"Uncle? He was your mother's brother?" Lucy echoed, her mind reeling at the revelation. That would explain why the spirits bowed to her! And why Loki refused to speak about her or the events regarding her family, Lucy thought. The Spirit royalty is probably protected by one of this inane laws the King had blabbed about! She found it amazing that mages could possess Celestial Spirits, but have no clue about their world. This was definitely not something she would find in a Fairy Tail library book!

"Do you want me to explain more? I didn't think it was a difficult concept," she muttered under her breath.

"It's not that!" Lucy snapped, annoyed at Adie's constant moodiness—though it wasn't as if she could blame her. "I...I just realized that I know nothing about the Spirit World."

"Not many do," Adie admitted, nodding slowly. She was now jabbing a calloused finger into the hill of ash next to her.

"Do you want to talk about your sister?" Lucy asked softly.

"Nope," she answered, her jaw thrust out in defiance.

"OK, fair enough, I guess. But at least answer me this: do you think she was responsible for the Spirit Mage murders? Or all of these monsters, like what Loki had mentioned...er, that day.." Lucy trailed off, not exactly wanting to reminisce about that.

She shook her head softly, her pale, matted hair moving in plaits. "I don't know anymore..."

"So what happened to your moth—Freya?" Lucy continued.

Adie shrugged, "Don't know. She sent us to the castle that day....it was like she had some idea that all of this was going to happen." She waved her hand in the air. "She came back here...I don't really know the rest, I was still young—by my years," she smiled weakly.

Her pale eyes stared at the calm cobalt sky as she continued,"She disappeared after that. My uncle sent the Guard out to look for her—a rare occasion indeed! But no trace of her existence had ever turned up. Not only that, but no one could find the name of the mage that killed my father and took my mother's Spirit Key! It was like he never existed. Uncle had given up after nearly two decades of searching."

"I met your uncle—er, the Spirit King. Once." Lucy admitted. With the mention of the Spirit King, Adie's eyes were immediately on her, full of silent disbelief. She said nothing, as if awaiting an explanation.

Lucy sighed, "It was when Loki—er, Leo, was about to die. It was so unfair!" She slammed her fist against her thigh. "He was only trying to protect Aries! She was being abused by her master!"

"So, what happened?" Adie whispered, her full attention on the spirit mage.

"I somehow managed to summon all of my spirits," she explained, "Well, first the King had appeared, telling me that there was nothing he could do--"

"Sounds like the old grouch..." the pale-haired woman mumbled under her breath.

Lucy smiled. "Well, in the end, he relinquished his exile on Loki, allowing him to go back to the Spirit World."

"You speak of it as if it's not a huge accomplishment, Lucy."

"I was just trying to save a friend from an unjust death!" Lucy's cheeks were flushing red.

"I mean, your ability to summon all of your spirits without keys." Adie nodded toward the ringed instruments at Lucy's waist. "And making Uncle come to the Human World. He's usually too lazy to be bothered with human affairs. That as more of my mother's duty."

Lucy's mouth hung open from the masked praise. She wasn't quite sure what Adie was insinuating, but she felt as if the older woman was genuinely...impressed. Lucy rarely felt as if she impressed anyone. "Thank you," she whispered, suddenly finding her fingernails interesting.

"I mean it," Adie's voice was soft. "It's rare for a Stellar Mage to be able to summon one spirit without a key, but to summon all of them..." She trailed off, her statement floating away with the breeze.

Both women were silent, as Lucy anxiously thought of something else to ask. The loud clamor of a battle rang out through the field. Neither said anything about Erza or Natsu.

"A-Adie?" Lucy looked at her hesitantly, another question dancing on her tongue. "How does it work for you? Are you a Spirit?"

"No," she answered quickly.

"A Spirit Mage?"

"Nope."

"But your key--" Lucy began.

"For show," Adie waved dismissively. "It basically makes the lesser Spirits recognize my status."

It made some sense to Lucy. She had never heard of a demi-spirit, so she had no other option but to believe the woman. "Can you move between here and there?"

