It was the morning after their stressful dinner before. They searched high and low for Gajeel, but it seemed he wasn't anywhere near the castle at the time. They even checked the library, a location Lucy said he should of been in. Erza leaned her back against the wall of her room. Without Gajeel, their mission was on hold.
They were all sure he knew what was going on. He had the information they needed to figure out how to stop those dark guilds from getting any closer to the royal family. Gray was leaning next to her with an exhausted expression. They all hadn't got a wink of sleep last night. Gray and Erza watched as Wendy yawned from on top of her bed.
She pet Charle's distressed form tiredly. Only stopping when there was a timid knock on the door. Everyone perked up and stared at the door. Levy, from on the floor, rolled her eyes at their suspicious expressions, and stood up to open the door. She then smiled when she came eye to eye with Lucy. The blonde stepped in and shut the door softly with a click.
"Hi everyone. I, um-" She looked to have difficulty trying to get the right words out. Shaking her head hopelessly, she just grabbed something from behind her back. It was a letter. The envelope was torn and wore out from what seemed to be her sticking the letter in and taking it out so many times. She slowly handed it to Erza for her to read.
Taking out a piece of paper from the envelope, she unfolded it and narrowed her eyes as she read it. Slowly, her hands started to clench the letter lightly. Wrinkling the poor paper further. Erza quickly tore her eyes away from the letter and looked up at Lucy. Who squeaked at her glare. "Are you absolutely sure this is from Gajeel?" She asked.
Lucy nodded solemnly. "Of course. I would know his hand writing anywhere."
That didn't ease Erza's nerves. She cursed and shoved the paper in her armor. Gray scoffed and stood next to Erza. "Well? You gonna tell us what he said or are you just doing this for dramatic effect?" Not in the mood for play, Erza turned her glare on Gray and watched him back up from her in fear. Erza then narrowed her eyes down at the ground.
"Gajeel informed Lucy that he was going away on a "business" trip," She air quoted. "He must of caught on to us and fled. It says he won't be back in a month."
"A month!?" Natsu shouted in disbelief. "What are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Natsu was pretty quiet until now, but that was because he was still in deep thought from the night before. He would admit that he wasn't much of a thinker, but he was just so confused. It left his mind darting from idea to idea, thoughts good and bad. He rubbed his sore eyes, he hadn't gotten much sleep either.
"We have to wait out the month and ask him what he knows when he gets back," Levy said in deep thought. She narrowed her eyes as she kept thinking. "I say during then, we have groups that search outside the castle for any clues on what exactly is going on, and then we have a group here that protects the castle."
"That's a good idea Levy. I'll choose the teams and every couple of days, we'll switch out-"
"I uh, don't think that's a good idea right now," Lucy interrupted. Being cut off, Erza crossed her arms at Lucy expectantly. Lucy coughed lightly and went on. "What I'm saying, is that there is a festival going on and the townsfolk are going to be heavily focused on that. Gajeel leaves this time every year for a month because of it. He does his personal business for a month while preparations are being made and then he comes back the night if the festival." Lucy tried to explain.
Everyone just stared at her. She blushed and figited in her spot. Gray shook himself out of his daze and blinked at her. "So...this festival distracts everyone from their daily work. And for an entire month, they prepare for this festival. How come we've never heard of it, we live in Magnolia."
Lucy sighed and turned away from everyone to stare at the wall. "That's because you live on the opposite side of Magnolia. The people who live close to the castle prepare for this festival."
"Why does Gajeel leave though?" Wendy asked Lucy meekly. Hearing her voice, Lucy slowly relaxed and turned to Wendy.
"He tells me he doesn't like all the noise and commotion so he leaves. But I know the real reason..." she mutters.
"Well then, what is this festival about anyway. And why is it so important?" Erza questioned, well, more like interrogated. Lucy sighed and turned her gaze to the ground. She had a troubled look on her face, but didn't say anything about it.
"In exactly one month, it'll be the day of my birth. Once word got out, five years ago, that I was born July 1st, there has been a festival for it ever since," she scoffed. Then realizing how she looked, she quickly changed her expression. "I mean, it's not like I don't appreciate the gesture or anything. The festival is so incredible every year. I just...don't like my birthday. And I'm sure Gajeel flees from the town to try and find me extravagant gifts like he gives me every year. Even if I tell him hundreds of times it's no big deal." Lucy sighed with a small smile. Don't get her wrong, it warms her heart when she receives a gift from him. And each year, it holds a special place in her heart. It isn't just jewelry or shiny things. He finds something that really shows he knows her more than anyone else.
