CHENFORD SCENES Season 6 Episode 6 “Secrets and Lies”

“Klein was at a loss on whether to laugh or cry”

Is this a reference to tgcf???

@kilisworld @notsofluffyunicorn

since starting this series the emojis ‘🤣😭’ haven’t meant the same

WAIT A SECOND

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Chapter 6

“Stupid…stupid!” Lucy berated in hard sobs. Chains above her rattled and clanked. Cradled against her chest, the hand she managed to free. The skin around the broken bone already had darkened, a mixture of red and blue from the damage and the bruising. The torn skin from being cut into by the manacle bled freely over her already soaked top.

Even as the air grew warmer, every nerve and muscle in her body screamed and shook from the pain. It hurt…by the grace of the Celestial King, did it hurt! Even the sight of the thumb—out of place, joint limp against the middle of her hand—sent a fresh wave of tremors through her.

And as the tremors hit, so did the pain. It shot from her hand to every nerve of her arm. Muscles spasmed and sent another wave of pain. A vicious cycle that she could not contain. Breathing became a chore with each gasp and sob of agony.

Tears blurred her vision. A headache assaulted her senses, each heartbeat in her chest urging another blinding stab of misery. None of it kept the reality of her situation from overwhelming her. A harsh truth she could see no escape from.

Even if she managed to get her other hand out—dislocating or breaking her thumb as she had on her left one—then that still left the cage. It had been opened by magic on the bracers the crew wore. Unlike keys, bracers would be impossible to steal without being caught. Attempting to do so would leave her enduring another beating.

Each breath she took warned that another beating would lead to injuries she could not afford to have. Running would be near impossible if the opportunity arrived, and it would leave her weakened beyond the ability to fight back. Salamander would be able to do whatever he wanted to her, and that was without the threat of what he would do to her keys.

A different form of fear crept up like the bile at the back of her throat. Clenching her right hand, she remembered the stories that those she worked with through the years had told her. Injuries to their bodies happened more often than not, and the aches their bones felt when the weather changed had made her heart ache for them. Broken bones never healed properly, and the pain would remain with her for the rest of her life.

Could she risk damaging her dominate hand without a clear way to escape? The one that held her keys as she summoned her friends, the whip she used to fight beside them, the sword and bow she used to have before needing to sell them for a bit of jewel. The hand she used to write her stories.

Would her thumb heal correctly and only minimum pain ghost her for the rest of her life? If it did not heal right, it could be too painful to do anything.

Her lip trembled. Everything that she had done to escape—to stay hidden and just be her own person—had it all truly been for nothing? While she had learned much since running away, and the only course of action she could act on was to remain free as long as possible, there were so many more adventures that she had wanted to experience. Things she had never tried.

“If you ever find yourself stuck,” her mother’s voice echoed in her mind, “remember these fairy tales. They will be your salvation, my little star.”

“They won’t,” she sobbed, gripping the chain in her right hand and letting her body sag. “They were nothing but stories!”

Soft words spoken under starlight and the glow of a fire; every night had been spent cuddled into her mother’s chest as the words of stories danced around them. Daring sword fights, brave adventurers, loyal friends, and creatures long forgotten by normal folk. A book would be chosen and they would read it together, but every so often, her mother would slip out a particular book and lift a finger to her lips.

“Shh,” a smile would grace her lips, “this book is our secret.”

Between those pages, a different sort of tales filled the night. In hushed whispered when her father was off on trips, tales of past wars, dragons who sought the end of humanity and those who stood with them, and people selected by the very gods of their religions fought against others. Even the stars above helped, granting celestial keys to the world and connect the two realms.

“Remember, my star,” her mama’s voice trembled those nights. Very tight and cautious. “Your father would not take too well to know of these stories. That is why we keep them from him.”

“But Mama,” she cuddled against her mother’s chest, feeling the bone-thing body press against her cheek as they huddled under blankets on the couch. “I miss papa.”

“I know, my dearest.” A kiss to her head signaled the start of the next story.

The stories allowed beyond the hush of nightfall were the simple fairy tales that had been a nightly ritual for them. In the beginning, all three of them would cuddle under woolen forts with pillows and chairs that helped keep the structure up. Her parents would laugh as she acted out scenes from the stories.

Some of the stories were of dragons befriending heroes, who later would turn on the poor beast. Others of mice helping women fulfill impossible tasks. Her personal favorites usually had princesses, and when they befriended the dragons who hid in the mountains all alone, her tiny body would jump and cheer.

