Hey everyone! This chapter could be considered a filler, but it is important. You'll finally get to see more about the past Guardians and some important things are discussed.
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CelestialFlames63: This story is amazing! I'm really looking forward to the next chapter :) Please update soon! Keep up the great work!
BitterSweet Crazy: Good to see that you updated! I hope they all figure out where Lucy is before the world gets thrown into chaos.
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"Where is that idiot?!" a woman with flaming red hair yelled as she stormed into a large conference room, flaming leaves whipping around her in tiny cyclones. "I knew that idiot should never have been a Guardian! He wasn't good for anything while we were mortals!"
"Flare, calm down," a stern voice said.
Flare scowled as a gust of cold air and snow hit her leaves, making them fall to the ground as snowflakes. "Ur, stop messing with me! You know I hate the cold," she grumbled.
Ur rolled her eyes. "If you want me to stop, then you need to stop coming into the most sacred room in Edolas with flames shooting everywhere!"
Flare looked to the side and saw that a man with spiked blue hair was trying to use snow to put out the flames lapping at his chair. She smirked to herself, proud that she was able to bring misery to a Winter Guardian, Yuka no less.
"From what I hear, you were the one that was hard to work with," laughed Mirajane, who was sitting at her seat with a small smile on her face. "I mean, wasn't there a vote and it was decided that you should just take over the holidays rather than using your powers?"
"We did get a little tired of you setting trees on fire," Yuka commented. He finally distinguished the fire and sat back down in his seat.
"Whatever," Flare mumbled, sitting down at the first seat she touched, which happened to be between Lisanna and Mira, who were both Spring Guardians.
"Are you all finished being children?" an irritated voice asked from the grandest of chairs in the whole land. The seat was made of gold and had a moon engraved in the back. Vines and flowers snaked around the chair on all sides. "Believe it or not, I did call you all for a reason, not just so you can bicker at each other."
"Sorry, Queen Layla," Flare apologized, shrinking back in her seat.
Layla nodded. "Now, shall we begin?"
By design, all of the Guardians were equal to each other. No season was greater than another and no Guardian within a season was better than their counterpart. In Edolas, however, tragic events showed that one Guardian had to lead the others. All of the Guardians that had been in Edolas for thousands of years fought with the newest Guardians constantly. The fighting became just a problem that they began killing each other. Despite being immortal, Guardians could die, but only if a Guardian from the opposite season killed the Guardian. Spring turned on Fall and Winter turned on Summer until no one remained. When the new generation of Guardian's arrived in Edolas, they all decided a hierarchy had to be formed. Although Layla was not the most influential Guardian, which would be Loke due to his involvement with the Sun, she became the ruler. Having the most powerful Guardian rule could have caused problems, they decided, and Layla was undoubtedly the most kind.
"Now, I wanted to discuss Earthland with you all," Layla said, starting the meeting. "I have sent Gildarts to Earthland to investigate this issue with the excuse of visiting his daughter. Since Miss Cana is not aware of the Guardians I found that visiting her would cause the least amount of harm."
Everyone's eyes fell to the large replica of Earthland projected onto the large round table before them. They were currently all looking at the town Gray and Lyon lived at from a sky view. With a wave of her hand, Layla changed the scene to the town that the Summer Guardians lived at.
"If you notice, some of the plants are dying. Notice how the trees aren't as green, the water not as blue, and the sun not as bright," Layla explained. She looked up at Loke. "You've been feeling ill lately and I decided to check on a few things. That's how I discovered this. I think the Sun is dying."
"That can't be!" Loke exclaimed. "The Sun can't be! Lucy is alive. I can feel her life force. There's no way that she's dead."
"I'm just as baffled as you are, Loke," Layla said gently. "I know it in my heart that my daughter is alive and well, and I don't need the magical link between Guardians of my kind to know that."
"What if she is away from town?" Ur asked. "Even if it isn't Summer yet, if she is away from her element her powers or her life could be fading just enough to affect things."
Layla thought a moment. "I don't see why she would leave town, but that may just be the only logical explanation for all of this." She rose from her chair. "I think it's time I pay a visit to Jude."
"Layla, no!" Mira gasped. "You can't visit him! He'd kill you without thought."
"Yes, Layla, please don't," Loke urged. "Even if he was banished and no longer possess his powers, he is still a Winter Guardian so he can still kill you. And you know that after I took Lucy he became even more enraged."
Layla slammed her hands on the table. "I don't want to hear another word of this! None of us can personally visit Lucy because she is a Guardian now. Jude would be the only one that can because he no longer has the status of a Guardian. If talking to him allows us to find out why the Sun is dying and save the world, along with my daughter, then someone has to find out if she is at the Summer Mansion." She let out a deep breath. "This is not up for discussion."
Layla left the room after that, Ur right behind her. Layla knew that she would never ignore what Ur had to say and Ur knew that no one else would be allowed to talk to her, so they just accepted things and went to Layla's mansion.
"Layla," Ur urged. "Do you really think this is a good idea?"
To Ur's surprise, Layla had tears running down her cheeks. "I don't know what else to do," she said, her voice cracking. "I truly loved Jude. I thought we were going to change the world."
"Jude loved you very much," Ur said. She could feel the pain her friend was feeling. "I never knew why, but after he would leave for weeks at a time, he would always come back looking so happy. When he told me he was resigning as a Guardian I was so shocked. When he told me why, I couldn't believe what I was hearing."
Layla let out an empty chuckle. "We had it all planned out. I was going to search and search for my replacement. I'd retire and we could be together forever."
"Your plan was going to work, you know," Ur said. "I would have been the only one who knew you were together before, and there was no rule that Guardians couldn't be together in Edolas. If you hadn't gotten pregnant, no one would have gotten in trouble."
"I should have been the one to be banished," Layla said, shaking her head. "I should have never let him step down as a Guardian."
"Layla, there was nothing you could have done. Ultear wasn't born yet, so you had no replacement. Yuka was more than ready to take over, so Jude was the one that had to step down. And if you had, then things would be worse for Lucy. We all knew that Lucy would be a Summer Guardian because you were the more powerful one of you two, so your power would have overshadowed his. That means that Jude would know the Summer Guardian. Lucy would have had to be banished, too. She wouldn't be able to become a Guardian, she couldn't come to Edolas because she never was a Guardian, and she wouldn't have been allowed to go free because she would have still met-up with Jude. You know that she would have had to die."
A choking sob left Layla's lips. "I know. I know!" She threw her arms around Ur and cried onto her shoulder. "I wish that things could have been different. Why did I have to get pregnant at all?"
"Don't say that." Ur rubbed small circles on the older women's back. "I am eternally grateful that things turned out as they did. Not only did your child get to stay alive, but my family turned out okay. If you weren't still a Guardian, Ultear wouldn't have been able to train under you until I could pass on my position to Gray. For Ultear had to become a Guardian right away, then Gray wouldn't have been given the time he needed.I would have had to retire right away so I was not an active Guardian while I knew Ultear was the Summer Guardian."
Layla laughed gently. "I guess everything does happen for a reason." She pulled away from Ur's arms and searched her eyes for any sign of disapproval. "You know I have to go see Jude. It's the only way."
A tear slipped from Ur's eye. "You better come back to us alive."
