A/N – Not sure if I ever said it, but I do not own Fairy Tail.
Hey everyone! This story was the winner of the October poll so here it is. The November poll is already up on my pat-re-on, as well as 4 new chapters of my Plan for the Galaxy story. Head on over there to check things out or have your say in the poll. Look for Bored Peasant's Written Works.
Not much to say here. Life continues to be complicated and exhausting. I look forward to seeing that you enjoy my stories. It's the main thing that keeps me writing them. The pat-re-on is the tool that lets it happen.
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Anyway, enough for now. On with the story!
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CHAPTER 5 – ARRIVING AT ALVAREZ
There exists a tradition from long before I was born in my first life, that special modes of transportation got their own name. It was a useful thing that let people keep track of the vehicle and allowed it a register in whatever port or city it was stopping in. Originally, it was confined to boats, as that was the only thing that was transportable to other cities. It was a tradition that continued to today, and somehow also made its way into Earthland.
When cars were invented, that tradition seems to have been put aside. But when planes came along, it looked like there were going to be some planes that got their own name. Granted, most of the planes that it applied to were military planes, as when the practice was in effect, the militaries of the world were by far the most numerous users of aircraft. Enola Gay came to mind, which was the plane that dopped a bomb on Hiroshima, and Bock's Car, which went to Nagasaki. Then, on a less depressing note, there was Red Bus, or Old Bessie, which was Amelia Earhart's plane when she flew across the Atlantic Ocean.
It was a shame that the practice of naming planes had fallen out of favour, but I guess that when the number of planes got too high, remembering individual names was just too much of a headache. Keeping track of serial numbers was a lot easier but there was something about remembering the important names that made it more personal, more of an adventure.
After all, no one remembers the Red Baron and terror he brought to pilots in World War 1 for the serial number on his Fokker triplane. No, it was for his signature, which was the red plane that was able to bring fear to the enemy. People in the old days wouldn't run away from a frigate on the high seas. But if one of them said, Queen Anne's Revenge, and everyone on the ship would be terrified of the feared pirate Blackbeard.
Perhaps it was melodramatic, but I didn't care. I decided that my plane was going to be first of its type in Earthland, therefore it was going to get its own name. It wasn't the first flying machine, of course. Blue Pegasus had their flying fortress, named Christina for some reason, and Grimoire Heart had their airship base that was more like Jabba the Hutt's sail barge surrounded by triremes, so flying vessels did exist here, they were just rare and required vast amounts of magic to work. But this was mine and I made it, so I was gonna name the damn thing!
So, once it was completed, I decided on the name Wind Sprite, to play on the nature of flight. My plane didn't have any guns on it so there didn't seem any point in trying to use a combative name, but Sprites represented the freedom to go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted, moving through the sky. It made sense to me, but even I would admit that my ability to name things was… lacking. That said, I wasn't going to name it Night Wing or something edgy like that. I was already dealing with enough bad stuff in my head from the war. I didn't need something like that to make me think I was well and truly lost in a full-blown depression. I wasn't that bad.
I cleared up after myself, making sure I activated my security systems before I left. Before I locked the door, I made sure that I had my weapons, my Rune papers, all my necessary lacrima-powered magic items that I usually took with me and enough food for two weeks. It was a tight fit in the storage box of the Wind Sprite but I could get it in there easy enough.
The main thing I needed to take was my map of Alvarez. It was everything that I could find in Fiorean records about the towns and ports of Alvarez. There was not much. With the natural distance between the two continents and the lack of regular communication, trade or battle between the two, there was limited information available. Everything I had was coastal or near it. In fact, there was only knowledge that the capital was called Vistarion, but in none of the records that I had access to was the specific location revealed. It made it harder to think about where I could go for information. I could possibly ask the Heartfilia family to know if they kept track of Brandish or her mother, but the dad was a jerk and Lucy wouldn't know.
Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. And I would likely be able to ask for directions if I needed to, or I could just make a map going by the landmarks that I could get flying over the place. I could find some easy work arounds.
I ran through my final checks. Wheels; check. Wings; check. Instruments; check. Lacrima; check. Charge on lacrima; check. I went through every single rivet on that thing to make sure that nothing would go wrong. I was planning a long flight over the ocean, after all. I wouldn't have a chance for an emergency landing, not one that would matter anyway.
