The sky was heavy with humongous white clouds but there was no sign of rain as the sun began to set on the shabby inexpensive inn where Fairy Tail's strongest team resided.
"All done baby," Cancer pulled back from his masterpiece, turning his master so she could view his handiwork. Lucy gasped, looking in to the oval mirror of the vanity and seeing her hair shining like strands of gold. Cancer had opted for a long flow of hair across her shoulders, ever so slightly curled, and a lock of hair pulled up into a braid along her temple only to fade seamlessly back into the river of gold. Woven in to her hair were a net of diamonds, mimicking the flow of the milky-way and tucking away gently. Though it was not his job, Cancer placed Lucy's matching necklace, with sparkling diamonds heavily flowing in a ribbon from the right of her neck into a thin shimmering line on her left like liquid that wrapped from just above her ears, around her neck and out of sight.
"It's perfect Cancer! Thank you so much!" Her crab spirit nodded with a small smile, and with one final "Baby," faded back to the spirit world.
Lucy examined herself, and deciding she looked as good as she would, pulled out another golden key.
She took a deep breath and called out, "Open! Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!"
A whirlwind of energy and light focused on a single point, and suddenly a small maid with bright pink hair and emotionless eyes appeared before her, carrying an elegant ball gown.
"Are you ready to be dressed Princess?"
Lucy breathed out a shaky lung full of air, and nodded, holding out her arms and allowing her spirit to work.
As Virgo quickly changed her master she asked, "Are you alright Princess?"
Lucy took a second to respond, staring at the door distractedly. "I uh yes. I'm fine."
"You are being dishonest," Virgo straightened, finished now. "That is unlike you."
Lucy looked down at the gorgeous gown, shifting her weight to watch the fabric move and shimmer in the dim light of the setting sun, saying nothing.
"You are nervous, but I see no reason to be."
Lucy huffed out a strained laugh. "I'm going to a ball with Loke and you see no reason to be nervous?"
The maid tilted her head in confusion though her voice gave nothing away. "Leo cares for you deeply. You have no reason to be frightened of him."
Lucy bit her lip and felt the heat of her cheeks with a cool hand. She turned away from her spirit, looking at the mirror and pretending to fix some imperfection of her hair that did not exist. "I- I'm not frightened of him. He makes me… nervous. Sometimes."
"You make him nervous too Princess."
Lucy's hand froze against her hair, staring at her own shocked expression.
"Brother once said, long before we knew you, that being nervous was okay because it meant you were doing it right. I believe he is experiencing this now." The maid blinked when Lucy turned to face her. "I have never known him to be nervous. I wonder what has changed."
Lucy looked down at the floorboards, wondering the same thing. What had changed for him?
What had changed for her?
Virgo could sense the subtle changes in her mood and waited patiently for the punishment she was sure to receive. However Lucy merely smiled a small smile at nothing in particular, and said "You can go now Virgo, thank you."
Perhaps she would be punished next time.
The great lion waited, preened and pressed to perfection at the door of a modest carriage outside of the inn. He looked again at the window he knew Lucy's room was behind for what felt like the hundredth time before the man sat on the steps of the inn spoke.
"You are doing fine dude, don't sweat it."
Loke looked over to Gray but managed to say nothing, choosing instead to look at his polished shoes, kicking at the pebbled road.
"You know," Gray pressed, "I've never seen you like this. I figured you would be the champ at this, but you look just as nervous as I would be." Gray looked up at the way the sun caught the billowing clouds left over from the storm. "Lucy is one hell of a gorgeous lady but I figured you would hold up better than this." The ice mage didn't need to look down to feel the powerful glare he was getting, smirking and tilting his head to catch Loke's eye. "I ain't lookin' man she's all yours, I was just saying."
Loke didn't restrain the growl that rumbled in his chest, enjoying the way it uneased his guildmate. "Take my advice Gray," Loke narrowed his eyes behind his since reclaimed azure tinted shades, "shut the hell up."
"Take MY advice and relax man. This is Lucy, you'll be fine."
Silence reigned for a while, and Gray took the time to look over the man standing so stiffly in front of their rented carriage. He had a hard time convincing himself this was the same womanizing playboy he had known for years, or even the same spirit he had known on Tenrou Island. Something had definitely changed for him.
"You must really be serious about this huh. You really do love her."
Loke's breathe caught and his thoughts rung with the word he had been so hesitant to apply. He had no idea what to do with that word, no idea why it felt so huge and foreign when he had used it so callously a thousand times before.
