#luci's gonna stay with him until their souls fade away

[s2pdoktopus]

I really drew their reunion as ghosts before drawing anything significant in their story. (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)

[nanayoungishere]

Play It Cool (Part Five)

It was a light tap, nothing more than a small impact on his face.

He could honestly say he had worse and -- well. He probably deserved it, going so far, so soon. Especially considering how shy you were.

And in a way, it was a good thing. He didn’t want his first time touching you --

truly touching you

-- to be while you were unconscious. He wanted you to be wide awake, and aware. He wanted you to know what he was doing to you, to look him in the eyes and see him and only him.

He wanted to watch you fall apart.

And besides, it didn’t even hurt. So really, there was no point in freaking out about it.

But you thought differently.

You curled in on yourself, your head between your knees. “OhGodohGodohGodohGod.”

He sat up and tried to calm you down. “Darling --”

“I’m so, so, sosososososo sorry!”

You cradled his face in your hands, your thumb gently trailing over where he had been hit. The heartbreak in your eyes made him want to get on his knees and beg for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry, darling.”

“What? What’re you apologizing for?! I was the one who hit you!” you said, lightly shaking his head for emphasis.

He glanced down at your open jacket. Your eyes followed his, an adorable blush forming on your face. With a squeak, you zipped yourself up.

“I should have waited until you were awake to --”

“I-I-I-It’s fine!” you said, looking away from him. He could see that you were starting to tremble, the embarrassment a bit too much for you.

So shy.

He could feel a fond smile spreading across his face. He loved you so much.

“Y-You were just trying to, you know, check up on me!” You laughed nervously, your eyes peering up at him from behind your baseball cap. “Right?”

He stared at you. And considered.

What would happen if he actually told the truth? That he was trying to touch you in your sleep?

Would you blush deliciously like you were now? Would you pass out again, giving him the chance to continue?

Or… would you get angry? Would you get upset? Would… would those beautiful, beautiful eyes of yours fill with disgust and hatred?

You looked at him with such affection in your eyes. And to see that fade away --

He couldn’t let that happen.

“Right, darling.”

“Y-yeah! And I freaked out on you, for no reason!” You traced his cheek, your blush fading and being replaced with concern and guilt. “I’m so, so sorry, Honey.”

He almost purred at the way you were touching him, at how you spoke his new name. You held him as though he were fragile, you spoke to him as though he were vulnerable, the affection and --

love?

please please please please please please please

-- in your actions all too apparent.

You cared about him and oh, did that knowledge set his heart aflame. To see someone so perfect, so divine, a living miracle, consider him worth caring for?

He felt himself start to flush, his eyes becoming half-lidded, his entire body becoming hot.

He wanted to nuzzle your hands again, but you just woke up. He didn’t want to see you faint again.

Even if things would’ve been much simpler that way.

After all, you were in his home. Alone, with him.

And to his knowledge, no one knew where you were. You never let anyone know where you were going when you went on those little walks of yours. You wanted to be by yourself. You wanted peace and quiet.

His eyes flickered over to the ropes, the one he left hanging over the headboard. They were behind you, so you couldn’t see them, but they were within reach.

It would be so easy.

So simple. He wouldn’t even have to chloroform you, considering how him touching you was enough to put you to sleep. A simple kiss, maybe a swift lick of your neck and you’d be gone.

And then when you’d wake up, you’d be a special place. A safe place, where only you and he could ever exist.

You’d never be able to run, no matter how much you might’ve wanted to. And he wouldn’t have to worry about fucking parasites latching onto you, trying to take you away from him.

It’d just be you and him.

Forever.

His smile widened. He’d have to be quick --

“Fuck. Stay right here, I’m gonna go get some bandages!”

You stumbled off of the bed, tripping over the carpet and almost banging your knee against the nightstand. You fumbled for the doorknob for a moment before wrenching it open.

He was at your side before you could react.

He couldn’t let you escape.

“Darling --”

You whipped around and pointed at him, your finger an inch away from his face.

Your face was a mass of panic and determination. There was a fire in your eyes that he had only seen when dealing with the most annoying of customers at your job.

A kind of fire that just made him want to submit.

It was breathtaking. He couldn’t look away.

“Stay! Okay?”

He smiled at you. He could feel himself start to sway. “...of course, darling.”

Your face was red again.

Was your skin as hot as it looked?

His smile widened. He took a step closer to you.

Oh, how he wanted to see.

“G-G-G-Good!” You swallowed and looked away, pulling at your collar. “A-A-And where’s your bathroom again?”

-------------------------------------

Bandages, bandages, bandages --

Where the fuck are all the bandages?!

“Darling, it’s fine.”

The love of your life was standing at the bathroom door, watching you rifle through the cabinets. His cheek still red from when you -- when you -- !

You covered your face with your hands and let out a silent scream.

Fuck, you’re such a terrible person. You don’t deserve to have him in your life.

You acted like such a freak all day today and then when he takes you home after you fucking pass out, you wake up and smack him around?!

How could he even stand to look at you?! You couldn’t stand to look at you!

Fuck, you were so sorry. So, so sorry.

You had to make it up to him, but for now --

“You really don’t have to --”

“A-ha!”

You raised a roll of bandages triumphantly in the air. “Don’t worry Honey, I’ll fix you right up!”

You turned to face him -- and almost choked at the sight of his smile.

It was that same soft, blushing, dazed look he gave you earlier. The one that made you lightheaded -- the one that still made you lightheaded just looking at it.

Fuck, was it hot in here or was it just me?

God you could feel yourself blushing again, and that was the last thing you needed right now. Why couldn’t you keep your shit together for five fucking minutes?!

“Darling…” He took your hand in his and God. God, were his hands so big and soft and just -- just perfect.

They felt so fucking perfect and fuck fuck fuck, you were gonna pass out again because he was staring at you.

He was staring at you as though you were something wonderful, something beautiful, instead of the tomato red dumbass who horribly maimed his face. You could see the hearts in his eyes and he was leaning closer -- !

He was holding something. You wrenched your eyes away from his and focused on it.

It was a bandaid.

“Can I just put this on and call it a day?” he said, smiling sweetly.

It took you a good ten seconds to respond. You felt like you just got whiplash. “...sure.”

And that’s how you found yourself sitting ramrod straight on the couch, a cup of hot chocolate in your hands while your (possible?! potential?!?! future?!?!?! current?!?!?!?!?!?!) boyfriend sat next to you.

Holding your hand. Lacing his fingers with yours. Just like back in the diner only he was doing it this time and it was somehow so much more - so much more.

You took a gulp of hot chocolate to distract yourself -- and then choked because holy shit was it hot.

“Are you alright, darling?”

You felt his hand on your face, felt it turning you gently towards him. His soulful, beautiful, concerned eyes looking into yours.

Your eyes were watering from the heat. You tried to smile in reassurance, but ended up letting drops of hot chocolate out of your mouth.

So you gave him the okay sign instead. “Mmph!”

He laughed softly and held out a napkin. He started wiping your face like you were a child, his expression fond.

Your embarrassment made you choke some more. More hot chocolate slipped out, trailing down your chin and staining your shirt.

His smile widened. “Didn’t anyone tell you not to talk with your mouth full?”

I want to die.

You quickly, but painfully swallowed. You needed to change the subject and fucking fast. “S-So! Do you have any roommates?”

“Roommates? No.” He scooted a little closer and held your hand again, like it was natural. Normal.

You could feel yourself smiling. You squeezed his fingers and prayed that you didn’t look like a lovesick idiot.

“It’s just me here. Well, and a few neighbors, but we barely interact.” He nudged your shoulder. “You?”

“Um, I have a roommate named Lucy. She’s…” You yawned. “She’s kinda…”

You yawned again, rubbing the tears out of your eyes with your free hand.

What’re you doing?! Stop yawning! You look like an idiot!

“If you’re tired, I can --”

“I don’t need to go home!” you practically shouted. “I-I-I mean, I’m not that tired! I can --”

Despite doing your best to push it down, you yawned again. This time a lot louder, and a lot longer.

Fuck.

Honey got up from the couch.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, you ruined it. You fucking ruined the perfect moment --

He wrapped his arms around your shoulders and knees and -- in one quick motion -- picked you up.

It was so sudden that you just.

Froze.

oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck

He felt so firm. So strong. He carried you like you weighed nothing and that -- that did something to you.

But more than that was the feeling of -- of safety and comfort and, and fuck.

Fuck you could feel him.

Could feel the beat beat beat of his heart, could feel it against your cheek, reminding you that he was alive. That this was happening, that this wasn’t just some, some dream you were cooking up while you were passed out on your bed after working double shifts.

You could feel his chest, his arms, the way he breathed against you. Could feel the zipper on his hoodie digging into your cheek, could feel the fabric of his shirt against your skin. Could feel the vibrations of each step.

This was real.

He was real.

And he was yours.

He had to be yours, because if not --

If not --

All too soon you felt him let go of you. Set you gently down on the bed and start to tuck you in.

You opened your eyes -- when did you close them? -- and looked up into his face.

Your face felt wet. And he looked blurry. Why did he look so blurry?

“Honey? Don’t leave me, Honey.”

You felt something brush across your forehead. Felt hands cradle your face.

“Never, darling.”

You felt something lie down next to you. Arms, wrapping around you, pulling you close. Familiar arms.

You felt yourself relax into that hold, wrapping your arms around him. Wanting to comfort him as much as he was comforting you.

And he relaxed, letting out a long, trembling sigh. “Goodnight, darling.”

“Goodnight, Honey.”

You closed your eyes and drifted off.

------------------------------------------

For the first time in months, he didn’t need to spend hours watching you outside your window, or within your closet.

Wondering if something would happen to you while he was gone. Wondering if you would leave, if you would suddenly stop breathing and leave his life as quickly as you entered it.

He didn’t need to peek through cracks or through darkened glass to catch glimpses of you. To sate that need, that unrelenting urge to just be with you.

Because you were right here. In his arms, safe and sound.

He could feel you to his heart's content. You were with him and no one else.

All was well.

And he could, if only for tonight, afford to relax.

He closed his eyes and -- for the first time what seemed like forever -- fell into a deep sleep.

He didn’t dream.

(Previous)

(Next)

[doginshoe]

I’m Gonna Put a Spell on You

@thewritingstar Part two of your @kuroshironekoserver secret Santa exchange piece!! 

summary: Witch Academy AU. Juvia is frustrated that her relationship with Gray hasn’t gone anywhere since they had started dating and plans to fix it with the help of Lucy as the holiday season sweeps over the school. However, these two young witches have no idea of the consequences that come with love spells. Fluff & comedy & hurt/comfort pairings: Gruvia, Nalu, BROtp Luvia (julu) part 2 of 7: Incantation Accident:

Lucy finds out just how finicky magic can really be as the situation gets progressively more... bright when Natsu is around :)

When Lucy had finally returned to her chambers that night, she had fallen asleep almost instantly. Though, the blonde barely felt like she had a wink of sleep. Part of her knew that it was because her and Juvia had stayed up too late - the two girls not coming into their dormitory until the sun was just about to peek its head over the horizon - but there was something different about this exhaustion. Her eyes stung as the light filtered into the room, her shoulders sagging as a weight rested on her shoulders and her magic could barely even offer up a spark.

The witch was absolutely drained.

Reluctantly, Lucy pulled herself out of bed to the dining hall, quickly clipping on her familiars vessel to the loophole of her belt. Most mages could form the entity of the soul of their familiar before them or had their familiar come to them in a physical form. Every skill level of witch and wizards was different as well as their familiars.

Lucy frowned as she felt Plue through her magic. The blonde could still only bring her life-long companion to her if she used an inanimate object. She was stuck at the basic level of familiar magic and the thought of it always irked her.

Natsu never missed a beat when he saw that look take over her features, telling her that it wasn’t her fault - She hasn’t been exposed to magic like the other students. Yet, Lucy always felt her mood deflate when the subject was brought up. Even if her father had forbidden magic from her when she was younger, she should still be able to conjure up Plue’s spiritual form.

The young witch shook her head as she saw her friends gathered at the end of the furthest table, not wanting Natsu to offer her another one of his ‘talks’. The dining hall was practically empty, but they still kept their own spot that they had sat ever since they had started at Fairy Tail Academy. Though, there were a few more spaces filled around them now, it still felt like that first day when Lucy had gravy splattered all over her robes and in her hair by Natsu and Gray.

Erza had apologised immediately and then the two boys had followed suit - with a fierce glare sent by their fiery friend to help them get on with it. The rest was history.

The blonde waved to the girls, a wide grin spreading on her lips as she took her seat beside Juvia, quietly whispering to her partner in crime. “So, did you make it yet?”

Her friend barely even looked at her, her blue eyes trained on Gray and the glass beside his breakfast. The raven haired teen was resting his head on the wooden table. He always took the longest to finally wake up.

“Yes,” Juvia murmured, her hand shooting out to grasp Lucy’s as soon as the young witch sat down. “ Juvia couldn’t sleep so she went straight to the gardens. I.. I poured it into his drink when he wasn’t looking.”

Lucy’s brown eyes widened. “Has he drank-”

“Yes,” Juvia cut in, “As soon as he sat down, but h-he just put his head on the table.. Does… Does Lucy think its failed?”

She frowned, her eyes slipping to the boy across from them who had still yet to greet her. “I’m sure-” Lucy started but she was cut off as two arms encircled her, the scent of ash and cinnamon filling her nose. She sucked in a short breath.

“Hey Lucy.” A familiar voice breathed from beside her ear and goosebumps began to rise on the back of her neck. “Nice of ya to finally get up and join us.”

“N-Natsu,” she stuttered, heat flushing her cheeks a light pink. The arms tightened around her chest as he gave her a light squeeze causing the blonde to squirm in his hold. “How many times have I told you about personal space,” she cried and his soft chuckle filled her ears before her best friend finally pulled away.

Natsu ruffled her blonde hair. “Yeah, yeah. Respect the bubble and all that. I got it.”

“Then,” Lucy growled, “Why do you insist on breaking that bubble?” She turned in her seat, her brows narrowed as she scowled at the boy who had his arms crossed behind his head. He was already grinning down at her, his uniform disheveled much like the rest of his appearance. His shirt was crinkled and had ridden up his stomach to reveal tan skin and his robe had been loosely thrown over his shoulders.

However, that wasn’t what made the young witch's jaw go slack.

“Come on, Lucy. Lighten up would ya,” he teased, but she had no response.

She blinked. Then again. She even rubbed at her eyes, but she still couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Natsu’s smile faded. “Uh, Lucy-”

“W-Wha… What,” she sputtered. Her brown eyes still couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was impossible. “What happened to you?”

“Luce, are you ok?”

Lucy ignored him, his voice faint as she still struggled to believe what she was seeing before her. “You’re.. You’re glowing!” She nearly yelled as she pointed at him.

The rest of the group turned to face her, except for Gray who kept his head down on the table. Usually they were used to this morning routine of flirting, as they all called it though Lucy refused it was anything of the sort, yet the blondes outburst had all heads turning to face the duo.

Natsu raised his hands in the air, a pink eyebrow rising as his face twisted into confusion. “Whoa,” he called out, “Are you sure you woke up on the right side of the bed this morning? You’re acting weirder than usual.” The mage laughed nervously, his green eyes looking to his friends for help as Lucy shook her head.

“No. You are definitely glowing, Natsu.” The blonde looked at her friends. “Tell him guys.”

The table all stared at Natsu, then to Lucy and finally offered each other a nervous look. They were hesitant as she waited on their response and the blondes face slowly became more desperate the longer they all stayed silent.

“Bunny girl has finally lost it,” Gajeel laughed and then yelped, his hand coming up to rub his arm as he glared at Levy beside him who kept her eyes trained on the blonde before them.

Lucy felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to Lisanna who sat on her other side. “Lucy… are you sure you’re okay?” Her blue eyes were full of concern as she looked at her friend and Lucy narrowed her brows.

“Yeah, Lu,” Levy piped up, “Maybe you should go see Porlyusica.”

The young witch shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. “I’m fine.” She looked back up to Natsu, to the illuminating glow that surrounded his entire body. It reminded her of an angel in movies where an ethereal light would surround them. Except, this was real. She could see it plain as day.

“Is Lucy sure she got enough sleep last night?” Juvia whispered from beside her as their friends all looked at her as if she was crazy.

