Sorry this is so late, this chapter ended up super long. Also, you guys are sooooo sweet! I had several people contact me to ask if I was okay. Thanks, you guys, I love you. Enjoy this super long chapter. Next one should be normal sized.
Chapter Eighty Five - Reunion
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Laxus's face.
I was lying in the Fairy Tail infirmary (déjà vu, am I right?) and my head was turned to the side. Opening my eyes, I noticed Laxus, who was sitting in a chair next to me. He had his arms folded on the bed, and his head resting on top of them. I couldn't help but notice the dried tear tracks on his face.
It wasn't exactly comfortable, but I moved my arm back and, ever so slowly, stroked his hair.
I also tried to pull myself up into a sitting position, so I would be able to stroke his hair more easily.
As I did so, I realized how much better I felt. I still hurt, all over, and my legs still ached, but it was a lot less severe, and some of the wounds didn't feel as bad. I could feel the bandages wrapped around my torso, obviously for the whip scars on my back, and my legs were also wrapped in a type of hardened-like bandages.
"Don't strain yourself," came a soft voice, and Laxus's hands gently pulled me into a sitting position.
After that, he averted his eyes.
"You know, Laxus," I said conversationally. "I had a really weird dream that you were stupider than usual." I paused. "But near the end of the dream, it turned out that I was the stupid one." My tone softened. "I already told you we'd get through this together, Laxus."
He continued looking away, and I began to roll my eyes as I grabbed his arm and tried pulling him onto the bed.
"What are you doing?" he cried.
"I want to snuggle with you, and you're being difficult!" I complained, tugging him.
"Elle, I…I don't deserve to be your friend anymore."
"Bullshit!" I said. "If you don't get onto this bed right now, I...I will punch myself in the leg."
"What?" Laxus cried.
Shit, he won't believe that.
No choice.
"That's it!" I shouted, pulling back my arm and aiming for my leg.
He grabbed my arm. "Are you insane? You just spent the last four months imprisoned and tortured and you want to hurt yourself more?"
I glared at him. "I want you to cuddle with me. So, get in this damn bed!"
He stared at me before sighing, and very carefully, scooting me over so he could climb in next to me.
"Good!" I said, curling into him.
Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around me.
I tried my best not to flinch, or stiffen.
The odd feeling I had felt as I fell asleep in his arms was still there, but there was also the underlying fear.
Which is what led to my decision.
I was going to cause Stockholm Syndrome.
...Kinda.
Okay, so technically, Stockholm Syndrome starts off with a captor being...not nice and eventually becoming nicer. Really, they just allow basic amenities and human right privileges, but since the captive had adjusted to a not-so-nice lifestyle, it seems like special treatment and eventually makes the victim look at the captor as their savior...
Laxus...already kinda has started that (with hurting me, but also wrapping me up when Ivan hurt me)...so maybe if I just force myself to be around him and force him to take care of me, I'll eventually start to trust him again completely.
Or maybe I'm making some leaps here.
Don't care.
Doing it anyway.
"I'm not going to run away from you, Laxus," I whispered to him. "You're my best friend. And I couldn't imagine my life without you."
His arms tightened around me, and he let out a choked sound. "But…after what I did…"
"I'll admit," I said quietly. "It's…going to be a bit hard for me to recover from that…mentally and physically. But we will move past that. Both of us. But we're going to need each other's help."
I tilted my head up to look into his eyes, which were watering, and he tugged me closer to him, clutching me tightly.
"Okay," he whispered.
I smiled and curled into him tighter. I haven't had a comforting touch in months, and even though Laxus carried me yesterday, my body still hurt too much to really notice.
But this…relaxing in the arms of my friend? In the arms of Laxus?
Even though I was still scared of him, it also made me feel safe.
Despite everything, his arms felt like home.
The pounding of footsteps started building from the direction of the stairs, and Laxus helped me sit up as we looked at the door.
Within seconds, it burst open, and the kids piled into the rooms.
The first one to me was Juvia, who was ahead of the others. Laxus was already off the bed, and he grabbed her by the back of her dress and lifted her into the air, stopping everyone else in their tracks.
"No one tackles Elle. Is that understood?" he hissed.
Orga was sneaking around, and Laxus put down Juvia and grabbed Orga, throwing him up until Orga rotated so he was able to grab the boy by the ankle. "What did I just say, Orga?"
Orga huffed and crossed his arms (all the while hanging upside down). "I just wanted to say 'hi'. I wasn't going to tackle her or anything."
