Nalu Week 2018 Day 4 Wicked prompt- AU story, part 1 (part 2 is the freedom prompt)

FYI, Natsu's description is similar to rendering of E.N.D. but that is not his character in this story.

He tracked his prey through the dense forests, she was quick he had to hand it to her, agile despite the thick brush she was traipsing through, but he was smarter, herding the young Fae where he wanted her to go. As a Draco, his senses were heightened with no comparison, the slightest sound made, even with fleet of foot, he could hear her exact location. He smelled the fear burning through the Fae's body and it only served to spur on his drive to make her his.

There was no need for him to engage just yet, and so he pushed her, driving her towards the magical entrapment he had set up. All she had to do was step foot in it and it would be game over. He smiled at the mere thought of what he planned to do with her. Kidnap her, toy with her, keep her as a slave or sell her. Fae's could fetch a nice jewel on the dark market, the more beautiful the catch the higher the price, and this young one was stunning. But it was the magic he sensed in her possession that had caught this warlocks eye, rare in their world, and one he might be able to make use of.

Strange that she wasn't utilizing her power, could she be too scared to think clearly, or maybe she had yet to master its control? Answers could wait for she was almost there, the grin creeps onto his face as he sends another small ball of flame opposite of where he wants her to go. Almost there… A scream and a flash of light. He's got her.

'Where am I?' She opens her eyes but all she can see is a shroud of darkness, tries to move but a heavy weight around her lifted arms meant one thing. 'Chains!' Panic mounts as she assesses the situation, bound by the wrist, unable to see no doubt from a blindfold. There was a hard surface beneath her feet so at least she wasn't suspended, the air around her was warm but no movement meant she was confined within a building or structure. Worst of all, she can feel her magic is being suppressed. Who or whatever had captured her knew better of the magic she had residing inside of her.

Footsteps approach, the Fae lifts her head and wings rustle the air, reaching out with her senses for the smallest hint of her captor, smell, sound, anything to give her clues, but all she should pick up was the scent of carbon.

"I see you're awake." She freezes at the sound of an unknown male voice. Was he toying with her? The Fae expected to hear someone gruff, maybe anger, or even malice behind it, and yet this voice was calm, almost soothing, and… young. Impossible, it must be a ruse to make her feel more compliant. She lowers her head again, clenching her jaw tight. "Answer me or not, it doesn't matter but I will tell you this, I have no plans to kill you and while the underground market for those such as yourself could net me a nice jewel, I think I shall keep you for myself, provided that you behave of course." The steady rhythm of her pulse tells him she's at least listening. "Will you risk reaping my displeasure and be sold, or will you choose to comply? Keep in mind, I have no intentions of using you for a more carnal desire, your magic is mainly what interests me, but another master may not be so considerate." He grins when her breathing hitches. "I'll will come back in the morning with food and expect your answer then."

Once she was sure the man had left, the tears she had been holding back flow freely down her cheeks. Why did this have to happen, was she cursed? Her mother was supposedly kidnapped when she was 4 and her father used that as a warning of the dangers lurking outside of their compound. She never truly believed him about her mother's disappearance, and as she grew older and saw the kind of man he was, that belief was only bolstered, the warnings just a means to keep his control over her. No, she had decided, nothing could be worse than submitting to what her father expected of her and so she ran.

Maybe, he'd been right all along?

She stretches her back and arms before curling them against the pillow to block the light filtering through her eyelids. Wait, her eyes pop open, her arms were free now? Sitting up, the bed she finds herself in is nothing like the one at home, but it was comfortable. Looking around at her surroundings, the room is semi-barren save for a few furnishings, and one window with bars on them to prevent escape. The walls are odd, she reaches out to touch it, rock, 'solid rock?'

"Finally," the door opens and the man steps inside holding a tray, "you must have been tired from your forest romp last night." He places the tray of food on the bed beside her. Standing back to lean against the wall with his arms crossed, "have you made your decision?"

The Fae looks at the food, then back to the man. It was becoming quite frustrating when again her assumptions were proving wrong for she'd expected a brute, someone clearly evil enough to kidnap and yet, he couldn't be much older than she was and frankly why'd he have to be good looking? Two thin, black pointed horns grew out of the mass of pink hair on his head and he sported a toned, muscular physique. She could see red scales travelling the length of his arms from the back of his hands to his elbows, and from the tops of his feet to his thighs. Was he a demon?

"Who are you?"

"Will you comply, or shall I take you to the auction?"

Can she believe what he said last night? She looks around the room again realizing he could have left her chained and yet here she was free. Should she take the chance with a different master? Calculating her options. "I will comply."

"Wise decision," he grins, "and for that I will answer your question, I am a Draco, Natsu Dragneel. Now, what is your name?"

"L-Lucy Heartfillia."

"Tell me, Lucy, why was a young Fae like you travelling alone in the forest, that is unusual for your kind?" She looks away, why should he need to know such information? He saunters over and lifts her chin holding it in place, but her eyes will not meet his. "Did you run away from home, is that why you won't respond?" Still she refuses to answer him. "Hmm, maybe you won't submit to me after all, in that case I will take you to the…"

"Yes," though her voice was gritted, "I ran away from my father."

"And why would you do that, I'm sure he at least protected you…"

"He wanted to force me into an arranged marriage," straightening her composure, "and I refused to acquiesce!"

Natsu laughs, "so instead you end up in another captive situation," letting her go, "well, while I do plan to take advantage of your magic, I won't force you into any physical acts with me."

"Physical acts?"

"So naïve," more laughter, "sex Lucy, do you know what that is?" Her face grows bright red and she quickly turns away. "I take that as a yes."

