Beholden | NaLu |

• F I F T E E N •

•••

"W-What?"

However, Ignia didn't give her a second more, instead grabbing her hand and pulling her close.

Lucy yelped, startled and shocked beyond what words could express, despite Natsu doing the exact same thing frequently. Ignia's actions were similar to the pink haired dragon slayer's, but his touch and intentions were clearly nowhere near as gentle.

"Hold on tight."

These exact words had filled her with anticipation and immeasurable warmth the night before, them holding more meaning than just instructions. They had filled her with a sense of promise and love, but now, these words just echoed, like a mere instruction, leaving her cold and empty.

They filled her with dread.

She shook her head, lifting up her hands to put some distance between them. Her eyes hardened, when she stared, directly into his deep red ones.

Despite them being a fiery shade of red, all she could feel was chill of the black.

"Wait-What do you think you're—!"

Her pleas dissolved into a nothingness, when Ignia smirked and took off, high up in the sky. Her screams fell short in comparison to the howling wind, which slapped her face painfully while he took her to who knows where.

Everything around was a blur, the swirling colours making her nauseous. However, as soon as it had started, it stopped too.

He let her go, jerking her off of him. Lucy, already dizzy from moments before, fell to the ground painfully, scraping her knee and palms in the process. Pain soared in her left arm and she gasped, clutching it with her right one.

"So weak." Ignia chuckled. "You'd be fun."

She glared at him, her hardened dark eyes boring into his amused, red ones. She got up, and stood straight and poised, showing that she wasn't scared.

She will never show that she was scared.

She was not weak.

"Why did you bring me here? What do you want from me?"

Ignia stopped chuckling and raised his eyebrows at her, surprised at her behaviour.

"Tsk..I thought you were easy. Guess not..."

And then he laughed, sending chills down her spine, not in a good way.

"That's what'll make it more satisfying."

"Why did you bring me here?" She repeated, and it took everything in her not to break down from the fear and the unknown. She kept up her façade of the tough, hoping, praying that it'll all be alright.

He strutted over to a broken bench, leaving his footprints on the light snow, while Lucy took in her surroundings. Gone was the sparkling, frozen lake of Magnolia and the beautiful, light snow, for now, debris and darkness surrounded them. However, it not that dark to hide the fact that they were on the terrace of an abandoned building.