WARNING: Rated M for Explicit Graphic Depictions of Violence, Graphic Depiction of Rape/Non-Consensual Sex, Graphic Sex, Graphic Physical and Mental Abuse, and Mental Instability. Please read at your own discretion.

I do not own Fairy Tail; All major characters depicted in this fan-created fiction story belong to Hiro Mashima.

This chapter is Beta-read by the awesome YungVodkaDikost, if you haven't read any of her stories, you should go check them out!

CHAPTER 23

Wisps of black tendrils licked at the shadow mage's skin as his slayer magic covered his body. The inky translucent magic slid across his flesh until he was fully immersed in the shadows, away from prying eyes. The tendrils danced over his body while they acted as a cloak for his damp half-naked form, shielding him from any curious eyes as he made his way to where the other male occupants of the resort were still soaking in the spring's medicinal water.

The ebony haired slayer sighed as he neared what was the designated area for the male guests, Rogue had hoped that the inevitable chaos that was sure to erupt from the rowdy male members of Fairy Tail plus his blonde partner would be enough of a distraction that no one would notice his arrival into the already chaotic spring, but of course, his hopes were dashed as he emerged from the shadows away from the water's rocky edge.

"Well, would you look who finally decided to come join the party!" Rogue inwardly sighed, he should have known that if anyone was going to be able to notice his presence, it would be Sting. The ruby-eyed Saber ignored his idiotic blonde master's comment while he pulled up the towel that had started to slip lower on his hips before he sat on a rock at the edge of the water.

Rogue knew it was naïve of him to think that if he just ignored the curious glances from multiple of the males, that he would be able to avoid the obvious questions that were burning not only in his fellow Sabertooth slayer but quite a few of the Fairy Tail mage's eyes as well.

Even if the shadow wizard had wanted to fake ignorance as to the whereabouts of his absence, he could tell by the smirks plastered on not only Sting but Gray's and Gajeel's faces that he had already been found out.

The thought of having both the white and iron dragon slayer once again listening in on his private intimate relationship was one thing, but now even Gray had seemed to be in on making Rogue feel like a complete and total pervert when it came to the sweet celestial maiden.

A knot formed in the pit of the ebony haired mage's stomach as he watched the three close in on where he was sitting.

"You wouldn't have been with a certain blonde haired bunny, now would you, Ryos? I thought I told you that we were having a guy's night." Rogue grinned as he was able to maneuver his body fast enough away from the heavy arm that was about to swing over his shoulder only to have that victorious smirk fall while his 'brother' cackled when the younger ebony haired mage found himself trapped in another person's headlock.

Rogue hadn't anticipated that Sting would jump out of the water to catch him, the dark-haired Saber gasped when he was pulled from the water's edge and into the water.

"For real, Rogue! You don't see me sneaking off to see Yukino or iron ass here seeing little miss blue. Can't you give it a rest for one night? You're so wrapped around that little Blondie's finger, which makes trying to separate you two almost impossible!" Cracks of male laughter filled the vicinity as the ebony haired saber tried his best to hide the small blush that had started to heat his face from the rest of the group while also trying to shrug off the arms of his guild master that were still firmly clasped above his shoulder.

The shadow slayer slipped from the blonde's grasp before whacking him upside the head and mumbling under his breath about obnoxious master's and fairies. He could only hope that the crimson hue dusting his cheeks had begun to fade when he fished the now soaked towel out of the spring before throwing it on to a nearby rock. Of course, Rogue knew that he and Lucy were together a lot, but what was he supposed to do? Let the feeling of despair consume her?

Yeah, right. Not a fucking chance.

"Oh, really? I don't see any reason as to why it matters. Lucy needed me, and I wasn't about to leave her to deal with things herself. Mock me if you want, but it was the right thing to do. On to the next subject." The dark-haired saber shot a glance over at his fellow slayers before turning his head to look up at the open sky.

Rogue never really cared for any type of hot springs, but if he did have to chose he would say that open aired springs were the best.

"Hey, no reason to get defensive, now. But in all seriousness, Is Luce okay? You said that she needed you for something?" Rogue knew if he was able to get along with anyone in Fairy Tail it would definitely be Gray.

The raven-haired male just had that brotherly feel when it came to Lucy, and it made Rogue feel that much better talking to him about things that concerned her- because he could tell that the ice-make mage honestly did have the blonde's best interest in mind.

