Chapter Two: Star Memory
"E.N.D. and Lucy?" Natsu said doubtfully. "Lucy wouldn't do that!"
Layla shook her head. "Just watch, and you'll see."
Layla collapsed to the ground as soon as the Eclipse Gate closed, her keys that floated around her in a circle clattering to the floor. Zeref watched with a hint of guilt as servants came and rushed her away to the infirmary. More servants arrived and fearfully led the dragons and their children outside into the big garden, Zeref holding Natsu's hand. As they went though the doorway, Natsu froze, causing Zeref to stop as well.
"What is it?" Zeref asked, looking down at the boy.
Natsu pointed toward a little girl on the other side of a hedge in the garden, sheepishly peeking at the dragons, not noticing that Zeref and Natsu were staring at her.
"Who's she?" Natsu asked, tugging on Zeref's robe.
"Her name's Lucy," Zeref answered.
The book in his other hand shook as Natsu ran towards her, and started shouting "Lucy!" at the now frightened little girl.
Igneel leaned his head down to look Zeref in the eye. "Who is the girl?"
"Natsu' mate," Zeref chuckled, looking at the book. "But also E.N.D.'s belonging."
"Demons have belongings?" Igneel looked warily at the book.
Zeref nodded his head. "Demons have objects connected to them they call 'belongings,' because, well that's what they are. The objects always have something to do with how the demons were created, and I guess since E.N.D. is half dragon slayer because of Natsu, his belonging is also Natsu's mate."
"Then I'm guessing the deal you mentioned earlier about letting the demon out of his book has something to do with the girl?" the big red dragon asked, watching as Natsu pulled on Lucy's arm.
"Correct again!" Zeref laughed. Igneel growled at Zeref, warning the young man to be serious. Zeref dramatically cleared his throat.
"You and I both know that this book can't hold E.N.D. much longer, so I had to make a deal that ensured our safety but also kept E.N.D. content enough. So I asked what he wanted in return for staying in his book while he waited and leaving us alone when he was free, and he asked for two things." Zeref stopped, hearing something in the bushes behind him.
"Go on," Igneel said.
Zeref glanced around, brushing off the feeling of someone watching him. "One was that I take back the order of destroying me to give him back his free will. And the other was that I give him Lucy. I can't exactly give him a random girl from another family, so I told him I would talk to her parents and have them accept E.N.D. as her demon servant, or whatever it is that happens when he makes her his master."
Igneel narrowed his eyes. "Is that the same as a dragon slayer marking her?"
"Oh no," Zeref waved his hand quickly. "He told me himself he would wait until she was his age to mark her - making her his master is a whole other deal - being half dragon slayer. And that is if she loves him back just as much as he loves her." Zeref raised his eyebrows. "Let's hope she does, because that was sort of part of our deal. If she doesn't love him by then and he can't mark her, the deal ends and he'll probably do something very bad."
"Then what about Lucy being Natsu's mate? He might become jealous," Igneel inhaled. "And he'll also do something very bad."
"We'll just have to hope that Natsu never meets Lucy when he grows up, or something like that," Zeref said, the book rumbling in agreement.
"What about when the girl passes away?" Igneel asked. "Won't the deal break then?"
Zeref dragged his free hand down his face, annoyed. He mumbled something about "how curiosity should kill the dragon" and then cleared his throat. "Right when I let him out he'll probably run straight to Lucy and make a contract with her, granting her his service. I'm not sure what the details are, but if you want you can ask him yourself. That should help him protect Lucy until she is fully grown, but it's not like he wouldn't do his best to protect her anyways, just having the contract, I don't know... 'connects them.' Then if she loves him back, they'll make love, and all that jazz, and when he marks her using his dragon slayer side, she'll share his demon immortality with him. So then the deal I made with him should last forever. It all depends on what Lucy chooses to do."
Igneel nodded. "I see. Let's hope he won't be the death of her."
The book became angry and caught on fire, Zeref cursed as he stepped on the flames to extinguish them. Igneel turned around and roared, gathering the other dragons and scaring the servants half to death. The dragon king looked around, thinking Natsu came to him when he called, but the boy wasn't there. "Zeref," Igneel said, startling Zeref who was busy cussing out at E.N.D. in his book. "Go find Natsu, and bring him here so we may leave." Zeref mumbled something about "no one respects me anymore" and then started on his way when Igneel added a request. "Could you also bring the girl? I would like to talk with her."
The book rumbled and almost set itself on fire again.
