Chapter Seven
Lucy and Happy arrived in the royal city of Magnolia, both hiding beneath Lucy's dark cloak. She could feel a lump in her throat as she walked quickly through the bustling square, avoiding eye contact with anyone and everyone. She didn't have Natsu there to save her if she got caught, and if she did, she would have no way to save him.
She walked along the alley to Fairy Tail's secret entrance, her heart thudding harder with every step she took. Lucy hesitated before entering, and Happy peeked his head out from where he was hidden beneath her cloak.
"Come on Lucy. We've gotta save him." Happy said, wiggling out of her arms and hovering beside her. Lucy took a breath, making eye contact with Happy and nodding before stepping inside.
The guild hall looked the same as the first time she had been there, about a dozen wizards chatting and drinking the day away. Lucy walked up to Mira.
"Hi Lucy!" Mira smiled at her warmly, before taking a good look at her face. "Lucy are you okay? You look pale…"
Lucy felt her chest tighten but she clenched her fists. "Mira-san, can you please get everyone's attention?"
Mira nodded slowly, and turned to the noisy guild hall.
"Minna-san! Lucy has something to say!"
No reaction. All the Fairy Tail wizards were too busy with what they were currently doing to note Mira's soft request for their attention. Erza was the only person who looked up with interest. After another moment of nothing but noise Lucy felt a boil in her stomach. She climbed atop the bar and cleared her throat.
"Everyone listen!" Lucy raised her voice over the racket and everyone stopped, staring at her display. She immediately began to get a sense of stage fright, but her concern for her friend pushed her forward.
"Natsu has been imprisoned by the king."
A roar of confusion broke from the wizards.
"What?"
"How did this happen?"
"Natsu? Arrested? How'd they even get him?"
"Lucy, what are you talking about?"
The voices died down at Lucy's silence and they all waited anxiously for her explanation. Lucy brought her hand up to brush the scarf on her neck as she blinked away tears.
"It's my fault Natsu was taken. He… He was protecting me and he never came back."
"How do you know he was arrested? He could just be sleeping somewhere, or maybe he took a job." Cana Alberona paused her drinking to suggest this, earning several shouts of agreement from other wizards. Lucy's teeth clenched.
"He… He was chasing off a Royal Guard who tracked me to his castle."
"Why is the Royal Guard after you? Do they know you're a wizard?" Gray asked, folding his arms quizzically. If they had discovered her, she could be traced back to their guild.
"The Royal Guard is after me because…" Lucy felt a pang of guilt, "Because I ran away from my father. The king."
Every single guild member froze, with the exception Erza, who simply blinked.
"I know I should have told you sooner, but now Natsu is in danger and its all my fault!" Lucy spoke through tears, unable to look at the people before her. "I need to get him back, but I can't do it alone… I'm asking for your help. Please…"
The Fairy Tail wizards stared at her in silence for a moment, before the yelling started.
"Storm the castle? Are you insane?!"
"No way! We can't do that!"
"You're on your own, kid."
"The princess!? How do we know you're not a spy for the king?"
"She could expose us!"
"Enough."
A single word and everyone fell completely silent; such is the power of Titania. Erza stood from her chair, coming to stand in between Lucy and her fellow guild members.
"In my time under the employment of the king I have grown certain of one truth: he cares for nothing. He does not cherish his only daughter but instead, sees her as property to be sold to the highest bidder. Lucy ran away for valid reason and Natsu took her in. It is not her fault Natsu was taken, its not anyone's fault. But he is a member of Fairy Tail; he has been for years! How many countless times as he helped every last one of you? Can you even remember? He would never do anything to hurt us, much less bring someone to the guild that could possibly ruin what we have. Lucy is now also a member of Fairy Tail. She has defied her father in more ways than us and that should be proof enough! We will stick together as a guild, and that means taking back what is ours!" She paused for a moment. "I have watched from the sidelines for too long to allow any more wizards to be arrested because of an unjust law. It's time I make it right. It's time we make it right. We cannot hide in this guildhall any longer. Fairy Tail will rise up and undo the injustice thrust upon us! It has gone far enough!"
Erza's speech ended in hesitant cheers that quickly escalated to an uproar of agreement.
