Disclaimers: I do not own Fairy Tail.
A/N: Far as I know I rarely see Enno get spotlight in a story, wonder why? Anyway I like to thank Tenryu no hook, warrior mage 03, pr0dz, RainbowFire03, Aquacharles, Spark-plugger, AkumaTheSinner, and UmbraCrescent for the Fav, Follows, and Reviews. Please Review, Fav, or Follow if you want.
Decided to change the ending to this chapter. Hope you like it.
This Chapter was beta by BarelyProdigies.
Chapter 10
Her Reason Why
Romeo was resting in the forests around Margaret Town, catching his breath and trying to wrap his mind around what he just heard.
"She's been in Crocus this entire time? That's a half a day train ride away at the most! Also, she's Chelia's choreographer! The gods must be playing some sort of sick joke on me!" he thought as tears started to well up.
"Eleven years! Eleven years she been gone and I haven't received so much as a letter or a postcard! Was I the reason she left? Was it something I did?!"
The snapping of a tree branch shakes Romeo out of his self-pity. On instinct, Romeo summons flames around both of his hands, his tears of sadness temporarily becoming tears of anger. In the forests of Magnolia, Romeo has had his share of run-ins with creatures trying to sneak up on him, thinking he was easy prey. Now he didn't really know what animals inhabited these woods but he wasn't in the mood for this crap and he was going to make them regret trying to make a meal out of him.
As he sees a figure appear from out of the trees, he sends a fireball flying their way. But it is easily dodged and Romeo was ready to kick himself as he realizes he just sent a fireball at his girlfriend.
"Chelia I'm sorry-" Romeo was glad he didn't hurt her but before he could fully apologize Chelia was there in front of him looking down at the ground while rubbing her hand up and down her arm. "I'm sorry. I-I should have known or figured out that she was your mom and told you." Her voice was quiet but it pounded in his ears.
"Hey. You know what? You didn't have to do anything Chelia." He sniffed away his tears before getting closer to her. "You know; it's not like I'm still three years old you know? It's not like I'm going to be staying up every night asking my dad: When's mommy coming home? You know? Who needs her?"
Romeo turned his back to her but kept talking as if no one was there. "She wasn't there to teach me how to do fire magic but I learned, didn't I? I got pretty damn good at it didn't I Chelia?" His voice picked up by the end and started walking back up to her.
"Yes, you did."
"I went through my first day of school without her, right? I learned how to read without her. I learned how to use the train without her. I learned how to use fire magic without her." He used his fingers to count as Chelia only nodded in support.
"I had ELEVEN-" He started to angrily point his finger at her before turning around and walking a short distance away "-great birthdays without her! She never sent me a damn card!"
"TO HELL WITH HER!" His cry scattered the birds sitting on the tree tops and the left the two standing in silence. Romeo's breath was ragged and shaky as he fought back a new rush of tears. Chelia stayed silent but continued to be there for him, standing there.
"I didn't need her then; I don't need her now." He charged right past Chelia fully intending to tell Enno to just leave him again.
"Romeo wait." Chelia never used his actual name unless it was serious but even that only stopped him for a moment. Romeo turned around and got really close to her but he didn't stop talking.
"You know what Chelia? I'm going to learn all the fire magic that I can without her. I'm going to become an S rank mage without her!" Romeo voice echoes throughout the forest.
"And I sure as hell don't need her for that because there ain't a damn thing she could ever teach me about how to love my kids!" Romeo yelled out again as Chelia continued to stand there while taking it all in. His anger soon slipped into deep sadness as his breath quickened and shortened. He started choking out his last few words…
"Why… didn't she want me? Why?" He looked into her sky blue eyes through his quickly blurring olive eyes for an answer. It felt like an enormous weight had fallen on his throat and his body lightly shook from his quiet cries.
Chelia quickly crossed the distance between them and wrapped him into a tight hug. Romeo dug his face into her shoulder and continued to sob. She felt his body shake from time to time as he let it all out. She didn't know how much time had passed but it didn't matter. She would always be there for him.
"Sorry…I really am a crybaby." He slowly broke away from the hug and rubbed his eyes with his arm. "It's okay Romeo." He turned his head away from her in shame but a gloved hand lightly turned his face back towards her. "I told you right? I will always be there to heal you because…" His mind raced back to that moment on the harbor, at the time it seemed so silly what she said back then but he remembered her words exactly.
"Of love." He finished her sentence before he leaned in and kissed her. The two continued to kiss under the morning light as the forest around them seemed to brighten at the sight of young love. The two took a moment to break away and Chelia took that as a chance to talk.
"I'm sorry I didn't know your mom was my dance choreographer. Enno never talked about having a family other than the fact she used to be married."
Chelia instantly regretted those words as soon as they left her mouth. Romeo wasn't as hurt as before but the reality was like a blunt pain in his gut.
"Great, so she doesn't even mention me in conversation", he mumbles.
"Romeo, please don't act like this", Chelia begged.
"Then how am I supposed to act in a situation like this? I figure this isn't the first time she came to Margaret Town, is it?!" Romeo erupted, starting his rant up again. He wasn't going to cry again. That time had passed, now it was time for answers.
"It's not."
