Chapter 6

We sat on the ground, staring at the fire with dull and lifeless eyes.

We ran as far as we could, and thank goodness we weren't caught by those mages. Although we had a few close calls, such as a few mages searching the places where me and Yukino were hiding. It was a good thing the hound dogs weren't with them, or we'd be goners.

My stomach rumbled. I pulled my knees closer to my chest. "So hungry." I mumbled.

"Nee-sama…" Yukino said. "What are we going to do now?"

I looked at Yukino. It pained me to see the once cheerful yet shy girl act depressed and sullen. Her body was covered with bruises and some parts of her clothes were torn off.

I was in no better shape. The palms of my hands had so much cuts and bruises that blood had seeped out of them. It had dried into crusty red stains, but the pain was still there. My body had a few bruises and dirt from running and tripping along the way here.

I stood up and took out a key from my holster. "Sitting here and sulking won't do anything," I stated as I held the key in front of me.

"Open! Gate of the Healer! Asclepius!"

A large magic circle appeared before me, and soon a woman had taken its place. She wore gypsy-like clothing. Her hair was dark, which was decorated in all sorts of hair ornaments. She wore a green tube top that was connected to a large gold necklace she had around her neck. She had a transparent piece of silk connected to her fingers that was laced around her pants. She ballet shoes and her eyes were sparkling jade.

"You summoned me, mistress?" Asclepius said as she bowed slightly.

I managed a small smile. I had already completed my contract with most of my spirits. The only ones I haven't summoned yet as Pisces, because my magic power couldn't support summoning a zodiac gate for a long period of time.

"Can you please heal the both of us? We're covered in bruises." I said.

Asclepius nodded. Two green magic circles appeared beneath both me and Yukino's feet. I heard the sound of a pleasant hum as the magic circles turned around and around, healing us.

"This is such a warm feeling," Yukino said, awed.

I nodded. "Asclepius' abilities are using her magic power in order to accelerate one's healing process. She can also reverse her abilities and steal another's magic power."

Yukino smiled. "That's amazing, nee-sama."

I smiled. It was hard to pretend that I was alright, but Yukino didn't need to know that it hurts. She was only a child. Also, despite my appearances and no matter how hard I try to forget, I am only a child in this world. I am still an adult. No matter how hard I want to forget my past, it will never stop haunting me.

This is for Yukino. I have to be strong.

"First we have to contract the army. No doubt that the chaos and magic power released back in the town at least attracted their attention." I said once Asclepius finished healing both of us.

Yukino nodded. "But how will we do that?"

"We have to find another town nearby." I answered. I turned to Asclepius and gave her a nod. "Thank you. You can go back now."

Asclepius nodded. "As you wish." She said as she disappeared.

I turned to Yukino. "We'll definitely survive, Yukino. I'll become a strong mage and protect you, and so that no one will ever die in my eyes. I'll become so strong, everyone will never look down on us again!"

Yukino smiled. "Yeah!"

I smiled. "And I promise. I promise that I'll definitely find Sorano."

Yukino's smile dropped. "But Sorano… she was captured… she might even…"

"That won't happen," I assured her. "Sorano may be a pain, but she'll never give up. She's definitely alive. We just have to find her."

Yukino stared at me unsurely. "But…"

I pouted. "Hey, have I ever broken a promise before?"

Yukino looked at me, and slowly she managed a smile. "No. I trust you, nee-sama. We'll find Sorano nee-san. And I'll be there to help too."

I looked at Yukino in surprise. "You don't have to! I can do it—"

"No." Yukino said. "You've been doing everything for me and Sorano nee-san. I… I'm not able to do anything."

"Yukino,"

"I want to be strong too!" Yukino said. "I want to be strong and protect the people I care about! I don't want to be a crybaby for the rest of my life!"

I stared at Yukino. When I looked at her face, I was somehow looking at myself. This was how I looked like when mama died. This is how I felt when I lost everything.

I smiled. "Yeah. Let's become strong together."

Yukino nodded. "Yes!"

We wandered around the forest, and after a week of searching, we finally reached another town.

It was much like Cedar Town, only larger and more province looking. Both me and Yukino stood out like sore thumbs, with our ragged clothes and our dirty faces. We were met with a number of weird glances, but I didn't mind. Yukino, however, wasn't used to the attention and preferred to stay close to me.

We reached one of the army stations. There was a huge fuss, with so many people running around, carrying reports and papers. Some were shouting orders and others were frantically doing their best to follow them.

"Hurry! We must contact the Council! The attack on Cedar Town should've reached them by now! We must send a search party to find any survivors!"

"There's no need for that."

