Lucy stared at the flier she just finished. She couldn't believe she was going to do this. It looked good enough and had all of the correct, yet vague, information. She looked at the reward and with a second thought she erased the current reward and typed in 50,000 jewels. That's most of my savings, she thought, but she wanted to ensure that someone would accept her job offer. Perfect. Her heart was pounding in her chest with anticipation. She took a deep breath and clicked submit.
She leaned back in her chair and absentmindedly began to play with the keys at her hip. Well, there is no going back now, she thought. Just then, she heard the front door slam. He's home. No one else had the ability to slam the door hard enough that it was heard through the whole mansion. It would only be a few moments before….
"Miss Lucy?" A quiet voice called through her bedroom door.
"Come in, Jenny." Lucy said, not moving from her position at her desk.
"Miss Lucy, Jude requests your presence in his study." The shy maid said without making eye contact.
"Of course he does." Lucy mumbled as she started out of the room.
"Miss Lucy," Jenny whispered, "He seems very angry today…"
Lucy put her hand on the maid's shoulder. "When isn't he? Thanks for the warning." She said with a small smile.
When Lucy opened the large oak door to the study, she saw her father sitting at his desk with the back of his chair facing her. She knew he had heard the door open but he did not acknowledge her presence. She walked towards the large, overstuffed chairs and leaned on one. She refused to sit down.
"You requested my presence?" Lucy asked with sarcasm. She detested how formal her own father treated her.
"Lucy, please sit down." Jude said as he swiveled around to face her. His face was dark. He was obviously brooding over something. When Lucy did not sit down, he began speaking.
"Lucy, I met with the Blansett's today. As you know, they are a very wealthy family here in Fiore. They have deep ties in the oil business, I have tried countless times to get involved in the oil business and I have not been as successful as I'd like to be. I met with the head of the Blansett family, Harry Blansett. He has an eldest son who just turned 18. He is extremely intelligent and is promised admittance into any Ivy League college in all of Fiore. Perhaps you have heard of him? His name is Jack Blansett."
How could I not, Lucy rolled her eyes. That douche frequents the covers of newspapers all over Fiore with his newest inventions, inventions he's been ripping off of other people that he calls partners.
"Yes, his pointy face is hard to miss when it covers every newspaper we get at the house." Lucy was starting to grow impatient. "What does that jerk have to do with me?"
"Do not speak like that, young lady!" Jude raised his voice. "We had a long talk about the future. We came to a mutual agreement. You and Jack will be married in the summer."
It felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Marriage? She hasn't even been out to explore Fiore! She's barely been out of this prison of a house in her seventeen years of live. She couldn't believe her father would make such a life changing decision for her. Wait, that was a lie. He's always been the one controlling her life, especially after her mother died. Her best friend… her only friend…
"I won't!" She screamed with tears welling up in her eyes. "I absolutely won't let you pawn me off like that! My life is mine to live!"
Jude reached across the table and slapped Lucy. She froze for a second, holding her face in disbelief. It wasn't the first time this had happened but she still wasn't expecting it.
"I hate you," she spat at the man and then she ran out of the room.
"Get back here!" Jude yelled as he slammed his fists on the table.
Lucy ran past Jenny and a couple of the other house staff. She could feel their looks of sympathy on her back as they watched her run towards her room. Lucy threw herself on her bed after making sure to lock her bedroom door. The shock started to wear off and the left side of her face started to sting. She lifted her head and saw blood staining her white pillowcase. She reached up tenderly to touch her nose and found blood on her fingers as she drew her hand away.
That bastard, she thought, He has no right to arrange a marriage for me. He's never cared about what I want to do, only when it's beneficial for him. He never used to be like this. He has only gotten worse since mother died. He started to use force to get me to bend to his will after that. She fingered the keys at her hip for comfort. She hasn't been able to use them for years. Not since her mother died.
Lucy thought back to that day. She pictured her mother lying in bed, sweat drenching her long golden locks. She remembered holding her mother's hand tightly, trying not to cry. Her mother offered a pained smile.
"Lucy," She said to her young daughter, "I want you to have these." She handed her three gold keys and two silver keys. Lucy had never seen them before.
"These are celestial spirit keys. I am passing these down to you. Keep them safe. Keep them with you at all times. I trust you will take care of them for me." Her mother said. At this point young Lucy was ushered out of the room by the doctor. Lucy's mother passed away that night.
After that day, Lucy devoted countless hours researching celestial spirits and keys. She had been well aware of the magic out there in the world but she had never seen it for herself. She taught herself how to use them and had even acquired one more silver key she was lucky enough to score off of amazon. But once her father walked in on her summoning Plue, her little white dog, he somehow cast a spell that blocked her from using celestial magic on their property. Even though she hasn't been able to use them for seven years, she wears them on her belt every day, along with her trusty whip.