"Margaret Town is the same distance from the capital as Magnolia is, if not a little further! You mean to tell me that she can travel half a day to come see someone she known only for a year and a half at best, but she can't travel the same distance to see her own son?! What kind of mother does that?!" Romeo's voice started to pick up again and the panic was coming back, "Was it because of me? Was I the reason she left?"
"This is all too much for me to handle right now. I'm just going to leave and go back to Magnolia-" Romeo stopped talking when he felt Chelia's hands rest on his shoulders.
"I lost both my mom and dad when I was young", Chelia started to say in a soft voice; "They were killed by the demon Deliora. For a while, Sherry was the only who could take care of me until she left with Lyon to try and kill Deliora. I spent the next three years moving around from orphanage to orphanage until Sherry finally found me again. She tearfully apologized for abandoning me all those years ago and even to this day she deeply regrets it. I think it's the reason she fiercely protective of me as you found out after we started dating, she trying to make up for her mistake."
Romeo slightly chuckles at the memory which told Chelia that he was slowly starting to calm down if only a little.
"I used to get so jealous whenever I saw kids being happy with both of their parents or even one of them. Not going to lie, it was one of the things that I hated about you at first", Chelia admitted.
"Really?" Romeo asked, "Me and my dad?"
"I thought I gotten over that phase in my life by then, but seeing how you and your dad interactive with one another just gave me another reason to hate you. But that's in the past now", Chelia finished up and takes her hands off of Romeo.
"Romeo, I'm not going to stand here and tell you that you need to forgive your mother, that's a decision you have to make on your own. But I believe you should at least go back to the guild hall and hear her out, see what her side of the story is."
Romeo lies down on the ground for a moment before speaking.
"Can it wait for a bit? I'm still trying to get over the shock."
"Sure thing", Chelia says as she starts to move away to give him some time alone but then she feels Romeo's hand grab her. As she looks back down at him she sees that he looking up at her with pleading eyes.
"Think you could stay here for a while with me?" Romeo almost begged, "I really don't think I should be alone right now."
Chelia smiles at this and lies back down next to him, once again wrapping her arms around him.
"Sure thing, my little firefly", Chelia said before realizing that Romeo hasn't gotten mad at her in a while for calling him that.
"I say that's an improvement if anything."
Off in the distance, Wendy smiles to herself as she watches the two. Both of them ran after Romeo together after he bolted out of the guild hall. Using her enhanced sense of smell, she was able to point Chelia to the general location to where Romeo was and decided to let Chelia go alone to talk to him. As she starts to walk back to the Lamia Scale guild she couldn't help but glance over her shoulder at the two of them as they lay right next to each other.
"Hope Romeo-kun will feel better by the time he comes back to the guild hall. Because by the way his parents were arguing, it would probably be for the best that he's not in a depressing mood when he does come back."
An entire minute would pass before Wendy realizes that she been staring at them the whole time. As she regains her thoughts and starts walking away, she vaguely wondered why she was doing that.
Lamia Scale Guild Hall after Romeo flees.
"No!" Romeo screams as he bolts out of the room.
"Romeo, wait!" Enno screams as she tries to take off after him but is blocked by Macao.
"I think the last thing Romeo needs right now is his mother", he tells her.
"Get out of my way Macao! I need to-" Enno yells.
"Go see your son? The same son you had eleven years to come see and yet you didn't?" Macao questioned in a tone that causes her to shrink back from him.
"I have sent letters, pictures, even his guild profile sheet when he became an active member to your mother and she sent them to you, and yet you never so much as send back a postcard!", Macao screamed.
"I send you money every month for child support through my mother!" Enno argued.
"Oh yes, that's what the boy needed. Money, because that could easily replace his mother", Macao laughed.
The sharp laughter snaps Chelia out of her shock of finding out that her choreographer was also her boyfriend mother as she shakes her head and takes off after Romeo as Enno and Macao continued to bicker.
"You know why I left!" Enno argues.
"Yes, because you finally had enough money from all the jobs you did to open up your very own dance studio. You made that perfectly clear when we divorced. But we also agreed that you would come and visit", Macao countered.
"Well, I wanted to take Romeo with me!"
"And what? Have him constantly moving from place to place? Tell me, how long was it before you settled down in Crocus? How long were you moving from place to place?"
Enno looked down at the floor, unable to meet Macao's eyes, "Six years."
"So Romeo would have been moving from place to place for almost half his life? That would have been great stability for him. Your mother even told me that a couple of times you went beyond the borders of Ishgar while pursuing your dreams."
"I admit I did travel to Alakitasia and the lands beyond the Pergrande Kingdom a couple times over the years."
"I rest my case", Macao said as he crossed his arms.
Before Enno could continue the argument, Master Makarov decided to step in.
"I believe whatever disagreements you have with another should wait until you're behind closed doors and after we see to Romeo." The master suggested as he looks towards Enno, "It's good to see you again child. I have always wondered how you were doing over the years. Fairy Tail has been different without your marvelous dancing."
Enno smiles at the Master Makarov's kind words while Macao simply scoffs. At that moment Wendy walks in with Gray and Juvia.
