Lucy walked in the gardens of her house, letting her hand brush the soft petals of each flower. She sighed as she looked at the sky, it was already night already.
Questions and anguish filled her head. She feels trapped in her own skin, and she knows she isn't going anywhere. She'll be a doll, a woman who can only be beautiful, give birth to kids, and just stand still.
Why is business like this? She thought, already feeling the tears welling up in her eyes. She looked up to the dark night sky, the stars glittering brightly, the moon giving off it's light. The occasional coo of an owl echoed once a while.
She then walked to her normal spot, where the moonflowers bloom. The blonde smiled sadly, remembering the first time she saw moonflowers with her mother. That was a great time.
Her mother wouldn't want this. She wouldn't want her daughter locked up in their house against her own will. She would calm down Father with a single touch, and things wouldn't be different from how it was when Lucy was a child.
Oh how things changed after Layla's death.
Her father became a cold-hearted man, locking his heart up in an iron case. His face never showed any emotion except anger, frustration, boredom, and of course; disappointment.
Lucy can remember that day clearly. Once, it was her birthday, so she brought a gift to her father, but instead, her father kicked her out. She locked herself in the room all day, crying.
She never talked back to her father, or even tried acting to be all lovey-dovey to Jude. Except when she was 15, she had enough, and let out all her frustrations and anger at him, earning beatings, and locked up in her room for a week, with no food or drinks.
The blonde shivered, and glanced at the flowers, who were glowing, it's white petals luminous. Her mother used to tell her that moonflowers were the star's favorite kind of flower. They say every single night, the stars would add a tisp of stardust on the petals, making people feel hopeful around them.
She then caught something behind the corner of her eye. A figure came closer to her, it's a man for sure. She braced herself, ready to give that person a kicking of his life.
"Ah! Lucy dear! Time is up." Jose Porla announced, the man coming out of the shadows. The blonde gritted her teeth, and with no sound she turned toward her home.
"Don't you want to talk, my dear?" Jose asked, catching up the girl quickly. "I'm sure you're curious and a bit frustrated about what your father and I planned."
Lucy paused her march toward the mansion, and turned to the man. "Now Jose, what you and my father plan isn't my concern. The question is, what do you want with my life?"
The man chuckled. "Ah, feisty for sure. I'm just making sure your father gets the help he needs for his family. We wouldn't want something bad to happen to you and those you care deeply, would we?"
Lucy narrowed her eyes. There was a threat hidden there for sure. This man was dangerous, she already grasped that fact. The problem is, what does he want with her? "Don't worry Mr. Porla, I do follow every command Father gives me." She sniffed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to see Father now."
Jose smiled sinerstly. "Make sure you do good Lucy. That tongue is a dangerous one, make sure you don't get yourself in trouble."
Without another remark, He left Lucy alone, letting the girl think about clearly what was really going.
"I think it's this way." Wendy replied, making sure not to tread on any branches.
Natsu followed her, pushing branches out of the way. Happy and Charle flew, dodging branches and twigs. "Are you sure we're going the right way, Wendy?" The white exceed asked her partner. The bluenette nodded, obviously in deep concentration.
After a few treads, the little girl led them into a clearing, the exact place where they started.
"Um… Wendy, hate to break it to ya, but this is the place we started." Natsu claimed, looking around the area. "Are you sure this is really the place you felt that faint magic energy?"
Wendy nodded. "I didn't feel it earlier because I wasn't really paying attention. But when I was walking that strange feeling kept nagging me, as if it was calling to me." She pointed to where a stone was placed at the base of the tree. "I feel it there, the magic energy."
The group walked to the stone, and then that's when Natsu could feel it. "Oh yeah! I think I can feel it, but it's super small." He exclaimed, earning a nod from Happy.
"Aye, but it seems like it belonged to someone, not the island." The cat thought out loud, his large eyes shut, thinking hard. "Who could it be?"
"I believe that would be me."
Natsu spun around, stepping into a fighting sense. There was something moving in the clearing, it's medelic voice echoing the island.
There was a girl, about the same height as Wendy. She had long, wavy pale blonde hair, reaching down to her ankles. Bright green eyes held wisdom and kindness. The problem was that Natsu was pretty sure he could see through her body…
Like a ghost. Natsu thought, standing up, still looking at the girl who stood before them.
"You've found my grave, congratulations." The girl replied, smiling at the group. "I was wondering when Makarov was going to send you guys here."
"H-hang on…" Happy stuttered. "What do you mean you mean 'Makarov was going to send us here'? Do you know our Master?"
The girl chuckled, looking at the flying exceed. "Yes, I knew him very well, Happy."
"Oh- Wait how did you know my name?"
Charle narrowed her eyes. "Who are you exactly, and how do you know us?" The cat asked, plopping onto Wendy's shoulder.
The mysterious ghost smiled. "I am Mavis Vermillion, the first master of Fairy Tail. The person you were looking for."
"Hold on." Gajeel stopped Wendy's recap on what happened. "So you're saying, you found the First Master, actually talked to her, and she told you that we don't need to look for her actual body? And the grave wasn't even real?"
