Summary: She once believed that like her magic, her heart was made of ice. That no matter what she did, she could never unthaw it. A chance encounter with a blonde-haired girl leads her on a adventure she never dreamed possible. From joining a crazy guild, to rekindling an old friendship, and a second chance at romance; for the first time, in a long time, she believes her heart can be thawed.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy. The only thing I own are my characters, and my characters alone.

Cover Art: Rebecca0105 on DeviantArt


Chapter Four: The Boy They Once Knew

Erza Scarlet, when people hear this name they panic, and scream. Titania, Queen of The Fairies; Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard. They say she's a monster, a demon straight out of hell. Almost everyone in Fairy Tail feared her, and respected her at the same time; a truly, terrifying woman.

Noelle had heard many tales of the famous Erza Scarlet before, though she believed them to be over-hyped and exaggerated. Noelle had no idea that she would soon find out just how terrifying the armored wizard could be.

It all started when Loke, another member of Fairy Tail who liked to chat up the ladies, burst through the guild doors with a fear stricken face, saying that Erza on her way. Noelle thought nothing of it; that was until the guild went into hysterics. Noelle, Lucy, and Mirajane were the only one's who weren't freaking out.

Just as Noelle thought the guild was going to riot; a tall, imposing woman with long, flowing scarlet hair strode through the doors, with a very large horn of that once belonged to a monster effortlessly thrown over her shoulder. Everything was silent. All that could be heard was the sound of the redheads heavy boots as she marched to the center of the guildhall and set down her prize with a large thump.

"I have returned." The woman named Erza said. "Where is Master Makarov?"

"Wow, she's pretty." Lucy whispered. Noelle nodded in agreement.

Marlow who was sitting in Noelle's lap nearly choked on the fish he was eating. His eyes widened to the sight of saucers. He looked around the normally rowdy guild with an open mouth. They were all scared of her - one woman?! Marlow's eyes sparkled as he clutched the meatless fish to his chest.

"Wow." He whispered. "She's so cool! Noelle, why can't you be that cool?! Instead your just a useless, unstable bag of emotions!" The cat grumbled bitterly, fantasizing about what it would be like to battle alongside the redhead.

Noelle's eye twitched. "Yeah, I love you too, Marlow." She said, ignoring his coy smirk.

"Welcome back Erza." Mirajane smiled. Did nothing unnerve her? "The Master is at a conference right now."

"I see." She nodded.

"So um.. what's that thing you got there?" A member asked, referring to the giant monsters horn at her side.

"It's the horn of a monster I defeated. The locals were so thankful to me they decorated it and gave it to me as a souvenir. Do you have a problem with it?" She snapped at him. Her brown eyes narrowed in a glare.

"N-No! Not at all!"

Marlow's tail excitedly swished back and forth, and his heart picked up speed. "She's so cool!" he giggled like an excited child.

Noelle sweat dropped.

"She's not anything like I imagined." Lucy said.

"She's living up to the reputation she's been given, that's for sure." Noelle frowned.

"Now listen up!" Erza spoke to the guild. "While I was one the road I heard a few things. The word is, Fairy Tail is causing nothing but trouble as of late. Master Makarov may not care, but I most certainly do.

She looked around the guild for her first victim, brown eyes landing on Cana.

"Cana!" She yelled nearly causing the brunette to choke on her alcohol. "You need to start controlling your drinking."

She then started to scold the other members of the guild.

"Vijeeter, please take the dancing outside."

"Wakaba! Get rid of that filthy habit."

"Nab, I suspected I would find you dawdling in front of the request board, just pick a job!"

"Macao!" She eyed the wizard and paused her speech. Macao even begged her to say something which made her sigh. "I don't even know where to begin with you. You cause so much trouble I've almost given up."

Noelle frowned. The things she was scolding them about seemed more than excessive. She realized the Cana drinks a lot, yes; but they didn't know what problems she had going on in her life. Perhaps her drinking was a coping mechanism? And aside from a little drunken flirting, and all the unnecessary groping she does(Noelle found out the hard way, quite literally. Cana isn't very gentle.), she's not hurting anyone.

Vijeeter's dancing was harmless and many members of the guild enjoyed watching him dance. As for Wakaba; didn't his magic involve smoke? And she didn't know much about Macao but he seemed like a nice enough guy. She knew of his son Romeo, and that he was divorced; that couldn't be easy on on a person. A single father, trying to raise his son, and struggling with guild work is well probably took a toll on him.

"She's really tearing into everyone." Lucy whispered to Mirajane and Noelle. "It's like she's taking over."

"That's Erza for you!" Happy chipped in.

"Her attitude could use some work, but who are we to judge someone we don't know?" Noelle said, folding her arms over her chest.

"She's perfect!" Marlow whispered. "The ultimate fighting machine!"

Again, her eyebrow twitched, and the tiniest ping of jealousy poked at her gut. "Yeah, yeah, you love her. We get it, shut up already."

Marlow glared at Noelle.

Erza had moved onto her next targets after scolding the others. "Are Natsu and Gray here?" She asked as she looked around for them.

Gray? Noelle's interest peaked. What would she want with him?