"Oi everyone!" Gray yells catching everyone's attention, "Wendy here says that Romeo is okay and that Chelia is calming him down at the moment. They'll be back soon."
"Thank goodness", Sherry breathes out a sigh of relief to which Master Makarov simply nods in agreement, "Then I guess we'll wait for him to come back. Macao, can I speak with you for a moment?"
Makarov and Macao step off to the side while Gray stares at the woman across the way that looked vaguely familiar. This doesn't go unnoticed by Juvia who starts plotting the woman untimely demise.
"E-Enno?" The Ice mage asks.
"Gray?" Enno asked back, "Wow, this is something. I'm used to not seeing you with clothes on."
"Gray-sama! What does she mean by this?! Are you having an affair behind Juvia-chan back with this woman?!" The water mage wailed catching Enno off-guard.
"Is-is she your girlfriend?" Enno asks while backing up slightly away from the hysterical girl.
"It's complicated", Gray groans as he tries to calm Juvia down, "Juvia, this is Enno. She's Romeo mother and she was a member of Fairy Tail back when I first started out."
Juvia stops mid-wailing and stares at Enno and back to Gray, "Oh."
"Fairy Tail has only gotten weirder since I left, not that it was normal to begin with", Enno thought while looking down at Wendy who started to fidget from the sudden attention.
"Excuse me, Wendy was it?" Enno asked.
"Y-Yes?" Wendy replied, wondering why she was so embarrassed around this lady.
"Just wondering why Chelia is out there comforting my son when you're his girlfriend?" The woman asked.
Wendy's face glows bright red within a second of Enno asking her that questions. Gray and Juvia could see literal steam coming out of her ears.
"G-G-girlfriend?!" Wendy stutters out before putting her face in her hands while shaking her head.
Gray gives a chuckle at the sight before speaking, "Wendy isn't Romeo's girlfriend. She's just his friend and teammate."
Wendy doesn't know why but for some reason she got an odd feeling that she never felt before, swell up in her chest when Gray said the words "just his friend and teammate".
"Really?" Enno asked.
"Why would you think Wendy was Romeo's girlfriend?" Juvia ask.
Enno walks over to her purse and pulls out a newspaper article which showed pictures of Wendy and Romeo performing both of their Unison Raids attacks against Velveno at the dance mission. The headlines read:
TWO YOUNG MAGES OF FAIRY TAIL DEFEAT INFAMOUS DARK MAGE "GUILD HUNTER" VELVENO
ROMEO CONBOLT AND WENDY MARVELL PULLED OFF TWO UNISON RAIDS AGAINST THE THIEF TO DEFEAT HIS AND PREVENTED HIM FROM STEALING THE BALSMICO'S FAMILY RING
"Huh, didn't know that there was someone taking pictures while we were there. But it makes sense when you think about it, a guy like Count Balsamico would want photographers there to capture such a tremendous moment like his daughter finally getting engaged."
"Juvia-chan thinks so as well."
"Anyways, I thought because they were using Unison Raids that they were a couple. Last time I checked a Unison Raid requires a great amount of trust between the people doing them", Enno explained, "So I figure the girl in the picture was someone very close to Romeo."
"Well Enno you would be wrong because Chelia is Romeo's girlfriend", Sherry steps in, curious about the conversation ever since she overheard Enno thinking that Wendy was Romeo's girlfriend.
"R-Really?" Enno was surprised by this new information.
"And yet here you were trying to hook her up with Arashi", Sherry pointed out.
"I didn't know! Chelia kept saying she didn't have a boyfriend!" Enno quickly defends herself.
"Yes, there was a reason for that, she didn't want the media to barge in Romeo's personal life seeing how the boy has severe social anxiety and the attention would be bad for him", Sherry explained as she takes the newspaper out of Enno's hand and looks at it.
"HE HAS WHAT?!" Enno voice boomed throughout the hall, surprising everyone in it, "Macao never told me about any of this in the letters he sends to me!"
"Would it have made a difference? Would it have made you stop whatever you were doing and come back and see him?" Macao yells from across the room.
"I still should have known!" Enno yells back.
"Then you should have dropped by every once and awhile!" Macao argued.
"ENOUGH!" A new voice boomed as everyone turns to see Master Ooba standing there alongside Jura with a scowl on her face, "You kids are making too much noise in my guild! Unless you want me to spin you around until I get dizzy I suggest you brats keep it down and talk like reasonable adults!"
"Master Ooba, forgive us for the noise, but we seem to run into a bit of a problem", Master Makarov started to explain to her.
"I know I could hear you all from my office", as she looks around the room, "Where are Chelia and the boy?"
"Romeo ran off and Chelia went after him. Hopefully, they'll be back soon", Makarov told her.
"Good. When they come back I want him, his father, and his mother to use my office to talk in. They're going to need some privacy for this", Ooba commanded.
"I'm not letting him anywhere near that-" Macao started to complain before he suddenly spinning around in midair, "Whoa!"
"This is neither for you or Enno's benefit, it is for the boy!" Ooba said as she twirled her finger around while looking back to the group, "Are there more objections to this?"
When no one said anything, Master Ooba merely nodded her head, "Good. Now until the boy and Chelia come back you will all behave like civilized adults."
