Without the cart holding him down, Parakeet was able to gallop swiftly into the forest and find the cliff side where she last saw Lisanna and Elfman, the ground littered with shards of the lantern's broken glass. Quickly, Mirajane jumped off and started looking around for clues as to where could her siblings have gone. The only clues she could find were a short trail of faded footprints that led to a small path towards the palace her brother and sister had found.

After tracing the source, Mirajane looked up in amazement as she walked towards the gate leading to Fairy Tail Castle. Having only seen others like it in her book, Mirajane was awestruck to see that a castle this big and well-designed could exist. "What is this place?" She wondered.

Just then, a wind blew through, rattling the gates and startling Parakeet, who began to get fidgety. Mirajane dismounted and calmed the frightened horse down, "Steady, Parakeet… Steady…" She then spotted something on the ground. Picking it up, she recognized it as Lisanna's blue scarf, which she accidentally left behind after the Lion-Wolves attacked. This could only mean one thing.

"Lisanna… Elfman…" With no time to lose, Mirajane starts to open the iron bars and enter the castle. "Stay here, Parakeet. I'll go inside."

Inside the castle…

Gray was venting all his agitation out on Natsu, who was still in thought after the events that occurred hours ago.

"Couldn't keep quiet, could we?" Gray said sarcastically while pacing about. "Just had to invite them to stay, didn't we? Serve them tea, sit in the master's chair, pet the pooch!" When Natsu didn't respond, Gray groaned in frustration, "Hey, are you even listening to me, Pyro?!"

"Huh?" Natsu looked up. "Oh, I'm sorry. You were saying something about the hot oven?"

Smacking a palm to his face, Gray shook his head in disbelief, "What's with you, Natsu?! You've been out of it ever since those guys were thrown in the dungeon! I told you letting them in was a bad idea!"

"Well, excuse me, Gray, for trying to be hospitable," Natsu retorted.

Down in the foyer…

The door opened and Mirajane entered, calling out, "Hello? Is anyone here?" She wandered around the castle, "Hello? Lisanna? Elfman? Are you there?"

Inside the kitchen…

Erza was refilling herself full of hot water, sitting comfortably on top of the cooking stove, which was actually the castle chef Gajeel Redfox.

"So now the muscle guy and the little girl are thrown in the dungeon?" Gajeel asked. "Must be freezing down there."

"I'm afraid so, Gajeel," Erza shook her head sadly. "And nothing we say can change the master's mind." She tossed some tea leaves under her lid, "Could you please turn up the heat a little?"

"I don't see why not," Gajeel said, adjusting his knobs so the stove flame went higher.

"Ahh… much better… Just like a pure hot spring," Erza sighed contently. "My special recipe strawberry tea should be done in no time."

Just then, there was a loud clanking noise followed by an excited Wendy and Romeo, who hopped as fast as they could onto the counter.

"Miss Erza! Mr. Gajeel!" Wendy cried. "You're never going to believe what we just saw! Not in a million years will you ever believe it!"

"There's another one in the castle!" Romeo added.

"Another guy?" Gajeel raised an eyebrow, with Erza jumping off him.

"Only this time, it's a tall girl wearing a black dress with white long hair, white hair just like the other guys we saw!" Romeo explained. "You know, before they were thrown in the dungeon?"

Erza raised an eyebrow, "I find it hard to believe. Need I remind you two not to make up such wild stories? It'll get everyone's hopes up for no reason. And aren't you supposed to be taking a bath today?"

"No, really, Miss Erza!" Wendy protested innocently. "We saw her!"

"Uh-uh-uh, not another word," Erza smiled teasingly, and she shoved Romeo and Wendy into the kitchen sink. "Into the tub. And don't forget to rinse after you soap."

Just then, there was a loud girlish squeal as Lucy swept into the kitchen. She cried, "Erza! Wendy! Romeo! You're not gonna believe this, but there's another one in the castle! Only this time, it's a beautiful girl! And she matches the color of the other two's hairs for some reason. I saw her myself, walking down the East Wing."

Wendy and Romeo surfaced from the sink, and Romeo told Erza, "See? I told ya."

