Ch. 11
When Worlds Collide
Specks of dust, glowing blue and gold, floated up into the endless abyss of the night sky, amid stunned silence.
Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Gajeel stood in awe at what was before them.
Somehow, Lucy, previously a mermaid, sat there on the ground with a pair of human legs, pale and fleshy, surrounded by her own sparkling scales, mermaid tail completely disappeared. Somehow, she'd become human.
"What...?," Lucy stammered, looking at her new, unwebbed hands. "I didn't think...it was true...but,"
"...Whoa...," Natsu moved to kneel down beside her, but Erza grabbed his arm, holding him back.
"Natsu, get away from her." Erza demanded, pulling Natsu behind her, as she put her hand on the hilt of her sword, prepared to draw it.
"Hey!" Natsu yelled.
"What are you?" Erza asked of Lucy, a fierce gaze in her brown eyes. Lucy's brown eyes, in turn, widened with fright; she dared not to move an inch.
"I'm...,"
"I'm not going to hurt you as long as you tell the truth. Now, what are you?" Erza asked again moving closer. What had she gotten herself into? Lucy thought. Had she left home only to end up at the point of a sword?
"What d'ya think you're doing!?" Natsu yelled in anger putting himself between the two girls. "Why are you threatenin' her?"
"Natsu, stop behaving like a child. You claim this girl to be your friend but you know nothing about her. She was allegedly a mermaid one moment ago but now she's human?"
"It's not like it's her fault!"
"How would you know?"
"I...I...because I-,"
"Erza's right, Natsu." Gray agreed getting between the two of them, putting a hand on both their shoulders. "A lot of weird stuff's been happening since before we even got on this island and now this. It can't hurt to be careful."
"Um..Natsu...," came Lucy's voice from behind him. Everyone's attention went to her. She set her mouth in a hard line, trying to look unaffected but her heart was still racing. "It's ok, I'll tell you guys what you'd like to know."
"No!"
Glass ink bottles and various papers went flying off the desk, gently swaying with a sawing motion in the water, before descending to the floor. Jose plopped back down in the chair he was sitting in, curling his long fingernails into the armrests, seething at his failure to capture Lucy. The king's study was enveloped in eerie darkness, the thick velvet curtains closed shut as Jose privately performed his dark arts. The only light came from the magical glass orb, casting amorphous shadows on the sandy walls, displaying an underwater cavern somewhere far away.
"So she's made friends with those two-legged nuisances? How wonderful...," he sneered. "Don't get too comfortable, Princess. They won't be around for long." he said with a certain distasteful lilt to his tone. Just then, the tinkling sound of granules was heard in the study. Little black specks began to pour out from the wall, first one by one in small amounts but then in thick, shimmering blobs. The black mist accumulated over Jose, spiraling like a dancing ribbon before he let open his mouth and the cloud was sucked back within him like he was a sea sponge.
The door to the study opened and shut as the King reentered the room, visibly eager for a peck of good news in his day.
"Ah, Jose, how is...," the King stopped short, noticing his belongings scattered on the floor. "...the spell...?" he finished, his face deadpanned.
Jose rose immediately, bowing over and over in an exaggerated apolegetic manner. "Your Highness, Your Majesty, I am thoroughly sorry..."
"Sorry?" Jude moved closer to his desk.
"Uhh, yes, Your Highness, in that, I wasn't quite able to-,"
"Of course you couldn't!" Jude fumed immediately, his temper flaring up hot as if he were the king of hell rather than part of the ocean. His fist hit the desk, making Jose shake down to his moustache. "Trusting a-a mage! You're nothing but cultists with your secret arts, claiming that they-,"
"Excuse me, Your Highness but the spell was cast flawlessly," Jose said in a defensive, inappropriately-timed show of pride. "I only failed to-,"
"That's absolutely right, Jose." Jude said putting his arm on the back of Jose's chair, leaning in with all the intimidation he could conjure. "You FAILED. My daughter is out there running amok when I need her here most. You," he emphasized with the jab of a webbed finger, "promised me that you would return her to me."
"I will Your Highness! My promise still stands, if only you would grant me another-,"
"You have ONE more chance to do as you've promised before I decide that you've severely wasted my time, mage." Jude said evenly, pulling away from Jose, drifting around the desk to sit in his seat. "You'd better hope I never come to that decision."
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty...," Jose said, clenching his teeth in anger with his head bowed so the King couldn't see.
"Now pick this mess up and escort yourself elsewhere. I have business to take care of." Jude ordered with a wave of his hand.
"Of course." Jose muttered, collecting the ink bottles and parchments he'd swept to the ground, placing them back on the desk before collecting the orb and letting himself out of the study.
Only a few seconds after the door had shut, someone knocked on the other side.
"Come in." Jude commanded without even looking up. When the door opened and closed, Aspen entered. His body language conveyed annoyance and embarrassment, his hair and clothing uncharacteristically disheveled compared to his usual cookie-cutter appearance.
"You asked to see me, King Jude?" Aspen bowed half-heartedly.
