Tides of Virtue – Chapter 18 (Fairy Tail Fan-Fiction)
The events of the Tower of Heaven were finally over, and the little amount of time that they'd had left of their vacation, Serenity had been unconscious through, which part of her was glad for...all she wanted was to be alone, and, though they'd arrived back in Mongolia two days ago, she still had yet to go to the guild. As pitiful as it was, she was terrified of facing her guild mates. Lucy had told her that the new guildhall was finished and that it was huge, and almost all of the tables were filled with members—new and old. That hadn't helped Serenity's anxiety at all; in fact, she'd immediately fled from their apartment, without uttering a single word, and raced to the forest.
Now here she was, staring down at her reflection as it danced across the shimmering surface of the small pond she'd come across somewhere along her walk. For hours she'd been sitting in that same spot, trying to find something that hadn't changed—a small thread of her old self that she could still cling onto—but to no avail. Even her guild mark had turned from a beautiful blue to a striking gold that shone in the light, and her curls were wild and glossy instead of perfect and plain like they used to be.
Before her change, whenever strangers saw Serenity walking down the street, they'd always thought she looked innocent, and the childlike aura that surrounded her had always caused them to smile at her. Some had even gone as far as starting a conversation with her. Others had even asked her if she'd gotten separated from her parents. However, when she'd been walking through the streets toward the forest that day, people seemed to cower away from her, and many sent her fearful glances, which Serenity didn't blame them for, she looked intimidating and her aura basically screamed 'dangerous'. This was quite ironic, too, because she'd always wanted to look less like a helpless child and more like the powerful mage she was, but now, she hated every minute of it.
However, the change in her appearance wasn't the thing that was bothering her the most...it was something Jellal had said to her, and she kept replaying his words over and over in her head, trying to figure out what they meant: "I see you've been reborn again. No matter how many times...they still allow you to come back. Dear Ciara, this form you've taken on is quite lovely, but I can see the yearning in your eyes for your true self." Was this her true self? Who was Ciara? Who were 'they'?
Crying out in frustration, Serenity smashed her fist against the sparkling surface of the pond, causing the water to ripple, disfiguring her reflection into nothing more than shimmers of light. Sitting back on her calves, she rubbed vigorously at her eyes, which were billowing with tears. "Who am I?" she sobbed hopelessly, staring up at the heavens like they would offer the answer, but they remained a plain, passive blue with the occasional pallid, fluffy cloud floating across them like ships sailing across the wide expanse of the sea.
Angry at the world, Serenity dug the heels of her hands into her eyes, trying to stop the tears from flowing, but they just kept falling and falling. Slamming her fists against the ground, she screamed, placing her forehead against her white-knuckles, and the birds that had gathered in the trees to watch her with their beady black eyes, quickly took flight and soared across the sky like speeding bullets.
"Serenity!!" she heard someone cry behind her, and when she ceased her wailing and looked up, wiping at her puffy eyes, she saw her friends racing toward her: Erza in her armor, Gray wearing only a pair of dark blue boxers, Natsu with Happy wrapped around his neck from behind, and Lucy with her blonde hair up in low pigtails.
As they stopped in front of her, Serenity stood up and looked at the ground, ashamed for being caught in such a terrible state. "Why are you crying again?" Natsu asked, looking at her concerned.
Sniffling, Serenity wiped at her runny nose. "I don't know," she croaked out, avoiding their eyes.
"Come on, Serenity!" Lucy cried vehemently. "You know we're your friends and we'll always be here for you! Let us help you!"
Clenching her teeth, Serenity tried not to breakdown in front of them. "You can't!" she snapped, turning away, her hands clutched against her chest as she stared back down at her reflection. "Everything is changing, and I don't know what to do. I don't even know who I am anymore."
There was a heavy silence, but then a strong voice rang out around them. "I do." Glancing over her shoulder, Serenity's gaze locked with Erza's. "You're the strong warrior who is capable of tying with me in a brawl," her red-haired friend said, sending her a soft smile. "You help everyone see the light when the darkness seems to have won." Tears billowed in the golden-haired girls eyes.
"I do, too," Gray said calmly yet passionately, causing Serenity's attention to snap to him. "You're one of the bravest people I know. Even though you could have died, you threw yourself in front of a sword to save my life." Laughing, he continued cautiously. "You're one of the shortest people in the guild, too." Turning toward the Ice Mage, Serenity sent him a hard stare and prepared to shout all sorts of insanities at him, but she was quickly interrupted as Natsu spoke up next.
