Author's Note: I wrote this with a lot of consultation with Desna, not only because I was using her characters, but because I wanted a decent ending and representation of Archangel Magic, which she wrote. She owns the Pradesh boys, White Sea, Rowan, etc. I own Hestor Kedanza, Lily...and the twisted story. Fairy Tail belongs to Mashima.
This is a Mature Story, which has a few mature themes. you've been warned.
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Lucy slowly pulled herself up and over a ledge. She'd gone on this long trip because she needed power. She would damn well get power, enough to put Natsu into his place, enough to make Erza back down, enough that no one would ever fucking call her weak again. She panted as she let herself rest. She'd followed an old, ancient map that lead to this temple she was looking now in relief; truthfully, she hadn't thought the Temple of the Heavens existed, thought it was just a myth, but she'd been willing to chase children's stories after she'd fucking helped defeat Acnologia, somehow rewritten the book of END...and then watched as Natsu and the dragon slayers had taken all the glory. All of it! And people knew she did a lot of shit during those fights! No, though, Little Old Holder Mage, Little old Lucky Lucy The Light of Fairy Tail, The Fucking Friend of the stars damned Celestial King? No, no recognition. She was done. She was so fucking done and she was going to take power, if she had to hunt down ever key she could, use the old archaic duels to do it? She'd do it.
Then the map had fallen across her lap in a market in Seven...and that lead her to scaling mountains looking for a temple and not having bathed in two weeks. She was done. She was ready to fucking be done…
She drug herself up to her feet, not caring that she was dirty, covered in bruises and cuts and looking half dead. She strode as best she could into the temple and looked around. It was lit, despite...being covered in dust. "HELLO!? I heard Celestial Mages can get power here!"
There was a low hum and she snapped her head around, seeing a dark haired woman slowly stepping out of shadows. Lucy could feel the Celestial power just curling off her and her eyes went wide as it took all her resolve to not actually take a step back.
"You wish power?" The female spirit slowly tilted her head and grinned, "The ultimate celestial power?"
"Yes! I'm so fucking sick of being steam rolled! of being overlooked! I can't take it anymore! I want power to show them all that I am strong!" Lucy didn't register the manic edge to her voice.
The woman slowly strode forward and grabbed Lucy's face, holding her and looking at her for a moment, "need for power, that's good." the dark eyes danced with almost dark glee. "I will give you the power you want...in an exchange."
"Exchange how?" Lucy was breathing heavy and it felt like her mind was starting to fuzz over.
"I'll give you the power to do what you want, you'll still be able to summon your spirits, but as...partners, not contracts...you want them like family, yes? I can make them exactly like family for you, no need for contracts, you just call them..." The woman's lips curled as Lucy nodded, "there's only one catch."
"...what's that?"
"You'll have to get a mate when I'm done with you."
"Mate? Like a dragon slayer's mate?" brown eyes danced, almost with joy, "Someone that's there for you? Perfect for you? Loves you? No matter what?"
"Yes. exactly that...and I have the perfect person in mind."
"Deal." Between the thought of a boost of power to keep Natsu and her team in place, summoning spirits without binding them into contracts...and then Love? A wonderful, perfect, storybook love? She didn't think twice.
Lucy didn't register anything as power just tore through her body and made her black out, but she swore she heard a murmured 'this will get that thing away from the morning star'.
~)~))~)~
Kaleb chuckled faintly as he looked at Beck, "Rowan is doing what?"
"Well, you see, Hes decided that...he would take a bet from Rowan.." The beastmaster grinned, "and he lost, so...he's dealing with whatever punishment game Rowan has in store for him right now."
"What was the bet?" The guildmaster was chuckling because normally their Celestial mage wasn't one to jump into a bet that he knew he wouldn't, or couldn't, win.
"That he could grow a flower," Beck smirked, he'd seen the knowing glint in the guildmaster's eyes that he had a clue about what might be going on, but not the story behind it, "so...you know Hes…"
Kaleb snorted and shook his head, "So...I'm going to guess the flower…"
"Oh, spectacularly, apparently it needed watered only at certain times...and he was cooking dinner at one of those and forgot while Rowan was there," Beck smirked, "apparently it went from a very nice pink bloom to a shriveled mess in no time flat….or Rowan could have pushed it along, no telling." He shrugged, "But yeah."
Kaleb shook his head, "never take a plant based bet with a green mage." The laughter was cut short as something rocked the guild and the wards flashed, letting them all know something was wrong.
~)~)~)~)~
Rowan truly didn't know what happened. One moment he was thoroughly enjoying having the celestial mage under his toys and the next he was in chains on the ground and his friend was essentially being raped. The flare of magic, the hiss of words made his eyes go wide and he shook his head as he registered black wings flaring out of the woman's back. Oh, hell was he pissed now...if what he saw was right? This was one magical compulsion that...the laws of Bosco didn't have a clause about , but...it was still very much, very obviously Rape because she had not been invited to the session and both active participants within the session before had been restrained and events outside what they planned to happen...happened.
When the blonde and his friend passed out, the bonds he was in disappeared and he hissed as he stood, moving quickly to get the man away from the odd woman. He'd seen many a heavenly mage try this with his own guildmaster's brother, but he wasn't aware there were any females of the sort out there...or that it could go the other way, where the heavenly type mage was the one at the archangel's mercy.
He couldn't do much about it, but he would do what he could to his friend, which included bathing the man, typical aftercare...because the passed out woman that had been going further into breathplay than he'd ever gone with the silver haired man had left bruises. Yes, he may have skewed and fucked with the bet he had with Hestor on purpose, but it was all in good fun, for both of them in the end...and a bit of a favor to the guildmaster because Hestor was downright tense, testy and being more of an ass than normal for a reason that they couldn't figure out.
