Taste my Pain

The First Step Forward

Taste my Pain

Chapter 9

It's been a few minutes since what had happened, and Lucy was mumbling in her sleep while she slept peacefully under the moonlight with the stars watching over her. Both dragons proud that their princess was able to accomplish her first task without that many difficulties, they were still worried about the barricade holding her back.

"Do you think that we should heal her now?" Starisha questioned as she looked over to Cherita in the back. “I mean, her injuries aren’t much but I think that it’ll be better than leaving them to heal on their own.”

The elemental dragon turned to look at Lucy then back to Starisha who was raising a brow, she didn't see why her princess needed any healing but left it to Starisha's decisions since perhaps there was something that she couldn't see. Shrugging her shoulders, she walked over and held two arms out over Lucy's body where a warm blue light glowed.

With a soft whisper, she closed her eyes, "Dragon's Blessings." As a warm blue light engulfed Lucy's body, sending a warm sensation throughout her body, Lucy shuffled in her sleep but didn't wake up.

The light healing her small injuries slowly, Starisha went down on her knees to gently shake the sleeping beauty in hopes of not surprising her. "Princess, it's time to wake up. It's only one in the afternoon, so no long breaks or your muscles will relax then possibly rip if you strain them while training," she cooed.

Slowly, Lucy groaned and went laying on her other shoulder where the two dragons smiled at her cute movement. "Come on, get up Lucy," Cherita called out while still healing her.

Again, she groaned as she pulled up her right arm to rub her sleepy eyes. "Was I asleep for that long?" she questioned, slowly sitting up.

Starisha nodded as Cherita stopped the healing once she was totally fine. "Yes, and we've noticed your lack of energy when it comes to summoning more than one spirit at the same time. Princess, your powers are much more capable than that, even the Spirit King himself believes in so," she answered before standing up.

"The Celestial Spirit King? But what do you mean? I can't summon more than two. It's just too tiring and I don't know many out there that could summon more than one like myself," Lucy questioned. As she got up, she gave out a tiring yawn before stretching. "I can do three if I’m lucky at once though but as usual, it’s pushing my limits to the extreme..."

"The only reason why you're unable to summon more than one spirit at a time is that your mother placed a seal, or a limiter, on you, which could only be dispelled by one dragon at the right time," Cherita answered as she watched her princess sag her shoulders.

Confused, Lucy looked back and forth between the two and took a steady slow step back. "And who's this one dragon?" she asked. The celestial dragon gave her a toothy grin and pointed to herself. "That'll be me, princess. Don't worry, it won't hurt that much."

With a pointed look, Lucy raised both hands to do two little bunny ears as she quoted Starisha who looked too suspicious while saying that. "Won't hurt that much," she quoted before taking another step back. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

Not liking how Starisha kept on grinning at her direction, she looked over to Cherita as a sign of help in which she paled when the elemental dragon averted her eyes. It didn't feel right as she took another step back from Starisha who took a step forward towards her. Before she could make a mad dash for it, it was too late and Starisha started the spell to dispel this unknown seal that her mother had placed on her.

"Urgh!" Lucy groaned as she bit her bottom lips, fighting as the pain as circulated throughout her body. Crouching on the floor, she held onto her stomach tightly and silently cursed as the pain continued. She tried to listen to Starisha's chanting but unfortunately, her ears were too numb to accept a word into her mind.

Tears in her eyes, she wanted nothing more than to be in her room and relaxing at this moment. Oh, how much she regretted not running for her own sake when she saw that cunning smirk which meant nothing but trouble.

"Stars that guide their masters to safety,

Let your galactic powers break the seal that binds your owners in pain..."

The celestial dragon continued with her chant as she waved her hands in a circular motion in front of the blonde. Chanting slowly and carefully, Starisha knew her consequences and responsibilities when using the spell as one simple slip up may result in either a disability or even, death itself.

A bead of sweat rolling down from her hairline to her cheek, she gritted her teeth as she waited for the right moment to continue the chant. She wasn't too familiar with the chant, but she had to do this right even with the lack of experience of using the spell.

It's been far too long since she had done this, and it's been far too long since she recalled the day that she had created this spell to counteract with her deceased queen's spells when it came to reducing the powers of a rebellious dragon.

"Can you please hurry up?!" Lucy whimpered as she forced herself to open her eyes. She looked up to Starisha who was frowning with scrunched up brows.

