Lucy's jaw fell, her eyes looking over to the Natsu who arrived at her house, and brought her here. She stood near the door, completely still, and eyes staring blankly ahead.
What is going on?
The Natsu tied to the chair locked eyes with Lucy, stilling almost immediately. His eyes were brown, but firey. They held the slightest bit of red near the iris, nothing like how they were before though.
His reaction to the stilled boy sparked Zeref interest, turning to see who he stared at before locking with the naive girl by the door. "Ah, I knew it would work."
Zeref walked near the Natsu who stood by the door, patting his shoulder twice with a smirk. That Natsu didn't move, and Lucy knew immediately what was going on, that Natsu wasn't the real Natsu.
Lucy's body was sparked with chills, thinking of the excitement that filled her body when she saw him sitting on her bed, when he told her the story of how he began to remember Lucy all the way in Crocus, and how he promised he'd never forget Lucy.
It wasn't Natsu. "You like my little toy, Lucy?" Zeref questioned, stepping closing to the shaking Blonde.
Lucy took a step back, confusion and fear racking her body. Does Natsu remember me? Why would Zeref do this? How did he make an exact replica of Natsu, just to trick me
"Not gonna answer? How rude" He fake pouted before turning to look at the boy wrapped in ropes, secured to the wooden chair. Lucy let her wet eyes trail over to the boy as well a whimper forcing from the back of his throat when her eyes automatically met Natsu's, who no longer struggled, he stilled completely as they kept contact.
"I'm sure you're wondering why you're here." Zeref spoke up, hands meeting behind his back but he never turned to look at Lucy, "I made a new life for him, erased his memory. It was perfect."
Lucy's teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she listened to the words, trying her hardest not to burst into tears. All of her hope and happiness from the last hour suddenly vanished before her eyes. It was too good to be true.
Zeref continued, "He was doing well, until he started to remember." Lucy's eyes stayed on Natsu, his skin littered in bruises around his neck as if he had been choked, "He started trying to find you, booking flights to you, it would've worked." He paused, turning to look at Lucy, "Thankfully I was watching."
Lucy didn't speak up, at a lost for words. Natsu remembered me? He would've found me? The scenario that the fake Natsu told would've been true if Zeref wouldn't have been watching so closely?
Lucy wanted to scream, to cry until she couldn't feel her body and until her own memories disappeared. But if there was anything the last few months had taught her, was that you don't get to chose what you remember in this world, and not even in the afterlife.
Zeref hushed for a second before turning away from the two, focusing as if he had heard something.
Lucy looked him up and down before he spoke up, "Sting is summoning me, it's an emergency. Don't bother trying to escape, I'll be back momentarily."
Words weren't spoken from either Natsu nor Lucy, both parties watching as Zeref hurried from the dark room, the heavy door slamming shut, a lock sounding just moments later.
Lucy's eyes fell from the door, before turning to look at Natsu.
The real Natsu. The Natsu who she shared her memories with, the one she shared love with.
Natsu's eyes were glued to the stone floor, his face cold, but clearly showing emotion. Lucy couldn't put her finger on what his face read. but it wasn't what she'd want to see on him the first time she'd seen him again.
Out of all the months they had been separated, Lucy never once expected for things to turn out this way. She'd never expect to see her strong demon tied to a chair and littered in bruises.
"Lucy" His voice broke, but otherwise sounded the same as he always had, it pricked Lucy's ears, sending chills down her spine. She stepped closer carefully, still weary of the situation. Natsu's eyes remained on the floor
"Lucy, kiss me." The words were unexpected, they knocked the air out of the poor girl's lungs. Never in a million years did she think she'd see her Natsu again, let alone these words be the first ones spoken.
Nonetheless, Lucy found herself falling to her knees before the once powerful demon, the reddish-brown eyes finally landing on Lucy again.
Lucy did as told, shuffling between the tied legs, slow and weary of his injuries and pressing her red lips to Natsu's.
Lucy never did believe in magic, not until she met Natsu and was introduced to his world. And here in this moment, she was shown time and time again how real magic truly is every time she was in Natsu's presence, and especially now as they shared the meaningful kiss.
The kiss was beautifully painful. It wasn't something either of them imagined their first kiss would be, where one is tied and littered in bruises, and the other so emotionally drained and with dried tears making her cheeks sticky. But the emotions flooded through their veins and connected them to each other in an unforgettable way.
Lucy was the first to pull away, her breath shaky as her eyes met Natsu's once again. Lucy balances herself between his knees by placing her hands atop Natsu's thighs. They absorbed the moment and held eye contact for a few minutes.
Natsu's voice broke the comfortable silence, "I have a plan. And it doesn't include me forgetting about you ever again" Lucy's breath still, eyebrows drawing together. A plan? Already?
"I figured my father would find out about how I gained my memory back, and I was sure to memorize a spell that'll buy us sometime. But we need a spell book for the spell that'll solve all of this." Natsu's voice shook as he spoke some words, some words stronger than others.
"W-What will the second spell do?"
Natsu bit his lip, contemplating before speaking up, "It'll force him into his own memories, show him his past. I want to remind him why he is the person he is, and why you shouldn't be a problem. If he still has a problem afterwards, I'll have to kill him." Natsu spoke out, his voice rushed.
