I didn't even bother building a fire tonight. I wasn't hungry so there was no reason to have one. It was me, my keys, and the stars just like any other night. I didn't see my self getting any sleep tonight either. I would do as I normally would and dream about the book I'd eventually write. Yet, I was more compelled to think about the previous night where I had actually camped with someone for a change. I mean I've camped with people before but it was always for work. Yesterday, I tried to leave when I knew Macau was alright yet Natsu and Happy still didn't want me to leave.
Why did I even listen? I'm going to have to leave one day, and the longer I stay, the more it would hurt them. My life didn't give me a choice of staying anywhere. My entire existence is a danger to anyone around me. What if I just went off one day and they all died around me? Nothing but a massive pile of darken ashes. I don't think I could handle that again. Yet, somehow, some way, I don't feel lonely when he's around. I'm just so confused. My brain is telling me to leave and something else is telling me to stay. What should I do? Which one should I listen to? My brain has always lead the way, yet this other voice, if you want to call it that, was new.
"Lucy!!"
Did they really come out here looking for me? It's got to be at least two or three in the morning.
"Lucy!!!" Happy cried as flew right into my chest, almost knocking me backwards. "I thought you left us!" Was he seriously crying? We've only known each other for a couple of days. Is this normal, for people to be attached to others so quickly? I started petting the crying cat in hopes he would calm down. Natsu skid to a stop next to me.
"Why didn't you get a hotel room or at least build a fire? You could get sick." He asked as he sat down beside me. When I say beside, I mean beside. He was just inches away from me.
"I can't feel any form of temperature. I can't even tell you the difference between hot and cold." I replied honestly.
"Is that why you didn't wear a coat on Mt Hakobe?" Natdu asked. I nodded my head.
"Does that mean you can't be burned by fire?" Happy asked.
"Maybe. I've never really thought about it." I just shrugged my shoulders.
"I still don't like you being out here by your self." Natsu said sternly. "So we will stay out here with you!" He said it as if it was the perfect, most obvious choice in the world.
"Aye sir!" Happy agreed. I just stared between the two of them. I just can't fathom why these two were so interested in me.
"You guys don't have to do this. This is how I live. I'll be alright." I reassured them. I'm sure they'd feel better within their own home. Natsu threw an arm over my shoulder and pulled me towards him.
"Well, you have friends now. So you don't have to think like that anymore." Natsu said proudly. Why don't they get it? Why can't they understand I don't have a choice? Why is my brain so mad at this but I'm still partly happy about this? What is with all these contradicting emotions? Emotions were definitely more like a chore with the circumstances that I had to live through. What made it worse was that I had never actually had to deal with strong conflicting emotions before.
"You know I'm going to have to leave at some point to continue my research, right?" I had to point out. There was a pained look on his face. This was exactly what I didn't want.
"But you'd come back right?" Happy was practically begging at this point. Tearing were still pooling in his eyes.
"Hopefully." My chest felt as if I was just hit with a sledge hammer. Maybe somewhere deep down, I didn't want to leave?
"If you can't give us a yes or no Luce, we'll just have to come with you." His voice was laced with certainty. As much as it swells up my heart to hear someone say that, it was still too dangerous. Why was Natsu trying so hard to be by me all the time? It seemed like everything he did was illogical.
"Did you not hear your own damage report the master gave? It was ninety nine percent yours. If you came with me, you'd destroy the place before I could get any proper research done." I teased him. He pouted a little as Happy chuckled a little bit before yawning. Poor little guy. The thought that him worrying over me made him that exhausted brought some pain to my heart. Beyond the Celestial Spirits, no one had worried about me since before the incident. I laid back on the grass, so Happy could get some sleep. He instantly curled up on my chest. The pain in my chest was sooth over by what I imagined warmth felt like. Natsu laid back next to me. Happy was snoring within seconds.
"How about you stay here then, and you can so research while we're on missions? We can go on missions all the time if you want." He was bargaining now. He is one hundred and fifty percent of the reason why my emotions didn't want to listen to logic.
"Natsu, why are you trying to be near me?" I couldn't resist asking anymore. Maybe my emotions will settle a little if I heard an explanation? The pained look was back on his face. I couldn't explain why but I hated that look on his face.
"Why don't you want to stay?" I could hear the sadness in his voice. The pain in my heart was back and my stomach curled as if I drunk rotten milk. I could feel his hand grabbing mine. His unusual action was a needed distraction from whatever my emotions was doing to my body. All I could think about was imagining how warm his hands were.
