Chapter Two:
She didn't know how long she had laid there before the hide was pushed back and Acnologia entered again.
"Get up," he ordered curtly. "You will either study, or you will sleep. I have neither time nor patience for emotions."
"Go to hell," she said halfheartedly, unable to muster rage or indignation. "It's what you deserve anyway."
He entered into her limited view and pulled her upright. "You know nothing, Lucy Heartfilia. There is food at the hearth. Eat. Once you have finished, you will sleep or you will study, whichever is your preference."
"And what if I don't want to do either?" Lucy asked, feeling vaguely insulted at being manhandled. "What then, Draconis?" she spat the title like an insult at him, remembering that he had killed Igneel, had tried to kill them all, was responsible for the seven years she lost on Tenrou Island. The rage was there now, roaring through her body as she remembered every crime he had committed against Fairy Tail. He had created Future Rogue, she recalled with startling clarity. Future Rogue had made her watch her own future self die as she cradled her in her arms. "Will you kill me, as you tried to do before?"
Acnologia snarled, a wordless sound of rage. "Mind your tongue," he growled. "I did not ask for your presence here. You were the one who summoned the His Majesty, the fault is yours."
"I wish I hadn't," she hissed, remembering the misery of that moment. "I wish I had died like I was supposed to, if me dying would have saved my guildmates. Aquarius would still have a gate, and I'd be somewhere better than here."
He shook her roughly. "If death is what you wish, there are plenty of ways to seek it," he breathed. "I will not stop you, since your presence in my home is undesirable. Go ahead, Heartfilia. Put us both out of our miseries."
Lucy swallowed hard. Did I really mean it? She wondered, thinking about her impulsive words. Would it have been better if I had died?
Suddenly, she remembered a memory of a conversation with Erza, when the other girl was feeling rather morose after they had defeated the Oracion Seis, only to lose Jellal to the Rune Knights in the end.
When I was fused with the lacrima, I saw my own funeral, the redhead had said slowly. Up until that point, I was convinced that I had made the right decision, sacrificing myself so that all of you could live. Everything seemed so pointless then. I had stopped Jellal, but Simon was dead. Jellal as I knew him as a child was gone. Soon, all of you would be gone. What was my life compared to saving all of yours? But then I saw my funeral, saw everyone's tears and grief, and I realized how much my dying would hurt all of you. And so I decided to live on.
If I had died during the attack, how would Natsu have felt? Or Erza, or Grey, or Wendy, or any of the others? Would it really be better if I hadn't lived? She closed her eyes as the answer came to her. No, it would have been worse. Fairy Tail lived for each other against all odds, forgoing the selfless sacrifices contained in books. For the sake of her friends, she had to keep living, even if it meant being here, learning from Acnologia.
"Let go of me," she said quietly. "I will study, and then I will leave."
"If that is your decision," the dragon said, equally as soft. "There is food by the hearth. I may wish that you were not here, but you will not go without while in my home. Consider yourself under the protection of luffeorm."
Another word to ask Crux about, Lucy thought with a sigh as the dragon released her and left the room again. Rubbing her arm where his grip had bordered on painful, she saw that he had left the main room, disappearing somewhere else in the cave. But as he had promised, there was a plate containing roasted meat and bread by the central hearth.
Approaching the fire, she found that there was a bench carved into the floor, covered with actual fabric cushions. Lowering herself down into the recess, she watched the embers glow, the extra warmth unneeded. The cave was pleasantly cool, despite being the end of August, and Lucy found herself wondering what it was like during the winter.
Turning her attention to her plate, she found an unfamiliar piece of meat, and some type of flatbread that reminded her of those usually served at restaurants that specialized in cuisine from the southern lands. When she found no utensils, Lucy shrugged and picked up the meat with her fingers, nibbling tentatively. It was tougher, but had a much richer taste than anything she had eaten before. Realizing that she was hungrier than she had realized, the blonde ate hungrily, finishing the meat and slowly eating the flatbread, tearing it off in strips.
"It is night now." Acnologia's voice sounded behind her, and Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin as she twisted to look at him, almost dropping the plate on her lap. "Have you found the bathing chamber?"
"The room with the two pools?" she asked, gripping the solid clay plate in her hands in a poor attempt to keep herself grounded.
He nodded shortly. "There is also a place for waste, and a place where water flows from overhead. You may use that room as you will, but do not forget that you are here to study. The room where you woke is for your use as well."
