Magic Of The Stars

Chapter XXVII

"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" Meredy asked her companion in amusement.

Carla's smile, which hadn't gone away since they left the dungeons, grew wider. "What gave me away?" She inquired sweetly, causing Meredy to laugh. "But really, I was glad you finally put her in her place. Don't get me wrong; I sort of respect Erza. But the way she's been acting lately, it's—"

"Controlling? Spiteful? Petty? All of the above?" Meredy asked wryly.

"The last one."

Meredy couldn't help but laugh again as they made their way through the corridors of the castle. However, her amusement tapered off when they entered a ballroom Carla said held a party for all the guilds last year.

"What the hell?"

The place looked like a storm blew through it.

The floor was torn up in places, torched in others; the wall had scratches and grooves etched in, while in some areas, holes in others, the wallpaper was utterly torn away, and in the middle of it all was a woman lying in a crumpled lump upon the floor. There wasn't any sign of anyone else.

"Oh, my Kami-sama, " Carla exhaled, shock clear in her voice. "What happened in here?"

"Nothing good I'd imagine," Meredy said as she approached the prone figure. She pressed two fingers against her neck. "She has a pulse, but if she doesn't get medical attention soon, I don't think she'll make it."

"You reckon she was fighting for the other side?" Carla quizzed as she continued to look around.

"It's probably likely," Meredy surmised as she stood from her crouch. "The question I want to know though is who fought her; because she seriously got her ass kicked."

"Let's just proceed to look for Jellal and Lucy," Carla said after a moment of contemplation. "Wendy should be with them as well."

Meredy didn't disagree, so they set off again.

After a few more minutes of walking, Carla's ears twitched as something caught her attention.

"I hear something," she said into the quiet.

"What is it?" Meredy asked as her body automatically tensed, her eyes darting around to take in any possible assailants.

Carla grimaced as she tilted her head, her ears straining to hear more clearly. "I...am not sure," she confessed. "Let us pick up the pace."

They resumed their trek at a slight jog, their eyes open for anything out of the ordinary.

"I can hear it better," Carla declared after a moment. "It sounds like...sobbing?"

Meredy's blood ran cold. "Do you...do you think something could have happened?" Meredy asked, her voice shaky.

Carla didn't say anything, but her face paled drastically, and she hurried forward. Meredy was right behind her. A few moments later, they approached the doors that led to the throne room. When they were a couple of yards from them, even Meredy was beginning to hear sounds coming from within.

Heart in their throats they immediately burst into the room. Their eyes widened and mouths fell agape, they took in the scene before them.

Like the ballroom before, the room looked as though a natural disaster hit it. The wall had scratches and grooves in them and scorch marks from magic attacks that missed their target. The floor was covered scuff marks, holes, and cracks. An unknown mad was slumped against the far side of the wall, clearly unconscious. But what got their attention, and what made the breath catch in their throat, was an alarmingly-sized pool of what was clearly blood.