It was a bright sunny day in the village and the townspeople had gathered in the nearby park, busily making wedding preparations for their Flame God Slayer icon, Zancrow. Flowers were hung everywhere, chairs had been set up, the red carpet was put down, and a podium stood on by the priest was displayed at the center. All the wedding guests had arrived and were waiting near the table hosting the wedding feast, which consisted of various types of delicacies.
Before the well-laid plan carries out, Zancrow, dressed in a fine red-and-yellow tuxedo, and his sidekick Kain Hikaru, were peeking through a bush with a view of Mirajane's house.
"Oh, boy," Kain said eagerly. "Mirajane's gonna be in for the surprise of her life, huh, Zancrow?"
"Yes," Zancrow nodded with a confident smirk. "This is her lucky day!" He stepped away from the bush, letting go of a branch, which smacked Kain in the face. Zancrow walked out of sight of Mirajane's house and cleared his throat in front of the wedding guests, "I'd like to thank you all for coming to my wedding. But first, I better go in there and… propose to the girl!"
The priest Richard Buchanan and the wedding guests laughed at his announcement. Chelia, Meredy, and Yukino, on the other hand, were brimming with tears in front of Zancrow.
"Oh, Zancrow!" Chelia cried, grabbing his arm. "Please say it isn't true!"
"It can't be true!" Meredy yelled, grabbing his leg.
"For the love of Libra, please say it isn't true!" Yukino pleaded as she clung to his shirt.
"It's true," Zancrow said confidently. "Sorry, ladies, but this extremely handsome bachelor's gonna be an extremely handsome married man."
All three girls instantly dropped to their knees and started crying their eyes out, clinging desperately to Zancrow's legs, but Zancrow ignored them and pressed on until the girls' hands completely lost their grip, and they continued to cry.
Zancrow turned to Kain, "Now, Hikaru, let's go over the instructions again. When Mirajane and I come out that door…"
"Oh, I know! I know!" Kain cried excitedly. "I strike up the band!"
He turned and began directing the band in 'Superquick A (from SpongeBob SquarePants),' until Zancrow slammed a tuba over Kain's head. He snapped, "Not yet, you idiot! And this is the wrong song!"
"Sorry!" Kain apologized from inside of the instrument, with his lips sticking out of the mouthpiece.
Inside, Mirajane sat in her favorite chair happily reading her new book. She was almost done with when she heard a loud knock on the door. Putting the book down, she went to the door and looked through the peephole. Her smile quickly faded when she saw it was Zancrow, who was admiring himself in a small mirror and grinning smugly. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, she took a deep breath before opening the door.
"Hey, Mira," Zancrow greeted as he came in without invitation.
"Zancrow," Mirajane said anxiously. "What a nice… surprise."
"Isn't it, though?" Zancrow showed off his flashy smile. "I'm just full of surprises. Speaking of, I've got you a little present." He then reached into his pocket and handed her a small package.
"How sweet," Mirajane said awkwardly as she ripped off the paper to reveal a miniature portrait of Zancrow. "It's… you."
"I knew you'd like it," Zancrow stroke a pose. "And it shows off my good side."
"Gee, thanks," Mirajane thanked nervously.
"Oh, don't mention it," Zancrow grinned, putting his arm around Mirajane. "You know, Mira, there's not a girl in town who would love to be in your shoes right now."
Mirajane lifted Zancrow's arm off her shoulder and inched away, "Really? And why's that?"
"Because this is the day—" Zancrow paused in front of a mirror to lick his teeth clean, before he continued, "This is the day all your dreams come true."
"What do you know about my dreams, Zancrow?" asked Mirajane.
"Plenty!" Zancrow smirked. "In fact, I know more than you. Just picture this…" He sat down at the chair, propping his feet up on the table with his muddy boots on top of Mirajane's book, much to her disgust. "You and me, in a penthouse in Akane Resort, waiters and waitresses serving us succulent foods, some foods cooked by myself, such as a few animals caught during my regular hunting seasons roasted by my flames, and my little wife massaging my feet…" Mirajane looked anything but enthusiastic as she plugged her nose. Zancrow continued, "…while the little ones play fetch with the dogs." He got up next to her face, "We'll have six or seven."
"Dogs?" Mirajane asked nervously.
"No, Mira," Zancrow shook his head. "Strapping boys, like me!"
"Imagine that…" Mirajane said uncomfortably after she cleaned her book up and placed it on the shelf.
