Sorry the last chapter was so short! I wanted to leave a cliffhanger!

Once again please review – I wonder if you noticed why I named him Hughes – it's a tribute to Hughes in Fullmetal Alchemist! (He was so awesome but he died :( )

The ride back to Sabertooth was uneventful. Every member felt the surprise weighing down on them, unsure how they would act towards her. Sting felt particularly embarrassed as did Rogue. Minerva, on the other hand, complained about her and how she would make her life miserable.

Sting stood up, making every member of the team look at him. "I'm going for a walk." He said. Rogue got up and followed him.

"What's on your mind?" asked Rogue.

"It's just, I didn't feel good at all hurting her like that." Sting replied.

"You sure looked like you were enjoying it." Rogue said.

"I mean, now that she's coming to the guild, she's going to hold a grudge against all of us. Especially you and me Rogue. We're the ones who hurt her."

Rogue smirked. Sting was quick to cover up his emotional side.

"I wouldn't worry about it." Rogue answered. "She'll have to get over it anyway. She needs our support to get anywhere in the guild. Anyways, cheer up. The Grand Magic Games are coming up soon. We should focus on training for that."

Sting smiled as he watched the landscape roll by. His "twin" always knew what was on his mind. He turned away, clapping him on the shoulder before returning to the team.

*Another week timeskip

Arya walked up to the doors of Sabertooth unsure how things would go. She was worrying all the way here, even though she tried to tell herself it was just nervous fretting. They wouldn't dare to do anything to her now, would they? She was going to be part of their guild.

Was going to.

Did she have to?

Yup.

The guild was enormous in itself, it could be spotted a mile away. It looked almost like a mini castle. There was a red and gold Sabertooth banner in the front and she fought the urge to just run away, down to where she was before.

As she approached it, she had felt a cold sense of foreboding that she herself couldn't exactly place.

Enough. She thought, as she opened one of the large oak doors.

Boy, was it loud. The entire guild was alive. There were members drinking at the bar, someone was singing loudly and there was a "jobs" board shoved awkwardly in the corner. It was a stone building, so the whole setup was lit up with chandeliers and candles. It was an interesting place. As soon as she walked in, a couple heads turned towards her, but that couple turned into nearly the whole guild. Blushing, she quickly walked away to the bar and turned to ask the barmaid where to go when she was interrupted by the twin dragons.

Great. Facing them with a scowl on her face, she ran her hands through her ponytail as Sting spoke. "You'll come with us to meet the master now." She couldn't believe this. A week ago, they had nearly killed her, and beaten her to death and now they stood there smirking. She clenched her hands into fists, fighting the instinct to crush them with her bare hands. Sting noticed this and smirked, Rogue merely stared.

"Are you coming?"

They led her down one of the store corridors with red carpets and into a big office. Unlike the rest of the building, this was filled with sunlight, the stone ceiling truly magnificent as it rested on foundations made of Stone Sabers. The rest of the office was lavishly decorated. She gasped before turning to the old muscular man sitting in the corner.

The man gruffly acknowledged her before saying, "You're here to join our guild, am I right?"

She nodded briefly, alarmed by the amount of magical energy the old man gave off. She saw the plaque on his desk; his name was Master Jiemma.

The old man then stood up and the twin dragons retreated behind her. That other girl, she remembered, Minerva or whatever her name was stood behind the master.

"Alright," he huffed. "Let me tell you how things work around here. Sabertooth is the strongest guild in Fiore. We do not except WEAKLINGS, imposters, or anyone that brings shame to the name of Sabertooth. Let that be a warning to you. Prove yourself to be weak or untrustworthy, and you will be excommunicated. Immediately. Minerva, give her a stamp."

Arya looked and saw Minerva holding up the stamp. She whispered, "Where would you like to have it?"

Arya frowned and then pulled up my sleeve. "On my shoulder."

