The night was calm and quiet. Peaceful. A direct contrast of Natsu's emotions as he flew through the sky desperately trying to find Lucy. He fought the tears that came to his eyes as he thought about the possibility that he had lost her forever. She was the most important thing in his world, the thought of losing her was a thought he could not bare. One that he never believed he would have.
Yet there he was, flying through the sky and praying to whatever every deity in existence that he could make this right. Just to hold her again would be blessing. One he didn't deserve but a blessing all the same.
The irony of a demon praying was not lost on him. It was a completely ridiculous notion. A desperate man does crazy things, a desperate demon is absolutely insane.
He could feel his heart hurting, until now he had never thought of heartbreak to be a literal term yet his felt like it would rip completely in half. If it did Lucy could keep both halves with her, he didn't want a heart if he didn't have her.
After all they had been through together, all the things they had done and were yet to do he was losing her and it was all his fault.
He spotted her standing on the edge of a cliff, the place where he had asked her to marry him. He should have known she would go there, she always went there when she was upset. Perhaps she wanted him to find her, however he knew that was unlikely.
He landed a few metres away from her, not wanting to startle her. She still heard him.
"Hello E.N.D". She spoke it a sad voice as she turned to face him.
"Lucy, I'm Natsu". He spoke softly and moved to walk toward her.
"Don't you dare!" She pointed toward him as she shouted. "Don't you dare come near me!". The tears that started pouring down her face broke his heart. It was his fault she was hurting.
"Lucy please come home. We can talk about this! We can fix this!". He pleaded with his fist clenched at his sides.
"Fix this? Can you bring my parents back to life! You killed them E.N.D!".
"I didn't kill them! I swear I didn't kill them! Please Lucy, you know I wouldn't do something like that!". Natsu let the tears run freely down his face. He didn't care if he cried anymore, he was losing her.
"I don't know anything about you. You lied about who you were for years! Years! You killed my parents and then to add insult to injury, you tricked me into falling in love with you. I thought you loved me too! Instead you made a fool of me. The stories were all right. A demon can't feel love at all, only happiness in the pain they cause others!". Every word she said felt like a knife slicing straight through his heart. The worst thing was, he could see in her eyes she believe it.
"Lucy please... I didn't kill your parents. I would never want to hurt you, I love you!".
"You're a demon. You don't even know what love is! Why did you even keep me alive this long! Why me Natsu!". Natsu could see Lucy's body shaking with sobs. He didn't know how to make this better but he wouldn't stop trying.
"I had no right to want you. You were a being of pure light and I was a creature of darkness. You deserved better and I knew it from the first moment I layed eyes on you. I had no right to want you but that wouldn't stop me from taking you anyway! I love you Lucy! If a demon can't feel love then what the hell does that make me?"
He knew that he was shouting but he couldn't help it. His entire body was shaking and his fist stayed clenched at his sides, this was it. She was leaving him and if she walked away, he could do nothing to stop her.
"It makes you a liar, goodbye Natsu".
Natsu watched in horror as Lucy threw herself over the edge of the cliff. He flew after her, hoping to catch her before she hit the bottom. He didn't even manage to get close. All he accomplished was staring into her eyes during the final moments before she hit to rocks below and became a broken mess at the face of the cliff.
He screamed in agony, the agony of seeing the only woman he had ever loved dead because of him.
She didn't even have a body to hold while he cried. So Natsu flew up as high as he could manage, before slicing his own wings off and plummeting toward the rocks below. He close his eyes to brace for the impact and...
"Ahhh!" Natsu sat up in bed, his heart pounding in his chest. He looked beside him and seen Lucy rubbing her eyes confused.
"Bad dream?" She spoke through a yawn.
"Yeah, you could say that". Natsu's whole body felt sweaty. Was that some weird vision of the future? Lucy still didn't know he was E.N.D and she had now been here just shy of three years. Zeref had told him never to tell Lucy and there was clearly a reason for it. If he told her would she react like that? Or would she only react that way if she found out on her own? His head was spinning and he could feel warm tears starting to leak from his eyes.
"Natsu, do you wanna talk about it?". Lucy touched his arm in a comforting gesture.
"Not right now, will you let me hold you Luce?". He needed to touch her, to hold her. To never let her go.
"Okay, if that'll make you feel better. You sure you don't want me to hold you?".
"No. I just really need to hold you right now".
They adjusted their position and Natsu hugged Lucy from behind. She fell back to sleep rather quickly but Natsu didn't. He stayed awake thinking of his nightmare and how to make sure that it never came to be.