Cherita giving her a disapproving look, she shook her shoulder as she stood nearby her princess that was hunched over. "Lucy, this spell is incredibly difficult to use. Starisha must perform it perfectly or else consequences will happen to both parties. Please don't be hasty," she scolded.

"Release your powers and break this spell!

I call for your aid – Starlight Breaker!"

Once Starisha had finished her chant, the green lines which once wrapped itself around Lucy shattered into fine particles. The air crisp as the particles floated into the night sky, with one last painful wail that ripped through the silence of the night, Lucy weakly pulled herself up from the grass and tried to steady her balance.

With heavy pants, she looked over to Starisha who was panting with her hands clamped on her knees. A hand beside her, Lucy turned to see Cherita with her hand out. "Need some help steadying yourself Lucy?" Cherita asked. The blonde shook her head, telling the elemental dragon that she shouldn't be depending on them for too long.

Her mind a bit heavy from all that pain, she grabbed onto her other arm and gritted her teeth as her body buzzed with the energy that she had inside. Not used to this weird sensation within her, she heard the rustling of Starisha standing straight up and turned her attention to her where she waited for further instructions. "Princess, please try summoning three Golden Key Spirits all at once," Starisha then instructed before taking in steady breaths to calm her rapidly beating heart.

Lucy weakly nodding, she reached over to her ring of keys and pulled out three keys and held onto them tightly. Looking over at the two with uncertainty in her eyes, she nodded to them in which they did the same for support.

As she took in one deep inhale, she looked away and up to the night sky where she held them out and began to call for the three spirits that were waiting for her.

"Open the Gate of the Crab, Golden Bull, and the Maiden! Cancer, Taurus, Virgo!"

Bells rang and each of the summoned spirits stood to stand in front of her with shock evident in their eyes. They weren't expecting to be called at once but rather one by one. Shocked like Lucy, they looked at each other before Virgo was the one to break the silence first. "Princess, you were able to summon us... All at once?" Virgo asked, her face emotionless but tone lacing in pure surprise.

Slowly nodding, Lucy dropped all her attention down to the three golden keys in her hand. She... She just summoned the three of them all at once – and she wasn’t even tired at all!

Looking back over her shoulder to Starisha and Cherita, she felt her veins pulsing with pride as her body continued to buzz to the energy within her. They were both smiling to her success, and the spirits in front of her were still looking at her in awe. "Do you feel tired at all princess?" Cherita questioned. 

A simple shake of a head was all it took to completely understand everything.

Lucy remained silent as she thought back to her past. She couldn't summon more than one spirit at a time before, but now she felt nothing like that from the past. She wasn't tired, nor was she feeling depleted in magic. Apparently, her mother placed a spell on her but why would she do such a thing when she's able to summon three spirits with ease?

Closing their gates, Lucy felt her pride getting stronger for who she is. She could feel herself getting stronger, and could see the new Lucy being reborn...

"I will come back and show Fairy Tail my true powers, and I will prove to them that I'm longer some i***t that wanted to join Fairy Tail for some dumb popularity scheme," Lucy whispered, knowing that the dragons in front of her could hear everything that she's saying clearly.

"Well, princess –" She snapped out of her thoughts and looked over to Starisha who was smiling. "- You're now able to use two types of magic that'll help you in the future. That's pretty much all there is to the summoning part of your capabilities..."

"But aren't you still going to teach me more about Celestial Magic?" Lucy inquired as she walked over to the two. Starisha nodded to her question. "It's now time for the real training to begin. Princess, you shall be staying here starting today."

Lucy nodded to which Cherita grinned, telling her that she'll be leaving now. "When you're done Lucy, please return home," she said.

Hearing the word home, Lucy repeated the word in her head over and over again. Home, the palace was now her new home, and every dragon out there knew her name. None had questioned, and none had asked her to pay her rent.

Smiling, Lucy nodded and waved Cherita farewell as she transformed, and flew off. Turning back to Starisha, she watched her lips tilt up to a smirk. "Now princess, today we'll start with the basics and I know what you're going to ask… Why are we starting with the basics, I presume?"

A frown was seen, and the celestial dragon chuckled for guessing it right. "It's pretty worldwide to know that all of us and Dragon Slayers use Dragon's Roar. It's one of our main spells to use during battle, and one of the easiest to use since it's your main long-ranged and specialized attacks."

