sdflkdfjbs I forgot to save this so let's try again. I'm so so so sorry about updating since like... September(?) I really dislike proofreading also please forgive me if there is any mistakes I think I might have dyslexia and I really don't have the energy or time to read this over again because then I will probably change so more things up. So any way I hope you enjoy and I promise I won't take as long next time... probably
I laid awake all night stressing over my plan in which I was going to ditch school in the morning. I had never ditched school and I was troubled with the thought that I might get caught but I needed answers.
The night prior Natsu had suggested that I come over and play some games with his friend and this is where the idea was sparked.
Juvia made a comment about a library that she had heard about before, she heard others had mentioned that it was haunted although she didn't believe them. Natsu's answer was simple, that yes there was a library east of town but it wasn't haunted, he even mentioned that the library belongs to his dad's friend. He also mentioned that she studies the woods and at that moment something told me to go.
"Don't" Natsu pulled me towards him as soon as I began to leave
"Don't what?" I dropped my bag back down at my feet
"I know you were thinking about going to the library" he looked me dead in the eyes with a knowing look, I gulped at his stare
"I wasn't" I lied, it was a shitty lie but a lie nonetheless. The look he gave me knew that I was lying but he let me go
"I'm driving you home" he grabbed his coat and keys and pushed me out the front door with him. This action might have been a way to make sure I didn't try to go right then but even I wouldn't do that, I'm sure if the midnight thing is true but I'm not going to be the one to find out. But I also should have listened to him but at the same time there was something inside me that was telling me to go, that the lady who owned the library would be able to answer all my questions that I have asked ever since I arrived.
The deeper I went into the woods the more I felt the odd feeling I had felt every day since arriving in this odd town. But the scary part was that I was convinced someone was walking right behind me. I could hear the crunch of the snow behind me even when I would pause, they weren't hiding their existence. I was afraid to turn around this time because I knew that this time they were closer than when I first met Natsu. This time they could reach out and grab me, so I walked faster. I knew they were there, what else could have been breathing down the back of my neck. No person would be out here except for me. So I started walking faster which eventually turned into me running through the woods
I soon came upon an old Tudor style mansion. It felt strange as if it didn't belong there but a sign in the yard suggested otherwise.
The sign told me that the home was the place that I had been looking for. I would have been hesitant to walk inside however if it wasn't for the car parked outside of the home and the few toys in the yard that made it look lived in. I was kind of expecting an old rundown home but the only thing that made it look rundown was the ivy running down the walls but even that seemed intentional.
I swiftly made my way inside the library, a bell ringing as I entered.
I looked around at the surprisingly small library "for a house this big you'd expect it would be a little bit bigger" I mumbled, taking a look at the bookshelves which had carvings of dragons and other mythical beings.
And when I turned around I was met with a little girl. She had short blue hair and I noticed that her ears were pointed almost like she was an elf. She held a small white kitten in her arms which had a pink bow tied around its neck. She herself wore a dress that made it look like she was from the 1800s and considering this town she might as well have been.
"Hello?" She tilted her head slightly "mama wasn't expecting any visitors I don't think" the young girl looked around as if she was looking for said women
"Oh uh… sorry I was just told there was a library here and I wanted to see if it is true" I crouched down to her level "I'll leave if I am intruding"
"Aw don't worry you are quite alright" A woman spoke as she walked into the room. This women wore a dress that was a blue-gray color. The sleeves of the dress were loose and almost went past her finger tips. The final part of her dress was the thin ribbon tied around her waist a couple of times, making a crossed pattern, she was dressed as if it was the middle of spring instead of the freezing last days of fall. Her hair which was solid white was tucked into a braid and her skin was much lighter than her daughter's. You could barely tell that they were related but nonetheless they were. And then she looked up and her face it seemed confused and the words that fell out of her mouth confused me as well
"Layla?"
"Um… my name is Lucy" I smiled at the woman. Back home I would be confused for my mother all the time, it was understandable since we look so much alike, but here? I brushed this comment off as maybe she knew another Layla that look a lot like me
"Sorry you just… it's just that you remind me of an old friend that is all" she then dusted her hands off on her dress "now what brings you to these woods? We don't get many visitors and the ones that we do get are usually old friends of mine"
"Well I heard about this library from a friend and I was wondering if you could help me out with something"
"And what is that dear?" She smiled at me
"Well ever since I moved here I have been having these strange feelings" I giggled a little at how strange this was
"A strange feeling?" She flipped through a book
"Yes and well I feel like I am being watched and followed everytime I go close to the woods"
"You…" she looked up at me suddenly
"Have you ever heard of something like this before?" I twiddled my thumbs
"Yes I have but only from certain people and they left years ago" she responded looking back down at her book but her happy face quickly morphed into a face that I could only describe as fear "unless…" she whipped her head up to look at me again "honey what did you say your name was?"
