Chapter 26
Fairy Tail Guild
"I'm telling you they're quite the beauties." Said Macao as he looked at Naestra and Arahan as they examined some arrows in their quivers. "I may not like Arahan, but you can't deny that she and her sister are hotties."
"Oh yeah." Agreed Wakaba as he looked at the slim figure of Naestra. Far slimmer than any woman that he had ever met before in his life, but that just enhanced her beauty to his eyes. Granted, they always knew they were beautiful, even with their hoods on, but today was an exceptional day as the twins wore more form-fitting armor than usual. "It's too bad neither of them is looking for a guy right now. They would be quite the wives for any guy, huh?"
"Yeah, Naestra is perfect wife material." Said Macao with a smile. "Too bad Arahan is quite the bitch. Bet she's going to live a virgin for the rest of her life."
"Unless she goes to a brothel that is." Said Wakaba, causing both of them to laugh out loud. Unfortunately for them, Arahan had heard their entire conversation. Clenching her hands, she was about to go and teach those two a lesson when Naestra placed a hand on one of her fists.
"Ignore them, sister." Said Naestra, knowing what her sister wanted to do. She also heard what both Wakaba and Macao said about them. Though she found it annoying that they would say such things to them, she tolerated the talk as she knew that both she and her sister were quite appealing to human men. And quite a few women if her conversations with Mirajane were to be believed. "They're not worth it," Arahan growled at that but relented to her sister's request. With that situation diffused, Naestra wondered about the fight between Erza and Natsu that would occur soon.
After Erigor and the dark masked assailants from before were brought before the proper authorities as well as Lullaby being placed into the custody of the Magic Council, the Fairy Tail group head backed towards Magnolia for a well-deserved rest. Unfortunately, on the way back, Natsu managed to fully recover from Erigor's paralysis potion and went on to complain about the fact that he never managed to fight the guy and get payback for what he did to him. Even during the train ride back home, he complained, despite his motion sickness.
Erza, having quite enough of this, offered to fight Natsu when they get back to Magnolia as compensation for his inability to fight Erigor. That cheered up Natsu a bit as he always was excited to fight someone strong like Erza. And that shut him up for the rest of the trip unless they were on a vehicle, which he would groan and complain about the situation.
If memory served her right, the fight will happen soon outside the Guild Hall. And when it did, Naestra had to be there along with Arahan to make sure neither combatant would go overboard in this friendly spar between guildmates. Though she was confident that Erza wouldn't destroy much as Natsu would in a fight, she would still keep an eye out on both of them, just in case. Sometimes people tend to overcommit to the defeat of their opponent in the heat of battle that they don't realize the consequences of their actions until it's too late, something that she can personally attest to happening whenever she fought with her sister. Many times.
As she waited for the inevitable fight between Erza and Natsu to occur, she heard someone speak up directly to her left.
"Um, miss Naestra?" Said Lucy as Naestra turned to face her. The blond teen was looking at Naestra with a bit of hesitation on her face. Seeing this, Naestra asked Lucy what's wrong. "Well…I wanted to talk about the situation with Eisenwald."
"The killing my sister and I committed?" Asked Naestra, knowing full well that was what Lucy wanted to talk about. Upon seeing her nod, Naestra looked over to her sister and asked her to go on without her if the fight between Natsu and Erza occurred while she was speaking with Lucy. Arahan scoffed at that but nodded her head at that before leaving to find Erza. Grateful to her sister, she beckoned Lucy to sit next to her, which she did without hesitation. Once she did, Naestra spoke again.
"No doubt that you've grown up with the thought that killing of any kind is a sinful act, yes?" Said Naestra as she looked at Lucy with her classic unreadable expression. It left Lucy a bit nervous at seeing it, but she nonetheless nodded to Naestra's question, worried about how she would respond to it. "That is something that I wish all would share, but alas, such things can never become a reality." Lucy grew confused at that.
"What do you mean?" Asked Lucy looking at Naestra's face, now noticing just how slim and sharp her features were. Rather than making her unappealing, those features enhanced her beauty, making Lucy a bit jealous.
