I do not own Fairy Tail nor any of it's characters.
Except the Oc's that will be present in this story.
I hope you enjoy this chapter & the story!
The soft crunch of leaves was one of the sounds in the forest. The birds singing, the wind making a smooth wave, The sun shining through the leaves, among them, was the sound of humming. It sounded rough, yet gentle.
A tall, feminine shaped figure stopped only for a second...only to smile softly proceed to walk forward.
As she walked, a clearing was in front of her. A cliff among it, there sat a man with his leg bet to his chest, his right hand over it. From behind, he seemed fairly large, muscular, tall. He appeared to have a long black, ragged cloak, no shoes, long, spikey, dark blue hair.
He just sat there, staring at the sky.
She stood still, under a shade of a tree, not showing her face watching the man. Waiting for him to acknowledge her.
Only a few seconds later, the man turned around, finally showing his face. He carried sharp, blue eyes that carved into someone's soul. He is dark-skinned & on his body, he bears light blue markings around his arms, legs, 2 claw-like marks on both sides of his cheeks.
He had an aura around him, one of evil madness. His appearance seemed of destruction.
But, when he faced the woman in front of him...He only let a small smile grace his lips. He then spoke;
"I see, good to see you...Anna." The man said gently.
The woman, in the shadow of the tree, smiled. She then stepped forward, revealing a vision of beauty grace.
She was a woman with a shapely hourglass figure with beautiful blond hair, that was tied in a ponytail & had side-swept bangs in front, with two strands of hair draped down the sides of her head. She wore a dress in elegant colors of white grey with gold trims & a dark blue shoulder-length cape.
Her aura had a light peaceful tone around her, unlike the man that stood in front of her. But, it didn't affect her at all...She only smiled back with a tilt of her head.
"You too,...Acnologia." Anna said softly.
A gasp was heard, as a figure shot up from her pink comforter. Sweat a bit of a twitch accompanied her in her wake. She threaded her hand through her tangled blonde hair. She took deep breaths, taking somewhat shallow gasps of air, trying to calm down from her latest dream.
(What...what does this mean..?) The young woman thought as she tried to think; (What are these dreams trying to tell me...what does this have to do with Anna...?)
The young woman swung her legs over the side of her bed & put her hand under her chin in a thinking manner.
(C'mon, Lucy, think! Why was my ancestor talking to Acnologia why...why were those two so friendly towards each other...?) The young woman thought to herself.
Things just aren't ever easy for Lucy & this is only the beginning of what's to come to her...
FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT
These dreams have been affecting Lucy for almost 4 months now. It started 3 & half months ago, after the battle against Zeref &...Acnologia, who happened to be the main person of her weird dreams.
At first, I'd only dream of a clearing in the forest. Then I began to see Acnologia's face, not too long later, I began to see more of him.
Lucy, at first, freaks out a bit from Acnologia's presence in her dreams. But, then she noticed that all she would see him do is sit & gaze up at the stars or walk through old-looking villages.
But, this dream...no, not a dream.
Lucy has had weird dreams & she knows what a weird dream feels like. No, this dream about Acnologia & Anna...that didn't feel like any weird dream. It almost felt real...like some sort of memory...
Lucy rubbed her temples, trying to make sense of what she had just heard & saw in her "dream". She was about to turn & get herself out of bed, wanting to freshen-up, when she felt a familiar pair of warm, muscular arms.
(That better not be who I think it is..!) Lucy thinks, already feeling a tick mark appear on her forehead.
Lucy turned her head & saw the person she suspected. A very familiar pinked-hair, Fire Dragon-Slayer. Natsu Dragneel.
Lucy clenched her right hand, her red-tick mark growing, & was about to raise it over Natsu' head, most likely to pound him, but stopped at the peaceful expression & the tightness of his arms that wrapped around her waist.
Lucy had a sort of annoyed expression, before breathing softly, & smiling at the resting Natsu.
Ever since the war ended, Lucy noticed how much closer she & Natsu have been. He broke into her apartment frequently & would hold her in her sleep with his arms always tightening around her. In all honesty, Lucy never really minded whenever Natsu would break into her house & sleep in her bed with her. She liked it when he was protective of her & always there for her. That was one of the reasons why she fell for this pink-haired baka...
