#thoughts on what style of mermaid Loke would be if he were one?

[riverofmemoriesft]

. Between the Lines. 196

Scowling at the fact that he, Gray, and Jellal were all stuffed together into the foyer of a house that belonged to a single woman who'd been more than willing to let them borrow her bathrooms, Natsu tugged at the red tie he wore. Gray was having issues beside him, constantly tugging at his own tie to try and strip, making the woman laugh as she watched them from the kitchen.

Jellal chuckled, looking at them with amusement. "Gray, stop stripping. Erza won't be pleased with you if you do."

Gray shuddered at the thought.

Natsu fumbled with a cuff at his wrist. "Can we get going then? Luce will be there before we are at this rate, guys." He shifted impatiently and from his place on Natsu's head, Happy laughed.

"She's not going anywhere, Natsu," Gray sighed, rolling his eyes. "She doesn't need you there every five seconds." He frowned at him, suddenly looking honestly concerned. "Did you sleep at all last night? You've got these huge shadows beneath your eyes."

Natsu lifted a hand and touched them with a hand, grimacing. "No. Nightmares." He said nothing more on the matter and turned away, only to jump when the woman's hand rested on his arm.

"Here," she offered, holding up some concealer. "Our skin tones are pretty close. I can hide it for you if you want."

He blinked. "Thanks." She was near Levy in height, so he carefully bent over. She smeared the makeup on his face, careful not to get it in his eyes. When she was done, she smiled gently.

"You should talk about those nightmares of yours, Mr. Dragneel," she told him with a kind look. "Even if it's just to your cat friend. Believe me. My husband was murdered in front of me a couple years ago and I woke up screaming several times. Just talking to my friend helped me get through it. I rarely get the nightmares now."

Natsu gawked in shock, and then gave her a true grin. "Thanks. I really appreciate it. I'll make sure to try that."

She laughed and then waved as they ducked out of her home. She closed the door behind them.

"Cheating on your girlfriend?" Gray mocked, but Natsu ignored him, feeling oddly comforted as he made his way towards the palace.

"Lucy!" Erza gasped when she had checked into the party, sweeping into the grandly decorated hall that led to ballroom. "You look beautiful!"

Lucy flushed, her cheeks red. She swept her hands down the dress she'd been sent, her fingers smoothing over the silken material. As requested, the formal gown was red. It was a beautiful crimson in color, sleek and hugging every part of her. Golden lace that looked as if it was fire spread up the left side, starting up at the hip and spreading out over her breasts and up her throat. It wrapped around the back of her neck before leaving her shoulder blades and lower back open to the air from the back of her neck to the small of her back. It had a train that trailed behind her, and her golden heels - gifts from one of her Spirits, she'd assumed, left out for her when she came back from changing into her dress - boosted her height quite a bit. Lucy's nails had been painted red by the wife of the house they'd been allowed into, and though she'd wanted to summon Virgo, the wife had done her hair, too, into an elegant style. It had been curled, and then gathered into a knot at the back of her head, a braid running along the right side. The strands tickled her neck, and she'd wrapped her choker around her wrist.

It had been an absolute shock when a tiara, golden and studded with rubies, had been added to the outfit.

"Do you think so?" she murmured, furrowing her brow. "I mean, I know it's a formal event, but you look so much nicer than I do…"

Erza scoffed. She placed her hands on her hips and Wendy clapped beside her. Both were dressed just as beautifully. Wendy wore a silver dress, her blue hair loose and stylishly curled, and Erza wore a black dress that had a slit up the side, a loose dazzling silver belt draped over her hips. It set her scarlet hair off beautifully.

"We know so," Wendy laughed. She beamed when at her feet, Charle huffed, "If your men don't trip over themselves, there's something wrong with them."

"She's dating Natsu," Erza sighed, and then leaned back against the wall with a warm smile. "Go on in, I'll wait for the boys here. Juvia's already inside."

"Are you sure?" Wendy said anxiously. "We can wait with you, Erza-"

"No, go," she said gently. "Before Lucy has that tiara plucked right off of her head." Her eyes shone with amusement. "Besides, Hisui said that she wants to announce you as the princess of Bosco to those present. I told her that you and Natsu are here together and she needs help debating whether or not to call Natsu a prince or something similar."

Lucy was puzzled. "He's just...Natsu," she sighed as she was dragged inside by an excited Wendy.

