A Fairy Tail Fanfic: A Mate's Spell.

Chapter 2: A new Partnership.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its wonderful characters, I only own the rights to this story.


The two girls had taken a train all the way to Clover Town, enduring an agonisingly long trip before arriving at the station. The lights were dimming, the sun readying for sleep as the moon began to rise, evening was fast approaching and their stomachs were empty.

"Let's get booked into a hotel and then find a place to eat," Levy said as she pulled a map from her red bag. "It's better we have a place to sleep rather than stuff our faces and end up on the streets." As if to argue against her words, the small girl's stomach made a loud gargling sound. With an awkward laugh she brushed it off, sincerely wishing she hadn't gotten so distracted by Gajeel that she'd forgotten to eat.

The two headed into town, following the main road until they came to a tall building labelled Denvor's B&B. Without complaint the two walked in, headed straight to the front desk and made their bookings. Unfortunately they only had a single room left but thankfully it a twin room. "We'll take it," Lucy cut in, unable to resist the aching hunger. They were then led to a room on the second floor and handed two keys. They thanked the kind man and walked in, setting their bags down and quickly surveyed the accommodation.

The room was spacy, two beds and opposite ends of the left wall, either sides of a large window. A door resting in the far right wall which led to a clean, tidy bathroom with a shower, toilet, sink and bath. The rest of the room was fairly basic, a desk sat in the corner of the room opposite a small set of table and chairs – though it did have a rather nice blue decorative rug on the floor. The walls were painted a neutral cream while the curtains were a soft pink with a soft blue floral pattern.

"Not bad, I've stayed in worse." Lucy commented while Levy dug around in her bag and pulled out a small zip up, plastic baggy filled with her toiletries.

Once she'd placed it in the bathroom she came out and headed straight over to the door, key in hand. "Let's go, Lu-chan! I'm starving."

"Me too!" Lucy happily followed her out of the room, leaving her bag inside. She stood by patiently as Levy locked the door and then followed the smaller female down the stairs, across the lobby and out into the street.

Clover town was a rather small town situated in a mountainous area, surrounded by forests. So, it was no big surprise that they were having some issues with bandits, in fact, the evidence was around of their presence everywhere they looked. People skirted inside, worried looks etched into their eyes as they locked and bolted their doors shut. There were no women out alone and vandalism was present on most solid buildings.

Keeping their heads down the two mages headed out, setting sail for a well-known café that Mira had earlier suggested to Lucy.


The two ate and talked about various things including the rumour going around the guild that Gray had finally given into Juvia and her slightly psychopathic tendencies.

"Really?" Levy asked in shock, "he seemed to be getting pretty close to Cana last I looked."

Lucy nodded, a sly smirk on her lips as she set her tea down. "You know Gray, he's just trying to hide the fact and act normal but Natsu caught them together outside of Gray's apartment."

"No way!" The Script mage giggled, leaning in closer as her excitement grew. "Wait, why was Natsu there anyway?"

"Oh, you know…" Lucy shrugged as her eyes filled with the same love and care they always did at the sound of his name. "He went on one of his usual quests to fight Gray." Levy nodded her understanding and took another sip of her tea.

The two continued to talk in their usual gossipy manner before heading back to the hotel. It was getting dark so the two kept their wits about them but the hazel eyed teen couldn't help but notice all the missing persons posters pinned up. Her face saddened at the thought of families missing their loved ones.

Without any trouble the girls got to their lodging and Lucy headed straight for the shower while Levy sat on her designated bed with a book on tactics. If they were to take on bandits she wanted to be well prepared for as many eventualities as she possibly could.

After twenty minutes Lucy came out of the shower wrapped in a towel and allowed Levy time to bathe. She did so happily, enjoying the warmth of the water and refreshing feeling it gave her as it washed over her skin.

Once the two were finished with the bathroom they laid in bed and chatted some more, mostly about Lucy's novel, until their hair had dried. They then decided to sleep since it was late and they would need to be well rested for their mission.


Levy spent the night dreaming of only one person – Gajeel. His long black hair, his piercing red eyes, his muscular body, even his deep and comforting voice, she could clearly remember all of it in her sleep. However when she woke she failed to remember what exactly had occurred in her dream, only that he had been present in it.

With a sigh her eyes gazed over at Lucy who was still fast asleep, hugging her rolled up covers as she buried her face into its softness. With a smile the small teen climbed out of bed and visited the toilet before getting dressed. When she had her usual orange dress hugging her slender figure she opened the blinds and looked out at the street below.

People passed by happily, clearly contented by the bright morning and lack of wandering bandits. Levy quickly examined the sky and her bright mood was dampened. Even though the sun was shining there were clouds rolling in and by her estimation they would have rain by noon.

"Lu-chan, come on, wake up. We need to go to the customer's house good and early so we can start with the mission." She gave her friend a gentle shake, slowly pulling her back to consciousness. The blonde looked up, blinking her sleepy eyes as she released a yawn.