Finally, I was ready. I climbed into the cockpit and closed the canopy. While the clear cover was not far above my head, I did at least have more room than a normal plane would have. Since I didn't need most of the instruments, it saved a lot of room in the cabin area.
I turned into the wind, following the instructions that had been given to pilots in both world wars. Facing the wind during a take-off meant that you had a higher updraft and it was easier to get off the ground. You didn't need as much speed to get into the air as you would if the wind was behind you.
I pushed the throttle forward, giving magical energy to the propeller to make it spin faster and felt the pull as the plane started moving.
It was a little disconcerting that there was no noise, other than the soft whirling of the four propellor blades. Not even a whine that would come with an electric motor could be heard from the lacrima. It was disturbingly silent.
Man, I missed technology.
I continued to gain speed, feeling the wind rushing past the fuselage, until the wind pushed up on the wings and the nose lifted. Pulling back on the controls, the flaps on the wings pushed down further and the plane rose off the ground.
It was exhilarating, the dropping in the stomach that came with a take-off. I had always enjoyed being on planes in my first life on Earth. To do it from the pilot seat, that had always been a dream come true. Now, with the labour of my own two hands, I was able to make it a reality.
I quickly gained altitude, rising into the empty blue sky and feeling the wind blowing past the reinforced glass canopy. It was the best material available, seeing as Perspex didn't exist here. It did the job and the Runes carved around the frame meant that it wouldn't get messed up by bugs on the flight.
Once I was high enough, I levelled out and looked out the cockpit. It was beautiful. The sky was clear and a beautiful deep blue, the mountains looked like they came from a painting and the ocean, which I was flying towards, glittered an amazing aquamarine. I know that many people wouldn't appreciate the beauty of nature that I could see but it was a treat that many others would wish to see. Maybe I could sell scenic tours.
I turned west, heading towards Alvarez. The land below me transformed completely into the ocean as I flew. The gentle tides could be clearly seen from this height. The ocean's surface almost looked like stained glass. Far to the south I could some clouds gathering but they were far enough away that I doubted I would have to worry about it.
Truth be told, after a while, the lack of anything but ocean was getting a little monotonous. It still looked beautiful but after the first hour without change, it was getting to me. I should have brought a book or something. There were no cops around to tell me I can't read while flying and no other planes to risk a crash.
Finally, after what felt like far too long, but still beating the record of travel between the continents by days at least, he saw land in the distance.
Alvarez, at last!
I took a look at my watch, then my lacrima power metre. It had taken six hours of flying get from Fiore to Alvarez. I imagine that if I built a large aircraft and started a freight company, I could make a killing. It would mean that fruits, vegetables and other produce could be shipped across the ocean between the two kingdoms in time for it to be sold fresh at market. If I could find things that were valuable on either continent, then I could have a monopoly on intercontinental trade.
Maybe later. Once the whole 'Invasion of Fiore by Zeref' deal was taken care of. Who knows though, if there was enough trade and treaties taken set up in the meantime, maybe it would lessen the likelihood that there would be an invasion in the first place.
It was unlikely though. With the way that the powerful were able to rule here, at least from what the anime showed, it would be far more likely that Zeref would just come in, killing the existing leadership and have the invasion anyway. The idea that Alvarez would stand against Zeref when he could just beat their strongest and never be killed was sadly laughable.
I turned my mind from those thoughts and focussed on my approach. Lacking a noisy engine, I thought it was far less likely that I would be noticed as I flew through the sky, but I didn't want to take it for granted. If the day was overcast, it would make it a whole lot easier to cross the coast unnoticed, but seeing as I was, unfortunately, flying on a beautifully clear day, I had to look for other means to try and remain unseen.
Unfortunately, I had not yet cracked invisibility with my Runes, otherwise it would have been easy. I would have been as unnoticeable as a gust of wind. Really, the only thing I could do was to fly higher up and hope that I could go unnoticed or that people would think I was a strange bird. It was a risk, but it did have the upside that I would be able to see more land, meaning that I would be able to see towns and villages from further away. It would help me find a place that I could land and hopefully be less likely to risk detection from whatever authorities were in the area. That was a headache I didn't' really need.
