Hello friends!
Here's chapter 11! I hope you like it :)
Last Chapter
Levy felt the woman's other hand move, a bright green light and then pain so intense she couldn't even think.
She must've blacked out because when she regained consciousness, she was lying on the floor and she couldn't move a single muscle. But, vaguely, she heard a familiar dragon slayer.
"Levy!"
"What do you mean, there's a spell on them?"
"She means there's a spell on them that's stopping them from waking up, metal-face!"
"You wanna go?"
"I'm gonna beat your stupid face into the ground!"
"Stop it! Stop fighting!"
The two dragon slayers turned to look at Lucy, her face tear-stained as she sat in between the beds where Mira and Levy lay, unmoving. Laxus paced the floor behind them while Elfman and Lisanna kept a silent vigil next to Mira's still form. Erza's face was expressionless as she delivered the long-awaited diagnosis of their friends' conditions.
Gajeel scowled at the room's occupants before sweeping out the door, a storm of dark energy following him. Juvia made to follow but Gray grabbed her hand.
"Leave him be. He just needs to cool off."
Erza appeared oblivious to Juvia's flustered expression and anything around her as she gazed at her unconscious friends. Lucy knew that the redheaded mage blamed herself for allowing everyone to follow the book's instructions, even if it wasn't her fault, and the blonde was grateful to Gray for not blaming the S-class mage for ignoring his warnings.
Lucy stared forlornly at Levy's pale face. If there was anyone at blame, it was her. She felt that this was a familiar feeling, even though she didn't remember it, which made her feel even worse.
Her friends were hurt because of her and her memories. Why couldn't she just remember? Now two of her friends lay unconscious in the infirmary. Sweet, kind Mira, always willing to lend a hand, comfort others and plant seeds of romance within the guild. Cheerful, intelligent Levy, with her infectious love of books and willing friendship. No one, not even Wendy, had managed to awaken the two mages. According to the sky dragon slayer, there was some sort of complicated spell on them that prevented them from waking regardless of physical condition and injuries but this time, their best researchers had become the victims.
Freed, who was, after all, a rune mage, had attempted to undo the spell on the two but even his skill had been bested by the mysterious enchantment. Now, they could only wait for Porlyusica.
The clock ticked and the room's occupants slowly left, to escape the suffocating infirmary or to attempt to sleep. Lucy knew that she would simply stare into space if she even tried to sleep so she remained by her friends' sides and tried to write more of her novel. She could barely concentrate but every time she stopped, she looked at Levy and thought of her friend's love of literature and continued to write, not stopping even when her hand cramped or when the clock struck twelve, then one, then two.
When Lucy tired of writing, she took a book that she had found on her bedside table and read aloud from it, glancing up every once in a while as her friends remained silent and unresponsive.
Sometime near six o'clock in the morning, Lucy's head jerked up as she heard the bed sheets shift. Levy's face was contorted in pain and her arm twitched slightly next to her still body. Without hesitation, Lucy activated the help card that Cana had given each of their friends in case there was a change in Levy's or Mira's condition. Not ten minutes later, Wendy stumbled into the infirmary, her appearance a sleepy mess but her eyes alert and worried.
"Lucy-san! What's happened?"
Lucy appreciated that the girl didn't question the fact that she had clearly been here all night. "It's Levy."
Without another word, Wendy walked to the bluenette and hovered her hands over the girl's body, a soft blue glow emitting from them. Lucy waited impatiently and by the time Wendy had finished her check-up, Erza, Gray, Natsu, Laxus, Gajeel, Lisanna and Elfman had also arrived. Cana and Juvia walked in just as Wendy looked up. The young girl's face was more serious than Lucy had ever seen it.
"She's worsened. There seems to be some sort of poison that's travelling through her body and preventing her from healing and waking up. It's a slow-moving poison though, because she's only just started to feel the pain, so it gives us a little more time to find a cure. Porlyusica-san is meant to arrive later today. Once she's here, we can start helping them."
