Legends, Confessions, and Questions

During a light noon brunch that afternoon, Lucy stirred her tea dazedly with a tiny spoon that clinked against her china cup. The morning had gone by in a haze of stolen glances from Natsu, Izayoi and even her handmaid Mayu. There was no lively chatter in that library corner as there had been at every meal so far, just the clatter of tableware as they ate. The blonde mage soon excused herself after barely touching her food, and went out to the garden, where she sat on an iron-wrought bench half-hidden between two rosebushes. She stayed there, unmoving, until Natsu found her a few hours later. His eyes were unfocused, and his shoulders seemed to sag under some unknown pressure as he took a seat beside his companion.

"Listen," Natsu began, sighing heavily as he scratched the back of his head, just wanting something to do with his hands so Lucy wouldn't notice that they were trembling. "At that party, I met this strange guy, and he said some weird stuff about your dad…"

Lucy remained quiet as she listened to the boy, keeping her eyes lowered so he wouldn't see how tired they were from the night before.

"He said," Natsu clenched his hands into fists as he looked at Lucy, "that your dad was going to get back the company soon."

The truth in these words hit the girl hard, but it did not surprise her. Not in the least. Somewhere deep down she had always known that there would always be a possibility of her father regaining everything he had lost in his quest for money and power. Lucy finally looked up at Natsu, smiling, much to Natsu's confusion.

"Figures," She spoke, "The day had to come sooner or later, I just hoped it would be later." She paused. "Much later…"

"Don't worry Luce," Natsu stood up abruptly, catching his friend off-guard when he took both her hands in his and pulled her to her feet. "There's no way in hell any of us at Fairy Tail will hand you over! It didn't happen before, and it won't happen now!"

Lucy laughed, "I already know that."

"Well good, because after all this time you should."

Lucy shook her head at the goofy fire mage. "Thanks, Natsu." She ran her hand gently along his cheek; trying not to think of how different the future battle against her father would be compared to the last time.

After making their way back inside the manor, Lucy and Natsu found Izayoi still in the library, however, she was not at the table Lucy had left her at, but was browsing through one of her many shelves of books, her finger trailing along a row of leather-bound book spines.

"Lady Izayoi," Lucy made her presence known as she watched the woman continue in a slow procession down the aisle of literature. "I just wanted to apologize again for last night's commotion. I really-"

"Magic truly is an amazing thing isn't it?" Izayoi suddenly spoke, selecting a particularly old volume from the forest of novels, short stories, and folk tales that lined the walls. "When I was young, my father told me of how it originally came to exist in this world. He always believed that the spells, hexes, and incantations that are now used arrived long ago with the legendary dragons and their riders."

"You mean like Igneel?" Natsu interjected, grinning proudly at the thought of the dragon. Izayoi smiled, although she was not looking at him, but flipping through the crinkled, yellowed pages of the massive book she had pulled off from her shelf. "He raised me as a kid and taught me everything I know."

"Ah yes," The widow answered distractedly. "What do you know of dragons, Ms. Heartfilia?" She looked up from her book, her netted hat low over her eyes and her red lips burning vividly against her pale skin.

"Me?" Lucy frowned, contemplating. "I've read a few books on their backgrounds and legends, but as far as I know, there aren't any detailed documents concerning their history."

"They were fearsome creatures to behold, truly. Because of their threatening demeanor and solitary conduct, there are few humans on this earth who could document anything other than the long journey in search of these beasts, and their quick escape before the dragons reared their heads with every intention to burn them alive. This," Izayoi held up the large book, "is the completed collection of Sho Miura's dragon expeditions made throughout his life. In total, he was able to encounter five; among them, the Fire dragon, the Air dragon, the Earth dragon and the Steel dragon.

"You said five…" Natsu counted off on his fingers. "So what was the last one?"

Izayoi's hands tightened considerably when she finally answered the boy, "The final dragon was something unlike any ever recorded in history. This one found Sho in some unchartered northern mountains. He had been travelling with a team of three other men, and one of them had fallen desperately ill. This man was unable to move, and had lain in his tent for six days. He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep, and he seemed as good as dead to the others. All except Sho, that is. He went ahead of the team, yelling relentlessly for help until he himself was lost. After two day of screaming himself hoarse, he felt so tired and helpless that he simply keeled over to meet the rocky ground beneath his aching, blistered feet. It was then that he heard her."