Lucy nodded and followed Starisha to walk to a bigger clearing and watched the dragon give out a long stretch. “For us dragons, whether it’s being in either our human or natural forms, our powers are still the same. I'm guessing that you've seen the sons and daughters of ours using it, correct?" Starisha asked before mumbling how inactive she's been for the past years.

"I've seen the roars of fire, wind, iron and a few others – But never a Celestial Roar of a Dragon's," Lucy answered before watching Starisha turn to give her a lopsided smile. "Well, Celestial Dragon Slaying is rare. Hardly ever seen a child of our kind run around causing mischief nor a child using it. We're more of a guiding thing, ya know?" she chuckled.

"Shall I demonstrate?"

Balancing on her heels, Lucy clapped her hands in glee. It'll be the first time that she'll be witnessing something this rare from a true living dragon.

"Roar of the Celestial Dragon!" Starisha bellowed as she inhaled deeply while speaking. Exhaling a long beam of stars, Lucy was stunned when she watched the beam form into a large ball made of stars midway.

It wasn't some move that she had seen from games which required monsters to fight for you where they lived in tiny red and white balls. This was far more beautiful than the imaginary gaming attack. Like a gust of wind, the stars were being led and moved by thin strands of golden light. It was like watching a ballerina dance with those ribbons but in hues of gold and yellow.

Done with the roar, Starisha watched her ball of spinning stars fly out to somewhere in the distance. Turning to meet eyes with Lucy, she smiled when Lucy was looking up at her with admiration. "It's beautiful Starisha. Am I going to be able to do something like that?" Lucy asked.

Starisha chuckled. "This attack may be beautiful, but it does a lot of damage on its opponents. When the ball of stars hit the target, the individual stars will severely wound the opponent since they're constantly moving and spinning. The question about you being able to learn and do this? Yes, you will, but here's a catch... Every magic may result differently when used."

"Differently? So, mine won't exactly look like yours?" Lucy asked.

The dragon nodded, "That is correct. We're all different but here's the thing, when dragons use this roar, we would either do it without calling out the spell or say, 'Roar of the Celestial Dragon'. Dragon Slayers would say the shortened form and say, 'Celestial Dragon's Roar'. It's sort of a way to identify who is what though some like to confuse others and use it the other way."

Lucy nodded excitedly where Starisha moved to stand behind her. "Move along with my pushes slowly. When you inhale air, always remember to slightly bend your back backward to allow you to force it out. When releasing your roar, focus on your directions... One on your opponent, and the other on your surroundings. Missing it can be an advantage to the enemy," she explained while moving Lucy's body gently to guide her on the momentum that she should be doing this.

Understandingly, Lucy took a few steps forward and followed Starisha's instructions. "Is there anyone in the distance?" Lucy asked Starisha nervously. The human-form dragon shook her head in response, and carefully watched Lucy's every movement as she continued.

Lucy inhaled, then exhaled, then slowly bent her back backward. She inhaled deeply and focused on what Starisha had just said. She focused on every single detail. "Celestial Dragon's Roar!" she shouted and then pushed her body forward, releasing her... 

Non-existent attack?

A comical sweat-drop drooped from Starisha's forehead as she looked at Lucy who was looking back at her in confusion. As expected, not all can just breathe out stars without any specific guidance or experience. "I think that we should, explain things in detail. Just follow my words and go for it princess," she said to the sad dragon princess. 

Blushing as she sulked, Lucy nodded and stood up straight and waited for Starisha to guide her on what to do again.

"Think about the night sky where there are no clouds, just stars. Imagine that a whole bunch of them are within your reach - Wanting each and every star to be within your body. Slowly, you will bend your back backward and inhale them into your body." Starisha began as she pointed to the night sky where her finger was directed to a star glistening in the sky.

"Feel the warmth of those blazing orbs within your body... You can feel their needs to return to the sky and since it's far away, you'll need wind to help them where these are your golden ribbons, your magic. You can feel them dance and jitter in your stomach. Now let them fly home with your help pushing them to their original place," with a soft whisper to Lucy's ears, she motioned the ribbons and waited for Lucy to visualize it within her mind and body.

She needed to visualize everything and make it become a reality. If there is no image, then what is beautiful magic when you cannot see it? 

"Now, you've been holding them in for a while now so think about your element, your strengths... Your determination. Lucy, can you see them? Let them go –" Starisha whispered.

