Chapter 1
Disclaimer:
I do not own Fairy Tail or the characters the belong in it. Some event changes though I'll attempt to try not to change events too much unless necessary. Enjoy the re-written story of the Maiden and the Dragon. The original is still up if you want to read the original fanfiction.
Teeth chattering a young blond mage was following another pink haired mage down from the icy tops of Mt. Hakobe. Said pink haired mage was helping his injured guild mate and conversing with his blue flying cat friend. Lucy walked slightly behind them enjoying the small amount of pride that came from successfully finding the missing guild member and being able to bring him home to his worried son.
While following the pink haired mage down the frozen slopes of the mountain, something grabbed the attention of the celestial wizard. She didn't quite know what it was, but it begged her to follow its alluring pull, and she did. With a hesitant step she left the path. Lucy let herself be led by the force. She was so focused she missed her new-found friends as they called out to her. The blond mage wanted to turn back when she noticed just how far she was heading into the forest, but, at this point her feet were moving on their own. It was too late to turn back. Whatever was calling her was too strong at this point. It took control of her legs and feet to keep her moving towards its intended destination. Lucy begun to panic. What if this was a trap? What if someone was trying to steal her away like that incident with that fake salamander? Why didn't she think of this before she decided to follow whatever this thing was? She mentally scolded herself for not letting the others know she was leaving the path.
Just as her thoughts begun to get frantic she stopped dead in her tracks. Confused, she looked around.
Dig.
Lucy stiffened at the sudden command.
In the snow before your feet, dig there.
The golden haired mage didn't know if she would regret this but she came this far, she couldn't back down now. Warily she bent down into the snow and started to shovel away the snow. It didn't take long for a burning sensation to start up in her hands as they moved about in the snow. Lucy took note that her legs and arms were feeling the same burn while the icy wind zipped passed her. Lucy soon became very tempted to stop what she was doing to turn back and retrace her steps to the path to find her friends. With one last attempt to dig she felt her nail scrape something loose in the snow. Again curiosity got the best of her. She carefully brushed away snow, and there, she saw it. An oddly shaped ring sat in the snow. Lucy reached for the ring, she could feel it encouraging her to do so. Using the end of her shirt she cleaned the ring of snow and examined it. She took notice that it was wielded in a black metal, it was forged in the shape of a dragon chasing its own tail. The claws stretched out to capture its target, so close yet, so far. The details of the dragon were beautiful like it was made from that of a skilled blacksmith. The wings of the dragon were stretched out half way. The eyes were what looked to be blood red diamonds, focused on its task to capture the tail. After minutes of sitting in her fingers Lucy swore the eye started to glow with life, as if it was registering something. Then the black piece of jewelry pulsed. The world around the celestial wizard all but vanished. Lucy felt isolated with the ring as it pulsed again, willing her to place it upon her ring finger. Her body reacting to the will of the ring begun to move in an attempt to put it on.
It was sudden and without warning. Right before Lucy was able to put the ring on, she was knocked back into her surrounding world when a fiery hand grabbed her shoulder. A very unexpected voice boomed in her ear.
"Lucy! What the hell do you think you're doing just wondering off the trail like that!?" The male's voice was laced with worry and a hint of anger.
Lucy sluggishly looked up at the source of the voice. Still dazed and eyes glossy from her experience with the mysterious ring, Lucy looked at the concerned Dragon slyer. Lucy tried to process words but her explanation dribbled out in incoherent sentences. The pink haired mage feeling vexed with the blond maiden's actions let out a jaded sigh.
"no time to wait for a real answer. Its freezing out here, I don't want you to get frost bite." Sticking out his hand for her to grab he smiled lightly. "come on let's get going. You can ride on my back 'till we catch up to the others. That should give you enough time to warm up and get to your senses"
Lucy, still stunned, pocketed the ring and took the pinket's hand.
The walk back to the others seemed long and quiet. For Lucy that was fine. While being carried Lucy's mind kept questioning the events with the ring. Why did it call for her? What does it do? One thing Lucy knew was that it possessed some kind of magic. The pink haired salamander that was carrying her had other thoughts roaming around his head. What was Lucy doing out there? What did she put in her pocket? He could feel the maiden reposition herself on him. Lucy kept herself pressed close to Natsu. Her frigid body drinking up his natural warmth as it radiated off of him. Natsu huffed, his heated breath visible in the contrasting cold air. Not being able to stand the quiet any longer Natsu was the first to speak.
"you know… I had to have Happy keep carrying Macao along the path right?" Lucy flinched at his words, guilt begun to plague her mind. That caused Natsu to look back at the mage on his back as much as he was able to. "I was worried while tracking you. I didn't want to lose the newest member of the guild on her first day." Natsu laughed lightly to try and lighten Lucy's mood. The only response he got was a mumbled I know from her. Natsu sighed and hoped they caught up with the others soon, he couldn't bare another minute of this gloomy mood. Natsu soon spotted the others ahead on the trail.
