Chapter 3
All characters belong to Hiro Mashima.
The Rune Mage stood in front of the blonde nervously, shifting his weight from one for to the other. He had seen the entire fight and there was no doubt that she was destined to be a Fairy Tail Mage, she fought with perseverance and raw power. Looking at the girl interrogating him, he smiled.
"I'm sorry I startled you Lucy." Looking down at his feet he continued, "Laxus urged me to follow you and make sure you didn't come into any danger, a precaution necessary for your first solo mission."
Looking at her he nudged his head forward, indicating to her battered physique. "I can see that you can handle yourself though, you may need some more physical training though."
At this the blonde looked somewhat stunned before giving him a slight smile, he was about to turn on his heels and return to Magnolia but he remembered something he was supposed to tell her.
"Oh, Mirajane would like me to inform you of the upcoming masquerade ball. I assume you'll return tomorrow, it'll take place the night after."
He saw her face light up at the mention of a ball, her face clearly going to the many choices of outfits she could wear. Her hands moved to clap together and a look of intense pain crossed her face, clutching her shoulder she bit back a groan.
"Lucy! What's wrong?"
Her vision blurred slightly from the pain now shooting through her body, her shoulder had to be broken. Looking at Freed she held back the tears threatening to break through her surface and groaned.
"That stupid asshole got my shoulder, I think it's broken.
The green haired man nodded and ushered her back to the hotel, when he proceeded to enter she began to protest but he simply shook his head and stated that if she wanted to be able to wear anything 'cute' to the ball he had better get a look at her shoulder. She begrudgingly allowed him to as she pushed the sleeves of her dress off her arms, leaving her uninjured arm to hold up the front. His surprisingly gentle touch made her yelp, a feather could land on her and it would hurt. After ten minutes of poking and prodding he decided to use his Magic.
"Lucy, do I have permission to use my Magic on you?" She looked at him dumbfounded, no idea what he could possibly do to help with his magic.
"I can use my magic to add electromagnetic radiation to glass." Seeing her expression he added "I'll be able to see your bones to see if it's broken"
Nodding at him he moved to the wall, retrieving glass from a photo frame, he began to write on it and soon, it was an x-ray. He held the glass up to her shoulder and studied it; there was no visible break, not even hairline fracture, which meant that it was dislocated. Looking at the blonde he frowned slightly, knowing what happened next would be painful for her.
"Your shoulder has been dislocated, there's no break in the bone, which means the only option is to put it back in its place and Wendy can make sure you're healed properly when you return."
She froze at his words, 'put it back in its place' meant he had to push her shoulder back in... A gulp ran down her throat and her hands shook slightly before nodding at him, he shot her an apologetic look before making her sit in a low back chair, handing her a towel she looked at him confused.
"Bite down on it as I do this, any yelling will be muffled and you won't hurt yourself when your jaw clenches."
Clearly he had done this before, which didn't exactly surprise her, holding the towel up to her mouth she bit down and she felt his hands on either side of her shoulder. In one fluid motion he had pushed her shoulder back into its place and an overwhelming pain went through her body, tears streamed down her face as she screamed into the towel. Her hands had turned white from holding onto the chair arms too tightly and as Freed moved away from her, expecting to be hit, she let her head fall. She noticed him leave the room, with her key, and returned ten minutes later, allowing her enough time to calm herself. When he returned he was carrying a bandage, making a sling out of it he motioned to her shoulder.
"Try not to move it too much until you see Wendy, okay?"
He turned to leave as her other arm shot out, grabbing his hand. Startled he stopped and turned to her curiously.
"Are you returning to Magnolia tonight?"
He nodded at her question, "I intend to catch the last train in 40 minutes. Would you prefer if I stayed with you?"
"If you wouldn't mind... I don't think I'll be able to take all my stuff comfortably, now that I know where my client is I can retrieve him and tomorrow morning once I get my reward, I'll be leaving."
Suddenly she was grateful that the Lightning Dragon Slayer had forced him to watch her, if it weren't for Freed she would still have a dislocated shoulder. Grasping the keys at her thigh she found Virgo's key once again,
"Open Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"
"Punishment time, Hime?" Lucy rolled her eyes at the spirit in front of her and shook her head smiling, walking over to the bed she picked up the piece of paper Loke had given her.
"Virgo, do you think you'd be able to go retrieve my client? I can come with you but it'll be faster if you just went, I can summon Scorpio so that you have back up if anyone attacks."
"I will complete your request on my own and return him to you Hime." Nodding at the blonde she left the hotel and setting off to find the client, she felt bad about sending her alone but she was in no shape to go out.
Turning to Freed she noticed a confused look on his face, "What's wrong?" A blush tinted his cheeks as he covered his face with his hand.
"There's only one bed."
At this the Blonde laughed out loud, he was so innocent, and wanting to make it easier on him she made a suggestion.
"How about you sleep now while I wait for Virgo to return and I talk to my client. When I've spoken with him I can wake you and we can switch, or I can take the couch." His mood seemed to brighten at her words and he nodded at her.
