A/N: Welcome to chapter 2! A few notes, this will not be a battle heavy story. Partly, I'm no good at writing it, but also because I aim to focus on the relationships between the guild members. Of course, that means some battles, but they will mostly be to progress relationships. Rosalie will also not be on an active quest to obtain more keys. I love that Lucy was such a powerful mage with 10 of the Zodiac keys, but Rosalie sees her spirits as more useful in terms of training and remaining close to her mother. She might know some more that would be even more key in battle! ;)

Rosalie made her way slowly to Strawberry Street*, having no troubles finding her way around, but wanting to take in all the new sights . I didn't think it would come back to me so easily, she mused. She waved to the river men, paddling slowly down the crawling river she and her friends used to jump in on hot summer days.

Before she knew it, she arrived at the little house she would soon live in. She was renting the upstairs loft from an old lady who needed the extra income, so rent was much cheaper than the traditional homes in town. Approaching the front door, she knocked.

The door swung open to reveal a tiny, squat woman who glanced her up and down. "You Rosalie?" She asked, her expression set in a permanent frown.

"Yes ma'am, you must be Yuma. I'm Rosalie Estraun. Thank you so much for renting to me," she bowed at her introduction.

Yuma's expression did not change. Maybe she always looks mad… Rosalie grew more nervous as Yuma stared at her.

Finally Yuma spoke. "Alright you look decent enough. Guess I should have figured that if you paid a security deposit and three months up front. Here's your keys," she handed her a small key ring and pointed around the building, "you have a separate entrance 'round back. Just up the stairs. Your things came yesterday so I put it all up there. Killed my knees so you're welcome!" She huffed. "Since you paid that much rent already, I'll expect your next payment of the 60,000 jewels monthly on the 1st of August. Now get goin', I got plans!"

"Thank you very much Yuma-san, I will be sure to get you the money on time. Now please excuse me, I want to freshen up and settle into my new home," she said politely as possible. Yuma's attitude shocked her, but she did remember there was a certain eccentricity to Magnolia residents.

I'm sure we'll get along fine. Just pay her on time and be polite, Rosalie thought to herself. And man is she tiny! I thought I was small at 5'2", but I had at least 4 inches on her, so she's only 4'10" at most...maybe that's why she's so grumpy.

Rosalie made her way up the stairs, excitement growing at last. After 6 years of living in conditions comparable to a slum, she was ecstatic to have her own place. Unlocking the door, she opened it to reveal her new apartment.

In the entrance way was the area for shoes, with a sliding door closet to the left for coats. Straight back, she could see her bed, covered in her other boxes, nestled under a large bay window letting in plenty of light. To the left of her bed was a door that she assumed was to her bathroom. As she walked in, there was an arch to her right that signaled the kitchen and a small kitchenette. Rounding the corner of the kitchen was a couch and table to finish the apartment. A clock on the far right wall showed that it was nearing 3:30 pm. The overall size of her new home was small, but it didn't matter to Rosalie. It was hers, so it was perfect.

Sighing in relief, she dropped her bags onto the couch and rifled through them to find her shower supplies. I'll take a quick shower, and then I'll unpack.

A quick shower turned into a long relaxing bath that eased her nerves. Getting out and drying off, she realized it was already 5 pm, so she quickly unpacked her sparse kitchen supplies, before realizing she had no food to cook. Shit, she thought, I'll have to go buy something then, but I would much rather eat in…

A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. Before she could move, it flew open and hit the wall loudly, revealing Yuma carrying a tray of food.

"Don't worry, I won't just walk in like that whenever I want," Yuma laughed at Rosalie's shocked expression, "I just figured you's would be hungry after your trip. I never heard you leave so I figured you had no food, so here's some onigiri and sandwiches to hold you over. Just clean the plate and bring it back when you're done," a slight smile came onto Yuma's face.

"Oh thank you Yuma-San! This was very kind of you. I let the time get away from me so I had no time to go food shopping," Rosalie bowed deeply to show her gratitude and took the plate from Yuma's hands. I knew she had to be sweet after all, letting me live here for so cheap. Maybe I was wrong about her.