"Her?" Lucy questioned. "A woman in the middle of the mountains..?"

"This was no woman," Izayoi explained further. "Although she had the human form, her voice was the music of the dragon's tongue, and when heard, Sho could feel his breath becoming easier and his voice returning. As he lifted his head, the creature glowed radiantly before him, singing in that strange language that eventually brought him to his feet once again. This mystical woman is described as the most incredibly beautiful being to ever be beheld. Her hair is described as pure, golden silk, her eyes all-knowing and bright violet, Sho believed her to have the ability to gaze into one's very soul; a dress of soft blue material as light as air flowed around her bare feet, and although she gave the appearance of it, she never seemed to truly touch the ground, but hover just above the earth."

"Isn't this just some fairy tale?" Natsu crossed his arms skeptically as he eyed the book Izayoi held. "What if this whole story is a scam, invented so that the book would sell?"

Lucy shot Natsu a deathly glare which shut him up almost as quickly as a glare from Erza normally would. Izayoi returned to her dialogue a moment later, a smile playing on her lips from the pair's comedic acts.

"At first, Sho was under the impression that he had been sent an angel from the heavens," Izayoi said. "He tried speaking to the woman, but she did not answer the queries of her name, why she was there, or who she was. Instead, she took his hand and led him slowly across the rocky terrain. The entire time, Sho couldn't tear his eyes away from her face. She was a stranger, yet he trusted her with his very life.

"They reached Sho's camp and comrades, all of which waited right where he had left them. The sick adventurer was now barely able to open his eyes, and while Sho was gone, the weakened man had forbidden anyone to enter his tent. He was worried that the illness would spread.

"The strange, other-worldly beauty that had brought Sho to safety entered the quarantined tent, followed by him and the two other men, both of whom had become entranced by her very presence. Together, the trio watched as the woman knelt down and placed a glowing hand on the forehead of their half-unconscious friend. An even brighter light began to shine from her hand almost immediately, and it grew so blinding that the dragon hunters all squeezed their eyes shut until it receded. When their eyes had adjusted again, their sick friend was sitting up beneath a heap of heavy fur blankets, confused, but restored to his former health. The witnesses to this performed miracle turned to thank the extraordinary woman, but found her curled upon the floor of the tent, sad hisses and howls pouring from her mouth at a frightening volume, her entire body shuddering in uncontrolled bursts. The sight brought tears to Sho's eyes as her bodily glow flickered furiously around her. He reached out his hand to touch her bare shoulder, but immediately flinched away with a yelp when he withdrew his fingertips that had been burnt black. Not knowing what to do, he ushered all three of his comrades out of the tent as a safety precaution. The woman's beautiful and horrifying screeches echoed in the men's ears for hours on end, until finally, she fell silent.

"Sho returned to the tent alone. He got on one knee before the woman that now sat shivering quietly in a corner, and looked into her eyes, the eyes that said and saw everything. It was then that Sho was able to see her for what she was. A dragon. One that could save many lives, but just as easily destroy them. A cursed creature that led a cursed life.

"As he sat with her, she reached for his hands and brought them up to her eyes that leaked salty tears that ran over his hands. He didn't have to look at them to know that his fingers had been cured of the burns he had gotten from his brief contact with her shoulder earlier. She kept his hands in hers long after the stinging pain had completely evaporated from his wounds. As he locked his gaze with hers, a name was whispered in his ear, but no one had spoken aloud in that tent. He whispered the name aloud, "Syriah."

"She still did not answer. Instead, she pressed her lips upon his forehead, both hands cupping the sides of his face, and then, she smiled.

"After she recovered, the she-dragon left Sho and his friends the very next day. Before disappearing into the mist that had settled in the air early that morning, she blessed them all with a prayer in the dragon's language that would guide them along the rest of their journey and keep them safe. She then drifted away from them, the sound of her music filling their hearts with unfamiliar, pleasant warmth that proceeded to course through their veins for weeks on end until that too faded away with time."

