A/N: Hello there lovelies! I've finally finished the first chapter to this story..hope the prologue was sufficient enough! Well, without further ado, here's to the beginning of a story that I have wanted to share for a while now..and I hope I can do it justice! I present to you, a glimpse into my crazy shipper head! Enjoy!
Charmed
o-o-o
Chapter 1: Let the Games Begin!
o-o-o
6 months earlier..
.
.
"Finally! We've made it!"
The Fairy Tail Guild building basked peacefully in the early sunlight, an incandescent glow setting the walls ablaze on fire with the dawn of a brightening new day. All of Magnolia seemed to glow with the rising sun, the subtle charm of sleep still hanging over the residents as they lay asleep in their warm and softened beds.
What Lucy wouldn't give to be one of those people at that moment.
Feet aching and fingers incredibly sore, Lucy sighed in relief when the guild came into view, the large building suddenly becoming the greatest vision she'd ever laid eyes upon. It meant that after she gave her mission report to Makarov, she'd lay her eyes upon the second most glorious sight she wanted to see…her bed.
"I don't think that I've ever met such a slave driving old woman in my whole life." Natsu groaned, trudging forward beside Lucy with an uncharacteristic scowl on his face.
Lucy sighed. "I know." she looked down at her red stained fingertips. "It'll take me weeks to get this berry juice off of my skin."
"But at least we got to take some extra berries home!" Happy chimed, floating in the air beside Lucy's head, clutching a basket full of glistening red berries between his blue paws.
They'd taken the job on an impulse, tempted by the 80,000 jewelreward that promised Lucy not only another month guaranteed in her apartment, but an outfit she'd been eyeing in the shops in town. And for Natsu and Happy..well..it just meant that they could have more Who Can Eat the Most in Just One Sitting experiments. After all, if they were to visit the right place, the two could get a lot for their money.
The job advertised needing help with harvesting Lola berries, whatever those may have been. The ad said that they had to travel a few towns over to Juniper, a town that smelled of nothing but flowers and sun, farmlands stretching on for miles. It was just a train ride away, though in Natsu time, it would take two days.
When they'd arrived, they were greeted by an old woman with braided hair that stretched all the way down to her hips, silver hair streaking the brown of her hair that once signaled her youth.
She'd played the part perfectly, welcoming the young and attractive mages of Fairy Tail and their flying blue cat. She'd poured them tea using a tea set that vaguely reminded Lucy of a mock-set she used as a child, the rims of the teacups a shimmering gold.
They were not allowed to harvest the berries until the moon was the brightest in the sky, and in Juniper time, that meant midnight. They were told that the berries would blossom with the moon, so that it was only natural that they wait until nighttime to do so.
What they hadn't been told, however, was the actual process of picking the berries.
They didn't know that the leaves around the berries would actually bite them if they attempted to pick them, their pointed teeth glistening under the moonlight. Lucy found out the hard way, putting up with a bruised knuckle for the rest of the night. It was as if those leaves were little monsters guarding treasure, though in that case, she guessed that they were. It took all of her patience not to rip out the stupid plants from their roots.
She had to stop Natsu from setting the damned plants on fire…four times.
And the icing on the cake? They were not to pluck or cut up the leaves in any sort of fashion, that would prevent a plentiful harvest for the following year, a harvest that the duo would surely not be taking part of.
Not to mention that they hadn't taken one single break since they started that night, otherwise, the berries would 'Fail to comply with their true taste and the whole fiasco would be a waste'. Lucy was ninety percent sure that the elderly woman was either working for the devil himself, or that she herself was the devil.
Or, she just liked to rhyme.
So, the only natural thing for a celestial mage to do in a time of trouble would be to call on her spirits, as much as she didn't want to subject them to such work, she didn't want to be out all night working her ass off with a ticking time bomb and a whining exceed.
Luckily, she had friends in the spirit world who loved her dearly; summoning two at a time, they went back to work.
She'd first summoned Gemini and Virgo, thinking that her spirits who held human forms would suffice her, Natsu, and Happy the most. The two spirits happily obliged, though Virgo seemed the most ecstatic, believing that the munching leaves of the plants wanted to punish her for trying to take their fruit.
Lucy swiftly covered Natsu's eyes when Gemini took on her appearance, wearing nothing but a fluffy pink towel wrapped around her body that left the concealed parts of her legs and chest up to the imagination.
