Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail!
A/N: Sorry this chapter took a while ':) I was trying to balance my English essay with writing this :P
Enjoy!
Lucy woke with a start, whimpering slightly as she felt her aching muscles jolt and her stomach cramp in pain from not having much food. Her vibrant blonde hair was dulled after hours of torture and her skin was clinging to her bones after the malnourishment she's endured. Lucy's chocolate brown eyes darted around her, finding herself in a forest and being carried a tall blonde who seemed to be about twenty years old, she quickly snapped her eyes shut and pretended to sleep as she finally noticed the muscular arms wrapped around her knees and her back. He was carrying her bridal style as three people chatted aimlessly around the two blondes. Lucy could make out two male voices, one seeming quite refined and the other deep and sarcastic. There was also a female voice who seemed quite haughty yet refined also as she argued with the two males. Lucy slowly opened her eyes to take a peek at the four people, and, seeing them, she no longer felt scared.
The male carrying her had a lightning shaped scar over his right eye and sound pods over his ears with a scowl to complete his overall sour appearance. Looking over at the other three, she could tell them all to be very powerful as she took in the brunette who, in her opinion, was very beautiful and princess-like, the long green haired male was walking next to the brunette, portraying himself as more like a prince than a common man. Lucy then looked to the final person in the group who seemed out of place next to the other two, but still managed to fit in, laugh and joke with the two, making Lucy smile slightly as she saw the bonds between the three, making her wonder where the tall blonde fit in.
"Blondie! Blondie!" A small wooden creature said as it flew into her field of vision, startling her and making her flail her arms and legs and fall out of the blonde's arms and, due to her struggling, the coat she was wrapped in slipped and exposed the rags she wore which were barely hanging on, making her feel vulnerable as their curious gazes landed on her frail form. Lucy grunted as she landed on the floor, rocks jabbing into her arms and legs creating small cuts that stung like a bitch. The team of four stood over her as she attempted to make herself as small as possible while crawling away from the looming figures. Standing as one over her, one large force that threatened to flatten or blind her with their light. The brunette stepped forward and held out her hands to Lucy. Lucy, expecting a blow to the cheek, flinched back and covered her face, her fourteen-year old form becoming a quivering mess under the brunette's gaze. However, all she did was smile gently but kindly, her eyes crinkling slightly as she held her stance, not withdrawing her hand. Lucy stared at her hand in scrutiny before cautiously offering her, much smaller, hand.
As the brunette pulled her to her feet, the two others sat on the side-lines smiling kindly at her while the tall blonde looked on with a slight frown on his face before retrieving his coat from the floor and placing it back over her shoulders, fastening the front as Lucy leaned on the brunette who had offered her shoulder to steady the blonde and almost felt bad for it as they started walking and the coat dragged along the floor, creating small rips in the fabric and lining the bottom of it in dirt.
"So what's your name Blondie?" The goofy man said with his tongue hanging out of his mouth with no shame and the little totems dancing around his head. Lucy opened her mouth to speak but found she couldn't as her throat finally announced its condition and only a garbled croak escaped her mouth. Lucy covered her mouth and coughed furiously, hoping to clear her throat in embarrassment as the totems stopped their dancing and stared in her direction.
"Here you go miss." The green haired man said, handing her a bottle of water and a sandwich. Lucy looked in awe at the sandwich bursting with meat and salad and the clear water in the bottle that beckoned to her in the form of ripples. Lucy nodded in thanks at the teen, a large smile splitting her face as he took the water and sandwich from her hands and the group came to rest at the side of the dirt road, out of the way of carriages and magic vehicles. Lucy gratefully sat down on the grass and sipped at the water, savouring the soothing feeling which affected her throat. Lucy then continued on to ravenously eat the sandwich, having a second one when Evergreen offered her half of hers, an act of kindness that made the blonde smile even wider at the group, still cautious of the brooding man who ate his food in silence, having six sandwiches to himself.
"Thank you..." Lucy said quietly, her voice husky and raw from the screaming from earlier. The group didn't seem to hear her other than the blonde who looked up from his food.
"Your welcome Blondie." He said gruffly, making the group turn to them and smile at both blondes, nodding in acknowledgement before continuing their conversation and joking around with each other once Lucy looked away from their gazes. Then, Lucy finally took a look around - a real look - and noticed that they were in the middle of nowhere and she had no clue as to where they were headed, concerned, Lucy quickly scanned through her memories of the past when she used to go on trips with her mother and father and still couldn't pick out where they were. However, considering the fact that they are in a forest and trees tend to look the same, Lucy shouldn't be surprised of her discovery.