With that in mind, as soon as the coast came into view, I climbed to ten thousand feet. It was the same height that bungee jumpers would throw themselves out of a plane so I figured that it was high enough that I would be able to see a long distance but also be able to distinguish enough detail on the ground. Maybe not a whole lot of individual people, but buildings and so forth.
I am glad that I did. From my altitude, it looked like the entire coast was populated. There were small villages and even a couple of larger ones going nearly as far as the eye could see in both the northeast and southwest directions. Boats of all sizes scooted along the water; likely fishing boasts but probably a lot of personal vessels too.
I wasn't able to take a census or anything like that but there had to be thousands of people living on the coast. If that was any indication, it would be impossible for me to land anywhere near the coast without drawing attention to myself. That meant I needed to go further inland near a forested area if I wanted to remain hidden.
I took a look at my lacrima gauge. Still more than half, but not too much more. I had enough to fly around for another couple of hours before I would need to recharge my lacrima before I could go home. Plenty of time.
It was another thing that made me glad that I was using lacrima instead of petrol. Lacrima could be recharged and they lasted longer. If I was in a safe spot then I would be able to go until the lacrima ran dry, then land and charge it. But I wouldn't call Alvarez 'safe' just yet. More than it would be if Zeref was in charge, but that wasn't really a fair comparison. It was unknown, with people who happily became villains and killed a whole lot of Fioreans. Safe wasn't the right word to use here.
I considered all of this and decided to push on. I could still spend an hour or two checking things out to see where the cities were and if I found a good place to land in the meantime, then I would take the opportunity. After all, I came all this way. I would hate to have just wasted my time if I could still accomplish some of my goals.
I spent half an hour flying over the coast, kinda flying in an arc to see what I could discern of the place. There were certainly a lot more villages and towns than I could find in Fiore, that was for sure. And considering that in the anime when they invaded, they did it with more than a million soldiers, it was easy to see where these people were going to come from.
Finally, I found a large area of greenery and forests that I would be able to land in that was near a town larger than Magnolia. Before I committed to landing, I took a slow low flyover to make sure that the surface looked fine, before I came in for a slightly bumpy landing.
I took a minute to look around, sliding the canopy back to let the sweet fresh forest air in. I gladly took a few deep breaths before I unbuckled my harness and climbed out of the cockpit.
The trees were different but similar to what I could find in Fiore, the same mix of pine, oaks and other trees that can be found in a forest. They weren't too closely packed, so I taxied the plane over as close as I could and turned off the propellors.
Climbing out, I stretched my stiff muscles. Fast travel or not, six hours is a long time to be stuck in a cockpit. I headed to the side of my fuselage and opened the hatch to my lacrima, flicking the switch that would activate Runes that would draw in magic from the atmosphere, recharging the lacrima for the flight home. It wasn't technology I had invented, but I'd had to pay a lot of money to get it.
Heading to the rear of the plane, I reached into another compartment and grabbed a rope that was hooked to a screw on one end. I used it to pull the plane further into the trees, using the natural obstacles to hide it as much as I could while I was away.
Finally, I started placing Runestones that I had carved that would provide some security around the plane. It was another idea I had from Harry Potter, a 'notice-me-not' ward that would make people and animals ignore the plane, or whatever was within the boundaries set by the Runestones. That was something I had needed to consult with Freed and Levy about ages ago, but it had been dead useful once I cracked the code.
I finished putting the last of my protections around my plane and turned around to find that I was no longer alone. I felt slightly alarmed, because having been in a war and travelling alone in the forests for years, I had thought that I had developed my senses enough to be able to detect things moving around me, be it monsters, animals or people. So to look up and find that there was another person there, meant that they were better at travelling undetected than I was at detecting.
The only thing that stopped me pulling my pistol from its holster, was that I recognised the person.
Long thick red hair, a revealing dark costume that looked like a bra covering a pair of extremely large and full breasts, with a pair of panties that were only covered by a loin skirt. A black and grey cape hung from the woman's shoulders and thigh high high-heeled black boots completed the outfit, except for the absolutely massive hat that sat on top of her head and fell down her back. Top it all off with a massive wood staff and realising the fact that the woman was actually floating about two feet off the ground and I could identify the woman that was in front of me in about one second flat.
