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Fifth Wish:
Chase, Run and Hide

In the peaceful kingdom of Magnolia, everyone was celebrating.

The streets bustled with people. Women hang white banners on their windows. Flowers bloomed along with the festive mood. All the townsfolk talk about what happened last night, even inside the palace. Everyone, from officials to servants, was talking about the white star that soared on the sky that evening. They all took it as a sign the celestials had given as a show of favour for the Strauss Family.

No one knew though, that the reason for this celebration was inside a library along with the man who had taken all the luck they all thought was for the royal family.

Yes, the goddess of luck must have been smiling upon him.

The blonde lady was looking at the shelves of books with twinkling eyes. Her cheeks were flushed red with so much excitement. Her lips were open with a huge smile. She looked like a child who visited the market store for the first time.

"Look! Look! This book is about the human anatomy! This one is the Strauss History! Kyaa! This one is about human psychology!" she was way too excited about this.

'What a weird fairy' Natsu thought. He didn't know that a fairy could be such a bookworm.

She had grabbed a book with a title "FAIRY TALES" on its binder. She opened it and started reading without further ado.

Natsu looked around.

The floor was made of wooden boards. Tall shelves were lined up on the walls. A thick layer of dust collected on top of it where no one could reach unless you use the ladder that was at the corner of the room. The reception desk was at the entrance where you would list the books you wanted to borrow. Chairs and tables were at the middle of the room. Lamp lights were hanging above it. The place was empty though, only the man who was at the oak wood desk was inside aside from them. He was snoring soundly, unaware of the other people in the room.

'What a boring place, even that man fell asleep' Natsu thought. He had no idea why the fairy was so excited. She was reading furtively along with the stacks of books she gathered that littered on the floor.

He had never thought that he would visit a library and he doesn't plan to do so again. He never had interest in books. After all, he can't read. That was just for people who had money for education. And he doesn't even have a single coin to spare for buying his own meal.

So how did they wind up in this place? Simple, it was because of the fairy. He had taken her to the town when she said that she wanted to hide.

They were walking on the bustling street. The fairy was wearing the dark blue cloak with strange symbols on the rim that she had produced out of nowhere. He was searching for a place that wasn't suspicious but at the same time had no people around.

Happy pulled on his leg, stopping him on his tracks. The cat motioned to look at his back. He turned around and found what he was pointing out. It was the fairy, staring longingly at the building's window. He looked and found an empty place aside from the chairs and books inside.

Seeing that she looked like she wanted to go in there, he told her that they could come in. She looked like she had been given a candy treat. "Can we really come in? I don't know the owner of the household. Aren't you supposed to wait to be invited?" she looked at him with doubt, she was really eager to come in though.

"What are you talking about? Can't you see that this is the public library? Everyone can come in" he told her.

"I see no one though . . ." she looked at the window again.

"Maybe it's close?" he suggested. Most likely though, there was no one inside because it's such a boring place.

He could see her struggle between coming in or not.

"This is actually a good hiding spot" he realized. It's empty and boring. No one would want to go in it. Not to mention, it's not suspicious looking.

She brightened up a bit at that. "You're right! Also, it was never specified to be against the golden rule . . . huhuhu . . . I can visit any place in the human world . . ." she mumbled more to herself. Here desire taking over. He could see the greedy glint in her eyes.

That's how they ended up on this place.

"Natsu . . ." Happy called. "How long do we have to wait?" he looked at the stacks of books that kept on piling up. He doubted she would finish reading anytime soon.

He marched up in front of her. "Hey. You said that you'll grant our wishes. Hurry up and do it."

She snapped her book shut. She looked up at him, clearly annoyed at being interrupted on her reading. "I said I'll listen to your request. I'll help you if it sounds reasonable."

"What!? So you tricked us, didn't you?" Natsu was angry for being fooled.

