A.N. Hello, this is my first attempt at writing a fanfiction. I don't have the entire story planned out yet but i do have a few ideas. Normally don't have much time to write so updates are likely to be slow. Also if I take this story far enough down the timeline there will be a yuri paring, so be warned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy tail. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Chapter 1

X779

In a small cave close to the edge of a forest. Trying to keep warm against the biting cold of the night air. A young blonde haired girl by the name of Lucy Heartfilia was unsuccessfully trying to stop her tears. Wondering—not for the first time—if she had done the right thing. It had been a hard two weeks since she had run away from home. Two weeks of avoiding wild beasts that were looking for their next meal. Two weeks of trying to survive on the meager supplies she was able to fit in her travel bag. She was hungry, rationing her food each day to make it last as long as possible. Not having eaten a proper meal since she left home. The last of her food would be gone in the morning and she would need to take a chance by going into town to resupply.

The town was about 3 or 4 miles away from the cave. A small place called Windbrook, just large enough to have a railway running through it. She had taken the train to this town right after leaving home but decided not to stay in Windbrook itself. Fearing her father might be looking for her, she instead made her way to the forest a couple miles out of town. It was this same fear of being found by her father that had kept her from going back to restock her food. She had been able to find some things to eat inside the forest, which is the reason what she had brought had lasted this long. Though what she found in the forest wasn't enough to live on.

"Mama," Lucy whispered to herself. "Why does d...dad ha...te me. We use to be so happy. I remember ... having fun with you and papa. I loved you both ... so much," she choked out between sobs. She remembered how happy her family had been when she was younger. Her mother and father would both play with her almost every day. They would always smile when they saw her. Tell her what a good daughter she was and that she meant the world to them. She was their "Lucky Lucy".

These memories almost brought a smile to Lucy's face, but remembering what happened a little bit later in her life stopped the smile before it could form. Her mother had gotten really sick and her father started throwing himself into his work more than he had previously. At first he would still make time to play with her, still give her wide smiles when he would see her. But as time went on and her mother's sickness worsened, the smiles from her father slowly disappeared replaced but stern, uncaring looks. She wouldn't see him for weeks at a time, not due to him being away from the house, instead Lucy felt like her father was just avoiding her.

Her mother passed away shortly after her 10th birthday. A yeah-and-a-half later her father began trying to arrange a marriage for her. She only knew this due to overhearing a couple of the maids in the house gossiping. Not wanting to believe it—she was only 11 years old—she asked her father if it was true. The response she received was that if she married the child of the family he chose, he would get the rights to extend his rail lines into new territories. At the time Lucy was unable to believe what her father had told her. Lucy realized that she was nothing more to him than a bargaining chip.

That was one month ago. Deciding then that she wanted nothing to do with her father, she began making plans to run away. It took a couple weeks to decide what was necessary to take with her. She packed two changes of clothing wanting to use most of the space in her bag for food. The money that she had been saving up for years, she had a good amount due to rarely leaving the family estate. Making sure not to forget her Celestial Spirit keys which her mother had given her—and taught her to use—before passing on. Once everything had been prepared and she built her confidence up, she left the only place she had ever called home.

Lucy's thought's came back to the present when she heard something moving outside the cave. Trembling in fear, she forced herself to look through the opening in the cave. Just able to see a slight movement of the bushes that were in her view, she slowly reached for her keys. Waiting patiently for the animal to reveal itself, a gold key now gripped in her hand.

"Please don't let it be dangerous. Please don't let it be dangerous." She began repeating over and over again under her breath. After a few more minutes of waiting the sound vanished. Ready for anything to happen, Lucy kept her eyes locked on the bushes and listened for any sound. About a half-hour later, there where still no signs that anything was outside the cave. Whatever had been there was now gone. Relaxing now that she seemed to be safe, she slowly drifted off to sleep.

