I'm back! Last week I was so busy I had no time to write at all, but now I can continue writing again! I wanted to post the next chapter as soon as it was done so here it is, enjoy! ^^ Thank you for your support, it really warms my heart! ^^
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Since the mountains were surrounding Elenbora, it became dark really fast once the sun started to set. They had cleaned the rooms and took care of the futons, getting ready to go to sleep.
"Are you sure this is alright?" Laxus asked when they took their futons up and in he bedroom where Sanchez and Imari usually slept. Evergreen got the smallest room all by herself and Bickslow and Roscoe got the room next to it.
"Yes, it's fine", Sanchez assured. They had moved their own stuff with Imari to make room for guest futons in their bedroom. "We'll just sleep at the veranda on hammocks."
"I feel like we're chasing you away from your own house", Freed said apologetically.
"Nonsense, we like sleeping on our hammocks", Sanchez laughed jovially. "If it gets too cold, we'll sleep in the living room."
"We could sleep there too", Laxus assured as they laid the mattresses down.
"It's okay, really. I'll be up late anyway because I have to assemble herbs and Imari always complains how hot it gets up here. It's better for him if we sleep outside where it's cooler."
"You two really care for each other", Freed smiled.
"We have had our spats too", Sanchez smirked. "But we have known each other ever since we were little cubs so we know how to handle each other."
"You must have lived in this house since you inherited it from your father?"
"That's right. Imari actually lived near here, we always went to the forest together to look for fruits and stuff. Our families weren't exactly happy about it... Let alone once we started dating."
"They couldn't accept you guys being gay?" Laxus asked while they set down the blankets.
"No. It's the fact that Imari is a lion and I'm a tiger. You humans probably don't know it, but werelions and weretigers don't generally get along very well. We can stand each other so we won't cause fights, but we're not friends."
"That's weird", Laxus snorted and Freed frowned at him.
"I know", Sanchez laughed. "I don't really know what's the cause of that hate, but I've never really cared anyway. We played with Imari all the time, no matter what our parents said. Once we announce we're dating, they just had to accept it. After our marriage, our families slowly got to know each other better."
He looked around.
"Well, that should be all", he said stepping in the hallway. "You know where the kitchen and bathroom are. See you guys tomorrow."
"Good night, Sanchez", Freed said and they closed the door.
"Never really met weretigers or werelions before", Laxus said as he took off his shirt and Freed did the same.
"They're not any different from us", the rune mage said putting his sword against the wall near his futon. "They just have different habits, that's all."
"Yeah. They're a pretty funny couple."
"I think so too."
They rustled around until finally they got under covers, their futons assembled side by side. The room was dark and they could hear how Bickslow and Roscoe were talking about something, but not clearly enough so they could hear what they were talking.
There was a silence in their room.
"Should we have called Felix?" Freed finally had to ask, turning his head and he could barely see the face of his husband.
"It's okay, he's sleeping already", Laxus said keeping his eyes shut. "Don't worry too much."
"I'm not worried, I was just wondering if he had a good day."
"I'm sure he had lots of fun. He's a brave boy, he will be just fine with Gramps and others."
"I guess you're right", Freed agreed and he sighed. "I just can't seem to help it that I do miss him a bit."
Laxus huffed and suddenly he moved over, Freed chuckling as the blond haired man snuggled against him.
"Your blanket is dropping", he said pulling Laxus' blanket better over him.
"Don't really need it, it's warm enough here", the lightning dragon slayer said resting his head against Freed's chest. "I miss him too", he confessed and Freed smiled.
"We can't help it", he said gently patting the soft yellow hair.
"But at least I've got you guys here", Laxus said, his hand resting on the just slightly swollen stomach. It was still small, but he did feel a bump and it made him happy.
"You're right", Freed smiled.
They fell asleep quickly, after having a long day of traveling.
In the next day after the breakfast Laxus, Roscoe and the Thunder Legion headed towards the town. They walked down the path under the trees and they soon changed to plants and bamboos and before they knew it, they were standing on one of the large stone bridges.
It was large and just like Imari had said, it went straight to the town which looked like it was standing on top of the deep water. People were walking back and forth all the time. There were nice little stopping places with benches and people were tossing crumbles of bread on the water, feeding carps. They were talking and even though a few of them might be a bit confused when seeing Laxus and Bickslow, mostly just because they looked so colossal, people didn't seem to really pay any attention towards them.