I smiled softly at them. "Hey guys. You can't go on my legs, but if you're careful you can still hug me."
As my eyes drifted among the kids, I realized something. "I'm going to have a lot of birthdays to make up, aren't I?"
At this, more than a few of the kids burst into tears.
"Hey guys, it's alright!" I cried, throwing out my arms. "Come here!"
Lucy got to me first this time, sobbing her eyes out. "Hey, you'll still get your usual day with me, alright?"
Her sobbing started to get incomprehensible, the only thing I was able to pick out of it was something that was probably 'Ellie-nee'.
"Lucy-san, stop hogging Onee-sama!" Juvia said from behind her.
"Hey, don't worry, you guys will all get your turns, alright?" I said. "How about, to make it fair, we go from youngest to oldest, alright?"
"Will I get a turn again?" Lucy asked, still clutching me.
"When everyone is done, if you really need one," I said softly.
The girl nodded and squeezed me tighter, before wiping her face and letting go.
"Yukino, you're first," I said to the small light-haired bluenette at Lucy's side.
Yukino made her way to the bed and Laxus picked her up, putting her on my lap in a way where she wouldn't hurt my legs.
"Hey, darling," I said, quietly brushing her hair. "How are you?"
She didn't say anything, her eyes just welled with tears and she curled up into me more, clutching at my shirt.
I wrapped my arms around her and continued stroking her hair as her sobs got louder. "There, there, Yukino. I'm here now, okay? I'm back."
She nodded, still not speaking, and still clutching me tightly.
It wasn't long before she fell asleep, and Laxus passed her back to Sorano.
Kagura came forward next, Laxus helping her into the bed safely. I think it was the fact that Laxus was so serious and so dead set on being careful that really made the situation sink in. So everyone sat on nearby beds or chairs, so they could stay close while they waited.
"Hey, how have you been?" I asked her.
She didn't say anything, nearly hugged me more. "You're not allowed to do that again, Onee-chan."
I laughed and messed with her hair. "I'll do my best, alright? But no promises."
After a while, she hugged me again, nodded, and moved away for Orga, who sprang onto the bed.
Laxus caught him mid jump and hung him upside down by his foot again. "Orga! What. Did. I. Say?"
Orga pouted. "Nii-chan! I just want to say hi to Nee-chan!"
Laxus sighed and gently put Orga down on my lap, where stuck his tongue out at Laxus before he hugged me happily. "Nee-chan!"
I giggled, ruffling his short hair. "So, you've adopted Laxus as an older brother?"
Orga nodded excitedly. "We're both Lightning Slayers!"
I have no idea how long this is going to last, with how gruff he ended up last time, but I am going to keep adorable little Orga all to myself until it's done.
I squeezed him. "Oh, you're such a cutie pie!"
He giggled and moved out of the way for Millianna, who sprung onto the bed before Laxus could stop her. Luckily, since she was part cat (maybe…), she landed gracefully on my lap and curled up, nudging her head into my stomach and purring up a storm.
"Hey, Milli!" I said, ruffling her hair, causing her purrs to get even louder. "How have you been?"
"I've been taking care of the catnip for you!" she said, nudging my hand to stroke her again as it slowed down.
"By taking care, do you mean actually watering it, or eating it all?"
She blushed. "I've been watering some of it…"
"The rest is gone, though?" I asked, laughing.
"Maybe," she pouted.
Sho came up after that, about to jump me like Millianna did before Laxus glared at him and picked him up carefully.
I couldn't help wondering if Laxus was going to pick up everyone. Not everyone there was exactly what you would call 'small'.
"Hey Sho. How are you doing?" I asked him.
He was quiet, before he glanced at Cana and blurted. "Cana's being mean to me!"
"I am not!" Cana shouted back.
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
I cleared my throat.
It did nothing.
"GUYS!" I shouted, and my voice cracked on the last note, my throat still sore.
Laxus handed me a glass of water and everyone calmed down as they waited for me.
"Sorry about that," I said, before turning to the two of them. "Sho, what is she being mean about?"
"Our magic," Sho said, pouting.
I nodded. "Listen, you need to be careful when it comes to magic. Cana has been using Card Magic since she was five – over five years now. She's more experienced then you are, so you should definitely listen to her and take what she says into account. However-" I pinned Cana with a glare, as she had started smirking as I finished my last sentence. "Cana, try and find some ways to be nicer when explaining things to Sho. Don't boss him around, or be rude to him. While his magic is the same type as yours, it's not the exact same, alright? He needs to develop spells on his own."