"I've been alive for too long to know that there will always be someone that will threaten your people and your home." Said Naestra, recalling all the times that she had to protect her old home of Athel Loren from the ravenous Beastmen, servants of the Chaos Gods, and a rival to the Wood Elves as they always seek the destruction of their forest. "I know that some of those individuals have fallen so deep into the darkness that the only way to make them stop hurting or killing others is to kill them first. You may not have faced such individual firsthand, Lucy, and I would be ever grateful that you never will, but I have. Far too many for my liking." She then recalled facing the undead as well from the necromancer Heinrich Kemmler, who always sought to destroy Athel Loren as well for his own nefarious purposes. Then there were those Bretonnians that dared to try to destroy Athel Loren in one of their damn crusades. So many people tried to destroy her home. And then there were some poor fools from the Empire that tried to harvest from their forest as well, earning the wrath of both the Wood Elves and the forest spirits of Athel Loren. So many that refused to listen to reason. Many she regretted, mostly from the Empire and Bretonnia, but she pitied the Beastmen and the undead of Kemmler as well. One for being servants of the Dark Gods and the other for having their corpses being resurrected against their will by a necromancer.
Some of her people would call her soft and naïve for having pity, but Naestra didn't see it that way. It was not soft for feeling pity for her opponents. It was soft and a weakness if she allowed that pity to influence her on what needed to be done to ensure her people's survival. Even if she pities her enemies and expressed sorrow for their deaths, she'll still cut down any foe that dared to face her in battle. She hated to kill, but she won't shy away from it when it was clear that sparing a foe will lead to darker consequences for her and her people, especially servants of the Chaos Gods.
But going back to Lucy, Naestra placed a hand on the blond teen's shoulder and spoke up again.
"I regret killing, Lucy." Said Naestra as Lucy looked at her. "I truly do. And if there is a chance that a conflict can be achieved without bloodshed, I will take it and convince my sister to take it as well. But, when conflict is inevitable when blood needs to be spilled in order to spare my allies from harm and death, I will, regrettably, do whatever I can to ensure my allies live, even if it means the death of others." Though Lucy was glad that Naestra regretted killing, she still didn't like it all.
"I know you regret it all." Said Lucy as she wrung her hands together. "But it's still wrong to kill. Like, what if the people you killed had family or friends that needed them? Are you willing to deprive them of their loved ones in exchange for sparing your family and friends harm that they can easily recover from? That doesn't really sound good, saying it out loud."
"You're right and I'm proud that you see it that way." Said Naestra with a smile, confusing Lucy a bit. "Lucy, I know that my sister and I have a mixed reputation amongst the people of Fiore. We're either loved for our efficiency and lack of collateral damage or disliked for our willingness to kill with some in-between. And I think that's a good thing."
"Really?" Asked Lucy, so confused. "How is that a good thing?" Naestra couldn't help but smile at that innocent question from Lucy.
"That's what life is about, Lucy." Said Naestra. "It's full of groups of people. Groups that tend to have differing views when it comes to certain matters, like killing. Some see it as a grim necessity of life. Others see it as an abhorrent thing that should be avoided at all costs. Naturally, these groups will disagree on these matters along with others. Sometimes it will lead to violent feuds. Other times it will lead to just simple disagreements between them. And that is just a facet of life, Lucy. Not everything is as clear-cut as some make it out to be. There are many uncertainties when it comes to life and it's up to us on how to deal with them. Do we try to change the other group's views and outlook on life, so they are better in accordance with what we deem appropriate? Do we exterminate them because of those views and outlooks? Or do we simply accept that they have differing views over ours and try to live in peace with them? I believe the first and last options are the most acceptable while the second I disagree with. And I believe that you have the same views." Lucy nodded in agreement at that, so enraptured with Naestra that she didn't hear the yelling that was coming from some people that the fight with Erza and Natsu was starting soon.
"So, what your saying is that I should try to live with the fact you kill or try to convince you and Arahan to stop killing?" Asked Lucy, a bit confused.
"Although you shouldn't do something to gain my approval, either option is acceptable to me." Said Naestra. "Although it may be impossible to convince me and Arahan to not kill, much to my regret. However, I welcome you to try because it's your choice to try to do so." She then began stroking Lucy's hair. "You are a brilliant and bright child, Lucy. One that has a strong set of morals and views that makes me proud of you. Even if we disagree on certain things, I'm still proud of you and know that you will become a great wizard as time passes." That caused Lucy to smile, happy that Naestra was so approving of her. It reminded her so much of her own mother, Layla Heartfilia. They may look so different from each other, both in looks and personality, but the warmth of her voice and the calmness in Naestra's eyes reminded so much of her mother. To the point that it made her cry a bit. This was noticed by Naestra and she gently wiped those tears from Lucy's face.
