"What do you mean a rampage?"

Jude's eyes were wide and full of fear. He wasn't a wizard. In fact, he detested the idea of wizardry being a career. When he found out Lucy had wanted to join a guid, that was why he was much less than thrilled. "He seems to be having a tantrum," he said, rubbing his temples. "You're a wizard, Lucy. And I know you have your mother's water spirit. You can use it to calm that fire dragon down, right?"

Everything seemed to be happening much too fast. Lucy had never fought with any of her spirits. Plus, Aquarius wasn't a big fan of her whatsoever. "I-I, uh..."

"Don't worry, Princess. I will change your clothes to something more appropriate for battling." Virgo shared a knowing look with Lucy. She had to admit, it did feel a lot better knowing that she had Virgo now, too. The only problem? She was unable to open more than one celestial gate at once.

Jude nodded. "Thank you, Lucy," he said, ignoring Virgo altogether. He didn't even look at her once, like he didn't see her at all. He put his hand on her head - a gesture that was rather awkward - before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

When Lucy turned around, she saw that Virgo was already holding an outfit on a hanger, an outfit that made Lucy's eyes go wide as saucers. "What is that?" she demanded in a loud voice. It was a dress dark blue in color. The top resembled a corset with gold designs over it. The skirt was a bit more flowy, but it was clearly a short one. She had never worn anything shorter than her knees; not in public, anyway, and the idea of wearing this dress out was enough to send her cheeks blazing.

"A dress from the celestial spirit world," Virgo said simply. "And these are your boots." She held up a pair of knee-high boots and Lucy gasped.

"I can't wear that!"

Virgo blinked. "It will be easier to summon us with this. And this." She held out the handle of what looked like a whip in her other hand and Lucy was sure she would pass out.

"Wh-Wh-What do I need a whip for?"

Virgo quickly moved behind me and started undoing the corset of the dress I already had on. My heart was beating so fast, so hard, that I wondered if she could hear it. "It is a magical item, Princess. It is called fleuve d'étoiles. If you are running low on magic energy or want to preserve it, you can fight using this. It will not deplete as much magic energy as summoning a spirit will."

Lucy looked down at the handle. She felt almost unworthy of holding this item in her hands. She wasn't by any means a powerful Celestial Wizard. But the less magic energy she used, the better. She didn't have much of it to start with, and if she was going to go up against the dragon, she would need all the help she could get. She knew for a fact she wouldn't be alone; the town was filled with all different types of wizards who practiced all different kinds of magic. But Lucy had Aquarius, who would be very strong against the fire magic the dragon used.

She had only ever heard stories about the dragon. He used fire magic and he wasn't entirely human. She heard many different variations of the story: he actually was a dragon, he had talons, his skin was scaly, his teeth were sharp...The list went on and on to the point where Lucy wasn't sure she believed any of them to be true. She wouldn't believe what he looked like until she saw him for herself. She always pitied him, wondering why he was cursed to be a dragon when he was once a wizard.

Everyone feared him. He practiced magic that was so rare, only a handful of people knew it. Her mother had always told her to never judge a person by the way he or she looked. But she didn't know how she couldn't judge a person who supposedly had physical qualities of a dragon.

"There, Princess. It's finished."

Virgo stood Lucy in front of a mirror. She was wearing the celestial spirit dress, and she was surprised at how well it fit. Her cheeks flushed when she saw how short the skirt was and how high the boots were. Her blonde hair was in pig-tails with blue ribbons, and she wondered how Virgo was able to do all of this so fast. "Oh, wow," she breathed, straightening out the fabric of the dress. "Thanks, Virgo."

Virgo bowed. "Will you punish me now, Princess?"

Lucy's keys jingled as she ran down the stairs to the front of the mansion she called home. Her father was waiting at the door, looking out. He looked tense, and Lucy wondered if he was actually afraid. When she got to him, she tapped him on the shoulder and he turned his attention o her. Seeing her outfit, his eyes widened, but before he could yell at her or scold her, Lucy spoke, "I'm ready."

Jude's mouth was a straight line. He looked like he was going to say something, but then decided against it with a shake of his head. "The carriage is outside waiting for you. Two of our strongest warriors are in there as well. Their job is to protect you, Lucy." He put his hands on her shoulders. "It is their number one priority to make sure you come home safely."

"I'll be fine, Dad." Lucy pulled away from his grip, looking at the ground with a frown. She hated how he treated her so much like a child. She was seventeen, after all. She never felt close to her father and often wondered if he actually loved her or not.

He didn't say anything as she pushed the doors open and stepped out into the sun. It was a warm day, and she was kind go glad she didn't have too many layers on. She didn't want to be slowed down because she was sweating in a dress.

The carriage was burgundy with gold embellishments. It shone in the light, and it wasn't exactly inconspicuous.

She declined the drivers help to get up and climbed into the carriage herself. Even though it was nice having all of the material things, she didn't need it to survive. In fact, she preferred more subtle things than flashy ones.

