Her Champion
Chapter 4
Taming the Dragon
In the infirmary:
Erza was laying down in one of the beds, her wounds were treated and bandaged. Her arms and shoulders had little burn marks all over them, while most of her body was sore as hell. This was something she taught she will never feel again.
The sensation of pain and fatigue.
She was no longer wearing her armor. Instead of that, she was wearing a white dress.
She looks at the bandages in curiosity, she did not feel as angry as she was earlier. Her mind was racing back and forth between what had happened out there and this new feeling she felt before she left.
"Why did he let me win? Why did he not finish it? What was that feeling back then?" Her strong and beautiful face frown in thought, not noticing the door of infirmary open.
Mira and Lisanna walked into the room and saw Erza laying on the bed. They walked over to her bedside and waited for her to acknowledge them. After about 5 minutes the older sibling decided to call out to their princess.
"Your majesty?" Erza`s eyes blinked for a second before they turned to look at the two sisters.
"Yes, Mira?" Erza asked in a calm voice
"How are you feeling?" Mira asked, genuinely concerned for her princess/friend
Erza rolled her shoulders, feeling out the soreness before answering her with a small smile "Little bit sore... But I will be fine after I make a visit to the healers".
Both Lisanna`s and Mira`s eyes widen at those words, making Erza`s eyebrow rise
"What?" She asked the two
"Well, it`s just... You haven`t been there in years" Lisanna said in a surprised tone of voice
Erza thought about it and realized that she was right. The last time she went to the healers was when she was 11 years old after she has won the tournament. Her opponent got lucky and landed a strike on her above her eyebrow. It was not a stab, she only got hit with the tip of the blade as she was dodging the swing.
Her mother rushed her to the healers after that and made sure she will never be hit like that again. The wound was healed quickly, no scar was left behind it so it did not ruin her soft creamy skin.
Erza nodded her head at Lisanna and said "You are right. It`s been a while since I have been there..."
"Well well... I never thought that a match like that would have happened in my arena" Mira said with her arms crossed over her chest, a satisfied smile appearing on her face. "It`s not every day you get to see or find a man, who can keep up with the warrior princess"
"If he can go head to head with you Erza. Then I just wonder what he would be like as a slave" Mira asked dreamily
Erza did not know why. But hearing Mira talk like that about Natsu made her frown. She could feel a slight pain in her chest, almost as if Mira`s words hurt her. She did not know why...
"He already is a slave Mira" Mira`s eyes lighten up at those words as well as Lisanna`s.
"He is! That`s great Erza! I will go down to the dungeons and make him start working for me this instant. I will have him fight in the arena every day and if he is a good boy, I will even put some extra food in his lunch from time to time" Mira said with a happy smile, Lisanna thought about the food part too and decided that if Natsu behaved that he will get some of her "special" cooking.
Erza`s eyes narrowed as her anger resurfaced, she did not know why she was feeling like this. But she was not going to let this demon steal her property, her mother said that Natsu is their slave. Meaning that he is HER slave.
"I am sorry Mira but he already has a master" Mira stopped in her tracks as she was going for the door to down into the dungeons.
"Really... And who is that Master Erza?" Mira asked with a raised eyebrow
"Me," Erza said with honesty and order as if challenging the other two to go against her word.
Mira ever so devious, let a grin come across her face as she sits back down by her friend's bedside. "Your`s... Why would you need a slave? You have too many maids and servants in that royal castle, what could you possibly need a slave for?"
"This one has taken my mother`s interest" Erza answered simply.
"He got the queen interest? Now how did he managed to do that?" Lisanna asked this time
Erza`s eyes widen and then set their gaze down at the bedsheets. Does she tell them that he knocked her out two times in one day or does she make something up...
NO!
She is the princess of Alvarez and she will not make an excuse in order to save her pride. After all these two are her friends, they will understand. Right?
"He... He knocked me out twice in one day" She told them and waited to see how they react.
...
The room was silent, just like the arena was. The two sisters looked at each other and then back at Erza. They did not know what to say or what to think. They saw how strong Natsu is, but to be able to knock out the princess of Alvarez two times in one day. That is unheard of.
