Fairy Tail: Dawn of Change by Melissa Nichols (books to read for self improvement txt) 📕

this was anything like No Game No Life, or Digimon, then figuring out what she had with her was more important than where, exactly, she was at the moment. She looked down, and was only a little surprised to find that she wasn't in her pajamas anymore. Instead, she was wearing a blue tank-top, brown shorts that matched her hair and eyes, blue and white sneakers, and a leather brown vest. None of the pockets held anything useful or valuable like her cell phone or a water bottle, and Roxanne had to force back irrational tears at the realization that she really had no way of contacting anyone.

 

If she didn't have anything, she'd have to find something. If she could find a river, that should lead to a road, right? "There has to be a town somewhere," she told herself firmly. "There has to be." With no way of knowing where, though, she had to pick a direction.

 

Closing her eyes once again, she spun for a few moments and then stopped, letting the dizziness subside. Once the world stopped spinning, she opened her eyes and started walking.
Roxanne didn't know for how long she walked, knowing only that she hadn't come across a single sign of civilization. There were no people, no buildings. Birds flew overhead and smaller ground animals scattered as she neared them, which meant that there weren't any people hidden in the trees. If there were people around, she wouldn't see any animals at all. She also noticed that she was following the sun west.

 

All she knew was the day quickly went from comfortable West Coast weather to seemingly Sahara Desert weather in a very short amount of time, and there was no water or shade around to help her cope with the stifling heat. Her muscles hurt from the walking, her stomach growled from being empty, and her eyes hurt from the bright sunlight, and she wasn't even sweating anymore, but she didn't let herself feel any of that. She remained focused on the horizon and putting one foot in front of the other. She had to get somewhere eventually. She had to-

 

For one moment she paused and the lapse in concentration cost her. Suddenly she realized just how long she'd been walking; not just today, but the previous two days at the Expo. Her muscles shook with exhaustion, her throat burned dryly, her stomach rumbled, and her eyes stung. Her head pounded and she fell to the ground, the weight of everything too much to bear any longer.

 

 

 

 

Not long after she fell unconscious, Roxanne's small form was discovered by a duo travelling the countryside. Concerned, the blonde-haired woman dropped to her knees beside Roxanne and did her best to get the unconscious girl some water. Without a word, the pink-haired male partner gently scooped Roxanne up in his arms as the blonde girl continued to fuss over her, and the group moved quickly off towards the closest town they knew.

 

Chapter Two

Roxanne woke up a few hours later, but she didn't wake up as quickly as usual. Her senses came back to her one at a time, like how a reset modem's lights flicker from red to green.

 

The first sense to return was her hearing. She could hear three voices; Two boys and one girl. One of the boys was high-pitched and snickering at that moment, the other boy barely spoke but when he did he had a slightly deeper, gruffer voice. The girl sounded kind and she had the sort of voice that a peppy teenager would. The voices together reminded Roxanne of someone, something, important but she couldn't remember who or what.

 

The second sense that returned to Roxanne was her sense of touch. She could feel that she was lying on something soft, with something like a blanket over her and something soft beneath her head. She must be lying on a bed. Light fell on her eyes, but it wasn't hot like sunlight, so maybe a lamp?

 

The third sense to return was her sense of smell. She could smell a faint, flowery perfume and something harsher. That second smell, for some reason, made her realize how hungry she was, and she remembered being at her parent's house and having a fish dinner. That second scent must be fish, then, but it didn't smell as good as the dinners had, which meant that this is uncooked fish. Gross.

 

As to taste, her mouth didn't feel quite as dry as it had before, though she was still thirsty. Someone must have helped her drink while she was asleep, washing away the taste of dust and replacing it with only marginally more comfortable scumminess. Whoever was taking care of her must be friendly, or at least nice.

 

Once she realized all that, she started to really wake up. She moved a little, noting how her bruised thigh was stiff and sore, and she moaned softly as her eyes finally opened, thus booting up her fifth sense of sight.

 

Seeing the ceiling overhead, she knew she was right - she was indeed indoors and laying on a bed. Moaning again and closing her eyes, she sat up, rubbing her throbbing head.

 

"Good evening." The girl's voice said gently, as if she was trying not to startle Roxanne.

 

"Good evening." Roxanne responded automatically and opened her eyes again, only for them to widen in shock as her thought processes stopped.

Wait a second. H-how is this possible?! I must be dreaming this time! How else can they be here?! What's going on?!

