Chapter Nineteen

The Beautiful Prison

There was something surprising about the way he held her. It was gentle, but she could feel the possessive nature in how he had his arms wrapped around her back and shoulders. It was familiar, this embrace, and she wished it lasted longer than it had.

"Gildarts." She whispered and opened her eyes. But the man faded into mist when she looked up, his warmth gone from her. A light shone into her eyes, blinding her. As she blinked away and her eyes adjusted, Cana discovered she had been sitting at the table in her house then, her body suddenly felt heavier and tired. There were giggles of children and a stampede of footsteps that had echoed from the living room. She heard the front door open then close and the giggles became shrieks of joy. A man's voice called to them, but she couldn't understand his words or remember who's it was.

She could hear them coming into the kitchen, but she could not turn her head to see whom it was standing there in the doorway. Her head remained frozen and looking out the window above the sink. The other person in the room had approached her and put a hand on her middle where her own hands were. They placed a kiss on her cheek. It was another familiar feeling.

"Cana." The man spoke softly and it came to her in an instant. His name was on her lips as she closed her eyes to speak. But before she could a cold wind washed over her. In shock, her eyes opened to reveal she was a child, standing over her mother's freshly covered grave. There hadn't been many people in attendance, she observed. Her mother was an only child like her and her grandparents were both dead, leaving her with only distant relatives and a few of the neighbors present for the service.

"You father is a powerful wizard." The words resonated in her ears. She remembered then the excitement that she had felt upon learning that. She also remembered the devastation when her mother told her that she could not go with her to find him. "His name is Gildarts Clive." The voice whispered to her. "Go to Magnolia. Find Fairy Tail." Her mother's voice had weakened and the life in her eyes faded. Cana looked at the small globe in her hands. It was made from all sorts of polished stones and gemstones, glimmering in the candlelight. Her mother had given it to her the night before she passed.

She continued to stare at the cold orb, when a roar like no other shook her to the core, disturbing her and led her to drop the precious item in her hands. It crashed and splintered into thousands of tiny pieces on the floor. When she looked up into the dark night sky, there was something flying around, coated with darkness both inside and out.

"Acnologia." Her voice was hardly above a whisper as another roar came down like thunder, shaking her and the ground below her. Cana shook violently as she saw the dreadful monster reveal itself and began to fly straight towards her with its massive jaws open. She screamed.

Her body would not obey as she tried to run. The massive beast landed in front of her, knocking her to the ground and loomed menacingly above her. There was blood mixed with the saliva that oozed from the dragon's fangs and dripped into puddles around her. Cana's heart felt as if it were about to burst when Acnologia grabbed her up in its mouth. Right when she felt her flesh being pierced, her eyes shot open.

Covered in sweat and silk sheets, Cana sat upright, panting. The room she was in confused her as much as the dream had. The bed she woke in was large with an ornate and hand carved frame that towered over her and was surrounded by a thin black mesh veil that parted on one side. One of the first things she had noticed as she moved was that her clothes had been changed. The pajamas were soft and smooth like satin and airy. They were a pale blue color and billowed around her arms and legs as she stood up. Her head spun briefly, forcing her to sit back down and cradle her it in her hands. She'd had worse hangovers, but this wasn't like any she'd had. The smell. Cana recalled the way the men had smelled and how intense it had become when that Lieutenant man drew his halberd from his back. He must have used some sort of noxious fumes. She concluded as she tried to recalibrate herself.

From where she sat, she looked up and glanced around the richly decorated space. There was a vanity to the immediate left of the bed, complete with a matching seat and footstool and side table. Each of them looked to also be of hand carved and polished rosewood. There was a shelving unit on the opposite side of the room, decorated with small golden statues of frogs and horses and other creatures holding gold and jade coins and orbs. On either side of that were two very large vases with long delicate violet flowers protruding from them.

Bacchus. Her mind clicked when she realized he was not with her. Finally having gathered up enough strength, she tried to stand once more and went to the door. It was locked, as she had expected. Damn.

Able to get a better look around, she spied the large painting hanging on the wall shared by the bed. It was nearly too tall for the space, leaving barely inches of the wall exposed both above and below it. Depicted with delicate accuracy and in vibrant watercolors was an enormous blue and gray bird standing on one leg perched on top of a rock. It was standing peacefully while looking up at the distance as other smaller birds flew toward it, looking up at it in admiration. The greens and blues and grays were mixed well and were accented by spots of red in specifically planned places. Cana was awed by the piece, just as the little birds were of the larger bird.

She had become so engrossed with the painting that when the door clicked open, she jumped back, her heart in her throat. She had not expected to see a kindly looking elderly woman. Even more surprising, she came in, speaking Yikani and had a large tray of freshly made food in her wrinkled hands. She was short and hunched with silvery hair tied back in a plain bun. One eye was half covered by sagging skin, but beneath she could see they were a sparkling gray-green. She had a collar around her neck that looked to be made of gold and pale sapphire, but aside from that, she was plainly dressed in a blue and white tunic with white billowing pants not unlike her own. Despite her appearance, Cana knew she had been a fair woman in her prime. The servant set the tray on the table just feet away from her, allowing her to see the soup being served. It smelled like heaven and made her mouth water as she thought of what it could have been made of. Poison. She thought and immediately stepped back when the woman approached her. Though her voice was soft and non-threatening, Cana was wary and stood tall in the corner next to the bed and waited for the servant to leave.

