Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.
Hisui adjusted her cloche hat constantly, trying to ignore the dull, sombre cloud blanket and focus on the black headwear that wouldn't go in the right place no matter how hard she tried—she couldn't. The sky was clearly mocking her, just yesterday, not a cloud in sight but now, at the time of the funeral, not a spec of brightness peeked out from the grey mess. She wondered many times; who was in-charge of the weather? Having a perfect read of the moods of people and event that's about to occur. Of course, her rational side would beat out the notion sending it to the ground and letting it germinate to truth; it was all in her head. Two knocks on the door finally gave Hisui the excuse to pull herself from the clouds.
"Come in." Hisui was caught off-guard seeing her friend not wearing a maid uniform, but a black dress and a scarf. At a soft click, Hisui quickly regained control of her composure.
"His Majesty requires us to arrive at the site in an hour, are you ready?" Karie asked, walking closer to place the hat in its right spot.
"How do you do that? I guess it doesn't matter, I'm just about ready." Hisui stood and smoothened the wrinkles on her black dress that had no other defining features but a belt that outlined her waist. "Fi, are you coming with us?" Hisui turned her attention to the small girl sitting in a plant pot, surrounded by dirt.
"I'm not done with my bath," the spirit said, pouring water in the soil and sighing, "you two go ahead, I don't think that I'll come with you, I'll appear if anything happens."
"Just don't go over-board if you do show up, we're in the capital."
"Yes ma'am." Fiore slurred, back facing Hisui and waving her goodbye, stopping when she heard the door close, only to fill the room with a burst of content.
"I wonder who's older at times." Hisui said, heels clicking on the floor.
"Have you considered that she simply doesn't want to attend another funeral?"
"I didn't…but do you think that she's bored of them or she's seen too many ceremonies?"
"Perhaps it's both, that girl is hard to understand."
"I suppose that's true." They turned another corner to see Bestia just stepping out a guest room. "Good morning Bes, did you sleep well?" Karie bowed once those words left Hisui's lips.
"Good morning you two, I slept better than I did back at home."
"That's good, we have a long day ahead."
"Unfortunately." Arriving at the courtyard, they found a carriage waiting for them, with the King already seated.
"Good morning you three."
"""Good morning"""
"Bestia, I hope you found our palace hospitable." Toma gave the signal to the driver to start their journey.
"It was more than that Your Majesty, the servants were incredibility helpful."
"That's good, I'll pass on the word to them, is there anyone in particular that stood out to you?"
"A maid and butler called Joan and Ryan, their services were thoughtful and well executed."
"I'll be sure to reward them once we return." Toma noted. "Hisui, how has Magnolia been for you? I hope those trouble makers at Fairy Tail isn't causing you too much problems?"
"No, they've been helping me plenty, if it wasn't for them, I'm sure that Fi would have rampaged at the festival."
"I suppose that's true." Toma sighed.
"Though they can be a hassle at times, especially Natsu."
"What about the young man?"
"He's a wonderful friend, kind, loyal to a fault. He's the one that's been in-charge of me to have fun, Karie also. They make sure I don't bury my time in work and use some of it to socialise. Natsu is great fun to be around, he keeps things fresh. He even taught me how to fish!"
"Now that's something I didn't expect, when you were little, you said you didn't want anything to do with fishing."
"You can't hope a child to be patient and derive fun in talking with people, they would rather play." Toma smirked at Hisui's comment. Hisui continued to share about her stay in Magnolia, pouring in her passion for the city she was in-charge of. Both Toma and Bestia noticed her tone became bouncy when she mentioned Natsu's antics and silly behaviour.
"It seems like my worries were needless, Karie's reports were accurate." Toma looked out the window. "We're here." Hisui frowned seeing the same expression throughout the site—not that she blamed them, but it did affect the sharing mood she was in a few second before. She took a quick glance at Bestia, her small smile disappeared like an ember in a cold, winter night.
