Quest for the Eighty-Eight Keys

Chapter Forty-Three: The Royal Keys

WARNING: MENTIONS OF ABUSE AND TALK OF PAST CHARACTER DEATHS!

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Lucy follows Freed through a forest. Rufus and Midnight walked on either side of her. They had been walking all day, and her feet were hurting. However, she pushed through the pain in her feet and tiredness in her legs. She had to collect the rest of the Celestial Spirit Gate Keys as quickly as possible, which means, keeping rest time to a minimum. They had already decided that they would rest when they found their new destination.

Freed was walking in front, using his rapier to cut down tree branches that were in their way. Finally deciding to break the silence, Lucy asked what had been on her mind since Freed had informed them that he knew exactly where their new destination was, "how do you know where Rose Well Cave is, Freed?"

Freed slashed down a tree branch and answered, "a job that I took some time ago. It lead me to this area. I camped in Rose Well Cave."

Rufus questioned, "and you didn't see any keys?"

Freed slashed down another tree branch. "I wasn't exactly searching. It was raining terribly and I simply needed shelter until it stopped. As soon as it had, I left."

Lucy nodded. "It's great that you know where it is. I've never heard of Rose Well Cave."

"Yes, it's deep in the Rose Well Forest. Hardly any people visit it due to how long it takes to reach it. However, it's also empty of any dangerous creatures, so you can rest assured that we will most certainly be safe," Freed responded.

"I doubt that would stop those three celestial wizards," Midnight grumbled.

Lucy's heart rate picked up speed at the thought of facing those three again. She took a deep breath and released it in an attempt to calm herself. She jumped a little when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over to see Rufus giving her a concerned look.

"Are you alright?" Rufus whispered.

Lucy smiled at him as she nodded. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me, Rufus." She whispered back.

Rufus continued to stare at her for a moment, an expression on his face that Lucy wasn't able to identify. He then removed his hand from her shoulder and leaned away. Lucy looked back ahead.

Now that Terra, Lust, and Nyx had been mentioned, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about the possibility that they could show up at the cave. She desperately hoped that they wouldn't. She knew that she should want to face them again as soon as possible, however, she couldn't make herself think that way. It was simply too soon for her to see any of them again.

Her thoughts soon turned to Nyx and the decision that she had made to give him a chance. She knew that Rufus was happy that she had sided with him. She also knew that Freed and Midnight weren't particularly happy about it. Nonetheless, neither of them has said anything on the topic, though she did overhear the two men discussing their displeasure with her decision last night.

Lucy sighed. She still didn't feel happy with her decision. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was making a mistake. Nevertheless, she was determined to stick to her decision. Nyx was her only hope of learning anything about himself, Terra, and Lust.

She needed to know who they were and their motivations. She couldn't explain why these things were important to her, she just needed to know.

Freed soon lead them to a rather small ravine. Lucy walked forward to stand beside Freed and looked into the ravine. The side that they were on was rocky and steep, but not to the point that it was impossible for them to walk down it. Running through the ravine was a river that had a wooden bridge running across it, connecting the two sides. On the other side of the ravine, at the base, was a cave, leading into the ground.