August 7th, X767.
The matter was urgent.
An infant child wailed as it was placed gently in a basket, swaddled in woolen blankets, unhappy with its mother for putting it down. The woman smiled sadly at her daughter, brown eyes glittering with tears that slid down her rosy cheeks as she tucked the baby safely in the carrier.
There was no other choice.
The mother of the crying child leaned in to kiss the newborn sweetly on the forehead, effectively quieting the girl's sobs. Her little eyes opened to stare at the blonde woman, who nearly broke down when her daughter smiled at her, unaware of the situation at hand. All she wanted to do was hold onto her baby tight and cuddle her forever, but that was wishful thinking. In a perfect world, perhaps that would be exactly what she would do.
Alas, their world was not perfect. A hand on her back made her look back to see her husband standing over her, pale eyes soft as he gazed back at her. Chest tightening, the woman nodded before turning back and lifting the basket off of the ground. Her daughter was no longer crying, now contentedly sucking her thumb. The cloaked woman's heart broke at the sight, knowing that she could never share a happy moment with her child again.
The small family was greeted by wind and rain as they stepped out of the hotel they were formerly seeking refuge in. The blonde man drew his own hood over his head, grimacing as rain was gusted into his face. He kept close to his wife, guiding her through the dark as they made the journey to their destination. They had chosen to do this early in the morning, so they had a lesser chance of being seen by others. This was a private, family matter that no stranger had an liberty knowing about.
Soon they arrived, a flash of lightning highlighting the grand building before them. The woman stared up at it for a moment, biting her lip before approaching. Her husband kept a reassuring hand on her shoulder as they went up. Their daughter was beginning to fuss again; they needed to be quick. Tears were beginning to fall from each parent's eyes as the mother set down her child, making sure to keep her out of the rain as best as possible. She cooed to the baby as she made sure the blankets were secure, as it was a bitterly cold night. Once she had finished, she fished something from her cloak's pocket. One object was a slip of paper, while something gold glinted in her hands as lightning lit up the sky again. She hid the items safely beneath some of the cloth, hoping that only the intended person would find them.
"Goodbye, my little star," the woman whispered to the infant, who continued to whimper as if now aware of what was happening. The man leaned down to kiss his daughter on the cheek for the last time, smiling as she grabbed for his face. "We will always love you, matter what."
The woman rapped on the door a few times before hurrying back to her husband. As thunder rumbled overhead, the two sorrowful parents turned away from their only child, disappearing into the darkness a few moments later.
. . .
A sudden knocking on the guild's main entrance was what woke Master Makarov.
The old man was always a light sleeper, so it wasn't too shocking that it had. He had only just fallen asleep after a long night of paperwork and wasn't too happy to be awoken at such a time. Grumbling, he hopped out of his bed, opening the door to his room to walk into the guildhall. The room was dark and silent, a large contrast to what it was like during the day. With such a rowdy group of mages, a peaceful day of rest was a rare occasion around Fairy Tail.
Sighing as he reached the door, Makarov unlocked them was a large key before prying the wooden panels open. He frowned to see no one standing there, hoping it wasn't a ding-dong ditcher again, before he heard a small whimper. The old man's face paled as his gaze slowly panned down.
There, wrapped in blankets and placed in a basket, was an infant sitting upon the guild's welcome mat. Her face was red from crying and, despite all of her blankets, was shivering from the cold. Makarov gulped as he bent down to pick up the basket. He puffed with effort as he struggled to do so; the thing was nearly his size. Wincing as lightning flashed and the wind picked up, the tiny man hauled the baby inside of his guild.
Carefully placing her on the ground, Makarov turned back to the door to lock it back up. As he did so, he heard a voice behind him. "What're you doing up, Gramps?"
The Master froze at the question, turning to see his grandson, Laxus, standing at his bedroom door. Since he was Makarov's kin, he was allowed a place to stay within the guild, unlike the majority of Fairy Tail who either had their own homes or stayed at the bunkers.
After securing the door, Makarov cleared his throat and beckoned the boy over. Unquestioningly, he trotted over, looking curious instead of tired. It only took a gesture to the basket for his dark eyes to widen. "Is that…?"
The old man nodded grimly. "Yes, it's a child." He bent down to pick her up before something caught his eye. A slip of paper sat atop the many blankets. Makarov frowned when he saw "Makarov" scrawled hastily on the front of the paper. He lifted it up and turned it over, squinting in attempt to read it in the dark. "Laxus, turn on the lights, would ya?"
The boy obeyed and rushed to get them on so they could both read what the note said. The little girl was fussing again, still recovering from being exposed to such weather.
The note read:
"This is Lucy. Please take good care of her, for it is no longer safe for us to keep her.
Thank you for understanding."
- L. H.
The guildmaster's brows furrowed as he looked over the words, slightly disappointed in how short and vague it was. After reading it over his grandpa's shoulder, Laxus asked, "Who's 'L.H.'?", although Makarov couldn't supply an answer.