Zeref paced his room, just as he had many nights before. Natsu was turning sixteen in two months. That meant Lucy would be turning sixteen in nine months. Yet their strength had made no significant strides since he sent the demon after them years ago. They had improved slowly of course. Lucy had gotten knew keys and could now summon her spirits for a longer amount of time and Natsu could summon large amounts of fire while staying completely calm. It was a small improvement, but Zeref had hoped for more from the prince of demons and the princess of the stars.
There was also the matter of their relationship, or lack there of. They were close, there was no doubt about that. But they were close in the way that best friends were close, not as possible romantic interest to each other. The slept it the same bed for years and the closest they had ever gotten to behaving as any sort of possible couple was when Lucy hurt herself in training and Natsu kissed her forehead.
It was clear as day that Natsu was in love with her. She was the problem. Zeref didn't expect them to be a couple by now, he knew these things took time and that they were still young by human standards. Just some sign that they at least thought of each other in that way would be nice.
He knew he had to be patient. Demon's -especially ones as old as him- experienced time differently. For Natsu and Lucy, time was most likely going quickly. However for Zeref, after living so many years and not having his love by his side, time dragged by slowly. His only pass time was plotting, planning and researching. His plan could not fail, he refused to keep staying in a world that did not have Mavis in it.
Natsu and Lucy would be together in their own time. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't encourage them. Natsu would be turning sixteen and traditionally for demon royalty, sixteen was the age they started looking for a person to spend their life with. They usually chose and married at eighteen. This was to ensure that there was always an heir to the throne. Zeref himself had waited until he was twenty to marry Mavis.
Still there was no harm in having a few female demons spend some time here. Flaunt a few rivals in front of Lucy to show her that she needs to either chose Natsu or somebody else will. Zeref wasn't stupid, he knew the risk. Desperate men did risky things. Besides, if Natsu took any actual interest in any of the females he could simply destroy them. No real harm done.
Besides, once Mavis was back he did want Natsu and Lucy to be happy. Part of him hoped that they would find a way to forgive him. For all the evils he had already committed against them and all the things he was still yet to do.
He knew that was a stupid hope to have. Even if they could forgive him for all he had done, they would never forgive him for what he was going to do.
In a secret area of the castle was Mavis's body, preserved with Lacrima crystal. Her soul was still around too, he could sense it. To bring her body back to life and connect her soul to it, he needed something of equal value. She would have lived forever had she not been killed.
To bring her back her body back to life, he needed to use the life force of another. A powerful life force. To reconnect her soul to her body, he needed the soul of another.
Natsu and Lucy would never forgive him. Not once he killed their child and destroyed it's soul.
'Oh well, they will have another 32 of them anyway'.
"Now, which lovely ladies should I invite to the castle for Natsu to meet first?"
Lucy was sitting at the table in her usual spot, next to Natsu and across from Zeref. She ate her breakfast happily. It was a lovely day and Natsu had promise to take her flying later. She had long forgotten the worries she use to hold before she came here. If E.N.D still wanted to hurt her he would be up against the demon prince and the king of demons. She was the princess of the stars but since being here she had felt more and more like a princess of the demons. She remembered where she came from but she also knew who she was now. She felt in her heart that she could be both.
"Natsu, I have an important matter to discuss with you". Zeref spoke in between swallowing his food and taking another bite.
Natsu, who was busy stuffing his face simply looked at his brother and nodded.
"Well, as you know you are turning sixteen soon. Do you understand what that means?".
Natsu gave Zeref a confused look while still not slowing down his food consumption. That boy could eat enough food to feed an army.
"Sixteen is an important age for demon royalty. It is the age where you start meeting suitable females. To find someone to spend your life with". This explanation only seemed to confuse Natsu further. But Lucy knew exactly what Zeref was saying.
It was time for Natsu to find someone to get romantically involved with. Lucy wasn't sure why but she felt like she was going to throw up. Still she had to hear what was going on.
"I will be inviting different females here for you to meet. If you don't like any of them that is completely fine but you need to spend some time with each of them. If you find one you wish to spend your life with then tell me and I will draw up the contact to say that you will be married at some point in the future".
Lucy felt even more sick. Contract? Married? She didn't know what emotion she was feeling but she knew she didn't like it one bit. She always just assumed that one day her and Natsu might be together. Was the story that Natsu had told them a lie?
What would happen if he found someone he liked? Would Lucy have to leave? She didn't want to leave, this was her home. Would Natsu not want to be her friend anymore?
Throughout the conversation Natsu had stayed silent and stopped eating. What was he thinking? Was he excited for the chance of meeting new girls? Lucy knew she hadn't exactly made any feelings she may have had for him known but she figured her actions spoke louder than her words could.
