Chapter 1

Bored? Why Not Kidnap a Princess?

Natsu was bored. There was nothing going on in the guild anymore. Ever since the girls started showing up he hadn't been able to fight much anymore. Even though he'd gotten a new person to try to beat, Erza, he'd lost almost ten. Not even Gajeel was fighting him much anymore. The only one he did get to fight was Gray, but every time they started to get into it Erza would glare at them.

When Alzack first brought Bisca, it opened the flood gate. Suddenly every single guy in the guild just had to go to that place and bring back someone new. Only Natsu and Gajeel had yet to go, though Laxus was the only one who'd come back alone, but Natsu had no intentions of going anyway. He didn't want or need a girl in his life.

He was debating getting a job when an itch on his side. It was a flash of heat. Just as he reached for the area, a rough hand grabbed his wrist.

"That won't help," Gajeel told him as Laxus and him sat down. "How old are you, 18, 19? I'd say you got about a week before your season starts." The blond nodded his head in agreement.

Natsu was confused. He cocked his head to the side, "I don't know. Igneel never celebrated birthdays, so I'm not sure how old I am, and what season are you talking about?"

The two Dragon Slayers exchanged a look. "What did Igneel tell you about mates? Did he explain what would happen after your eighteenth birthday?"

The pinkette just shook his head, still not understanding where they were going.

Laxus seemed a bit shocked at hearing that, "Shit. So you don't know anything."

Gajeel took over, "It's pretty simple, the first spring after you turn 18 your body will start calling out for your mate. If you find her, you'll be in for a weeks worth of sex, only stopping for food and sleep. If not, you need to get away from everyone, 'cause you'll be goin' after every chick you come across. This'll be the hardest, since it's your first, so you need to find yourself a place to hole up in the next couple of days."

Natsu's head was spinning. It's not like he was stupid, he knew about women and sex, he just wasn't attracted to most of them. To be fair, he wasn't really interested in anyone, the last person he'd liked was Lisanna, but he hadn't felt the same way since she'd come back. The thought that he'd find this mate was almost funny, but as he looked around the guild, taking in all the happy couples, he thought it might be nice to have someone that was his.

Laxus explained a few more things but he wasn't listening. Mirajane showed up and cut him off, "What are you all talking about?"

Natsu caught a whiff of something, something sweet with a kick, like spice cake. He grabbed her arms and began smelling the young woman, or more accurately, the shirt she was wearing. It wasn't hers.

He let her go as he felt himself starting to lose control. Flames erupted from his hands and he ran from the guild hall. The only person who followed him was Happy. By the time he made it to the park, the flames had gone out, and he was able to think more clearly. The pinkett walked to the tallest tree and sat at it's base.

"Natsu, what's going on?" the small blue exceed asked in a quiet voice. He crawled into the dragon slayers lap. "Don't you want to find your mate?"

Natsu smirked at his buddy, "Naw, that's not it. The shirt Mira was wearing, there was something on it, a smell, it made me lose control. I'm guessing it belonged to my mate, but I don't know what to do."

The pair sat there, not talking, just taking it in. Natsu spent hours thinking, trying to figure out what he should do. He watched numerous couples walk by, and he found himself wanting that, the companionship. Though he didn't think he'd be able to openly make out in public like some of the couples did.

Sick of sitting and doing nothing, Natsu started walking towards the woods outside of town. He didn't know where he was going, or if he even wanted to find this girl, but he let his feet carry him. Happy riding on his shoulder.

"Where are we going?"

"When I know, you'll know."

They wandered the edge of the forest, never going more than ten feet in. Before they knew it, the sun was setting and Natsu turned to head back to home.

Just as he turned to walk away, the wind picked up, carrying the scent of cherry blossoms. He took off, following the wind. Happy clung to him as they practically flew through the trees.

All thoughts stopped, all he could do was run. He was at the edge of the property in under twenty minutes.

Holy shit! It's huge. There were four towers, each ten stories high, they created a square layout. It was made out of simple gray stone, five stories tall, with a pitched roof. The front entrance was about the size of the guild's, but the door was fancier. Each floor had a wrap around balcony that would break at the towers and start again at the side.

The thing that caught Natsu's eye, however, wasn't in the architecture, it was a bright flash of yellow against the darker gray. She was standing on the second floor, looking up at the sky.

If he were anyone else, he probably wouldn't have been able to see her at all, but since he had heightened senses he could almost every detail. Her hair was blonde, her eyes brown. She had figure similar to many of the other guild women, with wide hips, a small waist, and the largest breasts he'd seen to date. She's fucking hot.

He heard someone approaching from behind, so he sunk into the shadows. It was a man, with dark blue hair and a strange tattoo over his right eye. He was wearing a bunch of rings and his clothes were way too flashy.

Natsu had no idea who the guy was, but he already hated him, there was something off about the way he smelled.

