Chapter Seven
Stillness in Woe
Natsu let out a heavy sigh as he stepped out of the taxi that'd brought him to the familiar street corner, hoisting the strap of his backpack higher on his shoulder as he tugged his baseball cap further down by its brim. Hats never sat on his head just right, his stubborn tufts of salmon hair refusing to be tamed.
The familiar hum of the merry bustling of people and bikes on the streets bumbled into his ears as he gazed around his hometown, the shouts and hollers of local farmers and vendors selling their goods completing the rather peculiar ensemble of sound that brought pleasant memories to his mind. The strange assemblage of noises was a welcome contrast to the honking of cars and disgruntled jostling of the almost constant crowds on the city streets of Crocus, the raucous cacophony something which he'd been the unfortunate subject of for the past three years.
Zeref had been the one to pester him about attending college nonstop, and his brother's position as governor had allowed him acceptance into one of the top universities in Crocus despite his barely decent grades in high school. His major was also subject to Zeref's desires, and Natsu had only committed himself to his studies of law for the sake of ending the entire ordeal that was college life as quickly as humanly possible. He'd studied for three years straight beginning in the fall after his high school graduation, not even taking the summer semesters off like most college students did.
And at the very beginning of his last semester before graduation, he might have just thrown all of his hard work away.
It had happened at a welcome gathering for the freshman in his department, a party that he'd had no intention of attending until his roommate of the same major, Alzack, had all but dragged him there. And just like Natsu had expected, once they arrived, his black haired companion abandoned him for a pretty green haired girl, leaving Natsu all alone on the edge of the long table they'd reserved at a bar in one of Crocus' cheaper and less developed districts.
The salmon haired boy had been content drinking on his own for the majority of the gathering, lost in his own thoughts and completely ignoring his acquaintances until a conversation a few seats down from his grew to bear far too much of a resemblance to one of his most haunting memories for him to ignore it any longer. An obviously drunk senior had tried to force a glass of beer upon a meek freshman, spitting into the drink at his refusal and nearly shoving it down the poor boy's throat.
Natsu didn't let the situation progress much further after that, the alcohol in his system and his lingering rage and regret over what had become of the boy whom the freshman had reminded him of fueling him as he lunged at the drunk senior. A table had been unintentionally flipped in their skirmish as a few of the senior's friends tried to pry the salmon haired boy off of the drunk, and there were none who were involved in the fight that didn't walk away with at least a few bruises.
Natsu's actions had led to his suspension from the university while his continuation in his studies was under debate by the college's board, but he didn't regret what he'd done in the least. In the past, he'd been too concerned with what Zeref expected of him to do what his gut told him was right. The years had worn away at his care for Zeref's wishes, and he'd decided that he was done living like a coward in the shadow of his brother's power. He wouldn't sit back and watch as those who were unable to protect themselves suffered when he had to the power to do something, even if it earned him his brother's disapproval.
And thus, his new motivation to no longer stand idly by had sent him back to his roots, the streets where he'd once played and been chased by his three best friends greeting his gaze once more after three long years of having been deprived of the sight. And despite his worries about being back in the place where he'd accrued so many regrets, he found himself immediately at ease upon stepping onto the bumpy, cobblestone roads he'd grown up traversing. The city life hadn't suited him, and he much rather preferred Magnolia's modest downtown to the skyscrapers of the capital city which blocked out much of the sky and even the sun for most of the day.
His pleasant, reminiscent reverie came to a sudden and shiver-invoking end as a stream of water shot at the base of his neck, far too forceful and direct to have occurred naturally. Freezing water trickled down his back as his hand shot to the matted section of hair, whipping around to find the culprit and feeling no surprise when he found who was waiting for him.
Loke's upper body was hanging out of the window of the billiard room on the second floor of the building behind him, water gun in hand and a snide grin on his features. Elfman was visible standing behind the orange haired playboy, his large, tan arms crossed over his chest and his lips pressed together in a smug smile.
Natsu shot them a glare and muttered a few curses, but his sour expression quickly gave way to his signature bright grin.
It'd been three years after all, and he couldn't stay angry at the two for long when they were the only friends he had left.
Natsu shot up the stairs to the billiard room mounting two steps at a time, his eager grin never once fading from his features as he entered the lofty room, quickly weaving through the pool tables and towards his friends. They were leaned against the edge of the table where they were playing, the balls still spread across the table and their cues grasped in their hands.
The salmon haired boy crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the edge of the table across from them, letting out a heavy sigh as he looked them over. Elfman was even more muscled and 'manly' than when he'd seen him last, something which Natsu hadn't thought possible, and Loke's shoulders had broadened a bit and his face was more structurally mature.
Natsu supposed that some similar changes had taken place in him, though they'd gone mostly unacknowledged until he thought about them just then. He supposed he'd grown a bit a taller, and the jacket he wore, one that he'd had since high school, was now tight across his shoulders. He liked to think he'd gained more muscle too, though he knew he was nowhere near comparable to Elfman.
Despite their physical changes, it was already obvious to him that his two friends hadn't changed much in personality, their banter still holding the same lilt and humor that it had for their many years of friendship since kindergarten.
Loke was doing his own look over of the salmon haired boy, tsking as he rubbed the tip of his cue in blue chalk, "Has it really been three years already?"