"It's not that I don't want to stay. I would love to be able to stay." I grabbed his hand back. This seemed to have caused the feeling in my stomach to fade.
"Then stay." Natsu interrupted. I mentally sighed.
"It's not that easy. I would just bring nothing but danger to you, the guild, and the entire town. The entire world would become your enemy. I'm also pretty sure that the Magic Council would stop at nothing to dispell the guild too."
"Whatever you have going on, we'll fight it with you." Natsu sounded so confident. I could feel tears running silently. This feeling I knew all to well. Loneliness. The Magic Council made damn sure that no one knew what I was going through. Yet, it seemed like they knew more than they was saying.
"Natsu." I turned my head to see him already staring at me. His eyes were highly focused on mine the second they met. "What if I said there would come a day, where I will no longer be me? It might be my face, my body, and my voice, but on the inside I'm someone else. Someone you might have to kill to save the everyone?" I didn't have any evidence that any of this would happen, but I felt it more probable with every attack. I couldn't read the look on his face. It was determined, serious, and said that this was something not to agrue with him with.
"Luce. I don't understand what you are saying. You're an amazing person. The entire guild will fight to protect you from whatever it is you're talking about. You don't have to fight it alone. Besides, all we would have to do is prevent it from happening, right?" More tears were running down my face with absolutely no control. I don't need any false hope.
"Hundreds of people have died protecting me. Hundreds. I'll never forgive myself if I let other people share the same fate. Especially you and Happy." Natsu's face had softened he smiled at me softly. He turned on his side and laid directly beside me and wrapped an arm around me, being sure not to wake Happy. If my emotions were diffcult to deal with before, it was nothing compared to now. I wouldn't be too shocked if he could hear my heart rate pick up even without the heightened dragon slayer hearing. He placed his forehead against mine.
"It's okay Luce. I promise not to go anywhere." Natsu whispered. It stroke a chord I didn't know I had. I want to cry harder. Louder. Happy was sleeping though and I am done acting like this in front of Natsu. I am stronger than this. Life never gave me an option for being weak either. So why am I acting so weak right now? I started taking large deep breaths to calm these uncontrollable emotions.
"Why?" I asked after I calmed down the tsunami of tears and unknown emotions.
"Why what?"
"Why are you this nice to me?" I asked. He brought his hand up to wipe my tears away.
"Because Lucy. You're kind and amazing and I like hanging with you. Plus, you're the only weirdo I know that would feed wild wolves." He wrapped his arm back around my waist and laid his leg on top of mine. "I know you said you can't feel warmth but I still feel better knowing that you are." I didn't understand what was happening but I didn't want to fight it either. I would appreciate it if the tingly sensation in my stomach would settle down a little. "And I don't like seeing you sad. I want to see you smile and I mean really smile." He said before yawning himself. He got himself comfortable, his head leaning against mine still and his limbs still wrapped around me. He even made sure Happy was still asleep and comfortable. "Good Night Luce."
"Good Night Natsu." He was already snoring. I felt a few more tears fall in grateful silence. I have never longed for the sensation of warmth as much as I do now. I bet it felt wonderful and relaxing, just like this moment.
"Why can't we just wake her up? I'm hungry!" I could hear Happy complaining. It sounded kinda hazy though.
"SHH!! Happy! She's still sleeping!" Natsu responded in a loud whisper. Did I actually sleep all night? Why does it feel like I'm hiding my face in something? I leaned my head back and instantly regretted it. The sun was horribly bright at pierced my eyeballs like a knife. "Luce? You finally awake?" Whatever I was leaning on vibrated as he spoke. I hesitantly leaned my head back again. "You're awake!" I looked down towards apparently our feet. Apparently I didn't stay on my back last night and faced him in my sleep.
"I am now. I'm sorry about that." I apologized as I slowly pulled myself away from him and my sleep.
"Don't you worry about it Luce! That's what friends are for!"
"He liiikkeesss yoouu!"
"Come on Luce! We're hungry!" Natsu said as soon as Happy completed his little song. He grabbed my hand again and started towards town. I honestly just wanted to go back to sleep.
"Good Morning!" Happy sang as Natsu kicked the door open. Some of them replied back. Natsu was quiet as we got closer to the guild and silent even now. He guided me to an empty table as Happy flew off. I could feel people staring at us.
"Hey! Flame brain!" The dark hair guy that was naked the last time I saw him, came walking up to us as soon as we sat at a table.
