I'm in love with you.
I'm in love with you.
I thought about screaming it. There have been romance novels written about the kinds of love we had, the kinds that I had once wanted to write.
Now it seemed like a joke. For great loves didn't end here. I reached out and touched the cold stone.
Natsu Dragneel
No matter how I screamed, you'd never hear me again. No matter how much I cried, my actions would never erase what happened. Years. I spent years beside you, but they weren't enough. I thought we had a lifetime. I thought I'd see myself grow old. With you.
You are so strong. You burn hotter than anyone else. Always so fired up. And without you I am cold.
At least I would always be beside him. Another piece of cold hard stone. I saw the first master behind me, and she smiled softly.
"It isn't easy for us, Lucy, it never has been." Her voice wasn't bitter. Just truthful. An outsider might have thought she was being cold, but I could feel her message.
"Will I ever see him again?" I gasped out, wanting to cry the tears that wouldn't come anymore.
"Even you will move on, Lucy, eventually. I know what you will go through. What you have gone through. I am so sorry. Stay human. Love people, Lucy. Love them and hope for the future." Her voice echoed, and I heard it start to fade. Her work was done. It had been passed on. A warmth welled deep inside me.
Then it was gone. I knew she wasn't there anymore. I couldn't feel her presence. I let the real tears come. Was this the pain that Zeref had been put through his entire life? Living, but alone? I had hated him, before I knew him. How many ages would I watch over, before the new fairy magic was cast? How many Natsus, Grays, Lucys, and Erzas would I see grow over and over again? Could I smile, like she did, when they fought their own battles? While all I wanted was the people who would never return?
"I don't regret it," I screamed. It had been the right choice. Time would move onward. I would watch over this guild. Our home. For their sakes.
There would always be Fairy Tail, the place to return home. No matter who was there. So I left the empty stone that sat beside him behind.
Lucy Dragneel