A/N: Hello there lovely reader! I finished this chapter much quicker than anticipated and thought I should share!

Shall we celebrate the recent anime happenings? Air anyone!? And if you've been keeping up with the Manga then you know how exciting it everything has become. I have to say that aside from the Tenrou Island and Tartaros arcs this current one may be my favourite! It feels like everything is ending though but I could be wrong!

Anyway, hopefully you enjoy this chapter which can in no way compare to Mashima's genius – but perhaps will bring you a small speck of joy as you wait for new chapters or episodes or both!

The Cold Moons of Yesterday

The Fairy Tail Mages stood completely awestruck at what they could see in front of them. Levy's mouth had fallen agape and she felt transfixed by the strangeness of the heavens.

They had walked for at least twenty minutes through the trees alongside the wide river trying to make it into the town. It was still very dark but Levy used her powers to make a light source; Natsu wasn't allowed to use his on account of the surroundings being incredibly flammable.

She shivered in the unfamiliarly freezing air and stopped casting her light. Darkness was not a problem anymore for not one but two bright, perfectly round moons shone in the star filled sky above the quaint buildings of Brigadoon. The team stepped out of the treeline slowly.

"What does it mean?" Levy had her eyes on the moons as she inched forward onto the cobbled streets of the town.

"I'm not sure but stay on your guard. We don't know enough about this place to be complacent." Jellal was visibly on edge as he took his place at the front of the group. They seemed to have come out the forest onto a kind of town square which was lined by shop fronts and small houses as well as the wide river. The buildings were small and tightly packed with thatched rooves and flowerboxes – it was like an old fashioned Magnolia or much like what magnolia may have looked like at some point in the past. The river had a bridge over it that was large and looked ornate even from a distance. It seemed to lead to more of the same kinds of buildings. To Levy it was both strange and familiar.

The team crept ever further into the centre of the town square. The place was eerily quiet as they surveyed everything. One large building in particular stood out to the blue haired solid script mage on account of its absence of an entrance. All the other little houses and shops had pretty little doors or archways to allow access but this one did not. Instead there was a huge pale clock face – like another moon - with numbers and hands ticking away seconds, minutes and hours. She found it to be curious. There were steps that wrapped around it and then a sizable noticeboard which was black with the information written in glowing white. She began walking forward to get a closer look.

"Does anyone else feel weirdly calm?" Lucy asked as she tugged Natsu towards a little shop with flower bouquets in the window. Levy shuddered but did not answer. She stood in front of the blackboard like sign filled with painted words and began to read. The largest script read: 'TOWNSPEOPLE TAKE NOTICE.'

"What's it say, Shorty?" Gajeel seemed to appear suddenly behind her and place one of his heavy hands on her shoulder. She jumped and gasped and he pulled away embarrassed.

"No Gajeel." She turned to him with a look of panic. "Look at the date…" She pointed to the bottom left corner.

"45th Day of Harvest, X770. Shit." He read it out in a disbelieving tone.

"Maybe they just forgot to change the date?" Natsu piped in as he stopped beside Gajeel.

"Maybe. But that looks like freshly painted lettering to me." Levy called on Jellal who agreed with her. They all began to chatter in confusion and must have been louder than they anticipated for suddenly the clock face lit up brightly causing them all to jump back.

"Should we run?" Lucy whispered slightly crouched.

"No way – that'd just be suspicious. " Gray rolled his eyes but drew in his breath sharply when he saw the clock face begin to open up. Levy noticed how beautifully it had been crafted so that the hands were not disturbed from continuing to rotate.

More light flooded out onto the stone stairs an illuminated the cobbled square where the nervous Fairy Tail members racked their brains to find and excuse for being there so late. Levy stepped up onto the first step past the blackboard bravely and called out: "Hello?"

"Good evening." With a flourish a mountain of a woman stepped into view. She was dressed all in crimson sleepwear save for heavy leather boots which must have only added to her height and presence. She was a mature woman and her face was reminiscent of Porlyusica in that it held a menacing scowl that commanded respect despite the rollers in her hair looking a bit silly. "I am Aonach Mor."

