Kyandi: Greetings, my lovely readers, I'm back.

Rette: It's been a rough few weeks.

Kyandi: Yeah, but I'm doing good and I have another chapter for you all.

Rette: Right after she posts this chapter, she will be posting the first chapter of Nexus Mage: A Different Choice.

Kyandi: Yep. So if you want to read what would have happened if Rette didn't go to Tenrou Island, go there. If not, stay here.

Rette: But the stories will different even past the seven year time skip.

Kyandi: Right. I will continue the second time line well past the time skip. One of the things that's going to differ between the two stories, besides Rette's age, is her love interest.

Rette: So everyone enjoy and review.

Kyandi: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter 29 S-Class Exam

Over the next few days, Rette really got to know Lisanna, even going on a few jobs with her. Of course that meant her over protective, big brother had to tag along as well. While Rette generally liked Elfman, his comments about being a "real man" could really wane on her nerves. It got on both hers and Lisanna's nerves when Elfman thought every man they interacted with, was hitting on them. More Lisanna than Rette, though. It took the protective big brother thing up a notch.

Rette, though, thought it was kind of sweet.

It just showed how much Elfman cared about his little sister.

Things around the guild hall began to pick up. Something about this time of year, drove all the members of the guild, even those who usually lazed around, to start rushing off on one job after another. Rette wasn't so inclined to join the rush. After the whole Edolas trip, Rette was perfectly alright with kicking back and taking it slow and easy for a while. She had been in enough life threatening, major event, show downs lately to last her a life time and then some.

That being said, past the few missions with Lisanna and Elfman, Rette had decided to stick with her job in the guild hall for a while. Mira welcomed the help with open arms. When all the rushing around started, Rette had to admit...she was curious. But she didn't say anything. She figured, sooner or later, someone would tell her what the hell was going on. And she wasn't the only one out of the loop. Wendy, Carla, and Lucy didn't know what was going on either. Or Gajeel and Juvia, either.

Today was no different and found Rette helping Mira to clean glasses as Lucy went on about Cana showing up at her house and saying something about quitting the guild.

"...is what she said, Mira! And Cana wouldn't give me a reason!" Lucy said.

Rette looked up from the glass she was cleaning as Mira smiled. Mira handed Rette the glass she had finished cleaning and Rette put it away, along with the one she had just finished.

"It's alright, Cana always says that around this time." Mira replied.

Really? Rette couldn't imagine why Cana would want to quit the guild. Out of everyone in the sixteen to twenty-five range currently in the guild, Cana had been there the longest. Had Laxus still been apart of the guild, it would have been him and then Cana, but he was no longer a member. Given how long Cana had been in Fairy Tail, Rette couldn't imagine what could drive Cana to even mention leaving the guild. Then again, all Fairy Tail members had their demons. Cana was no different.

Rette looked up as Natsu and Happy ran by, yelling something about work. Lucy tried to say she would go with them if it was a job they were going on, but Natsu shot her down quickly. Gray went rushing by, just after him, having just come back from a job only to turn around and run out on another one. Even Elfman was fired up about taking jobs. To Rette's surprise, it seemed the whole every-man-for-himself rule was currently in effect because Shadow Gear, the team made up of Levy, Jet, and Droy, was currently broken up in favor of sole missions.

Rette had to help Mira with taking account of who was taking what jobs because so many people swamped the bar with job request in their hands. They even managed to knock Lucy out of her chair. Was there some kind of competition going on that Rette didn't know about?

Across the guild hall, Erza and Lily, who was currently in his larger, Battle Mode form, were having a sword spar and were moving so fast it was hard to keep up with them. People around them were diving for cover, trying to avoid being cut. Thyme, though, sat on a nearby table, silently cheering Lily on, not concerned about the possible threat at all. Since joining the guild, Lily seemingly had made his goal in life to make sure that when Thyme was around, she didn't get hurt. Rette was able to leave Thyme behind when she went on jobs and not feel anxious, thanks to Lily.

"That's enough." Erza called, calling a stop to their spar.

Lily reverted back to this original form with a poof. Thyme jumped down from her perch on the table and trotted over to him, giving him a smile meaning well done". Lily smiled back at her.

"The amount of time I can spend in my original body is pretty short." Lily remarked in reply to her smile.

