Welcome one and all to my new Fairy Tale! Er, I mean, Fairy Tail tale... It's great to see how much the FT community has grown- I've been reading these fanfics since the category only had 376 fics in it.
So this story is a bit of a change of pace to my other FT fic, Charcoal Heart, but rest assured, this has plenty of NaLu in it! And dragons, we cannot forget dragons! I hope you'll enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
A young woman leaned over a bed, smoothing the covers over her child. On the other side of the room, her husband did the same with the child's older brother. Kissing her daughter on the forehead, the woman walked over to her son, brushing her fingers through his unruly hair and planting a kiss on his nose.
"Good night, you two," she said softly, leaning into her husband's warmth. The tall man nodded, going over to blow out the candle that sat on his daughter's night stand.
"Wait!" the little boy cried, sitting up a little. His parents and sister looked at him curiously. "Can mama and daddy tell us a story first?" His sister's eyes widened at the idea, before nodding frantically.
"Yes, can you?"
The woman and her husband exchanged glances, before the man's mouth widened into a toothy grin that sent the woman's heart flying. It was in times like these that she remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place.
"Why not," the man said, taking a seat of his beloved daughter's bed. His wife followed him, though preferring to sit on the ground, and lean against his strong legs. Without saying a word, the two agreed on what story they would tell their children.
"Alright you two, listen closely!" the man started. "This is the story of a reckless adventurer, and his unlikely heroine…"
Pillars of stone crashed down inside the ancient temple, inside of which a young man was having the time of his life. Grinning manically, he leapt over a large boulder with no effort at all, despite the relatively heavy weight that was hanging from his side. The adventure's prize jangled in his bag as he ran out of the main treasure chamber in search of an exit. The heist had gone smoothly so far- he'd gotten into the temple, avoided the booby-traps set by the ancient citizensand found his prize. But that wasn't the fun part- this was: running for his life, dodging the obstacles that threatened to crush him. This was definitely not the most dangerous situation the young explorer had been in- quite the opposite in fact, but it was still as thrilling as he had hoped, getting his blood and adrenaline pumping.
The young man cursed when he heard a grinding sound behind him- a sure sign that another booby-trap had been set off. These next few seconds would be vital, he knew, as that would be the time he'd have to figure out the trap before it was sprung on him. Using his strong, muscled arms to catapult himself over a fallen pillar, the adventurer put on a burst of speed. He ran as fast as he could, jumping and dodging the tumbling stones.
His keen, reptilian-like eyes spotted something mere meters away from where he was heading, in that instant forcing his feet to stop moving and windmilled his arms so he wouldn't fall from the ledge he was now facing. In front of him, the ground dropped off into nothing, spikes on shafts so long that he couldn't see the bottom of peered out of the top, their sharp edges glinting wickedly.
"Well… Isn't this a nice change of pace?" His voice, instead of holding terror or panic like any san person's would, held a note of amusement, and naturally, excitement.
Glancing around, ever mindful of the collapsing temple around him, the adventurer saw nothing of use, frowning. After another look of his surroundings, the explorer decided it was time to use 'plan B'. Unravelling the scarf that was wrapped tightly around his neck, the young man found a decent-sized rock, and weighed it in his hands, side-stepping a falling boulder as he did so. Deeming it fit, he tied the end of the scar around it, and then took his stance at the edge of the drop-off. He spun the scarf like an ancient sling-shot, to his side and releasing it once it had picked up enough speed. Instead of throwing it across, however, he threw it up.
The make-shift grapple line flew into the air, wrapping around a slowly crumbling support strut. The arched ceiling near the strut was crumbling in, creating a widening gap. The adventurer tugged experimentally on the scarf and seeing it wasn't about to budge started climbing at an astonishing explorer reached the top, shifting all his weight to the left so that he could swing up to grab the edge of the gap which was now big enough for him to climb through. Using his superior strength, he easily got through the ceiling and tugged gently on the scarf, making it unravel. He paused to untangle the garment from the rock and wrap it tightly around his neck before the ground –or rather, roof- beneath his feet started shaking.
"Uh oh…" the explorer muttered, going from standing still to a sprint in no time at all. He jumped over holes as they started forming around him and stepped lightly in places where the shaking was becoming unbearable.
Finally, he reached the side of the temple, where he spotted an old tree branch jutting out towards him. Not a moment too soon, he leapt for the branch as the temple gave a final shudder and completely collapsed beneath him. He clung to the branch as the temple was reduced to a pile of rubble, leaping down and landing in a crouch only once the dust had cleared.
The adventurer shook his wild pink hair out of his eyes to see the damage he had caused to the ancient site. It wasn't too bad, considering. He had certainly left places in much worse condition…. It would be like reassembling a jigsaw puzzle! A puzzle with over a million pieces. Oh well.
Natsu Dragneel shrugged, turning his back to the carnage and beginning his trek back to the nearby town.