"I'll sleep now, wake me when you're ready and I will take the couch so you can have a comfortable sleep."
Two hours passed before Virgo returned with a seemingly untouched client, apparently he had been tied up in a shack and was waiting for his attacked to come back and torture him, instead Virgo showed up. Delighted he thanked the Blonde for her all her hard work and left, promising to return within 10 minutes, clearly scared Lucy asked Virgo to escort him. When they returned the man handed her the reward and gave her a gorgeous Ruby pendant hung on a silver chain and an extra 100,000 jewel for helping find him. The man left, incredibly grateful for her help, and she once again sent Virgo to ensure he got home safely and informed her that once she was sure the man was safe she could return home. She buzzed around the room excited as she packed her things, making sure they could leave at first light, forgetting all about Freed she got in bed and went to sleep.
The next morning the two woke with a start, Freed had been stroking Lucy's hair in his sleep while Lucy had draped one of her legs over his, the two cuddled into each other before remembering who was beside them and they both sat straight up red-faced.
"I am so sorry Freed! I was so tired I forgot you were in the bed..."
She was still recovering from the embarrassment of finding herself in bed with the guy Mira had no doubt been crushing on for years. Nothing had happened though; there were absolutely no intentions of pursuing anything with him other than friendship. Not long after the two were laughing at their sleeping arrangement and joking in a way the blonde never imagined she could with Freed. Ecstatic at her new friendship they ate breakfast together before setting off for the train station.
Three and a half hours later the two walked into the guild hall laughing about their fondest memories of the guild, causing Mira to raise an eyebrow at her suspiciously, knowing the two had never been close. Looking at the green hair man beside her she thanked him for all his help, offering to give him some of her reward money; he declined her before she had an idea.
"Do you have a date for the ball Freed?"
A sad look crossed his face as she noticed him quickly glance at Mira. Smiling at him she put a hand on his shoulder "now you do."
The Rune Mage looked startled at her boldness before she let out a laugh "I don't mean me. I know a girl, who likes you and I'm positive you will like her."
With that he nodded at her blushing as she walked over to Mira, wanting to divulge her plan.
The whited haired Mage looked up as the guild doors opened, shocked as two unlikely members walked in laughing with each other. Jealousy flared in her chest before she remembered who the Rune Mage was with, Lucy knew about her feelings and would never hurt her. A doubt crossed her for a second as she saw him blushing at the blonde's words, shaking her head she smiled as the Celestial Mage made her way over to greet her.
"What was that about?" She wiggled her eyebrows at the blonde, just as she did whenever Lucy was with a guy, attempting to hide her jealousy. The blonde laughed at her antics and swatted her arm.
"Don't even go there. I was actually just asking him to the ball." Pain shot across the girls face, the blonde realized and shook her head.
"I was asking him for you Mira. I told him I know a girl who likes him and if he was willing to go then I knew he'd hit it off with her."
The Take Over Mages face lit up as she flew across the bar to hug her friend tightly, feeling slightly guilty for ever doubting her intentions. She placed kisses all over the blondes face as her friend gagged jokingly at her; pulling away she looked into the blondes eyes.
"Thank you so much Lucy! I have a present for you by the way."
She cocked an eyebrow at Mira, hoping her present wasn't a date as well; instead the Mage pulled her into a room as Kinana took over for her.
"I have had this for years; it was in my mother's things." The blonde took the object, in awe of her friend's gift.
"It's not forever, just for the ball" she nodded at her friend and looked at the small object curiously, it looked like an everyday broach but she could feel it humming with power.
"Mira, what does it do?" Her friend smiled at her, knowing it wouldn't take long for her to figure out it was magical and she took the brooch out of her hand.
"The whole idea of the ball is disguise, most people just wear masks BUT this is Fairy Tail, we all have our ways of changing our appearance." The blonde just observed as her friend pressed her brooch between her fingers and all of a sudden Mira was no more, her appearance had changed completely, down to her scent. The only thing that told her it was Mira was the clothing. Her mouth gaped at the Take Over Mage before she clapped her hands, wincing slightly at her shoulder that she had taken out of its sling when they reached Magnolia.
"Thank you so much Mira!" She hugged the Mage with her uninjured arm and Mira looked at her curiously.
"What happened to your arm?"
"I dislocated it, Freed popped out back in but I have to see Wendy when she comes in." The Mage nodded at her smiling and handed her the instructions.
"Wendy is at her usual spot with the Exceeds and you're welcome." She kissed the blonde on the cheek before exiting the room, Lucy not far behind her, off to gain Wendy's help.
Not long after Wendy had healed her she made her way over to where Erza and Gray sat, they both took in her unharmed body and sighed; clearly they'd been worried for her. She smiled at her friends and slipped her arm around Gray's shoulder.
"So who is coming shopping with me?"
He sunk down in his chair slightly at the thought of shopping with them two again, the last time they dragged him out he ended up carrying around fifteen shopping bags and they made him buy clothes that would be difficult to take off. Erza perked up across the table at the mention of shopping and grinned.
"What are we shopping for exactly Lucy?" she giggled at her friend, how could she not already know that it was for the ball?
