AN: Thanks everyone for all the favourites and follows!
A big shout out to my awesome reviewers of the last chapter - SistershoOk, Minsie, valerioux, ABT4Life, FireShifter and Selugimin! Thank you for your kind words! Your encouragement really keeps me going. In a slight departure from my usual procedure of replying to each review individually, I'm going to answer the one major question that ALL of you had - what was in that final letter that Natsu wrote to Lucy.
I actually sort of hinted at the contents in a throw away line in one of the previous chapters, but I know it was so vague and abrupt that many of you might have missed it or not really paid attention to it. That was my bad - I actually didn't intend for this to be one of the 'secrets' in this story, so thought I'd give you all a brief description here:
Basically, Natsu asks Lucy to join him at the war-front. In the beginning of the letter, he tries to word it like he wants her to 'visit' and that she's his 'lucky charm', but towards the end of the letter he gets a little sad and desperate and kind of begs her to just drop everything and come be with him. He has a feeling that she can help him cope with all the distrust, hate and unwanted adoration he's getting from his new status as a half-demon, and he just really misses her. After he sends it with Sting, however, he worries that the letter was too demanding - and you'll see in the later chapters that he'll be scared and sad whenever she's mentioned because he's afraid she was offended by his letter. Silly dragon. As for Lucy… well, her weird reaction was intentionally vague :-P You guys will find out why she's acting so strange in the next Part (I'm evil, I know :-D)
You know what? I think I'll work in the actual contents of this letter into a later part of the story. If not, I'll add it to my list of possible one-shots. Along with the exact reaction Natsu had when he heard Lucy didn't have a response for his letter (this is for you ABT4Life! - Since I haven't really described that in this or any of the following chapters.)
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The cloaked figure walked purposefully through the cobblestone street, her worn shoes barely making a sound as they softly clicked against the cold stone road. The figure paused at the doorway of a dilapidated house, a dainty hand and arm emerging from beneath the dark folds to knock hesitantly at the broken door.
A pale-faced man swung it open, taking in the cloaked form with a relieved sigh.
"You are back! Please, come in quickly…"
The figure barely waited for his acquiescence as it nimbly stepped into the small, rundown room.
There, on the bed, lay a little girl of barely eight years, her tiny frame wrenching in convulsions. Her mother leaned over her, frantically wiping the sweat off her child's brow as she held the little girl down on their threadbare mattress, sobbing in grief all the while.
The man stood at the foot of the bed, his gaze darting frantically between his beloved daughter and the hooded figure.
"Please, for the love of all that is holy! I beg of you! Remove her curse… take her magic away!"
A melancholic sigh issued from beneath the thick, forest-green hood, as the figure hidden beneath the cloak finally undid its clasp, allowing the heavy garment to drop to the dingy floor of the hut. The petite, hazel-eyed beauty it had revealed gazed with compassion and sorrow at the suffering little child on the bed, her movements graceful and sure as she approached the woman working frantically at the girl's side.
"Please move aside, my lady."
The mother looked up from her ministrations, a dazed expression on her face that quickly changed to hopefulness as she took in the young woman's features.
"B-but… You are her! The fairy of miracles! We've heard so much about you… when last you visited this town, you brought a bountiful harvest to an aged farming couple simply because they offered you shelter for a night! A-and you've been rumored to cure children afflicted with the malady of magic with a single touch..."
Levy offered the woman a strained smile, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"The rumors are true. I can cure your daughter… please move aside and allow me to administer the remedy in peace."
The woman shot up from the rickety chair, nodding vigorously, her eyes shining with warmth and admiration. She took a few shaky steps back to stand beside her pale and nervous husband, the pair holding hands and staring at her with an intensity that slightly unnerved Levy.
With another beleaguered sigh, Levy sat down. She gazed upon the child, her heart twisting in guilt and sorrow at what she was about to do. She placed her palm gently on the child's forehead, murmuring the incantation that had become second nature to her.
"Dothe lyria krestin a lesvara"
She sighed, leaning back in the broken-down chair as the slow process of magic absorption began. Her thoughts began to drift to the past, to the events that had led her to this point.
Soon after she had parted ways with Gajeel, Lily and the rest who were marching to war, she had also bid farewell to Lucy, Erza and the others who had stayed behind. She, Jet and Droy had begun traveling the land, searching for human mages Levy could befriend and hopefully draw a modicum of magical potential from.
