So... wow... it's been a long while since I had time to write anything. The next semester started five weeks ago, and I've been getting slammed with school, homework, and my job almost 24/7. I'm really sorry about taking so long... again. But thank you for hanging in there, because now I have chapter 4 of A Guild Life! Too tired to write anything else, so I'll let you feed your eyes!

-A Guild Life-

-Chapter 4-

A train whistle blared as hundreds of people from all over Fiore made their way to and from the numerous trains of Magnolia Train Station. Be them wizards, businessmen, or just townsfolk on a trip, everyone seemed in a hurry to be going somewhere. A small group in the crowd stood out as they stepped off of the train and looked around at the familiar scene. "We're back!" A particular bluenette laughed as she jumped for joy.

"That job sure took longer than we first anticipated, right Wendy?" A white flying cat noted as she floated beside Wendy.

"And who's fault was that, Carla?" A rather tall man dressed in robes asked, wearing a medieval style sallet over his face.

"It's not my fault!" Carla crossed her arms defensively. "If I remember correctly, it was you that dropped the watermelon, Bickslow!"

"Only after you lost the thong." Bickslow replied with a grin. "Seriously, at that point the watermelon was useless!"

"In hindsight, that was the weirdest job I've ever taken." A skinny white-haired young lady asked as she stepped off the train. "But at least we got the job done! Erza's advice on the breadsticks really saved us a lot of trouble!"

"Oh yeah, thanks for helping me with that by the way!" Wendy spun around and bowed to the group. "I never would've been able to do it without your help!"

Bickslow laughed and stuck out his tongue. "Don't mention it! We Thunder Legion wizards always help those who need it!"

The group continued on outside of the train station, heading towards the guild hall in the distance. "I wonder if Natsu and the others finished their job yet..." Lisanna thought out loud, putting a finger to her chin.

"That job really sounded scary." Wendy shivered.

"Let's not forget that this is Natsu's team we're talking about here!" Carla pointed out. "Every single one of them can take care of themselves, and each other. They'll be fine." Carla nodded.

"They're probably at the Guildhall right now, goofing off as usual." Lisanna added. "Especially Natsu!"

Wendy smiled. "Yeah, you're probably right!"

The group walked along the stone trail beside some buildings, approaching the Magnolia book store on their left. A short bald man stood outside, holding a magazine and waving it around. "Hey folks! Check out the newest issue of Sorcerer Weekly! This weeks highlight being the new wizarding couples section, and an inside look at Sabertooth's-"

"Oh, cool!" Wendy walked over to a stand of magazines next to the salesman. She grabbed a magazine and inspected it. "Oh yes! I wonder if Alzack and Bisca are featured in-" She suddenly stopped speaking as she grew bug eyed, staring at the collection of pages in her hands.

"Hm? Is something wrong, Wendy?" Carla asked as she flew next to her blue-haired companion. "Don't tell me Gajeel destroyed another- Oh my word!"

Bickslow, curious as to what could be going on, walked over next to Wendy and grabbed a magazine himself. "What's all the fuss... Whoa, that's radical!" He shouted.

Lisanna laughed and walked over to the group. "What is it you guys? I can't see!"

Bickslow wasn't even paying attention to the girls. "Jeez! I leave town for a few days, and look what happens!" He complained, examining the actual article in the magazine. "There's details of a first date and everything in here!"

"Ooooooh a first date!" Lisanna grinned. "Who is it? Gray and Juvia?" She guessed. "Sting and Yukino?! Oh wait! I hope it's Elfman and Evergreen! They're just so-"

Wendy turned around and showed Lisanna the front of the Sorcerer Weekly magazine. There, on it's full glossy front cover, were two figures sitting on a bench by the docks; the massive expanse of the ocean in front of them. The sun was setting in the distance, setting the clouds above and water below ablaze with breathtaking hues of yellow, red, and orange. This particular Celestial Wizard and this particular Dragon Slayer were completely alone in the photo, locked in a soft yet passionate kiss.

"-cute... together..." Lisanna's smile slowly faded as she stared at the photo with wide eyes. Her face went slack, mouth slightly open, body unmoved, and color drained from her face completely. "Na...tsu…?" She managed to mutter.

