Chapter 9: Lucy Remembers
"Here we are," the man said, waving an arm at the large mansion that beheld them. Erza glanced around, looking for any booby traps. She spied none, but they were only outside, after all. A dangerous-meaning person, even a fool, would be too clever to plant traps outside where innocent passersby and unintended villagers would be caught. She watched carefully as the man pushed open the front doors and gestured for everyone to come inside. Peculiar. A home without a lock? And is it on purpose that he is leading us into the house first, and he last? She shook away the disturbing thoughts and entered first, to give a clean sweep of the inside of the house before her team entered.
The tarps the man spoke about were out of sight; furniture adorned the large main hall in a formal, modern style, typical for rich homeowners, Erza thought. A large glass chandelier hung from the roof. The rest of the roof was paned with long cement strips of ceiling, and in the cement's grasp were wide roof windows so that one could look up into the sky without the dew and the rain to bother them. Erza checked the floor. All the tiles were in uncracked order. An ant scurried across the well-sweeped tiles, and besides the faint flower patterns painted on the tiles, there were no tell-tale buttons, unique tiles or squeaky floors to indicate traps such as hollow rooms underfoot.
"...welcome, welcome," the stranger's voice said. Erza turned to face the man and her friends, who had just come in.
"So, show us where you saw it last, okay?" broke in Grey's impatient voice. Natsu nodded.
"C'mon! We don't have all day!" he complained. Lucy jabbed him with her elbow.
"Alright, of course," said the man, and led them down the hall. "I think I last saw it in the spare room. I was in there cleaning around, and I might've dropped it."
"What, you wear it on your finger?" muttered Natsu. "Weirdo, he's like a girl." The man frowned as he heard the dragon slayer, but walked on. Finally they came to a door at the end of the hall.
"In here, please." Erza pushed past Lucy, who had been following the man closer than the others, and stepped cautiously into the room.
~ o ~
Gajeel strode over to the requests board and scanned over the list of jobs. Babysitter needed, read one. Lost cat, shouted another. Gajeel snorted. What a lame list of jobs... At Phantom Lord, they'd had more exciting ones - Assassinators needed! Hunt down a Gang!
"Which one are you going to choose?" asked a voice. Gajeel grunted, thinking it was Nab with the weird face paint, the moneyless freak who gave up all the jobs he took. Gajeel ignored the 'piece of trash' and kept his eyes on the job board.
"Which one are you going to take?" the voice repeated. Gajeel rolled his eyes and looked up, preparing to fire an insult at the ever-insistent, bothersome little bug.
"You annoying piece of-" He stopped there. Two sparkling brown orbs, wide and innocent, stared up at his. Its face was framed by messy, tied-back blue hair, and adorned with the cutest nose.
"Annoying piece of what?" Levy demanded. Gajeel froze.
"..." Something stopped him from replying. Here was that girl he'd saved earlier that morning. Why he, who towered over this tiny mite of a bookworm, felt so vulnerable and shy around her was a puzzle. He felt the heat rush to his cheeks, and he turned his face away so she wouldn't notice.
"Nothing." Levy smiled victoriously.
"You know you don't have to be so gruff around everybody," she said probingly.
"Keep your annoying nose out of my business, why doncha?" he burst out, swiveling his head back in anger. Levy instantly widened her eyes in fear, then controlled herself again.
"Fine, if you want it that way," she shot back, and turned on on her heel and marched away. Gajeel felt a pang in his heart when she did, but pushed the blue-haired script mage out of his mind and turned back to the request board.
~ o ~
Natsu walked into the room. It was empty save for a tall wooden closet in the corner and a floor-lamp that stood beside it. The walls were white-washed, except for a large window that spread across one wall. The room smelled faintly of peppermint and roses.
"Mm, smells nice," Lucy observed.
"Are you kidding me? It smells horrible!" Natsu said dumbly. Happy agreed. Just then, Erza swept past him, with a bit of accidental force. Natsu slammed against the side of the closet.
"Oww, what was that for?" Natsu complained. Lucy rolled her eyes, and Happy grinned. Erza ignored him and approached the man, who had entered the room and now leaned against the other side of the closet.
"What is this room for?" she asked casually. The man paused, slightly startled, then smiled.
"It's the spare guest room, for our relatives to stay in when they visit us. Whenever they're not around, I like to keep my clothes and extra belongings in that closet. The floorlamp is for, well, obviously, light."
Erza smiled. "Thank you. That should be a little helpful. Now, let's begin our searching, everyone," she ordered sweetly. Erza moved toward the closet.
"Maybe you dropped something in here...?" Suddenly, she grabbed her sword and swung it up to the man's throat. "Step outside the room!" she demanded. The man was stunned. Lucy gasped. Natsu and Grey stopped. Happy squeaked.
"W-what are you doing? This man is our hirer!" exclaimed Lucy, shocked. Erza gave a creepy smile as she forcefully pushed the man toward the doorway.
"No, he isn't. There wasn't a job, and there wasn't ever a ring. Nor was there Rose Foxy."
Natsu rolled his eyes. "Stop showing off, Erza."
"Like you should say anything," snorted Grey.
"What was that-?"
"Cut it out, you guys," Lucy scolded. "Listen to Erza. She might have a reasonable explanation. Because for all I know," she added, her eyes growing fierce. "This man is Bora of Prominence!"