Hello again! SORRY FOR THE LATENESS! The Fanfiction site was experiencing downtime for several hours... was totally unable to access it to post my story and it was getting too late in the night and I had to eventually sleep...

Some of you readers may have jumped from 'A Touch of Saffron' to this story, 'Arda' while I'm on my 6 week hiatus (counting down to 5 weeks now I believe). If so, I'm eternally grateful that you are interested reading my Fairy Tail fanfic :) I guarantee that you won't be disappointed! So how this works is that, this story had already been pre-written. I just update it chapter by chapter every Friday for Asia Pacific region and Thursday everywhere else while I'm doing my clinical placement (hospital internship). Basically I won't be doing actual fanfiction writing during my clinical placement.

If you guys are new readers of mine, I am equally grateful that you find the summary interesting enough to read the first chapter :)

Getting back into the swing of things again while running around the hospital. I hope I don't fail this!

Everyone, please enjoy this ride! Lets get started.


Chapter 1 - Summer Rain Traveler

Raindrops ran down his chin as he jogged across the slippery cobbled pavement, cursing the damned humidity as he went. The lithe figure ducked and weaved past old boxes and rubbish cans with as much accuracy as possible. Many alleyways peppered across the foreign city of Magnolia. Foreign country, foreign city, foreign people and worst of all foreign weather.

'If only I had planned this wretched trip during the winter times. Then I wouldn't have to put up with this stinking heat', he internally seethed.

Trekking across the vast peninsula to the West was a mean feat, which to say he was indeed proud of, but he wished all this torrential downpour would be worth it in the end.

Otherwise, how could he face his family if he came back empty handed?

Being a seasoned traveler made him flexible and adaptive to using any trick and strategy up his sleeve to immerse himself into the new land. It never failed after the first few years, until he reckoned he was a chameleon by the end. But when he stepped foot into Fiore, shit hit the fan.

What on Earth was his Patriarch thinking…

People of all sizes, shapes and colours living in harmony. There didn't seem to be even a pattern or any commonality he could recognise amongst the populace except for the obvious common language and … smell. It was one giant melting pot of different cultures and people from all walks of life, he concluded that much. So different from traveling on his side of the world where everyone conformed to whatever lifestyle everybody else had in their specific region.

If he had one word to describe Fiore, it was alive.

And he stuck out like an angry raincloud. In a literal sense, a storming cloud had made itself comfortable over the town of Magnolia upon his arrival.

He had hoped for a less ostentatious welcome.

He tried to shake the silvery locks from his eyes, plastered by the rain and humidity but to no avail. He crouched low next to a rubbish can. On any other day, it would be a poor decision because the loud metallic pelting of rain would have done his head in. Luckily, his hearing had dulled significantly allowing only the sounds of pitter-pattering to mildly annoy him. His far-sight, hearing and sense of smell were reduced to at least two thirds of their capacity all because of cranky Mother Nature.

His breath hitched.

Was that laughter?

Sure enough, he picked up the muffled sounds of merriment. He sharpened his eyes as much as possible and glared out across the mouth of the dim alley way, drawing his gaze to the right where the noise was coming from. It was probably the most hideous building he had ever laid eyes upon. How could he have missed that…A three tiered castle like structure with a gaudy and loud entrance gate, emblazoned with FAIRY TAIL in its native script. At least he hoped that's not what it said. Information gathering from across the neighbouring country of Bosco and the port town of Hargeon was about eighty percent complaints of a rowdy guild called Fairy Tail. According to the rumours there, apparently that infamous guild wasn't something he wanted to encounter.

An orange flag printed with a symbol he didn't know the meaning of, flapped wildly in the wind. They have a steeple bell too? For fuck's sake, should there ever be a piece of architecture like that designed in his home country… get out.

The raucous laughter was definitely coming from that guild building and it did nothing to lighten his dampened mood. His eyes scanned beyond the alley way into the main street, hoping there were other inns or taverns he could spend the night. Disappointment filled him when there were no other.

'Looks like I have no choice'.

Clutching his right side, he darted out and made it under the shelter of the front entrance of Fairy Tail. Anything will do to get out of the rain. Did guilds offer accommodation to travelers? He had no idea as he'd been staying at inns and taverns. He could already feel the dry warmth coming from the building.

He grunted.

