Galanthus' Heart
A/N: Hi! Sorry for the long wait! I didn't mean to wait this long. I've been busy, but I also figured since it was only the beginning, it wasn't like a new chapter would be very demanding at this point in time. But thanks to the awesome people who reviewed! I really appreciate it! PS: If you're reading Forlorn Words as well, I'll update soon! Please be patient! Thanks! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Chapter 2: Viola Blanda
Viola Blanda | White Violet:
"I found a place to call 'home'
But for fear of the past,
I casted it all away.
A coward I was
And will away be.
Yet people still reached out for me
And called me 'family'.
So I took their hand
And took a chance on happiness."
Their howling cries sounded, and I responded by trying to suppress a sudden chill down my spine.
I stopped dead in my tracks as I approached a division in the path. One path continued the long, narrow hallway that I was currently walking down and the other led straight into a thick forest—one that was shrouded in a black and unforgiving fog.
I recoiled and froze as the fog edged towards the entrance of the forest and towards me. I watched it cautiously as it wisp around like a slithering and unpredictable snake. My breathing was unsteady as my heart rate sped up. I didn't realized that I also started backing away until I collided into the wall behind me.
Hastily, I turned around, ready to sprint away from the forest, but more cries sounded—this time, it was coming from the forest.
Help me...
Help me...
Help me...
Its shrivelled voice caused my body to go numb, and I fell to my knees.
Shaking...
I was shaking.
"...Go... away..." I hissed; my voice was raspy and dry.
Help me...
I felt something nudged my leg. I screamed, and upon reflex, kicked it away from me. It bounced and hit the other side of the wall, crying.
It trembled and stared at me with large black eyes: a grey blob.
"You," I whispered, suddenly feeling a little guilty for being so rough.
Help me...
I shook my head. I didn't know how, and a part of me was reluctant to be further involved with these strange creatures. Suddenly, I was on my feet, and I turned to run the other way but froze in my tracks.
I was surrounded.
They all swarmed around me, repetitively repeating their consistent—and rather annoying—plea for help. A part of me felt pang for these things, however, their forwardness was becoming too unbearable. I was flustered and hated how they seized my consciousness.
"Leave!" I snapped in rage, and the scenery changed.
The hallway and forest disappeared, leaving me in a room full of blobs locked in cages. I thrust my arms out, and in a flash, the grey blobs were imprisoned in their cage forcefully. Squirming and whining, they pleaded to be released, but alas, I ignored them and mentally conjured up a giant lock overtop of the gates.
It wasn't like it made any difference whether they were imprisoned or not—they always found a way out in the end.
With a last sigh, I opened my eyes to the real world and stared at the white ceilings above me. I rubbed my eyes, frowning. Why couldn't those grey blobs just leave me alone?
I felt someone wrapped their arms around me and pulled me closer in, snuggling against me. Quickly, I wiped away my frown and settled into her arms.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" I asked softly, peeking up at the young brunette sleeping beside me.
She shook her head. "Are you okay? You were sweating a lot."
"I'm fine."
"But—"
"Cana, I'm fine," I repeated, rolling to my side and away from Cana's face. Closing my eyes, I pretended to sleep.
It had been six months since I came to Earth Land. Reluctantly, I had finally accepted the fact that magic was an everyday thing here, and that I was in another world. It was strange; after all, I was positive I died back then, not transported to another world, unless dying meant parallel world travel. During the last half year, I decided to investigate between the times when I wasn't practicing my magic. My investigation took me to Magnolia's library and the library down in the guild's basement. Unfortunately, there was nothing along the lines of 'transported to another world via death'.
Actually, I would be surprised if there was.
Cana nudged me, and when I didn't respond, she poked my sides. A giggle betrayed me as I quickly covered my mouth. I turned to glare at the older girl. She grinned and rolled out of bed.
"Get up. Time to train," she said, slipping into our bathroom.
Training: this had been a daily routine for us these past six months. I would help Cana with her magic, which she started learning about five months ago: Card Magic. In turn, she would help me. Every few hours throughout the day, we would find something that would cause a rift in my emotions—which doesn't take much considering this was the Fairy Tail Guild—and then she would time how long it would take me to get it under control. During the first month, there had been absolutely no progress as I couldn't figure out how exactly I was supposed to stop my emotions from spreading. It was like dumping a bucket of water on the ground and asking someone to find a way to stop the puddle of water from spreading with nothing.
Nevertheless, when it hit me that my magic was internal magic—as in mental magic, I decided to test out a theory after seeing those blobs in cages the first time I entered my mind. It was a pain, but locking the blobs back into its cages was the only way I could find to stop my magic. With more practice, I could easily lock away the lesser emotions floating about, but ones like anger and embarrassment, which seemed to surface frequently, were quite difficult to handle.
Well, lock away everyone but the grey ones.
They always seemed to escape somehow, no matter how many times I locked them in and put hundreds of locks overtop of their gate. The moment I turned my eyes away from them, even for the slightest of a second, they had escaped. On the other hand, it seemed that whatever those emotions were—yes, I still had yet to find out what they were—no one seemed to notice that there was a floating emotion around me, and it didn't affect my training in the least. Eventually, I just came to the conclusion that I should just ignore them. They weren't bothering me, except when they keep crying 'Help me' every time I entered my mind.
They were like dust: they kept coming back no matter how many times you clean them up. Thus, just get on with life.
