A/N: I still own nothing.

12. Nightmares

"I love you," his words echoed in her mind. That voice was so familiar she wanted to reach out to whoever was saying them. She could see her hand rising, reaching towards the unknown man. It was so dark and painful. She could hear water dropping and those words. Oh, those dreadful words.

Lucy awoke with a jolt. She was sweating heavily and it was hot. She turned her head and there was Natsu, like on many other nights before that. She lifted the covers and pulled them away, enjoying the chilly night air. The fire dragon slayer had forgotten to close the window after him and for that, for the first time, she was thankful. Her body was burning up.

The sleep quickly absorbed her again. This time, she was greeted with a wicked smile, teeth bright yellow like the sun and dislocated in the mouth, shaping a grin. A hand was reaching out to her within the darkness, a voice was whispering her name. Lucy. Lucy. Lucy. Come. Come. Come.

She tried to run, but she was surrounded by heinous walls, suffocating her soul. She scratched and clawed at them, cried out for help. It wanted the name of the one she loved. Even she didn't know about that.

She felt her back break, as she curled up in a fetal position. Wings broke out and through the pain, she could fly if she stretched her wings. It burned. Someone was ripping off the wings. She could only scream.

A splash of cold water on her face made her recover from the dream. She opened her eyes, face soaking wet, to Natsu, who greeted her with a simple "yo," and Levy, who looked furious at the boy. Lucy smiled weakly and wiped the water off.

"You had a nightmare," Natsu explained. Lucy could only nod, knowing he was telling the truth. She remembered it vividly, the bony fingers stretching out for her. She shivered.

"Natsu, do you think I could talk to Lucy alone?" Levy requested. Natsu sighed and after ruffling the blonde's hair, left without a word. Levy had given him "the talk," before they woke the poor girl.

"Yeah?" Lucy asked, as soon as the door fell shut behind the salmon-haired boy.

"You have to choose soon," Levy whispered. "Or it will end nasty."

"Choose what?" the other girl questioned, knowing perfectly what the bluenette was talking about. The dragon slayers, right? The meeting with Cobra echoed in her mind. He wasn't the only one growing restless. She had noticed it in others too.

Levy did not respond, picking out clothes for the girl, whose pyjamas were in need of washing. Lucy looked ghastly, skin pale and her body growing skinnier than before. Like a drug-addict needed drugs, the infinite power inside her needed food. She had read about the boys, who had to choose a mate within the twelve months of inheriting the dragonrider power, but it was obvious in Lucy's case, the time had shortened.

"Everyone has different ideas," she said instead. "Some say you should go for Natsu, because he's the one you've known longest. Some think going with Sting or Rogue means improving the inter-guild relations. Some say you have the strongest chemistry with Laxus and Rogue, so you should choose one of them."

"What do you think?" Lucy asked her friend's opinion, her heart fluttering in her chest. Levy avoided looking at her.

"I think you should choose Laxus," she said quietly. "Although I'm scared of her, he seems to be the only one honest enough about his feelings towards you. You could make it work." She paused in fear. "But it is a very great risk, because what if it doesn't work out? What if it is the wrong choice?" Lucy sighed.

"It doesn't really matter if it's a right choice or not right now, does it?" she asked. "I trust you. You would never make the wrong choice when it came to the statistic or probability." Levy laughed nervously.

"You give me too much credit, Lu-chan," she replied. "We can't let you just die, can we?"

Lucy nodded. The thought seemed tempting enough, but she knew it would be a shame to Fairy Tail, if a guild member committed suicide or got caught in some other webs of death. Besides, she really didn't want to die. She wanted the pain to go away. She wanted the nightmares to stop. She wanted to be alone, not feel a thing. But she didn't want to die.

"It is Laxus then," she said quietly. "He's nice. It could be worse."

"We can still make sure he's the right choice," Levy piped. "Juvia said she knows a spell. She said you'll need a white rabbit for that."

"White rabbit?" Lucy questioned, stopping at the bathroom's door mid-step. Levy nodded with a smile.

"I'll get ready and we'll talk on the way to guild," she said with an absent-minded nod. She had heard of the White Rabbit Spell Book, but she had never met anyone who was capable of casting these charms. They were very difficult and required dark arts she had vowed not to use. However, she wasn't surprised Juvia, once a member of Phantom Lord, had information about it.

Turning on the water, she grinned grimly. She wasn't sure she wanted to know who was her best fit, but at the same time, she wished it would stay hidden from her. The water felt refreshing on her skin. She savoured every drop of it, until the sound of falling water reminded her of the nightmare she had had last night.

She got dressed swiftly and with a smile, decided it would do no harm to wear a little make up on that day. Levy waited patiently and when she exited the room, Lucy was greeted with a warm smile. "Want some breakfast?" Levy asked, but Lucy shook her head, as soon as the bluenette uttered the words "Natsu made it."

Whenever possible, she tried to not eat the food the dragon slayers made. Juvia had been the one to approach her to tell her love rival she'd seen all the dragon slayers buying love potions from a shady old woman. Although the mage could have been lying, Lucy trusted her and followed her tips.

"Let's go then," she grinned, fastening her keys to the belt. She closed the door carefully and when they made it to the street, she breathed deeply. It was drizzling, but the clouds didn't indicate a downpour. The chilly weather only upped her mood. There was no better cure for a feverish body than a cold embrace, given by one of the unyielding forces of this world.