Chapter one

-Streets of Magnolia-

It was a hot summer night in the city of Magnolia; the moonlight was peeking through the leaves of the sakura trees, casting ominous shadows against the sidewalk and water ways. The alleys of the city were teaming with hushed conversations, and secret 'less than legal' deeds. Men with large body scars who reeked of booze were in the alley next to the tavern. In the dark corners of the alley, blusterous men were accompanied by female companions who adorned and draped themselves over the men. While the women were giggling and stroking their faces, one of the women noticed a small, slender hooded figure walking down the street that had stopped in front of the alley. The rather professional-looking character gave a sly smile and a wink as the woman beckoned the stranger towards the group, obviously wanting the stranger to join in the festivities. The figure shuddered to itself, while waving a hand to pass off their advances, and forced the conversation (and the back-alley prostitutes) to be blocked from its mind.

The genderless figure tightened the hood around its face and continued to hurriedly walk down the street, without trying to draw too much attention. The cloaked stranger peered past the trees, making sure that it was headed in the right direction. It slowly pulled a piece of paper out from under the cloak and opened it up to the crack in the hood. After studying it for a time, the paper was folded back up and put away. The figure took one last careful look around and then continued walking down the seedy walkways of Magnolia.

-Inside the tavern-

It was a slow night in the tavern, especially for a Friday. The tavern was called Phantom Lord, and this particular tavern mostly catered to dock merchants and sailors; it always smelled of rotten fish, stale booze, and soggy boots. Magnolia was mostly an import and fishing town in the small country of Fiore, surrounded by water in three directions. Therefore, a lot of the town's wealth and business depended on the sailors and merchants. Consequently, the city looked the other way in a lot of their underhanded dealings. They wanted to keep the black-market money flowing through the town, so they took it upon themselves to keep the sailors and merchants happy. The merchants were mostly guilty of bribery and money laundering; this happened in most cities, but the crime that they did made the sailors look like angels. Sailors in the city had created a kind of mafia, where the citizens of Magnolia had to pay protection money. Sailors of the town would try to convince you that it was for your own protection, but really it was so that the sailors wouldn't come to your house in the middle of the night—and beat the stuffing out of you in the process. City officials weren't any better, they were all getting their cut of hush money, and mostly were just there to be the puppets of the so-called "sailor mafia." Corruption went all the way up to the Monarchy that ruled this country, and everyone involved in the corruption ladder literally got away with murder.

Phantom Lord had a lot of seedy dealings and people you wouldn't want to get mixed up with. This was exactly the kind of place you needed to be if you were looking for information and illegal work, which was why there was a certain man hanging around there that night. There was a table at the back corner of the bar next to a window that was empty, save for one person. He wasn't there to relax and pass information like the rest of them, he was there hoping to score any information that he could use or sell. The man stared at the pint he was nursing and sighed heavily. The information that had been circulating in the tavern was old hat. He wasn't going to get work here tonight, and worst of all, his food money was all gone! He heard a loud audible growl as he clutched his hand on his stomach. He stared at his pint longingly, wishing that he knew a spell to magically fill it back up. He had spent the last of his jewel on the pint, banking that the information he would hear tonight would pay off and that he could get back to work. The man sat up and reached into his pocket to get his purse out, and flipped it upside down over his palm. The only thing that fell out of it was a few fish bones and some crumbs. Looking at the contents of his purse made him want to wallow in despair over where he was going to find his next meal. Suddenly, a shadow passed by his window that caught his eye.

"What was that?" He thought to himself.

He stood up from his chair and started to walk to the door, while grabbing his cap from his pocket and placing it firmly on his head. He didn't much care for caps, but in the city it was better to have something that could hide any distinguishing features. For him, that would be his hair. It was pink. He never knew his parents, so he didn't know where he got his hair from genetically. However, it was a part of him, and he really didn't care what other people thought about it, so he never bothered to dye it. Anyway, in his line of work, it was better to not have anything that made yourself a target. So, whenever he went out, he would wear a hat, bandanna, or wrap his beloved scarf around his head. Giving one last nod to the bartender, he left the tavern and headed to the docks—the same way the shadow was headed.

