Tale of the Sky Maiden
By LastationLover5000 & Demod20
Chapter 25 - Behind the Curtain
Max awoke feeling numb.
Everything above his head slowly brought his gaze to focus. Beautiful sheets obscured the ceiling, soft silk bedding wrapped around himself and his skin felt surprisingly cool despite the warmth he was subsumed within.
He scarcely could remember what had happened to get him here. All he remembers is one moment he stood in the path of a blade, an agonizing fire of pain tore his chest open, and then seeing the look of shock on Arasah's face.
Then, a Dragon erupted from the ground in a flash of light-
"Arasah!" He suddenly cried out, rising upwards.
This proved to be an error, as a white flash of pain swept his chest. Clutching his chest, he looked down at the white bandages wrapped around one shoulder and around his waist. He could tell without looking that the slash must have been mended, but still is in the midst of healing.
"I wouldn't move so soon," A soft voice said from beside him. Looking to his left, he blinked with bewilderment, seeing the smooth and pale features of the Queen lying beside him in her bejeweled regalia; her bare legs and arms lying beside him, her chin held up by a smooth palm as stared at him thoughtfully.
"You're alright," Max gasped, smiling happily at her. "Thank goodness, I was worried!"
"Did you hit your head?" Arasah asks with an arched brow. "In all of the chaos, I forgot how easily one can lose memory of the past when striking the skull, especially if you're human."
"I...didn't forget," Max says, nervously clutching his chest with a grimacing expression. "But, I don't regret doing what I did for you."
Letting out a scoffing sound, she turned away, seated on her bed with her slender back facing him.
Silence elapsed between the two, both awkwardly shuffling in place. The context set in that something had to give, regardless of what feelings there are about it. Yet, Max felt like he was stuck between two hard places, unable to muster the nerve to speak first.
So, Arasah started speaking.
"You haven't visited the temple, but I will tell you what's inside," She begins, looking up at the star-lit ceiling of her chamber. "Long ago, before this city was built, this desert was a land of chaos. I had sought refuge here since the time of Dragons was coming to an end. I thought a place rife with conflict could hide one dragon like me. It turned out much differently than I expected.
"There were five beasts that divided the land of men as their territory and property. The strongest of them, the Scorpion Demon, came after me the moment it knew I was there. It's the hardest fight of my life, but I managed to kill her…or so I thought," She trails off, looking over at Max thoughtfully. "There are few who know my secret, and the Demon who did has done all she can to thwart my rule. Anyone who says the phrase, 'True Queen of Desierto' means her."
"Are you saying those bandits earlier…?" Max asked, wincing as he turned closer to her.
"They acted like they knew me, but I never had the displeasure of knowing them," Arasah says coldly, her gaze meeting Max's with slit pupils surrounded by rings of gold. "I will find the one they captured…and make them wish they never conceived the plan at all."
Shivering, Max held his waist and looked away. She had such a ferocious side he didn't think she would have. It unnerved him; in a way it reminded him of when Wendy herself got furious at the Hoodlums attacking the soldiers in Mercurius Castle.
Righteous rage…justified, but still scary, He thought with a nervous smile.
"Something on your mind?" She asks with an arched brow.
"I just realized how alike you are to a friend of mine," He turned to smile brightly at her. "It's scary, but in a good way. I'm glad you're in charge."
Blinking quizzically, Arasah frowned. She turned around and narrowed her eyes with lips turned into a thin lipped pout.
Max couldn't help but chuckle at her, "What's the matter? Did I offend you?"
"You're strange," She says pointedly, staring at him hard. "No one has complimented my anger as good. You're not like anyone I've known."
"Is that a good thing?" Max asks nervously.
"Depends," She asks. "Does knowing what I am change anything?"
Scratching his cheek, Max tried to avert his eyes, only for her face to jolt in his direction.
Grimacing, he let out a sigh, "I'd be lying if I said nothing changed. It's a big deal, being able to get the chance to marry the Queen. It's probably a once in a lifetime opportunity, one I'm blessed to have. But, marrying someone who is…a Dragon, is like some sort of fantasy I never thought could be possible."
Her demeanor didn't shift. She seemed to keep a cagey disposition, perhaps due to how often people could read her expressions in an intimate setting such as this.
The silence lingered, and she tilted her head, her hair pulling onto the sheets of the bed as she asked in a whisper.
"Do you wish to leave?"