Izayoi fell silent, watching the reactions that began to appear on both Lucy and Natsu's faces. The blonde mage had brought both her hands together in apparent awe, while the boy looked on with an unimpressed expression, his arms crossed as he carefully against the wall of books.

"Is that it?" The girl pouted. "Sho never saw her again?"

"No, but he remembered and thought of her for the rest of his life," Izayoi returned the book to its shelf. "There is a reason I told you this story, so don't worry about the wasted time, Natsu."

"I wasn't!" Natsu answered too quickly, a scowl of embarrassment appearing on his face. Lucy laughed at his discomfort, but soon quieted down as her amusement was replaced with curiosity as to what Izayoi had to say next.

"All traces of the Sun and Shadow Dragon evaporated from the earth," Izayoi spoke, and said in answer to her two listeners' confused looks, "That's what Sho had named the dragon from the mountains. The sun stood for life, and shadow stood for death.

"Sho Miura was my grandfather," Izayoi finally confessed. "I knew the tales he wrote had been real. I believed him wholeheartedly, even when no one else did. The entirety of Balsam was convinced of his insanity, but I knew better-"

"How?"

Lucy had interrupted the widow with the single word, a simple question alight in her eyes. Izayoi looked at Lucy, calm, but somehow uncomfortable.

"How did you know your grandfather wasn't a nutcase?" Lucy elaborated on the inquiry. She then waited patiently for a response, staring down the older woman, unfaltering.

"Because I-I could see it…" She stammered.

"See? See what?" Lucy spoke in almost a mocking tone. Natsu swallowed. What was with the heavy tension building up around them?

"Ms. Heartfilia, I've been meaning to tell you this since you arrived, but I…" Izayoi wrapped her arms around herself, as though self-conscious. "I've been too afraid, too cowardly…"

"What? What is it?" Lucy suddenly snapped, almost angry. There were too many things about this woman that were a complete mystery. It made her nervous, even frightened, of what she didn't know.

"I'm sorry-!" Izayoi stepped away, surprised by Lucy's outburst. "Forget I said anything."

"I know about the hidden room!" Lucy spit out unintentionally when Izayoi had turned away from the two mages. The words seemed to have an immediate effect on the woman as she stopped her retreat and looked back over her shoulder at Lucy. "The broken mirrors…and the journals…Natsu and I were there when Mayu alerted you of some loud sounds."

"Were you now?" Izayoi cast a sour smile at the words that had spilled from Lucy's mouth. "I shall have to apologize to Mayu later, won't I?"

"Why do you keep such a horrible room like that?" Lucy asked bluntly.

"Why? Well, I suppose you can call it a symbolic shrine of my past." Izayoi smirked at her choice of words. "That room holds a piece of me that I am unable to let go of. It holds memories of an old happiness, old feelings, and a sadness and guilt that will always remain."

Lucy waited for details. She was patient when she wanted nothing more than to force answers from the widow's blood-red lips. But Izayoi refused to speak another word on the subject. Instead, she returned to the table and rang a bell that would signal Mayu to arrange afternoon tea. Lucy and Natsu seated themselves across from her, as always.

"You aren't angry are you?" Natsu looked awkwardly guilty. "Sorry we invaded your private room without asking…"

"What?" Izayoi smiled softly at the boy. "No, don't worry about it. It's my fault. I didn't lock the door."

"Yeah, but still…" Natsu rubbed the back of his head with an apologetic grin on his face.

"It really was an accident," Lucy chimed in with her partner, a slight unwillingness to apologize tugging at her heart. "I'm sorry too."

"Don't feel too badly," Izayoi consoled the pair. "Let's change the topic of conversation for now, shall we?"

As much as Lucy wanted to nag the woman for a straight answer to each and every one of her questions, she knew the timing had slipped away and would be deemed, at this point in time, as inappropriate if she were to carry out an interrogation.

Once more, she pushed away the river of queries and suspicions that were quickly growing with every day that passed in that mansion.

Once more, she decided to grit her teeth and bear it.


tada!

Did you like that super long legend narration? I hope it wasn't boring or anything . I'm kind of busy lately, sorry if you've been waiting...im always making you wait. I've got a general idea where im going with this, so don't b too worried. I'm not giving up yet. I think I've built up enough tension, so I'll b giving more stuff away in the next few chapters. Look forward to ittt