Author's Note: Hello and welcome back. I am right now frustrated with myself because I had this chapter written all out, made sure it was spot-on, and then I accidentally didn't save it into my computer. This chapter is a result of me trying to get everything back the way I had it, and I'm sorry if it is not that good. The pace of the first one I wrote was perfect, and how everything happened was so perfect… And its gone, and this is a result of me re-writing the chapter.
Again, I sincerely apologize if this didn't turn out great. I promise the next one will be better, and I promise to save next time.
Fairy Tail belongs to the amazing Hiro Mashima.
Chapter Seven:
Words Exchanged
Music played throughout the feast room as people danced. Everyone danced as they talked to their lovers or family members, and they spoke about whatever came to mind. Servants are rushing all around the large room to clean up after the guests, and as they are doing so, they are dodging people to make sure they don't bump into them. More importantly, they are making sure to not bump into the guests who have had a little too much to drink of the delicious red wine. The chef is out helping take the left over food off the table, making sure to store the food for tomorrow.
Lucy is gazing down towards the two large doors leading into the feast room as both of her hands are placed on Cobra's shoulders. Her hair is swaying with her body as the two mages danced together in the crowd of people. There is a good distance between the two of them as they made elegant turns.
She knows Cobra's one eye is looking down at her as she felt a little tense as she watched Setekh and Kek talk to each other near one of the doors. They are far away from the crowd of people, and they are still out in the light as they exchanged words to one another. They are deep in the conversation they're having, with their eyes just locked onto the others. No one could disturb then if they tried, and this made Lucy feel a little uneasy.
Setekh is bent down listening to what Kek has to say, and a grin is curving his lips. Lucy can see Setekh's teeth start to show as he talked, and she felt her muscles start to tense as she saw large canines poking out from under his lips. From where she is standing she can see they're larger than a dragon slayer's, which made her cringe.
Unconsciously she moved a little closer to Cobra, making the gap between the two of them a little smaller. Her eyes glistened as she continued to observe Setekh and Kek, her hands gripping Cobra's shoulders a little tighter. She can feel Cobra's hands grip her waist as he went through the thoughts in her mind, sorting everything out. She doesn't have to look up at him to know his eye is looking towards the two men.
Kek let out a little chuckle as his hand rose to his lips with his eyes closing, his nose scrunching together, giving it a longer appearance. He looked up at Setekh with his eyes admiring him, which made Lucy squint her eyes at him as she wondered what the two are talking about.
She sees Setekh stand upright with his shoulders back and his head held high. He is looking around the room with calm eyes and his lips in a straight line, folding his hands behind his back. His eyes met Lucy's, stopping there as his grin grew bigger. Time seemed to slow down as she held his gaze, which made her loosen her grip on Cobra's shoulders. Her hands slid down his exposed chest, stopping right on his pecks as his gaze started to turn into a trance. She knows he isn't pulling any type of magic or else she would have noticed, but his eyes seemed to be hiding something from her. She wants to dig deep since she knows they hold the key to this quest.
Lucy blinked a couple of times to make sure she can get out of the trance-like state. She knows she is thinking too much about his gaze, but she knows there is something he is hiding from her and Cobra. She can feel it in her bones. Yet as she got herself out of the trance-like state, she knows that breaking eye contact is a sign he won, and she will be damned if she let that happen.
Setekh just grinned again as Lucy then started to glare at him a little. She noticed his eyes glow red for a second as he nodded towards her. Her hands balled into a fist on Cobra's chest as she saw Setekh turn his back to her, not even bothering to look back at the two mages.
Her gaze then averted to the short man who is watching after Setekh. Kek turned to look at her with his charcoal black eyes as he folded his hands in front of his stomach. He now has a grin making the corners of his lips turn upwards. His gaze has a mischievous look to them, and he turned around to follow Setekh. He, however, looked over his shoulder at them before his departure.
Lucy heard a growl vibrate through Cobra's chest as the doors closed silently behind Kek. It isn't loud enough for the whole room to hear, but loud enough that she can hear it from where she is standing. She looked up at Cobra as she felt his grip around her waist loosen; his hands are now resting perfectly on her body. He is looking around the room with his eye, taking in everything. She figures he must be making sure nothing happens with all of the guests in the room.
She straightened out her hands as she moved them back up to Cobra's shoulders, and felt her body relax as she gave her and Cobra more space. Lucy then looked around the room, too, not sure if the two men actually left. Everyone is dancing normally with smiles, and the chatting is still continuing as if the exchange between her and Setekh didn't happen. She is sure these people didn't bother to observe what is going on around them as they looked content and relaxed. She is starting to think that these people don't care what is going on in their world right now, for they all seem to be in bliss.
