Chapter One

It was a normal day at the guild hall, from I saw. Natsu and Gray were arguing about something, Erza was making strawberry cake, Wendy and Carla were happily talking to Mira about something, and Happy was sitting next to Carla with a fish stuffed into his mouth. I was sitting at one of the tables, reading a story I had just bought. It was called "The Legend of the Sleeping Water Girl". So far, it was pretty interesting.

"Hey! Elia! What are you doing?" Lucy called as she entered the guild hall. I saw Natsu's eyes flick over to her, twinkling with mischief. It was then that Gray landed a punch to his face, again distracting him.

"Hey, Lucy. I'm reading this story I got. I thought it was fiction, but now I'm not so sure."

"What do you mean?" She asked, sitting on the bench opposite me.

"Well, when I got it, I assumed it was a fantasy. Bu the more I read it, the more it seems like a biography." I was more and more convinced it was.

"Where did you find it? It looks old." She responded, and took the book from me.

"The Archives. Master said I could borrow it."

"That would make sense. Maybe ask him about it? Or Mira. She might know. I would say ask Levy, but she's out on a job with Jet and Droy." She handed the book back to me gingerly.

"I suppose." I said, and looked over to where Master sat in his usual spot, on the counter, next to Mira. Lucy then stood up and walked over to the request board to look for a job. Natsu soon joined her, and Happy flew over and landed on Natsu's head.

I sighed, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask him about it. So I stood up, and walked over.

Now I'm not a major player in the Fairy Tail hierarchy. There's the famous few: Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Mira, Elfman, Laxus, etc… but I'm not one of them. I'm a newcomer; I joined after they won the Grand Magic Games. I had finally mastered a magic, and decided that was my cue to join a guild. The Fairy Tail I had known growing up was nothing like this one. I moved a lot, but when I finally settled down outside of Magnolia, I was about nine years old. My older sister and my mother were with me. My father had died a few years back, when I was three. We had a demon of the book of Zeref attack our town, and us three barely made it out alive. My mother had never since been comfortable staying in one place. My sister put her foot down after we moved to Magnolia, and bought her own house just outside the city using the money she had saved from various jobs. She was a carpenter, and a very skilled one. I stayed with her, and my mother went on to leave again. Since then, I had lived with her and practiced my magic so one day I could be a wizard in a famous guild. That had been seven years ago. I was 16 now, and my sister 26. I was skilled at illusion magic, but nothing like Mavis. She had been my inspiration, and so, here I was.

Here I was indeed. Master turned to look at with red eyes, and flushed cheeks. Still celebrating the guild's win, and the huge amount of money that came with it. I'd try anyway, I supposed. "Master? When you let me borrow this book, I was under the impression that it was fantasy story. Fiction. Is it not?"

He looked at the book I held out, and his eyes widened a bit. "I hadn't realized that it was that book." He said, in a fairly un-slurred tone. Maybe he wasn't as drunk as I thought.
Mira then added: "No, it's non-fiction. For the most part. It supposedly tells the legend of a water dragon slayer girl who was put into a deep sleep after nearly being killed by Acnologia. Legend states that her dragon had sealed herself inside the girl to keep the girl safe, and that was part of the reason she survived. The other part was that her wounds were so severe that it would take a very long time to recover, even with her outstanding abilities in healing magic. Apparently…" Mira paused, and took the book, flipping to a random page… "The water dragon magic was extremely powerful, capable of physical, mental, emotional and a few other kinds of spells. The legend says that her kind of magic was the most powerful there was." She kept flipping, until she came to a picture about halfway through the book. It was a picture of a girl sleeping on a stone table. She was beautiful; she had dark brown hair, fine features, and slim figure, rosy cheeks a dress that looked to be made out of water and gold. I inhaled slowly, taking in the picture.

"So what happened after she fell asleep?" I asked, and gently touched the faded paint on the picture. It was hand painted, and looked old.

"The legend she was sealed away in a tomb 'to be woken when the time is right'. There was also supposed to be a huge reward if you woke her up, but the details around that vary. I read it was a wish, or gold, or a huge increase in magic power… things like that. But who knows, really? It's just a legend." She said, and grabbed a wash cloth from under the counter and wiped idly.

"I say we check it out! Maybe she knows where Igneel is!" Natsu was suddenly behind me, talking loudly and startling me into letting out a terrified squeal.

Lucy walked up behind him, but she didn't startle me like he did. Probably because I knew she was coming. "Natsu! Did you find a job? What are you looking at?"

Natsu continued leaning over my shoulder, staring at the picture. He was silent for a moment, and then he simply said: "We have to find her."

Lucy just looked at me curiously. "Find who?" So I paraphrased the legend for her. She also stared at the picture, and she seemed fascinated by it too. "So how long has she been here? Asleep, I mean?"

"I don't know. I never finished the book." Mira sighed, and then smiled at me. "Since you have the book, why don't you see if you can find it?"

Natsu was looking at me so intensely, that I couldn't say no. I sighed. "Ok, I'll see what I can find out." I shut the book and went to go sit down on the bench again. But then I drew a blank. This wasn't a small book, and looking for a specific locations and times would be difficult. But I would try. So I set the book on the table and rifled through my bag for the notebook I always carried. I would take notes and see what I could find. Meanwhile, Natsu and Lucy sat opposite me and Happy sat off to the side with Carla, the fish still in his mouth. Natsu was eating something, with a torch off to the side, and Lucy was polishing her keys. I sighed, and picked up where I left.

Several hours later, and I had a couple notes. Natsu and Lucy came back and forth between my table and other areas in the guild. I waved them over, and as I waited for them to arrive, I went over my notes. This book, being rather old, had a lot of poetic language. In love so she slept, in love so she weeps, in love so she wake. I had an idea what it meant… at least in the figurative sense. I didn't really get it, but I knew it was important, so I wrote it down. All in all, I had a general location, which included… all of Fiore. I sighed, and my head thumped as it the table. Natsu made a noise of confusion.

"Sorry. I'm just a bit stumped. I have a whole bunch of clues, but I don't really know how to put them together. I think I need more than this book. I need a couple of other sources. Other versions of the legend that might offer another clue. Something." I stood up and stretched.

Lucy pulled my notebook over to her, and gazed at it. "Maybe. This one book may not have everything we need to find her." She sighed. "If she's real, or still there."

Natsu was silent for a moment, then said. "I think she's still there. It's worth checking out! Besides, if she knows where Igneel is, then it's definitely worth finding her." Happy nodded in the background, not really knowing what we were talking about, but agreeing with Natsu anyway.

I looked at him, and felt a slight flush at the level of intensity he exuded. He was staring at her picture again, with a strange look on his face. A strange mix of confusion and longing, of pain and hope. I couldn't explain it, but I couldn't say no to him. So I nodded, too. "I'll try my best, but I'll need all the help I can get. Anything you can find about this; I'll really appreciate it."

So we headed down to the Archives. I hadn't finished the legend, but I wanted to have more sources. I needed to have more clues. That night, we stayed in the Archives until I fell asleep, my head on Natsu's shoulder, five books spread out around the four of us. Lucy sat on Natsu's other side holding Happy, and she had a few books too. I remember how tired I was, and the next thing I knew, I was on a couch, with a blanket on me, and the sun was shining brightly through the windows. Where am I?

To Be Continued…