Chapter 1 The Job
Now I've got you, you stupid rock.
Lucy's grip tightened around the jagged stone in her thick, padded gloves as she wrenched it free from the mountainside. It had taken all day, three near-death experiences, and about thirty minutes of self-motivation inside of Horologium, but she had finally managed to get a piece of the mountaintop ore. Looking at the stone in her glove, she couldn't believe that someone was willing to pay 1,000,000 jewel for a necklace made of the stuff but who was she to complain? Their rock was her rent, and many months of it at that. She took her soon to be Jewel and slipped it into the pouch she had tied around her neck.
Ok Lucy, you got the thing, now we just need to get down. Not a problem. Once we get off this gaping crevice we're dangling over, everything will turn out great.
Struggling to hold herself in place, Lucy grimaced at the sight below her. Nothing but a dark blue pit that somehow managed to look hungry. Lucy looked at her hands pressed against the mountainside and shuffled her feet behind her to better hold herself across the gap. She had no clue what had possessed her to lean over the abyss to grab the ore, leaving herself nearly horizontal and supported by nothing but the strength from her feet and hands.
I guess those idiots' recklessness rubbed off on me. Thank the stars nobody's around to see this. She thought as she readjusted her grip.
"Alright, on 3. Just visualize it. No hounding from the landlady, no leftovers from the guild for dinner. Just cold hard cash for months. Ok. 1… 2….3!"
Lucy mustered her strength and pushed with all the force she could against the rocky summit. She felt herself rock backwards as she nearly stood on the ledge separated from the mountainside. Then she slowly began to fall forward, managing to catch herself over the waiting abyss. The wind picked up around her, and brought forth an eerie high-pitched whine from the passage beneath her. It echoed around the pit, creating a disjointed cacophony of whistles that came together to form a dreadful laughter, as though the mountain itself were taunting her failed efforts to escape.
Ok, well that's a lovely description, brain of mine. But now is most definitely not the time for it, Lucy thought as her writer's mind came out in full-force. One more time. Here… we… Go!
Again, Lucy launched herself off the mountainside. And again, she fell back into her precarious perch. And again. And again. And once more for good measure. All the while, the mountain continued its ridicule.
"Stupid mountain! Quit laughing and do something you dumb pile of rocks!" Lucy shouted in frustration as she fell once again. Apparently the mountain took exception to that. An enormous crack shattered the whistling from the crevice, and Lucy strained her neck to look up from where she held herself prone. A massive wall of white was bearing down on her, and the sound of thunder growing ever closer as it approached.
"Anything but that!" Lucy screamed as she tried to hold herself up with one hand, the other frantically reaching for the keys at her hip. Grabbing all of them just to be safe, she shouted "Virgo!" praying that it would work without holding her maid's key specifically. Her prayers were answered as her mild-mannered maid appeared behind her in a flash of light.
"Punishment, Princess?" Virgo deadpanned.
"No time talk! Must Run! Get us out of here!" Lucy shrieked in panic as the avalanche loomed down on her.
"Of course Princess. Please hang on tight," Virgo instructed as she yanked Lucy away from the crevice. Holding Lucy over her shoulder lack a sack of flour, the pink-haired maid braced against the snow beneath her, legs tightening as she prepared to move. In her panic, Lucy didn't notice what Virgo was doing until it was too late.
"Wait! I meant dig a hole! Dig a-!" Whatever else she said was lost to the wind as Virgo sprinted down the mountain full speed. Lucy clung to the hem of the maid's skirt as she was jostled and maidhandled down the hill at lightning speed. Between Virgo's strides, Lucy managed to see the avalanche vanishing in the distance as her spirit sped them away. Her brief relief at the sight was interrupted as Virgo landed at the bottom of the hill, a cloud of dust and dirt billowing out around her.
"We have reached the bottom of the mountain, Princess. I believe we will be safe here." Virgo announced as she placed Lucy on the ground. Lucy wobbled around, attempting to find her balance after the rough ride. She managed to make it to a nearby tree, placing her hand on it for balance.
"Virgo next time, please just dig a- hmmph!" Her instructions were lost again as her lunch made an unwanted reappearance. Grabbing the tree for support, Lucy knelt and was forced to relive the entire ride down the mountain again as her stomach protested the rough treatment. After ten minutes of hurling out expletives and half-eaten sandwiches, Lucy walked back to her spirit who stood patiently awaiting her Princess.