"I take it I remind you of someone." Said Naestra with a small smile as she wiped the tears from Lucy's face. "Someone you lost?" Lucy nodded at that before speaking up.
"My mom." Said Lucy as Naestra. "I miss her so much. I lost her when I was just a little girl and I miss her terribly. Ever since she was gone, I've never felt comfortable at home with my dad. He was always so distant ever since mom died." Naestra, upon hearing that, looked at Lucy in pity. The story reminded her of Diederick and how he would have originally been abandoned and neglected had he not been taken by her and Arahan, dooming him forever to be the Everchosen of Chaos.
"I see." Said Naestra as she gently stroked Lucy's hair as she told her all this. "And you left the moment that you were old enough, yes?"
"Yeah." Said Lucy as she felt Naestra's gentle hands stroke her hair. "I couldn't stay home any longer so I left everything I knew and loved in order to make a living for myself. And to get away from my father."
"I see." Said Naestra. "Well, if that is what you seek, then I believe you found it here in Fairy Tail. The guild, despite its faults, is indeed what people make it out to be in terms of its positive traits. A place where people can find comradery and family within its ranks. Even if they fought amongst each other, these people in the guild will always be there when one of their members needs assistance, be it on a job or just being there when they're at their lowest. Although I would remark that certain members are not nearly as friendly as others are." Lucy still smiled at that.
"Still." Said Lucy, thinking that Naestra was referring to her sister and not Makarov's grandson, who she was actually referring to. "The people here are more than what I got from back home when mom died and I wouldn't trade this life for anything, even if someone like Natsu makes me want to tear my hair out a bit with their destructive nature." Naestra gave a small bark of laughter at that, agreeing with Lucy a bit. No matter how many times she and Arahan scolded or beat him up in the latter's case, he still went on to destroy something while they weren't around or looking. "Plus, with you here, I feel like what I used to have with my mother. Love." Naestra smiled softly at that and took Lucy into her arms, something that Lucy gave into.
"You have no idea how many times I've been told that by others in the guild." Said Naestra. "I don't want to replace anyone's mother unless it's clear their mothers were horrible people, but if it brings comfort to them, then I will do so if I must. Even if I dislike it." Lucy smiled at that before placing her left ear on Naestra's bosom, hearing the heartbeat of Naestra's heart.
"Believe me, you're not replacing my mother." Said Lucy with a smile. "But I think she would be fine with me getting a surrogate mother figure if that woman can teach her daughter some good life lessons along with making her feel like she belongs in her dream guild." That caused Naestra to smile.
"I think I can manage that." Said Naestra while stroking Lucy's back. Just as she was about to speak to Lucy again, they immediately heard Natsu yelling out. Yet it was lower-pitched than usual.
"Naestra!" Yelled Natsu, catching Naestra's and Lucy's attention. "We got a big problem! The Magic Council came and arrested both your sister and Erza!" Upon hearing that, Lucy got out of Naestra's arms and looked at Natsu in shock. That shock increased further that they saw Elfman carrying a pink lizard that was spewing out fire and had Natsu's clothes on.
"What!?" Yelled Lucy as everyone else came into the guildhall, most bearing looks of concern, even Gray. "What happened? Why is that lizard sounding like Natsu!?"
"Because that lizard is Natsu." Explained Gray. "An envoy from the Magic Council came and arrested Arahan and Erza for what happened with the Eisenwald guild. Natsu protested at it and got turned into a lizard for his troubles. Before any of us could do anything, Erza and Arahan let themselves be taken into custody and are probably awaiting trial right now with the Magic Council." Upon hearing that, Lucy gasped out in shock at all this while Naestra was skeptical at it all.
It couldn't be about Eisenwald. They gave a full report on their actions as well as their own. They couldn't arrest them because of that. It must just be a shame trial for the public. To assure them that the Magic Council was capable of dealing with threats from rogue wizards or when a legal guild goes off the rails, like Fairy Tail. She can attest to all that. She personally experienced that with Arahan a few times once it became known to the Magic Council that they killed their foes.
"We got to do something! Who knows what the Magic Council is planning on doing to them!?" Yelled Natsu as he spewed out literal fire from his mouth. Although some people nodded in agreement at that, including Lucy, Naestra was still calm.
"Did the messenger present a warrant for their arrest along with the reason for it?" Asked Naestra, causing Natsu to stop and look at her in surprise.
