Wheels of Fire - Chap. 15

Chapter 15: The Spider and the Angel

Edo-Wendy had just begun to slip up to Natsu Dragneel, wrapping her hands around his arm, when the dragon slayer immediately pushed her away with a peevish glare.

"Not today, Wendy," he warned with a dark tone to his voice.

"I didn't say anything," she smiled sweetly.

He still kept away from her. "Ashley told me about you."

Edo-Wendy's face paled a little. Told him? What, exactly?

"That day on the cliff. She said you were trying to kiss me."

"Oh, that," she shrugged innocently.

"You lied to me," he said softly, yet that threatening whisper sent a shiver through her whole body. "You said it was magic. All you wanted to do was try to kiss me. You're as bad as Ashley. She uses force; you manipulate. Right now, I'm sick of both of you. Just leave me alone," he ordered quietly, then he walked away to the men's dorm.

Edo-Wendy remained rooted, stunned by the sudden rejection. No man had ever brushed her off so coldly before.

"Ouch, that's harsh," Macao commented.

Wendy refused to speak. For some reason, having Natsu hate her made her eyes burn. She closed them and looked away, trying to steady her breathing, determined not to show weakness in front of the whole guild. Still, a deep sadness plunged her heart. She felt emotions spiraling out of control. It did not help that the whispers around the guild all seemed to be directed toward her.

"Someone who can turn down even her?"

"Breaking from her web takes a strong man."

"The Spider got stung by the fly this time."

Words like that were probably true, but they hurt. Natsu's rejection troubled her far worse than she dared to let anyone know. How could a man like that affect her so much? She knew she needed to talk to someone, but who could she speak to freely?

Yes...that person.

She walked over to the bar and waited until Mirajane took notice. The white-haired lady walked up with a sunny smile and offered to fetch her a drink.

"Mira...I need to speak to The Angel."

The Edolas guild went suddenly quiet, and all eyes turned to Edo-Wendy.

Mirajane set down the glass she was wiping and took off her apron. "Kinana, watch the bar for a moment." Then she waved for the buxomly woman to follow her into the back storerooms.

Once they were gone, people in the guild began to whisper.

"Whoa, Wendy is going to see The Angel?"

"She's never done this before, has she?"

"Not that I can remember."

Edo-Romeo looked on with worry. "Wendy," he whispered sadly. He leaped up and ran to the men's dorm. Natsu was in there doing one-handed push-ups to work off his frustrations. "Natsu-nii, what did you say to Wendy-neechan?"

Natsu did not stop his exercise. "I told her to buzz off. You're probably too young to understand, but right now I don't want to talk to either her or Ashley."

"Wendy-nee...something is really wrong with her."

Now Natsu sat up. Even if he was angry, he was always concerned for his friends. "Wrong? Is she sick?"

"No, but she went to speak to The Angel."

"Angel?" he asked in confusion. "What's this about an angel? I haven't heard about any angels."

"Hardly anyone ever speak to that person as The Angel. It's..." Edo-Romeo looked back out to the main room with worry on his young face. "It's confession of sins!"

Back in the storeroom, Mirajane went to the farthest corner. There were two doors. She motioned for Edo-Wendy to walk into one of the tiny rooms behind those doors.

"The Angel will be with you soon," she told the blue-haired woman, then walked away.

Edo-Wendy solemnly entered the tiny room and sat on a padded bench. There were no lights in the boxy room, and only a thin wall separated this room from the one next to it, with a screened window connecting them. No one could see the person speak their confession. They could sneer, cry, make any face they wanted, and no one saw. Only one person heard their words: The Angel.

She uncomfortably shifted on her narrow seat. How many years had it been since she spoke to The Angel? It was embarrassing, but she knew she needed to get this troubling problem off her chest before the guilt ate at her soul.

The rasping movement of clothes shuffling in the next room jolted her out of her thoughts. There was the sounds of a soft sigh as someone sat, then came the gentle voice that could bring solace to the most troubled heart.

