Chapter Two
I stood there for a moment, blinking stupidly at the four people and two exceeds sitting across the conference table from my boss.
"Lucy!" Jason exclaimed, snapping me out of my brain fog. "Can you believe it! Sting Eucliffe, Master of Sabertooth, came by for an interview with me. Sooooo cooooll!"
Sting was sitting, lounging, really, with his feet kicked up on the table, chair leaned back, hands behind his head and cocky smile adorning his lips. Rogue was sitting next to him on the right, flanked by Yukino, and Minerva was sitting to his left.
"Why?"
"Because it's sooo coooolll!"
Sting just smirked again at Jason's enthusiasm, it was Rogue who actually answered.
"Actually, Lucy, we came to find you. We just agreed to answer a few questions for Jason while we awaited your arrival." He spoke politely and evenly, a black fringe covering half his face, one dark eye twinkling at me.
"Oh….why?" I said again.
The four of them exchanged uneasy glances for a moment and looked back at me, but no one cared to explain why four of the strongest mages from Fairy Tail's rival guild would come all the way to Crocus looking for me. Can Fairy Tail have a rival guild if it doesn't exist?
Minerva cleared her throat and pointedly nudged Sting.
"Huh-oh! Right," Sting pulled his feet off the table and leaned forward in his chair. "Jason, you think we can borrow Lucy for a minute?" He said seriously.
"Oh yeah! Anything for the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth!" Jason stood up and brushed past me. The door closed with a sharp click. "Sooo cooolll!" We could hear him exclaim from the hall before he rushed off to his office, notepad in hand scribbling furiously.
"It's so good to see you again, Lucy," Yukino said, standing up and breaking the awkward silence. I turned my attention to her. The beautiful, white haired Celestial mage stood there for a moment, like she was unsure of the greeting she would get. I immediately broke into a smile and rushed over to her, pulling her into a warm embrace.
"It's so good to see you too!" I exclaimed, squeezing her tightly before releasing her. I meant it too. Yukino and I haven't really known each other for long, we met at the Grand Magic Games last year, just a few months before Fairy Tail disbanded. But I'd probably been in closer contact with her than any other mage since then. We exchanged letters and lacrima calls so often, knew each other so well by now that I considered her family. Our shared love of all things celestial made her feel like the sister I never had.
"Not that I'm not happy to see you," I started, taking a seat across from Rogue. "But, what are you doing here and why didn't you tell me you were coming?" I pouted. Yukino covered her giggle.
"I do apologize for the surprise, but what I had to tell you was too time sensitive to send in a letter, and too personal to convey over a communication lacrima," she leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice. "It could be intercepted with telepathy magic."
My eyes widened as she spoke. I leaned back in my chair and let out a deep breath, studying her face. I quickly glanced over at her companions. Rogue was sitting there calmly, his hands folded on the table in front of him. The shadow dragon slayer looked collected, but interested. Sting, the white dragon slayer perked up at the seriousness of Yukino's tone. My eyes moved slowly to the woman on Sting's left. Her hands were folded primly in her lap, her eyes downcast.
"Uhh, Yukino," I leaned towards her, dropping my voice a few octaves. "Is this about….you know?" I tried to keep the hope out of my voice, but if what Yukino had to tell me was that private and that urgent that she had to travel all the way to Crocus to convey it in person, there's only one thing it could be about.
"Yes, Lucy," she looked me dead in the eye, I could feel the excitement rolling off her. "I have a lead on Aquarius' key."
I was staring at Yukino and Lucy closely, the two stellar mages were leaning into each other, voices lowered, speaking intently. I could see the shock on the blonde's face at Yukino's words, that she had found a lead on the water spirit. Lucy just sat there, stunned silent. After a few seconds she blinked rapidly, clearly trying to think of something to say. I watched as her hand moved to her throat, her fingers trailing down her chest, clutching something under her shirt. She reached down her collar—and since when did the blonde bombshell wear shirts with a neckline cut that high—and pulled out a chain, hanging from the bottom were two pieces of what looked like a broken, golden key.
She licked her lips and tucked some hair behind her ear. I could tell she was nervous. I didn't know Lucy that well, she was just the hottie that hung around my flamed brain rival, but even I could tell she was nervous. It was like she didn't want to believe it and I knew why, Yukino had told us all about it. I knew from all the time I spent with Yukino how precious the bond between a Celestial Wizard and their spirits were, so I could only imagine how hard it must have been for Lucy to sacrifice hers. That was why, when Yukino got the news about the key she insisted on coming to Crocus to deliver the news to Lucy in person. Not only that, but she vowed to help her spirit sister find her lost spirit, by any means necessary.
Naturally Rogue and I couldn't let Yukino go on such a dangerous quest with just the two of them, especially not after she told us where she thought the key was. We were adamant that we would escort her to Crocus and help her and Lucy recover the key. Yukino only accepted after she made us promise we would leave if Lucy didn't want us there. Yukino was sensitive to the history between our guild and Fairy Tail, let's just say we didn't get off to the best start. And despite the fact that Rogue and I assisted the Fairies in their fight against Tartaros, she wasn't sure if we'd be exactly welcome to tag along.
