A/N: Sooo in this fic, you guys can imagine yourself so that's why its Sting x Oc (woohoo)! just one thing, this is gonna be really huge story so please try and survive :-D This is dedicated to Sachiko Saki, who really likes the dorky Sting Eucliffe! hope you like this! :)
It was a bright morning as the sun blazed brightly in the blue sky. The weather was just perfect as cool breeze blew now and then, which made the heat of the sun bearable. It was spring and just looking at the blossoming nature would make someone's day.
Sunlight entered the room through the open window. A little bird sat on the windowsill and chirped loudly.
A loud bang was heard at the door, but the bird didn't even flinch. "Sting Eucliffe get out of your room right now," a deep voice ordered.
Under the covers of his bed, Sting groaned.
"Sting wake up and open the door!" the voice ordered once more and the person banged the door so hard, Sting thought it might break.
"Lector…what's the time?" Sting asked Lector who was sleeping upon his head.
"Mm…8:45AM…I guess," Lector muttered sleepily.
"Oh…"
"HOLY-!" Sting and Lector shouted and shot up at once. They rushed around in the room almost tripping at the stuff fallen around. Sting placed two bread slices in his toaster and rushed to the bathroom and had a quick shower. Outside, Lector held up Sting's clothes and he wore it in flat 30 seconds. Sting noticed the bird as it started chirping in alarm and he tripped on a dictionary.
Outside his room, Rogue stopped banging the door and sighed. The next moment Sting opened the door and revealed him, dressed well, panting because of running around.
"Don't bang my door so much. It'll break." Sting said panting. Rogue just raised a brow in annoyance.
"You weren't up yet and the meeting of the Guild Masters at the Magic Council is at 9AM, you dolt,"
"Sting, Lector! You made it!" Frosch exclaimed.
Sting grinned. "I got ready in 5 minutes what do you have to say?"
Rogue shook his head. "You…" Rogue pointed at him. "…are crazy," he finished.
"Thanks," Sting scoffed.
"Sting-kun is amazing!" Lector grinned.
"Thanks buddy! Can't imagine what would have happened if you weren't here," Sting grinned back at Lector.
"Get going Sting, you're wasting time!" Rogue scolded.
"I'm going man," Sting grumbled. When they reached the lobby of their dorm, they saw Yukino.
"Sting-sama you are still here?" Yukino gasped. "You've got about 5 minutes to reach the magic council!"
"Yeah, yeah I'm going! Geez! Everybody wants their Master to leave," Sting grumbled and walked out of the building with Lector on his trail. Yukino smiled while Rogue heaved a sigh.
Sting appeared back at the door,"Frosch make sure you accompany Rogue and Yukino for their date today. I want the details,"
"Of course, Master!" Frosch smiled.
"Sting-sama!" Yukino protested blushing.
"We are just going for lunch," Rogue pointed out who was quite tired of Sting's teasing but his face felt hot.
"Whatever you say," Sting winked at them playfully and took off for the Magic Council. Rogue and Yukino had just started dating a few weeks ago, thanks to Sting because he decided to play the matchmaker. Oh the eternal tortured lectures and challenges he threw upon Rogue. They weren't adapted yet about the fact so they felt flustered. Desperate to change the topic, Yukino asked, "Did you finish reading the book I lent to you?"
"Yes. Quite an interesting book. I was absorbed into it," You must be thinking he read a novel or so but he was actually reading an encyclopedia about plants and animals. Well hey, don't judge the guy by his looks…or magic.
Yukino nodded. "Let's head to the guild together?" Yukino asked.
"Of course. Just give me a moment; I'll bring your book from my room,"
As Rogue headed to his room, he passed Sting's room, the door wide open. Rogue sighed. This guy was so irresponsible even after becoming the Master of Sabertooth. Nevertheless, Sting's personality had been widely shaped in a good way ever since the Grand Magic Games and they all had been living as one happy guild.
Rogue was about to shut the door when a little bird appeared in front of his face. He was flabbergasted as the bird chirped and flapped its wings frantically as if trying to catch anyone's peeked inside his room. The first thing he noticed was that the room was really messy. The second thing, he could smell smoke in the air. The toaster on his table was burning, emitting so much black smoke it was already filling the room. He acted quickly and threw a pail of water on it.