"It's not like I haven't seen your-"
"Watch yourself, or I'll feed you to the plants!"
Then again, Loke and Aries hadn't been any better.
Lucy couldn't go five minutes without hearing Aries apologize to the plants over and over again.
"I'm sorry! I really am! My key holder needs your berries! I'm so so sorry!"
Loke had effectively cleared out an entire row of berries before the terrible pick-up lines began.
"This moonlight really brings out your eyes."
Lucy had to restrain herself from summoning Cancer and Taurus, those two could take out those devilish plants in a flash.
But in the end, the 80,000 jewel won.
And so did the berries.
By the end of the night, Lucy was half lying, half sitting on the ground breathing heavily. She didn't care that her new shorts were stained brown with dirt and berry juice that dyed the white fabric pink. Her ponytail had become loose on her head, stray pieces of hair sticking to her sweaty forehead. She would quickly shut her eyes each time she tried to open them, otherwise spots of vibrant colors would blind her pupils, making her lightheaded and dizzy from her lack of magical energy. For lack of better words, she felt as though she'd been hit by a boulder. She didn't understand why she had been so tired and weakened. After all, she'd been through much much worse than picking stupid berries. Then again, she had kept her spirits around for two hours each, which must have sucked up a ton of energy.
Yet, by the miracle of Mavis, the three of them managed to get back home in one—rather three—pieces safely, their share of Lola berries in tow.
"These better be the best fucking berries I've ever tasted." Lucy muttered under her breath, glaring at the shining skin of the berries in the basket. She didn't work all that night non-stop just to taste vomit-inducing berries. Her cut up and bruised knuckles would be the first to riot..right after her tongue.
"Well, no use in waitin' around to find out."
Lucy turned towards her pink-haired partner, and her eyes immediately widened when she saw him pluck a red Lola berry from the basket, examine it for a good—give or take—five seconds, and begin raise his fingers towards his mouth-
"Natsu!" Lucy screeched, kicking off of the ground and launching her body towards Natsu, grabbing his wrist with her right hand just as the berry was about to enter his mouth.
His eyes darted to meet with hers, the sunlight highlighting the green in his irises and setting his entire face alight with sun.
"What are you thinking?! You-You can't eat that!"
Natsu blinked at the huffing blonde before him, watching her face turn red from exasperation, almost as red as the berry in-between his fingers.
When his eyes narrowed, Lucy could feel his breath escape past his lips and settle onto her hand, sending warmed chills up her arm.
"Why not?" he asked her.
"'Why not?'?" Lucy repeated, not moving her hand from his wrist. "They haven't been cleaned yet! They could have germs or bugs or..or..something else!"
Lucy watched as Natsu's brow shot up, taking on a condescending visage that shot irritation all the way down to Lucy's core.
"Luce, everyone knows that you can't use soap on fruit."
Lucy blinked slowly, speechless in her entirety.
This boy was hopeless.
She stuck her left hand out. "Give it to me."
"Who are you, my mother?"
"Natsu, hand it over!"
She glared him down, and he had the audacity to glare right back at her, a mother and her child at war with one another. Grips tightened and teeth gritted, Lucy wasn't about to drop her stance and let her partner do something so stupid as to eat a strange piece of fruit that they knew absolutely nothing about. Had the berries been out in the sun for too long? Would they spoil in the sunlight? All of those seemed highly unlikely, but when plants physically wanted to bite a person's fingers off, one had to consider these things.
Sometimes, Lucy truly thought that she was his mother.
And surely, he proved her wrong.
Lucy watched with horror as Natsu's taut lips slowly spread into a mischievous grin, setting his cheeks ablaze with an excited flush that made Lucy's heart pound. His green eyes shimmered with play, a dangerous shimmer that once had Lucy at the Dragon Slayer's mercy, being held captive under his body and becoming the victim of a tickling attack.
"If you insist."
Lucy squealed as she suddenly saw red, bending backwards and pushing her flexibility as she felt the skin of the berry touch her lips, two tanned fingers trying to force the berry into her mouth. Lucy spun on her heels and twisted her hips so that her upper body dodged all of Natsu's attempts to grab her torso and capture her so that he could make her eat the fruit.
"C'mere Luce!" Natsu teased, lunging at her once again, only to miss by a few feet as she hastily jumped out of the way. "Don't you wanna taste the fruit of your labor?"
