This is too long to put in Teasers so imma give it its own space
I don't have any plans atm to continue it
The carriage bumped along the torn road, Lucy clinging to her mother's side as they rode through the rural village of their kingdom, sky gray and melancholy. The guards helped herself and the queen down their small flight of steps, leading the two towards a dripping cobblestone building, the little princess' eyes gazing towards the people peeking out of their homes to see the royal family. She waved with a smile to the kids who were quick to hide again, Lucy shivering as they entered the cold house.
"Mama, why are we here?" She asked as they walked down a creaky staircase, her mother turning to her with a smile.
"To find you a new friend, Lucy, dear." The two came across leaky cobblestone walls and creaking floors, almost snapping under their weight. There were swinging cell doors and old bones in corners, Lucy shivering at their scary sight. She yelped as someone at the end of the hall held up a lantern and showed their face, beckoning for they and their knights to continue forward. In another spacious room with sacks of grains, obscure weapons on the walls, and old chains rusted in odd corners. There stood four children about her age, all dirtied and yawning, smiling as the queen waved.
"There ya go, princess. Have your pick." The old man by their side grinned, Lucy still hiding behind her mother's ballgown. "Don't worry, they're plenty nice."
Lucy eyed the strange boys, curious as she had never met one her age. One with raven hair had stripped to his undergarments, wiping his nose and eyeing her with a bored look. The other sneered and had many piercings, red eyes and sharp teeth that frightened the poor girl. Another with a strange lightning scar, a bit older and both scary and bored looking. The last met her eyes, lighting up with a sheepish grin, pink cheeks to match his wild pink hair. He waved, and Lucy smiled, his grin spreading wide.
"I like pink...a lot...! It's my favorite color," She mumbled as she approached him, curtsying her greeting.
"Natsu, it is." The old man smiled, coming to pat him on his back and turned to the queen.
"Thank you again, Makarov," She bowed and he as well, Natsu quickly following lead.
"He's got a lot of power, enough training and he'll be the fiercest protector Fiore has ever seen." Makarov smiled, pushing the boy to follow as the knights led them out. Natsu waved to the others who did nothing but stick their tongues out, goodbyes already been shared the night before.
"I'm Princess Lucy Heartfilia of Fiore," The little blonde properly greeted the boy as they walked back upstairs.
"Natsu Dragneel, Fire Dragon of Atlas,"
"Natsu is going to be your personal guard from now on, he'll always be with you," The queen smiled.
And from then on, he was. Learning princess duties was only ever done so quickly for Lucy to spend her extra time playing around with Natsu. He had his own list of things to begin learning as well, ones the king would ensure a strict following if they were to fully accept this boy into their palace.
When she wasn't studying, and he wasn't endurance training, the two would play all they wanted in the gardens outside, run and make flower crowns, sit indoors and read books. Natsu had never even seen a book until he came to Fiore, Lucy teaching him every word she knew and continued to learn herself. They laughed and ate together, played with their magic together, so often falling asleep together in the library.
Her choice told tale of her destined friendship with the dragon, happy she had chosen right and found the friend she had wished for all her life. They grew up together, distance never growing apart, the death of the queen truly bringing them together.
The king made little of Lucy's grief, expecting her to continue the life she led even without her mother's wisdom to follow and live by. She would limp through classes, couldn't even be bothered to find the strength to listen. Natsu held her in the evening when she cried, rubbed circles onto her back until she was fast asleep. The king observed this one night, almost throwing the boy beyond castle walls.
"Please, your highness." Captain of knights, Jellal, reasoned when he considered banishing the dragon. "He has come along very quickly. His strength can prove useful to our kingdom, it's only reached half its power, and yet he can wipe out half my men at age eleven."
"So be it, then. See to it that he no longer lingers with my daughter. His role is as her bodyguard and nothing more until told otherwise. Castle gossip with a common boy at the side of the royal family in chambers better not be passed along."
Jellal broke the news quietly, Lucy devastated and hardened as Natsu was ripped from her daily life. Gone were days of running through the flowers, reading by the fire, scratching the soft spot on his neck that funnily enough made his tail wag.
The dragon hit dummies with his flaming fists every day, cursing the cold heart of the king keeping him from comforting Lucy. She needed him, he could smell her tears in the wind as she stood at her balcony, looking into the courtyard where he stood, both staring back at each other with whispered good nights.
The eve of her sixteenth birthday was a fanfare many would remember. Royalty from far and wide came to see the princess of age, golden hair and poised smile similar to the late queen. Suitors came to eye her with wicked smiles hidden behind polite ones, older duchesses and baroness' gossiping behind fans as they watched her descend the stairs.
She took the hand of her bodyguard, Natsu grown and very tan, eyes hiding the beast underneath, a kiss pressed against her gloved hand as he handed her off to the crowd, standing never too far away. Lucy wanted to sit and rest, instead moving to smile and greet every face as if she knew who they were, names only give to her a day or so before. She danced with prince after duke after king after marquis, all eyes on her white corset handing them a pleasantly squeezed bodice. She politely declined any who asked for her hand more than once, a princess never danced with the same man twice. Crowd after crowd of clamoring voices, toes beyond throbbing as she finally reached the punch bowl.
