Read story Love Against All Odds - Chapter 8 : Audience

Chapter 8 : Audience

March 20th, X524 (10:30 AM)
'Lamia' Beverage and teashop

"Oobachan, where're you? can I get three fried chicken legs?" A guy in his early twenties, named Bickslow Seth, asked jokingly as he entered the shop, followed by his girlfriend Evergreen Maple. Bickslow's attire consisted of a blue shirt covered by a black cape which was held by an emblem, and extremely baggy loose dark pants and black boots. His blue short hair was slicked backwards. His magic was Seith Magic, which trapped the wandering souls inside the objects and manipulate them. Bickslow was the newly appointed detective of the Magnolia Crime Division.

An old woman around sixty-five years old, clad in a red cloak over her purple dress, stood in front of Bickslow, and smacked his right hand with her long wooden hand fan. A loud sharp sound broke the small room's silence and Bickslow screamed 'Ahh' painfully.

"How many times did I tell you, I Ooba Babasaama, never sell meat in my shop. You annoying kid." Oobachan was the owner of Lamia beverage shop, the place where Prince Laxus and his friends usually hung out.

"Oobachan, calm down please," Evergreen said, "He is just joking and you know that, Oobachan." Evergreen was 20-year-old and had long curly light brown hair. Her outfit was a revealing short green dress and brown leggings. She was the only daughter of a wealthy businessman, and most importantly, she was like a human information bank; she knew every information of people all over Magnolia.

"Yeah, you're so mean, Oobachan," Bickslow whimpered in pain as he touched his right hand dramatically. Evergreen glared at her boyfriend, "I told you not to tease Oobachan but you won't listen to me."

"Because it's lunchtime now," the guy replied quickly, "And she never cooked the meals for .."

"Stop talking kid," Oobachan shouted, "Go upstairs right now before I hit you again."

"Yes Ma'am," Evergreen smiled apologetically as she dragged her boyfriend upstairs to meet her friends.

• • • • •

"Got hit by a wooden fan, ain't you?" Cana asked amusingly as she looked at the couple who entered the room. Her dark brown hair was tied into a high ponytail, and she was wearing a white shirt and black capri pants. Cana Alberona Clive was a 19-year-old young lady of Alber Clan and she could perform various kinds of magic with her magic cards.

"It served him right. Last time, he was hit with a broom, and before that, Oobachan spun him around for five minutes with her magic. Yet, he still asked for trouble." A 24-year-old Bacchus Groh grinned before he drank a cup of water. [A/N: Excuse me, no alcohol right now] Bacchus's outfit was simple; a blue T-shirt, dark blue baggy pants, and black boots. His straight black hair was gathered on the back of his head and tied in a bun with a white cloth. He was very good in melee combat, one of the disciples of Lord Gildarts Clive.

"Well it was funny though," the seith mage retorted as he sat on one of the chairs, and Evergreen sat beside him. "Where's Freed?" He asked Prince Laxus.

"I told him to do something," Laxus replied, "Bicks, are Garou Knights still in prison?" The blond-haired prince asked, leading their conversation into a serious one. "Yeah, I guarded the prison the whole night, but no one came to rescue them. Seemed like their superiors didn't care about them," Bickslow replied.

"It's not the old man's order. If he ordered the Garou Knights, he would have gotten them out of prison immediately to make us pissed off," Laxus explained his option.

"To tell the truth, I really admire the Lords and Madam Irene," Evergreen said, "They hate the King but they attended the court meeting everyday."

"If they don't do it, the court affairs will be worse than now," Bacchus sighed, "Majesty Makarov's supporters are more powerful than Ivan Dreyar but still can't remove him from position.. how frustrating."

"That old fox gave Jellal the Crown Prince position because he had no other choice. He cared about his King position only, didn't care about the powers of Three Clans," Laxus said angrily, "We all know that he had the support from many illegal dark guilds and threatened our citizens' safety. The lords can't harm him because of this reason."

"Guys.." Cana spoke after being silent for a while, "I think it's August Strauss." Laxus raised his eyebrow in question. Cana continued, "August Strauss might be the one who controlled Garou Knight. He was the one who started invading the land of Sabertooth Kingdom for a decade. He didn't want peace. He just wanted to conquer Sabertooth, so it's normal that he hates Princess Lucelia and orders to kill her."

"No proof, Cana," Bacchus commented.

"Prince Laxus.. with all respect, can I ask what is your plan for Princess Lucelia?" Brickslow asked with a slight joke of formality, "Is she a spy from King Eucliffe or Ivan Dreyar?" Laxus didn't answer.

"Princess Lucelia is something special," Evergreen said, "From what I saw at the city gate, she was close with Erza-chan. Only a day and she makes our mighty knight softened."

"Why did you go to city gate?" Bacchus asked, even though he knew that his friend went there because of her inquisitiveness.

"I went there to check the situation," Evergreen answered immediately, "Prince Jellal's guards didn't let commoners stand near the gate. So I stood at a far distance and waited. Anyway, the princess rode the same horse with Erza-chan. Do you think it is strange? Erza-chan never shared her horse."