"Is that clear?" I asked both of them.
They looked at each other sadly before nodding. "S-sorry Cana," Sho said.
"Sorry, Sho," she said back.
I nodded. "Good, isn't that better!"
They nodded, both smiling, and Sho leaned forward to hug me before getting off.
Laxus tossed Levy onto my lap next, and she hugged me immediately, babbling away in my ear about things that happened when I was gone. Almost all of it went out the other ear, but I smiled and nodded her along anyway.
Finally, after several minutes of nonstop talking, Juvia cleared her throat, whining. "Levy-san, stop hogging Onee-sama!"
Juvia was currently being held in the air by Laxus by the back of her dress, in order to stop her from glomping me.
"Sorry Juvia-chan, Elle-chan!" Levy said, hopping off, and Laxus rolled his eyes as he lowered Juvia next, even though she was squirming the whole way down (as if that would get her down faster).
"ONEE-SAMA!" Juvia sobbed, clutching onto me, and the pitter patter of rain started clashing with the roof.
I pulled her in closer, shifting her so I was more comfortable. "Hey, Juvia, don't worry. I'm right here, sweetheart! I'm not going anywhere else, either. I don't think I'm needed anywhere until July of next year at least, alright baby? I might do some training because my magic has diminished, but other than that, I'll be fine. So, I'll be staying right here."
Still sniffling, Juvia squeezed me tighter, as if to check that I was real, and the rain went down.
"There you go," I said, stroking her hair. "It's okay, darling."
"Y-you're not al-lowed to go-ooo!" she cried, curling up into more of a ball.
"Hey, that's…fine!" I said. "We'll do a sleepover soon, how about that? We can all camp out in the training room, if you want to."
There were numerous nods around the room, and that's what finally reassured Juvia enough to get off of my lap so Brandish could take her turn.
"Nora," she said evenly, facing me.
"Brandy," I returned, meeting her gaze.
Her lip started trembling, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. "You're not allowed to do that, okay?"
I sighed and stroked her hair. "I'll do my best, Brandy, alright? You and Lucy going to stay for the party?"
"Yes," Lucy said firmly, from where she stood a few feet away.
"Good," I said, squeezing Brandish's shoulders a little.
She still wasn't full out crying, like some of the other kids have been, but I let her take a bit to compose herself before she turned back to everyone else and made room for Droy, who came up to hug me and tell me a bit on how his magic was progressing, before he was shoved aside by Cana.
"Elle-nee-chan!" she cried, hugging me.
"The 'nee-chan' is back, is it?" I asked her, smirking.
She just hugged me tighter. "I'm never too old to call you Nee-chan."
I smiled and stroked her hair. "It's alright, sweetie. Everything will be fine."
She nodded and continued hugging me, settling onto my lap. "Fine, but you're in trouble! And it took forever to find you! We were so busy searching we didn't do the Games this year!"
I blinked. "Was that Mavis's idea?"
Cana nodded. "How did you know?"
"Call it a hunch," I said, muttering to myself.
"Cana get off!" Jet complained. "I want Ellen-nee!"
Cana stuck her tongue out at him before hugging me again and hopping off.
At this point, Jet was practically vibrating where he stood, and I realized that his magic was probably getting the best of him.
Sure enough: "You're not allowed on Elle until you calm your magic down."
Jet scowled up at Laxus, but took a deep breath and managed to calm down to only a slight twitching, the same way I'll bounce my leg when I'm thinking too hard.
"Is it good now?" he complained.
Laxus nodded and picked him up, before handing him to me.
"Hey, kiddo, how are you doing?" I asked him.
He just curled up into my lap and cried.
My shirt was pretty wet right now.
"Hey, I'm right here, Jet," I whispered to him, rocking him back and forth. "Right here, alright?"
He sniffled and nodded, still gripping me tightly and crying.
I ruffled his hair, and he leaned back to look up at me. "There you go, alright sweetie?" I asked him.
He nodded and went back to hugging. "I-I'm just glad you're alright, Ellen-nee."
Sorano cleared her throat and Jet glared at her. "You have Yukino in your lap, you can't hug Ellen-nee anyway."
"Jet," I said gently. "You can't keep me all to yourself, alright?"
He pouted and squeezed me, before allowing Laxus to pull him off.
Orga, despite barely being twice as old as her, took Yukino from Sorano (as he seemed to have gotten attached to the little girl) and Sorano approached me, getting put onto my lap by Laxus.
