Objects

. . .

"What's he to you?" Serena couldn't help but ask.

His tone brought Lucy's attention back to the present and she furrowed her brow as she considered him. "I suppose that's something you'll have to ask of me in a truth," she said with a bit of mischief.

It was as if Serena's original mask came back on and he smiled. "A woman who lives by the rules. I love it! Right," he said, "my turn to gift you with your next dare."

. . .

Lucy couldn't help but smile. She knew she was playing a dangerous game but she hadn't felt this relaxed in quite some time—as ironic as that was. Perhaps this new adventure was just what she needed in order to loosen up a bit.

"Right, so go!" Serena said to her with a glint in her eye.

Lucy's eyes widened. "I'm sorry? Can you repeat what you just said?"

"I dared you to go into the forest behind us and bring back an item. But with the knowledge that whatever you bring back will be used in a subsequent dare."

"Um," Lucy said uncertainly. "I thought the dares were supposed to increase. You're just asking me to get something in the woods?"

"Do you decline the dare?"

Lucy squinted her eyes. "Hardly." Turning on her heel, she headed into the dense trees behind her to find—well she wasn't sure what she was going to find. As she looked amongst the leaves and branches, her mind began to play tricks on her. Whatever I bring back he is going to use in a future dare? That's—weird—and nerve racking. She looked down at the ground, finding a number of broken branches. Maybe I should just bring back a stick. But wait—maybe he's expecting that. Oh! This is harder than I thought it might be.

Lucy began to spin her wheels before she tried to calm herself. I need to look for something that one wouldn't necessarily find in the woods. Maybe I can throw him off his game that way.

Lucy reached for her keys, calling Pyxis out to help guide her. The bird spirit appeared with a squawk and Lucy leaned over to speak to it. "Pyxis, can you help me find something unique in the forest? Maybe something somebody misplaced?"

The bird jumped up and squawked again before running off. Lucy decided to wait for it to bring something back to her rather than follow it—it would be more efficient that way. Besides, this gave her the opportunity to think over her situation. Resting against one of the large tree trunks, she looked up at the stars, partially blocked by the branches. The moon was bright tonight so she had no trouble seeing her surroundings.

So Serena is a dragon slayer. The blonde sighed. Why do I always seem to get caught up with his type. Whether it be Natsu when I first joined the Guild, Laxus since he's returned to the Guild and now Serena, it somehow seems like I'm constantly getting caught up with these men.

But eight different types of dragon slaying magic? I didn't even realize there were that many types of dragon slaying magic. I suppose it makes sense. There likely used to be more than eight different types of dragons. Maybe? Seems overwhelming to me.

The girl thought about the man's carefree attitude and couldn't help but smile, feeling grateful he wasn't around to see her blush. She had to admit, she had not had this much fun in a very long time. Rustling among the trees drew her attention away from her woolgathering and she looked up to see her little spirit running towards her. She laughed lightly, Pyxis always seemed like it was in a rush to the next thing. She'd never seen the bird relax once.

A bit of moonlight reflected off an item in the bird's beak caught Lucy's eye. As the little creature approached, it dropped the trinket into Lucy's lap. The blonde picked it up, holding it to the moonlight to take a closer look. The necklace itself was just a simple chain, covered in dirt and clearly tarnished from its time outside. But the small orb at the end of the chain was truly breathtaking. It looked almost like there was a galaxy within the little clear orb; the stars sparkled brightly and it took a moment for Lucy to realize that she had been holding her breath from the site of it.

She looked up at her spirit. "Thank you, this is perfect! I don't know how you found it but you did an amazing job!"

The little bird squawked once more before disappearing in a shower of light back to the spirit realm. Lucy stood, brushing off her backside of any dirt that may have clung to her. Slipping the little necklace into her pocket, she exited the forest, feeling like she had just somehow won the entire game.

. . .

Serena chuckled to himself as he watched the blonde woman walk into the forest. He hated to see her go but loved to watch her leave. This evening had turned into a good deal more fun than he had originally anticipated, all thanks to her.

It had been quite some time since he had last played Truth and Dare with another willing participant. The last time that he had played had resulted in some very unfortunate circumstances for the country he had been traveling in at the time. He tried not to chuckle at what had happened. It was rather unfortunate that he had ended up leveling the entire country—but things always got a little dangerous when he played Truth and Dare. Thankfully, he had enough control over his magic to level the entire place without hurting a soul—although a few select people did remain trapped under some rubble for a while. He chuckled, congratulating himself for taking such an interesting spin on "putting someone in time out."

But Lucy—this evening could turn out to be even more fun than the last round he played, and that was saying something. She was charming, interesting, bold and not afraid to speak her mind. He rather loved the combination.

