Shadows
Chapter 3: The Second Gift
Day one of Natsu and Happy's body guarding: Lucy fumbled her keys through the lock on the door and turned it with a flick of her wrists. The door swung open and Lucy found herself looking at the dragon slayer and feline lounged on her bed. "Yo!" Natsu absently waved staring at the ceiling.
Natsu couldn't help feeling a little excited. He got to stay with Lucy for a while. Mostly, it was the sense of relief that came with being Lucy's bodyguard, that made him feel happiest. Somewhere, out there, someone was coming after Lucy. Natsu didn't like that one bit. When Lucy was ever in danger, he would feel a tightening knot in his chest, and found difficulty in trying to draw breath.
Suddenly, a sharp tug at his leg sent him tumbling through the air. He landed hard with a thump on the floor by the bed. A blue fur ball followed him down, landing heavily on his chest, making him gasp. Hands on hips, Lucy's frightening figure towered over them, burning with discipline. "Couch." she growled, dropping spare pillows and blankets on top of them.
"But-" Natsu whined with his best puppy-dog eyes. All he got was a hesitation before she repeated herself, even more harshly. Natsu sulked over to the couch looking extremely wounded like a beaten dog, pouting as he rolled onto the cushions.
Lucy had already changed for bed in her yellow pajamas decorated with little ginger lions this time. Lights off, the stellar mage crawled in to bed, wrapping the duvet tightly around her, fighting off the winter draft.
Darkness hounded the skies, fighting off the orb of light that bloomed peacefully in the night. Its gentle white rays slipped between the bars of the window, rolling onto the hard, cement floor. Iron cuffs rattled on the chains, scraping against the grit walls. "How're you today?" A silk voice called from beyond her cell's dark iron bars, where the world fell into a thick, chocking shadow, cowering from the light. Her heart raced wildly, pumping fear and adrenalin through her veins. "Shall we go use the weird machine again?" It whispered, cutting like a blade through the air. She shook her head.
"Why not?" It spoke again.
"It makes me tired." She whimpered, her voice sounding small and frail, like a small child's. "and it hurts."
"It's okay, you can take a nap if you feel tired afterwards." The voice compromised, sympathetically. Though, she didn't feel any kindness in its words. Lucy shook her head again. Keys jingled in the darkness, but couldn't be seen. The faint click of the lock opening echoed through the dense space of her cell. Lucy fiercely shook her head again, he short, dirty blonde hair whipping around the sides of her face. Her body scrambled back against the cold wall, trying to get as far back as possible. An itching burn radiated in the center of her chest. With a loud, spine-crawling creak, the brass bars swung open, letting the darkness sweep in.
Lucy jolted upwards with a start. Brown eyes darted around, washing over everything. In the dim-lighting and washed over moonlight, she could faintly make out the familiar shapes of her apartment. She sighed, relaxing her body back down, under the sheets. Her skin felt damp and sticky with sweat.
A chilling breeze escaped through a crack in the window and traveled under a bump in the covers. She shivered, goosebumps prickling up her legs.
Warmth settled them back down as it radiated from behind her. A hot spot in the bed called to her like a siren, pulling her back. A firm build stopped her scooting any further back as it pulsated heat across her body. She felt herself relax into the warmth behind her. She closed her eyes and felt the heated weight relax around her stomach, pulling her even closer together. Lucy let out a gentle breath. Soft blonde hair nestled back into the nape of the neck behind her, letting a chin rest on her head. Lucy laid like that for a long while, before she was, slowly, and peacefully pulled back into the world of slumber.
Night passed by peacefully and Lucy woke to the peaceful twittering of birds. She stretched, reaching her arms back above her head and pointing her toes until they touched the end of the bed. Warmth fizzled over her foot as it touched something soft but solid. Lucy gasped, tumbling out of the bed and face planting the floor.
Slowly, she clambered up, rubbing her nose sorely. Instantly, she spotted the pink tuffs of hair perking up from under the covers and the blue fur coiled into a ball at the end of the bed.
"Natsu! Happy!" Lucy yelled. Both Natsu and Happy woke with a start, falling into a heap on the floor, just like Lucy had done.
"Mornin' Luce!" Natsu grumbled, still half-asleep and staggering to his feet.
