I had such a hard time writing this chapter, I just had no idea how I wanted to start off this story. It's pretty short, I expect the next chapters to be much longer, this is more so for back story purposes. I really hope you like it. Feedback is Greatly Appreciated!
I don't own Fairy Tail. All rights reserved to Hiro Mashima.
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Nothing in Lucy Hearfilia's life had ever felt comparable to the excruciating twinge her lungs were currently experiencing. Shuddering in her chest, begging for a sliver of relief. The soles of her feet were raw, split and bloody. No doubt leaving a trail of unforgiving red in her wake. Never had she run so far, the reaper lapping seductively at her heels. The comfort of the towns protective stone walls growing farther with every step, leaving her hopelessly lost in the rather daunting forest crowning the edge of the county. Not that finding her barrings would be worth anything if she couldn't outrun the overly persistent officers shredding apart her shadow. The ferocious sound of metal horse shoe's connecting with the rocky earth eating away at the quiet of the evening. The chances of slipping away from trained men on horseback were less than slim, but she couldn't bring herself to stop pressing her heels against the dirt. The thought of rotting away, hidden under the cold earth was grotesque, to say the least. Death being a frosted window she couldn't peer through, she could only distinguish terror at the uncertainty. Her energy was growing as thin as the forest around her, a murky clearing fast approaching. Panic began to bubble through her chest as she watched the shrubbery dissipate. Her cover in the branches would be lost, they would spot her instantly, thus ending their little game of cat and mouse. The last nail of her coffin, scorching down from the heavens. She supposed she should be grateful that she got as much time as she did, it was only a matter of time until fate would have caught up with her. Only she had hoped for a little longer. Hoping to eventually earn a life worth living, something beyond the aged brick of ally ways and cheaply rented rooms.
The clearing was vast, shades of green mixed with the unusual appearance of sakura trees. It would have been rather breathtaking if she had any oxygen left donate. She glanced over her shoulder, watching as the officers began streaming through the tree's and into the void space. Lucy screeched and reared forward, sprinting with the last ounce of her strength. They were fast, encroaching on her like a swarm of starving vultures to prey. Howling with pleasure at the sight of their feast. The unmistakable whip of an arrow snaked by her head, leaving a gash embedded into her left cheek. She whimpered at the sting, swallowing the cry that crept up her throat. Another thwak emits from the taut string of a bow, metal connecting with the flesh of her calf. A piercing shock pulses through her skin, causing her to plummet towards the rocky earth. Her wrist emitting a sickening crack with the ground. She wailed pathetically, pulling her shambled body into more of a sitting position, trying to hold herself together. Her eyes darting towards her leg, assessing the damage. It hadn't pierced through the front of her shin, arrowhead lost somewhere between muscle and bone. Using her good hand she tore the serrated metal from her skin with a revolting squelching sound that split through the vast emptiness. She cried in desperation, holding her injuries as the foul men approached. Five heavily ironclad officers surrounded her, the moonlight glinting off their numerous badges. Their faces all masked by the royal guards signature helmets. Silver and engraved with the crowns unique seal. The man she assumed to be the captain dismounted his horse first, removing his helmet to reveal a shaggily cut mop of brown hair. His eyes a shade of hideous green that matched the rotting mirth of his teeth. His cracked lips curling into a cruel smirk that succeeded in flipping her stomach. He crouched low, his gaze matching hers before trailing over her figure.
"I believe you owe us some compensation for all the trouble you've caused little Miss." His voice was shrill and dripped with freezing intrigue. "The King has all kinds of folk out searching for you, even after all these years. Really makes a man wonder what makes you so special?" He leaned closer, folding his fingers around the delicate edge of her chin. "A nameless woman with hair that could rival that of real gold. Reminds me a lot of our dearly departed princess." He continued, eyes in a focused search for any reaction she could sprout at his pointed words. "I always found it fascinating that her execution wasn't public like that of her worthless mothers. After all the King's ravings about purging the enchanted blood from the royal line, one might think he would have paraded her corpse as a trophy to pair with his Queen's." Lucy could feel the beat of her heart thrumming against her ribcage, rage at the blatant disrespect for her Mother clouding her judgment. She pulled her lips back in a half-hearted sneer before spitting into his face.
"Queen Layla was the best ruler this kingdom has ever throned, and all of you were so entertained by your sick sense of ethnocentrism you failed to see just how much she truly loved her people." She drawled, keeping the disgusted expression plastered across her features.
