Haloha, everyone! Hope you're all having a good day! I've got a few things to say about this… questionable chapter. This was a chapter I had a lot of fun writing. You can think of this as a filler chapter between the main chapters. If you've watched Fairy Tail's OVAs or their filler arcs, this is the kind of the direction I'm taking with this chapter. Ahah, don't worry, the story will go back right on track with the next chapter. I wanted something to bridge between the last chapter and the next chapter. I just wanted to have fun with this fanfiction.
Anyhow, have fun reading!
Chapter 14: The Queen's Game!
"Hey, Lisanna! Could you ask Elfman to help move these back in to storage? We don't really need all this."
"Sure thing, sis!"
It was just another busy day at the guild, except this day was unlike any other. Some of the guild members were helping with the preparations for the Harvest Festival next week. They were creating decorations, planning the building layouts, as well as devising how to incorporate the Fairy Night into the festival since it was one of the newer events.
"It's really nice to see the guild working together." Lucy said, cleaning the floor using a mop.
"It sure is, Lucy. We haven't got together like in a long while." Juvia replied. She was using her water magic to wet the floors.
"Heave-ho!" Wendy used her magic to cast gusts of wind that blew dust and leaves from the floor.
"Nicely done, Wendy!" Carla, Happy, and Lily gathered all the leaves and placed them in a disposable bag.
"This place looks good as new! Well done!" Erza said, nodding approvingly to their work. She walked towards the center of the guild with Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel behind her. Gray was holding some kind of design document in his hands. They apparently just arrived.
"Hmmm…" Gray scanned the document and looked upwards. Erza turned back to him.
"Well, are you up to the task?" Erza asked, folding her arms.
"Leave it to us." Gray smiled with determination.
"We'll get it done." Gajeel followed.
Erza had asked Gray and Gajeel to materialize a form of a disco ball, using both their ice and iron magic. And Natsu was here because… she wanted to keep an eye on him so he didn't accidentally break anything. She was also paying attention to his recovery.
"Erza, I want to help! I'm bored here!" Natsu complained.
"You're already helping enough just by listening to me."
"But I want to do… something! Anything!" Natsu stomped his feet.
"Why don't you sit down and take it easy for a while?"
"But everyone else is-"
"I said why don't you sit down?" Erza smiled, emitting a dangerous aura around her.
"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Natsu reflexively saluted her. There was no way he would defy her. He sat on one of the unused tables and waited patiently. Still, he was feeling bored. He wanted to do something to help with the Harvest Festival. Granted, he'd probably destroy something in the process. But I can control myself!... I think.
"Laxus, Bickslow! Could you help move these tables out of the way?" Erza called out to them.
"Yeah, babies! Let's move them!" Bickslow, together with his dolls, moved some of the tables to a secluded spot. Laxus nodded silently and assisted Bickslow.
"Erza." An old voice called her name.
"Master Makarov. Is something the matter?"
"No, it's just… you didn't really have to organize all this. I would have handled this myself without bothering you all."
"No worries. We are more than happy to assist with the preparations for the Harvest Festival."
"Is that so?" Makarov nodded in understanding. "I'm really blessed to have you children."
"We're all in this together." Erza smiled.
Wendy noticed Natsu was sitting alone all by himself. She wanted to go and say 'hi' to him, but she was still busy her work here. Surely, a few minutes to talk with him isn't that much to ask? Then again, Erza wouldn't want her slacking off with her responsibilities. She sighed as she swept more of the leaves off the floor.
"What's the matter, child?" Carla noticed the minute change in her mood.
"Oh, it's nothing." Wendy dismissed the thought.
Carla followed her line of sight and saw Natsu sitting alone. Oh, that's amusing. "You want to talk to Natsu, don't you?"
"… You got me." Wendy admitted.
"Why don't you call him over?"
"Erza told him to sit there. She doesn't want him destroying stuff."
"Oh." Carla rubbed her cheek. "I suppose that's for the best. We wouldn't want to start over." She chuckled.
"Ahahah…" Wendy laughed awkwardly. Still, there's nothing wrong with saying 'hi', right?
