the dream isn't done

Characters: Many of the Ice Flower Pirates, Sherry Blendy, Chelia

Summary: It has only just begun.


They reached the island within the passage known as ShadowPass with the first daylight. Juvia who had stayed up all night as the ShadowPass was a dangerous part of the sea looked tired as she arrived for breakfast – because they ate on board before they left the ship. Yet the navigator was always rather cheerful and Gajeel remarked that it was because she would finally, after three long weeks, return to her original ship and – which caused the blue-haired woman to blush – her captain. Levy scolded the black-haired man then, told him to stop teasing their friend.

Sherry and Chelia easily laughed along as Lyon muttered something about everyone being in denial. The princesses who had formerly been scared of their fate had nearly forgotten about their status as prisoners because even with Gajeel being rude unless Levy hit him with a book and Juvia ranting about things they did not understand, it felt far more warm than the palace back home. It was nice to be taken seriously for a change, to be asked whether they actually wanted to do something. Sherry had never known that she liked to chat about books (and Levy had a huge collection of interesting books that told tales of faraway places) and Chelia sat with Juvia in the crow nest, wearing a pair of pants borrowed from the original navigator of the ship and just marvelled at the beauty of the sky.

"It's time to go now," Lyon said as he rose and wrapped his cape around himself. "Crew, we will all go see my mother. I still have no idea on why we received the orders we did receive so we will have to find it out together."

This was the best explanation why people like Gajeel who generally were not those to accept a superior or Levy who was too smart to follow anyone were in this crew. Gajeel accepted Lyon because Lyon was no pretender who claimed to know something when in truth, he was just as clueless as everyone else. And Levy liked being consulted, asked for help. Lyon did that.

"Alright," Juvia said as she rose, her skirt rustling.

Sherry was awed as she saw the village surrounding the pirates' port for the very first time. The people seemed so friendly, so normal – too normal to make it believable that they were indeed pirates. The houses were humble, true, but the clothes the townspeople wore were stable and clean and nice. Nothing akin to what Cerisan nobles would wear but better than what Sherry had seen in the rare times she had left the palace to go to the poorer quarters.

"Awww," Chelia said as she tugged on her older cousin's sleeve. "It's so beautiful here – and the weather is really, really nice. Let us stay here, yes?"

"I am not sure whether you haven't realised it yet, Lia, but the decision to leave is not mine," the crown princess said as she ruffled her cousin's hair.

"Ah, don't say those things. Juvia is sure that the lady has her reasons for this. Oh, and welcome to the Rosengarten," Juvia said cheerfully as she clasped her hand around Sherry's wrist. "You will surely like it here – we grow our own food, it's far tastier than anything else."

"True that," a scarlet-haired woman said as she nodded at Gajeel who was walking next to the navigator. "Did you hear that the Salamander engaged the Blue Raven in combat, again?" she asked, a little more serious now.

"With Dragneel as captain of the boat, it doesn't surprise me," the first mate said with a shrug.

"I will never understand what possessed mother to make him the captain," the silver-haired captain said quietly. "He is entirely unfit to lead a complete crew."

"Will it cheer you up to learn that Lucy is doing that?" the redhead asked with a chuckle.

"That oversized doll ain't much of a leader, truth be told," Gajeel said with a sigh. "She's good with the maps – nowhere as good as Juvia, sure – but yeah, she's a better captain than Dragneel will ever be."

"Gajeel's flattery is very kind," Juvia said as she clapped her hands. "How was Erza's trip?"

The red-haired woman who carried an impressive amount of swords on her belt merely shrugged. "I got nothing against Wendy, she's a cute doll, but I prefer to have my own navigator back soon. But as the Excalibur is on the horizon already, I will have him back under my sails soon," she said. "And I am sure that Lyon is happy to get his navigator back, right?"

"Hmh," the man said. "Ah well, while Juvia is a lovely companion, her constant talking about my dearest brother can get annoying after a while," he muttered with a quirky smile. "But hadn't you said we'd reach the Rosengarten after Gray, Juvia?" he inquired.

"Juvia has never been on the Lamia for a prolonged time before," the navigator said with an apologetic smile. "She had not known that the Lamia is the second fastest ship after the Bloom."

"Nevermind," the woman called Erza said with a dismissive wave. "So, I hope you will like it here, Princess Sherry, Princess Chelia. If my crew gets the permission, we will gladly let you stay aboard of the ship. The may not be the fastest ship in the fleet but we sail fast and we always reach our destination. Also, we are the most peaceful crew."