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The next morning after eating the last of her food she headed to a near by stream. Using the stream she cleaned herself off as best she could. Next changing into her cleanest pair of clothes—blue pants and a yellow sleeveless shirt with a white rabbit depicted on it—Lucy packed her things and headed for the town. Trudging across the uneven ground in the forest. The trees think canopies letting just enough light through to see. It took almost an hour to reach the edge of the trees and at the pace she was moving Lucy thought it would be at least another forty minutes before she reached her destination.

Once out of the forest Lucy had to squint her eye until they got use to the blinding light. She had spent almost all of the last two-weeks in that dark forest and her eyes now needed to readjust to the brighter environment. With her eyes mostly use to the light Lucy was now able to see the mountains, not too far into the distance. They were just beyond the town she was headed for.

Arriving in Windbrook at about noon, Lucy looked for a place to get something to eat. Breakfast hadn't been enough and her stomach was growling at her. Searching the town for a bit she noticed that many of the people that she passed by were staring at her. Picking out mutters of "what happened to her" and "poor child" among other things made Lucy a bit self-conscious Looking down she realized just how dirty her clothes were. It was hard to see while in the forest but now she could see the clothes were almost completely covered in dirt. Feeling her hair with her hands she noticed that it was a tangled mess. Sighing to herself determined that after eating she needed to get her clothes cleaned and have a bath.

She finally came across a two-story wood building with a sign that read "Steven's Restaurant" just above the single door leading in. A hint of a smile came across Lucy's face, happy at the thought of food. Entering the establishment she noticed it was pretty small. There were only five tables, each with four chairs around them and a bar that had seven stools in front of it. The place was empty other than a single man behind the bar with his back turned.

Hearing someone come through the door the man behind the counter called out "Welcome, go ahead and take a seat. I'll be with you in just a minute." Lucy took a seat at the bar and as soon as she was seated the man turned around. He was a bit over weight, wearing a plain white shirt with a blue vest that hard black trim. A pair of brown pants and black boots. His face was wrinkled but had a kind look. Salt & pepper hair, blue eyes and wearing a wide smile. "How can I hel... are you okay little girl?" He asked, concern showing on his face.

"Yeah I'm okay," Lucy assured the man, giving him the best smile she could manage. "And my names Lucy," she added, not wanting to be called little girl.

"Hello Lucy-chan, I'm Steven. Can I ask where your parents are?" he asked not convinced all was well. Choosing not to bring up that she looked like she'd been rolling around in the mud for a week.

At this Lucy's expression changed. The smile she had on moments earlier was replaced with a look of depression. This caught Steven's eye and he began worrying even more.

"I-I don't have any parents," Lucy's voice came out strained. Just managing to fight back the tears that the memories of her family brought.

"I'm sorry," Steven started feeling bad. Not wanting to pry any further at the moment–but still worried about the young girl—he asked "well what can I get you?"

"Eggs and bacon please." The smile was starting to return to Lucy's face. Though to Steven it looked a little forced.

"Okay, coming right up." Steven turned around and began cooking the food. Trying not to think about what may have happened to the girl. He had always loved kids, his own having brought a lot of joy to his life. Doing everything he could for them and seeing a child in the state Lucy was in behind him, made him feel very uneasy.

Growing up without parents. Trying to endure life with no one to help you at such a young age. He had been through it all himself when he was younger and it was far from easy. Because of this he hated seeing a child that appeared to be going through a hard life.

Having completed the cooking, he placed the plate it in front of Lucy, along with a glass of water. "Here you go."

"Thank you, Steven-san," Lucy began digging into her food. Steven smiled at the girl as he watched her eat.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Looking up from her plate Lucy thought for a second. "I need new clothes, and a bath. But I don't know this town very well."

Thinking about in for a few seconds an idea came to him. "Well I can offer you a place to bathe, though I have no clothes that will fit you. But there is a clothing store not far from here that I can point you towards." He proceeded to giver her the directions.

"Thank you," Lucy said having just finished eating and already feeling a bit better. "How much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry, you don't need to pay," he replied again smiling at Lucy. "Also, come back once you get your clothes for that bath."

"Um, thank you Steven-san." Lucy headed out of the restaurant letting him know she would be back later.