Swallowing hard, Max's face turned red as his eyes met hers.
"No," He says, working up a smile as he sees a look of surprise flicker in her eyes. "I don't know what kind of future this leads to, but, I think what Bashiff and everyone else has told me has led me to this moment. I think I am meant to be here, with you. Not as a man filling in the role of Prince Consort, but as the one to help you in every way I can."
"Even with a Dragon as a partner?" She asks, her throat clenching as her eyes began to moisten.
Max didn't know what happened. In a moment he had raised a hand to brush her eyes, to keep her face from becoming damp with tears.
The next, he cupped her head and pulled her into a kiss. Arasah's eyes fluttered, Max's own closed as his arms clenched her head and shoulders. The Queen's eyes rolled back, arms embracing him as she pulls him to the bed with her on top. Their tongues exchanged a taste, and their breath mingled with a breathy moan.
Whatever is to happen from this point on, Max knew he made the right choice.
Ja'far felt himself incensed. The Queen had been inches away from pulverizing him had he not used his words as carefully as he did. All efforts for naught had it not been for his quickness in such a dire situation.
Yet, it worked just the way he wished.
Though he was angry about Lathayus sending goons into Paradisio, it was all the incentive he needed to move forward with his plans to use the collar. He had no care for what became of the one they abducted - a simple means to an end - just that it was now happening.
Bashiff had appeared not more than a few hours, accompanied by the three handmaidens, Kelass, Marra and Para. In addition to them his own daughter, Kuon, stood behind them with her usual dutifully stoic expression on her bronze colored soft face, with twinkling gold for her eyes.
Feeling safe with her in their midst, Ja'far welcomed them into his quarters.
"Good news, Ja'far," Bashiff broached with a smile past his long dark beard. "I have just been informed by Her Grace. She wishes to make the announcement for the marriage to be held the day afterwards."
Ja'far had anticipated this.
Stirred by what words were exchanged, it appears that his plans were moving forward. He let himself smile, feigning surprise at the news as he waved his long fingers out with a sweep of his long sleeves robes of dark reds and blacks.
"This is fortunate news! We can finally begin to set down the new era with such an impressionable young man at her side," He said, walking around his desk to get a little closer to Bashiff.
"He is beyond my own expectations as well," The older aide to the Queen said, palming his beard with thoughtful strokes. "The man has quite the knack for being inspiring without needing many words. A man of action, if nothing else, should benefit Her Majesty if nothing else will."
"Not to mention he's quite handsome!" Para exclaimed with a cheeky grin.
"We're not supposed to say that, Para!" Marra grumbled at the shorter of the three women.
"I'm just saying what we're all thinking-!"
"Enough, you two," Kelass chided them with a sigh. Though she did add with a smile, "Though I'm sure it will be a lovely wedding."
Clearing his throat, Bashiff looked at Ja'far with a more serious expression.
"Ja'far, I'm sure you were the first to know, but Paradisio may need to be under tighter security due to this announcement," He murmured, narrowing his eyes in a frown at the Visier. "With a band as vile as the Night Eyes infiltrating into our capital and causing such mayhem, many of the people are already seeing this as an omen. We need to cooperate with the Rune Knights to ensure this doesn't happen again."
Ja'far's mask of compliance hid the disgust he wanted to show. The Council's lapdogs have been a thorn in his side since the Queen invited them into Paradisio as a measure of good faith to their neighbors. Even though their own sovereign laws are absolute, the Knights possess the ability to police abuse of Magic and do an exceptional job at it.
It caused unrest he used as ammunition for his own ends but still stifled his ability to organize what he needed. If not for Lathayus he certainly couldn't do what he's intending, with their martial abilities being among the best in the continent.
"I understand," Ja'far says with a pained smile. "I have already said my piece of their interference, but I won't shy away from help, especially with such a scandalous action taking place."
"I am pleased with your acceptance of such a necessary evil, Ja'far," Bashiff says with an affirmative nod. "Don't worry. I'll see to it they don't cross any lines in the Palace personally."
"I'm sure you will," Ja'far bowed his head to the Chief Aide. "But for now, I must gather my wits and file the proper paperwork. Orders and signatures won't do themselves."
"Of course," Bashiff nodded sagely, turning around with the rest of the entourage. As they closed the doors behind them, Bashiff cast one last look at Ja'far's eyes before turning away from the sealed chamber.
The Visier spat.