"Lucy!" Cana laughed from where she stood arm in arm with a flustered Romeo. She waved, her eyes glittering, and Lucy returned it as Romeo eagerly abandoned her to come and shyly ask Wendy to join him for something to eat. Charle went with them.

Lucy, alone, found herself suddenly swept out of the doorway by a grinning Sting. He winked playfully as he told her, "Hey, Lucy. Thought you could join Yukino and Rogue and I while you waited for Natsu."

She beamed and then arched a brow when she saw his gaze darting up and locking on the rubies in her tiara. "Sting. You're not allowed to touch my crown, do you hear me?"

He pouted. "Fine."

"Hey, Lucy," Yukino giggled as they reached the other two. She slipped her arm through Sting's, her silver dress giving her silver hair a surprising shine. "You look beautiful."

"So do you," Lucy told her, beaming. Sting and Rogue were both dressed professionally. Rogue was in a simple suit with a red shirt underneath and Sting had put on some kind of special coat over his white shirt. "What's with your jacket, Sting?"

"Guildmaster privilege, actually." He grinned. "Check it out." He turned his back to her, showing her the Sabertooth emblem that had been stitched into the back of it, like a royal crest. It was surrounded by the outline of a shield, stitched in the same gold that lined the rest of his jacket. "Makarov would have gotten one this morning. They wanted us to wear them. Probably so those who need our guilds will know who we are."

"Oh," Yukino suddenly giggled. "Look, Lucy. Juvia's over there."

Lucy followed her gaze and found Juvia standing alongside Gajeel. Both looked just as good as the rest of them. Gajeel, in some kind of stylized suit, the black and gold bringing out his eyes. Juvia was in blue, of course, a deep oceanic blue. Her dress, sleeveless with a high collar, faded from blue to white at the bottom of the skirt, draping gracefully from her hips. They chatted easily to one another, Gajeel teasingly tugging on a curled blue lock.

"She's lovely," Lucy murmured.

"Mhm," Yukino agreed before furrowing her brow. "Lucy, have you heard anything from our Spirits lately? Or tried to summon them?"

Lucy showed her a golden heel. "I got these from them. There was a note that looked like Loke's writing. He and the rest of the Zodiacs as well as every other Spirit in their Realm are going to take some time off and ask that we don't summon them. I hope not too long. Loke has my whip."

The bracelet at her wrist gave a small flare, but Lucy pretended not to notice. It did that sometimes.

"I see," Yukino murmured. "Okay. Thank you, I understand." She turned her face away, not upset, merely thoughtful. "Oh! Erza!"

Lucy looked over and found the scarlet-haired woman finally entering. She was proudly striding beside Jellal, arm in arm with him, her head bent close to his. "They look good together," Rogue commented.

"They do," Lucy agreed. "I hope they officially get together soon. They both deserve it."

Gray ducked in not far behind them, a frown on his face as he spoke urgently with a pretty Levy, who wore a long orange dress that made her look elegant and professional, her blue hair hanging in her face. Juvia caught sight of him and waved. Levy went eagerly to greet her new husband-to-be.

Gajeel made a happy sound as she slid her arm through his, rising to greet him with a kiss.

Gray caught sight of Lucy as Juvia grabbed his hand happily. He gestured for her to go over and Lucy excused herself to the Sabertooth mages. She strode over quickly. "Where's Natsu?" she questioned. "I thought he and Happy were with you?"

"They were...Happy went with Charle and the other cats to eat," he explained, puzzled. "Natsu disappeared."

Lucy looked around, seeing a cheerful Mirajane greet Laxus, who seemed surprised by her, unable to tear his gaze away. Lisanna had her lips close to Evergreen's ear, her eyes locked on them as Bickslow tried to eavesdrop on the pair. Freed rolled his eyes to the ceiling above and muttered a quick prayer for patience.

She saw Asuka with her cheerful parents, and Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel and Blue Pegasus. She saw Mavis, pouting beside Makarov as he devoured a piece of cake. Cana had greeted someone playfully, a man that Lucy didn't recognize. Rufus and Orga and a few other mages from Sabertooth had gathered around their guildmaster, trying to get past Yukino so they could get him drunk.

She saw everyone, even Hisui, but not Natsu.

Worried, because she knew he'd been having troubles though he hadn't said anything, she bit her lip. "He'll be okay," she murmured finally, though she didn't believe herself.