It had been a foolish dream.
Their travels took them far and wide, where they encountered all sorts of humans, some with magical potential, many without. They experienced many surprises once they stepped out of the comfort of their grotto, but the most shocking of all had been the attitude of humans towards magic. Levy had not realized just how truly horrible conditions were for mages in the human lands, although she had received plenty of hints from her human friends. She felt like a fool for not having paid better attention to their words or heeded their warnings. Magic in the human world was despised, and those who possessed it or its potential were shunned and treated like diseased beings at best - or criminals at worst. The kingdom's ruler had instituted a group of ruthless individuals - called the Magic Eradication Force - simply to find and capture every magical being, mage or potential mage in the land. It had taken her and her two friends a great deal of wit, courage and magical concealment charms to stay out of the purview of this frightening group. And it was not only the officials she had to be wary of… Levy had learned the hard way that it was utterly foolish to trust any of the humans very easily.
Only a few months after the trio of pixies had left their grotto, they encountered a seemingly friendly group of traveling humans. The group even seemed to have a few mages in their midst, and they spoke freely of magic, adding to the pixie friend's hopes that these people would be willing to help Levy. They innocently confessed the truth - that Levy was the last spirit fairy, and would need to absorb a little bit of their magical potential in order to survive.
The group had seemed very willing to help - almost too eager to do so. A few uneventful days passed, and Levy fed as gently off of the traveling mages as she could - not willing to take more than she needed. She felt too much like a parasite, depending so much on the magic of others. The lessons of magic cycling she had practiced with Juvia and Gajeel were able to help her keep her feeding quite low, giving her hope that a few absorption sessions with this small group would be enough to last her for a year or two. Unfortunately for her though, before she could completely restore her magical stores, things took a turn for the worst. The mages they had trusted so blindly betrayed her and her pixie friends overnight. They placed a sleeping charm on her and bound Jet and Droy. They then abandoned the trussed up boys in the woods, while they transported Levy to the castle of a crooked and demented courtier - who wished to conduct experiments on her to 'extract' her magic. Come morning, Levy found herself chained to the wall of a castle dungeon, her two pixie friends nowhere in sight. If it weren't for the fact that in her fright and fury, she had pushed her magic beyond its limit, she could've died in that miserable place. Being as it was, she escaped by blowing up the whole damn castle - her magic exploding out of her and razing the entire structure into glittery, fine dust.
From that day forth, she had traveled alone.
She had found out much later that her pixie friends had searched far and wide for her, finally abandoning their task and returning home to grieve. She dared not send them word of her well-being - she knew she was in far too dangerous a situation.
For she was no longer just the last spirit fairy - she had evolved.
She knew well now that she was a high spirit fairy - her magic identical to the last one, Selena. The evolution was not entirely unexpected - before she and her friends had left the grotto their pixie elders had warned her that there was a high probability that she would one day evolve into the next high fairy of spirit, simply to fill the void in the universe that the absence of Selena had created. However, Levy had not it expected it to happen so soon. Selena herself had taken millenia to evolve from her previous form to that of a high fairy's. It had been a shock when she had felt her power transform and jump to a higher level, even though it had been done out of sheer self-preservation and survival instincts. Indeed, it was only thanks to all the research she had already done on Selena, that she was able to handle the transformation and the… aftermath. From that day forth, she was forced to roam the land searching for mages of great potential to leech her strength off of. And when her power reached a critical point, she had to expend it by performing powerful, complex spells. Hence the 'miracles' she performed in each town she visited. In return, she had found it absurdly easy to receive magic from potential mages in each town, thanks to the fear of magic humans possessed. Children who were born with potential were forced to keep it hidden, causing the magic within them to grow in strength without an outlet, until it burst out of them, as it had tried to do with the little girl she was currently taking her magical sustenance from. What the humans didn't realize though, was that she was not ridding the child of magic - merely drastically decreasing its effects for a short time. It would return soon enough and would begin to grow again. But by that time, Levy thought bitterly, the child would most likely be taken into custody by the Magic Eradication Force - those brutes always managed to find the children she had just visited. It was almost as if they had a tracker of some sort…
Levy sighed once again, releasing the spell as she felt her magic swell to its limit. She gazed down at the child, now sleeping peacefully with a content smile on her face.
"Oh, praise be to the Princess! You really have cured her!"