She was answered by a nod, as Adie picked up her mask and began to examine it closely.

Lucy decided that she had asked too many personal questions in regards to Adassandra's family. Perhaps once she knew the woman better, it would be more appropriate to ask about such things. Lucy looked toward the village, she could see Gray pacing up and down along the curved peak of the hill. She tore her eyes away from her teammate, another question suddenly coming to her.

Adie stretched her neck and cracked her knuckles. "So, we done here?"

"One more."

"Make it quick. No more family questions."

"Fine," Lucy agreed. "Why Fairy Tail?"

Adie stared at her, her face a blank slate. "I don't understand."

"Why did you come to Fairy Tail?" Lucy asked, her chestnut eyes meeting the pale blue orbs. "Was it because of me?" Her heart began to pound, as she realized how the question sounded.

"I just happened to be there," Adie shrugged. "I decided to travel for various materials to work with. I can't always find what I need around here. And...I think part of me was hoping to find my sister. As for you...I happened to see a random article on Fairy Tail's strongest team—imagine my surprise when I saw a certain young stellar mage plastered across the front cover."

Lucy groaned. She knew what article Adie was speaking of—it had painted her as a superstar mage. She was constantly gaining more praise than she deserved, she knew. And each article that she was featured in made her feel more hopeless and weak, though she had never admitted that to anyone. Not even Natsu.

"I knew that there had been some attacks, recently, so I thought if--" she shook her head, as if deciding not to finish her thought. "I was originally going to steal your keys. That way, if the person behind the attacks came after you, those spirits would be in safe hands!"

"You were concerned about the spirits' well-being?" Lucy spoke as if she had confirmed something in her own mind. "So you weren't there to harm me?"

"I don't take joy in killing, as you seemed to find out on your own," she replied, mocking Lucy's speech from earlier.

"I don't think you were a killer," she spoke slowly, as she kicked a rather large clump of ash with the toe of her boot. It scattered over the soft earth, some floating away to nearby piles. She raised her eyes, a knowing smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "If you stole my keys, you wouldn't be able to use them. But, of course you already know that."

Adie chuckled, realizing the meaning behind Lucy's words. "So you are smarter than I thought! Impressive. No, I didn't intend on keeping them forever—I would have returned them." A smile spread across her face. "Eventually."

Or waited until I died, Lucy thought, cynically.

"But why did you leave without taking my keys?" Her eyes were narrowed and her mouth screwed into a tight frown. This was obviously a question she had pondered many times before. "That's a lot of trouble to go through."

Adie met her gaze. "Because...I would be doing those spirits a disservice by taking them away from their master."

For the second time, Lucy's jaw fell open in an unladylike-like manner. "D-disservice?"

"Those spirits love you!" Adie blurted, her cheeks turning red at her momentary regression. Her face slowly regained its normal, cool demeanor. "It shows that you care about them. And they care about you," she shrugged.

Lucy nodded, her brow creased in contemplation. "I would die for them!"

Adie closed her eyes and chewed her lip. Lucy had no idea as to what she was thinking. She wanted to ask, but knew that prying was in poor taste—they barely knew one another! Maybe it was Adie's half-spirit lineage that made Lucy drawn to her....but whatever it was, Lucy would not be satisfied until she truly understood the woman sitting in front of her.

After a long, awkward silence, Adie spoke. "I can sense that about you." She opened her eyes, slowly. "It's rare for someone to care that much about their spirits' well-being. You are a good Spirit Mage, Lucy. And I can tell that you do not realize your potential."

What's that supposed to mean? Lucy wanted to shout. Her potential? Lucy was beginning to wonder if she had anything to contribute to the mage world. She had run away from home just to spite her uncaring father. On a whim, she decided that she wanted to join the Fairy Tail Guild—though she had no idea how she would do that. It was by pure luck that she had run into Natsu, taking pity on him and Happy and treating them to a meal with her last bit of funds. She ignored the fact that it had been Natsu who had done her a favor first, and she was paying him back by buying the two companions dinner. Even though he no longer owed her, he had helped her immensely. It was the greatest gift she could have ever dreamed of: membership in one of the most prestigious Guilds in the world! She would never be able to thank Natsu enough. Part of her felt saddened that he was always having to protect her, when she actually owed him. Sometimes she fantasized that he would ask for his due repayment, often in the form of her, by his side, forever....

