"Damn Dragon Slayers with your damned motion sickness." I muttered darkly under my breath as I put one foot in front of the other. Sweat made my skin sticky and I had to periodically wipe at my brow to keep it out of my eyes. Long grass tickled my bare shins as the three of us moved steadily through the empty fields at the base of the Silver Hills, my shadow extending behind of me, far over the golden fields. I still can't totally comprehend how they had managed to convince to that walking would be the best way to reach the mountain range. I had immediately complained. Sting won me over saying it would be fantastic stamina training. "Damn Dragon Slayers," He was right; my muscles were screaming at me.
"Hey, we're not that bad!" Sting shouted to me over his shoulder. I glared at his finely toned back.
"You're just as bad as Grey when it comes to wearing a shirt! Put some clothes on!" I yelled at the blonde Slayer, smirking when he cringed at my loud volume. He chuckled in response, making my my flushed cheeks heat up further.
"Don't you like what you see, Blondie?" He slowed to walk beside me. I tried to move ahead of him, but after so many hours of walking, my legs just wouldn't have it. So I resigned myself to the tanned arm that was thrown around my shoulder and the husky voice that grumbled in my ear.
"You're beautiful when you blush like that."
My eyes popped open wide and I turned my head away from his gleaming smile.
Before I could respond, a monotonous voice intoned, "Sting, stop it. You're bothering her," Sting answered that with another chuckle. "besides, we're here."
Standing tall before us, were the Silver Hills, a beautiful range of low rolling hills and mountains that, when looking for where they ended, couldn't be found, giving them the appearance of going on forever. The Hills themselves were charming, pale creatures resting in a bed of yellow grass fields. The outside resembled exactly what they were mined for: chalk, though originally it had been silver, just as they were named for.
"Well, let's get going." Sting said, pushing his pack further up his shoulders, Rogue falling into step behind his blonde counterpart.
"What? No!" I cried, waving my hand behind me in the general direction of Magnolia. "No way! We've been walking for hours! There's no way we can mine the chalk and fight off the mine's guardian tonight! We need to rest first!"
"So…?"
"So we make camp here for the night and tomorrow, after resting, we get the chalk." I made puppy-dog eyes at the Twins, hoping they, mostly Sting, weren't going to insist on going tonight.
"Sounds agreeable to me," Rogue said quietly, moving closer to where I was standing, leaving Sting to stand alone.
"Tch. Fine. We'll do it your way tonight, Blondie."
It didn't take long to set up our small camp. Everyone had their own tent, which took little time to set up, though I did need help with mine. The tents themselves were set up in such a way that the openings all faced the open area in the middle, creating a triangular shape. The area in the middle had been transformed into a fire pit: a ring of rocks surrounded a teepee shaped pile of sticks and twigs, waiting to be set ablaze.
As the sun settled behind the Silver Hills, Sting lit the tower of sticks with a small light attack.
We all settled around the roaring fire, enjoying the heat as night's cooling temperatures came rolling quickly down the mountain side. Munching quietly on a protein bar I turned to Sting and asked, "How did you do that?"
His blue eyes turned in my direction, reflecting a flickering golden glow from the fire, "What? Light the fire? It's pretty simple actually," He said, finishing his own dinner. "When I was learning Light Dragon Slayer magic, I realized that it wasn't just light I was learning; it was also heat." He looked at me full on, expecting me not to understand.
"Ah. So it's kind of like the sun and how its' light also produces heat." I tapped my lips with a finger. "Does that mean that you're magic, Rogue, does the opposite?" I looked in his direction across the flaming pit.
His glowing red eyes held a glimmer of shock at how quickly I was able to understand their magics. Giving himself a slight shake he finally responded, "Yes. My shadow magic, instead of producing heat, steals it away."
"Interesting. I had no idea your magic's could do that." After that, we sat quietly, watching the glowing flames of the fire jump and dance into the dark night sky, occasionally Sting or Rouge would add more fuel so it wouldn't die.
I had just began to nod off when Rogues gentle voice penetrated the hazy fog spreading through my tired mind. "I'm sorry, Rogue. What did you say?" I tiredly looked at the pensive man sitting on the opposite side of the fire.
"I asked if you wouldn't mind telling us what exactly is guarding the mines? I've heard stories, but am not sure which is right,"
"Oh, sure," I stretched and straightened into a more postured sitting position. I glanced at both boys, whose eyes were trained on me like prey before a predator, finally focusing on the crackling wood of the fire. As the flames danced in my eyes, I told them what I knew of the chalk mines and their guardians.
