Mirajane's POV

"Captain Beck made it seem like the Prektian people did speak Common but they use a strange accent. Have you ever noticed Phaedra speaking with an accent, Freed?" I asked under my breath as Freed and I pushed our way through the western part of the city. I was amazed at how narrow the streets were and how many people were moving through them.

"If I recall, Erza mentioned that if she was angry she would use a 'z' sound instead of an 's'," Freed said thoughtfully, resting one of his hands on his thin rapier.

Peeking out of the corner of my eye I watched Freed survey his surroundings with a quiet curiosity. I had been happy that Freed had started to talk to me more often after Laxus left with Team Natsu to help Sabertooth find their Celestial Mage. He was a little on the formal side, but I had found that we had a lot of similarities as we spoke about life. When Lisanna and Elfman had invited me to go on a job with him and Bickslow, for the first time I had turned them down. I had said that it was because it was a simple job and four mages was already overkill, but really I had just been hoping I could spend some more time with Freed.

After Lisanna had 'died', part of me had died along with her and I had been looking out for Elfman the best that I could ever since. When Laxus and the Raijinshuu had tried to take over Fairy Tail though and Freed had attacked Elfman, my old power had manifested and for the first time in years, I had used my takeover magic. Fighting with Freed had let loose emotions I had tried to bury for years and after I had won and he had tearfully admitted he hadn't wanted to hurt any of his friends, I had immediately forgiven him. He had lost his way in loyalty to a friend, something that I could completely relate to.

Now, years later and with my darling imouto back where she belonged, I found myself in a very weird spot in my life. Both of my little siblings had grown capable of taking care of themselves and I didn't have any heart palpitations at the thought of them going on a job by themselves. For the first time in years... I found myself with time to think about what I wanted from life and my future. And to be honest, I wasn't sure what it was I wanted. I kept myself busy at the guild helping all of my guild family and planning the eventual weddings of couples that still hadn't found the courage to actually BECOME couples... but I wondered if there was something more I could get out of this stage of life.

Freed's sudden desire to talk about the mysteries of life had been amazingly well-timed. It made me think more deeply about what I wanted from life and realize that there were people who I had loved as family for a long time, but still didn't know a lot about. I wasn't sure if Freed's new friendship had any meaning, but to my surprise, I didn't mind the thought that he might have an ulterior motive to our closer relationship.

Pulling myself out of my musing I turned my focus back on gathering information. Even if the others were able to find Phaedra today and we could leave, I wanted to know more about this country. Taking a deep breath, I walked over to a motherly-looking woman behind a stall that seemed to be selling decorative fabric.

"Hello," I said slowly, waving to the woman as she turned and gave me a wide smile.

"Quepaz!" she responded merrily and I tried not to look uncertain.

"Your fabric... iz... very pretty," I said, pausing every once in a while to make sure I used a z instead of an s. The woman blinked but then smiled even brighter.

"Practizing your Common? That'z a good idea, zweetie. Are you from the tribez?" she asked, leaning forward and seeming more than content to ignore her shop for a bit of gossip time. I nodded hesitantly and she sighed.

"Zometimez I wish I had never left my tribe. Life iz harsh out in the dezert, but it'z much more peazeful than the zity life," the woman with a faraway look in her eyes before holding out a hand to me and looking over at Freed with a curious expression.

"My name iz Fira. Iz your huzband a tribe man too?" Fira asked with a happy smile. To my delight, Freed's cheeks exploded into a blush at the question and his mouth opened and closed in shock. Giggling quietly I leaned in to whisper with Fira.

"He'z not my... huzband," I whispered with a chuckle and Fira's eyes glimmered with amusement as he continued opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

"Ahhh. Well, if you need a prezent for your charming friend, then I have zome cloth that would make a beautiful drezz," Fira said teasingly over go him.

Freed blushed even harder at this and I couldn't help but laugh. On a whim, I reached out and looped my hands around his bicep, causing him to look at me in surprise. Freed wasn't as bulky as Elfman or Laxus were, but I personally preferred a more unassuming strength and I wasn't disappointed when I could feel the hard muscle underneath my hands.

"Forgive him, Fira. Hiz common izn't very good. Why iz it that everyone... zpeakz... thiz way?" I asked, hoping that I was getting the accent right. I wasn't sure what it meant to be 'from the tribes' but I hoped that she wouldn't think it strange that I was pausing so much. It was more difficult than I had thought to make sure I was using z's instead of s's.

