A/N: I actually have no idea whether or not I should submit this. My final project in Writer's Craft, really just a drabble than anything. It's not like a lot of people will see it LOL xD Oh well, it's something! Plus it's Fairy Tail :3 Hope it's not too icky ^^;
"Hurry up, Natsu! How long does it take for a kid to get ready?"
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Geez, you can't wait for five minutes." Natsu stormed down the wooden, his bright pink hair bobbing violently at each thundering step that was abnormally loud for a ten year old child, "I was trying to put a leash on Happy."
Lucy, his older sister by two years, could only stare blankly at her brother out of her clear, blue eyes, "Natsu. Happy is a cat."
"So?"
"You don't put leashes on cats."
"Yeah, you do! I saw Gramps place one around Toby the other day."
"Toby's a dog! Dogs are different from cats. You don't put leashes on cats!"
"Whatever." Natsu dismissed the issue with a nonchalant wave of a pudgy hand He headed for the door, a reluctant Happy in tow, "I managed to put it o him, so it's all good. Let's go, let's go!"
"Little brothers." Lucy shook her blonde head in exasperation, "Sometimes, I don't get you."
The summer sun beat mercilessly down on the siblings as they headed down the path lined with sakura trees from their garden towards the city centre. They were picking up a package for their mom, who was in bed with a cold.
Vermillion City was a bustle of tourists and residents alike when the Heartfilia siblings arrived. It was a Saturday, and it meant a majority of the people were off work. Family members were visiting from neighboring cities, and the rest were either out for groceries or a simple walk in the park.
The heat was unbearable by then. The crowds of energetic people, eager to soak in some of the sun, weren't helping, either.
"I don't understand why everyone's out today. It's so hot." Lucy groaned as she trudged towards the post office, "Let's hurry up and do this quickly so we can go home and have some of that ice cream Dad bought yesterday."
"Okay." Natsu mumbled distractedly, his eyes trained on the group of kids playing a game of marbles across the street, "Hey, sis. You go on ahead. I need to something."
Lucy rolled her eyes. Yeah, something. He's just going to try and win all those marbles, but since he sucks at targeting, he'll lose and come crying to me.
"Ten minutes, tops." she warned him. Turning on her heel, she marched towards the tiny building at the end of the street.
"Oh, wait!" Natsu called out before she was out of earshot, "Take Happy with you."
"What? No! Why on earth would I take Happy with me?"
"Come on, please! I can't play properly with him tugging at me every five seconds." he begged, staring at her with his enormous, brown eyes.
"F-fine..." she gave in begrudgingly. No one could escape his pleas when he asks like that, "But take the leash off. It looks ridiculous!"
"Okay, okay. Here!" he handed her the chubby, white feline, leash still attached, and hurried towards the group that was becoming noisier as their game progressed.
"Oh, come on!" Lucy complained after the tiny, bounding figure that was her brother, "Geez. Little brothers. Don't you agree?"
Happy stopped cleaning himself long enough to stare at her in silence. Lucy sighed in defeat. Why am I talking to a cat...
Picking Happy up, she quickly marched to the post office in a confident manner that seemed a bit too mature for a twelve year old. At least, to the lone staff member inside.
"I've come to pick up a package from Fiore Industries." she asked in a businesslike tone, "It's for my mother, Layla Heartfilia."
"Okay, hold on." the boy with spiky dark blue hair and a blank stare behind the register mumbled, slightly taken aback by her direct attittude. He lazily got off his stool and trudged towards the store room at the back.
Gray Fullbuster, Lucy read off his nametag, what an odd name. Certainly never heard of that one before.
Before she could observe anything more about the part timer, he brought in her mother's package.
It was simple enough. A box-like shape wrapped in layers and layers of package paper, smelling faintly of peppermint and vanilla. What caught her attention, though, was the stamp on the package.
It looked like a bird with a sharp beak and an oversized head. Its body was obviously too small, and so were its wings that were spread out behind it. Its legs were long and thin, but with feet that resembled the tip of a harpoon. It was printed on the package in bright, fiery red, and the longer Lucy stared at it, the more curious she became.
"Hey. Hey, kid!"
"A-ah! What?" Lucy snapped out of her reverie.
"Here's your package." Gray waved it in front of her, irritated.
"Oh! Oh, yes. Thank you. Thank you." she reached for the package and hurried out of the post office. She was so curious, she had to ask her mother what that package was.
She found Natsu easily, who already lost three of his five marbles.
"We're leaving, Natsu!" she called from halfway down the street.
"Eh? Already? But it hasn't been ten minutes yet!" he whined. His sister didn't stop, however, and kept walking.
"Geez, fine." Natsu stood up and ran after her. Taking Happy from her by the leash, he asked enquiringly, "What's the hurry? I know you want ice cream, but you could've waited a couple of seconds."
"I got Mom's mail," she replied, "and I need to know what it is."
"Eh? But it isn't yours. Why do you need to know?"
"I just need to, okay! This symbol on the front, it's so weird. I want know!" she insisted.
Natsu sneaked a peek at the box in Lucy's arms, "Eh, it's just a weird old bird. What's so special about it?"
Lucy ignored him and ran to their front door and up the stairs, towards their parents' bedroom. She was so impatient to know what her mother might have to say about it.
