"So, the other me always made this for you?" Lucy asked while looking at Natsu.
"Aye," Happy replied for him while taking a fish from his sack. "Whenever we would go to your house for breakfast, they'd always be ready for Natsu to eat."
The fire dragon slayer nodded repeatedly as he took the whole plate. "My Luce knew I liked them really spicy hot 'cause of my magic which was why they always stunk up your kitchen and were bright red."
"Our friend Mira would try to make it too, but would hold back the spice 'cause she thought it was a bit much." Gray added.
After the blonde's little fit, if the pink haired guy could call it that, Lucy woke up shortly after. They explained to her what had happened and asked if she knew what caused it. She shook her head, placing a hand on her head with a perplexed look. She told them that she did have quite a bit of fits when she first arrived to the village but they had not been as bad for over a year now. But whenever she did, it was like she could see flashes of places she had never seen before.
She thanked Wendy and Erza for cleaning up and the two just told her not to think of it. They would have brought up the fact about tracking down where Fairy Tail if it were not for how unstable she still seemed after getting up from the couch. Natsu helped her up the stairs and would have helped her into her bedroom but Lucy reminded him that he was not allowed in her room. He wanted to insist on helping her but the look on her face meant that he should not pry.
Once her bedroom door was locked, Erza instructed everyone of their sleeping arrangements. Much to Natsu and Gray's displeasure, it was men in one room and women in the other. Of course, though the fire dragon slayer and ice mage did not say anything outright, they were glaring at each other mentally. Happy silently prayed for his life and his good cat's sleep (good thing he had kept his ear plugs in his little green sack).
When they all woke up the next morning, Lucy was already making breakfast for everyone in the kitchen. Erza was the first to wake up; then Wendy and Carla, the three of them setting the table as the blonde finished cooking; Gray came down shortly after; and finally Natsu and Happy. But once everyone had sat down at the dining table and Lucy had set the table, they all looked at their breakfast with widened eyes.
While there were normal breakfast foods like fruit, pancakes, toast, bacon, eggs, there was also sizzling chicken covered in bright red sauce. It was the only odd one out of the dishes in front of them and it was made in a specific way only catered to one of them: Natsu. Lucy was about to dig in happily when she noticed all of them looking between her and the chicken. She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head confused. Which was what brought on the conversation.
"Have you always cooked this since coming here, Lucy?" Erza asked.
The blonde woman shook her head done grabbing her pancakes and fruits. "No... I don't know what it is but... I just dreamt of serving it to someone."
"Dreamt of serving it?" Wendy asked.
She nodded again. "I was laughing in the dream," she said with a fond smile. "There were two people in front of me, I think, and they were arguing about who got what piece. I never ate any of it myself. And when I woke up this morning, I just had a feeling that one of you would like it."
Natsu took a large bite out of the drumstick. He chewed for a couple of seconds before his eyes widened and a massive grin formed on his face while he chewed. "Holy, this is good! It's even tastier than I remember!"
He started devouring the the rest of the chicken, not a care in the world. Lucy and Happy chuckled while Gray, Erza, Wendy and Carla just sighed at typical Natsu behaviour. Leave it to the one track guy to lighten up the mood. While they ate, the blonde woman said that she would have to go out to run some errands and asked what everyone else would do. Natsu and Happy volunteered to accompany her while the others wanted to take a walk around town.
With that settled, Erza and Wendy decided to clean up the dining table and wash the dishes again. Gray and Carla helped Lucy harvest some fruit and vegetables in her garden and Natsu and Happy decided to have a race to see who could chop firewood faster. To his surprise, the blue exceed succeeded before him. Happy silently thanking Mr. Lucky for making him do housework when they were all in Edolas.
When everything was all done and accounted for, Lucy called for Natsu and Happy to carry some paper bags full of vegetables while she carried a large basket of fruit. She had quite a bit of extra that were ready for harvest, so she decided to bring them to a place that would serve a better place for them. Erza, Gray, Wendy and Carla were still planning on where they were going so the blonde left her spare key with Erza just in case. Once that was done, the trio left the house.
"Say Lucy, I've been meaning to ask," Happy said as Lucy led the way. "You weren't really that surprised when we told you about the you we're looking for. I would've thought you be slightly shocked."
"Huh, now that I think about it... you were more interested about your last name more than anything." Natsu agreed.
"Well, we do live in a world full of magic," she replied. "I've always just assumed anything was possible. Especially since I don't practice magic myself."
This made the duo's bodies freeze at her words. If Lucy did not practice magic, that would explain why she does not carry her whip or celestial keys anymore. But that made them wonder about her spirits again. What happened to Loke and the others? Their contracts to Lucy? They could only wonder how they were holding up or if they knew what had happened for Lucy to be like this. If their contracts were no more, could that mean they were not able to pass through the gates on their own now?
"You don't practice magic?" Natsu asked, making the blonde woman stop walking to face them.
"But the Lucy we know can-"
"Ah Miss. Lucy! Good morning," an elderly woman greeted while interrupting the blue exceed's words. "Headed to the school today?"
Lucy turned around, forgetting about Natsu question and nodding at the elder. She nodded before gesturing to the duo behind her. "Yes, I had an overstock in my garden, so I thought I would keep them at school and cook for the children tomorrow. I have guests staying with me for a bit and these guys wanted to help out."
"School?" the fire dragon slayer asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Children?" Happy added.
The blonde woman faced them for a second to nod. "Yeah, when I first got here, everyone in the village helped me when I was healing and got me on my feet. I wanted to pay them back so I offered to help teach at the local school."
"She's quite the intelligent one despite losing almost all her memories," the elderly woman said placing a hand on her cheek while remembering when the blonde woman was first found in the village. "You were practically at death's door with the amount of injuries you sustained. It was amazing that you even pulled through."