"What were you doing in my- NATSU!" Lucy snapped again as Natsu dropped his head onto her shoulder. Even being stood up didn't stop him from falling asleep. Lucy clasped his face between her palms, bringing it to look at her. A hand cut across his cheek with brute, merciless strength, echoing the sound through the entire city. That worked.
"OUCH, Luce! What was that for?" Natsu whined, rubbing his cheek with abused dark eyes.
"Oh good, you're awake!" Lucy chimed with obviously fake and excessive delight. "Now you can tell me why you was in my bed." Lucy set her hands on her hips, watching Natsu with her brown, serious eyes ablaze with irritation.
"Erm...well, it was cold and..." he trailed off, scratching his neck, letting his gaze wander.
"And..." Lucy went to push it, but heard her own voice trail off.
"Lu-" Natsu got shoved aside as Lucy barged past, snatching the clock up from her bedside table.
"It's this late already!" Lucy exclaimed, slamming the clock back down. Busily, she collected her clothes and ran for the bathroom.
"What's up, Lucy?" Happy asked, him and Natsu watching her with confusement, still sat on the floor where they fell back down.
"I'm late." She snapped impatiently.
"For what?" They both chimed this time.
"Me and Levy are going shopping!" She growled furiously, slamming the bathroom door shut behind her.
Lucy closed her apartment door behind her as she left. After all the trouble it took for her to kick Happy and Natsu out, she felt tired and it was only morning. Carelessly, she missed the lock a good few times before she finally managed to fit it in. It turned with a click that echoed in her thoughts. Escaped winter winds scooted up the stairs, brushing past her ankles. It sent vibrating icy chills up her spine and pulsated through her veins. Even though Lucy wore heavy clothing, which consisted of thermal underwear, two t-shirts, a jumper and a thick pair of trousers, no forgetting the woolly socks. She winced and shivered, bracing the winter's frost embrace.
As Lucy opened her eyes, an image flickered across her sight. Darkness swallowed everything, only the moon's rays illuminated the small patch of ragged cotton she slept upon. Someone stood over her, stroking away a rogue strand of blond hair from her face with a stone gentleness. Skin touched and it felt cold. The gentle hand, was very, very cold.
Jolting back, Lucy gasped feeling something touch her shoulder. She whipped around and turned on the person behind her. It was only Natsu. Only? Who else was she expecting? Natsu cocked his head to the side, his eyes washing over every inch of her. "Luce?" he asked. For some odd reason, that bubbled something warm inside of her, sending a pink blush creeping up her cheeks. Lucy didn't realize how long they had been looking at each other for. When she did, she quickly turned back on the door and fumbled her keys out the lock, throwing them back in her bag. "Sorry to keep you waiting, let's go!" She chirped, pounding down the stairs ahead of him. Pink hair bounced as Natsu shook his head softly and sighed. After a moment, he lept down the stairs after her.
"Hey Levy, what coffee do you want?" Lucy called, handing jewels over the counter at MageBuck's coffee shop.
"Mocha, please." Levy replied, watching her breath turn into a hazy cloud. Lucy collected the cups, saying thanks to the staff and came over to the blue-haired girl. Levy stopped rubbing her gloved palms together and took the cup off Lucy, pulling it close to her face. Moist clouds of steam washed over her red nose and she sighed in relief of its damp warmth. "Winter sure came fast, huh?" Levy said, walking through the busy streets of Magnolia, fighting the air's bitter chill.
"Yeah, I hope it doesn't get too much colder or else I'll turn into Plue." Lucy joked, taking a sip of her milky coffee, welcoming it's burning flash of heat down her throat. Levy giggled as she tugged her grey scarf up close to her chin.
"Do you think Natsu's okay?" Levy pondered, taking a big mouthful of her drink.
"Sure. Why?" Lucy asked, twisting out the way of someone barging through the crowd.
"Well, he just seemed very upset that he couldn't come." Levy explained. A long sigh escaped Lucy's lips.
"I know," she whined. "I understand he just wants to protect me but I'm really capable of looking after myself when I go shopping." Lucy sighed again.
"Yeah, I suppose." Levy unenthusiastically muttered.
