Hope Catherine Foster has been a member of Fairy Tail alongside her brother Alexander (Alec) since their parents were killed when Hope was four, Alec 9. Hope possesses an extremely powerful magic that many would kill for:
Arc of Magic.
No one knows...
I gaze thoughtfully at the Request Board with a thoughtful look on my face. I was trying to decide which job to take next. One catches my eye and I peel it off to read it over.
I go over to my teammates and ask, "Hey, do you guys wanna go on a job?"
"Sure!" They all agree.
Gray asks, "What'd you pick?"
I hold the C-class job as I explain, "We have to find out what's been destroying this guy's cabbages, and find a child who's been missing as well. It's in the Flower Blooming Capital City of Crocus."
"Sounds interesting," Says Alec. The others chime their agreement. I smile at them.
"Great. I'll let Mira know and we'll leave in a few minutes. We'll have to take a carriage there, though."
Natsu immediately looks ill as I turn to go to Mira at the counter. "N-Not a carriage!"
"Don't worry, Natsu. I'll heal you with my Troia spell," Wendy offers. This perks him up immediately.
"Really?! Thanks, Wendy!" Says Natsu happily.
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Erza is driving us to the city of Crocus in the carriage. We're a few hours into our trip before Wendy's spell wears off.
"Are we there yet??" Natsu complains, slumping against his seat.
"Not yet," I reply calmly.
"My tummy hurts!" Natsu whines.
"Quit complaining, will you?" Gray mutters, leaning his elbow on the window and chin in hand.
"I'm sorry, my spell wears off," Wendy apologises.
I say, "I'm sure we can take a quick break in a few minutes." We travel for awhile longer before we have to stop for a break. We all scatter around the grass while Natsu recovers. When half an hour was up, Wendy casts her Troia spell on Natsu again before we continue our journey.
It wasn't until later in the day that we finally reach the sprawling city of Crocus, its streets bustling with people.
"So this is Crocus?" Asks Wendy as Natsu slumps on the ground.
"It's incredible!" Lucy gushes.
"Our client is a man named James Gan-Lan, the cabbage merchant," I mutter, stepping forward as I gaze around. "Someone ought to know where he works."
We ask for directions to James' stall and soon head in that direction. We reach a cute looking cabbage field and stall, and see a young brown haired man at the counter.
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Erza asks was we go up to the man, "Excuse me, Sir, are you James Gan-Lan?"
"Yes, that would be me! From your guild marks, I take it you're from Fairy Tail and have accepted my job request?" He replies.
I nod as I say, "Yes, Sir."
"Wonderful! I'm so glad you're here! Come with me," James says, gesturing for us to follow. We follow him out to his cabbage field and see a lot of the cabbages have been destroyed, or eaten. "As you can see, my beloved cabbages have been destroyed by an unknown culprit. It's happened every night for the past week! And look! Child footprints!" Here, he points to the ground by some cabbages where there were indeed small footprints. "I believe a child was taken by said monster. The child's footprints lead away from my field but to the forest where the beast's footprints start."
"How can you be sure it really is a monster?" Asks Alec with a raised eyebrow.
"What else would take a child in the middle of the night?!" James exclaims.
"Okay! Well, you don't have to worry, Sir," Erza reassures them. "We'll find the culprit in no time, and with two Dragon Slayers, it'll be easy to find the child."
Natsu and Wendy nod their heads in agreement. James looks relieved.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
My teammates and I leave to search the forest for the culprit and missing child.
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We linger by the forest as Alec and I kneel to scan the footprints. One set was small, the other looks like a large rabbit's.
"It's strange the child's footprints would join with the monsters'," Murmurs the Heartfilia.
"I don't think it's a monster. It could just be a large rabbit," I muse, flicking my gaze up to see Natsu and Wendy sniffing the air.
"Agreed," Says Alec.
"Well? Anything?" I ask the Dragon Slayers as Alec and I get to our feet.
"I got a scent which I think could be the kid's," Says Natsu. "And there's definitely an animal scent with them."
Wendy nods in agreement. She says, "I've got it too."
"Then, let's go," I say before we follow the Dragon Slayer's scents further into the forest.
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We reach a spot in the forest but there's no one here.
"Where are they?" Happy inquires.
"Dunno. The scents end here," Mutters the Dragneel.
Gray wonders aloud, "What should we do?"
"James said that the creature appears at night, right?" I say thoughtfully. "How about we stake out by his cabbage field tonight and catch the perpetrator? We may ever get the kid, too."
Erza nods her head in agreement as she says, "That sounds like a good idea, Hope. Let's go back and wait for nightfall."
We all agree and return to James' cabbage field in the city.
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I just checked the reads and saw that we now have 5k! Thanks a lot guys! I'm so glad so many of you are loving Hope's story!
