Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Fairy Tail—A Diary's Secret 2: A Fateful Journey
Chapter 5
"Man, Papa. You sounded so cool before."
Natsu eyed his daughter with a tick mark on his forehead. "What are you saying? That your Papa isn't cool anymore?"
Serafine crossed her arms. "Not right now."
Natsu shook his fist. "Why you little…"
"Now now," Mira said calmly. "Let's not get too heated."
"She started it!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Natsu, how old are you?" Happy snickered.
Natsu groaned while scratching his head. "Look, I'm sorry, alright? I didn't think it all the way through."
"No kidding," Serafine murmured under her breath.
"Oh, now you're asking for it!" Natsu bellowed.
Mira stomped her foot as a menacing aura surrounded her. "Natsu, stop threatening your daughter. Serafine, stop provoking your father."
"Yes, ma'am," the two Dragneels mumbled.
"I can't hear you."
"Yes, ma'am!"
She smiled cutely, changing demeanors faster than either Natsu or Serafine could blink. "Much better."
Happy shrugged his tiny shoulders. "Now that that is out of the way, maybe we should focus on the actual problem at hand? After all, we're still hopelessly lost."
Yes, the Dragneel family was in fact lost. Since leaving the small village, Natsu led the way with a triumphant air about him. He was fired up to kick King Faust's ass, free the wizards of this world, and find Lisanna. Of course, in all of the excitement, he and everyone else soon realized something very important; none of them knew where to go to find the Capital. And now they were standing in yet another thick forest with no signs of civilization anywhere. They had ventured so far that even Natsu couldn't sniff out the village they had just came from.
"If we knew more about this world, we could look for landmarks," Mira said while tapping her chin. "Maybe we could spot a building?"
"What building?" Natsu asked.
"Any building," Mira replied. "We just need to find people at this point and get some directions." She looked to Happy. "Feel like giving it a shot?"
Happy saluted. "Aye!" he exclaimed as he flew high into the sky above the canopy of the trees. He thoroughly scouted the area.
"See anything?" Serafine called up to him.
Happy turned in circles before sighing. "Nope. Not a thing. We may as well be in the middle of nowhere."
"Well it was worth a shot," Natsu groaned.
"What do we do now, Mama?" Serafine asked.
Mira hummed. "Let me think…"
"Hey, what about me?" Natsu asked while pointing to himself.
Serafine huffed. "You had your chance."
"Teenagers…"
"Oh? What's this now?" came a rough voice off to the group's left. They turned to see a middle age couple walking towards them. The man was tall and broad. His body was strong, pushing against the fabric of his dark brown, rough leather vest and dirty slacks. His arms were thick and hairy, like two fuzzy tree trunks; much like the two actual tree trunks tucked under each arm, held in place by massive and work-worn hands. His face was stern with a tidy black goatee dressing his powerful jaw. His gaze was hidden underneath the shadow of the brim of his straw sun hat, but it was clear that he was analyzing them.
The woman beside him seemed like a doll in contrast to her large companion. She was slim and pretty with clear green eyes and silky, messy blonde hair tied up in a bun. While she was thin, she was clearly strong, as she was carrying a rather large bundle of logs in her arms. Her cloth, cream colored dress was just as dirty as her friend's pants. She had a look of surprise on her face as she looked over the strangers before her.
"Travelers?" the woman asked quietly with a smooth and comforting voice.
The man shook his head. "In these woods? Unlikely."
"Merchants?"
"Coming from where? There's too much poverty in this area."
"Then who could they be?"
"Beats me." He strode towards the Fairy Tail wizards. "You there! What might you be doing in these parts?"
"Sorry," Mira spoke up quickly. "You see, we left a village not too long ago, but we ended up getting lost. We don't know where we are."
The man hummed. "Lost, eh? Guess that means you are travelers. But not many people are stupid enough to get lost in these woods. Matter of fact, most people steer clear altogether. Never know what could happen out here."
"We're very unfamiliar with this area as you probably could have guessed," Mira said with a warm smile. "We hadn't the slightest idea that these woods were so dangerous."
"Will you help us?" Serafine asked, mimicking her mother's calm tone.
The man sighed and bent forward. "Help you, eh? Help you do what?"
"We want to get to the Ca—." Serafine was quickly silenced by her mother's hand.
"We were hoping that you wouldn't mind showing us the way to a nearby town. If it's not too much trouble, that is," Mira said, the same smile on her lips.
