400 years

60

We kissed, it was only a little one. But it meant the world to me.

Just then-

"Lord Natsu! Lucy!"

Natsu and I pulled away, I turned my head to the sounds of horses and yells of our names. At the same time, Natsu's exhaustion took over and his head landed on my shoulder.

Happy as I was to see them, I had other things on my mind-

'There wasn't a mentioning of Zeref, so had he gotten away? ...And that would mean this war isn't over just yet.'

~*~

After the Dragneel forces showed up, Sting and the other warlords decided that they'd regroup at another safe area. The home of two people who had an impact on Natsu's child hood, Makarov and Porlyusica. Happy, who had found and returned my keys to me, explained that I might be able to get some information on Anna..

Wendy along with Porlyusica , quickly went to healing the wounded. I helped with what I could. Natsu had been resting quite a bit, even though he'd been healed. Porlyusica, explained that his E.N.D demon took a lot out of him.

The following night, I found the time to speak with Porlyusica.. rather, she found time to speak to me..

"Lucy, may I have a word with you?"

But what neither of us expected, was the last of the pieces would appear to us in a cloud of purplish black smog..

Porlyusica and I had stepped out of the recently founded guild hall. Soon after, Porlyusica began..

My ancestor Anna, had made a deal with Zeref to send Natsu, along with four other children to the future. Through a passageway called the eclipse gate, a large stone gate.. "Well that sounds familiar..Happy.." Anna attempted to do so, however, this led to her discovery of Zeref having wiped out magic for futures to come. Through meeting my mother Layla durning in of her expeditions. Anna, who was also a celestial mage feared for her friends (the celestial spirits) lives. Therefore Anna went against Zeref's plan.

She was aided help by dragons, each taking on a child to watch over. It wasn't until the children became young teens, that word made its way back to Zeref about the betrayal.

But, before Porlyusica could finish-

"So I killed her, leaving Acnologia to believe it was Natsu."

"Z-Zeref!?"

"Yes Porlyusica, it's been a while.. but to add to the story, I had Natsu believe he'd killed me. That way he wouldn't come for me. At least, until I was ready for him."

"Y-you monster! How could-!?"

Suddenly, Natsu walked out of the guild, "Get away from him, Lucy."

"Ah, little-."

"Nuh-uh, I had a feeling you were still around. Igneel, let a lot of things slip. But I needed to see for myself. And here you are."

"Heh, I see. So, where's Mavis?"

At Zeref's question, Markova came out from behind Natsu. "Her resting place does not concern the likes of you."

"We will see about that, and I hope you'll be ready, Little brother."

At that moment, the landscape around us became distorted, as the air alike became sketchy. Bending down, I braced myself as the ground started to shake and shift, I closed my eyes. "W-what's-?"

"Luce!" Natsu called, as I was suddenly wrapped in a strong, warm embrace.

"Na-!?"

The harsh wind that came with this odd distortion had me squinting. However, I was unfortunately able to catch the glimpse of the twisted grin on Zeref's face before he vanished..

And just like that, it was over. The wind was once more calm and the night sky was just as it had been.

When I fully opened my eyes, only to notice the deathly stare in Natsu's eyes. In the exact direction Zeref had been standing.

"You're unharmed?"

Natsu's husky voice broke my gaze as I turned back, meeting his onyx eyes.

"Yes."

"Good." He said with a slight squeeze of me.

"Ah-hm! Well then, it seems we'll need a bit more reinforcements then I'd thought."

Markova cleared his throat and declared, as him and Porlyusica both returned to the guild.

Natsu then let me lose, only to clutch my hand in his, as he started to move forward. "Let's take a walk, shall we?"