"SO not funny!" Lucy exclaimed, though turning her head away from Natsu's sight to smile, not wanting to give him the satisfaction or indication that he may have distracted her with what he called 'humor'. So not worth the loss.
"Give it up Luce!"
"Not a chance!"
The two mages continued their antics, all that were being observed by a blue cat who slowly lowered a basket of berries to the ground, his eyes watching them intently.
Sure, he liked to joke around sometimes. Heck, it was practically his job to provide his commentary on any given situation that just screamed awkward. He'd seen it all, and after all, the Fairy Tail guild was only so big and so intimate.
These two weren't the only ones. He'd bet ten thousand jewel worth of fish on it.
Happy chuckled. "You loooove each other!"
"We do not!" Natsu and Lucy chorused, a familiar melody that was music to Happy's ears.
Sure they weren't.
"You can't escape me, Lucy!" Natsu grinned evilly. "Now you're gonna eat two!"
Lucy watched in horror as Natsu lunged at her once more, this time balancing two of those Mavis-forsaken Lola berries in-between his fingers, itching to get his way and force feed her, though that hadn't been the first time he'd chased her with food. Last time, it had been a piece of pizza that had fallen on the floor, and while she had been starving at the time, there was no way that she would have eaten food off of the guild floors. It was her mistake that she said such a thing out loud, next to Natsu..
Just as she thought she had escaped him, she quickly realized that he had dashed behind her. Turning on her heels to try to evade him once more, she gasped as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, pulling her into his chest and lifting her off of the ground with a sudden swoop.
"Gahh! Natsu! Put me down!" Lucy exclaimed, trying to squeeze out of Natsu's vice hold, kicking her legs and while in the process, accidentally kicking off one of her flip-flops.
"Not until you surrender!" Natsu teased, increasing his grip on her, though immediately bringing his fingers down to her exposed stomach, tickling her.
Lucy's laughter was automatic, her cries echoing out in the streets while tears streamed down her cheeks. Desperately trying to get out of his hold, she wiggled even more, whipping Natsu's face with her ponytail, managing to almost turn around completely-
"It's too early for this shit."
The tickling ceased immediately, allowing the neurons of Lucy's skin to cease their endless firing of the uncomfortable sensation of getting tickled. Sighing out of relief, Lucy slowly opened her tear streaked eyes as Natsu's grip on her loosened, her feet finally making it back onto the ground, the dirt of the road sticking to the bottom of Lucy's right bare foot.
Lucy felt vibrations arise from Natsu's chest as he spoke, scoffing slightly.
"You're not usually awake until after noon, metal mouth." Natsu said, a teasing nature present in his voice.
Lucy turned her head towards said metal mouth, watching as he stood calmly in his spot several feet away from the two of them.
His eyes were slightly bloodshot, though with his naturally ruby red irises, one couldn't truly have known unless they looked closely. And while Lucy saw Gajeel almost everyday, she spotted the difference almost immediately, just like the mussed up hair on the back of his head that was usually smoother than what she currently saw.
"D'ya think I wanna be awake at this hour? Jeez, it should be illegal to be up before noon." Gajeel's gruff voice said, half clear and half drenched with sleep. "Gramps told us last night that we got a meeting or something like that."
Lucy frowned. "A meeting? About what?"
"Hell if I know." Gajeel sighed. "So quit yer lovey dovey pda or whatever ya call it. Yer gonna wake up the whole town with Bunny Girl's screaming."
"We are not lovey dovey!" they both exclaimed, only realizing a few seconds later that Natsu's hands were still attached to Lucy's hips, and Lucy had done nothing to correct the situation. With a startled drop in her stomach, she'd also realized that her head had been resting against Natsu's chest, his rhythmic heartbeat becoming lulling white noise to her ears.
It'd felt so natural..
Lucy looked down at the ground, an embarrassed flush spreading across her face as she reached for her lone flip-flop. She hadn't actually screamed…had she?
Gajeel shook his head, grunting. "Didn't think you were into doin' that kind of stuff in public, Salamander."
"What in the hell's that supposed to mean?!" Natsu exclaimed, gently taking his hands off of Lucy's waist, letting his fingers linger on her stomach ever so slightly before finally leaving her skin, leaving warmed trills across her skin.
