"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

The door of my apartment rang hollow as I rapped my fist against it. I relished the sound of the knock, the patient quiet of the wood. The lock clicked, and Lucy yanked the door open. I was taken aback for a moment—the expression she wore on her face screamed of frustration, which was ironic considering Lucy had a habit of being a pretty easygoing person.

I shouldered my way past her and into the building and made my way upstairs. The house shuddered as she slammed the door with a crash, stomping up to our bedroom with leaden steps.

"What is your problem?" I asked, stepping aside she could enter the room. Lucy heaved a sigh, one with no small amount of dramatization, and traipsed to her side of the room, crashing backwards onto her mattress, her back flush to the plush sheets. I rolled my eyes and slipped my flats off, climbing on top of my bed that had only arrived the day before.

Lucy was quick to speak, "It's just, well, boys…" She paused, rolling her head over to glance at me. "Do you mind if I talk to you about it for a bit?"

I faked a scowl, "What, do I look like your therapist or something?" She frowned, and I laughed. "Be my guest, Lucy." And at my prompting, she charged, full-speed, into her spiel.

"I've never had any luck with boys. Never. They either come at me too fast or they avoid me like the plague. And the ones I like are always the ones who end up ignoring me." Lucy sighed again. "What about you? You ever have problems like this?"

"Not really," I said, shrugging. "I'm not the best person to go to about this, Lucy. All I can say is that guys are stupid, which is sexist but also true."

She frowned. "How can you tolerate having a boyfriend, then?"

I shrugged. "I should rephrase what I said. People are stupid, and I guess that some people are just less stupid than others." I hesitated, my gaze dropping to my hands, which sat twisting a frayed thread from my shorts. "Maybe that's the point of love; finding someone who's just as stupid as you and being okay with that."

"Woah, hold on a second, you've been in love before?"

"I don't know; I don't think so," I said, but I could tell the answer wasn't enough for Lucy. I glanced away and added, "I mean, there was this one guy…"

"Tell me about him!"

"Geez, okay, calm down, Luce," I said, laughing. "His name was… well, we'll call him Arthur for now, nice generic name. We were childhood friends, grew up terrorizing the world around us together—best friends for as long as I can remember. Then, one morning I woke up, and something was different. He kissed me and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. Obviously I—"

She was transparent; unmitigated shock stamped its way across her fair features. "He what?!" She blurted, and I shook my head.

"It didn't seem so strange at the time. To be honest, it seemed like we'd just always be together. Deep down I think I knew it would never happen…" I sighed, raking a stray hand through my hair.

"What happened, then?"

"We chose different paths," I deadpanned. "Simple as that. Our lives were headed in two different directions, and it forced us apart." I inhaled sharply and forced a smile, trying to clear the air. "Besides, I'm too fickle to desire a marriage. Too vain to consider growing old with a spouse. I'm too cruel to become a mother and far too inept to ever be a competent wife. I am not domesticated, and I am far too foolish and free spirited to ever become something like that."

"Surely you don't mean that, Xandria? Surely you'll find someone and fall in love?"

I met Lucy's eyes with my own, my gaze a bit more melancholic than I would've liked, and spoke again, "Let's just say, Luce, that I'm not exactly wife material. With me, things are… complicated." I trailed off, my voice on the verge of shattering, alongside my composure. And I was right, of course. I was erratic and eccentric and effervescent—a slave to my freedom, ever intoxicated by the idea of independence. I ran away from every problem and avoided that which I could not face. Maybe I'd never admit it, but it was true. On top of that was the past I'd faced and the difficulties that came with it…

Lucy's expression was soft, kind. I cleared my throat. "But that's neither here nor there," I said. "We're not here to talk about my life, we're here to talk about yours, so please-"

"Oh Xandria…" Her voice was a whisper, barely audible and almost masked by our lethargic breathing. And I swallowed.

"Things happened. They always do." My mouth closed, opened, and I released a sharp bark of laughter. "God, are you hearing this? I really am a drama queen, more than you, even."

"I'm not a drama-"

I laughed again. "Don't kid yourself," I said, and canted my head. "Now let's talk about you and this romantic interest that you're ever so frustrated with."

