Hi everyone! So sorry for completely disappearing for a while. Things have been a little crazy, and I had some writer's block that was so bad that I couldn't even write a sentence without getting frustrated. This is going to be a small chapter, but I have big plans for this! I honestly thought about rewriting it to change the story a bit, but I think I'll just keep going with this to see how it goes.
Enjoy the chapter!
Lucy sat in the guild, the sounds of the members chatting about and laughter echoing throughout the guild. She had barely touched the animal blood Mira had served her. To her, the days went by in a blur, everything muted.
Natsu sat next to her. He looked at the glass and back at Lucy.
"Have you eaten anything?" Concern was written all over his face. It had been two months since she had told Erik to leave. Her skin no longer had the beautiful glow, and her eyes were dull.
"I'm not interested. History is repeating itself. Soon Midnight will show up. I knew I shouldn't have gotten attached."
Lucy stiffened as Gray sat in the other seat next to her. "Well, you're here now, and we can keep you safe."
Lucy laughed, "you don't know Midnight as I do. He was jealous the moment Erik and I met. He's always been possessive of me. I'm the only vampire who is a celestial mage. There are so few celestial mages left in this world. My keys make me more powerful, and that's what Midnight wants. Power."
Natsu furrowed his brows, "wait, what does Erik leaving have to do with Midnight?"
Lucy breathed in and closed her eyes. Her hands gently brushed against her keys. Their power flowing through her veins. "As I said, history is repeating itself. Once Erik and I are together, Midnight follows. It usually is what breaks us apart. This time it's different."
"Then you need your strength. You need to feed."
Lucy looked at the glass of animal blood that Mira placed in front of her.
"Lucy, may I ask what happened when you and Erik met?"
"It all started here, actually, and my house in Crocus is where we had planned to live together." Thus, Lucy began the story.
Erik and Lucy's Meeting:
Lucy didn't understand humanity and how humans were full of hope. They were so fragile. The carriage slowed as the elegant building came into view.
Midnight ran his hand along her back and hip, "you are stunning tonight."
Lucy looked over at him, "I know. Why are we doing this? Humans and their elegant parties are boring and a waste of time."
His grip tightened on her thigh in a warning. "We are here to establish trust. It's not the humans that I'm worried about. It's the dragonslayers who dwell here."
Lucy stared blankly ahead of her. She still felt nothing. She was an empty void and calculated every move that ensured her survival.
"Is there someone I need to pay extra close attention to?" He glanced over at him, studying him.
"Just have fun. I'll worry about them."
Lucy walked down the stairs slowly. Her dress was a river of blood flowing behind her. Her eyes met a young man's dark purple eyes seemed to devour her as he studied her. Her hair cascading down her back. But, it was his smile that made her heartbeat just a little faster with each step she took closer to where he was. She could smell the untamed magic in his blood. She knew what he was the moment he stepped closer to her offering his hand to take her to the dance floor.
"May I have this dance?"
Lucy looked him up and down, "I'd love to. And you are?"
"Erik Kobura, and whom might you be?"
Her brown eyes sparkled, "Lucy Heartfilia."
Erik kissed the back of her hand. "It's a pleasure. What brought you to Magnolia?"
Lucy looked around, "business."
"Oh, is your family in the trading routes?"
Lucy smiled, "something like that. What about you? What brought you to Magnolia?"
"Opportunity. Magnolia is growing and opening up more to those who never seem to belong anywhere."
Lucy turned to look at the man who entered the room. His dark red eyes landed on Erik and then on Lucy. Lucy smiled at Midnight, noting his undivided attention on her. She knew he wouldn't harm her as long as she proved useful. She would.
"Well, Mr. Kobura, it looks like I must go. I do hope to see you again." Her hand slid down his chest, his breath hitching just a bit. She smiled at him as he let out a breathless "Likewise." He watched as she left with the man who passed a glass filled with red wine.
Midnight pulled Lucy close, "I thought I told you not to worry about the dragonslayers."
Lucy shrugged, "you didn't tell me I couldn't speak to them. He was handsome."
She winced as his hands dug into her arm, "you will not let that beast warm your bed."
