Author's Note:

Thanks so far for the reviews and follows :)

Chapter Four:

Curious Happenings

It appeared the dance had officially begun because all the nobles on the second floor were moving down the stairs, with even Prince Laxus amongst them. They briskly chose dance partners at random. King Makarov stayed above, grinning happily while he spoke to some guests with a bottle of wine in his hands.

Levy had split from Lucy somehow amongst the crowd, but the bluenette princess wasn't fussed. They were both strong women who had survived the brutality of their father's court; this was a walk in the park compared to it. If anything, she was excited by the prospect of behaving like a normal person, without any guise or persona displayed. Levy was very bright and used to have a sunny disposition. If she had lived through the chaos that had killed the rest of her family and Lucy had perished with them, she doubted she would have continued to live on. Only if for a night, she was determined to have fun and enjoy herself.

She spied Gray moving near her. He wore a pearl covered mask that matched the white shirt he was wearing beneath his suit. His ebony hair almost sparkled beneath the magical lights of the Grand Hall.

Levy turned away after her swift observation as she was curious about all the guests and was trying to gather information for Jellal. However she quickly noticed his movement became more deliberate as he appeared to be moving towards her, where at first he seemed to be moving through the crowd at random.

He drew close to her, smiling slightly. "I thought I recognised that blue hair." He voiced aloud.

Levy smiled sweetly and nodded, adding a small curtsy in respect. "You must be Lord Gray from before, thank you for helping us."

It had slipped her mind that she wouldn't be able to be as subtle as she hoped, because the Fairy Tail Knights had seen her and her siblings outfits. Despite the masks, she was obviously easy to identify due to her blue hair. She hoped Lucy at least wouldn't be recognised so quickly. Jellal hadn't seemed too concerned with seeing that the Knights had shown up here as hosts, but it was in their interests to reveal as little about themselves as possible.

Gray bowed and extended his hand forward, while his other arm hid behind his back. "We didn't do that much, but if you're feeling generous, would you accept this dance?"

His tone of voice was friendly and inviting and so Levy smiled and took his hand.

"I will." She replied, as she allowed him to lead her away into the crowd.

Wendy and Carla could see Jellal not far off, who was not taking any dance requests and instead stood aloof from the crowd. He had refused to take anything to drink just in case and watched closely as the guests moved about from the dancing to the lounges.

"Despite his intentions, he's kind of standing out." Carla muttered close to Wendy's ear.

The youngest princess giggled and nodded. "It's his blue hair, there aren't many here with the colours we have back home." She was careful not to mention their home world's name.

Suddenly, Cara stiffened from her spot on Wendy's shoulder. Wendy could feel the tension and sudden fear within her friend's body.

"Carla, what's wrong?" She asked quietly, determined not to draw attention to herself.

The white cat stayed silent for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. "That woman over there." She pointed with her paw in the direction she meant.

Wendy glanced up and frowned in confusion as a beautiful young woman with long-white hair brushed past the crowd near them. She was quickly intercepted by Prince Laxus, who stopped her in her path with a quick few words and a gesture with his right hand. He stood close to her, which from a distance seemed to be intimidating. Not long after the exchange he took her hand and led her into a dance. Their movements appeared rigid and wrought with tension.

"Her scent, it's the same as the one near the portal!" Carla exclaimed in a hushed tone as she realised the significance of what she was saying.

Wendy gasped, her hands flying to her mouth in surprise. "Are you sure Carla?"

"Positive." The white cat replied. "We need to tell Jellal!"

Jellal knew he wasn't doing a great job of blending in. He wasn't too concerned because the citizens of this Kingdom seemed to trust in the magic of Mavis and Castle Tenrou completely. He might look a bit suss as he milled about, but as he had been allowed inside he knew they wouldn't believe him capable of evil intent.

