I was actually quite surprised at how well my story was received. Thank yous go to Guest and GummiBears824 for reviewing. I was inspired to write the second chapter, though I probably should be studying for my Algebra 1 semester final or practicing my piano music instead. Oh well! And, by the way, I was aware that I did make several mistakes on the last chapter. I did proofread this chapter, but if there are anymore mistakes, I apologize. Anyways, please enjoy this chapter!

(Seven Years Later)

It was a sunny day in Crocus as the people of the colorful city went about their day, people streaming in and out of the shops lining the streets. Travelers stopped along the roads, in awe of the grand royal palace that stood above them in the distance, the masterpiece of Crocus's beautiful skyline. The air held the scent of flowers and spices, and the tables of sidewalk cafes were crowded with people, enjoying the variety of food there. The day seemed like it could be nothing but perfect, at least for most people.

There was a figure in a black cloak with ragged edges moving swiftly and stealthily through the shady alleyways of the bustling city. The figure was slightly shorter than most of the adults traveling the streets, and wore a pair of worn leather boots, one of the only things that could be seen from the cloak. Some blonde hair peeked through the hood, a pale hand gripped the cloak, and large brown eyes glinted darkly from the shadows of the cloak's hood.

Lucy Heartfilia was still internally debating with herself if traveling through here of all places was such a good idea. When she was in Hargeon, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being tailed; from the past seven years of her life, she guessed she really was being followed, so she decided to take a risk and come to Crocus, the "flower blooming" capital of Fiore. They would never expect her to come here, that she knew, but all the same, there were most likely guards along the streets who could easily spot her and alert the authorities. She knew what would come next if that were to happen.

No. Don't think about that. Just stay here, sort yourself out, and then stay someplace hidden for the night, then move on. If someone attacks, attack back. Just repeat the same thing you've been doing for the past seven years. She sighed. Even after all this time, the life she led was a miserable one, but not as miserable as her childhood. Technically, she was still a child, but for Lucy, that life had ended the moment she plunged that knife into her father's heart. Wrong again, the voice in her head reminded her, You never had a childhood. The moment you were born, you suffered. That's your fate, to suffer fore-

"Shut up!" she yelled, out loud, to the voice. She immediately looked around, to see if anyone had heard and discovered her. She sighed in relief once she found there was no one. Taking a few moments to collect herself, she drew her hood over her face and moved out from the alley quickly, looking for a place that wasn't too busy so she could eat. Instinct took over, and she found a perfect place, tucked into a corner of Crocus. Bar Sun was the name. Lucy opened the door and walked in slowly, and it seemed to the people inside the bar like a dark, miserable shadow had entered.

The bar quieted just a bit, as if it was taking a breath, and then the chatter and gossip resumed. Lucy made her way over to the bar, where six bar stools stood, two of them were occupied by two clearly drunk men and Lucy, noting this, sat as far as them as possible.

The bartender came up to her and said, "Well, what is it you want?"

"Water and some food, if you have any," Lucy spoke clearly, pulling back her hood slightly to look the bartender right in the eyes.

"Are you sure that's al-" the man was interrupted by the two drunk men.

"Hey blondie," one of the men spoke with a slur in his voice, "you don't have to be lonely... come over here, and entertain us!" The men had dirty looks in their eyes.

"No," Lucy spoke coldly. She had dealt with these type of men many times. Unfortunately, she'd had to kill several of them, but she reasoned that the world was better off without them anyways, "Unless you want to get hurt..." she trailed off quietly.

"Ooh..." the other drunk spoke, "Girly wants a fight does she...?" He drooled, attempting to pick up a dirty spoon, his hand twitching a bit before he managed to grab it, holding it by the spoon part, waving it around absurdly.

The other one, who was either more sober or more determined, tried to grab her, by a part of her that clearly showed the latter...

It happened so fast that no one had time to comprehend it. One minute, the first drunk man was stretching out to grab her by something forbidden, the next, he and his wasted companion were knocked out on the floor, and Lucy was standing in front of them, glaring. The bar was completely silent and everyone in the bar stared at the hooded girl in wonder. "I told you that you would get hurt," she told their unconscious forms. There was a small clang as the dirty spoon the second man had been brandishing a minute before fell to the wooden floor of the tavern. Lucy looked the man behind the bar directly in the eyes, a steely look in her eyes as she responded to the bartender's question. "Water and food. That's all I asked for," then a pale hand reached out and emptied coins onto the bar, "and yes, I can pay for it." The bartender moved quickly into the kitchen as Lucy swiftly moved back to her stool, settling herself back down and drawing the hood over her forehead again. The noise of the tavern resumed.

Eight minutes later, the bartender arrived with a glass of water and a platter with some sandwiches on it. "Thank you," Lucy said, surprising the man. He observed her as she took sips of the water between bites of the sandwich. Lucy glanced down at the men. I probably shouldn't have done that, she told herself, I'm sure it's very suspicious. But, I did what I had to do. Now I eat, I get out of here and find a hiding place for the night, then leave the city at before dawn tomorrow.