"I didn't trick you. It was human's specialty" she snapped at him. "I can't just promise carelessly on helping you out on whatever you want. You might wish for world domination or something bad. Anyway, I don't even understand why you are forcing me to grant your wishes! I don't have any obligation to."

He frowned at her. "You have to. Aren't you a fairy?"

There it goes again. The word "fairy".

She had no idea why they kept calling her that. She read a book with the title "Fairy Tales" on it, wanting to find out what that was. All she found out about it though, was in the story of Cinderella who had a fairy godmother help her attend the ball. The fairy godmother only helped her because she was kind and she was her niece. It doesn't make sense why she had to grant the wishes of these two strangers who left her such a bad impression on their first meeting. It's not like he was her contractor or anything. He didn't even summon her.

"Why do you keep calling me that? I don't even know what a 'fairy' is!" she told them.

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "You love reading books but you don't know what you are? Isn't that weird?"

She huffed and crossed her arms. "For your information, I am new to this world. I still lack information so I am learning as much as I can by reading human books. Now I've never heard of the term "Fairy". Care to enlighten me, human?"

"Fairies are what we call for those magical beings that cause trouble in the celestial realm. They were sent in the human realm as punishment. They have to grant wishes until they become good again so they can come back." Happy explained kindly.

He saw her expression changed from irritation to surprise to horror.

"Wait! Y-You mean to say that I'm a l-law breaker? No! NO! I can't be! I only sneaked out a bit. It's not like I broke any orders! I – okay, maybe I bend the rules a bit. But . . . but . . ." she said defensively, more to herself than at them. She was freaking out as if she just realized something. He could see in her eyes that her mind was racing miles ahead, far away from his reach.

She knew that their description were far off from her. After all, they didn't send her out as punishment. It was the other way around. She was trapped in her own home. She knew of spirits and gods that were stripped off their power and were exiled to the other worlds though. They must have been what the humans started to call "fairies".

She wasn't worried about their mistaken impression. She knew that she couldn't help that if she literally fell from the sky and acted so suspiciously when she was trying to run and hide.

However, she did realize something.

Exile was a punishment only for those who had broken the Golden Rule of the cosmos. She wasn't afraid of the excommunication or any punishment. She knew she would get scolded at home but she readied herself for that. She was more afraid of the fact that she had done something a celestial like herself shouldn't have: Breaking their own laws.

"I couldn't have broken any rules did I? The King did forbid me from going out. But . . . I'm a . . . that's right. Aside from Fate, no one could give me an order. That couldn't have been an order but an advice. . . That's right, and I didn't break the golden rules either. Loki wouldn't let me do something that bad. Besides, I'll be breaking my own oath if I didn't do this . . ." she started muttering to herself. She began to relax a bit upon saying those reassuring words.

"Oi! You still there?" he asked. He didn't understand what on earth she was talking about.

She jolted in surprise. She had forgotten that he was still there. "Right. Umm. What are you saying?" she looked at him, forcing a smile as if it'll hide the previous reaction earlier.

"You'll grant us our wishes, right Fairy?" he crossed his arms.

She stood up, regaining her composure. "It seems there had been a misunderstanding here" she told them, holding up a hand at them to stop them from speaking.

"I am not a fairy, human" she said seriously. She won't allow herself to be called by such a derogatory name.

"If you're not a fairy, what are you? We saw you fell from the sky. You even conjured a cloak out of nowhere" he asked in challenge.

"I'm . . ." she racked her mind, trying to find for an answer that was acceptable without giving away what she was. She had been warned of the dangers of humanity. Giving away her true identity was a very bad idea. But what other creatures could use magic?

Her eyes flickered at the book of fairy tales she just read. She remembered one of the stories she had read.

"I . . . I guess you can call me a . . . a genie?" she suggested. Genies are powerful creatures that are bound by the wishes of their master who held their item of power. It was pretty much the same with Celestials and their contractor's relationship. So that wasn't a lie. Not to mention, genies also have a set of laws that they cannot cross. Yup, pretty similar.

