sorry for the delay on this one guys, moved to a new state plus dealing with the stress of december delayed this chapter. going to try to get back to a normal release schedule with this one and my other two stories but it might still take me awhile.
also quick note for this chapter, for a few of the celestial spirits i will be translating them into elemental spirits due to their importance to the story. this does not mean that celestial spirit magic dosent still exist in this story but it has no relation to this Lucy. with that out of the way enjoy this new chapter!
Lucy stared down at Natsu, who was currently battling against his stomach and losing, as they made their way the town their job was taking place in, a town named Shirotsume. Lucy, Happy, and Natsu had immediately left after Natsu had forced the job request into Lucy's face, the three speeding off before anyone could say anything.
Knowing that Natsu would be incapable of holding a conversation with his lunch threatening to emerge and Happy was satisfied with poking his partner in the face. So with nothing else to do Lucy merely inspected the job request.
The job was suspiciously simple, the only stipulation being that they burn a book in the possession of a Duke Everlue and once they did so they would receive twenty thousand Jewels. Lucy narrowed her eyes as she reread the request, "It's" suspicions mirroring her own. She had destroyed too much evidence in her life for her to not notice the similarities between what she once did and this request.
However, Lucy decided to shelve her concerns for the moment and looked back up at the nauseous dragon slayer and his cat.
"Excuse me, Natsu, Happy; but I was curious as to why you asked me to come along with you on this job. Surely magicians of your skills shouldn't have any difficulty retrieving such a book."
Happy and Natsu smiled strangely, although Natsu's smile looked a little more pathetic due to his motion sickness. However neither answered Lucy's question, instead Happy merely flew over and pointed at a small section of text at the bottom of the job request that Lucy had missed.
"Please note; Everlue is currently looking to hire a new maid with blonde hair…" Lucy murmured out loud causing the other two in the carriage to snicker loudly.
Lucy blinked rapidly as she reread the note. To think that they would pick a job that perfectly pertains to both my physical attributes as well as my unique talents…I can't underestimate these two. Lucy thought in shock, slightly worried that if they could already see through her to such an extent that some of her more personal secrets would end up coming to light.
However Lucy didn't allow her doubts to show on her face and instead stared back up at the two mages and gave them booth a thumbs up. "Excellently done!" she declared, causing the other two to stare at her curiously for a second before a particularly large wave of nausea hit Natsu.
It was only around two more hours of traveling before the three arrived in Shirotsume town, Natsu instantly reviving the moment they exited the carriage. Natsu instantly began to complain about how hungry he was and deciding to get some food at the first restaurant he saw. Lucy however politely declined to join them for lunch, as she had supplies she had to procure before the mission began.
When Lucy returned to the restaurant clad in a maid uniform she managed to find from a clothing store Natsu started to choke on the piece of meat he had been shoveling into his mouth.
"L-lucy? why are you wearing a maid uniform?" He questioned tentatively, causing Lucy to blink and tilt her head in confusion.
"For infiltrating the mansion of course. Isn't that why you brought me in the first place?"
"No, well I mean that's true but…oh never mind." Natsu said with a sigh as Lucy took a seat on his other side and started to eat a small portion that had been set aside for her.
"So Lucy, why did you join up with Fairy Tail when Natsu asked you to? Is it because you lllliiiikkkkeee him?" Happy cooed causing said dragon slayer to grumble under his breath.
"Because he asked me to, I still need to repay the favor you two did for me back in Hargeon." Lucy answered simply in between bites
Natsu stopped chewing to stare strangely at Lucy. "You mean that whole thing with the fake Salamander? You already bought us food; I don't see what else you could possibly need to repay us for." He said with a massive grin, Happy jumping up from his seat with an "Aye!" of his own.
Lucy simply smiled as she continued to eat. You saved that man's life Natsu. And you let me keep the promise I made so I don't know if I can ever fully repay you for what you've done for me.
After finishing their meal, the three proceeded to the house of the client, a man by the name of Kaby Melon, which turned out to be an impressively sized mansion. However as they were escorted inside by the man's wife Lucy noted the strange absence of any serving staff that would normally be present, not to mention the fact that it was the Lady of the house who answered the door. But when Lucy was about to share her concern with her teammates she noticed their childlike expressions as they examined the house and decided to simply keep it to herself for the moment. She could always bring it up later if it became important.
