Author's note: The new chapter is up, I hope you like it. I do not own Fairy Tail.
HIDDEN FEELINGS
CHAPTER 7
The Fairy Tail mages found themselves back on the road quicker than they expected, as they made their way towards the city. It wasn't long before they reached the outskirts of the city, where the merchants' guild was located. Since they were still outside the city, it wasn't as crowded as it was towards the centre, but there were still several buildings. Some of them were large stores that sold their goods wholesale, so that shopkeepers would take their merchandise to sell it, some of them were trading centers and there were also a few houses. The merchants' guild was a fairly big, rectangular building, and there seemed to be several people gathered in front of it.
"So, this must be the place" Gray said.
"Yes. This is the merchants' guild where I came from" the delivery boy said.
"This is quite a commotion. Look at all this people" Loke commented.
"Are there any people inside? Any hostages?" Erza asked.
"There are. Most of the people who work there must be still inside" the delivery boy said.
"This complicates things" Erza said thoughtfully.
"Do you know how many of the bandits are there inside the guild?" Lucy said.
"I don't know, there are several I guess. What are you asking me for? You are here now, aren't you gonna do something about it?" the delivery boy said impatiently.
"In a moment. First we need to confirm some things" Loke said calmly.
"Confirm some things? What are you talking about? My fellow guild mates could be in danger at that very moment!" the delivery boy yelled.
"I wouldn't say so. The bandits have no reason to hurt them. At least not yet, not now while they are still not under threat" Erza said.
"How did you manage to escape? How did you slip away from them?" Gray said.
"How did I escape? As I said, I was about to make the delivery when they attacked. I was already out and I came for help" the delivery boy said.
"Then why don't you have the books?" Loke asked suspiciously.
"I, I panicked! I didn't have the time to think about any books" the delivery boy said nervously.
"Why did you come to the mansion then? Lord Blackwood may be kind, but he has no actual obligation to help you. Why didn't you go to the Rune Knights? I think the headquarters in the city is actually closer from the mansion" Lucy said thoughtfully.
"And how where you so sure that the Shadow Nin would still be here when we would come? They are supposed to be an elite band of thieves that strike swiftly" Erza added.
"I don't know, why are you asking me? What's with all these questions?" the delivery boy said irritated.
"You sound nervous. Why is that?" Gray said, narrowing his eyes.
"Yeah, why so defensive? You wouldn't want us to simply rush at the guild, would you?" Loke said as the mages moved closer.
"You guys are more annoying than I expected" the delivery boy said with a sigh, before he suddenly lashed forward and grabbed Lucy from behind, pulling a small dagger and putting it near her neck.
"Lucy! You bastard!" Gray said angrily.
"Foolish mages! All you had to do was simply attack the guild, and the others would take care of you. Isn't that what you Fairy Tail mages are supposed to do anyway? But now you had to play the investigators. Too bad for you" the delivery boy said with a smirk.
"So you really are one of the Shadow Nin. How did you know that we were going to be at the mansion? Did you follow us?" Erza said, trying to remain calm but her anger was visible.
"We heard word that Lord Blackwood asked help from some mage guild and we figured it would probably be Fairy Tail, but we didn't know that you guys were already there. I guess the payment was so good, that you had to act at once. Anyway, all I was supposed to do was observe the mansion and try to talk the old man into sending some of his personal security. You guys are just a bonus, it will be much better to get rid of you here" the bandit said still smirking.
"You really think you guys can take us out? Or that this is not going to end up very bad for you?" Loke pushed his shining shades calmly.
"There may be more of you, but I do have the advantage right now. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your pretty friend here now, would you?" the bandit said, playing with his knife.
"Don't you even think about touching her, or else you are going to regret this!" Gray growled.
"It's okay Gray. Just calm down" Lucy said with steady voice.
"Lucy's right, calm down Gray. Let's hear him out first" Erza said, giving the bandit a cold glare.
