3 Chapter 3

Lucy moved her sunglasses, setting them on top of her head rather than on the bridge of her nose as she stepped out of the airport, rental car keys in one hand. Her gaze surveyed what she could see of Magnolia from where she stood, and a huge smile spread across her face. She liked it. It was busy, but not too busy, and even from where she stood, she could see a beautiful church towering above most of the buildings.

Most.

There did seem to be a hint of a huge building further back in the town. Lucy would go investigate later. For now, she had twenty minutes to find where the Rozlyn Cafe was. Mirajane had been nice and sent her some instructions, and Lucy checked the notes she'd put into her phone as she went to hunt down her rental car. She soon found it, and grunted as she hauled her suitcase into the trunk.

Dropping her sunglasses back onto her nose, Lucy swept her jeans off, adjusted the T-shirt she'd chosen to wear, and climbed into the driver's seat.

She made it to the cafe with plenty of time to spare. It really wasn't that far, just as Mirajane had promised. She locked the rental car, then shouldered her purse and headed inside. A waiter came to escort her to a table, asking if she had a reservation, and she answered, "I'm supposed to meet someone under the name Strauss?"

"Oh! You're here to meet Miss Mirajane," the waiter said with a huge smile on his face. "This way!"

Lucy followed him easily through the cafe, curiously taking in her surroundings. The building was small, with beautifully intricately made glass tables and matching chairs. Each table had a tablecloth thrown over it, and a vase had been placed in the center of each one. The large windows showed off Magnolia's beauty and cast a lot of light throughout the place.

"Miss Mirajane?"

The waiter's voice had her focusing on the situation at hand. He'd directed her to where a young woman with long silvery hair and sparkling blue eyes was seated, dressed in a pretty sundress despite the nip of cool autumn weather. She smiled warmly as she stood. "Thank you," she told the waiter sweetly. After he'd left, she beamed, offering Lucy a hand to shake. "Hello, Layla, I'm Mirajane. You can call me Mira."

Damn was Lucy relieved this wasn't going to be the death of her.

"Call me Lucy," Lucy corrected her, shaking her hand with a faint smile. "Layla Cor is just a pen name." She had reasons for not using her real name online, and those reasons had everything to do with the father that was undoubtedly trying to hunt her down.

"Well then, Lucy," Mirajane laughed. "Shall we get something to eat before getting to work on those questions of yours?"

"Definitely."

Mirajane waved for the waiter that had escorted Lucy over to her to come back, and both women ordered drinks before chatting with each other. "I invited a friend of mine that's fond of your books, but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to show up," the silver-haired woman told Lucy, blushing prettily in embarassment. "I hope that's alright? You already chatted with her, she told me. Levy?"

"Ooh, Levy," Lucy mused, nodding in agreement. "I did talk to her for a bit last night. I wouldn't mind if she stopped by."

"She loves to read," Mirajane told her, beaming at the waiter when he stopped by with their drinks. They ordered food from him, and then went back to talking. "She's particularly fond of your books...I haven't read them, myself," she admitted. "I work a lot."

Lucy waved her apologetic look off and sipped at the tea she'd ordered. Tea was a favored drink of hers, if one hadn't been able to tell just yet. "No worries, I don't blame you. Will Levy be making an appearance then?"

"She should, but she'll be a bit late...give her maybe fifteen more minutes or so. Last time I heard, she was on her way back from a, err, job." Mirajane answered, looking hesitant to say so. When Lucy said nothing, though, she brightened back up and said eagerly, "So how did you find our site, Lucy?"

Lucy came up with a lie as quickly as she could. "Just scanned through sites under the keyword "magic" and came up with it. I liked the types of magic used and figured it would be delightful for my next book." Not a bad lie, if she did say so herself. And she was sticking to it.

"Hm," Mirajane murmured, eyes studying the blonde with surprising seriousness. Lucy blinked. Had she done something wrong? But then Mirajane was smiling again, tilting her head as she explained, "It isn't often we have random people come across our site. Usually they're given a link and told to make an account. I'm one of the moderators that keeps track of new users such as yourself...though I suppose your account would have been deleted by now."

"Sadly," Lucy grumbled. She liked the information provided...it had been interesting.