Rogue made a mental note to lecture Sting later. The little bird sat up on his shoulder. "Hey. Thanks," he felt kind of weird talking to the bird, but it chirped back as though saying, 'You're welcome pal'.It had greenish yellow feathers with random patterns of stripes on its wings and dark beady eyes. He noticed a paper rolled at its foot. He stretched his hand slowly for it, but the bird didn't protest.
Sting was so relieved that the meeting was over. Honestly, he always got nervous around those old yet powerful and experienced Guild Masters. He had managed to make a normal entrance even though he was late, if bumping into a waiter who was carrying around refreshments was considered normal. And also the spilling the contents of the tray over Master Makarov's head. They always had been light on him, maybe sympathizing on him as he got hooked on a post like this. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, but he was pretty sure Master Bob acting all goody goody around him wasn't a very good thing.
In today's meeting they just discussed on the highlights of events happening around in Fiore. The biggest highlight was about this guy called 'Kelp' who has been tricking people by using charmed items; for the past 7 years.
Half the day had already passed when he entered the guild. He was greeted by everyone occasionally some with great respect and some very friendly and playful. He didn't mind either ways. He spotted Rogue sitting with Yukino and Frosch at one of the tables.
"Hey Rogue what's up?" Sting greeted him.
Rogue looked slightly surprised to see him. "You're early," he stated.
"Yes I escaped halfway through the meeting," Sting said with a straight face.
Yukino stared at him while Rogue rolled his eyes. "Shut up Sting,"
"I'm really bored,"
"Well I've got some news which might entertain you. Both good and bad, so which one first?" Rogue asked.
"Bad first!"
"You've been specifically called for a quest,"
"Oh no!" Sting whined.
"Good news is: Your room was gonna get toasted by flames because of a toaster but I saved it. Except that your room looks like there was a flood."
"Rogue! That's TWO bad news!" Sting yelled.
"Oops. My bad." Rogue muttered but it seemed he didn't care at all. Yukino and the exceeds were giggling at the two.
"Okay. Tell me about this 'quest',"
"Here read it for yourself," Rogue handed him a small sheet of paper.
"'Please help me with my task. Discussion about reward after job is done. Follow the birds at sun rise–Viviana.'" Sting read quickly. "What is this supposed to mean!? This is definitely a prank!" He retorted angrily.
"Your name is mentioned down," Rogue pointed out calmly.
"I'm the Master of Sabertooth, who doesn't know my name?" Sting rolled his eyes.
"Perhaps it is a prank but I find this quite odd for a prank," Yukino said. "For instance, if it were a prank they would have mentioned a really high reward to fool the person." She said thoughtfully.
"Follow the birds? That is too weird," Lector said sweat dropping.
"Fro likes birds!" Frosch stated happily.
"Viviana. Does that name ring a bell for you?" Rogue asked.
"I have never heard of any…Viviana…" Sting muttered lost in thought. He was thinking deeply. The name did seem a bit familiar. He muttered the name again and again trying to remember who it was.
"Viviana that movie actress?" Sting blurted out unintelligently suddenly feeling excited.
"Maybe…" Rogue replied and Sting frowned. "All you have to do is go and find out," Rogue smirked.
Sting just hated that smirk of his. At the moment, Sting felt embarrassed because Rogue knew he had admired that movie actress. He was starting to think Rogue was playing this prank over him. Oh he wasn't going to let this guy win.
"Whatever it is, I am not going," Sting announced and took off from the guild.
He was surely not going anywhere, especially not at sun rise. Why would a movie actress wake up and sun rise and ask the Master of Sabertooth to follow a bird?
Nope, he was gonna sleep till noon tomorrow.
Sting yawned and scratched his head. He wondered for the nth time what he was doing so early in the morning, in the middle of a forest. Blue and green birds flew around him, chirping and urging him to move faster.
