*** I'm sorry if this is confusing but I hate that the English translation changed Wendy's exceed's name, which is pronounced "Shararu" in the original Japanese anime, to Charle or Carla. I understand it's because Shararu is the Japanese pronunciation of the french version of Charles, but I am going to refer to her as Shararu because that's what it sounds like in the anime. So if anyone gets confused I do apologize.

A bead of sweat trickled down my back under the black leather jacket that I always had zipped up to nearly my chin. Frowning slightly I checked the special ice lacrima that sent a cooling liquid through the entirety of my jacket and I cursed softly under my breath when I saw that the lacrima's white light was flickering erratically.

I need a job to buy a replacement lacrima, I thought with a tired sigh. Dressing head to toe in black leather was not ideal during the summer heat of Fiore, but it was better than the alternative. With an irritated scowl, I zipped my jacket back up to my throat and readjusted the black fingerless gloves that covered my hand and traveled up to my elbow underneath my jacket sleeves.

A strand of my blue-black hair fell from the braid that I had pinned up in a bun on the back of my head and I quickly tucked it behind my ear. I had considered chopping my hair off many times, but having it pulled back in a bun was adequate at keeping it out of the way. Not to mention every once in a while a job called for a more elegant look and it was nice to have my long hair to let loose and transform my appearance almost instantly.

Glancing around I noticed that the city that I found myself in was cleaner than I had been expecting. The smell of fish pulled me towards a large river that ran through the city and I silently watched the people going about their business with friendly smiles and happy expressions.

It seems peaceful here, I thought to myself. When a city felt like this that usually meant that there was already an established wizard's guild in the city, which could make finding a job easier or a lot harder. After selecting the street vendor that seemed to be the most talkative I walked over and began inspecting her wares.

Just as I had hoped she soon had engaged me in a one-sided conversation about everything she knew about the current state of affairs in Magnolia. I soon learned that the wizard's guild was called Fairy Tail, which I had heard of in my travels as the comeback guild that beat Sabertooth in the Magic Games a while back. The vendor described the members of Fairy Tail as "the most reckless bunch of troublemakers you'll ever meet, but hearts of gold in every one of 'em."

I bought one of her trinkets as thanks for the information and she was kind enough to point me in the direction of the guild. With her instructions memorized and the trinket stowed away in my travel satchel, I walked purposefully through the crowd of people. As always, people moved out of my way as I walked down the street, whether it was a conscious or a subconscious act I wasn't sure, but I didn't question it.

The guildhall was much bigger than I had expected and I regarded the large flag which depicted a chibi version of a bird of some kind, although I assumed it was supposed to be a fairy because of the guild's name. Loud laughter and raucous noises could be heard from the guildhall even from outside the massive structure and I briefly wondered if maybe I should move on to the next town, but my clothes were quickly becoming stifling as my lacrima tried to use the last bit of its stored power to keep my cooling system working.

With a sigh, I opened the door and slipped into the hall seemingly unnoticed. I wasn't surprised to see the hall filled with wizards drinking from tankards and from the noise levels I assumed they weren't filled with cider. Moving back to hang against the wall in the shadows I scanned the crowded hall until my eyes came to rest on a gray haired old man sitting cross-legged on top of the bar.

Behind him, a gentle beauty with long silver hair and a long burgundy dress seemed to be filling orders and handing them out to the guild members. As the woman walked away from the bar I began to make my way steadily towards the end of the guildhall and the old man who I assumed was the Guild Master.

Making sure that no one had noticed me I reluctantly peeled myself away from the edge of the wall and came to stand to the side of the small man on his bar. He immediately turned to look at me and I wasn't surprised when his eyes filled with suspicion as he took in my extremely closed-off appearance.

"Who might you be, young miss?" the man asked. I smiled, glad that he had cut to the chase and not tried to be cordial or act falsely friendly.

"I'm a traveling wizard and I need a job. I know guilds like to save the jobs they get for their members, but are there any undesirable ones that I could pick through?" I asked, also without preamble. The old man blinked in surprise and then leaned forward, looking me up and down with a critical eye.

"What kind of wizard are you?" he asked and I was surprised that he sounded more curious than cautious now. Deciding that telling the truth would probably get me what I wanted faster than lying, I held out one hand and created a small circle of shimmering light. I then quickly snuffed it out and stuck my hand into my jacket pocket.

"I assume you can do more than create light," the old man said, and I was surprised at the knowing look in his black eyes. Feeling a little uncomfortable I nodded in agreement and then the old man grinned widely.

"That's just fine with me. Everyone here is all in a celebratory mood because our strongest teams just got back from a dangerous mission and the job board is being neglected. You are welcome to any of the jobs that are still available. Just make sure the requester knows you aren't actually affiliated with Fairy Tail. I'm Master Makarov, by the way," Makarov said while extending one of his hands to me. I eyed the extended hand but slowly reached out and shook it in my own gloved one.

"Much obliged, Master Makarov," I responded, not giving out my own name. Either he didn't notice or he didn't care because he turned away and started ogling the beautiful silver haired girl as soon as I let go of his hand.

