The group of mages stood there, silent and brooding. It all seemed hopeless. The first to speak up didn't dare do so until she had grabbed enough air to break the glass of silence.

"We should get out of here… Alert the magic council now that the job is done. They'll know what to do," The timid blue haired girl was finally able to break it, stepping up to Lucy and slightly falling onto the blonde. Luckily, Lucy caught her, steadying her. "Please forgive me… I didn't mean to be such a liability today…"

"Don't say that Wendy. We underestimated the job. If we had known it was this bad, we would have prepared ourselves," Natsu's voice slashed through her attempted apology. They locked eyes before she could look away, and she nodded, dropping the conversation.

Glacia looked at the group, feeling not so out of place as she should have. She could see Happy and Carle joining their partners, but the silence that hung over them again was suffocating.

"Wendy's right. We should get out of here before he has a chance to come back," She glanced down at Wendy, but Natsu was next to her as she had finished. He took Wendy's hand, swinging her up onto his back. She looked tired enough just standing there. He gave Lucy a smile that seemed to just melt her heart.

"I'm glad to see you're alright Luce. You really had me worried…" He watched as she returned the smile, but it was hidden from his view as she looked away.

"You're not the only one who was," She stated as the first three started making their way towards the cave system, Wendy holding onto Natsu as they walked. Carle had come to rest on top of Wendy's head.

Erza and Gray had shared a small knowing look before starting after them. They had stayed silent until they realized something that was missing. Gray had first, looking back to see Glacia standing in the same spot.

"Glacia."

She wasn't looked at them, but rather, all around, at what had been her home for the past… however long she had been here… She had lived here before with her dragons… and when Void Amulet came, they turned the beautiful caverns into a maze of prison cells and other unspeakable rooms. Her home, turned into a prison, and she didn't belong here… She couldn't…

She wouldn't. Not anymore.

"Yo, Glacia."

This time she turned to face them. She had a determined set to her amethyst orbs, her small body set to run at them. But she stayed. His very next words could either be an invitation or a goodbye.

"You coming or what?"

There it was. The goodbye. She should have seen it coming from a mile away… Wait… She blinked rapidly, processing it again.

Holy Crap.

Did they really just invite her along?

"Come on! You've met us! Now, we've got plenty of adventures to go on!"

A smile crept onto her features, and she nodded, letting her body run to catch up to them. She could have another home. She could belong somewhere again, and it wouldn't turn into a prison. Ever.

Together, the group exited the cave system, coming out to the valley and seeing the place barren. From the commotion, many had left, fled even, to get out of the vicinity and to avoid capture. But that was okay. They had taken out the dark guild. The others wouldn't get far once the Magic Council arrived.

They didn't wait for long. The magic council had gotten there as fast as they could, which was a lot faster than expected for being on Mt. Hokabe. The council wasn't letting them leave quite yet, seeing as Glacia refused to talk to them. She was their only inside source as to what was absolutely going on in there.

She wasn't going to talk until Wendy was better. She just barely trusted the others, but Wendy… She was different. She trusted Wendy way too much than a person should.

Maybe it was because they were the same age? They used the same magic? No, there was the other one… The hot headed fire ball... Whatever...

So, the council had set up a temporary camp, Natsu, Happy and Lucy staying here with Wendy, Carle and Glacia while Erza and Gray went to collect their reward.

They were all sitting in a tent that had been set up for them. On the top of Mount Hakobe. In the middle of spring. Which up here, meant still cold temperatures and a lot of snow.

"At least we didn't destroy an entire city," Lucy looked pointedly towards Natsu, but didn't go out of her way to make sure he noticed.

But he had.

"Oi, it was only a cave this time," Natsu waved a hand, dismissing her accusation.

"It was nearly an entire valley! We're lucky there wasn't an avalanche!" She groaned and put her head in her hands, but it was all jokingly.

"Lucy? Are you feeling better?" Wendy still had bandages around her waist and stomach, but that didn't stop her big heart from trying to help the others.

"Wendy, I'll be fine until we get to Magnolia. Please don't over exert yourself. You've already been through a lot these last few days," When they looked at it, that entire time had been two days. Not including the entire trek up the mountain in order to get here. That was at least another day.

"I'm sorry, Lucy… I just can't help it," She gave Lucy a sheepish grin. Glacia could see the turn of a smile start to form on Lucy's lips. Wendy really was something. She had turned Glacia from a cold hearted girl into one with a beating heart. No pun intended. She had never cared much about anyone, heck, she had barely cared that Lucy had shown up in that cell.

Not that Lacie would ever say that to her face.

Wendy seemed to fill something inside her. Maybe it was the place that her dragons had left empty.

Maybe that space had always been empty.

It was hard to tell.

When Wendy had shown up, her heart twisted in a way it only had with her dragons. She felt so bad about this. They probably wouldn't have gone through all this if she had just helped out Void Amulet.

Then again, she wouldn't be here.

"Lacie?" Wendy was looking at her expectantly. How long had Wendy been calling her name? By the looks from Natsu and Lucy, and the urgency in Wendy's voice, it seemed a few times.

"Hm?" She shook her head, coming out of her thoughts.

"Are you okay? You looked like you were spacing off," Wow, she had let that show on her face?

Yeah, she had.

"Oh, I'm good… Just thinking," She shifted herself on her cot, scooting back towards the soft spot in it.

