Chapter 19
Evelyn unlocked the door and walked in. "Come child" she told her. "Hmph, for what? For your first lesson" "No, I will never become like you" Layla said defiantly. "That was not a request" Evelyn snapped annoyed as she grabbed Layla's wrist hard and pulled her out of the room, "Let me go!" she yelled as she tried pulling away but it was no use. Evelyn had a hard grip on her as she was dragged into room with a fireplace and long table. Dragging her forward, she planted Layla into a seat next to the table. "What are you doing?" Layla asked. "Sit with your back straight Layla. "No!" she yelled as she got up and ran before Evelyn could snatch her. "You're a little brat..hmm. your not leaving me a choice Layla. Going to have to punish you for that." "Hmph" she said cocky and grinning " You have to catch me first..heehee" "Your father was the same way..before I taught him his manners. Smith!" she yelled out as a guy who Layla didn't see where he came from snatched her by her arms and held them up as she yelled trying to loosen his grip as she struggled.
Evelyn walked over to her and with a sneer said "are you going to listen to me? Layla spat her in her face as she scowled at her. Wiping the spit off her face, she said "we'll see how brave you are after your punishment. Take her" she ordered as Smith still holding her arms walked away with her as Evelyn smiled. "I'll never be like you!" Layla yelled as smith threw her into a room and shut it leaving her in there. She stood there looking around as she saw a paddle, a whip, and a long couch with hand restraints. "what is this place?" she thought nervously as the door opened as a woman stepped into the room closing the door behind her. "Hello Layla, my name is Emma" she said politely. "Wwhhat are you doing?" asked Layla starting to tremble. "I'm going to give you your punishment. Your grandmother said since this is your first time, not to be too rough" she said with no remorse scaring Layla as she backed up. "She's not my grandma!. I will never be like her" Emma walked and grabbed her hand throwing her onto the couch onto her stomach as she put Layla's hands into the restraints. "Whhat are you doing?" she demanded as Emma stood behind her. She picked up the paddle and held it as she pulled Layla's pants off partway. "Try not to scream too much" Emma told her as she raised the paddle up and brought it down hard making Layla scream. "DADDDDY!" Tears came down her face as she was hit for what like forever until Emma stopped. Her hands were released as she grabbed at her butt rubbing it. "I don't…I don't ccare what she does…my mommy and daddy love me and are coming. I will never be like her" she thought as she glared at Evelyn who had come in. "Have you learned your lesson yet?" she asked simply. "No" Layla answered smiling, "Hmmm, still got your fighting spirit huh?, we'll see how long that lasts" she said confident.
"Hey, you guys okay?" Gray asked gently carefully walking up to them as he saw them go to the floor. Lucy nodded for them both as she held the letter to him. As he read the order, his eyes widened in shock. "Oh my god" Lucy nodded her head fast as she closed her eyes hard for a second and re-opened them "Yyess…sniffle…" "Lucy, this is….." "what is it Gray?" asked Jellal and Erza as they came up beside Gray who held it out. They got the same look on their faces as Gray did as he nodded his head. "Yup" he said. "What is it?" asked Gajeel who was standing in a corner. "Igneel, damn. He signed a order for Lucy and Natsu Dragneel for them and their kids" answered Jellal. "Damn your old man was that confident she was the one for you huh?" he said looking at Natsu who wiped his eyes and nose as he said "my dad was no fool. He knew she was special to me." "Unfortunately, that doesn't help us right now" They all gave him a mean look. "What?" exclaimed Gajeel. "I'm just saying" "Rude as it might be, he's right. Without Layla here, that order won't do us much good" said Gray. "But doesn't it?" said Erza. "Just because she isn't here, it doesn't mean the order isn't in effect. All we have to do is bring this back to the main headquarters and show the bosses this. Once we do this, Natsu, you and Lucy will have an army at your back to help you" explained Erza. " I thought I already did though, just from being in the mafia" said Natsu. "Yes but once they see this, there won't be a choice and since you're the son of the one leaders, Natsu you have potential of becoming one of the bosses." "Woah , hold up Erza. Let's not jump to conclusions here, I'm a member yeah but I am not a leader" he said nervously holding his hands out in front of him.
