Fairy Tail: The Adventures Of Rin Fernandes

XXVIII. The Fallen Rose

XXVIII. The Fallen Rose

THIRD PERSON'S POV

PART I  - THE REMNANTS

"Shirotsume."

The chilling north wind sweeps past, as a lady wraps her scarf tighter around her neck, vapour forming as she breathes out. The first snow of the year was slowly trickling down from the pale grey sky, an almost calming and soothing feeling washing over her. She had been on the run with three others, concealing themselves wherever they went. After their fall, they ran all the way to Crocus, seeking help from the very place they had broke away from generations ago. Unfortunately, the knowledge of the former Crown Princess' death, which had literally occurred right under their noses, made the Kingdom drop them for good.

There was no support, nothing for them to lean on to. When the former Crown Princess Helena Fiore decided to come with them, they were only assigned a single task by the Kingdom: to protect her life until the very end. They had failed, the entire organisation broken into badly fragmented pieces no one could fix. Blowing her hands gingerly, she tried to warm herself before placing her hands in her jacket pockets. Whenever she was down, she'd reach for her Celestial keys. They gave her the comfort she would never seek from this world. Not after his death.

Just like castaways, they scavenged for food and odd jobs. One particular guild, Mermaid Heel, had been rather welcoming when they had sought shelter. Rumours always spread around wherever they had ran off to of a particular Lorres searching for runaways. The female-only guild could have offered them protection, though they could not pay for it, but that wasn't the main issue. Paul was a bonafide male, and Eyalle didn't like settling down. No matter how long it took, they had to find Ceinlys. However, the only living member of the original Ventury was like a ghost. They had searched high and low, but there was no sign of Ceinlys Rosen anywhere.

Today, they were staying at a secret Bed and Breakfast hidden behind a tavern, one that locals claimed was just for drunken men to crash for the night. They had secured a room for themselves earlier in the day, and she was positive they would get going either on the morrow or the day after. Glancing around, Mari-Anna Roth confirmed that no one was tailing her before turning into the back alley that led to the tavern's hidden Bed and Breakfast.

The Siren Tavern was one of Shirotsume's most popular taverns, and one of the least likely places they would go to. They weren't exactly hiding in plain sight since it was one of the most rowdiest scenes, but Heather and Dante would never really have thought they'd hide in a crowded and popular area rather than in a secluded part of Shirotsume, or whichever town they chose to hide. It wasn't like them to hide amongst the crowd, but with their ways being very predictable by Heather and Dante, they had to let some hiding strategies go and work on new ones.

Her hands lingered at the door as she thought back on the events that had transpired. Ever since that day, they had been moving almost on a daily basis. Paul had slowly lost touch of the Teleportation as well as the Mind Reading Magic Elizabeth Henrietta had given him through Archive Magic, and so they travelled between towns through both his Wind Magic and Alice's Illusion Magic. Eyalle would always set up a Runic Seal around wherever they stayed at, granting them protection as they slept. Every single survivor of that very day had a role, except for her. On many occasions, Mari wondered why she had been spared from the bloodbath back then, or why she still chose to be a part of the Ventury after everything. Just like all the other times she doubted herself, Mari knew she had to hold herself together, and she opened the room door.

Everyone was sound asleep, exhausted from all the running and searching to the point that they had all become heavy sleepers. There were two Queen-sized mattresses on a shaky wood frame, and they shared beds. After the Ventury's fall and mostly Eircon's death, Paul and Eyalle had gotten close, though Paul had been secretly pining after Eyalle for the longest time. Them sleeping together wasn't a symbol of their relationship, it was the sole reason neither would wake up screaming from the nightmares that plagued them all. It was just late afternoon, and Mari had woke up from a particularly bad nightmare a couple of hours ago. She screamed before reality hit her, and no one had woken up from the sound. In fact, she was positive none of them knew she took a walk around Shirotsume and had returned. Mari moved on from the couple and towards her shared bed with Alice. The young girl had shut herself off after all her innocent child eyes had seen, her behaviour similar to that of a robot. She'd do everything she had to, and Mari often found Alice simply staring into space, her blank gaze that hid the sadness if one peered closer. Alice had her whole life ahead of her, and she didn't deserve to be in such a state before she could truly see the world.