"She lies," Lyon said which came as a surprise as the captain was usually rather silent and rarely butted into a conversation. "She seems all nice and peaceful now and she is, too – but once she gets her hands onto some alcohol, she gives the SerenianOcean on a stormy day a run for its money. Erza is a good captain, fair, too. But she is a terrible drinker."

"Why, you foul-mouthed—"

"Ya're scaring the princesses, Scarlet," Gajeel said, showing a rare hint of empathy. "And the shrimp too, I bet."

Behind him, Levy rolled her eyes before she hit his shoulder with the book she carried. "So, Erza," she said nonchalantly as the black-haired man rubbed his shoulder. "Is the leader up home or on board?"

"On board," the woman said as she shrugged. "She isn't leaving the Bloom lately, something worries her, I'd say if I were one to assume what my superior is thinking."

So they made their way to the white ship with the white sails. It now made sense why this ship was the closest to the mansion. If the Pirate Queen got betrayed, she would be able to make it to her ship before the masses would make it to her.

On board of the ship, they found the Dame – as Gajeel and only Gajeel called her – and Sherry was surprised. The woman wore a red vest which bore the insignia of her fleet and a black dress befitting a noble woman. Her hair which was of an oddly deep shade of purple was in a braid and glittering ornaments adored it.

"We are back, mother," Captain Lyon said as he crossed his arms.

"I see this, son," the woman replied. "Welcome back, everyone. And welcome, Princesses."

Her voice held the accent of Crustallum's fallen nobility and the way she wore her hair reminiscent to a crown added to the faint suspicions. Sherry was no Levy who read people the same way she read books but she had spend the past twenty years around nobility and so it was nearly an insult that someone of noble origin tried to hide it from her.

"Thank you," Sherry said as she bowed her head. "Forgive me for being rude but I'd prefer having a name to a face."

"Ah well, the name's Ur, ruler of – six seas by now. Natsu managed to bring the Jaded Silver Line under control and so that means that the way to Crustallum from the Southern side is ours now," the woman said as she sat down. "Please, everyone. Have a seat. The first mate of the Thor has an important report to make which will also explain why we had to kidnap the crown princess."

A brunette woman with long wavy hair stepped out of the shadows and bowed shortly. "Three weeks ago, when the Thor arrived late at night, we brought more than just new treasures we had found in the SerenianOcean," she started. "Thanks to Mirajane, we had gained the knowledge that the country of Brago, our personal archenemy, had decided to broaden their influence on the landparts as they had lost their last pass to the … Resistance called Ice Flower." She stopped for a second. "Mirajane's report was enough to tip off those informed about the incident of twenty years ago so we set sails back to Rosengarten to report the story to Ur."

"Don't keep us waiting, woman," a black-haired man said curtly as he flopped down on a chair.

"Nice to see you as well, Gray," the woman snapped yet she continued. "Mirajane told the captain and me that Brago would repeat their old technique to bring countries under control. By forcing the crown princess of Cerasis under a marriage contract, they wanted to control the country. Because of Mirajane's general trustworthiness, Ur decided to send the Lamia to kidnap the princess and her cousin before she could reach Brago."

Sherry gasped, leaning forward. "W-what?" she asked, voice hollow and terrified.

"Yes," the pirate queen said softly, her voice laced with empathy and understanding. "And Cana just revealed the true purpose of the Ice Flower. We are less pirates than fighters of the resistance, of the resistance against Brago. We will bring them to their knees – and believe me, that you were kidnapped will set the wheels in motion."

"Which still begs one question," the black-haired man called Gray smirked.

"Oh shut up," Lyon muttered under his breath. "What can possibly be important right now?"

"Why did you send Lyon instead of me? The Excalibur is better suited for such manoeuvres but no, you rather had Juvia navigating a ship she had never navigated before," the man went on, ignoring his brother. "So yes, why the Lamia and not the Excalibur?"

"Oh, Gray," the leader said with a sigh. "You are impatient and rush into battle without thinking first a lot. So I rather send someone who thinks first."

"Madam Ur," Sherry said, sounding far braver than she felt. "I thank you for rescuing both me and my cousin. I will be in your debt for a long time."

"Ah, don't you worry about debts," the woman said friendly. "I have been playing this game for a long time. Do you want to know the ultimate goal of this game? Controlling all the seven seas is crucial for the endgame. Crucial for freeing Crustallum. The Civil War is less a civil war than Brago's troups fighting the population of a country that is loyal to the death. I am, as you probably already realised, from Crustallum. I have been watching my people get murdered for twenty years. My patience has nearly ran out. Yet – reclaiming what was lost is impossible at the moment. Impossible for Ur, the pirate queen, and impossible for Urania, the crown princess."