Chapter 4

Lucy stood as the next being stepped through the portal, momentarily stunned at the power she felt coming off of him. It was nearly as much as when she had been in front of the celestial king.

He was tall as Laxus, silver robes flowed around his figure from his shoulders, his arms, chest and stomach bare. Simple black pants covered him from the waist down, his movements were fluid with obvious strength. His skin was luminous and pale, along with his long blue hair, but the most startling was his captivating eyes. They were wide and almond shaped, with long slited pupils with sliver and indigo swirling together in his rounded irises. He came to her, those amazing eyes roaming over each part of her. Stopping by her side, he placed a hand gently on her face. Something made her lean into the touch, her eyes half closing, not even the sounds of Loke stopping Gray and Natsu from approaching them could pull her away from him in that moment. "Never did I think another such as you would be born," he said, his voice somewhat multi toned. "Had I realized, I would have come to you sooner." He fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around her and buried his face in her stomach, nearly bringing her to tears.

"Draco…" she whispered, recognizing the feel of him. His key was supposedly mythical. "Loke, what is happening?" Lucy asked, overwhelmed.

"The Aiyoku spell has only been used four other times in our history." Loke told her, taking one of her hands. "Two of the mages died within hours of receiving the curse, their magic was just not strong enough to withstand the effects." He looked into her lovely brown eyes, devotion evident in his gaze. "I knew that you were special when you called the celestial king and all your contracted beings to the earthly plain, all the while holding my soul safe. You have no idea the strength you carry within you."

"The only maiden strong enough to contract with me in over five hundred of your years." Draco murmured against her, "I did not believe it when the lion came to me…" he pressed his face farther into her.

She ran her fingers through his cool, metallic hair, feeling sorrow. How lonely he must have been, going so long without a connection. The bond between celestial beings and their mages was unlike any other. They felt like serving them gave them purpose and honor. It was a special love and to be denied that was unthinkable in her mind.

"That's all well and good that Lucy is a top celestial mage," Gray said, "but doesn't that still mean that she is standing there, slowly dying in front of us?"

"We won't allow her to die," Loke declared, his expression leaving no room for doubt. "But it will not be easy and you will not like the way it is done." He was speaking to Lucy and the room at large.

"Just tell us already!" Natsu said angrily. He did not want to think about Lucy wasting away or dying at all.

"Draco." Loke laid a hand on the spirits shoulder. Lucy was beginning to feel weary again, needing to sit back down.

"Right." The dragon said, slowly releasing Lucy allowing Loke to help her back onto her barstool as he reclaimed his full height. "Please listen. To understand what must be done, you must first understand the nature of celestial mages and how their power works. You must also understand how the Aiyoku trap spell works." His smooth tone caught the attention of all of those present, like a great storyteller in front of children. "A celestial mage is like a well spring. Some can only hold a little and some a lot. Every once in a great while there are those who can channel and unending flow of magic. How much magic they can channel decides how many celestial beings they can supply power to in this world. So far, there have only been two light maidens able to channel that kind of magic, a woman by the name of Laylee and your Lucy, known to us as princess." He looked down at her. "You have not been able to tap into your true strength as of yet, Laylee was older when she was struck with the Aiyoku, so breaking it might be trial and error."

"Then it is possible to break it?" Ezra asked.

"Why did you call it a trap spell?" Levy asked at the same time.

"Yes, it can be broken, if we can overwhelm it." Draco looked to Levy, who was taking notes. "The Tejina Dorein Aiyoku is a trap spell. The only one it truly benefits when done correctly is the black wizard. It can only be cast by a strong mage, upon a strong celestial mage. If the caster is not strong enough, the attempt will kill them, the same as it will kill those who are too weak when it is placed on them. However, either way, the caster is doomed. It is a spell of lust, their own power building until it is channeled into the celestial maiden or they combust from the pressure," he said darkly. "They never regain the magic they have lost, even if they survive it."

"That's horrid," Levy said, hardly believing what she had just written. She was certain that that was something Zeref never mentioned in his spell book. If he had, surely no one would ever take the risk to cast such a spell.

"Yes." He agreed. "at this point the maiden is then free of the drain spell, true enough, but then has an overwhelming amount of magical energy all at once, making them just as sick as the original spell. That magic is then ready to be syphoned away by the black wizard. Once he has tapped into her magic, he can always pull upon it, she is never free of him until death."

"How is it possible to even put a drain spell like this on Lucy if she has an unending supply of magic?" Levy asked, her curiosity overcoming any sense of shyness she may have had.

