Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail
How many times have I already been here? Hisui thought, legs freely swinging off a cliff. She looked down at the city she was in-charge of, hearing birds chirping behind her; feeling the dry, crisp air of the night, all those pleasant inputs couldn't match the flickering lights from the city below. She managed to make out the streets from the orange guidelines, allowing Hisui to identify the buildings as well. Her focus was on the large building resting near the shores of a lake, even at midnight, it still shone brighter than any other building in the city. Happy with the scene, Hisui turned to her companion hoping to find the same feeling brimming from the lips.
"Thank you for accompanying out here Natsu."
"Don't sweat it. I'm glad that you like this place." Natsu grinned. Under the city's influence, it made it seem like Natsu only had half a face. Yet, it made him look more mysterious than he really is, giving Hisui the urge to turn his hidden features to face Hisui.
"It helped me many times, when I was tired, frustrated or even scared, I could always turn here."
"You say something pretty terrible things you know?"
"Pardon?"
"Relying on something like this instead of finding your friends."
"They're not always available."
"Then come find me, I'll always find time for you. It's the least I can do for how much work you've put into the city."
"Thank you…" Natsu's serious words and stern face knocked the wrong way Hisui interpreted his words. "Tomorrow is day, are you nervous?"
"What for?"
"You're not?"
"Why should I?"
"That sounds just like you. I am."
"Relax, if all your hard work isn't rewarded, this world must be a crappy place. But, sitting here, proves that it isn't. If that doesn't help you, remember, I'll do whatever I can to make this festival a success, Fairy Tail's pride is on the line."
"Hey Natsu, can I ask a question?"
"What's with you all the sudden? Of course you can! we're friends aren't we?"
"That's true, I was being silly wasn't I? Anyway, I'm not afraid of the festival failing, I'm worried about causing others harm." Hisui let the wind whisper. "Have I told you about my mother?"
"No."
"Then I should start from there. When I was a kid, I was much less behaved than I am now, I snuck out the palace to explore the city. Later, I found that it was my mother that let me go out, she gave me a route where I could sneak out, no doubt I caused her to worry, I came back once with a cut and she has an angry face. Before, I thought that she was angry at me. But now, I knew that she was mad at herself.
"She regretted letting me out, but she let me continue anyway, she must have saw the smile on my face and wanted me to be happy. In exchange, I made my mother worry. In addition to a naughty daughter, my mother was in the middle of a really important reform at the time, adding together the time she made to spend time with her family, her stress was at a level that I can't even imagine.
"I then made some friends in the city, just normal people, we hung out and played for a year until, they found out that I was the Princess. Everything became weird after that, it was like a sunny day after rainy one, you can barely tell it rained at all. They thought that I was playing with their emotions and used them as a way to make fun of…c—commoners with other nobles. Once I grew up, around when I was twelve, I heard that one of my friends developed trust issues.
"That's why I'm scared Natsu, if my people get hurt because of some petty noble grudge, then I don't know what to do. I feel like that there's no way for me to do anything without some compromises."
"You really are an idiot." Natsu said at last, facing Hisui right in the eye. "Have you thought that because of your smile, you were helping with your mom's stress?"
"That's impossible."
"A parent gets no greater joy that seeing their child happy, that's what gramps always said. Igneel was a huge jerk but you know, even back when I was a brat, I felt that he was fine with taking care of me. He may not have known it, there were times when he thought I was sleeping," Natsu grinned, "he said some pretty embarrassing stuff. That's why I can say your smile from going out, helped your mom more than anything else in the world."
"However—"
"Don't worry about the past, the festival's tomorrow, do you really have time to worry about stuff like this?"
"No."
"Then forget about it. Besides, I'm sure that your mom wouldn't want to see you like this, show her the smile that won over everyone in the city. I said this before, you look the best when you're smiling." Natsu rose from the patch of grass he was sitting on and extended a hand to Hisui. "Come on, I'll walk you back."
"I don't think I'm cut for—"
"There you go again, show me your best side, you said that you owe me lots for being there for you every time I helped you for the past few months." Says Natsu, smiling himself to have Hisui do the same. Hisui took Natsu's hand, enjoying how perfect her hand fits into his. A strong tug from Natsu brought Hisui to her feet in one motion, releasing his hold on Hisui's hand in the same second. Losing the lovely feeling in her hand, Hisui sheepishly smiled at Natsu with a hint of greed.
"Can you…carry me? I think that my legs are asleep."
"Then let's get you to sleep too," with a gentle look, Natsu crouched and let Hisui fall on him, "you have a rough day ahead." Natsu fixed Hisui's legs to a better position and walked slowly down a path he made.
"I could say the same to you, you need to wake up earlier than you would."
"I'll be fine, it's not my first time, travelling a lot can do that to you."
"You don't strike me as someone that frequently loses sleep. In the guild, you're always so lively."
"It's not all the time, just when a job gets annoying." They went the rest of the way without another word, just body contact confirming each other's presence.
"Thanks for carrying me here." Hisui climbed off her friend's back, flattening out the creases on her clothes.
"No problem…then, I'll you tomorrow." Natsu turned away slowly.
"Natsu…goodnight."
"Goodnight."
