As they headed back to the Kaby's mansion, Morana had fallen asleep. Natsu had to carry her as the others walked. The fire dragon didn't have an issue with it, but Lucy had questions.
"Hey Natsu...why did Duke Everlue call Morana, Black Ice?" Lucy asked as they headed to Kaby's mansion.
"I don't know. But that jerk isn't gonna get his grubby hands on her." Natsu grumbled.
"Aye! I heard that was her name before she joined Fairy Tail!" Happy chimed in.
"Winter Storm is her new name...right?" Lucy asked.
"Aye sir! She's a cold hearted dragon that brings frozen blizzards wherever she goes!" Happy said.
"Come on Happy, we both know she brings winter storms not blizzards. That's why her nickname is Winter Storm." Natsu corrected.
"Natsu I'm sure it's blizzards like the ones on Mt. Hakabe!" Happy argued.
"Actually they both are the same thing." Lucy pointed out.
***
Having reached the mansion, Morana had woken up from her nap. She was happy to say the least she could trust Natsu. Seeing how he carried her on his back the entire way. That was one way to gain Morana's trust. If she sleeps around you, and you keep her safe or help her. Then you have her trust.
Now they were with Kaby and his wife. Morana had helped herself to the couch to recover as Lucy and Natsu remained standing.
"But I requested this book be destroyed..." Kaby said as Lucy handed him the book.
"If you really wanted to burn it, I'd rather you do it yourself." Lucy said.
"I most certainly will." Kaby shook with anger as he stood up. "I never wanted to see it again."
"I completely understand why you feel the way you feel, Kaby." Lucy said. Morana and Natsu remained silent as they watched Lucy do her thing. "You want to protect your father's legacy, because you are actually Zallions son."
"Whoa...plot twist." Morana mumbled.
"Aye!" Happy snickered.
"Yes that's true." Kaby said.
"Have you read it yourself?" Lucy asked. Morana listened carefully as she leaned back on the couch.
"Well...no I haven't. I could never bring myself to do it. My father told me it was garbage." Kaby said.
"And you were just going to burn it?!" Natsu shouted. Morana quickly stood to her feet in shock.
"I was." Kaby looked down in guilt.
"You were just gonna burn it without ever reading what was in there?!" Natsu grabbed Kaby's collar in anger. "That was the last thing your father wrote! Some of us would kill for that kind of memory!"
Morana was quick to pull Natsu back as Lucy stepped in between him and Kaby.
"Natsu...don't.." Morana mumbled.
"Natsu let him explain himself first!" Lucy shouted.
"Please...that book has caused my family great heartache and shame." Kaby said. He soon started to share what had happened when his father returned after three years of disappearing. It tore at Lucy's heart to hear it from Kaby's perspective. Still Natsu and Morana were angered at what Kaby was clearly missing.
Kaby lit a match as he was ready to burn the book.
"No you're wrong." Lucy stood firm as she shocked everyone. "Kaby look!" The book Kaby held glowed as a light purple magic circle emitted off of it. The title of the book rose from the cover and into the air.
"A magic spell has been casted on this book. It was the work of the wizard Kemu Zaleon. Or should I say Zekua Melon." Lucy explained. The letters of the title suddenly changed from "Daybreak" to "Dear Kaby"
"Dear Kaby." Kaby read.
"That's right! This is his letter to you. Disguised behind a spell that rearranged all the letters. So no one else could read it." Lucy explained further as the book opened up and letters were coming off the page. They filled the room as they rearranged themselves.
"He didn't stop writing because he was ashamed. He stopped writing because he finished his final masterpiece! A novel containing everything he ever wanted to say to his beloved son. And when you read it the way he intended, it's his best work ever!" The words all rushed back into the book as the spell was finally removed.
"Now that the spell's been broken you can finally read it for yourself." Lucy smiled proudly as Kaby held the book tightly in his grasp. Morana was impressed by what Lucy had figured out. The blond went beyond what anyone would do on a mission. The ice dragon knew that Lucy was someone she wanted to be friends with.
"Thank you father..." Kaby had dropped to his knees as he hugged the book tightly.
"Well I guess we won't be getting that reward." Natsu said as he brought his arms behind his head.
"Aye" Happy chimed.
"That is unfortunate.." Morana mumbled as she looked at the man and his wife. Instead of feeling disappointment for not getting the reward or being compensated for their work, she felt happy and satisfied by what was accomplished. "Seeing his resolution is all the reward we need."
