Chapter 2: As We Wait

The air seemed to awaken with activity, as Mariam uttered those words. Serena knew many unbelievably haunted places existed, such as the old Sabertooth guild, but the legendary Fairy Tail guild. The guild of friendship, family, love... to host a potentially dangerous anomaly.

"Where'd you learn this, Mar?" Xavier asked, from his spot. His tone transferred to a business-like voice, like someone would use for negotiation. The addressed woman pursed her lips and shifted off the bed, returning with a newly printed letters, still warm from print.

Serena touched it gingerly, her fingers barely touching the crisp ends of the paper. Mariam gently shoved into her friend's arms, crinkling fairly much. She looked to Xavier and read over the paper:

Good morning The Spirit Seekers Team,

I am Guild Mistress, Fare Dreyar, writing on behalf of both my husband and my guild. I'd hate to interrupt your investigation, but this is seriously important for the safety of my guild members. I've tried to reach out to others to seek help, but many do not dabble with as ancient forces such as Fairy Tail so I haven't much luck. So, forgive me for sounding rude, but Xavier, Mariam, and Serena: I beg of you to help. In case this escalates to anything else, or someone accidentally gets hurt, I would like them gone and soon. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Fare Lilian Dreyar, Guild Mistress of Fairy Tail.

The silence dipped to a dense tone as soon as she finished. Mariam eyed Serena for instruction but she was as confused to do as Mariam. Nor was Xavier helping, trying to peek at the letter now half-crumbled in her hands.

"So, what do you think, all?" Mariam started, breaking the dense silence. Serena fiddled with the corners of the paper, almost giving herself a paper cut. "Do we go? I mean, this is the Fairy Tail guild. What would Fare be so scared about? Isn't this a guild of supposedly purity, love, and family?" Xavier cut in, throwing in the obvious points. The strawberry-blonde girl shrugged and debated, "Well, I mean think of the Sabertooth guild ghost. Wasn't it a vengeful ghost in a light guild? She was ready to hurt us at any point. I believe her name was... Surano Eucliffe, right?"

Serena took in both points silently, nodding to herself. Then, she hummed a low grunt and handed the letter to Xavier. "I say we go. After all, we've faced much more dangerous monsters than what she's entailing. We've had large amounts of magic thrown at us, what could honestly be worse than that?" Serena said conclusively. "Getting glass thrown at us, maybe being thrown off a railing. I don't know..." Mariam said, with a smug smile. Serena narrowed her eyes and playfully slapped her friend gently.

"Hey! That was my first investigation, I got scared! And I still say we go. Are we all in agreement?" She said, eyes flitting back and forth from her teammates. "Sure, I guess. I'm up for anything," Xavier said, along with a thumbs-up. Mariam nodded gravely, and got up. "I'm going to email her, and see if she's still accepting. While I'm doing that, pack up your stuff. I'm sure Mrs. Hannah will understand," Mariam said, shifting over to the computer. Xavier saluted and ran out, excited to be out of the musty, old empires.

Serena remained in the room, hovering with the letter now safely in her arms again. "Do you need the letter, Mar, or can I throw it out?" The ravenette said. Mariam looked back quickly, "No, I'm good, Serena. Thanks though! I'll see you at noon." Serena nodded, and ran out.

Compared to the deadly silence of the fallen empire, now back into the crowds of people on the boardwalk was a cultural shock. Though, Serena felt as though she really should be used to it at this point.

The conducted whistled and gestured everyone onto the petite ferry, barely fighting the whole of the deck. The team had to squish themselves against each other in order to fit, pressing their luggage against their bodies to compress their volume.

It was only a little while later until they landed in the port of Haregon, who was constantly being repaired by the efforts of Fairy Tail mages; nothing changes, apparently. So, immediately leaving the ferry, the team hit a newly made hole in the deck, enough to fit a few couple people through. Mariam snorted and Xavier seemed enthralled by their equipment. Serena, though, paid no heed and silently gestures for her teammates to follow her.

Once they escaped the large crowds, they could finally appreciate the beauty of Magnolia and all of its magnificent mysteries. Sweet shops lined each street, with a plant of freshly-planted flowers hanging off the antique lampposts. The scent wafted and intermingled against the scents of the sweet bakery, fresh air of the clothes, and the wood of the furniture shops. Against it all, sat the large infinity fountain, decorated with the original guild masters of Fairy Tail: each standing proudly and powerfully, determined to protect Fairy Tail from any harm. Serena felt herself swell with idol syndrome as she saw the powerful emotions held by only the statue. As she wondered how could an inanimate object hold so much emotion.

Her other two friends managed to catch up to her finally, and found Serena enthralled by the beautiful statue, also gaining other looks by passer-Byers. Mariam came up to her from behind, and shook her gently, bringing her back to life. Serena looked back to her friends and excused herself from others around her, taking the lead again.

After a few hours of searching, the team managed to find a pretty nicely priced hotel on the outskirts of town. Once they unpacked, the team settled on the bed and discussed their plan.

"So, Mar, did you manage to get in touch with Dreyar?" Serena asked, fiddling with her hair. "Yea, she sent me a short email detailing our marrying with her tomorrow morning," Mariam confirmed, grabbing her laptop to show aforementioned email. "But... tomorrow morning? I thought she would give us more time to have better information to rush right into it," Xavier said. Mariam looked up from typing. "Fare said she wants us to interview eye witnesses instead, to look for good spots to investigate, " The strawberry-blonde said, turning around the laptop to show the email.

Both of them immediately covered their eyes, blinded by the lights the little machine emitted. It took them a few seconds to adjust, but once they did, they leaned closer and read.

Dear Mariam, Xavier, and Serena:

Thank you for getting back to me so soon. By now, I would've been rejected but I'm glad you took time to consider my offer. I would like for you all to rush in tomorrow morning to see eyewitness reports and accounts, as many of our guild members have seen our ghosts. I'd like to see you by 8 am tomorrow morning, please, where you all will meet my husband and me. You'll be investigating the following night, where you'd already have mapped out the places that morning. I also ask that you don't take any guild members with you on night investigations, because I rather not have anyone getting hurt by an unforeseen force: though, they all capable mages and will be a great service if you can persuade them to help.

My regards.

Fare Lilian Dreyar.

"So, wait, 8am tomorrow? Oh god, that's early..." Serena groaned dramatically. Mariam rolled her eyes playfully, followed by a snort by Xavier. "Welp, I guess we can't get out of this then. It's really happening," Xavier said, shrugging. "Yeah, well, whatever happens we can handle it. After all, why did Mrs. Dreyar call us?" Serena supposed.

"Yeah, we'll be fine."

Are you sure about that, guys? Haha! Nice to see you all again, after not updating this story for so long. Honestly, I'm excited to continue this. It'll be great!

By the way, I must warn you all that this is a paranormal story. This isn't going to be butterflies and candy. This will get dark in later chapters, especially by the situations that they're in (the ghosts, I mean). Please understand that. And some graphic more than others.

Stay safe, stay healthy, stay positive, and wear your mask! Have a nice day/nigh! Bye~!