It always amazed Lucy the way meaning was placed into words. They were just simply marks on a page, but each one was given breadth and life to make someone feel something. When Lucy decided to take up writing, she felt as though she was revived and took great pride in. With a bleak world in front of her eyes, she could dream up something colorful, luminous, and bright that contradicted everything she knew. There were no boundaries when she wrote. She wrote from her heart, inspired by the books her mother gave her when she was younger. There was something that she always noticed, though. Lots of the stories that she found in her library always vividly described "love." How this was described surpassed every other definition of any word; it was a grand, magical thing. It was as if the person's eyes were opened to a whole new world, one that was filled with… color? Why color? Lucy always wondered. Is there even such a thing?

Lucy first found out about color from her mother. When she was about three years old, her mother explained her appearance to her. "You have silky, beautiful blonde hair, and big, luminous brown eyes," she told her, Lucy's eyes wide with wonder. Her mother had tried to point out what colors were which to Lucy, but for some reason, Lucy couldn't distinguish them.

"Mommy, why do they all look the same?" she inquired.

Her mother's face became strained, and Lucy could tell. "W-what's wrong, Mommy?"

"I guess it's true," her mother sighed. "I thought maybe… there might be an exception, but everyone I've talked to… even what I experienced… you just don't see it until you fall in love."

"Huh? What's 'fall in love' mean?"

Lucy's mother inched closer to her daughter and brought her into her arms. "I can't really explain it, Lucy. When you do, you just… you just know it. That you want to spend the rest of your life with the person in front of your eyes. And suddenly, everything is clear. There's no more gray. Your world is in color. All because of that one person who made it all mean something."

"Woah…cool!" Lucy replied, awe-struck. Though at that time she didn't fully understand what her mother meant, she used her mother's words and the information from the books she read to infer that color was something that one gained from finding their soulmate. It had to be earned, and it sure wasn't easy. But Lucy was determined to see the world as she always imagined it: bright, beautiful, bold, and in color. She decided, however, to not let this mission consume her, and rather, when the time was right, for her eyes to be opened to the one that she knew held the key to making her dream come true. Lucy was a patient individual, and she knew that love wasn't something you could force, like she had seen so many others do. It took a lot of time. But she was prepared to wait, as long as she would have to, to see her life the way her mother and those before had seen it, instead of just reading it through text. She didn't know when it would happen, but she knew it would someday. And that was enough for her.

The one mission Lucy did have, however, was to become a full-fledged wizard, one just like her mother before her. She aspired to be just like her mother, who had taught her everything there was to know about magic and wizards when she was still alive. Now at seventeen, she had set out to become what she always dreamed of being. All things considered, Lucy was just excited to be out on her own and making her own decisions. She didn't know exactly what the future held, but she knew that she longed for adventure. And, of course, the possibility of seeing these adventures in color with the one.

Okay, Lucy told herself. You don't need to actively search for them. They will come to you. Just follow your heart, and you'll find a way. Her motto resonated in every fiber of her being, and she definitely believed in fate. The thrill of adventure, at this point, was enough for her.

In the town she was living in, there just so happened to be one of the most famous guilds out there - Fairy Tail. Their reputation was well known, almost achieving a status of infamy in all respects, but housed some of the most successful and powerful wizards around. Excitement, friendship, adventure - it was everything that Lucy longed for. After a lot of pondering whether she should inquire for a position as a member, Lucy decided to write a letter to her mother, in hopes that the answer would be clearer.

Dear Mom,

Mom, I'm scared. I can't believe it, but I'm thinking of joining the Fairy Tail guild! If you could see just what the papers and the Magic Council say about them! They have everything, and to be a part of them would be amazing! I just… I don't really know if I'm what they're looking for. I mean, I don't know anyone in there (I see Mirajane in Sorcerer's Weekly all the time, but she's like a celebrity!). So, Mom, what do you think I should do? Do you think I should join Fairy Tail? It's been my dream for adventure; that's why I came here. So… should I do it?

Love,

Lucy

With a heavy sigh, Lucy set her pen down and picked up the piece of paper. "Hmm," she said, turning her head a bit. "Mom would probably just say, 'Follow your heart, Lucy! You can do it!' To be honest, I don't think she'd be that much help." She rose from her desk chair and moved towards her bed, where she gently took a seat on the edge and reached towards her belt. Lucy sighed once more and placed her hands behind her back on the bed to maintain her posture. "Can I really do this?" She reached down to her belt and looked at her Celestial Spirit keys. In her hand, the keys shined. She truly loved them, and knew that she had their support no matter what choices she made.

"Okay!" Suddenly filled with life, she arose from the bed. "I'm going to do it! I'm going to get into Fairy Tail!"

