BEOKEN AND BRUISED
CHAPTER 13
Today was the day of the royal banquet. Lucy was preparing inside her room as she reviewed everything that they discovered till now. After what they found out a few months ago they didn't discover anything new, only traces leading to a dark guild and that just strengthened the idea that a dark guild might be present in the banquet.
As for the identity of Roran, every time they searched about him they came out empty handed, Lucy figured in the end that it must be an alias. She ran over the plan in her head that got everyone shocked to their core…
"What?!" almost everyone in the room that were gathered screeched.
"You want us to go with you to the banquet?" Jellal asked as he noticed from the corner of his eyes that Lahar looked dangerously pale.
"Listen up." She held out her hands. "Let me explain."
They quietened enough to hear her out, Lucy heaved a sigh and sat back in her chair. "All this time we were thinking inside the box when really we could have finished this shit a long time ago."
Lahar widened his eyes at her words. "What do you mean?"
"I mean…" she pointed at Cobra who cocked his head to the side. "If Cobra was with me in the ball, he could be able to hear people out and identify the culprit immediately."
Lahar slumped in a chair behind him, wondering why on earth didn't he think of that before.
"And if you guys come with us, it will add more security to the king and Princess. The major key point is, that for my plan to work, I need all of you to be there."
Sawyer quirked an eyebrow. "And what is your plan?"
The blonde smirked. "Easy. Cobra needs to attend this with me as he is my brother, because people would want to know who the new addition to the Heartfilia family is. As for an escort, Macbeth will be my plus one because people expect me to come with someone. Jellal and Sawyer will act as my bodyguards, and it would be a part of their uniform to have masks and shades on, so that no one can identify Jellal. We can also give him a wig. As for Sorano, it's essential that she goes since she is my partner. Richard can act as my driver and we could sneak in Meredy as a waitress. Ultear will be hiding in one of the rooms as a backup if we needed one. In the case of something happening, Jellal and Sawyer will get to the King and Princess to escort them to safety while we handle the rest of the dark guild and capture whoever the hell did all of that. Any objections?"
They all stared at her like she has grown two heads. Lahar stepped up and with a grave voice he asked. "How long have you been planning this?"
The blonde cupped her chin in thought. "I was thinking about this for a while now and I think it's a really good idea."
Lahar nodded. "It is a good idea Lucy-san but I need to take it up with the council and I don't think-"
"They will agree." Lucy said firmly.
"How could you be so sure?" Lahar questioned and wished he didn't when he saw the look in the blonde's eyes.
"Because they will take whatever chance they will get to bring them back to prison." She pointed to the Oracion Seis members and then settled at Jellal. "So they will take it in anticipation that they might slip up and then they would be escorted back in custody. But that's not going to happen!"
"And how are you so sure?" Jellal inquired.
"Because I trust that you guys are more than capable for this, so there's no need to worry." She gave them a bright smile and each male there blushed while the women gushed at the blonde.
And just like she said, the council jumped on the opportunity and accepted the deal.
'Fools…' Lucy thought as she worked on her hair, she could bring out Cancer but she was saving her magic so when the fight erupts, she'll be ready.
A knock sounded on her door, she gave a small come in and faced her visitor when he entered. Midnight was wearing a black tux with a white button down shirt and a black bow tie. His hair was smoothed and pulled up in a high ponytail, he was wearing a silver necklace and some silver bands on his fingers. Lucy gawked at him as he moved closer to her, he took the brush from her nightstand and started brushing her hair.
"You look amazing Mackey!" she breathed out once she regained her composure. He smiled at her and started braiding her hair down. "I should be the one saying that. You look beautiful Lu."
Lucy' red gown was form fitting accentuating her voluptuous figure. The sweetheart neckline was dipped and her back bare. It was fitting till it reached her knees then it flared out in many layers, each layer fading darker and darker till it became black. She was lost on how to do her hair but since Midnight intervened she let him do whatever he likes, and to Midnight a simple French braid to the side would look lovely with this sleeveless dress.
He finished her hair and she checked it out. "It's beautiful, thank you so much Mackey!"
He patted her head and walked out of the room, leaving her to finish preparing. She wondered if he came in to check on her only to find her in her hair dilemma, she smiled at that thought. She never realized that they could be so caring and with each day passing she felt more and more blessed to have these people as her family.
She brushed up her make-up, her smokey brown and gold eyeshadow glistened under the light as she put on a light nude lipstick. She checked once more to see if it was perfect and nodded her head when she liked the result. She got out of her chair and walked to her bed where her black heels were waiting for her, she put them on then grabbed her purse that had her keys in it and walked out of the room.
Coming downstairs she was greeted by her family, the men ready in their suits and Sorano in her white gown that sparkled with silver. Ultear was wearing a black Kimono while Meredy was wearing a black short skirt with a pink blouse. She looked at them and smiled. "Are you ready?"
They nodded their heads and headed out, not after they each bid goodbye to the kids.
Reaching the palace in Crocus, Richard parked the carriage next to the back entrance where Lahar was waiting in his formal knight uniform. He faced the carriage and walked towards it, the door was opened and he got in. For a moment he forgot to breathe when his eyes locked with the blonde's, for she was absolutely stunning in that red gown. Cobra noticed this and chuckled, he knew of the man's infatuation to the blonde, hell they all knew. Well, except for the blonde, but he didn't know if she really didn't know or she was just avoiding it.
Nevertheless, Lahar worked on removing the monitors off their ankles and they all felt relief flood them as they sensed the feel of their magic.
"Ah, this is so nice." Sorano stretched as she smiled gently.
"Tell me about it." Sawyer added as he massaged his ankle.
"Alright, now you can go back to the main entrance. No one saw you while you came here right?" Lahar asked and they all shook their heads no.
"Alright then, good luck. Meredy." That was the last thing he said before he hopped out of the carriage and walked inside the palace.
The pinkette turned towards them and smiled. "Be careful guys." And then jumped out of the carriage following Lahar to get her cater uniform.
Ultear followed after them to find a good place to hide in.
Richard drove it back towards the main entrance where two escorts were already waiting at the base of the staircase. The door opened and they helped Lucy and Sorano out, Lucy tangled her hand with Macbeth while Erik with Sorano. Jellal and Sawyer walked out of the carriage and nodded at Richard, who in return nodded back. They walked behind them and up the stairs while Richard circled the carriage back to the hind entrance and waited there for any sign of danger.
The heavy doors opened and Lucy plus company were escorted inside the ball room. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling illuminating the golden marbled floor, tables were scattered in a neatly fashion all around the room, at the end of the room there were two staircases leading to a balcony where Lucy saw the current King and his daughter, the Princess were seated. Guards flanked them on each sides making the blonde heave a sigh of relief that at least the royals were protected well. Scanning the room, she saw a lot of familiar faces, being know businessmen, dukes, duchesses and some distinguished rune officials.
"Erik, do you hear anything?" the blonde asked quietly as the servant brought them to their table.
"I am still a bit hazy since I just got it back, I still need a bit more time."
The blonde nodded and looked at her brother noticing the way he winced at the pain. She put her hand on his shoulder and whispered. "Take it one step at a time, don't overexert yourself alright?"
He grinned at her and took a glace of champagne before he downed it in one go. Lucy shook her head and decided to mingle for a bit, she told her group then left to the center of the room. She talked with some officials about the ball and how the music was so lovely. She subtly snuck glances here and there at any possible sign of danger, she was focused on the pianist at the far back of the room and noticed that he was unbelievably close to the stairs leading up to the King. She turned around to tell the others when she was stopped by a pair of hands.