"She's was having difficulty coming to terms with her body image, but she is fine now. " Rogue watched the raven-haired male nod before they both turned to the sound of loud laughter.

The cackling of the fire mage caused the ebony haired male to glare at him.

Honestly, Rogue didn't know how someone could be so obnoxious, especially when it came to a subject as sensitive as this. Lucy really had been hurt, how could he think that it was funny?

"What are you talking about? Luce has never been concerned with her body like that! Especially around her nakama." The wielder of shadows grits his teeth, his fist forming to tight balls as he refrained from knocking sense into the oblivious pyro that was perched on a submerged rock.

If only he knew what the blonde had actually gone through, if only he knew just what she was going through.

If only the fire dragon slayer knew exactly how big of a step Lucy was taking, he wouldn't say something so utterly wrong and insensitive.

Of course, the ebony haired slayer knew that Natsu was the only one that had been left of the loop when it came to Lucy's real situation, but did the slayer have to be that damn dense to understand that Lucy had taken a lot of damage to her body?

Any woman in her right mind would have some type of inner conflict on her self-image, even if she still looked damn gorgeous with her scars.

The shadow dragon slayer shook his head while he refused to look at the obvious slayer. Lucy would always feel the pain of the wounds that had been inflicted on her, and the salmon haired mage refusing to acknowledge the truth was sickening to the shadow mage.

"Knock it off, Natsu. I'm getting so fucking tired of your petty vendetta against the emo tiger. If blondie really is his mate, you're just going to have to get the fuck over it. Not to mention, can't you tell your constant over protectiveness of Lucy is hurting Lisanna's feelings? Or are you really that much of a fucktard?" Rogue's eyes widened while he whipped his head around to stare at the older artificial slayer.

He had never once thought that the dirty blonde lightning mage would be on his side, but Rogue couldn't help but silently agree, even if he did just call him an emo. It was good to know that there was someone else there that could keep the fire mage in check.

"Whadaya' mean, Laxus? Lisanna's fine! She knows I care about Luce, she understands that I only want what's best for her." The salmon haired slayer didn't get another word out before the blonde fairy grabbed him and pressed him into a rock, completely ignoring the fact that they were both naked.

A small smirk found its way on the dark-haired Saber, seeing Natsu take heat from someone else was nice for a change, and from what Rogue could tell, it was personal to the lightning mage.

"Natsu you are a fucking moron. Because of you, I have to listen to Mira constantly talk about how her poor little sister is heartbroken over how much you've been obsessing over blondie, do you think that is what I want to do in my free time with my woman? Lisanna is my little sister now too, so you better get your act together and make things right. You can start by working things out with the emo and swallowing your fucking pride. Lucy is technically his, and from what I can tell, she doesn't have a damn problem with it. So you shouldn't either if you want what's best for her." Laxus dropped the gaping salmon haired slayer before moving to the other side of the spring where Bickslow and Freed were, the blue-haired seith mage snickering at the lecture the pyro had just received from the blonde slayer.

"That's right, Natsu! Be a real man and consider my little sis's feels for once. You know damn well what Laxus is talking about, after all, he's a real man!" Natsu just rolled his eyes at the white-haired beast of a man while rubbing his sore shoulders.

"Salamander, Rogue here has been taking real good care of Bunny girl. She definitely doesn't have a problem with being with him." Rogue tried to shrug the arm that had been slung over his shoulder off, but realized it was a futile attempt as the iron mage had a death grip on him. The ebony haired saber tried his best to look the other way so no one would see the crimson color that had started to fill his cheeks with the implied meaning Gajeel had shoved into that sentence.

The crimson eyed tiger jumped a little when he felt an icy cold hand grip his free shoulder before looking over to see a smirking Gray next to him. A small smirk spreading across his face as the raven haired mage caused the water to cool off significantly, making the iron mage jump back from the cold spot.

"Oh yeah, Rogue I didn't realize that yours and my little sister's relationship had developed so quickly. Just what have you done to her, eh?" Rogue gulped when the water temperature continued to drop until jagged ice started to form on the surface of the water, while his hand squeezed his shoulder a little harder than what would be considered friendly.

The ebony haired shadow slayer looked around, hoping that Sting would be willing to help him, but when he noticed that even he had retreated to a farther part of the spring while cackling with both Gajeel and Natsu. What a damn traitor.

