Hello all!
Uh, I guess I have some explaining to do, huh?
Basically, I had some major mental health stuff to deal with over the last few months, and a lot of problems to deal with. I can't really make excuses but basically crap went down. Anyway, here I am with a new chapter, expect them hopefully more frequently. If truth be told this probably wouldn't have been up for a while, but I rushed the ending majorly. I'm not happy with the end but it's setting up something bigger for later. Also, it's 11 at night on a Saturday in Australia and one if my friends is sitting over my shoulder yelling 'upDATE', so that was motivation enough for now.
Thank you for sticking with me through my problems, even if you didn't know about them. Writing is a great way to get out your emotions, but damn is it hard.
I pinky promise that I'll update more, but for now, I'm going to bed.
~AndsotheTardisdisappeared
Chapter 4- Mosaic
The sight of the ragged, tall, frankly terrifying hulk of a man stooping to fit through the tiny door of the palace libraries to greet the even tinier librarian was now wonted and perhaps even welcome among the residents that spent their days in there.
At first it could be said that Gajeel Redfox was something of a beast; none of them knew what he was doing in a place of learning, especially not one as populated as that. It soon became apparent, however, that his frequent visits were to the palace librarian, Levy, a girl small in stature but very glad to have what company he brought her.
The library was quiet this evening, the sun setting and casting a shimmering glow through the stained glass windows that faced the West wall out over the gardens. A kaleidoscope of colours landed on the small girl and her companion, who was now distracted by the mirage of pinks falling on her usually lapis hair.
She was busy leafing through a heavy tomb entitled Medicinal Herbs; Potent, Puissant and Poisonous while periodically flicking her eyes towards the massive clock suspended above the multicoloured glass.
'So,' she turned a page. 'The Wolfsbane, in this case Aconitum Napellus, secretes the poison alkaloid pseudaconitine, which is usually deadly to humans. However the Golden Plusia moth usually hosts there, so Wendy found a way to identify the toxins associated with the poison and lace the mixture with an additive that allows the human stomach to see this poison as harmless waste and dispose of it in the lysosomes of the animal cells in the human body. Usually it's in there to give the body something to combat, like a small virus, to build up its tolerance after surgery. Once Wendy has the tincture she removes the Jasmine and uses it as an oil to return elasticity to the skin lost during the surgery and as an aromatherapy tool to help with the patient's sleep. And I think, given that blue roses are a naturally genetic impossibility, Wendy was lying about them.'
Her eyes flew back up to the clock, as if while she was reading and explaining the process of the medicine Makarov made to give to Wendy, it had somehow grown legs and run away just to spite her.
Gajeel made a "tsk" noise in the back of his throat and she turned her hickory brown eyes towards him, raising an eyebrow. 'Something to share?'
The gruff man folded his arms. 'Nothin'.'
Her stare bore into him.
'Fine, fine. You keep checking the clock, shorty, staring at it ain't bringing her back.'
Sharply, the book was slammed closed between the girl's hands and she leaned back against the bookshelf they sat in front of. 'I know, I know. I just- I wish they would let me into the search party. I could have helped. I hate waiting around like this!'
'Careful, shrimp.' His own crimson eyes stared through the brightly lit glass distractedly. 'That's a lot of anger for such a small body.'
Levy humphed. 'You have a lot of nerve, Redfox.'
His broad shoulders stretched back across the books behind him. 'Look, the way I see it, you won't be much help to them anyway. You ain't trained, you can't ride a horse- let's be fair, any battle armour would crush you-'
'Hey!'
'-so just hang tight until they find her and the Pinkette Prick.'
At this, Levy downcast her eyes. 'It's hard to really grasp the fact that both of them just... disappeared at the same time. Cana won't even talk about it, not to me, not Erza, not anyone. She just- closed up.'
Gajeel sighed a deep, reverberating sigh. 'Don't think about it so much. When is he not getting himself into a crapload of trouble?'
'I guess. Still...'
Her voice trailed off, and Gajeel rolled his eyes. Deep down, he knew her fears were justified and if he was honest, he was worried too- that pink haired idiot was the only one that treated him like a equal when he first moved to Magnolia, not just in strength, but as a person. They didn't get along, but family often didn't.
He also was well aware of what the Princess meant to Levy and what Levy meant to her; always gossiping with each other, reading to each other, teasing each other about boys (this subject he avoided if it ever came up against Levy). It was understandable for her to be upset. Still, he had a role to play- stoic best friend. He had to pull her together some how.
'Fine,' he growled, getting to his feet and hauling her up after him, 'If you're that damn paranoid, shrimp, I'll take you to Erza.'