Everyone turned their eyes on me and Yukino, who stood on the doorway. "My name is Erika Roswell, and I am a survivor from Cedar Town. Other than my companion, Yukino Aguria, there are no more survivors. They had either died, or were captured by the Zeref worshippers."

All of their faces turned into devastated shock.

"Zeref worshippers?!"

"They're still active?!"

"Wait, if a dark cult attacked the town, then how did both of you survive?" a guard asked warily.

All eyes turned on us. Yukino hid behind me. I looked down, pondering whether I should answer that or not.

"There's no need to bring back memories from a horrible experience," a voice sad from behind.

Yukino and I turned around, spotting a man who wore a slightly different attire that the rune knights to use to stay in Cedar Town. It was the attire of a commanding officer.

"Take these two children to a doctor, and see if there is anything we can do." He ordered in a loud voice. He turned to both of us, and surprisingly, he gave us a reassuring smile.

I watched warily as he walked away. When he did, the people around us resumed their work, contacting authorities and working their way to figure out what was going on.

I sigh in relief. At least we weren't being noticed now.

Aside from the fact that I'm a mage-in-training, the council weren't interested in me at all.

I guess that was expected. They should be more worried about what happened to Cedar Town than about two homeless children. It's just another addition to the local orphanages to feed.

I thought it was good enough to stay in an orphanage, but Yukino didn't want to. She said that an orphanage was a place where children with no families stay. She said she still has her family, so she refused.

I couldn't do anything to convince her anymore, so I decided to start working up my title and train myself as a proper mage. I placed the thought of joining a guild into consideration, but I shook my head. It would be better if I was a freelance mage, even though I still won't be considered a full-fledged one.

The Council and authorities questioned us (well, me only) about the events in Cedar town for a whole week. After that, they didn't bother anymore. I was sort of glad. If the Council would put their attention to me, I think my name would be known to everyone. And not in a good way.

I practiced summoning spirits, since it was the only magic I'm trained to do. Libra and Gladius were the only combat spirits I've contracted with. I've already made contact with both Caelum and Asclepius. I haven't formed a contract with my other spirits, but I'm planning to do that sometime later.

I thought at first that renting a place for me and Yukino would be expensive and hard for two children, but it turns out whether you're a child or not it was fine with anyone to rent a place. As long as they have money and they obey the rules, no one is stopping us.

We rented a small space with two rooms. The furniture was already there when we rented it, but it was only few. The main room was where both of our beds are. We shared on big wardrobe, since we didn't have enough money for loads of clothes yet. The second room was the bathroom. It was a plain and simple shower.

Today, I decided to try and do some random jobs and grab some money. Since we had some money given to us by a few people who pitied our situation, Yukino and I bought to clean outfits.

I only had two outfits; a light red backless sundress that had a neck collar and armlets with it, and my red sweater, which I wore while I ran from the town. My pjs were just a simple white shirt and shorts.

Yukino had two outfits also; a light blue sundress and a dark blue sweater in case it was cold. Her pjs were the same as mine.

I chose the light sundress and wore simple shoes. I grabbed my holster and attached it to the waist of my dress.

I turned to Yukino, who was busying herself by making the bed and cleaning the room. "Yukino! I'll head out now."

Yukino turned to me and nodded. "Okay. Take care nee-sama."

I smiled and walked downstairs. The town we were staying in was only locat, so it didn't have much impact on the land. It was mainly a town for travelers, but for me and Yukino, that wasn't the case.

I looked around, and spotted a man holding a paper in his hand. He had a depressed expression on his face, and from the bag he was carrying in his hand, it seemed as if he was readying himself to travel.

I quirked my eyebrow up in curiosity. Maybe that was a request for a guild? Perhaps I can complete it!

"Excuse me sir!" I called out, running towards the man.

He was middle-aged, with some gray hairs sticking out on his head. He looked rather frail, but I knew that looks could sometimes be deceiving since this man was planning to travel alone.

"Yes little child? May I help you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No sir, may I help you? It looks like that's a job request for guilds you have. Are you asking someone to complete a job?"

"Why yes," the man said. "But why would you be curious about it?"

I grinned. "I was wondering if I could take it!"

He blinked and gave me a look of disbelief. "That's impossible!" he said. "Child, my request is far out of the league of children."

"What is your request?" I asked, struggling not to react over how he called me a child. Despite my appearances, I am older than I seem to be!

He looked at me before sighing. "My son has lost a silver ring engraved with a red stone because of a group of thieves." He said. "He worked so hard to buy it, and yet he was robbed. He was going to use that to propose to his beloved, but now he is too ashamed to do so."

