Cursed (Zeref X Reader)

Chapter 8

Stumbling backward suddenly, you notice how late it's gotten. The sun is just beginning to set and the woman's lips curl into a triumphant smile. "I got him," she murmurs with a grin. "I have Zeref!"

"No..." you mumble to yourself. Whatever Grimoire Heart's evil intentions are, they cannot be allowed to awaken Zeref; you shudder to think of what would even happen. But more than that, you will not stand by and let this blushing creep of a woman get away with this boy who you've begun to... You shake your head, pushing those thoughts out of your mind.

A rustling noise brings you back to reality, and you look down and almost slaughter the Grimoire Heart mage right then and there: she had sat down against a tree and pulled the unconscious Zeref against her in an embrace.

"Zeref," she whispers softly. "You are mine... I'm not going to give you up to anyone. Anyone."

A low snarl rumbles in your throat and you resist the urge to murder her as her hand reaches up to stroke the side of Zeref's face.

"I will make you king of the world," she continues, staring down at his sleeping form with her eyes shining in adoration. "All for the World of Great Magic."

You look away, repulsed at the woman and her strange, malicious intentions when you hear faint screaming coming from behind you. Glancing toward the sound, you can see a huge dust cloud barreling down the steep slope. You watch, perplexed, as the person zips past you while a flying blue cat trails after it.

The person, who you assume to be Natsu, reaches the end of the cliff and flies off the edge. Belatedly, you realize that he won't be alone down there and that the mage from Grimoire Heart could potentially be dangerous. Cursing, you scramble back to the edge and peer over the side.

The purple-haired woman is nowhere to be seen, but you notice that she left Zeref slumped against the tree. Natsu is staring at the unconscious boy with a strange look on his face until Happy alerts him with a shout. The ground under Natsu rises and crumbles as a giant tree shoots up through the dirt.

"There was a small sapling there," a musical voice says from the branches of the tree above Zeref. "My Time Arc has guided the sapling to its future."

Natsu and Happy look up to see the Grimoire Heart mage smirking down at them from her high perch. "I wonder where your future leads, Natsu Dragneel?"

The pink-haired mage makes no reply, but sniffs the air. "You're the one from back then; it's definitely the same smell."

For several confusing moments, Happy and Natsu discuss how they've met her before and demand why "he" likes to wear women's clothes. The girl sweatdrops and introduces herself as Ultear Milkovich, one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory.

As Natsu struggles to pronounce her name correctly, Ultear's eyes narrow suddenly: "Don't tell me you're after Zeref, too?"

The Fairy Tail mage's initial reaction is anger, then shock, which slowly melts into realization as he looks at the figure slumped unconscious against the tree. "That guy is Zeref?"

"You can't have him, got it?" Ultear says firmly. "Zeref is mine."

Your fingers are itching to slap this woman out of her tree for claiming Zeref as her possession when Natsu rushes forward, his face contorted with rage. "Who'd want him? I ain't gonna forgive you guys when you don't even care about your friends!"

Ultear doesn't even look intimidated. "Oh? Then I suppose I'd better pay you back for that last time," she smiles as her orb appears in her hand. "For real this time."

*        *        *

You watch helplessly from the edge of the cliff as Natsu engages in a very one-sided battle with Ultear. He attempts to climb the tree but is bombarded with countless crystal orbs. Your first instinct is to jump in and help him, but you decide that staying hidden is in your better interest; if you made yourself known to either of them, you would have a harder time tracking Zeref alone later.