"You better hear them out hot shot. I would hate to do something to such a pretty girl, it would be a terrible waste. But I will if you don't sit nice" the bandit said playing with Lucy's hair, causing Gray to clench his fists tightly. "Now listen up. You are going to follow me nice and easy back to the guild, where the others are waiting. There you will sit quietly with the rest of the hostages and you'll answer whatever question you'll be asked about the mansion" he continued.
"And then what? What happens next?" Loke said.
"That remains to be decided. For the moment, you'll do as I say" the bandit said simply. Gray's mind was working like crazy. What should he do? Should he attempt to take this guy out? He didn't have a clear shot, what if he hit Lucy? Or what if he wasn't fast enough and that guy actually hurt her? But if they simply followed him, then not only Lucy but all of them might have a hard time. Suddenly, Lucy moved her foot and stomped the bandit's foot hard.
"Aargh!" the bandit yelled as he flinched and his hand with the dagger moved spontaneously away from her neck.
"Now's my chance!" Lucy thought as she used this small opportunity and drove her elbow to the bandit's midsection, causing him to gasp in pain and move slightly backwards.
"You bitch!" he groaned.
"Lucy Kick!" Lucy yelled as she swung her leg and landed a hard kick on the bandit's face, sending him crashing against the wall of a nearby building, and landing on the ground. The other mages looked at Lucy with shock, their eyes wide open in surprise.
"Whoa! Lucy! That was, amazing!" Loke said as he slightly recovered from his surprise.
"Congratulations Lucy, I didn't think you had it in you! I guess I must have underestimated you, I apologize for that" Erza said with a satisfied smile.
"You don't have to apologize Erza, you have a point. Thank you, everyone" Lucy said with a slightly embarrassed smile. Gray remained silent and didn't say anything, instead he kept looking at Lucy. Then without a word, he strode forward and took Lucy in a tight hug. "Gray!" Lucy gasped in surprise.
"I'm so sorry Lucy, this was all my fault! I should have been faster, more decisive. I'm sorry" he said with a stuffed voice.
"It's okay Gray. Don't worry, I'm fine" Lucy said with a soothing voice, as she slightly blushed and hugged him back.
"Gray is right. We should have reacted faster" Erza said as she lowered her head.
"Perhaps we should. But everything turned out okay. Lucy has grown stronger. You need to put some more faith to your friends, Erza. You know that they'll be there for you, just like you'll be there for them" Loke said kindly as he put his hand on Erza's shoulder and smiled.
"You are right. Thank you, Loke" Erza said as she smiled back.
"But that was great, Lucy! Seriously, you were awesome" Gray said with a grin after he broke the hug.
"Thanks Gray!" Lucy said with a happy smile.
"Now, let's hear what this guy has to say. How about we pick it up from where we left it" Gray said cracking his knuckles as he walked towards the bandit, who was slowly starting to get back on his feet. Gray grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. "You better start answering our questions before I really lose my patience!" he growled with a menacing look as he leaned closer, causing the bandit to gulp hard, as he started sweating.
"Okay, okay. I'll tell you all you need to know" he stammered shaking. The other mages moved closer as the bandit told him about the number of the other bandits at the guild, whether there were actually hostages and how many, and if they were waiting for his return, but refused to say anything about the group's whereabouts. After realizing that they wouldn't get any more information, Gray knocked him out with a hard punch and restrained him using his magic.
"Now we need to focus on taking out the rest of them and getting everyone out of the guild safely" Loke said.
"Their number is not that great, normally this wouldn't be a problem. But since there are people there we can't simply rush in. We need a plan, some sort of diversion" Erza said thoughtfully.
"I have an idea! This should work" Lucy said as she pulled one of her golden keys. "I open the Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!" she said as she summoned a pink haired young girl, with a petite, slim figure, dressed in a white and black maid outfit.
"You called for me, Princess?" the pink haired spirit said as she took a small bow.
"That's right Virgo. I need you for something" Lucy said with a cheerful smile.
