Tbh I might think about another Forest Beauty chapter, that story is actually so good but who knows
Are there any other one-shots you'd like to see a sequel for?
Lucy decided on a whim to leave the grounds of her family's estate after a terrifyingly long study session her father insisted she take part in. Of course, she'd been given lessons on top of it, but he wanted his daughter to exude the brilliance and class the Heartfilia name was synonymous with. She was tired with the endless day-to-day regime he imposed, taking it upon herself to enjoy the outdoors once in a while. The garden lilies were especially lovely this time of year, Lucy gazing upon them as she had many years ago with her mother. She became lost in thought, eyes glued to the foliage she walked amongst, not noticing the boundary she crossed that lead her further into the forest. Spetto has warned her how easy it was to get lost if you weren't watching your path, especially so at night. Lucy didn't seem to notice until the brightness of the flowers against the bushes was lost, pulling herself from a stream of childhood memories to realize she was lost.
"Mou... I should have been more careful." She huffed, pounding her hands into the thickness of her skirt, at least glad she could soak up more refreshing air. The scenery all looked the same, trees blocking the view of the moon so that she was left with near to no lighting. She turned on her heels and decided to walk backward, unknowingly leading her deeper into the woods.
The chill of the wind started to worry her, Lucy pulling closer the shawl she had been smart to bring. She hoped to be able to see the lights of her home, though the thickness of the forest didn't allow for much. She squeaked at any occurring rustling, only so far as to come across a bunny or squirrel looking for their own home that night.
"Just how dense are these woods?" She shivered, hoping the servants would notice her long absence and think to form a search party.
She continued to wander, stories her mother told her long ago coming to light. Tales of the fierce fire demon, E.N.D, who had been known to travel through these very woods when he was returning to his home in the underworld. He could wield the fires of hell itself and embody the soul of a feral dragon. Lucy quaked and would hide under a blanket as her mother continued, his home on the other side of the Magnolia Mountains where a straight shot to Tartaros it was.
"I-I-Is he going to get me...?" The young girl would sniffle to her mother, the older woman laughing and shaking her head.
"Now Lucy, just because he's a powerful demon, doesn't mean he can't be nice, hmm? He may be your friend in the future, you never know," These words always had a way of calming her down, Layla never going farther as to say maybe he wasn't such a bad guy. Lucy always thought her mother knew more than she let on, but she was struck with a sudden illness that took her away too quickly, her daughter never getting the answers to questions she would soon wish to know.
But magic and demons, there was no way these things actually existed.
The blonde sighed as she found a dirt path to walk on, trusting that she was headed in the new right direction; only joy coming from her shoes that did not sink quickly into the soft soil of the grass. She knew her skirt was gathering dirt and once she returned home, her father would have an immense fit, not bothering to care if Lucy had been lost in the woods for near two hours. The moon was full on this path, knowing that she would be home soon if she did not veer on too many forks.
"Well, well..." A voice hidden in the darkness of the trees startled the young lady, Lucy gripping closer to herself as she whipped her head around, no one in sight.
"We've got a real good catch!" Another snickered, her eyes glaring to see anyone but still failing.
"W-Who goes there?" She asked carefully, feet stopping in their place, a hand snaking its way around her shoulders. The blonde yelped, turning to see a man with strange blue hair, his smile sickly and cornered by wrinkles. He stood almost a head or two above her, Lucy stepping away as he held a hand out for a greeting.
"I am Bora of Prominence," He grinned as she refused to take his hand. "You seem lost miss, are you not?"
"I-I am..." Lucy nodded softly, her ears twitching at sounds of surrounding movement.
"Then please allow my men and I to escort you home, we cannot let a lady as beautiful as yourself come into harm's way, now can we?" Her heart dropped at the sight of so many bandit-looking men emerge from the woods, too many eyes for her to meet. A deep sense of dread began to form, scaring her into submission for she knew her kicks would only get her so far. And not very with this practical ballgown weighing her down.
"I think I can manage on my own," She tried to say, Bora, shaking his head and leading her further down the road, her back blocked by the band of his men.
"Please tell us your name, so we can help you find your estate," He insisted, arm snaking around her waist, eyes glued to the tops of her breasts. "I'm sure your family is quite worried, and you look rather famished."
"Lucy of Heartfilia," Her voice was meek, nervous sweating began as his lips curled upwards, a squeeze of her close to him and they stopped as quickly as they had started walking.
"Boys..." He grinned as Lucy cried out, quickly yanking ropes around her, tightly binding her arms to her side, a bandana between her lips, tossing her to the ground in the middle of their circle. Bora stepped forward and knelt down to her level, eyes excited to see her struggling.
"You'll fetch a good price on the market, Miss. Lucy. I'm delighted to think this meeting was meant to be," He smirked, Lucy, grimacing as his fingers threaded through the waves of her blonde locks.
"Let's get her back to the camp. I want her in my tent, to check the lady for quality. That of course before I let you all have a run at her. It's not every day we get our hands on such a pure woman." He licked his lips before standing up, his men roaring with laughter as she was heaved onto a shoulder, all curious and clamoring, trying to get a good look at her. She held back her tears as they drew her into the woods, pleading with her mind for something, anyone to save her before they took her away.
Her eyes shut tight as they tossed her into the boss' tent, Lucy kicking herself upright, quaking as Bora soon walked in.
