Earth Land, Ishgar, kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
September 17, x785.
A few hours after Alfonzo placed the floating island and his new mansion in the middle of Lake Sciliora, the sun had risen and the residents and visitors to Magnolia started to stir. At the same time, Elicia, who was sleeping in the master bedroom with all the girls slowly opened her eyes.
If Alfonzo had been present, he would have been thoroughly surprised that Elicia had woken up on her own. Adding to that, Elicia seemed to be fully awake.
But if one were to think about it more deeply, Elicia waking up so early made perfect sense. Today was her big day, after all.
With a big smile on her face, Elicia sat up from her spot between Cana and Mirajane. Then, she stretched with her smile growing even wider. Before the excitement for her wedding with Alfonzo could flood her body any further, however, her head snapped in the direction of Lake Sciliora.
"What is that?" Elicia asked as she climbed over the pile of young women with whom she was sharing the bed. "The magic power is so dense. But I don't recognize it at all."
On a side note, Karen, who also spent the night at the mansion, was sleeping in the last of the spare bedrooms. She had gotten a little too out of hand around bedtime. So, against her better judgement, Elicia tied her up and threw her into the guest room before ignoring her for the rest of the night.
Unfortunately, that excited Karen even further. So, Elicia would more than likely have a lot to deal with later in the day.
Eventually, Elicia made it to the sliding door leading to the backyard. However, because of the wall surrounding the property, she was unable to see all of what drew her attention. Though, she was able to see part of the structure above the wall.
"What in the world is that/" Elicia muttered.
In a moment later, Elicia ran into one of her closets and grabbed a robe. Then after putting it on and tying it shut, she returned to the sliding door before pulling it open.
The sound of the door opening was enough to wake up a few of the girls in the bed. Namely, Ultear, Erza, and Sorano, who after hearing the sound slowly opened their eyes, as well.
"Is someone going outside?" Sorano asked groggily. "Ugh... What time is it anyway?"
"Mmm... I'm not sure." Ultear replied while wiping her eyes with her hands. "But we should probably get up, anyway. We've all gotta get ready for today."
"I think it was Elicia." Erza said while looking around the room. "She's no longer in bed."
Hearing that, while Sorano seemed unbothered and started to go back to sleep, Ultear was thoroughly surprised. It was no secret that Elicia was not a morning person, after all.
Before anyone could act on their present feelings, however, all three ladies noticed the large, unfamiliar magic power coming from the direction of the lake. Then, without worrying about their clothes, Ultear and Sorano, with their sleepiness blown away, shot up and ran through the sliding door, which Elicia had left open. Meanwhile, Erza, after [Requipping] into her [Heart Kreuz Armor] did the same.
After finally reaching the back yard, Ultear, Erza, and Sorano's eyes fell on Elicia, who was standing on top of the wall at the back of the property. Rushing forward, they all scaled the wall to stand next to her. And when they did, they, much like Elicia, were thoroughly flabbergasted.
"What the hell?" Sorano muttered in disbelief. "That definitely was not there yesterday."
"Yeah..." Ultear muttered in response.
"But where did something like that come from?" Erza asked curiously. "I mean, even if we were asleep, you would think we would have noticed someone building something like that, wouldn't we."
In response, Ultear and Sorano nodded in agreement. However, they all found it strange that Elicia had not said anything yet.
"Lici, are you okay?" Ultear asked, placing a hand on Elicia's shoulder as she spoke.
To Ultear's surprise, as her hand landed on Elicia's shoulder and she turned her head to look at Elicia's profile, she could see tears sliding down the bride-to-be's cheeks.
"Lici, what's wrong?" Ultear asked, concern lacing her tone.
Hearing the concern in Ultear's tone, both Erza and Sorano turned to look at Elicia as well. And like Ultear, they were also surprised to see Elicia crying. A moment later, however, all three ladies noticed that she was wearing one of the brightest, happiest smiles they had ever seen.
"Fonzie... I love you so much...." Elicia muttered as she gazed at the mansion floating in the middle of the lake.
Hearing Elicia's muttering, Ultear and Erza finally realized where the mansion on the lake came from. Meanwhile, Sorano, who had not heard anything about the surprise Alfonzo had been keeping secret, tilted her head in confusion.
"Now I see why he wanted to keep it a secret." Ultear said as her lips curved into a smile.