"The mines of the Silver Hills were originally used for mining silver, as they are named after. When the silver deposits ran dry, it was a stroke of luck that the chalk deposits below were even found, but they were. With no more silver, chalk became the focus of the miners and the mine owners. The mines themselves are only in use in the spring and fall, when the temperatures vary between summer's blistering heat and winter's frozen grasp. Seeing as we're coming to the end of the fall season, the mines have begun shutting down," I turned my gaze to the sky, tracing the outlines of my favorite constellations with my eyes before continuing. "With the mines closing for winter, to ensure their protection, the owners put guardians in place to keep unwanted visitors from stealing the chalk." I paused, gathering a breath along with my thoughts.
"What guards the mines, Lucy?" Rogue asked, moving around the circle to get closer to where I was sitting; Sting moving similarly.
I made quick eye contact with them both, "Chokers."
"Chokers?" Sting asked incredulously, his voice mocking. "They don't sound so tough."
"Alone, they aren't." I met and held his gaze, "When you're face to face with six or seven, that's where you're going to find trouble. Chokers are nasty little creatures. They look human, but they aren't. Their heads and torsos are compact and very bony. Their limbs are spindly and long and their hands and feet are covered in thousands of tiny spines, allowing them to grip almost any surface, human or not." I fixed my gaze back on the fire, attempting to repress the shudder that ran the length of my spine at the thought of the tiny demons. "They are known for living underground, making them the perfect protectors for the mines. They don't need much by way of food or water, but if anything - animals, people, anything - wander by, they won't hesitate to grab it and devour it."
"How many guard the mines, do you know?" Rogue asked, having moved close enough to run his long fingers along my arm in a comforting motion.
"I don't. It could be as few as a couple and as many as a couple hundred. It all depends."
Seeing the slightly haunted look in my eyes, Sting placed his large hand on my shoulder, giving a comforting squeeze. "You look like you've encountered these before… have you?" he asked softly, attempting to meet my gaze.
A quick nod of my head confirmed it and the look in my eyes told them it wasn't a good experience. Neither asked what had happened, and for that I was thankful.
Shaking off the boys comforting touches, I stood and brushed the dirt from my shorts. With tired eyes and a tired smile I turned to Sting and Rogue, who had followed me and were now standing beside me. "I think you guys have a good idea of what we're up against. Now, I think it's time we all went to bed."
I was moving toward my tent when a calloused hand grabbed my shoulder and stopped me. A quick pull and I was falling into Sting's muscled chest as his arms circled around my waist. I was so surprised by the gesture, I was rendered speechless. Sting buried his face in my hair, his mouth right next to my ear. His hot breath tickled as he whispered, "Goodnight, Blondie. Don't worry about tomorrow," He moved back enough for me to see the dark blue depths of his half-lidded eyes, "everything will be fine. Trust me." He pecked me quickly on the forehead, slowly unwinding his arms from around my waist as he moved toward his own tent. Just as he was about to enter, he flashed me a devilish grin over his shoulder, "You really do look beautiful when you blush like that, Lucy." And then he was gone, the flap of his tent swishing shut behind him.
I turned to Rogue in the dying light of the fire, a hand on my burning cheek, my eyes open wide in shock. "W-what was that?" I asked, my voice trembling and barely pitched above a whisper. His kiss startled me. I knew that he was joking, just tossing my emotions around for the fun of it. He couldn't have been serious. Right?
Rogue, in a similar state of shock, just shook his head. Meeting my eyes, he said, "Honestly, I have no clue. He's never acted that way before." Rogue scrutinized me quickly, before sighing. He placed a chill hand on my shoulder, "Goodnight, Lucy. Sleep well and I will see you in the morning." Then he was gone, having moved quickly across the smoldering remains of the fire to his own tent and swiftly disappearing within.
Still blushing and confused as to Sting's caring actions I made my way into my tent and quickly slid into my sleeping bag.
My last thoughts before falling asleep were Sting's warm arms safely around my waist and long spindly fingers tightening around my neck.
A splash of direct sunlight streaming through the clear section of the tent was enough to wake me from the chains of my nightmare. I bolted upright in my sleeping bag, a slender hand pressed against my racing heart as sweat trickled down the curve of my neck. I ran my trembling fingers through my sleep tousled hair in an attempt to detangle it and calm down.
It was just a dream, I told myself, though the truth of it rang deep in my heart. It had been years since the memory had reared its' ugly head, due to having so it deeply repressed, that it had had no chance of surfacing. Or so I had thought.
