konamiXkatya23: Hey! I'm back! I was planning on writing a different story, but then the holiday cheer kinda got to me, so I decided to make a holiday special!
Natsu: Alright!
Lucy: Calm down you idiot! Let's read the story! Did you hear me? Read! Not burn!
Natsu: Yes, Lucy-sama.
Lucy: What the…?
Happy: Aye. Disclaimer?
konamiXkatya23: Right! Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or any of it's characters, I only own my story. Please enjoy and don't forget to review!
Chapter one
Charcoal key
The girl opened her brown eyes. They quickly adjusted to the light, their chocolaty color looking even richer. She quickly jolted herself upright and carefully walked to the shower. For some reason, she couldn't find her rosy haired friend and his blue cat anywhere. Usually he just came to her apartment unannounced, and crashed the night in it. Her rent kept on getting higher because of Natsu and all of his repair fees. Why couldn't he sleep in his own house?
Lucy signed as she got out of the shower. She didn't mind it though; the boy was fun to have around. He was the one who changed her life; she couldn't imagine what would have happened without him. "Oh well..." she muttered as she put on her clothes.
It was winter in Fiore, but it wouldn't mean that it would snow. Dark clouds passed very often, and the town of Mongolia found itself constantly drenched by heavy showers. The clouds were already gathering as Lucy started reading her book. It was sunny just an hour ago.
The girl giggled as she finished the last page of the comical book her blue haired friend gave her. Levy always gave the right books to Lucy, and of coarse she was always the first to read and criticize Lucy's new stories. Natsu was always eager to see Lucy's books but for some reason Lucy always had to hide them from the boy's flaming grasp. The blonde smiled as she thought about Natsu.
Something suddenly crashed through her window. Lucy ran out into her bedroom, afraid to see what it is. Natsu already sat on her bed, with a serious face. "Eh? Back already?" Lucy complained.
"No…" he answered. "What the hell Luc? You left me on the train with a note, saying that you won't go? I'd be dead by now if it wasn't for Happy!"
"Aye" added the blue cat.
"So you didn't go?" Lucy asked.
"No!" Natsu yelled and looked away. "Last time I checked we were a team."
"Aye" Happy added.
"I don't want to go back to that creepy mountain! Plus, I'll be really cold! I don't have any winter clothes…" Lucy said.
"Lucy Fire*" Natsu mumbled.
"Huh?"
"Nothing, lets call the mission off. We'll continue it in the new year." The dark eyed boy chucked his bags at Lucy and crawled under the covers. Happy cautiously eyed Lucy.
"Ok, fine, I get it" Lucy responded. "Let's do the mission tomorrow. I still have to pay for rent."
Natsu quickly jumped up. "Alright! I'm getting all fired up!" he yelled.
"Don't burn my house!" she screamed and threw Natsu back out of the window.
She rolled her eyes as she walked out of her room. Lucy quickly drank a glass of milk and decided to get to her meeting place bit earlier. The girl slipped on her jacket and rain boots and headed out for the market.
Yesterday the two have planned to go shopping together. Lucy loved shopping for new clothes while keeping an eye out for magical items. Any rare stellar keys were always a great addition to her collection. Levy on the other hand mostly looked for books and possibly old scrolls. Some members of Fairy Tail found her boring, but she was a nakama*, and she was a powerful and kindhearted mage.
The rain started drizzling as Lucy made her way through the crowds of people. Tons of mages and regular villagers were out on the streets, decorating shops, buying presents, and preparing for the celebration. There was a holiday feeling in the atmosphere. Two young girls were looking at expensive yakatas. A small boy, possibly Romeo stumbled down the street, carrying three wrapped boxes. His weak hands trembled, but you could clearly see that he didn't want any help.
There was a small café overlooking the market. Levy sat next to an open window with a cup of tea. She has stayed up late last night reading. The blue haired mage would hate to be late, so she got up early and decided to wake herself up with a cup of earl grey tea. She sat very still, blinking now and then, lost in her thoughts about the novel she was reading.
Suddenly she saw Lucy speed walking towards the market. She called out the blonde's name, and Lucy quickly spotted her friend.
"Hey Levy," she said. Water dripped down her hair, the small drizzle turned into a downpour.
"Great morning, huh?" Levy commented.
"It'll clear up", Lucy sat smiling.
"So, what are you going to buy?" Levy asked.
"I was going to buy Erza some sweets, maybe a shirt for Grey…" her voice trailed off sarcastically.
Levy laughed. Buying a shirt for grey was like trying to eat soup with a fork. "What about Natsu?" she asked, keeping her tone serious.
