It was nighttime, and the air was silent and cool. Peaceful as it was, Lucy couldn't focus. She found herself in her kitchen with a glass of water. Maybe water wasn't a good idea. She needed tea. She got up and started preparations to make tea.
"Ok, that 'dream' was nothing but fabrications of things that do not make sense." The celestial mage muttered to herself. While the water's heating up, Lucy took a seat back in her chair and rubbed her eyes.
She moved her hand away from her eyes and looked up at the water boiler. "It was the man's doing."
Think, think Lucy. Who was this man and why did he help her? What was in that…. mysterious liquid that he gave her? And why did she drink it? Did he put a spell on her to make her drink it? Or did he take advantage of the fact that she had a head trauma?
She needed answers. And she needed to find that man.
She glanced at her boiling water and turned to her clock. It was well past midnight. "What's the harm?"
Lucy stood up and turned off her boiling water and grabbed her celestial keys and headed out of the door.
Thankfully, she remembered where her last mission took place, which happened to be not too far from Magnolia. It didn't take her more than an hour to get to where she was 'treated' by that mysterious man.
Once she stood in front of the so-called house that lived at the bottom of the cliff, she took a good look at the house. It was very run down. Like time had eaten away at the stones and wood.
"This place looks… sanitary." The blonde commented as she stepped through the broken door and could only see ruins in every direction she looked.
The living room was in full disarray. The floor creaked with every footstep that Lucy made, and the walls were stained with dust and dirt, as well as some mold. There was no furniture, which should help Lucy conclude that this was not the room that she was treated in.
She sauntered over to the next room, which looked like a kitchen. She continued on and entered the next room, which seemed to be a dining room.
She stopped at the doorway, as she stared at a single bed and a table that stood next to it.
This was the place.
Lucy took a deep breath before she took a step forward and approached the bed. She doesn't really remember much when she regained consciousness here. But she knows with certainty that this was where that man gave her that liquid. Whatever it was.
She raked her fingers over the ragged blanket for a moment before grabbing it and pulled it away. Nothing that could warrant a clue could be found on the bed. Just a plain old bed that needs to be thrown away.
She shifted her eyes to the table next to it and noted that it was bare. Lucy approached the table and looked around for anything. The man didn't move out, did he?
She groaned in frustration and looked at her wrist, where she had made her cut. She rubbed her fingers over the bandage and pressed into it, inciting pain. For some reason, this pain was calming her down.
"Okay…" She whispered to herself. "He had to have left something…" Some sort of clue. She continued to put pressure in her wound as she started scanning the room for anything. Anything that she could investigate.
She walked to the other side of the room and scanned the floors, the walls, the doors, anything. But nothing. With a heavy sigh, she turned around towards the bed, but then she noticed something. She tilted her head a little to the side to get a good look. There was something under the bed.
Curiously, she walked to the bed and got on her knees and looked under the bed. There she found a piece of paper. She reached out and grabbed it. Having it in her hands, she stood back up and gazed at the paper.
"Daphne, here's your list of ingredients that you've ordered: Dragon's scale, Demon's claws, wolfbane, lighting in a bottle. Thank you for your services! Hope to hear from you again! – B"
Daphne? Who the hell is Daphne? And these ingredients… Were they used to make that mysterious potion that the man gave her? Is the man's name Daphne? But that's a girl's name… Hmm…
The paper looks very new for it to be decades old if it had been exposed to the environment like this. This was recent. And this was the only lead that Lucy has.
Two leads, to find out who this Daphne character is, and what potion these ingredients can be used and where they can be brought from, if not for that mysterious potion.
She'll go for the obvious one and head to the closet alchemy store and ask about the ingredients, and hopefully they know who Daphne is.
…
"Shouldn't you be with Lucy?" Mira asked as she cleaned one of the many mugs in the dirty pile. It was almost closing time, and everyone else had left. All but a certain mage, who clearly seemed troubled with something.
The S-Wizard merely tapped on the table with an uneasy expression.
Mira took note of her inability to respond and set down the mug. "Did something happen?" She asked as she leaned forward, towards the redhead.
Erza remained silent.
"Did… you two fight?"
Erza let out a deep breath before she looked up at the barmaid. "No, we didn't."
"Then mind telling me why you're sulking?"
The mage started to rhythmically tap on the table to calm herself. "Just that… We were talking about her dream and somehow it led to love."
Mira gasped. "You two finally kissed?!"
Erza blushed and looked away to hide herself. "N-No! Nothing of the sort…"
The barmaid smirked and leaned back and grabbed her mug again. "So, why are you sulking if you only talked about love?"
"Just that…" Erza muttered to herself silently, nervousness overtaking her senses. "I… I just don't want to mess up my chance."
"What do you mean?"
Erza sighed. "It's nothing. But… does this mean that she's interested in someone?"
Mira hummed to herself for a moment before replying to her old friend. "Perhaps. Did you ask her?"
"I was too distracted by something else to ask her…"
The barmaid snickered at that. "You could always ask her tomorrow if you're worried."
Erza looked down at the table. She thought about this for an hour or two. If Lucy was ever interested in someone, it had to be someone that she had come into contact with for the last couple months. That list could include anyone in the guild. And she made sure that no one outside of the guild interacted with her, with the exception of her father.
But she was also afraid of giving herself false hope that maybe perhaps she is the one that Lucy had started to think about romantically. Sounds too good to be true. In fact, does she deserve Lucy?
Suddenly, water had splashed on her face.
Erza looked up with wide eyes, her hair and shirt soaked through and through. She saw Mira holding a now empty cup while sporting a mild smirk on her face. She glowered with narrowed eyes. "Why the hell did you do that for?"