The change in subject was sharp and awkward, but Lucy humored me and went with it anyway. "There's nothing romantic about Natsu," she said with a laugh, mirroring my shift in mood. I smirked at her. A fake smirk, but enough to convince her otherwise.

"You and Pinkie?" I replied, my tone jesting but tired. All the same, Lucy flushed a brilliant beet red.

She went on to explain her bewildering feelings for Natsu, how, she didn't want to like him, but she was starting to think that she did. Lucy pointed out that, tragically, there was nothing going on between the two of them, and while she'd never admit it, I knew she wished that there was. Being the talented socialite that I was, I neglected at first mentioning that I didn't think Natsu had any interest in romance, or any relationship that wasn't platonic. I nodded and smiled. I laughed at all the sad jokes and right places. I said 'yeah' and 'huh' when I needed to. Occasionally I'd make an offhand comment about their compatibility, which was true. They could work; they were well suited and a wonderful match. But Natsu wasn't ready yet, and eventually I told her as much.

Somewhere along the way, I found myself swearing to Lucy that I'd do everything in my power to make her and Natsu a couple. So, the next day, I found myself chatting with a young woman named Juvia. Juvia took it upon herself to tell me everything there was to know about Natsu and Lucy, as well as her relationship with Gray. How the Juvia and Gray could ever be compatible was beyond me, but I smiled and nodded through all of it, listening to Juvia's carefully weaved (and certainly only partially truthful) stories of love and romance throughout the guild. Regrettably, the whole thing struck a bad chord with me. It was like someone had carefully dredged up every aspect of the bad relationships from my past and placed them onto a heaping platter in front of me. I tried to fight it, but the more involved I became in the lives of those around me, the more the memories began to slip into my mind.

This is why you should've left. My conscious plagued me day and night, reminding me of my rash decision to stick around Magnolia and join Fairy Tail, and I gritted my teeth and bore it. Regardless of the wisdom I employed getting myself into this situation, I was still in it, and that meant dealing with it as well as I could.

I was in the middle of clearing my mind of such troublesome thoughts, which meant reading a book from Lucy's vast collection, when I heard a scuffling noise outside of the apartment. Naturally, I had to investigate, so I rose from my bed and padded over to the window, peering out to the street below.

A young man and his cat stood at attention by the front door, and I pushed open the window. Their chatter caught my ear.

"Sergant Happy!" Natsu shouted, quickly surveying the empty street before turning to his companion. "Does everything look normal to you?"

Happy floated upward, his features comically stern. "Aye, Captain!"

I grinned and leaned out the window. "Hey Captain Natsu!" I called, and Natsu's head snapped towards me. A pair of beady eyes met mine, and my smirk deepened. "You waiting on anyone in particular?"

"Lucy."

"And why might you be waiting on her, soldier?" Perhaps he'd come to pay his Juliet a late-night visit.

"She said she thought that somebody was following her. Happy and I came to check it out." The dragon slayer explained, and I frowned, stepping away from the window.

"I'm coming down!" I called, closing it with a snap and heading towards the door. I flew down the flight of steps and arrived at the front entrance, which I unlocked and swung open with a practiced ease. A wave of balmy air hit me, the thick, almost velvet kind that characterized late summer nights.

"What'd you mean someone was following her?" I inquired, my feet hitting the cobblestone beside Natsu.

"She said that she's had this strange feeling for the past day or so; we wanted to make sure she was just being overly self-conscious." He replied, grinning. "Which she was. Right, Happy?"

"Aye Sir!"

The sudden and explicit sound of stiletto heels clicking against the stone street interrupted us, and I looked up, noticing Lucy approaching in her very loud, but equally attractive and impractical, shoes. Her face was drawn, and a troubled expression clouded her features, expelling her usual carefreeness. I frowned, and suddenly the pair of fools beside me stiffened, jerking their arm into a salute.

Natsu spoke first, "Sergeant Happy, is everything normal?" He demanded, his vision focusses somewhere along the water canal in front of us.

"Aye, Captain!" The cat chirped. "No suspicious characters around." Lucy came to a stop beside us.