At dawn, Hisui was on the streets of the Magnolia, looking closely at every stall and performer setting up. Streets lights dominated the dark, creepy vibe, striking shadows and illuminating the corners of the streets—Hisui wished that something simple could do the same to the heavy feeling in her head, filled with unease. She prayed for the safety of her people before shifting back to her duty.
Beside the increasing worried Princess, a petite girl that bunched her navy-blue hair to two streak of silky ribbons that streamed down the side of her head looked at Hisui with concern. A look that Hisui returned upon hearing a yawn.
"Wendy, are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Then let's start with that one." Hisui pointed to a stall that was manned by young lady calmly mixing flour with water. "Good morning, Miss Heartfield, I'm sorry but, we have to examine your ingredients one more time before the festival starts."
"Good morning, of course I have no problems with you checking, it only makes sense that you're looking out for your citizens. However, do you mind me asking why is this year more strict than last year?"
"That's right, you were selling bread last year as well," says Hisui while Wendy examined every bag of ingredients, "I won't say too much, only what's necessary; someone is trying to mess with the festival. So we're trying our best to prevent it."
"Is that true!? Why would anyone want to do this?"
"I have some ideas, nothing definitive. Because I don't have a clear idea, please take care of yourself, I already requested some guards to be transferred from the capital, you still can't be too careful."
"I understand, I won't tell this to anyone."
"Thank you."
"Everything's fine, I don't smell anything wrong." Wendy announced, drawing a sigh from the stall owner.
"Then with that, I wish that your business is successful, have a good day." The two moved on to the next store without waiting for a reply. "I'm sorry Wendy, you might end-up tired by the time we're finished with the inspection."
"Please don't worry about me, I'm just glad that I can help protect the city."
"Maybe I shouldn't have partnered with so many people this time."
"That's not true! You're willing to go this far just so that we can enjoy ourselves to the fullest."
"But still, I feel bad for stunning your growth." A mischievous smile crossed Wendy's vision.
"What do you—I drink plenty of milk!"
"I'm joking, cone on, we have a long way to go."
Nothing was found for the first part of the investigation. Now in an area with a denser population, Hisui grimaced at the number of stalls they have to check. Following the streetlights, stalls were being step-up side-by-side, leaving a wide river at the centre for people to flow through. As they got closer to the stalls, Wendy covered her nose.
"We finally got a hit?" Wendy nodded. "Which one is it?" Hisui asked while motioning for a guard to follow them.
"I have to get closer."
"Don't push yourself." They started from the first stall on the right side. "Good morning…Mr. Iversen was it? Before the festival starts, we have to do one final search."
"Yes it is, my stuff is in the back, please help yourself." Wendy cautiously opened the door to the storage, peering inside, taking a few sniffs as she explored the sacks, crates and bottles. Finding what she wanted, Wendy ran out the room to inform Hisui of the misfortune.
"There is…"
"That's unfortunate…I'm afraid that we have to take away your ingredients or…Wendy, can you check again to see if all of them are drugged?"
"I'll try…" Wendy solemnly walked back to the storage again, ignoring the confused man.
"What's going on? What do you mean drugged?"
"Someone has been tampering with the food suppliers by adding a certain kind of drug to the ingredients they sell. Unfortunately, if we find any, we'll have to take away all the contaminated goods. If everything is affected, I'm afraid you can't sell anything."
"That's unreasonable! You can't just do that!"
"If it means that I can protect the citizens, I have no choice. If it helps, the fee you paid for the permit will be returned to you."
"What about the money I wasted on the food?"
"We can't do anything about that, let's just hope that not all of your purchases are affected." They turned to face the closed doors that stayed shut for quite some time. Seeing a head of blue come out, Hisui hurried over to her companion. "Well?"
"Luckily, only a quarter of the food was affected, I already separated them all out."
"Good work." Hisui looked at the guard that came along with them. "Please take care if the rest."
"It's the ones by the door." Wendy added, following Hisui to their next search.
"Did the smell weaken?"
"Not really…"
"Seems like this will take longer than I thought, I'm counting on you."
"Leave it to me!"
The sun, much like the number of people on the streets; rose higher to the point where it was similar to a normal day in Magnolia. A large line of people was being funnelled to a wide, open space. Hisui's inspection work finished by the time elderly took their morning walks and now, she's standing on a stage where people were gathering, wearing a simple pearl dress that shone with the sun, using a leather belt to highlight Hisui's figure. Light makeup application hid the tired eyes while her headpiece and necklace divide everyone's attention even more. A silver chain led to a blue, tear-shaped jewel wrapped in a rim of sparkling diamonds. Her headpiece creased and flowed, building up in a spade shape, with the same jewels at the peak of the headwear.
"Good morning everyone, allow me to start by saying thank you for coming out here to help celebrate our festival. To the locals, thank you for your continued support and following with my demands. To our visitors, I hope that you can take the time to enjoy this city to the fullest, it's our pride and hopefully, after today, you would feel the same. Before all that, I sincerely wish that everyone can have a great time today. Whether you're here to experience the culture of this city, or to relax with your family, perhaps you hope to find something special today. In any case, I wish that you can find what you were looking for.
"Before I go on to the schedule of the festival, I want to take this time in thanking my staff and my team that has worked hard for more than a month. In this short time, I learned a lot, and without them, I would have collapsed on day one. So please, give a round of applause to everyone that hasn't been given nearly enough credit for making this festival possible.
