Encounters [Enola/Open]

"A festival?" Gil grumbled as he looked at a board just outside of a bar. He had ventured into Magnolia on a whim but had no idea that the town was prone to throwing festivals. "I haven't been to festival in quite some time. It's as if they're throwing it in my honor." The man couldn't help but give a slight smile at the thought. He had a habit of twisting things around to make them about...himself. "I suppose if I'll be attending this festival I won't have any need of going to this filthy place." With that he walked away from the bar that had previously just barely met his insanely high standards.

The festival wasn't to be held till later in the day which left the blonde man lost as to what to do. He was mildly irritable already because he hadn't had a sip of alcohol yet, and the boredom was only causing him to be more unbearable than he usually was. The constant stream of ordinary people just wandering about the streets, not paying him the slightest bit of attention fueled his agitation. Slicking his blonde hair back, successfully covering the crimson mark of Tartarus on the back of his neck, Gil spun on his heel. "I command you peasants to entertain me!" He simply commanded, his voice carrying down the street causing a few people to pause in their mundane lives to look at the crimson eyed man. He seemed to not care that so many were looking at him, if anything it seemed as if he was relishing in the attention.

Enola Gay, her smile as bright as usual, practically skipped through Magnolia Town. She was absolutely thrilled for the coming festival. If it was anything like the newspaper indicated, it would be filled with beautiful lights, beautiful food, and beautiful people! Everything would be so grand indeed.

A camera hung around her neck – she was certain her guild members would want to see her trip to the festival. Granted, none of them were quite enthusiastic enough to come with her in the first place, but Enola was certain they’d come next time if she showed them a few photos of the fun they were missing. That is, if she still had film left in the camera by the time the festival started. Enola had become rather trigger happy on the train ride to Magnolia Town, taking pictures of every interesting thing the train passed (and she considered large rocks as “interesting”).

A drunk in an alley threw up.

Snap! Enola took a picture of it.

A one foot poodle ran past her.

Snap! She took a picture of it.

A bird flew over the street.

Snap! A picture was taken of that as well. Sure, the sun caused the picture to flare, but Enola seemed to be ignorant of it. She certainly wasn’t an expert photographer.

Then, something truly caught her attention: a gold-haired man marched out of a bar and ordered the “peasants” to entertain him. He did it was such a voice that many of the street's occupants had no choice but to take notice.

Peasants? He must be royalty!

Enola beamed at the gold-haired man. Royalty was the only thing that made sense: his perfect hair, the manner in which he carried himself, and the way he ordered those beneath him. Certainly, he couldn’t be anything but royalty! Enola’s face quickly went from sunny to confused – where was his maid/butler? If a nobleman needed to be entertained, it was up to the maid/butler to do so! At least, that was what Enola had been taught.

Poor guy. His maid or butler must be awful! Ugh, and what kind of servant lets his or her master go into such a dreadful bar!?

She simply could not let this tragedy go on any further. Someone had to entertain the man! She hobbled over to the gold-haired man, her wide grin slapped back on her face.

“Sir! Sir! Can I get a picture!” She held up the camera, aiming it right at his face.

For a moment it seemed as if no one dared to move. "What idiots. They can't even follow a simple command." The thought seemed more annoyed then angry, which was good for all of the civilians around them. Annoyance was bad but anger was worse when it came to Gil, after all he was known to become rather violent when angered. Before Gil could bark out another command or begin to insult all of the onlookers, someone had stepped up to the task.

Crimson eyes blinked once, then twice as they gazed at the girl who had placed herself in front of him. The first thing he noticed was the camera which was directly aimed right at his face. This was the first time someone had ever asked for a picture of him. To most it would have been flattering but to Gil, it was something that simply stroked his ego. The second thing he noticed was the woman's smile and her attire. "A housemaid, I used to have a few." He hid the surprise at the woman's appearance easily. The woman was only perhaps a head shorter than himself looked every inch of a servant. He was sure that to some the woman might have been considered pretty but to him she had a certain look to her that he could only relate to that of a servant. It was hard to impress someone as Narcissistic as Gil.

"I suppose I'll allow it." Gil managed to grumble out but made no move to smile or pose. He would not make a fool out of himself for something as simple as a picture. "My very presence in the photo is enough." The vain thought seemed to justify his blank crimson stare and straight regal face. He slipped his hands into the fur lined pockets of his jacket as a sudden thought struck the man. "Might as well have some fun with her." He couldn't help but let a devious smirk pass his lips, shiny white animal like canines glinting in the sun. By now the citizens of Magnolia went on their merry ways now that the blonde man had found something to entertain him. "Tell me, why are you wondering about here? Did you lose your master?" His tone was almost mocking as he leaned in towards the woman who was currently worthy of his attention.