I wasn't worried. I knew Rogue and I had earned enough good will after that battle to gain at least some of her trust…our fourth companion though, I wasn't so sure about. I glanced over at milad—Minerva. Still wondering why she insisted on coming along. I'd tried to convince her to stay at the guild, I needed to leave someone in charge that could be trusted and that knew what they were doing. Who knew how long we'd be gone, I couldn't leave the guild unattended for some unknown amount of time, and Minerva, being the daughter of our former guild master, was better at the paperwork required to run a guild than even I was. I shuddered thinking about how much might stack up with Rufus and Ogra in charge.
But she wouldn't shut up about it. For hours. I couldn't avoid her. She followed me to my office, the guild bar, the market, my bedroom. Finally, at 3 in the morning while I was trying to get some sleep before I had to catch a ride on the torture chamber called a train in three hours, with her sitting in a chair next to my bed bitching and moaning about how I'd need her, she'd be useful I finally snapped.
"Fine!" I screamed. "You can fucking come, just get the fuck out of my room," I practically begged.
"Thank you, Master Sting!" She squealed as she rushed to my bedroom door, no doubt on her way to pack, if she hadn't already. Pshh master. She only called me that when it suited her purposes.
"Minerva," I called out, stopping her before she could close my door behind her.
"Yes?" I eyed her, she stood in the doorway, outlined by the lights from the hallway.
"You can come," I said quietly, I wanted to make sure she was paying attention. "But if Lucy isn't comfortable with you there, you go home and tend to the guild. No arguments."
Her shadow stilled for a second before I saw her tilt her head in thought. She was probably shocked I used my Guild Master voice on her. "I understand," she whispered before leaving, closing the door softly behind her.
She'd been quiet all through the walk to the train station and I think the entire train ride too. I couldn't really be sure, the motion sickness made me even less observant than usual. But the whole walk to Sorcerer's Weekly, the interview with that douche Jason, she hadn't said a word. She didn't seem like herself and I had no idea what she was thinking. I shook my head at her then I turned my attention back to the other girls.
"B-b-but…how? Where?" Blondie seemed stunned. Her voice was barely a whisper, and she didn't seem like the kind of girl to be quiet.
"Well," Yukino hesitated, glancing around the office. "Lucy….Are you sure it's safe to talk here?"
Lucy scoffed, "What do you mean?! Of course it is! This is a newsroom!" Yukino just raised her eyebrows at the idea of being able to have a private conversation in the middle of the headquarters of one of the biggest gossip rags in Fiore.
"Alright, alright," Lucy gave in. "I see your point." She looked around the office, fingering the key ring hanging from her belt with one hand and tapping her chin in thought with the other. I noticed the pink Fairy Tail mark was still printed on the back of her right hand. Looked like she had some trouble letting go, guess I couldn't blame her for that. She pushed her chair back and grabbed one of the keys.
"Open, gate of the maiden! Virgo."
There was a brief flash of white light which made me remember how hungry I was before a cute little pink haired woman materialized, dressed in a sexy maid outfit. "Is it time for punishment, Princess?" She bowed. I blinked at that. Man, and I thought Libra was hot. Lucy ignored her comment. "Virgo, you remember Yukino? And this is Rogue, Sting and…Minerva," I noticed the slight hesitation when she introduced Mila—Minerva, and I definitely did not miss the way Minerva's cheeks pinked ever so slightly.
"It's always a pleasure to meet some of my princess's friends." The sexy little spirit bowed again, I couldn't help it, I smirked at her. Lucy just rolled her eyes.
"Rrright, can you please take them back to the apartment, get them some food if they're hungry and wait until I get back? I'll head home soon."
"Anything for you, Princess," she opened the door and bowed to us.
"Right this way, if you please." The spirit stood there holding the door while we all filed out. I brushed past the spirit mage as I walked out. Huh, I never noticed how good she smelled.
When the little maid led us into the apartment I couldn't help but be impressed. It was spacious, clean and tastefully decorated. She had a small dining room with a table for four, a large living area with a comfy looking sofa and matching armchair, a wooden coffee table in a deep brown and the entire room was lined with bookshelves. I could see a desk off in the corner with papers strewn about and a variety of writing utensils. I caught a small peek at her bedroom before Virgo slid the partition closed. All I could see was the edge of a bed, draped with a pure white comforter and a wall covered in paper and red string. Huh, weird, maybe she was working on a big story.
"Please make yourselves at home," Virgo said, gesturing to the living room. "I'll have lunch prepared momentarily." She scooted off to the kitchen.
"Well," I sighed. "Don't mind if I do." I plopped down on the sofa and kicked my feet up on the table.
"Tch," Minerva tisked at me. "Don't be such a jerk, Sting," she said as she shoved my legs off the table. So much for Master Sting.
"Oh come on, she said make myself at home." I whined.
Rogue and Minerva just shook their heads at me. I swear, I get no respect.
"Lunch is ready!" Virgo called out. She was standing in front of the dining room table which was now so completely overloaded with dozens of different kinds of food I thought I could hear it groaning, but that might just be my stomach…or maybe Minerva's. We all excitedly crowded around the table to help ourselves to the delicious food while we waited for Lucy to get her shapely ass home already.
A/N: Stick with me guys, we're just laying the ground work. Expect a few more exposition chapters while our characters get to connect with each other :). Any reviews would be greatly appreciated! It helps feed my muse :)