Hello, all, and welcome to my first Fairy Tail fanfiction! I know I should work on my other fics, but this ideas been bouncing around in my head for a while and it won't. leave. me. alone! I guess inspiration is like that, so you should use it while it's still hot. I know the title isn't too original, but I haven't thought of a better one yet. I LOVE Fariy Tail! It might be changed later. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
NOTICE: Chapter has been slightly modified as of 10/4/13
Disclaimer: All of Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, only this plot line and any OC's are mine.
Keeper of the Keys
Rays of light from the setting sun illuminated the lavish bedroom, coloring everything shades of yellows, oranges, pinks, and reds. But even with these lights, or maybe because of them, the shadows seemed to grow longer as the sun gave its last efforts to combat the encroaching night. A solitary figure sat in an armchair next to the window, gazing out over the vast fields and gardens, and the small town-like place of her home. She could see all the people going about their jobs, finishing up their respective tasks for the day from her vantage point. Long blonde hair glowed in the fading light, creating a halo around the woman's upper body, obscuring her facial features. She could only watch as all of the others outside went about their lives, oblivious to the figure of their beloved Lady watching them through sad brown eyes. But she knew it had to be this way. Her right hand clenched tightly, fisting on top of the armrest.
Taking a deep breath, she quieted her fears, making sure they wouldn't leak into her voice, she began, "It's time, isn't it?"
There was a silence in the room following that statement. When it seemed almost unbearable a feminine voice spoke out from the shadows. "…yes."
The figure in the chair relaxed slightly upon hearing the voice, and she smiled as she watched the hubbub going on down out the window. "I knew this would happen when I accepted this task. I just didn't realize how painful it was going to be." She doubled over abruptly, coughs wracking her body as she covered her mouth. Shadows parted as a cloaked figure started to move toward the woman, but stopped at the hand she held up to signal the cloaked person to halt. The coughs slowly tapered off, and the woman straightened, sitting back elegantly in her chair once again. "I'm fine. I still have enough strength left for this."
The cloaked figure turned their head to the side. The woman chuckled quietly. "Don't worry," she reassured her companion. "It isn't your fault. This was my choice." The cloaked figure gave no outward reaction, just continued standing at the edge of the shadows and the light.
The woman adjusted her white shawl slightly, still not turning from the window. "Will you look after her?" she asked quietly.
Starting slightly, the figure in the shadows swung back to the woman and answered, "Of course! She's like family to me!" She glanced down for a moment. "But she may not remember me by the time we meet again."
The blonde tilted her head slightly, a silent request for elaboration.
"I sealed her memories of me. I won't come into contact with her until she is ready to accept the circumstances, and the seal may not have worn off by then." The figure hidden in the dark paused for a moment before she continued quieter, almost too softly for the other to hear. "…She deserves to be innocent for a little while longer."
Sighing, the blonde woman agreed completely. There was no reason to involve her precious one until absolutely necessary. Even though she knew that though her little girl was strong, if there was too much burden placed too early it could just as soon break her as strengthen her. And she was going to have enough to worry about for now. She could afford to be ignorant for now.
Steeling herself, the woman pushed up from her armchair and walked over to the window. She put a hand on the pane of glass, letting the cool texture ground her. This would be the last time she saw this familiar scene, the last time she would stand here. She just wished she could spend one last moment with her daughter, but she knew that would only make her waver. And that could not happen.
Turning to finally face her companion, she smiled at her. "Thank you. For everything. For my daughter. For being my friend."
Even though she couldn't see her friend's face through the darkness and the hood that hid her, she knew the expression on her face would be a mix of guilt and anguish. She shook her head, and answered, "…I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I already told you, this is the path I chose. Just remember to keep your promise. Look after my daughter." She could just make out a small smile on the figure's lips, and she smiled in return. The cloaked head glanced off to the side suddenly and sighed. It was time, then. She just hoped when the time came, her baby girl would understand.