She shook her head. Such silly thoughts! Natsu liking her? Much less loving her?!

Lucy opted to sit down, her weary legs were nearly committing mutiny. She hoped the gesture would calm Adie, as well.

It didn't.

"Underwear." Adie grumbled, reaching up to slap her forehead in disbelief.

"Sorry!" Lucy waved, trying to tug her skirt to cover her panties. She decided that sitting on her knees may be more appropriate.

"I'm beginning to think you have no shame, despite your naïve appearance."

Lucy opened her mouth to speak, but a loud, gurgling shriek from the forest—followed by the collapse of a half dozen trees—tore through the air.

Adie stood, "I'm thinking that they are finally finished?"

Lucy chewed her lip, wondering the same thing. She hoped that shriek was from a dying Adze. "I-I think so." She glanced up at Gray, who was staring toward the forest as well.

"I hope your Guild has funds in reserve," Adie brushed the ash off of her armor.

"Hmm?" Lucy asked, her attention still drawn to the silent forest. Natsu!

"That," Adie pointed toward the forest, "is a Enchanted Forest."

"Oh no!" Lucy groaned. "Makarov is going to be so angry!"

Every mage knew that Enchanted Forests were protected property of the Council. This was going to be an expensive trip.

*****

*****

Erza had returned shortly after, dragging an unconscious Natsu by his scarf. When she reached Lucy, Gray and Adie, she loosened her grip. "He got in my way," she explained.

"I was wondering what was taking so long!" Gray sighed his own relief.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried, as she knelt at his side, looking over him.

"Are you both unscathed?" Adie asked, her arms crossed over her chest. She was slightly disappointed that Erza had re-quipped her Heart Kreuz armor. She had wanted to get a closer look at the beautiful armor Erza had donned earlier.

"We are. I was well-informed about these monsters," Erza replied, her own gaze scrutinizing Adie. Both women stared at one another, neither saying a word. Gray and Lucy looked from one to the other, wondering if a physical altercation would soon break out.

It was Adie who spoke first. "Your armor....it's impressive. Greatly impressive."

Erza nodded her thanks, "It is one of my strongest."

"I would like to look at it sometime," she blushed slightly, "if you'll allow, that is."

Erza gave her a stiff smile, but promised nothing.

"Did I get him?" Natsu groaned, a small puff of smoke escaping from his mouth.

"No, I did," Erza replied, her fists on her hips. "You got in my way."

"You were the one in the way!" Natsu argued, as he attempted to push himself off of the ground. His head began to spin, and his eyes watered their disagreement with the sudden movement. "Oof!" he burped, covering his mouth with both hands. "I don feel sho goodsh."

"Just keep still for a while," Gray muttered, rolling his eyes. Typical Natsu behavior.

"It's beginning to get dark, we should return to the village," Adie interrupted. "Just in case.."

Gray's eyes narrowed. "In case of what?"

Adie turned to face him, her features calm. "This," she waved, "Today. It is just the beginning."

*****

*****

Happy reached the village first, even with an unstable Natsu in tow. Natsu, being his normal, impatient self, attempted to pound through the doors instead of waiting for the others. His attempts only caused his dizziness to grow in severity.

"Ugh, this place sucks," he growled to Happy, who was looking over him carefully.

"Aye!" the cat replied, nodding his ascension. "It's creepy!"

"You said it!" the dragon slayer attempted to smile. "My fucking head is pounding."

"If you didn't try to beat the door in with it, I'm sure it'd be much better," Gray casually replied as he approached.

"Shut up, ass! What did you do out there?"

Gray's eyes bulged, "What did I do?"

"Enough." Erza replied, her tone cold. Both men instantly quieted, though they continued to glare murderously at one another.

