(A/N: Sorry for the cliff hanger last chapter! It just felt like the appropriate place to stop. I realize I rushed into their romance a little bit but it kinda moves the story along, otherwise it'd be way longer than intended. Not that you guys would mind, but I have this other sub-plot I'm planning and I think you guys will really enjoy it. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Happy reading!)

Lucy's POV

"What haven't you told me Lucy?"

"Erm, I never told this to anyone because I didn't want them to judge me without knowing me. I-I'm the daughter of Jude Heartfilia."

"THE JUDE HEARTFILIA?! NO!"

"Yes. That Jude Heartfilia, the wizard hunter. You see, my mother was a witch but my father never knew until the day she died. I always knew I was a witch but I was told never to tell my father. On the night before my mother died, she wrote a letter to my father explaining everything. She loved him so much but abhorred his prejudice toward wizards. In the end, she decided to conceal her past from him so they could be together. He inadvertently fell in love with a witch. Since finding out what she was, he began to hate her. He burned her possessions and took down photos of her. The only thing I managed to salvage were some of her old keys that he didn't know she had, and a picture of me and her when I was very young. The reason he felt so strongly of wizards was because a dark guild member killed his father while he was on a mission. Ever since that day, he vowed never to use magic again and hunt down every last wizard. But my mother- she proved that there are kind-hearted wizards who wished no harm on anyone. He didn't like that though, and he believed she put him under some kind of curse or enchantment that made him view her in a good light. Since that day, he looked at me differently. Being the daughter of her, I apparently couldn't be trusted. He ignored the fact that he was a wizard as well. I ran away from home shortly before coming to the guild because I couldn't take it anymore," I started crying, "Natsu, I don't know what he wants from me. I'm so scared, Natsu!"

"Oh my god! Luce," he grabbed my shoulders and leaned down to look me in the eyes, "I know you're not like him! I'll protect you, Luce!"

He hugged me tightly and stroked my hair. It made me feel safe.

"I'm sorry I never told you," I chocked, "I just- I just wanted to escape my past. I- I was so happy before she died and then- then my life became a nightmare. I'm scared. I have no idea what he's going to do if he finds me. I'm sorry for putting everyone in danger."

"Lucy, stop apologizing! No one is in danger, because we'll stop him," he broke away from the hug and held my shoulders while looking at me seriously, "You don't get to decide who you're related to, but you can choose who your family is- back at Fairy Tail, we're your real family Lucy! We love you and we'll keep you safe because that's what family does. Family doesn't end in blood- family is forged by strong ties and love. Your father is a terrible man but you're nothing like him. We'll do everything we can to protect you!"

"Thank you, Natsu."

"Come on, let's get out of here. We should go to the next town over and try to find a place they won't look until we've come up with a plan to set your father straight."

I sniffled, "Alright. But we'll have to take a train because there's no way we can keep avoiding them on foot."

Natsu looked pale but somehow still composed, "Whatever it takes to keep you safe."

He picked me up and carried me to the train station. He was handling himself really well for someone who can't stand any kind of transportation. I guess drastic times call for drastic measures.

"Two tickets for the next train please," he said.

"I'm sorry, but that ride is all booked."

"Fine, we'll take whatever's open then."

"Don't you have a destination in mind?"

"It's irrelevant, just find us some tickets please. Just anywhere but here."

"Certainly," the lady behind the desk looked a bit nervous but she did some typing on her computer and then looked at us, "the next available train departs at 5PM."

"We'll take it."

"Alright, that'll be 500 Jewel each."

Natsu handed over the cash.

"Here you are sir," the woman gave him the tickets, "enjoy the ride."

"Thanks," Natsu mumbled and we walked off to wait for the train. We had about two hours to kill and I was getting more and more tense as time passed.

What if they find us before we have a chance to leave? What do they want from me?

We waited in silence for what felt like an eternity when the train finally arrived. We boarded quickly and left Magnolia behind for a town three hours away. Natsu was surprisingly fine during all the planning we did on the train ride. Not once did he mention how nauseous he felt. Once we finished planning, we only had about an hour until we would reach our destination. He decided to nap so he stopped feeling sick. I sat next to the window and looked out at the night sky. I was absorbed by my thoughts, it was overwhelming. I kept thinking of the worst case scenario. I could deal with being taken away or killed, but if my father so much as laid a finger on anyone I cared about, he would have hell to pay.