"It means exactly what ya think it means!" Gajeel exclaimed, turning and walking away from a frazzled Natsu who decided to follow him closely, Lucy following them. She sighed as the two of them continued their useless bantering, though usually, Lucy was used to hearing Gray's voice in place of Gajeel's. Either way, Gajeel was right. It was way too early in the morning to argue, not that that would stop Natsu.
Not that anything would stop Natsu.
The bantering continued all the way to the front doors of the guild, and Lucy watched with tired eyes as the two dragon slayers pushed the double doors open and entered the main hall of the guild.
"You're the ones about to suck each other's faces in public!"
"We're not sucking anything!"
"Maybe not mentally!"
"What in the hell's that supposed to mean?!"
"You know exactly what that means!"
As Lucy entered the guild, she sighed in defeat, allowing the boys to continue to walk off into the heart of the main hall and argue to their hearts' desires. And why stop them? She knew that Erza would appear at any given second, ready to break them up then to return to whatever dessert she had decided to eat for breakfast that morning. Last time, it had been strawberry shortcake.
Regardless of the earlier hour, the guild was just as bright as usual, the hall swimming with laughter and cheers, the scents of booze and maple syrup drenching every inch of the air as breakfast was being prepared. If Lucy inhaled deep enough, she could smell the batter of the yet-to-be-cooked pancakes that never failed to make her mouth water, their buttery scent enough to tempt even those in the deepest of slumbers. That's right, Fairy Tail wasn't just famous for their attractive members and winning the Grand Magic Games.
"Chaaarleee!" Happy exclaimed, flying off with the basket of berries. "Look what I've brought you!"
And suddenly, Lucy was alone.
"Lu-chan!"
Upon hearing her name, Lucy turned her head to her right, her blonde ponytail swishing across her back. Her tired eyes scanned the rows of tables until they landed on her caller, who was waving at her enthusiastically.
Lucy smiled as she waved back, making her way towards the petite blue-haired mage. "Hey, Levy-chan!"
Closing a book that she had been reading prior to Lucy's arrival, Levy directed her attention towards Lucy. As excited as she was to see Lucy, Lucy saw the purple bags under Levy's eyes, noting that the solid script mage was just as enthusiastic about waking up early as everyone else.
"Did you and Natsu get back just now?" she asked Lucy, her eyes twinkling with curiosity.
Sighing, Lucy plopped down next to Levy, resting her elbows on the wooden table and cupping her cheeks with her hands. "Yupp, and I'm completely beat."
"Your clothes are a mess!" Levy exclaimed, pinching the sleeve of Lucy's berry stained aqua shirt, cringing when she realized that her shirt would probably never be the same.
"Nice observation." Lucy replied sarcastically, finally allowing fatigue to consume her body, her upper body collapsing onto the wooden table with a satisfied thud. "I swear, I haven't been this tired since I stayed up all night working on my novel, Levy-chan."
She heard Levy sigh in amusement as she patted her shoulder. "Well, at least you got a pretty hefty pay. Even with you two splitting the jewel, you'll have enough for your rent, and maybe something else!"
Absorbing her friend's words, Lucy's mind began to race in glee with all the possibilities that her new found fortune could bring her. Maybe she'd get a mani-pedi, or maybe she'd spend the entire day at the new spa that opened up a few towns over. Sighing to herself, she could just smell the bath salts and creamy lotions that she would be able to use on her tired and berry stained skin. It seemed like heaven on earthland.
And she was brusquely knocked out of her temporary heaven by a pair of arguing voices.
"You're one to talk!"
"Oh, so now I'm the perpetrator?!"
"You said it, not me!"
"Why you little-"
Groaning loudly, Lucy buried her face deeper into the table, bringing her arms up to her ears. "Levy-chan! Can you please contain your boyfriend?"
"Wha?!" Levy squeaked, and though Lucy couldn't see her, she knew that Levy's face had gone red. "He's not-we're not-I'm not-"
Lucy sighed in amusement. "I'm just kidding."
Actually, she was the farthest thing from kidding.
Lucy wasn't stupid, she'd done her research through careful observation. She saw the way that Levy looked at Gajeel, and she'd be ignorant to say that Gajeel wasn't looking back at her in the same fashion. The signs were small, but they were there. Whether it be a playful poke on the shoulder, a pat on the head, or fingers slightly brushing together as they both reached for a piece of fruit, it was undeniable. Lucy wasn't blind, and she was positive that Levy and Gajeel weren't either.
