~Jacin~

"10,000!?" I practically screamed. Clearly this man thought that I hadn't done my job well enough, because he'd cut my pay in half. Apparently, letting one harpy get away was justification for a pay cut. I couldn't help but growl.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't offer you any more. The master is grateful for taking this job, but finds your work unsatisfactory. That will be all," he said, his voice completely monotone and uncaring. I rubbed my temples to ward off the growing headache and took the money.

Roawin pulled at my pants legs, his big eyes staring up at me, "Big brother, I'm still hungry."

I sighed as the servant walked away, his expensive shoes tapping down the long, pristine hallway. I shoved the money in one of the pockets of my cargo pants and scooped Roawin up, "Alright, let's get some food then."

Roawin smiled, "I want lots of food!"

I laughed as I headed for the door of the giant mansion, "Of course you do, but we've got to use our money well. We're down 10,000 jewel right now."

Roawin brushed a lock of my hair out of my eyes. It was a strange thing he always did. I asked him why he did that once, and he said that he liked to see my eyes. When he'd said that I'd felt sick. My eyes were exactly like my mother's eyes…and she was gone.

"Ok, I'll only eat a little bit…so smile," he said, stretching my cheeks in a vain attempt to make me smile.

"I'll get you whatever you want, ok? I wouldn't want my favorite little brother to go hungry," I said. A small smile pulled at the corner of my lips as I shook off the memories.

"Yay!" he cheered, hugging me tightly.

Within a few minutes I'd stopped and bought us some sweet buns and sat down with Roawin on a small patch of grass that looked down over a river. We sat under the shade of a cherry tree and ate our food.

"Hey, Roawin. Today we're going to arrive in Magnolia," I said, nudging him. He looked up at me, sticky, sweet syrup all over his face. I laughed and wiped it off with a napkin.

"Magnolia?" he asked, taking another bite of his bun.

"It's where Fairy Tail is," I said, "And hopefully where my keys are."

"Fairy Tail!" he yelled, jumping into the air. I had to catch him as he stumbled on a root that jutted out of the dirt. I pulled him onto my lap. "We get to go there today?" he asked, looking up and me upside down. I twisted him around on my lap so that he could look at me without craning his neck.

"Yeah, today," I said, "But first, do you think you could help me out?"

He nodded happily. "Alright, we've got to cross this river," I said, pointing behind him. He whirled around and nodded determinedly. "I can do it!" he said, getting to his feet. Of course, there was a bridge a little ways down the river—which was more like a large stream—but I liked giving Roawin a chance to use his magic. It was one of his favorite things to do, so I indulged him.

I stood beside him, "Alright. I'm ready." He nodded and furrowed his eyebrow in concentration. He raised his hands to his face and blew through them. Within a few seconds, a large, multicolored bubble floated in front of us. I patted his back, "Nice job. Let's go."

I held his hand as we stepped into the bubble. It lifted higher and higher until we were about twenty feet into the air. We drifted right over the river and then started our descent. The bubble popped a few feet into the air and we fell a foot to the ground. "Could have used a gentler landing, but other than that it was perfect," I said, ruffling his blond curls. He cheered and wrapped himself around my leg. I took a few steps, heaving him, still attached to my leg, a few yards.

"Come on, don't make this hard for me," I said jokingly.

"Ok…then up!" he said. I nodded and grabbed him under the arms, pulling home close to me. He wrapped his arms around my neck and took a deep breath, "I can't wait to see Fairy Tail."

"Me neither, Roawin…me neither."

~Lucy~

I eased myself upright, yawning and stretching my arms above my head. I was sure that my hair was a bird's nest, so I swung my legs over the side of the bed. I wearily walked over to the bathroom and pulled a brush through my hair. I sighed and then went to get dressed. I pulled my blouse over my head and plopped down on my bed. I had to get to the guild, but I'd woken up early so I wasn't worrying about timeliness.

My gaze fell on the desk in the corner of my room—or rather it fell on what was sitting on said desk. I got to my feet and walked over to the desk, plucking the keys off of the stack of papers that contained the latest chapter of my novel. I sat back down on my bed and spread them out in front of me. I figured that if I summoned one of the spirits, they'd be able to help me find the owner of the keys.

I ran my fingers over them, taking particular interest in the unusually shapes or shinier ones. The ones that were made of an unknown metal stuck out to me the most. The one I'd looked at last night, the one that was shaped like a sword, was one of those shinier keys. Another one had three different symbols on it. They looked almost like fangs. One of them was red, another white, and another black. I inspected another one of the unusual keys. This one had a simple red swirl on it and nothing else. Another had what seemed to be a violet skull on it. Yet another had a sword surrounded by a snake. Another a gray gear and another a clenched fist. The final non-silver key in this wizard's collection had a paw print on it. I raised an eyebrow at that one and then diverted my attention to the silver keys.

