A/N: I'm so sorry guys. I had a medical issue with me, then my youngest was sick for a few days, then when he got better my oldest got sick for a few days, and then I caught whatever they had. It's been a crazy week, and I've barely had enough time to write. I tried to get this done on Friday, and was no where near close. =(
I'll try to get the next chapter done by THIS Friday, to make up for the lack of update last week. Love you all!
Her father had said nothing since meeting her in here. Which was fine, because she had nothing to say, either. She didn't care that she had never been to this room before, nor did she care that she had never even seen this part of the palace, even though she had lived here and ventured through (what she thought then) the entire thing. She wasn't going to ask why she had to be escorted inside her own home, and she definitely wasn't going to ask what she was doing here. And if he thought he was going to get an apology from her, for trying to see the world that he had been barring her from her entire life, then he was sadly mistaken.
No, she wasn't going to say anything. She was content matching his glare as they stood across the room from each other.
Her father started to straighten the lapels of his jacket, never breaking eye contact. "I would ask of your well-being, but I was told you fought the whole way here."
Lucy still said nothing. He lifted his chin in her silence. "Very well. You will remain here until-"
"You will not keep me locked up in my own home; not anymore."
The King's eyes bugged, his face growing red. "How dare you presume to tell me what I will and-"
"How dare you presume to keep me locked in a cage!?"
"I am the King!"
"And I am a human being, who-"
"You are nothing! You are property, to be sold to the highest bidder! Property that has now been tainted, and tarnished! Property that I cannot even try to give away!"
Lucy stared open-mouthed at her father. Words failed to form inside her head. Property? That is what she has been this entire time? And now she's tainted...tarnished?
Her father looked her up and down, his eyes more cruel than she had ever seen them before. "A Princess who was captured by a dragon-born. With whom she wanted to stay with. Who would want you as a Queen to an entire country?"
Lucy held back the tears in her eyes, "Maybe I've never wanted to be Queen."
Her father turned his back on her and started walking towards the door. "Then it looks as if you're to get your wish." He reached the door, but before he grabbed the handle, he turned his head to look at her. "If you had been born a male, things could have been different between us."
The already open wound inside Lucy's chest tore open a little further, and she collapsed onto the floor. The only thought left in her mind escaped her lips in a whisper before her father was able to open the door. "What will happen to Natsu?"
Her father unlatched the door and stood in the opening, his back still facing her. "The dragon-born will be of no concern to you from now on." Lucy looked up to watch him step outside of the room, and he turned his cruel eyes on her one more time. "Actually, he will soon be of no concern to anyone."
Her legs suddenly gained the strength to help her stand, and she rushed at the door as it was closed. "You can't do this! He's innocent!" A lock meeting its home sounded throughout the room, and disbelief tore through her already emotionally battered body. "Let me out! You can't do this!"
Her fists banged against the heavy door, but although her hands started to tear and bruise, it wouldn't budge. She screamed until her throat was coarse and her lungs were aching, but the sounds only echoed back at her.
Tears had worn paths down her cheeks by the time the sun had set, and Lucy was collapsed against the door. Her hands lay at her sides, raw and bruised. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, her head resting against the wood of the door at an angle as she stared out of the window on the other side of the room.
She watched the reds and oranges burn out of the sky and get smoldered by the blues and blacks. Hours had passed since she had been brought back to this hell, and there had been no noises outside of the door she was trapped behind. She couldn't keep a thought in her head for long, but when one passed through her head, it was always the same one.
What happened to Natsu?
Did he escape the guards who had barged into his cave to find her? Obviously not, if she was going by what her father said. Was he led down the mountain in chains? He was the strongest person she had ever known of. He wouldn't have gotten taken easily.
What if he let them take him? What if he thought he could get back to her if they took him prisoner? What if now he was stuck, getting ready to be executed by her father?
Tears she didn't know she had left formed in her eyes, and Lucy closed them quickly. There was no way he would let them kill him, not without taking out so many people and destroying everything around him. The fires he let out inside that cave weren't hot to her, but she could smell the hair burning off of the soldiers that they were aimed for. If they were going to try to kill him, he wouldn't make it easy. He would fight.
He would fight.
He would fight...