"You're the one who should talk, Lu-chan."
Stopping her analysis of Gajeel and Levy's relationship, Lucy's eyes narrowed as she turned her head towards Levy, lifting her elbow off of the table to shoot a glare at the blue haired mage.
"Don't know what you're talking about." Lucy huffed.
"Control your boyfriend, Lu-chan."
"Nope, still don't understand."
The girls eyed each other, never breaking their contact or wavering under their opponent's stare. That was, until the tell-tale sounds of crashing and yelling rose to a violent crescendo. Lucy's eyes immediately darted to the sources of the havoc.
"Wanna fight?!"
"Be sure to call Wendy and have her make you a new face!"
"I'll wipe that smirk right off yer face ya bastard!"
"Come and try it!"
Blinking in annoyance, Lucy turned her attention back towards Levy, who had also been watching the mini brawl. Their eyes connected once more, and only a few seconds passed before the girls bursted out into laughter.
Lucy clutched her stomach, feeling her abs getting a mini workout from her laughter, abs that were also extremely sore from bending over the entire night.
"You seriously find those two funny?"
Lucy and Levy's laughter died down, and Lucy turned to greet the tired yet sarcastic voice that graced them.
Hair disheveled and untidy, he ran his fingers through his raven locks, sighing as he sat down next to Lucy. To Lucy's surprise, he'd managed to come to the guild fully clothed, well, almost. He wore a white trenchcoat-like jacket with navy blue trimming, unbuttoned to expose his chiseled chest. He also had on black jeans and boots, as per usual.
Lucy sighed. "Morning, Gray. It looks like Gajeel took over your job for you."
Gray shot a glance over at the quarreling dragon slayers, and his eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Good. He can have it." he said, setting an iced coffee down on the table.
Lucy eyed the ice cubes of his drink, watching them spin and dance around in the liquid like ballet dancers. It was almost lulling.
"Gray-samaa.."
Lucy didn't have to guess who's tired voice that was.
Lucy's eyes caught sight of a blue head bobbing over to their table, stopping right next to Gray.
Lucy watched as their visitor slammed her head into Gray's shoulder, burying her face into his jacket, wrapping her arms around his left one.
"Juvia is tired.." the water mage complained softly.
Lucy sighed. "You and me both, Juvia."
Lucy watched with tired eyes as Gray glanced down at the water mage clinging to his arm. Now, she could've pinned her vision on blurred eyes and a sleepless night, but there was no denying it. There was no denying the smirk that Gray had on his lips as he looked down at Juvia.
Reaching towards his drink with his right arm, he brought the coffee up to his lips. "You'll be able to sleep after Master tells us what he wants to tell us."
Juvia sighed. "Gray-sama, sleep with Juvia."
Iced coffee spewed out from Gray's lips, his eyes wide.
Lucy and Levy squeaked as they jumped back from the spontaneous coffee shower, Levy grabbing her book and shielding it from the liquid. On normal circumstances, Lucy would've ran like hell, shielding her clothing and hair from any stray liquid coming her way. But with her appearance, what was the point?
"Gray-sama! Juvia will clean you! Juvia will-no don't take off your clothes, Gray-sama!"
"Would you like some?"
The whole table blinked as they turned towards the soft voice that rang out cheerfully.
Her blue hair was twisted back into two neat braids, trailing down her shoulders all the way to her hips. Her baby pink dress complimented her skin nicely, as it brought out the natural flush in her cheeks.
In her right hand, she held out a bunch of napkins.
"Oh, thanks a lot, Wendy." Gray said, taking the sanitary paper from the little dragon slayer, who smiled back at him cheerfully.
"She's cute isn't she? Wendy's such a cutie!"
Wendy's face immediately contorted into a pained expression as a pair of arms wrapped around her torso, squeezing tightly, a glass of orange liquid clenched in one hand. The smell of alcohol wafted throughout the air, mixed with winter berries.
"Cana-san, g-good morning." Wendy said awkwardly in-between getting squeezed, her cheeks puffing out with discomfort.
"Drinking already, Cana?" Lucy asked wryly.
"Is that even a question?" Gray said, dabbing his exposed chest with a napkin, trying not to notice that Juvia was watching him do so.
Letting Wendy out of her death grip, Cana patted her head.
