Jessie Celestia's Past [ON HOLD]

Chapter 18

~No one's P.O.V.~

        Jessie's tiny legs swung back and forth as she read from a book that she had picked out from the many shelves of in the Fairy Tail library.  For a couple minutes, she got in some good silent reading time, but then she heard gentle footsteps come down the stairs.  She looked up from the book to see the old man from before walk down the stairs.  Behind him was Porlyusica, Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lexi, and the blue cat whose name she still didn't know.  "Yo!" the old man said casually.  "Jessie right?"

        Hai?" Jessie said politely.  Lexi flew up to her and cuddled in the warmth of her arms.

        "What are you doing here all by yourself?" the old man asked.

        "Reading," Jessie replied lamely.

        "Reading what?" Erza asked curiously.  Natsu went over to Jessie and stole the book from her hands.

        "Oi, give it back!" Jessie said, reaching for the book, but Natsu held it out of her reach.  He was six years older than her, so that meant he was a lot taller than her.

        "'The History of Magic'?" Natsu read. 

        "Give it back!" Jessie yelled, jumping for the book.

        "I just wanted to--"  He stopped and dropped the book when he realized that hot tears were trickling down Jessie's face in frustration.  Both the old man and Porlyusica sighed facepalmed themselves.  When Erza and Gray noticed, they were immediately pissed.

        "YOU MADE HER CRY FLAME BRAIN!!" both Erza and Gray shouted at Natsu at the same time.

        "I-I didn't mean to!" he sweatdropped.  "I swear!"  Jessie picked up the book and hugged it close to her chest when she noticed he dropped it.  Immeditiately upon hearing that she had been crying, she scowled at herself at wiped her tears.

        "S-sorry," she mumbled.  The trio looked at her in confusion.

        "Sorry?  For what?"  Natsu asked while being held from his collar by Erza.

        "I shouldn't cry for such a stupid thing," Jessie laughed bitterly, making Lexi feel worried.

        "Oi, now you're just making me even more guilty.." Natsu groaned. 

        "There's more to it than just the book isn't there Jessie?" Lexi spoke up.  Jessie looked at her cat in surprise, but smiled weakly.

        "Well, my dragon, Mizula, said that crying is for crybabies," Jessie smiled at the memory.  "She said that crybabies can't be strong."

        "You were raised by a dragon too??" Natsu asked excitingly.  Jessie nodded.  "Does that mean you know a dragon named Igneel??"

        "No, sorry," Jessie shook her head.  "Mizula never told me about other dragons, just that there were other ones."  Natsu's face fell, but it immediately brightened back up.

        "Alright, thanks anyway," Natsu said with a toothy grin.

        "Hey, why don't you just read fairy tales instead of these kinds of books?" Gray asked curiously.  "Something like Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella."  Jessie laughed at those words.

        "Those childish fairy tales?" Jessie scoffed.  "They're all fake."  Everyone gasped, but Porlyusica's eyes widened instead.

        "What?!" everyone but Porlyusica shouted.

        "You don't believe in fairy tales??" Erza asked, surprised.  Jessie shook her head.

        "A 'Prince Charming' coming to your rescue just when you need him is unbelievable," Jessie said with air quotes around 'Prince Charming'.  "And miracles aren't real, especially not 'Fairy Godmothers'."

        "Miracles are real though!" Natsu said.  

        "Coincedences are real, not miracles," Jessie said firmly.  In the back of her mind, she knew that she didn't believe herself though.  She just refused to believe in miracles because none have ever happened to her.  Fairy tales though, she definitely knew they were just a kid's imagination.  

        "Miracles and coincedences are two different things," Natsu insisted.

        "Not really," Jessie said calmly.

        "Really!"

        "Not really.."

        "Jessie," Master Makarov said in the middle of their arguement.  Both of them turned to the short old man.

        "Yes?" Jessie answered.

        "Walk with me child," he said before leaving the library.  Jessie sighed and gently placed the book on one of the tables.  

        "Until we meet again," Jessie muttered under her breath to the book before catching up to the Master of Fairy Tail.