Lily stood upstairs with her head down while her mother berated her.

"Lily, you can't just leave the guild! Do you know what the life of an unregistered mage is like? Your father and I have worked so hard to make Fairy Tail what it is, and now you're just going to throw it all away. Why?" Lily clenched her fists and bowed her head further, biting her lip to prevent it from trembling. It was no use. The tears spilled down her cheeks and she choked on a sob. [i]The Titania wouldn't cry,[/i] she tried to tell herself, but it didn't help. 

"I don't know, mom," she managed to choke out. Both of them knew perfectly well why. Her mother wasn't trying to hurt her, she knew. But for two powerful mages to end up with a child who could barely open the weakest of the celestial gates, let along become a dragon slayer . . . She was a stain on the family name, and it stressed her parents out. It stressed them out that she was more bookish than her mother and less smart than her father. Besides that, she had almost no magic. Her only redeeming quality was her strength, but even though she trained in swordfighting for hours every day, she was hardly a genius. She could hold her own if they gave her a magic sword, but she'd never deserve to be a member of Fairy Tail. Her blue mark pressed on her chest like a heavy weight. 

It was a few weeks ago when Lily had first thought of leaving the guild. The idea had come upon her like a bright light, cutting through the heavy sadness that had settled in her heart and muddled her thoughts for all the seventeen years of her life. If she left, went to a non-magic school, maybe made something of herself in the world out there, her parents wouldn't worry so much about her, and the guild wouldn't feel ashamed of her. So she'd decided, and today was the day she'd told her mom about her plans. Lucy would react better than Natsu, and if Lily could convince her mother, her mother might be able to explain it to her father...

Lucy looked down and shook her head with a heavy sigh. 

"Lily..." she looked up at her daughter with a pained expression. They looked so much alike, except Lily had pink hair the color of a water lily flower, which had inspired her name. "Why don't you go on one last job," Lucy looked around in a panic while Lily hugged herself tighter, almost wishing she could take it all back, just so that the pain in her mother's voice would go away. "Look," her mother continued, "Ame is looking for something," Lily looked up at her mother, whose eyes begged her to listen, "Just go with her, just once more. Please." Lily didn't know what one more job would change, but she couldn't say no to her mother. She nodded, dropping her chin again, and Lucy let out a sigh of relief.

"You may not be the strongest mage, but you're still one of us. And it's not always strength that wins the battle, you know." Lucy hugged her daughter. "Go." Lily turned and went without another word.

Nervously, she approached Ame. They had been best friends when they were little, but it had been years since they'd spoken, since Ame was so talented and spent so much of her time with her guildmates. Lily usually helped wash the dishes or tend the bar, or teach lessons to the smallest children. She coughed quietly.

"Ame..." she called, hoping the other girl would notice her, "Um, Ame, um..." she didn't really know how to continue, "H-how are you doing?"