A/N - Some of you might be wondering, "hey, Nocte, where's the next chapter of Tempus Fugit?" Unless you aren't one of the people reading my Soul Eater fic, in which case, just ignore this next paragraph.

I've been dealing with some really bad writers block with Tempus Fugit, to the point where I'm lucky if I can get a sentence done a night. I don't want to overtax my brain and produce mediocre work, but I also don't want to just stop writing altogether. Luckily, there is something my brain is more than happy to produce ideas for, and that's the Fairy Tail fic I've been teasing for these past several months. So, I'm going to be working on that for a bit and put Tempus Fugit on hiatus... again. Whoops. Sorry to those who were eager to see the next chapter of that soon, but it'll probably be a while! ^_^' I just want to make sure you guys get the very best that I can deliver.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy Skin Deep! Notes will be at the end of this chapter. (Also I'll upload a cover soon, don't worry. Just haven't ha the time to make one, yet.)

DISCLAIMER: Fairy Tail is the intellectual property of Hiro Mashima. I have no intention of monetizing my fanwork, and this is merely an enjoyable passer of time.

Prologue - Arrival

May 13, X776

Makarov,

I know news travels faster than carriages, and it is possible that you will have heard what has transpired in Ranuncolo before this message reached you, so you must pardon me if I skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point. There was an incident involving a Triad's Foresight wizard, and something very unpleasant has occurred as a result.

I believe you have already met Emmett Torhearth, my resident Construction wizard. If not, he's the dark-haired gentleman standing in front of you trying to pretend that he didn't read this letter on the ride to Magnolia. (Honestly, Emmett, you should know better than anyone that you can't hide anything from me.) You'll notice that he no longer bears the Triad's Foresight guild mark. This is because, suffice to say, he made a grave error in judgement, one that put a life I value above all others at risk, and after careful consideration I have made the decision to remove him from the ranks of my Guild.

However.

Emmett is an extremely skilled Construction wizard, and he is remorseful about his actions to boot. I feel it would be remiss of me to cast him out of wizarding life completely, and that course of action would still leave one other problem anyway, so I have decided to ask a favor of you. You mentioned at the last congregation of guild leaders that your guild's doors were always open to those who needed it, so I invite you to take Emmett in as a member of Fairy Tail. As I mentioned, he is a good wizard, and while he has his flaws he is ultimately a good man as well. Even his greatest and most recent blunder was done with good intentions. And if I remember correctly, well-intentioned fools who don't consider the consequences of their actions are Fairy Tail's bread and butter.

Oh, don't scowl like that, you know it's true. Like I said, news travels fast, so don't think I didn't hear about that little incident down south with one of your junior wizards. (An entire aquatic exhibit, completely frozen over? Really?) Emmett will fit right in among your merry band of misfits.

And he's not the only one. You'll have probably noticed that Emmett did not arrive on your doorstep alone. His young charge, who you have never met before but have certainly heard much about, is the second guilty party in the little incident, and someone whose livelihood must be protected at all cost. I feel that recent events have proven that I am not qualified to offer that protection, as much as it pains me. You could provide that, however, and teach her how to handle the terrible responsibility that has been forced upon her. She is also Emmett's student in the art of Construction, and I believed that it would be unfair to separate them, especially considering how attached she is to her mentor. She has the potential to be a great wizard, and would do Fairy Tail proud.

Of course, I know all these attempts at persuasion are pointless. I already know you're going to say yes, and not just because of my magic. I can always count on you, you soft-hearted old geezer.

I don't believe that I have to remind you just how important these charges are to me. If any harm comes to them while they are under your care, not even Fairy Law will be able to stop my wrath.

Glad you understand.

Emmett can explain the incident of further detail if you ask him. I would prefer not to think about it more than necessary.

Sincerely,

Cassandra

Makarov grumbled as he read the letter, brows knitted together across a forehead wrinkled with age as he ran a sharp gaze over the words on the pages in his hands. "This is just like her," he huffed. Every passive aggressive jab at him and his Guild, every smug reminder of the potency of her magic just screamed Cassandra. He'd half a mind to say to hell with her and send this tall, tanned man with the rumpled dark hair and apologetic grin right back to Ranuncolo just to see the look on her face at the next conference.

