The sun was already disappearing beneath the horizon, and the sky was gradually becoming darker. A certain Sky God Slayer was resting her head on the window pane, mix of worry and disappointment in her eyes when she was unable to see any signs of anyone with spiky silver hair walking towards their guild house.
"It's already getting dark outside, give it a rest already, Chelia," Yuka remarked, as he removed his green hat to scratch his head. He was sitting on one of the benches together with Sherry and Toby.
"That's what I told her earlier, right?!" Toby shouted angrily, which earned him a "calm down" from his thick-eyebrowed friend. The latter was ignored however, as the canine-like mage continued complaining, banging his fists on the table. "Oooon! And I'm getting hungry too!"
Yuka rolled his eyes. "Then eat," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing to do in the world.
"He usually does things fast, though. It's very much unlike him to be this late," Sherry commented, and she suddenly stood up, remembering something. "Oh! It is late! I have to go home now!"
"What's the rush?" Yuka asked her.
Sherry appeared to ignore the anti-Mage, though, since she was too busy eagerly fixing her bag, much to his dismay. Her younger cousin answered for her instead.
"She's going to talk with her fiancé." Chelia finally walked away from the window, opting to sit with her teammates. She released a heavy sigh, clasping her hands together and looking dreamy. "They do it every night. Their 'love' is truly great."
The dreamy look did not escape from the girl's face as she leaned her arms on the table and rested her head on them. Yuka assumed that she was imagining romantic scenarios, as usual.
Sherry quickly bid her farewell and said something along the lines of leaving the apartment door open for Chelia or something. Her cousin didn't seem to hear her, causing Yuka and Toby to sweatdrop.
"This takes you back, doesn't it?" Toby said, in an unusual calm manner, causing Yuka to look at him curiously. "Years ago, wasn't it Sherry who was head over heels for Lyon?"
Yuka stifled a laugh. "Yeah, if things hadn't changed, it's probably Sherry who's waiting for him by the window."
"You think so?" Toby asked incredulously. "It has already been seven years; you think Lyon would be able to tolerate having her like that?"
"Stupid, I was kidding, you know." Yuka played with his hat, twirling the edge of its white sections. "Lyon is pretty choosy when it comes to girls. I think he's the type not to get the hopes up of girls he isn't interested in, which is why Sherry stopped and moved on to that Blue Pegasus guy. It's pretty much the same for his own feelings; when he thinks his own aren't getting anywhere for a girl he actually likes, he stops. Remember when he stopped pursuing that Juvia girl from Fairy Tail?"
"Wow, I never thought of that," Toby said, amazed at his friend. "You're really smart, Yuka!"
"Of course I am," the anti-Mage responded proudly. Their conversation was interrupted with the opening of the doors of the building.
"Jura-san!" Toby exclaimed, standing up from his chair.
Yuka jumped out of his seat and rushed towards the wizard saint. "You're back! What did you find?"
"That isn't important at the moment," Jura remarked, sidestepping, "I stumbled upon them."
Chelia quickly snapped back to reality when she saw a familiar figure who she was expecting to see earlier. She excitedly skipped towards their direction. "Lyon! You're okay!" But she accidentally slipped, falling face first on the floor. "Ow!"
They could only watch her, as it was a normal occurrence for the girl.
"Silly Chelia." Lyon placed a palm on his face, shaking his head. "Of course I'm okay."
"Wait," Yuka suddenly commented, glancing at the people in front of them, "what do you mean by 'them?'"
Just then, another figure behind Jura emerged, slowly walking her way beside Lyon. She tucked some of her light pink hair behind her earmuffs. "Um, hi," she uttered quite shyly, her head lowered.
"Who's that?!" Toby questioned, pointing directly at the woman who recently arrived.
"Yeah, who is she?" Chelia likewise asked, eyeing her suspiciously. Why was she standing close to Lyon? And… why was she wearing Lyon's mantle?!
Not minding the apparent anger displayed by the Sky God Slayer, Lyon shifted his weight uncomfortably, not really knowing how to answer it. "She's…"
Jura noted that they were getting too much unwanted attention from their other guild mates. Thinking quickly, he purposely said in a louder voice, "She's a client. She wanted to ask our help directly." Jura felt relieved when the others shifted back to what they were doing. He motioned his teammates to come closer. "We'll speak about this more privately. Let's go to one of the meeting rooms."