Yes, his plans were different. But what would you do if two birds chirped you awake like an alarm clock and they wouldn't stop pecking you with their sharp beaks until you were in the middle of a forest?
Just great, Sting thought. If this Viviana female was really the movie actress, well that girl was really lucky to meet Sting Eucliffe. And she was super-duper lucky cause Sting never beat up girls or even animals for waking him up early in the morning. Though he tried his level best to control the urge to strangle these birds or blast them with his laser roar.
And if it is Rogue behind all this, Rogue should start saying his prayers right now. The birds dived towards the left where the trees seemed to be denser. Sting sighed and followed them. As soon as he passed the set of trees his heightened senses were overwhelmed.
He was facing a vast ground of nature. Wild flowers and trees with luscious fruits grew all around the place. He was tempted to eat some fruits and fall asleep on the flowers. The smell of the flowers was so strong; he had to control himself from falling asleep. A little stream was situated a few steps away. No sign of Rogue or no Rogue-ish stuff anywhere.
"Oh so you are here," said a girl's voice. That couldn't be Rogue's turned but saw nobody. The birds had disappeared. He put his guard up.
"Quite late..." Silence. "But it's alright," the voice seemed to be echoing throughout the place. He wondered if it were the trees or flowers talking.
"Who are you? Where are you?" Sting called out.
"You are dressed quite well for a forger," she said.
That wasn't the answer to his question...who the hell was she calling a forger!?
"Answer me." He demanded.
"Alright! Geez! I'm coming!" She complained.
She jumped off the tree and landed in behind Sting, effectively startling him. He took a moment to observe her as she stood looking startled herself. It wasn't the actress Viviana whom he was expecting and he felt disappointed. She was shorter than him, she had long black hair which was braided beautifully and dark eyes that reminded him of the night skies. She was dressed in a baggy purple top and denim jeans. A necklace was hanging on her neck and on her shoulder rested the two birds that lead him here. He didn't sense any magic from her so she was definitely one of the townsfolk. Judging by her expression, he expected her to go crazy because it was the great Sting Eucliffe in front of her. Instead she blurted out-
"Who the hell are you?"
Never had Sting felt so agitated. He wanted to strangle this girl. It was this girl who sent him a weird letter, piranha birds early in the morning which led him into the middle of some forest and here she was asking who he was.
"That should be my question!" Sting yelled. "Who the hell are you? Viviana!?"
She looked genuinely surprised, "How do you know my last name?" She asked.
Great. The game of obliviousness.
His expression must have been terrifying because the girl raised her hands up in defense, "Okay okay, you're Sting right? And you are a mage?" she asked.
"Yes," he scowled.
"You run this shop of magic stuff, you forge things out of precious metals and stones and you have great knowledge about all that secretly love Natsu Dragneel, a mage from Fairy Tail and you have his poster stuck on your bedroom wall."
Sting choked on the air. "WH-What!" he blurted out. "First- I'm not a forger! Second- I have no idea what you are talking about. And NO I DO NOT LOVE NATSU-SAN!" he yelled.
"So you do have a poster huh?"
"Not a poster but a photograph yes." Sting smiled.
"Oh cool!" she smiled back.
"WAIT WHY AM I TELLINGTHIS TO YOU?!" Sting yelled once again.
"I don't know," she said frowning. For a moment there was silence. Sting's stomach rumbled and he blushed when she stared at him. What was wrong with him? He never felt conscious around anyone. Then the girl spoke up.
"Are you up for a quick breakfast?"
Sting couldn't believe he actually accepted her offer. He didn't know her full name and neither did she know his. He couldn't understand why he trusted this girl.
"Don't trust the girl." His mind said.
"You're damn hungry." His stomach replied.
Excellent. His stomach and brain were now going to have a telepathic debate. Thankfully they found the way to the nearest diner. Those birds were like navigation lacrimas!
After placing their order, the girl said, "My name is Lileya Viviana,"
"I'm Sting Eucliffe," He wasn't planning on introducing himself, but somehow he felt compelled to tell his name. Strange.
"Oh…Sting EUCLIFFE?" she emphasized on his last name. Sting nodded. Horror spread across the features of her face.