"Oh my Lucy-san, what's gotten you so rushed?" Linda smiled, her green eyes glinting in mirth making the blonde giggle.
"Sorry I didn't see you there Linda-san. You look amazing by the way."
Linda looked at her green mermaid dress and smiled. "You think so, thank you. My friend got it for me, he loves the color green and said I would look amazing in it."
"Well he wasn't kidding." The blonde said as the other woman smiled wider. "Well enough about me, what about you? You look gorgeous in that red gown."
The blonde blushed. "Thank you so much."
Linda looked behind the blonde and grinned. "Well I have to go, I just saw my friend come in. I'll see you later Lucy-san."
The blonde waved her goodbye and once she was out of sight, she made her way back to the table all the while lost in thought. Till now, nothing suspicious happened except how close the pianist is to the king, she exasperated a sigh when the music picked up in volume but continued her train of thought although it was proving to be a bit difficult with the loud music.
She heard someone clear their throat next to her and looked up, Lahar was standing before her with a bit of pink dusting his cheeks, he massaged his neck as he complimented her. "I wasn't able to say it before, but you look beautiful Lucy-san."
The blonde's own cheeks start to become pink as she lowered her head to avoid embarrassment. "Thank you, you look really good in your uniform too Lahar-san."
The man turned red from head to toe. "Th- thank you Lu-Lucy-san. Um, did you find anything yet?"
He opted to change the discussion because his heart was about to burst and he was about to start talking about how the dress fit her perfectly, etc… he, at the moment, didn't trust neither his brain nor his heart, because they may very well sell him out.
"Not really Lahar-san." The blonde was back to normal and he willed his heart to calm down.
"Me too."
"Though…" the blonde put her hands behind her back. "There was something that was bothering me."
He listened to her and motioned her to go on. "Why do the military officials order more than the doctors? In the files, the doctors weren't ordering much as the officials, and it rose some suspicion back then but there were other strong leads and at the time it seemed trivial."
The captain hummed. "That's because the officials are divided into many small categories. There are captains, doctors, chefs and so on… you didn't know?"
Lucy quirked an eyebrow in question. "Why are there two categories for doctors though?"
Lahar chuckled at her cute expression. "That's because there are the doctors who went to military school and decided to study medicine, and then there are the college graduates who we also collaborate with."
Lucy' mouth formed an o as she digested the information. "So some chefs and doctors are considered officials too?"
The man nodded before he looked over his shoulder to a knight who called out to him, he excused himself and left, leaving the blonde to her thoughts. She decided to go report what she found out about the files to her group.
She saw her brother and was about to wave at him when she heard a woman from behind her compliment someone. "Wow Roran, you always look so nice don't you? Especially with that hair."
The blonde widened her eyes and she locked eyes with her brother's own wide eyes. He is here, Roran is here.
"Well, well miss Lydia, you know that if my bestie is here then of course I will be."
A shiver went down Lucy' spine as she heard his voice. That voice, there was no mistaking it. It was of the man from before, the one who… attacked her back then. She turned around only to see his maniacal grin directed at her, his golden feral eyes bore into her as he muttered. "Hey Blondie."
At that moment, everything went dark, and chaos erupted.
…
Cobra was sitting with the rest of the group on the table, already feeling a headache that might as well split his head in two. He groaned as he wanted with a passion to hit his face on the table if only to alleviate the pain a little, Macbeth slid his gaze at the slayer and whispered harshly. "Pull yourself together, Lucy is counting on us so we can't mess this up."
Cobra growled. "Don't you think I already know that!? I just need a bit of time that's all."
"Oh look here she is, maybe she got something." Sorano said as she spotted the blonde coming near them.
"Yeah because for now I haven't found anything." Jellal added as he spotted Meredy bringing in drinks, she looked at him and shook her head. Nothing yet.
"Yeah maybe." Sawyer breathed out.
She was closer to the table when she froze and widened her eyes, Sorano and Macbeth looked alarmed at the look on the blonde's face.
"Cobra what-"the words were swallowed up at the sight of Cobra, and they knew that something happened once they saw the terror in his eyes.
"He's here, Roran is here." He said eyes narrowed into slits.
They widened their own and were about to speak when Cobra looked up frantically, he saw his sister turn around to look at someone, no… to look at Roran, the man of her nightmares. "Shit! Jellal, Sawyer now!" he screamed as he held Sorano close to him and pushed Macbeth back.
A metallic wall shut the windows obscuring the sunlight from coming in and the chandeliers went out. A magical ball flew next to Sorano and grazed her arm, she let out a small shriek and looked at Cobra. "Thanks."
"No worries."
Jellal was quick on his feet, he took off his mask and activated meteor, grabbing Sawyer he zipped through the masses of screaming nobles and reached the balcony just in time to see the Princess being taken away. The guards lay unconscious and some after closer investigation were even dead. He looked at the King who seemed unharmed and then back at Sawyer.
"Sawyer, you stay with the king. I am going after the princess."
Before Sawyer could answer however, another person did that for him. "No need for that."
The lights were back on and the metallic bars disappeared. Both men swiveled around to see red eyes staring at them with a bored expression.
"Who the hell are you?!" growled Jellal as he put a hand in front of the King to shield him from any danger that might come their way.
The man in question cocked his head, his black hair ruffled by the action. "You sure forget quickly Jellal Fernandes. We met a couple of month ago in front of the mansion."
A sweat tickled on his forehead as he remembered the man and Lucy' screams, he was the one who made their bodies ache all over. He gulped as he surveyed the scene before him while also keeping a close eye on the stranger, he could see that they were very well surrounded by the dark guild.
And he summarized something, the nobles were taken hostage. So that means, they couldn't fight the mages even if they wanted to. He also noticed something else, that Cobra and Roran were not present. Not even the mysterious woman Lucy talked to before she walked over to them. Speaking of Lucy, where is she? He locked eyes with brown orbs that muttered something to him, making him widen his eyes a fraction before nodding subtly. He turned around to see that Sawyer realized the same thing as him.
"Good boy, you figured out your situation rather quickly. Now sit down and wait till our client is done with the Princess, then we will see what the orders are." He pointed towards the floor for them to take a seat, it was then that the King decided to speak.
"My daughter, Hisui, what are you going to do to her?" his voice shuddered as he looked at the man with a fearful expression.
The black haired man's eyes darkened as he grinned sinisterly. "Whatever our client pleases." Then left.
The King's knees buckled under him and gave up, his body shook as he started crying silently. "My daughter… my daughter…"
A hand on his shoulder jolted him, his eyes met concerned black irises and he exhaled. "Don't worry old man, your daughter will be alright."
"And how could you be so sure?" the King breathed out.
"Because our sister is going after her, and if there is one thing I know about her…" Jellal started as he watched Gemini Lucy in the crowd.
"Is that she is stubborn as a bull. She will never give up until she saves the Princess." Sawyer continued while putting a little force on the King's shoulder for reassurance.
Jellal smiled a bit at the actions of the blond man who in turn scowled at him. "What's up with you and that creepy smile?" he grumbled quietly, eyeing the dark mages that surrounded them all.
"I just never thought you had it in you." the bluenette replied as he took his seat on the floor.
Sawyer heaved a sigh before he followed suit, dragging the King with him. "Neither did I, but then I remembered someone who did."
Jellal gave him this time a real smile. "Yeah… she's amazing isn't she?"
The blond man nodded. "She is."
