs, the guild often splits into smaller teams, who are very close to one another. There's The Thunder Legion, Shadow Gear, and of course the Strongest Team. Possibly the most powerful team to ever come from Fairy Tail! Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Lucy Heartfilia, Happy, and occasionally Wendy Marvell and Carla make up the most of this team. With the addition of one more member. Erza Scarlet.
Likely to be the most powerful member of the Strongest Team (Though Natsu would never admit it!) - and definitely the bossiest! She led them well, and appeared to be one of the happiest and outgoing mages around. Although being extremely close to her fellow team members, she could not share with them her well hidden troubles. In that respect, she was all alone.
Apart from the individual teams, the guild is close as a whole. Everyone knows that if they ever get into a spot of trouble, they can count on their Fairy Tail friends to have their backs. They also know how to have a good laugh! A vast majority of the time, the guildhall is a lively, good-hearted yet chaotic place. You can always count on Cana to have a vast barrel of beer to hand; Natsu and Gray to have a bust-up; and Mirajane to be the sensible one around - striving for peace. Nonetheless, they are the loudest, happiest bunch for miles around.
However. Once the sun has gone down, everyone's sauntered home, the noise is extinguished. Except... sometimes the silence of the night was broken. By the faint sound of sobbing.
It wasn't the first time that Erza Scarlet had stayed behind after hours. The Master had given his permission, and although he worried privately about her reasons, he didn't think too much of it. Other pressing matters often demanded his attention.
The guildhall was completely empty. Erza sat hugging her knees, face buried in the folds of her skirt. She was sat up by the bell tower overlooking the sleeping town of Magnolia. All day, she'd been laughing and joking with her friends in Fairy Tail, and of course, being her usual no-nonsense, fearsome self. But now, all alone, she had no one to hide her sadness from. No need to fake it. Her smiles, that was, all day everyday; she was so tired of it. But she could only let her true feelings show when there was no one around to see her.
Her eyes brimmed over with silvery tears. The painful memories threatened to overcome her.
"Fuck it," was her fleeting thought, as she allowed the flood barrier to burst. Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she sobbed, until weariness overcame her and she succumbed to a troubled sleep.