"Aye!" Happy pointed them out.

Noelle almost couldn't believe her eyes as she watched Gray and Natsu drape their arms around each other, and lock their hands in an awkard handshake. To anyone who wasn't part of the guild it would seem like they were the best of friends, but it was actually quite the opposite, in fact the only reason the two were acting so chummily towards one another is because they're both deathly afraid of Erza.

Noelle covered here loud, unladylike giggle behind her hands; smiling innocently when they both threw a glare at her.

Under Erza's watchful eye they both replace their glares with smiles.

"O-Oh h-e-ey there Erza!" Gray smiled nervously. "We're just hanging out like good friends tend to do!"

"A-aye!" Natsu stuttered.

"Why is Natsu talking like happy!?" Lucy asked almost fearfully. Noelle found the situation comical.

Erza smirked. "That's great. I'm quite pleased to see the two of you getting along so well. However, it's only natural for the best of friends to lock horns every now and again."

Sweat dribbled down Gray's neck and his smiled faltered a bit. "I don't know if we're the best of friends.."

"Aye.." Natsu replied.

"What's gotten into Natsu?" she asked Mirajane. Lucy couldn't believe the way Natsu was acting!

"He's scared." she said with a smile. "A few years ago, he challenged Erza to a fight, and she beat him up pretty bad."

"I bet she beat them both into oblivion!" Marlow's eyes glazed over with stars and a goofy smile painted his face.

Noelle sighed and shook her head. It seemed Marlow had a new idol, not that she cared..

Lucy scoffed. "That's a stupid thing to do."

"After that she found Gray walking around naked and decided to beat him up too."

Noelle laughed, thinking back to a time when Gray had stripped down in public while they were out shopping. Ur was ready to strangle him by the time they got home. She smiled softly. She really missed those times.

"Let's not forget she beat up Loke for trying to hit on her." Cana smirked. "He totally deserved it though."

Lucy seemed to agree, having been hit on constantly by the wizard. "Can't say I blame her." Noelle too would have done the same thing in Erza's position.

Erza began to speak one more. "Natsu, Gray, I need you to do me a favor." She says, shocking the wizards. "While traveling, I overheard something that has me worried. Normally I would consult with the Master before acting; but he's not here, and this is a matter of utmost urgency."

She placed her hands on her hips and approached the two of them.

"The two of you are the strongest wizards here and I could really use your help." her words brought shock to the members. Was is really odd for her to ask for help? "We'll meet at the train station tomorrow morning."

Mirajane gasped. "Erza, Gray, and Natsu working together? I never would have seen that one coming. This could be... the most powerful team Fairy Tail has ever seen!"

Noelle was a little shocked by this news. Was Gray really that strong that he was considered one of Fairy Tail's best?

Just how much had he improved in the years they were apart?


Noelle was sitting off to herself. She had a slice of cake, and her usual shake, and was looking through a pile of job requests that no one had shown interest in. She had yet to go on a job, and was seeking one that was mildly easy, but paid well. So far she hadn't come across anything that suited her agenda. Lucy, on the other hand, was going on job after job, usually accompanied by Natsu and Happy, and today Marlow. They had offered Noelle to come along, but she declined. She didn't think going on a job with those four would be very...profitable, as something was most likely to get destroyed.

Noelle sighed pushing the requests away. Nothing. Maybe she was being too picky, or maybe, deep down, she knew she wasn't quite ready yet; to take that plunge, and go back out there. She knew she liked Fairy Tail - or at least she wanted to - but she wasn't ready for all of this again. There were just too many risks. Especially with...

Noelle slammed her fist down on the table as her hair shadowed her face. Do not think about it. Do not give him the satisfaction. This is what he wants, he wants you to suffer. Relax, it's going to be fine. You're going to be fine. No matter how many times she tried to convince herself; she knew she wouldn't be.

"Hello, you're knew here, aren't you?"

Noelle perked up as the feminine voice entered her hearing. She looked up, surprised to be face to face with Erza of all people. If Marlow were here with her, he would have fainted. Noelle, out of respect, and just a smidgen of fear; sat up a little straighter, and smiled.

"Yeah, my friend Lucy and I joined not too long ago."

"I see." Erza said and took the seat across from Noelle. She eyed her piece of strawberry cake and without even asking, she slid it towards herself and stuck the fork that had been balanced on it into the fattest, reddest strawberry on top of the whip cream dollop.

Noelle blinked. Sure, help yourself. It's not like I wanted to eat that...or anything.

Erza stuck the fork in her mouth and smile, real kid like, and incredibly cutely - something Noelle didn't know possible for a woman of her stature. Erza pulled the fork out of her mouth with 'plop', and rested it against the place.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Erza Scarlet." She smiled, and reached her hand out.

Noelle relaxed a bit and placed her hand in Erza's. "It's nice to meet you as well, Erza. My name is Noelle, Noelle Yuletide." Noelle said, smiling herself.

Erza's grip tightened and her eyes widened. Noelle's eyes widened and she flinched. The anxious feeling she had grown used to bubbled in her stomach as her hands started to sweat. Did...did she say something wrong? Noelle's heart was beating fast as she looked from their locked hands to Erza's wide, emotional eyes. Noelle didn't know if what she was seeing was shock, pity, anger, sadness, or all three. But she knew that she didn't like that look.