"What?" Natsu already sounded like he was a little irritated at the guy.
"Who is she?" He asked as if I didn't have ears. I didn't hesitate to glare at him.
"This is Lucy."
"No, I mean WHO is she for you to walk in while holding her hand two days in a roll?" He asked. He winked at me and Natsu held my hand tighter. I had absolutely no idea what was going on. If this keeps up, I'm going to have to study more on modern socializing and communication and a tiny bit less on historical magical spells. I turned towards Natsu.
"I thought you said you was hungry?" I asked him. I could tell that he had forgotten. He looked over his shoulder.
"Hey Mira! The usual!"
"Coming right up Natsu!" Mira answered back. He looked at me.
"What do you want to eat?" He asked.
"I'm not hungry."
"Hey, I'm Gray." He greeted me. I guess he thought he wasn't going to get an answer out of Natsu.
"Lucy." He sat down across from us.
"So how do you manage to put up with pinky here?" He said in a teasing tone. He was looking a Natsu. I think these two just enjoy fighting each other.
"Put on some clothes, frost bite." Natsu growled.
"How in the hell?!" Gray was nude again. "Has anyone seen my clothes?" He got up and left us behind at the table. I seen Cana kick his shirt under a table. Thankfully it happened without those two fighting.
"He's pretty annoying but he means well." Natsu said softly. He turned his attention back to me, locking his eyes with mine. "You haven't ate in two days. You need to eat."
"But I'm not hungry." The was a 'psshhh' sound coming from the table. We both turned and looked and saw Plue standing on the table.
"Pun pun!"
"Hi plue." We both greeted.
"Pun puuunn puun Pun puunnn Pun punnn." Plue said. I gave him a soft glare.
"What do you mean she only eats once a week?!" Natsu immediately glared at me. "Mira! Can you make something for Lucy too?" He called from across the hall. I heard Plue disappear.
"What does she like?"
"Just bring her normal breakfast food!"
"Not a problem!" Mira replied. Natsu turned right back towards me.
"You are going to eat at least once a day." Natsu stated as if it was a sure thing. As soon as I opened my mouth to speak again, he gave me the same soft glare I just gave to Plue. "And if you puke it back up, you have to eat again. Not eating ain't healthy." Now he just sounds like all the celestial spirits.
"Ahh look at that, someone can finally tame the princess." I heard Loke whisper his tease from across the room. When Natsu started looking around the room for something, I gave Loke my best glare. He was trying his best to hide his laughter. Apparently wasn't a very good job since Natsu turned to look at him. He quickly hushed up then.
"So, what do you do besides research? You do anything for fun?" Natsu quickly turned to ask me. He seemed a little excited over the latter.
"Fun?" He seemed a little stunned when I asked.
"Is your research so important that you don't have fun?" I had to stop and think. Most of my life has been around research.
"Well, on occasion, I get to party with near by villagers where I'm currently doing my research. Those are pretty fun." I replied. He seemed to grin at that.
"I honestly can't picture you as a party girl." Natsu stated as his was grinning. I pouted a little and his just snickered at it.
"Please, I haven't lost a drinking challenge yet." I commented proudly. There was a loud bang coming from the doors.
"Erza is back!" Someone shouted.
Erza-nee?
I turned quickly to see her strolling in with a wagon with a decorate horn on it. She didn't look too much different from the last time I saw her. She wasn't wearing a braid anymore, or a eye patch, plus she was more grown and was wearing armor. Other than that, there was no mistaking her.
"What is that?" One of the other guild mates asked her.
"The villagers decorated a horn off of the monster I defeated? Why is there something wrong with it?" She asked, looking back at it with her hand on her chin.
"No! Nothing is wrong with it!" He said defensively before rushing off.
"I see you became the warrior you always wanted to be." I commented as I grinned at her. She turned her head swiftly, placing her attention right on me. Her face went from pure shock to angry. Natsu was quick to let go of my hand. I turned my body fully to face her as she stormed her way to me. I didn't break my grin as she punched me right in the face with enough force to send me through the wall. The entire guild gasped. I sat up in the middle of the rumble of wood. "Aww. You insult me Erza-nee! You went easy on me!" I pouted.
"You let me hit you." Erza-nee commented in a flat tone. The guild gasped again. I only shrugged at her.
"We both know I deserved it." Everyone was now staring at us in bewilderment.
"So, you want to explain to me why you disappeared on me?" Her stance and tone demanded an explanation.
"I was in a coma."