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Lucy made her way to the clothing store, her mind going back to her situation. No longer smiling, still trying to fight off her bad memories. The stares she was drawing from the people that lived in the town weren't helping. Wanting nothing more than for it all to end. Waking up in her bed and realizing it had all been a nightmare. Though she knew this wasn't the case, a part of her was still clinging to the idea. With some work, she managed to get her emotions in check for the time being.

Once Lucy found the store she hand been searching for, she spent about an hour looking around. When she first entered they had tried to kick her out. Going from her looks the employees at the shop didn't think the "dirty child" have the Jewels to pay with. After showing the employees that she did indeed have money they left her alone to shop.

Making up her mind she purchased three new outfits—that she hoped would be better suited for the wilderness than what she already had—and a pair of pajamas. Now it was time to get back to Steven's and take him up on that offer of a bath.

Getting lost on the way back, she came upon a weapons shop. "Enchanted Steel" she read the name off of the sign above the door. Thinking about it a weapon would be useful for when she was unable to call her spirits. Crossing the threshold into the shop she began to look around. She noticed that there were several other patrons in the shop.

Looking at the weapons on the shelves, Lucy tried picking up a short sword. Not liking the way it felt in her hand she put it back. She continued to look around, seeing axes, large hammers, pole arms and many other kinds of weapons. Then she came to a display of whips. Picking one up and liking the way it felt, but unsure of how to use it.

"'ello little lady," came a man's voice from behind her. "Names Sven, can I help you with anything?" Lucy turned around and looked at the man, he was tall, really tall. His head was shaved and he had gray eyes. His body was muscular and he was wearing tight black tank top and tan pants.

"Hello, um...Sven-san," Lucy paused for a second feeling a bit intimidated by the man. Shaking it off, "I'm need a weapon."

"Okay," he nodded this was a weapon shop after all. "I can 'elp you find somethin'. You 'ave anythin' in mind." Not sure why such a little girl felt she needed a weapon, but he preferred not to ask questions. Looking at the state she was in he was just hoping she had the money to purchase the item.

"I like the way this one feels, though I don't know how to use it," Lucy told the man still a little nervous. Sven took what she said into consideration and talked with her for a bit. He didn't care for anything really except making the sell. However he did like to give his customers all the info they needed to make a good decision, after all a satisfied customer is more likely to return.

Lucy walked out of the shop a bit later with a new whip in hand, as well as a book to teach the basics of using her new weapon. She put the whip and book into her travel bag. Looking to the sky, she noted that it was already night. "I need to get back to Steven's," she mumbled under her breath and started looking for the restaurant.

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The sun had already set hours ago, and the last of the customer had already left. Cleaning the bar counter—the last thing he needed to do to finish up—Steven was worried that Lucy had decided not to come back. She didn't say much of anything to him about her situation earlier, but he knew she was in a bad situation. It couldn't have been more obvious. He had already talked it over with his wife when she returned a little while ago. They decided to let the little girl stay with them as long as she needed. Steve wasn't a rich man by any stretch, but he did pretty well for himself with this restaurant. Well enough that he felt confident about letting Lucy stay with him. Unfortunately it was beginning to appear that she wasn't coming back.

He had already locked up and had just finished cleaning. Pulling out a chair from one of the tables and sitting on it, he decided to wait a bit longer. Trying to piece together what had happened to the girl. The clothes she had been wearing, while dirty, hadn't appeared to be in bad shape. She had said that she didn't have parents, an orphan perhaps. There wasn't an orphanage in this town and even had there been, would she have been in such a bad state. Surly an orphanage would take better care of a child than that. She also had appeared to be really down about something, but what? He continued his musings for a bit not coming to any conclusion. Giving up on waiting for Lucy he decided to had to his living quarters above the restaurant. Just as he made it to the stairs, there was a rap on the door.

"Coming," he called out to whoever was on the other side, hoping it was Lucy. Opening the door his hopes were answered. "Hello Lucy-chan, come in," he waved the young girl in, a relieved look on his face. Shutting and locking the door behind her. "I glad you came back, I was getting worried."

