May 14th, X524 (12 noon)
Mayor's Manor, IceFlask City
Inside a wide room, a seventeen-year-old girl with short purple hair was sleeping on a double bed. She was in comatic state, but there was no signs of abnormality in breathing, heartbeat and circulation. Sitting on a chair beside the bed was a young man with red hair in a black attire. He was looking at her with sad eyes, repeatedly telling her to wake up. Standing near the opposite side of the bed were a girl with pink curly hair, a girl with blue wavy hair, and a young girl with long blue hair. A young man with black spiky hair was leaning against the wall. The room was awfully silent, as all of them prayed for the girl to wake up.
• • • • •
Cobra didn't know her human name. Surely, he knew that he shouldn't call her Cubellios. A name that he thought it suited her rang in his mind... 'Kinana'.. a name that represented joy, and it was a name of a heroine, the story which was very popular among commoners many years ago. He didn't know how many years she had been under the spell. He just wished that a glimmer of joy could bring this pitiful girl back to reality.
After a series of begging, after a long wiat, he sensed that there was a slight movement from her fingers. He smiled slightly, feeling relaxed after a long anxiety.
The sensory mage rushed to the side of the bed and checked the girl's condition, "She did it. She wakes up," she smiled in delight.
Seeing this, Cobra stood up and walked towards Gray, "Let's go."
"Don't you want to talk to her?"
"No. It's fine. Let's go. I'll leave the rest to your friend," He said, as he continued walking without taking a glance back at his friend. Gray and Juvia followed the dragon slayer to bring him back to the detention center.
'Don't you want to talk to her?' Of course, he wanted to say 'I'm Cobra. Do you remember me?' but he didn't have any chance. Minutes ago, the pinkette explained to him that the probability of Cubellios's memory loss might be very high since her mind was trapped in the blood curse for many years. Wasn't it better if she forgot about Oracion Seis? Having a criminal friend was different from having a kind friend, wasn't it?
From what the pinkette said, the blood curse couldn't be sealed with other magic spells. Fairy Tail was so kind, not only they healed Angel, but also they treated other members' injuries. Undoubtedly, they would take good care of Cubellios and guard her closely so that the blood curse won't be recurring. As long as Cubellios was safe... as long as she wasn't sent to prison, it was enough.
Even though he walked away, her normal heartbeats, the sound of her breathing, and her scent still reached him until he walked out of the manor. In his mind, the image of a girl lying still on the bed appeared in his mind, 'I hope you're okay.'
• • • • •
The moment she opened her eyes, she found herself in the attention of unfamiliar figures. They were looking at her. 'Where am I?' The last thing she knew was that she was saved by a black-cloaked man when her cruel mistress was about to kill her... and that man knocked her out. When she opened her eyes, she had been brought into that strange place.
Both of them were wearing expensive dresses, 'Who are they? Did they save me?' She was panicking, and thus, quickly got up from lying, only to be supported by a pink-haired young lady. A blue-haired girl who seemed a couple of years older than her waved at her with a bright smile.
"Hey, are you okay?" The pink-haired lady asked.
She nodded vigorously, as tears started forming in her emerald green eyes, "I.." it was difficult for her to speak. Her voice wasn't out from her throat. Seeing this, Meredy gave her a bottle of water. After drinking it, she felt her thirst was subsided, and she felt better. "I... I'm..so.rry.. for trouble.." She spoke very slowly and softly, not knowing that her voice had changed, "Where... am I?"
"Don't be afraid. The town guards saved you, and we brought you here. You're safe here with us," the pink-haired lady asked with a gentle smile, "Can you first tell me what's your name?"
"Kiddo...is what.. my father.. called me."
"What about we call you 'Kinana'? It's a pretty name."
'Kinana?' She thought.. 'my name is Kinana' For the first time in her life, she felt kindness and love from other people. These young ladies gave her a pretty name, 'Kinana is my name.'
"I'm Meredy," the pink-haired young lady said.
"And, I'm Wendy, nice to meet you," the blue-haired sister said.
"Meredy-sama... Wendy-sama... thank you.. for.. saving.. me."
