I do not own Fairy Tail

A new Lucy

Chapter Seven – The Ruins of Narcissus Palace

We reached the city of Peonia without trouble and Freed immediately went to the client to start translating the book. He thought it would take him at least a few days to complete the mission but he had a communications lacrima with him so that he could stay in contact with us as we made our way to the ruins.

I had asked Crux to research the ruins in case there really could be something there that had affected Natsu and Lisanna but he told me that it might take him a while to find something. We were walking through the forest in the direction of the ruins, the old man that had given us the directions told us that it would probably take us most of the day to get there and so I allowed my thoughts to run freely.

I was thinking about what Master had told me during our last conversation, that a few of my friends in the guild wasn´t doing so well. I couldn´t stop thinking about who it could be since he mentioned it, and how exactly they were doing since Master seemed so worried. I was thinking that maybe it was time to go back home and face the guild after this mission…

During the next few hours, I went over in my mind how I felt about everything that had happened lately. It had only been about a week and a half since the Raijinshuu rescued me but I was already feeling like I had put the events in that basement behind me. Mostly at least…

I eventually decided to talk to the others about maybe going back home after this mission and a day or two to wind down and relax. I would need it before facing the guild again…

It was late afternoon when I heard Crux voice in my head, giving me information on the place we were about to visit. I stopped as the information flooded me and didn´t even notice that the others had stopped as well until the information transfer was complete and I snapped back into reality.

"What just happened Cosplayer?" Bickslow asked, his babies spinning around his head.

"Crux sent me the information I had asked for, the ruins used to be a place called 'Narcissus Palace'. It was a temple built on sacred grounds for a man called Narcissus, he was a mage that was famous for his unselfishness and kindness but something happened to turn him away from the light. He became a dark mage and killed everyone in the temple. The temple has been abandoned ever since and has slowly been turning into a state of decay. There are rumors that the ruins are haunted and that Narcissus himself is still hiding himself somewhere deep in the ruins. He was said to have quite a few rare items and treasures and so treasure hunters from all over the world have gone inside the ruins in search of them, not many have ever returned…" I told them and we all pondered that fact for a while before deciding that we would just have to be careful before continuing on our way.

We reached the ruins with only a few hours of daylight to spare, the ruins were overtaken by the surrounding forest but between the vines and greenery we could see the white stone of the crumbling buildings underneath. We could faintly see what must have been a path to the entrance and decided to follow it, only it was so narrow that we had to walk in a single line. Laxus took the lead with me following, Ever walking in third place and Bickslow pulling up the rear.

We walked up a set of stairs and then through an open doorway into a chamber with inscriptions lining the walls and a throne like seat in the middle of the room. We spread out to search the room but I found myself drawn to the wall behind the throne, the inscriptions there were different and they caught my curiosity. I walked closer to read the small inscriptions and what was written on the wall made the hairs on my neck stand on end, then I saw Bickslow move to take a seat in the throne from the corner of my eye but before I could warn him of the consequences he sat down. The entire room started shaking as if an earthquake shook the ground and I hear Laxus voice bellow over the rumbling.

"What the hell is happening?!"

"It´s a trap! Bickslow tripped it when he sat down on the throne." I yelled back before the floor crumbled underneath our feet and we were sent falling into the darkness below.

The fall felt like it went on forever but was likely only seconds at most. Then we hit the ground, hard. I lied completely still, trying to feel if I had broken anything but since everything hurt that was not as easy as it should have been. The darkness was still total but then a rumbling noise from above indicated that the floor of the first chamber went back into its proper place and then small lighting lacrimas along the floor started to light up, giving us a faint yellow glow to see by.

"Everyone alright?" Laxus asked while coughing in the still dust-filled air. I tried to sit up but quickly discovered that my legs were trapped beneath a piece of stone. I looked around and saw that more than one piece of stone had fallen down; these ruins really were falling apart…

"Yeah…"

"I think so." Bickslow and Ever answered but I was too busy trying to get the stone slab off of me to hear them.

"Lucy?" I heard Laxus call and stopped what I was doing to look into the darkness that was slowly fading from the room.

"Huh? What?"

"Are you alright?"

"I think so but I´m stuck…"

"Okay just stay still and we´ll help you once we have enough light to see each other." He told me and I sighed but did as he asked me. soon there was enough light for me to see with my improved vision that Laxus and Bickslow were standing up, slightly hunched over so that they would be prepared in case an enemy appeared. Ever was sitting down with her back against the wall, she was bleeding from a small cut on her forehead but didn´t seem otherwise injured. Suddenly Ever looked up in my direction and asked me.

