Chapter 3
Luckily the two celestial mages were able to put their luggage in their room, even though it hadn't been properly cleaned yet. The two mages just turned on the charm and the hotel manager was putty in their hands. Well, at least in that regard. He didn't budge at all when it came to the two mages (Lucy mostly) trying to get their room price lower via their feminine flirtations.
Now the girls were outside the hotel and casting their eyes over the street of the small town. There were temporary stands here there and everywhere set up for the occasion where merchants were eager to peddle their wares to would be consumers. However it was somewhat fortunate that there weren't many shoppers strolling up and down the sidewalks as of yet due to the early hour, perhaps the two of them would have first crack at the hard to come by commodities.
The two were both a bit hungry but the sites before them had that hunger dissipating in the span of a heartbeat. Their stomachs stopped growling and the previous concern to eat was simply forgotten as hearts danced merrily in their eyes while taking in the wares.
The first stand they came to was a book merchant. Lucy couldn't figure out just how the vendor had managed to fit so many books in such a small space. There seemed to be nearly a thousand books here. Every one she picked up seemed to have some tie into celestial magic too. She was hesitant to purchase any of them however after seeing the marked up value on the spine of the current book she was holding. Plus, none of these books were penned by Syneviar Ixarium. She probably would have snatched any of his books up in a heartbeat regardless of price. Before she leaves she asks the gentleman if he planned to have his stand up all weekend. When he confirms he will she smiles at him and nonchalantly grabs a business card that has the name of the store he is based out of and its address. She only glances at it though, not really reading the words in metallic print on the stiff rectangle before she tucks it away in her purse and continues onward.
The second shop they arrive at is a jewelry shop. Some of the wares seem to be emanating some magic charm. But most of them were simply beautiful pieces of female ornamentation. Again the prices were outrageous, and Yukino quickly decided that even though there were several pieces she admired she didn't need anything. But Lucy found a couple of pendants she couldn't help but purchase. They were nearly identical with the only exception being an additional charm. Both of the keys were ornamental keys with a slight magical aura to them which she quickly discarded as a charm to increase the likelihood of sale. One had an additional heart charm hanging from the chain, and the other had a star hanging from it.
The two mages walked a few feet from the stand before Lucy turned and looked at her companion. She smiled at Yukino and handed her the one with the star. "This one is for you."
"Oh my goodness! I didn't even see these! But, Lucy, you didn't have to buy me anything." Yukino had nearly been frightened by the markup value at that location. If she had seen these particular pendants she might have changed her mind and purchased one for herself.
"Honestly, these were pretty cheap comparatively. When I saw them I just had to buy them. Trust me I know I didn't have to. I simply wanted to. Sometimes, I wonder if you know how much I truly value our friendship." She shrugged her shoulders as she took in her friend's hesitancy. "Just consider this a birthday present and Christmas present rolled into one. Oh my goodness, I don't even know when your birthday is!"
The other celestial mage quickly reassures Lucy. "Don't worry you didn't miss it or anything. It's in the winter. My birth came with the first snowfall of the year x773. My birthday is November 30th. But since I am sharing, when is yours?"
"I was born on a day that the sakura were in bloom. April 13th, x767." She frowned after mentioning the year. "It sounds so weird admitting how much older I technically am compared to you."
"Yes, well that whole thing with Tenrou Island was definitely an odd event."
Lucy nodded. She grimaced as she looked at more of the merchant stands. "From as far as the eye can see seem to be magic merchants. It's going to take forever to go through them all."
"How about we limit the number we visit before finding a stand or restaurant we can get something to eat at. I realize we have been able to stave off the hunger for now, but I am beginning to feel it starting to make its presence known again." Lucy found it funny how Yukino addressed hunger as if it were a beast you would have to either conquer or relinquish power to.
"Sometimes, I am amazed by how you articulate your points."
"Well, there's no point to make a fuss about it really. I mean we will be taking care of our hunger in due time.."
"Well, Natsu is definitely not as patient or eloquent. In fact he becomes quite whiny when he's hungry. Which is of course every thirty minutes." Lucy wondered for a second how she was able to deal with an overgrown whiny child all the time. But then she felt a tad guilty for thinking that. He was her best friend after all and even thinking like that was unfair of her.