"…now, once my speech is over, the first mayor event is Fairy Tail's "Miss Fairy Tail Contest", it starts in one and a half hours, so until then, you can enjoy the various stall setup or make memories with the splendid performers that has come all the way here to brighten-up the city. We'll make broadcasts of the coming events in-case anyone has missed previous announcements. Therefore, you don't have to worry about missing an event you've been looking forward to.
"If you have issues in finding the venue, we've stationed guards all around the city, please ask them if you have any trouble. Another alternative is to refer to the map that we have prepared and will be distributed throughout the city. Finally, all that's left is for you to enjoy what the festival has to offer."
Like leaves scattering in the autumn winds, the people dispersed after a thunderous applause. Hisui stepped down from her podium to meet a proud Karie.
"Good work."
"Has anything happened so far?"
"Not since the investigation."
"Speaking of which, how many did we get?"
"Around fifty, we had to close twenty of the stalls."
"That's better than I thought."
"We did find a disturbing detail."
"That is?"
"The stalls that were found to have drugs, they tend to gather around the guild."
"Not really surprising is it? They're only targeting wizards with them."
"In any case, we can't let our guard down." Karie presented a pen that Hisui took and clipped it to her belt.
"Hopefully, it won't come to it." Karie smiled slightly.
"I didn't take you to be positive type."
"I'm not, I know the consequences of holding onto hope that doesn't exist." Hisui patted her pen while looking at the thinning crowd.
The festival painted the city with flashy colours, each one of them mingling together to depictions of animals and flowers. Magical projections of store emblems floated in the air; children frolicked with snacks in their hands; couples trailed the streets hand-in-hand. Hisui was acting like the festival wasn't there at all, meticulously watching over the streets out her office window.
"Maybe we deterred the follow-up?" A tall man suggested, taking off his glasses to wipe the sweat from his brows.
"Don't be silly Andre, someone that went as far as infect food from multiple suppliers won't stop just because we got rid of all of them." Hisui dismissed the comment without moving her eyes away.
"Why don't you take a rest? I heard that the folks at Fairy Tail invited you for presenting the prize for their contest."
"They did, that wouldn't be fair if I did attend, they're not the only people that asked me to present a prize."
"But still, it's more better for you to be at Fairy Tail, we can contact you immediately if we find something. Also, they can protect you if something does happen."
"There's no need, I don't think anyone will try to attack me with Karie around."
"Then why don't you enjoy the festival? You've worked so hard, it's a shame that you don't experience it first-hand. I feel bad that you're the only one that's working so hard, yet people like me is slacking off."
"Who says I'm not having fun?"
"Huh?"
"Perhaps it's because of my mother, but, whenever she finished a job for her people, no matter how tired she was, she showed no signs of regret and in fact, even though she wasn't able to enjoy the benefits to fought for, just seeing her people happy, made a projection on her own life."
"I'd say you're a spitting image of the late Queen."
"Hardly," Hisui moved her eyes to the blue sky. "in some ways, my mother was a—" a roar shook the city, followed by countless more, combining to a crashing wave that battered against Hisui's nerves.
"What the?"
"That's their attack!?"
"But…no way! This wasn't supposed to happen yet!" With a paled face, Andre took a handful of papers and threw them at Hisui, rushing out the door not long after.
"Karie!" Hisui shouted to her servant outside. "Capture him!" A scream later, Karie came in Hisui's office with a restrained man with tears threatening to fall. "I'm honestly impressed, you managed to deceive me. Can you tell me what your superiors were planning?"
"I can't, they'll get killed!"
"I see, that how they did it." Hisui's tone mellowed out. "Your family was threatened. And thinking back, for the past few weeks, you've been avoiding contact with me for as much as possible, I assume it's so that I can't tell if you were lying to me or not. Regardless, unless you tell me what's going to happen, I can't help you, you don't understand who you're working for, I hesitate to even admit we're the same species.
"We don't have much time so I'll make it brief, whether you decide to tell me or not, you'll get targeted after this is all over, that's how they work, if there's chance that their crimes are revealed, they'll nip it at the bud. Now, you can cooperate with me and increase your chances of getting retribution or, potentially lose lives because you refuse to tell me."
"Can you protect my family?"
"I'll use everything in my power."
"Those are Maddening Hounds, starved for days and trained to kill since they were young." Hearing Karie's gasp, Hisui turned her attention to her friend.
"I've never heard of them."
"They're a rare breed of hounds we use back in the capital…no, I would say they're the same, only the upbringing is different."
"How long does it take for them to mature?"
"Around three years."
"That narrows down my search drastically. For now, make an emergency broadcast, tell everyone to get inside and bar the doors, all visitors are to find evacuate to Fairy Tail." Hisui stared at Andre. "Hurry!" Andre scrambled to his feet and rushed out the room. Hisui snatched her pen from her bell "Let's go someplace with a wider area." She threw open the windows and looked back to Karie to see that her friend casted away her maid uniform.
"You would break people's heart if they knew you would jump out the windows."
"But I'm not," says Hisui, letting herself get picked up. "you are." She felt a sudden weightlessness, the wind blew into Hisui's hair, tossing her barrette around. "You think this is enough space?" Hisui looked around on the open space, ignoring her panicking people.