"Yes. I heard you were involved in that racket outside not too long ago." Jude informed him, too concentrated on whatever he was reading to give his guest full attention. Aspen took the opportunity to release a deep, long-suffering sigh.
"That guard of yours seems unaware of his place. You should've heard-,"
"Which one?" Jude asked in mock concern.
"Jello, Jellam, something, your head guard." Aspen huffed dismissively. "That sea urchin practically tried to kill me."
"Hmm, that doesn't sound like him."
"Well, sir, maybe he wears his mask around your family, a show of his gratitude, I'm sure. But he's now revealed his true self." Aspen, sat down with dramatic exhaustion in one of the chairs facing Jude's desk. "He's nothing but a jealous orphan coveting that which the more fortunate are blessed with. If you want to know what I believe, sir, it's that he has feelings for your daughter. I think he's the one who-,"
"I didn't ask your beliefs." Jude interrupted him suddenly, finally taking his attention away from his papers.
"...Did-,"
"Nor do I believe I asked for you to take a seat."
Aspen sat in the chair awkwardly before rising from it. "My...apologies..." he bowed.
Jude sighed. "I've called you into my office for a reason, yet all you've done is speak your piece and childishly complain about a member of my staff that I profoundly trust. My daughter, YOUR fiancee - just so that you see the gravity of it - is out there somewhere. I've done about all I can do and more to try and find her yet you're here picking schoolyard fights with those who are actually trying to make progress."
"But sir, I'm not totally convinced that that Head Guard is-,"
"Shut up." Jude said holding up a stiff hand, clenching his jaw. "Before I lose my temper, let me make this clear to you. Last I recall, I remember you begging me for a way to have my Lucy until we came to a compromise. If there is no princess, there is no marriage. If there is no marriage then you leave behind a promise of inheritance of Magnolia and go home to what you have. All I'll be losing is a sum of gold." Jude bluffed, knowing full well that Aspen was probably one of the last suitors that Lucy was ever going to get.
"...But like you said, everything's already been done that can be-,"
"By me, you..." Jude stood up, pinching the bridge of his nose and leaned slightly over his desk. "If you want my daughter, then I suggest you do what you can to get her back. Because at this point, even if I do find her, I'm not sure I'd want her getting married to someone who's so reluctant to take any action." He sat back down in his chair, waving Aspen toward the door. "Now leave."
Aspen exited the room with clenched fists, feeling his wounded pride. 'Reluctant? You're the one who can't keep control of your own daughter, you crusty old eel.' Aspen thought as he descended the staircase. Several palace workers and guards passed by him, bowing in their hurry. One of them, in a rush to get to the front door, ran into Aspen, bumping his shoulder slightly. The guard turned around to apologize quickly but seeing who he'd potentially offended, his eyes grew wide and he bowed deep at the waist.
"Oh, Prince Roche, I-I apologize. Please forgive me for-," the guard mumbled nervously.
"Don't trouble yourself, you poor fellow." Aspen said in his most genuine tone, clapping a hand on the guard's shoulder and flashing a grin. "I can see you're only in a rush to do your job. I find that quite admirable."
"T-Thank you, Prince Roche! Thank you so much." the guard exclaimed bashfully.
"If I may ask, sir, where were you headed off to?" asked Aspen, his green eyes reflecting innocence and curiosity.
"Oh...I'm not sure if I'm allowed to-,"
"I'm just so distressed about what's happened. I can barely think straight." Aspen interjected, rubbing his temples in a pained fashion. "And on the day I was supposed to propose to Lucy, haha." he chuckled humorlessly.
"P-Propose? Really?" the guard pushed, a little nosily. Aspen faked embarrassment, clamping his mouth shut and hiding his face.
"...Shoot. That was supposed to be a secret."
"Oh, don't worry, Prince Roche!" The guard whispered, fiercely shaking his head the best he could with a heavy metal helmet on. "I won't say anything to anyone. My lips are sealed."
"I'm very grateful." Aspen smiled, shaking the man's hands. "You're a man of the utmost integrity, sir, I can tell. And you know," he said, leaning in closer. "That type of integrity will take you a long way around me."
"...Really?"
"Of course. Once Lucy and I become married, I'll be inheriting the kingdom and I can assure you that your kindness won't go unnoticed."
The guard's scaly face, creased with dirt lines and wrinkles, brightened with a glowing happiness. He bowed deeply. "T-Thank you, Prince Roche!"
"So...where was it that you were headed?" Aspen asked again, a sly look in his eyes.
"Oh...I was, uh, requested to go on search. The previous party returned not too long ago with a potential lead on the Princess's whereabouts, and I was assigned last minute as extra assistance for the Head Guard's party."
"Mr. Fernandes? Well I'm glad I caught you before you left!" Aspen grinned with eagerness. "I inquired him about possibly helping with the search, expressing my willingness to do anything to get Lucy back, but he told me that he was afraid it would be too unsafe lest I find a capable guard to accompany me!" Aspen grabbed the man's shoulders, squaring him up. "My good fellow, would you mind if I followed you? It would make my heart almost whole to know I at least did something to find my LuLu." he begged, the edges of his eyes shining with forced moisture.
