A/N: Hello, Lovelies! I've decided to try my hand at a Fairy Tail fanfic, and wanted to share it with you! This is also the first time I've ever written in third-person, so I would love to hear your opinions of how I did-if you liked it, if you didn't, and pointers, anything! I have pretty tough skin, so don't hold back! But do try to be polite! ;)

DISCLAIMER: I, sadly, do not own Fairy Tail, or any of its characters. I do, however, own my OC, Ember. And the cover pic I created, but only thanks to Rinmaru.

Enjoy!

HLKT

Ember wandered through the town of Magnolia, taking her time. It had been awhile since she had seen the town with her own eyes, and it had changed quite a bit. Even from her position on the street, she could see the tall building in the center of town that could be none other than the Fairy Tail Guild Hall. That had probably changed the most. She hadn't believed the rumors that Phantom Lord had managed to destroy the Guild Hall, but it seems she could put some stock in them. Ember wanted to take the chance to admire the new building from a distance, just like she had done so many years before when she had first joined.

Ember turned to the nearest building and stretched her arms above her head, digging her fingers into the brick. She pulled herself up, finding tentative toe-holds that her boots easily gripped. In almost no time, Ember was standing on top of the building. She still couldn't quite get a good view, so she hopped from building to building until she found the perfect one.

The building most certainly was different, but the feeling that rose up in her chest was not. It had been a decade since she had first found herself in front of Fairy Tail, but then, as now, she knew that it would be home. The memory of the bright smile and shinning eyes of her younger brother put a small smile on her face. Back then, they had even looked like blood-siblings. They both had black hair that fell just past their ears, shinning almost blue in the bright sunlight. Their eyes were different shades of black, her's slightly darker than his, but they shared the same haunted undertones. They had picked up a weird habit from their old master, and were standing in just their underwear (though she kept on a small undershirt). They had been roughly the same height, even if she had been threes years his senior. And magic. They might have specialized in different types, but they both had strong magical power, despite being so young.

Something gently tugged at the lace of Ember's right boot, pulling her out of her memories. She glanced down to see one of her Shadow Familiars looking up at her. Ember crouched down and reached out her hand, watching in silence as the shadow curled around her arm and swirled its way up to her ear. It softly whispered in a tongue that only she could understand that her target was, indeed, at the guild. Ember thanked her Familiar, dismissing it back to its task of watching her target, before she let a smile tug at the edges of her lips, almost identical to the one she had worn ten years prior.

More than just the Guild Hall had changed in the months that she had been gone. Even if she couldn't see herself, Ember could imagine the differences between herself then and now. In the past three years, she had finally hit a growth spurt, catching up to her youngest brother in height. Her chest had grown, too, she was excited to recall. She had been flat-chested for so long, and growing up around girls like Cana and Mirajane and Erza, all younger than her, had severely crippled her self-esteem. But now, even if her boobs weren't as big as the others, she had filled out quite nicely.

Ember had made a bet with Laxus the year they were both chosen to participate in the exam to become S-Class wizards. If she beat him, Laxus would pay her lingerie bill for an entire year (not a small some of Jewel, to be sure). If he won, she would grow out her hair. Ember hadn't seen the down-side to the bet, despite hating having long hair. She felt sure of her victory. The long raven locks dancing in the wind, falling to her lower back despite being tied back, so many years later, spoke of her defeat. Her bangs fell into her dark eyes, but they, too, had changed into intervening years. Where they had been an almost pure black, they were now speckled with crimson. The only outward sign of her slipping sanity.

She still had that strange stripping habit, but took solace in the fact that both of her brothers did as well. And now she took advantage of it, creating a game. Erza had long ago beaten it into her that she couldn't strip as far down as her beloved brothers, so Ember made sure that her underwear was the best of the best, as sexy as she could get away with. And she always had the Fairy Tail sign hidden somewhere on either her bra or panties. That was the game. Someone in the guild would try and find where it was, as it was hard to find and never in the same spot. If they found it, she gave them two-hundred Jewel. If they couldn't find it within five minutes, they gave her two-hundred Jewel. Flame-Brain Natsu Dragneel and his weird cat Happy would always try and find it, but usually ended up paying her. Her brother had a fifty-fifty track record of finding it, better than most other members of the guild. But Freed and Laxus were usually the ones to find it. Master always joked that it was because of how close she was to them, that they had some kind of psychic connection. It always irked Bickslow and Evergreen that they weren't part of this supposed 'group', but they were always calmed by Ember's sweet smile.

Standing back up, Ember glanced down at her clothing. She wore a red tube-top under a leather jacket and low slung dark pants that tightly gripped her legs before being tucked neatly into her knee-high boots. With a small chuckle, Ember started walking towards the edge of the building. If anyone in the guild saw her, they probably wouldn't recognize her in so much clothing. She let out a small giggle as she hopped from building to building once more, but this time getting closer to the guild. When she reached the edge of the last building closest to the guild, Ember encountered a slight problem. The guild was new. She had never been there before. And, therefore, didn't know how to sneak in.

Daaaaaammit, Ember thought angrily, crouching down and clutching her head. She let out a small groan before she sobered up and glanced back at the guild. She rested her elbows on her knees and clasped her hands in front of her. It's still Fairy Tail, she mused with a slight smirk. Surely it can't be that hard to break in...

Ember always hated to be wrong. And that's exactly what she was.

Oh, and one more thing! The rating is currently set at T, but I will most likely be adding some citrusy goodness in later chapters, so the rating might go up. Be on the look out for that! Anyway, thank you for reading!

HLKT