Chapter 45 - 45

Asher stood leaning against a building as red eyes followed a curious blonde wandering the streets of Hargeon town. The phoenix hardly blinked in her intent observation for it had been a long time since she last ran into a Heartfillia and this one bore a striking resemblance to one Anna Heartfillia. It could be pure coincidence or perhaps the Heartfilia genes was just that strong, which was impressive to her. The Heartfilias always produce such beautiful men and women that it was just offending at times. How dare they produce such amazing humans? It was a ridiculous thought and one pointed out by many including Anna herself ,but Asher could not help her somewhat childish thoughts.

"Nero, do you see her?" Asher asked as she turned to her companion who stood silently at her side.

The woman she was addressing tilted her head just slightly as if to get a better look at the young woman they had been following for the past hour. Of course she saw her, even through the curtain of azure that fell before her eyes. And yes she could see the startling resemblance between her and their beloved Anna. She would be blind and a liar if she said otherwise.

"Of course I do,Ash" she finally replied after a long moment of silence. "Deviously beautiful offspring wouldn't you say?"

"Do not jest with me" deciding that they had been following the girl for long enough Asher watched her turn a corner before finally moving from her place against the wall. Walking past Nero she ignored her amused smile and looked to the sky in an effort to judge the time. "Producing humans that gorgeous is a crime and no one will convince me otherwise"

"You're an odd one, even more so than your younger sister" Nero followed after the retreating Asher ,having nothing better to do at the moment and wanting to spend a bit more time with her. Returning to the dragon realm was not within her list of things to do on this day for Igneel and the others were most likely up to some ridiculous scheme. "And it's been four hundred years. You'd think you'd get over your little ...well I'm not sure what it is with you and the Heartfillia"

"They're beautiful" was the argument to Nero's words which only amused her further. Asher has her moments of being a ridiculous woman and this was one of them. "Every offspring they produce is magnificent and it is offending to me,because why must they be so attractive?"

Their men are always handsome and their women some of the most beautiful she has had the pŀėȧsurė of meeting.

"So they offend you?" Nero quirked a brow in question as they stopped before a stand selling the latest sorcerer weekly.

"Yes"

"But you adore them at the same time"

"Yes"

"Frustrating,no?"

"Yes" the Phoenix focus was directed at the front page of the popular magazine while Nero leaned over her shoulder to get a look as well. Fairy tail again,specifically the well known duo that is Archer and Erza.

"All of this attention just because they've never seen her face"

"And because her gender is something they cannot identify"

"Yet they fawn over her" Nero furrowed her brows in apparent confusion at the humans actions. They are unaware of her gender and her facial appearance as well as many other things about her and yet they fall head over heels for her.

"I cannot fault the humans for that" Asher radiated pride that she hid very poorly. "We Phoenix are quite attractive"

"Then something must've went horribly wrong with you"

There was a long silence as the words took their sweet time reaching Asher and even longer for her to fully comprehend that this woman had insulted her. The look of both offence and betrayal she wore on her face was comedic and tore immediate giggles from the humanoid dragon.

"Dragon" Asher turned to fully face the woman she had known for many, many years. These words did not hurt as much as she pretended they did,however, they were still a great offence. "You have the audacity to say such a thing? Are you not my greatest companion? My most beloved dragon? My sweet,sweet Nero whom I would never harm in any way? Your words wound me,truly"

Nero bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from bursting into a fit of laughter at her words. She was far too dramatic for no reason at all and she knew she was holding back a laugh of her own from the way her lips twitched ever so slightly. When she could take it no more she turned her back to her and coughed as if that would help against her growing laughter.

"I understand now why Archer tires of you" Nero let out a snicker which was answered by one of Asher's own.

"My younger sister loves me despite my childish behaviour at times and I her" Asher continued her trek through the sizable town with no clear destination.

"She wasn't capable of understanding her feelings towards me at that stage,but I suppose she did adore me"

The memory was fresh in her mind even if it was four hundred years ago. Archer made a habit of following her around everywhere she went. She would never speak nor would she actually approach her, but just lurk nearby,carefully watching with eyes filled with emotions she could not comprehend.