He heard the door to his apartment open and knew Kaleb was coming, but he had other priorities at this moment and he refused to slack on it.
"Rowan?!"
"Bathroom!" He carefully eased the unconscious male into the water and started to carefully clean him, checking the bruises that were there and his lips were drawn into a thin line. That little blonde had dug her nails into more than his neck; his arms, stomach, chest...hell, he could see where one of the times she'd bitten him had broken the skin. He didn't know who she was, but he was livid. No one got to do that to the silver haired mage...except him...and only with permission from Kaleb.
"What the hell happened, Rowan?!" Kaleb came into the bedroom and stared at the bed, eyes narrowing at the woman there and the black wings that hadn't receded. He stalked towards the bathroom and stood there for a moment, taking in the out cold mage.
Rowan's lips were drawn in a thin line, "I had him almost...right there, where he finally lets go of all that damn stress." he sighed as he washed the silver hair, "then...chains and...yeah…" he shook his head, just mentally showing it to the mindbender and looking helpless, "maybe if she'd appeared in ten minutes...well, you'd have been there, maybe able to actually stop her."
~~))~)~)~)
Waking in Chains was not something Lucy had expected. She felt...better, more powerful than she had ever but she was confused. Really confused, what was going on. The spirit said that...she'd give her the perfect person for her...everything was fairly blank after that point though and her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out what was going on.
"Awake?"
Lucy looked up and her eyes went wide as she looked at the man before her. Her eyes trailed over the tanned skin, the dark hair, the beautiful dark eyes and she was suddenly afraid. She felt...someone's emotions, a torn person, who was angry and sad at the same time, but this man made something in her sing, something in her soul and she frowned. This...wasn't right.
"Where...am I?"
The man pursed his lips as he watched her, "you really...have no clue?"
Lucy shook her head as she shifted, "no. I remember climbing to a temple…" She trailed off, "they said a person could get power there...I assumed training...or…" she trailed off, words failing her and she frowned, the next words coming, "or just a powerboost because I'm so sick of being looked down on and..a spirit…" her features furrowed, "Cassiopeia. That's who it was...I don't know how I know, but...that's who it was."
The man let out a low growl, filled with anger and hate and she pulled back as much as she could. His lips were curled back in a sneer, "That spirit. Of course she'd do something like this."
"...like what? What...happened. She said...she'd give me power and a mate...and...I'd be happy."
His eyes narrowed on her, "I don't know about the last one, but the first two, you got those. If you accepted her deal...then you did do something against someone else's will."
"What? No, she said it...no...she said mate...I asked...if it was like a dragon slayer's mate..." Lucy felt tears filling her eyes. What had she done? No, the spirit said…
The man looked at her, lips drawn in a thin line as he stood there, "you may be a victim of the spirit in this...but you took that deal. Right now? I've got a brother and his very upset celestial mage promised trying to figure out where they're going to go from here because of the events set into motion by your deal."
"What? Promised…" she searched her memories for a moment, "...i'm...in Bosco...but...I couldn't have had...unless…"
"Or the magic was so new you didn't know how to deal with the compulsion that came with it," He stared at her for a long moment, "you were used, I hate to say it, but she used you for some reason."
"am...I going to stay locked up?" Lucy looked at him, biting her lower lip.
The man let out a sigh, "no, you've got to face what you did, even if you didn't mean to."
Lucy could almost feel...a wariness and disappointment from the massive man and nodded, "...okay."
~)~))~)~)~
The blonde slowly walked into the room behind the large man, lips drawn into a thin line as she tried to figure out what was going on. She took a deep breath and then blinked as she saw a couple curled up on the couch together.
"um...Hi?" She gave them both a shy smile and then flinched at the harsh look from the smaller one and the distrustful look from the larger man, "Uh…" she felt...anger and sadness at the same time that was almost staggering.
"Hi?" The smaller, silver haired man looked absolutely torn, voice sharp with emotions of anger and an underlying depression, "is that all you have to say?" he took a breath and shook his head burying his face in the larger man's neck.
"You'll...have to excuse him, he's emotional right now," The larger man kissed the top of the silver locked head, he glanced towards the one that had lead her in, "Zen?"
Zen made a face as he sat down in a chair obviously constructed to hold up to the weight of either of the massive men in the room with her, "...Cassiopeia."
The large blond let out a faint sigh, "we should...explain what happened, since you don't know and are probably very confused."
Lucy frowned a bit but carefully sat down, "but..how…"
"My name is Kaleb Pradesh, Miss Heartfilia, I'm a mindbender mage, while my brother was talking to you, he was able to mentally relay everything you said," The blond man just looked at her, hand still going up and down the smaller male's back, soothing him as he shook, "a spirit has used you, why...we don't exactly know yet, but for some reason, she decided to do what she did you…."
The male hissed, though it was a pained voice, "Then she dropped you off magic high while I was in the middle of a relaxation session where you raped and claimed me against my will as your mate."
Lucy took a sharp breath, "I...never meant to do anything like that." She looked at her hands in her lap, "I just...was so sick of being run over, not listened to...doing so much and then everyone else taking credit for it…" she stared at her hands, "no matter what I did...because I'm a Celestial Mage…"
The silver haired man looked at her, "...you didn't get all the details from her?"
"I…" she shrugged, "I didn't think there were more details than were passed on," she let out a faint sigh, "I got desperate...and I'll...I mean we can fix this somehow right?"
"Stop!" the man took a shuddering breath and then curled into Kaleb again, "stop feeling all those things, please. I can feel it and…"
Lucy frowned a bit as she sat there, she could feel the turmoil in him and she bit her lip, "I...I...I can't, I'm sorry and I'm scared and I'm lost!"
"Try to stay calm, please," Kaleb spoke, then kissed the silver hair again, "He...deals with depression on a daily basis, whatever you are feeling is just...making it worse."