Bacchus frowned at Evergreen, "If the Princess didn't ride the same horse with Erza-san, then with whom? Gray? or Lyon?"

The fairy mage glared at him, "I was emphasizing 'how quick she became close with Erza-chan',"she continued, "and Princess Lucelia brought only one female bodyguard with her.."

"My dear Ever," Cana stated with a chuckle, "Don't expect the Princess to bring a troop of guards -"

"Don't make fun of my information," Evergreen glared at the younger girl, "You two are a perfect match for each other in terms of provoking me."

"No, we are not," Cana and Bacchus yelled in unison, as Bickslow brusted out laughing. "Forced of habit," the card mage explained, "I want to tease when you are in your gossip girl mood."

"I'm serious," Evergreen said, "What I mean is, it's strange how Sabertooth King sent his daughter to another kingdom so easily. I can't see a father's love in this case."

'Of course, he sent a fake princess.' Laxus replied silently, as he smirked and continued listening to his friends' discussion.

"Because King Eucliffe had no other choice but to agree to this political marriage. As a result," the seith wizard pointed at Laxus, "our thunder prince will get a wife soon."

"I haven't seen the princess but I don't think she's not pretty," Cana grinned happily, "Will we go to Scarlet Manor to meet her today?"

"Princess Lucelia is a beautiful nobility," the fairy mage replied, "She is -"

Evergreen was stopped by two screams from a far distance. Everyone in the room heard it too. Cana ran and stood near the nearest window, and checked. The shout was from Pegasus Restaurant, which was located across the street from Lamia shop. From her spot, Cana saw what was happening clearly. The wooden door was broken and three men were thrown out of the restaurant. "There's a fight in Pegasus," Cana said, "Someone made Mr. Ichiya angry."

"They're digging their own grave. Mr. Ichiya's punch is something they shouldn't mess with. Let me see too." Evergreen said excitedly and stood beside the younger girl as they became a silent audience.

Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki was the owner of the most popular restaurant 'Pegasus' in downtown Magnolia. When someone did something Mr. Ichiya dislike, he would be kicked out of the restaurant, or worse, punched. He was a 29-year-old bachelor who had an obvious crush on Erza Scarlet for two years. People sometimes accused that he mistreated the rude customers intentionally because he wanted to meet Erza. After all, she was in charge of the city's safety.

"Don't involve in others' problems," the lightning dragon slayer said calmly, "City guards will arrive soon."

A few seconds passed, and Cana and Evergreen saw a beautiful white-haired young woman walking out of Pegasus. She wore a red short cape over her sleeveless long maroon dress. Her waist-length hair was down freely, with slight curls at the end. She was Mirajane Strauss, the 22-year-old eldest daughter of General August Strauss, the take over mage... and

"Laxus-sama, your childhood sweetheart is making a scene in broad daylight," Cana commented. It wasn't a joke, she just said it with annoyance or, in another term, an unwelcome tone. The blond-haired prince seemed like he still had his feelings for Mirajane Strauss although they stood on the opposite sides, and his friends didn't like that.

"Mirajane Strauss is in a fight?" Bickslow asked with a terrible look on his face. He stood up and went next to another window. He realized that it was more similar to bullying. The men tried to escape from her but failed, and Mirajane hit them with her whip.

Lisanna Strauss, a 17-year-old girl with short white hair, wearing a purple dress, was clapping her hands happily. She stood behind her sister, together with her four servant girls.

People gathered around near the restaurant to watch the fight, but nobody dared to stop Mirajane, "We should rescue these poor people before Lady Demon killed them," Bickslow said worriedly.

"Don't involve in others' problems," Bacchus imitated Laxus's advice, "Titania will arrive soon. She's the only one who can handle Mirajane."

"Erza left Magnolia yesterday because of a mission," Laxus said simply as he sat still like he didn't want to meet Mirajane. "Mr. Ichiya will stop the fight soon. He may be hot-tempered, but he isn't a bad man."

"There he is," Evergreen said as soon as she saw an orange-haired man coming out of his restaurant. He was Ichiya, a short and stout man, with a white suit. The owner talked to Mirajane, and the white-haired lady folded her leather whip as she stopped the fight. Everything seemed fine until Lisanna Strauss cried in pain, and blood started bleeding on her left arm. She was standing near a medium-sized white pegasus statue, which was placed in front of Pegasus Restaurant.

Bickslow, Evergreen and Cana saw an orange small creature that looked like a cat getting down from the pegasus back. "Nee-chan, kill it for me," Lisanna screamed. Mirajane stretched her whip again and attacked the cat but the little cutie dodged very fast and jumped high. After landing on an empty space, the animal roared.. and slowly transformed into a medium orange lion.

"What the heck.. A cat can turn into a lion." Bickslow shouted shockingly.

"I haven't seen such a magical creature in Magnolia," Evergreen stated, "Seemed like it's lack of training."

Because of the word 'Lion', Laxus stood up, walked to the window slowly and took a look at the said lion. His guess was right, the lion that was fighting Mirajane was... Lucy Heart's celestial spirit.

^_^

Bickslow Seth