Buuurrr, hey guys, it's freezing cold up here in Canada! I'm literally wrapped in taco form writing this to you, with a nice cup of earl grey tea of course!
Thank you all so much for your reviews last time! It made my day, seriously! Now that Christmas break is almost upon us I'll be writing more. Angel will also be showing up for Christmas (or should I say Winter Solstice) stirring up some trouble in both Lucy's love life and the life of her fellow school mates.
But I don't want to spoil too much . . .
Please review and favourite when you get a chance, it means the world to me!
WARNING: This chapter has some gore and blood and such, if that freaks you out, sorry. It's not too bad but just forewarning you.
Revised: 2015
Chapter 19: Liar
At first Lucy's call went unheard by her fellow classmates who were beginning to grow worried and began whispering fretfully to one another.
"Hey guys, I've got an idea!" She said louder, hoping someone would acknowledge she actually had a solution to this sticky situation.
Again her call went unheard, a magic drained Professor Strauss was slumped on a rock, white hair sticking to her moist lips and her blue eyes vacant.
Getting frustrated now Lucy straightened herself and let out a fearful bellow, "listen up! I have an idea how to fix this problem!"
All at once the whole class froze, turning to stare at her, unblinking, mouths open.
Realizing her hair was standing on end, blonde locks sticking out of her head like a porcupine due to her sudden rush of magic powers, a blush painted her cheeks. Taking a deep breath and forcing her ebbing magic power down to the base of her stomach, she cleared her throat.
"I have an idea." She stated calmly, " now it's a long shot and it's going to be difficult to pull off, but I think we can do it."
"What's your brilliant idea, Heartfillia?" An arrogant pure-blood boy by the name of Bora sneered, elbowing his lanky friend in the gut earning a forced chuckle.
Lucy glared icily at the boy then continued, "my idea is, in fact, that we should charm one of the woodland creatures, a deer possibly. Then get them to go back to the castle with a note detailing our problem and issue, then the deer can lead them to where we are." Lucy finished proudly, hands on her hips, smiling smugly.
"One problem, none of us even know the Animal Possession spell." A rather bookish looking witch by the name of Georgia pointed out, adjusting her large glasses upon her nose.
Lucy blinked stupidly, "well, I know the spell." She deadpanned, momentarily unaware that to the rest of her classmates such a spell was considered advanced and difficult.
Professor Strauss pushed her way through the crowd of speculative students, all glancing warily at Lucy.
"Lucy, how do you know such a spell?" She asked disbelievingly, "I don't even know the Animal Possession spell." She admitted shamefully.
Now realizing what she had just said, Lucy struggled to come up with some sort of explanation to why she knew such a hard spell, "well, my mother liked animals." She stammered stupidly, rubbing the back of her scorching neck, wishing she could swallow her previous words. "And she, er she . . ."
"Who cares how she knows the stupid spell?! Why the hell does it matter if it means going home?" The irritated, snarling voice of Natsu came to her rescue, arms crossed over his chest, a blooming purple bruise on his cheek.
Professor Strauss swallowed, "Mr. Dragneel is right. As of now we need all the help we can get," she turned to Lucy, "what do you propose?"
Lucy couldn't help but feel her eyes drift to Natsu, raking over the crowd of awaiting people, she met his hard eyes. He held her gaze, onyx eyes flickered over to the forest, jerking his chin towards the dense wood.
She swallowed, first they needed to find a suitable animal, "well, I guess we better find a animal to charm. And not any animal either, we need an animal that can run fast and actually has some resemblance of a brain."
"So no bunnies." Professor Strauss added more to herself than anybody.
"Yes, no bunnies." Lucy confirmed, "any volunteers to go searching for an animal with me?" She asked weakly, trying her best to smile confidently.
But even as she did this she couldn't deny the sudden thick fog that seemed to nestle in the woods, coating the dark bark in a heavy mist and hiding the sky, the dense forest seemingly crawling with any sort of nasty creatures one could imagine.
