"Come along Briar. You're dragging behind."
The imperious tones of Empressa awoke little Briar from her reverie. The young girl hurried to catch up to her older sister, and soon ran up to her guild family, the Black Repentance.
"Where are we going now, Empressa?" Evolvyr asked, his long uncut hair brushed to one side. His face was dark, sneering, but respectful to their guild master. "Please tell me we're going to Crocus. I need some down time."
"We're going to Magnolia."
The sentence made the whole group go silent. Archduke looked up from his book, his hooded eyes shining with a question unspoken. Metallica cackled, as usual. Briar felt her heart drop straight into her stomach.
"Why that accursed spot?" Archduke broke the silence. "That is the place…where…THEY died."
"Where our revenge will be complete." Empressa corrected him. "Years ago, our father Gajeel Redfox and mother Levy Redfox died in that city. Killed by that atrocious excuse of a dark guild, Polar Ghoul. We have pursued them thus far, and we HAVE tracked them to Magnolia. No doubt to enact more sins. We will slaughter them like they slaughtered our mother and father, and our hands will run red with their blood."
Empressa was practically singing now, her one visible eye glowing with bloodlust. Evolvyr howled with glee, and Archduke smiled sinisterly. Metallica laughed with a raspy giggle, his silver hair glowing as his magic energy flowed anew.
But Briar stared at the ground, fearful, quiet. She could barely remember her daddy and mommy, years ago, before that fateful day. But she was really sure they would not be pleased in the manner that their children wanted to avenge their deaths.
"My name was Belle." She whispered to herself, under the cacophony of Evolvyr's ringing laugh. "Evolvyr was Cor, Archduke was Lance, Empressa was Guinevere, Metallica was Metallicana. I don't want to change my name. I don't want to be Briar anymore."
"What was that, Briar?"
Empressa had directed her steely gaze on her. The others stopped their noises and now looked at her suspiciously. "Nothing." Briar gulped. She pulled down her huge witch hat, the hat with her father's old bandana wrapped around the floppy rim. "I just said I can't wait until Polar Ghoul is dead."
"That's right, girlie, so don't look so glum." Evolvyr smacked her hard on the back, making her trip forward and squeal softly in pain. "We're gonna kick their ass and send them to the moon. They'll be plenty cold up there."
She couldn't join in on their raucous laughter.
O.O
They asked for several rooms in a lavish inn, close to the spot where Metallica had scented the dreadful Polar Ghouls. Empressa refused to share rooms, so they all had their separate quarters. They could easily afford it, after all. They had done plenty of ravaging in the past.
Briar sat on her bed alone in her room, fingering the gold fringe of the bedsheets, too frightened to touch such splendor. She looked at herself in the large flashy mirror that hung before her bed, and saw two scared eyes looking back at her.
"I'm scared, Papa." She whispered. "You told me once that you'd protect me. Where are you now?"
She looked furtively around to make sure no one was watching (a pointless endeavor since she was alone in her room) and took off her big floppy witch hat.
She felt around inside and withdrew two pictures. One was of her whole family. There was Papa, Mama, Cor as he used to be, Lance as he used to be, Guinevere as she used to be, with Metallica and her as they used to be as well. Briar studied the smiling face of her beautiful mother, the smirking face of her strong father, and wanted to cry.
The other picture was of an old guild that Empressa…or Guinevere…hated the very mention of. Fairy Tail, a guild where she used to be at home in. She remembered kind mute Rosemary Fernandez, the older girl who would protect her from bullies and mean kids. There was also Rowan Conbolt, son of the Sky Dragonslayer, her best friend and maybe slight crush. But they were all in Fairy Tail, living happy lives, while she followed her stronger older siblings who plunder villages, ravage cities, and destroy countless guilds for the sake of revenge.
Briar became Belle once again, and cried into the expensive cashmere coverlet of the bed, sobs muffled by the rich blankets, trying not to be heard.
"Belle Redfox."
"Huhn?" Briar sniffed and wiped her nose, looking around for the sound.
"By the window. Quick, let me in. It's pouring out here."
"Pantherlily!" Briar ran to the window and yanked it open, dragging a soggy and grumpy Exceed into her room. "I told you not to follow me! What if Empressa saw you?"
