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44 | opening up

There was nothing but pure and utter relief that washed over the Guild when Porylusica had delivered the news that Galatea was okay the following day. She didn't go into specifics, only telling the Guild that Andromeda had managed to cure Galatea of the tumour. She and Makarov had decided not to tell the Guild the truth, not until Galatea herself was ready to tell them. So, they decided on a white lie to settle the Guild. Many in the Guild had been effected by Demons (granted they were Zeref's) over the years, and they doubted that it would go over well with many people. Especially since outside of the Thunder Legion, Galatea wasn't entirely close with the Guild.

Makarov had told the Guild that no one was to go into the infirmary while Galatea recovered, unless he himself gave permission. Unsurprisingly, he had easily relented to allowing the Thunder Legion to go visit her as soon as Porylusica gave permission. The old healer hadn't let it anyone go into the room the majority of the day, saying something about Galatea needing rest and time to herself.

The only person to have been in the room besides the old healer, had been Amber. It had been a bit of a surprise to the Guild, seeing as Galatea had only recently reconnected with Amber. None of them truly knew how close the two women were, and a few people (namely Natsu) had objected to a non-Guild member getting to see Galatea before them. Freed had been swift in explaining to the Guild that Amber used Mind Magic, allowing her total control and mastery around other minds. When they had first arrived, Amber had used her magic to check Galatea's brain levels, and that was likely for her second visit. Granted, Freed didn't actually know if that was the proper answer, he was simply going with the logical answer without touching on some of the more personal topics that had been brought up in the Infirmary.

Speaking of the Thunder Legion, they were still reeling with the information Makarov and Porylusica had supplied them. At first they had been confused when Makarov summoned them to his office. They had sat in complete shock as Makarov and Porylusica informed them of what Andromeda had revealed. Galatea was technically 421 years old, and was completely unaware of the fact that she had spent 400 years in a realm where seemingly nothing existed, even Time and Space, which made literally no sense to any of the wizards, even one as wise as Makarov. And yet, even they could tell that there was way more to the story that neither Makarov nor Porylusica, or clearly even Andromeda were explaining to them.

Nonetheless, they were thrilled to go and see Galatea. Porylusica had finally given the all-clear around the dinner hour, so Freed had taken it upon himself to get Galatea some food and water from Mira seeing as the dragon slayer hadn't eaten anything since collapsing four days ago. And judging Galatea's normal appetite, it was likely she was rather hungry.

Pushing open the door of the infirmary, they were met with the dark room. The sun had already begun to set, and the dark orange light shone through the room through the small window on the back wall. Other than the single beam of sunlight, the only light in the room came from the lamp on the nightstand next to the cot in the far corner. On the cot sat Galatea, sitting upright, her back supported with a pillow. She was engrossed in old looking book, and at her blanketed-feet sat a pile of similar looking books. A magic lacrima was on the nightstand next to her, playing soft music in a language only Freed recognized.

"...Tea?" Evergreen called softly, her voice only slightly louder than the music.

The dragon slayer looked up, a little surprised. Upon spotting her team at the door, she gave a small smile, dropping a bookmark onto her page and shutting her book.

"Hey guys." Galatea said softly.

They were quick to enter the infirmary after that, shutting the door behind them and making quick strides to Galatea's cot.

"Master gave us permission to come see you." Evergreen said, her normal haughty smile replaced with a kinder one. "It's good to see you back to humanity."