He wasn't going to do that, though. He didn't believe in turning away people in need, even if those people had been unceremoniously dumped on his lap like a box of stray kittens. He peered at the man in front of him, taking in his plain gray traveling cloak and the satchel over his shoulder. Despite knowing that he wasn't heading back to his home city any time soon, he'd still packed light.

As if sensing his unasked question, the man spoke. "Cassandra's confident that you'll say yes, and I have faith in her, but I wanted to be prepared for the worst. If you'll accept us, I can send for the rest of our stuff to be shipped here from Ranuncolo. If not, well, we'll go back and figure something out."

"I see," Makarov said. "So, you're Cassandra's Construction wizard, are you?"

The man nodded, a faint flush appearing across his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Y-yeah, that's me. Emmett Torhearth, of the… formerly of the Triad's Foresight guild. "He corrected himself in time, a pained expression crossing his well-defined features. "My Construction focus is stone. Stone soldiers, to be precise. I actually have some marble in my bag, if you want to see…"

He shoved his hand into the satchel and began to dig around, but was stopped mid-search by Makarov's shake of the head. "That won't be necessary," he said. "I trust in your abilities. Cassandra has very high expectations for members of her guild, if I recall. I do have one question, though. The letter mentioned two charges, so where's this girl that Cassandra talked about?"

"Huh? Oh!" Emmett turned around, his acorn-brown gaze dropping down and behind him. "You can come out now," he said, his voice tender as he spoke to something Makarov couldn't see. "It's okay, sweetie. Nothing bad's going to happen, I promise."

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then a small, dark head poked out from behind the man's cloak. "You don't know that." This voice was small and timid, yet retained a familiar bluntness to it that Makarov couldn't quite place…

"Sure I do," Emmett replied. "It's perfectly safe here. Now, come on out and meet the master of the Fairy Tail guild, okay? His name's Makarov. Don't worry; he's friendly."

The tiny form shrank back a bit, staring down at the floor as if deciding whether or not to believe the person whose legs she was currently using as a shield. Eventually she nodded and stepped out, staring at Makarov with big, pensive yellow eyes.

Wait. Yellow eyes? Now everything was starting to make sense.

Looking at her, this girl certainly looked like her mother's daughter. While her skin was a lighter shade of brown, indicating a father of paler ancestry, and her long, twin-braided hair was an umber brown as opposed to a stark black, the similarities in facial structure were obvious. She had the same sharp cheekbones under all that youthful roundness, the same soft curve to her nose… In about ten year's time, this young lady would become the spitting image of her mother.

In looks, anyway. Maybe not so much in disposition. The girl had a look on her face that suggested she wanted to bolt out the door and run until she was halfway to the Northern Continent. She was also dressed very warmly for the weather, wearing an oversized, forest-green hoodie with sleeves that completely covered her tiny hands and a dark brown skirt over thick, greyish cargo pants. Were it winter, such an ensemble wouldn't have struck Makarov as odd, but it was late spring, and Magnolia wasn't particularly frigid this time of year.

Well, all right, sometimes certain parts of it were, but that had less to do with the climate and more to do with Fairy Tail's resident ice wizard. Speaking of which, he really needed to have a good long talk with Gray about that aquatic exhibit at some point.

The girl was currently trying to hide behind Emmett's cloak again, but the Construction wizard wasn't having any of it, taking a step to the side. "There's no need to hide, kiddo," he said. "Master Makarov here is a good friend of you mom's; he's not gonna hurt you."

"T-that's not what I'm scared of! I'm scared that… I'm scared that…" Tearing up, the girl went back to staring at the floor, biting her lip to keep herself from crying. "You know why."