"No problems, just expect some damage."
"That would be ironic wouldn't it? I'm trying to protect people but summoning her ended up hurting them." Adopting a serious expression, Hisui pulled her key from the pen. "Open! Gate of the Blossoming Kingdom, Fiore!" The two wings on Hisui's key spread open, a golden light shot out from the key and quickly planted itself to the ground.
It started with stone bricks being catapulted to the air, leaving a gaping hole. Massive thorns—as thick as a tree trunk—sprouted from the hole created. As if they were hands, the thorn gripped on the surrounding buildings and snaked along the ground, pulling up a house-size bud. Nearby flowers blossomed; moss in the seams of bricks shot out; tree grew taller than buildings.
When the bud started to open, an explosion of magic leaked out, giving Hisui a glimpse of two slender arms, a pair of legs rooted to the ground and hair darker than her own. A bewitching smell scattered from the winds, a mix of countless flowers without clashing with each other. With a quake, the petals slammed the ground, revealing a completely naked woman with green skin standing where the stigma should be. The petals wrapped around the woman, forming a sanguine red dress with vines acting as highlights. She looked at Hisui with glee using her yellow eyes that swirled like a storm of pollen.
"It's been so long Hisui!" The roots around the woman's feet transformed to a pair of red high heels.
"Like wise Fiore, has you been well?"
"No, no, no!" Fiore ran up to Hisui and wrapped her in a hug. "I told you, didn't I? Call me Fi, that's how it's always been, even your mother called me Fi you know? Speaking of which, why don't you summon me more often!?" Fiore pouted, releasing her grip on Hisui. "I get lonely you know? The other kingdom spirits are so boring!"
"But, didn't you say to not call you until I become worthy?"
"Did I say that? Who cares! Just summon me more often!"
"Fi…"
"Don't dwell on that, you've become a splendid ruler! Carol would say the say too."
"Anyway, I need your help, we're under attack from Maddening Hounds, can you calm them down?"
"Even for me, when you're dealing such bloodthirsty creature, my pollen won't do much."
"Then, can you protect everyone in the city?"
"No problem!" With a snap of a finger, the thorns that were crawling along the walls, shot seeds to the sky, enough to turn the sky black. They scattered, targeting the people that were running and the ones that already found shelter, the two that remained was gently absorbed by Hisui and Karie. "There we go; however, it won't last if someone gets caught out by multiple hounds."
"So we have to eliminate the hounds while we still have a buffer."
"Precisely!" At those words, Karie drew a dagger, put herself between the threat and Hisui, glared down an alley that released a low, guttural growl conveying nothing but bloodlust.
What came out was a pack of snarling hounds, six in total and each of them surpassing a tiger in size. Teeth glinting with hunger, creating a steady drip of want—some had traces of blood. A jet-black, dirty coat of fur covered parts of their body, with scars and wounds handling the rest.
"What did they do to them!?" Hisui took a step back. "Was I too late?"
"We need to save the questioning for later." Karie summoned a dagger and threw it at the hounds, only to have it hit the floor.
"Fi, can you restrain them?"
"Okaay!" Adding a wink, Fiore raised her hand, a dome of thorns circled the hounds, one was pierced through the heart and another escaped the green prison. "They really are a bother, we can safely say that they were well fed and raised with survival of the fittest as the doctrine." Then, the trapped hounds turned their teeth at the thorns, drawing blood that seemingly increased their own hunger.
Karie rushed at the isolated hound, meeting a palm-sized fangs with an equally deadly tool. With her free hand, warded the teeth that was going for her neck and aimed a slash at the paws trying to pin her down. Seeing the dagger embedded in flesh, Karie summoned a small knife and jammed it between the hound's topaz eyes, finishing it with a kick to the snout and springing away from the dying creature. Looking back, Karie found three restrained hounds around Hisui being strangled by the neck.
"Really, such a bothersome bunch," Fiore placed a hand on her cheek. "using their friends as a decoy."
"Fi," no warmth could be found in Hisui's voice. "finish them off, we don't have time for this, I need to help people evacuate."
"You're still as stiff as ever huh? I understand." Whines erupted from the cage of thorns, blood ran along the mortar joints. Silence followed as the three didn't look at the punctured corpses, walking towards the loudest source of terror while the thorns slowly withered, leaving behind a dry, blood-stained wall of thorns; an ugly carcass.
Hisui tried her best to calm down the running people while pushing her way pass them; a shovel on a cold winter day. When they found an empty part of the city, three hounds were already dead—one reduced to pink, fleshy bone—with a burly man sitting on one of them. A steel club lay by his feet, being rolled around by a pair of worn fur boots. The scars on his torso and bald head sang of the encounters with death while his feral eyes announce his victories.
Beside the brute, was an entirely different era, white cuffs, ironed, black suit and beams of light from shoes. Unlike that club, a rapier hung at the man's hip. The man's round, symmetrical hair; his glossy red hair made Karie and Hisui internally groan.
"Stupid mutts, what kind of training you guys did to them!? How to be a dumbass!? Attacking the masters, I know I shouldn't trust some noble trash!"
