The time for departure finally arrived. People all across the capital would gather around the streets to send off Fairy Tail, the number one guild in Fiore. It wasn't just them though since other guilds were also receiving send offs by their fans.
"And to think that about a week ago, they were all booing at us." Lucy smiled at the sight.
Next to her, Karissa chuckled softly while adjusting her book bag that hung on her shoulder. Normally, she would have dropped the rest of her stuff on Erza's giant moving pile but they were able to use a postal service to have most of their things shipped back to Magnolia instead of lugging it around. The perks of winning the annual games was being able to spend freely. "The reality is that people are quick to be swept away with the opinion of the masses. Think of it as sheep and shepherd."
"Think of Phantom Lord." Gray chimed in from Karissa's other side.
"Ah, right." Lucy sighed.
"Well, at least this outcome is a good one." Wendy clapped her hands together with an optimistic smile. She knew about the Phantom Lord incident by Mirajane when she innocently inquired about Juvia's infatuation with Gray.
"A damn good one!" Natsu grinned with his fangs, hands behind his head.
"Aye sir!" Happy shouted with a similar grin.
Erza smiled silently as her friends behind her kept chatting about this wonderful outcome. Even if some people merely saw this as an old fan favourite becoming number one again, they would never truly understand the conviction in that guild's heart that wanted to be number one again to simply thank those who were left behind and waiting for them to return. That was the heart of it.
And it was fine if people didn't thoroughly understand this.
As Karissa and Lucy talked with each other, Gray couldn't help but notice a man squeezing himself through the surrounding crowd from the corner of his eye. He was quick to recognize him. It was that young man that was interviewing Karissa before the ball. He was able to approach them with a beaming smile. From that alone he could feel his energy that matched a certain reporter.
Quite the contrast from his meek self.
"Gray Fullbuster!" Canus exclaimed with a notebook in hand, eyes shining with excitement. "Hello! I'm a big fan! Can you please answer some questions before you guys leave?"
Karissa looked to the side when she recognized the voice. "Oh, hey Canus." She greeted him.
The brown haired reporter's eyes widened. "You know my name…? How did you know…? I didn't think you'd know my name since I'm basically a nobody to you! Did Jason tell you my name? Wow! But hey, I'm not complaining!"
… Huh?
Did this guy forget her face or something?
"Ah, well…" Karissa could tell he was presenting the same kind of energy as Jason. It was kind of an early morning so she wanted to avoid these reporters until she got home.. "I can excuse myself since you already interviewed me, right?" She joked.
Canus paused, blinking. "I arrived just last night. Are you sure you didn't mistake me for another reporter?"
Gray and Karissa fell silent.
What?
…
…
…
The exchange with Canus left the two ice mages feeling all sorts of confused with a sprinkle of suspicion. Of course, they shared this with their team as soon as they got in the carriage. Since they were tight on schedule to catch the train after traveling with the carriage, they were able to avoid Canus without issue.
"So, who the hell was that?" Gray grumbled as he leaned back against the seat. He was seated next to the back doors of the carriage after Erza and Karissa climbed in first. Opposite to them was Lucy, Wendy, Carla, Happy, and of course, Natsu across from Gray.
Lucy frowned deeply with furrowed brows. "You don't think the first Canus was Raven Tail…?"
Erza had a thoughtful hand under her chin. "Fairy Tail did have enemies before… so perhaps with our popularity sky rocketing it roused some of them." She looked at her friends seriously. "We'll have to remain vigilant for a while."
It was bad to have their mood dampened like this but they couldn't eliminate that possibility after Raven Tail, an old enemy, wasted no time in trying to attack them before.
Karissa scratched her neck and sighed through her carriage started moving. "... He didn't seem like a bad person at first. Instead, he was very… interested in things that wouldn't be necessary for recon."
"He inquired about Gray." Sitting on Wendy's lap, Carla pointed this out while Wendy wrapped her arms around her. She was narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "If he was an enemy, you basically let him know that Gray was your weak point. He might use him against you."
"My weak point…" Karissa echoed. Yeah… maybe that was a mistake.
Gray scoffed and crossed his arms. "They're welcome to try but the only thing they'll get is a swift punch to the face. If they try doing it the other way then they can expect something worse because I don't appreciate people using the people I care about to try and pull stupid shit with me."
