Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail
Hisui's schedule has opened up considerably, as the constructions are still going underway—only a handful of schools have been completed—Hisui decided to use her time on either minor adjustment to the city or spend time with her friends. Currently, it was the latter. Hisui was sitting with her friends, chatting away at Fairy Tail over tea until she remembered an important message from her father.
"You're leaving for the capital? Why?" Lisanna asked Hisui.
"I assume that father has something to ask of me, he didn't disclose anything concrete. I think it's about time to, I haven't visited in three months."
"That's true, you went back twice in the nine months you've been here?"
"Including tomorrow, it'll be three."
"Do you need anyone to go with you?" Erza asked.
"No, I don't think it'll be a problem, Karie has grown very strong with your guidance."
"I didn't do much, Karie is capable to begin with, I only sparred with her."
"That aside," Levy closed her book and faced Hisui "how long do you have to be away for?"
"I'm not too sure, I don't think it'll be longer than a day, I don't have anything major planned, it was father that summoned me."
"I got an idea! Why don't you show your father that you can cook now!"
"But, Karie reports lots of things to father, I'm not sure if she has told him that I've learned how to cook." Hisui looked at Karie for answers.
"Don't worry, I didn't tell Toma-sama, when you first started, I didn't want to worry him or Arcadios-sama since you hurt yourself. As time went on, I forgotten about it."
"Then let's think of something to give him!" Lisanna suggested with vigour. "It's got to be something that can be eaten at any time, Hisui won't have time to re-heat it. Easy to carry…oh yeah! Does the King have any dislikes in food?"
"Father isn't picky with food as far as I know."
"That makes things much easier, girls what do you have in mind?"
"How about a cake then?" Erza lifted her plate with a slice of her favourite cake. "It can be carried for without worry for the temperature, of course, the taste is top-notch."
"Erza, the train trip and a carriage ride might ruin the presentation."
"A salad then?" Lucy pointed out.
"The fresher, the better. But, Hisui is travelling for a while, not to mention that a salad doesn't represent Hisui's cooking skills much."
"How about some biscuits?" Mirajana suggested, topping off everyone's drinks. "It's easy to carry, adding variety can suggest Hisui's skill, you don't have to worry about it getting soggy if you pack it correctly. Plus, they're a great snack to have at any time."
"Mira-nee, you're a genius! Let's go buy the ingredients now!" Lisanna pulled Hisui got of her seat, leaving Karie to silently follow the two.
Compared to when Hisui just started her job as the mayor, it was like two different worlds, curious staring became joyous greetings; distant actions became friendly gestures; blind following became wholehearted support. Hisui followed the path she's long been familiar with to shops.
"What kind should we make?" Lisanna picked two bags of flour and weighed the two with an expert eye. "Do we go with something more simple? Or something tougher?"
"Can we have a combination of both?"
"Sure, we'll just have to get a bit more ingredients." Before long, Karie was carrying two bags of ingredients, heading to Lisanna's house with her as the guide. "Are you sure you don't want me to carry a bag for you?"
"No problem, these bags aren't that heavy. It's also my job to do so. We're grateful that you're lending us your kitchen."
"Don't worry about that, we're always happy to receive guests, it's more fun that way. Don't forget to take your shoes off." Lisana fished out her keys and opened the doors, pushing her guests inside before turning on the lights. "It's been a while since you two came here but, nothing changed much, you still remember where the toilet is right?" Lisanna took the bags off Karie's hands and placed them on a kitchen counter, quickly washing her hands shortly after.
"We'll manage." Hisui said.
"You two wash your hands first, I'll take out the cooking equipment." Lisanna said, drying her hands with a towel.
It wasn't long until the smell of fresh biscuit was released from the oven, filling the entire kitchen with nuts, butter, laced with the hint of chocolate. Hisui took a pair of oven mittens and pulled the tray of baked goods. She took three biscuits from the batch of biscuits and handed one to Karie and Lisanna. Lisanna bit half of the biscuit while Karie took a nibble, Hisui didn't touch hers until her friends gave their comments.
"Delicious!" "Full marks."
"Really?"
"Take a bite yourself!" Lisanna urged. Hisui took a hesitant bite, she broke through the warm biscuit that was tempting her nose, the slight sweetness of chocolate along with the correct amount of butter drew a smile to Hisui's lips. It wasn't the snack that was the most enjoyable, it was the burst of happiness that wrapped around Hisui like a blanket.
"No problems, I think father will enjoy this."
"But still, your cooking really has improved."
"I wish I can say the same with other chores, I can't seem to get used to cleaning."
"That's just because you don't have much practise, Karie does most of it."
"That's the same thing with cooking! I have around the same time with other chores and cooking."
"You're really selling yourself short, Karie told me you've been practicing when everyone else is sleeping."
"How did you know that? I thought Karie was asleep."
"You didn't really don't much awareness when you're focusing on something." Karei provided. "I've known you for long time now, I don't think it's too difficult to think that I can pretend to sleep to find out what you were doing so late at night."
"Anyway." Lisanna said. "I think you put more time into cooking because cooking is more fun than moping floors or polishing windows. Most people I know hate cleaning."
"Natsu seems to be the most extreme case."