Putting the greys aside, I did have a lot of chances to practice—with or without Cana's help—especially after meeting the Master's arrogant grandson, Laxus.
Annoying jerk.
I had heard that his father had been excommunicated from the guild earlier that year, and now, he seemed to be taking out his frustrations on everyone around him, especially Master. Cana once told me that Laxus was actually a pretty nice guy before the incident, but after that jerk almost err—accidentally electrocuted me, I could hardly considered what she said as fact. Also, to make matters even worst, he seemed to enjoy disrupting my emotions the most out of everyone in the guild—mocking me as I lose all control of my magic within seconds of seeing him.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I heard Cana ask once she left the bathroom.
"There's nothing to talk about," I replied, slipping on my oversized hoodie before tying my auburn hair into two braids.
"...Nightmares aren't healthy."
"I'm not having nightmares so stop being nosy."
"..." Her expression fell.
Guilt: it just won't leave me alone. I glanced back at Cana whose eyes were lowered. Turning away, I mumbled, "I'll... I'll tell you when I am..." I flushed a little. "Nightmares, I mean."
Before she had a chance to react, I threw her clothes at her and left the room—smiling lightly.
I won't admit it, but I enjoyed Cana's company. It was strange, but I never had a relationship quite like this before. I wasn't sure what to even call it. When I asked Master about it some time ago, he just laughed and patted me on the head to my annoyance.
"Friends, I would say. Best friends, or sisters even," he answered.
"Sisters?" I questioned, clearly confused. "But we can never be sisters! We're not even family!"
"What makes you say that?" he asked, smiling at me gently.
"Well because we don't have the same parents. We don't have any blood relations."
"Is being blood-related what truly defines a family?" he asked. The years of wisdom was starting to show on his face which caused me to hesitate.
"Yes…? That's what a dictionary would say…" I said carefully, not really understanding what Master was implying. "Are you saying the dictionary is wrong?" I accused.
He didn't answer the question but patted my head instead and said, "You'll understand when you're older."
But I never did understood, even months later. Was that not enough? Maybe I had to wait a few years? But I didn't want to wait. After all, it was extremely frustrating when people treated me like a kid. Adults thought they knew everything, and I hated it.
However, regardless of what Master said, I could accept the term 'friends' as it seemed logically correct at the time. And as friends, I decided to accept Cana's proposal to share a room.
Since we both didn't own a lot of stuff and we didn't have jobs, the option of splitting the room between the two of us seemed to be an excellent idea. Sharing meant it would decrease the amount we owe for rent once we were old enough to get jobs and pay for it—at least that was what I told her. Actually, I won't admit it, but it felt nice having someone next to me when I sleep.
Less spacious, less cold... less lonely.
Cana just grinned at me back then as if she knew what I was thinking—although, she probably does thanks to my irritating magic…
I heard the door open, and Cana came out. Smiling, we went downstairs where we got our daily scolding from Hilda, the matron of Fairy Hills. I looked away from her, slightly intimidated.
Hilda was extremely strict, which I found out the very second I moved into Fairy Hills. She was a very short elderly woman who always nagged at all the girls in the dormitory, especially me, probably discouraging us from pursuing magic and probably because I was the one who persuaded Cana to start learning magic, which evidently led Cana to officially join Fairy Tail. Cana said it was because she was worried about us, but I still feel rather uncomfortable with her constant stares at me.
After a long scolding, or talk as Hilda likes to put it, Cana and I headed to the guild, not wanting to miss breakfast. As much as I hate to admit it, I'd gotten use to Fairy Tail and its craziness. Yes, the guys at the guild still bothered me, but the good news was that my magic was more controllable now and Gildarts had already left for another mission. Cana seemed extremely sad about this, causing me to believe maybe there was a possibility that Cana did have a little something for the old creep.
I shuddered. Let's hope I was wrong.
Upon opening the doors to the guild, a young boy's voice rang, seeming to be having an argument with the master.
"B-but you have a lot of amazing mages here!" he cried, seeming slightly disheartened.
He was a boy about Cana's age with wild bluish black hair and dark blue eyes. His skin was pale over his white jacket and blue shirt, and he was wearing a backpack, signaling that he had been travelling. He watched Master intensely, seeming to want something from him.
"Although, there is one method," Master began, and the boy's expression changed into one of hopefulness. That was, until Master broke the news to him. "But no… you can't do that. Melting the ice practically means killing this Ur person you're speaking of."
"…" The kid frowned.
"Who's that?" I walked over and asked Macao and Wakaba, who were taking another shot of alcohol.
They shrugged. "Don't know," Macao replied. "The kid just came here a half an hour ago and started asking Master these strange questions. I stopped following a while ago."
We nodded and sat down, pulling our meals towards us. I know I shouldn't, but I couldn't help but eavesdrop a bit on the boy's conversation. It wasn't like people coming in and out of here was a completely uncommon thing. After all, we were a mage guild, so people often come in for requests, but I couldn't shake the feeling this wasn't just a simple request.
"You're the guild master! You're the strongest of a guild full of strong mages. I'm sure there's another way!" the boy pleaded.
"I'm sorry, but you have to accept the fact that nothing can be done. This isn't the type of magic that can be undone without severe consequences," Master explained.
Regrettably, that didn't stop the boy from launching another series of verbal attacks on the master. Frowning, I stabbed my sausages angrily, causing the other three at the table to flinch. Through my peripherals, I could see Wakaba leaning into Cana, asking if I was okay. She shrugged.