"What do you mean?" Asked Natsu, confused at the question. The confusion from his voice made her sigh.
"The Magic Council can't legally arrest someone without presenting a warrant for their arrest, Natsu." Explained Naestra as everyone looked at her. "Since they didn't, then it means the arrest is simply one of the Magic Council's mock arrests. They did it before with Arahan before."
"What really?" Asked Lucy, having never heard about this before.
"Yeah, this is the first time I've ever heard about this." Said Gray as he butted into the conversation.
"Yes, they did it with my sister and me when we were just starting out in Fairy Tail." Explained Naestra. "When they heard about our killings during our employment in Fairy Tail, they put us up in a mock trial to showcase to people the consequences of breaking the law. I don't see the effectiveness of it beyond a simple show of nonexistent power, but they did it nonetheless. Arahan nearly had us arrested for real when she resisted and later on when she tried to attack one of the Magic Council members when they revealed to us the whole thing was a mere shame meant to uphold order. What Erza and my sister is experiencing right now is most likely something similar, everyone. There's no reason to get worried about all this, I assure you." Upon hearing that, everyone began to relax and go about their business. If Naestra was certain that there was nothing to worry about, then there was nothing to worry about. Everyone except for Natsu.
"But what if it isn't a mock trial?" Yelled Natsu as he glared at Naestra, not believing she was so calm about all this. "What if they're arresting them for real?"
"If they are arresting them for real, I fail to see what." Said Naestra while Elfman was putting Natsu down on the table in front of Naestra. "It can't be anything recent. The Eisenwald incident cannot be the reason because Makarov and I gave them a full report on everything relating to Eisenwald, including Lullaby. So, it can't be that nor do I see how Erza did anything that would cause her to get arrested by the Magic Council. Even my sister hasn't done anything warranting an arrest as unbelieving as that is." Natsu was about to argue when he heard the voice of Makarov.
"Let it go Natsu." Said Makarov as he walked up to Naestra and Arahan. Jumping on the table, he continued. "She speaks the truth, Natsu. The Magic Council does this from time to time with various guilds whenever something really big happens. To show the people of Fiore that they can handle situations like the conflict with Eisenwald. Besides, if you think about it, you kids didn't do much damage to both the train station and Clover town because Naestra and Arahan were there. So, the Magic Council really can't punish any of you hard. At the very worst, they'll get a slap on the wrist for doing an unauthorized mission against Eisenwald and that'll be it."
"But old man." Protested Natsu, but Makarov held his hand.
"Trust us, Natsu." Said Makarov. "If things are indeed as bad as you think they are, I'll fight tooth and nail with the council over it." Natsu still looked unhappy with that, but nonetheless backed down. Once he did, Naestra sighed and looked at Lucy.
"You think that your sister and Erza are fine?" Asked Lucy, turning to Naestra. The elven maiden nodded at that before thinking of how things are with Erza and Arahan. She also prayed that her sister won't cause any trouble with the Magic Council over this. Especially that blue-haired one.
Meanwhile
"I cannot believe this." Said Arahan as she glared at the amphibian creature that was escorting them, causing the frog to gulp. "What's the purpose of these mock trials? They do nothing of importance and are as useful as a bow without its string."
"Arahan, it's just something that the council does to remind everyone of their power." Said Erza as they walked. "It's just a formality to warn people against breaking the rules, nothing more. And as much as it's annoying, it's something we have to do as members of a legal guild. No matter how tedious the process actually is." Arahan scoffed at that but otherwise kept quiet.
Back in Athel Loren, she would have never been subjected to such mock trials before. Any trials that the Wood Elves had, which they did although they were quite rare, were all real and the punishments were quite severe to those that were brought before the elven courts. Usually, it was a Wood Elf that brought about harm to the forest or threatened the future of the Asrai. Punishments tended to range from exile to outright execution. The Wood Elves rarely, if ever, have jails for criminals like the Asur or even the Druchii. They preferred just exiling people from Athel Loren or killing them in a wide variety of ways. Much more efficient that way. Mock trials like what the Magic Council was doing were a waste of time in Arahan's eyes. And to her annoyance, she started to remember Athel Loren and the simple life she had back there. Where she had no son and could do whatever she wanted. Where she could find thrills everywhere she went in Athel Loren over the calmness and boredom she felt in the forest she currently lived with Diederick and her sister. She missed it all and she was getting annoyed with it. She was about to try to fund a way to remove her thoughts of Athel Loren when she spotted someone coming up to them and she growled.