"Welcome home Lucy, we made sure that no one was following you," Natsu stated, dropping his salute.

She nodded. "Thank you…" She trailed off, her voice as somber as her countenance.

"Captain! This private here lacks enthusiasm, sir!" Happy exclaimed, casting a wayward glance to Natsu, who opened his mouth to respond. I cut both off with a searing glare and sour retort.

"Can't you see that Lucy is upset?" I snapped, and the two males turned to me, looks of genuine surprise on their faces.

"Xandria, there's no need to-"

Lucy was interrupted, however, by a loud, crashing noise that echoed from the direction of the canal. Our heads turned in the direction and Happy flew over to a decrepit shack the sailors rarely used. As the cat hovered, a pale arm popped out from behind the shanty.

"Captain! I'm spotted a questionable subject, sir!"

Natsu turned a violent shade of red. "There you are!" He roared, barreling towards the noise. With a great leap over the small shed, he landed on top of the extended limb, and a cacophonous, anguished shout filled my ears. Lucy and I exchanged wary glances.

"That hurt, you idiot!"

"What are you doing, you jerk?!"

Both Lucy and I darted towards the source of the commotion, our gazes slid over the shack Natsu had scaled and landed on the man that he was pinning to the ground.

Lucy shouted, "Gray!" and I started laughing. I didn't like Gray much, not after the coldness he'd shown me the few times we'd been together, so it was almost comical to see him in the position he was in.

"So it was Gray that was following Lucy!" Happy concluded, and I felt my grin falter.

My earlier amusement faded. "What?"

"N-no, it's not-" Lucy stammered, but Gray cut her off.

"No!" He blurted. "I heard that Lucy was being followed by someone suspicious, so I couldn't just leave her alone. I came to see how she was doing."

My lips dropped into a scowl. "I don't believe you, Gray."

"Oh yeah?!"

"Going around topless is one thing, but stalking girls?" Happy continued. "Either way you look at it you're a giant per-" Happy didn't have time to finish his sentence; Gray threw his fist into Happy's jaw, sending the cat soaring a few hundred feet in the opposite direction.

"You just punched Happy?!" Natsu exclaimed.

Gray scowled at him "I ain't letting that damn cat say it. I ain't letting anyone say it."

"I ain't said anything." Natsu retorted, shifting into a defensive stance. Gray mirrored the movement.

"Shut up, you crazy flame spewer."

"Bring it on, snow princess."

I blinked, and they were on top of each other, hissing and spitting and swearing and shouting. Natsu's fist collided with Gray's jaw, and Gray kicked his leg against Natsu's shin. A few passersby slipped past, their voices a mix of derisive mutters and worried murmurs as they walked. I heard someone whisper something about contacting the authorities. An elderly woman replied that it was only, 'two drunk Fairy Tail fools back at it again'.

"What's wrong you icy bastard? Can't handle the heat?" Natsu shouted.

Gray cackled. "Let's see if you can handle this!" A spear of ice formed his fists, and he flung it at Natsu. The dragon slayer batted aside easily with his flames.

Idiots.

"Xandria what are you-" Lucy called, but Natsu's voice cut her off.

"Oh yeah, how about-"

I reached both men and shouted something—I can't remember what. I just remember Natsu turning around and Gray's fist crunching into my hip. I stumbled backwards, gasping in surprise, and Lucy screamed something out. Another blow landed on me, causing me to fall to the ground and knocking the air out of my chest. I righted myself and glowered at Natsu and Gray, who stood stock-still in shock. My vision swam in brilliant shades of red, and a hand landed firmly on Natsu's sternum, then Gray's, both who were still swiping at each other. My biceps contracted, and I shoved them forward, down, down into the brackish water. Both men crashed under, and great spates of water shot up around them. The water rippled, angry that I'd forced such creatures into her depths.

Natsu and Gray surfaced spewing bolts of water from their mouths. Natsu spoke first, "What the hell was that for?!"

"If you're going to fight go do it someplace else, not in front of my house," I shouted. "You're scaring civilians and you hit me!" I nursed my side.

