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Chapter 5: Enter Lucy Heartfilia

Year X784

The Magic Council was growing tired of Natsu's antiques, even if he saved many women from being sold in a different country. Then again, if Lucy and the others hadn't fallen for Bora, the port would be in good shape today.

"Those idiots from Fairy Tail have gone and done it again, this time they destroyed an entire port!" Michello yelled.

"What is the matter with them?"

Everyone turned towards Jellal who remained silent, arms crossed. "I believe Master Makarov isn't here at the moment due to the conference," Jellal replied. But even that wasn't enough of an excuse for council members that were gunning after Fairy Tail.

"The conference isn't for another three days," corrected Belno, causing Jellal to sheepishly grin at his attempt to defend Makarov. "Jellal, Makarov isn't someone that'll discipline the guild. Only you and that S-Class wizard ever do that, so I'm assuming she's responsible?"

Erza Scarlet was indeed Fairy Tail's scapegoat.

"Erza's away on a mission, unaware of the current situation."

Ultear stepped in, "We should give those mages a chance. After all, they do save innocent lives. Unless of course, if it was that Gray Fullbuster who did it."

Jellal wanted to ask Gray about his relationship with Ultear. The Ice Mage passed by her on occasion and Jellal wondered why they had not exchanged any words. She seemed so keen on making his life miserable. As comedic as it sounded, the Wizard Saint found it to be odd.

Everyone started chatting about the course of action to take until Jellal had spoken up, "We should keep an eye out, I think Fairy Tail won't make noise for a while when Erza returns."

Belno snorted, "You certainly have faith in her."

"Affirmative."

Ultear gave a small snort in response, as if mocking his proposition.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail," Natsu introduced while Lucy marveled at the inside of the guild. Never would Lucy think she'd be able to step a mile near Fairy Tail.

"So Natsu finally returned, huh?" Gray asked, looking for a fight to pick while Cana observed his attire, consisting of absolutely nothing.

"I don't have time for that!" he shouted from behind as he faced off with Natsu. Gone was his drink he was chugging down, left behind for Cana to finish. Not that she minded, the brunette always snatched a barrel or mug at every chance.

Natsu chuckled at the proposal, preparing to attack the wizard with his magic. "Looks like you're going down today, pervert."

"First I need to find something to wear," Gray murmured sheepishly, walking around stark naked without a care in the world. He casually approached the newcomer, who was looking around the guildhall like a foreigner of Fiore. And she would consider herself as such when she never had the luxury to meet Fiorans on her own terms. The only people who bothered with small talk with her were the employees of Love and Lucky.

Extending his arm out like a gentleman, Gray asked, "Hey lady, can I borrow your clothes?"

Lucy shrieked giving him a once over before tearing her eyes away from his abdomen, "You're—you're naked! Get away from me pervert!"

She swung her leg at him, sending Gray into the air before landing onto Elfman, who bumped into Mirajane. The barmaid dropped the countless mugs in the tray and watched as the drinks splashed all over the mages. They all reeked of booze.

Lucy pulled the woman from the pile of men and gave her dress a hard stare. "I am soooo sorry. I did not mean for this to happen!"

Mirajane smiled at her brightly and took the young woman's hand, wringing her wrist in the process as an attempt to pull herself up. "Hello, my name is Mirajane."

The blonde blinked at her in disbelief. Once. Twice. Three times and she finally mustered up the strength to say something. "The Mirajane? Mirajane Strauss? Holy, it really is you. Oh, and are you okay?" Lucy clamped a hand over her mouth for asking such an awful question. "That was painful, my apologies!"

"Nothing out of the ordinary!" cheerfully Mirajane insisted.

Is she crazy or what?

A disturbing noise interrupted her beautiful moment when she heard the sickening words of a certain mage who could stir up sweet talk whenever he wanted.

"Loke."

The name disgusted Lucy as she turned around to see two women curled up tightly against the womanizer. She pulled out her own edition of the Perfect Boyfriend List. She recognized Loke's name and used a red marker to cross out his picture in the book. "He's definitely off my list, what's wrong with everyone here? Is there not one sane person?"

"Welcome to Fairy Tail," Mirajane greeted, implying this was the nature of the guildhall.