The woman tried to gesture to her to eat the food knowing that Cana couldn't understand her words. After a moment of it though, she gave up and left, noticeably locking the door behind her. When it was just Cana and the soup, she found it was more of a challenge than she thought to refrain from eating it. Why would they keep me alive now and bother with having me fed if they were going to just kill me? Her thoughts made sense, but her instincts still told her to keep away.

Curious, she decided to try an experiment. Walking over to the shelf, she plucked one of the flowers from the large vase on the floor beside it and placed it on the tray beside the bowl. With the spoon she gathered a small amount of the dish, cooling it with her breath and carefully watched as she dripped the broth onto the flower. I'll give it a few minutes. She told herself.

Cana discovered that time apparently went slower when watching to see if broth would kill a flower. After what seemed to her to be a half hour, there was no sign of drastic change in the plant's appearance. She was still hesitant as she moved the chair over to the table and sat with the soup in front of her. It had cooled, the bowl no longer being hot to the touch and the oils beginning to form oblong bubbles on the surface. Even still, it smelled wonderful and she was not certain how long it had been since she last ate. We didn't even eat at that shop in the village.

Her mind went to Bacchus again and what kind of torment he could have been enduring at that very moment. Images of torture and blood flashing through her head was enough to stave off her hunger once again and she pushed the soup and tray from her and turned to face the mirror beside her.

She took a closer look at herself. Her hair was a mess of tangles and waves while her eyes had dark bags under them and her complexion had paled. She noticed then the necklace at her throat. It was a dainty golden chain almost as thin as thread with a small green jade pearl bead hanging from it. It was encased by an intricately detailed clawed bird's foot made of gold as well. Though it was beautiful, she knew deep down that it wasn't meant as a gift. Cana slid the chain around in search of the clasp and when she found none, her panic rose. The necklace itself was too small and tight to her neck to have fit around her head. And when she tried to break it, discovered how deceivingly strong it was.

My magic power… She could feel deep down the suppression of her abilities. At first she attributed it to hunger, but after discovering her new piece of jewelry, understood it's purpose. Fury filled her now as she cursed and yelled and took it out on the bowl of soup, throwing it across the room at the door. The white and blue dish shattered against it, pieces of it flying all over the floor. Within seconds the door unlocked and flew open with the old woman standing there. There was worry on her face instead of anger as she looked from the broken pieces to Cana. Swiftly she left, locking the door, returning a moment later with a broom and a cloth to clean up the mess. Part of her felt guilty for making the poor old woman clean, knowing that the she wasn't the one responsible to have put her in the room. She asked Cana something in Yikani then after she had finished cleaning and looked pained as she rose from being on her knees. Unsure of what to do, Cana shook her head. The woman asked again, but she gave the same answer. There was sadness on the servant's face as she went up to Cana and put the back of her hand against her forehead.

"I don't have a fever." Cana said despite knowing the woman wouldn't understand her.

With her mess in tow, the old servant left again, leaving Cana alone at the vanity and with her thoughts. Her body was exhausted after the ordeal and lack of food and she found she was tired again. The bed was a welcomed feeling to her as she went to lay down in it and unclasped the veil and curtains from the posts, allowing herself to be enclosed in the darkness.

Hours must have passed when the lock clicking open woke her from sleep. As quietly as she could, she sat up and went to peak through the fabric. It was the old woman again she saw, who had brought her another meal. This time the woman left right away after placing the tray on the table instead of trying to coax her out to eat. Cana hesitated a moment before sliding out of bed to inspect the food. It was a rice dish similar to one she had tried at Mei and Shan's and unfortunately, one of her favorites.

Her stomach growled as the smell of the food spread throughout the room. Unable to help herself, she sat at the little table and stared at the plate of rice hoping to see if she could find something to prove to herself that it was indeed poisoned. She wasn't sure if she was disappointed that she couldn't find any proof.

As she was about to take a bite, the door opened once more with none other than the old woman entering. Cana dropped her utensil immediately but remained frozen in her seat. The servant seemed hesitant to approach, speaking in Yikani still. She motioned from the food to Cana and mimicked an eating gesture. There was a hint of a smile on her face that comforted her where it should have alarmed her. Slowly she picked up the spoon and delicately scooped up a small morsel. The servant eagerly gestured more and watched as Cana took the first bite.

It was tasted a hundred times better than it looked. Her empty stomach pleaded for more and without hesitation she continued, trying her best to do so with grace and etiquette instead of scarfing it all down as her body begged her to do so. Still she finished quickly, and let the servant remove the tray from the table after it was done.

Her stomach had shrunk and complained of how much she had stretched it out by eating so much at once, but Cana ignored it and sipped at the tea the old woman left behind before taking the empty tray. So now what? She contemplated to herself, wondering what her gracious host could be planning to do with her.

It was obvious she was being held at the palace, but it was a curious thing that she was being well fed and staying in a pleasant room rather than in a stone basement, shackled to a wall. Though I suppose this is also a prison of sorts. The locked door as well as the necklace reminded her of that.

She was looking at herself in the mirror again, trying to comb her fingers through the tangles as the door opened. Cana expected the old woman to be there when she turned around only to be surprised to see a pair of gruff young men standing in her doorway.

A/N: I'M SO SORRY GUYS! It's been a hell of a week(end) and I had the chapter ready ON Thursday, but life happened and I was unable to post. Anywho, I hope you guys liked the chapter and that it was worth the wait. And again, my deepest apologies friends!

Also! Announcement! Thanks for the new followers and an especially gigantic thank you for helping me reach the 2.6k milestone for views!

Seriously, guys, this is fantastic and I couldn't be happier with the results of this story.

I'll try harder this week to get the chapter out on time for you all.

And now, of course, and as always, until next week,

Betty B.