"Where... Are we going?" Lucy asked tentatively after taking another sip of water, and this time all four of them heard her almost whispered question even with all the boisterous laughter. They all turned to look at her and then smiled, deep emotional smiles that seemed to tell a story in themselves. Curiously, Lucy cocked her head and asked again, this time earning a productive response.
"Okay, first, what's your name?" Evergreen asked with a small, lady-like smile on her face.
"Lucy." The blonde replied quickly, eager to know where they were headed.
"Okay, Lucy, our names are Freed, Bickslow, Laxus and I'm Evergreen." She said, gesturing to each of them in turn. "And we're going to Fairy Tail." Lucy's eyes widened and then she finally took a good look at the people in front of her, seeing the green mark on Evergreen's chest, the green mark on Freed's hand and the black mark on Bickslow's tongue. Lucy's mouth twitched into a small sad smile as she remembered all the stories her mother had told her about the Fairy Tail guild. She used to read magazines, especially 'Sorcerer Weekly' and would sometimes watch them on the lacrima vision.
"Yea... I know... My mother used to-" And then Lucy stopped herself, her memories warping into that night and then all she could see was crimson. The crimson blood that seeped out of her mother's neck, her mother's beautiful, white dress stained a deep red and the pink carpet now a pool of red blood. She remembered the scream her mother made while trying to protect her... All those years ago, and the dagger... the one that, with just a flick of someone's wrist, ended the precious life of her mother before she could do anything to help her. Then, she saw the blackness, filled with screams and torture and those cell walls... The chains that hung from the walls, the dripping blood from the ceiling and the many other children that were there, disappearing one by one. Murdered.
An ear-splitting scream filled the clearing and the four Fairy Tail members covered their ears as they stared in horror at the girl before them. She seemed so... utterly.. broken. She was clasping her head in her hands as she seemed to be able to see something they couldn't and her eyes look haunted, dead almost, like she wasn't even there with them. Evergreen was the first to move forward and gently touched her shoulder, snapping her out of her trance where her feelings overwhelmed her and she burst into tears, her small figure shaking uncontrollably as she fell to the floor and curled into a ball, passing out.
"Oh Lucy..." Evergreen said, looking down at the small blonde who laid asleep, tears streaking her pink cheeks. "What happened to you?" Bickslow, Freed and Laxus stepped forward, putting their hands on Evergreen's shoulders, Laxus going to pick up Lucy while Freed picked up the water bottles.
"Let's go to the guild." Laxus said, not looking at the petite blonde in his arms, keeping up with his tough exterior s he carried Lucy bridal style, showing no sign of fatigue as he lead the group down the road. As Laxus walked, he rocked Lucy slightly, calming her panicked state and soothing her steady stream of tears which, eventually, stopped.
"Arriving in Magnolia shortly." Said a robotised voice from a speaker as Lucy awoke, the darkness of the night was all she could see outside the window and small raindrops sliding down the glass. She looked to her right and found three of the Fairy Tail members asleep, while Freed, who sat next to her with Evergreen leaning on his shoulder, silently read a book. Lucy noticed she had been bandaged and dressed in a green, floral sundress and guessed they must have stopped at a hospital to care for her injuries. Lucy then grew worried as she remembered the deep gashes that littered her back, accompanied by many scars. They must have seen them, no doubt about it. Tears began to form in Lucy's eyes, blurring her vision before she was nudged by Freed who directed a worried gaze in her direction.
"Are you alright? What's wrong Lucy?" He asked politely but cautiously as a tear fell from his Lucy's eye.
"Did you see my back?" Lucy asked quietly, careful not to wake the three who slept peacefully around them. However, she already knew the answer to the pointless question she asked. She could tell they were just going to think of her as ugly considering she did not have the porcelain skin of Evergreen and she was not perfect like her, Evergreen probably has a beautiful mind as well but hers was soiled and dirtied by her past and possibly her future.
Freed nodded slowly but then spoke, "Yes, we bandaged it up for you after stopping at the magic shop in Shirotsume to buy some ointment. We're almost at Magnolia now." Lucy bit her lips as she tried to suppress her tears, embarrassment taking over her face. Noticing this, Freed continued, "You have nothing to be ashamed of, all of us have scars. Be it on our physical skin or in our minds. Yours are just slightly more prominent but I think they're beautiful." Lucy looked up at Freed, sniffing as she managed to stop her tears from flowing.
