The site that met them was far more than what Lucy had expected. The ballroom was exquisite, the ceiling soared above their heads, decorated in gold filigree and fanciful paintings. The right wall had several cathedral windows, the curtains pulled back to let in the autumn moonlight, their sills decorated with jack o' lanterns. To the left, the entry to the dining room was hidden behind tall burgundy curtains, wafts of smoke occasionally flitting from underneath. And finally, at the end of the hall were two ornate chairs raised up on a dias. There, Michelle and her husband sat, greeting those that had arrived. The stairs laid down from it were covered in birthday gifts and decorated with various candles and carved pumpkins.

Colorful booths were scattered around the dancefloor. Delicious smells came from some, while joyful shouts came from others as people competed for their various prizes. The dancers spun to a merry tune, the bright costumes creating a kaleidoscope of color, almost alive in its beauty.

Once inside, Lucy pulled him aside and handed him his mask. It had been stylized like a raven, a sharp beak cut over his nose while the dark blue feathers encircled his eyes, spreading out with a flourish. Hers was small and dainty, surrounding her eyes with small blue feathers, and peppered with little diamonds to match her dress. Having donned the rest of their decoration, they entered the celebration.

"Hey Luce, look at that chicken, it looks delicious!" It did in fact look and smell very delicious. It was being turned over an open flame, coated in spices while the concessionaire continued to brush it with butter.

"It does, would you like to get some while I go say hello to my cousin?"

"Okay sure."

"Alright, I'll be back in a few minutes." She gave him a warm smile as she took her hand back and turned away. His smile dropped as he turned to order the chicken, ruminating over his thoughts as he waited. Being back in a scene like this reminded him of the last celebration his father had held before everything had gone so wrong. He had been accompanying his cousin Lisanna that night, in much the same way, but the party was a lot less formal so they had taken to messing around with their other family and friends their age. It had been one of the best nights of his life, but the last time he saw everyone so joyful.

Lucy was the one thing making all of this different though. He had been around many beautiful women before, but never had one entranced him like she did. She was weird though, clearly raised with high society manners, but was kinder than he expected. The last time anyone had rubbed his head in such a way was his mother when he was a hatchling. The other kids had made fun of him when they found out, so he had stubbornly refused her tender touch anymore. Though he regretted it now, she had understood and found other ways to show him affection.

Not wanting to delve on such thoughts anymore, he accepted the chicken and made his way towards the dias where he saw Lucy about to take her turn and waited patiently for her at the bottom.

"Lucy, darling! It's so nice to see you!" Standing, her cousin hugged her tightly and kissed her cheeks.

"It's been too long. Happy Birthday Michelle!" Lucy beamed as she saw how healthy her cousin looked. Her curves now included a sweet rounded belly. "Is your pregnancy going well?"

"Oh yes! The doctors say he's healthy as a horse!" She rubbed her stomach happily, looking around Lucy. "Were you able to find someone to bring?"

"Yes I was!"

"Oh wonderful, who are they?"

"Oh, haha, just um, a demon I managed to summon." Lucy stammered, her smile strained. "His name is Natsu."

Wide eyed, she took Lucy's hand. "Really? You were able to summon someone? I thought you couldn't do that anymore."

"I had to use a special ceremony and it helped that it was Samhain."

"Oh wonderful! I'm so glad. I'm sorry I haven't been able to do more to help. Uncle Jude has an iron fist when it comes to you. I'm glad he even let you come to my party."

Returning Michelle's sad smile, she squeezed her hand. "I am too, I guess I better make the most of it."

"Oh yes! Don't let me hold you up. I hope you both have a great time. Come say goodbye before you leave."

"Thank you Michelle, I will." Smiling warmly, she gave her cousin another hug and headed off to find her date.

The evening was as enjoyable as Lucy hoped. Each booth was an entire experience, some hosting delicious delicacies and others playing mean tricks. Natsu was almost like a child, dragging her to each one and wanting to try everything. She didn't mind though as she had never been allowed to fully enjoy events like these, his joy was contagious and she found herself forgoing her usual prim and proper self and just enjoying the night.

When he came across an arm-wrestling contest she learned that he was not only incredibly strong, but very competitive. His competition dwindled quickly as he easily beat the top contenders, playfully mocking them into challenge. Lucy cheered him on to each victory, until they finally decided to just give him the top prize so the rest could keep competing for second.

The many food booths were all delectable, taking full advantage of the fall with spiked pumpkin spice cider, mulled wine and house made mead. White cheddar Mac and cheese stuffed squash complemented the savory dishes, along with pumpkin raviolis and roasted butternut squash soup. The desserts were the best though, apple crisp with French vanilla ice cream, pumpkin pie pops and even a create your own caramel apple buffet.

