Fairy Tail meets Fairy Tales
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail
Author's Note: This one is dedicated to my best friend and writing partner, SecretDime. Don't know why this one is for you but it is. So deal. I blame you for all this anyway. You can't see Natsu as a damsel in distress? Well neither can I, but I'm going to give it my best shot. Re-posted by the poll actually reaching the figures I wanted (3)
Sleeping Beauty
"You have got to be kidding!" Natsu yelled, making everyone in the guild flinch. "If I have to be part of your stupid play, I should be the dragon!"
"Yeah," Gray mocked, "because that always goes so well." The last thing they needed was to destroy another theatre.
"Anyway," Lucy said, "there is no dragon in this play."
"Why do I have to be the princess? Why can't Lucy do it?"
"Because," Ezra explained for maybe the fiftieth time, "the job specified that a male had to play the princess and the prince. And you don't have to be a princess; you can be a prince, just as long as you play the part that would normally be the princess's role."
Natsu snarled angrily and spewed flames through the guild, singing everyone who had gathered round to hear what Fairy Tail's most notorious team was up to. "I don't see why we have to do this job, there are loads of other ones we could do," he snarled softly. Lucy stalked towards him, her eyes blazing.
"Because," she hissed at him, "this job is simple, and pays unbelievably well."
Natsu slowly backed away from the furious celestial mage and grimaced. "Fine," he grunted. "But I am not happy about this."
"Noted," Gray said, enjoying this far more than he should have been.
The tower stretched into the sky forever, looking like it would pierce the clouds or the blue, blue sky. Standing at the base of the tower, was a young, pink haired boy named Briar. He had been sent by his aunt to pick flowers, something he was fairly sure was just an excuse to get him out of the house. Nevertheless, flowers he would pick. He had found this place a long time ago, in fact he had discovered it almost a year after he and his aunt had moved her. That meant, what with his 18th birthday being tomorrow, that he had found this place ten years ago. Before they had come here, they used to move around a lot. When he had asked his aunt why they had moved around so much, she always changed the subject. Not that it really mattered anymore.
The tower had been abandoned for years, and was surrounded by thick bracken. There was a path through the bushes, but it was so overgrown that it was hard to find. In fact, he had only found it because he had followed a cat through the tangled plants. It was tough to get to, but when it came to picking flowers, it was the best place in the entire forest, covered as it was in beautiful blossoms.
Briar picked as many flowers as his basket could hold before heading back through the thicket, accompanied as always by his one friend, the blue cat that had led him to the meadow and abandoned tower in the first place. He stopped at the stream to get a drink, carefully placing the basket down so as not to lose any of the flowers. As he drunk, the crackle of leaves underfoot made him look up. Someone, or something, was coming toward the stream and him. Frozen by his curiosity, Briar watched and waited, as whatever it was got closer.
A man walked out of the trees and kneeled beside the stream, not even noticing Briar. He was tall, with black hair and black eyes. His clothes were fancier than anything Briar had ever seen. Despite the sword hanging from his belt, he looked friendly enough and Briar, being on the other side of the stream, felt confident in drawing attention to himself. "Hello," he said quietly, hoping that he wouldn't startle the other man too badly.
The man looked up, the water in his cupped hands leaking as he stared at Briar. "Hello," he echoed, his bemusement clear in his voice. "Who are you?" He spoke quietly, as if he was talking to a wild animal that might flee at the first sign of a threat.
"I'm Briar. I live here with my aunt. Who're you? And what're you doing here?"
He smiled. "My name is Phillip. I'm looking for a last prince. Do you have any idea where he might be?"
Briar thought for a moment. "Not really. But there is an old tower nearby. There could be something there that'll help you find him. I could show you if you'd like."
Phillip nodded and got to his feet. "I'd like that."
Briar grinned in return and leapt up as Phillip splashed through the shallow stream to reach the same side as him. "This way," he said, gesturing for Phillip to follow him. He grabbed the basket of flowers and led the way through the forest, showing Phillip the hidden path to the tower.
They stood side by side and stared up at the tower and Phillip frowned. "This place has been abandoned for years. I don't think there's going to be anything useful in there, plus it looks like it might fall down any minute. Thanks for showing it to me though."
Briar sighed. "Sorry I couldn't help."
"That's okay." Phillip looked at him.
"I should head home," Briar said.
"Would it be okay if I walked with you? I want to make sure you get home safely." Phillip stared straight into Briar's black eyes.
Briar blushed. "No problem," he responded, and they headed back to the cottage Briar lived in with his aunt.
