Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima


ACT II: Celestial Guidance – New Beginnings

Approximately X764

Chapter 3: The blonde girl

Time passed by rather quickly for the dark mage Zeref, even though he rummaged the world in solitude. Sometimes he would go into a slumber for a few decades in order to restore his strength. Other times he wandered the earth and bore witness to all the horror and cruelty that mankind delivered to the world. It was devastating and heartbreaking, how humans could keep continuing the same circle of hatred and chaos, leaving a lot of innocent victims. All of them dead as a result from other people's paths they had no influence on. His spirit kept dropping as time went by, in his search for that one specific key to open the gate to the past. Sure there had been potential people, but none of them had sufficient magic in their blood to do the task.

Sad, infuriated and lonely the dark mage kept walking his own path, until he one day stumbled across a group of people, who didn't resent him, nor tried to push him away. No, in fact they welcomed him and asked for his advice in how to use magic. They were all nice people, but there was one in particular that earned a warm place in his heart.

Mavis Vermillion...

She was the one that somehow restored some of his faith in humanity and heightened his spirit. It had been a wonderful time, but unfortunately he had to leave them. After all he was meant to wander until the right time... and for some reason he was confident that the destined time for action was approaching...

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

Zeref opened his eyes and stared up at the clear blue sky above him.

He didn't know what year it was, since he had no idea how long his slumber had lasted. Not that it really mattered, the only thing that was important, was finding the key to open the gate to the past.

And hopefully this was the right time.

The dark mage truly hoped it would be, because he was getting sick and tired of doing nothing. It was disheartening no matter how he looked at it, especially since it made him feel restless and insecure.

Mavis and her group had momentarily given him a feeling of hope, but just when her light and gently nature had touched his existence, it had vanished again.

A sigh escaped his lips as he slowly got into a standing position.

Light and warmth wasn't meant to be in his life after all...

Zeref stood there glaring into the distance for a couple of minutes or maybe it was a few hours, he couldn't know for sure. His perception of time was so confused and perplexed after being around for so long.

No matter how much time had passed, he eventually shook himself out of his state and started walking, following a path that hopefully lead him in the right direction.

~ o ~ O ~ o ~

The dark mage wandered alone for a few days when he made his first encounter with another human.

It happened rather suddenly and without his own consent, since the other person literally crashed into him, before he knew what was going on.

Zeref had been deep in thought and staring at a huge lake, minding his own business when someone suddenly collided with his back, making him stumble and fall into the water with a splash. Maybe he should have sensed the other person coming, so he could have avoided having a sudden bath, but evidently he didn't.

The dark mage was surprised, as he quickly turned around to stare at whoever had been foolish enough to attack on him. What he saw was a young female girl with long blonde hair. She looked like she was struggling with what to say, since all that escaped her lips was an indistinct sort of stuttering. Other than that her cheeks was blushing fiercely and her body was trembling ever so slightly.

Was she scared?

"Woman" Zeref voice was low and dripping with hidden anger "Why did you do that?"

"I.. I..." the girl stuttered and visibly gulped.

"Well" the mage narrowed his eyes, impatiently waiting for her answer.

"I... I'm so sorry!" she quickly bowed her head "I'm truly sorry! It was an accident!"

Taken aback by her sudden gesture, Zeref just blinked as he kept watching the blonde bowing with her head.

"I was running away from this guy, who has been teasing me all morning" the girl continued, evidently staring at the ground "He can be so rude sometimes and I just... ugh!" she stomped with her foot to show her anger "I really! Really hate him!"

"You... you hate this guy?" the dark mage blinked, feeling somewhat bewildered by her sudden mood change.

"Well yeeeeah, d'uh!" she raised her head and rolled her eyes towards the other mage.

"I see..." Zeref said in a rather gloomy voice "... you're so young but already so consumed in the circle of hatred"

"Huh?" the blonde blinked in confusion "Circle of hatred?"

"Yes, evidently you have already soiled your soul with hatred"

"Ohh, because I said I hate this boy?"