Wendy added, "And Romeo's right about the girl being really pretty."

Romeo smiled teasingly at Wendy, "Almost as pretty as your blueberry hair."

Wendy giggled blushingly, "Romeo!" She joined Romeo in laughter. Erza simply smiled at them, while Gajeel rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, over there…

"Oh, yeah?" Gray glared at Natsu. "As far as I'm concerned, you're nothing but a thick-headed, devil-may-care, absent-eared, slack-jawed son of a dragon!"

"WHAT did you say, Snowman?!" Natsu angrily demanded.

"You heard me! But I figured you wouldn't have any idea what THAT meant, Ash-for-Brains!" Gray yelled, and the two get into each others' faces while a spark appears between them. They were about to duke it out, until…

"Lisanna? Elfman?"

Natsu and Gray quickly jumped off the table and raced to the doorway. When they peeked out, they gasped in shock upon realizing that the cloaked figure was actually a long white-haired girl passing by.

"Holy meatballs!" Natsu exclaimed. "Did you see that? It's a girl!"

"Well, obviously," Gray rolled his eyes. "There's another one locked up in the dungeon along with the big guy."

"Yeah, she might've been a perfect candidate, but by looking at her face, she's even more beautiful than that other girl!" Natsu said excitedly. He then jumped up and down in exhilaration, "She's the one! Our lucky girl! The girl we've been waiting for! She's here to break the spell!" He then calmed down and continued, "Yeah, the girl with the short hair is cute and all, as cute as Lucy or Wendy, but the girl with the long hair and wearing a cloak? She's perfect! 100% spell-breaking material!"

His candles all aflame with excitement, Natsu eagerly hopped after Mirajane. Gray followed, shouting, "Natsu, wait! Hold on a minute!"

As Mirajane wandered down the narrow hallway, the candelabra and the clock quickly snuck up behind her and opened a door, while continuously calling her siblings' names. It felt as if there was a guiding light for Mirajane in case she got lost in the castle, since she's never been in such a place before. Gray quickly hid behind the door while Natsu hopped inside.

Mirajane looked in and spotted a shadow gliding across the wall. "Hello? Is someone here?" She ran up the stairs, "Wait, I'm just looking for my brother and sister!" Gray peeked from behind the door. Once Mirajane reached the top of the stairs, she looked puzzled when she saw no one there. "That's funny. I could've sworn there was someone…" What she failed to realize was that Natsu was hiding in a crevice in the wall, watching her and providing light in the dark room with his candles. "Is anyone here?"

After a moment, there was a faint cough followed by a familiar female voice. "Mira?"

"Is that you?" a familiar male voice added.

"Lisanna! Elfman!" Mirajane shouted recognizing the voices. Grabbing a torch, she raced towards the middle cell and knelt down as Lisanna and Elfman appeared in the cell's small opening.

"Mira!" Lisanna cried with tears falling from her eyes, happy to see her big sister again.

"Big Sis! How did you find us?" Elfman asked, reaching through the metal bars and grasping tightly onto Mirajane's hands.

"Oh, Elfman, your hands are like ice!" Mirajane exclaimed, looking at his hands. "Since when did your hands get cold?"

Lisanna explained, "Big Brother Elf and I were on our way to the talent show, until Parakeet ran away scared, and Lion-Wolves attacked. He wasted a lot of Magic Energy fighting them, and that's how he's a bit tired."

Elfman agreed, "A real man needs a lot of rest to kick back."

"But you've rested a lot, right?" Mirajane asked. "Can't you use your Take-Over Magic to bust out of this cell?"

Lisanna shook her head sadly, "We can't."

"Huh?" Mirajane raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"These cells are made of anti-magic metal," Elfman explained. "As long as we're near them, we can't use magic."

"But I can't leave you two behind!" Mirajane cried. "I've got to get you out of here!"

"Mira, listen to us," Lisanna interrupted. "You need to leave this place—"

"Who's done this to you?" Mirajane asked worriedly.

"No time to explain," Elfman said, as his eyes and Lisanna's nervously landed on something behind Mirajane. "You gotta go while you still can! Now!"

"I won't leave you," Mirajane said adamantly.

