Lucy yawned and stretched her arms over her head as she strode into the kitchen of, what she and other newcomers had learned their house was called the Fairy Hills building, which she thought was so much better then calling it the slave house. They'd made it through their first week, not without some concerns though, but thankfully she had today to just relax and then tomorrow she would sit down and talk to Natsu about everything that had happened over the week. She knew full well that he was not going to be happy when she told him about what had happened, she was going to have one helluva time keeping him from doing something incredibly idiotic on her(insert eyeroll) behalf.

"You look well rested." Kinana greeted from in front of the stove, cooking what appeared to be pancakes on several cast iron griddles laid across the stove top burners.

"I am." Lucy said on a sigh as she moved towards the coffee and poured herself a cup and added a splash of cream and a heaping spoonful of sugar before taking a sip and letting out a moan. "Do you make the coffee?" She asked as she moved back around to sit on one of the stools of the breakfast nook.

"Yes I do." Kinana said and smiled. "Is it good?"

"Yes," Lucy groaned as she took another much larger sip. "I've never had coffee so good!"

"Well thank you," She said with a grin. "I strive to at least make everyone feel a little better about us being, ya know..."

"Slaves." Lucy finished when it was clear the woman didn't want to say the word.

Wordlessly Kinana nodded.

"It's alright." Lucy murmured and shrugged. "It's not like we can change our circumstances."

Again the woman nodded though she'd lost some of her smile.

"Anyway, I'm going to go take a bath." Lucy said after a moment when it was clear that some of Kinana's good mood had disappeared. "Come get me if you need help." She said as she stood and pushed her stool back in.

Kinana smiled at her from over her shoulder. "Thank you for the offer Lucy."

"I meant it too." She called from over her shoulder as she headed towards the bathing room and strode first into the store room filled with women's clothes and products, quickly picking out a tee shirt that would fit her as well as undergarments and short shorts she grabbed her coffee and headed for the bath. She hadn't been able to soak for as long as she had wanted to throughout the week so she was really looking forward to being able to kick back and just soak away her problems temporarily before she had to climb out and face the issues head on. Setting down her coffee and clean clothes on the bench next to the line of dirty clothes hampers Lucy quickly stripped and tossed the clothes into the hamper that was labeled with her name, grabbing the bucket of soap that doubled as shampoo as well as a towel she picked up her coffee and moved to the huge communal bath. Setting all of the items on the ground she sat on the rim of the bath then slowly lowered herself into the water and sat on the ledge so she was covered almost all the way to her shoulders.

Sighing Lucy leaned her head back against the rounded edge and closed her eyes, she'd needed this and she'd needed it badly.

"Lucy." Natsu called softly from the doorway.

Jerking upward in shock she wrapped her arms around her chest as her head whipped around and she glared at the door. "Natsu? What do you want? I'm in the bath you know."

"Yea, yea nothing I haven't seen before." He growled as he pushed open the door and slid in, quietly closing it he stalked forward and sank down behind her and laid on his back his hands behind his head. "You said you wanted to talk so, talk."

"While I'm in the bath?" She asked disbelieving that he chose now of all times to talk.

"Yeup."

Lucy sighed and rested her head back on the rim of the bath. "So you know the behemoth who I ran into on Tuesday?" She finally asked.

"Yea, the big fucker with the yellow hair spiked backwards?"

"Yea him," She sighed and closed her eyes as she imagined the meltdown to come. "Well he's my new supervisor for the translation section."

"Okay." He said slowly. "I don't see why that would be an issue needing to be discussed to urgently."

"He's also taken a very strong interest in my capabilities in translations." She took a deep breath and decided she just needed to say it so in a rush so she blurted it out. "And he's also the masters grandson."

Silence met her, and not the normal silence but the tense ticking-time-bomb silence that was seconds from exploding. And sure enough he exploded upwards into a sitting position and launched himself forward so his face was right next to hers.

"He's the masters grandson!" He hissed out angrily. "Your new boss is the masters grandson?!"

"Yeup." She said on a sigh and turned her head and looked into his furious eyes. "He's the masters fucking grandson."

"How the fuck are you so calm?!"

She shrugged. "Because I've already had my freak out and I don't want to freak out anymore, its exhausting."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "When did you find out who he was?"

"That same day I started in the translation section." She said slowly and watched his eyes narrow impossibly more.

"And you waited to tell me till today?" He snarled.

She nodded.

"Why?" He demanded.