All nodded simultaneously and headed towards one of the private rooms. Lyon observed his other guild mates and was thankful that they didn't seem to bother themselves in knowing the identity of their 'client.'
When the doors were closed and everyone sat on their respective chairs around the wooden table, Lyon attempted to explain the real situation.
"Actually, she's not really a client," Lyon said straight-to-the-point, motioning his hand to the girl beside him. "She's Meredy of Crime Sorcière. I'm sure you've heard of that guild."
"It's that independent guild that defeats dark guilds right?" Yuka said directly, crossing his legs.
Toby bent his trunk forward, slamming his hands on the table. "Really? That's cool!"
Chelia still watched her questionably, not taking her eyes away from her. Meredy noticed and she looked away.
"But there's more, though," Yuka added sternly, arms crossed. "The only catch is, they're criminals, correct?"
"What?!" Toby and Chelia exclaimed at the same time. Lyon saw Meredy flinching uncomfortably, making him bite his lip ruefully.
"Please do not judge her so quickly," Jura intercepted, "Lyon has explained to me her current situation. I have met one of her companions before," he said, recalling the incident where Jellal Fernandes helped them in defeating Oracion Seis, which even led them to fight against the Magic Council to prevent the ex-councillor from going to prison. "I'm sure they have changed from their old ways."
Lyon nodded to him in agreement and said, "She isn't a bad person."
Meredy silently thanked them.
"I don't have any reason not to believe you, Lyon and Jura-san," the anti-Mage remarked, "However, don't you think it's dangerous for the guild to be associated with someone like her? I mean, she is a wanted person…"
Just before they could say anything in response, the door suddenly opened, revealing an elderly woman who definitely did not look amused. "And who is this wanted person you are talking about?!"
"Babasaama!" Team Lamia Scale exclaimed and stood up, showing their respects to their guild master. Meredy rose from her seat too, and awkwardly bowed.
"Now what was that I heard earlier?! Would anyone tell me what is going on here?" Ooba pointed at Toby, and began circling her hand, causing the canine-like mage to spin around.
"Why meee?" Toby helplessly uttered, feeling dizzy as the granny continued whirling him.
Ooba eyed the unfamiliar female mage. "Who is she? She's not from Lamia Scale."
Meredy gulped, looking at the ground.
Lyon glanced at the girl beside him and saw her discomfort. He suddenly remembered what he had told her earlier. "Babasaama, I'll explain."
Ooba eyed the girl closely. "I have read the reports. I think I know who she is." The elderly woman remained displeased. "She shouldn't be freely roaming around here. You, Lyon, of all people, should know that."
Lyon appeared to ignore what his guild master said. "She needs our help."
"I don't care about that," she replied harshly, her golden bangles producing a sound as she placed her hands on her waist, "We need to protect the best interests of the guild."
"Just this once, please. Allow me to help her." Lyon knelt down on one leg, lowering his head. "I will take full responsibility, but rest assured, I won't do anything reckless to stain the name of the guild." He lifted his head, facing his guild master this time. "So please, reconsider."
The rest of the people in the room were shocked with what they were witnessing, especially Yuka and Toby, considering they were watching how their once-arrogant teammate was now showing a semblance of humility. Jura tried to suppress a proud smile, while Chelia thought that the scene was similar to one of the romance novels she had read, where the male protagonist was asking the hand of her lady from her strict parents. Meredy lifted a hand to her mouth, shocked and thankful at the same time, seeing that he kept his word.
The guild master saw how he knelt unyielding, with determination flashing in his eyes. "Stand up, Lyon."
The ice mage did as he was told.
The granny continued speaking, "What does she need anyway?"
"We just need to escort her to Fairy Tail."
"Why?" Ooba crossed her arms.
Lyon tried to explain patiently. "She just needs to remain unnoticed because the Magic Council is at Magnolia. She needs to deliver an important message to Fairy Tail."
"Hmm?" The old woman tapped a finger to her chin. "Why Fairy Tail?"