Soon, most of the work in the guild had been finished. Gray and Gajeel had developed a prototype for the disco ball. Alongside this, Levy had developed a lacrima to power up the disco ball. The Take-Over siblings had finished organizing the furniture, decorations, and supplies. Lucy and Juvia had finished cleaning the floors. The Exceeds had finished scrubbing the windows. And Wendy finally finished clearing the guild of dust and leaves.
"Wew, good job, everyone. At this rate, the Harvest Festival will be a great success!" Erza exclaimed.
"Aye!" Happy followed.
"This was more challenging than I thought." Gray wiped some sweat off his forehead.
"Gray, my darling! Do you want to drink some water?" Juvia offered him a water bottle.
"Oh, thank you! I'm feeling quite thirsty." Blushing a bit, Gray took the water bottle from her hands.
"Preparing for the festival is so MANLY!" Elfman pumped his fists up.
"Haha, keep it down, Elfman." Lisanna slapped his arm lightly.
After finishing her chores, Wendy decided to go and say hi to Natsu. He's probably feeling lonely… well, I'll keep him company! She thought to herself. As she approached him, she heard loud snores coming from his direction. She walked to where he was, and…
He was sleeping. Soundly.
"Oh…" Wendy felt a bit disappointed. She guessed he fell asleep of boredom, having nothing to do. She sat beside him. He looks so carefree and cute… She scooted closer to him and laid her head on his arm. Memories of that night when they slept together flashed by her mind. It was a memorable night she never wanted to forget. She also heard from Carla that she apparently fell asleep on Natsu's back as he carried her back to Fairy Hills. I need to apologize to him for that. She simply observed his sleeping face. Maybe I can… rest for a bit. She tried to create an excuse for herself to justify wanting to sleep with him. She slowly closed her eyes-
"Everyone, let's play a game!"
She shot her eyes open and stood up directly. W-What was I going to do? That loud voice snapped her out of her mind.
"A game?" Erza inquired.
"Yeah, since we're mostly done here and all, why don't we play a game together?" Mirajane said cheerfully.
"Well… why not? I suppose we could play a game or two." Erza nodded.
"Count me in!" Lucy raised her hand up.
"Sure… I'm in, too." Gray added.
"If Gray's joining, I'm joining too!" Juvia followed.
"Well, I got nothing better to do. I'm game." Gajeel smiled.
"Yeah, I want to join too!" Levy took off her glasses.
"I… would like to watch instead." Lily said. Considering this was Mirajane, he felt this wasn't going to result in something pleasant.
Sensing what Lily was implying, Carla chose not to join, followed by Happy.
"Lisanna, Elfman, do you want to play too?" She turned to them.
"N-No, we're good." Lisanna waved her hand around. She knew what game Mirajane was going to suggest. If only the others knew… these siblings have faced her wrath before, and they'd rather avoid it.
"Alright, how about you, Cana?"
"Nah, I'm good. I'd rather be with my sweet, sweet beer here." Cana raised her beer into the air.
"Laxus?"
Laxus shook his head. "I need to see the old geezer for a bit." He went upstairs.
"The thunder legion shall follow in his footsteps!" Freed, Evergeen, and Bickslow followed him.
"Okay then! That leaves…. where's Natsu and Wendy?" Mirajane scanned around her and noticed Wendy standing awkwardly near Natsu.
"Natsu, wake up!" Erza stomped towards him and slapped his face.
"Ouch! What was that for?" Natsu's eyes shot open from the slap. He rubbed his pained cheek. It was visibly red with a faint outline of a hand.
"Who said you could fall asleep? Come now, let's play a game!" Erza dragged him by his collar.
"What...?" Woken up from his sleep to all this, he was very confused. He then noticed Wendy in front of him. "Oh, hi Wendy!" He waved his wand.
"Hi, Natsu!" She waved back. That little interaction brightened her mood.
The guild members participating in the game sat together on the floor, forming a circle.
Their seating arrangement was: Mirajane, Lucy, Natsu, Levy, Gajeel, Gray, Juvia, Erza, and Wendy.
"So what game are we playing?" Gray asked.
