Ringing.

All I could make out of that first waking moment was ringing. My brain might as well had been a bell, pulsating from the contact of an iron hammer.

My eyes crinkled at the feeling, in shock above all else, from the raw, dull pain. They shot open the moment later, and then immediately clammed shut from the blazing light that pierced them. I felt the groan roll out of my body, unable to move from the sudden weight of my head. Genuinely, it felt like a rock held the top of me prisoner.

I needed assurance. I needed my sight. How else would I get the weight off? Slowly, my eyes crept open. The blazing light was just as blinding, but I squinted. I stayed in that position for a long moment before I felt comfortable enough to relax my eyes and surrender to the light.

In doing so, I came to the realization that I was laying down. I felt my eyebrows furrow as curled my toes, feeling something constrain them. The weight on my head never seized, but I wiggled my body carefully, feeling a similar constriction over my entire being to the one over my feet.

The constriction was soft, plushy. I fell into the rhythm of my heartbeat, feeling each pulse send a jolt through my head. I shut my eyes again, rolling my head from side to side and feeling the weight follow. I groaned again, letting my head rest to my left... What was it resting on? It was softer than whatever maintained my body and feet.

I laid there for a length of time I couldn't remember. Eventually, the exhaustion I got from my head-weight sent me back into deep sleep.

Only when the sound of sharp, agonizing scrapping erupted in my right ear did I stir again. The scrapping dragged on, causing my nose to scrunch up and my eyes to clench tightly again. Suddenly, it stopped, and the quick sound of creaking took its place.

And then, the smell of fresh... What was that? A kind of berry? I couldn't put my finger on the exact type, but whatever it was, it was incredibly sweet. I felt a hum rumble in my throat as the aroma blessed my nose. It was a soft, smooth fragrance, but it seemed like it floated all around me, emphasized in the spot to my right.

I heard breathing. Slight fidgeting. Ruffling perhaps? My body couldn't wait to uncover the entirety of this new mystery, and I had to force my eyes open.

Remembering the aggressive light before, I slowly opened my eyes, squinting instinctively. The light intruded my sight immediately, sending a dull throb through my head—which I had just realized did not carry the heavy weight any longer, now there was but a sluggish haze over my brain. My head was still facing my left, resting on the extremely soft surface I now recognized as a pillow. I blinked, a strange disorienting blurriness taking over my senses. My slightest movements were so loud under the constriction I recognized as a duvet. If it wasn't so soft, I would have felt claustrophobic.

There were many, many blurry but vibrant colors around me. I looked around, feeling sleepy and distorted, but letting my eyes adjust to the brightness carefully. When they dimmed down to my adjustment, I looked to see I was laying on a large pink bed. The light seeping in from a nearby window was the one that could have blinded me, but as I squinted through it, it evened out. I could see a few of the contents outside of the window then.

Interesting buildings sat parallel to wherever I was situated, and a river divided us. The structures were made in interesting material, browns and grays, tough textures like rock. The light bounced off the water separating me from them so nicely, but I couldn't look at it for too long before the sharpness of the light overwhelmed my eyes again. The sound of the smooth currents invaded my ears, and it was as if my whole body fell into the calm it commanded. I could smell the saltiness of the water, and the unique scent of the sunlight streaming in through the window.

I blinked in bewilderment for the sudden shifts in my senses, and then my head began to throb from the confusion in my mind.

"Ouch." I mumbled, and tried to sit up completely. My head throbbed thoroughly from the change in position, and I clenched my eyes tight before something soft gently pushed me back down. My eyes shot open and saw a blonde, brown-eyed girl smiling gently at me. Her eyes looked at me in worry and caution as her soft hands quickly pulled away from my now laying figure. Her arms and neck were fairly exposed, allowing me to see that her skin was a milky color. She sat in a deep brown chair... wooden... a wooden chair, like the wood used in the buildings outside. That was what made the creaking and possibly the scrapping. I could tell by the sounds it made from the girl's subtle fidgeting.

"Why don't you stay down for a while?" She suggested, her voice lovely and kind. I stared at her for a moment, taking in her fair beauty and looking down to see my body protruding from the inside of the bed's duvet, "You hit your head pretty hard, hun." The blonde continued, the tone of her voice insinuating that "pretty hard" was an understatement, "You've been out for a while, but I think you should keep resting."