Lyon was unable to answer, so he looked at Meredy. The Maguilty mage began to speak, "Um, you see—"
"On the second thought, don't answer. I don't need to know." Ooba began walking away, her back facing the people in the room. Upon touching the door knob, she spoke, "Fine. Just this once." She flipped her red cape and turned her head towards the ice mage. "I trust in you, Lyon, but don't you ever screw up, or else!" She spun Toby more violently this time, causing him to dig a hole on the wooden floor. A feeble whimper was heard from the tornado-turned mage.
"Of course, you have my word, Babasaama." Lyon politely bowed one last time before she left the room completely.
Yuka noticed that nobody spoke immediately, so he did. "So, what's the plan?"
"Before anything else, I do believe it's proper to have introductions first." Jura reached a hand towards Meredy, which she gradually accepted. "I'm Jura."
Yuka approached her as well. "Well, I don't really think you are a bad person. I'm Yuka. People know me as 'Yuka the Wave!'"
A figure crawled from the ground, similar to a dog. Meredy lightly squeaked. "Toby's my name. I'd let you see my new sock once I find it." Meredy wanted to point out that there was actually a sock dangling around his neck, but for some reason decided against it.
Lyon noticed one person who hadn't moved from her spot. "Chelia?"
The said girl snapped from her musings, slowly walking her way towards the others. Hesitantly, the Sky God Slayer stretched an arm towards the woman in front of her, which the latter accepted despite the former avoiding eye contact. "I'm Chelia."
She gladly accepted everyone's introductions, smiling blithely at them. "It's nice to meet you all. I'm Meredy."
Lyon smiled too, glad that everything was going well at that moment. "Now that everybody knows who each other are, I'd like to briefly tell the plan. We'll be heading to Magnolia tomorrow for the Fairy Tail Festival. From there, I'll meet up with Gray so she can talk to him and his other guild mates. Of course, I'm not forcing you guys to tag along, but if you want to, you're free to come with us."
"I'm quite short of funds at the moment," Yuka said, scratching his head uncomfortably, "I actually plan on taking a job with Toby tomorrow morning."
"Well, why don't we go to Magnolia after the job? Let's finish it quickly so we could catch up! Fairy Tail festivals are really pretty," Toby exclaimed, grinning excitedly.
"Alright, then, I don't see why we couldn't." Yuka crossed his arms, chuckling.
"I'd really like to accompany you, but I have things to settle in the morning," Jura stated with a dismal tone, but smiled as he voiced the next statement. "But I'll catch up too once it's done."
Chelia's pigtails sprang up. "Then, that means they'll be alone!" She watched Meredy and Lyon with an envious glint in her eyes. "I can't let that happen!"
"Chelia? Are you okay…?" Lyon inquired, uncertain why she had that look on her face.
"I'll go with you!" The Sky God Slayer suddenly blurted out, surprising the ice mage. "Besides, I want to see Wendy, too!"
"You don't really need to shout," Lyon thought, frowning inwardly. He briefly glanced at his pocket watch before saying, "It's getting late. We should all head home to rest. Guess we'll see each other tomorrow."
The team nodded and headed out, including Meredy.
"Wait," Lyon said, turning to Meredy. "Where will you be staying?"
"Me?" She pointed to herself. She took out her pouch bag, counting the jewels inside, "Don't worry, I could just stay at an inn…" Her voice gradually faded when she realized that she barely had 5,000 jewels, which she knew wasn't enough considering the normal rates of usual inns. She pouted slightly, troubled; Jellal was the one who handled their finances.
Lyon noticed her predicament. "You can stay at Chelia's."
"Whaaat?!" Chelia complained loudly. Why does her love rival have to stay with her, of all people?
"Is there a problem?" Lyon asked, raising his eyebrow at the girl.
"Errm," Chelia quickly thought of an excuse, "You see, Sherry might not agree! I don't think she likes sudden guests!"
Lyon crossed his arms over his chest, not really convinced with what she was saying. Nevertheless, he was left with no other choice. He turned towards Meredy. "You can stay at my place, then. I'll sleep in the couch."
"Wait, wait, wait! What was happening? Why did it turn out like this?" Chelia was having an internal struggle. "They can't stay together, not when they're alone! But what could I do?"