"Indeed." Erza replied. "It's magnificent."
"Um... what are you all talking about?" Sorano asked, confusion evident in her tone.
"Let's go back inside." Ultear said as she wrapped an arm around Elicia's shoulders. "We'll tell you about it while we're getting ready."
"Indeed." And it's quite the story, as well." Erza added with a smile.
With that, Ultear pulled Elicia off the top of the wall while Erza and Sorano followed them back into the house. At the same time, Ultear and Erza started telling Sorano about the secret Alfonzo had been keeping. Meanwhile, Elicia's smile widened with every word.
Not long later, Ur arrived outside the guild hall. And when she did, she was surprised to see Laxus, Gray, Elfman, and Mystogan waiting outside the doors. What surprised her even more was the fact that they were all dressed in black tuxedos with royal blue vests, matching ties, and white dress shirts.
"Wow, the four of you cleaned up real nice." Ur said with a smile. Then, she let her gaze focus on Mystogan. "And I gotta say, I wasn't expecting to see you here, Mystogan. I mean, Alfonzo told me that you could come back if you ever needed help with anything, but still..."
"Well, Alfonzo was one of the few friends I made while I was a member of the guild." Mystogan replied. "And it doesn't hurt that he was able to stay awake whenever I showed up at the guild hall, either."
Hearing that, Ur nodded in understanding. Then, she glanced at Laxus with a mischievous grin on her face.
"Yeah, but he wasn't the only one who could handle your [Sleep] spell, right?" Ur asked as her smile widened. "But you didn't really seem to connect with anyone else, other than Lici, did you?"
Instead of Mystogan, it was Laxus who responded to Ur's words.
"Look, I already know I was an asshole back then." Laxus said in a huff. "Do you have to keep bringing it up?"
"Yes." Ur replied, her smile widening as she did so. "Seeing you squirm in embarrassment is hilarious."
In response, Laxus snorted in annoyance. Meanwhile, Gray and Elfman had to try hard not to laugh out loud.
"Anyway, why are the four of you waiting out here?" Ur asked, wiping the smile away from her face.
"We're here to escort groups of guests to the wedding venue." Gray replied politely.
"I see." Ur said with a nod. "And if I had to guess, the venue is on Lake Sciliora, right?"
"Exactly!" Elfman said energetically. "It's the perfect place for a real---"
Before Elfman could finish, he clamped his mouth shut. For some reason, he could feel a potent sense of annoyance locking onto him. And he had a sneaking suspicion that it belonged to Alfonzo. Though, he was completely baffled as to how he could know what he was about to say.
"Ahem! Once a sufficient number of guests arrive, we'll lead you all to the venue." Elfman said after awkwardly clearing his throat.
"I see." Ur replied as a grin crept onto her face. "Well, you don't mind if I wait inside, do you?"
"Not at all." Mystogan replied.
"Good." Ur said as she walked past the four young men and made her way into the guild hall. "Just let me know when the first group is set to leave. I'm really looking forward to seeing this so called venue."
In response, Laxus, Gray, Elfman, and Mystogan only nodded in response as they waited for more guests to arrive at the guild hall.
Meanwhile, Alzack, Alfonzo's Best Man, while wearing the same ensemble as the other groomsman, was waiting at the shore of Lake Sciliora, in front of a bridge extending from the island. His task was to direct any magic vehicles into the underground parking garage. As for leading guests to the wedding hall, the groomsman will lead their groups of guests to it as they arrive from the guild hall.
"Man, I'm not even the one getting married, and I'm getting nervous." Alzack said while waiting for one of the groomsman to arrive. "And I don't wanna even think about what will happen if someone messes up today. Alfonzo and Lici are gonna lose it if that happens. And I definitely wouldn't wanna be around for that."
While Alzack was psyching himself out, the path leading from the bridge to the mansion's front door rose up from the ground. A moment later, a black magic vehicle with a long body and tinted windows, a limousine, drove out from the opening in the road. Then, it stopped to the next to Alzack.
Once the limousine came to a stop, the driver's side window rolled down. Surprisingly, the one sitting behind the wheel was Coco.
"Hey, Mr. Alzack." Coco said energetically.
"Ahh~!" Alzack shouted, surprised to hear someone talking to him from so close. On top of that, because of his nervous muttering, he did not hear the path to the garage opening. "Oh... Coco, it's you... What's up?"
