Fairy Tail High

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

By: xSteleAliniax

Lucy Heartfilia was curled in a ball under the blankets in her bed, shaking with fear and disbelief. It couldn't be true... Her dad had been trying to scare her, like he used to do when she was a child in order to get her to obey something. "Don't climb that tree, Lucy, there are wild beasts up there!" He would say. Or, "Don't go into the attic, a spider family lives up there and you wouldn't want to disturb them, would you, Lucy?" But this was way worse than some childish stories of spiders or monsters. This was real life, and she was scared.

Tears spilled from her eyes as she continued to tremble. When her father had told her this secret, she had lashed out at him and immediately locked herself in her bedroom. He hadn't come knocking on the door, and she didn't expect him to. The two almost never spoke anymore, despite living under the same roof. Their huge mansion was big enough that the father and daughter were practically living on opposite sides of a small town.

However, some hours later, someone did eventually come knocking.

"What?" She called out, refusing to so much as pull the blankets back to look at the door.

"May I enter, Princess?" Virgo.

"Fine!" She called back, and waved a hand in the direction of the door. A moment later the lock slid free and the door clicked open. It closed and locked once Virgo had entered.

"I've come to see about your state, Princess." Came Virgo's dry voice. It almost made Lucy smile, the way her ladies maid/celestial spirit always seemed to know when she was down. She peeked out from the top of the blankets, taking in her first breath of fresh air in hours.

"Ah, it's stuffy under here."

"Would you like me to pull the blankets down for you?" Virgo asked.

"No, it's fine." Lucy sat up and wiped her eyes. She had cried out all of her tears by then, and was now feeling the after affects of a long cry session. She groaned, feeling sleepy and a little dizzy.

"Are you well, Princess?" The small woman asked. She wore her typical maids uniform, with a white cap in her short pink hair. Her exquisite blue eyes didn't hold their normal warmth, though, they were shadowed in worry and concern.

"Oh, Virgo," Lucy dropped her head into her hands. "What am I going to do?"

"You can punish me if you like." Virgo offered, rather seriously. Lucy spluttered a laugh.

"This can't be real, can it?" She could feel herself starting to cry again and forcibly pushed back the tears. She turned to Virgo, who looked on with that same concerned expression, though now it was mixed with sadness. "What do you make of all this, Virgo?"

The little pink-haired woman thought for a moment. "I believe what Mr. Jude is saying must be true."

"Oh, man..." Lucy slipped back down into the covers. "This is bad."

"What will you do, Princess?"

Lucy thought for a long time, unable to come up with an answer. What COULD she do except listen to her father's wishes and flee? "Like a coward..." She murmured.

"What was that, Princess?"

"Nothing."

But how could she just LEAVE? Leave her father, and her home, and all of her friends, like Virgo. Just get up and abandon them like they meant nothing to her? She didn't know if she could do it.

"What do you think, Virgo?" She asked her friend. She looked confusedly back at her. "What do you think I should do?" Lucy clarified.

"I cannot tell you how to deal with your fate, Princess."

"I suppose you're right," Lucy sighed. "And maybe my father was right as well. I don't want to believe any of this, it's so unreal! But... He really has no reason to lie to me about something this important. And if he's right, and wizards really are being hunted down and killed..." Lucy shuddered. "Then I guess my only choice is to leave." Fresh tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Virgo came to her side instantly and rubbed her hair.

"There, there, Princess. It will all work out in the end, you'll see. Just try and keep your head up, and don't forget who you truly are."

"Thanks, Virgo." Lucy sniffed, and sat up to hug her. "I'm going to miss you, Virgo." Then she whispered, "May we meet again."

Lucy sat inside of a large grandfather clock. Yes, INSIDE. He was one of her helpful celestial spirits, and even though she wasn't supposed to use magic "for any purpose whatsoever" during her stay in Magnolia, her father had agreed that traveling inside Horologium was probably her safest bet. She could remain hidden inside the clock, which in turn was tucked away inside a large storage box, which had been placed into a train car on it's way to Magnolia. This was really the only way for the celestial wizard to travel between towns inconspicuously. No one would know that she had ever left her beautiful town... That is, until the Ravens came looking for her...

She gave a shudder, thinking about the wizard hunting guild that was after people like her. According to her father, they have been pretty successful in their mission to rid the world of wizards for years now. Only a handful still remained, and within that handful even less were celestial wizards like Lucy. She would have an even bigger target on her back than the others.