"Lucy did you lose your headband?" I reached up with one hand but couldn´t feel the soft fabric where it should be, I felt a small sting of panic at having nothing to protect my wolfish eye from other people but pushed it to the back of my mind for now. I knew that the Raijinshuu didn´t mind the looks of my new eye but ever since seeing the reactions of the townspeople in the mining town, I felt the need to keep it hidden at all times.

"Yeah, I must have dropped it when we fell… How did you know?" I asked her and noticed that she never took her eyes off my face, how did she manage that?

"Your wolf eye is glowing in the dark." I immediately shut my left eye and turned my head away, thinking that she had found it creepy.

"Sorry…" I mumbled but before Ever had time to respond the light became bright enough for the others to see by and they noticed what I meant when I told them that I was stuck.

"Dammit Blondie are you sure you´re not hurt? That´s a big piece of stone…" Laxus asked with a worried frown. I had gotten somewhat used to the thought of him worrying about his team but it still made me feel all warm inside when the worry was directed at me. I blamed it on not being used to him worry about me but somewhere deep inside of me I had the feeling that there was more to it than that…

"Yeah I think I´m okay… I can´t get this thing off of me though and I can´t reach my keys to get Taurus to help me."

"Don´t worry about it Cosplayer, Laxus and I will get you free in no time." Bickslow told me confidently with his signature grin, tongue lolling out. The two of them grabbed a hold of the stone and with muscles bulging from the strain; they lifted it enough for me to wiggle out and away. As soon as I was out from underneath the heavy block of stone they dropped it again and the thud echoed throughout the room.

I moved slowly just in case I had any injuries that had yet to make themselves, but no pains except for the slight ache from the bruises from the fall surfaced and I stood up to search the room for a way out. Bickslow and Laxus had the same idea as me and when they were sure that I had no injuries from being trapped underneath the rock they too started to search the walls for a hidden door or something. The room was circular and had no obvious exits and since the floor above our heads had returned to its original position we could not go back the way we came either.

I noticed that Evergreen was still sitting on the ground and I kneeled in front of her, making sure to keep my wolf eye closed as to not make her uncomfortable since it apparently glowed in the faint light down here.

"Hey Ever are you really okay? You didn´t hit your head did you?" I asked her, slightly concerned.

"Yeah… I didn´t hit it very hard, I´m just a little dizzy…" I frowned, even if she hadn´t hit her head hard she could still have a concussion and the dizziness indicated that it might be the case.

"That´s not good… I can call out Fenix to heal you if you want to?"

"You don´t need to do that, I´m fine. You might need your energy later, better save it now and heal me later if you still feel the need to than heal me now and get in trouble later because your magical levels are too low. Freed told me that the animal kingdom keys are really draining to summon and I don´t want you to put yourself at risk when I´ll be fine even without your healing." She told me calmly and with a gentle smile.

"I agree with Ever, you can heal her when we get out of here but for now save your energy. It might be tricky to get out of here…" Laxus spoke from his position across the room. Then suddenly Bickslow called out for us, having found something of interest.

"Come look at this guys, there´s something written here…" I helped Evergreen up and supported her with an arm around her waist as we walked over to Bickslow to see what he had found. There was another inscription on one portion of the wall, much like the ones in the room above our heads. My hand reached out almost on its own to trace the inscription as I read it to myself.

To those that have fallen from grace.

Those who have entered this chamber, the first of many.

Your trials have only just begun.

To find the center and earn your freedom you must pass a number of tasks.

The first one will need a strong faith.

The second a mind like no other.

The third will need strength, both in body and soul.

The fourth requires agility but then you have reached your goal.

Now exit this place of limbo and begin.

Below the inscription was a hole in the wall and after a slight hesitation, I put my hand inside only to find my fingers grasping a lever. I pulled it and with a ominous grumbling sound, a piece of the wall slid away to reveal a tunnel leading further into the unknown. No one moved but after a minute or so Laxus stepped inside the tunnel and told us.

"Well, let´s go then we won´t get out or find something while staying here." We hesitated for a second longer but then we all followed after Laxus and after walking for a little while, we heard the wall slid back into place behind us, forcing us to keep moving forward no matter what.

We walked for what felt like a very long time before reaching another chamber, this one larger than the one before. The room was empty and on the far side of the room we could see another tunnel, but in the middle of the room a stretch of the floor was missing. Making a trench both wide and unfathomably deep, the obstacle we needed to pass.