"You're the person who loves to steal my fights," he said jokingly, sending her a wide grin, before looking at the ground sadly. "You love to steal them so much that you fought off Death just to get your fight with Jellal." Smiling, Serenity felt tears fall from her eyes, and she swore she saw them running down Natsu's cheeks as well; however, before she could confirm this suspicion, Happy began flying around her head, smirking down at her.
"You like Natsu!" he said in his sing-song voice, a smug look on his face, which Serenity quickly wiped off by lightly hitting him, sending him reeling back over by the pink-haired Fire Dragon Slayer.
Next was Lucy, who had tears in her eyes. "You're my sister...my family. I don't know what I'd do without you." Looking determined, Lucy glared at Serenity with such intensity that the Water Dragon Slayer stumbled back a little. "So, you better cheer up! You may look different, but you're the same person you were before!" The others nodded their agreement, their eyes holding the same intensity. "We're going to help you through this...I don't want to lose you again...when they said you died—even though it was for a short while—I didn't know what to do-"
Serenity cut Lucy off by leaping into her arms, pulling her close. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I don't mean to be such a big cry baby. It's just hard."
Pulling away, Lucy smiled, wiping at her eyes. "It's okay. We all understand. Let's just go to the guild. There's a reporter that really wants to talk to you."
"A reporter?"
"From Sorcerer Magazine."
Eyes widening, Serenity grabbed Lucy's hand and began dragging her toward home. "This is my big debut!" she cried, causing everyone to breakdown in fits of laughter. "I have to bathe, wear my cutest outfit, do my hair, and put on some make-up! Lucy you have to help me!" At this, their laughter grew louder, and the void in Serenity's heart seemed to disappear for the time being as she raced back to their apartment, listing off all the things she had to do before meeting with the reporter.
*~~~~~*
The guildhall, as Lucy had said, was much larger than before, soaring high into the sky like a great medieval fortress. Its hoary cobblestone walls seemed to glow in the bright light of the sun, and the tiles of the roof shone the same lively red color as rose petals. At the very top of the new guildhall was a tower-like dome that housed a large golden bell, which shimmered in the light like a blinding ball of magic. The sign with the guild's name on it was almost exactly the same as before, except it was made of sparkling metal instead of wood. Even so, it still emitted the same welcoming aurora that drew people in the moment they lay eyes on it. However, today is seemed to have the exact opposite effect on Serenity, causing her to rather want to run the other way, but she couldn't, because friends were behind her—blocking her path.
Placing a hand over her chest, Serenity could feel her heart racing. Never had she been so scared before, and the questions that kept running through her mind were just making it worse: How were they going to react to her change? What if they didn't recognize her? Was Master going to scold her for consuming that Lacrima to protect her friends? What did the reporter want to ask her? Did she look nice enough? Looking down, Serenity examined her black skirt and turquoise V-neck shirt, her eyes resting on the necklace Layla had given her, before deciding: Yes, she did look nice enough. However, that only lessened her anxiety a little, not enough to make her 'fight' instinct overthrow her 'flight' instinct, though.
"Oh!" Lucy suddenly exclaimed, causing Serenity to whirl toward her. "If it helps, we informed everyone of what happened, so they're all fully aware of your new appearance." Smiling, the blonde-haired girl grabbed her sister's hand and slowly began dragging her toward the guild doors. "So, you have nothing to be afraid of! Come on!"
Sighing, Serenity caved, and let all of her friend guide her through the large wooden doors of the guild and into the usual chaos of the main hall. As expected, she got many curious glances, but no one ceased their activities, much to Serenity's relief, and soon, the familiar feeling of truly being home washed over the Water Dragon Slayer. Breathing in deeply, she took in the sharp smell of alcohol, the bitter scent of sweat, and the rest of the familiar fragrances that littered the building, and slowly, she found herself smiling, then laughing, then her wings sprouted from her back and she soared into the air, beginning to do all sorts of flips and spins.
"It's so good to be back!" she cried, causing her friends to laugh as they watched her use her Light Magic, which she'd suddenly been able to employ after her change, to create beautiful curlicues that drew themselves in the air before exploding into sparks of gold that floated down around her guild mates. Soon, the entire guild was sharing in Serenity's joy, smiling along with her, laughing with her, because, as her friends had told her, she was the same person as before who was capable of showing people the light and making everyone smile, no matter what she looked like. It was what was on the inside that was truly important, and she couldn't believe it'd taken her so long to realize that.
Gracefully landing on the ground, Serenity was almost immediately confronted by a man with yellow hair that spiked up in the middle. Around his neck was a black camera, and in his hands were a pad of paper and a pencil. Serenity immediately recognized him as Jason, one of the main interviewers for Sorcerer's Weekly.