"I sure hope this plan of yours works, Father." Lucy murmured softly. She settled in for the long train ride, already feeling lonely. She kind of wished she had thought to summon Plue, another one of her spirits, to keep her company for the trip, but quickly decided that it was better to use the least amount of magic energy as possible. And summoning more than one spirit at a time took a huge amount of magic energy from her. She couldn't afford to do that anymore.

A few long, miserable hours later, Lucy felt the train come to a stop. She immediately tensed up, waiting for a group of Ravens to come inside and find her hiding place. But luck must be on her side because no hunters found her. After another half an hour or so of waiting, she heard the doors open to the train car she was stashed in, and then the scuffling of feet and grunting of men as they unloaded all of the train's cargo. When she felt her own box being lifted she held her breath, biting her lip and praying that Horologium didn't choose this moment to disappear on her. He always seemed to do that at the worst possible times.

Her luck held, once again, and soon she was placed into another vehicle. She felt the bumps on the road as they drove through town, tossing her around inside of the clock. She banged her head several times and nearly cried out at the pain, but she forced herself to be strong and stay silent. It wouldn't help anyone if she were to get caught now because of a couple of bumps on the head.

Finally, the car came to a slow stop. The drivers exited the vehicle up front and came around the back to where Lucy's box was. They lifted the box up, complaining about "how damn heavy it is," and then struggled toward the door. She could just barely make out the faint sound of a doorbell chime.

"Hello," a woman's voice said sweetly.

"We have a package for a Mirajane Strauss," said one of the men.

"Oh, wonderful!" The woman exclaimed. "It must be the clock my... Brother sent to me." She faltered sightly, and Lucy wondered just how much of this plan her father had told this woman.

"Sign here, ma'am." Scratching of pen on paper. "Thanks. Where do you want us to put it? We can set it up for you if you like. It's pretty heavy." The man chuckled and Lucy gritted her teeth at the insinuation. Pretty heavy...

"Oh, that won't be necessary!" The woman assured them quickly. "Just set it anywhere!"

"Are you sure, ma'am?" Another man asked, sounding hopeful. "We really wouldn't mind helping a pretty lady out."

Yeah, I bet. Lucy thought sarcastically.

"My boyfriend will be here any moment to set it up for me." She said, voice kind but firm.

"Oh," the second speaker sounded disappointed.

"We'll leave it right here." The first speaker said. Lucy felt herself being lowered to the ground.

"Thanks!" The woman said, and then the door slammed shut, and three sets of locks were slid into place. "Oh, dear." The woman got to cutting the box open as carefully as she could, then pulling back the cardboard sides. Her eyes widened when she saw Lucy curled up inside of the grandfather clock. "You're safe now, Lucy." The woman assured her. Lucy nodded and allowed Horologium to go back to to spirit world, bidding him a silent thank you for keeping her safe.

The clock disappeared and Lucy was able to move again.

"Ow," she stood up and stretched her cramped muscles, popping the stiff joints as she worked the life back into her body.

"Are you alright, dear?" The woman asked. Lucy smiled up at her reassuringly. The woman was beautiful, with long, flowing white hair and a kind face. She wore a red dress that went down to her ankles, with white frills around it.

"I'm fine, just stiff from being cramped in that box the whole way over here."

"Oh, I imagine so." She helped Lucy step from the box. "I'm Mirajane Strauss, by the way!" The woman greeted sweetly. Lucy smiled, feeling instantly comfortable with the white-haired beauty.

"Lucy Hear-"

"Wait!" Mirajane cut her off with a cautious glance at the door and windows. She ushered Lucy forward and into a small but spacious kitchen. There was a small table with four chairs, and a china cabinet right behind it. The latter was filled with beautiful pieces of china that Lucy sighed fondly at, thinking of her own immaculate china back home. The thought of home made her chest hurt, and she slumped into one of the chairs, burying her face in the crook of an elbow.

"Oh, my," Mira fretted, awkwardly patting her on the back. "Are you sure you're alright, dear?"

"I'm fine," Lucy lied. Mira didn't look convinced but let her be anyway. She began preparing a pot for tea.

"How much did your father tell you?" Mira asked, her back to Lucy. Lucy spoke into the table so her words came out slightly muffled.