Reaching a black gloved hand out across the shadows and into the light, the cloaked woman said softly, "It's time to go, Layla."
As Layla walked over to place her hand in her friend's waiting one, the small calendar on her desk fluttered, the date reading 7-7-777.
Birds flitted through the trees of a giant forest, singing their praise to the sun and the spring. Sunlight filtered through the treetops, speckling the forest floor and illuminating the small critters going about their daily lives. Vines grew along a rocky mountainside hidden in the cluster of trees, flowers being pollinated by busy bees. But this peace was not meant to last. The serenity was broken by an angry yell.
"Argh! Stupid Natsu!"
Soon the source of the disruption stomped around a bend, scattering all the wildlife not already frightened away by her shout. Mud covered the blonde teenage girl walking furiously down a deer path in the forest, the mud dripping down her bare legs and arms with each movement. Lucy Heartfilia was not happy, definitely NOT HAPPY.
This was all that stupid fire idiot's fault! Lucy thought as she made her way further into the forest. If he hadn't been his usual destructive self, Lucy wouldn't be covered in mud, walking through a forest all alone. First of all, when you go out on a job, you don't destroy the object you're supposed to be getting back for the clients! What was the point of taking this job if it was going to end in ruin, just like always? Well, to be fair, Lucy knew that Natsu didn't do it on purpose, but still! It was just the principal of the matter. And she might not be so angry at him if he hadn't ruined her new outfit in the wake of his destructive rampage!
Lucy halted midstride, taking a deep breath to try to calm herself down. And another. That was it, maybe now she could find a lake or something to get the mud off. Starting forward again, she heard an audible squishing sound from her knee-high boots and could feel the gooey-ness between her toes. There went her newfound calmness right out the window. She just barely bit back a shriek of revulsion.
Why, Lucy thought, did Gray and Erza have to already be going on separate missions when Lucy had brought the job request back to her team? One of them, AKA Erza, might have been able to curb Natsu's destructive tendencies. She thought about that for a moment, then dismissed it. No, those two also tended to cause trouble on missions, even if it didn't always reach the Natsu Scale. Yes, she had invented a measuring scale for it. This particular job should have been around a two.
They were only supposed to retrieve a family heirloom for a merchant family that had been swindled into giving it up. "It" being a famous statue of the first Celestial Spirit summoner that had been in the merchant family, the Waveresses, for centuries. That had been what had first caught Lucy's eye. She had always wanted to see that statue, especially since she had been taught Celestial Spirit magic, but had never gotten the chance, even before she had moved out of her father's house. The Waveresses had never been considered classy or rich enough to visit.
The rich collector who had taken it had a supposedly highly magical security system, so the Waveresses had requested a mage to help get the statue back. Which hadn't actually been too much of a problem (though Natsu did want to just charge through the front door and demand it back, which brought disturbing images back from the Evaroo mansion incident. She shuddered just thinking about it). They had found the statue fairly easily and snuck back out after getting through a few magical traps, mainly thanks to Happy. But after they had reached the outside they had been surrounded by at least ten mages. One of which had been a mage who specialized in water-based magic. Needless to say, Natsu hadn't been particularly happy about that one. The aftermath of their battle had left a soggy mess around the area of conflict. Lucy had been the one handling the statue- there was no way she was going to give up such a valuable object to the hot-head in their team- and when Natsu had joined her after their respective fights, Happy in tow, he had slapped her on the back in congratulations. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem. But considering how there had just been a water fight, making the ground slippery and muddy, added to Natsu's slightly overzealous gesture, Lucy had ended up on the ground with the mission's objective breaking her fall. Literally breaking.
All three had just stared at the pieces of clay littering the muddy field until Happy had cut through the silence with "Lucy broke it!" Needless to say, Lucy had not handled that statement well. So here she was, walking through the nearby forest, most likely becoming more lost by the minute, using her anger to mask her guilt, because it was better than crying. It wasn't fair. Yes, she had been the one holding the statue, but she would never break something so important to her magic's heritage on purpose. It hadn't helped when the two idiots had been looking at her all shifty eyed after Happy's declaration. She felt a vindictive kind of satisfaction at the thought of the long, long train ride back to Magnolia.