…
Lucy and Cobra ran in the corridors to catch up with the Princess. The blonde was clutching her purse to her side as she turned to a corner and locked eyes with golden venomous ones. Cobra sided next to her, his eyes narrowed as he growled at the man before him. Not a day passed where he didn't fantasize about ripping this guy to shreds for what he did to his sister, and he wasn't going to pass up this opportunity, not today.
"Sunshine, you go. I got him. I can smell the Princess down the hallway, along with that wretch." He snarled as he saw Roran smirk.
"But I-"
"Go! There is no time." He turned to her and transformed his fingers into claws. "Also…" he began as he ripped a slit in the blonde's dress up her leg. "How the hell were you running in this dress-"he didn't continue as he eyed the black leather garter on her right leg. He grinned and shooed her off, she already put everything into consideration. He listened as her footsteps became farther and farther away from them, he heard her purse drop and a small click. He figured she must have clasped her key ring to her garter.
Now his attention back on the green haired man, his pupil dilated till it was white, contributing to his crazed expression as he took off his shirt and tie. With a serpentine smile he asked. "Which hand did you touch my sister you fucker?"
For the first time in his life, the grin was slapped off of Roran' face and he turned serious, noticing the grave situation. He remembered the slayer from before, he wasn't this strong and certainly wasn't this frightening. But he needed to keep his act up. "Huh? I don't know what you're talking about weakling!" he only needed to touch him once and it's game over for the slayer.
The slayer's grin turned more maniacal as he edged closer to him. "Good. Now that no one is here, maybe I can refresh your memory."
Cobra gave no warning, he dashed towards Roran and slashed him on his torso. The scream that threatened to spill from the green haired man was swallowed as his face met with a concrete wall.
"Now I will ask you again. Which hand did you touch my sister with when you hurt her? You better answer me. Unless…" he leaned in close to his ear. "You wish to lose them both."
…
Lucy kept running and running, she didn't stop for a breath because she knew there was not much time left. She discarded herself of her heals so she could run faster, she wondered why there weren't any guards, servants or a living soul on this floor. But then remembered that almost everyone was busy at the banquet, she groaned as she turned to another hall and wondered how long does she have to run when in reality she was grateful for it because it gave her time to clear her head, time to think.
There was no mistaking it, she already knew who the culprit for all of this incidents was.
She reached the end of the hall and busted the door open, she sucked in deep breathes as she stared at the woman before her with anger in her eyes.
"Oh my, such an expression you have at the moment Lucy-san."
The blonde inched closer in the room and it was then that she noticed the chained Princess wailing behind the black haired woman.
"Get away from the Princess Linda!" Lucy shouted as she stopped a mere inches away from them.
"Oh?" Linda quirked a brow. "You seem to have forgotten how to be respectful."
"People like you don't deserve any respect at all."
Linda cocked her head to the side and frowned. "Hmm, that hurts Lucy-san." She suddenly smiled. "Say, indulge me, how did you find out it was me?"
The blonde heaved a sigh and got into a fighting stance. "This isn't the time to talk is it?"
The black haired woman cackled. "Oh please, as if you could do anything. You are just a broken little doll. But say… you look a little better, why do you look a little better? Our sessions should have broken you more."
The blonde stumbled back. "What?"
Linda started taking small steps towards the blonde. "Ah yes, you didn't know about that. The human mind is truly something magnificent isn't it? Whenever you would come I would feed you so many things that increased your insecurities, like perhaps the burden of the fact that you are responsible for those band of criminals that you took in, and things like that."
"You-"Lucy sucked in a breath. "How could you? You are a doctor who is supposed to care for her patients."
Linda giggled. "You think I give a fuck about my patients? You think I give a fuck about you?" her giggle turned into full blown laughter. "You are so naïve! The only reason I chose this was to infiltrate the military and play with the knights and soldiers' minds when they came to visit. I saw myself as a puppet master, everything was going amazingly well, until you came along." She growled at the end, her eyes dilated in complete madness making a shiver run down Lucy' spine. "You came along and ruined everything. I worked so hard to get the Oracion Seis out and when I succeed, you take them in. And before you did, you were trampling over my ace, the fucking poison dragon slayer."
Linda groaned in annoyance as she held her head and trembled. "Then I think, that the only way to feel better is to get rid of the problem, which is you. So I killed your father, then I sent out a guild to kidnap your kids, and to maybe bring the others back. But you retaliated, you retaliated and messed up my plans all over again! I despise you with every fiber of my being."
"So that's where the money went…" the blonde whispered jerking Linda out of her thoughts. "Huh?"
"You stole money from the military to pay for the dark guild. And since you are an official, it went down their account. And I suppose the reason you are doing all of this is for vengeance correct? The boy…" Lucy said with a mask of indifference.
"You aren't that much of an idiot after all." Linda chuckled. "Yeah, the boy…"
"Simon." Linda gasped as she heard the name of her beloved coming out of the blonde's mouth.
"From the tower of heaven. You were a slave there as well."
"H- how did you know-"Linda slapped herself in the face. "Ah right, you were there when he… when he… DIED PROTECTING THAT SCARLET BITCH!"
Gone was the act of an innocent girl and Linda finally showed her true colors. "I loved him with all my heart, why the fuck didn't he love me back!? Always talking about that girl all the damn fucking time. I lost it, that girl made me lose myself. And then you, you come and take the rest from me. And then, I am left… all alone to suffer misera-"the sound of a whip lashing echoed in the room.
Linda raised her hand to her bruised cheek and looked at the blonde who held the whip next to her, her eyes were shadowed as she started to talk. "Don't you fucking dare blame your psychotic actions on others but yourself."
At first Lucy was afraid of how the woman before her acted, but then that fear turned into blinding anger as she kept hearing more and more bullshit spew from her mouth. Linda felt lonely so she decided to kill Jude? She felt lonely so she decided to kidnap the kids?
She showed her eyes and the hate that is in them. "Honestly, you are the one who needs therapy."
She brushed her finger over Virgo' key. 'Virgo, prepare yourself to appear next to the princess.'
'Yes Hime.'
Linda slowly straightened herself before she released a screech and turned towards the Princess, she pulled out a knife from her dress and held it above the Princess's head. "This is for revenge!"
Lucy shouted as she saw the blade close down on the Princess.
… 10 minutes earlier…
Jellal and Sawyer each sat on a side of the king, they looked at the commotion and shook their heads.
"Not one guard came from the outside." Jellal noted.
"Just like last time, they must have put up a sound proof barrier. The mage must be here to do so." Sawyer explained. When he was done Jellal nodded. "I see."
The chandeliers went out again and the metallic bars shut the windows, the crowd once again erupted into chaos.
"Marco, what the hell are you doing? Take them off." Some mage yelled from across the room.
"It's not me!" the man named Marco replied, making the bluenette smirk, he reached for Sawyer and told him to prepare his self.
Seconds later and a few male screams sounded, Sawyer grabbed the King and stood up with Jellal. The lights were back on and the bars disappeared, a few men lay unconscious on the floor with Ultear standing on top of them.
"Jellal now!"
Jellal activated his meteor and Sawyer picked up the king and ran to the door with Jellal hovering above them to destroy it. By the time the dark mages realized what was happening, it was too late. Sawyer escorted the King to safety and Jellal stayed behind to join in on the fight. Macbeth, Meredy and Sorano got into fighting stances and attacked the flabbergasted mages.
Jellal looked at Ultear and grinned. "I'm going to search for the Princess."
"Roger that, I'll stay here and help the others." Ultear yelled to him as she dodged a fireball. It dissolved behind her and she used her magic, time ark, to reform it and sent it hurling towards its thrower.
