CHAPTER 25: SEVEN THOUSAND STEPS 2/2
Branches crackled as they burned in a campfire, the scent of juniper lingering in the smoke as it rose towards the starlit sky. Natsu gazed into the flames as he did every night, while Lucy wrote her notes in the journal. It had become a ritual of a sort, a moment of calm before calling it a day.
At every sunset, they searched a good place to set up their shelter at, which usually was found among larger rocks or trees. After Natsu conjured the tent, they built a little fire to warm them as they ate, stretched, rested, and talked. Life had, surprisingly, began to resemble how it had been with Igneel. With less alcohol, though.
Natsu moved his hands closer to the fire, so close his fingertips touched the flame. Though he had been the one to ignite it, it burned him now, but it was a good kind of pain. While his magical flames could never hurt him, these flames were no longer his own, and that thought always excited him. He had just created them, cast the very first spark, and now they roamed joyfully feeding on the bark and branches.
Sometimes his mind came to a perfect still when gazing into the flames, but it wasn't always so. Sometimes his thoughts raced into distant, strange spheres, like today. Now, burning his fingers in the fire, he wondered if it was like an offspring – a thing he'd given life to, which had eventually grown into a being of its own, eventually capable of hurting its creator. Like a child carrying a grudge against their parent.
As a fire mage, he deeply believed that fire was alive. Though it wasn't exactly like any other living creature, it certainly lived. It was born, it ate and grew, moved and danced, and then it died down. And it definitely had a spirit that even the masters could never fully tame. Fire was, and would always be, free.
Natsu raised his gaze from the flames as the wind howled in the mountain pass far beneath them. Down there was the path they had passed on the very first days, where the trolls had attacked them. It felt like an eternity ago. Natsu remembered how he had just stood there frozen as the troll had taken Lucy. He had come so far from that point.
Back then he had wondered how he could ever keep the promise he'd given her, as if he'd throw it away like it was nothing. He hadn't known how important it would grow to be. That day, she had still been just a poor, blonde girl in a torn, yellow dress to him, and had been until the day she had killed the dragon. Since then, everything had been clear with a purpose, and the promise he had given no longer needed an effort to keep.
They had made it to the eighth wayshrine tonight, fairly ahead of their original goal. The mist had dissolved around midday, and no more wolves or bears or ice wraths had crossed their path. With the sun gleaming behind thin feather clouds, the air still and clear, it had been a pleasant climb. The grounds below had grown so terrifyingly small, so small that Natsu didn't want to look down anymore. Twilight had been a relief, the steep fall of over a thousand meters now obscured into darkness.
"What are you writing?" Natsu asked after a long silence. He hadn't bothered to ask earlier. She was always so focused, yet somehow sad when she wrote.
"About what we did today," Lucy answered. "I like to think of these as letters to my mother. That way, she'll know what I'm doing now." She paused and smiled wistfully. "And even though father's dead too, I still hope mother won't tell him."
Natsu raised his brow, nodding slowly. "Ain't much he could do anyway if he knew."
"Yeah," Lucy agreed. Natsu didn't know what she believed in, but she probably knew it was nonsense. "Or maybe he'll come back as a ghost and chop off my head for joining the College. He hated mages. But now I think he was just afraid of the power magic holds. Envious even, maybe."
"Could be," Natsu answered. "But I don't think he can haunt you in any way. Coming back as a ghost usually means there's a necromancer behind it, and as there are no remains of your parents, they'd probably be safe from such profanity."
Lucy looked down. "Well, that's a relief."
When she finished writing the page, she let the ink dry for a moment. Then she turned back to the previous spread, where she had copied the texts of the wayshrines.
"But this, this is very interesting," Lucy said then, her effort to change the subject of speech clear. "Do you want to read it all, in one place? Even I didn't know much about this."
Natsu peeked at the page. It was too dark for him to understand the words. "Better you read it."
"What, is my handwriting too messy?"
"No, just that –"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll read it for you. I'll start from the beginning, in case you missed something," Lucy said and smiled, then she read aloud. "So… Before the birth of men, the dragons ruled all Mundus. Their word was the Voice, and they spoke only for true needs, for the Voice could blot out the sky and flood the land."
That's what had read on the first wayshrine, Natsu remembered. "So that's from the Dawn Era?" he asked.
"Merethic Era, to be exact," Lucy told and continued. The wind rustled the pages like autumn leaves. "Men were born and spread over the face of Mundus. The dragons presided over the crawling masses. Men were weak then, and had no Voice. The fledgling spirits of Men were strong in the Old Times, unafraid to war with dragons and their Voices. But the dragons only shouted them down and broke their hearts."
Natsu listened while rubbing his chin. Lucy paused, as if to make sure he was keeping up. There had been a war called Dragon War thousands of years ago, that Natsu had heard of. Then the dragons were worshipped as gods in Skyrim, and many monuments that dot the landscapes were built as temples for the dragons. Most details of that time were lost to the ages. Natsu nodded to let her continue.