"Are you feeling better now, Princess?" Virgo asked.
She's definitely being sarcastic, right? Nobody's that much of a deadpan. Lucy thought as she looked at her maid's face for any trace of a smirk or twitch of a muscle that would indicate a joke. But Virgo's face was just a picture a quiet concern and empathy.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Plus I got the thing for the mission! I'm gonna be rich!" Lucy shouted, excitement overwhelming her urge to flush out her maid's sense of sarcasm.
"That's wonderful, Princess. Now you won't have to beg rent money off of your guildmates, and you can finally eat real food." Virgo said with a caring smile.
"Virgo… please go home."
"Of course Princess. Until next time." Virgo disappeared with another flash of golden light, leaving Lucy alone at the base of the mountain.
She was definitely messing with me. Lucy thought to herself as she began her return trip to Crocus, absentmindedly fingering the pouch around her neck.
Three hours of walking later Lucy arrived at her destination in Crocus; a high-end jewelry store in the upscale central part of the city. A wide array of jewelry, each piece worth more than most people would earn in a lifetime, decorated the windowed displays facing the street. As she strolled in to the store, the small tinkle of a bell announced her arrival and she garnered stares from all the wealthy patrons of the shop.
"What, you've never seen mountain climbing gear before?" Lucy asked the room with an annoyed huff. Startled by her abrasiveness, the clientele quickly returned to perusing the store, pretending to be more interested in the pretty adornments rather than the strangely dressed girl in their midst. And to be fair, Lucy did stick out. She sported thick snowpants held up by suspenders over a white wool sweater. Over her shoulder was a large black parka with her gloves packed into its pockets, and a thick cap decorated her head. Around her neck was the large leather pouch she carried the mountain ore in. She clomped up to the clerk's counter in a pair of black snow boots and rang a small bell, hoping the manger would come quickly so she could get back to her hotel and take a long bath.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, a door behind the counter opened to reveal a wrinkled old man avidly polishing something in his hands with a cloth. He had a thick, bushy mustache with laugh lines around the corner of his mouth. The top of his head was bald, yet a thick ring of messy hair surrounded the great plain atop his skull. All in all, Lucy felt he was what the Celestial Spirit King would look like if he was a human. Seeing Lucy, the man's eyes lit up and he placed whatever he had been working on onto the counter.
"Miss Heartfilia!" He cried, stepping around the counter to shake her hand. "You're back already? It's only been a day since you left!"
Lucy heard somebody gasp behind her as the manager casually threw out her last name. Lucy didn't attach any significance to her family's heritage, but the wealthy customers behind her certainly did. Ignoring the piercing stares pointed at her back, Lucy returned the managers greeting with a smile.
"That's just Fairy Tail service for you." Lucy said. The man was obviously excited to start working on his newest project, and Lucy couldn't help but grin as he bounced on the balls of his feet waiting for her delivery. Reaching into the pouch around her neck, she pulled out the ore and held it proudly in front of the jeweler. "I hope it's enough. As much as I enjoyed climbing a mountain I'd really prefer not to have to do it again."
"I should say so! But out here's no place for shoptalk. Come, come. Let's go to the back. I'll make you some tea to pick you up and we can get down to business." He walked through the back door he had come out of, motioning for Lucy to follow. She followed closing the door behind her. Looking around the room she was amazed at all the equipment surrounding her. Tools of all shapes and sizes were orderly placed on various tables around the edges of the room. On the walls were diagrams of minerals and ores, labeled with what she assumed were each's properties. In the center was a small round table with four chairs around it, presumably for talking with clients. All in all, Lucy was impressed. She may not have known what any of the tools were used for, but she could certainly appreciate the skill the old man must have had to make any sense of what she was looking at. As she gazed around, the manager came out from another room carrying two cups of steaming tea.
"Now let's sit down. You have some tea and I'll take a look at what you've brought me." The man said, placing the tea down at the center table. Lucy handed over the ore and gratefully sat down. Her feet ached tremendously from all the activity of the day. Walking back from the mountain had felt nearly as bad as going up the thing. The manager went to one of the tables around the rim of the room and shuffled around it for a few moments. Seeming to find what he wanted, he returned with a set of magnifying goggles with lenses of all sizes sticking out. He sat down, strapped the goggles to his face and proceeded to inspect the ore while Lucy drank her tea.
