Aria Lotus (Gray X OC)

Chapter Five: The Cursed Town

"N-nothing, I just felt like someone was glaring at me." Aria said as she scratched the back of her neck, sweat running down her face before she continued to look around. Gray too looked around, but all he could see was the fearful looking townspeople as they watched the group walk pass them through their windows.

Soon enough, the group arrived outside the town hall. Erza walked to the door and tried to open it, but the door seemed to be locked. She then knocked on the door loudly.

"Is anyone here? We are mages from Fairy Tail here to assist you with the sea monsters!" Erza called out as she knocked on the door a couple more times. The group looked at each other as there was no answer.

Erza turned her back to the door and walked to the group with her arms folded, a frown on her face. Before she was able to speak, the group could hear noises on the other side of the door and turned their attention to the door. The door opened with a small creaky sound and a small, trembling man poked his head out.

"P-Please, keep it down. T-they'll hear you." The man whimpered, his entire frame shaking in fear. The group looked at each other with furrowed eyebrows before looking back at the man.

"Who?" Wendy questioned quietly.

"The sea monsters of cause! The things you're h-here to get rid o-of."

"I'm assuming you're the mayor." Erza spoke up but was instantly hushed by the mayor.

"Quickly, come in before they spot you." The mayor said as he moved out of the way with the door. The mages looked at each other once again before they walked into the building one by one. Once the last person was in, the Mayor quickly closed the door and locked it. Looking at the door, it had about five different locks on it. "Follow me"

The group followed the mayor down the corridor. The mayor seemed to be a small man around Wendy's height and appeared to be over 60 with the wrinkles on his face and the white hair on his head that matched his large moustache.

After walking to the bottom of the long corridor, the mages followed the mayor into a room that was only lit with a fireplace. The curtains were closed, no lights were on, and surrounding the fireplace was three sofas; two of them being two-seaters while the other one in the middle could fit three people. The Mayor walked over to the fireplace and sat on the sofa with three seats, while the mages sat on the two-seaters.

"It started two months ago when a cruel mage put a curse on our town..." The man spoke, a fearful look in his eyes as a shadow was forming on his face. "We were having our annual festival; the people were happy and celebrating our peaceful lives. At first glance, the mage looks harmless, sweet." The Mayor explained. "In the daytime, she spoke to the locals sweetly, asking them about the town. She seemed harmless, like a normal traveller, but when the night fell..." The Mayor paused; his body began to tremble.

"What? What happened?" Aria questioned as she sat on the edge of the seat.

"The ground began to shake, putting a stop to the celebrations. A storm appeared out of nowhere the sea went wild; a few of the houses close to the shore were completely destroyed, and then we found her standing at the sea with the monsters, grinning like the devil. She said we'll pay for the crimes we committed before disappearing."

"Crimes? What crimes?" Erza questioned with a frown forming on her face.

"I... I don't know..." The Mayor looked at his shaky hands, tears falling down his face. "We... We've always lived peacefully. Please..." The mayor fell to the ground on his knees, crying as he trembled. "Please get rid of these monsters! They... They took the life of my only son!"

Everyone's eyes widened as they stared at the man. He looked up at the fireplace, catching everyone's attention. They could see a painting of the Mayor in his younger days, standing with a taller woman around the same age as well as a taller man who seemed much younger.

"My son... tried so hard to protect the town... to the point, he lost his life... Please... Please get rid of these monsters before they take any more lives." He cried.

"We'll get rid of them." Aria said as she stood up, her fists clenched tightly. The others looked at her; they could see anger and sorrow in her eyes.

"Thank you... Thank you... So much..."

"Aria-"

"Let's go." Aria turned around, cutting Erza off her sentence, and walked to the door. The mages looked at each other and nodded before they followed her.

"Hey, Aria, you okay?" Gray questioned as he reached his hand out for her shoulder, however, he retreated his hand when Aria stopped walking and turned around.

"Let's get this over with as fast as possible so the people can return to a somewhat normal life." Aria said with a stern expression on her face before she turned back around and walked towards the door. The others looked at each other with concerned expressions on their faces before quickly chasing after the female.

Tbc...

A/N: Chapter Five rewritten :3 I hope you enjoyed it ^^