"Damn them!" He sneered, his fists balling at his sides. "Bringing the Rune Knights into this won't stop me! For I am not alone in this plan. Am I, Yashin?"
Stepping from the shadows of his own bed chamber, the man draped in a rich robe of purple and red with a garish turban of deep purple adorned over his black tresses. He appeared as if he had melted away in the wall, his angular pale face with discolored eyes akin to that of a snake's in a man's skin.
"Fufufu, I would hope not," Yashin Shiyōnin says with a devious thin smile, his left red eye glimmering with a mysterious shaped pupil etched within. "To depose a Dragon is no easy task. It will all have to be planned perfectly, less we all burn for this sacrilege."
"There is no sacrilege," A voice called out from the darkness, this time appearing from the corner of the room nearest to the door. The hooded, masked silhouette of Kaseem Aladrah made himself known, his long serpent threaded scimitar noticeable at his red sashed waist, palming the ruby pommel with a casual resting posture. "That beast is a deceiver, and one who has swindled the people of Desierto for too long. Desiertians need to decide their own fate, not let it be ruled by a monster."
"Of course, Kaseem," Ja'far affirmed, gesturing to himself with acknowledgement. "And who better to usher in a new age of man better than the Visier? I have been keeping this country together, maintaining order and the law. No one is better suited than I."
"Yes you are," The wall vibrated in speech, the various objects on its many shelves melting and congealing together to pool to the floor, revealing the true wall that has been doubled by this charlatan.
Shifting in shape and color, rising up in a swirl of slimy texture came a face erupting from the top, smooth and delicate, cheekbones slight and the face a slight hint of blue to a pale white. Eyes of dazzling rings of cobalt with cords of slimy teal green that flowed to the floor. A supple chest covered by a thin fabric of translucent green with jewels enamored around them, sleeves of similar ghostly hue wrapped up to jewel affixed cuffs, similar to the dancer pants that showed the shimmering outline of her slender legs.
"Who better than the most cunning sorcerer who ever left the self absorbed haven of slavery and experiments such as Midi?" Saleen Uriel says, raising a hand to slide into her liquid smooth curls with a flip of her locks. "It's about time if you ask me?"
"How long were you there?" Yashin asked with a humored grin. "Pretending to be a wall, that is?
"How long were you skulking in the Visier's bedroom?" Saleen asked with a smirk.
"Only a few minutes," He answered.
"Oh…" She faltered, pouting her lips and averting his stare. "Same…"
"You've been there since last night, haven't you?"
"Maybe?" She looked away while pinching her lips together.
"It doesn't matter," The floor rattled, rising up in a billow of rock and sand that sealed the ground beneath his feet.
A head of black hair braided with golden fastenings appeared, with a deep brown complexion with black eyes and a square jawed face emerged. A black gauntlet wrapped around his right hand showed a slitted reptilian eye closed, wrapped around a set of tattooed digits in the other, his brawny build wrapped up with leather armor with straps pulled around his shoulders and waist. Like a tribal warrior, he held himself with a serious gait as he eyes Ja'far and the rest
"We are the Royal Guard, loyal to the True King of Desierto," Bakiel says, addressing Ja'far with a bow. "And soon Queen, with our alliance with Lathayus."
"Yes," Ja'far nodded, addressing his Royal Guards officially with his hands spread out. "Combined with the might of soldiers loyal to our cause, and the Scorpion Queen, Desierto will finally be ours in name."
With his aura bursting forth in his sealed chamber, the reawakened Mage declares with a mighty shout, "Tomorrow, we shackle the Dragon, and conquer a nation!"
—
"Human trafficking?" Wendy repeated the words as if she'd not properly heard them.
Robyn looked at her, exasperation painted on every line of his beautiful face. "Do I need to explain what that is to you?"
"I've never heard it before," Wendy admitted ruefully.
"It is the illegal abduction and sale of human beings and near-humans," Jura interjected, as Robyn looked ready to be far more rude at Wendy's lack of worldliness. "In other words, it is the vein through which slavery and other such nefarious structures are delivered their life blood." The man's rugged face was darkly set, a glint in his eyes. As a member of the Ten Wizard Saints, Jura sat staunchly on the side of justice - to have allowed traffickers to escape under his nose made him feel disgusted. "These organisations fester in the underdark of society, and profit off of human misery and suffering."