Lucy smiled at Natsu, before carefully removing his arms from her waist & climbing out of bed. Just as she got out of bed, she saw a familiar blue cat sleeping on her couch & drooling.
"F-Fish...C-Carla accepted my f-fish-!*Snores*" Happy says in his sleep.
Lucy shook her head with a smile; (Happy...you silly cat.) Lucy thinks as she watches Happy dream.
Lucy walks over to her couch & gently grabs Happy, holding him like a baby, & walking over to a still-sleeping Natsu. She placed Happy on a pillow, right beside Natsu, & pulled the covers over him & Natsu. She leaned back & smiled at the sight of her partners sleeping peacefully. Her, Natsu, & Happy have been taking a lot of jobs lately & she wasn't surprised to see her partners exhausted.
She turned around, quietly, & made her way towards her closet & grabbed her clothes (The ones she wore in Fairy Tail Final Season)& made her way towards the bathroom. She planned on getting dressed & heading to the Guild for some jobs, since her rent was coming up again.
"Hopefully those team mates of mine, managed to keep most of the reward..." Lucy says as she brushes her teeth.
Lucy quickly finished putting her hair into a side-ponytail & exited the bathroom, before peeking at her bed. Natsu & Happy still remained asleep. Lucy smiled before heading towards the door & exiting her apartment quietly, she wanted Natsu & Happy to get an hour more of sleep.
But, as she begins to balance herself on the cobblestone edge of the river, forgetting the fisherman warning her about being careful, she keeps going back to her dream or...memory. Which was another reason for going to the Guild without Natsu & Happy accompanying her.
A certain someone might have answers.
FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT
As soon as Lucy entered the Guild, the loud sounds of people chatting entered her ears. But, she only smiled at the noise. Fairy Tail is always so loud, & she wouldn't want it any other way. Fairy Tail is her family & she was thankful for having them in her life.
"Morning, Mina!" Lucy shouted as she walked into the Guild.
She received several, 'Good Mornings' & 'Morning, Lucy'. She smiled at anyone who looked her way, before making her way towards Mira & sitting on her usual stool.
"Hey, Mira! Can I have a Strawberry milkshake, please?" Lucy asked politely.
Mira turned towards the girl with her usual, bright smile; "Sure, Lucy! Coming right up." Mira replied, turning away to make Lucy milkshake.
While waiting on her milkshake, a blue-haired bookworm made her way towards Lucy & took the stool on her right. Lucy jumped slightly by the unexpected shift to her right, but smiled as she saw one of her best friends.
"Hey, Levy. How've you been?" Lucy asked.
"Oh, I've been okay. What about you? How's the latest chapter in your book coming?!" Levy asked, excitement laced in her voice at the mention of Lucy's book.
Lucy giggled at her friend's eagerness about her book. "It's been a bit difficult, you know, writer block & all. But, it is almost done." Lucy replied.
Levy nodded, understanding her best friend's issue. Then Mira appeared with Strawberry milkshake & gave it to Lucy with a pleasant smile. Lucy said 'thank you' to Mira, before indulging herself in her sweet drink.
Mira nodded her head, indicating that she appreciated the thanks, before noticing that a certain Dragon-Slayer & blue-exceed weren't with her.
Mira tilted her head towards the Celestial Mage; "Mmm, Lucy? Where is Natsu & Happy? It's rare that they're not with you." Mira commented.
Lucy looked up at Mira & rubbed the back of her head; "Well, those two are just sleeping in my apartment. It was kind of hard to get out of bed, with Natsu holding me & all." Lucy said, not realizing her mistake.
Mira immediately began to have a teasing smile of her face & leaned closer to Lucy, who leaned back, almost fearfully.
"Soo~, Natsu was holding you. My, my, Lucy...did something happen between you two last night~" Mira teased with a familiar glint in her eyes.
Lucy only gulps, realizing her mistake about telling Mira about Natsu holding her in her sleep. And it was just Mira with a teasing smile; Levy also had it & Cana, who happened to hear & thought to join teasing Lucy.
