"Oh sweet relief!" I crack a smile as I watch Natsu stumble off the train. He looks like he was out drinking all night and trying to recover from a hangover. If it was different circumstances I'm sure he and Olive would get along well. His motion sickness is far more severe than Olive's though. She is still a bit green stepping off, obviously not in the mood to deal with the pink-haired man who is currently kissing the ground.

Her shadows whip up around her and I swear I hear a child scream. "Get over here fire-head. We still have to get you back to the guild."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm comin'. Why can't you be nice like that other girl? If we wanted to run off we would've already." Natsu has his arms crossed behind his head, a relaxed, almost jovial expression gracing his features. I laugh at his joke, and I see Paxton and Talon both crack smiles. Olive doesn't seem to appreciate his joke, though, as one of the shadows grabs his ankle and trips him. I see Lucy and Gray are laughing at their friend's misfortune.

We take on our formation from earlier, Paxton leading, but he isn't donning his beast arm. I notice Olive's shadows aren't as strong as they were. Talon's pencil is tucked away behind his ear, both of his hands in his pockets. I'm standing next to Gray who is walking silently beside me, a calm expression on his face. Natsu is chatting animatedly with Lucy and her bell like laugh rings out. We continue walking through Magnolia. We just seem like a group of people going out for a day with their friends, or at least I hope that is what we look like. We don't attract any strange glances, so that's good. We continue to walk until Paxton stops us at Magnolia Park. "What are we doing here?" Olive looks around at the families in the park before giving the three a wary look.

"We're going to stay here and guard these three while Ivie goes and gets the Guild Master. I don't want to lead them directly to Fairy Tail."

"Should she really go alone, Pax? What if something happens?" I hear concern in Olive's voice. She is looking out for me again, but it's not necessary.

"I'll be fine. I'm just going to the guild hall. It's better to have more of you guarding these guys anyway. I'll be quick." I give them a wave as I set off onto the streets of Magnolia. I can feel sets of eyes on me, burning into me like fire. I look over my shoulder. Paxton and Lucy are talking to one another. I can tell from the way Pax adjusts his glasses that he is listening intently. Natsu and Olive are at one another's throats, a flame in each of Natsu's hands, a shadow in each of Olive's. Talon and Gray are both watching me walk away. I ignore it. Talon is probably just trying to look out for me as best he can. Gray is probably just curious about the ice wizard who is terrible at magic. None of them have seen me use my magic yet. I place my right hand into my left palm like Lyon taught me to do and create a snowflake. It's pretty, but I wouldn't be able to use it for combat. I just stare at it as I walk down the gray cobblestone streets.

I eventually reach the guild hall. I open the doors and look around for the master. Where is Laxus at? I feel a pair of arms wrap around me from behind. I turn and see it's Ceila. "You're back from your job!"

She nods. "Yeah! Ruby, Lydia and I got back about twenty minutes after you apparently left." Ceila is tall, five foot seven last time we checked, a good three inches taller than me. Her skin is light, ivory, with a spattering of freckles covering her nose and cheeks. Her hair is straight and the color of dark chocolate, hair reaching just past her shoulders, bangs covering her forehead. She has beautiful gray-blue eyes that I've always found myself jealous of. There is always a smile on her face, causing the outer corners of her eyes to turn slightly downward. Everything about her is soft and inviting.

I look over at the bar and see Ruby sitting with Lydia, a cup coffee in her hands. Ruby is slightly taller than me, five foot five. Like Ceila she has skin the color of ivory, but has no freckles dotting her face. She keeps her hair short, a pixie cut, changing the color depending on the mood she's in. Currently it's a vibrant shade of lavender. Her eyes are also blue, but a brighter shade, more like the ocean on a stormy day. Ruby saves her smiles for when she thinks people are worthy of them. I'm never worthy, but on the rare occasion I see her smile her eyes turn up. While Ceila is soft, Ruby is all angles. She's tiny, one hundred pounds maybe.

My sisters are both beautiful and I find myself envious of them often. I'm the shortest. My skin isn't the color of ivory, but more a light beige, naturally darker than both of them. I don't have Ceila's freckles, but have higher cheekbones than both of them. My hair is longer than both of theirs, reaching my waist, and also incredibly curly, impossible to manage or make beautiful like either of them do. I don't have their pretty blue eyes, but plain brown, the same color as my hair. I'm not as thin as Ruby or have features as soft as Ceila. It's frustrating.

I look back at Ceila, distracting myself from my thoughts. I have a job to do. Now is not the time to be wrapped up in my head. "Have you seen Laxus anywhere?"

"The Guild Master? I think he's with Mira." Ceila and I both glance at the bar and see Laxus sitting on the corner, chatting with Mira who is passing out drinks.

"Thanks, CeCe. Tell me about your job later, okay?"

CeCe nods and goes over to sit next to Lydia. Lydia looks just like her mom, Evergreen, busty, thin, pretty, and perfect, without glasses and with white hair, like her dad and brother. She's got a bit of an attitude, and can be a bit dense at times, but she's got a good heart and I'm glad to call her my guild mate.