Lucy's fretting was growing louder and more persistent the longer she spent cooped up in the basket. Expression softening, the man handed the paper to Laxus before stooping down to hold the child in his arms. As he did so, something fell from the blankets, making a loud, clattering sound as it met the wooden floor. Eyebrows raised, Makarov looked down to see what it was, but Laxus scooped them up before he could even tell what they were.
The boy gawked at the golden keys before showing them to his grandpa, whose eyes widened. "The Zodiac keys…," he whispered, marvelling at what he saw. The baby squirmed in his arms, eyes screwed shut as she continued to whine. He looked back at her, realization dawning on him as he gazed at the little blonde girl. "Well, Lucy," he murmured. "Welcome to Fairy Tail."
. 10 years later, July 7th, X777 .
"Cana, you're 13, please stop eyeing that barrel of alcohol."
The brunette pouted at her blonde friend, crossing her arms as she replied with, "Lucy, you're 10, please stop telling me what to do," in a mocking tone. Said girl rolled her eyes at the elder mage, sighing as she gave up on arguing with Cana. Instead, she turned to Levy, who, as normal, had her face stuck in a book. It was a new one; she had already finished the one she had informed Lucy on yesterday. Even though she liked to read, nothing could compare to the blunette's great passion for books.
Lucy parted her lips to ask her about her current novel when the doors of the guildhall swung open. Everyone paused what they were doing to see who had returned; the blonde had to crane her neck to see around the crowd of people.
Standing at the open doors was Master Makarov and what appeared to be a boy with wild, pink hair. Lucy's dark eyes grew wide; a new guild member? They seemed to be multiplying every week. She sprang off of the bar stool and hurried over to the front, pushing past people who got in her way. She stopped to get a better look at the kid, who looked only a little intimidated by the amount of people staring at him. Lucy's curious gaze shifted to Makarov when he cleared his throat, getting anyone who wasn't already listening to do so. "Everyone, meet Natsu Dragneel, the newest addition to the Fairy Tail guild."
The crowd of mages let out a welcoming cheer at the news, obviously interested in knowing just who this boy was and where he came from.
The boy, Natsu, was taking in the applause with a large grin that showed off a pair of sharp canines. Lucy peered at them; she'd never seen anyone with such jagged fangs. She wondered what kind of magic he was capable of.
"What kind of magic does he even use?" A critical voice answered her thoughts as Gray appeared at her side. The new kid's smile faltered at the remark and he sent a glare to the dark-haired boy. "I'm the Fire Dragon Slayer," he huffed, lifting his chin in a challenge. His dark eyes suddenly lit up when he noticed something and his smirk returned when he said, "What happened to your shirt, Stripper?"
Gray looked down at himself, shocked to find that indeed, his shirt was missing along with his pants. He groaned loudly before walking away to go relocate his clothing. Lucy couldn't help but giggle at the exchange between the two boys.
Makarov's eyes sparked with interested at the mention of Natsu's magic. "Dragon slayer, eh?" He remarked, eyes drifting over to where Laxus stood. The tall, blonde teenager was glancing at the Fire Dragon Slayer, seeming more than unimpressed with the younger mage. Lucy stifled a sigh at his antics; he really was becoming stuck up. "We have the Lightning Dragon Slayer right here. Laxus' his name." Natsu's wide eyes shot over to the older boy, who continued to be bemused.
"Really?! Then I wanna fight him!"
A couple snorts of laughter met his courageous words, amused at the young slayer's confidence. Natsu glared at them, obviously thinking that he could easily take on the S-Class mage. Laxus only rolled his eyes with an exasperated huff that sounded almost like a laugh. Natsu became crestfallen at that and Lucy couldn't help but feel bad for him.
Sudden footsteps announced the arrival of Erza Scarlet, heading straight for the pink haired boy. She scrutinized him for a moment, looking quite intimidating to the younger mage. After a few more seconds of awkwardness, her lips suddenly broke into a smile as she stuck out a hand towards him. "Welcome to Fairy Tail, Natsu Dragneel. I'm Erza Scarlet, a Requip mage." Natsu blinked at the taller girl in shock before tentatively taking her hand, wincing as she grasped it and shook it with a strong grip.
After Erza moved aside, other guild members began lining up to greet Natsu. He looked ridiculously happy from where Lucy stood, as if he'd never experienced such warmth from humans before. Then again, it would be hard not to smile with complete strangers seeming excited to meet you. Lucy waited until the last person had greeted him to go meet Natsu herself. The blonde's chocolate brown eyes sparkled as she said, "Hi, I'm Lucy. Welcome to the guild!"
Natsu beamed back at her. "Nice to meet you, Lucy!" He bounced on his toes a little before asking, "What kind of magic do you use?"