A single hand raised.
"Natsu." She grit out, wishing anyone but him had volunteered.
"I'll come too." Another hand flapped in the air, the stormy eyes belonging to none other than Gray Fullbuster were full of resolve.
Lucy had to clench her jaw shut to prevent the onslaught of swear words that wanted to spill from her mouth. Desperately she scanned the crowd looking for Levy's blue head, she spotted her best friend, hazel eyes watching her with a tight worried expression.
Lucy managed to give Levy a small smile of reassurance, then focused back on the problem at hand.
"Gray, Natsu, what are you waiting for? Let's go." She grunted, she was in no mood for pleasantries, she turned around, clomping ungracefully in the snow to the edge of the forest.
Before the boys could catch up with her and Professor Strauss could even put a word in she hissed, "if we're not back in an hour, come look for us."
Then whilst cursing and mumbling under her breath she tromped into the thick forest, with only the warm comfort of her dorm bed pushing her forward.
As soon as the three had entered the forest and the class was safely out of sight Lucy set a few things straight.
"First things first, we're not friends. Therefore we will not be looking for an animal together, I shall go one direction and you two will go another. Understand?" She snapped, sizing up Gray who wasn't used to her temperamental side yet, unlike Natsu.
"Fine." He nodded, shoving his cold hands in his pant pockets.
Natsu didn't say anything, just kept his steady gaze on her, almost as if he was watching her, trying to figure her out. She didn't pay his weirdness any mind.
"Secondly, if you find an acceptable animal, use a Bind spell to prevent it from running away then come find me, right away."
Both boys nodded slightly at this, glancing at one another briefly.
Rolling her eyes Lucy shook her head tiredly, "thirdly, if one of you idiots get's lost stay where you are, I'll find you. Now leave!" She barked, shooing the two boys off.
Both Gray and Natsu scampered off in different directions, both wanting to be the first to find the animal and best the other.
Lucy felt drained and oddly competitive at the same time, shaking her head clear of the fog and distractions, she allowed her body to calm. She wasn't going to catch anything if she wasn't quiet, boots sinking into the crunchy snow she crept through the white fluff.
Lucy kept her eyes peeled for any sign of movement, anything at all, she wanted to get out of this dreary forest fast. Lately bad karma seemed to be following her around like a heavy raincloud, ready to spill it's contents at any time.
The thick fog of the forest twined sinfully around the trees, making it hard to see anything in front of her. Soon spotting her feet in the mass of white became a challenge, she wondered how much time had passed.
Just as Lucy was about to turn around and regroup with Natsu and Gray she heard something! Like a wicked whisper on the wind it echoed around the hollow forest, bouncing off the trees and ringing unpleasantly in Lucy's ears.
She froze, fingers chilled and red with the cold began to heat up, magic bubbling in her stomach. But Lucy could have never prepared for what happened next, she never could have seen it coming.
Peeking around the trunk of a nearby tree was her mother, in the same dress she wore on the day of her death, the warm, kind smile on her lips.
Lucy should have known better than to trust her, heart pounding painfully against her ribcage, she should have known that it was foolish to believe it was her actual mother.
But all the repressed pain and love she felt for her dead mother overruled sanity, she stepped forwards, hand outstretched, longing for touch.
Layla stepped out from behind the tree, porcelain arms white as the snow on the ground also extending toward Lucy, brown eyes dancing.
Cold, red fingertips touched sizzling pale ones, tears flooded Lucy's eyes, she looked up at her mother, smile wavering precariously.
"Mother," she whispered, hot, messy tears streaking down her cold cheeks, almost desperately she wrapped her arms around her mother.
Her mother's arms wrapped around Lucy's trembling frame, whispering incomprehensible words into her blonde hair, lips pressed to the crown of golden halo.
"Mihi dolet angelum meum, hoc mihi res est.1" The words rolled off her mother's tongue like a well rehearsed lullaby, soft as ocean waters. "Sed Ive 'voluerunt animam tuam ad tam diu, et nunc suus' denique mea.2" These next words left her mothers mouth like a strangled cry and suddenly her grip on Lucy's body tightened, her mother's body going slack.
