Short chapter, I know. And a sudden change from last chapter's dark-angsty-ness but just know that since I have more time now, I'm going to try uploading more and maybe finish this story sometime in August if I'm up for the challenge.

I was actually planning to rewrite chapter two-three as well but after redoing the plot outline from chapter twenty onwards (since I really screwed myself up there with the unplanned ending), I realized that if I kept going at the rate I am currently writing at, it might take another year to finish this story. And I can't have that, can I?

Well yeah, so if I'm still sticking to this plot outline and not redoing it for the fifth time in the row then Fool's Gold will have about 33 chapters!

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~

Attending my own funeral was something I never want to experience again.

After everything that happened in the hospital room, Emily had decided that I should still attend the formal event in the morning to pay respects as a former member of L'Arc Sibyl. In disguise of course.

Not like that made me feel any better.

I was hiding in the back of the crowd of my former- or just my guild members, hiding under a new black and gold trimmed hood as I skimmed the crowd. Emily was hanging off my arm as she tried to hold in the huge grin on her face despite knowing how everyone else had hung their heads in respect. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone fall onto her knees and my heart just dropped at the sight of the girl with her head in her hands as her shoulders shook with every sob.

The officials had us all split into seven groups for every guild participating in the Grand Magic Games except for Raven Tail who were disqualified a while ago. With the members who were part of the Games or participated in the Games out at front, leading the group. My eyes, however, were trained on the crowd to the right of us, at one individual who I could almost walk up to and comfort.

At one Seira Longhorn. My first friend at Sabertooth.

I felt horrible as I watched her tear herself apart with every word the priest recited out over my dead body in front of us. I was lying to everyone here, I was still alive, Lily Harvard was still alive. In me.

Sting had told me otherwise.

"Do you think. That given all the mishaps in the Games lately. They- we would welcome you with open arms when you were never who you said you were in the first place?"

Seira was always strong, both emotionally and physically but today, I felt like I broke her. Indirectly. I felt like with this fake death that I never wanted to take part in, never wanted to happen; I felt like with this new charade that I possibly broke every person close to me.

I clenched my fist as I quickly whipped my head around to the lacri-visions floating above us, when Mauve and Miki came to pick the animal summoner up onto her feet and stand tall under Master Gemma's overpowering glance. A glance that I knew he dropped on me once I fell into his range of sight. I shivered despite myself as I tried to concentrate on what was happening to my thought projection.

All around me, members of the Crocasian Knight Squadrons played trumpets sympathetically as the newer recruits marched their way up and down the aisles with their supervisors. Giving each member of Sabertooth their condolences as they marched their way to the front to drop flowers onto my body. I wasn't really paying attention and was planning to sneak off from my own funeral when a black rose caught my sights and I watched the quivering form of Yukino Aguria come into view wearing a black soldier uniform come down the aisles.

I could only watch in confusion as she saluted her former guild mates and whispered her grief to them before moving on, even from where I stood I could see that with every face she saw, the more she quivered and the more her voice broke. I couldn't even comprehend whatever was happening when another black form brushed past me and put a hand on her back, pushing her forward as she began to tear up.

Krued.

I felt the grip around my arm tighten and I looked down to see Emily's pale crystal eyes staring up at me.

"Hey, if there's something you want to talk about, we're here." She whispered as she tugged my sleeve when she felt my attention slipping, "we're here for you, ok?"

I nodded halfheartedly before staring back up at the lacri-visions, at Sting who's loud voice bellowed out into the stands as he preformed a breath attack together with Natsu Dragneel and all at once, my thought projection lit afire.

I shivered at the sight. To my right, I could just hear the mutters and whiffs of members of my old guild and I felt horrible all over again.

They shouldn't have to watch the body of their pink haired Bunny Girl be cremated in front of their eyes, they shouldn't have to wake up to the news of their fellow guild mate passing away in the hospital, wouldn't have to wake up knowing that someone died in a legendary guild known for their strength.

And suddenly, I couldn't take it anymore. With every flame that scorched the dead body of my thought projection, I felt my magic return to me and I shrugged further under my cloak knowing that Krued was keeping a close eye on me from the stands.

"Lilian, are you ok?" Emily asked as I shook strands of my blond hair out of my face before stiffening and remembering that I was now a blond and not a pinkette. And that I was now Lilian Evan Orelohr and not Lily Harvard.

"Fine." I whispered back as I held the cloak closer around me with my free hand watching as the knight squadrons saluted one last time, watching as Krued took Yukino away with one swift motion after shooting me a look.

"I'm going to go," I said and shook her off, leaving with the other guild members who didn't know my second identity well enough to stand over my ashes and cry over fallen memories.

I didn't want to be here to see that.

Unbeknownst to me, neither did Sting and Rogue.

Ignore the timeline. The Grand Magic Games don't play a big of a role anymore from here on out so yeah...

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