DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL

A/N: Hey so I was just stumped for inspiration. Even my friends who are usually my muses can't help me so this chapter will probably take a few weeks to get out. I also apologise for the spotty update track but I swear that I will update these stories as soon as possible. :3

Enjoy!


Lucy woke with a start, whimpering slightly as she felt her aching muscles jolt and her stomach cramp in pain from not having much food. Her vibrant blonde hair dulled after hours of torture and her skin clinging to her bones from the past month or two of malnourishment. Lucy's chocolate brown eyes darted around her, finding herself in a forest and being carried by a tall blonde who seemed around twenty years old, she quickly snapped her eyes shut and pretended to sleep as she finally noticed the muscular arms wrapped under her knees and her back. He was carrying her bridal style as three people chatted aimlessly around the two blondes. Lucy could make out two male voices, one seeming quite refined and the other deep and sarcastic. There was also a female voice who also seemed quite refined as she argued with the two males, Lucy slowly opened her eyes to take a peek of the four people and, seeing them, she felt frightened.

The male carrying her had a lightning shaped scar over his eye and soundpods over his ears with a scowl to complete his overall sour appearance. Looking over at the other three, she could tell them all to be very powerful as she took in the brunette who, in her opinion, was very beautiful and princess-like and the long green hair of the male walking next to the brunette, portraying himself more like a prince than a common male. Lucy then looked over to the man who seemed out of place next to the two but still managed to fit in and laugh and joke with the two, making Lucy smile slightly as she saw the bonds between the three, making her wonder where the tall blonde fits in.

"Blondie! Blondie!" a small wooden creature said as it flew into her field of vision, startling her and making her flail her arms as she fell out of the tall blonde's arms and, due to her struggling, the blanket covering her slipped and exposed her naked body once again, making her feel vulnerable as their curious gazes landed on her frail form. Lucy groaned as she landed on the floor, rocks jabbing into her arms and legs and creating small cuts that stung like a bitch. The team of four stood over her as she attempted to make herself as small as possible while crawling away from the looming figures. The four stood as one over her, one large force that threatened to flatten or blind her with their light. The brunette stepped forward and held out her hand to Lucy. Lucy, expecting a blow to the cheek, flinched back and covered her face, her fourteen year old form becoming a quivering mess under the brunette's gaze. However, all she did was smile gently but kindly, her eyes crinkling slightly at the corners as she held her stance, not withdrawing her hand. Lucy gazed at her hand in scrutiny before cautiously offering her, much smaller, hand.

As the brunette pulled her to her feet, the two others sat on the side-lines smiling kindly at her while the tall blonde looked on with a slight frown on his face before removing his coat from his shoulders and quickly placing it on her shoulders and fastening the front as Lucy leaned on the brunette who had offered her shoulder to steady the petite blonde. The coat trailed behind the blonde and she almost felt bad for it as they started walking and the coat dragged along the floor, creating small rips in the fabric and lining the bottom of it in dirt.

"So, what's your name blondie?" The goofy man said with his tongue hanging out of his mouth with no shame and the creatures she had identified as wooden totems dancing around his head. Lucy opened her mouth to speak but found she couldn't as her throat finally announced it's state and only a garbled croak escaped her mouth. Lucy covered her mouth and coughed furiously, hoping to clear her throat in embarrassment as the totems stopped their dancing and stared in her direction.

"Here you go miss." The green haired man said, handing her a bottle of water and a sandwich. Lucy looked in awe at the sandwich bursting with meat and salad and the clear water in the water bottle that beckoned to her in the form of ripples. Lucy nodded in thanks at the teen, a large smile splitting her face as she took the water and sandwich from her hands and the group came to rest at the side of the road, out of the way of carriages and magic vehicles. Lucy gratefully sat down on the grass and took large gulps of the water she was offered, obviously acting un-ladylike before continuing on to ravenously eat her sandwich, having a second one when the brunette offered hers, an act of kindness that made the blonde smile even wider at the group, still cautious around the blonde who's brooding figure ate his food in silence, having six sandwiches to himself.

"Thank you.." Lucy said quietly, her voice husky and raw from not using it. The group didn't seem to hear her however other than the blonde who looked up from his food.

"Your welcome blondie." He said gruffly making the group turn to them and smile at the blonde, nodding in acknowledgement before continuing their conversation and joking around with each other once Lucy looked away from their gazes. Then, Lucy finally took a look around-a real look- and noticed that they were practically in the middle of no where and she had no clue as to where they were headed, concerned, Lucy quickly scanned through her memories of the past when she travelled with her mother and father and still couldn't pick out where they were. However, considering the fact that they are in a forest and trees tend to look the same, Lucy shouldn't be surprised of her discovery.