"Kyne called on Paathurnax, who pitied Man. Together they taught Men to use the Voice. The Dragon War raged, Dragon against Tongue. Man prevailed, shouting Alduin out of the world." Lucy stopped, raising her gaze from the book. "This, especially, is very important. This says that Alduin was once defeated by humans, but I don't really get how."
"And who was Alduin?" Natsu asked. His mind was beginning to blur.
"I'm not sure," Lucy started and took a deep breath, "but I think he might be the black dragon, the one who destroyed Helgen and raised the other one from the dead. The dragon I killed called him Alduin, 'my lord', as the strongest of all dragons. The World-Eater."
Natsu's tired eyes widened. "Really?"
Lucy nodded. "And they were talking about reviving their ancient realm, probably meaning how they ruled the world once, as said in these tablets." She paused again. "But if the ancient Nords defeated Alduin, why is he here now?"
Natsu fell quiet for a while as the pieces finally fell into place in his head. Back in Arcanaeum, he had read the book about Alduin not being the same as Akatosh. It had said how there had been a time when Alduin ruled the world with the rest of the dragons, and how it took three Nord heroes to finally defeat him and end his sorry story, exactly as the wayshrines told.
But how could have humans overthrown their dragon overlords? It must have been a long and terrible, terrible war. Just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine. Would they be reliving that war soon? Natsu hoped not.
"We already killed one dragon," Natsu said. He raised his eyes from the flames into Lucy. "It means all dragons can be killed. In that way, there's always hope. As long as you're here."
A faint smile rose on Lucy's lips. Then she read again.
"Proving for all that their Voice was too strong, although their sacrifices were many-fold. With roaring Tongues, the Sky-Children conquer, founding the First Empire with sword and voice, whilst the dragons withdrew from this world." She sighed. "It's so frustrating! Why won't they just tell how the dragons were gone?"
Natsu chuckled. "Maybe they got tired of eating bitter human flesh and decided to fuck off."
"As if," Lucy grinned. "The Tongues at Red Mountain went away humbled. Jurgen Windcaller began his seven-year meditation, to understand how strong voices could fail. Jurgen Windcaller chose silence and returned. The seventeen disputants could not shout him down. Jurgen the Calm built his home on the Throat of the World."
Natsu stared at her as the words ran straight through his ears, not a single one of them staying after Lucy stopped reading.
"Okay," Natsu said after processing the information his mind so persistently tried to reject. "Interesting."
She closed the journal, put it into her backpack and picked up a spell tome instead. She wiped strands of her blonde hair from her face, loosened from the braid she wore. "I hope the Greybeards can tell me more."
Natsu nodded. "Yeah, they probably know everything there is to know."
Lucy opened the spellbook, Oakflesh, the one she got from Felrys. "Have you ever used this?" she asked, showing him the cover. "The magical armour. Should be useful for mages."
"Never learned it," Natsu admitted and shook his head. "It's alteration spell. I hate those."
"Why?"
"They manipulate reality, and it creeps me out. Candlelight is the only spell I can do from that school of magic," he explained. "You know, there's even one spell which turns your vitality into magicka. Equilibrium was it. You can basically kill yourself with that spell."
Lucy raised her eyes from the book, suddenly curious. "Wouldn't it be useful in training restoration? First, turn your health into magicka, and then heal yourself back, and repeat eternally."
"And die if you're not careful," Natsu said, scoffing. "Not worth it."
"Still sounds like something you'd do," Lucy answered with a small laugh. "By the way, how's your arm?"
As it took one awkward moment for him to understand what she was talking about, Natsu realized he was very tired. He smiled then and touched his wounded shoulder. It ached, but not as much as a few days ago. Every movement had stung, but healing spells had helped with that. Now he found it strange how stubbornly he had refused to use them before.
"Good," Natsu replied, turning his palm towards the sky, and then moved it back to his lap. "Still moves around. That's all that matters I think."
As Lucy didn't answer, Natsu realized she had absorbed into the book, as she always did. For a moment he watched her reading, and as his eyes began to slip shut against his will, he knew it was time to call it a day.
It had been a good day.
The dawn broke cold and clear, the frigid wind tearing through the conjured tent's magical fabrics. Lucy didn't know if she awakened to the chill or the morning light. Frost seemed to seep from the ground through her mattress and bedroll, not so much inviting her to linger.
She lifted her head gently. The mage was still asleep, his messy pink hair covering his features, his steady breath vaporizing from the cold. Somehow stuck to watch him, Lucy wondered if he dreamt of something, even though he'd said he had lost all his dreams when falling down the stairs of Labyrinthian. Compared to the torture her mind kept feeding her nearly every night, either the memories of Helgen or the memories of the dragon, it seemed like bliss. At least he looked peaceful and didn't throw his fists in the air screaming like Lucy often did.
