I'm so sorry I'm terrible at updating frequently ;-; also sorry for such short chapters but ily all who stick with my thank you all so much 3 3

Dislcaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail my ships would be cannon by now

Not Even a Spell

Chapter 14: Witch Revealed

I felt nauseous at the words. My heart leapt into my throat, then dropped down into my stomach with a sickening noise I thought I could hear. I felt myself take a step back while I gaped at Natsu. This was a trip to capture another witch? The thought of seeing a witch in the same cage I had been imprisoned in, being laughed and catcalled at just as I had been made me sick. I took another step back as anger boiled inside of me.

"Y-you're," I started, feeling anger rise higher with each passing moment. "You're disgusting," I muttered, my hands clenching into fists as I vocalized my hatred.

"Look, how else do ya think we're gonna get any money? We do this for a living y'know. Plus, I didn't think you'd be this surprised. Jeez," Natsu said, taking a step closer to me.

"Natsu if we want to make this a quick trip we'd better start getting up there now," Gajeel told him and Natsu nodded bluntly.

"If you don't follow me you're gonna have to wear that collar again. And I know how much you loved that," The captain said with a barely evident smirk jerking at his lips. I growled before reluctantly following after.

Thoughts of hatred stirred in my mind the entire way up the steep mountain. It took two days to make it to the summit, and by that time I'd thought of even more reasons to be upset with Natsu. Of course, how could I not be upset with him? He stole me away from the life I was so happy with to bring me to the large and famous city of Crocus to be publically executed. And to think that I was actually starting to warm up to him… I shook those thoughts from my head, balling and un-balling my hands as a coping mechanism of some sort.

At the summit of the mountain sat a small, stone house. Puffs of smoke billowed from the slightly weathered chimney. From what I could see, there was a curved, round, wooden door with a small window just beside it. Mountain flowers and a few edible roots were planted in a makeshift flowerbox below the uneven window. This house was either very old, or was just poorly constructed. Possibly both.

"Alright, set up camp just beyond those trees-and no fires," Natsu instructed, and Gajeel and the rest of the team nodded in understanding before heading towards the woods.

The next morning I woke up early. The sun still hadn't peeked up to greet us. I let out a quiet sigh as I sat up, careful not to wake everyone up. Happy stirred beside me, but kept his eyes shut and his breathing remained heavy and even. I sat on the ground, content with the silence and the crisp feeling of the early morning air. The world felt vacant, that was one of the reasons why early morning was one of my favorite times of day. Another reason was watching the sun rise. I smiled as the first rays of sunlight tickled the faces of the men. Freed wiggled his nose, tossing onto his other side. Gajeel scratched sleepily at his neck before two eyes opened groggily.

"What are you doing up so early?" He asked tiredly, and he cleared his throat immediately after the question left his dry-looking lips.

"I woke up early and never really went back to sleep, "I replied almost vacantly. My voice sounded hoarse and dead-probably for not speaking for a couple of days. I cleared my throat just as he did a moment ago, and the sound made Freed awaken.

"Oh, you're awake." I merely nodded in response, not feeling like myself enough to answer in words. Slowly everyone else woke up, and we chewed silently on dried fish.

These men would be capturing someone of my own kind for money today.

It was night when they did it, just like when I was captured. She was harvesting berries that glowed like starlight in a handmade wicker basket. Her small hands looked frail as she picked lovingly at the cosmic berries. Small whistles-much like the tunes of the songbirds I'd always loved listening to-escaped her delicate lips as she worked. My hands clenched at my sides as Natsu approached her silently, stealthy as a cat. He held the rope-that rope that would tear at no avail, no matter how hard you tried to tear it-close to his chest as he stood in a ready position. Ready to pounce. I didn't see how he did it because I had to turn away. I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of this girl being trapped and afraid just as I had been. Just as I am. A scream broke the eerie silence. The scream sounded nearly identical to the screech of a hawk, yet I could hear the tiny part of it that sounded human. Or, at least as human as a witch can get. More screeches followed suit, sobs erupting with them. I slowly turned towards the noises. I watched in awe as her hands and arms morphed from flesh to feathers. The rope slipped off, but Natsu grabbed a hold of her barely visible ankles and yanked her back down. She'd tried to fly away. I wanted her to. Natsu tied her ankles together, then tied her wings against her body. Tears welled in my eyes as her screeches and sobs endlessly tore from her throat. The captain had captured her. The poor girl. Her bare feet were dirtied from trying to escape. Her silvery dress was tattered and stained brown from the soil. She even somehow managed to get a cut on her cheek, just below one of her eyes. Freed grimly led me away, where I helped pack up camp and we started down the mountain. Natsu followed behind us, a bit far behind but not far enough to get lost. The girl's screams continued for what seemed like hours. By the time the rays of the sun reappeared, she stopped.

We finally got back to the ship after days of walking, the witch's cries and wails had gone on the entire time. When she was thrown into that dark room I'd been imprisoned in I finally got to get a better look at her. She looked exhausted. A midnight-colored tail, long and feathery, draped over her calloused feet. White specks dotted over the feathers, creating a star-speckled sky. Her head hung low, so I wasn't able to see her eyes, but I admired her hair. Long tresses that matched the color of her tail hung over her face and was strewn down her back. Her breathing sounded ragged.

I shifted leaning on one leg to the other, and the weight change caused the floorboards to creak beneath me. The witch flipped her head up, panic flashing in her brown eyes. Her eyes remained wide as she stared at me. A small, tentative voice spoke, and it sounded like a question. However, I couldn't tell what she'd asked. Her words were not words at all, but rather small tweets. I lifted a hand to touch the translator on my neck. She was speaking her own language; the language of the sky witch.

"Freed!" I called out as I opened the door to his office. He turned in his chair to face me. He was sitting adjacent to the infirmary bed, where someone sat. Natsu?

"Yes?" Freed asked, and I quickly tore my attention away from the captain who looked distressed and slightly uneasy.

"Um, do you have any more of these?" I inquired, pointing a finger to my translator.

"Yes, I do. Would you like to give it to the witch? It is a bit hard to understand all of those bird noises, if I have to admit." Freed walked over to a large dresser, where he opened a drawer and pulled out another device, similar in appearance to my own. I took it and held it in my hand for a moment, before nodding a thanks.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt you," I whispered softly to the witch as she grew rigid as I tried to put the device around her neck. She relaxed the tiniest bit and I felt quite content with myself as I put the thing on.

"It's a bit strange at first, but go ahead and say something now."

"What do you-" Her eyes grew wide at the unfamiliar language.

"I know it's weird. It's a translator. It's so that they can understand what you're saying."

"H-how did you know? W-who are you?"

"I'm a woodland witch, they also captured me. I've been here for about a week now. My name's Lucy, do you think you could tell me yours?"

"I-um. My name is Wendy. W-wendy Marvell."

Dear everyone who thought the witch was Levy. HAH. Haha just kidding i love you so that's why you should leave reviews it takes like 5 seconds tbh i cont even care what you say I love reading what you think of my stories honestly. So have a great day everyone!~