He laid down on the soft grass, facing the tree line where he knew she would eventually return. She'll probably just be holding some twig or stone, he chuckled to himself. This particular dare was so very cunning because the player essentially sealed their own fate. He played it the same way every time—teleport to an area near a forest and ask his opponent to obtain an object from within. They usually came back with something dull and predictable and that's when the fun would begin.

Dares included asking strangers to buy the item from them, placing the item on their head and walking with it, holding onto the item for the entire night (which depending on the size of the twig or stone could be rather hilarious), or the always fun strip down and wear nothing but what you brought back with you (which was always a go to when a pile of leaves was returned). He licked his lips, rather hoping Lucy might come back with at least a handful of leaves.

A bit of bright reflected in the moonlight and he realized it was the glint of her blonde hair, reflecting the beautiful moonlight. He narrowed his eyes as she continued to approach, not seeing anything at all in her possession. "So," he said with a bit of a smirk, "you decline the dare after all? I can't say I won't enjoy my reward."

"Not so fast," the woman responded, laying in the grass beside him. She reached into her pocket and withdrew an item Serena had never thought he would behold. He reached out, taking it gingerly in his hands.

"Where did you find this?" he asked in awe as he peered into the little globe.

"In the forest, of course," Lucy responded. "That was the dare after all."

Serena shook his head, acting very serious—which was not the response Lucy was expecting. "How did you find it, it must have been buried beyond mere mortal reach."

"Uh, you're weirding me out a bit," Lucy admitted. "Is there something I should know about it?"

Serena turned to look at her and the glint returned in his eye. "I suppose you could use that as your truth."

Lucy sighed. She somehow felt like she was loosing footing but nodded her head. "Okay, tell me everything you know about this object."

"Normally I'd object to the breadth of the request, but," he stopped to brush a finger against her cheek and Lucy shivered slightly, to his delight, "given that you asked so nicely, I simply cannot resist."

Serena held the little necklace up to the moonlight and Lucy watched as the little bits of light that looked like stars within it began to swirl. "It's a secret the Spirit King likes to keep very quiet. I doubt that the thought would have occurred to you, but after I tell it to you, you may be angry with yourself that it did not." Lucy furrowed her brow, trying to keep up with the man's seeming riddles. "You must recall what the Spirit King did in punishment of Leo?"

"Of course," Lucy said with wide eyes. "But it was a complete misunderstanding. Leo wasn't actually responsible for his mage's death."

"Perhaps, but the spite of the Spirit King is formidable." Serena raised his eyebrows briefly as he considered the girl next to him. "Although I do hear he has softened somewhat in his old age. Regardless," he said, shaking his head, "a good deal of other spirits faced the same fate as Leo, for one reason or another. But the Spirit King has always been quite clever about his punishments. Leo, obviously, was forced to live as a human, barred from returning to the spirit realm. Others, such as this one, he trapped in crystal and flung it to the ends of the earth, where the chance that anyone might find them was scant, yet the hope of being found is ever present, only adding to additional strife over the millennia."

"Oh my god!" Lucy exclaimed, jumping up. "Are you trying to tell me that there is a spirit in this necklace?"

Serena nodded his head. "I am."

"We have to contact the Spirit King now! We have to have them released! This is cruel!" Lucy was about to raise her hand to summon her spirits and request an audience but Serena held up his hand.

"I wouldn't act so rashly. While you may have a good relationship with the Spirit King, that does not mean that the spirit trapped within its constellation was not at fault. If you want it released, I suggest you take that job upon yourself. I also suggest you think hard on whether releasing the spirit is the right decision."

"How could it not be?" Lucy said in shock. "Spirits have souls just like you and me. Keeping one locked up this way is cruel."

"I have not yet completed the Truth, unless you do not want to know the rest of my knowledge?" Serena said with a raised eyebrow.

Lucy twisted her lips but sat back down, keeping quiet so Serena could finish his explanation. "I'm fairly certain but living within this little orb is the Spirit Nemesis. I'm sure you know of her deeds and misdeeds. She is the Spirit of Justice and Revenge and before she was banished by the Spirit King, her ideas of vengeance and what was fair became quite twisted. I'm sure you heard of Narcissus, eventually dying as a result of her tricks. He was not her only victim, of that I can assure you."

Lucy bit her lower lip. All of this seemed so surreal. "I—" she hesitated. "I'm just not sure I could leave a spirit trapped like this without at least trying to help."

The man smiled warmly, placing the little globe back into Lucy's palm before closing her fingers around the object. His fingers came up to play against her chin, lifting it slightly so that she would look into his eyes before his fingers slipped around her neck. "You are truly incredible." The words left his mouth before he could stop them and within seconds, he was pulling the girl into his body and pressing his lips against hers.

END CHAPTER 4

. . .

Whelp, in normal Mus fashion, I took something that was supposed to be lighthearted, fun and smutty and turned it into a really intense story. Oh well, I am having fun and make no apologies!

Hope you guys like where this is going!

Xoxo

Mus