"Jerks!" Lucy thundered, as she stomped out of the dining hall with her face red and fists clenched.
The guards let her pass, as the prisoners had been given the privilege to walk around the main corridors unaccompanied now. One of those was leading out of the dining hall.
There were four main corridors open the prisoners and a few rooms for certain activities (like gym or games or libraries, ect.) However any of the other doors (That usually led to cells or white rooms) were constantly bolted and locked shut, only the "staff" could go in there.
Lucy walked down the carved out stone hallway wrapping her arms around herself. She still got chills when she went in there.
"What do they know…" she mumbled.
She looked to her left at the low arched doorway before immediately entering the large room.
The floor had a deep red carpet and walls to match, with a long white ceiling that had strange symbols on it in gold paint.
High bookshelves ran the length of the room in twelve rows, each was stuffed with old and scuffed up books.
In front of her were a few wooden tables and benches like the ones in the dining hall, but unlike those, these tables were practically empty.
On Lucy's left a long polished wooden desk sat.
Behind it was a young looking woman light pinkish hair that was cropped to the bottom of her chin. She had pale skin with a few freckles dotted over her nose and big blue eyes that desperately avoided Lucy's brown ones every time she entered the library.
The girl flicked nervously through the register that held the names of those who had taken out a book as if she was looking for something important, though it was quite clear she wasn't.
Lucy moved on moodily towards the third row of books and began walking down it towards two beanbags that had been put out at the end of the room. She stared at the different books. A thick hardback that was a deep navy with gold italics on it caught her attention.
She grabbed it not bothering to look at it properly… anything would do.
Lucy slumped into the pink beanbag absentmindedly. Then placed the navy book onto the pale green one next to it before staring up at the ceiling.
The golden pictures puzzled her. She counted twelve of them, all different ones in a circle. In the middle of them was a bright sun.
They seemed faintly familiar to her… but she couldn't understand why. They reminded her of when she was a child. It was hard for Lucy living in such a desolate place with no other children around. Before she met Levy, Lucy had a couple of imaginary friends. She would sit for hours talking to herself, but in her mind they were actually there and they'd answer her… it had always felt so real to her.
At some point Lucy had become rather obsessive with the idea of mermaids after reading so many fiction books in the library, so naturally she dreamed up a mermaid to keep her company. She didn't really remember much about her other than the fact she had shiny blue hair and always seemed to be extremely pissed off.
'I was such a weirdo…' she thought to herself, grinning.
"What are you so pleased about?" Levy said, seeming to appear from nowhere.
"Oh…" Lucy jumped, "It's you."
Levy delicately sat down on the beanbag next to her, picking up the book and placing it on her lap curiously.
"He went looking for you, you know." Levy said with a sly hint of a smile on her lips.
"Who?" Lucy said, playing dumb, still staring at the roof.
"Natsu, of course!" Levy replied, "He went into the gym though…"
"He certainly won't find me there."
Levy giggled, "Good point."
She stared at the book in her hands.
"Celestial spirts, huh?" she said.
"Huh… I, um yeah, I guess." Lucy mumbled, looking curiously at the book.
It read:
'CELESTIAL SPIRITS
The complete learners guide'
"What are they?" Lucy asked, looking back up at Levy.
"Spirts." Levy said. "Don't you remember? We used to talk about them all the time."
"We did?"
"Yes. Celestial spirts hold contracts with celestial mages through keys they use to summon them."
"…Oh."
"You're a celestial mage, Lu…"
Lucy uncomfortably shifted on the beanbag, breaking eye contact.
"I-I know…" Lucy said finally. She still didn't quite believe she had magical abilities like the rest of her friends… but if not, then why was she here?
"Look!" Levy said pointing to an open page in the book.
She pointed to a picture of thirteen strange people like creatures all next to each other.
A goat, a sheepish looking girl, a man with glasses and bright orange hair, a boy and a girl that looked very similar holding hands, a man with crab legs and scissors, a bull, a maid, a man with a scorpion tail, a woman holding scales, a horse, two giant looking fish and a mermaid with shiny blue hair…
Lucy stared bewildered.
"Who is that?!" she said pointing at the mermaid.
"Um… it's Aquarius, I think." Levy said marvelling at the strange picture.
"…Aquarius… the water bearer." Lucy stated, staring at the little book in Levy's hands.
"Yeah that's right! You do remember then." Levy smiled.
'How can a person I dreamed up be in a book?!' she thought, 'Aquarius… there's no way it could've been re-'
Lucy's thoughts were cut off by the librarian approaching the two girls cautiously.
"Excuse me." she said nervously, "I'm closing the library now."
"Why?" said Levy, looking at the golden clock on the wall, "It's only one thirty, the library closes at three earliest."
The girl flinched at this information.
"W-Well we have to close early today." She replied, all the while staring at Lucy.
"Why are you closing so early?" Levy questioned.
She flinched again.
"Because… I-I have re-sort all the books."
"They look fine to me." Lucy said looking around, as Levy nodded in agreement.
The girl glared at Lucy for a moment before softening her gaze again.
"N-No, they're not." She said more assertively then before.
"Well we could help you, right Levy?" Lucy offered, standing up.
"Sure!" She said getting up, the book still in her grasp.
"No!" the librarian said, "Thank you… but no…"
The girls looked at each other.
"Okay, well goodbye then." Levy said, walking towards the door.
"Have a nice day." Said the librarian taking the book from Levy.
"Wait, I want to take that book out." Lucy said.
"You can't." the girl replied, turning her attention back to the blonde.
Lucy frowned.
"And why not?" she said.
The girl ignored her as Levy dragged Lucy out of the room.
"Wait, I want that book." Lucy said staring at Levy in the corridor.
"Well you're not gonna get it today, that's for sure." Levy said, frowning deeply.
She was thinking again.
"Luce!"
The two girls turned to look down the hall to see Natsu running towards them.
"Luce, I've been looking for you!" Natsu said, "I couldn't find you anywhere…"
"I was in the library." Lucy said.
"There's a library?"
"Yes, idiot."