The town of Magnolia was a beautiful place, known for being the most welcoming and lively in the kingdom. While not as big or beautiful as Fiore's capitol, Multiflora, the area was much loved by the citizens of the kingdom because of the bustling markets, the friendly service and the all-around great attitude of the people living there. One could even go as far to say it was the perfect place to live: great views, interesting landscape including the ocean, and enough excitement to keep the place interesting, but not enough to attract negative attention. So it was completely strange and unnatural for Natsu as he walked into the town borders with a giant grin on his face, to be met with depressed expressions and defeated attitudes.
The smile little by little slid from the adventurer's face as he followed a crowd of people who were slowly moving towards the town square. A feeling of dread had slowly begun to settle inside him, ice crawling up his back when predicted what was happening.
Natsu rounded the corner into town square to see most of the citizens of Magnolia gathered around a large wooden podium set up in front of Cardia Cathedral, the town church. Upon the podium stood an assorted group of people standing tall and proud. Most notable were the two at the forefront of the stage- two men that looked polar opposites of each other. The one on the left had white hair which stood up towards the heavens, a slender build and light, elfin-like features, whereas the one on the right had shaggy raven hair which flopped in front of his eyes, a strong face and a stocky build. The only thing the two had in common were the matching solid gold bands sitting atop their heads, marking them as royalty. They were the infamous twins Lyon and Gray, the king's only sons.
Standing protectively to the left of the two princes was a very intimidating woman. Natsu shuddered when her emotionless brown eyes passed over him for a brief second. He was infinitely grateful they didn't linger on his face, nor show any sign of recognition. It simply wouldn't do for him to end up dead just after his latest heist. The woman herself was Dame Erza Scarlet, personal knight to the princes and one of the most renowned swordswomen in the world. Her scarlet hair was tied up high on her head, leaving some bangs covering her forehead. She wore armour and a sword was clearly visible at her side. A silver haired man stood beside her, leaning on a menacing looking scythe. He was unmistakeablewith the tattoos under his eyes and the cruel expression on his face. He was Erigor. The king's personal executioner.
Natsu's whole demeanour stiffened, his eyes flickering between the people on the podium. There could only be onereason why they were all there with the town gathered around them.
"People of Magnolia!" called a strong voice, Prince Lyon stepping forward, "For many years our beautiful land has been peaceful- a safe haven for everyone, no matter what race, gender or religion. How was this made possible in the first place? We all know the story of how my father drove evil from the kingdom. He did so by eradicating one thing: destroyed all who practiced the art, who had the nerve to call themselves human. He rid Fiore of the beasts, the creatures and those unnatural beings.
"And this is how you repay him? On the eve of the anniversary of our father's greatest and final victory: you show us two of your 'people' have been practicing this evil art under your own rooves! This cannot go unpunished; the traitors against the crown must receive the ultimate punishment. Execution."
The crowd gasped as two shackled men were pushed onto the stage roughly by a couple of guards. They were forced to their knees in front of Erigor, who grinned at them with yellowing teeth. The fear was plain to see on both of their faces, and Natsu almost looked away.
"For crimes against the Crown, and practicing magic, Jet andDroy McGarden, I sentence you to death!" At Lyon's proclamation, the explorer noticed the scarlet haired knight flinch slightly, though the adventurer just thought he was imagining things.
'McGarden… where have I heard that before?' thought Natsu, knowing he had heard the name recently.
Erigor lifted his scythe, the metal glinting in the sunlight like the jewels Natsu collected. Throughout his brother's speech, Prince Gray had stared out emotionlessly at the crowd. But when the scythe was raised, for a split second emotion had crossed through his eyes. It could have been triumph, it could have been excitement, it could even have been depression,Natsu had no idea. Even with his brilliant eyesight it was too far to see.
The scythe suddenly dropped toward the two men and Natsu turned away, not wanting to watch the scene unfold. He had seen many instances like this with the amount he travelled and it never got any easier.
"NO!" the scream was pained, one of the worst sounds in the world. It was the scream of someone who had lost everything in just a moment, their life getting torn apart.
'Oh…' Natsu recalled, 'I remember now. McGarden. LeviMcGarden. Those two must have been her older brothers.'Levi was the sweet librarian who had helped the adventurer research about the area so he could pinpoint the exact location of the temple he had just trashed. The two had become friends in the short amount of time, the bookworm's sweet and bubbly personality quickly making everyone fall in love with her. Suddenly, Natsu grew angry. 'Why would something like this happen to someone as sweet as Levi? I swear, one day….'He didn't let himself finish that thought.
Growling quietly in the back of his throat Natsu hefted his satchel further up his shoulder and walked back towards the inn, not waiting around for the aftermath of the execution. The walk was relatively short, the Fairy Tail inn close to everything in town. The adventurer shuffled through the doors, payed for his room with one of the ancient coins he had collected and trudged upstairs to dump his satchel on his to drown his sorrows for the night, he headed back towards the bar, sitting in the stool closest to the staircase.
He ordered the first drink that came to mind, not really paying attention to anything at all.
