*A/N:I know it's been months and I am not any happier about it than you are. what are you still reading this silly note of mine? get on to the story!
Book Two: Lucy's Reverie
Chapter Two: Falling Into Place
"I am glad we made it in time before you could, um… That is er…" Makarov stuttered to no one in particular as he assessed the damage his team of mercenaries had managed to cause in fighting off their enemy. He had not been aware that there was so much to destroy in the small isolated town of Vier, but somehow his mercenaries managed to basically leave the poor town in ruins. He would have to send people to do repairs, locate resources for the people and find enough money to take care of everything.
It was late in the evening; Vier should be shrouded in darkness but instead it glittered from the many stars in the night sky and the warmth of the full moon's light bathed the ruined town as if protecting it from something. Makarov looked around for the original trio that he had sent to scout the area, and finally found them huddled beneath the tree looking battered and beaten. He knew they would be discussing what happened in Vier and the implications of the events, as he was going through the same process in his own mind. His mind was filled with worry as the Seer had informed him that everything would be fine, but that strangely the Lady Fortuna had appeared engulfed in flames, which the Seer had not understood. Unfortunately, Makarov could guess at only one meaning and his suspicions were confirmed when the Seer tried to look harder and saw only a hermit, a priestess, and a star. He fiercely watched over the trio, unsure of what to expect and as he watched he realized that they were still in deep conversation so decided to wait a moment before approaching.
"They didn't tell you anything?" demanded a fierce woman with thick white hair that fell down to her knees. She wore little clothing, only a simple half cotton top and very small linen shorts; she had discarded her cloak the moment she arrived in Vier for the "ease of movement" it allowed her.
Titania shook her head gravely. "Not a word. They seemed to think that we would know quite a lot about her, but I cannot say why they would think that," she answered.
The sparsely dressed woman let out a groan of frustration and threw a hard punch at the tree causing a few leaves to flutter harmlessly to the ground. "We don't hear her name for years and now this…" she muttered.
"Relax," chided Frost calmly. "You are not the only disturbed by this news." He nodded slightly at a brooding Salamander, who stood leaning against the tree with his eyes closed and face turned up towards the sky.
The woman scoffed. "Well, it makes sense that they would think you three would be with her."
Without shifting his position, Salamander responded, "Not really. If Lucy were with us, she would be safely hidden away. There is no way I would let her be a mercenary, running around on dangerous missions. I most certainly wouldn't leave her alone by herself. I'd dare some bastard to lay his hands on her again with me around."
"Don't be ridiculous, Salamander," Frost laughed. "You would have stayed hidden for all of two seconds; you couldn't leave her side even if you tried. That temper of yours wouldn't allow otherwise, and Lucy certainly would not have wanted you to sit still. You know she'd have insisted you get out there. There's no way you wouldn't have become a mercenary, and Lucy would want to be with you. We all ended up at the Academy with the same intentions; you two wouldn't have been any different. Sure, you'd put up a fight, but in the end... If she had stayed with us…" Frost stopped mid-sentence unsure of how to continue. "We would be the fiercest group of mercenaries around."
Titania smiled softly. "It's true. Although, your remarks only prove those people right, Salamander. Whether in hiding or out in the field with us, wherever one of us is located, she would likely be nearby. It is the same with us as a team."
The truth of her words hung heavily in the air and Salamander made no response. However, the scantily clad woman still had more to say. "Clearly there is more to the story than we know. They went through a lot of trouble just to capture all of you to only demand the location of one girl. Surely, they also wanted something with you, too, and I am sure there is plenty of reason, but Lucy? What good reason could there possibly be?"
"Lucy's family was close to the queen, right? Maybe it has something to do with that. Or do we think these people were working with the enemy?" Frost shook his head. "No, that doesn't make sense; it has to be her family status."
"Yes, but remember that they told everyone she died as a child. I recall Lucy's parents being introduced as Duke and Duchess; if what they say about the Queen is true, then it's likely that they have a direct relationship with the Queen. Although I have a feeling that information was also kept secret. Either our families betrayed them or it has nothing to with that," said Titania. Salamander stirred slightly at her explanation but he was uncertain what had caught his attention so he just ignored it. "I've not heard of the Queen having any relations; they say she fell in love in her youth, but the man died before they could be wed. It is what makes Fiore's aristocracy so unique; to my knowledge, most earned their titles in one way or another," she concluded.