The man raised an eyebrow as he straightened up. "You need a guide out of these woods, eh?"
"I suppose we could let you follow us to our village," the woman piped up. "I don't see the harm."
"Oh thank you!" Mira said while clapping her hands.
The man turned on his heel. "Alright, stick close. We won't be slowing down for ya." With that he walked off towards the woman and the two began walking. The Fairy Tail group followed closely as instructed, but kept enough distance so as to not be directly behind them.
"What gives, Mama?" Serafine asked. "Why didn't you just ask him where the Capi—?"
"Shh," Mira quickly said, her voice barely audible. "Keep your voice down when speaking of the Capital."
"But why?" Serafine asked quietly, obeying her mother's word.
Mira's smile was gone and her eyes were scrutinizing as she looked around. "The man said these woods were dangerous. Not only that, but based on what we heard from the old woman, the Capital has spies everywhere. And spies don't always have to be human."
Serafine gasped as she whipped around.
"Don't be so obvious," Natsu said softly, his gaze very much like Mira's. "If there is someone watching us, don't let them know we're onto them."
Serafine snapped her head forward and gulped.
Natsu put a hand on her head and smiled gently. "Don't be afraid, alright? Your Mama and I will keep you safe. Don't you fret."
"I'm not afraid," Serafine assured as she clenched her fists, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart.
"That's my girl."
"So we can't talk about the Ca…I mean the 'big place' because someone might be listening in and could alert the Ki…I mean the 'big baddy' that we're coming for him," Serafine theorized.
"Exactly," Mira said. "Plus, we just met these two. While they've agreed to lead us to their village because they think we're simple lost travelers, there's no guarantee that they aren't in some way affiliated with the 'big place'."
Serafine's eyes gleamed. "Wow. You're incredible, Mama! I never would have thought of that."
"Mira's impressive," Happy nodded. "She's super S-Class!"
The Fairy Tail members followed the rest of the way in silence. After roughly an hour the couple led them through the trees and to the edge of a small canyon. Below, they could see a rather large village nestled in the bottom of the canyon. Small settlements had been built into the side of the canyon, but they were only small huts, most likely for guard posts. Along the canyon sides were also stone stairs fashioned from the rocks themselves. The couple ushered them down the steps to the village.
"Well, we're here," the man said.
"Welcome to Sunkiss Village," the woman said.
Mira bowed. "Thank you for leading us out of the woods. You've shown us such kindness."
"Think nothing of it," the man said. He walked into the village with the woman following close behind.
"Well now that we're out of the woods, what now?" Happy asked.
"We gather information," Mira said. "We simply can't afford to leave this village without a plan and an idea of where we're going. Otherwise we'll just end up lost again."
"So step one is to get a map I guess," Natsu said.
"That would probably help the most, yes."
"Once we have that we can pick a route," Serafine added.
Mira smiled at her daughter. "Exactly."
"Alright then, let's start looking," Natsu said as he sniffed the air. "I can't say why, but there's something unsettling about this village. The sooner we move the better."
Mira nodded. "Right."
The four began cautiously exploring the village for a map or any other form of information. Natsu was on high alert as his eyes darted from place to place, never resting for more than a second. Serafine looked at her father. 'I've never seen Papa so on edge before. He must really feel uncomfortable here.' She tried to find anything suspicious, but this place looked like a normal village. She couldn't find anything that would be alarming. 'What could make Papa feel like this? He's so strong, but he still seems…worried.'
"Hey!" Happy exclaimed as he pointed towards a small wooden stand. "That place looks like it has information."
Natsu nodded as he jogged ahead. The short stand counter was covered in rolls of parchment, strange devices, and many other things that he didn't even recognize. His eyes wandered over every item in confusion before resting on the eerily smiling face of the man behind the counter.
The man tilted his head and lifted his arms in a welcoming manner. "Good day, sir! What can I help you with on this fine day?"
'This guy's even creepier than that old lady from before,' he thought as Mira, Serafine, and Happy approached behind him. "You got a map of some kind here?"
The man clapped loudly. "A map! A map! You would like a map!"
Natsu took a slight step forward. "Yes, a map! That's what I said, didn't I?"
"You certainly did, sir!" he replied with a laugh.
"Then mind answering?"
"Why of course! I would be happy to answer your question, dear sir!"
'This must be the reason Papa was getting a bad feeling. He must've known that he'd have to deal with this clown,' Serafine thought as she squirmed in place. This man was the very definition of creepy.