"Oh my gosh! You're Sting Eucliffe! The Master of Sabertooth! And…oh no…I…I- gosh I'm so sorry! I didn't realize! I'm really sorry!" she talked frantically getting a nervous wreck.
Sting simply grunted. "Okay first off, who the hell told you about me?"
Lileya frowned, "Nobody told me about you,"
Sting rolled his eyes, "Okay who told you about 'Sting the forger slash mage'?"
"I'm not very sure but a guy in dark clothes met me on the bridge of Suave-"
She was interrupted by Sting. "Oh great! Some guy in disguise meets you and tells you about me, and you believe him?"
"-he told me to ask you about this," She continued and pointed at the necklace hanging down her neck.
"Actually I don't wear necklaces so no thanks," Sting faked a smile.
"It's not for you! A girl in a hooded cloak-"
Sting interrupted her once again, "What is wrong with you, girl!? Another hooded person! Haven't your parents ever told you not to talk or accept things from strangers!?"
"Excuse me! Haven't your parents ever told you not to interrupt people when they are talking?" Lileya scoffed.
That shut him up for good.
"Fine. Please continue, your highness," he said with narrowed eyes.
Lileya rolled her eyes, "So all this started when I received this necklace in a box which was wrapped like a present. Apparently in my absence, a girl in a hooded cloak gave it to my neighbor. She didn't tell her name or anything else, just left this for me." She tapped at the necklace. The necklace was golden made with hanging beaded stars, however in the center was a single silver bead; it was shaped to look like a face, perhaps a woman. It looked ancient, that Sting could tell because the shine wasn't very new. Their food arrived and instantly, Sting began gobbling down the food while Lileya just stared at her food.
"Why did you open the box? Could be a magic trap," Sting asked.
"W-Well out of curiosity…" Lileya stammered nervously.
"What else?" he urged her to continue as he ate.
"I was told by a man in dark clothes that 'Sting' is a forger a well known mage, knows a lot about stuff like this so I should ask him for help," she continued.
"Who is this man?"
"I forgot his name…but he told me the necklace is cursed." she muttered.
"Why are you wearing it then?"
"Um…I kind of cannot take it off…"
Sting gave her a weird look and she sank in her seat. She felt so stupid, and this guy was giving her weird looks over that. Why on Earth did she open that stupid box AND try that necklace!? WHY was she sitting here with him!?
"Are you going to eat that?" Sting asked after a while, pointing at her plate of sandwich. She shook her head pushed the plate towards him and Sting grabbed one from her plate. She didn't know how much time passed but soon he was done eating and stood up. Maybe he wasn't going to help her after all.
"Ah I'm full now! Let's go." He said.
She looked at him in disbelief, "Where?"
"I know someone who can help you," he smiled.
It had been an hour in the train now. Sting was slumping in his seat, his face blue. Lileya sat across him enjoying the view from the window. Sting groaned and Lileya looked at him. He thought she was going to give him some encouraging words and comfort him which many people mostly do when someone is sick but she said-
"Lame."
So much for encouraging words.
"Sit straight. It might help reduce the queasiness." She suggested. He listened to her, trying his best not to barf out the hearty breakfast he had just eaten.
"Hargeon. I've never been here," she said. "Where exactly are we going?"
Sting struggled to speak, "My friend Yukino had told me about this guy who knows a lot about cursed necklaces. He's an expert so we're going to his store."
"Oh I see…and thanks."
"For what?"
"You know, for taking me there,"
"Oh…okay."
Awkward silence. This guy seemed so insensitive, yet so sweet. Lileya couldn't help but remember that sweet little smile he'd revealed back at the diner. She could feel her face heating up. She wondered why he was helping her anyway. Are all mages like that? Maybe he just pitied her for being a foolish town girl. She knew how Sabertooth mages weren't the most inspiring mages before.
"Sting-"
She was cut off when she heard two men snickering. They appeared in front of them and she stared at them. Both of them were twins but one was extremely bulky and the other was very skinny, both dressed like gangsters.
"How cute, look at them Jeroyd!" the fat guy said snickering.