"And why should we listen to you?" Natsu retorted, giving me a rather nasty glare from his spot beneath me.

I laughed, actually laughed. "I don't have time for this. Lucy, can you believe him?"

"Hey! Don't turn your back on me!" He shouted, infuriated, and I turned.

"Or what? You're going to fire some of that puny flame magic at me? Believe me Natsu, I'm not scared."

He roared and came flying out of the water, I almost stumbled backward as he came hurtling toward me, and I was both shocked and enraged as he lunged for me, fire at his fists. He swung at me, a blazing hand barely missing my jaw as I dodged.

I curled my right fist tight and brought it hard underneath his ribcage, causing him to grunt in surprise as my knuckles met the flesh of his stomach. Natsu staggered back several steps, gagging. I wiped my hand on the side of my jeans, but I felt nothing.. He choked out something; I couldn't hear it and canted my head.

"W-What was that?" He blurted, looking up as much as he could from where he stood keeled over.

"What was what?" I inquired, stooping down to his hunched level. "I only punched you, Natsu. Surely you're tough enough to handle that?" A smirk stole across my lips. "I am only a girl, after all. Isn't that what I hear you boys always going on about?"

He wheezed and stood up. "No, not-" Natsu cleared his throat. "Not that. Your magic power. I-it knocked me backwards. I could feel it, behind the force of your blow. I could feel it."

My grin froze to my face, and I took a careful step back as he continued to stare at me, something like betrayal written across his features. I hadn't used magic. I couldn't have.

"You're mistaken, Natsu," I replied, my features close and feigning as much casuality as I could muster. "I could never generate that much magic energy; you know that."

"You're lying," He stated, and before I could say anything else he bolted forward. His hand snatched mine, curling around my wrist in a vice.

I don't know who was more surprised, him or me. Judging from the look on his face, I was tempted to say that he was, but it wasn't like I could see mine. Either way, we both recoiled in shock. Me pulling my wrist to my chest and him stumbling back as if he, the Salamander of the East, had been burned.

Shit.

I spoke first, "Don't. Natsu, I-"

"What are you?"

I swallowed, my throat bobbing up and down. "I-I'm-"

You're a monster.

The voice rang in my ears, surrounding me and drowning out my surroundings.

Vile. Cruel. Filthy. Nasty. Rotten.

You're a freak, Xandria, and you're never going to be anything else.

I was suffocating. I was drowning. I shouldn't have hit him.

"Xandria?" Lucy's voice sliced through the thick night air, and I heard her loud footsteps as she approached me, her heels clicking against the stones in the ground. I glanced up, my vision blurring, and there she was, dazzling in all her glory.

I stumbled back. "Get away from me, Lucy." My voice raised an octave as I spoke. I took shallow, shaking breaths and focused on the ground. Focus on the ground. It wasn't working. My magic, it couldn't…

"What's wrong with her?" Gray shouted, but his voice was muddled. Everything was muddled. Why was it muddled? What had I done wrong?

My teeth scraped against each other, and my jaw tightened to the point that I was concerned I might've been breaking it. But the sense was dull, numb. The only thing I really felt was the swell in my stomach, the boiling in my belly. The quickly surfacing energy that I had been trying to suppress for so long. My heart pounded like a dirge in my ears, threatening to explode if I didn't so something, anything.

Lucy shouted something at me, but I didn't hear it. I couldn't. My mind was moving too fast. My brain–

I looked up, my eyes latching onto the sky above. The stars…

Someone told me to calm down, but the voice was distant—like I was hearing it through glass. I clenched my teeth and my fists so hard I thought I was going to break. Sweat dripped from my forehead, and I tried to control the flare-up; I tried. Oh gods I tried. My chest heaved in and out, swelling like the bellows of an organ as oxygen pumped from the air to my lungs to my heart, over and over, and over. Breathe in. Breathe out. In. Out. Breathe.

I tried to focus on the rhythmic pattern, but it was already too late.

The ground around me turned snow white, muddled cobblestones turning a glaring ivory. Runes scrawled across the earth, slipping from my brain and bleeding onto the ground beneath me. I hissed, but it was there; the magic circle had appeared.