It was odd how interested she was with this box. Even she didn't know why she wanted to find out so badly. Upon seeing the symbol, she felt something quiver from within her. Her stomach churned, and her eyesight became slightly hazy. There had to be something special about that package to have evoked this much interest from Lucy.
She knocked, and entered at her mother's voice.
"Hey, mom. You feeling better?" Lucy sat on the side of the bed, gingerly placing the parcel beside her.
"Yes, darling. Much better. Thanks to that honey tea you made for me." her mother smiled, "I see you go the package. Thank you for picking it up for me."
"You're welcome." she replied, trying to contain her excitement, "Um, mom..."
"Hmm?" her mom reached for the box and started untying the strings that held the wrappings together, "What is it?"
"Uh, I was wondering if you could tell me what that is." Lucy pointed at the strange symbol.
Layla Heartfilia stopped unwrapping the packaged, and looked at her daughter without a word for a long time. Lucy squirmed uncomfortably, wondering if she asked the wrong thing. Maybe I shouldn't have asked in the first place... now she's mad.
"Lucy..." her mother suddenly said, quietly.
Lucy jumped, and squeaked nervously, "Yes?"
"Why are you asking?"
Lucy racked her brains for a specific reason to why she did. After all, she herself didn't know why she was so curious about this certain package.
"Uh, I'm just really interested..." she lamely replied.
"Well, let me answer your question. I have no idea what this is, actually."
An enormous wave of disappointment descended upon Lucy. She was so sure that she would find the answer with her mother, but it turned out she was as ignorant as her daughter. Wait a minute, if she doesn't know, what on earth is this doing here, then...?
As if reading her mind, her mother said, "This isn't mine, actually. I received a call last week from your aunt that Dad left this for us when he died. My sister didn't want it, and asked if I did. At first I was going to refuse, but then I saw the symbol..."
Layla trailed off into an uncomfortable silence. Lucy stared at her mother in shock.
"Could it be," she asked quietly, "that it was because it seemed to be... calling for you?"
"I knew it," Layle smiled fiercely at her daughter, "I knew you felt the same thing."
The stamp seemed to glow, its red colour burning ever brighter. "Well, let's open it!" Lucy squealed a little.
The senior Heartfilia finished unwrapping the package, and revealed a musty, old leather book with a lock, and small burlap bag. Inside the bag were three golden keys. They were roughly similar in size and weight, but differed greatly in design.
The first key, with a label that read 'Aquarius' attached to it, had an tiny urn for the handle and a blade that resembled a mermaid's tail. On the urn was the crest, two blue curling lines that represented waves. Lucy felt a slight shiver as she reached out to touch it.
The second key, 'Cancer', had the red crest of the Crab, similar to the number 69, on its pincer shaped handle, while the blade was a crab with four legs. 'Capricorn', the last key, had a more intricate design of the head of a goat for its blade. It was this key that Layla reached for.
Both mother and daughter examined the contents of the package in silence. It wasn't near anything they expected. In all honesty, they really didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't this, that's for sure.
"What now?" Lucy asked, breaking the quiet in the room.
"I don't know... oh wait, there's a note." her mother unfolded it and read it aloud, "'Only the one who has the true power of the Celestial Mages can unlock the secrets of the Fairy and open up a new world.' It's written in your grandfather's handwriting."
Lucy felt it again. The odd stomach churning, and the hazy eyesight. She could tell her mom was experiencing the same thing. "Mom, we have to try it."
Layla hesitated. She was a mother, an adult. She wasn't as reckless as her twelve year old daughter. Besides, it was her dad that wrote this and gave it to her. As fun as he was when he was alive, he was slightly dangerous when it came to his jokes and 'once in a life time experiences'.
Curiosity won, though.
"Okay, let's try it. What can we lose, right?"
Lucy nodded excitedly. It was doubtful that either of the would have the "true power of the Celestial Mages", whatever that meant, but they had to do something.
"Can I try first?"
Layla was about to protest, but Lucy pulled off a 'Natsu' on her, opening up her eyes as wide as she could, just like her brother. It was almost perfect, and her mom was unable to refuse, "Alright. But do it quickly and step back at once, in case your grandfather rigged it with a prank or something."
"Okay," Lucy picked up the key labeled with 'Aquarius'. Gripping it with both hand, she slowly placed the blade in the keyhole.
"Wait, what if that's the wrong key?" her mother interrupted.
Lucy shrugged, "We won't know until we find out, right?"
She paused right before turning it. Her hands were shaking so much. Whether it was from nerves or from excitement Lucy didn't know, but she had to calm down. Deep breaths, Lucy. Deep breaths. You wanted to do this. Deep breaths. It'll be fine.
Two minutes passed in anxious silence.
Five minutes.
Then, without warning, Lucy turned the key.
The latch snapped open with a resounding click that seemingly echoed through both of them and around the tiny room. The book laid open on the bed, presenting the blank, yellow pages within it.
"Looks like it's the right one."
Lucy leaned in for a closer look, and so did her mother, despite her previous worries.
Suddenly, the pages started flipping at an alarming speed. A violent gust of wind passed through the room, banging all the open doors and windows. Layla's dresser mirror broke, and a vase smashed.
"Do fairies really have tails? Do they even exist? Like them, this place is an eternal mystery... a never ending adventure!" a quivering voice whispered from all around them.
Then, everything was blanketed in a deep, cold darkness.