"Indeed," the guy named Jeroyd looked at them with amusement flickering in his eyes. Sting coughed and seemed alarmed.
"What do you what?" Lileya narrowed her eyes at them trying to control the panic building in her throat while Sting who wasn't in a good position, tried to glare at them.
"We're treasure hunters, missy. I'm Leroyd," said the fat guy.
"And I'm Jeroyd," he said. "You must know very well what we want," Jeroyd smiled.
"What?"
"Stupid much? Hand over the Swan Stone peacefully or face the consequences," he said calmly.
She blinked. "What Swan Stone?"
"She's just an ordinary girl from the town. She's no match for us," said Leroyd. "And this guy seems sick,"
Lileya gripped the necklace.
"Don't…underestimate me!" Sting said slowly standing up, his face green, beaded with sweat. He leaned against the frame of the seat and gave Lileya a lopsided smile. "Get out of the train. I'll take care of these two." He said groggily.
"But you are still sick!" she exclaimed.
"You don't need to remind me. Besides, I'm a mage; I know how to handle these situations. Now go!" Sting said.
"But where…?" she asked stupidly.
"Anywhere!" he shouted.
"Okay. And Sting?"
"Yeah?"
"I wanted to tell this before; you are wearing your boots on the wrong foot."
No wonder he felt something was wrong. But hey, it was the fault of her birds that he wore this boots the wrong way. They just wouldn't stop pecking him. But before he could reply she ran off. Why did she point that out anyway? Did she want him to beat these guys by throwing his boots at them?
Whatever it was, Sting wasn't going to give up. He would fight them till the end. He remembered how during the event 'Chariot' in Grand Magic Games, Natsu-san and Gajeel-san hadn't given up till the end. Sting had proudly given up, as he was over-confident that his guild would win anyway. However, Fairy Tail had turned the tables and Sting learnt his lesson: don't give up.
"Are you two done with your nonsense?" Jeroyd grunted.
"For your information, she cannot escape. Our friends have hijacked this train. We are now heading straight to our base." Leroyd smiled evilly. Great, so much for him not giving up even before the fight started.
To prove his point, Lileya came back running with two bandits chasing her.
"Sting! These people-!" she started but Sting cut her off. "Yeah, yeah…I know, we're stuck." She ran to Sting and helped him stand straight. Sting clung to her as he didn't to fall on his face or pull a lame stunt. His stomach was churning and speaking itself was hard for Sting. Lileya's face burned but didn't push him away.
"Back off!" she screamed as the two bandits who were chasing her approached. Surprisingly, they did back off. Maybe her glare was really scary.
"Yes." Leroyd agreed. "You two go back. We'll deal with them."
"I can call my birds," Lileya whispered.
Sting whispered back into Lileya's ear, which sent a shiver down her spine, "Do it. When I say go, we'll jump out of the train,"
She gulped audibly. "We can't."
Before she could explain Jeroyd snapped, "Hey what are you both doing? Whispering final love confessions?"
"What the hell! No!" Both of them protested.
"Tell me about the Swan Stone." Lileya demanded. With the tone of her voice, Sting thought she was going to get them killed.
The not-so-twin brothers frowned but explained anyway.
"Minami Swan was a great mage and a forger. She made the Swan stone for her daughter, with precious and rare materials. She put some powers in the stone and the necklace was the most beautiful thing in the world. However, her daughter used the powers for wrong deeds. She tricked people in greed. Later she was cursed...some say the necklace was cursed but we don't know." Leroyd spoke.
"What was the curse?" Lileya asked shakily.
"She died too soon." Jeroyd smiled.
Lileya's grip tightened on Sting's shirt. He looked up at her, and met her gaze. His eyes relayed: don't both of them were lying so they would hand over the necklace. But how could she not when she couldn't even take off the necklace? Something was happening…
"Why would you want a cursed necklace?" Lileya asked.
"It's not exactly cursed. The necklace seems to choose its master and offers its powers…sometimes controls the user." Leroyd explained.
Negative stuff one over another. Sting wanted to vomit...mostly because of motion sickness sadly.
"What powers?" she ventured.