"I called your name like five times. I feared that cupid had taken you hostage and tied you like a Christmas present for Lucy." Mira said with a wide grin as she set down the mug.
Erza blushed at that thought and shook her head as she re-equipped into dry clothing. Once dry, she glared at Mira, "Don't ever do that again," with a tone of threat.
But Mira was unfazed by her tone and set down the now clean and dry mug next to the pile of clean mugs. "But in all seriousness, Erza? I would just talk to her about this. Perhaps confess?"
Erza frowned while her heart sped at the mention of confessing to her crush.
Mira smiled before she grabbed Erza by the shoulders. "Alright, the guild is now close, you can think about this at your place." She began pushing the redhead towards the entrance.
"Hey, wait, I'm not done with my milkshake!"
"I already dumped it out." Mira replied.
"You what?" Erza glared at her old rival and was about to say something, but before she could, the door slammed shut in front of her. "That little shit." She muttered angrily to herself.
She groaned and turned around. She was mature enough to not destroy the guild. But she will definitely get back at that barmaid. She looked in the direction of where Lucy's apartment is. Should she visit the blonde? But it's really late, and she doesn't want to wake her up.
She looked up in the sky with a deep sigh. It was a pretty night. The stars shone brightly as the sun on a summer day. In that moment, a shooting star shot through the sky for a split moment before disappearing.
Erza clenched her fists and dared to hope. "I wish… I have a chance with her." She whispered silently to herself. She felt childish for using something as superstitious as a shooting star. But what's the harm?
She lowered her head back down and made up her mind.
…
"What was I thinking, of course they'd be close at this hour." Lucy facepalmed at her own idiocy. Maybe she rushed a little. Finding a clue made her want to find some answers as quickly as she could. She silently groaned at the doors. All she must do is wait a couple more hours for the store to open. Just a couple more hours….
Come to think of it, this was the store that Lucy visited when she first arrived in this town. She also managed to get a couple of new silver keys. She knows that this store also offers ingredients for spells and potions, though it was in a very small corner of the shop. Perhaps they don't get a lot of customers?
She glanced down at the note she found and reread it again. There was no way of knowing if this was the shop that supplied these ingredients, but no harm in asking, right? Maybe they could point her in the right direction on who would be interested in such ingredients? But then there's the customer's confidentiality; they may not even say anything.
She turned around, intent on visiting at the break of dawn, but the door to the shop suddenly opened. She paused midway and stared at the door, as if she had been caught stealing.
A familiar old man stepped out of the store and was in the process of locking up his shop when he noticed someone behind him. "Hmm?" He glanced at the woman and a sense of familiarity washed over him. "Ah, you're that girl who tried to steal my keys!"
"What?" Lucy frowned at the accusation. "I tried to ask you to lower the price." She sighed at the memory of the ridiculous pricing of the weak silver keys. "I still bought them, did I?"
The old man nodded in remembrance. "Ah, that's right. Hmm… so, why are you out here, in front of my shop?"
"Eh? Oh…" Lucy was planning on leaving and come back when she actually have a lie to say. Since this man is in front of her, she'll have to improvise. "I was planning something for a friend of mine, and I had a sudden idea, and I was hoping that you had them. But I totally forgot that it's already midnight… I'm surprised you're still here…" yes, that sounded natural!
"Ah, I was dealing with a contract with a very important customer." The man smiled. "And it was a success! So, since I'm feeling generous, I can hear what you have to say."
"Really!?" Lucy grinned, happy that she doesn't have to wait a whole night to find something about this clue of hers. "Great," She raised her note and recited the ingredients. "I'm looking for Dragon's scale, Demon's claws, wolfbane, and lighting in a bottle."
The man narrowed his eyes with a frown at the selection of the ingredients that Lucy had spoken. "Very rare ingredients you've chosen."
"Ingredients? No, this is for my friend, Natsu. You know how he is: a dragonslayer, loves anything dragon related, and loves dangerous things, hence the lighting in a bottle." What a perfect lie that came out of nowhere!
"And the wolfbane?" The man challenged the girl.
"Ah, that one is for me, for personal reasons." Lucy nervously grinned. Why does she feel like she's being interrogated?
The man hummed before he turned to the door and opened it. "Let's come inside, I'll have to check my inventory to see if I still have them."
"Alright." Lucy complied and followed the old man inside of the shop. She watched as the man went behind the counter and stepped through the doors, and she assumed that's where all of his extra items are. She looked around the shop and noted that nothing had really changed from the last time that she was here.
She probably had waited for like 10 minutes when the old man finally came back.
The man looked nervous as he approached Lucy. Lucy, however, didn't register that and asked, "So, still have them?"
"Unfortunately, I do not." The man started before taking out a piece of paper, "But I can direct you to a friend of mine who is in possession of these particular rare items."
Lucy took the paper from the man and read it. There was a name that she was very familiar with. "Daphne? Who is she?"
"A-Ah, I shouldn't say much. Now, off you go." The man said, pushing the girl out of his shop. "Don't come back!" The man paused, "Unless you're interested in anything like keys." With that, he closed the door.
Lucy stared at the door with a frown. "That… was weird." She looked down and contemplated what she should do. Who is this Daphne?
From inside of the shop, the old man watched silently as the celestial mage walked away. He sighed to himself before he walked back into the room that he spent 10 minutes in. After closing the door, he approached his lacrima and a face appeared.
"So, is it done?" The mysterious voice said.
The man gulped and nodded. "Yes, I gave her the location."
"Good. Hopefully I can end this for good." The voice said before the connection was cut off.
A/U: If you don't remember who Daphne is, I recommend rereading chapter 8.
Please R&R and hoped you enjoyed this chapter!