"I hope I am not too late." The floor shifted under some mages making them stumble forward.
"Not at all Richard." They stood back to back as they fought.
Jellal zipped through the corridors but stopped short at the sight that greeted him. Roran, the man who was a mystery for so many months, had both his arms severed and was lying in a pool of his own blood.
"What the hell?" Jellal whispered as he came closer to inspect for a heartbeat.
"He's still alive." A voice rasped from behind him forcing the bluenette to swivel around and look at the mess that is currently going by the name Cobra. He was bloodied from top to bottom, his hands were dripping blood as he walked towards where Jellal was.
"Did you… did you do this?" a foolish question, Jellal knew. But he wanted an answer, because he didn't know how the hell were they going to explain why this man looked on the brink of death and he feared they would put Cobra back in jail.
"Don't worry about me." Jellal cursed as he remembered Cobra' ability to hear souls.
"It's not you I am worried about." Jellal retorted, a futile attempt to mask his sincere concern.
"Hmm, okay." Cobra crouched and picked up the slumped body of Roran and slung him on his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Jellal questioned as he watched the slayer walk away.
"Taking him to get some medical treatment, I don't want to cause her any more trouble." That was the response Cobra gave as he disappeared from view. Jellal sighed and ran forward, thinking of the blank stare the slayer had in his eye as he walked away.
He reached a busted door where he saw that woman from before bringing a dagger down on the Princess, Lucy positioned herself as she shouted. "Virgo now!"
A golden light shone before the maid spirit appeared and dug herself in the floor causing the ground beneath Linda to crumble, making the black haired woman fall to the floor below, Jellal rushed to save the Princess and brought her back to Lucy' side. They took off the chains and helped her up.
"Talk about nice timing." Lucy commented causing the bluenette to chuckle.
"Thank you so much." Hisui' voice quivered as she steadied herself on the blonde.
She looked at Jellal and backed up. "Wait a minute aren't you-"
"No time for introductions your Majesty, we need to get you to safety. The king is already with the guards outside of the castle." Jellal cut in.
Jellal helped the Princess to put her weight on him, he gazed at Lucy who prepared her whip. "And what about you?"
She looked over her shoulder at him, her gaze hardened. "I have a score to settle." He nodded at her words and turned to leave.
"Lu?" the blonde hummed after he addressed her. "Promise you'll come back."
Her face softened as she gave him a bright smile. "Don't worry, I'll be back."
She then jumped down the hole and landed in a crouch. She straightened herself and locked eyes with green maniacal ones.
"Let's begin!" both girls dashed at each other at the same time, Lucy with her whip and Linda with her dagger.
Lucy flung her whip and grabbed the hand that was holding the dagger then she flicked it making the dagger fly from Linda' hand. That didn't stop Linda as she kept moving forward and kicked the blonde in her stomach. The blonde gasped for air as she moved back just in time to avoid a crystal dagger to the throat.
Lucy jumped back a few meters and called out Loke, they both stood side by side as they rushed towards the black haired woman.
"Hey that's cheating!" Linda raged as she barely dodged a regulus impact only to be met by a Lucy kick to the back.
"That's my magic, deal with it." The blonde crouched down before she took another key and summoned a spirit. Capricorn appeared behind Linda and sent her flying with a kick to the gut.
"Two- two zodiac spirits… how the hell did she manage?!" Linda stood up on wobbly legs and clutched her sides.
"I've been training non-stop. You cannot beat me!" Lucy let her arrogance slip a bit as she looked at the pathetic state her former therapist was in.
That was the mistake Lucy did, as rows and rows of red crystals shot from the floor beneath, Loke pushed her out of harm's way in time, but unfortunately he took the blunt of the force and was sent back to his world.
"Loke!" Lucy quickly stood up and cursed herself for letting her guard down. She jumped back as another crystal impaled the floor where she was standing a few seconds ago.
Lucy needed time to think of a plan so she decided to indulge her for a bit. "You asked me before how I figured out it was you? Easy, you slipped."
The doctor stood her ground and glared at the blonde. "How so?"
"I traced back some files and found out about Roran, and when you told me that your friend likes the color green I was reminded of him back then. Also, I remembered the boy, he looked a lot like Simon which made me think of the tower of Heaven. I just connected the dots after that."
"That doesn't make any sense!" Linda shot her hand forward, a red magical circle appeared and small crystals flew from it towards the blonde.
It didn't matter though because she already came up with a plan, she dodged each one skillfully and called out Taurus, she needed an open space for her plan.
Taurus barreled through his gate towards the black haired woman and pushed her out of the window, making her fall into the garden, Lucy jumped down and landed on her feet. Linda slowly got up, her eyebrows furrowed to the point of wrinkles as she dusted herself. Lucy looked to her side and saw a huge clearing where people were huddled out. It seemed that they were successful in saving the nobles and royals. She saw Roran being treated by a knight and could only widen her eyes at the sight of his arms, or the lack of. She focused back on Linda as she heard her mutter something before a huge saw blade made of crystals appeared and Linda hurtled it in the blonde's direction.
The blonde sucked a sharp breath as she narrowly dodged it, a strand of her blonde hair was cut off because of it, but when she saw the smirk on Linda' face she knew she messed up. She looked behind her and terror raked her body, the saw blade was moving in the direction of the clearing.
"Holy shit!" she was about to run when a scream spilt itself from her throat. She looked down at her leg to see a crystal shard imbedded in her thigh. She watched as the blood started pouring out of the wound. She heard Linda curse and shout in rage so she glanced at her and followed her line of vision towards the clearing.
Macbeth was standing there with his arm extended, and she saw the little flecks of red on the floor. She smiled to herself and thanked them before she stood up, hand clutching a key. 'Vulpecula, be ready.'
Linda turned to her. "YOU WILL PAY! YOU WILL ALL PAY!" she raised her arms above her head and chanted. "Crystal swords!"
About fifty swords appeared in the sky, all pointing their tips towards the blonde. Linda continued. "Descend!"
The swords rained down on the blonde as she did her best in maneuvering her way out of harm. But with her leg it was proven to be impossible, so she took out her whip and started to defend herself with it. Linda appeared behind her and whispered in her ear. "Got you Blondie." She slid the crystal sword in the blonde's back and watched with satisfaction in her eyes as the former criminals cried out for their dear sister.
"Did you now?" Linda widened her eyes as she looked at the dissolving blonde before her, the sword in her hand fell as she glanced up at Lucy who was glowing in a golden light a few feet away from her.
"How did you?" her question was answered by a little girl who had nine tails and fox ears. "No one messes with our Princess." She winked before she dissolved in a shadow of blue flecks.
Lucy put pressure on her leg and closed her eyes as she chanted.
"Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens...
All the stars, far and wide...
Show me thy appearance...
With such shine."
A golden magic circle appeared beneath Lucy, the pressure increased as the ground rumbled. Almost all of the people who were rescued from the ballroom were looking at the spectacle. Linda watched in horror as she willed her body to move, but her legs disobeyed her begs.
"Oh Tetrabiblos...
I am the ruler of the stars...
Aspect become complete...
Open thy malevolent gate.
Oh 88 Stars of the heaven..."
The sky filled up with spheres of different colors and Linda started to tremble. "Please… stop." She couldn't move, her voice was too little to beg and her heart might as well left her ribcage and escaped with its furious pounding.
The former Oracion Seis members and Jellal had their mouth hanging open as they gazed at the sky, it reminded them of a night sky filled with stars.
"What the hell is this?" asked Sorano as her eyes landed on the glowing blonde.
