The Sixteen Elemental Dragons

A Little Surprise

Fuyu slept late the next morning, snoring quietly in his small bed.

Ellie sighed as she knocked on his apartment door for the seventh time. "Fuyu~! Come on! We got a job!" she cheered. She turned and walked away, growling in annoyance when she again got no response from the snow mage. On her way back to the guild hall, she met up with Chaos and decided to have breakfast together before heading off.

They took their time eating their meals of pork and eggs, then left their home for their job.

Chaos seemed groggy to most as she kept yawning. "Man, I'm bored..." she admitted tiredly.

"Same...Nothing is going on right now..." Ellie groaned.

Suddenly, the soft sound of crying filled their ears at such a small volume that it would've gone unnoticed if they weren't dragonslayers.

"Who..?" they both asked in whispers as they strolled into an alleyway.

After passing a small bin of trash, they spotted a small blonde girl wearing a thin, white dress with stains all over it, sitting in a box and crying her eyes out.

Chaos approached the child. "Hey...what's wrong? Are you okay?" she questioned, holding out her hand to the young girl.

"No... I'm not... My parents told me to wait here for them and they never came back..." the child got out through sobs.

Chaos picked her up and hugged her. "It'll be alright. I'll take care of you." she stated, patting her back.

"Y-...you will?" the little one asked, leaning back to look at Chaos.

"Sure, but you gotta tell me your name first." Chaos answered with a wide smile.

"It's...Ashley Barnette..." She replied, looking away.

Chaos stared at her then smiled again. "I like that name. Can I call you Ash for short?" She inquired.

"S-sure, but I get to call you mommy." Ashley replied, smiling back a little.

Chaos was taken back for a moment, but recovered easily and nodded.

"Hey, Chaos. Wanna go back to the guild and do this job later? It is~ only a small time delivery job that even Happy could do." Ellie asked with a big smile.

"Sure. Want to go meet my friends and family, Ash?" Chaos questioned, shifting her gaze to Ashley.

The little girl nodded and they began their walk back to the guild hall.

By now, Fuyu had gotten up and was eating shaved ice in a bowl at the guild hall. "Hey Gray, you never told me this, but who is better; you or Leon?" he inquired before chomping down on some ice.

"Huh? The answers obvious. I'm stronger than that white haired stripper." Gray spat with irony as he was sitting at the bar in just his underwear.

"Uh~~~. I don't think you have room to talk there, buddy." Fuyu retorted, pointing at Gray.

The raven haired teen looked down and grimaced. "Why does this happen every time I get in a conversation with someone?" He sighed in annoyance.

"I don't know. I can't answer that." Fuyu chuckled before looking at the entrance.

In came Elle and Chaos, whom was holding a small blonde child.

"Sorry Master, we're gonna put that job on hold for a few days!" Ellie shouted to Master Makarov.

The old man was sipping some ale from his mug atop the bar counter. "Alright, but it will be renewed and up for grabs by the end of the week. Keep that in mind." he warned before taking another swig of his drink.

"That's alright with us." Ellie confirmed, taking a seat at a table with Chaos and little Ashley.

Many of the guild members continued their conversations while looking at the trio through the corners of their eyes.

"Hey Ash, do you want something to eat? I'm sure Mira can cook up anything you want and it'll be better than the last time you had it." Chaos questioned, giving Ash an idea how great Mira's cooking was.

"Um...can I have...some ham and milk..?" Ash voiced nervously, looking up at Chaos with uncertainty.

"I'll ask Mira for the best slices of ham she can make." Chaos replied with a smile before heading over to the bar to speak with the white-haired woman.

Fuyu stepped up to their table with a puzzled expression.

"Hey Ellie. Who is this young child?" Fuyu inquired, trying not to embarrass Ashley due to her age.

"Hm? Oh. Her name is Ashley Barnette. Chaos and I found her crying in a back alley and she's taking her in." Ellie answered, patting Ashley's head.

Fuyu smiled. "Well then. It's nice to meet you, Ashley. My name of Fuyu Mitokai." he stated, introducing himself as he held out his hand to shake hers.

Ashley shyly took his hand and shook it. "N-nice to m-meet you too..." she spoke.

Fuyu smiled as most the guild members sitting nearby did the same.

"Ash~! I got the food!" Chaos cheered as she returned to the table with a large plate of sliced ham and two glasses of milk. She took her seat after setting the objects onto the table. "Ready to eat?" She inquired.

Ashley quickly picked up a fork and picked a slab of ham. "Smell... Delicious..." she muttered as she began to salivate intensely.

"Well~, go ahead and dig in." Chaos happily ordered, letting the little girl start stuffing her face in ham.

She only took a drink in between mouthfuls of ham, and, even then, it was only sips at a time. After the plate had been cleaned of food, the little girl sat in relief and exhaustion.

"Y...you eat more akin to an animal than Natsu does when he's starving..." Fuyu uttered without thinking.

Ashley sighed without even opening her eyes to see who said it and replied with a "thank you".

Everybody at the table chuckled quietly while the young girl fell asleep.

"I think I'll go ahead and take her home. She must be worn out beyond belief from that feast." Chaos decided out loud, informing everyone that she was heading back to her room at Fairy Hills.

"Okay! See ya later!" Ellie cheered in a hushed voice so she wouldn't wake little Ashley up.

Chaos waved backwards before leaving the guild hall with her new daughter in her arms. "We're gonna have amazing adventures when you grow up." she cooed into the small child's ear as she walked into the distance towards their home.

A/N: This chapter took some time to actually write out but here it is in its complete and unadulterated glory. I hope you all have enjoyed this book and also have a wonderful day or night!