Soon they arrived to the town and they just kept walking forward just like Imari had instructed. They looked at the building and Freed admired the architecture here. All the houses were made out of stone. They were very simple and tall, yet somehow they hold lots of elegance in them. They were even beautiful.
One of the building was over the others. It was tall and decorated. It even looked like it had a golden roof.
"I wouldn't exactly say that it's huge", Roscoe tisked when looking at the building. Such a show off library. Sure it was big, but not huge. "If this is their library, I'm not really impressed." This wasn't even one third of their library. And he was only talking about the castle outside the mountain! That castle might be in ruins right now, but they would build it again.
"I don't think this is all of it", Freed chuckled as they stepped up the stairs to the large doors.
They were let in and people were walking around in the huge lounge.
"This is not a library", Evergreen said and they all were confused.
It was just one big space and there was a big decorated round structure in the middle of it. There were a place to buy and drink tea and coffee and also tables and chairs. There was a stall for food as well, looked like they sold many kinds of sandwiches, steamed pork buns, pies and cakes. People were waiting in line for their turn to buy something and they were sitting around in the lounge and admired all the beautiful paintings on the walls.
"What the hell?" Laxus asked.
"Did they move or something?" Bickslow asked tilting his head confused.
They heard laughing and looked at a woman who was leaning against a counter. Behind her there were lockers so people could leave their bags and other things if they wanted.
"You guys must be outsiders, right?" she smiled. "It's really easy to tell. Not that we mind really. It's cute how you're trying to blend in with locals. You're actually doing a pretty good job with that, I bet most of them can't tell if you're locals or not."
"So we're not doing at least a total half assed job", Roscoe grunted.
"It's this library that gave you away. Everyone in this town knows what kind this library is", the woman chuckled as she stepped around the counter and came to them. "But since this is your first visit here, no wonder you look so lost. My name is Leticia, nice to meet you. I can show you around if you want."
"Don't you have a job?"
"This? No, I'm just filling in for a friend so she can eat. She will come back soon. You all look quite interesting", Leticia smiled. "Where are you from?"
"Magnolia", Bickslow smirked. "Except Roscoe, he's from Naava Town."
"Naava Town?" Leticia said and now she was surprised. "We heard what happened there earlier, we're so sorry of what happened to your library", she said and Roscoe just grumbled something. "Oh, my friend is back", Leticia said when she noticed the woman who was wearing an official worker's suit.
They talked for a moment and Leticia returned to them.
"Shall we go down then?" she smiled.
"Down?" Laxus asked. "Oh yeah, Imari did mention something about a lift."
"We have three elevators here in the library", Leticia explained as they stepped beside the big decorated structure that was standing in the middle of the hall. "We need them so we can go to the library."
"Oh... So this is nothing but a lounge", Freed said. "I'm really excited to see the library itself."
"You're going to love it", Leticia smiled happily to the rune mage and she pressed a button.
The door opened and showed them a space that was barely big enough for all of them. They squeezed in and the door closed, the elevator shifted and started to move down.
"Why is the library underground?" Freed asked curiously.
"It's underwater", Leticia said and Laxus growled slightly when seeing her stand so close to Freed. Damn Freed was a natural charmer who didn't even realize he was attracting women like a lamp attracted moths. "Long ago, Elenbora didn't actually have this much water all around and the town was bigger than it is now. Since the hot springs on top of the mountains started to erupt – we still don't know what caused them – and water started gathering, people built the town higher and higher, while making sure the parts of the town that were underwater would stay safe."
"I see", Freed muttered. "That is really fascinating. So Elenbora is a town that has been built on top of another town."
"Exactly", Leticia smiled. "Over the time, the space underwater turned into a library."
"So it wasn't planned to be one at first?"
"No. It sort of like just happened on it's own. Oh, we're here."
The door opened and they stepped out. Instantly they all almost dropped their jaws.
It was like a town! There weren't hallways, there were streets! Streets that had walls made out of shelves and filled with books, they even had streetlamps to bring light! The ceiling was so high it felt like there were mountains! They could see light at the ceiling so the roof had to be made out of something transparent.
Freed stepped beside the railing and he looked down. People were walking around, sitting where they could, talking to each other about the books they had read. There were even some shops! Mostly to buy stuff you might need for studying or some small coffee houses where to have a lunch, but they could also see a candy shop and a book store. It felt really weird, having a book store inside a library, but sometimes people might like some book so much they wanted a copy for themselves so in a way it did make a lot sense.