He raised an eyebrow. "A genie?"

"Yeah, well, that's not what I would call myself but I find the situation pretty similar to my kind. We all follow a certain kind of law and bound by our words. Also, we usually need a contractor to summon ourselves. My kind is bound by the contract and performs the wishes of the summoner. That's not always the case though. I, for one, don't have any summoner!" she explained. She wasn't sure if she should be mad or glad about not having one.

"Doesn't that mean that you sneaked out? Isn't that against the rules?" the cat was sharp and hit quite a mark on her. Considering the little monologue she had earlier and the explanation they were getting now, he deduced that much. He's specialty was finding loopholes.

She was taken aback but quickly recovered. "A-As I've said earlier, I did not break any rules. There was no statement that I'm not allowed to go out and no one can order me to. A-And I have a good reason to go . . . I made a promise with someone and I don't want to break my vow" she said firmly.

Natsu leaned closer at her, his charcoal eyes examining the girl in front of him. She felt nervous at his gaze but she looked back at him.

"I guess you're not lying . . ." he admitted grudgingly, she doesn't give off the impression of a liar. "What do we do now? I thought this is my chance to get my wish come true" he sulked, looking at his cat for an answer.

The cat looked down too. "I want tons of fish . . ."

By the way, Natsu and Happy doesn't know what a "genie" was. They don't read books and they don't have anyone who would tell those tales before they go to sleep. The only story he knew was the tale of a star which was told to him by a man he met so long ago.

They knew that her being "not a fairy" meant that she won't grant their wishes though.

She tilted her head. She thought they would still force her to grant their wishes but it seemed like they had given up. "So . . . umm . . . are you gonna let me go?" she asked them.

"No way! You still got to pay up for our house! You crushed it to smithereens!" he told her. He won't let her get away with that one. It was hard finding such a perfect place where it was secluded with a perfect view of the palace.

She frowned. "Huh? I crushed it . . ? When?" she looked confused.

"Hey! Don't give me that look! Didn't you see the huge crater you made? Remember when you landed?" he raised his eyebrow, he crossed his arms.

She froze. She remembered the strange concave of land. Now that she remembered it, she was at the center of it.

. . . Oops.

.

Loki had dressed his self up with a simple woollen shirt and dark brown pants. A green cloak draped over his shoulders.

He was walking around town, trying to look for the familiar face of the blonde haired girl with hazel eyes. Most likely, she was wearing a magical item that would help her conceal herself. The Cloak of Night, woven with enchantments with shadow attributes. It will misdirect the eyes of people and hide her spirit energy.

Basically, it made her hard to track.

"The Celestials had returned!"

He jolted and looked at the source of the voice.

The man who shouted was old. His clothes were ragged and battered. He was bear footed with thin arms and legs. His was almost bald with only a few strips of hair on his side and back.

He was shouting at the top of his lungs about how they had returned and everyone should plead for forgiveness. "Celestials returning! The star is the sign! They had come to deliver punishment to us! This is the end of humanity!"

He sighed in relief. At least he doesn't know what he was talking about. Heaven's 'judgement' was to strip them of power.

People ignored the poor old man. Some looked his way and sneered.

"What a lunatic. Everyone knows that the star was for the royal family" he heard one of them muttered.

He looked around.

The humans seemed livelier. Merchants were shouting and boast of high class products for a cheaper price. He could hear the music being played on the streets. Children were happily running and playing. Women were sharing gossips with each other.

"Did you see the star yesterday?"

"Of course! It even snowed a bit. Did you know that our rotting cabbages became fresh again? It's such a miracle!" said a woman at front of the store.

"You too? My apple tree started bearing fruits. It was so sweet and delicious. You should have some" her friend replied back.

"It must be because of the star. The kingdom is really blessed. Thank the King and his family!" she smiled.

"Star?" he mumbled. They didn't send in any star . . . he remembered the crater in the middle of the forest.

He face-palmed. "She made a flashy entrance, huh?"