"Sting is buying us some time. But it won't last for long. Go to the door and run to the right. You'll come to a staircase to the left that is very, very dark. Take it four flights up and enter the first door on the right. It's my bedroom. In the closet, the one with the toys, there's a spell book on the very top shelf. Get it, and bring it back here. Hurry and don't get caught."
Lucy's eyes shut ass he took in all this information, fear clouding her body and stilling her muscles. Could Lucy really do this?
"Come on, baby, we only have so much time. Do it, and I'll give you a prize. More kisses for all of eternity, but if you don't do this now, we both will be killed, please." Natsu's voice was so much more soft, and smooth than Lucy could ever recall it being before.
He sounded comfortable, and almost peaceful. But this situation was otherwise. Lucy allowed her eyes to open, standing promptly before backing away. She didn't have a choice if she really wanted to do this, she had to.
With one last stare at Natsu, Lucy followed the instructions given to her. She hurried out the door, confusion racking her mind as she thought about the loud lock that echoed when Zeref first left the room.
With no time to stop and think about it, Lucy hurried through the dark narrow halls. She followed the directions exactly, hurrying up the stairs, pausing twice to listen for footsteps, before entering the room.
It was just how Natsu left it, bedsheets slightly messy, but made. The red satin sheets filled Lucy's mind with memories of their dirty encounters, and the things they had done together. Lucy didn't want to think too hard about the memories, hurrying towards the closet.
When the doors were pulled open, she came face to face with the familiar closet of toys. It was organized just as it had been the night Natsu punished her, the night Natsu spanked her and put the vibrating toy deep in her ass. The memories alone sent chills down Lucy's spine.
Trying to snap out of it, she reached for where the spell book was supposed to be, her fingers brushing it before finally wrapping around it. She didn't bother to shut the doors, dashing for the door to the hall.
It was eerily quiet in the space, dark as all the other halls tended to be in the palace. Lucy hurried back for the dark stairs, taking one at a time to reduce the risk of her tumbling down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, her body froze.
Footsteps echoed off the walls too close for comfort. Lucy could feel the panic in his veins as she cowered backwards, up the stairs, to avoid whoever was coming quickly. When the footsteps came to a stop before Lucy, she couldn't help but gulp loudly.
"It just me, Lucy. Hurry and get to Natsu before Zeref does." Sting's familiar voice sounded, Lucy's eyes shooting up from the floor.
She didn't say much, just sighing from relief before dashing past the sin, hurrying for the empty room that held Natsu. When she returned, Natsu still sat slumped in the wooden chair alone.
As she walked closer, Natsu spoke up. "Flip to page H637 B." Lucy did as told, hurrying to understand the organization of the pages before finding the page full of unrecognizable Latin words.
She set it carefully onto Natsu's lap, his eyes skimming the page before he began speaking. And once again, Natsu's latin was so unbelievably perfect
As Natsu read, Lucy stood over him in anticipation. She was so excited, adrenaline flooding her body from the run to the bedroom they shared so many memories in and from the scare from Sting, all the way to the situation at hand.
It was when the sound of the heavy door being pushed open squeaking and met their ears that his excitement soon dispersed. Fear replaced the once happy emotion.
"Well, I can't say I'm not surprised." His voice was loud as he spoke over Natsu who's deep voice did not once stopping to listen to his father. Instead, he did the opposite. His words quickened, rushing to finish the spell.
Zeref stepped forward, Lucy's wide eyes on him, "W-Wait, I-I-" Lucy blinked and suddenly her body was slammed against the cold, stone wall, a large hand wrapped around her thin throat as his fingers dug into the delicate skin of her neck.
Zeref's red eyes burned brightly, his expression so cold and angry. Natsu's reading was almost like background music.
Lucy couldn't breathe, her hands frantically digging at zeref's wrist as her legs hung over the floor. This is going to be the end.
Just as Lucy's mind filled with the thought of dying there on the spot, suddenly he was gone. Lucy's feet fell back to the floor, a hand once wrapped around her throat gone, Zeref nowhere to be found.
Lucy's eyes stuttered over to Natsu, his voice quiet and words no longer stumbling from his rushed mouth.
"He's gone." They spoke simultaneously, a sigh escaping Natsu's lips. He'd physically relax if he wasn't restrained. Lucy let her eyes wander the empty room in search of anything sharp to work on the ropes, but came up short. It was as she was about to give up that the heavy door opened once more, revealing Sting.
He entered with a sharp dagger in hand, his all black outfit and blonde hair well. He looked like there was a lot on his mind, delivering the knife to Lucy before turning and leaving the room. Natsu's eyes remained casted downwards, what's going on?
Nonetheless, Lucy took the few short steps over to Natsu, silently working on the rope. First she started with his hands, carefully not to slice into his much paler skin, then onto his arms and legs. As Lucy rounded all these corners, it felt unreal to be standing in Natsu's presence. The real Natsu.
"I hope he learns his lesson. The things he's put you through, put us through. He must remember what it was like for him." Natsu's voice was deep, dark even as Lucy worked on the last of the ropes. It wasn't like anything Lucy had heard from Natsu, it almost didn't sound like him. It was scary even. But Lucy didn't cower or fear him.
She wanted to ask more questions, like what he meant by that, where Zeref went, and what would happen next, but she kept her eyes down, hands busy, and mouth shut.
Annnnnnnnnnnd I have a new book ready to drop after this one, it's a Family AU...to tone down all these Carla Guidance books.