Levy scrambled to put the book back in its place before Gajeel dragged her away.
..
Erza, for her part, was feeling her dread mount with every step she took down the candle lit stairwell.
She held a candelabra tightly in one gloved hand, the other on her sword. She knew she should have brought a few guards, ten at minimum, but this was a piece of her past she preferred to keep separate from her work.
The stairwell was damp and small, made of slimy cobblestones slick with the moisture dripping from the ceiling. Torches hung ensconced in metal framework on the walls cast flickering shadows across her scarlet draped armour. The stairwell ended in a thick wooden door, metal work crossing over its front and ending in five long bolts. She carefully pulled at each one in turn, setting the candelabra down in an alcove carved into the wall beside her head for this very purpose. Her fingers tingles as she pushed open the door.
At first she saw nothing.
Eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness, Erza stepped forward into the room, pulling back her shoulders and jutting out her chin.
The cage wall in front of her stretched across the width of the small room, leaving about a metre gap from the door for her to stand in front of it. It had no door, simply row after row of cold metal bars; once you were here, no-one had any intention of letting you leave.
And there he was, curled up in the corner of the room, chains clanking on his wrist and he adjusted his position to look up at her.
'Erza,' he said evenly, staring straight at her.
The redhead momentarily forgot how to talk, blinking away the panic that pricked at the corner of her eyes. She gave a nod.
The prisoner stretched out his legs and cracked his shoulders against the wall. 'What brings you down here? Not me, I'll warrant.'
'The Princess has gone missing.'
That silenced him.
'What do you mean, missing?'
Erza put a hand on her hip, shifting her weight. 'I mean she's missing.'
'She couldn't have just vanished, Scarlet.' He noticed her flinch, but said nothing on it. 'You checked all the guards, all the courtesans?'
'Of course I did. I'm not a fool. None of them were around when she was taken.'
The prisoner leaned back. 'Well, you know Lucy. Maybe she's gone on a brief journey of self discovery.'
The Royal Guard's patience was wearing thin, but she forced herself to stop and consider it. The Princess had never exactly been easy to manage, always running around causing trouble where she went, but she doubted Lucy would ever run from the palace. She was free-spirited, it could be said, but life as a stow-away didn't suit her, and Erza had her assumptions that it was not the sort of thing she could be taught. Perhaps if she-
'Have you ever considered,' the prisoner cut into her thoughts, 'That it might have something to do with her mother?'
Her thoughts were silenced, new ones drifting in about the old Queen.
'You know Lucy was hurt when she died. Layla's keys were scattered. What more would a girl like Lucy need as motivation?'
Erza felt weak. It was possible.
'Besides, she's headstrong. She was practically being sold off, Scarlet, she was scared.'
Her armour clinked against the wall as she reached out to steady herself, her breath puffing out in a cloud. 'Lucy...'
The prisoner shifted to his knees and cocked his head to the side. 'Erza, you- look, I know her. I could find her. You know I could.'
Her hand shot back from the wall as if she'd been shocked. 'Out of the question.'
'Erza-'
A loud clinking startled her, and the door flew further open by her back. 'Mistress Erza, someone's demanding to see you-'
The knight who had crashed down the stairs stumbled over himself as he froze, his eyes widening to the size of Erza's fist as he noticed the prisoner staring up at him.
She didn't look away from the man on the floor. 'Thank you, Warren. I'll be with you in a moment.'
He faltered, before turning and bolting back up the way he'd come.
...
Natsu groaned and rolled over, the back of his head crunching unpleasantly into the gravel.
Peeling one eye open, he scrunched up his nose at the clear, star-filled sky that he was greeted with above him. His eyes burned and watered from the cold. He reached to claw his scarf up to wipe them.
Dimly, he realised his scarf was missing.
He rolled back over and fell into sleep again.
It was just as a cloud passed back across the moon that Natsu sat up and almost screamed.
Scrambling to his feet, his hand raked across his neck and around him, searching to meet with the soft material of the scarf he cherished. He spun in circles, his head whipping around.
A soft exhale came from behind him, making his skin go cold and his ears prick up. He had almost forgotten about the blonde lying across the gravel.
A curse that would have made Cana blush escaped his lips.
Only met with dark forest, he ran his hand through his hair and let out a frustrated growl. He was sure, he was sure that he'd had it on. He never even took it off.
He was about to kneel down and shaky Lucy awake to demand his scarf back- she was the only other person who could have taken it, right?!- before a light tap hit the back of his head. He let out a small groan and flung around, trying to see what it had been.
A bright light flooded his vision, bursting behind his eyes.