Without warning, she was suddenly grabbed by the wrist and whirled around, forcing the torch to fly out of Mirajane's hand and land onto a puddle of water, extinguishing the fire. A familiar angry voice (guess who) roared, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Lisanna and Elfman screamed frantically, "Run, Mira! Run! Run! Get outta here! Go! Run!"

The room was now illuminated in darkness, save for a crack of moonlight from the windows. Mirajane looked around for the person who grabbed her, "Who's there? Who are you?"

Mirajane finally noticed the Lightning Beast darting through the shadows, but she couldn't exactly see the shape other than the small flickers of thunder and lightning around his body.

"Laxus Dreyar," the Lightning Beast introduced himself. "The master of this castle."

The beast known as Laxus moved further into the shadows. Mirajane pleaded, "I've come for my brother and sister. Please, let them out. They might catch a cold, or even worse."

"Then they shouldn't have trespassed here!" Laxus bellowed. "They entered my home uninvited, and now they must suffer the consequences!"

"But they could die!" Mirajane cried. "Please, I'll do anything!"

"There's nothing you can do about it. They're my prisoners now," Laxus replied, as he moved toward the stairs.

"There has to be something I can…" Mirajane muttered. "Wait!" She called to Laxus, who stopped at the top of the stairs. Thinking quickly, Mirajane knew there was only one way to buy her brother and sister's freedom. She walked timidly into the moonlight, "Take me instead."

"You…" Laxus said disdainfully. But then he paused for a moment, registering what Mirajane had said. His tone changed from growling anger to one filled with curiosity, "You would… take their place?"

"Mira, no!" Lisanna screamed.

"You don't know what you're doing!" Elfman yelled.

Ignoring Lisanna and Elfman, Mirajane asked Laxus, "If I did, would you let them go?"

"Yes," Laxus nodded as he looked at Mirajane. "But you must promise to stay here forever."

Mirajane thought her choice over for a moment, before she caught a glimpse of Laxus's face from a glare of light through the window. Squinting into the darkness, her curiosity got the better of her as she said, "Come into the light."

Laxus hesitated at first, but then slowly made his way into the light. Mirajane looked absolutely terrified at what she just saw; their captor was actually a hideous beast with yellow dragon-like scales around his body, large horns, sharp fangs and claws, and his notable feature was the thunder and lightning. Gasping in fright, she turned away and grabbed Lisanna and Elfman's hands.

"No, Mira!" Lisanna protested. "You can't do that!"

"Can't you at least give him some time to reconsider the deal?" Elfman added.

Mirajane realized, however, that she had no choice. She reluctantly let go of her brother and sister's hands. Standing up, she bravely approached the Lightning Beast and held her head up high.

"You have my word."

"Done!" Laxus shouted, storming past her. Overcome by her decision, Mirajane covered her face and fell to her knees. As soon as the cell was open, Lisanna rushed towards her and hugged Mirajane's body in tears.

"No, you don't really mean that," Lisanna pleaded while sobbing. "What are we going to do without you? Who will take care of us? We need you. More than anything."

Elfman agreed, "Take it from Lisanna, Big Sis. We've lived our lives together. If it weren't for you, we'd be left hungry and homeless. You don't need to—"

However, Laxus grabbed both Lisanna and Elfman, and dragged them away. Mirajane cried, "Wait!"

"Mira!" Lisanna and Elfman yelled.

"Wait!" Mirajane cried again.

The whole way down, Lisanna and Elfman's pleas fell on deaf ears. Finally outside the castle, Laxus dragged the two to a palanquin.

Lisanna pleaded tearfully, "No, please! Don't hurt our sister! Please! Do what you want with us, but just let her go!"

Elfman shouted angrily, "Only a coward would treat an innocent girl like she's nothing! Let's settle this in a fight! You and me, against a real man!"

"Sorry, muscle boy," Laxus smirked, throwing Lisanna and Elfman into the palanquin and closing the door. "Not today."

Lisanna sobbed with every bit of her voice, "NO, PLEASE! DON'T HURT MIRA! PLEASE!"

"She's no longer your concern," Laxus scoffed. He turned to the palanquin, "Reedus, take them to the village."

