Façade | Jerza

11 | Phantom Lord

The sound of the gavel banging on the wood as Chairman Crawford Seam tried to calm down the other council members resounded in Erza's ears for the remaining day. Gray rubbed his palms like he'd been doing ever since the Fairy Tail mages received their punishment. Erza had it the worst; three slaps on her wrist and manacles on them for a day, restraining her magic energy. More than ever, the Magic Council was loud and clear with their intentions of disbanding Fairy Tail.

Jellal, however, was surprisingly not trialed despite Natsu trying to fight the members in yesterday's council meeting. They found the possession magic excuse to be believable, but didn't expect someone as strong as him to become victim to any mind possession.

Nevertheless, he blamed Natsu and Happy for the new Sorcerer Weekly edition, which revealed events that occurred within the twenty-four hours of the Changeling Effect. Not the twenty-hour hours on any normal day, but specifically that day.

Erza twisted her wrists to allow blood circulation within the manacles. The Rune Knights had secured them so tightly, as if they believed she was audacious enough to go making more trouble.

Seeing her concerned about the manacles, Jellal said, "I think you got off rather lightly with your punishment. At least you're not in a cell."

"It's not like you helped my case, either." Erza responded in kind, leaving her bitter at the revelation. "I still can't believe they set me free despite the trouble Happy caused."

"You can say that again," Gray hissed, rubbing his hands even harder. "Those Rune Knights slapped me so hard. My punishment was so evil despite me trying to do the right thing."

Lucy left the Magic Council without a punishment after causing a scene during the court trial. She cried and cried until Jellal proposed to set her free on the condition she never got involved in another incident. It was her first offence, after all.

So, here she was. Humming satisfactorily with her arms clasped behind her back. "I was off the hook thanks to Jellal."

Erza purposely brushed her arm against the Wizard Saint. "Couldn't you have done the same with me?"

Jellal grinned, "If you were bawling your eyes out like Lucy, I would've half-considered it."

"Oh please," Lucy rolled her eyes, "I wasn't that dramatic. Besides, it all worked out splendidly in the end despite Gray's hostility towards them."

She barred her teeth at the last few words, causing Gray to shrug his shoulders. The guildhall's doors were closed to the public, confusing the lot who returned from the Magic Council. Erza kicked the door open like she would with an opponent. Lucy gawked at her, but shouldn't have expected anything less. She accusingly pointed a finger at the S-Class Wizard. "Geez, can't you open the door like a normal person?"

The Wizard Saint didn't find it odd in the slightest. "She's been a Fairy Tail wizard for as long as I can remember. And besides, kicking a door open is more acceptable than crying in a court trial. You should've pleaded guilty instead of worming your way around it by causing a commotion."

Lucy made a face, admitting quietly to herself that perhaps it was a little melodramatic to claim her innocence when she pounded a few noses in during Er—Happy's—arrest.

They stepped inside and finally understood why the doors to the guildhall remained shut. The mages were being interrogated by the Sorcerer Weekly Investigation Unit. They were a group of reporters who wanted to confirm if the rumours of yesterday were true before rewriting next week's Sorcerer Weekly edition.

The investigations were individual regarding each mage. Loke scratched his neck sheepishly as Jason started bombarding him with questions. Lucy briefly made eye contact with him and gave a pointed look in his direction. The Celestial Spirit shrunk away from his seat, confusing Jason. He whipped his head and found Lucy Heartfilia with her hands on her hips. She didn't look pleased one bit.