Fake Keys

The bell rings as the front door opens. You peak your head out from the backroom to see who's entered. You don't see anyone, so you go back to taking inventory. After a few minutes, you hear some glass break and a woman cursing under her breath. You roll your eyes as you head back out to assess the damage.

"I'm so sorry," the woman says, as she tries to pick up the pieces to what was once a decorative vase.

"Don't worry about it," you assure her as you quickly broom it up. "It was just a cheap, gimmick vase that just magically replenished its water so you wouldn't have to pay attention to your flowers. I have too many of them."

"Oh, alright," she gives an embarrassed laugh but you can tell she's relieved.

Having swept up the glass, you stand up and actually get a look at the woman. She seems so familiar. Like you've met her somewhere before. She brushes one of her bangs out of the way, revealing a pink tattoo on her hand, which you recognized. So she's a Fairy Tail mage, you contemplate, but surely she's more than just that. She was an extremely pretty blonde with an alluring body in an outfit that certainly complimented her voluptuous form. She wore a tube top that was cut short, showing off her narrow, toned midriff. Really, her top was more a glorified bra, hugging and holding up her massive breasts, and even had a blue heart in the middle as if to accent her cleavage. She also sported a short blue vest and matching detached, billowing sleeves. A whip and a set of golden keys rested on a white belt which was followed by the tightest miniskirt you'd ever seen a mage wear hugging her wide hips. She exuded a perfect blend of cute and sexy.

Wait a minute...keys- you realize. She's a celestial mage!

"Hold up, you're Lucy Heartfilia of Fairy Tail aren't you!" you exclaim.

"That's me," she beams.

"This is so exciting, I'd never expect such a renowned mage would be checking out my little shop," you laud. Lucy clearly relishes the praise. "You're a celestial mage right?"

"Sure am!"

"Well, I just so happen to have recently come into possession of a celestial key," you explain. "But, I don't know how to use it, so I don't even know what kind of celestial spirit or beast it'll summon."

"-And you'd want me to test it out?" She cuts in, seeing where you were going.

"If you don't mind."

Lucy doesn't even hesitate to agree. "I don't mind at all, in fact, maybe you could give me a bit of a discount for it, for being your guinea pig and all."

You give a face like you're considering her preposition, trying to cover up the fact that there will be no need for any sort of payment if the key does what its supposed to do.

"Maybe," you tell her, "how about we discuss that after the test run."

"Oh, I'm sure we can strike a deal," she gives you a flirtatious wink.

Even though you're fully aware she's doing it just for a discount, you can't help but blush. You excuse yourself and retreat to the backroom and pull down from the shelf a small storage box. You open it up to reveal its filled with about several dozen golden, decorative keys, all with a label tied to each. Roughly half of the labels read: 'trap' and the other half: 'capture', as so you would not confuse them.

You take one of the trap keys and tear off the label before putting the box back in its place. You know this is a gamble, these keys are powerful but they aren't foolproof. You are aware how fragile they are and that if they break, their enchantment would be undone. Not to mention that those with strong enough wills could outright reject the enchantment. And it's hard not to assume anyone from Fairy Tail could do that, let alone a trained Celestial mage like Lucy.

If I can just keep her guard down and she's taken by surprise, that'll be enough, you think to yourself.....I hope.

You head back out to the main room.

"Wow-yeah, that is a celestial key," Lucy confirms as she sees what you bring her.

You try your best to suppress any signs of nervousness as you hand it over to her. You were hoping she'd try activating it right away, but instead she looks it over, checking out the details on it. You feel like you'll break out in a sweat.

What if she figures out it's fake? No way she'd even know these kinds of keys exist, right?

Lucy twirls it in her hands, "-and you say you don't know what kind of spirit is attached to this?"

"Not a clue," you answer, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

Lucy looks it over one more time before shrugging.

"Well, I guess there's only one way to find out."

She smiles at you confidently, enjoying this moment to show off.

"Alright, come on out!" she shouts as she sticks the key into the air. "Open: Celestial Gate!"

In a flash, Lucy vanishes before either of you could even react and the key drops to the ground. A bit underwhelming, to be honest. But at least everything went smoothly. You walk over and pick up the key.

Time for her big reveal.