Wendy nodded. "She said that the grave was a fake, and that her actual body is somewhere else. She wouldn't tell us where."
"It was a complete waste." Natsu grumbled. "We've been looking for a month, and now we have nothing to give The master."
"Well… if we tell Master what we found, then maybe he'll understand." Happy replied, tucking himself into Natsu's arms. "He'll understand, I'm sure of it!"
Rogue sighed. "Then if that's the case, we might as well get going. Sting and I will go back to our guild."
Sting smiled, waving to the others. "Say hi for the others for me, everyone! We got lots of work to do tomorrow." He let out a huge yawn. "I'm beat, I'll see you all whenever."
"Bye Sting-san, Rogue-san!" Wendy called to the twins, who nodded back at them, and shifted into their dragon forms, and flew off to Crocus, their exceeds right behind them.
Gajeel stretched. "We should probably get going too. I need to get some shut-eye. Plus, I know the shrimp is waiting for me."
"You're whipped." Natsu teased the metal dragon, who growled, and turned away from the pinkette.
"At least I have someone. You've been single forever. Can't even get a girl."
"Because I don't think about those things." The fire dragon grumbled, which earned a laugh from the taller man.
"You should. Or yer gonna be single till ya can't walk anymore!" The black haired man barked, earning a snarl from the other man.
"Shut up!"
Lucy stretched her aching bones, feeling them crack with relief. She thought about what her father said, his words echoing in her head. It seems like the Straight family liked that idea of getting her their son married very well, so they are visiting the Heartfilia's in a week.
A week of freedom, then absolute hell comes back into her life once again.
Lucy groaned, running a hand through her golden hair, already feeling stressed just thinking about it. Jude sent her to bed, so she was dressed up in her nightgown, ready to sleep.
A knock was heard from her door. "Come in." she called, the door opening to reveal Madeline.
"Ah Lucy-sama! Just wanted to drop off some water for the night. Our lady cannot feel thirsty while sleeping." The maid replied, smiling at the heiress. She sets down a glass of water on her drawer, and looks at the blonde. "Are you planning on doing it tonight?" She whispered, looking around and making sure no one could hear her.
Lucy sighed. " I don't feel tired, and I haven't done it since the past month. So yes, I plan on doing it tonight."
Madeline nodded, and went to Lucy's closet, and pulled out a black cloak. "Here Lucy-sama. You need this, and please stay safe."
The blonde smiled. "Don't worry Madeline. I'll be fine, and I will come back in 2 hours tops, promise me." She said, putting on the cloak. She decided that since it was a pretty warm night, she didn't need to change her clothes. Who would see her after all?
She's been doing this for a few months now. Sneaking out of her house at night, to explore the town when everything is quiet. Not a lot of people are up at night, she usually avoids those who are awake. Of course, no one except Madeline knows that she sneaks out. It's her precious secret.
Lucy opens the balcony doors, a warm breeze greeting her, and she puts on her wood. She looks to the corner of the balcony and sees the rope curled up into a pile. She beckons Madeline, who quietly walks up to the heiress and picks up the rope and holds it, letting the blonde scale down to the floor.
She's lucky that the house is quiet at the moment. As far as she knows, her father is definitely asleep now. She gives a thumbs up to Madeline and slowly but swiftly climbs down the rope, making sure not to let go.
Once the blonde feels the ground under her feet, she lets go of the rope, and looks up to Madeline, who gave her a quick wave and pulled up the rope up to the balcony.
Lucy waved back, and walked toward the gate. It had a place where she could slip in and out, without making a sound. Holding on to her hood firmly, she sets out to town, which wasn't that far from her house.
It takes the blonde a few minutes to reach town. Not a sound was heard from the sidewalk. She could hear a few people talking in a local pub, drinking and laughing to their heart's content. She could hear the soft creaking from the trees as they moved in sync with the breeze. Houses were lit, and some were off.
The town was still amazing even at night.
Lucy smiled underneath the hood, letting her gaze fly everywhere; to each store, to the flowers hanging out on most houses, to the stray animals that are still awake. She took a deep breath, loving the smell of the crispy air.
If only she could be a part of this.
She then finds herself walking in the local park, watching in awe as the water fountain shoots water in the night sky. Apparently, she wasn't watching where she was going, and bumped into someone. The blonde let out a yelp, and turned to bow in apology.
"I'm so sorry! Are you ok?" She asked, looking at the person she bumped into. The person grumbled, rubbing their arm. "Nah, I'm fine, didn't hurt that much."
Wait. She knows that voice. In fact, she just met that voice this morning.
"Natsu?"
The said boy paused, and took a deep sniff in the air, and looked at the blonde.
"Lucy?"
I told you I was gonna update early this week! Sorry it's a small one, I really wanted to finish it before it was Thursday, and I really wanted to finish this quick search for Mavis! Next chapter we get to see more Nalu interactions! Hooray!
I hope you are enjoying this very, very, weird fanfic! See you all next week! (Or earlier, you never know!)