"That is enough talk for now yes? Anyway what will you do with the answers? You're gonna die anyway!"
Uh-oh. They were running out of time. Lileya was so amused at the thought of dying she decided to whistle loudly. She smiled, "Before that look up," Immediately two birds, the same ones from the morning flew out of nowhere and used their beaks to attack Leroyd and Jeroyd's faces.
Both of them fell on their backs and screamed.
"What! What is this!?"
"Where did they come from!?"
"Let's go, Lileya!" Sting commanded. They ran to the nearest exit. Down below the moving train was a huge lake.
"What the hell? A lake!?" Sting groaned.
"That's why I said we can't! And we are too high!" Lileya explained.
"Gah! Only if Lector were here!" Sting whined.
"Huh? Why would you need nectar at a moment like this? What are you, a bumblebee?"
"Eh? Its Lector and he is my cat!"
"Sting, Lector, what kind of names are these!?"
"Hey watch your mouth! What is your name anyway? Confusion between lily or something? 'Pantherlily' is better."
"Who's that?!"
"Gajeel-san's cat."
"Why you!"
"Hey! They're getting away!" Leroyd screamed.
"Shit! This is your entire fault!" Sting muttered.
"What? You think this is my fault?" Lileya glared at him angrily.
"Well, duh." Sting what are you doing? Sting's deep and sensible part of his mind, which was deeply buried and did exist spoke. Jump off now. Well that wasn't exactly sensible but that was the only way currently.
"Jump!" Sting said and sprinted forward.
"What-!?" Lileya said and rest was only the screaming which was heard as both of them descended down right into the lake.
A/N: INTERVAL! Go and drink some water or bring popcorn :-P
Surprisingly, both of them survived the fall. But what was even more surprising was that Sting screamed like a girl but it all got covered up since Lileya screamed even louder. They were soaked head to toe with muddy water and both of them shivered like crazy. They had to walk and what seemed like after hours, they found Hargeon. The first thing they did was get a change of clothes. A kind old lady was more than happy to lend them some clothes just for a while. Infact, she insisted them to get changed so they wouldn't get sick.
Sting looked at his reflection in the mirror and smirked. He wore a blackbutton-up shirt and brown trousers and black boots. His hair was messy as ever and his earring seemed to gleam. With a smug look on his face he pointed at himself and said, "Hey handsome."
"Aren't you shameless? Complimenting yourself like that." Lileya said.
"Wha-!?" Sting jumped at her voice and saw her seated calmly on a stool dressed in the new black dress the old lady had provided. "Don't surprise me like that! Wait- when did you get in!?" Sting yelled.
"F-For your information, I have been sitting here even before you came in!" Lileya said looking away from him, a blush evident on her face. At first Sting didn't seem to process what she's saying but as soon as he realized his jaw dropped.
"Y-You were here when I changed?"
Her blush darkened, "Y-You began taking off clothes as soon as you entered!" she reasoned.
The old lady entered the room. "Ah, you both look lovely, children." She smiled.
"Thank you very much for your hospitality." Lileya smiled and bowed slightly.
"It's alright!" She looked over at Sting at smiled. "Oh this seems to fit you well, my boy! Splendid!My husband looked exactly like you when he was younger," she pointed to a picture on the wall of abald old man smiling a toothless grin and beside that another picture which had a young guy who resembled Sting in many unsettling ways.
"Eh!" Sting's face paled animatedly. Lileya snickered as she saw him turn blue, "You're gonna look like that when you'll be old." she teased.
"Shut up." He muttered.
"Ah, if you don't mind we will take your leave now,"Lileya smiled. The old lady blinked and then smiled back, "Of course."
Sting started to say, "These clothes-?"
The lady waved dismissively at that, "You can keep those, darling. We didn't need them anyway,"
She hugged Lileya before they left and Lileya supressed a laugh when the old lady came up to hug Sting eargerly. His face was comical.
As they made their way out into the street the lady waved enthusiastically.
"That lady!" Sting seemed annoyed.
"Aw she was probably reminded of her youthful days." Lileya giggled.
