Beauty's Tale by Summer Cheng

Chapter 13

         Sting got back to his house late that night. He had been to a party. He saw Lucy on his porch. He smirked. He picked her up. He unlocked the door and carried her inside. He set her on the sofa.  He closed the door and locked it.

        He put a few items in the refrigerator, leftovers from the party. He laid a quilt over Lucy then went upstairs to his bathroom.  As he showered, he pondered over how Lucy ended up at his place. He could tell she did not look well. He shook his head.  Perhaps, it was his imagination. Whatever the reason, his woman had come to him.

      Meanwhile, Natsu sensed Lucy was in danger. He was sure of it. He groaned. He knew he could not possibly help her again. How could he? He had no idea where she was right now.  It was not as if he had ever been to her place.  He got up, changed out of his pajamas into more presentable clothes, grabbed his key and a flashlight.   He left in search of her.

     Natsu found himself on the other side of town. He could tell it was rather bland by the looks of it. Goodness, the houses were all so small.  He overheard a man yell at a lady inside the tiny blue house with green shutters on it. He admitted the whole paint job was rather odd.  He had an uneasy feeling about the place.

     As he was about to leave, the door opened, and a lady stepped out.  Natsu noticed she looked like an older version of Lucy.  He knew then this must be where she lived.  He spoke to her.

      "Madame, is your daughter alright?"

      The lady shook her head, and it was then he saw the tears in her eyes.  He knew she had been crying but had not the slightest idea as to why.

          "Layla, your daughter is nothing but a mental case. She stabbed me, and you tell me to get out?"   The man said.

        Natsu gave the man a look of disapproval. He did not trust the guy.  Not for one single minute.  He was sure the creep was the reason that Lucy was in danger.  

       "What did you do to her?"  Natsu growled as he held the man high into the air with his hands in a tight grip around his neck.

        Layla gasped in surprise. She would not dare admit she was afraid of her fiance or that she suspected he abused Lucy. She loved him too much. She was blind to the truth of the matter.

        "I do not know, who you think you are, but put him down."

        "Are you sure?   This man seems unstable, madame.  He is like a firecracker about to explode in your face."

       The lady just nodded her head.  Natsu dropped him, but not without giving him a warning.

        "I do not know, who you think you are, but you stay away from her. You stay away, from Lucy you here!"  Natsu yelled at the nutcase. 

          Natsu stormed off.  He was furious.  He knew he came this close to killing the guy. He did not because he knew Lucy would have wanted it.  He wished he knew Lucy was safe, but somehow he doubted it.

     Back with Sting and Lucy, Sting turned the water off, dried off, and put on his pajamas. He had a huge headache. He should have known better than have taken that ridiculous dare at the party.  He brushed his teeth, flossed, and turned off the lights.  He used a flashlight so as not to wake Lucy and turned off the downstairs lights too. He set the alarm, something he rarely did, and went to bed.

    Find out what happens next in Chapter 14

       until then,

  bye, bye little owlets!

     -Summer out!