Fairy Tail - Twilight Empire

Chapter 61 - The Hour Before

Lucy let the door shut behind her on its own. Dusk was settling over Crocus. Axel already had a fire going in the living room. He lazily sat on the couch, watching it with disinterest, while his feet were up and his coat was hanging after a long day of patrol. He had a glass of wine in one hand. Lucy eased into her room with a quiet greeting. He muttered one back.

She quickly changed before digging through her things for her Zodiac keys. Aquarius's always stood out, but, that night, it was for different reasons.

Lucy considered summing Aquarius right there and then to get answers, but the spirit would probably lambast her for it. She was on her own, for the moment. Perhaps, in a dire situation with Brandish, she could summon her.

Then again, if that master of Spatial Magic Maron was around, would she even be able to summon her Spirits?

She emerged from her room, once again greeting Axel. He was home a little earlier than usual, and looked way more bored, too. He usually didn't bother drinking this early in the evening—not that he hit the glass that often or that hard.

For a brief moment, she considered spilling the beans about Brandish. There wasn't much he would be able to do about it—though both were Generals, her status in the Twilight Division automatically elevated her above her peers. All he could do was, potentially, raise a stink. Lucy, as she understood from Levy, was to be groomed into a proper General one day.

Brandish's interference with that, her threats, could land the woman in serious trouble. Lucy knew that all they wanted out of her was the Celestial Spirit keys. Once Brandish had her hands on those, Lucy was basically dead.

Her only sources of help were Levy and...

She mulled Kip. Something about him speaking to Brandish, about him so easily being greeted back into the Empire after a weak excuse for an absence...

The others trusted him, and he almost helped rescue her. Had she not turned down Natsu, she'd be out and about doing...well, whatever it was they were all doing. Meredy was taking down Dark Guilds—or, former Dark Guilds—so maybe they were helping her? There was something about Dimaria hunting Laxus and Master Makarov. Perhaps Lucy would've joined those quests.

But, instead, she lurked in the capital, aware only of the time as it ticked closer and closer to midnight when she would have to hand over her keys, and possibly face execution.

"We're still good for dinner, Lucy?" Axel asked.

He shifted so he could face her.

"Yes," Lucy said. She'd completely forgotten. "By ourselves?"

"I have the reservation all set," Axel said. "Wear something nice, I believe there will be some diplomats from other nations joining us."

"Us?"

"Well. Joining the crowd. I may have to mingle a bit. Wouldn't hurt if you did as well, so that you can have your name out there. Who knows? Maybe you'll be a delegate one day, too."

"Wouldn't that be something?"

She tried to give him a laugh but he didn't mind it, only reciprocating a wane smile. He looked more exhausted than usual. Rough day on patrol? She hadn't heard anything about it—then again, she was either studying or being taken captive by Brandish, so, what'd she know about things going on around the city?

"I'll get ready now," she said and stepped back into her room.

Wear something nice? Well, at least, if she were killed, she'd go down looking good. She made sure that, whatever outfit she picked, it wouldn't have her usual gloves on. That night, as she stared down Brandish, as she prepared to face death, she would have the world know that she was still a wizard of Fairy Tail.