Hello all. I am back with chapter 12 a little early. You can thank kurahieirtr JIO for that as they inspired me to add some scenes to this today.
Chapter 12. Stories over Sunflowers Seeds
Lia munched on the sunflower seeds as her eyes swept over the arras covering the castle walls. Fairy Tail decided to opt out of any games that day, to instead take a tour of the castle, and join the king for dinner later that evening. Their tour guide yapped on and on about the history of the castle but few paid attention to him. Their attention was diverted to the Four Gods of Ishgar that just joined them on the tour.
They tried to ignore the stares and struck up conversations with some Fairy Tail members.
"Did you hear about the Tartarus guild causing trouble again?" Yury directed at his son Makarov and Lia.
Makarov waved him off. "Yes, yes. Nothing we can't handle again if it comes to it."
Yury raised an arched eyebrow. "Are you sure? You barely made it out last time."
"No thanks to you," Makarov shot back.
Yury barked a laugh. "Or our secret guarded by our lovely Mavis," he whispered her name only loud enough for Reiki, Makarov, Warrod and Lia to hear. "Besides you young ones are old enough and strong enough to fight for yourselves without us geezers butting in."
The group walked behind the others. Antony was in a deep conversation with Gildarts with Cana at his side.
Makarov glared at Yury.
"Play nice you two. Father and son should never fight," Lia said darkly. Reiki sent her a look of concern but she ignored his gaze and continued eating her sunflower seeds.
They rounded a corner and came upon a large circular room with stunning ceiling high statues framing the walls. The oldest people in the room let out groans.
"And this," started the tour guide. "Is the room dedicated to the Seven Deadly. Only six of them, as we all know the first one is the dark mage Zeref. The royal family built this room to honor the other six."
"Aren't these the guys who you talking about when we were fighting Cain's Genesis Lia?" Wendy asked. Lia nodded her head.
Lucy clapped her hands. "I've wanted to learn more about them ever since you mentioned them Lia but always forgot to look up a history book with them."
She ran up to one and read the description aloud. "Mei: Light Personified. Renowned for her use of light magic and creation of many spells we use today. Died while saving millions. Doesn't say how exactly she died. " Lucy moved on to the others reading them to Fairy Tail.
"Devi: The Mistress of the Cosmos. Renowned for her efficiency in the black arts. Died while saving millions.
"Prance: The Strongest Dragon Slayer. Renowned for being one the first dragon slayers. His Atlas Flames could burn through anything. Status unknown.
"Flash: Master of the Heavens. Renowned for conjuring up storms the size of small countries. Status unknown.
"Brutus: The Mathematician. Renowned for causing damage to areas with an unknown magic type. Status unknown.
"Arc: Father Earth. Renowned for helping to heal the world after the destruction caused by the frequent ancient wars. Status unknown.
"Wow. They sound pretty powerful," Lucy finished.
"The Seven Deadly were the most powerful humans known in the world," Antony joined in. "These six joined up to seal away Nirvana when it was causing more trouble than good."
"So they sealed away Nirvana," Erza muttered.
"They also went up against E.N.D. managing to seal him away. Not even the Fire Dragon King Igneel achieved that feat." Natsu stiffened at his father's name. Happy laid a paw on his shoulder and cuddled up to his best friend.
"Anyhow!" Erza interjected. "We have a dinner to prepare for. We must not be rude and show up in our present garbs." The rest of the guild followed her lead.
Fairy sat at the grand dining table with the king and princess along with the other invited guilds. Laxus sat directly across from his great grandfather and grandfather. The team had arrived in time for the royal dinner.
Laxus gaped at Yury, while the patriarch of the Dreyer family simply chewed his food without noticing.
"What is this?" Laxus gestured toward Yury. Makarov put down his fork, which had a large piece of lemon cake on it.
"Laxus you brute! Show more respect for your great-grandfather."
Laxus gave Makarov a sour look before pointing to an oblivious Yury.
"What's he doing here?"
"He's here for the celebration Laxus, didn't you hear?" Mirajane answered.
"No I did not. I just got here. What is his old ass doing here anyway? He never leaves that love shack he shares with Reiki." The said wizard had to be restrained by Warrod while Lia chocked on her drink.
Yury sneezed and finally addressed the younger Dreyer. "Oi boy. I don't appreciate you talking bad bout me." Laxus gave him an incredulous look. "You didn't even notice until now!
