Lucy stood in front of the bathroom mirror and examined her body. They had recently checked in at the place Erza had picked out in advance. It was a smaller room than they were used to, only two beds instead of three. The walls were ancient looking wood panels that had soaked up a lot of cigarette smoke over the years. It bothered her at first, but eventually her nose went blind to the stench. They had barely gotten to their rooms after an hour of answering questions at the front desk. The owner was very uptight about his stinky little hotel, they even had to pay extra for 'pets'.
Looking in the mirror, Lucy noticed her ribs had become more pronounced, even her face seemed a bit thinner. They had walked quite a bit and her diet was was incredibly lean, so it made sense. It still worried her to be losing so much weight. It just meant she'd gain a bunch when they finally got back, stopped walking for fourteen hours a day and had more food options.
Lucy took a deep breath and walked away from her reflection, not wanting to add her health to the worry pile.
"These towels are so scratchy." She complained, adjusting the cloth. She paused at the door...Now aware that the guys had come into their room. She found Natsu and locked eyes with him for a moment. Lucy was so caught up with having his attention that she forgot about not being dressed for a moment.
"We're ready to start planning the final leg of our quest." Erza told her without looking up from a map spread out on the desk.
Lucy gave a small smile as she walked by, an attempt to show goodwill. He didn't return the smile, instead he blinked and looked away. Hurt, Lucy hurried to grab her change of clothes.
"We're only a train ride away from the Inez Mountain Range." Gray spoke, standing next to Erza.
"Or a two day hike." Natsu frowned. He sat on the bed Erza had claimed. His voice made her body stiffen up. He had hardly spoken all day.
"No way!" Happy whined. "I'm tired of walking."
In a tired voice Natsu responded "You don't walk, Lucy carried you the whole way."
She managed to close the door quietly behind her, before she stumbled over to sit on the seat of the toilet. She was bent over her knees, head in hand.
It's just not fair. It shouldn't be like this. I blew it. Lucy squeezed her hair in her hand, the pain wasn't enough to pull herself out of the funk she was in. Did I over react? No way. Maybe a bit? I don't know.
She replayed her reaction over and over again in her head. Analyzing every move and word that she could remember. One second she would feel justified at every turn, then the next she wasn't too sure.
I'm pushing him away...
Lucy chocked back a sob, and then sat up. She looked to the door, worried they might have heard her. When she felt safe Lucy reached over and turned on the sink.
Not wanting to have to walk back out with a red face from her panic attack, Lucy stood up and took a couple deep breaths. Her progress was shoved aside by a hot flash of shame. Shame for being a mere twelve feet away from her friends, trying and failing to get a grip.
Her hand shot out for her clothes that had been tossed to the counter on the way down. She was dry enough to slide on an ankle length black skirt and thigh high stockings. It had been too long since she'd been able to wear one, they weren't the most comfortable for traveling. Especially on hot days. Mabel had suggested that they dress modestly in Bellum and gave them a few more articles of clothing. Lucy put her hiking boots over the stockings and slipped on a simple blue blouse with a bow on the front. She stood for a second, debating on whether or not to fix her hair. The usual drive to look her best had escaped her for the evening.
No. She told herself firmly. You're not going to let what's going on affect your appearance. You're not that far gone this time!
Lucy dried her hair with the Inn's hair dryer and then took care to make sure her hair was perfectly tied back into two low ponytails, with twin strands of hair running down the sides of her face. After putting on some light makeup, She checked herself out in the mirror.
"Looking good." She winked at herself, trying to improve her mood. She had learned that pick-me-up trick from a therapist back in Magnolia the year that Fairy Tail had disbanded. Her mental health had plunged more and more as each of her friends scattered to the wind.
She never told a soul about her public intoxication charges when one night she had downed an entire bottle of wine and the remnants of a bottle of liquor Cana had left behind. The wine was a gift from Jason for being a top three candidate for Sorcerer Weekly. Lucy had applied about two months in and the good news thrilled her. A new start! The jubilation caused her to crash hard. She didn't want to be a part of a modeling company, it was the guild she wanted.
The bottle of wine had a note attached that encouraged her to share a glass with her closest friends. After waking up in jail, Lucy had no recollection of what happened that night. She heard from a witness that she had tried to start a fight, using her broken key to summon Aquarius. For that she was grateful that the top of the key was at the ready. She'd never hear the end of it if any of the other spirits were summoned. The worse part was the relief Lucy found in being under the influence. For the first time in months she was too oblivious to remember what had been keeping her down.
Leading up to that travesty were the weeks she had cried herself to sleep, struggling to find the will to get up and function. She kept it together for a while, hopeful that Natsu would return. After a month it finally sunk in he would go through with being gone a whole year. She didn't leave her apartment, slowly starving herself when her food supply had become scarce. She was too afraid that someone would see her as she was, eyes swollen with dark circles. So she stayed inside for a while.
For her public intoxication, the court had ordered a fine of Eighty jewel and a month of AA meetings. From there she had finally begun to accept that she was depressed and let her team leader schedule an appointment with a therapist. She learned healthy coping mechanisms to replace the bad ones she had picked up. Instead of staying in bed all day Lucy would go for walks or to the library for research on the story that would later earn her an award. Instead of starving herself Lucy bought a bunch of snacks to eat for the times she couldn't get up to cook. The therapist drilled into Lucy that it was okay to grieve for her scattered friends, but letting herself go would only make matters worse. Her will to go on was slowly, but surely built back from the ground up. Starting with looking in the mirror each morning and reminding herself that she mattered, even if only to herself.
The therapist also taught Lucy to use her inner voice for motivating herself, to keep her mind focused on what was important. As for harming herself, Lucy hadn't been able to find an alternative to that. Sometimes she became so lost in her thoughts that digging her nails into her skin or pulling hair were the only ways to get back to her right mind. If one looked close enough to her arms they's see the tiny crescents that ran up her forearm.
