Chapter Two;
I held my own neck between my fingers as I watched Natsu slam the woman's head against the ground. Her eyes flickered off like a broken light and then they turned back to an opal color. Her face stopped moving and she laid motionless. Natsu immediately rushed towards me, he almost tripped as he slid to my side. He seemed desperate to meet my eyes and see if I was okay.
"What did she do? Are you hurt?" He noticed the hands on my neck, and his eyes narrowed.
He touched my fingers softly, maybe afraid he would scare me. His touch could never frighten me, it was what soothed me. I allowed him to remove my hands and his reaction was horror. My neck had burn scars even though her hands were like ice. He traced his fingers over my neck and I flinched from the pain. The skin was so sore it felt like the worse pain imaginable.
"Can you talk?" He dared ask.
I shook my head. He sighed and glanced over at Happy who still slept soundly.
"I'm sorry, she pushed me back-" He started to say but it pained me to see him so worried and concerned, but to hear him feel responsible. It was a pain I couldn't handle.
He kneeled next to me so it was easy for me to put my hand up to his cheek. He stopped speaking and I shook my head again. I could not bare it if he put himself down like that.
"I don't understand, how did she do it?"
My eyes wandered towards her unconscious body and I wondered the same thing. Natsu held my wrist and helped me up, he didn't say anything more but I could tell what he was thinking. I followed behind him as he carried the woman to what I assumed was the guild hall. I held Happy in my arms like a baby, surprised he was still sleeping. He looked so incredibly peaceful as he dozed off and I was glad, perhaps she would have hurt him too if he wasn't asleep.
It was dark outside so I struggled to see everything. All I could see were the stars and the light that came off of Natsu's hair. Little lights were placed along the street sides and homes were lit from the inside. It felt so peaceful to walk down, so quiet and crisp. I found myself staring at Natsu's back, his shoulders, his arms. I couldn't help it anymore, my gaze naturally lingered along his figure.
When we arrived at the guild hall it was basically empty, except for the small lights that crept through the closed windows. It was strange to see it so dead, it felt eerie.
We walked all the way to the guild infirmary where hospital beds laid. Natsu placed the woman on one of them and she didn't seem to stir. I stood in the corner hugging Happy against my chest when Natsu turned to show me an expression. I am not sure the exact emotion but I could tell he was looking back just to know I was there.
He motioned for me to come closer but I didn't move. I was still afraid, I know it sounds stupid but my legs were stuck. He grit his teeth and walked over to me.
"Come, it's fine she's asleep," He promised.
I trusted him enough to nod and approach the side of the bed. Her eyes were now closed and her face looked pained and tense. Her skin was almost translucent, so pale that her blood stained her arms a light shade of purple and blue. Her dress looked to be in perfect condition and her hair was not even a strand out of place.
She was beautiful, that was obvious. She looked otherworldly. She held a strong aura about her. Then I noticed something strange about her neck—it held the same scar as mine, a burn.
I pointed to her neck to show Natsu, he just stood there confused.
"What?"
I stared at him.
"You want me to choke her?" He questioned.
I sighed, I hated not being able to speak. I motioned towards my neck then hers and he seemed to finally understand.
"She has the same mark you do," He began. "But who gave it to her?"
"Natsu and Lucy," We both shot around at the voice coming from the door.
Standing in the moonlight was Mira with her hair tied up in a bun and an apron tied around her waist. She looked a little tired, her clothes were a little wet and her hands were dripping with water. She smiled a calming smile that brought some ease to my mind.
"What are you two doing here so late? I was washing the dishes in the kitchen," She said while slapping her palms against her apron.
She kept smiling as she walked towards me, until she caught a glimpse of the woman in the bed and her grin fell.
"Who is that?"
"I don't know," Natsu replied. "She attacked Lucy—"
Even without finishing his sentence Mira seemed to completely understand the situation. She nodded along slowly as she watched the woman with concern. Mira had kind eyes, calm expressions and a mindful stare. It was sometimes hard to tell what she was thinking but easy to know when she was angry. Making her angry was not something I ever wanted to do because not only was she strong, she could be incredibly ruthless to those she deems a threat to her loved ones.
But Mira was also gentle and sweet, she enjoyed seeing the best in others and helping them see the same. So it did not surprise me when she looked worried that the woman in white was injured.
"What did she do to Lucy?" Mira questioned.
She looked at me, but I didn't even open my mouth, instead I looked at Natsu.
"She put some sort of spell on her, that doesn't let her talk," He answered.
"That's horrible!" Mira shouted, rushing to my side and placing her hands on my shoulders. "Did she do anything else?" She asked me and then looked at Natsu.
"She has a scar on her neck, but that's it."
"How did she even do that? What spell was it?"
"I didn't even hear her say a spell," Natsu said and I nodded.
I didn't hear her do that either, and yet here I am.
"How do we fix it? There must be a way to reverse the spell. You should tell Master—he will know what to do," She tried to give me an uplifting smile but I felt hopeless.
"What about her? Is it okay to just leave her there?" Natsu asked and Mira pondered.
"You're right," She paused. "Don't worry about it—I'll take care of her."
I didn't want to question Mira, her eyes suddenly darkened and I avoided them all together. Natsu nodded and took a step closer to me, I felt like he was always doing that. Standing close, watching me.
"I'm gonna walk Lucy home, since she," He trailed off but Mira got the message.
"Of course," She sang.
It didn't take long for us to arrive to my humble abode. It was nearly sun rise now, but still pitch black. I walked solemnly behind Natsu, his foot steps echoed through the wind and it was all I could focus on. I tried to be optimistic, sure I lost my voice but I could have lost my life.