"Celestial Dragon's Roar!" Lucy cried out as she once again lunged forward, releasing out a powerful roar which beamed out like a piercing arrow.

If she were to concentrate and focus on her energy a bit more, it would've rivalled with Starisha's herself, but she needed more time to experience every degree and levels of her roars.

Proud to see Lucy being able to give out a powerful roar on the second try, Starisha applauded Lucy's success and placed a hand on her shoulder with a smile. "Congratulations Lucy! Now we'll practice and teach you more things until the month is over."

Without Lucy knowing while Starisha taught her everything she could for her to master Celestial Dragon Slaying, a month had passed by within a breeze and Lucy was feeling very determined. She felt that she was more powerful than before and felt that her connections with her spirits had grown closer.

For that very month, she was taught many ways to deal with stress and using magic during the night as an advantage. Lucy was more than a Celestial Spirit Summoner and was now also a Celestial Dragon Slayer.

"Starisha, I've finally mastered all of your spells and techniques in summoning in such little time!" Lucy cheered as she ran up to the said dragon to hug her.

The celestial dragon congratulated her and told her that she was now ready to call herself a Celestial Dragon Slayer in public. The training was short, but Lucy still managed to learn everything. "I'm so proud of you Lucy, your mother would also be very proud of your success of overcoming these past lessons," she said.

Pulling out a key to place it into Lucy's hand with her tail, Lucy began to question what the key was all about. "What's this for Starisha?" Lucy asked as she examined the solid black key that had a star as its top base.

Starisha gave her a toothy grin, "It's a summoning key for you, Lucy. It was made by concentrating our magic into a key base and inserting a scale of ours inside and encapsulating it with more magic to form a connection in which will notify us when called. In the past, your mother had once used these keys to call for us whenever she needed help, but she rarely used them other than to boast about you which made the dragons have useless heart attacks. Now it's now yours to keep, and maybe someday, when you have kids, you'll pass it down to them to use."

Lowering her head to smile, she closed her eyes and tipped her head to the side as she rested. "Just summon us, well me, like when you're summoning your spirits. We're the most loyal creatures out there, and no matter how dirty the task is... We'll complete it," she said with a promise of her words.

Lucy began to tear up to the dragon's words. "B-But that's too much already. You've already provided me enough..."

Starisha shook her head. "This is my key for you Lucy. We, the celestial dragons, are the only element dragons which have keys such as these. We are your messengers, and your toys to use for your own entertainment," she said before bowing her head.

A roar in the distance was heard and the two of them looked up to find Cherita flying towards them. "It has been settled to have each dragon train you for a month Lucy. Please, we must now set off to your next dragon," Cherita stated as she floated over them.

Lucy nodded and looked down at Starisha with a pout. "It is time for our parting Lucy. Please follow Cherita and have a fun time with your next dragon," she said as Lucy hugged her.

Both pulling apart, Lucy smiled and sprouted her wings. "Thank you for training me for a month, I promise to use them with great pride," she promised to which Starisha nodded.

Soon the two flew off with Starisha watching below and while they were flying to the next destination, Lucy told Cherita all of her training experiences that she'd spent with Starisha at the Shimmering Nights, and all the fun and rough times that she had spent there.

Cherita laughed and gave Lucy some tips in training. Telling her to always visualize something when attacking or using a spell - It works best like that since it keeps you focused. She also told Lucy that she shouldn't be thinking of anything negative unless she wanted her attacks to backfire.

Their flight soon coming to an end, both landed at the next territory where Lucy will be training for the next month. 

It was at a hot, steaming volcano to which Lucy could only predict one dragon who would be living in such a dangerous environment. "Igneel..." Lucy said quietly but was heard by Cherita.

Cherita taking in a deep breath since she knew who Igneel was related to in her Earth World life, she nodded her head. "Yes, Lucy... This is where Natsu's fostering father resides in, Igneel's territory. The dragon of fire who's known to be proudly next to the Royal Family of the Heartfilia." 

Taking a step forward, she gave out a deafening roar where she slowly looked down at Lucy and smiled at her reassuringly. "He'll be here soon," she stated before looking away to scan the area for the red dragon.

Another roar came back and soon, emerging from the largest volcano in front of them was a large dark-red dragon with horns on his head and a nude to a beige-coloured underbelly. Scars on his body, he flew down and grinned at Lucy that resembled so much like Natsu's. "Welcome to my domain, Lucy," he greeted.