Just as I had began to calm down, my breath caught in my throat and the dream crashed back around me; the feeling of spindly phantom fingers tightened around my throat and my father's vicious laughter resounded in my head.
I jumped from my sleeping bag in an attempt to get away from the demons that not only haunted my dreams, but my current waking reality as well. Glad that I had slept in my clothes from the day before, I pushed aside the nylon flap on my tent and exited into the chill morning air.
"Hey, Blondie!" Sting shouted at me from where he was frying bacon on the relit fire, "Breakfast is almost -" He stopped suddenly, cutting off his own words and abandoning the frying pan as he moved to stand in front of me. "What? What happened? What's wrong?" He growled.
I tried to tame the look of terror in my eyes before responding, "Nothing, Sting. Everything is fine." My voice wavered slightly on the last word and I mentally cursed myself for it.
Sting's calloused hands gripped my shoulders tightly. When I met his eyes, I was surprised by the intensity in the cerulean depths, "Quit lying. I can smell how scared you are." He dropped his voice a couple octaves, and again he asked, "What happened?"
I flicked my eyes over Sting's bare shoulder to where Rogue was tending to a different aspect of breakfast. He stopped what he was doing and watched the two of us, taking in my fear and Sting's surprising protectiveness.
Knocking Sting's hands from my shoulders, I stepped back and glared at the Dragon Slayer. "It was nothing, Sting, just a stupid nightmare."
With a look of annoyance, Sting turned away from me and as he walked back to the fire and his now charred bacon, "Fine. Whatever you say, Blondie, but it wasn't just a nightmare. That much I can tell."
Moving over to where Rogue was standing, I eyes the large stack of pancakes in his hands appreciatively. He smiled gently down at me. "Ignore him. He means well, but, well, he's Sting."
"Yeah," I rubbed the back of my neck, "I'm used to it; Natsu was like this sometimes." Banishing the thought, I asked, "Where did you guys get this stuff?"
"Ah. Your spirit, the one with the pink hair and chains on her wrists, appeared when I woke up and informed me that she was leaving breakfast to me."
"That's odd. Virgo doesn't usually go to other people." I mussed.
"That's what I figured. When I left my tent, I was surprised to find a sack of food and utensils sitting by a freshly blazing fire."
"I'll have to thank her for that later." I eyed the pancakes again.
"Come on, let's eat." Over his shoulder he yelled, "Sting! Food!"
"According to Crux, this is the mine with the most easily accessible chalk." I peered into the darkness that swarmed just inside the mine's entrance.
"I don't see any guardians here, Blondie."
"Cut it out, you're blonde too!" I shot back. "The Choker may be further in anyway."
I tentatively entered the mine shaft, Sting and Rogue falling into step behind me. When the darkness enveloped us, Sting used his magic and lit his hand with a soft, flickering light, illuminating the tunnel enough to see nothing but white dusted walls in front of us. The chill air of the tunnel added to the shiver that ran the length of my spine as we descended further and further into the mine's depths.
The depth we had to descend allotted time for my nightmare to return and haunt me. Last time I had been anywhere near the Silver Hills and the mines was late childhood. Mother had died a few years prior and Father was looking to expand his business into the mines to make more money. He brought me with him when he went to appraise one of the for sale mines. The gentleman selling the mine had explained that contracted demons protected the mine in the off seasons. I was used to demonstrate the Choker's effectiveness as my Father laughed on, not caring much what happened to me, his own daughter.
We soon came upon a crossroads in the tunnel system. Swiping my fingers quickly over Crux's key, I was given the impression that we were close and should take the tunnel on the left.
There, ahead of us, was a set of mining equipment and a rough wall of chipped chalk. Reaching out, I brushed my fingers gingerly across the pale surface, feeling the slight influx of magic gathered naturally by the chalk. When I pulled my fingers away they were dusted in white. "This is the spot. Feel that?"
Rogue moved next to me and ran his hand down the wall in a similar fashion. His ember colored eyes opened in slight surprise. "What is that?"
Sting, with one hand still glowing, touched the rough wall, "It's the natural energy, magic if you will, that is found in naturally occurring elements and materials. Once this is mined, it will be processed into the chalk found at markets and lose all it's magic essence." I replied.
"How do we get it out?" Sting asked, brushing his hand against his pants and leaving ghostly white handprints behind.
I reached behind me and with a smile, produced two pickaxes, "Start swinging, boys."
Instead of taking the proffered tools, Sting and Rogue shared a look before lighting their fists' with magic, Sting's wrapped in blinding white, Rogue's in shadowy black.
