Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Hargeon.
May, x771
The next day, the orphanage's matriarch sent a letter to Master Makarov of the Fairy Tail guild. Seven days passed before she received a reply. Fortunately, Makarov was looking forward to meeting the two children she mentioned in the letter. So, in his reply, he said he would arrive to assess them in three days.
As soon as she received the news, the matriarch called for Alfonzo and Elicia and told them the good news. Naturally, Alfonzo and Elicia were excited about the prospect of joining Fairy Tail, the guild they had seen and read about in their past lives. However, on top of excitement, they were thinking the same thing.
'Although we planned to explore our magic more, things are going according to plan.' The children thought after hearing the news of Makarov's visit.
The day Makarov was set to arrive, Alfonzo and Elicia woke up at their usual time. And like always, they were teased by the boys in their communal bedroom. Meanwhile, the girls looked at them like they wanted to gossip about how close Elicia was to Alfonzo.
'*Sigh* No matter how old they are, girls like to gossip, huh?' Alfonzo thought while looking at the little girls huddled together around one of the beds.
A few moments later, Alfonzo and Elicia left the room and cleaned themselves up. Then, they headed to the dining room. Upon entering the dining room, they split up like usual and Alfonzo went to help prepare breakfast.
After a while, the rest of the orphanage's residents made their way into the dining room. At the same time, Alfonzo came out carrying his and Elicia's breakfast while the rest of the cook staff carried out pans that held the breakfast for the rest of the residents.
The group ate breakfast in a harmonious manner before the children went off to do their chores. After doing their chores, the children were split by age groups to learn from the teachers at the orphanage.
Once the classes were over, all the kids ran off to play. Before Alfonzo and Elicia could leave, however, they were stopped by the matriarch.
"Don't forget that Master Makarov should be arriving soon." The matriarch said with a smile. "I hope you're ready."
"Don't worry, Matriarch." Elicia said with a big smile on her face. "We're ready. I wonder what a guild master looks like. Fonzie, do you think he'll like us?"
"As long as you think before you speak, everything should be fine." Alfonzo said.
"Fonzie, don't be mean." Elicia said with her cheeks puffed out. "I bet he'll like me more than he likes you."
"Oh yeah, wanna bet?" Alfonzo said in a challenging manner.
Although Elicia and Alfonzo were putting on an act, they were truly excited about joining Fairy Tail. On top of that, their bickering was genuine. They have been bickering like this since they were kids in their past life, after all.
"I don't think you need to worry about him liking you." The matriarch said with a smile before pinching both of their cheeks. "You two are such good kids."
After the compliment, Alfonzo looked away uncomfortably. Even though the matriarch thought he was just being shy, Elicia knew that he was afraid of letting his pride get the better of him like he had in their past life after all the compliments and praise he received.
Elicia on the other hand was smiling brightly. There was no falsehood in her smile, either. She had always been good at receiving praise and not letting it go to her head. Instead, it drove her to work harder at whatever she was praised for.
"So, what should we do until Master Makarov gets here?" Alfonzo asked after getting himself together."
"There really isn't much to do, actually." The matriarch said. Then, she stopped to think for a while. "I'm sure the ladies in the kitchen would be grateful if you helped them prepare lunch. If everything goes well, this would be the last time, after all."
Alfonzo nodded in agreement with the matriarch's suggestion.
"Ooh, what about me?" Elicia asked with her hand raised in the air. "Is there something I can do?"
Seeing how energetic Elicia was, the matriarch could not help but smile. Then, she once again stopped to think.
"Well, you can help me make sure that all your things are in order and ready to be sent to Magnolia." The matriarch said with a smile. "I'm sure Master Makarov will love the two of you, so there should be no problem getting your things packed in advance."
"Okay~~~!" Elicia exclaimed happily.
After that, Elicia went with the matriarch into the younger children's shared bedroom to pack up the few belongings the children had. Meanwhile, Alfonzo made his way to the orphanage's kitchen to help prepare lunch.
