Chapter number ten. I repeat: chapter, number, TEN! I made it without keeling over and/or worshipping some made-up deity, like the Garage Goddess (true dream, that. Very strange.). As you all know, last chapter was late. This chapter, will not be! It may be posted at 11:59 PM, but it will be posted TODAY. Take that, deadline monster.
S/O to Abyss Walker- I hope the story keeps you laughing!
And now, on to the story.
Oliver looked down at his hands and frowned. He really needed to stop chewing on his nails, or else he was going to have little fleshy nubs for fingers. That certainly wouldn't be attractive.
Then again, maybe that would be a good thing. Maybe then Supreme Commander Fernandes wouldn't view him as a… threat? Obstacle? He didn't know. Whatever he was to Commander Fernandes, if he was unattractive, maybe he wouldn't be whatever he was. Did that make sense? It made sense to him. Personally, he didn't think how it could not make sense to-
He was rambling again. Right? He thought so. What constituted as rambling anyway? Were there different levels of rambling? There should be. Different people, different styles, different levels of rambling.
Rambling again, he supposed. Whatever. This was an internal debate, so it didn't matter. He wasn't on duty, he wasn't talking, he wasn't bothering anyone. Except maybe himself. He didn't think he was bothering himself, though. A second voice hadn't popped up in addition to this current one he was thinking with. That meant he wasn't bothering anyone, including himself. He gave himself mental permission to continue.
What was Commander Fernandes's problem anyway? Oliver hadn't done anything to him, not that he could tell anyway. He'd talked to the commander and that mean man with the scary piercings. He'd welcomed them! Pointed out where they could camp, said 'hello,' tried to keep the peace. And what had he gotten in return? Glares, sneers, and three angry people he had to deal with almost daily.
Commander Fernandes and his troops were all over the castle, scouring it for clues and interrogating the servants. He ran errands for Erza a lot, and dealt out the more insignificant commands to the soldiers- that work put him in the castle at least once a day. The troops were cordial enough, though some of them were a bit handsy at time. Commander Fernandes was another story altogether. He would glare at him, or make comments, or get in the way of Oliver's orders.
The mean man with piercing, Second Crown Prince Gajeel Redfox-Dragneel, dismissed or ignored him. Other time, he'd call Oliver names like 'twink' or 'bunny boy.' Like he hadn't heard those oh-so-original nicknames before. At one point, Prince Gajeel had pushed him into one of the grabby soldiers. Oliver's rump had finger bruises on it for a week. Other times, Prince Gajeel merely told him 'you're annoying me,' and walked away. At first, Oliver had just assumed Prince Gajeel was an unhappy person. He'd tried to make the prince smile, given it his best jokes. After several shoves into the wall and five more days of fingerprints on his bum, Oliver had decided that Prince Gajeel was perpetually grumpy.
Before the Commander and Prince had arrived, Erza was nice. Short-tempered and snappish sometimes, but still nice. She apologized when she knew she was in the wrong, and genuinely tried to better the lives of those she protected and those who helped her protect. But that was before.
Now, however, it was a completely different story. Erza was agitated most of the time and muttered to herself a lot. She practiced with her weapons more, and had taken to polishing her multiple armors daily. When she called the bodyguards together for a practice session, the session was long and brutal. It took most of the guards (including Oliver, every time) begging for mercy before she would relent and end the training. Whenever she would see Prince Gajeel, she would constantly scan their surrounding or tell Oliver to keep a lookout for the Commander. Whenever she would see Commander Fernandes… it might as well have been a war. They screamed, yelled, even took to fighting each other (though it always ended with people from either side pulling the two apart).
After the fights, the entire campus was quiet. It might have been peaceful if the silence wasn't so tense and volatile. Everyone was strung out and edgy. Even the Lord Heartfilia was cautious after the fights. Oliver didn't mind that part, though. Lord Heartfilia was normally aloof and stony- his silence was a welcome break.
More than anything, Oliver wanted to know why Commander Fernandes and Erza were so angry at each other. He knew they knew each other, he was sure of it. There was no way two total strangers could hate each other so adamantly upon first sight. Just… no way. So the fact that Erza and the commander knew each other was established. He assumed something had happened to make them so hostile, but so far neither had given any hints as to what that event might have been. Oliver still kept his ears perked, just in case.
He'd thought that during the fights one of them might have talked, or shouted, or even grunted. After all, the heat of the battle could do things like that to people. More than once some criminal had broken into the Heartfilia estate, gotten into a fight, and blurted out their plan or a part of. It came in handy a lot of times, and was amusing to boot.
