Chapter 28
Fairy Hills
Fairy Tail
Guild-Hall
"Alright, just stay still," Mirajane instructed, holding the guild-mark emblem stamp she often for new members. Moving it forward, the object pressed against a tanned chest, holding it for a few seconds until the bartender removed it.
The spot glowed as bubbles manifested from it, revealing the Fairy-Tail emblem in a purple color.
"Well, it looks better than I expected," Angela remarked, looking down at her chest to see her dedication to the new guild she joined.
After the ordeal with the black-haired woman and Guild-Master Makarov, everyone went back to their normal routines. Though a small handful kept their eyes on the woman, especially Lucy, who still had a bad feeling about her.
After buttoning up her shirt to hide a small bit of her cleavage, Angela sighed and smiled for the first time in a long while. Even with the glares, she knew that even if some didn't trust her, there was a few who actually did and liked her as well. It made the woman feel like for the first time, there was a place where people actually cared for her well being.
"By the way," she inquired, looking at the corner, which housed the crying Wizard-Saint as he was nursing his drink. "Is the Master gonna be okay? I mean, I never seen someone from the Ten Wizard-Saints act like that."
"Oh you'll get used to it, trust me, this isn't the first time such a large sum of money slipped the Master's fingers before," Mira remarked while cleaning a mug.
After hearing from the bartender how much the reward money was, the old-mage had dollar signs in his brain. Though when Rodin and Trixie explained the situation on their last mission, all the happiness left him soulless. The only remedy, recommended by a drunken Cana, was to drink his sorrows with some of the strongest liquor the guild had.
It was one of many times that the black-haired woman would encounter such craziness after spending a few days with Fairy Tail.
"So about Rodin and Trixie," Angela addressed, making the bartender stop and look back at her customer. "Will those two be alright?"
After everything had settled, there was still the issue of the pair needing a check over to make sure their bodies were alright. To that end, the Guild-Master instructed Erza to take them to the guild's healer, Porlyusica.
Though unlike Natsu and his partner Happy, the duo were more than willing to go, but worried about the black-haired woman's situation. After some convincing from Mira, they followed the scarlet-haired woman to the forest where the healer lived.
"There's no need to worry, they're in good hands for sure, though it's likely they won't be going on jobs anytime soon," the bartender replied.
All Angela could do was look down at the counter and sigh, hoping that her limited healing capability had helped in anyway.
"Though right now, you should be a bit more concerned about yourself, do you have any plan in terms of living here?"
That statement snapped the mage out of her stare, making her realize that despite agreeing to the offer the Stone-Dragon Slayer gave. She didn't have too much money left over after having to pay off fees and mortgages from her mother's insurance.
Grabbing her travel backpack that was on the floor, Angela dug into one of the pockets, pulling out an envelope. It showed to have a bit of a bulge, indicating that there was something inside of it that she held with care.
Opening it, the contents revealed to be jewels, and from the looks of it, ranging at around almost 100,000 total. She knew the apartment cost in Magnolia was incredibly high, even with what she currently had, it wasn't enough to survive for a month.
"Damn...I thought I had more than this," the black-haired woman muttered, letting the envelope fall on the bar counter. After it landed, she let her own head drop, hitting her forehead against the hard wood, letting out a slight wince in pain.
Mira grabbed it and looked inside, counting how much she money was inside it, then hummed in concern when she realized the amount.
"Well, you won't be living in one of the apartments here with this amount, but I think there's a better solution," she informed her.
With that, Angela quickly shot up, looking at the bartender with widen eyes, wondering what she meant by that.
Little did she know, the place Mira mentioned would become one of the wackiest places she ever found herself in.
Evening
Fairy Hills
With the sun setting, a calming darkness began to envelop the sky and most of the town, causing a feeling of relaxation for most. Having finished work for the day, most wanted nothing more than to curl up in their beds and sleep for the night, especially for those who worked the next day.
The lights illuminated the way for those still on night-shifts, allowing them to see people walking by. Within those streets, Angela and Mira were now making their way through the city, heading towards an unknown destination.
After having spent most of the day in the Guild, talking and meeting some of the newer faces, the black-haired woman decided it was time to sleep. Though due to the bartender having an idea of where to stay, she had to wait until they finished cleaning up and making sure everything was ready for tomorrow.