"Yes"

"Ohh come one!" the girl snorted "Just because I said I hate him, it doesn't mean I don't care about him"

"I don't follow your logic"

"It's simple really" she waved with her hand to imply that it really was nothing "I hate him when he's teasing me and being an inconsiderate idiot, but when we're alone he can actually be a pretty cool guy. So... even though I hate him, I don't really feel like that all the time"

"That's... rather confusing..." Zeref rubbed his chin in thought "... so you claim to hate this person, but you like him as well"

"Oy!" the girl was suddenly blushing more fiercely "Don't get any clever ideas! I don't like him like that! He's a friend! Or well he's someone I know and that's it!"

"A friend?" the dark mage blinked.

"Yeah..." she looked at him for a few seconds, clearly in some inner turmoil as she started biting her lips, before eventually gathering enough courage to talk again "Okay I don't know why and maybe I'm being rude, but I get the impression, you don't fully understand what that means"

"I don't..." Zeref stared at the girl "... I can't recall what it feels like to have a friend... if I ever had one... and if I did that was a long time ago..."

"That's... so sad"

"Perhaps..." the dark mage shrugged "I wouldn't know"

"That's it!" the girl nodded to herself in determination.

"What...?"

"I'll be your friend!" she smiled wholeheartedly and reached a hand towards him "Now come on, you'll catch a cold if you stay in the water for too long"

Zeref felt how time seemed to freeze as he glared at the blonde. He didn't know why, but for a split second it was like he could see the gentle nature that he had seen in Mavis radiating from the girl. As it did he saw how the girl's aura seemed to glow and sparkle in an alluring way, making him gasp.

"Who... who are you?" he asked and reached his hand towards hers.

"Layla" her smile widened "What's yours?"

"Zeref" exhaling he grabbed her hand and allowed her to help him out of the water "My name is Zeref"

"Okay then" Layla smiled wholeheartedly "nice to meet you Zeref"

He didn't answer but instead stood glaring into the distance.

"Oy!" the girl pointed her finger accusingly at the dark mage "You're supposed to say it's nice to meet you too!"

Surprised again by her sudden outburst, Zeref winced and nodded with his head "Very well, it's nice to meet you too"

"Good!" Layla chuckled brightly "Now that's out of the way, would you mind telling me, what you're doing here?"

"Doing?" Zeref blinked "I wasn't doing anything"

"Ohh? Well where are you going?"

"Going?"

"Yeah, there must be a reason why you're out here right?" Layla closed her eyes for a second as she tilted her head to the side "and since you're not doing anything in particular, then I guessed you're perhaps travelling somewhere?"

"You could say that" he exhaled and started massaging his temple as if he was suffering from a sudden headache "I'm searching for something"

"Okay, care to be more specific?"

"No"

"... why do I feel like a wall would give me more answers, than this person..." Layla whispered to herself while pouting her mouth.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing!"

"Is that so?" he raised an eyebrow and gave her a suspicious look.

"Yeah totally!" she waved her hands in front of her as if that motion would clarify her statement.

"Very well..." Zeref nodded "... if you really wish to know, I wouldn't mind sharing it with you"

"For reals?"

"Yes" the dark mage stated, trying to ignore how the girl seemed to radiate with happiness all of a sudden.

"Cool!"

"I'm searching for a specific key, to open a portal"

"A key?" the blonde blinked "What sort of key?"

"It's a special key... a certain human being"

"How can a human being be a key?" Layla wondered out loud.

"That is no concern of yours"

"I guess not..." she sounded momentarily defeated but soon lid up again "So who is this person?"

"A celestial mage"

"Really?" her smile widened "You know what? I'm a celestial mage"

"You... what?" Zeref's eyes widened as he looked at the girl.

"Yup!" nodding she placed her hands on her hips "And proud of it!"

"I... see"

"Now that I think about it" she mulled and placed a finger on her lips "I don't think I know or have heard of another person being a celestial mage... heh! Wouldn't it be weird if I was the one you were searching for? I mean talk about fate, huh?"

"Fate..." the dark mage whispered and rubbed his chin in thought "... celestial mage... key... perhaps... yes..."

"Perhaps?"

"Yes..." he nodded and pointed a finger towards her "... perhaps you are the key"

"What?"

Zeref didn't answer right away but instead took a moment to glare intensely at her.

"... uhm..." Layla fidgeted feeling a bit uncomfortable from his stare.

"We need to talk... Layla. Once that's done I'll judge if you are indeed the key that I'm searching for"

"Ohh... uhm... kay?"