Lucy stared at Levy's pained expression. Would Porlyusica make it in time?
There was a thud as Erza's sword impaled another tree. She didn't know why, but she had a rather violent tendency to throw swords at innocent trees when she was angry.
Thud. Stupid. That's what she was. She knew all too well that it was probably a trap and yet she'd led her friends into this fruitless adventure anyway.
Thud. What kind of leader was she? What kind of friend was she?
Thud. She knew Minerva had done this for a reason. Take out the brains and there's no chance of winning.
Thud. They'd played right into Minerva's hands. She'd seen Minerva say something to Mira. She knew they probably had the answers to curing Lucy's amnesia right within their reach. But at what price?
Thud. Two of her friends were on the brink of death. Wendy has said it was a poison. Poison. And if even Wendy couldn't cure them…she only hoped Porlyusica was as good as she'd led them to believe.
Thud. Stupid Minerva.
Thud. Stupid enchantmen-
"Don't you think you've killed enough trees?"
Erza's hand tightened over her sword in shock. That voice. She knew that voice. But he couldn't be here. In the middle of the East Forest? She had to be imagining things.
"And no, you're not imagining me."
Damn.
Erza turned around and came face to face with Jellal Fernandes.
He looked just like she remembered. The bright blue hair in his eyes, the red tattoo on his face and the intense eyes that never failed to make her speechless.
"I heard about Lucy and what happened to Levy and Mira."
And just like that, the guilt came crashing down on her again.
"It's not your fault, you know. Lucy told me what happened," Jellal said softly, taking her hand before she could turn away. She laughed bitterly. He knew her better than she realised.
"Well, if you know what happened, then you should know that I led my friends into a trap, knowing exactly what I was doing. We played right into Minerva's hands because of my foolish actions. If I hadn't-" A finger stopped her from speaking any more and Erza stared in surprise at Jellal.
"If I hadn't, if I had. You can't change it now. We can only wait," Jellal smiled at her and she felt like her insides were melting. Even though her guilt fought to push itself to the front of her mind, she let it disappear for an instance as she relaxed against Jellal and closed her eyes, content to stay in his embrace.
In a crumbling castle far from Magnolia, Mikino Takara paced the floor while Minerva watched her, an amused expression on her face. The green-haired mage whirled around, annoyance in her eyes.
"When are you going to cooperate, Minerva? I've helped you far enough. You tell me what you know and I continue working with you. Otherwise, forget about it."
Minerva smiled at her companion's rage. "Oh, my dear Mikino. I know how desperate you are, really, but-"
"Desperate? Would you not be desperate if a clue to your search for a loved one was right in front of you, yet evaded you?" Mikino said quietly, only her eyes expressing her anger. "You agreed to give me information, Minerva. I've yet to hear it."
"Patience, young one," Minerva smiled. "I will tell you in time."
"In time? When is 'in time'?"
"You will see."
Mikino stopped. "I will not work with you anymore until you tell me some of your information. How am I to know if you are lying?"
"You don't. But I will not give you any information yet. You will get it all after this is over." Minerva's lip curled. "It would be devastating if you'd searched for four years for your sister and found a clue only to reject it because of your impatience, hm?"
"Are you threatening me, Minerva?"
"Of course not!" Minerva laughed. "Merely reminding you that if you stop now, you will never find your precious little sister," she smirked.
Mikino's grip on her sword tightened imperceptibly.
"How much information do you have?"
"Nuh-uh. My lips are sealed, sweetie. We'll talk again later. You're annoying me right now. Dismissed."
Mikino said nothing. A gentle breeze swirled through the room and in a split second, the mage had vanished.
Minerva smiled. "Time's running out, Fairies."
Yay, chapter 11!
I tried to include some info about my OC and I'll keep doing that probably for the some of the next chapters. I hope you al liked the Jerza moment! (even I was squealing when I wrote it)
Reviews are appreciated as always!