"Hopefully this night won't be a total waste," He grinned to himself, as he shoved his hands into his back pockets.

-The docks-

The gender-less figure made it to the docks of Magnolia and lingered as if it was waiting for someone. However, the docks were completely absent of people. It looked around and tucked itself underneath one of the staircases outside the building labeled: "Magic Maggie's Discount Wares," which was located on the border the dock. The figure waited, but it didn't take long for it to hear footsteps approaching. As the footsteps grew closer, the figure stiffened against the staircase as a man rounded the corner of the street. The cloaked person watched him closely, and narrowed their eyes. Suddenly, the man stopped and pulled his scarf down from his face and sniffed at the warm night air, as if he were tracking a scent. He then removed the scarf from his neck and tied it securely around his waist. After pulling the ends of the scarf into a finished knot, he paused for a moment and then spun on his heels and looked the cloaked figure dead in the eyes…

"There you are," he smiled, "been lookin' for you."

The hooded person's eyes widened in fear, and instinct took over as it bolted to the other side of the docks.

"OY!" the man shouted. "It's slippery, you'll definitely…"

He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence, as the cloaked figure landed fat on its face.

"Fall…" He winced.

He chuckled to himself as he headed over to the mysterious shadow. "I'm not trying to hurt you or anything, just wondering if you're more interesting than those fellows in the tavern. Reeeeal swell guys tonight, I think I saw one of them puke his guts out all over one of the barmaids, and then he tried to hit on her." He said, stretching out a hand to the crumpled figure on the ground. The figure turned around, and as it did, the hood fell from…her face. Trying not to look shocked, the man stared straight into her eyes and held out his hand to help her from off the ground—his face slowly turned from suppressed shock into a stern frown.

"What's a girl doing out here this late at night…and dressed like that!? Do you have some sort of death wish? Hanging out here will get women kidnapped or worse!" he said all this, much like a father scolding a child.

"I know…" she said timidly. The girl's face looked remorseful as she stared at the ground in a hunch.

The man waited patiently and looked her over. She was obviously beautiful, she had blonde hair and brown eyes; it was hard to get a real judge of her figure under that heavy cloak. "No wonder he originally thought she was a man!" He smiled. She was rich; he could tell that just by looking at her skin and hands. The pale skin she had was due to the fact that she didn't have to work outside. Her hands were soft, telling him that she'd never learned any kind of skill, either. "So why was some rich man's daughter out here in the middle of the night?" He thought to himself, scratching at his chin

"Hey." He said, moving his hand from his face and folding his arms sternly across his chest. She snapped out of whatever daze she had been in and looked at him in the eyes.

"What's your name, girl?" He glared. She hesitated for a moment, trying to avoid eye contact. Managing to finally find her voice, she croaked out:

"L…Lucy." the man stared at her, waiting for her to finish. After waiting for more than the appropriate amount of time, it became clear to him that she had no intention of giving him her last name. His eyes narrowed.

"Lucy…. What?" he demanded. She flinched at his tone and looked away.

"Lucy… Fullbuster." she squeaked. The man stared at her and pursed his lips, taking a moment to look her up and down.

"You're lying." he replied. Lucy gasped and looked back in shock.

"Hu…how did you…" she stammered.

"Not that it's any of my business…" he said, relaxing his shoulders and sighing. "But if you're going to lie about your identity, you might want to come up with a better name than that." She stared at him with bewilderment.

"Don't you care who I am?"

"Not particularly," he shrugged. "I just got bored and decided to follow my curiosity and wound up following you here." He looked at her with a concerned face. "However, now that I am here, would you mind telling me what you're doing? Because from the looks of it, it seems like you're up to no good."

Lucy remained silent for a moment, searching for the words to say. The man patiently waited for her to sort out her thoughts. At the moment she opened her mouth to speak, they both heard men running out towards the docks. Fear flashed in her eyes, as she looked to the man in front of her with a pleading look. The man looked back at her, more confused than anything.