Lucy faltered at the question, casting a glance at Makarov. He raised his brows at her briefly, as if telling her to it was okay to tell the boy. Regaining her cheerful expression, the girl replied, "I use Celestial Magic with the Zodiac Keys." She left out the part where she only barely knew how to use them. With no celestial wizard around to teach her, it was almost impossible for her to learn how to summon her spirits.
Natsu's eyes narrowed at Lucy for a moment, looking thoughtful. "Celestial Magic, huh… sounds familiar for some reason." He was quiet for moment before shaking his head, brushing it off. "I don't know why, though. Anyways, that sounds really cool." Lucy couldn't help but blush at his compliment.
Makarov, on the other hand was looking a little suspicious. How would such a young boy, who had lived in the woods for his whole life with a dragon, know about celestial magic? Perhaps the dragon had taught him before disappearing… Realizing that the two youngsters had vanished, Fairy Tail's master snapped out of his thoughts and looked around to see that Lucy had dragged Natsu off to meet more people. Levy and Cana were now chatting with Lucy and Natsu, Cana waving over the Strauss siblings a moment later. Mirajane, the oldest of the bunch seemed uninterested while her brother and sister, Elfman and Lisanna, chatted enthusiastically with Natsu. Makarov smiled softly to himself at the sight, knowing that he had made a wonderful decision that morning.
. . .
"So, Natsu, what was it like living with a dragon?"
After a hearty lunch prepared by some of the volunteer workers, all of the children in Fairy Tail were crowded at one table, basically interrogating Natsu about his life story. Lucy and Lisanna were seating beside the new kid, while Levy and Cana resided by their blonde friend. Gray and Erza leaned over the end of the table, while Elfman sat next to his younger sister. Standing behind him was Mirajane, arms crossed over her chest as she supervised her siblings.
Natsu was still stuffing his face with food as if he hadn't eaten in weeks, unable to answer Gray's question. The dark-haired boy had shed his shirt again and was now looking irritated that Natsu wasn't answering him.
"Hey, Flamebrain, didja even hear me?"
The insult caused Natsu to freeze and shoot a blazing glare at Gray, who returned it with an icy one. "I'm trying eat, Stripper!" He answered furiously, voice muffled by the bread stuff in his mouth. Gray bared his teeth at the pink-haired mage, ready to hurl back an insult when a certain redhead slammed her palm down on the table. The entire table recoiled back, fearfully looking towards Erza, whose gaze glinted dangerously. "Quit bickering, now," she growled at the two boys, who were both petrified by her. In unison, they stammered out a "yes m'mam", Natsu quickly going back to finishing his meal.
After a moment, Lucy timidly spoke up when Natsu was finally through eating. "What was it like living with a dragon?" She asked, truly interested in knowing about such a creature. She had only heard vague myths and legends about them and wondered if what Natsu claimed was true.
Wiping his mouth, the fire mage opened his jaws to speak when suddenly, a skeptical Mirajane interrupted. "How do we know if you're not lying about Igneel? For all we know, being raised by a dragon could just be something you easily made up to look cool." The boy she was addressing looked completely taken aback by her comment before his expression quickly became anger.
"Why would I lie about my dad? He raised me and taught me everything I know. About food, writing, reading, magic, all that stuff! And he even gave me this!" He gestures to his scarf, dark eyes blazing at the surprised she-devil. "It's made of his belly scales, made especially for me. A-and look! I can breathe fire, just like a dragon." Inhaling deeply, Lucy was amazed to see actual fire lighting in his mouth. Her friends leaned in with wide eyes as he prepared to release the flames, only being a little careful of not charring their faces off.
Finally Natsu exhaled, releasing a little blast of flames that was enough to make the curious children scoot back in their seats to avoid the heat.
He grinned triumphantly at Mirajane, who looked annoyed by being proven wrong. "Whatever," she scoffed before twirling around and flouncing off. Lisanna and Elfman stared after their sister with worried eyes, but an impressed grunt from Gray distracted them. "You really are a Flame-brain." This time, Natsu grinned with glee at the comment.
"I guess you don't have to tell us the story anymore," Lucy chuckled to Natsu, thinking that he had shown them exactly what it was like with his fiery demonstration. However, Natsu looked at her with round, disappointed eyes. "You don't want to hear about it anymore?"
The blonde shook her head, blushing apologetically. "No, no, go ahead! We'd be glad to listen!"
Look relieved, the young mage turned back to the crowd, who began leaning in with interest once again. "Alright, so, we started everyday with a hunt to get our breakfast, and then…"
this fanfiction was an unexpected, unplanned one, the plot coming to me suddenly. even so, i'm proud of this story and i can' t wait to start fleshing this whole thing out.
even though i'm starting this doesn't mean i'm pausing my other fics. i'll continue to write them as much as possible.
don't forget to follow, favorite, and/or review!
until next time, fairlystrange.