He strode into the castle like he own it, and a couple of minutes later, the blonde went inside. The Dragon Slayer almost went in himself, but chose to wait and listen. Hopefully, I'll get to beat the crap out of someone and grab the girl.

Lucy was so freaking bored. There was nothing to do in the damn prison. She'd been there over a year, ever since she'd tried to run away from her abusive father.

When she had tried to escape that terrible house, she'd been caught, and her father chose to send her here. He said she could rot there until he found a suitable husband for her, and by suitable he meant someone who could help him in some way, not someone who she would chose for herself. So far, she'd had over fifteen "suitors," not one had made it past the first meeting.

Apparently, her father wanted to make a deal and he needed her for it. His choice for her had been the first of her visitors, but she'd run him off. When she did that, her father sent out a request; any man that could get her out would be paid handsomely. After she heard that, Lucy almost peed her pants she was laughing so hard.

Lucy moved to the balcony just off her bedroom.

There were only three women left in the castle, and each of them took a floor. Levy had picked the third floor because that had the best library access. Kendra chose the ground floor, so she she could meet with possible suitors more easily. Lucy went with the second floor for it's balconies. They were the widest and offered the best view of the stars.

That was her best escape, star gazing. That night was as clear as possible, and she loved it. Before her mother passed, they would spend whole nights just watching the skies. It was probably the thing she missed most about her mom, their love of stars.

Lucy learned magic from her, all of her keys came from her, and most of all, Lucy learned about compassion from her.

She pulled out her gate keys. The first ones she inspected were silver: Crux the Southern Cross, Lyra the lyre, and Horologium the Clock. They were the ones she'd had about a year before her mom died, The others: Taurus the Golden Bull, Cancer the Crab, and Aquarius the Waterbearer, she got after her passing.

When she figured out how to escape from that place, and she would find out how, she planned on finding the rest of the golden gate keys, no matter how long it would take. She felt that it would be the best way to stay connected to her mother.

Lucy glanced down at the tree line and saw what she had been dreading the whole day. There was a man, she couldn't see much, but she could tell by the way he walked that he was an asshole. All the men that showed up there were. Just as she turned to head down to the entrance, she caught a flash of pink, but it was gone before she could get a good look.

Before she went downstairs, Lucy made sure she was wearing something that would send the right message. Her shirt was simple, a white button down with a blue cross on the front. She was wearing a shortish, blue skirt. Her keys and whipped were secured.

She finally made it down the stairs, making sure to ignore the man, instead she headed to where Kendra was standing.

"Who's this guy and what's his deal?"

Kendra smirked, "He said he was called Salamander and that he was from the Wizard guild Fairy Tail, but when I asked him to show the guild mark he refused. Also, his magic is mostly contained in his rings, the real Salamander is a Fire Dragon Slayer. Give this jackass hell."

"Gladly."

She it so she was in a resting bitch face and turned around.

He was decent looking, but not really her type. There was a cocky air settled around him. He eyed her up and down and from the look on his face he liked what he saw. Oh, this is going to be fun.

"Oh, hello," she spoke with a dull voice. "Did my father send you?"

"Yes, of course," his voice wasn't bad, but Lucy thought he was trying too hard to be smooth and he wasn't pulling it off.

"How much is it up to now?"

"Ten million jewel." At least he's honest. "But that's not why I'm here. I heard you were a very beautiful young woman and I just had to meet you." Or maybe not.

"Uh-huh, sure," she noticed that one of his rings had a heart on it. "And is that what the charm spell is for? To convince me to come with you? Sorry hun, been there, done that, got the crappy t-shirt to prove it. Try again."

The more she spoke the more pissed off he looked. It was obvious he was expecting an easy grab, and by now it was obvious that she wasn't going to let him get off easy. Quite honestly, she knew from the first second she'd met him, that she would never leave with him.

The man quickly glanced over at Kendra, then he rushed Lucy, grabbing her arms tightly. "Listen up you little bitch. You are coming with me and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

Apparently, he really underestimated her. She reared back and kneed him in the crotch. He fell back, letting her go. Lucy grabbed her whip to keep him at bay.

"No, you listen, you prick. I'm not going anywhere with you, and there's nothing you can do to make me."

Kendra applauded in the background. Lucy knew that she stayed out of it so she could take him out. It would be more satisfying if she could be the one to take him down a peg. The brunette loved helping the girls learn their strengths.

The man wasn't nearly as pleased as the women. He twisted on of his rings and fire came out. His hand whipped towards Lucy, controlling the flames, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time. Her eyes clamped shut as she braced for the pain, but it never came.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. Standing before her was a man, maybe a little older than her, with bright pink, spiky hair.

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she watched the new comer eat the fire.

She heard both the attacker and Kendra say, "Salamander." So he's the real Salamander from Fairy Tail. That means he's a Dragon Slayer.

Lucy actually knew a bit about those types of mages, thanks to Kendra.

He turned back to her and asked, "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

He's actually really cute. It took her a couple of seconds to realize she was staring, so she simply shook her head. "No, he didn't hurt me."

