Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas from Madam Facilier!

It took me everything I had to not post this chapter as soon as I had it typed up. Because this chapter is a gift from me for being good readers!

Hestia woke up a little earlier than she usually would have liked on Sundays.

"Tia-kun, Tia-kun!"

"Wakey-wakey!"

Hestia hid under her blanket, grumbling, "Lee me 'lone."

"Tia-kun!" Lector whined, tugging at the blanket. "C'mon, breakfast call!"

"But it's warm..."

"Fro smells bacon and waffles," Frosch added, earning an approving nod from Lector.

In a flash, the blanket was tossed aside as Hestia jumped out of bed. It's just a normal Sunday, she thought to herself as she dressed out of her pajamas. I just had a bad nightmare that fairy people were trying to take me away.

Hestia spun once before the mirror, the skirt of her light blue dress twirling with her. She tied her purple and white hair back, but her bangs hung in the front in a single curl. She had no idea why it did that, to be honest. But years back, whenever Orga took care of her, he'd twirl some tufts of her hair with one of his large fingers. Maybe that was why—nah, that couldn't be.

"C'mon, Tia-kun! Race you down!" Lector called as he opened the door and flew out.

Yeah! Hestia thought as she closed the door to her dorm before running after her Exceed friends. Nothing's wrong at all! We're gonna eat, and then play around! Lector and Frosch were waiting for her at the top of the stairs when one of their members raced up to them, out of breath.

"Sorry," he panted. "Can't go down, Hestia-kun."

"Why not?" Lector questioned.

"Busy rebuilding. Walls are being painted—and the smell! Safety hazard, so we're taking precautions."

Fro scratched his head in confusion. "But Tia-kun could wear a mask."

The man tapped his chin. "That could work."

"You're a genius, Fro!" Lector exclaimed before he flew back into Hestia's room.

"Fro's a genius!" Frosch agreed, flying around Hestia. Lector came back out with a small cloth mask similar to what doctors wore, but Hestia wore this especially during pollen season.

Lector adjusted the bands behind her ears, leaving Hestia to pull the mask up to cover her nose and mouth. "We're ready," Lector said.

The wizard nodded. "One more thing: you're eating outside today. Orders from Rietta herself."

The trio followed after the wizard, stepping carefully as if the stairs could give out any second. Once they reached the bottom, Hestia knew that last night hadn't been a nightmare like she had hoped.

Two wizards were installing a new door: one holding it in place, the other hammering in the nails. Another person had spread out a large cloth on the floor, with a bucket of paint next to them. Hestia watched others bring out new tables and chairs to replace the damaged ones.

She felt someone push her; looking behind herself, she saw that Frosch was nudging her forward. Lector tugged at her hand, urging her not to dwell on it too. Hestia allowed herself to be guided by Frosch and Lector while she looked at her feet.

"Tia-kun, cheer up! Rietta's making breakfast!" Lector tried as they made it to Saber Tooth's outdoor café booth. Hestia climbed up onto the stool with ease, remaining silent even as she removed her mask and placed it in her pocket.

"And what do you guys want—Hestia?" The Telekinetic child lifted her head slightly to meet the concerned eyes of the head chef. "Something's wrong," she said immediately. "You're not this silent."

"She's been like this since we came down," Lector informed. The chef nodded in understanding.

"Rietta-san, can we have breakfast?" Frosch asked.

The head chef Rietta smiled, thinking that Hestia's silence would break once she saw her plate. "Coming right up!" she called as she retreated to the griddle. The Exceed sniffed the air as the scent of bacon wafted over, but Hestia didn't even lift her head. Rietta returned with three plates of eggs, bacon, and waffles. "One for you, one for you, and here's Hestia's!"

Hestia looked at her plate: on one waffle, her eggs and bacon were arranged to look like a smiley face. "Ha..." she laughed weakly.

Rietta frowned. "All right kid, talk."

"Rietta-san...is it my fault?" Hestia played around with her eggs. "Yukino-san and Rogue-san were hurt badly...the guild was damaged...and those people want to take me away."

"Hestia." Rietta placed her spatula down as she propped her head on her hands, her elbows on the table. "No one blames you for anything: we chose to raise you, and we knew that this day would eventually come. But didn't the guild prove that they want to keep you? Rogue grabbed you out of harm's way last night; we all fought against Fairy Tail; and sometime during the middle of it, Frosch delivered your inhaler so you could breathe."

"Fro did," Frosch added between bites.

"See? Don't worry about us, Hestia. No matter what happens to us, we will never blame you."

"But...what about Mama?" Hestia interjected. "She...blamed me for everything. She didn't want me anymore."