"Because I knew you would do something really stupid so I wanted you to have today and tomorrow to chill before we went back to work." She said matter-of-factly. "You have a tendency to over react to things when it regards me."

"No I don't!" He spat.

Lucy gave him a look. "Alright, what about that time that merchants son put his hand on the middle of my back?" She drawled.

"It was your ass and he deserved it!" He defended.

"You hit him in the head with a sack of grain." She said dryly. "His head smashed into the table and even the doctor was amazed that you hadn't killed him."

"He shouldn't have touched you then." He said and shrugged his cheeks reddening slightly.

Arching a brow she grinned. "And the time the bakers son-"

"Alright! Alright! I get it, when it comes to you I might be a little overprotective but your the only family I have so I'm going to protect you when I feel as if you are being threatened." He growled.

"They were all just being friendly Natsu." She said gently. "You just think that every male who gets to close to me is threatening."

He shrugged again. "They deserved it."

Shaking her head Lucy rolled her eyes as she looked away. "Whatever."

"And now?" He asked. "Am I wrong to be overprotective now?"

Lucy hesitated then sighed and shrugged. "I can honestly say that I'm not sure." She said softly and turned her head back meeting his eyes. "It's to early to say for sure right now, Natsu. But I can't do my work properly and keep you from doing something idiotic at the same time, so please promise me that if you come face to face with him please turn around and walk away."

Natsu tensed. "I don't think that I'll be able to." He told her honestly.

Lucy turned to face him, one arm covering her chest and she reached up and cupped his cheek. "What do you think is going to happen to me if something happens to you?"

He frowned at her. "I really hate when you do that." He growled.

She grinned at him. "What? Make a point that you can't argue?"

"Fine," He finally snarled angrily. "I promise."

"Thank you, Natsu." She said softly as she smiled gently at him.

"But you have to promise me that you'll let me know if he crosses a line." He told her.

"But what can you do Natsu?" She murmured softly fear for him in her eyes. "We're slaves, there's nothing that you can do to him that won't land you in trouble."

"Don't worry about me." He told her softly.

"But if I don't who will?" She asked.

"I'm trusting you, so trust me." He said.

Lucy opened her mouth then closed it before she finally sighed. "Okay."

He nodded then leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I'll let you bathe in peace now." He said and pushed himself back and up onto his feet and strode silently from the bath.

Lucy waited until the door snicked behind him before she took a deep breath and pushing herself forward she swam to the center of the bath and let herself sink until she touched the bottom which, surprisingly was pretty deep down. Closing her eyes Lucy screamed into the water before she pushed off the bottom and broke the surface. Sucking in a deep breath she tread the water and pushed her hair back with one hand and wiped the water from her eyes with the other.

"Screaming into the water?"

Lucy screamed and jumped, if one could somehow jump in water, then promptly sank beneath the surface when she momentarily forgot to tread. Sputtering as she kicked her legs and broke the surface again and after wiping off her eyes she looked over at a smirking Laxus as he leaned against the door. Lucy was suddenly extremely grateful that the bath water was slightly steaming and cloudy from the minerals and herbs that Kinana added to the bath to make it much more relaxing and healing for the occupants. Lucy moved herself back away from him as she stared at him in terror. "W-what are you doing in here?" She demanded, then felt herself drain of color as she realized just how she'd spoken to him.

But shockingly Laxus's smirk just grew and he stalked forward until he crouched at the edge of the bath, tugging up his suit pant legs so he could crouch comfortably. "I came here to talk to you."

"Why?" She asked, making sure that she wasn't rudely demanding this time.

"You surprised me this week." He told her honestly. "I was looking over your work and, aside from Levy's, it's one of the most remarkable I've seen. I might need you to accompany me into the city today." She stared at him then opened her mouth to say something but he held up his hand to silence her. "Wear the clothes you have it's not a fancy event. You have one hour to get ready and be in the translation section, do not be tardy." He warned then stood and strode to the door but paused halfway there. "By the way your pink haired idiot needs to be more careful where he corners you or Kinana is going to tell Mira and she'll have you two married. And that will be an inconvenience." He told her and winked at her when she blinked at him in surprise, with that parting look he was out the door.

