Chapter 4: Spirits
Lucy was outside Clara's cottage when Loke forced himself through his gate.
"Lucy! What are you doing forcing my gate closed?! I couldn't even help you when you almost froze to death!" Loke yelled.
Lucy shushed Loke. "Don't yell. They might hear us."
A frown appeared on Loke's face, worried for his master's safety. "And who are 'they.' Are you trapped? Hurt?"
Loke bombarded Lucy with question after question. She was annoyed, but Lucy didn't have the heart to tell Loke to shut up. Lucy only knew her spirits cared for her deeply.
Neither Lucy or Loke noticed the back door to the cottage open as they were talking, nor did they notice a small, little girl was walking right up to the lion spirit.
Ally noticed the orange hair styled as cat ears that sat atop Loke's head and pointed, shouting. "Lion!"
Loke stepped back in surprise. Not expecting a small child to pop out of nowhere.
"Lucy! Is this kid yours?!" Loke said.
"No! absolutely not!" Lucy screamed as her face became beet red.
Ally hugged Loke's left leg. Keeping hold even as Loke shook his leg, trying to throw her off.
"Loke! Don't be mean to Ally. Let her hug you." Lucy scolded Loke.
"I'm not some sort of soft toy for a kid to play with." Loke said.
"I know, but just entertain her. She's harmless." Lucy said.
"Ally, are you out here?" Clara called as she opened the backdoor to see Lucy talking to and Ally clinging to a strange man dressed in a suit.
"Ally get off that stranger this instant!" Clara scolded Ally and she ran back to her mother.
"It's okay. He's Loke. One of my spirits." Lucy said.
"Oh, one of your spirits? Pardon me. I thought he was some strange man trying to take my Ally away." Clara said.
Loke had a smirk on his face as he walked up to Clara and kissed her left hand in greeting.
"Oh! And who might this beauty be?" Loke said.
Lucy elbowed Loke. "Loke! Stop that!"
"Oh, but I'm old. You shouldn't pamper me." Clara said, slightly embarrassed by the flirting.
"Nonsense! A lady is like wine, you simply get better with age!" Loke declared.
Natsu walked back into the guildhall holding a wrapped present in his hand.
"Who you asking out Natsu?" Gray shouted.
"Shut it flame brain!" Natsu yelled back.
Natsu saw a blue head of hair sitting at a table surrounded by stacks of books and hurried over, but was stopped by an angry Gajeel.
"Stay away from shortie." Gajeel growled.
"I'm not gonna hurt her." Natsu said as he tried to push past Gajeel.
"I said stay away." Gajeel said as he transformed his arm into a pole of iron and slammed into Natsu's stomach, winding him.
The guild was watching Natsu and Gajeel, expecting another brawl to start. But to the surprise of almost everyone Natsu didn't hit back, He didn't even yell or make a rude comment.
"Are you unwell, Natsu?" Wendy asked from a nearby table, sipping on a milkshake.
"I'm fine, Wendy. I just want to talk to Levy." Natsu said.
"And I think you've said enough!" Gajeel snapped.
Natsu was about to walk away but stopped himself. "Here. At least give this to her." Natsu handed Gajeel a small wrapped package.
"The hell's this?" Gajeel said as he inspected it.
Natsu started scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "I know that Lucy and Levy both like books so I thought…I'd try to make it up to her…"
"Why so sappy, Salamander?" Gajeel taunted Natsu.
"Oh, shut up! She's my fiend too!" Natsu yelled in embarrassment. Natsu really didn't know how to handle a situation when he upset girls. Mira and Erza would punish him and Lucy would just yell. But even on Lucy's worst days, Natsu knew he could make things better by gifting her a book.
Levy was stuck in a book, completely oblivious to the outside world, it was only when Gajeel threw the present on the table that Levy noticed.
"Huh?! What is it?" Levy said, confused for a few seconds before she noticed the present on the table.
"Aw. Thank you Gajeel." Levy said.
"It's not mine, it's the Salamander's." Gajeel grunted.
Natsu was searching for a job request that would be long and far enough that he could search for Lucy on his way. "Happy! Watcha say about killing a few Vulcans?"
"Sounds scary." Happy replied.
Levy ran up to Natsu at the request board and gave him a light hug. "Thank you, Natsu. For the gift."
