Story Time
Mystery Achievement
As usual, Natsu came to visit Zeref. But, for whatever reason, he appeared completely exhausted. Zeref wanted to ask but there was something about the look in Natsu's eyes that told him he didn't really want to talk about it.
Zeref closed his eyes for a moment to remember exactly where he had left off the day before. Then it came to him. Dread chilled his blood. He wasn't even sure that Natsu would ever speak to him again when he heard the conclusion of Vala's tale. Not that Zeref would blame him. With a heavy heart, he started somewhere a little easier. A nice, happy memory before the world came crashing down on him.
"For five years Vala and I ran together. Violent wars broke out among the kingdoms, people were dying and Vala could not keep her mind away from the choices she made. Was it wrong to leave everything behind? Was it a childish whim? I did my best to keep her smiling, but some days it was too hard for her to look beyond the surrounding horrors. She feared for her family, she feared for our lives, and she feared being caught."
The dark mage took a breath, which ended in a sigh. "That's why I convinced her that we needed to get away from the area entirely. We spent a few months on an island in the tropics, an island I became very familiar with later in life..."
...
The time they spent on that island let them live fully. No other people resided there. Zeref's only worries were for the animals. But, as animals always seemed to learn faster than humans, the local fauna learned to stay away.
In the abundant sunlight, Vala blossomed. She found herself happier there than anywhere else they had visited.
Gone were her hooded cloaks. Vala donned very little, opting to steal the white toga he usually tied over his left shoulder. She tied it over her body like a long dress that slung over one shoulder. It suited her nicely, it was part of why he continued to carry that particular item with him for the rest of his long life.
When she noticed the way his eyes would watch her, Vala felt it necessary to, erm, distract Zeref in any way she possibly could. If he was reading, she was just above the top of his book. Just within visual range, she would decide to go for a swim in one of the abundant tidal pools. It didn't take long for him to drop his books and follow her example. He couldn't always tell whether or not she did these thing to purposefully distract him, or if she just naturally drew his mind away from the task at hand.
When he reached the water's edge, Vala was submerged at the bottom, examining a brittle starfish. The water was clear as crystal. Marine hues dappled jagged rocks and fish alike. When she came up for air, her fiery hair fanned out on the water's surface, covering her body only enough to entice. Vala was none the wiser to her inhuman charms, or so he thought. Treading water, she motioned for him to join her with a sweet smile, light eyes threaded with dark promises.
She was an extraordinarily bad example to follow.
Unbeknownst to him at the time, Zeref had let his research entirely fall away for that short period of time. He felt at peace with his curse. He was still curious about life and death, but it seemed distant compared to the perfection that surrounded him. He could go months, nearly a year at one point, without killing anything. Palms and gorgeous tropical flowers would wilt in his presence. It was upsetting sometimes, but then Vala would pull him away and distract him with things he couldn't kill, like the gradation of sand across the beach or how the older, dried corals appeared to have made a home for birds. He never got too close to the things Vala loved, he didn't want to be the one to kill her happiness.
He didn't have to worry about hurting any other humans during those two short months unless they went back to the main land for supplies. Even then, with Vala by his side, he was unafraid.
The only fear he still harbored was that of losing her. Whenever she would bring up her past, her family, her little sister, she would lose the glow in her eyes. It was especially bad when they went to the mainland for any reason. Zeref did not want her to decide that their nomadic life was too much. When they first started traveling together he found himself laughing at her inability to care for herself, which she took as a challenge. After that she read every piece of literature she could find on wilderness survival. In no time at all Vala was able to build her own fire, create her own shelter, tie elaborate knots, and even learned how to clean a fish. Since Zeref chose to be a vegetarian, Vala tried to stray away from her own meat-eating tendencies. Though, her conviction never lasted too long.
Vala slept in the grass beside Zeref, enjoying the scent of truly clean air and the rush of leaves that surrounded them. His fingers drew circles into her back, enjoying the look of utter serenity in her expression. Though she was born a princess, raised in finery and golden embellishment, she chose to remain by Zeref's side. She chose to follow her heart and to keep him from being consumed by loneliness. For that, he felt he could never repay her.
After their time on that island, the two found themselves holing up in an old motel. It was not large by any means, but the owner was kind enough to let the 'young married couple' stay at a modest rate so long as no other customers needed the room. The village in which they took refuge was remote, Zeref was relived that Vala knew the local language or else they would have been stuck wandering through another winter. And in Vala's current condition, that was simply not an option.
Ragged gasps followed another slosh of her stomach contents. A gentle hand smoothed the middle of her aching back. The retching didn't cease, but she was finally able to sit back and take a few natural breaths before a water skin appeared in her hand. Sheepish smiles were exchanged as she grimaced over the nasty acidic taste in her mouth.
This was the only reason they left the island at all. Zeref would have felt content staying there forever. But with Vala slowly dying of dehydration he was forced to make the executive decision to bring her back to the main land for treatment.