Lucy had struggled to fall asleep last night. It hadn't been just the cold. The energy which radiated from this sacred ground had resonated within her soul, once again awakening Sahklonir's memories. It hadn't happened after they had left the College. Yesterday, she had been able to talk in the dragon language, in the Voice, and it came with a price. The visions robbed her of restful sleep, the violence and the blood and the fire, haunting echoes from aeons ago.
Yawning, she crawled out of the bedroll and slid outside through the tent's flap door. Sunlight stung her eyes, so bright up here in the mountain as it reflected from the snow and pale granite stone. The trees had become small and twisted, and only large rocks sheltered their dowdy campsite. Gladly the conjured tent had a magical ability to block out wind and rain, but no enchantment could cast away this cold. Only fire could.
Lucy went and gathered branches from the area nearby. She had to wander for a good while to get enough for a fire, mostly because she feasted on frozen snowberries she found. When she returned to the camp, Natsu was sitting alone in front of the dead fire. His eyes brightened up when he saw her coming back. It was rare for her to wake up before him.
"It's so fucking cold," Natsu complained as Lucy put the branches into the empty firepit. There was still some extra bark left from yesterday, and so he picked up a piece and lit it on fire. Natsu gazed at it briefly before putting it underneath the branches, sheltering the fledgling flames with his palms as he blew into it. The dry wood caught afire, merrily beginning to burn. "And even this doesn't help with it at all."
"It's something," Lucy answered and sat down beside him. She warmed her hands above the flames. Even though the moleskin gloves, the cold bit her painfully. "Just a little while left, then we're there."
Natsu didn't answer. He took the bread and the meat from the backpack, only to find them solidly frozen. Frowning, he put the bread into the flames and cursed.
"It's going to burn," Lucy commented as the crust caught some charcoal black colour on it.
Quickly, Natsu picked up the bread and tested it by squeezing it. It gave in as it had melted, and the small burns did not bother him as he ate it. "Why'd looking at me like that?" he asked her with a half of a smirk, his voice mumbled by the dry bread filling his mouth.
Lucy looked down to hide the smile on her lips. She just thought it was a funny way to warm a piece of bread. As she took the wooden bottle of milk, she found it had suffered the same fate as their provisions. It clanked hard as she hit it to the ground. "Any idea how to handle this one?"
Natsu took the bottle from her and kept it above the flames, so high that the fire didn't touch it. When he gave it back, the milk was running again, but still chilly when Lucy drank it. Then she filled the bottle with snow, melted it again, and secured the bottle to her belt so the water wouldn't freeze again in her backpack.
Lucy had grown to like moments like these. Just sitting in silence next to a friend, surrounded by the magical wilderness of Skyrim, taking a deep calm breath before beginning another day with another adventure. It was, even with all of its downsides, what she had always hoped for. She had come to realize that lately.
Soon, Natsu rose up and stretched his arms. "Alright, time to get moving," he said and lifted his bag from the ground. A purple light appeared on his gloved palm, and he cast it to the tent. It vanished as the spell enrobed it, amazing Lucy every time. Igneel had been a genius to invent such a time-saving and useful spell as conjured shelter.
Lucy collected some snow and threw it into the firepit, smothering the flames. Then they followed the path they had taken yesterday. It weaved among the scrubs and massive stone formations, founded by the forces of nature thousands of years ago. Lucy felt the magic resonating in her soul with every step she took, and she couldn't help but stare in astonishment as they arrived at the steps.
The sun was rising from the east, its rays still hidden behind the distant mountains. The pathway went right above a steep cliff, terrifyingly high, but Lucy could see all over the lands of the Old Holds of Rift and Eastmarch from there. She held on to the straps of her backpack tight, afraid to take a single step closer to the edge.
"It's so beautiful," Lucy whispered. She turned to Natsu, who was enraptured by the landscape as well. The sunlight painted his eyes so bright, light green as the first leaves of spring, and soon Lucy realized she had gazed into his eyes longer than she'd gazed at the breaking of the dawn.
"Yeah," Natsu answered quietly, then turned away, never noticing how Lucy had looked at him. "Hey, have I ever told you about the time when Igneel turned a tavern wench into a rabbit?"
"He did what?"
And so they went ahead on the frozen path, with Natsu telling his stories of Igneel and tavern wenches and rabbits. As Lucy had to stop when her lungs spasmed from laugher, she knew she had missed the stories he had stopped telling when he'd killed the assansin in the woods of Windhelm.
The next hours passed by fast.
When the sun had climbed on its highest point of the day, the two travellers had exchanged so many tales that one could write a book from them. And that's what Lucy thought, if she'd someday have the time and the patience, she could write a chronicle of the adventures they had already had, and were still left to have.
Lucy fell silent for a while and stopped to adore the landscapes once again. She had just told him the story of Loke, rusty nails and chickens, and for this time she didn't feel so much pain as she talked about her past. Earlier, she had thought that Natsu wouldn't care to hear about her boring life, but at least he listened and laughed. Maybe it hadn't been so boring as Lucy had thought, but as the saying went, you didn't know what you had until it was gone.
