Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Chapter 14: Lucy's Anxiety & Insecurities! Minerva's Persuasive Encouragement! New Jobs & Missing Necklaces!
Minerva's POV
After I received that gold trophy from Zephri Town's fashion show and celebrated my accomplishment in the Seductive Witch guild, I had gone home to just lay down on my bed. I laid down while the newest issue of Sorcerer Magazine had been beside me, and bringing it into my bedroom to quietly read the magazine felt like something peaceful that I could add to this day of happiness. I felt that I could now have a happy night, and I softly giggled at how my romance with Lucy was also blossoming into a warm kind of love that was very beautiful.
Lucy displayed so much encouragement to me, along with having so much confidence when I had a lack of belief in my own strength and beauty. Beauty and strength seemed like they could be amplified by calmness and confidence, and I did remain very calm in that final performance of the fashion show. I also calmly let myself be admired in the Seductive Witch guild by Reira and the other girls, but I felt happy when Lucy brought me some new clothes. Even though Lucy did something so sweet for me, the fact that she softly smiled instead of being happy was something that I noticed.
Why did Lucy smile as if she had been very humbled? Did she secretly feel upset about losing Zephri Town's fashion contest, despite desiring for me to be the winner? Lucy would have no reason to be upset about getting third place, since her performance would probably be one of the three featured performances in one of the unpopular issues of Sorcerer Magazine. That would be a nice way for her to get some more fame, since the photos that she took with Aoikina would probably allow her to get some respect in the fashion industry.
I calmly sighed while picking up the magazine, and I opened it up to some of the last pages. One of these pages displayed Annette Rosia bending over to look at a treasure chest full of chocolates while the defeated and dirtied brown-haired girl who looked like Lucy sniffed Annette's huge ass, and the next page displayed Annette seductively shaking her huge ass in the woman's face. She even ate handfuls of chocolates, before the adjacent image featured Lucy's lookalike lovingly smiling as she was engulfed in clouds of chocolate brown perfume. This part of the ad even reached the next page, which featured Annette shoving large chocolates into the woman's mouth right before the woman sweetly kissed and rubbed Annette's large and thick ass in a pleading manner. That led to the image of Annette aggressively shoving the woman away with her huge and fat ass, but Lucy's lookalike had a pink blush on her face in the next image where she laid on the ground of the treasure room as Annette applied some melted brown chocolate to her lips to kiss this woman's cheek in a manner expressing dominance. Since Annette dominated their fight in this ad, that must have been like a kiss of death.
"Wow, a treasure-filled room where Lucy appears to be getting pitied and breathing in hot fumes. I can already guess who used their prominence in fashion to get in touch with Annette." I stated aloud with an irked facial expression, before turning the page.
Phoebe obviously told lies to Annette about how her team found all of the treasures in the Wind Temple, since one section of famous mages in this magazine featured Phoebe's team elegantly posing with treasure chests and cheering citizens around them when they came back to Zephri Town. They had their photos taken for them to get more fame, yet me and Lucy were somehow perceived as secondary mages on that mission for arriving back in Zephri at a later point in that day. Thinking about that mission caused me to sigh in a miffed manner, but at least Phoebe didn't humiliate me yesterday.
Although, Lucy left my celebration early as if she had been humiliated. She even walked past Phoebe while looking embarrassed, and Phoebe laughed as if she intentionally shamed Lucy. Why was Lucy being treated like a loser and a pariah in Annette's advertisements? Did this mainly stem from Lucy not backing down against Phoebe to the point where Phoebe saw Lucy as someone who got in her way of humiliating me? Phoebe was just so vindictive to the point where I narrowed my eyes in an annoyed manner, and I really hoped that she would leave us alone.
Phoebe had already gotten all that treasure, but convincing Annette to reference Lucy in humiliating and sexy photos seemed like Phoebe was trying to escalate this conflict. I also felt that my own distaste towards Annette was growing, since she viewed Lucy as a submissive and frightened woman, and I started softly smiling at the thought of punching Annette in the face. She obviously had her own biases against Lucy, due to the fact that they had encountered each other when Lucy was still mad about Annette's relationship with Erza, but I would have no trouble with putting Annette in her place.
"If Annette wants to start a fight with the weakest girl in Seductive Witch after their previous feud was settled, then I guess Annette will be surprised to see that some dominant mistresses don't like it when their cute girlfriends are humiliated." I stated aloud with an arrogant smirk appearing on my face while letting the magazine fall to the floor, before evilly giggling as my eyes became filled with determination.