Lucy couldn't think of anything else to say, so she returned her attention to her plate, crumbling the small portion of bread she had left. When she looked up again, he was gone, and Lucy had to marvel at his silence. None of the other dragon slayers she knew could move that quietly. Gajeel's tread was always discernable if you knew he was around, and Laxus tended to have a constant crackling of static electricity near him. Wendy's movement usually brought a breeze with it, and Natsu couldn't do anything quietly to save his life. However, she still couldn't figure out where the dragon slayer disappeared to. If the room where I woke is mine to use, where is he going to sleep? He also wasn't in any part of the cave that I know about when I woke. There has to be some entrance or exit somewhere.
Getting up, she took her plate over to the stone sink and rinsed it off. Close investigation revealed a small jar of what she thought was soap, so she did her best, washing with cold water because she was slightly nervous about trying to heat the water for a single plate.
Done with her cleanup, Lucy returned to the chamber where she had woken and kicked off her boots. It was warm enough to not sleep with a blanket, so she climbed on top of the pile of furs that would be her bed while she stayed here and let herself drift off to sleep.
She woke screaming.
It was a sudden jolt, and she heard her own voice echoing off the rock walls surrounding her, terrifying her even more. She could only see the walls of Cube, smell the harsh tang of smoke, blood, and something that she could only hope wasn't burnt flesh. Suffocating, she rolled herself off the edge of the bed, the unforgiving contact with the cool stone floor jarring her out of her waking nightmare. Lying there, she forced her breath to return to normal, pulling herself upright and placing her back against the ledge that held her bed of furs.
You're safe here, she reminded herself, counting her breaths to keep them steady. Tartarus is gone. Jackal is gone. You finished him. This is Acnologia's cave. You're here to learn from him.
As she sat there, struggling to tell the difference between her nightmare and her reality, she became aware of the dragon's presence in the gap between screens that served as an entrance to the bedchamber.
"Your screams would awaken the dead," he said coolly.
Surprisingly enough, anger helped her focus on this reality. "Go to hell," she hissed, counting her breaths as she realized that she was trembling.
Oddly enough, he looked amused by this. "We have gone through this before," he said, a slight smirk on his face. "Next, you will tell me that it is what I deserve."
Lucy hated him at that moment, more than she had ever hated anyone. He stood there, leaning casually against the screens that blocked her bedroom from view, a smirk on his face while she struggled to breathe, struggled to focus on what was real and what remained from her nightmares. It seemed so unfair that he could sleep with an easy conscious while she struggled to sleep without nightmares. The rage boiled up in her, and she fisted her hands, relishing in the sensation of her nails pricking into her palms, another sign that she was in reality, not in a dream. "If you've come to mock, go away."
The smirk was gone, replaced with his inscrutable mask. "This morning, I will hunt. I will thank you to keep from scaring the game away with your shrieks."
He's going to hunt? I might be able to slip out of here while he's gone…
"You will remain in the cave," he said firmly. "Even if you could figure out how to leave, you would not get far. The terrain is treacherous for those who know it not, and I have the advantage of flight."
"How did you get your arm back?" she blurted out as he turned away, realizing it for the first time. He had discarded his cloak, and was simply clad in baggy trousers. A thin, pale scar circled his right bicep, and Lucy remembered that Natsu had very clearly explained that Igneel had ripped Acnologia's forearm off.
"The Sky Goddess is quite skilled," he said as he left. "Though she isn't a slayer, she is proficient enough."
Lucy slammed her fist into the floor, not caring about the painful jolt that ran up her arm, fiercely angry that he had been allowed to just waltz into Lamia Scale and get Chelia to fix his arm while Fairy Tail had to haul themselves out of the rubble and bury their dead
"So you just continue doing whatever the hell you want without consequences?" she hissed, and his back, just visible if she craned her neck, stiffened. A low growl filled the cave, but Lucy refused to back down. She had stood her ground on Tenrou, and against Tartarus and the dragons at the Grand Magic Games. Even if he was perfectly capable of killing her, she would face him. Make him look her in the eyes as he did so.
"Have you considered," he said softly. "Why I came to be there a week ago?"
"Smelt the death and destruction and decided to join in?" Lucy replied flippantly, glad that she seemed to have hit a nerve.
"I doubt you would have noticed, but strong uses of Celestial Magic draws other users. Such as summoning His Majesty. When you opened his gate, I knew immediately where you were. It was a beacon drawing me, and with my oath, I was in the air before I could even truly process what was happening. So, in all truth, it was not my choice that brought me to your battlefield, Heartfilia."
He came for me? Lucy thought numbly as he disappeared. He was there because of me? Igneel, Metallicana…all of them, they died because I summoned 'Stache face? "Oh Mavis, what have I done?" she whispered, and the anger she had previously felt was crushed by an overwhelming wave of guilt.
