CHAPTER 43: DAEDRA'S BEST FRIEND


That night, through his broken sleep, Natsu dreamt of Helgen. Except that this time, he was getting dragged to the chopping block first – and this time, he was afraid.

Maybe somehow he knew it was just a dream, as if he had been there once before, and felt no fear that time. But now, he did. He was shivering as the Imperial commander read his name on the list. Natsu of Dragonbridge, to the block. As the fear of death tore apart his heart, he glanced at Igneel for one last time. Igneel was just smiling when the soldiers came to grab Natsu's arms and dragged him away from his best friend.

Tears blurred his vision as he laid down his head. This had been what he had wanted. To die before Igneel, so he wouldn't have to witness his death, but now, he was scared. The calmness he had had in his heart just a moment ago was gone. He had thought he'd already lived a life that was full – short, but full – yet it had been just a lie. He didn't want to die anymore. There had stood this fair-haired girl on the porch, watching at him, and suddenly Natsu had felt like his life had never really begun at all.

Natsu lifted his gaze to the headsman standing on his side. But instead of seeing a big brute of a man in black hooded robes, there was a girl. The same nameless, beautiful girl, the one in the yellow dress, holding the axe that looked so massive compared to her small frame. Steel glimmered in the sunlight, eager to taste his blood.

"You've got this, brother," Igneel said from the distance.

Then she swung the axe.

Before the pain fully struck him, Natsu woke up, his heart drumming in his throat. It took him a moment to understand that he wasn't in Helgen, but in the darkness of the conjured tent. As Igneel's smile blinked out, his voice faded away, a wave of loneliness washed over him, but it passed as he saw Lucy sleeping beside him. She sniffled quietly against his shoulder, hands wrapped around his arm. And he found it hard to believe she was still there.

Natsu closed his eyes, but already knew sleep wouldn't come back. This had been the very reason he had been happy he had lost dreams, but apparently, something had made them return. He believed Ur healed the damaged part of his brain while she cured the vampirism, he wasn't sure, but the nightmares were becoming a nuisance. If he could dream about sipping spiced mead in front of a blazing hearth, that would be more relaxing.

He tried to remain still and silent for a moment, but as he couldn't fall back asleep soon, he gave up. As he opened his eyes again, and they stung from crying so much. He couldn't recall when he had felt as pathetic as yesterday, and that feeling didn't seem to be going anywhere. The crippling shame kept hammering his mind in the back of his head, even if Lucy had said for a hundred times that it was okay to cry. He had never expected Lucy to forgive him – either the demons had grown way larger in his mind than they actually were, or then they just made him sigh from relief before they'd truly strike him down.

Then he realised that telling her about everything had, indeed, felt like being dragged to the block. As if he was going to face all of his past sins, and it would be Lucy who'd decide whether to swing the axe or not.

And she had decided to grant him absolution.

While they had walked to the campsite in silence, Natsu's mind had been everything but silent. He'd been screaming from anguish on the inside, still torn between two sides, barely clinging to the decision to finally tell her the truth. Just looking at her made him falter, as if he would truly die if she wouldn't understand, if she wouldn't forgive him. Even if all the fear had been for nought in the end, he couldn't tell when he had been so nervous, as afraid as he had been yesterday.

Somewhere around midnight when both of them had cried their eyes out, Lucy had decided it would be good to at least attempt to sleep. It didn't take long after they had crawled into the tent and settled into their bedrolls when Lucy had begun her nightly whining about how damn cold it was. He had already known how it would end, but instead of just moving her bedroll closer, she had just boldly slipped into his. That was when he had to ask what the fuck she was doing. Then, she just spread her bedroll on top of them for extra warming, settled snug against his shoulder, and said goodnight. No further explanation. But as her warmth banished the cold from his bones, he gave no further complaints either.

It had still taken a while for the trembling to cease, as if a decade worth of pain had been released at once, leaving him staggered as it came and went in waves. He had been convinced that if he'd close his eyes, Lucy would be gone when he'd open them again, so finding her still there was so relieving that it became confusing. The 'I would be dead without you' turned into 'I would die without you' in his head. It became a truth he couldn't deny. Once he didn't know what would happen to him if he'd be exiled from her side, but now he knew. He'd die. Simple as that.

Maybe that was the reason why he dreamt of Lucy as an executioner, as she truly held the strings of his life in her hands.

Natsu glanced down at her. Even in the dark, he could see her features clearly, as sanguinare vampirism had left him with a better night vision. It was difficult for him, perhaps impossible, to put together what he felt – even in the darkest, coldest hour of a night, she was like a warm ray of light. He had found all kinds of things on his travels, ancient daggers and gold and silver circlets and grand soul gems, but compared to her, all his precious treasures were just trash, clutter without any meaning.

If that's how it felt to have a really good friend, then why had he never felt that way about Igneel?

They had been like brothers, and Natsu hadn't ever thought it could get closer than that. Apparently, there was something even greater beyond the brotherhood he and Igneel had shared, and that made him scared. The last thing he had said, 'Don't ever think you're just a task to me,' had perhaps been as far as he could put it into words for now. Natsu leant his chin onto her hair, inhaled her sweet scent, wondering what kind of a spell she'd got him under.

Perhaps he'd been under that spell right from the start.