I made a face. "Ouch." I stated. "But don't worry! I'll do it for you! I may not look like it, but I'm a mage as well!"

"You are a mage?" he asked, surprised.

I nodded. "Yes. Say, if I take and complete this request, what will the reward cash be?"

"80,000 jewels my dear." He answered, showing me the flier.

I gaped. 80,000 jewels? That's enough to pay for this month's rent, and still have 5000 jewels left for ourselves!

I grabbed the flier and darted off. "I won't let you down, mister!"

"Wait!" he called, but I was already off.

I glanced over my shoulder, spotting him giving me a sign of good luck. I smiled at him and waved as I ventured off into the forest.

"Um… a group of thieves… only three of them? Hm… each don't have any magic power?"

I grinned. "Well, Gladius would beat them up easily. I can't believe that was an easy 80,000 jewels!"

I heard a scoff behind me. "A little kid is hunting us down? How pathetic!"

I scowled and turned around, placing the flier inside my pocket. I held my holster dearly in my right hand, narrowing my eyes. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Three shadows appeared in front of me, each having a deadly and dark aura. For some strange reason, all of their eyes were glowing bright yellow and their grins were seen. What confused was how come they were able to make their grins and eyes seen like that, yet cover their entire bodies in the shadows? And wait, its noon! It shouldn't be this dark in the first place!

"Huh? A Celestial Spirit Mage?" one of them said, looking at the key holster I held.

Another laughed. "Bah! She's just a kid. It's not like she'll be able to stop us."

I narrowed my eyes and pulled out Caelum's key. "Mage or not, I'll never forgive those who target the defenseless for selfish reasons!" I cried, glaring at the trio in front of me.

The middle smirked. "Really?"

I was about to retort when suddenly, three fists hit me square on the jaw. My teeth collided with each other and the pain was electrifying.

I fell down on my back, the pain vibrating through my chin. I used my elbow to prop myself up and hold my chin delicately. "What was that?" I asked myself out loud as I stood up slowly.

"Shadow Magic,"

I looked at them with confusion written on my face. "Shadow Magic?" I repeated.

The middle one nodded. "Your request information is wrong! It's true that two of my buds can't use magic, but I can! That's how we're able to steal stuff without anyone figuring out!"

"I see," I said as I slowly began to understand. My chin was still tingling in pain, but I managed place that matter aside. I raised my key in front of me. "Then all I have to do is defeat you and I can get my reward money!"

"Open! Gate of the Chisel! Caelum!"

A magic circle appeared, and soon enough the sphere shaped spirit did as well. Though it looked like a mechanic robot, Caelum was still a spirit and had a free mind of his own. Er, I mean 'it'. Apparently, Caelum gets offended whenever someone refers it to a specific gender when its really just a robot.

"Caelum! Attack the one in the center!" I cried, pointing to the said man.

"It's useless," he said. A dark magic circle appeared below his feet before a series of shadows bounced off the ground and towards me and Caelum.

"Shadow Knuckle!"

Thanks to Gladius' training, I managed to narrowly avoid all of the attacks by jumping back and away from its attacking range. Caelum, thank goodness, avoided the attack by levitating off the ground. Lucky spirit!

"Blast him!" I said. Caelum reverted into cannon form. Green magic energy was concentrated into the cannon.

The blast headed straight towards the man. A huge cloud of smoke obscured my view, but it slowly disappeared. I was hoping I would be able to take him out with one shot, but to my dismay, that wasn't the case.

A huge dark shield was in front of my opponent. The shield's magic dispersed and cracked. Though he used a defensive magic, he still looked injured. It looks like Caelum's shock from the blast affected him after all!

"Wow Caelum!" I cried, looking at my spirit with awe. "You're so powerful!"

Caelum beeped happily. Or, what I think was happily. I don't know.

"Shadow Shield." The man murmured before standing up.

"I gotta admit girly," he said with a slight smirk. "Not bad. But this is as far as you go!" he yelled before slamming his fist in the ground.

"Shadow Art: Shadow Trap!"

My opponent's shadow stretched out in front of me and connected with mine. All of a sudden, I lost control of my body. It was like a bunch of invisible ropes were tied around me, disabling my mobility.

"What the heck?!" I cried in annoyance as I struggled to move my arms and legs.

The thief laughed. "Now you can't go anywhere and I can attack you all I want! Shadow Punch!"

"Aaah!" I cried as a huge shadow fist formed from beneath me and punched me in the cheek. I could almost imagine it bruising.

I struggled to turn my head to the right, where Caelum is. "Caelum! Blast now!" I ordered.