This was the second time that Annette caused Lucy to experience humiliation, but I tolerated the first instance of it because of how they had been in private until I showed up to stop Lucy from acting like Annette's submissive little bitch. Lucy had been my bitch at that point in time, and Lucy honestly was still my subservient little teammate. She may have had her moments of trying to assert dominance, but it was my job to make Lucy be on her hands and knees. That certainly wasn't Annette's job, especially if she disliked Lucy.
As I started drifting off to sleep, one thought about Annette did enter my mind. Did she also want to humiliate Lucy for assisting Aoikina with that photo shoot, since Aoikina allowed Lucy to get some fame as the girl who felt safe in the arms of a blue-haired woman? Aoikina may have been more famous than Lucy, but Lucy was a nice girl who deserved her time to shine under the spotlights of fame. Even though I hadn't felt comfortable with Lucy being so physically close to someone as beautiful as Aoikina, Lucy still put in high amounts of effort to make all of those photos look great.
Even Aoikina probably shared my perspective on that, since she allowed Lucy to still be in the photos instead of replacing her with someone else. I had heard one of Seductive Witch's other dark witches mention that Lucy and Aoikina's photos were featured in this special issue of Sorcerer Magazine, but I didn't need to see them. Why would I need to see pictures of Lucy being cherished or seeming somewhat intimate with another woman? My paranoia would've greatly increased if the lookalike from Annette's photos had actually been Lucy, but the real Lucy was probably sleeping in this moment where I felt tiredness overcome me.
Meanwhile, in Lucy's apartment... (Lucy's POV)
I hadn't been able to sleep tonight, and I simply stared at my window's plain pink curtains while looking saddened. I felt upset that Annette officially humiliated me in Sorcerer Magazine, and I just felt that my reputation was going to perpetually be tarnished. The other girls in Seductive Witch would think more lowly of me if Phoebe ever told them that Annette was helping her get payback against me for not knowing my place in the dark guild, and I didn't want those other dark witches to see me get humiliated again.
Phoebe had technically agreed to not say anything, but she threatened me into not taking any jobs that would make her feel upstaged. If Phoebe felt that Minerva and I were outshining her, then how was that our problem? She could've waited a few days for the request board to contain new jobs pertaining to treasure, especially since any of those S-Class jobs would've made Phoebe's team get paid much more money than all of the cash that Minerva and I found in the Wind Temple. At least that temple looked better than the advertisements featuring Annette's brown temple of chocolate.
As I turned away from the window and grabbed the comforter, my nose caught a whiff of how it smelled like sweet chocolate. My cocoa brown eyes got to see that my comforter suddenly became cocoa brown, along with my bedroom's items becoming different shades of brown. My desk became mocha brown while the curtains became gingerbread brown, and the carpet suddenly became a walnut shade of brown. What was happening? I gasped in a startled manner as the aroma of sweet chocolate grew much stronger, and I soon heard someone's footsteps enter my room.
I timidly hid under the comforter, only to see it get torn to shreds, and my body perspired as my eyes were filled with nervousness. I gasped in a fearful manner from seeing Annette Rosia stand beside my bed, and her chocolate brown hair was tied back in a long ponytail as she wore an elegant-looking mocha brown midriff with some dark brown plaid pants. Annette stared down at me with an arrogant smirk on my face, before rudely giggling as I had a terrified look on my face. Why was Annette in my apartment?
Annette told me in a vicious manner, as her lips formed a sultry and evil smirk, "Lucy, I'll make sure that you die or suffer worse instances of humiliation if you ever try to confront me about those advertisements. I only displayed the truth about a dirty bitch like you."
"I am not a dirty bitch, and I will fight you in Bloom Town!" I responded in an offended manner, trying to sound confident.
Annette asked me with a stern frown on her face, as she locked eyes with me, "You seemed so confident before, but why are you pretending that you can beat me now? Do you really think I won't kick your ass again, you little dog?"
Annette continued speaking, as she started to smile in a rude manner, "When I kicked your ass in Sunnysol, you begged for mercy. Although, the fact that you don't have a dog collar just means that a part of you is still acting defiant. You're still a loser, Lucy, and the past few days have proven that. In fact, you need something better than a tiny trophy."