Meredy waved her hands in front of Lyon. "No, wait, I'll sleep in the couch. I'm already intruding, after all."
"WAIIIT!" screamed Chelia, earning her the looks of everyone inside the guild. Suddenly realizing that she caused a commotion, she weakly uttered, "Sorry..!"
Lyon was getting confused, scratching his face annoyingly. "What now?"
"M-maybe I could let her borrow jewels!" She then realized that she left her wallet in their apartment. "Or, or, she could stay at our place, maybe! But, Sherry is—, I don't really know, but!—"
"But what? For crying out loud, Chelia, make up your mind." Lyon was already frustrated.
"Fine!" The girl clasped her fists tight. "She can stay at our place!"
"What about Sherry?"
"Leave her to me! I'll explain!" The Sky God Slayer grabbed Meredy's hand, pulling her away from Lyon. "If this is what it takes so that they won't be together, then be it!"
Meredy tried to pull her hand away but the girl's grip was strong. She awkwardly waved her free hand at Lyon as they continued walking further away. "S-see you tomorrow. Thanks again!"
Lyon smirked at what he was seeing, as he raised a hand to wave back.
"So, Lyon," Toby whispered behind the ice mage's ear, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. "Are you seeing this Meredy chick?"
"Remember what Lyon said earlier too?" Yuka added, whispering at his other ear. He placed a hand on his chin, nodding cheekily. "She isn't bad." The two sniggered.
A vein popped on Lyon's forehead. "Shut it, guys," he snapped annoyingly, walking away.
The duo continued laughing. They didn't see the look on his face, but they were sure that his face turned red. They were also about to walk away when they realized that their feet were stuck frozen on the floor.
"Hey Lyon!" The two attempted to move frantically, but it was futile. "Let us out of here!"
Lyon snorted, ignoring his teammates' pleas. Yup, he definitely missed them.
Meanwhile, the two girls arrived at the apartment door. Chelia turned the door knob and it opened instantly.
"Sherry, I'm home!" the girl exclaimed, but nobody answered her back. The living room was empty, but the faint chattering of a female voice was heard emanating from another room.
"You live with your sister?" asked Meredy, who was removing her boots as she entered.
"No, she's my older cousin, actually," Chelia answered back, with a hint of spite in her voice. In truth, she still wasn't amused that her rival was staying over.
Meredy noticed the unfriendliness, but she tried to understand. After all, she should be thankful to them for allowing her to stay. "I see. It must be nice to be with your family," she said, ending her statement with a pleasant smile.
Chelia found herself crinkling her brow. "What's with her? And why is she smiling like that? It makes it hard for me to hate heeeeer!" The God Slayer unknowingly walked in small circles, confusing Meredy.
"Hey, are you okay…?" Meredy softly said, touching the girl on her shoulder, which then halted the latter's movement.
"You!" The girl directed a finger towards Meredy. "What's your relationship with Lyon?"
"Eh?" Meredy's eyelids flickered many times.
"I'm serious!" The girl barked back, frowning at the older girl before her. "So what is it?"
Meredy noted that Chelia was indeed serious, observing the flushed cheeks of the girl. "Lyon is only a friend. Or acquaintance, actually, since we haven't known each other that long." She displayed another smile. "Does that answer your question?"
Chelia's jaw dropped in shock. She eyed the blue mantle (which she knew belonged to Lyon) draped over her shoulder. "So you aren't his girlfriend?"
Meredy flexed her neck sideways. She was getting tired of hearing it. It was the second time that day that people assumed that she had a relationship like that with the ice mage. "No, I'm not."
A wash of relief was seen in the girl's face upon hearing it, but before she could say anything else, another female voice was heard. "Chelia?"
Meredy turned her head and saw another woman who looked like an older version of the little girl next to her. "Um, good evening," the Maguilty mage greeted, bowing down.
"Oh, Sherry!" The Sky God Slayer ran across Meredy and stood between her and her cousin. "This is Meredy. She's a guest for tonight. Lyon's acquaintance."
With a serious facial expression, Sherry observed Meredy from top to bottom, making the latter uncomfortable. To Meredy's surprise, the woman suddenly flashed a big smile at her.