"So what kind of map are you looking for?" the man asked. "A map of the town? The best places to eat? The best date spots? The best fishing spots?"
Happy was about to ask for the map of fishing spots before Natsu quickly lifted his hand, signaling the cat to keep quiet. "We were looking for a map of all of Edolas, actually," Natsu answered.
"Oh my! How exciting! You must be planning to travel!" the man exclaimed while dancing about. With nearly inhuman speed, he grabbed a roll of parchment from underneath the top of the counter and offered it to his customers. "Here you are, dear sir! A map of the whole land of Edolas as requested!"
"Th…Thanks," Natsu said as he cautiously took the scroll. "How much?"
"Consider it my gift to you, dear sir! Best of luck with your travels!" the man said, bending his body in strange ways with the same smile splitting his face.
"Much appreciated," Natsu said as he quickly ushered everyone away.
"I think that man is seriously deranged," Mira muttered under her breath.
"Don't look at him. Just keep walking," Natsu hissed.
The man watched his customers leave with the same smile before his eyes narrowed. "Interesting. How interesting! I never would have believed it, but I saw it! I saw it with my own two eyes! There's no mistaking it! I must report this immediately."
"So now that we're away from that guy, let's look at the map, Natsu," Happy said, hovering over Natsu's shoulder.
"Yeah, okay," Natsu agreed. He undid the string holding the parchment together and let the paper fall open. He held both ends and began to examine it, but was immediately puzzled. "What the hell is this?"
Mira looked at the map and her eyes widened. "This can't be…"
"What? What are you guys talking about?" Serafine asked.
"Why is there only one piece of land? There's no way Edolas is that small of a place. And what's with the 'X' and dotted line?" Happy asked while tilting his head.
Natsu crumpled up the parchment and burned it with his fire. His eyes were fierce as the veins in his head throbbed. "That guy played us," he growled. "He gave us a freaking kid's treasure map!"
"Maybe he made a mistake?" Happy offered.
"I find that hard to believe," Mira said with a shake of her head. "Call it paranoia, but I fear that man had every intention to give us a false map."
"But why? Why would he do that?" Serafine asked, watching the ashes from the map flutter to the ground and dance in the wind. "I mean, the map was free after all. What does he gain from doing that?"
"I don't know, but I have a mind to ask him," Natsu said while cracking his knuckles.
Mira looked over her shoulder and gasped. "He's…he's gone!"
The group turned to see that the strange man had vanished from his stand.
"Where did he go?" Serafine asked.
"I've got a bad feeling," Natsu muttered.
"You there!" The group whipped around to see a small group of soldiers approaching them. They wore dark blue tailcoats with light blue trim and tan loose pants. Covering their arms and their calves were blue pieces of armor. On top of this armor were silver shoulder and elbow pads. Silver armored boots were their footwear and black gloves were on their hands. Their heads were covered by bulbous, shell-like helmets with attached face masks to hide all but their eyes. Printed on the helmets, as well as on large pins on their left shoulders, was a strange anchor-like symbol. In their hands were long, black shafted spears. "Stay where you are!"
Natsu and Mira stood protectively in front of Serafine. "What do you want?" Natsu barked.
The soldiers fanned out and held their spears in front of them. One of the soldiers gasped and pointed. "Look! On his shoulder! So the reports were true! It's the mark of Fairy Tail!"
"So there were some that avoided arrest," another soldier growled.
"Maybe they escaped. They are infamous for their trickery," another offered.
"Who cares about that? Put your hands up!" another ordered. "By order of King Faust, you are under arrest, wizards of Fairy Tail!"
Natsu chuckled. "Yeah. Like we're gonna go quietly." He quickly scanned the soldiers. "Only thirty in number, Mira. Whaddya say? Feel like teaming up?"
Mira stepped forward. "I always love teaming up with you, Natsu. Let's do this. Happy, watch over Serafine for us."
"Aye!" Happy said as he hovered close to Serafine's shoulder.
Natsu's hands became engulfed in fire. "Then let's rock and roll!"
The soldiers gasped and stepped back. "How is he doing that? I don't see a magic item."
"There must be one somewhere. Don't worry about that for now. Attack!" With the order given, the soldiers charged with a cry. The tips of all their spears lit up with bright white light.
In a flash of dark light, Mira swiftly took her Satan Soul form. She burst forward, knocking three soldiers away with a simple thrust of her palm.