"And we appreciate that part of you." Lucy teased while Gray only hummed in response before scowling and nudging Karissa's legs to the side so that he could scoot closer to her and move himself out of Natsu's trajectory. "Damn it, already? Man, if you're going to puke, do it outside! Keep us out of it! Look, go run!" He pushed the door open and pointed outside as Natsu lurched forward with a weak sound.
"Urk…" Natsu swayed.
Karissa and Gray mirrored each other by putting their feet up on the seat and just stared at the pink haired mage.
"Ah, geez…" Karissa grimaced.
Lucy laughed at their positions, finding it amusing while ignoring Natsu. "It's not like this wasn't expected."
"No," Gray continued scowling. "What was expected is that this guy is always sitting in front of me and ready to puke!"
And just like that the topic of Canus was brushed off, they decided to move onto more positive talks regarding everything that happened in Crocus. Lucy was very eager to know how things were going to go with Clavis after remembering how he made a beeline for Karissa the moment he saw her this morning.
Honestly, with that smile of his she could almost see a tail wagging.
Karissa smiled and plucked out a folded piece of paper from her pocket. "He wants to keep in touch easily so he gave me his address. I guess we'll be sending letters through the regular postal service."
"I think there's a rather precious sincerity in exchanging written letters rather than the ones with lacrima recordings on them." Erza smiled eying the light green paper in between her fingers.
"Stop! Stop the wagon!"
Karissa jumped when Gray suddenly shouted next to her. He was leaning towards the back, his gaze was stuck on something outside and he couldn't look away. She stared at his head, pondering his sudden shout.
"What for?!" The driver shouted back, confused.
"Gray?" Lucy spoke his name when his body just heaved out a sigh. He shook his head and simply brushed it off, simply stating that he thought he was some wild animal.
"We are getting farther from the capital so I wouldn't be surprised." Carla piped up while leaning back against Wendy.
"I'm just going to sit out here and make sure it's not actually someone following us." Gray grumbled before grabbing the edge of the carriage to carefully seat himself on the outside seat. Karissa watched the curtain flap behind him before it hid him completely.
"Gray-san must be on edge after the encounter with Canus…" Wendy mumbled before looking at Karissa who was putting away her green paper.
"It would make sense to be careful." Erza sighed. "After all that's happened."
"Especially after they approached Karissa." Lucy remarked. That was just asking for it.
"I definitely don't want something like last time happening either…" Happy mumbled. Even though he and Natsu weren't there to see the immediate aftermath of Raven Tail approaching Karissa and Van. He didn't want to see it, period.
"I don't either." Karissa sighed before getting up and making her way to join Gray on the other side. "I'll keep an eye out too." She waved her hand dismissively before her as she swiftly disappeared behind the curtains.
With a hand holding the side to steady her standing body on the moving carriage, she noticed how Gray was sitting with one leg dangling down on the edge and his other positioned underneath it to give his knee enough height for his head to drop in his hand as he rested his elbow on it. His palm only hid away one eye.
It didn't mask the other that cried nor his mouth that revealed frustrated gritted teeth.
Immediately, she reached back to connect the curtains together with the magnet hidden within the fabric, sealing away the scene from others.
At first, Karissa wanted to turn back and leave him alone. She wanted to give him privacy… She wanted to be considerate.
But wasn't he always there for her whenever he noticed she was upset like this? Didn't he come running after her when he thought she was crying when she actually wasn't? Didn't he catch up to her and declare he couldn't leave her be when she was crying?
They needed to be there for each other, no?
Without another thought, she carefully sat next to him and let her legs dangle on the edge and stared at the small rocks they were leaving behind from their trail.
"What's wrong?"
Gray expelled a sigh and shook his head, sniffling. "I just," he started whispering. "I saw Ultear. And it's the same thing again. They both did something for me and ended up sacrificing something."
Ultear?
Karissa started looking around for the woman. Where was the woman that made Gray frantically ask the driver to stop all of a sudden? Where was the woman that sacrificed something? What did she sacrifice?
Knowing that she was trying to figure out what he meant with his vague explanation, he briefly revealed her ability to manipulate non living objects.
Ultear became an old woman.
Her time was changed.
Time was tampered with.
Time…
"How could you tell?"
"It's the damn smile… they both had the same smile," he sighed shakily and gripped his open shirt. "And I just know."
