Glory and Gore

This Will Be The Death Of You

Her heart beat heavily against her ribs; she held her breath, veins buzzing with anxiety and fear. So far, she'd only encountered Igneel once—and she'd honestly prefer never to meet him again. He'd been harsh and cold and furious, and he terrified her. But now, she was on her way to his headquarters to meet with him and the rest of the leaders of the brotherhood.

Natsu and Gajeel were both tense but unafraid. This was normal for them, meeting with the Drache—because even though they were the lowest rank in the gang, they were one of the most important. The brotherhood's muscle. The brotherhood's most vicious killers. The ones the brotherhood relied on most.

She felt numb, trailing behind the two boys. Perhaps it was the fear under her skin, diluting her ability to feel—but Lucy knew that wasn't the truth. She felt numb because she'd just witnessed the death of multiple people and she only felt relief. When she'd watched Natsu kill those enemies—she'd felt better. And when the man coming for her, the man who'd put his hands around her, had his neck snapped and fell to her feet—she wished she'd been the one to do it.

She knew she should be upset. She should be horrified and repulsed and disgusted, but she wasn't. Relief and peace flushed through her blood, through her bones.

Lucy pressed her lips together as she followed the boys, trying to hide the small smile of relief she wore.

Gajeel led them into an elevator and down a few floors; they wound through corridors until they finally hit what appeared to be a foyer leading to the Drache's suite.

The room was empty—no members of the Drache—aside from a guard standing beside the door to the suite. He wore a bulletproof vest and had a large gun slung over his chest. He looked at Natsu and nodded, quickly stepping through the doors behind him—probably to notify the Drache as to who had arrived.

The boys stopped in the room abruptly; Lucy slammed into Natsu's back, taken by surprise as to their lack of movement.

His big hand reached out, catching her hip; his other hand fell on her shoulder, readjusting her quickly so that she wouldn't fall. He stabilized her, dark eyes flickering to meet hers. For the first time since she'd met him, Lucy could sense that he was worried about something.

He didn't speak, but his head tilted to the side as if he were questioning whether she was okay; Lucy gave him a nod in return.

Lucy was surprised by how plain the foyer was; there was a small sitting area beside a rather plain bookcase and a few framed images on the walls, and that was it. But she supposed this was to be expected—this was their secondary base, the place they opted to hide after being driven out of the bridge.

Her eyes fell to the picture frames on the wall, frowning when she realized it wasn't pictures inside of them. Rather than images, inside the frames were various plaques. Lucy narrowed her eyes, attempting to read the far one, the frame closest to the Drache's door.

The Children's Hospital of Fiore would like to send their sincerest gratitude to...Igneel Dragneel and his close family & friends for their extremely generous donation. This generation has enabled the hospital to expand our Neurology department. The staff and children at the hospital send their love.

Lucy couldn't help but make a face, her eyes darting down to the ground. She locked the information away, fully intending to ask Natsu about it once they were in safe quarters. After all, he'd warned her not to speak—it wasn't safe here.

The guard stepped through the door and gave the boys a nod, stepping aside and allowing the three into the Drache's room. Gajeel entered first, then Natsu, with Lucy following behind timidly. The guard's hand lingered over his weapon; Lucy diverted her eyes quickly, picking up her pace so she was walking slightly closer to Natsu.