"Yeah! Let's abolish the monarchy!"
"It's time we show the king what Fairy Tail wizards are capable of!"
"Enough of this 'no magic' crap. I want to show my guild mark proudly!"
"Alright then! It's decided!" Erza nodded approvingly and turned to Lucy, who wiped away her tears with a determined smile.
"Let's go get Natsu!"
The sky was beginning to darken as the guild members approached the castle. Lucy felt a surge of confidence with her companions at her side, all walking with purpose. Lucy's cloak opened with the wind and she looked down at it. As they were coming up with a plan, Lucy noticed a dark blue cloak covered in constellation designs. With Mira's approval, she traded it in for her black one and put it on proudly, showing off her celestial power.
Two guards looked at them with confusion as the large group crossed the moat to approach the castle entrance.
"What is your business here?" One of the shouted, aiming his magic spear at the group. Erza stepped forward, causing him to jump back into attention. "G-General Scarlet!"
"Step aside." She said, and the guards looked at each other hesitantly.
"W-We can't do that until we know why you are here."
Erza smiled, a sword materializing at her side before she answered.
"To unleash hell."
She took them both down with a swing of her sword, turning and demolishing the large wooden door with a single kick. "Charge!" She screamed, and everyone yelled, storming the castle and taking down guards with their magic. Lucy ran in alongside them, snapping her whip and tripping several charging guards. She sprinted through the halls, Gray and Levy close on her heels, as they planned.
"Ice Make Battleaxe!"
"Solid Script Anvil!"
One guard was hit with ice and another with metal as they ran with other wizards to the center of the castle. It was absolute chaos, but what do you expect when you piss off the most powerful wizarding guild in Fiore?
Lucy turned the corner to be hit hard in the chest. She fell back, gasping as a man stood over her, sword aimed at her throat. She stared at him.
"You!"
The knight that Natsu had run after looked worse for the wear, sporting a shining black eye, several claw marks on his face, a swelling lip and half his blue hair was burned to the root. SIr Bora scowled at her.
"Lucy-sama, you are a disgrace to your name!" Lucy just sneered at him.
"Why? Because I didn't run into your arms? I'm not yours to claim." He looked enraged, spitting.
"You run into the arms of a moral-less beast instead?!"
"He's not the one who lost." She said coldly.
Sir Bora snapped, his weapon shaking as he felt his pride crack. "True as that may be, he was no match for the kingdom's army…" He grinned maliciously down at her. "He begged for his life."
"Liar!" Lucy screamed in fury. She brought her leg up, landing her foot hard in an upward kick to the man's sensitive area. He fell over with a squeak and she shoved him aside, scrambling to her feet.
Levy rushed to help her, but Lucy held up a hand. "I can handle this guy."
Bora roared with anger, casting a shower of purple fire right at the celestial wizard. Lucy closed her eyes, believing in Natsu's promise as the flames hit. It wasn't hot at all. It was actually cold, especially compared to her dragon's fire. Lucy opened her eyes again as the knight stared at her in horror, the dragon scales she wore slowly absorbing the flames.
"N-Nanda!?" He shouted and she just charged him.
"Open! Gate of the Lion! Leo!" As her spirit took form, Lucy flung her whip, pulling tight and lassoing Bora's arms and chest.
"Princess?" Leo asked, and Lucy just grinned at him.
"Please show this disrespectful bastard how a real man should act?" Lucy knew she was fluffing Leo's ego, but she also aimed to offend the knight. The spirit just smiled, stepping forward and punching him hard in the jaw with a glowing fist, knocking the man out. She sent him back with a smile.
She, Levy and Gray all turned the corner to see a figure standing before them. The woman was dressed in a dreary blue and had dark, foreboding eyes.
"Drip drip, drop." She said quietly, raising her hand and expelling a jet of water. Gray jumped forward, creating a shield of ice against the scalding spell.
"Go get that char-tongued bastard!" The dark-haired wizard yelled, turning his attention back to the water mage. Lucy nodded and ran out another door, Levy at her heels.
"Which way Lu-Chan?" The small blunette asked as they ran further and further into the castle.
