The Daughter of the Apocolypse {ON HIATUS}

The Wizard in Armour

I watched silently as Natsu and Happy amble up to the table I was sitting at and plop themselves next to me. Natsu had his chin flat on the table as he grumbled. I was nursing a beer, not paying attention to them. My whole focus was Lucy, who was standing next to us. her scent the only thing I was keeping track of. "I guess we should probably try to find another job." Natsu muttered.

"Aye, we're running out of food money." Happy added, pausing from chowing down on fish to comment.

"If we'd taken that two-million jewel reward, we'd be sitting pretty." Lucy commented. "And I can't let myself forget that rent's gonna be due next week. I guess I'd better find work too..." Lucy walked over to the Request Board. I stood, taking my mug with me and standing next to Lucy at the board. "Finding a magic bracelet...Breaking a spell on a cursed cane...Reading someone's love horoscope...Hunting a Volcano Demon?" Lucy turned to me, "Jeez, I had no idea Wizarding jobs were so varied."

"Yeah." I sighed, "And what happens during those missions is a gamble as well. One time I went on a mission to hunt down a Monster and came back with a bag of rare flower seeds. They lasted throughout winter, surprisingly."

"I didn't know you liked flowers so much." Lucy commented. My cheeks flushed.

"W-Well I need a hobby don't I?" I defended, looking away. "I can't spend all my time fighting Monsters."

"Well, if you find a job, let me know." Mira said, walking towards us. "The Master's away at a conference, so I'm covering for him."

"What kind of conference?" Lucy asked.

"One for Guild Masters. Every once in a while, they all get together to talk about the state of things. It's like the Magic Council...but not..." Mira turned to a man behind her, "Excuse me Reedus, could I borrow a Light Pen?"

"Oui." Reedus Jonah, our resident artist, responded. He handed Mira the item she wanted. Mira then whipped up a diagram. At the top was the Government, then directly under that was Era, the headquarters for the Magic Council. Then, three lines from Era which were the Local Guild Master's Leagues. Then, under those were individual guilds.

"The Council, Era, is the most powerful organisation in the Magical World." Mira started to explain, "It's only one step below the government. It has ten members, and it's their job to uphold all magical rules and regulations. And if a Wizard breaks Magical Law, they would be tried by the Council. Then, there's the different Guild Master Leagues which are local groups who work together. Then the Individual Masters. It's their job to pass on the decrees of the Council. They also communicate with other Guild Masters on a regular basis. I guess you could say they're the glue that holds all of us together. Which is a pretty stressful job."

"Wow, I never realised that all the different Magical Guilds were interconnected like that." Lucy said.

"Cooperation between Guilds is really important. If there wasn't any the entire system would fall apart."

"And then the guys in black would show up." Natsu said scarily, slipping up beside us. After Lucy's scared shriek, and a heated glare from me, Natsu dropped the act. "That was almost too easy!" Natsu laughed.

"You trying to scare me to death?" Lucy questioned.

"But seriously, the guys Natsu's talking about exist." Mira said. I extended my hand to her, and Mira placed the Light Pen in my hand. I took it and drew a separate circle from the diagram. My somewhat scratchy letters much different to Mira's more printed writing. I wrote the words 'Dark Guild' into it.

"Dark Guilds are considered the black stains of the Magical Guild Society." I explained, indicating my bubble with the light pen, "A good portion of them are closely involved with Magical Crimes. They've chosen not to join any of the leagues, so they're not bound by the rules of the Magic Council."