"If you help me get out of here, and get me on a boat, I'll make it worth your while. I don't even care where the boat, ship, or even raft is going!" she begged, tears welling up in her eyes. The man looked her over and solemnly answered:

"Look, miss, doing that would make me look like a kidnapper. You're obviously the daughter of a noble, and it looks like your family has got some serious issues, especially for someone who's never had a hard day in her life to suddenly want to run away like that. I really can't afford trouble like that. I feel sorry for you and all, but it's not like they're going to hurt or kill you because you have status." Lucy's expression turned desperate.

"Best of luck to you!" He said, turning his back to her as he started to walk away, waiving her off.

"I can pay you!" She shouted after him. This was her last resort, if this didn't work, she was doomed.

The man stopped dead in his tracks and started to think about the situation that lay before him. In no way could getting involved with this girl be anything but trouble. The choice was obvious: he had to leave her there. He was about to turn her down, when the loud roar from his stomach permeated the night air. He grabbed at his stomach, in pain, and looked back at Lucy. 'I'm going to regret this, aren't I?' He thought to himself, as he started to walk back to the girl, cursing his own actions with every step. He stopped directly in front of her lowered his head, so that their eyes were level.

"I'll take the money in advance, please." He said, stretching out his hand.

"Do you think I was born yesterday?" She frowned. "I'll give you the money as soon as you hide me, otherwise I know you'll just take the money and run off with it."

The man's brow furrowed in frustration, as his index finger and his thumb pinched the bridge of his nose. The noise of the men was almost upon them; he had to decide quickly. He looked at the situation he was in: here he was with a noble on the docks who'd gone missing; he'd probably already be imprisoned for kidnapping, regardless of what he told the soldiers. "Crap!" He thought, this was definitely a bad situation. He grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled her towards him.

"Whaaa!" She exclaimed, as he scooped her slender body up into his arms and started running towards the ships at the dock.

"Be very quiet and don't question anything I tell you, or I'll hand you straight over to the guards without any remorse. Do you understand?" He hissed, quietly.

She simply nodded in her response, as he quietly (and stealthily) hopped aboard a small ship with the name "Happy" scribbled across the hull, with what appeared to be blue paint. "What an odd name for a ship." She thought, as he crept onto the deck and pulled a key from his pocket. With the key, he opened the door to the captains' quarters. "Was this his ship?" she thought to herself, careful not to make any noise while he carried her in his arms. She looked him up and down. He was dressed very modestly, with black pantaloons and brown leather boots that buckled up to his knees. He wasn't wearing a shirt at all, but a simple vest unbuttoned and revealed his chest. He wore a simple sailors' cap that hid pink locks that poked out from underneath it. And finally, the oddest piece of clothing was a white snakeskin-looking scarf that he had tied around his waist. However, what intrigued her most wasn't his clothing, but his eyes. They were black as onyx and seemed like they could hold a lifetime's worth of experience. "He doesn't look like a captain…but then again, I guess I wouldn't be the best judge for that."

While she was inspecting him, she must have lost consciousness of what was going on. Because when she came to, the man was obviously more relaxed, and gave a heavy sigh as he leaned against the far wall of the captains' quarters. He set her down on her feet and walked passed her to the other side of the room, where a desk was located and then took a match box from one of the drawers.

"Looks like they gave up and left," he said in a hushed tone, peeking out the window. "But, just to be safe, we should hang out in here until the sun rises." He looked at her as he lit a match, and walked past her to light the oil lanterns hanging on the back wall of the room. While he was lighting the lanterns, she took a look around to inspect her surroundings. The room was very modest. It had a small simple desk, wardrobe, safe, and lastly, a cot tucked in the corner of the room. There was also a second door attached to the quarters that she assumed lead to a washroom.

"Well, now that I'm officially a kidnapper… " he smiled, leaning his back against the wall and crossing his arms with one foot keeping him balanced against the wall and one solidly on the ground. "Don't you think that it's only appropriate that I know the real name of my kidnap-ee?"

Lucy was startled out of her trance. Once she had composed herself, she slowly made her way over to the desk, and pulled out the chair so that it was facing the man. She sat herself down and addressed him. "First, I want to make our agreement binding."

"Binding? For what reason do you need a binding agreement?" He said, questioningly, tilting his head slightly to the side.