The dawn was still hours away when Lucy started to stir in her sleep. Her fingers clutched into his arm, so tight it hurt, causing him to lift his head. The face that had just a moment ago looked so peaceful was now twisted in sorrow and anger, the same as every night. Natsu sighed. Well, after his own share of nightmares, he wasn't going to get more sleep anyway.

"It's alright, Lucy," he whispered to her. Even though she didn't hear or react, he hoped it still made her feel more secure. "Everything's fine –"

Then she screamed.

Remaining calm, Natsu sat up and took a hold of her hands so she wouldn't scratch herself. He held them together from the thin wrists as she weakly struggled against, kicked the furs on top of them aside, threw her head from side to side as tears rolled down her face. He never knew how long it would last. Sometimes, the dreams tormented her for a short while, sometimes until the sun would rise. She never recalled anything of them in the morning, or at least so she claimed. Natsu heavily doubted that. If he could take even a portion of those terrors to himself, he would.

After she killed the frost dragon, Krosulhah, it had gotten a lot worse. While Sahloknir's soul had haunted her dreams, it hadn't been this bad. As they were in the monastery, Natsu had woken up to her screaming only a couple of times. Meditating on a clifftop seemed to have helped her with that, but there wasn't much time for such a habit out there in the wilds. Natsu traced the backs of her hands with his thumbs, hoping to say something, but knew the words wouldn't reach her now. All he could do was to wait for it to pass, simply be there.

"Unslaad… krosis..."

Natsu's eyes shot to her. Dragon language? Most often, she spoke the common human tongue in her sleep, not the language of the dragons. Natsu had learnt to recognize it by now, even though he had no idea what those words meant. Her accent changed when she spoke them, her voice grew lower, as if she muttered the words from the bottom of her heart. Suddenly, Lucy flinched with such a tremor that it was hard for Natsu to keep her still.

"Lucy?"

She tried to wriggle free, but his hands held around hers like chains. She tugged and pulled, fighting against an invisible ghost that haunted her dreams. Natsu's brow turned into a worried frown. He wrapped both arms around her and having to use force, he brought her to his lap. As if resisting that, she cried louder, tears pouring through her closed eyelids.

Then, the tears on her cheeks froze into scales.

Oh shit.

Natsu shook her from the shoulders, knowing he'd have to wake her immediately, by any means. Whatever what happening in her dream was way too much for her psyche to handle. He called her name, raised his voice, begged her to open her eyes, and then she did.

Her eyes were blue.

Natsu halted completely. He forgot to breathe as his heart skipped a beat, his insides shrinking from terror as he gazed deep into her eyes. For a second, he was flashed back to the ruins of Labyrinthian, surrounded in a blizzard of her wrath, but then he realised that the rage was gone. With those serpent's eyes, she stared straight into his soul as scales kept forming on her skin. Her hands grew cold, frigid to his hold as her warmth suddenly fled her body.

"Yol zii, dii dinok, hon zu'u," she muttered to him, but Natsu knew it wasn't Lucy speaking. It was Krosulhah, the frost dragon, reaching out to him from beyond its grave, as if asking for him to listen carefully. "Huzrah nu, wah sonaak Rahgot."

"What?" Natsu asked, hiding the fear in his voice. "You know, I don't understand that."

There was no answer, only silence as the words were left to echo in his head.

She closed her eyes again, and the scales began to melt on her cheeks, freely flowing as tears again. The tension in her muscles was released as she fell limp into his arms. She might've finally calmed down, but Natsu was far from calm. His heart was racing against his ribcage as he stared at her, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Not for once after Labyrinthian had her eyes changed, not once had scales formed on her skin.

When Natsu was sure it was over, he laid her back on the leather mattress and covered her with furs. He sat next to her for a while. Lucy had been wondering if she could use Krosulhah's power directly, yet she hadn't known where to start. The dragon's soul and knowledge were sealed deep within her own, and digging them out could be dangerous unless she could remain fully in control, if such a thing was possible to begin with.

And for now, it seemed that what happened in Labyrinthian wasn't just a one-time ordeal, but something that could, and would, keep on happening. Natsu looked at her as she slept, realised he was still holding onto her hand. Warmth was slowly returning to her fingers as he stroked them with his own, yet his heart filled with newfound dread.

What Krosulhah had said had sounded awfully lot like a warning.

Lucy might have forgiven him, but the frost dragon never would, for he had been the one who brought it down from the skies.

And that thought kept him awake for the rest of the night.


Faint dawn light seeped through the tent just when Natsu was on the brink of falling asleep again, after his mind had run on endless circles of desperate scenarios of what could go wrong this time. Eventually, when he'd been sure Lucy wouldn't charge full of frozen zeal and kill him in the dragon form, he had laid down and tried to get some sleep. It would be another long day on foot. They still hadn't decided which way to go to Riften. Depending on the weather conditions, they could reach the city in two weeks or faster. Of course, unless…

A loud snort sounded from the tent's flap door as something brown and furry stuck its head inside, making Natsu scream.

"HOLY SHIT FUCK, AZURA SPARE ME –"

As he rapidly sprung up, his shoulder hit Lucy to the face, causing her to wake up just as fast. Startled and wide awake, she squalled and caught his robes, turned her head towards the curious creature at the door. For a moment, Natsu had thought it was a bear, but as his eyes adjusted to the sight, he noticed it was just the horse from yesterday.