I swallowed down the dryness of my throat, "Who are you?" My voice was scratchy, rough, but far more sure than my mind was. I kept my eyes on the surface of the bed.

"Lucy Heartfilia." She replied softly, seeming to not want to upset me, "May I ask your name?"

My mind was foggy. All I could pick up were the sounds of feet running across the pavement outside. Distinct chatter going to and from people who were much too far for me to be able to hear them. But I could. I could see the detailed stitch-work of the threading in the bed's comforter, the tiny hairs that stuck out in each piece of thread. I could feel the precise heat of the room, and the beam of light from the window was so pronounced it could have burned me. The girl, Lucy Heartfilia, seemed unbothered by it though. Could she not feel it? Everything was so clear.

I could hear the wet, thumping of her heartbeat, and the panicked pounding of my own. What was wrong with me? Was I safe? Was I sick?

"Hello?" Lucy Heartfilia called softly next to me, and my eyes shot up to her brown ones. There were tiny gold flecks in her eyes, adding depth to the dark color. Her voice, as soft as it was, came at my ears in an obnoxious blare. I blinked in confusion and disorientation. What had she asked?

"What did you say?" I asked, whispering so I wouldn't add to the loud noises my ears were receiving.

"I asked for your name." Lucy Heartfilia replied, and I opened my mouth to answer her... but froze.

It was as if my mind went completely, utterly blank. All I could register were her words and the hesitance they inflicted on me.

What was my name? I couldn't say. I didn't know it... or rather... I couldn't remember it. I bit my lip, blinking as tears began to fill my wide, irritated eyes. I was terrified as I tried to force my brain to open up. To let me know what I didn't know. It felt like I was trapped in my head, and all I knew was what was happening around me at that moment.

I looked at Lucy Heartfilia with wide, glassy eyes before slumping in astonishing defeat, "I... don't know." I whispered, a tear slipping out of my eye as my throat started closing up. I felt my breaths coming out faster, harder, and Lucy Heartfilia stood up immediately to sit down on the bed next to me.

"That's okay," She said quickly, her soft hands grabbing my trembling hands firmly, "Try to breathe, you're okay."

It didn't feel like I was okay. Everything was too clear and too loud and too much. I couldn't remember a single thing, from who I was to how I ended up in some stranger's bedroom. I looked around, noting how spacious the room was... too spacious. Perhaps it wasn't simply a room.

"How did I get here?" I asked shakily, closing my eyes tightly as Lucy Heartfilia rubbed circles into the back of my hands. I tried to focus on her touch and not everything else that sent my senses in a whirl.

"Well," She started, sounding amused in her nervousness. It alleviated some of my fear, "If we're talkin' here here... It's my apartment. I carried you in here myself."

An apartment, not simply a room. I kept my eyes closed, trying to concentrate on the sound of her voice and control my roaring senses, "Where are we?" I asked desperately, "Where is your apartment?"

"On Strawberry Street. Just in the middle of the town, Magnolia, in the country, Fiore."

I nodded absentmindedly, trying to make these places sound familiar. A thick covering was placed over my mind. Impenetrable. I couldn't make anything out at all. I didn't know where I was. On a side note, at the mention of the word strawberry, I recognized the fragrance oozing from her skin and hair.

I abandoned the distraction to focus on the information she had given me.

"How did I get to your apartment on Strawberry Street... in Magnolia town in the country, Fiore?" I mumbled again, opening my eyes to the bright room and focusing on her face. She sighed.

"I'll be honest, I have no idea who you are." She admitted, and I nodded for her to continue, "All I know is three days ago you fell out of the sky and landed right in front of my doorstep... Scared the hell out of me." She said, a drop of sweat forming on her confused expression. I was just as baffled.

"I... I f-fell from the sky?" I asked shakily and Lucy Heartfilia nodded earnestly. My gaze snapped to the contents of the window again, gazing at the clear blue sky and listening to the cries and squawks of birds inside of it. So serene... I waited for her to tell me she was joking but she didn't.

"Yes," She said, "I'm guessing your fall gave you some form of amnesia? You hit the ground pretty hard, but either you heal crazy fast or the medics here did a better job than we all would have guessed. We expected you to be out well over a month... or worse, you'd never wake up."

