BlackLynx17: Sorry for the long break.
Title: Love At First Sight
Secret Title: Pirate Love
Summary: Wendy is a princess forced to be married at the age of 18. It wouldn't be a problem for her if she had fallen in love with her fiance, but alas fate is not too kind. Determined to runaway to chose her own love, she runs into a nice man who rescues her from her guards. Thinking this man is her one true love, she decides to escape with him. She had no idea that her true love was a no good pirate.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
F-U-N
Waves are crashing. Something rough and coarse is against her skin. Something cold brushes against her feet and she's up in an instant. Wendy opens her eyes wide and looks around, checking her surroundings. She's on a beach; the ocean is behind her, land and wildlife in front of her. The waves hit her again and she starts crawling closer towards the wildlife, out of the waters reach.
"What the?" She mumbles, clutching at her head.
Where is she? How did she get here? She doesn't remember anything; there's this pounding in the back of her head and-
"Ah!" Wendy hisses sharply whens she runs a finger across the bump on her head.
It feels bad and swollen and she can't remember how she even got this. It explains why she can't remember anything though; something this big must have knocked the memories right out of her. Wendy gets to her feet, but she feels the urge to vomit from getting up too fast. She falls back onto the ground and lays there, trying to wait until the sickness passes. She doesn't know how much time goes by, maybe she's back to sleep as well, but when she gets up again she feels much better.
Wendy stands back up and looks around in the water looking for Dreyar. Where is her ship? And her crew? She can't be the only one here. She needs to go look for them; maybe they're looking for her as well? Should she start a signal fire? But what if they're not the only ones on this land?
"Ugh, I don't know what to do!" She cries scratching her head.
She hisses when she hits her bump and sits back down on her sand. She has no food and no water. She still has her gun, but her sword is missing. The pocket knife strapped to her leg is still there, so she has some protection. She needs to wait and she needs to survive. She can't do it here though, sitting out in the open in broad daylight. She needs to find food and shelter to keep her going.
"Well then, you can do this Wendy. You're a doctor, you know how to survive and take care of yourself. You've read dozens of books about plant life, there surely has to be something here I can feed myself on." She tells herself.
With a new bound confidence Wendy stands up and starts venturing into the wildlife. She walks around in what she feels like circles before she takes her knife out and starts marking up the trees to know where she's been. Everything looks the same around here, but at least it isn't burning hot under the sun. They're in the North Blue, she remembers that, and it's supposed to be colder over on this side. She runs across a couple of herbs she knows that are eatable, but the thought of eating grass doesn't quite fill her stomach up.
"I need nutrients though," she mumbles as she chews on one of the leaves.
There were plenty of bugs for her to indulge herself in, but there's no way she's that hungry... yet. Wendy hums to herself as she moves onward and tries to remember what's going on. All she can recall is being out at sea. Sailing with Mest and her friends. She doesn't remember anything else, she doesn't recall...
"Huh?" Wendy mumbles walking ahead.
She sees these stones standing tall, almost in the shape of a skull. She walks around it, the stones looking only like stones at first before there, standing at just the right position, the two stones look like a skull when she stands right here. Something flashes inside of her mind, a map, a conversation with Erza, and Wendy gasps, clutching her head.
They were going after a treasure map. Yes, they were searching for treasure, and this was one of the signs and pictures Wendy saw on the map when she was talking with Erza. But they were on the ship when they talked, and now Wendy is here alone on the island they needed to be on. Why? What happened after looking after the map?
"There's treasure to be found here it seems... hmm, I wonder if I can find it." Wendy mumbles.
She doesn't really remember the map when she tries to recall it, but she didn't even remember a map at all until she saw this skull. Maybe the more symbols she finds the more her memory will come back. Wendy puffs out her cheeks and nods her head, yes. She can do this. She remembers the skull, let's see what else she remembers.
Wendy continues on her journey, walking deeper inside of the wildlife. She comes across a few more landmarks that look familiar, a pair of trees in cross shapes that look like an x, a small cliff that resembles the head of a wolf, a running stream of water she desperately needs to drink from.