The horse snorted again, as if upset by the warm welcoming, then it pulled its head away. It had probably followed them to their campsite and came to greet them good morning. As Natsu sighed in relief, Lucy held her breath, staring at him as she started to giggle. She covered her mouth with her hand, but the laughter just wouldn't cease, so she fell on her back and rolled to her side, holding her stomach as she laughed.

"By the gods, you should see the look on your face!" Lucy snickered. "I've never seen a man getting scared by a horse."

Natsu smiled shortly. It was good to hear her laugh again, even if it was on his account. He had missed it. Yet still, the contrast between her just a few hours ago was as vast as the ocean. She couldn't remember anything of that, Natsu could already tell. "Yeah, almost crapped myself. Thought it was a bear."

Lucy pushed herself to sit, wiping her eyes into her sleeves as she tried to stop laughing. The moment she glanced at him again, she cracked up once more. The outlines of the horse's shadow were drawn on the tent's leathers as the sun shone behind it. Natsu had expected the animal to return to Whiterun or Windhelm, but it had still chosen to come back to them. Maybe it had grown attached to Lucy's soothing presence too.

"Looks like our ride to Riften got arranged, then," Natsu stated.

After they both had collected themselves from such an extraordinary waking, Natsu dispelled the tent – he was always as glad to be able to do so instead of having to dismantle it, pack it, and carry it around for an entire day – and built a fire. Lucy headed to fill their waterskins in the stream and pick some snowberries, while Natsu sat beside the campfire, having a staring contest with the damned horse. No matter what he did, the animal wouldn't turn its eyes away from him.

The wind swayed the pines surrounding them, cold and crispy air wooshing among the branches like the breath of a god. A faint smell of burning oil and blood was carried with it, and the flock of birds that nested on the crags of the Throat of the World behind them were waking up. Their feast upon the battlefield was still all but done. For a moment, Natsu wondered how fat the crows would get, but then he cast away the thought. It was disgusting.

Natsu wasn't exceptionally excited about riding from here to Riften. First, he didn't even know how to mount that. Erza had lifted him to horseback as if he was just a child. Now he would probably have to let Lucy climb on his shoulders so she could mount it, as she was even shorter than he was, then have her pull him up. It would look so ridiculous, but well, they'd be able to reach Riften twice as fast with a horse.

The second problem was that he actually preferred walking. As he had travelled on foot for years, he had grown to endure long trails, even enjoyed trekking in the vast wilderness in some good company. It was easier to train spellcasting while walking, but a horse would just get frightened by a couple of fireballs, not to even talk about flame atronachs. Yet still, time was the most valuable thing they had now, and they couldn't afford to waste it. The faster they'd get the Horn back to the Greybeards, the sooner Lucy would finish her training.

Soon, Lucy returned to the campsite with fresh water in the waterskins, and pockets full of snowberries. They were frozen at this time of the year but remained edible through the entire winter. Lucy seated to the ground next to Natsu and handled the water and some berries to him. He thanked her, took the map from his knapsack, and unrolled it on the frost-covered moss.

Natsu munched a few berries, swallowed as he placed his finger next to the drawn mountain in the middle of the map. "We're somewhere around here now," he said and then pointed to the right lower corner, to a city amongst the lakes. "Riften is here. We could go the mountain route here, but we would have to go through Helgen, and I guess that's not where you want to pass by."

Lucy shook her head faintly while she ate the snowberries. "I believe the place is haunted now. That's what everyone keeps saying."

"Don't know about that," Natsu answered, taking a sip from the waterskin. He had been dying for a drink, only realised it now. "It would probably be best to go through Valtheim Towers, here." He pointed at the twin towers that were drawn across a river, by the road that went on the northern side of Throat of the World. "Following that road, we would end up somewhere near Fort Amol and Darkwater Crossing. From there, we could go to Ivarstead. The other alternative is to take the road that takes to Shor's Stone, but if I want to keep my head, I'd better not go there."

Lucy chuckled. "Better not, then." She looked him into the eyes and nodded, a strange smile on her lips. "Sounds like a plan."

Natsu grinned back at her. "You're still thinking that planning doesn't suit me?"

"To be honest, at first I wasn't even sure if you could read."

"Well, that's not too far from the truth," Natsu snickered and turned his eyes back to the map. Even if he had struggled with reading, he had learnt to read a map and plan his route long ago. An adventurer without such a skill would be a dead adventurer. "Don't know how many days it will take with the horse, but I think we could be in Darkwater Crossing in two or three days. Of course, we'll have to stop often, preferably find proper places to stay for a night –"

"We'll manage. It was warm enough last night."

"It's gonna get colder from here –" Natsu began, then glanced at her. A smug smile crossed her face as she chewed the frozen berries, that had tinted her lips red. "What?"

"Nothing."

Natsu answered with a confused half-smile, then turned his eyes away. As winter was gradually creeping in, camping in the woods without being dressed head-to-toe in fur armour often meant certain death. If Lucy might've found an effective way to not freeze to death, that was just good. They had to stay alive, after all. Yet he still couldn't deny the extra comfort he found in sleeping like that, and wondered if she felt the same. Gray might've had a crumb of truth in his talks: there was warmth in Nord blood, a fire burning in their hearts, and Natsu wasn't unhappy to be able to share that with Lucy.