Adie quickly walked past them, ex-quipping into the outfit she had been wearing earlier. She removed the glove from her hand, spreading her fingers and placing them onto a tiny, metal screen. The screen glowed a bright green. The blacksmith removed her hand, shoving the glove into her pocket.

"What just happened?" Lucy asked quietly. She was answered by the a quick gust of wind that blew into her face as a panel on the wall quickly slid open to reveal a dark, metal space.

"Everyone in," Adie pointed toward the tiny room.

"Oh no," Natsu shook his aching head, immediately regretting it. "How do we know you won't kill us? Or try to pull something?"

Adie sighed, as she rubbed her temples with her fingers. "One, I think she can easily kill me," she pointed at Erza. "And two, you told me to trust you earlier."

"So?" he asked, obviously not impressed with her explanation.

"So...now I'm asking you to trust me. For a few seconds." With that, she walked into the corridor, her hand hanging in the air, hesitantly. She looked at the weary team. "It's your choice, of course."

Lucy looked at Natsu, shrugging apologetically. She was the first to enter the room. Happy followed, as did Erza. Gray was last, reaching down to grab Natsu's vest to drag him as well.

"Hey, fucker!" Natsu hissed.

"Just shut up, for once!" Gray barked. Natsu said nothing as he looked at Lucy—who shot him a pleading glare.

"Fine, but I can walk," he growled, rearranging his vest and scarf. As soon as he entered the cramped, dark space, Adie put her hand against the interior wall, closest to the door. The sliding door closed, enclosing the group in darkness. Within seconds, a door slid open behind them, revealing the tiny village—which was now quiet from its desertion.

"Where to?" Erza asked, as she quietly examined the town.

"My shop," Adie pointed, taking the lead. "You guys are welcome to stay tonight, there is hot water and food, of course. You may help yourselves. We often rent out the rooms above the store, but seeing as no one is around, it'll be free of charge," she cast a glance back to the group.

"You're helping us?" Natsu asked, his former hostility returning. This was the woman who had barged into Fairy Tail and tried to harm Lucy!

"It's the least I can do," she replied softly. "After all the trouble I've caused you."

"No shit!" the dragon slayer mused. He tapped his chin thoughtfully, "How much food do you have?"

"Enough," she replied, as she approached the shop with the faded sign hanging over the door. She turned to face the tiny group, "You can stay longer, if you'd like. I will be leaving tomorrow morning. I'm going to send word to the mayor that the village is safe. For now."

Lucy was the first to speak. "Wait! You're leaving?"

Adie looked at the young Spirit Mage. "You need to return to Fairy Tail, Lucy. It's safest there. I think your teammates would agree with me on that."

"But...no way!" Lucy cried, looking around at her teammates. Each avoided her gaze, as if they seconded Adie's suggestion. "I'm not going back! I'll help you!"

"I don't need your help," she responded flatly. "If you want to help, stay out of the way. Keep yourself hidden where no one can take your keys."

"Oh you're one to speak about keeping my keys safe!" Lucy pointed out, her face contorted with rage. "You tried to take them from me!"

Adie dropped her gaze. "You are right. I cannot undo what is already done. It is what it is," she said softly, as she turned to push the door open.

Lucy fumed, her hands balled into fists. She turned to face her friends, her voice a low growl, "If any of you so much as think that I'm going back....you're wrong."

"Lucy..." Erza began, her eyes almost pleading. "She is right. It's safest."

"I'm not going back!" Lucy hissed. "That is my final answer!" She glared at her four teammates, her decision set on her face. She turned and stormed into the dark shop, her eyes slowly adjusting to the change in lighting. She felt Erza collide with her, knocking her forward.

"Hey!" Lucy bellowed. "Watch it, I can't see!"

"Sorry," Erza offered.

Suddenly, a small lamp began to burn brighter, illuminating the room. Lucy was thankful for the return of her vision. "It's about time--"

But, it wasn't Adie who was turning on the lamp. Instead, it was the old man Lucy had spoken to earlier that day.

"You!" she gasped. "I know you!"

***

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