Thyme waved one paw and shook her head, as if saying that it was good enough since he was still getting use to everything in Earth Land. Lily thanked her, getting another smile out of her.

"Still, that was excellent. Superb swordsmanship." Erza told Lily as Gajeel joined them, bragging about Lily's power.

"No, no, but this is certainly what I'd expect from the woman called Erza. This is...the S-class power of this guild." Lily said.

Thyme made a face at that. Lily looked at her in questioning.

"What is it, Thyme?" he asked.

Thyme looked across the guild hall to where Rette was currently marking job request down as being taken. Her expression was blank, but her eyes were focused, her lips slightly pinched together in concentration. Apparently paperwork was a bit of a chore for her.

"Ah! That's right. Rette doesn't care much for the whole S-class title." Erza remarked.

"She doesn't?" Lily asked.

"No. Rette's more...simple. If it's not required, she won't do it. Unnecessary things like becoming S-class, don't interest her unless there's something of importance to her, to be gained. She's perfectly content just being...normal." Erza told him.

Thyme nodded, a fond smile curving her lips. Rette was Rette. After how strange her up bringing had been, Rette was just happy to have a normal life, working a steady job, seeing the same faces again and again. If Rette was content than Thyme was content to leave her that way. Rette looked up then, catching them staring at her. They all turned away when she raised an eyebrow at them. Rette's lips pinched even further together as she watched them pretend that they hadn't been staring at her.

The people in this guild were weird.

"Somehow, though there're people rushing off to jobs. There're others who're just doing the usual. I can't make head nor tails of it." Lucy remarked.

"You'll understand when tomorrow comes." Mira told her.

Rette looked up in questioning, but Mira just smiled back at her. Rette didn't get it, but it didn't really matter to her. She went back to checking off the job requests, handing the finished list to Mira for her to file away.

"Rette."

Rette looked up when she heard Makarov call her name. The old man came trotting down the bar, a look of purpose on his face. Rette couldn't help wondering if she had done something to land her in trouble, but she couldn't think of anything. Unlike Natsu and Erza, who seemed to destroy everything when they went on jobs, Rette was extra careful not to. So it couldn't be that. Makarov stopped a few feet from her.

"I need you to come with me." he told her.

Oh, she was in trouble.

She didn't know what she had done, but she was in trouble. That had to be the only reason he would call her away from the view of the others. For some odd reason, the mere thought that Makarov could very well be mad at her...made her feel about as large as a grain of sand. Mira came up to her side and gave her smile, laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder. With a push, Mira pushed Rette after Makarov. The funeral march song started playing in Rette's head as she was pushed after Makarov and shut inside the back office with him and Mira. Makarov jumped up onto the desk and took a seat, facing Rette.

"You're not in trouble, Rette, so you can stop looking so solemn." he told her, a grin on his face.

"You never call me into the office like this, so you'll have to forgive me if I thought for a moment that I was going to be in trouble." Rette replied, sounding a tiny bit sour.

"Have you done anything to warrant you being in trouble?" Makarov questioned.

"Not to my knowledge, which was why I was concerned." Rette said.

"Well, rest assure, you are not in trouble. I called you in here to talk to about an upcoming event in the Fairy Tail guild." Makarov told her.

Mira waved Rette into a chair. Rette took the seat, even though she still felt a little iffy and would have preferred to remain standing.

"Does this have anything to do with the recent increase of job requests being taken?" Rette asked.

"Actually, yes, it does." Mira answered.

"Rette, every year, around this time, we have S-class exams." Makarov told her.

"S-class exams?" Rette repeated.

"Yes. I choose a small group of candidates to take part and those who pass, become S-class mages. I understand you have no interest in being S-class." Makarov said.

"No, not really, Master." Rette replied.

"I thought so. That is why I have something to ask of you." Makarov told her.

Rette tilted her head to the side in questioning. What could he possibly need from her? She was one of the newest members of the guild. There wasn't much she could do for him that Mira, Erza, or a more experienced member of the guild couldn't do.

"Rette, with the upcoming exams, all current S-class mages in Fairy Tail will be helping. That means Gildartz, Mira, and Erza will be with me, helping to give the exams. While that is taking place, I will need the assistance of someone I know can handle the job. What I need from you is to either stay here in the guild hall and run the guild hall as Mira does, or to come with us during the trails and provide support for Gildartz, Mira, Erza, and I. The exams will be held on Tenrou Island, the holy land of our guild, and we will need someone to run our base camp while Mira and Erza are acting as examiners." Makarov explained.

