Metanoia ❀ [ NaLu one shot book ]

The End.

"...and after her heroic sacrifice, she collapsed into the dirt, her last words being "Gajeel...I'm coming home." Even as the last two remaining members dove for her, they couldn't prevent her from succumbing to her injuries. By the time the dust settled the two realized they where perfectly alone in the world," I paused, looking up from the novel in my hands at my sleeping children.

I heaved a soft sigh as I continued to read, determined every time I began the story to finish it.

"The two set out on their next adventure, their hearts much heavier than they had ever been before. They had lost their home, their families, and everything that once made them strong."

"Destruction surrounded them, and even in the darkest hours of their lives they clung to the remains of their Guild, deciding the best thing to do was to live on and keep the memory of those days alive."

"They lived on, because one girl gave up everything. They lived on to breathe what little life they could into the lives of their friends lost to an ultimate act of evil. Their sacrifices a reminder of the magic the world used to hold. A tale told now to make people wonder, do fairies have tails? Do they even exist?"

"Well, if you ask the two who survived that day, they would tell you that fairies do have tails, and they are as real as you and me."

I closed the cover to the book and stood carefully from my chair. I gently set it upon the shelf next to dusty old books on things like spells and runes, collected tediously over time and meticulously cared for. I reached down to the bedside table and turned the nob on the lamp to turn out the light.

I stopped for a moment to look out the window of the room, the large moon casting it's pale light through the panes of glass and sliding over the floor and my skin. My eyes moved to the stars and they winked and shone brightly, as if that tragedy had never occurred.

Clearing my throat softly I left the room, closing the door behind me and on the memories that had resurfaced. My hand moved to the key that swung on the chain around my neck and I ran my thumb over the familiar engraving. I had spent years searching for it, in spite of the fact that I knew I'd never really use it again.

No, I never used this key. I relied upon it, and her. And now...

I take a shaky breath before releasing the object and continuing down the hallway, past the photos of my smiling family. Photos of myself, a learned smile painted on my lips. The only real happiness came to me when my eyes settled upon my husband, who had been the only person to pull me together when I was falling apart. Of course, I returned that favor.

"It seems so out of place to tell you now...that I love you, and that you've been more than a friend to me. I don't want to lose you, I can't lose you. Now more than ever."

I stopped as I entered the family room, seeing him dozing off with his arms draped lazily over the sides of the chair. I shook my head at the sight before moving out the front door, leaning on the railing of the porch. The town had taken a few years to recover, everyone who lived here now hadn't before the war. Most of those here had died. The rest fled, and no one blamed them.

I stared at the horizon, to a place where my sight should have been obstructed by an expansive guild hall with a flag proudly adorning it's sign. A fairy with a tail. The only guilds around now where merchant guilds. There was no need for magic guilds, we lived in a world without magic.

At the end of it all, that was the sacrifice we made. We gave up our magic to save the world. Levy and the others gave up everything so the two of us could live. Sometimes I question why they pushed beyond their limits to save us. Other days I thank them for giving me the chance to properly preserve the story of our guild. Now though, the world has begun to heal it's scars and Fairy Tail's story had completed itself years ago.

Now it was only a matter of telling it.

• • •

A depressing drabble, whoops. Got the feels from the recent chapter of Fairy Tail, and the inspiration from the thoughts of possible doom ahead.

I'm sure the end won't be this somber, but really none of us know.

Except Trollshima.

Anyway, more cheerful one shots are coming soon c:

*unedited