Lucy screamed as her lungs tightened in her mother's rib shattering grip, magical energy flowing through them like a gushing current, pain ripped through every nerve in Lucy's body. The hold on her body fell away, her mother crumpling to the ground like an abandoned doll.
Hands shooting over her mouth, choking down the shrieks of terror that wanted to tear from her throat, Lucy watched as her mother's skin crackled and popped, magic leaving her body.
What had, moments before, been a touchable, walking version of her long dead mother was nothing but a rotting corpse, empty eyes milky and blind.
This time Lucy could not prevent the scream that left her mouth, scrambling backwards, composure crashing down, heart rattling in her chest.
Like a maniacal cackle on the wind and a rush of cold air he was instantly there, suave and oozing confidence, copper hair combed off his forehead. He stood casually, hands in his pockets, eyes blazing a fire blue, a crooked grin on his face, looking down on Lucy like she was prey.
Lucy could feel her bones harden, the snow beneath her butt numbing her whole body, teeth chattering in fear and shock, muscles locked.
Angel smiled at her, lips twisting cruelly, "it's been a while Lucy, hasn't it?" He asked coolly, his own wind magic lifting him off the ground, hovering slightly. "I've heard you've been keeping yourself busy, I knew I should have disposed of that Dragneel long ago." The last part he said bitterly, shaking his head at him own stupidity.
For some reason, a reason Lucy doesn't want to explain at this moment, that comment sent her to her feet, magic ready.
"Don't you dare touch a hair on his head." She snarled, pupils now as bright as a virgin sun, swirling with a fiery orange he'd never seen before.
Angel looked hurt, he clutched his heart dramatically, pouting, "you think so little of me Luce, you know I'm a man of fair judgement and actions."
"I know no such thing." Lucy hissed, surprised at her own confidence.
Angel, sensing petty talk was doing him no good, dropped the act. "Now Lucy, you know the consequences of getting in my way, and I'm afraid that boy is past toeing the line." He shook his head as if it truly hurt him to say it, "I'm afraid he'll just have to die, you see, he's already in love with you."
Lucy's heart seized, gasping slightly.
"But you already knew that of course," Angel said sarcastically, "stop leading that poor boy on Lucy, you're being so unfair."
Lucy's fists clenched into angry balls, light shimmering around her fingertips like vibrant sun rays, ready and waiting for use, her jaw iron shut.
Angel looked at her sadly, as if Natsu's upcoming death was her fault, "if you weren't so stupid this wouldn't have to happen, as I told your mother and her mother before."
That was the last straw, Lucy couldn't take this any longer. With all the fury and power she could possibly muster she wrapped herself in a blanket of scorching cosmos, spinning in the frozen forest sky like a new sun.
Like a rocket ship she hurled herself at Angel, her only goal being to wipe that all knowing smirk off his handsome face. Then, as if she was meteor, she shot toward Angel, the demon barely sparing a moment to thrust up a wobbly Ward.
Not rattled in the slightest by this ricochet, Lucy launched herself at him again, her body indistinguishable, she was just a blazing mass of magma light. Again she bounced off, but this time with minimal success, his dome like Ward cracked, her comet starling its well attuned defences.
Angel didn't know what to do! Persistent and stronger every time Lucy kept crashing into his crumbling Ward, fighting to keep a steady hold on his magic, muscles straining like never before. He cursed himself for his foolishness, he had given her powers so she could become a tool; for him. To open her eyes so her homecoming would be easier. Not to be used against him! Gritting his teeth together Angel knew he had to do something now, or his Ward would surely crumble, Lucy's comet again crushing into his sparkling Ward.
"WIND DOMAIN!" The echoing summon of his magic rattled the forest, the trees swaying with the power of his call.