“I.. I’m not- He.. He is.” Lucy fell over her words as she tried to comprehend what was happening in this moment. It was true that she was tired, but Natsu… She couldn’t be seeing things. Lucy had stayed up countless of times and last night was no different apart from her drain in magic after the-

The witch froze in place.

“Love a sleeping violet lay.”

Her heart skipped a beat and her palms started to sweat, the dread making her stomach feel like a void.

“Eyes still covered and wander.”

Her brown eyes widened and she shook her head. She refused to believe it. Those words weren’t meant for her.

“Show thy love to thee. Shine the star and open thine heart.”

Lucy looked up at Natsu and the shine that was definitely coming from the boy. Her lips parted as she fisted her robes to stop her hands from shaking. It couldn’t be.

“To illuminate the one tis meant for me.”

Her mind flashed to when Juvia had spoken the incantation that she had found. To the magic that had hung thick in the air and how she felt the spark shoot up her spine. The signs were all there and yet, she refused to admit it. Her brown eyes turned glassy and she bit the inside of her cheek to try and keep her emotions in check, but her cheeks were already turning a harsh red.

“This… This can’t be happening,” Lucy whispered. She tried to concentrate on her breathing, her chest felt so tight that she couldn’t take in enough air. The only thing ringing in her mind was the last line of the spell. She knew exactly what it meant, but it couldn’t be. Not him. He couldn’t be… her soulmate.

“Lucy.”

She blinked and the tears that had built up in her vision cleared before slowly sliding down her cheeks. He was knelt right there in front of her, his hand cradled her cheek and his eyes swam with… fear?

“Just tell me what’s happening. I can fix this.”

She stared at her best friend. His green eyes never left her, his lips pulled into a frown as his thumb wiped away one of her tears, and the glow around him seemed to shine even brighter.

Lucy pulled away from him, shaking her head as his words turned into white noise. “I-I can’t...” she whimpered, standing up from her seat. Natsu reached out for her, but she was already running out of the dining hall.

“Lucy!” Natsu shouted, ready to go after her. Though, Juvia quickly placed a hand on his chest.

“Leave her, Natsu-san.” Her blue eyes were cold and the mage visibly shrunk back as he remembered just how scary Juvia had been when she had arrived from Phantom Lord. Though, he still pushed, refusing to let her stop him from going after her. Even if the witch did freak him out.

“She needs me!”

“No,” She cut in and there was an audible gasp from the table of their friends. Juvia eyed them, watching as Gajeel placed a hand over his mouth in shock. “It is Juvia that will help her now. Just… wait for her when she’s ready.”

The witch offered him an apologetic look and Natsu opened his mouth to counter her, but she had already begun to walk away - leaving the table of friends in an uncomfortable silence.

“I should go after them,” Levy murmured.

“I’m coming too.” Lisanna nodded at the petite girl, the two quickly scurrying after their friends.

The rest of the table sat, pushing food around with their forks as they didn’t know what to do. No one could offer up anything to say. They had all seen their fair share of problems as the years had gone by, but never something this.. Strange.

Natsu continued to stare after where his best friend had retreated in tears.

Gajeel looked at his friends in thought, red eyes piercing each of them before he crossed his arms. “Don’t worry. Juvia has got ya sorted.” He nodded to himself, seeming to verify his own statement.

Though, no one paid any mind to the teen, their eyes turning to Gray.

“Ju…” He groaned from where he was face down on the table, “Juvvii…”

The friends looked at him surprised, seemingly forgetting he was there after what they had witnessed with Lucy and Natsu.

“Ju… Juvii… Juvia..” His voice was strained, muffled as he spoke into the wood.

Natsu turned to the raven haired mage, his eye twitching as Gray seemed only to be finally waking up. If he couldn’t go after Lucy then he would find a way to vent his frustration and that was on his rival-friend-enemy-guy-thing.

“Oi, Fuck-wit,” he called, “Ya girlfriends not here so shut up before I shut you up with my fist.”

Though, Natsu nearly fell on his butt when Gray shot up unexpectedly, his dark eyes were wide as he desperately looked around. Natsu’s eyebrow raised and both he and Gajeel stared at their male friend in pure, utter bewilderment.

Gray’s eyes watered as he finally stopped searching and his fingers bit down into his palm as he shook. “Where is she,” he cried, looking directly at Natsu, “Where is Juvia-sama?”

[secret-engima]

So I've recently discovered your ffxv aus. I haven't played the game, and it will be at least two weeks until I can play the game because I will be visiting family and away from my ps4, but I adore all of your aus I've read so far. And due to the fact that I've been reading up on them, basically one after the other, and you have all kinds of xovers happening. And I'm curious, how do you think the Galahdians from thrown to the wolves verse would react to Nox and his uncle?

Oooohhhh I hope you have a nice visit with your family and YES GOOD. TRY THE GAME IT’S GOOD.

*cracks knuckles* this is gonna be FUN (and probably long, and probably way angsty).

Short version- TOTAL HORROR.

Long version:

-they- they have no idea how to react. Here is an Ardyn who is, well, on the SURFACE he’s fine, but their Ardyn isn’t that flamboyant and his smiles aren’t that sharp unless he doesn’t feel SAFE and that means this one doesn’t feel safe around them, doesn’t RECOGNIZE THEM as family. He has no braids in his hair and his clothes are not Lazarus make and he calls himself IZUNIA rather than ULRIC or even Lucis Caelum. He stares at them with sharp eyes, his shoulders just a shade too tense to be normal and they- they KNOW Ardyn. Better than this Ardyn knows himself at this point. They can see that he’s a half-step away from drawing his armiger on them if they prove to be a threat.

-And Nox- oh NOX. They do not understand who he is at first. That he is supposed to be REGIS’S child because he’s- idk probably 15 in this mini x-over and so physically only about 8 years younger than the Regis currently staring at him with wide eyes. They don’t understand why he calls Ardyn Uncle and not Grandfather or Sage, but they can see the Arra braid in his hair that is not a marriage braid and that- that makes no sense. Adopted LCs are always given to the Ulrics???

-What do you mean you weren’t rescued as a child, are you not one of those abandoned by the Kinslayers??

-What do you mean you weren’t born in the Citadel or with royal knowledge? You’re an illegitimate? Oh .... okay so who is your father and why is Ardyn your Uncle.

-WHAT DO YOU //MEAN// YOUR FATHER IS REGIS AND HE DOESN’T KNOW YOU EXIST AND THAT YOUR MOTHER WAS ARDYN’S SISTER????????????

-There is- a LOT of rage and grief and horror as they drag the (cover) story out in bits and pieces from Nox and Ardyn even as they bundle them up in the nearest safe place and fuss like crazy over them. The Galahdians know Ardyn’s secret, even if they politely don’t tell this Ardyn that, so they come to believe an adapted version of the cover story.

-They think that Ardyn was never freed. That- that either the Vitae never managed to free him, or WORSE, judging by Nox’s answers to a few of their questions, Vitae, the first Vitae, Ardyn’s child, never survived to reach Galahd. Galahd had no magic. No one was left to Remember Ardyn. No one was left to SAVE HIM. They think that he was LEFT THERE for centuries upon centuries until NIFLHEIM found him, dragged him free and tormented him, used him. Forced some unknown name on him and humiliated him. Their Grandfather, their Sage, the heart of their history, Forgotten and stolen away, driven mad by the Kinslayer’s cruelties and Niflheim’s lies.

-They believe that Ardyn ... found Nox, an illegitimate LC child who was unknown to both Clan and Kinslayers, that even in his madness, the Sage’s Heart reached out to the boy and took him in, even if he treated him horribly at first because of his own traumas. They believe (not ... totally incorrectly) that Ardyn made up the story of Nox being his sister’s son so he’d have an excuse to keep Nox around, keep him SAFE and teach him magic. That it was Nox who tore Ardyn free of Niflheim’s web and has helped patch him together into the man they are meeting today.

-They internally seethe at Nox’s scars, his soft voice and wary flinches, because that leads to a lot of other theories on JUST WHAT his blood family was like to him before Ardyn Claimed him.

-Then Nox whispers of the refugee that took him into the Arra Clan, of a people scattered to the winds and forced to unite under the Kinslayer’s banner and service and all of Galahd WAILS at the realization that they HAD NO MAGIC WHEN NIFLHEIM CAME. THAT GALAHD IN THAT WORLD IS FALLEN because Mors pulled back the Wall and THEY HAD NO MAGIC TO RAISE THEIR OWN. 

 -Regis and Co hover in a nearby corner and Clarus has to physically hold Regis upright because his legs are jello and his heart is SCREAMING at the sight of a son who doesn’t know him, who glances at him with some sort of ... primal fear and regret and longing yet never dares come close or look at him for more than a minute. This child of HIS who wears an Arra braid but is so new to the Clan he barely knows what it means to be adopted. This boy who is covered in scars and underweight, who speaks softly and sometimes stares vacantly into the distance like he’s gotten lost inside his own head and can’t find his way back out.

-This boy who huddles into Ardyn’s side and calls him Uncle, clings to him like he is the only trusted anchor (and in another world, that is understandable, but this doesn’t look like a reaction to being in another world, this looks like HABIT and that means both Nox and Ardyn are so very, very alone.)

-They take the two to their Ardyn, because of course they do. Who better to figure out how to undo the dimensional travel (who best to know how to help these two lost souls who need family and are unaware of all they could have had but lost)?

-Nox and his Ardyn take one look at Sage Ardyn and freeze. They can feel the Scourge still lingering under his skin, weak as it is. Nox’s Ardyn recoils, something like primal terror in his gaze (don’t let it close don’t let it infect not-again-please-not-again) but Nox lunges, ripping free of his uncle’s grip to crash into the startled Sage, grabbing his hands and pulling with his magic. White starfire unspools from his soul, pushes against his skin until it turns to the color of ash and cracks form along his hands-arms-neck-face, like jagged lines of a poorly repaired piece of pottery, his magic gleaming through the cracks like he’s going to come apart under the strain.

-The Sage screams as Nox wraps his magic around what is left of the Scourge in his not-Uncle’s blood and burns it.

-Nox’s scream mingles with the Sage’s as the Scourge writhes into the air, seeking an escape, any escape, and fails. Black dissolves into nothing and Nox crumples, wheezing and shaking as his Ardyn finally snaps out of his horror and catches him before he can hit the ground. Sage Ardyn staggers, wild-eyed and in shock, but ... free. Cured. Clear. All of Galahd surges forward with a cry, worried for their Sage and outraged at the Kinslayer Child who attacked him but Sage Ardyn holds up a hand and they still.

-He stares, in terrible grief and knowing and understanding down at Nox, who isn’t entirely coherent anymore as he shakes and shivers in his Uncle’s arms, and whispers, “Chosen King of Crystal, Bringer of Dawn, Lost Child and Last of his Line.”

-”No,” snaps Nox’s uncle from where he clings to Nox, something desperate as blue eyes meet former-gold-now-blue, “No. He is Nox. Nox Izunia of the blood of Lucis Caelum. Eldest, but not only, son of Regis Lucis Caelum.” There’s something wild in Nox’s uncle’s gaze as he looks up at the Sage, like he’s trying to convey something without actually saying it in front of the assembled Clans, “He is my nephew. No more. No less.”

-And Sage Ardyn, who is suddenly purified, Sage Ardyn, who FELT all of Nox’s power and age and regrets and stubborn, fragile soul in those moments were the Scourge burned away from his veins, Sage Ardyn who saw time unspool and unwind in Nox’s soul and realized this boy is so much more than an illegitimate child (not illegitimate at all, just displaced, lost and cast out of his own fate and time by the power of his own stubbornness and a lot of magic) ... understands what his counterpart is saying.

-Don’t tell them.

-Let us stay secret. Let us stay safe.

-He bows his head in acquiescence and instructs the Clans to house them in the best lodgings they have to offer. To let Nox rest in privacy and peace with his Uncle, as thanks for what he just did. He looks Regis and then Aulea in eye, as if seeing something about them they cannot fathom, then smiles for the Clans and tells them He Is Free. Nox has finished what the Clans started.

-All the Clans celebrate for their Sage, but at the same time they Mourn for the two displaced souls they know they cannot keep. That they must return to their lonely dimension of fractured Clans and too-heavy secrets.

-Regis spends the week it takes them to return lingering nearby Nox and Ardyn, and two days in Ardyn rolls his eyes and invites the man to sit down with them already. Nox eyes this younger, earnest, unbroken Regis warily, but drinks in the time spent with him and Aulea (Nox’s mother, this woman is his MOTHER, if from another time and place).

-After they return home, Regis ... Regis spends a very long time walking the cliffs of Galahd, listening to the wind and ... thinking.

-”Your kid,” Nox had blurted right before they disappeared, his gaze snapping to Aulea and Regis with a strange sort of gleam in his eyes, “If- if you have a son- can you- name him Noctis?”

-”Not Nox?” Aulea had asked while clinging to Regis’s hand.

-Nox had smiled, too sad and fragile for someone so unbelievably strong in magic, “No,” he had answered “I don’t think Nox is going to exist in your world.” As as he faded from that reality, Regis just barely heard him finish-

-”And I hope he never has to.”

-Eventually Regis goes home, eventually he and Aulea do have a son. They name him Noctis.

-And a few years later, when Noctis is still just a child, Ramuh comes to Regis and Aulea while they watch their son sleep and tells them, soft and neutral, that Noctis will be the Chosen King.

-And they both stop breathing as they think of that moment, where the Sage named Nox King of Crystal and Bringer of Dawn. They think of a boy too old for his skin and with magic so strong it threatened to crack him open and turn him to ash and endlessly ropes of scars.

-They think of the words “And I hope he never has to.”

-And suddenly they understand.

-Regis turns to Ramuh, eyes glittering with magic and power and all the towering Rage of a father who has already seen the fate of his child, and rumbles with the power of the Storm, “No. Not my son.”

-Ramuh merely tilts his head, watching placidly as Bahamut’s chains of prophecy shudder and shake before his eyes, “The Scourge must be purified.”

-”Then we will do it. The Clans will rise for War,” snaps Aulea with static in her curls and lightning on her tongue, “The Clans will Rise and Rage and we will purify the Taint together. But Bahamut cannot have our son.”

-And Ramuh laughs softly, as the chains snap and dissolve into nothing before his Sight, and he feels Prophecy come unwound, “Then you have my Blessing to try. You and all who walk the Isles.”

(welp this got stupid long, but hope you enjoy!)