I didn't like how the boy was such a… a prick! I didn't know what he wanted, but clearly, his methods were rude and disrespectful, especially to an elderly citizen!
Closing my eyes, I concentrated my magic. I could see the cell of the blue blobs looking calm and peaceful. Opening it just a bit, I grabbed two of them to their surprise before shutting the gate. They looked at me calmly, and if they could have any other emotions, they would probably be somewhat curious—and scared—as to what I was about to do.
"Be good blobs and do your job," I chuckled darkly.
Opening my eyes, I glanced at the enraged boy, looking for an opening. With the results of my training over the months, other people's emotions were starting to open up to me as well. It wasn't necessarily clear, but enough to get a sense of how strong their feelings were. Emotions that were not held onto tightly could easily be knocked away or tempted with. And the boy here was constantly switching from desperation to stubbornness to anger to misguided hope.
Perfect for messing with his emotions.
"Emotion Magic," I whispered quietly. "Emotion Change – Calmness." I launched my magic at the unexpected boy. My smile grew when it hit him, definitely catching him off guard. I planned to launch the second one towards him as the first one only knocked away his current emotions, the second was to implant within him. Unfortunately, Master swatted away my magic like a pesky insect.
"Eirlys," he called warningly.
I pouted. "But Master, he was harassing you—I mean… he was being annoying. It was ruining my meal." I held my head up proudly.
"There's no need to worry about me, Eirlys," he laughed.
"I wasn't," I lied, slightly red.
The boy blinked, his emotions finally returning to him after nothing filled the void of my first attack. At first, he looked unmistakably confused before he looked around the room, angered. The boy turned away from Master and scanned Fairy Tail's dining hall anxiously, as if he was looking for some kind of brute with a weapon, ready to attack. Seeing no one, his face turned bright red and began shouting.
"What the hell? Who did that? If you want to fight, bring it!" the boy cried. "No one makes a fool of the Mighty Gray Fullbuster!"
We all stared at him; all with mixed emotions, obviously. Some of the older members sighed, and continued eating their meal, while some of the more timid, younger members turned away, afraid that he would start picking a fight with them. Me, I rolled my eyes and continued eating my breakfast. "What a loser," I muttered under my breath.
I didn't know how, but in some way, he overheard me and stormed over, grabbing me by the front of my shirt. I glared at him, and he glared back.
"Unhand me, you barbarian," I ordered, hands on my hips.
"Barbarian? What's with the big words?" Gray snorted. "Are you seventy or something?"
"Seven, thanks. And are you two? Because you certainly act like an undeveloped brat," I countered.
He growled and pushed me away, releasing me in the process. I stumbled a bit but maintained my balance. I glanced up only to see him strip down to his boxers to my horror before pointing his finger at me. My face went bright red.
"Fight me! I'll prove to you that I'm the better mage!"
I gawked; my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water while my face continued to heat up. When my senses finally came to, my body reacted accordingly. "Kya!" I screamed, covering my eyes. "Oh my gosh! Put on some clothes! You really are a barbarian! Have some modesty!"
"What? Scared? Not so hot now, are you?" he laughed.
Heat continued to rise to my face, but now, it was for a different reason. The room suddenly went deadly quiet except for the ignorant Gray.
I heard Cana mumbled, "She's angry again…"
Pulling my hands away, I brought it forward just as Gray came close enough. A loud slap rang across the room. Some members looked stunned, while others, including Master, just shook their heads.
"Don't you dare come anywhere near me again unless you are properly clothed, you perverted little boy!" I snapped, turning around and walking back to Fairy Hills. "Just when I thought this world wasn't so bad…"
Hopefully, I'll never see him again. That little pest just ruined my meal.
Maybe with any luck, Hilda won't notice if I snuck a cookie or two from the kitchen later today…
The next morning, my eyes twitched.
The one person I never wanted to see again was standing right in front of me… in his boxers… with a Fairy Tail mark on his chest.
"You didn't!" I gawked in horror, staring at the dark blue crest of the Fairy Tail guild on the right side of his chest.
"I'm now a member of Fairy Tail, and I want a rematch!" Gray pointed at me.
"It's rude to point! And put on some clothes!"
"Fight me! We'll see who the better Fairy Tail mage is!" he challenged.
I glowered. "I'm not even a Fairy Tail mage, Idiot! And put. On. Some. Clothes!" I tried to emphasized, but again, he ignored me, distracted by other pieces of information that I had gave him.
A look of surprise clouded his eyes. Taken back, he questioned, "You're… not? You're not a Fairy Tail mage?"
"Does it look like I have the guild's mark?" Rolling my eyes, I grabbed a piece of bread from the counter.
"I don't know," he shrugged. "Take off your clothes so I can see," he suggested, causing me to choke on my bread.
"Eirlys!" Cana called, panicked before she grabbed me a cup of water.
My face felt extremely hot. In my mind, I was running around in a frenzy as so many emotions were let loose at the moment. Taking a few deep breaths, I forcefully opened the gates of the calmness blobs and snapped at them to get out. Once I calmed myself down a bit, I faced the kid, trying to sound as mature as I possibly could in this seemingly impossible situation.
