NOTE: I pity Levy.
Levy knew better—in fact, she naturally avoided anything that was marketed as some instant wonder-working solution. Yet, she still found herself standing in front of the yurt inwardly cursing her curiosity after hearing a rumor that the Tonic Peddler could have something that could possibly augment her reading and retentive faculties.
She somehow managed to avoid Natsu, Lucy, and Gajeel as they separately descended the hill. Levy would not risk talk of her falling for some ridiculous scam during Bazaar Week. She was, after all, smarter and wiser than that. But she still pressed on to the top, pushed the flap to the side and entered the tent.
"Ah, another customer!" the Peddler welcomed. "Do you need a solution to an ailment, my dear?"
Levy smiled weakly. Already, she did not like the eyes that were staring at her and following her every move from their formaldehyde jars. She approached the counter and slightly nudged away the big floating eyeball that she was sure was ogling her hard. "H-hi. I had heard that you, um, had something that could enhance, uh, reading?"
The vendor tilted his head as though puzzled. Then his eyes snapped wide. "Of course! Yes, yes, I do, my dear. So you wish to improve your learning skills? An apt pupil of the literary arts, eh?"
"N-not in that way, no." Levy believed she was smarter than most people who finished academia. Not that she was vain or the sort, of course.
"I take it you just like to read a lot."
"Yes."
The Peddler raised a finger as he disappeared behind the large shelf that housed even more of those damn eyes. Levy was sure they used to belong to perverts by the way they lingered over her chest (not that she really minded; it was not common for people to actually take notice of that particular area of her body). Odd. She also could not shake away the calm that she was feeling. That and the pungent odor of spices, crushed herbs, and chemicals.
"Lucy was right. This is definitely shady."
"What was that, my dear?"
Levy shook her head and saw the bottle presented before her. It looked legitimate. She lifted it up, shook it, saw the bubbles rise to the surface, then placed it down. The neck of the bottle was slightly sticky while the whole thing looked like it had been in stock for quite some time given the dirt caking bottom of the glass.
"How does this work?"
The Peddler smiled. "Simple. This particular elixir would enhance your retention capabilities, widening your perspectives, and allow for easier reading and comprehension. In addition, if you're particularly forgetful, it ensure that you remember every bit that you digest with your mind. With this, you would no longer need to rely on those gale-force reading glasses that you intellectual types often carry with you."
"Right." Levy could tell half of that was probably bullshit. Still, she somehow felt partially convinced. Especially now that she remembered that Gajeel had very recently broken her pair of gale-force reading glasses during a guild brawl.
"I'll offer you a good price for that because you seem like such a sweet girl."
"R-right." Okay, now that was bordering on creepy.
"Two thousand Jewel."
Levy gawked at him. Seriously. That much? "Any lower?"
"I'm afraid not. Unless you would be generous enough to pay the full price, he-he."
The solid script mage dug into her handbag and handed him two neatly folded bills. She held up the potion that was now officially hers while somewhere, in the back of her mind, a voice was screaming at her to undo the sale.
Perhaps not. She'll give this one a chance. Besides, if Gajeel and Natsu would trust this guy with their own coin, then perhaps she would be impartial enough to help his business. Most of the merchants during Bazaar Week were trying to make a living after all.
That night, Levy had already gone through three whole stacks of brand new novels, opuses, and volumes upon volumes of encyclopedias faster than when she had her gale-force reading glasses. And that was just from drinking a quarter of that miracle potion. It was amazing. She started to feel slightly guilty for judging the Tonic Peddler.
As she lay down on her bed, Levy could still see all the words and pictures flashing vividly before her eyes. Her eyes barely ached from the reading but it was already late. She needed to rest because tomorrow Gajeel would be taking a long-distance escort job with Natsu (and for once, the two dragon slayers actually agreed on it without getting into a massive brawl).
Levy shut the lights and pulled the covers over her as she turned on her side. She shut her eyes and waited for dreamland while running through all the knowledge she had just gathered.
Okay, she needed to stop mentally drooling over the effects of the miracle potion. She had to get some shut-eye and rest her mind.
An hour had passed and Levy had gone through several sleeping positions on her bed. She was had yet to drift to sleep yet her mind was still running through all those words and pictures and concepts and numbers and...
"Come on, Levy!" she growled to herself. She grabbed her pillow and smothered herself with it.
Still, she felt so awake. So, so awake. She was starting to worry if she drank too much of the potion. Perhaps there were side effects?