My eyes drifted to the contents of her apartment: dark, dry wooden floors, comfortable furniture stationed in the middle of the large room, a few doors leading to places unknown, and a simple kitchen settled in the back. Such a normal place, yet such a strange way of how I came to be in it.

I tried to remember my fall and continued to draw multiple blanks. My head started to pulsate each time I attempted to think back to the event, but before I could give up, something sparked. There was a voice, a high pitched voice that echoed through my head. I honed in on it, trying to connect to anything visual—all I could pick up from the memory was sound. After failing to see anything, I reflected on what the voice said.

Jay. Just one word, yet voiced as a scream... as if someone was calling it. Was it simply the letter J? Was it a part of a word or was it a full word? Was it a part of a sentence? What could the sentence be? And who was speaking? Why did they scream it?

My head started throbbing again and I grimaced, causing Lucy Heartfilia to lay a hand on my shoulder, "You okay?" She asked softly. I clenched my eyes shut, but nodded slowly.

"I remember a word." I replied through gritting teeth. The movement sounded strange to my ears and I stopped immediately. Lucy Heartfilia leaned in to me expectantly. I blinked repeatedly, "Jay."

She hummed, "Does it sound familiar at all? Jog any memories?"

I shook my head absentmindedly.

"Okay, well then it could be anything." She sighed, "It sounds like a name to me to be quite honest." She said enthusiastically, "Maybe that's your name?"

I sighed, wishing I knew my name and didn't have to rely on her suggestion. Jay. She was right; it could have meant anything. And at the moment, I had nothing else to go on. Perhaps it was my name...

"I guess it could be... I don't know..." I mumbled sadly. What if it wasn't my name? Would I ever remember it?

"You mind if I call you that from now on?" She asked.

"I'm fine with it." I shrugged and she nodded in encouragement.

"Cool," She replied, sounding a bit more resolved. It was a start. Lucy Heartfilia turned to look at the clock by her bed, making a straight face before turning back to me, "If you don't mind, my master, Makarov, wants to meet you to ask a few questions." She said.

I blinked, "Master?"

She nodded, "The leader of my guild. My boss. My elder... Whatever superior classification you want to consider." I narrowed my eyes in confusion to her words. Her master? Her guild? What the hell was she talking about?

"How can I answer any of his questions if I can't even remember my own name?" I asked in irritation. I had no idea who this girl was, and now I was supposed to talk to a whole other stranger. What the hell happened to me for me to be here?

"I'm not sure," She said hesitantly, another drop of sweat forming on her head, "Just... Just say anything I guess." She smiled and walked out to get her Master.

The moment alone was unnerving, and a part of me was still discombobulated from all the noise bouncing around outside. I sat up, feeling my head whirl slightly and closing my eyes for the millionth time. I focused on my breathing, trying desperately to get a grip on my senses.

Slowly but surely, the noise around me dialed down, and the only thing I felt was the soft fabric of the duvet directly. The only things I heard was light ruffling of Lucy Heartfilia's window drapes and the distinct movements of my body. I could still smell things too distinctly, and I didn't know how my eyesight was since my eyes were closed, but I sighed in relief.

I continued breathing for a few minutes before the sound of small, steady feet approached me. I parted my eyelids slowly, noting that the room was now a lot less bright. I looked up from the surface of the bed to see a very small, white-haired man walking in.

I looked at him in astonishment as he came to sit on the end of the bed.

"Hello... Miss Jay." He said, his voice old, raspy, and controlled.

"Hello." I said, trying not to give in to the urge my eyes felt to focus on the detailed lining of his face wrinkles and the shiny platinum color of his hair strands. His voice came out as soft as Lucy Heartfilia's, and I was a bit grateful for the patient attempts of these people.

"My name is Makarov Dreyer. I'm here to ask you a few questions." He started.

I sighed and shrugged, "I don't remember anything."

He nodded, "So I've been told." My eyebrows furrowed and I squinted at him.

"Then why—"

"It's not everyday a random girl falls through the sky and lands in the territory of this country's best guild." He replied quickly, making my head whirl trying to keep up with his words. I was still confused by what they meant by guild.

Am I supposed to know what that is?

