The Curse of the 9th Master

Chapter 1:

(Hello wonderful people! Yay, Here I am again, writing! I've actually wanted to do this for a while. I actually worked with my friend on this and I think it turned out pretty good! Anyways, hope you guys enjoy!)

*Flashback*

It was thundering outside as swift drops of rain fell. Yuri Dreyar watched as rain was falling down the windowpane, he was leaning against. He was bored, watching the rain as if waiting for something to occur. Everyone was inside, huddling together from the cold harsh winds from outside. The quiet drops of rain striking the roof of the guild hall could be heard. The splashing of clusters of water droplets outside were drowning the ground in cold liquids. Then, as if on cue, a giant streak of lightning flashed in the dull gray sky, lighting up the whole sky up.

The doors of the Fairy Tail guild hall were busted open and almost immediately, a lash of cold air blew in with a side of wet leaves, falling gently on the floor. Everyone's head turned to the front doors, their heads wondering in curiosity. The floorboards creaked slightly as a figure in a raven-colored cloak walked in. The doors retreated back, leaving the temperature still cold.

Yuri Dreyar narrowed his eyes and looked cautiously at the hooded form. The hood was lifted off and an aged woman appeared from under it. She had long gray hair, hanging loosely on her, wet from the rainfall. She had menacing brown eyes, as if staring right into you. Her wicked eyes turned right to Yuri, observing him carefully. Yuri froze, who was this woman and why was she looking at him so strangely? She walked up to Yuri until she was inches away from him.

"Yuri!" Warrod whispered, trying to get the boy's attention. But no response. Yuri was too stunned to move. He didn't notice that Warrod was calling his name repeatedly.

The woman smiled at him, before frowning again. "My dear boy, do you know who I am?" She asked, lifting up a finger.

Yuri slowly shook his head, "No, I don't believe I've seen you around before. Just who are you, anyway?"

The woman smiled, "Well, look again boy!" She cackled, laughing hysterically. A large staff was drawn out of her cloak. It was wooden, crooked, but beautiful. At the tip of the staff was a large circle, as if something was missing from it.

"Look at the staff closely, at the top, there is something missing from it," She stated, pointing to the hole at the top,"Where is the jewel!" She shrieked. Yuri stopped, he racked his mind, A jewel? What kind of jewel? What's this crazy coon talking about?, He thought. Wait, Yuri thought. His eyes suddenly widened.

An image of a bloodshot orb appeared in his brain. Oh great, Yuri thought, I stole the damn witch's jewel. God, where'd I set it? Yuri mentally face-palmed himself. He had sold it after joining Fairy Tail. He, Warrod, and Precht had journeyed into what they supposed was an abandoned temple. Of course, there were traps, and the occasionally nearly-dying experience, but they cleared it out alive with the orb. What they didn't know was there was an elderly woman watching them from a space. His treasure-hunting days were long over, so he had given out almost all of his treasures.

"Well?" The witch asked impatiently.

Yuri knew that the witch probably already knew where it was. "I reckon you already knew where it is." Yuri stated bluntly. The witch glared at him, throwing him another funny smile.

"Very well," Was all she said. She raised her staff high in the air. Faint purple smoke rose from it, hiding most of the floor. The witch cackled, raising her arms as high in the sky as she perhaps could. The wind rushed everywhere in the room out of nowhere, blowing anyone away if they weren't holding onto anything steady.

"Yuri Dreyar!" She screamed. "For the wrath of the ancient Zytark Gemstone that you have stolen, shall it not be returned, I shall set a curse on you!"

Yuri Dreyar flinched back slightly, before presenting a cool face but worried face. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. He backed off slowly, and hopefully not noticeable. The witch looked straight at him.

"As a new guild of Fairy Tail is born, he downfall of the founders shall receive its call. For when they perish, they all will mourn. The great-grandson of the treasure hunter will betray his friends, guild, and all."

"Cursed!" she shrieked, ruffling herself up, "Rotten. Rotten as a bad apple. Rotting all the way in hell!"

Yuri jumped back, instinctively, from all the booby traps he'd manage to avoid while hunting for treasure. "The hell?! What'd you do to me?" He exclaimed. The woman only tilted her head slightly before smacking her staff down against the wooden floor of the Fairy Tail guild, disappearing in a cloud of smoke, nothing left of her.

The others slowly and cautiously stepped out from where they were and gathered around Yuri, who had fallen to the ground in shock, still looking at where the woman had been before she disappeared. He didn't question where she had been, no, he had seen magic like that before. He was questioning if she had actually put a curse on him. Was it real? Perhaps it was all a dream? Or maybe one of Mavis's illusions? No, she wouldn't have done something like that, it would have been too cruel. Not something she would ever have managed. Yuri kept thinking and reckoning, until he came to the conclusion that it was real. The curse is real.

"Yuri!" Mavis yelled. She ran up to him and hugged him with all the strength she possessed. "Oh my god! I'm so happy that you're okay!"

Yuri smiled awkwardly, "Yeah, I'm sure you are. But please stop, I-I can't really b-breathe."

"Oh," Mavis said, before blushing a bit and letting go. Yuri let out a breath of relief. "Yeah, sorry about that Yuri."

"But what was that about? With the woman- or witch?" Mavis asked, her eyes streaming with curiously to learn more.

"Yeah," Warrod chimed in, "What just happened?"

Yuri looked up at his fellow guildmates, and friends, "In all honesty, I'm not exactly sure. I-, I mean, I think I've just been cursed."

Everyone's eyes widened, but how could this be? How was Yuri of all people, the victim of a curse?

"Precht, Warrod. Do you recall that journey we took to the abandoned temple? The one in the mountains of Regiora?" Yuri asked, hoping to receive a positive response from at least one of them.

"I believe so." Precht replied, after a moment of thinking it out. He had thought of doing something like that before.

"And so do I," Warrod said, "A few years ago, maybe two, if my memory preserved and is yet as sharp as it used to be."

"I'm sure it still is Warrod," Yuri said, "Anyways, we stole this red jewel. And when we remembered the temple was abandoned, turns out we were wrong."

"What do you mean?" Warrod asked. He didn't like the sound of this.

"I mean, there was someone watching us," Yuri explained, moving on, "And that the woman that was just here, the jewel belonged to her."

"So where'd you place it?" Mavis asked, wanting in on the conversation, even though she didn't know anything about what they were talking about (For once).

"Uh, yeah. You see, that's the problem right there. I don't know it is right now. I sold it to a merchant a while ago after I joined Fairy Tail. I actually sold most of my treasures away, seeing as I didn't want to have anything from my treasure hunting days," Yuri said, taking a short breath. He lifted himself up with the help of Warrod.

"Thanks," Yuri said. Warrod only nodded. It was his means of replying. Yuri never took his eyes off of the floor where the woman had stood. Hopefully she would never return again. Hopefully.

"Do you think we'll ever see her again?" Precht asked, facing up at the window. The rain was gone and the sun was out. Everything glittered in the sunlight and if you looked closely, perhaps even squinting, you could catch the faint trace of a rainbow.

"No, I don't think so," Yuri said, looking at the window too, "But I hope this doesn't cause problems for the future generations."

*Flashback*