"I suppose I'll allow it."

Enola certainly took that phrase to heart. A crescendo of flashes erupted from the camera, the button being pressed with great rapidity. With each flash, Enola grabbed the resulting photo that slipped out of the camera’s chamber and crudely placed it in the pocket of her uniform, next to the rest of her photos.

Flash! Flash! Flash!

The amateur photographer scurried around the gold-haired man, taking snapshots from every angle. One of the side of his head, one of shoulders, even one of his shoes. Enola seemed to sizzle with excitement when a (sinister) grin appeared on his face – flash! That one was definitely a keeper.

“My master?” She lowered her camera in thought, the man leaning in for her answer. Zuo Cii was her master, though not in the sense that she was his maid.

Like a naive lamb being stalked by a cunning wolf, Enola did not sense the mockery in the gold-haired man’s voice as she answered the question as faithfully as she could. "Na, I didn’t lose him. He’s in Hargeon Town.” She rubbed the side of her chin and added, “Come to think of it, I don’t think Master Cii ever leaves that place. Actually, that's why I'm here! I’m taking pictures of the festival for him and the fellows back in Hargeon Town. See?"

Enola completely released her camera, allowing it to slump around her neck as she excitedly produced a mass of pictures from her pockets. She maneuvered them in her fingers, making sure each was facing the "nobleman." Of course, many of them had been taken during the train ride to Magnolia town, which left a blurring effect on many of them. There were also all the flares and rogue dust particles that attacked the lens (speaking of which, one of the photos had been taken with the lens still on!). Evidently, she wasn't aware of what a quality photo looked like.

She lowered her photos when a certain question popped into her head. “Wait… What are you doing here? Where are your servants?”

Crimson eyes blinked shut as the first of many flashes hit him. "So many pictures!" It was a surprise to Gil. It was a welcomed surprise that further inflated his ego, "It's only natural that someone would want to take so many pictures of me." When the woman stopped Gil felt almost disappointed but relived. The flashes were rather irritating.

"In Hargeon town?" A perfect brow raised itself, that wasn't to far from Magnolia but what had truly surprised him was the name in which the woman said. "Master Cii?" The man repeated aloud thought it wasn't necessarily a question. The name had sounded familiar to the golden haired man. Especially when put together with Hargeon Town. "Sounds familiar." His crimson gaze flickered down to the photo's that she eagerly held out. "These pictures are....Horrible!" Gil hid the shock with ease. Most of the photo's seemed random and blurry to Gil causing him to pray that his own pictures came out slightly better than the one's he was being shown.

Thankfully Gil did not have to look at the photo's much longer as the woman lowered them. "Why am I here?" Gil frowned for a moment in thought, "For entertainment I suppose. Though, so far this place has hardly been what I would call entertaining." Gil sighed at the other question she had asked. "Currently it's just one servant." Gil corrected the woman before continuing, "Lamya? She's doing a job of sorts right now so I don't have the faintest idea as to where she ran off to." It wasn't a lie at least. Gil had no idea where Lamya had gone and was almost relieved that she wasn't there at the moment. While the red haired girl was his first servant, she was a bit of a handful. "If only she would stop calling me her brother. We're not related." The thought alone caused Gil to frown, if not for the 'brother' matter Lamya was a perfect servant.

Enola couldn’t help but to chuckle on the inside as the man mentioned familiarity with Master Cii’s name.  It came as no surprise that his name was recognizable to many in Fiore – he was, after all, guild master to Lamia Scale. However, it had just clicked in the maid’s mind that she was acquainted with a famous person, if not an outright celebrity.

The woman’s gloved hands gently placed the photos back into her side pocket, snuggly positioned so they wouldn’t crumple.

“Just one servant?” From the crimson-eyed man’s demeanor, Enola had figured him to possess a myriad of servants, at least a few bodyguards. Perhaps he is just a minor nobleman? Evidently, his only servant had neglected to inform her master where she was going off to – a travesty that Enola could not comprehend a maid doing.

Her eyes dazzled through her thick glasses as she cleared her voice and offered him assistance in his moment of boredom, “If you’re seeking entertainment, the festival this evening should be just what you’re looking for!” The thought of reaching out and tugging on the man’s arm as a gesture follow crossed her mind, but she concluded it would’ve been improper to touch a nobleman, albeit a minor one.

“If you’ll allow me to, sir, I’ll accompany you to where it’s supposed to be held.” She stepped to the side of the man and waved her arm outward in a respectful manner, signaling him to take the lead “After all, it wouldn’t be proper for someone like you to be traveling alone.” She raised her head back up and retracted her arms, clasping them together in front of her low abdomen as if wholly innocent. It was perhaps the least threatening stance she could muster.