"We´re not going to be able to jump across that…" I whispered mostly to myself but Laxus heard me and responded.

"Nope, but we´ll make it. Bickslow can have his babies carry him, Ever have her fairy wings and I can use my lighting teleportation with you." I only nodded but when we stepped closer I was overcome by a horrible draining sensation that left me feeling completely empty, as if something was missing from my very soul.

"Oh for fucks sake… The room has anti-magic wards. We can´t use our magic in here." He explained and I felt a sliver of fear staining my mind, how would we make it out of here without our magic?

Laxus walked up to the trench and peered over the edge, trying to see the bottom. Then he focused his eyes on the other side judging the distance before he turned back to us and asked us.

"What did the inscription say we needed to pass this task?"

"Strong faith." I answered him immediately and he nodded absent mindedly before doing something that shocked us all deeply.

He stepped over the edge and disappeared from sight.

"LAXUS!" I yelled rushing forward while Evergreen and Bickslow were standing ram-rod straight and unmoving, to shocked to say a word. I fell to my knees and leaned over the edge only to see Laxus standing there, completely unharmed and grinning widely. It took me a moment to realize that the endless depth of the trench had been a simple illusion and that there was no danger here.

I visibly sagged and allowed my body to collapse onto my back, staring at the ceiling high above my head for a moment before closing my eye and letting out a sigh of relief. For a moment I really thought he would fall to his death and abandon us here…

I suddenly realized that he had managed to worm his way into my heart, becoming one of the best friends I had ever had along with the rest of the Raijinshuu. I didn´t want him to leave me… I didn´t want anyone of them to leave me but somehow the feeling was even stronger when considering Laxus. A thought crossed my mind that maybe I was starting to grow feelings for him that I was better off not to but I immediately pushed them away again, deciding that now was not the time to think about it. Besides, it wasn´t like he could ever feel the same for me anyway…

"Lucy open your eyes." A voice demanded from above me and I opened my right one, keeping my wolf eye closed just in case. Laxus was leaning over me, his storm colored eyes peering down at me.

"Are you okay?" I only nodded my head yes to his question, not bothering to try and find my voice.

"Then let´s go, we have three more of these tasks to do." He said and pulled me up by the hand, not letting me go as he helped me across the fake trench. When we reached the other tunnel we got the use of our magic back and I called forth Virgo to get us some food and water, we needed to eat to be able to keep our strength up.

After some food my body felt heavy with tiredness and leaned back against the wall behind me, making myself as comfortable as possible before slipping into a deep sleep.

I was back in the chamber we just left and I realized on some level that this was only a dream, that nothing here could hurt me. But when I turned around and saw all four members of the Raijinshuu standing very close to the edge of the trench, dangerously close if the trench had not been fake.

They all had their heads tilted towards the ground but then Bickslow raised his head, looking me right in the eyes as he spoke with a voice that sounded as dead as his normally vibrant red eyes looked.

"You are weak; your keys are the only ones holding strength. You are the one relying on their strength and not the other way around." Then he took a step back and disappeared from view. Tears filled my eyes but I refused to let them fall, I knew he didn´t really think that, this was just a nightmare, just a bad dream. The next one to speak was Evergreen.

"You´re pathetic, a stupid little bitch who can´t even realize when you´re not wanted. We don´t need you, you will only drag us down." And with that said, she too took a step backwards and disappeared from sight.

"You are a nuisance, a clingy little baby who are too stupid to realize what other people think about you. I wish you had stayed with your father, you don´t belong in Fairy Tail." Freed told me and I couldn´t hold the tears back any longer, they fell as he disappeared into the trench with his teammates.

Then I turned towards the last person standing there with me, hoping against reason that he wouldn´t tell me cruel things as well.

"I wish we had never found you in that basement, we don´t need you. we were better off with you dead, if only Natsu had had the courage to end you himself…" What was left off my heart shattered at hearing what he had to say and after he disappeared into the trench as well I slowly crept closer and peered over the edge.

They were all gone, the trench apparently wasn´t a fake anymore.

I allowed my body to collapse at the edge and then I realized that I was all alone, that the Raijinshuu had preferred death to my company and my heart shattered completely.

I screamed.

I jerked awake and quickly looked around with panicked eyes and a rushing heartbeat only to calm down when I realized that we were still in the tunnel where we had stopped for food. Bickslow and Evergreen were leaning against each other at the wall across from me and when I saw that both of them were sleeping I relaxed a little.

It had only been a dream… a horrible nightmare of a dream but still a dream.

