Author's Note: Ugh, man, you guys are lucky I love you so much. I'm super sick right now, but I edited a chapter for you anyways! Lol, I kid. Well, not about being sick, that is true, but I'd edit anyways because I got bored with sleeping all day, haha. That being said, please forgive me if things aren't quite up to standard this chapter. Being sick does make it a bit harder to focus. I'll probably go back and re-edit this chapter later.
Thanks for being so patient with last week's cliffhanger!
One Wish
Chapter 21: Manifest Destiny
There was something soft patting her cheeks, and tugging at her hair as Lucy slowly came to. Someone was crying, their high pitched voice fighting back big, gulping sobs as the blonde struggled back into the waking world.
The insistent patting stopped, and the crying quieted somewhat as it's source seemed to move away from her. Eyes fluttering, Lucy groaned and clapped a hand over them as light lanced painfully through her eyelids and straight into the back of her head.
"Lucy, you alright?" a masculine voice asked, low and insistent as she was shaken gently.
"No," she croaked, throat painfully dry as she tried to push herself upright "Why do I feel like someone tried to turn my head inside out?" the woman asked with a grimace.
"You can't be all that bad if you're asking that sort of question," Loke, for it was Loke, remarked as he helped her into a seated position.
Lucy finally dared to open her eyes and looked around at the veritable mob of people surrounding her. Loke was at her side, having apparently caught her before she had hit the ground, while Levy crouched at her other side, looking inordinately relieved, brown eyes threatening tears.
"Oh god, Lucy, I am so sorry," the girl said as she gently placed one hand on her friend's shoulder to steady her "I swear it worked fine on Jett and Droy, earlier!"
"It's alright," Lucy replied, waving off her concern, brain still too scrambled to stop and consider just what had gone wrong. She was further distracted by Happy, who noticed that she was awake now.
"Lucy, you're okay!" the little cat exclaimed with a sob, huge tears leaking down his furry face as he launched himself at her.
The blonde caught him clumsily, but quickly wrapped him up in her arms as Loke and Levy waved off more concerned guildmates, insisting that they give her some room to breathe "I'm alright, I'm alright," she soothed the exceed gently as she stroked his ears "How long was I out?"
Happy sniffled and answered "Only a minute, but there was this horrible flash and you and Natsu fell, and..." the cat's lower lip began to tremble again, and Lucy hugged him tightly in an attempt to reassure him, before his words registered.
"Natsu? Is he alright?" she demanding, falling into a panic almost immediately as she looked around wildly for her boyfriend, stumbling to her feet, despite Loke's protests that she needed to rest.
Searching for the familiar shock of pink hair, Lucy quickly spotted it only a few feet away, her stomach dropping out as she took in Natsu's frighteningly still form. She needn't have worried, though, as before she was even able to reach his side, the dragon slayer sat up with a gasp.
"Holy shit," he swore, hands going almost immediately to his head, clutching it painfully as Gajeel and Gray both sat back quickly to avoid being brained by the other mage's sudden movement. Erza reached out and steadied him as he whipped around and asked "Where's Lucy?" almost immediately.
"Here," the girl answered, knees weak with relief that the man seemed relatively unharmed. She sank down beside him, releasing her hold on Happy so the exceed could jump over and hug him as well "Are you alright?" she asked, reaching out to touch him without second thought, needing the reassurance of physical contact as she looked him over worriedly.
"I feel like someone tried to turn my head inside out," Natsu unwittingly echoed her with a grimace, making Lucy laugh.
"That's what I said," the blonde commiserated as she gently brushed a stray bit of dirt from the dragon slayer's cheek, making Natsu smile in return.
In the face of such an oddly private moment, Gray, Erza, and Gajeel all averted their eyes, until their attention was drawn back by Lucy, who said "What's this?"
She had lowered her hand, but her gaze was drawn to Natsu's chest, where his shirt still hung open thanks to her impatient attentions earlier. She pushed it aside to examine the strange discoloration that had spread across his chest, radiating out from the point just below his heart. It looked as though lightning had traced a web-like path across his sun-tanned skin, bleaching it several shades paler with it's passing.
"The hell is that?" Gajeel muttered, leaning in curiously for a closer look as Levy and Makarov joined them.
