Enslaved Part 2
Nalu Week 2018 Day 7 Freedom prompt- AU story, part 1 Here
Natsu’s face grows pale and he jumps out of his seat ready to launch into a denial, but before he can say anything, Sting cuts in smirking like a mad man. “I was just asking him when he was gonna find a mate, cause he’s the last of our Draco’s generation to do so.”
“Oh,” Yukino leans into her husband, “why, does he have anyone in mind?”
Grin, “Well, since you asked…”
“I don’t!” Natsu flies at Sting and covers his mouth. Hell, he would’a punched him too if Yukino wasn’t so close. “Okay, n-no one yet so, end of discussion!”
“Do you…”
He cuts Yukino off to change the subject, “So, how was the training with Lucy? Sounds like you two got along well.”
“I think she’ll pick it up quickly,” smiling at the nervous blonde who looked like she wanted to run back to her room, “Lucy has a lot of magical power and once she unlocks it, she’ll probably be the most powerful Spirit mage I’ve ever come across.”
“Is that so,” Natsu glances at his ward, “I like the sound of that…”
After Sting and Yukino leaves, Lucy retreated to her room once Natsu told her he wouldn’t need her for the rest of the evening. Yukino promised to visit every other day to train but that she should practice as much as she could, or at least as much as Natsu allows her to. She liked the sweet natured Sprite and was glad to have made a friend, sort of, maybe it’ll help her keep her mind off the fact she’s a captive and not just Natsu’s roommate or something.
Or something… What was it those three were talking about, mates? Lucy had heard of the concept before, it’s similar to a marriage, if she remembered what was said about Draco’s, it was also different, but she couldn’t remember in what way. Plopping onto her bed, she could always ask Yukino later because frankly learning more about Draco’s could come in handy to help her figure out Natsu.
“Hmm,” Natsu retires to his den later that night, ‘strongest spirit mage…’ He had really liked the sound of that considering it just raised her value at auction tenfold. And yet, why wasn’t that idea sitting well, his inner dragon recoiling, and souring his mood the longer he thought about it. Granted, he planned to use her for a little while, ‘so hush!’ he growls at himself. Selling her had been the whole reason he’d captured her!
But he couldn’t lie to himself about one thing, having a powerful wizard like Lucy as a mate was an attractive notion, a very attractive one. Of all the Draco’s of his generation, Natsu was the strongest, so shouldn’t his mate be of similar caliber? And bonus, she was visually stunning… Suddenly the idea of giving up his prized catch wasn’t so appealing anymore.
Yukino adjusts the position of Lucy’s fingers, indexes and thumbs pointing up while the rest are intertwined, then pushes the configuration flush against the girl’s chest, “Remember, focus on the spirit you are summoning, stretching out your power to the heavens. You’re doing good for being new at this so don’t get discouraged. Let’s try that again…”
And she was doing well, at least by Natsu’s estimation. Only a week in and the girl could summon a spirit by the third try when he had assumed it would take her a month just to learn the signs. They were working on minor stars to begin with because those required less energy to call down to their world, but it wouldn’t surprise him if by the end of next week, Lucy will be tackling the major stars. The longer she honed her skills, the more she exercised her magic, it would get easier and she’ll be able to summon more than one at a time.
Lucy was undeniably special.
He wondered if her father realized how much potential his daughter had as a wizard, maybe he hadn’t cared, or maybe he did and that was part of the arrangement he had made unbeknownst to Lucy, to provide such a valuable wife. ‘Tch.’ Natsu crosses his arms, smirking to himself as the girl’s train. Despite coming from a sheltered life, this girl was tougher than she looked, and he admired the effort she was putting in to learn about her magic. Imagine if her mother had been around to train her from young, this girl would be a powerhouse in their world. He frowns, had her father been trying to suppress that, and that’s why he got rid of the mother? A woman strong enough both mentally and physically would probably not make for a subservient wife and it sounds like in the realm her father lived in, that is the place of a woman.
At this point Natsu walks away for a moment. Okay, so yes, he was a hypocrite for being irritated about her father when he wasn’t much better by keeping her prisoner in his home and threatening to sell her at auction. He frowns, truth be told, he wasn’t going to do that anymore, there was no way his primal side would allow it, but he used it to keep her compliant. Speaking of which, his dragon had been restless lately whenever he left her alone for too long. He knew the reason but wasn’t ready to acknowledge it.
“I made dinner,” Natsu walks into her room with two plates, “you must be exhausted from the training.”
“Yeah,” still towel drying her hair in the mirror, “but it’s been really great to finally learn about my mother’s magic,” smiling. “I can’t thank Yukino enough for helping me, and,” lowering her gaze and tone, “you as well for bringing her here even if you still might send me away.”
“Look Lucy,” putting her plate on the desk, “I won’t be doing that, I won’t sell you to anyone else.” She stops fiddling with her towel and stares at him, so he averts his gaze. “After being here for a month now, and learning more about you… I-I don’t think I want you to leave… No, I know I don’t want you to leave.” She takes a step towards him, but he steps back a little embarrassed, “Anyways, you should eat because you need to keep your strength up,” and walks out of the room.