Lucy looked down at her hands. They were bruised and sore, but as she flexed them and tightened them into fists, she realized they still worked just fine. Natsu would never make it easy for anyone to hold him against his will. He probably is making hell right now, as she is just sitting here, crying herself into a stupor, and damning her father. He would fight, to be free, to find her again. And she knew he would want to find her again, because you don't fight that hard to keep from losing something just to give up when it is taken. He would fight until the very end.
And so would she.
Lucy looked up, a new strength flowing through her body. The room was basically bare, nothing but an overstuffed chair, a side table and an ornate bookcase with a few books filling its shelves. There was nothing she could readily use as a weapon, but there could be something to improvise with. She stood, her legs a little shaky from not being used in hours, and made her way to the side table. Quietly, she opened the small drawer and began to rummage inside, hoping to find a knitting needle, a sewing pin, anything even remotely sharp. What she found, however, was a handkerchief and a handheld mirror. Nothing that had rolled all the way to the back, nothing that had fallen between the seams.
Lucy picked up the mirror, avoiding her reflection. The thing felt heavy, like brass, and the handle tapered off into a blunt point. She couldn't use it as a knife, but the mirror itself could be heavy enough to at least stun someone. Adrenaline running through her, she shut the drawer and looked around once more. Her incessant banging on the door did nothing, so going back that route would be futile. But she knew her father wouldn't leave her alone. There had to be at least one guard standing by the door, making sure no one got in or out. The trick would be creating a noise inside that would tempt them to check on her.
Her eyes immediately went to the windows. As quick as the thought went into her head, Lucy went into action. She opened the drawer once more and grabbed the handkerchief, then wrapped it around her hand. Gripping the mirror with the covered hand, she ran to the window, and drew back her arm. One deep breath, and then she slammed, using more force than she did when her and Natsu were sparring.
The glass shattered, showering it's shards over her and onto the floor.
"The Princess!"
She stared at the door for a second, and then ran to the wall by it. She could hear the men outside fumbling with the lock, and then the handle twitched. As the door was swung open, she gasped quietly. It worked.
The guards hurriedly stepped inside, their eyes immediately fixating on the broken window across from them. They didn't see her standing behind the doors, and she took her chance.
She lifted the heavy mirror high above her head, then jumped forward and brought it down with as much strength as she could muster. The mirror hit the guard on the top of his head, and he grunted as the force of the heavy object took him to his knees. The other guard spun around, first looking to his comrade, then to her. Lucy acted without thinking once again, hoping her instincts would help her, and drew the mirror back once more. As the guard took another step towards her, she swung the mirror like she would a bat, and it connected with the guards face perfectly. The glass shards shattered across his face, and his eyes rolled back into his head as the brass connected with his temple.
Lucy had just enough time to take a deep breath as the soldier fell, before the other took to his feet and turned towards her. His face was in complete shock, "Princess, what are you doing!?"
She drew the mirror back once more, and as the guard watched her action, he went to the weapons on his waist. Lucy quickly swung the mirror towards him, but the guard was too quick. He met her with his dagger before she could make contact, the hilt of his weapon stopping hers. A new wave of adrenaline rushed through her, and she spun around him, disconnecting their two weapons. As she met his back, she swung the mirror forward, her momentum helping the force of her swing. The guard turned his head at just the right time, and the heavy brass hit its target once again. The second guard fell to the ground at her feet.
Lucy stared at what she had done, at the broken glass and fallen men at her feet. She could see their chests still rising with their breath, and perhaps that was the only reason she was not freaking out right now. But she had done it; she had gained her freedom. Well, at least from this room. She smiled to herself, Well, how about that Natsu? I'm fighting too.
Her victory was short lived, however, as she thought about how much time she didn't have. She was sure that she had been secluded into a deserted part of the palace, but someone could come at any time to relieve the two men of their posts, or to tell them of any news that had happened. She also couldn't afford to waste anymore time when she didn't know what was happening to Natsu. Had he escaped yet? Was he trying to find her now? Or had they subdued him?