Stepping out her transport, Hisui was hit with a wave of coldness—not from the weather, but from the area itself. They stopped at a church, simple in design, stone bricks stacked to a building that's twice as tall as a normal stone house, mixing grey and white, creating a washed-out look from where they were standing—ten steps away. Rich red doors swung open, giving way to sparsely populated pews on either side. At the centre, was a pedestal supporting a cherry red coffin, crowned with a bouquet of lilies. The little amount of people that were seated stood upon seeing their ruler enter, about to give their greetings
"Stop," Toma ordered, "today, I'm not a King but a person grieving the loss of someone important to me." The noble sat back down only at Toma's stern gaze. "I'm going to have some words with the priest," He looked at the shaken Bestia, "Hisui, can you guide Bestia to her seat?"
"Of course." Hisui took Bestia by the shoulders, adding a gentle squeeze before pushing the girl down the aisle. Now getting a good look at the coffin, Hisui spotted cat carvings that were a part of the crown, hoisting up flowers proudly. Once they sat down, Hisui rubbed circles around Bestia's back.
"I want my cat to be here…"
"Sorry, I'm all that you have."
"I didn't mean it like that, I just want to hug them."
"I don't really have anything that can help with—"
"Lady Bestia, I'm so sorry for your loss." Hisui turned, holding in her disgust seeing a pair of scheming blue eyes behind glasses. The man was tall and in good shape, though not muscular. His suit drive attention to his blond hair. "If I can help with anything, please let me know, I assure you that the Faren House will give its all to aid you."
"I doubt that such a poor family can help too much." Another voice interjected, this time, it was a woman cloaked in a fur coat, wrapped in a tight black dress. "Darling, just say the word and I guarantee; I will help you."
"This isn't the time for this." Hisui reminded, throwing a harsh stare at the two aristocrats.
"Hisui, I'm fine," Bestia said, putting on a flawless smile, "thanks you for your kindness, I'll take both your offers into account." As the two nobles walked away, HIsui huffed.
"You shouldn't have given them a response, it makes you look weak."
"It's fine, I'm used to it, I've received letters from other houses that invited me to dinner; the families with sons of age anyway."
"And you accepted." Hisui concluded sadly.
"What else can I do? I need to secure some healthy relationships with other families." Bestia forced a smile. "Don't worry, I'm not planning to wed, not to anyone that's trying to take advantage of me when I'm in this state. They're not after me anyway." The doors burst open, a fiery presence stormed in with one goal in mind. An amber ponytail swung side to side with each stride, burning eyes filled with concern. The woman's evenly tanned skin clashed with her suit. To Hisui and Bestia, it was a sight for sore eyes. Instantly, the woman pulled Bestia into a hug.
"I'm so sorry I didn't come here earlier Bes, Rudy was sick. How have you been? Did you get my letter at least? Have you been eating well? Did you get enough rest? Are too many people pestering you?"
"Emily, you're crushing me…" Bestia said, struggling out of Emily's hold. "I'm getting by."
"Emily, maybe you should let her go," Hisui said, "you are holding her pretty tight. Also, think about where we are right now."
"That can wait." Emily shrugged. She quickly took Bestia's other flank, facing Toma, who had just finished talking with the priest and was now walking down stairs to sit besides Hisui.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, Your Grace, My Lords and My Ladies," the priest spoke in a call voice, broadcasting far to the back, "thank you for gathering here to remember and celebrate the late Duke Wilford's achievements before his untimely passing. May he be as successful in the land of the departed as he was in this one.
"Duke Wilford was known for his kindness and selflessness, he shared his boons with his people, he took the burden from his people to suffer in solitude." Hisui turned her head around upon hearing a quiet scoff behind her. Being met with the same, unified expression, she turned back around, frowning when she realised she missed parts of the speech. "…and because of this, sacrificing the family treasury so that he could feed his people, is one of the many reasons why Duke Wilford earned the people's love."
As the priest's speech went on, Hisui took Bestia's hand, it flinched before knitting fingers together. Bestia held her head down, eyes closed, and her free hand was on her lap, never moving until the ceremony had ended. Hisui squeezed slightly.
"Come on, we need to go to the burial site."