Lucy frowned and looked at her hands again, "I...how do I do that? I can't just stop feeling…"
The man took a breath and mumbled, "Kaleb, put me to sleep, please?"
Kaleb nodded and let his lips rest against the other's temple for a moment before she felt him just drift off. The mindbender looked at her, "now...I can't...do anything with what you did, but he is my promised. There are no Boscan laws that deal with archangels and mating, but even without that...what you did was Rape, you may not have been aware, but it was. Our Laws are very firm on that. I'm not counting this as anything against him… and he's not reporting it. yet. We have to figure out how this is going to work."
Lucy blinked, looking between the two and opening and shutting her mouth before she spoke, tone soft, "But...she said he would be perfect for me...and only me…"
"You trusted her?" Zen spoke, watching the blonde as his lips thinned, "you should know to never take what a spirit says at face value a lot of times."
"I...my spirits don't flat out lie to me, they don't say everything sometimes and...I mean, they're mischievous from time to time..but…" she shrugged, "they don't lie or twist things. I can normally guess about what they're saying if they don't say it all."
"You're an evening star...I'm going to say this, you're going to face some very, very hard truths," Zen stood and then moved to get himself a drink, "both from within and from without."
"What do you mean?" Lucy turned, watching Zen, "I really don't understand."
"I can't lie, people around me can't lie." He gave her a firm look, "and now you possess that. You can't lie. People can't lie to you."
"What about-"
"Even a half truth is a lie that you will know, but you'll be incapable of doing so," Zen said as he poured two glasses of stellan whiskey and then walked back, handing one to Kaleb, "it's now part of you, if you want it or not."
"Is there anyway to...get rid of this?"
Zen narrowed his eyes, "you already traded enough and did more than enough to get that power. You wanted it, now you live with it."
~)~))~)~
Lucy lay in bed, she couldn't sleep and she sighed as she rolled onto her side. The bed was comfortable, the entire home that she was welcomed into to, albeit reluctantly, was beautiful, but she just felt confused. She could feel emotions that weren't her own, but they mirrored the ones that she'd dealt with and pushed aside so much in her life. Feelings of not being good enough, of failing, of needing to push harder, get stronger, anger, a spiraling feeling of helplessness, heartbreak, all swirled in a self-depreciation that was more stifling than her own had ever been.
She could feel his power, how it was laced with something darker, but while she may have been reeling back a week ago, it didn't seem to bother her as much as she thought it should. She could feel...him and then what she assumed was something to do with his spirits and she felt like if her magic did that, gave off a dark feeling, she'd be..
If her magic had done that, she would have felt depressed and probably retreated into herself. She let out a soft sigh as she lay there then rolled onto her back again. She was fairly certain she'd have been run out of Fiore if she'd felt even a little like that. Things were really weird there, yes, her own actions had helped quite a few people turn around and made the darkness seem to go down to a low enough hum that most didn't sense it...or maybe it just wasn't...ingrained like this was. She wasn't sure, her confusion had her sitting up and she groaned as she swung her legs up and out of the bed. They'd found her keys, so maybe she could talk to someone about it.
She debated for a few moments before pulling out Lyra's key, music was always nice and helpful. She blinked when the spirit appeared and then smiled, "Hi, Lyra...could you..play me something soothing."
"No."
Lucy's eyes went wide, "wh...what?"
Lyra looked at Lucy for a moment and pursed her lips, "we're not...contracted to you anymore, Princess."
Lucy blinked as the spirit disappeared and then pulled another key out, summoning Loke and looking at Aries, frowning, "Aries…? Where is Loke?"
The Ram spirit stood there, shifting and biting her lip, "Brother is busy...Sorry…"
"That's...fine, Aries, I just...wanted someone to talk to...and...Lyra said..you're not contacted to me anymore?" The blonde pursed her lips, "what do she mean?"
Aries fidgeted for a moment and then took a breath, "Archangels can't have Celestial Contracts, Princess." she gave a faint smile, "you can...ask for our Help, but...we don't have to give it."
Lucy let out a low sound, putting a hand to her mouth, "what?" She couldn't even think for a few moments, even as Aries hugged her, "I...um...what...how…"
"That's part of the magic, Princess.." The ram gave a small smile, "I'll be going now."
Lucy sat there as the spirit disappeared and she looked at the keys in her hands. She'd...lost her friends. She took deep breaths as she tried to not panic. She needed held and she needed held right then, but there was no one. Her hands came up to her face as her keys dropped to the bed and she started to feel helpless. She'd been promised someone there for her, someone to help her, love her...she wanted that person. She wanted that person right there right now!
She let out a startled sound as there was the sound of a body falling on the bed behind her and turned. Her eyes went wide as she looked at the rousing mage, biting her lip, "I...I'm sorry, I don't know what happened…"
The man groaned as he lay there and took a breath, "Stop feeling so fucking sorry for yourself." his tone was weary though. She could feel his own emotions welling up in him and just knew that for some reason, their frayed emotions were bouncing back and forth against one another.
She started as the door slammed open and looked wide eyed at the door, "Sorry! I don't know what I did! I didn't mean to! I just..." she sighed, "I wanted to be held and soothed." she rubbed at her face, "I really didn't mean to...do whatever it was I did."
Kaleb watched the two for a moment and then pursed his lips before he slowly walked over. He sat on the edge of the bed, "you're going to start by going to one of the mental specialists we have here, just like Hestor does." His hand went out and he laid it on the other man's leg, gently squeezing it, "relax. I've got Cris coming with something."
Hestor nodded as he lay there, taking deep breaths and Lucy frowned, "he...he's panicking."
Kaleb nodded, "yes, he is and your emotions are bouncing against his through the bond you have and it's making it worse. That's why you need help."