"How did that happened?" Lisanna asked not believing her ears
"Because of her ignorance and irrational thinking" A voice came from the door of the infirmary making all the girls look towards it.
There stood the Irene holding a box in her hands. She walked inside the room and towards her daughter. Mira and Lisanna gut up from their chairs and got down to their knees, bowing down to their queen. Irene nodded her head at two sisters making them stand up.
"Hello, Mira, Lisanna how are you two?" Irene asked with a smile on her face
"We are doing great your highness" Lisanna answered with a smile of her own
"That is good to hear... Can you two give us some privacy? I would like to talk to my daughter alone" Irene said to the two sisters making them look at each other in confusion, before nodding and heading out of to the hallway.
Irene set down at the edge of the bed Erza was resting at, but not before putting down the box on top of the nightstand beside the bed.
"How are your injuries," Irene asked looking at Erza`s arms
"They will be fine once I go to healers" Irene nodded and placed her hand on top of Erza`s
"This is the first time in years, that I saw you injured" Irene caressed her daughter's hand "Is there anything I could do for you to help?"
Erza looked down at her mother`s hand caressing her`s, she moved her hand away earning a frown from her mother. She was not there for her when she was a child, why would she care for her now when she was almost an adult.
"You can... By telling me how the hell did he breathe fire."Erza said with narrowed eyes, telling her mother that there will now sidestepping her questions.
Irene sighed before moving her hands to rest on her lap, she closed her eyes to think for a few minutes then looked at Erza in the eyes.
"He breathes fire... Because he is a dragon slayer" Erza`s eyebrow raised at that.
"A dragon slayer?"
Irene nodded
"So... He slays dragons? And that`s why he can breathe fire?" Erza asked in confusion
"Hehehe... Well, that is what most people think when they hear about it. But no" Irene`s face becomes more serious "A dragon slayer is a type of person or a wizard who is trained in the arts of the lost magic. Dragon slayer magic"
Erza`s eyes widen at that. She has read about lost magic and how almost all of its kind was nearly extinct. Only a few are left in the world who knew lost magic, but Erza never meet anyone who can use it.
And she just fought against one of those people.
"Lost magic! You mean to tell me that what he did was lost magic?" Erza said not believing her mother`s words
"That is exactly what I`m saying Erza. The dragon slayer magic, in particular, uses elements like fire, lightning, air, even iron for their attacks and defenses. They can eat their elements if there are any in the area, to replenish their magical power and make them last longer in the fight"
Erza was shocked at this news. How the hell was that even fair?
"They also have enchanted sense. Like smell, hearing, sight and so on. Not to mention they are incredibly strong and durable. They can go on in a fight for as long as there is magic in their system. The stronger they become and more magic they have, the more they become like dragons."
"That explains the scales..." Erza thought to herself
"How do you know all this?" Erza asked her mother to which she grins
"How... Well my dear" Irene grin turned into a smile "I was the one who created it"
Erza`s eyes and mouth couldn't open wide enough to represent her shock. Her mother... Created the lost magic... The one that beat her ass not too long ago. And she did not teach it to her!
All those years of her studying requip magic... All those years ago, she could have learned how to be a dragon slayer...
WHY THE HELL DID SHE NOT TELL HER SOONER!
"WHY DID YOU NOT TEACH ME IT?!" Erza yelled not caring if the whole arena heard her.
Irene ever so calmly, put her pinky into her ear cleaning it from the ringing that was caused by her angry daughter.
"It`s not that I did not want to Erza. It`s more that I can`t... Not anymore" Erza waited for her to explain "Before your father died... He made me promise to him that I will never use that type of magic again. For it is too destructive and dangerous, so I swore upon his death to never use or teach it to anyone again..."
Erza nodded her head in understanding. Her mother made a promise to her father and she swore upon her honor to keep it. She can respect that from her, however, one thing was not clear to her.
"How does he know it then?" Erza asked, her mother sighs as she remembers what happened.
"Long ago when I was younger before you were born. I bend the elements into a living form, they could move, breath and talk just like can. Only one thing was different about them"
"They were all dragons"
Erza thought her eyeballs were going to pop out of her skull from how wide she has been spreading them today.
"They were all created from my desired element to bear the very existence of dragon slayer magic and so it was their duty to protect this magic, and never let it fall into the wrong hands."
