A/N: Okay, so I'm really anxious to publish this story, because it is something I've been working on for 3 years. I started this when I was about to finish high school and now I can't keep it secret any longer. The first few chapters might be slow and you might notice how my writing style changes as the story progresses and that is because I've grown as a writer over the past few years. With the ending og FT, I hesitated for a while to publish, but I can't wait any longer and want to revive my love for the series. Lucy is my favorite character and the story will revolve around her, eventually leading to GrayLu. The fic is kind-of timeless, so I hope you will enjoy the freedom of the adventure. I present to you, Weeping Waters.
Weeping waters
Fairy Tail, one of the strongest guilds in Fiore, was bustling with activity as per usual. People were running around, doing their jobs and keeping themselves occupied. Today, a special training camp for the mages of the guild was coming to an end and the participants were returning back home. The camp consisted of three and a half weeks of hellish training with some of the strongest mages in all of Fairy Tail. The idea had come to the guild master late at night a few months ago. He had put everything into planning this camp whilst keeping it a secret. His guild could use some challenge. Therefore, most of the mages had been sent to the camp, but many had returned after a few days, either because of trauma or injury. The rest had kept at it for the remaining three weeks. The return of the campers, however, meant that Fairy Tail was in for a rough couple of days.
The mages would surely be pumped – in the case of Natsu – and would demand to take on the whole guild at once. Some would test out their skills by taking on risky jobs the moment they returned, and others would want to relax for a long while. Therefore, the remaining guild members were snatching up jobs to do, and busying themselves to avoid getting dragged into fights. The buzzing of the guild ended abruptly, when a low rumbling was heard.
"Could it be…?" Jet whispered clearly terrified. He gulped nervously and looked ready to faint.
"No way!" Droy slowly took shelter under one of the tables as the rumbling intensified and the guild almost started shaking. Jet and Droy had been among the returning campers and had gone off to train on their own. It had been way too intense for their liking. Now, they prayed for some sort of miracle to spare them from their demonic guild mates.
"WE ARE BACK!" The doors burst open and in came Elfman and Natsu charging ahead at full speed and crashing into the tables. Those unfortunate enough to be standing near the two mages were tackled to the floor in bone crushing hugs. Behind them, the rest of the camp participants steadily flittered through the doors, greeting their friends. Amongst them was Lucy, who hugged her friends and said her hello-s before she dragged her feet over to the bar, where she plopped down on a stool.
"Welcome back." Mira greeted cheerfully and passed the blonde a drink. She was certain Lucy would need it.
"Good to be back." Lucy replied and took a long swig from her glass. Setting it back at the counter, she let out a long sigh.
"You seem a little tired Lucy. Is everything alright?" The bar-maid frowned. Lucy was swaying slightly on her stool.
"I'm so exhausted, I'm numb!" Lucy cried out exasperatedly. "I can't feel my body at all." To prove her point, she pinched the skin of her underarm hard a few times, but nothing happened. She didn't even bat an eye. She turned her eyes back to the barmaid.
"Looks like you guys had fun." Mirajane chuckled. Judging from her blonde friend's appearance, they had had anything but. The stellar spirit mage looked like she had been run over by a train. Multiple times. Followed by being dragged through the woods, and probably also chucked into the sea. There was something in Lucy's eyes that made her resemble a wild animal.
"It was hell, but it's over now. I can finally relax." Lucy sighed contently. She had a dreamy look on her face, and was surely fantasizing about a relaxing visit to a spa or something else to pamper herself with.
"If it was that hard, then surely you must have gotten a lot stronger." Mira mused thoughtfully. Knowing her guild mates, they had probably worked Lucy to the bone along with everyone else. She pitied her friends. Erza and Laxus, among others, had been instructors at the camp.
"Oh God!" Lucy looked up from her glass and gasped in horror. Mira never got to hear what the blonde had wanted to say, because in the bat of an eye Natsu and Happy popped out of nowhere and hauled Lucy to her feet.
"Let's go do a job, Lucy! I wanna see how much stronger we've gotten! I can't wait to kick some ass~" The dragon slayer rambled in a hurry and dragged the blonde away with Happy flying around them in circles. Lucy didn't even have it in her to argue, so she sighed loudly in defeat. So much for relaxing.