"Hisui, you've been to Natsu's house?"
"Just once by myself, and another time with Karie. Karie got really angry at Natsu. I don't think I've ever seen Karie that angry, she's usually got a good control over her emotions."
"You can't blame me." Karie said meekly. "I was shocked to see how messy his house was."
"He's always been like that since we were kids. I guess I got used to it so it doesn't bother me anymore."
"Lisanna, do you have a box I can put these in?" Hisui pointed to the tray of biscuits.
"Sure, there should be one in the drawer to your left." Hisui's hand wandered to a drawer and stopped there. "Yeah that one."
"Thank You for helping me, I wouldn't be able to bake these by myself." Hisui said, organising each biscuit into different piles and placing them in a transparent container.
"Don't mention it, I'm glad that I can help. You don't have to return that, we have plenty, we can't use them all."
"I can't do that, I'll give it back to you after we come back."
"I'll be waiting."
Hisui was looking out the train window, allowing the wind to brush her hair from the small gap she opened. The mountains that would claw out from the forests was a sight that rouses Hisui's sense of exploration, something that wasn't fully satisfied just by wandering in the streets when Hisui was just a child. A box wrapped in red cloth sat on Hisui's lap, while Hisui was drinking a glass of water. Opposite to Hisui, Karie's attention was directed to Hisui's hair that was waving to the wind.
"You know, we'll have to tidy your hair up before we meet Toma-sama."
"It won't take that long. In any case, I haven't heard from Arcadios in a while, have you heard anything about him?"
"No I haven't, I assume that he's still training recruits as hard as he's always been doing."
"That does sound like him."
"Have you received notice at what happened to your admirers?"
"Which ones?" Hisui relied with a frown.
"John and Richard."
"What about them?" All of the sudden, Hisui's glass of water tasted stale and rusty.
"They requested to see you."
"Absolutely not!"
"I thought as much, that's why I dismissed it when I received the request from the mail."
"Did they mention the reason?"
"Not particularly, it did come with a handwritten letter, I hope you don't mind that I read it."
"No, I don't, what did it say?"
"From what I can gather, it seemed like a childish love letter, not like the ones you showed me before. This one is…ugly and desperate."
"I am interested to know what an actual letter written by them would look like."
"Unfortunately, I disposed of it after reading, forgive me."
"Good job." Seeing the city coming into view, Karie opened her purse.
"Should I prepare some flowers when we arrive?"
"No need, I'm afraid I might end up like last time, I don't want father to see me in a weak state."
"Are you sure?"
"Not exactly but, I'm sure it'll be for the best, I want mother to be proud of me when I visit her, I haven't done anything worth talking about lately."
"You really are a slow daughter huh? Caroline-sama will get mad."
"Aren't you getting comfortable with your position?"
"You gave it to me." Karie broke into a playful smile.
"I reap what I sow I guess."
"Don't say it in a bad way, aren't you glad that we opened up?"
"For as much pain as it gives me, yes."
Walking back on her home ground is always a lovely experience for Hisui, this time, it was amplified by the long-time way from Crocus that almost made Hisui want to walk to the palace. That was of course, shut down after a few seconds of thinking. Before long, Hisui was seated comfortably to her way to the palace.
"Do you have any idea why father called me here so suddenly?"
"No, I'm afraid, I don't."
"Even with all the reports you handed to him?"
"We'll just have to find out ourselves."
"Hisui. You've really done great for the pass nine months as a mayor." The King sat on his throne announced with pride that only Hisui could pick up. "It wasn't a mistake at all for me to send you to Magnolia, I'm sure you've honed your skills as well as learned a few if, these biscuits really were made by you." Toma happily placed another pastry in his mouth.
"I still have ways to go, while I did make those, I received help from friends and Karie." Hisui replied. "But, father why did you suddenly summon me here on such short notice?"
"Ahh about that, you're here to listen to your test results. Congratulations, you passed."
"Really!?"
"Of course!" The king chuckled heartily. "If I don't acknowledge your new schools, health improvements, various minor plans such as increased scholarship quota and monetary rewards, happier citizens and more! I would be a failure as a King. And I didn't include your outrageous railroad network. You did well, I'm proud of you. Of course, your mother would be as well, I have a good idea on what you can achieve as the next ruler."
"Thank You…"
"Now, back to business." Toma's fatherly tone took a serious shift, just enough to let Hisui know that the next topic is important, but not so much as to abandon his title as 'Father'. "Hisui, it's time for you to come back to the capital."
Thanks for reading! Sorry for the shorter chapter, I couldn't think of what to add without seeming like I'm writing nonsense.
So this will be the beginning of the end of an 'arc'. Long story short, I'm having a hard time in trying to develop an already well-off city. In stead, I will be focusing more on Hisui's social life and her relationships. There still will be the city developments, just not as much as there used to. For that reason, I can ask for chapter ideas again! So, if you have any ideas or cool scenarios, please send them my way.
Another thing I can do is just end the story by the next chapter. However, I don't think I'll be doing that because It feels incomplete if I do that. Also, since I'm focusing less on the city, hopefully I'll have an easier time in write thus, get my interest in this story back.
That's all I got for now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, have a nice day!