At first, it was an awkward silence between the two, especially since Angela didn't know how to strike up a conversation. The familiar face of Levy McGarden all but made her clam up, keeping away from everyone in the process, feeling the guilt inside her heart.
Mira could feel the timid aura around her, and decided to try breaking it as to not allow her to seclude herself tomorrow.
"So, despite all that happened today, you looked like you were having fun today," she started the conversation.
"..You think so," Angela remarked, looking over to the white-haired bartender as she nodded with a smile.
"Normally all new members get confused by the way we act, you were surprisingly calm about it though, that never happens."
"Well despite it's unusual behavior, Fairy-Tail is similar to Phantom, only difference is the lights and no one's trying betray one another."
Both of them laughed at the statement, breaking the tension between the two as they reached a staircase. The black-haired woman raised an eyebrow and looked over to Mira, who nodded and began climbing them.
Angela simply shrugged and readjusted her bag before following the bartender, feeling the cold air start up. While she walked, the black-haired woman couldn't help but smell salt in the air, indicating that they were near a beach. In all the years she spent as a mage, not once did she ever go on a mission that involved a relaxing day at the beach, or any kind of relaxing for that matter.
Maybe now without an oppressive father, she'd finally have a chance to do things she liked for once too.
Her train of thought derailed when the sounds of Mira's heels stopped clicking, indicating that she stopped walking. Angela looked up and saw a large structure come into view, one that made her jaw drop and eyes widen with surprise.
In front of the women was a building that was both large and wide, enough to have more than a dozen rooms inside of it. The building was one of brick, having a large central elongated section at whose sides sit two wings protruding outwards. One to the center's right acting as the main entrance, which takes the form of a double door with a pyramid-shaped upper part topped by a similarly pyramid-shaped roof, held up by wooden beams.
Standing above two stone-pillars was a sign, Fairy Hills, which acted as a sort of welcoming to all those who passed through them.
"What is this place..?" Angela inquired, breaking off her stare and walking towards Mira at the entrance.
"This is Fairy Hills, the female dorm of Fairy Tail, especially for those who prefer to stay close to the guild than go find an apartment," Mira remarked. "It's quite pricey but I think you'd be better off living here than trying to find an apartment this late."
"How much is it?"
"You've got about enough for a month's rent, which means you'll have to do multiple missions in order to keep up with it.
That remark made the black-haired woman worry, especially since the Guild-Master only allowed her to go on missions with someone else. It was a form of probation to assure him that Angela could not only work with others, but could be capable of keeping the guild's reputation safe.
All Angela could do was sigh, looking back to the bartender, who gave a gentle smile to the woman, almost reminding her of her mother.
"Alright, I'll do it," the black-haired mage remarked.
"Good, you'll see that things will work out. I have to get back home, I'll see you at the guild tomorrow," was the last words the bartender said before walking away, heading back down the stairs.
Now that she was alone, the nervousness soon returned, making her shiver at the thought of what they would say once she entered. Images of the judging faces of every woman from Fairy Tail entered her mind, glaring and thinking how much they despised her.
Though if it hadn't been for a familiar smile that came from all of them, she would've likely run away and find a motel to stay in.
Taking in one more deep breath, the black-haired woman moved her hand towards the door-knob, gently twisting it. After pulling it, she walked through the gateway of light, closing it behind her.
All Angela could wonder was how the heck she was going to survive her first night alone, in a building full of angry women.
Inside
If someone had told the black-haired mage that she would be entering a place that seemed too normal, she would've laughed. Though after passing through the doorway, anything with Fairy-Tail was possible.
Upon passing the door, the woman found herself looking at the main lobby of the building, which almost felt like a hotel lobby. It wan an elongated room which possessed wooden floor and ceiling, and its walls, enforced by beams, had bricks in their lower part. To the entrance's right sits the wooden counter, complete with a flowerpot, a lamp and some stationery.
Looking around, she found that there was another person sitting behind the counter, looking over some paperwork.
The woman showed to be a dark-skinned girl sporting an orange cat hat, holding back her blond hair that reached past her shoulders. The outfit she was wearing was a pair of pajamas that were orange with white spots on them, on both the shirt half and the leggings.
Angela waited a few seconds to see if the clerk had noticed her, but didn't say anything, making it proof positive.
'Well, here goes everything' the black-haired woman thought to herself as she walked up to the desk. She then cleared her throat, causing the girl to look up from the papers in her hand, looking now at the new person that came in.