"However I was naive to think that they would listen to me. They escaped my kingdom and vanished into the sky, never to be found again. However, it appears that one of them still remained here."
Irene smirked as she walked over to the nightstand and picked up the box before sitting back down at Erza`s bed.
"The dragon who thought our little Natsu how to use this lost magic is called Igneel. I called him the king of the fire dragons, for his flames, could burn through almost anything. However I am surprised by him getting a human apprentice, he was the most violent of them all. You will never find a being filled with rage and anger for us humans more then Igneel was."
Irene then opened the box and pulled out a metal collar and what looked like a stamper with a red dragon on the stamp. Erza looked closer at the collar and saw the same symbol of the dragon on the center of it that was on the stamp.
"This is a collar I created in order to catch those dragons in case they ever came back. It is infused with powerful magic canceling spell, no matter how much anyone tried to use their magic, they won`t be able to. If you pour some of your own magic into ti you can make it get smaller or bigger" Irene`s hands glowed red as the collar was got smaller, small enough to be a bracelet and the grew back to the collar size.
"It also possesses a powerful command spell. Meaning that if you have put it on someone and you have the stamp on you, he or she will have no choice but to follow your orders. If they try to defy you they will be punished for it." Irene explained to Erza as she put the items back into the box.
"What kind of punishment?" Erza asked in interest
"The collar will send a wave of the different element through the wearer's body. Specifically, an element that is stronger than their own, which in Natsu`s case is lightning. The lightning will flow through his entire body, causing him a huge amount of pain"
Erza bit her lower lip at that. She knew she should be thrilled that something like this will be able to hurt the one who caused her all this shame and pain. But after their fight today, she did not know why but for some reason.
She did not want to hurt him...
Erza felt a weight on her lap and saw the box that contained the items to controlling the mystical beasts. She looked back at her mother with a surprised look. Her mother took her hand into both of hers and proceeded to speak to her with determination.
"I want you to show Natsu his place. I want you to show him what happened when you disrespect the Belserion name, show him who is on top and who is at the bottom."
"Show him who is the mistress and who is the slave" With that Irene got up and left the room.
Erza set there for a minute thinking, about everything her mother has told her. She opened the box and pulled out the collar to marvel at its design. It was a pure silver steel collar with blood-red fire surrounding it and a dragon symbol on its front. Erza could feel the power that was within the collar, the power to tame a dragon.
Her mind went back and forth as she tried to make a decision about Natsu. She wanted to punish him and see him suffer, however, the other part of her did not want him to suffer too much. It was a weird war of back and forth.
In the end, her sense of revenge won over compassion and she stood up from the bad in order to make Natsu pay.
"Hiss" Erza hissed as her arms burned with pain.
Oh right... She still needed to go to the healers.
About 2 hours later at arena dungeons:
Erza walked through the hall now wearing her armor again, her steel boots echoing in a silent hall as she was making her way to a certain dragon slayer. When she arrived in front of his cell she saw Lisanna sitting in front of it with her legs crossed and her arms supporting her weight.
"What is she doing?" Erza thought with a raised eyebrow, the sense of irritation washed over her body.
Lisanna who seemed lost in thought while looking inside Natsu`s cage, as if feeling someone watching her turned her head to the right. She saw princess Erza standing there with an irritated look on her face.
Lisanna quickly jumped from her sitting position with a yelp, before getting to her knees and yelling apologies.
"It`s alright Lisanna... Does he have a match soon?" Erza asked the younger sister
"Huh?... Oh.. No, I was just checking if he was trying to escape or do something fishy with his magic" Lisanna answered with a little bit of blush on her cheeks.
"Sure you did..." Erza thought with narrowed eyes "Very well. You are dismissed"
Lisanna blinked at her in confusion "Pardon?"
"You heard me" Erza simply said to the younger woman
"With all due respect Erza" she begins but was cut off by a redhead
"I don`t care if it's your job or not to watch over him. I am here now so I will watch over what he dose. Now as I said... You are DISMISSED!" Erza told her with a yell at the end of her speech.
Lisanna with tears in her eyes turned her back to Erza and run down the dark hallway and towards the stairs that lead to her sister`s room.