"Listen," I ordered, hands across my chest. "I don't know who you are—"
"I'm Gray Fullbuster, and I'm going to be the best mage in the world—"
"I don't care," I told him bluntly, peeved about being interrupted. "You brat, you cannot go around picking fights with others, stripping your clothes like a sex fiend and then telling others, especially girls, to take off their clothes! It's rude. It's improper. It's disgusting. It's sexual harassment!"
"…" He stared at me with a dull look on his face.
Raising an eyebrow, I asked. "What?"
"…It's not like there's anything to see anyways… You're just a kid."
I blinked for a few seconds, not completely understanding what he meant. That was, until I saw where he was staring. I squealed, covering my chest before that jerk earned another slap in the face.
"You pervert! Don't look! Haven't you been listening to anything I just said?" And all hell broke loose inside of me.
He flinched for a second, staring at me wide eyed as if he was frozen in time. Just as quickly as it began, it faded, but it resulted in Gray turning bright red. My emotions faded fast, and Cana and I looked at each other questionably as he quickly wrapped his arms around himself, looking panicked.
"S-Stop looking!" he cried. His face turned brighter by the second. "Where are my clothes? Why did I take it off in the first place? Ah! What am I doing? A-And stop looking already! It's embarrassing!"
We both gawked at the boy as he started to go into hysteria about showing too much skin. He hurriedly started to grab his clothes but tripped over other pieces that were littered all over the place. His cheeks turned brighter as a bunch of mages started laughing at Gray and called our little episode 'good morning entertainment.' Although, as a result, the half-naked boy's lips began to quiver for a second before he grabbed his clothes and stormed out of the guild without another word.
I stared at his retreating back, completely dumbfounded by what just happened. "Does he have some kind of personality disorder?" I murmured to myself until Cana nudged me.
"Your magic!" she snickered.
Oh… I see… A wicked grin slowly crept across my visage. Embarrassment emotion: I think I may have a new favourite.
I scoffed as Cana and I headed over to the kitchen to grab some food. I spotted Master sitting at his usual place at the bar table, startling me a bit. My cheeks flushed in a light crimson at the thought that Master probably witnessed the whole ordeal. His eyes met mine, and he flashed me a grin—which pretty much signalled that he knew what had recently happened in here with the newest member. I heard Cana giggling quietly beside me, and I turned to glare at her but that only made her burst out laughing.
"That's not funny!" I exclaimed. No! Calm down! Don't let your emotions flow! I breathed in and out slowly, attempting in vain to calm myself, but the little balls of embarrassment blobs stormed out in a seeming attempt to mock me. I hissed at them mentally. I take back what I said. I hate you all! You will never be my favourite!
"But look at it this way," Cana added, "You sort of won your first fight against another mage."
"Sort of?" I frowned, not liking the sounds of that—even if it were true. I shook my head. What am I thinking? Who cares if I won against a mage or not? "Besides, it doesn't matter. I'm not even a mage. So he lost to someone who isn't even a mage; that just means he sucks—accidentally or not."
We both heard chuckling in front of us as we reached for some breakfast. I glanced upwards at an older woman wearing an apron and a net in her hair—the cook. She smiled kindly at us as she placed some pancakes on our trays. My mouth watered as the sweet smell of flour, butter and maple syrup blended together into a pleasant aroma.
"Are you still saying that, my dear?" she asked me. "You have been staying at this guild for half a year already, and your magic seems to have improved tremendously. You spend days and nights in and out of this guild. Honestly, everyone in town thinks you're already apart of the guild—you practically are. Don't you think it's time you officially joined?"
"No," I replied bluntly, causing the cook to laugh out loud. "I already said I don't want anything to do with magic and mages. I just want a normal life. I'm only staying here so that I can learn to get my Emotion Magic under control. That's it." My eyes flickered as I saw Cana's distraught face from the corner of my eye. I looked away—my guilty conscience was starting to eat away at me once more.
I wasn't really sure why I felt this way, or why Cana always seemed sad whenever I brought up the fact that I was only staying because I wanted to learn how to control these emotions. However, every time I said that, and as a result, Cana would seem upset, my heart would pang for some reason.
It was complicated.
I tried to research about it one day, yet the books proved to be utterly unhelpful. Frustrated, I turned directly to Cana and demanded why she was sad. To my surprise, her response was very hesitant.
"I'm not sad," was what she said, but she couldn't even look me in the eye when she said that. "You can leave whenever you want. No one's keeping you here… but… I would like it… if you stayed a little longer," she whispered before lowering her eyes and mumbling something to herself. "…as long as possible…"
To be frank, I was outright confused by the girl's words versus her actions. After all, sadness was associated with a frown, quietness and even the diminish of pupil size in the person's eyes—all of these symptoms to which Cana had displayed. Honestly, I wanted to do more research on this matter, but a voice inside of me told me it wasn't something I could purely look up and understand.
My eyes fluttered towards Cana's direction. With the need to ease the tension here, I spoke, "It's not that I don't like the people here—I mean I appreciate the hospitality that was given to me—"
A hand placed on my head stopped me from talking, and I looked up to see the cook's smile. "Child, you need to be more honest with yourself. There is nothing wrong with being a mage. Besides, it seems to me that you enjoy being here quite a bit. Why not stay permanently? Think about it."
Yes, I'll admit, there was nothing wrong with being a mage. However, I wasn't like Macao with his purple fire magic or like Gildarts with such destructive magic or even like Cana whose card magic can cause real damage. But, what was my magic? Emotion magic.