"Besides, if we brought him, all he would have done is complain and want to go home. Sulking at the guild for a little while would be better than that." Lucy pepped. Levy smiled and nodded, finding small skip in her step again"Well, until Gray and Gajeel come back, there's not much that can be done about Natsu. Or you and your constant sulking, so let's go shopping!" Lucy cheered, pushing Levy towards the retail stores at the bottom of the long and busy street.
"Yeah- Wait! I'm not sulking!" Levy protested.
"Gajeel's probably missing you too!" Lucy retorted, waving and skipping off ahead.
Wheels clattered against the cobble stone roads of the outskirts of Crocus. The National Council Fiore branch sat on the far outskirts of the big city. Still the building was surrounded by a large mass of other buildings, painted in similar shades of dull grey. Three Fairy Tail wizards bounced along inside the bumbling carriage. Green and weak, Gajeel laid across one bench, fending off the urge to throw up. Erza and Gray sat on the opposite bench. "I really thought the journey without Natsu would be peaceful for once. Apparently, I was wrong." Gray muttered, glaring at the iron dragon slayer with distaste.
"Shuddap." Gajeel snapped, not bothering to move an inch.
"We're here." Erza coldly stated, jumping up from her seat, a second before the carriage stopped. First off was Gajeel, followed by Erza and then Gray.
Knee high snow filled the wide streets of Crocus. The unusual team of three looked up at the grand, church-like prison in front of the them. A spire towered high up over the big city in an intimidating and beautiful kind of way. Stained glass windows decorated the front and sides as the building stretched back and to the left. Erza gave it one quick glance and marched forward down the long, snow-covered path down to the plain wooden doors.
Although they were at least five stories high, the big doors moved open surprisingly easy.
"We've been expecting you, Miss Scarlet." A very average, middle-aged man spoke, dressed in the clique council military wear. Each in turn, the soldier inclined his head to the other two wizards. "Mr Fullbuster, Redfox."
The door creaked open about five centimeters more, and the group was gestured in. It was a tight squeeze for Gajeel, but Erza and Gray managed to slip through easily.
The ceiling soared many, many feet above them, decorated with winged children and chariots. Rather than seem beautiful, the paintings felt rather intimidating, as if eyes were on you every second. It couldn't be helped. Glass lacyrima balls hid in the nooks and cranny's of the plain stone walls, bearing only crucifixes and candles.
The knight lead them to a narrow hallway that seemed to go on forever. Light got dimmer the further they ventured. That wasn't he weirdest part. Other than the knight, they had seen no other council employees stationed anywhere. Erza had noticed it first, and as she turned, she saw Gray and Gajeel looking around suspiciously at the empty hallways. They had noticed it too.
They came to an abrupt stop outside a small wooden door. There was nothing else to say about it other than the brass handle and the magic keyboard. Swiping a hand across the light, the door opened with a soft hiss. Dry ice spilled out on the cracks like a growing cloud. The guard made no attempt to go through the door. He just stepped aside, clasping his hands behind his back. His reaction didn't shift and he didn't stop Erza as she reached for the handle. Opening smoothly, the reequip mage swung the door backwards. Cold, metal-grated steps descended into a dim darkness with a cold fog creeping up each step.
Erza moved over the threshold smoothly, and stopped. With hesitation, she turned to look over her shoulder at the knight.
"You have one hour." Was all he said, without turning his solid figure to face her. Gray and Gajeel felt unease as Erza stared long and hard at the unblinking knight. Finally, she turned and swiftly headed down, snatching something from a small shelf carved into the wall. The other two boys pounded through the door and down the steps. Gray and Gajeel stopped a few steps down. The knees buckled beneath them and the air was snatched out of their lungs. They dropped onto the stairs trying to find their strength and catch their breath. With a quiet hiss and a clink, the door shut behind them. Darkness lurched up and swallowed them whole, cold skating across their skin.
"What the hell?" Gray gasped, his breath forming into a misty cloud, snatched by the dark. There was a faint clink and the narrow walls and stairs were dimly hit with a pale light.
"It's a magic paralysis room. It drains your magic power until there's only enough to live." Erza explained, continuing down the stairs. Gray and Gajeel struggled back to their feet and staggered after her.
"Why'd they lock us in?" Gajeel snapped irritably, feeling frustrated and tired.
