"Who are you and what are you doing here?" a voice behind them demanded.
Moyasu, Arashu, and Juden froze in fear. Juden slowly turned around as his mind tried to frantically think of any excuse to get them out of this situation.
"We are… we are the new advisors for the princess. We, um, got lost in this castle. It is magnificent after all! Could you show us the way to her room?"
The man who had called them out stroked his chin in thought, "Now that you mention it, there was news about the princess hiring some new assistants. Are you them?"
The three nodded vigorously.
The man squinted at them, sizing them up, "You all look thin and weak without much muscle.
Are you sure?"
Juden balled up his fists and took a threatening step forward, "What did you say old fart?"
Arashu glared at Juden and held his arm in front of him, "What he meant to say, sir, is that advisors depend on brain power rather than strength. When the princess was looking for new advisors, she did not require for them to be bulky and muscular."
The man frowned and muttered under his breath, "Goody, more smart-ass people telling us what to do."
He raised a hand and gestured for them to follow, "Right this way. You were heading in the opposite direction."
The trio followed the man past dizzying high rooms and hallways, gold edged floors, jewel encrusted doors, and airy hallways until they reached the end of the hall. A simple wooden door stood there.
There were no diamonds sparkling on it or a golden handle. The door had no traces of royalty. Just a wooden door you might see at an inn.
Juden raised a brow and asked the man, "You sure this is the princess's door? Shouldn't she have a fancier door?"
The man shrugged and knocked on the door, "Your highness, your new advisors have arrived. I apologize for the delay."
The group waited outside for a bit until a deep voice responded, "Come in."
Juden placed his hand on the handle and the wooden door slowly creaked open. He inwardly cursed as he saw that there were three other men in the room. Probably the real advisors.
Um guys, we may have a problem….
Arashu got the message right away, "Your highness, I deeply apologize to interrupt, but why did you hired more advisors? Or are they perhaps fakes?"
The princess crossed her arms and glared at him, "That is what I would like to know. I asked for three advisors, I have three come in, the next thing I know, someone else tells me that there are three more."
Juden, Arashu, and Moyasu deeply bowed, "We are not frauds but the real advisors you called for. We humbly are willing to serve you, your highness."
The princess frowned, "And how should I trust you?"
A familiar voice floated from behind them, "Your highness!"
The three turned around to see a blonde haired girl running into the room.
"Your highness! I heard about the situation!"
Juden widened his eyes at the girl.
Hisame? What are you doing here?
Hisame winked at him and responded.
Just infiltrating. The usual work.
Hisame bowed to the princess, "The three that came in last are the real ones. I had seen the, come off a carriage that you had sent. The other three, however, had walked here and snuck into the grounds."
The princess nodded and turned to the other "fake" advisors and pointed her finger out the door.
"Frauds, you must not go unpunished. To think you could just come into my castle and whisper false words into my ears is unacceptable. You three will be sentenced into jail for a lifetime."
The princess then turned to Moyasu, Arashu, and Juden, "I am sorry for the miscommunication. However, I did not expect my advisors to be so young."
Arashu stepped forward, "Although we may not seem old and full of wisdom, we have had many experiences in our lives and we do believe we can help you rule this kingdom the best of your abilities."
The princess sat in her chair, deep in thought, "Very well. You are dismissed. Hisame here will lead you to your rooms."
She turned her chair away and faced the window.
Hisame walked forward and nearly pushed the boys out of the door.
Once out of earshot Juden pushed Hisame into the wall, "What the hell are you doing in the castle? I thought you were participating in the GMG!"
Hisame shrugged, "This mission called. Zeyla found out that there would be an opening to come here and she sent me to help you guys along."
Juden choked on air, "But what about the GMG? Who is going to fill in for you? We can't compete with four people!"
She smiled, "Neo can do wonders with illusion magic you know."
He slumped back, "Zeyla is crazy. She is officially the craziest and insane person I have ever met. Her and her plans. What was she thinking?" he grabbed a fistful of hair and groaned.
Hisame grabbed a hold of their wrists and tugged them farther from the princess's room, "Hurry up. We don't want to look suspicious."
Once she heard that the necklace was on the princess, Zeyla stormed into the castle andwiped the memories of most of the people.
Flinging open the door to the princess's she shouted, "Look at me."
The princess spun around in surprise and Zeyla looked her right in the eye, "You will remember that you have a new servant named Hisame. The other one you fired, understand?"(OMG CODE GEASS hehehehehehe.)
The princesses eyes glazed over, "Yes, your highness."
The sound of footsteps came closer and closer, "Shit, they're here."
She ran past the princess and jumped out the window, hanging onto the ledge, her fingers barely gripping the stone.
"Your highness! Are you alright?" a voice came from the room.
Zeyla held her breath, hoping the princess would give nothing away.
"I'm fine. Nothing has come into the room. What is the matter?"
She could hear a sigh of relief as the guards who had came in heard what she had to say.
Now knowing she was free, Zeyla let go of the ledge and freefalled down to the ground. Just when she was about to crash onto the earth, she flung open her wings and allowed the wind to push her up.
Mission accomplished Hisame. You may now enter.
Natsu's POV
He stood on the balcony of Fairy Tail quietly while the others where hollering their mouths off.
"You okay? You're usually joining the fight."
Erza.
He frowned and stared off into the distance. Glancing over to the side, he saw the Vipers Fang guild.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff."
Erza could clearly see that something was wrong but didn't press for more information.
His mind flashed back to last night.
Blood was spilled. Black blood was spilled. He had seen Zeyla again but as a demon. Her light had seemed to flicker out,and she lost her way. The bronze scythe stabbed into his body a countless number of times. She had almost killed his family and threatened Wendy.
She was no longer the friend she was back then. She was no longer free.
He felt a shove in his back, "Com'n Natsu, you're up for battle."
Looking up, he saw the viewing lacrima showing the fight between, him and Ichiya. Grinning at the battle, he could feel his old self return, "I'm all fired up."
Watching the battles was amusing. And funny. And it made her want to jump down and strangle everyone for using the wrong technique. Especially when it was someone who had no strategy and just came in head on.
In other words, Natsu.
The gong started the battle and Natsu charged in head on. Duh.
The battle wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Ichiya then pulled out a perfume and flung it at Natsu. She wrinkled her nose as a horrible odor filled her nostrils. She could see all the other dragon slayers doing the same.
But it wasn't the smell that made her cringe. Natsu jumped back and as he did, a silver chain could be seen from under his scarf. With a new pendant attached to it.
Squinting away the glare of the sun, she could feel her blood run cold.
It was a silver chest. A very familiar silver chest. The chest that had her soul.