Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail
"Remind me why we're doing this press conference again." Hisui said while letting Karie pull the zip to her white dress. They were in a dressing room; the lighting was perfect for the application of her make-up. On the dresser table, a gold necklace with an emerald as the centre piece laid beside a pair of small earrings that matches Hisui's hair.
"Because," Karie started, brushing Hisu's hair thoroughly. "the reporters were too much of a hassle in asking for your interviews. So we figured that holding a press conference will be the best value of your time, to make sure you don't have to do this again anytime soon." Karie bunched Hisui's hair up to tie it into a ponytail.
"They really are making a big deal out of a new mayor." Hisui fitted the earrings while Kaire was centring the necklace.
"It's a Princess that's taking the position, it's so surprise you're garnering so much attention." Karie weaved a gold headpiece with a ruby at the middle in Hisui's hair. "You're done Hisui-sama."
"Wrong, we're alone." Hisui tilted her head to different angles.
"You have to give me time to stop doing something I been doing since I started serving you."
"A reminder will do it a good job at that."
"I suppose." Karie smiled wryly.
"In any case, I much rather continue with my work, as tedious as it is."
"But this is your work." Karie poked Hisui's cheek. "Unless you're saying that a press conference isn't one."
"Then let's get this over with." Hisui rose with an air of dignity, determined to finish the onslaught of questions from the raving masses. It wasn't Hisui's first interview or press conference, but it was one of the rare case where her father was not the main topic of interest but Hisui herself.
The instant Hisui walked in the venue, flashes already began, capturing Hisui's unwavering form and Karie that was silently tagging behind her master. Hisui adjusted the microphone to her level while looking closely at the people below, all of them holding a thirst for knowledge and desire for answers—all of which they are hoping that Hisui can provide for them.
"Good morning everyone, I'm glad to see so many people can make it to this press conference that was decided abruptly. Over the past week since I've been the mayor of Magnolia has been busy for me. So I apologise that only now, a press conference is being held. Before we get started, I would like to thank the people that has been working alongside me in making Magnolia a better place. Without these people and their experience, I would have finished my work in a less timely fashion. Thank You all for your hard work." Claps rang through the hall in appreciation for the unsung heroes. "Now, I believe that we should start what most, if not all of you have come here for. Please raise your hands if you have a question." Anemones grew instantly, fishing for knowledge in a sea of hunger. "The man with a purple tie in the second row."
"What was the reason on why you chose Magnolia to be the mayor of?"
"That was a decision made by my father, I accepted because I heard that this city is vibrant and lively. Another reason why I accepted was because Fairy Tail interested me after the Grand Magic Games. Becoming the mayor was the perfect opportunity to fulfil these personal interests of mine. The lady with glasses on the last row, what is your question?"
"Can you share your opinion on Magnolia as a city?"
"It's a lovely city to live in. The people are friendly to one another, the city itself is developed enough to satisfy your needs as a citizen. At the same time, there is enough room to improve and expansion isn't a problem due to the surrounding lands." The next to ask a question was a middle-aged man.
"There are rumours that Hisui-sama is coming to Magnolia to find a suitable suitor, can you confirm whether that is true or not?" The question itself shook Hisui slightly as she hasn't heard these rumours nor did Karie report of them. However, her professional complexion didn't change as she answered the question.
"No, me becoming the mayor has nothing to do with finding a partner." To Hisui's confusion, whispers surfaced from the crowd below, people had disappointed looks to their faces. That was quickly shut down upon the next question.
"Why was the city's education prioritised over other aspects of Magnolia?"
"That came from a conclusion after seeing the number of highly educated people in Magnolia was lower than other cities. At the same time, I want to give the underprivileged a better chance at a better life with a good background in education so that they can find a sufficient salary." Most of the other questions proceed that last one was attempts at prying into Hisui's duties or her personal life in Magnolia. All of which were averted or given an answer but, not an answer at the same time, something that Hisui had to do a lot back when dealing with nobles or a controversial topic popped up in a conversation.