"What is it, my child?"

Edo-Wendy shivered. How could that voice sound so different when spoken inside the confession box? "Forgive me, Angel, for I have sinned."

"Confess your sins, child. I shall hear them."

Tears instantly came to Edo-Wendy's eyes. "I...I have broken an oath."

"An oath? Tell me of this promise, child."

"Many years ago, a man betrayed my trust so severely, I swore I would never let my heart fall in love again. Since that day, I've ensnared many men, but only as prey, as things to toy with rather than as people to care for. Now..." She trailed off. Although she knew The Angel never told a single person about what was spoken in confession, still, saying the words were difficult.

Instead of pressing her for more, The Angel turned the conversation to something easier. "This dates back to your time with the anthro-spiders, yes?"

"Yeah," Wendy said softly. "When I was taken in by the hunters, the son of the leader was...kind to me. We were the same age. I was only with them for a couple years, but I fell in love. He was...my first. We were young, but we spoke of marrying when we got older." She smiled sadly at that brief time of happiness amidst people who were her enemies. "On my first hunt, he was with us. He promised to help me, to protect me. However, that first tribe of anthro-spiders was my tribe. I spoke to him privately, begged him to convince his father to pick another target. He pushed me away and said if I still had such close ties, then perhaps his father picked this target especially for me, and I should be honored."

Edo-Wendy sniffled, but she knew The Angel would only push her to speak more. Before she could face her current trouble, she had to face this demon of the past.

"I...killed all the hunters. I didn't want to. I had never killed a human before, but it was them or...or my tribe," she sobbed. "There was no reasoning with them! No matter how I begged...they...they wouldn't listen. They only hated! Still, I tried not to kill that boy. I thought, just as the hunters brought me in and made me think differently, so I could bring him to the tribe. If I could show him the kindness of the anthro-spiders, he would come to see the truth. I wrapped him in webbing and brought him along. I tried to reason with him, but it was no use. After a week, I had forgotten to renew the webs binding him, and he broke free. He killed two anthro-spiders and was about to kill Robaul. I didn't even have time to think. It was him, or the person I thought of as a father. I...I struck him down," she wept, shivering as she remembered the scene. "I held him as he bled to death, apologizing although he only cursed me, and I swore to him that I would never fall in love again, because love is treacherous. But now...I think I have. This...damn Salamander," she gnashed, "ensnared my heart."

"Love is not such a bad thing," The Angel replied, "and oaths given in moments of emotional trauma should not be allowed to haunt us forever. If your heart has learned how to love again, then it shows you have matured past that pain."

"The problem is, the Spider has forgotten how to draw close to others. She has sat on her web for too long, capturing prey and feasting upon them only to discard them later, so that she doesn't know how to befriend the Dragonfly. Instead, she weaved her web once again, but the Blackbird told the Dragonfly about the web, and now he hates the Spider. I don't know how to win back that trust. I...I've forgotten how to make people fall in love with me. I've forgotten how to act. I think only of weaving the next web." Edo-Wendy's face fell down into her hands. "I know he won't be around for long. He'll leave me some day, but I don't want him to go. I've even tried distracting Levy to slow down the process on fixing that confounded trans-dimensional machine. I want to wrap him up and keep him in my web, but the Dragonfly isn't like other stupid flies. He burns down my webs. He thwarts both me and the Blackbird who only wants to eat him up."

"Then perhaps both you and Lucy need to realize that Natsu is a free spirit. Ensnaring a soul like that will never work. Blocking his freedom will only lead him to feel greater anger at you."

"Then how do I make him fall in love with me?"

"My child, you can never make anyone fall in love. There is no magic incantation for real love, not even in the magical world of Earthland. If you wish to be loved, open yourself up to love. Show him you are a trustworthy friend. Like roots of a tree, any further emotions must grow from that foundation."

Edo-Wendy slouched back in the confession box. "I may have destroyed those roots already."