It had been weeks that she felt like this. Her skin was pale, some days it took all of her strength just to eat. She couldn't eat much and she couldn't stop drinking massive amounts of water. He suspected it made up for the increasing number of times she would get sick each day. The thing that confused him the most was that these symptoms were not accompanied with any fever or chills. Zeref even recommended sending her to a hospital, or really, taking a hospital hostage until they told him what was wrong with her. She laughed at the suggestion, but she honestly wasn't sure if he was joking or not.
...
"To be clear— I wasn't joking." Zeref added, smiling just wide enough to show his lengthened canines. Natsu grinned back in full support.
...
Trembling under his hands from utter dehydration and exhaustion, he planted a light kiss to her temple and sat beside her on the bathroom floor. A smile smoothed its way across her lips, leaning into the affectionate gesture until their bodies were formed into one another. His arms fell naturally around her dainty shoulders as her cheek nestled into his chest. It appeared that she had caught some stomach bug while they were on that island. The rainforests were filled with foreign diseases that no one knew how to cure. Luckily she seemed alright otherwise aside from feeling incredibly tired and sore. It was only a passing illness, it seemed.
"You're nothing but trouble."
Vala gave a weak smile, "But I'm your trouble."
He certainly couldn't argue with that. In fact, he was so sure that he was in love with the trouble she caused that he one day found himself with a small ring, waiting for the right time to make those real vows. Not just some small ones made under the cover of night, but the kinds that couldn't be broken. Vows like promising Vala his heart for all eternity and accepting the responsibility of her own until it stopped beating.
But Zeref never got the chance to make those promises.
After another month of feeling wretched, Vala was back on her feet and they went about their secret life in that little village as she recovered. Things slowed down for a time while they were staying there. No one could speak Zeref's language, so, to his delight, the locals left him alone. They appeared to enjoy Vala's company though. She was always greeted with smiles and expressions of concern, glancing quickly to him then back to her with frightened eyes. Vala would wave her hands a little and explain that she was beginning to feel much better. Because of this, Vala was the one to go out and find any of their necessary items. And for the most part, Zeref didn't feel the need to worry over her safety. They hadn't had to hide from hunters or knights in over a year and by some miracle Vala had actually learned her lesson during her first run in with them.
Why couldn't things always be so simple?
But as things seem to come and go cyclically in all relationships, their world slowly became more and more complicated. At least, Vala thought it was. At night Zeref would just look at her with this adoring smile. She knew he was just appreciating her, but Vala's face would burn red and she couldn't help but just turn over to hide her face. Her age had caught up to his and it upset her greatly. Eventually she would grow older. People would mistake him for her son. She would have to watch as her body decayed even though her lover could not age.
That was why she began trying to access her magic again. She read in his notes a long time ago that her family had some rare magic inside that could make them immortal if they could only tap into it. But control took time. If she weakened her barrier for even an instant it would be long enough for Zeref's curse to end her life.
Learning how to control magic you never knew existed on your own is pretty difficult, as it turned out. Vala had to concentrate on the thrum of her magic to even imagine grasping it. She envisioned herself reaching through her own soul to touch it, bend it, and push it from her body. Zeref warned her against doing this, he was afraid that she might one day manage to push her protective magic away completely. He threatened to leave if she continued trying. But she wanted to be like him. When she told him she wanted to be with him forever she was not bluffing. She wanted to be able to protect herself if she needed. He thought this was foolish. Why did she need protection when she had him by her side?
Rather than being the obedient person he knew she wasn't, Vala sat in silence in their room after Zeref went out. He planned to be away for the whole day to look for some herb that could help with her sickness. It hadn't completely gone away and it was beginning to make him a bit nervous.
Vala knew he had nothing to worry about. She only recently came to the realization that she'd been trying so hard not to acknowledge. A smile came over her lips at the thought, but then quickly fell to the floor. Maybe he didn't want things to turn out this way, Vala certainly never planned for it. It was a happy accident, but an accident none the less. What if he was angry when she told him?
Regardless of her feelings on the matter she planned to tell him later when he came home. She could think of the right way to word it when she was done. For now she needed to concentrate.
Diving into that dark place inside where her magic resided, untouched by her own mind, she reached and climbed, straining hard against the tight bands of energy holding her away. The magic protected itself from her touch, something she had never read or heard of in any book. Most were able to grasp their magic from birth, perhaps that was why it resisted her so firmly.
Night fell some time ago, not that Vala would know. She was too busy pushing herself to exhaustion just to get her hands on a strand of her own inner magic to notice the time. Or how incredibly hungry she was.
But finally, after so much time, she was finally able to grasp it. Something about her magic felt warm. She felt that wave of warmth spread throughout her limbs, tickling the very surface of her skin, sending shivers all over. Suddenly drained of any and all energy, Vala pitched forward, catching herself with one hand, curling another arm around her abdomen. Something in her belly tickled with warmth.
Somewhere in the pit of her stomach she knew she should have just listened to Zeref.
A/N: Ugh, what a rebellious pain in the ass. Let me know what you think!