Though she wished he would just stay with her instead. That would be the perfect gift. She always feels so empty when he leaves for the month. But...she doesn't feel that this time. She definitely still misses him, but when she looks at the Fairy Tail mages, her heart swells with happiness.
Even if they're just there to do their job. She still feels like they treat her like an old time friend. She looks up to see Erza sigh out through her nose. Erza shakes her head and points to Levy, Wendy, and Natsu. Lucy watches as they pipe up and stiffen with her gaze.
"Levy's plan still stands. You three will guard the castle for now. Happy, Charle, myself, and Gray will search around the town for any leads. We'll leave tonight." Gray and Levy nodded. But Wendy and Natsu were less thrilled.
"Hey! Why're you taking Happy away!"
"And Charle!" Wendy added.
Erza turned to them sharply. "Because they'll be able to cover more ground in the air. Got a problem?"
A shiver ran up their spines simultaneously. "N-No ma'am!" They cried. Lucy couldn't help but giggle at the scene. Fairy Tail didn't let anything get in their way. She respected that. Clearing her throat, she was able to get their attention. She turned her body to both Gray and Erza.
"I might have a lead for you. While I did say most of the townsfolk focus on the festival, there are obviously outliers who don't like the kingdom. There's a pub, Dark Rivers, I heard it's right outside this side of town. A lot of dark guilds hang out there so I'm sure they have tons of information for you." Lucy explained to them. Gray shook his head.
"But didn't you say you've never left the castle. How would you know all of this?" He asked her suspiciously. Which was expected. Lucy should of told them this information right off the bat, but she was scared. Of what? She had no idea.
"Gajeel told me about it. He told me to never go to that side of town if I managed to...uhm...get a day off and leave the castle. Yeah..." she laughed forcefully. What? She wasn't going to tell them everything. Not noticing her stuttering over her words, they nodded in understanding. Levy sighed and stood up next to Lucy.
"So Lucy, how does this festival work anyway?" Levy questioned with a small smile. Lucy laughed a bit and placed a finger on her chin as she looked up in thought.
"Well, they design these amazing floats and stands. Each one is different than the last. For my sixteenth birthday last year, they threw me a sweet sixteen. Literally. Candy and sweets were everywhere. And everyone danced in different candy costumes. It was the cutest thing I'd ever seen." Thinking back at all the things the townspeople did for her, it brought a huge warm smile on her face. She still didn't like her birthday, but they made things a little less hard. She could enjoy all the children play and the people dancing happily.
"That sounds nice. I wonder what they'll do this year?" Levy giggled.
"Well, I heard something about it being fairy tale themed. Y'know, like the story books." She added on, when seeing their confusion.
"Let's not get off track," Charle said suddenly. Eyes landed on her. "I say we get going now if we want to cover more ground. Waiting until later could prove to be dangerous." Everyone, except Lucy, noticed the troubled look on her face. Seeing this, Erza stood up and nodded. Gray was shocked just how easily Erza agreed with Charle. It must really be serious.
"That's true. Come on, Happy and Gray." They left the room rather quickly after that. Lucy scratched the back of her head.
"I wonder what that was about..." She muttered. Shrugging it off, she noticed the stares she was getting from the three that stayed. "I guess I should get back to my chamber. I have to finish my studies. I'll see you guys later." She waved. Once she left, all eyes were on Wendy.
"We saw that look Charle had. Did she tell you something?" Levy asked her, a frown set on her features.
Wendy bit her lip. "Well..."
...
"Are you sure Charle. Are you sure that's what you saw!?" Erza yelled to her as they stocked through the woods. Happy's eyes were wide as he stated at Charle in disbelief. The white cat sighed and flew next to Gray silently for a couple moments. She wasn't at all bothered by Erza's frustration. Finally, Charle peered down at the two mages and nodded.
"My premonitions usually aren't wrong. I consulted Wendy about it the morning it came, but the child wasn't very much help. It could of just been a bad dream from all the stress of being here, but...it seemed so real. I just, I don't know." Charle explained in frustration. She still couldn't believe what she saw herself. It was horrendous and nerve wracking. Erza stopped in her tracks.
"From what you've described, this doesn't seem like a small nightmare. How do you suppose we stop it?" Erza paced back and forth, thinking about her own question. Charle rolled her eyes as Erza was off in her own little world. Her eyes darted to Gray. He was just as shocked as anyone else.
"I'm not sure if we can stop it..."
"But," Gray started. "I just can't imagine this happening to her when were around. Especially since Natsu is...is right there!"
"Yes, me either. But I know what I saw. Lucy's going to be killed, surrounded by fire and destruction. And Natsu will be holding her in his arms, tears rolling down his face."