"Hey.. Umm.. If you don't mind me asking.. Where are we going?" Lucy said tentatively, and this time all four of them heard her almost whispered question even with the boisterous laughter. They all turned to look at her and then smiled, deep, emotional smiles that seemed to tell a story in themselves. Curiously, Lucy cocked her head and asked again, this time gaining a laugh from the man wearing a visor as he stuck his tongue out before being elegantly batted over the head with a fan by the brunette.

"Okay, first, what's your name?" She asked with a small, lady-like smile on her face.

"Lucy." The blonde said quickly, eager to know where they were headed.

"Okay, Lucy, our names are Freed, Bickslow, Laxus and I'm Evergreen. Have you ever heard of Fairy Tail?" Evergreen said, gesturing to each of them in turn before asking her the question. Lucy's eyes widened then finally took a good look at the four people in front of her, seeing the green mark on Evergreen's chest, the green mark on Freed's hand and the black mark on Bickslow's tongue, Lucy's face split with an ear to ear grin as she remembered all of the stories her mother had told her about the Fairy Tail guild. She used to read magazines, specifically 'Sorcerer Weekly' and would sometimes watch them on the lacrima vision.

"Well, yes.. It's a pretty big guild isn't it? My mother used to-" and then Lucy stopped herself, her memories warping into that night and then all Lucy could see was crimson. The crimson blood that seeped out of her mother's neck, her mother's white dress stained a deep red and the pink carpet now a pool of red blood. She remembered the scream her mother had made while trying to protect her.. all those years ago and the dagger.., the one that, with just a flick of someone's wrist, ended the precious life of her mother before she could do anything. Then, she saw blackness, filled with screams and torture and those cell walls... The chains that hung from the wall, the drip of blood from the ceiling and the many other children that were there, disappeared. One by one, they were killed trying to help her escape.

An ear-splitting scream filled the clearing and the four Fairy Tail members covered their ears as they stared in horror at the girl before them. She seemed so... utterly... broken. She was clasping her head in her hands as she seemed to be able to see something they couldn't and her eyes looked haunted.. dead, like she wasn't even there with them. Evergreen was the first to move forward and gently touched Lucy's shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts where her feelings once more overwhelmed her and she burst into tears, her small form shaking with tears as she recalled her beloved mother's death.

"Don't cry Lucy!" "Lucy, Lucy!" The wooden totems piped up before swooping down on her form and resting against her, allowing her to hold one tight to her chest while the other's touched her in some way as if to tell her that they were there and she could cry if she needed to. Lucy smiled through her tears and heartache and held them tight to her chest, not noticing the others moving around her before she was hoisted back up into Laxus's arms, still clutching the small wooden totem while the rest returned to Bickslow and bounced around his head.

"Are we going to Fairy Tail now?" Lucy asked quietly, hiccupping slightly as an aftermath of her tears as the team continued to make the trek through the woods.

"Yeah. It's about time we all get home." Laxus replied gruffly, not looking at the petite blonde in his arms, keeping up his tough exterior as he carried Lucy bridal style, showing no sign of fatigue as he walked slightly ahead of the group, representing himself as their leader as he lead the group along the road. As Laxus walked, he rocked Lucy slightly, making her feel more and more relaxed before she was plunged into the darkness once more.


"Arriving in Magnolia shortly." A robotised voice said over a speaker as Lucy awoke, the darkness of the night all she was able to see outside the window and small raindrops sliding down the glass. She looked to her right and found three of the Fairy Tail members asleep, while Freed, who sat next to her with Evergreen leaning on his shoulder silently read a book. Lucy noticed she had been bandaged and guessed they must have stopped at a hospital to care for her injuries. Lucy then grew worried as she remembered the deep gashes on her back and the ugly scars that already littered her form.. They must have seen them, no doubt about it. Tears began to form in Lucy's eyes, blurring her vision before she was nudged by Freed who directed a worried gaze in her direction.

"Are you alright? What's wrong Lucy?" He asked politely but cautiously as a tear fell from Lucy's eye.

"Did you see my back?" Lucy asked quietly, careful not to wake up the three who slept peacefully around them. However, she already knew the answer to the pointless question she asked and she could already tell that they were just going to think of her as ugly considering she doesn't have the beautiful porcelain skin of Evergreen and she was not perfect like her, Evergreen probably has a beautiful mind as well but hers was soiled and dirtied by her past and possibly her future.