"Because, we're about to talk to a black-marked criminal." Erza added, her tone feeling even colder than the room's freezing temperatures.
"What's a black-marked criminal?" Gray asked.
"Someone even the government is scared of." A voice croaked out the endless shadow ahead. Erza snapped the beaming torch light forward, illuminating the aged, creased face and dark silver hair. The Silver Fox.
"It's you!" Gray growled. "The child snatcher."
"Hey boy, you know my name don't ya? Use it." The man coughed.
"I don't feel the need to." Gray hissed back. Dark platinum shackles clung to his neck, arms and ankles, bolted into the steel walls. A heavy steel plack of metal weighed his body forwards, strapped around his shoulders, ribs and thighs, connecting to another weight at his back, like a overgrown, steel dungarees. He looked older than before, his wrinkles more vivid, bones more prominent, and his hair was more like a scraggly grey than silver. It was his eyes that gave him away. Instead of looking tortured to the brink of death in a dark, empty, freezing cellar underneath a large church, he seemed, content and patient.
"What is a simple kidnapper doing in a black-marked criminal prison?" Erza questioned, setting the light a little lower than his chin.
"Wouldn't you like to know." Issac Silver teased, giving a half twisted smile to the red-head.
"I would as a matter of fact." Erza bluntly replied, keeping her stare hard and cold, locked with his.
"You're no fun." he pouted, returning the reequip mage's glare.
"Shut up and give us answers, Lucy is-" Gray cut himself off, realizing he had said one name too many. Silver's head broke Erza's gaze, whirling onto Gray.
"Lucy?" The man's lips slithered into a smile, showing his pearly white teeth. "How is she by the way?" Deep creases set under his eyes as his glare pounded into Gray, making his head ache. Involuntarily, Gray turned first, dropping his eyes to his feet.
"None of your god damn business, now hurry up and spit out an answer." Gajeel impatiently snapped, stepping into the light, looking as intimidating as ever.
"Oh, You're a new one!" Issac cooed, excitement glittering in his dark weary eyes. "Who are you?"
"None of your business." Gajeel snapped again, feeling uncomfortable under his heavy gaze.
"Gajeel. Redfox." Issac's voice blunted, causing Gajeel to flinch. "Iron dragon slayer, a.k.a Iron Gajeel, former Phantom Lord Guild member. Joined Fairy Tail after its defeated." Silver spilled out, watching Gajeel and Gray look taken back. "'Suppose I was right." he muttered.
"You're a hacker wizard." Erza deduced flatly.
"You're quite a sharp one, Titania." Issac's smile turned sour, his eyes setting back on her, hard. Even Gray could see Erza's eyes struggling not to turn away. After a long few moments, he sighed and turned back to face them all. Sweat trickled down Erza's cheek as a sigh of relief turned into a small, foggy cloud. "Yes, I am a hacker mage, one of the best actually."
"If you were so good, how come it was so easy to capture you?" Gray retorted.
"Because I made it that way." Silver replied with a little chirp of amusement.
"Made it that way?" Gajeel questioned with low suspicion.
"Yes, boy. A plan. I planned it. Do you know what plan is?" Issac spitefully and sarcastically snapped.
"Shut up." Gray growled before Gajeel could react. "Why did you plan to get caught?"
"I was wondering what it was like; never been caught before, y'know." Issac's voice softened. "So I took an aristocrat's cry baby son to cause a big commotion and get caught."
"But-" Gray began, before Erza, who remained quiet until that moment, interjected sharply.
"Who are you hiding from?" She spoke in a level voice. It was obvious; he flinched. His icy, pale complexion turned whiter than what seemed possible as the blood drained from his face. Slowly, his head turned to Erza, eyes narrowing, jaw clenched.
"You're a little too sharp." he spat through his teeth.
"Hiding? Hiding from who?" Gray questioned, his face covered in puzzlement. Gray looked over his shoulder at Gajeel who shrugged.
"It's whom, kid." Issac bitterly snapped. "How far as the standard of language decreased since I was a child?" he muttered irritably.
"That doesn't answer the question." Erza inputted.
Silver dropped his gaze, his body shivering. It wasn't because of the cold. His voice was barely a whisper. "A shadow."