"She was precious" Asher allowed a small smile at the imagine of her younger sister. " Still is"

"And here I was thinking you were a terrible sister"

The comment was ignored completely,but the way she folded her arms over her ċhėst said enough to the dragon. She allowed herself a laugh at her reaction before hurrying to catch up and walk at her side. It was always amusing to poke at her about her behaviour for she would react in such an entertaining manner"

"You are provoking"

"As are you"

"I suppose this is why my sister never remains with us when we are together"

"She hates to be around us even more so when Ios is present"

"Well the last I saw and heard of him he was pulled into a scruffle with igneel and the rest. Im not sure how that ended,but i suppose those idiots ended up poisoned" Nero recalled. "Again"

~~~~~~~~~~

Lucy was very unimpressed as she stood at the very back of a crowd of raging fan girls surrounding a famous mage. Her arms were folded over her ċhėst as she eyed him from head to toe before her eyes fell on the ring he sported. It took her little time to realize that he was using charm magic,which would explain the crowd of girls because this man was in no way that attractive. And was he truly Salamander of Fairy Tail? She was doubting it,but one could never truly know. She'd hate to think a mage of Fairy Tail would use a charm spell,for they were illegal and immoral amongst other things. With a quirked brow she listened to what he was spouting before turning on her heels to leave,having lost interest in this man and his nonsense. The girls fawning over him would be relieved of his spell at some point and it wasn't entirely dangerous as far as she could see.

"Salamander?"

A questioning voice had her stopping in her tracks as she turned back to the crowd she had been retreating from. Her eyes landed on a little girl who could be no more than thirteen if she guessed correctly. On her shoulder sat a white feline dressed in a cute little dress,but with a glare hard enough to kill. Lucy hummed for she recognized this little girl as Wendy Marvel of Fairy Tail, otherwise known as the Sky Maiden and the mage belonging to the guild's strongest team. She was considered one of the strongest mages despite being so young and while some failed to understand why this child was so high in ranking Lucy could recognize talent and potential and this girl had both in abundance.

When this so called Salamander got a look at her he was pensive until she took a step towards him which had his smile falling. He turned to the women he had charmed with a dramatic bow and say of goodbye before flying off on created flames. The young mage only watched him go with furrowed brows before eyes landed on the women who were fawning over him. With a simple hand motion she mumbled a spell and the charm was broken, leaving the women confused as to how they had gotten there and why they were there in the first place.

"You should've stopped him right then and there, child" the feline, Carla spoke in a scolding manner as the two retreated from the scene.

"I could've, but I heard that he has something planned on a yacht later today so I figured I should wait until then, this way catching him in what many accused him of with far more evidence and also capturing any who work with him" Wendy explained herself as she tugged lightly on the edges of her dress.

Carla remained quiet with a proud smile on her face,for that was a good plan and it was spoken with confidence. And that was good, she was confident and independent,needing to rely on no one for she was capable enough.

Wendy glanced at Lucy upon hearing her words before smiling kindly in thanks. She had noticed her approach and could feel no ill intent from her so she had let her follow her ,patiently waiting for her to finally address her.

"Thank you"

Lucy stared for a moment as she was surprised by the sheer cuteness of this pre teen. Her adorable looks and personality was just two of the reasons people fawned over her more than her teammates.

"He isn't the real Salamander, right?" Lucy already knew the answer to that,but felt more ȧssured of her realization when Wendy nodded.

"I came out here because of him. He's doing terrible things and tarnishing the Fairy Tail name" Wendy informed. There was that and the fact that Natsu wasn't available at the moment for he was off on a mission with Lisanna. Sting and Rogue had something else to do and Gajeel recently left with Levy, leaving her,so she took it upon herself to investigate this so called Salamander. "I'm Wendy by the way"

"I know and I'm Lucy"

"Nice to meet you Lucy"

She looked exactly like Anna and Wendy had to refrain from commenting on that. She kept glancing at her every few seconds,noticing every similarity and wondering how their genes could be so strong.

The Heartfilia were truly something else.

The little group ended up in a local diner somehow and were enjoying a meal while getting to know each other. Wendy learned that Lucy was a budding mage who wished to join the Fairy Tail guild. She found it somewhat funny how she would be added to the guild as well. Was it coincidence that the Heartfillia ended up in the same guild as the dragon slayers her ancestor took care of or was there truly such a thing as destiny? Archer would vote for the latter. In fact she did remember her saying something that would suggest she knew Lucy would end up with them at some point. She always knew far more than she let on at times.

As far as Wendy knew Heartfillias were kind people, or at least Anna was a very kind person and Lucy seemed to have adopted that as well. She continuously thanked her for buying her lunch even though she had the money to pay for herself. She said something about it being a thank you of sorts for helping those girls snap out of the deception being used on them. Either way she was grateful for the food since she was starving.

"I've got a request, feel free to turn it down" Lucy leaned forward on her elbows with a smile slowly spreading. Wendy raised both brows in question while Carla simply glanced at her in silence.

"And that is?"

"You're trying to take this guy down,right?" She received a nod of confirmation. "So why don't I help you?"

"And what exactly are you getting out of this?" Carla finally spoke after her long minutes of silence for she was not about to let someone take advantage of the sometimes naive Wendy.

"Nothing much, I just despise scum like him is all" Lucy replied with a somewhat casual shrug while unconsciously fixing her collar which had gotten out of place somehow. "I recognised him as a member of that one dark guild, I think his name's Bora and I've also heard that he gets up to some illegal stuff at times such as selling people off to slavery, specifically women"

Ah well, it seemed Lucy knew far more than they thought. Her smile was lost as she stared off into the distance with a hard gaze before releasing a huff of breath.

"I just need to get his attention and be invited to this so called yacht party of his"

"I would feel really bad if you got hurt" Wendy voiced her worries with a downcasted gaze.

"I'll be fine,I promise"