Levy stiffened at the man's words. Of course, he would mention that accursed human in a sentence of praise - the people of Pergrande adored their ruler, after all. For the life of her, Levy could not understand this sentiment of the humans to worship one of their own who was so clearly a tyrant.
Then again, she mused as she offered the pair a tired yet gentle smile - on one level it did make sense. As a ruler, the Princess of Pergrande had done some things right - despite it being war times, she had ensured that almost all of the people she governed received means to conduct their livelihoods and sustenance if they could not. She especially protected the women and children of her realm, offering them many schemes and gifts to help them stay off the streets and live a life of dignity. She seemed to be stern yet fair in metting out judgements - a point that had impressed Levy a lot was the fact that her majesty did not seem to differentiate between classes. If a nobleman committed a crime, he would punished just the same as a peasant would be. The Princess certainly had her good points… but what Levy could not forgive her for was her treatment of the mages. Just as paranoid about magic as her father and uncle had been, the Princess had taken the misguided and powerless Magical Acts Prevention Unit as it had been under her late uncle, and had transformed them into the now efficient and ruthless Magic Eradication Forces. The stories of their triumphs were legendary - apparently, the new unit had defeated more than their fair share of 'evil' magical beings, amassing a huge hoard of magical weapons in the process. They also took away any human who was a mage, or had the capacity to be a mage. The people thus captured were never heard from again. It did not take a genius to surmise that the Princess either rid the earth of them for good, or conducted her own set of experiments on these hapless individuals…
Levy froze, her panicked gaze darting to the door. She had heard a sound - a sound that she knew all too well. The telltale clickity clack of steel-toed boots marching against the paved street in their slow, even gait gave them away. The Magic Eradication Forces had found her.
"I-I have to leave now. I would suggest you do too!..."
Before she could take another step however, the battered door burst open, the grim faces standing on the other side confirming Levy's worst nightmare.
"We have caught you at last, Milady." Their leader spoke, his eyes cold and black as his gaze bored into Levy's. "And in the act of performing your strange magic, no less. You will come with us. Now. Please do not try to resist."
Levy stood tall, her head held arrogantly high. Normally, she would've have fought her way out - the heavens knew just how many times she had been forced to battle unscrupulous humans trying to steal her magic somehow - but she was always far weaker and disoriented immediately after an absorption. And she knew enough of the Magical Eradication Forces to know that they had many ways of restraining magical beings, some of their methods far more effective than she liked to admit. Besides, just because she went with them quietly, by no means meant she had to stay quiet.
"Very well."
The leader of the troops looked a little taken aback by her immediate acquiescence - he raised a brow as a slight frown hovered on his face. But he nodded politely to her, waving away his subordinate's offer of a pair magic canceling handcuffs.
"She has come willingly. Therefore, by her majesty's command, she is not to be chained."
Levy raised a brow, his words surprising her in turn.
"Bring the child, too."
"No!" Levy gasped, her eyes blazing with fury. She could hear the terrified gasps of the poor human parents behind her, as well as the sleepy yawn of the child curled up on the bed.
"The child is not magical, nor does she have any potential. I would know, I am magical myself, as you have just borne witness too. There is no need to take her."
"If your words be true, Milady, then the child will certainly pass the magic detection test we wish to conduct. And if she does, she will be returned to her parents immediately…"
Levy gulped. If the child's parents truly believed the rumor that she removed their children's magic, then there was a strong chance they would not object...
"In that case, we accept!"
Levy groaned internally, forcing a smile for the two beaming parents. They looked at her, hope shining in their eyes, as they dutifully handed over their precious, sleeping offspring. The soldiers handled the child with unusual gentleness, that had Levy raising a brow in even more confusion.
Despite their fearsome reputation, the Magic Eradication Forces seemed rather calmer in person. Or, Levy thought with an internal sigh, perhaps she had just caught them in a good mood. She certainly hoped they stayed in their pleasant humor even after she and that little girl gave them the slip.
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Levy sighed, gazing out of the window, her restless eyes seeking some sort of escape route. She scanned the high parapet walls lined with tall spikes with distaste, almost groaning out loud as she took in the stoic and silent guard who glanced up at her window from his spot in the gardens below.
So much for giving her captors the slip.
After her arrest, she and the little girl had been duly escorted to the royal castle which unfortunately was only an hour's carriage ride from the hamlet they had just been captured in. Once they reached the extravagant and extensive abode of most of Pergrande's royalty and nobility, Levy was taken to a tiny yet comfortable chamber where she was politely requested to wait. To Levy's utter shock, she was informed that she would soon be introduced to her majesty herself - the Princess of Pergrande.