"Lady Bestia," Hisui spun to face to face a group of nobles, "can we have a bit of your time? We're all people that are in debt to your father, he was a great man, can we have a few words?" They were all people that Hisui recognised, mainly nobles who were weak in terms of power, owning small plots of land. The person that spoke in a careful tone, not really matching his sharp green eyes. Hisui looked at Bestia who was staring at the man's shoes.
"Of course, I would like to have a word with everyone." Hisui and Emily got up from their seats, only to be pulled back by Bestia. "Please stay…"
"Then I'll start first," said the man, "thanks to His Grace's donations, my village is seeing better yields in harvest. And I wish to repay him for what he had done. But sadly," the man glanced at the coffin, "I can't do that, perhaps you can accept my gratitude towards him?" He pulled out a small box. "This is the finest tea that my village has produced." Bestia took the box gingerly.
"Thank you…father always loved good tea." Bestia motioned for a servant to come and in seconds, the box warped away. With firm strides, the man walked away, and an elderly woman supported by servants stepped up. "Irin, I didn't expect to see you here."
"Even an old bag like me has to see Wily once last time, even though he was quite the nosy brat, never stopped yapping about my smoking habits. Look at the old fool now, leaving before me," Irin said bitterly, a tear forming; a shaky hand brought itself closer to her capped lips.
"Please don't waste his efforts." Bestia took hold of the elder woman's hand.
"Even his daughter," Irin grumbled, "well, Johnny, bring it here." A servant next to her took out a battered book, presenting it to Bestia. "Not to her you fool! Give it to me! What point is there if I don't give to her it myself?"
"But—"
"I still got enough muscle to give you a good slapping, so a bloody notebook is nothing!" Irin snatched the notebook from her servant's hands and seemingly lost all strength in the same instant, her grip on the book became shaky in her bony hands "This is a book that Wily left in my care until you were old enough to read this, he couldn't have you accidently finding it when you're snooping around your house you see." Taking the book, Bestia inspected it, turning it around, stroking the spine of the book. "I haven't read the thing myself but, he said that it was important, go give it a read when you're free."
"I will." Bestia clutched the book close to her heart. "Can I…visit you sometimes?"
"Of course, dear, your father was always welcome, there's no reason why you're not. In fact, if you don't come visit, you'll get a stern letter from me, someone needs to keep this old woman company, just don't come late like your lousy father."
"I won't." Bestia smiled.
"There you go, there's a time and place for a smile, and right now, you need to find more, I look forward to seeing you." After watching Irin walk out the door, Bestia continued interacting with nobles while Emily and Hisui sat next to her, eying each person carefully. Several seemed too enthusiastic to Hisui's eyes, though she didn't want to suspect people for taking advantage of a dead person, the poison that her father mention kept her on edge, hoping that someone would act out of place, giving her even the slightest loose string for her to tug on, guiding her to unravel the person behind the Duke's death, or at least, provided some suspects—not much triggered her expert eyes or her sensitive ears. So, Hisui stepped in her carriage with less leads than she had hoped, she'd rather not use process of elimination, but she can't deny its effectiveness.
With Bestia and Emily in the same car, Hisui let out a sigh, stretching in pleasure, casting away soreness she got from being in public before leaning on Karie's shoulder. She held herself back from fully relaxing, the funeral never leaving her mind, but certainly pushed back with the same motion she did with the air above her.
"How are you feeling?" Hisui peered into Bestia's dilated eyes for answers, watching them come back into focus, noting that the pupils dancing before facing Hisui.
"I'm doing better, after talking with everyone, I know that I'm not alone."
"You never were." Emily interjected, letting the rocking from wheels sink in with her words. "Though Hisui, you could be less tense, why were you trying to peel everyone's skin off?"
"It's just me being hopeful. I'm hoping that I could find out who is behind this incident and the one that happened in Magnolia."
"What makes you think that you think that you would find the person?"
"That's why I was being hopeful. Thinking back, hoping to find the person that poisoned Bestia's father is a bit of a stretch."
"I didn't hear of this." Emily leaned forward, crossing her legs. "Is this true?"
"Father didn't make it public, so it isn't a surprise that you didn't know." Bestia pinched her fingers, biting her lips with sharp fangs. "And I'm hoping that you two can help me uncover on who did it, or at the very least, figure out what happened that night."