"That was tiring…" Hisui stretched and abandoned all air of superiority now that she was back in the dressing room with Karie. "I didn't expect it to go for so long…"
"Hisui-sama is well loved after all." Karie said as she was removing the make-up from Hisui.
"Some of those questions were practically breaching privacy! 'Where do I live now?' that's something you shouldn't ask at a conference."
"My guess is that they were new to the job." Karie was now removing the jewellery but leaving the earrings alone as Hisui was taking them off.
"That's three hours of my work time gone."
"Then I don't think it's a big problem for you to take the rest of the day off."
"I can't, you know I need to prepare for the meeting tomorrow. Plus, I'm considering my options in increasing our income. And that's not including the paperwork I have to do regarding the library budget. Adding that, there's no way I can take a break! It's a shame that not all libraries here are created equal, some are more popular than others, so I have to put more money into those, that's even more time used up..."
"Also, you need to leave the city a week from now."
"That's why I need to get things done ahead of time."
"I guessed we picked a bad time to hold this."
"I'm not sure about that. Assuming our trip goes well, I'll be busy trying to get a grant from father. For that, I need to give him a good explanation on my new project."
"It seems like my duty has also increased." Karie looked at Hisui playfully.
"What do you mean?"
"I need to make sure you don't overwork yourself. Worse, I'm not even getting a raise."
"You don't even need the amount of money you're getting paid now."
"I may have to, I need to pay for my medical bills."
"What!? When did you get hurt!? Why didn't you tell me!? I could have it covered without having you to pay for it!" Hearing Karie's laugh and seeing her dimples turned Hisui's anxious look to a pout. "I was really worried…"
"My bad, my bad." Karie's laugh was reduced to giggles. "Jokes aside, if you're making me more worried than I am now, I will need medical attention."
"I'll try. I can't guarantee anything."
"That's fine by me."
Working is when Hisui will turned off her attention to everything unrelated to her task. A predator on their hunt, Hisui would ignore the smell of her tea and only notice it's delivery when it has long gone cold after she finished whatever she was doing at the time. After sending away the documents she just signed and reviewing her meeting plans, Hisui grimaced at the cool tea, blaming herself for not paying attention to Karie's calls. This wasn't the first time Hisui drank a mouthful of unpleasant tea, even back in the palace, Hisui would occasionally suffer a wave of regret.
Giving her body a good stretch, Hisui stared at the plant Natsu gave to her. Under the bright light of the afternoon, no one could have known that the plant glows in the dark. In a weird way, the plant strengthened Hisui's desire to go outside to bask in the sunny rays; to watch the clouds morph into shapes and allow her brain to run wild; to relish the orchestra of nature. At the same time, looking at the plant made Hisui discontent due to what she found out recently.
Following the day after Hisui placed the plant on her window, the weather was a fine, crisp morning with strong winds soothing even the most active athletes. The fluttering curtains made Hisui win her race with her alarm. She was in her most comfortable time of the day—feeling refreshed and laid-back—a time that belonged to nothing else; not to a document; nor a letter; neither to another person.
Hisui climbed out of bed to control the flailing curtains—after getting whipped in the face by one. After cleaning herself up, Hisui got loss in a book that Levy recommended, flipping through the pages slowly, savouring the free time that she has. Two sharp knocks interrupted Hisui's reading.
"Come in." Hisui inserted a bookmark to the page she was reading before closing the book.
"Hisui-sama, breakfast is prepared."
"Karie! Why are you still so stiff?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to give me more time than that."
"Doesn't mean I can't get upset."
"Once you're finished reading, come down to eat, everyone is—I see Natsu-sama gave you a Moondew as well."
"As well?"
"I found a box with plant in it, I'm sure you found the same thing."
"Yes…" Hisui looked at the plant. "I did…"
"Hisui-sama?"
"Does a Moondew have any special to it? Besides that it glows of course."
"From what I read, a Moondew, when it blossoms, it will release a pollen that lets animals and humans that smell it, to have good dreams and get rid of nightmares."