He should have realized that when he saw where she landed.

"That's the power of The Blessed Ones. It's thanks to them that our kingdom had risen to power."

He frowned. "I need to find her as quickly as possible" he thought to his self. If her simple arrival had caused this much commotion, what more could happen if they were to find her out?

He quickly gathered his thoughts, thinking of what she would do.

Given her personality, she would blend with the crowd to further hide herself. It was two birds with one stone because that will also make her able to see humans and learn about them. He tried to simulate what she would do.

The first thing she needed after hiding was information.

"Did she go to a bookstore?" he immediately went to places with lots of books, chasing after the troublesome Celestial.

.

"It can't be . . ." she looked at the huge crater that she had made. She was looking at it from behind a tree, as if to hide from the fact that she was the one who caused it.

"See? Now, do you believe me?" Natsu had taken her back to show her the proof.

She looked guiltily up at him. ". . . I'm sorry. I didn't know. . . It was your home . . ."

"Why are we so far away?" Happy asked. They were at least a twenty meters away from the clearing.

"Well, I don't want to get caught in the scene of crime" she said. She had made such an eye-catching commotion. Surely, that would gain some people and spirit's attention. Not to mention, she could feel her own spirit energy even from here.

It was so strong that she saw other Spirits coming out from their homes to look at it.

Natsu suddenly grabbed her and pushed her down.

"What are you doing!?" she screamed at him.

"Shhh! There are soldiers coming" he told her in a hushed whisper. He crouched behind the tree. Sure enough, she saw a troop of men with metals for clothing. Purple silk draped over their shoulders. They were carrying spears. Swords and hunting knives were buckled on their belts. Some of them were holding bows and arrows.

All of them were riding horses.

"Why are they here?" Happy asked aghast.

"They're after me" both she and Natsu said. They looked at each other with a raised eyebrow.

"Why would they be after you?" he asked.

"Why would they be after you?" she shot back. For her, it was obvious that she was a celestial and she held power.

Her question was interrupted when one of the guards at the front yelled. "Halt!"

They stopped at the crater she made.

The man at the front was wearing black clothing underneath his blue cloak. He was massive and muscular. His black horse with smoke colored mane was also larger than the other horses, perhaps to match his size. He had long spiky hair that reached to his back. His face and ears were studded with iron. He looked at one of the archers and gave a nod.

The archer took an arrow and loaded it at his bow. He pulled the string and let go. The arrow hit a tree opposite their direction.

"EEK!" a man screamed and fell behind the tree that was shot.

The archer loaded a second arrow and threateningly pointed the bow at the man. The man with blue cloak signed for him to wait.

"Who are you and what is your business here?" he asked the man on the ground. His tone was cold and harsh.

"I-I'm just a simple woodcutter . . ." said the man on the ground.

"Did you see anyone around here?" he asked again. The man shook his head. "N-No . . . I-It's already like that w-when I came here" he said.

The captain stared at the man.

"I see. . . Then you may go. Don't ever come back to this place again or speak of it. You're life is on the line. Were chasing after a notorious criminal and if he found out you saw this place, your life won't be guaranteed. You're better off forgetting this" said the captain.

The woodcutter nodded and shakily ran away from them.

Natsu frowned. Did he become so notorious that even the Royal Soldiers would come after him? Sure, he made trouble but he was only stealing what he needed. He looked at Happy who looked back with worry.

"Why did you let that man go? We're ordered to search in utmost secrecy. You even told him that we're after some criminal" said the archer who pulled the bow.

"That man knows nothing. Shedding blood on this place would bring more attention later on" said the man.

The genie pulled at Natsu's arm. "Let's get out of here" she whispered. She looked scared.

He nodded. Luckily, they were far away from them. They were able to sneak out safely.

"But look at this crater. Was this really made by a human?" one of the soldiers said, looking at the huge conclave of earth.

"It's not human . . ." the captain said, his eyes narrowing at the heavy atmosphere in the air.

