Return of the Stars

It was the middle of the night. All was peaceful, the town was asleep, and everything was still. Except for one cloaked and shadowed figure, hurrying through the starlit streets with dark bundles in her arms and on her back. The moon serenely kept watch.

The woman hurried as quickly as she could without jostling the cargo in her arms, as if it was the most precious thing she possessed. Which it was. She bit back tears as she carried her sleeping daughter towards the train station. She didn't know what she was going to do without her. They had been inseparable from the moment her little girl was born. And now she was sending the light of her life away. The gravity of what she was about to do suddenly hit her, stealing her breath and causing her to stumble. She hastily wiped moisture from her hidden face as she felt her child stirring in her arms.

"Mommy, where are we going?" A sweet voice inquired sleepily. The five-year old yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Is it a surprise? I always like your surprises." The child snuggled into her mother's warm arms, awaiting a reply. Was it one of their special sunrise days, where Mommy took her to a rooftop or hill to watch the sun return to the sky? Or maybe her mommy was taking her to a special place she had found on one of her jobs. Mommy always found pretty places to show her.

But her mother didn't reply. And the girl began to realize that they were moving very quickly through dark, narrow streets. And it was the middle of the night. Suddenly uneasy, the girl pressed her face into her mother's shoulder, trying to find comfort in her scent. A strap rubbed against her face, and she realized her mother had a packed rucksack on her shoulder. Her rucksack, the red one with silver constellations embroidered on it and brown leather straps. It had been her mommy's gift to her for her birthday three days ago.

"Mommy? Is something wrong? What's going on? Why aren't we at home?" The little girl's voice was high and nervous as she began to shoot questions at her mother.

"Hush, sweetheart. We're almost there." Her mother spoke to her quietly, trying to soothe the child without letting her worries translate through her voice. The child had probably already picked up on her mother's tension through her scent, but they had to remain silent. Discovery before they reached the relative safety of a building could be disastrous.

The girl fell quiet, but was now more awake, clutching her mother's shoulders and looking around nervously, trying to figure out why her mom was so worried. Mommy was a powerful mage. She wasn't scared of anything.

"MOMMY! Why are we going to the TRAIN STATION! Can't we just walk to wherever we're going?" Despite her anxiety and fear, the woman had to stifle a laugh at the girl's quiet, terrified screech and wide, pleading brown eyes still blurry from sleep. Her daughter detested trains with every fiber of her being. She would rather walk for days than board a locomotive. And they usually did walk. But tonight was different.

"No, sweetheart, we can't walk. Magnolia is very far away. And you can't walk the entire way alone." Her calm, amused tone soothed her daughter until… Alone!? Fear stabbed the girl's heart. That couldn't be right. They went everywhere together. They were a team. She didn't like being far away from her mother. It made her nervous. And when they weren't together, Mommy got sad.

The woman slowed down and stepped into the train station. She glanced around, and then, satisfied with the emptiness of the well-lit building, gently set the five-year old onto her own feet. Looking around again, she carefully noted the positions of the few people in the station. Most of the people looked groggy or annoyed at having to be out so late at night. But there was another figure, cloaked like she was, standing in a corner on the far side of the station. She turned back to the girl. Convincing her to get on the train would be no easy task, and they didn't have much time.

She grinned as she saw her daughter glance around, obviously trying to devise a way to talk her mother out of this train ride. The smile faded as worries and doubts began to flood her mind. Was this really the only way? Did she have to send the girl away? Couldn't she protect her if they stayed together? And, what kind of mother let their toddler make a 12 hour train ride alone?

Well, not completely alone. The dark gray bundle that had been curled into the girl's arms for the entire walk now began to stir and stretch, shaking off sleep. The small cat yawned, and looked groggily at her surroundings. Her delicate ears perked up, and jade green eyes widened, taking a good look at their location. She jumped out of the girl's arms, and much to the surprise of everyone in the station who was looking at the little group, stood on her hind legs and slowly turned in a circle.

"Why are we at the train station?" Everyone within hearing distance gasped. The cat was talking! But they quickly went back to their business as the woman's dark hood swiveled in their directions. It was late. They were probably just imagining things.

"Hush, girls. I don't have much time to explain, but the two of you have to get on this train, and go to Magnolia. Without me." The woman quickly cut off the protests of the cat and child. "There will be no argument. Both of you are getting on that train whether you like it or not." She stated bluntly. Her crossed arms and quiet, barely controlled voice left no room for pleading. Her companions closed their mouths and looked down at their feet. The cat crossed her arms and looked away, staring off into the distance. The woman's face softened as she saw tears form in the little girl's eyes. She dropped to her knees and folded her daughter into her arms. The girl buried her face into her mother's shoulder and began to sob quietly. Her mother stroked her hair and held her tightly. "I know, I know. I don't want to be apart from you two either. If there was any other way, I would take you with me." Her voice shook slightly as she gently pulled away to look her daughter in the eyes. "You have to stop crying now, and be strong, 'kay?"

The child took a shaky breath and nodded. Her mother gently wiped the tears off her face. It killed her to know that she was making her daughter cry. It felt like her heart was being ripped out, and she almost missed what the quiet, sad voice said next.

"Are you sending us to Fairy Tail?"

The cat's head snapped up, eyes wide and mouth hanging open in surprise. Fairy Tail? The guild the two of them had been hearing about their entire lives? The cat and the little girl were the same age, just a few months apart. The woman had found the cat's egg days after she had given birth to her daughter, and hatched the egg and raised them together like they were both her children.