A series of fireworks went off in the distance – the pre-festival fireworks that went off every hour. They were large and loud enough that they could practically be seen from any position in Magnolia Town.

Gil's eyes narrowed as the woman commented on his single servant. Gil himself preferred to have a plethora of servants but that wasn't the case at the moment. Good servants were hard to come by these days, and the people of Fiore didn't seem so willing to serve him yet. Not to mention Gil was an incredibly picky master, whom liked to surround himself with strong and beautiful things. "I used to have others." Gil quickly interjected wanting to maintain a good image and willing to twist the truth around to do so, "I had many servants but I dismissed them as they were not satisfactory." It was sort of true if it was the other way around.

The festival had nearly slipped his mind after encountering the glasses-wearing woman. "Ah I can finally have some alcohol." Gil was incredibly close to becoming an alcoholic but liquor often put him in a more docile mood. Unfortunately, drinking was a two sided coin to Gil. While he enjoyed having a glass of wine, if he had to much of any liquor he went from a prideful lion to a purring kitten in the blink of an eye. Which is why he generally avoided getting too intoxicated.

A perfect brow raised itself in surprise as the woman asked to accompany him. He soon grinned, almost amused but content. "Finally! Someone who knows how to treat me like how I should be treated!" This woman was nearly as good as Lamya, even the non-threatening stance was the image of a perfect servant to Gil. "You're completely right. You must be very pleasing to your master." Gil took the lead looking up at the fireworks for a brief moment. "So tell me." It was a command, "What's your name? Why did you come to this town? Was it just for the festival?" He had the curiosity of a cat and he figured he might as well try to learn as much about the woman as he could. Perhaps, he'd find her later.

Enola scolded herself in the back of her mind, embarrassed that she’d assumed the man was just a minor nobleman. He clearly had high expectations if he were willing to let go of all his servants, at least that’s what Enola believed. She had never actually seen a servant fired from his or her position out of poor ability, so it was her belief that the man had high quite the high status. He could be a duke or maybe even a king for all she knew! Of course, that would only mean all her years of etiquette training were all the more important in this situation.

Then came the compliment: “You must be very pleasing to your master.” It was almost enough to embarrass the woman, who viewed it as verbal gold. Though, in all truth, she wasn’t quite sure what the guild master thought of her. Given her status as guild member, she could only assume he at least enjoyed her presence.

The man took the lead, clearly accustomed to the role of a leader, and Enola followed.

“My name? Oh! How rude of me! I am Miss Enola Gay and I…” She blinked in her pause, attempting to condense her answer, “…Yeah, I just wanted to see what a festival looked like. I’ve never gone to one before.” Enola almost frowned at the realization, resenting the lack of luster in her life. Her childhood idea of fun had always been playing in the sand or dirt, occasionally climbing a palm tree. Her mother was a maid like herself, meaning she was never quite able to find the time to take Enola outside of Liscio Cove.

Enola sheepishly chuckled, “But enough about me! I’m just a maid, or a wizard and maid I suppose…” She had to close her mouth for a few short seconds in fear that she’d go on rambling like usual. “What about yourself? There aren’t very many nobleman who’d come to Magnolia Town, Mister...”

The man listened to her noting her name for future reference. What really got his attention was what the woman claimed to be. A wizard maid? He hadn't noticed her obvious magic talent before but now that she mentioned it Gil could sense the magic resonating from her. To be a mage but also a maid at the same time was something that Gil could not quite comprehend. To him mages were above the common people. Which meant that there would be no reason for a mage to be a maid but the more he thought about it, the more he seemed to like the idea. "What a splendid servant she would make." The dark thought brought a smirk of sorts across his face. He had never had a wizard maid before. They surely must have been better maids than non-magical one's. "Well, Festivals are amusing I suppose." Gil had only attended a few and that was simply to drink the sake that was often associated with the festivals, so he wasn't to familiar with what else they had.

"Mr. Vessalius." He responded in a cool tone. He'd rather not go around telling every person he met his whole name. Gil was certain that if he did it would come back to haunt him at some point. He especially would not be telling other mages, who's affiliation he did not know, his whole name let alone his agenda and just what guild he was affiliated with himself. He was unsure on the current position of which Tartarus was in so he often withheld from saying the guilds name to others. The blonde man fixed his color making sure it covered the tattoo on the back of his neck before replying to Enola. "I simply stopped here while on my back from a business trip. I decided to stick around to see one of the supposedly great festivals that Magnolia hosts." He shrugged as they walked along. It wasn't a complete lie at least. He had been returning from a job of sorts when he decided to make a stop in Magnolia for a well-needed drink, only to find out a festival was being held.