Natsu, Happy and the genie were on the forest lake.

"I don't like them" she said after they were far away.

"Aye. Me neither" Happy agreed.

"Why are we here? Shouldn't we get back at town?" Natsu asked. Personally, he doesn't care about them. However, they were chasing after him which made them unlikable. He should have beaten them up when he had the chance. If he's outnumbered, he would just run and hide like he usually does. At least, he would have made damage on his enemies. Why did he listen to this blonde's request first?

"Don't be stupid, Natsu. There were more guards on the town" Happy said.

"Why are you guys afraid of guards?" she asked suspiciously.

"We are NOT afraid!" both of them said at the same time. She rolled her eyes. "Fine! Why do you want to avoid the guards? You're not a criminal, are you?" she told them, half-jokingly.

"So? You're a run-away yourself" he told her, arms-crossed.

Her mouth opened up in shock. "YOU'RE A CRIMINAL!?"

Happy looked at her. "We're thieves, but we're not bad guys" he reassured her.

"Thieves are law breakers. They steal the important things and hard work of others" she glared at them.

"Hey! It's not like we got any choice. We don't even have a single coin to spare. We only steal what we need" he told her.

"You could look for jobs! I'm sure there are plenty!" she told them.

"There are no jobs for people like us. The only open ones were those slave-hunting and such" he scoffed at her.

"It's not like we steal from good people. We only steal from the bad ones!" Happy said.

"Stealing is stealing! You could've asked for help from others" she reasoned.

"Pfft. Which others? You mean the corrupt rich people? Or poor people like us who had their own troubles to deal with?"

He remembered those arrogant people who would usually come parading in the town. They were all wasting money on rich clothes and items which they taxed from people, making them poor till they have nothing and starve to their deaths. There were also those shark loaners who would put high interest on the money they lend.

Compared to those people who claimed to act under the law, Natsu's crimes seemed much better.

She thought differently though.

She huffed and marched into the water. "I'll show you, human" she said with that stubborn expression of hers.

He raised an eyebrow. What on earth is she planning to do now?

She knelt at the lake and stared below her. "Hello! How are you faring, dear friend? I came here to ask for a little favour" she suddenly started talking, her lips stretching into a smile.

Natsu and Happy gaped at her; she was talking to herself. They looked at each other, their eyes meeting in agreement.

She had finally gone nuts.

The blonde genie kept talking at her reflection.

"Really? . . . You did that!? That's amazing! . . . You're having a party? . . . My! Thank you. I really am in a predicament. . . I don't have anything grand to offer . . . I see . . . You're really kind . . . Ah, but I can't just accept it like this . . . Can you please accept this as a token of thanks?" she took out the golden bracelet on her wrist and let it sink on the lake.

She looked at them with that smug look of triumph. "See? If you ask, they'll give. Just be sure to return their favour" she told him.

"What on earth –?" he began but was interrupted when he heard a huge rumble at the bottom of the lake.

The ground shook a bit. Bubbles formed at the center of the lake. Green light glowed at the bottom. Suddenly, something rise up from it.

Natsu and Happy took a step back. Their mouth opened wide. A big fish tail emerged from the bottom of the lake. It was five times their size!

The genie waved a hand below her. "Thank you!"

She turned to them. "What do you think? Is this a good enough fish for you? Hydrea caught this huge man-eating fish when it was chasing her friends. They were having a feast today. She gave us the half of it. She said she only wanted the head as a display. Isn't she nice?" she smiled.

Happy was drooling, his eyes in a mesmerized daze. "Fish . . . a big fish . . ."

Natsu could feel his stomach growling at the huge meat in front of him. He only ate half of bread last night. He was more disturbed on where it came from though.

"Hydrea? Who's that? What on earth is she? It just came out of nowhere!"

She crossed her arms. "She's a water nymph, what else? And it didn't come out of nowhere. She's my friend now so she gave it to me" she told him.