Levy smiled up at the woman nervously. "I'm Levy McGarden. My friends and I are travellers and-" She was interrupted by Aonach who clapped her hands together changing her face to an expression of compassion as she descended the stairs past the small girl and suddenly grabbed her arm hauling her towards the rest of the group again. Erza took her hand to comfort her when the girl looked ready to have a heart attack and Gajeel took a step closer to her.

"Oh dear – have you lost your way?" Her heavy footsteps echoed around the square and no one said anything. Levy did not know whether or not to agree or disagree so she went with her gut.

"We did – but our intention was to come here anyway. We heard about your upcoming festival…" She let her sentence trail off. On the notice board it had talked about the upcoming festival preparations so she hoped she was on the right track to having an excuse for being here.

"Ah yes! You are the third group of guests to arrive. Why did you not wait for one of our guides to take you through the mountain? If you had just waited til' morning-"

"It was Juvia's fault!" The water mage piped in suddenly. "We arrived too late and Juvia convinced everyone to go around the mountain." She smiled sheepishly.

"Well that was very silly of all you youngsters. The forest can be a dangerous place!" She looked at them sternly but didn't seem to disbelieve their tale. "Will you be needing a place to stay? I know a couple that just recently opened up an Inn." She suddenly noticed the trio of exceeds and looked at them with fascination.

"That would be fantastic." Said Jellal calmly.

"Would you be so kind as to point the way?" Erza released Levys hand and picked up the handle to the cart she had miraculously managed to pull through the thick forest.

"I can do one better and take you there if you'd permit it." Aonach, who towered over even Gajeel gestured towards the bridge.

"Did we not disrupt you from sleep?" The reequip mage asked but did not protest to the woman's assistance. Levy thought she could see similarities between Aonach and Erza as well.

"No, I don't sleep much. I'm glad to find something to do. And I take great pleasure in bothering Mungo anyway." She laughed and stomped off into the cold night. They followed behind her as she chattered on about nothing. Levy could barely keep pace and Gajeel who had initially hastened behind the woman – still with the blunette's huge trunk on his shoulder – backtracked and fell into step with her without a word. He did not even tease her for her slow place. Instead he looked around with interest. She was happy but unnerved by his sudden interest in her welfare.

"I hope this doesn't seem forward Aonach-san but what is this places history?" Wendy's quiet voice interrupted the womans rant about the festival committee and she grinned towards her.

"Oh yes, well the town itself isn't old as we are newly settled here. This country is strange to us but as with every new place we travel to there are things that we have the opportunity to learn about – for example I haven't seen creatures like these before." She stopped to allow someone to fill her in and Panther-Lily was the one to comply.

"We're Exceeds. I am Panther-Lily. This is Charle and Happy." The dark furred exceed gestured to his friends. Charle smiled witheringly and Happy smiled brightly. The woman did not look the least bit surprised at the fact that they could speak.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Well, yes, we are the decedents of a clan of travellers. My people never stayed in one place for too long until now actually. I was raised in so many lands I've lost count but I'm originally from a small island in the cold sea. Our people have never forgotten our heritage. That's what the festivals about anyway. You'll learn all about everything to do with Brigadoon if you care to pay attention. And if not – the music is going to be simply wonderful." Her heavy boots thudded with every giant step. She guided them through a maze of stone houses with this area seeming more residential.

She pointed forward towards the end of a row of small houses to a much larger building. Two torches burned on either side of the double doors and to their surprise a cheerful melody radiated from it.

"Juvia can hear music right now!" She smiled brightly and began skipping to the merry sound which was coming from inside. Levy watched Gray watching Juvia. He looked like he wanted to join in with her fun but denied himself. Natsu had no such problem as he spun Lucy suddenly and much to her displeasure as she snatched Happy from the air and threw him at Natsu's head. Everyone began giggling as Aonach slammed her fist against the door three times and yelled for those inside to open up.

The music stopped abruptly and it sounded like something was thrown inside. A soft muffled voice could be heard trying to calm one that appeared very annoyed. Someone with a heavy tread came towards the door and threw it open with ferocity.