Natsu's eyes constricted at her words, the image of Lucy being injured to the point of death brought memories that left sour tastes in his mouth. When she was brutally attacked by Minerva when Sabertooth were still jerks in the Grand Magic Games and when he watched her future self die because he could not protect her. The memories made him tighten his grip on the bags he was carrying. Seeing his change in demeanour, Happy looked at the pink haired man with worry.
"Natsu...?" he softly asked to which he did not get a reply.
How could he not be there for Lucy when she was in trouble? Just where was his future self when she was alone? What of his promise to himself to never let anyone else precious to him get hurt? He seriously needed to have a heart to heart with himself the moment he met himself. He would have stayed seething at his future self in silence if it were not for said blonde woman going over and putting a hand on his shoulder. A look of confusion and concern on both hers and the elder woman's face.
"You alright?" she asked.
His eyes widened for a second, and any anger he harboured dispersed just as fast. "Y-Yeah..."
The elder woman continued to stare at Natsu. Lucy was trying to check his condition while he tried to get her off his back and Happy giggling. If his bashful expression was anything to go by, the elder woman could not help but look at the two of them in a different light. It made her chuckle. "I shouldn't take up more of your time now, Miss. Lucy."
The trio stopped their little banter to look at the old woman, slightly embarrassed that they forgot her presence. "Whoops our bad," Lucy said with an awkward grin. "I'll see you next time then!"
Natsu and Happy also waved goodbye to the elder woman, waiting until she turned around before stopping. The blonde woman gestured for them to continue following her to the school and when they arrived, the two fairies took in all the art that was spread all over the classroom did not know how many children were in the village, but they could tell that they all loved her quite a bit with how many drawings that featured her (from what they could make out).
Lucy told them they could look around while she organized the fruits and vegetables. Neither of the two were anything artistic like Reedus but there were many drawings of things the kids had done at the school. There was one where Lucy taught them how to write, when they all had pancakes with Lucy, and story time with Lucy. The pink headed slayer looked at that particular drawing in fondness, remembering how much his blonde partner wanted to be an author.
"Teacher Lucy read us a new story book," Natsu read aloud. "It was about someone she called... samandler?"
"Even in the future, Lucy still makes weird characters." Happy sighed.
"Sorry to make you guys wait a bit," Lucy said as she finally joined up with them. "Oh, you like the children's drawings?"
"Well, we're not artists so I don't think we can really say anything but it looks like they had a ton of fun with you." the blue exceed said.
"Though I gotta ask, who is this 'samandler' you told the kids about?"
The blonde tilted her head in confusion. She took a look at the picture the fire dragon slayer was pointing at and then chuckled. "That's actually supposed to say 'Salamander'."
"Salamander?" they asked.
She nodded. "A picture book I made for them. It's about this really strong hero - a dragon boy that people called the Salamander. Neat, huh?" Lucy showed them the book in question. "When he meets a princess, the two of them go on an adventure with no ending and fight villains who threaten people's lives. The children love them."
Their eyes widened when she handed the book to them, opening it to see simple drawings of a boy with red dragon wings and a princess dressed in blue and pink. The pictures showed their friends of different kinds of people and mythical creatures. The smiles on their faces, their banter, the trust they shared. Flipping through more pages, Natsu and Happy took in the fight they had on top of a snowy mountain against a weird large looking monkey. The memory so specific and detailed.
They looked at Lucy as Natsu held up the book. "How do you know this story?"
"Huh?"
"This story where the dragon boy and princess go to the snowy mountain," Happy said taking the book and showing the page where the dragon boy punches the large monkey unconscious. "It's one of our first adventures together."
The blonde woman's eyes widened while she gasped. "What? Are you serious?"
The pink headed slayer nodded. "It was the same day you joined the guild and got your guild mark. Someone else from the guild hadn't come home for three days and we went to the snowy mountain to go fetch him."
"You mean to say... that my story is a memory?" Lucy asked before she turned to look at the bookshelf of other picture books behind her. "Then... what of my other books? You mean to tell me my other stories are also memories?"
"Others? You have more?" Happy asked.
She nodded again. "Those dreams were so vivid... the people were blurry but I thought they came from my imagination..." she said. "Countless stories of that dragon and princess... they were actually my memories? Those people... were my nakama?"
The blonde woman's mind sifted through the many picture books she had created in her time at the village. That picture book had been one of the first ones she created. One of her first dreams. In the two years she had been in the village, she had created seven of them. Were the other six also her memories? Could she have went and found her family using them as clues? And what of her dream from earlier? Is that why those two people felt important to her?
Before her mind could spiral any further, Natsu placed his hands on Lucy's shoulders and made her face him and Happy. Even though her eyes were directed at his own, he could see her headspace was not in reality. The both of them could see that her flame tattoo was radiating a soft aura, not as intense as last time but it was very obvious now that the mark was responding to her emotions. And those reactions had an affect on his own magic.
Remembering what happened back in her house, the pink headed man did the only thing he could do. Gathering a small bit of his own magic aura, he placed a hand onto Lucy's mark and the mingling magic seemed to help her calm her nerves. Happy climbed off Natsu's shoulder and went to move to Lucy's, hugging her neck in hopes to give her comfort. Whatever he could do to bring her back from her mind.
She blinked twice before her eyes focused on Natsu in front of her and Happy behind her, the fire dragon slayer's warm hand resting on top of her flame tattoo. Sweat started to run down her face and her breathing evened. "Natsu... Happy...?" she said softly, not understanding what was going on with her.
"Luce listen," Natsu said firmly, making both his exceed and the blonde woman to look at him. "I think you should come with us to look for our you."