Hello once again! Greengrasslover here! I have another pilot chapter here...hehe, anyway, we'll see how many people take to it (even if I shouldn't be writting with all my unfinished and neglected stories. I wanted to get this chappy out). Now, first things first. I by no means want to offend anyone. If you find this story offensive because you are/related/descended from gypsy culture, and wish me to take this story down because it wrongly represents your culture, tell me and I will do it. I know I don't have much information on gypsy culture, and most of it is from movies or books and my imagination. I'm making it up from here. Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
A Love That Cannot Be
Prologue
"Lady! Lady! Where are you?!" The grandmotherly old nurse yelled after her young charge. Lucy hiccupped with her tears, and tried to hide her grimace with a chubby seven year old hand. She was hiding behind a tree a little bit further inside the forest than her nurse would like her to be. "Lady Lucile!" she yelled. A sudden irritation filled the young girl, and her tears stopped.
"It's Lucy! Not Lucile!" Lucy yelled, before slapping a hand over her mouth. She hadn't planned on yelling out to Margie, but she hated being called Lady Lucile. She peaked out behind her tree only to see the elderly woman marching purposefully towards her hiding place.
"Lady, come out this instant! You know you're not allowed into the forest!" Margie yelled, wisps of her grey hair coming out of her tight bun.
"No!" the blonde haired girl shrieked. She turned tail and ran deeper into the trees. Away from the large manor house, westward, she ran past old oaks and firs, stumbled over roots and underbrush. She ran and ran, farther than she'd ever been. When her lungs seared and she could not longer run any more, she trotted pleasantly along. Not wanting to dwell in the illness inside the manor house that had originally upset her, she tried to think about other things. Every now and then, she still hiccupped, but her thoughts strayed to her surroundings, and she was distracted by the fact that she was outside.
Her thick skirts got caught on a thorny bush, and ripped loudly before she realized. A slow smile spread across her face. That god damn skirt tore! She was free! Feeling compelled to take her hair out of its intricate bun, she also unbuttoned the top buttons of her dress, and rolled her sleeves up. Whistling a tune now, she continued on, fascinated by her freedom.
After some time had passed, it was getting dark. She must've been miles away from the manor house, now. She was getting tired, and thirsty, too. She could do with a bath, and a hot meal. She sat down, intending to rest a little in the nook of a tree, but she soon found herself nodding off. She awoke to big black eyes staring at her. Lucy shrieked, and threw whatever was on her a good five feet back. Only once it was off her did she realize it was a blue cat, who was now rather displeased with her.
"Oh, I'm sorry kitty. I thought you were a giant bug or something! Come here, I really am sorry." Lucy tried to coax the cat into coming near her again, but it stayed a good distance off yet. Looking around, Lucy grew worried about how dark it was.
"Happy! I've been looking everywhere for you!" a young boy, close in age to Lucy, ran into the clearing. He bent down to pick up the blue cat, which purred at his touch. Straightening up, his eyes landed on Lucy, and a confused look spread across his face. "Who are you? And why are you out here?" he asked.
Lucy, never one to be afraid, spoke confidently, "I'm Lucy. I ran away from home because… I wanted to. Who are you, and why are you here?"
The boy scowled, and stated defensively, "I'm Natsu Dragneel. And we have a permit to be here. My whole Caravan is just a little ways away." He pointed over his shoulder. Lucy sniffed the air, and the smell of savory stew made her stomach growl very loud. His face broke into a goofy grin at hearing the noise. Lucy decided she liked that smile. He offered her his hand, and she took it."Come on, you can come eat with us!" he said lightly, and she smiled at him.
The two walked a little ways, hand in hand, him guiding her towards the soft glow of camp fires. Happy, the cat, wound around under their feet. Breaking through into a clearing, Lucy gasped. A dozen or so large wagons, painted in bright colours and with high wheels, circled around four large fires. Men, woman, and children danced around the fires, or played a mixture of instruments, or stood cooking in large copper kettles that three of Lucy could easily fit inside with room to spare. Lucy laughed, feeling the contagious excitement seep into her just by looking. Everything was just one big jumble of laughter and smiles and good food and friends.
Natsu and Lucy walked to the edge of all the confusion, up to an old man who sat on a tipped log, ale in one hand and the other twiddling along to a nearby fiddle. Natsu walked right up to him, and announced, "Gramps, this is Lucy. I found her in the woods. She ran away from home!" the old man laughed, turned to Lucy, and with a flushed face said,
"Lucy, eh? Never fear! We have a lot of runaways here. Take Erza, she ran away from enslavement a few years ago." The man motioned to a girl, maybe a year or two older than Lucy, smiling near one of the cooking pots. "Go on, go and join in. If you're hungry, help yourself!" Natsu tugged on her arm, pulling her over to one of the fires that was attended by another girl, close in age to Erza.