Lucy remembers Dan mentioning scouts that still need to come back, and she wonders what kind of information they will bring back. Her and Cobra are right now sitting ducks since they don't know what is happening beyond the castle. She hopes they will come back soon, and she is hoping they come back alive. From the little snippets of what Dan told her, it isn't a good situation in the slightest.
Her eyes landed on Dan, who is dancing his heart away with a girl. He has a smile exposing his pearly white teeth, and his eyes are locked with the girl's. She notices the way his eyes are shinning, and how relaxed he is with her. A smile broke out on Lucy's face as she realized just how much the girl means to Dan.
Lucy then looked at Cobra, and she concentrated on what the two will have to talk about. She sees him still looking over everything with a watchful eye as the two danced around, their hands still not leaving each other's bodies. She slowly moved her hands over Cobra's shoulders, and glided them down his arms, stopping at his mid-forearms. She knows he felt her do this, but he is ignoring it as he watched over everything. She feels herself becoming annoyed as he still didn't look down at her after moving her hands up and down his forearms. Cobra! Lucy thought, which caught his attention. He is now looking down at her with his one eye, giving her an annoyed stare.
"What?" asked Cobra, his voice sounding a little agitated.
"I need to talk to you about a couple of things." Lucy mentioned to him, purposefully ignoring the tone in his voice.
He nodded at her, his gaze never leaving her's. She knows he is going through her thoughts, organizing and putting them together like pieces of a puzzle. She is trying to put together the right words since she knows what she wants to talk to him about.
"When you see Kek or Setekh, I have noticed that you look at them with fear in your eyes," Lucy explained to Cobra as she stared into his black colored eye. "Why is that?"
Lucy observed Cobra's expressions as he thought about his answer. He looks frustrated and a little frightened, but most of all, he looks angry. She has never seen this man become open about what he is feeling inside, so she is taking this moment to remember it. She also knows Cobra is opening up a little since they are working together on this request, and their survival could possibly rest on their communication. She knows she is going to have to become more open to him as well, but she will do so in time when she can learn to trust him. It is also the same for him, and she knows this.
"I… I can't read their souls," Cobra admitted to her as his eye looked right into her's. "I can't predict anything when it comes to those two. No matter how hard I try I can't get past a barrier, and it is unsettling that they can sneak past me. Without that ability I'm lost."
Lucy's eyes widened at Cobra's explanation. She didn't expect that to be what is bothering him. She figured it must have been something he is reading about them, but in reality, it is the opposite. She moved her hands up his bare arms, moved them slowly over his shoulders, and placed them on his chest to try to comfort the man. She knows he most likely won't want it, but it's a way of her telling him she is there for him.
"I can read every soul in this room. There are a few single perverted men that have been eyeing you, but they seem to be preoccupied with some other guests. Women are going nuts over how Dan and I are looking, which disgusts me. I have no interest in those women in the slightest," mumbled Cobra as he looks over his shoulders at the women, and sends them a glare. "I can even read you in this very moment, Heartfilia. You are worried about me and about this quest. You also don't feel safe here despite having Straight not far from you, and you are still learning to put your trust in me. Remember… I hear everything."
Lucy can only stare at the Poison Dragon slayer as he spilled everything to her in an agitated voice, and his eye glaring at her. She made sure to put a little more room between the two of them as she began to feel uneasy, yet she knows Cobra is sensing that right now. She can only look at the ground as her hands came off his body all together as she began to hug herself. Once more, Cobra is spot on with everything. She knows there is nothing she can hide from this man, and if she tries to put something in the back of her mind, he can still read it. She can control her thoughts to an extent, but she can't be doing that all the time. He truly does hear everything.
He read what she is going to do next since his grip around her waist tightened, and he moved her a little closer. She knows he read her about to turn away and leave the room, but she knows it is futile since he can easily follow her to her room.
"It is useless getting away from me, Lucy," Cobra said to her. "We still haven't finished talking. This is the place to say something without Kek and Setekh being here."
"What can you sense from Kek and Setekh? Your dragon-like senses have to be picking something up from them." Lucy asked as she then put her hands back on Cobra's shoulders, the two swaying around as the music continued to play in the feast room, and her glare set right upon the Poison Dragon slayer.
"They have a smell that is absolutely repulsive. I can smell death, but it is mostly covered in the smell of soot and sulfur. They have been around fires recently, and from how potent it is they are practically in it all the time. They do try to cover it up with cologne, but it doesn't get past my nose," explained the dragon slayer with a slight grin. "I have also sensed them give off a power that is unknown to me. It isn't magic, but it also isn't normal."