"I don't know." Jellal replied as he too now looked at the blonde.
The blonde opened her eyes only for two identical magic circles to appear in them and yelled at the top of her voice.
"Shine!
Urano Metria!"
The spheres descended in a beautiful dance on the black haired woman, making her scream in pain as she felt their tremendous force. Linda' body fell, she was barely breathing and Lucy thought that she might have used a bit too much power in the spell.
"I- I did it. Thank good-"Lucy' eyes closed as she let her body sail to the ground, but before she reached the grass she was caught by Sawyer.
He picked her up gently and walked towards the running mages.
"What happened to Lucy-nee?"
"She is just exhausted, she must have used a lot of magic." Noted Sawyer as he carefully handed her to a rune knight medic. Lahar came running towards them to assess the damage done to, well everything.
XXX
Lucy' eyes fluttered open, she groaned as she tried to sit up to take in her surroundings, after a bit of effort she found out that she was in a hospital room. She huffed as she fixed the pillows in a more comfortable position, someone walked inside and she turned to them. It was a nurse.
"Ah you are awake Lucy-san… that's good."
Lucy was about to say something, when she felt how hoarse her throat was though she didn't. The nurse, picking up on her distress, handed her a cup of water.
"You truly have an extraordinary family Lucy-san, they refused to leave your side for the whole week."
Lucy spit the water and looked at the nurse, she croaked and winced at the sound of her voice. "A whole week?"
The nurse nodded then smiled. "Don't worry though, they handled everything."
The blonde looked confused at her words. "What do you mean?"
The nurse waved her off. "They will explain better. I will go inform them." With a nod she left the room and closed the door behind her. It was silent for a while before 'watch out' and 'Look where you're going' erupted from behind the door and strangely enough, a cat's shriek.
Finally the door opened and in tumbled her precious and rambunctious family. They stood still for a minute before they dove to her bed, the women holding her like their life depended on it while the men gave her a sideways hug. She looked down and noticed the monitors on their ankles causing her to frown. Richard noticed her expression and ruffled her hair. "They were just taking precautions, we are still prisoners."
After they settled down and Lucy asked about the kids, it was time for business.
"So, tell me. What happened that day with you guys?" her gaze swept on all of their faces and landed on Macbeth who started talking.
"We managed to get the people out safely, then we spotted you and watched. Nothing happened on our part, the interesting things come from your end. What the hell was that spell?"
Lucy giggled. "It's called the Ultimate Magic of the Stars. It's an ancient celestial spirit spell that I read about a while ago then practiced it in secret. At first I wasn't able to do it, and in fact I didn't even know if I would be able to pull it off against Linda. But… somehow I did." She gave a small smile at the end.
"About Linda," Sorano started gaining the attention of Lucy. "She confessed to killing your father and attempting to kidnap the kids and us. She was also the one who let us out of jail apparently so we have that to thank her for I guess."
"We remembered her, she was in the tower with us. It turns out she did this out of revenge for Simon and the fact that the knights knew about the tower and did nothing about it. So she blamed it on the Royals and authority of this country and set on destroying it." Jellal slid his gaze downcast. "I understand why the council and royals, but Simon… that's on me."
Lucy laid her hand on his shoulder. "That's alright Jellal, you are trying your best now and that is all that matters."
He looked up quickly at her face only to see her giving him a soft smile. "Thank you Lu."
She winked at him a 'Your welcome.' She turned to Richard who spoke up. "It appears that she wanted to recruit us, that's why she bailed us out."
"And… what happened to Roran?" the blonde asked apprehensively.
Silence ensued between the group before Jellal spoke up. "He died of blood loss. His arms were severed and they didn't get to him on time."
The blonde nodded and eyed her brother who didn't comment about the situation. She took a deep breath and continued. "On who did they put the blame on?"
"No one." Cobra answered.
"Huh?" the blonde cocked her head to the side.
"As our job was to secure the king and Princess and find out the culprits they didn't care about casualties on the enemies end." Macbeth cut in.
The blonde relaxed in her bed. "That's… understandable. And what about the leader of the guild?"
"Vanished from sight. Linda doesn't know him, she just worked with Roran and he acted as the intermediate between them. She doesn't know how he looks or anything." Ultear put a leg over the other and crossed her arms after she was done explaining.
A knock sounded on the door alerting the others, a soft enter was all what the visitor needed to enter. Lahar opened the door and widened his eyes when he saw the blonde being surrounded by her family, he actually wanted to catch her alone to talk to her for a bit. He mentally sighed and addressed her. "Lucy-san, the Princess and the King wish to see you. The news that you are awake must have reached them."
Lucy nodded her head in appreciation. "Thank you Lahar-san."
He was closing the door when he stopped and looked at the blonde with a smile on his face. "Thank you so much for your help Lucy-san, we couldn't have done it without you. Also I hope you get better soon."
Lucy smiled at him. "Likewise Lahar-san, I couldn't have done it without you, and thank you."
He closed the door to let the family rest together.
"How is your leg?" Meredy questioned as she inched closer to the bed and lifted the blanket, Lucy's right thigh was bandaged tightly.
"Oh my god, my leg!" Lucy screamed as she flung the blanket off of her. "I totally forgot about it. Ah with all that is going on my head is in my shambles." She breathed out as the others snickered at her making her pout.
"By the way, where were they hiding? The dark mages?" Lucy asked.
"Some were waiters, some were nobles and some were in the orchestra, I remember the pianist." Answered Ultear.
Lucy' eyes widened. "Really? I knew he was fishy."
They talked for a little while and then helped her prepare for her meeting. The blonde was put in a wheelchair and escorted to the castle with her family by her side.
Arriving at the castle, Lucy gaped once she saw that everything was repaired and back to its original form, Cobra chuckled from his place beside his sister. "Yeah they work fast huh?"
Lucy slowly nodded her head as she took in the massive sight of the castle, back then with the whole mission she didn't have time to just stop and appreciate the magnificent décor of the castle so now she was taking her time in seeing everything like it was the first time.
They walked in with guards flanking them from both sides, Lucy caught sight of Lahar but he seemed to be busy with his officials so she didn't want to bother him. They rounded the corner of a vast hallway and came face to face with large white double doors. The guards stopped moving and Lahar stepped forth.
"Lucy-san, the king and Princess await you." Lahar went behind her and started moving the wheelchair gently.
Lucy looked up at him from her seat and furrowed her brows. "Only me?"
He nodded and the guards stationed at the doors announced her arrival then opened up the doors to let her in. Lahar bowed in front of the king and Princess before he took his leave, on his way out he passed the dumbfounded blonde and muttered 'Good Luck.' The doors closed behind him and he sat waiting with the rest, he heard a growl coming from a certain dragon slayer and gave him a sideways glance.
"Can't hear a thing can you?" Lahar asked with a smirk.
"Not a damn thing." Cobra grumbled.
With Lucy, she was fidgeting in her seat at being in front of the royals. She bowed her head to show her respect and waited for the king to speak up.
"You have served this kingdom greatly Miss Lucy, not only that, you as well saved my daughter from danger and helped the rune knights with a serious problem. For that, you have our thanks." The king stood up from his seat and started descending the stairs.
"It was my honor your majesty, but…" she raised her head and looked at the king who was now standing before her, she took a deep breath in and continued. "I didn't do this alone, so I don't deserve to be praised alone."
The king smiled fondly at her words. "That is true, but in the end it all came back to you didn't it?"
The blonde was confused at his words. "What do you mean your majesty?"
He chuckled and walked towards the window. "Say Miss Lucy, for your hard work I would like to bestow upon you a wish. What is it that you most desire?"
