The Future That Haunts Me (A Fairy Tail Fanfic)

Chapter 26

I suddenly found myself sitting in a dark cave. Where am I? How did I get here? My eyes widened when I remembered what had happened last.

Bixlow was defeated. Gwyneira used Ice Slave on me. Draven must've brought me here. With my eyes beginning to adjust to the darkness, I realized my arms were bound and my magic was sealed.

I heard a low chuckle and suddenly the faint light of a small torch lit up the area. The holder was none other than Draven. He strolled over and bent down to look at me.

"Well now, look who finally regained her own consciousness."

I glared up at him. "Where are we?"

"The Worth Woodsea. The same place we used to train at. The same place you decided to run away from me."

"How could my mother ever trust you?" I mumbled mostly to myself.

Draven crouched down and roughly grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at his pale blue eye. "Lilith trusted me with not only her life, but yours as well."

"But I don't understand, couldn't she see what you really wanted?!"

He chuckled again and replied, "Oh, she saw it alright. She refused to use her magic like that. She did see, however, that you would give in and do what she couldn't."

"But then why did she trust you? Why did she leave me with you?" I questioned.

He laughed a bit before answering, "Because unlike you, she knew that your fate couldn't be changed. That's why she so willingly accepted her death. She knew she couldn't change what was meant to happen."

He lifted up his eyepatch to show a scar over his left eye, which was glazed over. My eyes widened and I stared into his blind eye.

"You see," he said, "Lilith learned that there were serious consequences to changing the future. When we were younger, I was only meant to have a black eye. But your mother tried to change that, and instead, I lost the sight in my left eye completely."

So that's why my mother didn't bother trying to change future events. She was afraid of making them worse. I angrily narrowed my eyes and jerked my head out of his grip.

"I'm not like my mother! I have changed future events for the better! I've saved lives and averted disasters!"

He chuckled again and covered his left eye with his eyepatch again. "Oh? You think so? Well I guess you'll just have to see for yourself then."

He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "Let's see if you can really change your destiny, my dear."

He stood and laughed. I watched him turn and leave the cave. I sat there for what seemed like hours. All was quiet. The only sounds were the crackling of the torch and a droplet of water occasionally dripping from the ceiling and onto the ground.

I finally decided to shift around and realized that my restraints were very loose. I sat there for a moment in confusion. I then quickly wiggled my hands free and stood up.

I glanced around and carefully took a couple of steps. This is unusual. Draven loosened my restraints and then left me all alone. He's definitely up to something, but I don't know what.

I slowly left the cave, seeing that I was indeed in the Worth Woodsea. The cave was hidden near a bunch of waterfalls that enclosed a small area.

I remember this place now. This is where an ancient village resided. Draven trained me here many times. I summoned my Shadow Wings and took off into the sky.

I flew as fast as I could back to Magnolia. The sun was setting by the time I finally got there. I landed in front of the guild and took a minute to catch my breath.

I pushed the large doors open only to see Bixlow and the others standing on the other side. Bixlow instantly grinned and rushed toward me.

"Freya! You're okay! I'm so glad to see you here! We were just about to head out in search of you!"

Bixlow quickly wrapped me in his arms and lifted me off the ground. He hugged me and repeatedly kissed my head and face. Despite being happy to see him, I kept a frown on my lips.

When he finally put me down, I noticed his babies floating around and asked, "Wait, I thought your babies had been destroyed."

He laughed and stuck his tongue out. "My babies can't be destroyed! They're souls! The vessels they took had been destroyed, but they themselves can't die!"

"Oh."

"Well? So tell us what happened, baby! We thought you had been captured!"

Bixlow finally seemed to notice the frown on my face and his grin faded. "What's wrong?"

I lowered my head and gazed down at the ground as I answered, "I was captured. Draven...I talked to him and he allowed me to leave. He's planning something, I know it."

Bixlow's hand lifted my chin so he could see my face. "Don't worry, now that you're back, we can find him and-"

"Actually..." I interrupted.

I gently pushed Bixlow's arms off and backed away. "I think it's best if I go."

"What?!" everyone yelled in unison.

I hugged my arms and averted my eyes, unable to look at any of them. "Draven's got something planned. I'm leaving Fairy Tail so I can stop him, or at least try to."

"But, Freya," Bixlow argued, "we can face him together. You're one of us. We can't let you do this on your own."

He reached toward me but I quickly backed away. "I can't let you all get involved in this. Draven will use you against me and I...I don't want to hurt any of you."

"Freya."

Bixlow came toward me again but I backed up even more and yelled, "No! You have to leave me alone! I'm sorry but that's the way it has to be!"

Struggling to hold my tears back, I turned and ran, merging with the shadows. I left Magnolia and went farther than the East Woods before finally leaving the shadows.

I stood by myself, letting tears slide down my cheeks. Darkness crept across the sky and soon enough, the moon and stars were out. I found a calm, quiet place with a few trees and a small pond.

I sat down on the soft grass and leaned back against one of the trees. I pulled my hood up and quietly cried until I drifted off.

I woke up to the sound of footsteps. I opened my eyes, realizing it was morning. I could see someone standing in front of me and looked up to meet their eyes.

I immediately jumped up and glared at the golden-eyed boy. "Coro! What are you doing here?! What do you want?!"

He held his hands up defensively and quickly replied, "Woah, take it easy. I'm not here to pick a fight."

I relaxed but kept my eyes narrowed. "Hmph, that's a first."

"What happened? I thought Gwyneira said she'd caught you for Draven?"

"She did," I growled. "Draven let me leave."

Coro let out an annoyed sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. "What a pain. After we worked our butts off to catch you too."

"You still never answered my question. Why are you here? Are you on a job?"

He chuckled. "Me? No, I was just taking some time off. The real question is why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your guild?"

I turned my head away and held my arms. "No. They're in danger with me around, and so are you. Draven could go after anyone around me."

"Pssh, I'm not afraid of him," Coro stated confidently. "So you're on the run again?"

I simply nodded. Coro suddenly came closer. "I know a place where you'll be safe."

I looked up at him in slight surprise before narrowing my eyes again. "How do I know I can trust you?"

He laughed at my question and answered, "Relax. The request for catching you has already been fulfilled. I have no reason to fight with you anymore. Besides, I don't like seeing such a pretty girl all sad and alone."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Show me this "safe place"."