"I'm sorry I couldn't arrange for your account to last longer," Mirajane apologized.

"No worries," Lucy mused, waving her off. "I managed to record all of the information I needed. And moving on to that...here's my questions. You don't have to answer them here...if you'd be willing to get all answers written down before I leave Magnolia, though, that'd be amazing."

"I'll have them answered for you by the day after tomorrow," Mirajane promised.

"Miss Mirajane?"

The waiter was back, balancing two plates of food and escorting a short woman with blue hair pulled out of her face by a headband. Dressed in a pair of white shorts, and a vest pulled over a strange top, Lucy decided then and there that Levy McGarden was going to get a special place in her book. Mirajane, too, because both of them were unlike any person she'd written about.

"Hi, Levy," Mirajane greeted, smiling brilliantly at the waiter - again. "Thanks, you can leave those here...I'll just share my food, and Lucy can, too, if she wants."

"Of course." The waiter left.

"Levy McGarden," Levy introduced herself, giving Lucy a warm smile.

Yep. They were going to be good friends. "You know me as Layla Cor, but please, call me Lucy." To hell with it, these people deserved her real name. Even if there was a chance that it got out to her father. Or one of the people he had working in this country.

Levy seated herself, Mirajane tucked her list of questions away, and the three began to chatter, Lucy and Mirajane more than willing to share the food they had. In no time, Lucy had relaxed, laughing and enjoying herself with them - though she was somewhat suspicious of the fact that Levy had been invited to assure Mirajane wasn't going to get killed by some creeper.

Lucy didn't blame her. She would have probably done the same if she'd had someone to go with her.

"You'll be around for a few more days, right, Lucy?" Levy suddenly asked, twirling a lock of blue hair around her finger. She looked curious, her hazel eyes hopeful.

"Yeah," Lucy responded. "I'm taking a little mini vacation. I'm going to explore Magnolia, get to know a bit more about it...seems like an interesting place. If I like it enough, I might stick around longer. It's been a while since I've wanted to write as much as I do right now."

"Well if you don't mind some company, I'd be willing to give you a tour of some of the best spots here," Levy offered. "Mira has to work, but I'm free for a while since I just earned enough for this months rent."

"Sure," Lucy agreed eagerly, smiling brilliantly at the short woman. "I'd love to have a tour...it would definitely be great to not get lost while I'm trying to enjoy myself. I'll pay for anything we need to pay for."

Levy winked. "If you're sure...I'll be bringing along some company if you don't mind. I believe Gajeel just got back from his own job...didn't he, Mira?" She exchanged a secretive look with Mirajane, and Lucy tilted her head curiously when the older of the two nodded to her. What was that about?

"Yep," Mirajane answered, pressing her lips together thoughtfully. She rested her chin on her laced fingers, smiling warmly at Levy. "He got back about two, maybe three hours ago. First thing he did was ask if you were back." At Lucy's curious expression, the pretty silver-haired woman laughed. "Gajeel Redfox," she explained to her, "Is Levy's boyfriend. They don't see each other often enough in my eyes though. They're both out of town a lot for work."

Lucy cast Levy a grin. "Oh? You're welcome to bring him if you don't get to see him very often, then. I don't have a problem with it." Levy looked absolutely ecstatic at this.

"Have any ideas of where you want to go first?" Levy asked, leaning closer, sipping at a drink. Her hazel eyes sparkled with curiosity, her gaze locked on Lucy with an eager look. "And what time and where do you want to meet up?"

"I'll get back to you on what time and meeting up," Lucy responded, then nodded towards a window. Even from here she could see that beautiful and large church that had caught her attention upon first leaving the airport. "I want to go there...and some kind of bookstore if you don't mind."

Levy's eyes were practically glowing with excitement now. "You like to read?" A pause, and then she was smacking her forehead, muttering, "Of course you do, you're an author…"

Mirajane laughed at that, then glanced at a silver watch that decorated one slim wrist. "I hate to leave so soon, but I have to get back home...Lisanna and Elfman will be wondering where I am." She sighed softly, smiling at the two names. "Someone's got to make them supper. Anyways, can I have your number? So I can get back to you on those questions?"

