Sorry about the wait for this update, or an update on Alpha Keys. Work has been crazy and I have been busy getting ready for CoLu week, which is 11 days away - crazy! I'm focusing on CoLu week and will have one more chapter up before the 17th on When Lightning Strike and Alpha Keys. I'm super pumped about the storyline I have for my CoLu week story, but I am also working on my next chapter outlines for my other two stories.

Hope you enjoy this new chapter and thanks for your continued support!

It'd be an entire week since they had brought Lucy back to the Pradesh estate, and while Arman had never met the celestial mage in person, he knew that she was important. He could feel the amount of magic the girl held, granted she wasn't physically strong she did have deep magic reservoirs that he was sure would rival Kaleb's. Most people thought of holder magic, especially celestial magic, as a defensive magic only that wasn't good if the mage wasn't strong. Arman's views were different than most though. He had seen first hand how a celestial mage could turn their magic into an offensive power that was destructive in untrained hands. Arman shook his head to clear his mind of that depressing thought and changed the flowers in her room as he had been doing every other day.

Cristoff had been by every morning and night to check up on Lucy, but her mind was still trying to sort through everything that she'd been through. When Kaleb had told Arman what had been transpiring in her dreams he had accidentally shattered several glasses with his high pitched sound waves that had escaped the tight grasp he had on his magic. He had dispatched spies to see if could find out what the Warqueen of Joya, Sydelle, would want with a celestial mage and knew whatever it was didn't bode well for the poor girl. For now she was safe and he would see to helping her recover in whatever capacity he could, but had Vander keeping an eye on her from the shadows.

None of her former guild mates could tell him much about her past, stating that they never hung out in the same circles of people. Everyone was surprised to find her without her team, especially Natsu. Laxus had talked to Erza and they had all just assumed that Lucy was with Natsu and she was the one that was keeping his magic under the radar because no one had heard a single thing about the two of them. Erza told Laxus that Juvia was with Gray in Iceberg, but didn't explain further about what they were doing there just that they were safe. Arman was quite curious about the former Heartfilia heiress and what had brought her to Fairy Tail, but all of his questions would have to wait until she awoke.

Arman sat beside the young woman on her bed and was holding her hand as he watched her smile in her sleep. Her blonde locks shined in the sunlight and her fair skin seemed to glow under it's warmth. He squeezed her hand to let him know someone was with her and she tightened her hand around his in response. Her chest started to rise and fall more frequently, signaling that she might be waking soon. Her eyes fluttered a couple of times before they fully opened and sat up in the bed taking in the room before landing on him and widening slightly.

"Good day Lucy. My name is Arman and I am the father to some of the mages that rescued you. Do you remember much?" Arman asked in a quiet and calm voice as not to startle he. She used her spare hand to rub the sleep out of her eyes while the other was securely placed in his hand still. Lucy went to speak but found her voice to be stratchy and rubbed her throat. Arman handed her a glass of water that he poured with his free hand from the jug that was set on the night stand for when she woke. She greedily downed the first two cups before blushing and looking away in embarrassment.

"What do you remember my dear?" The stranger's voice was oddly calm to the celestial mage and she couldn't figure out why it made her feel safe.

"I remember everything up until I was brought here. I was ripped from that awful dream and I remember seeing two of Bix's babies, but that's about it." Lucy frowned at not being able to remember anything else.

"Several of the White Sea guild mages, plus Laxus and the Thunder Legion, had heard from Cobra about your whereabouts and went to investigate and . . ."

"Is Cobra alright? White Sea guild, does that mean I'm in Bosco? Where are the . . ."

"Breathe Lucy," chuckled Arman. "Cobra is just fine and is around the complex. I can send him up after you have eaten and showered if you like." Lucy smiled and nodded her head. "Yes you are in Bosco now and your former guild mates have all joined my son, Kaleb's, guild. Cobra hasn't said anything about joining yet, but I think he's waiting to see what your plans are."

"I . . . I don't know." Tears gathered in Lucy's eyes but she tried to hold them off and not show her emotions to this kind stranger. "I left the konzern after my father demanded I marry some ugly old man to further out company name, then he died and joined my mom while I was sleeping for seven years, and the most recent place I had called home has been disbanded and I was left all alone." Lucy didn't mean to start spilling her feelings to Arman, but once she started she couldn't seem to stop and the small circles he was rubbing on her back were encouraging her to keep going.

"Let it all out child. No one here will judge you."