"Inconvenience? Why the hell would my getting married be an inconvenience to him?" She murmured still staring at the door before shook her head and swam to the edge of the bath to wash up. "I was really looking forward to having today off." She sighed as she climbed out of the bath and quickly washed herself, scooping out a handful of the soap from the bucket she strode over to the shower portion and after running her hands though her hair and then massaging the soap in she turned on the waterfall and quickly rinsed herself off. Running her hands over her hair to get the excess water out of it she strode back over and picked up her towel to dry off as her mind wandered. She wanted to know why Laxus wanted her to go over to the translation section today when it was a day off for everyone. Literally, Mira had told them that nobody worked on the weekends except for the few security people who had been given the short end of the stick in the random draw for it. Nobody except Laxus that is, and apparently he wanted her to work as well, this was just the way to start her day. Ambushed by not one but two men while she was taking her damn bath!

Lucy took a deep breath as she strode down the hallway towards the translation section. It had taken her nearly all the remaining time she'd had to get ready and leave for the main house to convince Natsu that nothing was wrong and that he shouldn't come with her that he would just get in the way and make things that much more difficult for her. And so, here she stood all by herself standing in front of the carved double doors that would take her into that room and she'd have to interact with him. Hopefully everyone would be in there working and she wouldn't be alone with him. Glancing at her watch she took a deep breath she turned the doorknob and pushed it open, striding in she let it snick quietly behind her, looking around she felt her stomach sink when she noted that nobody was there.

"Hello?" She called tentatively.

She let out a sigh of relief when Levy poked her head out of Laxus's open office door, motioning to her she smiled. "Come on up!" She called down.

Lucy nodded and hurried towards the stairs, rushing up them she slowed as the reached the top and took a deep breath as she reached landing then turned and strode into the room, blinking in surprise at the spaciousness of it. The doorway was placed almost at the head of the office, it opened to show a massive built in bookcase that spanned the entire wall opposite the door that was filled nearly to capacity with books while a large oak desk placed so it was the first thing one saw when they walked into the office, it was riddled with paper and pens while a massive chair loomed behind it and two much smaller chairs sat almost timidly in front of it. A few feet from the chairs sat two large yet comfortable looking couches with a coffee table placed on top of a black plush looking rug between them which was also riddled with papers and pens and a few ledgers and books. Turning her attention to where she heard the voices talking her eyes widened as she took in the two men standing next to another larger work bench that had a large tilted desk built into it to make it easier to translate materials.

"Grandpa Crux!? Horologium!?" She said excitedly shock lighting her up, though she hadn't realized that she'd spoken in the language that the three of them had grown accustomed to using when talking to each other.

Both men turned around and they both lit up in shocked excitement.

"Miss Lucy!" They both cried in ancient Alveran and rushed towards her.

"Oh thank heavens you are alright my dear!" The taller one of the two a grin on his face as his thin mustache tilted up with his lip as he wrapped his arms around her.

"We had heard that your home had been attacked and we feared the worst!" The much shorter much older man with a weathered appearance and two long sprigs of mustache shooting down from his upper lip as he too wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry I worried you two!" She said as she return their hug. "I'm alright, I'm alright, there's no need for you two to be worried about me I promise."

"What on earth are you doing here in Fiore?" The shorter one asked.

Lucy grimaced. "Well the attack was a slave hunt." She told them. Both of them widened their eyes and looked at the pendent hanging from her neck for several heartbeats before they started to yell. She blinked at them in surprise at the sheer anger that both of the old men were showing on her behalf. Slowly she started to smile and then laugh until tears rolled down her cheeks and she wiped them off. "Gentlemen!" She shouted over them, clapping her hands to try and get their attention, it took her a few more tries before they slowly quieted. "I understand that you two are upset, I do, I'm still not completely used to it myself. But for right now this is my life and I'm trying to make the most of it. With that being said, what are you two doing here?" She asked with a frown.

"Oh!" The taller one said then turned and rushed back to the table.

"Come dear, do you remember that book that we were telling you about?" The shorter one asked taking her hand in his and patting it with his other one as he led her towards the work bench.

"Of course Grandpa Crux," She said staring down at him with a soft smile. "I've never forgotten any of our conversations."

"Well," The man said gleefully. "I believe we finally found it!"

"No!" She cried and turned slightly to face him in disbelief. "You said not to get to excited about the possibility that it was most likely destroyed long ago!"

"He might have been wrong in his assumption!" Horologium said from the bench.

Lucy looked over with a grin then froze her eyes widening and her smile disappearing as she took in the shocked look on Levy's face and the slightly annoyed yet highly intrigued one on Laxus's face. "Uh." She said then looked down at Crux. "I think we forgot about them, and I think we've been speaking in ancient Alveran."