The Water Dragon Slayer nodded, feeling some of his intensity fade with the rising of Jura's own. "Houseslaves, combat slaves, sexual slaves...trafficking caters to all sorts of needs, each of them vile. It is in the captured idol's best interest we find her before she's processed and put up for auction..." The young man placed a thin finger to his chin, pensive. "Our issue is a lack of any sort of lead."
"Were there any odd occurrences leading up to this?" inquired Bobbie, the blonde mage tilting her head curiously. "Anything that stood out?"
"Bobbie, this whole place is bonkers," said Robyn unhelpfully. "Asking us to pinpoint any single odd happening in a desert country that believes in a god queen is like asking to find one unique piece of hay in a haystack."
"No, she has a point," chipped in Eris, the diminutive elf nodded towards Bobbie. "Think about it - if something is odd even by the standards of this place, then that's what we should be sniffing out."
"Indeed, though it pains me to say that during our escort duty, the only odd thing was Lyon's behaviour around the young one here," said Jura, a gargantuan hand gesturing towards Robyn. "That aside, nothing would have led me to believe we'd have witnessed this sight today."
Wendy, Sherria, and Charle all looked at each other. They in fact had experienced something that fit this exact description.
"There was an incident a few days ago," said Charle, Wendy and Sherria nodding. "We came across a deformed, elderly gentleman, who was kind enough to give us a ride, even though it was apparently some sort of holy day."
"The guards were really eager to beat him up," added Sherria helpfully. "It sounded like it happened before, too!"
"An encounter with the guards and working on a holy day is already suspect enough," agreed Yuka, frowning somewhat. "Why would someone take a risk like that, especially if they already had a history with the guards?"
"Something of either great import, of the individual themselves was simply foolish," said Jura.
Wendy agreed. "It didn't mean anything to be at the time, and I was eager to help, but remembering his wagon now...it was identical to the one that smuggled that terrorist cell in."
"Identical?" gasped Jura.
"To the stitching," nodded Wendy. "And, now that I am thinking about it...there was something odd in the wagon itself. Burnt lacrima. I wasn't able to fully process it at the time, because we were stopped at that exact moment by the guards."
"Wait, burnt Lacrima?" butted in Robyn, surprised etched into his face.
"Is that significant?" inquired Jura.
"You have no idea," said Robyn. It wasn't a question. Wizards by nature usually only used Lacrima, and were often surprised to find out when it had additional, hitherto unknown functions or traits. Only those who came from families studied in the actual use of Lacrima, or individuals who took it up as their field of study, knew how these crystals well and truly worked. "Burnt Lacrima signifies a hasty magical cover-up. Unless you store Lacrima in large quantities, and then expose it to an excess of magic, Lacrima is never unstable. It cannot scorch like that on its own."
Charle blinked at him in surprise. "Look at that, Robyn. You can be pretty smart."
"Excuse you?" Robyn glared at her, affronted. "I'm an Enchanter myself, just like Wendy - it's in my role to understand how it interacts with its environment, especially with tools such as Lacrima, which are the easiest things to Enchant." Locking eyes with Wendy, Robyn added, "If you try to read into these things, you'd have recognised it without needing me to explain it."
"My Enchantment is Dragon Enchantment," Wendy replied, looking taken aback. "I don't really need any tools to make it happen - Grandeeney even told me when she was teaching me that only humans need tools when Enchanting - Dragon magic is different. Maybe that's why I didn't recognise it."
"Well, I'll lend you some of my books then - you can broaden your understanding of Enchantment by studying how humans do it."
"Please, young Robyn, back to the point?" interposed Jura.
"The point is that it wasn't carelessness, but a deliberate cover-up," said Robyn. "Whoever scorched that Lacrima is attempting to obfuscate any traces of magic in the eyes of the Rune Knights; if the cart driven in by this group just now, and that old man, are truly one and the same...that old man is our lead."
"How will we find him, though?" inquired Jura. "This is no small village."
"Did they escape in the wagon?" Wendy asked, her face brightening considerably.
"I think so," said Sherry. "When they escaped, they didn't take the wagon itself, they used some strange magic to make their getaway. But even if we look around the wagon, I don't think they'd have left a clue, and we don't have anyone here who can scry for magical traces that might lead us somewhere."
"You don't need that," said Wendy, grinning toothily now, her fangs showing. "You have a dragon's nose. If I can pick up a scent from that wagon, it might be able to lead us right to our target - or at the very least, to where the old man is."