"A girl is arriving tomorrow to meet you. She has quite a lot of suitors wishing to marry her. She agreed to come and meet you before making a choice". Zeref continued calmly. Lucy wanted to punch him in the face.
Natsu stood from his chair and walked out without saying a single word on the matter. Lucy just stayed silently in her seat, if she stood she would probably throw up. So instead she just focused on her clenched fist.
She felt so stupid, for believing that Natsu would one day be with a mortal like her. She just didn't expect for his possible suitors to get paraded in front of her.
"Lucy are you okay? You have been glaring at your hands silently for fifteen minutes".
"Zeref, I can trust you right?".
"Of course you can, you are family to me".
"Why does Natsu need to meet girls? He has told me the story you use to tell him as a kid more times then I can count. He is my best friend, I don't want to share him with those girls".
"Lucy, do you want to marry Natsu?".
"I don't know! I'm fifteen. I never really thought about who I would marry, I just kind of assumed that Natsu would be in my life forever. I don't want someone to take him away from me". Lucy continued to fiddle with her hands as she spoke, too embarrassed to look at the man who she thought of as a big brother in the eye.
"Lucy, it is a tradition for demon royalty to pick the person they will marry by the age of seventeen. I need to can't turn away the females who want to meet him without a good reason, such as him already choosing someone else. Don't get me wrong, if you wanted to be the one to marry Natsu I would write up the contract this second. I would be more ecstatic then you could possibly know... but I can't turn away possible suitors just because you don't know what you want".
Lucy didn't know how to respond, so she didn't.
"Lucy do you want some advice?". Zeref looked at her kindly.
"Yes please".
"Take some time to think about what you want. Picture your future and what it would be like with and without Natsu. You know that Natsu would chose you over anybody else in a second if he knew that you were an option. Take some time to consider if you want to be. In the mean time be nice to the girls that do come here. If one of them did become his wife you would want to at least get along with her".
Lucy contemplated what was said to her before nodding and standing from her seat. She needed to go for a walk to clear her head. She had so much to think about and apparently she was running on limited time to figure it all out.
"Natsu calm down! You're going to burn down the castle if you keep acting like this" Happy pleaded with his adoptive father who was furiously attacking the wall of the training room by throwing fire balls at it.
"Stupid Zeref". Fireball. "Stupid demon girls!". Fireball. "Stupid tradition". Natsu threw three fireballs in unison before shouting in frustration and collapsing on the ground with his head in his hands.
"What am I going to do Happy? I haven't even gotten a chance to court Lucy and make her want to marry me and Zeref expects me to pick a bride from a list of demon girls! I don't want them. I want Lucy!".
"Have you tried talking to Lucy?".
"She doesn't feel that way about me. And with a bunch of girls trying to impress me in front of her she never will. Zeref reckons some girl is coming tomorrow". Natsu flopped onto his back and clenched his fist at his side.
"Have you thought about scaring them off so none of them want to marry you?".
Natsu sat up with a wicked grin on his face.
"You're a genius happy". Natsu started chuckling.
'These girls won't know what hit em'.
Lucy had been walking aimlessly through the village for about an hour, thinking about what to do and feeling rather pathetic. On one hand she didn't know if she wanted to marry Natsu, on the other hand she didn't want him to marry someone else either. It was all so confusing.
"Excuse me!" Lucy turned around to see a girl, not too much older then she was running toward her waving her arms. She had short blue hair and was rather small in stature.
'Great, what does she want! If she recognises me as being Natsu's friend and has a go at me I'm going to kick her. I am not in the mood today'.
"Yeah?" Lucy questioned. 'Please don't make me want to kick you'.
The girl looked at her kindly and spoke it a very hushed tone.
"Are you the girl who has a demon friend?".
"What of it?". Lucy was in no mood to be told she was a demons whore. She had heard it enough over the years from various people and it didn't bother her one bit normally. Today was not a day to be making her feel any more emotions then she already felt.
"Great! I need your help". The young girl grabbed Lucy by the arm and started dragging her along. Well the girl at least seemed friendly. She said she needed help so Lucy couldn't just turn her back on her.
The blue haired girl was trying to drag Lucy while running. She had a worried expression on her face and her hand felt sweaty against Lucy's arm.
"Where exactly are you dragging me?"
"It's too hard to explain and I can't talk about it with so many people around". The girl spoke through what was clearly a shortness of breath ad they sprinted.
"Well not that you asked, but my name is Lucy. Not girl who is friends with a demon".
"Sorry about that. I'm Levy". The girl spoke as she dragged Lucy through the entry of a small house.