Eventually they were led to a room where an older man was waiting. The man standing up and smiling as the four entered the room.
"Hello, my name is Kaby Melon and I was the one who posted the job request. I take it you are the mages from Fairy Tail?"
"Yep, names Natsu and this is my partner Happy. Behind me is Luigi." Natsu introduced everyone, including the strange entity know as Luigi that Natsu had mentioned earlier. Perhaps Natsu had an imaginary friend that he believed was real?
Regardless Lucy moved forward and gave a small curtsey. "Hello, my name is Lucy and I am a Fairy Tail mage as well. A pleasure to meet you."
Kaby nodded at the greetings and gestured for them all to sit. "so lets get down to business. The job itself is fairy self explanatory, a man by the name of Everlue has a book named Daybreak in his possession. I would like you to destroy it for me."
"Heh, no problem. Ill burn the whole guys house down if you want me to." Natsu said playfully as he lit one of his fingers on fire.
Lucy however wasn't quite as excited, her eyes narrowing slightly as her suspicions returned to the surface. "May I ask why you wish for this book to be destroyed sir?"
"For two hundred thousand Jewel who cares why?" Natsu commented.
"Actually the reward has been increased to two million." Kaby corrected, causing Natsu and Happy to sputter in surprised and for Lucy's eyes to narrow even more in suspicion.
While Natsu and Happy were freaking out about how to split up the money Lucy merely glared at Kaby. "…may I ask why exactly you have raised the reward to such a degree?" She coldly asked, causing the older man to flinch slightly.
"Well…I simply cannot allow that book to exist any longer." Was all Kaby said, his hands clenched in front of him.
Lucy was about to question what exactly he meant by that but before she could Natsu sprung to his feet with a face brimming with confidence. "Alright! I'm fired up now! Come on Lucy, Happy, let's get going!" and grabbed Lucy by the back of her collar and sprinted out of the door and down the hill going in the general direction of Kaby's mansion. Ah well…I suppose I will just have to inspect this book myself. Lucy decided as she continued to allow Natsu to drag her through the air and calmly observed the cloud of dust that followed in their wake.
Lucy blinked slowly as she inspected the Mansion of their target. It had only taken Natsu a half an hour of sprinting to reach the front of the house and now Natsu and Happy were waiting in the nearby brush for Lucy to infiltrate the mansion along with her bow and bag, leaving Lucy with just her spirits for defense.
Sighing once, Lucy knocked on the door before yelling out. "Hello, I am here to apply for the open maid position." Lucy yelled before retreating a respectful distance back and bowing her head.
For a moment nothing happened, the only sound being the chirping of birds off in the distance, however in the next moment the ground before exploded open, revealing a pink haired massive woman standing before Lucy.
"Oh? A new girl to serve the master?" the woman asked in a voice so low that Lucy was almost positive that it was actually a man, something that the woman's body certainly gave credence to.
"Indeed, my name is Lucy and I have come here to apply for said position." Lucy calmly declared as she curtsied slightly.
"…Did I hear someone mention a new maid?" a voice echoed from nowhere in particular and in the next moment a short stubby man exploded upwards from underground. Lucy instantly recognized him as the man mentioned in the job as well as the owner of the mansion they were currently outside of, Duke Everlue.
"Yes sir, I have come here to serve under you." Lucy said in a monotonous voice, her head still bowed in reverence.
For a moment no one spoke, as Duke Everlue stared at Lucy with a slight glare, however Duke Everlue finally turned and waved his hand dismissively. "Thanks but no thanks ugly, take you hideous face somewhere else."
Lucy felt sorrow and anger begin to take root in her heart but she quickly squashed them as she raised her head. "I see…I apologize for taking your time sir. Good day." However before Lucy turned to leave she stole another glance at the massive maid that had appeared first. From the moment the woman had appeared Lucy's magic had begun to resonate with the pink haired woman in a very peculiar way. The woman in question had only added to Lucy's suspicions, her gaze never leaving Lucy for a second and a look on her face that Lucy couldn't quite describe.