"This bastard is here?" Thought Arahan as she spotted Siegrain, a member of the Magic Council and someone that looked so much like Jellal Fernandes, the boy that hurt her former apprentice during her childhood.
Looking like a grown-up version of Jellal, Siegrain looked exactly like Jellal if the boy had grown up. Though Arahan was skeptical of the near-identical resemblance of Jellal and Siegrain, Erza was absolutely positive that Jellal would look exactly like Siegrain when he grew up. In fact, the near-identical resemblance caused her to try to attack him on account of what Jellal did to her so long ago. It was only when Siegrain explained that Jellal was his twin and that he was disgusted with his actions did Erza stop. When Arahan was informed of these events, she immediately disliked the councilor, which only increased when she first met him face to face.
She didn't dislike him just because of his resemblance to Jellal, not though that's a reason, but rather because she felt that something was off with him. Despite his clear support of Fairy Tail, something that is shared with only a handful of other members in the Magic Council, Arahan felt that he was hiding something from everyone. Something dark and mysterious. She can sense it along with Naestra. It wasn't any relating to the Dark Gods, thank Isha, but she was certain that he was planning something evil and she would like nothing more than to kill him before he could set in motion his dark plans. Unfortunately, in this world, she needed proof about his dark deeds and plans before she could do anything. She can technically kill him, but the consequences for that without evidence on the guild and her family will be severe. A weakness that she despised and liked at the same time. So, she was left glaring at the man as he made his way towards the two.
"So sorry for dragging you two into a mock trial, especially one where the Magic Council is only present as thought projections." Said Siegrain with a smile. "Unfortunately, due to the actions of Eisenwald, the other Magic Council members believe that they need to do this sort of thing so people can be assured that we're capable of dealing with threats like Eisenwald." Arahan narrowed her eyes at that, disgusted with the ineffectiveness of the Magic Council. They were entirely incompetent in dealing with threats. She had seen the Rune Knights in action and she was completely astounded at how useless they were. Not only were they limited in their training in magic, but their tactics were a joke as well. She was pretty confident that, if any were present, a single Chaos Warrior can deal with a full platoon of Rune Knights with ease. And things get worse from there in the form of Chaos Chosen and Knights, even more, elite version of the already dangerous Chaos Warriors.
If her people were responsible for responding to the aftermath of Eisenwald, they would be conducting investigations and eliminating any members of Eisenwald that haven't surrendered by the time of the group's failure. They would also send agents to discern and figure out who helped supply Eisenwald with Lullaby. Back during their report of the Eisenwald's activities to the Magic Council, Naestra informed the Rune Knights of the Dreadwaters and how they believed that they supplies Eisenwald with Lullaby. Though the Rune Knights were skeptical about the Dreadwaters, they were forced to accept it when Makarov supported her assertions along with a few other Guild Masters that he was friends with. But so far, she heard them doing nothing and it infuriated her, even more now when she heard Siegrain talk.
"If they were competent, they would be doing things of worth. Not wasting time with mock trials." Said Arahan snidely, causing Siegrain to smile a bit.
"What can I say? Most of those old coots don't know what to deal with anything that can disturb the peace." Said Siegrain before giving a smirk at both Erza and Arahan. "But you would both know about that, right? After all," Siegrain then went over to Erza and spoke to her ear. "You and I both know there are things out there that will make the Magic Council soil themselves in fright at their existence, right Erza?" Erza narrowed her eyes at Siegrain, but said nothing. Arahan, meanwhile, glared and demanded that he leave Erza alone so that they can get this over with.
"Of course." Said Siegrain as he backed off. "The trial shouldn't be more than a couple of hours. After that, you two are free to go." With that, he waved the she-toad to take the women away, which she did earnestly. Once they're all out of his sight, Siegrain hummed to himself.
Arahan may prove to be a problem for his plans as her sister, but he can handle them. They were magicless beings that he can dispose of with ease. He, of course, acknowledged their ability to fight and even kill mages with reasonable ease and he applauded them for it, but they faced nothing like him before. The foes they faced before in their lives were nothing compared to him and he'll quite enjoy the look of their faces when he obliterated them with a simple flick of his wrist. Chuckling to himself, he began making his way to the courtroom so that the trial can be over quickly. He had things to do to ensure that his plan will not fail.