As I sat up in my bed and looked at Annette with fear in my eyes, she pulled out a cinnamon brown dog collar from the left pocket of her khaki pants. As one of my hands reached out to try and push against her waist, Annette placed the collar around my neck. This collar had sweet-smelling chocolates embedded into it as if they were jewelry, and I disliked the smell of chocolate to the point where I tried to forcibly pull the collar off of me. The collar didn't come off, causing me to look shocked while Annette giggled evilly.
That prompted me to get out of bed and try to punch Annette, only for an orange aura to heavily engulf her body as she glared at me. The aura became much larger as I widened my eyes in shock, and Annette took out a large bar of mocha brown chocolate from the right pocket of her pants. She pressed it against my collar, causing it to become mocha brown, and the moment where I gasped was when Annette shoved the chocolate into my mouth. I submissively chewed and swallowed all of the sweet chocolate, but seeing Annette pull out more bars of chocolate in different shades of brown caused me to feel worried.
She couldn't make me eat more chocolate if I wasn't in my bedroom, prompting me to try and run past her. However, I soon ran into a large slab of brunette brown chocolate that was shaped like my doorway. That caused me to fall backwards while Annette stood over me, and this moment was where I timidly stood up to see that she had a pitying smile on her face. Annette seemed to be resisting the urge to laugh at me, which caused me to think about swinging my fist at her, but my fist that impulsively moved to strike Annette ended up stopping at the last second.
Upon seeing my trembling fist as I groaned in frustration, Annette whispered in a calm manner, "You're afraid of me, Lucy. Whether you want to admit it or not, you've been wanting to get stronger because you're scared of me beating your ass again. If you fight me, then you'll lose and I'll publish your defeat in every magazine."
That caused me to reply with a saddened look on my face, as tears started welling up in my eyes, "Annette, please. Please... just... leave me alone."
As my purple bra and underwear became brunette brown in this moment, Annette gently put her hand on my cheek and softly whispered, "Beg for mercy, and beg like you're wanting to me the puppy who eats my sweetest chocolates."
That prompted me to get down on my hands and knees with tears streaming down my face, before clenching teeth and tearfully replying, "W-woof. Woof, woof. Mistress, treat me as sweetly as possible. W-woof."
Annette proceeded to pull out a chocolate brown doggy dish from one of her back pockets, before putting all of the chocolates from earlier into it, and she placed the doggy dish right in front of my face. I proceeded to obediently eat all of the chocolate from it, proving that I would be subservient to Annette, and my body shuddered as I consumed the sweet and bitter chocolate. Annette let me see her coffee brown high-heeled shoes while she took a step towards me, but she also rudely giggled from pulling out a dark brown mirror that had been in the left pocket of her pants.
The circular and small mirror displayed my reflection, but I soon looked horrified at how my hair was now as brown as the hair belonging to my lookalike in Annette's advertisements. Not only was I truly becoming that woman while I couldn't stop eating the chocolate until it was finished, but I looked up again to see that my eyes were becoming syrup brown. I began to smile in a relaxed manner, before sighing happily at the feeling of Annette gently stroking my hair, and I even saw Annette lean down to kiss my cheek as I got on my knees with my tongue out to beg for more chocolate. I even saw my face blush pink in the mirror, ignoring that some of my brown hairs fell to the ground like I had been a dog shedding her fur.
As my brown hairs fell to the carpet, Annette took off her own clothes to be in a lacy brunette brown bra with brunette brown panties that went well with her chocolate brown stockings. She sniffed the air as a large chocolate brown cloud of chocolate-scented perfume appeared behind her, and that perfume cloud was obscuring a large light brown treasure chest. Annette turned around while bending over to open the treasure chest while I fearfully stood up, and I slowly took steps towards her as she ate the chocolates that were inside it. As Annette's large ass was in my face during this moment where I blushed at the dark brown trim of her underwear, the moment where I nuzzled my head against her ass like a dog was the moment where paparazzi suddenly had their camera lights flashing outside of my window. Annette even sighed happily about that while lightly shoving me away, and she soon turned around as I got on my hands and knees. Annette gently put one hand underneath my chin while her other hand used some square-shaped chocolates as lipstick, and I blushed more as Annette proceeded to give me a kiss on the lips while I would submissively enjoy that kiss with my new mistress.