He was unable to bring himself to dance. He hadn't for years and especially not since his mother died. Jellal allowed his sisters the freedom to enjoy themselves for this night, but he didn't plan on participating. He was however; utterly fascinated by the range of magical power and abilities this world seemed to have. He could detect it from many different people all around him in varying capacities. The similarities between here and Edolas were surprising. It was like this world and his own were mirror images, except that an unknown corruption had plagued his own.

The prince sighed and broke himself away from his thoughts. He glanced around and had the funny feeling that he was being watched. Wary now, he turned his head and found himself meeting the gaze of the red-headed noblewoman that had been near the Prince, across the crowd.

For a split second he could see shock in her expression even with her mask, but she quickly hid it so that her face was blank and expressionless. He wondered if he had imagined seeing it. As she then turned away to talk to a man beside her, he turned away and shook his head in confusion. The whole exchange had taken less than a few seconds and yet Jellal had a feeling that it had been important to the woman for some reason.

He pondered the encounter as he turned back to the crowd. As he looked up, he could see through some of the glass ceilings that the moon was lower in the sky, which meant it was past midnight. Jellal let a hand stray through his blue hair, as he gathered his thoughts.

He sensed Wendy before she reached him and was unphased when she suddenly appeared and impatiently tugged on his coat to get his attention. "Jell, Carla and I need to talk to you." She explained hurriedly.

Jellal broke away from his reflection and placed his hand reassuringly on her head. "Calm down," he told her in a kind voice.

Wendy swallowed nervously and then nodded. "That white-haired woman, the one that was dancing with the prince, Carla said her scent is the same as the one we found at the portal."

His eyes widened in surprise and he swiftly looked around to see if she was in sight. That particular information was certainly not anything he had expected from Wendy. "Are you sure?" He asked her.

Carla crossed her arms before chest. "Yes I am; my nose doesn't lie. It's the same smell, for whatever reason."

Jellal nodded to himself, biting his lip as he took in their words. "Alright," he said at length, "I believe you Carla. We need to find her then. Stay close to me now." He instructed them both carefully.

They both voiced their agreement and followed close behind him as he led them from the throng of people, to a more open space where they could keep an eye out for the white-haired woman.

"It's really strange Jell, she gives off the faint feeling that she's really strong magically, but at the same time it's almost like she has no magical power," the youngest princess told him as they walked.

"Hmm," the bluenette prince murmured. "That is strange indeed."

Meanwhile Lucy had spent the night trying certain foods and dancing. She had danced with men and women both. The evening was enjoyable and she was thoroughly enchanted with the atmosphere. She had not been approached by any of the Fairy Knights and assumed she blended in with everyone else. That fact had suited her nicely, as she wasn't concerned with making herself noticed. She spent far too much time in view for her Father who scrutinized every move she made, and so the fact that she was not drawing attention to herself was a liberating one.

She now lingered by one of the banquet tables, idly nibbling at a sweet biscuit while she kept an eye on the crowd. Occasionally she would see flashes of blue hair through the mass of people, which would belong to Levy or Jellal. She hadn't seen Wendy much at all but knew and trusted that Jellal would keep an eye out for her.

The blonde princess brushed away strands of gold that had fallen out of their hair pins during the evening.

"Good evening," said a voice from beside her.

Lucy jumped in surprise. The hand she was using to fix her hair had flicked across her face in her shock and her hair fell away from her neat pins. She hurriedly attempted to fix her hair once more and glanced down.

A young woman stood almost nervously beside her, with her hands clasped in front of her. She wore no mask, instead showed bright green eyes and a friendly smile. Her blonde hair fell in waves around her face, with two feathers sprouting from her hair which covered her ears. She was wearing a cute pink and white dress with flowing ribbons.

"I'm sorry if I startled you." The girl told her in a soft voice.

At a second glance Lucy thought the woman might actually be older than her despite her stature. "Eh-h, that's okay," Lucy felt herself slowly calm down as she re-gathered her thoughts. "I just didn't even feel you approach." She explained breathlessly.

The woman cocked her head to the side with a faintly amused expression.

"May I know your name?" Lucy asked politely, flashing a pretty smile as she did.