Both mother and daughter gave him the same haunting smile that wished him nothing but the best on his path forward. The same smile that was satisfied with the outcome if it meant safeguarding something important. He could never forget that smile that still appeared in his dreams.
"... You're not the only one who died that night." Karissa was worried if he was blaming himself for her current state. "You don't know if she did it for you specifically…"
"I know… I know. It's just…" Gray started. "It's just that both mother and daughter did something to save my life. And god, it's fucking me up right now."
For Ur, it was his safety.
For Ultear, it was the future.
Her heart ached at the rawness of his words.
She couldn't help but gently take his hand that still had his tears in it. She held it in hers, tightly. Her attention focused on the landscape in front of her and how the rays of light shone upon it when the clouds made way for the sun. "Time goes on. It doesn't let us recover." She echoed the words from that night. "I'll forever be grateful to her for saving you and Clavis. She also gave me back my arm. Nothing will ever make up for the future she gave us."
Let me feel remorseful too. Don't keep that secret to yourself.
Let me mourn my master's daughter too.
Karissa blinked when she felt him squeeze back.
"Yeah… I'm grateful to her. I could never express enough how grateful I am to be alive. But I know I can't stay like this." He used his free hand to wipe away his tears with the back of his hand. "They would want me to live and be happy."
Her heart trembled at the way he steeled his heart again. The man sitting next to her was strong. He was always so strong and was forcing himself to stand up again despite carrying the things that literally destroyed him from the inside. But he balanced the pain by carrying Ur's hopes for him and living with his loved ones in the future, giving him plenty of reason to smile.
Even though she knew loss, it would be different if the loss was because of her.
With her sleeve, she wiped away a tear he missed. He chuckled softly at this and released her hand to gently tousle her hair. "Don't give me that look. I'll be fine."
"And how exactly am I looking…?"
"Like you're going to cry for me."
"I won't." Karissa quickly denied. "Because I know you'll be fine."
"Yeah. 'Cause I got you and everyone else, don't I?"
We'll live happily and grateful to be alive.
…
…
…
"You know what…" Gray started as he stared at the illuminated land. "Wanna meet up at the station tomorrow morning?"
Karissa tipped her head curiously. "Tomorrow? You wanna go on a job right away?"
He shook his head and gave her a slight grin. "Let's just go somewhere, just the two of us like how you wanted. We'll head to Canean again since we had fun there last time."
"Canean?" She was still lost. "Wait, why?" When did she say she wanted to go there? Where was this coming from all of a sudden?
Gray deadpanned at her cluelessness. Wasn't she the one who insisted on having that one thing before anything else? Sure, she might have changed her mind but his was made up. After the whole dragon thing ended, he might have had a passing thought of going somewhere with her and just enjoy being with her..
"Canean is the town called the Beginnings and Ends, right?" He reminded her. Then he looked away for a second to scratch his head before looking at her again with a slight red hue dusting his face. "We've officially started our relationship, so wouldn't it be alright to start there?"
Karissa's eyes widened and she stiffened.
"Wait, what?"
Gray clicked his tongue and brought his face closer. "I'm asking you on a date, you dummy!"
"... Wait. What."
"Say that one more time."
"Sorry!" Karissa grew flustered and started waving her hands in front of her face to try and appease Gray. "I didn't expect that. I just thought– okay, let me shut up. Yeah, I wanna go…!" She half whispered and yelled to avoid letting her own voice overlap the ones talking about the Grand Magic Games behind them.
Gray sighed and grabbed her hand to interlace their fingers together. "Then it's settled. Tomorrow morning. Don't forget it."
Karissa couldn't help but blush a little when she looked forward to meeting him at the station. "I won't… don't worry."
With how firmly he held her hand, she didn't want to pull away from him, and with that came the desperate wish of not letting him find out how such a small gesture was making her nervous. It was the final blow to make her flustered and her heart dizzy after being asked out on a date for the first time in her life!
And she looked stupid during the whole time!
I sounded like a broken record, god.
…
…
Meanwhile, Gray was internally facepalming.
God, what kind of cheesy line did I just say?!
The next morning, Gray and Karissa were basically eloping.