"Maybe I should stay here; if I journey any further, with no way to bring this water with me, or if I get lost or stuck somewhere I could dehydrate," Wendy asks herself, splashing the water over her face.
It was a good plan. Waiting by fresh water supply; her friends were sure to look for her here, thinking she'd be thirsty... but to just sit here and wait... while there could be treasure up ahead... Wendy huffs and walks over to a tree.
"If I leave them a sign I was here,then they'll know." She says scratching her initials in the tree.
She drinks as much as she can before heading off on her journey again. About half an hour later, when she's really regretting leaving because she hasn't seen another sign in ages, she's about to give up and turn back when she runs into a cave.
It looks pitch black in there, and very ominous, but there's something familiar about it that draws Wendy in. What if this is another piece of the puzzle? What if this is where the treasure is hidden? Wendy gulps, taking a deep breath. She could try and venture inside there, maybe get lost and stuck, maybe not, or she could head back... so close... she felt like she was so close.
Wendy takes a small breath and ventures inside of the cave. If it becomes too scary she can always head back, that light is always there behind her showing her the way. Slowly Wendy walks inside, step after step, closer and closer into the darkness. It's weird though, because the further she gets in, the darker the light behind her seems to become, but also, she starts seeing a new light there ahead of her. She follows after that light, her walking turning into a little jog, and then into a full blown sprint. She breaks through the tunnel and finds herself in an open part of the cave, the ceiling completely missing letting light twinkle down inside. She looks up and gasps, seeing the cave open up with large wings like a bird.
There's small plant life thriving here, her first view of greenery since she's entered. Small flowers are blooming despite its dark surroundings and Wendy goes to admire them.
"Look at you, surviving here all alone, just like me," Wendy whispers softly.
She touches the flowers, letting her fingertips brush against the petals, and admires them before- what was that?... There, behind her? She hears footsteps and soft voices; it didn't sound like much at first, but now they're getting louder. Are they friends? Foes? Should she stay around and find out? No, of course not. There was no place for her to cower behind in this opening, and she only had a gun with a few bullets and a knife. She would be at a disadvantage. Wendy stands to her feet and starts running deeper into the cave again.
She doesn't look back and tries to cover her pants as she heads further and further inside. There is no light here, nothing to guide her at all. She stops running and finds herself completely consumed in darkness. She wants to hide, she wants to curl up into of a ball and cry. Where is Mest? He's supposed to be there with her, he's supposed to be protecting her. Wendy sniffs, biting her bottom lip as she kneels down and hugs herself. Her head is hurting again and so is her stomach. She's hungry, she wants to eat. She wants her friends. She wants to lay down in bed and see the sunlight.
"Mest," she whimpers.
She doesn't like being alone. Crying is a pitiful thing to do in this situation, but she can't help it. Wendy has really grown from the clueless princess she used to be, but still, being alone surrounded by darkness she's allowed to cry she thinks. She's allowed to be scared and think the worse. Now if only that sharp light would stop blinding her in the eyes, she could try to calm down and concentrate-... what a second.
Wendy sniffs and looks up. She sees nothing except for darkness- but wait a second, something is flickering. She sees a light, a small one. Slowly, she gets to her feet and starts walking forward. She places her hand against the wall to guide her as she follows her only flicker of hope. The flicker becomes more obvious and constant soon, and then there are more of them, more flickers, more light. Wendy walks faster, her feet carrying her as her mind forgets everything. She's really seeing light now and she's going for it.
She turns around the corner, seeing light shine so brightly it must be the exit, and is about to scream out in relief of finally leaving that cave when a hand closes around her mouth. She's pulled back into the darkness and the screams she's letting out sounds like hushed moans because of the hand on her mouth. She needs to struggle, reach for her gun, her knife, do something. She's only paralyzed for a second before she starts wiggling.
"Wendy, stop it, Wens, listen, it's me." A harsh voice whispers in her ear.
A familiar voice. Wendy let's her guard drop and she turns around. She can hardly see because of the darkness, but a bright off color hair is still visible and she relaxes completely as the hand disappears.
"Natsu, you scared me," she frowns.
"I'm sorry, but you were about to make a huge mistake." Natsu tells her.
"You found her?"
