AN: Here is another chapter all, sorry it took so long. hope you all are still enjoying the story.

Also, I am working on my tense; I apologize for flipping back and forth. My sister helped me decide on settling with present tense and therefore this chapter will be set that way. We are going back through the entire story and fixing it to fit the correct tense. Hopefully it does not put you all off too much.

Previously

He was glad she was no longer hurting but he was still angry she was harmed. He wanted out of this cursed town and now. Zeref picked her up gently in a princess carry and practically flew from the town. Once out of the town he slowed his pace. He hoped he was going the correct way as Lucy was still asleep in his arms. After walking a couple miles from the town he stopped. He had decided he would stop here and set up camp. He hoped Lucy would wake soon, but until then he wanted to have a fire going and something ready for her to eat.

Chapter 23

Unknown to the fleeing mage the spirits of the Lord and Lady of the town had watched Zeref and Lucy's entrance to the town as well as their departure towards the trials. They also feel the ward's faltering determination to continue on the path they had been set on. Taietia and Tamios Takaesu's ghostly apparitions stand in the tower that overlooks the town. They look out the massive window towards the entrance into the forest with equally worried expressions.

"He is not going to allow her to continue…" Tamios states flatly to his sister standing next to him.

Taietia glances at her brother for a moment then turns her attention back to the forest, "So, you think he controls the Tennyo?"

"Not necessarily exclusively, she seems to have as much control over him, as he does her. The bond formed differently in this pair. There seems to be a greater give and take in these two then the dominance and subordination of the typical bonding. But he is worried, you can feel the self-loathing and blame for her discomfort he places on himself and her Tennyo magic." Tamios narrows his eyes as he states his observations.

Taietia nods her head slightly, "Yes, he blames her magic and himself and seeks escape. He thinks that if he takes her away maybe her pain will discontinue." She frowns slightly then continues, "He was once the most powerful wizard in the world and feared by all including the Tennyos. How does he not sense the change in her magic?"

Tamios chuckles mirthlessly, "Even back then we were few and very secretive, I guess he does not know the feel of our magic well."

Taietia's frown deepens, "Well if he does not figure it out soon it will be the death of her."

"Yes, and if the memory I leached off of him when I gave him the vision is any indication, if she dies then so will Earthland." Tamios closes his eyes and shakes his head sadly. "We cannot allow him to flee. We must enlighten him to the true situation."

"I must agree with you brother, if left to his own devices the world will suffer." Taietia says softly and fades away from his side; Tamios follows after glancing once more out the window towards the forest with a sad look.

Zeref is sitting on the ground with Lucy's head in his lap. He is running his hand through her golden locks absentmindedly as he stares off into the fire. He is so lost in his thoughts that he does not notice the sudden appearance of the two Tennyo apparitions. They stand there and watch for a while as even in his thorough distraction Zeref still strokes her hair lovingly. The tenderness he is displaying is far beyond the bond's influence. The look in his eyes tells them of the turmoil he is under.

Taietia looks at her brother sadly then focuses back on the distressed man before her, "Zeref…" she says softly. Zeref stiffens and his eyes snap into focus on her, then takes in her brother standing next to her.

His face turns into a mask of rage, then he spits out bitterly, "More thought projections? Who do you guys work for, what do you want?" he gently lowers Lucy's head to the ground as he stands up and places himself between her and the apparitions.

Tamios lets out a ragged breath and shakes his head sadly, then says "We are not thought projections Zeref."

Zeref's eyes narrow, then he growls out, "You have no life force emanating from you. If you are not thought projections then what are you?" his very small amount of patience is wearing thin, he is even more on edge seeing as Lucy is still unconscious.

Taietia looks at Zeref with a very stern face. "I thought you were more astute then this with all the legends I have heard." Zeref clinches his teeth and growls slightly at her harsh words.

Tamios lets out a soft exhalation then says, "Tai, quick antagonizing him." His sister glares at him as he continues with, "Zeref, we are not thought projections, we are what remains of the Lord and Lady of the town you walked through just now."

"The town you had Deliora destroy some 400 years ago." Taietia bites out angrily. So maybe she is still a little bitter about that day, but she has every right to be.

