And so, Part Two of my Thanksgiving Day update, in which we finish the dinner! Enjoy!
I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. I only own my OCs Ruby, Mr. Salt, and by extension, Hydra the Water Serpent.
Before long, Ruby came back to check on the couple. "How is everything so far?" she asked, the biggest fake smile she could muster plastered to her face.
"Just great, Ruby! Just great!" replied Lucy with an equally fake smile. "Even though you only gave us one order."
"I'm really sorry about only giving you one plate of food," said Ruby. "You see, the chef somehow drenched one of the plates in pesto sauce, and rather than cook a new order, we figured you might want to share it. And to make up for it, I'll get you some complimentary coffee and dessert."
"Well, that'd be lovely, Ruby," said Lucy. "But I still don't get why you didn't explain that to us instead of..." she looked up to see Ruby had already gone. "Ignoring us..." she finsihed bitterly. "She was probably too busy coming up with that excuse..."
"She's making her final moves," said Jellal. "Let's not lose our cool now." In an attempt to distract Lucy, he asked, "So what's this play that we're seeing?"
"It's a surprise," said Lucy with a mischievous glint in her eye. "But I will say it's something Erza likes, and I bet you're going to like it just as much."
"Oh? Now I'm intrigued," said Jellal.
"You should be," replied Lucy.
"Have I heard of it?" asked Jellal.
"Well, with your memory loss and your imprisonment, probably not," said Lucy.
"Hey, I remember most of my magic just fine, don't I?" Lucy didn't have a reply to that.
Jellal gave a slight laugh. "Well, most of those spells are basically muscle memory. For example, even if Natsu had total amnesia like me, he would still be able to eat fire."
"I gave up trying to understand Dragon Slayers a long time ago," laughed Lucy. Jellal laughed with her as Ruby came back with two slices of chocolate frosted cake and two cups of coffee.
She put the tray carrying everything on a nearby table and handed a cup and a slice to Lucy, who thanked her curtly, but politely, and mentally noting it sounded just like her father's thank yous. Ruby then made to give Jellal his dessert, but faked a sneeze and dropped the cake and the coffee on his lap. Jellal yelled in pain from the hot beverage spilling on him and shouted "THAT'S IT!", causing Ruby to flinch.
"Ruby," said Jellal. "There's no point in beating around the bush anymore! I know who you are, I know who your grandfather is, and I know you've been giving me and my date intentionally poor service just so you could exact revenge on me for costing your grandfather his job!"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" said Ruby defensively. Jellal ignored her and continued.
"Yes, I realize that I was the catalyst for the Magic Council's disbandment, but what you obviously don't understand is that your grandfather, and every other Councilman that had resigned, did so of their own free will! Look at Councilman Og! He was on the same Council as myself, and he stayed on into the new one! In other words, I didn't cost you OR your grandfather a goddamn thing!
"And another thing! I am by NO means expecting forgiveness for the evil I've done! Yet here I am, walking among you, just trying to move on from that and redeem myself!"
"There is NO redemption for scum like YOU!" screamed Ruby, showing rage for the first time that night. "Wind Make: Cutter!" She held out her hands, and a spinning blade of green wind energy came shooting out from her palm and straight for Jellal's throat.
Jellal was taken off guard, but managed to counter it with a wind spell of his own, dispelling the wind blade and knocking Ruby backwards a few feet.
"I am not a man in the business of making promises," said Jellal dangerously. "But this I can promise you: if Guran Doma thought I was a threat to the safety of the people, I would still be rotting in a prison cell, or for that matter, dead."
"You lie!" said Ruby hysterically. "You attacked me just now! That only proves how dangerous you are!"
"As I recall, you attacked me first. I was simply defending myself," said Jellal coldly.
"No one cares what you think, you bastard!" screamed Ruby. "It'll be my word against yours! No one trusts you! No one will EVER trust you!"
"Trust is irrelevant," boomed a deep voice. "Because the proof is in the pudding!"
Ruby looked behind her, and a look of horror graced her face. "Mr. Salt!" she exclaimed. "I-I was just-"
"Attacking a patron of my restaurant?" Mr. Salt demanded in a furious tone. Mr. Salt was a well-built man, almost intimidating despite being in his early sixties. He wore his gray hair with dignity and had a fierce, yet neatly trimmed beard. His black suit and bow tie were other signs that he took great pride in his appearance.
"No!" exclaimed Ruby, panic seeping into the ruby red eyes she was named for. "He attacked me first!"
"Baulderdash!" exclaimed Mr. Salt. "I saw your little altercation with my own two eyes! Clara informed me you had kept a guest with a reservation waiting, and judging from this young man's appearance, you've deliberately mistreated him and his lady throughout their whole meal! And why is there only one plate for two people?"