Three hours into the night and Levy was pacing around her room. She fixed what she could fix, cleaned what she could clean, triple-checked her things, and yet she was still feeling pumped up. No sign of exhaustion whatsoever.
Levy threw herself onto her bed then sat up, crumpling the covers. "What the hell?"
She eyed the flask sitting on her bedside table. She reached over and turned the bottle to check for anything she may have missed. Only thing is...the section that detailed anything beyond its miracle-working effects was conveniently faded...or smudged out.
"Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it."
Levy blew air through her lips. She knew it. She fucking knew it and she still fell for it. She was scammed. Miracle-working potion her ass, this was a goddamn poison of the mind! She wanted to chuck the bottle against the wall but decided against it. It would be another mess she'd have to clean and she didn't feeling like going to the storage closet down the hall to retrieve the mop and dust pan.
Instead, she dejectedly fell back down on her bed and tried to force herself to sleep.
The sound of the roosters cackling told Levy that it was close to dawn now. She rocked back and forth on her bed, hugging her pillow, as her eyes were weighted by heavy bags. She barely got an ounce of sleep. And still, somehow, for some god-forsaken reason, she still remembered every single damn detail of the books she had just read hours ago. What the hell kind of a potion—no, it was a poison!—did she just buy?
Gajeel and the others would be waiting for her at the train station in a couple hours. Maybe then, she might be able to get some shut-eye during the trip. Though that was counter-productive as they did sign up as a security detail to protect some precious cargo for five hours. She could let Gajeel and Natsu do the work—they did say they had something to deal with their motion sickness.
Levy ran her hands through her hair, pulling out strands of it and scattering them on the floor. She was going crazy. This insomnia was the work of the devil. No... It was the work of the bastard who brewed this cursed philter that she was gullible enough to purchase!
"Levy, you just screwed yourself," she groaned at the ceiling.
The early morning air at the Magnolia Train Station did no wonders for her mood. Levy dragged herself to the platform where her guild mates were waiting.
"Levy! Whoa, what happened?" Lucy asked worriedly. "You alright?"
The solid script mage gave her a haphazard wave. "Couldn't sleep. Need sleep."
"You okay, Shrimp?"
Levy eyed Gajeel. He strangely had an air of confidence about him, she could sense it even in her exhausted brain. Him and Natsu. Seemed like they weren't bothered at all by the train that they were stepping into. Guess they were really trusting that motion-sickness cure. Then again, did they buy that from the same guy who sold her the damn decoction from Hell?
Before she realized it, Levy was mumbling curses and mangled warnings to not trust that shady merchant. She was whisked inside by her fellow guild mates as steam whistled from the far end of the tracks and the locomotive began to move.
Levy plopped against the crates in the rear boxcar where the the client's goods were kept. Thankfully padlocked. Part of her told her to write up a few sealing enchantments for good measure but the rest of her mind cried for sleep.
Lucy rubbed her back. "Hey, you okay?"
"I'm fine, Lu...I'm fine..." she muttered tiredly.
"I don't know about Levy," Natsu began, "but I'm feeling alright! Man, that cure sure is worth it. I can sit back and relax now."
Gajeel let out a soft humph of agreement as he rested his chin over his arm, watching the scenery speed past the window. "Ain't feeling anything bad."
"Not just yet..." Levy growled. She raised her head and already knew that they were all screwed. The relaxed looks on the dragon slayers faces contorted into sharp, pained grimaces followed by the audible rumbling in their stomachs.
"Don't tell me you guys didn't have breakfast," Lucy carped.
"We did! It was a buffet, too!" Happy protested, flying over to Natsu who was groveling against the floor while gripping his stomach. Gajeel also began to cuddle into the fetal position on his corner, breathing heavily and cursing the ceiling.
"Natsu! Gajeel! You guys alright?"
Levy gripped Lucy's shoulder. "Side-effect, side-effect..."
"What side-effect? What are you talking abou—"
The next thing the ladies knew, they were assaulted by the horrid stench of flatulence. Unfortunately for them, that would later prove to be the least of their worries.
At the end of the day, when all was said and done, Levy could still remember every single thing that she had read the previous night in fine detail. She inwardly cursed the Tonic Peddler to Hell with all the rage she could muster as she chucked the accursed elixir into the lake.
Needless to say, Levy was unable to sleep for the next two nights.
ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: November 1, 2017
LAST EDITED: November 2, 2017
INITIALLY UPLOADED: November 2, 2017
NOTE: Feel free to let me know of any plot-holes or stuff.