Yesterday, when they arrived in Magnolia, they were welcomed into the town and were presented with their guildhall completely restored thanks to the entire town pitching in to help. Due to that, Pandora, Van, Cana, Mirajane and more people were asked to come in early to help restock the place and help restore more of what made the Fairy Tail guildhall.
Gray and Karissa were not one of them.
They grabbed breakfast from the local coffee shop near the station, bought their tickets, and hopped on the train for Canean without delay, all smiles.
They knew that they would soon be flooded with new jobs now that they were number one again. Change was coming with their victory. Before any of that, they just wanted to escape and enjoy a day together, free of reservations to simply do what they wanted.
Of course, they couldn't do everything in one day.
But having their first day as boyfriend and girlfriend was the most important thing before anything else.
More things to come would be reserved for the future where they would undoubtedly walk together.
…
…
…
As expected, the guild started receiving numerous jobs, even ones that specifically requested certain people to take on the job. The ones who took center stage during the games were the ones who received those requests. Karissa took on three solo ones before throwing in the towel and saying she was done running around Fiore, there were simply too many asking for her. It was almost unnerving.
Erza tried to make her go but she simply stuck out her tongue and shook her head.
And besides, she didn't have to do so much when the purpose of doing those jobs was to earn money. Sure, the Master would argue that it would be best to form connections in this current era but she'd counter that she was simply not the best person for that.
The only people she'd willingly go around Fiore solo for were the Landervilles. That's it.
Also, Gray was completely booked with jobs… with Natsu, much to his dismay. He had jobs sent in asking for his name alone which pleased him since he didn't have to worry about money at all. But the ones asking for him and Natsu fixed a permanent scowl until he returned home. He'd often grumble and whine about it to her whenever they'd sit together at the table. He asked himself numerous times why the hell were people asking for the two of him specifically? They never fought together during the games so why did those clients think they had great synergy? The answers were beyond him.
But with Gray gone with Natsu, the two weren't able to accompany the Sinclost family to the secret house that Clavis discovered with Lamia Scale.
After the Grand Magic Games, Karissa wasted no time in sending a correspondence to her twin brother's address which in turn allowed him to send her one once her address was revealed on the letter. A few exchanges later, Clavis asked her if she and their other siblings wanted to see the house he discovered with his guild.
The answer was an immediate yes.
Those who were readily available for the trip aside from her family were those who were free and willing to accompany them. Clavis also request certain people to accompany him from his own guild.
From Lamia Scale it was Clavis, Lyon and Yuka.
From Fairy Tail it was Karissa, Van, Pandora, Erza, Lucy, Levy and Gajeel.
It was Pandora's idea to bring along Gajeel. With Natsu, Wendy, and Laxus out on jobs, there was only one other person who was capable of sniffing around.
And Gajeel took offense to that before reluctantly agreeing once Erza 'politely' asked him.
Karissa asked for Levy since she was a smart girl. She figured her brains could be useful for whatever might be a puzzle in that house. As for Erza and Lucy, they simply wanted to come along as friends who were supportive and willing to help if needed.
Honestly, the ignorant members of the Sinclost family didn't know what to expect. They were aware of what would happen thanks to some oral retelling of the events. But nothing would ever prepare them to see Yuka use his magic to create fissures in the space in front of him with his Wave Magic.
Karissa's eyes widened when the cracks of light began spreading until the space shattered. She jumped when it broke and created a hole big enough for two people at a time to pass through. Beyond the entrance, she spotted a house that was in good shape which contradicted the fact that it had been abandoned.
"You broke it?" Van gaped and watched as Lyon began stepping inside first. Was there any consequence to that?
"It'll regenerate eventually. It makes no difference if I made a smaller hole." Yuka replied simply, lowering his hand and ceasing his magic. "I've seen it happen."
Clavis smiled and passed by his older brother while looking over his shoulder, walking to catch up with Lyon. "Yuka has tried his Wave Magic on this space several times so he knows what he's doing."
Seeing her twin go on ahead, Karissa started moving her feet, leaving her sister's side. Pandora was startled when her sister went ahead first. Before arriving, Pandora wanted to be the first one to enter out of caution for her younger siblings, but she was too caught up in the surprise and the suspense of what she would see beyond the threshold. She didn't quite know how to feel about seeing a house on the other side that was supposedly her childhood home as well.
The older sister gulped when she felt her throat was dry. How was she supposed to feel about the home that supposedly held proof of…?