"Of course, I'll help, if I can help Wilford rest, I would jump at the opportunity. Having said that, my domain is the furthest away out of all of us, I can't think of any meaningful way that I can help."
"That's exactly why! Whoever is behind this would be careful with me since I'm most likely to be investigating this, you have more freedom to explore the kingdom for disturbances. What do you think Bes?"
"Huh? Yeah, I think it's a great idea…it'll catch them off-guard."
"Then I'll send people to trail some nobles, I have a list of people that I want to get through."
"You sure work fast." Emily commented.
"A bit late if you ask me." Hisui responded dryly. "I still have no clue who was behind the attack on my city, I thought it was someone that has a grudge on me but, after learning about Wilford's passing, I'm left with a blank slate."
"Again, you're losing focus," Karie said, "the burial comes first, then you're free to carry on." Karie held out a bouquet to remind her master.
"You know you can't put out my thinking when it starts."
"And that's why I'm here." Karie smiled. "My job is—besides taking care of your daily needs is, making sure that you don't get side-tracked, albeit a terrible one."
Upon the transport slowing down, Hisui finally pulled away from the conversation she was having and moved to the burial site. Though it wasn't her first visit, this one felt personal, raw. Memories played when Hisui stepped out; trips to the Vernati House for the sake of hiding from her father; chasing Bestia and Emily around corners while role playing with the Duke watching over them; sleepovers at the mansion. The winds rang hollow, trees equally bare. Countless tombstones blurred at the distance, detailed up close—more than Hisui would have liked.
Once Hisui arrived at the burial site, tombstones were fenced off with people Hisui rather not talk to, attending out of formality was the main reason why the numbers more than doubled. Within seconds, a rectangle-shaped hole was craved out along with a wave of magic power. A group of wizards lifted a coffin, pushed pass the crowds and gently lowered the coffin while Hisui watched wood walls snugly kiss against dirt.
"A shame isn't it Your Highness?" A man next to Hisui said. It was a thick voice filled with experience.
"The loss of Lord Wilford you mean?"
"I suppose that's true…no, I'm referring to the sudden loss of a loved one, especially when you're so young. You end up thinking about the time you could have spent with that person, how different a life would you get? What would happen? Though, I'm sure Your Highness has explored your imagination plenty." Hisui finally tore her eyes away from cascading soil to meet the man.
"I have, I don't believe there's anything wrong with it."
"Not moving on comes to mind."
"People can't move on with this little amount of time. Afterwards, the fantasies slow down until they only resurface during special circumstances. Is there a specific reason why you brought this up?" The man chuckled.
"Before we continue, I'll start by saying that I'm on your side, I can even introduce you to an expert."
"You want me to trust someone that acquired information when it hasn't been announced?"
"It's natural for bottom-feeders to have sophisticated information network." The man shrugged. "You would get preyed on without one."
"I suppose. But I doubt that you know who is behind this?"
"I'm as lost as you are in that regard, even someone like me can't compare to Your Highness in terms of information. But I may have something that you might want."
"I suppose you want me to exchange for it?"
"Not in the slightest." The man drew an envelope from his coat. "What I want is for you to rule this kingdom, and what I'm doing is eliminating all obstacles from my wish." He slowly handed to the letter to Hisui
"Then I'm afraid that it won't come to pass." The man's hand stopped. "I'm planning to co-rule this kingdom with someone."
"Who might that be?"
"I'm not too sure, but I have my eyes on someone interesting. He still has ways to go ability wise but, everything else about him excites me." The hand delivered the letter.
"If he's nothing like the people here," the man scanned around, "I'm fine with it." Hisui took the letter.
"He's from a different world." Hisui said with a smile.
"That's more than enough for me."
Thanks for reading! Sorry for being later in this upload than usual, I had a bunch of projects suddenly thrown at my face.
My personal life aside, I made some small adjustment in the previous chapter, nothing that needs re-reading because it's to correct some mistakes that I made in the previous chapter.
Hopefully that this chapter wasn't too slow for everyone, that's the vibe I got from this chapter.
Besides that, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter, have a nice day!