~~~~~~~~

Sadly, to attract the attention of a man such as Bora,Lucy had to change out of her former clothes so that is why she found herself in some of her less combat oriented clothing. It made her appear as a harmless teenager excitingly reading the latest of sorcerer weekly. While the former was very much a lie the latter was not for she was truly invested in the magazine. She lingered on the page featuring the model of the guild better known as Mirajane Straus. The she devil was portrayed as a very appealing dom in most of her shoots which had Lucy seriously wondering. Then there was Archer Phoenix who could always be found in the trademark mask. No one besides those present in the guild had the pŀėȧsurė of seeing their face. Lucy like many could not help but wonder what Archer's gender was. Fairy tail truly was an amazing guild and was always on the front page of the popular magazine. If it's not their well known model or their local mystery mage it was their strongest team and the destruction they would mostly cause when things get out of hand. That team of dragons was truly something else. From what she had observed the destruction was always caused by just two of their members. Natsu Dragneel and Sting Eucliffe.

"Interested in joining Fairy Tail?"

Popping out of a bush behind her wasn't creepy at all. And yes she was interested in joining fairy tail,not that he would be of any help. She had to resist a glare when she looked at him and instead hid it with an innocent smile.

Act as if he was your idol, the only one you adored more than the guild itself. Put on a pretty face and play to the naive girl he though you were.

Those were the words she silently told herself in an effort to keep from doing anything rash. It wasn't that hard to put up an act,for she had been doing it for most her life. It was simple enough as well. Just dont let them know that she was anything other than what she was painted out to be. Play to what they wanted to believe that way it'll be easier to win them over.

So she smiled sweetly for him and told herself to wait patiently for the moment she got to punch his face in.

"If it isn't Salamander" she tried very hard to hide the snark in her voice and succeeded since he didn't seem at least bothered by her words. Or that could just be his idiocy.

"The one and only" he stood proud with self obsorbant smile on his face and not so subtly flashed the ring he wore. Lucy quirked a brow and he wore a look of confusion when she was in no way affected by the spell. With a cough he tried to hide his obvious reaction and instead wore his "charming" smile again. "And I, Salamander of Fairy Tail,would like to invite you to a party on my yacht later tonight"

Lucy smiled brightly at the invite. That was far easier than she thought,but she was not going to complain.

