Chapter 11
Lacey frowned at her reflection in the mirror. Her long golden locks were gone. In replace she sported a short bob, and no sir she didn't like it. She had to get it cut because of how much ended up singed from whatever that attack was that Lucy sent her direction. Just another reason for her to hate Lucy Heartfilia. (Even if the blonde bimbo hadn't known she was hiding with Samson in the shadows. She still shouldn't let loose wild magic like that.) She gritted her back teeth in an attempt to keep her displeasure locked up tight and sashayed on her heels back to the main living space of her home.
She glared at the set of weights lying on the ground in the middle of the floor. Her anger and annoyance already at an all time high somehow managed to crank up a few more levels just glancing at the mess. (There went her attempted effort to keep calm.) "How many times have I told you, Samson?! Put up your crap when you are done with it!" Too bad he wasn't in the apartment at the moment. She couldn't verbally address her disdain properly, and the words she uttered aloud merely echoed off the walls.
She sent boy toy number one away while she waited on boy toy number two to arrive. She smirked and relished in the fact that she had the two men practically wrapped around her finger.
As if her thoughts had conjured him up her door creaked on it's hinges as it opened. "Lacey love, I'm back!" He called from the entrance way.
Lacey turned around with a smile on her face ready to slather him with her affections but the minute she saw him her face dropped. "Dammit Jonah! Why are you still wearing that hideous glamor!"
His long face drew wide with surprise. "Oops I forgot."
Lacey tapped her foot and watched as his face filled out more. His nondescript gray eyes sparkled the silver she knew so well. His wiry messy curls grew loose and longer. She frowned a bit as she once again mourned her locks in comparison. His hair had only been an inch or two shorter than hers before. But now she was the one with the shorter hair.
"Aww what's wrong, Love?"
Her gloom was gone instantaneously and replaced with hatred once again as she began to relay what happened to her hair to the man before her. "Babe, I think your hair looks adorable like that. The pixie cut suits the shape of your face, and even draws more attention to your gorgeous eyes."
"It's actually a bob, not a pixie cut." She smiled regardless of his mistake. Jonah had always been the sweet talker of her two men. The butterflies his proximity always caused began to flutter manically in her stomach. But she would not be swayed. No, she had sent him on a mission. "Jonah, tell me you got something good from that symposium thing! I really wanna teach this bitch a lesson."
Jonah mentally sighed. He would do anything for Lacey but this resentment towards Lucy Heartfilia was a bit beyond him. He pulled back for a moment to dig into his satchel. "Everything I learned from that symposium is in this folder." He handed it to her. "It can tell you more than I can. The princess of Fiore…" He rolled his eyes as he thought again about her lack of foresight. "She didn't even bother actually talking during her first panel. Her second panel wasn't much better since I didn't really completely understand what they were discussing." He handed her a lacrima next. "I still took notes but I recorded the panels on this lacrima just in case I missed something."
He was thorough. That should be rewarded. She thought to herself before addressing him aloud. "Well, let's put this aside for now so I can welcome you back properly." She purred and dragged him toward her bedroom.
Clothing was already being shed on their way to the bedroom door. As he pulled her lips to his he growled provocatively. "I always did like the way you gave positive reinforcement."
Her expressive laughter erupted through the apartment as he kicked the bedroom door shut behind him.
oOo
"Lucy, your bag is awful light. Did you pack enough stuff?" Natsu called from her room. She was currently brushing her teeth so she couldn't verbally answer him. She opened her door and vividly glared his direction.
"Whoa, Lucy. He just asked a question you don't have to start foaming at the mouth out of anger." Happy covered his paws over his mouth as he tried to stifle his own laughter.
Yukino might not have been used to their somewhat verbally abusive friendship but she intervened regardless. "She only packed what little colder weather clothing she owned. There are of course a couple of outfits in there for until we get to Iceberg. But she wanted to make sure that she had room when we go shopping in Seven."
Lucy, finally finished with her morning ritual and came through the bathroom door. "Don't think I will soon forget the butt whooping you having coming to you, Cat!" The exceed cowered behind Natsu. "But this time. It will be coming when you least expect it."
"Scary." Happy muttered as he began shaking in fear.
"Wow, Lucy. You are feisty when you get fearsome." Hibiki cooed.
Lucy rolled her eyes at the flirtation and didn't notice Natsu's direct glare at Hibiki. The archive mage did notice however and found himself smirking back at Natsu. So, that's how it is? He mentally told himself to have a discussion later with Natsu about it.
