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Lucy made her way through the woods. There was a small worn out path from the little shed. It had overgrown shrubbery hiding it indicating that it wasn't used for some time. Still, Lucy decided to take a gamble and hoped it would lead her to where the dagger was. The time limit had her a little anxious. She decided it was better to find it then relax. She would push that button on the last hour. That way she could get some peace and quiet.

Dusk was approaching fast and the last thing Lucy wanted was to be stuck in the woods in the middle of night. With no source of light, there was a high probability that she could wander the forest aimlessly. Forget the time limit, she could be fodder for any predators lurking around. With those thoughts she lengthened her step and searched harder.

With the brisk pace, her leg throbbed from where the door got her. She forgot to look at it earlier and assess the damage. She didn't have time to do that now. To add, mosquitos where flying around like crazy and she kept having to slap at them. Oh what she wouldn't do for bug spray. The simple things she took for granted came at full force. If she ever made through this ordeal, she would begin to appreciate life a little more.

The path ahead began to become denser and Lucy had to fight her way through. The branches she broke scraped against her skin. The brush irritated her. Welts were already forming and a small rash was beginning.

Lucy stumbled through the shrubbery and came upon a clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a mansion. Many of the lights were lit, as if it was expecting someone. Immediately Lucy rushed for some type of cover. If she was caught from the get go there would be no hope left. She needed to calculate her moves accordingly and to ensure that she lived another day.

A portion of the house was not lit up and Lucy rushed over to it. The windows were shut. She pressed herself against the wall and made her way around. This led her to what seemed like a cellar. The cellar had a lock on it but upon closer inspection it was dummy locked. Looking around one more time, she quickly took the lock off and entered the cellar.

The cellar did not have a musty smell that was characteristic to most cellars. What it did smell like was wine. Sweet red wine. The space was dimly lit and barrels of wine were illuminated. The barrels themselves were made of quality wood. Beside the barrels there were shelves of wine. Each bottle had an intricate design with a gold label.

Lucy walked up to the wine and picked up the bottle. A writing she didn't recognize stared back at her. The bottle itself looked very expensive and if she had to guess, then the label was made from real gold. On impulse, Lucy put the bottle of wine in her backpack. This was going to be her celebratory drink when she retrieved the dagger. She smiled at the thought of tasting the wine. If it tasted half as good as it smelled then she was in for a treat.

Getting back onto the task, Lucy found the door to the house with no problem. It was unusually quiet. With the amount of lights on there had to be some kind of commotion going on. But there was nothing. It would be a waste of electricity if that was the case. These people had to be rich. No, they were rich. The mansion, the wine, and the amount of electricity they were using. There was no question about it. The question was, how rich? Did they have bodyguards? Spies? The difficulty of the mission rose.

The first rooms that Lucy encountered were empty. The part of the mansion she was in was dark. It must be a private wing. If it was, then it would make sense that something as valuable as the dagger would be in this part of the house. Lucy mentally cheered. Maybe this dagger would be a lot easier to find. She might be drinking that wine a lot sooner than she thought.

The next room she found had double doors. Thinking nothing of it Lucy slid through. The room was darker than the others so she quietly placed her hand on the wall and walked along side it, trying to feel anything in her path.

The lights immediately switched on.

To say that Lucy's heart stopped would be an understatement. She choked on her breath but refused to make any sound. She stood frozen, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness.

"We've been expecting you."

It was a woman's voice. She recognized it. It filled her with dread and a new fear engulfed her. Lucy turned her head and looked straight at Erza Scarlet.

Lucy tried to open her mouth to respond but fear wouldn't allow it. She was facing the same woman who tried to feed her to the vampires. The man who had kept quiet at the time was also there.

"It seems like Mira-Jane made a mistake." Erza smiled, "Come, sit down"

The scarlet hair woman gestured to a chair. She walked over to it and pulled it out to her. Lucy felt the effects of shock wearing off and quickly willed herself to run to the door. Instantly the man in the room phased himself in front of the door. Lucy stared into the blue eyes of the man. His blue hair fell into his eyes but that did not dampen his intimidation. If anything, it amplified it.

"Come, sit." Erza repeated herself, "We won't hurt you."