"Then I would give her a piece of my mind." The tiny black cat crossed his arms and looked up at her sternly. "Do not go through with this, Briar."
"I have no choice." Briar said numbly. "I told you this already, remember?"
"I knew your father for many, many years. Belle, he would not approve." Pantherlily called her by the name her parents gave her, a fact that made her tear up again.
"I went against them before. Or have you forgotten that? I tried to talk them out of destroying that one village Bluebell, and Empressa gave me this." Briar slipped her black dress off one shoulder and pointed angrily to a black butterfly tattoo, curled over her old Fairy Tail guild mark. "Empressa's Black Butterfly stigma. Oh, I should be honored by this token. It's one of her most powerful spells, and it keeps me from ever ever going against her again. I can't do it, Lily. I can't."
"Belle…" Pantherlily began sadly, and she burst into fresh tears and clutched the now suffocating Exceed to her chest. "Lily, I wanna go away! I want to go back to F-Fairy Tail and be with Rosemary and Rowan and all the others, Mr. Natsu and Mrs. Lucy and everyone else!"
"Come with me tonight." Pantherlily urged. "The others are sleeping deeply. They won't check in on you. You can visit Fairy Tail for a few hours."
"Black Butterfly, hello?" Briar sniffed. "Won't let me within a few feet of Fairy Tail. One step in and I'll blow up."
"Here." Pantherlily slapped a new sigma on her arm, covering the Black Butterfly mark. It was a tiny magic circle. "Let's go. That thing's set for five hours."
"Will that be enough? We're half-way across town. My magic broom is still broken after my last fight." Briar felt hope rise in her, however, when Pantherlily grinned and unfurled his pearly white wings.
O.O
Metallica woke up with a snarl. He scented his little sister, flying, swooping, going away. He growled and crawled to the wall and banged on it.
A very sleepy and angry looking Evolvyr opened the door a few good long minutes after, looking like the sickly lovechild of Frankenstein and Dracula. "You better have a REALLY good reason this time for waking me up at this hour, you mutt. Archduke and Empressa are trying to sleep."
"Briar gone. Flown away." Metallica snapped his teeth. "To the guild of FAIRIES."
Evolvyr was already running to Empressa's room.
O.O
Briar clutched to her floppy witch hat as Pantherlily gently dropped her in front of the Fairy Tail guild Hall. It was just how Briar remembered it. The familiar signboard with Gothic lettering, the statues of fairies in flight. She felt floaty, as if she was in a dream. But then she remembered the ticking magic seal and hurried inside.
"BELLE!"
A flash of pink and rose hair tackled her to the ground, both squealing at a pitch that is usually only associated with dogs. "It's you! You've returned! After two whole years!"
"Nashi….Layla…thanks for remembering me." Briar smiled and held the two hands of the Dragneel daughters.
"Of course we'll remember you! What is it like, tromping around the country with your….oh. Right." Impulsive Nashi shut her mouth quickly with a snap as gentle Layla glared at her.
Everyone remembered the day Gajeel and Levy were pronounced dead after being missing in action for almost two months. Natsu screamed his agony to the sky, and Wendy sobbed with anguish into the ground. But the most significant of responses were the Redfox children.
Cor, the oldest, stomped out of the guild hall with a steely look in his eye. Lance fell to his knees in front of his parent's house and stared into the sky. Guinevere started shrieking at the top of her lungs, crying and crying until the crying became manic laughter. Metallicana, born with a weak mind but a dragon-like body, made whimpering keens that sounded like a dying animal.
And Belle just cried.
The grief turned into anger for the four older siblings. They became entranced with dark magic, magic that twisted their previous beautiful spells into deadly rituals.
Cor became Evolvyr, using Liquid Metal Magic that was versatile and could bend at will. It could slip under doors, into people, you name it. He was powerful, arrogant, and the spitting image of Gajeel before he accepted Fairy Tail as his new home. He was the brawn, the cruel, the rapist.
Lance chose the name Archduke. He employed Legendary Magic, a form of Lost Magic that called upon creatures from storybooks and mythology to help him in battle. He used to bookish and mild. Now he was cunning, clever, silent, and sharp, a force to be reckoned with.