After Paul had filled the girls in on what had gone down Lucy was incredibly pissed off, which she believed was completely understandable. It was no small thing, that was her body and her dignity at stake. However, she was fairly quick to acknowledge that her relationship with Natsu trumped this incident. She had apologized to him the first chance given that morning.
"I'm sorry for being so standoffish earlier." Lucy had told Natsu earnestly as they left their campsite. "I just needed time to cool off."
His hands were pushed down into his pockets, he had yet to look at her.
"I know." He replied, paying more attention to the ground.
Lucy kept pace with him, hoping for a way to thin the air that was thick with tension.
"I'm sorry that Dean almost kissed you..."
She heard Gray chuckle.
Lucy groaned internally, thinking her friends would be too distracted to listen in.
She kept the rest of what she wanted to tell Natsu to herself, deciding to save it for later when they had some privacy.
If verbally forgiving him had made any progress, it wasn't very apparent. She had thought their relationship was going somewhere. Now she could feel it slipping through her fingers. She squeezed her hands into tight fists.
So what. This is why you need to focus on yourself. Get stronger. Finish the quest and buy back your childhood home. Write more books, maybe call up Jason for your job back.
"Get. A. Grip." She growled to herself under the cover of running water.
Lucy turned on her feet and walked out the bathroom door before she could think twice about it.
"Finally." Happy sighed.
"I didn't take that long." Lucy said, poking his gut playfully.
She sat down on the bed and faced her friends. Natsu leaned back on Erza's head board opposite of her, arms folded against his chest.
Natsu always sits on my bed...
"What are we talking about?" Lucy said quickly, trying to distract her mind.
"We were hoping to use Grandpa Crux for more information." Wendy said, stroking Carla's fur.
"Awesome!" She said enthusiastically.
Lucy dutifully reached for her keys and picked out the Southern Cross's. She waved her hand and chanted. "Open, Gate of the Southern Cross-Crux!"
The air around them swirled like a mini tornado and in the middle of the vortex her celestial spirit appeared. He sat indian style, bowing his head as he slept.
"Grandpa Crux?" Lucy called, feeling a swell of affection for the old cross. "What can you tell us about The Diamond of the Depths?"
They all leaned in expectantly, waiting for him to speak. He snored soundly, mumbling in his sleep.
Erza watched the spirit with great intrigue. "Are you sure he's-"
"Yahoo!" The celestal spirit roared.
Lucy grinned, looking up at him.
"According to Eastern Lore, The Diamond of the Depths is an enchanted diamond believed to contain the tortured soul of a sea witch. The sea witch was supposedly trapped within by the use of forbidden magic. "
"We know that." Natsu pressed. "But where is the diamond?"
"Natsu..." Lucy said, trying not to nag. "He's doing us a favor you know?"
Natsu looked down. "Do you know where the diamond is?" He asked in a more respectful tone.
"I cannot say for certain, however most wizards have gone missing more exponentially around Mount Saint Ghalahad. The mountain is a part of the Grand Inez Mountain Range, it's the third tallest peak."
"What town is the mountain in?" Erza asked.
"The town of Ghalahad." He answered.
"Makes sense." Erza murmured, marking the town on the map.
"And what about the treasure?" Natsu asked next.
"According to several legends the treasure belonged to a Pirate Captain who had somehow lost possession of it. Some say it was given in exchange for a woman and other legends say it was stolen. The treasure is believed to be stored under the the same mountain as The Diamond of the Depths."
"What kind of treasure?" Happy asked hungrily.
"According to legend, the hoard of treasure contains precious items and artifacts from all around The Black Sea. Precious jewels and jewelry belonging to royalty as well as gold and silver coins."
"You keep saying 'according to legend'." Gray pointed out. "Do you know anything for certain?"
"The true knowledge regarding the Diamond of The Depths and the treasure is undetermined and left up to speculation. The items are shrouded in mystery and legend."
"I heard that the original owner of the treasure was a Dragon?" Natsu spoke.
"In some versions of the legend surrounding the treasure, it is said to have belonged to a dragon."
Something danced at the edge of Lucy's mind, Just recently they had that confrontation with the Stone Giants Guild... Cody had mentioned a certain pirate.
"Do you know the name of the Pirate?" Wendy asked.
"The given name of the pirate is not attached to the legends."
Lucy snapped her fingers. "What do you know about Captain Yuros?"
"Captain Yuros, known as 'The Sea Dragon' was an infamous pirate who mainly sailed around the Narrow sea and Obsidian sea. He was known for traveling with seven other ships that were used to transport gold and other riches stolen from coastal villages and passing vessels. Key events are the Battle at Charlotte and the creation of the Three Swords of Destiny."
"This is Cody's ancestor!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Who?" Natsu asked.
"The kid from the Stone Giants Guild, you fought him at the Lake."
Natsu blinked, having no recollection of this.
Lucy waited for it to click.
Gray sighed. "His memory is useless, I remember the guy."
"Me too." Erza smiled. "He was a decent swordsman."
"Yeah," Lucy said. "He was able to wield two of the three swords."
"You think it's the same Captain?" Wendy asked.
"Dylan, Mabel's son mentioned the battle of Charlotte the other night." Erza pointed out.
"Yeah," Gray nodded. "But he was speaking in regards to stories centered around the Book of Zeref."
"What would The Book of Zeref have to do with The Battle of Charlotte?" Erza wondered aloud.
"There is speculation that the Battle of Charlotte was instigated by a powerful demon. One version of the story tells that the entire island was hopelessly possessed by a demon, in order to cleanse the island Captain Yuros slaughtered the entire population."
"No!" Wendy cried out, matching everyone's horror.