Hidden inside the character of Briar, Natsu rolled his eyes. How could anyone be so stupid? It wasn't even a good story and Briar was just a complete dumb-ass. He had to admit thought, that Gray looked kinda cool in his costume and was playing the role of Prince Phillip really well. Just, why was everyone so stupid in this play? His character and Gray's exchanged meaningless banter as they walked through the forest, and looking into Gray's eyes, he could see his boredom. Natsu had to agree. When was something actually going to happen in this stupid play?
They reached the wooden cottage in which Lucy waited in her role of Briar's aunt, really a fairy protecting him from the evil witch, played, naturally, by Ezra. He paused outside the cottage, just in front of the door and turned to face Gray-as-Phillip. "Thank you for walking back with me."
He nodded and smiled. "Goodbye, Briar," he said, obviously not expecting to see him again. "It was nice meeting you." With that, Gray walked off stage. Lucky bastard. He got to relax for a while now, while Natsu did all the work. In fact, that seemed to be the way the entire play was going. Natsu had to do all the real work. There was only one scene where Natsu wasn't expected to be there, maintaining the character of Briar. And it was probably the coolest scene in the entire play, too. Anyway….. On with the show. As the guy who had posted his crappy job had said, the show must go on.
It was the day of Briar's 18th birthday and he was unbelievably excited. Perhaps today, his aunt would finally answer some of his questions. He ran down to the kitchen, taking the stairs two at a time. His aunt was at the stove, cooking something, her blond hair tied out of her way.
"Hey, Nat-I mean Briar, would you mind terribly if I asked you to go and get some more flowers?" She asked without turning to face him.
Briar's shoulders slumped, and inside, Natsu grimaced at Lucy's slip-up. Everyone had been doing really well too. It was just a matter of time before something else went wrong now. Oh well, at least Ezra didn't really have to do anything. He remembered how terrible she had been last time they'd had to perform. Mentally, Natsu slipped back into the character of Briar. "But….. It's my birthday.
"I know, and I'm sorry." Lucy turned to face him, a spoon held in her hand. Suddenly, she smiled. "But I haven't finished your cake yet and I don't want you seeing it before it's done."
Briar grinned. "Okay then." He quickly hugged Lucy and raced out the door. Leisurely strolling through the forest, he paused at the stream where he had met Phillip yesterday. "I wonder whether he'll manage to find the prince he was looking for," he muttered aloud as he continued on his way to the meadow.
Fighting through the thicket, Briar stared at the tower. Something was different today; he couldn't quite work out what. Dismissing it as unimportant – Natsu was beginning to realise that Briar wasn't the smartest of people – he lay back in the meadow, enjoying the feeling of the sun on his skin. As he drifted off to sleep, he never noticed the door of the old tower, a tower that no longer looked old, slowly creak open and a red-haired, armoured woman exit into the meadow.
Natsu watched Ezra approach through eyes open as slits. He mentally crossed his fingers as she stood beside his prone body. Come on Ezra, he thought desperately to her, you can do this. She shuddered slightly, and held a hand over Natsu/Briar's sleeping body.
"Eighteen years," she began. "I have searched for you, and now, on your eighteenth birthday I have found you. Now, my curse can take effect." She pulled a small dagger out of nowhere, and crouched down beside him.
Briar started upright, surprise clear on his face. He tried to run, but Ezra's grip on his wrist was unbreakable. She brought his hand up, so that the audience would have a clear view. Using the dagger, she pricked his finger, and a drop of blood welled up on Natsu's clear skin.
"With blood I sentence you to eternal sleep," Ezra yelled triumphantly and Natsu's role was over. Mostly.
Natsu faked a faint as the theatre went black, plunging them into darkness. He wrapped an arm around Ezra quickly, quietly congratulating her on a job well done as they moved off stage. Relaxing into a chair positioned so that he could see the stage and know when he had to get set back up, he put his feet up. Now it was Gray's turn. Natsu was looking forward to this.
Gray took a deep breath as the lights slowly turned on. Natsu had been really good at Briar, now it was his turn to have the spotlight. If he'd realized how much work was involved in this job, and all of it acting, something he wasn't really that fond of, he wouldn't have convinced everyone it was a good idea. Still, he was going to have fun with the ending. Running a hand over his hair, smoothing it back down, he walked out on stage, a piece of paper clutched in his hand. He pretended to read off the paper. "A pink-haired, black eyed baby boy." He threw the paper to the ground. "I'm so stupid! It was him, that Briar boy; he was the prince I was looking for."