“Everyone needs a friend, mama!” she’d cry, relieved when the story ended with friendship.

“Yes, my dearest, everyone needs a friend.”

It had taken running away from the only place she had known to realize why her mama had looked so sad when she said those words. The pull of her lips in a smile that cried without the use of tears. A look given to a child who unknowingly had no friends besides a doll named Gonzales with a lovely nickname of Michelle.

Child-like innocence had hidden much of what life had tried to pin her with.

Metal of the ship groaned. Vibrations rippled through the chains down her arm. The air around her paused, and she felt her breath catch at the pressure.

Heat erupted through the darkness and lit it up in an explosion of oranges, reds, and yellows. Pain pierced her eyes at the change of lighting. Clenching them, she pressed her face into her chilled arm and tried to listen beyond the ringing.

Voices loud enough to sound their distress caught her attention, then shouting from people she could only guess were the crew. Had the military become suspicious? When had they entered the hull of the ship? Maybe she had fallen unconscious from her beating or breaking her hand. Whoever had attacked were not pulling their punches, that she knew as another rumble went through the ship and her cage.

Voices crying out and screaming filled the silence the ringing had provided. Some were the frightened calls for help from women. Others full of pain that continued for several minutes or abruptly ended.

Like the winds of a desert, heat pulsed through the bars and swirled through the darkness. It from a relief from the chill of the air that she desperately wished to cling to. If the military were attacking, then they would be providing help to those like her. The moment she could get free and get back to land, she would find a way to slip away.

But her keys, and her bag…her heart clenched at the thought of being completely alone without her spirits. How would she be able to find them?

Something flickered in the space of the cages. A bit of white flashed through again, and her eyes widened. “Happy?” The word caught in her throat, and came out rasped. With nothing to wet her lips, she pressed herself forward, the word less than a wisp of air. “Happy!”

Frantic that the cat would not hear her, she pushed through the pain and numbness that had set into her limbs, and started to clang the chain again the bars above. A loud reverberation traveled down her arm and rang in her ears, but it did exactly what she needed.

“Lu-shee?” Happy halted midair at the new sound. Looking around, he noted that most of the cages in this area were empty compared to the other side, but there had to be someone here. Deciding to investigate the noise instead of wandering mindlessly for a clue where Lucy could be, a large smile lit up his face when he finally saw a cage with someone in it.

“Lucy!” He got right up to the bars and pressed his face in to look through them at her. “Where are your clothes? It’s chilly down where without Natsu!”

She choked back a sob that escaped with her relieved laughter and heaved a sigh of relief. Heat built up behind her eyes and his concerned blue face blurred. “You have…n-no idea how happy I am to see you, Happy!” A well of happiness flooded through her and she wanted to reach out and hug the cat to her.

“We came looking for you when Natsu found your hat!” Placing her pack on the ground, he looked at the lock on the door and tried shaking it open. Nothing rattled or shook. It felt like the door was fused with the rest of the bars and left no clear way to get out. A twinge of fear crept up her spine at the thought of what would have happened if the ship sunk.

Pushing the thought and fear down, she focused on the here and now. That meant getting out of the chains and cage. If Happy could find Salamander and somehow get his bracer from him…a frown pulled at her lips.

No, that would be too tricky and dangerous for him. There were too many variables that could put him at risk. What if Salamander used his charm magic? Could that affect a creature like Happy? She could not be certain, and sometimes even knowing the usage, those rings could pose a serious threat.  

Glancing down at the bag below Happy, a striking familiarity caught her by surprise. Each rip, patch, and stitch down to the mismatched buttons stood out to her. Even the thick leather she had managed to barter for after the bottom of the bag fell out on her. “You found my bag?”

“Of course, we did!” he said with a hiccup of a laugh.

Something glinted on the far edge of the bag and drew her attention away from what he was saying. Scents and Salamander, or something along those lines. Tilting her head for a better look at the items, a hoarse cry fell from her lips. “My keys! Happy, you found my keys!”

Happiness flowed through her like the heat of the sun. The keys her mother had cherished, the only thing she had left besides a journal and her looks, the friends who had stood by her in her need to escape.

Warmth spilled over onto her cheeks and she reached her broken hand out for them. “Please, can you hand me the golden one that looks like an axe?” The urge to request all of them filled her mouth and nearly spilled out. What use would it be to attempt to hold all of them in her broken hand? Enough pain from the beating earlier kept her from reaching out further—a twinge ran down her back from bruises.