"Sure...I'll give you my number, too, Levy," Lucy added thoughtfully. "That way we can figure out where we're going to meet up and whatnot later."

"I'm fine with that." Levy dug her phone out of her pocket, readying it, and Mirajane did the same, looking at Lucy expectantly.

Lucy carefully spoke each number, waiting until Mirajane had stood to stand herself. "Thank you for agreeing to meet me," she told the older woman, smiling faintly. "I know it's not always the best idea to meet a complete stranger, but I'm glad we did meet."

"Me, too," Mirajane said with a sweet smile, her eyes warm. "I'll call you later, let you know when we can meet up again over the questions...maybe I'll even join you and Levy."

"That'd be fun," Levy agreed eagerly. "I'm sure Lisanna would like to meet her."

"Ooh, that's right, before I forget," Mirajane said with wide eyes, shooting Levy a grateful look. She turned a pleading gaze on Lucy. "Lisanna wanted me to ask you if you'd sign something for her?"

"Bring me a book next time we meet up," Lucy answered, wiggling her fingers with a large grin. "I'll gladly sign a book for her."

Mirajane laughed and bid them farewell, leaving just Levy and Lucy alone. They chatted about different books for a while - it turned out that Levy read just as much, maybe even more than she did herself - and by the time they had to say goodbye for the time being, Lucy realized she was sad over going home in a few days. It had been a long time since she'd been able to chat so easily with people. She'd missed it.

Levy had turned to leave after saying goodbye when the blonde saw it.

"Levy," she said urgently, curiosity springing to her gaze when she saw the white emblem on her left shoulder blade. "What is that?"

She glanced back at Lucy. "Hm? Oh, this?" She reached back to touch it with a nearly loving touch, smiling warmly. "I'm part of this, err, group of people that go around trying to help others. This symbol marks which group we're a part of, because there are several other groups as well. Mira and Gajeel have one, too."

Lucy tilted her head. So the three weird people she'd seen...they were all part of this group then? Good thing she'd brought the scarf. If she didn't see that pink-haired jerk by the time she needed to go home, she'd give it to Levy or Mirajane to give to him and tell them how she'd come across it and knew who it belonged to.

"Hm...I might use that idea, if you guys don't mind," Lucy told her, winking. "It'd be interesting for my book, I think."

Levy tensed only briefly enough that Lucy was barely able to notice. But then she flashed Lucy a large smile. "Not a bad idea," was all she said before waving and leaving the young woman alone in the Rozlyn Cafe.

Lucy tapped her lower lip thoughtfully as she gathered up her possessions, her brown eyes narrowed as she headed for the door. "Hm," she murmured to herself. Something was up, she decided as she walked down the street, mentally noting where the place was so she could come back to it at a later time. With the way Levy had reacted to her idea, something was definitely up.

But Lucy knew better than to pry. She wasn't a pushy person, so she wouldn't demand answers about the matter. She'd wait for Levy to come to her about it, or one of the others she'd seen. She didn't want them to back off and decide she was invading their privacy or anything.

So she'd wait.

And with that, Lucy kicked a rock away from her toe and headed for the hotel she would be staying in.

Yay! We've met Mira and Levy! Next chapter, we'll be adding Gajeel as well into the group of people Lucy knows. :D

Reviews:

Shanejane: I'm glad you're interested! There will be quite a lot more to read. :D

Mechanical-Rose-Sama: I'm happy you think so! You'll have to wait and see when it comes to Lucy, however. ;)

KaUiA: How do you know she won't keep it hidden to him until way later? ...nah, just kidding, you'll be finding out about how he responds soon. Lol. XD

fanficlove2014: I'm sure (actually, I'm hoping) people like how Natsu is reintroduced. XD It's an interesting process with some crazy mood changes that don't seem to stop for a long time afterwards. XD

Meahhh: I'm seriously happy you say so! :D

Blood-priced726: I'm glad you think so!

NaLu x Buckets: Damn! How did you know? Lol. Yep, this will be similar to that kind of idea with several twists and turns along the way.

Kinsutenekochan: I'm happy you think so, because it's difficult. x.x And I think this will be one of the most complex things I've ever written because there are so many things intertwined. XD