"What a..." Gray began, lost for words.
"What of other version's?" Erza asked.
"Other version's say the Battle of Charlotte was territory war, that the island was in the middle of an important waterway necessary for importing goods. Captain Yuro wanted to use the island as a port, but the inhabitants of the island refused to allow vessels to stop. One less popular version tells that Captain Yuros slaughtered the entire village for protecting the demon."
"Was the demon from the book of Zeref?" Gray asked.
"That is not for certain." Grandpa Crux answered.
"So what is it that guards the treasure?" Wendy asked, bracing herself for the answer.
"According to popular legend the treasure is guarded by a dragon, some say the ghost of The Pirate Captain and some say it is guarded by the sea witch. There is also a theory that the Mountain is thoroughly booby trapped to keep away outsiders."
"We've been warned." Erza murmured. "That's simple, I'll just send some projectiles ahead of us as we make our way through the cavern. That way we trigger any traps ahead of time."
"Thanks Grandpa Crux." Lucy said warmly. The Spirit had fallen asleep and with a quick motion with her hands, his gate was closed.
"Alright," Erza leaned over her map. "Our destination is the city of Ghalahad."
"Cool," Gray said, tracing the train path from Grand Forks to Ghalahad. "That should just be a five to six hour ride."
"Yay..." Natsu cheered half-heartedly.
Gray leaned backwards to stretch. "It'll be the last ride between here and the treasure, and it beats walking."
"Walking is good for ya." Natsu countered. "Puking up all your insides isn't."
"Shh, ladies." Erza stood and reached over for her toiletries bag. "We're going to get plenty of both...We're almost there." Erza sang the last few words of her sentence.
"I've got you covered Natsu." Wendy assured him. "My spells have gotten stronger."
Natsu nodded, still obviously unenthusiastic about riding on a train.
"I'm going to relax," Erza said, heading towards the shower.
Wendy faced the guy's direction, tugging at her skirt nervously. "Would you mind if I used the shower in your room?"
"Yeah that's fine." Gray answered, holding out the room key. "Hope there's hot water left, Natsu turns it all the way up."
Wendy took the key from his hand. "Thanks."
"It's an inn." Natsu said, pushing himself off the bed. "They won't run out of hot water."
The words to ask where he was going stuck to Lucy's tounge, she busily attached her celestial keys to her hip.
"Where are you going?" Gray asked, almost for her.
Natsu continued walking to the door that Wendy had left open for him.
"I dunno, never been to Bellum before." He shut the door behind him.
"Rude." Gray muttered.
"What crawled up him?" Carla asked.
"He's probably still wounded from Lucy snapping at him." Happy guessed
"I don't know why." Gray said bemused. "She apologized for everything, even Dean kissing him."
"So he did kiss Natsu?" Carla asked.
"Right on the lips." Happy confirmed loudly. He had moved over to sit near Carla.
Lucy looked at Gray in horror.
He threw his head back and laughed. "No, he didn't-Hahaha- That would have made it even funnier though. Talk about a plan backfiring!"
"Ugh." Lucy moaned, covering her eyes with her hands.
"I'm sorry." Gray sighed. "I don't think it's funny where you're involved."
"I'm just ready to put it behind us." Lucy admitted, dragging her hands down her face before finally dropping them in her lap.
Gray stood awkwardly at the door, trying to swallow back his amusement.
Lucy heard him struggle to hold back a laugh. She felt her will crumble and ended up cracking a smile.
"Are you laughing?" Happy asked.
"A bit." Lucy admitted, kicking her feet.
The more Gray laughed the more Lucy could see the humor in it. Natsu's big idea blowing up in his face...same as Dean, apparently.
"I'm gonna walk around town, are you coming?" Gray invited.
Lucy hesitated, it was rare for her and Gray to be by themselves. If Juvia heard about it then she'd surely give Lucy grief. The desire to leave the hotel room just wasn't in Lucy. Moping around sounded more appealing.
Get up.
Lucy stood up and fixed her skirt. "Okay, I'd like to find a snack that isn't fish." She chirped.
"Coming?" Gray asked the two exceeds.
"Nah." Happy called back. "Carla and I are going to chill."
"Okay." Lucy called over her shoulder.
"Chill?" Gray repeated as they walked down the stairs.
"Hey, he's trying have game." Lucy defended him.
Gray smirked.
The air smelled of rain, despite the scattered patches of blue sky. There must have been a few storms, there were plenty of puddles to step in as the two headed left. Based on the old style buildings, Lucy felt like she had traveled back in time. The people added to the old style as well, not a single woman wore pants nor did they wear skirts that went higher than their ankles. Also all the women either had their hair tied up in a tight bun or tied back in a braid. The men wore slacks and button up shirts.
Gray and Lucy stood out like a sore thumb.
"I should not have worn this shirt." Gray mumbled.
Lucy looked over. He was wearing a gray t-shirt with a white skull.
"It's too late now." Lucy shrugged, tugging at her own shirt.
"Good Evening." An older man greeted them. His gray hair was neatly trimmed and had a mustache that was shaped to be pointy.
"Good evening." Lucy said back, trying to walk around him.
"We are about to close in an hour, but perhaps you would like to buy something for your lovely lady?"
"My lovely lady isn't here." Gray said over his shoulder.
"Wait." Lucy held her hand out. "Maybe you could browse to get an idea for Juvia."
"I don't have enough money to be thinking about that." Gray stopped and peered into the window. The place did look pretty expensive.
"You won't be pressured to buy, sir." The owner assured him.
Lucy's eyes ran over the displays that turned left to right for the light to catch every angle.
"I guess." Gray muttured.
The owner held the door open and the two of them went their own ways for a bit. Heart shaped ruby earings caught Lucy's eye. She remembered having a pair like them once. Not rubies, but they were red.
