When Igneel left to visit his children again, Kyoka followed him as stealthy as a bat and took great care not to let herself be seen by her husband which in turn allowed her to finally learn the way to the secret house where the children were kept. All afternoon she kept herself cleverly hidden and spied on her husband and stepchildren. She watched as Igneel kissed the rosy cheeks of his daughter and carried his son high on his shoulders, she watched as the three of them chased each other around in a little game then stopped to rest underneath a nearby tree and listened in as Igneel spoke of his future plans for Natsu and Juvia.

He spoke of how Natsu would inherit all his land and money once he had matured, and he spoke of how he would have a fine dowry for Juvia when the time came for her to marry, but most of all he spoke of how he prayed that the two would always look after and take care of each other especially once his time on earth had faded.

"You will have each other much longer than you will have me." He told them. "For you are both young while I am old and will die before any of you two will. So always be good to each other and love one another."

"Yes Father." They replied.

Little did the family realize that the children would have to be without their father much sooner than they believed. For now Kyoka knew where they dwelt and she now knew that they would be the ones to reap what her husband had sewn. All his valuables, his land, his gold, all of it would go to Natsu and Juvia. This information made her determination to rid herself of them grow and the very next day she made her way toward the little house just two hours before Igneel made his daily visit.

In her hand she carried a basket which contained somethings that she had prepared for her stepchildren.

The first one she saw was Juvia who at the moment was bathing herself in a part of the creek where the water was very fresh and clean. She wore only an under dress and her necklace. She did not see her stepmother so she did not run or scream, she just continued to bathe herself in the cool waters. The witch then opened her basket and brought forth three ugly toads that she kissed and then cursed.

"Seat yourself upon her head, that she may become as stupid as you are." She instructed the first toad and turning to second one she said, "Place yourself on her forehead, that she may become as ugly as you are." And finally to the third toad. "Rest on her heart then she will have evil inclinations and suffer in consequence."

She put the toads into the clear water and chuckled quietly to herself before proceeding to the house. The toads swam toward Juvia who did not notice them either, not even when they placed themselves about her. The first toad sat upon her head, the second sat on her forehead, and the third sat on the part of her chest where her heart pulsed but Juvia did not transform into the vile and repulsive hag that her stepmother had hexed those toads to do. You see the necklace that she wore was enchanted to protect the wearer from all black magic and at the exact moment the toads made contact with Juvia they were instantly changed into three red poppies. Indeed, Kyoka's spells posed no threat to the innocent girl and she suffered no curse however her brother would not be as fortunate.

He had just come in from gathering firewood when he saw her standing there and he became very still with fear.

"Hello Natsu." She said in the same sickeningly sweet voice she always used.

"How did you find this place?" He asked her. "Where's my father?"

"Your father will be here soon enough." She replied. "He brought me along with him to visit you and your sister but on the way he saw a fine stag and thought that it would make a wonderful supper for us. So he sent me up head while he stayed behind to catch it."

She was a gifted liar but not gifted enough to fool the boy. He knew for a fact that his father would never willingly reveal the location of this house to her.

"I have a little present for you." She opened her basket again and presented him with a seemingly fine cape. "I thought that it would like quite handsome on you. Won't you try it on?"

"No." He answered while shaking his head. "No I think I would like to speak with my father."

He slowly made his way toward the door but she moved too quickly and before he knew it, she had him pinned to the floor and forcing the cape on to his body. He struggled to get away but she had him overpowered. The cape stung him and filled his entire body with a great pain. He tried to take it off but it had now become a part of his skin. He writhed on the floor in agony as he felt his body twist and change shape. His tanned flesh started to become red scales, his nose turned sharp, his eyes his teeth and nails grew so much longer.

His transformation was nearly complete when suddenly Juvia entered the room and when Kyoka saw that she had not been changed she halted her spell in shock. At the sight of the creature she did not recognize as her brother, Juvia let out a terrible scream and fled from the house. Natsu did just the same, both running for help and running for their lives, desperate to escape the witch.

At that moment Igneel had made it to the house and he had heard Juvia scream so he was overcome with fear and worry.

"Natsu!" He called. "Juvia!"

He searched the house, the creek, and the trees all the while calling out their names but neither one of them responded for neither one of them heard him.