Gray watched the spirit's reaction and nodded, mostly to himself as his speculations were confirmed. He was not one to miss the subtle things, and the look in his old friend's eyes did not go unnoticed. The ice mage looked up at Lucy's window himself and was not surprised in the slightest that it had been her that could grab a player's heart in such a fashion. Someone had finally reigned him in, and the guy had it bad.
"For what it's worth," Gray offered, "I think she's noticed she isn't just another girl for you. That was the biggest thing standing in your way." Gray stood and stretched looking at his friend through one eye. "Goes without saying that I'll kick your ass to spirit dust if you break her heart."
Loke only nodded, having expected the threat earlier then it came. Silence fell once again as Gray decided he had harassed Loke long enough and went inside to find Erza, Happy and Natsu. The lion was left alone, standing guard and utterly lost in his thoughts.
"Just make her happy," he muttered out loud, "Just make her smile and laugh and the rest will come. Be her friend, make her happy. Don't overthink it, it's just a mission."
He braced himself when he heard Natsu and the others talking to someone inside, hearing what sounded like excited praise. 'Lucy must be down now…' he thought, taking the chance to take off his glasses and tuck them away, pushing at his pants to smooth a miniscule crease. He held his breath and waited for the group, trying to be prepared but gasping nonetheless when Lucy and the others stepped out.
She was… radiant.
Loke moved to her side practically in a trance, taking her arm and guiding her across the pebbled road so she wouldn't stumble. "You look absolutely gorgeous Lucy, stunning, honestly."
Lucy blushed, and he was flattered to catch her not so subtly checking him out as they walked. "You- you look very handsome. This suits you nicely."
Loke smiled at her, his grin becoming less nervous and more genuine when her eyes lingered on his backside when she thought he couldn't see, forgetting just how reflective Erza's armor really was. He opened the door to the horse drawn carriage with a flourish, presenting his hand to assist her inside, striking a fine and gentlemanly pose as he did so. He grinned again when she blushed after looking at the prince like man before her, taking his hand and hurrying to be seated. Loke took a step up but hung out the door to allow the others to gather close and speak to both Lucy and himself with ease.
"Alright," Erza addressed them with her usual serious tone, "You will be attending as Madame Sybil Cosima and her newly engaged fiancé Cyril Jago, a wealthy land owner from the southern continents. Your names have been added to the list by the client's contacts, so entry won't be a problem. Your main objective is to get close to the host of the ball and get information to relay to the infiltration team through the communication lacrimas positioned in the courtyard by the client. Anything you can find out, types of security, rooms of the manor, who are non-wizards and who are, you relay to the team. We will wait three hours after you arrive to move in, so make sure to make contact with us before then with whatever you know."
Lucy and Loke nodded in unison while Gray and Natsu shared sharp grins at the mission ahead. The lion spirit looked down at the rings on his fingers, and after a moment's thought, removed one with a large ruby embedded in the gold.
"It hardly matches," he stated nervously, "but a newly engaged couple can't appear without rings to sell the story. It should fit." His hands were sweaty from his overactive imagination, thinking of a very different scenario when he slid the band in place on Lucy's ring finger. He didn't have the guts to look her in the eye and Lucy muttered a quick "Good thinking," before staring at the ring in a daze, admiring it. Erza smiled proudly at the lion, gave a quick nod, and departed. Gray gave him a smug, knowing look before following the redhead, leaving Natsu and Happy to catch up with an indignant cry of "Wait up guys!"
Loke signaled the driver to move forward, pulling the door shut with him as he climbed inside, very aware of the heat in the compartment. There was silence for a long time, only the horses and wheels audible as they drove, until Lucy spoke up.
"This is an amazing ring, I've never seen you without it. I promise I won't mistreat it."
Her timid voice made him feel more at ease, turning his head to admire the familiar band of gold now set primly on her finger. The visual set him right back on edge.
"I trust you with it, it is a very important ring." Dear god his voice sounded thin and boyish. He cleared his throat before he continued. "It's called 'Fragment of Regulus'."
The way her mouth popped open in a surprised 'o' shape made him smile again.
"The heart of the lion…" she whispered. Most likely without realizing how it might sound, she muttered "I'll take care of it, you have my word."
"I know you will Princess, thank you."