I wonder what I did with those?
Every time Lucy saw something she liked, the price convinced her otherwise.
"That's a lot of zeros." She mumbled to herself.
"Ready to go?" Gray asked, appearing at her side.
Lucy turned to look at him. "You already looked at everything?"
He shrugged.
"What, come on." Lucy ran her eyes through the jewelry display's until she found the rings. "Over here."
Lucy's knowledge of engagement rings was on the same level as Gray, but she could still give an opinion.
"Do you know Juvia's favorite color?"
"Dark Blue." He answered quickly.
Lucy smiled. "Make's sense, she's always wearing blue."
"I know girls are all about diamonds." Gray murmured, tapping his finger on the glass above a silver ring with a glittering saphire in the middle. "But I want to give her something like that."
Based on how low his voice was, Lucy could tell how awkward he felt about the subject. Thinking back, Gray rarely showed a mushy side. He used to be so much more reserved. Moreover, She felt excited for Juvia. Gray was actually giving a lot of thought into their future.
Lucy looked closer. The band was polished silver with a deep blue gemstone in the middle. She looked up and made eye contact with the sharply dressed woman behind the counter.
"Miss?" The woman raised her head attentively, the black bun on top of her head was wound so tight it didn't even shake as she made her way over.
"Could we check out a ring."
"Uh." The woman looked to the owner for direction, he was busy bringing in guests. "...Sure, which item?"
"Number One Twenty-two." Lucy replied.
The woman opened the back of the case and pulled out the ring. Lucy took it from her carefully and raised it to Gray's face.
"What are you doing?" Gray asked, leaning backwards.
Lucy looked between the stone and Gray. "It matches your eyes."
"So what?"
Lucy turned the ring to catch the light. "She might like that."
"Are you done?" The woman asked, reaching out for the ring.
Lucy frowned, not liking the woman's tone. "Yeah." She handed it back.
"Anything else?"
Lucy turned to leave. "No that's all."
"Have a good evening." The owner called out as they exited.
"Thanks." Gray said back.
They made it a few feet down the sidewalk before Lucy spoke. "We must look poor or something."
"Speak for yourself." Gray shot back.
Lucy sighed. "I must look poor or something." She corrected for Gray's sake.
"Nah, you're right...we just look different. Made her nervous."
Lucy exhaled her frustration, reminding herself that they weren't in Magnolia.
"I hope it doesn't rain a lot the next leg of the trip." Gray said.
"It probably will, just to spite us."
"Sucks."
Beep, beep, beep! Gray's communication lacrima went off in his pocket.
Great, Lucy thought. Now I'm gonna be a third wheel. She wondered if it'd be possible to make an excuse to leave. Gray's shortest phone call with Juvia was probably two and a half hours.
"Hey babe." Gray answered.
The faint sound of a man's hearty laugh echoed over to Lucy.
"Uh, who's this?" Gray snarled, stopping in his tracks.
Lucy watched his expression darken and then spring back to one of surprise. "How did you get a hold of Juvia's C.L.?"
Lucy waited patiently for Gray to explain what was going on.
"When did you get back...Oh...yeah, I got a minute."
Lucy caught Gray's gaze and raised her eyebrows, communicating her curiosity.
"It's Gildarts."
"Gildarts?" Lucy repeated, picturing the middle aged wizard in her mind.
Gray leaned against the wall, listening intently. "No he's not around me, I have no idea...We're in Bellum and he wandered off without us. I have no clue, Natsu does what he wants."
Lucy sighed and looked around them, the sun was still high enough in the sky. She could she its bright rays coming through the gray clouds.
"I'm not sure." Gray told Gildarts. "You have more experience with century quests than I do..sir. Plus there's gonna be a bunch to do with sorting the treasure and well, we gotta get it home first too."
Why was Gildarts concerned with their quest? Lucy wondered.
"I'm listening...oh...Makarov's idea?...Hell yeah...What's the quest?...Hmm...I'm down, you know Natsu would be too. I'll tell you Sir, this is a big deal. Alright. Where's Juvia? Okay, bye."
Lucy held her breath, waiting for Gray to spill. He grinned and ran his hand through his hair. "We need to find Natsu."
"What did Gildarts want?" Lucy asked. They turned back towards the Inn.
Gray ignored her, he stood with his hands at his side looking up and down the streets. Lucy shook her head, wondering why he was always so keen on keeping things from her.
"Where did everyone go?" Gray asked.
Lucy swept the streets with her gaze, sure enough they were the only ones on the street. She felt a drop of water hit her arm.
"They probably wanted to get out of the rain." Lucy suggested.
"Maybe." Gray murmured, continuing to walk down the street.
"But, what did Gildarts want?"
Gray smiled. "You'll hear when I tell Natsu."
"Come on." Lucy sighed.
"Trust me, enjoy the peace and quiet while you can."
Lucy bit her cheek to keep from being annoying.
"This ought to pull Natsu out of his sour mood."
"You've noticed too?" Lucy asked.
Gray laughed to himself. "Yeah, he's moody as hell...and he usually only ever has like-three moods. Hungry, happy, or...restless."
"Has he mentioned anything about what happened to you-since I confronted him about it?"
"Uh..no."
"Honest?"
"Yeah, I've spent about as much time alone with him as you have."
"Right."
Gray tugged at the hem of his shirt, Lucy sensed he had more to say but she let it go. She thought of another question.
"Hey Gray...?" Lucy twisted her fingers and looked down at nothing in particular.
"Hm?"
"Was I...too harsh?"
Gray was quiet, probably running the whole ordeal in his head again. "You...acted about how I'd expect."
"Harsh or...?"
"Upset." He answered.
"Well, like-Did I overreact?"
"Uh..." Gray thought hard. "Maybe a bit when you grabbed his shirt."
