Hey, so, so far, so good! I actually am keeping up with promised update dates so far! I deserve a gold star at this point, honestly.
Anyway, I have a few quick things to say regarding this chapter and some things I want to point out that will make reading this easier.
The word "interlocutor" is a person who partakes in a conversation/dialogue. In the cases that it is used in this chapter, it means the person to whom one of the characters is talking.
Second, for those of you who have never known the difference between "blond" and "blonde," this will be very important throughout this story. "Blond" is for guys and will normally refer to Sting; "blonde" is for girls and will almost always refer to Lucy.
Lastly, I just wanted to say that this chapter is way shorter than I wanted it to be, but I fit in everything that I needed to in regards of where I wanted this chapter to go, so I'm sorry about that.
Anyway, sorry for the long intro, I hope you enjoy the chapter (I feel like it could have been better, but I hope you guys are okay with it). You should all leave a review because they make my day!
Anyway, see you next time (April 19, 2019)
Chapter Two: A Tense Encounter
Lucy, who remained still, continued to stare at the man in front of her, the man who, to the extent of her knowledge, could very well be the infamous White "Dragon" she had heard of since her return. She had no knowledge of the man other than he was a dragon slayer from the Sabertooth guild—anything concerning his appearance had evaded her ears—and so she had nothing to refute this man's claim.
However true this proved, though, the man also had nothing to certify his claim, as far as Lucy was concerned. He could, as she had earlier suspected, have come to aid her victim, have come to try to rescue him without raising suspicion or expending too much energy. If the latter were the case, the battered wizard remained a little grateful, as she barely had any energy left to expend herself.
She stayed alert, her hands laying over her keys in case something happened, and spoke. "I don't believe you."
The blond, who had had a smirk plastered on his face, changed his expression. At first he seemed confused—for whatever reason, Lucy had no idea. However, after a second, he seemed to become annoyed once again with the celestial mage, something about which Lucy still remained clueless.
"What's not to believe about it?" He demanded, taking an assertive step forward. At some point he had clenched his fists, something the Fairy Tail mage had only just noticed.
Although Lucy continuously became more worried, she had to play strong, to display courage. If she faltered now, the man would know he had almost complete control of the situation.
"I haven't seen anything that proves who you claim to be." Lucy replied, tensing up even more as his demeanor continued changing. She could no longer tell how things would play out.
He continued to approach the celestial mage who lay on the ground, her back resting against the tree. The latter became worried—frightened, to an extent. Even though much time had passed since she roamed around other wizards outside of her guild (due to her stagnation on Tenrou Island, of course), she was still able to somewhat gage the magic power of those around her, and that of the man approaching her seemed to grow to a new level, one much greater than her own.
In her state, there seemed no possible way for her to put up a fight against him.
Hell, there's no way I'd be able to put up a fight against him even if I were at full energy, the spirit mage thought to herself. Bitter thoughts like these were what had encouraged her to set out on her mission in the first place.
The man stopped at a distance not too close to Lucy so as to seem invading of her personal space, but close enough so as to keep her as alert and tense as ever. The blond brought his right hand—still in a fist—to his side, pointing out his index finger to the tree which Lucy's victim rested against.
"Here's your proof." He said—and a beam of white light shot out of his index finger. It went through the tree he had aimed at—and several others behind that. They all came crashing down, a climactic crescendo that resulted in an astonished look appearing on Lucy's face.
Lucy, who now believed in the man's claim, could hardly believe what she had just witnessed. She had heard many times since her return about how Sabertooth's White Dragon—along with his counterpart—numbered among some of the strongest mages in all of Fiore nowadays; however, she had never imagined that he would have the power to do what she had just seen while hardly using any magic power, let alone whiling only lifting one sole finger.
The Saber's smirk found its way back to his face once he saw the blonde's expression, and he began to speak again:
"Now, just in case that didn't change your mind," he started out, speaking in that tone that irked Lucy—the one where the speaker knew they had accomplished their goal but chose to rub salt in the wound. He turned slightly to his right and pointed to a white marking on his left shoulder before finishing his sentence. "This sure as hell should."
There, on his left shoulder, Lucy could see what appeared to resemble a tiger's head.
"So," the man—Sting—said, "Any other comments?"
The girl remained silent, unsure of what to say. She squirmed a little, sitting a little differently so as to get herself into a slightly more comfortable position. She shifted her weight from one side to the other and, finally, moved her hands off of her keys. She had no idea if that was the best idea, but she did it, and hoped that nothing bad would arise from her decision.
After a minute or two, Sting became irritated again. "Well? Are you going to say something or what? Where did that attitude from earlier go, Blondie?"
"Blondie?" Lucy responded, having finally had a response elicited from her. She processed what Sting had just said to her, and then: "You're also blond, idiot."
And, once again, the smirk disappeared from the Saber's face. "Who the hell are you calling an idiot?" He questioned.
