"That was incredible!" Gray cheered. I was slumped down in the girl's tent with Erza and everyone else.
"You were able to hold out against me longer than Natsu ever could," Erza said. "It was a great job."
"Now I really want to fight you! And you too, Lucy!" Natsu yelled. I forced a laugh. Everyone thought I was tired and didn't question my strange behavior. The truth is, ever since we've gotten back from my training, while I have been feeling exhausted, I've also felt a different kind of pain. I brushed it off at first, assuming it was just an aftershock from the attack I was hit with, but then it got worse.
"I'll be right back," I said, crawling into the evening light. I left my friends talking in the tent while I retreated into the woods. I only waited a few minutes to make sure no one else was coming before I lifted my shirt. Already it was stained by a few red dots. There was a long gash in my stomach. I cringed at the sight of blood.
What was going on at home? Was somebody attacking the guild again?
Surprisingly calm, I limped back to the camp. How I had the strength to move at all by myself, I didn't know. My belly was stinging terribly, and my magic power was pretty much completely wiped out.
"Erza, can you come here a minute?" I asked through the flap. I didn't want anyone to see me and freak out, and I tried hard not to let my voice betray me. I sat down dizzily on one of the logs. There was some shuffling, and Erza crawled out. She looked around for me for a second before she noticed me on the logs.
"LUCY!" she yelled, running over when she saw my pale face. It only took a moment for everyone else to pile out and form a circle around me. Erza and Gray were the only ones with any sense. They immediately got out the first aid kit and started cleaning up the cut. Luckily, it wasn't very deep. The blood had made it look worse than it actually was.
Natsu paced in front of me, planning what to do. Loke sat to my left.
"What happened?" Natsu asked.
"I felt something hurt in my stomach, so I came out here and saw the gash. Something happened or is happening at the guild," I wheezed out. The pain had started dying down until Erza covered the wound with antiseptic. The burning sensation made me cry out. Natsu was at my side in an instant and gripped my hand.
"You'll be alright, and so will everyone back at home," he said.
"It must have just been an accident or something," Erza reasoned. If the guild were under attack, you'd be hurt much worse than just that one cut."
"But what kind of accident could it have been to make a slash like that?" Loke mused.
"It's better not to worry about it," I gasped. "Let's just hurry and find Celeste. The quicker we get there, the quicker we can get home.
"Aye sir!" Happy saluted.
"I agree, but we have to consider how long it will take you to get better," Gray added. Erza tightened the last bandage around my stomach and sat up.
"It's getting late. We should all get to sleep. We set off tomorrow at first light," she said, choosing to ignore Gray's comment about waiting.
"You guys go ahead," I said, staring at the logs in the center of the unlit fire pit. "I'm going to stay up a little longer." No one decided to force me. Everyone disappeared into one of the two tents. Well, almost everyone.
"Are you okay?" Natsu asked, sitting beside me. We sat there, not touching, for a long time. The sun was completely gone when I started shivering uncontrollably, not entirely from the cold. Natsu lit the logs on fire with a flick of his wrist and put an arm around my shoulder.
"I'm really scared, Natsu. I don't know what's going to happen next," I said.
"We're gonna find that dragon, we're gonna reverse Cleo's curse, and then we're gonna go home and have a party," Natsu replied.
"I can't kill a dragon, Natsu. No matter how strong you are, I don't think you can either. I don't want you of anyone else getting hurt trying to save me."
"Then get stronger."
His words stung slightly, although I knew they were true. I also knew Natsu didn't mean it the way he said it. Right now, I'm still the weakest one in this group. I could barely hold out for a few minutes against Erza. I'm learning, though. That's all I can do, for now.
"Promise me you'll always be there. We don't have to be talking. We can irritate, annoy, and fight all we want. Actually, I prefer that sometimes. Just promise me you'll be there," I asked. I don't know what was with me, but right now, the only thing I'm afraid of is losing the boy next to me.
The boy I know I love.
It's stupid and selfish, but I don't ever care right now.
"I promise," he said. My cheeks burned up from embarrassment and warmth when Natsu turned his face to look me in the eyes. Slowly, he leaned forward until our foreheads were just barely touching.
"You don't have to worry about any of that. Just get better."
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Natsu's a perv!" someone yelled. It took a really loud thud, a clang, and a loud grunt for me to open my eyes. Natsu was lying on the ground thirty feet away, bleeding profusely from his head. Erza was holding a giant sword in her right hand.
"How could you take advantage of Lucy?" Erza asked menacingly, towering over a terrified Natsu. Gray and Loke chuckled to themselves. Happy floated around, snickering about Natsu and me liking each other.
"I didn't do anything!" Natsu whined.
Embarrassed beyond belief, I stood up, brushing the dirt that was covering my clothes from sleeping on the ground all night. It was easy to figure out what had provoked Erza's rage.
"Lucyyy, tell her I didn't do anything!" Natsu pleaded. I sat on the edge of the same log me and Natsu spent the night on when I realized something. Ignoring the suffering dragon slayer on the ground, I lifted my shirt and unwrapped the long white bandage.
"Lucy! What are you doing?" Erza asked, running over to stop me. I pulled the last piece of cloth away to see…
Nothing. Exactly where my wound had been yesterday, there was nothing. I looked fine. There wasn't even a scratch on me.
"How is this possible?" Erza asked.
"Wendy," I said cheerfully. It was the only explanation that made sense.
"But how?" Loke insisted.
"She must have healed the person that got hurt originally. It transferred over to Lucy, somehow," Gray said, leaning against a tree a few feet away. "I guess it's a good thing she didn't come with us, in that case."
"I wonder if master had known about that when he chose our group to go…," Erza mused.
"Anyway, since I'm not hurt anymore, let's get moving!" I said, already standing up. After a long and… very warm sleep, I felt good as new!
"Let's go then!" Natsu yelled. He grabbed his backpack and ran into the trees with Happy, not waiting for any of us.
"THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE OFF THE HOOK FOR BEING A PERVERT!" Erza yelled, chasing after him in her Flight Armor.
"We better get packing," I sighed to the other two.
Sorry for the super late upload today. I've been reorganizing and reworking chapters for this story almost all day. I had a ton more written out, but I didn't like how it was going, so I basically changed a ton of what's going to happen next. Forgive me please!
Ja ne, Fairies!