Most winters, when the cold grew intolerable, he and Igneel had willingly stayed in the College and focused on studying magic, sparing the adventures for the next spring when the weather would've warmed up a bit. After staying indoors and listening to Tolfdir's lessons about alteration spells for months, it was always so great when Igneel finally said, 'Hey Natsu, I'm bored, let's go to Markarth' or something. Natsu always learnt more about magic on his travels than what he did in Winterhold, as unleashing his destructive power to its full extent within the College ground was strictly forbidden. Each time they left, he always returned stronger than he was before.

But well, at this rate, they weren't going to return to the College anytime soon. This winter would be different in terms of adventure, as well as the things they'd both learn. Natsu could easily say the same about Lucy: she had learned a lot more about sorcery than what she would've learnt in the safety of the College. Nesting there reading books wouldn't help them find a way to defeat the dragons, but maybe that was what she would want to do when all of this would be over.

Lucy didn't really talk about what she hoped to do after this, as if she didn't dare to dream that far. But Natsu dared. Once the dragons would be dealt with, they could spend the winters in Winterhold and travel during the summers, just like he and Igneel did…

Then Natsu realised he had been thinking too far, and dazed out from the present moment.

"Anyway," he said and cleared his throat, rolling the map and putting it back in the bag. "I'm just wondering what's the situation in Whiterun. It looked pretty bad."

"I can't hear the catapults anymore," Lucy answered. She had about eaten now, and just warmed her hands by the flames.

"Don't know if that's a good sign or not. But we'll find out soon enough."

Natsu didn't have much hope for the city's victory, but if at least Jellal would've gotten hit by a catapult bolt, he would be happy. Perhaps he shouldn't get his hopes up on that case either. While he still didn't necessarily like Erza, he somehow wished that she would be free from her fiance's corrupting grasp. Jellal was like a disease, and Erza just couldn't see that, blinded by love. Either way, the fates of two tainted lovers weren't on the list of Natsu's concerns now. He knew he had to tell Lucy what happened last night, yet he still struggled to put it into words.

Natsu stared into the flames as Lucy turned her hands above it. He still remembered how badly she had been hurt in Labyrinthian. There hadn't been a single healthy spot left on her skin from fingertips to elbows, as they had first been frozen in the dragon's blizzard, then burned by his flames. Now there wasn't a single scar left. Krosulhah's scales had healed the damage, and it somehow made him wonder if the dragon was on her side, after all.

"You were screaming in your sleep," Natsu said after the silence.

Shocked, Lucy turned her eyes to him. "Again?" she asked. "Sorry…"

"Don't be," he started. The silence he'd been choking on was now gone, but he still didn't quite know how to begin. "I couldn't wake you up. You were crying, but then your tears froze as scales on your cheeks. And when you opened your eyes, they were blue."

Lucy fell silent. Her gaze dropped back to the flames. They were slowly dying in the wind, and Natsu didn't mind stoking them. They'd have to get going soon anyway.

"Really?" Lucy whispered.

"You spoke something in the dragon language that I can't recall, but… I believe it was Krosulhah who was speaking. Do you remember any of that?"

While Natsu wasn't sure of his words, he knew that the frost dragon was behind that. If it had been able to take over Lucy's mind and body once, it could do it again. But for what purposes, those were still unclear.

"Rahgot," she whispered finally.

Natsu nodded. He had heard that word, indeed. "What does that mean?"

"Rage," she answered straight up, without a moment's hesitation. "Rage, or anger. But that's all I can faintly remember. Other than that, I have no idea why Krosulhah would surface just to say that to you. Was I… hostile?"

He shook his head. "No, just sad."

"Still, I'm sorry for waking you up."

There was a strange contradiction that Natsu noticed. If the word meant rage, then why was the dragon sad? He knew not how much of Krosulhah's soul had stayed sentient, and how much of it had blended with Lucy's. All the wrath there once was had been gone, replaced by sorrow. Maybe that's how the dragon was moving forward from losing its offspring, as the anger faded into sadness. But if Lucy couldn't remember anything else than that, the truth was doomed to stay as a mystery. Maybe it was for the best.

"It's nothing, really. I was already awake at that time."

"Why?" Lucy asked.

"Bad dream," Natsu answered shortly. "Helgen."

Lucy didn't say anything, but her eyes told him that she understood. They had better things to talk about than nightmares, especially now that he was free of the burden that had been looming above like a thunderstorm. Natsu moved his gaze from her to the horse, only to find it still staring at him.

"Are we ready to go?" he asked with a smile.

Then they set forth.

In a way, it was the beginning of a new adventure that Natsu hoped would go better than the previous one. If there would be no sneaky assassins holding a blade at his throat, making threats about throwing them to the dungeons of the ancient dragon cult, that would be great. Preferably no dragons or dragon eggs either, not to even mention vampires. The last journey had been one ordeal after another. It just couldn't get any worse than that.

They walked the horse out of the forest. As they made it back to the road, they managed to mount it – after a few failed attempts and as many cusses – and began heading north-east, right past the battlefield. From the distance, they could see fires still burning in Whiterun, but the catapults lined in the outskirts were destroyed. And in the dawn light, soldiers clad in blue cuirasses were running north. Their weapons were gone, and some still hold up their hands as a sign of surrender.

