A/N: So, this is my first chapter fic... I based it off of Alice in Wonderland, but it's (obviously) different from the original. There will be three parts and an epilogue to this series, and I hope you will read and review.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima-sama does.
He slowly walked towards her. She could not see his face, for it was shrouded in shadow, but she knew by his body and rose colored hair that it was the same man who visited her in her dreams. She watched him come closer to where she stood, and her heart pounded when he held out his hand and said, 'Come with me, and we can be together.'
And like every other dream before this, she woke up just as she took his hand.
"-s Lucy? Miss Lucy, please wake up. Your father has summoned you to his study."
Lucy Heartfilia groaned. She hated when her father did this. Usually, it had something to do with money, so she could only imagine what her father would ask of her this time. She thanked the maid, picked her book-which she started reading before she fell asleep-up from the ground, and headed towards the manor. She trudged up the long flight of stairs and knocked on her father's study door.
"Come in," he father said from behind the door, and she entered.
"Lucy, I have great news!" her father said enthusiastically. Her eyes widened. She wasn't expecting that.
"What is it?" she asked him, still nervous.
"The lord wishes to marry you! Two months from now, you will become his bride!"
Lucy felt her stomach clench. Marriage? She wasn't anywhere near ready for that. And to the lord of all people? Lord Ichiya didn't care for her to be around him, much less love her enough to marry. Which means...
"Why does the lord wish to marry me, father?"
"Their fortune is quickly dwindling, and since the lord's sister died several years ago, he needs to produce an heir. Lucy, my dear, this is marvelous! We will-"
"I will not marry him."
Her father gave her a long, irritated stare before answering.
"Lucy, you will be rich! You will become a lady and live in grand wealth for the rest of your life! What more could you possibly ask for?"
"I wish to marry for love. I have no desire to marry for money or status. So no father! I refuse to marry lord Ichiya!"
"It's too late, Lucy. The marriage has already been arranged. You will be wed two months from now."
Lucy suppressed a shriek of rage and stomped out of the room, ignoring her father's calls behind her back.
She opened her bedroom door and slammed it shut behind her. Then she changed into a simple lacy white dress and headed for the garden.
The garden was by far her favorite place in the whole manor. Her mother would bring her here when she was little and she always had fond memories of playing or listening to her mother tell stories of strange lands, magical creatures, and royalty. She still remembered many of those stories. Her mother swore they were true and you could find those lands... If you knew where to look, she would say with a smile.
Lucy really wished she could find those lands now. Or at least have her mother by her side again. She missed her. She closed her eyes and thought of happy times when she was a little girl and her mother was still alive.
Suddenly, she heard a rustling sound coming from one of the tall bushes. She opened her eyes, expecting to see a rabbit or bird, but what she saw instead surprised her. A little girl, around the age of twelve, she guessed, was running through the garden.
Lucy stood up and followed her. She never saw the young girl before, but maybe she was lost. The gardens were rather large and took her several years to find her way around them with ease. She finally caught up to the girl when she heard her mutter, "I'm so late. I'm gonna be in sooo much trouble with the queen. Eek!" She ran towards the giant oak tree in the middle of the garden and...disappeared.
Lucy blinked. Surely she was just seeing things. No way could the little girl just disappear out of thin air. She ran up to the tree and understood why the girl had disappeared.
A huge hole opened up at the base of the tree, and by the looks of it, the hole was pretty deep.
"Hello?" Lucy called, but she heard no response. She tried again. Silence answered her. She leaned forward, hoping that maybe she could see the girl down the hole, but she lost her balance and tumbled forward down the hole.
Lucy screamed. She was falling too fast and the hole seemed to go down a lot longer than she had originally thought. She knew that if she hit the ground, she would most likely die. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the impact, hoping that her death would be painless and not agonizing.
But the impact never came. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself floating.
I must be dead, she thought to herself, just as the floating stopped and she hit the ground butt first.
"Ow!" she cried out. Okay, definitely not dead! She looked around. A door was carved into the wall in front of her, and besides the lanterns dimly lighting the small room, the only other object in the room was a small table in the center. She briefly wondered what this place was when she remembered a memory from her childhood.
Her mother used to say the giant oak tree was magical. Lucy would smack her hand against the tree and ask her mother what made it magical. Her mother would smile and tell her that it was a secret, but maybe one day she would tell her. She never got the chance to, since she died a month later.
But now Lucy understood. Her mother didn't tell her, but she hinted at it. If you knew where to look...