Running around through the rain took a toll on his old wound. His right side was in a dull ache, reminding him of how he got it: Sparring with his shishou. He shook his head vigorously. No time to reminisce now. He trudged forward and pushed open the heavy wooden doors with all his might.

First thing that hit him was 'Smell'. The smell of overflowing booze, fatty food and embers.

Second thing that assaulted him was 'Sound'. The sound of yelling, cheering, laughter, chugging and whoops and howls all rolled and blended into a monstrous din.

Last thing that returned to him, 'Sight'. He had to cover his eyes to soften the bright light from within and allow them time to adjust before slowly lowering his hand. The sight of so many people throwing themselves at one another, brawling with no restraint wasn't exactly what he wanted to encounter. Cheering flowed from spectators surrounding the centre of the entertainment like nihonshu from an upturned bottle.

He scrunched his brow and raked his nimble fingers through silver hair, back against his scalp, not letting any loose strands flop against his face. He most definitely have had enough of this humid rain.

"How about this downpour huh? I assume you will be needing a room for one?"

He flicked his eyes across to a feminine voice addressing him over the loud noises. Her hair colour was similar to his, but thick and wavy, reaching the small of her back. She looked at him with kind and understanding eyes as she gestured him to approach the bar. His own eyes softened and offered a grateful smile with a nod. He shifted his hold on his knapsack and went over.

"Lucky that you came around at this time. We have a special price for this season. What's your name?" She asked.

"Hitsu…" he cleared his throat. "Daisuke Hitsugaya"

"Daisuke Hitsugaya?" She reconfirmed.

"Yes"

The lady took out the registry book from under the table and flipped it over the page marked with a ribbon. Daisuke resumed looking around the large open area. It must be a 'guild hall'. It was pretty big and open like a barn. He could definitely see the pride they have for themselves with their insignia littering everywhere from banners, to bunting, to posters. The lively noise sounded less intense than what it should have been.

"Guild?" She politely inquired.

"Sorry?" he missed her question and so refocused his attention.

"What guild are you from?"

"Umm… Arda" he mumbled.

The lady tapped her finger against her chin, a quizzical expression on her face. "I'm not familiar with that guild name. Have you got a guild mark?" she asked.

Daisuke procured a folded piece of leather from his inner vest, ignoring the startled look on her face. He flipped it open and showed its contents. The white haired lady looked momentarily surprised before she glanced at it closely and then nodded in satisfaction.

"Funny, I haven't seen those mage ID cards in forever! I don't think anyone uses those anymore. All mages are supposed to have guild marks stamped on their bodies for identification now" she said. "But I'll make an exception for you because of the rain"

"Thanks. I haven't had time to get one, I guess" he replied smoothly. He'd seen one of those tacky guild marks on lots of mages since he arrived in Fiore. Some had them stamped on poorly chosen places to his amusement. He was grateful she didn't turn him away for showing an obsolete ID. The other inns and taverns in Bosco and Hargeon didn't ask for formal identification, but then again, they weren't guild establishments to begin with.

He took a quick peek at it before placing it back in his pocket. It was a picture of his face, name, age, guild name and other details like any other standard ID card from anywhere, except there was no stamp on it. It looked official enough to him.

Daisuke smirked. He knew it was just blank, white paper. Specifically blank, white, Psychic paper.

Psychic paper tricked the onlooker into seeing what they expected. It was one of the few enchanted trinkets he owned. It never failed him and that was exactly why he liked it. The second he pulled out the leather card holder, she must have realised he wasn't going to roll up any part of his clothing to reveal any guild mark. She expected to see a different form of ID and that was what she got. Otherwise, it was just a blank piece of enchanted paper waiting to be flashed at another unsuspecting mage.

"You should get one as soon as you can. All mages in Fiore get them upon initiation and it's so much simpler and safer for identifying themselves on jobs, because we can now store personal details into the guild mark" she lifted the Fairy Tail stamp from under the bar counter to show him.

"Sure" said Daisuke.

The young woman wrote his name in the registry and key label as Daisuke slid over seven thousand Jewel notes for one night. It should be enough. He couldn't help but notice her gaze widening at the sight of the katana on his back. It was a great work of craftsmanship. He doubted she had seen anything like it. Criss-crossed strapped handle and a four-pointed star guard, the sharpest blade one could find sheathed comfortably into the mahogany lacquered scabbard.

He quirked a delicate brow at her.

