The Art of Trouble

Chapter 10: Where Everything had Begun

Lucy was now moving towards her cabin in a hallway. Gray, on the other hand, was yet nowhere to be found. The celestial mage had now opened her cabin's door when a woman, who was actually Lameria called out to her as she made her exit from her own room.

"Lucy, I do have something to tell you. If it's not too much to borrow your time, will you join me for tea?" The mage had only responded with a nod. In her mind, she was hoping that the woman will tell her something about this mission, if it's not the entire story then, maybe just a little information of it.

It was already past 3 before daybreak and both women were now in a kitchen. Lameria had let the tea steep inside the teapot, looking at Lucy who had been silent ever since their encounter at the hallway. Her eyes had constantly been scanning the room, and Lameria could hardly resolve her detachment from the moment.

"This vessel is intended for couples coming to Arakani, of course to get betrothed." Lameria began interrupting Lucy's state. She made sure to sound gentle, so as not to overwhelmed the young woman.

"It is wonderful, and this area... It reminds me of my mom's kitchen, especially seeing that Alkoda stove."
Lucy responded, and Lameria didn't miss noticing the tightness of her throat when she spoke, as if she's preventing herself to cry.

"It's not always easy to forget what you've missed, isn't it?" Lameria asked her; somehow she wanted Lucy to loosen up to her especially now that she's part of their group.

"I missed my mother, my parents. I felt like there's something I could have done, if not to save them from death, at least I could've made them happy." The tears from Lucy's eyes were pouring down, she didn't want to cry anymore, not in front of the woman she's currently talking to. She was slightly mad at herself for always being like this. She wanted to prove herself that the crying Lucy had now been gone, but now, it looked like she just failed. She wiped off her tears and uttered something.

"But, I'm alright. There's no need to pity me. I'm just really glad that fairy tail has become a family to me."

"I've heard a lot about your guild from Raven." Lameria had sounded a little enthusiastic as she replied. After all, she was relieved that Lucy mentioned about fairy tail. She had been contemplating for days as to how she would tell everything to her, especially about her guild's engagement to this mission.
The thought about fairy tail and being part of it had brought smile on Lucy's face, but looking at her hand, she already didn't have the guild's insignia; disappointment had lingered her mind. Silence had surround their atmosphere, and Lameria figured it as a chance to speak. She managed to clear her throat before saying something.

"Lucy, Gray has a reason for not telling you yet... You see, when he and Natsu accepted my request, they knew that fairy tail would be in great danger."
Lucy didn't utter any word, she only draw her hand into a leaning position; a gesture for her to continue, which the latter understood to do so.

"How about, I'll tell you from where it all began..."

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" Centuries ago, before Fiore was known, a bountiful kingdom existed. The kingdom constituted of three islands namely Arkimedia, Arakani, and Arkhos. Among the three, Arkimedia was the largest island, and it was the first to be inhabited by many people including the king's ancestors, who are known to be Pytheans or explorers. One of the Pytheans was considered to be the great one, as he had discovered the petros that made the kingdom had its great wealth. His name was Arkin, and he was actually the one who named the island Arkimidea, which became the kingdom's capital.
For decades, Arkimedia was a thriving kingdom and the epitome of progress, and with that, Arkin, along with the leaders of Arakani and Arkhos agreed to name the three islands as one kingdom of Arkimedia. Arkin, along with his people was rich. The people didn't rely on magic, rather they have the tekhno which had been owed to the petros, discovered by Arkin.
Through the petros, machines were built, and since Pytheans were explorers, the people made a Videforas, a cylindrical figure that when used, would project a view of the outside world in a mirror-like image. Since the Videforas was made out of petros that emits large amount of energy, the outside world was made visible in a panoramic view... This had been the reason for the kingdom's dilemma.
Although, Arkin and his generals could see the view outside Mearth through Videforas, the distance of every object moving and coming along it was misunderstood during that time. Thus, when a massive rock approached the kingdom, its progress didn't save it from the tragedy that befall the place and its people. The entire kingdom was wiped off that many people had not given a chance to be recognized by those outside the kingdom..."

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Lucy was now engrossed with Lameria's story, it's like she's been listening to a bedtime story except that, she wasn't yet sleepy. Every detail of information that Lameria was telling had never failed to spark interest in her.

"I somehow catch up with your story, but what does it have to do with what's happening today?" Lucy promptly ask her storyteller, there's no way she could let this moment pass without a clarification. The latter on the other hand, was patient in telling her story. The she continued where she had left.

"Not all people perished when that tragic event happened."

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Hello dear readers!
To avoid confusion,
I would just like to clarify that everything about this chapter, including the characters (except for Lucy, of course) is the product of my own imagination, even Lameria and the city of Davos are my ideas. Although, I couldn't make it any better; Mr.Mashima's imagination are still the coolest! :)

Stay tuned for the next chapter, cheers!