"Is it time for punishment?" the pink haired spirit said simply.
"No, nothing like that! And isn't it too soon to start asking this question?" Lucy said exasperated.
"Virgo? Oh, I understand now. You are thinking about attacking those bandits from underground. I suppose they wouldn't expect something like that. Nice thinking, Lucy" Loke said as pushed his shades with a satisfied smile.
"That's the plan. I will attack with Virgo from underground and while I keep those guys distracted, you are going to attack by entering the building" Lucy said.
"Good plan. Just a small correction though, there's no way I'm gonna allow you to go in there alone. I'm coming with you" Gray said folding his arms.
"I also think this is for the best. We'll split into two teams then. Lucy and Gray you go first, and then Loke and I will follow" Erza said.
"You guys better make some noise, so we can know when to move. We'll be close and try to look for a spot where we can enter, without hurting any of the people inside" Loke said.
"Okay then, let's do it! Are you ready Virgo?" Lucy said as she turned towards the spirit.
"I'll do my best, Princess" Virgo said with a small bow.
"We'll meet you guys inside the building. Good luck everyone" Erza said.
"Here I go then" Virgo said as she started digging rapidly through the paved ground like it was mere sand. Soon the hole was large enough to fit a person, and Virgo kept digging and got inside the ground, followed by Gray and Lucy.
"We should better move too" Erza said and Loke nodded in agreement as they moved from behind the building that kept them out of sight, and moved towards the merchant's guild with caution.
"Hey Virgo, try to slow down a little bit. You're moving too fast" Lucy said silently.
"It sure is dark here. I haven't tried an underground attack before. Where are we exactly?" Gray said as he looked around disoriented. Suddenly there was a dull thud and a small groan was heard.
"Aah! Something touched my butt!" Lucy yelled.
"That was me! And I didn't touch your butt, I fell on it! Why did you stop like that?" Gray said silently, trying to forget the warm feeling of Lucy's rear.
"We'll talk about that later! Virgo, why did you stop?" Lucy said.
"We are just under the building that we are trying to invade. I thought I should give you a warning first" Virgo said.
"Good thought Virgo! Are you ready Gray?" Lucy said as she turned behind her where Gray was barely visible.
"Sure, I am more than ready! Let's go" Gray said. Virgo broke through the ground with one strong push and landed on the floor, followed by Gray and Lucy. They found themselves inside the building and noticed the hostages who were sitting all together at one of the corners of the room, as well as the bandits who were around them, all dressed in black, full body outfits, with hoods and face masks. However, they were looking at them with shocked expressions.
"Where did these guys come from?" one of the bandits said stunned.
"See? I told you that I was hearing something, but you said that it was just my imagination" another one of the bandits said.
"You always hear something. Last time it was just a squirrel, though" another bandit said.
"We certainly got the element of surprise" Lucy said.
"Let's do this" Gray said as she dashed forward.
"Right! Let's go Virgo!" Lucy said as she pulled Fleuve d'étoiles, her magical whip from the Spirit Word, from her belt and attacked as well.
"I'm right behind you Princess" Virgo said as she followed after Lucy.
"It's only like three guys. Get them!" one of the bandits said as he attacked, but he was instantly knocked out by Gray. The rest of the bandits however, decided to attack, some of them pulling small daggers from their belts and moved at a high speed. Lucy swung her magical whip skilfully, and managed to get several bandits, Virgo who was standing near her easily took out a few of them with quick blows, and Gray punched two bandits at once and sent them flying against some boxes that were located near some counters.
"Take this" he said as he shot a number of ice blocks, knocking out more of the bandits that came against him.
"Damn it, those guys are mages. And if I'm not mistaken, they must be from Fairy Tail" one of the bandits said.
"Mages from Fairy Tail? How did they get here? We were supposed to wait for some simple guards from the mansion" another one of the bandits who was near said.