"How are they beautiful Freed? They show that I was weak and they're ugly." Lucy said, looking away from him again, at the peaceful faces of his team round them.
"They show that you are brave and that you fought back. They show that you were too much to contain, that you were strong during everything you've been through and I think you deserve to be here now, to do what you want and heal. You could also grow even stronger, and we can all help you with that, if you would like." Lucy's eyes widened at what he was implying, "Wouldn't you like to join Fairy Tail and become stronger, so you can fight for your family and learn about magic and true strength?" Lucy's eyes widened even further, if that was even possible, and she took in what Freed had asked and considered the possibilities and opportunities of his proposal.
"Yes.." She whispered under breath, tears of joy being brought to her eyes.
"Pardon?"Freed asked, not sure what she had said and slightly fearing her answer would be no.
"Yes!" Lucy said loudly, as the train began to slow and the three awoke to her voice, drowsy and in clumsy battle stances before butting heads with one another and falling back to their seats with a groan, Laxus turning slightly as he did so. "Oh... um... sorry?" Lucy said while Freed smiled and grabbed their travelling bags from above while allowing sometime for them to orient themselves slightly.
"Thanks Freed." Laxus said as he threw his bag over his shoulder before noticing Lucy was still wearing his coat. He also noticed that she still wasn't wearing shoes. Groaning quietly he grabbed Evergreen's travel bag from her hands while she shouted in protest and rummaged through it, finding some sandals and handing them to Lucy for her to wear. "Here." He said before turning and getting off the train.
The dress she wore was obviously Evergreen's and it was similar to Evergreen's shorter, tighter, green mini dress. The neckline of Lucy's dress dipped into her small cleavage and the dress hugged her torso. Evergreen helped her into the sandals she had packed in case the boys were up to a day at the beach while they were on their mission. Carrying Laxus' coat, Lucy left the train with Evergreen's help and they walked over to the team who, currently, sported frowns as most people made sure to avoid them as much as possible while they stood awkwardly waiting for the girls to get off the train. As Lucy and Evergreen walked up to group, Lucy handed Laxus his coat, which he threw over his shoulders after handing his bag to Freed to hold. Continuing their walk, Lucy limped as she tried to keep up with the group but found herself being left behind as they walked at their own pace.
Laxus, being the first to notice, stopped and allowed Lucy to catch up with them while around them, passers by turned to watch the group make their way to the grand guild hall on top of the hill. Lucy, self conscious of the stares, reached her hand to feel her shoulders and realised the tips of some scars were showing. Panicking slightly, Lucy Looked to Laxus with a slightly desperate look with tears forming in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around herself as they walked, attempting to position her hair to hide scars that were peeking out of the sundress.
Laxus, noticing the look she gave him, walked closer to her and opened his coat slightly for her where she gratefully hid, pressed into his side as they walked up the hill. As she did so, one of Bickslow's babies buried itself in her chest and she held it tight, nervous as to what the guild would think of her when they got there and whether or not they would abandon her and she'd be left alone again. Lucy peeked out from Laxus' coat and noticed the nearing doors before her. The huge guild hall created a huge shadow over them as they walked up to it and Lucy couldn't help but admirhall as they opened the doors loudly. Noticing everyone in the guildhall turn to look at the group, Lucy reared back and hid herself in Laxus' coat once more, attempting to not draw attention to herself as they wandered into the middle of the guild hall, Bickslow's totem leaving her arms and returning to Bickslow's side.
"Welcome back Thunder Legion! What can I get you?" a raven haired woman said as she walked up to the group, wearing a black apron with a long, navy blue dress that brushed against the floor as she approached. She was like Evergreen, beautiful.
"Hey Sara, do you know where Gramps is?" Laxus asked bluntly, not acknowledging her innocent question. Sara huffed at his blatant disregard of her before pointing to his office and returning to the bar where she caught a brunette teen trying to climb over.
"I'll take her up, you all wait down here." Laxus said before he moved forward and forced Lucy to follow as he grabbed her hand and led her up the stairs before entering the large doors that were in the centre of the upstairs balcony wall and they wandered into a maze of paperwork. At the forefront of the towers of paper laid a small, old man on his desk with a quill in his hand and a stack of papers before him that he seemed to have given up doing.
"Hey Gramps, I'm back and we found someone on our mission." Laxus then pushed Lucy forward while the small old man sat upright on his desk and scanned over Lucy, his gaze lingering on her scars. Self consciously, she quickly adjusted her dress to cover the scars peeking out of the neckline of the dress.