"Not bloody again you giant mental-" Levy looked on in amusement as a short and stocky blue bearded man got down off his tiptoes and smiled innocently. He had initially been intent on standing up to the woman towering over him but his face, having been red from anger, was now red from embarrassment. "Hello there. Uhm dear… I think we have guests." He pulled open the other door to allow them all space to enter. Aonach Mor bent down to fit under the doorframe and went in first whilst the rest of the group followed suit.

The ground floor of the place was beautiful. To the right was a large check-in desk made of thick wood with a small brass bell and all the keys for the rooms hung on what looked like a hand carved board behind it. Past this was a door but the room it lead to was dark so you could not see anything. To the left was couches placed around a roaring fire, similar to Gajeels home, with a few tables and chairs for good measure. To Levy's utter delight most of the wall space was shelved and covered in books. On the back wall was a simple stair case with another door underneath and the floors were entirely wooded save for an expansive patterned carpet in the centre of the room. All in all it was a nice, warm place and everything seemed very new.

A smiling woman with long brown hair laughed as she set eyes upon Aonach and the group.

"What Mungo means to say Aonach is that though we do enjoy your late night visits - the knocking is a little excessive." The woman, whose voice was so lovely it nearly had Levy in tears, had remained perched on the back of the largest couch and was holding a strange instrument in her hands. She stood up gracefully. Levy had initially thought she would be tall but instead she was petite – however still taller than the man who had answered the door. Gajeel, under the guise of setting down the trunk, leaned down and whispered into the blunettes ear.

"These shrimps your long lost relatives or somethin' gihi." She turned to glare at him discreetly and pushed his face away when she saw his mocking expression.

"Quiet idiot Gajeel…" She muttered as the woman smiled towards her. Realising she had caught their exchange Levy cast her eyes down to her toes is mortification.

"Actually my darling Kenna – Mungo means what Mungo says." The man comically forced himself to remain calm whilst Aonach leaned against the counter chuckling at him. The brunette went over to join them with a twinkle in her eye.

"Fair enough." She stated simply before she addressed the group of Fairy Tail Mages standing in the centre of the room. "Sorry about all this. I'm Kenna Coll and this is Mungo, how can we help you?"

"They're here for the festival!" Aonach piped in before any of them could reply.

"Let the youngsters speak for themselves you old bat!" Mungo erupted again and slammed his hand on the wooden countertop. Everyone save for Kenna jumped and the mages erupted with laughter.

"Mungo you imbecile." The woman said simply as she leaned against the counter to smile up at him. "Are you standing on the box again?"

"Kenna please." Mungo looked down embarrassed, his cheeks continuing to flame.

"Listen to your woman Mungo you bushy faced brat!" This time Aonach slammed her expansive hand down. The man tugged on his blue beard and huffed.

"She's my wife you giant walking headache!" Levy giggled and bent over to pick up Panther-Lily as she perched herself on her large trunk beside Gajeels legs. She looked around at her friends and smiled when she saw Lucy who had sat down on one of the chairs chatting quietly with Natsu who had knelt beside her and placed his hand on her knee. It was sweet to look upon them. They were both so innocent – especially Natsu.

"May I ask you how long you'll be staying?" Kenna ignored the battle of wills going and turned to the mages speaking amongst themselves. Jellal stepped forward again.

"We're not sure, it depends on how long we're able. It seems like an interesting place – and money is no problem." He looked sideways at Erza who without warning entwined her arm with his and lay a head on his shoulder. Levy's brown furrowed and the conversations ceased. Everyone looked on to see what Erza was about to do. Her smile became strange and she began blushing.

"We're getting married – so we thought we'd go do some travelling with the wedding party. Nothing like a bit of group bonding before the big day. Plus we get to escape our familes for a while." It took everything for the other members of their group not to react like this was not a huge surprise - poor Jellal looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"How lovely! It's so important to do these things when you're young and before the little one's come along. Travel is good for the soul! There are certainly some romantic spots here. A hot spring in the mountains and a little tree house not too far beyond the river path! Maybe if you like Brigadoon enough you could come back and have your wedding here!" Kenna gushed with a giant smile and then slammed her own hand down on the desk. It broke her husband and Aonach from their argument and Jellal seemed to gather himself. "Listen Mungo. For goodness sake. If we're going to be running a business then you need to pay attention to the customers when their standing in front of you." She turned to the group of mages. "You're our first customers."