"Shut up." Sting muttered."We go directly to the Jewel Store. Now." He ordered.
"Yes yes." Lileya said in a singy-song manner.
"Oh by the way," Lileya said cringing with laughter, "Nice kitten print boxers."
Sting's jaw dropped to the ground literally. "D -DON'T YOU DARE TELL THIS TO ANYONE!" he yelled.
"Wow this store seems amazing!" Lileya exclaimed in fascination. The shop indeed was very huge and the exterior was decorated like a festival was on, but the rest of the town was normal. Everything about the shop gave away that it's a jewellery store.
"Let's enter." Sting made his way inside and Lileya followed, unable to take her eyes off the decoration.
In contrast to the exterior, the interior was dimly lit but adorned with many sparkling diamonds chains on the ceiling. The silver lighting perfectly matched the diamond chains, giving the room a mystifying appearance.
"Welcome, I am Patricia Kelp. How may I help you?" a young man dressed in a suit with bow tie, came up smiling eagerly.
Patricia Kelp?
Before they could explain the situation he began assuming things."Ah, it has indeed been a while since I have seen a couple in my shop. Come in, have a seat."
The moment the man spoke, a weird feeling nestled in Sting's stomach. No he wasn't hungry. It was just...
A strange aura filled the air. Something was not right. Sting's mind runned sluggishly and he felt light-headed. He had definitely heard that name before, but his mind was not in the state to think all of a sudden.
When he referred to them as a couple, he didn't feel like defying. Even Lileya didn't utter anything otherwise.
"Thank you." Lileya smiled.
"Have a seat, milady," Patricia said graciously. Magically, a cushioned seat flew in place and Lileya was seated in front of a counter.
"Join milady, sir. I have fresh collections of rings available. I shall show you the best ones for your wedding." he said smoothly.
Sting was convinced.
He's right. We're here for our wedding rings. Sting thought.
Lileya's face was epitome of satisfaction. As he displayed the collection of rings, Sting's head felt more and more light.
"Choose the one you admire, milady. I shall charge a decent rate." He said his handed hovering over the sparkling, colorful rings.
"This one," she said blankly.
"Ah, our lady has a wonderful taste. Here, try it." he held out the ring to Sting, but he hesitated.
"What's wrong, Sting?" Lileya asked gently. "Why won't you put it on my finger?" she asked staring at him with wide eyes. The light in her eyes was higher than the usual and her face glowed making Sting unable to turn his face away.
"Sting." She urged him. And his mind compiled. He took the ring from the man and proceeded to put the ring on her finger. He even stood on one knee in the proposing posture.
The moment the ring was in place, the next moment was such a blur, Sting had to concentrate to remember it.
The door flashed open and Rogue, Yukino, Lector and Frosch made their way inside laughing merrily. The air around them shimmered and Sting and Lileya snapped back to their consciousness. The shop owner seemed flabbergasted.
Lileya blinked, "What just-?" she noticed Sting standing on one knee and a ring on her ring finger. She looked like she was gonna hyperventilate. "Did Sting just-!?" was it possible for her whole body to turn red?
"Rogue and Yukino!? What are you guys doing here?!" Sting yelled, feeling very embarrassed.
Yukino had tears in her eyes, "That was priceless!"
"Indeed!" Lector grinned. Frosch giggled while Rogue was only laughing.
"Explain!" Sting demanded.
Rogue said between his laughter, "We kind of set you both up for this. Revenge for all times you teased us, Sting. We sent Lileya this necklace magic necklace and she replied as we expected. You actually went on and accepted it and as we set up the trap, you both came here for aid."Rogue grinned, "Plan success."
Lileya was so embarrassed and speechless she stared at the floor. But Sting's mind now rushed.
Patricia Kelp...
His mind clicked and he realised the true identity of this shop owner.
"You guys have been tricked!" Sting yelled.
Rogue and Yukino were still all smiles, "No you have been tricked. Don't be in denial now, we've got it recorded,"
"Guys I'm serious! Patricia Kelp is a smuggler of charmed magic items!"Sting looked around in alarm. The man was no where to be seen.
The laughter ceased and everyone looking at Sting in question.
