Fire, Blood and Stars

Chapter 3

"Are you trying to tell me that there is only one magic shop in this whole town?!", the blond mage asked the shopkeeper of said magic shop.

"Now, now, sweetheart, don't be like that. I have lots of magical items. I have this Colors magic, to change the colors of your clothes based on your mood!"

"I don't want it! I want a Gatekey."

"But miss, I have something far better!"

Lucy was interested despite herself. Far better than a Gatekey? What could it be?

"It's a ticket to a party on a ship, hosted by the famous mage Vampire."

She looked up, stunned. "The Vampire?! From Fairy Tail?!"

"Yes, miss."

Lucy looked conflicted. Should she go to the party, or get a key? She eventually decided to get the Gatekey. After buying the Gatekey of Nikola, she went off hurriedly. She kept thinking of how she missed her chance to see the Fairy Tail mage. Just her luck. She could have gotten a silver key from anywhere. She was regretting her choice when she saw a crowd gathering, chanting the name "Vampire!", again and again. She tried to get close to actually see the mage, but couldn't get through the crowd.

Just then, she saw a pink haired boy standing in the crowd, bored, with a blue cat on his shoulder. The wasn't what caught her eye. It was the ticket to the party on the ship! Looking at the boy's reaction at being present in front of the Vampire, sha decided that he wouldn't need the ticket. Before she could stop herself, she grabbed it and ran away as fast as she could. By the time the boy noticed, she was long gone.

After getting away to a safe distance, she looked at the ticket and let out a sharp squeal. "Yes! Yes!! YES!!!!". Her heart was beating faster than she thought possible. This wasn't just a ticket to the party. It was a ticket to the guild she had always wanted to join, Fairy Tail!

In the evening, she went to the party on the ship. Everything looked almost surreal. Of course, that may have been because she was so excited. She looked around to find the Vampire, and eventually got lost. Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind her. "What is such a pretty lady doing down here?"

She inwardly thought, 'Creep', before turning. As soon as he saw the person, her anger melted. This wasn't a creep. He was hot! She let her gaze travel down his body, but paused at the sight of a ring on his finger. The moment she realized what it was, all her attraction to him faded.

"A love charm? Why? I don't understand."

The man's smile faded. He clapped his hands above his head, and suddenly several men came out of the shadows.

"Welcome to our slave ship, girly. Now, hand over your keys, unless you want this to get messy." Lucy's hand immediately went to her keys in a protective manner. The Vampire tried to snatch it, but just then, the entire ship jerked. Then their stomachs rolled as they felt like they were free-falling. Lucy could only compare it to an experience she had a few years ago.

Flashback

Lucy, her father, and her mother were in a car. Lucy was sitting in the front seat, while her mother was driving. It was a stormy night, and they needed to get home fast. But at that age, Lucy didn't really care. "Mom, mom! Look! An ice cream stall! Can we have some?". "Not now, Lucy.". Lucy kept pestering her mother. When Layla eventually turned to look at her, they hit the side of a bridge, and the car was sent flying through the air.

This experience was just like that. The way her stomach contracted, and the fear of imminent death. She couldn't help it. She screamed.

After landing, she felt pain course through her body. She looked up and saw one of the lackeys of the Vampire leering at her. She could do nothing to defend herself as the man pulled her upright, sending jolts of pain through her limbs. The man leaned in, his lips close to hers. She tried to get away, but before either of them could do anything, the man exploded in a shower of blood.

Without anything holding her up, she began to fall, when she felt somebody grab her from behind. That someone said, "Happy, hold her up while I handle the rest." She felt another pull on her shirt and was gently let down. She then became unconscious.

The mysterious man walked over to the one calling himself Vampire, after having his cat, Happy, hold her. He said, "The trouble with stealing my name is that I will retaliate, violently. The Army will be here in some time, so let me have some fun beforehand." The man, now revealed as the real Vampire, smiled a crooked smile. The fake Vampire shivered in fear, but tried to make a last-ditch attempt at survival. He raised his hand and yelled, "Prominence whip!" Magic curled around his hand, but before he could bring it down, the Vampire was in front of him, holding his hand back.

The pink haired Vampire smiled. He dug his nail into the fake's wrist. Blood started dripping. "Bora the Prominence. Kicked out of your guild for using magic to steal. My job was to capture you, but you took my moniker and pretended to be me. You brought this upon yourself." He started sucking the blood flowing down Bora's arm.

He swallowed it. Then suddenly, he puked it all out. "Ew! Is that even blood?! Yuck!". He thought, 'I threw a ship to the harbor to prevent my motion sickness, and I still ended up puking! Disgusting!'. He elbowed the Prominence in the head, effectively knocking him out. He went to his cat and picked him up.

He gave one last look to the blonde girl. A small part of him said that she would die if he left her there, but he silenced it. She would only come to hate him sooner or later. He turned to leave when his cat spoke up.

"Natsu, don't leave her like that! She'll die!" Natsu gave out a sigh. He couldn't say no to Happy. He was the only thing he had left of the only person who had gone out of her way to be his friend, whom he had grown to love like a sister.

"Fine", he said, and went over to the girl. Her hand was bleeding. He dipped his finger in the blood and sucked it in. Delicious! He waited until it had mixed with his blood, and tore open a gash on his own wrist. He held her mouth open and let his blood drip into it.

A few minutes passed, with no results. Then slowly, her wounds started closing. Her bones mended with a crack. She slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing that she was healed, Natsu got up to leave, but felt a tug on his cloak. He turned back and saw the girl holding his cloak. He tried to tug his cloak out, but stopped when he heard the girl whimper. "Stay", she all but begged. "Please?"

Natsu froze in his tracks.

Flashback

"Natsu", said the girl in his arms. "I don't think I'll survive. Can you stay with me? Please?"

Natsu leaned down and picked up the girl. She rested her head on his shoulder and let her body relax. Happy sat on his other shoulder, and Natsu started walking to the station. He hated trains, because he had to constantly expend magic to avoid getting motion sick. Oh well. He could always borrow some magic from the girl.

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