The dark wizard used the book to track where Lucy was, figuring that was where Natsu was too. E.N.D.'s book was like a personal GPS, rumbling more the closer Zeref got to Lucy. Finally he found them, jumping out of the bushes and scaring the shit out of the two children.
Lucy was peeking around the hedge at the huge creatures. Her mother had told her before about dragons, but they were even more magnificent than she could have ever imagined. She was just gathering up the courage to go up to one when a boy suddenly started shouting at her.
"Lucy... Lucy... LUCY!" his grin seemed bigger than his face, and he reached to grab her hand but she pulled it away.
"H-How do you know my name?" she asked, feeling her face become red. She had never really talked to other children her age before.
"My big brother told me!" he exclaimed. "He knows everyone!" He moved closer to her so they were face to face. Her smell tantalized him like how a dragon was tantalized by treasure. "Let's be friends!" Her face grew more red.
"I've never had a friend my age before," Lucy pulled down on her dress, embarrassed.
Natsu blinked. "Really?" She nodded, and as she looked up at his face shyly, he put his hands on her shoulders, startling her. "Then let's be best friends!" Her eyes sparkled.
"O-Okay!" She pulled on his sleeve. "What's your name?"
"Natsu!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her over behind a tree. "Do you know Hide and Seek?" he asked, now holding both of her hands.
"Of course, silly," Lucy giggled. "I-I'll be the seeker, and count to thirty, okay Natsu?"
Natsu nodded his head eagerly, and when she covered her eyes and began to count, he shot off across the garden back where he had come out of the house and hid quietly under a bush. He covered his mouth so as not to laugh. She'd never find him here! He stopped laughing when he heard Zeref's voice saying something, and saw his older brother's shoes in front of the bush. Scooting up to hear what they were saying, he saw Igneel's big feet too.
"...the other was that I give him Lucy. I can't exactly give him a random girl from another family, so I told him I would talk to her parents and have them accept E.N.D. as Lucy's demon servant, or whatever it is that happens when he makes her his master."
Natsu completely forgot about the Hide and Seek game and rage began to bubble up inside him. Giving Lucy to E.N.D.?
"Is that the same as a dragon slayer marking her?"
Natsu dug his fingers into the soft ground. No way was E.N.D. going to mark Lucy! She was his best friend!
"Oh no. He told me himself he would wait until she was his age to mark her - making her his master is a whole other deal - being half dragon slayer. And that is if she loves him back just as much as he loves her. Let's hope she does, because that was sort of part of our deal. If she doesn't love him by then and he can't mark her, the deal ends and he'll probably do something very bad.."
If she doesn't love him he can't mark her? Natsu didn't really know what Zeref meant, but felt more reassured now, thinking that Lucy loved Natsu and not E.N.D. because Natsu and Lucy were best friends, and not Lucy and E.N.D.. But he decided, just to be safe, that Lucy was never going near E.N.D., and if what Zeref said was true, that meant that she had to leave with Natsu and Igneel.
Natsu crept out of the bushes silently so Zeref and Igneel wouldn't catch him. He followed Lucy's scent and found her vainly searching for him. The boy grabbed her arm from behind, scaring her.
"Found-" Lucy began.
"Come with me and my dad," he interrupted, gripping his fingers around her wrist tightly. "Please," he added desperately.
Lucy blinked, confused by the sudden request. "What? Why?"
A big roar came from the other side of the mansion, making Lucy jump, and Natsu to grow more anxious.
He gave her a nervous smile. "It'll be fun, I promise! You just have to come with me, because there's a really bad man who wants to take you away from me, and if you stay here he won't ever let you see me!" He pulled on her arm, trying to lead her to where the other dragons were. She let him, but felt doubtful about the situation.
"A really bad man? Who?" she asked.
"I'll explain later," he said, still dragging her along for a bit, until Zeref suddenly jumped out from the bushes in front of them, holding a big, rumbling book. Lucy gasped and fell over along with Natsu, who had slammed his head onto Zeref's leg.
"It's time for us to go, Natsu," Zeref said. "Say goodbye to Miss Heartfilia and go ahead with the other dragons and their children. Igneel and I have some business with Miss Heartfilia before we leave."
Natsu stood up and made a sound like that of a growl, raising his arms as if he was a shield in front of Lucy, who was still on the ground. "I won't let E.N.D. have her! She's mine!" The book rumbled.
Zeref hissed something under his breath about "letting him play with Lucy" and then grabbed Natsu by the collar of his shirt. "How did you find out about this?" Lucy got onto her feet, her eyes wide with fear.
