Chapter 15 She Doesn't know she's Beautiful by Sammy Kershaw
The next day wasn't as bad considering Evergreen allowed Emi into her room despite her numerous beauty practices before bed. How she got any sleep was a surprise to the young woman. All she did was throw on her pajamas and curled up on the couch that was in the room. She didn't feel like sharing the bed with the woman considering she barely knew her.
Dressed in a simple plaid skirt that reached past her knees with another white blouse Emi walked out into the morning air. It felt odd to not be on the farm and hearing the various noises of the animals. She missed it to be honest since it calmed her.
"Morning Emi." Bixlow called out, startling her slightly. She spun around and stared at the three men that were in the group.
Looking away quickly she looked at something to keep her attention away from Laxus. Ever since Evergreen brought up her possible feelings, she couldn't get it off her mind. She couldn't even see the man the same now, so she wasn't sure if her mind was playing tricks on her. It had to be that.
"Good morning." She mumbled as she tucked her hands into her simple tan jacket that she brought along with her. If it helped distract herself for a small while, then it was welcomed.
"Hope you slept well. Evergreen's routine can be a little overwhelming." Bixlow almost laughed at the thought as the other two rolled their eyes.
She couldn't understand why she couldn't just change clothes, take off the makeup and go to bed. All the other things that she did last night made no sense to her. Moisturize this, do that, it all made her confused why someone would waste time. A roll of her eyes as she turned her back to them. "It was fine. The couch wasn't that hard thankfully."
She started to walk away to drop the subject. She mentally wanted things to go back to how it was, but she messed that up yesterday. She let her temper get to her and now she couldn't look Laxus in the eye. "I'm going off and getting something to eat. I rather have a full stomach before I meet up with the client."
"Wait up and we'll accompany you." Freed called as she started to mix in with the morning crowd.
"I'll go after her. She has a way of causing problems if she's alone." Laxus grumbled as he started after the young woman. Knowing how Evergreen was she was still in bed or doing her morning beauty routine. She would even throw a tantrum about being left behind so leaving them to wait for her was the best. He didn't have the patience for it.
Freed opened his mouth before one of Bixlow's spirits floated in front of him to keep him from protesting.
Looking around Emi took in the various smells. Flowers were freshly picked at the floral shops. The smell of freshly made food mingled with the floral scent making her hungry. But what was she in the mood for? Everything sounded good to her at the moment.
"Come on."
A gasp escaped her at the voice and a hand gripped her arm softly. Looking back, she took in the stormy eyes of Laxus as he stared down at her. Quickly she looked down to break the stare down and pulled her arm out of his hand. "I don't need a babysitter."
"Nor did I feel like standing around waiting for Evergreen. What are you in the mood for?" Laxus questioned as he watched her for any indication of what she wanted. He didn't blame her for avoiding him since yesterday.
She looked around trying to keep him out of her vision. She didn't want to be reminded what Evergreen said even as she took in the subtle aroma of cinnamon coming off him. It wasn't how he normally smelled back home but she wasn't about to comment on it. It meant talking to him which she was trying to avoid.
Narrowing his eyes, he looked around for what she might go for. Knowing how she was she was missing Magnolia and cooking for herself. It was driving him nuts that she was being this cold. It didn't seem like her especially looking back. The first hour of her getting up he could understand but after that she was always in a good mood.
"Hey." He called to her, grabbing hold of her jacket lightly.
Quickly Emi spun around and looked at him. She had a harshness in her eyes while he looked at her with a softness that didn't seem possible for him. She tugged the jacket out of his hand and crossed her arms. "What?"
He grit his teeth to keep himself from saying something he would regret. Like he needed to say something that would add to the tension between them. "Let's go over there."
He pointed over to a small diner that had a decent amount of people in it for breakfast. She followed his finger then looked back at him. She couldn't tell if he was just saying that to get her to stop walking or was actually meaning on stopping there. Either way she wasn't going to complain because it meant food.
"Fine." She muttered and walked through the crowd of people.
He followed her while trying to find a way to break the ice with her. It reminded him of catching her in the strip club performing. He knew she was willing to do anything to keep that a secret but now she wasn't even wanting to speak to him.
They got seated and ordered their drinks. Her gaze was focused on the people walking by. If it meant ignoring him then she was going to do just that.
"Hey Emi." Laxus called to her which gave him no type of answer from her. A growl escaped him as he ran his hand through his hair. What would Freed and them do in this situation? They would let it be, but he couldn't do that. "Emi can you listen to me for a little bit? I have something to say."
In order to distract herself from him she bit her cheek. She rather have anyone else being company but at the same time she didn't want to come off as picky. It was Laxus after all but now that she was thinking about her actions in the past, she just felt flustered and frustrated. The next time she saw Evergreen by herself she was going to give her an earful if she remembered.
"Emi. Listen."
"Fine. You have my attention. Now what do you want Laxus?" Emi hissed as she looked into the softening stormy eyes of the man. They reminded her of all the storms that she had tried to avoid listening. They brought back so many memories she tried to forget about so she could move on with her listen. But right now, they weren't hard like a downpour of rain instead they were a slow drizzle.
A sigh escaped him as he leaned back into his seat as their food was set in front of them. He watched her drizzle the syrup onto her small stack of waffles which he knew she was going to do. She would even go through and put some on her sausage that she got to add a little flavor to them. "About yesterday."
She stopped what she was doing and looked at him like a deer stuck in the headlights. Her heart started to hammer in her chest as her mind raced with what he could be wanting to talk about. He wasn't going to confess any type of feelings toward her because there was no way she was his type of girl. She wasn't pretty enough nor had the right type of body.