I mean, really. What was that?
I can't be a mage with a silly magic like that. The only thing it could do was change other's emotions. However, that was completely useless if I were to encounter some kind of enemy.
I tried to learn other types of magic like Cana's card magic for example. Nonetheless, they were only mere cards to me—pieces of paper with drawings. I wasn't able to get the cards to do anything unlike Cana who became so experienced in such a short amount of time. Master said that was to be expected. Everyone who can use magic had a natural affinity towards one type of magic. It doesn't mean learning another type of magic was impossible—just a lot harder.
Apparently for me, it was near impossible.
So yes, there was nothing wrong with being a mage but with my magic, I couldn't do anything useful. I didn't bring that up to the attention of everyone around me for I did not want them to pity me. It was fine. After all, I can just get a normal job like a normal person.
It was fine.
As Cana and I took our seats, some of the girls from the guild crowded around us. I frowned, not liking the looks of their grinning faces. I glanced over to see Cana had the same reaction.
"Cana, an angel or a princess?" one of them asked.
"Obviously an angel. She would look so cute with wings," another one added confidently.
"Oh, but I really want to dress her in something girly! I always wanted to have a daughter and dress her up in something frilly and pink!"
Irritated by the sudden questions and no explanations, I replied for Cana, "What are you all talking about?"
"Oh, Eirlys, it doesn't really concern you," one of the girls spoke. "Even if you hang out at the guild, unless you're an official member, you can't participate in the parade."
"Parade?" I tilted my head to show my confusion. "What parade?"
"Oh!" Cana exclaimed. "Fantasia Parade! I almost forgot about it!" She looked at me excitedly. "Every year during the Harvest Festival, the members of Fairy Tail hold a parade to display their magic. It's amazing Eirlys! You'll love it! Wait—I get to be in it this year?" Cana turned back to the girls in awe.
"Of course, Silly," the girls giggled. "You're officially a part of Fairy Tail now. We're in charge of costumes, and we really want to pick something cute for your debut!"
I poked my breakfast with my fork as I tuned them out. A huge smile graced Cana's lips, and I didn't want to ruin it for her. This parade appeared to be an extremely important event for Fairy Tail, and I shouldn't get in their way since I wasn't a member of Fairy Tail.
I wasn't one of them.
And for some reason… I didn't like the sounds of that.
I shook my head, dismissing such an idea before stuffing more food into my mouth, hoping to distract myself from this odd sensation I was experiencing. Thankfully, I was right as the sweetness of syrup stimulated my happiness emotions. I could hear them crying out wildly, and I imagined them running around in complete havoc in my mind, but I couldn't care less about them right now.
The doors suddenly slammed open, and upon reflexes, I looked up from my meal with a piece of pancake sticking out of my mouth. It was Gray again—and this time clothed. He fumed as he matched over to where I was sitting. Once he reached where I was, he slammed his hands on the table and placed his face directly in front of mine. His eyes narrowed dangerously.
I blinked, unsure of what he wanted or what I should do, especially since the pancake was still in my mouth.
"You play dirty!" he suddenly declared. I stared with large, confused eyes. Frowning, he ripped the pancake out of my mouth to my dismay. "If you want to fight, fight fair!"
"Hey! That's mine!" He stuck his tongue out and wolfed it down in front of me. I stared in horror as the last piece disappeared within seconds. All happiness emotions were caged once again, and anger came loose. I stood, causing the chair to slide back with a loud screech. "What on Earth is your problem?"
"I'm not the one with a problem! You are!" he fired, crossing his arms. "You refused to fight me, and then you used your magic on me! You are such a lousy cheater!"
I puffed my cheeks out. "I am not a cheater," I declared before a thought came to mind. "Besides, you… you must be a lousy mage if you got caught by a lousy cheater's magic."
Now it was his turn to turn red. "I am not a lousy mage!"
"Could have fooled me," I snorted, crossing my arms. "Raucous, vulgar, salacious, incommodious," I stated, finding every single word I could to describe him. I abruptly stopped when I saw Gray furrowed his eyebrows. I sighed, "Let me guess, you didn't understand a single word I just said?"
"What's with all those big words? Did you like read the dictionary or something?" he chuckled.
I puffed my cheeks. "And what if I did?" I asked, irritated as I thought back to the times when I picked up a dictionary out of boredom and read it. "You got a problem with acquiring new vocabulary?"
"Are you serious? Then you must be some kind of… of walking-talking dictionary! Ha ha, what a weirdo," he laughed, utterly paying no attention to what I had just said.
"I am not a weirdo! You're just a—a brat!"
We both glared dangerously at each other and all conversation in the hall died as the tension soared.
"Wanna fight?" he challenged, jumping over the table so that we were both standing on the same side.
I snorted, "Fight? You couldn't even fight my ma—Ah!" I yelped as I slipped and fell. I winced as my behind harshly hit the ground, but when I reached to massage it, the ground felt cold. Glancing down, there was a patch of ice where I was sitting. "Where did this ice come from?" I cried, surprised.
"Ha ha, you lose!" a voice laughed from above. "Do you like it? It's my ice magic! It's so much cooler than yours! No pun intended," Gray snickered.
"That's—That's not fair!" I cried, crawling off the ice before standing.
"Neither was that attack you did earlier!"
"It was an accident!"
"Oh, so you can't even control your magic yet, and you dare to pick a fight with Gray Fullbuster?"