"How..how are we going to figure out this bond between us?" Lucy bit her lip, feeling worse for how her own emotions were making the man feel.
Kaleb flinched and then watched as the other man wrenched himself away from them and then his eyes went wide, "Shit! Grab him!"
"Wha-what?!' Lucy blinked and saw what he had in his hand "no! Not that key! It's broken!"
She felt a strange almost manic delight for a split second before pain came and she was lunging trying to get the key back, "give it back! Now!"
There was a flash of silver light and she pulled back as a large man with raven hair and eyes that reminded her of the sky appeared, "Wh...what?!"
He wrestled with the silver haired man for a moment and Lucy could feel the frustration and anger rolling from the smaller of the two before she saw mist curl over the other's body and then heard a single murmured 'sleep' before Hestor slumped. "Shit, Kaleb, why didn't you tell us he was getting bad again?"
"..there was a...complication, Cris," Kaleb said, moving to gently pick Hestor up and off the floor.
The dark haired man, Cris, spoke, "What kind of complication? because...I just got in from a mission."
Kaleb glanced towards Lucy, "...an archangel problem. I'm sure you noticed the mark on his chest."
Cris shrugged, "I was a bit busy, what happened?"
Lucy watched as the lavender eyes lit up and she bit her lower lip, looking into her lap. "I..made a deal with a spirit...and did something very bad."
Cris stood there for a moment and then made a bit of a face as he ran his hand through his hair, "okay, great. Um…" he let out a breath, "...I'll give Thane his meds for during the day. He's been a lot better the last six months, so we were able to cut it down. We'll get him straightened out...both of you straightened out."
Kaleb nodded, "Thank you, Cris." he paused, "She...needs held, do you think you could…?" He tilted his head slightly.
Cris stood there for a moment and then nodded with a small smile, "Sure, hate seeing a person cry anyway."
~)~)~))~
"How's he doing?" Rowan carefully eased into Kaleb's office, looking towards the window and his lips were drawn in a thin line, seeing Hestor sleeping. It wasn't brunch and the man was out.
Kaleb made a face, "medicated more than ever...Lucy's...emotions are all over the place…" he took a breath and slowly let it out, "which...bounce to him…"
"And make him worse. I'd asked if you tried to buffer it, but…" Rowan shrugged, "knowing you, you have." He smiled faintly as he moved to lean against the wall next to the window, "his spirits can't do anything?"
Kaleb shook his head, "no, they've tried as well, Kek-t says...it's because of the mating bond. It goes deeper than they can shield from."
Rowan nodded, "how are you holding up?"
Kaleb sat there and looked at the redhead, "dealing, This...I always worried, because...I'm aging slower." he shook his head, "as terrible as it is…"
"He'll live longer," Rowan said softly, "I get it." he shook his head slightly, "but...let's get his head on straight again, huh?" He smiled faintly, "maybe we can just throw him in the lacrama for a few days?"
Kaleb gave Rowan a flat look, "really?"
The redhead shrugged and grinned, "Why not?"
~)~))~)~)~)~
"Kaleb Suraday Pradesh."
The voice over the com had everyone flinching, except the dozing man in the window. The mindbender cleared his throat, "Dad."
"You have not come to family dinner in Three weeks, I would like an explanation. Immediately."
Kaleb knew this was coming, he'd done his best to avoid this conversation, "hestor's not feeling well, not up to traveling, that's all."
"Has Cris.."
Kaleb pursed his lips, "it's complicated, Dad…"
"Explain."
"Someone...created a female archangel mage...and placed her, newly into her magic in a room with Hestor," Kaleb kept his voice even and calm, "she has emotional instabilities and...their mate bond is creating a feedback loop that is affecting his mental health."
There was a long pause as the Patriarch of the family digested what was said, "I see. At least try to make it soon."
"I will, Dad." Kaleb let out a sigh as he ended the call. At least he didn't actually ask too many questions, but knowing his Father? If one of his siblings that knew what was going on here was there...he'd find out very quickly what was going on.
"Well that was fucking pleasant," Vander pursed his lips, "I told you that you should have just gone and said he was sick."
"Shut up, Van."
~)~)~))~
The specialist had left Lucy raw in so many ways and crying a lot as she tried to get control of herself, to come to terms with what she was talking about, what she was dealing with and every time she tried to not let her darker feelings get to her...she suddenly felt them echoed through the bond she had with her mate that she started to come just a bit undone.
It had been two weeks and she'd started to feel resentment, very muted resentment and more helplessness than she knew how to deal with. She carefully eased into the guildtop suite and looked around. She could locate the silver haired male easily now and she took a breath as she walked to one of the doors, knocking lightly.
"What." The voice behind the door was tired, "what do you need?"
Lucy flinched and then took a breath, "I was just...um...wondering if we could talk?" she let out a startled squeak as she felt anger and the door opened wide, revealing an exhausted looking man, "I…"
"If you fucking say you're sorry one more time," He hissed as he looked down at her, though there wasn't any anger in the tone, it was a resignation, "what do you want?"
"I...want to try and figure out where we stand," Lucy said trying to be as calm as she could, knowing it would benefit them both.
"Figure out what?" He looked at her for a moment, hand absently going to the jewelry on his wrist, "you made a deal...and…" Both looked over as the door to the master bedroom opened and Lucy felt the edge around the other, that manic edge melt away a bit. "And we'll talk about this later. My promised and I...someone that loved me when I was unlovable and not as a way to get power, and I have a date. I need this time...try to not let your emotions get too out of hand."
She let out a faint sigh as he sidestepped her and moved to Kaleb, leaning against him a bit and felt the love he had for the other man.
Hestor's lips drew into a thin line as his eyes tiredly landed on her, "Do not think about doing anything that will ruin my date, Lucy." his voice was soft, but she felt the threat in it, "if you do, I swear, I will kill myself. Or attempt to before Kaleb has his brother there healing me."
