Author's Note:

I'm very glad at the interest my small and dark prologue caused. The chapters might be a bit short for now because otherwise they would be too long. It also makes it easier to write them!

Chapter Two:

A World of Magic and Light

Wendy materialised through the other side of the portal and she shuddered as the cool-night air hit her. She tried to shake of the weird-watery feeling that she had experienced but it seemed it wasn't something she could forget any time soon. The young princess glanced around and saw to her relief that Lucy and Levy both made their way through. Carla was safely beside her as well.

Lucy sighed in relief with a huge smile on her face, reaching forward to pull Wendy towards her in a reassuring hug.

Jellal stood not that far from them, his dark navy cape swirling around him as the wind picked up. He glanced back in their direction and merely raised an eyebrow. He did not seem surprised to see them. Wendy even cheekily poked her tongue out from the protective confines of Lucy's embrace.

Levy stepped forward and stretched her arms high above her. Her brown eyes shone with the reflection of the lights that dazzled before them. "Hey brother, where do you think we are?" She asked in a quiet voice.

Jellal turned back to follow her gaze, folding his arms before him.

They were standing on a small hilltop, surrounded by forest that overlooked a great expansive city. The night was filled with light from the stars that glittered above, and the lanterns and magical lights that glowed from below. House upon house lined up around the outskirts of the city, with much bigger buildings closer to the centre. And in the middle stood a huge castle with crystal-pillars that rose high in the sky.

"I do not know." He answered softly.

Lucy frowned for a moment, her brown eyes darkening. "You don't believe this is the same world as Edolas?"

"No." Jellal shook his head in response. "Look at the stars and the moon, they are in different spots. There aren't any other planets near that we can see like in our sky." Disappointment laced his words and he hung his head and let out a huge sigh. "I thought we would find this led to another part of our world, somewhere that hadn't been tainted."

Levy walked towards him and placed a hand gently upon his arm. "We might still be able to find something in this world." She told him reassuringly.

Wendy nodded from where she stood and removed herself from her sister's arms. "Well, we should at least have a look!"

Carla tugged on Wendy's sleave to grab her attention. When the young princess turned to her friend, the feline meowed, "I can scent someone's presence Wendy. They aren't here now, but someone has been."

Jellal's eyes narrowed at that and nodded slowly. "In that case we need to make sure this portal isn't being watched. We don't want any invaders in Edolas; it would be the death of us."

His sisters all nodded solemnly. They weren't sure they could win in a battle against such a prosperous realm such as this. And if they couldn't, they knew their father would be spiteful enough to destroy them all to prevent an enemy gaining anything. It would be the end of their world, and their lives.

With that said, the prince led the way, finding a path that curved away from the forest that surrounded the portal. The distance was not far, for as soon as they broke free from the cover of the trees, houses began to loom before them. Interestingly enough, there were no walls surrounding this city. Jellal thought it must indeed be free of conflict if they trusted outsiders enough not to invade.

"Hey, brother," Lucy called out, quickening her pace so that she matched his step for step. Levy and Wendy had fallen behind, their curiosity evident on their delighted faces as they made their way towards the centre of the city. "Can you feel it? Your magic?" She asked him, her brown eyes boring into his own.

Jellal nodded. "I feel whole again." He raised a hand to hold against his chest. "I feel rejuvenated. As if all the magic drained from me in Edolas has been restored."

Wendy and Levy overheard them and glanced at each other. Jellal grew quiet again, contemplating his own words. Perhaps Levy was right and they could find something here to help their world. Or it could be that something had happened to theirs instead of what they thought was a natural occurrence. It was strange that their magic was restored, which meant it was their world that was losing magic and not themselves.

"Isn't it strange that all these homes and shops are abandoned?" Carla asked as she walked beside Wendy.

"It is. And with all these lights, it's almost as bright as day. I wonder why?" Levy voiced aloud, rubbing her arms as the cool air picked up once more.

The siblings began to hear noise which turned out to be faint music coming from the centre of the city. Wendy brightened at the sound, her eyes glowing with pleasure. "Luce!" She exclaimed happily, using one of her pet-names for her siblings she used to use before the darkness had come to Edolas. "Its music, can you hear? And voices!"

Lucy smiled down at her youngest sister, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

There was still music in Edolas; but it was played in fear, sombrely, by terrified musicians who wondered whether they would get paid for their work. The common-folk no longer played for enjoyment, they had nothing to be happy about. But this was the sound of hundreds of people singing together because it was a joyful thing to do.

"I want to take a look." Levy told them with a shy smile. Wendy beamed at her in response.

Jellal couldn't help the smile that crept to his face from seeing the happiness in his sister's expressions. He knew once upon a time he had saved their lives, but until now they had not really been living.

"Let's go then!" Lucy grasped both her sister's hands and pulled them forward eagerly.

Just as Jellal reached out a hand to warn them not to run off, a small squadron of guards stepped out from around a street and stopped at the sight of them.

Lucy immediately halted and her sisters followed suit. Jellal stepped forward protectively to stand beside them.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" One man asked, drawing his spear up to stand beside him. All the men and women were adorned in steel and iron armour, with a black and silver tattoo of a fairy attached to their shoulders.

"Fair goers are you?" One of the women asked.

"Wait, look at their clothes!" Another exclaimed and pointed. "They aren't commoners."

"You're right," said the first guard. "And they came from the northern forest near the industrial section."

Jellal felt his hands clench at his sides. At least these people spoke their language, he thought. And the populace were of the same species. He had no idea what he expected when he and his sisters had made their way through, but a similar, separate world was not one of them.

