It didn't take long to chop through, after all his ice magic did more than just sparkle; it was easy to attain a sword strong enough to slice through the magic that curled around the walls that held the princess.
With one last slash, the ice swept through the final vine, disappearing in a flurry of magic.
He leaned back with a grunt, tugging at the collar of his shirt. These vines were strange, red like hair, and for some reason that felt worse than simply chopping nature. It was stranger after all.
The ice mage was lucky that he still had his clothes on, he had even brought spares just in case, after all, he was told to respect such a thing.
He was only filling in for this job since the fire mage had been dragged out for other duties.
Or at least that had been his excuse, after all, it was no secret that mage wasn't particularly fond of carriage transport and to be honest, the world would be a better place so long as that idiot didn't get to the princess and puke all over her.
Gray had to admit, fire would have destroyed the hair like vines much faster, but no matter. He had destroyed them now and it was time to move into the castle.
With a rather slow pace, he didn't bother rushing himself. But his pace would have been a tad quicker if it weren't for the vibe the castle gave off.
There was something different about this castle, it had an ominous feel, like something was waiting. Like the feeling of ice… ice coating the place under it's hold; pushing it back from becoming what it truly once was.
What on earth had gone on in such a place?
The mage practically yanked open the wooden doors, the handles shattering under his icy grip, his eyes dragging around the stone walls as he headed directly for the stairs. Only by a glance, he noticed guards strewn across the ground.
This job hadn't exactly been hard, even as he held the parchment in his hands. There had been mutters from those handing out the job that perhaps there was a dragon hidden away in the castle, protecting the princess that he had been assigned to collect. But if that really was the case, the fire mage would have been a much better choice so all Gray could do was hope that the princess wasn't too heavy so that running back down this flight of stairs would be a piece of cake.
Nevertheless, he moved on and up the stairs; flights by the dozen as he tried to keep his pace steady, despite how tired he was beginning to get.
So far, so good.
The coast was clear, not dragons, no witches, no Natsu. But there was one thing that bothered him before he finally got to the top of the stairs, slamming his fist on the door.
There were people, other people, everyone he had spotted were lying down, seeming to be asleep…
Finally he spoke his first word since he had left the guild.
"Princess?"
He pounded a little harder the second time, his hand lowering on the door handle which didn't seem to budge under his hand.
"Princess? I'm gonna have to ask you to unlock the door."
No answer.
Complete silence it seemed.
"Princess? Are you there?"
Nothing.
There was no choice, he was going to have to knock the door down. Either this princess was ignorant, deaf or wrong room; Gray's job was to collect her awake so he only begged that she was just being a brat; it would make things easier if she was perfectly fine.
"I'm going to break the door down, stay away from it, okay?"
With that, he placed his fingers around the handle, it freezing up under his icy touch as he yanked it sideways; it cracking under his fingers; pulling back as he swung his leg and smashed the door in with immediate force.
Down the wooden door fell, splintering across the room as he casually walked in like he hadn't broken a single thing.
The room smelt of perfume, keys sitting along the walls like framed works of art. That's all it was really, and in the middle sat a large canopy bed with a dressing table; a delicate young woman strewn across as if she had been displayed.
As he eased closer, her features came into view, her hair a long and soft blonde; those long eyelashes practically sitting on her cheeks as she lay with her eyes closed. She wore a soft baby pink dress, romantic of the times; her arms folded over her chest as she held a bunch of overly fresh roses, them shimmering in from the light that poured through the gaps of a window.
She was cute, he had to admit, but it wasn't often that he fell for a princess, after all, she looked more the fire mage's type to him and he couldn't be bothered getting into a fight with flame breath for an absolutely absurd reason.
"Excuse me. Princess?" Gray raised an arm, prodding the girl with his finger as she stayed still under his touch.
He glanced down at the paper, the words Princess Lucy scrawled across it in ugly handwriting, perhaps trying her name would perk her undivided attention a little better.
"Lucy!"
He prodded her again.
"Hey! You gotta wake up, I'm going to help you get out."
He grumbled. Still no reply. Was she seriously asleep or did this have something to do with the weird vibe this castle was giving off?
Perhaps…
There were many sleeping spells, and if this were the case of a witch… it was very probably that the whole castle was under some sleeping spell. After all, what would cause them all to lie so peacefully on the ground. And this girl, she seemed to be in a deep slumber.
"Ugh… what a pain." He growled, wrapping his arms around the blonde.
How did they usually wake princesses up? Magic was destroyed by many things.
A counter spell, reversal, true love-
He glanced at the girl who was now limp in his arms as he was mid way carrying her; his eyes dragging to her lips in a nervous manner. There were pink and shiny, delicate on her pale face as her expression was calm and relaxed.
Would a kiss really help?
He brought her head up slightly, their lips only moments apart.
Perhaps this would work, it worked in the tales didn't it… maybe…
He sneezed and practically dropped her head back onto the pillow, rolling his eyes at how stupid he was beginning to sound to himself.
He had to get Princess Lucy back to the guild, as the job requested. He could worry about the spell then.
Poor girl could have been here for ages.
True loves first kiss, huh?
Something told him that even Natsu would laugh at that.