They returned to the guild the very next day, having completed the job in no time. Lucy was convinced she would die, if she had to walk another step. She plopped down in a seat and rested her head on a table, while Natsu headed straight for the request board. The guild had gotten some interesting jobs, while she had been away, but Lucy was too tired to even consider looking at them. She just wanted to sleep for a long time.
"How'd the job go Lucy-san?" Lucy opened her eyes to see Wendy looking at her curiously. Normally, she would have recognized the dragon slayer from her voice and approach, but to Lucy's sleep-deprived brain, Wendy's question had echoed in her mind a few times, before she registered it.
"Fine. Natsu took care of the most." Lucy peered up from the comfort of her arms. Forming longer sentences than that was unmanageable. "As always."
"I don't understand how Natsu-san manages to run around like that. From what I heard, he shouldn't even be able to move." The young girl watched her fellow dragon slayer across the room. He seemed deep in thought, looking at more jobs to do.
"He's not human…" Lucy grumbled to herself. Every day for the past three and a half weeks, Natsu had insisted that she join him for morning jogging and continuously spar with him. It had been gruesome, but Lucy had to admit that she had gotten a lot more out of the camp, than she would have, had she stuck to the daily training only. Natsu had pissed off Erza by accident, which had lead to them being punished with even more training than the others. Food had also been regulated to be nutritious and healthy, so Lucy had been left craving junk food. After a while, however, she had gotten used to her new diet and forgotten about snacks, well, not entirely, but her cravings had subsided.
"Did you and Carla find what you were looking for?" Lucy suppressed a yawn and propped up on her elbows. She was feeling a bit better and wanted to catch up with Wendy.
"Yes! It took quite some time, though. We were looking at it from a completely wrong angle." Wendy accounted for her latest mission with Levy and Carla, which had taken her a while to complete, and thus missing out on the training camp. She also told Lucy about some of the places she had been to and what foods she had eaten before returning to the guild.
"It sounds really lovely, Wendy," she sighed. "I wish I could have gone with you, but Natsu, Happy and Gray just had to drag me along. I don't want to be dragged off anymore." Wendy tilted her head to the side, twirling some hair around her fingers and staying silent for a few seconds.
"Why don't you just do a job on your own?" She asked innocently. Her big eyes peered up from behind her bangs as she took in her older comrade. Observing the dragon slayer for a few seconds, the blonde nodded.
"I've been considering it for a while, actually." Lucy confessed. She sat up straight and put her chin in her hands, exhaling loudly.
"I mean, every time I do a job, there's always someone to accompany me, and I never get to find out exactly how capable I am. I love our team, I really do, but I just think I should be more independent once in a while." She rubbed a hand over her eyes tiredly. Man, it had really been a long day. Wendy looked thoughtful for a minute, before shrugging and smiling mischievously.
"You know, I was passing through town earlier, when I heard about ships getting raided at an incredible rate. Apparently, the ship captains are so nervous about setting sail that they are hiring mages to guard them on their trips." She told the blonde.
Lucy perked up at that particular bit of information. It sounded like a mission she could complete on her own easily. Some time away from Natsu, Gray and Erza wouldn't hurt either. She couldn't depend on them forever and the extra money would certainly come in handy. Lucy decided to look into the matter, but first, she needed to go home and rest. She could use a nice, long bath. Nodding, she bid Wendy goodbye and walked out of the guild. On her way home, Lucy decided to take a detour to the harbor and ask around a bit first. Being prepared was always a good thing.
"I hope the pay is good." She thought out loud. If it was a long trip, she could cash in a great reward or two. Besides, it had been a while since she had taken a job by herself and it sounded pretty interesting. If someone was targeting ships, she would get to the bottom of who they were. With renewed resolve, Lucy picked up her pace and started looking around, her fatigue completely forgotten. The first thing she noticed around the harbor was the sheer amount of 'HIRING' signs.
"Good lord." She whistled loudly. From what Wendy had told her, Lucy had imagined a handful of ships in need of magical protection. What she saw, though, was incredible. Every kind of ship imaginable could be spotted along the quay. Frustrated sailors were pacing everywhere, shooting each other daggers.
"Miss! Over here!" Someone called out to her. It was a short, bald man waving her over. Lucy tentatively stepped forward.
"Are you a mage?" He asked with a smile and showed off his crooked teeth. Lucy nodded once, "Yes, I am."