"What?!" Lucy shouted.
"We were supposed to burn the book, but we didn't." Natsu explained as he smiled at Morana. The two dragons understood the reason behind it.
"Even so, let me do something." Kaby said.
"Yeah! We worked our butts off to get that book!" Lucy complained.
"The mission was stated clearly, Get the book and burn it. We didn't complete it. So there is no need for a reward." Morana went further to explain as she turned towards the door.
"Yeah! But I have rent to pay!" Lucy shouted.
"Lucy, don't be so greedy. You're ruining what was a touching moment." Happy said.
"I need the cash!" Lucy scolded the cat. Natsu had joined Morana's side as Happy and Lucy were quick to join them.
"Thanks for offering, but we don't want it." Natsu waved his hand as they exited the room.
"Come on Lucy. This is how we do things at Fairy Tail." Morana smiled as she glanced back at the blond.
"Then how am I going to pay rent?!" Lucy asked.
"We can find another job that can cover your rent." The ice dragon suggested.
"I think it's time we all go home. You too Mr. Melon." Natsu said as he turned back around. Lucy looked at the fire dragon confused.
"That sounds like a good idea...I'm tired and would love to take a fat nap." Morana stretched out as she headed outside. The others followed after her. For the first time she felt light. Like a weight was lifted off her shoulders.
"For a dragon slayer you sure are lazy." Happy points.
"Na...I like to say I'm conserving my energy." Morana chuckled. They were walking through the town and decided to walk back to the guild by foot. Morana and Natsu sure weren't going to complain, they didn't get to deal with their motion sickness. Soon enough the moon was out as they kept going.
"Unbelievable. Who in their right mind would turn down two million jewels?" Lucy asked defeated.
"If we had taken the money, it would make Fairy Tail look bad. You have to think about the guild's reputation." Natsu explained. Morana kept quiet as she kept her eyes on the sky. It was a beautiful clear sky with stars shining within the velvet void of space. It brought comfort to her as she listened to Lucy's complaining and felt the heat from Natsu's body.
Morana paused as she caught the three's attention. "Why don't we camp here for the night." She suggested.
"Sounds good to me!" Natsu set his travler's pack down and got started on building a campfire.
"Aye sir!" Happy.
"Oh Morana, May I ask, but where did you go?" Lucy asked, once everyone was settled around the fire. Natsu was frying up some food as Happy and the pyro were chowing down. Morana was too, and despite the lack of seasoning, the smoky flavor made up for it.
"I wanted to get a square grid of the mansion so I snuck around." Morana swallowed her food. "I have actually heard of Duke Everlue before so I wanted to see if I could find any dirt on him. Which I did."
"Why did you want to do that?" Natsu asked, confused as he looked at the ice dragon.
Morana paused as she thought deeply. "I wanted to cover my tracks. Where I came from isn't a good place and now that I have a good thing at Fairy Tail...I don't want that taken from me." She glanced down sheepishly. "I know it sounds kinda bad and like I'm hiding something, it's just I don't want the Magic Council to take me away from something good in my life"
"I doubt anyone would be brave enough to take you away! You would just freeze them to death." Happy said.
"Yeah! You're a Fairy Tail member now! So you don't have to worry about things like that." Natsu smiled at her as he lifted his fist in the sky. "They have to get through me if they want to take you away."
"What did you do that made you think you would be taken away?" Lucy asked. Morana smiled thankful for the two's support and promise to keep her in the guild.
"It's better to be honest, than to hide this from my team." Morana sighs as she knew sooner or later her past was going to come get her. "I was taken from my mother, Frost the Ice Dragon, by a cult."
"What?!" Lucy shouted. Yes, she did hear this from Makarov but she never really believed it to be true.
"The cult was called The Band of the Emperor. It's a small cult that has major connections with a lot of dark guilds around the world. I was forced to be their puppet, so I did a lot of their dirty work." Morana explained.
"Why didn't you fight back?" Happy asked. Natsu sat in silence as he watched Morana's crescent face fall with sadness.
"Because they had two very powerful mages that watched over me. I-I don't want to go deep into this..." Morana's voice drew to a whisper.
"It's ok...you don't have to." Lucy smiled sadly as she turned to Natsu. "Say Natsu, how did you know that house wasn't even theirs?" The blond knew that the conversation needed to be changed.
