Fairies in Wonderland

Dark. Darker. Darker again. It seemed this darkness was never ending as she appeared to float through the air, strands of golden hair fluttering around her like fading rays of light. How had this happened? How had she come to be floating in the dark? Odd, not matter how hard she tried she couldn’t seem to how she got there. She couldn’t really what she had been doing before floating through the darkness. She clutched her keys, shimmering gold lighting up at her touch as though sensing their friend needed help. “Open gate of the Lion, Leo!” Nothing. It was unusual for Loke to not respond. She tried another. “Open gate of the Maiden, Virgo!” Silence. No greeting of ‘princess’ or Virgo’s preferred ‘is it time for punishment.’ Not even her companion Plue, who was always by her side, would respond or rather, he couldn’t respond. None of them could. Their keys shone brilliantly yet their gates remained closed, refusing to allow them to cross into the human world. The realization hit like a brick wall crashing down in her shoulders. Her stomach dropped. She couldn’t use magic. For the first time since she ed her beloved guild, she felt like the small, helpless girl she once was.

There was no sound or other falling objects to occupy her mind during her descent into...wherever she landed. Without much to do, the young woman tried to force herself to what happened before her seemingly endless fall. Having tried already she didn’t have high expectations. She couldn’t recall much, just flashes of colour. Fluttering scarlet, a blur of blue and the softness of pink. Along with the colours she could hear faded voices calling her name. “Lucy...,” it was a male voice, strong and full of happiness. It was a voice she heard everyday since she found her home in the guild. It was a voice that made her feel like she was home. Onyx eyes, pink hair, a toothy grin, an infectious smile, a warm hand holding hers and strong arms holding her close making her feel safe. “Natsu...where are you?” Empty silence was her only response. Silence. Deafening silence was something she was all too familiar with but it had been chased away by her friends. She was with them before falling wasn’t she? So where were they now? Why was she alone? She closed her doe brown eyes feeling tears begin to prick the corners as a heaviness set on her heart and waited for the fall to end.

Lucy flexed her fingers out of fear of losing feeling them and felt a jolt of surprise as something soft touched her hand. It was thin yet sturdy as though it was rooted into the ground. It felt like...grass. Opening her eyes she saw, not the darkness she was expecting, but a blue sky dotted with a trees. Sitting up, the celestial mage quickly realized that she was no longer falling. Sunlight shimmered through the parting tree line illuminating the beauty of the forest she found herself in. Stargazer lilies danced in the breeze beneath sakura trees, bluebells tangoed with snowdrops as apple blossoms scattered their petals like fairies dancing on the breeze. The warm light from the sun helped the flora to thrive, grow and different types of life. Small bluebirds sang from their perches high up in grand oak trees, foxes nestled on a bed of roses, wolves lay belly up in the warming rays while koi fish swam in what resembled a river of stars. It was beautiful. Definitely not Magnolia but beautiful all the same. She felt a sense of peace wash over her and allowed herself to relax. Well, that was until something moved in the shadows cast by the trees. “Who’s there!” She held her fist up ready to fight. She may not be able to use magic but Erza and Mirajane had taught her how to fight.

Two long white ears, tinted with pink, peaked out from behind an old oak tree. Was that a rabbit? No, it couldn’t be. The ears were too high up for it to be a simple rabbit and the silhouette looked....human. “I can see you by the tree. Won’t you come out?” She spoke softly as not to frighten....him? It? The...being moved out into a thin ray of light revealing a lean figure dressed in a dark suit, an off white buttoned up shirt with a red tie and gold pocket watch held tightly in their hand. ‘It’s a man, huh?’ Lucy thought to herself as she watched him approach slowly. The closer he got the more familiar he looked. His long ears were surround by spiky...pink....hair.... “Natsu?!?” Where the hell had he been?! The man blinked, tilting his head curiously. “You know my name?” “Of course I do, stop messing around with me. This isn’t funny,” strange, why didn’t he recognize her and why did he have rabbit ears!? For as bizarre as they were, she really wanted to touch them. They looked so fluffy. ‘Focus Lucy,’ she shook her head and took everything in. He was Natsu, just not her Natsu. “Where...where am I? I know it’s not Magnolia, I don’t even think it’s Fiore.” He looked at her with curious eyes, took her hand gently in his and grinned “follow me.”