"Well I was hoping to buy something amazing for the ball tomorrow night, do either of you guys have things to wear already?" They both shook their heads, even Gray seemed to perk up slightly at the mention of the ball.
"Let's go then!"
She grabbed her friend's arms as they stood up, walking out of the guild hall, ignoring the eyes of a certain pinkette as they did. Entering the most expensive store in town they were overwhelmed by the most extravagant dresses, after nearly two hours of searching for the right clothes they all exited the dressing room wearing their chosen outfits. Lucy had on a strapless white dress made of chiffon, with a sweetheart neckline and a revealing leg split, her attire made Gray's jaw drop and Erza blush slightly at how much the dress revealed her bust. Erza was wearing a black evening gown, a sheer single shoulder strap that also had a leg split, where Lucy looked sexy, Erza looked elegant, both however being absolutely stunning. Gray had emerged in a black Tuxedo, wearing a dark blue dress shirt. They all looked at each other in awe; they looked terrific and knowing what they'd be able to talk freely to each other, even if they looked completely unlike themselves.
Having finished with their shopping, they all already had shoes that would match their outfits, they returned to the guild with their outfits in clothing bags. Walking into the guild happily they all went their separate ways, Erza to use the Lacrima in her office to call Jellal, Gray to ask Juvia to the ball and Lucy to Freed's side. Slight murmurs went through the guild as she whispered in his ear, requesting she see him in private as the two walked off she shot a wink at Mira who blushed. Once they were in an empty room she turned around and unzipped her bag.
"This is what I'll be wearing the night of the ball, remember it. Find me before everyone goes in and say 'wiggle'. I'll take you to your girl."
She winked at the now blushing Rune Mage and added "Don't go telling people what I'll be wearing either, I'd prefer to stay anonymous."
She giggled at her friend before running off to tell Mira the same thing. After her successful matchmaking she decided it was time to head home and practice changing her appearance for the ball. Once at home she read the instructions, all she had to do was hold the brooch between her fingers and think of the appearance that she wanted, she had no idea how she wanted to look but not too different; just enough to not be recognized. She decided that she would keep her body but change her face and her hair. Slowly she pressed the brooch between her fingers and closed her eyes, picturing herself as she was now but with bright blue eyes, when she opened her eyes she looked in the mirror and let out a delighted squeal, her eyes were blue. Next she made her grow longer and change colour, she went through a range of different hair colours and styles, before finally landing on one she liked. Her hair was long and dark purple, her eyes were now a deep blue and her skin pale and blemish free. Looking in the mirror she almost didn't recognize herself, she did love her new look though and made she too memorize the details before setting the brooch down on the table next to her. She watched as her disguise faded away, a condition on keeping the disguise was that it was on at all times, meaning it had to be pinned to her clothes or she had to be holding it. Smiling she went to her desk and began to write to her mother about everything.
Dear mum,
I tried to tell him the other day but I never got a proper chance, he had already made up his mind and chose the other girl. I couldn't handle it, I was so hurt that everything turned numb and then I couldn't feel a thing. I ran out of the guild so fast that I didn't have time to process anything and next thing I knew I was destroying the ground beneath me with my fists, actually my hands got more hurt than the ground did, but I didn't feel any of it, my heart hurt but nothing else. Gajeel found me and brought me back, making Wendy heal me, then I had to explain everything to Erza and Gray. The worst thing though is that he came by, to see where I had been and so I told him that I had to leave the team that it's something I needed to do, he wouldn't have it though and he said that, that I was just her replacement. The man I am in love with was literally just using me while his precious girlfriend was, dead, away. I was so hurt, I couldn't do anything but Erza helped me, she was like a big sister and she gave me the courage to continue.
Not long after I went on a job, on my own. I guess I was pretty reckless about how I went about doing everything but it was worth it in the end, I did things that I never thought I would though. I laughed at the pain he caused me because I wanted to feel it; I needed to feel it, to feel anything and I encouraged it. In fact I was happy that for once someone was treating me like a princess, even if it was a bad guy, he saw me as an actual threat and didn't hold back. That idiot Natsu has turned me into a masochist, finding pleasure in anything that makes me feel emotions, even if it is pain. Ugh. Anyway Freed came to check on me and I made an unlikely friend, he helped me with my injuries and then kept me company for the train ride home, as a thank you I offered to get him a date for the ball tomorrow night. Mira will be going with him; those two have had a crush on each other for so long that everyone knows it but them. Mira also gave me a gift, only for the ball, it changes the wearer's appearance. Then Erza, Gray and I went shopping for clothes for the ball, I found one that's nearly exactly the same as your wedding dress! It's not as puffy but it's made from the same material and the bodice is very similar, I felt so close to you when I tried it on.
I miss you so much; I need you now more than ever.
Love,
Lucy.
NB: I was laughing like a moron when they woke up, biggest possible BROTP right there!
Anyway, next chapter should be up soon hopefully! Thank you to all the lovely reviews so far, they inspire me to write faster
Apologies for this chapter being somewhat choppy, I just didn't have enough ideas in my head to make them flow together properly.