"A side effect of the blast?" Levy asked curiously as she turned to look at Lucy, who's lower cut shirt allowed a clear view of the same place, though there was no such mark to be seen "Lucy doesn't seem to have one, though."
The blonde only frowned, though, and instead of inspecting her chest, pulled up her shirt to expose her stomach instead, knowing before she even did so just what she would find there.
"O-oh," Levy murmured, frowning as everyone's eyes took in the similar markings that now spread across the flat of the blonde's belly. The ones on her skin seemed to spread even further, though were less obvious at first glance thanks to her much paler skin.
"So much for bikini season," Lucy remarked with a sigh.
The boys blinked at her, clearly not understanding, while Levy and Erza both gave her a sympathetic look.
"I think they look kind of neat," Happy chimed in, making the girl smile down at him gratefully.
"Yeah!" Natsu agreed hurriedly, grinning at his girlfriend "Just think of it like...matching tattoos or something."
Gray rolled his eyes, and Gajeel snorted, but Lucy laughed and nodded "Could be worse, I guess," she mused as Makarov called for Wendy, who had been standing anxiously to one side, not wanting to crowd them, but obviously concerned about her friends.
"Take a look at them, will you? Make sure their insides weren't cooked and they just don't realize it yet," the old master told her as he waved her over.
Wendy blanched in horror at the very idea, but hurried over quickly to do as she was bid.
"My guts are fine," Natsu insisted with a grimace, but a look from Lucy settled him enough to let the sky dragon slayer get on with their check-up as Carla landed next to Happy, who was perched on Lucy's lap.
The blonde noticed the hurried way the exceed wiped away the remains of his tears when the white cat approached, and though she smiled, she made no comment. Wendy's diagnostic spell was painless, the girl's magic rippled across her skin soothingly before soaking in, blending harmoniously with Natsu's. It paused here and there, before eventually retreating back to it's master to relay what it had found.
"They both seem fine," Wendy said at last as she looked back at Makarov, who nodded as the whole group released a breath none of them realized they'd been holding.
"I guess the only question left to ask, then, is if it worked," Erza said in the quiet that followed.
Lucy and Natsu shared a look, that spoke volumes. In unison, both of them raised a hand, and went through the now familiar motion of summoning a ball of flame. Without a second's hesitation, fire flickered to life above Lucy's palm, it's innocuous presence there, while Natsu's remained empty, like a slap to the face.
The dragon slayer groaned and flopped back onto the grass in disappointment, while Lucy sighed and gently folded her hand shut around the little flame, quenching it with hardly a thought.
"I don't understand!" Levy cried, seeming just as downcast as her two friends as she re-examined the crinkled sheet of paper she had written the spell on "Master, are you sure you read it correctly?" she asked, though she knew full well that he had. She had been listening quite closely just to be sure.
Makarov scowled at the girl, and didn't dignify her question with an answer, instead, he asked another "That flash of white light...I don't recall that happening in your test."
"You're right, it didn't," the solid script mage admitted "That was new."
"Could it be something to do with Lucy's wish?" Erza speculated absently.
"That white light...now that you mention it, it definitely reminds me of the wishing star," Lucy admitted reluctantly, at which Happy nodded his agreement.
"It's not your fault, so quit blaming yourself" Gajeel told Levy sternly as he came to stand beside her, his arms crossed over his chest "It must be because of that wish. It worked fine when you did the spell the first time, after all."
"Y-yeah," Levy said, blinking up at Gajeel, and then giving him a weak, though grateful, smile.
Gray sat on the grass next to Natsu's sprawled form, staring absently into the middle distance "Well, if Levy's spell can't switch them back...what about a second wish?" he suggested.
"We already thought of that," Natsu groused "there's not enough magic left in the star, and no one knows where another one is, unless you've got one stashed somewhere and didn't bother to tell us," he added testily.
"Shut up," Gray said, kicking his friend in the leg as he continued "Maybe we're just over-thinking this, or something. I mean, if the star can grant wishes, but is out of power...what if we just, I don't know, recharge it?"
"Like a lacrima battery," Lucy said, lighting up. Could it really be that simple? Looking around at her assembled friends, no one seemed to have a counter-argument, so she turned to Happy and asked "Could you go get it for us?"
"Aye!" the exceed answered eagerly, jumping into the air and winging away quickly over the crowd towards the house.
