Chapter One

Fields of Woe

"Gajeel! Gajeel smile!" Levy's small hands held the camera, pointing it at the towering dragon slayer and the tiny girl in his arms. He shot her a grin, the tiny child laughing as he spun her around. The camera flashed, catching the adorable moment. Levy sat down on the picnic blanket, giggling at the adorable picture before her. The tall black haired dragon slayer, playing with his three year old daughter. She never expected this to happen. No, she was supposed to be a avoiding this man. She grinned as she fingered the golden band around her ring finger. She never was one to follow the crowd. "Oi! Levy! We're hungry!" Levy giggled again, waving the two over as she pulled food items out of the picnic basket. "What are we eating mommy?" Levy felt a pair of small hands wrap around her neck. She turned and looked straight into the crimson eyes of her child. "Well, we have some lizard guts, andddd some monkey brains…." "Mommmmyyyy!" The girl playfully bopped her mom's head. "Alright, alright. I made us sandwiches!" Levy pulled out three bags. Each one had the name of their destined owner written on them in permanent marker. "For Gajeel, an iron and ham sandwich." Gajeel eagerly opened the bag and took a bite. "For mommy, a turkey and cheese sandwich…and for the little monster…." Levy whipped out a bag with pb and j in it. "PB and J!" Levy handed over the bag, her finger brushing the marked name, smearing the marker. It read Eclipse. Eclipse Redfox. She had yet to show her magic capabilities, but her adventurous personality led everyone to believe she would become an iron mage. She was just like her father. She was tan, with long blue hair like her mother and her father's dark red eyes. She was obviously going to be very tall, she was three and already only a foot shorter than her mother. Eclipse wasn't all her father though, she was a genius like her mother. She already was reading short chapter books! Eclipse was beloved by all of Fairytail, their love almost matching her and Gajeel's love for Eclipse. It was adorable. The problem was, she was also really spoiled. Her birthdays were quite hectic. Her first birthday was the worst. Everyone thought that Natsu had eaten the cake early and a fight proceeded to break out. Eclipse simply sat there watching, continuing to eat the cake. She was quite the devil. And Levy loved her. "Hey mommy! Look at me!" Levy looked up, only to see her daughter somehow dangling from a tree branch, a panicked father below her." "ECLIPSE!" Levy ran over, just in time to see her daughter slip and tumble. "I GOT HER!" Gajeel and Levy both leapt for the falling girl, only to slam into each other. As they recovered, they heard some amused chuckling above them. "Lilly…." "KITTY!" "ARGHHHH!" Eclipse grabbed Lilly's neck and proceeded to choke the living daylights out of him. "OFF! OFF!" Gajeel simply died. "GIHHIIIHIII! LILLY, LILLY IS A KITTYYY!" "SHUT UP IRON-HEGURGG" They finally managed to get Eclipse off. "Little Eclipse, you scared mommy! Don't do that!" Levy gently smacked her daughters hand. "Eclipse is sorry." The little girl pouted, her blue hair hanging in her face. "Its ok baby." Levy kissed Eclipse's head and set her down. "Go play!" Eclipse grinned and dashed off to pick some flowers. "Geez…that kid is a pain." "Gajeel! She's your daughter!" "I know, I know." Gajeel grinned and kissed Levy gently. "I wouldn't change that for all the iron in the world." Levy smiled. "But she does put a damper on the love making." "GAJEEL!" Levy smacked him in the face. "Ouch!" Panther Lily watched with amusement at the couple below him. "Idiot…" He whispered and then flew off.

Eclipse loved flowers. They fascinated her. They were so beautiful, but could instantly go ugly when plucked from their roots. Why did they do that? She asked her mother a long time ago, and she said that it was because they were sad that they had left home. They didn't belong anywhere else than in the meadow they were plucked from. Eclipse knew her mom was only making up stories, but she still liked the explanation. She continued to crouch and observe the small shrub of eglantine. She remembered her dad always bringing her mother these roses. Her mom said it was because of her love for Shakespeare, especially 'A Midsummer's Night Dream.' Eclipse just assumed it was because they were almost as pretty as her. Eclipse reached out to touch the rose, only to prick her finger on a thorn. Blood appeared on her finger, and a sharp pain went through her. "Be careful mademoiselle, the thorns are sharp!" Eclipse looked up, only to see no one. "Down here mademoiselle." Eclipse looked down, her eyes widening at the sight. A face was in the dirt! The face had a dark green mustache and matching colored hair, a monacle over his left eye. "Salut little one! Might I have your name?" Eclipse knew not to talk to strangers, but this person fascinated her. He seemed nice enough." My name is Eclipse." The man smiled. "Well Eclipse-sama, my name is Sol." "Sol…Hi." Sol grinned. "And you, you are my little…cible." "What does cible mean?" "Target." "Eh!?" Sol grinned and leapt up, roughly grabbing the girl, but not before she could scream. "MOMMAAAA!" "Oh, non, non, non Eclipse-sama!" He roughly slammed some rocks into her head, quickly knocking her out. He looked up, gaining sight of two mages, one of which he recognized to be Gajeel. "Perfect." He grinned. Immediately, Gajeel had reacted to his daughter's scream and when realizing she was in trouble, he sprung into action. "BASTARD!" Gajeel roared and released a thundering Iron Dragon Roar, only to be slammed back by a large boulder. A disturbing crack was heard, his arm hanging uselessly by his side, bone jutting out. "Shit!" Levy stumbled at the sight of the injuries, but quickly got out and shot at Sol. "SOLID SCRIPT, FIRE!" A blast of flames, heat flaring up around them. Sol easily through a shield up out of the ground, deflecting the attack. He giggled manically "Goodbye Gajeel-sama! Bye, bye mademoiselle!" He then vanished. "ECLIPSE!"