Secrets within Fairy Tail

Chapter 33

Lucy's POV:

A few days later I find myself waking up in the morning and making breakfast as I have been the last few days. The mountains that we have been heading towards in the distance ahead of us, and the sun just over the horizon. A few minutes after I have put the food on the fire, Erza comes out of her tent, fully dressed in her armor, and seems happy to find the fire going, as she comes towards it, crunching her feet on the frost that covers the ground.
I hand her a strawberry cake that I had waiting for her, and after thanking me a few times she starts eating it. The rest of the time that I am cooking passes in silence as Erza warms in front of the fire while eating, and when her cake is gone she heads towards the tent that the boys share, clearly prepared to wake them up. By this time the food has finished cooking, so I watch her in amusement as she walks into the tent. "Erza!" I hear Gray exclaim from inside the tent.
"Get out of this tent right now or else you don't get any breakfast, and you can forget about getting any of the reward when this job is over!" Erza says in her commanding voice, the rest of what she says is lost to my ears, since their tent is so far away, but she must have said something frightening since the next thing I know all three of them are running out of the tent in fear, Happy close behind them.
"Gray..." I sigh with a shake of my head, seeing what he's wearing, or should I say the lack of clothing on him.
"What? I came out here, didn't I?" He asks looking irritated as he crosses his arms in front of his chest. At this moment Erza seems to realize that he isn't wearing anything, and that his standard boxers are even missing. She hits him on the top of his head, and he turns his attention towards her. "Hey! What was that for??!!" He demands irritated with us all, it would seem that he did not enjoy his sleeping arrangements... again.
"I would recommend that you put on some clothes before I put them on for you, and you know that if I put them on for you it won't be pretty." I say looking straight at him. He continues looking irritated for a moment, thinking that I am just trying to get him to do things while he's in a bad mood, so before anyone can stop me I walk towards him, and grabbing him by the back of his neck drag him back towards the tent. "You aren't going to be doing anything until you have put some type of clothing on!" I inform him, before turning around and heading back towards where the others are looking at me shocked.
Gray ends up coming back, looking scared that I will do something worse to him, and when he gets his food he sits as far away from me as possible. I don't end up eating much although I know I should eat more, and the entire time I can feel Natsu's gaze on me. I go to take the tents down while the others are eating their food, and by the time everyone has finished we are ready to go. I've been having us travel the hard way, no magic to speed up the travelling, no staying in the Dragon Realm every night and no magic used to make or food or keep us warm. The others complained quite a bit when they realized we would be sleeping outside, but they stopped once they realized whinning wouldnt change anything.
Hours later we are at the edge of the mountain range, and for one of the first times since we started this journey I use my magic to help us. I figure that since we are going to be searching for whatever is making people go missing we should have some way of knowing what are it is in. After a few minutes I know that they are at the top of the range, and soon we are headed towards the top of the mountain.
When we stop for the night I make everyone dinner as I always do, striving to do everything in my power to stay as far away from Natsu as I can. It has worked for the most part, but sometimes I still end up having to talk to him. I'm just glad that he at least somewhat understands that I do not want to talk to him, things would be much more difficult if he didn't understand this.
After I have finished with dinner and everyone has gotten their food, I slip away into the trees around us, and go there seeking silence. "You know, you should probably eat something." A familiar voice says from behind me. I turn to look at the figure leaning against one of the trees I just passed, his red eyes blazing in the fading light. "You know that you have to start eating more, if not for you, then for the child your carrying." Igneel adds coming to stand in front of directly in front of me.
"I just don't feel very hungry, it's not like I'm not eating on purpose, besides, I could just eat later, it's not like it'll kill me if I skip a few meals." I respond.
"Yes, it may not affect you very much, but you can start getting ill over time, and although it doesn't kill you, I don't want to test that with my grandchild." He responds all seriousness. I know that he's probably right, but I still can't help wanting to keep doing things the way they are right now. "And you know these people are still your friends, it might not hurt to spend time with them once in a while." He adds as an afterthought.
"There is too much pain that comes with being around them, and if I were to spend time with them... I don't think I could bare it." I respond, tears threatening to spill from my eyes.
"When you don't talk to them it hurts you more, and they und up getting hurt as well, talk to them." He pleads, grabbing my wrists tightly. "And... With you ignoring them, it hurts everyone else as well." He adds not letting go.
"Is this about Natsu?"I ask him, seeing right through everything that he has been saying.
"N-" He starts before sighing, knowing he will get nowhere by lying. "I have gone too long not knowing where my son is, I don't think I'd be able to bare being away from him again, and with the two of you not talking, I feel that I won't be able to see him for a very long time if this continues." He says, the tiniest amount of the fear that he has entering his voice.
"You have nothing to worry about, you know that I would never keep you from your child. You can come and see him whenever you want, regardless of whether or not we are talking." I say with a kind smile, and he releases my hands, seeming satisfied with what I have said. "Now, I must be going, I wouldn't want the others to be wondering where I've gone" I add before walking back towards where I left the others.
I don't have o walk far, before I hear another person calling me. "Lucy!! Oi, luce!!" Natsu calls towards me, and I turn to find him running towards me. I stop, allowing him to catch up to me, and when he reaches me he grabs my wrists, and without realizing it flinch when he touches my skin.
"I've been hoping to talk to you, whats that on your wrists?? Who did this??" He demands, looking completely surprised as he looks down at my wrists. I look down at them as well, not knowing what he means, and see for the first time the dark bruises forming where Igneel gripped me.
"A very worried dragon, but don't worry, it's nothing I haven't dealt with before." I say with a smile. "And I am rather tired, can we talk tomorrow?" I ask walking away without waiting for an answer.