"Seems like Erza and the others won," Lucy noted briefly.

"They probably got scared of her and decided to run for their lives," Natsu answered. "But well, who wouldn't?"

Not staying to revel in the victory, they carried on. Avoiding the carnage of the battle, they trotted down the road that led towards the sunrise. And like that, for a moment, it finally felt like the dark clouds were left behind them, with bright skies ahead.


Three days later, on the 1st of Sun's Dusk, they were finally reaching familiar landscapes.

While Lucy held the horse's reins in her gloved hands, she gazed in awe at the waterfalls cascading down from the mountainside. The Throat of the World was now behind them, but the rivers still flowed from the lakes in the highlands, leading through the volcanic tundra ahead, eventually setting to the Sea of Ghosts. Even if she had seen them a few times before, she never stopped marvelling at their majestic beauty. The rushing of water filled the air, making conversation impossible as they crossed the bridge across the water, so she fell silent.

The sun was slowly setting, painting their shadows long to the road of cobbled stone that was framed by tall, ancient pines. The horse had loyally carried them for hours each day, and soon it would be a time to stop again. Lucy had hoped to reach Darkwater Crossing tonight – this time, Natsu hadn't opposed the idea as fiercely as before. While she liked the atmosphere of camping, loved the fresh air, she couldn't wait to sleep in a real bed for a night. She wouldn't mind a proper meal either. For the last days, they had been living on snowberries, mudcrabs, rabbits and spring water, and she was ready to do anything for a bowlful of a good stew.

So far, they had no troubles on their journey. The war had driven out the bandits from Valtheim Towers, allowing them to pass by safely. They had stopped there though, looted the towers for any food or supplies, but unfortunately, the bandits had raided the place completely. Everything that wasn't nailed to the ground was taken. Other than that, the road between Whiterun and Fort Amol had been empty. No settlements during that area, no houses, only ancient ruins and giant camps in the endless wilderness as the road weaved along the vale.

They had just passed the fortress where Igneel's cousin had taken residence. Even if they now knew that the woman from his group had worked for Jellal, and that there wasn't any personal grudge between Natsu and the rest of them, he still hadn't wanted to stop by and say hello. According to his words, it would just get too awkward. He had promised Felrys that he'd avenge Igneel's death by joining the Stormcloaks, and by now they had to be aware of what was happening in the war.

But during the past few days, everything had started to truly sink in within Lucy's mind. She now saw things in a different light. As she thought back of the events ever since that assault in the woods, things finally made sense. For the longest, most painful while she had thought that the reason behind Natsu's gloomy silence was that he didn't really want to be there. She had feared that their friendship wasn't genuine, that she was just a task for him to fulfil, but she had been wrong. So wrong.

And now, she felt like she had gotten him back from the dark plane of secrets he had been lost into. Things fell back to the way they were used to be before they ever set foot on Whiterun where everything went to Oblivion. The pain behind his laughter was gone, and she only blamed herself for not hearing it earlier. Perhaps he had grown used to hiding it.

"It's not a long way from here to Darkwater Crossing," Lucy said when they had crossed the bridge, and the waterfall's noise was left behind. She still had to raise her voice a bit and glance over her shoulder. "An hour, maybe."

"Good," Natsu answered. He had been quiet for a while, making Lucy almost fear he had fallen off, but he held onto her back with his left hand, and so she knew he was still there. "My legs are dying."

Lucy chuckled, wanted to cry about how sore her ass was, but declined. She was most certain Natsu could live without that information. Even if they stopped to walk around and water the horse for every few hours, the uncomfortable saddle had still made her thighs numb and stiffy. "And I'm starving. You know what I've been dreaming about the whole day?" she said instead, and didn't wait for him to guess. "Sweetrolls. One big plateful of freshly baked sweetrolls –"

Natsu groaned. "Don't talk."

"Just imagine, with a lot of cream and butter and strawberry jam –"

"Oh, come ooon, not fair. I'm starving too," he whined and fell silent for a moment, as if trying to come up with perfect revenge. "Hey, do you know what's the most disgusting food in the world?"

Lucy sighed. She should've known he'd win this game. "I don't want to know –"

"Fermented herring. That's the shit Nords eat in Dawnstar, what Grey grew up on. Me and Igneel where there once when –"

The word fermented herring was enough to make bile rise in Lucy's throat. "Now that's not fair!"

" – by the gods, that putrid stench when the fish jar was opened was just something so horrible I can't even describe it. I kept puking for days. It had been kept in the salt water for like, what, half a year? The smell just sticks to your clothes and can't be washed away –"

"Natsu, please, stop!"

"Still hungry?"

"Not anymore."

Even though Lucy couldn't see it, she could envision his satisfied grin.

"Igneel tasted that and said it was pretty good," Natsu said. "Like normal fish, just sour. But well, he's a Dunmer. Now they have some fucked up cuisines, too. All they eat in Morrowind are ash yams and kwama eggs."

Lucy glanced over her shoulder, smirking. "And you didn't taste the fish, you picky Breton?"