[thinkingdelicately]

❤️ cover art: @hemaris​

part one: falling in love

sweet disposition / the temper trap

so stay there / ‘cause i’ll be coming over / and while our blood’s still young / it’s so young, it runs / and won’t stop ‘til it’s over / won’t stop to surrender

so i, uh, took him back to my place.

movement / hozier

when you move / i can recall somethin' that's gone from me / when you move / honey, I'm put in awe of somethin' so flawed and free

even his smile is unbefitting for a thief. it’s so naive. with every flicker of feeling, that smile shifts, daring a confident second in the sun, then hiding away behind his lips, then peeking again. you can read a man’s soul with a smile like that, can see his every hope and fear and love.

pink in the night / mitski

i glow pink in the night in my room / i've been blossoming alone over you...and i know i’ve kissed you before / but i didn’t do it right / can i try again try again try again / and again and again and again

you know, juno, call me a fool if you like, but i think i may have fallen in love with you.

run away with me / carly rae jepsen

packing a bag, we're leaving tonight when everyone's sleeping, sleeping / let's run away, i'll run away with you / 'cause you make me feel like i could be driving you all night / and i'll find your lips in the street lights / i wanna be there with you

it could be so simple. you can leave hyperion city behind; i’ll leave my powerful friends behind. we'll sell the mask and live a life of thrills and decadence across the galaxy, always running, never looking back. we could have quite a time together, juno. who knows what kind of trouble we could cause.

fuck em only we know / banks

i know exactly just how many kisses fit between your eyes / i'd run away, i'd run away if you would join with me / oh i could be a little grumpy, but hold on / just wanna tell you that i see you, baby, do you see me?

you’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me...you make me feel like maybe it’s all worth it. like maybe there’s something out there worth seeing.

just like heaven / the cure

i'll run away with you...you, soft and only / you lost and lonely / you, strange as angels / dancing in the deepest oceans, twisting in the water / you're just like a dream

his face was lean, but soft, with a cherub's smile and a fox's teeth. he looked like he was happy to see me and like he'd be just as happy to kill me if push came to shove. it wasn't unpleasant, all things considered.

part two: falling apart

gunshot / lykke li

and the shot goes through my head and back / gunshot, can't take it back / my heart cracked, really loved you bad / gunshot, i'll never get you back

i am alone. i will not forget that again.

seasons (waiting on you) / future islands

as it breaks, the summer will warm / but the winter will crave what has gone, will crave what has all gone away / i've been waiting on you

because the future can wait. that is all the future is, in fact: moments in wait, time whose time has not yet come. and in fact, if you are disciplined enough, the future can wait indefinitely.

a little lost / sufjan stevens

oh i'm a little lost without you / that may be an understatement / and i hope your feeling hasn't gone / i hope you need somebody in your life / someone like me / ‘cause i'm so busy, i'm so busy / thinking ‘bout kissing you / i’m so busy, i’m so busy / thinking ‘bout touching you

i said i needed you.

supercut / lorde

so i fall into continents and cars / all the stages and the stars / i turn all of it to just a supercut / 'cause in my head (in my head, i do everything right) / when you call (when you call, i'll forgive and not fight) / because ours (are the moments I play in the dark) / we were wild and fluorescent, come home to my heart

i just keep thinking about that night, and there was this second in the doorway, and it lasted so long i feel like part of me’s still there...

night shift / lucy dacus

i feel no need to forgive but i might as well / but let me kiss your lips so i know how it felt / pay for my coffee and leave before the sun goes down / walk for hours in the dark feeling all hell

walking into the same trap twice...i wouldn’t be here if i had any other options. you got me? (oh, i got you, juno.) that’s what scares me.

pristine / snail mail

i could be anyone but i’m so entwined / and out of everyone / who’s on your mind? / no more changes / i’ll still love you the same

i thought i was done with him, but...i’m not.

no promises / san fermin

hey honey, are you giving up? / hey honey, you look a little tired now / i won't promise you if you follow me around / i won't let you down, i won't let you down / been wandering, who's to say if we'll be found / no promises, no promises

wish i had that much faith in me. feels like you could fix the whole damn galaxy, with someone looking at you that way.

part three: falling together

tattoo / kevin abstract

they say I threw my life away / no shit, I threw my life away...told a lie and i’m sorry / let me make it up at the football game / pick you up in the morning...who was i when i was lonely?

i really want to get better, maybe for the first time in my life...and i'm just so scared that it's too late and everyone’s already smartened up and gone.

come into the water / mitski

i didn't know i had a dream / i didn't know until I saw you / so would you tell me if you want me? / ‘cause i can't move until you show me

you’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me...you make me feel like maybe it’s all worth it. like maybe there’s something out there worth seeing.

still into you / paramore

i should be over all the butterflies / but i'm into you, i’m into you / and baby even on our worst nights / i'm into you, i'm into you...yeah after all this time / i'm still into you

it’d take weeks for that smell to fade. i’ve missed it ever since.

don’t delete the kisses / wolf alice

a few days pass since i last saw you / and you have taken over my mind / i'm re-telling jokes you made that made me laugh / pretending that they're mine

he’s been...partnered with a super thief who he finds quite distracting.

if one of us wasn’t so distracting (a vision in gold and light)

do you / spoon

do you want to get understood? / oh, do you want one thing or are you looking for sainthood? / do you run when it's just getting good?

i’m sorry, i’m so sorry. i just keep hurting people one after the other and i just have to think it’s all for something, y’know? it’s all gonna be worth it.

utopia / lykke li

i see the dream in your eyes and i want it / it's burning bright like a fire from a comet / if there's a bomb in your heart i'll disarm it / if you want it then i want it / we could be utopia, utopia

nureyev sleeps deeply, like someone who knows the tomorrow he’s waking up to will be worth showing up for. lying next to him, i feel that way too. and suddenly, desperately, i want to chase a future of that feeling every single day. with him.

show you / baby rose

tell me, baby, how you like me now? / god, i'm hurting for you, there's no easy way out / if i knew then all the things i know now, now / so many things i gotta say, but i wanna show you / so many words get in the way, but i wanna show you

show your heart through your deeds

all in / sun airway

and you think you know me / you know me all right / all in faith, all in good time / once you said you loved me / you never said it twice / all in good faith, all in good time

that name is very nearly my only weakness. and i’m risking it all—here, on you.

sea of love / cat power

come with me my love / to the sea, the sea of love / i wanna tell you how much i love you

i meant every word I said, juno. it will be quite an adventure. i'll be waiting for you to join me.

❤️ i recommend listening in order, but i also recommend living your life ❤️

[petri808]

Soul of the Dragons

*note* this takes place as if FT 100 never happened.  AU canon divergence.  Nalu.  Includes OC characters.  13K words   slightly angsty, and the ending is a cliffhanger of sorts Sorry!  if I ever have time I may do a part 2 maybe.

Ever since they’d dealt with Acnologia, life in Fiore had calmed down so much that it gave them a lot of downtime to focus on other things.  For Lucy, that meant her writing and a year ago not only had she got a book published, but they also recognized her as a new writer.  Her friends all went about life like normal, taking jobs and missions for the money, with new relationships blooming around them.  She was so happy for her friends Levy and Gajeel, whom two months ago found out they were expecting a child.  Even Gray and Juvia had stopped dancing around their feelings and come clean.  

Things seemed idyllic at the Fairy Tail guild.  

But as she arose that morning, just like many mornings, there was always a nagging emptiness still needing filling.  Lucy wasn’t sure when this really started, but maybe it was because of all the happiness she was seeing around her.  As she looks over to the empty side of her bed, Lucy closes her eyes and curls around her pillow.  Seeing all the blissful couples made her heart clench.  She was happy for them, but she wished she could beone of them too.  Was that so wrong?    

With a groan, Lucy files away her pain and starts her day.  She had promised to help Levy in the archives search for a book on lost solid script spells.  Promises made, are promises kept.  Shorts, tank top, pony tail, keys, done. Lucy checks herself in the mirror one last time and heads out.

“Thought you two could use something cool to drink since you been at it for 3 hours now.”  Mira places a tray with lemonade on a worktable.  “Any luck so far?”

“Nope.” Lucy plops on a couch and grabs a cup.  

Levy joins her friend and takes the second glass, “Looks like I’ll be taking a trip to the Magic Library after all.”  

“That sounds like a good idea,” Mira smiles sweetly, “What do you think?”  The bar maid waves her hand in front of the blonde, “Lucy, what do you think?”  

With still no response, Levy shakes her friend, “Earthland to Lu!”

“Huh?!” she snaps back to the scene, “Were you talking to me?”

“Yeah but seems like you’ve got other things on your mind.”

“Err, kind of.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Mira asks as she grabs her tray.

“Nah, I’m all right; it was just for a new book idea.”  

“Okay, well I was just telling Levy I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a trip to the magic library to do more research.”

Lucy throws on a smile to ease their concerns, “Yeah that’s a good idea.”  

“Well, I better get back upstairs, good luck girls.”

“Thanks for the drinks Mira.”

As soon as Mira leaves the room, Levy turns to her friend, “Lu, I know you’re lying.  Now, what’s on your mind?”

“Nothing, I swear!” Lucy waves her hands in the air to wipe the slate clean, but when Levy raises an eyebrow she groans, “Damn it, you know me too well Lev.  It’s about the guy I have a crush on okay, and it’s driving me crazy.”  She slumps back, “I see everyone else moving on in that department and…. and I’m thinking maybe I should too.  I mean if he’s never gonna see me like that then I’d just be wasting my time waiting.”

“Oh man,” Levy hugs her friend tightly, “I didn’t realize you were feeling like that.”  She lets go, but keeps her hands on both of Lucy’s shoulders.  “It’s really up to you what you want to do, but I think he cares about you in that way, just doesn’t know how to tell you.”

“I don’t know…” Lucy looks down and plays with her fingers.  “It’s true he always wants to tag along on all of my missions, and he keeps dropping by my apartment uninvited but yet whenever I mention or hint about a closer relationship he digs out.  Something's gotta be up.  In fact, I’m thinking he follows me because he feels I’m not strong enough to do anything on my own.”

“Now that’s just anxiety talking, Natsu of all people knows how strong you are.”

“I hope you’re right and he doesn’t know how to approach me.  Still wish he’d figure it out sooner rather than later,” Lucy rolls her eyes.

Levy laughs and sits back, “Gajeel had to think he was dying, I had to think he was dying for us to realize what we meant to each other.  I’m not saying I hope it came to that, but especially with guys figuring out their feelings…” she chuckles again, “it’s almost like you have to slap it into them!”

Lucy snorts at the sight of the bluenette sitting there so serious with her hands on her hips.  She laughs too, “Gah, you’re so right.  Men, I swear will be the death of us.”

“Why don’t you come with me to the magic library, and no boys allowed.”

“Eh,” Lucy shrugs, “why not.”

It took a day to convince Gajeel to let Levy go since he was being overprotective about her pregnancy.  After begging, pleading, and the promise of staying in touch by lacrima, two days later the girls finally found themselves neck deep in dusty, ancient, piles of books. Registers had sent them to the most promising section of the library but even with magic reading glasses the task was time consuming.  So, while Levy scans through a couple stack’s they had discovered, Lucy wanders nearby.

Two rows over on a bottom shelf, she comes across an old text with a key symbol on its binding.  ‘How curious,’ she wonders, not expecting anything special from the almost washed-out burgundy colored book.  Lucy flips it over and reads the faded title, ‘Hmm, Elemental Fairy Keys, this sounds interesting.’ She shifts the magic glasses down from her crown, opening the book to its first chapter.  The more she reads, the wider her eyes grow with excitement.    

Rushing over to where Levy had entrenched herself in a book, “Oh my god Levy you need to hear this!”

The poor girl almost jumps from being startled, “Where’s the fire?!”

“This book talks about Celestial Keys that represent four Fairy Elemental spirits!  I’ve never heard of it before,” Lucy opens to a specific page and points as she reads while Levy looks from beside her, “see, it says there is a red key for the Fire Fairy Phoenix, a purple key for the Air Fairy Pegasus, a green key for the Earth Fairy Draco, and finally a blue key for the Water Fairy Hydrus.”

“Those are Celestial spirits?”

“Yes, these are constellations too, just not as well known as the Zodiac ones.”

“That’s pretty cool!”

“Oh, I know who I can ask!” Pulling out her key, “Open Gate of the Southern Cross!  Crux!”

“You called my dear?”

“Hi Grandpa Crux, could you tell me more about these Fairy Elemental keys?”  Lucy shows him the book she found.

“Hmm, I haven’t seen those used in oh, half a millennia.”

“Do you know why?”

“Well, because only the king can grant those keys to an owner so, he holds them in the Celestial World.”

“But why?  What’s so special about them?”

“They are more powerful than the Zodiac keys.”

Both Lucy and Levy’s jaws drops as they turn to look at each other, “M-more… powerful?!”  

“I wonder what I’d have to do to earn them,” Lucy blurts out.

“For that you’d need to speak to the King.”

“Okay.” Lucy smiles. “Thank you, Grandpa Crux!”

“You’re welcome my dear.”

After Crux disappears back to the Celestial World, Levy turns to her friend, “so what are you gonna do now?”  

“When I get home later, I’ll ask Virgo to take me to see the King.”  Lucy bounces on the balls of her feet and smiles, “but first let’s get back to finding your book.”

It’s not until the following week that Lucy finds an opportunity to learn more about the keys. She and Levy had stayed until nightfall before finally finding a book that the script mage believed was what she was looking for and when Lucy had returned home, a certain slayer was waiting. Natsu wanted to go on a mission soon since funds were running low.  Not that she didn’t disagree, Lucy maybe had enough to cover expenses for 3 months at the most.  She tried to convince him that if needed money now, he could always go on his own, but he insisted that she come along.  Typical Natsu dragged her off to another mission.  

Finally, back home with spare time, she found herself in the Celestial Realm, courtesy of Virgo.  “Hi King!”

“Hello Lucy, what brings you today?”

“I found a book talking about the Fairy Elemental keys and Grandpa Crux said I needed to talk to you. How does one get them?”

He rubs his mustache, “Oh, well nothing special, in your case you simply need to ask.”

“Really?!  But why so easy?”

“Well, it’s not normally this easy.   I keep them here, so they do not fall into the wrong hands because they are the most powerful of the Celestial Spirits and they require a Wizard strong enough to handle all four.  There hasn’t been a wielder powerful enough like that in over 300 years until you, my dear. That you could summon me means you have become strong enough to control them.”  He grins, “and I would trust them in your hands.”

“S-So you’re giving them to me?”

“Yes.”

“Wow!  So, are they like the other spirits where I set up contracts with them?  Can I use my Star Dress form with them?  Exactly what are their powers?”

He chuckles.  “Yes, yes, and you can discuss that all with them.” The four keys materialize before her.

The moment Lucy takes hold of the keys she can feel the power thrumming through them.  She holds them close to her chest, “Oh my, thank you so much King!!”

“You are welcome my old friend but just remember, they require a lot more energy to summon than you are used to with the Zodiacs.  Be good to them like you are with your other spirits and they will work hard for you too.”

“I found Crateris’ key, so his power boosts will come in handy.”  Virgo appears at her side and motion’s that they are running low on time. Lucy nods and waves her goodbyes to everyone.  “Thank you again King!”  

Back at home, Lucy wastes no time in wanting to seal the deal.  It was exciting!  Well, it was always exciting each time she contracted with a new spirit, but it’s been a long time since she’d found any of such power significance.  Lucy pulls all four keys out of her pouch ready to make her contracts with them.  She knew it would be a serious drain, but to make things quicker she opens all four gates at the same time.  

“Open Gate of the Firebird! Phoenix!  Open Gate of the Winged Horse!  Pegasus!  Open Gate of the Dragon! Draco!  Open Gate of the Water Serpent!  Hydrus!”

A blinding light, greater than any of the others had been, blankets the entire apartment causing Lucy to shield her vision. “You’ve summoned us master?”  She slowly opens her eyes as the light fades away and sees the four spirits standing before her.  They were beautiful!  

She does her best not to act too giddy, throwing on a warm and inviting smile.  “Hi, I’m Lucy your new owner, but please don’t call me that or master, or anything like it, just Lucy is fine.  I’d like to set up the contracts with all of you and learn more about your magic.”

“Hello Lucy,” the smaller of the two male’s steps forward.  “I am Phoenix,” he bows with one palm placed upon his chest and the other arm hanging at his side, “the leader of the Celestial Fairies.”  Standing straight again, “I speak for all of us in saying we are available whenever you need us.  But tell me for I am curious, how is someone as young as you able to summon four spirits at the same time?  That takes a powerful mage.”

Shrugging her shoulders, “I guess I’ve gotten strong enough over the years and Crateris gives me a boost when I need it.  I can only hold the four gates open for so long, but I figured it would be okay just for the introductions.”

“Amazing,” Phoenix smiles, “and are you the one that had summoned the King?”

“Yes, that was me.”

“Now it all makes sense.  Please, let me introduce us.  We each can control a different element, I,” motioning to himself, “have fire,” he also gestures to each spirit as he names them off, “Pegasus has air and wind, Draco earth, and Hydra water. And when I say control, we can generate or manipulate anything based on those elements...”  As Phoenix explains, Lucy stares awestruck at the four standing before her and commits to memory as many details as she can.  

Phoenix, the leader of the elementals is a tall, maybe 6 foot, lean but toned, darkly tanned gentleman who appears around the age of his late 20s or early 30s.  His ruby red hair is pulled into a low-hung ponytail, falling till the middle of his back; not quite wavy but with a feathery-like texture. And his eyes are a yellowish to light hazel color that is striking against his darker hair.  For clothes he has on a simple, black vest, and gray slacks that cuts nicely to his frame.  Dapper might be a good way to describe him.            

Pegasus is a curvaceous and very statuesque woman with flowing white hair that ripples down to her mid-thighs and sky-blue colored eyes that seem to get more brilliant the longer you gazed into them.  She looks to be around Lucy’s height, maybe a couple inches taller and wearing silver winged earrings.  For clothes she has on a flowy, floor length white dress that is one-shouldered and cinched at the waist with a hanging silver cord.  Lucy notices the cord's end in miniature silver horses.  