"He just said that I'd be moving to Magnolia with my fake aunt, and would immediately be enrolled into Fairy Tail High as a Junior. Even though I was a senior back home." She grumbled this last part. At least she would technically be ahead of her class, which would be a nice change. She was decently smart, but she was no academic wiz.

"He didn't tell you anything else?" Mira pressed, pulling out two cups with matching saucers, and a colorful tea pot with flowers painted on it.

Lucy looked up at her with narrowed eyes. "No..." She said slowly, watching the beautiful woman pour steaming water into the tea pot. "What else is there?"

"Oh, nothing!" She laughed, but it was obviously forced.

"What am I missing?" Lucy pressed right back. "What did my father tell you?" Mira pulled out three boxes of different flavored teas and placed them and the cups, saucers, and tea pot on a silver tray. She brought the lot over to the table and set it in the center. She sat down across from Lucy with a heavy sigh.

"I can't say all of the details, I'm afraid." She began. Lucy opened her mouth to object, but the woman cut her off with a raised hand. "I'm sorry, Lucy, truly I am. But there are just some things that you will have to find out on your own."

Lucy grumbled under her breath about how unfair all of this was. Not only had she been shipped off to a new town, a new school, living with a complete stranger, but now this complete stranger was keeping secrets from her! Secrets about HER life!

Lucy grabbed a tea cup with a beautifully painted rose pattern on it, and filled it with hot water. She dropped in a tea bag and then plopped a tiny spoon over it so it wouldn't float. She watched the water turn from clear, to a pale pink. Cherry blossom colored, to match the name.

"I know this must all seem pretty unfair to you," Mira commented, filling her cup and putting in two different bags of tea, Earl Gray and Orange Dream. Lucy wrinkled her nose at the strange combination. "But I promise it will all make sense soon enough. And all of this is just to keep you safe. There are some pretty terrible people out there." Mira nodded sadly. She used a tea spoon to fish out the two tea bags and toss them onto an empty saucer. Presuming this was an acceptable place to deposit the sodden bags, Lucy followed her lead and fished out her own bag, careful not to drip tea on the white tablecloth.

"Yeah, you can say that again." Lucy muttered irritably. She plopped in three sugars, but declined on the milk Mirajane offered. She watched the sugar cubes dissolve slowly and then took a tentative sip, careful not to burn her tongue. The warm tea made her feel a little better.

"Did your father mention anything about changing your name?" Mira asked after several moments of silence.

"No," Lucy shook her head, hands clasped around the warm tea cup. "Why? Do I have to go by Ashley or something?" Mira giggled.

"Certainly not! You can still be Lucy, it's a pretty common enough name. However..."

"Heartfilia is not." Lucy finished, setting her cup down on its matching saucer. "So, what's my last name supposed to be?"

"Oh!" Mirajane leapt up from the table and hurried into the next room. She came back a few moments later with a blue folder in hand, which she offered to Lucy. Lucy took it, frowning. She pushed her tea cup out of the way so she could lay the folder out in front of her. She opened it and found several official papers inside. Well, officially FORGED, that is. School transcripts, medical records, birth certificate and immunization records, social security card, a freaking DRIVER'S LICENSE.

"Wow," Lucy said, flipping through all the documents and examining them. She didn't know anything about forged documents, but these looked pretty damn real to her. "Dad went all out." She frowned at the picture on the driver's license. "This is a horrible picture, though."

Mira giggled again, sipping her tea. Lucy had watched her dump at least six sugars into the tiny glass, and then fill it the rest of the way with milk. It didn't look very good to Lucy.

"Your father wanted to make sure you looked as unrecognizable as possible. He also sent some clothes for you!"

"Oh, God. Please tell me he let Virgo or Aries pick them out." Lucy moaned, picturing her father searching through the women's section of different stores, and the hideous clothes he was sure to pick out for her. She shuddered at the thought. Mira frowned at her.

"I'm not sure who those people are, but I don't think it was your father who picked them out, if that's any relief to you."

Lucy breathed a definite sigh of relief. "It is." She was still looking over the documents when she finally noticed something. "Wait, DIAMOND?!" She asked in utter disbelief. "Lucy DIAMOND?! Are you freaking kidding me?!" Mira looked puzzled and slightly hurt.