"Why was you in a coma?" She asked quickly and with concern.
"I'm not a theater. I'll explain it when we don't have an audience." She quickly looked around at everyone, just for them to quickly look away. "Besides, it's been years since I've baked you a cake." That really got her attention.
"Alright. But first, we got a mission that needs to be accomplished." She stated in her matter-of-fact tone. I raised a brow at her. We? Great, that means it's going to be even harder to get away. I looked at Natsu who seemed to be giving me a victorious grin. Mother fucker. He realized what I realized. I should've just kept my big mouth shut. "Natsu, Gray, I need your help." Natsu's face instant went to shock and the glaring at Gray. I couldn't help but to snort at the ridiculousness of it all. I finally stood up as Natu and Gray started arguing, for Erza-nee to just as quickly shot it down. "So are you going with?"
"Might as well" Gray said in a defeated tone. It was amusing that no one would stand up against Erza-nee.
"Fine but under one condition." Natsu bargained. Erza-nee focused her attention towards him. "We fight after this mission." The guild gasped again. Forget what I said earlier. It looks like Natsu is the only one willing to fight her.
"Deal, now go home and pack. The train leaves in a hour. I'll explain everything on the way." She turned her attention towards me. "When we get back, we're having a girl's night." I tilted my head at her.
"Girl's night?"
"You've never had a girls night?" She asked with a raised brow. I shook my head. "Have you been living under a rock?"
"More like a solo gypsy." She shook her head at my response.
"You better not be going anywhere." She lightly threatened. She didn't wait for a response as she turned and left. Gray wasn't too far behind her.
"As if Natsu is going to let me go anywhere." I grumbled under my breath as I pouted. Natsu sprouted up out of no where and hung his arm around my shoulders. He was giving me a million watt grin.
"Did you mean that Luce? You're stayin?" Natsu was all too excited now. Damn him and his earing.
"For as long as I can. I don't know how long it can last, but I'll try." I promised.
"Here you go Natsu!" Mira said as she walked over to bring us some food on the table we was previously at. She placed a chicken that was on fire in front of Nastu. I could smell the heavy amount of pepper spices on the chicken. She placed eggs and bacon and hash browns in front of me.
"Thank you Mira!" Natsu thanked. She only smiled at him before someone else called her away. "Eat." So I did, reluctantly. Natsu seemed to be satisfied so he started eating too. I could feel their eyes on us but Natsu didnt seem to care.
By the time Natsu, Happy, and I made it to the train station, Gray was there waiting for us.
"You guys are late. Be happy Erza ain't here yet." Gray commented. I could feel Happy rearrange himself in the hood of my cloak.
"Thank Mavis we don't have to face the wrath of Erza." Happy grumbled as he leaned over my shoulder. I smiled a little.
"Sorry I'm late!"
I turned around to see an entire wagon overflowing with cases. Why on earthland would anyone want to drag all that around? Mages can make enough to afford a place to live in with all that?
"Lucy. Where's your luggage?" Erza-nee asked as she closed in on us. I moved my eyes from her luggage to her.
"All I own on Earthland is on me." She raised a brow on me. It's not like I was lying. She straightened up and strolled over to me. She kept a straight face the entire time. She raised her fist bringing a quick strong pain right at the top of my forehead. Damn, I need to start dodging those.
"You trying to turn me in a unicorn?" I whined as I feel down to my knees. Rubbing my now sore forehead. I could hear the guys chuckling behind me. I glared at Erza-nee.
"You need to take proper care of yourself." She lectured. "What if you need something? Like a change of clothes or a weapon or feminine products?"
"Can we just get the mission started? And do we really need to go on a train?" I asked, hoping to distract her. It seemed to work.
"What's wrong with the train? It'll get us to our location quicker."
"I've never been on a train." I grumbled. "Don't wanna start now." I whispered under my breath. I doubt she even heard it. She straightened her spine as she crossed her arms.
"Looks like we're going to have to have a really long talk. You're right though, we need to get the mission started." Her voice was filled with 'you're not getting out of this' tone. Natsu grabbed my hand leading me unto the train.
"So you've never been on a train?" Gray asked as Natsu and I sat down across from him. I shook my head.
"You're not missing out on anything." Natsu commented. His displeasure was written all over his face. Happy just snickered as he climbed out of my hood.
"Natsu just doesn't like any mode of transportation. The train really ain't that bad." Happy stated as he sat in my lap.
"Yeah, don't let squinty eyes discourage you. It's boring but not that bad." Gray agreed with Happy.