A bright light filtered in throughout the opened spring as a naked spirit stepped out of their gate, causing both Rogue and Gray to squint from the unexpected bright golden light.

"Come on now, Gray. As much I don't want to stop you, you know my princess wouldn't like it if you and the emo bastard got in a fight. As much as I hate to admit it, he treats her well." Rogue breathed a sigh of relief when the raven-haired man let his grip slacken before the water started to regain the warmth it once had before Gray had decided to take on the role of a protective older brother.

"Awh fucking come on, Loke! I was actually rooting for ice princess for once!" Rogue grit his teeth as he listened to the obnoxious pinkette.

The ruby-eyed saber was really starting to question just exactly how Lucy was even able to handle being around the fire mage for more than a few minutes. Though of course, he could only assume that the same could be said about him and Sting as well.

"Shut the fuck up, Natsu. You and Rogue really need to settle your differences, for my princess's sake. You don't want to put any more stress on her than she already has, right?" The spirit flicked his eyes from both Natsu and Rogue, analyzing their reactions.

Regardless of how Natsu felt, Rogue was secretly hoping that the salmon haired slayer would relent and finally realize just how important it would be for them to actually get along.

Crimson eyes met burning onyx as they glanced at one another before Natsu averted his gaze and scratched the back of his head. The salmon-haired pyro knew Loke was right, but the thought of actually being civil with the dark-haired Sabertooth mage had his gut doing backflips.

Natsu didn't know why, but something felt like if he was to stop giving Rogue a hard time, it would almost be like he was admitting his defeat and the ebony haired mage would make off back to Sabertooth with his blonde best friend in tow.

The onyx-eyed male was afraid the blonde would up and leave Fairy Tail just to be with Rogue at Sabertooth, and that thought stung the fire mage more than he would ever like to admit. He was worried that he wouldn't see Lucy anymore, and he wasn't ready to let the blonde go.

He wasn't ready for her to become just another memory.

But if it was for Lucy's happiness?

Would he let go of his best friend for the sake of her happiness? Would he give up a vital part of his family to let her be with the man she was destined to be with?

As much as it hurt him, he knew the answer was yes. If his blonde celestial mage told him that she was happy with the shadow dragon slayer, and that being with him was what she truly wanted, Natsu knew without a doubt that he would let her go, no matter how much he wanted things to stay the way they were.

His main concern was, did she really feel that way?

Come to think of it, he had been so excited about Lucy coming home that he hadn't even given Levy's warning a single thought, and when he saw the blonde for the first time since her departure, he had been so consumed with rage and betrayal that he hadn't even stopped to think about Lucy's feelings.

He never even asked.

He just took action like he always fucking did- thinking that he knew what was best for the blonde fairy, when in fact the woman that he knew had changed, and he was afraid to admit that he didn't know the woman that returned to Fairy tail with the Shadow dragon slayer.

He didn't want to admit that his best friend had changed in just the short agonizing amount of time she had been away from home.

But it was about time that he started to make it right.

Even if Lucy looked and smelled different, she was still Luce, right?

Natsu didn't want to be the reason the celestial key holder lost her happiness, and he definitely didn't want to be the reason that Lisanna was upset over how he had been acting. He had seen the way the white-haired mage would frown when he would mention Lucy and Rogue, but he hadn't stopped to think that maybe he was hurting the animal soul take-over mage.

No, Natsu hadn't considered anyone's feelings but his own the past few months.

"If it's for the sake of Luce's happiness, I'll hear him out." A few shocked intakes of breath sounded throughout the spring caused an irritated tick mark to form on the fire mage's head while multiple guild members including the white dragon slayer pat him on the back, causing him to release a stream of fire from his mouth in irritation.

Chocolate brown eyes gazed at the harmless door that opened up into the women's side of the hot springs for what felt like ages. Despite having affections bestowed upon her body by the doting dragon slayer, the blonde still couldn't help the uneasiness that washed over her when the celestial mage finally willed her towel-clad body to walk through the entrance into the women's water.

Lucy's nervous orbs scanned the medium-sized pond-like pool of water while clutching the white towel to her shivering body. The blonde released the breath of air that she didn't realize she was holding when her gaze finally landing on a familiar head of silver locks.

Though there were a small number of other women visiting the hot spring this evening, it wasn't hard to see that the group of Fairy Tail mages, including Yukino, took up most of the water.