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving to pick up Miss Elicia and her bridesmaids." Coco replied with a smile.
"Oh, okay." Alzack said, patting his chest as he tried to calm himself down. "Alright, when you get back, make sure to lead them to the room Alfonzo showed us."
"Yes, Sir!" Coco replied with a salute. "Well then, I'll be back soon."
With that, Coco rolled up the window before she drove away.
"She sure learned how to drive fast." Alzack muttered as he watched the limousine drive away. "I wonder if the people from Edolas are just better at stuff like that than us."
In reality, most people involved with the wizarding world learn to drive relatively quickly. The wizards of Fairy Tail are exceptions to that rule, however. Due to their inherent recklessness, they find it difficult to drive stably. Much like the way they find it hard to not damage the things around them when on quests... or anywhere, really.
A few minutes later, Coco pulled up outside of the gate to Alfonzo and Elicia's old mansion. Then, using the device Alfonzo installed into the limousine's dashboard, she opened the gate and drove onto the property, alerting all the residents of the mansion.
At the same time, all the ladies who spent the night in the mansion were gathered in the master bedroom. Having just taken showers and baths, they were all wearing casual clothes while taking care of their hair and make-up. However, as soon as Coco drove through the front gate, Elicia, Cana, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, Marin, Sun, and Lucy raised their heads before looking in the gate's direction.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Bisca asked curiously.
"Someone just came through the front gate." Erza replied while narrowing her eyes.
"Really?" Sorano asked. "I wonder who it is."
"Well, there's an easy way to find out, isn't there?" Marin asked as she hopped to her feet. "I'll just go take a look."
"Alright, we'll keep getting ready, then." Elicia said in response. "We need to finish doing our hair and make-up, anyway."
"Oh, I'm already done with mine." Marin said happily as she skipped out of the room in casual clothing.
A moment after Marin left the room, everyone present, without exception, rolled their eyes.
"Her magic is such a cheat." Cana grumbled as she applied her eye liner, gaining nods of agreement from everyone present.
A few moments later, Marin reached the front door. And when she did, she spread her [Magic Power Detection], immediately noticing the magic power of the limousine that was pulling up to the front door. However, she could not register the magic power signature of a driver.
"That's weird..." Marin said while tilting her head in confusion. "How did a car get here with no driver?"
As that thought crossed her mind, Marin opened the front door to see what was going on exactly.
"Whoa! That's a really long car!" Marin exclaimed in surprise. "I wonder how many people could ride in there?"
At the same time, the sound of the driver's side door opening and closing could be heard from the opposite side of the magic vehicle. A moment later, Marin caught sight of the short, puppy-like girl wearing a tuxedo without shoes or socks who just climbed out of the driver's seat.
"Hey, isn't that...?" Marin asked hesitantly.
"Ah! Good morning, Miss Marin!" Coco said as she sprinted around the car before stopping in front of Marin. "It's nice to see you again!"
"Yup, that's definitely her." Marin muttered with a wry smile. Then, she continued at a normal volume. "Hey, Coco, wasn't expecting to see you here."
"Yeah, I came with His Majest--- *Cough* I mean Mystogan to attend Miss Elicia's wedding." Coco replied energetically. "And since I was asking Mr. Alfonzo for something I could do to help, he gave me a crash course on how to drive. Then, he told me to come pick up Miss Elicia and her bridesmaids."
"I see..." Marin replied with an understanding nod. A moment later, however, she raised her head and asked her next question. "Then, what about the other girls? How are they supposed to reach the venue? Speaking of the venue, it's that mansion in the middle of the lake, right?"
"That's right." Coco replied while nodding vigorously. "Mr. Alfonzo said they should go to the guild hall. Then, one of the groomsman would lead them to the venue with groups of other guests."
"I see." Marin said with another nod of understanding. "Well, why don't you come inside. We need to tell the other girls."
"Sure!" Coco said energetically.
Not long afterwards, Elicia, Cana, Laki, Marin, Sun, and Evergreen, while carrying their dresses and what they needed to finish their hair and make-up, climbed into the limousine with Coco before heading to the new mansion.
Meanwhile, the other ladies continued to do their hair and make-up before they got dressed. Then, once their preparations were done, they piled into their cars and the Escalade before heading over to the guild hall, where they would be escorted to the venue by Alfonzo's groomsmen.