There were five silver keys. They were simple and didn't differ from each other except for the symbols on them. The first I examined had a ball of fire on it, the next a water droplet. The next had what looked like gusts of wind and another had what seemed to be…a mountain? It was a triangle that had a smaller triangle cut out of the top. It reminded me of a snowcapped mountain, but that was just a guess. The final silver key was simple. It just had a small flower in the center. I ran my hands over the keys and selected one at random. I looked at the one in my hand and saw that it was the one with the red swirl.

I summoned my magic and called forth the spirit. There was a quick puff of smoke, but nothing happened. Somehow, though, I felt an incredible drain in my magic. I sagged against my bed, panting. Why did that take so much effort if nothing happened?

"You're not Jacin!" someone shouted. I flinched and glanced around the room to try and divine the source of the voice. It didn't work…because there was no one in the room. I covered my face with my hands, "This is bad…I'm hearing voices…"

"What are you talking about? And you still haven't answered my question," said the voice again. I let my hands drop to my lap and opened my eyes. I jumped in surprise and my head smacked against the bedframe I was leaning against. I groaned and clutched my skull.

The evil little spirit laughed. "Don't laugh," I grumbled, looking up at her. She had bright red hair and was wearing a matching red jacket and jeans. She looked just like a normal person except for one thing…she was about an inch tall. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you so small?" I said nervously, crossing my legs and staring at her.

"That's none of your business," she growled, not deigning to lend me a glance.

"Alright…can I ask who Jacin is? Is he your wizard?" I asked hesitantly.

"He's not just my wizard…" she said, her gaze flicking towards me angrily. She still hadn't uncrossed her arms.

"Huh?"

"He's my friend…so I'd appreciate it if you gave my key back to him now. Stealing is bad," she said.

"I didn't steal you guys! I saved you…from a canal…and almost died in doing so," I said, defending myself. I had, though, made it sound more heroic than how it really was. In reality I'd just slipped like an idiot into the canal and happened upon the keys. I wasn't going to tell her that, though.

"I don't believe you. Where's Jacin?" she asked. She looked around the room as if somehow he was hiding under my bed or something.

"I was hoping that you could answer that question," I grumbled.

"It doesn't matter…he'll find us soon," she said, sitting down in the same position I was in.

"Yeah? How?" I drawled.

"We're platinum keys…he'll be able to find us wherever we are," she said, nodding. Her short, red hair fell farther over her eyes with each nod.

"Platinum keys?" I asked. Oh, so that's why those keys are so strange…

"You're a pretty lame celestial wizard if you don't even know what platinum keys are…then again, they're pretty rare."

"That's harsh."

"I'm harsh."

I was about to say something when she perked up and I decided that it was better to keep my mouth shut. I stared at her, wondering why she'd sat up straighter all of a sudden.

"He's almost here!" she said happily.

"He? As in…Jacin?" I asked.

She nodded and hopped to her feet, launching into the air. I dodged as she zoomed past me. She looked out the window and frowned. Honestly I was too preoccupied digesting the fact that she was flying to look out the window with her.

"Well, that's good, then. I hope he gets here soon so he can get his keys back," I said.

"You didn't steal us, did you?" she asked.

"Of course not!" I protested.

"That's strange…if you were to sell us to someone you could probably make a lot of money."

"I would never sell a gate key or take one from someone! That's like taking friends…even family away from someone. That's cruel."

She smiled briefly before she wiped her grin from her face and resumed her condescending demeanor, "Good."

~Jacin~

I walked along the street, listening to the rushing water that streamed beside me. I was following the direction of my keys and it had led me here, the town of Magnolia. It was a convenient place for my keys to end up, though I had no idea how my spirits had started in the clutches of a harpy and ended up in the same town where the Fairy Tail Guild was located.

"Do you think all of your keys are still there?" Roawin asked.

"I can tell that all of my platinum keys are there, but I have no way of telling if my silver keys are all together. It took me a long time to track down all of the elemental gate keys…I hope they're still on my key ring."

"Me too…I'd be sad if Fleure was gone," Roawin said, resting his head on my shoulder as we walked.

"You like her, don't you?"

He nodded, "She's nice…and pretty…and she always smells good."

"That's true," I said, nodding in agreement. She was always surrounded by fragrant flowers, so it made sense that she would smell like said flowers.

"Are we there yet?" Roawin asked. He'd been through more than your average four year-old, but he still asked the same questions.

"We're there now," I said, setting him down. He held my hand as I walked up to the building. It was a nice-looking place…it looked homey. I eased the door open and peered inside. I didn't know who had my keys, so I figured it was best to just go in rather than knock. "Stay here, ok?" I said to Roawin. He frowned but nodded and plopped down on the stone steps. I shut the door behind me and quietly walked up the stairs to the room that I could sense my keys inside. I placed my hand on the doorknob and slowly twisted it.

I smiled when I heard Rouge's voice. I counted to three and then swung the door open. "Jacin!" Rouge squealed. She hurtled towards me, growing in mid air as she tends to do, and latched onto my face. She slammed into me with enough force to knock me over. My back slammed against the wooden floor of the room and I groaned, "I'm happy to see you, too."