Zancrow followed her over to the bookshelf, "And do you know what that little wife will be?"
"Let me think," Mirajane wondered.
"You, Mira," Zancrow answered, cornering her.
Mirajane ducked under Zancrow's arms and backed towards the door. She stuttered, "Zancrow, I… I'm… I'm speechless." Zancrow shoved aside a rocking chair, as Mirajane added, "I really don't know what to say."
"Say you'll marry me," Zancrow grinned devilishly as he trapped her against the door.
"Oh, I'm very sorry, Zancrow. I really am. But it's just… I just..." Just as Mirajane reached the doorknob behind her, she added with a serious tone, "I just don't deserve you!" With that, she seized the doorknob, opened the door, and forced Zancrow to roll down the stairs and fall face-first onto a large mud puddle.
Suddenly, the wedding band started playing 'Here Comes the Bride.' They played for a good five minutes before Kain finally turned around to see Zancrow's legs sticking out of the puddle, with his self-portrait and boots tossed out of the door by Mirajane before she closed it. Zancrow came out of the mud with a pig on top of his head and a frustrated look on his face. The pig tilted Zancrow's head and slid down his back.
Stopping the band, Kain turned to Zancrow who was angrily wiping all the mud off his face. He asked, "So, um… how'd it go?"
"How ya think?!" Zancrow yelled at Kain as he stood back up. Just then, the three girls came running up the pathway and gasped upon seeing Zancrow covered in mud, his tuxedo dirty and droopy.
"Oh, Zancrow!" Chelia exclaimed charmingly. "What did she do to you?"
Resuming his charming demeanor, Zancrow slicked back his muddy hair and smiled charmingly at the girls, "Oh, you know that Mirajane… she's always playing hard to get."
The girls looked at each other, then back at Zancrow in shock, "She turned you DOWN?!"
"For now!" Zancrow said defensively, before he grabbed Kain by the tights, "But I WILL have Mirajane for my wife. Make no mistake about that!"
He dropped Kain into the puddle and stormed off, as Kain commented to the pig, "Touchy." The pig snorted in agreement.
Grabbing his muddy boots and self-portrait, he walked past the girls and back to the village with an angry scowl plastered on his face.
The three girls Chelia, Meredy, and Yukino stopped to think for a moment when Chelia said, "Wait a sec! If she turned him down… then maybe I still have a chance!"
"So do I!" Meredy added enthusiastically.
"And me!" Yukino gushed. "Zancrow, wait up!" The three girls then raced each other down the hill and into the village after Zancrow.
"Is he gone?" Mirajane wondered as she looked out the door. She had been waiting around for fifteen minutes, hoping Zancrow had left so she could feed the animals. Grabbing the feeding bucket on the side, she proceeded to the pen to feed the animals, while thinking back to Zancrow's wedding proposal with feelings of disgust. "Can you imagine? He asked me to marry him! Me! The wife of that boorish, brainless…"
Mirajane: Mrs. Zancrow, can't you just see it?
Mrs. Zancrow, his little wife
As she was feeding the chickens, she put a cloth over her head and kicked the top of a barrel, startling the chickens.
No sir, not me
I guarantee it
I want much more than this provincial life!
Feeling angry about Zancrow, Mirajane ran away from the pen towards an open field overlooking a cliff side. Gazing at the beautiful landscape and the wonderful lands laying far beyond it, Mirajane wanted more than ever to get away from the boring village and travel to places far more exotic and exciting. Away from the judging townsfolk, away from the conceited Zancrow, and away from her trivial and mundane provincial way of life.
I want adventure in the great wide somewhere
I want it more than I can tell
And for once, it might be grand
To have someone understand
I want so much more than they've got planned…
Mirajane sat down and plucked a dandelion, the wind blowing the seeds away into the sky. As she began to daydream, she heard a loud frantic neigh from the nearby forest. Turning around, she spotted Parakeet racing towards her, the cart still attached to him.
"Parakeet!" Mirajane exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" Looking onto the horse's back, she noticed there's nobody riding him. "Where's Lisanna? And Elfman? Where are they, Parakeet?" She immediately got to work on unhitching Parakeet from the cart. "Do you remember the last place you saw them?" Thinking briefly, Parakeet nodded and gestured her to get on.
Smiling, Mirajane quickly ran back inside, making sure to grab her cloak before leaving. She then jumped onto Parakeet's saddle and grabbed the reins. "Alright, let's go find them, and fast!" With a flap of the reigns, Parakeet rode off into the distance.