Lucy dried the tears that were pouring down her face. I hope someone accepts my job request, she thought. She then drifted off to sleep, thinking about meeting her spirits again and adventuring around Fiore.
Natsu heard the ping from his computer indicating that a new job request had come in. He raised his head from the bed and reached to wake the screen. Squinting as his eyes adjusted to the brightness Natsu read the title: Rescue a princess from the dragon. His head perked up. Dragon? He opened the request.
Looking for an able knight in shining armor to slay a dragon keeping me prisoner in this castle. Please meet me in between the hours of 8 AM and 5 PM while the dragon is away. You can find me locked away in the last window on the second floor west wing. The reward is 50.000 jewel.
Dragons? 50,000 jewel? Sounds like my kind of job, he thought. Natsu eagerly jammed the accept button. An error window popped up "This job request has already been accepted."
"What?" Natsu yelled in disbelief, waking the sleeping cat next to him. "Happy, we have to hurry to the guild hall and stop whoever took this job from me!"
"Aye, sir!" Said a sleepy blue cat.
Natsu and Happy rushed through the streets of Magnolia towards the guildhall. Natsu saw the massive guildhall coming into view. He's seen this view thousands of times but he never ceased to be amazed at the beauty and the sheer size of the guildhall. The guildhall sat proudly at the top of the hill, overlooking the town. The bright orange banner displaying the guild's emblem could be seen anywhere in town. Nothing felt more like home than FairyTail's guildhall.
He pushed open the large wooden doors and shouted, "Hey! Which one of you punks stole that dragon slaying job from me? Ice Princess, was it you?!" Natsu ran up to Gray and stuck his finger in his face.
"Chill out, fire breath. It wasn't me." Gray growled.
Natsu raised his fist back, ready to beat the truth out of him.
"It was I." A voice said.
Natsu froze mid punch and let go of Gray. He turned around to face the true culprit.
"Erza?! Why would you accept the job?" He asked.
Erza stood up from the table gracefully. "The request asked for a knight in shining armor." She replied stoically.
"But it obviously is asking for a dragon slayer. I'm the man for the job!"
Erza's eyes darkened. "Are you saying a women could do this job?"
"N-n-no-no-n-no, of c-course not." Natsu stammered, waving his hands. "I'm just saying if there really is a dragon, I need to see if it's Igneel!"
Erza pondered this for a moment and sighed. "Okay, Natsu. You can take the job. But you owe me one! I was really looking forward to that reward." Erza said with a smile.
"Thanks, Erza!" Natsu called over his shoulder, already running out the door with Happy trailing closely behind.
Erza shook her head. Crazy kid, she said under her breath.
"Natsu, do you really think this dragon is Igneel?" Happy asked, flying next to Natsu.
"I mean, I don't see why he'd be keeping some princess hostage in some castle, but it doesn't her to find out! I've plugged the location into my GPS, looks like the only way there is… by train."
Natsu stopped in his tracks. The excitement drained from him. His face paled at the thought of spending any time on a moving vehicle. I'm getting sick just thinking about it, he thought. Happy urged him forward.
"Let's go see if it's Igneel!" Happy said.
"Aye, sir!" Natsu replied.
Natsu began kissing the ground as soon as he stepped off of the train. "Sweet, sweet unmoving ground." He cried. The few pedestrians still at the train station gave him strange looks as they walked past. It's not every day that you see a pink-haired boy praising the ground at your local train station.
"Alright Happy, this way!" Natsu jumped up and bounded off down the street. Natsu checked his GPS. Three miles away! He couldn't help the pep in his step. The thought of finding Igneel after all of these years got him all fired up.
It had started to get dark during the walk. He glanced at his phone to check the time. It was nearing ten o'clock. He still had a mile and a half left. Even in the dark, he could see a huge group of building in the distance. He could tell that their size put the guildhall to shame, even from this distance.
"I think that's the place, Happy!" He said. Happy nodded in return.
As they neared, Natsu took out his phone and looked over the request one last time. 'I'll be in the last window of the second floor west wing.' The buildings were close now. The largest building was in the center of everything. That must be the house the request reference, he thought. Okay, west wing…
Natsu stopped walking for a moment and Happy flew right into him. "Which one is the west wing?" Natsu pondered out loud.
"Uh…" Happy looked deep in thought. "I think it's the right one!"
"Okay, ninja mode time!" Natsu whispered.
