Good thing the internet is back - just in time :D
just3because3, thanks for reviewing again! I've decided against spoilers, but I'll try to pace the story to come to a revelation as soon as it allows. As for the 'big' question, I'm glad you asked because I was wondering whether it would be understood the way I had intended it :D And she probably was going to say that, merely judging by the amount of fan-serviced 'ideals' the Manga/Anime is giving us (for young main characters and most others).
Goku275, thank you so much for such an enthusiastic review! Keepin' it up - coming right up ;)
Hope you enjoy!
The huge double gates of the Magic Council opened to welcome them before they could even knock. And they were gladly welcomed – Fiore was quite some degrees colder than Caelum. Jellal sniffled as if to emphasise just that, leading the way up the winding stairs with Erza's hand in his.
Having waited out the worst of his fever, then rested during their three-days boat trip back, Jellal had recovered to merely needing a handful of tissues per hour, a nap, and sometimes a headache remedy. Erza struggled yet burned for the challenge of tending to him while keeping enough distance as not to catch his cold. In other words, no kissing, and no housewife-ing when it came to tidying up his piles of tissues.
The two were not cautious, though harked rather than chatted as they made their way down the hallways towards his office. They should have been greeted by now. Jura had specifically asked for Erza to come, too, yet not said why. Jellal could guess.
Turning the last corner, both spooked when something flashed towards them. Jellal's muscles twitched to move in front of his wife, when he realised what the dash was: a child. Sprinting towards them, almost as if the apocalypse was on his heels, the young boy saw them almost too late. Almost.
In a conscious decision, he threw himself against Erza. Stunned, she stared down. As if on instinct, her arms wrapped around him.
"It's alright, don't be afraid," she said, not knowing what he was afraid of in the first place. They were sure that whatever had scared him could be defeated by their hands. Still, what could have sent the child running within the walls of the Magic Council? And why was there a child about anyway?
Jellal tensed when there were so many steps nearing, they rumbled all the way beneath his own feet.
"There he is!"
"Don't let him leave the building!" A guard yelled, his amphibian and human colleagues rushing after him. The boy gripped Erza's skirt, trying to hide by pressing his face into her, whimpering the closer the hoard came. She crouched down, taking her time as if there was no one there besides her in the world.
"Don't worry, no one is going to harm you," she let him cling to her jumper, putting her arms around him for comfort. He could not be older than ten, perhaps not even seven years old. Jellal slid in front of them when not only the cluster of agitated employees, but the Council itself arrived in a hasting mess.
"What's going on?" Jellal asked, just as composed as his wife.
"Just what do you think you're doing?!" Or maybe not.
Every grown man, woman and frog flinched, even Draculos averting his eyes for the split of a second.
"Whatever it is you're doing won't justify chasing this poor child as if he's the victim of a manhunt!" Erza reprimanded in a fierce bark. Picking up the boy who had been taking cover beneath her skirt, she balanced him on her hip as far as possible, one of his legs dangling where her belly was in the way.
He clutched her turtleneck just like before, but when she addressed him directly – ignoring the others completely – her voice mellow and soothing, he detached his face from her chest.
"Are you alright?" She asked him, and he nodded slowly. "How about we get you something to eat or drink?"
"Okay," the boy muttered, sniffling once as she wiped the panicked tears from beneath his eyes. The Council's jaws dropped.
"I'm sure we can find you some chocolate," she declared, "away from all of these loud, obtrusive geezers," she nodded decidedly. Small hands fisted the fabric near Erza's collar, round eyes gazing at her.
"What's obtrusive?" The boy asked in a meek voice, having it explained where the two of them disappeared in Jellal's office as if it was her own.
Silence stretched across the hall. Slowly, minds caught on to what had just happened, heads turning to Jellal. He had hardly comprehended himself yet, when Draculos collected himself first. At least to the extent of clearing his throat.
Jellal returned a shrug to the quizzically bewildered looks they slowly directed at him.
"Hormones?" He offered sheepishly. One of the frogs made an awkwardly flabbergasted noise.
More throats cleared at that, and the researcher having broken the previous tension was the first to disappear again, embarrassedly edging away, and the others followed the example quickly. Awaiting further orders, the guards scurried to the walls, then left with relief once Wolfheim waved at them to be dismissed.
"I'll say," the tiny man puffed. He referred to Jellal's comment. It dawned on him how unbelievable it must have looked, Erza as if suddenly eight months pregnant within mere three weeks and Jellal completely unchanged thanks to her cutting his hair.
"Someone's been busy during his holiday," Warrod laughed, effectively making everyone uncomfortable. Draculos wore a hint of a smirk however, while Jura coughed to overplay the embarrassment – Jellal at the peak of it.
