Chapter 16

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I peeped around the corner and saw the three boys staring down an old man, who was yelling out in pain. It looked like he was on some form of torture device, poor soul. What did that man do to deserve something as awful as that?

Wait a minute.

That voice.

I looked closer at the mans face.

Those scars.

"DAD!" I cried.

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(A/N): This chapter gets a bit.. evil? (Idk) towards the end. Let's say that it's not seductive, but it's indeed traumatic for Lucy.

It's quite violent and there's a lot of shouting. You have been warned. (Even though I'm not very good with warnings)

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(Lucy's POV)

"DAD!" I cried, running over to him. The three boys turned their heads towards me, their mouths wide with shock.

"Imposter!" The piercings guys yelled. Him and Gray ran towards me, and although I tried to break away from their grasp, they held my arms tightly. I was defenceless.
"LUCY!" My dad cried.

"Luce?" Natsu looked at me worriedly. "Why are you here?"
"Wait.."
"This is...."

The boys looked at each other in shock, then let go of me immediately. I dropped to the floor, my arms barely strong enough to hold my weight as I knelt down.

"Why...is my dad...here?" I asked.
"Answer me first." He ordered. I looked up at him, only to see unwavering confidence in his eyes.

"I came to stop you from hurting an innocent man!" I yelled, standing up. Natsu stared me down with a look filled with confusion and anger.

He was a lot taller than me, and far more intimidating. His accomplices kept gawking at the situation, but my father hung his head in shame.

"Innocent?" Natsu whispered. There was a pause. "INNOCENT!?" He yelled at me. "Look at him. If he was innocent, why is he hanging his head in shame? Why won't he look you in the eye!?"
"He doesn't have the strength to!" I retorted. "You beat it out of him!"

There was another pause.

"You.... don't.... remember?" Gray asked. I gave him a confused look.
"Remember what?" I turned to face him.
"Gray." Natsu said. "Don't-"

"No! Do!" I yelled. "What am I missing here? Why am I the only one who knows he is innocent!?"
"I'll handle this." Natsu sighed. He looked at Gray and piercings guy, who then both left me and him in the prison cell.

"Remember that weird dream you told me about?" He asked, his voice a lot calmer now. "I had the same dream as you. The same people. Same voices. The same events. For a dream, that is impossible."

"How do you know!?"
"Because my memory was not a dream. They were true events that happened."
"I don't comprehend." I said.

"Your name is Lucy Heartfilia. You are the Princess of Magnolia and I, Natsu Dragneel, am the Prince of Crocus. We are engaged and have been since we were born. When we were children, we ventured outside the castle gates and you were abducted by that man." He pointed to my dad.

Another pause.

"N-no! I-It can't be!" I yelled. "He's my da-" I was interrupted.
"Shut up." He growled. "Don't, call him your father. Your father is Jude Heartfilia, not him." Natsu spat on the ground in front of my dad.

"But I-"
"You dare go against the word of the Prince!?" He yelled. "Not only that, but you are supposed to be my maid!" He paced up and down the room, looking very distressed.

I stood still, frozen to the spot. I daren't move. Who am I supposed to believe? I have no memory of being a Princess, so why am I being told I am?

Natsu then looked up at me; tears stained his cheeks.
"For years after you were taken, my mother blamed it on me." He took off his shirt, revealing large burn marks in his back.

"You see these? My mother gave me them. She said that I was useless because I couldn't protect my fiancé." His tears were now streaming down his melancholy face. "SHE DIED THINKING I WAS USELESS!" He threw his shirt on the floor and punched the wall, making it crack.

"And it's his fault."

Another long silence passed, and I felt a tear fall down my face.

"Lucy..." My dad spoke. "This man speaks the truth." I looked at him in horror.
"What?" I asked in disbelief.
"I took you away, because I was jealous." I looked over and saw Natsu trying to hold back his anger.

"Jude was my boss. I worked under him, but I envied him greatly. He had a beautiful wife and a lovely child. But one day, he fired me, claiming that he had found a much better replacement, so I was kicked out onto the streets."

"That's it?" Natsu asked rhetorically. "You took away someone's daughter, the Princess of Magnolia, my fiancé, because you were jealous?"

"I did." He sighed. "I have no right to live."
"Sure as fucking hell you don't!" Natsu snapped and began to beat the man senseless. I couldn't do anything. I was too scared. I couldn't move. Everything that I've just been told, I- I don't want to believe it. This man, he raised me to always be kind and caring, so I don't know why he would abduct me.

But a part of me believes it.

I watched helplessly, as the man who raised me was beaten to death before my eyes. The two boys came back in from before and restrained him, but it was too late.

He was dead.

Word Count: 941

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