The book had not meant much to her since she was not likely going to encounter any famous bachelors who were mages. But now that Natsu became her key to joining Fairy Tail, she could consider possibly dating one of the men on the list. One particular man she was interested in was the infamous Jellal Fernandes. In her opinion, he was the dream guy. Gained a position on the council at seventeen as well as being one of the Ten Wizard Saints. One of the most beautiful people she's laid eyes upon. Yet, she couldn't believe he was still single. Many of the other men had previous relationships with other women, particularly Loke. But not him, which probably scored him second on the list rather than first.

She sighed.

Who wouldn't want to date him?

All seemed well in the Fairy Tail guildhall, and Lucy managed to block out the noise as she began rereading the article. She hummed to herself, spending a particularly long time on Hibiki Lates before Makarov stormed into the main hall as a giant.

"What do you all think you're doing!?"

The entire guild dreaded into silence and waited for their impending punishment. Lucy nearly screamed as the ridiculously large stature loomed above her. She whipped her head to find Natsu and Gray grabbing onto each other for their dear lives, afraid. It seemed they shared her sentiments on Makarov as well. Huge.

Scary. Gigantic. Ferocious. The Magic Council's least favourite guild master. Yup. He fit the bill, Lucy concluded. She had heard lots about Fairy Tail's guild master and at first, found the rumours to be far fetched.

Nothing about this was an understatement in the least.

The guild master had drastically shrunk in size, much to Lucy's shock. "Hi there, I'm the guild master, Makarov."

Very casual and outgoing, Lucy would describe as their first meeting. "N-nice to meet you, g-guild master! My name is Lucy Hea-"

She paused. No, she would not use her family's name to get by Magnolia. She wished long ago for freedom and a world without being the heiress to the Heartfilia family. "Just Lucy will do. I'm qualified as a mage! I have these keys!" she fumbled with the belt around her waist and showed off her golden zodiac keys, as if this were an audition. "They contain powerful spirits that I have control over."

Why am I so nervous?

Makarov kept his hands behind his back while smiling widely, as if he just ignored everything Lucy did. He seemed rather amused at her attempt to impress him. The guild master did not care for the strength a wizard possessed in Fairy Tail. Besides, he had a few trump cards within his guild. That would do.

"You're now part of the guild, welcome!"

"Just like that? No need for signing documents or-"

Makarov gleefully waved his staff around, "Of course not, kiddo!"

For a reputable wizarding guild, he was awfully unconcerned about the legalities and duties that came with being a guild master. On the bright side, she did not need identification, which saved her the trouble of explaining her situation to the guild as a runaway. Not just any runaway. A rich little girl who was the next heiress to the Heartfilia Konzern.

"Somehow that isn't very convincing to me, old man." She mumbled to herself.

Lucy had concluded it once, and she would not hesitate to say it aloud.

Not. One. Sane. Person. In. This. Guild.

Mirajane stamped Lucy's hand, "Now you're an official member of the guild."

"Alright!" Lucy spun around in joy and ran to the request board where Natsu and Happy were scanning for a job. "Hey Natsu, look! I have a stamp now!"

Natsu continued scanning the board passively, not bothering to glance at Lucy's hand. "That's nice. Welcome to the guild, Lenny."

Lucy scrunched her nose up in anger, "It's Lucy, you dummy, get it right!"

"Lenny!" sang Happy as he flew around her.

"Shut up, stupid cat!" yelled Lucy, chasing after him.

Happy continued giggling around her and flew across tables. Aimlessly, Lucy leapt across the tables and did not care if people turned their heads to watch her pursue the exceed for opening his big mouth.

The occasional laughter soon died down into silence when they all heard a crying Romeo. Lucy victoriously ceased Happy and cackled evilly until Happy pointed towards the guild master and the young boy.

"Where's my father? Why hasn't he returned yet?"

Makarov silenced him, "He's probably on his way back, young one."

"He hasn't been back for three days! What if he got into trouble!?" Romeo challenged. Lucy wished it was that simple to talk back to her father in such a manner after being raised to be prim and proper. She almost envied young Romeo, but the feelings were replaced with pity. Unlike her, he had a good relationship with his father and prayed for his parent's safe return.

"If I recall correctly, he took the request on Mount Hakube, right?"

To Romeo's nod, the guild master gave him a scrutinized gaze. "Listen kid, this is a wizarding guild. everyone's supposed to take care of themselves."

He growled, "My dad did not come back! He can be in danger! I need to go after him!"

"That's enough out of you!" Makarov retorted, ending the discussion with the final say. Nobody dared protest against him, in fear of making a fool out of themselves. Any sane person would rather uphold their dignity than the life of a person. Lucy heard some guilds went by this motto.