"Here's the ninth wayshrine," Natsu said, and pointed forward in the clean air. "We're getting close to the monastery now."
Lucy turned her eyes from the horizons to the direction he gestured at. The shrine stood by the side of the path, with a few sturdy flowers persisting at its foundation. Lucy rushed to the shrine, and Natsu followed her.
"What does this one say?" Natsu asked as he arrived.
Lucy cleaned the tablet from the snow. "For years all silent, the Greybeards spoke one name; Tiber Septim, stripling then, was summoned to Hrothgar; They blessed and named him Dovahkiin," she read out aloud. "So this is what Erza told me. Tiber Septim himself once walked the very same steps we walk now."
"And Tiber Septim was Talos?"
"He became Talos after he ascended to godhood after his death, as the eight divines became nine."
"Of course," Natsu said. "So, we're basically walking in the footsteps of a god?"
"Well, that's a way to put it." Lucy took her journal from the bag, her fingers trembling as she began to write. She had to shield the book with her body and hold down the pages so they wouldn't fly away. "Damn, this wind…"
Natsu waited patiently until Lucy was done with her writing, and then they continued the journey. The path seemed to grow narrower. Lucy stayed close to the wall and close to the mage, and carefully watched her footing. As the wind blew ruthlessly over the mountain slopes, she feared it would catch them and send them down to their deaths.
Climbing all these steps was exhausting work, but it kept her warm. When she stopped, the cold struck her in an instant, forcing her to keep going. No matter how tired her legs felt, it was better than freezing alive. As the air grew thinner and the wind louder, both of them fell silent, not wasting energy sharing tales they could share sometime later.
Eventually, the path led them to an opening of a pass, a gorge of ice and rock, and a horrible feeling spread inside Lucy's guts. Natsu halted at the sight, and so did she.
Two corpses of elven pilgrims lay frozen on the ground, almost like a grim welcome sign. Lucy swallowed, glancing at Natsu. He stared at the corpses until he lifted his gaze, his eyes following the path into the gorge. There were bones strewn across the path, and stains of blood were forever painted to the icy floor. A beast lived there, and it clearly wasn't a wolf or ice wrath, but something else.
Lucy listened closely, and the wind carried a loud grunt to her, as it echoed on the frozen walls. Instantly, she realized whose lair it was.
"A frost troll," she whispered to Natsu, keeping her head down. "This isn't so good."
"Absolutely not," he answered, and gazed around. "It's probably a guardian or something, like a last trial for the pilgrims. But there could be a way around that pass. I wouldn't risk fighting that thing."
A wave of disgust washed over Lucy, shivers in her spine and unset welling in her stomach. She still remembered how the troll had smelled like, how its horrible hands had seized her, not caring about her frantic efforts to survive. Even if it had been a human turned into a troll, she hadn't known it at first, and she had been sure it would kill her.
"But I have my bow," Lucy told, hiding her fear behind false bravery. "I could easily paralyze it, and you could burn it. The trolls were vulnerable to the fire, right?"
"Trolls regenerate so fast that the spell might not work," Natsu answered, knelt on the ground and wiped the snow from the ice. His hand looked minuscule compared to the frozen footsteps. "And this isn't one of a regular size. It must've lived here for decades, feasting on unlucky pilgrims, growing into one big-ass troll." He rose and sighed. "But there must be a way around it. If that one guy makes supply runs to the monastery, he would know a secret path…"
Lucy looked ahead. The walls around the pass were tall and sheer. A cliff framed its left side while the mountain grew on the right, and Lucy couldn't see any other way.
"It doesn't look like there's any," Lucy said grimly.
Natsu shook his head, still not willing to go through. "I'll go take a better look. You stay right here, okay?"
Lucy's stomach dropped at the thought of him leaving, but as he already began to walk towards the rocks around the entrance, Lucy knew there was no stopping him.
"Yeah. Be careful," she sighed, feeling her blood freezing in her veins as he climbed to the upper level, as agilely as he had climbed on top of the word wall back then.
"Sure," Natsu said. "I'll be back in a minute."
As the mage vanished out of her sight, Lucy couldn't understand why he wouldn't take her with him. She could climb, he knew it, then was he afraid she'd fall? Leaving her behind wasn't safe either. The pilgrims were left here as a warning, for sure, but he had killed a troll before. Lucy had seen it. This one couldn't be any different than that.
Lucy gazed into the pass, a strangling fear tightening her throat. After being captured by a troll, she dreaded the species from the bottom of her heart. But she knew she couldn't be afraid. She couldn't afford it, for the creatures of Skyrim could sense fear, and they loved it. She had known it with the ice wolves yesterday – if she had been afraid then, the outcome would've been very different.
The only way out of fear was to go through it. Being afraid was the only time when one could be brave. Upon that thought, Lucy knew what she would do.
