Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters; that right belongs to Hiro Mashima.
Author's Note: This chapter deals with some serious issues/topics. Hence why, this story is rated mature. So if you do not like that, I politely ask you to turn around and leave now because I don't see the point in wasting your time and mine.
Lucy sat in the tub of hot water, her body trembling violently. She silently wished this cabin had a shower instead of a bathtub. Because warming up while being submerged after her latest dream(nightmare) wasn't really helping her mental and emotional state of being.
Feeling her throat begin to tighten again, Lucy practiced the deep breathing techniques her former therapist taught her. Lucy was highly disturbed by the dream(nightmare), and she woke up standing outside the wall at the end of the hallway(again). Something that was now a common routine when she had those strange dreams(nightmares). Which had begun to scare her silly.
Closing her eyes, Lucy gripped the edges of the gothic claw-foot tub. She had to get out, dry off, and go journal what she recalled. But her body wanted to lock up. Lucy knew every detail as if it had really happened to her. Down to being pulled deeper into the dark bottom of the (now) frozen Lake. The suffocating feeling of water flooded her lungs with the burning sensation as all the air was forced from them as the water pressed her body from all directions.
Giving a violent shake of her head, Lucy opened her eyes and forced herself to stand. The sound of the bathwater as it dripped and splashed back into the tub had Lucy swallowing back a wave of nausea. It had been almost a year since she'd reacted like this. Nearly a year since her therapist green-lighted her not to have to go in even once a week to talk through the trauma and PTSD(*1) that stemmed from the BSS(*2).
Taking another deep breath and letting it out slowly, Lucy stepped out of the bathtub. Her gaze briefly flicked to the cloudy surface of the water. She was watching as the ripples turned into a smooth surface. Lucy bent quickly, grabbed the metal beaded chain, and yanked the stopper out from the drain.
Dropping the chain, Lucy moved slowly to where her bath towel and robe hung. She flinched as a gurgling sound came from the drain. The image of dark, inky water filled her vision as her mind recalled her body being pulled deeper into the Lake. The pressure suddenly appeared around her, pressing her body from all directions, had Lucy opened her mouth to suck in air desperately.
Lucy gasped over and over, feeling her chest tighten as if hyperventilating. Only to return to the present, Lucy saw her hand grabbing the fluffy pale pink towel filling her field of vision. As a shudder racked her body, Lucy pressed her lips into a thin line.
"Dammit," She muttered. "I don't need this."
Quickly Lucy rubbed herself dry and wrapped her bathrobe around her body. Then Lucy did her best not to run from the bathroom as the bathtubs drain gurgled again. Lucy made a mental note to call Silver and Gray to come to inspect the drain. It hadn't made that loud of a sound while draining before. And it could be an issue with the pipe having partially frozen in winter? Since Lucy knew she hadn't done anything that could have clogged the pipes.
000000
"Thank you, Gray," Lucy said in a soft voice. Allowing her gratitude to show in her voice. "I appreciate you coming tomorrow. Drive carefully."
Lucy felt her lips tilt up into a smile. She had texted Gray about her tub after journalling her dream and coming down from the panic attack it induced. And Lucy had been pleasantly surprised at how quick Gray had responded. It also meant she'd get to see another person for the first time in a while.
After sitting down and talking with both Fullbuster men, showing the original cabin plans, Lucy learned more about the house she lived in. It had been clear both men were uncomfortable with her having the blueprints. And that she wanted to remodel that section of the second-floor hallway. Both had said their family had handled the repairs and remodeling of the cabin since it was built. And the stairwell was still there; otherwise, the cabin's integral structure would have changed, causing it to collapse.
From there, an agreement was reached. They would start work to open the staircase back up after the holiday season. Lucy hadn't the heart to say anything about the dreams and nightmares she'd been having. Fearing they'd think she was crazy. Hell, she felt she was slowly going mad each time she woke up next to the wall, hands pressing on it or, in rare cases, slamming a fist against it.
Some part of her felt a compulsory need (though she didn't know why) to get to the attic. At the same time, Lucy found it odd and wanted to avoid it. She knew the attic might hold more information about the cabin's history. And maybe (it was a small hope) the reason Lucy felt a connection to this place. All the strange Dejavu feelings she'd get randomly. Hell, even a clue to her dreams or the strange, sad, handsome man who seemed to love her dream self.
He blinked, and again the seasons changed. Summer has become winter. Images of the past and present overlapped repeatedly. He recalled his lover's joy of snow and how it caused a flush to her normally rosy pink cheeks. Her large brown eyes sparkled as her little pink mouth curled happily into a smile.
This newer version of her seemed so sad when she looked at the snow. And the words she made appear on the glowing window had him angry. Some man, not his half-brother, had ended up marrying her and hurting his Lucinda badly. Had she not suffered more than enough from the petty jealousy of her best friend? Said friend who coveted his half-brother?
Lucinda, or Lucy as she preferred now, was his fiancee. When he'd learned of the romantic feelings Gray had for her, it had caused a falling out between them—then accumulating in his Lucinda to leave after she'd been betrayed—not knowing the truth of it all where he was concerned. He had never been intimate with that blue-haired she-devil. And Gray's involvement had cemented everything.
The only thing he could be happy about was that his lover had returned how she wanted to find the attic that had been sealed. Time was still frozen due to the results of that incident. And it made him feel cold all over as his vision darkened as he was once more pulled back to the icy dark depth of the Lake by the legend. A legend they'd all thought was a story to scare children at night.
TBC!
1- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: a condition of persistent mental and emotional stress occurring as a result of injury or severe psychological shock, typically involving disturbance of sleep and constant vivid recall of the experience, with dulled responses to others and to the outside world. It is not something to be taken lightly. And if you know someone who has, ask what you can do to help and not aggravate/trigger it.
2- Battered Spouse Syndrom: A condition created by sustained physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse, which creates a variety of physical and emotional symptoms. If you know someone(Male or female) suffering from this, help them(But don't force that help if they say no, it can make it worse). Just be there for them so they know you care and are willing to help when they realize they need it.
I have PTSD. And years of therapy to help with that and the BSS I suffered from under my first husband. I am now a huge advocate for helping those who have gone through things that have caused this and many other mental and emotional problems. And I am grateful for the people I call my friends now today because they are understanding people who are truly amazing and strong! This includes my family and my current husband, who is a buddah-made flesh when I regress.