"Kina-chan, how old are you? And where do you live?" the blue-haired girl asked.
"I'm seven-year-old... Wendy-sama," she replied, causing a deadly silence in the room.
• • • • •
If words could describe Meredy's emotions, these would be... dumbfounded, shocked, and also sad. She had already assumed that "Memory loss" might be one of the side effects of the blood curse. But, the truth she discovered from Kinana's answer was more cruel than her guess.
'Kinana has been under the blood curse for ten years. Even though her body was transformed to the snake, her physical appearance didn't stop growing. But... since her mind was trapped in the blood curse, she thought she was seven. That's why the way she talked sounded like a child.'
Not to mention she had been using her sensory magic to detect Kinana's emotions. Though the violet-haired girl was indeed pitiful in her view, it was her duty not to trust strangers easily, especially a dangerous dark guild member in possession of the blood curse. She had to know what the girl was feeling. Right now, she did regret her action. All she could feel was the girl's sadness, inferiority, and extreme fear. At this point, she quickly canceled using her magic, being afraid that she would also collapse soon if she stayed longer.
Wendy looked at Kinana with surprise, "Kina-chan, do you know which year is it?" Kinana took a couple of seconds to recall and answered, "Year X514."
Meredy hid all of her worries with a smile, trying her best to explain the situation more easily, "Kina-chan, I know this will be something beyond your belief... You have been in a deep sleep... for ten years. I mean, the current year is X524. Kina-chan, you're seventeen now."
Wendy took a small standing mirror from the table and handed it to Kinana. Not believing what the pinkette said, the latter looked at the mirror. The clear mirror showed the image of a beautiful teenage girl instead of an ugly dirty kid, and it was when Kinana accepted that she was seventeen years old right now.
"Kina-chan, don't think too much. Rest well, your recovery is your priority right now," Wendy said as she sat on the bed closer to the violet-haired girl, and held her hand to encourage her.
"And, you don't be too polite to us, Kina-chan. You can treat us as your friends."
Kinana nodded, tears spilling over her face eyes, "Thank you, Meredy-sama.. Thank you, Wendy-sama. This is.. the first.. time.. I've been.. treated.. very kindly."
Hugging the girl, Meredy said, "Don't cry, Kina-chan. You'll be fine," Deep down inside, Meredy discovered herself in anxiety as several thoughts swirled within her mind. Though Kinana was fine right now, no one could tell when the blood curse would reactivate, or in which circumstances. The worst was, if it activated, and if Kinana couldn't suppress the curse, she would have become the real serpent forever. All she could do now was to find a way so that such tragedy would never happen.
• • • • •
"Laxus-sama!!" A very loud scream was heard along the passage of the manor, the flying yellow exceed was looking for his masters.
"Sparky," Wendy called out, as she exited the room to face the poor exceed, "Wendy-sama, Laxus-sama left me alone," The exceed hugged the sky maiden, with tears of frustration.
Hearing what Sparky said, Meredy who was talking to Kinana inside the room couldn't help but giggle.
Wendy tried her best not to chuckle. Sparky overslept because her elder brother gave him a sleeping potion. Well, who could blame him? He might want to spend some time alone with Lucy-chan. Too bad, on the battle day, she missed the moment when her elder brother punched that fire dragon slayer, because she was focusing on healing Angel-san. But she could still guess what happened because of her hearing and sense. Her brother was uncomfortable because of the fire dragon slayer. She knew that 'her brother likes Lucy-chan', and she sincerely hoped that they loved each other.
Again, the blue-haired maiden looked at the sobbing exceed in her arms. Sometimes, she wished Carla was also clinging to her like Sparky. Her lovely exceed Carla was an introvert, she rather spent her time in her room than listened to the conversation what others said. She was now probably taking a nap after eating some snacks instead of following her. Sure, Carla was mature, bossy, and wise, she was her companion, but, she sometimes felt like Carla's personality was not suitable for a young girl like her.
But Sparky was different. He loved fun, he liked crowds and chatting, and most of all, he was very attracted to Big Brother and Lucelia-chan. So, comforting him not to cry would be a difficult task. Anyway, it was for the sake of her Big Brother and Lucelia-chan, wasn't it?