"You really think this will work?" Natsu asked her as the assembled mages began to chatter excitedly around them, hope returning to his eyes as he sat up and watched her climb to her feet.
"Who knows. Doesn't hurt to try, right?" she said with a smile down at him as she offered him a hand up.
The dragon slayer grinned broadly in answer as he took her hand and allowed her to haul him to his feet "Guess you're right," he agreed cheerfully. Natsu maintained his hold on her hand once he was standing, and used it to pull her in close so he could sling his arm across her shoulders, completely unabashed by the attention the move garnered.
Beside them, Gray feigned gagging, while Gajeel snorted and drawled "Ugh, get a room, will you?"
"Jealous," Natsu countered with a wicked grin and a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows.
The iron dragon slayer blushed furiously and looked ready to tear into the rose haired mage, but luckily, Happy's return forestalled any violence.
"Got it!" he shouted cheerfully over the din of the crowd, holding the star gingerly in his paws to keep it from pricking him.
Erza, who had been watching Natsu and Lucy with some interest, reached out a hand and claimed the star from the little exceed. She delicately unwound the wire from among it's spikes and tucked it away in a pocket before offering the artifact to her master.
Makarov took the dimly glittering item and examined it carefully, a thoughtful frown on his weathered features as he turned it this way and that "So much trouble over such a little thing," the mumbled absently to himself, then winced as the star pricked his palm, though not quite hard enough to draw blood.
The old man took a few steps forward, and then placed the ancient artifact on the grass before returning to his place and shouting "Alright, all you brats, gather round! Form up here in a circle, and when I give the command, shoot everything you've got at that star, got it?"
There was a rousing cry of affirmation as the guild quickly formed ranks around the star and prepared themselves. Before Natsu and Lucy could do the same, though Makarov waved them away "Not you two. We don't know if what this thing has already done to you might interfere."
Natsu looked ready to object, but quickly bit his tongue and nodded reluctantly as he stepped back out of the circle, Lucy following along.
"Don't worry, they'll do their best without us," Lucy reassured him as she took her hand in his and squeezed it gently.
"Yeah, I know," Natsu said with a sigh of frustration "But I'm sick and tired of being side-lined."
Lucy laughed. She just couldn't help it, however unhappy her boyfriend might be at this change in circumstances. Part of her wanted to say 'welcome to my life', but she managed to refrain, simply shaking her head when Natsu gave her a confused look.
Both of their attention was drawn to the circle, now, which had formed around the star as everyone found a spot. With a wave of a hand, Makarov cast a re-charging spell over the star that would channel their collect magic into the thing, the same way mages everywhere charged lacrimas.
"Alright," he said "One, two, three...now!"
The sudden burst of magic was enough to make Lucy and Natsu both throw their arms up to shield their eyes. It filled the air around them, and made Lucy feel as though her hair were standing on end, so intense was the thaumaturgical radiation. The resulting wind and noise was just as overwhelming, as though a tornado had spontaneously formed over Natsu's front yard.
Though the outpouring of magic had rendered her deaf and blind, Lucy could feel Natsu reach out to her and tug her in close. As the storm intensified, he pushed her down to the ground in a crouch, wrapping himself protectively around her as they waited for it to pass.
Eventually, it did, and Lucy hesitantly raised her head, blinking against the spots left by the intense light that had finally died away. All around her, she could see mages sprawled here and there, apparently cast aside by the powerful magics they had wrought. Though many of them looked exhausted, no one seemed injured as Natsu stood once more, allowing her to do the same.
"Alright?" he asked shortly, giving her the up and down to make sure she wasn't injured before she was even able to answer.
"I'm fine," she reassured him "You?"
"Yeah," he answered distractedly, his attention already going to the center of the now broken circle. He hurried over to where the star had been a moment before, Lucy following at a more sedate pace as she stopped and helped Wendy, Loke, and Erza to their feet. Of everyone involved, only Makarov had been left standing.
"Well?" the old mage demanded as Natsu scrambled down into the six foot deep crater their experiment had left at the center of the circle of mages.
Lucy and everyone else gathered at it's edge as the dragon slayer dug through the charred earth to find the star. The crowd watched with bated breath as Natsu finally found it a moment later, blowing on it to get off the worst of the dirt so he could examine it more closely.