Lucy waved her hands back & forth with a bright blush apparent on her face; "I-It's not like that! He w-was just-" Lucy was about to explain herself, before a certain someone threw their arm around her shoulders.
"Hey, Luce!" Natsu said, grinning.
Lucy blushed at the gesture & the grin he gave her, before smiling back.
"H-hey, Natsu. I'm guessing that you had a good sleep?" Lucy says, slightly stuttering.
Natsu just grinned; "Yeah! Like I said Luce, your bed is like sleeping on a cloud!" Natsu replied, still having his arm around Lucy's shoulder.
"Aye sir!" Happy agreed.
Lucy blushed, stilling seeing his arm around her, but before she could say any more, a certain Ice-magic user shouted;
"Hey, flamebrain! What's with the stupid grin on your face!" Gray insulted.
A couple of tick marks made its way to Natsu's head. He removed his arm around Lucy's shoulder, before igniting his hands into flames & facing Gray.
"What'd you say, Ice-princess?!" Natsu insulted back.
Gray eyebrow twitched; "You deaf, pink-haired idiot?!" Gray shouted back.
A flaming fist came in contact with Gray's face; "It's Salmon!" Natsu retorted.
Next thing Lucy knew, Gray & Natsu were doing their usual brawling with each other.
Lucy sweat-dropped at the sight. These two knew stop, do they?
Fortunately, the brawl only lasted 8 minutes, before a red-hair sword's woman intervened.
Erza grabbed the back of Natsu's & Gray's hair, before leaning their heads back; "Enough!" Erza shouted, before forcing Natsu's & Gray's head to crash into each other.
Both rivals fell on the floor with red-marks on their foreheads, while everyone in the guild stared at them while sweat-dropping & shaking their heads at the boy's foolishness.
Before Lucy moved to help Natsu, the Guild's doors opened & showed a familiar Sky Dragon-Slayer, a white cat &...the person Lucy was hoping to see.
"Carla~!" Happy exclaimed happily, the sight of Carla ahead of him.
Happy quickly went towards Carla, almost ignoring Anna & Wendy, who were in deep conversation, & presented Carla with a fish.
"Carla, take my fish!" Happy said.
Carla, however, only huffed & turned her head; "I wouldn't want to have some fish, Tom Cat!" Carla says.
Happy floats away, a purple aura around him.
Wendy slightly sweats at Carla's harsh treatment, while Anna slightly giggles at the somewhat cute display of Carla's tsundere attitude.
Lucy sweat-drops again, feeling bad for Happy but rises from her stool & heading towards Anna. Wendy saw Lucy heading over & waved her hand with a smile.
"Hey, Lucy!" Wendy says, catching Carla & Anna attention; "How have you been? It's really good to see you!" Wendy exclaims happily.
Lucy smiles back, equally happy to see Wendy. "I've been okay & it's really good to see you too, Wendy..." Lucy says, before pausing.
Wendy tilted her head at Lucy's sudden pause, as Carla & Anna looked at Lucy with curiosity. Lucy bit her lip a bit, before speaking once more, determined to get some answers from her ancestor;
"Anyways, um, Wendy...do you mind if I borrow Anna from you a bit..?" Lucy asked hesitantly.
Wendy's eyes widened a bit. It wasn't because of Lucy's request, after all Anna is part of Lucy's family, but it was the hesitation & almost...urgency in Lucy's tone that surprised her. Plus, Lucy seemed, kind of, nervous to talk to Anna, even though Lucy wanted to talk to her.
"O-Oh! Of course!, I don't mind." Wendy stutters, before looking at Anna; "Is it okay, if we continue our conversation another time, Miss Anna?" Wendy asks politely.
Anna only smiled, lovely Wendy's consideration, & nodded. Wendy smiled, but it was a bit hesitant, & gently grabbed Carla as she saw Lucy gesturing her hand to outside, obviously wanting to talk in private. Wendy walked towards Team Natsu, before turning her head slightly to watch Lucy & Anna walk out of the Guild, & she wasn't the only one. Gray & Natsu, who recovered from the ground, watch their team mate walk away with her ancestor, along with Erza & Happy.