"Lucy. We need to talk about your living conditions." Erza-nee said in a matter of fact tone. No matter how much I wanted to complain, I held it in. I haven't seen Erza-nee point her frustrations at me, so this could be interesting. "Where is all your clothes?"
"In the celestial realm." She tilted her head as if I needed to explain more. I equipped out of my cloak and wore a white and blue shirt with a matching blue skirt. She nodded her head as if she approved.
"Sleeping bag?" She asked. All I could do is smile at her.
"It's pointless since I can't feel temperature." I didn't have to add the fact I can't sleep very well. That would only make her worry. She raised a brow at me. "It's been that way since the coma. Don't ask me why because I have no idea." I shrugged. She looked at me in sympathy.
"I'm also assuming that anything else you would need is in the Celestial Realm?" She asked. I nodded my head. "Even feminine products?" I nodded again. "Do you carry the potion to prevent animals from smelling you?" I shook my head on that one. Quiet honestly, I didn't even know that those existed. "Why not?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Extra training." Everyone looked at me as if I was psychotic. "What?" The men chuckled as Erza-nee looked at me as if I was being ridiculous.
"It doesn't help that Lushi doesn't live anywhere." Happy put in his two jewels.
"What do you mean Happy?" Gray asked this time.
"Lushi lives without any form of shelter. No apartment. No house. No home." Happy informed.
"Why not?" Gray asked.
"Never had a reason to." I shrugged.
"After girl's night, we'll find you an apartment." Erza-nee stated. I could see Natsu and Happy grinning at each other as if they had won the lottery. Those two are crafty. The train whistle sound as the train jerked a little, taking my stomach with it.
"Not you too." Happy whined as he flew over between Erza-nee and Gray. As the wheels of the train rolled, so did my stomach. I feel awful. Why was my body doing this?
"Motion sickness sickness sucks." I barely heard Natsu grumble. I looked over to him. He looked as miserable as I felt. I opened my mouth to agree but my stomach felt like it was going to come up, so closed my mouth. I leaned my head to lean on his shoulder to express it instead. He leaned his head on top of mine.
"How can you two be so miserable and adorable at the same time?" Happy asked while Gray and Erza-nee just smirked at us. We simultaneously flipped them off. They started laughing.
Assholes.
Erza-nee then decided to inform us on what had happened on her last mission. Natsu and I shifted closer together for moral support. His arm wrapped around me as I leaned closer into his grasp. The smell of fire off of Natsu was actually comforting, so much so my stomach calmed down. Natsu seemed to be doing better as well when he stuck his face in my hair.
"Lullaby is a weapon created by Zeref." I managed to say. I did not feel like explaining after that..
"So you're still doing research on him?" Erza-nee asked. I just nodded my head. "Can you inform us on what we're dealing with?"
"Demon." I started but everytime I opened my mouth, I felt the threat of nausea overwhelm me. "In flute." How Natsu ever dealt with this, I'll never know. "Play." My stomach felt as if it twirled with every sylabol that I made. It was as of Aquarius sent another tidal wave but only taking my stomach with it. "All dies." It was the best I could do out of this situation. Natsu tightened himself around me, practically bringing me into his lap. I couldn't understand how or why but it made me feel more anchored. Safe.
"So what you're saying is that a dark guild found a flute with a Demon in it and when they play it, people die?" Gray asked. I nodded my head. I'm going to have to invest in enchanted lacrima that would get rid of this motion sickness, as Natsu called it.
"This is more serious than I originally anticipated." Erza-nee mumbled under her breath. She placed her index and thumb around her chin as she started thinking. I was beginning to feel drowsy from the lack of sleep.
"You okay, Lushi?" Happy asked. I nodded my head, slowly allowing myself to sleep. This would be the second time I fell asleep in Natsu's arms.
I wonder if I would get some actual rest like I did the last time?
All of it was a lie, that much was obvious. It just sucked that I couldn't tell anyone that without our enemies knowing that we knew the truth. The fact that Erza-nee didn't catch on was surprising to say the least.
"Why aren't you helping her?" Happy asked.
"Erza-nee's magic grew so much since I last seen her." I said as she sliced and diced through more of the dark guild. She really had changed so much throughout the years, it was truly impressive how much her magic has grown.