"Oh it is Lucy" she stared at me as a way to tell me to continue "uh… Lucy Heartfilia"
"Heartfilia… no wonder… Layla?" She mumbled every word and I could only catch a few. She seemed confused and concerned and I was equally confused as her. When she called me Layla earlier I didn't think much about it but she actually did know my mom? It's no wonder she mixed us up. But how? How would she know my mom?
"Tell me? Why are you back?! Your mom was supposed to be the last!" She pressed her hands onto the counter as she leaned over it
"My mom has been dead for two years… why are we-"
"What..." she threw her head up and stared at me
"Who are you and how did you know my mom?"
She didn't respond for a moment "I'm Grandeeney, I was your mom's mentor"
"My mom's mentor?" I laughed at her "nothing you've said had made any sense, my mom was born and raised in Colorado"
"Oh so that's what they told you?" She raised up from the counter
I nodded and quickly backed away from her as I noticed she had a new look in her eyes. Of course in such a confined space there is only so far that you can go and I was quickly stopped from going any further by a bookcase. As I hit it a few books fell off the shelf. One of these books opened and a piece of paper fell out. I couldn't make out what the paper said, it was almost as if it was in a different language, but I have studied all kinds of languages and I have never seen these kinds of characters.
I bent down to try and clean up the mess I made and as I reached for the paper my body suddenly was unable to move and before I could understand why my body was flung backwards into the book shelf, this time causing all the books to fall onto the floor
"You're only causing damage, Lucy" her words sounded more like a growl and her eyes… they were different, her eyes were light blue and peaceful when we first met but now they had glossed over and looked deadly. That wasn't the only change in her appearance as I also noticed that her soft white hair had somehow got loose from the braid and now looked spikey, similar to how Gajeel's was. But the strangest thing was that I could have sworn she was covered in feathers and scales.
"What?" But before I could get a good look at her the door was flung open and the room strangely grew warmer. As I looked over to the right of Grandeeney there stood Natsu. He was panting and he looked panicked. His hair was more messy than usual and right under his right eye there seemed to be a couple scale outlines. How he found me may forever be a mystery… maybe
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME HERE," he panted and similarly to Grandeeney his words came with a growling noise "SO TELL ME WHY THE HELL AM I FINDING YOU HERE!" he walked closer to me, if I could have backed away I would because for the first time since we met he scared me and for the first time I truly realized that I should have just gone to school this morning.
"I-" I choked struggling to find the words and then I broke "I'm sorry" I started crying, finally gaining control of my body as I fell weakly to the floor.
As Natsu crouched down in front of me a cool breeze blew into the room and it instantly got colder. The heat I felt seemed to vanish as if it never existed.
"Lucy, why are you here?" He grabbed my face and looked me dead in the eyes, wiping my tears with his thumbs
Another change in his appearance that he had moments ago where snake-like eyes but like the faint outline of scales they were gone, maybe I had imagined it all "something told me to come here…" I tried to lean away from his grasp but it was no use
"Why did your father move here?" Grandeeney was back to her normal self when I looked at her, it was almost as if I had imagined the whole incident
"I...don't know" I admitted to her "but we left Colorado in a rush"
"What did he kill someone" Natsu chuckled under his breath
"What exactly happened to your mom?" Grandeeney decided to ignore Natsu's questions as she crouched down beside me, grabbing my hand
"She got sick but no doctor could figure out what she had"
"She...failed?" She fell backwards at the realization that she didn't dare to believe earlier "no...but… we did everything right" she rested her hands against the wood floor
"Grandy?" Natsu rubbed his hand on her back "what happened?" He was quiet which is nothing like him, he seemed to be quiet for once because he himself was scared...
"Acnologia… he was supposed to be sealed away" her face went pale white
"That is where my dad has been… hasn't he?"
"Huh?" she seemed to be struggling to breathe
"My dad has been gone for a month"
She looked up at me "how long have you been here?" A piece of her long, white hair fell into her face
"A month…" I bit my lip nervously worried that maybe I wasn't insane and something was actually after me
"I met her the day after my dad left" Natsu swallowed roughly
"This isn't good" she grabbed Natsu's shoulder as tears rolled down her face "Layla was our only hope"
