Why?
Why did she leave?
Why didn't she tell me?
That was all that went through natsu's mind as he read the note, his hands slightly shaking. He felt as if his whole world was crumbling around him.
Everyone looked around at each other in shock.
"She Left?!" The entire guild yelled in unison.
"Did she feel that she needed to hide this from us?" Gray asked.
"Hmm, I'm not sure, but this is surprising." Erza replied to Gray.
"Can we somehow track the letter?" Wendy asked?
"Let me try, I'll see where Lulu went." Levy said with tears in her eyes, as she walked closer to Erza.
A few hours pass and the guild was a mess, there were maps hung from the left wall of the guild showing Fiore and Ishgar, Meanwhile Levy was sitting on a table with papers and books scattered all around her, heavy in thought.
"I can't just analyze the letters, but maybe her handwriting? If she was in a rush then maybe it'll be messier… Maybe if I divide the magicus factor by the psychic trace patterns when she wrote this… and then multiply them both by the kartorth factor… I've done it!"
"What have you got?" asked Gray.
"I know the location of Lucy!" Levy exclaimed.
Levy waited patiently for the runes in her notebook to assemble into letters and words. Letters were flying all around the guild, passing right over people and hitting the walls and bouncing back into the notebook.
"Oh my, it's quite a sight to see." Erza said.
"I knew my little pipsqueak could do it." Gajeel said as he walked over and patted Levy's head.
"Don't be embarrassing! I haven't got the location yet, give it time." Levy protested.
"Gee hee hee." Gajeel laughed.
Natsu was looking at the sight unfolding before him, staring at the words flying everywhere. "I wonder what letters taste like. Do you know Wendy?"
Natsu looked at the little dragon slayer and almost instantly she became flustered. "Eating the air is a little bit different than eating words, Natsu!"
As the last of the letters and words flew back into the book, the guild waited with bated breath for what was to come. The pages of the book flickered and finally settled.
Levy opened the book and as she read what was inside shock filled her face.
"Levy what's wrong?" Erza asked.
Levy looked up at everyone will tears in her eyes. "Her location it… it's Magnolia!"
The blizzard raged on and Lucy could only see white, everywhere she went it was nothing but a blanket of snow.
Lucy was in a small, warm place and she pressed her face against the glass of the strange thing she was riding in. "It sure is wild out there, it doesn't seem to be letting up."
"This is good, now only a few more meters until I reach the first town. Luckily I have Horologium here to protect me." Lucy thought to herself with a grin.
The wooden clock suddenly stopped moving and stood in the middle of the storm.
"I'm sorry to say lady Heartifilia, but it seems my time is up. I must return to the spirit world now." The talking clock politely told the young woman hiding inside itself.
"No! wait! Please just a little longer." Lucy pleaded with the spirit.
Suddenly in a puff of smoke the spirit disappeared, leaving Lucy to fall on her butt in the cold weather.
Lucy was walking through the blizzard, trying hard to see inches in front of herself. "I really needed to bring my goggles, I brought them specially for this place. How could I forget that?" Just as she was berating herself for forgetting, she placed her foot on the snow beneath her feet only to fall through it.
As she fell down the mountain her legs hit various branches jutting out from the snow, cutting her legs open again and again. Lucy realized what was happening and tried her best to curl up into a ball, protecting herself as much as possible.
As she fell her back hit a large rock and she screamed out in pain before landing on her stomach into the snow.
"Ugh… what was that?" Lucy mumbled to herself.
As she got up from her fall, she placed her left hand on the snow to try and prop herself up, but suddenly a burning sensation shot up her left arm, the pain making her fall back to the ground.
"Did I break my arm?" Lucy thought to herself.
Just as she was looking over herself for injuries, she noticed all the cuts and gashes on her arms and legs. Lucy grabbed her bag that was lying by her side with her left arm, only to feel a shot of pain.
"It really must be broken." She thought to herself.
She pulled her bag closer to herself with her right arm and when she did, she discovered a large hole in the middle of it.
"There's nothing in there. All my food, my supplies it's all gone!"
Lucy panicked. She got her good arm and started frantically searching in the snow for anything she owned.
"A branch must have ripped it open and caused everything to go flying. I can't just sit here, ill freeze to death." Lucy thought to herself.
Lucy pushed herself up with her right arm and with every step she took she felt as if she would collapse. It wasn't long before the cold started to sting her flesh. Lucy looked down at her fingers and realized she had frostbite.
"My fingers, there turning blue. I need to get to the next town as soon as I can." Lucy muttered to herself. In the distance she could see what looked like to be smoke rising from the ground. "If there's smoke there must be people." She thought to herself. Hope rising in her chest.