In reality... (Lucy's POV)
I woke up with an anxious look on my face, anxiety immensely being in my eyes as tears streamed down my face. My heart palpitated at a very fast rate while I sat up in the bed, and I tried to elicit a deep breath. I attempted to make my body be calmed down while I looked down at my bed's comforter, seeing that it was pink, and everything else in my bedroom was no longer in different hues of brown. There was no brown treasure chest, no brown doggy dishes, and Annette Rosia wasn't in my bedroom.
She may have been sleeping in her own bedroom with Erza right now, but Annette would be able to get more sleep while I felt like an insomniac. After being humiliated in her advertisements, how could I just fall asleep and think that tomorrow would be better? Annette was probably still miffed at me for trying to come between the love that she shared with Erza, and she had been able to make her fashionable team quickly create advertisements that made me seem so subservient to her. I had been submissive towards Annette in Sunnysol, but that was only because she proved to be a stronger and dominant woman.
I began to have a scared facial expression as my head pushed against the pink pillow, and I wondered if I was truly fearful of stronger women when I had been alone. In that dream, Minerva hadn't been by my side to prevent Annette from putting me in my place. At the fashion store, Minerva wasn't there when I acted mouthy towards Phoebe. My rude attitude towards Phoebe would probably push her to convince Annette that I needed to be put in my place again, but I wouldn't be surprised if Annette requested my presence for a photo shoot.
If Annette wanted to do a photo shoot where I purposely didn't look as fashionable as her, then I would just have to turn down that request. Fulfilling Annette's request of making myself look lesser than her would just harm my self-esteem, and I had been building up my own self-confidence. I didn't want my confident attitude to be destroyed by someone who was superior to me, but not showing up to fulfill any of Annette's demands would make me seem like a massive coward. Even if I tried to ignore her flyers in Seductive Witch, what would stop Annette from showing up there like when she showed up to Fairy Tail?
"Annette showing up to the guild and complaining would only lead to me getting excommunicated, right?" I asked aloud with a nervous look on my face, realizing that I couldn't just run from all my problems.
If I was kicked out of Seductive Witch, then I wouldn't be able to take jobs with Minerva anymore. Minerva may have had a lesser conflict with Annette, but I did look worried about how Minerva would tell me that I couldn't run from my problems for the rest of my life. Running away from Fairy Tail to get away from Erza and Annette wasn't exactly a surefire solution that guaranteed me any sense of peace, and now I would have to try to confront Annette. If I was able to make Annette see me as a brave person who wasn't such a coward, then she'd possibly respect me.
Annette probably still wouldn't respect me, however, and I would just have to avoid getting riled up if she referred to me as a disrespectful dog or a dirty bitch. Those insults did hurt my feelings, but getting angry and being impulsive wouldn't help me whatsoever. I would just need to be as mature as possible during that situation, but several thoughts started to run through my mind. Even if Annette would agree to stop referencing me in advertisements, what if she asked me to do something for her as a way of making the conditions be fair?
Would I agree to whatever she wanted, even if it meant eating disgusting treats such as chocolate? Although, what if she asked me about what I planned on doing for her? I hadn't even considered that particular question up until this moment, and I sighed in a saddened manner as I couldn't really think of an answer. Famous fashion models wouldn't want to receive money as gifts, and many accessories in high-end fashion stores could easily be bought by Annette. There was honestly nothing I could do for her, if it didn't involve humiliating myself.
"I really want to confront her, but I'm... I'm scared!" I stated to myself in a fearful manner, remembering when Annette built up a high amount of magical power.
As my body trembled, I heard Annette's voice tell me in a vicious tone with a sense of superiority, "You seemed so confident before, but you'll never be able to defeat me. You're a weak loser, sweetie."
The sound of her voice in my head and the thought of imagining her whispering in my ears that I was a weak loser caused my body to tremble in a worried manner, and I cried more tears as I started to have a terrified frown on my face. Even if I didn't view myself as a loser, did that really mean anything when elite mages such as Annette viewed me to be weaker than them? Would I be perceived as a loser for only getting third place in Zephri Town's fashion show, since that placement made me earn a tiny brown trophy?
The bronze trophy may have been sitting on my desk, but its hue of brown still just made me think of Annette. If she had been the judge of Zephri Town's fashion show instead of Corinne, then Annette would've probably awarded me with several bronze trophies to remind me that I wasn't a first-place winner like Minerva. On that note, I elicited a sigh of defeat as I thought about how I pushed Minerva to deal with her insecurities regarding the fashion show while I would be too frazzled if Annette had been one of the judges.
