LUCY:

He was a fighter, all right. Despite the pain he'd tried to talk, but I could see the confusion and distraught in his eyes when he heard his own voice. I was shocked too, the amount of exhaustion and defeat sunken into it, but I tried to hide that from him. He seemed to doubt himself, his appearance, and I wanted him to know that I wasn't scared. He needed someone to build up from, a firm ground. Maybe I could give that to him.

He'd fallen asleep. When blood seeped through the bandages I cleaned the source and rewrapped it, careful to not wake him. At one point he tensed up, the pain clearly showing on his sleeping face, and as I watched him I felt something brush my arm. Looking down I saw his hand touching mine and at the contact he seemed to relax. A small smile touched my lips. It had been a long time since I had really smiled, much less shown my teeth to anyone. A lady never smiled with her teeth showing, only a small smile to show her pleasure. When she laughed she made sure to cover her mouth with a delicate hand. It was a habit burned into my head and very hard to erase. When he fell asleep I realized that I had actually talked to him, a complete stranger, even though it was a whisper. He felt safe, trustworthy. I knew that I could talk to him and he would listen. It made me happy, talking to him.

From the start I had noticed that only his good eye opened. The left one seemed to be disconnected, not even flickering. Shifting my position but careful not to move my hand I considered the possibilities. The eye, since it was affected by the curse, could be acting separately. Maybe if he opened it first his normal one would stay shut. However, when I had first seen him, both of his eyes were open. Maybe the eye was disconnected but not reliant on the other one. I shook my head softly, a few loose strands flicking in front of my eyes. There were too many different options to consider. I'd just have to see what happened when the cursed eye opened first.

NATSU:

Turned out sleeping didn't mean resting. Instead I got a nightmare of being back in the chains, the fatass swinging his whip. It hurt like it was real. I saw the girl in the corner, and this time I clearly saw her flinch. I tried to reach out to her, but the chain stopped me. For a second I felt something warm touch my fingers and as I focused on the new feeling the nightmare slipped away. I could finally sleep.

When I woke up she was still there. The moment my eye opened the big brown eyes focused on my face, soft and caring. I really liked those eyes. Most people had stopped caring when I started to turn into a monster. Maybe she was different.

"How do you feel?" She was still whispering.

"Better." It hurt much less. The surprise on her face was clear as day. "I think my magic is coming back."

Then she smiled. It was small, but it was a real smile. She was happy for my magic coming back. It had been so long since someone was happy for that.

"That's good. With your magic you should heal faster. Those chains were really advanced magic drainers, I'm surprised it's coming back so soon." Her whisper was happy. I tried to move and slowly my arms responded, the pain slightly suppressed. "Do you want to try and sit up?" She asked. I nodded, pleased at how much easier it was. She moved to my side and carefully lifted my shoulders. It was like waking up and realizing that you have a body for the first time. With agonizing slowness my muscles began to work, finishing what the girl had started. Even though it hurt I was glad I was at least able to sit.

"How long have I been here?" I dreaded the answer but wanted to know anyways.

She looked me in the eye. "A little over a month. I joined the guild a few days after you disappeared. Did you spend the entire time in that room?" I nodded. No wonder it felt like I was disconnected from my body. I hadn't really moved for a whole month.

"Did they search?"

"They all did. When you didn't come back they all went out, Happy especially. It struck them hard when they couldn't find you." Her whisper was careful, wary. Looks like she was like everyone else. I felt her hand slip under my chin and firmly pull my face up until she could see my eye. "Natsu, I'm not scared of you. I don't hate for what you look like. It doesn't matter to me. I can see through the scales and horns. You only change who you are if you chose to. I just don't want to push you too hard. The faster you recover the faster we can get away from the Duke." Even though she was whispering I could see the truth in her eyes. She really did care.

"Why?" She looked at me, confused. "Why don't you run away? Everyone else did." Another small smile formed on her face. Her eyes held no pity, only understanding. I was glad for that.

