A group of cheerful Fairy Tail wizards traveled through the mountains, heading South towards Magnolia.

To them, today had been a good day. They had completed the Mission that they had set out to do, and had happily accepted the reward.

And they were unaware of the damage they had caused.

•••

In one of the Northernmost points of Fiore, a lone village burned.

Ashes scattered along a gentle breeze, that was not strong enough to affect the still towering flames.

The screams of terrified citizens had faded hours before, and the only noises left were the sounds of the fires crackling, and the loud sobs of one who was remained.

She was alone, sad, and terrified.

She was a small girl, sobbing in the middle of the stone street, a place where the fire could not reach. Her cries rang out, but were barely audible compared to the sound of the flames that had engulfed the city buildings that once stood tall.

But a blue-haired boy heard her cries though. He raced amongst the rubble, trying to find her.

The girl looked up when the boy with cyan hair approached her. Upon seeing her face, he noticed a long, jagged scar across her eye, one that had not been there before. He did not flinch however, and came up slowly, as not to frighten her.

"C-Cloud?" The girl's voice shook.

"Daisy, it's you." The boy spoke gently, "It's so good to find a survivor, and seeing a familiar face is very calming." The boy, Cloud, bent down beside her, tucking one of her stray blonde locks of hair behind her ear. Daisy flinched when his fingers brushed over the fresh scar.

"Where did you parents go? Have you found them?" Cloud asked her. He was only about 10, and his voice sounded high and squeaky despite how serious he was trying to be.

When Daisy did not respond, he spoke again. "They're dead, aren't they?" He paused briefly. "Yea. Mine too."

"It was the monster." Daisy squeaked.

"I know." He replied, his face solemn and stoic. "It was the mother Salquin* that my father reported seeing in the woods east from here. And by it's rage, I would guess that she was searching for her baby."

"But no one in the village hurt her or her baby!" Daisy's small voice choked out.

"I know. But someone did." The young boy's voice sounded surprisingly mature. "And I will find out who was careless enough to let this happen. And when I do find them, they will pay for all the lives that they ruined."

(To Be Continued...)

* A Salquin is a made up creature that I came up with specifically for this story. It's quite smaller than a dragon, but still very large. It resembles a Panther, with scales like a Salamander or Lizard. It breathes fire.