 

Roxanne closed her eyes again, rubbed them fiercely, and then opened them again, hoping they'd be gone and someone real would be with her. She was wrong.

Her heartbeat started to pick up a bit, not so much out of fear but panic, as she realized that the people sitting at the end of her bed were Lucy Heartfilia and Natsu Dragneel. The high-pitched boy's voice, she now realized, belonged to Happy, who was currently perched on Natsu's shoulder.

 

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked as the younger girl realized the implications of where she was. Her head swam and she fell back into the mattress. She wasn't at all afraid of Lucy, Natsu and Happy themselves; they wouldn't hurt her. But she was scared because in order for her to be meeting them, she would have to be in their world, Fiore. Which meant she wasn't in her world.

I want to go home.

She'd never see her brother again, her friends or any familiar face.

I want Jacob.

She was alone.

I want to go home. I want to go home. I want home, and Jacob, and -
 

"Um, Natsu, she isn't looking very well." Happy observed uselessly as Roxanne curled into a ball, her elbows on her knees as she gripped her head in her hands. She started to shake uncontrollably so she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stop the shaking. At the same time, her brain was working overtime. She tried processing everything that had happened - falling asleep in California and waking up in Fiore - but found that she just couldn't. Fear was swamping her, making coherent thought impossible. It was hard to breathe, her heart was pumping furiously.
 
"Hey, Lucy, what the hell is going on?" Natsu asked.
"How should I know?" she snapped, more worried than truly angry. "We didn't say anything bad, did we?"
"I don't think so..." Happy muttered as he watched Roxanne regain a bit of control, spurred on by her need to be away from them, alone for just a moment, so she could truly break down and then piece herself back together.
Dirt and sand itched at her skin from where she'd fallen, giving her an excuse. A shower. No one would follow her into the shower. "I think - I think I'd like to take a shower. Is that okay?" Roxanne asked, her voice void of life, as she started to get up.
"Oh, um, sure," Lucy responded, and the trio watched Roxanne stumble her way to the bathroom.
 

 

Standing under the hot water a few minutes later, Roxanne struggled to first focus on relaxing her muscles and enjoying the heat, which turned out to be impossible. The heat should have felt nice, but with panic still in her throat she just couldn't relax and enjoy it. She had to find some other way to calm down.

 

If you're lost, all of her teachers and Jacob had told her, stay put and remember to breathe slowly until you can think.

 

She practiced breathing, thinking only of breathing, long and slow and even, until her hitching breaths smoothened and her hammering heart slowed. Thought about breathing - in, hold, out, in, hold, out - until the panic and fear subsided to a background hurt. Only once she had done that did she let herself think about the water again. This time, it did feel nice and she could almost feel her tense body starting to loosen. As close to relaxed as she'd be able to get, she started the next step.

 

Think about how you got to be where you are. You might remember the way back to where you were.

 

Roxanne started to wash her hair, thinking about the events that had led to her current position. She thought about her last day on Earth, then waking up in Fiore. Her walk and subsequent collapse. Then she went over what facts she knew. 

I'm in Fiore, in the same hotel room as Natsu Dragneel, Happy and Lucy Heartfilia. I'm safe.

I'm safe.

 

Once everything had sunk in, she then dared to remind herself that her brother was not there and that she'd probably never see him again. She was, for the first time in her life, truly alone. The mere thought of never seeing Jacob again sent pain shooting through her chest, and she started to cry. For nine years, her brother had been the only warm thing in her life, her best friend, teacher and protector. To suddenly be ripped away from him was unbearably hard for her, and she wanted nothing more than to see him again, to find a way back to him.
 
She let herself cry, wrapping herself into a ball as she sobbed under the shower's spray. This was probably the only time she had to be alone, so she had to get past it. Come to terms with everything she could. Once she had, she'd be more able to cope with her new life and figure out what she needed to do. But, right now, she just needed to cry.
 

 

Once her tears subsided, she finished her shower routine and realized that she had to figure out how to adapt to this world. She had to decide if she wanted to become a mage and join a guild, or if she wanted to get a job. Almost as soon as she'd thought it, she knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to be a mage.
For a few brief seconds, her fear and grief vanished. Her chest burned with desire as she imagined herself wielding magic and taking out bad guys and protecting people. She wanted to become a wizard! And it was possible, too. There were mages her age, in guilds and everything. Natsu, Erza, Cana and Grey had been her age when Master Makarov adopted them, hadn't they? Wendy wouldn't