Oh...so he just needed her help. Rette felt what tension had gathered in her body, release in relief. It didn't sound like too hard of a job, either way she went. While she didn't mind staying in the guild hall and keeping things in order, Laki and Kinana could do that. Rette had heard so many stories about Tenrou Island, had read about it in the books in the Fairy Tail archives. She wanted to see it, wanted to see the island where the grave of Fairy Tail's first master, lay.

"If it's alright, Master, I'm intrigued to see Tenrou Island and would be happy to help there in any way I can." Rette told him.

Makarov nodded, pleased with the answer. It would encourage Rette to learn more about Fairy Tail and to come a little closer to her guild mates. Something Makarov was convinced that Rette still needed.

"But you are aware that means Thyme will be with me, right Master?" Rette asked

"I figured as much. You two are hard to separate these days." Makarov remarked.

"You believe so? I think it's quite the opposite though. Thyme has her own...interests lately." Rette remarked, a tiny grin curling one corner of her mouth.

Makarov gave Mira a questioning look but Mira just laughed lowly to herself. By interest, Rette meant Lily. Thyme was almost constantly with him. It was funny, since Lily and Thyme were almost always with each other, that Rette and Gajeel hadn't ended up on a job together.

Makarov thanked Rette for her agreement and told her that she, like Mira, Gildartz, and Erza, would have to leave for the island early, so she needed to get ready. He gave her some papers to look over that were basically a layout of what she would have to do on the island and told her to go ahead and head home to start preparing. Rette nodded and returned to the bar. Lucy looked up at her as Rette grabbed her bag from under the bar. She had a couple of things she needed to get done before she would have to report to Tenrou Island.

"So were you in trouble?" Lucy asked.

"No. The Master wanted to ask something of me and now I have errands I need to run. I'll see you later, Lucy." Rette told her.

Lucy waved to her as Rette rounded the counter. She called to Thyme, who turned to her. Thyme waved a farewell to Erza, Lily, and Gajeel and hurried over to Rette. The two had their heads together, a silent conversation already flying between them as Rette left the guild hall.

"I wonder what they're up to." Erza remarked.

"Who knows. Rette's a strange one and so is her cat." Gajeel replied gruffly.

Whatever it was, when Rette had walked out of the guild hall, there had been an excited gleam to her eyes.

If only she had known what her choice would have gotten her.

-0-0-0-0-

The next day, pretty much everyone in the guild gathered in the guild hall, curtains separating the stage from the rest of the room. Most of the members of the guild were excited, though a few, the more recent members of the guild, were curious. Makarov, Mira, Erza, and even Rette were no where to be seen. Then the curtains parted, revealing Makarov on the stage, Mira to his left with Gildartz behind her and Erza to his right, with Rette behind her. Both Mira and Rette had clipboards in their hands. Cheers rose and Makarov had to clear his throat to be heard.

"Since long ago, this has been Fairy Tail's custom. And now, the announcement of the participants in the S-class Mage Promotion trial." Makarov called, cheers sounding from those watching. "The venue for this year's trial is Tenrou Island, the holy ground of our guild. Strength...heart...soul...I've been watching for each of these things this past year. There will be eight participants."

Rette stepped forward, handing a list to Makarov. The old man nodded to her and she stepped back to her spot.

"Natsu Dragneel." Makarov called.

"Alright!" Natsu cheered.

"Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockster, Elfman, Cana Alberona, Freed Justine, Levy Macgarden, Mest Gryder." Makarov listed off.

Several cheers went up. The loudest of which was Jet and Droy cheering for Levy. Rette blinked slowly. Mest...she didn't think she had ever encountered him, but he was there in her memory. It must have been that she had simply not talked to him much.

"This time, only one will be selected to pass from among them. Get into your best condition within one week's time." Makarov announced.

Muttering passed through the crowd. A week, when it came to training, wasn't much of a notice, but Rette was sure they could do well with what time they had.

"There are some newbies here, so I'll explain the rules." Makarov called.

"Within a preliminary period of one week, you eight are to select one partner." Mira announced.