"The dungeon is just up here-" Lucy stopped when Levy cried out in pain, and turned to see her friend being held by her hair. A tall dark man covered in metal piercings grinned at her maliciously as Levy squirmed in his grip.
"Levy-chan!"
"Lucy-sama…" Another man walked out from behind the guard who had Levy captive and he looked at her sadly. She gasped.
"Haru…" Haru Vallencourt was one of the knights of her king's guard, and the two had known each other since they were children. He was even her first kiss, something Lucy deeply regretted when he grew into the man that stood before her.
"Lucy, please stop this… I will only ask once…" Haru's dark eyes looked up at her from under his blonde bangs with a pleading. Lucy gritted her teeth.
"My father is wrong! He has my friend locked away, and I will not stand for it!" The man seemed shocked by Lucy's words.
"You… Care for the dragon that took you captive?"
"He didn't take me captive Haru. I came upon his castle during my escape and he promised to protect me!"
"From who? Your father?"
"And you." Lucy spat angrily. "How you can sit and watch your kin be imprisoned and executed for using magic is low, even for you. It's time we take that narcissist off the throne!" Lucy readied her whip and Haru was silent, looking at her angrily.
"I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. If you do not come with me now, I will see to it that all the wizards you brought along are publicly executed!"
Lucy stepped back. "You can't do that… You'll never be able to beat them! We're the strongest wizard guild in the kingdom!"
"Are you so sure of that you would bet their lives?" Levy squirmed in pain behind him, still being held by her hair. The princess felt a pang of remorse at her guildmate's pain and she looked down.
"... And if I comply?"
"I will see they are pardoned." Haru concluded.
"D-Don't do it Lu-Chan!" Levy shouted, gasping. Lucy closed her eyes.
"Fine… Take me to my father…" Haru looked at her triumphantly, taking her arm and starting down the corridors. Lucy glanced back to see Levy wink at her secretly, a finger to her lips and the man holding her turned slightly.
A black Fairy Tail guild mark shone on his left shoulder.
"Gihii."
"Enter." Lucy walked inside her father's study at his command, her old friend by her side and gripping her arm. Lucy tore her arm from his hold, looking at him icily as her father spoke again. "Lucy. It's good to see you."
The girl just turned to him and glared daggers at him in silence.
"Soften your gaze, young lady. We have a lot to discuss. Since your disappearance, I arranged for every knight in the kingdom to bring you home. Although, I never expected you would come here by yourself. I'm glad you came to your senses." The king paused, chuckling as he turned to look out his window. "It's quite a ruckus your friends are causing out there. They will be punished to the fullest extent of the law for their crimes, I can promise you that. As for you," He looked back at her menacingly, "You will marry whom I choose or you and your friends will suffer the consequences. Have I made myself clear?"
Lucy was silent, meeting her father's glare defiantly.
"I did not come here so you could marry me off. In fact, I'm leaving." Her father looked furious but she continued. "All my life, I have been told how to live. You treat me as if I am nothing but property. I am my own person, and I will make my own decisions! I will marry whom I see fit and it will be out of love, not for social or political gain!" Lucy pointed accusingly at her father. "Mother would be ashamed of your arrogance!"
The king snapped, spitting with rage, "You will do as I say! You are my daughter!"
"Not anymore."
"Vallencourt! Seize her!"
Before the knight could even take a step, the door burst open and an armor clad woman charged forth, shoving Haru against the wall with her sword pressed savagely against his throat.
"Don't you dare." Erza threatened coldly.
"General! What is the meaning of this?!" The king shouted. Four more people walked into the room. Gray, the blue haired mage he had been battling, Levy, and the man who had been holding her stood tall behind Lucy. Lucy felt her chest swell as she looked at her companions, before turning to stare down the king.
"There are more of us than you think."
In a burst of light, each of the Fairy Tail wizards' guild marks began to glow, the invisibility spell lifting to reveal marks in every color tattooed on their skin. Lucy held up her right hand for her father to see, proudly showing her pink insignia.
"I am a member of the Fairy Tail guild and we're taking you down!"
Ehehe I loved writing this chapter so much. The bond between the Fairy Tail wizards is unparalleled and one of the greatest things about this manga/anime.
~Cas