Shaking my head in quiet distaste I made my way to the opposite wall where the job board was hung up. The board was filled with requests from people all over Fiore. I read through a few of the higher-paying jobs but didn't see anything that I could finish in less than a week. Staying in one spot for longer than that always made me feel fidgety so I skipped over the longer duration jobs and my eyes came to rest on an interesting posting. The reward was for several hundred thousand jewel, which would be more than enough for the lacrima replacement for my jacket, and I quickly read through the description.

From what the paper said, an apothecary in the next town over was having trouble with collecting some rare herbs for his store. It sounded like collecting them all would be a hassle, but the job would keep me moving as I searched for the plants. Also, if I played my cards right, I could try and get him to pay a downpayment before I left so I could get my new ice lacrima.

Nodding my head to myself I removed the job posting and a small gasp sounded from nearby. Looking to my side I blinked in surprise at the small person standing next to me and staring at the job posting in my hand with a sad expression. Everything about the girl beside me was petite and I wondered if she was really as young as she looked. Her long blue hair that had a purple tint to it was left loose to fall down her back and she had the most adorably dejected expression that tugged at my heartstrings the way only children could anymore.

"Can I help you?" I asked quietly before I could think better of it. The young girl sighed and looked at the job I had just taken down.

"I was hoping to take that job for me and my team," the girl said with a sigh. Glancing down at the job I watched as the girl sighed one more time then smiled up at me. "But please don't worry about it. I should have taken it yesterday when I saw it, but I was worried they wouldn't like to travel so far."

"What's your name?" I asked softly. For some reason, I seemed inexplicably drawn to this innocent girl and I was curious what kind of magic she had to make her so confident that she could traverse such dangerous territories to get the plants listed on the job description.

"I'm Wendy Marvel. And what's your name? Are you a new member of the guild?" she asked with polite curiosity. I felt my lips twitch up in a smile and I shook my head lightly.

"No, I'm just a wandering wizard. Your master said I could take a job as long as I told the owner I wasn't affiliated with the guild. My name is Phaedra." Wendy looked at me expectantly but I remained silent, having no intention of elaborating. Wendy blinked as the silence dragged on and then looked down a little awkwardly.

"Who's your team?" I found myself asking as a ridiculous idea came into my head. Before I could take back the question, or just plain walk away, Wendy brightened and pointed towards an empty table except for two small cats. One was white and the other was blue and they seemed to be discussing something. Seeing the two my flight response that had activated immediately lessened and I heard myself chuckle quietly.

"Aren't they cute," I said quietly. Wendy blinked and looked over where she had pointed, looking slightly confused for a second. Glancing between the two cats and the small girl in front of me I decided to put my crazy idea into play and see what happened.

"You know... I don't mind sharing the reward. If you were looking forward to this job then you can come with me if you'd like," I offered, slightly under my breath just to make sure that no one walking by would hear our exchange. An old habit that I had no intention of breaking. Wendy's brown eyes widened and she immediately shook her head.

"I wouldn't want to impose! Our team is pretty big..." Wendy said but I saw her eyes wander to the job posting in my hands. I felt myself smile gently at her politeness and decided that it would be nice to spend some more time with such a sincere girl, even if her two cat friends seemed like loudmouths.

"I don't mind. Meet me outside of your guildhall in two hours if you decide you want to come," I said quietly. Wendy's face showed perfectly her hesitation but I had nothing more to say so I left her there and made my way surreptitiously to the door.

No one else approached me as I made my escape and I was able to use the last of my money to buy up the provisions I would need for my journey. I still had an hour to kill and the heat was becoming unbearable so I ducked underneath a bridge that spanned the lake and laid on the stone, soaking in the coolness with pleasure.

Once the time was up, I made my way back to the large guild hall and smiled when I saw Wendy's petite figure standing outside of the entranceway. Only the white cat that I had noticed earlier was standing next to her but less was definitely better so I walked up to stand behind her. Tapping her shoulder slightly, Wendy turned and smiled happily up at me, tugging on the shoulder straps of her lightweight travel bag.

"Phaedra-san! I'm glad you didn't change your mind," she said with a disarming smile. I returned it with a shadow of a smile of my own and cocked my head towards the path that would lead us out of Magnolia.

"We should head out..." I began to say when an obnoxiously male voice called out from somewhere behind me.

"Oy, Wendy! Sorry, we're late."

Blinking rapidly I slowly turned and felt my jaw tighten. Coming up the road was four wizards, two boys who looked a year or two younger than me, and two girls, one of which seemed to be my age and the other looked closer to the boy's age which I guessed to be 18 or 19. Flying with a pair of white wings was the blue cat from the guildhall and he was flying in between the boy with pink spiky hair and the young blonde woman that looked like she belonged in one of those magazines that boys would drool over rather than a wizards guild.

"Natsu-san, everyone this is Phaedra. Phaedra this is my team: Natsu-san, Gray-san, Lucy-san, Erza-san, and Happy," Wendy said with a broad grin, pointing to each of the wizards in turn and saving the cat for last who said an energetic "Aye, sir!" when his name was called. I clenched my jaw so tightly that my teeth began to ache and I tried not to glare too hostilely at the group.

What have you gotten yourself into, Phaedra?

A/N So... What do you think? The picture is what my OC Phaedra looks like, in case you were wondering :)  Hopefully, you enjoy the story :)

The BEAUTIFUL cover was created by the very talented @Wizard-mon. Thank you for the effort of making it for me! I love it <3