About fifteen minutes later, at the train station in Hargeon, along with all the other passengers, two men with a different aura disembarked from a train that arrived recently. As they walked through the train station, they did not look around, making it clear that this was not their first time in Hargeon, the largest port town in the Kingdom of Fiore.
The first was an elderly, extremely short, balding man appearing to be in his mid-seventies, standing at 3'8" (1.12 m) tall with black eyes, white hair on the sides and back of his head, and a thick white mustache. He wore an orange, unbuttoned button-down shirt with a white shirt under it that had a large picture of the guild of the Fairy Tail guild mark on the chest, a pair of orange shorts, black socks, and a pair of sandals.
The other man was a good-looking man with spikey dark blue hair, dark eye brows, black eyes, and a thin mustache with an average height, about 5'8" (approx. 1.73 m) tall. He wore a dark blue shirt with a white "S" on the chest, a brown leather belt, black slacks, brown loafers, a brown beaded necklace, and a white, high-collar jacket with blue lining and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
"So, what do we know about the kids we're coming to check out, Master?" The dark blue haired man asked.
"According to the letter, they turned six a little over a week ago, and they can already use magic." The elderly man, master Makarov said as the two walked out of the train station. "It looks like they awakened specialties, too."
"You mean they awakened a specific type of magic?" The younger man asked. "That's really rare."
"Indeed." Makarov said with a nod. "Depending on what kind of magic it is, it may be hard to train them properly, though."
"I'm sure we'll figure it out, Master." The younger man said.
"Of course, because we are Fairy Tail." Makarov said with vigor. "We strive to attain the impossible. So, doing something difficult is nothing to us. Let's go, Macao."
With that exclamation, Makarov picked up the pace he walked at. Naturally, Macao followed his guild master. Then, after another fifteen minutes, the two Fairy Tail Wizards arrived at the orphanage where Alfonzo and Elicia had been living for the last two months.
When they arrived, the matriarch and Elicia were standing at the front door of the Orphanage, waiting for them. When the matriarch saw them, she smiled.
"Master Makarov, Macao, it's been a while." The matriarch said.
"Matriarch, it certainly is a pleasure to see you again." Makarov said with a smile of his own. Then, he turned his attention towards Elicia who was standing next to the matriarch. "This must be one of the children you told me about in your letter, correct?"
When Makarov and Macao looked at her, Elicia quickly hid behind the matriarch. To the adults, it only appeared that she was shy to meet new people, which they found cute. In reality, Elicia was afraid of breaking character. As soon as she saw Makarov, she wanted to start fan girling. She was this close to shouting and asking for his autograph.
"Don't be shy, Elicia." The matriarch said, pulling Elicia from behind her. "Say hi and introduce yourself."
"Hel... Hello, my name is Elicia Taylor and I'm six years old." Elicia said in a shaky voice.
"It's nice to meet you, Elicia." Makarov said with a grandfatherly smile. "I'm Makarov Dreyar, the guild master of the Fairy Tail guild. It's a pleasure to meet you. And this is Macao Conbolt, one of the wizards of the guild."
"Nice to meet you." Elicia said with a shy smile.
"Okay, Elicia, why don't you go inside and tell Alfonzo that Master Makarov brought another guest with him." The matriarch said with a smile. "So, he'll need to prepare another plate."
Hearing that, Makarov raised an eyebrow. He remembered that Alfonzo was the name of the other child mentioned in the letter.
"Okay!" Elicia said energetically.
The next moment, Elicia turned around and ran into the orphanage.
"Matriarch, if my memory serves me correctly, Alfonzo was the name of the other child you mentioned in your letter, right?' Makarov asked.
"That's right." The matriarch replied. Then, she gestured toward the open front door of the orphanage. "Why don't we talk while we walk? It's almost time for lunch. I would be honored if you would join us."