"Have you ever heard of the King's Game?" Mirajane took a number of chopsticks from her pocket.
"The King's Game… why does that sound familiar…" Lucy put a hand on her chin.
All the members, except Mirajane, turned to Erza. They had a collective realization as they looked at each other.
The Guild master's game.
"What?" Erza questioned, emitting a dark aura.
The members avoided her death gaze, instead choosing to focus on the game.
"So what we're about to play is similar! I'd like to call this the Queen's Game! So, the rules are simple! I have several chopsticks over here. Two chopsticks here are ranked the lowest and the highest. Each of us will take one chopstick, then we'll chant 'Who is the Queen'? We reveal our chopsticks, and the person with the highest ranked chopstick is designated the Queen who has the authority to order the person, the Slave, with the lowest ranked chopstick to do whatever the Queen so desires!"
Everyone stared at each other silently, blinking a few times. What did we get ourselves into, this is even worse than Erza's game!
"Come now, let's start!" Mirajane giggled, placing nine chopsticks on the floor face-down and shuffling them. Everyone grabbed a random chopstick.
"Who is the Queen?"
They all flipped their chopsticks.
"Yes! I'm the Queen!" Erza raised her chopstick triumphantly.
"Just my luck." Lucy reluctantly revealed her chopstick. She got the lowest rank, making her the Slave. And so, I've become the first victim. To Erza out of all people.
"Good luck, Lulu…" Levy sent her condolences.
"Alright, Lucy! I want you to wear Virgo's maid costume for the rest of this game!" Erza's eyes sparkled.
"O-Oh, sure." Lucy used her Virgo key and swapped into her maid costume. It could have been a lot of worse.
"That looks really good on you." Gray said, eyeing her new costume.
"Ahah… thanks?" Lucy scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"LOVE RIVAL!" Juvia slammed the floor, glaring at Lucy.
"H-Hey, this isn't my fault!"
"Alright, simmer down! Let's move on to the next round." Mirajane clapped her hands and shuffled the chopsticks again.
"Who is the Queen?"
They all flipped their chopsticks. This time, Juvia was the Queen, while Gajeel was the Slave.
"Oh oh, interesting!" Mirajane exclaimed.
"Hmph. I wish Gray was the Slave." Juvia pouted, glancing at Gray.
I'm not sure how to feel about that. Gray thought to himself. He felt like he dodged a bullet there.
"Just get it over with, will ya?!" Gajeel scoffed.
"Okay, Gajeel. Tell us, how many babies will you have with Levy?" She narrowed her eyes.
"Two." Gajeel answered directly, lifting two fingers.
"Huh, interesting." Erza nodded twice.
"T-Two?!" Wendy blushed at the thought. She imagined a little Gajeel and little Levy.
"Wha-… Gajeel!" Levy's face flushed a deep red.
"What? There's nothing wrong with it, gihee!" He grinned at her.
"But still!" Her cheeks rose in heat. She was embarrassed, to say the least.
"Isn't that just lovely! Now, on to the next round!" Mirajane shuffled the chopsticks once more.
"Who is the Queen?"
They all lifted their chopsticks to see the ranking.
"Yeah, I'm the Queen now!" Lucy exclaimed with excitement in her voice.
"I-I'm the Slave?" Juvia said, seeing she got the lowest rank. "Hmph. Why isn't Gray my Queen? Why'd it have to be my love rival?" Juvia pouted once more, folding her arms.
How am I supposed to feel about that? Gray rubbed his temples.
"Haha, now, now, Juvia." Lucy smiled evilly. For some reason, Gray didn't like what that smile entailed.
"I order you to sit on Gray's lap for the rest of the game!" She pointed her chopstick at Juvia.
"W-What?!" Gray shouted in shock.
"Oh, my!" Mirajane giggled. "Now this is getting exciting!"
"Lucy… you're such a good friend!" Juvia shed a few tears, grateful for this punishment. Honestly, it was a reward to her… but a punishment to Gray,
"W-Wait, hold on! Let's think about this!" Gray waved his hands frantically.
"The Queen's authority is absolute!" Mirajane exclaimed, clearly enjoying Gray's reactions.