"I wouldn't say that…" piped in Jellal. "Huh!? Said Natsu feeling very confused. "Natsu, despite being in a horrible situation and finding out your daughter was taken. When you got back, you took charge and lead. What's a leader if not that?" "Yeeahhh, ssure but Erza, aren't you and Jellal already bosses though? He asked them. " would it calm you to tell you that we aren't" Erza said very calm and level headed. "WHAT!" yelled Natsu loudly. "Hhhow , I ttthought?" " We run a mafia gym Natsu and can call people..but no we aren't bosses. I told you we aren't active members anymore. You however, you can be one of the bosses if you choose to be. You can run the one in Magnolia" "I..I…." he was left speechless as he tried to process everything. " Don't try to think about it now, we can figure that out after we get your daughter back" said Jellal as Lucy put a hand to Natsu's back. He shook his head as he refocused his mind. "right, it wasn't much but dad said her past was very clouded and she changed after I was born" "Soo…" said Gajeel. "Its mean's we have another point for us to look into" said Gray piped up. Grinning, Natsu said "yes" "We can check out the records center, see if they have anything" said Lucy. "I'll call Levy" said Gajeel as Lucy smiled. "She's really good at researching shit so she'll be great for this" he told her. "it will give us another step into finding her Luce" Natsu said confident. She nodded her head and optimistically said " yes..keep hanging in there baby. We're coming"
Folding the letter, Natsu stuck in his pocket as he had a big grin on his face. "let's get going guys" he said. The others nodded as Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand as they walked to the cars. "So, records center?" said Gray. Erza and the other three nodded as they all got in and started driving. "Hey Levy, can you meet us at the records center, we need your help with this. I am not a dummy!, we just need your assistance dang it.. yeah yeah ,love you too" he hung up as Gray started laughing. "Not a word out of you" said Gajeel as he glared at Gray who was highly amused. They all got there just as Levy pulled up. "Hey guys" she greeted with a nice smile. "Levy!" yelled Lucy. "Hey Lulu" she said as Lucy ran up to her to give her a hug. Releasing from the hug, Levy said "So I hear you need help researching" "Yeah. We were going to look up information on Natsu's ..sorry baby..we need info on his mother" Levy looked and saw Natsu turn his head growling. "No worries, I can help you , hell I can probably get you guys the non public records." She said as she winked at them. "Really?" everyone said. "Yup. Come on, minus Natsu and Lucy, you guys know the mafia uses me for help on assignments at times." Gray shrugged as he said, "that's true" "So come on, let's go!" Lucy said eagerly as they followed her and Levy up the stairs.
They walked up to a long counter where a woman was sitting in the center. " Hello Ms. Levy, what can we help you with?" "MS. LEVY!" exclaimed everyone as Levy started blushing out of slight embarrassment, "haha,,yeahh, I told you guys I help the mafia" "Even I didn't know that!" said Gajeel. "How often do you come here?" asked Gray. "I've come …anyway. Ms. Rose. Im here to help my friends for this one" "Oh, okay, well they are free to look around" "Ms. Rose, we may need to look further..if you know what I mean" "I'll go grab you the key" said Ms. Rose as she walked to grab a key and came back. "Just make sure it comes back to me" said with a smile. "Of course" said Levy as she turned to everyone who was still partially shocked. "Let's get searching guys" "What's that key for Levy?" asked Lucy. "This?, this is the key to non public records..only a select few can go back there. Come on let's get to searching!" she said excited as she went walking forward. "Jeeze, how much power does Levy have? A key to the non public records. Damn" thought Natsu as he went off and started looking at files. After fifteen minutes, Natsu was frustrated. "this is ridiculous!. It's going to take forever searching like this. I haven't even found anything with her name on it!" "Relax you pyro manic. I'm sure we'll find something" said Gray trying to reassure him. "When! I mean have any of you come across anything with her on it" he snapped as their faces told him they hadn't gotten any closer. "Damn it!" he cursed slamming his hand down on the table he was at. "Calm down Natsu, we just need to keep looking. We knew this wasn't going to be easy" urged Lucy." "I know Lucy, I just ..hoped maybe after what dad said, it might have helped.
"What exactly did your dad say Natsu?" asked Erza. "He said he couldn't tell me more but that her past was clouded" "Should we even be looking then, it sounds as if your dad didn't want you digging into this" said Gajeel. "It doesn't matter, we have the point of no return when she took Layla. I don't care what it is but I'm not stopping until I find out what she's burying" "Come on Natsu" said Levy waving her arm for him to follow her. He followed her to the back room where she pulled out the key and unlocked the door. "The public doesn't get to come in here so if she's hiding something. I'm certain it should be in here" "This room isn't very big" "As I said, this is a private, only select few come in here room so it's not going to be big dum dum" she insulted as she called over Lucy. "You aren't going to stay?" said Lucy. "Nah, this is something you and Natsu should look at. No one else needs to see this" said Levy. "Alright, thanks Levy" thanked Lucy. "No problem Lu, I'll have everyone still out looking" she told her as she closed the door leaving the two inside. "Well, where do you want to start?" asked Natsu. "Let's start with the E's..if there's an alphabetical order to this" Lucy suggested as they opened one of the very cabinets they had in there. "Oh well shit, they are alphabetized, okay, come on, come on. Give me the E".s…okay try the next cabinet" said Lucy as she took charge.