"E-Erza?" Noelle said in a small voice. "You're hurting my hand."

"You look just like him."

The world around Noelle slowed down. Her eyes widened, her heart picked up pace, and her stomach twisted into knots. "W-what?" she meekly whispered. "What did you just say?"

"I-I'm sorry. I just remembered something. I have to go. My apologies." Erza said bowing. She then quickly left the guild, but Noelle wasn't about to let her get away and quickly gave chase after her.


"Erza, please wait!" Noelle cried. She had been chasing Erza down for over twenty minutes. Erza seemed very determined to get away from her; but Noelle was even more determined to get answers. Finally, the redhead seemed to cave, and reluctantly stopped and allowed Noelle to catch up to her; there a haunting look to her eyes, and sadness that Noelle knew all to well.

"If you really want to talk, then let's do it in private." Erza said, quickly putting her guard back up.

"Yeah, sure. We can go back to my Lucy and I's apartment." Noelle said, and lead the way there.


"Here, I made some fresh lemonade this morning before going to the guild. Unfortunately, I don't have any cake to offer. Lucy has a bit of a sweet tooth, so they don't last long."

Noelle and Erza were sitting down at the table placed in the center of the room. She had poured Erza a glass of lemonade, and told the redhead to make herself comfortable. Noelle had a strong feeling this conversation would be anything but comfortable.

"Thank you." Erza said as she took the glass. She was refusing to make eye contact, but Noelle didn't mind. She was already uncomfortable - even in her own home. "What is it you would like to know?"

Noelle breath in and out, and folded her hands in her lap. "Back at the guild...you said I remind you of someone. You said I looked just like him...what did you mean by that?" Noelle asked, tightening, and tightening her fists.

There was only one person in the world who looked like Noelle(other than Mirajane similar features), and that was Noelle's older brother, Nicholai. Noelle and her brother had been very close before the invasion separated them; it's been years since she last seen him, and she misses him so much. There isn't a day that goes by where she doesn't think of her big brother. She often wonders how he's doing, and if he's okay...and if he misses her as much as she misses him.

Noelle could already feel the tears prickling in her eyes; Erza hadn't even spoke yet.

Erza felt pity for Noelle. She knew without a doubt that the boy she was referring to had to be Noelle's brother; they looked almost exactly alike, and shared the same last name. And Nicholai was always telling her about his younger sister he had, he had said her name was Noelle, and that he was looking forward to seeing her again. But that was many years ago, and Erza didn't even know if he was still alive or not. She didn't know the fate of any of her friends...

Erza sighed and bobbed her head. "I knew Nicholai very well." she spoke somberly. "He was a very close friend of mine."

Noelle's heart clenched painfully. "You knew Nicholai?" She rasped. "W-where is he?! Where's my brother?!" Noelle shouted. "Tell me, Erza! Where is Nicholai? I-I I've spent so many years looking for him. They took him away from me...but I haven't stopped searching for him!" Noelle felt joy tear at her heart hearing that it was her brother that Erza knew. But her expression, if what made her heart sink into her chest.

Erza's heart broke seeing the tears flood down Noelle's face. How was she supposed to tell her? How was she supposed to tell her that her brother had lived his life as a slave? That he had been a subject of torment and abuse, and that she didn't even know if he was alive or not. How could she look the little sister of her dear friend in the eye and tell her he was ok...when she didn't even know that herself?

But somehow, somehow she did. She told her everything she knew. And she held her. She held her as she cried, and blamed herself, and cursed the day he was taken from her. She held onto her and listened to her cry, and cried with her; she too missed Nicholai, the boy who looked after her like a younger sister. The boy who always pushed through the darkness with his optimism. The boy, who used to talk so lovingly of his little sister, and how he longed to see her again.

Erza stayed with Noelle until Lucy came home, where the blonde took over with comforting her friend, as her Erza went to her own home and cried her sorrows away.

She too wished to see him again.


End Note: Man, things just keep getting worse and worse for Noelle, don't they? How many of you thought I was going to scrap Nicholai? I couldn't do that. He's been a part of every rewrite, and he's as precious to me as Noelle is. But Nicholai has been through a lot, and his story is very different this time around. Yes, he was taken prisoner and forced to work on the Tower of Heaven. Yes, he was friends with Erza and Jellal, and the others. Will Noelle find him at the Tower of Heaven when the times comes? Well, we'll just have to see, won't we?

Will Nicholai be paired with Erza? No. They are just really close. I have someone else I'll be pairing Nicholai with, but I won't tell you who. Well, unless you like the thought of them paired together. But that's something you'll have to tell me, because I can go either way; as I love Jerza.

Do you not like reading about characters having real emotions and feelings?! Well then, this story is not for you! Because it has a lot - like a shit ton.

It's an all around feels trip here, kiddies.

I would also like to point out that chapters are going to be a bit shorter, to medium ranged. It will usually be the Arcs that have the longer chapters. This way, I can get more out, and I'm not over-stressing myself.