"Picky?" Natsu frowned. "Don't know where you got that idea. I'll eat whatever I'll just catch, except that shit."

While the horse would stay on the road without her leading it, Lucy faced forward again. She had to keep an eye out for any wolves or bears that could emerge from the woods. "Well, I've heard that while Bretons have exceptional skill with spells, their skills in the kitchen are no less magical. The most delicious dishes are said to come from High Rock, so I always thought Bretons choose carefully what they put into their mouths."

In the past, Lucy had gladly read books from different countries. She loved learning about their culture and history, as in Helgen, she only knew other Nords, and the Nordic way of life. Foreign travellers from Cyrodiil, Hammerfell, and High Rock sometimes passed by their store, bringing literary pieces with them. Many great sorcerers were Bretons, and she had read that due to the innate magical ability, children in High Rock were tested for their potential at an early age. Those who passed the test entered apprenticeship programs funded by the local Mages Guild. How Lucy had wished the same being done in Skyrim, but unfortunately, most Nords feared and despised magic.

"Can't say, I've never been to High Rock. But from what I know, the culture is strictly hierarchised there. Lots of noble aristocrats rule over impoverished peasants. The highborn brats probably eat some fancy meals, but the same can't be said about the rest of us, who'll have to manage on whatever we can scrape together," Natsu explained. He didn't often talk about the culture of his race, so Lucy listened with great interest. "Actually, my mother said that her father was an heir in some lesser noble family, but that might not be true, since she, you know, sometimes made things up from her head."

Well, now her interest was truly piqued. "Really? Then how did he end up in Skyrim?"

"Well, mother said he was betrothed to some fine lady in another rich family, but he fell in love with a pretty servant maid instead. Got the girl pregnant, caused a scandal in the court, and decided to abandon the titles and riches and moved to Skyrim with the girl. My mother was born, they settled into Dragonbridge, found work at the mill, and nobody ever learnt about their highborn background."

A wide, sweet smile adorned Lucy's face as she sighed, "Ah, like a storybook."

"Mother might've picked that from some storybook. As I said, it probably isn't true," Natsu said, but even that couldn't cast her smile away. She had already decided it was true. Besides, Natsu was way too fine-featured to be just some common rabble – she had always been wondering it, but finally, that too had an explanation. Perhaps noble heritage was a reason behind his and his brother's exceptional talent in the field of sorcery? "They could've as well been just some peasant couple, like my father's parents were. Father never told me why they left High Rock, though. All I know is that they built the house we lived in."

"Did you ever meet your grandparents?" Lucy asked, suddenly flustered by her own thoughts. 'Fine-featured? What am I even thinking?' She kept her eyes on the road as she tried to cast that away. "I never did."

"No, they were all dead by the time I was born. My father's parents died before he even met my mother. Mother's father died pretty young, but her mother lived long enough to see my brother," Natsu told. "Zeref would probably know more about our family history. I never cared enough to listen. To me, we were just outcasts. Probably our life wouldn't have been much different even if we lived in High Rock instead. Peasants here, peasants there."

"Maybe it would if your grandfather really was noble," Lucy teased, smiling with a persistent flush on her cheeks. "Just think about it. You would've lived in a castle, attended some elegant parties dressed in fancy clothes, got married to a beautiful princess –"

" – are you seriously imagining me in a court?" Natsu interrupted her. "Most likely I wouldn't even exist in that scenario."

"If I try really hard, I can almost see it."

"I can only see myself jumping off the tower of that fancy castle because I would've been bored to death from listening to some court inquiries and noble gossips, not to even talk about getting married to a fucking princess."

Lucy laughed. "Yeah, you exposed yourself, nobleman. Your grandfather must've thought the same," she said with a grin, then she got an idea. "Hey… what if your brother went back to High Rock, and restored his position in that noble family? And that's why he was called Lord Zeref?"

Natsu shrugged. "Can't tell. But being called 'a lord' by a vampire isn't very promising."

"Alva wasn't always a vampire. According to her journals, she was turned just recently. Maybe your brother is sitting comfortably in some castle in Evermore or Wayrest and getting bored to death by some court inquiries."

"As long as he keeps me out of it, that's fine," Natsu answered, his tone nonchalant. Lucy knew that wasn't completely true. Whatever had happened to Zeref, Natsu wanted to know, not be left out of it. Still, Lucy couldn't resist the opportunity for a little tease.

"What, wouldn't you want to be called 'Lord Natsu' too?" she asked, playfully pressing the title with her tongue.

Natsu snorted, just as she had presumed. "No, for fuck's sake, that's ridiculous."

"Think I'm gonna be calling you by that from here on."

"Gods, why did I ever tell you about this…" he sighed. "How did we even get from talking about rotten fish to family history?"

Lucy smiled. Perhaps it was the way Natsu's mind worked, but he was always able to keep the conversation alive. She never knew where it would go. And she didn't mind that, not at all. As they were now riding instead of walking, all they could do to spend the time was to talk. Admiring the views and landscapes was dull compared to that.

"It's actually pretty interesting. I always loved learning about my ancestors," Lucy said then. "My father's line of heritage wasn't that fascinating, as his family had kept the store for generations, passing it from father to oldest son. But my mother taught me that her ancestors were mages or warriors. Don't know when the tradition stopped. Perhaps my great-grandmother Anna had something to do with that. She was in the College, so maybe I could ask from the Arch-Mage if he'd know more about what happened to her."