And with that Ooba stop spinning her finger and Macao fell on the ground, struggling to hold the contents of his stomach down.
One Hour Later
While Makarov, Ooba, and Macao continued their discussion off to the side and Enno caught up with Gray, though she was still nervous about the inevitable confrontation with her son. Sherry was sitting off in the corner reading the newspaper she got off Enno.
"Romeo mentioned at the concert that he had to use two Unison Raids on Velveno to defeat him, but I figure he did it with Natsu or one of the others. I didn't think he did them with Wendy. I see nothing wrong with it", she thought as she glances over at Wendy who talking with Enno, Gray, and Juvia, "Gray said they're just friends, nothing more. But I can't help but wonder how Chelia going to take this if she doesn't already know."
At that moment Chelia comes leading a nervous looking Romeo by the hand. Enno cautiously walks over to talk to him but is intercept by Master Ooba of all people who appeared out of nowhere.
"I'm pretty sure I was clear when I said that you three would be using my office for this discussion", she spoke as she looked Enno up and down, "And get some less revealing clothes dear. No one should be dress like that in the present of their son."
Enno looks down at herself. While she normally only worn these clothes when she was giving dancing instructions due to the freedom of movement they give, Master Ooba had a point. The last thing she needed right now is her son who she hasn't seen in eleven years to be awkwardly looking away from her because she has so much of her body exposed. Feeling a bit shameful at the moment she subconsciously started to use her arms to cover herself up when suddenly she feels a jacket fall on her shoulders. She turns around to see Macao standing there with his arms cross and an irritating look on his face as he placed his jacket on her.
"The sooner you get covered up the sooner we can have this discussion", he simply grumbled as he starts to walk toward Master Ooba's office. Master Makarov comes over to speak with Enno and Romeo.
"Now Romeo, no one is forcing you to go into that office but we do feel that it would be for the best if you did", Makarov told him. Romeo remains silence for a moment as Enno, Master Makarov, and Chelia looked on with worried looks on their faces. After a moment he spoke.
"No, I'll go. I got some questions I want answered", He let go of Chelia's hand and walked forward without looking at Enno.
"Enno, dear", Master Makarov turns his attention toward the dancer mage, "I and Ooba have discussed with Macao and he agreed to let you tell your side of the story to Romeo without adding in his two cents. He'll still be in there, but he won't say anything unless he asked a question."
Enno lets out a sigh of relief, "Thank you. This is already going to be hard enough without Macao contradicting everything I say."
Enno starts to head toward the office but stops and looks back at Chelia.
"Sorry about trying to hook you up with Arashi", Enno apologizes, "If I had known he was going to try something like that, I would never have taught him. He just seemed so interested in you and he said that you like him too, but you were too shy to say anything."
Chelia laughs out loud out this notion, "Me? Shy around him? Yeah right! It's okay though Enno. Let just try to keep things from getting awkward between us from now on."
"Oh things are going to be awkward, I can promise you that", Enno mumbles as she walks toward Master Ooba's office. She finds the woman herself standing outside the door with a stern look on her face as she looks up at Enno.
"Both of them are in there waiting for you, but be warned, child. Like I told the father, any shouting that isn't done by the boy will be met harshly by me. The child the only one who has a right to shout in this situation for it seems both of you had been keeping secrets from him. Do you understand?"
Enno nods her head and prepares to go inside.
"I didn't think a day like this would come", she thought to herself, "Here goes nothing."
And she opens the door and steps inside to start what would no doubt be the most uncomfortable conversation she ever had.
Master Ooba's Office
Master Ooba's office was actually comfier than most people would think. With three comfortable couches lay out in front of oak wooden medium-size desk, most people would feel at ease talking to Lamia Scale guild master. Her bookshelves were decorated with awards, letters of appreciation, and GMG trophies the guild had won over the years as well as a multitude of pictures from across the century.
But none of that mattered at the moment as the three occupants in the room all sat there in awkward silence. Macao was in the corner leaning on the wall with his arms cross and eyes closed. Romeo fidgets on the couch as Enno just stood in front of the closed door. It was a little ironic how this was the first time in eleven years all three of them have been in the same room and yet no one was happy, especially Macao. Romeo was a mixture of nervousness, a little joy, and awkwardness while Enno just felt out of place.
The minutes' tick by as the trio continued to remain silent until…
"Hurry up and have your extremely emotional and extremely awkward talk! I got work to do in there!" Master Ooba yelled from the other side of the door causing Enno to jump in fright.
"Master Ooba!" Jura voice echoed, "Please leave them to their private talks! We can discuss business with Master Makarov!"
"Alright, alright", Romeo could hear Ooba grumbled, "Kids these days are so fickle with their emotions these days."
The footsteps slowly fade away leaving the family once again in silence.
"So, how have you been…mom?" Romeo softly spoke in a clumsy attempt to get the conversation started because frankly, he didn't know what to say in this type of situation.
Enno's mouth hangs open as she struggles to find an answer for what would seem a simple question in any other scenario. But before she could speak…
"She has been running a dance studio in Crocus for the past five years", Macao says from his corner in the room causing Enno to throw him a glare.
"What? You weren't talking so I decided to help move things along", he told her as he shrugged.
Enno was about respond when….