"And why now?" screamed the white haired woman, continuing as if Titania had not spoken. "The fire killed so many people and no one has just magically appeared after that. What do they know that makes them think she is alive while almost this entire time we've been thinking…?" She sank to her knees as tears gathered at her eyes, but she refused to let her pain show.
"I know," whispered Frost softly. "The war has been so quiet lately, yet when things start heating up again, Lucy becomes involved. It's just like last time. I can't even imagine the implications of that."
Salamander still stood silently listening to his comrades, afraid of just what those implications Frost had mentioned could possibly mean for not only Lucy, but for all of them. As Titania and Frost had said, they were all very close as a team and as friends. If one was involved, then everyone was involved. All of them could only hope to find Lucy first, or to at least confirm once and for all whether she was still around or if she had passed along with her mother. Salamander claimed to have accepted the worst, but he along with Titania and Frost, were always looking for her. It had been three years since the three of them heard any mention of Lucy, and that momentous occasion had been as equally suspicious as this more recent event. Except last time… And this time…
Titania tensed, "This began as a scouting mission and perhaps a chance to gain information about our enemy's activities. Yet this encounter has given us nothing but questions we could not possibly answer on our own. I have to say…the thing that is foremost on my mind is Lucy. As far as I am concerned, she is alive. She's waiting for us; we just have to find her."
This was a sentiment that all of them felt, except for the violent white haired woman for reasons known only to her. Their passion and hopes of finding their long lost friend had been revitalized and now it was their top priority. The four of them stood there contemplating for some time, and each was so deep in thought that none heard the approaching footsteps of their leader. "You have such grave looks on your faces," Makarov spoke. "Is it the overwhelming guilt of destroying an innocent town?" he jokingly asked.
Titania blushed and the other woman rolled her eyes; together, the pair walked away to see if they could be of any assistance to the villagers or their companions. Makarov studied the two men before him, and after some time, Frost also excused himself having realized it was to be a private conversation that Salamander would likely fill him on later.
A soft breeze blew over the pair of mercenaries. Salamander continued to stand still with his eyes closed, but now with his head facing down towards the scorched ground below him. Makarov turned away from him to look beside him where his team was preparing the villagers for departure to the capital city of Trinity. "You know," Makarov began softly, "if there are people out there searching for her, then that would mean she could very well still be alive." Salamander gave a slight nod having never stopped believing otherwise. "I know you still have regrets about that night, but you were just a boy, you must let it go. I know you must have felt devastated when we thought we had found her…*ahem*, but I think this encounter serves as proof of otherwise. I cannot imagine those people would have made such a great effort in chasing down a ghost." He stiffened slightly as he listened to Makarov reiterate the same words as his friends, and his brow furrowed into a scowl. As emotions of unhappiness, confusion and annoyance overcame him, Salamander still stood silent. Makarov was disturbed by this unusually calm demeanor as Salamander was widely known for his energetic manner and aggressive temper. Makarov opened his mouth to speak again, when suddenly—
"Look out!"
A young woman knelt quietly next to a calmly flowing stream as she enjoyed the cool afternoon breeze playing with her long golden hair. Her white basket of herbs and yellow veil sat next to her right, while a thick green notebook sat to her left. She looked up to the sky with her big brown eyes, closed them and took a deep breath. Slowly releasing that breath, she opened her eyes and lifted a yellow gloved hand to shield her eyes from the sun's rays; the sunlight was strong despite the shading of the tall trees surrounding her. The woman smiled softly to herself, and returned her gaze to the stream before her. As she was about to remove a glove so she could reach her hand into the water, she stopped midway having heard a noise behind her.
"Lucky!" an angry voice called. "What are you doing out here by yourself?"
The blonde-haired woman smiled. "I needed ingredients," she answered with a small gesture to the basket at her side.
"You shouldn't wander off on your own, something could happen to you. I told you last time to take someone with you."
