3 months later

Lucy's POV

Laki was watching Natsuki for the day while Max and I went on a mission. Over recent events, the three of us had become rather close.

The mission was simple. Find some bandits whom had been terrorizing a city and defeat them. Easy enough. We finished it with time to spare. As it turned out, the mayor himself had been the leader of the bandits. Apparently he thought we were stupid or something. I had had a suspicion about him since we set foot in his mansion, so I used my 'charms' to distract him while Max searched for the stolen goods. The old pervert fell for it and Max found the objects within the hour.

Since we had time, we had decided to walk back to Magnolia. It was only a few hours away on foot.

After about an hour, Max turned to me. "I'll be right back. Nature calls."

I wrinkled my nose and nodded. "I'll go find a place to rest."

He ran off and I was left alone. I made my way over to a fallen tree and sat down, admiring the scenery. At this time of day, the forest seemed almost…magical. The way the light shined on the leaves of the trees above gave the place a sort of greenish glow, and animals would occasionally rustle in the canopy or hop around on the ground.

I heard a twig snap and my head whipped in that direction. The place went eerily quiet. "Max?" I called. There was no answer. I stood and made a step towards the place where the sound had come from. "Max, this isn't funny."

"L-Lucy?" A voice asked.

I froze. That voice didn't belong to Max. "Who's there?"

A boy stepped out from behind a tree. He had messy, dark brown hair that fell down to his shoulders and a pair of dark chocolate eyes that seemed strangely familiar. The boy looked about fifteen and was wearing a pair of light blue jeans with no shirt. What drew my attention, though, was the pendent around his neck. It was a stone about the size of a dollar coin and blood red. The stone was hung around his neck with a black cord and held on my silver wire. It looked rather fragile, but I knew for a fact that it was invincible and could not be destroyed by even the most powerful of magic. I would know. I was the one who made it.

I had only ever made three. One for me, one for my mother…

And one for him.

"Dimitri?" I asked breathlessly. It was impossible. He was supposed to be dead.

"Lucy-nee?" His eyes widened. "Lucy-nee!"

"You're alive!" I squealed, running into his arms. I wrapped mine around him and laughed for the first time in months. "I thought you were dead, Dimka!" (Stole the nickname from Vampire Academy. It just fit.)

He laughed. "Yeah, I am so sorry about that. Mother believed that it was best."

I pulled back and looked at him. "Mama?"

He sighed. "Before she died, Mom knew that Dad wouldn't accept us for our true nature. She said that we were safer apart, and that we would meet again when we needed each other most. That was right before she died. A week later, I faked my death and ran away from home."

Oddly, I wasn't surprised. It was true that we had to keep ourselves hidden from papa as children. At least part of the time. If he found out what we really were, what we had inherited from mama, he would have killed us. At least at the time."Where did you go?"

"To the mountains. I stayed with a sweet old woman named Hilda. She was like a grandmother to me, taking me in and teaching me how to control my powers. But a few weeks ago she passed away of old age. I've been out here since then." He smirked. "I guess that's why I need you. 'When you need each other most', she said. So, why do you need me older sister?"

I opened my mouth. Then closed it again. Might as well tell him the truth. "When mama died and you disappeared, papa turned cold. He treated me more like an object than a daughter. So, when I was sixteen, I ran away from home. For about six months I traveled around Fiore. Then I went to Hargeon town and met a boy named Natsu. Natsu Dragneel. He took me to Fairy Tail and I joined the guild." I took a deep breath before continuing. "I made so many friends there, and we went on many adventures. Natsu never left my side. I guess you know what happened next. We fell in love."

He smiled a bit. "Sounds happy."

I looked down. "We were."

"Were? What happened?" He looked confused then angry. "If he hurt you I swear-"

"No, no. Nothing like that. Fairy Tail likes to party, though. And one night I guess we got a little too drunk. All I remember was waking up next to Natsu in bed. A week later I found out I was pregnant. Now I have a four-year-old daughter." He grinned, but I carried on. "Natsu proposed three months ago. I know what you are thinking; Why on Earthland did he take so long? But we weren't in a hurry. We had planned on telling the guild as soon as he got back from the S-Class exams. But…well, you must have heard about Tenrojima."

He thinks for a moment before realization dawns. "God, Lucy-nee. I am so sorry."

I felt like breaking, but refused to let myself cry. "Nothing to do about it. I have to go on for my daughter and the guild."

He sighed. "I wish I had your confidence. At least you know what you need to do. I've been wandering around aimlessly."

I blinked, a small smile forming on my lips. "Well…why don't you join Fairy Tail?"

His eyes widened. "Me? But I'm not a mage. At least, not any type of mage they would have come across before. I'm dangerous."

"So am I. More so than you are, if I remember correctly. But Fairy Tail believes that I'm just a Celestial Spirit Mage. And for their own protection, it will stay that way. You can use your Emotions Magic as your cover."

Dimitri thought it over. And then I knew, from the sly grin on his face, exactly what he planned to do.