She would've had my fate in her hands again, similar to how she could've killed me with Earth Magic in Sunnysol when she wanted to illustrate our differences in magical power, and I let my hair obscure my eyes as I softly cried. Even if I wanted to be the submissive girlfriend who helped Minerva succeed, what could I do in situations when my own instances of humiliation occurred? I truly felt insecure as I thought about Annette, comparing myself to her while she seemed so confident with the strength to back up how she arrogantly acted like a winner, and Annette having my reputation in her hands made me feel like I was an inferior loser who would just have to let Annette step all over me.
The next day, in the Seductive Witch guild... (Minerva's POV)
When Lucy came back to the Seductive Witch guild, she frowned in a manner that expressed her feelings of humiliation. As I stood near the request board and watched her walk up to me, I took notice of Lucy's eyes. She glanced up at a cerise pink flyer on the request board while that job request pertained to treasure, and it even came with the reward of 900,000 jewels. However, Lucy sighed at that job in a disappointed manner as if she was forbidden from taking it. That job was also related to a place near Bloom Town, which was where Aroma Flair was located.
That indicated to me that Lucy was worried about Annette right now, since Phoebe's team had already gone out on a job, and Lucy wasn't wanting to meet up with Annette Rosia again. Even if the other dark witches would somehow catch on to the fact that Annette was referencing Lucy in her advertisements, did Lucy really think that hiding from Annette would prevent them from crossing paths for the rest of their lives? Their paths had crossed before for them to have interactions that weren't great, but Annette could be threatened into listening to whatever Lucy demanded.
After all, Lucy was going to get stronger and I didn't intend on letting her drag me down on any mission. We wouldn't take that job, but I had ambition in my emerald green eyes as I confidently looked at the request board. As I saw several well-paying jobs on the request board, one job that was worth unpinning actually required us to be in the town of Bloom. This job request was from one of Aroma Flair's prominent girls, and they apparently lost their necklace in the Sweetened Woods. They also mentioned something about losing a jade green incense during a situation of being ambushed, so this seemed very interesting.
I happily giggled while unpinning the job, and I walked over to the bar where the stamper was located. The moment where I stamped the flyer was followed by Lucy lightly gasping, and she turned to look at me. As I looked back at her and held up the flyer, Lucy started to look away with her lips trembling. She started to have an anxious look on her face, and I walked up to Lucy to see feelings of discomfort in her eyes. Even if Lucy felt uncomfortable, didn't she recently push me outside of my comfort zone and assure me that everything would be okay?
"Lucy, it's going to be fine. We're just going to find this girl's lost items, and it'll be over quickly. After the job is handled, we can shop at the high-end fashion store again." I told Lucy with a confident smile on my face, before smiling nicely at how she wore the outfit that she purchased yesterday.
That caused Lucy to reply in a worried manner, before sighing in a defeated manner, "Minerva-sama, I hope we don't see Phoebe there. She told me that I'll be humiliated in more of Annette's advertisements, if I take anymore treasure-hunting jobs that overshadow her fame."
I responded to her with a comforting facial expression, before looking somewhat stern, "If Phoebe is threatening you, then you can't just let her take opportunities for money away from you. Lucy, you should be able to stand up for yourself if you're mouthy enough to defend me."
Lucy told me with a scared facial expression, thinking about the future, "I'm... I'm genuinely scared of confronting Annette in Bloom Town. Minerva-sama, she might beat me down again."
Lucy started to look up at me with a high amount of fear entering her eyes, and I could only fold my arms while looking at her in a disapproving manner. If Lucy wanted Annette and Phoebe to not push her around, then was she going to achieve that with a fearful attitude and intentions of being a coward? From my perspective, Lucy wouldn't have to be afraid of anyone in Bloom Town because I would be there to make sure that no other woman could aggressively put their hands on her. If anyone tried to attack Lucy, then my Territory Magic would eradicate them.
That included eradicating any woman from Aroma Flair, since fashionable attire and fearsome power were two very different things. Annette may have been powerful, but Aroma Flair wasn't one of the top guilds in the Grand Magic Games. Out of all those guilds, I perceived them to be on the same level as Mermaid Heel and that women-only guild wasn't even getting anywhere near the level of notoriety that Aroma Flair had been obtaining. Although, this job would probably do an interesting amount of harm to Aroma Flair's reputation.