"You never liked to socialize much," Natsu hummed as he poured her a glass, sniffing the beverage for any poisons before she could have a drink.
"With all these stuffy old coots," She smiled to him as she spoke under her breath. "Never."
"Jellal's been teaching me to waltz, shall I entertain you before they swarm again?" Lucy laughed lightly and took his hand, trying not to look too pleased as they whirled onto the dance floor. His smile reached his eyes, heart hammering at the closeness she rarely had with the skilled bodyguard. Guests applauded the last dance of the evening, the king not amused from his perch on the throne.
"Allow me to woo the young princess," Duke Ezel bowed to the king, expressing his deep interest to turn her away from stories of passionate young love and destined partners to understand her place amongst royalty, to experience the duty tied to the honor of an older man's title.
"Court her as you like,"
Gone were the knights from their posts, escorting guests through the gates as the evening slowly came to an end, maids busying themselves in the grand ballroom to finish the extensive cleaning before the next morning began, king drunk on the wine offered to his table unable to interfere either. Lucy took advantage of their time alone this eve, Natsu sending her off to her room no one around to impede on their time together.
It was the first night that sparked their slow interest in one another, beginning the trail of heat exchanged between the two.
"Spetto is a bit busy, may you help me undress?" She asked coyly, leading her into his bedroom with a soft smile, the dragon smirking as he closed the door behind them. Lucy sat at her vanity, Natsu pulling the pins from her hair, wiping clean the makeup of her eyes and soft lips. She stood to allow him access to her tied bodice, watching from her long mirror as his hands fumbled with the knot. The pads of his fingers lingered along her open back, trailing up to her shoulder blade, eyes locking as she bared her neck with the swipe of her hair out of the way. He absorbed the sweet smell of his master, lips lingering above her delightfully pulsing point of interest. She held her breath as he nuzzled against her skin, arms holding the dress up to keep herself from being exposed, cheeks flushed madly as his eyes never left her own.
"Goodnight, my dear princess." Natsu pulled away with a soft smile, leaving Lucy to sigh into her frustration, summoning Plue to cuddle with that night.
A day soon came upon them when Natsu experienced his first spring into action to guard the safety of his princess. A man from the edges of Tartaros, one with hoards of concubine and enslaved women under the glossy heel of his polished shoes, Jellal had warned Natsu upon the arrival of the Duke. He was ordered to keep his distance throughout their meeting, Ezel smirking at the dragon, Lucy having no time to express her apprehension to the boy as she pasted a proper fake smile on. The two spoke in the greenhouse, doors locked without the notice of barely a knight, all told to give the two space by their king. The sound of a shattering teacup was all anyone needed to hear before they attempted breaking down the door, red wings carrying Natsu to crash through the roof with a fiery kick. The offensive magic of his tentacles ebbed toward the unconscious princess on the ground, ready to rope the poor girl in to defile. His flames burned half the plants, melted the doors and walls to ash or liquid, rain of assault upon the disturbed duke until he was tossed to the feet of the captain.
"Throw this man in the dungeon!" Jellal called to his men, quick to drag the beaten and bloodied man off while the nurse tended the dear princess. The king paid little to no mind concerning the incident, pleased enough the guards arrested the fool before he continued about his work for the day.
No one had the heart to get in the way as Lucy cried in the arms of her savior, sick and puking half the evening. It was the first day they had slept together since childhood, Natsu awake even as the sun rose over the horizon, refusing to leave Lucy's side.
Her eighteenth ball was a day of reunions, brought along by two princesses recently combined in treaty with her own country.
"I'd pummel you right here if I could, flame brain." Gray hissed at the dragon, Natsu growling at the ice devil.
"Lucky this is a party otherwise you'd be smeared across the cobblestones," Gajeel grumbled and cracked his knuckles, Levy smacking her dragon with a closed fan.
"Hush, must I remind you? Manners, please," The shorter girl scolded.
"Juvia wouldn't mind if Gray-sama started a fight," The water princess swooned as her guard smirked at her love of his strength.
"A nice night, wasn't it? You got to see your friends after so long," Lucy hummed as they walked to her room, another night free of guards and maids, king knocked out in his chambers.
"I wouldn't say that," He scoffed as she giggled. "But it was nice to see you getting along with someone other than myself and the staff."
"Levy and Juvia are quite interesting," She smiled as they entered her room, Lucy already sat at her vanity as Natsu closed the door. "And did you see Lady Erza dancing with Captain Jellal all night? It was very romantic, she was quite taken with him."
"Romantic, hmm? Anyone catch your eye tonight? There were many begging for your attention," He asked, leading her to stand in front of her mirror, fingers dangerously slow as they pulled at her corset.
"No one has yet to impress me, they don't quite live up to my personal standards," She bit her lip shyly as her dress fell, arm quick to hide her bare chest as he stared down her near naked appearance. She shuddered as he toyed with the edges of her panties, pads of his fingers splaying against her bare stomach.
"And what might they be, princess?"