"My name is Mirajane, if you need anything else please don't hesitate to use the communications lacryma provided in the room or just come on down and I'll be right here. I'll send someone to bring you up a warm meal soon" she beamed at him.

"Ah, I'll remember that. And thank you" he smirked.

She gave him the key and gestured in the direction of the guest accommodations. He looked down at the key and read the name tag. Huh. She misspelt his name. Did his name come out misspelt on the psychic paper too? He didn't notice. Not to worry anyway. His name was of a different tongue. He trudged up the stairs and made a right turn away from the balcony overlooking the noisy guild hall.


Mirajane hummed quietly.

"What's wrong Mira?" a young girl with violet locks approached the bar, depositing an empty serving tray onto the bar counter. It was rare to see her deep in thought and staring into space.

"I'm curious about the traveling guest I just booked a room for, Kinana"

"Oh I saw him heading to the guest accommodations. He looks kind of cute doesn't he?" Kinana smiled.

Mirajane had to agree, he was quite easy on the eyes but she wasn't into anyone younger than herself. However, the sword grabbed her interest more than she thought it would. Erza would definitely appreciate a weapon as fine as the one he carried. He had a noticeable accent, but she couldn't pinpoint where from. Not to mention the exotic garments. Even she had never seen anything that looked that interesting on her travels during her time as an active mage.

He was wrapped heavily in a red hooded cloak, lined with tessellating patterns of awfully dull colours across the hem. She could barely see anything else beneath his cloak, except a red scarf bunched up at his neck, maybe a tan tunic and a jerkin, with belts and buckles strapped across his chest. His pants were beige and tight against his legs, held up by a tattered teal sash. Probably silk? He wore a thick cord wrapped around his bandaged left hand, wrapped over and over his palm with a large shark's tooth against his wrist.

Aside from the sword, he lugged a knapsack across his shoulder. Obviously more for camping purposes than shopping.

"Where do you suppose he came from?" mused Kinana. "I bet he's from Bosco"

"No, no one wears those kinds of clothes in Bosco. I think he's from a country further than that" replied Mirajane. She continued to wipe freshly rinsed beer mugs and proceeded to line them neatly in the cupboards beneath the bar. It was not often they got visitors from countries other than Bosco or Isvan around here. Most other countries were simply too far.

"I suppose you're right" hummed Kinana. She gave Mirajane a hand in packing away the mugs. It was almost one in the morning and the crowd had already begun to thin out. She waved Juvia, Erza and Lucy a good night as two of the ladies headed to Fairy Hills and Lucy exited the building, no doubt trying to beat Natsu back to her place to put up barricades before he could break in. Now that she thought of it, Mirajane didn't spot Natsu in the guild hall at all this evening. She wondered where he had gone too. She decided to turn back to the conversation and helped Kinana dry the beer mugs.

"I can't get enough of those eyes Mirajane. It's the most brilliant green I've ever seen. He's definitely from Peregrande Kingdom! Clearer than the grade A emeralds from the jewellery market" Kinana chatted away.

"Oh what's this about jewellery?" Macau staggered wearily to the counter, unleashing a wide yawn and sat his butt down onto the bar stool

"Hi Macau. Did you see our new guest who just came from the rain? The one with the snowy white hair and eye's like emerald" Asked Mirajane.

"Those kind of jewels aye? Hmmm, nope too busy getting Elfman off my boy's back. The last thing Romeo needs is to be influenced into extreme body building" he grumbled.

"Haha! It was just a weary traveler" said Kinana,

While Macau and Kinana chatted some more of their day's events, and the guild hall continue to empty out is occupants, the silver-haired woman continued to ponder a bit about who this mysterious traveler was.

Through a quick glance at his hooded eyes when he first came in, she tried to deduce what she could about him. Emotional baggage? No, more like the troubled soul look? No it wasn't quite that. Ahhh! She didn't know. She was always good at picking out people's character with a single glance. Eyes were windows to the soul of course. Why were his windows clouded? That encouraged her to find out who exactly was this person.

'I almost forgot!' The busty woman ran back into the kitchens and grabbed the first bowl in sight and ladled in hearty soup and grabbed two pieces of sourdough bread before it got the chance to turn stale. She walked up the stairs carefully, turning into the guest accommodations are. She made sure she gave him a room all the way down the corridor to escape the noise downstairs. God knew he needed peace and quiet. She balanced the tray with trained expertise and knocked on Mr. Hitsugaya's door.