"I'm shocked." Gray said sarcastically. Juvia elbowed him hard and he coughed in pain. "It's such a nice place."

"How many rooms should we make up then?" Kenna asked in a very professional manner. "We have…" She trailed off and turned to Mungo who sighed as if expecting her next question. "What rooms do we have again?"

"Two Master Double Rooms, two Double Rooms, two Double Rooms with two single beds in each and two Single rooms with one bed in each. They all have their own bathroom except for the single rooms – they have to use the bathroom on the upper floor until their private ones are finished. " He rhymed this off easily. "We can also offer the lodge in two days. I could finish it by then." He gestured towards the back of the room. "It's out back through the trees and up the hill. Kenna and I built it ourselves. It would be big enough for you all."

"I helped build it too." Pointed out Aonach with feigned arrogance causing Mungo to snarl at her like a tiny bear.

"Wow! That all sounds great!" Lucy piped up quickly. "What's the plan then Erza?" Everyone was looking at her both expectantly and warily. The red head had gone rogue as she pulled Jellal forward to the desk and Kenna began speaking again.

"All we need right now is for one of you to sign down all the names and put down a deposit. And if you could put the rooms everyone will be staying in beside them that would be great. There's shorthand for them written at the top of the page. See – MD stands for master double and so on." Kenna was grinning as she gave her spiel clearly delighted at playing the proper innkeeper.

Levy regarded Erza as she looked over her shoulder with a crazed expression at the group. Levy's eyes widened as she took the pen from Mungo and pulled the fresh looking leather bound sign in book towards her and began writing. She could almost hear the maniacal laughter that must have been going through her head.

"Me and my fiancé shall share one of the Master rooms as will my Maid of Honour, Lucy and her husband, Natsu." Lucy could not contain her squeak as she smiled in panic – Natsu as expected didn't seem worried in the slightest. He actually seemed pleased. "Wendy and Charle shall share one of the double rooms as will my other Bridesmaids Levy and Juvia." Levy exhaled in relief and winked at Juvia who winked back. She'd been worried for a second about having to share a bed with Gajeel again and Juvia was clearly still not ready for temptation from Gray. "The groomsman can decide amongst themselves over the double rooms with single beds." She was dishing out orders like the general of an army.

Then she said something brilliant: "The year is definitely X770, right?" She put the date beside their names.

"Oh, yes." Kenna confirmed and looked back towards a small calendar hanging on the wall.

"But why can't I share with Juvia, Erza?" Gray butted in with a sly smirk, either to distract from the mention of the date or out of a genuine wish to share a room with Juvia – perhaps it was both. Nobody could contain their laughter save for Juvia who shrieked.

"Because Juvia and Gray are not on speaking terms any longer." Juvia stared at him incredulously.

"How inappropriate Groomsman!" Yelled Erza causing Gray to shrink to the floor like a tortoise retreating into its shell. If this was her pretending to be a bride what might she be like if she actually did get married?

"Also – if you do finish the lodge we would love to rent that. It would be better for business to be honest. We cannot promise to be completely sane guests as you can see." Jellal spoke quietly to Kenna who nodded happily.

"Who likes boring guests anyway?" Cried Aonach causing Mungo to clench his fists and jump up into the air.

"Are you still here you humungous twit!" He yelled joining in the noise of Juvia and Gray fighting.

"Daddy?" Came child's voice from the darkened doorway. A small figure was peeking out from the door frame looking on in interest and silencing everyone for a moment as they turned to stare.

"Awk, little one. Did we wake you up?" Mungo rushed to the door and scooped the child up earning a sweet giggle. Kenna looked after them with a blissful expression.

"I dreamt about the dragon again!" The child exclaimed with glee earning a grin from everyone. Lily turned to Levy with a smirk and they laughed together. She looked back over her shoulder and caught Gajeel looking at her with an angry expression. She shrugged it off.

