Right. So, um, I know that I'm way overdue for a new chapter, but life sort of got in my way. The computer that I was using won't charge any more and I didn't have a flash drive, so this story is going to start over. Thanks for being patient with me.

Chapter One

Two children walked toward the entrance of the guild. The younger one looked at the run-down building and sighed. Just leave it to her to pick the shabbiest guild in all of Fiore. Sure, he thought, the other guilds have a joining fee, but still…couldn't she have picked something better?

Jack, the older sibling, merely smirked as they walked towards the door. The teen's lavender hair moved in time with their footsteps as they walked up the broken path. Jack knew all of the rumors that had spread through Fiore about the guild. Even the information that the group from Tenrou Island had returned. But what was life without risk?

The younger one, the brunette, fixed his mismatch eyes on the insignia of the Fairy Tail guild. Unlike his older sister, Harumi had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. They had been looking for a home for a long time now, but he felt that everything would change if they joined. And the child knew that part of the reason why Jack chose Fairy Tail was to save a few Jewels. His gaze moved back to his sibling as they neared the door.

After the elder one of the two nodded, both sighed- though for one it was a sigh of defeat rather than a sigh of excitement. Harumi braced himself for disappointment, stepping through the door after Jack.

The sight that greeted them made the younger one's jaw drop, but the other smirked at the view. Bright smiles lit the faces of the wizards in the room

and his earlier doubts were washed away. It had been such a long time since he had seen so many happy faces. It was good to see that there were still mages that loved life and friendship. He was so caught up in the sights, sounds and smells of the building that he bumped into his sister; she had stopped at the counter. He slowly stood and tried to ignore his embarrassment when he saw her glare. "Sorry," he murmured.

She looked like she was going to scold him, but she decided not to. Instead, she turned to the counter. "Hello," she announced boldly, her manner changing. "I'm Jack, and this is my younger brother, Harumi. We've been looking for a guild to join, and luckily for you, I picked this one." The woman she was addressing had brilliantly white hair and blue eyes. Jack smiled up at her, and the woman returned the smile quickly.

"Really?" the woman asked. "That's great! We haven't had anyone join in ages. Hmm… where did I place the register? It should be right…Aha! Here it is." She held up a thick book. Glancing at them she stated, "If you don't fill out all of the questions, then I can't give you the official stamp." Just as Jack pulled the book closer, the woman suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, how rude of me! I'm Mirajane. I just got excited; no one's wanted to join in a long time. Please don't think I'm normally this rude."

Haru waited patiently for his turn to sign as a member, carefully schooling his expression. He wanted to avoid what had happened the last time they were around mages. Still he thought it was wonderful to find a place like this again. They just needed to make sure that nothing happened this time. He saw that his sister was receiving her stamp on her left cheek…Where did he want his? Having it in the same spot would be strange…Maybe on his neck? Or a hand…

In the end, he got his on the right side of his neck. Haru figured it wouldn't make much of a difference. When he wore his trench coat, like was now- like he normally did- it wouldn't be easy to distinguish. And if he were to get it on his face, his dark hair would probably hide it. In fact, with his grey shoes, grey trench coat and otherwise soullessly black outfit, no one would think he was a mage. The only thing most people found strange about him were the eyes that he shared with his sister. One pale blue eye for his left and a blood red eye for his right- though his sister had a dark blue left eye and an almost pink right eye. In a way they sort of didn't share the same eyes, but few people noticed once they saw the two of them together. And even then he was considered severely unremarkable.

He looked at Jack. With her attitude, she was usually the one people focused on; most would simply look past him and speak with her. He wasn't mute, but he found silence to be peaceful. Harumi was polite -of course he thought he was- but when he spoke, he noticed that anyone listening seemed to think he felt superior or bothered. He sighed almost imperceptibly as his older sister headed to a table where a pinkette and a- talking – cat were arguing with a blonde girl. This is definitely going to be bad, he thought.

"Natsu-u-u, why did you have to burn it? Now I won't be able to pay my rent!" Lucy banged her head into the table. She could feel Natsu's smirk when he replied.

"It's not my fault that the people who hired us put it there."

"Aye!" said Happy.

"That's not the point! We were supposed to-" Jack sat next Lucy, distracting momentarily her with her audacity. The blonde hadn't seen her around before, but she couldn't help herself. Few people stayed around the stellar spirit mage when she was like this. Pretending to ignore the incredulous look she was receiving from Lucy, Jack sipped her soda.

Harumi began to walk toward the table to stop his sister from being a nuisance. Suddenly paling, he turned around and almost ran out of the guild doors. Sighing at what she perceived as a lost opportunity- these two clearly needed a nudge in the right direction- Jack took her soda and followed her brother outside.

"So," she asked staring at Haru, "did you decide that it was too much of a chore to make some friends?" She blew her lavender hair out of her blue eye and sipped her drink. "We can't avoid people forever, you know. We need to blend in or there'll be trouble."

Haru shook his head and glanced at his sister from his place on the ground. In an anxious voice he replied, "Jack, we really shouldn't have joined this guild. Whoever that girl was she…she's met him. I know that it would be suspicious if we quit today, so let's find the longest quest that we can."

"When you say 'him', which one are you referring to?" Jack's eyes narrowed. What's the chance of running into either one of them? she thought. Especially the one that makes Haru nervous? Or has the other one- the one that's chasing us- gotten stronger than he was?

"I am not sure, Jack. But I do know that if I spend time around her…I will just say that nothing good could come of it. Please, Jack, will you find a Long mission? I do not want to risk running into her."

Word Count: 1,209

Yeah, I know that I could have continued the story from where it was, but I really wanted to focus on character developement- and my writing style seemed kind of childish.

I want to thank everyone for reading Charmed Life while I was unable to update. For anyone who is interested, I have a story up on Fiction Press too.

Until next time.