"Yeah…" Natsu let another heavy sigh as he thought about strange it was that so much time had passed so quickly, and without much consequence as well. Despite attending college and living on his own for those years, it didn't really feel like he'd done anything of worth, at least not in his eyes. "How did you know I was back? I'd only been in town for two hours when I got your text."
The playboy's smug grin returned once more, "We were notified by the best information source Magnolia has to offer."
Natsu lightly chuckled, immediately catching his drift, "So Juvia's still a pizza delivery girl?"
"Yep," Loke hummed, stealing a handful of chips from the bag Elfman had opened. "She said she saw you walking on the streets during one of her deliveries."
"This town's way too small," the salmon haired boy huffed out as he shook his head.
A disapproving pout suddenly appeared on Loke's features, his tone growing childishly displeased as he chided, "If you were gonna come visit, you should've at least brought us back a girl from Crocus."
Natsu's mood immediately plunged into the ground at the phrase 'girl from Crocus,' clearing his throat and dropping his gaze to the floor.
Neither Loke nor Elfman paid his sudden change in mood any mind, the two quickly getting entangled in one of their common banters as the orange haired boy sought to steal another handful of chips from his friend's bag.
Natsu couldn't help but wonder what had become of the blonde whom originally owned the title of the 'girl from Crocus.' He hadn't said a single word to her since that day she'd come to find him in their usual corner of the Fairy Tail bar, nor had he heard even a whisper about her in years. After her brother passed, she'd only came to class one more day before she seemingly dropped off the face of the planet, never to be heard from again.
She'd clearly ended whatever beginnings of a relationship they'd had on the day he'd sought her out at her brother's funeral, but he still thought of her constantly, regardless of her wishes for him to leave her be. No matter how hard he tried, it was nearly impossible not to think of her when he was attending college in the very city from which she'd earned their nickname for her, and reminders of her and her brother were everywhere. He couldn't even write with purple ink without thinking of the pen that the blonde had always used to take notes, and the sight of white flowers always sent shivers down his spine as he recalled the bloodied and crushed blossoms beneath the blond boy's body.
Regardless of the haunting memories she played a prominent role in, wherever she was, he hoped that she was finally at peace.
Lucy slowly let out a soft, quiet breath as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, her fingers aching and cold from the long hours of washing dishes in Zentopia's cafeteria. The other sisters of the church were completing the same task around her, though they were going about their chores in a much happier manner than the blonde, pleasant grins constantly on their faces and light chatter passing between them to fill in the spaces between the clanking of dishes. Lucy would make small talk with some of them every now and then too, though she was never the one to start the conversation herself, and the age difference between her and the older ladies made it strenuous for the blonde to relate to them and their talk. Not to mention the fact that most of their chatter concerned their praises of the church and its preacher, her opinion of which was the polar opposite. She really only replied to their inquiries towards her out of kindness, knowing from her parents' teachings that it would be rude of her ignore them.
Lucy let out another sigh as she raised her gaze from the sink to give her aching neck a moment of relief, a small grin involuntarily tugging at the corners of her lips as she caught sight of Romeo through the serving window of the kitchen that opened into the cafeteria.
The now thirteen-year-old boy was seated all alone at one of the cafeteria's tables as he hurriedly shoveled the chicken noodle soup she'd made for him into his mouth, leaning over the tray like she'd told him to so that he didn't spill his meal all over himself in his haste. His eyes were devotedly zeroed in on the can of apple juice she'd set across the table from him, his determination to finish his meal and complete his side of their deal shining brightly in his irises. She'd had to bargain with him to get him to eat his soup, eventually settling on the compromise that he couldn't have his favorite drink until the bowl was empty.
Ultear had once called the teen the 'Angel of Zentopia' for his kindness and humility despite the fact that his intelligence disability often made it difficult for him to fully grasp certain situations, the fact that he was by far the youngest member of the religion further setting him apart from the rest, the blonde herself being the next youngest. Lucy had never once agreed so strongly with the dark haired apostle's words, and she'd even called the boy an angel a few times herself. They were one in the same in her eyes, both having been forced to join the church by their parents and lacking the drive and confidence to protest against their caregivers.
He'd been her only light in the sea of constant darkness and despair that hung in the air around the church she'd been forced to spend her days in, and she didn't know what she'd do without him by her side to ease the time.
Lucy took a deep breath of the fresh, crisp mountain air to calm her ever-rising paranoia as her sneakered feet crunched on one of Zentopia's many forest paths, her lip caught between her bottom teeth as she scanned the area for an indication as to which way Romeo had snuck off to.
When she'd finished her work of washing the dishes, she'd exited the kitchen to find his tray abandoned on the table, the can of apple juice gone from where she'd placed it. She'd briefly noted that his soup was gone too, but she'd wished he'd stuck around so they could leave the cafeteria together. Macao was never done with his duties this early in the day, and the blonde knew that it wasn't good to let the Conbolt boy wander off on his own, his unrestrainable, child-like curiosity often getting him into more trouble than good.
She had a feeling that this was one of those times when his adventurous side would lead him somewhere dangerous, especially since he'd grown more daring as of late.
Lucy stilled in her steps when a strange sound whispered through the trees on her left, a noise that could have easily been attributed as the caw of a bird or cry of some other forest creature. She waited a moment to see if it would happen again, making sure that she wasn't just hearing things in her slightly paranoid and on-edge state before she jumped to conclusions.