"Eh? Well, look who finally decided to make an appearance." Brown eyes widened when a slender arm came to wrap around the celestial mage's shoulder when she was caught off guard by a naked and drunk Cana leaning into her still shivering form for support.

The smell of alcohol tickled Lucy nose when the brunette pushed an already open bottle into the celestial mage's hand before leading the nervous blonde to the rest of the group.

"Lucy! For a while there we were thinking you had decided to go home, I'm glad to see that wasn't the case, after all." The celestial mage said a quiet apology for her tardiness to the red-haired knight before eyeing the other celestial maiden and bluenette who happened to be looking at her with small crimson blushes adoring their features. It didn't take the blonde long to notice that both mages also had an alcoholic beverage of their own.

"I'm assuming that Cana snuck in all the booze?" Lucy smirked while moving to sit on one of the vacant rocks close to the two women. The blonde felt the uneasiness in her body lessen the more she noticed that all of the women were mostly preoccupied with their own small chatter to even notice as she quickly unwrapped the towel before submerging her body into the warm hot spring.

The milky medicinal water provided the perfect cover for the blonde's body, the thought reminding her that she could hide away her scars from curious onlookers. The brown-eyed fairy sighed with content when the warm liquid started to melt away the chill that had covered her body on the walk to the spring from the changing room.

"Well, she is Fairy Tail's resident drunk for a reason." Lucy giggled at the petite solid script mage while she perched herself on one of the submerged rocks close to the already tipsy bluenette and silverette. The blonde stared at the amber liquid that swayed from side to side in the glass bottle before glancing at all the other women who also had various drinks of their own.

Lucy sipped the tawny beverage, letting the heavy taste sit on her tongue before swallowing the content. Yet another sigh escaped the celestial mage while she realized that tonight was going to serve as a very interesting and emotional event not only for her, but all the women of her guild.

The women of Fairy Tail were notorious for being hot-tempered and just as rowdy as their male guildmates- however- female fairies plus an abundance of alcohol with nothing but time on their hands have proven time and time again to be an even worse combination.

Well, they were a disaster waiting to happen.

The blonde suppressed a small giggle when it threatened to slip from her pink lips at the thought of what type of shenanigans her and her guildmates would be able to get themselves into this time.

"Soooo, Lucy… Mind telling me a little more about yours and Rogue's relationship?" The blonde in question visibly gulped as the Fairy Tail's very own pale haired gossip slid up to her with a sickly sweet smile while tilting her head ever so slightly to the right. The celestial key holder looked from both the bluenette to the silver-haired celestial mage in hopes of salvation, but soon realized that both women were also looking at her just as curiously as the white-haired woman.

Damn the fucking booze.

"Yes, Lucy. I'm curious as well, is what Natsu said true? Are you Rogue's mate?" Erza's authoritative voice caught the slightly uneasy blonde's attention causing the woman to feel a faint crimson blush dust over her body when she realized that almost all attention had been directed to her.

A rather large group had started to form around Lucy when the curious females gravitated towards Fairy Tail's celestial spirit mage.

Lucy had understood that because of the obnoxious insinuations from the salmon haired slayer yesterday, she and the shadow dragon slayer had become the hottest gossip and the talk of the guild- So she had anticipated being cornered at some point by the snow colored haired barmaid.

The blonde just didn't expect it to be confronted naked, while still in the hot springs surrounded by obviously tipsy and drunken comrades, who wouldn't take no for an answer.

Lucy knew that Natsu's word vomit had got a lot of things wrong, but in the end, what he said about being Rogue's mate was partially true.

The blonde took a quick swig of her drink before deciding that if she was going to get through this conversation, she was going to need a lot more liquid courage than just the few sips she had been taking.

Lucy held up her finger while she threw her head back before chugging the remaining content of the bottle, only stopping when all of the amber liquid had vanished down her throat.

"I'm going to need at least one more of these before I start spilling anything about my love life." The celestial mage dangled the now empty bottle in the air before the smooth glass was promptly taken from her grasp then replaced with a brand new unopened bottle, courtesy of Cana.

The brunette clinked her bottle with the blonde's before giving Lucy a wink while taking a swig of her own.

"Unlike Mira and Yukino, you've technically been marked by two slayers, Lu. In the few books that I've read, I couldn't find anything like your situation. Not to mention, we've only ever come across 7 dragon slayers and one dragon in our lifetime- if we don't count the Eclipse Gate fiasco-" Lucy frowned as memories from the Eclipse gate flittered into the forethoughts of her mind before refocusing on what the petite solid script mage was saying.

