Chapter One: Dragon's Shadow
"Princess?" a soft rap came at the door, the bronze handle jiggling open when nothing but a subtle snore answered. A series of brisk clicks echoed across the sleek wood paneled floor, abruptly halting in the general position of the window where the curtains were suddenly drawn.
Afternoon light flooded through the glass and brightened the room, causing a blonde haired youth to shuffle uncomfortably in her king sized bed. Muttering her displeasure, she pulled the goose down blanket over her head in a feeble attempt to block out the blinding light. A moment later however, the blanket was whisked aside, as was the rest of her sheets to prevent the young lady from going back to sleep.
"Princess," the voice repeated, gently shaking the blonde's shoulder.
"Go 'way Virgo," the words slurred from sleep, the girl struggling to find the blankets while fight off unwanted attention from the maid. "An stop calling me princess. Lucy'll suffice."
"I'm sorry, Miss Lucy," the maid- Virgo said sternly with no hint of sympathy or sincerity. "But Master Heartfilia requests your visit at the staircase base. Promptly and wearing preferably something elegant."
The blonde- undoubtedly Lucy Heartfilia, muttered her protests but decided not to make her father wait and shuffled unladylike towards the closet in search of today's clothing.
Virgo insisted on staying to help but Lucy found it pointless for her to stay when she could be cleaning, or cooking, or finishing the laundry. Anything but hanging around creepily with her usual blank, emotionless face. Following her mistress' wishes, Virgo departed the room with a click of her heels, the echo fading as she presumably scaled the spiral staircase to the lower floor.
This left Lucy alone, as per usual. The closet door slid open, revealing racks upon racks of fancy clothing. Some more elegant than others- more for high ranking social events rather than garden parties or simple outdoor wear. Since her father requested elegant, she'd give him elegant.
Slipping out of the satin nightgown, the princess dressed herself into a light blue dress rimmed with white ruffled around the base, neck and sleeves. For shoes, Lucy decided on silver heels that clicked against the wood paneled floors. Up past her elbows sat white gloves, her hair tied up in a side ponytail. To complete the look, Lucy clasped on her mother's necklace: a deep sapphire gem held by a silver chain.
She then stood in front of the wall mirror, forcing her best smile for when she greeted her father- ruler of the Celestial Kingdom and then some.
The Celestial Kingdom it itself was rather beautiful, not that Lucy saw much of it other than sights from her window. It wasn't deemed ladylike to be parading around the commoners when she had plenty of other duties to attend to. The kingdom was very large compared to the other bordering cities, and only slightly bigger than their neighboring kingdom in the north: The Ice Kingdom.
As the name implies, the Ice Kingdom resided in the icy landscape of the northern mountains, constantly trapped within glaciers, thick snow drifts and heavy snowfall. The castle was completely composed of ice- for it was originally a giant glacier, carved out by people long ago that eventually transformed into a place of living. With most kingdoms, they usually had a prince or princess as an heir to the throne. The Ice Kingdom was no different.
The Ice Kingdom's prince was a young man by the name of Gray Fullbuster; the only heir- like Lucy, to the kingdom. From what Lucy heard, he was laid-back, rather quiet and well respected by the citizens of his own kingdom. There didn't seem to be any major flaws in the young man. First, he was a prince. Second, he was well liked. Third, there were rumors floating around about his handsome appearance. But still...
Lucy wanted nothing to do with him.
Why?
Princess Lucy Heartfilia wanted nothing to do with marriage. She was being forced into this marriage in an attempt to conjoin their kingdoms. From what she heard, Prince Fullbuster hadn't objected. Lucy would've protested in a heartbeat but she wasn't about to disagree with her father. Ever since her mother had passed away at a young age of six, Jude Heartfilia's temper had worsened and most of his anger was brought out upon his daughter. For ten years, Lucy had been living under his direct rule as to help her chances in not getting a smack across the face. For the most part it had worked, but occasionally she would return to her room a little worse for wear.
So everyday Lucy put on her best smile and tried to endure the day, hoping one day her emotional nightmare would end. She inhaled slowly, exhaling swiftly and again forcing a pleasant grin before departing the room, heels clicking against the floor as she descended the spiral staircase. At the bottom awaited her father, dressed in one of his many expensive suits in a slate mahogany.
"Good morning, father," Lucy greeted him with a small curtsy, keeping her pressured grin in his presence.
"Walk with me," he commanded simply, his hands held behind his back as he began steadily walking down the hall, his daughter quickly trailing after with brisk steps, high heeled shoes echoing down the chamber.
With each set of steps, the glass doors came into view, allowing access to the outdoor patio that shimmered in the warm sunlight. Jude opened the door in a slow motion, motioning for Lucy to walk through. Her heels clacked against the wood flooring, a wave a heat splashing down almost instantaneously. She quickly moved to the shade of the open umbrella, where a tea set was laid out ready to be used. Lucy flattened out her dress as she took a seat, watching cautiously as her father took the seat across from her and began pouring the tea.
"Daughter," he began in his usual rough tone, having stopped calling her by her name years ago. "I have decided that if you are to be wed to Prince Gray, then you should have a personal affiliation with the kingdom. So I'm sending you into the mountains where you will remain with your fiance until the wedding preparations have been set here. Your belongings have already been packed and loaded. You are to be expected there before nightfall."
"What?!" Lucy couldn't refrain herself from yelling as she slammed the cup down on the table, shattering as she rose to her feet in one swift motion.