My cheeks felt hot. "Well, I just started learning magic, unlike you!"
"I just started too," he declared. "Three months ago, actually. What about you?"
Three months? Only half the time since I've been learning! My face burned with embarrassment, but I quickly locked them up before they went berserk again. Taking a breath, I relaxed myself and looked at the boy with my head held up. "Like I said, I just started." Which isn't technically a lie… I suddenly felt all eyes of the guild members on me with a look of either amusement or disappointment. I forced the blushed that tried to surface down and gave a small cough. Well, it's not…
"Ha, liar!"
"I am not, you pervert!"
"I am not a pervert! Ugly!"
"Brat!"
"Old Bag!"
"Barbarian!"
"Walking talking dictionary!"
"Ice—"
"That's enough!" Master's booming voice stopped both of us. I turned around, expecting to see the tiny old man, but instead, all I could see was a giant black creature towering over the both of us. Gray and I squirmed as we both fell to the ground, shivering in fear.
What's going on? Where did this monster come from? I gawked in terror as I backed up until I hit a chair. I turned to Gray. He was in the same state that I was. However, when I turned to the others in the guild, they looked perfectly fine—normal even. I was confused. A monster suddenly appeared in the guild hall, and no one cared? Wait! Master, what about Master? I looked around, trying to find the tiny man, but he was nowhere to be seen. I blinked, turning back to the giant. Something wasn't adding up here… unless…
"…Mas… ter?" I questioned timidly to the giant, unsure.
Correctly deducing his identity, the giant gradually shrunk back into the form of a little old man. He looked down on both of us as we were still sprawled out on the floor. "That's enough, Children! You two are ruining the good morning atmosphere. I will not tolerate such vulgar name-calling inside the guild."
I rapidly stood, blushing. "My apologies. I didn't mean for it to get out of hand—Ah!" I cried as I suddenly slip and fell again. "You!"
Gray laughed as another patch of ice once again caused my second fall of the day. "You fell again, ha ha!"
"Weren't you listening to what the master just said?" I angrily began to closed a patch of ice around my fists, completely shattering it to pieces.
"Yeah, but he said that he will not tolerate name-calling," he pointing out. "That wasn't name-calling."
"…You can't be serious…" I gawked before facing the old man. "Master!"
"Hmm… he does have a point…" Makarov mumbled to himself.
"Oh and one more thing!" Gray shouted, running to the door until he stepped outside the guild. "I won again, you ugly, lying nerd!"
My jaw dropped. "Okay, that was definitely name-calling!"
"But I'm not inside the guild! Ha ha, Loser!" he laughed as he ran away.
"Master?"
"Again… he does have a point," he commented once more, stroking his chin. He hesitated for a bit, but then he regarded me and patted my head. "Calm down, Child. Those emotions of yours are going wild right now."
I know, but I don't care… My eyes lingered on the doors to the outside where Gray had left. He made a fool out of me, and there was no way I was going to let that slide.
"You better watch out, Brat. This is war."
"Eir, where were you?" Cana asked as I returned with a triumphant smile on my face. Cana frowned. "I don't like that look on your face. What did you do?"
"Nothing," I sang in glee—my happy emotions springing like a wild fire—as I skipped over to a chair.
"Cana, Eirlys, have you seen Gray?" one of the girls asked. If I remember correctly, she was one of the girls who were making costumes for everyone. "I need him to try on his costume…"
A little part of me shrunk at the mention of something relating to the parade. I tugged a bit on the red strands of hair looming over my face as Cana replied for us. The Fantasia Parade was today, and everyone in the guild had been busy these days preparing for it—even Cana. I ended up having to practice by myself for the past few days. Though, I guess it wasn't a big deal since I didn't actually practice all that much those past few days anyways. I'd been busy trying to come up with a way to get back at Gray since my magic wasn't an attack magic at all. Thus I had to find some clever way of manipulating my magic to my favour.
I grinned, remembering what happened just half an hour ago. That will teach him to mess with me.
"…Eirlys!" Cana yelled in my ear, and I flinched away.
"Ow, you don't have to yell. I'm not deaf," I frowned at the brunette, but she returned my frown.
"I called you five times already, but you didn't reply."
"Oh… sorry. Did you want something?" I questioned, watching as a bunch of girls played with Cana's hair and seemingly arguing about what hairstyle she should have.
"Um… sorry I couldn't help you practice these past few days."
"…It's fine." Somehow, it felt as if I was lying.
"You'd been getting a lot better."
"…I guess," I shrugged slightly, though beaming inside for the praise.
"You… could be a mage if you want…" I glanced at the girl, and she returned my look with equal force. "I'm serious! Not all mages are battle mages. And even if your magic isn't an attack magic, I bet you'll be a great mage!"
"I thought we already had this discussion…" I pointed out duly, but on the inside, conflicting emotions clashed as the indecisiveness continued.
"Don't you… want to be a part of this family?"
Family: I still hate it how they use that word so casually. I noted, fiddling with my thumbs. "You can say that because your magic can actually do something useful…" I replied, turning my eyes away.