One of her favorites had been "Trick or Treats" where she got 3 little desserts to eat and they all had the potential to either be delicious or too spicy or sour. She had been surprised when on her second round, Natsu had snatched one of the treats and eaten it whole, a mischievous and unrepentant grin on his face. Narrowing her eyes, she snatched one from his plate as well and took a large bite, regretting it immediately when it turned out to be an unsweetened lemon tart. He had laughed heartily at her sour face calling her a weirdo because he had taken a super spicy one. Huffing, she pouted as she realized she didn't have any other desserts to make up for the taste, but then her face was red for a whole other reason as he fed her a piece of cheesecake from his own plate, his sharp grin and teasing eyes not stopping her from taking a bite. Two could play at that game though, and she bit it slowly, watching him as she slowly licked her lips, his grin slipping a little as he watched her mouth.

A loud cheer broke the tension dragging Lucy's attention to what appeared to be a dance competition. Without a second thought, she grabbed Natsu's arm and led them to it. A bright smile lit her face as she took in what they were doing.

"Natsu, I used to do this when I was a girl, it's so much fun."

"What is it exactly?"

"It's a competition where you have to make specific complicated dance moves and the one that lasts the longest wins. Kind of like a Highland sword dance without the swords"

"You should do it!

"What?!"

"Yeah! I bet you would beat all these suckers."

"Natsu!" She admonished, "You shouldn't call people that." She bit her lip as she considered it.

He shrugged. "It's true." He looked at her without an ounce of doubt, his confidence melting a bit of her lonely heart and making her decision for her.

"Okay!" She beamed at him, almost hopping with excitement.

Once it was her turn, he watched her walk up the stage. She was helped into a pair of magical dancing shoes that would mold to her size and record her steps for accuracy as she danced. They also pinned a bit of her long flowing dress up so she wouldn't trip, exposing just a bit of ankle. Natsu found himself staring at the bit of lithe form he could see, imagining how she might look further up. Shaking his head, he laughed at himself over the idea that he was excited at the thought of seeing someone's ankles.

The song started on a slow beat and slowly worked its way up in tempo. She didn't falter once, the joy on her face was infectious, the crowd cheering her on as she surpassed the last top score. Finally the song came to an end and she ended with a perfect score, bowing to her besotted audience. Natsu cheered the loudest as she received her reward.

A hefty bag of coins and a flushed Lucy later found them making their way outside so she could take a break

The crisp autumn air washed over her, the cool grass soothing her aching feet as they made their way down to the moonlit pond. It was surrounded by garden walls that lead into a maze of exotic flowers and intricate displays. She led Natsu to a little sanctuary of shrubbery next to the water. A willow tree blew languidly with the wind, and a comfortable stone bench nestled under its branches. She plopped herself down, dropping her heavy heels and luxuriating in the peace of the night.

Smiling serenely, she turned to Natsu who had made himself comfortable on the other end of the bench. His knee was up with his arm resting on it, fiddling with a coin as he leaned back against the tree. He watched her intently, she could almost see the gears working in his brain as he tried to puzzle something out, a small frown on his face.

"Penny for your thoughts."

He was quiet for a moment, seeming to find his words. "I'm wondering how you were able to summon me. Loke is close to you which tells me you're likely a celestial mage, but I overheard your cousin asking if you were able to summon things now and you said no. It just doesn't make sense."

"Oh," Lucy looked down at her hands and sighed, biting her lip as she decided how much she wanted to tell him. Deciding that he had been nothing but kind to her, she told him the truth. "I am a celestial mage, but my father had magic dampening bracelets put on me." She raised her wrists and pulled aside her sleeve so he could see the little gold band that had caused her so much trouble. "Virgo helped me find a way to do a summoning by storing little bits of magic over the last month. Then I used the summoning circle you showed up in."

Natsu's eyes had gone wide then narrowed in anger at her admission. "Why the hell would your father do that?"

Sighing, she started with the basics, but as she continued to tell him, the details flowed out like a damn had broken. She realized she hadn't had anyone to share her burden with in a long time and it was a relief to finally do so. By the end, she was teary and had been gently dabbing her eyes to keep her makeup from running. "As far as how I was able to summon you, I'm not sure, the process worked but I wasn't expecting someone as powerful as you in any way."

When she finally looked at him, she could tell he was furious. He sat with his eyes closed and fists clenched, breathing slowly to calm himself. Finally he looked up at her, his eyes intense with emotion.

Reaching his hand out and taking hers, he rubbed it gently with his thumb, his face softening as he looked at her. "I'm sorry you've had to go through that." He said quietly, then darkly continued. "No one deserves to be held against their will or deprived of their magic." lifting her sleeve, he took the bracelet and looked at it, then met her eyes. "Can you trust me?" Confused, but curious, she nodded. He brought her hand to his lips and placed a brief kiss on her palm. A rush of warmth filled her at the sweet gesture. Then, taking the bracelet between his teeth, he bit down, piercing the metal like it was nothing. Lucy gasped as she felt the trickle of her magic turn into a steady flow. Wasting no time, Natsu took her other hand and repeated the process, only this time the magic flooded her, glowing from her skin. Standing, Lucy stared at her hands with wide eyes, disbelieving that she finally had her magic back. She could feel the connections to her spirits and burst into tears at the revelation.