They sneaked across the courtyard. None of the lights were on inside the house. He couldn't sense any movement coming from inside but he could smell a number of people were in there. Natsu reached the end of the right side of the building. He pointed up towards the second floor window, signaling to Happy to fly him up there. The window was unlocked and opened easily. Happy sat him down in the middle of the room.
Natsu looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. This was definitely a girl's room. It was covered in pink furniture and frilly decorations. He could smell the sweet scent of honey and vanilla throughout the room. There were bookcases everywhere and every single one of them was filled to the brim. He walked over to a desk near the window he had gone through. It had a single laptop on it with some scattered papers and books joining it.
A Sorcerer Weekly caught his eye. He picked it up and read the front page. FairyTail Special Issue: Fiore's Strongest Guild! He smiled. Hell yeah we are, he thought. He jumped when he heard a soft sigh come from the bed. There laid a girl around his age, sleeping peacefully. She had long, golden blonde hair covering most of her face. She stretched and rolled over onto her other side. Natsu noticed some blood on her pillow and some had dried under her nose. A bruise was starting to form on her left cheek.
Natsu reached down and started to shake her awake. Her eyes flew open and she instinctively punched Natsu in the face.
"Who the hell are you?" She whispered frantically.
Natsu, who was nursing his jaw, replied, "I'm the guy who is here to save you from this dragon. Say, where is this dragon of yours? I know how big they are, he can't be hiding in this place."
"Huh?" Lucy looked around. It was dark outside. "What time is it? How did you get in here? You brought a cat?" She stared at the blue cat sitting on top of her desk.
"Aye, Sir!" Happy said. Lucy yelped and jumped back on her bed.
"A talking cat? Am I dreaming?" Lucy wondered.
"It's almost eleven. I got in through the window with Happy's help. You left it unlocked. Are you the one who sent out the job request to slay a dragon?" Natsu said nonchalantly.
"Oh!" Lucy exclaimed, forgetting everything else Natsu had just said. "I'm Lucy. And yes I did send out that job request. Wait, I said to come during the day while my father was away!"
"I'm Natsu and this is Happy." Natsu and Happy smiled up at Lucy, ignoring her last sentence.
"To answer your question, my dad is the dragon I spoke—"
"Your dad is a dragon?! That must mean that you are a dragon slayer too!" Natsu interrupted, getting right in Lucy's face. "How come your dragon is still around? Wait, why would you want to leave your dragon?
"Hey—whoa." Lucy put her hands up and backed up towards the wall. "My request was more of a metaphor."
Natsu tilted his head in confusion. "Metaphor?"
Lucy sighed. My dad is not a dragon he is a human. He keeps me trapped in this house as a prisoner. And now he wants me to marry some pretentious jerk I've never met to further his business empire."
"Why don't you just walk out?" Natsu asked.
"It's not that easy! You think I wouldn't have left already if that were a viable option? He has the house staff watch my every move. I don't want to relive the punishment I received that night I tried to run away." Lucy looked away and started fidgeting with her hands.
Natsu stared at the blonde in front of him. He grabbed her hands, causing her to look up at him. He could see tears that had started to well up in her big brown eyes.
"Did he do this to you?" he reached towards her left cheek. Lucy flinched away. "S-s-sorry." Natsu stuttered. Lucy had started to cry. Natsu had no idea how to comfort someone who was crying, let alone a complete stranger. He looked around wondering what to do to console the crying girl in front of him.
"Well, let's get you out of here! Do you have your stuff packed?" Natsu mustered up the biggest smile he could. Lucy wiped away her tears and nodded.
"I still have to pack a few things." Lucy said. She got off of the bed and grabbed a half filled backpack from the side of the bed. She moved towards the desk and shoved her laptop and a picture frame into her bag. Natsu saw a glimpse of what looked like a younger Lucy and an older lady with the same blonde hair. Must be her mom, Natsu thought. He turned towards the door.
"Lucy, There is someone coming." Natsu whispered. Lucy's eyes widened. She dropped her bag and started pushing Natsu and Happy toward a door across the room.
"I need you two to hide in here!" Lucy whispered urgently. She opened the door and shoved them in. She closed the door before they had a chance to protest. "Please be quiet!" She whispered.
She heard a soft knock on the door. "Miss Lucy, can I come in?" She heard an equally soft voice say through the door.
"Oh, it's only you Jenny." Lucy signed as she unlocked the door and let the petite maid into her dark bedroom.
"Miss Lucy, I thought I heard voices coming from your room so I came to check on you." Jenny said.
"Oh, it was just me. I was listening to music and my headphones had come unplugged and the music started playing loudly through my phone. Sorry to worry you!" Lucy said nervously. She noticed Jenny look at her partially filled backpack.
