Dragon's Requiem

Dungeons and Dragons

I wake up in a dark room. The walls, floor, and ceiling are all cold stone. It would remind me of home, if not for the musty smell, as well as others, and the only light being that of a wall mounted torch that hangs outside of my cell. It is one of the scariest places I have ever been to.

I look around me frantically, the second I realize what else is wrong about this situation. Cassian is nowhere to be seen and my keys are no longer on my hip. There is also a letter strap on my wrist that is radiating a magical energy. I try tugging on it, but it doesn't have any ties or buttons. It is too small to simply slip off of my wrist and too thick to be broken. I tug on it, no the less, and try to remove it, to no avail.

With no other option, I walk to the door and look outside, to see if there are any guards or servants. I'm scared for Cassian. How long have I been out? What have they done with my keys? Where am I? But there is no one in the hall.

Taking my chances, I whisper, "Hello?" Then, I call a little louder. Neither time do I hear a response. Calling out, I yell, "Hey! Let me out! Let me go and give me back my son, you bastards!" There is no response. Being in a dungeon, I assume that no one can here me. They're probably on hourly rounds to make sure that whoever brought me here didn't kill me. But, then, I here the door at the end of the hall unlock and slam open. The sound of heavy steps on stone is the only thing I can hear, besides my own heartbeat.

"Stand back," a snarling voice commands. I take a few steps away from the door. It swings open and a man in a red, leather vest, simple black pants, and a metal helmet with strange brown horns standing on opposite sides of his head. I've never seen an animal with horns like those. His posture is straight, but his eyes and mouth are twisted in a sneer. His eyes are also seeming to glow, in the dim light. They look like the red coals from Gajeel's forge. They have the intensity of a warrior. This must be Chimera.

The man enters my room and grabs my arm. His rough, well worn hand holds me like a shackle. He pulls me ahead of him and marches the pair of us down the hall, to an ascending set of stone stairs. He urges me up them, half dragging me forward. At the top, he slams his other fist on the wooden door and it swings forward. A more slender man waits on the other side. I can see a familiar tattoo on this man's face. It's Jellal, Erza's betrothed. I try to call out to him, but he shoves me. I catch him shake his head, ever so subtly, and wink, before the other guard pushes me on, again.

I'm marched down a grand hallway adorned with a couple tapestries. The deep red carpet offsets the dark colored corridors. Lamplight and minimal sunshine from the beautiful windows that are perched far up the walls allow us to see our path. Then, we turn into the interior of the building and the sunshine disappears. There are more tapestries, this way, as well as paintings and horns from wild animals. These halls are darker and the quiet, unnerving loneliness of this place is making me uneasy.

The guard hasn't said a word to me, since we let the dungeon. The only things I can focus on are the sounds of our footsteps and the dread of wherever he might be taking me. There's also something about him and his magic energy that worries me. It's so dark. Hopefully, he's taking me to Cassian and questioning me about what I was doing in the ruins. Then, I would pry be kept as a prisoner or slave. The only alternative I can see would be an execution.

At the end of the hall, I see a large, wooden door. The guard and I are stopped by two more men in heavy, but beautiful armor. Palace guards and ones of high standing. They've crossed their spears across the door and have made it plain that we're not to enter the room beyond. These men do not radiate the same dark energy as the guard behind me.

"Stand aside," my escort growls. "Lord Zeref wishes to speak to the prisoner." Zeref? Isn't that the king of the Carthage? Why am I here? Did they think I was a spy? I had a baby. A baby that I would very much like to have returned to me. Cassian must be scared out of his mind. Not to mention hungry. Why did they take him from me?

The guards don't move. The hand of my escort tightens around my arm, his skin warmer than before. He roars at the guards. It's a beastly sound and it hurts my ears. This man cannot be human. Whatever he is, I want nothing to do with it. The guards, however, don't even flinch, but they raise their spears to attention. Then, they push the doors open for us to enter.

"Apologies, sir. Your helmet will not obscure your identity, again. Long live Zeref," the gaurd on the right sounds off. The guard behind me just growls and pushes me forward and into a grand hall. There are gilded figures and stone statues, as well at a grand mural on the ceiling, but it's too far up for me to see it clearly. At the far end of this large room, a man sits on a dark, wooden thrown, adorned with red silk and magical, blue flames. This is the king, Zeref; great wizard of legend and dark sorcerer. He is evil and black magic to the core of his being. That's what I've learned from my weeks of travel.

The guard pushes me to kneel at the foot of the staircase, leading to the throne. Then, from behind him, two dark shadows appear. At first, I thought it was a pair of guards, but no. It is two large, bat-like wings. I was right. This is Chimera, the soldier who is single-handedly changing the tide of the war with Rome. With a large and swift flap, he disappears into the balconies of the throne room. The force nearly knocks me to the ground. The king just watches with mild amusement. It's at this point that I also notice the scaly tail that extends from his back.

"Rise, prisoner. You have much to tell me." These are the first words of the kings, once Chimera is gone. I look him in the eye, but they barely seem to register any life. "For instance, what were you going in those ruins, and with an infant, no less?"

"Cassian... His name is Cassian." I tell him, rising to my feet. "Where is he? I wan't my son back." His eyes flash a little recognition, at this. He looks shocked, almost.

"In due time. But what were you doing with him?" His eyes move to one of the ornate windows.

"We were looking for a missing soldier. I'm a nurse. Why am I here? Why did Chimera take me?" His eyebrow twitches and he turns back to me. Then, his gaze drifts upwards and into the balconies. I can see the glowing eyes of Chimera glaring down at me.

"Chimera... Is that what they're calling him? I suppose they've never seen his face or his true form," King Zeref drawls. "As to why you're here, that would be his place to explain. As I'm sure you can guess, prisoners are not something he normally brings back here." He seems both interested in my being here and like he couldn't care less. I see his finger twitch and feel the rush of air and sudden thud of Chimera's body land on the floor, next to me. He nods and the guard reaches for his helmet, sliding it off. The horns don't move. His eyes never waiver from the king's face. I'm left staring at only him, tears welling in my eyes.

"Natsu..." My voice is breaking and stained. The man I married is standing at my side, but he shows no recognition of who I am and has treated me so poorly. His eyes never shift to look at me, locked squarely on the king. His stance is ridged. His face is hard and he looks so much different than the man I fell in love with. He has horns and wings. His eyes are no longer the beautiful dark color that stood out against his messy pink hair. His hands and face are flecked with red scales. His Fairy Tail mark is gone.

"You may take her away, Natsu. Do with her what you will. She's of little consequence. Dismissed."

"Yes, Brother." Brother?!