Loud cheers and whistles outside caught the princess's attention as she lounged on her soft and fluffy king-sized bed. It was the middle of a particularly scorching afternoon, and on a weekday no less, so shouldn't there be barely anyone out and about in the streets? But curiosity got the better of her, and so she stood gracefully from her repose and lifted a corner of her curtain with delicate fingers. She stared, amazed by the number of people parading through the streets, some throwing flowers and colored paper into the air. The last time there had been a party this large was for her father's coronation years ago.
Something big must have happened.
"Virgo, what is it?" she called out for her maid, nodding at the scene beneath them.
"It appears that the dragon from over the mountain has been slain, Princess," said the maid, bowing respectfully and avoiding contact with her eyes.
She dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand. "How many times have I told you to call me Lucy, Virgo? I want to be your friend, not someone you fear and have to attend to because my father ordered you to."
Virgo smiled fondly at the blond-haired girl. "I understand, Miss Lucy. And…as I was saying, the town is in celebration because King Heartfilia has ordered the dragon to be put on display here in the capital to show the rest of the world how strong we are."
Lucy wrinkled her nose in disgust. As someone who was literally held captive herself – she never was allowed to go anywhere outside, especially not without a bodyguard...and even when she was let out, it was so strangers could stare at her and regard her with respect and fear - she knew how the dragon must feel. It was sickening, and she hated it.
It was her dream to one day escape from her prison, to run free and happy in the peaceful and beautiful golden field that were located far away from her kingdom. But her father wouldn't allow her to go dirty herself in a 'field of mud', as he had rudely put it, and had forbidden her to leave Magnolia under his care.
She was becoming more and more tired of her life, and bringing this animal abuse into their family was going too far. She was going to find her father and give him a piece of her mind.
"Thank you, Virgo. Where is Father now?"
"He should be in the stables, getting ready to ride into the streets with the slayer," Virgo reported.
Slayer...Lucy shuddered, secretly glancing at her cat Happy, still snuggled against her pillow. The dragon must be badly hurt. How could he bring himself to hurt innocent animals? Sure, it was a dragon, but it was still alive and it must have had its own family and friends...
"Alright, I'll go find him. You can go now," she told Virgo, and slipped out from her room on the topmost floor of the castle. It was a grand and magnificent thing, the castle, but to Lucy it was more like a dungeon. The ancient stone walls trapped her in, and the torches that decorated the tall, arching corridors threatened to burn her. She passed through the dining hall, glaring in distaste at the half-filled bottles of wine that scattered across the table. She hated to think that while the upperclass were laughing and joking around, commoners outside had to work from sunrise to sunset just so they had enough to feed their family for the night.
This was an important lesson her mother had taught her years ago, before she had passed away due to a mysterious illness. It was why she wanted to be friends with her servants, even now...
"I'm tired," six-year-old Lucy moaned, flopping down into the grass. "I don't want to do this anymore. Can we go home?"
Queen Layla's usually kind eyes were firm and disapproving. "Not yet, Lu-chan. You said you wanted to keep the children company, right? You'll have to wait until their parents come home."
"But when?" she pouted. She had only wanted to play with kids her own age for a little while, not to stay out from morning till now! The sun was setting, and her stomach rumbled miserably in protest.
"You can't have everything, sweetie," Layla explained gently. "Their parents usually take them out to the fields to keep an eye on them, but since we were here, I offered to keep watch for them. They can't afford nannies and maids like we can, you know. It's a harsh life, beyond those castle walls..." Her eyes clouded with sadness and another expression Lucy didn't understand. "I knew you couldn't stay that long in the fields, so this was the only other choice. Now go and have some fun for me!" She shooed Lucy off towards the other children, smiling fondly at her daughter.
Unknown to the young girl, her mother was clutching a gold key to her chest, praying that Lucy would grow into a warm and beloved princess who would one day bring justice to the kingdom...
While she reminisced, her footsteps must had taken her further from the castle than she had thought, for she had somehow made her way deep into the forest behind her home. She frowned, wondering how she was going to find her father in time, when a set of fresh footprints trailing into the bushes caught her eye. Someone had been here before her.
She ducked below the canopy and ignored the way the mud left her white dress wet and uncomfortable - her father was bound to reprimand her again - all thoughts focused on maneuvering her way through the trees. Was there someone still here? She knew she would be in trouble if they caught her sneaking about...
She hadn't gone far when she noticed the thick iron bars that were camouflaged between mulberry trees. There were so many of them, and no doubt they were trying to keep someone, or even worse, something inside. Lucy squinted, and she could make out a faint red shape inside the cage, a cage larger than any she had ever seen in her life.
As she peered closer, her breath caught in her throat, and all she could do was to prevent her legs from trembling and her body from falling over in surprise.
Inside the cage was the dragon.
And it was staring right back at her.
A/n: new story idea yet again /slapped/.. but I really wanted to try my own take on the princess and the dragon. And nalu is OTP ;;w;;
leave a review and let me know if you're interested?