"Miss Lucy, I would like to apologize for Mister Jude's actions tonight. I know he loves you even though he may show it differently than most. He just wants what's best for you." The maid said.
Lucy shook her head. "I know you mean well Jenny. I'm okay. He won't be able to hurt me anymore." She hugged Jenny. "I'm going to go to sleep now."
Jenny looked uncertain but she left the room anyways. Lucy let out a sigh of relief. She locked the door and walked across the room to let Natsu and Happy out of her closet. She opened the door to see Natsu and Happy eating the candy she keeps stashed away in there.
"What are you guys doing?!" She whispered harshly.
"Will this candy fit in your bag? We should bring it!" Happy said.
"No, we can't bring the candy! How are we going to get out of here anyways?" Lucy said exasperated.
Natsu pondered this for a moment. "We'll just leave the same we came in! Ninja style." Natsu said. He then proceeded to strike what he thought was a ninja pose. "Nin nin!"
Lucy smiled for the first time that night. She grabbed the bag of candy from their hands and shoved it into her bag. Natsu climbed out of the closet and watched Lucy finish packing. He noticed her hand linger at her hip for a moment before turning to him.
"Alright, let's do this." She said.
She put on a light blue jacket that complimented her chocolate brown eyes. Natsu had never seen brown eyes so deep and complex before. He couldn't help but stare. "Is there something on my face?" Lucy blushed. Natsu shook his head and started for the window.
"I'll go first!" He turned and smiled before he jumped out of the window.
Lucy gasped and ran to the window. Happy flew past her out of the window carrying her bag.
"Hey! How am I supposed to get down?" She whispered.
Happy turned to her and said, "Jump! Natsu will catch you."
Lucy widened her eyes. She looked down to see Natsu smiling up at her with his arms out. Oh god, Lucy thought, I'm going to die. She gulped as she measured the distance from her window to the cold hard ground. Here goes nothing, she thought. She climbed onto the window, closed her eyes and jumped. She landed with a loud thud on top of a groaning Natsu.
"You were supposed to catch me!" Lucy exclaimed loudly while punching Natsu in the chest.
"Hey! Ow—" Natsu started.
The lights turned on in the house. Lucy cursed under her breath. Her father must be awake and he must have heard the commotion outside. It was only a matter of time before he came outside to see what all of the commotion was. She got up quickly and helped Natsu to his feet.
"We need to run. My dad is going to be very, very angry." Lucy said urgently.
Natsu grabbed her hand and started to run in the direction of the entrance of the property. Lucy heard her father before she saw him come through the door. The adrenaline kicked in instantly as she started to sprint ahead of Natsu towards the open gate.
"The dragon has awakened! We need to get out of here!" Lucy called to Natsu.
She could see her father running out of the house with a couple of the house staff following behind him. Up ahead, she could see the large gate at the entrance of the estate was starting to close. She felt her heart drop to the bottom of her stomach. Another failed attempt at running away. She couldn't bear to thing about the consequences when her father caught her, especially since she was with a boy.
Natsu also realized that the gate was closing in front of them. He looked at Lucy who had started to slow down. He could tell she was giving up hope. He looked back at the group of men that were chasing after them and then looked at the gate that had almost closed ahead of them. Natsu picked up speed and ran into the gate, fire burning hotly in his fist.
"Fire dragon iron fist!" He shouted. He punched through the gate, catching the surrounding shrubbery on fire. "Come on Lucy, let's go!"
Lucy had stopped in her tracks. She couldn't believe her eyes. She had never seen anyone use this kind of magic before. He punched through the solid gate with ease. She looked back at her father who had stopped running as well. His eyes were wide as he took in the scene of the broken gate and the surrounding fire. Lucy couldn't help but smile. I'm finally getting out of here, she thought. She caught up to Natsu and Happy.
They kept running until they made it into town. Lucy collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily. She had never run that far or as hard in her entire life. She stared at Natsu who looked completely unaffected by sprinting three miles. There is no way this guy is real, she thought. She pinched herself just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. They really made it out of Heartfilia Manor. She could barely believe it.
"We better grab somewhere to stay. I don't think the trains run this late at night." Natsu said.
"Aye, sir!" Happy replied.
Not wanting to spend the night alone, Lucy said, "I-I can get us a room. There is an inn just up the road. It's the least I can do for since you guys just successfully broke me out of my prison."
Natsu scooped her up in his arms. "So this is what it's like to rescue a princess." He said, with a smile on his face. Lucy smiled back. Her knight in shining armor was really a boy with pink hair with a talking blue cat.