Guinevere changed her name to Empressa. "I am no longer a queen, but an empress." She used Black Butterfly, a magic that was forbidden from her until she found a lost tome that instructed her how to be malicious and evil. She became so powerful that her two older brothers accepted her as leader of their newly made guild.
Poor, pitiful Metallicana, named after the great Iron Dragon that raised their father, became so twisted by grief and rage that his weak mind became animalistic. He crawled on all fours, developed a predator's nose, grew claws, and cackled daily. The magic he twisted was known as Dragonchild.
Belle did not choose the name Briar for herself. Empressa chose it for her. Briar used Witching Magic, an innocent magic that she did not twist, but she made it to good use. Her bubbling potions, magic flying broom, her pointed wand. Everything a witch typically uses. Even her big floppy witch hat that held secrets in it that she withheld from the others.
Everyone knew.
"Please, Rosemary is so anxious about you." Layla griped Briar's hands in hers. "Come on, she's tidying the bar. Good thing she's staying late."
"Rosemary!" The girl tending the bar turned and her mouth opened into a perfect "O". She beamed and rushed forward, enfolding Briar in a hug so familiar it made her eyes tear.
Welcome back. I missed you. The telepathy of the mute girl spoke to her, soothing her troubled mind and putting it at rest. "Rosey…" Briar sniffed.
"Is that our own Belle Redfox?" Several other guild members rushed to say hello, welcome back. Briar spent the next few minutes shaking hands and exchanging hugs.
"Beauty! You're here!" Rowan Conbolt grabbed her in a hug from behind, startling her. "It's been so long!" He was smiling at her, dark blue hair tied in its usual ponytail. Her heart swelled at the nickname. "Hello, Beast. It's good to see you."
"I learned lots of magic while you were gone. But hopefully you're here to stay, right?" He looked at her expectantly, and then his roguish face fell. "Oh. But…"
"I can't stay here long. My siblings are going to miss me soon, and then Emp…I mean Guinevere would have my hide. It's so good to see you, everyone. Thank you for accepting me back." Briar gripped Rowan's hands, smiling gratefully.
He best friend shrugged. "Come on. Hang out a little longer. It won't hurt! I'll buy you a drink. Rosemary makes the best tea."
Briar couldn't help but say yes.
O.O
"THAT LITTLE BITCH!" Empressa flipped yet another table in rage. "SHE DARES DISOBEY ME?!" The articles on the table scattered across the floor, plates either rolling or smashing to pieces on the marbled ground.
"She's a black-hearted traitor." Evolvyr agreed, keeping a safe distance from his sister's wrath. "We should eliminate her. She's not that useful to us anyway."
"Briar evil." Metallica rasped, pawing at the ground with one screeching fingernail.
Archduke watched them under his hood, glasses shining in the candlelight. How noisy they were. He flipped another page in his ever-present tome, marveling at the pictures inside, depicting creatures of awful monstrosity. What animals they were. He could send them out to devour that conniving little sister, piece by piece…
"Well, what are we going to do?" Evolvyr asked impatiently.
Empressa paused, panting, her eyes dilated with fury. "We attack Fairy Tail. They will pay for luring our sister away from the cause."
O.O
Briar glanced at the clock. "I gotta get back. Thank you so much for having me!"
"Anytime Beauty." Rowan tussled her light blue hair with on hand. He towered over her so much now. He was quite handsome…
That was the last thing she thought of.
O.O
The wall burst open with a thunderous crash. People scattered from the huge opening in the wall, and let out gasps of fear.
"The Black Repentance!"
Empressa stood on a swarm of butterflies, glowing with magic, brimming with anger. "TRAITOR AND CONSPIRATOR!"
Briar gulped and stepped forward. "I am here, sister. Please, don't hurt my—" She screamed as a giant Harpy grabbed her in its claws and shrieked at her.
"Do not move. My Harpy has you in her grip." Archduke stepped forward, holding his tome with one hand and controlling the woman-creature with the other. "You cannot escape, sister."
"I have done nothing but serve and help you!" Briar cried. Master Makarov stormed forward. "What is the meaning of this, Guinevere?! Leave this establishment at once!"
"I'm surprised you're still alive, old geezer." Empressa sneered. "My name is not Guinevere. That is the name of a weak and faded queen. I am Empressa, Ruler of the Black Butterflies, and I will destroy your paltry guild."