"Natsu?" Lucy called down worriedly as the man went very still. His name stirred him from his shock, though, and he turned to scramble back up the side of the pit.
Multiple hands were offered to help him up the last few feet, but it was Lucy's that he took without second thought. When he turned to look up at her, face grim, the former celestial mage felt her stomach fall out through her feet.
"Sorry, Lucy," he said tiredly as he held out the star for her to examine.
The blonde took it gently in her hands and carefully brushed more earth from it's sharp, glittering surface. Even without doing so, though, Lucy could immediately tell that it's brightness was unchanged. It's light was just as faint as it had been before their attempt. She swallowed hard, fighting back tears of disappointment.
"Maybe if we tried again, with more people..." Gray suggested as Levy reached over and rubbed Lucy's back in an attempt to console her.
"No," the blonde said, shaking her head "It was a long shot to begin with. I'm sure Johnathan wouldn't have given it up if it was possible to just recharge the thing." She smiled at the ice mage, and added "It was a good idea, though, Gray. Thanks."
Gray didn't look as though her words did much to ease his disappointment, but he gave her a half-hearted smile anyways "We'll come up with something else," he said firmly.
"It's a big world," Gajeel remarked "There's got to be something that can undo a wish like this."
Finally breaking the unusual silence that had fallen over him, Natsu snatched the star back from Lucy and released a yell of frustration as he threw the thing as hard as he could.
It didn't make it far, though, as Makarov magically stretched out one arm and snatched the artifact right out of the air "Don't be rash, brat," the old man chided the dragon slayer roughly, his limb shrinking back to normal size before turning around and regarding his guild "Alright, you lot, go on home. Problem won't be fixing itself tonight."
Shoulders still tense and head bowed unhappily, Natsu shoved his hands in his pockets and ignored their well wishers as the mages gradually left. Knowing all too well how he felt, Lucy took up the duty of thanking them all for their help, even if it had all come to naught.
One of the last to leave, Loke paused by Lucy and rested his hand on her shoulder "Don't give up," he said with a smile.
"Who, me?" she said, forcing a smile onto her face for his benefit.
"Yeah, you," the spirit said with an indulgent chuckle "We're all here to help and support you. Don't lose sight of that either," he said, this time looking at Natsu, who tensed briefly before lifting his head to meet Loke's gaze with his own.
The two men stared one another down for a long moment, before the dragon slayer finally cracked a grin and said "Yeah, that's what family's for, right?" and thrust his hand out towards Loke.
The red head regarded it for a moment, and then smiled and clasped Natsu's forearm firmly, the rose haired mage returning the gesture. Loke released his hold and nodded, then wandered off down the path, leaving the pair standing with only Makarov, Levy, and Happy at the edge of the crater.
Levy looked so thoroughly downcast by her spell's failure, that Lucy immediately stepped to her side and wrapped her up in a hug. At first, the solid script mage didn't respond, but after a moment, she was hugging her friend fiercely, fighting back tears as she buried her face in the taller girl's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, Lucy," the girl choked out, crushed by her perceived shortcomings.
"It's alright, Levy, it's not your fault. You worked so hard," the blonde murmured soothingly, gently rocking her friend where they stood. She could feel the other girl's tears quickly soaking her shirt, but she didn't object. She was too busy fighting back her own tears to even think about complaining.
"She's right!" Happy chimed in, hovering anxiously around the girls, upset by their obvious distress "Your spell worked Levy, just not on Natsu and Lucy."
"Th-then what's the point?" the solid script mage sobbed.
"The point is, you did what you could, and it was more than anyone else," Natsu said firmly, giving the girl a reassuring, if awkward, slap on the back. Lucy rolled her eyes at the gesture, though a smile tugged at her lips. Her poor boyfriend meant well, but he certainly had his awkward moments.
Surprisingly, Natsu's words did seem to have some effect on the girl in Lucy's arms, who sniffled and looked around at them, eyes red, but tears slowing.
"I just...I just really wanted to help," Levy said, wiping fiercely at her cheeks "I thought for sure it would work, too."
"Listen to your friends, Levy," Makarov finally weighed in "You did what you could, and what you did was amazing, even if it wasn't quite what we needed. We'll get there," he said firmly as he reached into his vest pocket and produced a tissue, which he handed her.