Natsu didn't know what to do since she had taken over. "Holy shit" she after a couple minutes. "Luce?, what is it?" Her eyes were focused on a file she held in her hands as she said "I think I found it Natsu..i found her file" "Well, bring it up here, let's see what the bitch has to hide" Lucy nodded in agreement as she set the file on the table. Taking a breath , she started to shake. "Luuuce…you okay baby?" he asked watching her closely. "I'm ffine..just give me a second" she insisted as Natsu held back but was still watched her intently "Come on Lucy" she told herself as she felt her body stop shaking. Natsu raised an eyebrow as Lucy said simply "I told you , I'm done having panic attacks and done crying" He couldn't help but be impressed. "She overcame her own attack, way to go Luce" he thought. "Are you ready to look?" he asked. "I should be asking you that" "Psh, Lucy, I could care less about her past. The only thing I care about is if this will give any idea's as to where she has gone into hiding with our child" said Natsu. They opened the file as they saw a picture of her. " Daaamn that is an old picture of her, I almost don't recognize her. She looks happy. Hell if I didn't know better, I would swear this was another person entirely" said Natsu with some bitterness. "I'm sorry Natsu" she said sadly. "Huh?, nahh don't make that face for me Lucy, I already told you , that woman is not my mother" "I know" "Come on, start reading" he said getting them off the subject as Lucy looked over the papers. "I'm getting her birthdate, oh heyy.. something about where she grew up Natsu" Peeking his interest, he leaned over and looked at the paper with her. "She was born in ..well doesn't have a name but I'm going to guess somewhere in Fiore. And…well no wonder your dad said her past was clouded. She was a part of a group of wealthy associates who apparently died off but she remained wealthy." "Why would being a part of a group of rich bastards cloud her past though?" he asked
"There's not much to go on from what I'm reading. Sorry Natsu. If I had to make a guess , I would assume it's because this group whoever they were did not like their member's private lives go public and she was powerful enough in status to make a name for herself." " Damn" he muttered. " I know" Standing straight up, he grabbed Lucy and held him to her. "We aren't giving up Luce..not even close" Natsu said quietly as he kissed the top of her head as she rested her head on him. "Not ever..I'm not resting until we have our baby back" "Right there with you" agreed Natsu. "Come on, let's get the others and go home" he said as he released her as she gripped his shirt making him look at her. "Don't worry" he said hopeful as he grabbed her cheek and rubbed with his thumb. " we have been at this all day baby…if we don't stop ,we are going to burn ourselves out, we'll keep going in the morning, promise" He let go of her face and started towards the door. "Now I see…what Jellal meant..he really could be a leader" "Luce?. Come on baby" he called to her as he had the door open. Snapping out of her thoughts , she walked out past Natsu who closed the door behind them. "Did you guys find anything?" asked Jellal. "Not much unfortunately. We found she was part of some rich group back in the day but nothing more then that" "So we're back at square one." Gray said sadly. "We aren't giving up guys, we are going to keep pushing until we find something" Natsu said sounding very determined. Everyone smiled and nodded in agreement. "What's our next move then?" asked Erza. "For now…we all should go home. There's nothing more we can do tonight" he told them. "Has hothead actually melted his brain or did we all hear that right?, he told us of all people to go home" commented Gajeel. "Sheesh Gajeel, you make it sound like I'm a dick. I'm determined but I aint stupid. We aren't going to get anywhere if we are all exhausted. If you want me to be a hard ass, I have no problem, I could go all fucking night if need be and have us stay ..but I would rather we not drop out of exhaustion so excuse me for giving a shit!" "Okay, okay, I didn't mean for you to go on a rant, I was just surprised was all" Gajeel said as he felt a hard smack on his head from Levy.