"Or maybe, they got to the mansion already, and they came along instead of the guards. This would have worked out better if we had ambushed them" the first bandit said angrily.
"I guess that idiot blew it and somehow they got him! Quickly, get to the hostages! This should stop them" the other bandit said as they moved quickly towards the members of the guild who were still sitting on the ground.
"Not so fast!" Lucy yelled as she managed to reach them and take them out with her whip, but some of the other bandits made it near the hostages.
"Enough! Stop this fight right now before I lose my patience!" one of them yelled as he pointed his dagger against a young girl who started whimpering. The mages had no choice but to stop.
"You damn coward! Let these people go and fight!" Gray said angrily.
"Then why would we bother taking hostages in the first place? You guys caught us off guard, but it's over now. We have the advantage" the bandit said. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion, and part of one of the walls of the building was completely demolished. Both the bandits and the hostages looked with shocked expressions, their eyes widen open in surprise, as Loke and Erza came rushing inside the building.
"About time they appeared" Gray said with a grin.
"Isn't that a little too much, thought?" Lucy said with a nervous smile.
"More of them? And through the wall?" the bandit said.
"What are they doing? They will destroy the entire guild!" one of the guild members said, seemingly forgetting the fact that he was held hostage. Erza dashed forward and punched the still shocked bandit who was near the young girl, sending him crashing on the opposite wall and leaving a human shaped hole.
"There goes the other wall" another one of the guild members said.
"Everyone, please remain calm! Don't worry, you're safe now. Just exit the building from the large hole on your left, preferably quickly. And leave everything else to us" Loke said with a calm smile, pointing towards the point where he and Erza crushed inside.
"Can you at least keep the remaining building still standing?" one of the guild members said as they walked towards the exit.
"We'll do our best" Loke said in an assuring voice.
"Don't mind them. Thank you for your help!" the young girl said with gratitude as all of the guild members made their way safely out of the building, with Loke and Erza covering them.
"Okay now, let's finish this thing!" Gray yelled as he, along with Loke and Erza rushed against the bandits and resumed the fight.
"First they come from the ground and then through the wall! Are there going to be more falling through the ceiling?" one of the bandits said.
"Stop blubbering and keep fighting you idiot! At least some of us might escape!" another of the bandits said with some optimism, before Erza sent him crashing on the ground. Lucy kept watching them with Virgo standing next to her.
"They went overboard again. I guess I should better stay out of their way for a while" Lucy said with a sweatdrop.
"Punishment then?" Virgo said simply.
"Will you drop that?" Lucy snapped. Gray, Loke and Erza quickly defeated the rest of the bandits, and along with Lucy and Virgo they made their way out of the building, where the gathered crowd welcomed them with enthusiastic cheers. The members of the merchants' guild weren't very pleased with the state of their guild, and most of them the guild master to whom Lucy apologised repeatedly, but eventually they were all happy and grateful for getting out of this situation unharmed, and thanked the mages for their assistance. Lucy thanked Virgo and sent her back to the Spirit World, before they got back on the road.
"Well, that was fun" Loke smiled lightly.
"You guys went overboard again! It's a good thing they agreed not to charge the guild for the damage that you've caused" Lucy said with a pout.
"It could be worse. The building is still standing, isn't it?" Gray said.
"If you put it that way" Lucy said with a sigh.
"But this whole incident did turn out for the best. Now we know there's a good possibility that the Shadow Nin will attack the mansion. We'll be able to be better prepared" Erza said.
"They will probably be more organised than they were this time, and they might also know that we will be at the mansion. But you are right, at least now we have a better idea about who we might deal with" Lucy said.
"Plus, we got Lord Blackwood's books, since we were already there. This should cheer him up" Loke said pointing at a small wagon that Erza was pulling.
"Um, guys?" Lucy said with some hesitance, as she suddenly stopped walking.
"What is it Lucy?" Gray said as the other mages stopped as well.
"Do you know how we get back to the mansion?" Lucy said. The mages all looked each other with surprised expressions.