The first guard stepped forward aggressively, holding his weapon out before him. "You have strong magic too, all of you. What is your business here?" He demanded. "Are you Dark Mages?"

Lucy raised her hands nervously, an awkward smile on her face. "We're just visiting the celebration," she lied.

"This is more than suspicious; we should take them back to the Prince." One of the other guards whispered, loudly enough for Jellal to hear.

In response, Jellal placed himself between Lucy and the squadron. "We aren't going anywhere with you." He told them coldly, his hand outstretched in preparation.

The first guard who had spoken looked taken aback, but then he frowned and gave a command to his squad, who all turned their weapons towards the royal siblings. The blue-haired prince felt a growl rising in his throat and was ready to strike out, until a figure suddenly appeared upon a nearby roof. The two men glanced up in surprise as the shadow of the figure fell across them.

Jellal stepped back instinctively, his arms out to protect Wendy. Levy and Lucy stood by his left and right, both powerful mages in their own right, prepared to protect their youngest sibling.

"What in Mavis' name is going on here?" Called the stranger, who they could now see knelt on the roof.

"Really, I thought we would finally get a night off without conflict." Drawled a voice behind them.

Jellal turned in shock and swore quickly when he made out the form of two other mages behind Wendy. He could tell straight away that these three had immense magical power, on par with his own. He was mostly surprised that he hadn't sensed them.

The most recent speaker was a woman, adorned in silver armour with gold trimmings. It also had the same tattoo as the city guards across her right breast plate. Her long brown hair shone in the moonlight and her eyes sparkled with mischief. Unlike the squadron, she held no weapon and instead grasped a bottle of whiskey by her hip. "My, my, you are a strange bunch!" She called out loudly, and then laughed.

The man beside her was of the same height as Jellal, and had black-messy hair and cold-grey eyes. He only wore the plate leggings with the same colours as the woman beside him. "What's the problem here?" The man asked.

The one on the roof jumped down between Jellal and the squadron, landing squarely on his feet with barely a sound. He glanced up and grinned at Jellal, his black eyes gleaming. He had startling pink spiky hair and an easy-going expression. He wore the same armour as his companions except for the addition of a plain white scarf around his neck.

The leader of the group of city guards stood at attention nervously. "Lord Natsu, we encountered these strangers a few moments ago. We thought their appearance was fairly suspicious." The man spluttered out.

'Lord' Natsu tilted his head in question at the group before him. "What, so you interrogate a group of strangers like they're criminals?" He asked blankly.

The man being questioned swallowed loudly. "Well no, but you see they came from-"

"Ah, who cares!" The woman called out, obviously drunk. "They won't be a threat."

"Lady Cana…" One of the guards implored.

She ignored them and leant over her companion. "Say Gray, are you drinking tonight? Think you can match me?"

Gray gave her a curious glance and shrugged. "I don't think anyone can match you drink for drink." He replied modestly.

Natsu grinned at the two, as if he had completely forgotten the situation at hand.

"Sorry," Jellal interrupted almost hesitantly. "But who are you?"

The pink-haired mage turned his dark eyes onto the siblings before him. "We are the Knights of Fairy Tail. We protect The Fairy City during the festival and the Kingdom of Magnolia." He explained. "You obviously don't come from here."

"Ne, Natsu!" Came a voice seemingly out of nowhere. Suddenly a blue haired cat popped up from behind Natsu's back and rested himself squarely on the mage's shoulders. "They have a cat too!"

"I can see that Happy." Natsu replied, his gaze turning to Carla who seemed completely stunned by Happy's appearance. "I think they must be alright then." He exclaimed suddenly, grinning as he did.

"Aye!"

Lucy, Levy and Wendy all seemed completely at a loss in the situation, unsure of how serious these people actually were.

"Well, you're here for the Fairy Tail Grand Ball aren't you?" Gray asked them. "You're dressed for it."

"I… err-yes." Lucy stammered out in response.

"We were on our way to the castle until we were stopped." Levy took up her sister's example and explained to them.

"See!" Natsu called out, pointing at his subordinates. "I told you they were just visitors."

"Don't forget your masks." Cana drawled, practically hanging off Gray's shoulder at this point. "Despite your pretty outfits," she winked at Jellal as she said this, "the masks are a requirement for the first week. You can get them at stalls in the Centre Square. Just remember to return them or I'll have to come after you." She threatened jokingly.

"Ne, Natsu," voiced the cat called Happy. "You have to get back to the castle too, Titania is waiting."

The pink-haired knight froze at the sentence, as did Gray. Cana simply laughed. Jellal wondered who this mysterious Titania was who could make this seemingly-carefree mage so frightened.

"Right, well we'll see you there then." Natsu quickly told them with a wave, impatience now evident in his attitude. Before he left however, he turned to the squadron that waited at attention. "Good work!" He told them airily and then beckoned for his comrades to follow him. The city guards also seemed perplexed by the encounter, muttering about it as they left the royals in peace.

The four siblings stared after their retreating forms with a mixture of confusion and awe on their faces and they soon found themselves once again alone.

"It seems the masks are a good idea, they would also hide our faces." Lucy turned to her siblings with her hands on her hips. "Should we go there Jellal?" she asked.

The eldest sibling crossed his arms in thought. After a brief moment he turned to his sisters and saw their pleading expressions with hope in their eyes and felt himself caving. "Alright," he agreed at length.

Wendy and Levy cheered and high-fived each other excitedly. Lucy beamed at them both.

"To the Ball!" Wendy announced with a cheer.