She'd just sneak in and steal a glance, then shoot the troll from the shadows. She knew a flame spell, could even cast a firebolt if she tried. Handling the beast on her own would drive the mage mad from worry, but that way she could also prove she wasn't just a poor girl anymore who needed a rescue. She was a dragon, after all, and couldn't rely on his help forever.
Lucy released her bow from the leather straps and readied one arrow, then she walked into the gorge.
The smell of the frost troll lingered in the heavy air, accompanied by the irony hunch of blood. Slaughtered goats lay on her feet as she went on, half-eaten as if preserved in the ice for another feast. The troll's grunts grew louder – she hadn't been just imagining it. She pressed herself to the stone, halting as she saw a shadow moving ahead of her.
It was closer than she had thought.
And then she saw, in the glade of the pass, the beast feeding on a wolf, dark grey fur stained in blood, entrails splattering to the ground as the troll ripped it open. The troll was as large as the footsteps let know, maybe twice as big as the ones before. And what a nice lair it had, bones piled up in stacks as tall as her. Bile rose in Lucy's mouth. She swallowed it, shuddering from disgust.
She forced herself to stay calm. That's what Erza had taught her – if one could remain calm, even in the midst of battle, the arrow would most likely find its target. The troll wasn't facing the direction she had come from, thus giving her a perfect chance to shoot it with her paralyzing bow. She almost smirked as she aimed, and released the string.
The arrow pierced through the air. The beast jerked as the arrow struck its back, making Lucy curse silently – she had aimed for its neck. Enveloped in a green light, the troll fell to the ground, entangling with the dead wolf. Perfect. Unlike Natsu had deemed, the spell worked just fine. As quickly as she could, Lucy drew another arrow and released it again.
This time, she missed.
"Shit," she mumbled under her breath, trying not to panic. She reached for an arrow, but while she looked away for a mere second, the troll pushed itself back on its feet. Lucy flinched as she turned her gaze back to her target. She shot again. The troll growled as the arrow hit its chest, fell to its knees, but then it rose. The damn bastard rose, when it was supposed to be paralyzed. Its wounds closed in the instant it pulled the arrows from its flesh.
Then Lucy realized she had made a mistake.
A mistake three times as large as a man.
It couldn't be happening. Had the bow run out of magic, or had Natsu been right? Pure fear tore Lucy's heart apart as the troll charged straight at her. She couldn't turn around and run, for the troll would catch her in a second, she knew how fast and ferocious they were. With no option left but to fight, Lucy cast the spell Oakflesh. Despite all of its imperfection, it would protect her now.
Blue light surrounded her, dancing across her skin as the spell took place, but Lucy had no chance to rejoice. Growling loudly, the troll reached her. Too afraid to concentrate her soul into the dragon's shout, she switched the flame spell on her right hand while grabbing the bow with her left. Desperately, she poured fire on the troll's path, but her flames were too weak, no match for a feral beast.
Screaming, the troll leapt through her fire, landing in front of her with a nasty grin. With brute strength, it seized her bow, violently ripping it from her hands, no matter how tight she tried to hold on to her precious weapon. Lucy watched in terror as the beast snapped the bow apart as if it was just a dead, dry branch.
Lucy closed her eyes as the troll threw the shattered bow to the ground, mocking her futile effort to kill it. The beast swung its massive hand at her, its blade-sharp claws tearing through her robes, cutting her skin like thin parchment.
She screamed and fell backwards to the ground, and her mind began to drift away. The world around her slowed down as she was sure she'd taken her last breath, preparing for the final strike which would finish her for good.
And then there was fire.
The pressure wave of an explosion sent her flying through the air. As if all the rage, fear and worry a human could bear were poured into a single blast, a devastating wildfire condensed into one spell, targeted on one creature.
Recovered on her hands and knees, she crawled away from the raging flames which shrouded the screaming, dying troll. Intense heat flashed on her face, and Lucy knew whose fire it was. She broke into tears of relief and shame as the mage ran through the curtain of flames, halting in front of her.
"Damn you, Lucy!" Natsu shouted, making her flinch. "What the fuck was that!?" His eyes gleamed in an ire Lucy had not seen before, the greens now almost yellow as the flames reflected from them. "Just… what were you thinking!? I told you to stay behind!"
Lucy shook her head. Fear stole all words from her, and nothing but air came out of her throat as she tried to speak.
There was no compassion, no understanding in the mage's harsh reply. "Are you out of your fucking mind, going straight ahead into this death trap, with corpses as fucking doormats? What's gone into you! Gods, just…"
Tears came pouring down as she lowered her head in disgrace. Lucy held her hands on her chest, suddenly feeling something warm sticking to her fingers. It was blood. Natsu's eyes widened.
"Fucking great," he said, the anger in him twisting back to dread. Lucy's chin trembled helplessly as he noticed the pieces of her weapon. "You even broke your bow. Even better." He covered his face with his hands, forcefully draining his fingers down "Why do you always have to be so… fucking… You're just a novice, Lucy! You shouldn't forget that, or you're going to get yourself killed!"