However Lucy chose to not act on her suspicions, as doing so would compromise their mission, and instead retreated a good distance and met back up with Natsu and Happy who were both shacking their heads.
"Really Lucy? You couldn't even seduce one old fart?" Natsu said with clear mock disappointment. However Lucy bowed her head in shame all the same.
"I deeply apologize for my failure; please allow me another chance to complete the mission." Lucy said, her voice giving away the fact that she was close to tears and her head bowed in shame.
Natsu and Happy immediately reversed their positions, their grins turning into gaping mouths and wide eyes. "I-it's alright Luce; it's only some old bastard's opinion after all." Natsu quickly denied with a wave of his hands.
"That's right, and the mission isn't over just yet after all. We can just break into the house after all." Happy agreed as he nodded his head repeatedly in agreement.
Lucy blinked rapidly as she regained control over her emotions and thoughts, feeling quite stupid for her emotional outburst. I'm a fool, of course Natsu and Happy wouldn't react to my failure like they would. So long as I don't fail again I can still stay with them. Lucy thought to herself as she renewed her determination, she WOULD obtain that book or die trying.
After Lucy's failure in infiltrating by herself the three mages decided the simplest way to obtain their objective would be to just infiltrate the mansion normally and steal the book themselves. As Lucy changed back into the outfit that Mirajane had given her, Happy proceeded to fly Natsu up onto the roof of the building and then she herself after she was done changing. Once up onto the ceiling Lucy could see that Natsu had already burned a hole in the glass of one of the windows.
"I still don't understand why we don't just go in through the front door, explosions make every job better." Natsu mumbled as he slipped inside the building and quickly looked around for anyone who had heard them enter.
"I would not advise that Natsu, despite the constraints of our mission if we assaulted the building outright we would also be earning the ire of the local authorities." Lucy commented as she too entered through the hole, her bow held in her hands at the ready. "It would be best if we remain as stealthy as possible."
"Wait stealth? Like a ninja?!" Natsu questioned excitedly, Happy echoing him almost immediately.
"While not quite the term I would use but yes, I would advise we infiltrate like ninjas."
The three continued to explore the inside of the house, with Natsu having wrapped his scarf around his face and Lucy following suit and placing the headdress she had used as part of her maid outfit across her mouth. However, despite their now stealthy attire, they were unsuccessful in finding neither hide nor hair of Daybreak.
"Intruders!" A strange creature dressed in a maid uniform shouted out as it rounded a corner and discovered the three Fairy Tail mages. "Cybele, there are intruders within the masters home.
"Let's get them ladies!" the loud maid like creature roared as it burst from underneath the ground and landed on Natsu, crushing him underneath. However Lucy wasn't even remotely concerned for her guild member, as she could clearly see that he was holding the massive creature over his head. A second later Natsu had flung the massive pink haired creature into its fellow monster maids, knocking the entire group unconscious and opening a massive door that they had been standing next to and revealing a massive library.
"Impressive…there are many books in this library." Natsu murmured quietly trying to appear ninja like but for what reason Lucy couldn't figure out.
"If the client's book truly is in this man's possession then I can't think of a better place to keep said book than here." Lucy mused out loud as she began to examine the spines of each book searching for their target.
It wasn't five minutes later that Natsu began screaming about how he had found a sparkly book, and when Lucy looked over she instantly saw the title she had been looking for on the cover of Daybreak.
"Good job Natsu, you found our target." Lucy commented as she strolled over to inspect their target.
"Heh, of course I did, I'm just that awesome after all." Natsu bragged as he lit his hand on fire, his intent obvious. "Well then let's get this over with."
"Hold on for a moment Natsu, I want to see that book first." Lucy said as she quickly swiped the book from Natsu's hand and opened it up.
Natsu's eyes widened for a second before narrowing into a unamused glare. "Lucy…our job was to destroy the book, not read it."
"I'm well aware of what we were hired to do Natsu. However there are simply too many suspicious parts to this mission for me not to be suspicious of this book." Lucy retorted normally, completely ignoring Natsu's anger.