"Yeah, she's fine."
"Good, let's get this over with then."
"Why was she so far ahead of us? She should have waited?"
"Right Wendy, what were you thinking?"
"Guys?" Wendy whispers, looking behind Natsu.
She recognized the voices, but couldn't make out anything but the figures of her friends behind her. Natsu is holding her hand now, shaking her lightly.
"Why did you leave the beach Wendy? I told you I would be right back for you, so why did you wander off?" Natsu asks.
Wendy narrows her eyes and shakes her head, "I don't remember that, I don't remember anything Natsu. Just waking up alone with no clue where anyone else was."
"But I told you, we landed together, I told you-"
"I have this bump on my head Natsu, I think it's the reason why I couldn't remember anything. It still hurts right now, just throbbing gently."
"She got pushed against the railing and bumped her head really hard before falling overboard, remember Natsu? She must have gotten a concussions on something."
Wendy narrows her eyes, "I fell overboard-"
Loud laughter fills the hair and Natsu goes still beside her, "we'll talk about this later, first we need to deal with them."
"Who is them?" Wendy asks, letting Natsu push her behind him.
"The pirates who attacked our ship and stole our treasure map. They beat us here, they're probably dancing around our treasure right now. Stay here Wendy, we're going to sneak up on them and fight. You have a weapon, right?" He asks.
"Just my gun and a knife."
"Good, shoot anyone who makes their way over to you. Ready men?"
"Aye," echoes down the cave.
"Let's do this then."
Natsu walks around the corner, Wendy finally being able to see his face now. Soon Eflman follows after, and Jellal, Mirajane pets her head as she walks by, Juvia smiles at her, Jet, Droy, and that's it. Where is everyone else? Where is the rest of her crew? Wendy wonders as she pulls out her gun, making sure it's loaded as she waits.
She hears the gunshots first and then swords clanging together. She turns around the corner and sees her friends fighting against the pirates. She doesn't recall any of their faces, she doesn't remember anything still. They're fighting over a pile of treasure though and it's sparkling and reflecting the sunlight looming over it. That must have been the small flickers of lights she saw earlier. It was the treasure. She found the treasure! All on her own too! Well, kind of. If these pirates were already here if Natsu hadn't have stopped her she would have ran right into them and let them know her existence. Natsu saved her life.
"Is that all of them?!"
"In here at least; Mest's team is dealing with the rest at the ship. I think we're good."
"Great, look at all this gold! We hit the jackpot!"
"Finally, after our last trip being a bust we really needed this."
Wendy looks over and sees Juvia turning around the corner, smile on her face. She reaches out her hand and Wendy puts her weapons away before she grabs it.
"Juvia was very worried when Natsu couldn't find you where he left you. Luckily you kept making marks to follow behind."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know what was going on, I thought it would be too dangerous for me to sit still."
"Don't worry about it anymore Wendy; let's get back to the ship and have Mira check that bump."
Juvia tugs her hand and leads her into the other room where her friends are dancing around the treasure.
"But Juvia? Could you explain to me what happened? All I remember is going over the treasure map with Erza. We were on the sea last time I checked, not on land." Wendy asks.
"We got attacked, that's what happened." Jellal tells her.
"Yeah, and sadly you got caught in the crossfire Wendy. Mest tried to rush to your side, but you were holding your own very well. Looks like all that training was paying off," Mirajane smiles at her.
"But then someone shoved into you and you went crashing towards the floor; smacked your head really hard on the railing before falling overboard. I immediately jumped after you, but I couldn't carry you back to the ship. The waves took us to shore and I thought you were alright. I told you that I'd be right back, I wanted to check the other side of the island to try and find our ship, but when I got back with these guys who also fell overboard you weren't there."
Wendy narrows her eyes and clutches her head, trying to remember what was just told her. She did recall some pieces. The loud going off of cannons, gunpowder filling her nose. Nothing else comes to her; she thinks she would have remembered fighting and drowning.
"Don't give yourself a migraine Wendy, it doesn't matter all that much anymore. You're here and safe with us now." Elfman says gently patting her head.
"He's right, let's just focus on getting out of her alive and getting the others to help us take our treasure home." Mirajane states.