Erza sighs as she watched the younger woman run away, knowing she will have to apologies to her.
But now she had more important matters at hand. She pulls out a stamp that came with the collar and stamped the symbol on top of her hand. It glowed bright red before dying down to its normal color.
She looked inside Natsu`s cell and caught the sight of onyx eyes with hers. Her breath got caught up in her throat as he looked at her before closing his eyes.
An iron muffler around his mouth this time.
Erza takes out the key to his cell and unlocked the door. She slowly steps inside, there were no guards around and no interruptions. She only had one shot at this she needed to make it count.
Natsu watched as Erza came closer and closer to him, he decided to stand up after she crossed half of the cell and looked into her eyes as they stood face to face. She raised her hand up towards his face, on instinct he grabbed both of her wrists stopping them from moving any closer.
He stared into those pools of brown orbs, he felt no struggle from her as her wrists were being held, no anger or fury could be seen in her brown eyes. The only thing he saw in front of him was a beautiful woman, with a sad look in her eyes.
He knew that look all too well. He had that look for 2 years now... Ever since Igneel disappeared on him, he did not feel relief, happiness or peace. But looking into this woman`s eyes, something told him he can let go.
His hands slowly let go of her wrists. Erza was shocked at the emotional look in his eyes but hide it the best she could. She took off her gauntlets, throw them on the ground and then placed both of her hands on either side of his cheek.
"He is so... warm..." Erza thought while her right thumb caressed his cheek, she let the smile slip as she saw him close his eyes and nuzzle against her hand.
"Now that I get a closer look at him... He is actually pretty cu-" Erza stopped what she was doing as she almost thought something she will regret later. She looked back at Natsu and saw him still nuzzling her hand.
She needed to work fast. A bright flash of light appeared from her left hand, making Natsu`s eyes narrow while closed. And before he could open them something slammed into his neck making him recoil from the princess.
A metallic "click" was heard as he was coughing from a sudden pain in his neck. Not even noticing what just happened. He felt around his neck and felt steel, he felt it with both hands before starting to pull on it, trying to rip it off him.
It did not budge.
He tried to set himself on fire but to his surprise, nothing happened. He panted as he tried to rip the darn thing off him.
"Hmhmhm" He heard a sweet evil chuckle from his side as he looked at the person responsible for this. Erza stood there with her hand behind her back with a victorious grin on her face.
"Well, then little dragon... You got something to say?" She asked as she took a hold of the iron muffler before ripping it off his face. He took a couple of breaths to control his breathing, his right arm on the ground where he was down on one knee, while the left one was still on the collar.
"What did you do? What is this?" He asked as hid body felt really weak and his anger was rising.
"Well, why don`t you come over here and find out," Erza told him as she leans on the bars of his cell and tossed him the key for his shackles.
This woman... Was she toying with him... This woman... The woman he thought HE COULD THRUST!
Letting out a roar of anger, he charged at her, ripping the chains that were holding him apart. His rage and adrenalin were pumping his muscles, his magic may be gone but he still had his body to fight on.
Erza seeing him break from his bondings, just stood there with her eyes closed. When he was about to reach her she gave out her command.
"Bow down to your mistress," She said in a commanding voice
Natsu keeps on charging but really soon he begins to slow down until he did not come to the complete stop. His body was shaking as his face was a mixture of pain and anger. He took another step toward her.
And that`s when it happened.
Lightning surrounded Natsu`s body as he screamed in pain. He was still standing even though mind-numbing pain was running through his body.
Erza watched him cry in pain with an emotionless face, unaware that something from inside of her was crying for Natsu to just bend the knee. After few more minutes Natsu give up and fell to his knees.
He was panting hard, he couldn`t feel his body and in his mind, his world was spinning. He opened his heavy eyes and with a blurry vision looked at the metal boots that were now standing in front of him.
Finally, his mind give up as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. His body falling to the side from his kneeling position and toward the hard floor. However before he hit it, two cold arms caught him and brought him into another metal surface, on which he laid his head-on.
"Good boy..." He heard someone say as his world went black.
Author`s note: This one was much better to write than the last one. I really enjoyed this one. I hope you do too.
See ya guys.