Irene Belserion had come to investigate.
Erza's own mother, sharing her face nearly exactly. The woman was possibly the most powerful woman in either continent. I would say that if she was serious then the only people that could maybe beat her could be counted on one hand, one of them being Acnologia, who literally ate magic. Even then, only Zeref would still be alive afterwards because I am not sure that she had the power to kill him.
But it wasn't all bad. The woman was a dragon and had more than a little insanity, but she could also be rational and had a skill that had me thinking that I might want to seek her out some day anyway.
Well, I was here, and she was here, so why not now?
"Well, hello there!" I greeted cheerfully, trying my best to hide how unnerved I was about her sudden appearance. If she took exception to my presence, I was going to be done anyway. No use in panicking about it. "Sorry, you startled me. I didn't realise that anyone else would be here."
She looked at me for a long moment, cocking an elegant eyebrow at me. "Interesting," she murmured thoughtfully. "I was in my manor in the next town, relaxing in the warm sunlight, when I saw something I had never seen before, flying through the sky. Imagine my surprise when I could see it getting lower as it moved away from the town and headed to hide in the forest. I thought to myself, 'what could that possibly be? I should really check it out'. When I saw that it was a machine and not an animal, I thought to myself that it was incredible that one of my people had the ingenuity to make something that flies through the sky like a bird and 'why did they not think to share this information with me?' So, I decided to watch you land, and then I saw you directly." Her face hardened as her expression intensified greatly. "You are not from Alvarez. Who are you and why are you here?"
I blinked, before chuckling. "Wow, was it that obvious that I am visiting?" I asked rhetorically. "My name is Zack Brown, and I am from Fiore. I am here to try find a couple of people."
"Oh?" she asked, her tone mildly curious but her expression no less intense. "And who would you come all this way to see? Are you here to kill them? Or perhaps, spy on them for Fiore?"
I laughed slightly louder, trying to make myself more convincing. It was always harder to tell with people who were not all there how they would react. They became unpredictable, which meant they had to be navigated carefully. Especially if they were powerful enough to erase my existence with barely a though, like Irene.
"Nothing like that and certainly nothing nefarious," I assured her. "I am actually looking for two mages, one a young woman called Brandish whose mother was murdered so that I can pass on some information to her, and a powerful enchanter called Irene."
Both her eyebrows rose that time. "Is that so?" she mused. "And why would you need an enchanter, Mr Brown from Fiore? You clearly have access to some rather… unique inventions." She gestured to the plane behind me. "Surely you could create whatever you needed, or have the one who made this do it for you?"
I looked back at the plane, trying to not feel uncomfortable about having my back to her. "True," I agreed easily. I turned back to her, only to notice that she had landed on the ground now about ten meters away and that she was a head shorter than me. "But I built that myself. And I am sure that you can feel that I don't have much magic?"
She nodded. "I had noticed that," she confirmed easily. "It made me more curious when I could see your flying machine."
I nodded and gestured back to the plane. "My aircraft does run on magic," I said. "It has a lacrima as its power source. But I myself do not have the gift of magic and I am not a mage. And that means that I am limited in the things I can make, to whatever I can use Runes and a lacrima on. This is why I want to meet the Enchantress Irene. An enchanter would be able to magically imprint an artifact without needing something as breakable as a lacrima powering it."
"I see," she hummed, taking a few steps closer in such a way as to make her hips swings enticingly. I had to put the extra effort in not to stare at the beautiful woman. "And why do you believe that this… Irene, would be able to help you? Are you sure that this woman is truly the enchanter you seek?"
I shrugged. "Maybe I am wrong," I admitted easily. "But I have heard some fantastic stories about her. The main one that concerns me is that she was somehow able to enchant a stick so that it was strong enough to break a sword."
Her eyes widened in shock before they narrowed. I didn't have time to blink before I was slammed back against a tree with her hand gripped around my throat, the wind solidly knocked out of me. It was so sudden that it took a few minutes for me to realise that my feet weren't touching the ground.