"But... but Mr. Salt! Don't you know who that is?"
"A paying customer," said Mr. Salt. "No matter who walks through the Portside's doors, be it the florist, the pastor, or the Devil himself, that is how we treat them. In my thirty years of restauranting, I have never seen such a shameful display from one of my employees.
"You're fired."
At those two words, Ruby sent out two more Cutters, one at Jellal, and one more at Mr. Salt. However, do to their lack of focus, they missed entirely. Calmly, Mr. Salt pulled out a silver key. In a flash of light, a blue serpentine creature with clawed hands and legs, as well as two heads appeared. Lucy instantly recognized this as Hydra the Water Serpent.
"Hydra," Mr. Salt commanded, pointing to Ruby. "Take her out of my restaurant! Posthaste!"
"Yes, Mr. Salt," the right head said respectfully.
"Come on, you!" barked the left head gruffly. The Celestial Spirit grabbed Ruby by the hair, easily lifting her.
"This isn't over, Jellal Fernandes!" Ruby screamed as she struggled to escape Hydra's grasp. "I WILL make you pay! In the name of my grandfather, YOU! WILL! PAAAAAAAAAAY!" Hydra tossed her out screaming.
"Will that be all for tonight, Mr. Salt?" asked Hydra's right head.
"I'll call if I need you," the restaurant owner replied.
"Gotcha," said the left head as Hydra disappeared. Mr. Salt turned his attention towards Jellal and Lucy.
"I'm terribly sorry for the disturbance," he said with a polite bow. "I shall cover the bill for this evening."
"You don't really have to do that, sir," said Lucy humbly.
"I must and I will!" insisted Mr. Salt. "You were disrepected, mistreated, even attacked by one of my employees! It would be a disgrace to my restaurant if I didn't make things right in this manner!"
"In that case, thank you, sir," said Jellal.
"You must think nothing of it, lad!" said Mr. Salt. "By the way, I noticed the young lady's mark. Mages of Fairy Tail?"
"Yes, sir," said Lucy.
"Then in return for your meal, I ask that you give Makarov my warmest regards!" said Mr. Salt with a smile. As he walked away, Lucy and Jellal became very aware of the stares they were receiving.
"We should go," said Lucy.
"Good plan," replied Jellal.
As Lucy and Jellal made the short walk to the theater, the two contemplated their botched dinner.
"You know something?" said Jellal. "I think I'm actually enjoying this date so far."
"Despite the fact that a psychotic waitress tried to kill us?" said Lucy.
"It kept things interesting, that's for sure," said Jellal with a smile. His tone turned serious for a moment. "We're just lucky the owner intervened when he did. I'm still on probation, so if things had gotten ugly, they would get real ugly."
Lucy frowned, remembering Ruby's twisted logic. "Jellal, listen to me," she said firmly, grasping his chin and staring into his eyes. "You've done nothing wrong since your release."
Jellal gave a sad sigh. "I know," he replied. "But that still doesn't erase my past transgressions..."
"Jellal!" exclaimed Lucy. "What have you done for me lately? You've joined a guild! You're working to help people! You're moving on with your life, Jellal! Don't let some nutjob waitress tell you otherwise!"
Jellal let Lucy's words sink in. It was true, since joining Fairy Tail, his life was starting to look up. Yet, he still felt tethered to his dark past for some reason. But tonight, he hadn't felt that way when he was talking with Lucy. She was bright, she had a great sense of humor, and her soul was altogether beautiful. For her, he would work to break the chains that haunted him so.
"Yeah," he said with a smile. "I suppose you're right." Lucy smiled, but didn't say anything. She had seen there was good in Jellal during the Nirvana mission. They all saw it. The only person who needed to see it was Jellal himself.
As they strolled up to the theater, she made a silent vow that she would make Jellal realize just what he had to offer the world.
And her.
Wow, I honestly thought I would get at least one review for the last chapter by now. Either Thanksgiving is really an awkward time for updates, or I was just stroking my own ego! XD
Just saying, we haven't seen the last of Ruby. Mr. Salt, maybe, but definitely not Ruby. Also, I guess I can mention, now that we've seen her magic, that Ruby is named for the Rave Master character who uses wind. I originally had some other name in mind, but I figured it would only be appropriate to use a Rave Master name, given that Hiro Mashima worked on both. Either way, she is quite possibly the closest thing to a villain I've created. Wait, there's Dion Mencierte from ABCs. Oh well, at least Ruby's my most psychotic OC.
Oh, and one more thing. If you review this chapter, could you review the last one too? I've said this before, but it really motivates me as an author to know what someone thinks of my work. Thank you!
And that's it for Thanksgiving of 2011! Until next time, peace and love from Nightlingbolt! Also, congratulate me, for I tried eggplant for the first time today.