"That's incredible!" smiled Jura broadly.
"You can do that?" Robyn looked at her, amazed. "I can't." Frowning, he thought inwardly at the difference at their Dragon Slayer Magic, and realised that must be why. Dragon Lacrima afforded one the magic, but not all of the necessary traits, as a full Dragon Slayer. Wendy was truly a Dragon in human form - he was not. His frown deepening, he shook his head. "Well, let's follow your bloodhound nose then!"
"Dragon," said Wendy insistently.
Finding the wagon was not the difficult part. In spite of the collateral damage caused by Arasah's rampage, and the terrorists all too gleeful exploitation of the chaos, the wagon itself was easy enough to find. The pressing issue was the groups of both local Desierto soldiers, as well as Rune Knights, standing guard around the toppled vehicle itself as "evidence". They weren't incorrect, even if at the moment they didn't have the full scope as to why.
"How are we going to get past them?" asked Yuka, who was carrying the unconscious Lyon on his back. "That many Rune Knights will not be kind to someone trying to intervene."
"Jura's a Wizard Saint!" said Toby helpfully. "Maybe they'll listen if he asks?"
Jura shook his head. "We Saints are afforded some measure of respect, but it is likely these Rune Knights have been stationed in Desierto for some time. Even if they know of me, they do not know me. I will be merely a stranger attempting to make use of my position, and in the current climate, I do not believe that will endear them to us."
Sherry frowned. "Wendy, I think your big plan is over before we even get it off the ground."
Wendy, however, was still smiling. "No, I can still do it, it's just going to take some tweaking."
"Wendy, I admire your confidence in me, but even I cannot butter up that many guys at once," said Robyn, giggling in spite of himself.
"Which is why I am not asking you to," said Wendy before Charle could object, a scandalised look on her face. "Now you can see some of my Enchantment." Raising her hands towards the Rune Knights, and trusting the hustling crowd to shield her from view, Wendy began to chant.
"O Zephyrus, sweet and supple, with your thousand gentle hands...Tenere!"
The course of the winds began to change. The Rune Knights and the Desierto Guards felt the rushing of a sudden wind - unseasonably cold and brisk - which dashed past them, striking and swirling around the wagon. A sand cloud was kicked up, obscuring the sight of the gathered personnel. At the same time, the wagon began to glow, and this light was caught by the wind itself, encased in a sphere, and rushed back towards Wendy. The young Slayer extended two thin, pale arms and caught the orb in her hands.
"We have it!" smiled Wendy, her fangs showing through her smile again.
"What is...it?"
Jura, Sherry, Charle, Robyn, Yuka, Toby, Bobbie, Eris, and even little Sherria all peered at the glowing orb in Wendy's hands.
"The winds of the wagon," said Wendy. "Tenere is a spell that encapsulates the wind, allowing me to hold on to it for later use. I can take all sorts of air and hold it in my hand this way. With this, I can get a trace of the scents surrounding that wagon and we'll follow them."
"That's amazing!" grinned Sherria. "I really want to be able to do this kind of magic!"
"It's almost time for you to officially begin training as a Mage," said Sherry, smiling brightly. "While I doubt you'll discover magic as unique as this, there's a big world of options open, cousin."
Robyn pursed his lips. That was remarkable Enchantment. Was there truly something that set Dragon Enchantment apart from human Enchantment? Wendy wasn't the type to brag, so she would tell the truth as she knew it.
"Shall we make haste from here?" suggested Jura. "None of us are Rune Knights, thus Wendy's new bauble is the closest any of us shall come to forensics."
"We're counting on you, Wendy," smiled Sherry.
Wendy flushed, embarrassed at the idea of being the one people counted on. This was usually Natsu or Erza's department. Could she really step into their shoes?
"You'll be fine," said Charle, as if Wendy's thoughts were scrawled onto her face as plainly as fresh parchment. "Let's go somewhere else for you to track the scent. We can settle Lyon down somewhere as well."
"R-Right," Wendy nodded. Even if she didn't feel comfortable taking a leadership role, this was truly something only she could do. Natsu-san...Erza-san...I'll do my best!
The somewhere else the group moved to happened to be the lodgings of Lamia Scale. Having come here in a mission themselves, they'd reserved multiple rooms at a large in. The current room they found themselves in was being shared by Lyon, Toby, and Yuka. It wasn't spacious enough to comfortably accommodate the group, but they only needed it temporarily.