"Is that true? You've been living out in Crocus for the past five years?" her son asked.
Enno turns see Romeo staring straight at her with a curious look in his eyes. Enno wanted to look away, heck she wanted to run away. She wanted nothing more than to leave this room, tell Chelia she quits at being her dance instructor, close down her studio and move far, far away from Fiore so she never has to face this type of situation again.
But a part of her kept telling her that she needs to buck up and face the music. She was here, her son was here and he wanted, no…he deserved some answers. Answers that only she could give, but damn if this wasn't the hardest thing she ever had to do, even harder than bringing Romeo into this world.
"Yes, it's true", she finally answered.
"Was that you at the concert the other night in Haragon? The one who ran away from me." Romeo suddenly started asking.
This caught Macao's attention because like the make-out session between him and Chelia, Romeo didn't tell him this part either. He glances over at his ex-wife to see her reaction.
Enno's eyes were widening in shock because she was not expecting Romeo to ask a question like that. To be fair she didn't know what kinds of questions Romeo was going to ask but she certainly wasn't expecting that one. She honestly thought she hid her face well enough that he wouldn't see her.
"That's also…true", she finally admitted.
"Why did you run from me?" Romeo asked as small tears started to well up in his eyes again.
"I was afraid, to tell you the truth," Enno told him.
"AFRAID OF WHAT?!", Romeo suddenly shouted catching both Enno and Macao off-guard and causing Chelia, who heard it from the main hall, to go rushing to the guild master office before being stop by Sherry.
"This is something they as a family must down on their own", Sherry told her.
"But-"Chelia tries to argue.
"No buts. The boy needs to do this without you being there, understood?" Master Ooba chimed in.
"Yes Master Ooba", Chelia complied as she lowers her head in defeat.
"The boy is stronger than he looks, he'll make it through this. Though it anyone guess how this will affect him down the line", Sherry added, "Besides, we have some other matters we have to discuss."
Back at the Conbolt's estrange family reunion; Macao and Enno were still staring at Romeo in disbelief as their son was taking heavy breaths.
"Let me try that again. What exactly were you afraid of?" he asked, this time in a more calming voice, though it didn't make the question any easier for Enno.
"I was afraid of seeing you. I haven't seen you in eleven years and then all of a sudden, you were just standing right in front of me", Enno answered.
"How did you even know what I looked like? I could have been just a random purple-haired kid."
"I sent pictures to her mother, Grandma Siva, in Crocus and she relayed them to her over the years", Macao speaks up from his corner, "She would then give me information on her whereabouts even though I didn't ask for it."
"You told me you didn't know where she was at!" Romeo accuses his father while fixing him with a glare.
"I didn't until your grandma told me", Macao replied.
"So other than the fact the Grandma Siva was keeping secrets from me, you lied to me as well?!" Romeo screamed.
"I didn't lie, I just chose not to inform you", was Macao defense, "Mail travels slowly, even with magic. By the time your grandma told me, your mother could have been in another country by then for all I know."
"So why didn't you tell me anything at all? Something, no matter how small and insignificant, would have been nice!" Romeo yelled as he jumps over the couch and is looking up at his father, anger etched all over his face, "She was my mother, I deserved the right to know where she was at! For gods' sakes, she been living in Crocus for five years!"
"Tell me Romeo", Macao starting to speak in a soft voice, "What would have been better for you? For me to simply tell you I didn't know where your mother was or to tell you that she lived half a day train ride away for five years but yet she never came to see you. Hell from what you said she was over in Haragon the other night but I doubt she had plans to come see you. Am I right, Enno?"
Back in the Main Guild Hall (Lamia Scale)
Chelia's mind was a mess at the moment. From finding out Enno was Romeo mom, to almost bursting down Master Ooba's door upon hearing Romeo shouts to now reading the newspaper that Sherry handed her that had pictures of Romeo and Wendy performing Unison Raids against that Velveno fellow. From what Yuka told her about Unison Raids, they're basically the personal attacks of the two people using it. No two mages Unison Raids are the alike either. If you took a fire mage and pair them with a water mage, the Unison Raid would be different then if you were to take the same fire mage and pair them with a different water mage. It's the personal bond of the mages that determine how powerful the attack is as well. The deeper the bond, the more powerful the attack.
Chelia and Romeo have tried to pull off a Unison Raid in the past but to no avail.
"Is our bond not deep enough? Sure, we've only been dating for half a year but I like to think we made some progress in our relationship", Chelia tells herself.
"You're over thinking this", Sherry tells her as she watches her read through the paper, "It could just be because both of them were using Dragon-Slayer magic to attack with. With you having God-Slayer magic, maybe you're just not compatible with him."
"I guess that could be the reason. Our magic just too different", Chelia agrees through she still has some lingering doubt, "I just wish he would've told me about this."
"He probably thought it wasn't important. I mean, he said himself he got over the crush he used to have on Wendy a long time ago, so you have nothing to worry about", Sherry tried to reassure her.
"If you knew I was going to be worry about it, then why did you show me this paper?" Chelia asked.
"It's better you find out now through me than through someone else without getting the full story first. You know how jealous you can be", Sherry pointed out.
"I do not get jealous!" Chelia said.
