Previously…

The Celestial mage tried her hardest to put distance between herself and her husband, but her body protested, muscles straining before she stopped, swaying like a blade of grass in the wind.

"Lucy? Lu- Shit!" Laxus lunged forward, his arms wrapping around the before she could hit the ground. Half panicked her stared down at her, hearing the others rushing over to him. It was Freed that looked over the blonde properly, his own concern directed more towards his leader than the unconscious woman.

"She'll be alright. She'll need a lot of rest and some medical attention. But she'll be fine." Despite Freed's reassurance, Laxus couldn't help but feel the weight on his shoulders grow.

Yes, he'd found the woman he had sent away so long ago, but now he was faced with the consequences of his actions, and he wasn't sure he could make for his mistakes.

Not this time.

Contracted Chapter 13: Regrets

She scrunched her eyes together, quietly begging to stay in her dreams where there was no pain or loneliness. But the familiar clack of a carriage drew her to consciousness, shaking away the dredges of sleep from her tired mind.

"What are we going to do Laxus?" The blonde woman kept her eyes closed, listening the the hushed words, "It's obvious that she didn't want to see you. What happens if she wakes up in here? I for one don't want to be there when she wakes up."

"You have nothing to fear Ever, her magic is dangerously low, she can do no more damage than her physical body will allow her to inflict." The voice, one she placed as Freeds', echoed through the cabin. She ignored the sting to her pride at his comment, but knew he was right. She was exhausted after her fight, her body aching in places she never knew existed.

They hit a particularly large bump that jostled her and she let out a pained moan, silencing those in the cabin with her. A loud thump sounded, her bed shifting under her, something that confused her more than she thought possible. But then the voice came to her, not through speech, but through the comforting rumble of someone's chest.

"Oi! Watch where you're going Bix!" His voice is what she felt, it was his arms that banded around her and secured her to the seat. It was enough to make her stomach twist itself into an anxious knot, "Hey… Lucy? Are you okay?" Despite the tenderness in his voice her anger answered him instead, hot tears pooling in the corner of her eyes as she blinked them open.

"There is nothing on Earthland at this moment that could make me okay, Mr Dreyar." Her voice was course, throat strained and tight from her tears. She fought against the guilt that curled in her stomach at the way his eyes widened in shock.

"Lucy…" Ever gently drew the blonde woman's attention, biting her lip in indecision, "Let's start on something simpler, shall we? How are you feeling? We tried to patch you up as best we could…"

With the slightest twitch Lucy nodded, "I'm fine. I'll be better once I know where you're taking me."

"We're taking you back to Magnolia." Freed's voice was chilled, a coldness to his gaze that shocked even those of his teammates.

The tension in the cabin thickened and Lucy struggled upright so suddenly that Laxus let her go, her eyes wide with panic, "No. No no no! I can't. Where are we now? How long have I slept for?" Despite the pain and fatigue that dragged her down she tore the curtain on the cabin door open, wincing as the sunlight assaulted her.

"We've been travelling for a number of days. You had a fever from magic exhaustion so when you did wake you were quite delirious. We're about to enter the township as we speak." Ever placed a hand on the young woman's shoulder only to pull back when she flinched, small sparks of lightning dancing along her skin.

Lucy screamed, arms wrapping around herself as she collapsed into the seat, the carriage coming to a stop just before the first building of Magnolia.

"Lucy? What's happening?" Laxus tried to touch her as well, his hand reaching forward as the lighting danced from her to his hand but before he could touch her, she opened the latch for the door and bolted, legs stumbling and catching on the cream dress someone had put her in. She only stopped when she was far enough in the tree line for the pain to recede, leaving her sweating in a pile on the forest floor.

She only looked up when she heard Laxus' thundering footsteps, his eyes wide with panic, "Lucy. What the fuck happened? What's wrong?"

He knelt before her, his mouth pinched as he looked over her, noticing a stain of red blooming across her ribs.

"It's a curse. Someone has barred me from entering Magnolia." She huffed through the pain, allowing herself to rest against the closest oak tree, the hard bark keeping her weary mind from dragging her back into unconsciousness, "I knew you wanted me gone. But truly, I never expected… this."

The pain in her voice was raw, as though every time she thought of it, she opened a wound on her person.

"I… Lucy… No. I never... I didn't tell anyone to do that. I wanted you safe. Away from everything. I… I wouldn't…" He stumbled over his words just as Lucy had with her dress, his face pale as he looked over her.

"You didn't have to. I did it for the Guild's sake." The voice startled them and Laxus stood, whirling on the speaker with betrayal twisting his heart, "You sent her away for safety, more for the Guild's than for your… wife's. As such, I took the initiative to protectourfamily. The barrier would have acted as a deterrent. Get far enough into town and the shock would have stopped her heart."

The way he spoke, glaring at Lucy the entire time, drove home how Freed truly felt towards her.

"Freed. I never would have wanted that. She went for the safety for herself and the guild! Once she was on her feet she should have been free to go where she pleased, Magnolia included. What you did… it goes against everything a Fairy is taught!" Laxus snarled, his hands clenched tightly at his side.

