Freed's Secret
A Fairy Tail Fanfiction
Disclaimer: If I owned these characters I would feature them more regularly in the manga and anime.
Prologue
Freed Justine had always dressed elegantly; the classic style suited his taste and complimented his ancient Rune magic and sword. But he had not always worn the long coat that covered his skin up to his hands, dyed red to obscure any blood that might seep through the fabric. His hair had not always hidden half his face. Exhausted, he stumbled into his room, relieved he hadn't run into anyone else from the Thunder Legion in his state. The last time one of his teammates had found him slipping through the guild hall looking like a punching bag, he had barely managed to convince him he had been in a fight defending Laxus's honor. His broken lips cracked into a grim smile. If only.
Freed unbuckled his belt and carefully laid his unused sword across the bed, wondering to himself why he had even brought it. Cleaning up took longer than he would have liked, and even the habitual movements were jerking uncertainly by the time he stepped out of the bathroom, skin scrubbed raw and numbed from the pain. He should have just gone to sleep, but if one of his friends had found him like that… Freed mechanically dropped a blanket over the now-dull communication lacryma on the desk, and stared wearily at the pile of bloodied towels heaped in the corner of the room. His body had had enough, he decided, laying back across the bed, too tired to move the sword. He would take care of the towels in the morning.