I hope you all enjoy this chapter :) Please tell me what you think!

(Just to be clear, Lucy is eighteen. That was established on the chapter Ultear was first introduced. Gray just thinks she's fifteen because she looks young.)


Ultear groaned as she pulled herself out of bed. Looking at the clock on her bedside table, she saw that it was only nine in the morning. She pulled her black silk robe over her tank top and shorts and went down to her kitchen. She pulled out her carton of milk and took a sip. She gagged and spit it out. Looking at the carton, she saw that it was long expired. She sighed again as she started walking towards Lucy's side of the castle. Surely the blonde would already have breakfast made. She always made extra just in case Ultear woke up early enough for breakfast.

When she walked into the kitchen, Utlear saw all the plants in the room lean towards her. As if they noticed it wasn't Lucy, they all backed away. She thought that was strange. Going over, she looked at one of the pots. The soil was dry. That was even more strange.

Lucy had a very particular morning routine. She woke up every morning at six. After quickly making her bed and getting dressed, she would go around her side of the castle and water all her many plants. At that point it was seven. Then she would go down to her outside spa, as she called it, but it was really just a pond. She had special fish that kept the water as clean as a bathtub. After spending almost an hour in there, since she had to talk to all the animals that gathered there, despite them never talking back, she went to make breakfast. She made mountains and mountains of food, since she ate a lot. She would then leave a normal amount for Ultear. After that, it was hard to tell what she would do. Depending on what time Ultear woke up, she would usually catch the blonde in the library or eating lunch.

But on this day, Lucy did not leave behind any food. Ultear quickly went over to Lucy's spa. Maybe she was there? When she opened the door to the outside, all the animals and plants looked as if waiting for Lucy, just as in the kitchen. She was getting nervous now. Running down the hallways once again, plants following her path, she went into the Lucy's room. The bed was a mess. Her lamp was even on the floor. The blinds were closed. She didn't even want to stop to considering that something happened to the blonde; she had to continue her search. So off she ran, to the library, to the music room, anywhere she could think of. She even checked her own part of the castle. Running into town, she asked all the store owners if they saw Lucy. The blonde was fond of going into town, after all. All going into town did was make a full out of Ultear for not wearing any shoes and only wearing her pajamas.

Ultear didn't waste a moment. She ran straight to the train station. Where should she go? Natsu? Erza? Juvia? Laxus? She didn't know. All she could think of at the moment was that her precious Lucy was gone. The blonde had become her little sister, filling the gap of her lost brothers, even if just a little. Now she's lost another sibling. And, this time, she didn't cause it. That made her feel a little better, but she still felt awful. Is this how Gray and Lyon felt?

X

Wendy was coloring a picture in her coloring book when the there was a knock on the door. She ran over to open it. She smiled widely when it was Gray. Her smile dropped, though, when she saw Lucy. "What's wrong with her?" She stepped aside so Gray could get inside. "Mom!"

Grandine came running into the room, a dishcloth in hand. "Gray! What a lovely surprise. What can I do for you?" She noticed the blonde, but she didn't want to rush to conclusions. She decided to let Gray do the talking, rather than her asking questions.

Gray had worried plastered across his face. "She...Lyon just came to get me...She was crying...in pain...I don't know what happened...She passed out...but...but... I don't..."

Grandine grabbed Lucy and took her over to the couch. Wendy pulled Gray over to a chair so he could sit down. He put his head in his hands, breathing heavy. He didn't know what to do. What if she had some serious condition he had no clue about? What if she was dying? Would she ever get back to her family? He knows how it feels to have someone disappear over night. Was someone having this pain at the moment?

"Gray, I need you to calm down," Grandine said. She wasn't sure who the girl was, but she had a feeling she was important to Gray. "Just let the Healing Guardian take care of it." She had a lopsided grin on her face.

Gray looked up at Grandine in surprise. He had totally forgotten that she was a Guardian. The Healing Guardian didn't have a palace or anything special. They could live wherever they want. They were just there especially for taking care of Guardians. He remembered that when Wendy showed signs of being a Winter Guardian, Grandine showed up on his doorstep. He was more than confused. He didn't know that anyone knew how to get to his castle, yet this strange woman with long white hair and bright brown eyes found her way. She said she was Wendy's mother and needed to talk to him. Since then, the two had been close.

Although Wendy did become a Winter Guardian, there was still going to be another Healing Guardian. Healing Guardians can only be born from other Healing Guardians. Although Wendy didn't fit the bill, her sister, Carla, did. She was only four. She had the same white hair and brown eyes as Grandine. That in itself showed that she was a Healer. They always have white hair, though, at first, Grandine had hoped Wendy was an exception. They were all happy that Carla was going to be a Healer, though, because then Wendy and Carla wouldn't have to separate.

Grandine's hands glowed as she moved her hands over Lucy's body, finding the problem. Oddly enough, she didn't find anything wrong. She grabbed a book from the shelf next to her and started flipping through it. As she did that, something caught in the corner of her eye. She saw the potted flower on the side table begin leaning towards the blonde. Her eyes widened. Was this girl a Summer Guardian?

"Gray?" Grandine asked, setting the book down. "How old is this girl?"

Gray was surprised at the question. He didn't really know the answer, but he decided to tell her his guess. "Fifteen," he said easily.

Grandine nodded and looked back to Lucy. "I just needed to know how much medicine to give her, just in case," she lied. Her mind started to wander. If the girl was only fifteen, her powers may not have been awoken yet. She knew that Ur's powers were awoken late, as was Ultear's. It did pain her greatly when Wendy would tell her that Gray was upset about Ultear a day in particular, since she knew the girl was alive and well. She was actually the one to tell Ur what to do. They both knew that Gray would try to get Ultear to stay, and Lyon would try to go with her. They both knew that would be bad. The boys were too reckless to know the truth. Besides, that would mean they would know the Summer Guardian, which was forbidden. Well, right now it looked like Gray was attached to one, which could be bad.

"She needs some fresh air, Gray," Grandine finally said. "You can't keep someone locked inside your cold castle all day. She's young, so she needs to be outside. When she wakes up, why don't you all go play outside? Wendy, you can go get Romeo and all go together."

Gray thanked her and grabbed Lucy again. Wendy hugged her mother before following Gray out the door.

Grandine smiled at the two, still thinking about Lucy. She usually moved towns with the seasons, so she hadn't been to the Summer Guardians castle in a while. She didn't like to be updated by messenger, so she found out about news when she reached the season. That means she still thought Loke was a Guardian. She had no way of knowing that this girl was already a Guardian. And she was in for quite the surprise.