Chapter 1

Dark Guilds were surprisingly warm. Iris had long gotten used to the dark interior, yet she hadn't gotten used to the fact that it was so warm. That didn't really make sense to her; cold looking furniture, toasty rooms. The guild was called Nox Turba, literally meaning Dark Group. They weren't a creative lot.

Iris looked down at the small group of mages, all of them having fun interacting with each other. While they were villains to the rest of the world, to each other they were family; always there and always having fun. It had been a long time since Iris had seen them as enemies.
"Iris," Lee called, his eyes watching her with an amused expression. Of course she was hiding in the shadows, why was he surprised? "Can I talk to you for a bit?"

Iris liked being on the crossbeams of the roof. She could hide from everyone and watch everything that was happening.
She stood in front of him, giving a small smile. "What's up?" Like usual, Lee had to strain to hear her.
"We're attacking another guild and wondered if you were joining this time," he answered. This was what Iris hated; the fact that, yes this was a Dark Guild, not the happy family she saw them as. They were hurting innocent people.
"I can't," she replied, causing Lee to frown.

"Iris, you know we all love you, but we can't have an inactive member. The last time we did, he turned out to be a spy and almost got us all killed," he explained.
"I'm not a spy," Iris insisted, sounding offended.
Lee gave her a sad smile, "I hate to give you an ultimatum, but either you take part in this or you're out of the guild." Then Lee walked away, leaving Iris alone to think over his words.

All the other guild members looked at her with pity. They knew what Lee had said, he was the Guild Master and probably consulted the others first, yet none of them made a move to comfort her. Without looking at anyone, she walked silently to her room.

It was a simple room, with just a single bed a chest at the end of it filled with clothes and sentimental items. Iris flopped onto her bed, her hair sprawling out everywhere. Don't think about it, occupy your thoughts, she told herself, using her usual technique. Forget about the problem until it's staring you in the face. It's worked well for her so far.

She caught a lock of purple hair between her index and middle finger, twirling it absentmindedly as her thoughts returned to a common thought; who were her parents? She had no memory of her parents, which always left her with a longing for something she'd never known.

She wanted to scream, but there was something inside of her that stopped her. For a while she'd spoken quietly, almost afraid to raise her voice and those around her had just gotten used to it instead of trying to help her. Family was meant to help, right? Maybe that was the difference between family and a Dark Guild.

Her hands tugged lightly on her hair, tugging harder the more her irritation grew. Why was she pulled from her family? Where were they? Did they want her? Push the problems away until they're relevant. Since her brain refused to switch off and think of pleasant things, she blew the candle on the wall out and laid back on the bed. It was too warm to be under the covers, so she slept like that, content in the temperature. Until she woke up in the middle of the night discovering how cold it was. That's when she climbed under the covers.

Her pushing of problems away lasted a week. That was when they were attacking a guild. "Well? Are you with us?" Lee asked, the seven mages around him staring at Iris. Nine mages was all that made up Nox Turba. That was all that made up the only family she'd ever known. How could she run away from them?

She took a deep breath. "I'm with you." Lee smiled, along with the other seven who all gave their own sign of happiness. They were all happy with her choice. Lee patted her back, before shouting orders to those around him. Nerves turned in Iris's stomach and she immediately regretted her decision. She could do this. It's not like she had to kill someone.

The Guild Lee led them too was a pretty little building. The building itself was decorated with pink and baby blue ribbons with many flowers outside. Iris felt terrible, how could they attack something so cute? If the building was this cute, what would the members be like? A part of her wanted to stand up to Lee, tell him how wrong this was and how they shouldn't be doing this, but she knew that she had to stick with her Guild. Family first, right?

A man from her guild had his arm around her. "Nice that you prioritise family before personal feelings." Why? Why was that nice? Shouldn't she care about herself more? After last time, she didn't think she could hurt someone again. She gave him a weak smile, before excusing herself. Really, she knew from the beginning that she couldn't do this, that was probably why she packed all her stuff, but she thought she would've got further than this.
"Lee," she mumbled, miraculously managing to get his attention from the Guild Member next to him. He smiled and excused himself, before walking off with Iris. "What's up?"

"I-I… I can't do this," she admitted in a tiny voice. "I can't hurt someone like this."
Lee looked tired when she'd said that, and hurt. "I understand. But you know what this means?"
She nodded. "Hope to see you again."
"Me too, Iris. Me too."

Iris turned from the group and began walking away, leaving the Dark Guild to watch her frizzy hair as she left them. Of course they knew she'd quit on them. They knew it all along.
Iris kept strolling aimlessly, not knowing where she'd end up, but not really caring. That was until she heard a scream from behind her. A scream that sounded eerily familiar. "Lee."

Quick note. This is an old work of mine, so it may not be as good as my more recent works, but I decided to post it here anyway. Also, I haven't actually finished Fairy Tail (no where near) so if there are any mistakes, that's why.