Zeref's face drains of all color as he continues to stand protectively in front of Lucy's still form. Zeref's eyes close and his shoulders sag. "I am truly sorry for what I have done to you and your town."

Taietia takes in his defeated countenance and sighs wearily, that was a long time ago and he cannot change the past. She needs to let her bitterness go, for the world's sake. "That is history now. We are here to talk about your future, yours and your Tennyo's."

Zeref looks at Taietia and she stares right back. Tamios interrupts their staring contest by stating, "Zeref, we know what you are thinking…" Zeref glares at Tamios as the Tennyo Lord continues, "As Tennyo guides we are made aware, even in our current state, when a Tennyo or their ward starts to have doubts."

Taietia ungently states, "And you are chocked full of them."

"We are here to hopefully alleviate you of those doubts." Tamios says softly. "Understand though, we do not do this lightly. Normally when a Tennyo or their ward has doubts they are recycled. You both however are, 'Unique' to say the least."

Zeref frowns "Why would you 'recycle' them just because they have doubts?" Zeref asks unhappy with how nonchalant they are about disposing of people.

Taietia answers him with, "When the bond is established between a Tennyo and the ward they are meant to be with there are no doubts. If there are doubts then the bond is not complete, they are not a true match and need to be recycled as the bond, even incomplete, cannot be broken. If the bond is not complete then they were supposed to be matched with someone else. They are recycled so they can be reborn and find the match they were created for." She stares at him coolly.

Tamios picks up where she left off with, "You and your Tennyo are different however. Your bond is complete but it twisted somehow. We are not sure the reason behind this." Tamios' brows draw together slightly before he continues. "Another thing that twisted between you both is her magic."

"What do you mean her magic is twisted?" Zeref interrupts anxiously.

Taietia continues for her brother, "We have never had a ward like you before— I am not sure how you even garnered the privilege…"

Her brother interrupts hoping to keep things calm. "You are more powerful than any ward before you and you require a Tennyo that at least matches you in power. Therefore, her magic has been growing exponentially to catch up to you. It is trying to change her body to cope with the increase but is failing."

"What do you mean failing?" Zeref's face is etched in worry.

"I mean there is no way her body can handle her magic. Her magic is growing faster than it can change her body to cope. Without properly training her and her magic, it will soon kill her." Tamios states sadly.

"If you take her and run like you were thinking of doing, her magic will eventually consume her." Taietia states softly. Just as the last word slips from her mouth they all hear a pained moan come from behind Zeref.

He rushes back and kneels down next to Lucy and places a hand gently on her sweaty forehead. Lucy's eyes flutter open and she smiles at him weakly, he gives her a warm smile before looking back over his shoulder to where the Tennyos had been— they were no longer there.

Tenshi? Lucy's soft voice rings in his head and pulls him away from his contemplation of the dead Tennyo's words. He looks over toward her and gives her a sad smile. Lucy is propped up into a sitting position with her arms bracing her. With his new knowledge though he catches what he had not noticed before. Lucy's arms are shaking slightly and he now could also see the pain etched in her face that she is trying really hard to mask.

How did I miss this? How did I not see that she is in pain? How long … he thought to himself bitterly. He sits down next to her and gently lifts her onto his lap and wraps his arms around her; he buries his face into her neck and inhales softly. His heart aches so much for all the pain she is going through since she met him. All his frustration at his inability to keep her from the pain and his fears of what is to come, builds up to the breaking point and he starts sobbing into her neck.

Soon he feels her twist in his lap and wrap her arms around him, then he hears her soft, sweet voice in his head ask, Tenshi? What is wrong my love? I'm here, everything is fine.

At her words he tightens his grip on her slightly but stops suddenly when he feels the slight stiffening from her muscles that cry out in pain. Akiraka no Tenshi, how long has this been going on? He asks her gently. He feels the confusion in her mind then clarifies. Tenshi how long have you been hiding the pain from me?

He feels her stiffen and her mind fills with guilt, which is not the reaction he wanted. He pulls away from her neck and cups her face gently with his hands making her look him in the eyes. He leans in and kisses her, his kiss is gentle but filled with all the love he has for her. He brakes the kiss and rests his head on her forehead and lets out a ragged breath. My love, please promise to never keep something like this to yourself again. It pains me that I did not notice. How can I help you if you hide things from me?