"Oh, the house smelt like someone else's house." Natsu explained as he looked away. Morana took in a deep breath before finishing the rest of her food. She was lost in thought as Natsu had made Lucy turn red from embarrassment. About what? She didn't know.
"I think I'm going to turn in for the night..." Morana mumbled as she turned from the camp.
"Get some rest!" Natsu said with a smile.
"Sleep well." Lucy said.
"Aye sir!"
***
It was later on in the night as the four mages were fast asleep. Lucy and Happy were dead to the world as the night went on. They seemed to be sleeping well, as Happy was muttering about fish in his dreams.
Morana was another story. The ice dragon was tossing and turning in her sleep as she wrestled with a nightmare. Her soft whimpers were enough to keep Natsu awake. The fire dragon was sitting up as he watched over Morana who wasn't at peace. However it didn't take long for her to jolt herself awake.
Gasping for air as she looked around only to hold her breath when she saw Natsu staring at her. "N-natsu...did I keep you awake?"
"Nah." He said as he ruffled her hair in a playful manner, "Get back to sleep, ya weirdo." He had a bright smile on his lips that felt reassuring to Morana. It was almost like a promise was made to her. She was going to be alright, if Natsu was right by her side.
His words shocked her as she felt comforted by them. Returning the smile she chuckled softly as she swatted his hand away from her hair.
"Says the fire eating lizard..." She chuckles. "Thanks Pyro." Feeling braver to fall back to sleep, Morana did just that. Having been using her coat as a pillow she let sleep consume her. This time, it was a much more peaceful rest.
***
The team was now in a swamp as Happy was leading them back towards the guild. Morana had created an ice boat for her and Lucy to ride in as they let Natsu drag them through the swampy waters. Morana and Lucy both did not want to walk through the swamp water so Morana came up with a solution. One that she didn't really like, but was going to suffer through it anyways.
"Are you sure we are going the right way?" Lucy asked as she glanced back at Morana. The ice dragon was on the floor of the ice boat groaning from her motion sickness.
"Happy says this is the right way home. So this is the way we are going." Natsu said irritably.
"Have some faith. I'm a cat, I have a great sense of smell. My nose will lead us home." Happy said. The blue cat was on Natsu's head the entire time they traveled through the swamp.
"It's dog's that have a great sense of smell. And what does smell have to do with direction?" Lucy asked.
"You can tell by how the winds smell like..." Morana groaned. Lucy looked back confused. "Winds that smell cold come from the north, while..." Morana paused as she gagged. "Winds from the south tend to be warmer."
"You know...you don't have to explain." Lucy sweatdropped. She was thankful that Morana was willing to explain, but she didn't want to witness her throwing up right next to her.
"Thank you..." She groans.
Thankfully Morana didn't have to suffer much longer as they made it out of the swamp.
"Aye, I think you're just as bad as Natsu over here with his motion sickness." Happy said as they made it to a small clearing.
"I'm pretty sure Pyro is worse than me when it comes to motion sickness, Happy." Morana grumbled as she recovered.
"Who, you callin' a pyro ya weirdo?!" Natsu shouted as he glared at Morana.
"Who else knows fire magic? Flames for brains." Morana shot back.
"Please don't break out into a fight..." Lucy whines.
"I doubt that would happen. Last time those two fought, Gramps had grounded them both." Happy explains.
"Grounded?" Lucy questions. Morana and Natsu were in each other's faces when a nearby bush rustled. The two dragon's instantly got ready for a fight as Natsu immediately dropped his bag and jumped into the bush.
"Who's there?!" Natsu challenges.
"Really?" Morana groans as she has caught Natsu's bag while standing next to Lucy.
"Does he always have to fight?!" Lucy says worriedly.
"Aye! You got this Natsu! Beat his butt!" Happy started cheering the pyro on.
"I swear there needs to be an off and on button on that idiot." Morana grumbled as she set the bag down and crossed her arms. Suddenly Natsu jumped out of the bush with a familiar friend.
"It's Gray!" Happy shouted.
"Why is he in his underwear?!" Lucy squealed as she covered her eyes.
"Oh great...now there will be a mess to clean up." Morana sighs.
"I was trying to find a bathroom." Gray explains as he faces off with Natsu.
"Why would you strip down before you found one?" Natsu questioned. "Who the heck ever heard of a bathroom in the middle of a forest?"