Freed nodded slowly but then spoke, "Yes, we bandaged it up for you after stopping at a magic shop in Hargeon to buy some ointment. We're almost at Magnolia now." Lucy bit her lip as she tried to suppress her tears and embarrassment began to take over her face. Noticing this, Freed continued, "You have nothing to be ashamed of, all of us have scars, be it on our physical skin or in our mind. Yours are just slightly more prominent but I think they're beautiful." Lucy looked up at Freed, sniffing as she managed to stop her tears from flowing.

"How are they beautiful Freed? They show that I was weak and they're ugly." Lucy said, looking away from him again, at the peaceful faces of his team around them.

"They show that you were brave and that you fought back. They show that you were too much to contain, that you were strong during everything you've been through and I think you deserve to be here now, free to do what you want and to heal. You could also grow even stronger, and we can all help you with that, if you would like." Lucy's eyes widened at what he was implying. "Wouldn't you like to join Fairy Tail and become stronger so you can fight for your family and learn about magic and true strength?" Lucy's eyes widened even further, if that was even possible, and she took in what Freed had asked and considered the possibilities and opportunities of Freed's proposal.

"Yes.." she whispered under her breath, tears of joy being brought to her eyes.

"Pardon?" Freed asked, not sure what she had said and silently fearing the answer would be no.

"Yes!" Lucy shouted loudly as the train began to slow and the three awoke to her shout, drowsy and in clumsy battle stances before butting heads with each other and falling back to their seats with a groan. Laxus turning slightly white as he did so. "Oh.. um.. sorry?" Lucy said while Freed smiled and grabbed their travelling bags from above while allowing some time for the three to orient themselves slightly.

"Thanks Freed, Laxus said as he threw his bag over his shoulder before noticing Lucy was still wearing his cloak.. with nothing on underneath. Groaning quietly he took Evergreen's bag from her hands while she shouted in protest and rummaged through it, finding a small green sundress and some sandals for Lucy to wear. "Here." he said while handing Evergreen back her bag and giving Lucy the sundress to put on with Evergreen's help while they exited the train.

The dress she put on was similar to Evergreen's tighter, shorter dress and Lucy smiled as she put on the dress, the neck dipping into her small cleavage and the dress hugging her torso as Evergreen helped her into the sandals she had packed in case the boys were up for a day at the beach while on the mission. Carrying Laxus' coat, Lucy exited the train with Evergreen's help and they walked over to the team who currently, sported scowls on their faces as most people made sure to avoid them as much as possible while they stood awkwardly waiting for the girls to get off the train. As Lucy and Evergreen walked up to the group, Lucy handed Laxus his coat which he threw over his shoulders after handing his bag to Freed to hold. Continuing their walk, Lucy limped as she tried to keep up with the group but found herself being left behind as they walked at their own pace.

Laxus being the first to notice, stopped and allowed Lucy to catch up while around them, passers by turned to watch the group making their way to the grand guild hall on top of the hill. Lucy, self conscious of the stares, reached her hand to feel her shoulders and realised the tips of some scars were showing, panicking slightly. Lucy looked to Laxus with a slightly desperate look with tears forming in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around herself as they walked, attempting to position her hair to hide the scars that were peeking out of Evergreen's dress.

Laxus, noticing the look she gave him, walked closer to her and opened his coat slightly for her where she gratefully hid, pressed into his side as they walked up the hill. As she did so, one of Bickslow's babies buried itself in her chest and she held it tight, nervous as to what the guild would think of her when they got her and whether or not they would abandon her and she'd be left alone again. Lucy peeked out from Laxus' coat and noticed the nearing doors before her. The huge guild created a giant shadow as they walked up to it and Lucy couldn't help but admire the guildhall as they opened the doors loudly. Noticing everyone in the hall turn to look at them, Lucy reared back and hid herself in Laxus' coat once more, attempting to not draw attention to herself as they wandered into the middle of the guildhall, most of the members identifying them and continuing their business while some watched with cautious eyes at the four members in the centre of the room.

"Welcome back, Laxus, Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen! What can I get you?" said a purple haired woman as she walked up to the group, wearing a black apron and a long flowing blue dress that brushed against the floor as she approached. She was, like Evergreen, beautiful.

"Hey Sara. Do you know where Gramps is?" Laxus asked bluntly, not acknowledging her innocent question. Sara huffed at his blatant disregard of her before pointing to his office and returning to the bar where she caught a brunette teen trying to climb over.

"I'll take her up, you all wait down here." Laxus said before moving forward and forcing me to following as he grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs before entering the large doors that were in the centre of the upstairs balcony and wandering into a maze of paperwork. At the forefront of the towers of paper lay a small, old man on his desk with a quill in his hand and a stack of papers before him that he had seemed to have given up doing.

"Hey gramps I'm back and we found someone on our job." Laxus then pushed Lucy forward while the small old man sat upright on his desk and scanned over Lucy, his gaze lingering on her scars. Self consciously, she quickly adjusted her dress to cover the ones peeking out of the neckline of the dress.

