Hidden Scars: A Fairy Tail Fic

Chapter 7: Additional Favor

Wendy's POV

I was a little bit relieved to see Laxus, Evergreen, Bickslow, and Freed all leave when we got to the fork in the road that marked the deviation of the path between Crocus and Amaranth. Phaedra had been even quieter than normal with them around and I had to admit that I found them a little intimidating. Laxus and the Raijinshuu were extremely powerful mages and sometimes it felt like their magical power was almost suffocating. Erza, Natsu, and Gray also had a powerful magical presence, but theirs seemed much gentler for some reason.

Shaking my head to move on from the strange thoughts I looked up at Phaedra, who was walking steadily without speaking. On our way back to Crocus we had been able to collect almost all of the herbs from the apothecary's list and I felt like I had learned a lot from being with Phaedra. I wasn't sure what it was, but her quiet strength reminded me a little bit of Grandeeney and caused me to naturally gravitate towards her. It made me sad to think that she may be leaving us behind after we met with the apothecary to turn over the herbs and plants we had gathered.

"You're sure you don't want me to spell your lacrima for you? It's not like you would owe me anything," Gray said, coming up to walk on Phaedra's other side. I saw Phaedra turn her cold eyes towards Gray and regard him with a suspicious expression.

"After we are paid for the job perhaps I can pay you for your service," she said quietly. Gray frowned slightly and stuck his hands into his pants pockets.

"It's really not a big deal. I'll do it for free," he mumbled, turning to look away from her.

Phaedra simply shook her head and picked up her pace. I jogged a little bit, lengthening my stride so I could keep up with her and I looked over my shoulder to see that Gray was scowling heavily as he watched us pull away from him. He didn't try to close the gap though and I thought it was very kind of him to respect Phaedra's obvious desire to be left alone.

"Do you not like Gray-san?" I asked cautiously, feeling a little bit bad that Phaedra so often ignored the other members of the team. She looked down at me with a complicated expression but I was happy when she slowly shook her head.

"Not exactly," she said in her quiet but firm voice. I waited for her to elaborate but she seemed to think that was a sufficient answer to my question. Shararu, who was walking beside me, sniffed lightly and folded her arms.

"Are you trying to distance yourself because you plan on leaving after we finish this job?" she asked pointedly, looking up with a challenging expression at Phaedra. A feeling of sadness rushed through me as I looked from my dear friend, who had been with me for nearly as long as I could remember, up to my new friend who had quickly become very important to me.

Phaedra looked down at Shararu with a guarded expression before turning her gaze on me. I saw the agreement in her eyes and felt my chin quiver, so I quickly ducked my head. There was no reason for me to cry. I had only known Phaedra for a few weeks, after all.

"I never stay in one spot for very long," Phaedra said after an awkward silence.

"And why is that?" Shararu asked in a demanding tone.

"It doesn't matter," she responded, and I was surprised at the depth of sadness that trickled through her quiet voice. I looked down at Shararu and we exchanged a quick look of confusion before we looked up at Phaedra, who had turned her face away.

"Are you in some kind of trouble, Phaedra-san?" I asked. Anxious feelings swirled inside of me as I wondered why Phaedra was so closed off, even though she had been so kind to me. She slowly turned her face towards me and offered me a gentle, soothing smile.