"Why, in all that is holy, would she want to meet me?!" Levy glared at the stoic leader of the Magic Eradication Forces. The dark-haired man merely smiled back, his kind expression taking Levy off guard.
"Her majesty always makes time to meet whomever the Magic Eradication Forces bring in - especially the children. Your companion is with her presently, and once her majesty has finished speaking with the child, she wishes to speak to you. As for why she desires to speak to you…" The man shrugged his shoulders in a seemingly nonchalant gesture, all the while struggling to hide the upturn of his lips and the mirth in his eyes.
Levy glared at him, catching his expression of mirth in the process. His good humor only furthered her confusion and worry.
"If you should need anything, Milady," The man began in a respectful and gentle tone, a stark contrast to the stern, soldierly air he had assumed until then. "Do not hesitate to ask. I am known as the High Knight Brom, and I am at your service." He bowed low to the stunned young lady, his eyes now openly shining with mirth at her dumbfounded expression. With another bow the man exited the small chamber, leaving a very confused female in his wake.
A soft knock on the door interrupted Levy's thoughts. She turned to the source of her disturbance with a frown.
"Yes?"
The door creaked open as a shy young woman entered, her short bob of silver-hued hair bouncing slightly as she dipped into a quick curtsy.
"Kindly follow me, Milady."
With a suspicious look, Levy hesitantly nodded her consent, waiting for her new escort to exit before following her out. Very soon she found herself led to the door of a larger chamber. Levy steeled herself - in the short time she had been here, she had formulated a bold, desperate plan. She would walk in there, use her magic to distract whichever guards were protecting the Princess, and then use her majesty as a hostage to negotiate the release of herself and the little child whom she had inadvertently caused to be captured. Levy grit her teeth. There were far too many things that could wrong with her mad plan, but right now it was the only option she had.
The young woman who had been leading her, oblivious to Levy's schemes, turned to her with a shy, sweet smile.
"Please enter. Her majesty will be with you shortly."
Levy nodded. She took a deep breath,
before pushing open the doors.
She encountered another spacious chamber, slightly larger than the one she had been waiting in before. This one, however, was furnished differently, on the lines of a discussion room. Comfortable chairs were scattered haphazardly around a large oval table, and a door to the right of the room led to an adjacent chamber. A large balcony occupied the left wall, its curtains fluttering slightly from the breeze drifting in from the transparent, open, glass panel doors. A quick glance out of the balcony confirmed that there were no guards waiting below. A thrill shot up Levy's spine - maybe she wouldn't have to resort to such drastic measures after all! She could comfortably launch herself off this balcony and use her wings to fly past the castle walls - it would take an immense amount of magical power, but at least she wouldn't have to resort to kidnapping and ransom. As soon as Levy's brilliant grin lit her pretty face, the light died and a frown returned. But the child? And even though there were no guards right below, there may well be many just beyond the walls.
Thus lost in her thoughts, Levy did not notice the door behind her that led to the other chamber open and quietly shut again. She missed the soft footsteps that approached her hesitantly and the sigh of happiness and relief that issued from the curvy, regal figure behind her.
"Levy…"
Levy's breath caught in her throat as the soft and gentle voice washed over her. Without turning around she reached out with her magic and felt a flood of relief and joy as a familiar presence accosted her. She whirled around, rushing impulsively into her friend's waiting arms.
"L-Lucy…!"
She sobbed as she clung to her friend, the stress, fear and anxiety of the situation finally catching up to her. Lucy held her just as tightly, whispering soothing words in a gentle and low tone that was also filled with warmth and affection for the petite fairy. After a few long moments, Levy pulled away, relief giving way to curiosity as she regarded her old human friend.
"I'm so glad I ran into you, Lucy-dear! I-I did not even consider it a possibility that you would be here, even though you have mentioned in the past that you were a high born noble woman. I still did not think you would live in the Princesses castle… What a stroke of luck! Listen, I was captured by those awful Magic Eradication Forces and brought here - you must help me escape!
"Levy-dear…"
"We have very little time! Any moment now that horrid Princess of yours could walk through that door…"
"Err… Levy-dear…"
"I won't let her take me! I refuse to become her servant or prisoner or… 'experiment'! I'd rather die first!"