"If Earth-Natsu is like our Natsu in even a tiny way, then he will never hold a grudge for long. I've known him only as long as you have, yet I see that he is the sort who can fight with a friend and still remain close. Let him have his space, and when the time comes, prove yourself trustworthy. Be ready to let him go free, but be open to embrace him if his feelings change. If they do not, then learn from this challenge. It could be he is but a stepping stone to a greater discovery about your own heart."

"So...I should leave him alone?" she asked uncertainly.

"Until his anger cools, it would be best to give him the space he wants. Think about his feelings, child. He is a lost soul trapped in Purgatory. He needs a guide in this world. Will you be the Spider that pulls him down into Hell, or the Sky Maiden who shows him the path to Heaven?"

"Sky Maiden," Edo-Wendy mused. "I was always called Wendy the Web-weaver or just The Spider before joining Fairy Tail. It was you people who gave me that nickname, Sky Maiden. I always thought it was a bit too lofty."

"It's the sort of name you live up to, like I must live up to the name Mira the Angel."

Edo-Wendy smiled quietly. Sky Maiden! Natsu Dragneel said that his little Wendy had that nickname as well. That was the side of her he would like best. Instead of crafting schemes on how to be seductive, she should just be herself...be the sort of woman he liked.

Even if that meant being away from him for a while.

"Thank you, Angel," she whispered.

Edo-Wendy left the confession box. She made her way out of the storeroom and back into the guild hall. Everyone was looking at her, making her feel self-conscious. She wondered if the tears from earlier were still on her face. Suddenly, to her utter shock, two strong hands grabbed her, and pink hair was right in her face.

"Wendy! Are you okay?" Natsu shouted in worry. "Romeo said something about an angel. There was a villain in my world called Angel. It wasn't her, right? Are you injured? Is anything wrong? Just tell me. I'll beat them up for you."

She blushed as his sudden closeness and looked away to keep the temptation at bay. The Angel's words were still in her head. She needed to let Natsu have his space, not weave her webs around him. "I'm fine. It's just Mira. She's something like a spiritual counselor, so we call her Mira the Angel."

"Mira? An angel?" Natsu suddenly let her go and laughed loudly. "Oh, I've gotta remember to tell the people back home about that one. In Earthland, Mira is known as the Demon. She also can't keep a secret, and she's always poking her nose into other people's business. Hey, I like the idea of this guild having an angel."

His grin was so wide, it made Edo-Wendy laugh despite the pain that had been in her heart just minutes ago.

"Oh Natsu," she chuckled, then sighed. "You can never stay mad, can you?"

"Huh? Well, I guess so, if someone is hurting my friends, but it's not fun to be mad at people. It's better to be happy with friends."

"I envy Earthland for having someone like you around. Now, excuse me." She began to walk away, realizing that if she stayed around him for too long, the desire to weave more webs of seduction around him would only grow stronger.

"Oh, hey," he called out. "Look, um...I'm sorry about earlier," he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was really rude to you, and I guess that made you sad, and I hate making any friends feel sad. I dunno what came over me. I haven't been feeling too well."

"Like, as in feeling sick?" Edo-Wendy asked in worry.

"Nah, just...not myself." He shrugged, knowing that did not describe it at all. "Frustrated, weak, and I keep getting weird headaches. Cana said it's probably just stress from missing home and feeling anxious to go back."

"I see," she smiled gently. "I'm sorry if I'm adding to your stress, Natsu. I wasn't taking your feelings into consideration. Still friends?"

"Hah! You don't even need to ask that. Of course we are! We're nakama."

Edo-Wendy realized The Angel was right. Natsu could never hold a grudge, especially not against someone from Fairy Tail. She smiled sadly. If only she had met someone like Natsu Dragneel a few years ago, maybe she would not have grown into the cold spider-woman she was now.

If it was possible for the nymph to molt into the gleaming dragonfly, was it perhaps also possible for the hideous spider to change into something more beautiful as well?

"Let's hope this is my rebirth," she said to herself as she stepped outside to inspect the webs that kept the guild defended.

End of Chapter 15