It was the next morning, and all the heroes once again stood in the same throne room. The only change was that this time around, Lucy stood next to Naofumi at the end of their little hero formation.
"We have gathered the greatest warriors in the land. These brave souls will fight the waves alongside you." The king informed them, a row of mages and warriors presented in front of the five. Naofumi looked at his options, his eyes momentarily catching the eyes of a red haired girl that he found pleasant to the eyes. Lucy fought the urge to giggle as she saw her new comrade of sorts already lose himself into the wiles of a woman. Said warriors began to step forward, each of them choosing whom they wanted to accompany to form a line behind each hero presumably. Much to the entire room's surprise, Naofumi was the only hero who found himself without a single volunteer. Itsuki had three, Ren had five, Motoyasu had four, and Lucy a mere two.
"I am loathe to admit it, but not even I was expecting this," The king remarked bluntly. A servant sprout from his post behind tbe king and began to whisper in his ear. The king nodded and spoke again, "I've been made aware of an unsettling rumor. The so called shield hero is ignorant of this world. The legend says that all heroes arrive with a firm understanding of our lands, and the people believe he does not fit the criteria. Is this correct?" He questioned, all eyes now on Naofumi. The shield hero began to stutter, unable to believe someone had eavesdropped on their conversation last night. As he was about to blunder out some sort of explanation, Lucy stopped him with the swift movement of extending her arm in front of him, signaling him to stop. A small gasped escaped him, and he looked at her with uncertainty.
"Your Highness, respectfully I also do not fit this so called criteria, so how is it that I have people willing to fight with me?" She shot back, pointing out the obvious flaw with his accusation. The king sweatdropped, knowing she made an outstanding observation.
"Key Hero, perhaps the rumor had sympathized with your situation because you are not a legend hero and just additive help, please understand that I cannot control this." He reasoned. She bit her lip. It made sense, but she was not willing to give up so easily. She put a clenched hand over her heart.
"If that's so, then I relinquish my party. I can summon spirits to assist me whenever I need, so a party will not he necessary for me." She declared, hoping that the two people who did choose her would go to Naofumi. She looked back at them with a hopeful glance, but was let down as she saw them both scurry off to any hero but Naofumi. 'Think Lucy, think!' Her eyebrows furrowed with thought, but then it struck her. She could pair up with him to compensate for the lack of assistance. Naofumi knew he couldn't get stronger without a party since he was a defense class, and looked over to the other silent heroes for help, who offered him none.
'What jerks.' He thought, angry that he'd really have to go about this alone. Just as Lucy was about to inquire her suggestion, she was beat to the chase by the red haired girl from before.
"Your Highness, I would like to switch to Sir Shield Hero's party." Her voice was louder than it should have been, but it did shift everyone's attention to her. Motoyasu arched an eyebrow, looking at his soon to be lost party member. Lucy recided back in silence. Naofumi, on the other hand, blushed. The same girl who he had met eyes with before really went out of her way to go with him? He couldn't believe it. To him, she was beautiful in heart and in looks.
"Are you sure?" Motoyasu asked and the red head nodded.
"So be it. If no one else will volunteer to join the shield hero's party, then you will have to recruit members for yourself Master Naofumi. As for you, key hero, I trust that your magic will serve you as you say it will." The Melromarc royal concluded. No one else decided to join Naofumi. After that, each hero were given money to aid them, but since Naofumi had one party member he was given an extra two hundred silver. Lucy was as well, the court taking pity of her solitude despite of what she had said before.
And finally, once that was also over with they were all sent off out of the castle walls to begin their journeys. The heroes all walked out of the castle walls, each expressing their farewells and wishes for one another before they parted ways.
The first place Lucy headed off to with her hefty purse of silver was the first open field she could find thanks to directions of the locals. She found herself uneasy about whether she could still truly use her magic as she did before despite the spirit king's words. She had to make sure of it herself.
The blonde let her hair flow free in the wind, and fetched out a certain golden key from her belt pouch. The warm, familiar touch soothed her heart as she felt the flow of her magic power course through her veins. Taking a steady breath in, she threw her arm out in front of her and chanted, "Open gate of the Lion, Leo!" In the same golden light and sound she remembered, her key erupted in magic and before her appeared her most trusted spirit: Loke. Before he could flirt with her, she had already thrown herself at him and wrapped her arms around his torso.