"I see, nice to meet you! I'm Sherry." She stretched her hand and shook Meredy's hand. "You look like a mess. Don't you have other clothes?" She pointed at her red dress, which was smudged with lots of dirt.
Meredy weakly shook her head, to which Sherry immediately beamed.
"You can borrow some of my clothes, then! I think they'll suit you!" Sherry said, and then grabbed a handful of Meredy's hair, surprising the latter. "We both have pink hair, you see? Yours is a shade lighter, but all of the clothes I bought are chosen specifically to suit the color pink!"
Meredy could only smile at her. They are a weird bunch, she thought. "Thank you, I'd appreciate that."
"You should clean yourself up first, though! The bathroom is over here." Sherry pointed at a room beside them. "But before that, I'll grab you some blankets. The two of you should head to the dining area though, the food's already prepared!" Sherry skipped away, humming a happy tune.
"Sherry's in an awfully good mood. I guess she had a pretty good conversation with Ren." She released a sigh, and then had a dreamy look on her face. "They're really the ideal couple~!"
Meredy stifled a chuckle at the look on the girl's face. "Who's Ren?"
"Ren is Sherry's fiancé. The guy is from Blue Pegasus," she murmured with the same dreamy look.
"I see." If memory served her correct, that man was one of the Trimens of Blue Pegasus.
Chelia snapped out of her daydream. "Let's go to the dining table, then?" she said, to which the other girl nodded.
When Sherry finally arrived at the dining area, they started eating dinner. They had a casual conversation as they ate, though it was more of Sherry doing all the talking about her fiancé and Chelia agreeing that her cousin indeed has skyrocketing levels of love. Meredy only found herself nodding and laughing along with them. She also felt better seeing that Chelia was being more open to her compared to when they first met.
After dinner, she proceeded to the bathroom to find a simple pink sleeveless dress with black trimmings hanging on the towel rack. It had a note on it.
"This will be cute on you!
P.S. Not as cute as it was on me, though!
–Sherry"
Meredy chuckled a bit, shaking her head.
She stepped into the shower and started cleansing her body with the water. As the water dripped down to the drainage, she also felt that whatever worries she had were washed away. For a while, when she was eating dinner with the two cousins, she remembered a semblance of what it felt to have a family. Even if it's just for a while, she felt thankful that she really wasn't alone, even without the presence of Ultear and Jellal.
When she finished showering, she went to the mirror and gathered her hair to one side; she then twisted her trunk to see her back clearly. On the reflection, she saw the emblem of Crime Sorcière, which she attempted to touch with one hand, making it seem like she was hugging herself. In a twisted sort of way, it appeared funny; what she was seeing on the mirror was the embodiment of Crime Sorcière at that very moment. Being the only one left standing, somehow, the mark served as a reminder for her that she was tied with the responsibility of fulfilling the purposes of the guild.
But what was the purpose of the guild? She found herself asking. To defeat dark guilds, right?
In the mirror, she saw the reflection of Ultear, who spoke. True, we defeat dark guilds—that's what we tasked amongst ourselves. But why do we do it?
Because we know it's a way of repenting for the sins that we have done, Meredy said back. But what if I don't have the enough power to defeat dark guilds anymore? Is there another way of repenting for our sins? How do I gauge if what I had done is already enough to be forgiven?
She still had a lot of questions.
But the image of Ultear only smiled and said nothing, and gradually faded, until all she could see was the reflection of herself.
Meredy moved away from the mirror and dressed. After folding her used clothing, she turned the door knob to see that all the lights were turned off, with only the lights of the bathroom illuminating the place. She assumed that the cousins were already sleeping in their rooms.
She walked her way towards the couch and lied down, taking the blanket prepared for her by Sherry.
With the darkness of the night, all she could remember were the several unanswered questions that lingered in her mind.
"Why did you have to go so soon, Ur?" she whispered, as she began sobbing quietly. At that moment, she felt that her previous thoughts of being with others were just superficial, and that deep down, she was still truly alone.
A/N: And that's it for Chapter 8! Writing this chapter made me realize that it's fun and difficult at the same time to write different characters with all the feelings, personalities and dialogue. Thank you for reading! Next chapter is finally the Fairy Tail Festival, with more characters joining the story. Also, reviews make an author happy! (Aye!)