"Pandora?"
The older sister jumped when Erza patted her shoulder. Behind her, Lucy and Levy were watching her with concern. She looked at the scarlet haired mage like a deer caught in the woods.
"Are you going in?"
"Uh, y-yeah. Of course."
Pandora steeled herself, clenching her fist, and held her head high before marching forward.
Van, who had been standing by her side and eying her from the side, silently followed after his sister with a frown. It wasn't often he saw his older sister so uneasy.
On the other side of the boundary, Karissa was looking at the grass while walking by her brother's side. The green looked well taken care of. There were little dandelions scattered across the grass.
Dandelions…
What did Loke say again…?
…
…
…
"What's wrong?" Leo gave her his attention, lightly cocking his head to the side.
"Here." Karissa pulled out a white pollen flower and held it out to him.
"It's for me?" Leo smiled a little and took the pollen flower from her hands. He found this child innocence adorable and refreshing after what happened. "But aren't dandelions much nicer flowers?"
She pointed at it. "I like this one."
With a smile, he ushered her to sit down in front of him. The little girl was obedient and just sat down and looked at him curiously as he plucked a dandelion flower from the grass and then curled the stem around her ear. He took another one and curled it around her other ear and then leaned away to look at his work.
"It looks weird." Karissa frowned and touched the flowers.
"You don't know that." Leo chuckled softly. "You look very pretty."
…
…
…
"Dandelions…"
Clavis hummed in confusion, looking over to his sister who was looking to the side where the dandelions were dotted on the grass.
"Ah. The dandelions. Yeah. The grass also has a clean cut. They've been here ever since we found this place, for seven years. Even during winter."
The moment Karissa stepped foot into the house…
It felt like stepping into a stranger's home. Nothing felt like home.
Despite the pictures hung up on the walls that displayed recognizable faces or the writing on the side of the wall that her name inscribed on it next to a small horizontal line…
Nor the baby clothes she found in a room with her name sowed into the fabric on the back…
She never felt more lost in her own home.
But at the same time, the doubts she had about whether or not her parents loved her were being dispelled… after all, wasn't proof of it here? In this home that clearly showed care and love for the ones that lived in it.
In this home that was frozen in time, forever capturing the feelings of parental love that she was unknowingly basking in.
Karissa leaned down and touched the surface of the small table fit for a child. Her fingers danced across the wood before gently touching the used coloring pencils.
This was supposed to be her room, wasn't it?
Clavis, who was watching her from the doorway, looked over his shoulder when he heard Lyon talking with Erza in the kitchen. He moved around to take a peek into the room. The scarlet mage was peering into the sink.
"It's wet. Was this sink recently used?"
Lyon shook his head. He walked around her to tap the corner of the counter that was next to the window. There was a small droplet of water sitting there. "We tested something a year ago. We left small droplets of water around the house. But as we expected, they never evaporated."
Erza had a thoughtful look on her face. "So, it seems time has really stopped here."
Pandora, who was standing in front of the hung up pictures, overheard Erza and Lyon speaking just as just plucked off a frame to hold it in her hands. There wasn't so much dust on the glass of the frame that covered the image of a little girl airborne as her two parents lifted her up by raising her up by holding her hands.
The photographer captured a moment where they were all having fun in front of the lens.
And the girl in the photo was her.
Her hands gripped the frame as she gritted her teeth. How could these be the same people who abandoned them several times and left their own children in the care of their oldest ones? The same ones that promised they would return only to leave them soaked in the rain?
Just… how?
Why did they abandon a piece of her… of them here?
How and why?
In the living room, Lucy was going through a small photo album. One of the first photographs she saw had two people in them. There was a boy with blonde hair looking rather embarrassed as a woman with long black hair and a wide smile ruffled his hair. It was easy to recognize them.
Lucy had spent time in the archives of the Fairy Tail, she had seen several pictures that depicted this young boy before.
As for the woman, her identity was clear as day with how her face was hung up on the wall near the living room and front door of the house.
Laxus and Domilia.
The Celestial mage turned the page and found a picture of Van. He looked so… meek. It was in his body language. He was standing in purple socks, brown shorts, and a lavender long sleeve shirt. He was smiling gently yet shyly as his left hand wrapped around his right thumb in front of his waist.