Still, things happen and they're unfair. We stopped at my door, I pulled out my key and unlocked it. Natsu stepped aside as I entered.
The room was loud with white noise, almost too loud. I placed Happy on one of my pillows and I let my legs give out. I fell backwards onto my bed and shut my eyes, but all I saw was that woman grabbing me. They flew open and Natsu was sitting next to me peering down at me.
"How does your throat feel?" He questioned.
I opened my mouth but nothing. I sat up to meet him as he placed his hand on top of my leg, palm up.
"Write it out on my hand."
His voice was soothing and gentle. Natsu was such a charismatic and wild card but he always treated me so.
I did as he said and I wrote out the word, hurts. He sighed and looked at me.
"I'm sorry, do you think you'll be able to sleep? Are you tired?"
I was tired but I was still shaken up, and when I closed my eyes all I saw was the woman in white. I shivered just thinking about it, my hand instinctively clutching my neck. I was too much of a baby to admit it but, I was afraid of many things. I knew I wasn't the strongest or the smartest, I knew that I sometimes was a hinderance. It hurt me to think that way but it's true, I saw myself very poorly.
I spelled out a single word. Stay. Natsu paused as he deciphered it.
"Okay," He said.
I felt a rush of relief flow over me and it gave me a little excitement, for what? It was such an innocent guilty pleasure in the moment that I smiled wide at him. This seemed to catch him off guard since he cleared his throat and stood up. I jumped up and went to the bathroom to change into pajamas. When I returned Natsu had already fallen asleep on the bed, his scarf and shirt on the ground at my feet.
I stood at the end of the bed and watched the little tinge of what hoped to be the next days sunlight slowly trickle onto his forehead. I sighed, if only he knew. I was going to tell him, I was so close to telling him. Maybe this is fate, maybe this is what's meant to be. The universe stopping me because it's not supposed to happen.
That woman was a sign, maybe she didn't want to hurt me maybe she was helping me. But then why does this hurt me? Why the sudden burning in my gut like I'm going to pass out? The possibility that this is true might kill me.
I laid next to Natsu, his heat instantly warming me under the covers as I tried to fall asleep. Then I felt his arms wrap ever so tightly around my waist and I could feel the heat against my cheeks. I was bright red. He settled his body against my own and it was like we fit perfectly against each other. It wasn't uncomfortable, it felt nice to be held like that, by him.
It didn't take long to drift off, but my dream was a bit of a shock.
It began with me alone, standing in nothingness. Absolute white, almost like I was inside of her eyes. I glanced down at my feet almost to check if I was falling. There was nothing, just white. But I was standing on something, something hard.
I started to walk in hopes of finding something else. My eyes frantically glancing around, my feet suddenly fell a step lower and I was standing in a shallow pool of water.
"Water?" I stated bluntly, surprised by own voice.
"Silence!" I heard a roar of a voice, it shook the water around my ankles and I felt my arms shiver.
But the voice felt familiar.
"You are to be banished!" It screamed out again and suddenly I was falling.
Air slapped me so hard that my face was turning red and purple. I had to shut my eyes hard, I clutched my own chest and curled up into a ball.
Then I hit the surface of the water and I was drowning, quickly. Falling to the bottomless pit of what seemed like an ocean. Dark and cold. I couldn't see anything and yet I tried to find something. My eyes strained against the water until I saw a little speck of light. My mouth opened and I gasped, then I remembered I was drowning and I closed it.
I swam towards the light until I was at the top of a small fountain. I was sitting in the water with my entire body drenched. It was a beautiful fountain, marble and glistening with little stars engraved into it. In the middle was a large maiden I recognized, Aquarius. Water shot out of her mouth as she posed in a rather sophisticated posture.
I was taken aback, she looked beautiful however and I did appreciate the craftsmanship. I was in the middle of a large room, huge, like a stadium and yet it looked like a bedroom. The bed in question looked gigantic, the size of a house. All around the corners were golden and marble statues and decorations. All resembled my celestial spirits, the zodiacs.
It was a beautiful sight nonetheless, absolutely amazing and majestic. If I wasn't confused I would have been appreciative of it.
Then the voice sounded again.
"Silence!" It boomed so loud I flinched.
I turned my head and I saw him, the Celestial King standing at the end of the large room. He looked angry, yet sad. Standing in front of him was a woman, the same size as him but with miles and miles of dark blue hair. It was the same color as the night sky, with little sparkles like stars and streaks of green and purple like the universe itself.
"You have gone too far! You're too powerful and you cannot control yourself!" He yelled and she looked as if she was going to cry.
"My king! I did not mean to—"
"I've heard enough Serena," He sighed, he sounded exhausted.
"I am the Queen!"
"You are dangerous!" He snapped back and she took a step away from him.
Betrayal was written all over her face and I almost felt bad for her. I had never heard of such a thing as a female ruler of the stars, a Celestial Queen?
"It was an accident," She threw her hands around.
Her eyes were so vibrant and colorful, they seemed to change colors every few seconds as she looked around. It was her, the woman that attacked me, but she looked different here, a lot different.
"I will hear nothing of it! You are to be banished!" He yelled at her and she began to cry. "You will have your power ripped from you."
"Please, do not do this to me, I love you!"
"I cannot even look at you," He raised his hand and she began to scream.
Her body floated as her head snapped back and her mouth opened. She looked so fragile yet so powerful. He was taking something from her, and then she fell to the ground clutching her neck. I did the same.
"Fall to earth land, you are no longer allowed here," he stated and then we were falling.
I woke up abruptly to Natsu moving around next to me. I was breathing heavy like something was pushing on my chest. I jumped out of bed and the realization finally kicked in. I know who the woman in white is, she is the banished Celestial Queen.