"I have to be sure you weren't sent here to harm anyone or anything."

I blinked, "I don't... think I was."

He stared at me for a moment. My eyebrows furrowed deeper. Uncomfortable under his eyes, I looked away from him and licked chapped lips.

"I mean... If I were some kind of threat to you and your... guild... I don't think I would be sent so... carelessly." I said, not lessening the pointed stare of his eyes.

"Possibly," He finally said, "But you could also miraculously regain your memories and target my guild or the people of this town..."

I blinked, trying to think of a way to explain my innocence... But then I realized he could very well be right. I didn't know who I was... I could have been sent here to do whatever hideous things he thought I could do. I met his gaze.

"Well," I started, "I'm sorry... I don't have anyway of assuring you... All I can say is I have every reason not to trust you just as you have every reason not to trust me."

The man's stare softened slightly and remained silent.

"I can promise you I have no idea who I am, where I am, or where I've been." I added sadly, my voice cracking slightly. He sighed before dropping his harsh gaze from me.

"Well," He started after a long moment, "Since you can't remember your old life... would you like to start a new one?" He said, smiling a soft, wrinkly smile. I felt my face relax in surprise.

"What do you mean?" I asked, a bit bewildered by his sudden warmth.

"I am the master of a guild, or an organization, called Fairy Tail." He started, and I listened intently, "That woman, Lucy, is a part of it. In our guild, we help what we perceive as good and fight what we decided as bad. We protect our home, Magnolia, and our country, Fiore. A couple of our members came here after you arrived and scanned you to see if you hold magic like we do."

"Magic?" I asked immediately. How did we get to that? The master nodded kindly, causing his white hair to ruffle. He smelled like the sunbeams streaming through the window.

"It's really how we get around around here, by using magic. It comes in all forms, and a guild is where professional magic users reside. My guild, Fairy Tail, is the best in Fiore." He said and I gasped slightly at the new knowledge. The pieces were beginning to come together, "Now when you were scanned, we sensed a great kind of magic within you." I gasped, eyes wide and nearly crazed as I looked around in disbelief. "We also found that you're not from here."

"Where is here?" I asked sharply, looking at him in confusion.

"Earthland. The world we live in." He answered and I looked away from him again, "Apparently, you're from another world or dimension, but we aren't able to tell where and we aren't able to figure out how to send you back." He said and I huffed with tears in my eyes, "A few of our members experienced alter-dimensional travel long ago, but they made sure any methods to redo the incident were impossible. So, we're confused as to how you got here in the first place."

I was quiet as I began to wrap my brain around all of that. In the last few seconds, I'd learned I crash landed into a completely different world, or dimension, but no one understood how. I was also in a place where magic was real and used normally. I also had magic. An abundance of it at that. I felt almost nauseous.

"Would you like to know more about magic? Or am I moving too fast?" He asked in a sweet voice. I looked at him and blinked. Even though I was overwhelmed by the content he was giving me, I was comfortable with the pace he was using to deliver it. My mind was but a blank slate getting filled.

I nodded, "Please... continue."

He made a straight smile, "There are lots of magic users. We're called mages or wizards." Suddenly, he lifted his hand to catch my attention. The hand began to illuminate in a bright light and my eyes widened. He took in my reaction cautiously, "This is but a speckle of what we can do." He said, and the light disappeared.

"There are other guilds out there as well. In this country and other ones." He said. I was baffled by how I understood certain things and not other ones. Perhaps only a certain part of my brain was damaged and not the whole.

A new form of hope spread in my system at the thought.

Still, my brain was too scrambled to absorb all of his information correctly. I knew I'd have to refresh myself before I fully grasped it all.

"So, back to what I was saying," He continued, "Would you like to bring your magic to life and be a part of my guild, Fairy Tail?"

I was amazed, and a bit excited. Even though I didn't know who I was, I would love to see who I could be in this world. I wanted to be a part of this "guild." I wanted to be able to do what he had done with that fragment of light... But I also knew I couldn't neglect the matter of my past. What if it did come back to me, and I was to destroy a new life in this place?

"I..." I started, trailing off as I made a final decision, "I would be honored to be a part of it... On one condition."

The master waited.

"I need to learn who I really am while I'm in it." I said.

He smiled softly as he looked me in the eye, "Deal."