"Lucy!" Levy called, joining her as they stepped out of Blue Lagoon- a popular dress shop specializing in aqua colored dresses. They spilled back out into the flow of people moving through the frosty winter streets. Most were wrapped head to toe in coats with hats, scarfs, gloves and big shoes, some were daring and only wore fashionably thin jackets.
"Did you get it?" Lucy asked, burying her hands in the deep pockets of her red winter coat. Bags on her arms down slid down and cluttered at her wrists.
"Yeah," Levy smiled, lifting up the bag and giving it a gentle shake.
"Good; It looks cute on you!" Lucy complimented.
"Thanks!" Levy glowed, looking past the people surfing down the streets. "Hey why don't we try Bella's for a dress for you?" Levy suggested, pointing to the beige, Italian dress shop just of the corner of the main street.
"Okay!" Lucy agreed and they veered their ways towards it.
A bell rang as the two girls stumbled through. Warm air filled the shop, smelling of fresh clothes and hot coffee. Quickly, a woman appeared from behind a manikin. Brown hair twirled up into a bun on top of her head. Dark make-up looked perfect with her red full lips and blush. Plain black t-shirt with Bella's written in white matched the black trousers and simple shoes.
"I'm Marié, how can I help you?" She smiled, her honey brown eyes gleaming.
"We're looking for a formal dress?" Levy chirped, eyeing the beautiful white dress the woman had been tampering with.
"Oh, well, there are some dresses in the back if you want to look. Over there." Marié directed them to the right-back on the shop with racks and racks of dresses. Levy and Lucy went over to browse as the little bell rang again, notifying the staff that another customer had entered.
"Juvia needs a dress for her Gray!" A very familiar voice demanded.
"Juvia?" Lucy called peaking around the corner. Dressed in a long blue coat with a fur hat, scarf and leather gloves, was the water woman.
"Lucy? Levy?" Juvia replied in surprise as the girls moved over to see her.
"Could it be that you're both off to the winter ball?" Juvia exclaimed. Both girls nodded with smiles.
"Hey Juvia, we were about to try on some dresses, want to join us?" Lucy asked, going back to the rack to pluck off dresses in her size.
"Sure!" Juvia agreed, picking some of her own.
Levy sat outside the changing booths on a plush white couch, sipping hot coffee with cream. The other girl's were slipping into dresses on the other side of the curtains. Occasionally, they would show case them for each other's opinions. All three of them chatted, ignoring the thin barriers of cotton curtains as they switched dresses.
"Levy, who did you ask to the dance?" Juvia asked over the rattling sound of her trying on a dress.
"Gajeel, of course." Lucy interjected before Levy could.
"Really?" Juvia replied. "Well, Juvia supposed you would."
"What does that mean?" Levy flushed and both of the changing girls knew without having to look.
"Come on, Levy. Everyone knows about you and Gajeel." Lucy sighed, swinging back the curtain and stepping out. Dressed in floral purple, the dress was low cut and lengthened as it got to the back. Levy shook her head and Lucy stalked back into the changing room.
"They do not!" Levy protested.
"They do!" Juvia and Lucy called in unison.
"Who are you inviting Juvia?" Levy quickly turned the conversation, taking a long sip from coffee.
"Juvia is inviting Gray!" Juvia coo'ed before stepping out. A long, satin blue dress ran down to her ankles. Sequins shimmered at the torso end. A slit ran down the side, showing off her long, flawless thighs. Levy violently nodded her head. "Yes, definitely yes." Levy agreed adamantly. "Lu!"
Lucy's head popped out from the curtains, her jaw dropping at the sight of Juvia. "Yes. Yes. Yes." Lucy agreed, disappearing behind the curtain.
About two hours later, Lucy still hadn't picked a dress. None of them looked right. Levy was on her eight coffee, Juvia on her third champagne, and Lucy was on her twelfth barrel of depression. "I can't find one at all!" Lucy growled in frustration, dropping onto the couch in a slim fit gold dress. "What do I do?" she whined.
"We can always try another shop?" Levy suggested sympathetically.
"Yeah, Juvia's sure you'll find one." Juvia encouraged.
"No. No more dresses for today. I'm tired and fed up." Lucy growled, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I wouldn't give up so soon." Levy mumbled, rising from her seat. She set down her coffee and drifted directly for one dress. Lucy and Juvia followed, watching her curiously. Lucy caught sight of the dress she was looking at.