I turn my attention away form my sister and go sit next to Laxus. "Hey, Ive! Want anything to drink?"

I shake my head. "No thanks, Mira. I need to talk to Laxus. It's about the job we went on." Mira nods and walks away, the motherly smile she has plastered on her face goes elsewhere. Laxus has a dark expression. "What is it, Curly?"

I ignore Laxus's nickname for me for the time being. "We found people who claim to be members of the guild. We don't know them and they don't know us. They're not trying to fight or anything. We thought if anyone would know them it would be you."

Laxus gets up from his chair and downs the last of his drink. "Freed, Evergreen, Bickslow, come on."

I notice they're sitting at a table together, each with a drink. They stand up quickly and make their way to Laxus's side. "What is it, Laxus?" Freed looks up at his friend with admiration as he speaks.

"Curly here said there were some people she didn't know claiming to be members of our guild."

"Paxton, Olive and Talon are guarding them over at the park right now. We didn't think it would be a good idea to bring them back here in case they were trying to infiltrate us. That's why we wanted Laxus to look."

The Thunder Legion take up their spots as Laxus's guard, something I've grown used to seeing over the years, and I lead them back to the park. It's quiet while we walk. Laxus placing a hand on my shoulder gives me chills.

"Hey kid. What happened here?" A hand on my shoulder sends chills through my body.

I shake my head. I can't speak of it. No. No I can't! "Please don't hurt us!" I cry out.

"I don't know what you're talking about, kid? Where are your mom and dad?"

Tears prick my eyes. "They're dead." I glance over at my sisters. CeCe is asleep on Ruby's lap. Ruby's eyes are half closed with sleep. The man takes a step closer to me. "Stop!" I hold out my hands and will the magic to come, creating bits of ice that fly at the man. He's unfazed. He ignores my cries as he picks me up. "Come on, Curly. Don't cry. I know somewhere safe for you, Pixie and Bite Size."

"You said they're around here, Curly?"

I nod. "Yeah. Pax, Olive and Talon should be watching them." I see a burst of flames and suspect that's the work of Natsu. "This way."

Sure enough Natsu is the one busting out flames. I'm not expecting the one to be fighting him to be Gray, who is dealing out ice-make weapons like no one's business. They stop immediately once they see Laxus. He has a stern look on his face. Even Lucy looks scared.

I see the looks of shock on Bickslow, Evergreen and even Freed. Laxus takes slow steps towards them, making his way closer to them until he reaches Natsu, when he pokes him on the shoulder. "Well," he says gruffly, "took you three long enough."

"What the hell happened to you guys? Why are you so old?" I notice Natsu is not exactly subtle.

I can see the rage burning in Evergreen's eyes behind her glasses. "We're not old! Why the hell are you all so young?"

Paxton makes his way over to his mother and places a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Mom. I think we're all confused here." Paxton then looks at Talon, Olive and myself. "At least we know they are Fairy Tail members."

Olive nods and finally relaxes for the first time since we found them. There are none of her shadows in sight. Talon makes his way over to me and gives me a smile. "Thanks for getting them, Ivie."

I shrug in response, not really sure what to say. "It wasn't a problem."

Talon leans down, placing his mouth close to my ear and speaks in a breathy whisper. "You're not useless Ivie."

Again, I shrug. "I've got a long way to go before I compare to you guys or my sisters."

"Not as long as you've convinced yourself." Talon glances over at the others. The Thunder Legion are questioning Natsu, Gray and Lucy, trying to find out what is going on. Paxton and Olive are watching closely, throwing out statements occasionally. I feel Talon grab my hand. "Come on, let's go." My heartbeat has suddenly quickened. What is this? I follow him though. I'd follow Talon anywhere. I trust him with my life.

"Where are we going?"

"Just for a walk. I noticed how stressed out you were. I thought you needed some time away from the others before we all head back to the guild."

"Thanks."

Talon's expression, though kind, turns serious. "What's wrong, Ivie?"

I think back to Laxus touching my shoulder. I think of the day he found us, and the few days after I heard about the three missing wizards. Everything is happening so close together. My head is starting to spin. "I was remembering when Laxus found us."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I shake my head. "I still can't." I bite my lower lip and look up at Talon. I can feel needles pricking my eyes. I will the tears to not fall. "I don't know if I ever will." The tears start to slowly escape. Talon reaches his hand towards me and her clumsily wipes them away, not judging me as I cry. I reach my arms around him and hug him, letting the tears I've held back for over a decade spill out. "I don't know what to do, Talon."

He rubs my back and doesn't say a word. We stay there, standing in the middle of the park like that until we hear Bickslow calling for us. I pull away and sniff, giving him the best smile I can manage at the moment. "That's our cue. We should probably go."

"Yeah." I start the walk back to the others, Talon walking behind me. "You know, Ivie," I can hear the laughter that comes from smirking on Talon's face, "you look prettier when you smile."

I just turn around and beam at him.

A/N

Thank you all so much for reading! I am having so much fun writing this story. I'm sorry if this chapter was a but awkward, but we now know what Ivie looks like! I want to thank those of you who have reviewed my story. It means so much to me that you're taking the time to do that. It really means a lot!