His Ward fell, but he didn't feel the burning pain of Lucy's comet. Instead, popping his eyes open, shielding them from the mighty wind, he saw that she was struggling against his overwhelming wind current. Like a bee stuck in a glass jar, she banged against the wind walls furiously, angry yellow eyes burning into his soul.
Brushing himself off he regained his composure, he wouldn't be defeated like that again. Not by his own model. Fingers dancing on the wind in which he was controlling he warped them into his silent obey, the cage holding Lucy intensifying.
"I have to admit, for a moment there you gave me a good scare." Angel chuckled, loving the look of shock on her face as the wind encasing her began to bite into her skin. "But remember, I gave you your powers, and I could take them away just as easily." That last part wasn't true, in fact it was a complete lie, but he needed her to feel helpless.
"Now, if you're willing to go with me peacefully, I'll let the Dragneel boy live."
"Go to hell, or I'll send you there myself." She spat venomously, lip curling back to expose white, sharp teeth, yellow eyes glowering down at him.
Angel shook his head sadly, almost as if he was disappointed in her choice of words. Then again he asked, "you know you could spare his life if you just gave yourself to me." He said gently, eyes melting.
Lucy's heart was jumping in her chest. She cared for Natsu, if she liked it or not she did, and she knew that now, but was she willing to sacrifice herself to a life of pain and suffering for him?
No.
Natsu would kill himself if he knew of her sacrifice, he'd never forget her for being such a coward; not fighting. Lucy let out a quiet amused laugh, besides, Natsu could probably take Angel, and they could definitely win together. A surge of pride flowed through her, together they could do this, just as he had said, together they would be victorious against Angel.
Focusing her mind back on the problem at hand she smiled confidently, "I'll never stop fighting, and you won't be taking Natsu alive either."
Angel cocked a brow at her, but the ease in his eyes slipped away, sensing her seriousness. "Really? Never?" He asked.
Lucy grinned at him, slowly working her magic in her hands, as if to be undetected, she needed to escape this cage. "That's right. And neither will Natsu, he'll fight until there is nothing left . . ." Lucy's voice broke off momentarily, swallowing thickly, getting prepared for the words she was about to say, "because I love him."
As if time itself stilled the world around them hung in suspended silence, the words Angel dreaded and feared fell from her mouth. His soul tore, his duty and promises, and all that he'd worked for, years after years. Like a broken doll he fell to the snowy ground, knees crunching in the stiff snow, gasping for air.
His promise to the Devil, the promise to himself. He could feel his magic, granted by the Devil, was slowly being sucked from his body.
But he couldn't give in now! No way in hell was he giving up now, not after he was so close. So biting down the pain and rage, he stood, nerves quivering.
Lucy stared at him astonished, still suspended in his breaking airfield. In his eyes she saw something she'd only seen once before, in Natsu's, the raw determination of someone who wasn't giving up that easily. His magic crackled around him like electricity, his soul shaking in her mind eye of the Soul Plane, black and corrupted, sizzling and flaming.
He grit his teeth, baring them with intense animosity. "You've won this round Lucy." He growled, his body slowly becoming translucent, his signature smirk still upon his lips. "But, I'll be back, don't you dare even get comfortable with lover boy. For I've got some surprises for you, and I have all the time in the world, you don't." His voice grew distant, whispering amongst the trees. "Your time has grown quite limited in fact, as I'm sure you realized. Good bye for now, love."
Then he was gone. Lucy dropped from his airfield, falling ungracefully in the snow; for a long moment she lay there, stomach up, panting for air.
Footsteps in the snow, the familiar crunching of Natsu's boots. Lucy stiffened, quickly sitting up, wide eyed. Natsu stared at her with the same expression, jaw dropped rather foolishly, an unconscious badger under his arm.
"Lucy . . ." He croaked, his cheeks were pink, Lucy was unsure if it was from blushing or the cold.