The blonde looked on her lap and held on to the ends of her skirt tightly. "What do I desire the most? That's easy…" she smiled as her eyes misted then looked back at the king. "I wish for…"
…
The doors opened and Lucy was escorted out of the throne room. Jellal and the others who were waiting got up to leave with the blonde but were stopped by a guard.
"The king wishes to speak to you." the guard then turned and waited for them next the door.
Jellal looked back at Lucy who told them they could go. Midnight patted her head as he told her to wait for them. They walked in and the doors closed behind them leaving Lucy, Lahar and the guards out there.
"I wonder what that's about?" Lahar muttered as he sided next to the blonde.
Lucy looked longingly at the door and whispered. "Yeah. I wonder…"
Lahar glanced at her. "You wouldn't know what's going on would you?"
"Ehhh?" Lucy smirked at him. "What makes you say that?"
He shook his head as he laughed and hid his face with his hand. He removed his hand when he felt Lucy tug at his sleeves.
"By the way Lahar-san, what did you get?"
He let out a sigh as he answered. "A vacation and a nice sum of money."
"That's good. You deserve some rest." Lucy nodded her head, seemingly approving the reward he got.
"But I'm not going to take it." Lucy whipped her head fast in his direction. "What? Why?!"
His eyes locked onto her worried brown ones. "Because, there is so much work to do. I can't leave in times like these, the captains have to be there for their knights and with the whole Linda-san situation we have a lot of cleaning up to do, there are still some corrupted knights within our ranks as well."
Lucy' gaze softened. "A hard worker to the end, that is quite admirable of you Lahar-san. But be careful and don't overdo it, and if you ever need help, you know where to find me."
Lahar' cheeks started to tint in pink as he looked away. "You think too highly of me Lucy-san, thank you so much for that. But… I don't think I can bother you with anything anymore, since we will be going our separate ways."
"Nonsense!" Lucy snapped. "I may not visit you guys anymore, but that doesn't mean we are going our separate ways. So please, you can always count on me for whatever help you need, I need to repay you for everything you've done to us as well."
Lahar' face turned red at this point. "Then, can I count on you… that when I overdo it, you will be there to help me?"
The blonde's face brightened as she smiled widely at him. "You bet!"
…
The former Oracion Seis members, Jellal, Meredy and Ultear were on one knee with their heads lowered. In front of them sat the king and the Princess on their respective thrones.
"You have shown bravery and helped the nobles to safety, not only that you kept me and my daughter safe when the necessity arose, and for that… I believe in her words. Hisui, if you could continue." The king held out his hand for his daughter and she took it and gave it a squeeze before letting it go and rising on her feet. "Of course your Majesty."
She took a deep breath in and with a voice that resounded through the throne room, she announced. "Jellal Fernandes, Erik Heartfilia, Sorano Aguria, Richard Buchanan, Macbeth, Sawyer, Meredy and Ultear Milkovich." They all widened their eyes at how she knew their real names.
"You have all been excused of your crimes and are now free. Your records will be deleted and you will be known through this whole country as the group who aided in the suppression of the rebellion against the throne. You may rise now, I humbly thank you for your actions to ensure my safety and the king's safety." She curtsied and when they all rose to their feet, she smiled warmly at them. "Good luck."
Their widened eyes stilled as they waited with bated breath for someone to tell them that it was a joke, but when they saw the Princess ordering a guard to bring the head of the magic council, reality sunk in.
"Wh-why?" Meredy uttered out, gaining the attention of the Princess. Meredy started sweating at what she did and she wanted for someone to take the Princess's attention quickly because she didn't know how long she could handle her gaze.
The Princess looked deep in thought before she answered. "It is just as my father said, we believe in her words."
Jellal' eyes widened even more when he knew of who they were talking about and the Princess noticed that.
"It seems you know of what I'm talking about." She remarked while looking in Jellal' direction. "Lucy-san did an amazing job with helping out with this problem, so we asked her for what she wished for the most, and her reply was, that wished for your freedom the most. That you have changed, that you have the right to explore the world free of the burdens accompanied by the past, she told us that without all of you, this plan wouldn't have succeeded. She also promised us that she will make sure to always be by your side so you never go back to what you used to be. And we believe in her words, especially the promise. Though she did request us to not tell you of this reason, but I just thought that when someone cares for another person this deeply, it should be known. So excuse me for my words and I shall apologize for Lucy-san as well for breaking my word, and now I can only say, congratulations." She curtsied once more before she got back to her throne, her father on the edge of tears at how his daughter carried herself through this. 'She will be a good queen someday.' He thought as he looked at his daughter's face.
Tears were flowing freely from everyone' face as they repeated the words that the Princess said in their heads. They didn't even register when knights were calling out to them, or when the monitors were removed from their ankles, none seemed to understand the meaning behind all of this.
"Isn't it obvious?" Cobra remarked and everyone turned to him. "It's just how much Sunshine loves us, there is no other meaning than this."
Meredy started to hiccup as she cried harder. "Is it possible-hic- to be this happy?!"
They all smiled at her words and some even patted her head. They kneeled in front of the king once more before they were excused. Walking out of the room they saw Gran Doma making his way towards the blonde with an infuriated look on his face.
"What is the meaning to all of this Lucy Heartfilia?" his voice was well kept but the anger behind it was quite evident.
Lucy looked thoughtful then shrugged her shoulders. "It is the King's orders mister chairman, you wouldn't go against him would you?"
He grit his teeth at the condescending tone she used with him, she then leaned forward and her gaze hardened. "You once told me that I need the council's approval, correct? I guess I don't need such a thing anymore do I?"
He held on tightly to his staff and walked away from her, leaving a smirking blonde in his wake. That smirk soon turned to a real smile when she saw her family, she waved at them but the smile dropped when she saw the tear stain marks on their faces.
"What happened? Is there something wrong-oof!" Meredy flung herself at Lucy and held onto to her tightly as the young pinkette cried her eyes out.
Lucy looked down at the girl in worry and gently called out for her. "Meredy? What's wrong?"
Meredy stepped away from the blonde and Lucy was about to wipe away the young girl's tears when her outstretched hand was held and she was dragged from her chair into a hug.
Strong arms held the blonde as she looked on in shock, she slowly encircled her brother in a hug as he cried on her shoulder. "Idiot, idiot Sunshine."
She breathed out as she held him tighter. "I guess the cat's out of the bag? I didn't think it would be this early."
He let her go and in turn everyone hugged her, he helped her back into the chair and led her outside to the balcony after they were told to wait there.
"Why didn't you want us to know?" Jellal asked the blonde.
She gazed at the setting sun and put her arms on the railing which proved to be difficult with the wheelchair. "Honestly, I thought you deserved this. It shouldn't have been my wish that set you guys free, it should have been your actions. That's why I told them, none of this would have worked if it weren't for you guys. I wanted to shed light on what you did, that's why I requested them to look upon that."
Midnight crossed his arms and looked at the colorful sky. "Honestly, you are too good for this world."
Lucy turned to him. "I'm sorry did you say something? I didn't hear you because of the commotion over there."
He looked to where she was pointing only to see knights yelling out orders, he glanced back at her and shook his head before he patted hers.
"Okay then, shall we go home after we are done here? I don't know about you but I am itching for a poker night, so you guys are in?" Lucy' gaze swept across all their smiling faces, they all nodded making a smile appear on her face.
They were interrupted by the Princess who came on the balcony and apologized for the blonde, she also invited Lucy for some tea after she felt better.
