I'm working on making the chapters a little longer , hopefully it won't disturb the flow I've created. Please continue to read and review they make my day every time I see them.

-P.P.V

Chapter 7

She sat on a crate in the barn. They didn't harvest crops or raise livestock, but Ivy and her father lived on a small farm. In front of her stood the most handsome boy she had ever known, Remington Wallace.

He was shorter than her by several inches and when boys had usually refused to date or even flirt with someone taller, Remy didn't care. His Black hair almost fell over his midnight blue eyes that where so warm and inviting when he spoke to her she couldn't help but fall fast and hard.

He had been her first kiss and they had shared many after. Now on her seventeenth birthday she was tempted to give him everything, but a twist in her gut told her to wait.

As he leaned in for another kiss her mind clouded over. Her lips sought out his warmth like a drug, believing that it could never get any better. Her resolve almost broke, but that twist stopped her. It had been happening around Remy more frequently but she couldn't understand why; he made her so happy.

"You know you can tell me anything. I've noticed you've had a lot on your mind lately." His hand moved to rest on her knee just blow the strap that held the hammer as he leaned back in close. "You can trust me." So she did.

The world around her changed and it was night outside the house. She was crouched next to the sofa trying to calm her breathing. People had come to their home demanding she talk to them. Her father had forced her down and told her to wait.

She crept towards the front window just wanting a peak at what was happening. As she looked out she could see at least twenty people had surrounded the front yard wearing black cloaks and holding a mix of torches and light lacrima. In front of them her Father was yelling at a man, and as the flames moved she let out a gasp, that was Remy's father!

She was running through the house, she had heard her father yell for her to run as the people had rushed forward. She went through the back door, damp grass cold against her bare feet, heading for the barn and the woods beyond.

Almost to the barn she was sent flying. She tried to wrestle and fight off the person who had tackled her, but while she was stronger, their skill surpassed her. Soon she found herself on her back with her arms held above her head. In the struggle the hood of her capture had fallen; leaving her looking into midnight blue eyes that where no longer warm.

"Remy what…"

"Shut up you stupid bitch! If you had just come with us no one would have had to die!" Switching his grip to hold both of her wrists in one hand he pulled out a knife and slashed the blade against her mouth.

Ivy felt her heart shatter in her chest; she had never believed that a broken heart could cause physical pain but now she knew; it hurt worse than the cut across her lips. She wailed and tried to struggle unable to find leverage as tears streamed down her face.

"Stop it! This is what you wanted isn't it? You've been dying to have me on top of you for weeks! You're such an idiot, who in their right mind would actually want a giant freak like you! Now hold still like the good little slut you are until the others come!" His voice had become louder and louder as thunder shook the sky.

The last thing Ivy saw was the blinding brightness of lightning and the last thing she heard that night were screams of pain, but she was never sure if they were hers or the boy who had shattered her heart.


Slowly leaving the dream that she wished was only a dream, Ivy felt the stiffness in her back of poor sleeping conditions. Opening her eyes she found herself in an infirmary type room. It gave the explanation as to why her back hurt. She could never understand how beds that were supposed to be for sick people could be so terrible.

Trying to remember how she came to be in such a place, the image of a gorgeous blond haired man entered her memory. Right cracked my head. Reaching around to feel where a lump should have been she found nothing.

"Oh good your awake." A chipper voice pulled her head around to find a younger girl with dark blue hair walking to her bed side.

"How long have I been here?" It had to be at least a couple days considering her head was completely healed.

"Laxus brought you in this morning, and it's about four in the afternoon now."

Ivy stared at the small girl as if she was insane. "My head is healed it should have been longer than that."

"It's healed because I healed you. That was also why you were sleeping." As she spoke the girl reached over with glowing hands, and swept them over Ivy's body ending above her head. "Looks like everything has healed properly even the bruises you got in the fall. My name's Wendy."

"Nice to meet you Wendy I'm Ivy." Taking Wendy's hand Ivy couldn't help but hesitate. People aren't this nice unless they want something. "What do I owe you for healing me?"

"Nothing I just enjoy helping people."

"Um... okay than, I was going to the festival. Do you know how to get there from here?"

Wendy's face immediately fell. "It got canceled from all the thunder and lightning earlier. I heard that the lighting and music systems were damaged."

Ivy looked down with a sour expression at the hammer, which did not go unnoticed by Wendy.

"You know, the guild is like a giant party on weekends so if you want to stay and get something to eat and drink it will probably be a good time." Wendy's hopeful face chipped away at Ivy's walls. Damn I'm out of practice, Illia and Gregory made me soft.

"Alright, you're lucky I'm hungry." Looking around the room again as she swung her feet to the floor Ivy noticed her pack next to the bed. She almost let out a sigh of relief until she saw the cracked sound pods. "Damn it!"


"Hey Mira, look who finally woke up!" Wendy's call caused several heads to look in their direction. Each quickly returned to what they had been doing as the tall woman's eyes scanned the hall.