"Eirlys." I observed as the master jumped up on the table in front of me. "Magic is a gift. Only about ten percent of the entire world can use magic. Whether it is attack magic, defensive magic, intellectual or emotional magic—all types of magic are special and unique in its own way. The thing about magic is that you can never truly tell how much more potential it has to evolve. It can become stronger and more diverse depending on the user's creativity, and that includes your magic, Eirlys. It's mysterious—even I don't know much about it considering it is a type of lost magic. The limit to it is only your imagination. If you allow it, I'm sure it will become something useful—not just for yourself, but for the people around you. However, you must be willing to embrace it, and let us help you to grow—together as a family."
I puckered my lips a tiny bit into a small pout. A part of me screamed for me to say 'yes' and to join the infamous Fairy Tail guild. Nevertheless, another part of me was still hesitant about completely devoting my life to something so unreal and eccentric as magic. I didn't like walking blindly down a road where the future was all muddled and unclear; anything could happen and nothing was guarantee.
It was illogical and absurd—the two things I never wanted to associate myself with.
And yet… I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealously of everyone who bear the symbol of Fairy Tail—a sign that signalled that they belonged somewhere and had comrades that they can depend on.
I couldn't help but feel a sense of yearning to belong with them—
"You know," Cana unexpectedly announced after my long pause. "If you want to join, just say so."
I hastily frowned, shoving my desires down my consciousness. "Who said I wanted to join?" I asked haughtily, trying to cover up the thoughts that originally went through my head.
"You did!" every member in the guild that was present exclaimed.
My face reddened. "Excuse me?" I coughed as my cheeks got brighter.
"That was what your emotions told us anyways," Cana winked, causing me to sink in my chair due to embarrassment.
"I… I… You must… be mistaken…" I lowered my head almost shyly, feeling ashamed—not just about being caught about my true thoughts, but not being able to admit the truth afterwards.
I could see the looks on everyone's faces. They ranged from pity to annoyance, and I don't blame them. My heart's true desires were obvious thanks to my out-of-control magic, but my mind and personality won't allow for anything that contradicts my image—a girl ruled by logic and realism.
But I want to change… I want to join them… I told myself. Just say it. It's only four words: I want to join! Just say it! Just say it! My mouth opened, but it slowly closed again. It was a simple task, yet I couldn't bring myself to give into my silly whims.
I felt my body began to shake, but I grabbed one of my hands with my other to steady myself as I lowered my eyes away from everyone else. I could hear the disappointment against the silence of the guild hall as I knew I let everyone down. Here I was, not wanting to join a place that defies the reasoning that I was used to, for the sake of not wanting to seem childish. However, I won't deny that I was acting very childish for that very same reason.
I breathed, slowly looking up and facing the old man. "Master… I'm sorry—"
"It's such a shame really," Makarov signed almost dramatically. "I don't know what we'll do now!"
"Master, what's wrong?" someone from the guild asked, sounding worried.
Master looked at me, almost as if he was testing me—daring me. "I was hoping Eirlys would join the guild by today! There was something that I wanted Eirlys to do at the parade tonight—something that would have made the night perfect," he emphasized. "But it's impossible now. We'll have to do what we originally planned. It's too bad really, but don't worry yourself about it, Eirlys. It was just an old man's dream."
I blinked. Something was strange about the way he said that. I could see cries throughout the guild about Master's disappointment.
"Perhaps I could do it instead!" I heard one member shout.
"No, no. Only Eirlys can do it. She's the only one that has emotion magic. It's would be the cherry on top of a perfect night," he saddened… exaggeratedly, may I add. "I really, really wish Eirlys would join Fairy Tail."
He stared at me, as if he was waiting for me to say something. I could hear a few sighs of relief as if they understood what Master was trying to do. I blinked again; my mind was overloading, attempting to decode Master's strange behaviour. It was at that moment that it finally made sense.
He was giving me an opportunity to join without betraying my personality.
A part of me sunk a little in relief, truly grateful that the master of Fairy Tail was such a kind man. Taking a deep breath, I flashed a smug grin.
"Well, if you really want me to join," I spoke, with a futile attempt to control my excitement. "It would be rude of me to turn down an elderly man who was incredibly hospitable to me this past half year. I guess…" I looked away as my cheeks turned a bright crimson. "…I can join."
"Yay!" I felt Cana tackle me into a hug.
"But I-I'm not doing this because I want to be a part of this family or anything like that…" My voice suddenly got higher as I said that, to the point where it sounded fake. My red cheeks intensified, and I forced a cough to hide my embarrassment.
"Cana, hurry and stamp her before she changes her mind!" Macao ordered, handing the brunette the magic stamp tool.
"M-Me?" Cana widened her eyes before looking at me.
"Go ahead," I shrugged, trying to act casual but still embarrassed.
She glanced back at me and a large smile surfaced. "Where do you want it?"
"Does it matter?"
Cana shrugged. "Well I put mine on my waist because I thought it might look cool when I'm older…"
"Oh! I know!" Wakaba shouted, snickering to his friend. I looked between Wakaba and Macao, and I instantly knew I wouldn't like their idea. "Give her a tramp stamp! That would look real sexy in ten years!"
My face instantly went up in flames. "H-How vulgar!" I stuttered. "Are you trying to insinuate that I'm some kind of prostitute—GAH!" I shouted as cold air touched my back.
Looking over my shoulders, I saw that Cana has lifted my shirt. The guild suddenly went dead silent as they anticipated for what the little girl would do next. I, on the other hand, could only stare in complete dread.
"Hey, hey! Cana, I was kidding!" Wakaba commented, but I could see that he didn't completely hated the idea.
