From one end of the city to the other, the citizens hurried about their business, rushing to complete their daily goods before the Feast of Fools began. At the square, musicians tuned their instruments, while street performers lugged large bags over their shoulders. Bakers tended to their ovens, preparing festival-themed treats for the city to enjoy. Oblivious to the adults' work, children ran through the streets, smiling and laughing with their friends. Ah, yes. The Feast of Fools was about to begin, and the citizens of Crocus couldn't be happier…
In the midst of this festive deluge, there was a 19-year old man with blue hair and a red tattoo above and under his right eye. His attire consisted of a white zipper jacket under a black hooded long-sleeved coat and a prominent golden symbol on the left part of the chest, dark pants, and laced boots. His name was Jellal Fernandez, the Captain of the Guard of Crocus.
Lurking amongst the crowd while guiding his white horse Achilles, Jellal stood still and read a map, trying to find directions to his predestined location. After ten minutes of searching, he eventually lost the battle with a sigh and crumpled up the map. He groaned, "Figures. You leave town for almost a decade, and they change everything."
By a stroke of luck, Jellal spotted two guards passing by. He said, "Excuse me, gentlemen. I'm looking for the Palace of Justice, could you...?" The guards ignored him. "Guess not."
Resuming his journey, Jellal began searching for someone who could take him to the Palace of Justice, the house of Minister Acnologia and base of operations for Crocus's military authority.
Just then, on his way, the scent of pixie dust caught Jellal's attention. It led him to a small multicolored tent, where a small light danced, bringing the atmosphere to light. Curious to what the light contains, the young man was to enter, until…
"Hi!" a young girl with four red-whiskered tattoos on her cheeks and brown hair stylized into cat ears blocked his path. She wore a purple hooded cape, long black-and-purple striped leggings, evening gloves, black shorts, boots, and a black bikini. "My name is Millianna. My friends call me Milli. You must be a rosy new face."
"Yeah, I guess," Jellal said unsurely. "What is this?"
Millianna cleared her throat and answered, "Welcome to Fairy Tail Fortunes! If you want to look deep into the future, you've come to the right place. If you want to get inside, you'll have to pay first." She gestured to the counter, which consisted of a hat saddled with gold coins.
"Sounds interesting," Jellal smiled. "I'll go in." He took out a couple of gold coins from his pocket and placed them into the hat. "Easy money."
Millianna bowed, "Thank you, kind sir. Please come inside." She gestured to the tent's entrance.
Later…
"…and thus, on the seventy-fifth annual Feast of Fools, one of the most important events in our city's history, we must remind ourselves of the importance of joy and bliss in our lives. That includes you, Jason."
"Oooh!" one of the customers named Jason cried joyfully. "You're a very COOL fortune teller!"
"Why, thank you," the fortune teller smiled, revealed to be a 19-year old woman with crimson long hair and wearing Japanese/Chinese attire reminiscent of a revealing kimono (otherwise known as the Robe of Yuen, or the Infinity Robe Armor). "Erza Scarlet, the finest fortune teller in Fiore, is at your service, sir." She then gestured to the rest of the attendants situated in a batch of chairs, "I implore you, brothers and sisters, to recall your past troubles and how they will affect your future. We must all be cautious of the signs all around us. Was the nation of Edolas planning to destroy the Exceeds for everlasting magic? Was Heartfilia Konzern on the verge of bankruptcy? Were tensions rising between your friends, or your family?"
Erza searched the heads of the assembled costumers, some bowing in thought, others looking up with interest. Unknown to the crowd, Jellal sat in with it.
"Of course, throughout the years, our beliefs have not been taken seriously by some parts of society as they should. But that is all the more reason to stay positive," the fortune teller continued. "That is why we must find the goodness in ourselves and others. That is why the future is ours to shape in order to find peace." She paused to hear the positive response of the audience, "However, it appears that most of you were curious of your own futures. If you want to know your future, just ask me and my trusty crystal ball." She gestured to the crystal ball on her table, "Now, who would like to go first?"
Jellal smiled, and he elected to be the first to answer. But before anyone could speak, Millianna entered the tent with a frantic expression.