"Promise you won't do that again," she said, her voice trembling as she looked at me. Her eyes were full of tears. "Promise."
I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Sorano, I can't. I would do anything for you kids, and if I need to do that again, then I will. But I promise I'll train harder, and try to get stronger so this doesn't happen again, alright? So I can come back to you sooner."
She bit her lip but nodded, curling up into me, and I stroked her hair for a bit before she left my lap and reclaimed Yukino.
Gray was next, and I honestly should have seen this coming from his age, but he didn't really want to climb onto the bed.
I glared at him. "I've been gone for over four months. Get your ass up here, Fullbuster."
He turned red and Lyon laughed at him as Laxus put him on my lap.
I hugged him. "I missed you."
Slowly, he started returning the hug. "Yeah, I missed you too, Elle. Next time, take someone with you, okay?"
I nodded and didn't mention how his voice cracked a bit on the last word. I let him hide his face as my shirt started to get a bit wet, trying to compose himself before he got off. When he leaned back I ruffled his hair, and he got out of the way for Lyon, who hopped up next and hugged me a bit more eagerly than his brother. "You should take me next time."
I laughed and ruffled his hair. "We'll see, sweetheart, alright?"
Some people took less time than others, because they knew they'd get to spend more time with me eventually and they also knew that other kids were closer to me and needed more reassurance. In that aspect, I was really proud of how mature some of the kids were.
Lyon grinned, before hopping off of the bed and making room for Simon, who shyly came up and hugged me. "It's been weird without you, Elle."
I smiled at him. "Well, I'm back now, so things should get back to normal now."
"Please don't do that again," he smiled, before he backed off for Erza, who hopped into my lap and tried hugging me.
I stopped her. "Erza."
She stopped, looking sad. "W…what's wrong, Aneki?"
It was the first time I heard that word, but I figured that it was probably another term for sister.
I smiled at her. "New rule. If you're going to hug someone, requip your armor."
She looked at me, confused. "I don't get it."
I laughed. "Erza, do you really want people avoiding your hugs? If you always hug someone while wearing a chest plate, you could hurt them. People won't want to hug you if they get a headache every time."
Understanding dawned and she requipped into a regular blouse, before hugging me eagerly and snuggling up.
I stroked her hair. "There you go, Erza. How have you been while I was gone?"
She beamed up at me. "I've gotten much stronger! I can beat Lyon, and I almost beat Gray the other day!"
Jeez, that's weird to think about.
But Gray has been training a lot longer (and as I mentioned awhile back, was stronger than Lyon), so it shouldn't be surprising that he's stronger than Erza.
Still, it felt weird, thinking about it.
God, Natsu is going to be so far behind.
And even now, Lucy is the strongest of them…oh, that's just awesome as hell.
"And how have your sword skills been?" I asked.
"Really good," she beamed. "Perseus keeps saying that I'm a natural!"
"That's great!" I said, as Ultear came up for her turn. She switched spots with Erza, and hugged me tightly.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
I wrapped my arms around her. "You have nothing to be sorry for. What's wrong?"
"Brain hates you so much….because of me," she whispered.
I shook my head and stroked her hair. "No, Brain hates me because I'm a pain in his ass. It's not your fault, darling, so get over it. And there's a large chance Ivan would've come for me anyway, because he needed me to power the machine. It was just a coincidence that Brain ended up giving me to him."
She squeezed me tighter, curling up, and I sighed as I patted her on the head. "I know you don't want to listen, Ultear, but it's not your fault. It's Brain's, alright? And he's not the only one who stopped me from coming back."
Slowly, after a few moments of silence, she nodded, and I felt some tension leave me.
"There we go," I whispered to her, and after a few seconds she released me.
She left and Jellal came up, nearly smothering me in his hug. "I missed you, Elle!" he whispered, tightening his hold on me. "I'm so glad you're back."
Unlike some of the other boys who acted a bit closed off or tough, Jellal threw it all to the wind and simply hugged me.
I smiled down at him and curled my arms around him. "Hey, Jellal," I said softly. "I missed you too, sweetie. How have you been?"
"It's been too quiet without you," he replied.
"Fairy Tail, quiet? Let's be real now, it's never quiet here," I said chuckling.
He laughed a bit. "I said it was too quiet, not quiet. It's still plenty loud; it is Fairy Tail after all." His smile disappeared a bit. "It just wasn't loud enough."