"But…" Gray's heartrate rose in anticipation. His heart wasn't ready.
"Gray, my darling…" Juvia was facing him, expectantly waiting.
I can't believe I'm doing this… Gray reluctantly spread his arms apart, motioning for Juvia to sit on his lap.
Juvia bashfully sat on his lap, shifting in place till she felt comfortable. Gray reluctantly wrapped his arms around her. His ears were dyed red.
"It feels so good being close with you, my darling…" Juvia said shyly.
"I-I-I see." Gray stuttered. His mind short-circuited. The sensation of her bottom on his lap was getting… a bit too much to bear.
"Simply amazing. Now this is a fun game!" Erza shouted, raising her sword.
"Hey, don't swing that around! You're gonna hit someone!" Gajeel said.
"Let's move on to the next round!" Mirajane shuffled the chopsticks once more.
"Who is the Queen?"
"My my, it appears it's my turn to be the Queen~," Mirajane raised her chopstick for everyone to see. "Now who is my lucky victi-… I mean, Slave?"
"Oh, I'm the Slave." Natsu frowned, looking over his chopstick. Surely, Mirajane can't be worse than Erza… right?
"Hehehehe, now this is perfect." Mirajane laughed like a maniac, creeping some of the members out.
"H-Hey, what are you thinking, Mira?" Natsu asked, a bit afraid.
"Natsu, I order you…" Mirajane pointed the chopstick at him.
Natsu held his breath in anticipation.
"...to kiss Lucy!" Mirajane then pointed to Lucy.
"…Huh?" Lucy took a few good seconds to process what she just heard. "HUH?!"
"Ehhh?!" Wendy gasped.
"Now that's a worthy challenge..." Erza said.
"Does Salamander have it in him, though?" Gajeel smiled playfully.
"Oh, dear…" Carla, who had been remaining silent, finally voiced out a comment.
"Now this, I have to watch!" Happy's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Take that, Lucy! Now it's your turn!" Gray smirked.
"Good luck, Lulu!" Levy cheered her on.
"…Okay." Natsu answered without hesitation.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, time out!" Lucy crossed her hands in front of her.
"The Queen's authority is absolute, I say!" Mirajane gave a wide, terrifying smile.
"Mira, please no! This is too much!" Lucy panicked.
"Let's just get this over with, Luce." Natsu turned to face her, closing the distances between their faces.
"How are you okay with this, Natsu?!" Lucy shifted herself backwards, frantically waving her hands.
"Come on, it's just a game. It's not like it's going to hurt." Natsu lifted her chin up.
"You're right... wait, that's not the point! N-Natsu!" Her heartbeat rapidly increased. Her cheeks were dyed a deep red. T-This is not how I wanted my first kiss to go!
Natsu was slowly closing the distance between their lips. Lucy shut her eyes tight. Her body felt weak. Everyone else watched in anticipation.
Wendy was painfully clawing at her face. Are they really going to kiss?! Why is Natsu okay with this?! Her heart throbbed in pain, filled with jealousy. She wanted to stop them. She wanted to push them apart. She didn't want them to kiss at all. But what was she going to do? Was she allowed to lash out? W-What do I do? Her delicate hands trembled. She couldn't bear to see their lips touch, yet she couldn't take her eyes off them either. "Gugh!" She gritted her teeth and squeezed her fists, trying to calm down her raging emotions. But the jealousy inside her was stirred violently.
It was inevitable a situation like this would occur. A time where the apparent feelings of the two girls towards Natsu would clash, whether directly or not. Honestly, Erza would very much want to see Lucy and Natsu kiss. It's quite a tease they haven't considering the things they've been through together. She turned her head to Wendy, sensing her inner turmoil. She must be holding herself back, having to watch all this… she turned back to a flustered Lucy who was going to be kissed by Natsu any second now. Although I do want things to take its natural course… this is, by no means, natural.
SLAM!
Both Natsu and Lucy's eyes widened. Their lips were a few inches away from each other. Everyone turned to the source of the sound.
Erza had stabbed her sword into the center of the floor. "I think that's enough for an order. We can clearly see the suffering on Lucy's face."