Lucy took her gaze away from the photo to stare at Van who was leaning back against the wall near the doorframe of the living room, fixated on the markings of the archive of old heights. His face remained neutral as he tore his gaze away from the lower lines to look up at the higher ones. With his hands in his pockets, he stepped closer to stand and compare his height to his father's. They were about the same.
Ah… that's good.
Van found comfort in that.
His index finger brushed against the letter 'Z' next to the tallest height.
Behind Lucy, Levy was going through the bookshelf in the living room while Gajeel was going around and picking up stuff to inspect them with a bored look.
The petite Solid Script mage's first instinct upon seeing a bookshelf was to see what it contained. Call it a bookworm's intuition. After all, the kind of books one person read could say so much about them without having to speak to them. An author's words, their stories could resonate with kindred souls, revealing a mutual interest in certain topics.
On one side, there were many books about romance. She definitely read a few of these books already as they were classics and a must read. Most of those books had epilogues that were lengthy but appreciated since it was about the main couple and their after story with a family they built together. Very romantic and domestic.
On the other was a mix of fantasy and murder mystery. Oh, and there were also some history books. Interesting…
As Levy's fingers passed by spines, she suddenly paused when there was an odd one out, a beige book. The spine didn't have any title written on it. The spine had a texture to it, a leathery surface. Her small finger reached the top and tilted it out of the shelf, revealing the cover that had a piece of paper stuck on the top where the title would be. It was a handmade title.
It wasn't a book.
It was a notebook.
"Eh…?" Levy blinked when she looked at the writing. Gajeel stopped snooping around to look back over his shoulder.
Lucy, who was getting up from her spot on the couch with the album in hand, heard Levy's small sound of confusion, prompting her to approach the smaller mage with curiosity. "Did you find something?"
Levy didn't answer as she started opening the book and going through the pages. Indeed, it was a notebook. Everything in there was handwritten beautifully in either purple, blue, or black ink. The entries were also dated.
Lucy peered down at the pages. She paused.
"Eh? It's written… in a different language? Is that Rogue?"
"No…" Levy answered softly yet confidently. "It's an old language."
As the two girls and Gajeel looked at the notebook, everyone in the house started gathering in the living room altogether after doing their separate investigations that failed to spark any familiarity. They were all hoping at least of the three siblings to remember something. But it wasn't working.
"What's that?" Pandora inquired after seeing Lucy's absolute confusion in the notebook. The blonde mage informed them all of the notebook they found. Karissa and Clavis took a seat on the couch while Lyon sat on the armrest next to her. Van and Yuka remained next to each other behind the couch while Erza followed after Pandora.
"It's the first time I'm seeing authentic writing in this language…" Levy said in awe before closing the notebook to stare at the title. Gajeel wrinkled his nose and pointed at the name of the notebook. "What's it say?"
Levy took a moment.
"... Tian Su'tidiya ifu Chi'muruuga'ti emudu tian Ai'barun'di."
Gajeel did a double take.
"HAH?! What kind of language is that?!" Sure, he was expecting to hear an exotic or maybe a rough sounding accent… but this was… she must have made it up on the spot…!
Levy looked at him seriously which made him recoil. She was the only one in this house and the only one in Fairy Tail that could ever hope to understand what this language was. She was a polyglot after all. "They call it one of, if not the only, old language of the Gods. It dates back to the time when people spoke of Gods. They call it Landihn. L-A-N-D-I-H-N. Landihn."
Her pronunciation of the name was very precise. It sounded like the 'D' was 'T' and that there was an 'I' in between the last two letters.
"Landihn?" Yuka echoed perfectly.
"Maybe they were familiar with the language?" Erza guessed.
"We have no idea. I read about Domilia and Zack before after we discovered this place." Lyon began, bringing the attention to them."I intended to try and extend our investigation regarding them since Clavis wanted to know as much as he could about his parents. But unfortunately, gossip magazines are of little help. I even accompanied Clavis once to ask the older members of your guild to see if they knew anything because," Lyon pointed his thumb at Clavis. "He was willing to travel across Ishgar to find anything useful about them."
Van whistled. "Determined boy."