"King Hizeah only zpeakz to uz in the Common language. Everyone growz up learning it a bit, but in the zity if you can't zpeak common then zometimes you mizz out on important newz," Fira explained as she looked between Freed and me with a happy smile.

"That s...zeemz odd that the King would only zpeak in Common," I said, feeling an uneasiness begin to settle inside me.

"Ever zinze he waz crowned he haz talked about invading the mainland when we are ztronger," Fira said with an unconcerned shrug. I felt Freed's body stiffen at this news and my own eyes widened.

"What? But why would you invade?" I asked, grateful that that sentence hadn't had any s's or else I may have slipped up in my haste.

"The people azzumed it waz juzt a fanziful dream of a young boy come to power too early," Fira said and I was surprised when her happy face suddenly pulled down into an angry frown. "But then, five yearz ago, one of the Ishgarian merchantz kidnapped the Altizza Luzera."

I felt my brow furrow in confusion at the strange words she had used. She seemed shocked at my confusion though and leaned forward.

"The Altizza! One of the guardian prinzezzez!" she explained with a look that showed I obviously should have known that. I quickly gasped in shock, which seemed to pacify her, but inside my mind was whirling. Was she talking about Phaedra? But... Phaedra escaped, she wasn't kidnapped...

   "It'z been five yearz zince the zweet girl waz ztolen. King Hizeah has been trying to gather an army big enough to invade Caelum to try and find our Altizza," Fira said with a sad sigh. "But theze have been hard yearz for everyone. We've been going through a drought. But you know that. Living in the dezert, thingz muzt be even worze."

I nodded hesitantly and glanced around the busy street. I wasn't sure how to take the news that the King was planning to use Phaedra's escape as a rallying call to get his kingdom to announce their presence to the world they had hidden from for 400 years and invade Caelum. It didn't seem like something that we could fix in a day, but my uneasy feeling was getting worse and I didn't think it would be wise to continue our conversation.

"Could I buy the purple fabric, pleaze?" I asked, pointing to a beautiful fabric on the end of her table.

Fira immediately perked up and measured out a length of the fabric before tying a cord around it and handing it to me. I was glad when she asked for jewel as her payment, it would have been difficult to explain a different form of currency after all. Once I had paid for the fabric I asked if she knew of a library and she gave us directions and wished us a good day.

Freed was silent as we walked through the bustling streets and I held onto his arm tighter for comfort. The people around me gave the appearance of being happy, but as I looked closer, in almost every corner there were people whose clothes were dusty and ripped and looked like they hadn't had a good meal in days. There were no fountains or decorations of any kind along the streets and as the hours dragged on I could feel the sun above us beating down harder and harder, even through the cloths hung up above us.

"In here," Freed whispered as he pulled me towards a small building with its door open. I followed after him, looking around in sadness when I saw that the building was almost completely empty. Before we were allowed to read anything, the person I assumed was the librarian asked us for a fee of 500 jewel each. It was a small enough amount, but I wasn't used to having to pay for a library visit.

Once we had paid though, I followed Freed as he moved around the room. Most of the books seemed to be written in the Prekteze language, but after a while, Freed was able to find some in the common language. As we read, I found my mind wandering to the two groups who had gone into the palace. I hoped that they were doing alright.

It was well past noon and I had begun to feel extremely thirsty when a commotion outside the library caught my attention. Freed and I met each other's eyes and, without needing to speak, we left the library to see what was going on. My hands flew to my mouth when I saw a large wagon being pulled behind two strange creatures and I recognized the red headscarf I had tied on Laxus just this morning. I was about to run after the wagon when two soldiers marching behind them began calling out something in the Prekteze language. After they had finished their announcement though they repeated it in Common.

"Come to the main zquare tonight as the zun beginz to fall! Altizza Luzera haz returned to uz!"

A great cheer ran through the people that heard the announcement and I felt my arms begin to shake. I didn't flinch as Freed wrapped his arms around me from behind and I watched as the wagon continued down the street carrying our captive friends.

"Altizza Luzera... that's what Fira called Phaedra isn't it?" I asked as the people began moving back into the streets as the wagon and announcers continued on their way. Freed didn't answer me. Instead, he took one of my hands into his and pulled me through the crowd, following after the wagon that had our friends.

Gray's POV

As the wagon took us farther and farther away from the palace my arms and legs began to tingle, feeling like thousands of tiny pins and needles were stabbing me. I welcomed the uncomfortable feeling though because it provided a brief respite from the frustration and guilt that were threatening to overtake me. As I thought back to being completely helpless as I watched the King stretch his hand out to Wendy, I was ashamed at the momentary relief I had felt when Phaedra had shown up. It had soon been crushed by my realization that there was no way that Phaedra was going to be able to fight off a room full of mages by herself with the sealing stone cutting off her access to most of her magic.