"Sure,I would be honored"

~~~~~~~~~

Lucy stared down at the wine stained carpet with a pensive frown. He tried to drug her. And it was fairly obvious too. Huh. Look at that,now he had red whɨnė all over that beautiful carpet. Now he was pissed because she so rudely slapped the drink out of his hands. And now he was degrading her with all kinds of terrible words. She looked at him,brows furrowing the longer he spouted his nonsense while his men surrounded her. He tried to drug her and was now attempting to forcefully subdue her. So if she attacked him, it would be in self-defense. So the time had finally arrived.

She could finally punch his face in.

Finally. She was getting tired of him.

"What is it with men thinking they can own a woman?" She asked with genuine curiosity before connecting her fist to Bora's face. He dropped to the floor in pain, surprise written all over his face. A bloody nose suited him quite well now that she got a look at it. He must be in some terrible pain.

"Don't just stand there!" Bora shouted at his men who were frozen to their spot in shock at having witnessed the recent scene. They all knew Bora as a strong individual and to see him on the floor with a bloody nose because of some dumb blonde was surprising. "Get her!"

With his orders they regained themselves and moved to attack only to all be sent flying by a strong gust of wind.

"Are you okay?" Wendy quickly approached Lucy,who looked at her with amazement. Why was she so casual after she just sent everyone flying with the mere flick of her wrist? She knew this kid was strong but was unaware of exactly how much power she held.

And where exactly did she come from?

"I'm fine"

Her words were only believed once Wendy took a good look at her. Once the child was satisfied she finally took a look around the room only for her eyes to meet the terrified of Bora. She quirked a brow and he took a step back in fear.

"Salamander?" Wendy questioned as she stepped towards him,not stopping even when he was backed against a wall. "If I'm not mistaken Salamander is the monicker given to Natsu Dragneel,my elder brother"

"Ah well you see , it's not what it looks like" Bora tried to distract her while worked on conjuring one of his strongest attacks. He was no fool and knew exactly who this kid was and what team she belonged to. She was the real deal and unless he watched every single step he took he would most likely be in a world of pain.

"It's never what it looks like" a white feline was on his shoulder,scaring him half to death. "At least when it comes to those accused, no?"

"You go around telling everyone you're Salamander of Fairy tail all the while dealing in illegal businesses,thrashing both my brother's and fairy tail's reputation in the process. Next to that you use illegal magic to trick women into admiring you just so you can sell them off as slaves all for your selfish dėsɨrės. You do not care about what happens to others as long as you benefit" Wendy ranted with each step towards the guilty man. "So explain to me how this is not what it looks like"

Lucy could only watch in silence as the young girl stared the pathetic flame user down. Her eyes traveled to the blue insignia on her shoulder and could not help,but admire the guild she was apart of. Some of the strongest mages originate from that guild and all of them treat each other like family and would even go this far for each other. She could tell that Wendy was seriously angry, even more so when Bora tried to spout nonsensical lies about his situation and what he has been doing.

"I would suggest getting off this ship before it capsizes"

Asher blinked when she found herself at the end of a very sharp dagger that was most definitely infused with some very dangerous magic. Instead of feeling threatened in any way she wore a look admiration at how fast she reacted. That was truly impressive.

"Who the hell are you?" The blade was pressed harder against the flesh of her neck at the question and she was pushed against a wall. Asher stared for a long moment before releasing a chuckle.

What an interesting situation.

"Asher Phoenix at your service, princess" she relaxed against the wall and waited patiently to be released,but that did not happen.

"Ash, what are you doing here?"

"Don't mind me,dear Wendy, I was just curious is all" Asher smiled at the young girl before her eyes returned to Lucy. "And I would suggest you hurry this up because Nero is just outside and is about ready to sink this ship"

"She's a friend then?" It appeared so,but Lucy did not release her until she received a confirmation. With the nod of Wendy's head she took a step back ,only to end up against a wall within seconds. Her surprise was momentarily before she reacted by spinning her blade between her fingers and bringing it to the back Asher's neck.

"Asher!" Wendy seemed more embarrassed than anything else.

Asher had her pinned securely against the wall with fingers wrapped loosely around her neck. She eyed her intently as a sly smile spread across her face.

"You let go or I stab you in the neck" Lucy threatened.

Asher chuckled again before complying and carefully stepping away from the blonde.

"Why did you do that?!" Wendy was holding Bora by the collar, after disabling him when he tried to attack her. The way she dragged him made it very clear that his weight did little to bother her. "She could've stabbed you"

"And I could've chocked her" Asher replied, a smile still very present and eyes still locked on the brown of Lucy.

Before any of the two could form a reply, the ship jerked roughly, sending them all flying to the side. Asher crashed into a sofa with a small laugh of amusement to the confusion of Lucy.

"Nero, you could stand to wait just a bit longer"