He couldn’t believe what came out of his mouth, scratch that, how it came out of his mouth. Did he just admit, out loud, that he didn’t want her to leave? Well, so much for his dinner cause his appetite just went right out the window. Maybe she didn’t pick up what his dragon pushed out of his mouth, stupid animal, Lucy was a bit on the naïve side. After flopping onto his bed and running his hand over his face, he closed his eyes. Exhale, he couldn’t keep her a prisoner anymore…
‘That was a little weird…’ Lucy picks up her plate and sits on the bed, picking at the contents. How should she react to his statement, well of course it made her happy that he didn’t plan on selling her but something about his demeanor was a little off. Then again, he has been acting different. While he was sweeter and kinder, he kept an air of distance between them and yet, the last couple of weeks he also kept her close by as much as he could, even taking her with him when he had to go out. She was confused as to why the change.
Did it have to do with her father, had he found out where she was? Was Natsu keeping her close because he’d heard something about it? ‘Aww, is he being protective of me?’ But why? ‘Right…’ Yukino had explained that Draco’s can be territorial and protective over anything they deem to be theirs, especially mates. A rival could set one off simply by looking at a mate the wrong way. ‘Nah,’ she shakes her head, more to convince herself rather than the empty room she sat in, Natsu probably just didn’t want to lose her to her father.
Lucy finishes her meal and cleans up her plate in the kitchen. On her way back to her room she pauses at his cracked door, the light is off, and she can hear his breathing but, she wanted to clear the air. So, she takes a deep breath and pushes the door open…
“Natsu?” pausing to adjust to the darkness of his room. “Um, Natsu are you awake?”
He had smelled her lingering at his door, but was surprised when she came in. “Yeah,” he sits up and turns on a small lamp next to his bed.
“I um,” cautiously she makes her way into the room and sits down at the end of the bed, a heightened scent of nervous energy coming off her like waves and if he wasn’t mistaken, her face was a little flushed. Ah, fuck it all she looked so damn adorable! “What you said earlier about wanting me to stay, does it have something to do with my father? I… noticed you’ve been a little protective lately and wondered if you’d heard something, maybe news about him trying to track me down?”
So that’s what she was worried about? He shakes his head, “no I haven’t heard anything about that.”
“Oh.” Confusion takes over her expression, if that wasn’t the reason then… Lucy’s body stiffens, is that why Yukino was giggling during the mate’s conversation!
Well that wasn’t the reaction he had expected, instead of looking relieved, she looks petrified. Then again, a new scent permeates the air around her and one he was familiar with; albeit never when he was the only male in the room. Crap, he really wasn’t expecting this reaction!
She tries to look up from her lap but when she sees the startled expression on his face she quickly changes direction, he sure didn’t seem like he was interested in her! Maybe the signals had been crossed. “I’m sorry, that’s good news I guess. Well I’ll just go back to my room now.” Lucy stands to leave but he grabs her wrist and when she turns to face him, his face is pointed at the ground. “I-Is there something you wanted to tell me?”
“Did you know that we, um have a really good sense of smell?”
“I’m sorry, do you mean Draco’s?” he nods. “Yes, Yukino told me.”
“Did you know that your scent just changed a few minutes ago?” She shakes her head. He coaxes her back to the bed to sit next to him. “To answer your other question, I’ve been protective because that’s how we tend to get when we like something.”
“I know… I didn’t know much about your kind so Yukino told me a few things…”
Now he knew why she became so nervous. “It’s true, I captured you to make money because that’s one thing I do to survive, but it didn’t take long for me to realize there was no way I could give you up.” Exhale. “I told myself that maybe we could team up, you know, two powerful wizards and all but then watching how hard you push yourself in training, and seeing how strong you were not just in magic but in, shit, every way, you were just so… perfect.” A long ease of breath escapes him. “But, I won’t hold you captive anymore Lucy, if you want to leave… it’s okay, I’ll let you go.”
Moisture pools in her eyes at the most sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her before, even though it wasn’t exactly romantic. In all the 20 years she’d been alive and secluded in her fathers home the most love and affection she would ever receive was from the house staff, but here was a man, who after just a month of knowing her...
“But, I’m not perfect Natsu…” her voice barely a whisper as she gazes at the hands she has clutched in her lap. “I’m just trying to do what I need to get through this life.”
He laughs, “and weaker people would just submit or die. Lucy you are so much stronger than you realize.”
“Thanks for saying that,” trying to control the blush surely blooming on her face, “it really means a lot to me… and I don’t want to leave, I like it here with you.”
An awkward silence develops at that point. Neither had ever been in this situation before, virgins as it were in the idiom of love.
‘She wants to stay here…’ the concept rolls around his brain for a couple minutes, processing, not processing. He had hoped she’d wouldn’t leave but had braced himself for the opposite so now that the truth was out, frankly he didn’t know how to proceed. Unless she indicates otherwise, they should simply continue living the way they had been for the last month and he supposed he could live with that. ‘Tch,’ so long as no one tries to touch her anyways…
She steals away a glance at the Draco beside her, wondering could this kidnapper turned sweetheart be worth taking a chance on like Yukino had alluded to? The physical desire to see what he had to offer was just a part of the deal, but that itself was a mellifluous temptation. She was a healthy young woman after all, and the thought of how his calloused hands would feel against her smooth skin, lips and teeth raking or nibbles of possession all over her body… Unconsciously her legs squeeze together …or his clawed fingers gripping her thighs…
The deep rumble at her side breaks her out of the erotic daydream she was having. Lucy stiffens.
“I did mention our sense of smell, right?” Natsu’s voice is low and husky, sending delectable shivers along her spine and the hair on her arms to stand on end. “I can’t read your mind, but your body is telling me exactly what you must be thinking about.”
Composing herself and pulling out a thread of will power from the depths of her soul, “if that’s true,” she takes a leap of fate, “then prove it.”