Sorry this has taken so long to update! My computer broke months ago and I was finally able to get a new one, so I should be able to make some progress on this story now. This chapter is a little short, but it's more of a segue into the arc. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and followed. :)

This is the dress I imagined Noelle wearing if anyone's /
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Chapter 1

Noelle smiled lightly to herself as she made her way towards Fairy Tail's guildhall, the summer sun warm on her skin. She wore a lavender sundress that left most of her long legs bare, and only a sheer lace covered her shoulders. A thin silver chain circled her neck and hung low on her chest, a snowflake charm hanging on the end. Her hands were bare except for a few silver rings on her fingers. Gloves were a distant memory.

Entering the guild, she was warmly greeted by Mirajane as the barkeep carried a tray of drinks to a nearby table. Noelle skimmed the crowd as she took her usual spot at the bar. She had hoped to find Gray and Loke lurking about. She'd taken her last few jobs on her own and while it was nice working alone every now and then, she couldn't deny she was missing her boys.

She couldn't believe she'd been a member of the guild for a year, the anniversary of her joining only a few days away. The first few months had been full of rigorous training, learning to control and utilize her magic, as well as learning hand to hand combat. Once cleared by the master, she'd joined Loke and Gray on jobs, and over time had proved herself a capable wizard. Erza had been right about the fame. It hadn't taken long for stories of The Snow Queen to travel throughout the country. She shuddered at the nickname whenever she heard it, but it'd stuck and there was nothing she could do to change it. She looked down at her bare hands, remembering how Gray's hand in hers had quelled the wild magic inside her.

Her parents had made the worst mistake in shutting her away from the world. Her magic thrived and obeyed since joining Fairy Tail.

"Noelle," Gray's voice interrupted her thoughts, and she smiled as she turned to see him strolling towards her.

"Hey, long time no see," she greeted as he approached her.

"Yeah, how'd the job go?" he asked, his lips curled into a cool smile.

"As well as one could hope. The heat wave was vanquished," she told him confidently as he took the bar stool beside her.

"How do you vanquish a heat wave?" he asked, corking an eyebrow in disbelief.

"You decommission the fire wizard that was causing it," she replied, making Gray snort.

"I suppose that would work," he said with a smirk. The two ordered drinks from Mirajane when she returned behind the bar and made small talk about their latest jobs.

Loke arrived at the guild not long after, a girl on each arm as usual, though Noelle didn't recognize his new flavors of the week. He took a seat with them at a table, offering Noelle and Gray a wave and a nod of greeting. The two rolled their eyes at him, but waved back, use to his nonchalance whenever he had women with him.

"He'll never change, huh?" Noelle chided, shaking her head softly as she nursed her drink.

"Not a chance," Gray commented. Noelle was about to ask if Gray was interested in taking a job together when a loud bang interrupted her. They turned to see Natsu had kicked open the guildhall door.

"WE MADE IT BACK ALIVE!" the dragon slayer yelled boisterously.

"Speaking of fire wizards," Gray grumbled.

"Gray, your shirt," Noelle said, stifling a giggle as he looked down in surprise, unaware that he'd shed himself of his shirt. Natsu had already started a brawl with one of their guildmates and Noelle knew it was only a matter of time before Gray joined in, loosing his shirt was usually the first step.

Just as she suspected, he abandoned her at the bar, claiming he was going to break up Natsu's shenanigans, but she knew better than to believe it. Sure enough, the entire guildhall had become a cacophony of fighting, even Loke had joined the brawl, likely to impress the girls he'd brought along.

Noelle flinched when she heard Mirajane crash to the ground. She turned to see the the white-haired woman sprawled on the floor, her brother thrown on top of her. An unfamiliar blonde stood over her panicking. Noelle only had a moment to question who the girl was when Grey came crashing against the unsuspecting girl. Oh, and he was nude. Noelle sighed and smacked her head with her palm, catching sight of Natsu twirling Grey's boxer briefs with a menacing grin.

"Pardon me, can I barrow your underwear?" Gray asked the newcomer, who rightfully screamed and smacked him. Loke lifted the girl gallantly, proclaiming to protect her from the 'pervert' (despite being a lecher himself, Noelle thought), only for Elfman to punch him in the face, making him drop her rather unceremoniously. Natsu, in turn, kicked Elfman, who flew back against Mirajane once more, knocking them both to the floor. Much to everyone's relief, Natsu had abandoned his hold on Gray's underwear, giving Gray the opportunity to retrieve them.