"Erza's magic is very pretty." Happy agreed. Not a single one had landed a hit on her. Some of them must have realized this and went for one of the doors. I pulled my whip out and ran towards them. I watched as they tried to speed up. The one in the front tripped over their own feet causing the people behind him to fall over too. That made it much easier to block their path. They looked up at me in confusion before a cocky expression covered their faces. They didn't hesitate to charge.
With my whip in hand, it didn't take much to conquer all of those that dared faced me. It was actually pretty concerning that this pretty weak dark guild had their hands on something as powerful as Lullaby. They seriously had no idea how much shit they got themselves into. There was no way any of these people could've survived summoning a Demon.
"That's all of them." Erza-nee commented, bringing me out of my thoughts.
"You know they was lying, right?" I asked. She and Happy tilted their heads. I sighed loudly. I couldn't believe they fell for it. Instead of informing them, I went to the trainstation map. It showed where all the trains connected and went to.
There we are.
"What are you talking about, Lushi?" Happy asked. I ignored him for the moment and followed the path on the map. Clover town. Shit.
"They're going after the masters." I growled. Those morons!
"Are you sure?" Erza-nee asked. I nodded my head firmly.
"This is the only train station that leads there. I knew they gave away information too easily!" I was kicking anything I could away from me. "Those slimmy bastards!"
"Now that we have the truth, we can act on it faster. Happy, you go find Natsu and Gray. Let them know what happened. Lucy and I will get a head start." Erza-nee instantly took command. I was already out the door before she finished. We was seriously fucked right now. I groaned loudly at the sight in front of me. Wind so dense that you could see it and it seemed to surround the entire building. I took a deep breath and placed my hand inside it. There was not way for us to escape in time. I pulled my arm back out. It hurt like hell but most things in life did. A good portion of skin was shredded off of my arm. I growled again. We fell for the bait. I heard Erza-nee walk out a while ago but kept quiet.
"So what now?" I asked. I noticed in her fight in there the strategy ask her true calling. Her calculating eyes looked as if it would pierce the wind all on its own.
"Although it concerns me that you took so much damage without so much as wincing, I say our best chance is to wait while everyone regroups." I sighed loudly again at her statement. I really was not used to someone caring about my well being.
"I guess that I've been by myself for so long, that I got to the point where I don't care about any damage done to me." I replied as honestly as I could. "Plus it doesn't help that a lot of things on life is out to hurt you. I could've just gotten used to it. Which one though, I can't tell." Her eyes softened at me.
"How long have you been alone?" She asked. I looked over to her, smiling as much as I could, which wasn't much.
"When was the last time I saw you?" Her eyes widened at my response. She walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me, crushing my bones with a hug. I smiled anyways. It was the first hug outside of my spirits since the incident, and it made my eyes tear up. I didn't realize how much I missed it until now.
"You'll never be alone again." She promised. I couldn't help but to giggle a little.
"Natsu made sure of that. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have seen you again." I spoke honestly. She stayed silent for a bit while still hugging me. I cautiously hugged her back. I felt the tears fall down my face.
"Sounds like I need to repay him somehow." I smiled even though tears ran down my face. "Was you able to speak to your parents about adopting me?" I could hear her need for an answer. I shook my head against the breast plate she wore.
"Thanks to the Spirit King, I was able to talk to them after death. They wished they could've met you but unfortunately it was too late." I heard my voice Crack.
"Well, I missed you reguardless." I could hear the love in her voice.
"I've missed you too."
"What the hell?!" I turned my head and watched as Natsu stormed past us and to the wind wall. He started punching it. I swiftly pulled out of Erza-nee's arms and grabbed Natsu from behind, my arms around his waist. He looked at me over his shoulder.
"It's pointless. Look." I held out my injured arm in front of him while holding him back.
"Luce." He whispered as he grabbed my arm. He turned around while I let go of my grip on him. "What was you thinking?" He asked as he held my injured arm tenderly.
"I was testing the wind. A different method that yours but it gave us enough information." I stated while watching him carefully. He was acting like I was the most precious thing on earthland. I don't know if I liked it or not. It was different. "You look as if you left your arm in there for a while."
"She did." Erza-nee responded in a tone that told me she wasn't happy with it.
"Luce." His tone was that of a warning. "There is no need to do that." I really didn't know how to respond to this level of concern. First Erza-nee and now Natsu. This was getting a little too much for me and my poor inexperienced heart. The doors to the train station slammed open.
"This guy reassured what Lucy discovered." Gray growled, basically throwing the pineapple head dude to the ground. Natsu pushed me behind him as he growled at the guy on the floor.
Had he fought him before?