"Come in"

She opened the door slowly and popped her head in, hoping she didn't encroach too much. "Sorry for bringing in your meal a bit late" Mirajane said warmly. "I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long"

The small fireplace was already lit. His cloak, red scarf and jerkin hung off the back of an armchair right in front of the fireplace to dry, but not too close that anything will catch fire. Mirajane gently sat the tray of steaming soup onto the side table and took the moment to look at Mr. Hitsugaya more closely. Kinana was right. His eyes were a pair of piercing emeralds. His snowy white hair already half dry was messily combed back against his head, save a jagged curtain of hair hanging limply over his left eye. His brows were knitted together in what looked like intense thought and his lips a taut lined against his face. He was staring into the flickering fire. He was definitely weary from traveling but for some reason he wasn't resting on the bed or chairs provided. He held himself as a steady determination of a patient person on a mission. His slender frame leaned casually against the wall next to the window, arms crossed and one leg loosely bent.

He couldn't be more than sixteen years old to her eyes. But Mirajane wouldn't let a youthful face sway her.

"Are you a highly skilled mage?" She smiled, folding the tea towel over her arms.

Mr. Hitsugaya flickered out of his concentration and darted his eyes to her.

"That, I am" he offered a strained smile. To her it looked like a half annoyed, half obligatory smile. "What made you think I was?"

Mirajane gestured towards his sword.

Mr. Hitsugaya gave an impressed smirk. Mirajane smiled pleasantly back. It was obvious to her that he knew, that she could sense the magic pulsing from his sword. Any other average mage wouldn't have notice such a strong but subtle magic. But being Mirajane Strauss, the S-Class demoness of Fairy Tail, she was more sensitive to magic of other mages who were at least on her level.

"So, what brings you to Magnolia?" she asked.

The boy pushed himself off the wall and strode towards her. He bent down and brought the bowl of soup from the table to his mouth. A pleasing look graced his face.

"Fact finding tour" he said, stirring the soup slowly. He was standing right in front of the silvery haired woman and he came only up to her nose.

"That's interesting! Is it part of a job?" she chuckled.

"Well… Not really. It's more for my own benefit" his voice petered out as he busied himself eating.

"I'd love to go traveling again when I have the time, like really explore all the famous sites and immerse myself in the culture of different places. But unfortunately I have a guild to take care of when the Guild Master's gone on business, which is quite often. I don't know when's the next time I can take a relaxing break"

Mirajane chatted away, filling up the void as he ate. She observed his face and glimpsed a small but proper smile. A warm smile. As fast as it appeared, it disappeared into a scowl. He took the bowl and bread and went to sit on the edge of the bed. He began dipping the bread and munched on it.

"What's your guild called again?" she inquired.

"We are called Arda. I never expected you to know anyway" he mumbled, leaving the rest of the conversation to die and turned back to eating his soup and bread.

She continued to smile. It looked like he wasn't really the sociable and talking kind. He was a guest after all, so she allowed him to resume his much awaited meal. Mirajane was about to leave the room when he cleared his throat, stopping her in her tracks.

"So uh, is there a town library here?" asked Mr. Hitsugaya.

"Why yes of course!" said Mirajane, "In fact, I would be happy to arrange someone from our guild to give you a bit of a tour".

"No thanks, just a tourist brochure or a pocket travel directory will do" Mr. Hitsugaya finished up his meal and got up to place it back on the tray at the table. This young mage seemed heavily guarded and secretive from his hesitant and tone and carefully constructed sentences. Mirajane guessed that his 'fact-finding tour' was rather serious business.

"Sure, I could get either one for you. What makes you interested in the library of all places in Magnolia?" Mirajane inquired one last time while picking up the tray. She needed to clean these before fully closing up the bar and kitchen.

Mr. Hitsugaya feigned a yawn and stretched his arms above his head, causing his tunic to ride up revealing toned and defined abdominal muscles. Mirajane suppressed a gasp at the sudden glimpse of a large pale scar on his right side. It looked like a monstrous bite mark that could've torn his flesh right off.

"I heard it is a national heritage-listed site. It's been around for a couple of hundred years." he replied, jutting a thumb towards the window in a general direction. He crouched down to unlace his boots and take them off to line them next to the bedside table. Taking her cue to leave as the guest was obviously preparing for bed time, Mirajane gave a slight bow and bade him good night before taking the bowl and tray back downstairs.