"Why would you be suspsious Lucy?" Happy questioned as he landed on the blonde's head to peer down at the book in question.
"Well for starters why hire mages to deal with something as simple as destroying property when a mercenary guild could have been just as capable of burning an unenchanted book. Not only that but to offer two million jewels for this? It just doesn't make sense that Mr. Kaby would hire us unless he was attempting to destroy evidence of his transgressions or something along those lines." Lucy explained as she continued to turn pages, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she searched.
"You mean that bastard wants us to cover up his crimes?" Natsu yelled, his flames flaring in response to his emotions.
"It's just a theory but yes, that is what I am trying to investigate here."
"Hoh hoh? If that's the reason you have broken into my home then I can assure you that you are mistaken. After all I am the one who commissioned that books creation." A new voice, one that Lucy quickly identified as Duke Everlue, echoed out as the stubby man burst out from the floor and was flanked by two intimidating men. "I could tell instantly that you had come before the great me in an attempt to pilfer my goods, but I never would have thought that you were after that rubbish."
Lucy's eyes narrowed at the Dukes words, if even he didn't value this book then why were they hired in the first place. "Natsu, buy me some time while I figure out the truth of this book, I'm certain that it contains a secret unknown to us."
"Sure thing Lucy, just don't get too wrapped up in it." Natsu joked with a cocky smile as his hands burst into flames.
Lucy nodded and ran through a nearby door that led into the basement, Happy right on her tail. If she was going to discover the secrets of this book she was going to need some time and a lot of peace and quiet, both of which were difficult to find in the middle of a brawl.
Eventually she ended up in the sewers underneath the mansion, in a dead end but at the very least it was quiet. Lucy immediately sat down and focused all of her attention on the book before her, even brining "IT's" considerable analytical powers to bear. With both their attentions focused on the novel Lucy was able to quickly figure out that the book had a spell placed upon it, as well as the books original purpose.
"I see…so that's the truth of it" Lucy murmured as she stood back up and placed the book into her bag. "I will have to deliver this to Mr. Kaby."
"Or you could just tell me the secret my dear!" Everlue shouted as he burst from the wall and attempted to grab Lucy's arms. However before he could even get a single finger on her Lucy leapt out of the way and drew her bow in one fluid motion.
"I apologize sir, but as a mage of Fairy Tail I was commissioned to obtain this book for the client and I cannot allow my first official mission to end in failure." Lucy declared neutrally as she continued to eye Everlue.
"You little witch. Fine then, if you want to play hard ball then I will happy to oblige!" The old Duke shouted before brandishing a black pendant over his head. "Come forth Cybele, answer the call of this pendant." The man shouted and a disturbing magic flowed forth from within the item causing both Lucy and Happy to shudder slightly.
Lucy realized what was going on a second before Happy shouted out. "Lucy, hes using something like your magic!"
However, before Lucy could speak, the pink haired maid appeared before the four of them. the maid looked a little worse for wear but glared at the two Fairy Tail mages. "I hear and obey, my master."
Lucy's eyes went wide for a second before she stared down at the ground with her hands clenched so hard on her bow that the wood was beginning to groan due to the force.
"HA HA HA, tremble before my power worms. After all standing before you is one of the most powerful earth spirits known to man! But if you apologize I will be sure to for-."
"Be quiet…" Lucy interrupted Everlue's rant, her voice quiet and cold. "Do you realize what you have done? Do you understand the pain a spirit goes through when you bind them to our plane?" Lucy asked emotionlessly as her eyes once again fell on the duke, the anger held within causing the older man to shudder and even caused Happy to recoil slightly.
"Lucy…what do you mean?" Happy questioned, sounding close to tears at seeing one of his friends so angry.
"In addition to my own magic there is another way to summon a spirit from the elemental plane." Lucy began to explain in a frosty tone and without taking her eyes off of the duke. "One may force a spirit into our plane using devices, like the one held in his hand, and bind the spirit to their will. However doing so forces the spirit to go through immense pain, similar to if someone forced us to live the rest of our lives underwater."
Happy gasped and glared at the chubby man. "You would do that to innocent spirits?"
"Of course I would, I'm rich and I can do anything I want! Now then Cybele remove these pests from my home!"