Caelum beeped in response, and soon enough he was charging another blast of concentrated energy.

The man scoffed. "Shadow Whip!"

Three whips appeared behind Caelum, smashing against its sphere-like shape. It interrupted the charging process, so the blast didn't make it.

I was horrified, seeing my spirits in pieces. "CAELUM!"

Caelum's body disappeared. I sigh in relief, knowing that it escaped to the spirit world. But now what was I going to do? I only have enough magic power to summon another silver key! If I summon a golden key, I would die from magic drain!

"No choice then." I murmured before forcing my hand into my holster.

The man laughed. "Ha! Even if you could find a spirit, you wouldn't be able to do anything because I'll crush that spirit again!"

I smirked before holding another silver key in my hand. "I wonder about that!" I said with a smug look on my face. The silver key shone, and a magic circle hovered above me.

"Open! Gate of the Weapons Bearer! Gladius!"

In an instant, Gladius appeared. He was dressed in his usual attire; a brown muscle shirt with a tight collar around his neck and light brown trousers and boots. He wore gloves on his hands, similar to Gajeel's and three piercings on his left eyebrow. His eyes held a murderous gaze, which was directed on the thief.

"Hey bastard, what do you think you're doing to my owner?" Gladius demanded in a low voice.

I grinned. "Gladius is one of my most dependable spirits! Don't think you can go and defeat the bearer of weapons!"

The man was slightly unnerved, but he summoned another magic circle in front of him.

"Shadow Strike!"

A barrage of shadow attacks were aimed directly at Gladius. The said spirit stood his ground before all of the shadows were sliced and pulverized.

The man blinked in disbelief. "What the—?!"

In front of me, Gladius stood with a spear. It was like a gigantic arrow, only that it was glistening in the sunlight.

"Silver Ray!" Gladius said as he settled the spear in front of him. "This is the weapon forged by the greatest Silver Claimer. And with this, I'm going to beat the crap outta ya!"

The thief was frozen for a moment, and Gladius took this chance to attack. He swiped the Silver Ray at him in a number of times, beating up the poor soul.

The two other thieves behind him cowered in fear. "He defeated Miki as if it was nothing!" one of them squeaked.

"Tch, if you're this weak, don't bother attacking anyone weaker!" Gladius said in mild irritation.

He directed his glare towards the two thieves, who I was afraid might pee in their paints since Gladius' glare was pretty scary. "Oi. Where's the silver ring embedded with a red stone?" he asked, well, demanded.

The two shoved their arms inside the sacks they were carrying, looking for the said item. Soon, they found it and handed it over the Gladius.

Gladius grinned and turned to me. "Here ya go li'l missy." He said as he placed the ring in my hand.

I smiled at him. "Thanks for saving me, Gladius!"

He shrugged. "Nah, you know I'll always save ya. Not like my li'l missy can take care of herself yet." He said as she gave me a noogie.

"Hey! Stop that!" I cried, but with a smile.

Gladius then turned to the two thieves, and gave them a piercing glare. "If you dare show your faces here again, I will chop off your genitals and burn them. Got it?!"

"Y-yes sir!" they cried, dragging their unconscious comrade as they ran away deep into the forest.

I sweat dropped. "Yikes, you didn't have to warn them with that kind of threat. It hurts just think about it!"

"Oi, you're a girl. You shouldn't be thinking about it." Gladius scolded.

I shrugged. "Fair enough!"

I ran back to town with the ring in my hand. Gladius had already returned to the spirit world so I'll be able to recover my magic power, but it doesn't mean that my wounds and injuries were healed.

I thought that I could summon Asclepius sometime later, but the request comes first!

I found the man waiting outside his house. I smiled and waved, calling him out. "Mister! Mister! I got the ring!"

The man looked up, slightly surprised to see me. His eyes grew wide as his gaze turned to the ring I held in my hand.

"The ring!" he cried as he stood up from his place and walked towards me.

Despite the stinging pain, I managed a bright smile and placed the ring on the man's hand. "There you go!" I said as I placed my hands on my hips.

He stared at the ring for a few moments before tears swelled up in his eyes. He held the ring in his hand and placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Thank you!" he said happily. "Thank you!"

I winced but managed a weak smile. "Er, yeah, uh, can you please not tighten your grip? I'm sort of wounded here…"

He ignored me and stared at the ring. "Now I can finally greet my granddaughter into this world!"

I looked at him in confusion. "Granddaughter?"

The door behind him swung open, revealing a man and a woman waiting inside. She had a swollen belly, a sign that she was pregnant and a gentle smile on her face. Beside her, the man was supporting the woman as she stood on her place.

