How is this already almost thirty chapters? Someone, please tell me.
Anyway, let's begin.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Mavis liked books.
Books were her friends.
Her time in the palace was usually occupied by them. She loved the smell, the stories that can cause such emotions, and the feel of the pages against her fingertips. Mavis would certainly call herself a dreamer. She liked to think about the unknown. Laying on her bed with her legs in the air, seeing just how far she could stretch her hips.
Books made her cry, laugh, and they taught her things. Mavis was always hungry for knowledge. This thirst for knowledge was probably why she'd become one of the most intelligent inhabitants of Titania's palace. Encyclopedias, dictionaries, novels, textbooks, Mavis loved them all. And you could find her most days tucked away in the queen's library in her favorite corner, her nose buried in a book.
And true to that, Mavis sat in a cushy armchair in a far corner of the sprawling library, a book in her small hands and several heavy volumes stacked around the chair. Mavis turned the pages with a serene smile on her face. When Titania spoke of her most trusted advisor, her listeners were usually shocked to learn that the great Fairy Tactician was only thirteen years old.
Thirteen she may be, she had the mind of a genius. Mavis was always intelligent, even as a young child, but her thirst for knowledge and the library she was introduced to when she came to the palace only increased this.
Mavis's gaze tore from the pages when she heard heavy footsteps, and a woman appeared around the corner, her face pink from running the length of the library. It was Mirajane, one of the Strauss siblings.
"Hello, Mira," Mavis said kindly.
Mirajane's face was dirty, and she had a gash above her eyebrow. It looked fresh, judging how it hadn't congealed over yet. Her usually silver hair was messy around her face, the tie that held her bangs on top of her head coming loose. Her armor was fine, it seemed, still tied secure on her body. She'd been using her satan soul form, and Mavis knew full well of the battle outside. She'd heard chatters from soldiers on her way to the library that morning.
Mira took a moment to smile at the girl. "Mavis, we need your help."
Mavis smiled, setting a bookmark between the pages of the book in her hand. She rose, her pastel yellow hair falling to her ankles.
"Then I'll do my best," she said.
The throne room was in chaos, and Mavis stumbled a bit in surprise when she followed Mirajane inside. Wounded men lay on makeshift cots, Porlyusica treating would after wound. Someone had conjured a water basin that magically refilled so she could wash her hands between patients. It was probably the Water Nymph Juvia's doing. Mavis heard of her a while ago, and that she was now residing in the palace, but she didn't know much else.
Titania sat on her throne, her eyes closed as if she was asleep. Her eyebrows were furrowed, a sword laying on her lap. Her grip on the hilt was turning her knuckles white. Oberon was pacing back and forth, shouting orders to soldiers who came in from battle. Mavis didn't know where the dead were, and to be completely honest, she'd rather go on not knowing.
"Titania!" Mira called, and the queen's eyes opened. Her gaze fell on Mavis, and she sighed in relief.
"Good. You brought her. Mira, you can go rest now."
Mirajane's shoulders relaxed, and she left the throne room, heading in the direction of the Infirmary.
"Jellal," Titania started, and her husband froze, turning to her.
"Yes, love?" The king said, and Mavis noted that his voice was impossibly weary.
"Relay what has happened thus far to Mavis."
Jellal sighed, sitting down on his throne. Mavis sat on the steps in front of the thrones, her legs folded under her. She smiled softly.
"We've been attacked, and I believe you already know that. The battle outside isn't exactly quiet. Mard Geer's forces are stronger than we thought. It seems like they don't end."
Mavis chewed her lip in thought. "Do you know where they're coming from, Oberon?"
Jellal nodded, but his face was unsure. "Mirajane told us she saw a portal of some sort in the forest, but I do not know where it is, to be exact. She only said it was located in a clearing. But she says it is where the enemy soldiers are emerging. There may be multiple."
Mavis was quiet for a long time before speaking.
"The answer is obvious. We need to find a way to plug up their entrance. After we do that, we can deploy our strongest teams and take out the remaining soldiers. What did Mirajane say the portals were made of?"
"Dark matter, or shadows."
"There's only one logical explanation for what they are, then."
Jellal looked at her quizzically; "What?"
"Shadow Creatures. I read it in a book that while they are living creatures, they can use their bodies to teleport or transport objects. Or, if they're powerful enough, living creatures. I believe it's how the various creatures from other realms you mentioned were taken to Mard Geer's fortress. I think they use this function to eat, though, so I have no idea why they're using it to transport Mard Geer's men."
"So we need to kill them?" Titania asked, her face serious. Mavis nodded.
"To stop the flow of soldiers emerging, yes, that would be the best course of action." Mavis's expression turned serious, "send in soldiers who are best with melee and high energy attacks, such as Gildarts and Kagura. Both are very strong and would have no problem taking the creatures down."
Jellal shouted orders, and a few foot soldiers raced out of the room to find the two aforementioned people. They emerged a few minutes later, Kagura looking serious as ever, Gildarts with a playful smile on his face. Mavis saw why when she saw Cana, his daughter, beside him, who seemed to be scolding him. The trio reached the door, and Gildarts leaned down, planting a kiss on his daughter's head, and Cana looked at him sadly. Mavis could tell she was worried.
He wouldn't die, though. Not in Mavis's plan. A Shadow Creature would be nothing compared to Gildarts' immense power. Jellal said something to Gildarts and Kagura before pointing to the doors, and they left, heading to battle.
Cana stuck her nose in the air, her arms crossed defiantly, but Mavis could tell that she wanted Gildarts to come back alive and uninjured. Despite how she acted, she cared about her father.
Mavis followed Jellal to a balcony that overlooked the clearing that the palace resided in. mavis gazed down at the battle.
The Trimens seemed to be fairing well, and Team Saber Tooth was dominating. But several men lay injured or dead on the battlefield, blood staining the grass crimson. Mavis averted her eyes, watching as a man approached Gildarts with a sword, but with a touch of his open palm, the man's blade disintegrated. The man screamed something incoherent and ran away. Kagura took man after man down with one strike of her sheathed sword. They disappeared into the treeline.
Jellal led Mavis to a higher balcony, and from there they could see the clearing which Mirajane spoke of. True to Jellal's suspicions, two portals were open. Kagura found one of them, Gildarts the other. Needless to say, Gildart's battle was explosive, and the shadow creature was obliterated. Kagura's sword strikes came fast and furious, her gravity change magic pressing the creature to the ground. Men who had emerged from the portal scattered, running in all directions.
Soon, that creature was also sliced to ribbons. The two warriors retreated from the clearings, on track back to the palace.
The enemy soldiers noticed the lack of reinforcements very quickly. They were subjugated and captured until there was nothing left to do but tend to the dead and wounded. The clearing was quiet, wind whistling forlornly. The battle was over.
Mavis smiled.
"And the point goes to me."
I feel like I ended that too abruptly. But no matter, it's done. I will update this more frequently than I have been, so stay tuned!
~Starry
