9 The Next Morning

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

May, x771

The next morning, Evergreen, who had been waiting for Elicia near the entrance to Fairy Hills, Fairy Tail's female dormitory, was currently stomping through the halls toward Elicia's dorm room.

"It's already seven in the morning, because of this new girl, I'm gonna be late for training with the others." Evergreen said, clearly annoyed by her tone.

When she finally arrived near Elicia's room, she did not even waste time knocking on the door. Instead, she turned the doorknob and flung the door open with force.

*Bang!*

After the door was stopped by the wall, Evergreen could see into the room. And when she saw Elicia, still sleeping in her bed with her thumb in her mouth, a vein on her forehead almost popped.

"Wake up!" Evergreen shouted angrily. "If I'm late because of you…!"

Evergreen stopped yelling immediately when she noticed that Elicia did not react in the slightest to her shouting. Then, she remembered something that the new boy, Alfonzo, told her last night before she and Elicia parted with the rest of the group.

So, she walked to the side of Elicia's bed and leaned forward so that she could speak directly into Elicia's ear.

"If you're not up and ready to go in the next ten minutes, I'll tell Alfonzo not to make any breakfast for you because you were slacking off." Evergreen said, unsure if this would work.

However, to her surprise, Elicia's eyes opened wide, and she shot up as if she had just heard that the world was going to end. Naturally, Evergreen was dumbfounded when she saw the vigor with which Elicia got herself ready for the day.

"Come on, Ever, we have to go." Elicia said after only four minutes. "If we're late, we won't get any of Alfonzo's food."

What shocked Evergreen even more than how fast Elicia went from asleep to fully awake was how quickly she got ready. Elicia somehow managed to wash herself, brush her teeth, get dressed, and fix her hair in four minutes, something Evergreen would have never thought possible. So, Evergreen just stared at Elicia as if she were a freak of nature.

"Ever, what are you waiting for?" Elicia said, grabbing Evergreen by the hand and pulling her out of the dorm room. "Let's go, let's go!"

After being dragged down the hall until the entrance, Evergreen finally snapped out of her daze.

"Don't call me Ever." Evergreen said in protest.

Naturally, as she acted at her own pace, Elicia completely ignored Evergreen's complaint. Then, when they made it out the front door of the dormitory, she began to run toward the guild hall, while still dragging Evergreen along with her.

Meanwhile, at the guild hall, Alfonzo was I the kitchen behind the bar. AS Makarov had already tasted his food, Makarov offered him a job in the kitchen. That way, even before he could start taking quests, he could save some money. Though, because of that, he would have to start paying rent for his dorm room earlier than expected as well.

"Order up!" Alfonzo shouted as he placed an egg and bacon set meal on the counter for one of the waitresses to pick up.

A moment later, a waitress that was hired for this very purpose by the guild picked up the plate of food and brought it to the table that Laxus and his group usually occupied.

Already sitting at the table were Laxus, Bickslow, and Fried. Laxus and Fried, who had already received their orders a few minutes ago, were eating as if they had not eaten in days. Meanwhile, until his plate arrived, Bickslow could only stare at them in wonder.

'Could it really be that good?' Bickslow wondered, a bit of anticipation building in his mind.

Finally, his food arrived. When it did, Bickslow quickly picked up his fork and looked at what was on his plate. Two eggs, over easy, three strips of bacon, two pieces of toast, and a glass of orange juice. After seeing it, Bickslow did not think it looked any different than anything he had ordered in the past. But for some reason, it smelled much better, succeeding in whetting his appetite.

A moment later, Bickslow used his fork to slice into the egg, causing the yoke to spread out over the plate. Then, he scooped up some of the egg white that he cut off and put it in his mouth. A moment later, his dark red eyes opened wide, and he began to eat with the same ferocity that Laxus and Fried were eating at.

'Damn, it's so good.' Bickslow thought while he was stuffing food into his mouth. 'But even if his food is good, I'm still gonna get Elicia's attention for myself.'

By the time the three boys were finished eating, Elicia and Evergreen burst through the guild hall's entrance while panting in exhaustion.

"*Pant* Fonzie, *Pant* I want pancakes *Pant* with strawberries and whipped cream!" Elicia shouted between pants.

"Me, *Pant* too. *Pant*" Evergreen said, too tired to think of her own order.

"Two orders of pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream, coming right up." Alfonzo shouted from the kitchen, acknowledging that he received the order.

Then, after making their orders and getting their breathing under control, Elicia and Evergreen made their way over to the table where Laxus, Bickslow, and Fried were sitting. Then, Evergreen flopped down in her usual seat before letting out a huge sigh.

"Why were you so late?" Laxus asked with a slight frown on his face.

"Because she overslept." Evergreen replied immediately while pointing at Elicia.

"Sorry, sorry." Elicia said with a sheepish smile on her face. "I've always been bad at waking up in the morning. Fonzie always woke me up at the orphanage. Even before that, too, when our parents were..."

As she spoke, Elicia's mood soured, and tears began to form in her eyes.

Seeing that Elicia was about to cry, none of the children knew what to do. So, all they could do was stare at Elicia awkwardly. However, before she could start crying, a tray, with three plates on top of it, was placed on the table. Then, two of the plates, with pancakes covered in whipped cream and topped with strawberries, were placed in front of Elicia and Evergreen.

Looking up, everyone saw Alfonzo, placing the last plate, with a ham, egg, and cheese omelet and toast, in front of the seat next to Elicia's seat. Then, he began combing his fingers though her hair with a gentle smile on his face.

"Don't worry, Lici." Alfonzo said with a gently. "When we're strong enough, we'll make the dark guild who killed our parents pay."