"I could say the same to you! Have you no shame!? Eating raw hounds, if it wasn't for my reward, I wouldn't work with brutes like you!" The duo bickered without noticing Fiore's pretence with her intense, heavy magic and dancing thorns.
"Earl Howard!" Hisui exploded. "Why don't you tell me what are you doing? Attacking a major city like this, surely you know I'm in-charge of this land? I suppose you already thought about the consequences?" Unfazed by the harsh green eyes, Howard turned, his eyes purely on Karie.
"It's been too long Karie! How about we do away with the nonsense and join me? I'll even leave the Princess alone."
"I believe that I told you, I have no interest in leaving her, especially with someone like you."
"You hurt me, what have I done to deserve such hate?"
"If you can't even figure that out, then there's no point in us talking any further."
"That's a shame, Butcher, I'll leave the Princess to you, I have a date with this lovely lady." Gloved hands drew Howard's rapier, flexed the tip of the blade before assuming a well-trained stance, offhand on the hip and the main hand aimed at Karie. "Don't worry, I won't kill you, maybe disable your legs so you can't run away from me."
"Fi, I don't have much battle experience, is his strong?"
"Well," the spirit struck a troubled pose, hand cradling her face. "he's not your average person, or wizard, there's something about him that rubs me the wrong way, like when I'm fighting against a fire wizard."
"So, we're mismatched?"
"It'll be fine! I'm not a super strong spirit for nothing!"
Stone bricks flew the moment Fiore finished boasting, thorns shoved away material without slowing down, springing from the ground in unison. Trapped in jaws of deadly plants, the burly man shrugged his shoulders and pillars of dark flames intercepted the thorns while lazily picking up his club. He pointed his club at Hisui. Temperatures rose, the thorns wrinkled and steamed. A crimson wall shut down all of Hisui's vision that was replaced the smell of flowers, charcoal and a flash of glamor.
"Aren't you a rude boy? I was planning to go easy on you." The surrounding plants grew ferociously, canopies blocked out the sun, leaving the only illumination being the eerie, blood flames. "No one touches my cute master without paying the price!" Under the dim lighting, Hisui was the only one seeing light pollen coming from Fiore.
Unlike the chaotic fight between Fiore and Butcher, Karie and Howard stood far apart from each other, keeping the weapons out of reach. A few light exchanges occurred before the sun was blocked out. Howard used his reach to his advantage, keeping Karie away while swatting the flying daggers.
"Come on, show me your lovely style! Aren't you being more reserved? Could it be you've finally fallen for me?" Three more daggers were thrown. "Do you really think that you can get me with tricks like this?" Twenty daggers aimed for Howard's life while Karie rushed in. "Now that's more like it!" Howard dodged most of the threats, the rest he blocked. However, Karie was past Howard's blade and closing in on his throat. "So close." Howard's offhand stuck Karie's stomach, blowing her away.
"What…was that?"
"Not bad."
"What did you do! Even with your magic, that was too effective."
"True," Howard mused, slowly sliding off his gloves. Black, ugly skin, bulging with magic. Seeing no traces of human under the glove, Karie took some distance. "I wouldn't be able to match you if it wasn't for this." Howard drew in his pockets and dangled a vial of purple liquid. "I did this all for you. You never looked my way, seeing me like trash. So I thought, if I couldn't win your love, I'll claim it without consent!" He tipped the vial in his mouth and tossed the empty vessel away. "What the? This…isn't supposed to happen!" Howard hugged his head, throwing his weight around as his screams expanded far beyond the forest Fiore made. "Ka—Karie…save me!"
Howard grew, doubling in size. Being stripped of his human features as the cost. His red hair turned muddy, becoming thicker like needles, shredding the suit as more bristles shot out from the body. A tail flicked to the winds; mindless howls took over; claws dug into the ground. A snout snarled at Karie, yellow eyes studied her.
"Can't move, now can you?" Fiore taunted, playing with a flower blossoming in her hands. She licked her lips seeing her paralyzed opponent.
"You witch! What did you do!?"
"You really think that these trees are for show? No, I was spreading my pollen in their shadows, your flames helped quite a bit actually. Don't make such a face, blame it on yourself for attacking Hisui. Now—"
"Fi! Finish him! We need to help Karie!" Fiore looked over to see Karie jumping from tree to tree, hopelessly watch her daggers bounce off Howard's beast body.
"Don't we need to question him?"
"Who cares if Karie is going to die!?"
"Don't worry, in times like this, you count on friends, isn't that right boy?" Fiore snapped her fingers and the trees parted. Something ran pass Fiore, taking all the residual flames with it. Temperatures rose again, this time, it was a warmth that Hisui was familiar with.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" A torrent of dark flames broke trees as they travelled to its target, slamming Howard's back in a constant stream of heat and anger. Howls erupted from the beast as it cautiously watched the new enemy. "I owe you one, this forest was too dense."
"Natsu!" Hisui cried.
"Sorry I was late, I was eating to recover."
"See Hisui? You don't have to worry about a thing." Thorns wriggled up Butcher's body. "Now, how about we make this filth more…safe?" The bindings around the limbs tightened until screams haunted the forest. "There, much better, just be glad that I didn't break them off."
"As always, your methods are too extreme."
