"Mrs. Parestine, are you alright?" Lucy spoke softly, placing a hand on the poor woman's shoulder.
"A-ah, yes... yes, of course. I apologize for that." Ellice answered, her voice cracking at every word. She dabbed at her eyes with the corner of her handkerchief. "I didn't realize I was crying. I'm sorry."
"No, please don't apologize." Erza said comfortingly. "There's nothing wrong with shedding a few tears once in a while. It means that we really do care for something that we truly hold dear."
"I guess you are right." Their hostess sighed, partially composing herself and momentarily relieving most of the five-year-old pain that weighed her down.
For a few more moments, the mages watched her weep silently, pondering on the twisted story behind her warm smile and kind eyes. At some point they wondered, how many times did she have to relive those bitter memories? How often did she have to tell that story to every single wizard that came to her, promising a successful return, only to come back empty-handed? How many times, they wondered, had she hoped of seeing her daughter again, only to have it crushed along with the jar of tears that dwelled her heart?
Natsu's fist collided with the wooden coffee table, causing each and every delicate utensil to clatter in unison. Luckily, the table itself was sturdy enough to hold against the jarring impact.
"I feel sorry for Avellon." He spoke in a deadly calm voice. "He could've had the family that he dreamed of when he had the chance, but he heartlessly threw it away."
The woman stared at the pink-haired boy, emerald eyes unblinking and mouth half open in astonishment. Never, not even once in those three years that have passed ever since she sent the request, had she heard those words escape from a mage's mouth. She couldn't have said it any better herself.
"Mrs. Parestine," Gray started. "After we get Avellice back from him, what would you like us to do with your husband?"
Ellice's gaze hardened with pure anger and revolt, lips forming a straight line as she uttered her answer without a single shade of regret nor hesitancy, "Kill him, torture him, do whatever you want. He is not my husband anymore, and I've long since stopped caring about anything that has something to do with him."
¤ ~ ¤
"Are you sure you don't want to stay for the night? I wouldn't mind, and you must be tired." Their hostess asked, slightly worried just as they were about to leave.
"No, it's okay, really. We'll just sleep on the way there." Lucy answered, descending the steps on the front porch.
It was twilight. The sky turned from brightest shade of blue to the deepest hue of red in the remaining rays of the sunset, allowing the first few stars to reveal itself from beneath the blanket of dense, dark clouds.
"We'll get going now, it's going to rain any minute." Erza said, walking towards the fence in a haste to get to Valencia as soon as possible.
"In that case, allow me to give you this." Ellice reached behind her neck, carefully removing an ornate silver key embedded with diamonds that hung from a thin chained necklace. "It may not be of much use, but that is a copy of the key to open the machine in Jared's laboratory. What is it used for, I have no idea. I was probably too afraid to find out."
"We'll take good care of it." The redhead replied, curling her fingers around the jewelry and placing it securely inside a pocket.
"We'll be back as soon as possible, Mrs. Parestine, please don't worry. And we'll definitely do everything in our power to bring your daughter back to you." Gray assured her.
At that, Ellice smiled. And for the first time in years, she actually felt as if the smile emerged out of genuine happiness, and not as a mere mask to make others believe the lie that she wasn't breaking down inside with each passing day she spent away from her daughter.
"Just call me Aunt Ellice next time."
¤ ~ ¤
They made it to the station just in time for the 6 PM train. And so they geared up their things, got the first empty seats, and settled; Lucy and Natsu on one side, Gray and Erza facing them.
For a few long minutes, the team listened intently to the steady rhythm of raindrops that drummed against the roof of the train, with almost nothing to be seen from the glass-paned window besides the inky black darkness that stretched for miles beyond. And, despite the supposed summer heat of late April, the night enveloped them in cruel coldness.
"Valencia is pretty far from here." Lucy declared, examining a map that sat on her lap. "At this rate we'll get there at around 12 midnight." She finished with a sigh out of exasperation for both the situation they're in and the thought of Natsu throwing up on the window beside her.
Erza chuckled in response. She can't really blame Lucy, besides, all of them were already exhausted anyway. But a thought has been tugging at the back of her mind.
"Gray."
"Yeah?" The ice mage turned to Erza, slightly startled as he was pulled away from the thoughts of his own. Truth be told, he is also thinking about a lot of things, mostly about the task at hand.
"Keep this." She said, taking out the silver key from her pocket and offering it to Gray.
"What? Why me?" He replied, puzzled.
"I... just have a feeling you'll need it."
¤ ~ ¤
The trip to Valencia took six long hours by train. And true enough, they arrived at the city past 11 PM.
The night was restless, and the cold wasn't really of much help. They stayed at a lounge to get a few hours of sleep, and as soon as the first rays of the sun kissed the horizon, the team was geared up and ready to go.