My mind spun, thoughts screaming at me from the recesses of my brain. You should have expected this… You should have realized that you couldn't just bottle it up. He must have realized it; he must have expected you to self-destruct, to destroy yourself from trying so hard. He must have been waiting for me to burn out and die. That's why he let you leave. You should've known it was too good to be true. You should've known…

A sharp pain ripped through my chest, and I let out a carnal scream, the sounds cracking and twisting along with the pain that tore through my body.

You knew… You knew what would happen…

But I couldn't let them know.

You have to; you can't control it.

I knew I couldn't.

Everything was on fire. I was on fire. I was burning alive. I was dying.

I was going to die.

The world tilted, and a distant memory washed over my mind. A promise. A promise I'd made to my sister. "I need you, Alexandria. I need you to stay alive. So don't do something stupid like sacrifice yourself. Don't let any kill you. Whatever you do, don't die. I won't die either. It can be our promise. It can be our secret."

And I knew I couldn't.

A scream slipped past my lips, and I raised a quivering arm upwards. Tears slipped down my face as a column of deep purple light burst forth from my outstretched limb and tore into the night sky, my magic somehow darker than the heavens themselves—almost like my heart.

And as soon as it had started, the spell ended, cutting off my connection with the stars above. My legs moved backward, staggering. I could barely breathe; I could barely feel. My mind felt like a thick soup and my lungs worked in overdrive from the sheer lack of oxygen that filled my body.

Lucy's voice came to me through a fog, "Al-Alexandria?" I turned and there she was, standing beside Natsu and Gray, waves of apprehension rolling off the three.

To say I was ashamed would be a gross understatement.

"Please, don't mention this too anyone." I begged, a tear slipping and sliding down the alpine of my cheek. "This…," I choked, the sudden emotion becoming too much for me. "This isn't what I want to be."

Natsu took a meaningful step in my direction. "What are you going on about?" I moved back and held my hands in front of me, watching helplessly as they themselves were enveloped in white runes that melted away into an almost molten black light.

"I didn't know that I would flare up again…" I muttered, watching silently as the unstable magic around my hands faded away.

"What was that?" Gray barked, and I felt my shoulders sag.

"That was my magic…" I mumbled, and I sighed, allowing the darkness overtake me as the last of my magic energy faded away.

"Come here Alexandria."

The voice rippled through the great hall, and a young girl glanced up. She focused, away from her schoolbooks and onto the man she had become accustomed to calling her father. Still, nothing could hinder the surprised little gasp she gave upon seeing the man. Her eyes, still broad and blue and innocent, widened upon the realization that he had deigned to visit their quarters; her almost never left his grand room.

A grin plastered itself across her face. "Papa!" She rocketed from her small chair and into his legs. The man chuckled, patting her head and peering down at his daughter. He towered over her, dwarfing the scrawny little girl in every possible way, and he almost doubted his decision to take her in, seeing her small size—but only almost.

"I want to show you something." He announced, fixing her with apocryphal smile and turning away. The young girl blinked, and without a second thought, ran after the tall man.

He took her out of her room and down several winding corridors before he finally reached his destination. The elderly man came to a stop in the large library, and, without warning, the impulsive girl came running in after him, smashing headfirst into his calves. He shot her a scathing glare, but for the moment he knew he would simply have to ignore occurrences such as these. Patience wasn't the child's strong suit, and he wasn't in any mood to teach her now.

"I'm sorry, I-I wasn't looking." She stammered, giving him a sheepish look. Her father frowned.

"You have to learn to pay attention." He rumbled, and turned back around to face the library of books.

"Yes, sir. I will."

He waved his hand in dismissal and continued, "Now as to why I've brought you here." He paused, motioning to the room around them. The man was rather animated when he talked, a trait his daughter had picked up even within the short amount of time she spent with him. "Alexandria, do you know what magic is?"

"Yes," She replied her brown bob of hair bouncing up and down as she nodded.

"And have you felt magic before?" He inquired, graciously stroking his beard. "Sensed it around your sister or brothers, or even me?"