She then heard him chuckle darkly.
Lucy took in a deep breath of cool air and exhaled.
Don't get upset, this is what you wanted to hear.
"Lucy," Gray said in a serious tone. "Don't worry about it."
"But he's upset."
"You know, I've punched him in the face before over smaller things. He looked at me wrong or something. We just fight it out and everyone's all the better for it."
"That's not my style." Lucy shivered.
"I bet ya a million jewel that's what's wrong, he's used to punching it out after something like this. He's just sitting on stored energy."
Lucy felt a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. "So I should challenge him to a fight?"
Gray rubbed his hands together. "Yes."
Lucy laughed nervously. "I'm fire proof now, He can't burn me...he could still knock me out."
"He wouldn't." Gray assured her. "Please, do this."
"Ahhhhhh." Lucy groaned. "Okay."
Gray's smirking intensified.
Lucy ran a game play in her head, she decided to start with Capricorn to wear Natsu down and then if he used Fire Dragon Slayer Magic she would use Scorpio. She had enough confidence that she'd be able to hold her own, but there was no way she'd beat him if he went all out. Even if she used Urano Metria, which she wouldn't.
They hurried back to the hotel, Lucy followed Gray to the entryway of his shared room and leaned against the doorway to wait.
"Yo, flamebrain?" Gray called. They looked around the room, which was empty. Gray peeked into the bathroom, which was an unlikely place since the door was open and the light was off.
Gray walked back out. "Guess he's with Erza."
Lucy turned and went to her room, she opened the door and it seemed to be just as empty as the Boy's room. The room looked a bit disarrayed, like they left in a hurry. Just for assurance she checked the bathroom. "The mirror is still steamy." Lucy pointed out.
"So they couldn't have been gone long..." Gray concluded. "Well, let's go check downstairs."
"Surely they wouldn't go eat dinner without saying something to us." Lucy walked a little farther ahead of Gray. They hurried down the steps and looked around the Lobby. Besides the secretary and a few guests, the lobby was devoid of any familiar faces.
"It's too early." Gray pointed out.
"Right. So what do we do?"
"I guess, let's go walk around. Maybe we'll run into them or they'll be back by the time we return."
"Okay." Lucy stretched her arms out making her joints pop. "Darn, I was really looking forward to his reaction after I challenge him to a fight."
Gray laughed to himself. "Hm, maybe I should tell him about what Gildarts said afterwards? That way it won't affect him. Or better yet, raise the stakes."
Lucy felt a bad feeling roll in like a storm. "What do you mean raise the stakes?"
They walked back out. The clouds had become thicker up above, it would surely rain soon.
"I'll tell him that I spoke to Gildarts and the only way I'll tell him what was said is if he defeats you."
Lucy stopped in her tracks. "There won't be enough of me left for a funeral!"
Gray shrugged.
"Please don't sign my death certificate like that."
"It's probably the only way he'll take this fight seriously-"
His comment stole the amusement from her body. "Thanks Gray. It was your idea you know." Lucy wrapped her arms around her chest for comfort.
"Wait. I just mean that-"
"-I'm not much of a challenge?"
She heard Gray curse under his breath. "Could you stop being emotional for one second?" Gray asked flatly.
Lucy clamped her jaw shut and waited for Gray to finish talking. He was quiet for a moment and Lucy wasn't looking at him to read his expression.
"You're not on the same level as me and Erza."
I know this.
"I'm not talking about magic abilities, I'm talking about...you know...on a level of rivalry...way, I don't know..."
Lucy still felt like he was implying she wasn't much of a challenge. She wasn't naive. It was obvious he had seriously leveled up after defeating Acnologia. Natsu and Gray were both climbing up the ranks, soon they'd be able to take on Laxus or even Erza. Lucy had a longer way to go. She knew that, Capricorn wouldn't let her forget anyway.
"Lucy, are you hearing me?" Gray's voice cut through her reverie.
"What?" Lucy asked, having zoned him out by accident.
Gray looked flushed, more pale than usual.
"What'd you say?" Lucy asked, based on his appearance it wasn't something easy for him to say. "I'm sorry."
"That store looks cool?" He pointed at a building that simply named 'Weapons'.
"You were talking about how Natsu and I weren't rivals like the rest of you?"
Gray went in the direction of 'Weapons'.
Lucy watched the back of his head as he did his best to avoid her questions.
He's just trying to backtrack. It's clear enough to me.
Lucy stepped forward to follow Gray into the store, not wanting to appear hurt.
They checked out a handful of other stores. Some, like 'Weapons' were fairly interesting to look at. One long blade looked so cool that Lucy was tempted to ask Erza for lessons just so she could wield it. The price yet again convinced her otherwise. She watched Gray pick up several weapons and study its characteristics. She'd hear him try to memorize the name too. It was neat to see him so engaged with that. She waited patiently for him to finish.
She thought a dress store would be fun to go into. However, the dresses were all plain and modest. The opposite of Lucy's style. She wasn't in there long. They also found a store that sold hiking gear. Lucy found a decent water canteen on sale and bought it for Natsu. He had left his behind at the lake in Iceburg by mistake. He shared with Lucy since then.
Finally they stopped at the grocery store to purchase snacks for the road. Lucy noticed his snacks were mostly junk food. She thought about it and put back a few granola bars in exchange for a couple snack-sized bags of chips.
"I've never seen you eat chips before." Gray commented over her shoulder.
Lucy felt her face heat up. "Yeah, I uh- I've been losing a lot of weight. I kinda need it."
"I miss food back at the guildhall." Gray reminisced.
Lucy had the taste for a burger and fries with ice cold tea. She shook her head. "We are all going to be sick when we start eating regular food again."
"Probably."
They paid for their food and headed out. The streets were wet from a brief shower that had occured while they were shopping.