A few minutes later, they found themselves staring up and looking through the metal bars of a 15 feet tall main gate.
The mansion was located at the heart of the city. Simply put, it was massive. Perhaps not as fancy as a typical mansion, but with a little more effort and it would've surpassed the grandiosity of most mansions that are known today.
A half-dying garden can be seen through the barred gates, and leave out all the years it took for the flowers to wither and fade, the garden could've been as striking as the one in Ellice's house. Nestled in the middle of it is a huge marble sculpture of a distinguished-looking man in spectacles, holding an open book on the palm of his hand.
Past the garden, the house itself showed various signs of carelessness and neglect. The walls which could've been a nice shade of cream faded down to a dull ashen hue, the paint was chipped and cracked at countless places. Stained glass windows stood shattered in every direction, adding to the eerieness that hung heavy within its premises.
"Do you think we should knock, or...?" Lucy's voice trailed away, apparently shocked as a scene that came straight from her story books unfold right in front of her eyes.
Without warning, the metal bars rose and the gate stood wide open before them not a second after, as if daring them to take a step and enter.
Natsu looked on the bright side instantly. "Well, what are we waiting for?" He half-yelled, half-said before taking a running start towards the entrance.
"NATSU YOU BAKA, GET BACK HERE!" Erza screamed, a dark shadow of pure anger passing over her eyes as she grabbed Natsu by the scarf, harshly pulling him back out of the gate.
Not a fraction of a second later, a crescent shaped blade darted beneath the withering rose bushes, passing by the place where Natsu's foot could've been in the indescribable speed of light. Hadn't Erza been fast enough to think and act, the Fire Dragon Slayer could've lost everything between his toes and ankles.
"See that, Natsu?" Erza spoke in a dangerously calm voice, glaring daggers towards him. "Now you know where your recklessness can get you." At that, Natsu could only blink in reply, realizing how grave and problematic the situation was.
"Well, what now?" Gray said hopelessly.
It was silent for a few heartbeats as everyone indulged in their own miserable thoughts. Until a thunderous mechanical clang of metal against metal resonated from somewhere within the center of the garden, particularly inside the statue.
"Allow me to apologize for the half-hearted welcome." A deafening male voice said from something that sounded like a worn-out microphone.
"But please understand that I am not quite used to having visitors around. Nonetheless, I reckon that you lot can be made an exception and are now guaranteed a safe passage across the garden. Now, if you'd please proceed to the mansion that I may formally introduce myself. And thank you, in advance." A few more seconds of static, and everything went back to its usual arcane silence.
Gray was the first one to take a step forward, only to be held back by Erza. "Not so fast, Gray. We can be walking straight into a trap." She said, giving the Ice Mage a look of caution.
"You heard the old man, right? Let's just step in and get this thing over with!" Gray replied, irritation and anxiety resonating in every word that was formed by his voice. Something was getting into him, alright.
Gray ripped his arm from Erza's grasp before carelessly stomping through the weed-strewn path that snaked through the withered garden, and true enough, nothing seemed to harm him, not at the very least.
The team managed to make their way through the wilted garden after a few long minutes of crashing and burning through overgrown bushes, slashing at vines that appeared out of nowhere, and stepping across fallen stems dotted with poisonous thorns. It took a bit of work, but they did reach the mansion's worn and wooden double doors.
They slowly opened inward with a long and deafening creak, scratching the ashen marble floors before any of the mages could knock as if responding to a voice from inside. And from the looks of it, the doors are being opened for the first time after an eternity of sealing away the entrance, unyielding to anyone.
"Come in." The voice came from a man seated in one of the faded velvet couches that lined the once-lavish living room. He was perhaps in his early forties or late thirties, as can be seen in the gray streaks that peeked through his raven locks.
Avellon Parestine was recognizable at first sight. The thin, circular glasses that rested atop the bridge of his nose was identical to the one they saw in the picture back at the guild. And save for the few inches that lengthened his hair and the faded glow that was once in his eyes, he has not changed at the very least.
"A pleasure to have you here." The scientist said, standing up and greeting the visitors with a polite bow, a pristine goblet of wine held at the neck between the fingers of his right hand. "I assume you are exhausted, please have a seat."
Natsu took a small step forward before Erza held out an arm to stop him, as though countless years of experience told her that everything about this was a big trap. "Where is Avellice?" She asked the scientist, not wasting a second to accept his pleasantries.
Avellon gazed at everyone of them in return. The look in his dull blue eyes was peculiar, reflecting a whirlpool of sorrow, exhaustion, and pain. And when he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. "Ah... So she sent you. You're one of Ellice's victims aren't you?"