Lyon's unconscious form found itself on the largest of the three beds. If anyone unaware saw him now, he could simply be sleeping. Yuka sat at the foot of the bed, leaning forward, while Jura stood against the window, his broad back obscuring the whole of the room from prying eyes. Toby was resting at the edge, his face eager.
The other two beds were split between Wendy, sitting on the middle of one, holding the sphere on her hands, Charle, who sat next her taking up little space, and Sherria, who watched her with great interest. Sherry took up the space at the foot of the bed, legs crossed.
On the last sat Bobbie, with Robyn sitting on her lap, and Eris, taking up easily the least amount of space on their bed.
"So, are we ready?" asked Eris.
"I dunno why we even settled on in," shrugged Robyn, leaning back against Bobbie's chest. "Aren't we about to leave immediately?"
"We'll need a plan," said Jura. "Even after young Wendy makes our breakthrough, we'll formulate a plan of action, which is best done indoors."
Wendy nodded. "I'd prefer to have Doranbolt here as well," she admitted, "but I don't really think time is on our side."
"Too much is happening at once," agreed Charle.
As Wendy readied herself to crack open the sphere, a rap on the door stopped her dead.
Knock knock knock! Knock knock!
Wendy looked up, surprised.
A stunned silence hung in the air, with the question everyone wanted to ask being voiced by Bobbie before anyone.
"...Are we expecting company?"
Jura shook his head. "There should be no one who knows we're here, beyond the government themselves. And I cannot imagine us having given them a reason to call yet. Let me go see."
"No, I'll do it," volunteered Charle. "We're cramped enough in this part of the room without you climbing over everyone." Sprouting her Aera wings, she flew above the heads of everyone, and used her whole weight to turn the door knob as the next set of knockings sounded. The door opened, and in stepped Doranbolt. He was wearing a torn mask, and looked haggard. Slumping in, he collapsed near a wall. The entire room broke into a tumult.
"Doranbolt!" Wendy cried out, rushing to his side immediately. Charle helped him get upright, though he remained on the floor on his haunches.
Robyn looked at him with surprise. The last time he checked in with him he asked to be kept discreet, and was busy doing his own investigation away from the group as to not entangle Wendy in the crossfire.
This reminds me when I first met the man, Robyn mused, remembering how beaten and bloodied he was when he made his desperate arrival to save Wendy and Max. He really must have pushed it to come back here like this...
As Wendy administered her healing magic in tentative waves of light Doranbolt raised a hand up to brush her head. His visible eye winced open, furrowing angrily as he withdrew it.
Revealing a small piece of reflective crystal.
"What's that-?"
"Tracking Lacrima!" Jura and Robyn said at once, casting a stare of surprise at each other for the synchrony.
Clearing his throat, Jura Neekis gestured politely to Robyn whom nodded with a small brief smile.
"That's a tracker, a fragment from a much larger Tracking Lacrima that feeds information from wherever it the smaller Lacrima is placed. It's like Communication Lacrima but used for espionage," Robyn explained succinctly, though he eyed Wendy cynically. "When did you have that placed on you?"
"When you had your meeting with Ja'far," Doranbolt said, his breathing becoming less labored and his tone less pained as Wendy kept on healing him. She looked surprised, but he kept explaining as he locked eyes on her. "Yeah, I got free not long after that. But I didn't want you or anyone else getting hurt if they knew I escaped and came to you."
"Wouldn't they have just seen you just now?" Jura asked.
"I took care of that," Doranbolt said with an assuring smile. "The soldiers are formidable but I was quicker. I smashed their main one and left them all confused as to how. They'll put it together eventually, my Magic only works best under single targets."
"What Magic?" Toby asked with a quizzical expression.
"It's best I not say," Doranbolt days evasively, looking away from them. "It loses effectiveness the more people are aware of it. There may come a time I have to use it for everyone's safety. "
"I don't know what you mean but you've already provided us the reason for your absence," Jura says with a sigh, lowering his own head with shame. "I just wish I had gotten back faster."
"There's nothing anyone could have done more," Robyn says with sigh, feeling his own guilt come up. "No one anticipated a Dragon appearing."
"I heard," Doranbolt says, looking up at Wendy with a relieved smile. "I thank the gods you're okay."