"Monsieur Jago it is an honor to welcome you and your lovely fiancé to the manor this evening." The knobby servant that waited by the carriage door succeeded in making the 'couple' very uncomfortable almost instantly, considering he was speaking over Lucy and to Loke as if she wasn't even there.
"Thank you, if you will please help my fiancé now…"
"But of course!" the servant interjected, eagerly grabbing Lucy's hand and helping her step down. Lucy gave him a polished and practiced smile, thanking him for his help, but it did not go unseen by her spirit how quickly she retracted her hand. He was quick to be by her side, taking her arm perhaps a little too possessively but Lucy ultimately seemed grateful for it.
"This way to the hall, if you excuse me I have other guests to greet." The servant whisked away in a hurry and Lucy gave her lion a theatrical grimace.
"Ew," was all she said, making Loke chuckle.
"This way darling," he smiled down at how it made her eyes narrow, pulling her with him towards the grand entrance.
The scent of champagne and the sound of haughty laughter reached them before they were even inside, both taking a deep breath before stepping over the threshold and in to a sea of satin and silk. The hall itself was massive and extravagant, with elaborate murals spanning the empty spaces of walls wherever a lofty mirror or gold accented column did not dominate. There were several levels, the main one being the large dance floor in the center with an ostentatious orchestra pit at the forefront. Up some steps above that was a common level for socializing, and a balcony above even that for private encounters.
Loke tensed up in surprise when Lucy leaned heavily in to him, gripping his arm tightly and laughing at a joke he had never made. "Oh sweetheart you really do take me to the most charming places."
"Uh…" Loke was stumped right out the gate, deciding to just smile at her charmingly. It was only then that he saw the gaggle of women whose attention they had earned just from entering. 'Ah' he thought, pulling Lucy close to him and putting a finger under her chin to tilt her gaze up at him. "Only the finest for my future bride."
His statement worked like a charm, and the vain gold diggers huffed and sighed, dispersing to find other attractive men to pray on. "Nice," Lucy commented with her first 'Lucy' smile of the night, before replacing it with the prim and proper one expected of high society women.
"Only the finest for my future bride," he repeated, deciding he was hungry and steering his lovely companion towards the banquet table on the second level.
The wealthy landowner Cyril Jago procured two glasses of champagne, presenting one to his partner with a slight bow before taking a draft of his own. They linked arms again, closing in on the table of delicately prepared food. As Lucy let her spirit consider the options, she swept a keen eye across the hall. How were they supposed to know who Duke Godfrey was? Perhaps they could just ask. However she knew it was likely that he had not yet arrived, and they would need to bide their time.
"I have no idea what the hell this is," Loke whispered to her, holding up some caramelized tentacle looking cake for her to look at. She raised an eyebrow at it and pushed it away from her face.
"Pick something normal to eat I don't need you getting sick from… honestly I don't know what that is either."
"You say normal like the rich have tuna salad sitting around somewhere."
"Do you have fish on the brain kitty? I think there is some over there."
"Don't you even go there."
Lucy giggled and made it obvious to ogle his ass this time.
"Enjoying the view?"
"Checking for a tail actually."
"SERIOUSLY?" he hissed at her, trying to cover it in a cough when others looked over.
He grabbed her arm and rushed her down the stairs, forgetting all about his hunger.
"Wait no what are you doing?!" Lucy stumbled and fell against him, her whole body pressed tightly against his, his hands falling on the small of her back to steady her.
"Getting payback," he purred at her, in a charming way of course.
Before she could protest, she was held intimately in the center of the dance floor, the lion grinning mischievously and catching her hands, pulling her through the first few steps until she got her footing.
Lucy tried to steady her erratic breathing, her entire visage screaming flustered. To anyone else it would look like a shy maiden being chosen as entertainment for a flirtatious duke, and they wouldn't be far off. "I am going to kill you for this," she whispered harshly, but he kept on smiling away, relishing in their closeness.
"Just let me lead lovely, try and relax." He bent his mouth close to her ear, "it's all work remember?"
"And I said stay focused remember?"
To her surprise Loke frowned.
"The song will be over soon." He said quietly, his hands looser on hers now. He had overstepped, gotten too excited and pushed her too far. 'Nice,' he thought dejectedly.
'Yeesh, his confidence changes pretty easily lately…' Lucy considered what Virgo had said earlier that night. That she made him nervous too.