Through clouded vision, Lucy saw something rising in the flames behind him. The white fur, now stained in ashes and blood.
"Natsu!" she managed to cry.
"What!?"
"B-behind you!"
Natsu spun around and saw the same thing as her, the damned troll now back on its feet. Gritting his teeth, he pulled the glass dagger from its sheath, almost gurgling curses Lucy couldn't understand. With his fullest force, he jumped up and struck the blade straight into the troll's hideous eyes.
The beast let out a pained squeal, staggering aimlessly from side to side as it tried to pull the weapon out. Blood poured on its face, flesh closed in around the blade, sealing the dagger inside.
Natsu muttered something as he rushed to Lucy, but she couldn't hear. His words had stung more than she'd ever dare to admit. She had no strength left to resist when Natsu picked her on his shoulder, grabbing her tight from her legs as her head hung to his back. Pain now burning in her chest, she clutched her fingers into his robes and his white scarf as he ran through the flames and past the screaming troll.
'You're just a novice, Lucy,' she kept repeating at herself in her head, unaware of where the mage carried her now. 'You shouldn't forget that.'
Natsu wasn't sure which one of them was the idiot now. He for believing Lucy would stay put, or Lucy for thinking she could take down that massive troll by herself.
His ankles ached now from jumping down the ledge to the bottom of the pass, only scarcely managing to grab the clefts so he wouldn't fall too high. He'd been searching for the other route nearby when he heard the troll's pained growl followed by Lucy's desperate scream. From that very moment, he had known something had gone wrong, but how wrong, that was still left to know.
It had been a while since anger had rushed into his head like that, as all of his blood had suddenly shooted boiling up to his forehead. All the bottled up frustration had exploded into the fiery blast he had unleashed at the troll, right before it would've torn Lucy apart. He hadn't even known he'd been able to cast Incinerate, an expert-level destruction spell – a proof that fire was alive, and it had now been on his side.
Lucy's cries echoed in the narrow pass as he ran, careful not to slip his feet or drop her. The troll screamed and grunted behind them, but it didn't seem to follow. Trolls needed to see, and now it didn't. Natsu knew he'd never get that dagger back, but if it was the price he had to pay for their lives, he'd give it more than willingly.
As the gorge ended, Natsu's rabid heartbeat nearly came to a stop. Where he had expected to be an exit was only a slight passage, a crack in the rocky wall wide enough for only one to go through. Bones were strewn on the ground with half-eaten remains of pilgrims and goats and wolves. As if someone had got stuck in the passway, in a perfect trap.
Natsu grit his teeth, Lucy's weight on his back slouching him down. Acting upon instinct, he lowered her from his shoulder and tossed her headfirst through the hole. She screamed, lost in shock, but Natsu had no time to explain. He pushed her legs and heard her slip to the other side, thumping to the ground. If she'd been more well-fed than she was, she would've gotten stuck there, and then nothing could've saved them then.
Hearing the troll's enraged roars closing in, Natsu held his breath and dove into the passage after her. Its sharp edges hurt him as he crawled through, an utter wave of relief flooding over him as he made it to the sunlight. Sometimes it was good to be small and scrawny. The troll was left behind, and Natsu heard it throwing the bones to the walls, unable to channelize its exasperation into anything else.
Lucy lay on the ground, strangely still, but her sobbing let him know she was alive. Catching his ragged breath, got up and knelt beside her, turning her around. He tried to gain eye-contact with her, but it was useless. Though her eyes were open, she wasn't there now, lost somewhere in the realm of terror.
"Hey," Natsu started, gently shaking her. "You okay?"
There was no response. Natsu lowered his gaze, and her chin and neck were covered in bright crimson blood. He gulped, his chest tightening. Carrying her head down had been a mistake.
Suddenly, something landed next to them. It was a broken bone. Natsu glanced over his shoulder and saw the troll throwing bone parts through the hole in an utter fit of rage, still attempting to murder them.
Feeling his anger boiling up again, Natsu got up and threw a massive fireball into the gorge, knowing it would cost him all the magicka he had left. It exploded in fury, catching the troll in flames which would hopefully rid it from the world for the last, final time.
"That'll teach you to cross me!" he shouted at the troll. "Ugly piece of shit."
Natsu mumbled a line of curses as he went back to Lucy, picked her up on his arms and carried her behind the larger rocks, sheltered from the wind.
'How could I let this happen?' Natsu thought, all the rage in him transmuting into guilt and regret. He had trusted she would stay put, not venturing into the lair on her own. What had she been thinking? Or was there another troll who chased her there?
As Natsu laid Lucy to the ground, his hands trembled from the strain of carrying her all the long way, but from the awakening fear as well. She was hurt worse than he had first thought. Her green robes were soaked in blood, the fabric torn by the beast's four claws. She whimpered in pain, grimacing and covering her teary eyes with her hands. She was barely conscious.