Mea culpa. Mea culpa. Mea máxima culpa.
Loke came for her after an indeterminate time, mindlessly chattering to her as he brought fresh clothes for her to change into, and then guiding her into the athenaeum and passing her a thin volume before positioning her at the desk. Still chattering, he brought her a notebook and a pen, suggesting that Plue might like to spend time with her while she read. Obediently she opened the little dog's gate and helped him climb onto her lap, gently opening the book in front of her.
It could have been minutes or hours before Acnologia appeared in front of her again, so lost was she in her reading. She looked up at him as he came into view, distracting her from the neatly written text on the page. "What is it now?"
"There is food by the hearth," he stated flatly. "Dawn has come."
So it's morning, Lucy thought as she stretched, Plue mimicking her movements. How much sleep did I actually get?
Docile, she followed him out into the main room, where as he promised, there was a plate with meat and bread on it. Tearing off small bites for Plue, Lucy ate quietly, aware that Acnologia was moving around the main room, prowling like a caged animal. Vaguely she wondered if she would be served anything but meat and bread until she left, but she didn't feel up to challenging the dragon on the matter. With her current spate of luck, she'd end up starving because he decided that she wasn't worth feeding if she was going to complain.
After washing her plate, she returned to her book, Plue choosing to lie down on the table and pretend to read upside down, the pose bringing up painful memories of time spent in her apartment on the quiet days without missions…
I have to confess to Natsu, she thought sadly. He deserves to know that it was me who brought Acnologia down upon Igneel that day.
The book Loke had chosen seemed to be a primer on Celestial Magic, one more detailed and complex than she had ever thought her chosen type of magic could be. Her notebook page was covered in questions she had noted, meaning to ask Loke to find her another book, or ask Crux to explain. But it had confirmed that powerful uses of Celestial Magic would draw other users. Did Yukino feel the summons? Lucy wondered. Did she help send Rogue and Sting? I know Erza sent them a letter, but did my summons give them a destination and more speed?
And what about Angel, wherever she is? Did she feel it?
Too many questions. Lucy finished her book, wondering how she had made it this far in her career as a mage without knowing half of what seemed to be important Celestial knowledge. Loke seemed to sense that she needed him, and he appeared next to her, dressed as she remembered him from Fairy Tail, instead of the now familiar suit he wore as Leo.
"How could all of this be forgotten?" Lucy murmured, stroking the worn cover of the book in front of her. "Four hundred years, and not half of it was taught to me. And part of what I know was rumors, legends, all of which are apparently fact."
"Times were different," Loke said, hands in his pockets as he looked at her notes over her shoulder. "There were a lot more Celestial Mages then. It all started to be lost when Mildean was wiped out."
"Mildean?" Lucy asked. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it.
"An Academy in what you would recognize as Alverez today," Loke explained, leaving her to circle the room, looking at the painted walls. "Come over here a minute?"
Gathering Plue in her arms, Lucy joined the lion spirit in front of the second painting from the door. It showed a building, with beautiful columns and what Lucy would consider a classic structure from her limited experience in architecture. "This is Midean Academy?"
"It was," Loke said grimly. "Because there's only twelve keys, and they've been held pretty tightly by the main families of Andromeda's line ever since they were formed, only the silver keys were widely used. So there were a lot of people studying alternative uses of Celestial Magic. All of this was centered at the Midean Academy of Magic, which held the largest repository of writings outside any personal libraries Andromeda's line kept. And one day, it was all gone."
"What happened? An earthquake? Fire? Attack?" Lucy was interested, wondering why this Academy had fallen in such a short time, why nobody really spoke of it.
"There was a prodigy there, who was proposing theories that shattered the current understanding of Celestial Magic, among other types of magic, and they were completely correct. He went on to do things that nobody has been able to replicate since. But one of his experiments managed to kill everyone in the building. Not a single person, except for the prodigy was spared. It was the largest mass killing of Celestial Mages in history, until the destruction of Fire Village."
"When did this happen?" Lucy asked, tracing the lines of the painting, now seeing the small figures that she assumed were the bodies of the dead lying on the steps of the academy.
"Before the Dragon Civil War," Loke said gently. "Acnologia likely heard of the massacre and recorded it here. I don't doubt that he or someone in his line has been to Mildean, since I recognize several of these books as ones that were thought lost when the Academy fell. Everyone who entered that place before it was physically destroyed about four hundred years ago was killed."