"Loke!" She exclaimed, exerting more happiness than she had ever since arriving in this world. Ease enveloped her as she felt the comforting feel and presence of her spirit in her arms. He blinked, shocked at the sudden attack, but was quick to pet her head and pull her into a hug of his own.
"Hello, Lucy." The lion greeted. The blonde looked up to him to see the warm look of his face, a few stray tears flowing down her flushed cheeks. Her smile was grand.
"Even though Mustache Face said I could still use my magic I was worried I somehow wouldn't be able to. I'm so glad to see you, Loke." As she confessed her worries, her other keys began to glow with extra reassurance for their holder. She giggled softly, pulling herself away from him and wiped her eyes. Loke pouted now that they were apart, opening his arms back up.
"Don't pull away from me princess, don't you like the way your knight in shining armor feels?" He teased. This earned him another giggle, and he couldn't help but grin at his accomplishment of making his master happy. He promised he would always be there for her, and it was a job he would never take lightly. She was his princess.
"Oh, Loke. Always flirting, aren't you?" She mused.
"How could I not when you're so beautiful?" He kept on, pushing up his glasses. He was relentless. If Lucy had been anyone else, she would have instantly melted into his coquet advances.
"You're too playful, Loke." She remarked.
Afterwards, Lucy and Loke had taken a second to sit down to let her relax. She told him everything; from everything she had learned, her new duty, and what she was planning to do. And in turn, Loke had told her about what was going on with her spirits, how she would exactly receive new keys, and the best of all— other celestial wizards continued to exist, just as she did, in their own new worlds. Even though that didn't count for her other friends, she was elated to know that Yukino and Hisui were doing well somewhere else. But everyone else, the rest of Fairy Tail. What about them? Were Natsu and Happy still together? Would Wendy, Romeo, and Asuka be able to take care of themselves if they were alone? Would Juvia be able to get over the loss of Gray? Did this become one of the rare occasions that made people like Erza, Gray, and Laxus cry? How would Levy read her novel now? And she wondered, as she stared at the sky that was by now starry and dark, if all of her friends were somewhere looking at one just as similar.
After their very long talk, Loke and Lucy decided to part their ways for now and he was sent off back to the celestial spirit world. The sky was now raven black, and Lucy walked the short trip back into town to find the nearest tavern to rest up for the night. As she navigated through the still somewhat busy streets, and spotted an open tavern and walked in. She checked in, paying an extra silver for her food and access to a spa room on top of her room expense— which she was more than happy to pay for— and walked off to the tables to find somewhere to sit and enjoy a good dinner. Scanning the room, her chocolate brown eyes landed on two familiar faces. It was Naofumi and the red haired girl who she didn't catch the name of. She waved at them, catching the attention of Naofumi and he gestured her over. Taking his invitation, she made her way over and stood at their table with a cheery smile.
"It's nice to see you two here." She greeted. The shield hero nodded, returning her smile. The red haired girl did as well, but not with tje same effect. She looked rather displeased at her arrival and it shone through the wryly smile on her lips.
"Same to you, Lucy. How'd you end up here?" He inquired, not noticing the discomfort of his partner across from him. Lucy did, and decided to make her small trip quick as possible.
"Oh, I just got back from a little bit of exploring and thought I should settle in for the night, you know?"
"I see, you should teach me how your keys work sometime. They must be pretty cool if you don't need a single party member." He said, eyeing her belt which held the surprising weight of her keys, whip, and coin purse without much tilt.
"Maybe if we run into each other again while we're training I'll show you how it works," She said, eyes for a second looking over at the front desk as they called her over with her order, "but for now I think I'll have to excuse myself. I'll see you guys later!" She laughed nervously, and rushed over to the counter where the clerk scolded her gently for her bad manners. Naofumi grinned tenderly, watching her pick a table rather far from their own and sit down to eat. His attention shifted back to his partner, who had scowl on her usually pleasant face.
"Huh? What's wrong, Myne?" He asked, confused on why she looked so upset. Myne swat her hand, and that happy go lucky expression crept back on her face.