"Oh that's fantastic we were starting to get worried." Mira bounced her way over to where the two had moved to the bar. "Wow, you're really…"

"Tall?" Ivy finished for her; she easily towered over the silver haired bar maid and almost all the women in the guild.

"I was going to say pretty, but you're up there too." Mira's words and smile didn't have the affect most would expect.

Ivy's eyes narrowed as she leaned away, almost as if she was going to be attacked.

Mira tried to back track as quickly as possible "What would you like to get; I bet you're hungry and you need to recharge after being healed."

"Whatever you have that's quick and easy. I'm not picky, and I'll take water."

Mira grabbed the women's drink as Wendy gave her order. "I'll bring it out to you, so just go find a seat." Mira flashed another large smile as she bounced back to the kitchen.

Ivy shook her head, the women actually bounced as she walked. I would thing that would hurt considering her chest in on the bigger side. She dropped her head to look down at herself as she made her way to an empty table. I wear two sports bras and these things are still a pain.

Dropping onto a bench with her back to the wall, Ivy looked up to see Wendy sit down across from her.

"I don't think I need a babysitter." Ivy leaned forward on her crossed arms looking down at the girl.

"I know that, but my best friend is visiting family and you seem nice." Wendy didn't back down but kept that bright smile on her face.

Ivy leaned back with a grunt. Then adjusting her body sideways, bringing her right calf to rest across the bench as she pulled several colored markers from her pocket. Using one to twist her hair into a messy bun; not knowing where the ties that usually held it back had been tossed.

The members of the guild who had been at the bar earlier watched the woman closely while trying to not be obvious about it. Makarov had come up with a plan. Don't pry, it was beautifully simple. If this woman had been running for so long she could easily do so again if she felt threatened. So instead they had agreed to act as if she was any new member. Hopefully they would gain her trust in time, and then she would open up willingly.

Gajeel watched out of the corner of his eye as she sat at a table near his with Wendy following close behind. He felt a growl rise in his chest as the tall woman had started to try intimidating the girl he considered his sister. The feeling left when he watched Wendy handle herself without issue. As the older women crumpled inwards and began drawing on her pants, he could feel the unease flowing from her. It started when Mira had complimented her. It reminded him of when he had first joined the guild; the members' easy going attitudes had unnerved him at the time.

Gajeel looked around finally meeting the cold gray orange eyes of the blond man who had originally run into the girl. With a tilt of his head he seemed to get the message across. Maybe someone with a shitty attitude was what the woman needed.

Ivy didn't let her eyes leave her jeans as she sensed someone join them at the table. Acknowledging their presence meant introducing herself and talking, something she wasn't really in the mood for.

"How's it going Wendy?" The low voice called to something in Ivy's memory, but she still didn't want to look up. Instead she refocused on the drawing that was taking up the inside of her lower pant leg.

"It's going good, just getting some early supper. Have you eaten yet?" The young girls chipper attitude seemed slightly forced.

"No I haven't. Can I join you?"

"Yup" Ivy could feel their eyes on her, waiting for her answer.

"Sure" She didn't even stop to look up.

Laxus and Wendy's eyes met in the understanding that this was going to be harder than they originally thought.

Just as Wendy was about to try again, Mira appeared next to the table with a tray of food. "Here you go Wendy, and I hope you like burgers." She placed a plate down containing a thick burger with all the toppings and a side of fries in front of Ivy.

"Mira, can I get one of those burgers, and another beer?" Laxus handed her his empty mug as she nodded with a grin.

Ivy finally looked at the speaker seeing just what she had thought; it was the man from earlier. The smirk he flashed her caused a warm spark to ignite in her chest, something she hadn't felt in a long time. No! Remember last time! Remember Remy! As the image of black hair and midnight blue eyes came to her mind the warm spark easily snuffed out.

Shifting slightly in her seat she took a bite of the massive burger, only to release an involuntary groan. It was the best burger she had ever tasted.

Both dragon slayers looked at her with amusement.

"Mira makes the best food, but she tends to make a lot and so the first time people eat here they usually end up getting sick." Ivy couldn't help but look pointedly at Wendy's plate piled with five grilled cheeses the sixth held in the small girls hand along with her basket of fries.

The girl gave a shy smile, "Well, I'm a dragon slayer and we have a much higher metabolism then the average person."

"A what?" Ivy covered her mouth as she asked the question having not yet swallowed.

Laxus' eyebrows rows, at this point everyone in Fiore new about dragon slayers just by watching the Grand Magic Games. He and Wendy were also recognizable where ever they went; if not by their actual names then as the Sky Sorceress and the Thunder God.

"A dragon slayer, it's a mage who has been given the magic of a dragon soul. Most of us had a dragon parent, but there are a few like Laxus who have a dragon lacrima instead."

"What does it let you do?" Ivy had never read Sorcerer Magazine or seen the GMGs they had never been something she was interested in, but she loved learning new things and this was interesting.