Her eyes widened when the cry echoed down the mountainside once more, louder this time and clearly a human scream, one befitting that of a boy Romeo's age. It was laced with pain, cracking and cutting off at random intervals as if there was something preventing the scream from completing its length.
Silently grateful that she'd opted for pants today instead of her usual skirt, she took off up the path that branched off of the main road to her left, the gravel quickly giving way to dirt as she ascended the mountain towards the private prayer houses that rested in the clearing ahead. Her pace was hurried, but not overly so, some small whisper of a thought in her head telling her that she was just being paranoid and crafting baseless nightmares out of the natural noises of the forest around her.
That small thought murmured that it wasn't him, that there was no way any harm had befallen him when he had been sitting peacefully at a table in her line of sight only ten minutes ago. And this place was advertised to be one of peace and reverence, a so-called paradise-like escape from the suffering and evils of the world.
Although, she'd seen through that lie the moment she'd first stepped foot into the church beside her twin all those years ago, and the truth of what this place hid in between its walls was the impetus for her hurried pace forward. Precht's lingering gazes, Ultear's constant looks of apology and pity, Zancrow's malicious grins sent in her direction…All of the things she'd fallen subject to for the past three years had only strengthened her loathing for Zentopia and its people.
She wanted out. She had since the moment her father had first dragged her into the church, and her desire to leave had only grown stronger with each passing day.
At first, it was her devotion to her parents that kept her still. She knew that they'd suffered just as much as she had after Sting had ended his life, and to the present, her mother had still yet to return to her old self.
And then Lucy had met Romeo, too, and he'd become her only source of joy and reprieve. She couldn't leave him behind to suffer on his own, and so she had stayed, silently waiting for her father to come to his senses so her family could leave this place together and they could go back to the way their lives had been before they'd come to Magnolia.
The private prayer houses finally began to emerge from in between the seemingly endless expanse of trees, the stark white of the one person cabins harshly clashing with the dark green of the forest around them.
The screams faded as the blonde hiked closer, though they were soon replaced by wet, muffled sobs, the sounds of movement on top of the leaves that had fallen to the forest floor joining the unsettling cacophony.
The sobbing was coming from behind a cabin on her left, and so she ran towards it without hesitation. Her feet slid on top of the loose leaves as she whipped around the corner of the small prayer house, her fingers latching onto a wooden plank that stuck out of the structure to stop herself from completely toppling over in her haste.
The heat was stolen from her veins as her gaze fell downward, a chilling cold crawling through her limbs instead and freezing her completely still.
Romeo was there, collapsed against the back of the house in the shadow of the man that towered over him, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth and tears sliding down his now red and purple cheeks.
"Lu…Lucy," he quietly choked out her name between sobs, his shaky gaze slowly sliding up to her face.
Air slipped through her mouth as she quickly inhaled when their eyes met, her lungs momentarily incapable of exhaling. His eyes, the horrid mixture of terror and agonyin his gaze…his irises perfectly resembled those of her twin as he'd stood atop the radiator on the school's roof, surrounded by his tormentors.
The blonde collapsed to her knees and wrapped both of her arms around Romeo's neck, pulling his head snuggly into her chest like she had wanted to do with Sting all those years ago. She'd never gotten the chance to comfort and protect her brother, but she wasn't going to let the chance slip away again, especially not when Romeo had become like a younger sibling to her.
Her gaze zeroed in on the man standing above them, an annoyed scoff slipping through his lips as her heated glare settled on him.
Lucy clenched her jaw, fighting to restrain her anger so that she didn't squeeze Romeo too hard, "What the hell did you do to him?"
She didn't miss the blood on Zancrow's knuckles as he tucked his hands into his pockets.
He coughed to clear his throat, his tone nonchalant as he obviously lied, "Romeo stole some money from the church's donation box. I was simply putting him in his place."
"That's bullshit and you know it," she glowered, her voice laced with animosity. "Romeo would never do something like that!" She pulled the trembling boy even further into her embrace, his hands latching onto the front of her shirt in response. One of his fingers caught on a strand of her hair on accident, tugging it on it as he buried himself further into her frame, but she didn't do anything to set the strand free, only hugging him closer as she glared at the blond man towering over them, "If you lay another hand on him, I'll turn you in. I don't care about what you'll do to me. There won't be a single person who doesn't know what you've done."
He chuckled to himself, as if laughing about the antics of a child, "You make it sound like I've done something like this before."
"Don't treat me like I'm stupid," the blonde seethed.
A raucous laugh burst through his lips, an amused smirk playing across his features, "It seems you've misunderstood. I didn't hit him. I scolded him out of love so that he never does something so foolish again." His lips were set in an animalistic, hungry grin as he crouched down in front of them, his hand reaching out to stroke the boy's ankle, "Isn't that right Romeo?"
The teen flinched and curled further into the blonde, letting her pull him to his feet.
Lucy didn't let Romeo stray from her grasp as she finally peeled her glare from Zancrow's, being mindful of the way the boy clutched at his ribs, "Let's go."
The apostle's grin slowly faded into a tight, emotionless, straight line, his voice laced with an underlying threat as he called after her, "Lucy…you must understand. What happens in Zentopia must be solved within Zentopia. You know that, right?"
