CHAPTER 7:

DISCLAIMER: Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima.

I was in a room full of mirrors. And as each second passed, I dreaded looking at those mirrors. It was kind of funny, being afraid of your own reflection. Well, it would be if it were your own reflection staring back at you.

The reflection looking back at me, however, was not me.

She was a woman. A very beautiful woman that I couldn't even find the perfect words to describe just how beautiful she looked. And her face seemed to be changing. Shifting into something more attractive the more that I stare at her.

"Who are you?" I finally found my voice and the courage required to say it.

"This fire will consume you." Her voice was soft, delicate, almost as if she was talking to a child.

"What fire?" I held the necklace. "Do you mean this necklace?"

She stared at the necklace. The blood red diamond in the center slowly matching the color of her irises before it changed again when she looked back at me.

"No mortal soul should ever possess the tears of Aphrodite. It only takes, shrouded in the illusion of giving. It would devour you, young one."

I didn't know why but her words sent a chill all over my body. I didn't even understand what she was talking about or what she meant by her words. What did she mean by devoured? How can this necklace devour a living person?

My eyes widened. She was talking about my soul.

"What should I do?" All I needed right now was answers and I knew she's the one who could give me that.

She didn't say anything for a while and I could only look at her. I could feel the heat coming from all around us. It was getting too hot again for comfort. I began to sweat profusely, feeling slightly annoyed that she wasn't looking a bit uncomfortable with the feeling in our surroundings.

"I do wonder what you can do," she began to speak. "But you're a mere mortal. You're nothing special."

I gritted my teeth. She was beginning to annoy me. She was acting so high and mighty and I had had enough of her looking down on me. I was about to open my mouth to speak up, but finding out that I couldn't do it. A smile formed on her face. It was wicked and minatory.

"Let it devour you." Her eyes glowed with that reddish glint again. "It's hurting you because you are refusing it."

I felt that fire on my skin again. The pain was so profound I could feel my eyes watering. I clenched my hands, biting my lip to keep myself from screaming out in agony. I turned to the woman, hating the look of disappointment in her eyes.

"I told you." She reached out, almost as if touching me but the glass bounded her. "Let it burn you, Lucy."

I was angry at her. She kept treating this as if it was a game.

I met her eyes, making sure that my emotions were clearly written on mine. "No."

She kept her eyes on me, her expression neutral. I would never let this fire consume me. And just because some strange woman who came out of nowhere told me to, does not mean that I should do it either. This was my soul we're talking about and if anyone should have any say on what happens to it, then that right belongs to me.

"You can wait there for all eternity but my answer would never change." My voice was steadfast and I was thankful for that. "No."

There was a gentle breeze blowing. I was laying down on something soft and warm. The room of mirrors was gone, replaced by the familiar sight of my apartment. I calmed down, smelling this familiar scent and seeing the worried faces of my friends. I sat up, meeting their gazes.

"What happened to you, Lucy?" Happy asked. "You caught us off guard when you passed out at the guild. We didn't know what was happening."

"I'm sorry if I worried you." I felt bad for worrying them so much. Happy looked like he was about to cry. "I haven't been getting any sleep because of worrying about the necklace so that was probably the reason why I passed out."

"We already told you not to worry about that," Natsu said. "If you begin worrying, then what's the point of us being here and protecting you? Didn't we tell you to rely on us more?"

I felt my eyes water, so I lowered my gaze. "Sorry."

I felt a hand on my head. "Geez, Lucy," Natsu breathed out. "We're not mad at you. Honestly, we're mad at ourselves because we didn't do a good job of protecting you."

I held his hand, finally facing him. "But you are protecting me. You don't even have to do anything. Just knowing that you're there for me is already enough."

A smiled found its way on Natsu's face. "And with that, we finally settled this." He turned to the window. "See? She said she's fine and we did our job of protecting her. Is that enough to satisfy you?"

"Yeah, I heard her loud and clear from here." Gray entered the room, rolling his eyes at Natsu. He was still wearing his travel clothes.

Natsu turned to me. "But seriously, I'm glad that you're alright now, Lucy."

I smiled at him. "Thank you, Natsu. Anyway, you must be hungry from taking care of me. I bought some groceries before coming to the guild this morning and managed to get out of the store unscratched so help yourselves in the kitchen."

Natsu and Happy didn't need any coaxing from me as they made their way to my kitchen. I let out a small laugh when I heard them bickering, but soon silence instilled as they began to eat.

"Didn't you go to Crocus with Erza?" I turned to Gray.

"I did, but I decided to come back when I heard about you." He took a seat on my bed. "What happened?"

"It's nothing."

"It was not nothing." I was surprised at the sharpness to his voice. He let out a breath, and when he spoke again, his tone was gentler. "I came back because I was worried about you. So please don't tell me it was nothing."

I bit my lip, feeling guilty about attempting to lie to him. So I decided to tell him everything. About freaking out last night because I couldn't get the necklace off. About Mira and Cana noticing my condition at the guild and me not feeling anything strange before passing out. To the dream I had with that woman. And how I felt bad about worrying all of them.

"I don't want to be a burden to all of you." I had my eyes down, refusing to look at him.

Gray moved closer to me. "Stupid, Lucy."

I faced him then, feeling my cheeks redden. "What? Do you think this is stupid? Do you think that my feelings of guilt about worrying all of you are stupid?"

His face was still as passive when he said his next words,"You're stupid for thinking that you're a burden to us in the first place. You are and will never be a burden. So if you're struggling, then talk to me."

"I do talk to you," I murmured.

His jaw tightened. "Is it selfish of me to ask for more?"

"More what?"

"More honesty," he answered. "I want you to be honest and tell me what you're really feeling. Tell me when something bothers you. I could only help you if I know what's truly bothering you."

Really, Gray looked aloof and cold on the outside, but his true self always shows whenever he tries to protect the people important to him.

"Alright, I will be transparent with you more," I finally decided. "I'm the one with a huge necklace problem here, yet you're looking more frustrated."

"It's because you're frustrating, Lucy."

I frowned at him. "Why did I come into the picture?"

He suddenly reached out and touched the necklace. My eyes met his dark ones. And just like that my heart pounded again as my breathing began to hitch. I was suddenly aware of our closeness, and yet I didn't do anything about it. We had been physically close for multiple times already, especially on missions when the other one got caught up in some trouble, but somehow this moment felt different.

Or maybe I was just thinking too much these past few days and giving meaning to everything that my raven-haired teammate does, when in reality it all meant nothing.

He let his hand fall, resting it just beside mine, our skins touching. I could feel the cold from his hand, heavily contrasting with the warmth in mine. I didn't want to move, afraid that I might do something wrong or something that I would regret.

"I don't know what to do so I could help you," he said. "And it's frustrating."

I could feel warmth enveloping my body. And the way it travels on my skin was just pure bliss. This fire was familiar. It was hurting me just moments ago, but now by some kind of miracle, we had come into an understanding.

Let it burn you, Lucy.

I was on a difficult path.

For once, the fire didn't even reach me. I realized that I was the one who ignited it.

...

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