"But he was hurting my cute master! Anyone that touches a hair on Carol's and mine's treasure will first-hand experience nature's wrath." Fiore rubbed her cheek against Hisui's flushing face, regardless of the resisting hands. "Well, let's get things started." Fiore flicked her wrist, blue powder draped over her captive. "He's all yours now, I'm going to help out with that mutt. Just in case," Fiore gingerly placed a white flower crown on Hisui's head. "have fun!"
"Have fun…" Hisui looked at the man bleeding profusely. "I guess I should start by asking, who hired you?"
"I…don't…know…" The man grunted with gritted teeth.
"Shocking isn't it? You feel like you have no control over your body, what Fi did was simply force you to respond to questions, it makes you say the first thing that you thought of. Now, what do you mean by that?"
"I was…I was just sent a letter…I never met the person hiring me."
"That's a bit more annoying, no matter, I have other questions that need answers, and I hope that you can help me."
After the first blast of flames, Howard changed focus to Natsu, raking his claws at the dragon slayer, felling trees and slashing air. Thrown off-balance by the sudden growth of a tree, Natsu slammed his fist to the snout while Karie flashed knives to the joints where there was little to no protection. Howard jumped away from the crater Natsu made and howled.
"Really," Fiore looked around at the burning and smashed plants. "you two have no respect for my creations. What did he take I wonder? It certainly increased his speed, his power is top-notch for a beast, if he wasn't so feral, I would want one as a pet…"
"Great Kingdom Spirit, I wish that you focus on subduing him first." Karie say with plenty of ire in her voice.
"There you go with the stiff titles, I said to stop, didn't I? I feel old when people treat me so formally."
"Hey lady!" Natsu shouted. "Can you slow him down? I can't get a good hit on him."
"I'll let that slide this time since you don't know my name. But yes, I can." Fiore's arm turned glossy, dew rolled to her hands, gathering into a golden orb. A whirlpool of colours focused at the centre of the orb, glowing brighter as more viscous liquid accumulated.
"That smells really good."
"Of course it does, it's my nectar, nothing can compare to it. Get ready." Natsu's body was wrapped in flames, Karie summoned a fan of blades, both waiting for their signal.
"All set!" Howard was bombarded with small golden bullets that took from the large source of nectar from Fiore's hands at speeds that made it hard for Howard to dodge everything.
Starting from the feet, Howard was cemented to the ground. Then his movements were slowed in a sweet, sticky bath that drove ants and other insects to surround him. Blood tainted the pleasant mixture once Karie's weapons opened wounds. Following that was an arrow of a spiralling inferno launching to Howard's chin. The nectar bubbled and caramelized by the heat of the surrounding air. The growling ceased, highlighting the crackling fire and the questioning from Hisui.
"I think that did it!" Natsu reported cheerfully.
"Thank you Natsu, you cleaned up my mistakes."
"Hey don't sweat it. I'm just glad that I came here on time."
"Speaking of which, what happened to the other hounds?"
"The guild took care of the rest of them, all that's left is the announcement for the festival to continue."
"Even after all that's happened?"
"If we're going to let something like this stop us from partying, they underestimated this city. Besides, if we cancel it, that's like letting these assholes win." Natsu kicked the unconscious Howard.
"Let me talk with Hisui about it, can you carry Howard to confinement?"
"Sure!" Natsu bent down to reach for Howard when a beam of light pierced the needles and into the skull. "…Bastards, killing their own people…and I can't smell anything, they're gone." Karie quickly ran over to Hisui upon seeing the tragedy.
"Are you alright!?"
"Fine, I suppose that means the same thing has happened to you?"
"Earl Howard is dead."
"In the end, he was just used and discarded, I still have no idea why was he so fixated on you."
"Who cares about that!" Natsu shouted. "Let's get the festival restarted already!"
"Even with what happened?"
"Of course! It's a special day, we can't people like them ruin it!"
"Let me think about it, first we need to deal with the other hounds."
"We're done with that already."
"I guess I should have expected that from you guys. Now, I need to know how many people are injured or even…died. Fi, can you tell me how many people got injured?"
"None of my seeds were destroyed, so the only chances of anyone being hurt is when they got attacked before my seeds got to them."
"Then please check for victims," Hisui looked at Karie that left the area immediately. "then we need to make sure that everything is safe for everyone."
"Leave that to me!" Natsu rushed off with vigour.
"All that's left is to announce the situation, thank you for helping me Fi you really—"
"Stop! Don't talk like you're going to send me away! I'm going with you."
"But there's no reason for you—"
"It's been three years since I've been called to your world, I'm not going to be called for battle then summoned away just like that! I want to spend more time with you."
"But you attract so much attention."
"Don't worry about that, I'm your guardian, of course I have a more unobtrusive way to travel." Fiore lightly tapped the flower crown on Hisui's head and disappeared in a flash of light. "How's that?"
"Where are you?" Looking around, the Princess saw nothing in sight that could resemble her spirit.
"In your hair of course!" Using Hisui's hair like a rope, Fiore—now in a childish white dress—entered Hisui's view like an explorer descending a pit cave. Unlike her full-size form, Fiore is now a child keeping every other feature save the hair and the eyes. Her hair was a sapling green rather than a rich mature plant; eyes were an earthy soil, rich in nutrients. "Now, there's no worries!"