"I-well, there's nothing wrong with a few more songs." She hid her face in the only place she could, given their closeness. Against his chest and out of sight from his shocked hazel eyes. From this position she could hear the sudden pick up of his heart, outpacing the tempo they swayed to ten to one, and it made her smile. She could sense his unease all but vanish, taking her proximity and settling a hand on her back and the other in her delicate fingers.
"Nothing wrong with that," he mirrored, his heart light from happiness.
They were in that position for the next few songs, Lucy's head resting against his chest and Loke with one arm wrapped protectively around her, the other idly reaching up to stroke the ends of her hair. Lucy's head had originally been full of doubting self-conscious thoughts like bees fighting for freedom in a glass jar, but as they swayed and Loke relaxed, it was less like a dance in a political ball with formal attire. It was more how she would imagine a dance to a slow song in a living room would be, a man in sweats and a t-shirt and a woman in shorts and a tank-top, holding each other closely. It was often a thought she had entertained for her future prince, inspired by her romance novels and thirst for intimacy. Not the physical passion that she admittedly also desired, but the emotional calm that came from knowing someone so deeply, you could keep dancing even when the song ended. The thought made her blush, but she did not pull away. She didn't get it, she didn't understand what it was that... this was, but she liked it. She didn't want it to stop. She had finally grown tired of not believing him, of writing him off when he said he cared. Her eyes drifted to her hand, resting on his arm that surrounded her, and watched as the ruby of the ring on her finger flared like fire. The ring he had never been without, and never given to anyone before.
He had given her a piece of his heart, and she was going to give him some in return. She trusted him with her life… perhaps she could also trust him with-
Trumpets flared and the dancers on the floor stopped like trained military ranks, snapping to attention and turning to face the highest balcony that led to the rest of manor. Loke and Lucy moved quickly to mimic their actions, Loke obviously disgruntled that their contact had to be broken, waiting for what he knew would come next.
"Esteemed guests!" a thick male voice boomed, "I am so grateful you could come and join me in my ecstasy. I offer you my wealth and my land to bring you any exotic pleasures you demand! Let us share in our fortunes and revel in a finer life!"
Lucy looked at the man addressing the crowd, understanding instantly that it must be Godfrey. He certainly was pompous enough to fit the bill. He was tall, fat, and took up far too much space, straining his white and gold king like attire to bursting buttons. His thin weed like goatee combined with slick greasy black hair that hung to his shoulders was enough to make Madame Cosima gag, shooting a glance up at her spirit and knowing he felt the same.
The crowd applauded him and when he disappeared back inside the manor, presumably to work his way downstairs (which would take him a few minutes, Lucy was sure) the murmuring picked up in full swing.
"If we are going to get info on Godfrey it will be from the gossip, we should split up." Lucy couldn't help but frown at what she knew to be a complete and utter 'No' written across Loke's face.
"Okay," she amended, "We should go together."
"Lead the way."
Loke sat back and watched Lucy work, honestly impressed by how she could work the shallow women obsessed with money and themselves into telling her everything she needed to know. They would walk past a gossiping group of women and their reluctant husbands and Lucy would say out loud to her lion, "Have you heard of this nasty business with Sir Woods?"
Loke would play along, replying, "Abner? The old fool, whatever has happened with him now."
They would be interrupted by one of the women, tugging her husband along. "Oh I've heard everything about him, riling up the good Duke Godfrey like that, he deserves whatever he gets the washed up old prune. I hear his fortune is nearly halved now!" The husband would chuckle, "Not that it was ever much to begin with." And they would all laugh that haughty rich person laugh.
He could see Lucy tick through what they learned from every interaction.
-Pre-existing bad blood between client and target
-Clients fortune recently halved, why a big reward then?
-Client's reputation already minimal among elite, what could the documents contain that could be detrimental to his image? Illicit photographs unlikely
-Duke Godfrey in good standings, further investigation required
Then on to the next group. She was unstoppable, but Loke was no slouch either, picking out the unfaithful ladies with relative ease. It didn't take too long to find one of them boasting about her time with the host of the party. She was lecturing everyone nearby about how well she knew her "Little Allister, I call him Alli of course, you must call him Duke Godfrey though."
"I am jealous to know that there are those lucky enough to have stayed in this home, the estate is something to be marveled at really."
"Oh yes," the frightful witch droned, "Little Alli, that's what I call him, settles for nothing less than perfection."
"That must be why he had you." He forced a smile and internally groaned when he heard Lucy snicker by his side, when she joined the game.
"You must build us a manor as grand sweetie, as tall and as luxurious!"
