Chapter 24

Rumors

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's and ideas.

Frea walked into the Guild, a small smile spread across her face. That job had been very easy, the Dark Mage happened to be using mind tricks and been weak in reality. She had already purchased the rest of the things she had needed and put them in her room at Fairy Hills, along with paying the rent for that month. The few days she had been back at Fairy Tail had gone rather smoothly considering, but there was something bothering her. It didn't make a lot of sense but, she seemed to have less Magic Energy each day. Though it wasn't enough to make a huge impact, she could tell. Not only that but each day she was feeling more fatigued than usual. She shook the thought from her head, hopefully it was nothing to worry about.

She took her usual seat, laying down on a bench at one side of the guild with her knees propped up. This had become the place to find her in the years she had been in the Guild. From here she could listen to the conversation among the Guild members, and relax at the same time.

"What has you looking so worried, Master?" Mira's familiar voice floated toward her and she focused on the white-haired Mage's voice.

"Some troubling reports have been coming in, people believe that a Dark Wizard has been taking the lives a few people in small out of the way towns." Master Makarov's answered Mira. Frea quirked an eyebrow at the ceiling, interested in their conversation.

"That's awful! How many people have died already?" Mira asked.

"At least ten." Makarov said in a serious tone. Ten people? I'm surprised the new council hasn't looked into it yet, Frea thought then sighed, I guess I'm also surprised they haven't looked into my sudden appearance either...

"Does anybody have any other information on this Wizard?" Mira asked.

"No, whoever they are, they're a complete mystery at this point." Makarov answered. Frea closed her eyes, so some dark wizard has decided killing people is fun? She opened her eyes and got to her feet, heading straight for Master Makarov. He quirked an eyebrow at her as she approached, she stopped in front of him.

"Tell me where the last killing happened." She demanded and his eyes widened slightly, her eyes were sparkling with a certain light, something that told him she was determined to stop this Dark Wizard.

"SeiglindeTown." He answered, Frea nodded once.

"Alright," She murmured before turning away from him and heading out of the Guild Hall. He watched her go and sighed,

Be careful... He thought.

Frea paid the carriage driver as she stepped off the carriage and gave him a small thanks before turning away, casting her silver gaze across the small town in front of her. It was fairly small, with only a few dozen houses, and even fewer shops. She could already tell that most of the people in this village didn't seem to make a lot of money, so why would somebody be killed here? It seemed very unlikely for the kill to have been for money, and this town was so out of the way, any theories of revenge seemed unlikely.

She started toward the town, looking for anyone of interest. Her Silver gaze rested on a slightly wealthier looking man and she quickly made her way up to him. He quirked an eyebrow as she approached and she gave him a polite smile.

"Excuse me, I'm a Fairy Tail Mage, and I was wondering if you could give me anymore information on the recent death here, the one assumed to be caused by a Dark Mage?" She asked and he nodded.

"Such a terrible thing, though I don't know much myself, the towns doctor may be able to help you some more." He explained and quickly pointed in the direction of one of the larger buildings, sporting a red cross on the sign out front. Frea nodded her thanks and made her way over, she pushed the door open slightly and froze as soon as she took one step inside. She cringed away at the smell of sickness and death that hit her nose as soon as she entered.

It wasn't like a normal hospital though, the scent was laced with the unmistakable tinge of Dark Magic. She took a deep breath through her mouth, not wanting to scent it more than she had to, and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. The entrance gave way to a small waiting room, with a desk and a few chairs pushed up against a wall. She walked up to a fairly elderly woman sitting behind the desk and she smiled up at her.

"Welcome, how may I help you?" The woman asked and Frea glanced down a side hall-way for a short moment before answering.

"I was hoping to speak with the doctor that treated the person who was suspected of being killed by a Dark Wizard." Frea said and the woman quirked an eyebrow.

"Of what concern is it to you?" The woman asked with a bit of suspicion in her voice.

"I'm a Mage from Fairy Tail, hoping to stop this dark Wizard." Frea explained, shifting slightly to the side so the woman could see her Guild Mark. The woman took one look at the Guild Mark, her gentle attitude returning.

"I'm glad someone has decided to help." She smiled and stood up. "Please, follow me. I shall take you to the doctor." The woman said, going around the desk and leading the way down a hallway to the left, pushing through the doors and heading down another hallway to her right. They went through another set of doors, finding a room filled with beds and curtains hanging from the roof. Some had been pulled to hide some of the patients, though not many of the beds were filled. She was lead up to a graying man looking at a clipboard near a desk, and he looked up as he approached.

"She is a Mage from Fairy Tail, hoping for more information on the murder." The woman explained and the man nodded, and she left them. Frea took a step forward and shook his hand.

"My names Frea." She introduced herself.

"I'm Doctor Wistar. What was it you were hoping to learn?" He asked.

"Was the victim dead when he arrived?" She started and he shook his head.

"Sadly, no." He sighed and she narrowed her eyes, sadly? "It would have been less painful for the poor lad if he had died right away." He told her.

"So what happened?" She asked.

"He was found down by the river, one chest wound. A few broken ribs but nothing serious. The problem was that he seemed to have been poisoned, and all my attempts at a cure failed, or made it worse." Wistar explained and began to lead her down hallway after hallway. "The poison was powerful, eating away at his organs, causing extreme amounts of pain, until his body just couldn't go on and he passed away."

"What makes you sure a Mage killed him?" She asked, though she highly doubted it could have been anything other than a mage based on the Dark Magic scent she could smell in the air.

"It wasn't any type of snake I can tell you that, but after he died, his body gave off a dark Magic aura for a while. I dabbled in magic when I was younger, I'm sure it was magic that killed him." Wistar answered.

"Did the boy have any known enemies, someone that would want to hurt him?" Frea asked and the doctor shook his head.

"He was born and raised here, one of the sweetest kids you could know. We're pretty far out here, its hard to make enemies that would want to kill you." He answered and glanced over his shoulder at her. "Plus, no one in this town is as powerful as a mage that could kill him the way they did."

Frea nodded, Wistar stepped forward into a room with tables and that was being kept cool by some sort of Magic tool. She stopped in the entrance and put her arm under nose, trying to block out the scents. Wistar had stopped a few paces in the room and was looking at a body on a table, with a white sheet covering it. He turned to face her, and quirked an eyebrow at her slightly disgusted face, and arm just under her nose.

"Something the matter?" He asked.

"I have... a pretty strong nose.." She muttered. This room was bathing in the scent of death, blood, sickness, and an overwhelmingly sickly smell of Dark Magic. "Is that the boy?" She asked, Wistar nodded.

"I wish I could have helped him, but from what I've heard about the other attacks similar to this one, no ones survived." Wistar murmured.

"Well, I agree with you that he was killed by a Mage." Frea muttered, "A dark and very powerful one too, this entire hospital is bathed in the scent of Dark Magic." She muttered and Wistar gave her a grim look.

"Then I hope this murderer is caught soon, or the killings are only going to increase."

Another Chapter posted! Hope you enjoyed it!