A metaphorical explosion went off in Lisanna's mind.

When did... I didn't think... She couldn't even form coherent thoughts. She stood in silence for a few seconds, only regaining her senses when she realized that Wendy was waving a hand in front of her face. "Oh… uh…"

"Lisanna, are you okay?" Wendy asked, looking up at her with a worried expression. She was expecting more of a giggling school girl reaction from Lisanna, not this pale look. "You look like you've seen a ghost…"

Lisanna suddenly took a deep breath and shook her head. She looked at Wendy with a fake smile. "Yeah, sorry! I just… didn't see that coming."

Wendy turned the magazine back around so she could look at it. "Well it is a little surprising… do you think they just did it for the cover?"

Bickslow turned to Wendy. "No way! Look at page seven, it's legit! They interviewed a bunch of Fairy Tail members before…" Bickslow's voice faded into the background as Lisanna picked up her own copy of the magazine; inspecting it with a curious ferocity.

Natsu Dragneel… and Lucy Heartfilia. So they're together now? She thought to herself, unwittingly tightening her grip on the magazine. I should feel happy for them, shouldn't I? I mean, a guy like Natsu isn't exactly a ladies man… so it's good he found somebody. She pondered, looking at her own hand as it shook without her command. So then… why? Why do I feel so… heavy hearted?

oooOOOOooo

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Natsu yelled; his blazing expression of confusion glaring right at the cover of the newest Sorcerer Weekly Magazine. He was sitting at a booth in the relatively dead 8-Island restaurant along with Lucy, Erza, Gray, and Happy. It had been just two days since Natsu and Lucy had gotten together, and apparently all of Fiore was already well aware of their affection for each other. "An exclusive look at Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfillia's first date?!" He read aloud. "Who the hell- who took these photos?!"

Erza coughed into her fist. "That would be Jason Thompson."

Natsu's gaze shot over to Erza. "That pinhead?! How did he… I didn't even notice him!"

Happy smiled devilishly. "Maybe it's because you were too focused on something else!"

Lucy squinted at the magazine in front of her, turning a page back and forth in her hand as she noticed something shocking. "Wait a minute… Fairy Tail was interviewed?!"

"What?!" Natsu leaned closer to Lucy, raising an eyebrow. "Interviewed about what?! Don't tell me-"

"Our date! Look!" Lucy pointed it out to Natsu. "They interviewed Elfman, Mira, Gajeel… and LEVY?!" Her best friend in the guild was in on this too?! How could Levy do this to her? That traitor!

Natsu turned the page. "Wait a second!" He pointed at some more interviews. "You jerks are on here too! You knew about this the whole time?!"

"Busted." Gray smiled as he rested his chin in his hand.

"This was only inevitable." Erza crossed her arms, letting a tiny smirk appear on her face.

"You no good dirty double crossers!" Natsu said as his jaw dropped to the ground. He couldn't believe that his team would do something like this!

"It's not fair!" Lucy claimed. Her face fell down onto the table with a thud as she pouted. "I finally get front page in Sorcerer Weekly…. and it has to be like this?"

"What's the big deal?" Gray asked, looking bored. "He didn't interrupt your date or get up in your face like he usually does. What's the harm?"

Natsu shot a glare at Gray. "That's not the point!" He shouted.

"Seriously, hear me out." Gray began, looking to Lucy. "You two have finally come together after all this time, and you've found something that most people spend their whole lives searching for." Lucy found herself listening intently to Gray's words. "You're not ashamed of what you have now, are you? You're not embarrassed to be with each other?"

Lucy picked her head up from the table and shook her head. "No, of course not!"

"Don't be stupid, Gray!" Natsu replied.

Gray crossed his arms. "Then why are you so upset about this?" He asked. "This isn't anything to be ashamed of, and I'm sure there are hundreds of people out there inspired by this article." He gestured to Natsu. "I mean, if flamebrain here can find love, why can't other people?"

Lucy let out a sigh. As much as she wanted to get mad and throw a tantrum, she realized that Gray was absolutely right. "Okay… let's just calm down." She replied.. She figured that there was nothing to be done about it now; it happened. Might as well try to figure out how to deal with it rather than getting upset. She was stressed out enough as it was; she didn't need to pop a blood vessel too. "Maybe this isn't a bad thing-"

Natsu, however, didn't feel the same way. "I'm not going to calm down! This wasn't supposed to happen!"