"There are two rules to partner selection. First they must be a member of Fairy Tail. Second, they cannot be an S-class mage." Erza added.

"Which means Erza, Mirajane, and Gildartz can't be chosen." Lily mused.

"Then I can have Rette. She's a real man!" Elfman called.

"Sorry, but you can't. I'm not an option either." Rette replied.

"Why not?" Gray asked, curious.

"Rette will be assisting us on the island." Makarov said.

"Not to mention, that with her kind of magic, it would be like having two people for one partner." Mira added.

"I'm still only one person and still far weaker than an S-class mage, Mira." Rette told her.

Mira just smiled back. Rette was modest. If she would just train a little harder and would fight with all of her magic at her disposal, then she would be stronger than she currently was. She might even be a match for Gray and Natsu if she did.

"The point of the discussion at hand, is that I cannot be chosen as a partner. End of story." Rette said in a tone of finality.

Rette actually looked relieved at the fact. It was almost as if she didn't want to be picked to begin with. Knowing Rette and her opinion on the whole becoming S-class, no one doubted that that was indeed the case.

"The details of the exam will be revealed after arrival to Tenrou Island, but this time, Erza will attempt to block you all from proceeding." Makarov announced, much to the horror of the others listening.

"I'll also be a troublemaker this time." Mira added cheerfully.

"Don't look at me...I'm just making traps." Rette said.

Neither of which really made any of those competing feel better about it. Rette was known for making traps that were...less than pleasant to people's rear ends. The last time anyone in the guild had accidentally been caught it in one, it had been Gray and he had spent the rest of the day picking crystal shards out of his backside and the back of his thighs.

"Y-you mean no one will become an S-rank unless they can defeat Erza and Mira and get past Rette's traps!?" Lucy asked.

"Well...I'm sure they won't go completely all-out." one person remarked.

"You understand now that this is hard, right?" Warren said to Lucy.

"Enough whining. This is a path that all S-rank mages have gone down." Gildartz piped in.

"Gildartz is taking part too!?" Natsu asked, a huge grin on his face while everyone else around him groaned in dismay.

"Rette, I better not end up with slivers of crystals stuck in me again!" Gray told Rette.

"I make no promises. This is the one time I acutally have permission to make your lives hell." Rette remarked idly.

Rette, on a normal day, was a little trying to handle. Rette on a day when she had permission to make their lives hell...that was truly scary. She could, and would, go above and beyond her call of duty.

"It'll be a good chance for me to practice the enchantments I've been having Freed teach me." Rette added.

All eyes of the other candidates turned to Freed in sharp glares. Freed held up his hands sheepishly. When he had agreed to teach Rette's enchantments, he hadn't known she would be recruited to help with the S-class exams. If he had known, he wouldn't have agreed to teach her. Maybe it was because of her natural inclination to learning magic, or the amount of magic books she read, but Rette had picked up on enchantments pretty fast.

"The chosen eight will take their partners with them and gather at Hargeon port one week from now. That is all!" Makarov announced.

After handling a few last minute issues with Mira, and agreeing that she would meet Erza and Mira at Hargeon in two days, she joined Natsu and the others at their table. Lisanna scooted over to make room for her, smiling at her as Rette sat down. Rette sat down the clipboard she was still carrying and starting drawing on a piece of blank paper. Lisanna leaned over to see what Rette was drawing. It was a small design, like a crest, that features both dragon and fairy wings sprouting from an eight pointed star.

"What are you drawing, Rette?" Lisanna asked, drawing the others' attention to Rette.

Rette showed them the mark she had been drawing. Everyone leaned in to get a look at the mark. On paper, it was about the same size as their guild marks.

"Pretty. What is it?" Lucy asked.

"My mark." Rette replied.

This earned her confused looks. Rette turned the clipboard back around and continued to fiddle with the design, adding shading and tiny details.

"Just like the guild has it's emblem, I have my own mark, to mark anything, or anyone, I deem important to me. A star to represent my birth mother who adored the stars, dragon wings because, no matter how much I dislike it, dragons are apart of my life, and fairy wings to represent my home." Rette explained.

The others smiled at the last part.

"You said to mark anyone?" Gray asked.

"Yes...you've all already been marked." Rette replied.

Everyone started searching their bodies for the mark, not finding anything on the skin they could easily search. Rette shook her head at them. It was a little amusing how they instantly started looking, but she had made sure not to leave a visible sign of the mark.

