Tides of Virtue (Fairy Tail Fan-Fiction)

That Asshole

Tides of Virtue - Chapter 4 (Fairy Tail Fan-Fiction)

If Serenity had known that they'd be taking a horse-drawn carriage up the mountain, then she would have given herself a little more time to sober-up first. She was still wasted, and the combination of her drunkenness and her motion sickness was causing her stomach to whirl and clench painfully. She was certain she was going to throw up. Crawling across the carriage floor, she grabbed a bucket and then retreated back into the corner that she'd claimed. Pulling the wooden pail up to her face, she dry heaved violently, but nothing came up.

Next to her, Natsu groaned loudly.

"Shut up!" she yelled weakly as she began to sob. "You have no idea what suffering is. I wanna throw up, but I can't!"

Lucy stared at her sister sympathetically. "You'll be alright, Serenity. Just a little while longer, I'm sure we're almost there."

"That's what you said an hour ago!"

Lucy sighed as Serenity continued to sob. "Guess we probably should have stayed behind. You're way too drunk, Sere."

"I'm not crying because I'm drunk, Lucy! I'm crying--" she paused to wipe at her nose "--because my stomach feels like it's trying to rip out of me!"

Suddenly, the carriage hit a bump and lurched forward. Whimpering, Serenity held onto her bucket like it was her life-line. After several minutes of rough, tumultuous riding, the carriage came to an abrupt halt.

"See!" Lucy exclaimed, standing from the bench she'd been sitting on. "Told you we were almost there!"

From the front of the carriage, came the quiet, muffled voice of the driver. "I'm so sorry," he said, "but I'm afraid I can't take you any further in this weather."

The back doors were opened and the carriage suddenly kicked forwards again, causing its occupants to fall out. Faceplanting into the snow, Serenity sat up quickly and looked around. They were in the middle of a blizzard. The only thing visible, in every direction, was the white of falling snow--even the carriage was already blotted out. Standing, Serenity wrapped her arms around herself tightly as the cold gales blew harshly around her. She suddenly felt very sober.

"What the heck is this?!" Lucy yelled so that she could be heard over the howl of the wind. "I don't care how high up in the mountains we are! It's still summer, so a blizzard right now is just weird!"

"Agreed," Serenity said quietly. "I wish I'd known there'd be snow... You know what the cold does to me, Lucy."

Eyes widening, the Celestial Mage looked over at her sister. She was dressed in her usual outfit--bralette, harem-pants, and Turish slippers--and she looked like she had been standing out in the cold for hours when it had only been a few moments. Her lips were already turning purple and her skin had taken on a blue hue. Since Serenity was a Water Dragon Slayer, she was weakest to the cold and freezing temperatures could easily kill her. If she lost too much heat, she'd literally freeze solid--just like water during the winter.

"Oh no," Lucy whispered, "Natsu! We need your help! NOW!"

Turning away from the white wall of snow he'd been staring at, Natsu looked over at Lucy and Serenity. When he saw the state that the brunette was in, his expression distorted with worry and he quickly rushed over to her.

"The hell is going on with her?" he asked Lucy.

"It's because she's a Water Dragon Slayer," Lucy explained. "If she gets too cold--"