The woman grinned again. The kid was smart. She got that from her mother's side of the family.

"Yes. I'm sending you to Fairy Tail. Does that make up for the train ride?" She held her breath. If her daughter was excited about the destination, getting her on the actual train would be that much easier. The little girl took a moment to consider. Then, she and the cat looked at each other, then gave their mom two giant, toothy smiles.

"YES!" The woman shushed them. They giggled and whispered, "Yes!"

"Good." The woman pulled the rucksack off her back. Reaching into it, she pulled out a length of blue cloth. The little girl's face instantly fell into a pout, but she obediently turned around to allow her mother to begin twisting up her long hair up, too excited to make a fuss. The cloth was enchanted to keep her hair clean and untangled, while completely concealing every strand. It even changed the color of her eyebrows, making her hair color impossible to guess. Her mommy always told her that it was to help keep her safe. Her hair was a conspicuous color, and bad people would be able to recognize it very easily. The girl secretly believed she got her hair color from her father, but she had never met him, and Mommy wouldn't tell her. Oh, well. At least the cloth was pretty. It was a dark blue embroidered with curly silver designs around the edges.

Finished tying up her daughter's hair, the woman gently spun her around by her shoulders and placed one finger under the girl's chin, making eye contact to show exactly how serious she was.

"I'm sending you to Fairy Tail, but there are several rules. I'm not going with you, but I should be able to meet you there in about two weeks. So, rule number one. Don't ever take the bandanna off." The girl groaned. Her mother gave her a stern look, and she quieted again. "Rule two. You can't tell anyone in the guild my name until after those two weeks. Rule three. Don't show anyone your locket, and don't ever take it or your bracelet off. That goes for you too." The girl and her cat looked at the finely wrought silver bracelets on their wrists. They were birthday presents from last year and they could sense the power in them, but the woman hadn't told them how the bracelets were enchanted. "And rule four." She paused for a minute, causing the little ones to look up from their bracelets with wide eyes. "Don't talk to strangers." She grinned as the two rolled their eyes, but quickly turned serious again. She grabbed both of their shoulders, turning them towards her. "Promise me."

The woman had always taught them that promises were very important, and that once you had given your word, you couldn't go back on it, unless some one's life was in danger. They both took a deep breath and recited the rules back to her in perfect unison.

"No taking off the bandanna, don't tell anyone your name for two weeks, don't take off the bracelets or the locket, don't show the locket to anyone, and don't talk to strangers. We promise." The woman gently squeezed their shoulders and released them. She looked around the train station again, and frowned. The cloaked figure had slowly drifted towards them while she was talking to the girls. When the person noticed that her attention was directed towards them, they began moving in another direction, but didn't go far. She swallowed hard. She had to stop stalling. They were out of time. She put the rucksack that held food, clothes, money, and something else that was very precious on her daughter's back. She hugged both of her children and kissed them on the forehead before ushering them on the midnight train that had just pulled into the station. That train would take them to the home, life, and family the woman had been forced to abandon eight years ago.

Her daughter hesitated slightly, then took a deep breath to steady herself and followed her cat onto the train. They quickly found their seats, and pressed their faces against the window and waved madly at their mother as the train began to pull out of the station.

"We love you! See you in two weeks!" They shouted through the glass, grinning wildly. She smiled and waved back until they were out of sight, then dropped to her knees. It felt like someone had punched her in the gut. She struggled to take deep breaths as the horribly familiar sense of loss stole her breath and made her gasp for air, sending tears streaming down her face. She forced herself to stand and staggered out of the station. The hood of her cloak fell back to show shining blonde hair that fell to her waist. She wiped brown eyes that were identical to her daughter's. She took a deep breath. She forced herself to walk until she heard footsteps behind her. Then she pulled out the whip attached to her belt and spun around.

She faced the cloaked stalker from the train station.

"Key Mage."

A shiver ran up her back at the deep, emotionless voice that emanated from the dark hood. She gripped her whip tightly and tossed her hair back.

"What's it to you?" She glared at the stranger, trying not to show the nerves that were beginning to get to her. This guy had followed her around for weeks. He was the reason she had decided to send her daughter to the guild. Fury flashed through her body as she confronted the shadow that had separated her from the only thing that mattered in her life.

"My master requires your power, and your keys. You will relinquish them to me and accompany me to my master's location." His voice continued in the same deep monosyllable as before.

"Like hell I wi-" She started to snarl, but she suddenly felt a cold prick at her neck, and numbness rushed through her limbs. Her knees gave out and her fingers lost hold of the whip. She fell forward and hit the ground with a muffled thud.

The cloaked figure calmly walked towards her as he motioned a levitating syringe toward him. He caught it, and inspected the vial. It was drained dry, the liquid in it now swirling through the woman's veins with every beat of her heart. The mage would be knocked out for hours. More than enough time to transport her to his master. The woman groaned and twitched. He studied her with cold, calculating eyes. It took several minutes for the potion to affect her. He would remember that next time.

The woman was desperately struggling to stay awake. As she lost consciousness, she breathed out one word.

"Natsu."

Ok, so this is the first chapter of my first story. I just wanted to clear something up really quickly. In this story, the seven year time skip after Tenrou didn't happen, and it's before the Grand Magic Games. This affects the story line later on, so I just wanted you guys to know.

So please, rate, review, all that good stuff. Tell me what you thought! I'm open to suggestions. I should be able to get the next chapter up fairly quickly.