Look Who's Useless Now?

Chapter 21: The Mess Up

"I messed up, Mado! They know I'm alive!" I yelled over the wind beating back at us as we galloped through Fiore. "We can't think about that now, Lucy. We need to get back to the palace!" My guard announced, putting an end to our impromptu trip.

Once we returned, early the next morning, after travelling all night long, I couldn't help letting my tears fall. "Moonlight Secret's going to find me and kill me, aren't they? I've messed everything up, I'm sorry!" I cried out on the front steps after the gates were shut. My father was standing before me, watching me weep on my knees. "It was only a matter of time, My Star. There is nothing we can do to change this now. We can just hope that they forget they saw you." My father, the King, put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder as guards around us ran around, preparing for whatever attack could come our way if the news came out that I was alive.

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Meanwhile, back in Magnolia, the newly established guild, Fairy Tail, were trying to make sense of what had just happened to them. "There is no way that was Lucy." Erza sighed, wringing out her hair from the salty water that had been hit by. "It was her! It was her scent!" Natsu argued as the other guild members helped replace overturned tables and chairs. "She's dead, Natsu. She had been for 10 years." Master announced from his balcony after hearing the roaring waves flow through his hall. He had told his guild of the mage's death when he returned from his meeting with the King ten years ago. The room became stiff with tenseness. "But how Master? Even you don't know!" Natsu shouted up as he made his way down. Their leader bit his tongue, wondering if he should reveal the information he had been holding back since he was told.

None of Team Natsu remembered that day when Lucy ran away with her injury. They didn't remember their fight, but their hatred towards the celestial wizard. "You killed her, Natsu," Makarov uttered once he took a seat at on the dampened bar. Natsu froze, not believing his ear. "No way! I don't remember that. I would never hurt Luce." He tried to make sense of it, but Master continued to explain. "You went on a mission and were attacked by a dark guild. Lucy had gone out but returned to help. You shot her, on accident, witnesses said. But, even after those wizards escaped, none of you tried to help her. You blamed her, the dark wizards were after her for some reason I'm not aware of. All of you were angry at her because you didn't know her past. She ran off in tears, not bothering to get checked out by any doctors, and bled out in an alleyway, alone, in Crocus." Makarov explained quietly, but Natsu just shook his head. "I couldn't hurt her! I don't believe you! What about her keys, she had Aquarius?" Natsu argued. "Lucy had all her valuables stolen from her. Her keys have been circulating the magic market for ten years, Natsu!" Master yelled, not wanting to discuss his failings as a leader anymore.

Natsu turned and stormed out, the rest of the members that were there that day frozen in utter disbelief. They didn't remember ever going to the capital before the Grand Magic Games. Gray was the first to hear the doors of the guild slam open. "Flame brains, where're you going?" He shouted after the angered Salamander. "I'm following that girl. I didn't kill Luce." He sniffed, the first time he actually felt remorse for the girl's passing.

Life had returned to normal after her supposed death. No one really cared, but that was because of the hate spell Moonlight Secret initially cast in them. "Natsu!" Gray yelled as the man continued walking. Soon enough, Lisanna and the rest of their team were following along. "We don't even know what happened, Natsu! What do you expect to do if it isn't her! It could be that Astrea girl that's been out to get us! They look similar." Lisanna protested as they reached the boundaries of the town and forest. "Lisanna, you of all people should want it to be Luce!" Natsu argued over his shoulder as he led the pack of teens. Lisanna sighed. Of course, she wanted her best friend to be alive, she was the first one to cry over the blonde's death, but she didn't want to get her hopes up. "I'll get a wagon." Erza sighed, knowing no one could change the Dragon Slayer's mind.

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As the small group of Fairy Tail members made their way to Lucy's position, the palace was being put under tough guard. "Father, would you now tell us why that dark guild is after Lucy?" Hisui, along with the rest of her younger siblings, sat in the King's office, waiting for the lockdown to be done. Their father sighed. "I used to believe it was for the Eclipse Project, but I don't know anymore." The sigh the man exhaled surprised even the guards standing in the back of the room. He never didn't know something. "They killed your mother because of her power. Celestial Summoners are rare because they hunt them, but I don't know why." He added and Sting became enraged. "How can't you know? This is Lucy's life we're talking about!" He yelled and Lucy jumped up to calm him down. "Celestial Spirits control more than we know, Plue's told me. Maybe they're just scared of us. Where's Yukino, we should keep her here just in case she's in trouble." I asked Sting after I made him sit. "She and Minerva went on a mission with the rest of the team. They won't be back for a month." Rogue announced dully. Married life hadn't changed him much. "At least she's out of harm's way... Maybe. Maybe I should just go into hiding. It would be better to stay away from the city in case they try to attack. Who knows how big they are?" I suggested, but my whole family exclaimed their refusals. "If we don't take a stand now, they'll just grow more traction." Father accepted our fate.

Suddenly, Madoka announced my name behind us. I turned and she made a telling face. I hadn't told them that I attacked Fairy Tail on accident, in my true form. I took in a deep breath. "Fairy Tail know I'm alive. I thought they were still gone. It's why I used my magic in public without any protection. I'm sorry, father." I bowed my head, now sitting in a comfortable armchair. "Lucy!" Sting yelled. "Sting don't start with me." I sneered and he quickly calmed again. "Natsu knew it was me. I don't think he'll try and find me after what happened, but so many years have passed." I sighed, dropping my head into my hands.

My father sighed as well, standing up and looking out the window behind his desk. "Lucy, there's something I've been meaning to tell you." He exclaimed. It seemed this family meeting would reveal many overdue secrets. "As you were attacked by Moonlight Secret. It's likely they used your friends against you to get you alone." He announced. "What? Like a hate spell or something? Do those things even exist?" Sting pulled a quizzical expression but I was frozen in place. They never hated me? I've been hiding from them for a decade, and they never hated me? "That is the main possibility. From how surprised your guild master was when I told him, I wouldn't put it past them to do something like that." Dad turned, explaining how Makarov reacted. I had always felt guilty with how things ended with him, he was like a father to me.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" I raised my gaze with a pained expression. "I thought you would leave. I couldn't go through that again." Dad shied away and I eased his woes.

"What about your nightmares?" Rogue spoke up, directing his question to me. I hadn't had that nightmare as frequently as I used to when I first arrived in the palace. The one when everyone blamed me for Lizanna's death. I guess after I heard she had come back, I didn't feel as guilty. When I did have them, however, Rogue learned to sneak into my consciousness to wake me up or improve the dream. "It was just a dream, Rogue. They never hated me until that point." I repeated. He always worried that what I saw was a memory. It obviously wasn't.

No one knew what we were talking about, I had made him promise to never tell anyone, so I quickly changed the subject. "Does that mean Fairy Tail will try and follow me. Natsu can track." I questioned and my father frowned his brows. "I guess we'll have to see." The stout man returned to his office chair and we left the office to let him get back to work.