The massive maid didn't answer with words and instead raised her fist in preparation to pound Lucy into oblivion. However Lucy wasn't the least bit intimidated by her actions.
"Natsu? Would you mind taking care of this spirit for me?" Lucy questioned, causing the other three people in the room to stare at her with confused expressions on their faces.
However, before anyone could question her sanity, Natsu jumped upwards from Cybele's back and struck her on top of her head with a ball of fire. "Awww Lucy, you ruined my surprise. How did you even know I was there?" Natsu asked as he landed on top of the now fallen maid.
"I could feel the air begin to heat up." Lucy explained as she watched Everlue retreat back into the ground. However Lucy had no intention of allowing him to escape. Lucy connected herself with the plane of earth, allowing a lesser earth spirit to manifest by her side. The spirit took the form of a piece of hovering rock, gently spinning by Lucy's side and granting her a connection with the earth that surrounded them
"Even if you've defeated Cybele you still won't be able to defeat me and my diver magic. After all, with only a bow with not a single arrow you don't have a prayer!" Everlue taunted as he closed in on Lucy from underground, intending to drop down on her and steal the book back
"Who ever said that my bow needs arrows to fire?" Lucy asked as the spirit transmitted Everlue's exact location to her through vibrations in the ground. In one fluid motion, Lucy drew back the string of her bow which caused a lightly glowing arrow to appear already nocked against the string.
Lucy waited only a second more before releasing the arrow, causing a streak of white light to pierce the ceiling and strike Everlue in the dead center of his chest. The man tumbled down out of the ceiling with a look of agony on his face.
"H-how the devil did you do that?" He questioned as he grabbed at his chest.
"My bow here dose not fire physical projectiles. Instead it concentrates my magic into a bolt of energy that directly attacks my opponent's nerves." Lucy explained as she placed the bow back on her back and strolled over to the fallen spirit and kneeled before it. "Please forgive me noble spirit. But if it is ok with you I would be honored to send you back to your home."
The spirit turned to stare at Lucy with a curious look on its face. "You would allow me to return home? I thank you little one." The spirit paused then with a smile now on its face. "I would like to ask you something Priestess; would you accept a pact with me?" the spirit asked as its form began to shimmer out of existence.
Lucy blinked for a few moments before bowing her head in reverence. "Of course, noble spirit, I would be honored to serve as your summoner." And in the next moment the spirit vanished into a warm glow.
Natsu and Happy watched with smiles on their faces until their surroundings began to shake like an earthquake was currently hitting the area.
Lucy casually stood and looked around at the now shacking walls. "I suppose that Cybele must have been maintaining the stability of the land around here with Everlue digging holes all over the place." She explained as a particularly large chunk of ceiling fell down into the sewer.
Natsu instantly grabbed Lucy's hand and began to drag her through the now collapsing tunnel. "Wow Lucy, you're first mission and you're already destroying public property? You'll fit in great with everyone!" he said with a playful grin on his face, Happy mirroring his grin as he flew alongside the two.
Natsu casually stared at the back of the blonde mage as the three of them made their way through a swamp on their way back to Fairy Tail. When Lucy brought the book back to their client Natsu had at first been curious as to why she had refused to destroy the book. However she quickly explained that Kaby's father, Zekua Melon, had left the book as always intended for his son and that only his hands could remove the spell upon it. Of course Kaby had decided that he would not destroy the book at that point, meaning that they had to return home empty handed.
Natsu had expected Lucy to complain about not receiving their reward for completing the mission but to the fire dragon slayers surprise she didn't even mention the lack of reward, and even didn't mention the fact that they were now walking back to Fairy Tail rather than taking the train or a carriage which was something that Natsu was eternally grateful for.
In all honesty, Natsu wasn't quite sure what he thought about the new member to his family. She was strong sure, but in a guild filled with monsters like Mira or Erza that wasn't such a big deal. What really confused him was that she clearly had some connection with the dragons but she refused to elaborate any further than what she had already said.
