Tail Of A Fairy

29.

Taurus watched as the sun set and Natsu ran out of tears to cry. Even his screams had stopped — his throat was raw. Slowly, Taurus walked up to Natsu and put his hand on Natsu's shoulder. He looked up, his eyes red and his cheeks wet. Taurus could almost feel the pain that Natsu had gone through. But he knew it was a thousand times worse for Lucy's husband, rather than Lucy's friend.

"Let's take Lucy home."

Natsu felt Taurus' arm leave his shoulder. As Taurus reached to pick up the body, an arm flashed out. Natsu carried his wife home for the first time four years ago. Now, he would be the one to carry his wife home for the last time. He rested her head on his shoulder, and he could feel the blood starting to freeze with the night cold. He looked to her face. The blood on her head matched perfectly with the crimson Fairy mark on his arm. Her head fell limp towards his chest, and her arms dropped past her side. As Natsu stood up, Lucy seemed too light.

Natsu started to walk in silence. Back up the cliff, and then down the mountain side. Taurus followed behind at a distance.

"Luce, we're going home." Natsu started. "When we get home, Nashi will be really excited to see us. You were right — " Natsu sighed as the weight in his heart doubled. "Nashi won't like this."

The walk down was long, but to Natsu it made no difference. There was no happy life waiting at the bottom of the mountain for him. Even the reward had slipped his mind. His feet merely trod on as he went. He could soon feel the blood caked onto his skin. He made no move to remove the blood as the village came into sight. Natsu first entered the village when Laith's house came into view. Taurus followed, and stood next to him as he knocked on the door.

When Laith opened the door, his smile dropped. He could see the stillness in the body, and the copious amounts of blood; both on the body and Natsu's clothes. He opened the door wider and let the two in, forgetting to close it. Natsu came in without a word, and then just stood there. Taurus came in and began to talk to Laith.

"What is the fastest way back to Magnolia from here?"

Laith pulled in to himself. "Well, there's no train. So unless you can fly, all you can do is hire a carriage."

Natsu sighed heavily at this. If only Happy had come.

"We'll take the carriage. Who is willing to go constant until Magnolia?" Natsu finally spoke. His voice was hoarse, and strained.

Laith fidgeted. "Well, there's one who says he does it. He doesn't really like telling people his name, but you can find him at the bar on the edge of town."

Natsu turned around and headed straight out the open door. Taurus quickly thanked Laith, and turned to leave.

"Wait!" He called. "Please, take this. It's the least I can do."

In his hand, he held the original twenty thousand jewels, along with another ten thousand. "Please. The job shouldn't have been that dangerous."

Taurus looked to Natsu. He hadn't stopped. He had just kept walking towards the other side of town. Taurus sighed, and took the money. His hand felt dirty when he grabbed it.

"What was her name?" Laith asked. "Please. I wish to know."

"Her name was Lucy. Lucy Dragneel. She was his wife, and the mother of his two year old son."

Taurus turned away as he saw the pain surface of the man's face. Natsu was getting far, and Taurus didn't want to leave him alone. It was good that this man felt the same pain.

Natsu could only feel the ground beneath his feet and the blood on his body. The weight on his arms was almost not there. Lucy wasn't there. Natsu didn't stop as he saw the faces of the villagers. They watched with a painful curiosity in their eyes. And a little bit of sadness. But Natsu didn't care. As he reached the bar, Taurus had caught up. He held Natsu back from the bar.

"Lucy never liked bars."

So Natsu waited until Taurus returned. Standing there, with villagers watching through windows. Natsu kept his gaze forward, he didn't want to see the pain he was holding in his arms. When Taurus came out, a man followed him. The man was small and thin, and his face was wrinkled with age. He took one look at the body in Natsu's arms and started to walk. Around the corner was his carriage. He opened the back for Natsu to climb in. And Natsu climbed in without a word.

Taurus watched as the carriage disappeared in the distance. He couldn't fit in the carriage, and guessed it was time for him to return to the spirit world. He didn't want to leave Natsu alone with his wife's body, but there was nothing he could do.

Natsu was emotionless during the ride. He stayed sitting up, with Lucy laid out on his lap. The blood caked on her hair had started to chip off. Natsu ran his hands through her hair to comb it out. Soon her hair was mostly clean. Natsu watched as the smooth hair fell between his fingers. It was like liquid gold to him.

He looked to her face. It had paled considerably. Her eyes had closed, but her face was not relaxed. There was a bit of tension in her forehead, and the corners of her mouth were ever so slightly turned downward. Natsu passed his hand over her face. He didn't want to see her like that. So cold. So sad. So regretful.

Natsu sighed, and rested his head on her forehead. He could the feel the heat of his own face, and the coolness of hers. He closed his eyes, and just breathed. The scent of lilacs was still there. But so was the scent of the snow. So was the scent of blood. And there was the faintest scent of baby powder.

"Luce, what am I going to tell Nashi?"