I squeezed his arm and ruffled his hair. "Well, I guess I'll have to make up for the time I was gone, then. Don't worry, we'll have the townsfolk at our door complaining about the noise soon enough!"
He and Laxus still didn't know they were related. I'd have to find a time to tell Makarov.
He laughed, smiling, before getting off and making room for Wally, who came close and hugged me once. "Thank you for saving my brother," he said, before backing away.
I smiled at him. "There's no way I couldn't save him, sweetie."
Freed came next and threw himself on me, sobbing anime rivers and getting everyone else wet, not just me. He was making mostly incomprehensible noises, most of which sounded like Ella-sama, but could have just as easily been something else.
"Oh, come on, Freed," I said, stroking his hair. "There's no need to cry. I'm back now, and I'll be staying, alright?"
He didn't stop crying, still clinging to me, and Evergreen sighed behind him, knowing that it would probably be awhile before she finally got her turn.
"Hey, I made it back for your special day, right?" I reminded him, and his hands on me tightened.
I let out a sharp breath of air as one of his hands hit one of the whip scars on my back, and Laxus ripped Freed off of me.
While everyone else had thrown their arms around my neck to hug me, Freed had wrapped his arms around me because of his growing size, and his hands had tightened directly on one of my fresh wounds from the previous day.
Laxus stared Freed down, his eyes glowing and sparking dangerously. "I thought I told you guys to be careful!" he hissed.
"Laxus!" I said, glaring at him and crossing my arms. "Stop bullying Freed! He didn't know!"
"What did I do?" Freed asked, hanging from Laxus's arm limply.
"You hurt her!" Laxus hissed.
"Laxus!" I shouted. "Put him down!"
Laxus glared at him and put him down, and Freed scrambled over to me and hugged me very very carefully. "I'm so sorry I hurt you, Ella-sama!"
I sighed and stroked his hair again. "It's okay, just try to be careful for the next few weeks okay?"
He nodded and backed up, finally letting Evergreen come forward to embrace me. "I missed you so much, Elle," she whispered.
I smiled down at her and hugged her back. "I missed you too, sweetheart. How have you been?"
She smiled. "I've gotten a lot stronger, and I've gotten lot better at flying, too. And while a slumber party is nice, we also need one just for the girls."
"What?" Orga whined. "No fair! I wanna come!"
Laxus sighed. "Orga, trust me, you won't want to be involved with an all-girl sleepover. But…"
He looked at all of the girls. "Elle is not having a sleepover without me until she's able to go on her own."
I smiled at him. At least he was accepting that he'd be taking care of me for awhile.
The kids all looked to me, as if judging my reaction. I shrugged. "Yeah, that's probably smart. So, we won't be able to do all-girl sleepovers for another month or two."
Evergreen (and the rest of the girls) looked disappointed, but Freed seemed to be extremely happy (though I'm not sure why) while muttering something under his breath, and hugging Juvia, who was cheered up quickly by what he said.
Nab came up and hugged me, muttering nonsense about his magic as he passed me a slip of paper, which I hid under my pillow. I smiled and hugged him for the gossip on Enno and he switched out for Sawyer, who did some hugging and some grumbling about making him leave.
I was so proud of them, for letting more emotional kids spend more time with me.
Bickslow came up next, with his three-no, four souls totting along. "Bickslow, you got another soul!"
He smiled and hugged me. "Yeah, Big Sis. This is Pupu."
"Nice ta meetcha!" Pupu yelled, spinning around. "I've heard a lot 'boutcha Miss Elle!"
I giggled. "It's nice to meet you too, Pupu. You'll have to tell me how you two met, sometime."
He's just needs Popo now, and he'll have all five.
"Hey, we want time with Elle, too!" Papa yelled, and I was suddenly swarmed by tiny souls in puppets.
"Guys, this is supposed to be my time!" Bickslow yelled at his puppets, and they finally settled down so he could hug me; which was once again awkward, considering his large size.
When we first met, he was taller than Laxus. Laxus is now taller, but Bickslow is still way larger than most of the kids here.
"Alright, someone wants to say 'hi' to you!" Bickslow said happily, and his puppets carried him off of me, revealing Erik, who met my eyes and hugged me immediately.
"You're not allowed to do that again," he said.
My face was pressed to his chest and I couldn't exactly talk back, so I projected my thoughts to him. Erik, if it comes down to it, you know what choice I'm going to make. I already explained this to Sorano.