The woman continued to smile warmly as she replaced her veil, completely covering her golden locks, and slowly gathered her basket and notebook. "You mean, the old woman, the young girl, or one of the injured patients?" she responded casually. Placing the basket to hang from her left arm, she picked up the notebook to place it in her left hand. She stood up carefully, so as not to shake her basket, and used her right hand to brush off the skirt of her yellow dress. "I'm 17 years old and I know it sounds crazy to a man like you, but I can take care of myself." After she completed straightening herself, the young woman finally turned to face her concerned friend with a slight scowl that was truly full of smiles.
The man softened immediately. "I worry about you," he said which earned him nothing but a laugh and a quick roll of the young woman's eyes. He reached for her basket so that she had a free hand to hold his own, and the pair slowly made their way from the stream. "How have things been since my last visit?" he inquired.
"As fine as they can be during these times," she replied. The young woman's face immediately became filled with worry as she stared at the path before them while she explained: "You know how I always tell you that I feel someone looking for me?" The man gave a slight nod, rather unnecessarily since she wasn't looking at him. "Recently, that feeling has become much stronger and it feels…closer, somehow. I can feel their sadness and worry, and sometimes I feel anger and regret. The other day, I was at the edge of the mountainside, and I could swear someone was looking at me from out in the distance. The other night, the night of the full moon, I was looking up into the sky and I saw the shadow of a face whispering something. It is kind of like my dreams of the figure calling out to me. But," her eyes filled with sadness, "just like my dreams, it's only a shadow and I can't actually hear anything."
The pair let the silence grow between them as they walked down the path marked only by curiously small gardenia bushes that could easily be missed by anyone walking along. As their destination began to come into sight, the man chose to break the silence. "These things…are they familiar to you at all?"
"Yes, but they feel more distant than familiar; like I once knew but now I do not. Still, it's such a warm feeling; I'm the one who is cold."
"And these things you tell me about, they don't seem peculiar to you in any way?" he asked carefully studying her as she gave him a response.
The young woman laughed heartily. "No stranger than the old woman's healing abilities, which I know must be more than I can see, or her insistence that I stay at the clinic in the evenings no matter what. Or even your insistence that I not wander off on my own, and certainly no stranger than the way injured soldiers happen into this forest. Some days, I even think Wendy is strange. I feel like such a misfit!"
The man laughed uncomfortably along with her given that he knew the truth of most of the strange things that she spoke of, and he grew unsettled with the strength of her "feelings" and visions. "Yes, well, I cannot speak for her," although he certainly could, "I am just thinking of the fact that there is a war going on," that much was half true, "and you are a lovely young woman who could easily be snatched away for some perverted man's usage."
"Hah!" she snorted, "I'd love to see them try."
The pair was laughing heartily as they came around the corner that would lead them to a large two-story wooden house-like cabin sitting in a too small grassy clearing. The cabin was actually the home of a clinic, where wounded soldiers or others in need were well taken care of by an odd trio of nurses. The trio consisted of an older woman, a renowned healer and even more renowned for her intense almost frightening manner; a young woman, a renowned beauty with a lovely smile and friendly nature; and a young girl, renowned for her patience and sweet, gentle nature. As mentioned previously, not just anyone could find their way through the forest to the mysterious clinic as it was especially charmed to the effect that only those who were in great need or otherwise chosen could be fortunate enough to arrive at the hermit healer's home. Just as the man and woman came into sight of the clinic, a panicked voice called out to them.
"Lucky! Caprico! You are just in time; quickly, help me get these people inside!"
They had never heard such panic coming from the older woman and promptly dropped everything they held and ran up into the clearing. A group of four men lay in the grass looking almost paralyzed and covered in blood; another man who lay closer to the door of the cabin wearing little clothing, had deep cuts on his legs and several scratches on his upper torso; a final sixth man, the man Lucky knew was the cause for her mentor's concern, was covered in terrible burns and small cuts and blisters could be seen on the man's skin and his head had a wound so deep Lucky nearly cried. She paused briefly to look at the burnt man feeling something as she watched him, but quickly snapped herself out of her stupor and into her nursing mode. Bracing herself, Lucky went straight to the group of four men who were slightly less injured than the other two, knowing that the bodies would need much more careful handling. A flash of blue went by her, as a young girl flew out of the cabin doors with several pale green bandages in her hands. Caprico had tossed two of the men from the group of four over his soldiers, and somehow managed to carefully place them in unoccupied beds inside the clinic. Lucky had been able to rouse the man she had run to and was only just arriving at the door when Caprico arrived with the last of the four. Lucky desperately wanted to go help the other two more severely injured men, but she knew she would be of little help to them at the moment and that she could be of more use to the four men already in bed, their blood quickly dampening the white sheets.
