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Wheels of Fire	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 22712 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima. I make no money, I just do this for my own pleasure.

Chapter List
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Chapter 31
The Spider's Bite
It was unseasonably hot in the Edolas city of Lavenderville. A lady walked through the streets with a sway to her hips. A wide, stylish hat obscured her eyes, but still the men paused to stare at this stranger. The city was big enough so that no one knew everyone. She stood out, just the graceful way she walked and the curves that highlighted her femininity, but no one stopped her, no one went up to her, they just stared, enamored, caught in her web without her even intentionally weaving it.
Wendy had always been that way. She counted it as a curse and a blessing, this ability to ensnare men, almost like magic. This time, all the attention was utterly unwanted. She had hoped to hide after fleeing Fairy Tail. If anyone noticed her, she could be arrested.
Sometimes, the best way to hide was to stand out so much, people stared at something other than her face. So the hat hid her face, and her dress … well, it did not leave much to the imagination. Her cleavage showed as much as she legally could without baring all. Her skirt was long, but it clung so tightly that she did not need to expose anything at all. She made sure her distinct purple hair was up and her guild mark was hidden, though. She did not want that exposed at all.
She paused and looked around. Tracking Natsu was harder than she thought. A young man with pink hair and wearing a scarf in summer? Why had no one heard of him? How had he vanished?
Was he okay? Was he alive?
She refused to give up hope. She had severed herself from the guild. That was usually suicide. Once separated, few people managed to find their way back. She was taking a huge chance, all on the hope of finding a man who did not love her, thought little of her, had been angry with her, a man who did not even belong in this world.
Why was she taking such a risk?
She had ensnared plenty of men. Finding herself ensnared was terrifying.
She paused to let a tanchimo-drawn carriage by. She had been to Lavenderville once, before the magic was lost. It had been lively with cars backed up in traffic, lights flashing in the shops, and children with their magical toys. It was different now. Tanchimos had replaced the cars. Some people had solar lights, but many relied on candles and lamps. The toys were simple: rubber balls, little wooden dolls, handcrafted since the machines no longer worked.
Many of the younger children had been born in a world devoid of magic. After merely seven years, it was a myth, a legend told by their parents … a fairy tale.
A group of boys raced past her laughing and playing a game called Demon-Lord, where one boy used his hands to make devil horns on his head and roared like a dragon as he chased others. If he touched a player with his elbows—the hands had to stay as horns—then that person lost all magic and had to freeze. The game went on until everyone was frozen, or until the very first person to get tagged, who became The Prince, was tagged again by another player, freed from his frozen state, and if he tagged the Demon-Lord, the game was over and the Demon-Lord was defeated by The Prince.
Wendy watched them playing and smiled, remembering that battle. She had been there. She had seen Natsu's confrontation with King Jellal, just a long-lost prince back then. What guts that took! And what an impact it had on everyone. Seven years later, it was a game for children, a villain that would go down in history, turn into legends, and eventually fade into mere myth. The Great Demon-Lord Dragneel.
Wendy realized that the new generation would grow up free of the worries they used to have, dread about magic depletion, and people like Fairy Tail turning to crime just to get some scarce lacrima crystals. The world was no longer as sophisticated as it once had been, but they survived. Fairy Tail missed the worst of the transition due to that freak accident, seven years lost. Damn Levy and her inventions! By the time they returned, Edolas had gotten over the panic, the riots, the revolts, and things were returning to something like peace.
Edolas survived. So would she. She had lost her guild, her world had lost its power, yet both would evolve and survive.
For now, she had a mission, one not given to her by the guild, but her own personal quest: to find Natsu and help him in any way she could. It seemed The Great Demon-Lord Dragneel was as devilish at disappearing as he had been years ago. This was her sixth city after catching wind of him from people at a bar called Grimoire Heart. Either she missed something, or he was much faster at traveling than she had anticipated for a guy not used to tanchimos.
Wendy suddenly paused and slipped into a café just as two guards walked by. She cringed as she saw the insignia on their uniform. These were King Jellal's own men, and they seemed to be searching for someone. Once they passed, she slipped back out. She knew she should go the opposite way, but something caught her attention, just one phrase:
"… pink-haired …"
She twirled back around to them in horror. Had Natsu been caught? Despite every instinct to flee before the bird ate the spider, she followed, keeping back, but the crowd allowed her to get close enough to hear them.
