((Le 14th Chapter! ASDFGHJKL. I can't believe it. O3O Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter! On with le next one. :P

Can't believe it's almost xmas!

Please enjoy, and please review, because lately, I haven't gotten many reviews! **sadface**))

Chapter 14: Fear

"Zeref…what will we do?" Yuuki asked timidly, gently touching her small bump.

"I do not know…" he sighed.

"Zeref…I'm scared…"

"I know, so am I…I do not want you to get into any trouble because of me…"

"It's alright, Zeref, it takes two to make a baby..."

The aftermath of Zeref's invasion was catastrophic. Several of the underground tunnels had collapsed, a few members of the army had died – two female wizards and three male wizards who were not from a particular guild – and almost everyone had been injured.

And then there was Natsu. He was lucky to be alive. Zeref's death magic had hit him square in the back – and how did he survive you ask?

His scarf absorbed the worst of it, however, it was not able to contain all of the magic and killing intent, so some had unfortunately gotten to Natsu, and left him with an awful scar on his back.

Erza, Lucy, Gray, Jellal and Happy hovered over his unconscious form, waiting for him to wake up, or move…anything.

"The magic was powerful. He may take years to wake up" Porlyusica sighed at them, trying to comfort the screaming Ryfar.

"Poor Ryfar…he probably misses his mom…" Lucy sighed, tearfully.

"How's Natsu gonna be when he wakes up?" Gray frowned.

"Zeref got Yuuki…" Happy whimpered.

"We've failed her…" Erza murmured.

"Don't say that, Erza, Gray, we're going to get Yuuki back, no matter what" Jellal smiled reassuringly at them. "She's waiting for us to save her"

"She's not just some princess locked in a tower, Jellal, she's been kidnapped by Earthland's most evil mage; Zeref. Don't sugar-coat it by saying we'll get her back for sure, we know what Zeref's like" Cobra said, calmly.

Yuuki sat, petrified. She had been tied up in Zeref's bedroom, her clothes torn, scratches on her face and arms, bruises around her wrists.

"Yuuki-chan…" Zeref said, smiling psychotically at her again. "I'm glad to have you back, Yuuki-chan…"

Yuuki glared at him, not saying a word.

"Yuuki…are you mad at me?" Zeref said, his face dropping. Yuuki snapped.

"Of course I'm fucking mad at you! You attacked everyone I hold dear! You separated me from my son! You killed Natsu!" her voice broke on 'Natsu', and she ended up sobbing into the silence – she just wanted to crawl into a corner and die. Zeref grabbed a fistful of her hair, and yanked her towards him.

"I killed Natsu because only I can love you!"

3 years later

Zeref smiled triumphantly. It had taken three excruciatingly long years for Yuuki to finally accept that Natsu was dead, and that Zeref is the only man she should love.

Three excruciatingly long years.

He skipped gleefully to the bedroom the two shared, and opened the door to see Yuuki's smiling face.

"You're back" she smiled, wondering towards him from the window. Zeref frowned.

"Why were you by the window?" Zeref asked.

"I miss the sunshine and the sky…and fresh air. I've been cooped up in this room for three years…" she mumbled, her gaze falling to his feet.

She was sad.

"How about we have a picnic tomorrow, Yuuki?" he smiled. Her gaze went back to him, her face registering surprise.

"R-Really?" she stuttered.

"Really" Zeref smiled.

"Th-thank you!" she smiled brilliantly.

Yuuki watched the sakura petals snow down to the cool ground below, as a gentle sunshine lit up the scene. Plants beginning to bloom dotted the landscape stretched in front of her, and a gust of wind rustled the emerald green grass.

Three years, it had been. Three long, excruciating years since she had been outside.

She had spent those three years gaining his trust.

"Ugh" she thought aloud of that creature. He was a monster. He killed her lover, Natsu. Attacked her friends. Took her from her son. Did unspeakable atrocities to her. Ever since being in this room, she had felt dirty, vulnerable and alone. She was scared. During the past three years, her waist length, curly hair had been cropped to her chin, and Zeref had scarred her left eye, meaning she had to wear an eyepatch. She was blind in that eye now.

Just then, the door opened, and Yuuki turned around to greet Zeref with a smile. During the past three years, Zeref's hair grew, and it now lightly brushed his shoulders. Yuuki has scarred his right cheek by dragging her frozen fingernails across it in one of her escape attempts.

That was the same night she lost the vision in her left eye.

"You're back" she smiled, mentally shaking herself. Zeref was frowning, Yuuki felt her blood run cold.

"Why were you by the window?"

"I miss the sunshine and the sky…and fresh air. I've been cooped up in this room for three years…" she mumbled, staring at his feet. The feet that had kicked her when she had misbehaved; the feet that had broken her ribs and her spirit, and, at one point, her arm. She was amazed she hadn't been beaten to death by him.

Zeref's frown lifted. "How about we have a picnic tomorrow?" he smiled. Yuuki's mouth almost fell open in surprise.

"R-Really?" she stuttered, not believing her ears.

"Really" Zeref smiled.

"Th-thank you!" she felt hersef grin. She had had something returned to her that had long been stolen from her; Hope.

Natsu smiled, gazing into the wind.

Three long and excruciatingly lonely years are almost over…this time tomorrow, Yuuki will be back by my side, where she belongs.

Natsu thought about all the things they'd do when she got back; they'd hug, kiss, talk, catch up with each other…maybe make love, but he won't force it on her – she'll probably be tired. During the past three years, Natsu had taken place as Yuuki's second in command, organising things – with the help of his friends – and leading the rebel army. Natsu's hair had grown somewhat longer, and he had become more muscly and taller.

"Natsu" Lucy's voice came from behind him, her blond hair was now waist-length, but was currently tied back into a bun, she had gotten taller and curvier. "I know you're excited about getting Yuuki back, and we've all been training really hard for this final fight…but Zeref's army has also gotten stronger. It won't be an easy battle. People are going to die" Lucy warned him.

Natsu sighed. "I know…but we have to try, we can't just abandon a member of our family"

"Porlyusica and I don't think we should tell Ryfar about this. He's too young, and we don't want to get his hopes up about Yuuki possibly returning" Lucy emphasized the 'possibly'.

"I agree…plus it'll be a nice surprise for him when his mom comes back" Natsu grinned, picturing the four year-old's smiling face at his mother's return.

Lucy smiled. "You're like a father to Ryfar" she chuckled. "And we'll definitely try our best to get Yuuki back"

"Try? We're getting her back, end of" Gray said, suddenly appearing behind Lucy, scaring the pants off of her. Gray's hair had grown slightly past his shoulders, and he now wore it in a small pony-tail, he too had grown taller and more muscular.

"We don't know that for sure" Lucy frowned, after recovering from near heart-failure.

"Lucy makes a point, we shouldn't get our hopes up" the ever-gloomy Cobra interjected. Like most of the other males, his hair had grown as well as his body; he had also gained a diagonal scar down his face. Lucy nodded triumphantly at the other two males. Natsu rolled his eyes.

"Say what you want. This time tomorrow, we'll all be a big and happy family again" he said, walking away.

/TBC/

((Kay people, end of chapter. Gawd that took ages to write. Please review, guys, I like feedback from you peeps. :P

It's very muchly appreciated. xP

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for keeping on reading it!))