"Make the most of the best and the least of the worst"
I slept for hours after my little outburst—almost a full twenty-four. No one bothered me, and so when I finally awoke, rosy beams of sunlight were dripping into my room from the window. The warm light danced across my pillow, a few beams pressing gentle kisses against my eyelids, and I awoke, breathing in the sweet, rosy scent of the room. I lay like that a moment—in that contented place somewhere between dreams, visions of a man I had once loved dancing across my mind, through fields of flowers and into cool streams.
With a resigned sigh I rose and stretched my sore limbs, moving to stand in front of the window. I stuck my head out and stared. Deep oranges and passionate reds were dancing along the horizon, and I watched as the sun descended further beyond the visible area. It was like looking at a painting, one filled with split blood of day, bleeding red until it could be washed clean by the deep bluish purple that was night. I smiled dreamily, and ducked back into the apartment, leaving the window open without a care.
I took a shower; I dried my hair; I used the cleaning charm on Lucy's clothes; I used it on my clothes; I folded Lucy's clothes; I thought about going to the guild; I straightened the bookshelf; I though some more about going to the guild; I put Lucy's clothes away; I made Lucy's bed; I organized her desk; I did the dishes in the kitchen; I made my own bed; I straightened the curtains; I tried lying down on my own bed again; I tried reading a book; I ate some Wizard-Os. Nothing worked. Nothing could ease my restlessness or anxiety. My mind still raced with thoughts of yesterday's events. I just couldn't stop thinking about it.
I drummed my fingers across the wooden table, the hollow sound greeting my ears and causing me to frown.
"You need to practice, you know." I pointed out, my voice echoing in the small room. "You already saw what happened yesterday. If you don't start channeling some of that energy, the next time it's going to be way worse."
I sighed as a few memories from my childhood resurfaced, several times when I had lost control of the lost magic, resulting in a painful flare up for me. It wasn't something I liked to think of.
It really wasn't fair. I had escaped him, I had gotten away from the man that I had once called my father. I had worked so hard to break free, both physically and mentally. And now, because of some stupid magic that he had imposed upon me, it served as simply another reminder that I would never truly be able to escape him. He would always be a part of me, it was, I began to discover, impossible to forget someone as vile as him, someone that had broken me as much as he had.
~Lucy's POV~
I pushed open the door to our apartment and walked in, finding none other than an awake and alert Xandria busying herself by reading one of my favorite books. I flashed her a smile, although I knew she wouldn't return it, and walked past her, placing my bag on top of the table in our small room.
"Did you go on a job today or something?" She inquired, and I turned around to look at her. She'd fixed me with an almost indifferent gaze, but there was no mistaking the hints of concern in her eyes. "You look pretty torn up."
"Thanks for the compliment." I retorted, and sank down into a chair near her bed. Xandria shrugged, giving me a matter-of-fact look, and I sighed. "Actually no, I was planning on going on a job with my team at first but…"
"But what?" She pressed, setting her book down flat on the bed and staring at me with genuine curiosity. I blinked in surprise—she didn't normally act so interested in how my days went.
"Well… I heard about some dark guild trouble at a trade guild in Acalypha—the one that my dad was planning on working at—so I went to check it out." I explained.
"What kind of dark guild?" She cut in, obvious concern on her face. I frowned in slight frustration. Why did she always have to miss the point?
"Why does it matter?" I inquired, causing her to throw up another indifferent mask again. Xandria simply shrugged.
"I was just curious." She stated, and I rolled my eyes.
"Fine, I'll tell you if you care so much." I said, "They were called… what was it? Oh yes, Naked Mummy! Weird, right?" She scrunched up her nose.
"Never heard of 'em."
"They weren't exactly the type you know." I told her, trying to hide the amused look from my face as I remembered the funny-looking mages. "I ended up easily taking out around fifteen of them—the ones that were holding the trade guild employees hostage. I found my dad afterward; he hadn't yet come to work at the guild yet."
"What's that look for?" Xandria asked me, a frown present on her features, and I let out an overdramatic sigh.
"My dad and I have just had some trouble over the years, so finding out that I fought off a bunch of dark mages for no reason kind of pissed me off."