Loke smiled at her lovingly like a fiancé might, not having to act too much. "Of course darling of course. It will be just as tall if not taller, how many floors is this manor? Four?"
"Five! With a cellar as well!" the mistress eagerly corrected.
"Then six it will be. And a garden as wide!"
"We must have a gorgeous view of it from our study! I'm sure not even the Duke could boast as much."
"Don't be so sure," the witch sneered, acting superior, "The view from our study is of the great mountains, with his racing track easily seen so he can watch the private races without getting his shoes dirty! I'm sure even the south has no wealth enough for that."
They left that interaction with smirks on their faces, adding to their list.
-Five floors, cellar too
-Study, most likely to contain documents, located on east side of the building facing the mountain with a wide enough and high enough view to see the races. Narrows down possible location to four rooms
-Unfaithful
Loke, pretending to be a frisky drunk flirting with married women was detained and neutralized within forty five seconds by security, but easily enough convinced by an attractive blonde promising to sober up her fiancé to release him.
-Security strong
-Mostly focused around guest areas and courtyard
-Armed and quickly responsive
-Wizards among them
-Magic types unknown
For the most part guests were non-wizards. This was easy to determine by Loke's charming lines of "You are absolutely glowing gorgeous," only to be cut off by an angry fiancé saying "That's your light magic you tactless ape," and gauging their reactions from there, often prompting wizards to show off in return. Plus, they were a 'Look the other way' type of bunch and were unlikely to engage, as determined by 'Drunk Loke's' detainment.
It wasn't too much longer until it was time for them to slip away into the private areas of the courtyard, following the markers to a concealed location where they carefully freed a shining lacrima from the bushes. The others were waiting on the other end.
"Bout time!" Natsu shouted at them almost immediately, making the two of them flinch.
"We were getting worried, glad to see nothing went wrong." Gray said coolly, his tone implying he hadn't been all that worried.
"Have you learned anything?" Erza finally asked.
They took turns running through their list while the others listened carefully, talking aloud for the benefit of the formal team while they strategized.
"Me and Happy can look for the study from the air, in and out and done!" Natsu whined, getting annoyed with all this diplomatic secrecy. It was delaying a fight in his eyes.
"They said security is all over the common grounds and that includes the race track dumbass, you would be spotted instantly." Gray and Natsu momentarily locked horns before Erza pounded them into the ground without breaking her concentration.
"We might be able to gain access through the work areas, the servants are so busy they probably won't even look twice. If there is a guard positioned there it should be easy to subdue him."
"I knew they would find some reason to punch somebody," Loke whispered to his master.
"Okay fine, me and Happy punch out a guard then storm the place,"
"No you idiot! We would be spotted!" Gray was seething, before his voice cut short. "Wait there's an idea."
"Mm?" Erza seemed to be barely listening.
"We were gonna use Lucy and Loke as distractions if we needed one but what if we just send Natsu in punching on the bottom floor since we know the study can't be there and me and you just go look for the documents. Happy comes with us to fly out whoever has the papers since the guards will already be on red alert and the other one just gets out fighting. There's only a couple wizards and the request didn't say we HAD to be subtle."
"Wealthy enemies could cause trouble for the guild if they go to the council," Lucy interjected.
"Then we don't let them know we're from Fairy Tail. Cover our guild marks and keep magic to a minimum."
"IM NOT COVERING MY MARK YOU PERVERTED TRAITOR"
"I had to do it Natsu, you can to," Lucy sighed.
The pounding Natsu received from Erza could be heard over the lacrima.
"Gray's plan will work. We will go with that strategy. Natsu, keep your magic looking like generic fire magic, no dragon slayer spells, and you can hit as many guards as you like."
Loke and Lucy smiled at each other, pleased to have done good work. The rest was up to the others now.
They said their goodbyes and good-lucks, stowed the lacrima and started walking back to the ballroom.
Loke held out an arm which Lucy gladly took, looking in at all the festive fun of vain underserving people, a little glad that she was a part of some grand scheme against one of them. She had known many kind upper-class folk, but this party was painfully devoid of them.
"Maybe we can share a few more dances before the ruckus begins?" Loke offered, returning Lucy's happy smile and slight blush.
"Yeah, now we can just enjoy the party."
Once inside, Loke grabbed another two sparkling drinks and held his glass in the air.
"Here's to home." Lucy beamed up at him, seeing and feeling his happiness just as potently as her own.
"To home."
And they clinked their glasses.