This couldn't be the magical land mother told me about, could it?, she wondered. Only one way to find out. She walked up to the door and opened it gently.
It wasn't what she expected. The trees were gnarled, twisted and bare, the grass was brown with decay, wilted flowers lay limp in the dead grass, the sky was an angry gray with mountainous thunderclouds looming overhead, but was most odd was the sound. Or rather, the lack of it. There was no wind, water, animals, or any sign of life whatsoever. She closed the door behind her and began to explore the desolate forest.
She didn't get very far. Lightning crackled in the sky and thunder rumbled shortly after. Lucy ran for cover from the deluge that quickly followed. She eventually found a small cave built inside a hill and she squeezed herself inside. She was watching the rain fall when she noticed movement from a dead shrub across from her. She watched as a cat, a weird blue one at that, ran out of the shrub and looked around fearfully. Then it sprouted wings, to Lucy's amazement, and quickly flew off in her direction and passed over her.
Lucy climbed out of the cave, no longer worried about getting wet. Cats could fly here? She wanted to see where it was going and if it was headed towards civilization, so she followed it.
She trudged through murky puddles and lost a shoe in the process, was scratched by thorns, and felt chilled to the bone from the rain, but she still followed the flying cat. It stopped at a small house and went inside. Yes!, Lucy thought and knocked on the door, rubbing her hands over her arms in a futile attempt to warm herself. The same cat answered and Lucy stared at it. "Um..." was all she could think to say. What exactly do you say to a flying cat, after all?
"Natsu!" the cat yelled. Lucy's mouth fell open in shock. It could talk too?!
"Yeah?" a young man's voice answered. He appeared next to the cat and looked at Lucy. "Who're you?" he asked her.
She couldn't answer right away, as she was too busy staring at him to say anything. He was tall, but not too tall, and had short, spiky, pink hair. He wore a shirt with one long sleeve, the other sleeve seemingly missing, showing off a muscular arm, and had a white scarf wrapped around his neck. But what bothered Lucy was that he looked so familiar, even though she knew she had never met this man before.
"I'm Lucy," she replied quietly.
"Come in," the man, apparently named Natsu, said. She entered the warm house and shivered, moaning at the sudden change in temperature and sat next to the fireplace.
"I'm Natsu, and this is my friend Happy," the man said and pointed to the cat. The cat waved at her and said, "Aye!"
"Would you like anything to eat or drink?" Natsu asked her. She thought about it and realized just how thirsty she really was.
"What's here to drink?" she asked him.
"Tea!" he and Happy answered in unison.
"Okay. I'll have some tea."
Natsu nodded and headed into the kitchen, where he began to prepare the tea.
"You're soaking wet!" a feminine voice exclaimed. Lucy spun around. Another cat stood behind her, only this one was white and wore a dress. "We must get you out of those clothes or else you'll get sick!" She motioned for Lucy to follow her and she did.
"My name is Carla," the cat said. "And your name is?"
"Lucy," she answered. Carla nodded and opened a door to what appeared to be a girl's bedroom. She opened a dresser drawer and pulled out a dress. It was simple-lavender with a pink sash around the waist-and Carla held it out to her along with undergarments, socks, and black buckle-up shoes. "Try this on and give me your wet clothes so I may dry them," she told her and left the room so Lucy could change. Lucy changed quickly and looked at her reflection in the mirror, fluffing her hair as she did so. The clothes fit well and looked good on her. She picked her wet clothes off the floor and opened the door.
"Carla, I'm done," Lucy said to the cat when she spotted her and handed Carla the damp clothes. She flew to the fireplace and hung them in front of it.
"Tea's done!" shouted Natsu. He exited the kitchen and froze when he saw Lucy.
"Carla," he said, not taking his eyes off Lucy. "What is she wearing?"
"I had no choice, Natsu. The poor girl's clothes were soaking wet and she needed dry clothes."
Lucy wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but she knew something was wrong by the look on Natsu's face.
"Here's your tea," he said to her, handing her the teacup and saucer, but he did not meet her eyes. He left the room and Lucy looked at Carla.
"What's wrong with him all of a sudden? He seemed so happy earlier. Did I do something to upset him?"
Carla sighed. "No, it wasn't you. It's the dress you're wearing. It's not my place to tell you the story, but I will say there are bad memories that linger in Natsu's mind, and that dress might have brought one back."