"It was alright, I made it in time myself," Wendy admitted with a blushing grin, though it vanished as she pondered. "Though I don't know where it took Max to."
"I don't think it's so mysterious," Robyn says, all eyes turning to him. He shrugs, raising a hand to cup his own chin. "This is just a hunch, but the way she smelled when I was close didn't feel right. Like a rich aroma of spices and perfumes. Not something a Dragon would have. It's almost like she's the Queen, or Goddess, everyone's talking about."
Everyone balked, eyes bugging out.
"The Queen-"
"-is a Dragon?!" Yuka started, with Wendy and the others finishing.
"That was one of the things I came to talk about, actually," Doranbolt says wearily, returning their attention to him.
"I overheard the Queen's declaration that she is not happy how this happened. It also seems like her being a Dragon is less of a secret to the Royal staff than it is to the wider public. They assume any sign of a Dragon is their god acting in accord to her whims. No one has seen her true form or knows she's not a god at all."
"So, Max is alright?" Wendy asks.
"Yes, he's fine," Doranbolt assures her, though kept a serious expression. "But, I overheard some of the robed aides that work for the one that got the drop on me, the one called Yashin. They were watching you especially, because they fear you."
"Why?" She asks.
"Because Ja'far intends to launch a coup de'tat," He said, grimacing at himself. "I don't know when, but when I overheard you being watched I had to stop it so I could relay this information."
"We appreciate the risk you took," Charle says with a comforting pat of her paw on his shoulder. "You should stay here for now. We're about to find out where the person who helped smuggle in the Night Eyes is headed."
"I should come with you," Doranbolt said.
"But-"
"I'm fine, really," Doranbolt assures Wendy and Charle, steadily rising back to his feet while taking the mask off his face to show no sign of exhaustion on his face. "I simply overdid it that's all."
"I'm just glad you're fine," said Wendy. "Though I do wish I'd known you were safe."
"We didn't have time to tell you," said Robyn genuinely apologetically. "By the time you'd caught back up to us, the Dragon attack had already happened, and then the idol got kidnapped. I'm sorry, okay?"
"I'm not upset," replied Wendy, smiling kindly. "I'm too glad to see he's fine. Now before we go anywhere..." Taking the sphere, Wendy applied pressure and it cracked open with the sound of rushing air. Deeply, Wendy inhaled and was stunned. The spell had created perhaps the most concentrated scent she'd ever sampled. Wendy assumed she might have had a similar experience when she'd first become a Slayer, but she had been too young back then, and didn't remember anything clearly.
Everything flooded her mind at once, and she tried to parse through them, searching for something familiar, something she could trace. Sweat. Blood. Leather. Dragon. An acrid smell. A human smell. One she recognised, several she didn't. Wendy's mind narrowed in on the scent she was thought she knew. It was recognisable as the old man, and it was mixed in with that burnt Lacrima smell. Searing it onto her brain, she opened her eyes, smiling broadly.
"I have a lead. With a scent like this, we'll find our target in no time."
Jura grinned toothily, clapping Wendy gently on the shoulder. "You've done well, Wendy. Now we shall formulate our plan of attack!"
"I'm going too..."
Everyone turned to see Lyon sitting up, his expression dark and rigid. "Tell me everything you've found out. Beyond rescuing Alexandria, that girl with the red hair. Her eyes were asking for help."
A/N:
Demod20: I think this chapter has some of the best turnarounds for the heroes. Not only did we find out another cool skill Wendy has in her bag, but Doranbolt reunited with the gang to let them know that for the moment, they're no longer being tracked. So now is the time for them to hunt down the Night Eyes and perhaps see if they can stop Ja'far's plans for Monarchy takeover. Always been a blast to write for the Queen and Max as well, even if it's short I feel like it speaks true to their characters and I don't see why such an intense situation wouldn't spur on such powerful emotions; even in a Dragon.
LastationLover5000: The plot is finally picking up! Setting up Desierto was fun, but now we're finally getting into the nitty gritty! I always love making up new spells for Fairy Tail - especially Enchantment, as Hiro seems to let that do whatever the hell he feels like that - so coming up with unique, interesting ways to do it is fun. Also, coming up with incantations, which Hiro just doesn't use enough despite this being a MAGIC SERIES, is also fun. I am loving being able to include Lyon like this, a cute side romance until we can get to the main romance subplot way later down the line. I'm looking forward to where we're going from here, because it's about to get hectic.