On their way back, Lahar stopped Cobra and took him to a corner to talk to him privately. "Stay out of trouble alright?"
Cobra patted the captain's shoulders and grinned. "I will don't worry."
"That grin doesn't make me feel any better if that was an attempt to soothe my worries, but I guess there's no helping it with you." he sighed before he smiled. "Take care of her would you?"
This time, Cobra had a soft smile on his face. "Of course. If it's any good, that's the only thing you shouldn't worry about."
The captain nodded and left, Cobra joined his family and they all went back home and had an amazing poker night.
The next day Lucy woke up surrounded by a bunch of limbs, she tried moving but one hand held her close, she turned around to see Meredy snuggling into her side. She moved her hand slowly as to not disturb and wake the young girl up. She got up to the toilet, on her way she glanced back to see Layla hugging Jellal in her sleep while both Justin and Red were flanking Macbeth and holding him tightly in a death grip.
He cracked an eye open and stared at the blonde, he whispered when he saw the little smile playing on her face. "Can you get them off of me?" A futile attempt, he knew that when he saw the blonde moving to get the camera on the counter.
She took a couple of pictures before she hid the camera and went to help Macbeth. She took Red by his arms and started to raise him lightly as Macbeth moved Justin aside. He straightened up and let out a breath.
"That bad?" the blonde asked as she looked at the black haired man.
"You have no idea, I was on the verge of suffocating." He said as he shook his head at the giggle he heard from the blonde.
His eyes swept the room and concluded that everyone else was still sleeping, he sighed and got up then helped the blonde up. He looked down at her bandaged leg. "How are you feeling?"
She followed his line of view and shrugged. "I'm okay, it just hurts from time to time."
"Well be careful, it's only been a week." The blonde nodded as he helped her out of the room. They got into the kitchen after they dressed up for the day, of course Macbeth was next to her the whole time.
"Plans for the day?" he questioned as he sat her on the chair while he went to prepare coffee.
She hummed as he gave her a cup. "Oh the day is packed with plans for all of us."
He raised an eyebrow while he was brewing his cup. "And what are we going to do? Don't push it alright, you know you aren't out of the clear yet."
She snorted at the scene in front of her and he turned to look at her with a questioning look. "And what was that about?"
She shook her head. "Nothing, it's just you look…homey."
He widened his eyes at what she said and quickly turned around to hide his blush. "I don't know what you mean."
The blonde giggled at his reaction, the usually calm and composed Macbeth is just another side of him, but she also liked the childish clumsy Macbeth just as much. She cleared her throat and took a sip of her coffee. "About what we're going to do, I have everything planned to the last hour of the day, so don't worry about it."
He kept quiet as he continued thinking about what they were going to do. Soon enough everyone woke up, got dressed and drank their dose of caffeine to start off the day.
Lucy stood on the bottom of the stairs with everyone, she scanned their faces and found the one she was looking for. "Sorano?" she called out and the said girl turned to face her.
"Yes?"
"Come here for a bit." She beckoned to her as she got out a file from her purse and a pen, once Sorano was in front of her she handed them to Sorano. The silverette looked at her with a raised brow.
"I thought that it was time to make it official. Don't you think so as well partner?"
Sorano' eyes widened as she quickly ripped the file open and read the contents of the papers. Her face beamed with happiness as she signed her name on the paper that contained the ownership of half the spa. Sorano was now an official business woman. She smiled as she hugged the blonde and Lucy reciprocated her smile.
The others held a serene look on their faces as they watched the interaction, once they were done Lucy handed the file to Spetto-san who went to the office to put it in place.
The blonde turned to the others and clapped her hands before her. "Let's go!"
They got out of the mansion and with the summoned spirit, Auriga, they reached the train station in no time and took the first train back to Magnolia.
"What are we doing Sunshine?" Cobra inquired as he was trying to keep hold of the contents of his stomach.
She put her index finger on her lips and winked. "Not telling." She noticed that his cheeks were a bit green and tilted her head.
The slayer forced a smirk before he leaned back and closed his eyes. "Oh so that's it."
The blonde gave him a weird look before she got distracted by the girls. Sawyer sidled next to the slayer and nudged him. "So did you hear what's going on in her head?"
The slayer nodded before he closed his eyes, clearly indicating that he doesn't wish to tell the blond haired man what he heard. Sawyer grumbled as he moved away from Erik. The train lurched forward making the slayer growl in irritation, Lucy took notice of that and giggled. For a minute she forgot about the enmity between dragon slayers and transportation, she went out of her seat and plopped down next to him, he popped an eye open only to see her tapping her lap. He groaned before he complied obediently and let his head fall on her lap, he put the weight of his head on her left thigh to not hurt her other injured one. She started running her fingers through his hair and a purr almost got out of him before he stopped himself. She looked at her kids and saw them as energetic as ever and wondered if it will happen to them once they grow older.
Soon they reached Magnolia and got out of the train. They stepped on the platform and her kids awed at the sight. This was the first time that they ever traveled far from the mansion, they didn't know anything except for the surroundings of their home and that one time at Porlyusica' house.
"Red! Red! Look, a food stall! Let's go!" Justin urged his brother and they both were about to take off before two hands grabbed them by the collar and pulled them back. The boys looked up to see Sorano and Richard scowling.
"No running off like that, we could lose you two." Richard started.
"And that would make us and mommy really sad. Alright?" Sorano continued.
Both boys nodded their heads sheepishly, they were let go off after Sorano told them to walk ahead of them. They saw Meredy and ran up to her side, they each held a hand and started to skip with the pinkette on the road.
Laughter echoed all around them as the boys had fun with Meredy and the little girl played with Sawyer. Up ahead they could see that Lucy was on Cobra' shoulders. Macbeth walked next to the slayer and glanced at the blonde. "Is that what you meant when you said that you have everything planned?"
She grinned as she nodded her head. "Yup!"
Macbeth chuckled as Cobra started mumbling about how unfairly he was being treated. They soon reached an entrance to a forest and kept walking ahead with Cobra following his sister's directions.
Lucy narrowed her eyes at the trees ahead of her and patted Cobra on his head to let him know to bring her down. When her feet touched the floor, she limped forward and pushed a bush aside. She gasped as she widened her eyes, after all this time it looked too damn beautiful, it brought back so many memories for the blonde that she almost erupted into a fit of tears right there and then.
A whistle sounded next to her as her companions admired the work they were seeing.
"What is this?" Richard asked while he looked around a tree that had an iron shaped person with his mouth open, as if he was screaming. The moss started to accumulate on the sculptures, giving it an ethereal glow.
"Sunshine, is this what I think this is?" Erik asked as he came close to a particular tree that had an iron sculpture of a man holding his intestines with his hands. The blonde nodded before she turned to her kids and led them another way, they were too young and innocent to see things like that. Virgo popped out of nowhere and escorted them to a nice clearing, the blonde looked back to see Erik telling the rest the story of this forest.
Jellal turned to the blonde when the slayer was done. "Poor guy."
The blonde laughed. "You have no idea, I tried to find him again to apologize but it was like he disappeared."
"Gajeel-san sounds really scary." Meredy noted as she looked at the iron shaped man.
Lucy laughed even harder. "Him? Oh please… he was a teddy bear."
Erik shook his head. "That's because he was with you. I fought the guy before, with that fire breathing idiot, it wasn't pretty."
Erik scowled as he remembered how much of an asshole he was to Lucy, but a hand on his shoulder brought him back from that train of thought. He saw the blonde directing one of her brilliant smiles his way and he smiled a little. It was as if she was saying, the past is the past so let's focus on now.
