Can I Really Love A Shadow?

Chapter Three: Old Memories

Let me tell you this, I did not expect my day to go like this. I did not expect to be at the train station with all my bags sprawled around me. Moving into my temporary home. This all happened to me in a matter of hours. And I was not prepared for it at all. It was supposed to be a normal day, like any other. Wake up, shower, go to the guild, ask if Natsu was back, and leave. But that's not the case today. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath before reliving this morning's events.

Suddenly a loud piercing stream of light exploded in my face, blinded by its brightness. I was feeling disgruntled with my sleep, so I released a soft groan for more sleep, pulling the blankets over me. Unfortunately, the devilish light of the sun begged for justice to win me over. I pushed the blankets down to my waist and sat up. I rubbed the my eyes and let out a soft sigh of contentment. That was until a loud snore erupted from outside my bedroom. I kicked off the blankets and stalked over to the door. Opening my bedroom door and flipping the light, I saw the body lying on my couch. Since I was behind the couch I figured it was Natsu and Happy. I walked over to the couch and saw the body was not, in fact, Natsu's but was Sting and his exceed, Lector.

The memories of yesterday's events rolled through my mind as I finally woke up. He laid across my couch, with his mouth open. A soft giggle escaped my lips and stalked off towards the second dragon slayer. He was taking my guest room. I opened the door and came face to face with a pitch black room. The only light that was being shed in the room was from the hallway light. From where I was standing I could hear Rogue's soft snores emanating from the bed. The soft light streaming through the room reveled the boy's sleeping face. Even though his eyes were covered by his bangs, I could see tell that he was at ease. I had the weirdest urge to swipe some of his hair out of his eyes. I dismissed that idea and closed his door.

"Bad Lucy. You can't touch someone else's hair," I whispered to myself. I made my way back to my room and decided in the meantime, to do some food shopping after my shower. I grabbed a towel and walked into my bathroom. I stripped down out of my pajamas and stepped into the shower. I took a speedy shower then shut off the water and wrapped a towel around my body. Steam rolled out of the bathroom as I shuffled into the hallway. I made my way back to my room attempting to stay as quiet as possible, so I don't wake up the sleeping dragon-slayers.

"What to wear," I hummed to myself, opening my closet, rifling through my articles of clothing. A few minutes passed and I settled on black t-shirt dress that came down to mid-thigh and a slouchy red cardigan. I paired them with a pair of black boots, my whip, and keys. I poked my head out of my room and scanned the open area. Luckily everyone was asleep, I swiped my purse from my bed side table and sauntered over to the front door. A cool autumn breeze flowed passed me as I opened my front door. I stepped out into the air and inhaled the sweet crisp air. I locked the door behind me and strolled languidly down the stone path. I observed that the men who worked on the river were not even out yet. So, I did not receive my usual 'good morning' from them. The streets of Magnolia weren't even flowing with people yet. It was nice to have a casual stroll without people crowding the street. It took me less time than normal to enter the shopping district since the streets were empty.

Once I reached the vendors, I went to the fish market first to buy some fish for the exceeds. I picked out some tuna, trout, and catfish.

"That will be 20 J ma'am," The merchant informed. He bagged all the fish together. I passed him twenty jewels while he handed me the bag. I thanked the fish merchant and headed off to the other vendors. I bounced from the vegetable stand to meat stand then novelty shops. An hour went by and I was completely overloaded with bags. To relieve myself of all the extra weight, I rummaged around my key bag and pulled out a center gold key.