When Lucy awoke, she was still in the dark. She was still alone. She was still kidnapped.
At that moment, she felt her leg buzz. Wait...what?
It was her phone! It was still in her pocket!
Lucy wiggled her arms until she could finally pull out her phone, and read the messages left to her.
From Levy:
Hey Lucy! Sorry about today, promise to make it up to you!
Wanna meet up tomorrow?
TYL, bye!
Lucy considered calling Levy, but her finger hovered above the call button, unwilling to press down. Finally, she pressed the home button.
She couldn't do it. As selfish as it was, she didn't want to reveal the truth to Levy just yet. Let her be happy for now. After this all blows over, I'll tell her. I'll get out of here. I'll get out of this situation. She instructed herself, repeating the mantra.
Then, she scrolled through her contacts and picked one at random.
As the phone rang, she gulped. What if they didn't pick up? Or if her kidnappers walked in?
Before she had the chance to dial off, a voice spoke, panicked.
"Luigi! Are you okay?"
Lucy nearly laughed. This was too funny. Out of all the people, she had called Natsu. And he was worried as if he knew what was going on!
"Actually, no…" She murmured.
"I went to your apartment. It was a mess." He spoke.
"Wait. How do you know where I live?! And how did you get in?!" Lucy said, momentarily stunned.
"I followed you to your house last night. And you left the door unlocked." He spoke as if it was totally normal.
"Wa wa wait. Are you some f*cking stalker?!"
"No! I just...you know what, that isn't important. What matters is what happened. Tell me!"
Lucy trembled as she spoke in a whisper.
"I was kidnapped. I'm tied to a chair right now...I think they're giving me to my dad."
"Your dad?"
"I ran away from home a few years back. My dad's pretty powerful, and he hired these guys to drag me back home."
"Don't worry Luce. I'm-"
"Well well, what do we have here?"
Lucy screamed as the mysterious person spoke. She hadn't even heard him come in.
"Now now, no need for that." The voice said with a chuckle. Swiftly, Lucy's phone was taken out of her hand.
"Who would this be?" The man asked Natsu over the phone.
"Your worst enemy, you mother f*cker! Give Luce back, you sh*tty lowlife!" Natsu yelled over the phone.
"Now now, language young man." The voice said with a laugh. "Go mind your own business and we will take care of Ms. Heartfillia. Goodbye!" And Lucy heard her phone crushed into a million little pieces.
"Now, no more tricks, okay?" The man said to her.
"Let me go!" Lucy screamed.
"Tut tut tut. Have you learned nothing?"
At that moment, the door flew open, revealing a spread of light. Lucy gasped at the man before her.
His hair was a mixture of black and white, and his eyes were pitch black. His pale face practically glowed with anger.
"Juvia!" He said, glowering at the girl in the doorway. A blue-haired girl with dull ocean eyes and a similarly pale face stood, one hand remaining on the door and the other holding a pink umbrella.
"We have a visitor, Totomaru." She spoke dully.
"What do you mean?"
"Juvia means- you know what, Juvia gives up!" In a flash, those previously dull gray eyes turned into emotional ones.
"Salamander's here!" She cried. Tears started to run down her face, and, as if magic, water started to flood the floor, and continued to rise.
At her words, Totomaru paled to an even lighter shade. But, upon seeing the water on the ground, he grabbed the girls shoulders.
"Juvia! Calm down! We can take him! Tell me what happened!"
Juvia (had she heard him correctly? It was hard to tell over the crying) took a deep breath and stopped crying. The water disappeared.
"W-well," Juvia began. "Everything was going to plan. Aria, Sol, and Juvia were playing slap-jack when the door was thrown open." She continued in a trembling voice. "I-it was Salamander! He started to breath his fire everywhere! And was yelling, 'Where is Luce!' " Juvia's sobs were coming back. "S-so scary! Juvia was scared!"
"Where is he now?!" Totumaru demanded.
"Sol and Aria are fighting him!" She said between sobs.
Totomaru threw Juvia down on the floor and raced through the door. Lucy's mind raced. Only one person called her "Luce". Natsu. But who was Salamander? From Juvia's description, some sort of dragon. But that was impossible! ...right?
Juvia continued to cry on the floor, and Lucy could not help but feel sorry.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
Juvia looked up.
"All your fault." She growled, shaking. She slowly stood up, and Lucy felt a chill run down her spine. "You brought Salamander here!"
And Lucy screamed as the girl jumped upon her, intent on ripping her apart.
Are you following the story, dear readers? You should understand what's happening...so I ask you. Will the dragon save the princess? Or will she be dead by the time he reaches her?