As I kept running, I felt more at home than I ever had before. Magnolia was, if I remembered correctly, full to the brim with cafes, restaurants, even had one or two cooking conventions pass through. This, would be the highlights of my somewhat short stay.

Surprised, Erza runs with me. "That was... quite unexpected.." she says cautiously, maybe a little accusingly. Stopping suddenly, I look down. "S-Sorry.." I say, and mutter under my breath. "I just like cooking.." Erza, apparently heard me, and smiles, placing a hand on my shoulder, and trust me, she was far taller than me. The only person in this guild shorter than me was this girl called Levy, and I only surpassed her by three inches. (Making me 5'2, Levy was 4'9)

"I had no idea you enjoyed cooking." Slowly, my face turned bright red. I loved to cook, and it was amazing, but my brother used to call it an obsession, even a ritual. Well if when I cooked it was an obsession, than when dad used to cook, it was too. 

Stuttering, I take a deep breath. "M-Me?.. C-Cook?.. Nope..." Erza's eyebrow raises, and makes my face turn as red as her hair. "Celia.." she says with warning. I gulp, knowing she doesn't like lying. So, with really no other choice, I sigh. "Y-Yeah.. I do.. j-just d-don't tell a-anyone.." I whisper, and she sounds confused.

"Why not? Cooking is a valuable skill." she says scornfully, knowing full well why I wouldn't tell anyone. "I-I would j-just h-have more attention d-drawn my w-way.. I-I don't want that..." I say cautiously, and she seems to take that as an acceptable answer.

Sighing as we walked, Erza spoke. "I have a job I must attend. You should go home and talk with your brother." Nodding cautiously, I start walking in the general direction of my house. I knew that I was going to get a talking to from my brother, or we would just hang out, but hopefully, the second one would come into play.

When I got home, I knocked on the door carefully, knowing full well we didn't keep a key outside the house somewhere. That's just plain ridiculous. Basically letting a thief into your house isn't in my interest. 

Slowly, I saw Liam open the door and his eyes widen, and  open the door all the way, and rushed at me for a huge hug. I wheezed slightly, because he was hugging me far too tight. "Cels!! Where were you?! Where did you go?! Where were you?! You should have come home!" he scolded. Feeling guilty, I hug him back gently. "S-Sorry L-Liam.." 

Pulling me inside, he locks the door behind us. Again, another precaution. Our house wasn't the best, but it would be the easiest to rob if we weren't careful. Keeping me in a rough embrace, I could tell he was extremely worried about me. Something, on the other hand, caught my attention.

Looking around Liam's shoulder, I see a few small packed bags next to the couch. My eyes widen as I pull away from him. Suspicious and worried, I look wide eyed up at him. "L-Liam?.. W-What's going on?.." I say cautiously, and immediately, his expression turned guilty and upset. Something was not right. 

"I'm leaving Cels.."

I start to shake. Liam?! Leave?! No!! He can't! What if Chris came back? What if Kina came back? My breathing became more ragged, and alarmed, Liam once again pulled me into a tight hug. "Shh..Cels..It's alright...I won't be gone for that long..." he whispers gently. I try and calm myself down with deep breaths.

One.

Two.

Near tears, I couldn't help but let the thoughts drive into my head, the scenarios that might happen. Liam didn't have magic, but he knew how to deal with those that did have it. I felt more comfortable knowing he was there, knowing that he may be able to protect me.

Liam let's go of our small embrace, and sighs. "I did make some arrangements though.." he says cautiously. Again, suspicions raised, I raise my eyebrow. "Who?" Laughing a little, he moves out of the way of the table behind him, and there, at the table, was one of my true friends.

Adrian.

A few years ago, I started going to this cooking conventions, basically where all these chefs from all over Fiore come and socialize, compete, and meet new friends, as well as help restaurants in need. Well.. okay, I couldn't make all of them, but eventually, Liam would come to where I "worked" and made up some family emergency where I was needed. The employer of course, couldn't hold my brother suspicious, so for an afternoon I was free every year.

 When I first started out, no one really knew who I was. The cooking community, is by far the one of the more close-knit. Do a favor for someone and they repay you big time. There was also tons of competitions every year, all at different times so everyone could enter.

My first year, I entered everything. The more well known you were, the more people would come to you for help, meaning you could get jewel, or even expensive cooking supplies. Anyway, I got first or second in everything, due to my father. 

Dad was the king of basically all chefs. He got onto this class of chefs in Fiore, ten of the best, and he of course got first. For offspring, that's the goal. That's my goal. First. Amazed, people started asking me questions, like who I was, and which generation of chef I was in the family. That one's easy. I'm of course, in the Jones family, and I was eighth generation. Surprised and stunned, it was official. I was Celia Jones. Daughter to one of the best chefs of his time.

Adrian was my very close, and yes, real friend. Dark brown hair was messy and spiked, but not as much as Natsu's. His eyes were a bright blue, and he got one dimple on his left cheek whenever he smiled. Adrian was also incredibly tall, unlike me.

Smiling brightly, I run over. "Adrriiaaann!!~" I yell, and tackle him in a hug. Laughing, he hugs me back, trying to stay balanced on his chair. "Hey Celia! Whatcha up to?~ Apparently, your big brother wants me to keep an eye on you~" he says simply, and I smile wide. This was great. I knew Adrian was a wizard, but I wasn't sure what type.. he never said.

Excited, I hug him tighter, sitting on his lap. Clearly, we were close friends. "Come on Adrian!!!~ Let's do something!!~" I giggle, and he pokes my nose playfully. "Definitely.. should we pay ol' Milo a visit?" He asks mischievously. MIlo was this restaurant owner in Magnolia, also a good friend of ours. In fact, Adrian owned a restaurant owner, but his was in Hargeon, pretty far away from here.

Letting Adrian stand up, I hug what I could of his arm. Saying goodbye to Liam, giving him far wells and good lucks, we head out. On our way, we were talking and laughing, catching up and avoiding the topic of what has happened recently.

Suddenly, I bumped into someone. Embarrassed, I mutter. "S-Sorry..." I heard a surprised voice, and when I looked up, my eyes widened.

Right in front of me, was Natsu.