Lucy nodded her head as she processed everything he told her. She knows there is something off with Kek and Setekh.
"We are going to have to investigate them some more," Lucy informed him as she lifted one hand off Cobra's shoulders, resting it on her chin.
She sees Cobra nod his head with agreement. She looked back up towards him, and looked into his one eye with a look of concentration. There is a room under this very hall. The staircase for it leads right down in the front of this feast room right between the two staircases. Lucy informed him through her thoughts. When I passed it on my way here, I felt power coming from that room. It is also highly guarded, so that means there is definitely something hidden there. I would talk to the guards, but they didn't seem all that thrilled. She explained to Cobra, and he kept slowly nodding his head at her as told him what she observed.
"I can read a plan formulating in your mind, Fairy. What are you thinking?" asked Cobra as he stared at her.
Lucy hummed for a couple of minutes as she thought about the information that has been given to them. "We are going to have to investigate different things throughout this castle before Dan's scouts arrive, and put things together to gain a better understanding of what is going on. I'll research things in the library to get a better understanding of this world, especially their Gods. Their Gods seem to play an important role with what is going on."
She heard Cobra hum as she laid her hand down on his shoulder once more, and she felt the heat starting to come off his body as the room started to grow cold. Her eyes searched around the feast room, and she spotted the guests leaving. She then looked for Dan, and saw him sitting back down in his seat in a conversation with the same girl. That is the most loyal I have ever seen him. Lucy thought dumbfounded, and she heard the laughter rumble throughout Cobra's chest. Not far from the girl is her parents, who seem to be beaming at their daughter catching the attention of the prince.
Her eyes then spotted something moving around on the ceiling, and she stared at it with her eyes growing wide. She figures Cobra must have noticed because he, too, is now looking up at the ceiling with curiosity.
A shadowy figure is moving around the ceiling, giving the appearance of it slithering like a snake. The head obviously belongs to a person, for she and Cobra can both see the cobra-like headpiece positioned on top of the head. It then stopped above them for just a moment before its head turned slowly to look at them. Lucy then noticed its beady red eyes staring down at them, making chills go up her spine. She felt Cobra move closer to her as a growl made its way up his throat, and one of his canines started to show.
"That is the thing that was in my room." Lucy whispered in urgency as her voice started to shake, and she stared up at the unknown creature with her body tensing.
She gave it a fearful look, and she can swear she saw it manically grin at her. She feels Cobra's arms snake around her as his growl intensified at what she whispered. Lucy felt shell-shocked for a couple of seconds at the dragon slayer's protective nature, and for a second she wondered why he is doing such a thing, yet she pushed those questions away as she then glared at the dastardly creature above them.
"Think the rest of your plan," Cobra informed her as he continued to have a stare down with the creature. "I can read its soul. It does not intend to harm anyone in this room, but it intends to spy on two wizards. That is its main purpose. In other words, its job is to spy on us."
"Creepy!" Lucy shivered, yet she knows she is going to have to trust Cobra in this situation.
Lucy then looked at Cobra, and even though he isn't looking at her, she knows he is listening to her. I need you to scout the castle, Cobra. I have a feeling that there are things hidden here, and you are the perfect one for sneaking around. Please report anything you find back to me, and I'll do the same for you. She informed him through her thoughts. Remember to act natural.
Cobra nodded his head at her as she then focused her gaze onto the creature on the ceiling. She is glad Cobra is cooperating with her; it gives her a little hope for the future of this mission.
The creature let out a low hiss as it faded away from the ceiling, its eyes the last thing to fade from sight.
Lucy felt Cobra take his arms off her waist as she took her hands off his shoulders as they both relaxed. She then turned to Dan, who is now talking to both the girl and her parents enthusiastically.
"I can't believe he didn't notice…" Lucy deadpanned.
"He is too wrapped up with what is going on to really care. I don't have to read his soul; its clearly written all over his body language." Cobra noted.
Lucy just nodded her head. "Well, we know what we have to do starting tomorrow. Before that, I might as well enjoy the feast while it lasts."
She made her way back to the table, eyeing the desserts scattered around. She knows it is fattening, but she also knows that she will eat healthy for the remainder of the mission.
Cobra sighed as he then looked right up at the ceiling once last time before following Lucy, agreeing with what her soul is saying.
I'm sorry if this chapter sucked. I promise I will continue to make this story better as time goes on, and I'm sorry that this chapter is late. Also, please let me know if there is any way I can fix my grammar and spelling! Thank you!
The poll is now closed, and it appears that both of my stories are tied. I am going to have to figure out which one to focus one, so let's see how everything goes.
Coming next to The Cursed World:
Chapter Eight: Cobra's Endeavor