"Fine…"
"I knew you would come around eventually." Hisui made her way back to her office.
"Fi you look really adorable."
"And I thought that you would never comment on it."
Hisui got a good look at the streets on her way back, while messy, it was nothing that can't be cleaned with little effort. Food spattered to the floor, bags were controlled by wind. Turning another corner, remains of struggle sliced at Hisui's composure. Dead hounds were stacked in a pile, blood was everywhere in puddles, fur and clothes—both shredded—were soaking in the thick, scarlet water. A bitten-off arm caught Hisui's attention, the owner was wearing a striped blue shirt. It wasn't a clean separation, bones shards stuck to tissue while the flesh itself was in an ugly, misshapen mess.
By the time Hisui was back in her building, her brain processed much and was confused. On one hand, Hisui didn't see too much signs of people getting hurt and certainly no corpses. Yet, on the other, the fact that someone was hurt because of her. Failure; was the only word that came out. Her hands were wrapped around a microphone, but she couldn't speak.
"Come on," Fiore's voice lacked any playfulness but concern, and experience. "as the leader, the people are waiting for you to reassure them, I know that it's painfully. But it's your responsibility to let the people know."
"I know that!" Fiore placed her two hands on Hisui's shaking one. "But it's still hard…"
"Shall I do it for you then?"
"No…I have to do it myself."
"You can do it." Hisui turned on the microphone.
"Attention, we've repelled the attack and we're securing the city to make sure that everything is safe for everyone to come out. First off, I apologise for causing all of this. Despite knowing that this might happen, I didn't prepare enough for what happened, and I hope that you can accept my sincere apology. I'm sorry to the people that were affected in this attack. If you were to blame anyone for this, blame no else but me.
"I know today was something that everyone was excited for and made time for, because of this…because of my inability protect my citizens, I ruined everyone's plans and expectations. Currently, we're under talks on when to hold the festival again, we will notify everyone once we've come to a conclusion. Please stay inside until we give the announcement saying that the city is safe. Thank you for your patience, please wait for further notice." The door opened with Karie rushing in, haggard breath and holding a piece of paper.
"Around fifty people were injured, but no one has died."
"That's something good at last."
"We also received word that there isn't anything threatening left in the city or outside. It's like nothing happened."
"Then, have people clean up the streets." Hisui eyed the paper in Karie's hands. "Is that the affected people?"
"Yes." Karie handed the paper to Hisui. "I'll get to cleaning."
"Thank you…Karie, I found an arm, it was torn pretty badly. Can that…be reattached?"
"I'm not sure. If it can't, they can use a synthetic arm as the replacement."
"Thanks, I won't bother you anymore."
After two days, the festival officially resumed. Though seeing the happy streets out her window, Hisui's heart was still heavy. She barely took any rest during the two days, making sure that everyone was safe, helping with the cleaning and talking with people to extent to contracts she had with her partners. Currently, she was investigating the person behind the attack. Primarily, finding for a way to expose the mastermind.
Two sharp knocks accompanied by a swinging window enter the room. "You're still working? Come on, have you seen the sky? It's a shame not to go out in a day like this!"
"Natsu, go away, I'm busy. Also, can you come in through the door next time?"
"What's the big deal? It's faster this way."
"It's not the matter of fast or slow, we've had this conversation before, didn't you say that you would come in through the door next time? What happened to your promise?"
"You sound mad."
"No such thing, I've just been working peacefully until a brute stormed in my office through the window and not the door like a normal person. And now, said person wants me to have fun and abandon my duties when it's because of my own ineptitude that caused the festival to be delayed in the first place. Why would I be upset?"
"Alright, alright, I'll come back at night, you're coming to see the parade, right?"
"No…I won't, I need to investigate something after I'm done with this," Hisui's pen stopped to show Natsu the stack of books and papers she was taking notes from. "I'm sorry Natsu, I really am…"
"It won't take long. Come on, working all day is bad for you."
"I'm well aware of that, but—"
"Then that's more than enough reason to go!"
"No—"
"Everyone is waiting for you to show up."
"I still—"
"We won't take no for an answer."
"Fine! I'll show up! Now get out of here so I can concentrate."
"You got it!"
"Not the wind—never mind…"
The autumn night quickly showed itself—much to Hisui's dismay—bringing soothing winds, dancing stars and a bright, halfmoon. Cheers were erupting, chanting for the parade to start were equally loud. Looking down from her office, Hisui got a perfect view of the streetlights charting a pathway for the parade. It ran along the longest street of the city, starting from the Fairy Tail building to the gate at the end of the city.
"Are you ready?"
"Natsu, I said to come from the—" Hisui turned to the source of Natsu's voice. "Door." Seeing that Natsu was at the door wearing a knight costume, it struck Hisui speechless. Except from the lack of helmet—replaced by a blue cat—Natsu's suit of armour was close to the ones back in the palace, only more flamboyant with gold metal decorating the suit.
"I did."
"That's your costume?"
"Yup!"
"That really doesn't work on you."
"Aye! I think so too, Natsu destroys, not protect!"
"Hey!"
"That's not quite true Happy," Hisui walked over to tighten the breastplate. "dragons protect what they hold dear. In this case, it's everyone in Fairy Tail."
"So are you ready for the parade?"