I promise … came the soft reply in his mind, with that he can no longer hold back and he kisses her again. This time the kiss is hard, hungry and filled with desperation, and she kisses him back with equal passion.

He tangles his fingers in the hair at the back of her head and tilts her head so he can deepen the kiss. Zeref runs his tongue along her bottom lip and she opens her mouth for him eagerly. He delves his hot tongue into her mouth and lets out a groan at the sweet taste as she moans into his kiss in pleasure. As their tongues fight for dominance he reaches out his mind and merges with hers. A while back he had realized he craves the merging of their minds while making love to her as much as the merging of their bodies.

He can feel everything she feels merged like this, he knows what gives her the most pleasure and what drives her crazy with passion. This time however is different. Although he can feel the pleasure thrumming through her mind and body, this time she is not hiding her pain from him and he can feel every dull ache and sharp pain in her body. He pulls back from her breaking the kiss and causing her to mewl in disappointment. He locks his black eyes on hers and she can see the sadness in them, she gives him a reassuring smile and rests her forehead against his.

He closes his eyes and concentrates on the spots of pain coursing through her body and locates one that is screaming out sharply. He is determined to remove her pain so he lifts her shirt up over her head and drops it in the grass next to them. He then pulls her closer to him so their chests are pressed together and he can reach around her back easily. Zeref runs his left hand over the muscle he sensed the most pain from, the muscle that ran along her spine on the right side. It is so inflamed with magic that it is cramping— so bad it is almost ripping itself apart.

How can she not cry out from this pain? He thought sadly to himself. As soon as his fingers touch the cramping muscle he feels an electric shock of a large amount of magic transferring into his fingers and Lucy sighs and relaxes in his arms slightly. He massages the tense muscle as he draws out the excess magic from the tissue. After several passes the muscle is finally relaxed and Lucy groans in pleasure and rests her head in the crook of Zeref's neck as he continues to massage every aching muscle in her back, drawing out all the excess magic there.

Lucy was humming in pleasure as he finished attending to the last aching muscle in her back. She pushes back from his neck and smiles a genuine smile of relief. She feels so much better with the pain removed from her back, but as merged with her as he is Zeref knows she is still in a lot of pain and he is determined to get rid of it all. He places a hand on each side of her neck and starts a slow massage feeling the magic leap from her into him and watches in pleasure as Lucy rolls her head back and lets a moan of pleasure slip from her mouth. She grips tighter onto his shoulders as he turns the attention of his warm strong hands to her shoulders then along her arms. The pain disappearing under his ministrations, Lucy closes her eyes and sighs in relief.

With a lot of her pain released, her thoughts turn to the pleasure he is giving her. His mind now became filled with where she wants to be touched and not where he needs to relieve pain. Before he even notices his hands are on her hips sliding slowly up her sides and along her ribs. As his hands get to the point just below her breasts his thumb grazes over the runic tattoo and Lucy arches her back and screams out in pleasure, "ZEREF!" Never before has she called his true name during their love making, and he finds his mind unravelling to her call. He no longer has control of his thoughts or actions; he is lost to her wants and desires.

Lucy stands up from Zeref's lap. She takes several steps back away from him tilts her head and rests both hands over the fastening of her skirt. The hungry look in his eyes that latch onto the location of her hands and the growl that slips from his chest makes her chuckle darkly before she slowly unfastens the skirt and lets it fall to the grass at her feet. She can tell his mind is lost to their mutual desire and she loves the fact she can affect him as much as he affects her. Lucy hooks her thumbs in the side of her panties and slides them slowly down her legs enjoying the hungry thoughts that swirl in his mind at her action.

Lucy stands before Zeref in all her naked glory and a possessive growl rips from his throat and he reaches a hand out toward her— calling her to him. Slowly she stalks back to him, the way she looked doing it has his cock jumping in anticipation. Once she is in reach he slides the tips of his fingers over her flat stomach eliciting shivers throughout her body. He then slowly slides his hands around her sides, grips her hips and pulls her closer to him. He looks up at her and his heart stops at the beautiful sight of his love's silver eyes staring down at him, her arms draped over his shoulders. The love in her eyes makes his heart ache while the hunger in them makes his already engorged member painfully hard.