After the door clicked softly shut, Daisuke immediately went and flicked the lock. He pulled out some scrolls and books from his knapsack and threw them on the bed. Normally people couldn't smell their own scent, but boy could he smell his own and he stank. It's a wonder how that woman could still stand to be in the same room.

'I should've taken a shower first if I knew she was going to take her blessed time getting my food up here'

The "free" meal was probably included in the accommodation price anyway. He hated people entering his room while he was bathing. A bad experience of a pesky guild-mate busting in and ransacking his room while he was stuck naked and hollering from the adjoining shower came to mind. Ever since then, he became very wary of making sure he bathed with no chance of disturbance.

So he waited, basting in his own body odour and grime and endured every minute of it. His sense of smell was keener than most people. Now a shower was definitely due after a full stomach. He opened the bathroom and found it plain, but spotlessly clean. Which was good enough. It didn't need to look luxurious.

After a ten-minute shower, he was feeling blissful and fresh. The aching on his right side definitely lessened, but the rain was still howling away. Slipping on a fresh pair of pants and tunic, he sat on his bed, flipping through the books and unfurling the old scrolls he took out earlier.

He stopped and looked at the communications lacryma provided on the bedside in thought. He reached over and touch its surface, carefully pouring his magic into it, until it's internal glow dimmed into nothing, rendering it into a permanent state of 'turned off'

He couldn't be too careful in a place like this.

Time to get to work.


A yawn broke through the late morning as a young celestial spirit wizard named Lucy was just awakening from her peaceful slumber. Lucy rubbed the sleep-tears from her eyes and was jolted rudely from her tranquil rise from sleep. What on earth was that dreadful smell? This was not what she wanted to encounter as soon as she woke up. Realisation slapped her in the face.

'Oh no… don't tell me'

It had to be Natsu. Natsu-freaking-Dragneel and Happy! Her mind worked over time to conjure up as many scenarios as to what her doofus of a mission partner and his mangy cat could be doing in her kitchen. She scrambled out of bed at breakneck speed and threw on her bathrobe.

BAM!

"HEY! Numbskulls! What the hell are you doing to my kitchen!" screeched Lucy after she side-kicked her bedroom door open to be greeted by billowing smoke and laughter.

"Oh hey Luce! I made you some brunch!" Beamed her pink haired partner. He thrusted in her face the charred remains of what she believed was once cinnamon toast with a side of salad, the lettuce slightly singed.

'It's over… my land lady will murder me…' Lucy internally sobbed.

"Geez you could at least dress to come down to eat Lucy" yapped a chipper Happy, munching on some mackerel.

Lucy couldn't be arsed about her partners seeing her like this at a critical moment. All she could hear was her rent money dwindling away and wishing.

"Oh my god Natsu! Watch the stove!" Lucy scrambled to the kitchen, switched the dials of the stove off, grabbed the pan handle with her oven mitts and dumped the flaming contents under running tap water.

"Hey! I was tenderly chargrilling that piece of haloumi cheese!" yelled Natsu, he tossed the cinnamon toast and salad on the table and hovered frantically around Lucy, trying to see what had become of his cheese.

"Guys… the last thing I need for you is to burn down my apartment… it's already bad enough the land lady thinks I'm having shady meetings with people in my living room whenever you guys break in…" she whimpered over the sink.

'No matter what I tell her that it's just these two!'

"How did you get in anyway? I locked all my doors and windows"

"You didn't lock your air vent" said Happy.

"YOU CRAWLED THROUGH MY AIR VENT?!"

Meanwhile, Natsu rubbed the back of his head with guilt and sighed as his two best friends were kicking up more fuss. Lately Lucy had been wound up about something and she was less than willing to share it with her friends. Erza had kindly suggested that it was because of the constant slash in their reward money. Whenever they destroyed a town trying to complete a mission they had to pay for collateral damage out of their own pockets. Ipso facto, hitting hard on her monthly rent. Sure it totally made sense, but what gives? Take more jobs or whatever. Or move into Fairy Hills, they're cheap!

But he didn't like seeing his partner looking down in the dumps for too long. Natsu pouted at the wilting salad, realising he probably did more harm than good.

"Sorry Lucy. We just wanted to make it up to you with brunch because you know… we…might have… stuffed up our last mission" he mumbled the last part.