"Natsu, simmer it down." Erza calmly ordered.

Natsu slammed his hand down on the table and stood up violently, crumpling the magazine in his fist as he burned it to ashes with his fire. "NO! That was our moment, damn it! It was just supposed to be between us!"

The table fell silent as they stared at Natsu, who looked down to the ground as he growled. Gray and Erza shifted uncomfortably in their seats as they started realizing how Natsu truly felt, and Happy started feeling guilty. Lucy's eyes grew wide as she stared up at her pink-haired companion. She saw something in his face that made her burn with blush; a kind of downcast expression revealing that he couldn't help his passionate outburst. "It was… just supposed to be us." Natsu repeated as he slowly slumped back in his seat. "Nobody else."

"Natsu…" After a short pause, Lucy inched in closer to the dragon slayer and leaned against him, smiling as she immediately felt the warmth emanating from his body.

Natsu let out a tired sigh as he looked to Lucy with a wan expression. "Sorry… lost control there for a second." He'd been trying to control his temper for Lucy's sake, and she appreciated the idea regardless of it not working out very well.

Lucy slowly shook her head. "Mmm-mmm, don't be." She adjusted herself as Natsu wrapped an arm around her. "You're a sweet guy at heart, you know that?" Natsu looked at Lucy with a tight-lipped expression. He mumbled something before he coughed into his fist, slightly embarrassed. He didn't really consider himself to be 'sweet', but he wasn't going to contradict a compliment from Lucy.

A waitress materialized from the back with four plates of food, setting them down in front of the group with practiced precision. Without saying a word, she refilled Erza's tea and grabbed Lucy another lemonade. Happy opened his mouth to say something, but the waitress handed him a cooked fish on a stick before he could speak. She smiled at Happy and scratched his head as he took the fish with an appreciative nod, then she disappeared into the back once more. The group excitedly dug into their breakfast, and was silent while they ate for a few moments. Well… as silently as Natsu could eat, anyway.

oooOOOOooo

Several clothes racks lined the space of the small shop mere blocks away from Natsu's group, with only about a dozen people wandering between them. "Do you really need all this stuff?" Gajeel asked as he balanced several boxes worth of clothes in his arms. They started to tip to the side, but he managed to readjust them and prevent a disaster. He let out a sigh. Levy, meanwhile, held a ribbon up to her hair to see how it looked.

"What do you think, Gajeel?" She turned to look at him, holding up two different ribbons on the hangers. "Should I go with the red one, or the white one?"

Gajeel groaned. "How should I know? I ain't exactly an expert when it comes to fashion."

Levy huffed. "Oh come on!" She kept moving the ribbons to and from her blue locks, showing off each one for him. "I'm not looking for expert advice, I just want to know what looks better on me!" Gajeel rolled his eyes and looked away. Levy paused as she noticed a sweat drop on Gajeel's face. He grumbled something inaudible and Levy raised an eyebrow. "What?" She asked.

He groaned again, but spoke up. "The white one. It's pretty like… uh…" He hesitated. "I mean... it compliments your hair."

Levy blushed and gave Gajeel an alluring look. "You think I'm pretty?"

Gajeel raised an eyebrow. "I… I didn't say that."

Levy smiled. "No, but you were about to."

"Can we just get this over with? I'm dying for some food." Gajeel changed the subject as quickly as he could. He didn't like these mushy moments he tended to have around Levy; it made him feel too… he searched for a word. Weak? No, that wouldn't be right. No way in hell was he weak. Vulnerable? Yes, perhaps that was the correct word. Even though his guts were literally stronger than iron itself, Levy always managed to somehow find a crack in his armor.

Lucky for Gajeel, his little subject change worked. "Yeah, I'm a little hungry too." She thought for a moment. "Oh! I think Lucy and the others were going to eat at 8-Island this morning!"

Gajeel narrowed his gaze. "That means Salamander will be there…"

Levy smiled. "So you want to go?"

Gajeel turned his head and replied simply: "No."

Levy raised a confused eyebrow. "Wha-why? What's wrong with Natsu?"