Clavis chuckled in embarrassment while brushing his forefinger under his nose. But he was quick to drop his hand and smile regretfully. "Unfortunately, Macao and Wakaba didn't know where they came from. I once even asked Blue Pegasus but the only hint about their origins was that they must have come from the eastern side of Ishgar since Master Bob always remarked that they had oriental features. But, that's barely a clue at all."
Lyon could remember going through Sorcerer Weekly magazines that Sherry collected and found very little useful information about the two. In fact, it almost looked like they were reluctant to be in the spotlight despite creating a reputation for themselves. "They lacked written information but the country knew them far and wide for their strength as mages. It was almost as if they were myths that could only be told through oral history."
Domilia and Zack were not from Fiore.
They were not from Bosco.
They were not from Iceberg.
Their origins remained a mystery.
"Eastern…" Pandora wondered as she leaned back against the bookshelf. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at her feet with a thoughtful look. "Well, if it's true. Then we can cross out Seven, Caelum and Midi. But I don't know if," she pointed her chin at the notebook in Levy's hands. "Any of the other countries have knowledge of speaking or writing this old language."
"For all we know, they could have been monks on this… forgotten mountain that speaks ancient tongue. Which mountain? Your guess is as good as mine." Van said.
The peninsula was too vast. It would take forever.
Levy brushed her fingers across the handwritten title. "It's incredibly rare to find any books written Landihn, almost impossible even. That's how old it is. Pandora is right, there's no telling if the other countries possess any Landihn-written documents let alone speak it. I know about but I don't practice it much since I can't find any texts in Landhin."
Gajeel, who had been quiet after his outburst, was staring at the title of the notebook, still baffled by the gibberish that came out of Levy's mouth.
"... What does it translate to?"
"Huh?" Levy looked at Gajeel before looking back at the book. "It means… The Story of Moonlight and the Howler."
"... That's three times more letters in…La… Landing?"
"Well, at least you tried." Karissa snorted.
"Man, shut up." He spat.
"I have never heard my dad speak in ancient god language– or whatever you wanna call it." Van sighed, rolling his shoulders back as he felt a little tired from all the standing and walking he had done so far. "But… I'm starting to see that there are definitely… well–"
"Secrets." Pandora finished. "There are secrets hiding in this house. A secret that might explain why we don't remember any of this. Because, as much as I'd like to deny this house, there is too much proof of living in here. There's no way I could have forgotten all of this. I should be able to remember something, even something as small as how I ran up this hill and saw all these dandelions outside. I don't even recall this town that somehow knows me, us."
Karissa nodded in agreement. She leaned back against the backrest of the couch which prompted her oldest brother to rest his hands on her shoulders before raking back her bangs. "In my room… there's the same kind of colouring pencils that my parents used to buy. It might not be much but it means there was someone like me who used those colouring pencils that I liked so much as kid. And apparently, I've plucked pollen flowers instead of dandelions to give to a man in a suit…"
"We don't remember about this place. But we somehow know about Clavis. It's strange." Van added.
Erza looked at the gravity mage who was looking up at his older brother who was running his fingers through his little sister's hair. It didn't take long for him to notice her gaze and tip his head in curiosity.
"Your memories only remember Clavis from your time in Bosco." Erza remarked. "It's almost like a selective memory…chosen by whoever tampered with them. And the only suspects of causing this tampering would be Domilia and Zack."
Pandora eyed the book that Levy was holding.
For years, she had an unchanging opinion about her parents. They were deserters. They were two-faced. They were selfish. But Makarov admitting that he felt like they were running from something and how a stupid doctor robbed the mother of a child, leaving her heartbroken, made her wonder what her parents were truly hiding. What was their truth? They left Fiore and arrived in Bosco first before arriving in Iceberg… Why is that? What prompted the sudden immigration, and why did it happen twice? Were they immigrating or simply migrating? Did they plan to return to Fiore at all?
If they were foreigners to Fiore, why did they move there? Why were they moving around so much?
… Were they truly running from something?
Maybe it was optimistic to think that perhaps it was related to them always leaving her and Van behind to watch over Karissa.
But as an adult… she wanted to understand and learn before solidifying her crumbling opinion.
"Levy… I'm pretty sure that is a diary. Could you take it with you and translate it? I know it's a lot to ask since there's a lot of pages but…"
Levy smiled at Pandora, holding the book to her chest with a shake of her head. "I don't mind at all! If it'll be helpful in finding something about your parents and about yourself then I want to help! That's why I came here after all!"