"I don't think anyone really understands the fact that Gray will strip no matter what he is doing..." Morana commented.
"You know how Natsu is." Happy said.
"I wanted some privacy and didn't expect an idiot to barge in." Gray shot back as the two got into each other's faces.
"Why are they so childish?! Have they always been like that?" Lucy exclaims.
"They were like this since I joined the guild." Morana said.
After Natsu and Gray finally cooled down from trying to tear each other to pieces, the group decided to make camp for the time being.
"So you were heading back from your own mission?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah, there's a shortcut through these woods that will lead ya right back to the guild." Gray answered.
"See I told you so!" Happy had pointed his nose to the sky as he was fishing. They were on a cliff side where there was water down below.
"If your nose was so great, then how did you not know Gray was right in front of us?" Lucy smarted off.
"There are some things you just don't want to smell." Happy said.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Gray shot off.
"I agree. Go on home and we'll smell you later." Natsu smiled at his partner's comment.
"I think he smells just fine. Unlike someone over here who doesn't know how to wash his own clothing." Morana glared right at Natsu.
"You got a problem with the way I smell?!" Natsu turned to Morana ready for a fist fight with the ice dragon.
"Maybe I do." Morana said. "Maybe it wouldn't kill you to learn how to clean your clothes properly. Did your dad only teach you how to be a caveman?"
"You two better not start a fight!" Lucy shouted as she quickly moved away from Morana who had started growing ice where she sat.
"You got something to say, fleabag?" Gray stood up.
"Don't you get involved!" Lucy shouted.
"Aye! A three man fight!" Happy cheered on.
"I'll take you both on!" Natsu shouted as he stood to his feet. Morana remained sitting as she let Natsu and Gray get into each other's faces.
"Why am I even here?" Lucy whined.
"I could beat you easily, pyro!" Gray argued.
"I can beat you with my eyes closed, you stupid stripper." Natsu shot back.
"There they go again." Happy said as he started eating a fish he caught.
"They both are stupid." Morana mumbled crossing her arms
"Weren't you the one to instage this?!" Lucy pointed out.
"I simply point out a fact." The ice dragon turned to Lucy who sweatdropped. But then she quickly realized something. "Hey Gray, do you know when Erza is coming back?"
Gray and Natsu were in each other's face's when Morana asked her question. Yet at the mention of Erza, the two stopped bickering with each other.
"Wait, The Erza?" Lucy asked, shocked.
"Oh yeah, She's due at any time." Gray got straight to the point. Natsu paled at the news as Morana only grew excited.
"Really?! She's coming back soon!" Morana gasped as they saw the excitement in her eyes.
"How are you not scared of her?! She's a monster!" Natsu shouted.
"You know I haven't seen any pictures of Erza in Sorcerer Weekly. Is she scary?" Lucy asked.
"She's terrifying." Gray shivered.
"She's enough for me. She can take down one mountain with a single kick!" Natsu exaggerated.
"No it's more like she can kick down three." Gray corrected.
"Gray, don't over exaggerate like that. It's more like two." Happy interjected.
"Erza isn't that bad." Morana turned to Lucy with a bright smile on her lips. It certainly threw the blond off and left her even more confused about the powerful member they were discussing. "She just has a powerful demeanor about her that allows her to command anyone she wants. But she's the best!"
"Are you crazy?! She'll tear your head off!" Natsu shouted.
"Be real Natsu, everyone knows Morana is Erza's favorite." Gray cleared up.
"This is confusing." Lucy whined.
"Aye! It was Erza who rescued Morana from that cult we were talking about last night." Happy explained. Morana's smile vanished within seconds as she looked away, guilt shamed.
"Really?" Lucy softly asked, she knew not to push for more answers. If anything it made sense to the blond. How Morana could have a different view on their guild member compared to Natsu and Gray.
Suddenly a sand blast caught them off guard as the four mages were thrown and covered in piles of sand.
"Gross! I got sand in my mouth!" Morana complained as she quickly dust herself off.
"What now?" Gray said, annoyed by what happened.
"Happy!" Natsu had his priorities right as he noticed the missing blue cat. It didn't take long to find the flying cat. Happy was tied to a stick hanging over a small fire. Surrounding him were several people. A set of identical twins. A large chicken in overalls. An emo man. And a short gremlin.
"Help me." Happy trembled.
"Look at him. He's scared." One of the twins smirked.