"What is Gray doing here?" snapped an irate older woman.
"How would I know?" responded an equally annoyed man. "I came straight here from the battlefront like I told you earlier."
"You're using this pathetic charade of a war as an excuse? Gray being here could ruin everything! I'll heal him tonight and first thing in the morning, you take him straight to that mad man of a doctor in town."
"Lucky won't be happy that I'm leaving so soon," the man gruffly replied, holding his chin with one hand and scratching at his head with the other.
"There's a war, you're second-in-command, Capricorn; you have important duties and Lucky understands this. I see no issue other than Gray's presence," the woman huffed at him before turning away. "It must have been Juvia's doing."
"Yes," Capricorn agreed, "the love that she has for him is incredibly strong. Fine, Grandeeney," he gave in with an emphasis on her true name to return the favor, "I will take care of Gray, but there is another pressing issue at hand. Did you see it? The way she looked at him?"
The older woman looked away in acknowledgment of his words. "Caprico, just because Lucky often sees the effects of the war does not mean that she would grow immune to it. Their wounds are particularly deep in comparison to the patients that we have had as of late."
Caprico ignored her response, which he knew was not serious, instead continuing his own thinking. "He must have been thinking of her; he never stopped believing..." Caprico noticed that the woman turned away from him, distancing herself from the conversation. "You knew, didn't you? You knew he was coming here!" he accused her.
Grandeeney waved an impatient hand at him brushing off his accusation. "Of course I knew. Makarov wrote to me the moment Cana sensed it would happen. Her senses are becoming stronger, you know?" she put in unnecessarily.
"What kind of vision?" he growled.
"One that I highly doubt you would care for and nothing happening in the near future." The woman frowned slightly as she chose her next words somewhat carefully. "This situation makes you unhappy?"
"Yes! It has been seven years!" he growled.
"Oh, I had not realized it had been so long," she answered sarcastically.
"And in all that time he is still not ready and those children…I do not even know what to say about them! Seven years, Porlyusica!""
"You nearly killed him! You took Lucy away from him!" she shouted back at him. "That event three years ago greatly affected everyone one of those children, you know that. Makarov tells me that they are only just beginning to cope with that day and the way this war is going isn't helping anyone." Porlyusica took a moment to relax and take control before speaking again. "Just what exactly are you expecting of them? Of him?" she clarified.
Caprico's brows furrowed deeply as he met the fierce gaze of the older woman. "I expect him to be a real man," he stated simply.
"You're leaving already? But you just got here!" Lucky exclaimed.
"I know, Lucky. But I cannot simply ignore the implications of the wounds on those men." Lucky looked at him in confusion, having no idea what implications he was talking about. "The war is…Things are becoming complicated and Fiore needs me now. I have a feeling that something is not right and I need to report into my commander immediately. Desierto has been quiet of late and now this? Clearly, something has happened and it could very well have been our enemy's doing." Caprico looked down at Lucky with wary eyes; he realized he had been babbling excuses that were hardly necessary given his important rank in Fiore's army. He felt guilty for his behavior and he knew he didn't need to prolong the conversation. He simply didn't want to leave, especially with a certain new arrival at the clinic. "Lucky, I promise I will come to visit you as soon as I can. You understand, don't you?"
Lucky kept her tears herself and raised her head up high with a falsely sweet but understanding smile plastered onto her face. "Of course, uncle. Our country needs you; don't worry about me." She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "Be careful, uncle. Please, come when you can and do so unharmed, okay?"
"Of course, Lucky," he whispered into her hair as he returned her warm embrace.
The pair ended their embrace far too soon for either one's comfort, but if they stayed much longer the tears would fall. Lucky turned away from her uncle, adjusting her plain brown woolen satchel to a more comfortable position before bending down a little to pick up a large brown basket. She turned once more to wave a "good-bye" to her uncle and a "see you later" to her guardian Porlyusica before finally setting off down the road that would take her to town. For some reason, she thought the younger girl would be there to see her uncle off, but Lucky knew that she was probably busy preparing treatments for the new patients.
