Cursed (Zeref X Reader)

Chapter 16

You can only stare at the old man in sick horror. "What?"

The old man tugs at his mustache grimly and nods. "Shortly after you left on your mission, Lucy and her friends went on a quest to recover the other five pieces."

You nod and wait anxiously for him to continue.

"Oracion Seis wants to use the Infinity Clock to release chaos upon the world. So they waited for someone to retrieve all the pieces and stole it from them."

"And that someone was me," you sigh, shaking your head.

"Not just you," Makarov placates. "We were all played."

You stand from the bench you were sitting on. "What can I do to fix this?"

A strange look crosses Makarov's face, a momentary shadow, but it's gone as suddenly as it appeared. "I think you should just stay here, (Y/N)."

There's a moment of shocked silence. You feel a pang of hurt at his words. "Why?"

The master shakes his head. "I don't think you should get involved in this."

His reply doesn't answer your question, and you can't help but think, You're the one who sent me on this quest in the first place... Instead, you nod stiffly and turn to leave. Makarov doesn't stop you as you push open the heavy doors of the guild hall.

*        *        *

You find yourself wandering aimlessly in the forest again, feeling numb and empty when you sense something familiar. Lying under the shade of a tall tree is a familiar figure wearing black and white robes.

Don't tell me...

"Zeref?" You call hesitantly, slowly stepping closer to the resting form of the Black Wizard.

He sits up and looks around, his eyes darting around like a startled deer. When he focuses on you, his shoulders slump, whether from relief or annoyance you can't tell: "It's you."

You give a halfhearted smile and sit down across from him. "I'm glad you remember me. Tell me, do you wander around dark forests often?"

His mouth hangs slightly open and his dark eyes dart between your face and the small amount of space between the two of you. "I just wander around in places without human civilization," he answers unsteadily, slowly scooting away from you.

You raise an eyebrow. "This forest is pretty close to Magnolia."

Zeref closes his eyes. "Maybe I'm just drawn here by instinct."

Because of Natsu, you think silently.

The Black Wizard remains sitting with his eyes closed, lost in his thoughts and memories while you sit across from him taking in his features. With his feathery, raven-colored hair and his kind, sad eyes, you find it hard to believe that this is one of the most evil figures in history.

You lose track of how long the two of you have been sitting in silence; one half of you is admiring how kind and beautiful he seems and the other half is musing over how he isn't screaming and stumbling to stay away from you. Being so lost in your thoughts, you don't notice that Zeref is watching you with amusement.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asks, his voice gentle and light.

Your thoughts dissolve like the fog in sunlight and you quickly look away, feeling your face flush.

"You know, (Y/N), there's something different about you," you hear him say.

You glance back toward him with a small smirk. "Because I don't run away from you?"