"Mirajane! Can you give a bowl to Lucy?" Natsu asked the girl. Looking up, the white haired blue eyed young woman smiled at Lucy, instantly reaching for a carved wood bowl and spoon.
"Of course. Lucy? Nice to meet you. Welcome to the Fairy Tail Caravan!" she said sweetly. Lucy decided she instantly liked the girl. Others around the fire introduced themselves. Mainly it was children, with Mirajane's younger siblings Elfman and Lisanna, and a boy who shot daggers out of his eyes at Natsu, named Gray. There was also Cana, who was a few years older than the rest, who was sitting next to the big and slightly scary Laxus.
Sitting down on an empty tree stump, Lucy settled down easily. The others were friendly, and within the first few minutes she was cracking jokes with them as if she'd been there as long as they. The soup was hot and thick, and filled up her empty stomach. After she'd finished eating, another boy, with ginger hair and glasses took her hand and he taught her one of the complicated dances that the older woman were doing. She stumbled here and there, but it was by far more fun than the ballet her father made her do. Once she'd gotten the hang of it, Natsu barged in, asking for his dance. Lucy giggled, and accepted his hand, leaving Loke to flirt with Cana.
Natsu was surprisingly a good dancer. He smiled as he twirled her around, then kicked out and stomped his feet in time with the music. Lucy found herself in an almost trance like state, dancing with him. She didn't have to think, just be with him.
After the camp had settled down, and Lucy sat down flushed face from all the dancing. The fires had died down some, and the old man, from before, who Lucy now knew was named Makarov, came out. "Now settle down, children. It's time for a story.
"Long ago, when the land was still shared with the magic folk, there lived a great dynasty of Dragons. The Dragons were majestic folks, and were the most graceful beings in all of Fiore. However, they were also known for their quick temperaments.
"On one such day, long ago, the great Dragon of the Earth sought the love of a human woman. The woman was already betrothed to a high king, but that didn't stop the Dragon from courting the woman. This woman was of endless beauty, and moved in a grace not even a Dragon could imitate. The woman loved her betrothed dearly, and did not want to go with the Dragon.
"But one night, after her rejections, the Dragon of the Earth captured her and took her away. For many nights and many days, she was held in the highest cave on the highest mountain of the land, unable to get down. The king sent many knights up to try and fight the Dragon, but none returned successful.
"Her dislike of the Dragon turned to anger, and then hate. She was determined for the Dragon to not get what it wanted, and so, she took one of the swords of the dead knights, and-" he was interrupted by a loud shout coming from outside of the clearing.
"Sir! Over here!" everyone looked around in confusion. Then, from three sides of the camp, soldiers burst through the trees. They bore the Heartphilia crest. Lucy's father was at the head of the soldiers. She trembled in fear.
One of the soldiers marched over to her on his command, and gripped her arm tightly. He yanked her off of her tree stump. "Oi, what do you think you're doin-" Natsu began, standing up, but was hit on the jaw with the quick handle of the soldiers sword. He fell backwards.
"I want you damned gypsies off my land before day break. Our agreement is terminated." Jude Heartphilia said coldly. Makarov made as if to argue, but Jude continued on, "If you're not gone, my soldiers will take you into custody, and you'll be trailed for the entrapment of my daughter, the unlawful abiding on my land, and by being fifthly, lowly scum. Lucy, come along."
Jude turned back towards the forest, the way he had come, and Lucy, still in the hands of one of the soldiers, was forced to march out the encampment with the stares of the Fairy Tail members on her back. She began to cry silently. They hadn't known she was the daughter of Lord Heartphilia, one of the most influential and dangerous men in all of Fiore.
Natsu stood up and shouted, "Luce! We're friends, right?" Lucy was shocked. She'd never had a friend before, besides her mother.
She turned around, gave her brightest smile she could, thought still crying, and yelled back, "Yeah, you bet I am!"
Jude Heartphilia grunted in disgust. Once they were a fair distance away from the camp, he turned to Lucy and said to her, "Your mother is dead. She died tonight, while you danced with worthless trash."
Tell me what you think! Was it any good? Worth continuing? Thoughts, comments, suggestions, critiques? I want to know what my readers think! Next chapter will jump to present time, and the story will pick up from there. Agian, if ANYONE wants me to take this story down, I will tyr to do so immediatly. Chapter two in progress...