…But Lucy did know that it wasn't really Natsu's fault either. She stopped again with a resigned sigh. She was going to have to apologize for blowing up at the both of them when she got back. They were both her precious nakama after all. Lucy smiled softly to herself. She really did owe them. They were the ones who had brought her to Fairy Tail, after all. She had a home now, one where she was accepted for just being her. And that was worth more to her than all the riches and status in the world.
But first she was going to get rid of the mud covering her; there was no way she was going to go the rest of the day being this filthy! Just as she was walking past a small cave opening she heard it. A dripping and rushing sound that could only be associated with water. Bingo!
Lucy made a quick turn into the small rocky chamber. For the first few steps the way was almost pitch black but for the little sunlight streaming through the crack, but the farther she continued in, the more she became aware of a soft glow. As she went deeper, the sound of water increased and she noticed that the light sources were small stalactites hanging from the ceiling. But what was weird was that after a while her surroundings seemed to become hazier and sticky.
Rounding a bend, Lucy froze to the spot, mouth agape and brown eyes wide. "A hot spring!" she exclaimed in delight. And indeed, it was. A medium sized pool was against the back wall of the cavern, lighted by a giant chandelier-like stalactite. Water cascaded down from a small waterfall at the back of the spring. Steam wafted gently from the water, explaining the fogginess of the passage. Lucy's face stretched into a grin. This was perfect! She could wash her clothes and take a nice relaxing soak. It was almost worth this mission's failure to be able to bathe in a hot spring. And for free too!
Lucy hummed happily to herself as she stripped down and lowered herself into the warm water. She relaxed back against the side of the spring, letting herself just relax for a minute before setting to work on her clothes. Scrubbing them thoroughly, Lucy absently noticed that her clothes withstood only minimal stains. Maybe her day was turning out better than she thought?
…Nah, she still had to tell the clients that their heirloom had been broken by her team and herself. Gloom settled over Lucy again at this thought, but she shook it off, punctuating it with a shake of her head. She wouldn't think of that for now. Right now she was only going to let herself relax.
Finished with her clothes and setting them off to dry, Lucy started to return to the water and had just slipped in when a faint sparkle caught her eye. Curious, she waded her way carefully through the water towards the glint. The steam rose thicker the closer she came to it because of the water droplets from the mini waterfall, as it was just to Lucy's right from her destination.
Reaching it, she squinted down at the small ledge sticking out from the wall. It was hard to see past the steam and water condensation, but she could just make out a small dark object. Frowning in curiosity and slight puzzlement, Lucy reached out and grabbed it. As her hand closed around the familiar shape her eyes widened momentarily before they slipped closed and she slumped forward in a dead faint.
Her little feet pattered lightly on the soft grass as she ran under a garden hedge to her mother's favorite private garden. "Mom!"
Layla Heartfilia turned around at her daughter's voice, smiling."What is it, Lucy?"
Lucy skidded to a halt in front of her mother, slumping slightly to catch her breath. Layla waited patiently until the little girl looked back up at her mother with a grin. "I summoned my first spirit today!" She held up her right hand holding a silver Celestial Spirit key triumphantly.
Layla's eyes dimmed a bit, but brightened again too quickly for her eight year old daughter to notice. She smiled down at her instead and said, "Congratulations, Lucy! How should we celebrate?"
Little Lucy beamed up at her, soaking in the praise and love that only her mother could give. Not that the servants didn't adore her, but there were only some types of feelings only a parent could give. "Can we have a slumber party in my room?" Lucy asked, hope shining in her brown eyes.
Making quick mental changes to her schedule and Lucy's, Layla grinned down at the expectant child. "Of course. Why don't we go get everything ready, alright?" She held out her hand to the little girl.