"We should get going. Everyone else is probably waiting at the train station." This discussion could wait. The train however could not.
A half an hour later and she was glad she hadn't vocalized how the train wouldn't wait for them. It was late. The train platform was filled to the brim with people waiting on several trains actually. She was thankful that Yukino and her had procured one of the benches against the building as they waited. Hibiki went off to see if he could find out what the delay was.
When he came back with a tight expression on his face Lucy knew they still had a while to wait. "One of the business line trains SE plugs malfunctioned. So, they had to take several people from those trains via regular trains. They aren't taking them the full excursion only to the closest point where another business line train will be waiting. But, it's going to be a bit."
"What's a business line train?" Natsu asked. Lucy wasn't going to touch that question with a ten foot pole. In fact she gave Hibiki a look in warning not to answer it himself. But the archive mage wasn't looking her direction and began to explain to Natsu what it was and how it worked. By the end of Hibiki's description the dragon slayer looked immensely ill. Hibiki even backed up several steps in fear that he would actually throw up just from his verbal relay.
Lucy tugged her bag closer to her and opened it. Might as well get some research done. She pulled out the pamphlet that Princess Hisui had passed out. When Yukino saw what she was working on the other celestial mage mirrored her actions.
Lucy found mentions of spells that celestial mages can cast outside of using their keys. She peeked up at Hibiki when she got to the mention of Urano Metria. She may not have been fond of the pain induced to learn the spell. But she was exceptionally pleased for him to consider her strong enough to learn it, and for him to take the time to 'teach' it to her.
There were a few other spells mentioned. But not much concrete about most of them. A spell, Gottfried, sounded insane. It could be cast by multiple celestial mages. They would kneel on the ground, hold hands, and one of them would chant the needed spell. 'I ask that the heavens make the stars descend to the earth. Illuminate, by all means. This land. This world. This land. By your hand let everything be illuminated. Twinkling, shooting, falling. Let the stars descend before us! Gottfried!' (The grammar cop in Lucy really wasn't a fan of the way it was punctuated but she couldn't complain about the direct structure of a spell.) The spell channels an aura through the mages that funnels into a great beam in the center of their huddled group that shoots into the sky. Apparently there was a huge negative to the spell. It would leave the mages that cast it in great pain afterwards. Still having knowledge of its existence might be important some day.
"Did you get to the part about the celestial banishment keys, Lucy?" Yukino asked.
Oh, that didn't sound good. She peered over Yukino's shoulder and found the page she was on. "She made the keys herself." Lucy's eyes widen on that comment.
Yukino nodded. "But if she made them does that mean others could figure out how to do so also?"
Lucy didn't vocalize how nervous that made her. The banishment keys could be wielded by anyone with an aptitude for magic. They could close the gates against a celestial mage midfight. So, if someone else got their hands on those keys (doubtful since they probably were in the most secure place in all of Fiore), or managed to recreate them themselves then it would mean trouble for the owner of said key. It would practically put the celestial mage out of commission unless they knew spells outside or had other defenses outside of their keys. She visibly gulped as her nerves thrummed through her body. "Let's hope not."
Lucy once again examined the brief paragraph that mentioned how there did exist other spells out their that celestial mages could cast. But Hisui was still researching what she could find out about some of those. Lucy found herself grinning as she knew the princess had also recently obtained the book about the lunar and solar magic that Yukino and herself were currently learning.
"Huh, there is a key tracking spell. It mentions use for silver keys but now that we know they exist I bet it could be used for most any."
In the same paragraph Yukino indicated Lucy found something similar. "I didn't know we could also recreate or find missing or lost keys."
"I think she means lost as in lost spirits. Those that have been stuck in Earthland because they haven't had a way to open their gate." The two mages began to frown in sadness at that thought. A celestial spirit couldn't last long on Earthland and those trapped had to feel both homesick and lonely.
Another hour passed before the train finally pulled into the station. With the exception of Natsu the whole group breathed a sigh of relief. Lucy forgot to mention the potions she had in her bag. When she handed him one he smiled gratefully and exclaimed his catch phrase loud enough that it reverberated off the train walls.
Samson gritted his teeth. The train conductor couldn't tell him where the group of mages were headed off to. But he did say the train itself was northbound. Hopefully that info would be enough to satisfy, Lacey. Truthfully he knew it wouldn't, and that she would probably be mostly attending her affections to Jonah instead of himself. He sighed at his romantic predicament and purchased a ticket for his own train to return to their shared apartment. Oh crap! I left my weights out in the living room again!