"Meat!" The chicken screeched.
"You'll be in our bellies soon. So I wouldn't be scared." The gremlin smirked.
"Actually it's not that...I really have to pee." Happy said.
"Hey!" Natsu shouted. He was standing up on a cliff just above the group of catnappers. Gray, Lucy and Morana stood next to him.
"Oh thank the fishies, I'm not gonna taste weird." Happy sighed in relief.
"Happy! Are you ok?" Lucy hollered.
"That's our friend you catnapped. Sorry buddy but you're gonna have to find something else for dinner tonight. " Natsu cracked his knuckles.
"Their work is sloppy...pathetic.." Morana mumbled as she stared down at them.
"You're all wizards, aren't you. What guild are you with?" Gray asked.
The gremlin smirked, "I'm not tellin'. Get them!" The mages jumped as did the Fairy Tail mages.
"Gray...Morana let's do it." Natsu said.
"Alright, but don't go tellin me what to do." Gray scoffed as he crossed his arms.
"Must you boss me around? It's annoying, you musty lizard." Morana rolled her eyes. They jumped and engaged in fighting. Natsu handled the twins, as Gray took on the chicken. Morana was quick to work with the gremlin. Lucy on the other hand was working on getting Happy rescued.
"Sand bomb go!" The gremlin shouted as he slammed his hand to the ground where a golden circle appeared. Morana was quick to avoid it, however she had ran into Natsu who got caught in the attack.
"Oops...Hehe." Morana chuckled.
"Natsu!" Lucy shouted.
"He's fine! Go get Happy!" Gray said.
Lucy ran off towards the tied up blue cat. "Right!"
The twins came after Gray who easily defeated them with no use of magic. Lucy was amazed as she took note of it. Getting to Happy she was quick to start untying him.
"Help! Lucy's gonna eat me!" Happy cried out.
"Shut up cat!" Lucy glared. Suddenly the chicken appeared next to her. He was holding a staff that was on fire. Raising her hands in the air, "Please don't kill mister chicken!"
"Get the fuck away from her! Ice Dragon Frozen Fist!" Morana shouted as she threw her fist into the chicken's face, sending him flying across the battlefield. "Fucker...who's next?"
Morana turned to face the emo man and stood almost offended. He had a glowing ball in his hands as Lucy and Happy ran off. "I see someone special, but the stars point to great trouble with someone from your past. Perhaps shadows and men will be in your future."
"ARE YOU TELLING MY FUTURE!" Morana shouted as her face flushed with embarrassment. Steam came off her skin as she pounded the man into the ground with no hesitation.
"Sounds like someone's gonna have a lover!" Lucy chuckles as she watches the embarrassed Ice dragon.
"Shut up, blonde! I'll turn you into a popsicle!" She shouted.
"Where did these brats come from anyways?" The gremlin asked, then his sand bomb burst with flames as Natsu recovered.
"Great! Now I have sand in my mouth." Natsu spat out some sand. "Fire dragon Iron Fist!"
The mages were tied up and defeated as the Fairy Tail mages stood around.
"Don't you think you might have gone overboard, Natsu?" Gray asked, he didn't have any clothes on.
"So what if I did. I got the job done. Didn't I?" Natsu crossed his arms.
"Grow up already, you're an embarrassment to the guild." Gray shot back. Next thing they knew they were at each other's throats.
Morana and Lucy were now interrogating the mages that catnap Happy.
"They seem like pawns..." Morana mumbled as Lucy gave her a confused look.
"Lull.." The gremlin groaned in pain.
"Huh?" Lucy turned her attention to the mage. "What's lull?"
"Lullaby..." He manages to say. It had stopped Natsu and Gray's fighting, but left Morana terrified. Seconds later a presence was felt that knocked everyone off their feet.
"In coming!" Happy manages to shout a late warning. Morana gasped as she saw a giant shadow hand underneath the mages that were tied to the tree.
"NO!" The ice dragon shouted as she slammed her hand on the ground in an attempt to stop what was coming. Ice shot out towards the shadow, but it did nothing as the tied mages were dragged under ground.
"What was that?" Lucy asked.
"Who was that?" Natsu glared.
"Well, whoever it was was fast. I can't even sense their presence." Gray said. They all turned to Morana who was shaking as she sat on the ground close to the tree.
"Damn it..." She quietly curses as she digs her nails into the dirt.