Lucy regarded her friend with a shocked expression.
"What do you mean by experiment?! Oh, Levy-dear, what happened? Did you run across one of those despicable 'magic hunting' groups?"
Before Levy could respond, the main door to the chamber opened and three humans filed in.
The first, a suave looking young man with bright orange hair and a tinted double monocle, eyed her with interest, the darkened eyewear doing nothing to hide the smarmy interest in his look. The other two, Levy recognized all too well. The knight Brom and the young servant lady entered, standing politely to the side as they observed her and Lucy with interest.
Levy grit her teeth, unconsciously pushing Lucy protectively behind her.
"Well?! Where is this blasted Princess of yours? Is she coming to meet me or not?"
The three in front of her regarded her with an astonished gaze, the playboy orange-haired man even letting out an amused snort.
"Why, my beautiful fairy." The man addressed Levy in a voice as smooth as silk. "She stands right behind you."
Levy threw a panicked glance behind her, only to see Lucy, her friend's face concerned and sad. Levy turned back to glare at the impudent man. "This is no time for jokes, sir. I am to be sentenced to death or worse and you find my predicament amusing?! I never thought humans could be capable of such horridness, but your kind continuously proves me wrong."
The man raised a brow, his smile gentle and sympathetic. "We understand you've been through immense stress over your sojourns, Milady. But please do not be too hasty to judge our beloved Princess. Neither she, nor any of the beings in this room, would harm one of magical blood. We are your friends, not your foes, Levy."
"Why do you hate the Princess so, Levy?"
The sad, wistful tone of Lucy's voice gave her pause. Lucy stepped out from behind Levy to face her, her back to the other three in the room. The tears threatening to spill out of her dear friend's chocolate brown orbs had Levy melting immediately, her own tone gentle and fatigued as she addressed her old friend.
"All those mages she has taken from their homes have never been heard from again, Lucy. It's as if they've disappeared. Couldn't that mean only two possibilities exist? Either they have been killed or imprisoned - to become experiments for corrupt nobles. Personally, I would prefer the first - although if I have the option to escape and live, I would certainly take that…"
The wan smile she offered Lucy was not returned, as the other young woman frowned at a spot on the plush rug at her feet.
"What if you are mistaken? What if there was a third option?" The pleading look with which Lucy transfixed her had Levy cocking her head to the side in confusion. She couldn't help but give her old friend the benefit of a doubt. Although she couldn't understand why Lucy was trying to defend the dastardly Princess just like the others.
"Well, what could that be?"
Lucy rushed to explain, her tone relieved yet nervous. "The mages were not killed, merely transplanted. They were taken away to special settlements where all mages live in peace, hidden from society."
Levy frowned. "But then shouldn't their families know their whereabouts? From what I've been told, none of the families of those mages have heard hair or hide of them! And the rumors that abound…! Talk of killing and hunting and 'magic extraction'! Surely where there's smoke there's fire?"
Lucy sighed, glancing behind her as the orange-haired man approached, an encouraging smile upon his face. She turned back to Levy, her gaze fierce and steely.
"No. In this case, whatever rumors you've heard are just that. Rumors. They have been encouraged to spread, however, merely to dissuade the more disreputable humans from hunting these protected mages. I'm sure you know of the vermin I speak of - I daresay you've come across quite a few of them, hence your understandable distrust of all humans. But trust me my old friend. The mages and magical beings who come in contact with the Magic Eradication Forces are in good hands…"
Levy gazed for a long moment into her friend's eyes. She could see no lie there - the passion and warmth with which the golden-haired maiden spoke only reinforced her strong words.
And yet…
"I see… But are you truly sure? I-It just seems so… far-fetched. I've heard so many conflicting things about the Princess, that it is hard to believe she has really only done good…"
"I am sure. For I am the one who has ordered and orchestrated this."
Levy stared at Lucy. Her exhausted mind was having trouble following what her friend was trying so hard to convey. It felt like there was an important fact she was missing…
"Oh. But I thought the Princess did all this?"
Lucy sighed, her eyes softening.
"She did."
Levy's mind finally clicked with understanding, a split second before her friend dutifully confirmed it.
"I am the Princess of Pergrande, Levy."
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Sigh
A handsome elf with luscious, straight, long green locks leaned back on his horse, a gloomy look on his face as he regarded the splattering of clouds floating in the light-blue northern sky. Next to him, a magnificent elf woman with wavy brown tresses scowled menacingly at him.