"Let's stick to three vendors for now then find some food."
"Sounds like a plan." It was odd. Usually Lucy was the more confident one. But somehow today Yukino was more relaxed within this setting. Perhaps it was the subject matter itself that put the other so at ease.
The first stand they stopped at Lucy felt exceptionally lucky as her eyes landed directly on a silver key in the glass case the vendor had set up for the higher end items. The symbol was the one for Centaurus, and she frowned as she considered the key carefully. If he was a Centaur then he would probably be like Sagittarius, and if that were the case it hardly seems fair to be included in my own collection. The other mage's attention had been drawn by something else so she quickly called her over. "Yukino, look at this!"
"Oh yes!" She paused with a hesitant frown appearing on her face. "Oh, but Lucy you saw it first."
"No, no. It is Centaurus, probably another archer like my own Sagittarius. I say you should buy it."
It took a bit more coercing but eventually Yukino caved in and purchased the key. The look of excitement that lit up her face was definitely one to behold.
The next two vendors they stopped by didn't even have a glass case like the first. The items that were being sold were gimmicky novelties that they could honestly find anywhere. Once outside of earshot they both grimaced at the two stands they just wasted time at. "I don't understand why those two merchants are even here." Yukino stated in annoyed astonishment.
"They think they can make a quick jewel or two. Honestly I think it's gonna bite them in the butt financially. I bet they had to rent out the space from those who orchestrated the event. This is going to probably put them in the red for awhile."
"Ugh, economics..."
"Yeah, I hate it too. Let's figure out what we want food wise."
"Hm, we can either go find a restaurant, as we previously considered. Or I think I smell food stands that direction." She pointed the direction they had yet to travel.
Lucy shook her head at that idea. "Honestly, I don't want to go further that direction until we are ready to window shop some more. So let's go back the way we came. I think there was a cute cafe near that book vendor we stopped at."
The walk wasn't a long one since they were only a block and a half from where they had first started. But who they found heading toward said book stand surprised them both.
"Princess Hisui, what are you doing here?" Yukino quickly asked.
Lucy was curious also. Why would the princess be in such a small town to attend an event like this? Lucy quickly noted that Arcadios was only a few steps behind the princess.
"You two didn't know?" She paused for a second to watch both mages stare at her blankly and shake their heads. "I'm a celestial mage like yourself. I just don't often practice my magic as much as research the history of it, and discover the vast array of what it's capable of." They both were shocked to discover this. But it didn't take long for Lucy to quickly realize that it was her extensive background knowledge that provided her the information about the eclipse gate. "I'm on the first panel that will be speaking tomorrow. I hope you two attend." How could they not? They both immediately became more curious about the green haired princess in front of them. "Oh come with me for a second." The princess lead them over to the book stand.
"Princess, what can I do for you?" The clerk was immediately exceptionally nervous. His hands were shaking like crazy. It was rather amazing that he was able to keep his voice steady at all.
"Firstly, I want a good selection of books about celestial magic. I don't want any of the ones you know are just here to clutter your tables. Then, I want an additional copy of each." She paused for just a moment. "Honestly, I would like a third copy if you can manage it but I realize that is highly unlikely. Also, I don't want to pay more than market value for them."
"For that many purchases I will happily give you a discount even, princess." Lucy wasn't sure if he was doing this because of the amount she was purchasing or that she was a princess. Then what the princess demanded registered in her head. She was buying books for the three of them.
There weren't actually many books at all that the merchant deemed really worthy. It looked like six titles total. Only two of those did he have three copies of. "I would have rather given you both your own copies but I knew going into this it was a long shot."
"This is very generous but you truly didn't have to."
"Yes, I did. I need to make sure the strongest celestial mages of Fiore are able to move forward in their magic. Oh and don't you dare say that you two aren't the strongest. You are the only two who have gold keys. That fact alone puts you several levels above the rest. But also you both have the kind of hearts that deserve to have the magic of the gold keys at your sides."