"Hi, can I help you?" she inquired, putting what she had in her hand down and giving her guest undivided attention.
"Yes... I'm Angela, I don't know if we met, but I joined Fairy-Tail as of today-"
"Oh right, the one who hurt our allies..."
That remark made the area tense with silence, almost like someone had just announced that a person close to them passed away. The only sounds that anyone could hear was the clock's hand clicking away each time a second passed.
Before long, Angela thought it best to just get her stuff and start walking away, thinking that there might be some empty hotels she could find.
"You didn't just come to tell her that, did you?" A voice inquired, causing both girls to turn in the direction of where it came from, revealing it to be Erza.
The requip-mage's current outfit was similar to the clerk-girl's, only instead, the colors were purple and red. Additionally, the designs on both the shirt and leggings were the emblem of the Heart Kreuz company, which made most of her battle armor.
"Oh, Lady Erza-"
"Erza. You may simply call me Erza, there's no need to be so formal with me, we are in the same guild after all," she replied, making the black-haired woman nod in response. "So why have you come here so late at night?"
All Angela could do was close her eyes for a few seconds, taking in a deep breath before exhaling and giving her statement.
"While I am here to stay, I haven't exactly planned on where I would actually be sleeping at tonight, which is what lead me here. Mira thought it better that I try and move in here with what I have, make it easier for me to find job requests and such. I know you two may not trust me, but if I can just spend a few days here on what money I have, I'll be sure to leave before long, I swear."
The two woman in front of the black-haired girl looked at one another before turning their attention back to their guest.
"How much do you have exactly," the clerk inquired as she pulled out a drawer and some paperwork from the inside.
Angela dropped her backpack and rummaged through the pockets, finding the envelope full of jewels that she had. With it in hand, she walked over and gave it to the blond-haired woman, who began to count them in her mind, finishing after a few seconds.
"You've got about a month's rent here, which means you'll be able to stay, but afterwords, you either have it or you leave," she stated with a cold tone.
With a sigh of relief, the black-haired mage nodded at what the clerk said, understanding the consequences. With the money tucked into a drawer, the blond-haired girl brought out some paperwork Angela began to sign.
Erza's only action was leaning against the doorway, waiting for their guest to finish up and grab the key for her new room.
With one last signature, the black-haired woman was now an owner of a room right there in Fairy Hills, which meant she finally had a place to sleep for the time being. With that taken care of, the clerk yawned and got up from her seat, passing the key to Angela and heading through a door to head to her own room for sleep.
"Let me see the key," the requip-mage remarked, taking the key and looking at which number it was. "Come, I'll show you to the room."
Grabbing the bag left on the floor, Angela simply walked behind Erza, looking around at the building to see how it was on the inside. They passed through the door, beginning their trip into the building.
On the walk, the newest Fairy-Tail mage noticed how it was almost similar to how the main lobby was, indicating that the designs would be the same for the rooms.
She past through another hallway, sensing magic energy coming from there, meaning that the rooms in that hall were already taken. After the third hallway, the requip-mage finally stopped at a door on the last, which met with a wall with a window in it.
The two women stopped at Room 1193, which matched the same numbers on the key as well.
"Here we are, your new home," Erza declared, handing the key back to the black-haired woman, but not before giving a serious look on her face. "While I respect the master's decision to give you a chance, know this; If you even consider a thought of betraying Fairy-Tail. Forgiveness won't come, I will..."
With that last thought, the red-haired woman took her leave, heading back to her own room, which wasn't that far from Angela's. After hearing the door close, the former phantom-mage simply put the key inside, unlocking it and opening it to her room.
The last thing anyone would see was her entering and closing it behind her, finally having a place to sleep after an eventful day.
Morning
Fairy Hills, Beach
The soft splash of the water calmly washed ashore before drawing back into the large open sea, giving a peaceful serenity around the area. With the light of the morning sun slowly rising, it began to spread across the light brown sand, hitting it and the trees that grew from it.
A shadow soon past through the sunlight, blocking it's path for only moments while it moved down the beach itself. Panting from the shadow echoed as it kept going, revealing itself to be Angela, who was jogging across the beach for the tenth time.
After waking up, the black-haired woman was in an uncomfortable place, not yet used to living in her new home. With that in mind, she decided that a little bit of early morning training could be the thing needed to help her relieve the feeling.