"You come sitting at this table acting like I haven't seen you since I was five. Maybe if you dropped by more than every 20 years I wouldn't be so surprised to see you."
Freed whispered in Laxus's ear. "Are you sure you should be talking to him like that?"
"Yeah he is a wizard saint," Evergreen agreed.
"He's no saint. You should hear the type of stuff he and their old crew used to get up to," Laxus nodded his head toward Reiki, Warrod and Lia. "You wouldn't think they were so holier than thou." Gildarts, Jura, Antony, Makarov and the remaining members of the Sinister Six gave the rebellious lightning mage warning glares. They excused his behavior as him having too much to drink but the older Dreyers promised to speak with him when he was sober and levelheaded. The remainder of the dinner continued without another tense conversation. When it finished the guests went their separate ways.
Lia shuffled through the empty halls looking for an exit. Instead of an exit, she found a resident Fairy Tail dragon slayer looking out over the balcony with a somber expression. Picking up the long train of her dress, she took a place next to him.
"Oh. Hey Lia," Natsu gave her fake smile. "You looked nice tonight by the way." He gestured to her purple ball gown.
"Thank you. You looked good being put together as well." He nodded his thanks. Silenced lingered between the two.
Taking a chance Lia asked, "What's bugging you Natsu? You've been down since we left to get ready."
Natsu let out a deep sigh. "It's just… When Antony mentioned Igneel I just…" He couldn't finish.
"I figured. It's hard losing a parent, huh?"
"Yeah. It sucks."
"You know you can talk to anyone in the guild about it right? Most of us have lost a parent or both and can empathize with you."
Natsu shook his head no. "None of them knew Igneel. Most of them didn't even believe he was still alive before he died. It's like talking about a fossil that nobody believes existed before." Natsu sat on the railing. His feet dangled over the side. Lia requipped into a more roomy short dress and joined him.
He chuckled at her bravery. "Lucy would have never done that."
Lia shrugged. "There are worse things to be intimidated over."
"Hmm… I guess." Natsu gazed at the twinkling stars. "I wonder if Igneel is up there."
"Oh I know he is," Lucy answered. Natsu snapped his head at her. She smiled at one bright star that shined brighter than the rest. She took out more sunflower seeds she hid in her pocket. She offered some to Natsu.
"I remember when I got lost when I was little. I wandered too far away from the river and was separated from the rest of my family. A dark shadow flew over me and landed in front of me while I was crying on the ground." Lia looked into Natsu's bewildered eyes. "It was Igneel. He asked me why I was crying. He offered to help me find my family with me. I always wondered why he was there since he lived in Ishgar, that's what Fiore was called back then. I suppose he was visiting his good friend Grandeeney who lived in Caelum where I was born."
"You knew Igneel?!" Natsu sat wide eyed at her story. Lia gave him her signature smirk.
She jumped off the railing and rubbed his shoulder. "Igneel left you behind to carry on his will Natsu. Don't sully his memory by getting upset by the mere mention of him. Be strong for him."
She left him contemplating on the castle railing.
On the other side of Crocus, Erza Scarlet was also admiring the brilliant night sky. She felt a familiar presence behind her. Jellal had his cloak hood over his head. Even though Erza did not recognize his physical appearance, she would know his magic aura from anywhere.
"Why do you have that hood on if no one can recognize you?"
Jellal slipped his hood off and came to stand by her. "Force of habit."
"Lia said not to worry if a blond blue eyed fellow was seemingly stalking me. I guess I understand what she was saying now."
"Yes that Ophelia sure does love her riddles. She has many more for you to solve. I just hope the result is worth it." Erza looked at him strangely. "Let's not talk about that. How are you? What have you been up to since I last saw you," Jellal continued.
"I had to close my cake shop after rejoining the guild."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I know how much you enjoyed it."
Erza shrugged her shoulders. "I may open one up in Magnolia after this Zeref mess is done with."
Jellal's face-hardened at the mention of the dark wizard. "Zeref. We've still been unable to locate him or any of Tartarus. I have a feeling they'll turn up and cause more pain and suffering for everyone.
"Don't worry. Us in the light will handle it," Erza turned to leave. Jellal looked after her as she walked down the cobbled streets. "You can remain in the path of darkness. I won't force you out of the shadows." Erza sent him one last sad smile before departing back to the guild hotel.
Onward march! The next five or more chapter will be event packed so pay close attention and get ready. Until next time :)