The elevator had brought them to a platform that had stairways down to the big street. There was even a big map that told them what books were where! There were so many categories!
"Oh my god", Freed gasped when looking at the board.
"What now?" Laxus asked crossing his arms.
"They have a whole crypt full of runes! Dark runes, white runes, cryptic runes, star runes, stone runes, ancient runes, invisible runes, dead runes, everything!"
"That's true", Leticia smiled. "There are lots of history there from different places. But there are also lots of spells, those books are kept away from the regular books and to see those, you'll need a permission."
"How can I get a permission?"
"Freed", Laxus grunted. The rune mage was getting dangerously distracted of their job at this rate.
"You have to fill a form and then see the one who is in charge of the crypt where you're planning to go", Leticia explained.
"I will definitely need one of those forms", Freed nodded and he was almost leaving, when Laxus grabbed his hand.
"Focus", the lightning dragon slayer said. "We have no time for that", he frowned and it was like Freed suddenly remembered why they were here exactly.
"Oh, yes of course, I shouldn't have gotten so carried away", the green haired man said maybe slightly embarrassed.
"You're always the same when we go to a library, baby", Bickslow snickered. "But man, this place sure is impressive", he said looking around. "It's like a town itself. There's even coffee shops here."
"It's built so people can spend even whole days here, getting what they need from here", Leticia explained. "There are lots of different kinds of chairs, tables and places where to read. There's even hammocks. And those who can't read for some reason, there are workers who will read for you. There are also workers who we call "alive books"."
"Alive books?" Evergreen asked confused.
"Yes. Their job is to tell you about the subject they have lots of knowledge about", Leticia chuckled. "Like about this library for example."
"Are you one of those... Uh... Books?" Freed asked surprised and Leticia giggled with a light blush.
"You caught me", she smiled. "I work as a book and my job is to bring you as much knowledge about this library as I possibly can", she said bowing her head.
"Doesn't that just make you a guide?" Roscoe muttered.
"A guide book, if you don't mind. This is a library, it's a lot more suitable for being referred as a guide book than just a mere guide. It makes things funnier."
"I can understand that", Freed smiled. "But shouldn't we have asked you from someone?"
"I saw this was your first time in our library so I went ahead and just invited myself to your group", Leticia smiled. "I hope you don't mind."
"Not really", Evergreen said. "This makes things easier for us."
"That is true", Freed nodded. "We actually have a reason why we came here."
"Oh, the please let me help", Leticia smiled to the swordsman. "I've basically lived my whole life in this library, I know where everything is", she assured. "You look like a man who enjoys spending time in a library as well, am I correct?"
"Are you serious? I bet Freed would live in a library too if he could", Evergreen giggled. This was really amusing. Obviously that woman was attracted to Freed but just like always, Freed had no idea someone was trying to flirt with him.
"I certainly wouldn't mind it", Freed laughed.
"So what is it you want to know?" Leticia asked looking at them all.
"It is... A bit complicated", Laxus grunted and he wasn't as happy about that woman joining them as others. Naturally, because who would want to look at someone trying to flirt with your mate? "We're looking for information about Red Dawn", the Thunder God said with a slightly lower tone as they didn't want to attract too much attention to them.
Leticia looked at them with a slight shock in her eyes and for a moment she had no idea what to say.
"You want to know about the dark guild that roamed here in Elenbora over one hundred years ago?" she clarified, just to make sure they were talking about the same thing.
"Yeah."
"Why?" Leticia asked and now she was confused. Why would these strangers suddenly appear to ask information about Red Dawn?
"Please let us explain", Freed quickly said. "You mentioned that you have heard what happened to Naava Town. I assume you know what happened to Ginkgo as well?"
"Yes, there are still news of it in newspapers", the blond haired woman nodded. "Do you think... They might have something to do with it?" she gasped with almost silent whisper.
"You mean Red Dawn?" Roscoe asked.
"Red Dawn was disbanded, it doesn't exist anymore, but there are still some descendants of the members who belonged to that guild", Leticia said now nervously and she looked around. "Follow me", she said grabbing Freed's hand – Laxus only barely managed to hold down a growl – and they all left the platform.
They stepped down the stairs to the street and Leticia led them ahead.