"You, obviously." Lucy retorted.
"Man," the Fairy Tail mage continued, "I know I just called you an idiot, but I was mostly kidding. But I'm not so sure anymore…" She trailed off.
It seemed as if Sting was about to blow, but he stopped himself. Instead, he changed the topic of the conversation.
"Whatever." He puffed. "Now, tell me, why were you out here doing my job?"
The holder mage stared at her company, slightly confused as to what he was talking about. She looked to the side and saw the man whom she had fought earlier—and then she recovered from her momentary lapse of memory.
"Oh." She said. "I was out here doing…" She paused, thinking about what she should say, and then decided upon: "Doing my own thing. And then I ran into that man. Well, more like he ran into me, but that's not important right now. While he was scrambling to gather everything he had dropped, I began to realize the stuff wasn't his, so I took matters into my own hands. And, so, now we're here."
Lucy looked back at Sting, looking to see if he had any visible expression, any visible emotion that could explain what he was thinking.
Sting, however, was looking at the man whom Lucy had fought earlier. After some time, he looked back at Lucy. After some time, it appeared evident that he was examining her.
"So, it looks like you got yourself beat up pretty bad." He stated, taking a step forward. Then, "You know, it's reasons like this why you shouldn't do other people's work; you might be too weak to do a mission you know nothing about."
The Fairy Tail mage looked down upon hearing those words, those words that echoed her own. Although the tears stung her eyes, although the tears themselves cried out for release, the Zodiac wielder refused to let them out.
However, she did raise her right hand to her face so as to cover her eyes from her interlocutor.
"Huh," Sting, who continued observing Lucy, said in a low voice, "Fairy Tail."
There was a pause, but what Lucy heard next shook her to her core: the sound of laughter. The man had begun to chuckle.
All the tears that had been trying to escape the celestial mage's eyes suddenly vanished; her hand lowered. She looked up at Sting, who was rubbing away his own tears—tears from laughing too hard.
"What is so funny?" Lucy pressed. Now, in contrast to their earlier predicament, her demeanor began to change, as did her temper.
Sting finally caught his breath, and then looked at his interrogator. Then he said, "It's just—that explains so much. You're in Fairy Tail—I'm surprised you could even beat this guy in a fight. That's why you're so beaten up. I mean, after all, your guild has been the laughingstock of Fiore for years."
The blonde, her body forgetting all pain or lack of energy, started to rise. Once up, she brushed some dirt off of her clothes. After a moment of silence, she began to approach the Saber across from her.
Her rationale screamed out at her to stop what her body planned to do, but to no avail. Her limbs seemed to move on their own, her body an empty shell. It was too late now—Lucy felt as if she had left her body and could now merely observe the spectacle.
He looked at her, and, once again, began to make some remarks. "You know, the ladies usually throw themselves at me, so there's no need for you to try to be so su—"
He was cut off by a sharp sound, one that echoed throughout the forest around them, one that traveled into the skies that bled with all the colors of crimson and all the crimsons of the setting sun.
After that moment, Lucy seemed to return to her body, seemed to regain control. And then, having just hit the man across his face, the celestial mage lowered her hand, turned, and began to leave, taking slow and steady steps. She kept her head down, watching the ground as she returned to the trail she had been traveling at the beginning of this whole ordeal.
Along the way, she stopped near the tree where she had rested earlier. The spirit mage bent down, grabbed two bags, and threw the smaller one behind her and towards the dumbstruck figure who seemed frozen, locked in time.
"Those are the jewels the man stole earlier; return them." Lucy voiced. And with that, the blonde continued her journey.
With her head down and her heart depressed, the celestial wizard journeyed towards her unknown destination, a single tear rolling down her cheek.
July, X791
As Lucy gazed into the sea-colored eyes of the person sitting next to her, she remembered the hurt that her first interaction with Sting had brought her—the pain that he had inflicted upon her. It all seemed so similar to what she had felt throughout the duration of the Grand Magic Games.
No matter how much she tried to think that Sting would never mean to do something like that to her with malicious and purposeful intent, she couldn't bring herself to believe it. As much as she wanted to, as much as she willed herself to believe that Sting would change for the better, just like he had before, her mind just told her that he would change back, just as he had done as well.
"Lucy…" Sting said in a broken tone, gazing back into the soft, chocolate-colored eyes of his interlocutor. He knew that their situation had come about due to his actions and his words, and the anguish of it all ate away at his heart. The dread of knowing that he was the one who had ruined the relationship with the one person he had come to trust since he had first met Rogue, Frosch, and Lector encompassed his every thought.
The person whose name he had mentioned looked down, the tear still rolling down her cheek.
"This seems all too familiar." She said, and gave a bitter chuckle at the thought.
"I wish it didn't. I wish…" Sting paused, taking a painful swallow.
"You wish what?" Lucy questioned, looking back up at the man across from her.
"I wish there wasn't anything for this to seem familiar to in the first place."