Hello readers! Sorry I haven't updated in forever, after the issue I had with some other authors I wasn't sure I would write again, even though I had started back with DOTL. I was angry with everything that had happened and then I just lost faith in my abilities as a writer, so I chose not to write. Which I have missed so very much and I felt bad for letting all of you amazing people who come to read, down. However, I am going to finish this story! This chapter is much much shorter than most, but it's just so that I can slide back into writing.

Light of the Veiled will not be re-written anytime soon though, but I do hope to one day revisit it. As previously stated I WILL NOT be using the Pradesh family in any story going forward and re-writing LOTV is going to take a lot of time since I had planned it to be a VanLu story and had them more fully infused that I did in DOTL, plus DOTL was more popular than LOTV was, for now.

After this story is finished I am going to be creating my own characters to integrate into Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail world. The plot and characters are already fully developed so now it just needs to be written!

Lucy flinched as her name was yelled across the room, looking up to see the one person she hadn't seen in several years, one whose voice sent her heart soaring and spiraling at the same time. The woman had raised her after her mother had passed away, treating her like her own family since her father had been too busy to worry about such things. Mrs. Spetto, the short, middle-aged woman with a square-shaped face, long, dark purple hair tied in a ponytail behind her head stood glaring at Lucy with her black beady eyes.

The woman had gotten older but her fashion sense hadn't changed much over the years. She still wore the same green dress with pink-colored sleeves with golden edges, an apron tied around her waist, and a small pink scarf covering her shoulders and simple shoes. Lucy had been scolded by Mrs. Spetto several times while she was a child in the konzern but to see the woman this angry at her as an adult, well she had a new fear of the small woman.

Lucy quickly made her way through the crowd of mages, all of which were quietly staring at the blonde as she climbed the stairs. The ex-maid was pointing to the study at the end of the hall, face grimly looking at her as she hung her head and walked into the study. She sat in a chair and when she heard the door clicked shut she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable yelling that was coming her way.

"Lucy, are you alright?" Her head snapped up so fast she saw spots as she looked at the smiling woman's face. "Are you?"

"Confused, and a bit ashamed of my behavior, but otherwise I'm fine. Hey!" Lucy yelled as something with pink feathers hit her over the head. "Is that Evergreen's fan?"

"Yes! That young woman said it would help with my frustrations and she was right. Master Makarov called me after he finally managed to pull the information on what happened from Laxus, plus a call to Master Sting." If Laxus actually talked to his grandfather about what was going on she had screwed up more than she thought. "I can't pretend to know everything you're feeling, my dear, I can only empathize to a degree. However, I do know that you were brought up better than that. Why behave in such a manner?"

"I don't know! It was just easy to revert to how I would act when in the courts or meeting another suitor dad was throwing my way. I just wanted to pretend something monumental didn't affect me, so I pushed everyone away and decided that I should wallow in my misery."

"And how do you feel about all of that now?"

"Rotten." There wasn't really any other word for how she was feeling now. Her feelings had piled up on one another until they had gotten to a point where she was just mush.

"You do know you're going to have to face young Mr. Dreyar, right?" Lucy sighed and nodded her head. "What do you think of him?"

"Laxus?" Lucy looked at Mrs. Spetto unsure of where she was going with this. "I don't know. I honestly don't know the man very well. I do know he's changed, a lot, since the Fantasia incident, really cares about the guild and his team, he's a powerhouse of a mage with amazing lightning dragon slayer powers, and," Lucy bit her lip as her cheeks turned red.

"You fancy the man."

"Something like that." Laxus has been the source of many solo nights at home and had made a few guest appearances in a handful of her wet dreams. The man's nickname literally had the word 'God' in it, with all those rippling muscles and bad boy demeanor. He wasn't rated Fiore's number one mage bachelor three years running for no reason.

"Well, I think you and that young man need to sit down for a candid talk after you return to Sabertooth and thank them for their help."

"Yes, Mrs. Spetto." Lucy flinched and giggled as she was hit with Evergreen's fan several more times.

"No time like the present!" Lucy sputtered as Mrs. Spetto knocked on the door four times before opening it. Laxus stumbled through the doorway as his three friends shoved him in. Mrs. Spetto just smiled warmly and closed the door behind the two blondes, hopeful that something good would come from their forced talk. Lucy stood with her mouth slightly open, eyes wide as she stared at Laxus' back.

Laxus was glaring at the door, absolutely hating his friends at that moment for forcing him to deal with this when he was perfectly happy ignoring it. He never would have thought Freed would trap him in a rune and Evergreen would turn him to stone only to have Bickslow's babies carry him here before the seith mage possessed him enough forcefully push him through the door. No doubt the old man was behind this scheme to get him to talk to Lucy.

His feelings had been hurt by her dismissal of what he had given up at that moment, hated himself for feeling weak due to those emotions. His damn dragon whining in his head wasn't helping the least bit either. He kept his back to her because he knew the minute he saw those big brown eyes full of pity he'd die a bit on the inside. Laxus was a proud man, a bit arrogant, could hand any mage their ass but dealing with the petite blonde woman with amazing curves . . . he didn't have a fucking clue. He'd never ever had a girlfriend in his life, didn't like the idea of being tied down and here he had done just that. Saddled himself with the most unlikely and beautiful woman in Fiore.

"Laxus." Her voice wavered a bit which struck the large man as odd, turning he looked at the woman before him. His eyes widened when he saw the tears in her brown orbs, shame and regret filled them. "I know there aren't enough 'I'm sorry's' in the world to ever have you forgive me for being a complete and utter brat over everything. You saved me, gave me another chance to live with my family, and I just sunk into my own pity party."

"Blondie."

"I know what you've sacrificed in order to save me and I want you to know I do truly appreciate everything that you have done for me. I also honestly have no idea what we do from here."

"I get it. I pushed you away just as much as you pushed me away. We're both at fault for being idiots. You were right when you said your choice was taken from you but in all honesty . . . Fairy Tail isn't a guild without its Light." He watched as Lucy choked back a sob and held her face in her hands. "I don't know what we do either but I do have an idea." Her red eyes peeked over the tops of her fingers as she watched him. "How about we hang out in the guild for a bit every day, get to know one another."

"Take it a day at a time." Laxus nodded his head and opened his arms. Lucy bit her lip, hesitant, but ultimately decided that a hug right now would be good. His large frame completely encompassed her and she let out a breath she had been keeping him since he walked into the room. "I truly am sorry, Laxus."

"Same here, Blondie."

"So I ah . . . need to go tot Sabertooth and apologize to Sting and the rest of the crew too. They helped me out a lot while I was avoiding you, Bickslow too."

"All's forgiven, Cosplayer!" Laxus growled as he glared at the door while Lucy let out a watery laugh.

"I'm sure the whole guild is listening to us, Laxus."

"Not the whole guild, Luce! Just your two teams, the dragon slayers, and Gramps." Lucy laughed when Natsu shouted, someone obviously was trying to shut the pinkette up. "Who are you taking with you to Sabertooth?" Laxus groaned and Lucy outright laughed.

"Well, I have two stragglers who need to get back home and I figured that maybe Team Natsu would be up for the trek to see our friends." Natsu and Happy cheering drowned out all other noises. Lucy stepped back from Laxus a small smile on her lips. "I'll see you in a week or so?"

"It's a date, Blondie."