"Morning, Lucy-sama."

"How are you, Lu-sama?"

Two wizards sat in the carriage already, greeting Lucy with smiling faces. The first who spoke was a young woman - the most powerful female wizard around. Erza Scarlet. The second who spoke - the man who always called Lucy 'Lu' since they were young - was Gray Fullbuster. He used Ice Maker magic, while Erza was able to requip her armor at lightning speed. They were around the same age as Lucy, so they were always kind to her. In fact, Gray was one of the only people who knew that she wanted to actually join a guild.

"I'm fine," Lucy said, sitting down next to Gray before the carriage started moving and heading into town. She stared down at her lap, playing with her fingers. She was nervous about this whole thing. The dragon was powerful beyond Lucy's belief. She stood no chance, and she was sure Erza and Gray knew that, too.

It was silent for a while before Lucy spoke up. "I know my father wants you both to protect me. And I appreciate you doing that, of course. But I want to be an addition to your team instead of a burden. I may not be very powerful, but I'm a wizard. And I want to do something to help you both."

Gray smiled, reaching out and petting Lucy's head. The gesture made her smile.

"We know that," Erza said. She was scary when she was angry or in battle, but when she wasn't, she was actually very kind. "We want you to learn the basics of your magic power. It must not be fun to be stuck in that mansion all the time."

Lucy shook her head. "Not as fun as a lot of people think."

"Don't worry," Gray said to assure her. "We will protect you, but that's also what team members do."

Lucy smiled, her face flushing slightly. She was always jealous of Gray and Erza. They were both members of a popular guild called Fairy Tail. They weren't from this town, but Magnolia wasn't far from here and they came to help my father with jobs. He must have paid them well because they always came back. Lucy once tried to help them with their job and when they said no, she followed them. Long story short, she ended up getting captured and causing even more problems for them. She made her father pay them more for their trouble, but she felt like a burden ever since. She knew she wasn't useless, but she also knew that these two were a whole other level from her.

She looked out the window as the trees zipped along, all of them blurring into one green blob. She looked down at her keys. She knew her spirits would be there for her, and she also had that whip in case she ran low of magic energy, but she wished she could have been able to get more keys. She wanted all twelve zodiacs; they were the most powerful of the celestial spirits. The ones she had, however, all seemed to really like being contracted with her. Well, all except Aquarius, but she was one of the most powerful of all the zodiacs.

"Now, here's the plan."

Lucy turned her head from the window as the trees dissolved into buildings and Erza spoke up. The expression on her face was a lot more serious now. Even Gray was paying attention to her.

"The carriage is going to drop us off at the edge of town. The dragon was last seen on the west of town. Now, he could have moved to the east since then. We are all going to stick together, and when we find him, Gray, you will distract him. Your ice magic is weak against his fire, so he will have the advantage. But if you can distract him for long enough, I can requip into my Fire Empress armor. That'll make me weak to fire magic attacks. Then, I will attack. Gray, you will go back to Lucy then and Lucy, you will summon that water spirit of yours. With her powerful water attack, she should be able to sustain him long enough for us to capture him. Do you understand?" Erza asked, and Gray and Lucy both nodded quickly at the same time.

Lucy was perfectly okay with that plan; she was just glad she was going to be able to do something other than sit around and be a damsel in distress. "I just," Lucy spoke up and the attention moved to her. "I need some form of water around in order to summon Aquarius. Otherwise, I can't."

"Hm," Erza said, probably deep in thought. "That might not be easy at this point. He tends to burn everything in sight."

"Don't worry, Lucy," Gray said. "We'll figure it out. Worst comes to worst, we can trick him into melting my ice to water and you can use that."

Lucy nodded and fell into silence. That was a good idea, but she knew Aquarius wouldn't be happy if she was summoned through that. She got pissed at Lucy whenever she summoned her using any body of water other than something large and fancy.

Barely ten minutes passed before the carriage stopped on the edge of town and Gray, Erza, and Lucy piled out of the carriage. The air was a lot hotter here than it was back at the mansion, and Lucy knew that a fire wizard was close.

"Oh, shit," Gray said, his eyes wide when he looked up at the sky. The clouds looked orange, and Lucy hid a bit behind Gray. He took off his shirt and tossed it away. By now, Lucy was used to him never wearing clothes that it didn't phase her anymore. "It's hot."

"He's close," Erza said. Lucy wondered how she wasn't incredibly hot in her armor. "We have to move. If we don't worry, he'll destroy the entire town." She started walking ahead.

"Stay close to me," Gray said, glancing back at Lucy. "I don't want us to get separated."

Lucy wondered if it was the heat that made her cheeks red or something else. She nodded once, grabbing on to his arm awkwardly as they both took off after Erza. The fact that his body was cold was comforting in this heat.