"I still don't think that I should be watching the parade when I'm busy right now. But, I'm planning to keep my word, seeing how you're keeping yours, for now."
"Then let's go!" Before long, Hisui found herself among the streets. After giving Hisui a prime spot for Hisui, Natsu dashed off, letting her watch light coming from the float get closer. Projections splashed the sky, magic exploded into arrays of colours.
Leading the parade was three girls dancing with batons in their hands. Even with the distance, Hisui had no trouble in identifying the performers either from the cheers or with her own eyes picking out signature features.
A few moments into the parade, Hisui forgotten about her troubles and finally joined the crowd in smiling at the effects and polished performance of her friends, waving as each member went past. Then came Natsu's float. In his suit of armour, Natsu made a sword of flames, swinging it several times, striking poses—spreading heat waves to the crowd with each movement.
"This is pretty nice, I haven't seen a parade like this in a long time." A childish squeak came down from Hisui's hair.
"Fi!? Why are you here?"
"Oh, I invited myself, it really is too boring over there, those guys boast about how great their domains are while playing chess, staying by your side is much more fun!"
"How come there isn't any overgrowth?"
"That's because I wanted to surprise you, making a giant crater in the ground and everything wouldn't have the same effect."
"So all that was just for show?"
"No, if I was full-sized, I need to bloom, this pixie form doesn't.
"Interesting…well, you came at a pretty bad time, it's almost ending."
"But I just got here! Why didn't you summon me?"
"Because I didn't want to cause so much damage."
"Meanie!"
The festival was finally mellowing out with the end of the parade, Fiore sulked off in a burst of wilted flowers, the crowd dispersed, and Hisui was about to leave for Fairy Hills. "What did you think?" Natsu asked, now in his usual clothes.
"You sure changed fast."
"I wanted to know how you felt."
"It was fantastic, I forgot about my worries."
"That's good enough!" Natsu grinned. "Where are you going now?"
"Home, I won't be able to sleep if I keep working."
"Can I hold you up for a bit longer?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Follow me." With a smile, Natsu led Hisui to a quieter part of the city, primarily sounds of nature became the background noise. The roads were less maintained, dirt accrued. The buildings were wooden, with enough space for people to walk between them.
"So, what's so important that needs privacy?" Hisui asked.
"I love you."
"Excuse…me?"
"I know you heard me, I love you."
"This seems a bit sudden—"
"It isn't sudden, for a while now, I've been meaning to tell you."
"When?"
"Half a year ago. When you first came to the city, I thought that you were just a reckless Princess that doesn't care about herself. And now that I think about it, that's what interested me. You put others before yourself. Before I knew it, I couldn't that my eyes off you."
"So you always being around me is?"
"Me trying to help you." Natsu answered with a flushed face. "So, your answer?"
"I…don't know, can you…give me some time to think about it? Not a week or so, even I don't know how long it'll take. Honestly, I never thought about love that much, my life is so busy that I don't time for those kinds of things. I mean, it wouldn't be fair for my partner would it? Even though I'm in a relationship, the time we'll spend together might be less than colleagues. That's why I turned down every advance so far, I wanted to be fair to those who love me, to repay the same amount of love given to me. But, I can't do that with my timetable.
"Of course, the constant marriage proposals I get turned me off to the idea of love even further, I didn't want to the bound by things like that. When I came here, seeing how free you all are…was lovely. Coming here changed me more that I ever thought to be possible. Natsu, you, had the biggest role in all of this.
"I've come to enjoy your silliness, your undying loyalty for people you care about, your cheerfulness that brightens up my day. And the time we spent together is something truly precious that I won't ever give up. However, there are still some things—many things that I'm not sure about, whether this feeling I have now is love, or…something else entirely. There are times when I acted differently towards you, I felt safe when I'm with you. For me, that's not enough.
"That's why I want to ask for more time, it might take a while. And if you're willing to wait, if I reply with yes, you'll know that my heart, and soul, perhaps even my body," Hisui said with a blush, "will have space for another, that person will be you. When that happens, time, class and the like won't be a factor, just me and you. Are you willing to wait for an indefinite amount of time for something like that?"
"If I were to back down from this just because of a wait, I wouldn't have confessed to you."
"Do you know what you're getting into? Courting a Princess is more of a hassle than you think. I should change the question; do you think you can be a king?"
"By myself? No chance, will you? No problem."
Thanks for reading! After almost two weeks, this chapter is finally complete! To be honest, I could have split this into at least two chapter but, I don't see a point.
It turns out, proofreading a chapter with 8500+ words is pretty hard, so, if there's any mistakes, please forgive me!
Also, I'm sorry for having the fight scene be so short, it's honestly not my strong point and I'm trying to improve it. Since I didn't want to bore you with crappy fight screen, I made it shorter.
In any case, I'm finally tackling the other side of this story a bit more seriously, I'm sure you guys can see how this is going to turn out. Yeah, this is an excuse for me to have Hisui think about Natsu a lot more.
So, I want some chapter ideas on how to advance their relationships, I really want to get to the fluffy stuff but, I can't think of anything at the moment.
To be honest, I think that this story has run it's course, so unless I switch to something more different, I'm going to struggle. But, that's for me to solve, hopefully it won't take as long, but most likely it will.
Until then, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, have a nice day!