If one of their girls had been stupid enough to lose fashionable accessories in the Sweetened Woods, then the Seductive Witch guild would get a bit of fame for returning it to them. After all, I had heard that Aroma Flair's women enjoyed making themselves famous. Therefore, posing for a photo with Lucy and I as the main heroines would make that fashionable girl from Aroma Flair seem like a nobody who stood next to two prominent wizards. Maybe obtaining that fame would make Lucy feel better, and I gently put one hand on her shoulder.
"Lucy, you'll enjoy this job. Maybe we can even have a date in the Sweetened Woods, if you're fine with that." I told Lucy with an optimistic smile forming on my face, before kissing her on the cheek.
Lucy replied to me with a somewhat soft smile appearing on her face, as she looked into my eyes that were filled with pride and ambition, "If you're pushing so hard for me to not be afraid, then I guess I'll help you with this job and enjoy that date."
After hearing Lucy agree to our little date, I proceeded to give her a comforting kiss on the lips. This kiss was soft, having so much softness for me to communicate to her that I would be her comforting protector on this next mission. As I kissed Lucy and felt her start to softly kiss back, I loved how this felt similar to that sexy photo shoot where I had been a queen while Lucy was my subservient little princess. She would be safe in situations where I could keep her close to me, and Lucy could trust me to not let her be in danger.
Even if there were any dangerous enemies creeping around in the Sweetened Woods, Lucy and I could just make those foes be part of a makeshift training regimen for us both to get stronger. After all, Lucy couldn't tell me that she didn't have much magical power after putting on a very hot performance in Zephri Town's fashion show. That event was talked about in today's newspaper, and Lucy's flames had even been photographed with them being in different shades of purple. Seeing that image of her performance at its grandest moment made me believe that Lucy wasn't weak, and she would prove that to me.
Although, proving that to me wouldn't be as important as proving to herself that she wasn't weak. If Lucy could use her darker Celestial Magic to complete this job, then she would probably not feel so insecure. In fact, lowering her level of insecurity would probably even make Lucy feel very comfortable about going into the Aroma Flair guild to return the necklace and the incense. That guild probably smelled as wonderful as a jade incense, since jade green plants were rumored to grow in the Sweetened Woods. I gently grabbed Lucy's hand while walking out of the guild, and we would surely recover the items that were near Bloom Town.
Meanwhile, in Bloom Town... (Meladori's POV)
I currently came back to the town of Bloom with a disappointed facial expression, and I sighed sadly at how this was the fifth consecutive day where I would be without my necklace. That necklace was jade green, just like the jade green sundress hat that went well with my pale green flat shoes. The shoes went well with my dress, which was matcha green, but even buying matcha green earrings or moss green earrings to match it wouldn't quell my anxiety in this current moment. That necklace was a gift from my girlfriend, and it had been very expensive!
That necklace had been more valuable than any green rings that were being sold at the high-end jewelry store in Bloom Town, and the necklace also wasn't being sold in any of Bloom's fashion stores anymore. I had been right beside Natane when she purchased that necklace for me, but why didn't I calmly tell her to buy an extra necklace? She had already purchased a necklace that would heavily compliment the one that she bought for me, and buying a second one would've meant that I had to make that suggestion.
Natane wouldn't like hearing me make any important suggestions, since that wasn't my role in our relationship. Natane was the leader of our team, so I had to obey her orders. However, I frowned in a somewhat disappointed manner at how Natane didn't listen to me. She had been so frustrated about the fact that I lost that necklace to the point where she refused to help me find it in the Sweetened Woods, and Natane would handle jobs from Aroma Flair without my help. Natane may have had strong Plant Magic, but my Wind Magic could be just as beneficial.
However, using Wind Magic in the Sweetened Woods was one of the worst ideas that ever entered my mind. The winds of my magic ended up making aromas be sporadic enough to travel throughout different parts of the Sweetened Woods, meaning that I would be unable to smell the perfume that I poured all over the necklace on the day that I had accidentally tripped in the woods, and falling down one ledge with an incense also in my hands resulted in some powder being blown into my eyes from the perfume that some tropical green tulips released.
"Those idiots from Zephri Town just had to go and plant several sweet-smelling flowers and plants, just because we wanted their lowly guild to show off some green flowers that we could incorporate into our accessories." I stated aloud to myself while having a miffed look on my face, folding my arms as I tried to have a calm look in my matcha green eyes.