Draco, the more handsome of the two males, is taller than Phoenix by at least 3-4 inch’s and seems closer in age to her, maybe early 20s at the latest.  He has a muscular build that’s not overly developed but just perfect and sports a medium tanned skin tone, with cocky forest green eyes that seem to peer into your soul.  As an outfit he wears a somewhat fitted, short-sleeved, button down eggshell white colored shirt but with the first few buttons left open, dark brown khakis, and a matching suede or leather jacket.  His dark, reddish-brown spiked hair was long, messy and untamed.  In fact, the longer she stares at him, the more he reminds her of when Natsu had returned after his year long hiatus.

And last, Hydra is a thinner but still very buxom beauty with straight teal colored, waist length hair, and light sea-green colored eyes, who stands about the same height as Pegasus.  She wears a loose, cream-colored halter top that ends just above the navel and dark green skin tight leggings that have a slight scaled appearance.  At first glance Lucy hadn’t noticed, but as she shifts her focus, she swore Hydra’s eyes had become more serpentine in appearance. ‘Duh,’ Lucy chides herself, it’s a sea serpent so what did she expect?  

Over all, the one thing they all have in common are the translucent wings coming out from their backs; though each shimmered with their element’s colors.  The wings themselves ranged in size and shape, matched to the spirits innate being.  Phoenix’s wings were more bird-like, while Draco’s was rougher in appearance with jagged edges like a bat.  Pegasus had rounder, fuller wings that reminded Lucy of a butterfly, and Hydra’s, the closest correlation was to a fish’s pectoral fins but larger.        

“Wow!  That’s all really amazing!  So, are these your normal forms?  Or do you have another that you also use?  Like Phoenix can you change into an actual fire bird? or Hydra a winged serpent?”

Phoenix chuckles “Yes, most of the time we will be in these fairy forms because it is less threatening and requires less energy to summon, but we can shift into our true forms as needed.”

“I’m also able to use the Star Dress spell, does that work with you spirits too?”

“Yes.  And we well know of whom your other spirits are, and they’ve assured us you have been one of the best owners they have ever worked with.”

“Awe, that’s so sweet of them!  I don’t treat my spirits like tools to fight for me, I prefer to fight alongside them as much as possible, which is what I love about the Star Dress form.  It allows me to do that more easily.”

“Well miss Lucy, I can sense that we are taking up a lot of your energy so since we have established the contract, I believe we should go for now.  When you are ready to train with our magic, please call on us.”

“All right, well it was great meeting you all and I look forward to working with you!”

“As do we, good bye Miss Lucy!”  As the other three disappear, Draco lingers walking up to her and takes her hand. She blushes lightly from the gesture.

“He forgot to tell you, we are fiercely protective over our owner, if we sense you are in danger one or more of us may appear on our own to assist you.”

She squeezes and pats the back of his hand, “Thank you Draco, I’m kind of used to that from Leo so don’t worry, I don’t mind.”  She smiles sweetly at him.  

Lifting the back of her hand to his lips he gives it a kiss, “Till we meet again princess,” then disappears.

With a sigh, she throws herself onto her bed.  ‘I’m so excited to get to work with them!  And Draco, he’s so…… attractive…  Wait till the others see my new spirits!’

Lucy sneaks away every chance she could to train with the fairies.  For about a month, one by one she works with them individually to both learn what they can do and what she’ll be able to do in their Star Dress forms. The whole experience had taken her back to the days after Tartaros when she’d honed her other spirits forms.  It was exciting!  For the first time since their fight with Acnologia, Lucy was feeling alive again and finally independent!  

And she loved working with them.  Lucy realized from day one of training why the King didn’t allow just any mage to get their hands on these keys because they were powerful.  Someone like Leo, the most powerful of the Zodiacs couldn’t turn into a real lion, but Phoenix could turn into a firebird.  Taurus was physically strong, but he couldn’t hold a candle to Draco towering overhead like a real dragon.  Even though she still wanted to get more training under her belt, Lucy decided it was about time for her to reveal them to her friends and the guild.  But not before a small test.  Just a small one, something easy that even the most basic of what she has learned would be effective.    

Looking around the guild Lucy doesn’t see her pink haired teammate, perfect, so she sneaks over to the mission board.  Standing in front of it and perusing the options, she looked for one that could test the basic skills of the Fairies.  She reaches for a flyer that looks promising, but not before it’s snatched away by Natsu.

“Luce, that’s too hard for you to do all by yourself.”

She snatches it back, “Ugh! Says who, you?!  I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself!”

He laughs, “Why don’t I go with you?”

“Because I don’t want you to!”

“Why not!”  He whines, “And why have you been avoiding me lately?”

“You seriously are an idiot!”  They’re attracting attention, but she doesn’t care.  “I don’t understand why you keep insisting on coming along on my missions, or showing up unannounced at my apartment, or, or…  Ugh!  Why am I avoiding you, you ask!?  It’s because I finally realized that I can’t wait around forever for you to decide!”  Lucy crosses her arms over her chest as all the anger and tears she has held back rush forth.  “You don’t wanna be my boyfriend that’s fine, but with that choice, you need to give me some space so I can move on and find someone who’ll love me back!”  

Natsu is stunned at her explosion.  Yes, he knows he can be an idiot sometimes, but he knows exactly what she is ranting about. He knows she has a crush on him, but he was afraid.  He had watched Macao’s marriage end badly, he’s seen two others get into relationships and if they broke up, so went the friendship.  It may not be much experience to base his thoughts off of, but it still worried him immensely.  Losing her for any reason was not something he wanted to have happen.  But, even now as Lucy confronts him on it, those fears are still holding him back.

“But Luce,” he reaches out for her, but she steps out of his reach.  “You’re my best friend, that’s why I wanna go with you on missions. That’s why I enjoy hanging out with you at your apartment, and I don’t think you’re not capable, I don’t wanna see you get hurt, or….”

“Don’t you get it Natsu, I value our friendship, but I also want to feel….  Feel romantic love, like Levy or Juvia!  I’m tired of being the one left out!”

Just as Natsu is about to respond Draco suddenly appears at Lucy’s side.  He puts his arms around her waist pulling her in tight so she can sob into his chest while he glares at Natsu, “Is this guy bothering you my Princess?”

“YOUR Princess!!!” roars an incensed and literally smoking Natsu.  “Who the Fuck are you!!  Get your hands off My Lucy!!”

Bellowing, a deep laugh, “She is not Your Lucy.  Did I not just hear her say you didn’t want to be her boyfriend?  So, what gives you the right to demand I let her go?  Clearly, I am not holding her against her will.”

“And what are you to her!” Natsu lights his hands on fire. “No matter, I’ll make you back off!”

“Natsu stop it!! Draco is one on my spirits!  He came because of how upset I am.”

Gritting his teeth, “Not even Leo holds you like that so who the hell is he really?!  I-I’m the only one who can hold you like that!  So, tell him to let you go!!”

“I’m sorry Natsu but I can’t do that.”

“What!!” Natsu is even more livid, “Why not!”

Without responding to the question, Lucy looks back up into Draco’s eyes and puts her arms around his neck. Taking her cue, he leans down and kisses her on the lips; smirking the whole time with his eyes still trained on Natsu.

Natsu’s jaw drops simultaneously as a loud growl emanating from him.  He makes a grab for Lucy when Draco’s wings suddenly extend out, whisking he and Lucy out of his physical reach.  

“I’m sorry Natsu, but there’s nobody else you can blame but yourself for all this.” A single tear falls, “It’s time you give me some space.”   In that moment, she and Draco disappear.          

Standing alone Natsu just hangs his head, a crowd of his fellow guild mates surrounding but staying at a distance from him as his anger mixes with despair.  ‘S-she kissed him?  S-she kissed him!  No, No, No!  And space? That would kill me…’  Seeing their dejected friend, Gray and Erza rush over but he pushes them away and runs out of the guild.  He wants no one to see his tears.

He had to make things right, there was no way he would let a spirit or any guy take Lucy away from him! Together forever…. The words rang back through his mind.  He wouldn’t have said it if he hadn’t meant it, and he meant every meaning of those words. ‘Okay,’ he berates himself on the run to her apartment, ‘maybe I should have followed through after I said it, but there’s no turning back now and if that damn Draco wants a challenge, this dragon was gonna give him one!’

Draco teleports them into Lucy’s apartment and set her down on her feet.  She sits down on her couch and let’s out a loud exhale.  

“Thanks for playing along with that Draco,” Lucy blushes at the memory.  “I kinda wanted to see his reaction.”

“You’re welcome Princess.”

“Sit, you’re making me nervous just standing there.”   She pats the couch seat next to her and he obliges.  “By the way, is there a reason you call me Princess?”

“You don’t like it?”

“I don’t mind it, Leo sometimes calls me that, and Virgo too.”

“You’re like a beautiful Princess.”  

Lucy’s cheeks heat up. “Don’t tell me you really a sweet talker like Leo.”  

Draco just chuckles, “No I’m nothing like Leo, that guy is on his own playing field with the ladies.”

“Well,” she whispers, “you aren’t so bad yourself.”  He turns to look at her, but she averts her eyes and stares at the ground.  

He turns her chin towards him and speaks softly, “Are you trying to tell me something?”

“N-No…” she stammers but he continues to look at her with his piercing green eyes.   Sigh, “I’m sure you’ve been around long enough to know girls find you attractive.”

Subconsciously they both lean closer to each other, “Yes, but in all my years, I don’t think I’ve ever come across anyone like you.”

With just an inch of space left Lucy realizes their distance and pulls back.  “I-I don’t think it would be appropriate to…  There must be rules against an owner and their spirit… And I still care about Natsu…”

“There are no rules against it.  But you’re right, we probably shouldn’t… move so quickly.  Let’s focus on your training and working with us.”  He stands up, “But at least you have someone else to comfort you now when you need it.”  He winks to her before he disappears.

Sigh, “Why couldn’t Natsu have been more like you Draco…” She pulls her knees up and wraps her arms around them, sobbing lightly.  “Ugh, why’d I have to fall for that pink haired idiot!  I should have known he’d break my heart.  I mean he’s so dense with other people’s emotions!  And what was with his attitude today, I mean who the hell does he think he is calling me his!  If he wanted that kind of power over me, he should have picked me for his girlfriend!”   “Argh!” she throws a book against the wall.

Unbeknownst to Lucy, Natsu has been standing under her window listening, and hearing her rant about him shakes him up more.

A call comes in from Levy through the lacrima-com.  “Oh, hi Levy, huh?  Yeah, I’ll be okay.  No, no, you guys need not come over.  Who?  Draco?  He’s one of the spirits I told you about.  I’m sorry I…. No, I should have told you guys sooner, but I wanted it to be a surprise.  The King was so right about how powerful they are…. Yeah, he said I’m the first in over 300 years that qualified.”  Lucy chuckles, “thanks, I’m proud of it too.  Wait till you guys see them, they can transform…. Yeah that’s what makes them different.   Mmm…. He reacted like he was jealous…”                

Natsu eavesdrops from below her window, ‘How’d I not know about these new spirits, god maybe I am an ass, definitely an idiot.  If she’s supposed to be my best friend, how did I not know so much about her?  Was I really that oblivious?’  He hears Lucy sigh.

“I do still love the idiot.  I’ll always love him but….  No, I don’t know what it’ll take….  No, I have no real interests in Draco…. Well yeah, he is handsome, but it would be wrong for a master and a spirit…  I know Lev, you’re right, maybe he will.  Okay, I’ll see you later too.  Bye.”

He slumps against the wall, running his hand down his face.  He had to do something but what?  It’s not like he was the most romantic person.  Scratch that, he had no clue what romance really was.  All the flowers and candies thing, was that even real or was it stuff dreamed up for those books the girls love to read cause he’s seen none of the guys show up with bouquets at the guild?  Natsu sighs, as much as he didn’t want to ask for help, he would need it. Maybe Bisca and Al are a good start since they’ve been married for so long…              

After their fight, Lucy avoids Natsu, but he would not leave her alone.  Oh, he gave her two days to cool off, but that’s when he really started his campaign to win her back.  Thanks to all the advice from their friends on top of all the fix this situation threats levied at him, Natsu felt he’d come up with a plan of action sure to win her back.  

And it started with flowers.

Early one morning, there is a knock on her door that drags a tired Lucy out of bed.  She’d been up late the night before working on her latest book.  The sudden intrusion was highly annoying!

“Ugh, who is it?”

“Flower delivery ma’am.”

Lucy opens her door to find an older gentleman in a messenger uniform.  He hands her a bouquet of a dozen pink roses and tulips, her two favorite flowers.  “Have a nice day.”  He tips his hat and walks away.  

Closing her door, she stares at the flowers, ‘who sent me flowers?  It’s not my birthday, or a holiday…’ she finds a small envelope stuck in between the blooms.

“Luce, I don’t know if you’ll believe me yet, but I really meant what I said.  You’re my best friend in this entire world and I didn’t mean to make you cry.  I hope you’ll forgive me.   –Natsu.”

There’s a small uplift in the corners of her mouth as she takes in the scent of the flowers, “Well it’s a start I guess, but you’re not off the hook just yet, mister!”

The morning sun was barely peeking over the horizon on the following day as Lucy stretches her arms through a big yawn.    She turns over to hug onto a pillow when a flat rectangular box shifts next to her forehead.  ‘What’s that?’  Lucy pulls herself into a sitting position and picks up the box.  Her eyes flash wide for inside she finds a beautiful silver charm bracelet.  ‘Wow….’ She maneuvers the bracelet to look at each charm piece; a flame, a key, a star, a letter “L”, a heart shape, a letter “N”, a cube with the letters “BF”, a Fairytail emblem, and pink stones in between each charm.  Securing it on her right wrist she smiles…

Another morning, and Lucy is getting ready for another lazy day of writing since the weather was ugly and there wasn’t a major reason to go to the guild that day.  She heads over to her desk and laying on top there was a brand-new journal with a folded letter waiting for her.  Three days in a row, she muses, Natsu was sure working overtime to gain back her attention.    

Good morning beautiful.  Maybe our future adventures will help inspire a new story for you to write about.   <3  Natsu.

She runs her fingers over the leathery grain, “Awe, that was sweet of him!  Since when did he get so romantic?”

She was almost disappointed to not wake up to a surprise, but that afternoon, and another delivery of flowers shows up at her door.  This time, the stakes have risen for it’s a dozen long stem red roses and another small jewelry box.  After placing the roses in a vase, she sits down with the box and card and opens it.  She gasps, ‘Oh my god what the hell is he trying to tell me?!’ The box contains a custom silver ring with the Fairytail emblem inlaid with small white and pink diamonds.  When she looks closer inside the band there are her initials and a date.

Ripping open the card, tears flow down her cheeks as she reads the letter,  

In July of X784 you entered my life and joined Fairytail.  I still remember how excited you were when you got your guild stamp…  Despite what you might think, I care about you as more than just a friend.  I was just afraid…  I treasured our friendship above anything else and I had seen friendships die because of breakups and I never wanted to lose you like that.  But I should have realized that by holding back, it was only causing you the very pain I was trying to avoid…  I’m so sorry Luce.  

Seeing you… with Draco… another man holding you and kissing you…. I died a little that day.  You were right, I only have myself to blame for it all.  But I hope I’m not too late.  If you forgive me, please meet me for dinner at Our Magnolia tree in South Gate Park at 5pm.  Love, Natsu.

There were moments she almost turned around and went home but reminded herself that she needed to see him too.  But by the time 4:50pm had rolled around Lucy was making her way through the park’s entrance. As she nears the tree, she can see Natsu standing with his back towards her.  While he still has his scarf on, the rest of his attire takes her aback.  Natsu dressed up for her, something he’s never done before on purpose!  Lucy’s heart beats faster.  He was so handsome in a suit!

Hearing a racing heartbeat approaching, Natsu slowly turns to see who it is.  Heavens, Lucy looked spellbinding!  As she makes her way over, he takes in the sight walking towards him.  The blonde mage was absolutely stunning in a black, plunging halter style top ending in a red miniskirt and black 3-inch wedge heels. The charm bracelet and ring were catching some late afternoon rays, and her hair had been left down, straight and parted in the middle to frame her face.  “Y-you look gorgeous, Lucy…” he chokes out.  Hints of pink line his cheeks and ears.

She giggles, “You look handsome too Natsu.  Thank you for all the gifts they were really sweet.  So,” a light blush alighting her cheekbones, “why d'you wanna meet here?”