"Sending her away once she was accepted went against the Fairy code. I only tried to make an honest man of your choices. Letting her back in means you've gone back on your word. You put everyone at risk for her. A woman you don't even love!" Freed's cheeks flushed pink with his rage, "The very woman that likely knew the guild was looking for her once she vanished, left them in a panic, and has the audacity to be offended by my desire to protect what is ours!"

"It's her family to-!" Evergreen tried to understand the yelling match, catching the end and trying to speak up for the blonde woman on the ground. But Freed was having none of it, his glare quelling the brunette.

"No she's not! She was falsely interjected into our ranks. Brought danger to our Master's grandson and coerced him into a contract. The woman is a wench and a plague to us all. She should have stayed hidden, for all our sakes." Before Freed could turn back to the woman he was accusing, he was sent spinning into a nearby tree, blood dripping from his split lip.

Lucy stood panting, her fist still raised as she glared at him, fire in her eyes, "You twisted, sick man! Did you know what happened when someone tried to help me the first time I collapsed? Do you? Can you even imagine how I felt when a kind, elderly woman tried to help me, only to be shocked! Shocked so badly that her heart stopped! Can you imagine what it felt like when people revived her, only for them to cast me out? Saying I was death incarnate? Do you?!" Her voice rose, reaching a hysteria that shocked the men into silence, "All I wanted… All I wanted was to show everyone how I'd grown, how I'd come into my own as both a woman and a mage. All I wanted was to see those that had accepted me before I found myself. And you took that away from me!"

With a shriek she lunged, taking the green haired man by surprise. She landed her first hit on his jaw, sending his head back into the harsh bark of the tree. Her second hit landed firmly in his stomach, forcing him forward and her third never landed, her fist held back by a shocked Laxus, his eyes wide as he watch Freed slide to the ground, eyes closed.

"Lucy… That's enough. When he wakes, he will remove his barrier and he will account for his actions. I promise you that." Gently he pulled her to him, her distress not allowing her to refuse the comfort he offered as she buried her face in his chest, "Let's go home Lucy."

"I have no home." She hiccupped quietly, but still he heard her, "Ever. Get Bix and get this asshole to the guild. Tell Gramps what happened and send someone to me once he wakes up. He has a lot to answer for and I'm going to be there for it."

With a quiet affirmation Ever turned back to the carriage and Laxus glanced down at the blonde resting against him, her quiet sniffles reaching his ears, "Hold on tight Lucy."

He waited for her arms to wrap around him before he allowed his magic to engulf them, taking them quickly to his front door and it was one of the few times he was actually grateful for not having his home close to the Guild.

He gently coaxed her into the living area, the smell of burnt wood calming the blonde woman down even further and he led her to the sofa. Once she was situated, he rushed to the buffet and filled two glasses with brandy before returning to her and offering her one.

She sniffed the drink, her nose wrinkling at it before she shrugged and took it down in one gulp. Lucy didn't look at him, her shoulders hunched around her ears.

"Lucy… I…" He swallowed loudly, scratching the back of his head as he watched her. Before him was a once proud woman reduced to a stressed and haggard lady filled with pain and betrayal. The results of his actions piercing him as surely as a blade would.

Lucy sighed, her entire body sagging under his gaze, "Laxus… I wish I could be angry with you." Her words were straightforward, the honesty within them ringing in his ears, "I tried. For weeks and months. I went through it all. The stubbornness that I could make it on my own. The loneliness that not even my spirits could get rid of. The hate that my name alone caused so much grief for myself and everyone I cared about. But not once… not once could I make myself hate you for sending me away. No part of me could blame you for your decision no matter how hard I tried… I'm so tired Laxus. So, so tired…"

The fatigue she had held back, from her pain, from endless jobs, from the suffering she went through from the moment she escaped the Heartfillia mansion that fateful day three years prior.

"Lucy… I shouldn't have-" He was stopped short as she placed a hand on his knee, a move most would have considered intimate considering their circumstances.

"No Laxus. If you hadn't… I would be who I am today. But… there were a lot of wrongs done against myself… a lot of pain that will take a while to work through. That is something that I cannot give you a time limit for… But I only request that you give me the time I need." She paused, her eyes drooping, "Once Freed atones for his sin against me… I will make my way to the Guild and atone for my own sins against them. So please…"

He didn't get the chance to hear the rest of her sentence as she succumbed to sleep, the glass in her hand tumbling to the floor with a dull thud, the glass chipping ever so slightly from the fall. And Laxus was left to ponder, the Celestial mage resting against him and he was left to his thoughts and regrets.

xXx Contracted xXx

Don't hate me! Freed has good reason for doing what he did, I promise! I know this took a while, but I hit a snag on the story. I have a rough idea of where I want it to go… but I just wasn't happy with any direction I took with it. Honestly, not too happy with this chapter either, but it was the best I could come up with, so I hope you liked it! Next chapter we get to see how the Guild has grown! Anyway, thank you everyone for reviewing the last chapter:

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