Lucy felt bad. She wished she could apologize to Natsu, even though she couldn't help what happened, but when he came back into the room, it was as if nothing had ever happened.
"So? What brings you here?" he said cheerfully.
"I fell down a hole and it brought me here to...wherever here is," she said to him. He stared at her intensely and Carla looked at her curiously.
"You mean...you're not from Magnolia?" she asked her.
"That's what this place is called?"
"Yes. So that must mean you're from Earthland."
"I'm so confused," Lucy said, setting down the now empty cup of tea and resting her head in her hand.
"They say there are two worlds parallel to each other," Carla began. "There are ways to travel in between the two worlds, but it's difficult and very few people can do it. You're from Earthland. You somehow were able to travel here to Magnolia, our world." Carla paused, lost in thought. "You said you fell down a hole. Do you mean the hole at the base of the ancient oak?"
Lucy nodded and Carla looked at her thoughtfully. "Interesting. There was another girl who fell down the same hole around 20 years ago now. I wasn't alive then, but I've heard stories. If you would like, I could take you to someone who talked to the girl when she was here, if you're curious."
Lucy grinned at the cat. "Yeah," she said. "I'd like that."
"Alright then," said Carla. "As soon as the rain stops, we'll take you."
XXXXX
The rain continued long into the night, the pang of raindrops hitting the roof making a melody of sorts throughout the house. Despite that, Lucy couldn't sleep. Maybe it was because the place was unfamiliar, or it could have been the shock of finding herself in another world. Whatever the reason, Lucy remained wide awake. She stared out the window, watching the rain fall heavily from the sky.
She remembered when her mother was still alive, and they would both stare out the window, watching the rain fall.
"What are you still doing up?" Natsu asked her. She forced her gaze from the window and looked over at him. He stood behind the couch, looking at her oddly. She smiled apologetically at him.
"Sorry," she said. "I couldn't sleep. I'm just sitting here watching the rain until I fall asleep. I hope you don't mind."
"No, I don't mind. I have just the thing for sleeping. I'll be right back."
A few minutes later, Natsu returned holding a cup of tea. He handed it to her and she gratefully accepted it, taking a sip and savoring the taste.
"Why are you watching the rain?" he asked her a moment later.
"It soothes me," she replied.
"I've been told that the rain's actually the tears of a goddess," Natsu said to her. "She loved this world, and so she weeps for it as a sign she still cares."
Lucy smiled softly. "That reminds me of a story my mother used to tell me. We would watch the rain together, and whenever it was time for me to go to bed, she would tell me all sorts of stories. One was about the rain. She said that the rain was caused by the souls of the dead, who loved their lives on Earth, and wished to return. Because they couldn't, they would cry about their past lives, and their tears fell down to Earth."
"That's sad," Natsu said when she finished. "But it's beautiful at the same time."
"Yeah," Lucy said wistfully. "Sometimes I wonder if my mother is up there, crying for her old life. I hope not. I hope she's happy, wherever she is."
Natsu said nothing, but sat beside her and smiled sadly. She could see in his eyes that he understood how she felt. He must have lost someone too, she thought sadly. She was oddly grateful for his company, even though she didn't know him all that well.
They watched the rain fall together, occasionally talking about their lives, getting to know each other. Lucy enjoyed every minute of it. She didn't understand it, but she felt...close to him. As if they were friends many, many years ago.
She fell asleep with her cheek pressed against the cool glass of the window with a blanket covering her body. Natsu had left long before, yet his presence still lingered in her dreams.
XXXXX
It seemed to Lucy like they had been walking through the dead forest for hours, when in reality, they had only been walking for 20 minutes at the most.
"We're almost there," Happy called out to her. The blue cat flew beside Carla and kept glancing at her when he thought she wasn't looking.
"Where are we going exactly?" asked Lucy. It was Natsu who spoke up this time.
"We're going to see Makarov. He's an old man who lives in this forest. " Natsu grinned at her. "He's pretty cool. You'll like him."
"We're here," said Carla. Lucy looked away from Natsu and out in front of her. A huge archway made of intricately woven vines and flowers towered in front of her, and beyond that lay what seemed to be a garden, the first sign of plant life since she came to this world.
"It's beautiful," she breathed. It really was. Its beauty rivaled her own garden back home.
"Come along," Carla said, and the group followed her into the gorgeous garden. They passed exotic plants the likes of which Lucy had never seen before. Odd insects flew around her head, coming within inches of her face. They were all curious creatures indeed. Lucy's eyes traveled around the garden in awe. She'll never forget something like this. It was simply too beautiful to forget.