"Oh, nothing Sir Shield Hero. As I was saying before we were interrupted, how about you drink with me?" She raised her wine glass up to him again, prompting him to take a sip from it. The black haired boy raised his hands up to his chest, waving them in lack of compliance. Before Lucy had come, she had been trying to convince him to drink with her and his answer stood firm with a no. He was not a drinker, and he never planned to be, but she didn't seem to budge. A little ways away, Lucy took note of this repetitive exchange and Myne's pushy behavior. So much so that she was practically staring as she munched on a slide of loaf bread. She thought it was strange, but for all she knew Noafumi's partner could have been a heavy drinker like Cana was. The blonde looked away and began to think of her friends again. If Team Natsu were here eating with her, Natsu and Gray would have eaten half of the menu by now while Happy egged them on and Erza ignored them to enjoy her strawberry cake. And if they were in a guild no doubt most of the men would be in a brawl whilst the women watched in disappointment.
How she would miss those days.
The next day Lucy awoke to the sound of screaming and the loud march of armored men. Sadly, by the time she had finished getting dressed in celestial garments and looked presentable by her standards, she watched from her window as Naofumi was hauled away by castle guards. 'Oh no, Naofumi.'
She ran out of her room intending to chase them down, but bumped into another guard. The abrupt force caused her to fall to the floor. "Key hero! My deepest apologies. Please allow me to assist y-" the guard was cut off as she got up herself and began to run for the stairs. Like the day before, she was stopped when the guard grabbed her arm.
"Let me go! They're taking away Naofumi!" She fought in his grip, trying to pull herself away and continue going after the carriage that took him away.
"Please, key hero! You will see him soon. The king has summoned all heroes before him at once." She calmed down, assured that she would be explained the meaning of this and allowed the remaining platoon of soldiers to take her back to the castle. When Lucy had finally made it, the grand doors opened to reveal the boy she had been looking for circled by the weapons of a few guards while the other heroes stood close to the king. Not making sense of the situation, Lucy went by her first instinct and ran straight for him.
"Naofumi!" She called out to him. He turned back to her, watching as she ran towards him but was ultimately held back once again by a guard. He gave her a sorry glance before he looked back towards the others in front of him. He couldn't believe it. The entire time Myne had fooled him. It was a setup from the very beginning. All because he was the shield hero. Was he really doomed to be betrayed like this only because of who he was forced to be? They were all looking down at him. The king, the guards, Myne, Motoyasu, Ren, Itsuki and Lucy— Lucy. He looked back at her she stood in place, absorbing all the conflict with a sad look in her eyes. He had no doubt that she was filled in about his "attempted rape" and couldn't find it in herself to fight back. Did she believe the lies too? He couldn't tell. The anger and frustration of it all bubbled in his chest.
"Screw you! Who needs you guys? I'll find a way to fight the waves my own way!" He roared, pushing back the two guards who had hold of him, while the rest stood back. Immediately they moved closer to seize him once again, but his shield began to glow a soft sky blue and they kept their distance. "So what will it be king? Are you gonna let me rot in jail between every wave?" He spew between heavy pants.
"There's no more time until the next wave so I will not imprison you. Scum or not, you are a hero and one of the only remaining people capable of saving this world. However, news of your crime are spreading quickly throughout my kingdom. Let that be your punishment. You should never be allowed to live a decent life for as long as you're here." The old man declared. The accused glared, turning his back on them all as he reached for the few coins he had left in his shield the night before. He bunched them up in his fist and threw them towards Myne and Motoyasu.
"Is this what you wanted? Shove them up your ass!" As soon as the coins hit the ground, the spear hero lunged for the shield hero yelling at him to wait, grabbing him roughly by the wrist and forcing him to face him. "Let me go. I'm the weak one, remember? I don't want a second to wait." Naofumi spat and tore himself out of his grasp.
Naofumi stormed off, away from the people who wronged him and past Lucy.
A/N: Second chapter. :D
For anyone wondering, I will not be adding Raphtalia as a major character or even as a side character or anything. Something about her liking Naofumi even though he practically raised her doesn't sit right with me and adding her wouldn't make sense to my story anyways. Filo I most likely will add, and Rishia as well. Hope that doesn't make too many people upset, but if it does oh well LOL.
Hope you guys enjoyed and keep reading. :D