Why wasn't I paying more attention?! How could I let myself get taken out so easily?! I yelled at myself over and over as I thought back to the dark-skinned woman with brown hair that had knocked me out with just a few punches.

My mind constantly reconjured the image of Phaedra holding a wickedly sharp knife to her side and bargaining for our release with her own life. As she stood there, I could tell how serious she was and I had been so overcome by emotion and guilt it had been difficult to think straight.

Why? First Ur gave her life to save me and Leon, then Ultear gave up her youth to save us from the dragon attack, now Phaedra was willing to end her own life to protect me because I was too weak to even move. Why can I never do anything to save the women I love?!? I thought to myself guiltily. Ur and Ultear had been important to me, like a mother and sister, but seeing Phaedra being willing to spill her own blood to protect Wendy and the rest of our idiotic hides was tearing me up inside.

"Out, foreignerz," a harsh voice barked out. I lifted my head, realizing for the first time that our bumpy ride had apparently come to an end. Rough hands pulled against my tingling legs and I growled, struggling to kick at the men who pulled me mercilessly from the back of the wagon and let me fall to the ground on my back with a painful 'wham'.

My magic still seemed to be blocked by whatever that woman had done to me. As I struggled to roll over before they dropped Laxus on top of me, the ropes around my ankles and wrists dug into me painfully, but at least I was starting to get feeling back into them. Laxus also landed on the ground on his back and as he looked over at me I could see the same guilt and anger that was roiling away inside of me.

The soldiers made quick work of dumping us on the ground a few feet from the docks and I wasn't really surprised when they turned and left us without bothering to untie us. Flexing my abs, I pulled myself into a sitting position and looked over to see that Wendy was curled up next to Mest, laying her head against his thigh and crying quietly. Shararu was lying limply on the ground where the soldiers had deposited her and I frowned when she made no attempt at moving.

"Are you alright?" I turned in mild surprise to see Mirajane and Freed pushing through the crowds that were walking carefully around us. Mirajane's eyes were filled with concern as she rushed over to Mest and Wendy while Freed stopped by Laxus and I. Without speaking, he drew his rapier and sliced the painful rope around our ankles and wrists. As the ropes fell away I painfully began to open and close my hands as the feeling in them slowly returned, bringing with it an even more intense sense of guilt.

"You have no idea what they are capable of." Phaedra's words sliced through my mind as I recalled the fury and resignation that had filled her pale blue eyes when she had met my own gaze. "Get her home. Forget this place and forget me." My hands clenched into fists as I remembered her clipped command.

I can't let another woman sacrifice herself for me. Not again, I thought bitterly.

My mind had been so caught up in guilt and reliving the painful memories of my own uselessness that I didn't realize Mirajane and Freed were trying to herd us away. That is, until Freed gripped me under the shoulders and lifted me to my tingling feet, which caused what felt like bolts of electricity to shoot up my feet and through my entire body. I couldn't keep a groan of pain from escaping me and Freed apologized quietly.

"Let's get back to the cave for now," Mirajane said quietly, picking up Shararu, who still hadn't moved. Laxus nodded silently, but I didn't miss the grimace on his face as he began to walk forward. Pushing through the pain, I followed after him silently. Mest was frowning heavily and I wondered if he was trying to use his magic to teleport us to the cave faster. As we walked, I began to feel the barest whisper of my icy power that had been a constant companion for almost as long as I could remember. Even though I was relieved that my magic seemed to be coming back, I couldn't help but feel frustrated at the feeling of defeat that was growing inside me.

Don't give in, Gray. I thought to myself angrily. I can't stop fighting!

As we trudged through the sand towards our temporary base, I was surprised when I saw a familiar flash of blonde hair near the cave's entrance. Blinking, I couldn't keep from frowning when my teammates noticed our approach and began running towards us.

"Gray! Wendy! What happened to you all?" Lucy asked with notes of panic in her voice as she ran through the sand towards us.

"Let's speak in the cave," Freed said, cutting off any attempt to answer her. "Has Gajeel's team come back?" Lucy shook her head before falling into step with us.

"We heard the announcement that Phaedra had 'come back' so we thought it would be best to meet back here. I'm sure they'll do the same if they hear the announcement," Lucy said with a look of fear as her gaze moved across all of us, but she didn't ask for details.