'Shit, this is bad,' he thought as he knelt beside her. He wasn't sure where the blood came from, for everything became a blur, but he knew he had to do something, and fast. He hadn't seen how, but the troll had whacked her.
"I... I'm sorry!" she sobbed suddenly, her voice meek and wounded. "I shouldn't have done that, I... I'm an idiot..."
"Don't speak," Natsu ordered and opened the harness of her cloak. "And don't freak out now. I have to check how deep it grazed you."
Ashamed, she nodded. Natsu pulled aside the leather straps of the cape, and wondered how to examine the wound without exposing her to the cold. In a state of shock, it could be as fatal as bloodloss. But as more blood stained her clothes with each passing second, Natsu knew there was no time for deeper judgement.
As her robes had no buttons or wraps or laces, he grabbed fabric from the neckline, already torn by the troll's claw, and then he ripped the cloth apart. Lucy let out a pained and embarrassed shriek, covering the sound of tearing clothes. Natsu did the same to her two woollen undershirts, carefully trying not to expose her breasts, but failed miserably
"Sorry!" Natsu said and folded her shirt to cover her up, leaving only the wound for him to see.
The claw marks ran from her left shoulder across her chest, reaching her breastbone. His lips pressed into a thin line, he wiped the warm blood from her skin, making her scream upon his touch. Despite hating to hurt her, it had to be done. As new blood replaced the old he had just cleaned, he knew it had to be closed with magic as soon as possible. The problem was, he was completely of magicka, having exhausted all of it in fighting the troll.
With bloodied hands, he took the wooden bottle from her belt, opened it and poured ice-cold water on her skin. He bit his tongue as she cried and squirmed. He held her down with his other hand, then tossed the bottle away. It rolled down the mountainside. The cold water slowed the bleeding for a moment, letting him see that the claws had only pierced through her skin, faintly reaching muscle. It was a relief. Slight, but still a relief.
Natsu wasn't sure, but it looked like she had managed to cast Oakflesh right before the troll had hit her. It had saved her life. Without it, the claws would've sunk so much deeper, possibly breaking her bones and opening her lungs.
"Good thing is," Natsu sighed, pausing to make sure Lucy would hear. She turned her clouded eyes to him. "It's only skin-deep. No bone damage, or severed arteries. You were lucky. Few inches upward and it would've opened your throat. A few inches down and... well, nevermind."
Lucy closed her eyes again and cried. "It… hurts…"
"Surely does. And the bad thing is, I'm out of magicka. I can't heal you." Natsu shook his head. "But I'll make bandages from your shirts, and hope we'll make it to the monastery before you bleed out."
He couldn't just sit there and watch her bleeding. He folded the remains of her shirts and put them on the wound, pressing them gently. But no gentle pressure would make it cease. As if knowing that, Lucy reached for his hands and moved them away.
"I... I'll heal it myself," she whispered. "I… I can do it."
Natsu's eyes met hers. His fingers squeezed into the bloody fabric.
"But –"
"Let me try, goddamnit," she hissed and flashed an insolent, pained smirk. A smirk she had learned from him.
A light appeared on her fingertips, faint and pale like dying dawn. She brought her hand to her wound, grimacing as she touched it, and then she cast the spell. The light danced around the jagged edges of her skin, imperfectly sewing it closed until it shed no more blood. Her face cleared from the dark clouds of pain. Her magicka ran out before the healing was finished.
"Think that's all I can do," Lucy panted, her voice now stronger. Her hands dropped on her chest, clutching for something to cover herself with. Natsu folded the bloodied robes back on her, a little warmth it could offer.
"At least it doesn't bleed anymore," the mage answered and wiped his forehead, leaving a red smudge on his skin. Only now, as she was out of the woods, he realized how scared he had been. She had almost died, and he almost had to watch her die. He had sworn he'd never let anyone die in front of his eyes, but those were just words, and had only the word's strength.
"But hey," Lucy began and couched, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I got injured and got to train healing spells!"
He snorted. "Don't be so excited about it or I'll start to think you did it on purpose."
Natsu helped her to sit, and wrapped her tightly into her fur cloak. She wiped the tears from her eyes and chuckled. It was good to hear she was better now.
"Yeah, on a purpose so you could rip off my fucking clothes."
"And like I'd know how to open them!" Natsu defended, a hot blush on his cheeks. "I would've done the same if you were a guy."
Lucy buried her face into her hands. "You could've pulled them off me like a normal damn person would've done."
"Well, sorry," he said. That would've left her naked to the snow, which he hadn't wanted to do, but she probably wouldn't buy that explanation. "Don't have that much experience on undressing ladies."
"Clearly."
A gust of wind blew around the rocks sheltering them, making Lucy shiver from the cold. With her shock fading, she needed to get warmed up. "Did you have any spare clothes?" Natsu asked.
"Not really," Lucy answered. "The night tunic and a shirt, but that's all I had."