The guard was affected greatly by the look of the Prince, begging him for his help. Helping a prince? If this all worked out, and Aspen DID become king, his life would definitely be set...He bowed with one arm in front and behind his back. "Prince Roche, it would be an honor to escort you."
The sly, practically bloodthirsty look in Aspen Roche's eyes would've terrified the guard had he seen it. A shark-like smirk, displaying thoughts of nothing good spread across his pale white face. "Let's be off then."
" -and that's when I got dragged down into the water by something I'd never seen before..."
By the time Lucy finished her story, the pirates were all standing around, a little less on guard, their interests piqued and attentions fully given.
"Like what exactly?" Gajeel prompted.
"...I don't -,"
"The mist." Natsu interjected.
Sighs came from all around. "...seems to increasingly be the main topic of our time here." Erza, muttered wearily. "You're unhurt?" she inquired, looking back and forth between Natsu and Lucy.
"Yeah, we're good, but that stuff sure had one heck of a grip. It was all in a blob, trying to grab Lucy but I couldn't hurt it or anything. I even tried stabbing it with my sword but that didn't do any good. And the stupid blob took my boot!" Natsu grumbled, gesturing at his one bare foot.
Lucy looked around at all of them, confused. "Wait, mist...? You guys have seen that stuff before?"
"You haven't?" Gajeel asked, his voice involuntarily tinged with suspicion. "From what I'm hearin' it seemed pretty eager to get at you."
"I've never laid eyes on that mist before in my life." Lucy put her hand to her chest, defending herself. "All I can say is that if it weren't for Natsu, who knows where I'd be." She glanced up at Natsu, her eyes filled with gratitude to which Natsu grinned back.
"So...are we waiting for any specific reason to bring up the fact that she's human now?" asked Gray a little anxiously. The pirates turned their attention, not for the first time, to the former mermaid.
"...Oh...well...I guess I'll try and explain...it's said in some legends, in old books and stories, that when merpeople touch land, they become human again."
"Again?" all four of them asked, bewildered.
"Yes." Lucy nodded. "There's a very old story throughout all the mer-kingdoms that tells about the origin of mermaids. There was a woman, a mage, who loved being in the water so much that she spent more time swimming than she did walking on land. So she used her magic to give her the ability to live under the water. She had apprentices and followers who did the same and over time, a whole new race of people were born that were able to live underwater. It's said that water is what makes the spell work, so when merpeople emerge from it, the spell is broken...at least that's what the legend says...but I never really thought it was true. Until now that is."
"...Whoa...," Natsu mumbled.
"Well...that's...informative..." Erza said.
"To say the least," Gray nodded.
The night air had dropped in temperature, growing nippy. The wind picked up and rustled the palmy leaves of the trees and blew sand around them, raising goosebumps on their skin. Lucy audibly 'brrr'ed, her new skin more sensitive than the pirates who'd traveled and explored in practically every environment. She drew her legs into herself, her damp cloak the only thing she had over her body, protecting her from practically freezing to death. Her muscles got tense and she became so uncomfortable that she almost felt like crying, 'What is this?' she thought. She'd never experienced being cold before.
Natsu kneeled down beside her. "Why are you wearing that?" he said, grabbing for her cloak, pulling at it. "It's soaking wet, you're gonna get a c-,"
Lucy's eyes grew wide as she raised her hand reflexively, slapping Natsu's face without even thinking, hitting him so hard that he spun around, landing on the rock slab face-down. She pulled the cloak more securely around her body, her face turning nearly as pink as the pirate's hair.
"...Wha...?" Natsu groaned, confused, a red hand mark welping up on his face, which Happy licked gingerly.
"Oh, I-I'm sorry, Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed when she came down from her mortification, realizing that she'd just hit him. "Are you ok?" she asked, concerned.
Erza, Gray, and Gajeel instantly laughed at Natsu's obliviousness and Lucy's violent embarrassment. "I'm sorry about him," Erza apologized, taking a knee beside her. "He means well, but he behaves like he was raised in a barn."
"I...I didn't mean to hit him that hard..." Lucy mumbled, eliciting a sarcastic meow from Natsu's feline friend.
"No, I did not!" protested Lucy.
Gajeel and Gray stood leaning over Natsu's crippled form.
"Yo, Dragneel, I guess with a slap like that, Fishgirl's gonna fit right in, huh?" Gajeel chuckled unsympathetically.
"Maybe she can teach you how to fight?" Gray suggested with a cocky smirk.
Natsu lay there groaning. "...I was just trying to help..." he croaked, his eyes dazed.
"He'll be all right," Erza rolled her eyes. "Here, let me help you." she offered her hand. "I assume you're not used to walking so I'll carry you to our camp if you'd like."
Lucy stared at the woman and her outstretched hand. Now that she wasn't pointing a sword between her eyes, Lucy could see how pretty she was, a bright, knowing face framed with red hair that stood out brilliantly even in the dark of night. "Your...camp?" she asked, unsure.
