Beauty and/or Beast

1

I tighten the cloak around my shivering body as I march further away from that place. Each step I take puts more distance between us, which is what I want. As much as my body wanted to stop and take a breather, I knew I shouldn't. They could be coming after me for all I know, and I have no power to fight them. So all I can do is move forward until I find anything to help me.

After what felt like an eternity I enter a big town, the streets littered with people. Children run past me as they chase each other, their giggles filling my ears. 

Laughter; something I haven't heard in forever. What a beautiful sound. It almost brought a smile to my lips, but the sound of people yelling made me move quicker. Maybe it's her, coming back to get me. Fear courses through me as images of my life before flash through my mind.

My nose picks up something familiar, the feeling of familiarity. Turning my head the word "Igneel" lingers on my lips. To my surprise, I come face-to-face with a pink-haired male. The reminisce of "Igneel?" also comes from his lips. His mouth drops open as he tries to find the words to say something back, so I quickly send him an apology. Hoping that this little conversation won't cause me an altercation.

Turning on my heels I walk away from the male, my eyebrows furrowing as I try to make sense. I am so confident I smelt the dragon, why did that boy smell like him? That is not right, Igneel is not a human. I am sure of that. Shaking my head I tighten my arms to my body, moving as fast as I could to just pass town. Maybe I can find a place to rest in the next town over. I know now to not talk to the residents of the town.

"Hey," I felt someone push me into a dark alleyway. Both of his hands held my shoulders as he held me against the building wall.

Out of shock and pure exhaustion, I don't fight back. I couldn't if I wanted to, my energy isn't anywhere near the point of being used. My eyes meet the eyes of the pink-haired male again. His face was angry, pure hatred staring down at me. 

"Who are you," he asks through gritted teeth. 

"Please," I whisper. "I mean no harm."

"Oh yeah? then why do you smell like Igneel?"

"Me? You smell like Igneel!"

"Quit lying and answer me!"

"Natsu!" someone shouts from afar. "What are you doing, everyone is waiting for-"

A blonde woman stops talking once she takes notice of me, a blue cat in her arms also stares up at me. There goes my plan of going undetected. "What are you doing Natsu?" the female asks the male in front of me.

"This woman," Natsu growls. "She smells like Igneel."

"As in the dragon that raised you?"

"Yes."

"Igneel raised you?" I ask the male.

"Well duh, I am the fire dragon slayer of Igneel."

"Dragon slayer.... Natsu."

"Yes, you still haven't answered me."

"I-i can't. I better get going."

I attempt to free myself from Natsu's grasp, but he held me firm. His face still held an angry expression, with no chance of changing anytime soon. Fear coursed through me, bad memories of my life ran through my mind. Fear that I will be caught and forced back there. That wretched place that I worked so hard to escape from.

"She's scared," the blonde tells Natsu. "Maybe we should bring her back to master."

"Yeah!" the cat smiles. "Master has always helped us, maybe he can help her."

"Would you be okay with that? Our master can help you in any way that you need. Please, let us take you to our guild."

"Guild?"

I know what a guild was, but never thought I would come across wizards in one. Even this soon in my escape. My eyes scan the three figures in front of me. Little marks on Natsus' shoulder and the females' hand confirmed it, they were from a guild. Maybe it would be better for me to be a part of a guild, more people to protect me. I don't need to trust the people in the guild, just be with a guild to build a future for myself.

"Okay," I whisper.

Reluctantly Nastsu lets go of me, letting the blonde guide me to her guild.

---------

All eyes were on me as soon as we entered the small building they called a guild. The blonde, who I learned was Lucy, said they are going to be working to get their old guild building back. Something about how a few of their members disappeared for seven years or something. I wasn't keeping tabs on her talking, more watching how adorable the blue cat was. He was walking next to me, a smile on his lips as he watched me.

"Master," Lucy walks up to a shorter male. "We have a visitor that may need some help."

The master already had his eyes on me when I first walked up to the guild. He sets his glass down on the table as he fully turns to look at me. His eyes scan me up and down, but there wasn't much for him to look at. My cloak was still on, concealing my identity from the guildmates of Fairy Tail.

"Come on child," the master tells me. "Let's go somewhere more private where we can talk."

I follow the other gentleman to a small office in the back, and a white-haired woman follows behind us with a smile. We shuffle into the room, closing the door for privacy. The woman casts a little spell on the door, a smile still on her lips. She points to her ears and then the door, meaning that someone could be listening outside the door. So the spell causes any words exchanged in her will solely be between us. Smart.

"Please, get comfortable." the male says. "My name is Makarov, and this is Mira. What may you need help with."

A shiver of fear rolls down my spine as the two wizards stand in front of me, sweet smiles on their faces. I'm scared, I have no idea who I can trust. But maybe the first step to getting to safety is opening up to some people.

Goosebumps litter my arms as I take off the cloak that was concealing my identity.