"Oh, alright." Natsu returned to his sitting position.
Lucy took a deep breath, finally calming herself down. Thank you, Erza... Although she had to admit, she wondered what would happen if Natsu saw the punishment till the end.
Erza frowned at herself. She turned her head to Wendy and forced a smile. At the very least, they both look relieved. Not sure if I can say the same the next time this happens...
You… did this for me, Erza? Wendy was surprised. She didn't expect Erza to jump in. She had no idea what she was going to do with herself if they actually kissed.
"The Queen's orders are absolute." Mirajane interjected. "If I say they kiss, they kiss."
"Your order had gone too far, Mira. It made Lucy uncomfortable." Erza turned to her.
"That's the point of the game! Besides, I'm sure both Natsu and Lucy would have enjoyed their kiss considering they love-"
"That's enough from you." Erza pointed her sword at Mirajane's neck. Don't you dare finish that sentence.
"My, my… getting a bit lively here, aren't we?" Unbothered being held at sword's point, she gave Erza a grim smile.
Behind Mirajane's smile was a being full of pure evil. She was notoriously known as the matchmaker of the guild. To some of the members, it was obvious what she was trying to achieve with her authority. She truly lives up to her name, the She-Devil, in more ways than one.
"Do you want to take this outside?" Erza glared, emitting a scarlet aura around her.
"It would be wise not to destroy our preparations for the Harvest Festival." Mirajane returned her glare, emitting a violet aura around herself which slowly died down. "But, let's just move on to the next round!" She said with a cheerful smile.
"Hmph. Very well." They returned to the game as if nothing happened.
"They're terrifying…" Gray whispered, shaking from fear.
"Yeah. Remind me not to get on their bad side." Gajeel added.
Mirajane shuffled the chopsticks once more.
"Who is the Queen?"
"Oh, it's me!" Gray revealed his chopstick.
"Seems like I'm the Slave now." Erza showed hers. "So, what is your command?"
"Uhhh…" Gray thought about this seriously. He would have to be careful with words, considering this was Erza.
"You're not thinking of getting her to do anything indecent, are you?!" Juvia asked with concern.
"O-Of course not!" Gray replied.
"Don't hold back, Gray. I can take on any challenge." Erza pumped her fist on to her chest.
"Well, I order you to…" Well, if she says so. "… tell us if you have any… weaknesses?"
"… Huh?" Erza's eyes widened at his question.
"O-On second thought, y-you don't have to answer that!" Gray said, fearing for his life.
"No, that's fine." Erza shook her head, folding her arms. "A weakness… hmmm." She thought about it for a moment.
"Her weakness is obviously her crush~" Mirajane laughed playfully.
"Her… crush?" Gray asked.
"Wha-?! No, shut up!" Erza exclaimed, feeling heat rising in her face.
"Ohohoh!" Mirajane gave a haughty laugh.
"Something tells me they're going to duke it out after this…" Lucy whispered.
Wendy was trying to hold back her laugh. She was fully aware of who Mirajane was referring to.
"Now then, on to the next round!" Mirajane shuffled the chopsticks and spread them around.
"Who is the Queen?"
"Oh!" Wendy revealed her chopstick. She got the highest rank. And the person who got the lowest rank is…
"Me, again." Natsu revealed his chopstick, showing the lowest rank. At least it's not Erza or Mira, phew.
"Ehh?!" Wendy's eyes widened. It's N-Natsu?!
"Well, well, Wendy." Erza gave her a thumbs up. She brought her face closer to hers and whispered into her ear. "You can ask Natsu to do anything you want."
"A-Anything…" Wendy's face flushed a deep red. She could ask anything her heart desired. Millions of possibilities flew through her mind. But what would others think? No, did it really matter what others think?
"I'm quite curious what Wendy will have Natsu do." Mirajane placed a hand on her chin. Probably something adorable.
"N-Natsu, I order you…" Wendy placed the chopstick over her mouth. She wasn't sure if she had it in herself to ask him. But this was a perfect opportunity.
"Yeah?" Natsu looked at her attentively.