"Dragons, did you hear that everyone? Well you'll need to get back to that then, won't you? Hold on Kenna, I won't be a moment." He called. Levy could hear him telling the child that they were new friends. It made her smile as her mind drifted back to Master Falcon, Hebe and the child named for her back at the library.

"That child's drawn to chaos Kenna. One to watch in the future I reckon. Dreaming about those giant winged beasties." Aonach laughed loudly and winked at Levy as Kenna shook her head serenely.

"As am I. Why do you think I married blue beard?" She began giggling. "It certainly wasn't his charm."

She seemed to return to her professional mode as Jellal fished out the payment from his satchel. Levy jumped off the trunk and set Lily back down on the floor.

"I'll make sure Mungo gets the lodge finished for you. I'll give him a day instead of two." She smiled and went around the counter to gather the keys. "Do you want me to take you up to your rooms or would you like to go get settled yourself? It's easy to find everything once you're up there."

Erza noticed the room numbers were on the actual keys themselves.

"Don't worry about it – we'll head up. Is there any where you'd like us to avoid?" The red headed mage asked politely.

"Don't worry about that. Our own space is only accessible through that door Mungo left through. You're free to roam around everywhere on this side. Except other people's rooms if they don't want you in there." Kenna informed them as Aonach eyed Gray accusingly. "But you're the only guests here!"

"Thank you very much for your hospitality Kenna. And thank you Mor-san for helping us out even though we arrived as loud strangers in the dead of night." Jellal laughed and the fierce but jolly giantess joined in.

"The people of Brigadoon have open hearts." She stated as she tucked Erzas huge amount of luggage into the large and thankfully empty cupboard underneath the stairs. "We're all just one big family at the end of the day. Now get a good sleep and come by the clock in the morning if you want a rundown of the best places to visit." Everyone said thank you as they headed up the stairs towards their rooms. Levy was last in the queue and couldn't help but turn back to Kenna who had been re-joined by Mungo at the front desk.

"You were playing that music weren't you?" She asked and Kenna nodded whilst she picked up her instrument.

"Indeed it was. I must stop playing late at night if you can hear it from outside." She smiled and laughed with Mungo who shook his head.

"No don't. It's beautiful! What kind of instrument is it?" Levy loved the sound it made.

"A fiddle. It's my pride and joy - passed through my family for generations. My ancestors crafted them back in the old country." She smiled her serene smile at Levy. "I'll play for you sometime." Levy beamed with almost child-like glee. Books were her life, but music was always something that brought her great joy.

"I'd love that!" She said lingering on the staircase for some reason. Perhaps she was not eager to be part of the chaos that was surely going on up there between fake husbands and fiancés as well as everything else that was going on.

"You comin' Shimp?" Yelled Gajeel from the top of the stairs. It was quieter than she expected up there and she shook her head.

"Coming idiot! Goodnight Kenna, Mungo. Thank you for letting us stay here. Goodnight Aonach." She gave them a small wave and rushed off upstairs after Gajeel to find him leaning casually against the wall beside an open door in the middle the carpeted hallway. Levy gulped when he half smiled at her and continued past 4 doors. Why did that stupid oaf have to look the way he did?

"You're in here." He motioned with his head but jumped back when something came flying out the room and smacked against the wall.

"Levy-chan! This room is so cute!" Juvia popped her head out the doorway with a sweet smile which seemed at odds with the fact that she'd just thrown Gray out of the room and knocked him unconscious.

"Juvi?" Levy yelled into the room after her eyeing Gajeel in confusion when he shrugged carelessly at his friends antics.

"Juvia had no choice Levy-chan. He was stripping." Her sing-song voice made Levy giggle. Gray was a sorry sight crumpled on the floor in only his boxers. Levy was about to say something when Gajeel began walking away towards the second stairway at the end of the hall. She stood bewildered.

"Gajeel!" She called out in brief terror. "What about Gray?" She didn't want him breaking down the door and carrying off Juvia into the night – though that was probably more Natsus style. Or Erza's

"I ain't dealing with that pervert, Shrimp. See you in the morning." He paused for a second and turned around. "Unless you want to trade rooms with him? Gihi."

"Shut up idiot Gajeel." She fizzled as her face burned red.