"A prize indeed," He sighed as he unbuttoned his shirt, Lucy turning away as the fabric pooled at his feet. He flipped a knife free from his side, walking to sever the knot that kept her tied, rope falling around her. He was quick to push its blade against her neck, peering to see her frightened eyes.
"It'd be in your best interest as to not try and fight back," He whispered harshly. "Otherwise I'll have to hurt you more than I intend."
Lucy held a whimper as his hands molded around her lithe form, feeling her up, trailing from her skirt to her waist to below her breasts, eager to lay his claim upon the over spilling décolletage he had been waiting to sink his teeth into. He brushed her hair away from one side of her neck, lips hovering ever so slightly above them. Short pants escaped her lips as he pulled away, moving to sit on his cot, he motioned for the girl to follow, legs on the verge of giving out as she stood.
"Please undress, I'm quite tired from my journey," He said lazily, tossing the knife in his hand as she felt her stomach drop. Shaky fingers pulled at her bodice laces, tears daring to spill from the corners of her eyes. The dress pooled at her ankles, followed by a more cloth-than-rod hoop skirt that bunched onto the floor. He offered her a hand, maiden stepping free of her clothing, clad in a thin, white, and long chemise as her final defense. He was beyond crude, taking the knife to slice upward from the bottom of her undergarments, shreds falling to the dirt. She quickly moved her hands to act as protection from him receiving a full sight of her bare places.
"Boss! We have a problem!" One henchman heaved as he quickly to rush in, interrupting Bora just before he could instruct the girl to reveal herself.
"The hell is it that the lot of you can't handle?" He grumbled angrily as he was torn away from the girl and summoned outside, Lucy shuddering as the tears she held back came rushing forward. Falling to her knees, shivering in her naked form, too panicked to find a solution to her problem as a scream from beyond the canvas instead caught her attention. Lucy stiffened as she gathered herself enough to listen intently, rapid hoofbeats and shouts rattled around her, crackling fire louder than any fireplace or pit should have been.
The blonde flinched, eyes wide and still wet as the opening to the tent flipped open, a blue cat padding his way inside. He seemed happy to find the girl, eyes lighting up before he rushed back outside.
"Natsu! I found her!" Lucy's eyes bulged as he spoke, though he walking on two legs was stranger than anything else. The man in question soon rushed into the tent as well, cautious blush on his cheeks and eyes full of relief.
"Good job, little buddy!" Natsu grinned to his friend before taking off his strange tunic, Lucy immediately backing away with a vigorous shake of her head.
"No...don't come near me!" She shouted at the two, avoiding the boy as he knelt to her side.
"Please don't be afraid, we're here to help! Happy over-here saw you get dragged off, now c'mon! We gotta go!" He insisted as he pulled her into the article of clothing, tugging Lucy along with fumbling feet as they ran. Eyes wide as she saw the bandit group running for either cover or water, a roaring fire consuming almost half the camp, few somehow knocked out cold and laying in the grass as they passed them.
"You're not going anywhere with her!" Bora called out, raising a sword as he beckoned other men to follow his lead.
"I'll take care of these guys! You get her back into the woods, Happy!" The boy traded hands with the blue cat as he sprouted wings, pulling Lucy back behind the cover of the trees.
"But...but he doesn't have a weapon...!" She called out, unable to grasp everything as the oddities continued to fall in front of her, eyes glued forward to the now flying kitten.
"Natsu's got his fists! Don't worry!" He grinned and continued to lead her into a separate clearing, the sound of battle and fire seemingly distant if not for the flames appearing above the treetops telling them how far they had gone.
"T-Thank you," Were the only words she was able to muster as she dropped to her knees, tears once again flowing as her adrenaline collapsed, flinching as a boom resonated through the woods and whooshed past the two in a whirl of wind.
"Don't cry..." He frowned, pulling a tissue from the green pack on his back, rubbing Lucy's with his small paw as he handed the thin paper to her. She blew into the offering, Happy giving her more as she sobbed uncontrollably. Lucy hiccuped and pulled the odd best closer to herself, startled as the bushes ahead of them began to rustle, surprised to see the pink haired boy from before without so much as a scratch on him.
"You two alright? No one followed you, did they, Happy?" He rolled his shoulder as the small kitten shook his head, the shirtless stranger crouching down in front of her. "I hope we weren't too late, you're not hurt, are you?"
"I-I'm okay," She sniffled, shivering at the memory of lecherous eyes on her exposed body. "That man...he almost…"
Lmao I've had this sitting in my drafts since new years and I didn't know what to do with it but it works a lot better if I make it a two-shot
I'm really all over the place so I don't want you to expect too much from me lmao I hope I'll be more focused next year!
Tho I haven't forgotten Tainted and Memory Days, they need a bit more direction tho bc I started them years ago and kind of went with a misguided flow so I hope to realign them soon
Tainted for me has always been difficult since I felt like I was misusing Lucy's personality and overexplaining her thoughts on Natsu and ugh I just need to remember where I'm going with it bc I never intended to make it so long
Memory Days as well, I have the story plotted up to it's ending but my old style is really fruity and not as descriptive? So it's hard to continue when I feel like I've matured past the story line
Not that I'm not continuing them! It's just hard lmao
I hope you like these random updates tho, I'm having fun