Pandora smiled softly, grateful.
Karissa stepped into the backyard.
The first thing she saw was the unearthed coffin that Clavis spoke of. They had left it as it was. Her footsteps were almost soundless on the grass as she made her way to the coffin and peered inside. The doll mannequin was still there.
Her eyes narrowed at the doll as she imagined a mother weeping over an illusion.
Cruel.
She looked over her shoulder when she heard someone join her. It was Gajeel.
He was looking around to try and find something, anything that could help this mystery.
It was decided that they would make one final search around the area for any clue. Yuka and Levy were together inspecting the boundary in front of the house that hid away the space and the house. Lyon and Van were to the east while Erza and Lucy were to the west. Pandora remained inside to search her parents' room. That left Gajeel and Karissa with the backyard.
He joined her and looked at the coffin. He immediately scowled.
"That's some real fucked up cruelty." Gajeel commented. He may not be a parent but he was pretty sure that if someone presented Levy and Lily's corpses at his feet and found out they were alive… he was sure that culprit wouldn't live to see the next day.
"Tell me about it." Karissa sighed and walked past the coffin to approach the fence that limited the backyard and separated it from the forest behind the house. The fence was made of wooden and painted over with white.
She placed a hand on it and stared at the forest curiously.
"Think we should investigate the forest?"
"We might just find the boundary." Gajeel grumbled, having little faith with the current developments. They only found a book in a different language that they didn't even know if it would hold answers.
"I guess." But Karissa stilled lifted a leg to step over the fence. "I'm still curious though." She said flatly before lifting her other leg to stand on the other side. She faced Gajeel and placed her hands on the face.
"I–"
"HELP ME! PLEASE! SOMEBODY!"
She suddenly whirled around.
The sudden scream of a girl asking for help made the hair on the back of her neck stand. The scream for help was so desperate, filled with fear. The raw emotion in that voice immediately moved her feet.
There was no hesitation. It sounded like a child! What was a kid doing out there?!
"Oi! Where are you going?!"
"Where do you think?!"
The tall trees around her sped past her fast as he raced through the forest that barely had any light coming through the spaces of the leaves above her. She nearly tripped over rocks and sticks from how frantic she was to try and reach the voice. She wanted to help this person. She wanted to save them!
As she was sure she entered the deepest part of the forest, she stopped and looked around, desperate to find the girl.
"Hello?!" She yelled with her hands cupped around her mouth.
There was no response. She didn't hear anything but the sound of her own breathing. There was absolutely nothing here. It was just her and the echoing screaming in her mind that had reached the deepest part of her soul, etching the sound into her, making it unforgettable.
It didn't take long for Gajeel to catch up to her, absolutely bewildered with how she ran like crazy into the forest.
"The hell's wrong with… oi."
He put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her away from where she stood, his eyes glued to her shoes… or rather what she was standing on.
Karissa followed his gaze and froze when she spotted a splash of blood on the spot where she was standing. She noticed how there was a short trail as if someone had been dragged a short distance as they bled out.
"What the hell is this?" Karissa whispered. Why was this turning into a murder mystery?
Gajeel crouched down and touched the blood with his hand. It was completely dry. The blood was dry on the ground, crumbly with the earth. He brushed his index and middle finger against his thumb before sniffing it. He paused, blinking in surprise.
Karissa looked at him questioningly when he stared at her with narrowed his sharp red eyes. "What?"
"This smells like you."
…
…
…
"What?"
As much as I'd like to write about Gray and Karissa's little date, I rather not drag the story on with too much filler. Don't worry their date went smoothly! So here's a little sketch of them.
The language 'Rogue' (or Logue wtv) is a canon language in Fairy Tail that Levy mentioned when trying to undo Freed's runes during the Fantasia/Battle of Fairy Tail Arc.
The language of Landihn is actually inspired by Long Dau language from the Tales of Xillia game (which I discovered was from Melnics from Tales of Eternia). I will be using Melnics/Long Dau in this story (with a few tweaking) because I discovered that I was terrible at making up a language, so you're free to translate the words if you're curious because I MAY OR MAY not translate some sentences to keep the vibe of confusion and unknown intact. I just won't tell you where you could translate it lmao should be easy to find tho.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you have a nice day/night!