At his words, Lucy momentarily slowed to a halt, knowing what he was getting at in order to scare her and make her feel helpless. When it came to finally breaking her silence on Zancrow's deeds, it was highly unlikely that anyone within Zentopia would listen to her cries. To the believers, he was known as one of Precht's devoted apostles, one who managed the finances of the church. If she wanted her words to actually make an impact and be a cause for action, she'd have to seek help outside of those with whom she now lived. But the church had a good reputation in the small, isolated town of Magnolia for taking in the destitute and homeless, their supposed good deeds earning many their trust. Not to mention that the law made it difficult for outside forces to get involved with Zentopia's affairs. They were a religion after all, and interfering in their business could be seen as a means of toiling with religious freedom.
But the blonde to a deep breath to strengthen her resolve and started back down the hill with Romeo still pulled tightly into her side, whispering words of comfort all the while as they made their descent.
She'd meant what she said, and regardless of whether or not anyone would listen, she'd scream all of the things she'd been holding inside herself for the last three years. For her parents' sake, she'd been quiet and amiable, even as she was forced to leave all things associated with the outside world behind and adjust to life in a place where she always felt on edge. But her patience was wearing thin, along with her resolve to be a good, obedient daughter.
It felt as if all of the strings that held her old self together, the ones she'd been futilely clinging onto for the past three years, were going to snap at any second, and once everything she'd once defined herself by was gone, she didn't know what would be left.
In an attempt to comfort Romeo, Lucy lightly stroked her fingers across his sweaty forehead as he lay in his bed, fitfully sleeping and heaving heavily, his breaths sounding more like wheezes and growing more labored with each passing moment.
She'd attempted to help him change into a fresh pair of clothes after they'd returned to the boarding building on Zentopia's grounds, but he'd fitfully protested, groaning in pain whenever she'd tried to lift his shirt over his head. At the very least, she'd managed to gently wipe the blood from the corner of his lips with a wet rag, inspecting his mouth in the process and finding a cut along the inside of his cheek from where his teeth had dragged along the flesh during a brutal hit to the face.
Now that the teen was unconscious, she took her chance to see what he'd been hiding underneath his shirt. He'd clutched at his side during their entire trek down the mountain, and his fitful protests against her efforts to change him earlier had only increased her fears.
She silently reached down and gripped the bottom hem with both hands, gently tugging the shirt upwards until the bottom of his ribs were revealed to her gaze.
A horrified gasp slipped through her lips before she could stop it, her eyes widening and her hand shooting to cover her mouth.
The skin stretching over his ribs was swollen with horrid reds and purples, though it didn't seem to be a regular bruise. She could tell that his wound ran deeper than just the skin, and although she'd never been an expert on anything medical, an inkling of a thought whispered in her mind that he was bleeding internally.
How Zancrow was capable of doing such a thing to a young, innocent boy was something that sickened and infuriated Lucy to no end. Her heart hadn't stopped racing since their encounter in the woods, and she knew she would never be fully at rest again until she had escaped this place once and for all.
Lucy paid no mind to the focuses she drew as she broke the silence in the middle of the church's hallway, nearly out of breath the entire time she hurriedly urged her father and Ultear, "Romeo's hurt. We need to take him to the hospital. Now."
The dark haired apostle smiled pleasantly as if completely oblivious to the blonde's panic, "There's no need for that. He'll get better by praying and drinking the Life Water our Spiritual Father has blessed for him."
At her side, Jude bowed his head as he pressed his hands together in front of his chest, his voice barely audible as he breathed out Zentopia's most common form of spiritual agreement, "Our wishes be fulfilled."
Lucy's hands clenched into shaking fists at her sides as she heard her father's uttering, swallowing heavily as she fought to keep herself from lashing out. It was getting harder to control herself with every passing day, and the last threads of her respect for her father were dangerously close to snapping. With all of her protesting, all of her desperate pleas for them to leave this place, he'd only constantly refused and told her to have faith in the leaders of Zentopia, the people who were causing all of her pain. He was blind to her suffering, his own grief over what had become of the other two members of their family giving him cause to seek out whatever false comfort Zentopia had promised him those three years ago. His sorrow prevented him from seeing through their false fronts, and she was beginning to loath him for it.
To his credit, he did still seem capable of sensing some of her emotions, at least to a certain extent, a warm smile on his face as he took a step closer to his daughter and comfortingly whispered, "Lucy, if we have the Life Water that our Father created, we can even cure something as horrid as cancer. He'll be fine."
"That's right, Lucy," Ultear affirmed, her tight smile still pulling at her painted lips. "Let's treat him with faith rather than with the uncouth practices of this world."
Several of their spectators bowed their head as they muttered their faithful agreements, and Lucy slowly spun around herself to gaze at them all in disbelief, her lips forcefully pressed into a grim line as she fought to keep her voice from screaming out all of the rage and anger she'd restrained inside herself for three years, "Do you all really believe that? You really think that that stupid water can cure something like cancer?"
"Lucy!" Jude snapped, "How dare you say such a thing about something so sacred? Repent immediately!"
The blonde whipped back around to face him, callous to the fact that she was in a church and surrounded by spectators as she finally let her voice break free of the bonds she'd placed upon it, her sharp words echoing between the stone walls around her, "Romeo can't be treated by your pathetic water! He needs to go to the hospital!" Her voice grew quieter as she took a step closer to her father, through it lost none of its ferocity as she seethed, "Dad…how long…how long are you going to live like this? We stayed here, year after year, for three years now and nothing's changed!" She took another step closer, "Look at what's happened to mom. With her in the state she is, how can you say that you believe in this place? What the hell is salvation and where are the miracles we were promised?!"