Unfortunately for Lucy, everything went wrong in the time frame of a ten minutes. The doors of the bar opened and Lucy, slightly paranoid, nervously glanced to see who it was. Her stomach plummeted as three men entered in uniforms. She recognized those men. They had been the ones trying to follow her trail for the fast few weeks. Lucy had waited for them to move on back in Hargeon, hidden behind some barrels. She was still hungry, but she ignored it. Her mind froze up, terrified of being caught, and being taken to that place. Only one voice of reason was left in her mind. You have to leave, now. Lucy pushed her food aside and swiftly made her way to the door as the men approached the bar. Only a few more yards, only a few more fe-

A hand grabbed her arm. Lucy flinched and turned slowly, clamming up as she saw it was one of them. Tall, with messy brown hair streaked with gray, and an barely shaven face, but intelligent gray eyes. She looked anywhere but those eyes. They would see the truth, Lucy knew it. "Excuse me, miss," he spoke politely, but there was also the undertone of a threat, "but may I inquire as to who you are?"

Everyone in the bar was transfixed as they watched the exchange. "I'm just a traveler," Lucy replied, terrified at how obvious the tremors in her voice were, "I'm just passing through Crocus, and continuing, nothing more."

"I see. Well, if you don't recognize our uniforms," the man said authoritatively, gesturing towards his companions, "we work for the government of Fiore, and right now, our task is to track down and capture for a young woman who committed a terrible crime about... seven years ago. She is known to be traveling around, just as you are." He looked Lucy right in the eye. "Have you seen anything suspicious you might want to tell us?"

"No, I don't," Lucy replied bluntly, "so if you don't mind, I need to be going now."

"Oh, but I do mind," the man said firmly, "In fact, you are quite young looking, should someone as young as you be with your family on such a lovely day?"

"I'm older than I look." Lucy lied.

The man's eyes narrowed. "You're lying." Lucy eyes widened and she gasped as her hood was wrenched of her head, revealing her face to the world. "You don't have a family. You killed them, Lucy Hearfilia. Clear out!" He shouted at all the other citizens in the tavern, and they filtered out, even the bartender, who first summoned all the cooks out.

Lucy stood, shocked for a moment, her eyes darting about, frantically searching for an opening. She panicked as she saw more uniformed trackers entering the bar, trapping her. Finding no other option, she gathered her courage and pulled out two knives, and began madly slashing, maneuvering about, trying to reach the wooden door. But was just too outnumbered. Her hands were grabbed, and held behind her back. Someone dealt a sharp blow to her head. She stumbled and dropped her knives, now slightly dripping with blood. This is it. I'm sorry, Mother, Michelle. I couldn't escape.

The man smiled in a satisfied way. "They will be pleased," he spoke smugly, "Wilson!"

A young man immediately came forward and saluted. "Yes, sir?"

"Go get a carriage to the Fairy Tail Institute."

The boy saluted again and hurried out of the bar, towards the palace. "Forde!"

"Yes, sir!" A raven haired man hurried up and saluted.

"Search the girl, confiscate everything dangerous. The rest of you, stand guard. I will go up the palace to make my report and return with the carriage going to the Institute." All the men saluted and the one called Forde approached her. "Get that cloak off." he snarled. Lucy unpinned it and a guard snatched it away. Underneath it, she wore a ragged coat, shirt and pants. She had a patched bag slung over her shoulder, which Forde seized, opening it and dumping the contents onto the floor.

There was a large leather pouch with more knives, which Forde tossed to a guard to hang on to. Next, there were several apples, which were quickly eaten by the other tracker's who claimed that they were hungry. There were some spare clothes, which the guards left on the floor, and Michelle's doll. Lucy tried to grab it, but the guards held her back. "What's this?" Forde inquired, his eyes dancing with cruel light, "Do you clutch this in fright and call out for your mommy that you killed in the night?"

Lucy's eyebrows twitched. She was furious. "No!" she yelled, "I didn't kill my mom and Michelle! He killed them! But I killed him!"

By the amused look in his eyes, Lucy knew they thought she was a deranged, homicidal girl making excuses for the killings she committed. "Is that so? Even if you only killed our friend Jude, you've left quite a bloody trail behind you. Other trackers may not have been smart enough to see it, but my superior, William Clark, is the best. You should feel honored that you will be sent to the Institute by him." He smirked. "Take the toy then. I'm sure the Institute will deal with it, and you soon enough."

Over two and a half hours dragged by and finally, Clark returned with a carriage. Lucy was shoved into the carriage as Clark climbed out gracefully. Inside was an armed guard. The door slammed shut, and the carriage rode off. So this is it. I'll finally go to that place that I heard about as a little girl. I'll be like the rest of them their, a deranged child criminal. Lucy looked outside the small window and watched Crocus slowly recede under the blood red setting sun. As much as she tried to deny it, Lucy was exhausted, and her eyes drooped and she fell into a terrifying nightmare.

Well, I'm obviously not good at writing drunk people scenes, but I'd be kinda scared if I was... I have really only seen/read three examples. 1) That one episode of Fairy Tail Ova. If you don't what I'm talking about, you should watch it! It's funny, yet slightly disturbing. And the NaLu moments are pretty good, too. 2) Haymitch from the Hunger Games, but I don't have much to say about that. 3) Hagrid and Slughorn after Aragog's funeral in the Half-Blood Prince. Well, that was... interesting... There, I'm done ranting! Thanks for reading, and please review! Bye!