"Aye," Jet agrees.
"Sounds like a good plan to me." Droy nods his head.
Wendy pouts, but nods her head and follows after everyone else. She wishes she could remember, but then again it doesn't really manner anymore. They found the treasure, she found her friends, everyone is alive with no too bad injuries. They're going back to the ship, so today was a success? She guesses. Mirajane and Elfman lead the way back, seeing their crew all waiting on the shores for them. Mest looks at the group and sighs in relief when he sees his little princess. He starts running towards her across the beach.
"Wendy!"
Wendy lifts her head up sharply and stares at Mest. She's reminded of a stormy night, of pirates left and right coming after her. She heard her name being called and saw Mest running towards her. He tripped though, he tripped and fell against her, and she fell and banged her head-
"IT'S YOUR FAULT I DON'T REMEMBER!" Wendy screams, "I REMEMBER EVERYTHING NOW!"
Natsu chuckles and flinches, "sorry Mest, I tried to help."
"What? What's going on? Wendy, are you okay?!" Mest asks, reaching their sides.
"I'm fine! I was doing fine protecting myself! Why did you have to run to my side to protect me?! Do you think I couldn't do it myself?! You almost killed me Mest!" Wendy yells.
Mest flinches and flusters, his crew laughing at him, "I was just trying to help Wendy, I didn't mean to trip-"
"I almost died Mest!"
"And I feel terrible about it! Before I could do anything Natsu was already jumping overboard and I was covering his back! I wanted to come-"
"I'm not mad about that Mest, I'm mad because I have this huge bump on my head and my memories all jumbled and a killer headache because you decided to play hero!"
Mest sighs and bows down his head, "I'm sorry Wendy."
"I know you love me Mest, that's why I stay out of trouble and danger, but next time we're caught in the mits of an epic battle let me handle myself unless I'm screaming your name for help. I'm a pirate too you know, I've even bested Natsu a couple of times. I do know what I'm doing," Wendy huffs, pouting out her cheeks.
She refuses to tell her husband of when she was crying in the dark cave begging for him to save her. He doesn't need to know that part. But maybe she should let him think she's okay now, because he really does look regretful, and their friends really are laughing at him too much for his mistake. She sighs and takes a step closer to him, frown still in place, but a bit less harsh. Mest tilts up his head to stare at her.
"I never meant to- I was just- I was scared-... I didn't want you getting hurt, and yet I was the one who ended up hurting you."
"You did your best Mest. I missed you," she whispers.
She holds her arms open and Mest is in the immediately, hugging her tightly and pressing a kiss against her lips. Their crew cheers behind them, teasing and also happy they reconciled, and Mest pulls away, glaring at all of them.
"Don't you all have something to do?!" He barks out.
Wendy giggles and presses her face against his shirt, "I found the treasure Mest, all by myself, before Natsu and everyone else."
"Really now? That's impressive, I thought you would have just been waiting for me to come."
Wendy smacks him in the shoulder.
"Hahahaha, I'm just kidding Wendy (kind of). Maybe I'll have you lead the treasure hunt next time instead of Erza."
"She's forgetting to mention how she almost ran into a room full of pirates before Natsu pulled her back," Jellal says walking past them.
"Dammit Jellal! Why'd you tell him that?!" Natsu barks, "we were supposed to have her back!"
Mest freezes and smiles down at her widely; it sends a shiver down Wendy's spine and she tries to take a step back, but his hold on her tightens.
"Oh really? Care to explain why on Earth you would do such a thing Wendy?"
"Hehehehe, well you see Mest, it was pretty dark and well, why on Earth did you trip?! How could you have tripped on the ship and send me overboard?!" She goes back to yelling, trying to save herself.
"Don't you dare change the subject Wendy Gryder!"
Natsu shakes his head as he leans against Lucy, "things never get boring since she's been aboard."
Lucy giggles, "I think you meant quiet."
"Nah, our crew was never quiet, we're all a wild bunch. Things have gotten tons of more fun because of our princess though." Natsu grins.
Lucy looks at the entertaining sight of her captain and his wife arguing on the beach and nods her head.
"Yup, I can see your point."
