Fairy Tail

Makarov's POV

June 26th X793

Seven Months And Eleven Days Since Lucy Left.

It was boiling, he'd never witnessed a summer so hot, the spring had been hot as well, he was sweating as the heat seeped in from outside.

He was currently in his office finishing up paperwork for the day as his children played in the pool or were sheltered from the summer sun inside the guild hall. At this point the freezing lacrima wasn't doing any good.

Seven long months had passed since Lucy left the guild, and so far there had been no progress with her legs, he was troubled about that, but he'd heard from Rogue that her therapist had predicted she'd walk again towards the middle of next year, at least she was regaining feeling in her feet.

At the beginning of this month another one of his children had come out of the curse, this time it was little Wendy. He'd never be able to forget the horror on the young girls face as Makarov told her the news, he'd never forget the way she'd cried and screamed at herself, not only herself but at the entire world.

She was like Lucy's younger sister before all of this started, and it had broken the young girls heart to find out what she had done. She hadn't come to the guild that week, Erza had gone to try to comfort the small girl and finally she came back to the guild, uttering out apologies for worrying everyone.

Wendy was to good hearted for a life as cruel as this, he knew life often brought immense happiness as well but this was something that had shaken the six including himself and Happy, to the very core, they couldn't easily get out of this nightmare.

'Master, there's mail for you' a sweet voice rung out from behind his closed office door startling him for a minute before he allowed the voice to enter, it was Mirajane, she was carrying what seemed to be one envelope.

He took it from her hands and as soon as her business was done she turned to leave bidding him farewell.

He stared at the envelope, his eyes widening when he saw who it was from.

Sender: Lucy Heartfilia

Location: Sabertooth, Oak Town, Fiore,

To;

Recipient: Makarov Dreyer

Drop off location: Fairy Tail, Magnolia, Fiore

Could Lucy really be sending them a message? Was she already that much better? Of course being told she was improving was different from actually seeing her, but he couldn't believe he was holding a letter from her.

Carefully and with hesitation he opened the envelope. He didn't know what to expect from reading it, but he expected tears would fall.

'Please let the others read this, the ones that have returned to normal...'

As he read the first sentence his eyes widened again, if that was even possible, his jaw dropped to the floor, she had really written a letter to them, he knew this to be her hand writing, he could never mistake it for another's, it was elegant, just like the way she was raised.

Slowly and without much thought he hid the return address on his desk and left his office to gather the six people he needed.

As he walked towards them individually he instructed them to meet by his office in two minutes, they had hurried on their way up there without question after seeing the look on his face.

'What is this about master' Erza asked as he seated himself in his chair, they looked expectantly at him as he pulled out the letter.

'Master...Who's that from' Levy asked curiously, he knew that the petite blue haired girl already knew the answer though, the way her eyes brimmed with tears and her hand flew up to cover her mouth.

'It's from Lucy' he said as he unfolded the pieces of paper, there wasn't much written but to them it was enough, they all desperately wanted to know how Lucy was doing, wanted to hear her sweet voice again, but for now a letter from her would suffice.

'Well read it already gramps' Natsu shouted while standing up from his sitting position, Makarov gave the boy a serious look that settled him down.

'I just want to tell you, I don't know what this letter holds, so be prepapred' he said as he also braced himself for the words he would be reading, he watched as his children nodded their heads as they to prepared themselves for whatever the letter contained...

'Hey, it's me, Lucy. I didn't actually want to write, but my beloved..'Makarov chose not to say Sting's name, he knew his children would figure out where she was if he did..

'...well he said it might help me get better, so here I am, I'll probably end up throwing it away though after I've finished writing it. Anyways I wanted to say that I know this wasn't your fault, I know about the curse, but as of right now...I just can't forgive any of you, my world shattered as you tortured me, as you laughed at me, but I'm finally getting better, thanks to my beloved...' Makarov paused to take a breath, as he glanced around he noticed his children were all crying, Lucy had said she couldn't forgive them, how horrible they must be feeling...

'...but as time goes on I do hope we can be friends again, I hope that my darkness goes away completely, I hope that your darkness does as well, I know it may take time for me to become your friend again, but I have wished with all my heart that one day life will bring me a friendship with you all again, but I'm sorry, we will never be comrades for as long as I remain alive in this world' sobs echoed the tiny office as he stopped reading for a moment, his own tears blurring his vision. Lucy had hoped for a better future, same as him, a future where she could get away from her darkness, a future where her old friends could become happy again, even if she had said they would never be comrades, or nakama again, she still wanted to try and remain friends, her depression was finally lifting.

'I don't know why life turned out this way, but I'm glad it did...My beloved you see, I never would have met him if destiny hadn't taken me down this road. Over the course of seven months I seem to be forgetting everything bad that's happened to me, but unfortunately I'm not ready to forgive just yet, maybe one day though. I hope I can learn to forgive you all.' Lucy really had grown a lot these last seven months, it seemed as if Sabertooth really had been her chosen path, although it was bumpy going at first the blonde haired woman persevered, even when she had given up, which he'd been told happened multiple times, she had found the courage to get back up, with the help of Sting of course.

'My beloved told me I should also tell you of my progress...It's been slow, but I'm regaining feeling in my feet, I'm still unable to stand but at least I can feel my feet again, do you have any idea how wonderful it feels to be able to wiggle your toes? My physical therapist still believes I'll be walking again by the middle of next year, isn't that wonderful?

I'm getting better everyday, both mentally and physically, my beloved helps me greatly, he's helped me so much I don't know what I would do if he wasn't by my side. He's saved me in countless ways, he saved me from drowning in a pit of despair and faintly, he ultimately saved me from myself, he's a knight in shining armor.

Anyways enough about him, I'm going to wrap this up. I believe our paths will always be connected, I just had to sever the ties for a little while. I can't bear to see you guys right now, I'm still haunted everyday by what I had been subjected to, I'm sorry if I'm breaking your hearts, but remember that you shattered mine long ago, it's cruel of me to say, but I believe you needed to know. Fate and destiny will always guide me back to you, I know that, but in what way they do I haven't the slightest idea. Even if we can't see each other, even when you broke the heart of your comrade, your nakama, the path has already been set, and I see myself forgiving you, but even I don't know how may years it will take for that to happen, but I know it will happen one day, because, we'll always be family, ne?

The tears had finally stopped and what remained were small smiles, even though their eyes were red and puffy the six in front of him were happy, he had never seen such a beautiful sight, he'd never laid his eyes on such a beautiful letter either.

Yes, time will heal all wounds, he had faith in that, he'd have to sit by and watch how fate, destiny and time unraveled before his very eyes. The intricate dance the three were performing was a mesmerizing thing to watch.

As his children sat before him he could see their hope returning to them, their eyes sparkled with life once again, Lucy's letter had brought that back to them, he was starting to understand the dance of life, little by little it made more sense to him, he was starting to understand Mavis's words even better then before, he was starting to understand what fate and destiny had done.

He watched as his children hugged one another in happiness, even if the letter had made them shed tears as well, just knowing that somewhere down the road Lucy might forgive them was enough to make all five cry out in happiness, in hope.

They would get over this obstacle that life had thrown their way, getting stronger because of it. They would all learn to live again.