At that moment Lucy stopped in mid-throw with Happy clutched in her fists. Natsu and Happy wanted to make her a haloumi cheese and cinnamon toast apology-meal? She didn't remember buying the haloumi cheese. Where did it come from? Lucy dropped Happy and turned the tap off with her oven mitts still on.

She sighed.

"You didn't have to go through all that just because of one lousy mission! But I appreciate the effort all the same", she gave a half-hearted smile. "However you are totally cleaning the mess you've made! And are not leaving until there is not a square millimetre of stain left in my kitchen, which includes the window sill above the sink!"

"Aye sir!"

Lucy sat at the table and eyed her breakfast suspiciously. It was odd, she also didn't remember buying bread. She always ate fruit in the morning. While listening to the sounds of Natsu and Happy hauling arse in her kitchen, she decided to venture a taste.

'Yep. Burnt beyond belief' she gagged from the burnt bits sticking to the back of her throat..

But she will eat all of it anyway. Because really, she can mostly taste the effort and love of her friends. And salami in her salad?

After two hours of supervising Natsu's and Happy's cleaning she grinned when they collapsed on her couch, reduced to pants and heaving. It was nice to see them using a bit of elbow grease and nose to the grindstone when it came to domestic tasks. It wasn't even that big of a mess and they acted as if they had to fight the Oracion Seis tied up in a straitjacket!

Lucy got dressed in her usual get up. Keys and whip at her hips and a go lucky attitude for the new day.

"I picked up a new mission yesterday, so I'm going on ahead to the Town Library and do a bit of researching. You guys can catch your breath here after I'm gone and then leave my apartment after ten minutes. I'm giving you ten minutes only!"

"Town Library? Why aren't you going to the Guild Archives?" panted Natsu. He slumped back over the couch armrest, clearly too tired to tag along on the mission, which she was super grateful for to say the least.

"Levi and Freed's got it booked for re-organising or something. No one can use it for the next week. I should be able to do my mission preparations in the town library anyway".

Lucy was already out the door. She was relieved to be in the open air. She hopped onto the ledge of the pavement right beside the river as per her usual morning routine and made her way to the town library.

Back at the apartment, Natsu looked over to the table, spying an empty plate of cinnamon toast and the half eaten bowl of salad. He smiled from ear-to-ear and patted Happy. It would have tasted heaps better with the haloumi cheese he bought! He wasn't really cut out for home cooking, but hearing Lucy munching on the cinnamon toast that he made while cleaning was the best feeling in the world.


Lucy hadn't been in the town library in so long. The only source of books she relied on were the Guild archives and Levi's private collection. Damn that girl had all the best books! But seeing the building up close made her feel a tiny bit of regret for not visiting more often. Unfortunately, Lucy couldn't afford to use up more apartment space for proper bookshelves, let alone a personal library like Levi. Heck, even her team had no trouble rifling through her things to get at her work-in-progress manuscript since there was nowhere to stash it except atop her desk!

She had to admit that it was really last minute for her to research her mission and if she had to be honest, she would have done this weeks in advance. Except, the constant worry over her rent money and her land lady's nagging have been doing her head in. Not only that, housing prices have been steadily increasing over in the north side of Magnolia, meaning in due time her rent money was going to increase. She didn't know when it would be either. Not like there was anything she could do about it anyway. The only solutions to this was to move out and find a cheaper place or actually earn some money without any deductions caused by her block-head of a mission partner. She loved where she lived, so it was definitely earning Jewels.

Stepping into the town library felt as amazing as the first time she was there. Towering shelves of books lined in rows and against the walls. They were sectioned off in non-fiction, fiction, special reference, children's' and multilingual as expected of any library. However, what was unique about this one was that it held a vast and historic collection of Fiorean history all the way from the first settlers. It was only second to the Royal National Library at Crocus. The bookshelves were so tall that a ladder was required. Rows of tables and comfortable chairs were also conveniently added to allow patrons to read what they fancied and do whatever research they wanted. Plus the gorgeous smell of old books.

"Long time no see Miss Lucy" cooed a familiar voice.

"Good morning Mrs Bates, how are you and Mr Bates?" Lucy greeted the librarian.

"Well, raising three boys is always hard work. I'm going to look sixty by the time I turn fifty! Hohoho!"

"Whenever you need to knock some sense into them, let me know and I will be there" Lucy winked.

"Oh bless you, child" cooed Mrs Bates.