"Surely you don't think we're going to leave you out here, and you can't go back where you came from lest you be caught by the mist or whoever is after you. I have some clothes you can wear and food, as well."
"Oh, well...thank you. Very much, uh..." Lucy hesitated, unsure of this woman's name.
"It's Erza. Erza Scarlet."
"Oh...thank you, Erza."
"No problem at all." Erza turned her back to Lucy, hinting for her to grab on.
'...she is a pirate...and she seems tough, too, but...' she thought. "You don't have to do that. I'm sure one of them could carry me. Natsu, or-" Lucy said pointing at the three guys already on the verge of punching each other.
"Gajeel and Gray? They'll just end up arguing and quipping over which one's going to have to do it. Besides I figured you would be more comfortable if I did it." Erza explained, wrapping her hands under Lucy's knees and boosting her up on her back with no problem. "Hey, you two, leave Natsu alone. We're heading back." she ordered, breezing past them with Lucy in tow. "And Natsu, stop being so overdramatic, I've definitely hit you harder than that."
"It still hurt..." he grumbled as he got on his feet.
Gray and Gajeel gave him one last harrowing smirk before following Erza and leaving him to bring up the rear. Natsu snatched up Happy and Lucy's backpack as he stumbled along, back through the trees. Even though his cheek was sore, he couldn't help but smile as he watched his comrades, laughing loudly and cutting through trees with a new friend in tow, glad that he'd found that clearing and met Lucy. But as he moved forward, he faltered in his step, suddenly self conscious as he realized that he still couldn't remember how he'd gotten to that clearing in the first place.
"No, I'm sorry, I'm afraid Captain Fernandes has left the palace."
"What? Left? Did he say where he was going, at least?"
"To look for Miss Lucy. He took a handful of guards with him and went that way."
Prince "Cobra" Eric floated in front ot the window of the guards' tower, inquiring of Richard, the guard in charge of the tower, the whereabouts of Jellal who, after practically killing the Prince of Camellia, was nowhere to be found. Levy, Juvia, and Cana waited close by, half listening to Cobra and Richard's conversation, half listlessly staring out into the deep dark blue water before them, wondering where their friend could possibly be.
"Without even saying anything? What's he thinking..." Cobra muttered to himself, anxiously picking at his long fingernails. "Well, thank you for the information, I suppose." he said turning back to Richard behind the guard's window before moving away to join the girls.
"He left too, huh?" Levy asked, a hopeless lilt to her voice, as she looked up at Cobra. He tried to flash a warming grin to reassure her, the disappointment etched on her forehead.
"Yes, so it seems. Decided to head the next search party himself. I guess that would be a better alternative than staying for his own aftermath."
"Mhm..." Levy nodded. Her best friend had run away, leaving without even bothering to tell and now Jellal, another constant in her life, seemed to've lost his cool which never happened. Remembering the scene that had unfolded before her as she stood on the palace's grand staircase, she could already feeling parts of her tire and crumble. But she was fighting to make her mind stay sharp; they wouldn't find Lucy if it wasn't.
"Let's head back inside, yeah?" Cana hollered, swimming ahead back to the palace door. "No point in our waiting out in the dark until he gets back."
"She's right," said Cobra, offering his arm to Levy which she received kindly. Juvia swam around to Levy's side and linked her arm under Levy's free one, offering comfort in that shy way that only Juvia was good at.
As they passed through the palace doors, back into the grand foyer, they could see the traffic of maids and butlers, cooks and guards dwindling to only the occasional hectic server or chef. A palace maid was standing before one of the giant sand pillars in the hall, the one that Jellal had slammed Aspen up against, rubbing new sand vigorously into the noticeable dent that Jellal had made.
"I wonder where that no-good Camellian ran off too..." Cobra muttered to himself, turning his head to look up and down the hall. "I want to know what he said to make our dear stoic react like that."
"Ooo, if you're gonna go look for him, I wanna come too," Cana said, a little too excitedly, cracking her knuckles with a wicked grin.
Cobra looked her up and down hesitantly. "You know I have no intention of harming him, right? Jellal already did that for us, I think."
"Oh, yeah sure, of course." she nodded. "But if he says something I don't like, I can't guarantee that my hand won't accidentally hit his eerily-perfect face."
"Fair enough." Cobra sighed. "Will the two of you be joining us?" inquired Cobra of Levy and Juvia
"Nuhuh," Levy shook her curly head. "I wanted to talk to King Jude. Maybe...if I talked to him about how Lucy was feeling because of all this, he'll have a change of heart..."
"And Juvia will be accompanying Levy." Juvia affirmed, strengthening her grip on Levy's arm.
"That's a great idea." Cobra smiled, his sharp canines making it no less warm.
"You want us to come, too?" Cana face changed, suddenly concerned.
"No, don't worry about it." reassured Levy. "Go talk to Aspen, it might be helpful."
"If you say so." Cobra shrugged. "Let's go, Ca-," he began, interrupted by Cana, already dragging him along behind her. Levy and Juvia watched them float down the hall until they rounded a corner. Levy looked up at Juvia, feeling her arm tighten slightly around hers.