"Hello," she greeted kindly, flashing him a cheerful smile, trying to show all of her best attributes so that he'd write a good review for Fairy Tail. "I hear you've been looking for me?"
"Yes, I have!" Jason exclaimed rather excitedly. "Do you mind answering a few questions?"
"Not at all!"
Flipping a page in his notebook, Jason wrote something down before looking back up at Serenity. "Is it true that you died?" Flinching, she forced herself to remain as placid as possible as she responded with a simple, "yes."
"How did that happen?" Jason inquired as he began vigorously scribbling down notes.
Gritting her teeth, Serenity clenched her fists behind her back. "I was crushed. My ribs broke, impaled my lungs, and I died of a mixture of blood lose and lack of oxygenation." Sighing, Serenity gave him a nice smile. "If you don't mind, though, I rather not talk about it. I still haven't completely recovered from the experience...emotionally, I mean."
Looking up at her, Jason gave her a small nod. "Sure." He wrote something else down—hopefully not anything bad about her refusing to answer his intrusive questions. "Is it true that you can sing?"
Eyes widening, Serenity gasped. "How did you come by that information?"
Smirking, Jason looked up at her. "Your sister."
"Damn her," Serenity muttered, shaking her head disapprovingly, then, in a louder voice, she said, "Yes, it's true that I can sing."
"Cool!" the reporter boy suddenly exclaimed. "Can you get up on the stage and sing everyone a song?"
Serenity's eyes wandered over to the large, wooden platform on the far side of the room, and she gulped. "I don't know about that..."
Suddenly, Lucy came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Sure! My sister would love to sing everyone a song!" she said, sending the reporter a grand smile.
"Cool!" he exclaimed as Lucy guided Serenity toward the stage, which had all sorts of spotlights pointed toward it, and in the center was a grand piano with a microphone floating next to it.
"What are you doing?!" Serenity whisper-shouted to Lucy who smiled at her boldly.
"Helping you face your stage fright! You can play piano, right?"
"Of course I can play piano!" Serenity exclaimed rather dramatically. "You've heard me play before!"
Placing a finger against her chin, Lucy looked off into the distance thoughtfully. "You're right! Dad bought you one, because he heard you playing on the one in the library and thought one day you'd make a lot of money with your playing!" Suddenly, Lucy gave Serenity a powerful shove and she stumbled out onto the stage, which she hadn't realized they'd already arrived at. "Good luck! Sing one of your originals! They're all really good!" Then, her sister faded back into the large crowd that had gathered around the enormous platform.
Serenity's heart jumped into her throat. "Lucy!" she cried. "I can't do this!"
"Come on, Serenity!" someone she didn't recognize shouted to her. "You can to! We all believe in you!" Many others shouted their agreement.
Suddenly, the guildhall grew dark as a great spotlight shone down on her. Eyes widening, Serenity realized that she had to do it now, because if she chickened out, she'd seem like a coward, and that would damage Fairy Tail's reputation. Gulping, she slowly walked over to the piano, her heart racing so fast she was sure it was going to burst from her chest.
As she sat down on the dark, wooden bench, the microphone moved itself so that it was in front of her mouth, and Serenity placed her fingers loosely on the white keys before her. What song? She thought. Lucy said one I made up, but I haven't really had time to revise any of the lyrics. Suddenly, she gasped as she thought back to Galuna Island when they were in that cave and Lucy's spirit, Lyra, sang them that song...
Fingers beginning to move seemingly on their own, Serenity heard everyone gasp as the beauty of the song filled the room, echoing off the walls and dancing around the audience. After a while, Serenity became so enraptured in playing the piano that, to her, it seemed to be the only thing that existed, and, as it came to the part were she had to sing, she gladly let her smooth, molasses-like voice drift through the air, stirring the hearts of the people gathered around as they listened to the beautiful story behind the lyrics.
"Words are born into air,
And quickly fade out in the wind,
But they find their way inside you, where they live on forevermore
When the skies dark and full of rain,
Look inside your heart,
Light so warm will come and glow,
Shining just like the sun,
You can see just how much you've grown,
How strong you are,
Love will open up to you and it starts from the day that you,
First heard those words,"
The guildhall was dead silent as she finished up the piano part, playing the last note like a farewell. Turning toward her guild mates, Serenity watched as they all, one by one, stood, bringing their hands together in an enormous applause. Smiling, Serenity stood up and bowed, picking up a bouche of roses that someone had thrown as she did so, before walking from the stage, laughing as her friends immediately surrounded her, congratulating her on a job well done.
That was her one good day, where everything seemed like it was going to be okay, and that she was going to make it through this sudden change...
However, then night came...
*~~~~~*
Ever so slightly edited.
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