"He's to be taken straight to the king. Poor bastard. Makes me wonder what he did if the king wants to deal with him personally."
"Probably nothing illegal. We're not supposed to hurt him. Maybe he's a rogue scientist, like that crazy Fairy Tail girl a while back. Levy something-or-other. I heard she made off with a bunch of the king's research and vanished for seven years, then suddenly came back not a day older."
"An accomplice? They said his name's Natsu, right? I've heard that name before. The captain mentioned it back in her Fairy-hunting days."
"So both are from Fairy Tail? If he's around here, he must've ran away."
"Hah! Smart move for him, getting away from those thieves and murderers."
Wendy's eyes narrowed. To herself, she muttered, "We killed no one who didn't deserve it."
"Maybe he's a spy with info for the king. In any case, we gotta find him. I heard the reward includes a promotion to lieutenant."
"Seriously? I wasn't told that. Well, pink hair … he should be easy to spot."
"Dammit," Wendy hissed. "Well, that means he hasn't been caught yet."
She quickened her step and tapped one of the guards on the shoulder. Both turned around. She kept her head lowered just enough for the wide hat to hide her eyes. It was hardly necessary, since their gaze instantly went down to the revealing dress and ample cleavage. She smiled that her plan had worked. A beautifully designed web could attract flies so that they don't notice the spider.
"Pardon me, I'm new here and lost. Can you soldiers help me?"
The younger one grinned eagerly. "Absolutely!"
"We're in a hurry, though," the older one warned.
"Oh, it's not a problem. I have a map, but I'm not sure where I am right now. I got all turned around." She laughed blithely.
"Bring it out. We'll help however we can."
"Sure, but … well, this is embarrassing, but the map is … hidden." She pointed to her cleavage. "I didn't want it to get stolen. I'll be just a moment." She began to turn into a shadowy, dank alley.
"Whoa, a lady like you shouldn't walk into an alley like that so easily in big cities," the younger soldier warned. "It's dangerous. Vagrants and thieves hide in alleys. You could get hurt."
"Really? I'm from the west, we didn't have cities like this. I guess I could do this in public, but something might show." She began to reach between her breasts.
"No, no, not in public view," the older one said nervously, gently pulling her hand back. He guided her into the alley. "It seems to be empty here. Let's just be quick about this."
"Would you two guard me? Oh, but don't look!"
"Of course," said the younger one, but his eyes were all on her breasts.
They followed her into the alley. She led them in halfway, then smiled sweetly.
"Turn around, no peeping," she said, reaching down into her dress.
"Oh! Sorry, right," they muttered, turning around modestly.
She reached into her cleavage, pulled out a thin baton, and pressed it against the back of the neck of one soldier. It zapped out a bolt of electricity, and he collapsed unconsciously. The second man turned around in surprise, but before he could shout Wendy pressed the baton into his chest. His body twitched from the shock, and then he too collapsed.
"Soldiers are so easy," she simpered, tucking the baton back into her dress. She began to rummage through their clothes. Out of habit, she took all of their money, their weapons, a pocket watch, but then she saw what she was seeking: warrants for arrest. She glanced them over, only enough to see that Natsu's name and description were on them, as well as a drawn picture that was close enough so people would recognize him. She did not bother to read the rest.
She tucked the papers into her dress and rushed away. The soldiers would be unconscious for two hours, but someone might find them before that. She had to scour the city for Natsu, and if he was not here, she needed to get out of town quickly. She hurried through the streets, around corners, and asked a few locals, giving his description. Then finally one person pointed her in the direction of the city's main park.
She stepped into the expanse of grass, trees, and playgrounds to see two local police nudging a man on a bench.
"No sleeping here, buddy. Vagrants aren't appreciated in this city. Move along, or we'll take you to the station."
As the sleeping man shifted, his hood moved, and Wendy saw pink hair and a hint of white around his neck. She rushed forward.
"Wait!" she cried out. "That's my … my brother."
The policemen looked back at her. "This babbling idiot is your brother? Sorry, lady, but we were called because people said he was talking nonsense, acting violent, but then he collapsed, as you can see."