Lucy suddenly blushed and turned away. Levy was the first to find out about her Lucy's crush while the others still had no clue. "I d-don't know," she hiccupped.
Levy whistled loudly. "Hey!" Lucy complained, and bopped her friend on the head.
"Weren't we going somewhere?" Levy asked while pointing to the marketplace. The sky quickly cleared up. Only small puddles on the pavement reminded the people of the heavy rain. The sun reflected off the clean buildings.
The two girls quickly walked towards the marketplace. Today, the place was filled with merchants, traders and scavengers, trying to sell their useless discoveries. Levy and Lucy first stopped at a merchant who sold sweets. Silver candy wrappers shone under the dark lids of the containers. There was almost everything, from ice cream to cotton candy, from chocolate to sea-salt taffy. Lucy picked out a couple of chocolates for herself, and then decided on what to buy for Erza. The red haired mage was a huge fan of cake, so Lucy picked out a gift box with fruit tarts.
Meanwhile, Levy stared at the sea-salt taffy. The blue wrappers looked very nice, but she couldn't even see the candy underneath. What does sea-salt taffy taste like? Is it really salty? Or is it even sea-salt? The old merchant saw the blue haired girl staring in wonder, and after giving Lucy her purchases, he opened the jar and gave each of the girls a sea-salt taffy. Levy thanked the kind man and put the taffy in her mouth.
"Salty…but sweet…" she said in amazement. "I'll take ten of those!"
~Later~
Lucy walked off towards the east wing of the market. She has already bought a present for Erza, Juvia, Grey and Levy, but she couldn't find anything for Natsu. She aimlessly walked around the marketplace, trying to find something that would catch her eye. Levy has left a few minutes ago; she said something about an arrival of a book in a local bookstore…
Lucy noticed that the wagons of the traders were getting more and more run down. Each one was just a bit filthier than the one before, each owner more and more ragged. At last, an old man sat with on his small cart, his goods lied out on a large piece of cloth. The blonde quickly scanned through the items. Pens, a couple of handmade bracelets, an empty perfume bottle, a plate- all of these things lay on the merchant's cloth. Suddenly, she saw something. There was a tiny glint from it, but something small was blending in with the dark cloth. A black stellar key was on display on the dark carpet.
Lucy's eyes shone with joy. What kind of stellar key was this? She has never seen anything like it! It was pretty ancient-looking for a stellar key. The blond wondered where the old traveler found this key.
"Whoa!" Lucy squealed in joy as she saw the price. Only 1000 jewels? Was she dreaming?
The old traveler looked at the young girl as she spotted the black key. "You want to buy it?" he asked. The young girl stared back at him with brilliant eyes. "It's 1000 jewels", he continued. "I ain't giving it to you for no money."
"Why does it cost so little?" Lucy asked, ignoring the stinginess of the old man. The traveler inhaled and replied, "don't want it, don't buy it."
"Ok, I'll take it", she remarked. "There's no such thing as a bad stellar spirit. Here", she handed the grumpy man 1000 jewels, and quickly walked off with her purchase. For a second, Erza's scarlet hair was visible up ahead, and the blond girl decided to catch up to her knightly friend. She ran through the crowded marketplace, carefully making her way through the crowds. Suddenly, two men carrying a load of peaches appeared out of nowhere. Lucy didn't have time to stop and the young girl crashed into the two men.
The peaches fell on the ground, some of them getting bruised; some of them got splattered all over the muddy ground. Lucy lay covered in peach. "Ah…" was all she could say. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized.
"You'll have to pay for those", said the older man while getting back up on his feet.
"I know, I'm sorry", Lucy bowed and reached for her wallet. She pulled out all of her remaining money and handed it to the man.
"Hey! This isn't enough!" the man complained, only to notice that the blond girl was already gone.
~Later~
Lucy slowly jogged towards her house. Dark clouds gathered overhead, she had to make it back home before it rains. As her house came into view she slowed down, and decided to walk on the boardwalk near the river. She casually strutted on the narrow brick path.
"Lucy-chan! Be careful!" one of the passing boaters called out.
Lucy turned around with a smile to reply, but suddenly, her foot slipped off the wet rock. For a second, the girl's body froze, her mouth gaped open. She couldn't find any support. The water first engulfed her foot, then her whole body.
The blond fell into her water, along with her purchased gifts.
konamiXkatya23: Ok, I know the first chapter was probably really boring, but it'll get better!
Happy: Aye.
Natsu: I'm looking forward to it! I'm burning with passion!
Lucy: Idiot!
Please review! It's very important to the writer to know what you think! konamiXkatya23 would appreciate it!