Enola’s mind played with the idea of what kind of business trip Mr. Vessalius had attended. Perhaps he had brokered a deal with a series of tycoons. Maybe he’d bought out a dying business. The possibilities were like fuel to her imagination. When she was just little girl, she’d been allowed to witness the many the business dealings among the Pisa family and it was rarely a dull moment at these times. Once, a young man looking for a loan had agreed to pay back the family entirely in gold bricks since apparently Francois Pisa desired to build a mini fort out of gold bars. He later did build his mini fort though it would later be destroyed by the onslaught of the Pisa children who promptly threw the gold bars into the ocean. Fun times.

As they neared the center of town, the two passed by a booth in which a game could be played(no doubt the owner of the stand was taking advantage of the festival). The top of the booth had a magnificent sign at the top that read, “Fairy Tail Wizardry.” At the counter of the booth was a set of rings and at the opposite end were several red pegs. The rules were nailed to the side of the booth and said that the object of the game was to take the rings (symbolizing spells) and throw them onto the pegs (symbolizing Tartarus guild members).

The man operating the booth grumbled at Enola and Mr. Vessalius, “Hey! You two! Why not take a crack at ‘Fairy Tail Wizardry’? You get to be a member of the most prestigious Fairy Tail guild and vanquish the evil Tartarus!” He smiled and laughed only to finish, “That will be three jewels each of course.”

Enola stopped and stared at the booth. “Oh, Mr. Vessalius, look! A game! Let’s play, can we?” She brightened with childlike wonder, more thrilled to play a carnival game than any normal adult.

Only when the man operating the booth spoke up did Gil finally take notice of the booth. He would have walked right past it, such trivial things never really gaining his attention. Still as the man explained the game and Gil realized what everything was supposed to represent he couldn't help but frown. He was mildly annoyed after all he was a member of Tartarus, a somewhat unwilling one, but he could not be associated with a guild that was made fun of in such a manner. On the other hand he couldn't help but be somewhat amused at the whole thing, simply because no one knew how ironic this game was to him. "I suppose it is okay to have fun every once in a while." Gil shifted the collar of his shirt once more making sure that the mark upon the back of his neck was still hidden, it would be no fun if his identity were to be revealed. "I've always wanted to be a Fairy Tail wizard and take down Tartarus anyways." Now that got him smiling as he pulled out some money from his pocket, much more than what was required to play but the man at the booth didn't complain.

Taking the rings that the man slid to the pair, Gil at this point was amused. "How ironic a Tartarus member, a dark mage such as myself playing such a silly game." He mused as he took aim. At least his mood seemed almost pleasant which was lucky considering how badly the whole thing could have gone down if he was in his usual foul mood. "Best of luck Enola!" He called out as he tossed the first ring, the object landing on the peg almost perfectly. All he had to do now was win the game, because losing wasn't exactly an option for him. Only the gods knew what would happen if Gil had somehow actually managed to lose such a silly game.

The fact that Mr. Vessalius had given such a large quantity of jewels to the man operating the booth seemed to only reinforce the idea that he was a nobleman in Enola’s mind. Still, she couldn’t help but to chuckle on the inside when he remarked his desire to be a Fairy Tail wizard. It was her view, after all, that being a nobleman was much more preferable to being a wizard; at least that’s what her personal experience had told her. Then again, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of the Fairy Tail guild. She’d never met a member of the guild before but had certainly heard of their valor. A similar statement could be said for her about Tartarus: she’d never met a member of the Tartarus guild (or so she believed) but had heard of their ferocity. “Monsters and murders,” her father used to tell her, “A rough bunch you don’t want to get involved with.”

Enola watched has Mr. Vessalius’ ring landed perfectly around the peg, as if he’d mastered his hand-eye-coordination. The corners of her moth twitched with excitement when he wished her luck. Truly, the faintest positive statement from a supposed nobleman was enough to make her smile.

Her head nodded, “Best of luck to you as well!”

She plucked her own set of rings with a gloved hand and faced the set of pegs parallel to Mr. Vessalius’ set. Three rings and three pegs. She tossed the first ring and it landed around the intended peg, though not quite as perfectly as Mr. Vessalius’ ring had landed. Then went the second ring; success!

She aimed her third ring but hesitated when the thought occurred to her: What am I doing!? I mustn’t emasculate the man! She thought back to the times her own mother purposely lost to the master of the house in games of chess just to please him. Enola tossed her third and last ring, purposely aiming it to far to the left, and missed.

Enola shrugged, “Oh, darn! Two out of three isn’t so bad I suppose,” as a halfhearted laugh escaped her.

She watched and prayed desperately that that the last two of his rings landed on the pegs.