"Oh, didn't you know?" The girl questioned instead, "For the first week when we have to have masks it's considered impolite to ask someone their name." She then leant forward with a wink to whisper, "it ruins the mystery."

Lucy's hand flew to her mouth as she squeaked in surprise. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

The girl laughed, her voice projecting a beautiful melodic sound. "That's alright." Her hands rested behind her as she took a step back. "I'll answer you anyway, my name is Mavis Vermillion."

Lucy smiled in response. "Thank you for telling me," she replied and then suddenly paused, as she had a thought. "Did you say Mavis?"

Mavis did not reply directly, instead she gave Lucy a friendly wave. "I'm so glad everyone can enjoy this festival. Thank you for coming." And with that she wandered off into the crowd, seemingly vanishing into the sea of people.

The blonde princess stood there in shock, unsure of what she had just witnessed.

Jellal and Wendy had scoured the area, intent on finding this mysterious woman with the suspicious scent.

They had eventually tried all sections of the Grand Hall where the majority of people were and had come to the conclusion that she wasn't there anymore.

"We could try some of the side rooms; there are bathrooms and resting rooms for sick people." Carla mentioned from Wendy's shoulder.

Wendy blinked and said, "How do you know that?"

"When the King was addressing you, I snuck off to suss this place out. Nobody looks up for flying cats." Carla explained proudly.

Jellal smiled in approval. "Alright, we'll do a quick sweep of the room and then attempt to find Lucy and Levy."

They moved away from the Grand Hall, walking through open archways that were guarded. They weren't stopped so they assumed Carla was right and that there were areas open for the public for the festival.

It took them a while, but eventually they spotted a flash of white hair moving around a corner in one of the hallways. Jellal immediately picked up his pace, not calling out to draw attention to them. Wendy and Carla attempted to follow him, however with his much longer stride they rapidly lost him from sight.

As they drew closer to the corner where Jellal had disappeared, Wendy could begin to hear voices. She picked up on Jellal's tone, which so far seemed calm and sensible, which she took as a good sign.

"Is there something you need?" She heard a woman's voice ask.

Jellal murmured something low in response so that Wendy couldn't make out his answer.

"Look, I have no idea what you are talking abou-," the woman explained, cutting off mid-sentence as Wendy turned the corner. She saw that Jellal had found her and was confronting her in the middle of a corridor. The woman at first seemed only slightly startled at Wendy's appearance. However her eyes widened and she gasped loudly as her hand reached to her mouth once she had actually acknowledged the young princess.

"You two!" She exclaimed softly.

Jellal reached forward and grasped her wrist firmly, drawing her attention back to him. "You recognise us?" He asked her in a dangerous tone.

"Brother…"Wendy warned from where she stood safely behind him.

"It's your hair colour!" The woman went on, brushing away stray white hairs that had fallen across her face. She appeared in shock, with wide eyes and her mouth agape. "What are you doing here? You have to go back!" Wendy thought she was genuinely upset at their appearance and she was curious to know why.

"What do you mean?" Jellal demanded, shaking her arm forcefully.

The woman didn't appear too concerned with Jellal's persistence. She completely ignored the ache that was beginning in her wrist and instead went on to ask, "You're from Edolas right?"

The bluenette prince let her go for a moment, taken completely aback by her statement. Wendy tugged on his coat timidly, trying to draw his attention away from the woman.

"How do you know that?" He demanded once more, although he no longer attempted to touch her. Instead his other arm reached back to take Wendy's hand and keep her close to him in a protective gesture.

"The blue hair, I remember it." The woman explained quickly. Her blue eyes beneath the mask glistened with urgency as she told them, "Your highnesses, if you don't return to your world before dawn, you'll be stuck here until the next night."

Author's Note:

Yeah, I've thrown in a few "unknowns" but they aren't too hard to guess. And no, I'm not shipping for Levy and Gray; he was the easiest to match with Levy for a dance that was all.

- Mae.