He stared at it with awe. Genies are amazing.

That night, they were able to cut up the fish into many sizes and cooked it up. Natsu and Happy were eating their share that could be served for five men.

They can't help it. The food was just delicious. The white meat was soft and chewy. The way it had been cooked left the thin soft skin crunchy with just the right amount saltiness on it. Each bite was filling. Even though they didn't put anything in it, it smelled of different herbs and spices. The aroma of it will make you drool.

The genie was eating just a fair amount of the fish. She doesn't really need to eat. That was just a form of pleasure for her and a sign of respect.

She frowned. She was sharing a meal with these strangers.

For Spirits, foods are a form of pleasure. Feast would be held to welcome a guest of honor, celebrations, or meetings. Sharing dinner with someone is a sign of respect to them, and would usually mean that they were friends.

It can't be helped though.

For one, it was Hydrea's offer. It was given to her. Not eating it is like a sign of refusing friendship. However, she had to give food to this two people but she had no other meals to share. She sighed.

This was her token of apology for their destroyed home.

"Natsu, let's save some for later!" Happy warned him. They had already eaten half of it. "You're right!" he replied back between bites.

That night, for the first time for years, the two poor boys were able to sleep with a full stomach. Both were dreaming of what they'll have for breakfast. Smiles stretched at their faces.

That was until they woke up the next day.

"It's gone!"

The fish they stored were suddenly gone when they woke up.

The genie woke up with sleepy eyes. She decided to stay near the lake to talk more with her new-made friend.

"OUR FISH!"

"What . . ?"

"Hey! Have you seen my fish?" Natsu asked her, grabbing her shoulders.

"What? . . No, I did not" she told him.

He got up. "SOMEONE STOLE OUR FISH!" he yelled angrily.

"Natsu! Look! There are footsteps here!" Happy pointed at a set of small prints in the soft soil of the forest. "It was heading to town" he said.

"GGRRR! Whoever stole our food better run and hide. He's gonna pay a hell out of stealing from us!" he growled angrily. "Come on, Happy!" he chased after the culprit.

. . . * . . .

The blonde lady frowned. She wondered if she should go and follow them.

Hydrea came out from her lake. Her skin was white and pale. Her long hair was made of seaweeds, decorated with a starfish at the top of her head. Her eyes were black and round the same as a fish. Her tail was made of water.

"It's a taste of their own medicine" she told the girl.

She looked at her. "You've seen the culprit?"

"Of course. I've been watching over you since those two thieves cannot be trusted. Why did you even share dinner with them?" she scrunched her pale face in disapproval.

"It can't be helped. I owe those two their home" she smiled at her.

"Still, they are law breakers. We shouldn't associate ourselves among the lawless" she advised.

Her friend giggled at that. "Sorry, you reminded me of someone with your words. She used to coldly punish humans for their crimes. She loves to protect the law like we do. Isn't it better if we give these humans some chance, though? All actions have reasons behind them" she explained.

"Humans are just the greedy people they are. That will never change. Look at the child who stole the fish I gave you. He's just a child yet he learned how to steal already. He should lose a hand. Oh well, he stole from a thief too. It'll be nice to have birds of the same feather fight each other".

She frowned, her hazel eyes brimming with worry. "You mean the culprit is a child?"

Hydrea tilted her head. "Does it matter that he is a child? You should let that boy be punished along with the man. I don't like rude people".

"I better go and see how it goes" she told her before dashing off to where the man and his cat ran to.

"See you, then! It's nice to meet a fellow Spirit. It felt like it had been so long since we last materialized" she told her before going back to the waters, disappearing into the deep bottom of the lake.

. . . * . . .

Got to cut it here guys.

Fun fact: I didn't mention Lucy's name until this moment. Natsu doesn't know her name since they haven't introduced with each other yet.

Next Chapter: Will the contract be formed? Lucy inadvertently used her powers which had led one of her chaser to find her. What would happen?