The Celestial Princess and Her Suitors

Chapter Eight: Cobra

Lucy grumbled to herself as she walked along the bank of a small river. She had been sent by Minnie to pick some blueberries that apparently grew around a pond at the end of the river. The older woman used blueberries from these bushes for her blueberry-flavored pastries. She ran out and decided to send her employee out to collect more. So now Lucy was walking through an opening in the forest alone with a wicker basket in her hand. She looked around her every few minutes, jumping every time she heard movement in the vegetation near her. She sighed for the umpteenth time, glad that she had her keys and whip, was next to a water source, and it was a Wednesday.

Even though, she didn't like being in a secluded place. Not after her most recent encounter with Kit and her other partner. Which meant, there were probably three people after, with at least one of them being a mage. Maybe she should just choose a guild and move on from Crocus. Joining a guild would definitely help her in getting rid of her attackers.

The blonde stepped over a rock that looked too loose for her to step on. She didn't want to risk falling on these rocks, much less risk falling into the river. Her thoughts turned to the young man she had met only a week ago.

Midnight.

It was a weird name but for some reason, it seemed to fit him. From what time Lucy had spent with him, he appeared to be the dark and mysterious type. He wasn't much of a talker, in fact, he didn't seem to be trusting of her. She couldn't blame him, though. Based on what Kit had said, she was after them both. That meant Midnight's injuries had been caused by Kit. Lucy would be just as distrusting as he was if she was in his place.

The blonde's mind wandered to how she wished the next day had gone. She imagined making breakfast and bringing it into her bedroom so that she and Midnight could eat together and talk without him needing to get out of bed and risk worsening his injuries. Then, after breakfast, they could talk all day, getting to know each other. Lucy had wished that Midnight could have stayed throughout the course of his recovery. She would have loved to learn about him, go out with him once he was healed enough, and maybe have a relationship. She remembered seeing a guild mark on his shoulder. She didn't recognize it and was interested in learning about his guild. If things had gone well between the two of them, she could have joined his guild.

Lucy blushed at her thoughts, trying to drag herself out. She couldn't believe herself! She was now either daydreaming about Cana, Bixlow, Erza, Laxus, and Midnight, or she was watching out for Kit and her two partners. She was in a constant state of confusion about her sexuality and why she was attracted to multiple people, and her fear of being attacked again.

She was thrown out of her thoughts when she suddenly tripped on a rock. She released a yelp and landed painfully on her knees and hands. She groaned as she dragged herself to a nearby rock that was large enough for her to sit on. She looked at the knees of her black stockings, seeing that to her dismay they had been torn across both knees. A tiny amount of blood was beading from a small cut on her right knee, but her left knee only had a bit of dirt on it. She then looked at her hands, finding that they were also covered in a small amount of dirt, but no blood.

The pain had lessened greatly as she was just about to stand up and pick up the wicker basket she had dropped and check if it had been damaged when she heard the vegetation behind her rustling. Lucy bolted up to her feet and whipped around. She pulled out Aquarius' key and held it in her right hand while with she placed her left hand on her whip. She took a step back, preparing herself to run toward the river and summon her mermaid spirit. She watched as the vegetation continued to rustle and a man stepped out, causing her to freeze with widened eyes.

Cobra trudged through a forest, wishing that Angel would shut the hell up already. He glanced at Cubellios, sharing a look of annoyance with the large, purple snake. Angel was rambling on about something that was most likely stupid and pointless. They had been sent out of the Oracion Seis base due to having gotten into a fight with each other. Brain told them to not return until the end of the day. It was torture and Cobra was close to turning on his Guild Master. Or, maybe he'll just turn on Angel and get her to stop talking.