"What?" Rogue asked.
"That guy! Where'd he go!?" Sting looked around frantically.
"What's wrong, Sting-sama?" Yukino asked seriously.
"That guy, this shop owner- he sells fake items and stolen goods by using illegal charm spells! The council has been trying to capture him since 7 years for smuggling charmed magic items!" Sting explained."Find him!" he ordered. And all of them dispersed to look for him.
"Look! He's trying to escape!" Lileya shouted, pointing under the counter.
Indeed, Patricia Kelp was filling his suitcases in a hurry and looked up, terrified to see two dragon slayers glaring down at him.
"Where do you think you are going, huh?"
"S-spare me!" The man screamed.
"I totally didn't expect this from you guys. Especially you, Lector." Sting said through a poker face. The four of them sat in a hotel eating dinner after Patricia Kelp was arrested by the council. Before that, he was forced to remove the necklace stuck on Lileya's throat.
"Sorry Sting-kun. It was just for fun." he smiled.
"Yes. Don't be angry on us." Yukino smiled sheepishly.
"What about those bandits on the train? Who were they? What was with that story?" Sting asked.
"Rogue's friends." Frosch stated happily. "The story was made-up. It was to make sure you take this mission seriously." Rogue said in a matter-of-factly way.
"You've got some creepy friends!" Sting's eyes popped out in surprised.
"Um can I ask something?" Lileya squirmed in her seat.
Rogue, Yukino and Sting looked up.
"Why did you guys include me in the prank?" she asked. Sting also looked at the couple in front of them for an answer.
Yukino smiled, "Because Sting-sama really admires you,"
Sting choked on his food, "Excuse me!?"
"But we just met this morning!" Lileya said her jaw dropping.
Rogue and Yukino looked confused, "You're Viviana Mandolin right?"
"Um what?" Lileya frowned.
"The actress? Who came in the movie, Dandy Gangster?" Lector asked.
Lileya shook her head. There was silence.
"Oops." Rogue smiled. "Guess I got the wrong address."
Sting and Lileya fainted.
As they were parting, Sting decided to talk to Lileya.
"So...it was all a prank." Sting said.
"Yeah..."
"And we got fooled."
"Yeah..."
"And they even have a footage of that."
"Yeah..."
"Will you say something other than 'yeah'?!"Sting yelled.
"Uh, sorry."Lileya smiled sheepishly. "But seriously, thanks for you help. If it weren't for you I could have been arrested as a thief or even worse."
"Hey, its no problem," There was his wide grin again.
Lileya tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and turned, "Okay, it was nice meeting you. Bye."
"Wait."Sting grabbed her wrist. "You still have the ring." The purple stoned ring was yet on her ring finger, sparkling in pride.
Lileya's eyes widened as she blushed madly. She talked in a louder octave, "Its not like I didn't remove it purposely!" She tugged it out of her finger but it didn't bulge. "Ugh come off!"She began pulling with all her might.
Sting caught her wrist again. "No," he said, "keep it." He folded her knuckles into her palm as she looked at him in surprise. "Like a memento."Sting smiled teasingly.
"Don't know what that is about,"Lileya smiled and retreated her arm from his hand. "Take care." She turned away. Sting was about to turn too before she shouted.
"Wait! I forgot about the reward!"
Sting looked surprised now, "Eh! That's not necessary! And anyway I didn't technically do much in your-" he stopped when Lileya planted a kiss on his cheek. "-case." He finished. Sting's mouth went agape.
"See you around," Lileya smiled mysteriously and she was gone. Sting didn't move until he heard voices from the nearby bushes.
"Who's there?" He called out. Four familiar heads popped out from the bushes with leaves and twigs on their heads and shoulders.
"We got that recorded too. Bingo." Lector smiled.
"Aw that was so cute Sting-sama!"Yukino squealed. Sting looked flabbergasted by now.
"Today's day was great. Mission full success." Rogue grinned.
"Fro thinks so too!"
A/N: Actually I really don't know why this fic turned out to be so big. If you survived till here congrats! Maybe you should try and review too, survivor :-D