The outfit she currently wore was a black sports bra with two white stripes across the front, wearing black finger-less gloves that covered her wrist. One noticeable thing was the fact her long black hair was now tied together into a ponytail, keeping it from getting into her eyes while she ran.
Her lower-half had on matching skin-tight leggings that showed off the definitions of her body quite well. She also wore athletic shoes that completed her outfit and allowed her to continue running longer than usual.
Since morning, she had done nothing but build her endurance with the running, making her body sweat like a fountain. By the time the sun shined against the mountain side of the beach, Angela was sitting on the sand, breathing heavily from finishing her last routine.
After wiping her forehead, the woman went towards where a towel was hanging and grabbed it, wiping off as much of the sweat as she could. With most of it now gone, the black-haired mage moved her hand to grab a canteen on the sand, picking it up and opening it to take a long drink of water.
When she had enough, Angela stopped to take a breath, closing the canteen before putting it back on the floor once again.
"And here I believed I was the only one to wake up this early to train," a voice admitted, making the black-haired woman turn instantly and get into fighting position.
Standing behind her was Erza, who like Angela, was getting in some early morning training.
Like her fellow guild-mate, the requip-mage's outfit was a sports-top with her signature red color with her own hair in a pony-tail. Though unlike the black-haired woman, her bottoms were blue with white-stripes down the side, leading to athletic shoes on her feet.
"It's sort of become a morning ritual for me, keeps focus and centered, even at my worst days," she replied, lowering her arms and looking at the S-class mage.
"I see, though it seems your reflexes are a bit sluggish, if I were an enemy, you'd have already died and I would go to attack the others."
The statement made Angela glare, making her annoyed by how she thought Erza was treating her at that moment.
"I was able to keep up with Rodin, who's as powerful as Natsu Dragneel, so if anything, my skill isn't something to underestimate."
"Is that so?"
With that reply, Erza's whole body now glowed, which meant her magic was now active as she summoned up a new outfit to wear. Instead of her normal armor, Erza now wore a sarashi that wrapped around her chest, covering her breasts.
On her lower-half, the requip-mage now had on flame patterned bottom hakama, which stopped at her ankles.
"Then come, let's see how good you are."
That last remark made the black-haired mage grit her teeth, getting back into position, her attention now fully on Erza. Both felt like this was a long time coming, especially after the requip-mage learned the truth about what Angela did.
The two women simply glared at the other, waiting for something to trigger the sparring match they were about to have. The catalyst for the fight came in the form of a large wave crashing down on the shore, causing the black-haired woman to charge first.
Focusing her Shatterpoint magic into both fists, the black-haired woman began by attempting to delivery a series of punches right at her opponent.
With each one, the requip-mage easily dodged them, moving just out of the way to avoid the initial attacks with ease. After the last punch thrown, Erza swiftly grabbed Angela's extended arm, shifting her weight and throwing her opponent over her hip.
The black-haired woman's vision spun around while she was in the air, eventually stopping when her body slammed on the sand. Despite the hard toss, the impact wasn't as bad due to the sand's density, making it less painful than it would've been if it was on solid rock.
Though the throw wasn't enough to deter Angela as she pushed herself off the sand, landing right on her feet and turning back to Erza.
Pushing off from the sand, the black-haired mage summoned up her Shatter-Buster spell, focusing it into her left hand. The spinning blue orb shined as she closed in on her opponent, yelling out as she attempted to thrust it right into her stomach.
Erza side-stepped, easily avoiding it but slammed down her elbow right on the back of her opponent, causing the orb to slam down into the ground. Though in doing that, the intense speed of the sphere caused sand to explode and blind the red-haired woman, causing her to jump back to get out of the sand.
It took a few seconds for her to wipe out what small parts of sand got into her eyes, but by then, Angela had managed to land a successful roundhouse kick right to the her opponent's sides.
Though the attack was well planned, it wasn't enough to cause Erza to react as she simply grabbed the leg upon impact and sent her flying once again.
This time, the black-haired woman slammed on her back, groaning from the impact dealt to her by the requip-mage's elbow. Before she could move, the sound of a sword made her stop and open her eyes to see her opponent now holding a katana pointing right at her face.
The tension between the two was thick enough to cut as Angela could only look on with widen eyes, wondering if her opponent was going to finally end her.
The next thing that happened surprised the black-haired mage, who saw the red-haired woman return her sword away, and offer a hand to her.