A watery smile on her face, Levy accepted the offering and dabbed at her face, and blew her nose "Thank you," she said quietly as she gently disentangled herself from Lucy's arms and shoved the tissue in her pocket.
"So what now?" Lucy asked, giving voice to the question that at least four of the five of them were considering.
"So now we rest, and in the morning, you lot report to the guild for a meeting. There are things you need to know," the old man said tiredly.
"Can't you just tell us, Gramps?" Natsu demanded, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning down at his master, who glared right back.
"If I could just tell you know, then I wouldn't call a damn meeting at the guild, now would I, brat?"
As the pair continued to glare daggers at one another, Lucy interjected "Why now?"
"Huh?" Makarov asked with a blink as Natsu turned to regard her curiously as well.
"Why are you calling a meeting to tell us something now?" Lucy clarified with a frown of her own "What changed?"
The old man glanced reluctantly up at the pair of them, as Happy and Levy looked on curiously, obviously just as baffled as their friends. Finally, he sighed and admitted "Honestly, I was hoping that this would work so the pair of you would be back to normal for this...meeting. Now I'm going to have to re-think some things."
Lucy's frown deepened, but Makarov held up a hand to silence her "Save it for tomorrow. I'm not saying anything else today."
Natsu scowled "Oi, what makes you think you can just-"
"Boy, I am your Master," the wizard saint snapped fiercely "Now do as you're told and shut your trap! This is bigger than just the two of you, and I'm still not sure how it all fits together yet."
The dragon slayer was still scowling, but it was obvious that he was taken aback by his master's outburst; enough so that he didn't object when Makarov spun on heel and marched off down the path, quickly disappearing from view.
"Stupid old man," Natsu grumbled, but his heart clearly wasn't in it as he watched the mage go.
"I'd better go too," Levy said with a tired sigh, offering the three of them a weak smile.
Lucy reached out and took the girl's hand, squeezing it gently "Thanks, Levy. And please, don't beat yourself up, okay?"
Tearing himself away from his preoccupation, Natsu flashed the girl a brief smile and said "Yeah, you're a great friend, Levy."
Levy's eyes appeared suspiciously wet as she looked at both of her friends and nodded before hurrying away. Lucy watched her go, smiling a little when she saw Gajeel step out of the tree line to accompany her back into town. Apparently he had decided to wait for her. Idly, Lucy wondered just what kind of excuse he had used on the girl to explain his presence there.
It was well past midnight, and still Natsu hadn't managed to catch a wink of sleep. Instead, he watched the shadows stretch and grow as the moon traced it's way across the sky, his mind uncharacteristically plagued with worries.
Things were looking grim on the magic front, now that Levy's spell had gone bust in the face of the wishing star's power. Even Gray's admittedly clever 'plan b' of trying to recharge the star itself had failed. It was as though fate were conspiring against them returning to their proper selves, and it weighed heavily on the dragon slayer's mind.
It wasn't the first time he'd wondered what they would do if he and Lucy never got their magic back, but Makarov's ominous, and frankly worried tone earlier that day dragged Natsu's mind right back to the subject. It turned the idea over and over, worrying at it like a dog with a bone. The man missed his magic, but, frankly, what really worried him was the dread certainty that the guild about to charge headfirst into a fight once more, but this time, he had a feeling that he and Lucy were going to be side-lined for the duration.
The very idea irked him to the core. There was still gods knew who potentially after Lucy, but neither of them were likely to be allowed to do anything about it.
Frustrated, but unable to do anything about it, a small growl escaped Natsu. Beside him in the dark, Lucy stirred, and he immediately fell still, not wanting to wake her. As he listened, the girl's breath hitched and he felt her hand clutch convulsively at his arm, which he had wrapped around her shoulders. Lucy flinched, and made a quiet choking sound as she tossed her head to the side, nearly clipping him in the jaw.
"Lucy, you're alright," Natsu said, voice low as he leaned over and dropped a kiss on her forehead, running one hand soothingly through her hair. She seemed to hear him through her dreams, as she turned her head slightly, allowing him the opportunity to press a feather-light kiss to her waiting lips.
She sighed against them, and finally settled, dropping into true sleep once more as Natsu watched over her awhile longer to be sure the nightmare didn't return.