"Tsk." Gajeel looked Levy right in the eye. "I asked him if he wanted to practice some yesterday." Gajeel closed his eyes as he recollected the event. They were both in the guild hall around noon, and Natsu was busy talking to that pesky blue feline.

Levy smirked. "He said he couldn't, didn't he?"

"The jerk said he was too busy!" Gajeel nearly dropped all of the boxes in his anger, but took a step back to rebalance them. "Ghh! I challenged him to a sparring match, and you know what he told me?!"

Levy rolled her eyes, but figured she'd humor him. "What?"

Gajeel growled slightly. "He told me to get lost! The nerve of that fire-breathing idiot!"

Levy allowed herself to giggle. "Alright, if he really is bothering you that much, we can eat somewhere else if you want." Gajeel gestured towards the boxes with his eyes and raised his eyebrow. It took Levy a second to get what Gajeel ment. "Oh, right. Let's drop the boxes off first."

"Now you're talking." Gajeel and Levy started towards the register, both having smiles on their faces.

oooOOOOooo

Hmmm... So that's how it started. Lisanna thought to herself as she walked behind her group, reading the NaLu article in the Wizarding Couples section of Sorcerer Weekly. The sidewalks of Magnolia were nearly bare, with only the occasional passerby giving a friendly hello. Wendy and the others were chatting about something, but Lisanna was too focused on her magazine to hear.

Just three nights ago, huh? She thought. It's amazing what can happen in the span of a week. She closed the magazine and observed the front cover. She felt a twinge of pain in her chest. Ugh... Why is this happening? Is my breakfast disagreeing with me or something? She pondered. No, it doesn't feel quite like that... There's something else about this pai-

"Look! There's Natsu and the others!" Wendy pointed forward, catching Lisanna's attention. Indeed, there was Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, and Happy heading right towards them. Lisanna smiled as she saw Natsu, but that slowly faded as her gaze followed his arm down to his hand. His fingers were entwined with Lucy's as they walked side-by-side, talking about something she was too far away to hear. "Hey guys!" Wendy called out, waving and jogging at them.

They all stopped when they heard the familiar voice, and looked over to see Wendy's group approaching. Smiles appeared on everyone's faces as they converged on each other, save for Lisanna. "Hey, you guys are back!" Lucy said with joy as she waved.

"Yes, we just got in a few minutes ago!" Carla nodded as she floated next to Wendy.

"Carla!" Happy floated up next to the white furred feline, trying to act cool. "It's okay if you missed me! I missed you too!"

Carla sweat dropped. "Do you just hear random words come out of people's mouths?"

"Soooo... Natsu and Lucy." Bickslow started, getting the wizards' attention. "You two actually hooked up, huh?" He asked, getting straight to the point. "Is it true?"

"Well…" Natsu rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. Lucy also had a slight blush to her face, so the couple opted to raise and show off their entangled hands instead of explain. "I'm guessing you guys read that stupid dumb magazine?"

Gray turned to face Natsu. "'Stupid dumb'?" He asked.

Natsu nodded. "Yeah! That means it's like… super dumb."

Gray shook his head. "That's a double negative, you idiot."

Natsu felt a blood vessel in his temple expand. "No it's not!"

Gray stood his ground. "Yeah it is."

Lucy turned. "Actually Gray, while it's not really grammatically correct, it's not technically a double negative either."

Natsu grinned. "Ha! See? She's a writer so she would know!"

"Anyway." Carla tried to reel them back in. "Why did you call the magazine stupid? You posed for the pictures, didn't you?"

The blood vessel grew a tad bit more. "Oh, don't even get me started on-" Natsu paused when he noticed Lisanna sheepishly hiding behind Bickslow, and he was met with a drop in blood pressure. "Oh, hey Lisanna! What's up?"

Lisanna suddenly snapped out of her stupor and forced a smile. "Oh… hey Natsu! How've you been?"

"Pretty good. We went over to 8-Island earlier today. That omelet you recommended was awesome!" Natsu claimed.

Lisanna felt her fake smile vanish, suddenly being replaced with genuine joy. "You remembered to try it?" She asked.

