Woohoo! Chapter 10! I can't believe I've stuck with it this long. I have some more ideas, so just stay tuned! This chapter will mostly be with Wendy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

Lucy cried for a good ten minutes, and Natsu held her. Her sobs were slowing, and she buried her face in his shoulder. Natsu's cloak had draped around her as well when she'd rushed to him, so she was enveloped by his warmth, his smell, which was cinnamon for some reason. Her sobs came to a shuddering halt, but when she finally spoke, her voice was fragile and trembling, as if she would break if so much as nudged.

"We have to find the others." Lucy whispered.

"That'd probably be the best thing ta' do," the warlock agreed. He gently said, "We gotta start moving, Lucy."

She nodded, but didn't move away. A smile graced his lips, and he held her tight. "We need to."

"I know," the blonde murmured, "but can we stay like this a while longer?"

Natsu chuckled.

He really was very warm. Lucy felt safe with him. Like he could protect her. She hadn't felt safe around many people since her mother died. She gave a watery smile, tears prickling her eyes.

Safe.

Wendy had no idea where she was. One minute she was with her newfound friends, and now she was alone, in some clearing. She was accustomed to the dark, being a Shadow Elf, so visibility wasn't an issue. But her instincts told her nothing. The forced travel must have scrambled her navigational senses. Wendy needed to find her friends, though. Finding the nearest shadow, she stepped into it, and roaring in her ears and a tingling feeling washed over her as she liquefied herself into the shadow.

She popped out of shadows in different areas of the forest, calling out her friend's names. When she emerged from the next shadow, she rammed headfirst into someone else.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Wendy cried, and she looked up at who she's bumped into.

He was tall and muscular, clad in black. His shirt was decorated with rivets, and was sleeveless. The right shoulder was adorned with a plume of black feathers. His pants where white, and he was wearing black boots. On his hand were fingerless gloves, thick studded bracelets around his wrists. His right arm was adorned with scars for some reason. His face was lined with metal as well, his eyes scarlet. His most distinctive feature was his hair, which was inky black and spiky. His ears where pointed, marking him an elf. He gave her a crooked smirk, but it wasn't mean spirited.

"S'alright, shrimp. Where ya headed in such a hurry?"

Wendy smiled shyly before answering. "I'm looking for my friends. What's your name, mister? You're a Shadow Elf, like me. "

He crossed his arms across his broad chest. "I'm Gajeel. You?"

"I'm Wendy."

"Good ta' meet ya' Wendy. You lost?"

The girl nodded.

He sighed, shifting his weight to his opposite foot. "Can ya tell me what happened when ya got separated from yer friends?"

Wendy nodded again, "We were just leaving the realm of the Frost Elves when we where enveloped by fog. And I ended up here. I assume my friends also got take to various locations."

The dark haired elf scratched the back of his head. "I got nothin.' But If you want me ta' I'll help ya look."

Wendy's face brightened. "Really?! Thank you."

His smile was crooked again. "I'm lookin' for someone myself."

"Oh?" Wendy pondered, "Who?"

Gajeel averted his eyes from hers, not meeting the smaller Elf's gaze. "My woman. Her name's Levy."

Wendy gave him a kind smile. "I'll try to help you find her. But in the meantime, my friends and I are trying to get to Titania."

Gajeel scratched his chin. "Titania, eh? Why do ya wanna see the queen herself?"

Wendy looked nervously around, but there were nothing but shadows. In a low voice, she told him; "There's a human lost in the forest. A human and a warlock. The human is here on accident, I think. It's either that, or she was lured here. And I don't honestly know much about the warlock other than that he uses fire magic."

The larger elf looked surprised, his expression incredulous. "Ya can't be serious. A human? I'm not so worried 'bout the warlock, we get a few o' those every now n' then. How did this human even get here?"

Wendy looked at her boots, then back at Gajeel. "Like I said, I don't know. I only know she's here, and she needs to get out of here."

"How has she lasted this long?" Gajeel inquired.

"The warlock has been protecting her," Wendy explained, "we've run into a lot of creatures though. Ghosts, mostly, but there was a Wendigo."

"A Wendigo?" Gajeel said, his voice disbelieving. "You gotta be kiddin' me."

"The warlock killed it, "Wendy went on, "And we also ran into Kuckisake-onna. We had to run from that one."

"He killed it?" Gajeel's eyes were wide.

Wendy nodded. "Fire does kill them, after all. We're lucky he was a fire warlock."

Gajeel peered around the treeline with uncertainty. "This is bad," Gajeel looked at her suddenly, his expression serious, "We need ta get 'er outta here before it's too late."

Wendy looked at him mournfully. "I know. But how?"

Gajeel sighed heavily. "Let's find yer friends. Maybe Titania has the answers after all."

They disappeared into the shadows one after the other.

...

After what felt like an hour of searching, Wendy caught sight of someone. It was a figure, disappearing into the treeline. She could hear water rushing in the distance. This was a river, not a stream like she'd heard before. The water sounded heavier, moving with more force. Gajeel climbed out of the shadows beside her. The pair had emerged into a clearing, the starry sky painted above them. The moon was visible above the treeline, full and round.

Wendy turned to Gajeel, "I just saw someone. That way."

"Is it a river?" He asked, scratching his head.

"I think so. Let's go."

They made their way across the clearing, and across the treeline was sure enough, a river. The water was rushing, dead leaves drifting with the current. About twenty or thirty feet away was a woman. She was walking slowly, dressed all in white. She had a veil covering her dark hair. From what Wendy could see, her shoulders shook from sobs. From the waist down, her body began to fade, becoming semi-transparent.

"She's a ghost." Wendy looked up at Gajeel. She was surprised to find his face alert. He grabbed her arm.

"We gotta get outta here."

Wendy nodded in agreement. She knew that ghost. She lured children into the river, drowning them. Her name was La Llorona.

Yay! Shadow Elf Gajeel! This is getting darker. I'm trying my best to do some foreshadowing, while also adding some Nalu stuff. Stay tuned until the next chapter.

~Starry