His smirk twisted into a gloating rage, eyes sharp in a glare. He reached a leather gloved hand forward, grasping a thick handful of her golden locks. Lucy wailed as he pulled her forward with a cackle, her face stopping mere inches from his groin. Her bloody leg dragging across the rocks heavily. The other men began to liven up, sick laughter and snide comments filling her ears. She tried to squirm out of his grasp but he overpowered her easily, his laughter building with every shift, growing into hysteria.
"I suppose spitfire is a good name for you." He leered, tightening his grip around the dirty strands of her hair. "Not many can say they've had their way with a princess, what a lucky day indeed." Another man approached from the side, shooting his heavily booted foot forward to strike the side of her stomach. The air in her lungs slipped past her lips forcefully. She tried to regain her composure but the man wasted no time in continuing his assault, straining forward to tear the remains of her gown away, leaving only her structured slip.
"Oh captain, I hope you plan on sharing." The second man leered, excited eye's bouncing around his skull as he took her figure in. He shoved his gloved fingers between her lips, prying her mouth open as the captain began to unclasp the metal fastening of his uniformed bottoms. Lucy clenched her eyes shut, holding back the bile swarming her throat. This is not how she pictured going out, violated and broken. Hot tears stung the pale skin of her cheek. She tried to clear her mind, focusing on anything but the reality that was about to be forced upon her. The greedy fingers that tore at the skin of her cheek twitched and without a moments thought Lucy bit down with all the force she could muster.
"You bitch!" The man squealed like a lost child, flinging her head back as he forcibly removed her fingers. She peeled her eyelids back, only to be met with a metal clad knee connecting with her vision. Only the gods would ever understand how comforting the blackness that melted over her was.
The world she awoke too was nothing like the world she had closed her eyes on. The earth twisted and warped by demanding flames. The once beautiful clearing masked by a thick layer of black smoke, eating away at the sky. All the stars hiding in terror behind the blackness of the galaxy. She couldn't move, frozen in time. Her vision a compilation of stop-motion images. The air around her twisting violently out of lungs reach. There was no pain and despite the conjuring of hell around her, she felt almost content. Letting the earth swallow her. Her head lulled to the side, taking in the remains of the ashy coffin around her. A shadowed figure obstructing her view of the scorched sakura tree's. Movement's fluid as he approached her, kneeling at her side. A deep navy cloak washed over his shoulders, a lazily folded hood capped over his collar bones. Her eyes trailed over him, trying to distinguish if he was real or a figment of her dishevelled mind. Lucy had never seen something put together so carefully, so beautifully. His skin was a deep tan that matched nothing of the town's folk she was usually surrounded by. It melted over the sharp features of his face, dripping gracefully under his overly defined jaw. A wash of pink atop his head, blending with the blossoms of the tree line. And god, the most mesmerizing onyx eyes captured her soul, gleaming against the firelight. Eyes that could only be that of an angel, for no human soul would ever be deserving of them. Her fingers shot up, grasping the face above her, a disturbing gasp tearing from her chest. Surely the lack of oxygen was meddling with her mind, but she tried to ignore the thought. Focusing only on the man that was now clumsily stringing her against his chest. His perfectly sculpted lips were moving slowly, whispering against her cheek. She couldn't make out any words, but it was comforting none the less.
"An angel...?" She felt her lips mumble. She truly must be dead, a god sent from the heavens to retrieve her. His chest shuddered underneath her amusingly. Was he laughing her? Her mind working tirelessly to find an explanation for what was tumbling around her. Surely he couldn't be real. No real human had ever been graced by the stars in such a way. She couldn't concentrate, the heaving of her chest far too distracting, as it continued to beg for air. His arms were rigged yet gentle against her frame, holding her securely as he pushed forward through the raging sea of red and orange. His movements were hard to distinguish through her dazed state but she was almost certain the flames were parting for him, leaving an ash-glazed path for them to pass through. She shifted in his arms slightly, causing the man to tense against her. She rested her head against the hard planes of his chest, an uncomfortable pounding working its way to the front of her skull. She let her eyes fawn upwards, trying to concentrate on the focused expression the man was wearing above her. Black was seeping into the sides of her vision and despite her best efforts it was becoming extremely difficult to make out the delicate features of his face. She hummed out an exhale of disappointment eyes shifting upwards, not wanting to retreat into a sleeping state. His neck moved rigidly, sparing a glance down towards her, noting that she seemed too pre-occupied with the sky over his head. And she was, mesmerized by the flames cascading out behind him. Figurative wings blistering against his back. An angel of death carrying her off into the shadows of the night. There was no fear looming through her, her mind simply astonished by the wonderous view before it faded into nothing.
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