"Aren't you going to warn her of anything?" asked Caprico.
"I am sure she will hear all about it when she gets to town. She will be fine; the people know and trust the girls, and if anything, they fear me enough to not try anything," Porlyusica answered.
"Do you think she knows? Or maybe senses something?"
"It certainly seems that way, doesn't it? Perhaps she will awaken soon now that he is here. We need her to awaken."
Caprico watched with a grim expression as his "niece" disappeared from his view and into the forest. "Yes," he reluctantly agreed, "I suppose you are right; the time is drawing near."
"Glad we agree." Porlyusica snapped her fingers and Gray instantly appeared over one of Caprico's shoulders, much to Caprico's surprise. "Now leave already. You know how much I hate guests!" With that, she abruptly walked back into the clinic and slammed the door shut after her.
Caprico was left to stand there alone with a fully recovered, sleeping Gray over one shoulder and staring at the door with a dumb look on his face. He had a feeling she wouldn't be allowing any more "guests" any time soon.
At Fairy Tail HQ…
A group of mildly injured but still energetic mercenaries burst through the doors of their somewhat secret headquarters. The few people present all stopped their activities to turn and stare at the intruders. Everyone tensed as they took in the sight of their beaten comrades; their clothes were torn, their faces looked ragged and most disturbing, they were covered in blood. Each one wanted to speak but none knew what to say, especially given that…
"Where is the master?" Titania asked. She scanned the faces of her comrades for someone among them who would know the answer to her question. The energy in the room told her that something was amiss. She and the group who had arrived stepped slowly into the large, dimly lit cavernous room; most of them took to the nearest open seats to rest after the strenuous battle but Titania kept walking into the room looking for someone. Finally, she spotted the faces of the two women she was looking for. "Juvia, Cana. Where's Master?"
Juvia looked stricken and simply stood silently, her skin pale white with distress. Cana looked at them a moment longer, trying to calm herself. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and slowly opened her mouth to speak. "Erza, what happened in Vier? This," she gestured at her fellow mercenaries, "should not have happened."
Titania closed her eyes briefly as she rested a hand on Juvia's shoulder. "Juvia, don't worry. Gray may be missing but so is Natsu; I am sure they are together. The two of them can take care of themselves." Juvia sank to her knees in tears in both relief and worry for the safety of Gray. Titania returned her attention Cana. "In Vier…" her voice caught, unsure of how to continue. "Cana, it was just like three years ago. It was sudden and I just…I don't even know how to explain it."
Everyone remembered what happened three years ago, and the weight of hearing that it had reoccurred filled the room.
The doors burst open yet again and this time everyone jumped out of their seats with eagerness and relief, the weight somewhat lifted. "Master!" everyone shouted. One look at his face and everyone settled back in their seats with their excitement having vanished. Only Erza and Cana dared to make any move towards their leader.
"Erza! Cana! Where is Levy?" Makarov growled.
Apparently, Makarov could not tell that they had only just arrived and seemed to not notice the atmosphere in the room so Erza looked at Cana for the answer. "She should be researching the…"
"You two come with me," he barked.
Everyone in the room looked at their leader with confusion. Erza cleared her throat. "Master, Mirajane and Elfman stayed behind to escort the villagers to Trinity. Jet ran ahead to the nearest UnderGround to get supplies to begin repairs." Makarov stared at her expressionless, wondering why she was informing him of information that he had ordered himself. "Gray and Natsu are missing," she ended.
This got a slight reaction out of their leader, and everyone watched as he quickly glanced over at the devastated Juvia who was still crying silently to herself on the floor. For some reason, this scene seemed to relax him and he repeated his words from earlier. "Erza, Cana; I need to speak with you and Levy. Let's go." The three of them went to the stairs that led to a lower level, but Makarov stopped before making his way down. "Juiva, I think you should come, too."
Juvia looked up at him with her tear-stained face and slowly rose to her feet to follow them.
Makarov settled into his large red chair, while the other four women took seats in the remaining plush loveseats in the room. Makarov studied the women sitting across from him before speaking. "There's something that I wish to discuss with you. First, Juvia, I need you to relax. Gray is perfectly fine. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he returned to us tomorrow."
