"I see you've finally complied to meet with me, Natsu." The black haired emperor looked at him observantly, his dark black eyes piercing intensely.
"Why is it you've asked to see me in the first place, Emperor Zeref?" Natsu clenched his fists tightly as he looked at the man calmly. He said his name spitefully, not a drop of respect resonating in his tone.
"I'm not allowed to see my dear younger brother once in awhile?" Zeref chuckled, his cheek resting on his knuckles as his pointer finger pressed against his temple.
"You've never cared about me before. So what's the occasion that has brought this change of heart?"
Zeref stared at him stone-faced, slowly opening his mouth to say something. "Now I'm not sure if this is true or not, but one of my faithful soldiers says you are going to see Saint Valentine tonight."
Natsu's heart dropped in his chest, but he kept a mask of indifference to hide his panic. "It is not."
Zeref slowly arched an eyebrow as he began to stand from his throne. "See, I've had many people lie to me before. And those that lie to me are sought to have the truth brought out. You being my younger brother does not change that in the slightest."
The pink haired man blinked, breathing heavily.
"It also means I do not change my ways, whether or not we share the same blood." The black haired man turned his head as any former expressions of amusement turned to bitter coldness. "Soldiers."
One soldier suddenly rushed towards him, his sword making contact with Natsu's leg. He yelled in pain, falling to his knees as two other soldiers came to hold him by his arms.
"What are you going to do?" Natsu flinched as they brought him to his feet roughly.
Zeref smiled wickedly. "Did you really think we wouldn't find your dear Lucille?"
Natsu's heart stopped. "No."
"Bring him to the village. The execution will commence."
"No!" Natsu struggled against the soldiers' grips, quickly losing energy to fight back. He continued yelling loudly as they dragged him away. "If you lay a finger on her, I'll kill you!"
"Brother, it's sweet that you think your threats scare me."
-
People had gathered in the village circle to see what was going on. They hadn't anticipated that there would be a public execution.
Natsu felt as if he couldn't breathe, seeing Lucille standing in the middle of the village, ropes tied around her wrists as soldiers pointed their swords at her neck to keep her from escaping.
"Emperor Zeref has given the permission to carry on without him. He said he had to prepare something," The soldier holding Natsu's right arm told the two by Lucille.
They lowered their swords, but kept them in hand as one cleared their throat to get the people's attention. "Here we are gathered to see the punishment of disobeying the order of the emperor. He has given strict orders to soldiers never to marry, and yet, his low-life excuse of a brother breaks that order. It is because of this woman," The soldier put his sword against the blonde's cheek, pressing until the smallest trickle of blood appeared. "that Natsu Dragneel is to be imprisoned and punished for attempted eloping performed by Saint Valentine.
"These unfit distractions must be exterminated by all means necessary. And that means Lucille Heartfilia is to be killed," The soldier moved his sword until it was pressed against her neck, the tip just barely breaking through her skin.
Natsu was not just going to stand by and watch the love of his life be killed. He was not going to let Zeref get his way. He was not going to let Lucy die.
Natsu managed to break away from the soldiers' grips and ran towards her, at the same time that she had managed to fight off the soldier who had his sword against her throat, running towards the pink haired man.
"Natsu--" The blonde stopped running, a few feet away from him. She looked down slowly to see a growing red stain appear in her side. Lucille looked up with wide eyes, meeting Natsu's horrified gaze. The soldier pulled his sword out of her and Natsu ran to her, catching the blonde as she collapsed to the gravel.
Tears poured down Natsu's face like a full river, using his hand to cradle her backside as his other hand caressed Lucille's face gently as her eyes fluttered. She coughed twice, blood falling onto the corners of her mouth. She reached up, putting a hand against Natsu's cheek as a weak smile spread across her face. "Don't cry, Natsu. I'll be okay."
"This is all my fault," His voice cracked as more tears streamed down his face. Lucille breathed in and out heavily as she slowly wiped a tear before it could fall.
"It's not, Natsu. I'm to blame for this. I'm sorry we couldn't get married."
Natsu shook his head quickly, putting his hand over her hand that was on his cheek. "I'm so sorry, Lucy."
The blonde had built up tears in her eyes as she opened her mouth to speak again. "I-" She coughed up more blood, her eyes slowly fluttering until they were just barely open. With her remaining strength, she reached up and pressed her lips against Natsu's before laying back down. Her breaths turned shallow as her thumb grazed over his cheek. "I love you, Natsu."
As her eyes closed, a tear rolled down the side of her temple, her hand dropping from Natsu's face.
"Lucy? Lucy...wake up. Please, Lucille, wake up!" His voice echoed as the townspeople fell silent.
"Let this be a reminder to you of what happens when you disobey the emperor," Natsu heard the voice of the soldier that was responsible for stabbing Lucille, anger and hatred flowing through him.
He gently laid Lucille down on the ground before slowly standing. The soldiers pulled out their swords, ready to attack. As he took another step, he fell to his knees, tears blurring his vision.
"Lock him up. The emperor will want us back," A soldier said to the others.
Natsu felt his wrists being grabbed and tied from behind before he was yanked to his feet by the two soldiers that brought him here.
"Your punishment is only beginning, Dragneel."
The man looked up with dull eyes, not bothering to fight back. "You've already killed the love of my life. What more could you possible take away from me?"
-
Natsu only ever saw the dungeon cells below when he was younger. Zeref took him down there to scare him into not being a bad child, and seeing the people locked in desperate to get out made Natsu feel bad. He always felt empathetic towards them, seeing how dirty they've gotten and how fragile and scared they seemed. And here he was now, locked into a cell of his own with his older brother in with him.
Zeref looked down on the pink haired man before a sigh escaped his lips. "You've heard the rumors of my—what do they call it—magic experiments, have you not?"
Natsu finally looked up from the dirty stained stone floor.
"See, now most wouldn't believe in something as fake as magic, and yet I'm about to give you what I would like to consider so."
"What?" The pink haired man watched as Zeref brought out a small vile filled with a bright red liquid.
The black haired man crouched down, his hand suddenly closing around Natsu's throat in just the blink of an eye. "Drink up."
Before Natsu could fully understand what was happening, the red liquid was already in his system. He coughed violently as Zeref released his grip, walking towards the cell door and locking it behind him as he left.
"I've made an...elixir that turns people immortal. You can stay in this cell and rot as more people you love die. You will never see the outside, and it will be lonely. You will have no one."
Natsu heard his laugh bounce off the walls and echo in his ears.
"Goodbye, Brother."