Her mind rushed, figuring out what she would need to do to summon her spirit. If she did it in the cage, both of them might be stuck, or her spirit might accidentally hurt her. The spirit with the golden axe happened to be on the larger side.

But—she realized that while the front of the cage happened to be further away from her, that meant the back was closer. Pulling her arm back, another sting of pain shot down her side and into the top part of her thigh, she thrusted her arm out of the bars and held her hand open. “Put it in my hand, and I can get us help!”

There were no objections or words to question her on what she planned, Happy just gathered the keyring in his hand and sorted through silvers and golds until he found one that looked like a weapon once welded by a guildmate.

A warm, familiar hum of magic pulsed up her arm and sent goosebumps over her skin the moment the celestial metal touched her skin. Tears blurred her vision at the soothing nature of each of her spirits pushed through to her. Resolve strengthened, her grip on the key tightened and every ounce of her magical energy pushed toward it.

“Taurus! I call upon thee!”

Along the docks and rows of buildings in Hargeon, crowds gathered to watch the smoking ship just further out of the bay. Concern for those of their community who had gone to party with the Salamander rose. Had something gone wrong with the ship? Would the ship be able to limp back in? Without clearance to bring their ships into bay, or even close to the ship, all the sailors beached that night discussed what they could do to help.

Discussions drifted to faint murmurings above, as a young child stared wide-eyed out the window of their apartment. His mother stood above him, worrying at her nails about her sister’s health who had gone on the party cruise. Only the commotion and the woman’s worry allowed for the young the child to be up so late. In awe, he watched the sky far above and pointed upward, “Mommy! Look at that!”

Heavenly bodies shifted and twisted around the blanket of midnight. Stars radiated and dimmed, pulling some back into the void and others forward toward the earth. Their cosmic dance captivated many onlookers until a constellation gleamed, one out of season and should not be visible for a few months.

The stars that formed above flew together, shattering and shimmering downward. Glitter reflected in the child’s eyes and they watched it seem to touch the ship so many eyes were on before everything settled to normal. A fantastical story only those who had witnessed it would believe.

Within the bowels of the ship, a gust of wind snapped Lucy’s hair around the cage that Happy clung to. A curtain of shimmers stepped forward from the air and heavy hooves sounded on the metal floor. The wind settled and from the shattered stars, strong, fur covered hands grabbed onto the bars of the cage.

Muscles bulged along his arms and chest, both covered by a harness of leather and chain, as he pulled the bars away from each other. Even the muscles in his legs, covered by tight pants that went down to just above where the haunches of his hooves began, flexed with his strength. When one area had been widened, he moved further down until enough space had been made for Lucy to get out, and him to get to her.

Pressing forward, a large, hair covered snout entered the cage and caught sight of Lucy’s form. A snort of anger pushed the large nose ring forward from his snout and his eyes narrowed. “Who do I need to gorge with my horns, Miss Lucy?”

He reached inside, large hands carefully gripping the chain of the remaining cuff and snapped the links apart. Those same furred hands kept her steady and helped her step from the cage onto the floor that bit at her feet.

She pulled in a gasp, hopping between the balls of her feet. Daggers stabbed outwardly, and harsh chills inward. Looking up at Taurus, glancing upon the rack of two large horns swept out on each side of his head—it had always amazed her how they never caught on things—she noticed his own stare over her and remembered her state of dress. Arms crossed over her chest, pushing her breasts inward and her legs clenched together.

His eyes narrowed further. “Where is the bag you carried?”

“Over there,” she pointed to the other side of the cage.

Rivets popped with a loud hiss and metal screeched right into her ear cavity. Before she could register where the noise had come from, Taurus had already torn the cage she had been in from the ground and threw it behind them with a single, uninterested toss. Thunder rattled her bones where hooves met the floor beneath until he snatched the bag—and the cat attached to it—from the floor.

Kneeling down, he picked her up and set her on his knee so her feet would no longer be on the freezing ground. Even with strength that could bend steel apart, every action he made from moving her to opening her bag were careful. An egg could have been inside the bag, and it never would have cracked due to him. He held the bag to her, revealing the clothes she had inside. “You’ll catch a cold if you don’t get something on.”

Worrying her lower lip, she managed to find a large tee-shirt and the cloth pants she wore to bed, “I can wear these.” With a bit of help to keep her feet from touching the ground, both articles of clothing were tugged into place.