Wendy could only stare for a moment. The woman, who a minute ago couldn't be brought into a conversation, was now leaning forward eating her burger and seemed completely invested in what Wendy was saying.

"Well I'm the sky dragon slayer, I can manipulate the air around me, and I can perform healing magic. Laxus is the lightning dragon slayer, he uses lighting based attacks and abilities."

Mira once again appeared at their table handing a plate with a burger twice the size as Ivy's to the large man. Ivy took the opportunity to sweep her eyes over him. Maybe the draw to him was the similarity in their magic elements.

With the focus Laxus currently had on the woman there was no way he could've missed her checking him out. It was something that happened every day, but with her it felt different. Her eyes where too intense and it wasn't a look of wanting to strip him naked, but something else. With Wendy focused on pulling apart her grilled sandwiches so the cheese would stretch the farthest, Laxus downed his burger than tried to pick up the conversation.

"I noticed that I broke your sound pods." When he looked up from his now clean plate Ivy was just staring.

"Your mouth is a vacuum." Her words held no inflections just dead pan seriousness, causing Wendy to almost snort out her soda.

"It's another dragon slayer thing," Wendy giggled out trying to catch her breath "large amounts of food eaten very quickly."

"Oh um right, sorry please continue. Something about sound pods?" Laxus couldn't stay annoyed with how small she looked when she apologized. It was almost like an illusion how she could shrink in on herself, considering she was only several inches shorter than him.

"Yeah I broke yours and I know someone who should be able to fix them." Ivy perked up at his words only to shrink again.

"I don't really have enough money to spend on getting them repaired." The sound pods had been a gift from Illia and Gregory, and the thought of them being already broken left a hollow feeling in her chest.

"I was going to pay for it." The man's gruff words snapped her out of her growing funk.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's my fault they're broken." Laxus was not one to vocalize apologies so this was as close as he was going to get.

"Thank you!" Her smile was a complete 180 from the woman who had been drawing on her pants; it could have been comparable to Levy's in how much she glowed. Even the scar on her lip couldn't hinder the beauty that shown through. Laxus couldn't help but wonder how that scar would make her mouth feel under his.

He gave his head a quick shake trying to get rid of the intrusive thoughts. "His place doesn't close till later. When you're done eating go take a shower and get the rest of the blood out of your hair, then find me at my table." Laxus stood up then to quickly distance himself from the confusing woman.

Ivy reached around and touched her hair wondering what he had been talking about.

"Dragon slayers have heightened senses. I rinsed your hair earlier, but there's still some blood.

"You're saying he just smelled me aren't you?"


Not even a minute after Gajeel sent his signal for the giant blond to approach the hammer girl, Levy slid into the seat next to him.

"Anything interesting happen?" Levy leaned in to his side dropping her voice, not knowing how powerful the woman's hearing was.

"Don't worry; I don't think she has hearing like ours. If she did she would've heard Macao checking her out, and from how she handled Mira's compliment she wouldn't have not reacted to him."

Levy's face scrunched in thought "What did Mira say?"

"She called her pretty."

"If she reacted badly to that then she must never hear it." She couldn't help but look over at the woman drawing on herself with pity. "She is really pretty; it's too bad she doesn't know it. What is Laxus doing?" Laxus had taken the seat next to Wendy, and as far as Levy knew the man never sat with anyone but his team.

"He was the one who accidentally knocked her out. Any luck with the council?"

A groan answered him as she dropped her head against his shoulder. "That bad? Gihihi"

"The man who replaced me is a complete idiot." She had yet to remove her head from his arm, and Gajeel couldn't help enjoy the feeling of her breath on his bicep. "He finally found a book, but it comes with a contract to withhold disclosure." When Gajeel didn't reply she figured he didn't know what she was talking about. Raising her head to meet his gaze the look she received confirmed her suspicions. "It's basically a magical binding contract, once signed we won't be able to discuss anything we read from the book with anyone who hasn't also signed it."

"That can't be legal."

"It's not, anyone who knows how to write or exploit a loop hole could cause some serious problems; but it's always the law makers who break laws the most." This seemed to piss the little bluenette off more than talking to the moron who had taken over her job.

"So when are we getting it?"

"Because it's for a job they requested; Freed and I set up a teleportation rune circle in the master's office. The book with a guard should come through with in the next half hour."

"Good maybe we can finally get somewhere."

"She seems to like Laxus." Levy's comment pulled Gajeels head to look at the other table; where he caught the tail end of the woman sweeping her eyes over the blond. "I just hope Mira hasn't noticed. What are they talking about?"

They shifted closer together as Gajeel replayed the conversation happening between the two tall mages. To anyone looking it appeared as if they were sharing a cute moment instead of eavesdropping.

As Laxus left the table Levy couldn't help but voice her next thought. "Do you think Laxus likes her? I mean he's never that friendly."

"That's not really something I care about, but if it gets her to talk to us quicker, I say good luck to him."