Suddenly feeling as if she had been found naked, Lucy scrambled to cover for herself, what if he had seen Angel what would she do? She jumped up, stammering messily, "oh! Hey Natsu! Didn't see you there, I just tripped it all, I'm fine though." She rubbed the back of her neck, hoping the heat from there had crept to her face; of course it had.
Natsu's chapped lips pulled into a tight frown, eyes hardening. "You're lying. I know what I saw . . . what was all that? Who was that?!" His questions grew pointed and as sharp as daggers, needy and desperate.
Lucy struggled to find a plausible lie, but she was a terrible liar and he knew that. "My cousin? There is a little bad blood on my dad's side." She said, although it sounded more like a question.
Natsu cursed bitterly, dropping the poor unconscious badger, "dammit Lucy, what the hell aren't you telling me?! I know what I saw!"
Lucy cringed, turning her eyes away, "how much did you see?"
Natsu's eyes dodged hers, the colour in his cheeks deepening, he munched on his bottom lip. "Enough."
"What did you see!?" Lucy demanded, fear rocking her, what if he had heard her confess her love to him?! What if he'd seen the whole thing, what if knew who Angel was!?
Natsu looked at her, eyes smouldering, speechless. The truth as clear as day in his onyx eyes.
He knew. Of course he did.
Lucy felt something break inside her, as if her biggest secret was out, the whole world whispering about her hidden dark secret. She staggered, trying to catch her breath. Now he knew.
Natsu seemed as at loss for words as she was, his fists clenched at his sides, why couldn't she just tell him straight out what was wrong? Did she really mistrust him that much? And what about her saying she loved him, was that all a lie?
Lucy held her aching head, inhaling shakily, "so now you know." She whispered.
Natsu stared at her, blinking. "No, I don't know anything. It's all just a bunch of mismatched puzzle pieces, I don't know anything. None of it makes any sense."
Lucy glanced at him, chewing her lip in thought, she yearned to tell him, but how much? When would her craziness finally become too much and he'd just mock her? She sighed, head throbbing, "I know it doesn't make sense, it doesn't even make sense to me." She admitted, "my life is hell, and I didn't want to involve you in my personal tribulations." She felt her lower lip tremble as all the walls she built up began tumbling down. "I can do crazy things, insane things, not to mention the things I can see. My whole life was a lie and I'm just protecting my life from the fate my mom and grandmother suffered." Tears flooded her eyes, her throat drying. "For the past month and a half I've been keeping my terrors a secret, letting it crush me slowly, not trusting anyone," her voice cracked, knees wobbling, "but then you came along, cocky and powerful, not to mention my worst enemy." Tears sprouted in her eyes.
"You taught me so much," she whimpered, wiping at her eyes, "you may not know it, but my life has been altered because of you Natsu."
Warm arms wrapped around her, Natsu burying his face into the crook of her neck. He murmured sweet nothings, quietly and brokenly, holding her tight, as if he was scared she'd slip through his fingertips
Lucy let him hold her, allowed herself to feel the comfort of another.
"You taught me how to love for the first time in really long time." She chuckled bitterly, limp arms still hanging by her side as he hugged her.
Natsu's hot breath matted her hair, but she didn't care, his mouth drifted across her face to land on her lips. Dry, chapped lips kissing her with a desperation and passion, he needed to get his love across, and it was clear in his kiss. His kisses careful and precious, and the way his kisses sang to her, played pleasant tunes in her head.
How could the world feel so perfect when everything was falling apart?
"No Lucy," he whispered hoarsely, stroking her cheekbone with his rough thumb, "you taught me how to love. For the first time, ever."
WEEOW. Chappie is done. I'm actually really proud of this one. I like it a lot.
I hope you guys did too! I mean I put a lot of work into it.
KINDA CHEESY. I know. Don't judge. It was kawaii-desu. :D
Please review, favourite, follow! Means the world.
SEE YAH NEXT TIME.
3 Suicidal
1- translates from Latin and it means "I'm sorry my angel, but this is something I have to do."
2- translated from Latin and it means "But I've wanted your soul for so long and now it's finally mine . ."