His hand flew out and connected with her cheek, her skin already stinging from the contact before she could really process what had happened. She stumbled back a few steps as the sound of the smack bounced off of the walls, her fingertips immediately landing over the irritated skin of her left cheek.
None of their spectators even so much as flinched in her direction, all of them watching on silently with judgement in their gazes.
Lucy slowly turned back to her father, pulling her hair out of her face to clear her vision as her eyes found him once more.
Jude was staring at his hand with wide eyes as if it had betrayed him and acted on his own, his voice hesitant as he began to stutter, "Lu-Lucy…I…I-"
"You're insane," she hissed out, not an ounce of insincerity in her voice.
His face crinkled in hurt at her insult, and it scared the blonde when she realized that she didn't care. She didn't care if he felt betrayal, and she didn't care if she was the cause for his sorrow. The threads of her love and respect for him had snapped the moment his hand had connected with her cheek.
Her expression was unflinching as she continued her verbal assault, her jaw clenched and fire blazing in her irises, "Staying here in this place like you have been…it's insane." She spun around once more, glaring at each of their spectators in turn, "All of you are insane." Her voice grew louder when she noticed that Zancrow had joined the crowd of spectators, standing right behind Ultear, "'Salvation?' 'Eternal life?'" Angry tears stung her eyes, screaming at the top of her lungs as she glared at those who encircled her, "You really think that all of that's possible if you stay in this place?!"
"Lucy!" Ultear attempted to cut her off, and when the blonde spun to face her, she found the apostle shaking her head in disapproval, her lips pulled into a tight line, "This sort of behavior won't do." Her gaze remained zeroed in on the girl in the center of the crowd as she commanded, "Zancrow, take her to the prayer room."
The man more than happily fulfilled the command, stepping forward to grab onto the blonde's forearms and leaning close to whisper in her ear, "Lucy, let's go pray together, okay?"
"Let go of me!" She beat at his chest as soon as he attempted to drag her off and Kain quickly stepped forward, silently taking hold of her other arm. The hallway was filled with the sounds of her scuffling and screaming as she tugged against them, her feet digging into the floor as they tried to pull her away.
A loud, authoritative voice cut through the fray, all other sounds immediately ceasing, "Take the boy to the hospital."
Lucy stared numbly forward as her least favorite man of all descended the stairs at the end of the hallway, not even processing that her forearms were now free of Zancrow's and Kain's grasps. The preacher was wearing his stupidly pristine white suit like always, his hands clasped behind his back as his believers cleared a path for him, bowing to him as he passed on his way towards her. To Lucy, the scene looked more like subjects bowing to their king than believers paying tribute to their preacher.
The blonde stared at Precht blankly as he came to a stop directly in front of her, his voice composed and holding all of the prestige one of his calling ought to have as he projected, "If he's sick, then he should go to the hospital, right?" He peeled his gaze off of the blonde and spun around to face the crowd around them, lifting a vial of his supposed 'Life Water' high above his head as he preached, "Lucy's correct. If there's no faith, then this is nothing more than tap water. If you don't believe it and simply pretend to, then it all means nothing."
Her gaze fell to the floor, seething in hatred over how he always, no matter what the circumstances, managed to turn the situation into a lesson about belief. He'd twisted her words and made it seem like she'd spoken them as a call to faith, and his eloquence infuriated her to no end. She'd refused to be one of his conversion projects for years, despite his sweet and enticing way of arranging his words, though unfortunately, not everyone shared her thoughts as to what this place really was beneath the promises of salvation.
His steps echoed across the floor as he stepped closer to the blonde, leaning in close and speaking under his breath, "I'm sure everything here all looks fake to a nonbeliever like you. However, you'll realize it soon enough."
She swallowed heavily at his words, for they made it sound like he had plans for her, and the underlying sense of anticipation in his tone sent chills ricocheting up and down her spine.
"This place is real, Lucy," he whispered, his breath puffing against her nose. "And that outside world that you have so devotedly attached to yourself to is fiction. Forget everything about it. Holding onto that which is false will only bring you more suffering, and those who cling to the matters of this world will be unable to join the Almighty in the afterlife. If you want to see Sting again, you must board the Ship of Salvation, so think about your actions carefully."
Lucy comforting ran her hand through Romeo's hair as he buried his head into her chest, the boy letting out small groans every time the car jostled over bumps in the road. She knew the position had to be uncomfortable for him, but he'd refused to leave it, whining even as she'd forced him away to put on his seatbelt.
They were on the middle bench of the Zentopia van, already on their way back to the church from the hospital. Lucy knew that Zancrow must've said something to the doctors to get Romeo discharged as soon as he had been, because there was no way the teen was well enough to be out and about again. They'd only stayed at the hospital for a few hours before he'd been released, and he was obviously still in pain, his hand never leaving his ribcage.
That incident was only further proof of the absence of hope when it came to finding someone from outside the church to help her. If one of Zentopia's apostles could influence even a doctor, then her chances of success were very slim indeed.
Her gaze snapped upwards as Kain suddenly whapped Zancrow on the arm, the mute apostle gesturing to the gauges on the dash.