“I um, needed to see you, and wanted to talk.  But first, I have reservations for dinner nearby.”

“All right, shall we get going then?”

“Yeah!” he grins, the toothy wide smile he often has plastered on his face when he is nervous.

Clasping her hands behind her back Lucy walks alongside Natsu.  For a time, they walk in silence through the park until they reach the street and need to turn left or right.  “So Natsu, where are we going?”

“This way,” he points to the right.  “We’re going to Café Concerto, the foods good but I picked them for the private dining rooms.”

“Private rooms?”  Some naughtier ideas pop into her head.

“Yeah, so we can talk easier.”

“Oh,” She exhales still trying to get the images out of her head.  “Sounds like a good idea.”

Continuing on in silence, Natsu notices a dreamier look on Lucy’s face.  Her hands have drifted away from her back and now sway along with her steps.  He wonders what she is thinking about, but instead of asking, takes advantage of the fact she’s not paying attention to what he wants to do.

Lucy lets her mind drift during the brisk walk.  ‘I don’t want to get my hopes up, what if he’s doing all this to just placate me, to just let me down gentler…  No, can’t be?  If that were the case the gifts would have been different right?  He wouldn’t have sent red roses, or such an expensive ring…  Maybe he was telling the truth, maybe he really has feelings for me!  Sigh…  That kiss I shared with Draco was my first and I had wanted that to be with Natsu. There was only a lukewarm chemistry from Draco’s kiss, no butterflies, no fireworks.  I guess when I kiss Natsu, that’ll tell me…’

“We’re here Luce.”

“Huh?” she turns her head and sees they are standing in front of the restaurant.  “Oh, sorry I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”

“You seemed to be in your own thoughts,” he chuckles.  “Let’s head inside so we don’t lose the reservation.”

“Right.”  She takes a step forward but stops when she realizes something important had happened.  Lucy looks down at her left hand which is being held by Natsu’s right one.  “W-When did…”

He smiles, “About halfway here.  You didn’t seem to mind.”

Her face heats in a blush. “I, um…”

“If this is making you uncomfortable I can…”

She cuts him off with a smile, “N-no, it’s okay.  I-I don’t mind, was just surprised is all.”

Grinning back, he squeezes her hand and opens the door.

The maître’d leads Natsu and Lucy into a cozy little room where a table had been set up for two. After being seated across from one another, she takes in the visuals of the place.  The walls are paneled in a warm chestnut brown wood finish.  Bronze sconces along the wall providing a warm, ambiance type lighting.  On the table between them, the dark, almost black table cloth seems to match well against the wall’s colorings.  And finally, a single long tapered white candle added to the romantic feel.

With their dinners ordered, and a glass of wine now perched at her fingertips, Lucy takes a few sips to help calm her nerves.  Averting her eyes from his, “Natsu, I want to apologize for my outburst.  It may have been a little uncalled for…”

“No, don’t apologize Luce. I needed that slap in the face.” She looks up at him and sees a seriousness in his eyes she’s rarely ever seen from him.  “The truth is, I’ve had a crush on you since we met but it worried me that if we got into a relationship and ever broke up, we’d stop being friends. I had seen it happen to others, and I was so afraid of it I decided to just keep you in the friend zone.  But I didn’t realize how much pain I was causing you, how much keeping you at a slight distance was hurting our friendship more.”  He sighs,“I don’t like it when you go off on missions by yourself because all I do is worry the whole time.  What if you got hurt or didn’t come back at all…  I—I, don’t know what I would do.”

“But you’ve never even given me a hint about how you really felt.  I think if I had seen something, even just a glimmer of hope, I wouldn’t have felt so much heartache.”

“I guess I hid it well. I mean every time a guy tried to flirt with you, Gray, Leo, strangers; I had to use every ounce of willpower not to beat them to a pulp.  But then when you kissed Draco… and seemed like you meant it… I-I lost it.”

Lucy feels her heart sinking by the millisecond.  She may have endured years of heartache, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed seeing it in others, especially the man she loved.  She looks down at the table, her fingers fidgeting with themselves on her lap, “I shouldn’t have done that…  Please forgive me Natsu but I wanted to see how you would react… I wanted to see if it would make you jealous because maybe if you were that meant there could be hope...”

Natsu stands up and walks around the table kneeling in front of her.  “I told you, I deserved that wake-up call.”  Placing his hands on hers to stop her fidgeting, “But, do you believe me now Luce, that you mean everything to me?”

“Yeah…” She whispers

Lifting her right hand he slides the ring off of the finger she has it on.  “Can we start over then?”

“Yes…” she murmurs, wondering what he was about to do.

Now taking her left hand he slides the ring onto her ring finger as he continues to speak in an expectant tone, “where you’re my girlfriend?”

“Y-yes.”  She squeaks out.  Her brown eyes becoming more vivid but glassy.

Grinning, “I’m sorry I didn’t hear you, was that a…”

“Yes!”  Lucy screams, grabbing his face and locking onto the lips she has ached to kiss for so long.  This throws him slightly off balance, but he quickly catches himself and braces by entwining his fingers into her hair adding pressure to the kiss.  She cocks her head slightly to the side to deepen their closeness, groaning as he nibbles her bottom lip and allowing his tongue to venture and twirl with hers in a minuet.  All of time laid down it’s ticking clock as they stayed locked together, and Heaven help her, Natsu’s smoky tang mixed with the spicy scents of his natural redolence was carrying her away in a spell of its own.  Forgotten were the days past and longing for Lucy finally got what she had dreamed of.  This is the very fireworks she had wished for!            

At that moment the waiter walks in carrying two plates, pausing just within the threshold.  “I’m sorry is this a bad time?”

Breaking apart, Natsu stands up and walks back to his chair smiling and staring at his red-faced girlfriend, “No,” he grins, “it’s a great time.”

Over the next three months Lucy’s been too busy being dragged out on team Natsu missions to train further with her new spirits and she really wants to get her Star Dress spells down pact before she summons them in a real fight.  Erza and Gray she didn’t mind so much but it was Natsu that was driving her crazy.  She couldn’t understand his insistence on either her going with them on all of their missions or him tagging along on hers.  They were officially a couple, so why was he still acting this way?    

While their relationship was getting better in some aspect’s, there were the days where his jealousy would just control him and in other words, her.  The worst were the times she suggested training with her spirits.  Such rollercoasters of emotions were taking its toll on the Celestial Wizard and eventually something had to give.

“Ugh, Natsu I need to train with my new spirits to get the Star Dress forms down solid!  Phoenix could even be helpful to you since he can generate fire!”

“It’s not the other three I mind.  I don’t trust Draco!”

“You’re just jealous! And I can’t believe you don’t trust me to handle him myself.  All this time, Leo didn’t get under your skin, why is Draco?”

“Leo’s different, I know he flirts with every girl cause it’s his personality.  But with Draco, it’s a… it’s a dragon thing okay!  It’s like two animals wanting to claim the same mate and I can sense that from him.”

“Tch, that sounds crazy,” Lucy crosses her arms, “he’s a spirit.”

“Who is a dragon.”  Natsu drops onto the couch with his head hung and hair shielding his eyes.  He didn’t want to keep having this argument with her, but he would not let it go either.  “Lucy please just understand, it’s not just simple jealousy, in the eyes of a dragon you are an unmarked, unclaimed, potential mate.  If his attraction to you becomes unchecked that primal side could reveal itself and some dragons will take their mates by force.”

Lucy sighs.  She didn’t want to keep fighting either.  “Natsu I don’t think that’ll happen, but I’ll relent for the sake of peace.” Lucy sits on the arm of the chair, running her fingers through his hair in a manner she’s come to learn soothes him.  “How about you come along during the training sessions as long as you don’t get in the way.”

He places a hand on her knee, gently thumbing the skin while looking back up at her face.  “Thank you. So, where do you wanna train?”

The following week, Lucy and Natsu are standing at the base of a mountain where the vegetation is sparse, and the chance of fire damage will be a minimum.  He nods at her with a smile, motioning for her to start.  She pulls out Phoenix’s key and summons him. “Open Gate of the Firebird! Phoenix!”

“Hello Lucy.”

“Hi Phoenix, I’d like to work with you today.”

Phoenix looks to the man standing at her side.  “As you wish, but who is this with you?”

“Natsu’s my boyfriend, he’s a Fire Dragon Slayer.”

“Ah,” Phoenix smiles warmly and sticks out his hand in a gentleman’s fashion, “fire, that’s right up my alley.”  Natsu shakes his hand firmly.  

Lucy smiles, “I hoped you two would get along…”

It turned out to be quite handy having Natsu around to train with, because now Lucy had an additional sparring partner while the spirits taught her how to use their magic effectively. He had a lot of fun working Phoenix even remarking that the spirits flames had an interesting flavor to it.  Maybe like chicken he had teased, while being slapped by Lucy over the comment, but even Phoenix had laughed and responded that it made sense that his flames would taste like a bird.  

For the training with Hydra and Pegasus, once they had realized that having another strong mage around that knew similar magic would come in handy for the training, they had enlisted the help of Wendy and Juvia.  The two women were happy to assist and play sparring partner for Lucy and similarly to how Natsu got along with Phoenix, the mages and spirits had a good time. The Celestial Fairies had been stuck in the Celestial World for so long, that being able to interact with the mages and peoples of Earthland again seemed to thrill them.  

Two days of training with three days off in between to recuperate for Lucy seemed to be the successful formula. It took four days of training total with Phoenix, the same with Hydra, but eight for Pegasus.  Lucy assumed that it was because out of the three spirits, it was an element she had not worked directly with before.  The styles and magics were different, but at least with Leo’s flames or Aquarius’ water, those were more comfortable for her.  But as the training with these three spirits ended, it would be the next looming issue they had been avoiding.  

Draco.  Not only did he wield an element that Lucy hasn’t dealt with before, it was also one that no one in their guild really did either except Jellal and he was away on a mission.  Saint Wizard Jura was another possibility, but he too was busy with Counsel duties.  Lucy knew that having to deal with Natsu and Draco alone may be a bigger hassle, as much she hated to admit it, so they wait until Jellal returned.

Humming quietly to no one, Lucy wraps the towel around her body and releases her hair from the haphazard bun perched on her head.  Natsu had been gone all day helping with some kind of renovation at the guild but now it was time for her to get ready and head over to meet him and their friends for dinner.  After a final check of herself in the mirror, she gathers her dirty clothes and steps out of the bathroom.

“Princess.”

Startled, Lucy gasps and almost drops her clothes, “Draco!  What are you doing here?”  Fidgeting and using the extra fabrics to hide her body more, “y-you shouldn’t just drop in like this.”

“But I came to check on you,” he walks closer unperturbed by her state of undress.  “I’ve been waiting patiently for you to call me to train like you did the others,” Draco places his hand on her shoulder, “but when you did not after two weeks, I worried something may be wrong.”

“I’m fine,” Lucy flinches out of his touch, “as you can see.  I’m just waiting for my friend Jellal to return from a mission, so I have a sparring partner.”

Again, he tries to reach out.  Lucy flinches but realizes she’s been backed against the wall.  She tries to avoid eye contact, but his time Draco caresses her cheek then tips her face up, so she’s forced to look at him, “You need no one but me to be there.”

“I-I dis-disagree, now you should let me go Draco, I need to meet Natsu, my boyfriend for dinner.”

“That slayer is your boyfriend now?”  He lets Lucy go and steps back, “my mistake.”  And just like that, he disappears.  

Lucy lets out the collective breath she’d been holding and braces against the wall.  ‘It’s fine, it’s fine,’ she reassures herself, ‘he was only acting that way because he didn’t know about Natsu and I.’ She brushes her fingers over the area Draco had touched… “not even Leo holds you like that…”  Lucy shakes the memory from her mind, that was her doing, she had prompted Draco into acting that way and at least that time, she really was upset…. ‘he could tell I was upset…  I never really asked before,’ Lucy ruminates, ‘how much can the spirits really sense of me?’ Now wasn’t the time to ponder.  Just to be cautious, Lucy takes a second quick shower and rushes to the guildhall before Natsu came to check on her too.    

Thank goodness Jellal came back to Magnolia a few days later and she could get the last leg of her training under way.  It would be the first time Natsu and Draco would be face to face again, and Lucy only hoped and prayed the two men could be cordial with each other for her sake.  She confessed to Jellal her concerns before they left on the training and he assured her he would help to make sure things stayed that way.  

The rocky, desert-like area they found was perfect for training with Earth magic for they could warp the ground without disturbing much of anything living.  But, the one downside to picking such a place was there were no towns in the immediate vicinity.  They had to bring as many provisions with them as they could carry or one of them would have to travel a few miles to gather more.  At least there were a few caves suitable for a makeshift campsite in case it rained.          

Lucy stood flanked by Natsu on her left and Jellal on her right as she summoned Draco to appear.  

“Open gate of the Dragon! Draco!”

In a flurry of light, he appears with his arms crossed, “You’ve finally summoned me master?”

Her eyebrow twitches as she tries to remain calm.  “Yes, I’d like to complete our training Draco.  First, I should introduce you to my friends here.”  She motions to her right first, “this is Jellal, he uses earth magic, so I’ve asked him to help me as a sparing partner.”  Jellal nods to the spirit.  Lucy then motions to her left.  “You know Natsu, my boyfriend.  He’s here to help in training.”

The tension in the air was palpable as the two men stared each other down.  Both Lucy and Jellal holding a collective breath as the seconds tick by at an agonizingly slow rate… it was the longest pause of her life.  Finally, it was Natsu to Lucy’s surprise or relief that broke the stalemate, holding out a hand in gesture.  No words pass between them, but the two men shake hands.  

She lets out an exhale, “we should just get started then, shall we?”

In the other training sessions, Natsu played less of a bystander role and more of a guide for Lucy, especially when it came down to learning the ins and outs of making a technique work. He was amazing with analyzing fight strategies.  But this time, he stepped back and observed every move that Draco made.  Training in proximity was fine under his watchful eye but if Draco got too close or lingered near Lucy in the wrong way, Natsu stepped in.

Oh, he didn’t snap which was a scenario that Lucy had dreaded and prepared herself mentally for. No, it was a surprise that Natsu entered the training at just the opportune moments and spun things in a way to get Draco away from her again.  It impressed Lucy that her boyfriend was controlling most of his anxieties.  

It was a relief at not having to play referee between her boyfriend and her spirit considering by day 3 this magic was the hardest for her by far to learn.  Usually by this point, Lucy had the basics down but learning to control a dense mass such as earth was much more difficult than the airier elements.  But that was only part of the magic, Lucy still needed to learn to control plant life.

By the eighth day, the next two-day break was a welcomed relief.  All Lucy wanted to do was relax with a book or sleep, so Natsu and Jellal took a trip to the nearest town for more supplies.  He really didn’t want to leave Lucy by herself but, Natsu knew that if he and Jellal went, the trip would be faster, and they could carry more, hopefully negating the need for another.

She curled up on her bedroll with a book, catching up on a few chapters, letting the story take her mind off the slow progress of her training.  The story was one that Levy had recommended because she knew Lucy would like.  A bit of fantasy mixed with a love story, lots of action, heartache, and lust.  But with the heat of the day working its spell, it didn’t take long for exhaustion to claim her, Lucy’s eyes growing heavier and heavier...

Draco kneeled beside her, watching his master sleep peacefully.  She looked so beautiful to him.  He couldn’t blame the slayer for wanting to keep this woman for himself, when he’s desired her since the moment they met.  Deep down Draco knew that it was wrong, that it was frowned upon for spirits to meddle in their master’s lives, and definitely a no, no to wish for a romantic relationship with one.  But he couldn’t help it, spirit or not he still had basilar emotions that drove him.

He leans over Lucy and takes in the wondrous scent she gave off.  It annoyed him that the slayers scent commingled with hers.  Draco frowns.  Every fiber of his dragon soul wanted to sweep her away from this world to anywhere he could hoard her all to himself.  It would be easy, just pick her up as she slept and before she awoke, he’d have her whisked away to his corner of the spirit world.

A fanged grin peaks through, ‘well why the fuck not,’ he muses. ‘Three hundred years I’ve waited for a master and to get one as perfect as this one…’  Rational thought was losing the battle in his mind, yes, he’d be in a lot of trouble with the Spirit King, not to mention the others, but the longer he stared at Lucy, the more his lust grew.  

Draco wanted her.

And before his consciousness could catch up, he was scooping her into his arms.