"There's more people out now." Lucy commented.
"I noticed, that was pretty weird anyway."
Lucy shrugged. Things were bound to be a bit weird in another country.
"Alright." Gray clapped his hands once. "Surely the group is back at the Inn."
"Good." Lucy chirped. "I'm ready to get this fight over with so you'll tell us the news."
Gray chuckled.
"What?" Lucy sighed.
"You two can't fight in town."
Lucy tilted her head. "Yeah, I suppose so. You're really okay with sitting on this information long enough to be a safe distance out of town?"
She heard a slow growl coming from Gray's throat. "It's going to give me heart burn."
"Haha."
The walk back to the inn was longer than it seemed, but Lucy was enjoying herself. Gray was always so calm and collected, whereas the rest of them were fairly bubbly. They walked in comfortable silence the rest of the way back. Lucy tried not to return the weird stares and glances they were receiving from the locals. By the time they walked through the lobby doors it was decided she would change her blouse. They parted ways, going into each of their own rooms.
She knew it was empty before even stepping foot inside. She also noticed that a few things were different. Her bag of clothes sat neatly on her hotel bed, when she had left them on the floor. She quickly went over to it and looked inside.
Everything was folded, but not the way she folded them.
Maybe I did fold them that way? I have been sort of out of my mind today...
She dropped the bag back on the bed. Everything seemed neater than she left it. The bed was made tightly.
Creeeeak!
Lucy felt the hair on the back of her neck stand. Something wasn't right. She turned around into a circle, feeling a weird pressence.
"Lucy, did-"
Lucy gasped. Turning to face the door.
Gray watched her with wide eyes. She put her hand over her racing heart.
"What is it?" He asked lowly.
Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat. "I just have a bad feeling."
"Me too, someone's been messing with my things."
"I don't remember hearing anything about a maid service."
"They didn't, but that would explain why it's so clean."
The anxiousness rose in Lucy's stomach.
"They've been gone a long time." Lucy commented.
Gray nodded. "Something may be going on, but whatever it is isn't too serious."
Lucy already knew where he was going with that. "We'd know if a fight broke out."
"Exactly."
"Well, maybe we could go get something small to eat." Lucy tried. "I'm starving."
Gray exhaled and turned to go back out the door. "Yeah, let's go down the street."
-0-
Lucy and Gray decided to get a bowl of soup and a basket of bread sticks, figuring it was like an appetizer anyway.
"So," Lucy began. "Do you think we have enough information to move forward with?"
Gray tilted his head back and finished chewing his bite. "...To move forward, yes. We could always use more. I'd like to know more about this mountain."
"We need to make a list of the questions we have," Lucy suggested. "It's hard to remember the good questions when Crux is there."
Gray nodded, dipping his bread back in the tomato soup.
The waitress walked behind Gray and slid her hand on his shoulder. Her chocolate brown hair brushed his shoulders as she leaned near to him. "How the food?" She asked him.
Gray's eyes turned cold and he shrugged her off. "It's great."
"Excellent" She grinned prettily. Gray's rejection hardly phased her.
"Could I-" Lucy tried to ask for napkins but the waitress spun away.
Gray looked up at the ceiling for a brief moment. "Ginger." He called her name and she spun back around.
"Yes honey?"
Gray kept his expression straight and gestured towards Lucy.
"Could I have some more napkins please?" She spoke.
Ginger pulled napkins out of her apron and slapped them down.
"Thanks." Lucy said to Ginger's quickly retreating back. "I've had about enough of the hospitality here." She muttered.
Gray was staring into his soup like it was looking back at him.
Lucy took another bite of her own potato soup. The uneasiness had let up a bit, but she was still fairly anxious. She felt more stares, but looking up she noticed they were all aimed at Gray.
That's why he's looking at his soup. Lucy smirked. She knew what it was like to have all eyes on her. It was mostly females in the restaurant so it was like a little break from attention. Still, she didn't like to see her friend so bothered.
"So what was Juvia doing when Gildarts called?"
Gray perked up a bit at the mention of his girlfriend. "She left her C.L. for Gildarts to use while she was out on a mission."
"Wow." Lucy said. "Is she going to be back soon?"
"He assured me it was a short mission."
"You two sure have kept busy going on missions this last year."
"Yeah. Which is why I'm ready to have enough jewel to go around. That way we can focus on other things."
"You already have a house at least."
"It's not paid off." Gray mumbled. "We have about three years worth of payments left."
"It's something, better than an apartment."
"I'm sure your apartment is nicer than this place anyway."
Lucy shrugged. "In three years it will be yours though."
"True," She saw Gray's eyes soften a bit. "We're going to fix it up together. Juvia's taking some classes right now."
Lucy smiled. She thought back to the Heartfilia Estate. The walls in the east wing had a hole knocked in them from a fight. That would need to be taken care of, unless the current owners had already done so.
"Well," She said. "At least you've got sheet rock installation under your belt."
"Yeah, it'll come in handy when we build on to it."
She nodded slowly, scraping up the last bite of her soup.
She didn't want to leave Gray alone with all the she wolves, but her bladder was giving it's last call.
"I'll be right back." Lucy stood and headed to the ladies room.
When she walked back to the table Gray had the waitress's wrist in his hand. He was pulling her off of him.
"What's the big idea?" Ginger asked, rubbing her wrist.
Lucy hurried back to the table.
I was gone for three minutes! Lucy felt like had stepped into Juvia's shoes, glaring at some floozy who seemingly had the hots for her man.
"It's kinda rude to just put your hands all over a guy." Gray stated coldly.
"I was just being friendly." Ginger snapped.
"Too friendly." Lucy corrected, sitting back down.
"It's not like I was coming on to you. I wouldn't disrespect your girlfriend like that."