Gray patted her on the shoulder reassuringly. "How are you feeling, Lucy?" Juvia turned blue eyes on her, too, worried.

Lucy opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off as a call of her name filled her ears. Hisui was suddenly there, dressed in emerald green. Her eyes were shadows from sleepless nights, but she merely asked, "May we announce you? Where's Natsu?"

"I don't know," Lucy said, biting her lip. "He's not here apparently…"

"I'll send some people out to look for him," Hisui promised. "But Father wants to announce you soon, so be ready." She slid away and Lucy wondered in silence if she would ever forgive her for bringing the dragons to Fiore.

"Juvia likes your dress," Juvia said suddenly, beaming at her. Lucy returned the compliment, eyes filling with amused gratitude. "Juvia thinks it looks like flames. The Council payed very close attention to who we mages have given our hearts to."

Lucy flushed then. "Well, I mean, look at Levy, all engaged and stuff."

"Juvia had to help Gajeel," Juvia sighed. "Juvia doesn't think he knows what he's doing sometimes."

Lucy giggled and then blinked when trumpets sounded, like some kind of television show. Everyone faltered and then looked up. Hisui was sputtering, lost. "Father's not supposed to come for another half hour!" she cried, "What's he-"

"Grab him!" Lucy heard someone cry just a split second before someone crowned in the king's crown and robes threw himself over the banister that he was supposed to appear on. He landed just a breath away from her, hitting the ground with a thud, and then grinned at Lucy. She wailed and buried her face in her hands.

Natsu beamed at her. "Hey, Luce. You look great." He paused to drag her in for a quick kiss on the lips, pressing close and letting his mouth move warmly and bruisingly against hers, and then was sprinting for the door as guards came bolting after him, laughing loudly as they gave chase.

Lucy sputtered, flushed. Gray threw his head back and laughed as Juvia giggled.

Distantly, Lucy heard Gajeel groan. "I know the it's made of gold, but holy fuck Salamander! You can't hoard the king's crown!"

[riverofmemoriesft]

. Between the Lines . 171

"Welcome to the second day of the first annual Grand Magic Games!"

The crowd roared around them and Lucy grinned, unable to think of the fight she would participate in later that day. The crowd's energy was filling her with excitement. She'd finally forgiven Natsu entirely after he'd mumbled a sincere apology into her ear, looking worried. She'd rolled her eyes and accepted the apology before receiving one of the tightest hugs she'd ever experienced.

They sat together with Wendy on Lucy's other side and Erza and Jellal on Natsu's, cheering loudly alongside their cats. Gray and Juvia stood in the arena side-by-side, muttering to one another. Rogue, Meredy, and Ichiya stood in the arena alongside them, as well as a girl none of them recognized.

Compared to Gray and Rogue's calm looks, Ichiya's wildness was somewhat disturbing.

From where he was sitting, Lyon was burning a hole into the back of his head as he watched Ichiya flirt with the amused looking Meredy. She didn't appear to take him seriously, but it still made Lucy laugh when Cobra, who sat behind them with Kinana, said with clear disgust, "Ugh, he's offering to-"

"I don't want to know," Kinana said hastily, cutting him off. Her cheeks flushed a bright color and Cobra cackled.

"What, you think he's offering-"

"Erik!" she said in a very high-pitched voice.

He only laughed harder and Lucy exchanged an amused look with Wendy. It was nice to know that the cranky venom dragon slayer was making himself at home in the Fairy Tail guild. He'd even recently taken on the emblem - a deep violet emblem that had been planted on the inside of his forearm.

The Council had sent a letter of gratitude to the cheering Makarov the day before.

Lucy started. "Natsu!" she called over the noise, yanking on his sleeve to get his attention. He glanced her way, swiping at the sweat on his forehead, and she pointed at the blonde girl who cheered beside the elderly guildmaster. He looked delighted. "Mavis!"

"If she plans out everything," Erza called beside them, "We'll win for certain!"

"Yay!" Happy purred, seated beside Wendy and Charle. Charle rolled her eyes, but looked at least a little relieved.

As soon as the commotion had died down, the announcer spoke again.

"We are pleased to inform all mages watching that the Games are doing as the Council hoped: commotion over the reveal of magic has begun to die down and the public is accepting it. There are still riots occurring in the west, but curfews have been lifted otherwise."