"Uhh, it's fine." Natsu said.
"But how did you know this was the book I wanted?" Levy said with eyes that just looked to absorb information at a glance.
"Luce had it. She said you wanted it. She was gonna get it for ya before…." Natsu trailed off, not wanting to talk about Lucy's disappearance.
Levy looked to the floor and Natsu could see tears falling.
"Ya know, we'll find her. Me and Happy are going now to drag her back home!" Natsu proudly declared.
Levy wiped the tears from her face as she looked up to Natsu in hope.
"Do you know where Lulu is?!" Levy shouted.
This got the attention of the others in the guild. Erza and gray waked over to Natsu and Levy, curious about what he knew.
"So Natsu, do you know of Lucy's whereabouts?" Erza said.
"Yeah, spit it out flame brain." Gray said.
"Nope! Not no clue." Natsu said, laughing as his friends were left shocked at their pink haired friend's stupidity.
"Then why say anything at all, Natsu?" Wendy asked as she walked over to the small crowd of people standing around the request board.
"Cause me and Happy are gonna take a long job and search for her!" Natsu declared.
"But we've done that and she hasn't showed up anywhere." Gray said.
Natsu snapped at Gray, fists burning with anger. "And what?! Your just gonna give up on her!"
"I never said I would, Natsu! I was just stating a fact!" gray yelled.
"Calm down. The both of you!' Erza said sternly and both boys broke out in fake dances of happiness.
"We will keep searching for her, Natsu. How about we start again with this mission here?" Erza said as she snatched the paper from Natsu's hands.
"Excellent! To get to the job site we would need to walk for about two weeks. I would prefer to take the train, but this way we can search for Lucy along the way. Wendy, Gray, would you care to join Natsu and I in our search?" Erza said.
"Of course, Ms. Erza!" Wendy said.
"Yeah, I can't leave my little sister lost and alone, can I?" Gray said.
"It was my idea first." Natsu grumbled.
At the dining table Ally sat in Lucy's lap distracted by Plue dancing on the table as the others talked.
"You don't have to leave so soon my dear. Your wounds aren't even fully healed yet." Clara said.
"Thank you so much for helping me, for your hospitality and your kindness, but I need to go. I've already spent too much time being a burden to you." Lucy said.
"Lucy…" Loke murmured.
"Nonsense! You are never a burden. To be frank, ever since you arrived here Ally has been so happy. There aren't many other children in this village." Clara said.
Ally looked up at Lucy with a big frown. "You're not going to leave are you, big sis?"
It killed Lucy to leave the small girl. She reminded Lucy so much of herself when she was Ally's age.
"I have to." Lucy said.
"But you can't leave!" Ally yelled.
"Now, now Ally. If you don't behave yourself, you won't get dessert tonight." Clara warned.
And with the threat of withholding dessert, Ally behaved herself.
Lucy picked Ally up off her lap and sat her on the table. "Now Ally, I won't be gone forever and I'll even visit when I can."
"You mean it?" Ally said.
"Yes, I do. Your big sister wouldn't lie, now, would she?" Lucy said.
And with that Ally threw herself at Lucy and wrapped herself around Lucy's neck.
"You're the best!" Ally said.
"You should at least stay for another week, lucy. It would give your body more time to heal before you set out on your large journey. And I'm sure Loke over there would love to taste my special cooking." Clara said with a suggestive wink she sent Loke's way.
"Again, thank you. I will." Lucy said.
Loke nudged Lucy's arm. "Does she really need to flirt with me?"
Lucy laughed. "You deserve it. Think off all those poor girls who suffered through your flirting." Lucy said with a smile.
"Hey! Are you saying it doesn't work!" Loke said.
"Well, it seems like it worked this time." Lucy said as Clara came over and set down a large hot pot in the middle of the table.
"I hope you all enjoy my village famous chili!" Clara said with a smile.
Lucy put a spoonful of chili in her mouth and immediately she started gasping for air.
"Hot! Hot! Hot!" Lucy yelled as she ran to the sink and guzzled as much water as possible. But no matter how much she drank, Lucy still felt like her mouth was on fire.
"haha! It's not that bad, Lucy." Loke said.
"Shut up!" Lucy said.