"But…"
Kaleb spoke softly, "He can't lie around you...and he will. He's stubborn like that. I'd rather not that happen." he gently wrapped an arm around Hestor, "So please, try to stay calm tonight so we can go visit my Dad for a dinner out."
Lucy nodded and swallowed, "okay...I'll do what I can." she'd seen the man try to kill himself once, felt the urges a few times over her stay in Bosco...she really didn't doubt he'd do it, even if she knew he couldn't lie around her. The emotions that rolled through his mind were complex and feeling everything she always shoved aside being dealt with in someone else who just didn't smile much, who would curl his lips back when almost anyone actually tried to talk to him was...so different from what she was used to…she could almost tell when her guildmates had been dealing with something, but she'd never known the scope, not like this.
~)~))~
Lucy wanted to rage at someone, but at the same time, she felt tired. She was watching someone that she was told would be for her be in love with someone else. Her lips were drawn in a thin line and she did all she could to mute the bond she had, so it didn't affect the man she'd trapped. She did feel horrible, even if she'd not been aware of what she'd been doing, she'd taken away a choice from someone else. She truly had done something much worse than her overprotective and overbearing team had done to her.
She'd known she'd had issues, and a lot of them, but she was being shown them by a professional that deal with mages only and it was eye opening, especially when she'd sense that Hestor was in the same wing of the building. Lucy realized he was there three times a week and she could always, always feel his emotions spike wildly before seeming to settle down into a dull numbness, which was becoming more common, especially as she realized that he was sleeping a lot, though part of it was just medications.
She had her own and it was such a scary thing at first, but she'd asked questions, taken deep breaths as the Specialist had sat with her, calmly explaining what each medicine did. When she'd asked why they didn't have mind mages just...deal with the issues quicker...well that had been a conversation. Yes, a mind mage could take everything out, could ease the mind, but...at what point by doing that did much of the person remain?
Lucy respected that statement and that was when she realized that perhaps it was because the Magic Council used Mind mages to deal with 'issues' among the mages that the Fiorian mages were...a veritable mess. They tried to condition away actions, condition away things...She was sure Blue Pegasus was one of the few guilds that didn't do that, other than Fairy Tail...and the more she was in Bosco, the more she worked with the woman that was helping her get her head on straight, she realized...Fairy Tail was unhealthy. Even if she could go back, she...didn't want to. She missed her Pseudo-Family, and her friends, but seeing what the mentality of Fiore versus Bosco, or Stella, Iceberg and Bellum...she'd even been able to learn more about the world at large that her father had cut her off for in her private studies but here? Here she learned so much more about the world and realized how...segregated Fiore was. It also opened her eyes as to why Dark Mages started so much there: it was vulnerable.
"You're thinking too much."
Lucy didn't flinch at the tired tone, nor the muted emotions that came through the bond. Her lips drew into a thin line as she looked over her book at the silver haired mage, "...I do that."
"I'm aware, the dean said that it was normal for those with a drive, busy minds and all," He ran a hand down his face as he moved across the living room.
Lucy studied him for a moment, opened her mouth and then shut it before she looked back to the book in her lap. Her fingers played along the pages, "I...would you like my keys?...well not the broken one...but the others? Since I can't…" she choked, trying to push back the emotions that were still raw there.
Hestor stiffened a bit before he searched through the cupboards and found a tin, opening it and letting out a sigh of disappointment, "...stars dammit, Kaleb, really? You leave one?"
Lucy couldn't help but giggle at the emotions she was feeling from the man at that moment, "he does that...a lot?"
Steel blue eyes rolled, "all the damn time." the tone was fond though, "I, at least, have the decency to eat the whole thing."
Her lips curled into a small smile and she shook her head. "Can't you get them easy?"
"These are Stellan."
Lucy flinched, "ah, yeah, that'd do it. It's hell to get Stellan stuff in Fiore. Easier here though, right?"
Hestor nodded, "A bit, still difficult, but easier than most places because we share so much border land with them."
"I have...a question…"
He turned to look at her, taking the pasty out of the tin and waving said tin before he put it down. He didn't bother talking as he stared at her.
Lucy tilted her head, "...why do you...lock it all away?"
His nose curled and she felt his discomfort at the question. Anger, annoyance, sadness were easy for her to pick out, but as she watched, she felt some sort of shame coming from him. Hestor took a moment, eating the pastry, before he spoke, "you'll notice...I'm a tad shorter than...many people." his head tilted, "I'm...half Boscan...my mother is Stellan." He spoke firmly, "she's...I don't know...Five foot two...and that's being nice. I grew up...in a nice place, yes, but...kids tease about what they can. Parents, adults do not condone certain teasing, it's shameful...but being small? That's...one of those things that they could tease about...and you know how kids get."
Lucy nodded and thought back to her guild, nose scrunching a bit, "some adults too...they see you react to the teasing and...they just keep doing it."
"Exactly," Hestor shrugged as he looked for something to drink...that wasn't alcohol, though he kept looking towards the bottles to the side. "so...I learned to not react, to keep a mask of impassiveness up, then I found out that a sharp tongue keeps them from even opening up their mouths...for the most part." He smiled faintly. "It became my armor to the world."
Lucy pursed her lips, "but...how do you make friends then?"
Hestor slowly arched an eyebrow, "I...did not care for friends for the longest time. A few occasional lovers that could help me handle the stress I was under...but friends?" he shrugged, "very few...and only those that could deal with my tongue and mask….those, those people got let in. Those ones that find the humor in me hissing and spitting and believe it should be part of their lives."