Master Makarov stopped the chaos just as the mages around the guildhall began calling on their magic. Everyone settled at his presence, except for Natsu, who needed a little more persuading from the Master. The blonde shook in fear at the Master's size, before he reverted back to his original form with a large smile, greeting the girl warmly. After Mirajane introduced the master to the new girl, Makarov jumped up onto the ledge above them and began lecturing the group about their destructive nature.

"However," he then said calmly, before using magic to set the forms of complaints from the Magic Council ablaze.

"To Hell with the council!" he said, tossing the flaming papers down below. Natsu leaped to catch them, eating the flames and licking his lips afterwards.

"Listen Up!" the Master commanded, "Power that surpasses reason is still born from reason. Magic is not a miraculous power. It's only realized when the flow of energy inside us and the flow of energy in the natural world come into perfect sync!"

"Magic comes from mental strength and focus," he continued, "Nay! It comes from your entire soul!" Noelle smiled up at the Master, thinking back to when he'd been training her to control her magic.

"If all we do is worry about following rules then our magic will never progress," he said, "Don't let the fools on the council scare you, follow the path you believe in!"

"That's what Fairy Tail wizards do!" he bellowed, lifting his hand in the air with a pointed finger. The rest of the guild erupted into boistrous cheers, mimicking the master's gesture.

Noelle and Gray watched with smiles from their bar stools as Mirajane marked the new girl's hand with a pink Fairy Tail crest. Gray noticed Noelle gingerly tracing the outline of her own guildmark on her upper thigh as Lucy, she'd introduced herself, squeeled with pride. His eyes lingered on Noelle's shapely legs, but he quickly averted his gaze when she caught him looking.

"So, any plans for today?" he asked after taking a swig of his beer.

"I haven't taken another job yet," Noelle answered, "But I was thinking of skimming over the request board. Are you up to anything? I was thinking maybe we could take a job together."

"Count me in," Loke said as he approached the two, having overheard them. Loke drapped an arm around Noelle's shoulders. Noelle smirked up at their comrade, but Gray was shooting daggers at him. He hated when Loke flirted with her

"Of course, Loke," Noelle said, "I was going to ask you as well. I feel like I haven't seen you guys much lately."

"Are you sure the Snow Queen has time for us small timers?" Gray teased her.

"You know I hate that nickname," she grimaced to Gray's amusement.

"I still don't understand why though," Loke commented, making Gray flash her a knowing grin. Noelle's true identity was a fairly guarded secret, one Gray was glad to be privy to.

"You know you're my queen," Loke said in husky voice, leaning his face closer to hers, turning her cheeks a rosy hue. Gray's chest tightened uncomfortably.

"You're so corny," Noelle said suddenly, shoving Loke away. Loke chuckled as he pushed his glasses back up his nose.

"I've changed my mind," Noelle said folding her arms over her chest, "I don't want to take either of you anywhere."

"I'll go pick us out a job," Loke said with a wink before heading towards the request board.

"Nothing that involves me wearing a costume!" Noelle called after him.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" he called back, flashing her a charming grin over his shoulder.

"Not on your life, Playboy," she said, smiling despite her claim. Gray chuckled, remembering how stoic and distant Noelle had been when she'd first come to the guild, understandably so, given her circumstances. He watched her as she chatted with Bisca and Cana who had taken the seats next to them. She'd come so far in the last year.

"How 'bout this one, guys?" Loke inturrupted his thoughts, setting a flyer onto the bar in front of them. Gray and Noelle leaned closer together to read the paper.

"Six hundred thousand jewel to recover a stolen candle?" Noelle says questioningly after she finsihed reading the flier.

"Sounds too good to be true," Gray agreed.

"Are you two dense?" Loke chided, "Not just any candle! It's the Blue Flame Candle!" Noelle and Gray exchanged confused looks before turning back to Loke with shruggs. The redhaired mage sighed and pushed his glasses back up his nose.

"It's an heirloom that has been passed down through the royal family for a couple hundred years now," he began, "Not only is the candelabra solid gold, but the candle itself is said to be magic!"

"If it's so special, why is it a marquise that we're meeting instead of someone higher ranked?" Noelle asked.

"Because the Marquises of Orchid use to be well known for their skill in wizardry, but the last few generations have lost the talent," Loke explained.

"So it was gifted to them for safe keeping, and by the time they lost the ability, no one thought to put it under better protection," Gray said, folding his arms over his chest.

"Exactly," Loke affirmed.

"Well, let's do it then," Noelle said, "Six hundred thousand jewel is nothing to sneeze at." The boys nodded in agreement. The three agreed to meet at the train station later that day and split their seperate ways to pack for the trip to Orchid City to meet with Marquise Sayuri.