"Natsu! Juvia! Where are you?! Answer me!"

But the only person who came to him was Kyoka and upon seeing her, he understood that his worst fear had been realized.

"Why hello dear husband." She smiled.

"What have you done?" He asked, his eyes still desperately scanning the area for any trace of his children.

"Me? I've done nothing." She answered as innocently as a creature such as herself could.

"Where are my children?" He asked.

"Oh are they not here?"

"I heard my daughter cry out!"

"I heard nothing. Husband are you ill? You do not look well. Let me help."

But when she brought her hand to touch him he shoved her away roughly.

"Get away from me!" He demanded. "You're a wicked woman! Oh dear God, how could I have possibly loved you?! I let you into my world and now you have taken my two most precious treasures!"

Her illusion over him had been broken. When he looked at her he no longer saw the face of his deceased first wife. He now saw her for what she really was and he would never be blinded by her charms again but that didn't necessarily mean he was safe from her.

"Yes you're upset." She said snidely. "Well I don't have any much further use for you anyway."

She opened her basket for a third time and released the last thing she had in there which was a snake.

...

Poor Juvia ran and stumbled through the forest, not once stopping until her exhaustion finally gave way. She dropped to the ground and took a moment to catch her breath. But she lost it again when she heard a blood curdling wail in the night. In not time at all her gaze found the creature who made that wail and she was very frightened of it at first for it was a fearsome beast. It's top half bore the appearance of a dragon while the bottom half resembled that of a human boy.

Truly an unusual creature and at first glance it would terrify anyone but it did Juvia no harm, in fact it behaved more afraid of her than she was of it. When it saw her coming it could not make out her appearance in the dark so it believed her to be a hunter or some other human threat. But then it caught sight of her pendent sparkling in the moonlight and was greatly relieved.

"Juvia." It spoke to her.

Now it was her turn to become still with fear. Fear and horror. That was her brother's voice but she could not believe that it came from the mouth of such a beast. That it had come from the mouth of something with scales all over it's head, face, arms, and chest. That it came from the mouth of something with talons, fangs, and a long snout. She couldn't believe it, she didn't want to believe it, but in the end she had to believe it for when she looked into the monstrosity's eyes she did not see the cold yellow the one often sees with these kinds of creatures. Instead she saw the sad and no longer playful black eyes of her little brother. Eyes that she knew no one other than him could have.

"Natsu?" When he nodded to confirm her accusation, tears welled up into her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. "Oh Dear God in heaven, Natsu what's happened to you?"

"It was that witch. She somehow found us and she turned me into this."

"Where was Father?"

"I don't know. I think she may have done something to him like what she did to me. But at least you managed to get away alright."

But she took no comfort in his words. None whatsoever.

"Oh my poor little brother." She wept. "How could she do this to you?"

"Well at least I can still talk and stand upright. It could be worse." But his attempt to make light of the situation at the time proved futile. "Oh who am I jesting? What could be worse than this? I'm a monster! Oh Juvia, what are we going to do now?"

"I don't know. Do we go home?"

"No. That witch will probably be waiting for us to come back and God only knows what she'll do to us if we return."

"Then maybe we should look for help?"

"From who? Who'd believe us? Furthermore who'd help anyone who looks like me? If we went back to the village everyone would just scream and run away in terror."

"You're right. But even so what else can we do? There must be someway to change you back."

"I don't think so. I think I may be stuck this way forever."

The poor boy bemoaned and began to cry too. Juvia stood up from where she sat, approached him carefully, and out stretched her arms to him.

"Don't." He said in protest. "My scales are sharp! They'll cut you!"

"I do not care."

She put her arms around him in a comforting embrace and to her surprise his scales were neither sharp or hard or rough. To the contrary, they were as soft as downy goose feathers.

"Go back to the village Juvia." He told her. "I can't live there anymore but you still can. I'm sure you can find a kind family that will take you in."

"And leave you here alone? Never."

"But what will people say when they see you with me?"

"They can say what they like but you're still my brother and I won't abandon you, especially now."

She pulled back from him and used the skirt of her dress to wipe away his tears.

"Let's get some sleep. We'll think of something in the morning."

With that plan made both children laid themselves down on the soft moss, offered up an evening prayer, and leaned their heads up against the stump of a tree before falling into a dead sleep.