"I tried to find everyone, but it was no use. I set out to train with my spirits instead. I need to be stronger so that I don't lose another person I care about. Tartaros seemed to take so much from so many people, but losing her was more than I could bare. I needed my team! I NEEDED NATSU!" Arman scooped her into his arms and let her cry on his shoulder. His heart ached for the heartbroken woman in his arms and he was even more curious about who she had lost in the battle.

"TINK!" Cobra yelled while charging into the room. He had heard her yelling, could feel her despair and needed to investigate what was wrong. He watched as Lucy peaked over her shoulder, her chocolate orbs filled with tears. He watched as her soul heaved in relief at finding that he was safe. Lucy turned so that she was facing the poison slayer, but still safely in Arman's embrace.

"Ho . . . How did you escape from the cage in Seven?"

"One of the guards was drunk while he was transporting me from the cave to my lovely traveling caravan," Cobra smirked when he saw Lucy's smile at his sarcasticness. "He might have had some assistance falling head first into the bars of that fuckn bird cage before I took his keys and unlocked my cuffs. After that I, more than likely, placed everyone in a poison fog and left. I was in some random town, looking less than my stellar self, when I dragged into the shadows and found myself in some random shit hole. The mind reader quickly sifted through my memories and brought before lightning bolt with new about your whereabouts. Rest is history." Lucy giggled as Cobra told his quick rendition of what had happened.

"But you're ok, right?"

"Right as rain Tink. Unless you're Juvia - that chick is more than a lil crazy." Lucy glared at Cobra for insulting her friend. "She can be your friend all you want, but she has some next level stalking shit that I'm sure Vander would be most impressed with. He pulls people into shadows and she appears within any amount of water anywhere - creepy as fuck!"

"I'm going to hop in the shower quickly. Will either of you be here to join me in some breakfast, err lunch?" Lucy looked around the room to see if she could find the time.

"I'll have Mr. Elan get some items ready for brunch for us. I'm not sure if anyone else will be joining us today, but we'll be prepared either way." Arman left the room and set out to talk to his chef. Lucy watched him leave and suddenly felt very alone again as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"I'm not going anywhere Tink. Go have a shower and I'll be here when you return." Lucy slowly crawled off the bed and walked into the bathroom. She set about getting herself ready before entering the scalding water. It felt so good to have a real shower and not just sponge clean her body. She let all of the grime and some of her stress wash down the drain and tried to focus on happier thoughts. I wonder why they all decided to join the White Sea guild or if they've heard from anyone else from Fairy Tail? Lucy found clean clothes on the bathroom counter, slipping on her undergarments before sliding into her royal blue halter top sun dress. It had gold embellishments around the low V cut neckline, showing off her ample breasts, as well as along the hem of the dress which reached mid thigh. The material was soft to the touch and felt amazing against her skin. Lucy threw her hair up in a messy bun and applied a small amount of mascara before joining Cobra in the bedroom.

"Arman's ready for us Tink if you want to get going." Cobra held out an arm for her and was rewarded with one of Lucy's dazzling smiles before she looped her arm in his. His dragon purred in delight at being able to his kin. Lucy followed the slayer's lead and was met with several amazing aromas before they entered the doors. Her mouth watered seeing all of the breakfast foods she could imagine on the large table. Oh sweet Mavis! They have strawberry sauce! I am so drowning my french toast in it! Oh my, bacon with maple syrup and scrambled eggs with ketchup. Cobra laughed at her internal monologue about food. They sat at the table and Arman told them to dig in, so the three of them did and ate in silence. The plates were cleared when they were finished and Lucy sat with her eyes closed humming in appreciation of Mr. Elan's cooking.

"LUCY!" a female shriek startled the blonde mage from her food coma.

"Evergreen!" Lucy stood up just in time to catch the elated fairy mage.

"I am so glad you are alright! We were all so worried because you have been sleeping, for like, eight days now." Lucy just laughed as she looked at all of Evergreen's discarded bags on the floor. "Oh! I went and did some shopping for you so that you'd have more than just this dress while you figured out your next steps. We totally have to go shopping as well, because the Boscan clothes are to die for."

"Sounds good. Maybe we can go tomorrow afternoon? I'd really just like to relax around here for the rest of the day and catch up."

"Whatever you want Lucy. The guys will be excited to see you at supper tonight and to know that you're ok." Evergreen smiled happy to have another girl around the estate and guild now.

"Just stay away from Red. He's a major flirt and will try absolutely anything to get into your pants." Cobra cautioned the celestial mage.