"You won't see it. It's kind of like...an enchantment." Rette told them.

With a wave of her hand, the mark she had just been drawing, appeared as a pale outline on random parts of their bodies, almost exactly opposite of their guild marks. For example, where Lucy's guild mark was on her right hand, Rette's mark was on her left hand or where Natsu's guild mark was on his right shoulder, Rette's mark was on his left. So on and so forth. One even burned to life on Rette's chest, right over her heart and next to her guild mark.

"Wait...when did you do this!?" Elfman asked, shocked.

"It's been a while. I told you all once before...I don't like others messing with what I deem mine. This is kind of like an extra security measure. It's not going to effect you in anyway, I swear." Rette told them.

Basically, it was Rette's way of saying that she cared about all of them and didn't want to risk losing any of them. Lisanna was surprised to find one already placed on her too.

"You've already marked me?" Lisanna asked.

"I did that when I took your hands the first night you were back."

Lisanna turned to look at Rette as she idly shaded a dragon wing. She hadn't even noticed that Rette had done it. Rette glanced at her and, as if reading Lisanna's mind, she shrugged.

"I didn't expect you to notice. Erza, Mira, Gildartz, even Master didn't notice when I laid the mark on them. If anything, if master noticed, he wouldn't be pleased with the placing." Rette said.

"Why? Where'd you put it?" Gray asked.

Rette turned towards where Makarov sat on the bar, drinking from a wooden mug. She waved her fingers and her mark, briefly glowed to life...on the very top of his bald crown. Those sitting at the table, fought not to laugh out loud. How Makarov had not noticed Rette placing a mark on his head, was beyond them.

"I designed this to be a very subtle magic. It won't mess with you or your magic. If anything, I can use it to restore a little of your magic energy in a fight. As long as I have some myself, that is. You're cut off during the exam though." Rette told them.

This raised laughs from the others. Lisanna hugged Rette and, to the others' surprise, Rette let her. Even when Lisanna remarked on how considerate Rette was, Rette just took the affection, showing that she had already fully accepted Lisanna as a sister.

"Looks like this year is gonna be pretty tough as well, though." Gray remarked.

"I'm surprised you all are first-time challengers." Lucy said in surprised.

"I'm burning now! I'm definitely gonna become an S-class!" Natsu cheered, flying to his feet and slamming his hands down on the table top.

"Natsu...sit down." Rette told him, kicking his ankles together so he dropped heavily to sit on his bench.

Natsu shot her a glare, but Rette wasn't paying him the least bit of attention. Elfman was having himself a freak out about the whole exam thing.

"Oh yeah, has everyone chosen a partner already?" Lucy asked.

"I'm definitely going with Happy." Natsu said instantly.

Not that Rette really expected anything else from him. He and Happy were just about inseparable as Rette and Thyme, or Wendy and Carla. The two had always been partners and would always be partners until the day one, if not both, of them died. They might even decide to haunt the guild together after that.

"Happy? That's not fair! If the exam turns out to be a race, he can fly, so it'll be no contest!" Elfman said.

"What's the big deal?" Lisanna asked.

"I don't mind. You'll be in trouble when it comes to fighting." Gray remarked.

"Don't be mean, Gray!" Happy complained.

"Well, he has a point. No offense, Happy, but you don't exactly have much battle prowess. Not that Natsu really needs a battle savy partner." Rette remarked.

Happy wasn't sure if he should take was she said as a compliment or an insult. With Rette, it was hard to tell. So he didn't know if he should take offense at what she said or not.

"I'm gonna make Natsu an S-rank mage no matter what!" Happy declared.

"I know you guys are my allies, but this is one thing I can't back down on!" Natsu told them, before declaring it was training time.

He and Happy took off, the others watching him as he stormed out of the guild hall. Rette leaned back on her bench to watch him.

"Since when has Natsu ever backed down on anything?" Rette asked.

It was a question that none of the others could answer. Natsu was so stubborn that he never backed down on anything. It all had to be his way or no way. Rette hadn't imagined this would be any different from any other day of the week.

"In only the two years I've been gone, Natsu's come all the way to taking part in the S-rank exam. Natsu thinks he'll be able to meet Igneel if he becomes an S-rank mage. He's got twice the passion of a normal person in regards to the exam." Lisanna said.