Well, whatever came their way, they would have each other, and they had overcome worse problems with less. He'd gladly give up his magic all over again if he knew it meant being able to have this with Lucy.
The meeting the next morning was a cramped affair in Makarov's office at the guild. The tiny room had been magically expanded, but apparently spellwork could only bend the laws of physics so far.
Still, they'd managed to squeeze one of the tables in, along with a few benches so the assembled group of mages there by invitation could sit as they waited for their Master to arrive. Lucy, Happy and Natsu were squeezed in at one end of the table, the dragon slayer against the wall while his girlfriend was pressed shoulder to shoulder between him and Levy. Happy had made himself comfortable on the table in front of his friends.
Gajeel sat on the solid script mage's other side, but Lucy was too distracted trying to catch Erza's eye to be entertained by the, frankly, adorable awkwardness of the would-be couple next to her.
No matter how she leaned, or waved subtly, though, Erza seemed to be quite pointedly looking everywhere but at Lucy, and the girl felt ready to jump up over the table and tackle the woman. She'd missed the opportunity to speak to her on the matter of her apartment yesterday, distracted as she was by their failed attempt to undo the spell she and Natsu were under, but the requip mage wouldn't get away today!
When the door opened and Makarov entered with two others, though, Lucy resigned herself to accosting Erza as soon as the meeting was over.
Looking around the room at the assembled mages, Makarov nodded to himself, clearly satisfied that everyone he had invited was in attendance. Besides Natsu and herself, Lucy noted that Gray, Mira, Wendy, Juvia, Carla, Cana, Laxus and his team, and a few other key members of Fairy Tail were all seated around the table. Even more interesting, though, were the two that had entered behind them.
Though they were both wearing hooded cloaks, Lucy's nose told her who they were almost immediately, so she was a little less surprised than her guildmates when princess Hisui and Arcadios lowered their hoods and took a seat at the table. Hisui took the one at the head of the table, with her knight seated directly to her right, while Makarov walked down it's length and claimed the chair at the foot.
At the sight of them, Natsu immediately straightened beside her, a thoughtful expression on his face that made Lucy wonder if he knew something that she didn't. He must have felt her looking at him, because he glanced at her and grinned before looping his arm around her reassuringly.
"Thank you all for coming," Hisui began a moment later after waiting for the surprised chatter at her appearance die down. Lucy couldn't blame everyone for their shock at the princess' presence at the guild. Not only was she wearing a cloak, but she and Arcadios both were dressed very plainly to avoid drawing attention. Perhaps most notable, though, was the fact that Hisui had dyed her distinctive, jade colored hair a dark brown for her apparently highly secret outing.
"I know this must all seem highly irregular to you," the princess continued as she smiled kindly at the assembled mages "But I have a mission of great import that I feel I can trust only to Fairy Tail in these worrying times. Your Master, Makarov, has been kind enough to indulge me in this meeting, as well as with his continued consultation on important matters of state."
Almost as one, the entire table of mages turned their attention from the princess, to their Master, who cleared his throat and said "Save any questions for later, brats. For the moment, give the princess your full attention, and though I shouldn't have to say it, I will anyways; none of what we speak of here today is to leave this room, understood?"
The old man looked stern around at his 'children' while everyone nodded readily and murmured some form of agreement to this stricture.
Hisui smiled again as the chatter died down, and everyone once again gave her their attention "First of all, I would like to say that this mission which I am about to offer of your guild, is not an official order from your government, but a request from a fellow mage. It must never be known that I was here, asking this of you, or the consequences for our entire nation could be quite dire. If anyone is uncomfortable with this, then we will not pass judgment on you, but I do ask that you leave now."
No one moved. If possible, everyone looked even more interested than before.
"Alright then," Hisui said with a nod when no one got up to leave "I have come here today to alert you all to a very grave threat, which one of your number has already had a first hand encounter with," here, the princess' attention went to Lucy, who perked up curiously while Natsu's arm tightened protectively around her.
"I would like to apologize to you, Lucy. I am afraid that the men who attacked you and Yukino were sent, in part, because I declined a marriage proposal from King Edmund of Telmare," the princess explained unhappily "Had I realized he would make such a dire attempt in the wake of my rejection, I would have sent warning..."