"I knew your father and mother!" Natsu roared, letting waves of flames roll over him. "They would not be happy about this "Repentance" crap of yours! They loved the light, and you're about to destroy the light they loved the most!"
"Foolish man." Evolvyr smirked, sliding forward on a pool of his own metal. "They are not a part of us anymore. We are the Black Repentance. We will make the evildoers pay for their atrocity."
"Vengeance is not the way to remember your parents!" Erza said sternly. "You must honor their legacy by doing acts of light!"
"ENOUGH OF YOUR PREACHING!" Empressa shrieked. "Briar! You die here, along with your guild!" Her black butterflies, swarming into a frenzy, prepared to shred the girl in the pseudo-Harpy's grasp.
"Not a good idea, princess."
Archduke stared, dropping his hand, the Harpy vanished, letting Briar fall with a plop into a startled Rowan's arms. "That voice…"
Evolvyr turned white, his magic dying away. "Impossible."
Empressa was stock still, shaking with fear. "You…."
"DADDY!" Briar screamed, running straight to the figures standing in the busted wall. "MOMMY!"
"Hit me." A very pale Erza instructed her son Simon. He obeyed with spirit. "I'm not dreaming. Thank you."
"Hey there, beautiful." Gajeel Redfox patted his weeping daughter's head. "There, there. We're here now." Levy Redfox rubbed soothing circles on her daughter's back. "Now, baby, it's all over."
"As for you four chumps…." Gajeel turned darkly to his other three children, who shrank back. Metallica bounded forward on two feet, crying out with joy. He ran full onto his father's arms. He may be a weak minded child, but he knew the scent of his father.
"Father." Archduke murmured, falling to his knees. "I have misjudged. Forgive me." "Don't be so sappy. And get off your knees. You're not proposing to me." Gajeel gave a resounding blow to his bookworm son's head, and knocked him clean out, just in time too, for the treacherous Archduke was about to summon another Harpy.
Evolvyr scrambled forward. "I'm not ashamed of what I did." He lifted his head arrogantly. "Just because you're back doesn't mean I'll be all goody-goody now."
"I TRAINED YOU BETTER THAN THAT." Gajeel didn't even blink as Evolvyr sprang forward, intent on destroying him. A club of iron struck Evolvyr across the face and felled him to the ground.
Empressa shrank away, shielding herself with swarms of butterflies, hissing. "Stay away from me." Her body was shaking so hard it was surprising she was still standing.
"You foolish girl." Gajeel growled. Levy stepped forward. "Guinevere…."
"I'M NOT GUINEVERE!" Empressa cried, whipping forward another cloud of butterflies to block out her anguished features. "I GAVE UP THAT NAME YEARS AGO!"
"It was the name we gave you. Are you really ashamed of it?" Levy said in a gentle voice. Empressa writhed, her pretty face twisted with emotions too many to describe.
At that moment, several members of the Magic Council's security force swarmed in, clapping cuffs on the unconscious Archduke and Evolvyr. "You are under arrest."
Empressa glared at the shaking officers. "Like hell I'm going like a common criminal." She swept out of the ruined hall, calling out with a sneer, "I'll get you for this, Briar! I SWEAR IT!"
Briar did not shake, did not tremble. She stood up and watched as her older sister flew away against the backdrop of a dying moon. "Welcome back, Daddy." She turned back to Gajeel, smiling bravely. "I'm glad you're back."
O.O
Rumors fly around, wisps of gossip that contain only smidgens of truth, rumors that a black-clad lady with butterflies as an army set up a new dark guild in the depths of the kingdom, Midnight Wing. Some say that she is the daughter of the famed Iron Dragonslayer.
Some whisper that two men broke out of prison at the same time and later join the woman in the dark guild. But there are also rumors that the weak-minded dragon child reformed, staying in the guild named Fairy Tail. There is a rumor that goes around, mothers warning their children at night.
"Be good, or the lady with black butterflies will come and get you!"
If only they knew how true that was.
A little witch girl with a big floppy hat grew to be a young woman dedicated to fighting Midnight Wing. She marries the blue-haired son of the Sky Dragonslayer.
Sometimes, at night, the little witch girl would fly through the sky on her magic broom, singing a song of old times.
"My best friend…."
A/N: Like and review!