Hello~! Unfortunately, I'm not ready to move on with the plot yet so, more Astrid! Sorry for you all who were hoping for more Maria/Ft but no can do. I'm debating whether or not I should keep Astrid's bits in here. It's pretty out of place don't you think? Also,I've decided to split this story into two arcs; The Maria Arc (Current) and the Doll arc, the arc about how Gray gets captured and stuff. The transition will happen soon, when Maria goes back home.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Mashima's
"Ah it's a message from Garry-san!" "Really?" "Yes, a servant brought it in." "Let me see! Lemme see!"
Astrid and Yui gathered around Shion, who held a slightly ripped envelope in her hands. "Hurry and open it!" Astrid urged, looking over her sister's shoulder. Shion smiled and opened the envelope. Upon pulling out the letter, she immediately noticed the wrinkles and stains on the usually perfect paper.
The handwriting was leaning on the illegible side, looking as if Garry's hand had been shaking when writing. With eyebrows furrowed in concentration, Shion started reading the text aloud.
Dear children,
I'm currently in the country of Sin. I traveled here upon hearing of a string of orphan kidnappings. The culprit seems to be a woman and the victims ranged from 5 months to 5 years old. I know how much you want to see me, but I must bring this woman to justice. You know how I feel about children don't you? Unfortunately, I lost quite a few packs of paper, which is why this paper is so beaten.
Children, please read the remainder of this letter calmly. This was written a few days after the first half of the letter and many things have happened. I've managed to track down the woman and what I found made me begin to head home. I found the woman's base and discovered that she is experimenting on the children! It seems that she is brainwashing some of them to do tasks. I'm not sure of the details but the rest of them are being tortured for the experiment. Her base is underground. I'll be sure to send the details in a letter to your parents. When you finish reading this, please deliver this to your parents or their advisors.
Sincerely, Garry
Shion silently refolded the letter and put it back into the envelope. "...Onee-sama, what does this mean?" Yui hesitantly asked. "Will Garry-san be alright?" Astrid asked, clearly worried about his well-being. Shion didn't respond to either of them, and instead stood from her stool and walked toward the door.
She slid the door open and stepped through it. "Onee-sama…?" Yui called with a sliver of fear in her voice. Without turning around, Shion said "...Garry-san is going to return soon. Until then, we should just follow his instructions. I'm going to give the letter to Mother and Father." With that, she closed the door and walked away.
Yui looked at Astrid who looked back at her. After a long moment, Astrid stood and said "...Onee-sama is right. There's nothing we can do if he's so far away. Let's just go back to our sessions alright?" Yui blinked and slowly nodded.
Astrid smiled then walked out the room. She'd just reached the end of the hall when she spotted Sensei and another woman talking. Astrid quickly ducked low and went in the shadows.
"Garry's letter...the master seems quite distraught about it."
"Of course, anyone would be unnerved if they heard talk of something that involved their family."
"My God, is it something about the children?" "Unfortunately, Garry mentioned something about adding extra protection."
"What? Is there going to be some kind of assassination attempt?"
"If Garry gets caught, there might as well be."
"Don't be...Astrid-sama?" Sensei said, suddenly turning toward her. Astrid flinched then stepped into the middle of the hallway, "Yes ma'm?"
"Go to the training room, from now on your training will be raised to level three." Astrid's eyes widened 'That's...almost Onee-sama's level of training!'. "Really?" She asked in excitement. Sensei smiled slightly in amusement and nodded. "Yay!" Astrid cheered as she ran toward the training room.
As she past the ajar door to the basement however, her nose wrinkled at the smell of rotten eggs. "That must be where they make our vegetables. Yuck!" she said with a gag.
"Shion, you do understand don't you?"
She lowered her head and nodded sadly. "...Is there really no avoiding it?" she asked. Her mother,Kotoka, nodded with a grim expression. "I'm sorry, but according to the letter, he might not come back."
Shion couldn't stop the small whimper that escaped her. Kotoka reached out and patted her daughter's head lovingly. "With luck and guidance, he will return to us" she whispered. Shion's shoulders started shaking with silent sobs.
"Shion, as the eldest you have to be strong for your sisters" Kotoka said softly. Shion wiped her eyes violently, but the tears didn't stop. "I know, I know" she said over and over. "As of Garry-san's supposed departure, I will take over as the right hand advisor when I come of age" She sniffled.
Kotoka smiled sadly and hugged her child. "That's right. You will be the advisor, Astrid will be the mage, and Yui will be the negotiator."
"Can we at least read the letter he sent you?" Shion asked. Kotoka only hugged her tighter and said "There's no need for you to do such a thing."
I read chapter 423. Gruvia is going down. My otp is going down. Wendy regressed completely as a character. Natsu is as strong as Gildarts so no point in having any other villains than Acnologia and Zeref. He one-shotted Bluenote guys. Bluenote, Gildarts' equal. I'm calling major BS but whatever. On to Juvia's arc! She looked pretty numb in the rain. Something must've happened to Gray. I hope he's demon hunting for a living.
On a side note, yesterday was the birthday of a Pandora Hearts character; Oswald Baskerville. Even if you don't know who he is, give him a happy birthday post somewhere for me? Also, I'm going to try going on an update schedule again. Every Tuesday/Wednesday starting next week sounds good. Wish me luck! And don't worry about what Garry's letter said. I'll show it soon enough!