"Where exactly did you find her, Laxus m'boy?" The Master said while tearing his eyes away from Lucy and looking into the stormy blue eyes of his Grandson. Laxus eyes saddened and he looked at Lucy with that same sadness and a hint of pity for the small girl.
"In a dark guild's basement." Laxus said, not meeting the eyes of his Grandfather, instead looking down at the trembling form of the blonde that stood in front of him. "She had been held there for several years by the looks of the condition we found her in. We also found jars of blood in a safe hidden in the Master's office. We don't know what they were planning to use it for but we have some idea after finding these in his desk." Laxus explained, placing three keys on the desk, one browned and dirty while the others were a beautiful gold. "Freed has identified them as very rare Celestial keys-Zodiac keys and he said they were Capricorn, Cancer and-"
"Aquarius.." Lucy said quietly, cutting Laxus off and daintily picking the keys up off the desk where they sat. "My mother's keys..." She said sadly, gently stroking the keys, almost as if she was comforting them before looking up to the tiny man watching her with curiosity shining through his eyes. "My Mother was a Celestial Mage. She... was the owner of these keys before.." Lucy trailed off and tears shone in her eyes as she recalled her mother's death.
"Before..?" The master probed, needing more answers to know how the girl had stumbled upon such a fate.
"Before she was murdered. T-They came into my r-room one night a-and they... they had a knife a-and..." Lucy stuttered, unable to say it out loud. "They must have t-taken her keys before they took me a-away." Lucy said, tears blurring her vision as she stumbled through the explanation as to how the dark guild managed to come across the rare keys. Laxus stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, making her turn around and bury her face in his shirt as she sobbed, his shirt becoming damp as she cried for her mother and her heartache.
Laxus lead the crying girl over to the sofa buried under paperwork and lifted it off the sofa, placing it on the other side of the room before placing Lucy down and wrapping her in his coat while she snuggled into the pillows and sniffed as he moved back to the desk where his Grandfather stood and continued his report on the events of the S Class mission. Lucy assumed that ever S Class wizard had to do this. She watched the man before her with admiration as he recounted his battle with the Guild Master, as she watched Laxus, his stance and voice called to her as she realised that he was trying to garner attention from his Grandfather. Praise, even. He wanted to impress his Grandfather more than anything and Lucy admired him for that.
"And then we came back here with Lucy since we didn't know where she belonged." Lucy frowned at that. Where did she belong? With her Father? With Laxus? With Fairy Tail? Lucy couldn't tell and didn't know what to think. Since she was free, she should go back to her father and inform him of her being alive. She should visit her mother's grave and pay her respects to her grave as her daughter and she should become the woman her mother always wanted her to be. But what her mother always wanted was within her grasp if she stayed in Fairy Tail. She could finally be free. Free from the stuffy nobles she always used to be around, free from the duties she was expected to fulfil and free from the heartache of being in the same house her mother used to be in, live in, play in. They used to read bed time stories in her bedroom, every night... She could never sleep in that room again. They used to ride horseback in the fields behind the mansion, she couldn't look after her mother's horse that she used to love. They used to play hide and seek in every room in the mansion, every place, they had been together and she loved it. She loved the attention and she loved her mother, but now, she could never do those things again.
Lucy smiled sadly as she remembered the times spent with her mother and the laughter they had shared together and the love for each other which was unconditional. Her father could never be enough to fill that hole in her heart. "Can't I stay here?" She asked tentatively, prepared for the rejection she was sure to receive. Laxus and the master turned to face her vulnerable form on the sofa and they nodded in agreement, the Master sending her a huge smile.
"Of course you can, dear child." He said with a large grin on his face while Laxus grunted in agreement, hiding his happiness for the petite girl on the sofa. She was so young.. Yet she had gone through ten times the amount of the average person. "And I suppose these belong to you now." He said, getting off his desk and handing the girl the three keys, watching her face light up with happiness and excitement. "You can stay in the Guild's Infirmary while we get you a room at Fairy Hills and if you wanted you can work behind the bar with Sara, I'm sure she could use the hand while you train your magic." The Master said and Lucy nodded her head repeatedly while holding the keys close to her heart as she grinned with happiness, tears still shining in her eyes.
She had finally found a place where she could belong.
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
I had a stroke of inspiration which is why this chapter came out so quickly so I hoped you enjoyed and please expect the next chapter next weekend!
R&R