"I haven't thought about that" Gray said, rubbing the back of his head.
"This is a different way from the one we took to go to the mansion" Erza said thoughtfully.
"Maybe we should go back in the city and ask for directions. I guess someone of the couriers, who actually is part of the guild, should know the way, and gives directions or take us there" Lucy said.
"Sounds good to me. It's not like we are far from the city, we've barely walked" Loke said. They mages turned around, but noticed someone coming towards them. It was a young man with short, light brown hair, and a brown stubble, dressed in black trousers and a blue shirt.
"You guys are Fairy Tail mages, right?" he said, once he got closer.
"Yes, we are. Is there something you need?" Gray said.
"Good, I was looking for you guys. I was around the area, when I learned what happened here. By the time I got here, you were nearly gone. At first I wasn't sure if it was actually you, but now I am seeing you from closer, I was able to recognize you. Anyway, let me start by introducing myself. My name's David, and I'm a member of Lord Blackwood's staff" the brown haired, young man said.
"You are also a staff member?' Lucy said.
"Then what are you doing here?" Gray asked.
"As I told you, I was around the area for some business, concerning the mansion. Actually, I was sent here to do some shopping, buy some provisions for the ball. And while I was moving to the next store, I received word from Lord Blackwood about the situation here. He thought that you might need someone to get you back once you were done from here, in case you didn't know the way" David said.
"Smart thought. This is why we were coming back" Loke said.
"How exactly did you receive word?" Erza said curiously.
"Lord Blackwood sent few of his guards here to assist you, in addition to bringing me the message. They told me that by the time they got here, you had already taken care of things, so they contacted me. Since the fight was already finished, I gave them the carriage with most of the shopping I had already done, they went back and I came looking for you guys. And I want to say, it's really great that I finally got to meet mages from Fairy Tail. Especially, mages like you!" David said, with some excitement.
"It's nice to meet you too, David" Loke said, as the mages nodded with kind smiles.
"So, we are going back then" Lucy said.
"There still a few things that I need to take care of. It won't take me that long though, I suggest that we meet here in about an hour. How does that sound?" David said.
"We get if you are busy, but what are we going to do while we are waiting?" Lucy said, with a pout.
"It can't be helped. We will have to wait" Erza said.
"You don't have to simply stand around here. I think there are several things that you can do. There are a couple of places where you can spend your time, like a café, a book shop, a pastry shop, a pizza place and a few others" David suggested.
"A book shop?" Lucy said, with sparkling eyes.
"A pastry shop?" Erza said excited.
"It looks like some places picked your interest. Okay, let me tell you where to find them" David said with a smile.
"This place is great!" Lucy said ecstatic after Gray and she entered the book store. It wasn't very large and even though it seemed kinda cramped at first, it was actually pretty easy and comfortable to walk in.
"It does look like a nice place" Gray said as he looked around. Usually he wasn't very excited about visiting such places, nor he was a big fan of reading, but at that moment there was no other place he would rather be. Lucy was looking at books with excitement and a happy smile on her face, she was almost glowing.
"Levy-chan would love this one!" Lucy said as she picked a book about runes.
"She would probably love just about any of these books. But this does look interesting" Gray said as he peaked at the book.
"Hey, I got an idea. How about we look for books that might interest some of our friends?" Lucy said.
"Sounds good. This should help spend some time" Gray said. The two of them then split and started looking for books, and when they found something interesting, they called for each other.
"Gray, look what I found! It's a story with dragons! It's perfect for Natsu!" Lucy said, as she picked a relatively thin book.
"Normally he would get bored, but this doesn't look big. It even has pictures! You're right, it's perfect for him" Gray said with a laugh. "Hey, look what I got here" he said, as he showed a heavier book with a purple cover.
"The History of Wine" Lucy read the title. "Seems fitting, but do you really think that Cana would be interested in something so big?" she said tilting her head.
