To say she was furious would be an understatement, but after working with Natsu for so long, she wasn't surprised.
Oh, no, Lucy had been totally and utterly prepared for any kind of damage the wild dragon slayer might inflict upon this innocent little town. She had her excuses and apologies ready, along with plenty of jewels to compensate for his . . . enthusiasm. And Happy, that damn cat, would only make things worse.
But this time, the only one to blame was Natsu.
"Sir, I would like to apologize again for my partner's destructive tendancies," the blonde mage bowed low to the village elder, jabbing Natsu in the side for him to do the same.
"Ow! O-oh, s-sorry, gramps. But I took out the bandits, didn't I?! Ow!"
Lucy winced a bit; that slap had hurt her hand a bit, "That does not excuse the fact that you took out a total of three houses, twelve stables, a school - you better thank whatever gods are smiling down on you that they had a holiday today - not to mention burned down half of the forest! Now apologize again!"
The village elder, a kindly old man, shook his head, "There's no need for that, young'un. We are extremely thankful for your dedication in your job. In what would have taken us months, you and your friend took out fifty bandits and turned them over to the police! Please, there's no need for that," he stopped Lucy from pulling out jewels as compensation. "We are extremely grateful, don't let a few buildings bring down your spirit. And," he whispered a bit to the side to Natsu, "I'm sure the children won't complain about the damage to the school."
The pink haired mage grinned widely, "See, Luce, you need to relax. Everything's fine!"
Nevertheless, her scowl didn't lessen, "You are extremely lucky the villagers are kind enough to excuse your stupid blunders. If this happens again, I'll tell Erza." While Natsu quivered in fear in a corner, Happy trying to comfort him, Lucy turned to the elder, "Again, I'm sorry."
He chuckled, "Well, I'll go get your payment then." He shuffled away into a nearby building that had somehow escaped Natsu's fire.
As soon as he was gone, Lucy turned back to Natsu, growling, "Idiot! How could you manage to damage all of those buildings? You were just after a couple of guys!"
He laughed, throwing his head back, "Aw, come on, Luce, lighten up. The gramps said it was fine, so it's fine! Right, Happy?"
"Aye, sir! Lucy's strict!"
A bit fed up with the both of them, Lucy snapped at the blue cat, "Shut up, you're annoying!"
"Ahh, Lucy's mean!"
Grinning widely, Natsu chuckled, "Don't worry, Happy, she can't stay mad forever."
"Oh, you wanna bet?"
However, before they could get into a full-fledged argument (it'd be one-sided, anyways), the old man came back with a bag full of jewels. "Here it is, all 100,000 jewels. Don't spend it all in one place now, ha ha ha!"
Lucy smiled and bowed again, "Thank you, sir!"
"Thanks, gramps!"
"Natsu!"
Night fell and the three (Happy included) had traveled nearly half the distance back to the guild. Lucy announced that they would be spending the night at a hotel and get back to Fairy Tail tomorrow. Exhausted, the two boys (well, one boy and one cat) had no complaint and were soon pigging out on room service.
"Natsu, slow down. We don't have enough money to feed you tonight!" Lucy cried out, watching in dismay as all their room service seemed to vanish before her eyes.
Gulping down a chunk of chicken, he laughed, "What are you talking about? We just got 100,000 jewels, didn't we? This is nothing."
"We're splitting it 50-50, so you only have 50,000 and we're also splitting the price for tonight," she pointed out, plopping onto the queen-sized bed. "With just that alone, it's 10,000 jewels, so that leaves us each with 40,000. And I still have to pay my rent!"
Natsu belched, bloated from stuffing himself, "You worry too much."
"Worrywart! Lucy's a worrywart!"
Gritting her teeth, Lucy stood up suddenly, "I'm going out for a bit." Then, without looking back, she grabbed her keys and slammed the door behind her.
Happy flinched when she left, staring after her, "Hey, Natsu, do you think we were a little mean to her?"
"Mwat?" He quickly swallowed, "Naw, she'll be fine."
Having already left the hotel, Lucy stalked out on the dark streets, not noticing their emptiness. "Those two," she growled, kicking a rock out of her way, "are unbelievable! They destroy half a town and then spend the rest of the money on food! Urgh!" She gripped her hair tightly, trying to refrain from punching something.
Just last week, Natsu had done something so sweet and mature, it made her wonder if be was actually growing up. He had let her pick the mission and she had chosen to help a woman clear her yard of a few trees for a couple thousand jewels. And he hadn't complained the entire time. When she told Erza about it, the redhead was just as surprised as Lucy. But now, she knew it was just an abnormality and knew to never expect it again. Now that she knew she was wrong, just thinking about him made her want to yell at him and he hadn't done anything wrong, so she settled for taking a walk to cool her head.
Fifteen minutes later saw her still wandering around, but with a much clearer mindset than before. Feeling well enough to go back without biting off both Natsu's and Happy's heads off, she began to make her way to the hotel. Now the blonde realized how quiet and lonely it was and tried to suppress a shudder. She had her keys with her, so she was safe and she kept thinking that way until she felt someone leak their magic.
Lucy would have been concerned or scared, but she recognized that magic. True, she hadn't seen him in years, but it was hard to forget someone like him.
She didn't have to wait long before he revealed himself, decked out in his long, black cloak and hood that covered everything but his mouth, which was set in a stern line.
"Lucy-sama, it's been awhile."
She nodded politely to him, "Indeed. I never would have expected you to come to Earthland yourself. Is something wrong?"
Ignoring her question, the man simply gave her his message, "Temporary-Captain Kuni is being recognized for exceptional bravery, along with six other individuals. The ceremony will be held in two days and the king demands that you attend." He bowed, "It is preferable to His Majesty that you to arrive tomorrow, the day before the ceremony. We are expecting you, Lucy-sama." Not meeting her eyes, the man melted into the shadows.
Lucy just stood there, caught between elation (Kuni-chan was finally getting the recognition she deserved) and dreaded shock. It was as if the king expected her to drop her new life and come rushing to his side, even if it was where she belonged. Even with her brain going into overdrive, she wasn't all that surprised.
She had almost been expecting them to call her back and, honestly, she had missed them.