"Morning Levy."

"Good morning to you, too, Sleeping Beauty." The Bookworm joked.

Lucy visited the bathroom and then re-emerged a few minutes later looking more alert than when she'd gone in. The two sorted themselves in relative silence, only speaking when something needed to be said or asked, and within an hour the two were ready to set out on their mission. Lucy had her keys, Levy had her wits, and the two were more than ready to face the challenge.

They headed out in high spirits and went to a small bakery, bought some food and set out towards the address given on the request. The two ate as they walked and shared pleasantries as they went. Lucy was more than happy to share the dream that she'd experienced, going into great detail about the fact that she'd caught Leo and Virgo together doing R-rated things. Levy found it amusing that her friend would have such a perverted dream about her spirits and they joked about it until they arrived at their destination.

They came to a stop in front of a rather large house, two stories high and it had two windows either side of a lavish wooden door. The garden was well kept and vast in size, covering almost twice the area that the house did. Levy thought it was both grand and wonderful but also a little over the top and noted that the owners liked to display their wealth and therefor their power.

Lucy knocked boldly on the door with three firm strikes against the oak panel and after a short pause a women answered the door. She was only an inch or so taller than Levy and was just as slender, she wore an apron on top of an ankle-long, plain cream dress. The woman looked to be no older than thirty and she had a very obvious beauty about her long black hair and lush pink lips. "How may I help you?"

"We're the mages from Fairy Tail," Lucy said with a smile as she held up her right hand, displaying her insignia. Levy nodded and held up the request to display their authenticity. "Are you the lady of the house?"

"Oh, goodness! No, I'm the maid here," the woman said as she opened the door wider and ushered the two inside. "My name is Jefine. I shall take you to my master, he has been expecting you."

The two girls shared a look and then held firm to their smiles as they followed the woman inside, climbing up a spiral staircase until they were led into an old library where an old man sat by a fire, smoking a pipe. Levy's eyes instantly lit up as she examined all of the volumes which filled the many bookcases.

"These two young ladies are from the guild, sir," said Jefine with a bow.

Her master wafted her away and they watched as she exited the room. "Sorry about her," the old man said in a gruff tone as he set down a book and got to his feet. He held the pipe between his teeth as he stroked his long, white beard in contemplation. "You two look awfully young – and rather too pretty – to be wizards."

"We more than capable for the task," assured the Celestial mage. "I'm Lucy and this is my friend Levy." Levy waved shyly as she averted her gaze from all of the wonderful manuscripts that surrounded them.

"I am Ermal," he said as he released a lungful of smoke, adding to the already thick smell of tobacco. "I suppose you already know of the job from the request, but I'd like you to deal with the bandits that keep ransacking this town. They've been taking people as well as our products, we can't afford to lose much more, not with winter coming."

"Are you the mayor of the town or something?" Levy asked with a curious smile.

Ermal shook his head, "No, I am not. But I'm the only one who can afford to pay for your services."

"I see," Lucy nodded. "Well then, we'll get right to work! Don't worry about a thing!"

"Very well then, I shall leave it to you two young ladies." And with that their conference was over. The two gave their respects and left the grand house, waving goodbye to Jefine as they left. They remained quiet for a while as they headed further out of town, drawing closer to the surrounding forests.

"Urm, Levy?" Lucy said in a worried tone. "Why are we going closer and closer to the forest where the bandits are most likely staying?"

"Don't worry, Lucy." Levy smiled. "I'm just going to set up some runes to alert us if any bandits enter into the town so we can deal with them right away. I don't want to be caught unawares while we sleep or anything like that."

"Good idea!"

The bookworm was glad for all of the time she'd spend getting familiar with Freed's magic because this wasn't the first time it had proved useful to her. The two girls stopped as the trees began to overrun the land rather than houses and Levy got to work, she pulled out some pages with notes on them for reference and began writing the runes to her specifications. Lucy stood guard and kept her eyes sharp, examining every tree, each blade of grass, and the bushes – making sure to note every shadow they provided.

Levy worked hard but since she wasn't accustomed to writing her own runes the spell took time and before they knew it rain was upon them, soaking their hair, clothes and skin while also dampening their vision. The surrounding forest grew gloomy and almost completely hidden in shadows.

"I don't like this," Lucy said in a shaky tone as she withdrew Fleuve d'étoiles, holding onto its cylindrical base tightly. "Levy, how much longer?"

"A few minutes," she replied, "I'm working as quickly as I can."

"I know, sorry," the Celestial mage said as she turned swiftly, reacting to a cracking noise. "Levy, I think they're here…"

Levy's hazel eyes looked up for a moment and she gave a slight nod before ducking right back to work, writing as fast as her hand would allow her. "Summon Sagittarius if you think they're coming, he'll be able to react to any oncoming enemies."