"Yes, he's my mentally retarded little brother who got lost a week ago. Goodness, he looks awful," she said, feigning lament. "Just look at you, brother," she said to Natsu. "You look like a bum." She beamed her sweetest smile at the policemen. "You gentlemen are so wonderful for finding him. I've been looking everywhere. Our mother is so worried since … well, his mind isn't all there, you know. It's a burden we bear since we love him so much."
Natsu roused himself and looked up at her. "Wendy?" he asked weakly.
"It's me, you silly little brother. I'm here to take you home."
"No!" he said, pulling away but still dizzy. "Can't go back there. Lucy, she'll hit me."
"Not the asylum. I'm taking you somewhere safe." She grinned awkwardly to the policemen. "He was in a bad place, abusive caretakers. Mental institutes just aren't what they used to be before the magic vanished."
"Nothing's like it used to be," one of the cops agreed. "Do you need some help with him?"
"No, I'm used to dealing with him." She half-covered her mouth and whispered, "He thinks all cops are dragons."
"Dragon?" Natsu shouted, bolting up on the bench and looking around frantically.
"Please, before he fully wakes up and sees you," she begged with an anguished look.
"Well, we don't want him turning violent again." One of the policemen tipped his hat to her. "If you need help, Lavenderville police are here to assist."
She surreptitiously slipped a ring onto her finger. Then she grabbed one man by the arm, and he flinched slightly. "You're such a sweet man," she said in her sexiest voice. She pulled her hand back, then she shook the hand of the other officer, and he also winced a little. "You two chased the vagrant away. You saw nothing else amiss. You met no one else." Her hand pulled away, and both men had blank expressions. She gazed coldly at them as they passively listened. "You will patrol the park for the next hour just to be certain that all is safe. Then you will return to your station and let them know that the vagrant left the city. Find the royal guards in this city and tell them about a pink-haired vagrant who left town. You will tell no one about me. Do you understand?"
"Yes," both answered in hollow tones.
"Good. On your way, now. Patrol the park perimeters."
Both men drifted off slowly. Wendy sighed and stowed the ring away, being sure not to touch the sharp point on one end. It was yet another one of her tools, the poison of the Spider. She sat beside Natsu, who had begun to drift off to sleep again.
"I've been searching for you," she said in anguish.
"Not going back," he muttered.
"Well, you're not going anywhere like this! Are you drunk? You reek of booze and body odor. When was your last shower?"
"Back in the guild," he mumbled, ready to collapse onto her shoulder.
"Nope." She shoved him back upright. "We need to get you off the street and preferably into a hot bathtub. Can you walk?"
"I can ride," he said. "Dunno about walk."
She looked around, and she saw that wild tanchimo Yusō grazing on the grass. She frowned and slowly approached him. He looked up and began shaking his head back and forth.
"Easy, easy. Natsu needs you. I won't ride you, but he needs a friend to carry him. Will you help?"
Yusō went with her, and she carefully got Natsu up into the saddle. Yusō walked slowly, seemingly more gentle than she had ever seen him walk. Whenever Natsu began to fall to the side, Yusō stopped until Wendy could push him upright again.
She went to a nearby hotel, one that was big enough so the concierge likely would not remember them or ask questions. She got a room with two beds and a stall in the stables for Yusō. Then she helped Natsu to walk to their room.
He collapsed onto a bed, and she finally pulled her hat off, shaking out her hair.
"Sleep it off, then clean up. I don't know how long we can safely stay here. The royal guards are searching for us."
Natsu looked at her with one eye open. "You too?"
"Well, they are now," she muttered. "We'll need to stay indoors for a few days. They should move on after that. I'll make a supply run tonight, get enough food to last a few days. This place doesn't have a stove, just a hot water kettle, so it'll be instant ramen and granola bars for a while."
"That's more than I've been eating for some time now," Natsu admitted. "Gonna sleep."
She sat by his bed and stroked back his hair. "Rest. Tell me all about your adventure tonight."
Natsu stared ahead grimly. "I don't want to think about it," he said in an angry tone. Then his eyes closed, and he fell asleep right away.
Wendy looked down at him in concern. What had happened to him out there on the road? Why was he drunk? Had something bad happened? He looked so mad just now. She ran her fingers through his hair some more.
"Well, at least I found you," she whispered. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "You're safe. The Spider will protect the Dragon this time."
End of Chapter 31
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Wheels of Fire