She walked further into the library, going for the tomes on amulets in the non-fiction section, picking the books she needed like cherries. This was going to be a retrieval mission for a piece of rare but cursed jewellery, commissioned by the Royal National Museum of Fiore. This was definitely up her alley! It had been stolen by a group of black market traders who should be on their way to Isvan. It will take them a long while to reach the next country anyway. Plus the reward money was sweet!

She had difficulty seeing over the top of her head with books piled up in her arms. The next reference book according to her mental list should be around the cor-

SCREECH

"Oof!"

A sudden tug on a random table leg caused her to spill all the books onto the floor with a deafening crash as she dived face first. She felt her pride self-combust. Lucy got up and dusted off her skirt before gathering her research material again. Her face, her leg and everywhere were hurting like a bitch.

'This is what I get for not paying attention. Stupid Lucy!' she berated herself. Lucy looked around to see if anyone saw her and to her utter embarrassment someone did.

A pair of inquisitive, but amused emerald eyes green eyes stared back at her from the seat across the table she tripped on. She blushed crimson.

"Eheh, pretend you didn't see that…"

"No problem" the boy sitting across replied. He got back to doing whatever it was without another word.

'Great. He was cute too, can my day get any worse?' With a sigh, Lucy dumped her books on the next table and proceeded to look for her last reference book which should be just around the corner of the shelf before she tripped up.

It wasn't there. Someone must have checked it out. Who the heck checks out an ancient text on 'Lost Artefacts throughout the Ages'? Oh well, she will just have to have a head start on reading what she was able to procure first. The blond celestial mage sat down on the table that was beside the cute, green eyed guy. She slipped on her wind reading glasses and began cruising through the thick tomes.

Two hours and seven books later, her eyes were getting tired. With a yawn, she couldn't help but glance towards the boy on the next table. She read a lot of good information and doubted she was going to need the last book. But getting multiple bruises at the cost of finding it, she was going to hunt down that bloody book and make it worth it.

She took off her wind-reading glasses and looked around to readjust her eyes to the real world and refocused them onto the boy. He was leaning back on his chair with furrowed eyebrows, clearly engrossed in what he was reading. His hair was a silver white slightly spiked and soft against his head, except for some shielding his left eye. She glanced towards the sword that was resting on the table top. It was long. Probably reaching her clavicle if she were to stand it up. It was the most interesting design she had ever seen. The handle looked a little similar to one of Erza's swords.

A slight shiver went up her arm. What was this feeling? It felt… otherworldly. Lucy narrowed her eyes at the sword. It felt… familiar. But how and where? She was brought out of her musings from the sound of scratching quill on parchment paper. She looked up and over at the boy now hunched over a piece of parchment, scribing something.

He really was cute, in a roguish way. Studying and all that just made him even more adorable.

She glanced at the other books he had on the table.

'Lost texts of the world'

'History of scholars'

'Cicero's Chronicles'

'Lost Artefacts throughout the Ages'

'Unveiling Magic'…

Wow. He was doing a lot of heavy research… What! Lucy stood up suddenly, screeching the chair across the floor.

"SHHHH!" an annoyed patron shushed at her.

The boy also jolted his head up, giving her a nasty glare. She trotted over and leaned against the table he was at. He shuffled away from her the best he could, but his eyes ended up settling on her huge knockers.

"Umm… I couldn't help but notice that you've got the book I've been looking for?"

"And?" he deadpanned.

"Do you mind if I just borrow it for a second?" she gave the biggest pleading look she could and pointed to 'Lost Artefacts throughout the Ages'.

He didn't look fazed to her disappointment. The book also looked like it was sitting on a discarded pile.

"Here, knock yourself out" he said flippantly and held the book to her. Lucy eagerly grabbed the book and slipped on her wind reading glasses once more, letting it do its magic.

Lucy finished cruising through the book in half an hour and strutted over to return the book to the boy. She glanced down to meet his eyes and saw wonder and confusion in the emerald depths staring at her glasses. What? Had he never seen wind-reading glasses before? Granted that they were a bit more pricy that the average magic reading spectacles but they were widely available. Before she could open her mouth and asked what was wrong, he diverted his eyes back onto the parchment, as if pretending he was never distracted.

She looked down to what he was doing and gasped in surprise. That was the most interesting script she had ever seen! Fine swerving lines created the body of the writing. It was beautiful and elegant. What language was the boy writing in? She just had to know! Then she just had to tell Levi!