"Your thinking face reminds me of Natsu's!" Happy burst out from behind Lucy, in which she and the second ball of white fur glared at him. Natsu did the same, but his rebuke was audible.

"Happy!" Natsu seemed surprised that Happy acted like that, but it was quickly shot down by Lucy.

"That's it! You two inconsiderate boys can follow me! We need to talk to the council anyway," She huffed and grabbed Happy by the scruff of his neck and Natsu's scarf, pulling them both out of the tent.

"Scary…." Both boys mumbled as they were dragged out, the flap of the tent closing behind them… Leaving Lacie and Wendy alone.

"Three months?" It was a little while before either of them talked, but Wendy broke the silence first.

"Yeah… I've been here for three months," Her face fell, and she didn't look at Wendy.

"Do you remember your dragon? Like, really remember them?" Wendy was always curious about other dragon slayers and what they remembered, seeing as she somehow remembered everything of her own.

"Yeah… They only left a few years ago… I've lived with the village since then," Her voice was quiet, but it didn't show any signs that it was wavering.

"Grandine, that was my dragon. She was really nice. She left when I was really young, but I still remember a lot of my time with her," Maybe by opening up herself, Lacie might open up a bit here.

"She seems really cool… My dragons were stubborn in teaching me, but they were really nice, in their own way," She saw a confused look on Wendy's face. Did she not have more than one dragon in her life? "I belonged to a nest of dragons. They all disappeared a few years ago, but I won't ever forget them. The two dragons that taught me were Glaceona, the ice dragon, and Snowdon, the snow dragon."

"Two dragons! And you learned both?" Wendy seemed genuinely impressed. Most people didn't learn a second magic, but knowing two types of dragon slaying without a lacrima implant was even harder by standards.

"They are very similar… at least it isn't two opposite things, like shadow and light," Wendy smiled at that, although, for a different reason than Lacie thought.

"I started really young… they're probably the reason I'm still here, seeing as some of their stubbornness rubbed off on me," She gave a nervous laugh, but could still remember it. She had first mastered the ice dragon slaying magic.

"Well, it's better to be stubborn than really naïve," Wendy knew that from personal experience. If it wasn't for some of her guildmates and their stubborn nature, she probably wouldn't be with them...

They sat in a little more silence. They acted like they had known each other for centuries.

"Excuse me?" Lucy was standing in the flap of the tent. "You ready to talk to the council yet, Lacie?"

Was she? Could she even talk to them about her horrible experience? Would she be able to not break down?

"I'll be right there beside you," Wendy whispered next to her, squeezing her hand.

"Okay… Yeah, I am."

"Then let's get this over with," She stood up, Wendy almost having to pull Lacie to the flap of the tent and going over to the council's tent.

It was a while later, but the council had gotten what they needed. They didn't pry into her past, except for the last three months and what she was even doing in the mountains in the first place. They left the tent, seeing everyone else already packing up tents.

"I can't wait to get back to Fairy Tail… You're gonna love it! You can stay with me at Fairy Hills!" Wendy was pulling Lacie along again.

"Really? I could find my own place, I don't want to be a burden," She was quickly shushed by a waving hand.

"Nonsense! I'd love to have a roommate!" Wendy smiled at Lacie, her own smile forming.

"Will you two hurry up! Erza and Gray are back and we all want to go home!" Lucy had a hand incoming for the back of Natsu's head. She hit it pretty hard, and he growled out a 'hey' and tackled her into the snow. Thankfully, she had some gear on.

"Yep!" Wendy shouted back to them, and turned back to Lacie.

"You ready to come to your new home?"

An entire look of confusion and sadness overtook her face, but only for a moment. She had only ever known this place as her home, and now she would have a new one.

Was she really ready?

With one glance back at her old home, she already knew that answer.

Yeah, she was.

"I'm ready!"

Author's Note: And there you have it! The E.N.D. as we know, the death to a perfect Shakespearean play, the end credits of the movie…

I'm just messing with ya.

Well, kinda.

"Bitter Cold" has come to an end, BUT I do plan to write a sequel over the summer! If I get enough feedback, that is… If people enjoyed this one as much as some of my friends did, then there will probably be a sequel.

I had so much fun writing this. I know the last few have been really short and delayed, but hey, this one is longer. Mostly because it was the end and I didn't know how to split it up.

Thank you for reading! Read, Review, Favorite, and all that jazz… I hope to see you next time with my other stories!

Other Stories I plan to put up:

Thaw: The sequel to this one! It will mostly be following Glacia and Wendy, and their growing relationship.

She had a Name: So, my friend got into writing as well and decided to post here. Yeah, her chapters are pretty short, but that's how we all start out when we're writing, right? I say go ahead and try to at least read the first chapter. It is a Supernatural Fic with an OC she made, but it is amazing. For those who try, at least.

Last Wish: I found a fic from my friend that he started writing and he never finished it. He gave me permission to try writing it as my own and see how it goes. It's basically a Nalu story with magic swap. Crazy, huh?

Superhero Au: Still don't have a name for it, but it's basically the villain trying to be friends with the hero, ends up "Killing" them, and goes into a huge depression and tries to create another hero. It isn't a story that is for sure, but it's an idea I got from watching a movie. Let me know if you like the idea, and maybe give a name suggestion.

More One Shots: I tend to write a lot of these, but they are all based on little prompts I find in places or get from my friends or fellow writers. If you want me to write a one shot of any of the things on my profile, feel free to PM me! I'm always looking for prompts! And the story will be dedicated to you!