But their now-famous-fights? Dead silent. Both of them wore a mask of grim determination, and there might as well have been gags in their mouths for all the noise they made. They were silent after the fights, too. Erza wouldn't even let him rub her feet or clean the flecks of blood off her sword like she usually did. The foot rubs disappointed him the most though. A good foot rub, some strawberry cake, a glass of cold milk- Erza would loosen right up. It was like she was in a trance when he combined all three things, and he'd gained knowledge of some very juicy information using that method. Tried and true, as his mother would say. He closed his eyes and muttered, "May she rest in peace," before continuing his train of thought.
His mother would have known what to do in this situation. She would know how to make one or both of them talk. She probably would have known why they were so unhappy near each other within the first two days. He missed her so much. Maybe he'd get some heavenly message from her, telling him what he should do. Divine directions- he smiled. His mother would be the one to do that.
Still, holy instructions or not, he'd find out what was wrong. He'd do something about it. Everything would work out.
His mind made up, Oliver stood and grabbed training pads. The pads felt bulky and uncomfortable when he stuffed them down his pants and over his butt, but it was a necessary precaution. He needed to give some bad news to Prince Gajeel.
Lucy grimaced and tried to choke down some more meatloaf. She wasn't succeeding.
A snort came from her left and she turned to glare at Natsu. He grinned and took a large bite of cake. She tried to glare harder, to no avail. Natsu merely laughed and sprayed bits of frosting all over the sheets.
"Why do I have to eat this, and you don't?" The meatloaf gurgled at her. "So unfair."
"'Cause your stomach might not be able to handle the awesomeness of good food yet." He patted his stomach, which rumbled happily. She hoped he spontaneously threw up, or that his cake turned into meatloaf. That would serve him right.
"Just because I was sick longer than you-"
"And got a larger dose of poison." Juvia put in.
"Doesn't mean I can't keep down a decent meal." Lucy finished.
Natsu stuffed another bite in and mumbled, "Doc said foods that taste like cardboard. Not my fault."
"Well this tastes worse than cardboard. I think I'd rather eat a box, in fact." Lucy stated matter-of-factly. Stupid doctors- they hadn't even been the ones to save her. Gray and Juvia had told them of the strange trio that performed voodoo magic in order to save them.
"The doctor said Lucy was only allowed to have weak foods that posed less of a chance of upsetting her stomach. Broth, meatloaf, and crackers are three such foods. Cake is not." Juvia brushed the crumbs off Lucy's sheets and nudged the plate of meatloaf.
"Yeah," Natsu piped up. "What she said." He pointed his fork towards Juvia and nodded.
"Shut up Flame-brain." Gray walked over and handed Lucy more water.
She thanked him and took a large swallow. Hopefully it would help her to choke down the monstrosity the doctors in this place called meatloaf. She'd had tasteful and artfully decorated meatloaf before, and this did not resemble that meatloaf in any way, shape, or form. Disgraceful.
Someone started tugging her hair, and Lucy assumed Juvia had started brushing her hair. Ever since the incident (Lucy didn't like to refer to it as an attempted murder) Juvia had been a lot more affectionate. She spent every day with Lucy, along with Natsu and Gray. She had taken to brushing Lucy's hair and helping her to bathe and dress. The only thing she refused to do was let Lucy skip her meds and bring her edible food. She couldn't fault Juvia for that too much, she supposed. Though the meatloaf was seriously making her want to reconsider that.
A sharp tug came from the back of her head and pain lanced through her skull. "Ow! Juvia!" She turned around to glare at Juvia.
"What?" Juvia held up the brush innocently.
"Not so hard, please. That hurt." She rubbed the back of her head mournfully.
"Juvia cannot help it. Lucy brought this on herself." She swatted Lucy's hands away from the back of her head and resumed brushing.
Lucy could only gape for a moment before exclaiming, "What? What do you mean, I don't even know what you mean!" How was Juvia yanking on her hair, her fault?
"Juvia thinks Lucy has been picking up Prince Natsu's hygiene habits."
She was silent as her mind tried to puzzle out what that was supposed to mean.
"Prince Natsu's hygiene habits are not very good, in case Lucy still doesn't understand."
Natsu and Lucy both yelped this time, Lucy because her hair was being torn out, Natsu because of the negative implication.
"Easy on the hair!"
"I have wonderful hygiene skills!"
The yanking on her hair stopped for a moment and Juvia swung around Lucy to peer skeptically at Natsu. "Is that so?" One eyebrow crept towards her hairline and she pursed her lips doubtfully.
"Yeah- it is so! I bathe several times a week."
"Jumping in lakes, playing in the castle fountains, and spilling beverages on oneself does not constitute as a bath."
"I bathe at least once a week." Natsu corrected himself.