"Fine then." And he turned around again to start walking.

"Gajeel!" She practically growled in annoyance. "Get back here!" The authoritative tone earned her a second pause and a studded eyebrow raise but he made a move again. "Iron breath." She warned.

"Gee Shorty, calm down. I would have come back for him. I'd kick his ass too but Juvia don't need my assistance." He rolled his eyes and back tracked slowly eyeing her folded arms and stern expression with amusement. She watched him unceremoniously toss their friend over his shoulder and huffed when he ruffled her hair.

"Go to bed." She ducked away from him and backed further into the doorway to watch him walk down the hallway. Gray began groaning as he awoke.

"I hear ya' Ice Pricess." The iron dragon slayer grunted and started up the stairs. "Damn women." Levy sighed more out of amusement than anything else.

"Goodnight Gajeel, sleep well. Thank you for carrying my trunk." With that she headed into the room to find Juvia already tucked under the covers – she missed Gajeels sharp intake of breath and satisfied smile.

Levy knelt down beside her and Juvias luggage and opened her own to retrieve bedclothes. Juvia sat up and caught her smiling to herself.

"Juvia thinks that Levy-chan should stop flirting with Gajeel and get down to business." She raised her eyebrows suggestively and Levy shook her head.

"Not tonight Juvia." She sighed. "Why was Gray in your room again?" She began stripping off as Juvia shook her head.

"He followed Gajeel in and then would not leave. Why does he make it so difficult for Juvia to hate him?" She allowed herself to slump forward. "And so easy at the same time. He's a terrible person."

"Sounds like you're trying to convince yourself." Levy perched herself on the edge of the bed beside her friend.

"He's only interested now because Juvia is being cold. But that is not truly…" She buried her head in the duvet. "Juvia just wants to be loved for who she is."

"You will be!" Levy adjusted her sitting position and patted the water woman's hair softly in an attempt to comfort her. "And I have a feeling Gray wanted you before. Sometimes it's difficult for people to admit something. Maybe your rejection has finally made him feel safe to pursue you because he thinks if you no longer want him – he can't truly lose you. He may just be scared…" Juvia peeked up at Levys smiling face and smiled back.

"Juvia hope's so… But she still hates him." She pouted and sat up again.

"Yeah – he's probably just crazy like every other guy in our Guild." Juvia's eyes danced now and Levy couldn't help but feed off of her positivity. Despite being one of the deadliest women Levy had ever met she was incredibly sweet. "So what happened when I was downstairs?" The bookworm asked eagerly.

"Oh! Well Erza handed Juvia and everyone their keys and Lucy looked like she wanted to faint. Jellal let Erza go to their room and he took the others to theirs but Gray-sama followed Juvia into our room with Gajeel. He put down your trunk and then went to call for you. Gray-sama was being annoying. Juvia heard Jellal come back along the hall and that's all Juvia knows." She was grinning like a cheshire cat as she recounted the 2 minutes Levy had been gone.

"I really want to know what's going on!" Levy squirmed in annoyance. Her nose was bothering her.

"Juvia too! Imagine – Erza and Jellal getting married!" Juvia laughed loudly.

"Poor Jellal. And don't forget – Lucy and Natsu are married!" Levy wondered what possessed Erza to go with such a story.

"How could Juvia forget? It's so much fun!" She clapped her hands together then lay back down still facing Levy.

"But we can't forget we're on a mission." Levy became slightly more serious as she jumped off the bed and went over to the window to gaze out at the twin moons again. "And we've somehow managed to find ourselves back in X770."

"Juvia thinks you should sleep now Levy-chan." She offered the solid script mage.

"You're right." Levy sighed and wrapped her arms around herself turning away from the window and heading into the bathroom. "Goodnight, Juvia." She called out and closed the door behind her.

Today was a success, the people in the town slept and those she had met appeared to be living happily. Aside from the moons, the date and the cold being strange there were no dangerous encounter yet. But in her gut Levy felt strange. Something was definitely going on in this quaint little town and she promised herself that by the end of tomorrow she would be much closer to solving the riddle that was Brigadoon.

Thank you for reading!

Til' next time.