Chapter Two:
Fairy Tail was a loud guild. As soon as we walked in, there was a ruckus of noise that assaulted my eardrums and made me wince. I could hear it as soon as we stepped off the train, but when the doors actually opened, it made me want to cover my ears.
"Natsu! You're a great guild mate, you always bring the lookers to us!" a drunk man with black hair wobbled over.
"Macao, you're drunk. Go back by Wakaba." Lucy rolled her eyes, crossing her arms under her chest with a pout. "The amount of pervy old men in here is astonishing, really." she groaned to me. I gave her a small nod to show I understood, but I wasn't sure she saw me.
"Lu-chan!" a blue haired girl ran up. "I finished reading your latest chapter, and it was absolutely amazing!"
"Ah, thank you Levy-chan!" Lucy beamed to her. "I'm almost done with the next one as well, I'll try to figure out what they're going to do next as soon as possible!"
"Let's hurry up and talk to Gramps! I'm hungry and I wanna eat!" Natsu whined, stretching his arms behind his head.
"Talk to Master? What for?" Levy had a curious twinkle in her eye.
"It's about some keys. I'll tell you about it later." Lucy waved her questions away as if she did it every day. Levy's face turned into a pout, but she quickly found something else to do, because in the next few seconds she was starting to walk away.
"Okay Lu! See you later!" she called out.
"See you, Levy!" Lucy waved to her and turned to Natsu and I. "Master's office is on the second floor."
"Let's go already!" Natsu's whine was perfected, because it got Lucy to move quickly.
"This way!" she called to me, and I followed her and the pink-haired dragon slayer up a set of stairs. On the second floor, I scanned the guild hall below. I took a deep breath and felt magic mingling in the back of my throat. I sensed other dragon slayers, a water mage, an ice mage, and somewhere ahead of me I could sense a great span of magical energy. It must have been the master's, because the closer we got to a door the stronger I could smell it.
"Ah, hello there children. I am Makarov. Who might you be? A new recruit?" a small man asked as we entered the office. He was wearing pointy shoes and an even pointier hat.
"My name is Mari Liah, I'm a water mage. I have this celestial key, and I have searched out Lucy Heartfilia to help me open the gate to learn more about my past." I said, giving the man a slight bow.
"Mari Liah…" he hmmed. "With a black key…. this all seems familiar. Lucy, this key is very special. I think that we should do this now. Open the gate." he said.
"But maste-"
"There is no danger here, child. I am right here for you." he told her. "Now open it. I have some suspicions that I'd like to put to rest."
"Um.. alright." she said. A drop of perspiration appeared on my forehead as I watched her intently. She squared her shoulders with a determined look in her stunning eyes. "Open, gate of the demon! Akuma!" she called, turning it in the air. A shadow slithered along the floor, sucking up all of the light in the room. The wall sconces flickered until they went out. We were almost in total darkness. I clenched my fist, prepared for the worst. A small gasp escaped from my mouth as a man appeared from the shadow. His skin was white as snow, and his hair was black as night. It fell straight down his back. Red eyes and sharp teeth were the only distinguishable features in the dim light. A wicked smile flashed, his teeth almost fanglike.
"Ah, it's been almost eleven years since I was summoned." the spirit grinned and stretched out a kink in his neck. "I am the gate of the demon, Akuma." he turned to Lucy. "To whom do I owe my thanks from freeing me from my hell?"
"Lucy Heartfilia." she gave him a small smile, holding her hand out for him to shake. He left it hanging in the air and bowed instead. He looked to the master, his smirk never falling, until his eyes landed on me. The midnight pupils in the middle of his blood red irises almost disappeared.
"Princess!" a gasp fell from his mouth.
"Princess…?" Lucy frowned.
"Just as I suspected." Makarov frowned. "Mari Liah. The name of the youngest princess in Liah. The whole country was burned to ashes before many people in Fiore had learned of her birth. The king and queen sheltered their children until they were able to make their debut..The first prince had just been shown in public when Liah was destroyed. Almost no one from the country survived it.
There was a story that the young princess Mari had lived on. An old sea witch spread the news with the survivors of the fire. They were not sure if they could trust the witch, but nobody knew where the princess was. Unfortunately, no one had the thought to actually search for her, since there was no need for a Princess in Liah now that there was no kingdom. But now, she's appeared in my office! This is amazing!" Makarov hopped onto the desk with a laugh.
"Princess. I have more on the subject." Akuma spoke up. I blinked.
I was… what? This was absolutely insane, I'm no princess, I was raised by a dragon! And my parents… if my parents were king and queen, they would be dead. I knew they couldn't be dead!
"My lady, I am one of your brother's spirits. He was training to be a celestial mage, and I was his first spirit. I have been handed down through generations of your family's princes, becoming advisor to them for hundreds of years. Now I am indebted to you, princess."
"My brother." I echoed.
"Yes, he was training to be a celestial mage. Your brother used me to protect you, for he had been warned by a fortune teller that dragons would one day attack." he told me. Was this guy serious?
"Dragons…" Natsu muttered. I had almost forgotten he was here.
"Unfortunately, a spirit is of no help in battling dragons. When your brother disappeared, I was sent back to the underworld until I got a new owner. I am sorry that I couldn't protect you." he bowed again.
"He disappeared?" Lucy asked.
"Yes. The family disappeared entirely. It was very peculiar. They weren't killed, otherwise I would be punished and stripped of my powers if my master had died. Something must have happened to them to make them completely vanish out of nowhere."
"How is that possible." This was the first time I had spoken for a while. "People don't just vanish."
"I'm not sure. But they are not gone." Akuma answered. It became silent in the room. "Anyways. Are you going to make a contract with me?" he turned to Lucy.
"Oh! Of course. When are you free to be summoned?" She asked him, pulling a leather bound notebook off of her belt. I eyed the keys and the whip hanging at her side, taking note of how each item pulsed with her power.
"I can visit every day." he replied with a nod. "There isn't anything to do in the demon world, so…"
"I understand. I'll call you back soon." She nodded to him before dismissing him. Everyone turned to look at me.
"I am a princess…" I looked down at my hand. I didn't feel like a princess. "What am I supposed to do now?" I looked up at Makarov.
"Join the guild!" Natsu grinned. Lucy glanced over at him, and his smile just widened in response. It was almost contagious. He looked happy and genuine.
"I think that might be a good idea." I felt a warm feeling bubbling up in my chest. Lucy wrapped me in a hug. These people reminded me so much of my dragon with their kindness. I think I found somewhere I could call home.
