2 - The Old Library

Tuwa's room was almost normal; with large balcony doors covered by thick curtains, tapestries draping the walls, a rug on the floor, and a large canopy bed against the wall. It was almost normal because the walls, floor and ceiling are made entirely of rock. Even the bits of minor furniture were rock made.

"Your room is…interesting," Lucy said as she walked in. She wondered how anyone could live in what actually could be considered a cave. A fancy, well-furnished cave.

"Thanks, I did it all myself. Well, the earth part at least. Have a seat." She patted the open space next to her on the bed. Loke had since returned to the Celestial Spirit World at Tuwa's insistence because he was a man and 'oh no what would the help think if they saw him going into her room?'.

"So, your parents told me you sneak out," Lucy said awkwardly, trying not to think about Loke's warning as she twiddled her thumbs. "That sounds…dangerous."

Tuwa scoffed, lying back on the thick, silk pillows. "I just go out for a little walk and they freak like it's the apocalypse or something."

"Well, they're your parents. It's normal for them to worry," Lucy said.

"Yeah, worry about keeping appearances." Tuwa sighed. "Hey, you said you were from Fairy Tail, right?"

"Yep," Lucy replied, holding up her hand so she could see her guild mark.

"I bet it's really fun being part of a guild."

"It is, especially when we go out on missions together. Though we do end up causing a lot of damage," Lucy said, thinking of how that was always due to a certain Dragon Slayer's fault.

"I wish I was in a guild. Then I could have adventures every day," Tuwa said. She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest.

There was something childlike about the girl as she hugged her legs closer. Something like a longing curiosity that dangled on every word she spoke. Lucy realized it must have been the result of being sheltered for so long. Her mind went back to the day she first set off to Fairy Tail, to take control of her own life. She wondered if that's what everyone saw of her that very first day.

"Do your parents let you go out at all?" she asked.

Tuwa shook her head. "Not without the entire help staff and even then only for an emergency." A sly grin crossed her face. "I made a very big impression on them when they tried to control me."

Lucy felt a twinge of pity for the staff as she remembered their earlier confrontation. The Bei Fong family's decisions were not their fault, but they had to suffer the consequences.

"Maybe they'll let you go out now that I'm around," Lucy said.

"Maybe, but we better give it another day or two or they'll think you're trying to help me escape."

"You're right." She frowned, thinking how paranoid her parents were. Then a thought struck her and her eyes widened with realization. She bit her lip, debating on whether it was proper to ask. She decided it couldn't hurt. "Did…did something happen to you to make your parents this…"

"Neurotic?" Tuwa finished for her.

"Yeah."

"Well, I have been the victim of attempted kidnappings before, since my family is wealthy. When I was younger I couldn't defend myself because I could barely handle my magic. One time they managed to snag me while I was playing in the park. Luckily Yi was there and able to stop the guy, but ever since then, it's been prison hell for me."

Lucy empathized with Tuwa's parents. Losing a child is the worst thing that could happen to a parent. If your friends hurt this much, she imagined this being ten times worse.

"I've gotten a handle on my magic now," Tuwa continued. "But Mother and Father haven't been the same since."

"That makes sense," Lucy muttered, looking down.

"So what's your family like?" Tuwa leaned her elbows against her knees.

"Our family was wealthy once too," Lucy said. "Does the name Heartfilia sound familiar?"

"Nope, never heard it until you arrived. Wait, you said 'was'. What happened?"

Lucy looked away, her posture dropping slightly. "The business broke and we lost everything."

"Are your parents living in the streets now?" She gasped and leaned forward on all fours. "They can live here with you if you like!"

Lucy's shoulders trembled, her hands clenching over the hem of her skirt. "Th-they've already passed away."

"Oh Lucy, I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arms around the Celestial Mage's shoulders.

Buried emotions resurfaced as Lucy broke into choked sobs. She covered her mouth with her hand, her other arm wrapping around herself. Her heart was heavy, she felt like she was breaking. She wished Natsu were here because then he would say something that would both ease her heart and remind her that she wasn't alone.

They stood this way for a while, Lucy crying herself out and Tuwa holding her, not knowing what else to do or say in this situation. But when it was over Lucy straightened up and wiped away her tears, still sniffling. "I'm fine, thanks."

