Quest for the Eighty-Eight Keys

Chapter Twenty-One: Even or Odd

WARNING: PANIC ATTACK AND GAMBLING!

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Lucy walked along with Freed, Rufus, and Midnight, searching for a sign that proudly proclaimed Celestial Spirit Gate Keys as a prize. They made their way through a wide, dimly lit hallway. It had a line of doors on each side. The hallway had many other people, but not to the point that it was crowded, the small group had plenty of room to move around. Nevertheless, the four stuck close together, all watching the possible wizards surrounding them as they also looked at the signs on the doors.

Lucy tried to keep her eyes from lingering too long on the people around them. She felt as though she was being watched and it made her uncomfortable. She stepped closer to her friends and crossed her arms over her chest. She jumped a little when she felt an arm wrap around her. Looking up to see who the arm belonged to, she found that Rufus was smiling down at her, his eyes behind his red and gold mask were soft and gave Lucy a strange sense of comfort.

She unconsciously leaned against him, allowing him to wrap his arm around her body more. She felt warmth radiating off of him. For some reason, she felt comforted and safe, something that she didn't expect to feel anytime soon. She then heard Rufus whisper to her after he dipped his head toward her ear, "are you alright?"

Lucy could only shrug. She was uncomfortable, tired, and the uneasy feeling she had earlier still hasn't eased even a little. What was the reason behind that feeling? Why did she feel like something bad was going to happen? Was she being paranoid like Rufus had suggested? Should she listen to her gut? She wasn't sure. Her eyes scanned the crowd around them, searching for Terra, Lust, and Nyx. She hoped that they weren't here. Fear rose from within her gut at the thought that those three were here.

She gulped, her mouth dry for some reason. Very quickly, her skin became hot, suddenly, she was burning. Not like when she's outside under the summer sun, but instead, like there was a fire underneath her skin, burning from inside of her. Her breathing became slightly faster and a little shallow. She gently pushed Rufus away, his body heat becoming too much for her to bare.

She stopped walking to calm herself. Her breathing steadily became faster and shallower, her mouth was dry, every part of her body was burning hot, her heartbeat was racing, and she felt dizzy.

"Lucy?"

She wasn't able to recognize who had spoken, but she knew that Freed, Rufus, and Midnight were now watching her. She kept her eyes on the stone floor, unable to look at her friends. A feeling of nausea and fear settled upon her as she stumbled backward, quickly ending up on her ass. As her breathing became audibly quick, she brought her hands up to cover her face, noticing that they were trembling. She placed her hands over her face and brought her knees up to her chest. Her heartbeat was pounding against her chest, the sound filling her eyes to the point that she couldn't hear any other sounds.

After what felt to her like several minutes, she felt a small hand gently grab her wrist and press something cold and metallic into her palm. She jumped at the sudden cold feeling. The owner of the small hand that held her wrist gently forced her fingers closed around the cold object. Lucy's hand began to hurt dully. Her heartbeat calmed just enough to hear a man's voice speak to her in a whisper, "Princess, breath in through your nose for four seconds."

Lucy curled further into herself, refusing to make an attempt at the order. The voice repeated, a bit more forcefully this time, "Princess, breath in through your nose for four seconds."

She finally attempt to do so, managing to suck in a breath through her nose. The voice counted to four as she breathed in before continuing, "hold it for seven seconds." He counted to seven as Lucy held her breath. "Good, Princess," the owner of the masculine voice gently rested a hand on her back, "now breath out through your mouth for eight seconds." Lucy obeyed as the voice counted.