Natsu snickered as his flames grew larger. "I've been itching for a good fight! Here's hoping you guys aren't just the warm-up! Here we go! FIRE DRAGON FLAME BURST!" A ball of flames shot from Natsu's hands and crashed into the ground. It burst apart into smaller fires and slammed into the bodies of ten soldiers. With cries of pain they fell to the ground, unconscious. Through the smoke of his fire, Mira shot out like a rocket, slamming the bodies of five more soldiers with a swing of her tail.
Serafine watched in awe. "They really are amazing."
"They can't be beat, especially when fighting together," Happy nodded. "They always have each other's backs."
Serafine kept watching as her parents were handling the soldiers with ease. Her body itched with the urge to join in. With a beaming smile and a giggle of excitement, she ran forward.
"Wait, where are you going?" Happy called out as he chased after Serafine. "Seriously, is your goal in life to give your mother reason to kill me?"
Serafine spotted a soldier standing off to the rear. She immediately ran to him. "I can handle myself. Papa trained me after all." She lunged forward, prepared to land a kick to the soldier's face.
However, the soldier could see her coming. He turned to her and pointed his spear at her. "Take this, Fairy Tail wizard!" A beam of magic shot towards Serafine.
Serafine gasped. She had no way to block or dodge.
Suddenly, as if through teleportation, Natsu was standing between the two. He held up his hand as the beam struck his palm. Smoke billowed from his slightly burnt skin, but Natsu's face showed nothing but rage, veins throbbing in his forehead. "You would dare attack my daughter?"
The soldier cowered and stepped back. "H…Help! I need back up!"
"Call for as much back up as you want!" Natsu bellowed as flames erupted around him and lashed out at all of the remaining soldiers. "IT WON'T SAVE YOU FROM ME! FIRE DRAGON LASHING WHIP!" The flames pushed all of the soldiers out of the way, sending them flying far away with cries of fear. He panted as smoke wafted from him, his anger slowly subsiding.
"Serafine!" Mira cried as she left her Satan Soul. She ran to her daughter, who was sprawled out on the ground, and knelt beside her. "Are you alright? What were you thinking rushing in like that?"
Serafine sat up and hung her head as she pouted. "I wanted to help. I'm not a kid anymore."
"We know you're not a kid, but that was reckless," she replied. "Your magic hasn't fully developed yet. Fighting large groups like that when you don't understand their fighting abilities is dangerous."
"Yeah, I get it," Serafine huffed as she got to her feet, "but it's not fair that I can't help you fight. You guys are incredible and I'm useless."
Mira hugged her. "You're not useless. Give it time and you'll be a wonderful wizard."
"Yeah, okay," she said quietly.
"We should leave," Natsu said as he searched for any other enemies.
"But we still don't have a map," Happy said.
"Good point," he said as he walked over to one of the knocked down soldiers. He grabbed him by his collar and hoisted him off of the ground. "How do we get to the Capital?"
The soldier groaned and laughed softly. He answered with a raspy voice, "You…want to go to the Capital? Heheh. What are you, idiots?"
"Just talk," Natsu threatened as embers danced around him.
The soldier's eyes widened. "J…Just head North by Northwest from here. You can't miss it." His eyes then narrowed mockingly and he laughed nervously. "But you won't get more than two feet inside before you're arrested. The soldiers stationed there are far stronger than any of us were. You won't stand a chance, Fairy Tail."
Natsu leaned in close. "Watch us." He slammed his fist into the soldier. The man slumped in his grip before Natsu dropped him. He turned to the others and smiled. "Well I know which way to go now! Whaddya say we head out before anything else goes wrong, eh?"
THAT NIGHT
Deep in the forest sat a small abandoned hut. The old wooden walls were rotting away and growing mossy. Holes in the cone-shaped straw ceiling allowed light from the dark moon to seep in. The floor creaked, but held strong.
Natsu sniffed and his nose crinkled. "Well it smells old, but it'll do for shelter for the night."
Happy floated to the ground and groaned as his wings disappeared. "Thank goodness we found some place to stay. I'm beat."
"Seems safe enough to me," Mira said as she examined the hut.
Serafine stepped inside, her head still hanging from the fight hours ago. She was feeling so frustrated at her lack of fighting ability that she felt ready to explode with anger. She raised her head slightly to peer at her parents, who were thoroughly checking out the place. "Um, guys?"
The two stopped their exploration to look at Serafine. "Yes?" Mira asked.
"I'm gonna look around a bit," Serafine said.