"Makarov would probably know, indeed. It's still strange that your mother didn't tell you more about her."

Lucy lifted her shoulders. It still hurt to mention her mother, but she unconsciously concealed that. "Maybe she didn't want to give me any more reason to run away from home. But if Anna settled to Helgen after her daughter, my grandmother, was born, I think that's where they stopped practising magic."

"Don't you have any other relatives from your mother's side you could ask?" Natsu wondered. "Personally, I don't know if I have any uncles, aunts, or cousins, at least not in Skyrim. Not that I'd care to meet them."

"Not that I know of," Lucy answered and glanced at him again. "My mother didn't have any siblings, neither did my grandmother. Think I'm the only one alive of that bloodline."

"Possibly." Natsu fell silent, suddenly staring past her to the road. "Sheogorath's beard… is that guy who I think he is?"

Lucy moved her eyes back to the front. Up in the distance, a man was walking along the road, carrying a basket in his arms. He was clad in black robes, his skin greyish-pale, looking extremely familiar. He was with another elven woman, who had two fishing rods on her shoulders.

"Felrys?" Lucy whispered to Natsu, who nodded. Then she saw a dog trotting between the two elves. From the way Natsu choked in silence, she knew it wouldn't be anything good. "What is it?"

"Alright, that guy sure is who I think he is, but that fucking dog, I hope that isn't who I think it is," he muttered. In the blink of an eye, his tone had grown nervous.

Lucy pinched her brows together as she tried to remember what he was talking about. "Wait… are you talking about the dog we were supposed to find for Clavicus Vile?"

"Yeah, and I told Felrys to find it in my stead and bring it back to the fucking Daedra."

"It could be just a hunting dog –"

Then, the dog joyfully crossed the distance between them, completely ignoring the man's orders to stop. The voice definitely belonged to Felrys. The dog jumped against the horse and scared their mount, and Lucy had to pull the reins harder to make it calm down and stop.

"You are exactly what I was looking for!" the dog said, its voice having an otherworldly echo.

Natsu and Lucy exchanged a confused gaze.

"Did you just… talk?" Lucy asked, turning her eyes back to the dog.

"Skyrim is now host to giant, flying lizards and two-legged cat-men, and you're surprised by me? Yeah, I just talked. And am continuing to do so."

Yeah, it was certainly a Daedric dog, Barbas.

Natsu slammed his palms to his face and kept muttering cusses until Felrys caught up with the dog. The Dark Elf turned his eyes to the riders. Lucy didn't have a good feeling about it, but she still greeted the man with a smile. His straw basket was filled with fish, suddenly reminding her of the fermented herring Natsu had mentioned. Their silvery sides glimmered in the sunlight.

"Well, well, what a wonderful encounter for the end of the day," Felrys spoke with his heavy Dunmer accent. "How's the war going, Natsu of Dragonbridge?"

"Bad," Natsu answered as he finally took his hands down from his face. He glanced at the dog. If it hadn't talked, Lucy would've thought it was just any regular dog, bred from tamed wolves. "Seems like you've found the dog."

Felrys nodded. "Indeed, we did. We were wondering if you were ever going to pick it up."

"If I remember right, I asked you to take it back to Clavicus's shrine," Natsu said, with enough edge in his tone to let Lucy know he wasn't happy about this wonderful encounter, not at all.

"You see, we've been running into quite a few… problems," Felrys sighed. He put the heavy basket to the ground, crossed his arms on his chest and shoved the dog away from the fish with his foot. Grumpily, the dog whined and sat down next to the basket, waiting for Felrys to slacken his attention. "We haven't got the time for that. Both Stormcloaks and the Imperials have been up to our arses, trying to smoke us out from our dear fortress. They want to claim it for their own purposes. We can't leave the fort unattended for any longer than is necessary to gather food."

Natsu rubbed the bridge of his nose, as if he was getting a headache again. "Yeah, I get it."

"Besides, a girl from our group has been missing," Felrys said and glanced at the woman by his side. Lucy remembered seeing that elf, too, but didn't know if she ever heard her name. "Elsen. You remember her?"

Lucy pressed her mouth into a thin line. Tension began to build up in the air as ire grew in Natsu's eyes.

"Yes," he answered.

"We have been searching for her for over a month now. She left soon after you visited here, said she'd be back soon, and never came back. We're fearing something bad happened to her."

"Well, I know what happened to her."

Sharply, Lucy turned towards Natsu. "Are you really going to tell them?" she mouthed, so silent that no voice came out, but he could still read that from her lips.

"They deserve to know," he whispered back. "Nothing's worse than uncertainty."

Felrys eyed them both suspiciously. Lucy understood Natsu's point of view, but she still doubted telling them now would be a good idea. Even if Felrys was Igneel's cousin, he was still an outlawed mage. Dangerous, and probably powerful. If things erupted into a full-blown fight in the presence of a Daedric dog, then –

"You do?" Felrys asked silently.

Natsu's eyes shot to the Dark Elf, devoid of all emotion.

"I killed her."