Lucy figured out very quickly why the young girl wouldn't talk in public. Laying on the floor, very clearly in a lot of pain, was a black haired demon with metal studs adorning his body.
"And this is Gajeel. Please help him... I'm begging you". The girl Lucy now knew as Levy pleaded with tears in her eyes.
"What do you need me to do?".
"The king of demons can heal him. The problem with that is I don't know how to get him there and he can't move on his own. I heard rumours that you come to the village a lot so I have been going there every day hoping to see you. I was starting to lose hope when I seen you today".
"How did you even know who I was?".
"Because... I was in the group of kids who picked on you when you first came here... I'm sorry. Please just help him". Levy continued to look at Lucy with pleading eyes.
"We can't move him without being seen". Lucy spoke, trying to make her voice kind.
Levy looked to the ground with her fist clenched at her sides.
"So you're just going to let him die!"
"I didn't say that! We can't move him like this anyway! I was going to suggest that I bring Zeref here!".
"Please! And please hurry".
Lucy smirked, knowing that Zeref always kept an eye on her when she went out alone. Always making sure that he could be there if she got into trouble. Levy didn't know that but Lucy did.
"Ohhh Zeref. If you could pretty please come here right now that would be splendid".
"This bitch is crazy Levy. She doesn't want to help us. She is calling out to thin air". The demon spoke weakly from the ground.
"Hey! I am not cra...". Lucy was interrupted by a knock at the door. Levy answered the door with a hopeful look and Zeref walked straight in and toward the demon on the floor.
"You actually did it. You actually helped us". Levy whispered. Both girls stood and watched as Zeref starting healing the demon on the floor.
"Well yeah, if that was Natsu that needed help I would want someone to help me". Lucy shrugged.
"Yeah but... everyone was so cruel to you and I just stood by and said nothing. I thought that demons were evil and you were an idiot for trusting one. If I was in your position, I don't think that I would have been so kind". Levy looked at her feet in shame.
"What changed your mind about demons?". Lucy asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"He did" Levy nodded toward the demon named Gajeel. "He saved my life when another demon tried to attack me a month ago. I didn't know at the time that it was a poison demon. That's why he is like this now. I have been taking care of him the best I can but he kept getting worse and worse as the days went on".
"Well, you weren't the one calling me a demons whore or the one who hit me so I suppose I can forgive you" Lucy smiled at the girl. "Besides, we are in the same position now... both of us are dirty little demon lovers". Lucy winked at Levy playfully.
"It'd be pretty great to have a friend who understands" Levy smiled.
"I was thinking the exact same thing".
Gajeel stood from the ground and walked toward them with Zeref behind him.
"Hey shrimp, we are heading back to the castle with these two. King Zeref wants to hear about the demon who attacked you and we are staying there for safety measures until the bastard gets caught".
"Really? Thankyou for your generosity your highness". Levy bowed toward Zeref.
As they walked out the door Zeref winked at Lucy. She smiled. Knowing why he done what he done. Now her and Natsu had two new friends to talk to. He really was the best big brother she could ask for.
"I know a way back to the castle without walking through the village, don't want to give the people a heart attack".
They all followed Zeref back to the castle. Lucy completely forgot about why she needed to go for a walk to begin with as she talked with Levy about books they liked and what it was like for Lucy to live with demon royalty. Lucy just laughed and gossiped excitedly with her new friend. She could think about all her other problems later.
A/N
I think this is the longest chapter I have ever written! I hope you all enjoyed it!
Now you all know what Zeref's plan is! What an evil prick! But what else is he hiding?
Tell me your theories if you have any!
We have Gajeel and Levy folks! They are here at last! Next chapter we will be meeting some of Natsu's suitors, I wonder how Lucy will react to that? Hint: not good.
How do you think Lucy will react to finding out that Natsu is actually E.N.D? Please let me know!
A huge thankyou to everyone who has favorited/followed or reviewed this story! You all are so wonderful and I am blessed to have such lovely people enjoy my writing.
A massive thankyou to CrazyZaika, Javakitty and valerioux who have been here from the very beginning of this story. Javakitty and valerioux have actually been reading my stories since the start of bound to you! You are all blessings!
Another shout out to my awesome friend FireShifter! Your messages help inspire me to write as much as possible!
Please R/R
If you want a shout out in the next chapter feel free to ask! I am so grateful to everyone who reads this story and never afraid to show it. I will say the more often you leave reviews the more likely I am to remember your name when I am typing the authors notes but please don't feel pressured to leave reviews unless you want to! I am already grateful that you took the time to read this story!
Until next time! Lots of love and best wishes to all of you!