"Millianna!" Erza said. "What is it?"
Millianna cried, "Erzy-Werzy, it's the guards! They're coming for us!"
"Oh, no! We're in trouble!" Erza exclaimed, before she turned to the audience and chuckled nervously. "Well, it's been fun coming here, but we have to close up shop. Can't be late for the Festival, you know. I'm Erza Scarlet, fortune teller extraordinaire. See you next time!"
Without warning, Erza threw a smoke bomb, before she vanished into thin air along with Millianna, much to the audience's confusion.
Jellal scratched his head, "Where is she going?" Darting from his seat, he ran outside to find Erza and Millianna's whereabouts.
"Quick! Get the money-woney!" Millianna shouted, taking the gold-filled hat and running off, dropping a few coins along the way. "The coinie-wonies!" She and Erza ran back to gather up the dropped pieces when two guards stepped in front of them, much to their shock. They were Rustyrose and Kain Hikaru from the Guard of Crocus.
"Alright, gypsies. Where'd you get the money?" Rustyrose demanded.
"For your information, we earned it," Erza answered sternly. "I'm just a humble fortune teller easing the troubles of local costumers."
"And I'm a kitty-witty bestie-westie!" Millianna added.
"You call that helping customers?" Rustyrose scoffed. "Fortune tellers and gypsies are just the same. And gypsies don't earn money."
"They steal it!" Kain agreed, putting his grubby hands on Erza's shoulders.
Millianna yelled angrily, "Hey! Get your hands off my best friend!"
"Well, you two are certainly the experts," Erza remarked sarcastically. "You awfully know a lot about stealing."
"Troublemaker, huh?" Rustyrose smirked, as he was about to take the money, but Erza kicked him in the stomach.
"Maybe a day in the stocks will cool you down," Kain suggested.
"In-Cat-Ceration Tubes!" Millianna conjured magical tubes which flew towards Kain and Hikaru, effectively restraining their bodies. "Run for the hills!" She and Erza quickly made a run for it.
After a few seconds of breaking free from Millianna's In-Cat-Ceration Tubes, Kain and Rustyrose began to chase after them. "Get them!" Rustyrose yelled.
Having perceived the dangerous situation at hand, Jellal pulled his horse in front of the two guards, causing them to bump over it and fall over.
"Achilles, sit," Jellal told the horse. It then sat on Rustyrose, causing him to yell out in surprise, his body and clothes smothered and stuck in the mud. A gathered crowd laughed at his expense. "Oh, I am so sorry!" Jellal apologized, pretending to scold his horse. "Naughty horse, naughty! He's just impossible, really. I can't take him anywhere."
"Get this thing off me!" Rustyrose screamed. "The mud is ruining my lovely clothes!"
"I'll teach you a lesson, peasant!" Kain growled, taking out a small voodoo doll from his pocket. "Say hello to Mr. Cursey!"
In response, Jellal raised his arm, his hand suddenly glowing with heavenly light. He asked with a smirk, "You were saying… Lieutenant Hikaru?"
In a flash, Kain immediately stood down, realizing just who he had been threatening. He stammered, "Oh! C-C-C-C-C-C-Captain Jellal!" He saluted, hitting himself with Mr. Cursey in the process. "At your service, sir!"
Jellal's hand ceased to glow, and he put it away, kneeling down in front of Rustyrose. He said, "I know you probably have a lot on your mind right now, but can you take me to the Palace of Justice?"
Kain and Rustyrose just stared at each other before they could respond.
And then…
"Make way for the Captain!"
"C'mon, make way! Move it! Make way for the Captain!"
Kain and Rustyrose made a path for Jellal on his way to the Palace of Justice, urging the townsfolk to move away. Along the way, Jellal noticed a small number of clothes on the ground and picked them up. Upon noticing a beggar, he dropped the coins in the hat nearby and continued on, never knowing that the beggar was actually Erza and Millianna in disguise.
"Well, aren't we just rosy?" Millianna wondered.