As lucy desperately tried to cool her mouth, Virgo suddenly appeared in a puff of smoke holding some sort of drink.
"Hello Princess. I sensed you were in pain so I summoned myself." Virgo said.
"What's that?" Lucy said, pointing to the object in Virgo's hands.
"It is milk from the celestial world, Princess." Just as Virgo finished her sentence, Lucy snatched the milk from her hands and guzzled it.
"Ahh, much better." Lucy said. Happy now she didn't have a burning mouth anymore.
"Is this what Natsu feels when he does a fire dragon's roar?" Lucy thought to herself.
As Lucy made her way back into the dining room, Ally pointed to her and yelled; "Moustache!" and started giggling.
Lucy realized why Ally was giggling. "Oh, the milk." The milk rested on her upper lip like a man's moustache would. Lucy wiped it off with her arm and Ally started sulking.
"You were funny with the moustache." Ally said.
"Oh, and who might that be?" Clara pointed to Virgo as she followed Lucy into the dining room.
Virgo bowed in greeting. "I am Virgo. Princess's faithful spirit."
"Princess?" Clara said.
"Princess Lucy!" Ally yelled.
Lucy shook her head. "No, I'm not actual royalty. It's just what Virgo calls me.
"Aww." Ally whined.
"Virgo, you can go back now." Lucy said.
"Oh no. Keep your friend here. The more the merrier I say." Clara said with a big smile.
"You can actually eat that stuff?" Lucy said as she saw Virgo almost drink the Chili.
"Of course. It is part of my punishment that big brother Loke gives me that I eat hot foods." Virgo explained.
"Loke!" Lucy glared at the lion spirit and he quickly tried to change the subject.
Loke sweat dropped. "Anyway…"
Loke was talking to Lucy as she sat on her bed in her pajamas.
"Alright. I want to know what you're doing here in the northern continent. You left your apartment, your books, and even Fairy Tail. That's quite extreme." Loke said.
"I had to Loke! It's not like I wanted to, but it's something only I can do." Lucy said.
"And what can only you do?" Loke asked.
"Reforge Aquarius's key. There is a blacksmith here that can do it." Lucy said.
Loke was shocked. "And who told you that? That is extremely protected knowledge!"
"Mama…" Lucy murmured.
"You don't mean… Lady Layla? But that's impossible, she's dead!" Loke said.
Lucy took a deep breath. "I know. But recently she's been visiting me in my dreams." Lucy said.
"And don't you think this could be a trap?!" Loke said.
"I know…" Lucy murmured.
"A wizard who wanted to get their hands on your keys could easily use memory manipulation magic and kill you!" Loke said.
"I said I know!" Lucy yelled.
Loke flinched at his master's anger. Not expecting her to be so mad.
"I know it could all be a trap! You think I don't know? Of course, I know! But this is something I have to do… a risk I need to take." Lucy said.
There was a moment of awkward silence between the two.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled." Lucy said.
"No. I'm sorry. As a spirit I should trust you and follow your orders." Loke said.
"Aww, don't say it like that. They are not 'orders' and I don't want you, or any of my spirits to just blindly follow me like some kind of robot. You're my family, all my spirits are. Thank you for looking out for me, Loke." Lucy said.
"Don't worry about it, Princess." Loke said.
"Anyway…You mentioned earlier that I kept your gate closed?" Lucy said.
"Yeah, you did. It was amazing you even managed to do it, but it was incredibly frustrating. Even Aquarius was- "Loke cut himself off. It had become an unspoken rule amongst Lucy's spirits not to mention Aquarius.
Lucy was about to speak when she heard a knock at the door.
Clara knocked on the door and slowly opened it, about to say goodnight when she saw Loke standing there.
"Loke! Get out here this instant!" Clara said.
"It's fine, really." Lucy said.
"No, it's not fine. I cannot allow a man to be in the same room as a young woman as yourself." Clara said.
"I'm not exactly human, you know. I'm a spirit." Loke tried to explain.
"Human or spirit it doesn't matter. You're still a man and that's that." Clara said sternly as she pushed Loke out the door.
"Goodnight, Lucy." Clara said she shut the door.
"Goodnight." Lucy replied.
I'm not really happy with the way this chapter ended. I just could not figure out how to end it! How annoying! I hope you all enjoy reading it.