And she wondered if joining Fairy Tail was really what she wanted.

Natsu felt infuriated that nobody had stepped up to help the little boy as he pleaded for someone to help him.

"Let's go, Romeo." Natsu said, holding out his hand for Romeo to take while Lucy followed behind. She wouldn't want Natsu to think of her as a bystander, or Romeo, for that matter.

They were going to bring Macao home, and never had she been more happier to be of assistance to a child.

After Romeo and Macao reunited, Natsu had left them and walked back to the guild with Lucy smiling. It was out of relief for Romeo more than anything. The bond between Romeo and Macao mirrored her love for Layla when she was younger. She expected Jude to take on the role of raising her and spending time, like her mother had. Instead, the housemaids had been entrusted with the job, unsure of how to raise her into the young lady Jude idealized.

"Stop smiling like that, you look like a fish stick," pointed out Happy. Lucy bit the inside of her cheek in an attempt to ignore his comments. No matter how hard she tried, his teasing always got the best of her.

Lucy had imagined it in her mind and shrieked, "No, nono no, not a fish stick!"

A certain name abruptly interrupted her moment of panic.

"Jellal, how's it going?" Natsu went to greet Jellal who was on his home after a long day working at Era.

Jellal grinned, "Not bad, Natsu. How's your endless destruction going? I must say, it's quite a journey."

Natsu chuckled, "Well, you know, it's kinda my-" Lucy's incredibly loud gasp cut off Natsu.

"The Jellal Fernandes, standing right in front of my eyes while Natsu casually talks to him? Are you okay, Natsu? He's a Wizard Saint, bow down this instant!"

Lucy slapped Natsu's back so in a way he was prostrating to Jellal, as the Wizard Saint stood there utterly confused when Lucy bowed down to him so repressively.

"That hurt," winced Natsu as he recovered from the hit.

Jellal laughed in amusement, "That wasn't necessary. People in the Magic Council do it out of respect. There's no need for that here."

Lucy smiled in the most innocent way possible, "Can I get your autograph? I'm a huge fan of yours. Do you know how hard it is to become a Wizard Saint and a councillor? You're the only person who's ever done that, and at such a young age! I heard you're just two years older than me. Is that true?" Lucy continued rambling on and on until Natsu stopped her.

"Uh Lenny, he's part of Fairy Tail." Natsu informed.

Lucy gasped, "This can't be normal, every day I'll see the biggest celebrity in Fiore." Lucy dreamily stated, then dreadfully acknowledged, "And oh, my name's Lucy for the last time!"

In the meantime Jellal and Natsu were having a silent conversation with their eyes, "See that you cause no more trouble. The council's planning to take action soon."

Natsu frowned, "Why don't you ever kick their butts Jellal?"

Jellal shot a glare that put stars to shame, causing Natsu to nervously chuckle. "I will not side with you this time, Natsu. It is definitely possible to save people without destroying an entire port. Though, I'm surprised out of all people, it was Bora who was interested in a trade overseas. Perhaps that's why he's no longer in Phantom Lord."

"Who's that?" asked a clueless Natsu.

Jellal studied him for a moment before crossing his arms. He expected nothing less from typical Natsu. "Never mind. Has Erza returned yet?"

Natsu shook his head, glad she wasn't mentioned all day until now.

"She's probably heard everything's that happened." Happy predicted, causing Jellal to smirk slightly. Sadist, Natsu would say every time the older male gave such a smug look.

"It's a shame I won't be there to see her yelling at everyone. I've heard lots too. News travels fast, and I'm positive she'll take action for what you guys have done."

"Why won't you be there?" asked Natsu, predicting he'd go on a mission with all the Wizard Saints. The Dragon Slayer idolized the position of a Wizard Saint like many people, but he only cared so much because he wanted to embark their journeys one day. However, more than wanting to know about Jellal's reason for his absence, he wanted to confirm his suspicions that Erza actually heard about the destruction of Port Hargeon.

"I'm taking a job request."

Natsu tugged at Jellal's leg, "Please take me with you! I never get to go, and you guys always return with cool stuff!" Natsu was referring to Simon, Wally, Millianna, Sho, and Erza—who wasn't coming for this particular one.

Jellal shook his head, "I'm afraid you won't benefit from the reward, anyway. Any job from the Magic Council is only for their gain."

"Like what?"