"Now then..." Zeref got into a sitting position on the grass and looked rather stoic as he sat there "... let's begin" he motioned with his hand, encouraging the girl to sit beside him, which she did without questioning why.

"So... what do you wanna talk about?" Layla asked curiously and crossed her legs.

"You"

"Me?" she chuckled and pointed at herself "But I'm not that interesting"

"I wouldn't know that, now would I?"

"I guess not..."

"So... please tell me who you are"

"Who I am?" her eyes widened in surprise.

"Yes"

"Uhm... okay... well my name is Layla, I'm 16 years old and I'm a celestial mage... mmm" she turned her head to look at the sky, deep in thought "I'm part of the guild Love and Lucky... I like eating pudding and I hate... well not hate, but I don't like this guy from the guild, because he's so mean to me"

"I see... what about your parents?"

"Well..." Layla said in a low voice and rubbed her arm nervously "... I don't know who my parents are. I mean they left me when I was a baby, so basically I'm an orphan"

"I'm sorry"

"It ain't your fault" she chuckled sadly "That's just how things are... but why do you ask? Is it important?"

"Maybe not... it's just that your presence or aura reminds me of someone"

"Is that a good or a bad thing?"

"I don't know" he shook his head "I guess it's a good thing, because when I was with her, it was like

the brightness of her nature, somehow overshadowed my darkness. Or to be more exact it kept it in check"

"Uh-huh?" Layla blinked, clearly not understanding what the other mage was talking about.

"Maybe that's it... not only can you be around me without dying, at least for a certain amount of time, but it feels like you're quite strong as a mage"

"I'm not the strongest mage" she flexed with her arm, to show her tiny muscle "buuuut I'm okay when it comes to fighting"

"I'm sure you are" Zeref couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

"So... who is this person I remind you of?"

"A human called Mavis" he sighed heavily.

"Mavis... so it's a girl?"

"Yes"

"Is she your gii~iirlfriend?" she smirked teasingly.

"She's been dead for a long time now... so no"

"I'm sorry" Layla gasped "I didn't mean to..."

"It doesn't matter... the past is the past so..."

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I don't know if it'll help, but I don't think death is the end. I believe that when we die, our spirit turn into a star, so we can shine down on those we leave behind"

The dark mage chuckled "Since you're a celestial mage, it doesn't surprise me you believe that"

"Oy!" the girl huffed feeling slightly insulted, as she gently knocked Zeref's shoulder "Behave!"

"Why?" Zeref was baffled by her gesture and blinked in surprise "Why did you hit me?"

"Because you don't believe what I said" she pouted in defiance.

"I see... so you hit people, you don't agree with?"

"No! I mean... yes! Sometimes! Ugh! Just forget about it okay?"

"If you say so..."

"I do!"

They sat in silence staring at each other for a few seconds before Zeref broke the silence.

"Anyway..." he coughed into his hand "The question now is, will you help me?"

"Help you with what?"

"I need to open a portal to the past, in order to save the future. But for me to that I need a celestial mage, because only that specific magic can be used as a key. Once that is done I will summon the dragons and the human orphans, as I promised a long time ago"

"Dragons? Orphans? Really?"

"Indeed" he nodded "They have the knowledge of magic that is old but also legendary, and that might save the future, when the demons come back"

"There are demons as well?!"

"Yes and because of that, it is essential to open a passage to the past"

"I see... and in order to do that you need my help"

"Correct"

"Mmm..." she rubbed her chin in thought "Alright, count me in"

"You..." the dark mage gasped in surprise "... you'll help me? Even though I haven't given you all the details. I mean just gathering enough of your magic could take years"

"Yeah sure" she beamed with enthusiasm towards him "I mean if it's to help the future then why not"

"I... see..."

"Yosh!" clenching her fist in determination she jumped into a standing position "Let's do this!"

Zeref didn't say anything, but just nodded.

And with that a new alliance had been formed, that would make a huge impact not only on the future but also the past.


A/N: Layla is a teenager in this chapter, that's why she acts so "uncharacteristic" and cheerful. Also that's one of the reasons I think she was so easily persuaded into joining Zeref's cause.

Yosh! Time to go edit the next chapter, while I'm still filled with energy and motivation! The next chapter will be up soon, so hang in there kittens! :)