Lucy watched with interest as he went to work. The bubbly man who had made her tea had been replaced with a man of quiet focus who expertly handled the ore in front of him. He turned the ore this way and that, occasionally switching the size of the lenses on is eyes. Lucy patiently waited for him to finish his work, despite her fatigue. If there was one thing she was grateful to her father for, it was teaching her how to maintain her outer composure no matter what situation she was in. At the guild hall she didn't have to hide how she really felt, but it certainly was handy when dealing with clients. Finally, the manager took off his goggles and laid them and the stone on the table. He looked at Lucy, and her heart sank. His expression was grim, and his eyes were narrowed with worry.
"Well Miss Heartfilia, I have good news and bad news for you." He intoned. Lucy was all business on the outside, but inside she was experiencing every emotion under the sun. What could be wrong?! I know that's the right ore! Please don't make me go back up that mountain. I know, he's probably trying to play me. Yeah, that's it. Nobody makes it in Crocus if they don't have some business sense. I bet he's going to say it's low quality so he can't pay me the whole request for it. Well I've got news for you pal, you're not the only one who can play this game. Confident that she had figured out his ploy, Lucy put on a concerned face before asking what the good news was.
"The good news is that this is some very high quality stuff you brought back. Couldn't have picked it better myself."
"Oh." Lucy was stunned by his answer. Well then what the heck is he trying to pull here?
"The bad news, and please don't be alarmed when I tell you this." The manager's face was the picture of seriousness, and his tone was grave and solemn.
"Let's just hear it," Lucy said, despairing on the inside as her dreams of warm food and paid rent slowly floated away.
"Miss Heartfilia, you have brought me far, far too much ore for the piece I need it for. I can't possibly pay you for the entire value of what you've brought me."
"…That's it?"
"Quite unfortunate, but it's the truth."
Lucy couldn't believe her luck. Not only was she in the clear for the job request, but here was a chance to get a Fairy Tail on a wealthy client's good list. Nearly losing her outward composure with excitement, she leaned forward conspiratorially towards the store manager, and said with a smile "We sir, today's your lucky day. Has Fairy Tail got a deal for you."
As she slid into the inn's bed that night, Lucy couldn't wipe off the massive grin she'd sported since leaving the jewelry shop. The kind old man's eyes had nearly popped out of his head when she'd offered him all the extra ore free of charge, so long as he considered Fairy Tail for his next request. Lucy had not only gotten the correct ore, but also ensured a wealthy patron for Fairy Tail in the future. All in all, Lucy considered the day a huge success.
Now all that's left to do is pick up the necklace, give it to the client and I'm swimming in rent for years! The jeweler had told her the necklace would take about a week to finish properly. Lucy was shocked that he could complete such an expensive piece so quickly, but he was the jeweler the client had requested so she wouldn't complain. As long as she got paid and spread Fairy Tail's good name Lucy really couldn't care less how he went about making his jewels.
The next question nagging on Lucy's mind was how to spend the next week. She really didn't feel like catching a train back to Magnolia. It was too much for fare, and seeing her last name plastered on every train car gave her a headache. However cold her relationship with her father, she was considerably impressed with his business acumen. He'd pulled himself up from bankruptcy back to a railway mogul in little more than two years. She just wished the man would calm down with the branding. Being the daughter of the man controlling transportation in Fiore really didn't help with the whole "normal person lifestyle" she was trying to lead. It doesn't matter Lucy. Just focus on the job. Get it done, go home, do the next one, repeat. In fact, why not start tomorrow? I bet there's some odd jobs around Crocus I could do.
It was certainly a reasonable plan. Paying her rent the month before had left her with barely enough money to afford the fare for a trip to Crocus. With a firm goal in mind, Lucy laid down and closed her eyes, hoping that sleep would come quickly. It had taken awhile, but she'd finally started sleeping normally again, and her fatigue from the day's exertions quickly beckoned her towards unconsciousness. Eight gold and five silver keys lay on her bedside table, glowing softly as Lucy finally fell asleep.