This earned cheerful whoops and hollering.

"Now...onto the Games! Today's game's participants include Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser of Fairy Tail, Meredy of Lamia Scale, Rogue Cheney of Sabertooth, Beth Vanderwood of Mermaid Heel, and Ichiya Kotobuki of Blue Pegasus! Later this afternoon, you'll witness fights between various mages!" More cheering. When it went away, the speech continued. "This game will be a test of strength. In a tournament style, each contestant will be asked to fight past a series of robots and reach the other's goal first. The contestants are not permitted to battle one another. The first three matches will be as follows: Lamia Scale against Mermaid Heel, Sabertooth against Blue Pegasus, and Fairy Tail Team A against Fairy Tail Team B."

This earned shocked murmurs. Gray and Juvia exchanged startled looks.

"Points will be handed out after the last round. Sabertooth, Blue Pegasus, and Fairy Tail, please step out of the arena for the time being."

"This is going to be interesting," Natsu commented, frowning. "Juvia won't wanna go up against him. He'll win."

From where Levy and Gajeel were seated, Gajeel smirked. "Don't underestimate Juvia," he told them. "She'll kick ass if she needs to."

Rolling her eyes, Levy leaned over to tell Lucy, "I'll be rooting for you later, by the way. I know he can hold his own. So I thought it'd be better to cheer you on."

Gajeel looked at his girlfriend in horror. "Levy!"

"Levy, thank you." Lucy beamed at the solid-script mage and then settled down, focused entirely on the game.

It seemed like ages before it got to be Juvia and Gray's turn. Lamia Scale won against Mermaid Heel and Sabertooth against Blue Pegasus. When Juvia and Gray were sent into the arena amongst an army of robotic creatures - Lucy really wanted to know how the hell they were even in existence, because she didn't think robots like that were possible to begin with let alone around magic - they looked serious.

"Do you really think that Juvia's gonna fight past him?" Natsu asked in her ear.

"She's not fighting him so probably," Lucy admitted. "And I think she'll win to be honest. Her magic will help her get through them-"

"But Gray's magic can, too," he pointed out. "The icy bastard's not that bad, Luce."

"True," she admitted, squinting at the arena.

"I think Juvia will win," Erza agreed suddenly.

"Juvia will," Jellal murmured, "Because of the clothes she has chosen to wear."

Lucy returned her gaze to Gray and started to giggle. Juvia's slitted skirt covered the majority of her legs, but a slit up each side reached quite a bit, and he was clearly distracted by it. His eyes darted to her legs every now and then, widened, and then shifted away. To top it all off, the shirt she'd chosen hung off of her shoulders, revealing enough of her chest to distract him, too.

Natsu was puzzled. "I don't understand. What does clothes have to do with the game?"

"I got this, let me explain."

"No," Lucy moaned, covering her face with her hands as Cana leaned in from behind them.

"Alright, buddy. Gray's distracted because you men are weak to the skin of females," she informed him with a smirk. "Or at least some of you are. Laxus seems to only bow down to Mirajane's, but we'll leave that be for now."

"Cana!" Mirajane hissed, flushing.

Natsu blinked. "You guys show skin all the time and I don't care."

"That's because you're a very smart and rare individual," Cana told him. "But I bet if Lucy were to suddenly lose her shirt, you'd go nuts. Lucy, come here a second, I want to try it-"

"Cana!" Lucy shrieked when she grabbed the hem of Lucy's blouse and pulled up. She trapped the hem against her stomach with white knuckles, eyes full of alarm. Natsu, much to their amusement, turned bright red and reached over to shoo Cana's hands away. "Stop, leave her alone, Cana," he demanded.

"Want to do it yourself?" she said cheekily.

"Shut up, Cana!" Lucy pleaded.

"Natsu deserves praise for his behavior," Erza informed them, beaming at the dragon slayer with approval. Jellal just looked plain uncomfortable with all of it.

Finally, everyone began to settle down. Natsu took it upon himself to protect Lucy from Cana's clutches by gently tugging her into his side and glaring over her head at the brunette. Lucy tried to avoid laughing. He was very serious about the matter, however, and it only made her laugh harder.

"Begin!"

Lucy focused when the match began. She settled down, eyes locked on Gray.

"He's got this," Natsu muttered, but Lucy could see otherwise.

