Embers of the Heart
By: FandomDeluxe
Chapter 1: Lucy (Revised)
The sweet smell of Magnolia's famous cherry pastries pierced the summer night's breeze as it wafted through the open window in Lucy's bedroom. The dazzling lights from the festival danced across her ceiling as she peeped out from beneath her cozy down comforter. Despite her aches and nausea, she proceeded to prop herself up to her knees, rested her arms flat on the windowsill, and pressed a feverish cheek to her beloved guildmark. In doing so, she could cast her gaze out over the crowds of cheering people that gathered below. She knew that she couldn't see the trees from where she sat, but took solace in the knowledge that she could at least watch the parade.
Without warning, the crowd erupted with gasps of admiration, shock and wonder. Lucy's eyes grew wide with astonishment, for drifting around the bend of the canal, and slowly into view, Lucy recognized the the large Rainbow Sakura Tree from the center of town was making its way to her doorstep. The large flotsam slowed steadily, sloshing to a halt right in front of her house. The murmurs of the crowd gave way to a moment of silence in the streets as everyone was confused at the tree's presence on Strawberry Lane. However, the silence lasted for only a moment, soon after replaced by a tumultuous uproar of joviality from the delighted masses.
Great tears welled in her eyes at the beauty of what she was witnessing. As she basked in the glow of the beautiful and majestic leaves, her focus shifted to the rosy-haired idiot leaning nonchalantly against the roots of the tree. Natsu was staring intently at Lucy's window. As their eyes met, his expression melted away into a wide and toothy grin accompanied by a blush that matched the hair that crested his brow. With dirt smeared across his cheek, he opened his mouth to call out to her and at that moment she woke up.
Her eyes fluttered open and she turned her head to inspect the vacant space in her bed, the space that so many times had been filled by a delightfully warm and cozy person. She slid her hand across the sheets, shivering at how cold they felt. It had been a full year and then some since Natsu and Happy left, and so much has transpired. In a sleepy daze, she glanced around her seemingly unfamiliar room. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up leaning against the headboard of her bed. It all came flooding back to her. Her eyes fell to the writing desk on the wall to her left. Her notebook lay there, brimming with notes, interviews, and leads. Lucy slipped out from under the covers squealing slightly as her feet met the cold stone floor of her apartment. Sliding them into a pair of warm fluffy slippers, she shuffled towards the desk. As she picked up the notebook, one tattered old note, read a thousand times, drowned in a thousand tears, slid out onto the face of the desk.
"I'll be back in a year or so," the note read.
The messy handwriting was etched into her mind's eye. Shaking her head with a sigh, she tried to knock loose the obvious sadness she was allowing herself to slump into. She slid the notebook into her messenger bag and without another thought, bounded quickly into the bathroom to draw a morning bath. As she slid into the steamy water, her mind at once played over the events from the last year. This was becoming a daily occurrence as of late.
She recalled the day she found the note. How the blood pounded through her head, as she ran, breathless, through the streets of the city, trying in desperation, to reach the boys before they left.
"I can go with them"
"I can beg them to stay"
As she rounded the last corner and their cottage came into view, it was already too late. They'd already gone. Bursting through the front door, screaming his name, the messy cottage, still messy, was deserted. Devoid of all life and warmth that had once inhabited it. Lucy walked inside, tears streaming down her face. She stooped low, almost tumbling over. Firstly because of the blurred vision from her tears, and secondly from the fact that there was no clear path through the cottage. When she caught herself, she found herself face to face countless pages of crumpled paper. Amongst the other trash lying everywhere, she almost paid it no mind. That was until she caught a glimpse of her name. Written in the unmistakable Natsu handwriting, but somehow not. It seemed, more neat. She reached slowly, taking the paper up in a shaky hand, pulling at the corners to open it up she brought her hand to her lips, desperately trying to hold back the imminent sobs. They were drafts? Drafts of the note to Lucy, loads of them, scattered everywhere on the floor. The handwriting in each was so legible. She began to read:
Luce,
I don't know how to tell you this, but I have to go away for awhile. I wish I could take you where i'm going, but I have to do this aloneā¦
And then, as if in frustration the ink scribbled all over the page. The more of them she opened, the more she realized that he didn't want to leave her. There was something he wanted to tell her that he couldn't. She followed the trail of paper strewn about the room until she reached his desk.
On it was only one crumpled piece, the last one. The one that, Lucy supposed, that he wrote moments before scribbling down the one she left on the floor of her own apartment. Lucy also took notice that the edges of the page were singed. Natsu must have felt something intense at this moment. It had only one line written:
I love you
AIR, Lucy needed air. She burst out the door of the cottage, the burnt note clutched in her hand. She got to the end of the path, to the sign that said "Natsu & Happy's" and collapsed against it. She slumped to her knees. Through the hitches in her sobs she whispered,
"Don't go."
That was the day she lost it all. Her best friend, her guild, her celestial spirit Aquarius. And then, finally, her hope too. For weeks afterward she couldn't even leave her bed, let alone her apartment. With the guild gone, there was no way to make the money for rent. Even worse than that, all of her friends left Magnolia, disappearing and going their own ways. It was, as Lucy had predicted, so lonely.
So when Jason came to town to cover the disbandment of the guild, he came to see Lucy for an interview. Afterward, they got to chatting and she proceeded to tell him that she didn't know what her future would entail. Needless to say she was taken back, and flattered, when he offered her a modeling job with Sorcerer Weekly. Glancing over at the rent notices piled on her desk she readily leapt at the opportunity.
She was even more surprised when he later asked her if she would be interested in making modeling a full time gig. She was not interested. She did, however, mention that she was a writer and asked if she could submit some sample articles. That was how she got the journalist job at Sorcerer Weekly, and ended up moving to Crocus. Before leaving Magnolia, and with some of the new income she had come into, Lucy left a groundskeeper to care for Natsu's cottage. She felt that he might return there.
If he ever returned at all.
She shook herself. Why would she think that? Of course he was coming back. He wouldn't just leave her forever. This was Natsu. She understood Natsu's reasons. This was something he needed to do. But she wouldn't let him down while he was gone. She slipped out of the tub and wrapped a towel about her chest. As she walked toward the kitchen for her morning tea, she stopped to stare at the long wall on the right side of her bedroom. It was a vast collage of clippings and articles from all over Fiore. She released a sigh as she thought how dissatisfied Natsu would be when he found out that Fairy Tail was no more, and that everyone, including her, had gone their own way. She had done her best to keep track of everyone, but it certainly wasn't easy.
The silvery bells of the Cathedral next door shattered her from her thoughts.
"Ayahh, I'm late!" She shouted as she rushed to get dressed.
It was the last day of the Grand Magic Games. Jason and Lucy were granted exclusive access as the games' special invited commentators and she was not about to miss what was sure to be an intense match. The bustle of Crocus' streets was tremendous. Especially considering that almost everyone in the whole city was headed to the Grand Arena for the final match. Lucy arrived just as things were about to begin, earning a solemn glare from Jason. He burst out laughing and shouted
"Lucy, you made it, that's SOOOO COOOOOOOOOL!"
She couldn't help but crack a small smile. She had a good feeling about today.