Holding back her tears, Elicia nodded her head before hugging Alfonzo tightly, a hug that Alfonzo returned. After a few moments, Elicia released Alfonzo. Then, she turned her attention to her breakfast. Although there was still some sadness on her face, when she put the first slice of her pancakes in her mouth, her expression melted, and she began humming happily.

Seeing this reaction, Laxus, Bickslow, and Fried, who had already tasted Alfonzo's cooking were only a little surprised to see how quickly Elicia's sadness changed into happiness. Evergreen, on the other hand, was completely gob smacked by Elicia's change. After seeing that her mood had changed for the better, however, Evergreen put those thoughts to the back of her mind and began to eat her own breakfast.

"Mmm~!" Evergreen moaned in ecstasy after tasting the food.

Luckily, all the kids were still rather young. Otherwise, Evergreen would have probably been embarrassed at her reaction. Either way, the six children finished their breakfasts quickly. Then, they headed to the backyard of the guild hall where they would begin their training.

When they arrived in the backyard, Macao and Wakaba were waiting for them. While Laxus, Bickslow, Fried, and Evergreen left to do their own training, Alfonzo and Elicia approached the two men to learn about magic and how to use it from them.

"Alright, Kiddos." Wakaba said, taking a drag from a cigarette shortly after he finished speaking. Then, after he exhaled the smoke, he began speaking again. "So, we'll give you the run down about magic, and all that jazz."

"After that, it's better you experiment on your own." Macao followed up. "It's your magic, after all. And the only thing that can limit you is your imagination."

With solemn expressions on their faces, Alfonzo and Elicia nodded their heads. Macao and Wakaba then took turns explaining about the magic power container every wizard has near their heart. How it will drain as magic is used. Also, they warned them that there is a chance of fainting if it is drained completely.

They then explained that over time, after using their magic, a wizard will begin absorbing the Ethernano, the source of every wizard's magic power, in the atmosphere to refill their magic power container. They also explained that the source of magic is the emotion of love, something Alfonzo doubted, considering how many dark wizards there were running around in the world.

"Also, here's a little hint for you." Macao said with a smile. "Doing physical training after exhausting your magic is a good way to make your magic container grow."

"But even if you're not that into physical training, it will grow over time." Wakaba continued. "But when you reach maturity, it will stop growing as well."

"Okay~!" Elicia answered energetically with a hand raised.

At the same time, Alfonzo nodded in understanding.

"Good." Wakaba aid after exhaling another cloud of smoke. "Now, you two get to training. If you have any questions, you can ask us, or any of the other guild members."

"And don't forget to experiment with your magic." Macao said. "Try out anything you can think of. Because your magic relies on your imagination."

After that, Macao and Wakaba smiled at the newest members of the guild. Then, they walked off to the side so that they could observe all the kids while they trained.

Wasting no time, Alfonzo and Elicia tried everything they could think of from the vast number of anime and manga they had consumed over the years. Alfonzo tried everything from creating weapons and armor, to controlling metals like Magneto. Meanwhile, Elicia tried making her threads sticky, raising their toughness, and even weaving them together to make her own clothes.

Before long, Alfonzo and Elicia used up all their available magic power. Then, they both started jogging around the backyard, to increase their stamina. Although they both planned to train their physiques so that they would be stronger, they both thought six years old was a bit too early for weight training. So, instead, they did push-ups, sit ups, and squats. Then, Alfonzo practiced his Eskrima forms barehanded, while Elicia started practicing her gymnastics.

Once they felt that their magic power was full again, Alfonzo and Elica repeated the process another three times, until they were too tired to keep going. At that point, Macao and Wakaba carried them into the guild hall so they could eat something. Then, they approached Makarov, who was sitting on top of the bar, and reported about Alfonzo and Elicia's training.

"So, how did it go?" Makarov asked while holding a mug of beer.

"Those kids are hard workers." Macao said.

"Yeah, they train like they have a chip on their shoulder, or something." Wakaba said.

Hearing that, Makarov and Macao exchanged glances.

"Well, after losing everything they knew and cared about, that makes sense." Makarov said solemnly. "Just make sure they don't overdo it."

This time, Macao exchanged glances with Wakaba.

"Actually, that's what we planned while we were watching them." Macao said while scratching the back of his head.

"But every time we thought it was time for them to stop, they did it before we could tell them." Wakaba said, finishing Macao's thought.

"Watching them was like watching people who had trained for years." Macao said with a bit of amazement in his tone.

"Yeah, it was like they knew exactly how far they could push their bodies." Wakaba said, mimicking Macao's action of scratching his head. "And then, they would stop on their own with no input from either of us."

"I guess their parents started training them early." Makarov said before taking a swig from his mug. "I guess I should have expected that from them."

Once again, Macao and Wakaba exchanged glances.

"Did you know their parents, master?" Macao asked curiously.

"Yeah, they were former members of the guild, after all." Makarov said.

"What?" Macao explained in surprise.

"Seriously?" Wakaba asked, equally as surprised.

"Well, I'm not surprised that you don't know them." Makarov said. "They were always out on quests. They were S-Class wizards, after all. So, they didn't spend much time in the guild. But you should remember their names."

Macao and Wakaba fell into contemplation after that. But before they could recall anyone, they were interrupted by Makarov revealing the answer.

"Orlando Taylor and Bianca Rollen." Makarov said. "Elicia's father and Alfonzo's mother. After a tough quest that they took together, they both returned with injuries that ended their careers as wizards. So, they moved to a village near Hargeon, they each found a spouse, and they each had a child."

Once again, Macao and Wakaba were gob smacked.

"This really must be fate." Makarov said, after finishing his beer. "But it looks like they never told the kids what guild they were a part of. So, we'll keep that a secret, for now."