"Information. And in your case, it is irrelevant. I wouldn't bother with the job if I were you."

Natsu crossed his arms, and with a sigh, gave an indefinite nod. "Understood."

Not really. Not at all.

Jellal caught on to the vague sincerity of his words. Despite that, Jellal ended the conversation about the mission on an ambiguous note and turned to Lucy. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Lucy."

Lucy blushed at the acknowledgement, unsure of what to say. If she hadn't forced herself to respond to him on a whim, perhaps she would have remained speechless as he left. "The pleasure is mine!"

When Jellal was out of earshot, Lucy squealed, "He's in our guild, that's so amazing!"

Natsu ignored her, engrossed in his own thoughts. "He never takes me on jobs, nor parties. Imagine all the food he feasts upon while I can't even afford a meal."

Happy added to Natsu's imagination enthusiastically, "Maybe he feasts upon the dead bodies he's collected."

Natsu shrieked at the idea of Jellal feasting upon dead bodies with the Wizard Saints. "No, Happy, that's not funny!"

"Don't you know Natsu? That's what makes them the strongest in Fiore! They eat dead bodies then consume their magic so they remain as the strongest in Ishgar."

Old folklore, Lucy noted. She had heard the same story early on in her childhood, and feared Wizard Saints for nearly a decade. It wasn't until she became invested in reading that she learned about these lies being told centuries ago so the people would revere in the Magic Council's power.

The rosy-haired man shook his head in denial. His eyes were screwed shut while covering his ears with his hands, "I never want to become the strongest in Fiore! Please!"

Lucy groaned, "What a bunch of idiots."

After a couple of jobs Natsu and Lucy took together, they stayed in the guildhall where everyone started fighting and laughing. Lucy didn't understand the magical world, so Mirajane took the liberty to explain everything to Lucy.

"Master's at a guild conference right now?" asked Lucy.

Mirajane nodded. "It's like the Magic Council, but it's not. However, all these associations link back to the government." She turned to Reedus. "Reedus, may I borrow a light pen?"

"Oui," he passed one to her, and she started writing in the air.

"The council, Era, is the most powerful organization in the magical world, it's only one step below the government. The council has ten members, and it's their job to uphold all the rules and regulations of the magical world. Any wizard who breaks a law is trialled by the Magic Council. This is where you find Jellal as one of the ten members."

"Interesting."

"Not only that, each member is dedicated to different parts of the magical world. For instance, Jellal's position concerns diplomatic relations with all of Ishgar. He typically works with all the governments in Fiore.

"Then we have the different leagues for guild masters, and underneath them are the individual guilds. Their job is to pass on the decrees of the council."

Lucy immediately became engrossed with the structure of the magical world and sought to seek more information about it. "Wow, that's one hell of a stressful job. I didn't know all the guilds were interconnected like this."

"It's important that we all cooperate, otherwise our system would fall apart."

Natsu lit up his finger with a nearly burnt out flame and cackled. "Then the guys in black show up!"

Lucy gave a high-pitched squeal, to which Natsu gave an amused laugh. "That was almost too easy!"

"Are you trying to scare me to death?"

Mirajane frowned. "But seriously, the guys Natsu's talking about really exist. They're the dark guilds. They decided not the join any guild leagues. Most of them are involved in magical crimes. That's why you'll see the Magic Council actively tries to put an end to them. Hence why the rewards for taking down those guilds involves a lot of jewels."

Lucy dreamily imagined all the money she could attain, not to mention she'd be known as a hero across Fiore. She went as far as placing herself above many Fairy Tail mages, considering herself as an elite member.

After explaining everything, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were bickering about picking another job. Then, Gray picked a fight with the rosy-haired mage. All in all, everything was going well and it was chaotic, until Loke stormed into the guildhall.

He announced maniacally, "It's Erza! She's coming back!"

Lucy watched everyone panic at the sound of the S-Class mage's name. "Wow, just mention Erza and the whole place freaks out."

Mirajane sighed, "Well, she is Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard, more than a bit intimidating."

"Aye!" Natsu yelled, embracing Gray tightly as if they were the best of companions.

"Why do you sound like Happy?"

"Wow, now I really wish Jellal was here!" giggled Happy.

"That's not funny!" yelled Natsu, as his legs were visibly trembling as Erza stepped into the guildhall with a giant horn.

"Wow, she's pretty." Lucy said, marvelling at her scarlet hair.