"You rescued those people—that's something." She pointed out, and I shrugged.
"I guess you're right." I admitted, and a long pause passed between us. Suddenly I decided to speak up. "What about your dad?"
I didn't realize that I shouldn't have asked her this until it was already too late. She visibly tensed under my words, her skin paling considerably after I spoke.
"I don't have a dad." She blurted, her skin ashen as she responded to my question.
"Oh, I'm sorry." I began, scrambling for something appropriate to respond with. I said the first thing that came to mind that might comfort her. "I don't have a mother. She died when I was little too."
"No, you don't understand." Alexandria said through gritted teeth. "My real father, I-I don't remember him. I don't know who he is. I don't remember my mother either. But the man who took their place, the man who adopted me…" She paused, looking down. "He's still around, but… He's the worst man alive."
I looked at her in shock, taken aback by what she had just said to me.
~Xandria's POV~
I had avoided Lucy after our brief conversation the night before, but she'd still managed to drag me to the guild the next morning.
"What's this?" Lucy asked, motioning to the large diagram that the entire guild seemed to be gathered around. I stepped towards it, my eyes scanning over the figure, and as soon as my eyes took it in, I realized that I wouldn't have to ask like Lucy. I already knew half of the names hovering in the air.
"It's an organization chart of the Dark Guilds."
"Yes, I drew it." Reedus added, brandishing the tool he had used with flair.
"When you look at it overall there are quite a lot of them." Cana mused, examining the chart with apprehension.
"Why do we need to see this?" Someone asked, the fear clear in their tone. I rolled my eyes.
"Because lately it seems like their activity has increased. We have to strengthen the bonds between guilds." Mirajane explained, and I scoffed, shaking my head. Strengthening the bond between legal guilds could only do so much to combat the Dark Guilds. Especially since the dark guilds had a certain knack for tearing those bonds apart, no matter how strong they may be.
"What's the big oval?" Gray piped up, motioning to the three large circles contained within an oval on the map.
"It is the Balam Alliance." Juvia announced, and I looked her over with a newfound interest. "The Balam Alliance is the most powerful force of Dark Guilds, combining the three guilds of Oracion Seis, Tartaros, and Grimiore Heart. Each of them have a number of associated guilds, and they control the world of Dark Guilds. Then there's the guild that acts independently of the rest, Raven Tail." I nodded, surprised by her knowledge of the Dark Guilds.
"Huh?" Lucy exclaimed, her face filling with sudden recognition. She pointed to a small spot on the diagram, reading off the name of a guild. "Eisenwald?"
"Yes, that's the guild that Erigor was in." Erza confirmed, and I crossed my arms. I had never heard of it.
"So that was one of the guilds associated with Oracion Seis, huh?"
"There's a lot of names that I remember up there…" Wakaba mused.
"Aren't there some guilds that used to be official guilds too?" Another man, whose name I believed to be Macao pointed out.
"Ghoul Spirits, the one that the Thunder God Tribe destroyed, was also one of them." Mirajane stated.
"And the guilds Gajeel and I destroyed when we were in Phantom were all from Oracion Seis!" Juvia exclaimed with a wide grin on her face.
"Please don't go smiling about that…" Gray trailed off, edging slightly away from the woman. I ignored the two of them and focused on the matter at hand, trying to pay attention to the chart again. But it was hard for me.
"Are they a threat to us?" Lucy mumbled, and I could see her body beginning to tremble. I frowned, surprised by her uncharacteristic cowardice.
"Don't worry 'bout it! There's nothing to fear! From the rumors I hear they've only got six members!"
"But even with only six people, they're a member of the strongest organization." Mirajane reminded, and I had to respect her for recognizing the Dark Guild's strength.
"About that Oracion Seis." A sudden voice rumbled, and we all turned, noticing Makarov's sudden appearance. "We're going to attack them." My mouth fell open as I stared at him.
"Master, what are you talking about?" Erza demanded, stepping forward from the group of stunned Fairy Tail members.
"At the national magical alliance meeting the other day, we discussed the recent activity by Oracion Seis. As it is not something we can ignore, we decided that some guild has to fight them." Our guild master explained.