"I'll have you all know that all I've had to drink on this wonderful, early morning were mimosas. And that is a completely acceptable drink for a lady to have this early in the morning!" she said cheerfully, her face flushed with alcohol. She turned to Lucy, and frowned. "Lucy, you're a mess."
Feeling a headache come on, Lucy sighed. "Thank you, Cana."
"-And the next time you try this you'll end up flat on the ground, you understand?" Erza's voice suddenly boomed behind Wendy, who instantly moved to the side.
A shaken and wide-eyed pair of dragon slayers were forced down onto the benches, being held by the scruffs of their necks. Upon contact with the wood, Natsu immediately face-planted into the table, while Gajeel just stared blankly ahead.
"Yes, m'am." the two mumbled incoherently.
Erza sighed, then, looking up to greet everyone at the tables, her eyes widened when they landed on Lucy.
"Lucy, your clothes!"
Groaning into her hands, Lucy gave up. "So I've been told."
Sitting down next to Lucy, Wendy softly took Lucy's hair into her hands, untangling the ponytail from small and various knots that had formed over the past few hours. "At least your hair isn't drenched in berry juice!" the small dragon slayer said, smiling.
"Or coffee." Levy said wryly, looking pointedly at Gray.
"Why didn't you go back to your apartment and clean up?" Erza asked, sitting down in-between Natsu and Gajeel, flinging her red hair over her shoulder.
"Natsu, Happy, and I just got back. I would've, but Gajeel told us that Master wanted us all here. Speaking of, do any of you know what he wants to talk about?"
Everyone at the table shook their heads, frowning at each other, shooting off suggestions.
"Beats me."
"Maybe we got into trouble with the council again?"
"Doubt it."
"Is there a new member?"
"Did Natsu blow something up again?"
"Hey!"
Lucy and the others continued to discuss the possibilities of why Makarov had decided to pull most of them from the depths of sleep to sit around at the guild waiting for some announcement that apparently would involve all of them. What that was, however, continued to puzzle Lucy.
"Listen up, brats!"
The telltale voice of Makarov suddenly boomed out throughout the guild, a noise shattering call that immediately shut everybody up. Either that, or everybody was already asleep from their early rise.
Dropping all distraction, Lucy looked up at the balcony that lead to the second floor of the guild with excited eyes, a smile spreading onto her lips as their master appeared.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw her friends and guildmates follow suit.
Well, almost all of them.
Against her will, Lucy's eyes caught Natsu's, as some strange pull brought her eyes away from her master and briefly towards her so called 'Partner in Crime', meeting his eyes immediately.
He was doing it again..giving her that strange look that sent butterflies on a rampage in her stomach, causing her to self consciously place her hand on her abdomen. She felt her cheeks light up like pink lanterns, setting her smooth skinned face ablaze with a blush that Lucy couldn't categorize. Nervousness? Excitement? Fear? She didn't know. The only question was, why?
"First off, I'd like to thank all of you for being here so early in the morning." Makarov said cheerfully, an extreme contrast to his one booming voice. "Are you all alive out there?"
A couple of soft grunts echoed throughout the guild hall, some louder than others.
"Hurry up old man, before ya put everyone to bed." Gajeel grunted, putting his head down on the table, only for him to shoot back up from it immediately as Levy smacked his arm with her book. "Oi, Shrimp! What are ya-"
"Shhhhh!" Levy hissed. "Pay attention!"
"I have an exciting announcement to make!" Makarov stated, glancing at all of his children through knowing eyes, eyes that could silence a single stampede with just one look, and one look only.
Lucy found herself leaning forward in her seat, the anticipation grilling her entire body. She watched Makarov with careful eyes, not even blinking out of fear that she'd miss something important, whatever that may be. And she wasn't the only one.
After a few seconds of silence, Makarov gave them an excited smile.
"I am pleased to announce that the town of Magnolia will be empty two days from now, due to the ever so popular Farmer's Festival in Juniper!"
Lucy's jaw dropped, her eyes widening at the mention of the town that she'd spent one sleepless night in with her partner, picking those damn berries. There was a festival in Juniper? Of all places for a festival to be, it just had to be Juniper. Then again, where else would a farmer's festival be held? Certainly not in Magnolia.
And to think that the festival was popular enough to drain Magnolia of its residents..was it really worth all the praise the master had given it? And even so, why would her guild be hyped about a farmer's festival?