"Excuse me again. That language you are writing in…?", she smiled excitedly.

The boy looked up. "Hm? Oh, it's Sindarin"

'SINDARIN?!'

Lucy was quaking in her boots. Sindarin. THE Sindarin was the lost language of the world amongst many others. Only about… no one could read or write the language anymore. It was said to die out along with the ancient it had originated from. Who was this boy? A freaking genius literary scholar or something?

"I've only heard of it! But you know how to write and read in Sindarin? That is so cool" said Lucy.

"I guess so…"

"Where did you learn?" she helped herself to a seat across from him, beaming brightly.

"A friend taught me"

"What kind of friend? Is he a scholar master? Script sorcerer?"

"He's kind of a history book fanatic. Like a book-man I suppose"

"I've love it if you could you teac-"

CRASH!

Lucy was unable to finish her spastic interrogation, when a blast from outside the library shook the building down to its foundations, causing the books to be thrown off the shelves. The sounds of blaring alarm lacryma could be heard all around.

"Dark guild! It's a Dark guild!" A man can be heard screaming of outside. "Somebody call the Rune Knights!" someone else yelled again.

"Oh no! Looks like trouble" said Lucy, she leapt up and dashed for the door, gate keys in hand. She stopped suddenly and turned around. "Everybody! Stay inside where it's safe!" she yelled back to the library patrons before dashing off, when she reached the entrance, she was met by more explosions dotting the town square just outside the library. Lucy saw red and gritted her teeth. She was all fired up now.


Daisuke remained in his chair as still as stone, mulling over his thoughts while people were running around him and books continued to fling from the shelves as the building shook. His lovely visit to the library was shot to hell. It didn't seem likely it was a coincidence that there was a Dark guild attack the day after he arrived. However, there was nothing he could think of, no way at all that other guilds on his blacklist knew about his movements.

He looked towards the back entrance of the library, where he saw patrons scampering wildly. He rolled up the parchment he was writing in and stuffed it into his knapsack. He grabbed his sword and swiftly sped after the annoying blonde girl who was talking to him earlier.

Magnolia Town just got interesting.


"Quick! Evacuate the area!" ordered the Titania of Fairy Tail, Erza.

No one attacked Magnolia while she was around. Not on her watch. The remaining Fairy Tail mages swarmed the area. Levi and Juvia headed the evacuation, ushering frantically as many people as possible, just in time for their reinforcements to arrive. The centre of the town was filled with flying rock, dirt and billowed with smoke. What was the number of casualty and wounded? She didn't know damn it.

"Who did this, Erza?" yelled Cana, the Tarot card mage.

"Not sure. Requip!" Erza transformed into her Heaven's Wheel Armour and confronted one of the men standing amongst the dust storm, unfazed and looking smug. There was no denying he was the one to have set off the magic explosion.

Smoked began to clear and Erza's eye trained on the menacing eyes of the wizard. His face was angular and his forehead was striped with creases. His lips was cocked into a confident sneer with a cigarette hanging from his chapped lips. The sleaziest looking creature she had seen in a long time stood before her. She noticed a symbol for three mountains adorned his cheek.

"Blackheath Guild" seethed Erza. She tightened her grip on her swords, poised ready to attack. "You have five seconds to explain your actions", she commanded, fury written in her tone.

He widened his menacing grin "Do I need one, Titania?" with that, he chomped down on the cigarette and a black magic circle erupted around it. The left side of the library suddenly blasted in a fiery explosion, rocks and rubble cascading from the side, kicking up more dust and dirt.

Erza shielded her eyes from the oncoming dust storm and gritted her teeth.

"You cretin… Dark guilds never fail to surprise me. But you are the ultimate scum!" Titania leapt forward with immeasurable speed towards her enemy.


And there we have it! Action is already picking up in the first chapter :D

I've been studying the map of Fiore which Hiro Mashima drew up some years ago when I was writing this story. I thought it was an interesting map :) So I've been using the places he created into my story haha. I hope my OC character, Daisuke, has intrigued you and you find him likable ^_^"

For the 'A Touch of Saffron' readers out there, I've created a poll for that story on my profile for you to vote if you're interested :) For my new readers, you're welcome to do it too if you're interested in reading my other story!

I'm paddling along in the hospital I'm assigned too. Hopefully I will make it!

Let me know what you think and I'll see you again in 7 days time :)

Signing-off

-TripWire-dono