"How did your exploration go? Did you find what you were looking for?" the waitress, Mirajane, asked as she passed his drink over the bar to him. Natsu knew she was avoiding the topic of the afternoon's event, which he was grateful for. He accepted the drink with a nod of thanks, noticing Mirajane'syounger sister, Lisanna, staring at him admiringly from the kitchens. He chuckled internally- the younger girl had formed quite a crush on him in the past few days which he just found amusing.
The adventurer took a sip of his drink, mulling over his answer to the barwoman's question. "Yeah, I did. Bit of a job getting there and back, but that just makes it even funn-er." He said the last bit with a wide smile, playing with some of the gold he had stashed in his pocket. Natsu realised that he was probably more like his father than he realised, what with his obsession with gold and his protectiveness over the valuables he collects.
"Funn-er isn't even a word," a deep voice intoned, its owner gracefully sitting down in the seat beside him. Natsu didn't have to look at him to know who it was. Instead, he ordered another drink and passed the beverage to the newcomer.
"It's a word now," he retorted, sticking out his tongue slightly.
"Who died and made you god?" his friend asked, sipping at his drink.
"No one. Anyone can make up words. Look at thatShakesword guy- he made up over a thousand words!" Natsu replied, thinking he had won the pointless argument. He grinned at his friend who just looked at him condescendingly.
"Shakespeare, Natsu. Seriously, you claim to be like the man yet you can't get his name right?"
The triumphant expression fell from Natsu's face. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Don't really care about him. He's been dead for ages, after all… How've you been, Jellal?"
Jellal smirked, gripping his cup tightly and taking a long swallow of his beverage. Jellal Fernandez was one of the first people Natsu had met after his father had disappeared. The guy was insanely intelligent- he knew pretty much everything about, well, anything. He wasn't half-bad in a fight either. There had been a couple of tough spots where they had survived because they had the other around. One thing was for sure- Natsu definitely wouldn't have been alive if it weren't for the blue-haired man beside him.
"I've been… around. What about you? Satisfy your latest lust for gold?" asked Jellal, not giving a straight answer as was his style. Natsu had grown used to it, but that didn't mean he wasn't easily annoyed by it.
"Oh yeah," he replied, bouncing in his seat slightly with the memories of his thrilling day being brought to the front of his mind. "Found this old temple built by the Zentopians- a bunch of monks who ran a cult called Zentopia. Anyway, they managed to collect a heap of treasure, so naturally, I took it all. I may have accidentally damaged the temple a little, but not enough to notice."
Jellal chuckled, knowing enough of Natsu's destructive tendencies to realise that the temple was probably in shambles, if it was even still standing. He paid Mirajane who was silently listening to their conversation for another round of drinks. The white haired beauty took the silver coins over to the register but was distracted by another customer. Seeing she was finally distracted, Jellal took the chance to speak up.
"You truly are your father's son… speaking of which, I may have something that will interest you."
Natsu paused in the chugging of his drink to blink at his friend. "Go on…"
"During my wandering, I heard about a jewel that you might or might not like to get your grubby little claws on. Have you heard of the Sapphire Star?" seeing the explorer's nod, Jellal continued, "Well the latest whispers are saying that the Sapphire Star is currently owned by the Heartfilia family. Youknow, that uber rich one which lost the woman of the house due to an unknown disease a long time ago? Anyway, it's there, but maybe not for much longer as there's rumour that the father plans to sell it. So if you're going to make your move, you're going to have to do it quickly."
Natsu picked between his teeth with his fingernail, going over Jellal's proposition. "I just see one problem with that," he responded after Mira had returned and left with their second round of drinks.
"What?"
"I'm not a thief, like you. You forget that, sometimes. I'm an explorer. Sure, I may pick up a couple of coins, and jewels, and other valuable tidbits that ancient civilizations happen to leave lying around while I'm exploring their temples, but Idefinitely don't steal from people who have been alive in the past few months."
This mature response seemed to quieten the blue-haired man momentarily, before he spoke up again. "While this is true… I haven't been entirely honest about why I want you to go after the Sapphire." Natsu made a gesture with his hand that meant 'go on'. "I have suspicions that the Sapphire has magical properties, which the current owners have no idea about. I don't want to see the Heartfilia family getting hurt or caught up in all of this, so please, can you do this as a favour to me?"
The adventurer had stilled in all movement after his friend had mentioned 'magical properties'. It was rare that one came along something like that in an ordinary household nowadays. Sure, every now and then Natsu would pick up one or two enchanted jewels from inside ruins, but with the ban of everything magical, people were extra careful not to keep charmed objects around the house. To say this piqued his interest would be a bit of an understatement. It also didn't help he had a massive saving-people complex, which he was almost positive Jellal was using to guilt-trip him into taking the job.
"Alright, I'll do it. You wouldn't happen to have directions to the Heartfilia mansion, would you?"
I need opinions! Is it horrible? Should I just stop posting now? Or would you like to see more? I'm writing this for fun, so I really wouldn't care if only one person read it, but it would be nice if you all had a peek.
By the way, if you're wondering if Natsu is just some boring, magicless human, I hope I quench all your fears when I say this is not the case. I'm going to have so much fun with this xD
Expect an update on Friday!
-GreentreeFrog