His arms tightened around me, careful to still be wary of my back. "I don't care," he grumbled into my ear. "Macbeth and I agreed that since we're older, we'll be the ones protecting you."
I smiled into his chest. "Well, you'll have to catch up to me first. Now, how's Kinana?"
"She's still Cubellios," Erik said, pulling back. "Master said that over seven years from now, it would be irreversible, but we have enough time to research it properly right now. He thinks that something it blocking it, and he's worried that we won't be able to turn her back without side-effects if we don't do it right."
I nodded, remembering her memory loss. "Alright. So is that what you guys have been doing while I was gone? Investigating and training and research?"
He nodded and sighed, his head turning in a way that made me realize he was listening to someone's thoughts. He stepped back, before grabbing Laxus and starting to drag him outside of the room. "Sorry, Elle, got to have a quick chat! Macbeth, you're up."
I stared at the two dragon slayers that left the room, and turned to Macbeth, who was the only one left. "Hey, Macbeth."
He pulled me into his arms. "I'm supposed to protect you now, alright Dawn?"
"Dawn?" I asked.
He nodded. "You're my Imouto now, so yeah. I'm calling you Dawn. Because you brought us into a new start - a new life. You were the dawn of Fairy Tail."
I smiled at the endearment and hugged him tighter. "Alright. What do you want me to call you?"
"Huh?" he asked, stepping back.
"How about Mac-nii? Or Beth-nii?" I asked, teasingly.
"How about no '-nii'?" Macbeth replied. "Alright? We don't need the terms, Dawnie…but I wanted you to know what you are to me."
Laxus cleared his throat, having returned to the room, and Erik stepped on his foot. He glared at the younger slayer, and I turned towards the last two. "Richard?"
He hugged me. "Thank you for your sacrifice, Elle." He pulled back and made room for Erigor, who hugged me to his chest.
"Hey, Erigor," I said, smiling as I hugged him back.
"Try not to do that again, alright?" he asked.
"I'll do my best," I said.
He pulled away and Lucy jumped back at me, hugging me and crying, and she was quickly followed by Yukino, Freed and Juvia.
"What did I say?" Laxus yelled, grabbing both Lucy and Juvia and pulling them off of me. Freed was smart enough (and mature enough) to get off himself, and he brought Yukino with him.
"But I didn't get a chance!" Orga whined.
"You're not the only one," Jet muttered, crossing his arms and vibrating again.
"Are you kids done?" came a voice from the doorway, and I stiffened a bit when I realized who was standing there.
"Hi, Mavis," I said quietly, starting to lose my smile. "Yeah, we're done..."
"Elle..." her voice broke on my name and she flew forward, sobbing. "I'm SO SORRY! I didn't know it was going to be like this!"
I averted my eyes.
"Bullshit!" Laxus snapped, his aura crackling with electricity as he stepped in her path, stopping her from reaching me. "I told you what was going on, you just couldn't think of a different solution, so we had to continue with the previous plan."
"Laxus, you don't need to yell at her," I said quietly, my hands tightening on the sheets..
Mavis began to cry more, but unlike in the previous timeline, Laxus didn't give a damn. Instead, he stared the tiny girl down as she cried. "Elle...will you ever forgive me?"
Everyone was quiet at that, and I still didn't meet her eyes as I spoke. "I don't know, Mavis. I'd like to say 'yes', but I don't know if I can. Sorry."
"What are you sorry for?" Zeref asked, confused.
No one needed to say it, but I could sense the tension between the couple. From what I could guess, Zeref didn't approve of the plan, once they got more information.
I didn't want them to have trouble because of me.
"One thing..." I said quietly. "...that I always respected about Fairy Tail...was this guild's capacity for forgiveness. And I don't know if I have that ability. But...we always knew I wasn't cut from the same cloth..."
"BULLSHIT!" Cana yelled. "You're what makes this guild what it is, Elle!"
At that, the kids burst into cheers and I burst into tears, feeling overwhelmed from everyone.
"That's enough, I wanna see my Ellie-girl!" a demanding voice came, and Enno pushed everyone out of the way and run up to me, hugging me and crying. "I'm so glad you're alright!"
"You know I'm thirteen, right Enno?" I said to her, slightly amused as I wiped away my tears. "I'm not nine anymore. I think I've grown out that name."
She sniffled and combed her fingers through my hair, which was a bit knotted. Then again, I hadn't had a shower in months…"Nuh-uh, you'll always be Ellie-girl."
"She's right," Macao and Wakaba said from behind her, and they each gave me a quick hug.