"Oh really? What about the time you caught Romeo at staring at my chest? You didn't talk to the boy for a week, even after he try calling you nonstop to apologize."
"Maybe if you covered up a little more that wouldn't have happened", Chelia complained.
Sherry looks Chelia up and down, taking in her outfit as the leotard clung to her body, showing off her developing figure., "That's the pot calling the kettle black, she curvier than I was at her age. If Romeo and Chelia are still dating a few years from now, the boy might have problems keeping his hormones in check."
Back to the Conbolts
"Romeo, you have to understand why I left", Enno tried to explain herself.
"What's there to understand? You were afraid to see me. That's why you ran away from me in Haragon." Romeo sadly chuckled as he looked away from her.
"I was only afraid because I didn't know what to do", Enno said causing Romeo to turn his head back around.
"Romeo, I always wanted to be a dancer. To have my very own dance studio in the capital itself, to be so renowned and famous that even the Royal Family would invite me to perform for them in the halls of Mercuricus, it was all I dream while I was growing up on the streets of Crocus. Your grandma and I grew up in the slums, barely scraping by. What magic and other skills I learned had to be bought through sweat, blood, tears, and on the kindness of our neighbors. When I was finally old enough to strike out on my own and join a guild I chose Fairy Tail for I thought that it would be a great place to raise money for me to accomplish my goals. It was in the process of being one of the top guilds in Fiore and had a lot of jobs available to it."
Romeo was intently paying attention to his mother's story because this was the first time ever hearing anything about her that he didn't already know.
"While I was there, I made some friends, I felled in love, and eventually I married. It all happen so fast that I almost forgot about my dream of dancing, the very reason I joined a guild in the first place. Before I knew it I was pregnant and when you came into the world, I was overjoyed but in the deepest reaches of my mind I couldn't help but think that any chance of achieving my dream was now gone, there was no way I could just leave, not when I had a son."
Enno takes a deep breath as she moves over to sit on the couch across from Romeo, "At least that's what I told myself back then."
Romeo takes a deep breath as he thinks about what he just heard.
"So you're saying I wasn't expected?", Romeo asked.
"You weren't planned, if that's what you're trying to get at", Macao says as he moved off the wall to go sit on the third and final couch in the room that was between his son and ex-wife, "Not saying it was a bad thing, we just weren't expecting a child so soon into our marriage."
Romeo shoots a cold look at his dad before looking back toward Enno, "Please go on."
"As time passed the relationship between your father and me began to strain. Arguments, him coming home late reeking of booze, him caring more about the guild than his own family. Finally, after I was at my wits end, a thought occurred to me: If he didn't seem to care about his family, why should I? Why should I have to put my dreams on hold while he was out and about having the time of his life? I should have stopped that train of thought right then and there, but it festered. It festered and grew until finally, a little while after you turn three, I couldn't take anymore and I filed for divorce", Enno explained as she kept her eyes on the floor, while Macao took a deep breath.
"Of course, your father tried to change my mind. He promised to change, to start taking better care of you and me, to take fewer jobs, but my mind was made up and I wasn't hearing any of that. I just took it as him saying whatever he could to make me stay so he wouldn't have to all the responsibilities of raising a child alone dumped on him. I offered to take you with me, but your father, in a rare moment, said that you moving from place to place wouldn't give you the stability that you would have needed at such a young age, so it was agreed upon that I would visit you occasionally and when I finally found a place we would split custody, with you spending half a year with me and the rest of the year with your father. Three months later after we had that talk, the papers were signed and I was walking out of the door with you chasing behind me screaming, asking me where I was going, begging me to come back", Enno said as tears started to show in her eyes.
It took a moment but eventually Enno continued on.
"I cried for a week after that, thinking I made a terrible mistake, but I assured myself it was for the best and when I finally settled down, everything would be alright between you and me but things didn't turn out the way I had hope."
"Maybe we ought to stop here for now", Macao try to interject but was instantly shot down by his own son.
"No, I want to hear this", Romeo demanded without taking his eyes off his mother, "I need to hear this." Enno hesitated for a moment and fought back her own tears as she spoke about her own life…without him.
"I always knew opening up my own dance studio would be hard; I just didn't know how hard it would be. Even with all the money I saved up while at Fairy Tail, I still needed a bank loan to get everything set up. No bank in Fiore would approve me, so I travel aboard in hopes that another country bank would. It took seven years of traveling the world but finally I found a bank in the land of Sin that approved my loan. I came back to Crocus, bought everything I needed and within a year I was open for business. At first, business was slow, only a few people attended my classes, and it was starting to get hard to make my payments until about a year and a half ago when a certain pink-haired girl walked into the studio. She was just starting out in the music business and needed a choreographer who would work for cheap."
Romeo cracks a faint smile at this, knowing first-hand that Chelia has a way of changing people lives.
"I took her as a student and the offer to be her personal dance instructor later on once her fame started to rise. Before I knew it, word got out that Chelia Blendy was taking dancing classes at my studio and soon I was running out of room to host all my sessions. I took on more instructors, expanded the building, and soon I was running one of the top ten dancing studios on the continent with singers and performers from all over coming to me for lessons…and then two months ago I received a letter."