"It must have been so…" She paused as she felt the ire from the man and then looked away. "I...did something similar after Mama died, but it was because I had no one, I was isolated." She looked down at her hands, "Father was...someone different, a monster of sorts who only cared about his business...then I ran away and…" she curled her nose a bit, "went to Fairy Tail, which...was a dream come true." she felt bittersweet now, knowing that all the abuse she went through at Fairy Tail was better than being alone, better than walking silent halls with no one around. "At least at the time it was."
Hestor watched her, feeling the different emotions, "allowing yourself to be abused like that is not healthy." he crossed his arms on his chest after he finished his glass of water. He looked at her for a long moment, "it also..allowed all of this to happen. You became finally fed up with the abuse and lashed out, looking for a way to fight things in the only way you'd seen: power."
"You don't…?" Lucy watched him, tilting her head as she felt annoyance from him, "I mean...uh…"
"I train, I push myself. I've never taken the easy route," Hestor snorted through his nose as he stood there, "there's power that you hone and then easy power." He gave her a firm look, "you took the second route...which is...where we are now." he sighed faintly as he ran a hand through his hair, "I get it, Fiore's..a stupid, repressed, ass backwards country that...neglects a lot of people, mages especially...but…" he shook his head, "I don't know...ignorance…"
Lucy flinched as she sat there, he wasn't speaking harshly, but she understood what he was saying, "there's Era's Library...but the average mage can't get in, Rune Knights mostly...and asking to look.." She shook her head slightly, "they…"
"Keep you all in the dark and untrained," Hestor said, watching her and seeing the look of realization come across her features and the feeling across the bond they shared, "Fiore doesn't care about Mages." that was harsh, but Lucy could see it, and she felt that he was telling the truth as he saw it, "Mages are there to...be scapegoats, errand boys and girls, they're hardly respected, are they?"
"Y…" Lucy frowned as the word she wanted to say wouldn't pass her lips before she shook her head, "not really." she let out a faint sigh, not liking this in the least bit. She took a breath, "...you didn't answer me about the keys."
Hestor looked at her, "I don't know that I'm even compatible with them."
"What?" Lucy blinked slowly as she sat there and then looked at him, her head tilting.
Hestor let out a groan, "Right...Fiore gives you nothing...we have the Academe. Where keys that I find or get or come through the hands of any mage in this guild, that I'm not compatible with go into a special vault."
"Wouldn't you-"
He shook his head at her, a disapproving look on his face, "That's irresponsible to the key, if you don't feel comfortable with the key...why would you enter a contract with the being and just...let it sit because you can't deal with how it makes you feel?"
Lucy's mouth opened and then shut before mumbling, "Makes sense."
~)~)~)~)~)~
With work, they had found a way to keep her and Hestor's emotions from bouncing off one another, and she was thankful. She could still sense his emotions and she found that it was helpful to know if he was in the mood for talking or not. She'd been utterly depressed when she'd found out that only Gemini had been a fit for him. She couldn't give up Capricorn or Loke, because those were bound to her family, her blood and would be passed on to any children she had, but the rest…
The rest they were going to take to the Academe next week. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, but the fact that she'd traded them for a power that while massive and very much able to do a lot….she felt almost like it was a curse. She trained with Zen twice a week and she'd been able to throw herself into that, but..she was still awkward about it. The only thing that she had been allowed to keep had been her whip and she was glad, she'd trained her ass off to learn how to manipulate the magical weapon effectively. Capricorn came out, still pushing her, pushing her further than before and it was a nice, small bit of her normal life, if she was honest. Loke was always hit and miss and while he'd been flirty before, being in Bosco made him more distractible it seemed, he owed her a debt, yes and he would help her, but...now it was on his terms and that was better, she supposed, but it made her sad.
She was currently sitting and watching the guildhall, taking in how while it was rowdy, nothing was being destroyed, in fact, it seemed soon after fights started, they spilled out into the training rings or ended. It was such a fresh look at how things should be. She watched various couples and realized Valentine's was coming up. Her stomach sank a bit and she sighed as she sipped her drink. Maybe she would find a way to just be put to sleep with no dreams that day, it would be easier on her emotions and she'd not get another so very much not empty threat from the male celestial mage. That...that was what scared her the most about him. For everything that went on his head, he would use everything he knew to gain an advantage...and as she had learned: if he died, she died. That scared the living hell out of her and the lack of being able to lie around her just made it even worse.
Yes, there was always the amendment that Kaleb might call one of his siblings before he died or bled out, but...the fact is that he was resolved to do it. He'd made it quite clear that while the bond they had could compel him to love her, it was hardly love and it had been seen and would be seen by many. If she tried to nudge it for pleasure, he'd only have to call the Knights at the Citadel and she'd be charged with rape...and if he did…? He'd start right back at the beginning, where she mated with him against his will, binding them together. There would be only one Punishment by Boscan law: Death.
The Worst part? When he'd realized his extended lifespan due to the mating, she'd seen relief in Kaleb's eyes. The love was stronger now, less shadowed by a fear because apparently the mindbender...didn't know how long he would live. She watched the two talk and look over something on one of the L-Tablets, seeing how close they stood. She watched as Vander moved over and said something, only to yelp and go flying back as Ermine leapt out of his? Her? She wasn't sure if it was a male or female version of Ermine, but the weasel spirit was out of its gate and on the Shadowquip's face nipping at skin.
"Celestial Rabies! Cris! Help!" There was laughter and she watched both Kaleb's and Hestor's eyes dance as they shared a smile and went back to what they were doing.
~)~)~)~)~)
Seeing Freed at White Sea had been interesting...seeing him with Farron Pradesh and a Redheaded woman and relaxed? That...that had been eye opening. While the woman had looked demure, her eyes always seemed to light up with a wicked edge that she'd see Vander's eyes take when he said something lavacious to someone when she leaned in, speaking to either Farron or Freed. There was some dynamic there that she didn't understand, but the woman was rarely without one or the other at her side and she seemed to be able to catch Freed off guard a lot.