"Where exactly did you find her, Laxus m'boy?" Gramps said while tearing his eyes away from Lucy's form and looking into the stormy blue eyes of his grandson. Laxus' eyes saddened and he looked down at Lucy with sadness and a hint of pity in his eyes.

"In a dark guild's basement." Laxus said, not meeting the eyes of his grandfather, instead looking down at the trembling form of the blonde that stood in front of him. "She's been held there for several years by the looks of the condition we found her in. We also found jars of her blood in a safe hidden in the master's office. We don't know what they were planning to use it for but we have an idea after finding these in his desk." Laxus explained, placing three golden keys on the desk, one browned and dirty. "Freed has identified them as very rare Celestial keys-Zodiac Keys and they are Capricorn, Cancer and-"

"Aquarius.." Lucy said quietly, cutting Laxus off and daintily picking the keys off the desk where they sat. "My mother's keys.." She said sadly, gently stroking the keys, almost like she was comforting them before looking up to the tiny man watching her with curiosity shining through his eyes. "My mother was a celestial mage. She.. was the owner of these keys before..." Lucy trailed off and tears shined in her eyes as she recalled her mother's death.

"Before..?" Makarov probed, needing more answers as to how the girl before him became such a fate.

"Before she was murdered. T-They came into my room one night a-and they s-slit her t-throat with the dagger my mother used t-to t-try and protect m-me. This happened around f-five years ago." Lucy said, tears blurring her vision as she stumbled through her explanation of how the dark guild managed to come across the rare keys. Laxus stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and she turned and wrapped her arms around Laxus, burying her face in his shirt as she sobbed, his shirt becoming wet as she cried for her mother and her heartache.

Laxus lead the crying girl over to the sofa buried under paper work and lifted it all off and moved it to the side of the room, Lucy still crying into his shirt during the process. After doing so, Laxus placed Lucy on the sofa and draped his coat around her shoulders as she snuggled into the pillows and sniffled as he moved back to the desk where his grandfather stood and continued his report on the events of his S-Class mission. Lucy watched the man before her with admiration as he recounted his battle with his team and the dark guild and his fight with the guild master. As Lucy watched Laxus, his stance and his voice called to her as she realised that what he was doing was trying to garner attention from his grandfather. He wanted to impress his grandfather more than anything and Lucy admired him for that.

"And then we came back home with Lucy since we didn't know where she belonged." Lucy frowned at that. Where did she belong? With her father? With Laxus? With Fairy Tail? Lucy couldn't tell and didn't know what to think. Since she was free, she should go back to her father to inform him of her being alive. She should visit her mother and pay her respects to her grave as her daughter and she should become the woman her mother always wanted her to be. But what her mother wanted her to be was within her grasp if she remained with Fairy Tail, she could finally be free. Free from the stuffy nobles she always used to be around, free from the duties she would be expected to take up and free from the heartache being in the same house her mother used to be in, live in, play in. They used to read bedtime stories in her bedroom.. she could never sleep in there again. They used to ride horseback in the fields behind the mansion, she couldn't look after her mother's horse that she used to love. They used to play hide and go seek in every room in the mansion, every place, they had been together and she loved it. She loved the attention and she loved her mother. But now, she could never do those things again.

Lucy smiled sadly as she remembered the times she spent with her mother and the laughter they had shared together and their love for each other was unconditional. Her father could never be enough to fill that hole in her heart. "Can't I stay here?" She asked tentatively, preparing for the rejection she was sure she would receive. Laxus and the Master turned to face her vulnerable form on the sofa and the Master smiled at her, nodding his head in agreement.

"Of course you can, dear child." He said with a large grin and Laxus just grunted in agreement, hiding his happiness for the girl in front of him. She was so young yet she had been through ten times as much as the average person. "And, I suppose these keys belong to you now." He said, handing the girl the three keys and watched her face light up with excitement and happiness. "You can stay in the guild infirmary while we get you a room at Fairy Hills and if you want you can work at the bar with Sara, I'm sure she could use a hand while you train and learn your magic." The master said and Lucy nodded her head repeatedly while holding the keys close to he chest as she grinned with happiness, tears still shining in her eyes.

She had finally found a place where she could belong.

A/N: I am so sorry for the delay on updates and this took about three days for me to write due to lack of inspiration so I hope you enjoy the chapter. I was planning to make it longer but I figured that there was a good place to stop for this chapter and Lucy can continue with her training and friends and moving into Fairy Hills in the next chapter. Hopefully that will make it quite long!

Thanks for reading!

R&R!

~Jackie