While hesitate, Angela took the hand and got up, seeing a serious look on her fellow-guildmate's face.
"I must admit, you've shown to have quite an incredible potential, but until you can overcome your hesitation and truly let go of your fears. You will only become a burden to everyone in the guild, especially if anyone of them is ever in danger, and I will not allow that to ever happen."
With those single words, Erza requipped back into her training outfit and walked away, leaving Angela to contemplate what she said.
The only thing heard was the laps of the waves, gradually moving up the beach before returning down to the ocean and so on. All the black-haired mage could do at that point was hide her eyes with her loose hair, walking towards the dormitory to shower after the intense sparing match she had.
Angela's Room
"Oh god...That's the stuff," she remarked in bliss, slowly sinking her body into the warm water of the tub. A long sigh of relief exited her body as the effects of the bath starting working their magic on most parts of her body, especially where Erza had dealt some damage.
When the black-haired mage finally returned to the dorms, she decided that it was time to wash off all the sweat from the training done. Even though Mira explained about the open bath for all of the girls there, Angela thought it better to try and shower in her own than in there.
Running both hands through her now damp hair, the woman couldn't help but let out a sigh of frustration, annoyed by how things were turning out. All she could do was sink into the water, stopping right where her eyes were while blowing bubbles from the water.
Before long, the thought of simply leaving and trying to get away from everything crossed her mind. Though before she could think further, the faces of Rodin and Trixie popped back into her mind, reminding Angela why she was there.
"I knew from the start it wasn't going to be easy, but I made a promise, not just to me but to them that I'd give it a shot." She thought, moving up to grab a bottle of shampoo and rubbing it deep into her scalp, finishing off with another dunk into the bath water.
With the soap gone from her hair, Angela finally got up and grabbed a towel, drying off as much of her body as she could before getting out. With the large towel covering most of her private areas, the black-haired mage walked out of the bathroom, going towards her bed to grab the change of clothes she had.
The outfit she would wear for the day consisted of a black sleeveless shirt with spagetti straps that were around her shoulders. Due to her large bust, the shirt stretched out quite a bit, but didn't break or rip any part of it. It reached down to her bottom half, which had a pair of dark blue low-rise leggings, which ended at the pair of adventure boots she had on her feet.
She wore one single accessory, which was a black choker with what looked like a locket on it, completing her outfit.
"Well, might as well go see what the world has to offer me," Angela muttered to herself, looking in the mirror to make sure that her clothes were okay.
With a nod of approval, the woman stepped back and walked towards her door, opening it to exit and head out. Though to her surprise, one of her fellow guild-mates was the door, giving a glare right at the black-haired woman.
The woman's name was Bisca, whose outfit consisted of a Western-style hat on her head, a light, polka-dotted neck scarf, and a pair of reddish brown boots. Her body had on a short, strapless one-piece dress decorated by spiraling motifs with darker, striped edges.
Angela was a bit surprised that someone knew about her room, making her think that Erza told everyone in the dorm. After a few seconds of silence, she decided to break the tension that surrounded the two of them.
"May I help you?" she inquired, causing the green-haired woman to scoff, looking up and down at her fellow guild-mate's body.
"Psht, no wonder the master allowed you in, he'll likely let any girl with big jugs enter," she retorted.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, I don't what kind of spell or trick you did to make him change his mind, but I'm here to tell you: I'm not gonna fall for it."
That remark made the black-haired woman glare at Bisca, beginning to feel more and more irritated by the second. Even if she did do something to make the master forgive her, who was she to tell her that she didn't belong there? Sure she made mistakes, but Angela knew that this was a chance to start over, no matter what.
"Look, I don't care what you think of me, I know where I stand in this guild, so you can knock off the big bad routine and just leave me alone."
With that last statement, Angela grabbed her purse and walked away, closing the door behind her and leaving for the exit. All Bisca could do by that point was glare, knowing that she wasn't going to let that woman off so easily, especially after everything she did to her family.
That day, everyone's opinion of Angela would change drastically, especially for those who once saw her as cruel and heartless.
Looks like Angela's got a little bit of tension going on with the rest of Fairy Tail, let's just hope she starts getting on their good side. Thank you all for reading this, I posted it a bit earlier due to needing to study the rest of this Labor Day weekend. Thanks to those who added this story to their favorites, it means the world to me how much you truly like it. Stay tuned for Chapter 29: The Labors of Trust.