Lucy quickly waved off the other woman's apologies "Hey, it's alright, you didn't know! Don't apologize because you don't think like a murderous psycho," the blonde said with an anxious chuckle "It all turned out okay in the end," she added, turning slightly to smile at her boyfriend, who looked grim.
"I wish it had turned out okay, but I'm afraid that things are far from over," Hisui said with a sad smile "Whichever direction King Edmund's plans wind up taking, I have come to the conclusion that his goal is to conquer Fiore as stepping stone to the rest of the continent."
The room erupted into chaos, then, every mage trying to speak at once, crying out in alarm, or demanding answers in turn. Lucy clapped her hands over her sensitive ears, and Gajeel looked as though he were fighting the urge to do the same. Across the table from them, Wendy flinched while Carla shouted something none of them could make out over the din. Natsu looked fierce as he leaned over the table and made a comment along the lines of "Let him try!"
The princess desperately raised her hands in an attempt to get their attention once more, but the mages had turned amongst themselves now, discussing and arguing, until Arcadios slammed his hands on the table and bellowed for quiet.
This finally seemed to do the trick, and the room gradually quieted once more.
"We do apologize, Princess," Erza said over a few lingering comments made by her companions "But your news is certainly...worrying. What makes you believe that an invasion is imminent? And even if it is, how could he possibly achieve it?"
"Telmare is across the Western Sea from us, do you really think an invasion force could make it across there now?" Levy asked, a frown on her delicate features as she leaned around Gajeel so she could be seen.
"Levy has a point," Mirajane agreed thoughtfully, more knowledgeable than some of her guildmates when it came to geography "That sea is notoriously difficult to cross. It's why we do so little trading with them, let alone war making. Between the erratic, powerful storms, and the sea monsters that supposedly live there...it's no easy crossing. Why would he try now?"
Hisui regarded both women with a rueful expression on her fair features "All good points, unfortunately, I fear that he may have found a way to circumvent crossing the sea to get to us..."
"Hold on," Laxus said, deep voice cutting across the conversation as he finally chimed in, face as grim as ever "What makes you think that he wants to invade in the first place? Because you turned down his marriage offer? No offense princess, but is it something he'd go to war over?"
Arcadios scowled down the length of the table at the lightning mage, but it had little effect on the man, who ignored the knight entirely as he regarded the princess with dark eyes.
Hisui reached out and laid a gentle hand on Arcadios' shoulder "It's a fair question," she chided him quietly before turning her attention back to Laxus and the others "Fifty years ago, Telmare was a small country, smaller even than Fiore," the princess began "though just as rich in magic. King Edmund's father, however, changed all that. Before his death some fifteen years ago, he succeeded in conquering three quarters of the western continent."
There was a general murmur from the crowd, and someone even let out a low whistle before Makarov glared around at the lot of them and they fell silent once more.
"Immediately following his father's death, Edmund ascended to the throne, and continued what the Telmaran's considered their holy quest to spread their beliefs across the world. Five years ago, they succeeded in gaining control of the entire continent. The marriage proposal that was made to me recently by their king was, I believe, their 'plan a' to gain a foothold here on the eastern continent so they may do the same here."
Quiet settled over the room for a moment, but was soon broken by Natsu as he asked "So, what's 'plan b' then?"
Everyone's attention swung from the dragon slayer, back to the princess, and watched her expectantly. Hisui hesitated for a moment, before answering "I have only...a suspicion, at this point, you must understand," she glanced around the table again, then continued "Several years ago, while most of you in this room were still trapped on Tenrou Island, I harnessed the eclipse gate in an attempt to travel back in time and kill the wizard Zeref before he could attain immortality and change our world forever."
The group as a whole nodded, well remembering the aftermath of that debacle. Much to Hisui's relief, though, no one seemed keen on pointing out what a mess her plan had devolved into.
"Well, in the process of researching the project, I came across a very old legend from Telmare," the princess continued, frowning at the memory "The texts I found mention of it in were vague and disconnected, so I did not pursue it very far."
"This legend, what did it say?" Erza asked with a keen curiosity as she leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table before her, watching the princess closely.
The woman in question shrugged helplessly "Only that there is a very ancient gate, a sister to our Eclipse gate, in Telmare that supposedly allows one to travel anywhere their heart desired, so long as one had the power...and the keys."