Gray slapped enough coins on the table to cover their appetizer and stood up. Lucy looked up at him, a little dismayed to leave the remainder of the food behind. She took a few more sips of her tea before standing up as well.
Ginger frowned and left.
Lucy grabbed a breadstick and followed Gray out the door.
"She was so coming on to you." Lucy muttered. She nibbled on the bread stick and happened to make eye contact with a man sitting on a bench. He watched her with the bread stick in her mouth and looked away with a smirk. Lucy frowned and pulled pieces off to eat from then on out.
Dirty ass old man.
Lucy looked left and saw a group of people walking along with some uniformed officers.
"Gray!" Lucy choked.
Gray turned to see what had sparked her attention. "Is that-"
"Come on!" Lucy and Gray ran down to where the rest of her friends were gathered.
Erza had her blade drawn and Lucy could see Natsu watching a man being escorted into the small jailhouse. Wendy stood with Carla in her arms.
"Lucy!" Happy cheered. The exceed caught up to her in seconds, colliding into her chest.
"Happy!" Lucy whined.
"Lucy, we were so scared!" He cried, holding onto her for dear life.
"Where the hell have you been?" Natsu growled at Gray.
"I don't know." Gray growled back. "I've never been to Bellum before."
Lucy felt Wendy collide into her body. Wendy squeezed her so hard that Happy complained about not being able to breath.
"Now is not the time for jokes." Erza joined the group hug.
"Clearly something happened that we're not aware of..." Gray pointed out.
Lucy looked down at Wendy's face, the girl was crying.
"We thought Lucy was kidnapped!" Happy answered.
"I heard some people say that a blonde woman was kidnapped." Natsu added.
"That could have been anyone." Lucy questioned.
"It was the description." Wendy said shakily. "A young blonde woman, busty, with a whip."
The description made Lucy shudder. "That's..." She was at a loss for words. Luckily it wasn't her.
Lucy found Natsu's gaze. "Who was that guy they brought in?"
The group hug finally came to an end, but they all stayed close together.
"We found the blonde woman." Natsu told her. "And the guy that kidnapped her. There were more, but I was only able to grab one."
"How did the others escape?" Gray asked.
"The same way as the guys in Iceburg." Wendy blurted. "That black smoke."
Erza nodded. "They used some kind of trigger on their shirts. It's a button like...thing."
"I figured it out by the time this moron tried to use his." Natsu told them.
"Good." Lucy breathed. "I hope they get a lot of information out of him."
"So," Gray pressed. "Are we thinking the guys from a few weeks ago and today are connected?"
Lucy looked to Erza, who had an eye for these sorts of things.
"It's possible." Erza spoke, her blade was no longer out. "But it's also possible they just use the same kind of teleportation magic."
"What if the bounty on our heads is connected to Bosco?" Wendy asked, her eyes were puffy from crying. Lucy reached her hand out to stroke Wendy's hair.
"They were trying to get the guys too though."
Gray nodded. "I haven't heard anything about men going missing too."
"Me either." Erza agreed.
Wendy fell into Lucy for another hug. Lucy squeezed Wendy back and Happy too.
Lucy found herself comparing the first time she was kidnapped to this time when it could have been her. When she was seventeen her father wouldn't have had a clue as to where she went. According to those who had spoken of Bosco, these girls didn't return. She would still be missing. In this case her friends were there to hunt her down should it have been her. Lucy felt her eyes sting as tears welled up in them. She was just so moved to have people care about her. Back then her father only cared about her return so he'd have an heir to his estate.
"Lucy, don't cry." Happy cried.
"I'm sorry." She sniffed.
"We need to lay low." Erza ordered. "Let's eat dinner and then we'll spend the rest of the night at the Inn. I know we all must be hungry by now."
"Aye." Happy murmured.
They walked down a street that Erza had noticed a street full of restraunts. They finally decided on a peaceful looking place called 'Glenda's Cafe and Grill.' Natsu and Gray hung back, conversing back and forth.
The inside of the Cafe did not match the cute looking exterior. The inside looked more like a tavern. The waitress's wore knee length skirts and tight shirts. A small piece of fabric that might be called an apron did little to protect their fronts. Lucy was relieved to feel overdressed for a change.
There was a sign that said it was a self seating establishment. They found a big table in the corner and sat down. Natsu was the last to sit down, both him and Erza sat on the edges. Lucy and Wendy sat in the middle. Happy wasn't done snuggling.
Lucy held him close and stroked his fur. Glad that he wasn't being a menace for once.
"So what were you two doing?" Erza asked as she scanned the menu.
Gray spoke before Lucy could. "We just walked around, found a cool weapon shop. You'd want to check it out Erza."
"I might." Erza nodded.
Lucy felt Natsu staring, she looked over at him and smiled. This time he smiled back, making her heart flutter. Lucy blinked to break the stare and opened her menu.
"Do we want to share an appetizer?" Erza asked. "Fried pickles sounds so good."
"I'm down for that." Wendy agreed.
"Lucy and I had a small bowl of soup while we waited." Gray informed them.
Natsu grunted. "Really, you couldn't wait?"
"Nope." Gray answered cooly. "We were hungry. Don't worry, I still am."
"We had to leave before we could finish the other half of the meal." Lucy grumbled. "The waitress was being a...you know what."
"So how far out of town did you guys get?" Gray asked.
"We chased him all the way up to a town called..." Natsu tried to think of the town's name. "Gargle?"
"Gambelle." Erza corrected.
"Oh." Natsu hadn't even picked up his menu yet, he was fanning himself with it.
"Do you already know what you want?" Lucy asked him.
Natsu looked at her and then down at his menu. "Uh, no." He opened it up and scanned it.
"How far is that?" Gray pressed.
"I don't even remember honestly." Erza admitted.