Crux blinked then grinned. "So we have." He turned and gave them a less warm smile. "My apologies Mr. Dreyar, Ms. McGarden," He said to the two in a heavily accented voice. "I have known Lucy since she was very young, my associate and I had heard that her village had been attacked while we were over seas and we had thought the worst. But to find her safe and sound? It was like finding an extremely rare tome that has been lost for thousands upon thousands of years."

Laxus glanced towards her then back to Crux. "Shall we?" He asked motioning toward the work bench.

Crux nodded and tugged Lucy forward. "Now, Lucy you have had the most exposure to dead ancient Alveran so I would like your opinion on what you think."

Glancing over at Laxus she looked down at Crux pulling him from a stop. "I think it would be best if he did the translations since I'm just a slave."

Crux frowned up at her. "In all the years that I've dealt with Mr. Dreyar and Ms. McGarden they have only ever been able to translate one tome of ancient Alveran between the two of them and with nearly a year to do so, you on the other hand have managed to translate three tomes I brought you in as many months. Those two are going to be worthless when it comes to ancient dead Alveran."

Lucy gasped and frowned down at him. "He is my masters grandson, and he is your host!" She chastised softly. "Have some respect. Besides when they finally give in I can step in and translate it at your urging."

"Perhaps we should just let Lucy translate." Laxus said speaking in extremely choppy ancient Alveran.

Lucy froze and felt all color drain from her face as she slowly looked up at him as she realized that he'd most likely understood everything that they had been saying. A feeling of dread swept through her, she had no idea how he was going to react to this but she had a sinking feeling that it was not going to end good for any of them.

"You can understand ancient Alveran?" Crux asked switching back to speaking the universal language.

"Only bits and pieces but I can put together what it is you are saying." He said and winked at Lucy.

"Come now," Horologium said from the bench turning slightly to look between the two. "Lucy, come on lets get going."

Lucy looked over at Laxus as if to get his approval, mockingly he smirked at her as if enjoying her terror and lifted his hand as if beckoning her to approach the tome. Taking a deep breath she walked up to the bench taking the gloves that Crux extended towards her as she studied the front of the book.

Turning her head she smiled at him. "This is definitely old enough to be ancient dead Alveran." She said before turning her attention back to the book and carefully lifting the front cover with both hands, going even slower when the book creaked in warning and nodded in thanks when a wedge was placed there so the spine wouldn't break. Sucking in a deep breath as she read the five words scrawled across the page.

"What does it say?" Levy asked, speaking up for the first time since Lucy had entered the office.

"'Truth of Contradiction by Zeref'." She said and turned her head and grinned. "This is it, this is the manuscript you've been searching for for your entire life."

The pure joy that split across Crux's face made Lucy's heart soar. "Keep going! Keep going!" He cried.

Grinning Lucy shook her hair back from her face and turned bending over the book as she carefully turned the page, jumping slightly when she felt someone pull all of her hair back from her face and start to put it up for her. "Thank you." She murmured when all the tugging had ended. "Horologium you ready?" She asked.

"Whenever your ready Lucy." He said.

Giving a nod Lucy shifted closer holding her fingers just a hair above the page as she started to murmur to herself, saying the words slowly as she translated them. "Thank you." She murmured when someone pressed a chair against the back of her knees then pushed it forward so she was able to get even closer to the book.

"How fast can she translate this?" She heard Laxus ask and she knew that he'd pulled Crux back to speak to him.

"Shh." Crux whisper, though she still heard him. "Any disturbances and she can be thrown off from her translations. To answer your question it can take her as long as two months, maybe shorter now that she has the help that it would take to translate the tome With less help it will take her maybe double the time or shorter, we don't really know because this is the first ancient dead Alveran that we have ever gotten hold of."

She heard Laxus grunt.

"It's best if she worked in a quite atmosphere with as little distraction as possible." Crux continued.

"I can hear you Grandpa Crux." She said teasingly unconsciously switching to ancient Alveran. "You're not being very quiet."

"My apologies Miss Lucy." He murmured.

Lucy chuckled as she turned another page carefully. "I'm just teasing." She absently said as she felt the book calling to her, dragging her down into it's clutches. This was the part that she absolutely loved about translating ancient tomes, they just seemed to drag her in and she couldn't stop unless she was forced to stop. So far the longest time she'd gone without a break was just over five days when Natsu had finally realized that she hadn't moved from her spot in all that time. She wondered how long it would be until Crux dragged her away for a break.