The Swan Princess

Chapter Four

Lucy's heart froze.

If her shock hadn't stopped her wings from beating, she would have died. She dropped through the air with little to spare, the sleek wooden arrow piercing the space she hovered within just an instant before. The arrow met the ground with a thump a second later, burying the head several inches in the soft earth.

Lucy's head swivelled back to the two men. Natsu had a long bow grasped loosely in one hand, but hadn't drawn any arrows from the quiver slung by his side. He was gazing at her, an odd mixture of confusion and uncertainty swimming in his eyes. Gray was not so taken. His hand already held three more arrows, and he was drawing back another as she watched.

Lucy opted that despite her curiosity, hanging around would not be the wisest of plans. She regained the altitude she had lost and spurred herself higher. An arrow whizzed past, grazing her right wing. She squawked in shock, wings faltering. Fortunately, the arrow didn't appear to have done any damage. Lucy began to fly faster, erratically, swerving side to side in hope it would make her a harder target.

She picked up hoof-beats. The men were giving chase, unwilling to give up. Another arrow darted past, this one several inches from her left side. Her panic gifted Lucy a speed she hadn't known she possessed. Somehow, she managed to maintain a lead on the speeding horses. She used the canopy for cover, flying through branches, and disappearing behind clumps of fluttering leaves when she could in a hope to throw them off. Her bright white feathers were not made for camouflage; she stood out among the leafy greens like a diamond among coals.

After what felt like an eternity of endless treetops, the arrows began to stray farther and farther from her sides. Hope gave Lucy's aching wings an extra spur, and she rushed headlong into the tall branches of a tree ahead. She hovered within the leaves for a few minutes, listening for signs of her pursuers. Her muscles burned and her heart pounded so loudly in her ears that she couldn't listen for hoof-beats.

After some time with no sign of arrows, Lucy cautiously poked her neck out of the tree. She swung her head left and right, and with no sign of anyone, pumped her wings and brought herself out into the open. Giddy with relief, she raised her white feathers and prepared to soar to the sky.

Suddenly, something heavy smashed through her left wing. She squawked in agony as fiery pain enveloped her wing. With hazy vision, she twisted to see the damage.

An arrow had punched clean through her left wings, tearing open a ragged hole that spat hot scarlet blood across her white feathers.

Lucy dropped from the sky like a stone. As she fell, her eyes picked up a figure in the shrubbery below.

Natsu.

His horse stood picketing beside him, tied to a tree. His bow was raised high, no doubt to who had hit her. She wondered, as she plummeted, how she hadn't seen him.

***

The darkness was chased away by a searing pain. As Lucy shook off the black and the world returned to colour, she wondered how it was that she was still alive. Her second was of Natsu.

She was lying sprawled in the undergrowth as one mangled wing painted the brown earth red. She didn't want to attempt to move so much as an inch for fear of worsening her injury. But then, she thought as the ground trembled with approaching footsteps, she'd soon be dead anyways.

If she was capable of laughter in this form, she would have laughed. There was something enormously funny in the fact that it would be Natsu, the one man she'd ever had feelings for, who would be the one who killed her.

The footsteps stopped beside her.

From her position, she could only see the tops of his worn black leather boots. Lucy twisted her head up, no longer worried about her injury. Natsu was standing above her, looking down. His bow was slung over his back, and a hunting knife rested in his palm. He knelt to the ground beside her. Lucy looked up as he did, and their eyes met.