Natsu nodded. "Yeah, of course! You think I'd forget something like that?" Lisanna's face was glowing at this. She didn't realize why, but suddenly something that should've been very small transformed into something she thought was spectacular. She wondered why, but decided that it didn't matter. She felt happy.

Until, that is, she was reminded of Lucy's presence. "Yeah, it was so good! Natsu let me try a bite of his and I almost died!"

Natsu turned to Lucy. "Yeah seriously, you almost choked on it. It was a piece of food the size of a grape, how did you even manage that?"

Lucy's gasped in surprise. "Hey! Not all of us can pound down three tons of food at once!"

The group around Lucy started to laugh, and although she hesitated at first, she joined in on it as well. "Oh… neat." Lisanna's smile slowly faded as she looked at Natsu. His smile was absolutely beaming, and he was looking right at Lucy. Lisanna slowly started feeling isolated, as the sounds around her mixed into one garbled mess she couldn't pick up on. A dark feeling of depression washed over her for reasons unknown to even herself, and she was left pondering why she felt this way.

oooOOOOooo

It was bright, yet eerily quiet, and mind-numbingly cold throughout the halls of the Pergrande Kingdom castle. The number of guests to grace one specific hall had been blindingly few in number, though once every week there was a special exception. A single set of footsteps echoed throughout the hall built of marble, the sound bouncing off the mighty columns of white granite supporting the three story tall roof.

A lone figure ventured this hall towards the single wooden door at the end. He wasn't at all impressed by the structure of the castle anymore, for he had become far too accustomed to seeing it. He wore a simple white armored robe, and walked with great purpose until he reached the door. He knocked three times, and waited.

"You'd better have a damned good reason for disturbing me!" Bellowed a young man's voice from beyond the door. While annoyed, there was still somehow a hint of chivalrousness in his voice.

"Lord Davis." It was all the man had to reply with before the door cracked open, revealing the face of a red-headed young man. He was undeniably handsome, even with the sweat on his face and unkempt hair that was brushed back.

"Ah, Grava. Please, come in." The boy opened the door for the man and let him inside, revealing a harrowing sight. A young blonde woman had each limb chained to a bed with several lashes decorating her almost naked body, some even going deep enough to draw small amounts of blood. She was bruised from head to toe, clearly having been beaten for an extended period of time. Despite her injuries, the woman maintained a devilish grin on her face.

"Oh come now, my lord. I was almost there!" She begged.

The man held up his hand to her. "A moment, Romola." He turned back to face Grava. "Is it Monday already? I hadn't even noticed."

"Yes, my lord." Grava nodded. "I've brought it for you." Grava reached into his robe and pulled out a slender paper folder, handing it to Lord Davis.

Davis ripped apart the paper, pulling out the newest Sorcerer Weekly issue. "Oh, yes! Hell yes! It feels like forever since the last one!"

"You say that everytime I bring you the next issue, my lord." Grava claimed, stoic.

"Oh shut up, Grava." Davis gave him a glance. "I can't help it of I-" He paused for a moment as he stared at the kissing couple on the cover of the magazine. He examined it closely. "The new wizarding couples section? Huh…" He pointed to the pink-haired man in the picture and looked at Grava. "Who is that? I think I've seen them before…"

"That is Natsu Dragneel of the Fairy Tail guild in Fiore." Grava responded simply.

Lord Davis raised an eyebrow, before realizing he had made a mistake. "Apologies, I meant to point to her." His finger shifted to the blonde. "Her. I've seen her before, I know it."

"She is Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Jude Heartfilia. She is also a member of Fairy Tail." Grava replied. Lord Davis stared at the stunning woman in the picture before him. He knew for a fact he had seen her… not just in a picture, but in person. But where… where had he- Holy shit. He was hit with a wave of realization. He had indeed seen her, nine years ago. It was at her estate, during his father's business meeting with Jude. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen… ever desired.

"Lucy Heartfilia…" He said with a dark voice, a sneer appearing on his face. "I remember now. I thought you were dead... But it seems fate would have other plans for us." He paused, and examined the picture further. "Who is this garbage you let caress your lips with his own?"

Grava looked around for a moment. "My lord, I have no idea what you are talking about, but I don't like that tone."

Davis slowly turned to Grava. "This Fairy Tail... You said it was in Fiore?"