Happy landed on her head, staring down into the bag, “What about shoes?”

“I only had the one pair,” she answered, twisting her feet together anxiously.

Taurus and Happy shared a look. Neither seemed keen on letting her walk on her own without some form of protection. Further injury and illness could set in with her current state, and from the blood and bruises that covered her, both understood the risks were higher.

Eyes narrowed in on the other, silently challenging the other. As the air between them grew taunt, Lucy felt the oppressive energy press downward on her. “Could we please talk this out, what ever the issue may be.” Much to her chagrin, neither uttered a word when each put a fist forward and shook them in quick session.

Both hands went flat in the air at the same time. The slowly formed their fists again and shook them in another quick session. The fists stayed, but she suddenly understood what they were doing.

They were settling a decision between boulder, parchment, shears.

Another set of fist shakes, and finally, Happy celebrated his victory with shears defeating Taurus’ parchment. She shook her head and zipped her bag closed. It seemed attracting strange people really was a talent of hers. At least Happy and Natsu seemed to be on her side.

With Happy’s help, the bag slipped over her arms and settled on her shoulders. He came around her front and mumbled something before gathering up what was left of the straps and tied them together across her chest. Little paws worked diligently to make a firm knot that he pulled on until he was satisfied.

“That will keep you from falling out of the straps while I carry you,” he answered her voiceless question and spread his wings wide. “Hold on tight!”

He grabbed the top handle of the bag and flew up easily, lifting her up from Taurus’ leg and keeping her feet from touching the ground. Able to stand again, the bull stood tall and called out his axe from the celestial realm.

“Follow me,” he said and looked at Happy. “No one will get passed my axe or touch Miss Lucy.” A heated snort pushed his nose ring forward, and the amount of muscles that bulged from his muscles made Happy float back a bit. He could not say for sure if anyone he knew had muscles upon muscles.

“Is he always so angry and large?” he asked Lucy in a muted tone.

“He is a bull,” she groaned, wrapping her arms around her sore middle where the straps dug in. “And he is very protective.”

“Then I am glad he’s on our side!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note:

This chapter has been written and gone over for awhile, I just have been struggling with anxiety regarding posting for this fandom for a bit. Not sure why, but I am working on pushing through it to make sure I keep this series up and finish the other stories I have written.

Also, I plan to get to all the reviews that I haven't replied to on AO3 since all of this has taken hold. I appreciate each and every one of you who has left comments and kudos. They make my day when I see them, and if anyone tells you that comments don't mean anything, that is a big fat lie. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Along with everything, as well, a deep thank you to @theguildawards discord server and everyone I have made friends with there. They are truly some of the most amazing people.

Links: AO3 (Is locked to registered AO3 users) | FF.net

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@notsofluffyunicorn gave me the honor to draw something for her A03 account! And thank goodness she loves it 😭✨

Thank you for trusting me, Amie! ✨💕🫶🏻🫶🏻

thank YOU so much. ✨🥰

Been considering rewatching FT sometime soon and since I barely post here, LETS CHANGE THAT WITH A POLL!

Haven’t drawn my original blorbo in a awhile. So that’s what I did after being enabled in The Guild Awards discord server. Hiei my beloved. More under the cut.

#it’s about the hands requested by anonymous

Producer: What if you and Lucy don’t end up together? Tim: (ง'̀-‘́)ง

Literally Grumpy & his Sunshine Girlfriend

I have so much to talk about… But Tim prioritising Lucy over the job is so sexy of him. This is the same man who already rejected a promotion when she was a rookie… Who was ready to take a demotion and ended up taking a desk job where he will deal with lawyers of all things… Just so he can see Lucy at work and be with her. This is the same guy who didn't want to advance in his career because he loved patrol so much. Even when he took the sergeant's exam, his goal was to stay in patrol. But he's ready to give it up in a heartbeat for Lucy. Because they're serious… But also because she included him in the discussion and was ready to make a sacrifice as well. With Rachel and Ashley, they had already decided for him, without really asking his opinion. This time, it's not one-sided… It's an equal relationship. And Tim is not going to hesitate. Because Lucy is worth the effort. They both are. And so is their relationship.

YESSS THERE’S ONLY ONE WOMAN TIM BRADFORD HAS EVER PRIORITIZED OVER HIS CAREER AND THAT IS LUCY

three times tim prioritized lucy over his career 🥹

#MARRIED (ACTUALLY)