"Juvia is ready when you are, Levy." she smiled, supportive.
Levy only nodded in response, as the two of them made their way up the staircase, heading for Jude's study on the third floor. Just as they rounded the banister onto the second floor, the door to Jude's study opened and closed quickly, the sound of rustling fabric swishing back and forth floating down to them through the water. Juvia's body tensed up and she grabbed Levy's wrist, pulling her close to the wall.
"Juvia, what-,"
"Shh!" Juvia urgently put her hand to Levy's mouth, trying to keep her from talking for some reason. All Levy could do was look up at Juvia, her eyes wide and animalistic, darting back and forth as she craned her head up to the third floor. Levy grabbed Juvia's hand gently and pulled it off of her mouth.
"Juvia..." she whispered. "What's wrong, are you ok?" her forehead wrinkled into worried folds.
"...Juvia could have sworn...it was him, but...it couldn't..." she mumbled nervously, looking at the blank ceiling.
"Who?" asked Levy excitedly. "He? The human from your-,"
"Nuhuh..." she shook her head, desperately. "It...it couldn't have been...but Juvia felt..."
"Juvia, who?" Levy grabbed Juvia's arms, trying to understand what had her so shaken up. "Who are you talking about? Who couldn't it have been, Juvia?"
"...Jose..." Juvia whispered, finally looking Levy in the eye.
Just then, the rustling sound became a visualization when a merman, clad in a large purple cloak rounded the third floor balcony and came into view above them. Juvia swam quickly behind Levy. Levy looked closely up to the third floor at the man who had stopped in front of one of the sitting room doors, struggling to open it with some kind of glass orb in his hand, hindering his movements.
Long, pointy mustachioed nose , dark eyes, black lips and fingernails, a sneer on his permanently unpleasant face. He had the overall aura of ick dripping off of him. And Juvia's reaction to this sinister-seeming man only confirmed it. She'd called him "Jose." Levy knew that name...
Juvia's nails gripped Levy's shoulders tight, almost causing her pain. "How...why is he here...? Juvia whimpered. The fear in her voice was palpable.
'Why is she so afraid?' Levy thought. This Jose...why couldn't she remember someone obviously so-, 'Wait.'
How could she have forgotten?
This was Jose. THAT Jose. The Head of the Order of Misanthropic Mages. Jose Porla who was singlehandly responsible for scarring the earliest years of Juvia's life. And the reason she'd run away and ended up in Magnolia in the first place.
It'd been years - nearly a decade - since Juvia would wake up in the middle of the night, screaming, crying from the nightmares she would have of Jose Porla and the dark arts he was in command of: jinxes, manipulation curses, destruction spells. All learned to supposedly combat the forces of humanity from below even though Juvia had never seen a human in her life. Juvia could practically hear Jose's voice coming from behind her, a firm hand on her shoulder saying"...that's all thanks to the Order."
Juvia's memories converged in the middle of her mind with the real life image of Jose before her eyes, everything about him basically unchanged: same sneer, same cloak, same evil.
"...Why...?" she muttered again, not noticing how hard she was clutching onto Levy until she hissed in pain, Juvia apologizing.
"...He was in there with the King" Levy observed. "...what could they possibly be talking about? Jose doesn't seem too happy...and King Jude despises mages..." Levy looked up to Juvia curiously. "What's that thing he's holding, Juvia?"
"A lacrima..." Juvia said, the answer surfacing up from her memory immediately.
"And...what does that do?"
"It...allows mages to perform magic from long distances. A picture of the subject of the magic spell or curse is projected within the lacrima and a mage uses it as an avenue to get the spell or curse to it."
Levy turned her head back upward to Jose who, finally getting the door open, rushed inside with a huff. What would the head of the biggest and only successful mage cult be doing in the palace on the night that the King, who hated magic's, daughter disappeared? The scaly skin between Levy's brow bunched up. Something wasn't right.
Levy spared a glance over her shoulder at Juvia, tense and rigid and visibly compromised. Just the sight of this man was making her revert back to a fright and timidity that took nearly ten years to ease and eradicate.
"Juvia." she whispered. Juvia's disposition calmed slightly as she looked to Levy. "I'm going to see what he's up to. You stay here." With that Levy turned away, beginning to drift carefully up the stair case to the third floor but she found her arm was tethered by Juvia's grip. "Juvia-,"
"No!" Juvia answered vehemently before Levy could say more. "You can't go alone: if you get caught-,"
"Then I won't get caught." Levy smiled, reassuring, turning toward the staircase, only to again be held back by Juvia's grasp.
"But you can't-,"
"Juvia." Levy looked up into Juvia's eyes with her own serious, determined, wide, brown ones. "Something weird is going on. That's the only reason King Jude is meeting with a cultist mage in his own study. And I'd like to think Jose's carrying that lacrima or whatever for the same reason. I want to be clued in on what's happening in this palace for once. I'm not asking you to come with me but-,"
Juvia's grip loosened on Levy's wrist and her face became resolute. "J-Juvia'll come with you."