"Gramps!" Natsu exclaimed. Lucy snapped out of her stupor at the sound of his voice and followed his gaze to an old man sitting on a chair made of interwoven vines.
"Hello, Natsu. How have you been? It's been a while since you last visited. Oh? And who is this young lady?" The old man stared curiously at her.
"I'm good! This is Lucy. She came here from Earthland."
"Is that so?"
"Yes sir," Lucy said politely. "Carla told me you spoke with another girl who came here years ago. What can you tell me about her?"
Makarov pulled out a pipe and smoked from it. "It around 20 years ago. A young girl, around your age, fell down a hole and found herself in our world. She had no idea how to get back to her own world and wandered around this forest for days before she found me. She told me her name was Layla and she wanted to find her way back home. I didn't have any means of getting her back to Earthland, so I sent her to the Red Kingdom to obtain a vial of potion that would open a Gate and bring her back to her world."
"Okay, so to get home, then all I have to do is go to this kingdom to get a vial of potion? That sounds easy enough."
Makarov, along with the rest of her traveling companions, stared at her sadly.
"What?"
"Traveling to the Red Kingdom is dangerous nowadays," Makarov said, taking another drag from his pipe. "The Red Kingdom is at war with other Kingdoms right now, and the queen won't hesitate to lock you up and execute you if she finds you."
Lucy swallowed hard. "Okay, no traveling to the Red Kingdom. Got it. So what other way is there to get home?"
"That, my dear, I don't know. Those vials were the only known way to travel back to your world. You could go to another Kingdom to find one, but I don't know if those Kingdoms have them or not."
Lucy nodded, understanding but slightly disappointed. Then she thought of something that had been bothering her since she heard Makarov mention it in his story.
"Sir? You told me the girl's name was Layla. Can you tell me what she looked like?"
Makarov squinted at her. "Well, she looked a lot like you, I guess. Same eyes, hair, features. Why do you ask?"
"Um...never mind. It's not important."
It was her mother. It had to have been. All the stories she heard when she was a little girl made sense now. Except for one thing.
"What happened to this world? I thought it was supposed to be beautiful. But the only sign of beauty I've seen so far is your garden. What happened?"
Natsu answered her this time. "The Red queen. She was once a kind and benevolent ruler, but one day, her husband, the king, was murdered and she was driven mad by her grief. She became a tyrant and she killed, still kills, all who oppose her, and she forbids love between anyone in her kingdom. This land has become a wasteland since then. That's what happened."
Lucy looked at him. She could have sworn she saw deep pain in his eyes, just like the look he had before, when he saw the dress, but then the look was gone and was replaced with his usual cheerful demeanor. "But I guess it could be worse, right?"
The others were looking at him with sadness. Natsu was obviously hiding something from her. "I guess we should be going now. See ya, gramps!"
"Wait. May I please speak to Lucy alone?" The others nodded and left the garden.
"What is it?" Lucy asked Makarov.
"There is a prophecy that talks about a young girl who restores the land and makes kingdoms thrive. It says that the girl is the daughter of an Earthland woman of Magnolian descent. You see, years ago, even before I was alive, a member of one of the royal families fled this world and stayed in Earthland. The prophecy says that a girl of that bloodline will come to this land and save it. You asked about the girl who came here last. You asked what she looked like. She was your mother, wasn't she?"
Lucy nodded, unable to speak for some reason.
"I see. You must be very careful, Lucy. The Red queen knows all about the prophecy, and if you are indeed the child of prophecy, which I pray that you are not, then the Red queen will hunt you down, either to make you an ally of the Red Kingdom, or to execute you if you are not compliant. Either way, lay low and be careful."
"I will. Thank you, sir." she left the garden, the new knowledge spinning in her brain and she hoped that she was not the girl in the prophecy.
XXXXX
The doors burst open and a dark haired man waltzed in, bowing deeply before getting on his knees.
"Your Majesty. One of our spies has brought news from the Worthsea forest. It seems as though an Earthland girl has arrived in this world. What will you have us do?"
The Red queen smiled, though there was no warmth behind it. "Capture her and bring her to me. If she will not bow to me, then she will be executed."
A/N: And this is the end of part one. What did you think? I'm a little nervous, since this is my first chapter fic and all, but your opinion will make all the difference to me. Part two will be out soon! Until then, see ya! :)