"Ready?" Sting asked.
Rogue nodded and turned to me, "Cover your eyes."
I didn't have time to respond before they slammed their fists into the wall, sending chunks and shards of raw chalk flying, filling the air with a suffocating cloud of dust. I had barely enough time to protect myself when a shard went flying, slicing through the delicate skin of my arm.
I squeaked as pain flared and faded just as quickly. Looking at the scratch, I was glad to see it was only a surface wound.
Waving the chalk dust away from my face, I glared at the boys, "A little more warning would have been nice."
Sting shrugged and Rogue's acute eyesight narrowed in on the tiny scratch on my arm, "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." I assured.
"Guys," Sting piped in.
"Are you sure?" Rogue checked worriedly, probing his fingers along the tender skin.
"It's just a scratch, Rogue."
"Guys!" Sting hissed. Turning to him, I noticed the stance he had taken. I watched as his eyes flicked around the narrow segment of tunnel, looking for something as his ears flicked almost imperceptibly back and forth.
Panic began crawling its' way through my chest, and my heart sped up. Shit.
Rogue's acutely tuned senses had picked up on whatever Sting had heard because he ushered me behind the Light Dragon Slayer, shoving a large piece of chalk into my hand at the same time. I quickly thrust it deep into my pocket. He shot a look at Sting, who immediately extinguished his glowing hand, leaving the mine in suffocating darkness.
It was then, from the emptiness before us, that a pair of blood red eyes glowed faintly back at us. Long nails could be heard skittering along the stone floor as more eyes joined the first. Many came at the same level of the first, close to where I assumed the floor was, but many also came crawling across the ceiling, suspended above us, watching. Waiting.
My panic at this point was damn near tangible as I flashed back to my dream from this morning. Phantom fingers wrapped around my young throat and I could have sworn that I could hear my Father's malicious laugh echoing around the cavernous mine tunnel.
A hand reached out, grabbing me around the waist as Sting pulled me into his strong embrace, breaking me out of the horrible memory. He was tensed for action, his muscles under my hands quivering in anticipation. Rogue came up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders, effectively trapping me between two solid walls of muscle.
Sandwiched between the two of them, I calmed enough to clear my head of the panic induced fog, steeling myself to fight to tiny demons before us. Reaching down, I silently unhooked my key ring from my belt, grabbing my whip in my other hand.
Sting's faintly glowing eyes flashed once in the darkness and I took that as a signal. Sting and Rogue's fists lit with magic as I called out my most powerful Spirit.
"Open gate of the Lion! Leo!"
In the sudden light from Sting's magic and Loke's summoning, the mass blocking our way became visible. Swarming on the floor and clinging to the ceiling were the writhing, compacted bodies of the Chokers. Their skin was shriveled and a mottled grey from lack of sunlight. Their eyes glowed milky red and their arms were as long as their minuscule bodies, their fingertips clicking along the floor. They hissed at the sudden flare of light, revealing a row of serrated teeth made for ripping flesh from bone.
"Now!" Sting practically roared, leaping forward to meet the enemy head on, Rouge following closely behind.
"Loke,"
"Princess,"
"Let's do this." I said, flicking my wrist and sending my whip flying at the demons clinging to the ceiling.
Loke lit his fist with light and flashed me a feral grin, "Regulus Punch!" He shouted, moving toward the condensed mass on the floor, leaving me to take care of the Chokers on the ceiling.
I kept my whip flying, striking any of the small creatures in its' reach as the tunnel behind me flashed every few seconds with light magic, providing enough light to fight by.
It felt like we had been fighting for hours, and the mass of horribly shrunken bodies never seemed to thin. My arm was beginning to tremble with the force necessary to keep my whip moving and sweat was beading along my hairline and sliding down my back.
As I flicked my wrist, sending another disfigured body sailing into the wall of the mine, I felt a weight drop onto my back. It was hardly anything, maybe fifteen pounds or so, no heavier than my travel pack, but immensely more dangerous, as its' thin, spindly fingers wrapped their way around my slender throat. The hundreds of spines on its palm kept it attached to my neck as I tried to throw it off. Its grip tightened fractionally, putting more pressure on my airway as I struggled to breath.
I dropped my whip and grabbed the Choker's bony torso with both hands and pulled, but its' grip only tightened.
Another dropped from the ceiling and attached itself to my shoulder. I caught the gleam of its rotten, pointed teeth as it opened it's mouth wide, preparing to sink them into the soft flesh of my shoulder.