As if the two of them had the same train of thought, Lucy turned to glance at her partner once again, though this time, a case of the butterflies hadn't invaded her stomach.
Natsu's eyes were narrowed in annoyance, his mouth set in a straight line that when opened, would surely breathe fire.
"Damn old woman…" he muttered under his breath, making Lucy giggle softly.
Though, her laughter ceased when Natsu's eyes suddenly widened.
Lucy squeaked when he suddenly leapt up from the table, his eyes shining with something close to excited anticipation, but then again, this was Natsu. But what was he so excited about?
"Wait! Then that means.." Natsu's voice rose to an excited crescendo, sending Lucy spiraling down further into a world of confusion.
And that world became bigger as Gray and Erza rose from their seats, the same excited shimmer glistening in their eyes, as if they were children on Christmas morning standing in front of a plethora of shiny wrapped gifts.
"Are you serious?!" Gray exclaimed excitedly, his lips curling upwards into an excited smile that only begged the question, 'why?'.
Sensing a strange disturbance in her beloved, Juvia looked up at Gray from her seat, blinking sleepily like a small child. "Gray-sama?"
"Master, is it true?!" Erza exclaimed, abandoning her piece of early morning cake to join the boys in their stance.
Lucy's mind went fuzzy. Erza Scarlet? abandoning cake?
Then, guild slowly began to spark to life.
Suddenly, everyone was on their feet, pumping their fists up in the air and crying out with joy. Laughter rang out through the halls like high pitched chimes, variations of cheers erupting throughout the hall.
"Hell yeah!"
"It's about time!"
"Somebody pour me a drink!"
And finally, with an excited proclamation, Makarov threw his arms out. "If you want to participate, sign your name on the sheets hanging on the request boards! Ladies and Gentlemen, let the games begin!"
An uproar of excited shouts deafened Lucy's ears as a stampede of people rushed over to the request boards, each person pining to get to sign their name on the sheet of paper, as if it were detrimental to make their mark.
"Move the hell over!" Natsu exclaimed, pushing his way through the crowd up ahead. "This year, the victory is gonna go to us!"
"Like hell it will!" Cana's voice suddenly boomed, dropping her mimosa onto the wooden table, which surprisingly hadn't spilled a single orange drop onto the wood. Flinging her hair over her shoulder, she turned around swiftly and grabbed a surprised Levy's arm, who squeaked as she was pulled from her seat. "Come on, flower child!"
"Whaa..ok!" Levy stammered with surprise, allowing Cana to drag the so called 'flower child' from her seat and into the maddening and growing crowd of Fairy Tail members, all of them trembling with excitement.
Lucy watched the whole event with widened eyes, sitting frozen in her seat.
Just what on earthland was happening?
"So..uhh.."
Suddenly realizing that she wasn't alone, Lucy slowly turned her head away from the crowd, and to her surprise and relief, she found the same confused eyes staring right back at her.
Juvia, Gajeel, Wendy, and herself, were without a doubt, hopelessly lost.
"Does anybody know what the hell's goin' on?" Gajeel grumbled awkwardly, his ruby eyes darting towards the crowd of guild members, then back towards Lucy and the others.
"Not a clue." Lucy sighed, staring into the wood of the table, fatigue finally taking over her body.
"Gray-sama seemed so..excited." Juvia said softly, bringing her hands up to her chest and grasping them tightly together, hearts practically swimming in her ocean blue eyes. "Gray-sama is so handsome when he's excited!"
"Natsu-san looked pretty excited too..well..for him that is." Wendy said, her brown eyes scanning the crowd of their nakama. "But I wonder what everybody is getting so excited about?"
Lucy nodded at her dragon slayer friend, patting her head affectionately. "Me too."
Being newcomers to the guild, the four of them were used to missing out on old guild traditions, it was just a fact of their lives that it hadn't been their time to be in Fairy Tail. They'd learned about the guild's traditions daily, and while they were uncertain at first, they'd grown accustomed to the system fast. And in the words of Juvia, "'If Gray-sama is a part of it, then Juvia can be too!'". Not the greatest inspiration that Lucy could go off of, but it was a start.
"Hey Lucy, Juvia, Wendy!"
The three girls' attentions were immediately directed towards a new voice, a voice that seemingly had broken out of the madness of the excited crowd and had actually managed to approach them.
Attention directly given towards the speaker, Lucy was thankful to hear someone speak at a lower volume.