"I-" Natsu started to yell.
"S-Stop!" Lucy pulled on Zeref's arm. The book rumbled even louder. "P-Please don't fight!" Zeref let go of Natsu, who tugged roughly on Lucy's arm, and she stumbled back behind him.
Zeref smiled. "I apologize for all the drama my brother and I have caused." Lucy opened her mouth to respond.
"She's coming with me and Igneel!" Natsu roared, interrupting her. "And I won't let you open the book!"
"Natsu-" Zeref began to raise his voice just as Igneel came from around the big house and lowered his head down to be level with the group of humans.
"What's taking so long?" Igneel looked at Natsu, who glared back at the dragon.
Lucy turned pale, scared of the close proximity between her and the dragon, but Natsu held onto her hand so she couldn't back away. "Lucy's mine! Zeref wants to give her to E.N.D., but instead she's coming with us!"
Igneel sighed. "I'm afraid that cannot happen, Natsu. She must stay here with the demon."
"Why?" Natsu shouted, his voice cracking.
"You're going to forget all of this happened anyways, so there's no point in explaining everything," Igneel said, grabbing Natsu in his big talons, being careful not to touch Lucy in the process. The boy kicked and screamed, even cursed, but no matter what he did he couldn't get Igneel to let go. The big dragon walked back to where he had come from, leaving Zeref and Lucy alone.
"W-What's going on?" Lucy asked, still pale. "Why did Natsu say those things?" Then she took a step back. "A-Are you the really bad man?"
Zeref pulled on his hair in frustration. Then he took a deep breath, and calmly he began to respond to Lucy. "Natsu was spouting nonsense. Do not take anything he said seriously, understand?"
Lucy's face twisted in frustration and confusion. "Of course I'm going to take him seriously, we're best friends!" The book angrily rumbled, wanting Zeref to convince her otherwise.
"Best friends? It takes a lot more than a name exchange to become that."
"B-But-" Lucy placed her hands on her hips in protest, but stopped when she saw the dragon coming up again from behind Zeref. Her face lost it's color again.
"I've taken care of Natsu for now. I'd like to speak with the girl privately, and while I do so, I'd like for you to reset the children's memories," Igneel looked down at Zeref, trying to ignore the loud screams coming from Natsu across the garden.
Zeref inhaled, his hands tightening their grip on the raging and rumbling book. "Yes yes, have your talk." The dark wizard shuffled away quickly, screaming a little when the book set on fire.
Igneel turned to Lucy once Zeref was out of sight and earshot. He lowered his head in respect. "I am Igneel, Natsu's guardian."
Lucy quickly bowed. "I-I'm Lucy."
"Zeref was the name of the man you just met. He...has made a deal with someone concerning you."
"A deal?" Lucy nervously held her hands behind her back respectfully.
Igneel looked seriously at her. He was deeply concerned with her safety. "He gave you over as a belonging to a bad man."
"A bad man?" Lucy's eyes widened. "The one Natsu was talking about?"
"What did he say about the bad man?"
Lucy thought about it, staring at the ground. "Something about that he wouldn't let me see Natsu, and I also heard him say something like 'giving me to E-N-D'?"
"E.N.D. is the name of the demon that you belong to."
"The demon I belong to?" Lucy looked frightened.
Igneel lowered his voice, wary of Zeref and E.N.D.. "If I stay and talk to you for long, Zeref and E.N.D. will definitely suspect me of trying to...take you away, like Natsu was saying. Which is exactly what I'm trying to do." Lucy opened her mouth to ask another question when Igneel continued. "But you're going to have to stay here for a while until I contact you. When that happens, I will tell you what we must do to free you from the demon. You mustn't tell anyone about this, even your parents, and especially not the demon."
Lucy nodded, understanding. "Will I get to see Natsu again?"
Igneel smiled. "Hopefully."
Natsu's face was a little red when Layla stopped the memory.
"Dad..." he mumbled.
Layla glanced at Natsu, then waved her hand above the head. Now they were in a different memory. "This is where Zeref tells me about the deal, and I also make my own deal with E.N.D.."
"Why would you make your own deal?" Natsu looked at her with suspicion.
Layla took a deep breath. "Because I didn't want to leave my daughter with a heartbroken father and a possessive demon."
Natsu turned to watch the memory, Layla laying on the bed in the Heartfilia infirmary and Zeref approaching her with the book of E.N.D. rumbling in his hands.