"Because I used to be like that too. I was raised to be a lady, seen and not heard. I wore fancy dresses, makeup, jewels, accessories: I was essentially a dress-up doll. Normal people who saw me always assumed me to be a rich snob simply because of what I looked like. I would smile and they thought I was happy. I would giggle and they thought I liked them or their comment. Even my father thought me to be content because of what he saw day to day. On the inside I hated it, the lies, the fakeness of it all. Just because I looked like something didn't actually mean that's what I was. Our only difference is that I found a way out while you are still searching. I'm sure you'll find it soon." She understood. She really did. I felt my lips shift into a smile, something so forgotten that I wasn't sure I'd even see it again. She smiled too, and I glimpsed a flash of her teeth before she quickly hid it.

"Why do you whisper?"

"A lady must be seen but not heard. No one cared for my opinions, so I learned to never speak." Her smile grew again to show a sliver of teeth. "You're the first one to ask." We'd just met but I finally felt like I had found someone in the same boat. Maybe we could pull each other out. "My turn. Do you know anything about your curse?"

She was honest with me. It was only fair that I repaid her in the same way. Besides, I trusted her. "Nothing much, except that my black eye does whatever it wants. Sometimes it opens and sometimes it doesn't. I can't see out of it." She nodded slowly, considering.

"Has it ever opened first?"

"No." I sighed. My stomach rumbled. Her smile, which had vanished while we talked about my curse, came back with a teasing touch. She reached into a new bag, way bigger than the small black one, and pulled out a box. The smell of chicken reached my nose and my stomach growled louder. She pulled open the lid and handed me a fork.

"Spicy chicken. Mira said it was your favorite." I inhaled the chicken. It was absolutely delicious, but better than Mira's cooking. Smiling, she handed me two more boxes full with spicy chicken. It was my first real meal in more than a month. I looked up for more but she shook her head, her smile growing wider. I frowned at her, making her let out a small giggle. I noticed her hand instinctively reaching up to cover her mouth but she caught herself and pushed it down. Old habits, I guess.

"Who made the chicken?" I asked, curious.

"Oh, I did. Figured I'd learn a new recipe." I stared at her, my mouth hanging slightly open. "Did you like it?" I nodded slowly. Another giggle escaped her. "At this rate you'll be able to move in a few hours. Try sleeping again. It's a good three-day walk from here to the end of the tunnel, and then another two days to get to the guild. If we take a carriage it could be closer to one." I vigorously shook my head no. Transportation did not mix with me.

"Motion sickness." I mumbled. Something closer to a real laugh jumped out. I grinned and stretched out on the floor, wincing slightly. She put the boxes away and leaned against the wall. I didn't think I'd be able to sleep after the food but the moment I lay down tiredness engulfed me.

"Thanks, Luigi." I yawned. She frowned.

"It's Lucy." Her whisper was stern but laughing.

"Sorry, Lucy." I was asleep faster than I'd ever been before. This time, no nightmares stalked me in my sleep.

LUCY:

I had almost laughed. I barely remembered laughing, and yet he had made me drop my guard for a moment. He was making me open up in ways I didn't think were possible. Even Levy couldn't make me do more than giggle.

Still, forgetting my name like that! Luigi? Seriously? I wanted to smack him but restrained myself. It wouldn't help him get better. He looked so innocent when he was sleeping. When he was talking to me there was a small piece of him worried that I would run away from his monster. 'Never, Natsu. I will never run away.'

He was healing way faster than I'd initially expected. His leg still worried me, but he had managed to sit up and swallow three full chickens. If that wasn't improvement, I didn't know what was. Mira had told me all about his motion sickness and Gajeel had shown me exactly what it looked like. I think he blushed a bit when he admitted his weakness.

Maybe when he woke up next time we could start to move. If anything, I could always call Virgo to help, although I doubted the tough guy would appreciate being carried like a sack of potatoes. My eyes began to close, my head leaning comfortably against the stone. It was surprisingly warm to the touch. I missed my bed and my apartment, but after two weeks as a maid my standards had dropped considerably. Slowly but surely my brain shifted into sleep mode, my eyes closing and giving way to the darkness.