They walked through what can only be described as a mushroom forest. Why a mushroom forest and not a normal one? Simple. There were giant mushrooms. Everywhere. They gave off a soft light of bioluminescent colours that gave everything an ethereal glow. It was just as beautiful as the forest they had just left. “So...where are you taking me?” It had just occurred to Lucy that she had no idea where they were going. She followed him without thinking because she trusted Natsu. He wasn’t her Natsu of course but they looked identical, aside from the ridiculously fluffy ears. She was determined to touch them. “Where going to find the stripper and the blue cat,” the young man cheered. A stripper and a blue cat. It’s official, Fairy Tail had finally driven her to insanity. Surely insanity was the only explanation for what she was experiencing. Natsu had rabbit ears for Mavis sake. Rabbit ears! Still, for a reason she couldn’t quite put her finger on, all of this seemed familiar. Lucy was sure she’d either seen or read about a place like this before. When she was a child maybe? “Y’know, you seem really familiar. Have we met somewhere before?” Natsu asked tilting his head back to look at the doe brown eyed girl. He wasn’t her Natsu but he recognized her....that was something at least. “M-maybe we have...in another life.” He grinned.

”Oh great, the idiot rabbit came back,” a sarcastic voice called out bringing their conversation to a halt. Turning their gaze toward the voice Lucy felt her eyes grow wide in disbelief. It was Gray! He was wearing a black fabric too hat decorated with intricate patterns made of ice, a very Gray style, and...”WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES?!” Lucy screamed upon realizing the top hat was the only thing he was wearing! “Huh?” He gave her a confused look before noticing he was in fact naked, “oh crap not again!” He wasn’t her Gray but he sure did act like him. “Pervert,” Natsu commented from beside her. The two looked as though they were about to have an all out brawl when a familiar blue cat jumped into her line of vision. “Natsu brought a girl with him! He liiiikes her!” Yup, that was definitely the same damn cat from home. “So how did you get here? Did you follow the white cat? What’s that mark on your hand?” The little cat asked one question after another without waiting for an answer. “Hold on a sec. Look I don’t know how I got here or where I am. I don’t know about a white cat and the mark on my hand is my guild mark. I’m a member of Fairy Tail.” The boys stared in disbelief at her last comment. “You’re a fairy?” Gray questioned sounding more shocked than she expected. “I suppose you could say that....why?” Their eyes lit up like children on Christmas. The heck was going on with them?

“We’ve never met a real fairy before. Do you have wings?” Natsu looked at her with a child like wonder she couldn’t help but find adorable. His ears twitched in excitement making her want to pet them even more. “Look I hate to break it to you guys but I’m not an actual fairy. I’m called a fairy because of the name of my guild. Fairy Tail. People call us fairies.” She didn’t want to ruin their fun but it felt wrong to lie to them. She was hoping that if she was honest, they’d trust her and help her find her way back home. Although this land was truly beautiful, it wasn’t home. She wanted to go home. She must have shown her sadness on her face because the little blue cat suddenly place a warm cup of tea in front her. “Thank you...” “Happy” he grinned. Of course, she should’ve guessed they’d share the same name. This world seems to filled with doppelgängers of her friends. It wasn’t like Edolas yet at the same time it was exactly like Edolas. “So where did you come from?” “I’m from a place called Magnolia. It’s a quiet town with a rowdy guild sitting at the heart of it,” she smiled softly thinking of home. “What brought you here?” Gray asked gently noticing a sorrowful look in her doe brown eyes. She chuckled lightly. “Honestly I have no idea. I just falling through the dark before seeing the sky above me.” They sat quietly around a small table that sat amongst the greenery of the forest. The flowers gave off a soft glow of purples and blues, it was so peaceful. The silence was helping her collect her thoughts and process everything that had happened.

She was in a strange but beautiful place, Natsu had rabbit ears, Gray was a stripper that served some really delicious tea and Happy was....well Happy. She knew she should be scared but it was hard when the people around her reminded her of her friends. “So, who’s this white cat you mention Happy?” The three of them looked at each other before Natsu decided to answer. “The white cat leads travelers to the castle of the Scarlet Angel. No one knows what happens to them once they arrive there, all we know is it isn’t somewhere you want to end up. The Scarlet Angel is said to be a cruel person but she won’t come after you if someone else finds you first. I found you so you’ll be safe with us and we’ll help you get home,” he flashed his boyish smile in the hopes of reassuring her. The Scarlet Angel? Could she be Erza or maybe Eileen? They were the most likely candidates. “I just realized something!” Happy suddenly exclaimed making them all jump. “And what exactly was that you stupid cat?” Gray gritted his teeth glaring at his spilled tea. “We never asked the fairy her name!” The rabbit and the stripped froze realizing he was right. They didn’t know her name and she didn’t know theirs! They said they’d help her get home yet they never introduced themselves. “Ehem,” Gray cleared his throat grabbing her attention. “I’m Gray, the idiot rabbit is Natsu and Happy already introduced himself. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he gave a gentle smile. “I’m Lucy,” she grinned cheerfully. Natsu took her hand gently in his causing her to look into his eyes. Eyes she was longing to look into and a smile she was longing to see.

”Welcome to Wonderland Lucy.”

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