"I didn't mean to pry," Tuwa said shyly. "If I had known I wouldn't have…"

"No, it's okay. Really."

Tuwa raked through her mind, trying to come up with ways to distract her caretaker from all this negativity and sorrow. "Hey, you like books?"

Lucy looked up, her eyes still red. "Yeah, I do."

Tuwa hopped off the bed and grabbed Lucy's hand. "Look, I'll show you something you might enjoy."

She led her out of her room and down the hallways. They walked into what seemed like an increasingly abandoned part of the manor. The walls were bare and the only thing in the hall was the thick rug on the floor. The air here smelled musty.

"Where are we going?" Lucy asked as they kept jogging down the halls.

"It's a surprise," Tuwa replied with a wink of her eye.

They finally stopped in front of double doors. Tuwa pulled them aside and Lucy gasped when she realized it was a library. Bookshelves were filled to the brim with books of all types. Lucy immediately plunged in and scanned the books.

"Wow, there are so many!" she marveled, plucking a few off the shelves. She suddenly squealed and bounced up and down. "I've been looking for this one! It's so rare!"

Tuwa was glad that this took her mind off her grieving. Books weren't really her thing, but if it made Lucy happy, she was alright with staying. She sat with Lucy as the Celestial Mage pulled a pair of glasses from her pocket and put them on. Her mouth dropped open in shock when she flipped through all the pages in one instant, then picked up another book to do the same.

"How do you read so fast?!" she asked.

Lucy tapped her glasses. "Gale-Force Reading Glasses. You can read books a lot faster with these."

She finished the books in no time and went to pull out a few more. She collected a first edition fantasy novel, an old classic that was long thought to not exist, and a few others. She was about to go sit back down when another book caught her eye. This one had no letters on the spine and was a rich burgundy color. She pulled it, intending to see what it was, but it only came halfway when a rumbling noise alerted her.

Lucy let go of the book as Tuwa ran over to her. Both girls watched as one of the shelves pulled aside, revealing a gaping hole in the wall. They looked at each other and nodded, slowly inching towards it.

"Where does it lead?" Lucy asked.

"I've never seen this before. We should go in and investigate."

"Wait, what if it's dangerous?"

Tuwa snorted. "Come on, we're two capable female mages. We can handle whatever may lurk in there."

She walked inside with Lucy following close behind, but she abruptly came to a stop.

"We should close the entrance or someone might find us and follow us," Tuwa suggested.

"But what if we get trapped in here?" The thought made a shiver run through her spine, especially since they had no clue what was beyond this tunnel.

"Then we've got our magic. We'll be fine, Lucy." She raised her arms and moved them aside, closing up the entrance and leaving them in the dark.

"We need a light," Lucy said. "Maybe I should summon Loke."

"Nah, just stay close to me. I can feel my way around." She grabbed Lucy's hand and the girls made their way through the tunnel. Tuwa kept her free hand against the wall. Their breathing and footsteps echoed around the enclosed space, making the sounds louder and press against their ears.

"It gets steeper," Tuwa said in realization. Indeed she could feel the subtle shift in the earth, the tunnel was inching lower and lower.

After a few minutes of walking, she ran into a wall with a huge thump. "Ow!"

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked, she felt her body tense up as nothing but darkness pressed against her eyes.

"I think we reached the end," Tuwa said. There was no other place to go except back. "This can't be it; this tunnel is here for a reason."

"Try using your earth magic and see if there's something on the other side."

"Alright." With another wave of her arms, the rock pulled away. Tuwa reached out, trying to get a feel for what was there. She took a step forward and tripped over something. "Ouch!"

"Did you run into something again?"

Something was wrong, she realized. She didn't fall on uneven earth, she fell on a cold hard surface. It felt like stone beneath her hands. She shouted 'hello' and heard the echo bounce off the walls. They were in another room.

"I think we just found a secret room."

A/N: I'm really liking fanfic's new spell-checker. Did you know it even checks for cliché phrases? That's so cool! Anyways thank you to the people who reviewed/followed/favorited the last chapter. I'm glad you guys liked it. Please look forward to more from me. Don't forget to R&R please.