"Now you may not believe me," Rietta began, "but your mother loved you. Right after she was finally allowed to bring you home, she showed you off to the entire guild. Said you were the cutest baby in the world. But once she changed, it wasn't because of you. It was because of him: the unspeakable four-letter word that is your birth father!" Rietta's entire demeanor changed as she swung a heavy frying pan around, causing Hestia and the Exceed to duck for their lives. "When I get my hands on him, I'll rip him a new one!"

"R-Rietta-san, calm down!" Hestia suggested.

"Fro says so too!"

Rietta blinked, looking at the frying pan in her hand. "Now how did that get there?" she murmured, making the trio sweat.

Hestia decided that eating her breakfast would be the best way to keep the chef from going off on her random outbursts. She wondered if all cooks were like that. "But there's absolutely no way we're gonna let those fairies take you away," Rietta continued as she flipped an egg. "Oh, no. I cooked for you once you started eating solids; Orga played with you practically everyday; and Rufus—can you read that book after breakfast?" she barked as Rufus took small parts of his breakfast, focused more on the heavy volume before him.

The Memory-Make wizard didn't seem to hear her as he turned a page. "What are you reading anyway?" Rietta huffed angrily.

"The laws of Fiore," Rufus answered, a sly smile growing on his face. "Most likely, Fairy Tail will focus on child custody laws. Unfortunately for them, they'll need every law in their arsenal to win. Laws that they don't possess, I will memorize without fail."

"And the only way you'll accomplish that is by eating!" Rietta snatched the book away from Rufus, whose head snapped up as soon as the familiar text disappeared from his gaze. "That brain of yours can't run on an empty stomach, even if you can remember everything!"

"Give that book back, Rietta!"

"You can have it after you've finished your plate," the chef insisted, placing the book on a shelf with other cookbooks.

"But—!" Rietta silenced him by shoving his barely eaten waffle in his open mouth. Rufus mumbled something incomprehensible; he was obviously miffed by her action.

"There," she said sweetly, dusting off her hands. "Was that so hard, Rufus Lore? Now don't shovel it all down. You'll get indigestion." Some nearby wizards roared with laughter while Rufus chewed his waffle slowly, never breaking eye contact with Rietta.

Note to self: Never cross the chef, especially in the morning.

"You know, that giant curl you have there reminds me of Delphione," Rietta noticed, holding Hestia's hair curl between her fingers. Hestia could see Rufus flinch when Rietta said that name. "Except Delphione's—" She curled it in the opposite direction, meaning her left and Hestia's right. "—curls the other way. Of course, that was two years ago," she added, letting go of the curled bangs. "Wonder what she's like now. Leaving already, Sting?"

Sting got off of his stool. "Can't stay for long, Rietta. Gotta make a call."

Rietta nodded. "And make sure to ask the old coot exactly what kind of guild he's running!" she yelled after her guild master.

Taking a deep breath, Sting walked through the foyer over to his office, trying his best not to breathe in the paint fumes. Honestly, someone should improve the smell! Sting thought as he opened the door to his office. Once he shut the door behind him, Sting released his breath. "Now, where is that thing?" he muttered to himself as he rummaged through his desk. "I swear, that thing hates me—aha!" he exclaimed triumphantly, holding up a Communication Lacrima.

Since it was not in use, Sting could see through the crystal ball. The young guild master lowered the Lacrima and approached a picture frame on the wall before him. It was taken one year ago, right after Sting became the leader of Saber Tooth. There were six people and two Exceed: Sting was in the center, resting an arm on Rogue's head. One could see that Rogue was annoyed by this when he looked up, glowering at his best friend and new guild master. Lector stood on Sting's head, posing for the camera while Frosch fell off Rogue's shoulder. Yukino had her arms out to catch Frosch; Rufus, however, looked like he was trying to restore order—and at the time, he was. Orga towered over everyone, and Hestia sat on his shoulders, grinning widely.

Sting walked past the frame before that rather quickly, preferring not to look at the gruff and angry face of Jiemma. One of these days, he'd get off his butt and stow it away so he wouldn't get scared just by looking at a picture of the previous master. He stopped at a large frame that occupied the space before Jiemma's photo. This one was different from the other pictures, because it was the only one that was painted.

A woman in her mid-twenties smiled kindly back at him. Her rose pink hair was let down so two long locks hung beside her face. Apparently, those two locks were layered, as part of them branched off slightly. Over the top part of her plain white dress, a green shawl draped over her shoulders, covering most of her arms. A pink apron with a large pocket was tied around the skirt at her left hip, almost making it look like part of the dress itself. Covering her feet were pale pink ballet flats. In the painting, she was sitting down in an armchair, holding a pink-haired child in her lap. Those who were foreign to Sabertooth would guess that the two were mother and daughter, with the woman's pink eyes and the child's brown eyes being the only difference. But those who had been the guild for so long knew that it wasn't so.

"Lady Anthea..." Sting brushed the dust off of the base of the frame, wiping his hand on his pants. "If only you were here..."