"Yes, Papa."

"Have you felt it in you?"

"I think so…"

"You should have," He stated. "You've great magic potential, Alexandria. I saw how much there was within your tiny body from the moment you were just a little tike…" He trailed off, lost in thought, and the daughter gave her father time to spend recessed in his mind. "Can you use any magic, Alexandria? Have you done anything?"

A smile stole across her features. "I can do this!" The young girl scrunched her nose and screwed up her face, and with a pronounced humming noise, managed to make a small spark appear at the end of her finger. Her father stared down. Unamused.

He took a deep breath, clasped his scarred hands together behind his back, and spoke again, "Well, as wonderful as that surely wasn't, I've decided that, starting today, I will be training you in a lost magic."

"Lost magic?" The five year old echoed, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"I am not wrong in saying that you've taken an interest in the stars, am I?" He inquired, and the young girl thought it over, the names of a few constellations coming to her mind.

"I like the worlds outside of earth." She answered. "I like to imagine that each star in the sky isn't just a star, but actually an angel poking a little hole in the sky to look down at me."

"Alexandria-"

"I know it sounds silly…" The little girl mumbled, glancing down at her feet. "It makes me happy, though."

Her father turned his back and examined the bookshelves around them. "No matter, the fact still remains that I have to teach you a form of magic, and I found something I believe would be suited to you. It's got a great deal to do with those celestial objects you seem to have such a great fixation with. But, it is a form of magic that hasn't been used in centuries due to its instability and chaotic nature. Great power comes with great risks, of course." The little girl's eyes widened, the prospect of having 'great risks' imposed upon her at such a young age seeming rather frightening. "However, it's nothing you shouldn't be able to handle, as long as you're using your magic often enough and not overexerting yourself, you should be fine."

"But-" The protest died on her tongue. It sounded interesting, but wouldn't a basic caster magic be more suited to her? Something plain, like water? Or wind, maybe. She'd always thought the wind lucky. The air could go wherever it pleased. It was so free…

Her father's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Alexandria, with this magic, you would become one of the most powerful mages in all of Fiore." He promised, a wicked grin marring his face as he thought of the future, thought of the possibilities. The little girl frowned. She did not want to be powerful, she simply wanted to be happy.

"What's it called?"

"Magicae Astral—the magic of the stars," He stated. "By using it one manipulates and pulls his or her strength directly from the cosmos. That's why it can be so unstable, if one tries channeling too much energy through their body, it could very easily kill them. Just as trying to suppress the magic could wear them down as well. We, as humans, cannot compare to stars. Perhaps we are made of it, but our bodies are not capable of storing the amount of power a stellar being can provide. That's why you have to train yourself to be able to handle the magic."

"It sounds scary." The little one breathed, her eyes wide in fear.

"You can't be scared of anything anymore. You have to toughen up, Alexandria." He grunted. "Besides, after years of training this magic will become second nature to you. You shouldn't have to worry about being consumed by it. You won't burn out."

"But every star dies, Papa." The bright little girl pointed out, earning a grumpy look from her father.

"Not until they're old and worn and grey." He stated. "And," He purred, fixing her with a sickly sweet smile, "I would neverlet you do something that might hurt you. I promise. You know how much I love you, my precious little mage. Now go, continue working on your schoolwork for the rest of the day. I'll introduce you to the basics tomorrow."

And with a quick nod she left, bouncing and twirling down the silent hallways and dancing her way back to her room in the quiet.

First came the blackness.

A thick, suffocating black. The kind that can only be achieved when one throws a blanket over himself in an already unlit room. The kind that greets you while your wait in those quiet, twilight moments between sleep and awake. The kind you see when you stare into the churning recesses of a murky lake, deep in the night, when the only light is found through the occasionally glint of the moon.

Then came the pain.

A sharp searing sensation through my left side. A painful burning in my throat. A hollow ache in my chest.

I groaned, and heard movement around me. I peeled my eyes open, and a brilliant yellow orb greeted me. My vision cleared, and Lucy's mollified face was peering down at me, her features stunned.