She pursed her lips in thought and then carefully made sure to get some time with the Rune Mage, "freed?"
"Yes, Miss Lucy?" He'd heard what she'd done and while he didn't condone it, he understood the need for power, to get out of a bad situation.
Lucy bit her lip, "what's ah...going on with you and…?"
Freed slowly blinked, not expecting the question and then chuckled, "you mean the Princess, Farron and I?"
Brown eyes bulged a bit, "She's a princess?"
He nodded as he looked over a bookshelf, "She is, with stamina to go against a Boscan in bed and enough creativity that she keeps both of us happy."
"...whoa."
He chuckled softly, "not expected?"
Lucy shrugged, "I always thought...you know…that you swung the other way."
Freed let out a low hum, "normally I do, but she has been able to intrigue my other side."
"Oh, well I'm happy for the three of you then," She smiled, though she felt a bit sad at the thought and let out a faint sigh, "I'm going to go get lunch."
~)~)~)~)~
Lucy sat quietly, looking out the window of the room she was in. They'd runed it for her, so she could sleep, but she could feel...such joy, elation and love coming through the bond she had that it woke her up and she bit her lip. She'd never felt such a thing before and it made her weep both in joy and loss.
Her body arched as she felt power rising and shot up out of the bed with wide eyes. She knew she shouldn't leave the room, but she did, when she stood in the doorway and watched those bright golden wings open on the back of the mindbender, she felt a bit of dread.
It was at that moment she was glad that they'd learned to cut her emotions off from the bond unless there was a reason because, as she slowly closed the door and walked back to her own room, her heart felt heavy. The blonde brought her hand to her mouth as she sat there, trying to figure out what happened and she took deep breaths.
The woman looked at the sleeping pills that they'd found had worked for her and she reached over, taking one and laying down as she felt the ache in her chest grow. Lucy let her mind sink into itself. She'd already begged off their wedding on the whole, simply to not cause issues with the strange aggressive almost jealousy she'd been feeling lately, so she could just...sleep through it all.
~)~)~)~
Lucy could feel the bond that the two had and it made her realize exactly what she could have had, maybe. Perhaps not with an archangel, but with someone that cherished her. Training had been changed and she was disoriented for the first while as Hestor started playing with it all and it took her breath away when he pulled both of them in an instant.
Months it had taken for her to get used to the feeling. He'd made sure that she knew how to pull him, but she watched as he perfected other skills with Kaleb and she understood. She did. Their bond was deeper, based on something as pure as Love, where theirs wasn't. She hadn't withdrawn, but she'd seen no reason to get too far into it any more. She would make the best of things...as much as she could.
She had power, which had screwed up both their lives, but she'd accept and learn to deal with it. She was baking during a bit of her downtime and checked the sweets that she pulled out, smiling at the smell. She'd learned a lot about them and thankfully...she knew how to bake sweets. It worked to smooth their dynamic a bit and it also helped that she knew how to make baklava. The honey based treat was probably what helped the most. She'd asked Thane about the amount of honey and honey based products in the cupboards and that had been the first time she'd made it.
There was still tension, she understood she was an outsider in the dynamic, but she would deal with it...through baking. The moment she put the tray out to cool she felt the tingle and rolled her eyes, stepping to the side and snorting as first Hestor appeared, then Kaleb. The men truly were fiends when it came to that sort of treat.
"They need to cool, they just..." She looked over her shoulder at the hiss and watched as the two both ate the almost too hot to handle treats, "...came out of the oven. Really. Can't wait fifteen minutes?"
Hestor arched an eyebrow at her as he sucked on his thumb and picked up a pot holder and Lucy had to roll her eyes as the two slunk away. She wouldn't say they were as bad as Natsu, but when it came to honey based anything? They were.
~)~)~)~)~
Farron becoming an archangel had been an eye opener, especially with the bond that he had with both Lily and Freed. Something had opened in Freed's darker side and she wasn't sure how to deal with it, but she would. It frightened her a bit, to see them in combat, not realizing how well Farron fought. She had to admit that she'd not thought much on it, with him being an ambassador, but to watch the three working while she baked, it was interesting to her.
It had been a year since her mistake, but she was learning so much about herself, about other things and she pursed her lips as she heard the timer going off. The blonde turned as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a pot holder, pulling out the different pans and putting them aside to let them cool. She'd also cut her hair, it had grown and well, in Bosco there was no lack of any hair care product, but she had realized that long hair wasn't her.
She had thought on it for months, truthfully, before finally doing it and it had been when she'd really started to change. The Gentry flourished on women with long hair, it was a sign of status and though she'd given it up, she'd hung onto her long hair for long enough. She was no longer the Lucy of The Heartfilia Estate, she was no longer the long haired Light of Fairy Tail, no...she was coming to understand she was Lucy. Damaged, but not broken. Learning, growing and finding her way through her messes with support that she'd never gotten back in Fiore. It was the first statement that she'd been growing. It was cut at her shoulders and layered. Easy to tend to, but still feminine at the same time; some might look at it as a childish look, but...she had used this chance to undo all the damage that had been done her entire life.
For her, the decision was because when everything started going 'wrong', this was the length her hair was. She would grow with her hair now, allowing it to progress as she did. She'd worked with Zen extensively and they'd found that the underlying need she had to help people had worked well with the healing she'd been granted with the new magic and she'd been fine tuning and developing it. She wasn't as good as she could be, but it was a work in progress. It also made her feel...like she was doing something positive with what she'd done.
~)~)~))~)~)~
When Sydelle had come out of nowhere on a trip to Sin, hell at broken loose, figuratively speaking. Then there was a single yell as the area around them changed and she felt her magic being yanked on. She looked towards Hestor and then around, realizing...that there were more than ten spirits there.