Lucy bit her lower lip and looked to the ground, counting the seconds of silence as Felrys just stared at them blankly, unable to believe what he had just said. Natsu didn't falter from the confession, ready to face whatever consequences he'd have. The elven woman beside the Dark Elf raised her hands over her mouth, shivering from shock.

"… R-really? You killed her?" Felrys stuttered. "Is this… Is this some sort of a twisted joke?"

"No. I struck her own dagger through her neck when she tried to stab me with it first," Natsu said coldly. He was still pissed by that. "She ambushed us in the woods, paid by a member from the Dark Brotherhood. She wanted to become one, too. You probably didn't know any of that."

Felrys held his breath, but the honesty in Natsu's voice made him hang his head down. He sighed heavily. "If that's true… Azura spare her soul, then. She was a good lass. No better archer in our group than her."

There was no hostility in the man's aura, but Natsu remained cautious. It seemed that Jellal's shadow was more far-stretched than they had known. In a way, he had killed that girl, not Natsu. As the elven woman began to cry, Felrys placed his arm around her shoulders and hushed some words in a tongue Lucy couldn't understand. She assumed it was the Dunmer language of Morrowind.

"Sorry for your loss," Lucy whispered to them.

"We don't need your condolences, but thank you, for telling us the truth. We can grieve in peace now," Felrys answered, his voice strained by sorrow as he kept rubbing the weeping woman's back. Then he kicked off the dog as it stuck its head into the fish basket. "But don't ever think we're gonna do anything to this dog now. You can take it to Clavicus by yourself." Felrys cast an angered look at Natsu. "It was your job all along. Remember what you said? The Daedra don't like broken promises."

Natsu fell silent for a moment. "When did you find it?"

"First days of Hearthfire, if I remember right," Felrys answered. Lucy cursed at herself. That was a long time ago. "It was wandering off the road when we were searching for Elsen. As it started to speak, we figured out it's the missing dog. And it has been driving us insane ever since. Believe me, it never stops talking."

"That is certainly true!"

"Shut up already!" Felrys shouted to Barbas. "These are the people who originally struck that deal with your master, so go on, boy. They'll take you from here."

The dog barked joyfully, then Felrys picked the fish basked to his arms and turned his back at them. Grief turned the aura surrounding him into cold as ice, and without saying anything more, he and the woman began to take their leave.

"Wait!" Lucy called after them. "We are truly sorry for what happened to Elsen. We –"

"What more do you want? You've caused enough trouble," Felrys said, then glanced at Natsu. "Get going now before I lose my calm. Out of the love I had for Igneel, I won't hurt you, but I don't ever want to see your face here again. Goodbye, now. Have fun with this intolerable mutt."

And so, the elves headed back to their fortress, leaving Barbas to them. The Daedric dog didn't seem upset by this departure, but it took a moment for Natsu and Lucy to understand what had happened. The sun would soon disappear behind the mountains, and Lucy no longer thought it would be a good idea to stop by at Darkwater Crossing – at least not in the company of a talking dog. So, she wistfully abandoned her dreams of a warm bed and a plateful of sweetrolls for tonight.

"So, are we going back to my master's shrine now?" Barbas asked after the elves were gone from their sight.

"Yes, we are," Natsu answered with a worn-out sight.

"Good. If this works out, I'll make sure you're rewarded. Just don't trust any offer he makes you... okay?"

Nervousness began to churn in Lucy's stomach along with her hunger as she reeled the horse to the southern mountain path, that would eventually lead to Ivarstead, the dog following right behind them. Especially one certain line kept repeating in her mind, ever feeding the fire of fear that now burned inside of her.

The Daedra don't like broken promises.


A/N: Hi guys, hope you enjoyed this chapter!

It's the lighthearted beginning of a whole new story arc! Perhaps that's why it felt a bit chunky to write. I feel like my writing wasn't exactly the best here, but well, I had to use to time-skip techniques and other stuff to make it stand out as an opening chapter for this new arc. A lot of foreshadowing here and there. BTW, if you are too curious to know what Krosulhah said, you can do your homework and google "Thu'um translator" (I can't link it to this site) to translate it from Dragon-to-English and out what all of that meant. Other than that, it shall be revealed later in the story ;)

My outline for this chapter was only something like "They find Barbas around Fort Amol" and that was it, so I had to make lot of stuff on the go. Natsu's and Lucy's discussion about food and noble heritages being example of that. I don't want to pay too much attention to whether Natsu actually has noble heritage or not, as said, it could or could not be true. I still very much enjoyed writing that scene. It shows how much Natsu's and Lucy's relationship has developed meanwhile. And also, the fermented herring was a reference to "surströmming" that's an extremely bad-smelling Swedish food. It's a common prank even here in Finland to bring a can to that to school or other public building and open it xD

But, I have some bad news for you guys. I've been writing so much that I have fucked up my wrists. I started having some random pains in August, but I've ignored them to the point that I really need to slow down before I get some carpal tunnel syndrome or other nasty shit. So, after I drop this chapter I'm going to have a little break from writing, or at least try to have, to let my wrists rest and heal. It's very hard for me to stop since I'm super excited about this next story arc. I'm still hoping to stick to my goal to bring my heroes to Riften during this year, which isn't too many chapters away. Anyway, I hope little rest and pain gel helps and I can return to writing soon!

Thank you for all the support and love!

Next up: Orphan's Tears