Chapter 1

Life fluctuates in ways mankind has yet to control. It creeps behind you, slithers beneath you, and races past you in a demeanor they yet to identify. It speaks, whispers, and shouts with a language humanity cannot encode. It smells. It touches. It sees with eyes that cannot be seen. Life is erratic, it is mischievous with a deed. They wait for the next second of their lives, waiting for an outcome they will never be able to predict. A move to the left, a whisper to the right, changes the course of reality in a split second. A command, a shout—changes lives.

Sometimes even takes them and never returns.

But in the split of the moment, human kind takes it for granted. They waltz with life, some by the hand and others dragging it by its ears, taking for granted what it's capable of. They deny the fact it can change or worst, be taken away from them. They selfishly live throughout their years, their months, seconds and days expecting another. Never realizing when it won't come to them.

And in the split of the moment, you live. Because that's all you can do.

Magnolia was bursting with energy. Behind it were the days of winter, snow, and the insufferable wind. The days of heavy cloaks, gloves and hoods were gone. Now, the people rejoiced in the summer heat. Children raced past the vendors of the town, their bare feet digging into the dirt beneath the grass. Not too far behind were their mothers, shouting for their well-being to deaf ears. The market was flourishing, as it always did during this time of year: fruits, vegetables, spices, cloths, jewels—the line of stands seemed never ending.

Lucy's eyes skimmed past a vendor who eyed her feverishly, motioning towards the mannequins he'd dressed with exquisite gowns. She only smiled in return while Natsu pulled her forward. Her arm was looped through his, and given the heat, she pulled him closer. He didn't mind, but she wasn't so sure he'd even noticed. Natsu's eyes gleamed—and she was fairly sure it had little to do with the sun and more so with the food vendors aligned in any little space they could fit their stations.

It was just another ordinary day.

The people of Magnolia accommodated the summer solstice with a festival. Of course it never lived to that of the Capital's grand gesture, but the citizens of Magnolia basked in their feast and festivities. Young and old, they all made their sole destination the Sola Tree, the heart of the festival. From where the couple walked, the tree protruded amongst its surroundings—they weren't far now.

Natsu took out the white parasol from the bag he had at his side. "We're almost there, I promise," he said as he opened the laced umbrella and handed it to the blonde girl. She only smiled and nodded. In reality she didn't mind the distance or the walking at all, her mind was drifting on Cloud 9 and wasn't coming down any time soon. Her head rested against his shoulder and she felt him take a deep breath.

Even now it seemed a bit strange, Natsu and her. For so long they had been nothing more than friends with a relentless bond that would not break. It was still there along with the mischievousness, but now it pulsed with a new vigor—love. And while the summer solstice marked the first day of summer, it also claimed their second year of marriage.

But the impulsiveness and blinded innocence still managed to keep its hold over the young man. The two years did not go without its hand of problems from the shenanigans Natsu managed to get into. Yet she loved him all the more.

Where their anniversaries were concerned, Natsu's antics always seemed to seep through, too. For some strange reason he first believed an anniversary should be celebrated each day—for they were together another day, right? Did that not warrant celebration? So, for a full month Lucy indulged in the most outrageous and bizarre surprises: from a day in the zoo (in their backyard), to a night seeing the stars—in which he found it with great humor to kidnap her in a guise of a serial killer and then late reveal himself—to her name being carved on the side of Mt. Selima—although now just the L faintly remains thanks to the Town.

For a month, Natsu believed every day they spent together was another day to celebrate big. And then it was every month, until finally he grasped the idea—that while very flattering and considerate—big festivities were held reserved for one day during the year, the day they wed.

So now, a second year with him, Lucy's nerves were put to ease. A picnic was what she wanted under the Sola Tree. Nothing more. So he worked to accomplish that because all he ever wanted was to make her happy.

But on that day it was more than just an anniversary for two. It was the announcement for the birth of another. One they would both share.

She smiled to herself at the thought and lightly squeezed his arm, he looked down and kissed the top of her head, almost bumping into the spine of the parasol. Lucy bit down from laughing, Natsu was always one to be a klutz.

By the time they reached the Sola Tree the sun had gone down enough for a large shade to dress itself at the base of the trees's trunk and below its skirt of pine green leaves. Across the grounds people were scattered on blankets, chairs, flying kites or playing a game of volleyball. The park was encompassed between two bodies of water on either side, where the Fern river cut through. The sun's ray turned the water into a glistening sapphire jewel dimpled with ripples. Those not taking refuge beneath the Sola Tree were splashing in the cool water.