"Juvia believes Juvia's point has been proven." The hair tugging resumed once more and Lucy grimaced.
Natsu sputtered and frowned. "I have a sensitive nose- if I stunk I would know. I take baths regularly, brush my teeth twice a day, and brush my hair… less regularly."
A snort came from behind Lucy and Natsu rushed on, "But just because my hair is fine when I wake up! I like it like this!" He gestured wildly towards his pink follicles. "This whole just-woke-up, all-natural look suits me!"
Lucy eyed Natsu's hair and mentally nodded. It did indeed suit him.
Gray held up a finger and interjected, "If I may,"
"You may not!" Natsu snapped. "Besides, you're biased."
"How am I biased?" This couldn't end well, in Lucy's opinion. There was no peaceful solution.
Natsu rolled his eyes. "First of all, you're just going to disagree with everything I say." Natsu had a point there. From what she'd witnessed, the boys were almost complete opposites.
"First of all?" Gray threw his hands up. "Great, there's more. Can't wait to hear this." At least Juvia had eased up, that was a plus. There was always a silver lining.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is more." Natsu crossed his arms and huffed.
"Well then, let's hear it. Let's hear what idiotic garbage you've imagined up." Gray thumped his chest and made 'come-at-me' motions with his hands.
"You're totally gonna agree with anything Juvia says!" Lucy bit her lip- she'd spoken too soon. Juvia was getting rough with the hairbrush again. The silver lining cloud was going to storm.
"What?" Gray gaped at Natsu. "What is that supposed to mean?" Another yank- Lucy tried to take calming breaths.
"You totally like Juvia!" Natsu pointed towards Juvia at the same time said demon jerked Lucy's head again. This conversation was going to hurt everyone here, it would seem.
"I do not!" Another wrench.
"Do to!" Shouldn't the brush have broken by now?
"Do not!" Tears welled up in Lucy's eyes.
"Do to!"
"Do not!"
"Do to!"
She was going to be bald by the end of the day.
Erza growled and scrubbed at her sword. There were several pesky little spots of blood that just wound not come off.
She flipped her hair out of her eyes and tried circular motions instead of straight up and down. Maybe that would help. If not, she was going to have to commission a new one.
The fight today was just as useless as those before. They fought, they got pulled apart, they prepped for the next time they fought. If they didn't get pulled apart, though… she'd kick his ass. She was better than him back then, she was sure to be better than him now.
In fact, she'd taken measures to ensure she'd be better than him if they would ever chance to meet again. Vigorous training, endless exercise, gaining access to every new style of weapon and practicing until she'd mastered them.
And now… now it had all paid off. Fate had seen fit to bring them together again. Destiny had wanted them to finish what they'd started so long ago. Their unfinished struggle would finally have a victor. And a loser- which she would make sure wasn't her.
Oliver popped his head in, and before he could even ask Erza snapped, "No." His face fell, and for a moment she felt a wave of guilt, but the feeling of cold steel in her hands snapped her back to reality. "I'm sorry Oliver, but I don't have-"
"Time, yeah, I know." He smiled and waved his hand. "Don't sweat it, it's okay." He turned to leave, but hesitated at the doorway. "Hey, Erza… you know that you can always talk to me, right?"
She tried to smile reassuringly. "Yeah, I know. Thanks."
"No problem!" He beamed at her and bounced away.
Honestly, sometimes his mood boggled her. How could anyone remain so positive all the time? He must have been dropped as a child, and as a result the negative part of his brain was mushed, therefore making it impossible for him to be sad.
Wait. Erza pondered that for a moment. Was that even possible?
After a few more moments, Erza shrugged. It sounded legit enough. Moving on, now.
One of the spots flaked off, and she grinned. Victory!
Her efforts redoubled, and she vowed to rid her sword of the rest of the offending blemishes. On the one hand, she sort of wanted to somehow photograph Jellal's bloodstains in a sick attempt to invigorate her for their next battle. On the other, more sane hand, she knew that was wrong.
If she had a third hand, it would be telling her that not only was it wrong, but also that she should feel ashamed. Did the past mean nothing to her, it would ask. Had she really managed to banish all traces of their friendship from both her heart and mind?
If she had a third hand, she would tell it to shut the hell up and leave her alone. Jellal was a double-crossing bastard that deserved to rot in hell for what he'd done to her. If she was the one that managed to send him there, all the better.
The circular motions didn't seem to be doing any better than the straight up and down method. Maybe she needed more cleaning solution?