An eyebrow rose slowly at the expression she was giving him. What happened on her end after they got separated? What did Evergreen do to her that was making her act like this. "Let's just put it behind us. You have every right to be mad but let's put it behind us. If it wasn't for you, I would have been living in the forest around Magnolia or even wandering around Fiore. You gave me a roof over my head and helped me get back on my feet. I will admit you mean a lot to me because of it and more."
Emi ducked her head and tried to stuff her mouth with some of her waffles to keep herself from blurting anything out. She wasn't about to make a complete fool out of herself only to be shot down by him. Why didn't anyone else come with them? Did people like making her miserable? If so, then she was about to scream if not give them a lecture for it.
"So, are we on better terms compared to yesterday?" Laxus questioned as he looked down at his own plate.
She nodded while stuffing more of her breakfast into her mouth. The less she said the better off she would be.
He watched her secretly as he ate his own breakfast. Normally she was talkative especially when she hadn't seen someone in a while. It was how she was but instead she was being quiet or giving one-word answers. Something was up and he was going to figure it out.
After breakfast she was ahead of him just so he wouldn't see her facial expressions. She could feel herself freaking out at what could be said between them. All she wanted to do was get to the client's house and start on restoring this woman's memories. Maybe then she could distract herself for a while.
Stopping in front of the house she looked at it. It screamed to her that they were well off with how big it was. Something told her that they had jobs that paid well if not one of them inherited money. Stuffing her hands into her jacket she peeked up at the lightning mage beside her. He looked serious as if he was thinking about something, but she wasn't about to ask him about it.
"Well, um I'll see you later." Emi whispered as she walked down the flagstone path to the door.
The sound of his feet following her made her stop from knocking on the door. Looking at him her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He should have left. It wasn't like he had things to do. He had plenty of training to do for the event coming up.
"Um I don't need you here."
"I can stick around for a while. I rather it be safe for you then have you be in trouble." Laxus argued as he glanced down at her. "If something was to happen to you then I would never forgive myself."
Her face warmed up and matched her hair if she knew better. She ducked her head down and knocked on the door. Why couldn't she act normal around him? Dammit Evergreen she thought as she waited for an answer.
A middle-aged man answered the door which was a welcomed distraction for her. "Can I help you?"
She smiled softly and straightened her back. "I'm Emi Yamamoto from Fairy Tail. I'm here for the request that you put out for curing your wife's amnesia."
"Ah good to see that you made it. Hopefully, the travel wasn't difficult." The man chimed as he stepped aside to let her in.
Stepping in she took in the foyer. Paintings lined the wall along with a staircase that was stained. Pictures also lined a wall that told her of a family that was happy. She couldn't help but stare at the family portrait that made her slightly jealous. It was a dated picture because in it the man didn't have any greying hair but now, he did. "It wasn't too bad. So, can you give me an idea on what happened?"
The man nodded as he closed the door behind Laxus. "It happened a few months ago. She was on a trip with some of her family and encountered someone. It must have been a wizard wanting to cause mischief or something along those lines. We've tried every spell and wizard for the most part to reverse it."
Her eyes narrowed as she tapped her fingers on her chin as she thought about it. If someone was just wanting to cause mischief, then it would be a simple spell. This wasn't that from the sound of things. This was something that was meant to cause some form of harm. "Alright. Can you show me where your wife is right now? I want to try now to get this fixed."
"Right this way." He replied as he made his way through the door to their right.
She followed him with Laxus behind her. He reminded her of a lost puppy, but she wasn't about to say that to him. She had no way to know how he would react and being in front of her client she had to be as professional as she could be.
"She's in the sunroom right now reading."
Laxus watched the two of them. There wasn't anything that was raising red flags to him, so it was obvious this man didn't mean any harm to Emi. Once more it seemed like she was a completely different person to him with how she was trying to present herself to this stranger. She seemed older to him now.
When they came into the room Emi could feel the warmth radiating off the sun. It was nice even to the point she had to shed her jacket to keep herself from getting overheated. A woman that was slightly younger than the man sat on a chair with a book in hand.
"Dear. We have someone here that is willing to help us with your memory issue." He called to get her attention.
Looking up with ocean blue eyes she set the book down and nodded. "Alright. Would you get the tea ready for them?"
He nodded and left them as Emi sat down on a stool next to the chair. She watched the woman for anything that might be an indicator for what was causing this amnesia but found nothing.
"Okay Miss―"
"You can call me Claire dear."
"Miss Claire I will admit that I'm rusty with my own magic, but I will get your memories back for you. I will keep at it until I've exhausted all my options." Emi declared as she looked at the woman.
The look of determination surprised Laxus to say the least. He knew that she was stubborn, but this was new to him. He couldn't even remember the last time he saw her use her magic, so this was going to be a treat for him.
"I just need to touch your head. Is that okay?" Emi questioned which was answered with a nod. Quickly she looked at Laxus for a little bit of support before reaching shakily up to the woman. She wasn't going to say she was nervous, but she was. This was for Fairy Tail and her own personal growth. She had to learn to use her magic again no matter what.
Lightly she touched the woman's head feeling how soft her blond hair was. A small smile graced her face only to disappear behind the determination. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself so she could focus. "Memory magic memory recollection."
Letting her eyes fall close she waited for the darkness of her own mind change to the memories of Claire's. She took her time and worked her way up to using her magic again so she wouldn't pass out right away from using it. She was going to get back to her full potential to make everyone proud of her.
Flashes of light filled her mind causing her to frown. She found something but it wasn't showing itself to her.
"Get out." A voice barked at her, but it didn't scare her like it should have.
She kept her mouth shut just so she wouldn't raise any alarms. Something told her that whoever did this wasn't wanting something found out. Slowly she went deeper into the woman's subconscious to dig for what they were missing. She got images of children laughing in the yard along with helping out in the kitchen. The warmth of the love she had for the man she called her husband.
Then it all went black on her.