Rette continued to stare after Natsu before getting to her feet suddenly, scooping her clipboard up off the table. Lisanna looked up at her, wondering if it was something she had said.

"I don't know why he's so heated up about dragons. It's a waste of time." Rette said lowly before walking off.

"Was it something I did?" Lisanna asked, looking at the others.

"Rette, like Natsu, was raised by dragons." Gray told her.

"Her life before them hadn't been the best and she already had a few issues. When they vanished, leaving her all alone, she took it really hard." Lucy added.

"Oh...I didn't know. So that's what she meant when she said they were apart of her life whether she liked it or not." Lisanna said.

"Rette doesn't really like to talk about them, or the fact that she's a Dragon Slayer. She hates to use the magic even more." Gray told her. "So don't worry about it. She'll forget dragons were mentioned and be back to herself soon enough."

Lisanna nodded, though she continued to stare at Rette's back as she joined Mira, taking up some work behind the bar.

"Um...Juvia wants to forfeit the exam." Juvia said in a gloomy voice.

"Eh!? Why?" Wendy asked.

"Because...I want to be...'s partner..." Juvia said lowly where they couldn't hear half of what she said.

"What?" Gray asked.

"Because...um...Juvia wants to..."

Juvia just couldn't get it out past her embarrassment. Her cheeks turned a light shade of red as she fought with herself to say it.

"She wants to become your partner." Lucy told Gray with a grin.

"I knew it! So you are after him, Lucy!" Juvia accused when she saw Lucy tug on Gray's collar.

"No I'm not!" Lucy protested.

"Sorry, but I've already decided on my partner." Gray asked.

"Long time no see, everyone."

Everyone looked up as Loki appeared at Gray's shoulder. Gray grinned at the sight of the spirit.

"Loki!?" Elfman said in surprise.

"We made a promise last year." Gray said.

"Sorry Lucy, but I'll have to cancel our agreement during the exam. You don't need to worry, I've created a gate using my own magic. So I won't need to use yours." Loki told Lucy.

"Just how selfish a spirit are you?" Lucy asked.

"But how will you pass for a member of the guild?" Elfman asked.

With a grin on his face, Loki slid his jacket off his shoulders, removed his tie, and unbuttoned his shirt. He turned as he let his shirt fall to hang from his elbows, showing them the Fairy Tail emblem still on his back between this shoulder blades.

"I'm still a Fairy Tail mage. On the pride of the guild, I will make Gray an S-class mage." Loki said.

"I'm counting on you." Gray told him.

"Leave it to me." Loki replied.

Just then, Loki stumbled forwards as someone planted a foot in his backside. When he staggered into the table and turned, there stood Rette with a tray of drinks in her hands. With her free hand, she grabbed his ear, tugging on it to pull him down to her height.

"Put your shirt back on. Spirit or not, one person randomly striping in this guild hall is enough." Rette told him, givin his ear a hard tug before releasing it.

"Yes ma'am." Loki said quickly.

Since the first day he had met Rette, he had figured out pretty quickly that it was best not to argue with her on such a small matter. Rette walked around the table, setting the drinks down.

"Lucy, you need to have a serious talk with some of your spirit friends. Their quirks are strange. And if I say that, you know it has to be true." Rette told Lucy.

"Got it." Lucy said, looking away from Rette as she scratched at one cheek.

"I'll team up with Juvia!" Lisanna offered as Rette sat a drink in front of her.

"Are you serious, Lisanna!?" Elfman asked.

"I was good friends with Juvia in Edolas. And this Juvia...she's kinda cute." Lisanna said.

Though Juvia seemed a little suspicious on whether Lisanna was really trying to be friends or just wanted Gray, she agreed to having Lisanna as her partner.

"Hold on, Lisanna! Who will be my partner, then!?" Elfman asked.

"Oh? But there's someone who's been giving you a heated stare for a while now." Lisanna remarked.

"I'm surprise you haven't felt her eyes burning a hole into your back." Rette agreed.

Rette and Lisanna gestured towards the bar when Elfman gave them a questioning look. When he turned around, he found Evergreen staring at him from where she sat at the bar. A shiver went up Elfman's back when he saw her staring at him.

"It seems that she's miffed at Freed choosing Bixlow as his partner." Lisanna told Elfman.