Juvia looked at him wide-eyed. "How do you know?" she asked him.
"If I'm wrong, I will personally search for him myself the following day. Until then, you must remain calm; deal?" Juvia tried to compose herself as she mutely nodded her head and used a handkerchief to dry her eyes. Makarov knew that the great love Juvia had for Gray would both counter and activate the spell that would lead Gray to Porlyusica's clinic. He also knew that Porlyusica wouldn't be too happy about that, and that she would probably make sure he was gone immediately. He mostly wanted to keep Juiva calm to keep her from activating anything else and from sending Gray back to the clinic. With one matter settled, he turned his attention to Cana. "When you first started reading, your predictions were vague but even those were accurate. It's been some time since we have heavily relied on you for such an important task so I worry that perhaps the pressure affected you. Based on what happened, do you think you misread something?"
Cana thought for a moment, trying hard to fight back her outrage of not only failing her comrades but being called out on it by their leader; then she realized something. "Erza had only just arrived moments before you, and we didn't get a chance to talk. The only thing we heard about was the attack on Vier, but we already knew it was going to happen. Juvia and I knew something was wrong when the town was buzzing about an attack that they shouldn't have known about, at least not so quickly," Cana finished.
Erza took a moment to explain what happened in Vier but faltered when she reached the point of what happened after the rest of Fairy Tail arrived to offer their aid. "It was…quiet at the time. Me, Gray, Natsu, and Mirajane were talking, trying to make sense of what has been happening. Then Master arrived and…" Erza paused unsure of how to continue. "Something came hurling toward us out of nowhere. Natsu shoved Master out of the way at the last moment and took a big hit. Then, explosions were happening all over Vier. But there was no one around, and we found no kind of weapons in the area later on. Although, you can guess where our thoughts rest with that peculiarity, it is not the most important part. When we thought it was over, we were again taken by surprise by…" Erza dropped her voice and her head as she muttered the last part, "We were attacked by blood assassins. It was too crazy to determine who their real target was or what they wanted."
Cana and Juvia both jumped and gasped in surprise at hearing of the blood assassins. "What does Mira think?" Cana asked, resting a hand on Erza's shoulder. Erza just shook her head. "I see. I am guessing you couldn't catch one of them, or we'd have some answers. Once Gray and Natsu return, we can safely claim that they didn't claim their target, whoever that was, and we can…" Cana threw herself back into her seat in frustration. "None of this makes any sense! First, we are misled to Vier, strange people ask about Lucy, then unexplained explosions and now blood assassins are targeting us! Master, I have no idea what is going on but I cannot think of a single thing that I saw that could even begin to unravel those mysteries."
Makarov took a deep breath and closed his eyes with slight disappointment. Releasing the heavy breath, he said with grim eyes, "Yes, I thought as much. It was a surprisingly eventful day for everyone. I've already sent word to the other mercenary guilds. I am hoping that perhaps they have had similar experiences and can help us figure this out, but it is likely that they will be just as baffled as we are about this whole thing. At least, we can get more people involved and everyone will be on the alert." Makarov let this sink in for a moment as he considered the next matter he needed to discuss. He had already decided that he wanted Cana and Levy working together since Jet and Droy would be busy with other tasks and Cana would be of more help regardless, but he was unsure if he wanted Juvia and Erza to be privy to the information. Having come to a decision, he started "Levy, have you translated the text that I gave you?"
Erza and Juvia looked perplexed as they turned their gaze to Levy who was also a little taken aback by the question. She responded sheepishly, "The text is so ancient that it's taking me a lot longer than I expected. Master, I am not even sure if I am translating it correctly."
"Tell me what you've learned so far," he pressed.
Levy looked back at him unsure of herself. "Well, it talks about impossible things that couldn't possibly…I mean, it doesn't make sense; it's more like a book of fairy tales than a history book…"
"Levy!" Makarov interrupted her. "Just tell me what you have understood so far.
"Master, what is this text that you are talking about?" Cana asked.
"Juvia is also curious as to why fairy tales are so important at a time like this," Juvia added.
"Yes, I also wish to know. I assume we are allowed to know about it since we are still present," supported Erza.