The pinkett gave her a strange look, "You're weird." A huge grin lit his face. "I like that." He missed her incredulous look since to turned back to the other man. "Hey, Happy, any idea who this guy is?"

That's when she noticed the blue cat that was hanging on to the guys back.

Her jaw dropped even more when the cat spoke, "Well, I think he's Bora the Prominence. He used to be in a guild, but was kicked out for taking part in human trafficking. I think you should kick his butt, Natsu."

Bora didn't seem to like that idea, in fact he'd started sprinting from the building before Happy had finished speaking. He slammed the doors shut after him. Lucy and Kendra's laughter following behind him.

Natsu was looking at them like they were crazy. Kendra moved so they could could lean on each other until their laughter died down.

"Ohhh," Kendra managed to get out. "That was great." She turned to the guest. "Thank you for that. I thought I would have to toss his ass. I'm Kendra, this is Lucy, and I bet I know why you're here, so I'll leave you to it," with that cryptic message, she left, heading back towards her room.

Lucy was left alone with the strange man and she didn't know what to do or say. His head was cocked to the side like he wasn't sure what he was looking at. The only one who seemed to have any kind of confidence in the situation was the cat. He walked right over to her and introduced himself, "I'm Happy, the Catmander."

She bent down and shook his small paw, "I'm Lucy. It's nice to meet you."

Looking up she saw that the pinkett was grinning again. That's when she noticed his sharper than usual canine teeth. Those look painful.

He walked over to her, but instead of trying to shake her hand, like she was expecting, he moved to hug her, inhaling deeply at her neck. A small thrill went through her, a touch of arousal surged in her. It didn't make anything sense to her, she'd been around plenty of men before, but none of them had ever made her feel like that.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

He didn't answer, didn't pull back, but he did mumble some things under his breath, "I thought so, you are the one."

"What am I?" she asked, barely audible, but he heard just fine.

He pulled back and looked in her eyes, "My mate."

Lucy's breath started to come in quick, shallow pants. She knew exactly what that meant, and was not prepared to deal with it, so she did the only thing she could think of, she ran.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, but it's late and I have to go," with those words she was gone.

Natsu watched the blonde run up a sight of stairs, so stunned he wasn't able to move. Why would she run from me? Happy came and patted him on the leg.

"It's not you, ya know," a voice said from the door that Kendra had gone through earlier. He turned to see the woman leaning on the door frame. "She's had to deal with a lot of shit heads sent by her father. I don't think she's ever known a decent man, so you showing up here saying that she's your mate, it's hard for her to believe you might actually be interested in her."

She walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, in her other hand she had a bag kind of like the type he usually took on jobs. It smelled like Lucy.

"Take this and go get her, camp out tonight and try to get to know each other. Then take her to Fairy Tail, you've only got a week to get settled before you'll be dealing with your season, so use it well," with a final nod, she walked away.

Not bothering to stop and think about what he was about to do, Natsu threw the pack onto his back and headed up the stairs. Lucy's scent filled the hall, but he could still figure out where she was. It didn't take him long to find her room.

He could hear her pacing, her breathing and heart rate faster than he liked. It sounded like she was on her way to full blown hysterics.

Natsu opened her door as quietly as possible, catching her when she sped right into him. They fell to the ground, he made sure that she wouldn't be hurt.

"Oh my God! What are you doing in here? I thought you'd be gone by now," she moved off him, then helped him back up.

He grinned down at her, "Of course I'm still here. You're my mate and I'm not leaving here without you."

She floundered at that and he thought she looked really cute, which was a little strange since he never thought anyone was cute before.

"L-look, I think you should probably go, I can't think right now, and you being here isn't helping matters." She turned away from him again, probably expecting him to leave, but he wouldn't do that. In fact her trying to send him away again set him off.

He felt flames lighting up his pants, it caught on the carpet but was snuffed out. Alarms rang out and Lucy turned to look at him. The second she turned his way, Natsu grabbed her up bridal style and headed down and out.

She tried to talk him down, but he wasn't listening, at least to her. There was a stream not too far off and that's where they were heading. He'd camped out there before and the night was perfect for stargazing. Natsu figured it would be a great place to talk.

"You know, I can walk," he looked down at her, gauging her expression. She didn't look scared and the only thing he could smell on her was excitement, so he let her down, but he didn't slow his pace.

Lucy kept up with him no problem and they made it to the clearing in under twenty minutes. She took the pack and told him to make a fire. He smiled at the command and got to work.

It took less than five minutes to get the fire going. He was surprised to see that she'd had the rest of the camp set up. There was one sleeping bag and a couple of blankets, with a thin mat under them.

Looks like I'm on the ground tonight.

She sat on the mat and patted the seat next to her. Happy went over without hesitation, but Natsu held back a little. He didn't want to rush anymore than he already had.

"Come on, I don't bite."

He finally made his move and took his seat. "Let's talk."