"I thought Lucy Diamond was a beautiful name when I suggested it to your father..." Mira's eyes were so damn pitiful and sad that Lucy instantly regretted her reaction. So what if she was named after a freaking song? The whole point was that no one would recognize her by the name Heartfilia.

"I'm sorry, Mira. You're right. Lucy... Diamond is lovely." She choked a bit on the title and then gave the woman a forced smile. She brightened.

"You really think so? Oh, I'm so glad!" She grinned hugely at her and Lucy fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Anyway, if you're done with your tea, I'll show you to your room. I'm certain you must be exhausted from your long journey!"

"I am, actually." Lucy admitted, stifling a yawn. "Which is pretty silly I guess since all I did was sit inside a clock the whole way." She laughed. Mira grinned at her then led the way up some smooth wood stairs. She turned right down a short hallway and pointed at the first door on the right.

"This is your bathroom," Mira said. "It's already stocked with towels, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, tampons-"

"Okay, I get it!" She interrupted, turning a little red. "Thanks,"

They walked passed another door, this one on the left. "This leads to the attic, but I wouldn't go up there if I were you." She pitched her voice low and stage whispered in Lucy's ear. "I think my great-great-grandfather's ghost lives up there!"

"Wh-what?!" Lucy squeaked out, picturing some angry, vengeful spirit roaming through the halls at night. Mira just winked at her and led the way to the third and final room. This room was also on the right.

"And this will be your room, Lucy! It used to be my little sister, Lisanna's, room when she lived here with me, so I hope it's okay!" Mira looked a little sheepish suddenly. "I know it's not as extravagant as you're used to... But I'm hoping you'll be happy with it anyway." Lucy turned a kind smile her way and then pushed into the room.

It was actually a decent sized room, though nowhere near as big as her room back at the Hearfilia mansion. It was very open and spacious, with few belongings to clutter up the space. There was a queen sized bed pushed against a wall directly across from the door, covered in a pale blue comforter and several pillows. A small white desk and chair sat on one side of the room with a window just above it. A shiny, silver laptop and a few stationary supplies sat atop it. School supplies, if she had to guess. A four-drawer oak dresser sat across from the desk on the opposite wall. The whole room was very bright and comfortable, but it also lacked any sort of personality. All the walls and available surfaces were bare, void of any life.

Lucy walked in, examining everything in greater detail. Everything looked clean and new, like they had just been purchased recently. As if reading her thoughts, Mira spoke up from behind her.

"Your father sent some money over for the furnishings and bed stuff. Everything is new, but if you don't like something we can easily exchange it."

Lucy walked over to the closet and slid open the door. There were several shirts, jeans, and shorts, as well as a couple of sun dresses and skirts, and a couple of fancier -though not nearly as fancy as she was used to- dresses. Fortunately, upon closer inspection, they all seemed to be pretty stylish. They weren't name brand things like she had at home, but she never really cared too much about lables anyway.

She also noticed a small bookshelf filled with books with various authors that she recognized from her own collection back home. This probably made her happier than anything else because she loved to read. It would give her something to help pass the time when she wasn't in school.

She turned back to Mira with a smile. "Thank you so much, Mira. Really, this is great. I love it." Mira's eyes lit up.

"Really?! Oh, I'm so relieved!" She gave Lucy a little curtsy. "Well, I'll leave you to get settled. But please don't hesitate to come find me if you should need anything! My room is just across the hall, second door on the left!" She waved and then shut the door behind her.

Lucy sagged in relief. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally. She was also starting to feel the ache in her chest again at leaving her home. She hadn't been without Virgo and the other's... Well, EVER. It was hard to just leave them all behind like that and not know if she'd ever see them again. She really hoped they would all be okay.

She decided a nice, hot bath would help her immensely. She opened a dresser drawer, hoping to find some sort of pajamas. The top drawer had socks and panties, which she was also greatful for. The second drawer held leggings and shorts, things that didn't hang in the closet. The third drawer was what she wanted. She found a variety of sleepwear, some shirts and shorts, a few pants, and even some nightgowns, not that she would ever wear one of those. They were also in a variety of fabrics, cotton, silk, flannel. She chose a simple cotton top and shorts, and plucked out a pair of panties at random. She made her way into the bathroom and closed the door.

As soon as she was neck deep in the hot bath, she felt almost normal again. She began to relax. Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't be so bad after all.