"Sit down," Jude commanded darkly, glaring across the tabletop, irked as the priceless china had been shattered within seconds.
But Lucy would not. "I'm not going to live with someone I've never met!"
"Stupid girl!" spat Jude, rising to his feet and staring down the young blonde. "You'll meet him if you go on this small trip. It's only for your benefit to get to know the kingdom of ice and better know the prince. For once in your life just listen to me!"
"Maybe I won't!" retorted Lucy, crossing her arms, glaring defiantly back at her father. She barely had time to respond before a hand smacked across her face, sending her stumbling back a few steps from the impact.
"Irresponsible brat!" Jude hissed again, lowering his hand. "Do as you're told and meet the carriage outside by the gates. Now go."
Holding in tears, Lucy barrelled out of the dining room, racing for the safety and security of her chambers. But as she threw open the door, she gasped. Her father hadn't lied, her stuff had been packed away. In mere minutes her room had been cleared, the closet empty. The only thing remaining were larger objects such as the old chest and her bed but most things had been removed.
Virgo's handiwork, she thought bitterly, knowing how quickly the maid could clean, potentially clearing out a room in only minutes without the knowledge of its occupant.
"Princess?" a familiar voice spoke from the doorway. "Master Heartfilia says it's time for your journey to the Ice Kingdom."
Lucy only nodded, her face downcast as she somberly turned and brushed past Virgo, her hand held across the sapphire necklace. Behind her, the door shut courtesy of Virgo and quickly locked. Lucy only stared ahead, ignoring the sounds of the locking door as she descended the staircase awaited by one of the guards.
Sighing, she allowed him to take the lead out towards the gates, passing her father who stood outside the dining hall. The carriage sat right behind the gates, the door held open for the princess who reluctantly boarded, still with a hand over the sapphire. The door shut and the coachmen raced to the head, taking the lead with the reins in hand. Guards were posted on horseback riding along on either side and in the rear. This left Lucy alone in the carriage, hearing nothing but horse hooves against the dirt trail and the spinning wheels of the moving compartment.
Downcast, she exhaled wearily. Already, she was exhausted and too tired to think about anything other than her hatred towards her father, the Celestial Kingdom, and everyone in the Ice Kingdom. There wasn't anything she didn't hate at that moment. For the time being, Lucy hated the world.
Life was so unfair.
...
Hours later- or what Lucy presumed, the carriage had come to an abrupt halt, effectively knocking the princess free of sleep and sent her into a whirlwind of confused thoughts. Remaining still, she heard one of the guard's voices; "What business do you have, peasant?"
It was obvious he was displeased. Most people living on the castle grounds often had an air of pompousness and a sense they were better than anyone else. From outside the horses knickered uncertainly, pawing at the dirt with their hooves.
"I've come to warn you!" gasped the peasant- a woman by the tone. Lucy couldn't see her but she could tell the woman was genuinely scared.
"Warn us?" scoffed another guard atop a chestnut mare; one of the only visible guards to Lucy for he was standing beside the window. "Nothing can harm us. Move on, old woman."
The woman only yelled louder, panting and gasping. "Dragons!" she shrieked, waving her arms which was oblivious to the princess who was itching to open the door but she knew the serious talk she'd soon have with the guards for such a reckless action.
"Dragons," laughed the first guard at the front. "No one has seen dragons in decades! They're probably all dead! Move on!"
"I saw them!" persisted the old woman, still shrieking. "It was eating bandits!"
"Bandits?" the guards tensed, apparently feeling more threat from rule breaking humans rather than winged beasts of terror. "Nothing we can't handle. Now I'll only say it once more: Move on!" The old woman finally shuffled on, hobbling briskly towards the direction of the Celestial Kingdom. The reins cracked and the carriage jolted forward, Lucy plopping back into her seat from the sudden motion. A few moments later it settled back onto an even pace, the carriage bouncing gently on the path hugging the grass ledge that sloped down towards a stream.
Long way to fall, Lucy thought, pressing her face against the carriage's window, staring down with blue eyes glued to the scenery. All the peacefulness of nature suddenly ended with one loud roar, something causing the carriage to abruptly shake back and forth with incredible speed.
Lucy jostled against the carriage's interior, the door suddenly jerking open from the impact. Screaming, Lucy felt herself falling through air, gravity pulling her down the steep slope. In her peripheral vision, she could make out a silvery-gray shape perched atop the carriage, roaring and fending off spear and sword attacks from the guards. Her body came in contact with the grass, still screaming she tumbled down, thorn bushes scattered randomly tore at the dress and began to scrape skin. Eventually, the slope evened out. Although not close enough to account for stumble factor. The inertia carried through, Lucy still on a straight course until she felt nothing but water. Holding her breath, she surfaced with a gasp, only then noticing the stream was deeper than it had looked from the cliff ledge at the top. She crawled out, coughing sharply before laying sprawled out on her stomach.
Chortling laughter echoed from behind, a large shadow looming over Lucy. She whirled around in fear, staring up horrified at the figure. A dragon.
Thou's first attempt at a Fairy Tail fanfiction. As the summary and title reveal, my biased NaLu pairing. Either way, I hope you all enjoy and time willing, more chapters will be updated regularly. Don't worry, my other stories will be up soon too. I've put Altered Forms on a small hiatus while I write the next chapter. I blame school. If you are all interested in my challenges, those will be updated provided I stay active on forums. Shouldn't be a problem. Remember, read & review! Thou appreciates comments.
-Snarky