"How did you hear about that?" she whispered dangerously. "That would have been long before your time."
I gasped pathetically, trying to recapture enough air to reply before she decided that I was too much trouble and just ended me.
"S... Stories," I wheezed. "I read… history stories. I heard about… the beautiful princess Irene… best enchanter. I heard from… sailors that she… was still alive. I thought she could… help me."
Her grip tightened considerably for a moment and I feared that was it. Black spots were taking over my sight and the edges of my vision were fading out.
Suddenly it was all over as I was dropped unceremoniously to the ground amongst the tree roots. I hacked and gasped in as much air as I could, letting my vision return as the beloved oxygen rushed back into my lungs. My chest was heaving as I tried my best to recover quickly. No false modesty here.
"And why would I help you?" she stared down at me. "Your flattery won't help you here."
I took a few last steadying breaths before I stood back up and looked at her directly. "So, you are Irene?" I said, keeping up the charade that I was learning. "Honestly, I don't know. I was hoping that you would at least hear me out. If you said no, I would of course had just left, but I have always sought out the best person for a job. I don't care that I had to fly to another continent, you are the absolute best at enchanting, so I came to you. I didn't mean to offend you by bringing up an old story, I was just trying to show that I had a story that could give an example of the great talent and ability you possess in the field of enchanting."
"Is that so?" she asked. "You think you can demand my services?" her expression turned coy, but I certainly wasn't buying it, considering her display a few moments ago. "I do charge a rather high price."
I shook my head. "No," I denied. "Not demand. Even if you weren't so powerful that you could erase me with barely a thought, I am not the type to demand anything like that. I would ask you if you would be willing to make my artifact for me and if you said no, I would have asked again, this time seeing if there is anything that I could do to convince you. If you said no again, then I would thank you for your time and leave."
"Really?" she asked sceptically. "You would go, just like that?"
I nodded. "Of course. Forcing you to do a job, even if I was that way inclined and I am not, would only make it more likely that you wouldn't care in how effective its construction is. That leads to either deliberate weaknesses that would make it a risk to use, or just negligence as you don't really want to create the artifact in the first. I would prefer someone to willingly do the job, even if they are not as skilled as the best, which is you from all accounts."
"Still resorting to flattery, are you?" she mused with a raised eyebrow.
"Is it flattery if it's true?" I quickly responded.
She blinked, then gave a genuine smile. "I see that you have a silver tongue on you," she said, stepping back out of my space and crossing her arms underneath her generous bust. "A useful tool to get yourself out of trouble."
I gave her a small smile. "I would normally respond crudely to that analogy, but I have heard it risks courting death to speak that way to nobility." I rubbed my still sore throat. "I think once was enough for today."
She grinned at me. "Oh no, please. Feel free to say what you would normally say. I enjoy a man who has a bit of courage to him."
I looked at her for a long moment, not showing the small amount of regret coursing through me. I shouldn't have said anything, even if I was trying to lighten the mood. Now if I don't say anything, I have no idea how she will react. If I do say something, even if she told me I could, I don't know how she will react. Damned if I do, damned if I don't.
Ah, hell. If I die now, I at least won't do it being a coward. "I would normally say to an extremely beautiful woman that told me I have a silver tongue, that I prefer to refer to it as a gold tongue, because whoever I use it on comes first," I said firmly, not letting any fear show.
Her eyes both widened in surprise for a second before she burst out into laughter. "My, my, aren't you bold," she giggled. She gave me a sultry smirk that would normally do things to me if I hadn't already almost been killed by her not three minutes ago. "Are you seeing a chance to prove your skill?"
I gave her a rueful chuckle. "As much as I wish I could with such a beautiful woman, as I am not a mage, I fear that my body would not survive the encounter. A single moment of uncontrolled passion in the heat of the moment and my head would split like an unripe tomato, leaving you to clean up the mess. I don't think either of us would appreciate that result."
She gave a mock pout. "I often forget how much weaker people without magic can be than those of us who do. It's such a shame." Her face turned thoughtful. "Well, normally I would slay the unworthy man who would treat my royal self in such a boorish manner for the disrespect. However, I did ask you to tell me so I suppose I shall leave you unharmed this time."
