Tomb Of Time And Destiny: A Fairy Tail Fanfic

Part Nine

We gaped at them. "You thought we were spies too?"

"We didn't know what to think." Gajeel glanced down at us like we were some kind of new species of animal. "We've never met women like you."

'There's a good reason for that.'

We caught up with Gray and Jellal a few minutes later. They said nothing as they took the rear guard position when we passed. I could see the curves of the tomb roofs, stretching out before us, the wide, flat plain on which they had been built. "Lucy," I said in a whisper, aware of the Phantom Lord castle, no more than a half-mile away.

"Levy?" Erza tried, edging around the tomb. None of us wished to be seen by a Phantom Lord knight in the pale moonlight. "Lev?"

I held my breath, hoping that they'd emerge and jump into our arms. But the only response, after a pause, was the crickets, resuming their song.

"Maybe they're inside," I said to Erza. "Juvia will crawl in and have a quick look."

"I will go." Gray said, stepping forward.

"No!" I said, grabbing his forearm, then quickly releasing it. "You will frighten them, if they're in there they might scream." 'and possibly kick you.'

He considered me a moment, then gestured inside. "Be quick."

I bent at once and crawled, as best I could in this weird dress, through the tunnel, standing to my full height when I knew I must be beneath the large, rounded dome. "Levy?..... Lucy?" I whispered, still hoping. But the echo of their names wrapped around the room and disappeared out the entrance as if it had never left my lips.

I sighed. They weren't here. Where are they then?

I stepped in the shards of the pot Erza had broken when we first arrived and let out a yelp.

"Juvia?!" Gray whispered, alarmed.

I jumped a bit, thinking he had entered, but he was only at the entrance. "J-Juvia is fine!"

I scanned the tomb once more, hoping to find a hint that Lucy and Levy had been here at all, but what I saw instead made me gasp.

Erza POV

He scared me so badly I jumped.

It was only Natsu, but I'd been so lost in my swirling thoughts about our next step that I missed the question he asked me. Now that we knew Lucy and Levy weren't here I wasn't sure what to do.

"Erza," he said again, "Are you okay?"

"I-I am." My heart squeezed in my chest. "It's only that ...I was almost certain they would be here, asleep in a corner."

I sensed more than saw Jellal take a step forward in the dark. "It's been a long night. We should be heading back. I'm sure in the morning you'll feel better."

"I doubt it," Juvia muttered in english, shaking her head. I frowned at her. She had been acting a bit strange since she crawled out of the tomb....

We'd just taken a step toward the path when Natsu paused in front of us and held up a hand. A half second later, he waved it and dived to the left, between two trees. Jellal grabbed my hand and yanked me to the right.

"In there," he whispered, motioning toward a low cave. I could hear it then. Hoofbeats approaching. A Phantom Lord patrol.

Jellal's hand began to glow faintly as he crouched, turning to face the entrance. He was right in front of me. To keep from tipping over, I laid a hand on his back, taking comfort in the steady rise and fall of his breath, even as six horses walked by. The guards were talking, distracted, obviously not entirely on task. But were they to discover us, Jellal, Gajeel, Natsu, and Gray would be outnumbered. But only by two. Juvia and I had our weapons too.

The knights kept moving, and when we could no longer hear them, Jellal glanced over his shoulder and whispered, "Come." We crawled out and brushed ourselves off.

They didn't have to say what I knew- it would've been very bad for us if the Phantom Lord knights had come across us at the tombs. We resumed our walk back to the castle. We eventually arrived and Gajeel and Natsu parted to go to sleep. Jellal and Gray insisted on walking us to our rooms.

"What about your family in Bellum? Your father or mother?" Jellal suddenly asked out of the blue.

"Oh, erm... Well, Juvia and I, as well as our other sisters, are not biological siblings as you could probably tell." I explained, motioning to my lava red hair and Juvia's ocean blue locks. "We had one female guardian but she...died." I said hesitantly. They were silent for a moment, letting it sink in.

"And there is no one else? Uncles? Cousins?" Gray asked.

Juvia shook her head. "No, there is no one else."

"Then you are four uncommon women," Jellal said softly, looking my way. "It is difficult for the fairer sex, without a protector."

I tensed, then forced myself to relax. I was a hair lengths away of showing him just how difficult I could be, but unfortunately I needed him and his family. "Our guardian taught us well," I said, pushing my shoulders back. "We will be all right."

I thought I saw a flash of a smile. "I believe you."

And the rest of the trip to our rooms was silent. I had just sat down on my bed after they left when Juvia suddenly came charging in like a bull.

"Erza, Erza! There's something Juvia didn't tell you about the tombs! There was a map!"

I blinked. "Did it give a hint on where Lucy and Levy could be?"

Juvia shook her head frantically. "No! Juvia didn't even recognize the landmarks or the land!"

I furrowed my eyebrows at her. "I know maps in this time are a bit dated, but it can't be that bad."

Juvia shook her head frantically. "You don't understand! Juvia knows every country on earth just by the shape!"

"I don't get what you're implyin-"

"We didn't just travel back in time Erza!..... We traveled into a different dimension."

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...What can I say, I had some free time on my hands when this update was requested.

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