"One more sigh out of you, and I'm binding your mouth for the rest of this journey!" She hissed, her brown eyes flashing with rage.
The male elf pouted back, barely seeming to register her threat.
"It's been a year Evergreen!" The elf let out a long suffering sigh. "A year since I've seen him…"
The elf called Evergreen sighed as well, her anger receding as quickly as it had surfaced.
"I know. I miss him too. He was my best friend! But…" She glared at her brother, her infamous temper rising yet again, "That does NOT give you the right to spend all your time moping and whining like a lovesick puppy."
"Yea, Freed." A hulking silver haired elf rode up alongside Evergreen, a wide grin etched on his genial face. "Man-up!"
At that the handsome, lithe elf called Freed bristled. "That doesn't even make sense Elfman! We're elves, not men. Not men like... him... anyway…"
Freed drifted off into daydreams of a light-haired, broad-shouldered, muscular, behemoth of a man, sweeping him off his feet as they rode off into the sunset. He missed the rageful growl his sister let out as her glare intensified, almost burning a hole through her glasses.
"There you go again, with that dopey expression on your face! He may have been your lover, but that's no reason for you to act like this at the mere memory of him, you pervert!"
"Now, now Evergreen." A melodious voice from behind them interjected, a light undertone of menace causing the brown-haired elven damsel to shiver. "Do not harass poor Freed for expressing his love! The poor dear is just pining for his heart's desire…"
"But Evergreen does have a point, sister Mira." The last elf of the traveling clique rode up beside her sister, her short, silver-hued bob bouncing lightly as she urged her horse into an easy gallop. "Freed's daydreams are distracting him from our purpose - to keep an eye out for any enemy troops on our journey back to camp."
Mirajane pouted at her younger sister, but conceded the point.
The group of five traveled in silence for a while after, absorbing the sights and sounds of the crisp, snow-laden and cold northern landscape.
A soft groan from Lisanna was their only warning.
Mirajane whipped her head around as her present-sensing skills suddenly amplified, her gaze locking on her younger sister who had frozen on the back of her horse, eyes tightly closed and her teeth grit as if she were in pain. In a practiced motion, the elder elven maiden dismounted from her steed and gently pried the slim younger elf off her restless horse, slowly lowering the damsel to the frozen ground.
"Elfman!"
The large, hulking, silver-haired elf stopped short at his sister's call, bringing his own steed to a halt. He shot Evergreen a tender, reassuring smile at her worried look, before dismounting and doubling back to aid his sisters. He easily lifted the younger maiden in his massive arms as he did a perfunctory scan of his surroundings.
"We must get her to a reflective surface, and fast…" Mira murmured as she critically regarded the icy landscape. She spoke more for the benefit of the remaining two worried and curious elves who had doubled back to help. Elfman nodded. He already knew the drill. The four looked around for a few tense moments, when Evergreen suddenly let out a cry.
"There! In that direction, a few yards away, I can perceive a frozen pond. Would that do?"
Mirajane and Elfman instantly relaxed. Elfman landed an affectionate peck on his fiancé's cheek as he hoisted his sibling more securely into his arms and strode towards the icy waters, the remaining elves of his group in tow.
He lowered the elf maiden to the ground when he reached the pond, propping her into a sitting position against the trunk of a tree near the edge. Mirajane sat down next to Lisanna, muttering an incantation low under breath as she angled her sister's gaze towards the frozen water's surface.
"What do you see, my little one?"
Freed and Evergreen gasped when Lisanna's eyes opened at her sister's command. The entire galaxy seemed to swirl in the previously baby blue hued depths, an eerie light shining from the multicolored orbs as they focused on the mirror-like water at her feet.
In a haunting and alien voice, Lisanna spoke.
"I see the Prince of Darkness and Fire falling further and further into shadow and despair. He will face the Lost Dragon… and he will not win. Peace and balance will return only with her. The most powerful being in the land. His most beloved chosen one. Peace will return with her…"
A profound silence fell over the small group as Lisanna's last words echoed in the crisp, cold air.
"Does that mean… what I think it means?" Freed finally broke the spiraling silence, turning to Mirajane with a serious mien.
"Yes. Natsu will not defeat Acnologia. Instead…"
Freed sighed, the sound full of sorrow and sympathy for the well known fire dragon Prince this time.
"... It is his bonded who will."