"Mmm, what do you think they're talking about?" Erza asked, not to anyone in particular.
Wendy shakes her head slightly; "I don't know, but...whatever it is...it seemed really important to Lucy." Wendy says before looking back at her team & continuing; "She looked like whatever she had to speak with Anna about immediately, almost urgently."
Team Natsu looked at one & another, carefully thinking about the young Dragon-Slayer's words, before looking back at the closed doors where their teammate was at only a moment ago.
FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT
There was only one word to describe the atmosphere around the two Heartfilias;
AWKWARDNESS
Now, one would think that relatives, or in their case Ancestor to Descended, that talking to each other would be easy. You know, talking about their lives, family or even their problems.
Yeah, this is the exact opposite of that.
Both of them were seated on a table, facing each other. Lucy fidgeted her fingers together, obviously nervous to talk to Anna. While Anna was staring at Lucy, clearing just as nervous & awkward about the atmosphere around them.
A wind passed the blondes.
Anna cleared her throat softly, before hesitantly speaking; "I see that you've been doing well these past months."
Lucy nodded her head slightly.
Anna sweat-dropped at this. Looks like she will have to be the one to keep the conversation going.
"Anyways, I don't mean to be rude, but...is there a particular reason for-" Anna was trying to say, but was interrupted by what she heard next.
Lucy spoke the words that she was hesitant to, without speaking a beat;
"Were you & Acnologia, long time friends?" Lucy questions.
Anna froze the second Lucy spoke those words. Lucy was also taken back at her sudden confession, but she knew that it now or never.
Hesitantly, Lucy spoke, "I-It's just... a couple of weeks after our battle against Zeref & Acnologia..." Lucy saw Anna flinch at the name, "...I've been having these weird dreams, no...more like memories I guess..? At first it was only ever a clearing of a forest, then it moved to Acnologia face. Then I would see Acnologia walk through that forest clearing or an old-looking village. But then..." Lucy gulps.
She looked across to Anna, who's bangs covered her eyes, & saw that Anna was shaking ever so slightly. Lucy was almost hesitant to continue, but she had to continue in order to get answers.
"...Last night, I saw Acnologia with...you." Lucy pauses, seeing Anna shake more, before continuing; "I know that these aren't any weird-type of dreams. I know what a weird dream is & I know what...a memory feels like. I don't understand it, but...I really need to, no...I deserve to know, were you & Acnologia friends..?" Lucy questioned, through it was obviously more of a demand.
Lucy looked at Anna with a determined look. A minute passed as the Heartfilias stared at each other, more like one was staring at the other, while the other's bangs hid their unknown emotional eyes.
(What...just what is it that you're hiding, Anna..?) Lucy wonders as she continues to look at Anna.
Finally, Anna spoke; "...I-It's complicated, Lucy...You couldn't understand..." Anna says hesitantly.
A pair of hands slammed against the table, causing Anna to snap her head up & her eyes to widen. She saw Lucy, no longer sitting on her chair & now was towering over her while leaning towards her face, but that wasn't what made Anna's eyes widened. What she saw was a pair of narrowed, brown eyes, except these eyes...these held an unexplained fire within them. Anna shacked a bit more, Luckily, Lucy didn't notice. Anna recognized those fiery eyes.
"Try. me." Lucy says, almost threatening.
Anna looked into those eyes. It was about 2 minutes, just staring at each other, before Anna began to put her head back down & breathing softly. Only seconds later, Anna looked back at Lucy, this time, Anna's eyes were calm.
"The truth is..." Anna began to say, watching as Lucy leaned back into her chair, a fire still present in her eyes; "...almost like you & Natsu, Acnologia was my best friend, my...partner." Anna says.
Anna watches Lucy's reaction, only to be slightly surprised by the somewhat calm & monotoned look on Lucy's face.
Lucy looked at her ancestor, or great grandma, with an eyebrow raised & her arms crossed. She obviously had a somewhat surprised look on her face when Anna referenced hers & Natsu's friendship, hell, even going as far as saying that Anna's & Acnologia's partnership is almost like hers & Natsu's partnership. Lucy waited for Anna to continue her story.