"We have been experiencing a fairly troublesome case, and that child is the only witness," Draculos finally disclosed. "He has not yet said a single word – we were beginning to wonder if he could speak at all,"
"How about we take this to the office," Jura extended a hand, steering the five of them down the hall, "and now, before-" he broke off into what Jellal unmistakeably heard to be a poorly suppressed groan. Two more figures had rounded the corner up ahead, one of them looking just as annoyed as his superior while the second conducted himself in a striding, over-confident manner.
"Ah, there you are – what a lively ensemble, scrambling after a kid like a hoard of frightened chicken. Love it," the man grinned as if he had not just insulted the Council to their faces. Perhaps he truly believed them to buy his sneer as a joke. "I see a new face," he crossed over towards Jellal with steps too big to recoil in time, "and a funny one at that – had a bit of a rebellious phase as a teenager?" He bluntly stared at the red markings. A hand came down on Jellal's shoulder, making him bite down a growl. "Let's leave the important stuff to the important people, eh, champ?" He slapped Jellal's arm once, turning briskly. Writing him off completely.
Ambrose, apparently having been tasked with sticking to the obnoxious man since everyone else had run off, exchanged one flash of a fleeting glance for hardly the split of a second with Jellal. He understood without having to ask a single question.
"Where's the little snotnose now?" The stranger in a trench coat began trekking down the hall again.
"He's in Master Fernandes' office – but I wouldn't go there now!" Jura nearly yelled. The man frowned mistrustingly. "There's a… beast in there that will bite off your head in an instant – we've called for a professional," he hectically explained. Jellal rose a brow in his back. He could feel the apology leaking off his superior in the form of nervous sweat.
"Oh, you've more than one dog," the man laughed, a snidely twinkle in his eye as he glanced at Jellal who had followed the others obediently, then Ambrose who was still on his heels as he had clandestinely been told. This time, Jellal let out a growl. "And an ill-behaved one at that. My, my…" the man clicked his tongue, "then I'll head back to the conference room – perhaps one of you good pooches will want to bring me the paper at lunch," he guffawed loudly, strutting down the hall, obviously expecting to be followed.
Jura let out a sharp breath. He halted both Jellal and Ambrose when Draculos exchanged a glance with him, having to hurry to actually lead the way the stranger had already chosen.
"Please bring Erza to my office after lunch," Jura said, not having forgotten his request to speak to them both. He went after the others, leaving the two scribes to themselves.
Ambrose was the first to react, releasing a groan so loud Jellal wondered how his annoyance was even greater than the urge not to strain his scratchy throat. But the old man did not cough once – he fumed.
"I think I'd better take care of those snacks she promised," Jellal reminded, receiving a nod.
When he later entered his office, Erza had settled on the couch, the boy at her side. The second he caught sight of Jellal, he hastened to squish between her and the backrest, where not even a fruit juice or sandwich of the Council's chef would lure him out.
"I'll have someone posted outside," Jellal rose to his feet after having left the tray on the coffee table. They were back to mission mode – in tandem as usual, either accepting their parts to play.
"It's fine," Erza gently said, "I'm rather confident I can handle a couple of guards," her eyes had a teasing spark, reminding of the previous outburst that had made everyone freeze over solid.
"Sorry," Jellal apologised for leaving her with what she had not come for. Not that she had not willingly signed up for it just now. She hummed negative, then gladly when he kissed the crown of her head. "I'll be down the hall and come back as soon as I can," he excused. Having his hand squeezed reassuringly, he went to instruct the researcher outside his door to send for him should anyone – that arrogant man in particular – so much as eye his office from afar.
"So," Jellal let out a breath as he shut the door to his co-worker's office, "what a pleasant new addition to the team," he let himself sink into the chair opposite the desk. Ambrose huffed, though he seemed to have calmed himself enough to play along.
"Lovely," he said. "That hubris incarnate has been a thorn in my flesh this entire time,"
"How long has he been here for?"
"He arrived this morning," Ambrose disclosed. Jellal had to stifle a chuckle. Glancing at the documents he was being offered, he realised not to be able to read much without his glasses anyway. "But I see you've resolved your little issue," Ambrose gazed over the rim of his halfmoon spectacles, and for an instant, Jellal thought his colleague was truly a master at mindreading, already knowing about the struggle and eventual resolve of needing glasses to be able to read.
Lowering his gaze, Jellal smiled to himself. He realised what was meant. They might not have seen the couple enter hand in hand, but it must have been evident how at peace they now were.