"Wait!" Natsu shouted before turning to me. "What if we did what happened at the Ever Lube mission?" He was practically bouncing at his thought. This childish action was adorable.
Did I really just think it was adorable?!
"Unfortunately, the spirit only appears where I turn the key. The spirit would have to be in here and me out there for it to work." He pouted at my word. "Also it's Everloo. But I'll admitt, having Virgo here would be the best way out."
"Thats it!" Happy cheered. Everyone turned to him as he reached into his backpack. After a few seconds, he pulled out a gate key. Not just any gate key, but Virgo's. I pulled him into a hug.
"You brilliant cat, you!" I praised as pulled him a hug. "How did you get this?" I asked as I grabbed it front his hands.
"She came up after the fight and asked if I could give it to you. She sounded like she really wanted you to have it." Happy explained. I smirked at the cat.
"So it took all of us to be in danger before you could remember?" I teased. He pouted and he crossed his arms.
"I'm still not used to your magic, weirdo." He grumbled under his breath. Natsu and I chuckled at his response.
"Congratulations Cat. You saved us." I praised again before bringing her key out to the side. "I call on thee: spirit of the maiden! VIRGO!" I shouted without letting go of Happy. After a puff of smoke and a ding of a bell, a maid with pink hair and chains on her wrist appeared. She instantly bowed.
"Time for punishment, princess?" I rolled my eyes.
"No punishment and stop calling me princess." She raised up with a raised brow.
"Mistress?"
"Better than Princess but I'd prefer Sis!"
"Sis?" I nodded as she tilted her head. "Okay, Mistress. What is it that you need?" She asked. I groaned loudly again. At least it was more tolerable.
"I know we haven't made a contract yet but could you get us out of here? I promise to make a contract soon after." I promised from the bottom of my heart. She just smiled gently.
"I will always come when you need me. No contract is needed since you saved me." She replied. Before I could ask anything, she started digging into the ground.
They wasn't going to be happy with me for leaving them behind. Unfortunately though, I had to seige the opportunity. I had to talk to the Demon. He would be old enough to possibly have the information which I was seeking. I swung my legs back and forth as I watched the grounds below. I thought for sure he would have shown up by now. Maybe they somehow managed to intercept them?
"Lucy!" I looked closer to the building. Makarov was standing there with a few of the other guild masters. All of them looked confused or worried. I slid of the roof, landing with experienced grace. I gave them the short version of what had happened throughout the day.
"My, my. What a turn of events." Mastor Bob fanned his face.
"Then where are the others?" Makarov asked. I smiled the best I could but it still felt off due to my nervousness.
"Well, I kind of left them behind. I didn't know how far the scythe dude got. But apparently, they must have intercepted him somewhere since he isn't here yet." I watched their expressions carefully. I still wasn't a part of any guild, so my presence alone was basically illegal. I mean, I prank the guild masters all the time at these meetings, yet I made sure they wasn't aware it was me. This situation was different. The fact that they only seemed to be contemplating things didn't ease the feeling I had.
"And instead of you coming in and informing us directly, you sat on the roof?" The other master asked. I don't remember him too well. "Are you trying to steal the Lullaby for yourself?" I couldn't resist rolling my eyes.
"I'm already cursed. Why would I also need a cursed flute?" They all immediately stiffened. "Since the flute was locked up for four hundred years, the Demon will break the seal loose since he finally tasted freedom." Their eyes were now so wide, I'm shocked their eyeballs were going to fall out. "I'm here take care of the Demon."
"You're cursed?" Master Bob asked. I nodded. "What kind of curse?"
"Ask the Magic Council. They placed a seal on me to make sure I don't talk about. I'm also sure that they're hiding more information than they was willing to give me." Their eyes softened at that.
"Then how was you able to say that you was cursed if you got the seal on ya?" Makarov asked. I looked back on the day everything changed. My soul was reminded of the emptiness it had felt every day since then.
"I'm cursed in more ways than one. So the term is contradictive." I said honestly. I felt wind passing by in a comforting embrace. The feeling brought a smile to my face.
"Maybe one day, you'll be willing to share some of your burdens with me and my children." Makarov said in acceptance. His actions made my smile a bit bigger. Then I felt some small dark magic rushing to us, making me frown and pinch my brows closer together.
"Huh? It wasn't who I thought it would be." I spoke softly. They all gave me a funny look before Makarov turned around.