The room with eerily quiet as the moments ticked on by…
"I received a letter with your picture in it. Not the first one I received from your father, but this one had something in it…your guild profile picture. As I looked at it, I suddenly felt like I was slapped across the face. When I last saw you in the flesh you a little boy who had a hard time even pronouncing the word "magic" and yet now you were a full-fledged mage at Fairy Tail, like I once was. And then it hit me, I forgot all about the promises I made that I would come visited you and once I settled down that I would split custody with you. I ignored the letters your father sent to me, pleading that I come see you." She couldn't hold back her tears as they slowly leaked out.
"I didn't even write a letter back because I was too caught up in achieving my dream. The letter that came with the picture was from your father saying how if my dream was so important to me than I shouldn't even bother ever coming back to Magnolia because apparently my own son didn't matter to me and I was no better than he was when we were married. And once again I cried, cried for all the lost moments, I would never have with you. And then Haragon happen, and there you were standing no more than fifty feet from me and yet I couldn't find the courage to face you after being out of your life for eleven years. Even Mrs. Mine was a better mother figure to you at this point from what the letters I read said. So I ran and once again you were chasing after me as I refuse to look back at you as I left you behind.", Enno told Romeo as now the tears were falling freely from her eyes, "And now we're here." The silence was deafening.
"Chelia said you told her once that you used to be married but you never mention anything to her about having a child.", Romeo stated, "Why is that?"
…
….
…..
"Romeo", is all Enno could say.
"That's it, I'm leaving", Romeo simply said as he got up and headed for the door.
"Romeo! Please wait!" Enno pleaded as she got up to go after him.
"What? You want me to tell you every part of my life that you've missed?! We don't have a time machine and besides you don't deserve to be a part of my life back then."
"B-But-"
"No! Dreams are important, trust me I know! I want to be a fire mage that will make Natsu-nii proud and help Fairy Tail return to glory", Romeo says as he looks back at his mom with bloodshot eyes, "Going after your dream was important to you, even if it meant leaving me behind!"
Romeo turns his back on her as his hand reaches for the doorknob.
"I truly hope that you achieve the last part of your dream and perform in front of the Royal family mom, because they seem to be the only family you care about."
With that, Romeo opens the door and bolts out the room. Enno makes a move to follow him only to be stop by Macao's voice.
"You should leave him be, you'll only make it worse if you follow after him", he said as he got up and walked out the room.
"Aren't you going to say something?" Enno asked as she tries to wipe away the tears, "Insult me? Tell me how I'm a poor excuse for a mother?"
"Nothing I could say now could possibly hurt you more than what Romeo just said", Macao simply told her as he took back his jacket and walked out the room, leaving a sobbing Enno in his wake.
Romeo and Macao decided to head back to Magnolia early seeing how it would probably be for the best if Romeo just went home. Chelia desperately wanted to come along with him but Macao explains to her that he just need time alone. As both the Conbolt men left for the train station, Master Ooba went to her office where Enno was huddle up on the couch, crying quietly.
"I figure it didn't go so well, did it child?" Ooba asked.
When she received no answer she simply strolled over to the bookshelf and pulled a picture off it. She then goes and props herself up next to Enno and shows her the picture.
"Those are my five kids and my seven grandchildren" She starts talking as Enno rubs her eyes and glances over at the frame, "The majority of them live around Margaret town, but a couple of them actually lives in Haragon. I go see them at least twice a month, pushing aside important meetings with fellow guild masters and even the Magic Council itself to do so. A lot of ignorant people out there like to think that once a woman has a child, her life is on hold for all that matters is that child. That isn't true; in fact, it couldn't be any further from the truth. One must simply find a way to compromise between the two, between their family and what they themselves want. Of course, sacrifices will be made along the way, though. There has to be to show how much you value something."
Ooba then goes to the window behind her desk and motions Enno to follow her. As both women looked across the way, they see Romeo and Macao walking toward the train station.
"The boy is only fourteen Enno; you still have time to be an important figure in his life, it's not too late for you to be a mother. But you have to ask yourself, what's more important? Your dreams or your family?" Ooba asks her, "But if you want my personal opinion on the matter, any dream that you're chasing that causes you to abandon your family and friends wasn't a dream worth chasing in the first place."
As Enno stands by the window and watches Romeo and Macao walk away from the guild, Ooba words played in her head over and over.
"Do you have a communication lacrima, Master Ooba? I have to make a few calls."
Magnolia, one week later
Romeo was walking up the trail that led to the guild hall, his mind still deep in thought. These last past few days had been rough on him. He avoided conversation with his dad because he wasn't off the hook with all the secrets he kept from him so it has been pretty quiet at his house. He only talked to Chelia twice and that was over the communication lacrima so he could tell her that he was still alive. Him and Wendy haven't been on any jobs since he got back, and on top of everything else, at the guild hall he just sat in a corner all day, keeping to himself really only talking to Wendy and Natsu at best.
"Maybe I was better off not knowing where my mom was", he tells himself, "Because now I can't stop thinking about her. Maybe I ought of take a job to Crocus as a cover and visit this dance studio of hers. Without dad being there I might be able to get more answers out of her."