"Look! There's Happy and Macao." Natsu slowed down to a stop. He shifted so that Lucy could get off and walk the rest of the way. All four made their way back to town safely together. Lucy Enjoyed the sight of the father and son reuniting together. HHHJHearing the thank you from the small boy helped warmed Lucy's heart as they left the two to their own business.
Lucy went her separate way from Natsu and went straight home. When she got to her new apartment she stood in front of the door. She fished for the keys in her pocket. When she found them she unlocked the door. The door creaked open as if protesting the movement. With a sigh she opened the door. Flicking on the lights she looked at her small apartment. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She was done traveling. She joined her dream guild and she had a place she could call home. That in itself made her happy.
Lucy scanned the room taking note of her luggage she needed to unpack and the few dishes she needed to wash, but to her all that could wait. All the blond wizard wanted was a nice relaxing bath. Taking off her shoes she made sure to lock her door. Moving past the living room to her the room, she thought of the ring. Her hands slipped into her pocket to make sure the odd piece of jewelry was still there. Her fingers grazed the ring. Satisfied she proceeded to picking out pajamas and placing them on her bed. She made her way to the bathroom making sure to bring the ring with her. There she set up her bath then stripped.
Tentatively she lowered her body into the bath. A sigh of pleasure escaped her lips as her body immersed in the heated water. Her muscles melted and her body relaxed. She allowed herself to soak in the water, thoroughly enjoying the sensation. While lying in the water her mind wonder to the ring, then to what had happened on the mountain. She reached for the ring taking it in her hand once more. She examined the ring once again. She admired its simplistic beauty. Her mind still question why the ring called to her and wanted her to put it on. The longer she had it in her hand the more Lucy noticed a buzzing in her head. It was the ring again, telling her to put on the ring. Before anything else happened she quickly placed it down.
The young mage heaved out a sigh. Grabbing her shampoo, she poured some in her hand and put the bottle away. lathering her hair in the cleaning substance she let her fingers work its way in her hair. Her delicate fingers massaging her scalp, nails lightly scratching the skin. When she was finished she rinsed her hair letting her thoughts and worries wash away along with the soap. After giving her hair the same treatment with the conditioner she moved on to washing her body. Scrubby in hand she scrubbed her body in light circles clearing away any dirt and sweat. She thoroughly rinsed off her body then drained the tub. Wrapping herself in a towel she made sure to not forget to get the ring before going to her room. The blond placed the ring on her dresser. She sat on her bed with a satisfied sigh. Unwrapping the towel so she could dry herself she smiled thinking about what tomorrow could bring. Maybe she could go down to the guild and try to get to know the others. That is if they don't start another all-out fight. When her body was dry she proceeded to slip on her fresh clean clothes. Maybe she can make more friends.
There, sitting dressed on the edge of her bed she felt the call of the ring again. Giving into its temptation and her own curiosity she got up and seized the dragon ring. Positioning herself in the middle of her bed she sat and stared at the ring. It sat there encouraging her thoughts of putting on the ring. Quickly before she lost her nerve she placed the ring on her left ring finger. The ring was a bit of a loose fit on her petite finger.
For a minute the ring went quiet. Lucy sat and watched the dragon as if waiting for it to come alive. Then suddenly it did. The inanimate object became animate as its eyes glowed. Its arms claws and body moved capturing its tail. Its task of chasing its own tail came to an end, creating a tighter perfect fit to her ring finger. Lucy's heart sped up while watching the small dragon going back to just being a ring when, suddenly, she felt it.
A large pulse burst through her body along with the ring. Intense heat flooded through her vanes. The intensity of the heat caused her back to arch and her body hit the bed. A silent scream ripped through her whole being from the intensity of the pain her body was being wrapped in. The intensity of the fire in her vanes kept pouring in and just seemed to get hotter until her body couldn't take it. Her vision begun to tunnel, tears leaked from her eyes, and her body went limp on the bed. No thoughts could form in her mind during those excruciating moments. then everything went black for the celestial wizard named Lucy.
Somewhere deep in uncharted lands where forest grow deep and tall, untouched and protected from the hands of man lays a beast of monstrous size. There, deep in a dark cave, the scaled beast rested its head. Thunderous snores shook the earth as it slept. A massive claw twitched, an electric sensation shot through the air hitting the scaly beast. A slow rumbling breath pushed out from the giant mouth, smoke drifting from the nostrils. Blood red eyes were slowly exposed as the heavy lids opened. Finally...