Poisoned Love~ Zeref Dragneel x F! Reader

A New Friend

"Are you alright? You took quite the fall there."

Zerina watched you leave her side to help a girl who tripped over herself. She decided to take this chance to walk from your side to explore more of the palace. While you and Christa were not paying attention, she walked away in the opposite direction.

She figured she would be fine since you could easily track her down since she wasn't going to be far from you. Never in her life had she ever been in a palace like this when she read about empires in books she used to read. 

Ever since she was little, she had never left her village, which made her unfamiliar with the outside world. Her mother had never allowed her to explore outside of the forest as well as learn any magic. After all, this was the first time she had ever left her village to another nation.

Zerina walked over to a window, folding her arms before laying her head on her forearms. Her bluebell eyes examined the rest of the city as well as the capital city of Vistarion. Even she still couldn't believe Zeref was running this entire empire by himself. Suddenly, she felt someone tap her shoulder.

She supposed you found her, so when she looked over her shoulder, her breath hitched when it wasn't you. Instead, it was a young man who looked down at her with curiosity. He was a well-built young man with his noticeable features being his upward spiky blond hair that comes as far as his shoulder blades on his back, as well as a large white cross symbol on his forehead.

He had sharp orange eyes with an accentuated white design around the crust of them, while also possess one noticeable earring to go along with a tight necklace that has a circular ornament attached to it. He wore a golden-colored kasaya with a rectangular pattern that covered one-half of his body while the other half is exposed.

A white sash was tied around the upper part of the garb. On his left arm, he had an intricate light green tribal tattoo with a decorative armband wrapped around it while the mark of the Alvarez Empire resided on his left shoulder. Lastly, he wore dark-colored capris to go with a simple set of two-toned colored footwear.

Zerina immediately backed away from the male, placing her hand on her chest only to feel her heart race. Just by sensing his magic, Zerina already knew he was far more powerful than she was. 

Hell, she was surprised by how powerful his magic compared to hers! Maybe it was because she barely had any magic in her since she was never taught any magic in the first place. Of course, she couldn't blame her mother. Maybe it was for the best she didn't learn magic at all. As much as magic caused happiness, it could also bring sorrow as well. 

"I apologize for scaring you. I could not help, but notice you are new around here. May I ask who you are?"

To her, he didn't seem like a threat. He wasn't displaying any hints of hostility towards her. He was sincerely curious about who Zerina was, as he had never seen her before since he knew everyone in the palace.

"My name is Zerina. I came here with Zeref as well as my sister."

She answered honestly before looking at the ground with embarrassment. Perhaps it was better that she stayed by your side for now. She didn't even know where you were at the moment, but she felt embarrassed around the man.

Since she grew up remotely in a village without any connection to the outside world, it was clear she didn't know how to talk to people that great. Of course, who wouldn't be curious to see a young girl staring out the window when you haven't seen her around before.

"I see. My name is Larcade Dragneel. There is no reason you should be afraid of me. I won't hurt you." 

Dragneel? Why did the name sound familiar to her? Zeref mentioned he was related to someone named Natsu or something with that last name. Perhaps this was Natsu Zeref was talking about on the way here?

"It's nice to meet you, Larcade."

Zerina smiled at the male, thankful that Larcade didn't show any signs of aggression towards her, especially when it came to magic. "If you don't mind me asking, are you lost?" Larcade asked, tilting his head to the side when he saw the bluenette look back at the ground with shame.

Larcade didn't view the girl as a threat since she hardly possessed any magic in her. He could also sense she had a pure soul instead of a menacing one. Even when he first started the conversation, he could already tell she wasn't around here. To him, she was a foreigner to the Alvarez Empire.

"I am lost. This is what I get for exploring without my sister by my side."

She answered, covering her face with her tiny hands since she was already embarrassed enough. She wasn't as talented as you were when it came to tracking others down. Hell, you were a Dragon Slayer, for crying out loud while she was a village girl who didn't have parents anymore.

When Larcade uncovered her face kindly by taking her hands carefully, he smiled faintly at the girl to reassure her she was fine. "It's quite alright. You don't need to worry. If you'd like, I can guide you to your sister. I sense Christa and Anne nearby with someone else."

In response, she shyly nodded her head. She was confused about why someone would be kind enough to escort her to you when he barely knew her at all. Larcade gently grabbed Zerina's hand as he began leading her down the corridor to reach your location. "Thank you, Larcade. I hope we can be friends."

Larcade was taken aback by her gratitude as well as her suggestion to be friends. Why would this girl offer to be friends with someone from the Spriggan 12? Most would call it childish for a 400-year-old man to befriend a twelve-year-old girl, but Larcade was lonely. As much as his only real friend was Christa, he did hope Zerina would befriend him as well.

As much as he was powerful, he would try his best to earn his father's recognition. No matter how much he would train, he was still not good enough in Zeref's eyes. Why would Zeref bring this girl and another woman to the Alvarez Empire? Only time would tell to know who these strangers are in Alakitasia.

"I hope we can be friends as well."

~~~

Edited: 06/28/2020