Chapter 7
A large hand on Iris's mouth was what woke her up. Her eyes shot open to see Natsu's face uncomfortably close to hers. He held his finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet. "Go put some black clothes on," he mouthed, letting go of her. Iris nodded, her memories from the day before slowly coming back, and grabbed her bag from the floor.
Thanks to Gaia she now had a pair of black skinny jeans and a long sleeved black top, though she hadn't planned on wearing the two together. All the shirts she picked were either long sleeved or paired with a jumper. Then again, she didn't take that much. Iris hurried out after Natsu, who led her down the streets of Magnolia.
"Here we are," Natsu informed her, motioning to the building in front of them. "Not many people know about this. Its secret so no one tries to break them out." Iris held back the how do you know then? and instead stared at the building. Honestly, she would never have guessed that was where Nox Turba was being kept. It was a just a normal looking hall.
"The prisons are underground," Natsu added after seeing the look on her face. Iris didn't answer, just started to walk towards the building.
Natsu easily caught up with her and stopped her. He pointed to the windows and corners of the roof. There must be some sort of security that Iris couldn't see. She nodded and allowed Natsu to lead the way. He crouched down, having her copy, and began to crawl closer to the building. Natsu moved swiftly, forcing Iris to do the same, and sneaked inside through a window, which he smashed.
"Move quickly," he ordered, "and stay close." Usually there weren't many guards at this time, only on the top floors, so Natsu wasn't too cautious, yet he was still careful. Iris soon discovered there were not many levels as they got to the bottom one, which had rows of cells in a line. "They should be around here," Natsu told her. "I'll keep a look out, you go see them."
"Thank you."
Iris wanted to let Natsu know just how grateful she was, because a simple thank you didn't really let him know, but they didn't have all the time in the world and she had to make this quick. She ran down the hall, checking each cell until she came across Lee.
"Lee!" She gasped, a huge smile making its way on her face. She didn't care that he was dirty and roughed up, all she cared about was seeing him again.
"Iris?" Lee's eyes widened, "what are you doing here?"
"Natsu helped me," she answered, unable to get rid of the grin. "He's been really helpful."
But Lee wasn't happy, not like Iris was. He was scared. Why was she here? Did she not realise the danger she was putting herself in?
"Go home!" He hissed, making shooing motions. "You're in danger here!"
Iris recoiled slightly. "What?"
"You're going to get hurt, go home before she comes!"
"What are you talking about?" Iris demanded, her voice rising only slightly. She took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. It'd been a long time since she'd shouted and she didn't want to start again. "What are you talking about?" Her hands were wrapped around the metal bars, the coolness harsh against her warm palms.
Lee was directly in front of her, his hands gentle on hers. "There's a lot you don't know, Iris. We've kept you in the dark for a long time."
"Then tell me," she begged.
He sighed. "It's too late now, just..." He looked at Natsu, who had gotten closer when he'd heard a commotion. "Find who you can trust and who you can't. You have to distinguish between those people, okay? If you can't..."
"How am I supposed to know?" She questioned, sounding desperate. "I've only ever spoken to eight people and I've always trusted you guys!"
Lee looked distraught as he rested his palm against her cheek. "Wrongly so, too. We're not good people, Iris, surely you know that? After what we made you do-"
"Don't," she whispered. "I did that. You didn't make me."
"But we didn't stop you." He smiled sadly. "I know that you believe your parents died when you were younger, but they didn't. We took you when you were very young."
Iris's head pounded and she felt the whole room spinning. "No. Why would you do that?"
"You have strong heritage. All of your family was known for being powerful wizards, and your magic is amazing," he replied, speaking softly. He was afraid of hurting her anymore. "We thought we could make ourselves known on the map. Become one of the big Dark Guilds. I never planned on gaining a daughter."
"Do you regret it?"
"Never, and I never will," he promised. "There's one more thing I have to tell you, then you have to promise me you'll leave."
"What, no."
"You, Natsu, right?" Natsu nodded. "Promise you'll take her away and never bring her back."
"I promise," Natsu replied without hesitation.
"Natsu, no," she protested.
"We weren't the only ones after you, there were others and you'll meet them. Maybe you already have. You'll know because they're looking for your family. All they know is your family name." Lee's words were rushed.
"Lee..."
"Leith. Your last name is Leith," Lee pressed on. "If someone's looking for that name, get away. Do you understand me?"
"Lee."
"Take her now, Natsu," Lee ordered. "Don't let her come back."
Natsu took hold of Iris's hand, who surprisingly didn't struggle. Her mind was racing and she worked hard to push her thoughts away. By the time she did, Natsu already had her away from the building. Outside the sun had already risen and Iris knew Lucy would be wondering where she'd gone.
Iris began to walk on her own and Natsu let her go. "You have magic then?"
Lee had let the cat out of the bag now, why deny it? "Yes."
"And you were a part of that guild we beat?"
"Yes."
Natsu fell silent then and just walked alongside her. Leith... Her last name was Leith? But that would mean Gaia and Clyde were her parents, but as far as Natsu knew they never had kids. He was determined then; he'd have to speak to them.