"Didn't you just fill it up last week?" Zancrow growled in displeasure. He let out an annoyed scoff, "Go ahead, pull over then."
The driver wasted no time in pulling into the next gas station, and Zancrow excused himself from the car as well, "I'm gonna go take a piss."
Now alone in the car with Romeo, Lucy pushed the shaking teen away a fraction so she could look at his face, her thumbs gently rubbing soothing circles on his forearms, "How are you feeling, Romeo?"
He anxiously shook his head, his voice quivering, "I…I'm scared."
Lucy swallowed heavily. She was terrified, too, and her lack of hope for their situation held her back when it came to finding the words to comfort him. So instead, she silently ran her fingers through his hair, remembering that Sting had always liked it when she did that.
"That man is really scary," Romeo was gulping for air now, his shaking picking up in intensity as panic took over and tears gathered in his eyes. "He hit me… and we're not allowed to curse, but he said bad things…The lady kept saying it hurt…but he kept hitting her…She…she kept screaming."
Lucy's eyes widened, leaning in close for the sake of not being overheard by Kain, who stood with his back to their window as he paid to fill their tank, "What…what lady? Zancrow hit someone other than you?"
The teen anxiously shook his head, close to hyperventilating as he strained between breaths, "If you hit people, you're a bad person. That man is a really bad person. He…h-he said he'd kill me if I told anyone. If I told anyone, he said he'd kill me and dad." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, his fingers trembling as he clutched at it for a moment before tossing it to the ground.
Lucy flinched as it clattered to the floor of the van, looking back to the teen with wide eyes. In her three years of knowing him, she'd never seen him act like this. He was clutching at his ears and shaking his head as tears streamed down his cheeks, incoherently mumbling to himself.
She clasped onto one of his hands in an attempt to calm him while she reached for his phone with the other, figuring there must've been some reason he'd chucked it to the ground.
Upon unlocking the device, she found herself in his gallery, her eyes immediately drawn to the most recent video he'd recorded, the thumbnail very obviously picturing Zancrow. Her fingers trembled as she tapped 'play,' and as the video progressed, her stomach dropped further and further.
Romeo had an affinity for filming anything and everything, even the simplest of moments. Some might call the happenings of his videos mundane, but Lucy had always positively adored his ability to find things worth remembering in even the dullest of times.
But this time, it appeared his hobby had landed him in the worst possible place.
The video's beginnings were nothing out of the ordinary, the camera simply chasing a squirrel as it skittered across the ground and up a nearby tree. But other, non-natural noises to the forest soon joined the cawing of the birds and the peaceful atmosphere that surrounded the trees was tarnished. The frame tilted upward, and Lucy knew that Romeo must've looked up curiously then, unable to stop himself from seeking out the noise. It wasn't long before Zancrow appeared on screen, and Lucy could feel her own face pale as she saw that he had a young woman pinned to the side of one of the white prayer houses that rested in the woods. She was shrieking incoherently for a moment before she shoved the apostle away and darted down the forest path, running right by Romeo without even casting him a glance in her haste. Zancrow's gaze followed her descent and landed right where the teen stood, the video ending with his crimson eyes staring directly into the lens.
The blonde clutched a hand over her mouth to stop herself from making any sound as she watched, somehow finding herself unable to believe its contents even though she knew what type of man Zancrow was. Perhaps her feeling of disbelief spawned more from the fact that she now had solid evidence as to who he really was, evidence that couldn't be refuted.
And just like that, a spark of hope was alighted within her chest.
They were quickly headed back towards the church, Lucy startling and Romeo wincing when the car jerked as they drove over a particularly large bump on the road that curled up the mountain side.
Lucy's eyes shot downward and widened as the bump dislodged something from beneath Zancrow's seat, her hand shooting forward and wrapping her fingers arounds the handle of the screwdriver whilst Zancrow was distracted with chastising Kain for not driving smoothly.
She stilled herself as the knuckles of her right hand turned white from how hard she was clutching at the screw driver, that spark of hope growing stronger and refusing to be ignored as she formulated a plan of attack. She couldn't let them take her and Romeo back to the church now that she had evidence and they were so close to town, knowing that once she was back at Zentopia it'd be hard to escape with the boy unnoticed. She'd tucked Romeo's phone into her back pocket, and she knew she had to do something to get that video to anybody who would listen, and she had to do it fast.
Attacking Zancrow would get her nowhere, she figured, so she turned her focus to the other man in the car. Due his hulking frame, his shoulder extended far past the back of his seat, and it was definitely within reaching distance. It was a stupid, reckless plan to attack the driver, she knew, but it was the only plan she had.
Her eyes shot to Romeo as she sought for confirmation that he had his seatbelt on one last time, which he did, and she reached over to grasp onto his hand to give it a comforting squeeze. He turned to her, his eyes wide with confusion, and she simply smiled back comfortingly, hating the fact that she couldn't give him any warning without risking being over heard.
The blonde's gaze returned forward, her eyes on Zancrow and observing him for a moment, judging whether or not he'd see her attack coming and react in time to stop it. He'd closed his eyes and leaned back as he whistled a Zentopia hymn, that spark of hope burning brighter at his lack of visual awareness. Her eyes traveled down in an attempted to see where his hands were, and she noticed the absence of a buckle in the latch near his hip. He didn't have his seatbelt on, and she gruesomely thought that maybe attacking the driver and likely crashing the van would be more beneficial to her cause than she first thought.