"No he hasn't," she sighed. "Juvia will win. No doubt about it. Gray's got it bad, just look at him. You can see it right on his face."

Particularly when Juvia flaunted a cunning and seductive look at Gray when she sidled across the line of victory.

Fairy Tail's teams didn't do well in the tournament-styled game. Juvia lost to Sabertooth, who in turn lost to Lamia Scale, but when points were handed out, Fairy Tail Team A was in first overall and Team B was tied for third with Mermaid Heel.

It was while Lucy was excitedly chattering with Erza about the matter that the announcement was made.

"The Council asks that Miss Lucy Heartfilia please meet them in the center of the arena to discuss a change!"

Lucy faltered, startled. Natsu glanced up, frowning, and the rest of the team exchanged bewildered looks. "Go on," Erza told her gently. "We'll wait at the entrance of the arena for you."

"Thanks." Lucy flashed her a smile and then patted Natsu's arm soothingly when he pouted. "I'll be right back, Natsu. We'll go grab some lunch afterwards, okay?"

Natsu's eyes narrowed. "Take Happy," he said suddenly, pushing the confused cat into her arms. "And if something's wrong, send him over so we can come fix it."

"It'll be fine," Lucy reassured with a laugh, her eyes warm. She gathered Happy to her and headed down the steps of where the audience sat to make her way into the arena.

"Do you think it'll be okay, Lucy?" Happy fretted in her arms, his tail flicking this way and that. He turned anxious eyes up at her.

"Yeah," Lucy lied, though a twist in her gut said otherwise. Loke's key heated at her hip as a reminder that he was there, and she smiled to herself, touching the key with one hand. Thanks, Loke.

When she reached the Council members, she recognized one as a man by the name of Mest. He offered her a quick smile that shifted the scar on the side of his face. The other introduced himself as Lahar, the Council member working to organize and run the Games.

"We apologize for calling you out like this, Miss Heartfilia," Lahar said with an apologetic look. "A change has been made to the pre-created schedule. An anonymous request on behalf of the royal group was made that your opponent be switched out. Gajeel Redfox is being switched to the fifth day, to fight against your friend Natsu Dragneel. In return, you'll be up against Minerva Orland. We hope that isn't too much of an issue?"

Lucy's face went white and her body tensed. Happy gave an anxious sound and looked up at her, but Lucy forced herself to smile shakily. "No," she lied. "No issue at all."

It's not like she could actually refuse, either. The Fiore family was royalty after all, and she owed them a lot for taking care of Bosco in her absence.

Knowing better than to think Natsu wouldn't throw a fit over the matter, she hastily asked, "Can you wait to announce it until I'm in the arena?"

"You're the first match up, so that's no problem," Mest told her. "We'll just have you come back here when the time comes. Thank you, Miss Heartfilia. We appreciate your willingness to understand."

Lucy said nothing more, merely hurried back towards where her nakama waited. "Don't breathe a word, Happy. You know what'll happen. We all agreed that Minerva Orland doesn't seem nice."

"She looks really, really mean," Happy admitted, and then sighed. "Alright. I won't say anything. But you promise you'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Lucy promised, pressing a kiss to his fuzzy head. He purred in content. "Just make sure you'll keep Natsu under control, got it?"

"Aye, sir!"

"Lucy!" Gray called as they made their way over. "What'd the Council want with you? Is everything okay?"

Aware of six pairs of eyes on her, Lucy forced herself to laugh. "Everything's fine, right, Happy?"

"Aye, sir!" Happy lied. The cat twitched his tail happily and let Lucy tighten her grip to a near strangling hold without complaint.

"Good!" Natsu said, pleased. He sidled over to Lucy and happily wound an arm around her shoulders, burying his face into her hair contently. Gray pretended to make a sound of disgust, though he looked just as amused as the rest of them.

Lucy gave him a moment and then smacked his face away playfully. "Alright, you needy brat," She giggled. "Let's go get you some lunch before I go get my butt kicked, okay?"

"Don't say that," Natsu huffed. "Gajeel's not gonna beat you up too badly."

Lucy's smile tightened a fraction in fear and Jellal was the only one to catch it. His dark eyes narrowed when he did and suspicion crossed his gaze.

The last time he'd seen that look on Lucy Heartfilia's face had been when he'd nearly killed her while attempting to use her magic on the Tower of Heaven.

Jellal knew that look well.

And he knew that it couldn't be anything good.