The sudden movement causes Lucy to stir.  “Natsu?” her worn out mind barely comprehending what was happening.  

“Not Natsu.”

That woke her up.  Lucy’s eyes pop open wide.  “Draco?!  Draco what are you… why are you here?”  She shifts and tries to get out of his arms.  “Draco, what do you think you are doing?”

“I can’t let that slayer have you, he doesn’t deserve you!”

“Draco!” Lucy fights his grasp, “let me go right this second!  I-I am not going anywhere with you!”

The spirit narrows his eyes, his pupils shifting into a more reptilian form, “no.”

Lucy fights harder, but her strength is no match for the stronger male.  She twists and hits him as much as she can, cussing him out. Just when she thought there was no hope, Lucy hears a voice outside of the cave.  

“Lushee?  Natshu?  Where are you guys?”

“Happy!” she cries out. “I’m in the cave!”

It wasn’t as if an exceed was any match for the spirit, but she hoped it would change Draco’s mind if there was a witness.

And she was right.

Just as the exceed came walking in through the entrance, she felt herself fall back onto her bedroll, hitting the solid floor hard.  Her body stung from the impact, but not wanting to alarm Happy, she bit down and gritted against the pain.  

“Lushee?  Where is Natshu?”

She forces herself to sit up as if nothing had just happened.  With a smile, “they went to the nearest town for supplies, they should be back soon,” she hoped.

“Oh, okay then I’ll just wait here with you.”

“That… would be great Happy. Maybe you could help me get dinner started for the guys…”

What was she going to do now?  As Lucy went to bed that night with Natsu sleeping beside her, she couldn’t fall asleep. Over and over she replayed what had happened that afternoon trying every which way to explain or justify her spirit’s actions.  In one more day, they were supposed to resume her training, should she cancel it?  But that might make Natsu suspicious.  What if Draco didn’t show up?  Or, what if he did?  How would he behave?  Chances were, with Natsu and Jellal around he would behave as if nothing had happened, but would she be able to set that aside?  

Lucy wanted so desperately to believe it was all just another misunderstanding.  Maybe Draco had gone weird, kind of like when the spirits went a little mad after the whole Eclipse gate debacle.  That probably wasn’t true but how else could she rationalize it?  The other explanation was…. Natsu had been right all along.  Sometimes they forgot that Celestial spirits had feelings just like humans did, and maybe Draco had developed feelings for her, driven further by the dragon spirit dwelling inside of him.

She didn’t want to alarm anyone yet, so in the end, she let the training commence.  ‘Hopefully he shows up and behaves!’  Then when they return home, Lucy will come clean to her man.

For the next two weeks, Lucy pushes herself harder than she has ever pushed her body and mind because she was determined to get control of the earth magic Draco wielded, plus she didn’t want to deal with him longer than necessary.  Her focus on the training gave her enough of a distraction to shove her concerns to the side until a later date, and Draco behaving as if he hadn’t just tried to kidnap her, helped to lessen her worries at least consciously.  Internally was another story.

The night before their trip back home, Lucy had a rather disturbing dream.  It was so real that when she awoke the next morning, the emotions, nay, the fear it created in her mind still carried through and Lucy realized something.  What if she had to be alone after they’d gone home?!  She and Natsu were still maintaining separate homes and he couldn’t be with her every minute of every day.  Will Draco try to kidnap her again as soon as he gets an opportunity?  

It made her shudder.  The idea of a rogue spirit taking her away from not just Natsu but her friends, family, her home, made Lucy almost wish she’d never found that book in the library.  Why did she have to ask the King about those keys?  Was it foolish of her to have used Draco as a pawn to make Natsu jealous?  All these questions, all the obvious answers leading her to blame herself for the mess she now found herself in.  But there was no turning back the clock.

She steeled herself for the conversation she was about to have with her boyfriend.  Lucy knew that would only be normal for Natsu to get upset with what she would have to tell him.  He will undoubtedly object to the plan she had come up with during the journey back home because she knew he wouldn’t want to rush into something that could never be undone.  Hell, even she thought it was crazy.

*When they returned to Magnolia, it didn’t take much effort to get Natsu to stay at her apartment without giving an explanation.  He was there most of the time anyway, and with the excuse that after such a vigorous training, Lucy wanted to relax alone with her boyfriend made sense.  But the conversation she needed to have with him wasn’t something one could simply bring up.  What was she supposed to say?  Over dinner one evening, “Hey, by the way Natsu, Draco tried to kidnap me so I think you should do that ritual marking thing you didn’t want to do.”  ‘Su—re, that wouldn’t be a great idea!’

Natsu himself never told her what happened during the event, he might even be surprised that she knew, but Levy had given her some general details.  The marking itself was simple, a bite to the wrist, like a physical imprinting upon the dragon’s mate and voila, all done.  Once imprinted, they were married without the legal formalities.  And therein lies the scary part.  Was she, were they ready for that level of commitment?  After thinking about it, Lucy had decided she was so, now that just left Natsu’s decision.

Over the course of a week since they had returned, Lucy had the odd sensation that Draco was somehow watching her.  Since Natsu was always around, she knew that he wouldn’t come close or Natsu would smell him and yet, those feelings never subsided.  Frankly, it was creeping her out. Lucy did her best to talk herself out of the worries, surmising that the whole situation triggered those feelings.  

One night after dinner, Lucy and Natsu lounged on the couch with a movie, but Lucy couldn’t focus on the screen. That afternoon Natsu had pointed out they need to take a mission soon since their funds had run low from the training.  It wasn’t the mission Lucy was concerned about rather the chances of abduction.    

Natsu laughed at the antics of the characters on the screen, turning to Lucy to get her opinion on it. But he notices a glazed over expression as if she was deep in thought, and definitely not watching the screen.  He pokes her arm to gain her attention. “Lucy, do you not like this movie?”

“The movie is fine.”

Now he shifts to face her better, “then why do you look bored or…” tilting his head, “annoyed?”  Lucy fiddles with her fingers in her lap, nervous about something.  He places his hands on hers and squeezes, “just tell me what’s bothering you.”

In a quiet, almost inaudible tone, Lucy mumbles, “first, promise me you won’t get upset.”  

Oh, now he was not only curious but anxious as all the horrible things that could elicit a response like that funnels through his mind.  “You…  you didn’t cheat on me, did you?”  Lucy shakes her head.  Natsu exhales, that was the worst thing he could think of.  “Okay, I promise.”

“I’ve been thinking maybe…” Lucy pauses and takes a long deep breath.  “Maybe we should do the marking….” Looking up at him, “now.”

He hadn’t seen that coming! “H-How do you even know about that? And why would you bring it up now?”

“Levy.  And is it really important why?”

Natsu may have been inclined to just drop it, but when she averted her eyes before the second answer, he knew she was holding something back.  Lucy wasn’t one to hide stuff, at least not about important things. “Luce,” he places a hand on her thigh and leans in.  “If you know what it is, then you know why I’d want to know.  It’s not something I’ll do unless we’re absolutely sure we want…”

“I do,” she grabs his hand, “I’m ready for it, but are you?”

“Lucy, I will not mark you unless you tell me what brought this up!”

“Draco tried to kidnap me okay!” she turns away from him, her face brightening from embarrassment, anger, and fear.  With her hands covering her face to hide the moisture clouding her eyes, “it happened during the training.  And I’m so scared he’ll do it again!  That’s why I want you to mark me!  That way he must leave us alone!”

Natsu forces Lucy to look at him and the fury in his eyes sent shudders throughout her body.  He was so furious he was beyond snapping.  His eyes narrow, “I don’t care if he’s your spirit I’ll fucking kill him if he touches you again!”  

“I-It’s not just because of that,” Lucy’s cheeks heat further, “I want you to do it.”  She reaches out and caresses his cheek, her eyes softening into a smile, “no matter what, I know that I’ll never be happy with anyone else Natsu, that’s why I came to this decision.”  Lucy exhales, “but that’s only if you agree too.”

After a few agonizing seconds, Natsu finally lets out a deep exhale and pulls her into a soft kiss. “Lucy, you’re it for me too,” cradling her cheeks, he swipes his thumbs against the smooth skin.  “It would honor me to take you as my mate.”  As a few tears trickles down, he wipes them away and seals the vow with another sweet kiss.

He takes her left hand and places a kiss upon her guild mark, then holding it parallel to the floor, Natsu brings it closer to his mouth.  “Ready?”

“Ready,” Lucy breathes out.

Suddenly, a loud explosion sounds off, and the building vibrates and trembles.  The interrupted couple spring from the couch, Natsu running to the window to see what’s going on.  Was someone attacking Magnolia?  He throws the window open, scanning over the area but something strange was going on. None of the other buildings were shaking as badly as the apartment.  

A shriek fills the room. Time slows to a crawl as Natsu turns to where Lucy was just standing and sees her tossed over Draco’s shoulder. She’s screaming for Natsu, screaming at Draco to let her go… and just like that in a flash, they were gone.  The building’s shaking ceased, and all that remained was the cocky grin the spirit had sported burned into Natsu’s memory. “LUCY!!!!”  The slayer roars into the empty room, furious that Draco had kidnapped her right from under his nose.  Fuck!  Fuck! Fuck!  How was he supposed to get to the Celestial world?!  

Thinking quickly, Natsu rushes down to his cottage where he knows Happy should be and the pair take off for Sabertooth.  

Natsu explains the situation to his friend on the way, talking aloud of his plan to get to the Celestial World, find Draco, beat him to a pulp, and get his girl back.  The exceed pushed his aera abilities to its maximum output, flying Natsu to their ally’s guild in under an hour.  It was late but thankfully Yukino was there and she readily called for one of her spirits.  Libra brought Celestial clothing for Natsu and Happy, then whisked them off to the spirit world.  Sensing that something serious had happened to their master, all of Lucy’s spirits were waiting for Natsu when he arrived.  

“What the hell happened?” Leo and Phoenix demand at the same time.  As leaders of their respective spirits, they felt an obligation to help save their master.  

Natsu’s growl is low and deep, “Draco is what happened!  That fucking spirit kidnapped Lucy and I’m damn sure he brought her here!”

“Ugh, I knew he was up to something,” Phoenix runs a hand over his face.  “He’s become obsessed with her recently.”

“Recently?” Leo chimes in, “I got the sense he’s been pining over her since they met.  I told her to be careful, but she said she could handle it.”

Natsu cuts them both off. “Look, he tried to kidnap her before and now he’s succeeded.  I don’t care about your bickering.  We just need to figure out where they are so I can beat the life out of him and get her back!”

Phoenix steps forward, “I believe I know where he might be.”

“But I think we should consult with the King first,” chimes in Leo.

“You’re right,” the firebird spirit sighs, “Draco is as powerful as any of us fairies, maybe the King will know a better way to deal with him.”

“Look, whatever we do we just need to hurry!  So, go get the King!” Natsu steps closer to the two spirits shaking his fist, “Draco already has a head start, and if he succeeds in imprinting on Lucy, there won’t be anything we can do to reverse it!”  He was beyond caring that these were Lucy’s beloved spirits or that he too liked them. This was Lucy they were fighting for and nothing would get in his way of getting her back!

In another part of the vast spirit world, Draco tipped his head back, closed his eyes, and let his senses reach out into its void.  He had felt the ripple of an outsider breaching their plane, normally considered a violation, but if it was the slayer, undoubtedly the King would not force him to leave.  ‘Just great.’ Draco opens his eyes again, staring at the woman he had bound and gagged on his bed.  He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep Lucy here for long because even with the Celestial attire, her body could only withstand this world for a short amount of time. Maybe a day or two tops since she had a connection to this world, but still, it was just to give him more time to think.  

Just like the last kidnapping attempt, his desire for Lucy had trumped all rational thought, and he’d reacted without hesitation to stop the marking process.  If the slayer had been successful, Draco knew that the imprinting would have triggered Lucy’s heart to forever belong to Natsu and that he would never have a chance to win it.  For that was the secret to all this.  Despite being a dragon spirit, because he was no longer of the earthly realm, those marking rituals didn’t work for him anymore.  It wasn’t fair!  Draco was similar in many regards, he felt passion as they did, and yet lacked that one component.  Oh, he knew the reason, spirits were not meant to intermingle with humans on that level.

‘Well,’ he sighs and grins at Lucy, “looks like the only way to settle this is a fight…”

In another area of the Celestial World, Natsu had been brought before the Celestial King and along with Phoenix and Leo, explained the whole situation.  

“I am sorry my friend, I knew that Lucy was here with Draco, but I assumed she was visiting.  I did not know he had kidnapped her.”

“Well now, you know mustache man.  So, are you going to tell me where they are?”

The King leans back with his arms crossed as if in contemplation.  “This is a serious matter, to have a spirit kidnap a human, his master no less,” scratching his chin, “it has never happened before.”

“Just tell me where he is, and I’ll make him sorry for taking Lucy!”

“Be patient my young friend, he will not harm her.  In this world, Draco cannot be injured, so there is no point in you fighting him.”

Natsu crosses his arms and mumbles, “well it would make me feel better.”

“I am his creator and therefore I must step in to right this wrong.  Draco is keeping her in his lair, Leo, Phoenix, take Natsu to her.  Bring Draco back to me and I shall deal with him.”  

Draco could smell them coming, and not surprisingly, Natsu wasn’t alone but both Phoenix and Leo were with him.  As leaders and the two most powerful of the spirits, Draco knew that if all three were to come at him at once, he didn’t stand much of a chance.  But that didn’t mean he would give Lucy up without a fight to the death if necessary.  As they arrive, he stands in front of Lucy, leering at the trio.  

“Stand aside you two,” Draco growls at the other spirits under his breath, “this is a fight between Dragons.”

As Phoenix moves forward to speak, Leo tries to grab hold of Natsu.  But the moment the slayer had seen Lucy gagged and bound like an animal he flipped out.  He could smell her tears, hear her heart beating rapidly, and worst of all he could smell the tiniest hints of blood.  Lucy’s blood!  

Natsu roars an ungodly bellowing, so deep and guttural it shakes the very core of Leo or Phoenix. They had never seen his transformations before, but Lucy had.  His eyes grow serpentine in appearance, his body shifts, scales forming, wings…  Fire erupts from his body and the two spirits must jump out of the way for the heat was like a volcano’s inferno.  Even the Firebird’s flames could not reach such temperatures.  

Then quicker than a blink, Natsu had flown directly at Draco, scooping the spirit up and power-bombing him into the ground….  

Lucy fights at her bindings, knowing this was going to be like Stella all over again.  Natsu’s END dragon side was going to take over and she had to stop it!  Draco may have done something horrible, but if Natsu wasn’t stopped they may level this area. She looks towards Leo and Phoenix, screaming through the gag.  Those two were so awestruck by the dragon’s fighting they had forgotten about her!  She bounces in her chair, pulling, still screaming as much as she could in a garbled and muffled manner until finally, Leo sees Lucy and rushes over with Phoenix.  They untie her and help her to her feet.

Natsu was relentless. Over and over he went at Draco with everything he had.  And the speed at which he was doing it was so fast, the other dragon couldn’t keep up or switch into his own dragon form.  Lucy, Phoenix, and Leo could barely think straight through the cacophony of sounds.  Loud, rumbling roars coupled with bone crushing hits and earth trembling displays. Lucy realizes this was much worse than Stella.  She screams at them, screams for Natsu to stop.  But he wasn’t hearing her.  He was too far in the zone of utter rage to see past Draco.

“You guys…. You guys,” she grabs Phoenix and Leo’s arms, “we need to stop them!”

“But how?!” they ask at the same time.

She shakes her head for frankly, she wasn’t really sure.  “Just you guys grab Draco the moment you get a chance and let me handle Natsu!”

“Oh no,” Leo waves his hands, “in that state Natsu will end up hurting you too!”

Again, she shakes her head, “he won’t,” though the trembling timber of her voice denoted otherwise. “I can do this, you just need to get Draco away from him and here, quickly!”

Phoenix tries to grab Lucy’s arm to stop her, but Leo stops him.  “Just believe in her brother, Lucy is stronger than you have yet to see for yourself, trust me.  If she says she can do it,” he exhales, “she will, now let’s do our part.”

The moment Natsu stops, Lucy rushes up and grabs him from behind, wrapping her arms around him screaming for him to stop.  That second was just enough time for Phoenix and Leo to do the same, each taking hold of one of Draco’s arms.  They dematerialize in an instant, taking Draco with them.