This was followed by Silver and Ur, both of which hugged me tightly, and then Layla, who finally sprung on me when Jude let her go.
She sobbed and cried more than any of the kids while clutching me (except maybe Freed and Juvia, but they don't count), and I let her, simply relaxing into the embrace as she hugged me and Jude ruffled my hair.
Hugs were just amazing. After all I'd been through, these hugs seemed miraculous – they all lifted my spirits to an incredible high.
"Is Dad still not back yet?" Cana asked Silver, who shook his head.
"Where is Gildarts?" I asked.
"He went away to destroy the machine you were hooked up to," Laxus explained, sitting down next to me.
"Okay," I said, nodding, before turning to Mavis. "Why didn't you guys compete in the Grand Magic Games this year?"
"We didn't want to attract attention," Mavis said. "We were trying to lie low."
I stared at her blankly. "You do realize…you just attracted more attention like that? First, we destroyed the stadium last year, then we cancelled our annual never-before-been-canceled Fantasia Parade so we could storm the Tower, and then we didn't show up to this year's Games."
Mavis's face screwed up and she started to cry, waving her arms around. "I'm supposed to strategize from the shadows!"
I rolled my eyes. "Mavis, we're Fairy Tail; we're always in the spotlight. You're going to have to adjust."
I turned back to everyone else. "Since we've attracted so much attention by disappearing, our Fantasia Parade this year needs to be epic as fuck."
Most of the kids were nodding.
"So, I want us to start working on our stuff soon, if that's alright with everyone. We can have a lot of fun that way, and it'll turn out super awesome."
I turned to Mavis and Makarov. "Speaking of which, did anyone tell the Royal Family what happened?"
"Kinda," Layla said. "I responded that none of us would be able to attend Hisui's party, but nothing more. We didn't want to worry them."
I sighed. "They're probably thinking that I've ignored them for months! Also, I'm a Lady. That means that they can help give you resources if I go missing! You should have told them what happened."
Everyone's jaws dropped in shock, and Jude and Layla looked ashamed for not thinking of it.
I sighed again. "Can someone get me pen and paper, anyway?"
"What do you need that for?" Laxus asked.
"I'm going to write Ame a letter explaining our odd and mysterious absence," I snapped.
The kids all looked at me with puppy dog faces.
I scowled at them. "Hisui must be pretty upset. How would you feel if I just stopped visiting you guys one day? They don't even know why I couldn't visit! And it wasn't just me, we all missed her birthday party."
At that, the kids mostly looked ashamed.
"Wait, what's going on?" Macbeth asked.
"So…" Erik hesitated as I grabbed the paper and started writing out a letter. "Elle's apparently royalty…."
"Who's thinking that?" My head shot up. "I'm not royalty guys."
"She's technically nobility," Laxus said.
"Even then, it's only a technicality," Freed interrupted. "Because she wasn't born into nobility. She was given it for honor. Which makes it more important."
I folded up the letter and sealed it, before turning to look at Jet. "Jet, would you run this to the post, please?"
He nodded, grabbed the letter, and ran off.
I turned to the rest of the kids. "Why don't you kids pick out a movie? I'd like to take a bath with a few of the women, alright? I haven't been clean in a few months."
The kids nodded and scarpered, and before anyone else could do anything, Ur hefted me up and started carrying me out of the room. She was careful, and didn't hurt me, but I was surprised that she was able to carry me so easily.
She headed downstairs with Layla and Enno following her, and we picked up Maggie and Mari on the way, as they were catching up by the bar. Maxie, who had grown a lot in the past few months, was passed to her father, though she waved at me as I passed.
I was glad that she recognized me.
The six of us convened in the woman's bath, a bonus I wasn't expecting. I did suggest a few things for Makarov to make while I was traveling (back when I was still searching for the Oracion Seis) and he did tell me that it was being constructed when I came back from my birthday, but I was very happy with the progress.
The group of us all climbed into the bath, and started bathing, the other girls helping me.
It only took them a few seconds to give up on my hair.
"I'll get Lucy," Layla sighed. "We're going to need Cancer's help. Sorry, Elle."
"Yeah, I'm not that surprised," I admitted.
She got out of the tub and wrapped herself in a robe before heading out. She returned a few seconds later, and Lucy ran in after her.
"What is it, Ellie-nee?"
"Can you summon Cancer, please?" I asked softly.