She launched herself forward, constricting me in a hug. "Oh thank goodness you woke up!" She exclaimed, lifting my body off of the ground and squeezing it tightly, displaying a surprisingly compassionate side I didn't know she possessed. "We didn't know what to do."

I blinked, and my voice came out raw and hoarse. "CPR would've probably been a good idea."

"Careful, Lucy, she could still be dangerous." Gray snapped from behind us, and Lucy's expression changed so quickly it made my head spin.

Her lip curled into a sneer as she turned on him, "She's my damn roommate; I think I'd know by now if she were dangerous!"

"Please, you hardly know anything about her." Gray retorted, his gaze flickering over to me before returning to Lucy again.

"Yes I do!" Lucy defended.

"Name one thing about her past." He tested, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

"I know she had a boyfriend."

"I mean something that matters." Gray quipped, causing Lucy to bolt up beside me.

"I know all sorts of things about Xandria!" Lucy continued, foam practically frothing at the corners of her mouth. "If you would just-"

"No," I interjected, a serious expression clouding my features as I looked up at her from where I sat on the ground. "No Lucy, you don't. And I'm sorry. You three probably want answers right now, answers that I'm not ready to give yet—answers I can't give you yet." I swallowed and continued. "I completely understand if you don't wish to trust me anymore. I wouldn't if I was in your situation.

"No Xandria, I still trust you." Lucy announced, leaning down towards me. "You're a member of Fairy Tail; you're family, and just because there's something you can't tell us doesn't mean that we'll care about you any less (as curious as we may be to what it is)."

My face clouded. "Lucy, don't be foolish."

"I'm not being foolish," She huffed. "I'm only trying to tell you that no one is going to go rat you out to anyone because you aren't a water mage. You haven't given us any reason to think that you're a bad person, so why would we do anything like that?"

"You're too good for your own good." I muttered, and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm only trying to see the good inside of other people." She stated, holding out her hand towards me. I reluctantly took it, and she tugged me up from the ground.

"Can't you see that there's no good inside of me then?" I deadpanned, cradling my sore side as I leaned on her. She gave me a surprised look as she took me in.

"You're wrong Xandria." Lucy said, allowing me to lean my full weight on her, grunting slightly underneath my slightly larger frame. "You are good; you just don't know it yet."

"I still don't trust her." Gray grumbled, and I shot him a glare.

"Thanks, Sunshine."

"Gray, at least give Xandria a chance." Natsu said, an uncharacteristically serious expression stamped across his boyish face. "I have to agree with Lucy on this one."

"It's not like she's hurting anyone." Lucy continued, giving Gray a hopeful look, he grunted.

"But if she does…" He trailed off, and a dark look passed over his face. My features soured.

"You'll be the first to know, considering it'll probably be you."

"Xandria!" Lucy chided, and I rolled my eyes.

"Only kidding, Luce. I won't hurt anyone. Promise."

She nodded. "Good. We won't mention this to anyone, Xandria." Lucy promised, giving me a genuinely kind-hearted look. "Whatever happened tonight, it's just between the four of us. Right guys?"

"Yeah." Natsu agreed. Gray just shrugged.

"You won't have to worry about me telling anyone." The droopy eyed boy admitted. "I'm not much of a gossip."

"Thank you," I muttered, slumping against Lucy. She grunted, trying to catch me with her rather scrawny arms.

"Natsu! Help me with her!" She ordered, and the boy came over, easily scooping my body up. I sighed in relief as I found my weight taken from me by another person.

"I just need to rest." I explained, my voice becoming strained as I felt the little strength I had recovered draining yet again.

"Take her to her bed." Lucy ordered, and immediately I felt my body being bounced up and down as he moved towards our house. I allowed my body to completely relax as he carefully opened the door, releasing any thoughts I had from my mind and focusing on the energy that still surged through me.

A/N: Yay for a super confusing and extra angsty chapter! Haha, I hope it wasn't too much for you all to take in at once. *Hint Hint* This chapter was very important to the plot of the story and what will occur in upcoming chapters.

Any ideas as to who her mystery father is? You might already have met him in the series...

As always, thank you all so much for supporting me and reviewing. It means so much to me.