Before she could let herself chicken out, she inhaled a sharp breath and shot her upper body forward, burrowing the metal of the screwdriver into Kain's shoulder with all the strength she could muster.
Chaos erupted in the van, the car immediately swerving wildly as Kain's hands left the wheel to blindly grab for the foreign object that had penetrated his flesh. Zancrow shoved the blonde off the other apostle, backhanding her across the face and sending her reeling backwards into her seat. Her tight grasp on the handle of the screwdriver hadn't loosened even a fraction, and as she lurched into the backseat, it was pulled from Kain's shoulder.
The blonde vaguely registered Romeo's voice screaming her name as Zancrow made another grab at the weapon in her grasp, but before he could steal it from her, she blindly stabbed the screwdriver towards him, the small metal rod striking one of his outreaching hands and stabbing the center of his palm, the tip coming out the other side.
There was a crash as the van careened upwards before plunging downwards, and suddenly, the feeling of weightlessness overtook Lucy's physical senses, her mind only half aware of the roof of the van colliding with the ground before everything faded into black.
Lucy jolted awake with a quick inhale of breath, her head throbbing and lungs begging for air. She quickly gave into their demand, her head slowly lulling from side to side as she gulped for breath to clear the muddled thoughts in her head. There was something liquid running along her skin from her chin to her hairline, her brain struggling to process what could be running up her face.
Her vision grew less fuzzy with each new breath of air, and as feeling returned to her limbs, she confusedly began to realize that she was…hanging upside down?
Everything came back all at once as she saw the shattered windshield directly in front of her, a bloodied blond mane of hair lying atop the shattered pieces.
The crashing of the van into something solid and then the feeling of weightless…and now she was hanging upside down, fastened to her seat by the belt that was currently digging into her chest and hips. They must've careened off of the road and tumbled down one of the steep slopes that were common in Magnolia. They had been driving up a mountain after all, and she was more than well aware of the fact that there were several drop offs that bordered the roads to Zentopia.
She painstakingly forced herself to look to her left, her focus blearily settling on the boy who was unconscious beside her, hanging upside down just like she was. She sucked in a labored breath, forcing her petrified vocal chords to work as she huffed out, "R…Romeo…"
He didn't stir.
The backs of her hands scraped against the shattered glass that littered the ceiling of the car as she put all of her efforts into unfastening herself from the belt that held her up, her limbs heavy and gravity pulling against her every move as she laboriously brought her hands to her waist.
She groaned as the buckle came undone, her knees and forearms hitting the ground first as she curled into herself in an attempt to lessen the pain of the short, but rather uncontrolled fall. Her body moved sluggishly and exhaustedly, the impact of their tumble down the mountainside already taking its toll. The feeling of liquid running from her chin to hairline reversed, and her hands were quickly covered with little red droplets as the liquid reached the tip of her chin.
Blood, she vaguely realized. That was definitely what was running in all directions across her face.
She only gave herself a moment's rest before she forced herself to sit up and act while she could, her adrenaline finally kicking in as she moved to rouse the teen at her side. She placed herself under him as best she could as her hands found his buckle, repeatedly calling his name as she fought against his weight to unfasten him.
He groaned as he tumbled down on top of her and her heart soared as she took a moment to hug him against her chest just like she had in the forest earlier that day. He clutched at his ribs where his previous injury rested, and guilt slowly trickled into her veins at the thought that her actions had undoubtedly increased his suffering.
But at the very least, there was finally hope of them being free.
Her gaze traveled along the shattered pieces of glass beneath them, following the trail to the now broken window on her side of the van.
That was their means of escape.
Her focus quickly slid to the front two seats, the blonde swallowing heavily when neither Zancrow nor Kain so much as flinched. For a moment, she let herself get lost in wondering if they were dead. In Zancrow's case, it seemed highly likely, and if he was still breathing, she knew his injuries had to be grievous due to his lack of a seatbelt during their tumble.
Without sparing another second over the apostles, she slid across the ceiling of the van, numb to the pain of the glass shards and rigid bends in the ceiling digging into her limbs as she traversed across them. Her only focus was on getting herself and Romeo as far away as possible, and so she drug herself through the window, letting out a grown as she flopped into the mud outside.
She painstakingly forced her weary body to its feet, leaning heavily on the van as she crouched back down near the window, reaching her arms through to help Romeo out.
Once he was standing tall before her, she looked him over, grimly noting that he'd picked up more than a few scrapes and bruises during their tumble, the new injuries only adding to the old. He seemed to be numbing to them just like she was becoming numb to hers though, and she figured that getting away while they had the energy to do so was priority, not willing to risk staying around long enough for the apostles still within the van to wake up.
Lucy quickly took Romeo's hand within her own, squeezing it tightly, "Let's go."
The teen was uncontrollably trembling, "G-go…go where? Where are we?"
Lucy struggled to find the words to explain it in a way that he would somewhat understand without scaring him further. She licked her lips, gripping his hands even tighter, "From now on, it's like we're playing hide and seek, alright? We…we have to hide somewhere that those people won't find us."
He suddenly resisted against her hold, her face crinkling, "I…I wanna see dad."