"The queen requested that I translate a collection of old pages for her. It pertains to the history of Fiore," he answered seriously.
"The queen? When was this? She hasn't been seen in three years and that was after four years of quiet. How could she have put in a request to Fairy Tail if she hasn't even spoken to her people in years?" Cana inquired.
"Master, I have been wondering this for some time now, but is there something else that you wish to tell us before Levy answers you? Perhaps about the Queen or a similar matter," Erza said quietly.
Makarov cursed silently to himself, annoyed at how perceptive the young women in his guild seemed to have become with age. It was useful out in the field, but it was troublesome to counter when he had secrets to keep. In front of such a small group of his mercenaries, he supposed that he could give in a little bit but he would quickly turn the conversation. "Queen Mavis approached me years ago with a text to give to Levy at a time when she was knowledgeable enough to translate it for her. As you know, the history of Fiore is not well recorded, and this text is very rare as it details a very particular account of a very important point in time in Fiore's history. We are certain that this account will aid us in our war efforts."
"And what does this have to with fairy tales? And how long ago did these events take place? Of what importance could something so old have to do with our war years later?" Erza inquired.
Makarov raised an eyebrow at her but Erza's fierce expression didn't falter, so he could only sigh. "It was a long time ago, before anyone or anything in Earthland even existed. How it pertains to the war, I cannot say right now. No more questions! Now, then Levy, please tell me what you have read about so far."
Levy shifted in her seat, still a little confused about the relationship of the fairy tale type of story that she had read and the historical text that Makarov was talking about. She was certain that he was mistaken about what he handed to her, but decided to bring up that point later. "Well," she began, "the only real detail that I obtained from the uh…text is that a fairy princess fell in love with a dragon. She is very happy and the dragon is so in love that he thinks of nothing else but this fairy. The princess tells her little brother, but I think she is afraid to tell her parents for some reason. I am not sure if the dragon has a family, but I know that he never goes to the fairy kingdom. They seem to meet in some strange, secret place almost every day after they first meet. But the king already knows that his daughter met the dragon and he is not too happy about it. Right now, I am trying to decipher what is that he wants to do because the fairy queen says something like "This is wrong!" But all of that is in the middle of the text; I thought it might be easier to understand if I started from there. I might go back and see if I can start making sense of some of the beginning. Maybe gain an understanding of the fairies and the princess, oh and of course…Ouch!" Levy shouted after being pinched by Cana.
"You were getting a little too excited," she explained.
"Fairies? Dragons? The fact that two such creatures are falling in love is strange in itself, but the fact that this is what you have Levy working on instead of translating any letters we obtain from the enemy is even more disturbing," Erza huffed.
"Juvia feels that love knows no bounds," Juvia whispered wistfully.
None of the girls noticed the look of utter disbelief and astonishment on their leader's face as they became caught up in an argument over the small story that Levy had shared with them. Erza believed that Levy had completely messed up her translations, while Juvia argued with Cana that love can happen between anyone, even if they are different creatures. Something in their leader's tone, which was incredibly soft yet serious enough to break through their arguing, caught the girls' attention and they ceased their arguing the moment he opened his mouth. "Levy, I need you to write down what you said and address it to the queen. I will have you meet with Jet to make the delivery. Cana, you must go to Blue Pegasus and share this story with Bob and Hibiki. Then you must return here immediately. Erza and Juvia, I have an important stealth mission for you to go on." Erza opened her mouth to disagree since stealth was not her forte. "The two of you will go with Cana; this should give me the time I need to work out a few details." The Master looked directly at Erza with a suddenly fierce and angry expression to answer her unspoken dissent. "It involves the Order of the White Rose," he said simply.
The girls could only look back at him with wide eyes and nothing to say.
*A/N: fairies? dragons? and what's up with the clinic? i dunno? do u? lol just teasing! i have no idea how to even begin apologizing about the delay. but i'm hoping that i'll be healthy for the coming months so that i can finish up part two. i am not sure if i changed the book titles in the last chapter or this chapter, but i think that's all i went back and changed. i have a lot to do for school, working with kindergarten; fun times! anywho i hope you all stay tuned :) thank you so much for the support and i really appreciate those who choose to follow my story. THANK YOU!*