"Well, those three weeks were not for nothing – we've been talking a lot,"
"I mean you – your issue with yourself," Ambrose returned a warm smile. "It suits you," he remarked, leaving Jellal at a loss. "And the child suited her, too," he hinted, something Jellal had felt his chest tighten with the moment she had picked up the boy. It suited her damn well, he thought to himself, still feeling the remains of his awe between his ribs.
And if this old man – having known her for hours, him for merely days; a handful of weeks in total at the most – was able to see that Jellal fit into the role of a father, then Jellal could believe he would manage. They had each other after all.
"On that note, you have quite the timing for leaving at inconvenient times – and the cases get worse with every holiday," Ambrose chanced a grin. His mood was visibly brightening now that he was not stuck with that insolent man anymore, though Jellal could not shake the feeling it had something to do with him being back. Ambrose had missed their joint work.
"Perhaps it was just the right timing for a vacation then," Jellal returned the tease. Gladness shimmered through the mischievous ice-blue eyes.
"I believe it was. Considering your achievements closely following your arrival in Caelum, I cannot say I'm unimpressed," Ambrose twinkled knowingly. Of course, the Council knew – if not for their calls, then the Magic Council's branch of Caelum must have sent them letter after letter. It must have been what Jura wanted to talk about, and it seemed as if Ambrose was aware, too.
"Oh, you know," Jellal pretended a nonchalant poise, "basic honeymoon traditions," he said. "I didn't think you'd be having more trouble than us, but I've been proven wrong – if anything, that man is a threat to our mental health," he returned to the topic at hand. "Not to mention might have eaten that child in bite-sized nibbles had we let him,"
"That inspector," Ambrose drew quotation marks into the air, "as he calls himself, claims to know most anything about whatever subject you ask him about – trust me, you can name just about anything you like and he will have a reply even sillier than the last, just waiting to kill off your final interested braincells," he let out a sharp breath through his nose.
"He's the culprit?" Jellal pronounced their previous exchange.
"Most definitely," Ambrose consented. "At the very least involved in the whole thing – a kidnapping, by the way; the boy's family just vanished on the night their house was broken into. Still, since the child won't talk, that imbecile is the only one giving us any leads – all of them ridiculous, I might add, and each of them contradicting the previous in one way or another," he got up, pacing. "And the superior we could have contacted to require proof of the bloke being a legitimate inspector 'recently passed away'," his quotation marks were becoming more aggressive.
Jellal had put the sheets down he had been given, crossing his arms in thought.
"The Council does not seem all too convinced about the man being a fake, so I haven't voiced my concerns yet – I was waiting for your approval," Ambrose retold, seeming more than glad about Jellal having caught on immediately. "However, even if they do believe us, without evidence- oh, this is yours," he suddenly picked up a large paper bag from the corner.
Jellal got up, frowning at the contents.
"The local shopkeeper down the street thinks I live on oatmeal and raisins now," Ambrose explained, then pointed at the window. "I had to step it up a notch, seeing as your friend here took a leaf out of your book," he watched as Jellal gaped out the window. There, he found not one, but two pigeons animatedly pecking up the grains. He could not help but smile.
Strolling over, Jellal opened the window. It spooked both of the birds, yet one of them landed again in the same motion of having flapped away. When it continued to eat peacefully, the second one neared cautiously, waiting further away on the windowsill. A speckled, differently looking one – not a messenger pigeon, but a feral pigeon.
"Then I suppose the plan is to set up a trap," Jellal proposed, leaning against the window.
"Or get something out of the child – he hasn't said a single word to any of us, not even the policemen who found him in the empty house,"
"Empty?"
"Robbed," Ambrose reminded. "Material value as well as the family," he shook his head with a saddened expression. "That boy must have witnessed something, but until just now, no one has been able to get him to speak up. That's why we were all stunned speechless just then; don't think we didn't try offering chocolate, too," he laughed.
"I'm guessing there were men involved," Jellal pondered aloud, "or else he wouldn't be so scared of all of us," he concluded. Ambrose scratched his chin.
"You might be on to something," he nodded slowly. Jellal sniffled when his running nose would give him no rest. Ambrose had already caught on, pulling out a thing so Ambrose, it made Jellal smile: a white, laced handkerchief with stitched-on initials. Jellal only used it once Ambrose ensured to have another one. Holding it out, Jellal read the letters M.C. where he would have expected another A.C.
Having gotten rid of the itch of his nose, Jellal closed the window.
"Let's review," he said as he sat back down in the other chair – relieving the pigeon's partner to return – eyes trained on the opened file on the desk; on the photograph of that clean-shaven, raven-haired man he had already come to despise. He had to be unmasked, just as much as they needed to solve the family's disappearance.
They were now fighting a two-front war.