The blonde's heart ached for him and his innocence, releasing his hand to pull him into her side as she continued to drag him onwards, "Romeo…when we get to Magnolia, I'll buy you some apple juice, 'kay? If you come with me, I promise you'll be able to see your dad soon."
He nodded his head against her chest, and Lucy swallowed heavily, pulling him tighter into her side as they trudged off together into the unknown.
Lucy held her breath as she slowly crept out into the open expanse of land before them, having left Romeo back in the cover of the trees until she could be positive that what lay before them was clear. She stepped over the train tracks that ran through the cleared portion of trees, and with nothing other than the normal sights of nature greeting her gaze, she turned back around to call the teen to her side.
"Romeo-" her voice died out in her throat as she spun around, her eyes widening and stomach dropping at the sight that greeted her. Zancrow and Kain stood behind Romeo, the larger of the two with his meaty hands resting on the boy's shoulders. The teen's eyes were filled with tears as his lip trembled in terror, his frame curling into itself as Zancrow ruffled his hair in passing.
The blond apostle smirked viciously as he stepped over the train tracks, leaving Kain and Romeo on the other side as he jibbed, "Bring it on. I heard you played volleyball back in Crocus. You must have good stamina then, right? It's been a long time since I've had a good chase."
Despite the fact that the distance between them was lessening, Lucy couldn't bring herself to budge even an inch. Romeo wasn't at her side, and she wasn't running until his hand was clasped safely within her own.
Lucy shook her head anxiously, her gaze firmly connected with his even though she felt like her legs might give out on her at any second, "I won't go back with you." She thought back to what had happened to Romeo, the video of the apostle harassing the unknown woman adding fuel to the fire blazing within her, "I won't let you get away with what you've done!"
Zancrow chuckled to himself, "So what? Are you going to call the police?" His lips contorted in a malicious grin, "I thought you were smart, but now you sound like a child." His gaze suddenly dipped downward and he hummed in appreciation, "Your body on the other hand…is definitely that of a woman."
Red hot fury shot through her veins and she lunged at him before she could properly think things through, fully intent on making him pay for the comment.
Before she could even so much as lay a finger on him, his hand shot to the back of her head and fisted in the hair at the base of her neck, the apostle using his grasp to shove her to the ground. She couldn't even bring herself to catch her own fall, and once she was on the ground, she couldn't find the strength to stand, her adrenaline finally running its course and her body languidly refusing to obey her mind's desperate commands.
"L-Lucy…" her heart ached as she heard Romeo quietly mumble her name.
She'd failed him.
Zancrow let out something she could only describe as an exasperated growl as he crouched down next to her fallen frame, his hands immediately landing on her rear. For a moment, she feared that the worst was going to happen, that he was finally going to follow through his lewd intentions and she wouldn't be able to do a thing to stop it. And the fact that Romeo was so close by only worsened her dread.
But her body was quickly void of his touch, his hand only quickly dipping into her back pocket and receding just as fast.
Her heart didn't get a moment of relief, her eyes widening as the apostle placed what had been in her pocket on the ground in front of her, "Look here, Lucy." His smirk of satisfaction was practically audible as his fingers padded across the screen of Romeo's phone, entering the gallery, "Album, select, delete."
And just like that, her evidence was gone. She didn't know how he knew about the video, but that didn't matter anymore. Her only solid evidence was gone, and with it, her hope for the future.
The train tracks, only a few feet from her face, suddenly began to rattle.
Zancrow let out a dark chuckle, and Lucy's veins flooded with ice when she noticed that Kain, who still stood on the other side of the tracks, was dragging Romeo closer.
Strength and will suddenly shot through her body and she tried to shoot to her feet, but Zancrow's knee came down in the center of her back, his hand fisting in her hair once more and yanking her head upwards, forcing her to watch.
Lucy clawed against the ground in a fruitless attempt to drag herself away from him, tears already streaming down her cheeks and fear choking voice as she shrieked, "Romeo, no! Run away!"
As the train curved around a cluster of trees and came into view, Kain visibly tightened his grip on the teen, the boy's voice small as he fearfully called "Lucy…"
Zancrow hummed once more, "Now then, let's send Romeo to meet the Almighty."
"Romeo! No!"
The ground itself began to vibrate as the train came closer, and Kain shoved Romeo forward, the boystumbling onto the tracks.
The threads holding Lucy together snapped.
Her hands instinctively shot to her ears as the train whirled past, and her face fell forward into the dirt as Zancrow's hand disappeared from the back of her head.
The vibrating stopped, and for Lucy, all sound faded into silence, and she was perfectly still.
Cold tears numbly slid down her cheeks, her hands slowly falling from her ears as she quietly breathed out, "Romeo…stay hidden…stay hidden until I come and find you."
She blankly stared forward, her gaze focused on one lone blue sneaker that lay in the middle of the train tracks.
AN
Wow, only seven chapters in and we already have two deaths. That's the last death for a while though, so don't be too concerned. Sting's and Romeo's deaths are essential for how Lucy's character develops, and this is definitely the breaking point for her, so from this point on, everything about the way she's handling things will change…and thus we enter my favorite portion of the story.
We'll find out a little more about Natsu and Gray in the next chapter, though once again, it'll be more Lucy-centric. Also, the event for which this fic is named takes place next chapter, and its the moment that really sets off the story, so its one I'm looking forward to publishing very much ;)
As always, thanks for reading! And thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed!
See you next Friday!