Moments later, Jellal completed his arrival at the Palace of Justice, a very solid stone structure resembling that of a king's home. The walls and rooftops of the palace bore impressive stained glass windows, which even from a distance sparkled with color and vibrancy. It was an impressive example of a mix between colonial and royal architecture.
When Jellal requested Kain and Rustyrose to speak with Minister Acnologia, he was led to the palace dungeon, where a flogging was certainly taking place. The sounds of a whip's crack and a man's tortured scream resonated within the dungeon's dark walls, which made Jellal feel uneasy. Soon enough, he stood in front of the Minister himself, who called out, "Azuma!"
"Sir?" the master of floggings named Azuma came out, saluting Acnologia with a whip in hand.
"Ease up," Acnologia suggested. "Wait between lashes. Otherwise, the old sting will dull him to the new."
"Yes, sir," Azuma complied with a nod, before he went back to resume the flogging.
Acnologia turned to the young man in front of him and gave an elegant smile, "Ah, so this is the gallant Captain Jellal Fernandez, home from the wars. As Minister, I hereby welcome you back to our beloved city."
"Reporting for duty as ordered, sir," Jellal saluted.
"Seven years ago, when you joined the Guard, most officials in the court disagreed that a young boy shouldn't be in the army," Acnologia stated. "When they thought about a captain for the army, they pictured a burly man in his mid-late 20s, tall like a mountain with at least five years of experience. But it was tradition in Fiore that a new Captain of the Guard be chosen by their predecessor. To alter such a tradition would not be a wise move on our part."
Jellal nodded, "Yes, sir."
Acnologia continued, "Your service record precedes you, Jellal, even at a young age. You have taken after your father, who was once my Captain of the Guard. I expect nothing but the best from a war hero of your caliber."
"And you shall have it, sir," Jellal assured. "I guarantee it."
"Just so you know, right after your father passed away, Vidaldus Taka took his place. Unfortunately, he was, um…" Acnologia said casually. "…a bit of a disappointment to me." A loud whip crack and a painful scream made his point. This made Jellal cringe like a knife bolted to his chest. Acnologia then chuckled, "Well, no matter. I'm confident that you'll whip my men into shape."
"Uh, thank you, sir," Jellal was deeply disturbed as he noticed that the prisoner being flogged was quite likely the last Captain of the Guard after his father. He then stammered, trying to find the right words for this situation, "Uh, it's a very, uh, trem – uh, a tremendous honor, sir."
"You come to Crocus in her darkest hour, Captain," Acnologia said, as he and Jellal walked around the palace balcony. "It will take a firm hand to save the weak-minded from being so easily misled."
Jellal was puzzled. "Misled, sir?"
"Look, Captain… gypsies," Acnologia gestured down to the streets below, where Erza and Millianna resumed their fortune telling services in the comfort of their multicolored tent, once again entertaining the local customers. "These beings are wizards like us, but they live outside the normal order. Their magic is pure evil. Their heathen ways inflame the people's lowest instincts." He paused to finish his statement with deep conviction, "And they must be stopped."
"I was summoned from the wars to capture fortune tellers and palm-readers?" Jellal questioned.
"Oh, the real war, Captain, is what you see before you," Acnologia gestured again. "For twenty years, I've been taking care of the gypsies… one by one." On each of the last three words, he squashed three ants on a tile. "And yet, for all of my success…" He lifted the tile up, revealing a swarm of ants, "…they have thrived. I believe they have a safe haven within the walls of this very city. A nest, if you will. They call it the Court of Miracles." He finished with a scoff.
"What are we going to do about it, sir?" Jellal asked.
To answer Jellal's question, Acnologia slammed the tile, squashing the entire swarm of ants with an evil smirk.
"You make your point quite vividly, sir," Jellal confirmed nervously.
"You know, I like you, Captain," Acnologia grinned. "Shall we?"
The sound of merry music and the cheers of thousands broke the silence. Rolling his eyes, Acnologia knew that it was time to attend that ridiculous celebration. He sighed, "Duty calls. Have you ever attended a peasant festival, Captain?"
"Not in recent memory, sir," Jellal admitted.
"Then this should be quite an education for you. Come along," Acnologia motioned Jellal to follow him to the festival.
