Chapter 8: Family Reunion

Beth followed the voice, a little put out that her training got interrupted, but too curious to care much. She came to a dock on the tree line that opened to the ocean. She could see the town in the distance. Hiding behind the trees, she spied on the people at the dock.

"Hurry up you lousy specimen," a guy in a long black coat and hat said, his face blank and tone bland as he oversaw a group of slaves that were loading large crates onto a large boat, about 20 meters (21.8 yards) long, 15 meters (16.4 yards) wide, and 3 meters (3.3 yards) tall. There were no windows and the boat seemed to be powered by magic energy. It was made out of metal, and had a door on the side with a plank running to the dock. The slaves were clearly tired, and the man supervising them just stood and stared. Beth looked for a better spot to observe the situation, and climbed the tree she was hiding behind. Traveling through the branches as silent as the wind, she stopped perched close to the trunk of another tree. Touching the tree with her hands, another rush of power went through her. She closed her eyes and opened them a second later, excited to see what this tree did to help her and continue training.

"We leave in a half hour. The crates must be on before then," the man said again as he turned so that Beth could see his face. She stifled a gasp, covering her mouth with her hand. The face before her was pale with short brown hair and green eyes. He had a medium sized nose and a round face, and wore a band of something around his head, made out of what looked like a kind of metal, but Beth couldn't figure out what kind. The band had a black gem in the center shaped like a hexagon. But she recognized the face.

"Uncle Ken," she breathed. I didn't know he was alive. Or captured, Beth thought. I doubt he's part of this willingly. The band must be the key. She waited as the sun set for him to turn his back, but he never did. Eventually, she had to make a move as they were about to leave.

"Forest Dragon's Reaching Vine," she breathed as a vine grew from her hands, one lifting the hat and the other grabbing the band. Her uncle didn't feel it immediately, and only realized what was happening after she had both in her hands. She jumped down from the branch she was on and walked towards her uncle. The slaves by the door to the ship watched her. Her uncle blinked and looked around. His face settled in disbelief when he saw her.

"Beth," he breathed. "Is that really you?"

She smiled and ran the rest of the distance, dropping the hat and band, and the two shared a tight embrace, reunited after the attack nine years ago. "It's really me," she said quietly. They stayed like that for another few minutes, both reluctant to let go. Beth turned to the slaves. "You're all free now. If you all like, I can lead you to town and you all can return home." She waited as the slaves came out of the boat, all beaming and some were crying, for they had been enslaved for a very long time, longer than Beth's uncle. "I have one more thing to take care of before we go back," she announced. "Everyone, please move to the tree line and stay clear of the boat." The freed slaves followed her instructions.

"Beth what are you doing?" Ken asked as Beth got into a relaxed but ready stance.

"Getting rid of the ship," she said nonchalantly. "Forest Dragon's Pumpkin Canon!" A pumpkin formed in her hands and she launched it. It zoomed forward with the sound of a dragon's roar and struck the boat, sending it out into deeper water and sinking it. She looked pleased with her work as her uncle stared at her.

"We have a lot to catch up on." With that, Beth and Ken went back to the group of slaves, and lead them to town.

—

"So you ran away from Servant slavers, met a Forest dragon, learned Dragon Slayer Magic, and joined a guild?" Ken asked as he and Beth strolled through the woods. They had led the freed slaves to town, Beth ran to the guild to check the job board, but found nothing of interest (The others did ask what the roaring was, but Beth said she'd tell them later) while her uncle bought a newspaper to check up on the latest news that he missed. During that time Beth had also told Ken her story of what happened to her the last nine years. It had taken an hour.

"That's it in a nutshell. I found two new trees, but I only tested out the sequoia. Not the other one. Which reminds me, do you have any magic?" She looked at her uncle, an inquiring look on her face. He smiled at her, reading her thoughts.

"I only have Sleep Magic. They made me learn it when I was captured. I can help you practice dodging attacks, but that's about all I can do." He smiled at Beth apologetically.

"I don't mind that practice. I'm sure it'll come in handy sometime. Give me all you've got." She took a stance and waited for her uncle to make a move. Her smiled and made a fist with his hand. He took a swipe at Beth, who dodged it easily. "Is it alright if I-"

"Go ahead. That's what this is for." Ken uncurled his fist and blew over it, sending a shower of sparkling dust at Beth. She stepped out of the way nonchalantly, the dust didn't move that fast. She dashed at Ken.

"Forest Dragon's Leaf Swords!" She skirted another bit of dust. But when she got in too close, Ken sprayed the dust around him in a circle, and Beth got caught in it. She dropped to the ground, her blades disappearing. Ken walked over to her as a beam of sunlight hit her flower. Cracking her eyes open slightly, she knocked her uncle's feet out from under him and caught him. She laughed, releasing him.

"How did that wear off so quickly?" he asked as Beth helped him up.

"The sun. Forest Dragon Slayer," she said pointing to her flower. Ken's face lit up in realization.

"You did tell me about that." He looked at the sky, now turning pink and orange as the sun set. "Well how about some food? And maybe camp?"

"There are these fruit trees nearby," she said as she led her uncle to the grove, euphoria staying with her the entire night.

Hey she has family with her! Not everyone she ever knew before joining Fairy Tail is dead! (Now that I think about it, that's a recurring theme in fanfics and canon characters. Huh) Have a good weekend everyone! Go get 'em tigers!

-ThinMintE