She reached behind her to grab the bottle and squinted at the instructions page. It said a few drops per side should do it. The drops pinged softly as they hit, and she counted five pings before stopping. That should do it. The cloth squeaked when she first started rubbing again, but then quieted down shortly after. She frowned and paused for a second, lifting the cloth from the sword.
It had never squeaked before. Maybe the solution was getting old? She picked up the bottle again to read the attached instructions. They didn't say anything about expiration dates. Perhaps the makers thought it would be a given? Definitely a thought for later.
She went back to rubbing her sword. The methodical actions soothed her. She imagined the fight as being dirt on her skin, and the cloth as being the water that washed it all away. That also helped calm her down.
Her body was still tense, however. Maybe some muscle relaxation exercises would help her. She tried to relax her toes first, followed by her legs. The thigh area proved a bit harder to ease up on, but when she really concentrated it worked. Stomach and chest weren't too hard- they seemed to be the softest body parts anyway, so it sort of made sense. She had to stop cleaning her sword when it came to her arms, but it was worth it. They felt like noodles, and she couldn't remember the last time that had happened. Her fingers took the longest, though. She spent minutes trying to straighten out each knuckle and make her fingers feel like flexible… things.
Shouting erupted from the outside of her quarters and she immediately grabbed her sword and dropped into a crouch.
The shouting continued, and then she heard the distinct sound of bone crunching. More yelling, scuffling feet, and waling. Judging by the sound of the crunch, the volume of the crying, and the rapidness of the injury…
A right hook to the nose.
She hoped the puncher was one of her men. She also hoped the recipient was Jellal, though that seemed extremely unlikely. He was much too clever to get caught by something as simple as a punch. Though perhaps he also thought that, in which case she might be able to catch him off guard by trying something like that. Another thought for later.
Her knees protested when she stood up again, and she threw her sword back down on the table. It clattered loudly and flipped over, knocking the bottle of cleanser over.
"Oh, for the love of-"
"What was that about love?" A voice sounded from her doorway, and she froze. No. It wasn't possible. There was no way that slimy little bastard actually had the audacity to-
She turned around to see for herself. He did have the audacity.
"What are you doing in here?" She hissed, and backed up to stand behind her table.
"I came to tell you that one of my soldiers just attacked yours." He crossed his arms and stepped forward.
"A punch to the nose, I heard. I'm assuming it's a clean break?" She fingered the edge of her desk, flicking her fingers in annoyance when the solvent attached itself to her nails.
"But of course." He nodded to her, before taking another step forward.
He was getting too close for her liking. Her index finger inched forward, towards the pommel of her sword. His eyes snapped down to her hand, before looking back up at her sardonically.
"Tsk, tsk Erza. And here I was thinking we were getting past all of that." He stepped forward again.
That was three steps. They hadn't been this close and civil to each other in years. Her mind snagged on that little fact and she tried to rewind, to figure out the last time they'd been on cordial terms. Before the fight, before the humiliation, before-
He'd taken another step forward. She'd been busy thinking instead of paying attention. Though she hadn't seen the step, she could tell he was closer. She could feel it. Her skin started tingling, and she swore mentally. No! She was past this, better than this! She didn't care about him, or his good looks, or-
Again. He could still read her enough to know when he was getting her flustered, and when she wasn't paying attention because of it. That was, what? Five steps?
He was a measly foot away from her and her desk- and her sword. She couldn't see any visible weapons on him, but she knew he was smarter than that. He'd have something.
Time to turn the tables. She grabbed her sword and started to lift it, started to point it at her throat. He leaped forward and slammed both his hands down on the table, one over the top half of the sword, the other on the pommel, right next to her hand.
"Get off." She spat at him, and wished to any god that would listen that the venom in her voice could be transferred to his heart.
"No." He ground out from behind clenched teeth.
Her hand tightened spastically and she could feel the cleaner all over her hands, which meant it was probably all over his hand too. She hoped it burned him somehow.
"It wasn't a question." She bared her teeth and yanked at the sword. Fumes wafted up she resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose.
"I realize that- the answer is still no." He shifted his weight just enough to lift his hand before clamping it over hers on the hilt.
"You-" She stopped for a moment. Goddamn these vapors! They were addling her brain, they were…
They were addling her brain.
She could feel her eyes widening like a cartoon character and looked up at Jellal frantically.
He sensed the change and looked at her warily. "Erza?"
"Jellal, the bottle, the-" Her words caught in her throat and she coughed.
He reached over grabbed her shoulder. "What is it? Erza what is it? Tell me, what's wrong?" He was getting frantic now, shaking her gently even though his voice was growing louder.
