Markings: a NaLu/Fairy Tail Fanfic

Truth

~~~ Chapter five: Truth ~~~~

P.O.V. Lucy Heartfilia

I was at the beach, waiting for Natsu to arrive. It was a warm day for being winter, which was perfect. Many other people had also taken the opportunity and come too, but that wasn't much of a problem. After all, the place I was talking about was quite a bit from shore, so no one would notice or hear us. I sat on the beach, smiling as I watched a little girl chase after her dog.

"Oi, Lucy!" Natsu was walking towards me waving. He was dressed in his swimtrunks, but he had bandages wrapped around his torso, which was odd. I thought his wounds had healed.

"Hey Natsu!" I replied, giving him a warm smile.

"So, is this the place?" He asked, frowning slightly, "Don't you think it's a bit crowded? No one's supposed to hear this, you know."

I waved his doubts away. "No, no, don't worry, it's not here. But we had to come here to get there, though."

"Huh?" He looked thouroughly confused.

"Come on follow me," I took his hand and led him to the water,"I found this place while exploring underwater. I don't think anyonyone else knows about it, so no one will hear this secret of yours here." I dove under the water, shivering as I felt the coolness seep into my skin. Checking behind me, I made sure Natsu was behind me as I swam farther from the shore. As soon as we were a respectable distance from the shoreline, I popped my head up from the water, gasping for breath.

Natsu appeared next to me, completely unnaffected by the lack of oxygen that had gotten to me. "Dude!" I panted, "How long can you hold your breath?"

Natsu wrinkled his nose as he thought about it. Geez, he looked so cute like that! I just wanted to- Whoa, whoa, whoa, how did that thought slip into my brain? Why was I getting these thoughts? Wh-

Natsu interrupted my thoughts."Well, I would say about seven minutes, maybe more, maybe less, I guess it depends on whether I practice or not."

"Wow." I said. "Well, the place is right below us, follow me or you might get lost." At that, I slipped beneath the waves and began to dive deeper. There was a fairly large coral reef here, growing on top of a underwater hill. I had been down here wth Juvia, just exploring. I mean, if Juvia could use water magic and could put an air bubble around your head, why not take the chance and go sightseeing underwater? Not many people could do that.

Examining a fairly large fish, I wondered how it could hide in this small coral. My question was answered though, when I saw it slip through a crevice in the hill, and my first instinct was to follow it of cousre. Who wouldn't take the opportunity? I had followed the fish, the crevice being more than big enough to let me through, and swam through a rather dark tunnel for a few seconds. I was astonished at what I had found. An underwater cave, and it was absolutley beautiful in there! But, I didn't spend too much time in the area, afraid that my friends would go looking for me and not be able to find me. So I went back, promising to myself that I would visit again, but keep it secret. It was a greedy move, but hey, it was like a paradise. The time now wasn't for secrets though, if Natsu needed a place for a secret, this was the place.

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As we got closer to the crevice, I took Natsu's hand and led him to it, poining at the hole. I slipped in and pulled him after me, ignoring the questioning look he gave me. I mean, it's not like I could answer him, we were underwater after all. After a few seconds of swimming, I saw a dim glow, which meant that we were just about at the cave. As I came into the cave room, I put my feet against the floor of the deep pool, and pushed upward with all my strength. I smilled giddily, imagining myself as a dolphin skimming through the waves. I might as well pretend while I could. Breaking through the waters surface, I grabbed onto the ledge of the cave floor and stayed there, gasping for breath.

Natsu surfaced next to me, his eyes widening as he looked around him. The whole cave was illuminated by matalongs, a type of magical mushroom that cast a soft blue glow. The limestone stalagmites and stalactites cast long shadows across the ceilings and walls, creating beautiful shapes. Matalong spores floated in the air, they weren't poisonous, and since they were of matalongs, they too glowed. It all created a sort of romantic effect, but it sadly was a bit overthrown because of Natsu's seriousness. I guess this wasn't the case at the moment though, he seemed distracted from his thoughts as he took in the sight before him.

"Wow..." breathed Natsu, at a loss for words.

"Yeah, I know." I agreed. He didn't need to say anything for me to know what he was trying to say. It was absolutely beautiful.

Natsu raised himself from the water and headed towards a small raise of the ground in a clearing. He sat down and sighed, looking worried again. I wondered what could be bothering him this much. I followed him there, and stood in front of him.  

"Ok, Natsu, now you've got me really worried too. Talk." 

Natsu bit his lip and looked up at me. "Lucy," he began, "you probably won't believe me when I tell you this, but I'm telling you firsthand that this is all one hundred percent true," Natsu looked down again. "The truth is really hard to accept, I had trouble with it myself, but I'm not gonna give up yet."

I stared at Natsu. What on Earthland could he be talking about?  

"Lucy, remember those guys? The ones from a few weeks ago." 

I nodded, wondering where could he be going with this. 

Natsu continued, his head in his hands. "Well, while they had me, they... They put some sort of spell on me."  

Natsu told me about his nightmares visions, and all about the guy on the throne and the dark room.  

I heard him clench his teeth. I closed my eyes tightly, prepared for whatever he was about to say. "It seems that this spell is meant to take control of me, up to the point where I won't even think like myself anymore. And if the guy is who we suspect... Well, there's not much we can do, is there?" Natsu looked up at me and smiled sadly.  

My heart throbbed painfully. I never wanted this to happen, I would gladly accept this fate as my own instead of his. I thought back at all the times he had saved me from death, and how he was the one who brought me to my home. Natsu was always there for me, and now the cruel world had pushed this guy into a near certain fate. I had never saved Natsu once, I was just the weak girl who always needed saving. But even though I was always a burden, Natsu had accepted me as his partner, his best friend, and had never complained once about having to save me. At this moment I realized that I was in love with Natsu Dragneel.