"It may educate her a little bit. And it also has instructions about how to produce your own wine" Gray said pointedly.
"Oh, okay then" Lucy with a laugh as she went back to searching. They found a couple of other books, like a pastry book that both agreed Erza would love, a book about fishing that would interest both Natsu and Happy, and a book with unicorns and other magical creatures for Wendy. As Lucy walked around, she found another book that draw her interest and she picked it up.
"What did you find there, Lucy?" Gray said as he moved closer and leaned over her to look at the book.
"Something that looks really good. It's a romantic story about two best friends, who slowly discovered their feelings for each other and fell in love" Lucy said. She turned slowly towards Gray, who was leaning over her, and suddenly found herself very close to him, their faces just inches from each other. They stared each other for a while, before they both draw their looks, and looked into different directions. "Of course, this is just a book. It's not like these things can actually happen!" Lucy said with a nervous laugh, trying to hide her heavy blush.
"I don't know about that. Sometimes, books get inspired from real life. And for two close friends to fall in love… This must be something else" Gray said, trying to sound calm, but rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. He slowly turned towards Lucy and noticed that she was looking at him with a smile, her face still slightly flushed.
"Yeah... Something else. Something amazing, probably" she said with a sweet voice. Gray gulped hard, feeling his head heat up.
"We should better go back. The others will probably be waiting" he said, not looking directly at Lucy.
"You're right. Let's go" Lucy said hastily as the two of them made their way out of the book store.
As Loke and Erza got inside the pastry shop, Erza took a deep breath.
"It smells so good!" she said in delight.
"I know, it's pretty appetizing" Loke agreed, as they walked towards the glass case, where the pastries were on display.
"Welcome darlings! What would you like?" the shop keeper, a chubby lady with curly, blond hair, asked with a kind smile.
"I'll have this one, please" Erza said, as she picked a large strawberry cake, with chocolate syrup.
"Right away my darling! Just pick a table, and I'll bring it to you in a moment" the shop keeper said, smiling. Erza and Loke picked a table by the window, and sat down.
"Aren't you going to order anything, Loke?" Erza said.
"No, it's okay. I'm fine" Loke said lightly. After a while, the shop keeper brought Erza's cake and went back to her counter. Erza first looked at it with an expression of pure delight, before she took a large bite.
"Mmm, it's so good!" she purred in pleasure. Loke looked at her, with an eyebrow slightly raised.
"You really like cake, don't you?" he commented, amused.
"Of course I do! I thought you already knew that" Erza responded simply.
"It's just that, I don't see you getting so, excited, very often. So, it's nice to appreciate this moments, when you look so, happy and calm" Loke said, with a smile.
"What are you talking about? Do I look, funny, or something like this?" Erza mumbled, with some embarrassment.
"No, not at all! I'm just saying that, you tend to be a little, serious, on several occasions. So, it's really good that sometimes you actually relax, and enjoy stuff, even something as simple as cake. It's one of this cases that you look even cuter than usual, if that's even possible" Loke said. Erza smiled, still embarrassed, and with a faint blush.
"Are you sure you don't want some? I feel a little bad, eating it all by myself" she said.
"It's fine Erza, you just enjoy your cake. But, I think I will have a drink, though. I'll be right back" Loke responded, as he got up and returned shortly after, with a glass of ice tea.
"That's better. At least now we both have something" Erza said, with a smile. The two mages finished their deserts and got out of the shop.
"So we are all here then. What do you have there Lucy?" Loke asked, as he noticed Lucy's bag.
"Oh, just a couple of books" Lucy simply said.
"Okay then, since we are all here, let's go back" David said.
"Let's go. I think I could use some rest in a large, nice, fluffy bed" Lucy said as she stretched her arms. The rest of the mages nodded in agreement, with smiley faces as they took the way that led back to the mansion.
Author's note: I think this chapter had a little more action, in addition to some romance, and some funny scenes. I hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think about it. Until next time everyone!