Sweet Starry Shadows

Nothing

Sweet Starry Shadows

Chapter 26: Nothing

They were all silent as they followed the tall blond in front of them. Cautious as their bodies were stiff and tense, they eyed his back as he continued to walk without uttering a single word. "Why are you helping us?" Sting questioned.

Laxus remained quiet as he made a sharp turn and opened his mouth to give out a whistle. Unlike any other tune, this one was unfamiliar, strange, and somewhat magical as the air around the boys shifted into something that was fairly unsettling to them both. Glancing over his shoulder, he narrowed his eyes.

He didn't trust them one bit. As much as he hated how manipulative his own family was, he knew that these boys couldn't do a single thing when it comes to helping with Sakura's mission. These boys knew nothing about her, and it frustrated him to know that they're now the ones inside of her life when he and Takuto should solely be the only ones in there.

With a scoff, he looked away agitated. Sabertooth may be coming in second, but if they do take advantage of Sakura, then they could easily take over their title of being first. Sabertooth is deemed untrustworthy under his conditions. No matter what, he had to bring her back home before Zeref finds out.

"I'm not helping you but rather I'm helping Sakura. I don't trust you both and even if you’re no longer under Jiemma’s control, it still doesn’t change the fact that I don’t believe and trust in you and your guild," he muttered under his breath where, as they continued walking, a small cottage began to emerge from the trees.

Sting scowling, he balled his fists. "We don't need your approval, and it's not like we're helping you," he stated where Laxus stopped and eyed the girl coming out of her home to stare at them. "You're only helping her because you know nothing," Laxus deadpanned before storming to the girl who crossed her arms in disapproval.

"You're not supposed to be here with others like them," the girl said as she eyed the two boys walking up towards them. Her finger tapping against her arm, she turned her head to Laxus and shook her head. "They have to leave."

Laxus opening his mouth, Rogue beat him to it as he dropped the man from his shoulder and onto the ground. "Sakura told us to meet her here," he reasoned where she widened her eyes as a flash of red was seen in recognition.

"Then he must be the Dragon Tamer," she whispered before turning her head to Laxus and frowned. "She's still on that quest?"

The boy nodded to which she sighed and held her head in her hands. "I told her that nothing good will come if she decides to do this. Not to mention, Takuto is still looking for their hiding spot..." she sighed. Shaking her head, she opened her door wider and took a step aside. "Please... Do come in," she said where the boys all nodded and began to head inside of the cottage.

Closing the door, she walked in to see Sting and Rogue's bewildered expressions. "Like what you see?" she chuckled, sitting on her favourite tree stump.

Her home wasn't like how it seemed from the outside. Covered in wood as a large tree was seen growing inside of the house, books were stacked and aligned underneath a staircase as it winded up to a second floor which seemed to be a library. Scattered around the place were papers and what seemed to be magic circles painted here and there. With a large iron cage placed in one of the centres of the circle, it seemed like the girl had hostages before in the past.

"Oh! Do place the petty human inside of the cage. Don't you worry, the circle is just there to prevent the man from using any magic," she said where she looked at her front door again. "And it seems that they're here."

She walked over and opened the door again to reveal Lucy and Sakura carrying the dragon into the cottage. Nodding her head to Sakura who returned the same, they all headed inside where the girls placed Chaverine onto the long seat beside the girl's favourite slump and sighed in relief.

Lucy wiping off a bead of sweat from her forehead, she looked over to Rogue and nodded her head. Rogue forcing himself to smile, he turned his head to Sakura. "He's in the cage if you're wondering," he informed where the girl thanked him.

In confusion to the tense air around them, Lucy glanced over to the purple-haired girl. "Not to be rude, but who is she?" she asked. Her eyes moving onto Sakura, she waited for a reply where in response, the girl opened her mouth to speak.

"My name is Rosette. For your information, I'm half-demon," she replied.

Nodding her head, she awkwardly stood there as she watched Laxus and Sakura mutter a few things to each other before including Rosette. They seemed close, but by the looks of it, the two of them were on edge as they discussed things with the girl.

Biting her lips as she thought that it was rude to eavesdrop into their conversation, she turned away to look at Sting and Rogue. "What's going to happen after this?" she asked, catching their attention where Rogue faced his body to her.

The boy not knowing the answer himself, the only thing that he could do was shrug his shoulders. "I don't know, I'm -" He was suddenly interrupted by Rosette that shushed him.

Everyone quiet, the three of them turned to look at the other three that were tense and on high alert.

As they remained quiet and still, Lucy could see that Laxus was trying to ask Sakura as he would look down to her before following the direction of her eyes. Something wasn't right. The air was starting to suffocate her, and for some reason, there was this uncomfortable feeling on her back in which she couldn't shake off.