I sat up, Rouge still attached to my face. "Jacin, I'm guessing?" said a voice. I pried Rouge of my face and looked up. A girl stood over me. She looked to be a year or two younger than me and had long, blond hair. Chocolate brown eyes stared down at me. By 'stared' I mean stared.

She didn't blink for about a minute. Expressions flitted across her face…unreadable ones. There was an extended period of awkward silence before I cleared my throat, "Uh…hi?"
She kept staring. Her cheeks turned bright red and she kept staring. I waved a hand in front of her face, "Are you…alive?"

She still didn't look away. "Uh…" I started, "Sorry for barging in like thi—" I started. My voice was cut off as my face slammed into the wooden floor. I groaned and tried to discern what it was that had forced my face to the floor. I peered of my shoulder and realized that it was Roawin. He'd hurtled towards me, "There! I saved you!"

"Yeah…nice job," I grumbled sitting upright. He hung of my neck, choking me. I pulled him onto my lap and got to my feet. He smiled, "I'm glad you're ok."

"Yeah, me too," I said. I looked to the girl and she blinked a few times, "H-Hi."

"Oh, she speaks!" I said.

Her face turned redder, "Sorry for…staring at you…like a weirdo…"

I shrugged, "It's ok."

Roawin leaned forward and whispered into my ear, "She's pretty."

I nodded and whispered back into his ear, "I know." He giggled and turned to the girl, "I'm Roawin and this is my big brother…"

"Jacin," I said. I glanced around the room, looking for my keys. Rouge was perched on my shoulder, "The bed."

I nodded at her and walked past the girl. I grabbed my keys off of the bed, counting them. Good, all of my silver keys are still here.

"Fleure!" Roawin chimed. I grinned and picked out Fleure's key. Roawin smiled and looked at me expectantly.

I turned to the center of the room and held out the silver key, "Open, Gate of the Flower Girl…Fleure!"

There was a gust of wind, as per usual, and a warm light. Roawin leapt from my arms and barreled forward. He jumped into Fleure's arms, "Yay, Fleure is back!"

"Hello, Roawin," she said, smiling and placing a daisy behind his ear. Her gentle and singsong voice filled the room and Roawin smiled.

I turned to the girl, "Right…well, I'll be going now. I'll see you later…or not." I headed for the door, Fleure and Roawin behind me. Wherever Fleure walked, a trail of flowers sprouted from the floor. Little flowers peeked out of her long, greenish hair. She had bright yellow eyes and a gentle smile. What I liked best about her, though, was the Roawin liked her.

"Wait!" the girl said. I paused and turned around. "Hmm?"

She opened her mouth to say something but no sound came out. I waited a few more seconds before she said something, "B-Bye."

I raised an eyebrow and nodded. I shut the door behind me, wondering why such a weird girl had my keys. I shrugged it off and burst into the refreshing spring air.

"Alright, Fairy Tail, here we come," I said.

"Fairy Tail!" Roawin cheered, still in Fleure's arms.

"Fleure, would you mind?" I asked, bowing to her.

She smiled, "You're such a kiss-up." I grinned as she stretched her arm out. Long, flowered vines stretched around her arm. At her command, they grew and grew until they'd wrapped all the way around us. I relaxed and leaned back in my seat with was mostly made of leaves and covered in tiny, silver flowers. Our flower-carriage—as I liked to call it—lurched forward.

"So kind of you, Fleure," I said.

She smiled, "You think you're so suave don't you."

"I never said that."

"Yeah, well you are," she said, smiling sweetly.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was one." The rest of the trip was spent with me nodding as Roawin chattered on and on about how excited he was to see Fairy Tail for the first time. I decided to stop along the way and grab something to eat, even though Fairy Tail wasn't far away. We spent a while in the little café until we'd decided we were full enough to head to our new guild. I couldn't calm Roawin down until the giant guildhall came into sight. He fell dead silent and stared, his cerulean eyes wide. Fleure laughed lightly and tightened her hold around him, "You're so adorable."

Night was falling now, and the guildhall was silhouetted against the brilliant setting sun. I smiled as I looked at it. "Finally," I whispered under my breath. I had high hopes for Fairy Tail. Starting anew was one of them…I wanted to forget my troubled past…I wanted to give Roawin a life where he could be happy. With any luck, that life would begin with Fairy Tail.

A/N: And thus the second chapter is concluded. Look forward to the next one and don't forget to leave a review.

Since I'm going to have a fair amount of OCs in this story, I figured I'd write an OC list for you guys so that you can better keep track:

Jacin - Lucy's dream guy. Two years older than Lucy. Celestial wizard with both platinum and silver keys. Some troubled past that led to his little brother and himself living on their own. Looking to join Fairy Tail.

Roawin - Jacin's little brother. Four years old. Bubble magic. Adorable.

Rouge - Platinum celestial spirit contracted to Jacin. Able to change her size at will.

Fleure - Silver celestial spirit contracted to Jacin. Flower magic. Is fond of Roawin.