A strange expression flitted across Emmett's face, a mixture of understanding and overwhelming remorse. He knelt down to meet the little girl at eye level. "Sweetie," he said. "I know you're scared, and I don't blame you. But we were sent here to try and make things easier for you, so that we could help you with this. Master Makarov here is one of the Ten Wizard Saints; he can handle anything that gets thrown at him. No one here is in any danger, I promise." Makarov shot Emmett a questioning look, and Emmett responded with a look that said he'd explain everything once the kid was out of earshot. Fair enough, he supposed.

The girl frowned, skeptical. "You sure?" she asked.

"Absolutely," Emmett assured her. "Now, why don't you be a good girl and introduce herself to Master Makarov here? I bet he's dying to meet you."

"Okay." The girl turned to Makarov and held out one sleeve-covered hand, which Makarov promptly shook. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Master Makarov," she said, her face twisting into a mask of politeness so carefully constructed that it was almost difficult to believe that she was just a shy little girl just two seconds ago. "My name is Brandleif Rorche. Me and Mister Torhearth are here to join your guild."

"Brandleif Rorche, eh?" Makarov said, scratching at his chin and pretending to look thoughtful. It was an act; he'd already made up his mind on these two. "Daughter of Cassandra Rorche, one of the three founders of the Triad's Foresight guild?"

"Two," the little girl corrected him, her face reddening a bit at the mention of her mother. "My dad was Galen Gal, another of the founders. I don't really remember him all that much, though."

This girl had a lot of magical potential then. He was surprised she wasn't studying in the same magic her parents had. Rorches had a natural knack for the gift, after all. Perhaps that inclination just passed her over? "I see, I see. I hear that you're learning the art of Construction, too?"

Brandleif nodded. "Yeah! My focus is ink!" Not surprising. Then her face fell, and her shoulders slumped forward. "But I'm not good at it. I always mess up real bad when I try."

Well, there was one more way this kid was different than her mom. Her mother would never go so far as to be so self-effacing in regards to her magic. "Well, that makes no difference to me," Makarov said. "The Fairy Tail's doors are always open to any wizard who walks through them. We even have a few other kids around here that you can make friends with." Speaking of which, the kids were nowhere to be seen. Off making trouble, no doubt. No doubt Makarov would have to pay for their antics later, too. "You're more than welcome to join us, the both of you."

A hopeful smile briefly flickered across the young girl's face. "You mean it?" she asked. "But… you don't even know why we were sent here… shouldn't you… what if you…?"

Makarov shook his head. "Oh, I doubt that it's as bad as Cassandra makes it out to be," he said. "That woman always had a flair for the dramatic. Whatever it is, it's nothing that Fairy Tail can't handle."

"Then you'll accept us?" Emmett asked.

Wasn't that what Makarov had just said? Yes, he was sure it was. "I don't see why not," he replied. "Emmett Torhearth. Brandleif Rorche. On behalf of the Guild, I formally welcome the two of you into Fairy Tail!"

A/N - Admittedly, there's not a whole lot to talk about in this chapter, so let me talk about names! People who read Tempus Fugit know that I am a big fan of the Meaningful Name trope, and it's going to be in full force for this fanfiction, so let me talk about the names that I can talk about:

The city of Ranuncolo follows Fiore's flower theme with its name and its city names; "ranunculus" is the scientific name for the genus of flowers also known as buttercups. Emmett's name comes from "emet," the Hebrew word for truth. This came from a Jewish tale I read about a clay/stone (I don't remember the details) golem with the word emet written on its forhead; since Emmett's magic focuses around stone soldiers, I thought it would be a fun little pun. Torhearth is just a random string of phonemes I put together that I thought would fit him. Brandleif's surname, Rorche, comes from Rorschach tests, and her magic is, like she says, ink-based.

Now, you may be wondering, who gives their main character ink magic? How do you make ink awesome?

You'll see. ;)

Chapters one and two are already written, and will be posted somewhat soon (I want to pace them out a little). Hopefully I'll be able to keep on to of this for a few chapters before I get my Tempus Fugit mojo back. In the meantime, feel free to favorite and leave a review!

- Diana "Nocte"