"That sounds delightful." Makarov said, taking a step toward the inside of the orphanage.
Once they stepped inside the orphanage, Makarov could no longer hold back the question on his mind.
"That lad, Alfonzo, why would he in particular, need to prepare another plate for lunch?" Makarov asked with curiosity in his tone.
"Oh, it's quite simple, really." The matriarch said with a chuckle. "Ever since he arrived here, two months ago, he wanted to help in the kitchen. "It seems like it's just something that he did out of habit. If I had to guess, he probably helped his mother in the kitchen before that day."
"I see." Makarov said with a solemn expression on his face. "So, what else can you tell me about those children? What do you think of their personalities?"
"Their personalities, huh?" The matriarch asked rhetorically. Then, after formulating her sentences, she began to speak once again. "Well, from what I've seen, Elicia is a little bundle of energy. She's quite a sweet girl. She does tend to speak without thinking, though."
"If that's the case, once her heart does some healing, she'll probably fit in just fine with Fairy Tail." Makarov said with a smile. "What about the boy?"
"He's intelligent. Highly intelligent." The matriarch said. "He learns everything quickly. He's also very polite. But he doesn't handle praise well. I doubt it's because he didn't receive it from his parents, though. But he hasn't been here long enough for me to understand why."
"Hmm..." Makarov stroked his mustache in thought.
"If I had to guess, it's probably because he's so quick to learn things and seems to become good at them almost as quickly." The matriarch said. "Elicia once said something about how his mother would punish him if he let it go to his head."
"So, you think there is a chance that he has high pride?" Makarov asked curiously.
"I don't know, I haven't seen any signs of it." The matriarch replied. "But he's only been here two months and he's probably still confused and doesn't know what to do after losing his family."
Makarov simply nodded in response.
A moment later, the trio of adults stepped into the dining room. When they arrived, one of the tables was set with five plates of stir fried chicken and vegetables served with rice and a glass of juice.
Seated at the table, waiting for the matriarch, Makarov, and Macao to arrive were Alfonzo and Elicia. However, when Elicia saw Makarov and Macao, she quickly hid behind Alfonzo, who laughed at her actions. In response, Elicia began hammering on Alfonzo's shoulder.
"Fonzie, don't laugh!" Elicia said in a panicked tone.
Although Elicia seemed to be panicking, she was actually glad that Alfonzo started laughing at her. Once again, she was about to break character and start fan girling. Even though Makarov was depicted as a drunk, perverted old man in the manga and anime, Elicia always liked how much he cared for his "children," as he called them.
"Okay, okay, I won't laugh anymore." Alfonzo said while trying to defend himself from Elicia. "I'm sorry for laughing, Lici. Please forgive me."
"Hmph!" Elicia snorted as she returned to her seat with a pout. "Stupid Fonzie."
Seeing the interaction between the children, Makarov could not help but smile.
"Alfonzo, why don't you introduce yourself to our guests." The matriarch said.
Hearing that, Alfonzo looked away from Elicia. Then, he stood from his chair.
"it's nice to meet you." Alfonzo said while looking Makarov in the eye. "My name is Alfonzo Marcus, and I'm six years old."
"It's nice to meet you as well, young man." Makarov said with that same grandfatherly smile. "I'm Makarov Dreyar, the guild master of the Fairy Tail guild. And this is Macao Conbolt, a member of the guild."
"It's nice to meet you as well, Mr. Conbolt." Alfonzo said, also making eye contact with Macao.
"Likewise." Macao said with a small smile on his face.
"Now, I have a question for you, young man." Makarov said with a smile.
"Yes?" Alfonzo replied.
"Did you cook the food on the table?" Makarov asked with curiosity in his tone.
"Yes, Sir." Alfonzo said.
"Okay, that's enough with the questions." The matriarch cut in. "We should eat before the food gets cold. Otherwise, Alfonzo's hard work will have gone to waste."