"Cassiopeia," Lucy shivered at the cold tone in Zen's voice. She'd heard it before, but she truly hadn't heard it filled with such venom before.
The spirit went to say something and then let out a sound as Sydelle of all people put a sword through the Spirit's chest. That left Lucy blinking as she stood there and slowly inched away from not only the enraged original Evening star of that generation, but the war queen.
"Uh…"
Kaleb rolled his eyes as he stood by Hestor, "I've given up trying to understand."
"You little cunt," Sydelle hissed and then groaned as they felt power wash over the area they were now in.
"That is enough." It was a booming voice that Lucy knew well and she blinked slowly as she saw the spirit king, tilting her head.
"Since we have all the major players here," came a bored sounding voice to the side, "where's Libra."
Lucy blinked as she saw an elegant man lounging on one of the diases. She tilted her head trying to figure out what spirit it was.
"Oh, Cassiopeia…" The voice that came from the Spirit of the scales was a purr and she walked past Sydelle patting the woman on the arm, "she can't die from that."
Sydelle spat on the floor and then languidly moved to lean against one of the diases, "about time."
"Now come on…"
Libra arched an eyebrow, "two counts of interfering with the One Magic...this generation." she stared down the other spirit, seeing the nervousness, "destroying one of the Ancient lines of Celestial Mages." Libra leaned in close to the smaller spirit and murmured, "and acting like a little bitch, being too conniving, too closed mouthed, too manipulative."
"Why am I here?" Sydelle scowled, "Unless I'm getting him." She looked Zen up and down, grinning wickedly, "because I will take him."
Libra let out a suffering sigh, "no, you are not getting him." she stood firmly and stared the female mage down until the woman slumped. "Cassiopeia, you will undo what you have done. This magic was not to be gifted to another mortal unless they were born. You know that. You were there."
"There needs to be reproducing pairs!" Cassiopeia hissed as she stood there.
There was a snort and Lucy tensed a bit as she saw Kek-t slip out of the shadows, purring into the other spirit's ear, "oh, Cass, you slipped up...you left things out in the open…" she dug her nails into Cassiopeia's arms, leaving marks and a bit of celestial blood slowly leaking down the other spirit's arms. "You're going to fix this…"
"It's irreversible."
Kek-t's lips curled into a feral grin, "try again. I know you."
"You will fix it," Sei-roo spoke firmly and Cassiopeia flinched.
"She won't get celestial magic back," The spirit pointed out, "That was the deal, one magic for another."
"She has light magic in her," Kaleb spoke, eyes narrowing. He was angry and lucy could feel it. "And what is this about two counts of interfering with the One magic?"
Ammit murmured from Zen's side, "I think you know what they speak of." She looked up at the archangel, "you hate what she did, but you feel a pull, despite it all." She tapped his chest as she passed, "so…" she stared at Cassiopeia and tilted her head, "so you broke up what was supposed to be one mated pair to fulfil your stupid, arrogant wish to not have another archangel mated."
"You can't prov-"
"I can." the voice slithered over them all, it was soft and it almost lulled every one of them into a complacent mode as a dark haired woman with deep eyes stepped out of the shadows, "give the girl light magic. She's good at healing. Let the one magic resume its course."
Cassiopeia hissed and then let out a sound as her eyes went wide and she put a hand to her throat.
"Lethe," Libra spoke firmly and they all watched as Cassiopeia gasped out a breath of air. The spirit watched as Lethe slowly moved to lean against a column. "Your punishment is fixing what you did. In the best outcome possible." She smirked, "the rest of it...the mortals need not know."
~)~)~)~)~)~
Lucy was learning that healing was a pain in the damn ass. Cris was a horribly hard teacher and the changes were both good and bad. She still stayed with White Sea, having sworn off going back to Fairy Tail. A year of therapy had really opened her eyes and she refused to go back to that situation. She loved all her friends, but she needed to be healthy.
She'd learned that healing could also harm and while she didn't like it, she understood it now, understood having that balance. She'd grown, both in views and herself. It had been two years since the day that she'd been stripped of her wings and she'd released Loke and Capricorn from their family contracts. She wanted to grow without many reminders of the past. There were still some, a bittersweetness when she watched Hestor and Kaleb, but things had...budded between her and Zen.
It was slow and calm, the hurt that she caused most of the reason and she respected that they had a lot to work on, but when her magic had been changed, she'd felt a warmth that she hadn't ever known. Zen also kept her on a straight track, any time she slipped, any time she tried to weasel her way out of sharing how she really felt, he was there.
They'd mated half a year ago and she'd been working with everyone, feeling...at complete ease with herself now. With her life. She didn't need the power of the heavens to actually be strong...it had taken three years for her to realize it, but as she watched the three archangels and Freed flying and sparring with one another...she realized...she just needed to trust in herself...and she had let her life fall apart without caring. She'd pushed it all away, pushed it further and further until she'd snapped.
She was happy now, content and perfectly so, the woman rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms under her chest.
"...they really need to stop playing."
Hestor snorted "let them, this is just for fun." he sipped from a cup of coffee and arched an eyebrow before he watched the four of them land, "or not, seems like they're done."
Lucy giggled softly and shook her head, "it's almost lunch time, they're probably starved."
Lily smiled a bit as she grabbed both Farron and Freed, "my fault."
The two lighter haired mages watched her yank the two along. Hestor spoke, "That was odd."
"She's pregnant and wants them as close as she can as often as she can," Lucy said, smiling, "it's natural, the baby needs the magic anyway." She leaned back against Zen and smiled up at him but didn't talk. They didn't need to. He had his moments, she had hers, but the quiet and calm archangel helped her through her darkest time when she'd screwed herself over...and now she would just relax and let him lead her through things, knowing he wouldn't steer her wrong.