"How are they still in good condition?" It was impossible to tell which books were ancient, and which ones were more modern. Before the Dragon Civil War, which was four hundred years ago, by the account of Zilconis. So some of these books are older than Acnologia himself…
"I recopy them when they begin to become too fragile," Acnologia declared from the doorway next to them. "It keeps the memory fresh, and the books are preserved. The language is also updated as necessary, although in that case, I copy out the original translation, and then I update to the newest language. The one on the table was copied about ten years ago."
"Draconis," Loke acknowledged with a bow. "I did not know that some of the treasures of Mildean had been rescued."
"It wasn't something I wanted advertised," the dragon growled. "Food is on the hearth."
"Wait," Lucy said quietly. "Why are both of you being so secretive about Mildean? Who was the prodigy that killed everyone? What was he working on?"
Acnologia and Loke exchanged glances. It was Loke who actually spoke. "That isn't necessarily part of your education here, Princess. Trust me when I tell you that I'm doing this for your sake. You're not ready for the truth, although you'll likely figure it out if you keep reading."
Setting Plue down, she crossed her arms over her chest, the little spirit doing the same. "Loke. I have just been through a war. This morning I realized that my actions led to my best friends' parents getting killed. There isn't much more that could hurt me."
"You may tell her Leo," Acnologia said, a grin playing on his lips, but her eyes were cold. "She may actually die of despair if she knows the whole truth, and I'll be free of my oath. Let her see how entangled this web is."
"I'm not going to," Loke said firmly. "She'll learn eventually. I killed one key holder, I will not be responsible for the death of another."
The dragon raised his eyebrow. "And you were the biggest advocate for humans among the spirits," he said with a dark chuckle. "Last I knew that would have exiled you from the heavens, unless the law changed."
"I changed it," Lucy spat, feeling the rage boil up again. Both of them were talking over her like she wasn't there, making decisions for her like she was a child. "'Stache face came, and I told him that it wasn't fair to let Loke die just because he had been protecting Aries."
Growling, Acnologia turned on her. "Show His Majesty proper respect, Heartfilia."
"He doesn't care," Lucy retorted. "I called him that to his face, and he didn't have a problem. We were even invited into the Spirit World after your first attempt to kill us."
"Humans, in the Spirit World?" the dragon murmured. "I see I have missed a great deal in the last decade. When did this happen?"
"After the Fairy Sphere released Tenrou Island," Loke supplied. "It was an apology for not being able to protect them from the seven year sleep."
"And your exile, Leo?" Acnologia seemed unbothered by the reference to the time he attempted to kill the main strength of Fairy Tail.
"He had a master, Karen Lilica, who was horrible to her spirits. She was abusing Aries, and Leo took her place, threatening to keep his gate open until she released him and Aries from their contracts. Karen didn't listen, to Loke or to her guild master, and she was killed on a mission trying to open a second gate. 'Stache face exiled him for that, but I found Loke in time and made him change his mind." Lucy knew that she was babbling, but she wanted the dragon to understand that Loke wasn't at fault, that it was Karen who had been cruel.
"Loke? Has the name of the leader of the Zodiac's changed since I last saw you?" Acnologia eyed the lion spirit. "You have changed your apparel again."
"In my exile, I went by the name 'Loke'," the lion spirit answered. "This is how I appeared. Lucy met me in this form, and I use it sometimes to cheer her up."
"Sentiment," the dragon growled. "I have other things to do. Food is on the hearth, as I said." Leaving, he left Loke and Lucy in silence, and Lucy turned on her spirit.
"So, are you going to explain what the hell is up with Mildean and you two?"
"Lucy," he sighed, running his hand through his hair. "It's complicated, and messy, and even I don't want to believe all of it. Things were a lot simpler before I was exiled and came to Fairy Tail, when history was just that. Trust me on this Princess, you're not ready to hear it. Keep your eyes open, and you'll put it together. There's enough material in here that you'll figure it out."
He disappeared, but not before placing another book on her table. Sighing, and muttering a few choice words that she had learned from Gajeel about the lion spirit, Lucy and Plue moved to the hearth, where a familiar plate waited for her.
***Well, this is...late. Sorry about that, but I didn't have internet until about 6 hours ago, my entire life is either packed in boxes, or strewn about my new apartment...I moved yesterday, so things have been rather unsettled. Oh, and I have houseguests.
Not much to talk about here. Both Lucy & Acnologia are cranky with each other, we're dealing with the aftermath of Tartarus...and hints about the ancient past. Such is Fairy Tail, eh? See you all next week with Frontlines, and here's hoping my life is somewhat back together by then.***