They took an empty spot against the trunk as an older couple left. Natsu took the parasol from Lucy's hands and closed it as she lay down the blanket and placed the basket at the center of it.

Not seated for two minutes, Natsu's eyes shifted from the closed weaved basket to the girl's almond colored eyes. "Can we eat?" He reached for it before she could answer and Lucy only put her hand over his.

She raised a finger and shook it. "Not yet," she said, a small smile on her face. "I have to tell you something first."

Natsu nodded and looked at her eagerly, waiting for whatever was more important than being served food.

"I'm-"

Something exploded and the picnic basket fell on its side. Then there was another—Lucy's ears ringed—and not long after that—why was the ground shaking so much?—, another. Three consecutive hits within the same vicinity. The mindless chatter and laughter was subdued with silence for a moment and then the screams began.

Natsu was at Lucy's side quicker than she could have blinked, his arms protectively around her head and body as he pushed her down on the grass. Against her back, she could feel his chest rise and fall with every shaking breath.

The sound was bone turning. It drummed in her ears and vibrated through her skin as the other wave came. She grimaced under Natsu's weight, forcing herself to not be scared. He only cursed under his breath and held her tighter.

And the screams were only louder—people rushing out of the river, dropping their stuff and heading for somewhere—anywhere. The ground was still shaking—why was it shaking—no, it was her. But it hummed, beneath her fingertips, the ground hummed with a growing beat.

The silence that followed after each hit was saturated with screams of people from the town, but Lucy's voice was not one of theirs, and neither was Natsu's. Instead he kept whispering in her ear to take deep breaths, that he was there to protect her. But the screams were making it harder to breathe and so was Natsu's grip and his body—she felt her chest tighten more with each take. He wasn't heavy but the pressure of it all was making everything too difficult and she didn't know if it was because of the heat or because she was just scared or—

Another explosion, closer this time. Close enough for Lucy to bounce against the grass. Natsu looked toward the general direction and cursed louder this time. He lifted Lucy to look at him but she couldn't, all she could see was how vacant the park looked now—why were they still here? They needed to go, they had to go right now, or else, or else—"Look at me," her eyes were wild while his were filled with suppressed fear. "It's okay," he said as he pushed back her hair. "You can be scared, there's nothing wrong."

But he was wrong, completely and truly wrong. Not soon after his words did the sound reach their ears. Guns. She knew the sound all too well, machine guns and the sound of their steel bullets ricocheting off buildings and those that didn't found their home inside the designated targets. Natsu looked frantically around, a man was running past them and towards the mess of it all. He called out for him twice, the second time he stopped.

His words were mute against all the ringing in Lucy's ears but Natsu heard: he told them that they were being attacked, Tartaros, the land across their sea, had finally made its move. There had been tension between Fiore and the rogue Kingdom of Tartaros, but no one had imagined that they would attack. Let alone invade a merchant city overflowing with civilians and oblivious pedestrians.

"They're recruiting people right now for the militia, I'm heading there now." He said before leaving. Natsu watched him go until he turned the corner and then his eyes were back on Lucy.

She looked so small, so fragile in his arms. He couldn't leave her alone but if he didn't…

"I need you to go home." And the words cut through her like ice. "Don't stop running. Don't stop for anything or anyone, got it? Lock the doors and don't open them under any circumstances, shut the windows and hide in the closet until I get home." The tears began welling up behind her eyes and this time she wasn't strong enough to hold them back, she managed to nod. "I need you to be even stronger right now, Lucy." He told her and only her. The pink haired boy drew her against his chest and held her like it would be his last. "Please, don't stop."

She continued to nod, biting her fist so she wouldn't make any noise. He kissed the top of her head and then her forehead until he reached her lips. He hovered there for a moment, taking her in as she was then. Young, beautiful, and strong in more ways than he could ever consider himself. "I love you," he told her. "I'll be back home."

Finally, her eyes found his and held him there. "Why are you saying that? You're talking like you'll never come back. Natsu, you can't just say—"

More screams, more guns and then silence.

Natsu was pulling himself away from her, backing up towards the direction where the man had left just moments ago. He mouthed a single word to her before she turned and obeyed him, "Run."

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