Lucy slides her body down Zeref's until she is sitting on his lap, they both moan in ecstasy as their hips grind together producing an almost unbearable pleasure. Zeref nuzzles Lucy's neck and inhales in her intoxicating scent deeply before kissing and nibbling up and down the column of her neck. Lucy moans and shutters in pleasure. While still kissing her neck he runs his hands up her legs, grips onto her hips and drags her hot dripping core against his hard shaft. Lucy gasps, her desire spiking as she realizes there is nothing between them. When and how he removed the barrier of his pants she did not know and could not make herself care, all she knew was she needed him inside her and now.

Feeling her need he grips her hips tighter and lifts her up then slowly slides her down on his throbbing cock. Lucy cries out in pleasure as he fills her completely, she then starts an agonizingly slow rhythm. Lifting herself almost all the way off him then back down painfully slowly. After a few torturous strokes like this Zeref grunted and started her on a much quicker pace that had their pleasure building quickly. Soon she was riding him hard and he was slamming up into her as she came down. Lucy was starting to clench around him and he knew they were both close to the edge. He drew a hand away from her hip, up her spine then across the tattoo on the back of her neck sending them both into the blinding white release.

Lucy woke up the next day wrapped snuggly in Zeref's arms and feeling better then she has felt in over a week. She carefully slides out of his warm embrace and stands up then stretches out her muscles. Wow it feels so nice to be able to move with so little pain. She thinks to herself during her stretch. She dresses quickly in some comfortable jeans and T-shirt. She looks over at Zeref sadly. She thinks back on when the pain had started.

It had started as dull body aches a month ago. She could ignore it and she just wrote it off as stress due to everything that had been going on. When she had woken from her poisoning she had been in quite a bit of pain, but there was the issue with saving Zeref and she pushed it away to the back of her mind, she had more important things to worry about. Throughout the time in the celestial realm and then after the pain had been building, her muscles cramping but she hid it, she did not want him to blame himself for her pain or worry about her.

Tenshi? His soft voice in her head breaks her out of her thoughts and she looks up at him.

God he takes her breath away. He stands in front of her with just his pants on. His perfectly muscled chest exposed to her hungry eyes. She drags her eyes up to his face when she hears him chuckle softly. His eyes start to darken in hunger as he slowly stalks towards her. Once he is in reach she lets out a satisfied groan as she buries her fingers in his thick pitch black hair and pulls him down to a passion filled kiss.

Zeref breaks the kiss and laughs when she growls her displeasure. He rests his forehead against hers and looks into her eyes and asks very seriously, "Tenshi how are you feeling today?" The tone in his voice makes her shiver and she knows she should tell him the complete truth.

She closes her eyes, sighs then says softly, "it is so much better. All the sharp pains are gone. All that is left is the dull ache, it is completely ignorable. You don't have to wor-"

"Don't" the growled out word cuts her off sharply. Lucy's worry filled eyes lock onto his and he lets out a ragged breath. He runs a hand gently along her cheek then cups it under her chin. "Akiraka no Tenshi, do not tell me not to worry, I love you. If you are in pain and I can help then I will. I only worry because I seem to be constantly unaware of your suffering. I seem to continue to fail you." As he was speaking he rests his free hand on her shoulder and starts to draw off the excess magic built up in her system.

When he is done, both with speaking and draining the magic, Lucy now completely pain free, grabs his face with her hands and pulls him down to a gentle and love filled kiss. After a moment she pulls away and looks at him. "Kurai Tenshi, you have not failed me, not once. In fact you have saved me many times, I just wish one day you will see that." She leans in and kisses him once more, this time lingering a while, enjoying the taste of his lips before breaking away and saying, "we should pack up and continue on our journey." Zeref just nods in agreement still reeling from the kiss.

An hour later and they stepped through the opening in the wall of trees hand in hand…

AN: sorry it took so long to post this, and for stopping here. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will try to get the next one out sooner. Please review it makes me feel warm and fuzzy and makes it worth it! Thanks again!