Erza placed the horn down after a few silent moments, "I have returned, where's Master Makarov?" she asked, directing her question to Mirajane.

"The Master left for the conference this morning," she answered while remaining surprisingly cheerful.

"And Jellal?"

Mirajane chuckled, "My, Erza, you're always looking for him, aren't you?"

Erza glared at her, containing her blush in doing so. "I asked you a question."

The platinum-haired beauty coughed, "He's gone on a mission with the other four."

"I see."

"So...what's that huge thing you got?" Max questioned, unaware of the hostile answer yet to come.

"Its the horn from the monster I defeated, the locals were so thankful they decorated it for me as a souvenir. Do you have a problem with it!?"

"No, not at all!"

"I bet she's found out about what happened at Mount Hakube." Cana murmured as she drank out of a barrel, scaring Macao all the more.

"You think so? Oh man, I'm a goner."

Erza grabbed everyone's attention when she spoke, her voice laced with authority, "Now listen up, while I was on the road I heard a few things. Word is, Fairy Tail's causing trouble. Master Makarov may not care, but I most certainly do," her first victim had been a woman who'd stopped drinking as soon as Erza called her out. "Cana, you need to control your drinking habits. Vijeeter, please take the dancing outside. Wakaba, get rid of that filthy habit. Nab, I suspected you'd be dawdling around the request board, just pick a job! Macao—" she sighed very loudly when she turned to Macao. Everyone expressed their concern at the pregnant pause.

"Just please say something!" he pleaded.

"I don't even know where to begin. You caused so much trouble I've almost given up."

It shocked Lucy that Erza was taking action to discipline everyone despite her presumably young age.

"One more thing..." Erza's voice was too quiet until it raised again. "Who destroyed the port!? Do you not realize a member in our guild is in the Magic Council? Jellal could've faced punishment! Soon the council will take action and it'll bring a bad image on our guild."

"I swear—Jellal talked sense into me Erza!" Natsu rambled, unintentionally confessing the destruction to be his doing.

"Is that so? Well, if Jellal told you off, I suppose there's no reason for me to lecture you any further. It's good to see you learned your lesson," said Erza. She wouldn't bother reiterating the things Jellal had told him. In a way, Natsu found their behaviour reminiscent to parents disciplining their many children.

"She's probably the most sane person I've ever met in Fairy Tail," remarked Lucy, despite all the rumours she's heard. One would think Erza would be this huge demon if they believed the Fairy Tail mages. The only person unaffected by Titania's reputation was Mirajane, and out of all people, Lucy could not comprehend why she did not fear Erza, especially when the barmaid stopped practicing magic years ago.

"Natsu and Gray, we're going on a mission tomorrow."

Everyone raised an eyebrow at the odd team combination.

Lucy had waited for the others at the station with Plue. Her eyes were fixed on an Erza dragging a whole wagon full of things ten times her size.

"Are we going on vacation or something?" Lucy asked herself. In a way, Erza was also ludicrous. That was to be expected. From what she heard, Erza joined the guild years before Natsu and Mirajane. If Fairy Tail's behaviour rubbed off of them, then it certainly affected her as well.

Natsu and Gray followed behind, fighting with each other. "Why do I have to go with you? Erza and I can handle this perfectly fine!" declared Gray.

"Well that's fine with me because I don't want to go!" retorted Natsu.

"I can't wait until Erza beats you senseless when you tell that to her face."

Erza wandered around the train station in search of any pursuers on their mission before approaching Lucy. The Requip Mage made sure her luggage stayed near her, as if Eisenwald was after her cooking ingredients and costumes rather than Zeref's magic. "You must be the member of our guild. I'm Erza,"

Lucy smiled, "Nice to meet you, I'm Lucy. Mira asked me to tag along so I can learn a few things if that's fine by you." Lucy gawked at Natsu and Gray who'd play buddy-buddy when Erza turned their way.

"That's fine with me, the more the merrier," said Erza. From behind, Lucy could make out Gray tugging Natsu's sleeve, trying to prevent him from approaching Erza.

"I'll go with you Erza, but only on one condition," declared Natsu.

Gray gawked at Natsu's stupidity, "Do you have a death wish!?"

"Oh, is that so?" Erza met Natsu's challenging gaze.

"I want a rematch when we get back to Fairy Tail."

Lucy and Gray gasped when Erza gave her answer, "I accept your challenge."

"You're not really gonna fight, are you?"