"...to k-k-kiss me on the f-forehead." Wendy said timidly, steam visibly blowing out of her ears. I can't believe I've said that! She would have preferred a more… desirable request, but she wouldn't dare ask it in front of everyone.
"Oh, my." Mirajane's eyes widened in surprise. She was at a loss for words. This isn't what I expected from her, maybe she's craving some physical affection…? She nudged Lucy's elbow. "If only that was you, Lucy."
Lucy's face rose in heat. "I d-don't know what you're talking about." She huffed. Still, that's a very odd request to hear from Wendy out of everyone here.
"Wow." Gray, Juvia, Levy, and Gajeel said in unison. They were all taken back. They would expect this from Juvia, but Wendy?
"What a bold request…" Carla muttered under her breath.
Happy stared at Wendy's expression. Does she…? Nah, no way. That's impossible. He shook his head at the thought.
Mirajane cleared her throat. "The Queen has given her order. Well, Natsu?"
"Your wish is my command." Natsu scooted closer to her.
Wendy's heart throbbed in anticipation with a hint of fear as he approached her. She closed her eyes and lifted her head up.
Natsu gently brushed her forelock away to reveal her forehead. As he was about to meet her with his lips, he noticed her little body was trembling under his gaze.
"Wendy? Are you… scared? We don't have to do this if you don't want to."
Wendy opened her eyes to look at his gentle gaze. "N-No, I…" She tried to calm herself down.
"It's going to be okay." He smiled, gently intertwining his fingers with hers. Wendy felt a sense of calmness and warmth spread from his hand to hers. Her trembling body slowly subsided.
"Should I continue?"
Wendy nodded.
He brought his lips to her forehead and gently pressed them forward. Wendy felt a short-lived, yet intense wave of warmth sent throughout her head as he kissed her.
It was comforting.
"There." Natsu grinned at her.
Wendy lifted her head to gaze at him. She placed her hands over her forehead, feeling the emanating warmth of his kiss.
"…" Natsu's attention was drawn to her red, flushed face. He noticed the redness of her cheeks, the innocence in her eyes, the wetness of her lips. His eyes were entranced by her lips for some reason he didn't understand himself.
What's… with the atmosphere around these two? Gray thought to himself.
Wendy is so bold! I wish I could ask Gray to do those things to me. Juvia fantasized in her mind.
I'm sensing something different about Wendy, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Gajeel thought.
Aww, that's pretty sweet. Levy smiled.
That's a really cute moment there. Still… I wonder why did Wendy make such a request? Lucy wondered.
"Isn't that just adorable!" Mirajane giggled and clasped her hands. "Still, I didn't know you were such a lady killer, Natsu."
Natsu shifted back away from Wendy, breaking his focus. What the hell was I…? "O-Oh, haha." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and returned to his position.
"You know, I think this is a good place to end the game." Mirajane gathered the chopsticks and placed them away. "Let's finish up the remaining work we have here."
"Very well. Let's get back to work." Erza added.
Everyone agreed and stood up, except for Gray because Juvia was still sitting in his lap.
"Er… Juvia... you're still sitting on me."
"What about it?" Juvia turned her head to him.
"Well… I can't stand up if you're… sitting here."
"But I love it here! I want to sit here forever!" Juvia pouted.
"Come on, just g-get off!" Gray grabbed her by her waist and tried to push her off.
"Ahn, Gray… You're so aggressive!" Juvia clasped her face.
"It's not like that!" Gray's cheeks rose in heat.
Wendy was still dazed by the kiss, holding her forehead and feeling the warmth.
"Wendy, are you alright?" Erza put her arm around her shoulder.
"He really… kissed me here." Wendy said timidly.
"It must have felt good, huh?" Erza said in a teasing tone.
Wendy slowly nodded to her.
"O-Oh." Erza didn't expect her to admit it. She smiled, patting her head. "One day, it won't be on your forehead."
"E-Erza…" Wendy pouted.
"Haha." Erza chuckled. She then stretched out her hand towards her. "Let's make this Harvest Festival a success, shall we?"
Wendy grinned and held her hand. "Yeah!"