"You pulled the short straw again?" Gray inquired, shaking his head in disbelief.
"And Fairy Tail will take on that role?" Juvia breathed.
"No… The enemy this time is to powerful. If it were only us then afterwards the Balam Alliance would retaliate only here." The elder man continued, and I tensed thinking of what that could mean for Fairy Tail. "And that is why we have formed an alliance ourselves."
"An alliance?"
"Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Cait Shelter will send out members to strike the Oracion Seis down."
"But we could handle it ourselves, no problem!" Natsu exclaimed, a wide grin on his face as he addressed the master. "Or actually, I could handle it myself!" I scowled at him.
"You're an idiot, Natsu. The master is thinking about the consequences afterwards!" Erza shouted.
"So… Wait a second…" Lucy blurted, looking at everyone in disbelief, I crossed my arms and met her gaze. "The enemy only has six members right? How crazy powerful are these people then?"
"Oracion Seis is an exceptionally strong Dark Guild." I began, and the eyes of many of my guild mates fell on me. "As a member of the Balam Alliance, Oracion Seis possess incredible Magic power at its disposal; every single member is strong enough to take down an entire guild on their own." I paused, making sure that I had caught their attention. "That being said, they still can't hold a flame to Grimiore Heart, the strongest and most corrupt Dark Guild in existence. Grimiore Heart with its top level mages, the eight kin of-" I stopped myself, freezing midsentence. "I mean the seven, just the seven kin of purgatory. With these formidable mages, they are capable of destroying entire cities."
"Are you serious?" Lucy squeaked, her face turning a similar shade to paper.
"Alexandria does not lie." The guild master announced, and I turned my head, remembering the small man behind me. He narrowed his eyes at me however. "But thankfully we only have to worry about combating the Oracion Seis for now."
"With the combined forces of the four guilds we should be strong enough to defeat the Dark Guild, but it's still important to be careful," I added.
The master had ended up choosing the usual team of Natsu, Happy, Gray, Lucy, and Erza to serve as Fairy Tail's portion of the alliance. I was slightly surprised that he hadn't wanted someone like Gajeel to go along, but the older man stated that it would be best if we had a team that worked together well without having any conflict. He didn't exactly know how the other man would react to being bossed around by Natsu in the midst of a battle, so I guess I could kind of see where he was coming from.
And I didn't mind, I would only be missing Lucy and the others for a single day, which meant I wouldn't have to deal with any of them or their wild tactics for the time being. So, I decided that instead of taking a job like I should have, or visiting the guild to simply work on my social skills some more (there was always room for improvement), that I would spend the day relaxing at home. I would read, nap, relax, maybe order something to eat if I felt like it. I didn't feel like attempting to cook, if I accidently burnt the house down while Lucy was gone, she'd murder me when she got back.
So I wasted the day away, enjoying myself and the private time for the first time in a while.
"You enjoying that ramen?" I inquired, scowling as the woman across the table from me continued hastily scarfing down her dish. She paused, swallowing her food and moving away from the bowl.
"I'm sure you would be enjoying your own, but it seems as if they've forgotten all about you." She stated, a grin making its way onto her face as she looked at me. I huffed and slid further down into my seat.
"Shut up and eat your food Levy." I grumbled, watching as she further slid to bowl towards me.
"What? I was only trying to be a good friend and wait to eat until your dish arrived." She explained. "But it seems as if you want to see me stuff my face with all kinds of delicious home cooked goodness."
"I'm done talking to you."
"Suit yourself." She said with a shrug, beginning to dig back into her meal. I let out a hiss of annoyance and glanced around, checking to see if anyone was nearby with my food. They weren't. And my impatient nature wasn't helping anything.
"What the hell is taking them so long?" I exclaimed as the veins in my forehead flexed. Levy sighed from her position across the table, and I glanced back at her, noticing as she shook her head.
"How are you ever going to go on a date, Xandria?" She questioned, shaking her head at me as if I were some kind of helpless case (which truthfully I was). I crossed my arms defensively.
"So what if I'm a little impatient?"