Lucy nodded and withdrew the correct key, holding it tightly as she surveyed their surroundings. With the thick clouds rolling in it was growing harder and harder to see as the wind grew stronger and the rain grew heavier. The mage squinty as she noticed movement, jumping as a ball of magic fired straight past her.

"Damn, I missed!" A male voice cursed.

"Lucy!" Levy gasped as she tackled her friend out of the way of another magical bullet. "Damn it, I didn't say their magic couldn't cross!" Levy quickly crawled away, returning to her notes. "Can I leave them to you?"

"Y-yeah!" Lucy reclaimed her whip which had slipped from her grasp and funnelled her magic through it allowing a long blue and yellow line to extend from its base. "Gate of the Archer, I open thee! Sagittarius!" In an explosion of magical power the spirit appeared, clad in a horse outfit, clashing a bow already strung and an arrow prepared to fire.

"You called? Moshimoshi."

"Sagittarius, fire in the direction the blasts come from, I'll handle the shots themselves!"

"Roger," he replied as he pulled the arrow back, straining the string of his bow.

Lucy jumped in front of her spirit as another shot was fired, pulling her whip around as she met the bullet with the rope of her Fleuve d'étoiles. The compacted water splashed as the two magical objects met but she was glad to see that their power cancelled each other out and there was nothing left of the bullet. "Sagittarius!"

Without a word the archer fired his arrow and sent it flying in the direction the enemy had fired from. As he did Lucy funnelled more of her magic through her weapon, creating more of the magical rope.

A howl filled the air as the arrow made contact with its targets flesh and moments after the air filled with the enemy's fire. Lucy was able to keep up for only a short while but was soon overwhelmed by their forces and was hit on her right thigh with a cannon ball shot. She gasped and fell to her knees, gritting her teeth against the pain.

"Lucy-sama!" Sagittarius gasped in horror as he let his arrows fly. Their opponents had come into view but there were still some shooters who stayed back.

Another flurry of shots were fired and Lucy flinched away, awaiting the pain that came with being pierced by a magical bullet.

"Iron!" Levy yelled as a large block of iron fell in front of her friend, shielding her from the blasts.

"Th-thanks!" Lucy smiled as she gripped at her leg. Levy nodded and quickly returned to her runes where she scribbled one last line and straightened with a pleased look. "Sagittarius, take your time! Their magic won't get in anymore."

"You finished!" Lucy beamed. Levy nodded but didn't take the time to revel in her achievement. She quickly stepped over to her friend and dug into her red bag, pulling out some bandages.

"Here, I'll help him. Can you sort it yourself?"

Lucy nodded and ushered Levy on.

Jumping to her feet the Script mage dug into her magical reserves and began her spell casting. "Fire!" She yelled as the word appeared, dancing in brilliant flames as it sped towards their opponents. The two sides exchanged magical blows for several minutes until it appeared they ran out of bullets and began charging at the barrier. Unable to fire at people so close for fear of killing them, Levy and the Archer backed off, helping Lucy to her feet as they left them to slam their bodies against the runes.

"So," a tall, muscular man said with a smug grin. "We can't get in."

"That's right." Levy replied cautiously.

"But what about people already inside?"

Levy gasped as she turned, her eyes widening as they fell on several strong men holding magical weapons. She noticed the marks on their bodies, the same that were on many of the bandits – these men were not allies. Her attention was torn from the men as Lucy called out to her spirit. "Sagittarius!" Levy turned to see the spirit fade in a shimmer of light.

"No…" In a swift movement she lowered her friend to the floor and turned to meet her enemy with a furrowed brow. "Hole!" The word extended from her finger tips and covered the ground allowing her enemies to fall into the muddy earth.

The men continued to pound against the runes behind her, leaving Levy with no other option but to fight. "It wasn't supposed to go like this!" She cried as she sent fire hurtling towards the oncoming men. "I'm sorry, Lucy…"

"Levy!" Her friend gasped as a man grasped a hold of her ankle, dragging her down into the hole along with them. "Open gate of the maiden! Virgo! Save Levy!"

The pink haired spirit drilled into the ground the instant she was called upon, not wasting time with any joked of punishment. She came out into the magically made hole to see Levy being tugged at and punched by the surrounding men. Her eyes narrowed on her target as she slapped her hand on one of the enemy's head, jumping over him and landing a swift kick on another's face. The distraction proved enough for their attention to wander and allowed Virgo to pick up the small Script mage. However, as she went to jump from the pit her right wrist chain was grasped and the two were dragged back down.

Virgo received a magical infused punch which rammed straight through her gut, sending her back to the Spirt World. Levy sustained many blows as she cried out for help, begging for them to stop as they ripped at her clothes. She wasn't sure of the extend of their damage because before long she gave in and her body fell into the abyss of unconsciousness.


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