"Would you be interested in coming with us on a trip to Joya? We'll pay you 15,000 jewels a day." He asked hurriedly, before glancing over her shoulder and grimacing. Before she could inquire about the trip, an old man grabbed her arm and wobbled in front of the first one.
"Wouldn't you prefer a luxurious trip to the islands east of here, child? A beautiful girl like you shouldn't even consider going to such a dangerous place – all by yourself no less." The old man rasped. Lucy didn't like the way he spoke to her at all. She hated being looked down on.
"I am fully capable of deciding for myself, thank you." She replied, slightly annoyed. The bald man was glaring daggers at the old man, who ignored his very existence. Just as he opened his mouth to reply, a few more men appeared, asking Lucy to escort them instead and started arguing with each other. After watching the quarreling sailors for a few seconds, Lucy rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, leaving them behind. She really wasn't in a mood to deal with them. There was a difference between being desperate for protection and just ruining other's chances at getting it as well.
Lucy didn't get too far away, though. When she had walked a couple of feet, a boisterous laughter resounded from near her. Looking to her right, she saw a man sitting cross legged on a box, quite literally laughing his hat off. Lucy raised a brow in surprise and patiently waited for his laughter to die down.
"You are like fodder to most of the gentlemen assembled on these docks, young lady." He informed her, wiping a tear from his eye. Lucy eyed him skeptically. Judging from his attire, he was a normal sailor, but had this air around him that made her want to stick around and talk to him. He fascinated her.
"Gee, I hadn't noticed." She grumbled, but the corner of her mouth lifted. The man before her was intriguing. He was smiling broadly at her. He didn't look very old, but had this knowing glint in his eye. He was the only person so far, who wasn't throwing himself at her feet. As he sat there calmly, he seemed slightly out of place and oddly experienced, like he knew just what to do to get what he needed.
"I'm surprised they haven't started ripping off your limbs." He chuckled a little, glancing over at the arguing crowd and watching them with amusement. The sailors hadn't even noticed Lucy's absence yet.
"Must be my lucky day." She countered, earning a howl of laughter from the man.
"Pretty and has a sense of humor. I like you already." The man nodded to himself and got up from his seat on the crate. "The name's Jackmann, Bartolomeo Jackmann. Captain of the Empress. You can call me Bart." He took off his hat and bowed deeply.
"Lucy Heartfilia of Fairy Tail." She curtseyed instead of shaking his hand, like she normally would have, deeming it more appropriate.
"Ah, Fairy Tail. I've heard of your guild before." He stroked his short beard thoughtfully. "Well Miss Lucy, I think we were fated to meet. As you might have guessed, I'm in need of a strong mage to accompany me and here you – the answer to my prayers – appear out of nowhere." He waved his hands around in the air, before pausing to gauge her reaction. Seeing as she didn't shoot down his suggestion right away, he continued.
"I will pay you 95,000 jewels a week for coming along on our voyage. It would be an honor to have you on board." He declared, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips. Lucy smiled at the gesture and looked up to meet his eyes. She thought about it for a second, and then nodded her head. It sounded like an adventure.
"I accept." Bart beamed with joy, instantly asking her questions about her magic and prior experience with sailing.
"So, where are you headed Captain?" She asked, turning to survey the majestic ship behind him. The Empress was truly a well-crafted work of art with handmade carvings all around the railings and beautiful, white sails that glimmered in the sunlight.
"I have a lot of valuable cargo that I will be delivering to a trader, who lives on the shore of an island near Minstrel." The captain put the hat back on and straightened his back, his mirth disappearing.
"How long will it take to get there?" The stellar spirit mage inquired. With the amount of jewels he was paying her, it most likely involved something dangerous.
"Approximately three weeks. Your job will be to guard the ship in case of attacks. We have been raided twice already, before reaching the previous port and once again, when we sat sail to get on with our journey, forcing us to dock here. If nothing happens, we'll get there in two or three weeks' time, if not, it might take even longer. You'll probably be on look-out for the most of the trip." He explained.
"That shouldn't be a problem." Lucy smiled at Bart, liking him even more, when his whole face lit up.
"Welcome aboard Lucy. We set sail tomorrow."
As I read the first four chapters, I realize how much my writing has improved, but I don't want to change what High School Me wrote during finals. University-Me has been better at making the story progress naturally and it feels more cohesive as a whole. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed my first chapter and will stick around for the rest. Cheers (=w=)/