"You don't-,"
"You won't be able to understand all that he's doing and saying. Sometimes the spells are unintelligible in English. Juvia...," she hesitated. "...Juvia is the only one who'll know what Jose is doing, so Juvia has to go with you."
A silent, solemn stare was shared between the two of them before they grabbed each other's hand, ascending the staircase together.
Juvia and Levy floated on either side of the door to the sitting room, pressing their faces up against the crack as they peered in. Inside the empty sitting room, Jose commandeered the couch, the crystal lacrima sitting on the small wooden and glass coffee table in front of him. His hands moved in circles over it's surface, his head tilted slightly back and his eyes closed as inaudible words passed through his lips.
"...what's he doing?" Levy whispered to Juvia.
Juvia strained her ears to hear. "He's...conjuring up an image for the lacrima. Juvia can't hear what he's trying to visualize..."
The glass orb flickered with a telltale light, blinding for a second before its intensity broke and the image within the lacrima cleared up.
The soft glow of a crescent moon lit up the sky and the tops of palm trees above the water, on the surface. Smooth, water-worn rock slabs surrounded small ponds that littered a sandy open space that ran into the forestline. The orbs view panned downward- almost like a floating, wandering eye- and passed through the trees coming up behind a human- a man -with salmon pink hair, cutting through the trees with a machete and a blue cat trotting at his feet beside him.
Levy and Juvia's surprised eyes met each others. 'A pirate!' they mouthed simultaneously.
The orb's vision moved pass him as well as two other human men before advancing upon two other humans with long hair, one blonde, one red, probably women, one of the humans carrying the other. The orb's vision shifted around again to the front of the red head, who was carrying the blonde on her back. The red head had her eyes forward, a flouncy bang swooping across her naturally beautiful face. She was saying something to her passenger who had her arms wrapped tight around her shoulders as they walked on. The blonde girl smiled and talked with quirked, constantly curious eyebrows, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to talk to the human men.
Levy's brows drew tight together; did Jude hire Jose to take care of these pirates? Jose was always looking to get rid of humans by any means necessary, but Jude had never wanted any hand in it. Did these specific humans hold some threat that Juvia hadn't seen in her visions? Levy spared a glance up at Juvia to see if she could possibly explain, but her adoptive cousin seemed just as stumped about Jose's purpose for being there. Levy directed her attention back into the room as Jose leaned close into the orb, his hawky nose touching the glass, eyes squinted and teeth clenched.
"What's wrong with this stupid thing?" he snarled, hitting the lacrima as if that would fix whatever problem he was having. "I know I performed the spell correctly..."
Levy looked again at the orb's vision, still concentrated on the blonde human girl talking with a shy smile on her face. For some reason, when she looked at this girl, Levy's heart rate picked up and she had a strange feeling in her gut. A feeling of familiarity...
All of a sudden, Jose let out a frustrated growl before flipping the table, the glass orb and table hurling into the air and hitting the wall, breaking the table while the orb fell completely unharmed onto the floor.
"Where is that girl?!" he fumed, picking an old, aged book and flipping through it's browning and yellowing pages. "I did the spell correctly! I asked for Lucy Heartfilia, not some human-filth, look alike!"
At that comment, Levy gasped, loudly, without thinking, catching the attention of Jose. She covered her mouth quickly, looking at Juvia who's countenance had reverted back to one etched in fear.
"...Who's out there spying, I wonder..." Jose's coldly calm voice came from inside the room. Juvia wasted no time in grabbing Levy by the wrist and dragging her down the hall into a random sitting room and locking the door behind her. Juvia had her back pressed up against the door, the horror of what almost happened undoubtedly playing in her mind.
"That was so close. Too, too close!" Juvia whimpered, running her shaky hands through her blue hair, eyes clenched shut. Now, she was panicking, inside and out.
Levy felt a heavy remorse; she'd almost gotten them caught...But then she remembered why she'd gasped in the first place. Proceeding cautiously and quietly, unable to tell how close Jose was or not, Levy grabbed both of Juvia's hands.
"Juvia, I have to tell you something. I think i figure out something important, about Lucy," she whispered. Juvia opened her eyes to Levy.
"...about Lucy?"
"Mhm, yes. Jose said he was looking for Lucy, that he asked that lacrima, orb thing to find her, to show her, right?"
Blue curls shook with Juvia's steady nod. "It...seems that was his intention...but the lacrima displayed that human female instead. It must be defective or he performed the spell wr-,"
"No, Juvia, I don't think he did," Levy stared unmovingly at her cousin. "Juvia...I think that that human 'look-alike' that the lacrima displayed...I think that WAS Lucy."
Juvia's gaze held Levy's, blank for a moment before her brows furrowed, baffled. "...Juvia is...confused?" she pouted. "You're saying...that Lucy is..human now?"
"Yes, i know. It doesn't make any sense to you," she waved her hands in a fuss. "But there's an old legend about the origin of merpeople that says-"
"Oh, of course, Juvia knows it. The legend of the Mermother, a great seabeast who had the first merpeople."