Natsu scratched the back of his head. "Well, put them on," he said and helped her to get the bag from her back. He gave her the clothes, and then took his own shirts and trousers from his backpack. "Take my spares too."
Hesitantly, Lucy received the clothes. Yet something in her looked strange, as if she didn't know what to do with them. It took a moment before she said what was bothering her.
"Can you help with this?" Lucy said, yanking the sleeves of her shirt. "I can't move my left arm."
Natsu sighed, realizing what she meant. "Okay."
And so they bandaged her wound with straps made from her old shirt, and dressed her into a new outfit. It had to be more awkward for her, as she still tried to maintain her modesty. Staying warm was a matter of life and death, leaving no room for being shy.
Natsu would've done the same to Igneel, and in fact, they had, the two of them swapping clothes all the time when they fell into frozen rivers or muddle buds or thorn bushes. Just because Lucy had a woman's body didn't make it any different. Friends helped each other, no matter what.
And as Lucy was finally dressed in Erza's old night tunic and Natsu's black trousers and shirts, she looked almost funny. They fit her surprisingly well, only the sleeves had to be rolled up. Her strange outfit helped to lift the mood a bit, but as she tried to take the first steps forward, she staggered and almost fell. Natsu caught her, suddenly feeling taunted by the journey they still had left.
"Drink this," Natsu said, offering her his water bottle. It was all they had left, but she needed it more than him.
Lucy nodded, received the bottle and drank eagerly. Then she began to secure the leather straps on her back, only to notice her bow was gone. Her eyes darkened as the reality of what happened, and with which price, dawned to her. She glanced over her shoulder to the gorge far behind him, and for a moment Natsu feared she intended to go retrieve the weapon. But then she turned around, gently grabbing the sleeve of his robes as she sought balance and strength to keep moving forward.
"I'm sorry," she muttered, keeping her head low. "I really am."
"It's nothing," Natsu consoled. "Glad you're okay. Relatively. C'mon, let's go now."
As they went, Natsu realized that the trees, even the scrubs were gone. They couldn't grow so high, as the winds kept whipping the mountain with no mercy. And if the climb had gone by fast so far, it no longer did. The air was too thin for a proper breath, and Natsu hoped each hill would be the last, but more and more steps revealed after each hill.
Halfway through, Lucy began to turn dizzy as the bloodloss took its toll. Letting her take support on his arm, Natsu led her forward, yet unable to carry her from his own exhaustion. When her legs couldn't carry anymore, they paused for a breath, and then continued again.
And then, behind the highest hill after a long straight path, was finally High Hrothgar. The black silhouette of the stone monastery was clear against the sky, painted in the colours of sunset. It looked like an ancient castle with its many towers and walls. A tall stone statue welcomed them with a tenth wayshrine established to it – the shrine of Talos.
Lucy collapsed to her knees by the statue, looking so incredibly small compared to the majestic monument. She had no strength left to copy the text, or even read it. It could be done sometime later.
"Almost there," Natsu said, his voice quiet and worn. He reached out his hand and pulled her back up.
With slow, steady steps she walked to the final stairs which led to the door. As Lucy laid her hand on the large ringed handle, Natsu feared it would be locked. What would've been the point of their struggle if they'd die at the doorstep of their destination?
Then the doors of the monastery opened as Lucy pulled them, heavy and creaking as if they hadn't been opened in centuries. She stepped into the darkness, leaving the door open for him.
As they were finally there, Natsu remembered how Jarl Ulfric had tasked him with the mission to escort the Dragonborn to the High Hrothgar. After that dangerous journey, he'd be free to do whatever he wanted, his crimes pardoned and bounty forgotten. But not in a thousand years could he even consider just leaving her there and turning back. Natsu followed her and closed the door behind them.
They came into a quiet, dark hall. Fires burned in the centre of the room, a sign of life that seemed absent. Natsu and Lucy glanced at each other, for a second wondering where they had finally arrived at, but then a figure walked down the stairs, appearing on the centre beside the flames.
An elderly man clad in grey robes approached them, his grey beard almost reaching his hips. With old, wise eyes he studied at Lucy. Then he spoke.
"So… a Dragonborn appears, at this moment in the turning of the age."
A/N: Hi guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter! We are now at the end of "act I" of the first book, if it would be divided into three acts.
I'm very excited to tell you the next story arcs. It's going to get a lot darker from here on, slowly but surely, but first there will be some happier chapters with happy reunions!
I bet all Skyrim players know Lucy's fell, climbing the Seven Thousand Steps at level 5 and then crossing paths with That One Frost Troll guarding the path. There's quite a bunch of memes about that. But I wanted to remind her that being the dragonborn doesn't make her immortal or invincible. She shouldn't let it get to her head, as it now did.
I've never written a chapter this long so fast, so it's fair to say that I've been very inspired lately, which is a nice change. Hope I can keep up this pace and write the next chapters easily, too.
Thanks for reading!