Later that evening, Natsu brings dinner to her room, placing it on the bed next to her before sitting on the chair with his own meal. "Tell me," he asks between munching, "I sense you can summon spirits and yet you did not use any magic to defend yourself with, why is that?"

"I…" she stops eating, moisture pricking at her corners, "I inherited it from my mother, but I think, she did not live long enough to teach me how to use it."

"You think?" he puts down his drumstick, "you don't know what happened to her?"

"My father said she had been kidnapped when I was little, but I don't know if what he told me was true…" Natsu stares intently as she talks, curious, and yet something about the emotions swirling around her… "…because he never have allowed her to leave the compound, so how could she have been kidnapped? I-I think he may done something to her."

"Considering you also ran away, he sounds like a bastard."

Lucy blinks, eyes narrowing at this man's response. True, that was exactly what she thought of her father, but how was he any different? This Draco had kidnapped her! He was just as much a bastard as her father, and yet, why did she somehow feel they were in fact very different from each other? That's ridiculous, she wipes the notion from her mind, they might be different in the acts they committed but both were still heinous in nature.

"He can be," she finally concurs, "most of the time all he cared about was money and power. Right now, I'm sure he is looking for me, not because he cares but simply because he needed me to solidify an agreement with another rival village."

"You're talking about that arranged marriage?"

She nods, "and if it's true, he will do what he can to get me back."

"Tch, I don't give up my prizes so easily. Plus, there is no way some Fae could fight against me."

"He would hire bounty hunters…"

"Let him try," Natsu crosses his arms and smirks, with a glint in his eyes, is it passion, pride? "I don't mind a good fight now and then." Lucy's face colors slightly, this man may be her captor and yet, why did it make her feel good that he was willing to fight to keep her? "Getting back to your magic, so if I want you to use your magic, first you'll need to learn how to use it." He slouches back against the chair, "but I don't know enough about spirit wielding," staring at the ceiling in contemplation, "which means I'll need to find someone to teach you how to use it for there to be any benefit for me."

While Lucy quietly finishes her meal, watching him from her peripheral as he works it out in his head.

"I'm sure I can find someone else that has the same magic as you," looking at her cautiously, "and if I tell you to keep our arrangement secret you will simply agree to keep yourself alive, then stab me in the back as soon as you have an opportunity," tapping his chin, "Well, I'll need to think about it, so in the meantime I'll have you serve other purposes around here."

He stands up and grabs her wrist, pulls a bracelet out from his robes and places it on her. "What's this for?" she holds it up, turning it for inspection.

"There is a powerful barrier surrounding this place, this bracelet will not allow you to leave it. It will also suppress your magic so that you cannot practice while I am not present.

Lucy scowls a little, "at least it's not ugly."

"You'll be allowed out of this room during the day, you will cook, clean, and do whatever other tasks I give you for the time being. Understood?"

"Yes."

Natsu leaves Lucy after breakfast one morning to see a fellow Draco who may have a solution to his problem. Sting Eucliffe was a wizard he'd done missions with who happened to be mated to a spirit wielder and while Natsu wasn't always fond of the guy, it was at least someone he could trust.

"What brings you to my place pyro?"

"I caught a Fae Spirit summoner, problem is she never learned how to use her magic. I was thinking maybe Yukino could teach her."

"So, you came to borrow my girlfriend?"

"Basically, yeah."

"And what do I get out of it?" He leans in, "Is she hot?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Hmm," reclining back in his chair, "I take it the answer's yes. You thinking of keeping her to use or something, that's not your usual behavior."

"Tch, if she's strong then yeah, she could come in handy."

"Fine, I'll bring Yukino by tomorrow to meet this chick, but it's up to her if she decides to help you out."

"Fair enough," Natsu stands to leave, "then I'll see you tomorrow."

It was safe to say that once Sting's girlfriend met Lucy she would agree to teach her about Spirit magic. The two girls had similar origins, Yukino being a Sprite or the wingless version of a Fae which according to legend had begun with twin girls born, one with wings and one without. Though Natsu worried she would coax Lucy into standing up to him later, it was something he'd deal with if and when that happened.

He left them to chat in Lucy's room while he traded drinks with Sting in the living quarters.

"Are you sure you're not keeping this one because of how she looks rather than her abilities?"

"So, what if I said yes, does that matter to you?" Sting only raises an eyebrow. "The answer is both, I want her for her magic and how she looks happens to be a plus." Natsu leans back and takes a swig of his drink. "She was running anyway from her father and even though she's a prisoner here, from what she's told me it's sure as hell a better situation than getting hauled back to that guy."

"Why'd she run?"

"He wanted to force her into an arranged marriage, just so he could grow his territory. Pretty dick of him if you ask me."

"According to Yukino it's pretty common in the Fae and Sprite societies upper ranks. She didn't have to worry because her family were nothing more than peasant class." They hear laughter echoing from the girls. "Sounds like she's already started sharing information, guess you got lucky."

"Tch, I knew those two would get along. Works out for me no matter what cause if she stays compliant I'll keep her around, if she doesn't, her being able to use her magic ups the asking price."

"You're such a prick sometimes Dragneel."

"I haven't survived all these years just by my looks, Eucliffe."

"Oh, get over yourself, I'd bet a moonstone you'll fall in love with her. It's about time you settled down."

"Coming from the Draco who held mass orgies once upon a time."

"Exactly, and if I can settle down with one chick, so can you."

"You know damn well it doesn't work like that in our world, she has to choose me too, I can't just take her as a mate."

"Ah, so you have thought about it!"

"Shut up!"

"What are you guys talking about?" The boys whip their heads around at the sound of Yukino's voice. "Sting why are you asking Natsu about mates?"