A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you so much for reading this story ^-^ I'm sorry if it gets confusing at times and that I haven't written in so long, but university life is hard! :( I'll try to write more and better soon! ^-^

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the plot.

22. Bottled love

"Lucy," Rogue said, calming her with his voice. "It's alright."

"Is she..." dead? The last word died on her lips. She felt Rogue take her hand and squeeze it in encouragement, but she dared not to look. Her eyes were fixated on the corpse.

"Alive? I don't think so," he whispered, lips briefly caressing her earlobe. "But I don't think she's dead either." Then, as the clock struck midnight, the being croaked, drinking air into her lungs, and transformed magically into a young woman. Her hair was the color of clotted blood and shone under the sharp moonlight. Lucy bit her lip to keep herself from shrieking, but she was hypnotized. The Mistress had the brightest eyes she had ever seen. They were silver in color and they were bright. She took a step closer just to see them better.

Rogue yanked her back. "Who is this?" The girl stared at Lucy, before turning to the man. "Who are you?"

"Rogue and Lucy, mistress," Shirou said, introducing them. "They're here for the quest."

"Ah, yes," She smiled. "What happened to the other girl?"

"She didn't make it." Shirou put it bluntly. The Mistress nodded understandingly. Something flashed in her eyes that made Lucy feel uncomfortable, but as a slow smile spread over her face, the celestial mage felt herself being trapped into the soft aura of the woman.

"This one won't last long either," the Mistress said, breaking Lucy out of her trance. "She's weak."

"She's not," Rogue spoke up for her. "Her true power is still unleashed."

"Shirou," the Mistress said commandingly, not once turning her gaze from the beautiful duo in front of her. She could see the longing in the boy's eyes and even though he looked so sincerely convinced about his words, the Mistress knew it could be a false illusion.

"May I?" The little boy neared Lucy. He took her hand gently with his left one and Lucy let him. With the other hand, Shirou dug out a sharp dark blue glass shard. An intoxicating scent dulled her mind, as she watched attentively what he was doing. It took only a single smooth motion to slit open her skin and a drop of crimson to appear. The Mistress took a deep breath.

"I see," she said, drinking in the scent of her blood. "Bring me the bottle, Shirou." Again, that commanding tone. Shirou obeyed immediately.

"Lucy," the silver-haired lady turned to the blonde. "Where did you leave your love?"

"Home," she replied shortly, thinking of Laxus who she missed dearly. A minuscule smile crossed her face, when she thought of him. The mere idea of being away from him made her heart ache with longing and only now, she realized how far from home she was. How far from Laxus she had come. Alone.

No, not alone, she bit her lip. Rogue was there too. However, no matter how hard she convinced herself about it, it didn't make her feel any better. She missed Laxus. Truly.

Shirou returned with a bottle Lucy had often seen in the guild's hospital. It was small and it contained a liquid darker than black. He screwed the bottle cap, releasing a tender aroma. Mistress took the bottle from him and sniffed it, before taking a sip. Then, she handed the bottle to Rogue, who repeated her action and drunk from it.

Lucy took the bottle from him with hesitation, but as soon as the scent reached her nostrils, she was more than eager to gulp down whatever was left in it. The liquid ran down her throat smoothly, but she was surprised to find it tasted like water. But it sizzled. It made her insides flutter and she felt power well up inside her. She felt bloated with everything she felt.

The blond girl glimpsed at her companions and was surprised to see the Mistress restraining a smile and Rogue with tears streaming down his cheeks. Her right hand flew to her face, soon followed by the other one, because her face too was wet. But why was she crying? She could not answer that. Lucy opened her mouth to ask – maybe someone else knew? - but as soon as she did so, her keys started shining brightly.

As if instinctively, she brought her hands together in a prayer and called out to those she held dear to her. Her spirits, awakened, crossed their gates, entering the realm of humans. Although Lucy could not see it, because she had closed her eyes, they were confused. However, the moment they saw the Mistress, they knew.

Loke nudged Lucy to open her eyes. The spirits were not in full form, but Lucy felt them like whenever they were in the spirit world.

"Don't do it," he said, leaning close. "Lucy, please."

"Why?" she asked, her innocent eyes wide in surprise. When he didn't answer, faltering for a moment too long for her, she turned her eyes to Rogue, who was staring at the Mistress. The silver-haired girl motioned for her to continue. Understanding, she closed her eyes again and concentrated, feeling the dark liquid burn its way up inside her, engulfing her entire being.

Much like the drug before. Her eyes flew open when the sudden thought crossed her mind and she narrowed her eyes at Rogue. He looked less like him from the time he last saw him and she wondered, how much she knew of him that was still true? He looked so bewitched by the Mistress, so in love with her. For some reason, it disgusted her.

"No," she whispered to herself, as her heart clenched together, Loke's quiet plea echoing her mind. She willed herself to close the gates and one by one, the spirits disappeared. She could see the Mistress was strongly displeased.

"Why did you stop?" She demanded.

"This is wrong," Lucy whispered, staring at the two. "What have you done with him?"

The clock struck one am. The Mistress smiled, offering for Rogue to take her hand. He did so, entranced with her the same way he'd been with Lucy herself. And although this was a little conceited of her, she knew Rogue would not love another like he had loved her.