The three of them went to have lunch together at the cafe, well four really but Arcadios wouldn't sit he just hovered and watched over the princess' shoulder. "I must stay vigilant at your side while you are in public, Princess." He explained when she indicated the free seat with a friendly nod.
The three laughed and smiled. They gossiped together about silly things. Mutually they all agreed to table the conversation of celestial magic for now and simply enjoy their luncheon together. Once the random topics dwindled down and the mages became full they went back out to the busy street and continued shopping together.
oOo
It was several hours later as the day turned to night before Yukino and Lucy fell on their beds. "I really feel bad that we didn't find a key also for you."
Lucy shrugged. "Honestly it was a long shot any way you look at it. But hopefully those books will turn out something good. I only wish I had brought my pair of gale-force reading glasses with me."
"I wish I had a pair to begin with. It must be nice to read that fast and learn so much so quickly. Perhaps we should each look at one of the books and see if we learn anything interesting."
"Hm, I do like that idea." Lucy hopped up from her bed and bounced for a moment or two on the balls of her feet as if she couldn't settle the quiver of excitement that traced up her spine. "But first I say you make the contract with your Centaurus."
Yukino quickly agreed and called forth her spirit. Both were a bit surprised with what appeared before them. Instead of a male as they both initially believed they were greeted with a female. She did have a bow and a quiver of arrows strapped to her back, as they expected. But, she also wasn't in a horse costume like Sagittarius. She was truly half female half horse. "Oh I so hoped it would be one of you. My father tells me stories about you, Lucy."
"Father? Wait, is Sagittarius your father?"
"Yes, he is the father to all the Centaurus spirits."
Lucy's eyes bulged out of her head. "Just how many of you are there?" Her mind worried over the number of 'little dog' spirits she saw in the celestial realm.
She just giggled. "I see that look on your face. Trust me not as many as you might think. There are only 12 of us altogether. Well thirteen if you count my mom. She was the reason he began dressing like a horse to begin with."
Yukino smiled at her. "What would you like to be called?"
"I get to pick?"
Yukino nodded first then half frowned. "Do you already have a name? I mean there has to be a way you distinguish yourselves from one another in the celestial realm."
"Oh yes, all spirits are given names. As you know all silver keys spirits tend to be named something their key holder wishes to call them. We then also adapt that name that our key holder has given to us in the celestial realm. My given name is Eirarhona. My family and friends just call me Rhona."
"Rhona, it is then."
"I get to keep my name?" Rhona wasn't able to veil the happiness in her eyes.
"Of course, like Lucy I much rather have a friendly relationship with my spirits than an ownership."
The two talked with each other over their schedule while Lucy picked up one of the first books that Princess Hisui had helped them procure. She was reading something about Moon and Sun spells as Yukino wrapped up her conversation and sent Rhona back. "Anything interesting?"
"Mm, quite. This is about two spiritual entities that harvest their magic by the sun or moon. Celestial mages have been known to be able to channel their magic but only if one of the two spirits sees something in the mage. The text doesn't define what that something might be so I'm assuming that particular fact is unknown. It does also state that a single mage will not have the ability to channel both entities in magic ever. The way a mage might discover if they can harness such a power from either of the two entities is by meditating beneath the light of the moon or sun."
Yukino looked out at the bright orb in the sky. It was currently a full moon. "I say we try the moon meditation right now" She pulled Lucy from her bed, and the two walked to a park they had strolled by on their way to their motel. They were able to find a perfect cleared patch of grass that was serene, comfortable, and where the view of the moon was unobstructed by park vegetation and architecture. They both began to meditate and focus on the magic that ran through their body. It took about a half an hour before Yukino made a startled triumphant squeal.
"What is it?" Lucy immediately asked but she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.
Yukino smiled brightly. "She came to me. Her name is Luna and her body was silver and ethereal. I wish you could have seen her. But she stated she doesn't show herself on this realm of existence in physical form. Her spells are affected by the phase of the moon. She said it was too early to call on her now. That I would have to learn her spells and grow before being able to use her. But oh my gosh I'm so excited."
Lucy shared her friends excitement but couldn't help but feel a tad disappointed. Perhaps in the morning if the sun was shining she could try to meditate again, only this time hoping to contact the sun spirit."