Before a scream could burst its way from my constricted throat, the tiny demon was ripped from my shoulder and blasted into the far wall of the tunnel. My vision was growing hazy, but quickly enough, the first Choker's fingers loosened from my throat as it fell to the ground dead.
Taking great gulps of air, I picked up my discarded whip and turned to Sting, who stood panting behind me, a slight look of fear in his eyes, his fists still glowing with magic.
Taking in the rest of the tunnel, I eyed the unconscious pile of bodies lining the walls of the cave. Loke, Sting, and Rogue were worse for wear, but not by much. Each brandished a fair number of bruises and shallow cuts. Loke's suit was ripped and the skin underneath showed a number of jagged teeth marks.
Sucking in a couple more quick breaths, I noted the slight stirring of a few of the shrunken bodies lining the walls. "We have to get out of here before they regain consciousness." I said hastily. The boys nodded and we promptly hurried back through the winding pathways the mines created.
Natural sunlight surged in front of us as we rounded the final curve of the mine shaft. The soft glow made me want to weep with joy at finally being out of the wretched tunnels of the mines.
A sudden weight came crashing into me and I cried out as I fell to the rough rock floor. My hands stung, but that pain was quickly encompassed by the blinding agony of razor sharp teeth ripping into the skin of my shoulder, near where it met with my neck. I screamed in pain.
I could hear frantic footsteps running my way over the sound of my flesh being brutally torn from my shoulder. A metallic, coppery tang filled the air as my warm, sticky blood streamed over my shoulder and dripped onto the hard floor.
As soon as the weight had appeared, it was gone. That quickly, probably nothing more than thirty seconds had passed from the time the Choker crashed into me to the time it had disappeared, thrown deep into the tunnel and landing with a sickening crunch.
I shakily pushed myself into a sitting position, hissing in pain as I pressed a hand against the seeping wound on my shoulder. A calloused pair of hand helped me to stand and steadied me when I began to sway. A second body came up to support my other side.
We exited the mine swiftly, and the delicious light of mid afternoon enveloped all of us.
When we were far enough from the entrance to the mine, my legs gave out and I crashed to my knees, panting and shaking, a hand still pressed against my wound. Fear still swam in waves around my head as I tried to assure myself that everything was fine, that I was okay.
It took a minute to realize that voices were saying my name and that the worried face before me belonged to Loke; Sting and Rogue standing slightly behind him.
"Lucy?" Loke spoke gently, "I need to check your wound."
The fear that had consumed me had almost totally dissipated and with it the adrenaline induced numbness. Pain shot through me, radiating outward from my aching shoulder.
Loke gingerly took my hand and pulled it far enough away to examine my bloody shoulder. After a moment, he replaced my hand over the wound. "Keep pressure on it until we get back to camp. It's not too deep, but its big. It should heal fine." He said, helping me to my feet.
Sting and Rogue slowly led the way back to where we had camped the night before. Sting's left calf had a large bite mark, and he winced as he limped down the hill. Rogue had a hand gingerly pressed against his side, staunching the flow of blood from multiple bites to the area.
We arrived at camp and Loke grabbed my pack, pulling the first aid kit I always took with me on missions, from the bottom.
Popping the latches, "I seem to be tending your wounds quite often, Princess," he said as he pulled forth disinfectant and cotton. He poured the acrid liquid on a tuft of cotton before passing on the supplies to the Dragon Slayers.
I moved my hand away from the wound and bit down hard on my plump bottom lip to keep myself from crying out in pain.
Once Loke deemed my shoulder sufficiently clean, he covered the wound with gauze and taped it in place.
"Thanks, Loke."
"Always, Princess." He rumbled sincerely. He flashed a look to where the Slayers were helping bandage each others wounds, before returning his jade eyes to me. Running his slender fingers through his already messy mane of auburn hair, he asked, "They haven't given you any trouble?"
I looked at the two, thinking back and the past few days, surprising myself when I replied, "Actually, no. They've both been pretty good. Sting is a bit hard to handle, but I manage and Rogue has been nothing but considerate. They're not as bad as Fairy Tail pegged them to be." I said quietly, for Loke's ears only, though I had a feeling the Dragon Slayers heard anyway.
Loke sighed, then encompassed my in a warm embrace, whispering in my ear, "Just…be careful, Lucy. I worry about you." He pulled back and as he did so, he brushed his soft lips across my cheek. He met my eyes, his own green ones serious, before he melted back into the Spirit Realm to heal his wounds.
I continued to stare at where he had just stood, pondering his words. Then I shook myself, pushing a strand of blonde hair from my face, and went to check on my wounded Dragon Slayers.