➷ 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒅 || 𝐞. 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞

THE SUN WOKE up from its own slumber and decided to wake the people below from their own sleep with its beautiful rays of sunshine.

It was a beautiful morning, a quiet one to that.

At least for minute.

A loud, gruesome cry erupted, completely shocking the winds out of you. There was literally no single day of peace, no?

You rushed out of your bed, trying to remember where the cry came from. It was only until you heard sniffing and cries of low volume that you knew where to head.

'Is this house haunted?!'

And as you finally pushed the door open and came in sight with a figure on their knees and in the floor, you felt your heart break.

"Lucy..?"

You stood under the doorframe unsure of what to do.

Lucy had a look of.. fear in her eyes.

Was it okay for you to approach her and talk to her? You did not want to screw anything up, possibly worsen her state and emotions.

It was still early in the morning and you weren't of a right mind yourself.

However, as you turned the blonde a second look, you came in sight of her clutching something to her chest. She was desperately hanging onto it and was mumbling to herself.

It were her celestial keys.

Dismissing your own train of thoughts, you made your way to the blonde and gently wrapped your arms around her figure.

You were quiet, trying to calm her down as best as possible.

Refraining from asking any questions, your arms tightened the hold on her body. You listened to her painful cries and felt her body shiver against yours.

It must've been a bad dream.

That you had come up with due to Lucy constantly muttering apologies and concerns under her breath as she continued to hold her keys in desperation.

"A—.."

"Aries.."

You narrowed your eyes at that.

What exactly happened?

A few moments had passed and you finally had the courage to speak up and question Lucy's cries and sayings.

"I— I had a dream, and— a—"

"Alright, alright. Take your time.."

Lucy inhaled deeply and let her breath out as she tried to calm herself down. "I had a bad dream, just a nightmare.. I thought I had lost my— my keys.. I thought I had lost.. Aries."

"It was just a dream, no need to worry.. She's fine, Aries is fine."

"But.. It hurt so much.. It was so real.."

Shaking your head, you gently held onto Lucy's shoulders and pushed her back to make her face you properly.

"Lucy, it was just a dream, a nightmare. You can call Aries up and see that she's fine, okay? Nothing will happen to you or the celestial spirits." You smiled.

Standing up, you made your way out of the room after muttering some words of affirmation, courage and kindness.

Your thought was to let Lucy call Aries and stay with her for a moment to get a clear head on the celestial spirit's wellbeing.

It took a few moments to make her finally calm.

Of course it wasn't just you who woke up due to the sudden agonizing screaming.. The three Sabers woke up in hysterics as well, rushed of the room and bumped into you as you had left Lucy's room.

The looks on their faces were just like the one the celestial mage had on her face.

You narrowed your eyes and furrowed your eyebrows together.

Yukino had tears streaming down her face, Rogue held his hands in front of his face and Sting was looking almost traumatized.

When you asked them what was wrong, you felt your chest tighten at their response.

A bad dream.

Was this phenomenon some sort of magic? Your whole household having the most terrifying dreams couldn't just be of pure nature and coincidence.

The enchanted forest.

It surely was that.

Ever since you had stepped foot in this village, weird things and events had happened to you and the others.

Was there something deeper than just the never-ending sleeping curse? What was going on..?

"No— No, don't cry.." You were on the verge of tears yourself. You didn't know what to do!

It was all too overwhelming.

'I'm never having kids..'

But there was something about those cries that stung. A deep feeling of pain within your chest.

Well, of course. Children's cries were always heartbreaking.

You hoped for calmness.

You didn't know what to do.

Because it was your heart that was crying as well.