I couldn't help the tiniest relieved sigh escaping my lips, though I disguised it as a small exhale of breath. Her knowing smirk let me know that she caught it anyway.
I decided to give her a low bow. "You are truly merciful to this unworthy soul," I said, laying it on thick.
"Yes, I know," she replied easily. "Now, tell me what you need and why. I will decide then if what you want is interesting enough for me to bother."
I nodded, accepting that my audience was going to be with her right here and not in her home or palace or anything.
"Before I begin, do you know anything about Edolas?" I asked.
She looked surprised and interested for a moment before she schooled her features. "I have indeed heard of the Edolas dimension," she replied. "Though not many have. What about it?"
"Edolas have been siphoning magic from our dimension for a while now," I said. "The time will come soon that they will take too much or capture real people. If that comes to pass then there is a man there, one of their captains, who uses a sword that liquifies anything it touches. I was hoping to get a sword or spear enchanted so that it will not be affected at all by outside magic."
"I see," she looked thoughtful again as she seemed to consider this information. "Brave of Edolas to think they can do so and get away with it. Though I assume that, as you are from Fiore, that the issue is strictly a problem for the east continent. It is probably why Edolas does it, because Fiore and the other kingdoms are weak."
I just shrug, not knowing the full state of affairs in the other kingdoms and not really caring enough to defend them. I had already had enough of Iceberg and Bosco so I wasn't rushing to their defence.
"Probably," I agreed. "Or just stupid enough that the majority of them don't even know about it, even though they are the ones having magic taken out of their area."
"That is also a possibility," Irene conceded. "I assume this weapon would be for you then?"
I hesitated, not knowing how to fully proceed here. This meeting had been unplanned, so I wasn't able to give my usual prepared answers. I wasn't sure what would happen if I gave the full truth, but I knew that deep down, Irene did love Erza in her own way.
"I am not fully certain yet," I confessed. "It will either be for me or a friend of mine who is fascinated by swords."
"I see," she cupped a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "You must be a very good friend, to offer such a valuable artifact to them."
I gave a wan smile. "My friend has had a hard life," I replied. "Even now she has trauma that clings to her like oil that won't wash off, staining her soul. But she lives for her friends and her guild. If anything were to happen to them, she would never forgive herself. A sword that could stop one of them being turned to goo would be useful for that. It would help prevent further pain for her."
"My, my, that is quite magnanimous of you," she said, sounding amused. "It sounds more like she is a romantic partner of yours. Yet you flirted with me, for shame!"
I gave a small chuckle at her mock horror. "Nothing of the sort," I replied. "I would have the same problem with being intimate with her that I would have with you, even if she isn't as strong as you."
I decided to take a large gamble. "In fact, in some ways you remind me of my friend."
"Oh, how so?" Irene asked.
"Well, she looks a lot like you, for starters," I said, eyeing her carefully. "Long red hair, beautiful face, great body. She's about the same height as you, too. If I didn't know any better, I would say that you are related."
The air gained a chill and the smile on Irene's face started to turn dangerous. "Careful, little man," she said stiffly. "You have been amusing so far but this is ground that does not concern you."
I bowed deeply. "Of course," I said. "I didn't mean to offend, if I have done so."
"You didn't," she said, her voice losing some of its stiffness but still leaving a note of caution. "Just be sure that you don't overstep."
I nodded. "As you say, my Lady."
"As for your little sword or spear," she continued. "I don't think I can be bothered with something like that. Other than Edolas being involved, it doesn't really interest me."
I considered. "Is there any form of payment that would make you reconsider?" I asked. "While I am not able to perform natural magic, I am quite skilled with Runes and lacrima. Or I could perform some other service? For example…" I froze and considered the implications of what I was about to offer. This was yet another thing that could get me killed. I was doing an awful lot of that today.
Ah, screw it. No guts, no glory. And the thought of dying didn't give me any fear after the last two years. "May I speak freely? Please know that I do not mean to offend or cause pain in any way."
Her eyes were still hard from before, but she gave a short nod.