Natsu roars one last time as Lucy holds on tight, furious that his enemy had been taken away from him. “Natsu stop!” she screams.  “I’m here!  I’m safe!  You can stop now!”  

It takes several more minutes for Natsu to finally drop to his knees utterly exhausted.  The wings and other transformed areas revert back to normal until all that is left is the normal Natsu.  “L-Lucy?” he places a hand over the ones she’s wrapped around his waist. “Is it over?”

Lucy sighs and lets her head rest against his back.  “I think so.”      

Leo and Phoenix had transported Draco directly to the King who sighs and immediately snaps his fingers. Spirit chains materialize and immediately restrain him.  He roars at the King, wrenching at his fetters, “what is the meaning of this! You should have left us alone!”

“I need not explain anything you shouldn’t already know Draco.  You kidnapped a human, your master, and one that is very dear to me. How could you not realize that once I found out you would be in trouble!”  

“That stupid slayer,” Draco sneers under his breath, “this is all his fault!”

“No, it is not, this all falls upon your shoulders.  To think, that one of my most powerful of spirits would let their emotions drive them to the point of madness,” the King sighs, “my only dilemma is what punishment would fit this crime.  Should your fate become what Leo had endured once upon a time?  Shall I make you live amongst the humans, unable to return here to be restored where you will wither away in a couple of years?  If I did not have to worry about you trying to kidnap Lucy, I would consider it.  However, under these circumstances you leave me no other choice but to…”

“Wait!”

Both the King and Draco turn to the voice.

“Please wait!”  Lucy yells again.  Despite being held back by Natsu and buffered by Leo and Phoenix, she fights to be heard by the King.  “Please don’t be too hard on him, it’s only his nature he is fighting.  He didn’t hurt me badly, and,” she hangs her head, “I blame myself for leading him on in the beginning to make Natsu jealous.”  Just like she had done for Leo, Lucy’s affinity for her spirits was stronger than anything they may have done when she felt their punishment wasn’t right.  “Please, King there must be a way Draco can control his emotions, isn’t there?”

The King’s bellowing laughter rocks the group standing before him.  “Oh, my friend, you are always the purest of heart. Do you see Draco, even after what you’ve done to her, your master still wishes to spare you?  It is her honor that earned my trust all those years ago.” He smiles down at Lucy, “as for your question, yes there is.  Please, my friends go home, and the next time you must call upon the Celestial Fairies I promise, Draco will no longer be a problem.”

Natsu was skeptical about it all, but the King was right.  They were pushing the limits of how long they should stay in this world and it was time to go.  He glared at Draco, but the spirit just stood there with his head hung too low for him to look into his eyes.  Taking Lucy’s hand, “come on.  Like the King said we should just go home.”

“Yeah,” Lucy too glances over at Draco, wishing he would just give her one more look, but the dejected spirit never gave what she hoped for.  She squeezes her eyes shut, ‘I’m so sorry Draco.’  

[madphantom]

The Sound of Life - Chapter 13

During that time they also spent a few days on the set of Phantom. Jessica Harper, who played Phoenix, showed them around. William Finley was busy with his headaches. Winslow met him in the cafeteria where the actor was sitting with an ice pack on his head. He was wearing the leather outfit, but no make-up and his hair was messy.

"Hi," Winslow greeted him.

"Hi," William replied with a weak smile. "Jeez, how did you survive that helmet?! It's killing me!"

Winslow laughed. "I didn't really pay attention to that."

William chuckled. "I can imagine that." He put the ice pack down and sighed. "So, how you been doing?"

"Quite well. I met Michael Jackson a while ago."

William raised his eyebrows. "Really? Awesome."

"And you?"

"Yeah, well, most of the time I've been shooting the stuff here." William laughed. "I hope I'll get it right. I tend to act rather dramatically."

"Well, I am drama in person, so don't worry about that." Winslow grinned. "What are you guys shooting today?"

"The Beef scene. Kinda controversial stuff."

Winslow raised an eyebrow.

"Of course we're all rooting for you, man," William quickly assured him.

Winslow smiled. "I haven't met your Beef yet. What's his name?"

"Oh, it's Gerrit. Gerrit Graham. Funny guy." William laughed. "The cast gave him the plunger as a Christmas present. We painted it gold."

Winslow laughed as well. "A golden plunger?! How many times did you shove that thing in his face during the shower scene?"

A smile spread on William's face. "Six times."

"Six times?!" Winslow laughed. "Oh dear."

"It was a lot of fun."

"Oh, I believe that." Winslow chuckled.

The door opened and Phoenix and Jessica came in. Phoenix was holding Melody.

"A baby!", William squealed as soon as he spotted them.

"You mean me or Leach Junior?", Jessica asked.

"The cuter one."

"That would be me," Phoenix said and sat down next to Winslow. She smiled. "Hi William. Cool costume."

"Thanks."

"You look like my Pa," Melody said.

William laughed. "I hope so!"

The door opened and another actor walked in.

"Hi Gerrit!", Jessica greeted him and Winslow turned around.

Gerrit did not quite look like Beef, but Winslow was secretly happy about that. He wasn't sure whether someone who actually looked the same wouldn't have triggered something in him.

"Stay away from me, I'm having a cold!", Gerrit announced. "Hi Mr Leach, Mrs Leach. I'm Gerrit Graham."

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Brian asked me to tell you guys to buy some junk food."

Jessica jumped up and did a little chicken dance. "Junk food night!"

"Hyping us up before the Life at Last scene," Gerrit explained.

"Sounds like Brian," William laughed.

"Put on your shoes, Will, we're going shopping!", Jessica yelled.

What followed was a bizarre scene that could have been straight from a comedy movie. The cast, still in their costumes, and the Leaches marched out of the Majestic. People turned around in surprise. Somebody yelled "Hey, look, it's Winslow Leach!" He signed a couple autographs and the squad entered the supermarket. They marched straight into the candy aisle.

Five minutes later they left with five bags full of crisps, popcorn, chocolate and cookies.

They watched the final product a couple weeks later in a small room with a projector at Paul Hirsch's. Melody was at Lucy's. Phoenix and Winslow didn't think the movie would be suitable for a seven year old. Brian brought popcorn. Gerrit brought Pepsi. They all sat down comfortably and Paul Hirsch clicked play.

The movie started with a narration about Swan read by Rod Serling. Winslow raised an eyebrow. "Wow. You actually got the guy to do this?"

"He loved it," Brian replied.

The black background with the white bird then faded into the Juicy Fruits performing Goodbye Eddie Goodbye. It was obvious they were enjoying themselves a lot. Winslow had a good laugh at William's face in the poster scene.

"The Juicy Winslow Leach at the piano," Phoenix commented and the crew laughed.

The movie proceeded with Philbin and Swan discussing some evil plan in their box.

"I actually have no idea what they were talking about," Winslow noted. "Might as well have been the weather."

"Probably not," Jeffrey commented.

Everyone agreed that the shot with the camera circling around William playing the piano was great. They had a good laugh about his dramatic headbanging.

"I was lucky my glasses didn't fly off," the actor chuckled.

The next scene was Philbin stealing Winslow's music. George Memmoli played his part really well. And Winslow laughed like crazy at the way William pushed "Philbin" against the wall and the sound of shattering glass in the background.

What followed was Winslow being thrown out of Death Records. Brian complained about the Swan Song fiasco with Led Zeppelin. Then came the scene in which Winslow met Phoenix. Both leaned forward.

"This is gonna be interesting," Phoenix commented. This was followed by a "Jessie, your singing is amazing, by the way."

"Thanks," Jessica smiled.

"Your chemistry is on top," Winslow noted during the scene. "Ten of ten."

Phoenix laughed at Jessica's confused face after William flashed her with "I would never let my personal desires influence my aesthetic judgement". "Yes, I probably looked like that!"

"You did," Winslow confirmed.

Later they had another good laugh at William in a flower dress trying to sneak in. "I wish I'd witnessed that happening!", Harold yelled. Then Paul appeared.

Winslow was honestly impressed. The friendly little man had perfectly embodied Swan. This guy who was frequently referred to as the Human Muppet had captured the evil spirit like he'd been destined to play Swan. Winslow shivered. He wasn't the only one.

"Was that really acting?", Archie asked.

"Hopefully," Jeffrey mumbled.

"I don't want to know what ancient evils we unleashed," Harold said.

Paul just laughed. "Who knows."

The next scene was the cops finding a beaten up Winslow. This was followed by William dramatically yelling into the camera that he was innocent.

"That was brilliant," Winslow commented. "Perfectly on point!"

"You have no idea how many shots this face took me," William replied.

Next up came some evil little man announcing that Winslow's teeth would be pulled. The real Winslow bared his teeth and pulled a werewolf number which caused some giggles.

The scene then faded into Winslow's escape from Sing Sing prison. William quickly told an anecdote about all the times the scene with the box had gone wrong while Winslow's on-screen counterpart raged through Death Records.

Winslow knew what was coming up now and so did Phoenix. He suddenly felt her hand in his and turned his head a little to see her giving him a little reassuring smile. He was well aware that she was afraid that the following scene would trigger something in him.

It didn't. William saved the day. As soon as he realized what a bomb was about to hit he burst out dramatically explaining how the scene had almost gone wrong and how he almost became Winslow's "Exact Doppelganger". Winslow objectively admired William's remarkable acting skills and secretly wondered why the actor wasn't famous yet.

The next scene caused Brian to explain why the split screen he'd used was a stroke of genius. The crew listened in amusement until the bomb exploded.

Next up came a bit with Swan in his office and then Winslow confronting him. The height difference between William and Paul was utterly hilarious. The scene was followed by Jessica singing Special to me for the audition. Everyone marveled at how similar her voice was to Phoenix'.

Then came the scene in which Swan adjusted Winslow's voice box and made Winslow sign the contract. Next up Paul singing Phantom's Theme with montages of William and Jessica with a black background. It looked wonderfully dramatic.

The next trigger came up now. It was Beef.

Thanks to the fact that Gerrit didn't look quite exactly like Beef Winslow relaxed again. However, he had to admit that accent and attitude were on point. Gerrit blushed when he told him.

There was the epic scream scene which caused Winslow's to have a laughing flash at the drama of William's acting. During the shower scene Gerrit mentioned that he did not recommend snorting powdered lactose. His acting in that scene and the next one were hilarious. Then Harold performed Somebody Super Like You followed by Life at Last and during Life at Last Winslow excused himself for a few minutes and left to prevent himself from getting a panic attack. He came back in to George Memmoli yelling "Somebody get a fire extinguisher!" and thoroughly enjoyed the Old Souls and dressing room scene, as well as the first rooftop scene. During the second rooftop scene Phoenix wrapped herself around Winslow, who made it a point to marvel at William's acting and compliment him on it until the actor was blushing.

What followed was Paul confronting William. Again everyone was crazed at how this human muppet played Swan. Then came the tape room and the wedding, and after a very dramatic death scene for Swan they got the ending which was slightly differing from reality: Winslow's death.

Phoenix laughed at how Jessica managed to look so desperate. "I just thought of school," Jessica commented. Winslow was delighted by the dramatic ending scene with the flaming bird sealing William's doom. "Awesome. Perfect. Like, really perfect. Great job."

"Release?", Brian asked.

"Hell yeah, release!"

[elssiie]

Walk through the fire

Chapter 1 , Chapter 2

Strategist and priestess Lucy Heartfilia gets caught up in the turmoil of war. Torn between duty and love she must decide whether to follow her heart or mind because the destiny of two nations rests on her shoulders.

Chapter 3: Conversations and Threats

 “The first ingredient in conversation is truth, the next good sense, the third good humor, and the fourth wit. “

William Temple

After crossing of the river, the pregrands took her to the horses, which had been waiting further in the forest. As soon as the men stepped on their land, Lucy noticed the change in the behavior. It was truly amazing how easily the General talked to his subordinates and how they treated him. When they had to decide who Lucy will ride with, the blond guard, whose name she found out was Sting, playfully asked her, while rising his eyebrows in what seemed to be a flirty gesture, „Madam, would you like to get on my horse? I can assure you  that it will be the most pleasant ride you’ve ever had. ”

He was obviously joking and nobody expected her to answer seriously. That was precisely why they got surprised, when she lifted her tied wrists and pointed at the dark haired guard.

“What the hell? Why Rogue?” Sting started blinking, confused by her choice.

Lucy smiled lightly in that cold manner, which had always managed to infuriate the King of Icenberg and which had frightened Jose earlier.

“Because I prefer quiet and well-mannered people than… hmmm...” she shrugged and casually stared at the trees as if she didn’t just insult her capturers.

Ah. Crap. Her temper got the best of her again.

Usually Lucy tried to maintain a calm demeanor, tried to hold the leash on her emotions tightly as it was becoming for a priestess, a strategist and above all a high-class lady. But there were moments, when her hidden nasty behavior emerged on the surface and loved to make use of sarcasm and irony.  She knew it was too childish to act this way, but that sudden shift of emotions always happened when someone had greatly annoyed her.

Though, now was definitely not the time for her pride to rise.

“Than who?” Sting angrily shook his head, silently demanding her to finish the sentence.  

Gajeel, the guard with the long, wild hair, came closer to her and threateningly leaned over her head.

“Oi, dollface, did you also include me in Sting’s group?”

Oh, gods. Someone needed to learn how to control his anger.

Beside her Rogue cleared his throat and the rest of them could see a growing smile, hidden behind his hand.

“Argh, bastard!”

“Traitor!”

There something naïve and sweet in their relations. Lucy understood that the guards were really good friends and for a moment they even seemed likable to her.

“Hey, the strategist,” Natsu said, attracting the attention of the fighting men. Lucy tensed like a cord, ready to move. “Aren’t you acting a little bit too comfortable for a person, who just got kidnapped?”

His eyes were serious; there wasn’t even a hint of humor on his face. Maybe his question was meant to frighten her, to remind her that her live was in his hands and to feel the same emptiness in her stomach, which had ruled over her during her time with Jose. Instead she read in his eyes something else. Their brightness was different, it was more persistent and slightly curious, as if he was wondering what she would do in this kind of situation.

The General was challenging her.

Lucy felt the need to properly answer to his challenge. She truly wanted to do that.

However, she got easily carried away in stupid arguments. Right now she had to stay focused, well composed and to avoid all questions, no matter how insignificant they might look.

That was why she shifted her head and stared at the muzzle of the nearest horse, which was sweetly champing a blade of grass.

“You are going to ignore me, aren’t you? Is that your magnificent plan?” his amused tone came back.

So, he was testing her, to see how she will react to the hidden threat in his words. That only confirmed her theory, which was - the smaller number of people knew her character, the better for her it would be.

“Just accept it, Natsu.” Sting suddenly said. “You’ve never been good with women. “

“Sting, Sting, Sting…You wanna fight? Cause you know who’s gonna win, so save yourself the defeat.”

Both men continued to bandy perky words even after they had mounted the horses, and at times Gajeel also joined their quarrels. It was amazing how friendly acted the General with the others. Even though the men threw insults, swore, and threatened each other with fights, their words were still light and their intention was harmless. Maybe these men were Dragneel’s most trusted men, his closest friends, who he took with himself to every battlefield or when he wanted to kidnap a maiden from the neighboring country. Lucy couldn’t really know what the truth was until she saw how the General acted towards the other soldiers. It was essential to understand his relations with the army.  

This was the best thing she could do in a situation like that. She could only analyze, to find and absorb every bit of information, which could be helpful in the future.

“Fucking trees!” barked Gajeel, when a pine branch suddenly bashed his face, while he was passing beside it.

The General turned his head back and burst out laughing.

“Gajeel,” he said, while wiping tears from laughter “you looked as if you just had a quarrel with your Levy and she nicely punched you in the ugly face.”

Lucy mentally noted the name of this unknown person. Whoever this Levy was, it was obvious by the reddened cheeks of Gajeel that she was an important person to him. His mouth opened and closed continuously like a fish in the open air. “Shut up, Salamander! She is not my Levy! And I’ll fucking kick your ass!”

“Ha, you wish you could!”