"Heated...it looks more like the kind of stare that will turn you into stone!" Elfman complained.

"Gee...I wonder why." Rette said as she picked up her tray to return to the bar.

Across the room, Jet and Droy were celebrating that their beloved Levy had been chosen. But their celebration quickly turned into an argument on which one of them would be her partner in the exam. In the end Gajeel offered to be her partner. When all she could say in reply was that she would probably lose quickly because she was small and not really a fighting type mage, Gajeel grabbed her by the collar of her dress and easily picked her up off her feet.

Rette, who had been walking by, stopped long enough to look at him.

"Gajeel...that is not how you pick up girls."

Levy slapped her hands to her face in embarrassment while Gajeel stared after Rette in confusion. He didn't get it. Levy did and it embarrassed her to no end. Rette finished up her work in the guild hall, called a good night to Mira and Lisanna, before grabbing her coat. As the snow had begun to fall outside, she had started using the coat Laxus had left with her. It was so big on her that she was perfectly warm, wrapped up in it. To her surprise, when she had pulled it out of the trunk she had put it in, she had found that it still smelled like Laxus too.

With the coat wrapped firmly around her, Rette headed home, Thyme snuggled into the coat with her. Rette looked up at the sky as she walked, watching snow drift down from the night sky above.

"Isn't it beautiful, Thyme?" Rette asked.

Thyme sighed her agreement, her tail curling in joy. When Rette had lived with Tundron and Chrysalis, they had lived in a place where it was always so cold that there was always ice all over the place. Mostly that had been because, as an ice dragon, Tundron couldn't stand the heat. Rette had hated the cold, but she had lived with it because she had thought she had two creatures who had loved her, despite all of the screwed up sides of her. Despite the cold of the area though, Rette didn't really remember it ever snowing in the five years she had lived there.

After leaving that area, even after gaining Thyme as a friend and traveling companion, she had never really traveled in an area where it snowed. To see it now...Rette could see why people would actually live in cold areas. The snow was wonderfully beautiful. It also gave Rette and Thyme an excuse to light a fire in their fireplace and curl up together on the sofa in a big, fluffy blanket. Something the both of them loved to do.

Rette didn't know then, how much she would come to miss the snow in the up coming days, or the peace it brought.

-0-0-0-0-

The next couple of days found Rette getting things ready for her trip to Tenrou Island. Thyme rushed around with her, getting ready. They met up with Erza and Mira in Hargeon, ahead of those who were going to take the exam. Gildartz joined them on their trip to Tenrou Island. He was happy to get to know two of the newest members of the guild, though Rette spent most of the ride draped over a table from a mix of her motion sickness and the heat they encountered the closer they came to Tenrou Island.

"I'm not usually one to complain about heat, but...isn't it suppose to be winter?" Rette asked.

"Out here, around Tenrou Island, it's like this all year around." Erza told her.

"Glad to know...I will never consider having my honeymoon out in these parts if I ever get married." Rette retorted.

"I'm sure that's just your stomach talking. The heat can't be helping your motion sickness any." Mira told her, rubbing her back.

Like Erza and Mira, Rette had changed into a bikini, but even in the scant amount of clothes, she was still sweaty. Gildartz just grinned at her from where he sat in a chair across the table.

"So Rette, you aren't from Magnolia, right?" Gildartz asked.

"Nope." Rette replied.

"Then where are you from?" he asked.

"I haven't the slightest idea."

When Rette replied instantly that way, Gildartz looked at her in questioning. Rette looked up, seeing the look on his face. She heaved a sigh.

"I guess I can say this since it's only the three of you here..." Rette said as she started pulling one of her gloves off.

Rette never took her gloves off. Every time they saw Rette she always had her hands covered. Whether that was by gloves or bandages, depended on when they saw her.

"Have you ever heard of the Banesbloud Clan?" Rette asked.

All three turned wide eyes on her, their expressions all instantly going serious. Rette had figured that would be the case. The clan was one that turned out more dark mages in the name of Zeref than anywhere else in the world. It was a clan that fiddled with all dark arts and didn't care how many lives it cost them to achieve their goals.

"I'll take that as a yes." Rette replied.

"Of course we have. I don't know of a single person who has never heard of them." Erza remarked.