That prompted Annette Rosia to ask me with a curious look on her face while she was about to walk past me on this street, "Speaking of accessories, you still can't find your necklace? Meladori-chan, why don't you take better care of your accessories?"
I replied in a somewhat calm manner while frowning, before Annette put a finger on my lips, "Well, Natane is the cooler one and she could've been less careless to-"
"Don't try to blame Natane-san for something that you caused, Meladori-chan. You try to seem so cool, but Natane-chan is much cooler and she doesn't usually do stupid things. In fact, she even helped you get your upcoming photo shoot reserved." Annette told me with a stern facial expression, before gently brushing her hand against my cheek.
Annette's strong hand gently rubbing my face honestly felt somewhat harsher than being slapped, and I didn't need one of the coolest girls in the Aroma Flair guild to beat me down. Getting in a fight would get me nowhere, and I needed to get the necklace and incense back. Although, going too deep in the woods would inevitably make me encounter some mages who had been wanting me to leave them alone. I had only wanted to ask that green-haired woman and her teammate if they saw my necklace, but they had no interest in dealing with me.
I looked away from Annette for a moment to glance in the direction of the Sweetened Woods, wondering if those women would've found my necklace or found the incense. If they did end up finding my necklace, then it would be really cool if they returned it to me. However, I felt too scared to speak with them because of their magical power seeming to be much stronger than mine. They weren't members of Aroma Flair, and those two women seemed like they had been part of a dark guild. I recently asked dark mages for help with this task, but would they even show up?
As I started to get lost in my thoughts about this job seeming very petty, Annette loudly snapped her fingers in front of my face. I proceeded to look at her gingerbread brown midriff shirt that looked very elegant, noticing that it went well with her tawny brown skirt that also looked stylish as it complimented her brunette brown leggings. Those leggings went well with her shoes, which were mocha brown while they had the designs of paired squares of deep chocolate brown candy on the fronts of them. Annette also had some syrup brown sunglasses on her forehead, and she looked very fashionable.
"Anyway, I'm using some of my recent reward money to buy some mocha brown cakes for myself and Erza-chan. Have fun with searching through the woods for that necklace, Meladori-chan." Annette stated to me with a frown of disinterest on her face, before walking away.
Annette stopped walking for a moment to turn around and tell me with a teasing smile appearing on her face, "Oh, and I suggest you find it before Natane-chan angrily punishes you for possibly letting a snake devour it."
As Annette giggled at her own words and walked down the street to the caramel brown bakery, my somewhat calm facial expression shifted to where I now gasped in a panicked manner. In the Aroma Flair guild, someone could be excommunicated by Mistress Corinne if they didn't handle any jobs for an entire week. This day was close to the end of that seven-day period, which meant that I would totally need to get my necklace back. Although, having the desire to get my necklace didn't mean that I had enough arrogance to go deep into the woods.
The depths of the Sweetened Woods were where some powerful enemies from a dark guild loved to be leisurely, since they reportedly had a building in an obscure part of the woods. However, would I get beaten up if I went there and asked about them possibly having my necklace? If one of the more powerful girls had my necklace and the incense, then I probably would have to fight her. My past experiences with dark mages had taught me that they didn't resolve situations in ways that were civil, so I probably would have to fight for my life if I encountered them.
Hopefully, I would be able to fight alongside some mages who were very powerful. They could probably help me get my necklace back, and they would probably also be willing to help me convince Natane to not harm me with her powerful magic. She had a tendency of attacking me with her magic when I screwed up on missions, and Natane was currently dating me because I begged her to go out on a date with me. It had taken a high amount of effort to get in a relationship with her, similar to how it took me a tremendous amount of effort to look just stylish and beautiful enough for Aroma Flair to let me join their guild. In a somewhat similar sense, I would need to put more effort into finally finding that necklace.
How was Chapter 14? Feel free to tell me your thoughts on it. Minerva has found out about Lucy getting humiliated, and she is just as upset as Lucy. However, Minerva is wanting to make Lucy deal with her own insecurities and problems sooner than later. Speaking of problems, Lucy and Minerva will have to actually fight some enemies while trying to help Meladori! As for Meladori, I'm thinking that her relationship with Natane will be an interesting one that hasn't been explored yet in this story featuring relationships. In regards to relationships and conflicts, Lucy will try to talk to Annette. However, Lucy won't be the only person seriously talking with a character in this arc. By the way, this is the first part of the Tropical Tulips Arc! I'll update soon. :)
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