"As long as you don't go too far," Natsu said. "I'm all for a little exploration, but remember that this isn't our world and we've clearly got enemies. Just keep your wits about you, alright?"
Serafine nodded. "Right, Papa." She turned on her heels and slowly walked out.
Mira sighed. "Poor girl. She's still really distraught that her magic power hasn't developed much."
Natsu scratched his head. "She's so impatient."
Mira looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "I wonder who she got that from."
"Beats me."
"The sad part is you honestly believe that."
"I'll go make sure she's okay," Happy said as he summoned his wings and flew after her. Even though he was tired, he was concerned for his niece.
"Thanks pal," Natsu said. He sighed as he took a seat on the floor. "Teenagers are tricky."
Mira sat beside him. "She's trying to find herself and it's frustrating her. I understand. I just hope it doesn't push her to do something more dangerous than what she did today."
Natsu turned to her. "It'll be okay, Mira."
She put a finger to her chin. "And something else is bothering me, too."
"What would that be?"
"Those soldiers…they saw your guild mark and knew we were Fairy Tail wizards. But how could they possibly know that?"
Natsu hummed. "That's a good point. But there's no point in worrying about it right now." He leaned forward and gently kissed the side of her neck.
Mira's breath caught in her throat at the sudden feeling of warmth from Natsu's lips. She looked down from the corner of eye. "Natsu, what are you doing in a place like this?"
"Making you feel better," he said softly as he kissed and gently nibbled his way up to her jaw line. "You've been pretty stressed lately, haven't you?"
"A lot has happened," she breathed. She brought her hands up to his face and pulled him away.
"Let me help you relax, even if it's just for a moment. I hate seeing you look so sad." He pushed against Mira's hands and moved towards her face.
Mira's heart began to pound rapidly in her chest seeing him begin to close the distance between them. Even after all of these years, the thought of having Natsu being so close, so intimate was exciting and exhilarating. "You talked me into it," she whispered as she quickly closed the remaining gap, crashing her lips against his.
Natsu pushed against Mira until she was on her back, gently laying her down but never breaking the kiss. Their tongues met and danced against each other. Natsu's hands glided across Mira's slender waist and hips. Mira's hands gripped Natsu's back like she was clinging to a lifeline.
Mira was filled with bliss. She could feel an intense fire building inside of her. She knew that soon she would reach the point of no return and be flooded with the desire to feel Natsu inside of her. But still, she remained cognizant enough to remember that their daughter was outside and could return at any time. The last thing she wanted was for Serafine to catch them having sex in this broken down hut. She was willing to wait a little longer before stopping, but she soon realized that Natsu was already reaching his breaking point when his strong hands slid up her body and gripped her breasts. She moaned before grabbing his face and pulling him up. "We have to stop, Natsu."
Natsu looked in her eyes. He chuckled and rubbed his face against her soft hands. "I guess you're right." He sat up, removing his hands from Mira's breasts. He sat cross legged and smiled at her. "Do you at least feel a little better?"
Mira sat up and smiled warmly at him. She crawled over and gave him a quick kiss. "Much better. Thank you, Natsu." She continued to crawl until she was sitting beside him. She rested her head against his shoulder and sighed. "Remind me when we get back to ask Elfman to take Serafine and Happy on a trip."
Natsu snickered excitedly. "Oh, you bet I will."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Happy asked, looking up at Serafine's sad expression.
Serafine's knees were pulled against her chest as she stared at the dark moon. "Uncle Happy, do you think I'll ever get my full magic?"
Happy lifted a paw. "Aye! No question about it!"
Serafine lifted her hand and stared at her palm. After several seconds of severe concentration a tiny ember appeared in her palm. "But this is all I can do. I'm 13 and I can't even start a fire, let alone fight and help Mama and Papa."
"But they can take care of themselves. So why push yourself so hard?"
Serafine's hand dropped. She rested her chin on her knees and looked at the vast and strange wilderness. "Mama and Papa are great, powerful, and revered S-Class wizards of Fairy Tail. They can do so much. How could they have a teenage kid who's so useless?"
"Serafine…"
Tears began to flood her eyes. "I just…I just want magic power. I don't care what it is. Anything would do. Anything at all so that I can stand beside them, so that they can smile at me with pride in their daughter." Her tears rolled down her cheeks and into the dirt. She squeezed her eyes shut to try and stop the flow, but to no avail. 'This is so damn frustrating!'