"Red?"

"He means my youngest son, Vander. He definitely stirs up the most trouble around here." Arman chuckled at the confused mage. "I am going to retire to my office to get some work done. I'll see you all at dinner time."

"Lets go put your clothes away. Cobra are you coming?"

"And listen to you two gush about clothes and boys? No way in hell!" Evergreen rolled her eyes and spun on her heel to gather the bags walking out of the room, not bothering to wait to see if Lucy followed.

"What are you going to do while we catch up?" Will you still be in the area or are you going to leave? Lucy couldn't help but be worried that he was going to leave her too just like everyone else had.

"I'm just going to hit the gym for a bit. I'll be back to talk to you before supper. No doubt Miss High Maintenance will need to powder her nose before we go and eat." Cobra rolled his eyes and watched as Lucy left.

"Hey Evergreen."

"Ever. Just call me Ever Lucy, please. Oh I also have your keys too."

"Thanks Ever. I appreciate you holding onto them for me. So what brought all of you here? I thought you and Elfman would have stayed together." Lucy watched as the fairy mage's mood darkened and knew she had touched a sore spot. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want too."

"I need to tell someone," whispered Evergreen, suddenly feeling self conscious. "The boys just know that we split up, but I never told them why and I am grateful that they never asked. When the guild disbanded Elfman and I got into a huge argument about what we wanted to do, so I told him that as much as I loved my team I loved him more and wanted to be with him. He said that his sisters were his priority and that they needed to come first no matter what and he didn't think he could be around me while dealing with them. That hurt more than I thought it would, but we were already on the rocks so I wasn't surprised that he used his sisters as an out in our relationship." Lucy hugged Evergreen and cried with her. I guess there is more than one forgotten fairy in Bosco.

"Bickslow mentioned that he and Laxus were heading to Bosco to see his family and maybe look into joining the guild his brother was the master of. He invited Freed and I along, but we were all going to try to hide from our own issues. None of us have talked about why we are here, but I am sure you'll hear about them all since you are an amazing listener."

"So how have you been doing in the Boscan culture? I wanted to come here to see and experience everything that the country had to offer, but couldn't seem to get any money saved."

"Now I wonder why that was?" Evergreen pointedly looked at Lucy who sheepishly smiled back. "Not like you were on the most destructive team that Fairy Tail has ever seen."

"I know," laughed Lucy. "I just really thought that they'd have my back no matter what."

"Well now you have me! You'll have all of Arman's boys wrapped around your finger in no time at all too I'm sure." Evergreen smiled before looking at the time. "It's this late already! I need to get changed ready for supper, so I'll leave you to our resident poison sucker whom I'm sure is lurking nearby."

"I don't lurk you priss!" Cobra stated rounding the corner into Lucy's room. "You should probably go redo your make-up because it's running."

"My make-up isn't running." Evergreen was perplexed, but Cobra tossed a cup of water that was conveniently half full and sitting on her nightstand still onto her face. "You better go before you melt any further." The slayer covered his ears at her indignant screech and smiled happily as he watched her stomp out of the room.

"That wasn't very nice you know."

"Then why are you trying so hard not to laugh?" They stared at each other before Lucy broke into a fit of giggles and Cobra openly smiled. "I have been doing some thinking Tink."

"Oh no! Do I need to get a doctor to ensure you're brain doesn't explode?"

"Ha ha ha. I'm trying to be serious here you know." Lucy got herself under control and patiently waited for Cobra to continue. "I was thinking that maybe you and I should look to joining the guild here in Bosco."

"Why? You hate people and being part of, well, anything."

"This is mostly true, but I still want a place to call home. And if I am being honest my dragon won't be anywhere you aren't now that you're kin. You're pretty much stuck with me until the end of time." Lucy smiled at the maroon haired mage.

"Well at least I'll never be bored." Lucy sat on Cobra's lap and rested her head on his chest.

"Damn straight!" Cobra almost purred in contentment, but didn't want to appear too soft. "We can talk to Kaleb about showing us around and then you can make a decision about what you want to do. The White Sea guild has been around for hundreds of years and is THE strongest guild in all the kingdoms. Not going to find anything better out there."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Lucy yawned suddenly feeling tired.

"Probably all of that emotional shit you've went through today." He growled we Lucy pinched his arm. "You know we have a solid hour before we need to head down for supper. How about a nap?"

"Only if I get cuddles . . . like in Seven." Lucy layed down on the bed with Cobra wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"Anything you want Tink."