They walked for a couple minutes, sweat making Lucy's bangs stick to her forehead, when they heard the sound of a hoarse scream. It was male, and Erza seemed to be alert as she heard it. She stopped and held out her arm to stop Lucy and Gray, too. Lucy jumped closer to Gray when a wall a few feet away from them was destroyed, pieces of brick and dust flying everywhere. Lucy had to cover her eyes. When she looked up, she saw the silhouette of a man with long horns coming up from his head. She couldn't see his face, but she knew this was the dragon everyone always talked about.

"Gray, now!"

Gray moved away from Lucy and towards the dragon. "Ice Make Excalibur!" A large sword made of ice formed in Gray's hand and he got into a fighting stance.

The dragon laughed. "Fire Dragon..." he shouted and Lucy's eyes widened. She hadn't expected him to sound so...human. "Roar!"

Gray was able to avoid the attack, but the ice sword melted. Lucy knew that he wasn't fighting with all he had. He was just bluffing in order to distract him while Erza prepared for attack and-

Wait, where was Erza?

Lucy looked around, but she didn't see Erza anywhere. She also didn't see a single body of water. Gray's excalibur turned to smoke before the water even hit the ground. There was no way she would be able to call on Aquarius, not without any water around.

"You think you can defeat me with ice magic? Hah! Don't make me laugh."

The dragon didn't even seem to notice that Lucy was there. Maybe I can use this to my advantage, too, she thought. I refuse to be useless.

Lucy's eyes widened when she had the idea. She knew the perfect spirit to call forward. She wasn't strong, but if she could calm the dragon... Lucy reached for a silver key and held it out in front of her. "Open! Gate of the Lyre! Lyra!"

A pretty young woman with strawberry blonde hair and a harp appeared in front of Lucy. Her eyes were black, but they were kind. "Hi, Lucy-chan!" she said happily. "What can I help you with?" Lyra had a bonnet on her head and pink cheeks; she was like a doll, and Lucy thought she was the cutest thing.

Erza had shown up, and she was now fighting the dragon with Gray. However, it didn't seem like he was struggling at all. Gray was out of breath, but the dragon didn't look phased at all. Lucy swallowed a dry lump in her throat, feeling nervous. She knew this was against the plan, but she had to try.

"Lyra," she said. "Can you play a song? Please?"

She nodded, smiling. "Of course, Lucy-chan."

Lyra sat down in front of her harp. She closed her eyes and started running her fingers over the strings. The melody was beautiful. Lyra's songs were always so beautiful; Lucy loved them. She wondered whose thoughts and feelings Lyra would base this song off of.

Gray was the only one who seemed to notice that the song was playing; Erza and the dragon were still focused on the battle with each other.

Then Lyra opened her mouth and her singing voice put every bone in Lucy's body to rest. It was truly beautiful.

High up on a mountain top
The clouds move by and hit my face

Looking, waiting, searching,
Where did you go?
Where did you go?

May I ask, did you see me grow?
Here I am now
Are you proud?
When they look at me, they see just black
Tell me
When will they see the real me?

"MAKE IT STOP!"

Lucy jumped and Lyra stopped playing when the piercing scream disturbed the beautiful sound. The dragon had his hands over his ears and he was gritting his teeth tightly. He screamed as he struck at Lyra's harp. It shattered and Lucy gasped even though she knew that it would be fixed once she went back to the celestial spirit world.

"I'm sorry, Lucy-chan," Lyra said. She looked so sad as she disappeared, going back into the spirit world.

Lucy reached for another key, but when a shadow formed over her, she stopped and looked up, frozen in fear at the...man? creature? in front of her. There were dark marks over his left eye, which was red. His right eye was different, lighter. She couldn't tell if it was hazel or black, though. His hair was pink.

He looked angry and Lucy cowered a bit.

"That magic," he said, his voice hoarse and slow. "What was that magic?" he demanded.

"Uh..It, uh..."

"Tell me!" he roared.

But before Lucy could answer, he was pulled back by Erza who tied his hands behind his back. He was screaming and swearing at her, but Lucy didn't hear it. Her hands were shaking and she was so distracted that she didn't even see Gray come up in front of her and pull her into a hug. He was whispering things to her, but she didn't hear. She was staring at the dragon. Lyra's song was taken from him; she wondered what it was about. Maybe she, like her mother, should pity him.

"Where-Where is she taking him?" Lucy asked after Gray had put his coat over her shoulders. The heat in the air faded once the dragon was shoved into an arrest carriage. "Not to the Magic Council, right?"

Gray was frowning, but Lucy had no idea what he was thinking about. "No," he said. And that was all he said. Lucy wondered why he couldn't tell her where he was going. Were they mad at her for going against the plan? She didn't care for the dragon, no, but she couldn't get the words of Lyra's song out of her head, and she wondered if he couldn't get the words out of his head either. "Come on, Lu," Gray said. He was avoiding eye contact with Lucy. "I'm going to take you back home now."