"Information is so scarce on this subject that it's basically lost in time." The blonde felt her eyes glaze over while Levy's ramblings unintentionally sent her thoughts back to the day her life had changed.

The day the Eclipse Gate was opened.

Back then, the blonde would have never- even in her wildest of dreams- have thought that she would end up mated to a dragon slayer, especially not by the same man that had tried to kill her. Then on top of that to be mated by yet another slayer who in a sense was the same person? It was a lot to comprehend for the blonde's already tipsy brain.

Wide brown eyes flicked from the blue-haired woman to the silver-haired celestial mage before a piece of what Levy said finally registered into her already sluggish mind.

"Wait, Yukino… Are you Sting's mate now?" Lucy was brought back to reality when the white-haired barmaid let out a delighted squeal. The blonde's eyes widen even further as she openly gawked at the now crimson-faced Sabertooth wizard.

Lucy felt joy wash over her when she realized the blonde slayer and silverette finally got together like the Sabertooth celestial mage had been hoping for.

The silverette shyly nodded, causing a multitude of fairies to scream in joy for their Sabertooth guest. Lucy smiled as Yukino tried to cover her crimson face by sinking even deeper into the murky water. At least the blonde was able to avert all the attention from her for the moment.

"Congratulation, Yuki! I'm so happy for you and Sting!" The blonde sent the Sabertooth woman a genuine smile before it slowly slipped into a frown as another question slipped into her thoughts.

"Why am I the only one that has the slayer's markings, though?" The question came out of Lucy's mouth before she could stop it. However, she really was curious. Mira didn't have any markings either, only the blonde celestial mage.

"I actually have a few theories for that." The blonde looked over at her partially drunk blue haired guildmate. Leave it to Levy to try and figure out all the answers to the hard questions before they are even asked.

"What if the markings are some type of identification of courtship? Or maybe it's because you have two different types of shadow magic in you and neither mating has been completed?" The blonde mulled over the thought.

In all honesty, there was sense to both theories but they could never be certain since they don't know any dragons or older slayers that actually know what the meaning behind the markings is.

"It's possible, but I don't know if we will ever figure it out." The blonde took a sip of her drink before trying to sense Rogue through their bond. She could feel a little hint of amusement so Lucy figured he must be having somewhat of a good time.

"How do you feel about Rogue, Lucy?" The short white haired take over mage came to lean against the edge of the rock the blonde was sitting on, sapphire eyes sparkling with genuine curiosity to know her guild mate's thoughts of the mysterious shadow mage.

Lucy felt her heart skip a beat when an image of the tall dark haired slayer came into her thoughts. The feeling of serenity and security followed the thought.

What did Lucy truly think of Rogue?

The blonde absolutely adored him.

Lucy felt her mouth part to say just that but thought better of it from the look of pure exhilaration from the youngest take over mage's older sister when she leaned in with hearts protruding out of her eye sockets.

As much as the celestial spirit mage would love to spill her guts, she didn't need the she-devil plotting secret dates and other sappy romantic things like that for her and the slayer.

"He's sweet." The blonde finally decided on while a blush adorned her already alcohol flushed cheeks. The Fairy Tail women who had been waiting to hear what she thought of the male groaned in frustration because of the woman's tight-lipped demeanor.

"That's it? Sweet?" The barmaid looked at the celestial key holder incredulously. Honestly, the blonde wasn't giving the she-devil anything to work with.

"Alright, since you won't tell us, I guess we'll be forced to take everything that Natsu said as the truth." The blonde spit out the sip of beer she currently had in her mouth before looking at the smirking she-devil.

How dare she!

"I want to be his mate, okay? I really, really like Sabertooth's mysterious dragon slayer. Is that what you want to hear? Are you all satisfied now?" The blonde sunk lower into the water, much like her fellow celestial mage had done earlier when all eyes had been on her.

Damn that she-devil.

"Partly, but I am slightly confused. Why aren't you Rogue's mate? From what Natsu said, you've already slept with him?" Genuine curiosity slipped across the now prying white-haired beauty's face. The question had caused the blonde to gasp slightly, realizing that Lucy had been foolish to think that Mira wouldn't catch that snag within the story, after all- she was the first and only woman that they had known to be mated to a dragon slayer up until a few minutes ago.