She watched as Sakura looked around, her eyes darting from one direction to another. Her body still like a rock statue, Rosette, on the other hand, was muttering a few things under her breath before the sound of branches snapping could be heard from the outside.

Someone was out there. Whoever they were, they were unwanted.

Before anyone could speak though, the ground began to shake, and in alert, Rogue came to stand in front of the blonde protectively as Sting backed his partner up by standing behind her with his back facing hers. Laxus pulling up Sakura to allow her to sit on his shoulder like before, Rosette widened her eyes and dropped onto her knees where she placed her palms firmly on the floor.

Lucy hearing the girl mutter things a little bit louder, she looked up to the large tree in the centre of the cottage begin to glow. Listening to Rosette hiss over to Sakura, she lifted her head to see her friend in focus where the tree began to fade in and out in colour. "The trees are crying in pain..." Sakura whimpered before the shaking stopped.

Somehow the shaking woke up Chaverine and the Dragon Tamer. Their eyes wide as they looked around in a panic, Chaverine landed her eyes on Lucy and slowly calmed down whereas her master was gripping onto the bars in anger. "What do you want from me?!" he boomed, making Chaverine lower her head as Sakura snarled at him.

"You were practising the uses of Black magic. Not to mention, you also misused the power of Dragon Taming. Tell me this... How do you unbind yourself from a dragon?" she questioned as Laxus came walking towards the cage with his arms crossed.

The blonde watching the man with curious eyes, she flinched when he looked at her darkly. His eyes showing no such regret of taming such a powerful creature, she sensed the darkness surrounding him as he stared at her. Him chuckling, he turned back to Sakura and Laxus in amusement.

"Why are you so uptight about us Dragon Tamers? You don't seem to be like a Celestial mage so what are you?" he asked to which Sakura scoffed. "I am their ally. I’m surprised that you don’t know who I am with just the colour of my hair so let me tell you straight away why I am related to these people - I am a Dragon Slayer," she stated where he paled.

"A... A Dragon Slayer?" he questioned. "Enough with your questions! Just tell me how to break your contract!" she boomed, making Lucy flinch to which Rogue looked over his shoulder and forced himself to reassure her that everything's fine with a smile.

Lucy smiling back to him, she looked down to her hands which were shaking. She still wasn't used to this loud and impatient Sakura, and with Laxus there by her side, she wasn't looking any less intimidating by the minute. As if sensing she was about to see another side of the girl again, she tensed and waited.

"You have been treating Chaverine as nothing more than a slave to hurt others and to mistreat her as nothing more than a mere tool for your greed and sins. They're living creatures with their own lives, and here you are, preventing her from… Preventing her to live freely like before!" she snarled before Laxus reached through the bars and grabbed the man's vest.

Slamming the man into the bars, Sakura leaned down and glowered at him. "You better spill it unless you want to die by sinking down into the trenches of the ocean," she threatened where Laxus's body sparked in a warning.

The man glaring back to her where he looked over to Chaverine, he opened his mouth. "I command you to kill these people!" he cried out where Rosette chuckled at his foolish actions.

The demon crossing her arms, she walked over to him and licked the bottom of her lips in amusement. "You can't control anyone while you're in there," she stated. "She can't help you with anything. It's either you let her go or I'll have to smash that heart of yours to free her myself," Sakura said as she turned to Lucy and sadly smiled. 

"If that happens, please don't watch," she whispered before turning back to glare at him.

"I... I don't know how to release her! I swear - Please don't kill me - I won't do it again!" the man soon pleaded where Lucy bit the bottom of her lips. She could tell by his tone that he wasn't telling them the truth and it saddened her that Sakura would have to have her hands tainted to free Chaverine from her chains.

In disapproval, Sakura shook her head. "If a Celestial Summoning mage can nullify a contract with her spirits, then obviously one can eliminate a contract with a dragon. I know that you know something, and pleading for your life won't make any difference," she said coldly.

"I'm telling you the truth! I know nothing!" he cried out where Sakura's right eye twitched. "Then you have no use for me!" she boomed, reaching down to his chest where the man screamed in pain.

Lucy widening her eyes as Rogue blocked her sight, she gasped in horror. Her face paling as she listened to the man's horrid scream of pain, she felt as if cold water was thrown at her as she lost her balance.

Reaching to clutch onto Rogue's cape as she tried to hold herself up, she felt arms hold her up where she looked back to see Sting struggling at the sight as well. And as if Rogue of knew of ways to calm down the shivering blonde, he turned and brought her to his chest where he used his cape to cover her from the image behind him.

The only thing that they could do was listen. His screams ripping through the night as Sakura pulled out his crystal heart, she watched with emotionless eyes as he panted heavily while clutching on the dark purple heart. 

She knew what she was doing as she smashed the fragile thing. He won't die, only his magic will.