While he would have never admitted it out loud, Natsu was immensely relieved when she told him that his foster father was still kicking. Once in a great while Natsu would lay down in his hammock and before he could fall asleep his thoughts would inevitably lead to his dad, and whether or not he was still out there or not. The thoughts would terrify him to no end and he wouldn't be able to sleep that night. Knowing that the old bastard was still out there was a huge wighet off his shoulders and while normally he didn't trust someone just on their word when it came to the dragons Natsu just couldn't see Lucy lying about this, something in her gaze just made him feel that he could trust her.
Although that didn't mean that Natsu wasn't still curious about whom she really was. Beyond just her clear connection to her dad and the rest of the dragons there was so much else that she kept hidden about herself. For one she reacted to jokes as if she never noticed that she was being made fun of, something that Natsu still wasn't used to. She also didn't seem to trust everyone so much, when they had camped out the night before she had stayed so far away from the fire that he had lit it almost made her hard to see. She had also shrugged off any personal questions that Natsu or Happy tried to ask her.
However, despite her secrets, Natsu still enjoyed hanging around her. She made somehow made everything more interesting and on the plus side if he spent enough time around her he was sure to find out something about what happened to the dragons, it was only a matter of time.
Natsu was about to ask her another time for more about where she came from but before he could a bush along their path began to shake suspiciously. And Natsu decided that whatever was within was something that was clearly a threat and leapt to attack it.
Natsu was naturally correct as the moment he approached the bush ice prick jumped out with a scowl of his own on his face. Natsu continued to glare at his rival as Lucy continued to casually stroll forward until she was standing just off to the side of the two mages.
"Hello Gray, are you on your way back to Fairy Tail as well?" Lucy casually asked, completely ignoring the tense atmosphere between the two.
Gray smirked and straightened out, clearly uninterested in Natsu now which did nothing but piss off Natsu even more. "Hey Lucy, how was dealing with Flametard here. Did he screw you out of the mission like he always does?"
"No quite the opposite actually, it was due to my own actions that we didn't receive our reward." Lucy denied, causing Natsu to smile at the fact that she defended him.
"Hey ice balls! What the hell did you just call me?" Natsu growled, his flames covering his fists in anticipation of the oncoming brawl.
"Cool it flame breath, we don't have time to fight here. After all Erza's due back any day now and I'd rather not have to worry about her finding out about this." Gray said with a slight shiver as he finished speaking, Natsu's jaw falling and his own body shacking involuntarily as well.
"Erza? As in Erza Scarlet? I have heard that she is one of the most powerful fighters in our guild. But I have read nothing on how she is in real life. Is she a good person?" Lucy questioned innocently, causing the other three mages to shiver as they thought about her.
"She's scary." All three answered simultaneously.
"She's super powerful, like kicking down three mountains powerful." Happy declared as he hugged himself for comfort.
"No way Happy, its only like one mountain at a time." Gray denied with a wave of his hand.
"I see…so her power is strong enough to knock down mountains? I don't think I'll be able to keep up with her in that case." Lucy said with a slight frown.
Natsu was about to correct her misunderstanding but before he could Lucy's face transformed into a scowl. Before Natsu could ask the blonde girl twisted around and fell down onto one knee, drawing her bow and pulling the string until a pale white arrow appeared. In the next moment five arrows flew into the nearby woods, and within seconds a multitude of voices screamed out in pain. Natsu watched in shock as five figures fell from the branches, each either clutching at parts of their bodies or twitching after falling unconscious.
"Wha…how…" Gray stuttered as he stared wide eyed at both the fallen figures and Lucy, who had now risen back to her two feet and was watching the men she had put down.
"I felt someone about to cast magic upon the area and decided to attack first. They weren't comrades correct?" Lucy asked in a colder tone than normal.
"Never seen them before in my life." Natsu denied as he strolled forward towards one of the still conscious mages. However, before he could question the mages on what they were doing here, the shadows beneath them seemed to swell and consume the five mages.
Natsu jumped back and quickly scanned his surroundings for any sign of an attack but nothing happened, their surroundings were just as quiet as they had been moments before. As the four mages relaxed their guard once again Natsu couldn't help but look at the blonde mage who was staring at the spot where the mages had fallen with a neutral look on her face. Somehow he could just tell that another fun fight was just on the horizon for the three of them.