Anna saw Lucy's impatiens & continued; "I met him when I was still a wizard in training. He...he wasn't as bloodthirsty as he was when you & your guild met him. It still somewhat craved blood, but...he managed to keep somewhat control of it. Anyway...not long after controlling himself, me & him started to travel together, since neither of us had anyone else. Over the years, we grew to be good friends & partners together. But..." Anna gulped before continuing, "...at one village we stopped at...we were witnesses to a Dragon attack." Anna paused.
Lucy looked more shocked then before. She watches as Anna breathes deeply, before resuming her story.
"We saw destruction, blood...dead bodies all around us. I tried to help Acnologia stay in control & it almost worked, until...he saw the body of a little girl. He always held a soft spot for children," Anna says, a tiny smile crept up to her face at that fact. While her hand, ever so slowly, reached across her stomach & gently massaged it.
The action seemed to go unnoticed.
Anna breathed sharply, before continuing; "I couldn't help him & he...transformed into his dragon form & killed every last one of the dragons. When it was finally over, I no longer saw my friend...I saw only a monster. He flew away that day &...my friend died that day." Anna finishes as she puts her head down, a stray of tears falling down her face & landing on her hands, that were placed on her lap.
Lucy watched, sadness & tears filled her eyes as she watched her great grandma suffering. Lucy rose from her seat & was about to walk towards Anna, before Anna lifted her head once more & stared into Lucy's eyes.
"I understand that it was a sad tale, but...it happened & I was able to move on. Now as for your..."dreams"," Anna says, as she rose from her seat & walk towards Lucy, "I believe that, as my descendant, you may be seeing memories of...my life & possible, seeing what Acnologia was like, when he was...kind & gentle." Anna said, as she lays a hand on Lucy's shoulder.
Lucy nodded her, but...somewhere in the back of Lucy's mind, she just...couldn't accept Anna's answer. It's almost too easy...there had to be more...right?
"Hey, Lucy!" A certain voice shouted.
Lucy & Anna turned, only to sweat-dropped when they saw Natsu, running at them at full speed, about to crash into them. They quickly jumped from each other, causing Natsu to crash onto a table. The two blondes heard the sound of laughter & giggle from behind them. They turn to see a laughing Happy & Gray, a giggling Wendy & slightly chuckling Erza, along with a somewhat irritated-looking Charla.
Natsu raised himself up, dusting off the imaginary dirt off of him, before turning to Lucy with a grin on his face.
"Hey, we were wondering," Natsu began to speak, using his thumb to point to the rest of the team, "since we're taking a break from jobs, that we could just go to a restaurant & hang out around town! What'd say?!" Natsu asks, excitingly.
Lucy stared at him for a moment, before smiling brightly; "Yeah, I'd love to!" Lucy says, having a closed-eye smile.
Natsu grin widens, before taking her right hand, causing Lucy to blush, & began to walk towards the rest of the gang. As they walked forward, Lucy turned her head towards Anna;
"Thank you, Anna! I'm sorry that I'm just leaving like this!" Lucy apologizes.
Anna shakes her head & waves goodbye to Lucy & her group. Anna watches as Lucy & Natsu catches up with the rest of their team, before bringing her hand down. She looks at Lucy's back, watches as she laughs with her team, & looks down, her bangs covering her eyes. The image of a familiar smile flashed before her mind & she couldn't stop the tears that started to descend down her eyes.
"I-I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, Lucy...But, I can't tell you..." Anna says quietly, before quietly sobbing to herself.
No one heard her sorrows, no one heard the grief in her words...No one was there to hear the lies she told...
Next Time on, "The Cursed Heartfilia"; After a week of relaxation & resting, our female members of Team Natsu & a few other women go on a job to help an old village from bandits. But, before going on the job, Lucy hears something that changes on the "truth" that Anna gave her about Acnologia. Not only that, but she & the girls arrive at the village & help battle the bandits, she keeps getting flashbacks of Anna & Acnologia together, but appearing more frequently. Why does this town keep giving her flashbacks of Anna & Acnologia? Why do they look so much closer than friends? And, what is going on with this strange magical power running through Lucy's veins?
Find out on, "The Cursed Heartfilia"!