I don't own Fairy Tail – Hiro Mashima does. Otherwise Zeref would be in the show A LOT MORE!

Thank you, Naomi Miyoko, for beta-ing this chapter~! ^_^

I can't believe someone as cool and awesome like Naomi Miyoko is Beta-ing my story!

Snap.

I froze, terrified at the sound of a twig breaking.

Are there more? Are they going to catch up? Frantically, the questions ran through my mind, but I dared not to voice them aloud. If I said anything, they might hear me…

Dark laughter echoed out of the woods, confirming my fears.

They were onto us, and there was nothing I could do. I was just starting to learn magic, a sign that I was no match for the dark mages that stalked us in the night.

Before they showed up at my house, I was easily able to disregard my fears. The sound of people chanting? It must be the wind. Footsteps in the hall? It's merely my sister Ashley. The front door is open? I must have forgotten to shut it. But wait; do I see someone outside my window? It's got to be my imagination…

Or was it?

Clearly not, or I wouldn't be in the situation I'm currently in.

My frail ten year old body shook with fright, and I gazed up at my sister for reassurance, ironically finding warmth in her icy blue eyes.

"Don't worry, Hayley. I'm right here." She cooed, trying to calm me down, silence my whimpers, and shake off my fear of what was concealed in the misty forest.

Her quiet voice was enough to let the malicious mages locate us. A man slinked out from the tall reeds, his wild brown hair pointing up in all directions at the starlit sky.

"Well, well, look what we have here." He took the time to drag out his words, letting us wallow in our doom.

Gleaming vermillion eyes locked with my bright green ones, and the nameless man sized both of us up. Needless to say, he was rugged – wearing an old, ripped gray jacket and faded jeans. His shoes were so old that the rubber sole pulled away from the shoes fabric. It hung like a japing jaw, eager to grind my skin and bones with each firm step.

I was well aware that I wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight, but my sister, she was another story. Ashley has been practicing magic for eight years – she starting learning at eight years old, and is sixteen at the moment. In my eyes, she's strong, unbreakable.

There she was, bravely holding her ground as six more mages joined our opponent's side. At the sight of more people, I took shelter behind her coattails.

She'll save me. I know she will.

"Nice find, Naru. I missed out on the bloodshed, so this'll have to do." The golden-eyed man broke off in a cackle. "Too bad for you witches!"

Peeking out from behind my sister, I intently stared at their guild symbol. It consisted of a six pointed star with some other irregular shapes.

My Mom, who was a powerful mage, had taught us all of the guild symbols – both league guilds and dark guilds, in case something like this ever happened. Now, amidst all the tension, I couldn't put names to the guild marks if my life depended on it…

The first thing I saw was red fur, and I wished that I hadn't seen the rest. The thing that emerged from the bracken looked like it came straight out of a horror movie, its lurching gait a sign of its unearthliness. My stare first went to its short, sharp, ebony claws, then to the dark yellow spikes protruding out of its hunched back.

Its stomach… I could hardly talk about its stomach. The maroon colored fur that covered its skin thinned out towards its abdomen, allowing me to catch glimpse of its see-through skin. Through that skin, I could see its organs functioning.

With great courage, I looked up at its face.

Why did I have to look?!

The same clear skin was stretched over a human-like head, with its completely black eyes bulging out of their sockets. I can't describe what it was like to look at its face, other than that it was like looking at the very materialization of fear itself.

"I think these brats are the kids of that bitch Master Iris just killed." It spoke, its voice raspy and deep, joining ranks with the dark mages.

NO! I disbelievingly screamed in my mind. They can't be talking about Mom!

Naru, the mage with the scary shoes, smirked at the creature. "Then Master Iris will want both of them for payback, killing that woman probably wasn't enough to cool her down. After she humiliated our Master in front of all the townspeople, it will be a while before she moves on from the ordeal. She made our whole guild look weak."

The golden eyed, twisted man grew impatient. "Yeah, yeah, but I still want to kill something. Let's keep this in the dark and have some fun for a bit, shall we?" He more so stated than asked.

"Mmm," One of the unknown mages moaned thinking about it. "that's a good idea. Let me kill one of them, and we have a deal."

"What kind of sick pers-" I started off in disgust, but Ashley hushed me.

"Hayley, you have to listen to me carefully." My sister whispered in a tight voice. "Remember what we talked about, if there was ever an emergency?"

Go to the safe house. Wait for me for three days, and if I don't make it, there is a box with money and a map of the rest of the properties we own, and letters from Mom that will tell you what to do.

Nodding quickly, I tried to appear unfazed as more mages came forth, greatly outnumbering us.

"Then go." She commanded.

"But, Ashl-" Whimpering, I accidently met gazes with the human/wolf creature, its mouth stretching in a grin. Its horrifying face made me stop my sentence early.

"Hey," The beast said to me without moving its jaws, its voice distorted. Reaching up, it clawed at the crudely sewn stretch of skin that connected its head to its shoulders. "have you ever seen someone rip their head off?"

In utter terror, I turned tail, fleeing – somehow still able to hear the sickening sound of flesh tearing. I felt my sister cast a spell of protection on me, her warm, caring magic reminding me of what she was capable of.

She won't lose to dark mages, or those fearful monsters. She's way too strong to die.

Gasping for breath, I woke up from my memory, as it frequently haunted my dreams.

"Damn it…" I mumbled, tired although I just woke up.

The whirring fan above me cooled the sweat on my skin. Tugging the comforter over my head, I blocked out the sunlight, letting myself return to my thoughts.

If I would have stayed, and not run like the coward I was, maybe things would have been different.

It's been thirteen years since her death, and I still can't get over it. I don't have a family anymore. My Mom and sister died the same day, and my father was never spoken of. He's probably the one I take after, given that I looked totally different than my Mom and Ashley.

After the incident, I continued to learn magic, something I'm sure my sister and mother would have wanted me to do. I joined Fairy Tail, which is a notoriously weak guild. That was the direct result of their strongest members dying on an island.

My mother's last words to me, written on a scrap piece of paper, were to lay low and not use magic.

Don't get me wrong, I love magic, but people can't know about the magic I possess. No one can know of my secret.

See, my ancestors were the first to use magic – the fabled lost magic. My family used this magic to protect fairies, spirits, nature, and all living things. This magic was passed down through our family, ultimately to me.

I am the holder of one magic.

Getting out of bed, I let that one sentence motivate me. After all, the past is the past; I can't go back and change it. Continuing the family line is a lot more important than risking death.

Maybe that's why Mom kicked Ashley and me out of the house as soon as she sensed danger.