Lucy stepped over one of the guards and made her way to the opened door. Peaking out into the hallway, she saw that they were indeed alone. The hall was long, continuing on for at least a hundred feet before twisting off into darkness. There were no lanterns to light the corridor, no curtains on the windows, no benches in the halls. The only light she could see by was the moon as it shone through the windows, and wasn't that just perfect. She stepped out into the hall, ready to make the long journey into, what she hoped, was the main part of the palace, but a couple of feet into her journey, she heard soft footsteps coming straight for her. Lucy drew the mirror to her chest, then turned around. The room she had been in was at the very end of the hall, and there was no way out except through the path of whoever was coming to check on her.
The only option she had was to wait back inside the room and hope to the Gods that she could take on this new obstacle, so she turned and ran back. She took up her post just inside the doorway, held the mirror tight against her, and waited. She could hear the footsteps coming towards the room, but they stopped short of the open door. She held her breath, hoping the person would step inside to see what had happened, and not take off to gather reinforcements.
The footsteps came closer, slowly, and then Lucy saw a leg come into her line of sight. As quickly as she could, she drew the mirror back and launched herself forward, using her momentum to swing herself around and aim for where the head should be.
"Whoa!" A deep voice sounded off in the darkness. The mirror missed its target and bounced off the door frame, sending violent vibrations through her hands. She shook off the pain, and twisted around to swing at the man once more. Her weapon was caught mid swing, and she felt it being jerked from her hands, then heard as it was thrown to the floor. "Stop!"
She felt strong hands grasp her shoulders, and then she was forced into the chest of the man. Her breath was forced from her lungs at the impact, but she knew better than to let it slow her down. Once again using the knowledge she had gained from Natsu, she shifted her arms into her chest, made a fist, and then thrust it up as hard as she could. She felt, and heard, the impact, the sound of teeth clashing together as loud as an explosion, and the hands fell off her shoulders. She then took her hands and pushed against his chest as hard as she could, but she didn't wait around to see him fall. As soon as her own hands left his body, she turned and ran.
She didn't make it far. A strong grip on her arm forced her to stop, almost tripping onto her face. "Lucy! Wait!"
As she held herself off the floor, she realized the voice behind her was one she had only heard this morning. Lucy turned around, seeing her target for the first time. Orange hair framed a handsome face, one that was squinted in pain and as far from her as he could get it. "Please don't hit me again."
She gasped, suddenly feeling out of breath. "You..." This was the man who had ridden with her down the mountain, who had tried to help her as she kept fighting him. He had even tried to stay with her when her father had ordered her in the palace, and his concerned face was the last thing she saw before the doors closed behind her. He had...come for her?
A small smile appeared on his face as he realized she wasn't going to fight him anymore. "Yeah, it's me." He held out his other hand to help her stand, and she took it, allowing him to help her to her feet as she stared at him, trying to make sense of this. He let go of her and rubbed his jaw, laughing slightly. "You have a mean right hook, Princess. I was seeing stars for a second there."
"What are you doing here?"
The man looked back towards the room she had been kept in. "Well, I was just trying to find you. But then I heard a couple guards saying that they had just been relieved from watching over you, and I just started walking towards where they had come from. I ended up here. I should have reported back, but I wanted to see what we would be up against, and then as I got closer, I saw that...well...you had taken care of everything."
Lucy stared up at him, confused. "Report back? To who?"
The man looked back down at her and smiled. "To Gray. We've been trying to find you all evening. Oh, I'm Loke, by the way." He bowed in front of her, but before she could say anything else, he straightened and grabbed her hand. "I'll tell you whatever else you want to know, but right now, we need to get out of this wing. Just follow me, alright?"
Lucy stared at Loke for a couple more seconds, then nodded her head. She let him lead her down the long hallway, both of them walking briskly and quietly. Gray had sent him to find her. Why? Did he feel guilty for coming to take her like that? There were so many things she needed to know from Loke, but she knew her silence was more important right now.
If only they could make it through this hallway, she would be that much closer to learning what had happened with Natsu. They reached the end of the hallway, and as they turned through the twisting corners, they were stopped by a blockade of bodies.
"Did you honestly think I would not notice a rat sneaking through my home?"
Loke tightened his grip on Lucy's hand, and she stared up into her father's cruel eyes once more.
It has been a couple chapters since I left off with a cliffhanger. I'm kind of mean...