"Ow, what was that for?" "For giving Natsu a hard time you idiot!" she yelled as she pulled him hard into a corner and stood in front of him with a very annoyed face. "What?" he said as she gave him a push and said in a quiet voice so the others wouldn't hear. " I love you but sometimes you can be a dense moron" she closed her eyes and rubbed her nose before she continued "you think Natsu wants to go home?! His daughter is out who the hell knows where. Of course, he doesn't want to go home. I am betting every part of him is screaming at him to keep looking but he's not. He's trying to be strong for Lucy cause I'm betting you that she doesn't want to go home either. Natsu is trying to do the right thing along with giving the other three and you a break bonehead. You questioning him is not helping him." She stated very factually. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean too" he apologized. Shaking her head, she lightly smiled as she gave him a quick hug and pulled away saying " just think if we were in his shoes, would you want to stop?" "For our kid?, hell no" "Exactly" was the last thing she said as she gave the key back and went out to meet the others who had already gone out to the parking lot. "So , start again tomorrow Natsu?" Gray asked. "Yup, come on over in the morning" he said as him with Jellal with Erza and Lucy piled into the car while Gajeel went home with Levy. Gray got into his and waved to the others as they drove past him. " I hope we find you soon kid, I don't know how long your parents will be able to keep this up…hell who am I kidding. Those two will run themselves into the ground to find her" he thought to himself as he started his car up and drove to his house. Once they got back to the house, they talked for few minutes before they all decided to go to bed.
"Time to come for breakfast Layla" Evelyn called down a hallway as she stopped then kept walking. "Hmm" Evelyn tightened her lips irritated as she went and sat at the table. Five minutes went by before she called again. "Layla!" this time getting angry as she refused to wait any longer. She stomped to Layla's room and threw the door open. Layla was sitting there with a very defiant face and crossed arms. Feeling very cross. Evelyn glared and said "explain yourself" "Not hungry" she replied. "Come now, you haven't eaten since last night, now come" she ordered. "Make me!" Layla yelled at her. Evelyn made a noise of frustration as she snapped "fine ,we'll see how your feeling in a few hours" she slammed the door shut. " A whole month and she is still refusing. Damn you Natsu. She's got your stubbornness..maybe even more so. She will break eventually, she has too" she told herself mentally as she walked back to the table. Lifting her shirt, Layla looked at the whip marks on her back in the mirror. Thinking it would sway her, Evelyn moved Layla from the dark empty room she was in to a bedroom just for her. It was filled with toys, full size bed and a dresser complete with a mirror. It did nothing as Layla barely touched the toys and animals except for one stuffed black dragon. She took it and slept with it every night bringing her some comfort. The scars on her back were still bright red as Layla threw a plate at Evelyn two nights before and threw a tantrum. She wasn't having it so she had taken Layla to get punished and hoped it would stop her rebelling. "I will never be what she wants. I know mommy and daddy are coming" she thought and believed with all her heart. "Daddy will be mad at these marks" she thought but she knew it wasn't her that he would be mad at.
Later that evening , Layla was brought out to the dining room by two servants who planted her into a seat and left. "Layla" Evelyn greeted quietly, her voice empty as she took a sip of something from her glass. Layla sat there quietly staring at the plate in front of her. " I know I taught how to greet. What do you say when I greet you, hello _ what?" "Mean lady" she mumbled. Narrowing her eyes, Evelyn said "what was that?" "I said you're a mean lady" she said with attitude. "Layla Dragneel, I am your grandma" She came over and slapped Layla across her face. Angry as she was , it grew when she saw Layla had a big grin on her face. "This is no laughing matter" "Yes it is, because my parent's are coming…and daddy will get you" Evelyn was infuriated that despite the beatings because she knew Layla felt those but she took them in stride, starving and trying to teach her manners over the last month had no effect on her fighting spirit. For only being five, she had never met a child with more determination mixed with stubbornness to boot. She was just pissed she couldn't get her to use that for her. Having had enough, she said "alright you lady, you are leaving me no choice" She grabbed Layla's wrist and started walking her to a room all the way at the end. Once she opened it, Layla couldn't see a thing. She felt themselves going down a set of stairs. She saw spider webs all over as they walked. Once they were down, Evelyn pushed her into a corner. Layla winced in pain as her knees hit hard pavement but she didn't let it show on her face. Evelyn bent down and placed her hands in cuffs chained to the floor. "Now we'll see how you act for this is your new room for now" she said with an evil grin on her face. Layla tried to go for her, but the cuffs didn't reach. Evelyn turned and walked out of the room. Layla sat up and looked around. There was a small window letting what light there was otherwise she was in the dark for she saw no light switch. She brought her legs to her and put her head on her knees. "I miss you daddy. Mommy" she said quietly as she hoped it wouldn't be much longer before they found her.