The train stopped and I woke a disgruntled Natsu. We got off the train and walked to the nearest hotel. We didn't have much money on us, so we had to stay at an old, run down place, but it was better than not having a roof over our heads at all.

Natsu's POV

I couldn't believe Lucy was the daughter of such a horrible monster. She was the epitome of everything pure and wonderful in this life and her father was the human embodiment of darkness and nightmares. I could tell she was afraid of her father, he had brought death to so many innocent wizards. No matter the cost, I had to watch over Lucy. I couldn't lose her now.

We devised a plan to evade her father and hopefully bring him to his senses. We'd find a way to end his reign of terror. We still didn't know why he had people looking for her, so we had to hide away until we could put the plan into action. At our hotel, we decided to rest in stages. Since I napped on the train, I let her sleep first.

She had looked stressed ever since she told me about her father, but in her sleep she looked as peaceful as ever. I stood watch until about 1AM.

Lucy woke up and looked at me.

"I'll take over now if you want to sleep," she said.

"Alright, wake me up soon though. We shouldn't stay in one place for long."

"Okay."

As promised, she woke me up after only getting a few hours of sleep. I didn't sleep well, but at least I got some shut-eye.

"Ugh what time is it?" I rubbed my eyes until my vision stopped being blurry.

"7AM. I know it's early but we should probably be going now."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's ditch this joint, we don't really have the money to pay so we'll just have to sneak out. There are more important things to spend our money on, like breakfast," My stomach growled as I said that.

"Umm…"

"Don't worry, follow my lead."

I opened the window and peered down. We were only on the second floor so it wasn't a big deal.

"Take my hand, on the count of three we're gonna jump and run as far as we can. Think you can do that?"

"O-okay," she stuttered.

"Alright, one. Two."

"Wait, this feels wrong. We can't just not pay for the room."

"We don't have enough money on us to pay for it. If we actually pay for this room, we'll be screwed until we returned to Magnolia. Who knows how long we'll have to stay away? I feel bad doing this too but we can't afford to starve ourselves either. Come on, I'll protect you."

She let out a sigh, "Fine."

"On the count of three then."

"One. Two. Three," we said together, then jumped down from the ledge.

We took off running, it was just early enough that there weren't any witnesses around but we still couldn't risk it. We finally stopped in front of a bakery about ten blocks down.

"I'm pretty sure we're far enough away. If we duck into this bakery, we can grab some breakfast and then head on to the next hotel."

"Yeah."

We headed into the bakery and bought some doughnuts and then decided it was best to go to the next town over.

"I wonder what everyone at Fairy Tail thinks right now. I hope they're all okay…" Lucy said, obviously distressed.

"Me too," I hadn't actually thought about them. Not that I didn't care, I was just more worried about saving Lucy because they were screaming for her.

"Do you believe things happen at fixed points in time? What I mean is, do you believe that you can change things that are supposed to happen or things that happened in the past?"

"Er- I'm not sure. Why do you ask?" I was confused.

"Because I can also manipulate time. I've never told anyone and I've only ever practiced it once. I get it from my dad's side of the family. His dad was able to manipulate time. I wonder… if you can help me practice this… maybe we can use this to our advantage. I just- I feel so helpless against him you know? Like no matter what I do, I can never be enough or do enough because all he sees is my magic and thinks I'm inherently evil because of it. Maybe if we stop my grandpa from dying… maybe we'd be able to live in peace again. This could just be wishful thinking, but I have a good feeling about this, Natsu," she looked so determined.

I didn't have a clue about time manipulation, but I'd try anything that would prevent her from being afraid and lonely. I'd do anything to stop my guildmates from dying at the hand of some wealthy old geezer who only harbored hate in his heart.

"I don't know the first thing about that kind of magic, but I'll do anything to stop your father from hurting you anymore."

She smiled up at me and hugged me.

"Thank you, Natsu. I'm so glad I can depend on you."