"I see…I'll have to thank Natsu for the gift." Hisui never lifted her eyes off the Moondew until the doors to her room closed as they went downstairs where her friends were waiting.
Hisui's discontent happened just this morning, she still doesn't know what to make of it, only that she must repay Natsu one way or another. That proved to be a harder problem to tackle than the other work she has been doing thus far—Hisui has no idea what Natsu prefers for a gift! The one thing related to his personality Hisui knows about Natsu besides the things open to the public was that Natsu doesn't care for social status—something Hisui greatly appreciates. Hisui racked her brain for ideas, only to wander to Natsu's scarf, his pink hair—looking soft to the touch despite being spikey—or his sunny smile that can brighten a funeral's sombre atmosphere. Nothing useful came up.
"Hisui, dinner is ready."
"Karie, you should knock on the door before coming in."
"I did."
"I did it again didn't I?"
"Can you tell me?"
"I want to give Natsu-san a gift as thanks."
"For?"
"For the Moondew, first of all…and…for making me go to sleep when I overworked."
"I see. Come to think of it, I haven't thanked him for that as well."
"Then how about we thank him together? It's not my style to be in debt to someone, I'm sure you're the same."
"You know me well." Karie smiled.
"Let's wait until we come back from our trip."
"If I may, I believe that it's wise to have more people to join us."
"You don't have confidence in your ability?"
"I don't think it's wrong to be careful."
"Who do you have in mind?"
"Erza-sama's team."
"Natsu-san is in there correct?"
"We can thank him over there."
"Let's do that, I'll ask Erza-san after dinner."
"I hope you'll like it, I wasn't the one cooking today."
"Aren't you usually doing it?" Karie responded with a shrug.
"Apparently, they felt bad that I'm the one that's cooking all the time. Even though it's my job."
"Better not keep them waiting."
The dinner table was filled with food that Hisui wasn't used to seeing. If Hisui is to describe it, it would be 'Homely'. All the food are things that seem ordinary to other people. To Hisui, it was a rare sight, a welcome one too as Hisui has eaten gourmet too many times. Simpler food intrigued Hisui.
"Erza-san, can I ask a favour of you?" Hisui said, placing down her cutlery.
"What is it?"
"We have to leave Magnolia next week, do you think your team can come escort us?"
"No problem, where are you going?"
"I'm going to hold a meeting between leaders of town and cities. It's held in Clover town."
"If you don't mind me asking, what are you going to discuss there?"
"It's something crucial to Magnolia's development as well as benefiting other places. I'm going to make a railroad network connecting all the mayor towns and cities of Magnolia."
Thanks for reading! I hope my idea isn't too bad, the more I think of it the stranger it sounds.
I'm finally using some of the benefits of writing in third person, still could use some work and the next few chapters doesn't do any favours for me.
Anyway, I'm feeling a bit down lately, a bit lonely and a bit angry—mainly how pointless it feels like writing this story—really affecting my writing. The fact that I've been playing games again doesn't speed things up either.
I'm not begging for people to start giving me feedback to get my creative drive going again, I firmly believe that if my writing is good, people will naturally let me know what they think. The fact that no one is saying anything is telling me I need to up my game. So in a way, getting nothing but crickets is a good thing, even if it drives me slightly insane. But hey, a lot of successful people are kind of insane right?
Then why am I saying all this? I don't know really, I'm the type of person that feels better by writing down my frustration, and what better way to do that than to write it down on a section that no one read? I do feel much better after writing this down. I do have other stuff to say but, that will involve throwing stones at other writer on this site so, I won't be disclosing that any time soon.
Seriously though, if you pity me and start to write something down on the reviews section, you're not helping me, you're just proving to me that begging for reviews works and encourages me to do it more often. That won't be a fun time for anyone.
If anyone is reading this, I will keep writing, and I want to take this time in thanking you for reading my own ramblings that I should have kept private. Thanks for being awesome.
Until then, I hope you enjoyed and, I hope you have a great day!