Rules of Attraction |Nalu|

Chapter twenty-eight: Dragons!

Natsu P.o.v

I felt my arm twinge as the jewel lit up in Lucy's palm; she had found it in the place she had least expected: the principle's room. She had found it quite by accident- in fact, she just happened to be passing by at the right moment, when she saw the glint on the principle Makarov's desk and the white crystal in her hand glowed dimly.

Now my arm was aching. It was in absolute pain; but I had to bite my lip to prevent myself from crying out. I suddenly had this craving feeling of hunger and instantly needed food, my stomach growled softly. Lucy turned to me as I blushed and scratched the back of my neck.

"Eh, sorry Luce," I grinned. "I'm just a little parched." Lucy's eyes lit up like a light bulb; I always loved her brown eyes that I was sure I could get lost in.

"We should all go to slushie slumber after school," she suggested. Juvia, Levy, Erza, Gajeel and Gray all nodded their heads, she then turned to me. "I promise you, you'll love it." 

I smiled wearily. But something told me that it wasn't exactly a drink that I was craving, let alone food... something like...magic. I shook my head apologetically. "Sorry, I have somewhere to go," I muttered. Yes, that was right, I could ask my father about my sudden cravings. 

Lucy nodded sadly. "We'll meet up tomorrow, 8am sharp, my father will be there," she said, before turning away. "see you soon!" I watched her bounce off, all happily. However, something told me that she wasn't smiling at all, and that a tear had escaped her eyelids.

time change

"Father..." I started, as I sat down at the kitchen side table eating a bowl of cereal. Don't judge me okay! Cereal taste way better in the evening and you know it too. My father, Igneel, looked up from his laptop and hummed, indicating that he was listening.

"You know that dragon arm... the one I've had since birth..." I muttered. "Why aren't there any dragons now? What happened to all of them?" 

Father didn't say anything for a few minutes but then clicked on his laptop and said, "I guess they all died out," he said quietly. I looked down into my cereal bowl, stirring the milk with my spoon. 

"I want to know... about my birth parents," I said slowly and cautiously. 

I held my breathe as I waited for an answer. "I told you, they died," father said simply. I sighed in frustration. Igneel was my foster father, he wasn't my actual birth parent. Apparently, I was found in an alleyway as a kid with my older brother Zeref, crouched in a corner. I was scared, tired, and hungry. 

"I'm 17 for god's sake!" I cried. "Tell me the truth! I'm old enough to know!"

Igneel found me and took me in. But I wanted to know the truth: who I was, why I was, and what had really happened. Igneel looked up from his laptop and into my dark eyes. "You want to really want to know?" he questioned. I gulped. I was starting to doubt myself- maybe I really DIDN'T need to know.

But it was now or never. "Yes, I do," I responded. "I want to know everything."

"Well," Igneel started, closing his laptop shut. "You were born in an era that doesn't exist today, a very mysterious era, quite magical... yet nobody yet very few know about its existence."

My eyes widened. "What was the era called?" I breathed. Igneel stood up and went into the cupboards to make himself a cup of tea. 

"Some people called it The Era of Paradise," Igneel answered, as he poured the milk into his cup. "While other's called it The Era of destruction."

"You see my dear child, there was a time where magic was everything, everybody around you had magic and if you didn't then you were one of those rare ones," he continued. "There were wizards, lots of amazing wizards. Some were powerful, while some were weak, but harmony always stood in place."

"What happened?" I implored eagerly. Igneel chuckled, as he sipped from his hot tea. "Well, the dragons the came of course," he grinned at me. 

"The dragons came and burned down and terrorised the towns, villages and city," Igneel explained. "People call it The Dragon War."

I took a spoonful of my cereal, trying my best to swallow it down. At first, I couldn't believe it, I found it hard to believe that I was an actual dragon. But I was, I had scales embedded under my skin, and sharp dagger canine teeth. But it wasn't until later that I discovered that I was a special dragon, not like the rest. 

"Your mother, she was a pretty woman," Igneel said quietly. "I met her only once, when she died tragically in the fire while protecting you." 

"You and your brother fled away from the fire and hid in a corner, where thankfully I found you."

I lowered my eyes as he continued. "at that time, you didn't know," he said. "didn't know that you were a demon created by the book E.N.D" I held my breath as I listened intently; I was finally learning the truth. 

"A book that your brother Zeref created that is."

My heart fell, as darkness shadowed my head and surrounded me. I felt a sudden chill crawl down my spine as the words echoed repeatedly in my head. A book that my brother Zeref created. Those were the words that haunted me; the words that terrified me and the words that changed me. 

"My brother created me?" I croaked. "did he turn me into... a dragon?"

Igneel waggled his head indicating both a nod and shake. "you weren't meant to be a dragon, it was a simple mistake, but after you died-

"I died?" 

"Yes," Igneel affirmed triumphantly. "you died, and were after reincarnated into a demon by your brother who had such string magic indeed." He then gulped down the remains of his cup and slammed it onto the table. Igneel wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

"Now, where was I?" he sighed. "ah yes, The Dragon War. The dragon war soon ended, yes it did. And if I can remember, it was somebody who ended the war." 

"Somebody ended the war?" I puzzled. "One single person?!" 

Igneel nodded. "Yes, but the result were disastrous," he warned. "He had used all the magic of Fiore to win against the dragons and there was almost no magic left." 

"But it was to a good cause," I insisted. "He saved many lives, didn't he?"

"yes but," Igneel wavered. "He ended up getting twice as much magic blasted back at him, and all the magic in the whole of the era was eradicated . Killing all the dragons and creating victory for the wizards."

"Ex-wizards," I corrected. "If they lost all their magic, then they were no longer wizards."

Igneel nodded his head. "Aye yes, and eventually they adapted to a life without magic- a world we live in today." My eyes widened as Igneel concluded the story. But there was still one lingering question at the back of my mind.

"What happened to all the magic?" I asked. "Surely its got to be somewhere." But this was a question that caused Igneel to hesitate before answering. 

He then leant forward and muttered into my ear. "Nobody knows, but rumours have it that its locked away in a secret place enclosed in what legend says 'The Dragon Crystal'." My heart skipped a beat as Igneel drew his head away from me. 

"But then again it's only rumours," he said. "But if the dragon crystal is ever found and the magic is released, the result could prove to be fatal, creating another world of magic, but of pure evil."

"Bad things will happen?" I breathed. 

"Aye bad things will happen," Igneel said. "For instance, the world could turn into total chaos, dragons could come back and you... you might...

"might what?"

Igneel shook his head. "Nothing," he said, sitting back onto the sofa. "I think I'm going to have a little nap now." 

I nodded slowly. The dragon crystal was dangerous. I had to warn Lucy! But would she listen or even believe me if it means giving up on her mother?