"Y-Yeah! Hey, Cana, think about what you're doing!" I paled, not liking how she was smiling. "He said he was kid—Ah!" I yelped as I felt the stump made contact with my skin.
Everyone froze and stared.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Hey, Cana?"
"Hmm?"
"What do you think you're doing?" I stared straight into her eyes dully, and she smiled back.
"What do you mean?"
I puffed my cheeks out, irritated. "Don't just stamp me randomly!" I commented, pulling away. My right hand instantly went to where she stamped me—thankfully not near my rear end, but just under my left shoulder blade. It felt weird but nice and cool at the same time.
Like a fairy's kiss.
"It's not random!" Cana explained. "Heart! That's where your heart is located. It fits with your magic and name! And it's in red! A red heart, get it? You like it, don't you?"
I knew I couldn't hide my feeling from Cana out of all people, but I knew that if I admitted it, she'll never let me hear the end of it. "It's so… cliché."
"But it works? Oh, or would you rather have me stamp you in the front instead?" she giggled, waving the stamp dangerously in front of me.
My hands instantly went to my chest area, and I shook my head vigorously. In ten years, that would seem a little too… suggestive. I slapped that thought away. "It's fine where it is," I grinned weakly but then lowered my voice. "Thanks Cana… Master, too…"
He chuckled. "Oh, don't thank me yet, Child. We still got a parade to present, and we need to get you ready—you're the star of the show after all."
I paused. "Wait—you were serious about that?!" I cried. "But my magic isn't visible! There's nothing to show!"
"Eirlys, there's more to a parade than what can be seen. It also needs the right atmosphere," he smiled, ushering me and Cana. "Now get ready you two. I'm having both of you open the show."
I glanced at Cana, and she glanced back at me before we both looked at the old man. He nodded to a woman who squealed, claiming she had the perfect costume for us. We were dragged away before we could question the master any further. However, I just shook the thought away. Whatever it was, I trusted him.
After all, I was a Fairy Tail mage now.
I was a part of the family.
"Oh, that reminds me," Master suddenly interrupted my thoughts. "Just where did Gray go?"
I grinned devilishly. "My apologies, but he won't be coming to the parade this year."
Hand in hand, Cana and I stepped forward in an outfit made of colourful organza and tulle.
We were fairies—twin fairies.
I was colourful, sparkly and girly—something I'd never been before, and I'll admit, I was feeling quite uneasy about going around town in such an outfit. Although, I couldn't deny that I liked it. It was pretty and cute. It was like I'd been transformed into the very being the guild represents—a fairy.
"You'll be fine." I heard Cana whisper to me as she tightened her hold on my hand. "Let's go," she smiled, flashing one of her cards—a glow card.
I nodded, and the parade began.
I closed my eyes and slowly released a rush of pleasant emotions: happiness, festiveness, pleasure, relaxation. I opened my eyes as Cana released a soft, warm glow around the parade floats.
Set the atmosphere—that was what the Master wanted us to do. Give the people a show that will lift their spirits, ease their minds, and let them have a great time.
I couldn't help but smile back at the people we passed. I wasn't too sure if the emotions were affecting me or not, but at this point, I really don't care. I was happy, and I was glad that I had the opportunity to be a part of this parade with everyone and hopefully in the future as well.
"I'm really glad I joined Fairy Tail…"
"Yeah, me too," Cana whispered, and we both giggled. "It's too bad Gray isn't here. I wonder where he went…"
I chuckled. "Don't worry about—"
"I found you!"
I cringed as I recognized that voice. "Oh no," I groaned, as someone landed on top of our float.
"You really do play dirty!"
"Gray?" Cana gawked as she stared at the half naked boy.
"Hmm… Hello? We're busy here!" I pointed out as the audience started mumbling to themselves about what was happening.
He frowned at me. "I want a rematch! Fight me fairly, one-on-one!"
"How did you even get out?" I emphasized, shaking my head.
"Eir, what did you do?" Cana panned.
"Nothing…"
"She got the police to lock me in jail!" Gray accused, pointing.
"What! Eirlys!"
"Well, if you hadn't been walking around in broad daylight in your boxers, he wouldn't have thrown you in jail!"
"Well, if you hadn't been messing with his emotions, I wouldn't have been thrown in jail!"
"Well, if you hadn't started picking a fight with me, then I wouldn't have to use my magic on the policeman!"
"Ha! You admit you did have something to do with getting me thrown in jail!"
"It's your own fault!"
"Is not!"
"Is to!"
"Ugly!"
"Jerk!"
"Nerd!"
"Pervert!"
"Guys! We're in the middle of a parade here! You two are ruining the atmosphere!" Cana shouted, slapping both of us from behind the head.
"Yeah, go away!" I spat.
"Eirlys!" Cana scolded, but I simply pouted.
"It's not over yet!" he insisted, before slamming his hands together. "Ice Make: Floor!"
Unexpectedly, the floor beneath my feet froze over, and the sensation of falling came once more. I cried out and reached for something to grab on to, and I did, but it wasn't something that was fixed in one place, and it came down with me as I fell. Cana, Gray and I all paled as I stared at what I had in my hands.
Gray's boxers.
"…" The whole audience suddenly went quiet.
"Hey, Nerd?"
"Yeah, Jerk?"
"…Truce?"
I nodded numbly. "…Truce."
A/N: I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I didn't mean for it to turn out this long.
Anyways, let me know what you think! Please review!