• • • • •
12:45 PM
IceFlask downtown
Hugging her new little pet, Lucy walked happily as she enjoyed the surrounding; the buildings, the shops, some trees and flowers planted along the path, and the busy movements of people. Compared to Crocus and Magnolia, Iceflask town was a hundred times less populated, but still, it was lively by itself. Looking back on her days in Magnolia, she had no time to go out freely like this for the past few months. Her feeling right now... was indeed fresh and happy.
Her steps came to a halt as soon as she heard a crying voice in a narrow alley. She walked in the direction and saw a young boy. He looked like he was five or six years old, he was wearing his torn clothes, he was skinny, and there was dirt on his small face. This child reminded Lucy of her childhood when she had her hardest time. There were days when she was also like this child, lost in the big city, begging for food to survive... All she had was her celestial spirit keys. When she was bullied by the local kids, she was saved by Natsu.
Seeing Lucy zoning out, Laxus glanced at the child with sympathy, before walking towards him. He asked him what had happened. Through sobs, the child replied that he was hungry but no one gave him food. He gave him some food that they bought, and some money, which made the child beamed with joy. The child said thank you sir again and again, before leaving.
Laxus sighed, feeling frustrated and ashamed that he couldn't help his people even though he was a prince. The country was in crisis, and Three Clans focused on the strategies against Ivan Dreyar. In the past years, most of the food and medical supplies were sent to the warzone. The imperial departments that were controlled by Ivan Dreyar increased the tax demand to commoners, but luckily, these ideas were opposed by the Royal Princes and Three Clans leaders.
Magnolia and nearby towns were under the observation of the Crown Prince. However, in towns that were so far from the main city Magnolia, the number of people living in poverty was increasing. Even though Three Clans and their allies sent food supplies to other towns as possible as they could, there were still some lacking in that aspect. Corruption and illegal business done by High to lower-rank officers had risen in every region of Fairy Tail Kingdom. In addition, there were also dangers of the dark guilds which wanted to govern the small towns. Now, the war was over, but Fairy Tail's status was still at the bottom.
"My mother died when I was five," A sweet voice brought Laxus back to reality. He turned to look behind him, and saw Lucy smiling at him.
"I was kicked out of home because I couldn't pay the rent. My mother's friend took me to Crocus, but he left me alone there because of his business. In a place where full of strangers, I didn't dare to ask for help, so I wandered aimlessly for a day. My hunger couldn't wait, so I begged for food, but no one helped me. Do you know what I did? I stole the money from some kids, but I was caught by them. Then I was saved by my friend Natsu."
The blond guy looked at her, it was the first time Lucy telling him her childhood story. All he knew about her life was that she lived in Dragneel Manor for many years. They rarely talked about how she spent her childhood in Crocus. To hear Lucy retelling her story with such easiness, he felt a heavy load on him. He frowned at her, "Why are you telling this with happy expression?"
Her vision fell on his frowning face, she smiled lightly, "Because you seem so down now, Your Highness."
A moment of silence permeated in the air, Laxus didn't expect that she would answer like this.
"I don't have much knowledge, but I do know the fact that a good king must rule the Kingdom for peace, unite the country and his people, financially support to the towns and provide the poor some jobs for income for their living. People are struggling themselves to survive this crisis. We're also fighting for them. Your Highness, you can do whatever you want to help them after His Majesty gets his throne back. It's not easy, but we're also preparing for this, right?"
He smiled, a mischievous look was directed towards her, before he ruffled her hair fondly, "Haha, you know too much, little girl."
Lucy frowned at his reaction as she pressed her hair with one hand, being certain that her hair in a single braid became fluffy, "Your Highness, my hair is in mess now," she pouted.
Laughing, Laxus secretly liked the fact that this cheerful girl in front of him did know how to brighten his mood. "Com'on, Blondie, Let's go back."
She wanted to retort, but she chose to agree, "Alright, Your Highness."
Their walk back to the Mayor's house was peaceful, as both of them deeply absorbed in their thoughts. The little red panda in her arms eagerly stared at the surrounding with inspiring awe to the new world.
^_^
Kinana
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