"I'll handle this." He stated before walking in the intruder's direction. As soon as I felt Natsu's, Happy-s, Erza-nee's, and Gray's magic, the other two masters left me standing by myself. While Makarov talked to the pineapple head, I could feel some magic energy rising in the flute. Pineapple head ending up dropping the flute, tears streaming out his face. The magic in the flute rose drastically and it snapped it half. The Demon stood tall in front of me, towering at twelve story building high. He turned to face me.
"LUCY!" I heard the members of Fairy Tail scream.
"Princess." The Demon spoke in an ancient language of four hundred years ago. I barely registered it. Anger rushed through my being like a hurricane.
"PRINCESS?! Why does everybody keep calling me that?!" Pushing magical energy through the souls of my feet, I back flipped to the top of the meeting house. Without any hesitance, I jumped up to the chest of the Demon. "Lucy Kick!!" The force had caused him to stumble back a bit, kicking a part of the roof down. His eyes followed me as I fell back to the ground, arms across my chest. He swiftly caught me, as he found his balance again.
"LUCY!!!" I heard Natsu scream above everyone else, with Erza-nee being a close second.
"I must return the pprincess to the king." The Demon spoke again. I could feel the mark on my hip burning from being near this Demon, as if it was taking my own magic and using it against me. As if all my self loathing was taking over and torturing me.
"Why are you taking me away? Who is the king you're talking about?" I asked in his language.
"I need to take you so the prophecy can be finally fulfilled. The king has been here for as long as I have, residing in a human in another country, as you humans call. He is also king of that country. His name is forbidden to be said." He explained vaguely. The pain from the mark was building quickly. The Demon was too focused on getting to his destination that he appeared not to notice. I looked back to everyone, all of them had to hold Natsu and Erza-nee back. They wasn't far enough yet.
"Does the prophecy have anything to do with the mark?" I asked. He glanced at me quickly before focusing on his task ahead. I bit my cheek to help redirect the pain a little. I had to contain it long enough to get some answers. The Demon nodded his head. "Where can I find information on this prophecy?" He shrugged at the question.
"The prophecy is two thousand years old. Long and forgotten. Even four hundred years ago, it become nothing more than a horror story told to kids." The magic build up on my hips was overflowing now. It felt as fire ants getting away at my soul, ripping my nerves into nothing but scattered cells. My vision darkened as the white noise in my ears was so loud I couldn't hear anything. The feeling of wind was the first thing I noticed. I slowly opened my eyes just to see I was falling.
"HAPPY!"
"AYE SIR!!" How far did they get? I could barely hear them. Why was they so worried? Then I felt my shirt rising behind me. Happy must have caught me because I was now floating instead of falling. He turned us around as I looked down to the forest, some of the tree tops were missing. I looked towards the masters, they was all fine. I looked towards the Demon. The members of Fairy Tail took care of what did remained of the Demon, who apparently fell on the building. A bit of his left arm, hip, and leg was missing. After they severed each limb, did the Demon finally die to nothing but falling ashes. My nerves must have temporally shut down to recover since we was on the ground now. I looked to everyone, all was watching what was unfolding.
I turned and walked towards the smell of water. At least the mark doesn't mess with my nose. I felt something rise up my chest and then my throat. I spat out what appeared like liquid tar and smelt like death. Being used to this by now, I continued on. That shit has thee absolute worse taste, kind of like it was a weird concoction of all the disgusting things on earthland blended together. Thank all the deities that water wasn't too far away.
"Lucy!" I heard Natsu scream from somewhere behind me. I just ignored him as I walked up to a small stream. Dropping to my knees, I use my hand to scoop water into my mouth. Instantly swishing it around to remove whatever was left in there. After spitting it out, I repeated the process.
"Luce!" Natsu was behind me now. "What are you doing?" He asked as I spat out the water again. "That black stuff didn't come from you, did it?" I didnt have the energy to speak so I just nodded my head. I listened closely as he came over and knelt beside me. "Are you okay?" I glanced up at him, seeing nothing but pure concern over his eyes. It was as if my condition was the only thing that mattered. As if what I had just done, what had brought me everything I hated in life, didn't terrify him or waver his view on me. A weird feeling filled my heart a little.
It's a good weird. I smiled at the thought. His body relaxed a little.
"Hmm. Tired." I didn't really lie. After all the pain I had just felt, tiredness was what mostly remained. He stood as he grabbed my waist, helping me to my feet before swooping me up in his arms. I felt blood rush to my cheeks from how close he was holding me. If I wasn't so tired, I would've Lucy Kick him back to group.