Forbidden Mage

Chapter 9

Six days had passed since Natsu was taken. Lucy had been sneaking out to check his cell every night. She would never admit that she was worried about him, but every night her heart dropped when she saw the cold empty cell. She tied her black cloak around her neck and peered at herself in the mirror "...Why am I even doing this." She sighed to her tired reflection. Her uncombed hair and sleepless eyes left Lucy almost unrecognizable. She grabs Natsu's cleaned and folded scarf from her dresser on the way out.

Lucy tiptoed her way back down to the prison. Sometime in these past few nights she had come across another corridor, unguarded and letting out much closer to Natsu's now empty cell. She casually strolled through the familiar empty hall of cells not minding her surroundings once inside. She let her hand brush along the cold metal bars as she hugged his scarf tighter to her chest, staring up at the stoned ceiling.

When she neared Natsu's cell she let out a sigh. Lucy walked across from the cell and slid down the wall and onto the floor. Staring down at the scarf in her lap, she repeats to herself. "Why am I doing this..." This same question always popped into her mind right before she would leave. Never able to give herself a real answer, she eventually came to the conclusion that she just has nothing better to do.

"Doing what?" A voice responded. Lucy shot her head up and spotted a flash of pink hair peeking through the bars of Natsu's cell. Holding her breath, she jumped up and darted over to the cell.

"Natsu?!" She gasped with a loud whisper. He was leaning against the stone wall, propping one knee up and crossing his arms. "Yo...Lucy." He flashed his customary toothy grin. "H-hey.." she responded feeling her face flush.

They stayed staring at each other for a bit before Lucy shook back to her senses. She squatted down next to him remembering the soft fabric between her arms. Natsu took his gaze off her eyes and looked down to her hands. "O-oh! I..Uh." She stuttered, "T-that day. The guards took this from you..Y-you seemed pretty upset..." She couldn't make eye contact, unsure of why she was so embarrassed that she kept it. "...But, I had it washed for you..." She thrust the scarf through the bars still unable to look at him.

Natsu stayed silent as he pulled himself away from the wall to grab his scarf out of her hands. Responding with a soft and small, "Th-Thank you..." Lucy finally looked over at Natsu to see tears had formed in the corner of his eyes. His expression made her stomach turn. But Natsu didn't give the tears any time to fall before he wiped his eyes dry.

He then tilted his chin up to wrap his scarf back around him. Lucy noticed that he had a red swollen ring around his neck. Only able to get a glimpse of it she came to the conclusion that it was the result of the chains they had put on him before. She continued to observe him and saw that he was covered in even more scars than before. The longer she looked the more she found. His entire body was covered in scars and bruises. She took a deep breath in, preparing herself to ask what had happened. But then he turned around.

On his back were what seemed to be multiple lash marks all overlapping one another. His tan back was now bright red, some of the scars still dripping blood as if they were fresh.

"Natsu..." She uttered under breath causing him to turn around in response to his name. When he saw Lucy's aghast face he glanced over his shoulder and at his back. Then gazed back over to her.

"Oh that." He chuckled, "This is nothing! Those bastards can't hurt me no matter how hard they try." He grinned back at her. He had wanted to ease her concerns but she only gave him a halfhearted smile while still worryingly eyeing him up and down.

"You know Luce..." He walked over to her at the bars. Causing her to stare directly at his eyes. She felt her heart jump for a split second. He then leaned as close as he could get. A grin still stretched across his face.

"If you keep checking me out like that, I'm going to think you're a creep."

Lucy immediately threw her fist through the bar, punching Natsu square in the face. Clearly unamused by his joke she grunted "As if I would be checking you out!" While Lucy shook her hand to relieve the pressure of the hit, Natsu fell onto the floor laughing. "Haha! Alright I'm sorry! Geez that actually hurt Luce!" He rubbed his nose. "Train a bit and you'll really be able to punch!"

Lucy cringed to the idea. "Idiot. Why would I need to know how to punch?"He shrugged as he stared up at her.

"You never know."

^_−☆ The views on this story have gone down.. I hope it's not boring! Im sorry for updating so slowly, lots happened this month <3 ^_−☆

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed the chapter, a favorite and comment is appreciated. Next chapter will be updated as soon as possible. I'm working with one other person with the stories grammar and flow. Plot and main body does belong to me though! Together I hope we make a story that you love.

- キャラウェイ ヘリー