She pulled a piece of paper from her cloak and placed it on the desktop. "It's standard for celestial wizards to enter into a contract with those that they work with, to keep both parties safe and on the same page."

"Ah, so you're a celestial wizard, huh?" He said, with a toothy grin. "That's pretty rare."

Lucy merely brushed off the comment. "I had prepared this contract with someone that I was supposed to meet here tonight, however, it appears that he has betrayed me and notified the royal army." Lucy's face grew dark as the words came from her mouth. The young man's smiled faded from his face as he watched the girl unfold the contract in front of her. He slowly walked over to the desk and simply stood behind her, watching her movements closely.

"The contract will still work; I merely have to change the name at the top of the contract." She turned to face the man behind her and pulled a quill from her cloak. She stretched her hand out and grabbed his, placing the quill in his open palm. "Please sign at the top of the page." She stated.

The man looked down at the quill resting in his hand and then looked back up to the girl who had manipulated him into this situation.

"Now, wait a minute, girl. I'm not about to enter into a contract with someone I've never met, let alone whom I know is being hunted by the royal army! What are you trying to pull here!?" He shouted, angrily.

The girl glared back with her brown eyes, as she pulled the money pouch from her cloak and emptied the contents onto the desk. The man's eyes bulged out from his skull; there must have been at least 7 million jewel in that pouch! Where did she get that kind of money? She was a noble, but obviously her parents weren't dumb enough to just let their daughter walk around with that kind of jewel. The money there would be enough for a normal person to retire on. "She must have stolen that from her parents." He thought. "But why do I care where she got the money from…?"

Lucy's face turned livid, "IF, and only IF, you want to get ANY money at all, you'll fill out the contract first, and then I will be more than happy to fill out my name at the bottom." She said sternly.

The kidnapper filched backwards from her sudden stern attitude change. "What happened to the passive scaredy-cat that had begged me to save her, only moments ago?" The man looked at the girl and bit his lip. He needed the money, but this was the most obvious trap he'd ever been a part of. His stomach, ever the traitor, growled loudly as he contemplated his situation.

"It sounds like your body has made the decision for you." Lucy smiled mischievously.

The young sailor glared at her. "I'm going to regret this, aren't I? Well, if I'm going to get in a contract with the devil, might as well go all out." He gritted through his teeth and stepped to the side, and slid the paper to him.

"Print it clearly at the top of the page, and then sign at the bottom with your signature." Lucy directed.

The young man hesitated for a moment, looking at her while swallowing slowly. He lifted his hand and slowly printed his name at the top. "Natsu Dragneel."

"Natsu Dragneel, What an unusual name…"

"Yeah, well it was the one I was given, so sue me!" He grunted.

She glared back at him. "I never said I didn't like it… just sign at the bottom of the page."

He glared back, but signed the bottom of the page as instructed. "Well there, I just signed my life away, now will you please tell me who I'm involved with?"

She looked at him and then at the contract. She started to sign her name, and as she did, Natsu watched very closely. "It's Lucy. Lucy Heartfelia." The man's face turned pale and his stomach fell to his feet, cold sweat started dripping from his brow.

"I'm sorry." He stammered, while taking his pinky finger and twisting it around in his ear, then flicking some of the wax across the floor. "I must have heard you wrong; my ears must be going deaf, because I thought you said Heartfelia—which can't be right because that would you mean you're…"

"You didn't hear wrong." She interrupted, taking the now signed contract and rolling it up before placing it back inside her cloak.

"My name is Heartfelia. Lucy Heartfelia, Princess of Fiore, and while I'm so grateful to my kidnapper for not releasing me into the custody of the royal army, I must inform you that this is a binding contract. The breaking of which would have dire consequences to be enforced by the celestial bodies. And believe you me, they're much more terrifying than any government on earth."

She slowly turned to face the man, who had now been reduced to a crumpled figure leaning against the back wall of the cabin. He had done it now. That contract was binding evidence that he was a traitor. He was bound to this girl for as long as she wanted. If she revealed that contract in any country it would brand him as an enemy to the crown of Fiore. Silent tears streamed down Natsu's face as he managed to choke out the words,

"Pleasure doing business with you, Princess…"