Levy responded with a small smirk, raising her brow. "...Uh, not quite the one I was thinking of. There are plenty of legends, but in Magnolia, it's said that a human mage named Marianna loved being in the sea so much that she invented a spell that would allow her to inhabit the ocean."
"...A...human?" Juvia asked, her eyes wide with scandal.
"Mhm, yeah." Levy nodded, becoming animated as she hurriedly gave her explanation. "The spell she used is passed down through the generations so that we remain merpeople, but the essential element of the spell lies in the water, so the legend says that when merpeople leave the water, the spell is momentarily broken and we revert back to our natural, human form."
"So...you think this is what's happened to Lucy?"
"Mhm, if the legend's actually true...Sorry, I know it must not make much sense to you right now." Levy wandered around the room, biting her nails in thought.
"It doesn't surprise me that you never heard it growing up since the Order IS misanthropic. Teaching a legend about how merpeople came from humans would definitely be out of the question for them..."
Juvia blushed a bit, scratching her head. "Yes...Juvia is...still a bit confused, but...if it is true, we know where Lucy is now."
The thoughtful look on Levy's face quickly changed as she heard Juvia's words, looking up. "Juvia, we have to tell someone..." she whispered thoughtfully. "We have to tell...I don't know! Someone, anyo-,"
Her exclamations were interrupted by the sound of clanking armor, the banging of a door down the hall, and muffled, angry voices.
The girls' eyes met, bewildered as they made their way to the door, cracking it to the width of a coin to peek outside. The door of the sitting room that Jose was occupying was flanked by two palace guards while another one came out of the room, hauling an inconsolable Jose along with him.
"What is the meaning of this?!" he growled, squirming uselessly in the guard's grip.
"We heard crashing coming from this room and came to see what it was as well as reported it to the King who informed us of your presence in the room and asked that you be extracted immediately." the guard responded without sparing a glance at the mage, face blank.
"Extracted?" Jose said, incredulous. "No no no...I see what going on here...there must be some mistake." he chuckled. "The King hired me to-,"
"Break his property?" the guard smirked, pointing back in the room at the pile of broken wood and glass on the sitting room carpet. "...Yeah, I'm sure..."
"...I, uh..." Jose stammered, the wrinkles around his mouth deepening.
"Please, just come with us quietly, Mr. Porla." huffed the guard, still dragging Jose with him whether he complied or not.
Just then, the door to Jude's study on the other side of the third floor opened and he sauntered out, leaning on the balcony railing, watching as the guards carried Jose away.
Jose perked up at the sight of the King, feeling a bit of hope. "Your Majesty, please! You hired me to do a job! I-I'm here to help you find your daughter, remember? Surely you can't kick me out when I'm so close!"
Jude's eyes darted back and forth to his guards, their faces showing confusion over the statement Jose had made. King Jude needing help from a cultist mage?
Jude's gaze connected with Jose's, giving him a subtle, almost imperceptible shake of the head as he sighed, rubbing his temples. "I try and do an amicable thing by inviting you to my daughter's special celebration despite my views on cults and magic, and this is how you repay me?"
The little sliver of hope that still lived in Jose broke automatically as Jude turned his back, filing his way back into his study. "Take him out the back door," he huffed under his moustache. "I don't want my people seeing a cultist coming out of my palace." he threw over his shoulder before closing the door behind him. Jose struggled and hollered angrily, flopping about as the guards took him and his orb away from the scene.
Juvia and Levy watched from the safety of the sitting room until they were sure Jose was out of sight before emerging.
"...well...I guess that problem kind of solved itself..." Levy muttered, staring down the hall where the guards had taken the mage. She turned within her own mind, thinking. "...he hired him to find Lucy...but then why'd he deny it...it must be because he's a mage...that's what it is..."
She felt a gentle nudge come from Juvia and followed her gaze down to the first floor of the foyer. Below, Cana and Cobra emerged from the kitchen, looking all around them and arguing back and forth with one another.
"Cana! Cobra!" Levy and Juvia hollered and waved, leaning over the balcony so that the two could see them.
"Hey, you two!" Cana waved her hands, motioning for them to come downstairs as she and Cobra started going up.
"Did you find Aspen?" Levy asked as the four of them converged on the second floor.
"Nuhuh. Can't find him anywhere," Cana shrugged. "And we looked everywhere." she said, looking over her shoulder at Cobra. "Well...Did you talk to Uncle Jude?"
The two bluenettes nodded in union. "Not exactly." they simply said. They began recounting what had happened, Jose being in the palace and Jude hiring him, the magic spell, Lucy transforming into a human and the mage cultist being thrown out of the palace.
Cana stared ahead at nothing, biting her nails with serious concentration and Cobra nodded every now and then in response to what they were saying, his arms crossed and shoulders tight.
"So now, Juvia guesses...the only thing to do is to figure out what to do with that information." Juvia suggested.
"...Hm." Cobra hummed with a rub of his chin. "I don't think we should tell the King despite Lucy being his daughter...as long as she's safe, I feel that she wouldn't appreciate being dragged back here to be wed...even if it were to me." he smirked light-heartedly, to which the girls mumbled their agreement.