"Oh, I don't know Levy." Lucy retreated, unsurely. Juvia and Levy both got the same glint in their eyes as they shoved her back in the changing room along with the dress.
Lucy handed over the jewels for the dress and watched as Marié carefully packet it and bagged it. Juvia and Lucy both had to sign insurance for the dresses, in case something happened to them. Lucy filled in her signature on the dotted line and handed clip board and pen back to the dress shop attendant. She took it and disappeared behind a door.
Lucy sighed with relief as she looked down at her dress, packed neatly away in a box, in the bag, in her hand. She was buzzing. She didn't trust Levy at first, but she was right. This was the dress. She couldn't wait to wear it at the winter ball.
"So Lucy," Levy perked as they waited for Marié to return with their receipts. "Are you inviting Natsu?"
"Natsu?" Lucy questioned with pure surprise.
"Yeah Natsu; pink hair, pointy teeth, simple minded..." Levy rambled on.
"Why would I invite Natsu?" Lucy asked, knitting her eye brows together.
"What? Haven't you noticed?" Juvia exclaimed in disbelief.
"Noticed what?" Lucy quizzically and eagerly pushed.
"Natsu, he's in lo-" Levy began but got cut off by Marié's reappearance.
"Lucy Heartfilia?" She called out.
"That's me." Lucy walked back over to the counter.
"Here's your receipt, and here's the dress you ordered the other day." Marié -all business- smiled, handing a box into a clueless Lucy's hands and sticking the receipts on top of it.
"But, I didn't order anything!" Lucy exclaimed, setting the box on the counter.
"You didn't?" Marié looked just as confused, checking the paper work. "Well, this has been ordered for you, paid in full and insured."
"What is it?" Lucy mumbled, lifting the lid of the white box.
Lucy peaked through the gap, and lifted the lid. She unfolded the rice paper over the top.
In the box was a white, cotton dress with black iron chains hanging from it. Something red soaked and stained the white, a bloody red.
Lucy felt her legs collapse underneath her as she dropped to the floor, her body slumping against the desk. Sounds and voices merged into an incoherent murmur, fading by the second. Light, objects and faces drifted into a blur, getting swallowed up by darkness.
"It hurts. I don't want to go again!" Lucy cried out into the dark. She was dragged forwards by the cold, metal that clung to her wrists. Resisting was futile and her small child's legs were getting dragged across the concrete.
"It's okay, Lucy. Just one more time, flower." A soft, silky voice reassured her.
"You said that last time!" She whimpered out into the pitch blackness.
"I was wrong last time, forgive me?" The voice apologized. A red, vibrant rose popped up out of the dark, beautiful and big. Lucy slowly clasped her hand around it, holding it delicately. "One more time, for me, please?" The voice pleaded softly.
"Okay." Lucy agreed, defeated. Clinking of metal rang through the dark. Her hands and legs were snapped apart, pulled in every direction. It felt like a sharp needle pierced her back, digging through her chest and out the other side. Lucy screamed feeling torturous pain sucking the life out of her. Red blood trickled from her chest, staining her short white dress, red. The flower snapped in her fingers and fell into the despairing dark world.
Lucy's eyes snapped open and she tried to sit. Hands on her shoulders pushed her back down. Blurred faces hovered above her and fuzzy voice called out.
Eventually, faces cleared and voices separated. Two blue haired girls and one brown haired woman hovered over her, repeatedly shouting her name.
"Levy? Juvia?" Lucy whimpered softly. Sighs escaped all around her, and Lucy saw the brunette, Marié, hanging closely, looking shocked and worried.
"Lucy, we're going to all go back to the guild okay?" Levy spoke slowly as Lucy tried to comprehend her words at half that speed. She nodded. Levy and Juvia slung each one of Lucy's arms around their shoulders, carrying both the bags equally.
Lucy's mind slowed and turned back to the counter. the box sat open and Lucy could just see the note inside with big, swirly letters. 'I'll be seeing you soon, Lucy' And then, she blacked out again.
Lucy's received another gift from the mysterious stranger. What do these gifts mean? And whose the sender? What will Erza, Gajeel and Gray learn from Issac Silver? Find out next Monday :)
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-A-ccentric