"Father? What is all this noise?" the man asked.

The father smiled towards his son and revealed the ring placed on his palm. His son's eyes widened. "That's the ring!" he exclaimed in shock.

The woman beside him looked at everyone in confusion. "I do not understand. What is going on?"

I raised my hand, deciding to answer that. "Grandpa over here made a request to retrieve a ring from a bunch of thieves. The ring that I was sent to bring back is a ring that he will use to propose to you!" I said with a smile.

The woman's eyes widened as she turned to her beloved. "Is this true, Klein?" she asked.

The man, who I assumed was named Klein, nodded. He let go of the woman and took the ring from his father's hand. He then walked back to the woman and knelt down on one knee, holding out her hand and held the ring in the other.

"Noel, would you marry me?" he asked softly, his eyes directed at Noel.

Noel's eyes were glassy with tears. She nodded, and slowly did Klein slip in the ring on her ring finger. He stood up from his place and kissed Noel on the lips.

I couldn't help it. I squealed and gave both of them a thumbs up. "Congratulations both of you!" I said with a wink.

The couple laughed. Noel smiled, but it vanished when she stared at my wounds. "Such horrible injuries! Did the thieves do this to you?"

I looked at my arm and examined a huge bruise. I hid it behind my back and grinned, waving it off. "It's nothing important! Just focus on living your lives to the fullest and give that baby of yours a reason to laugh every day!"

Klein smiled. "Thank you for retrieving the ring."

I grinned slyly. "Yes, yes, but about that reward…?"

He blinked before laughing. He turned to his father and gestured to me. The old man chuckled light heartedly and handed me a small brown sack. I opened it and my jaw dropped when I saw money inside.

I sniffed a bit and held the old man's wrinkled hand. "Thank you, for you kind consideration towards this poor girl!" I said in a dramatic way. I added tears and a pouty face for an effect.

"We should be thanking you, er… what's your name?" Klein asked me.

I grinned. "Erika Roswell." I answered before turning around and darting off.

Though I was running, I was still facing the family behind. "Call me sometime if you have another request, okay?!" I called.

They waved at me. I stopped running and turned around, facing the old man. "Hey old mister!" I called, gesturing the middle-aged man. "What's your name?"

"Oliver." He answered.

"Well see you again sometime, Mister Oliver!" I called before running back home.

I closed the door behind me and entered our apartment. "I'm back!"

Yukino was reading a book on her bed and smiled when she saw me. But it slowly turned into a frown when she took note of my injuries.

"Nee-sama!" Yukino cried as she scampered towards me. "Those wounds! How did you get those?"

I laughed nervously. "I took a job request and ended up with a bit more bruises than I expected."

"Bruises?! You're beaten up!" Yukino exclaimed comically.

I waved it off. "Calm down Yukino. I'll summon Asclepius!"

"You shouldn't do that," Yukino advised with a frown. "I'm sorry nee-sama, but even if summoning Asclepius doesn't take much magic power, you still need to rest. Your body might not be able to handle it."

I pouted, but I knew Yukino was right. Even if I could summon two spirits in a battle, I still have to keep my magic power in check. Two silver spirits consumed most of my power, and I can only imagine what summoning one of the golden spirits could do to my body.

I sigh and flopped to bed, feeling drowsy. I yawned and snuggled my head pillow, burying my face into the soft fabric.

"Nightie nightie Yukino." I murmured before closing my eyes.

"Soon child. The memory of the fallen shall rise, and your power will be used against those you love."

I snapped my eyes open and bolted up. Yukino was on her bed, continuing her reading before she noticed me. "What's wrong nee-sama?" she asked curiously.

"Did you hear that?" I asked her.

Yukino looked at me in confusion. "Hear what? Nothing happened."

She didn't hear it? I exhaled, relaxing myself and hugging the pillow tighter. My eyebrows were knitted in confusion. I didn't feel drowsy anymore. My body was tense and rigid.

"The memory of the fallen shall rise… and your power will be used against those you love?" I repeated in a low voice.

What did that mean? I asked myself. I shook my head from my thoughts, deciding that I was way too tired and now I was hearing things. I laid down on my bed again, and slowly closed my eyes.

Little did I know, that very sentence would haunt me for the rest of my life.

[A/N:] Hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was pretty hard since I was struck by writer's block while writing this (I hate you writer block!), but I beat the crap outta that mothereffa, and here's the result.

Also, I posted yet another Fairy Tail self-insert because of randomness and because I was bored. So what are you waiting for? Go to my profile and read that too! If you can, leave a comment on what you want to happen next!

Well, that's all I have to say for now. See ya!

Reviews are love~