By the time we had all gotten situated in the cave, Gajeel dropped down from the top of the cave, holding Levy in his arms. Levy quickly jumped away from his hold and ran in, asking if we had heard the announcement. Once we were all in the cramped cave, everyone turned their attention on us. Mest started, explaining with a hard edge in his voice what had happened and Laxus and I added in our own experiences with the strange woman. Lucy began to cry when Wendy explained tearfully how Phaedra had sacrificed herself to save us and after she was done everyone sat in stunned silence.

"I thought if we went after her we could stop my vision." I blinked in surprise, looking over to where Shararu was laying limply in Wendy's lap. She slowly sat up with her eyes swimming with tears. "But because we came... it's my fault. She was captured because I couldn't see the danger that was coming..."

Shararu began to cry and a feeling of melancholy descended over the whole group. I bowed my head as frustration at myself filled every part of my mind.

"You don't know that, Shararu." 

Blinking in surprise at the forceful tone, I looked up to see Happy walking over to Shararu determinedly. Shararu and everyone else looked at the little blue cat. She sniffled quietly and shook her head

"If we hadn't come then she never would have gotten caught," Shararu said in a hiccuping sob. Happy frowned, reaching out and taking her paws in his own.

"You don't know that, Shararu," he repeated firmly. "She probably would have gotten captured either way. But now, we're all here to rescue her. We're Fairy Tail mages! There's no way we will let anyone hurt our friend," Happy declared. I was surprised at the ferocity that the little prankster was able to speak with, but as Happy spoke, I felt my frustration slowly shift towards a renewed determination.

"Happy's right," I heard myself say. Everyone turned to look at me and I nodded at Happy. "We can't change the fact that Phaedra is captured and it's our fault for not being prepared. But we can't give up. We need to come up with a plan to rescue her."

Lucy wiped her eyes and nodded firmly, and everyone else seemed to perk up as well. Fairy Tail wasn't a guild of quitters and I knew that we would be able to save Phaedra. And I was going to make sure that the King wouldn't ever get the chance to enslave Phaedra again.

"How are we going to do it?" Levy asked, leaning forward and glancing around the room. Surprisingly, Freed was the first to respond.

"The announcement said that Phaedra was going to be presented to the people in the main square as the sun sets. So that's probably our best shot at rescuing her," he suggested.

"Where is the main square though?" Levy asked with a frown.

"I think I know," Lucy said with a small frown. "It's in the middle of the city. From what I could see, the people go there to get a water ration for the day."

"Okay, but how do we keep that ninja lady from hitting us and taking away our magic?" Lily asked with his arms folded.

"Leave her to me." All of us turned to look at Mest. His green eyes had gone dark with anger and fury seemed to be rolling off of him in waves.

"How are you supposed to fight against someone who blocks magical power?" Levy asked with a small frown. Mest shook his head, clenching his hands into fists.

"I don't think she blocked our magic through a spell of her own. I saw her levitate and she can apparently smell magic, but she hardly has any magical presence to her. It's why I couldn't sense her approach. I think that she uses pressure points to make us go numb and somehow block our magic. Now that I know what to expect, I can use my teleportation magic to evade her punches," Mest said confidently.

"Very well," Erza said, speaking up for the first time. "Mest will handle the magic-blocker if she becomes a problem. But I think the best strategy would be to use your teleportation magic to just teleport all of us to Captain Beck's ship as soon as we see Phaedra."

I blinked, surprised at the simple but effective plan. Mirajane frowned though and shook her head.

"We can't do that, Erza," she said, her voice barely over a whisper. Erza frowned and turned to her friend.

"Why do you say that, Mira?"

"Because if we take Phaedra away, then the King will invade Ishgar," Freed responded bluntly. Everyone was shocked at this announcement and Freed and Mirajane quickly explained what they had found when speaking to some of the locals.

"So if we rescue Phaedra, then we'll be causing a war..." Laxus summed up after their explanation. A brief silence followed as the gravity of the situation hit all of us. In my mind's eye, I saw Phaedra's face, filled with determination but her eyes betraying her fear as a single tear fell down her cheek before the door had closed between us. Thinking of that awful sight, I felt my resolve harden.

"Then there's only one thing to do," I said firmly. Everyone glanced over at me with similar looks of determination in their faces. "We have to take out the King."    

A/N Dun dun dun. :P Phew! I finally finished this! I don't know why it was so difficult for me to write this part! Thank you all for reading this and I hope you are excited for the rescue attempt!