Quest for the Eighty-Eight Keys

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Double Memory

WARNING: GAMBLING AND DRINKING!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rufus walked with his arms folded behind his back, his hands clenched into tight fists. He had been hoping to not gamble again. After what happened the first time he took up a challenge, he loathed running the risk of doing it again. He sighed, his green eyes roaming over the signs on the doors that he walked past.

He didn't regret being put in that position. He knew that if he hadn't accepted Abezou's challenge, then Lucy would have been the woman's victim, and he didn't think that he would have been able to get over indirectly subjecting her to that gamble.

Though, he still wished that he could have gotten out of that gamble. When he stayed in their rooms after they returned, he wasn't able to do much besides laying on his bed and staring up at the ceiling as his mind refused to let him forget the event. He wasn't even able to sleep much, if at all, due to his brain deciding that it was a good idea to make him relive it in his sleep. This caused him to lay in bed all night, wishing that he could turn back time and somehow stop all of this from happening.

He reached his hand up to scratch at a small itch on the back of his hand, stopping in his walking upon realizing that he wasn't wearing his hat. He thought back to that morning, trying to figure out where he left it. It didn't take much effort for him to remember that he had taken off his hat and sat it on Lucy's bed when he was trying to ensure that she was alright after finding a small puddle of blood on the floor in front of the couch. He had been dragged out of the room by Freed, not given a chance to grab his hat.

Rufus sighed and continued walking. He thought about going back for it, that would give him an opportunity to avoid a second gamble, but he knew that doing so would just be procrastination. If he was able to find another gate key, then would need to gamble for it, he knew that. There was no point in avoiding it. Besides, Lucy most likely wouldn't appreciate him walking in just for his hat.

Lucy.

He was worried about her. This mission couldn't be easy on her. He couldn't imagine the amount of fear and stress that she was going through. It made him saddened to think about. Perhaps she'll feel better when they finish this mission and return to Magnolia. He doubted that the scars she has obtained will fade completely, but he still hoped that succeeding in this mission and returning to Fairy Tail will help her heal. Thinking about the kinds of torture that Lucy had gone through at the start made his heart clench painfully and his fingernails dig into his palms in anger. If he was successful in winning Lucy's heart, he would ensure that she will never be subjected to such cruelty again.

His eyes eventually zeroed in on a door that held a sign that announced the offering of a gate key. He walked over to it and gripped the doorknob. As his heart began to beat quicker and his throat tightened, he stood in place and stared down at the doorknob. He could feel his body tremble, the urge to back away from the door becoming stronger with each second that passed.

He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. He remembered the breathing technique that Loke had walked Lucy through a couple of days ago. He breathed in through his nose for four seconds, held it for a count of seven, and exhaled for a count of eight. He continued this until his body's trembling lessened to the point that it was barely noticeable and his heartbeat had calmed. He still had the urge to turn away and leave, but it was more of a flicker, rather than the fire that it had grown into.

Rufus took another deep breath before opening the door and stepping inside, trying to steel his nerves. He walked into the room and closed the door behind himself. His face twisted into a look of disgust, having almost immediately been assaulted by a strong smell of alcohol. Trying to ignore the smell, he took a look at the room. It was dimly lit, just like all of the other gambling dens that he's stepped into, and along both walls was a large bookcase, filled with all sorts of titles. A quick glance at them lead him to suspect that at least a majority of the books were about magic.