The blonde stepped back once she saw that he was better and looked around her, she called out to them, her blonde hair flowing with the light breeze that passed by. "Everyone, come on. Let's keep moving." She once again got up on her brother's shoulders as they continued walking.
"Where to next?" the blonde looked behind her at the blue haired man, she patted Cobra' hair and answered. "Cobra knows the way, so he will take the lead."
The slayer was confused for a bit before he perked up and made a turn in the woods. They kept walking for fifteen minutes before they reached a clearing. This clearing in particular held so many memories for both the blonde and the slayer. Their eyes swept across the lake, to the garden with the wooden swing, and lastly… the cabin where she stayed with her family.
Cobra put her down and the blonde sniffled. It was bringing up too many emotional memories for her, she felt a hand on her shoulder and a tug of her shirt. The hand belonged to her brother and the tug came from her little girl.
"Mommy, are you alright?" the little girl looked worriedly at her mother, making the blonde smile at her adorableness.
"Yeah don't worry sweetie, this place just brings back memories. You see this is the place where I took care of you before you were born." The companions save Cobra widened their eyes at the news, they didn't expect that the blonde was living in a cabin like this before she moved to the mansion.
"There's still a lot you don't know." They heard Cobra mumble, they were about to question what he meant by that when Virgo appeared before them.
"Hime packed a bag of swimsuits for all of you to enjoy the lake in, please follow me inside the cabin to show you where you can change." The spirit bowed before she turned around and started walking inside. The rest followed her before glancing back at Lucy who sat on the wooden swing telling stories to her kids about her days here.
They walked inside and saw that the cabin was spotless, nothing was out of place and everything was the same as Cobra remembered.
"Wow. How the hell is everything still in good shape?" Cobra wondered as he looked around him.
"Hime kept sending staff every two weeks to clean the cabin and take out the bad weeds." The spirit responded as she showed the men to Cobra' old room and the women to Lucy' room.
They put on their swimsuits and were about to leave the room when Sawyer spoke up. "About earlier Cobra, what did you mean?"
The slayer sighed before he looked out the window down at his sister and kids who were having fun in the water, Lucy was sitting on a float with the kids so to not let any water get on her injury.
"You all probably thought that she lived in this mansion her whole life, but that wasn't the case, probably why you were so shocked when you saw the cabin. When she was seventeen she ran away from the mansion and chose to join a guild and live in a small apartment than to have anything fancy. Her father was enraged and sent a guild after her, she got beaten, she got bruised by none other than the man who created a forest of iron because a guy flirted with her." he was interrupted by shouts of surprise.
Cobra chuckled and continued. "But she welcomed him in the guild, and then she cared for him like a brother. Then that happened to me, then to her father. When I first learned that he was planning to sell her off in marriage I was pissed, but then he came on her doorstep and begged for forgiveness, and she accepted it. Yes you look at her and say what a strong woman, but you have no idea how deep her strength go."
He saw the blonde waving at him from the pool. "Coco-nii, come down the water is amazing. Where are you and the others?" a vein popped on his forehead from the nickname she gave him, all this time and he was still not used to it. He walked past the still shocked men and out of the room, they soon followed him and enjoyed their time in the sun and water. But all this time, their mind kept going back to the conversation that took place in the cabin. Soon it was night and Virgo set up a tent with a campfire.
"You really went all out huh?" Jellal spoke up from his seat next to the campfire, he was helping Meredy and the kids with their s'mores.
The blonde laughed as she snuggled into her blanket, she was laying on the grass to relieve some weight from her injured foot.
Sawyer came up to her with a hot cocoa mug in his hands, he handed it to her and sat next to her. "Hey Lu, why… why don't you tell us about yourself?"
The blonde looked shocked at his question but complied with his request, they all sat next to the campfire, and had all their attention on her.
She began feeling a bit self-conscious but she shrugged it off before she began her story with a smile. "Well ever since I was young I wanted to be a mage, my mother used to teach me about the constellations and I fell in love with this magic so I wanted to learn it, and I did. I kept practicing with my mom everyday till I sometimes dropped from fatigue." Her smile faltered a bit. "But then my mother fell ill, and it wasn't long before she passed away. After that a long list of things went down the wrong way, which pushed me to run away from home."
Red gasped. "You ran away mama?"
The blonde nodded. "I did. Then I met Natsu at Hargeon, and well that started my adventure as a fairy tail mage!"
She told them about their different missions, that one time when Happy stole an S-class mission which by the way shocked them on how she went and broke the guild's rules. Her defense was that it had a zodiac key as a reward, she went on to tell them about the punishment but how before it happened they swapped bodies. She finally reached the part when she got pregnant with the kids and how she got closer to Gajeel and the Raijinshuu and all the things that happened with them leading to the Tenroujima accident, to how she gave birth in prison. By the end of her story Lucy had a relaxed smile on her face.
"Lucy-nee what made you want to join Fairy tail?" Lucy shifted her focus to Meredy before she chuckled. "Oh that… when I was young I was saved by a fairy tail mage, my carriage went sideways and this woman helped me. I saw the insignia on her hand and thought, I want to be like that. I want to use my magic to help people."
It was quiet for a while before Sorano broke it. "Do you ever… regret it?"
The sounds of crickets was heard before Lucy' laugh rang in the night. "Regret it? Are you kidding me? Not one bit."
They all looked at her like she grew two heads and she just giggled, she looked at her kids who have fallen asleep next to her in the middle of her story. The boys were squeezing her little girl in their midst to keep her warm.
"I got the most amazing family because of everything that happened, one that I wouldn't trade for the world. Regret it? Not a chance of that ever happening." She spoke quietly.
It was silent once again, this time Ultear is the one who broke it. "Even though you got hurt?"
"What's life if you don't get hurt along the way? What matters is how you act on that matter, and honestly to me I found that wallowing in misery is not my thing, so I focused on the good things in my life. And after some time they kept adding up and up till all I could see was them. I truly am blessed." Lucy closed her eyes and leaned back. She opened them again when she felt arms encircling her, Sorano latched on the blonde, softly shaking as silent tears ran down her face.
"Sorano?"
"Thank you… so much!" she held on tighter and Lucy returned the hug. Soon after Meredy and Ultear joined in as well, the men came and patted the blonde's head while others kissed her forehead. They all crowded around the blonde and listened to her as she pointed out different constellations, her soothing voice made them fall asleep one by one and in the end they all fell asleep as they are in the clearing.
Virgo opened her gate and brought some blankets that she draped on them before disappearing once again.
Everyone knew that the point of asking all these questions was to get to know the blonde better, because Cobra was right there was plenty that they didn't know about, and they wanted to so they could be closer to her. it was only fair with how Lucy listened to all of their stories that they listen to hers, when they opened up to her about their pasts they weren't sure how she would react and why did they do that in the first place, but the more they talked to her the more they found out how understanding and kind she was. Never once has she judged them for their past mistakes, and they found themselves lucky with the family that they had now and how easy it was to talk to her. The blonde had said that she was blessed when in reality it was the other way around, they were the ones who were blessed.
Hello everyone once again, I just wanted to elaborate something. About the former Oracion Seis and Jellal plus Meredy and Ultear, their reactions in this chapter was expected because none ever felt this much affection from another person, this much love. So if you thought that I changed in their personalities too much I am sorry, but life is different when there are kids and an angel by the name of Lucy. In later chapters when they are dealing with someone from out of their family of course their behavior will be different.
I just wanted to point that out. Hope you enjoyed the chapter…
KAWAIINECKO, signing out.