They all watched as she adjusted the maroon bow pinned neatly at the top of her ponytail; hair the color of lilacs spilled down her back in a wavy waterfall, stopping right in the middle of her defined shoulder blades. Her dark chocolate eyes swept over them knowingly behind her glasses.
"Laki-san!" Wendy greeted.
"Aren't the three of you gonna sign up?" Laki asked her fellow mages. "With the three of you on our team, we'll totally win this year!"
Lucy frowned. "Team?"
"Oi, Gajeel!" Natsu's voice suddenly boomed out. "Get your ass over here and sign up! We're not gonna let ya sit this one out!"
Gajeel grunted in confusion, his studded eyebrow rising. "Sign up for what?"
When there was no response, Gajeel sighed heavily, rising from his seat to join the madness of the guild. "This better be good, you hear me?"
"Laki," Lucy began, "What's everyone so excited about?"
Laki blinked at the girls slowly before they lit up with realization. "Oh, that's right! You guys must be so incredibly confused! Then again, Master didn't exactly specify what was going on.
"You see, the Farmer's Festival in Juniper is a big hit among the non-magic residents of Magnolia, so much so, that the town is emptied by noon. Which means, that we have Magnolia all to ourselves!"
Lucy nodded in understanding. So it wasn't the festival itself that everyone was so happy about, but the fact that the town would be empty, available for a certain guild to enjoy. But how? What did the master have planned that everyone else apparently knew about, except for her?
"So," Laki continued, nodding her head towards the crowd. "Each year, Master throws a special event, well, it's more of a game to be honest. That way, with the town being empty, we can have some fun!"
"You mean, so that if Natsu-san happens to burn down a building, there won't be anybody in it who could possibly get injured?" Wendy inquired, making Lucy roll her eyes and giggle softly.
"Th-That's exactly right." Laki laughed awkwardly.
"So, what is this game?" Juvia asked, her eyes brimming with curiosity.
"Simple." Laki answered. "It's a classic battle of the sexes. Boys versus girls."
Lucy felt her heart begin to pound in excitement, a challenge rising up in her mind. Boys versus girls? Finally, the girls had a chance to bond over the hypothetical annihilation of the boys of the guild. And what better way to bond than to watch the boys bow down to their superiority?
More specifically, watching Natsu bow down.
Oh, how she yearned to get back at him for chasing her with those berries and more. How she longed to see the look on his face when they won..
This would be brilliant!
"But that means that Gray-sama will be on a different team than Juvia!" the water mage exclaimed, her eyes wide with sorrow. "Juvia has to be against Gray-sama?!"
"That sounds like fun!" Wendy exclaimed, her big brown eyes shimmering with excitement.
"And that's not even the best part!" Laki exclaimed. "The winners get a free trip to the famous resort in Bellea!"
Lucy's eyes widened, gasping audibly. "Are you serious?!"
Every girl and her mother knew about the ever so popular resort in Bellea. With its pristine bath water and popular shopping center, it was a woman's paradise. Lucy had dreamed of going one day, but she never had enough jewel to spare apart from her rent. But now..things were seemingly different.
The girls looked at each other, each of them containing excited sparks behind their eyes.
Wendy's hands were folded tightly in her lap, an excited flush spreading upon her cheeks. Even Juvia, who hadn't liked the idea of being placed on a separate team from her beloved, held a distinct sparkle that couldn't be denied.
Lucy glanced to her left, watching as a small group of boys began to huddle together, talking in hushed whispers like a group of gossipping girls.
Natsu, Gray, Elfman, Romeo, and even Gajeel were definitely starting their planning early on, stealing glances at the girls every so often, mischievous smiles plastered onto their faces.
And when Natsu's eyes suddenly caught Lucy's in an eye-lock, he began to grin at her condescendingly, which sent annoying chills down Lucy's spine.
So, doing the only thing that she could think of, Lucy stood up from the table. Her chocolate eyes remained locked with Natsu's, a never-ending battle of dominance.
Natsu Dragneel, more inferior than Lucy Heartfilia? She couldn't think of anything sweeter.
"Hey Laki, got a pen?"
A/N: More about the game that our little fairies will be partaking in will be explained in the next chapter!
But can we talk about how in love I am with the new anime opening? Never End Tale is the BOMB!
I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you lovelies in the next chapter!
Love you to Fiore and back! xx