Whew, this got out faster than I had anticipated. It was a lot harder to write than the other ones. I would like to thank Darkened Shadows for the many wonderful ideas she gave me :D And thank you guys for the reviews! I will try to reply to all of them at the bottom of each chapter! That said, enjoy :D
PS I have not edited this, so if you find any grammar mistakes, please let me know!
Disclaimer: FT - HM's
Taken
Chapter 7
Natsu fell to his knees as the ice mage crumpled in heap on the floor in front of him. He stared, horrified at his bloody hands. Not because he had just taken a man's life, but because of the words that the man had spoken before his demise. They echoed through his head dauntingly, 'she cried for you to save her..you never came..you don't deserve her!' "Argh!" The fire mage squeezed his eyes shut, pounding a fist into the ground. "Lucy." He said, sorrow overwhelming him. "I..I didn't know."
I should have saved her..I should have heard her! Why did this have to happen to Lucy! He mentally shouted, giving the floor another good pounding. A very familiar scream from the crowd behind him interrupted his thoughts.
He quickly got up, shaking off his self deprecation, and ran towards the young girl who was currently collapsed on the ground, clawing at her neck. Erza supported her weight, looking utterly lost as to what was causing her pain. The rest of the guild crowded around, also at a loss.
Natsu pushed through, kneeling in front of Lucy. Her fingers began to dig into the skin of her neck drawing blood, right where the mate mark was. He growled upon seeing it, anger flashing through him again. "Lucy, stop." He commanded, grabbing her hands and holding them gently in his own. She winced.
"Nat..su..please..it hurts.." she whispered, staring imploringly up at the fire mage, who could only look down, brows furrowed in confusion.
Why didn't it go away yet? Igneel said that the only way to break it would be the death of the one who forced it..and that filth is just a pile on the floor right now..Still grasping her hands in one of his own, he lifted the other to move the hair from her neck, so he could get a better view.
"Please!" Lucy said louder, startling all around her. "Please, it hurts! It's burning me!" Her hand struggled against Natsu, who could only look on helplessly, pain evident in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Luce." He said softly, dread coating his words. "I-I..you're in pain and I can't do anything about it.." He hung his head. Those around him looked on with tearful eyes, Elfman already crying.
When Natsu felt Lucy's hands go limp in his own, he concluded that she had passed out from the pain. Erza slowly moved the young girl's head onto her lap in a more comfortable position. "She's hurting, Natsu." Titania stated simply, to which he nodded.
Reaching out tentatively, he touched the deep purple bruise on Lucy's neck, and the reaction was immediate. Lucy's face, which had previously been scrunched in pain, relaxed, and she let out a contented sigh from her sleep. Eyes wide, Natsu gently moved Lucy from Erza's lap to his own, cradling her to his chest. "I can help." He muttered. "I can take away her pain..because I'm her true mate."
He looked up, around at everyone, as if daring them to argue with his revelation. Soft smiles answered his comment, every one of them already knowing.
"Natsu..we knew that long before you did." Mira said, a sad smile found her way to her face. Elfman placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You're finally a man for realizing it."
The fire mage's mouth was set in a firm line. It shouldn't have taken this for me to realize it, though. He looked down at the small girl in his hands. She looked so fragile, her mouth slightly open, soft breaths coming out of her as she slept. I will never let you go, Luce. You will NEVER go through anything like that again. He silently promised.
"Why," everyone turned around at the deep voice that came from the back of the guild, "Is there a member of my guild dead on the floor?" Markov stated slowly, taking soft steps towards the crowd at the front of the guild hall.
"Master!" Levy cried, running to him. "L-Lu-chan..he..he.." She broke down into sobs, clutching Markov's sleeve. He took in the scene in front of him. Natsu looking broken, clutching a wounded Lucy to his chest, the rest of the guild gathered around them, each and every one of them with a sad expression.
"What happened? Someone explain. I felt that this man had much potential last night. Who killed him?" His unwavering voice demanded an explanation.