But as she continued to walk, she felt increasingly tired, and it was becoming hard for her to keep her eyes open. "No, not here. Just a little further." Lucy murmured.
But despite her hope she could feel herself fading. Her vision became blurred and it became harder for Lucy to keep her eyes open.
Then, suddenly it went black.
Lucy was once again in a black void; one she was starting to get used to. Lucy blinked and her mother appeared in front of her. Layla smiled.
"You're getting close Lucy, so close. Just a week's travel and you will be there, at the Celestial Steppe.
Lucy didn't have the strength to talk, all she did was watch as her mother walked closer to her and brushed her golden hair through her fingers before she disappeared.
As Lucy opened her eyes, she knew she was someplace she didn't recognize. She looked up at the ceiling and saw strange patterns decorating it. Lucy tried to push herself up but she found herself unable to.
Fear struck Lucy's body. "Am I poisoned, was I kidnapped?" thoughts racing through her head a million a minute until she heard the creek of a door.
"Oh my! Your finally awake, I hope you're feeling better."
An old woman walked into the room and behind her a young girl followed clung to her dress.
"Mama, look the pretty lady is awake!" The little girl said, as she pointed to Lucy.
"Where am I?" Lucy asked, looking around the room. Still not entirely sure she was safe.
The old woman gave Lucy a look of concern. "You must have a lot of questions, how about we talk it over breakfast?" she gestured out the door, to what Lucy assumed must be to a table of sorts down the hallway.
Lucy took a seat and sat down.
"I suppose I should introduce ourselves. I am Clara and this little one here,"- Clara gestured towards the small girl. - "She is Ally. We were coming home from fishing when we found you, lying on the ground covered in snow. When Ally spotted you, she cried her eyes out, thinking you were dead. So, we brought you here to our home and tried our best to help you."
"I was really scared, but momma said you would be fine… and you are!" Ally said jumping up and down on the spot.
Clara poured Lucy a hot beverage and handed it to her. "Here, this should help heal those wounds faster."
Lucy took the drink and saw a brown liquid in the cup that looked like coffee but smelled like medicine. "Thanks."
"How long have I been asleep for?" Lucy asked, looking down at her clothes that were not her own.
Clara had a somewhat sad look on her face. "Darling, you were out for two weeks."
"Two weeks? Then my mission!" Lucy jumped out of her seat then slumped back down. "I can't believe it was really that long."
"Now I don't know what this 'mission' of yours is but from your accent it seems that you're not from here." Clara said.
"No, I'm not. I'm a wizard from Fiore. I came here to complete a mission my mother wanted me to do." Lucy explained.
Clara looked surprised. "Fiore? That's the continent to the south-east of here. You must have had quite the journey."
"Mama, what's a condiment?" Ally interrupted.
"Don't worry, I'll explain it later my dear." Clara said, affectionally patting Ally on the head.
Lucy was holding the hot cup in her hands, enjoying the heat emitting from it. "Um, where are we exactly?"
Clara pushed a small plate of biscuits close to Lucy. "Dranfell, it's a small village to the north of the capital."
Lucy took a sip from the cup and her face instantly scrunched up. "It's delicious."
"You don't have to lie my dear. The medicine may not taste the best but you will be back on your feet faster than you can say; lacrima." Clara said.
Clara looked inquisitively at Lucy's hand with the pink tattoo on it. "That Tattoo, it shows you're a member of a specific guild, right?"
Lucy finished eating a biscuit and swallowed. "Yes. I'm a Fairy Tail wizard. The resident celestial mage. I'm sure you have heard of us; we happen to be pretty famous!"
Clara was slightly confused. "I'm sorry, my dear but I've never heard of Fairy Tail. Perhaps because you're from a different continent?" Clara explained as she took a few sips from her hot mug.
Lucy assumed that unlike her mug filled with medicine, Clara's mug was filled with coffee or tea.
Ally was rocking her seat back and forth. "Mama, when can I eat? I'm hungry!"
Clara simply slapped the young girl's small hand. "Don't rock, you could fall back and hurt yourself!"
Clara saw tears begin to fall from Ally's face then quickly walked into the kitchen. "I'm sorry, I forgot all about breakfast. How silly of me. The food will be ready in a minute, dear."
And with that mention of food Ally's crocodile tears suddenly dried up and she began chanting "Food! Food! Food!"
Lucy couldn't help but think of Natsu when she saw the little girl. Perhaps her appetite was just as large as Natsu's.
A few moments later and Lucy was nibbling on a biscuit as she was looking at the snowfall out the window, smelling the warm soup Clara was cooking. She was glad she was inside but she couldn't help but think of her friends.