"They were the largest gathering of dark mages, in existence up until the last couple of decades. The original creator of the clan was the right hand man of the dark mage, Zeref, himself." Gildartz said.

"Lachlan Banesbloud...one of the biggest, baddest, and most twisted dark mages to walk the earth. I'll hear the screams that were caused under the orders he set up for the clan, every time I close my eyes. He would even sacrifice his own flesh and blood if Zeref asked him." Rette said.

"Exactly. It's a bad group of mages you shouldn't talk about so lightly." Gildartz told her.

"Yeah well...imagine what it would be like being property of that clan." Rette said.

She pulled the glove off her hand, showing them where someone had burned a very vivid "BC" brand into the back of her hand. Inside the loop of the "c" was the symbol of the clan which was a tear drop with a rose blooming in the center. A seamless, crystal band, that shifted from one color to the next, wrapped around her wrist. The three stared at Rette's hand as she yanked the glove back on.

"Rette-"

"Everyone already knows that my biological father was a dark mage. What I never told anyone was that he was a supporter of Zeref. He ran a place called The Compound, which raised, tortured, and twisted children into dark mages. All in the name of Zeref. The Compound was a branch of the Banesbloud Clan. For the first five years of my life, I lived in the cold darkness of a labyrinth of metal hallways, deep beneath the earth. When I finally escaped, I didn't bother to stop and figure out exactly where I had emerged from the ground. I wanted as far away from that place as I could get. So...I ran. And I never looked back. Still haven't." Rette said, cutting Mira off.

Rette dropped her chin on one of her arms, draping the other over her head as she stared off to the side. She had forgotten about the heat for the time being. At the memories of her past, a chill had filled her body, chasing away the heat.

"The anniversary of that day is coming up. It brings back nightmares of that place, as vivid as if I was still a child trapped there. It's why I'm grateful for the distraction the exam will give me." Rette said idly.

"Rette...why didn't you tell us sooner?" Erza asked.

"And have you look at me exactly how you're looking at me now?" Rette asked, her eyes snapping to Erza's face.

Erza jolted in surprise. She, Gildartz, and Mira all three had looks of surprise and horror on their faces. Rette pushed herself back, leaning back in her chair.

"Everyone who finds out always looks at me with one of two looks...pity or disgust. I don't need either. And I certainly did want to be a disappointment to the guild or remind you, Erza, of unpleasant things from your past." Rette said.

"Rette...we aren't disgusted and don't pity you. We certainly don't think you're a disappointment. And while our past are similar, I would never hold it against you." Erza told her.

"It's just...it hurts to think you had to go through that. That your own father put you through that." Mira told her.

"Yeah well..." Rette rubbed at the hand she had shown them, as if the brand hidden under the glove was aching. "Everyone has their demons. Mine were just more...life-like than most."

Silence met her words. For a moment Rette continued to stare off to the side but then she heaved a sigh, cracked her neck and turned to look at them again.

"My point is, after that hell, I was in such a hurry to get away from the place, that I have no idea where it was located, so I have no idea where I'm from. Not that it matters. Magnolia, no Fairy Tail, is my home now." Rette said.

That put a smile on the three S-class mages' faces. Rette, no matter her background, was a part of their family. She didn't always act like she wanted to be around them, and she had her...quirks, just as any member of the guild did, but she was still their friend.

That being said...all three of them knew that there were still several pieces of Rette's background that she wasn't telling them.

END

Kyandi: Volia! There's another chapter.

Rette: And now she is going to go post the new story line for this story.

Kyandi: Starting now, for every chapter I post of Nexus Mage, I will be posting a chapter of Nexus Mage: A Different Choice.

Rette: That way, those who want to read one story line over the other, will have a new chapter at the same time as those who want to read the opposite story line.

Kyandi: I'm actually a little excited for this, because I think I'm the only person who has done this. If I'm not, then please correct me. I don't want to take away from someone else's work.

Rette: If not, then you aren't as original as you thought you were.

Kyandi: You're just trying to make me depressed, aren't you?

Rette: You could tell? And here I thought I was being subtle.

Kyandi:...

Rette: Dragon got your tongue?

Kyandi:...Everyone please enjoy and review.

Rette: Huh, looks like she's learned not to talk back.

Kyandi: Line!

Rette: Oh, alright. We'll be back as soon as possible.

Kyandi: Bye-bye!