Wendy looked up at Lucy. "It was all a blur. Natsu ran up to our room to check if you were there and told us that you were kidnapped."
"He was so sure!" Happy blurted.
"He heard they were going east," Wendy continued."And we tracked down this carriage. There were four guys escorting her."
"Was she okay?" Lucy asked.
"She was startled." Wendy shook her head. "They had her tied up and everything."
"She put on a brave face." Erza commented.
Carla shook her head. "I don't think she was half as startled as she should have been."
"They used charms on me." Lucy remembered Bora trying to dull her senses. She shuddered.
"Don't worry Lucy." Erza looked Lucy deep in the eyes. "They will never get their slimy hands on you again."
Lucy's breath caught in her throat. "Okay." She choked.
"Lucy!" Happy hugged her again. Lucy buried her face into his fur. "You're making me cry."
"I'm sorry." She sniffed. Wendy rubbed her back.
A waitress popped in to check on them. "How's it going?" Lucy watched the waitress put her hand on Natsu's shoulder.
Great, another handsy waitress. Lucy looked away, mentally picturing the waitress's hand catch fire. Are you Juvia now? Lucy snapped out of it.
"Excellent!" Erza chirped.
"Alright." The waitress removed her hand from Natsu and got out a pen. "What to drink?"
The group talked happily among themselves. Everyone had expressed their relief in being reunited at least twice. Natsu had his head thrown back, laughing about something Gray had said. Gray looked down suddenly, Lucy could tell he had something weighing on his shoulders.
He wants to tell Natsu about Gildarts. Lucy knew. She thought about bringing up the fight, but she couldn't get it out. The desire to do so had escaped her for the time being. How could she bring up the idea of a fight without bringing up Dean?
I'm gonna have to talk to Gray later, so he'll know to go ahead and tell Natsu.
"We saw a couple that looked just like Gajeel and Levy." Wendy told Lucy.
Erza tilted her head. "They had two babies in a carriage, I think it's a sign they are having twins."
"The Bellum Gajeel was fat." Happy laughed.
"Maybe that's a sign too," Natsu quipped. "He's about to let himself go."
"Maybe." Gray smirked. "He already fainted once."
Natsu snickered, it was like music to Lucy's ears.
She thanked God for Natsu's mood improving.
"You laugh now." Erza had a warm smile on her lips. "I can't wait to see how you 'tough guys' act when you're holding your own children for the first time."
"Eh," Natsu shrugged. "If I even have kids."
You will. Lucy's wilder inner voice promised him. Her more tame inner voice urged the other one to shut up.
"I see that look Lucy." Happy wiggled his eyes brows.
Cool as a cucumber Lucy blew his comment off. "I was just thinking of Gajeel fainting." She lied. "That's a funny mental picture."
"See," Gray smiled. "Lucy gets it."
"Gray on the otherhand." Natsu grinned. "He's gonna flood Magnolia with his tears."
Gray nodded his head slowly. "I just might, I come from a long line of badasses. My kids are gonna be no different. It's going to mean a lot to me bringing more legends into the world."
"Legends!" Natsu choked. "Some legends they'll be when mine kick their butts!"
Gray rolled his eyes. "You don't even want kids."
"I do now."
"Just because you want to prove me wrong."
Wendy sighed. "You and Juvia are going to have cute babies."
"Thank you." Gray smiled.
"We already talked about this." Happy smirked. "Natsu's gonna be like Gildarts. He's gonna travel around the world and one day when he's gotten old his kids are gonna track him down."
"That's a horrible thing to say." Carla murmured.
"Sounds good to me." Natsu shrugged.
"Ass." Gray spat.
"Nah," Natsu corrected. "I wanna follow in Gildarts shoes, to a point. But I'm not gonna leave behind a kid. No kid should have to grow up with out its parent."
Something inside Gray popped. "Well..." Gray began. "It's funny you should say that-"
"Excuse me." Lucy looked up to see a middle aged woman and man standing at their table. The woman looked at them with sad eyes. The man wrung his hat in his hand nervously. "You are all a part of Fairy Tail, right?"
"Yeah." Natsu answered proudly. "That's us."
"We need your help." The woman pleaded.
So happy to see all the responses to my last chapter. It was a lot of fun to write.
Thank you for your reviews:
Bakers28
Seanovan
MasterGildarts
rmadhumita378
YayoiKunizika
I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying the fanfiction. Fanfiction was my way to cope with a story withdraw. A lot of times I was unable to find the right fic so I would write my own. I have yet to finish one and it's my goal to break that habit with my 'The Century Quest'. I've gotten a few comments on my voices for Natsu. In the series I noticed he kinda hangs back as the 'Lovable idiot' when he's not being an impulsive badass. Which is why I don't really see the Canon Natsu as the type to settle down. He doesn't really have the wits for a relationship and I think Lucy would eventually move on. In my story I'm trying to have him get to be the 'settle down type' so I have to change him up a bit so it's not forced. In the Manga Natsu admitted that he saw him and Lucy together from then on out, so there is at least that to go off of.
Lunar13
I tried to stay true to Fairy Tail's outlandish character voices, the goofy ones. lol. Also, a little secret... Dean is a really horny virgin. I based the Cyrenese off of Amish folk...They wait until marriage before they sleep together. Dean scares off other girls with how fast he moves with them. It's hard to find a girl with loose morals in such a tight knit community. He was hoping Lucy would be into him enough to...y'know. Luckily Natsu was able to kill the mood. Lmao.
Ashthenerdystargazer
Ayyy! I'm glad you were able to pick that out. My writers block has subsided. I've got enough fuel for several more chapters before I am sure to hit another wall. While I wait for inspiration I have started on chapters to be used later on down the line.
Thank you for the follows and favorites, I see ya ;)
Keep telling me what you think :)
See you next time!