Wide honey brown eyes met the two other equally as shocked gazes of Yukino and Levy. Both women floundered while they tried to come up with a distraction to spare the blonde from the painful memories that were sure to come from the conversation if it continued in the direction it was going.

However, before either of the women could come up with an excuse, they were silenced by the blonde's soft voice.

"I haven't slept with Rogue." Besides the mindless chatter of the other women that had been enjoying the hot spring, the ladies around Lucy were silent. The blonde knew if she didn't have any alcohol in her system she would feel some type of anxiety, some type of embarrassment, but the blonde just felt numb to any emotions.

In all honestly, Lucy had become exhausted from everyone's insinuations, and tired of tiptoeing around the subject when it would obviously get brought up again if she didn't silence the nasty rumors now.

At the very least while she had the help of the liquid alcoholic courage coursing through her lightweight body.

The blonde gazed on in eerie silence while a drunken fog took over her brain while most of the women's faces went from confusion to shocked revelation then to bone-crushing guilt.

"I.. I had no idea.. Lucy, I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am.." The celestial mage observed the white-haired barmaid while she bent her head down in as deep of a bow the take over mage could go before having her face submerged into the murky water of the hot springs.

"It's fine. Better to let it out while I'm tipsy than reliving the experience while I'm sober.." The blonde took in the many faces of her guildmates, all mirrors of the same expressions full of shock.

Somber animosity and self-loathing that wasn't from the blonde this time, radiated in waves from her female friends.

While the blonde had a month to come to terms with what had happened, it still wasn't enough time to heal, but it was enough time to accept and come to terms with the fact that she had been tarnished.

Sometimes Lucy would talk about it with Yukino, or even Rogue when she couldn't sleep. Something about knowing that she had someone to talk to made her cope a little easier.

"On your mission when you were hurt?" The blonde was too numb to register who had voiced the question but nodded her head in silent confirmation regardless.

"You are the bravest woman I have ever had the honor of knowing, Lucy." The celestial spirit mage could feel the bone-crushing hug that the scarlet haired woman had pulled her into, but she couldn't bring herself to even wince from the amount of force the redhead used.

Numb.

The only thing the celestial mage could really feel was an invisible weight being lifted from her shoulders and it felt good.

She didn't bother to try and worry about the repercussions of letting her secret be known to the female members of the guild. The blonde let her hazy mind be soothed by the sloshing of the spring's water while the liquid moved back and forth from the movement of the fairies as they all crowded around to give the celestial mage an awkward and very naked group hug.

Warmth spread throughout Lucy's body when she felt her alcoholic induced mind lock out all her worries for the night, all that mattered right now was she was home with her family and she was finally letting them know what happened to her.

The embarrassment, fear, and anxiety could wait until later because right now Lucy was determined to enjoy her time with her female companions, even if it was all just becoming an alcoholic blur.

Heavy chains drug against the filthy cement floor, causing the annoying high pitch scraping to ring throughout the silent cell that lay in the eerie darkness of night. The soft glow of orange flames illuminated the otherwise pitch dark unit while the male slowly chipped away at the magic resistant anklet's binding his feet together.

Images of golden blonde hair and a pink guild emblem flashed through the maddened male's mind causing him to work harder on loosening the metal bindings.

It had taken the mage no more than a month to finally chip away at just one of the cuffs around his wrists before moving on to work on the chains and cuffs around his ankles. The male was finding his limited intelligence useful as he memorized the rune knight's schedules. It didn't take the male too long to realize that the council's army had left a small window of only 6 minutes of unsupervised time to unknowingly let him work on his drawn-out plan of escape.

A diabolical chuckle slipped past the man's mouth when the final locking mechanism holding the cuff together was chipped away to release his raw ankle.

A flash of torchlight was seen coming from around the bend in the hall, alerting the once shackled mage that his 6 minute window had drawn to a close. The male quickly threw the cuff back on to foreign entrapment just as the rune knight forcefully slid his evening meal under the minuscule opening of the cell.

The knight looked on at the prisoner in disgust when the man moved slightly to pick up the prison tray before eating the lukewarm contents.

Unknowingly to the knight, the mage could feel his magic energy returning to his body now that the chains and cuffs had been deactivated.

A small spark of lightning slipped from the male's fingertips to inconspicuously warm the tray of food when the knight turned his back to tend to other prisoners.

The male grinned when another flash of the blonde woman's crying face slipped into the forethoughts of his mind.

Soon.