Natsu stood up, Lucy still in his arms, and looked directly into his Master's eyes. "I did." He said, without remorse. Markov nodded, expecting as much. He raised a brow as if to ask why. "He did something horrible to Lucy. A forced mating." As he spoke, his grip on Lucy tightened. "Gramps, she's very hurt right now. Where's Wendy?"
Markov stared at the dead Damon on the ground disdainfully. So that's explains it. He had apparently misjudged the man. Fury took over his expression. How dare he hurt one of his brats! "Wendy..is on a job right now. Bring Lucy to the medical room." He turned, expecting them to follow him.
Natsu moved swiftly behind him, along with everyone else in the guild. "Ne, everyone..I don't think she should be too crowded when she wakes up." He turned his head back, addressing the crowd.
Indignant shouts answered him. "We're worried about Lucy, too!" Cana stated, raising a fist in the air at Natsu.
"She needs her friends by her side!" Levy crossed her arms, glaring at the dragon slayer who held her best friend.
"You're not the only one who cares for her!" Juvia shouted, surprising half the crowd.
Mirajane looked down, frowning. "Natsu's right." She said, just loud enough so that everyone could hear her. "We can all visit Lucy after she has time to adjust. She's probably very vulnerable right now, you wouldn't want to make her suffer anymore, right?" She eyed her guild mates.
"B-but.." Levy started, anger diminishing at Mira's words. "Lucy.." she stared longingly at the prone form Natsu held in his arms.
The rest of the guild sighed, reluctantly agreeing. "Let's let Natsu handle it from here.." Elfman said, watching the retreating boy. "He's a man, afterall."
It was dark. That's all Lucy could tell. She squinted her eyes, trying to make out a shape in the darkness. Maybe my eyes have to adjust..She thought, rubbing them. She was startled as she felt something gritty on her hands. Dirt? Am I covered in dirt? She wiped her hands on her shirt, attempting to remove the filth, but it wouldn't come off.
"Nani?" She said aloud, rubbing her hands together, trying to get rid of the grime. "It won't come off!" Suddenly, a light appeared in front of her. From the distance she could make out a pink head. Relieved, she started running towards it. "Natsu! Natsu, over here!" She yelled, reaching out towards the dragon slayer.
He turned around, taking her in. "Lucy." She stopped, two feet from him, as he said her name. It sounded so..harsh.
"Natsu, I'm so glad you're here, I don't know what's going on!" She informed him. Her eyes widened when he snorted, turning his nose up at her.
"Lucy, you're covered in filth. Get yourself cleaned up before you talk to me." He crossed his arms at her, eyes narrowed.
She gasped, rubbing her hands frantically along her arms, her legs, trying helplessly to remove the dirt. "I-it won't come off." She muttered, tears pooling in her eyes. "Natsu, it's not coming off!" Nails dug into her skin as she got more forceful, rubbing her hands raw. A sob escaped her. "What's wrong with me?"
"You're dirty." Natsu stated simply. "Guess you're not good enough for me, anymore." He turned around quickly, the light surrounding him diminished until there was nothing left but Lucy sobbing on the ground, still covered in the grime.
"Natsu..please come back..I can't.." She cried. An arm wound its way around her stomach, pulling her up against a hard chest as a haunting voice whispered in her ear.
"You're good enough for me.." It purred. Damon! She gasped. No! I don't want..
"NOO!" Lucy shot up, eyes glued shut, clutching her head. "Get away, get away, get away!" A hand grabbed her arm and she screamed. "Stop touching me!"
"Lucy!" She heard a familiar voice cry, but it didn't stop her from flailing her arms, hitting anyone who dared to reach out to her. Firm hands took her arms in a vice-like grip and pulled her against something hard. She opened her eyes in surprise to find a chest that she was all too familiar with.
"Natsu.." She whispered, immobile in his arms. He had buried his head in her neck, trying to calm her down with his touch. "Y-you.."