"Um, sorry, I ... uh ... got lost." A light blush on her face showing her embarrassment.

"That's okay, now follow me," he motioned Lucy to follow him. She followed him through a door behind the bar and down a short hallway. Coming to a set of stairs, they made there way to the second floor. Entering a room with a just a couch and small table, several paintings—seeming to be of Steven's family—hanging from the walls. A small kitchen to the right of the entrance and two doors on the far wall a few feet apart from each other. "Please have a seat Lucy-chan," Steven pointed toward the couch. "I'll be back in a minute," he said entering the door on the left on the far wall.

Making herself comfortable on the couch, Lucy waited. Though she didn't have to wait long, Steven came out of the room a couple minutes late with a woman. She looked to be about his age, hair already gray. Her face was a bit wrinkled around her eyes, which were green. She had on a simple yellow dress and brown sandals.

"Lucy-chan, this is my wife, Beth." Then motioning to Lucy, "And this is the little girl I was talking with you about earlier, Lucy," he finished introducing the two.

"Hello, Lucy-chan, pleasure to meet you," Beth greeted, beaming Lucy a welcoming smile.

"Nice to meet you too, Beth-san."

"We'd like to talk with you," Beth stated. "Though I'd bet your wanting to get cleaned up first," She let out a small giggle. At Lucy's nod she pointed to the door on the right against the back wall. "The bath's over there."

"Towels are to the left when you go in," Steven finished for his wife.

"T-than... ," Lucy began sobbing uncontrollably unable to finish tanking the couple. The emotions she had been doing her best to suppress all day came rushing back. This elderly couple was being so nice to her. She had known them less than a day, a complete stranger. Regardless of this she felt more welcome here then she had the last couple years in her own home.

Seeing the girl burst into tears the couple began to panic. "You okay?" Beth asked.

"What's wrong?" came Steven's worried voice at the same time. The couple giving each other concerned looks.

"No...thing is … wrong," Lucy managed to say while trying to stop herself from crying. "It-its … we just meet … you're being … so … so nice to me."

The couple's hearts broke when they heard this. For just a small gesture of kindness to cause the young girl to break down like this. She must have gone through some very hard times. Though neither one of them was able to fathom a guess at what may have happened. Both resolving in their own minds to leave it for later. They sat on the couch, on either side of Lucy. They sat with her silently, waiting for her to calm down. Steven was rubbing the young girls shoulders and back hoping it would sooth her.

It was a long while before Lucy managed to calm down. Steven then went and pulled out some bedding for her to sleep on, while Beth helped the girl to the bath. Lucy washed herself off then sat down in the warm bath water and truly relaxed for the first time in weeks. Though she realized that tomorrow she would be back on her own, it didn't seem to matter at the moment. After getting out she put on her new pajamas and got into the futon that had been put out for her. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow and had one of the most restful nights that she had had since she could remember.

Woken up the next morning by the sunlight coming through a small window, the events of the previous night played through her head. Sadly thinking that she would have to leave today and still needing to find a place to wash her dirty clothes and get more food. She double checked her bag to make sure everything was packed properly. Not seeing Steven or Beth she figured that they were down stairs. She would thank them on her way out. Slinging the bag's strap over one shoulder she made her way towards the stairs.

"Wait a few minutes, would you dear," came Beth's voice from behind her, having just come out of her room. She stopped and talked to Beth. Finding out that the couple wanted her to stay with them for as long as she needed. Trying to refuse the offer,—still fearing her father may find her if she spent too much time in town—but Beth wouldn't take no for an answer. Sighing in defeat Lucy agreed.

Not wanting to completely take advantage of the couple's kindness, Lucy insisted they let her help out around the restaurant. They had agreed and had her take care of most of the cleaning and dishes. When there weren't many customers and she wasn't needed, she went behind the building and practiced her summoning and the use of her whip.