She smiled and stamped her. Arya felt static shocks sail through my body a she saw the black stamp imprinted on my skin. She was about to pull my sleeve down when the master said, "Stop." Confused, she obliged.

He got out of his chair and walked towards her. Grabbing her arm he pulled it towards him. "Impossible," he muttered.

She looked down only to see that the stamp had turned red. What did that mean?

She looked around. Minerva looked furious, Sting and Rogue gazed wide-eyed.

"What?" she snapped.

The master broke the silence. "It means… it means that you are the strongest member of Sabertooth."

Minerva shot her the deadliest of glares. She looked at Minerva's stamp. Wasn't it red before? Now it was black.

"Rogue, Sting, take her to her room."

Arya POV:

I trailed behind the dragon slayers, having left behind my urge to kill them and now starting to think about my predicament. It was pretty clear I had replaced Minerva as the top wizard in Sabertooth, but I hadn't planned to do that. Now I had an enemy… the last thing I wanted. Sting and Rogue too. They were just as bad.

I closed my eyes and shivered, remembering the damage they had inflicted upon me in the train. I had never felt so vulnerable. In a way, it had broken me. Just blow after blow, strike after strike. Even when I twisted my answers to what Minerva wanted to here. She was so sadistic. I never wanted to feel that way again.

A part of me wanted to stand up to the other dragon slayers but another part of me was afraid of them. I couldn't afford to worsen my relationship with these two. It was clear they were the top dogs along with Minerva in Sabertooth, and if I was going to get anywhere, I had to have these two on my side.

I looked up only to see Rogue staring at me over his shoulder. I looked away and stared at the ceiling. I couldn't show any weakness here. The master had already made that pretty clear to me. After a few twists and turns, and ascending a staircase we stopped.

"Here's your room," Sting muttered. I tried to smile, but it probably just looked like a grimace. "Thanks."

I walked in. I had to admit, the room they gave me wasn't too bad. There was a queen sized bed with huge red and gold drapes with a large door to ceiling window. I suspected the master had changed my room choice after hearing about my abilities. I was an earth dragon slayer; stone and dirt was my command. I spun, facing the doorway and drew across a stone bolt with my magic. I didn't want unwanted visitors. I trailed to the bathroom, then back to the room. The whole color scheme was red and gold with warm cherry furniture. I ran my hand across the feather bed and threw my suitcase in my closet.

I paused. What should I do now? Oh right. I had to get back the belt they had stolen from me. Furrowing my eyebrows, I went outside and saw a member walking down the hallway.

She had light blue hair and an angelic face. Before approaching her, I decided who I should ask for my belt back. Nor Minerva. Orga and Rufus probably didn't know I was here. Sting? Nah. Rogue? Why not. He seemed decent enough.

I went to the girl and talked to her, explaining my situation. She seemed nice; her name was Yukino. She led me to Rogue's room then left, stating she would come see me soon. I was happy that I had made a friend. Breathing deeply, I knocked on the wooden door twice.

Rogue's POV:

I heard a knock on the door. Definitely not Sting, he would just barge in. I put down my book and went to open the door. I opened it and saw the Arya girl standing there. She seemed kind of nervous.

"Er.." she started. "Do you have the belt and charm bracelet you guys took from me?"

I blinked. I looked her up and down. She had a slim figure, a medium-sized chest and was about a head shorter than me. Maybe 5'4.

I shook my head. "I don't have it. I'll have someone deliver it to you room later on."

"Thanks."

She turned away, and I shut the door.

I kept on trying to figure out why she was nervous.

Oh right. It was because of how I had treated her. I sat on the bed, sinking into my thoughts. I felt like I was going to throw up. Just repeating that first slap across her face. Her slightly tanned, smooth face. The shock in her eyes, the mercy I didn't show her. The way she had looked at me before I had done it.

She was looking for protection, for comfort. Her picture shattered in my mind with that resounding slap.

I had to get out. I stood up and decided to go for a walk.