"Lucy, please don't. Don't scream anymore. You're..you're breaking my heart." He choked out, and she felt wetness where his head was buried.
He..he's crying for me..she thought absently, resting her head against his body. She wanted to touch him so badly, to wrap her arms around him, but she didn't dare.
"It hurts.." She said softly, words muffled by his chest. She felt him nod in response. "Please, Natsu..let go of me.." He hesitated, before reluctantly releasing her. He crossed his arms across his chest to quell his urge to grab onto her and never let go.
Feeling a weight on her wrist, Lucy lifted her arm to find a bright silver chain attached to it. Her eyes dimmed. So..it was real..Natsu, noticing the girl's distress, glared angrily at the offending object.
"We..we tried removing it. But there's nothing any of us can do. My fire won't melt it, Gray can't manipulate the ice, even Gramps couldn't smash it." Lucy nodded, eyes glazed over.
For a moment the two sat in silence, both overcome by a single event. Lucy shot a peek at Natsu, who was staring intently at the floor. He probably hates me right now. I was weak before..but now I'm going to be utterly useless. She fell back onto the bed, curling up in a fetal position, back turned to the fire mage.
He looked questioningly at her. "Lucy?" No response. "Lucy, listen." He started, apprehensively. "If you don't want to talk about it, I understand." The girl still said nothing. "I just want you to know that that..bastard..is dead." He saw her small form twitch at the information. "He was a disgrace. He doesn't deserve the title of Dragon Slayer." He ground his teeth together, just thinking about the dead man. "I will never forgive him.." He muttered.
"Are you in pain?" He whispered to the girl. She gave a small tilt of the head. "Wendy will be back anytime now. She's going to heal you." It got quiet again, Natsu could tell when Lucy started crying. He smelt the salt in the air, and saw her shoulders shaking. "Lucy.." He began his one sided conversation again, grabbing the edge of the bed and clenching his fists in the sheets. "I should have saved you..I should have done something.." His squeezed his eyes shut. "I blame myself." He whispered, a tear falling.
"Natsu." The word was soft-spoken, and drenched with tears. He looked up, surprised that she had spoken. "You don't have to force yourself." She slowly lifted her head and turned to look at the dragon slayer. Her eyes were swollen from crying and her lips were sit in a firm pout. "I know..I know you don't want to be around me, anymore. It's okay, really." She tried to force a smile, but failed.
Natsu stared in disbelief. "Lucy.."
"If you can still smell him on me..it's okay to not want to be around it. And it's okay for you to hate me." She said, turning back around, planting her face into the pillow.
She gasped as Natsu growled, punching the bed. "Don't." He said, sternly. "Don't you talk like that, Lucy." He grabbed onto her again, ignoring her protests, and hugged her close to him. "I could never, ever hate you. Never." He mumbled into her hair, softly stroking it.
I thought..I thought that I wouldn't have any more tears to cry. So why are they still flowing? Lucy thought, rubbing at her face.
"It's okay to cry. It's okay to be sad." She heard Natsu mumble against her skin. "I'm here for you, Lucy. Everyone is here for you." Lucy could hold it no more as heart wrenching sobs racked her body. She wailed loudly, for everything that she had lost, for the pain that she had suffered. Clenching the fabric of Natsu's shirt in her hands, she let her tears stream, all the pent up frustration, anger, pain, they were all released in a wave. And when she had cried herself into a fitful slumber, Natsu still held tightly onto her, never letting go.
Whelp, there it is! I hope you guys like it!
xXxAddicted2ChocolatexXx - There you go :D Now I demand my cherry flavored cherry!
KawaiiOdango - Thank you so much, that really means a lot! I'm sorry it gave you bad feels D:
- Why, thank you, I hope you enjoy the new chapter :D
FT-HaremPrincess-XD - I'm sorry he didn't save her from what happened, don't hate me D: but he will save her in his own way, now!
Darkened Shadows - Done, and done! Thanks again for your help!