He ran through the forest, back to the small cottage he had been to yesterday. Ignoring all good manners, he flung open the door and raced inside. "Where is he?" he yelled, as a blond woman turned to face him, a wooden spoon in her hand. She stared at him in shock.
"Prince Phillip?" she enquired. "My god, I haven't seen you since you were a toddler."
"You're the prince's nursemaid." Phillip cried. Gray had to wonder, what was this habit people in fairy tales had of stating the complete obvious? "Is he here?" He asked hurriedly.
"No," she said, still slightly in shock. "I sent him out to pick flowers so I could finish his cake in peace." She froze as something terrible occurred to her. "If you could find us…"
"So could she," Phillip finished. "The evil witch, who was determined to curse the baby boy and who you were running from, when you took him and hid away."
She nodded grimly. "We have to find him, before she does."
They ran out of the house, Gray supposedly leading the way to the old tower, both knowing, in reality and in character, that they wouldn't get there in time.
They reached the thicket and Phillip unsheathed his sword, hacking dramatically through the bushes, clearing a path. The tower stood before them, no longer abandoned and crumbling, instead appearing untouched by the years that had passed it by. A red-haired, armoured woman was standing in front of the door, guarding the way as if waiting for someone to come and try and rescue the young prince.
Hiding behind a thorny bush, Gray looked at Lucy. "I'll distract her, while you find the prince." She nodded and watched as Gray walked over to Ezra, sword in hand.
What followed was perhaps the shortest fight scene ever. Lucy couldn't stick around to watch, although she desperately wanted to. As Gray/Phillip lured Ezra away from the door, she ran across the flower-filled meadow and into the tower, knowing that Natsu waited at the top.
With a flamboyant slash of his sword, Gray disarmed Ezra. Of course it would be very different if they were fighting for real. She knelt in front of him and he rested the sharp tip of his sword at her throat. "Never again," he cried out in a heroic voice, "shall you bring harm to this kingdom and all its neighbours. Be gone!"
Glaring daggers at him, Ezra ran off stage. Pausing for a minute to catch his breath – even in a fake fight Ezra was a formidable opponent, and the sword wasn't really his weapon of choice – he stared up at the tower. Once he had regained control over his breathing he raced into the tower, running up the stairs to the top room, were the prince lay on a bed of silken sheets, unmoving and still as the dead.
He looked at Lucy, crouched over Natsu's prone body, convincingly teary-eyed. "Is he…." He trailed off as she looked up at him.
"It is an old spell, not many would know it. It is a spell of enchanted sleep, and can only be broken with a kiss." She stared directly at him. "A royal kiss."
Phillip looked surprised, but shook it off. "Well, there is a kingdom nearby that has a princess who could help us."
Lucy shook her head. "She wouldn't get here in time. If the spell isn't broken within a day of it being placed it never will be. It has to be you."
He nodded, quick to accept his fate. After all, the task of finding the missing prince and returning him safely to his kingdom had been given to him and after coming so far, and getting so close, he wasn't about to give up now. He moved Lucy gently to one side and looked down at the sleeping prince. He looked so peaceful in rest, nothing like the energetic young man who he had met at the stream only a day ago. He lowered his head, and Gray saw Natsu open his eyes to slits, glaring at him. He smiled slightly, leaned down, and pressed his mouth against that of the 'sleeping prince'. It was a quick kiss, just a brush of lips really, but the shockwaves it created travelled through his entire body. He pulled away, and waited.
Slowly, Briar's eyes blinked open. He looked at Phillip, confusion in his eyes. A genuine confusion breaking through the mask of Briar that Natsu was wearing. "What…happened?" He asked, his voice trembling slightly.
"Well," Phillip began, "It seems I have found the prince I was searching for."
"Me?" Briar's voice quivered.
"Yes." Phillip replied bluntly. "You are the missing prince."
Briar stared at Phillip. "You saved me?"
"Yes."
Without warning, he threw his arms around Phillip's neck, hugging him tight. "Thank you," he whispered, a sound that carried throughout the theatre, but was quickly drowned out by applause as the lights dimmed and the music heralding the end of the show began to play.
"Never again," Natsu growled out of the corner of his mouth as they took their bows.
Gray just smiled and laughed.
Fin
Author's Note: I couldn't for the life of me remember the names used in Sleeping Beauty other than Briar Rose, so I just made them up or didn't bother. If you do know the proper names, feel free to say so and I'll rewrite it with the proper names included. If you liked this, and haven't already, go check out the new, improved and very different version of Sleeping Beauty that I wrote.