When Hisui's gaze strayed meaningfully to Lucy, the blonde grimaced and wanted to drag her hands down her face, though she resisted the urge. Sometimes, she felt, the Zodiac keys were almost more trouble than they were worth. Almost. From the way Natsu was looking at her, she could tell he was thinking along much the same lines.
"Just how old are these keys, anyways?" the dragon slayer murmured in an aside to her, to which Lucy could only shrug in answer. No one quite knew the answer to that question, or even who had first forged them, if such a thing had been done. As far as she knew, no celestial mage had ever been able to get a straight answer out of the spirits on the matter. New keys for the lesser constellations and attached spirits could be made by anyone with the know-how, but the zodiac keys were special, and very, very old.
"So the gate; you think this King is trying to open it so he can march his army in and take over without having to bother with crossing the ocean?" Gray asked as he leaned back against the wall, arms crossed over his bare chest as he regarded the princess curiously.
"That is my theory," Hisui said with a nod, before spreading her hands helplessly and admitting "However, it is just that, a theory. For all I know, this gate doesn't even exist, and the attack on Lucy might be entirely unrelated to the motives of the Telmare government. That's why I need your help. I ask that a small group of you, who would be willing to cross the Western Sea to Telmare, find out just what it is King Edmund is planning to do, if anything, and stop him. All this without alerting anyone to your presence, or at least where you are from and who sent you."
"Tall order," Gajeel muttered, to which Levy nodded her agreement.
The mages all briefly discussed things among themselves, though it only took Lucy a brief glance at Natsu to know that he was on board. He was dead set on getting to the bottom of who it was that had tried to kill her, however many oceans he had to cross. He noticed her looking, and his grim expression cracked into a smile that eased her nerves a bit. In front of her, Happy smiled back over his shoulder at the couple, clearly unworried by all the doom and gloom talk.
Her boys. Some days she couldn't tell if they were suicidal, or just mad, but she loved them all the same.
Makarov raised a hand, then, and the discussion died down once more. When it had, he addressed the princess "I think I can safely say that everyone here is willing to help, official request or no." The old man looked around the table at his brats, all of whom nodded or smiled their agreement to this statement. "That being the case, why don't you tell us everything we need to know?"
Hisui looked immensely relieved at the wizard saint's words, and she smiled at everyone gathered around the table before turning to Arcadios "Do you have the packets I prepared?" she asked. The man reached under his cloak into a satchel and pulled out a stack of slim folders, then passed them around.
"Take one and pass it down," the knight instructed "Read it, memorize it, and then burn them, please. This is everything we know about King Edmund, as well as our theories and gathered information on what he might be planning. This is not something we want falling into enemy hands."
Lucy and Natsu took one each, though Happy opted to just share with Natsu. The dragon slayer opened the slim file and flipped through it quickly. It was mostly writing, and he grimaced at the thought of not only having to read it all, but memorize it as well.
Beside him, Lucy made a small choking noise, as though she had tried to yelp and gasp at the same time.
"You okay, Luce?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he patted her on the back. The girl had gone deathly pale and wide-eyed as she stared at the contents of her own folder "What's wrong?" he asked, immediately concerned by the expression on her face.
Lucy tore her eyes from the papers before her and pushed her open folder towards him with a shaking hand. Natsu pulled it in close, and scanned the page she had opened to, but couldn't find anything particularly upsetting. The contents of the page seemed to be primarily a history of Fiore's interactions with Telmare...until Lucy reached out again and tapped the small black and white picture in the lower left hand corner of the sheet, which was labeled in small, fine print 'King Edmund of Telmare'.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Natsu exclaimed after a moment of shocked silence, drawing the attention of the entire table.
Staring up at him from the crisp, white sheet of paper, was a photograph of Johnathan Hawkes.
Author's Note: Oops, I cliffhangered again! Sorry I'm not sorry, haha X'D
And come on, now, you guys really thought Lucy and Natsu's problem was going to be that easy to fix?
Make sure to drop a review if you enjoyed! My muse needs all the help it can get to keep pumping these chapters out!
Also as a random side note, I updated the story summary to include some of the drama that has happened since I first posted it. A few people had said that it didn't really do justice to the fic, but I just hate spoiling things that I haven't posted yet! X'D