"The drain is happening faster than the flow of magic coming into her." Draco answered, looking over at the woman he hoped to be his new keeper soon. "Laylee lasted two days before she became bed bound." He bent over her, his eyes slightly glowing a brilliant blue as he studied her magic. "Lucy may make it until late morning tomorrow before she gets to that point."

"How do you overcome this spell?" Ezra asked, ready to have her friend free of this nightmare.

"You feed it." Loke spoke, "Three types of magic, Celestial, Elemental, and Dark."

"What do you mean feed it?" Lucy asked, somehow more worried than she was before. "Feed it how?" where would they even find dark magic to feed it?

"Princess," Draco bent before her again, resting against his feet. "Laylee figured out that as it drew magic out of her, she could slow it by giving it the types of magic used in creating the spell. She continued to feed it until it began to take more than it was intended to and eventually shattered. It took six powerful mages, two celestial beings, and one strong dark mage to shatter the spell." He squeezed her hands gently, knowing the next part would be hard for her to hear. "There is only one way the Aiyoku takes in magic." He told her softly.

Lucy froze. She blinked once, shaking her head. Then she looked up to where Levy was still taking notes, her face now tomato red as she met her eyes. She scanned the rest of the room, noting that only Levy and Makarov, who tensed for a moment beside her, seemed to get what the dragon was saying. "I need a minute," she said, her body shivering, "Ezra, can you take me to the bathroom, please." Her eyes begged the red head. Nodding, she helped her to stand, pulling her away from the celestial beings, both seeming reluctant to let her go.

"Wait, Lucy!" Natsu took a step in her direction, "What does that mean?"

Halting her pathetically slow flight from the room, she looked back at her friends. They would have to be told. Lucy would allow herself the comfort of not being there to see the look on their faces when they found out. "Levy, Loke, one of you explain. Draco would you please come with me?" she asked, not being able to stand the dejected way he looked standing there alone, obviously awaiting her anger.

"Levy?" Lisanna asked, turning the attention back on the woman who was tapping her pen against her note pad in an effort to cool her thoughts off.

"You remember how I said the spell could be broken by the caster or the creator of the spell." Levy looked down at the floor and said in a slightly higher tone, "it's made to draw in magic through intimacy."

"By intimacy you mean..?" Lisanna thought out loud, the answer coming to her before she could stop the words.

"You feed the spell through sex," Loke said casually, taking pity on poor Levy who looked ready to hide under the table.

"Wow," Cana said, lifting a fresh mug to her lips, "I don't know whether to cry for her or applaud her luck." Her laughter seeming to break the trance on the room, everyone suddenly talking all at once.

In the bathroom, Lucy leaned against the wall while Ezra and Draco, who nonchalantly followed them in, watched over her. Looking up at them, she grimaced. "In a way, I am glad I am so damn tired. I just don't have the strength to flip out like I want to." She laid her head back against the wall and allowed her body to slip down it.

"What did he mean, Lucy?" Ezra asked her.

She laughed a little bitterly. It seems she did not make it out without having to say the words herself. "Basically, to break the spell, I have to have sex with roughly about ten different people over a short period of time, correct?" Lucy swung her gaze over Draco.

"Roughly, that is correct. It is probably not as short amount of time as you are thinking. You will temporally take on the magic of your lovers, having so many at once would do you harm." He moved a little closer, still needing to be near her. He was strong, in fact he could spend a life time in the earthly plain on his own power, but without a connection to one such as her, existence became dark and numbing. Draco had been alone for so long, he had begun to grow cold and fade. Just being near her, having the hope of being hers was more than he had expected.

Lucy blushed, looking away from him, the look in his eyes even a step farther than Loke's playful devotion. "I suppose you and Loke are here to….help... break the spell then?"

"Yes," he answered plainly. "There were many volunteers. Virgo was especially insistent, but I am one of the strongest celestial beings and was a part of the shattering of the first Aiyoku. Loke is also very strong and is close to you, so when we asked to come to you, the king allowed it. We are here on our own power for as long as you need us to be. You must not use any of your keys until this spell is broken."

"Wait!" Ezra was completely astounded. "You mean Lucy….and sex…," she seemed to be having trouble breathing, sitting down hard on the counter, "…ten!" the last word came out high pitched and breathy, her mouth continuing to work, though no more words came out, making her look like some odd armor clad fish thrown up on the bank.

Stress, fatigue, and disillusionment combined with her friend's antics broke the dam on her emotions. Lucy laughed crazily, the tears began to spill from her eyes before becoming heart wrenching sobs that filled the tiny room and echoed out into the main hall.