Throne

Chapter Three

"Gone?! No that's not Lucy! Lucy would never!" Gray insisted.
"Lucy is our friend!" Natsu agreed while Wendy whimpered in shock.
"Be quiet!" Erza demanded, "Rogue, are you sure you saw correctly?" She asked. Rogue nodded solemnly.
"Even her scent was a match to your Lucy. She did say she was coming to this city for a job. Let's go look. It's been a few weeks, but if she isn't back at Fairy Tail, she might still be here." Rogue said, leading the others out of the guild to find their missing friend.
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Loke came running back to the cabin, groceries in his arms and his breath heaving.
"Loke? What's wrong?" Lucy asked, coming from the living room to greet him at the door.
"Fairy Tail members are in Crocus! Sabertooth told them that you're here!" Loke warned. Lucy's eyes widened,
"No! I can't face them! They can't see me!" She panicked, pacing across the floor.
"Maybe they won't." Loke said, his voice slowing down as an idea popped into his mind. "I can lead them away from Crocu." He finished. Lucy looked at him incredulously.
"What?" She asked, "That would never work!" Lucy reasoned.
"I have a plan, just trust me." Loke pleaded.
"Then what?"
"Then we go talk to Sabertooth!" Loke replied. Lucy sighed and gave in, nodding in reluctant agreement.
"Shall we?" He asked, cracking open the door to their home. Lucy smiled, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Good luck."
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The Fairy Tail and Sabertooth wizards raced down the streets of Crocus, calling Lucy's name into every turn. As they passed the market, a familiar scent entered Natsu's nose. He came to a halt.
"Natsu? Did you find something?" Erza asked, slowing her pace to a stop as well.
"Loke?" Wendy asked incredulously, the same scent striking her.
"Loke? That means—" Gray started, getting cut off by Natsu.
"Lucy!!" Natsu cheered, desperately trying to trail the scent. They found the scent trail and followed it to Loke, who was walking alone.
"Loke!" Gray called, catching the attention of the orange haired spirit. "Is that you?!"
"Gray! Natsu!" Loke responded, signaling hem over to him. "It's so great to see you all again." He said, pulling his friends in to a tight embrace.
"Have you been in touch with Lucy? You're her spirit after all." Erza asked.
"Lucy? No, she hasn't called for me at all recently. Why, is something wrong?" Loke lied.
"Lucy disappeared!" Wendy wailed.
"Well I promise, she has not been here!" Loke swore, "I can sense her presence, as her spirit, so I can tell you that Lucy hasn't been here, not at least for the two months I have been staying here." He promised.
"If she's not here, where could she be?" Gray wondered, frustrated and concerned.
"Hmm. Maybe try Hargeon! Lucy said she liked to go there to reflect before she joined the guild!" Loke said, attempting to steer the gang away from Lucy.
"The last train to Hargeon leaves soon!" Sting warned, "You might want to leave soon." Erza nodded solemnly.
"Loke, thank you." she said, before leading the team to the train station.
Sting and Rogue returned to their guild, leaving Loke relieved that they managed to get away with it.
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While Lucy waited for Loke's return, she ventured out into the woods surrounding her house. The fresh air engulfed her as she walked on pathless ground.
"How relaxing!" Lucy squeaked, trying calm her racing heartbeat. After walking for a while, Lucy came across a clearing in the woods, where a singular, twisted tree stood alone. The branches curved in every which way, creating a dazzling yet chaotic scene. Lucy gasped in amazement and built up the courage to climb the mysterious tree. Within the canopy of its branches, Lucy found a strange, abandoned egg. It was far too large to be a bird's egg and had a pearl embedded in the center, much like the pendant Lucy wore. As she reached and grabbed the egg, the weak branch underneath her snapped, sending Lucy and the egg tumbling to the floor. She cradled the egg with her entire body and braced for impact onto the hard floor.
"Ouch!" She exclaimed, feeling her back come into contact with the floor, which surprisingly was not hard at all.
"Ow!" A deep voice whined from under her. Lucy panicked, thinking the egg had spoken to her. "Please get off of me." The stranger requested again. Lucy, realizing she had been sitting on a person scrambled backwards and apologized repeatedly. She looked up to find a blonde man, around her age. Lucy recognized him to be Sting.
"Lucy?!" Sting yelled, prompting Lucy to scoot towards him and cover his mouth.
"Please, don't be so loud!" She asked, looking around to see if anyone had heard him.
"We just sent Fairy Tail to Hargeon! I should get them back!" Sting said, muffled by Lucy's hands. He pushed her hands away from his mouth and grabbed her right hand tightly, examining it. "So it's true! Your guild mark is gone!"
"Yes, but please! Don't tell them I'm here!" She begged.
"Okay," Sting promised, "But only if you tell me why you are here." He said slyly.
"For you, actually." Lucy responded, immediately blushing as she heard how it sounded. Sting's face flushed in embarrassment as well. "W-Well, not for you, but for Sabertooth! Not that I'm saying that it isn't nice to see you bu—"
"I get it," Sting interrupted, "But why are you here for Sabertooth?" He asked again.
"To be honest, I don't really know yet." Lucy said putting the egg back on her lap.
"What is that?" Sting asked, pointing at the egg.
"Not sure about that one either!" Lucy confessed, hugging it to her body. "Listen, don't tell the others, please. I have to get going, but see you around?" she said, getting up.
"You know where to find me!" Sting smiled, waving as he watched the blond mage leave through the woods.
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"Lucy! Where were you?!" Loke worried from the patio, running towards her.
"Loke, look!" Lucy cut him off, showing Loke the egg she had adopted. "Isn't it cute?!" She asked, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
"Well, it's just an egg—" Loke began.
"No! It's my baby!" Lucy squeaked, hugging the egg.
"What is it?" Loke asked.
"I have no idea."