"My friends!" She cried happily, as Natsu stood next to her. "I can feel my spirits again!" Throwing her arms around him, she hugged him gratefully. "Oh Natsu, I can't tell you what this means to me. I don't know how I could ever repay you." Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close. "Weirdo. You don't have to pay me back."

A golden cloud of sparkles caught their attention, revealing a concerned Loki. "Lucy, what happened?" He exclaimed, reaching towards her. "I can finally feel your magic again!" He noted the close embrace the two had taken in his absence and filed that information away for later.

Lucy gently removed herself from Natsu's embrace and reached out to take Loki's hand. "Natsu freed me! Look!" She held her hands up to show her bare wrists. Loki turned an incredulous look to Natsu. "We tried everything to get them off without hurting her."

He shrugged. "I'm part dragon, part demon, not much can stand up to me. Figured I would give it a try." His eyes narrowed. "That should have never happened to her."

A scowl crossed over Loki's face, "You and I couldn't agree more. What her father did was cruel." Turning back to Lucy with an earnest look. "You can leave now, you should." Lucy's eyes brightened for a moment at the thought but was immediately heartbroken. "I can't, I can't leave you and the rest of my keys. Especially not with my father."

"I can help with that. Where do you think they might be?" A flash of hope crossed her face. "Really? My father would have found somewhere in the manor to keep them, they're too important to keep anywhere else. Likely in his office. I suspect he has at least one or two safes, but I've never been able to find them. Let alone crack them."

Natsu cracked his knuckles. "Alright, let's go!"

"I can take you both back if you'd like. Generally I couldn't take you through the spirit realm but we can make an exception for it this time."

"Oh that would be wonderful. I need to go say goodbye to my cousin first."

"I'll meet you back here when you're ready then."

"Thank you Loke!" Turning to Natsu, "I'll be right back," she said, then rushed off.

A few moments of silence passes between the two. "Everyone was worried sick, you know."

Natsu, bowed his head and sighs, putting his hands in his pockets. "I know."

"All of them were pissed at you for going off on your own, Erza especially." Natsu winced at that.

"I had to go by myself."

Ignoring him, Loki continued. "Erza didn't stop searching for months. She knew you were out there, somewhere. Nearly everyone else had convinced themselves you were dead." He paused to let the words sink in. Then softly, "Makarov knew what happened. He said we needed to give you space and that you would come back when you were ready."

Sitting down heavily on the bench, Natsu covered his face with his hands and sighed. "It's not over yet. I haven't defeated him yet." Looking up at him, he implored Loki to understand. "It's not safe yet!"

"You don't have to do this alone!" Loki shouted back. "I know how personal this is for you, but you don't have to face him alone! He reiterated. "We all care about you and just want you to be okay. If it takes us facing down a monster, we would do it. You know this! Because you would do it for us!"

Natsu glared at Loki and let out a frustrated breath, running his fingers through his hair.

Sitting down beside him, Loki gave him a few moments to collect his thoughts.

Quietly, Loki spoke again. "Lucy needs a family, a good one. Take her to Fairy Tail. She'll be happy there."

"Michelle look!" Lucy pulled up her sleeves to show her bare wrists. Gasping Michelle took her hands to see for herself.

"They're gone! How did you finally get them off?"

Blushing lightly, she cleared her throat and said "Natsu was able to bite them off."

"Bite them off huh?" Michelle gave her a lascivious look.

"It's not like that!" She spluttered, taking her wrists away while Michelle snickered.

"Whatever you say dear cousin." She winks. "Come, let's go to my office so we can speak privately." She led them through the crowd, through a door and down a long ornate hall to a large room. The two opposing walls were bookshelves filled to the brim, while a desk sat in the middle in front of several large windows that currently had their drapes drawn. Sitting at the comfy leather chair, Michelle began rustling through the drawers.

"Ah! Here we go." Grabbing a plump envelope she came back to Lucy and handed it to her. "I assume that you will be leaving Uncle Jude's and I know you don't have your own funds so I want to make sure you have what you need so you never have to return."

Taking a quick glance in the envelope Lucy gasps. "Michelle this is too much, I can't take all this."

Taking her hand, she gives it a squeeze. "You can and you will. After everything you've been through you deserve nothing less. Go, be free. Live the life you've always wanted."

With a sob, Lucy hugs her cousin fiercely. Nodding her agreement when her cousin just asks that she keep in touch when she can. A few moments later finds her standing in the garden again with Loke and Natsu as he whisks them away to her house.