***

They didn’t stop anywhere for a rest and Lucy truly thought of herself as a hero, because she didn’t complain even once to her kidnapers. Not only she had to stay on the back of a horse for hours when she was with Jose, but she had to do that again and this time she had to share the saddle with someone else.  But on the other hand she was glad of her choice for a co-rider. Rogue, just as she had expected, didn’t participate in stupid arguments, on the contrary actually, the only thing he made as a noise was his breathing. Although it was uncomfortable to have someone behind her, she was grateful for the warmth his body provided, because her clothes and hair were still wet from the jump in the river and the cold north wind didn’t make her feel any better. But his body protected her back really well.

After some time the night started to change. The darkness gradually faded away, revealing more clearly the vegetation surrounding them.  The small parts of sky, which Lucy could notice through the tangled branches above their heads, were lightening up.

A new day was coming.

That made her think about the time she spent away from Gray and her people. But also about the fact that she hadn’t drank or eaten anything. Realizing this, her stomach fiercely growled, desperately trying to draw her attention.  Her dry throat made its protests too. Lucy asked herself if she tried to open her mouth and say something, what kind of sound would come out.  She got prepared to lay down her wishes to the men, when Sting lifted his arms and sighed happily.

“Fucking finally!”

The three men were just a couple of feet in front of Lucy and Rogue and were looking down at something, as if they were standing on the edge of a precipice. When Lucy and Rogue neared them, a frightening sight revealed before her. Hundreds, no, thousands of military tents were spread throughout an even field, at the end of which a high, stone tower was rising. Thin, gray jet of smoke was spiraling from the ground to the sky, proof for a burning fire.

So many warriors, so much blood would be spilled…

Lucy’s eyebrows furrowed and she unconsciously bit her lips. She had to do something, had to find a way to warn Gray…

“For the great strategist of Isenberg to make that kind of worried face because of my army…” Dragneel interrupted her thoughts,” it seems we have a high chance of crushing the north kingdom.”

Lucy threw him an angry look and turned her head on the other side, though that didn’t prevent her from hearing his loud laugh.

Going downhill from the mound took them quite a lot of time, but the horses were being faster than what it could have been if they were on foot. The sun was right above their heads, when they finally neared the beginning of the military camp. Soldiers, dressed in Pregrand armors, turned their faces to their General and his comrades. In their eyes Lucy could read pride and unreserved support.

“General! General! ” screamed some of them with bright smiles. Most of the soldiers were young and middle-aged people and at first anyone would think that the adoration they all showed for their leader, was all because he was almost as old of them, but had already achieved so much.  No. That wasn’t the reason.  Among the excited faces Lucy could also identify those, which time hadn’t passed, with wrinkles and weak, but wiry figures, true war veterans. Their stares weren’t filled with childish idolization as the rest, but their eyes were shining with pride and calmness, caused by the safety return of their trustworthy general.

Natsu Dragneel was considered reputable by all of his people. It was another reason, for which he was a dangerous enemy to Icenberg and to Gray.

Lucy knew that an army could be small, but if it was ready to give its heart and soul for its leader, then it became ten times more powerful. And Pregrande, with fear noticed Lucy, had the two ingredients, which made a mighty force – a large number of soldiers and an absolute fate in their general.

While passing through the tents, the soldiers didn’t miss her out either. Some glanced at her curiously, others got even more excited when they saw her.

“General” they shouted “You captured the strategist!”

“But she is a woman!”

“She is nice for the eyes, isn’t she?”

“General, who is the beauty?”

Some of them, realized Lucy, dropped their eyes most shamelessly down, focusing on her still wet and pressed to her body clothes, and she tensed. The almost incident with Jose from the previous night had left behind repulsive traces in her mind, and she guessed that the memories of his rude hands on her skin would hunt her for a long time. That was why, this attention, which she attracted to herself and which before yesterday would not have bothered her so much, made her grip the corners of Dragneel’s mantle and to tuck it around her body even more, not caring that it was still pretty wet and that it brought her cold chills.

Suddenly her instincts called her and she raised her head only to see the General in front of her, half-turned and observing her. He immediately showed her the nape of his neck and kicking the horse lightly, he moved forward as if nothing had happened.

A little bit later, while they were still passing through the camp and soldiers kept throwing all kinds of comments at her, General Dragneel suddenly raised his voice.

“Oi, bastards!” his harsh tone cut the valley, probably reaching every part of the camp. “If you have so much free time that you keep circling around us like noisy hens, then I can quickly order youto do some work!”

At first his men froze and Lucy was sure that she would read many disgruntled faces, even if they followed the order. To her surprise their faces beamed with smiles as if they were used to the General and his whims. The warriors quickly scattered, each person with a different task on his mind, and neither of them looked at the General and his comrades again. Nobody seemed to care about Lucy too.

She squinted her eyes baffled by all this. Did he just save her from the uncomfortable thirsty stares of his men? That was strange, but also… kind of nice.

Lucy mentally shook her head. No! Dragneel again offered a suspicious gallant gesture, just like when he gave her his mantle. It was all just to predispose her. It must have been part of his wicked plan for worming out of her the secrets of Icenberg.

Even so, a tiny voice peeping in her mind, recollected all of the information she knew about the General, each fought battle, his strategies, his relations to the higher-ups, each detail, no matter if it was just a rumor or not. Lucy could easily draw a conclusion about the way he took decisions and on what basis he did it. She was certain that deceiving and fawning a captive was not his style.

The fire dragon. That’s what they called him on the battlefield, because of his bellicosity and might, but also because of his rebellious spirit, his inability to hide the wildness and his instincts. He was a man of actions, not of the secret plans.

But still Lucy didn’t want think twice about the reason he helped her. The only explanation, which she could give herself, was that maybe someone in the past had beaten into him gentlemanly manners, which were casually showing up from time to time. That was the most logical thing that came to her mind.

And even though he was displaying sympathy right now that didn’t mean that a few hours later he wouldn’t be pulling her nails out.

Whether it was because of the last thought, or because she hadn’t eaten anything for almost two days that her stomach growled, she didn’t know.

Soon they reached the tower, which she had previously seen from above. Now, while standing in the base, and above her head was the first terrace, the building looked even more striking and massive. Four terraces interrupted the stone walls of the tower and above each terrace a scarlet tiled roof with curved edges, rested directly on vertical structural beams and kept safe from rain and sun. The architecture style itself was somewhat similar to the one of Icenberg because of the curved roofs, but it was also more dynamic, more colorful and detailed, a magnificent work of art. And it was just a tower in the outlying parts of the Empire. Lucy truly admired the pregrand’s craftsmen. They were after all for a reason one of the most wanted and talented people in the all Fiore.

The wooden door, through which they got in, was covered in beautiful ornaments, portraying different animals and plants. The first floor was a large chamber and even Lucy, who was used to the richness of the royal castle, was astonished by the luxury. The paneled dark wooden walls were being separated by golden strips. The ceiling was also wooden and different ornaments and figures, resembling the zodiac signs, were coming down from it. Richly decorated carpet was lying spilled on the floor and on top of it stood a small, wooden table and five armchairs. On the lacy tea cloth someone had left a bluish tea-pot.

When Lucy saw the armchairs, she almost cried. Although she controlled her body to behave better, she did make a few steps forward, which didn’t go unnoticed.

“You must be very tired.” Sting noted. “Let’s just sit here, Natsu.”

“No.” He was immediately cut by the General, who was already climbing up the stairs.

Sting sighed and shrugged shoulders in defeat, glancing at her with pity.

“When Salamander sets his mind on something, nothing will ever convince him.” remarked Gajeel and followed his general.

The second floor was a bedroom, also rich and colorful. From the huge windows  a bright day light was coming through. The bed was similar to the one she had in the defence tower in Dränta, it was huge and at least three people could probably sleep on it. Fluffy, pink blankets were laid on top of the bed, which also had its own wooden sailing, and silky hangings were falling down from it. Next to the bed stood a huge wardrobe and in the front – a wooden sofa with feathery pillows, two armchairs, a tea table, all similar to the ones on the first floor.

Natsu Dragneel sat on one of the armchairs. The rest of them also took their places. When Lucy sat on the sofa, her body sinking in the softness of the pillows, her eyes swelled with tears and she almost cried in happiness. It felt like ages since the last time she was in the civilization. The pain in her back and waist loudly sighed in relief as Lucy got more comfortable.

“So,” started Dragneel. “What do you think about this place?”

Lucy needed some time but she realized that he was asking her. She wondered if the question was even worth answering or if it was better to just keep her mouth shut. She was apparently too slow with the decision, because the General interrupted her thoughts.

“If I hadn’t had heard you talking, I would have assumed you were mute. Have you decided not to talk with everyone, or am I just the black sheep, because you seem to dislike me in a way.” His eyes twinkled with mischief.

Lucy saw the amused faces of the other men, who were openly laughing at their General for being ignored by her.

“Look, tell us your name for a start.” The quiet voice of Rogue suggested.

Lucy couldn’t wrap her head around the situation she was in. This was some kind of interrogation but without the torture and the threats, which was weird. This whole nice-guy behavior was creeping her out. She decided it was best to say something this time.

She pulled her shoulders back, lifted her chin and confidently looked Natsu Dragneel  straight in the eyes.

“I am hungry.”

A sudden silence fell for a moment. Natsu Dragneel and Sting shared a glance and then burst in laughter.

“You want food, girl?�� Gajeel’s eyebrows rose in disbelief.

“Aren’t you scared?” asked Rogue, who was also blinking in surprise.

That question stirred something in her.

Lucy snorted without a drop of humor, which immediately stopped the loud laughter of the men.

“Of course I’m scared,” her tone was low, too low. She hoped they would give up the trembling in her voice to fear and not to the actual thing it was - anger. “But I haven’t eaten or drank anything in almost two days and no matter how many times I explain that I am not Icenberg’s strategist, you just won’t believe me. Until I’ve put some food in my mouth we can’t have any kind of conversations.”

That was too insolent, too risky and could cost her too much.

She had to play the role of a frightened maiden, acting high and mighty would not do her any good. She would now raise even more suspicions towards her.

Lucy knew all of that.  But…

But she couldn’t swallow her pride. Fear or not, in her chest there was a burning ball of anger, which wanted to blow everyone and everything.  Those damned pregrands were sitting and chatting sweetly, they had kidnapped her, when there were more urgent matters for her. Gray could be in danger, her land was on the brink of a war and she… She was doing absolutely nothing.

No. It was actually worse than that. The Empire wanted to use Icenberg’s own strategist against the north kingdom.

“Fine.” Dragneel sighed, while getting up.  “I understand. I have a pretty bad temper myself when I’m hungry. ”

He smirked.

“So I’ll do you a favor and play it nice by giving you food. After that it’s your turn.”

 ***

In the next hour two soldiers brought her a bowl of white rice and well roasted steak, and she polished off the whole dish, completely forgetting all about table manners. They had probably given her the same thing the soldiers got as food and it was definitely different from the rich and tasty receipts Icenberg’s royal cook made for her in the palace, but nevertheless she ate as if her life depended on that. The priestess was filling her mouth with large bites and was quickly chewing like a hungry rabbit, wholly aware of Dragneel’s surprised glare. He had stayed with her in the room, while the rest had gone out, probably to eat too.

“You must have lived with the army. I guess Icenberg doesn’t really offer luxury even for their best strategist, huh.” Dragneel stated, while nodding as if he was sure he had guessed it right.

Lucy was just licking the inner walls of the bowl, on which there was still some rice, when she lifted her head and squinted her eyes in annoyance. What did he expect her reaction to be exactly when she hadn’t eaten anything for so long? To slowly swallow small bites  as if she were in a royal banquet?

“So, I gave you food, I gave you water. Now it’s your turn to do something for me.”

He folded his arms and leaned back. His expression was cheerful, calm as if he was sure she would spill everything about Icenberg.

Lucy carefully put the bowl down and stared at him. The General seemed to have accepted that for an agreement, because he smiled widely.

“Well, I am pretty sure you know why you’re here.” His eyebrows lifted. “You do know why you’re here, right?”

Lucy wrinkled her nose. Was he serious?

“I have no idea.  As I said before, I am just an ordinary lady, serving to the priestess.”

Natsu clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Oh, no. We already went through this and agreed you are exactly the person I need. I am asking if you know why you are in this gorgeous room and not tied to a tree somewhere in the forest and held as a real hostage.”

Lucy took a sharp breath. She almost shifted her eyes off him because of his wolfish smile.

“Look, I don’t have interest in threatening helpless women, so please do me this favor and just tell me the number of soldiers Icenberg has.”

“I can tell you the number of ladies, serving the priestess.”

The General pursed his lips, which made her shudder. She felt a slight fear coursing through her veins.

“Why are you complicating your life so much?” he asked, slightly moving his shoulders, suddenly looking uncomfortable, as if he had understood her fright and somehow that made him uneasy.

“The gods have already planned my destiny. I am left at their mercy. I am only their humble follower.”

Lucy answered almost mechanically, the heaviness in her chest tightening even more. She had been repeating this sentence so many times in her life that is seemed like a prayer, not so much as something, read in one of her secular books.

The blazing fire in his eyes shocked her.

“People decide what path their destiny will take.” His voice was firm, unyielding. He wasn’t saying it just to make her talk. Oh, no. A deep emotion flashed in his stare. There was no doubt that he believed in his words, truly. “Your life doesn’t depend on some god’s power. It is in your hands and only yours alone.”

That, Lucy figured, was probably his own version of a prayer, sent not to the heavens, but to him himself.  

“I can neither convince you to believe in my religion, nor in my words. But I can assure you I haven’t lied to you about a single thing.”

Natsu Dragneel weighed her up with a lazy smile.

“So, you want to play the cat and the mouse game, huh?” He murmured.

Lucy blinked. What nonsense was he sprouting now?

The General suddenly stood up and a few steps later he was right in front of her. Lucy pulled back, with rising panic. Her back was leaning on the sofa, leaving her body between the man and the pillows.

“Let me share something with you.” His head lowered so much that she could actually see the green threads in his irises. His confident smile now seemed scary. “I love playing games. A lot, actually. Unfortunately for you, I am also pretty good at them.”

His eyes became emerald slits, expressing amusement but also excitement.

“I hate losing and it doesn’t happen often.” He got silent for a second, carefully watching her reaction. “In this game you started, there is absolutely no chance of you winning. So, tell me what I want to know.”

Lucy felt paralyzed; she didn’t dare move with an inch. Some distant, animalistic instinct of self-preservation was blocking her nerves and its voice was whispering cowardly words to her ear. Do not move, the voice said, you’ve been marked down by a predator, whose teeth are only a one bite away from your neck. Where did that surge of energy, which had taken down Jose, go? Where did the hunger for fight disappear?

It was all replaced with the thirst for survival.

However… However she didn’t take her eyes off his, she didn’t lowered her head in defeat.

“You haven’t…you haven’t stood against me before. I won’t lose either.” Her voice as shaky, but her eyes were shining with a new wave of adamant will.

Dragneel raised one eyebrow in surprise and then moved back as fast as he had invaded her personal space. As soon as his heavily built body moved away, it felt as if someone pushed in all the air in her lungs. Lucy couldn’t believe how just this action brought down the tension in her veins. What kind of demon magic had Pregrande’s General used against her?!

The fear, which had controlled her body wasn’t the same as the pure terror caused by Jose. It was something totally different, something, which made her fighting instinct freeze. It was as if she didn’t have any control over her body, over her actions.

Natsu Dragneel circled round his armchair, obviously in deep thought. Suddenly he stopped, his eyes contacting hers, and Lucy understood that he had reached a decision.

“Tell me everything you know about Icenberg’s defence force.” He blurted out.

Lucy dogged her nails in her skin. ”I know nothing and even if I did I would never tell you!”

The General just nodded like he had already known her answer.

“Look around this room really well and notice the comfort it gives you, the luxury. Because I’m a good person I will give you one day to happily stay in it. Use this time to think about the situation you are in and carefully, and I mean really carefully think about your choice because your life depends on it. Tomorrow morning I expect to hear if you are going to talk or not.”

Natsu Dragneel turned his back on her and with confident steps left the room, leaving the priestess alone with her chaotic thoughts.

Chapter three is FINALLY DONE after such a long time!

I know, I know. I am slow.

I am truly sorry for that but I can't really bring myselft to write when I don't have inspiration. But I am still confident that I will finish the story, I won't abandon it!

Huge thanks to everyone who has liked and commented on the story! You are the actual BEST and the reason I keep holding onto this multi-chapter fic!

Please review and tell me your thoughts on the new chapter!

Until next time,

xoxoxo

elssiie

Chapter 4