"Yeah!" Lucy placed her hand into her mother's much larger one before they started back toward the mansion, chattering excitedly about her plans as they occurred to her. "We'll have to get some hot chocolate; Spetto-san makes the best hot chocolate, and lots of pillows. Can we have a pillow fight? Betty and Sally can come too. And we have to have story books." A thought hit Lucy, cutting her off mid-rant. "Mom, can - come? She always tells the best stories." Lucy looked up at her mother with pleading eyes.
Having been smiling in amusement at Lucy's spiel, Layla paused before saying, "Yes, I'm sure she'll be happy to come. Just try not to get into any trouble with her okay? Your father wouldn't be too happy about any ruckus."
Lucy pouted, but agreed. "…Fine." Layla chuckled quietly. Her daughter was too cute. Yes, this was going to be fun. Even she would like it. Especially her.
Natsu crossed his arms in slight anger and irritation as he walked down the path Lucy had taken earlier when she had stalked off. She hadn't had to hit him and Happy. They had just been joking; she hadn't had to take it so hard. He absently rubbed his still red cheek. She could really throw a mean punch despite how she looked.
Natsu had sent Happy ahead to arrange for their departure and to maybe find a way to fix the statue. Lucy had seemed to take that harder than he had thought she would. He frowned. Maybe it had something to do with Stellar Spirit mages…? Well, whatever, he'd ask her about it later. Hopefully she would be calmed down by the time he found her. He shuddered. Lucy could be as scary as Erza when she was angry.
Stopping at the end of the path, Natsu sniffed the air to catch Lucy's scent. It was a weird combination of carnations and mangos, but Natsu liked it. It spelled out 'Lucy' to him. He followed it until it led him to a cave entrance, more like a crack in the side of a mountain.
"Why would Lucy go into a cave?" Natsu wondered out loud. He would have thought she would have avoided it. He could remember her complaining about bats and creepiness on other missions involving caves. But her scent was obviously leading him into it, so he ducked in. He could immediately hear the increase of the sound of gushing water and the smell of it. He figured there was probably an underground spring of some sort, so maybe that had lured his blonde teammate into the cavern. As he made his way down he would call out every once in a while for his missing nakama. Unease crept slowly up his spine when he never heard a response.
Soon he reached the hot spring, his reaction unknowingly mirroring Lucy's. "Hot spring!" Natsu yelled, throwing his arms in the air, Lucy momentarily forgotten in his excitement. He saw Lucy's clothes in a pile off to the side and his expression darkened. She was obviously here, both his nose and her clothes attested to that; she would never leave her clothes behind. He called out again. "Lucy?" A faint note of panic had wormed its way into his voice.
Peering through the steam Natsu was just able to make out a head of blonde hair next to the waterfall turned away from him. Fear bloomed in his chest as he yelled "Lucy!" She didn't move, even as he jumped into the water and made his way to her in seconds. He hauled her up into his arms as he continued to call her name. "Lucy?! Luce, come on speak to me. What happened?" He shook her slightly, frantic. But she didn't even twitch. The only thing letting him know she was still alive was her light breathing.
Clutching her protectively to him, Natsu got out of the pool, miraculously having the presence of mind left to grab her still damp clothes and drape them over her. He remembered Igneel once having told him that if humans were left wet in open air for too long they could get sick. Warmth flooded the air around Natsu as he dried her off with his magic even as he hurried back outside, never breaking pace. "Hold on, Luce. I'll make sure to get you home safe." His arms tightened around her limp form.
Lucy's right arm flopped against Natsu's chest as he ran. Her hand was clenched tightly around a key. A Celestial Spirit key that was black with specks of gold.
I know not much has changed, but thank you for reading it anyway (to those of you who have; newcomers thank you for reading!) The Great Revision of 2013 has begun! Please tell me what you think, whether it be about the story, characters, or whatever you feel about Keeper of the Keys.
Complaints, comments, concerns, opinions? All are welcome!
~Moonlight Trough the Water