With just a bag in tow, the young but promising Lucy made her way from her small apartment to the largest guild in all of Magnolia. As she walked, thoughts were rushing through her mind. What ifs were tossed every second, but she tried to calm herself down. She always loved making friends and having new experiences, so she inferred that it was more adrenaline and excitement that was overpowering her ability to walk without stumbling. Steady yourself! You don't want to make a fool out of yourself in front of the guild members! You can do this!

In all honesty, she had no idea what to expect. She wasn't necessarily going in blind, since she had thoroughly done her research on the local guilds, but there was no telling what could entail. But Lucy knew, deep in her heart, this was where she belonged. Even if they didn't know it yet.

Finally, Lucy arrived at the guild entrance. It was much larger than she anticipated, and she felt herself becoming overwhelmed by the sheer size. Of course, it just appeared as shades of gray, but she could still notice the detail put into the doors and windows and overall façade. With a deep breath, Lucy pushed on the heavy doors and was greeted to something she didn't expect to see in the slightest.

The guild was lively as ever. So the rumors were true! she thought to herself, in awe of nearly everything. Things she couldn't even decipher were being thrown left and right; screams were heard from guild members to either fight and practice magic or for them to shut up; nearly every single person in the guild was doing… something, even if that something was somewhat questionable.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw bright red-orange fire burst out of the palm of a pink haired boy's hand, who was prepared to throw it at a black haired boy's shirtless body. There were large wooden stairs, which seemed to be a tarnished brown that led to an upstairs level that was shrouded in darkness, which intrigued Lucy a bit. Nearby there was a vibrant, colorful bar where a few mages sat sharing a drink, and tables upon tables were lined with chatty wizards, and if they weren't sitting, they were running around or doing some other raucous activity.

Lucy inched towards the center of the guild, cautiously walking and avoiding colorful flying objects that were whooshing past h-.

Wait.

Colorful? C-co...color?

Lucy dropped to her knees as her head started to throb, and her eyes shut tight. She saw fireworks behind her eyes, and she had no idea what was happening. I saw… his hair… his hair was pink… I saw… color… color….?

The guild seemed to quiet down, for it seemed people started to take notice that there was a random girl almost collapsed on their floor. Lucy could hear footsteps approaching her, and they were nearing closer.

"Hey, are you alright?"

It was a soft voice, and it was a boy.

Lucy opened one of her eyes, her hand on her temple, and peered up at the boy. He had sharp, dark eyes, and scruffy, spiky pink hair. At this notion, her jaw gaped and her eyes widened.

"P...pink…your hair… your hair is…? Pink?" she slowly said.

"Huh? It is?" he replied.

"Your hair is pink!" she exclaimed, still kneeling on the ground.

"Your hair is blonde," he told her slowly, nimbly touching his hair. "It's blonde."

The boy reached to help her stand up, and she peered down at her hair. "This… this is what the call blonde!" she laughed. "And… this is…. this…." Lucy could barely form her words, and her heart was racing out of her chest.

"Well, hey, are you new here?" the boy asked her.

"Y-yeah. I'm Lucy."

"Natsu. Welcome to Fairy Tail."

He smiled the brightest, whitest smile she'd ever seen in her life, and it seemed to melt all the gray that was previously around her. She didn't have to take a second guess. This is was what she had read in the books, this was everything at once. It was everything her mother told her. This must be what it was like to see, breathe, and live life in color. This must be what love meant.

"Man, that job was tiring huh?" Natsu asked Lucy, flexing his arms and placing them squarely behind his head. It had only been a few months since Lucy joined the guild, but it was clear that the duo were completely unstoppable, especially when it came to jobs.

Lucy smiled at him. "It was, but it sure was fun, right?"

He peered over at her. "Of course! When we're together, it's always fun, you know?"

A laugh escaped Lucy's lips, and her heart was fluttering.

As the duo walked up to the guild, of which felt like a second home to Lucy, they both stopped to pause for a moment. It truly was a beautiful structure, with large, broad purple letters spelling out the name, green-rimmed windows, gold accents, a sturdy orange door, and colorful flags waving majestically in the wind, almost symbolizing the status of the guild itself.

Lucy gripped Natsu's hand tightly. "I can't believe that just a little while ago, this was in gray. Everything. We missed out so much," she sighed.

"But look," he told her, squeezing her hand tighter. "It's in color now. We're here together, and that's all that matters."

Out of nowhere, Lucy felt her chest tighten and tears stinging her eyes. "I'm just… I'm so glad I made the decision to come here, Natsu," she sniffled. "To think of everything we can do together, and everything we can see, all from that one moment, it's truly something, don't you think?"

"Yeah. Now we're really living life, eh, Lucy?"

"Yup. We're finally living it in color."