"I am aware of your dragon transformation," I said slowly. This was one of her hot buttons, so this could go really poorly for me if I do it wrong. "I have searched through everything I could in the histories of powerful mages and there are some obscure texts in Crocus that mention you and that you sought a way to return to fully human. If you are willing to let me try, I could see if there is a way to separate the dragon magics from your own through my Runes?"
I was right. It was a bad idea.
The magic energy coming off the woman in front of me instantly became heavy and oppressive. Dangerous. Every sense I had told me that I was about to die if I didn't leave, but I was using all my energy to stand still, trying not to shrink back against the display of rage and power that the mage was letting off.
"Do you think this is a joke?" she hissed at me, her tone alone was probably capable of freezing water. "Do you think that I haven't explored all the options that I could find to get rid of this curse?"
"I am sure that you did," I bit out stiffly against the strain of fighting against the force of her magic. My entire body was locked up from the pressure it was putting on me. "And I am not trying to imply that you didn't. I am only trying to say that I am good at Runes and maybe there is an answer in them that maybe hasn't been noticed before. Sometimes fresh eyes can… give fresh perspective. I truly just want to help, Queen Irene."
The buffeting intensified for a moment, ripping the air out of my lungs, before it died down again, leaving me to collapse to my knees, wheezing for air a second time.
"I am queen of nothing," she said, staring down at me imperiously. "My former husband saw to that."
I shook my head, feeling better as my breathing steadied. "You are a queen, no matter what some ignorant fool said out of fear," I rasped. "Anyone who can look back and read what was done to you could only feel sympathy to you and anger to him. He treated you like scum, using the loyalty of the army to take away what was yours. None of that changed what you really are."
Her expression didn't change as she stared at me for a long moment. I could have sworn that this was it and I was getting ready for it to just end, when she finally huffed and looked away.
"You are a fool, Mr Brown," she spat.
"Probably," I agreed, making her look back at me as I stood up once more. "But I would rather be a fool that hoped for good things, than be forced to live life thinking that everything around me was the best I could get. If I truly believed that I would never have learned to use Runes and lacrima to make up for my lack of magic. I would not have done what no one else has done and make a plane that can cross the ocean in a matter of hours instead of days. I choose to hope, because I know there is hope."
She stared at me for a long moment again, before she smirked. "You are still a fool," she declared. "But maybe not too much of a fool."
She held out a hand and a magic circle flared to life, before it vanished, dropping a lacrima the size of my fist in it. "This holds my magic in it, both the dragon magic and my own. If you can get rid of just the dragon magic, I will consider your request for an enchanted sword."
I reached out with both hands and took the proffered lacrima. "Thank you, your Highness," I said, grateful that I was going to live beyond this exchange. And, I am not going to lie, the scientist and engineer in me was looking forward to experimenting on it, to see if it was possible. "If I manage, I will return to you at my first availability."
"No need for that just yet," she replied. "I am aware of the girl that you are seeking. She is quite the talented wizard and has begun to make a name for herself. I shall summon her to my home and you shall wait with me until she arrives. Until then, you will be my guest as you commence work on the lacrima I gave you. I wish to see if you have any… foolish ideas."
"I understand, your Highness," I said, knowing that this wasn't a suggestion. It was an order from the most powerful woman in either country. "Do you have anywhere that I can store my vehicle until then?"
She looked past me to see where the plane was. "I have a building that should accommodate it quite nicely," she confirmed. "You will move it there now. I will show you the way." Her stare firmed to a glare. "Don't even think of running away."
I nodded. "I will follow you," I said. Reckless I might have been, but I wasn't stupid. Not completely anyway, though after today I would probably have to start second guessing myself.
Turning back to my plane, I couldn't help but think I should really learn to be less reckless. Or learn how to stop talking.
…
A/N Please Review and Follow/Favourite as you please.
How was that? I think I got Irene right, going from the anime at least. She is one of the characters I found more interesting in FT and I wanted to bring her in to this story.
Anyway, as mentioned at the top, if you want to vote on which side secondary story, read up to four chapter of Plan for the Galaxy early or see all other updates be posted early before they are posted here, then head over to pat-re-on and look up Bored Peasant's Written Works.
Stay safe my friends, wherever you are. Until next time!