She looked at me questioningly, but the nine-year-old did as I asked. She put her hand on her key, closing her eyes, and there was a ding as Cancer appeared.
I gave her a soft smile. "So, you can summon without the incantation?"
She nodded. "For some of them. But Silver Keys, definitely, and for the Gold Keys I've been contracted to for longer."
"How can I help you today, ebi?" Cancer asked, snapping his scissors.
"Can you cut my hair shorter?" I asked him.
"Why not just have him fix it?" Layla asked.
"I'd just..." I lowered my eyes, "...Rather not have all of my hair right now."
Cancer raised his hands questioningly, and I answered before he could ask. "No bangs."
He pouted but came over to my hair, cutting it shorter very quickly. He held up a mirror. "How is that, ebi?"
I bit my lip. Now it looked more like what it was before he had extended it back during X774 (when he had to fix Ultear's hair), at around shoulder length rather than rib length, but it wasn't what I wanted.
"I don't think you understand, Cancer," I said quietly. "I want it shorter. Like…a boy cut."
All of the girls (with the exception of Ur) gasped in unison, and Lucy looked like she was about to cry.
"Ellie-girl, your hair is beautiful!" Enno cried.
Lucy shook her head. "No, Ellie-nee! Your hair is too pretty to cut it all off. And if you do that, you won't match with Mommy and me anymore! It's bad enough Yukino won't grow hers out!"
I blinked at her. I knew that Lucy had a bit of a special connection to her mom through her hair (which is why she didn't want to cut it in Edolas and acted weird about Edo Lucy cutting hers), but did she really see me so much as a family that she wanted all of us to have long hair?
"Lucy," I said quietly. "Look, I promise I'll grow it out again eventually, alright? But right now, I need a change. It just…it needs to be short."
She opened her mouth to protest, but Layla said, "Lucy..." warningly. She looked over at her mother.
"If Elle wants to cut her hair short for now, let her. It's not your hair."
Lucy looked me in the eye, and slowly nodded. Though she was obviously disappointed, she accepted it easily – which is good, because if she didn't I'd probably sheer it off myself, and God knows I can't do it anywhere as well as Cancer does.
Cancer approached my head, and started snipping, before handing me a mirror.
I had never gotten it this short in my previous life – I had had a bob cut once, but it looked horrible, and I grew it out as quickly as possible.
This wasn't a bob cut, or anything like Ur's - it was a boy cut.
The sides of my head were trimmed down, and the top of my head had some hair curled over it, brushed out.
Honestly, it looked a lot better than I thought. It didn't really suit me – at all, but it made me feel better.
Safe.
"Thank you, Cancer," I told him. I would have an odd time adjusting, though. My head felt lighter, and I didn't feel locks of hair hanging over my shoulders, neck and back.
He smiled. "No problem, ebi. Would you like me to help you wash it?"
"If you don't mind," I said.
He nodded and began washing my hair (which was much easier with it's smaller length), and Lucy left the room.
A few seconds later, the stampeding of feet came, and all of the girls ran into the room.
They were also followed by Orga, until all of the girls squealed and Sorano and Brandish dragged him outside.
As they closed the door, and soon rejoined us, you could hear Orga crying out, "Nii-chan, let me go! I want to go, too!"
I sighed. Poor Laxus; Orga was going to be a handful.
"Onee-sama!" Juvia cried. "Why did you change your hair?"
"I just needed a change guys, alright?" I said quietly, averting my eyes. "I'm not comfortable with it long right now."
"It tends to happen a lot," Ur explained in the silent aftermath. "When people need a change in their lives, sometimes they'll cut their hair, or dye it. It's generally a pretty safe way to make a change."
The girls understood but continued to pout until I pointed out, "If you guys don't leave, the boys will pick out all of the movies. Who knows what they'll choose?"
At that, they just about all ran out, and Cancer had finished cleaning my hair and vanished.
We finished bathing and Ur helped me redress the bandages for the scars on my back and torso while I sat on the edge of the bathing pool.
I requipped out a dress from my storage space and quickly pulled it over my head, pulling it down completely as Ur picked me up. It would be easier for me to take care of everything if I wore dresses for now.
"Alright, let's go," I told her softly, and the group of us left the room.
The boys were waiting as we got out, no doubt looking for a glimpse at my new hairstyle.
Sure enough -
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR?!" Laxus screeched.
Next chapter Elle will tell the Dreyars about their new member.
Also guess who started a new Fairy Tail story?
Me. The answer is me.
I'd appreciate it if you all checked it out.