"Like I would trust you."

Lucy uttered the words before she could think them. She slapped her hand over her mouth and backed away from the blue haired man. Her eyes darted between the two beings. This was not good. She failed her mission. How mad would Lisanna be if she activated the transponder empty handed.

"I understand your hesitance since last time we almost killed you, but this time it's different." Erza responded. Lucy did not believe them.

"The Salamander saved you." The blue haired man said. His words tumbled out with no emotion. Lucy looked at him. He was stoic and expressionless. It was hard to get a read on him. Who was he?

"If we believed you at the time, we would've let you go immediately. Maybe then we wouldn't have lost so many men." Erza added.

"I don't understand" Lucy hesitantly said. Her guard was up and like riding a bike, all her training from the previous months came rushing in. She began analyzing their movement, looking for any weakness they may have.

"You are after all, the Salamanders mate." The man walked over to Erza.

"How do you know that?"

"I have known Salamander for a very long time. And not once in his life has he ever saved anyone. Him saving a female can only mean one thing. You are his other half."

There was conviction in his voice. This man knew things. Things that weren't supposed to be known. Lucy didn't know if she believed in mates. But she knew what she felt for Natsu was real and it was worth exploring.

"We broke up"

"All you humans are the same. You take relationships lightly. In our world, mates are absolute. They are the reason we even exist. My question is, why are you not marked? Why are you away from him?"

"Like I said, we broke up."

"Something happened. What is the Salamander planning?"

"Jellal, you are attacking her. Lucy please come sit. I'll have something brought up so you can eat." Erza smiled. There was an agenda behind that smile.

"I'll stand"

"Mira-Jane is up to something. She is risking the wrath of the Salamander." Erza sat down in the chair that she had offered Lucy. She crossed her arms and inspected her nails. It was evident she got tired of playing hostess.

"Come to our side and well give you protection against her." Erza stated without looking up.

"What? Out of one fire pit and into another one? No thank you."

"We'll take you to him." Jellal interjected. "Our sources say that you are being held against your will at the Strauss compound. Tell us what you know and we will take you to him."

"If not then we will send you back. I wonder how well they would take it if you came back empty handed." Erza said as she took out a dagger and placed it on the table. The woman looked up and stared at Lucy. Her eyes had narrowed. She was threatening Lucy.

Lucy stared at the dagger and knew. It looked so ordinary but the power that radiated from it was a dead giveaway. This was the dagger she was looking for.

"Who are you people?" Lucy asked with a shaky voice. Somehow, she doubted they were human.

"I am king of all who are undead. I am the descendant of long line of purebred vampires. My beloved is Queen of the Fairies. She is the strongest of her kind. We rule those who are lesser than us."

There was a silence following Jellal's answer. The tension was thick, somebody could've cut it with a knife. Lucy sucked in her breath. These beings were out of her league. If they were human she would've had a chance. Maybe even if they were underlings.

But royalty? Her hands shook and she knew there was no way of getting out of this situation. She looked at the dagger. She was staring at the mission. She was so close, yet so far away.

"They want me to kill Natsu." Lucy whispered, eyes trained on the blade. She couldn't look away. Something about it compelled her to tell the truth. They did say they would take her to Natsu. It was a chance she had to take. It was the only available option to her. Who knew what torture awaited her if she went back empty handed. These people almost killed her last time but they seemed to respect Natsu much more than Mira-Jane's tribe.

Erza and Jellal looked at each other and then at the dagger, then at Lucy. There was silence. Frantic words spilled out.

"Its-"

"We could-"

"Ours."

The couple seemed to have a complete conversation in the span of seconds. They were on the same wavelength and Lucy felt a pang of longing. She missed being in tune with someone. Would it be possible to have that again with Natsu?

"Please. Can you take me to him?"

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. They were desperate and it shocked her. Would she beg and plead to get to him? Yes. Would she risk her life to do so? She would.

The whole point of this mission was to get to Natsu. She wanted to see him. To apologize to him. The need to be with him overrode everything. It was all she could think about lately. It was the only thing that got her through the torturous months.

It was at this moment Lucy realized she would do anything to be with Natsu

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