"Tch, you kids and your lollygagging! Anyways, I'll leave ya be to eat and unpack. Welcome to Magnolia!" Yuma grumped and left, slamming the door behind her.

That's more like it.

Sitting at her kitchen table, she took some of the food onto a new plate and began to eat, realizing she was much hungrier than she realized. After eating half of the food she was brought, she got up to put away the leftovers. Breakfast for tomorrow and then...lunch at the guild.

Thinking of Fairy Tail made Rosalie anxious. She prayed her old friends were still there. She shook her head at such a thought. The idea of any of them actually leaving was too far fetched . She knew the ways of the guild, the members are your family and you are always welcome back with open arms. But considering how Walter Estraun left, she couldn't help but worry that her family name would not be welcome, even if she left the offender behind.

As she got ready for bed, her mind wandered to her last days at Fairy Tail. Walter had grown more and more hostile and aggressive as he resorted to drinking. Drinking was encouraged in the guild, but his excess turned into malicious use of his Mind Magic. Making the women think they want to sleep with him, the men think they want to give him money. The weakness to this Magic was that if you were to anticipate it, it wouldn't work. This saved Rosalie from many of his darker forms, but it still stung knowing he tried to make his daughter believe she killed her mother and was a waste of magical energy, even after all he did to make her powerful.

Eventually, the guild master had to put a stop to Walter in order to preserve the integrity and bonds of the guild. "Walter," Makarov Dreyer stated firmly, "you must stop this. I know you are in pain, for I too know what it is like to lose a wife. But that does not excuse how you've treated your nakama. You must agree to stop this and better yourself, or you must leave."

Drunk, Walter yelled, "I'm doing nothing wrong Master. -hicc- I always thought this magic was useless, but now I know it's power! I'll gladly leave, and take Rosalie with me!" His words slurred, and Makarov's face fell, feeling his attempt to control his mind to let him stay with no consequences. This was expected, but still saddened the tiny old man.

"If that iis what you wish, son. We will always welcome you and precious Rosalie back with open arms if you find it within yourself to use your magic for good. But now I must ask you to go. You have until tomorrow evening," Makarov said sadly.

"We leave now! ROSALIE!" Walter yelled out to the guildhall, alerting everyone to him.

She looked up from my table where she sat with her two closest friends, Cana and Gray, nervously glancing at the other children. "Yes Papa?"

"Say goodbye to your precious friends," his words dropped disgust. "We're leaving NOW. and never coming back."

I froze. Leaving? Never coming back? What about all my friends? Gray?

I heard a voice to my side. "She's not going anywhere!" I look over to Gray, his shirt missing, glaring at my father.

"Gray, we cannot stop this, try as we might. We must have faith that our nakama will return to us in the future," Makarov appeared, calming the young teen down. I hadn't noticed he was in his Ice Make stance.

"But—"

"I know. I do not want them to leave either," Makarov looked down to me kindly. "But we will meet again. For now," he turned to address the entire guild, "we will have our usual send off party! Celebrate having the Estrauns in our family!" And with that, the booze started flowing even more. Even Walter could not resist, although he did not let his daughter say goodbye long enough. He eventually dragged her away from Gray, and with that, they were gone.

Rosalie suddenly opened her eyes, not realizing she had just dreamed the entirety of her last day at the guild. When did I even get in bed? What time is it even? Glancing at the wall clock, it was 11 am; the trip had been long and her emotions had been high, leaning her exhausted. Shit, I wanted to get to the guild early to be there when it got crowded, so I wouldn't cause a huge scene walking in.

She quickly got up and began to get dressed. Out of a box she grabbed a pair of dark denim shorts, a simple deep cut teal tank top, and her lucky bracelet. Brushing her waist length hair and attaching both her house keys and Celestial keys to her waist, she was ready to seize the day. She ran out of her house, shoes barely on, before she had a chance to think twice.

*I can't remember if the street Lucy lived on actually had a name, but I've seen other authors refer to it as Strawberry Street and I think it's cute so it's what I always think of it as.