"Then the next best thing is to tell Jellal...who isn't here..." Cana suggested, scratching her neck. "Well, I guess we can always tell Richard and he'll send word to Jellal."
"But if we tell Richard where we think Lucy might be, he'll tell all the scouts. We don't want that, right?" Cobra asked.
Levy shook her head. "No...I just want to talk to Lucy...in that lacrima, she seemed...really happy. Like she belonged there..." her eyes grew a little glassy with loneliness, thinking about her best friend running away somewhere else without her. "If she wants to be there, I don't want to threaten that...I just...need to ask her some things."
The other three showed their compliance with Levy's thoughts. Cobra floated up beside her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder. "Well, I guess the only thing TO do is to go after her ourselves." he grinned with a mischievious glint in his eye. The girls offered up no disagreements and they headed immediately down the stairs and out of the front palace doors, stopping at the guard's tower. The commotion of citizens had died down considerably within the last hour, only a few curious stragglers lining the gate now.
Cobra rapped two quick taps against the window, getting Richard's attention inside.
"Yes, Prince Eric? How may I be of service?" Richard bowed the best he could behind the window.
"Yes, thank you, Richard. If you don't mind letting the gate up for me and these lovely ladies," he smiled, gesturing behind him to the girls. "I'm going to see to it that they get home all right." he lied.
"That's very admirable of you, Your Highness. We could send some escorts from the Guard if you'd-,"
Cobra waved a gracious hand. "No, thanks we'll be fine, but thank you, Richard. I can handle it."
"As you wish, Your Highness." Richard got the attention of the guard up on the gate tower, signaling to him to raise the strong iron gate to let Cobra and the others out. As they began to move out past the gate, Cobra whipped around quickly, coming back up to the window.
"Uh, Richard..."
"Yes, Prince Eric?" Richard raised his brow.
"Have you by any chance seen Prince Aspen come through here? I've been looking for him for a bit of business and can't seem to find him."
"Oh, Prince Aspen? Why, yes, I've seen him." Richard nodded.
"You have?" Cobra exclaimed, looking back at the girls whose eyes showed an expression in likeness to his own.
"Yes, Your Highness, he left the palace grounds with an escort not but 10 minutes ago in search for Princess Lucy. Romantic isn't it?" a small pink blushed tinted Richard's nose.
Cobra's sharp snake-like teeth bared themselves in unhelped disgust. "...yes, quite..." he muttered, turning away from the window and joining his friends. "That shark's joined the search, so it seems."
Cana snorted with a pretentious laugh. "The nerve of that guy...well, good for him. I hope he finds some nice seashells out there, because ain't no way he's finding her."
The four of these friends of Lucy's floated side by side in a iron-solid line of determination down the nearly empty street. For once in the last few hours, Levy felt a bit of optimism coming up within her with Juvia and Cana's arm linked through hers. "With what we know, we'll definitely find her first. I just hope we get to her before Jellal, before he does anything rash."
"They found it over here, sir!"
Jellal, and three guards accompanying him, hopped out of the palace carraige that the driver had pulled over to the side of the makeshift road stretching out from a main pathway out of Magnolia. Reports of two guards returning from search said that remnants of palace materials -bakery paper from the kitchen- was found.
Giving the bakery parchment a sniff, Jellal nodded in agreement. "...Yes, it seems to be the same paper. Although it could just be nothing, a guest traveling from the party and throwing the remains from the window of the carraige."
"That's true, sir." One of the guards spoke up. "We just wanted to make sure you were aware of all leads and possibilities."
"Of course, of course. I understand and appreciate your dedication to the search. I'm...sure that every one of you wants to find the Princess as much as I do."
"As much as YOU do, boss?" another guard smiled. "That's quite an intensity to match." he chuckled.
Jellal managed a small acknowledging smirk. "My loyalty to the Heartfilia's is no secret. I'm unashamed. Now all of you, spread out and search these formations. The rocks around here are known to form crevices and pockets. Lucy could be hiding in one."
"Yes, sir!" all the guards saluted. Without another word, the three men fanned out from Jellal like a center point and began scanning the immediate area's large rock formations. Jellal took the one directly in front of him, the one where the paper had been found, running his hands and roaming his eyes over the rigid surface, looking for any cracks or holes big enough for a princess to fit in.
As he looked all about the rock, Jellal was reminded of the day the Heartfilia's had found him in the first place. Crouching, small and broken and abandoned inside one of these selfsame rock crevices - the reason he knew about them being a good choice of shelter in the first place. Jellal rounded the stone, almost missing the subtle open split running up it's surface. He raised his brow, wondering if maybe Lucy could fit in this thin crack.
'...she is smaller than I am...' he reasoned. As he pushed his hand farther into the crack, finding that his arm fit easily in. He kept going, passed through with his shoulder, reaching around to feel the inside. He beared down, forcing his self into the crevice, trying to see if it perhaps went farther back, but before he knew it, he'd push himself into nothing but empty blackness as a great force grabbed hold of him and sucked him away like a speck of dust in a vacuum.