Part 1

Chapter 1-Meeting Aurora

I was 7 years old when my mother died. My father was an alcoholic, and he would beat me, my brother, Jellal, and my sister, Amber. Jellal was 2 years younger than me and was five years old, while Amber was five years older than me and was twelve. We tried to stay out of the house as much as possible, trying to stay away from our father. It wasn't home, it was a house of horrors, a nightmare. I was always scared, constsntly looking over my shoulder, afraid that my father would show up behind me and start beating me right there in the middle of the street. Amber and I had been coming up with an escape plan, and we'd finally made it flawless. Just two more days, and we would be gone, escaped deep into the forest.

It was finally the right time, and we put out escape plan into action. It was one in the morning, and we ran. We ran hard and fast. Jellal could barely keep up, he was so much smaller and younger than me and Amber. I grabbed his hand and smiled at him, encouraging him to keep running. We split up, all three of us going in a different direction. Amber went left, I went right, and Jellal went straight ahead. This way if one of us was captured, the other two would get away. If anyone was caught, I hoped it was me. Jellal deserved a long, happy life, and it had always been Amber's dream to start a family and have kids of her own. They should be able to live out their dreams, since I don't really have any yet. Actually, I have just one: I want to be a mage and join a guild. I already know how to read and write, so I can request and accept jobs. There were two guilds that I was torn between: Fairy Tail and Blue Pegasus, but then there was Lamia Scale and Quatro Cerberus, I just can't decide which one!

I was the first to reach the rendezvous point. That was weird. Jellal should've arrived first, then Amber, and then I should've been last. After all, Jellal went straight, which was the shortest route, Amber took the second longest route by going right, and then I went left, taking the longest route. Something was wrong, very wrong. I waited, and waited, and waited but no one else came. I was alone. Completely and utterly alone. I knew that I couldn't wait long, so I waited until sunrise, and when no one showed up, I left, looking behind me the whole time. I didn't cry. I told myself after my mother died that I would be as strong as I could. And I would be strong, and learn from everything I, and everyone else, did.

I was deep into the Worth Woodsea by noon, and I finally stopped to restI sat on the root of a giant oak tree, setting my back against the trunk. I didn't mean to fall asleep, but after staying awake for a day and a half, I was exhausted. I fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes. I told myself I could only rest for a few minutes, but when I woke up the moon was high in the sky. How long had I slept? I guess I was lucky that no one had found me, or so I thought.

I opened my eyes to see a white dragon with some light blue and gold scales mixed in. "Do not scream little one," it said. "You have nothing to fear, I am here now."

"Who-who are you? Where am I? H-how can you talk?" the questions just cam spilling out me. I was scared out of my mind, but I would be more scared if I'd stayed at home yesterday and had never left home.

"My name is Aurora, Aurora the Ice Dragon. You are deep into my hom on the northern continent, in one of the many Woodseas. I know how to speak your language because I have met you kind before. Now come, it is the first day of the year 777, and there is much to celebrate."

Confused, I followed her towards the eastern edge of the forest. We stepped into a large clearing, about 300 feet in diameter. It almost looked like a... no, that wasn't possible.

"What is your name, child?"

"D-D-Destiny," I managed to squeak out.

"Destiny, what a beautiful name, and with such powerful meaning. Look around you now, look closely. What do you see? What do you smell?"

"I see lots of trees, mostly pine, but with some oak trees mixed in. On that tree," I said, pointing to a tree about twenty yards away, "is a heart with 'G+J' written in it. I can barbeque coming from east, rain in the south, and, sniffsniff, from the north I smell fire and smoke."

Aurora blinked. "Nicely done, little one. Follow me, we have much work to do."

"Huh?" I said, confused even more.

"Do you wish to learn magic?"

I was shocked, speechless. I couldn't believe it. I'd wanted to learn magic for so long, since I was probably five. Once I'd learned to read and write, I'd done all the research I could on the different kinds of magic. I couldn't decide what magic to learn, Wind or Fire, Snow or Ice, Archive or Requip, Celestial or Ring, Card or Lightning, there were just so many! Not only that, I had no clue who would teach magic to me. No one in my town ever used magic, and the nearest guild was Blue Pegasus, which was four towns away. Yet, here was everything I'd ever wanted. A magic to learn (a Lost Magic no less!) and a trainer.

Aurora was still waiting for an answer. She cleared her throat, asking, "Do you wish to learn Ice Dragon Slayer magic?"

I nodded. And right then, the training of an Ice Dragon Slayer began.