I suddenly noticed that I was leaning against something warm and I looked to the side to see Laxus fur coat. I must have turned towards his heat in my sleep and started leaning on him instead of the wall. I slowly looked up, hoping that he too was asleep but when my eyes met his I knew I had no such luck.

"Nightmares?" He asked me and I felt my eyes widen in surprise, how did he know that? He must have realized what I was thinking because he told me.

"You were crying in your sleep, I was just about to wake you."

"Oh… thank you. Sorry I´m so much trouble…" I said quietly and looked away from him.

"You´re not any trouble where did you get that idea? And why do you keep your left eye closed? I know you lost your bandanna in the fall but you don´t need it."

"I might have dreamt that all of you guys told me how worthless I was and how much better you would have it if I just disappeared… And I keep my eye closed because Ever told me that it glowed in the dark, I think she thought it was creepy…" I admitted with my head turned in the other direction, I couldn´t believe that I had just admitted all of that…

Suddenly the thick, strong arm belonging to Laxus wrapped around my middle and pulled me closer until I was sitting in his lap. A fierce blush flared up on my cheeks and instinctively closed both of my eyes tightly. I was turned around so that I was facing Laxus, straddling his lap in the process and then he spoke to me.

"Open your eyes Lucy." He demanded and I cracked open my right eye, took a peek at his serious face so close to my own before closing it again, shaking my head no lightly.

"Why won´t you look at me?"

"Because I´m afraid… I´m not strong like you guys, I might be stronger than before but I´m still not strong enough…"

"But you are strong Lucy, what do you feel that you aren´t strong enough for?" He asked quietly as to not wake up the others.

"I´m not strong enough to survive on my own… what do I do when you guys leave me too?" I asked him weakly and cursed the tears that gathered in my eyes. The damned nightmare had caused one of my greatest fears to arise and now Laxus would know about it. That being alone is what I fear the most…

"But you don´t have to be alone Lucy, we won´t leave you like Natsu did. You can stay with us for as long as you want." Laxus told me, trying to convince me that my fears were not going to come true.

"You can´t promise that. You can´t promise that you will all stay with me and that I can stay with you for as long as I want, the others have to get to decide that for themselves." I told him seriously, not accepting that he made that kind of promise for them.

"Well then how about I promise you that I won´t abandon you like Natsu did? That you can stay with me for as long as you want to?" He asked me confidently grinning widely. I was surprised to say the least; I had not expected him to give me those promises.

"But what if you get tired of me or…" I started to say but was interrupted when Laxus put his hand over my mouth. He gave me a serious look before his eyes softened and his grin turned to a genuine smile. He then leaned forward until his mouth was right next to my ear and then he spoke softly.

"I won´t ever get tired of you Lucy, you´re an amazing woman with astonishing magic capabilities and you intrigue me. Is it really so hard to comprehend that I really like you for you?" His lips ghosted over the outer shell of my ear as he spoke and goosebumps broke out on my skin. I shivered as his hot breathe blew across the side of my neck before he pulled back to look me in the eye again.

"You don´t ever have to be alone again unless you want to, you will always have me." He promised and a smile broke out on my lips as my left eye opened as well. I looked at him with my two mismatched eyes and then he gently traced the now white scar on my face with one of his fingers. Looking directly into my softly glowing wolf-eye he told me.

"You are beautiful Lucy, no matter if you have scars or mismatched eyes. Ever don´t think that your eye is creepy, she probably thought it was beautiful as well, because that´s what I think." He told me honestly and slowly leaned forward, coming even closer to my face. He looked as if he was about to tell me something important but then a laugh from the other side of the tunnel made us flew apart and look at Evergreen and Bickslow.

Bickslow had woken up and when seeing that Evergreen were hugging his arm to her chest, holding on to it as if it were a teddy bear, mumbling in her sleep about Elfman, he lost it and burst out laughing before noticing the position that Laxus and I were in.

I quickly got off Laxus lap and sat down beside him again before Bickslow noticed it and I thought for a moment that I heard Laxus sigh in disappointment but that was probably just my imagination. He then stood up and walked over to Bickslow and the newly wakened Evergreen and started yelling at Bickslow, telling him to keep it down when other people were trying to sleep.

I only smiled softly to myself before remembering that we still had three tasks to complete before having a chance of getting out of here. While feeling safe and comforted by Laxus promises, a lot could still go wrong.

We weren´t safe yet.

Hi I hope that everyone has had a pleasant christmas and I wish everyone a happy new year!

Please let me know what you think?

Love C