She pushed at his shoulders, scratching him. He'd smell it, it would get him, too. Her knee gave out and she clawed at the desk, only just managing to snatch the bottle. The floor rushed up to meet her, and she grunted when she felt the impact. She writhed on the ground and jerked her arm towards her skirt. The bottle rolled out of her hands and she clenched her legs, forcing it into the weapons pouch she always wore on her thigh.
Her eyelids fluttered and she cursed. She was losing conscious, or at least something akin to it. Her body was shutting down, though her mind still seemed intact. Her eyes closed fully, and then there was silence. How cliché.
The last thing she heard was Jellal's body thump down next to hers.
Oh my gosh, another chapter done! And this one was finished at 9:30 PM, instead of 11:59 PM like I'd originally feared. I'd count that as a win, if I do say so myself.
Review, review, REVIEW or I'll go hairbrush-crazy like Juvia and make one of my friends bald!
Some things for this chapter:
#1. Yes, I realize Natsu is as dense as a rock when it comes to romance. Yes, I realize Juvia in all (manga? Anime?) reality might not be so affectionate to Lucy. Yes, I realize Natsu and Gray are being childish, though that's completely normal for them. In this story, there will be Gruvia feels- I have to set the mood! Or plant the seeds, or lay the tracks, or however you want to put it.
#2. A POV from Oliver- what do you guys think? You like, or no? You think he's as straight-laced as he seems, does he have a secret crush on Erza, do rambling levels really exist?
#3. Yes, yes, I know. Another (possible) poisoning? I need to broaden my horizons, stop being so clichéd, yada yada yada. This event is important to the storyline, as well as the mood/seeds/tracks of the revered (and totally canon- BOOYAH) ship that is Jerza.
Characters we've met so far:
Lucy Heartfilia- Daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia, only child. Lady of Magnolia. Engaged to Natsu Dragneel, First Crown Prince of Fiore. Assistant/ wedding planner to Natsu Dragneel, First Crown Prince of Fiore. Living.
Levy McGarden- Orphaned only child. Employed by Jude Heartfilia. Companion to Lady Lucy Heartfilia. Living.
Juvia Lockser- Orphaned only child of Jose Porla and OC. Employed by Jude Heartfilia. Companion to Lady Lucy Heartfilia. Assistant/wedding preparations fetcher to Gray Fullbuster- Dragneel, Third Crown Prince of Fiore. Living.
Jude Heartfilia- Husband to Layla Heartfilia, father to Lucy Heartfilia. Lord of Magnolia. Living.
Layla Heartfilia- Wife to Jude Heartfilia, mother to Lucy Heartfilia. Lady of Magnolia. Deceased.
Jose Porla- Father to Juvia Lockser. Deceased.
Erza Scarlet- Orphaned adopted only child of Grandpa Rob. Former Royal Army soldier. First Bodyguard to Lady Lucy Heartfilia. Living.
Natsu Dragneel- Second son of Igneel Dragneel, King of Fiore, and OC. First Crown Prince of Fiore. Engaged to Lucy Heartfilia, Lady of Magnolia. Living.
Gajeel Redfox-Dragneel- First son of Igneel Dragneel, King of Fiore, and OC. Second Crown Prince of Fiore. Escort to the Royal Search Party. Living.
Gray Fullbuster-Dragneel- Third son of Igneel Dragneel, King of Fiore, and OC. Third Crown Prince of Fiore. Assistant/ wedding preparations fetcher to Natsu Dragneel, First Crown Prince of Fiore. Living.
Jellal Fernandes- Supreme Commander of the Royal Army of Fiore. Head of the Royal Search Party. Living.
Happy- Pet to Natsu Dragneel, First Crown Prince of Fiore. Breed: Exceed. Color: Blue. Living.
Jet- Castle runner/messenger. Living.
Droy- Castle runner/messenger. Living.
Mr. Sakinawa- Husband to OC. Owner of a flower shop in Fiore. Living.
Wendy- Assistant at a fabric shop in Fiore. Employed by Lacy. Living.
Lacy- Owner of a fabric shop in Fiore. Living.
The Lookalike Leader- Owner of a glass shop in Fiore. Supposedly living. Undetermined if she and her employees are actually robots.
The Cleaning Clones- Employees of the Lookalike Leader. Employed at a glass shop in Fiore. Supposedly living. Undetermined if they and their boss are actually robots.
Oliver Cottonwood- Right hand man to Erza Scarlet. Bodyguard to Lady Lucy Heartfilia. Living.
The Belkbroth family- Two men and one woman that have some medical association and are employed occasionally by the royal family. Living.
Nurse Welde- a nurse in the Royal Infirmary.
Lily- Pet to Gajeel Redfox-Dragneel, Second Crown Prince of Fiore. Breed: Exceed. Color: Black and white. Living.