"And rude—oh and impulsive." Levy pointed out, smiling faintly.
"I like to think of myself as determined." I stated dryly, earning a light laugh from the girl. "Besides, who needs guys when I've got friends like you?"
"Obviously not us."
"Clearly not us." I agreed, and we both laughed, the mood at our table lightening considerably.
"Um… It's already been a week since I came to Fairy Tail. So I was thinking I should do my first job pretty soon…" Wendy, Fairy Tail's newest mage, began, looking down as she told us what she was thinking.
"Then come with team Shadow Gear!" Levy announced proudly.
"If you're going to, then how about with us?" Lucy prompted.
"Please, if she's going on a job then the person she wants to go with is obviously me." I cut in, stepping between Lucy and Levy with a smirk plastered onto my face. They both turned to me, angry expressions on their faces.
"But she doesn't even know you!" Lucy exclaimed, a flash of rage taking over her features as she looked at me. I glared at her.
"Yes she does! I met her last week when she first came to the guild!" I countered.
"Why don't you take turns then?" Mirajane offered, causing the two of us to break apart.
"Sure!" Lucy agreed.
"That sounds like a great idea!" Levy said, and I shrugged.
"Why not?"
"Then..." Levy added, a thoughtful expression taking over her doll-like face. "Who goes first?"
"Hmmm…." Wendy mumbled, thinking it over, when suddenly, loud voices from the other side of the room drew our attention away.
"Natsu!" Gray commanded, stepping towards the dragon slayer and causing him to look up.
"Hm? What is it?"
"I heard a crazy story, Natsu." Gray stated, a dark look passing over his face. I frowned.
"What?"
"Somebody outside the city says she's seen a dragon." The black haired boy drawled, and Natsu's eyes widened in shock.
"Dragon?" He echoed, standing up from his seat at the bar. "Is it Igneel?"
"I don't know those details." Gray admitted.
"Did you meet the person who saw the dragon?" Natsu pressed, stepping forward to look the other man in the eye. But Gray only shook his head.
"No. I just heard the rumors going around town. Someone named 'Daphne' talks like she knows all about dragons. It's not just that she's seen one. It sounds like she's actually met one recently." The ice mage said, looking at the other boy earnestly.
"Really? That's the truth right?" Natsu pressed, his impulsive personality reflective in every aspect of his decisions, even as he thought them out.
"It might pay to find out for sure." Gray advised, and the dragon slayer nodded.
"Where is she?" Happy piped up, and Gray glanced towards the cat.
"In the wilderness to the west at an inn named 'Rise'." He answered.
"All right! Let's go Happy!"
"Aye sir!"
"I'll go too! That dragon might be Grandine!" Wendy spoke up, and I turned, casting the girl in front of me a surprised glance. But I let it go. As long as she was with a powerful mage like Natsu, she should be fine.
"Then let's check it out." Natsu agreed, but paused, casting a final glance over his shoulder in the direction of the only dragon slayer who hadn't spoken up yet. "You comin' too?"
"No way. It's obviously a sham." Gajeel grunted, not bothering to look up from his position at the bar. I pursed my lips.
"How can you know that?" Natsu questioned, crossing his arms as he looked at the Iron Dragon Slayer.
"And how many times have you said that and gotten tricked?" The other man countered. "Stories about dragons are for luring people. You're being used. Try learning a little."
"You want to see yours too right? You want to see Metalicanna?" The pink haired boy pressed, using a last resort.
"And then what? He just disappeared without saying nothing. I don't care about some dusty old dragon!" Gajeel spat, shoving another piece of metal into his mouth and abruptly ending the conversation between him and Natsu.
"Well, he's like that but he really misses him." Lucy leaned over and whispered to Levy and I.
"I think so too." Levy agreed.
"Gajeel's all sunshine and rainbows on the inside." I added with a grin, causing the two girls beside me to shove their fists in their mouth in an attempt to stifle their laughter.
"Let's go Wendy." Natsu announced, and then paused, turning back around to face the ice mage. "Thanks for the decent tip."
"My pleasure."
And with that the two dragon slayers and their cats left, leaving everyone in the guild behind to stare after them.