"Oui," the palanquin named Reedus Jonah came to life and moved down the road like a spider, despite Lisanna and Elfman's continuous pleas to be let out.

From up in the tower, Mirajane watched sadly as Reedus the Palanquin exited out of the iron gates and disappeared beneath the trees with Lisanna and Elfman still trapped inside. Crying into her arms, she didn't notice as Natsu hopped off the ledge and was watching her through the opening of the door. Having heard the whole deal, Natsu couldn't help but feel sorry for Mirajane. He decided to deal with the issue by making Mirajane's stay in the castle as bearable and comfortable as possible.

Natsu waited at the crevice in the wall for Laxus to make his way back up with growls under his breath. He nervously interrupted, "Um, Master?"

"What?" Laxus snapped, turning abruptly towards Natsu.

"You know, I was thinking… since the girl's gonna stay with us for a while, maybe you might want to offer her a more... comfortable room?" Natsu suggested. Laxus's only reply was a scoff in the form of a snort from his nostrils that extinguished his candlesticks. He stormed off, leaving Natsu with a nervous look on his face. "Then again, maybe not."

Opening the cell door, Laxus stepped in to see Mirajane still crying on the ground. Looking up, she turned to face him with eyes full of sadness, anger, and hurt. She cried bitterly, "You didn't even let me say good-bye. I'll never see them again. I didn't get to say good-bye."

Feeling a strange twinge of guilt overcome him, Laxus looked pitifully at Mirajane and rubbed the back of his head. Deciding to take Natsu's suggestion, he said, "I'll show you to your room."

Looking up in surprise, Mirajane wiped her tears away, "My room? But I thought—"

Laxus stuttered in annoyance, "Do you wanna… Do you wanna stay in the tower?"

"No," Mirajane shook her head.

"Then follow me," Laxus said.

Sometime later, Laxus was leading Mirajane to her new room, holding Natsu and using his candlesticks as a guiding light. As Mirajane followed close behind, she couldn't help but notice all the statues and paintings hanging on the walls. Despite the castle looking majestic on the outside, the interior seemed a lot darker and drearier by the look of the hideous sculptures, most of them looking nothing short of demons. And the light casting shadows on them didn't make them look any less scary than they already were. Mirajane silently wept at this.

Meanwhile, Laxus was starting to feel concerned for Mirajane's tears. Every time he glanced back at her, she would still be crying, and his guilt would grow stronger. He wanted to make her stop crying, but had no idea how. For now, he would always rely on Natsu, or any of his servants for that matter, for advice.

"Say something to her…" Natsu whispered to Laxus.

"Hmm? Oh," Laxus nodded silently at Natsu. He turned to Mirajane, "I… um… hope you like it here." He looked at Natsu for approval, but Natsu gestured him to continue. "Since the castle is your home, you can go anywhere you like, except the West Wing."

That caught Mirajane attention. She asked, "Why? What's in the West—"

"It's forbidden!" Laxus cut her off with a loud angry voice, much to Mirajane's fright. He heard a throat clearing from Natsu, who looked at the Lightning Beast with a stern look. Pulling back, Laxus continued to lead Mirajane to the rest of the East Wing, and stopped upon a grand set of doors. Laxus opened the doors and Mirajane stepped inside.

"This is where you'll stay," Laxus said. "Now, if you need anything, my servants will attend you."

"Psst!" Natsu whispered to Laxus. "Dinner. Invite her to dinner."

"You… what's your name?" Laxus asked. "Mir…"

Mirajane introduced herself nervously, "M-Mirajane. Mirajane Strauss."

"Good. One more thing…" Laxus declared with pure anger in his voice, albeit with a bit of nervousness in it. "You will… join me for dinner! THAT'S NOT A REQUEST!" Turning back, he rushed out the door and slammed it behind him.

Feeling more sorrow than she ever felt before, Mirajane ran over to the bed and flopped onto it, sobbing with all of the strength she could muster. She cried and cried at the bear thought of having made the choice of trading her freedom for her beloved brother and sister.

Her life was now shackled to a dark, dreary place ruled by a hideous beast. Probably for the rest of her life.

Or was it?