Control

ⅩⅩ

"Magic... Stationary... Cure..."

    "No cure?!"

    "Gotta... We can..."

    The brunette girl floated in the black abyss of her brain. Her entire body was completely numb and she could hardly breathe. However, she could hear fragments of her guildmates' conversation on the outside. She was confused, but her exhaustion held her focus and forced her not to care. She struggled mentally, wanting nothing more than to be blinded by the light of the infirmary and be released from this dark paradise.

    She flexed her muscles and tried her hardest to move, but she just couldn't. She was suddenly alone in the room, probably for the night again.

    This had been basic routine for the past two days since her battle against the dragons. Fairy Tail waited anxiously for her to wake, but the news of her diagnosis from Porlyusica brought all of their hopes down. They would have to put on a grand facade at the ball which King Fiore had invited all of the guilds to.

    Sting had been the most broken down that Sabertooth had ever seen him. He didn't eat as quickly, didn't smile as much, didn't speak a word (which was extremely alarming to them). He hadn't shut up since the day he joined!

    He was so heartbroken. He hated the memory of seeing someone so incredibly strong fall so weakly into his arms. He hated the fragile expression she wore as she lost consciousness. It wasn't the Rin he knew.

I hope I never have to see that again...

    竜

    She forced herself up. She couldn't see or feel anything, but she forced her body to move. She couldn't sit here and wait any longer. She needed to see her family.

    Her eyelids peeled open to find a dark, vacant room with the only light coming from the moon shining through the open window. She gasped for the air pouring through the window, trying to clean her lungs of any debris with a couple strangled coughs. She scanned the room and found it entirely empty. The beds were vacant of bodies and the sheets were tucked in neatly. On the bed to her right, there was a neat pile of clothes with a small note on it.

Rin threw her legs over the edge and let her bare toes touch the cold floor. A ripple flowed through her body at the sensation she had been missing the past couple of days. She sighed at the feeling of putting weight on them, pushing her arms against the bed to support her body. She shakily rose to a stand and proceeded to take her first, sore step. She reached for the pile and unraveled it to find a long top that stopped above mid-thigh with slits that ran up to the waist. It was a halter top with a slight plunge down the chest. Some black shorts accompanied the top as well as her favorite black combat boots. She grabbed the note and found neat writing from none other than Lucy.

'For when you wake up.'

The brunette smiled to herself and changed into the outfit. The girl remembered hearing of the ball that everyone planned to go to, but she was unsure if she had slept through it. Her sense of time was currently messed up from her long slumber. After she had slipped on the clothes and shoes, she walked straight out the door and towards the palace.

Maybe it is tonight...

竜

Porlyusica burst through the palace doors and startled every guest who had been enjoying the ball. She panted heavily since she sprinted, her old age getting the better of her. Her pink locks fell in disarray and her red eyes darted around the room.

"She's gone," she yelled out. It was directed mostly toward Makarov and the other Fairy Tail members, but the entire guest population was startled at the revelation.