Romeo then stops walking before taking a deep breath...
"I should also try to bring Chelia along with me. I been avoiding her lately because of something that's not even her fault", Romeo admits before once again strolling to the guild.
He sits down at the door entrance, deep in thought as he still tries to wrap his head around everything that has happened in the past week.
"Dad lied to me, Grandma lied to me, I wondered what others secrets they're keeping from me. Next thing you know they're going to tell me I was born in the middle of a fire or something", Romeo tells himself as he nods off for the third day in a world outside the guild hall due to the lack of sleep he has been getting at home.
"Romeo? Romeooo?" he hears a little while later as he opens his eyes to find them staring into the brown eyes of Wendy.
Romeo looks toward the sun and saw that the sun has barely moved since he got to the guild.
"Why are you here so early if you don't mind me asking?" he says to the Sky Dragon-Slayer.
"Kinana said that you show up before anyone else every morning", Wendy answered as she sat down next to him, "I thought I come and keep you company."
Romeo looks around and notices that a certain white exceed was nowhere to be seen.
"So where's Carla?"
"Happy and Pantherlily went with her to visit the Exceed village earlier to morning."
"Huh", was all Romeo says before looking up at the sky and watched the cloud go by.
The two young teenagers then proceed to sit in awkward silence for ten minutes, occasionally glancing at one another before looking away.
"We been out on a few minor jobs together, so why do I feel weird sitting alone with him?" Wendy thought, "I didn't think this all the way through when I decided to show up early."
"This is strange. Just the two of us…here…alone…with no one else around", Romeo thought while trying to figure out a way to break the silence between him and the girl he used to have a crush on seven years ago. Fortunately for him, Wendy decided to break it first.
"So how are things with your mom?"
Unfortunately for her, she asked the wrong question at the wrong time. She realizes this when Romeo snapped his head toward her with an incredulous look on his face.
"I mean! You! How?! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry." Wendy apologize as she got up to leave, "I'll be going n-"
"Did you ever know who your real mother was?"
Wendy stops in mid-stride and slowly turns around to look at Romeo who was staring back at her.
"I'm sorry, say that again Romeo."
"Did you ever know who your real mother or even your father was?" Romeo asked again, "Natsu-nii once told me that the only parental figure in his life was Igneel and Gajeel never mentions anything about his."
Wendy turns around and walks back to the guild hall entrance and once again sat down next to Romeo.
"Then I guess all three of us have more in common than just losing our dragons", Wendy started to say, "Because I can't remember anyone before Grandeeney."
"So you never once questioned what happened to your human parents?"
"I did from time to time but it was never more than some passing thought. I had Grandeeney and that was all that matter. Though once I was old enough and she had already disappeared, me and Carla look around for about a month for some clues", Wendy explained.
"Did you find anything?" Romeo questioned.
"Not a single clue."
"That sucks. I mean I at least had a picture of my mom", Romeo stated.
The two descend in silence once again, though it was more comfortable this time around.
"Hey, Romeo"
"Yes, Wendy?"
"I think you should forgive your mother for not being in your life", Wendy said.
"That's a tall order", Romeo states, "She was out of my life for more than a decade."
"I realize that Romeo, but holding a grudge about it doesn't help anyone, especially you", Wendy informed him.
"Will you forgive Grandeeney for disappearing on you when you finally find her?" Romeo asked.
"Of course I will", Wendy answers without hesitation, "I know she would never abandon me if it wasn't for a good reason."
Romeo stares at Wendy for a moment before scooting forward and laying down on the ground, looking up at the sky as he thought about what Wendy just said.
"It's easy for her to forgive Grandeeney; she was actually raised by her. My mother left when I was barely three years old."
"You know one of the things I love most about Fairy Tail?" Wendy said as she lay alongside Romeo and watches the clouds roll by, "It's how even if someone had wrong them in the past, they will still move past that and become friends with them. Just take Juvia and Gajeel for example, along with Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen. Fairy Tail truly believes that everyone deserves a second chance and I hope that you can find it in your heart give your mom a second chance. In case you haven't noticed Romeo, you're one of the few people in the guild who even still has a mother. I pretty sure people like Gray, Cana, Elfman, Mira, Lisanna, and Lucy would love to be in your shoes right now, knowing that both their parents are alive and well."
Romeo turns his head toward Wendy, remembering how all the people she mentioned were once enemies of the guild and how they were easily forgiven. He also thought about how a good majority of the guild are in fact orphans whose parents either died or disappear from their lives when they were still young.
"I'll think about giving my mom a second chance, but that's for another time. I got something I want to ask you", Romeo says as he gets up and lends Wendy a hand to help her up, "Would you like to go out on a job with me?"
A/N: Yep, this is happening, Enno is going to show up again later. How will the rest of Fairy Tail take this? And now that's enough drama for a bit so we'll get back to the action next chapter. Next chapter, Wendy and Romeo job takes an unexpected turn. Could use some feedback if you have the time. Also going off the fact that Enno is never mention to be dead or anything, Romeo is really one of the few people in Fairy Tail that has both parents still alive.
P.S. Arashi is the guy who tried to kiss Chelia.
Please Review, Fav, or follow if you want. A review on how this story is going would be awesome.