At first when trying to use the whip she would constantly hit herself with it. She lashed herself more times than she cared to think about. Not making any progress with the whip she moved of to her Celestial Spirit magic. Her mother had left her five gate keys, each one was able to summon a spirit from the celestial real. Most gate keys are silver in color of which she held three. Gold keys—keys to summon the spirits of the zodiac—were rarer and more powerful, only twelve existed in the world, she owned two.

She had stated with silver keys—spirits of The Clock, The Lyre and The Southern Cross—at first and had no issues summoning them. When she had tried to summon Cancer the Giant Crab,—one of the gold keys—she was again successful. The Drain on her magic however was great. She had kept him out as long as possible—about 15 minutes—before she collapsed in exhaustion, Cancer going back to the Celestial Realm. This left her with barely enough strength to move around the rest of the day.

The couple was surprised when they had found out that Lucy was a mage, and thought she was trying too hard. Worried do to the lash marks the whip had caused her and by how worn out she looked at the end of day. They tried to convince her that the practice she was doing was unnecessary, that Windbrook had always been peaceful. "It's dangerous," and "don't push yourself so hard," they kept saying. Lucy however insisted that she continue causing Steven and Beth to relent. She began to train like this everyday. At the end of each day there was a refreshing bath and warm bed to sleep in. Steven and Beth were also a lot of fun to talk to, they even began teaching her to cook.

Over the course of the next two months, Lucy had gotten much better with her whip and had moved on to a new book for more advanced use. Magic use also having gotten much stronger, she could now keep Cancer out from almost an hour and even dismiss and re-summon him. She had only tried summoning her second gold key—Aquarius, The Water Bearer—once. When Aquarius realized she had been summoned for what she considered a useless reason, she gave Lucy a good spanking. Just thinking about it still made Lucy shiver in terror. She was happy that Cancer was much more reasonable, but there were only four days a week she could summon him by their contract. The other days she had to make due with switching in whichever silver keys—she could now use two of the silver keys at once for a short period—were available for that day.

She had been happily living with the married couple for those two months, having all but forgot most of her worries. Forgetting even her original plan to leave the couples place and getting use to her new routine instead. All her worries came back to here however when she overheard a couple men talking.

It was getting late in the day, probably about another two hours before sunset. Lucy had just come out a shop after picking up some groceries. Around the corner from the shop she heard a man's voice, "What's the job?"

"S'pose ta get some rich guy's brat that up and ran off. Seems she was spotted somewhere in this town." came another mans voice, and what he said had Lucy worried. "Li'l blonde girl, Lucy Heart ... something or other." Lucy froze, only moving her head from side to side looking for a way out. Seeing an alleyway just a few feet away, she ran to it, not hearing anything else said by the two men.

"He found me," Lucy cried, tears forming in her eyes for the first time in over a month. She had gotten too comfortable. Now she was being shocked back to reality. She ran to what had been her home for these past two months. Running in and past Steven and Beth who were both in the restaurant section of the building. Going up the stares and packing her things. The sound of footsteps came from the stairs followed by a worried female voice calling out, "Lucy-chan, … is everything alright?"

Having just finished packing as Beth reached the top of the stairs, Lucy bowed to her. "Thank you for everything, but I have to go." Not giving Beth time to respond, Lucy ran past her and down the stares. Bidding a quick good-bye to Steven and like what happened with Beth, Lucy was gone before Steven could respond.

She carefully made her way out of the city. Avoiding everyone she saw. She didn't know what the men from earlier had looked like, having been to scared to try a take a look. Making it out of the town quickly and she made her way to the forest. It was mostly flat land with a few small hills and rock outcroppings on the way. She managed to run the entire distance to the forest. Against the screaming pain of her muscles and her shortness of breath she continued to move farther into the sea of trees. Unable to find the cave she had used before, instead deciding to lean against the trunk of a large tree.

What had she been doing, she shouldn't have stayed in the town for so long. Planning on making better decisions in the future Looking up through a small clearing in the trees where she could make out a couple stars. "Mom?" she pleaded, tears still running down her face. "Please save me."