"Who warms my bed isn't your concern. I'm completely devoted to you and your mission." Lucy's mind swirled as she tried to calculate the next move.
"I thought you turned off your humanity." Midnight cocked his head as he studied Lucy.
"I did, and I still feel nothing. I do what makes me feel good, and right now, I'm bored of this conversation." In a split second, her body was slammed against the brick wall.
"You better tread carefully. I get to decide whether or not you live. The dragonslayer is off-limits, especially with what I'm trying to do."
"What are you trying to do?"
"We need an alliance to find the dragon king himself. That's all you need to know. Now prove to me to are devoted to me."
He released her from his deathly grip. She followed Midnight just like she always had, but now she knew she had to look out for herself. She knew he was obsessed with hunting the dragons down, but the dragon king Igneel was a death sentence. Ending a species will only end in repercussions with nature. She'd help him, for now, to stay alive, but when the time comes, she'd leave and never look back.
In the few weeks, the blond woman was all he could think about. Her soft, warm, playful eyes and he swore he could even smell her scent as he thought about her. An elegant carriage made its way down the gravel road. Erik perked his ears as his father stepped down on the porch. The deal that could change everything, an alliance between two species.
"Are you sure this is smart?"
"What do you mean? An alliance with an enemy is always a good thing."
Erik looked over at him, "an alliance with an enemy who has no regard for life and drains mortal humans like they are nothing."
"You will keep your mouth shut. We need this. This deal with this coven can be the thing that either saves Magnolia or destroys it."
The carriage stopped out front, and the beautiful woman he never stopped thinking about stepped out after a man with black hair and dark eyes. She smiled when her eyes met his. Erik smiled back, and then the realization hit that she was an enemy and the start of something he could never run away from. Especially as the male vampire glowered at him as he noticed the look the two shared.
Lucy:
Natsu leaned back, and Gray scrunched his eyebrows together.
"So wait, he wasn't a vampire when you two first met?" Gray asked.
Lucy's lips tilted upwards just a bit, "no, I think I scared him shitless when I showed up at his land. Midnight also had that effect. The moment Erik and I showed interest in each other, Midnight did everything he could to tear us apart."
Mira leaned against the bar, "that's terrible. Why would he do that?"
Natsu held in the snarl, "because she was his most prized possession."
Lucy looked down, "that and Erik made me turn my humanity back on. But it didn't stay on long, and Magnolia met its almost demise when Midnight turned the deal down."
"So, you can just turn it off?" Natsu asked.
Lucy glowered at the glass full of blood, "yes, I turned it off because I didn't want to feel anything. Midnight turned Erik most brutally and made me watch. He threatened to torture him if I didn't let go. So, I did." Emotions swirled within her, but she shoved them down, focusing on one, hope.
Natsu blew out a long breath of smoke. "I never saw him do magic, but he was a dragon slayer, so what happened to his dragon heritage?"
"Nature has a way of bringing balance. He still considers himself a dragon slayer, but he can't use his magic anymore or access that side of him."
"But you can use magic, so how does that work?"
Lucy shrugged, "I don't know. Some vampires can still use their magic, while others can't even access that side of them anymore. Maybe something goes on in the turning process."
"You might be on to something. Think about it vampirism started with the immortality curse. Do you know who created those curses?"
Lucy sighed as she looked to Erza, knowing damn well who started the curse of vampirism. Lucy admired how nature seems to come back with a vengeance in the supernatural world. Magical creatures all started with some curse or the old world trying to survive when they all know the truth. The time of the supernatural is coming to an end, while the humans' time to thrive begins. Even now, the old world is dying as more and more humans forget the past and think that the supernatural side is nothing but a fairy tale.
Lucy looked to Natsu Dragoneel, "Zeref is the oldest vampire because he was the first one. He lost his brother and created the curse so he wouldn't lose the rest of his family. He's what you would call an original vampire. He can't be killed as we can. He and his family have the true immortality curse. Natsu, your last name is Dragoneel, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
Lucy smirked a bit and took a sip of blood, finally letting herself feed as old memories resurfaced. "well, nature has a shitty way of establishing balance. The originals are Dragoneels."
