Once upon a time... Since you were a little girl these are the four words that have been inhabiting the books that you've read. Once upon a time... The words that starts off a tale of romance, danger, suspense, bravery. Books that are filled with knights in shining armor that against all odds save the princess with their acts of selflessness and bravery. The ones that all the little girls dream about at night, being a princess in a far away land and having a handsome prince come and sweep you off your feet after killing the dangerous fire breathing dragon that guarded the stone tower you were kept prisoner in. Of course once you reach a certain age you throw away all of those 'children books' and pretend that you never wished or dreamed of such a thing.
You realize that such things are childish and that tales of beautiful princesses and knights braver then lions are unrealistic. But what if I told you that there is a story that you have never heard of before? Would you still act like such fairy tales are immature or would you listen to the story that has never been told? A story that is in many ways different then the books that your mother read to you before you went to bed but at the same time familiar in such a nostalgic way. And just like those books that you read as a child, our story starts with those same four words...
Once upon a time in a far away kingdom called Magnolia lived a beautiful princess named Lucy. Lucy was the only daughter of the powerful king that ruled the vast kingdom, Jude Heartfilia and was destined to marry the neighboring kingdoms heir to the throne, Dan Straight, a bright, handsome young man who loved the princess with all of his heart. To be able to have Lucy's hand in marriage King Jude gave Prince Dan the task of slaying the nearby dragon that lived in the Kingdoms land and terrorized the kingdoms villages. Prince Dan was more then ready to take down the dangerous dragon so that he could finally be able to marry the person he loved. Unknowing to him though, Princess Lucy did not reciprocate the Prince's feelings and in fact had already fallen in love with someone else.
When Lucy's mother, Queen Layla, passed three years earlier, King Jude locked Lucy up in the castle and would not let her outside because he was afraid of Lucy dying just like his late wife. So not only was Princess Lucy missing her mother but she was also deprived of sunlight, fresh air, and human contact. During this time a dragon was flying through the skies of Magnolia and because of his enhanced hearing he could make out the crying sobs of the princess. This particular dragon was very interested in the human race and did not attack or hurt the humans so when he heard the cries of the princess he was very curious. T
The dragon flew towards the sound of cries and landed besides the tower where Princess Lucy was being kept. He peered through the only window and stared at the depressed princess who had been sobbing against her bed. Lucy slowly looked up at the dragon who's eyes were fixated on her. At first the princess was terrified of the huge dragon outside of her tower and backed away to the farthest spot in her room. The dragon could see the fear in her eyes so he flew off into the sky, but the dragon could not stop thinking about the beautiful human girl who's cries filled the sky he flew in. So every day for a month the dragon kept on returning to the princess's tower and watching her. Each day that the dragon returned the princess grew more and more comfortable around it and she eventually came out of the corner and slowly walked up to the huge dragon. She reached out her shaking hand to the dragons face and cautiously touched his rough skin. The dragon who had never been touched by a human before was surprised at first but then leaned into her hand. Her touch made his whole body course with energy and put him to ease at the same time.
In the few days after that Princess Lucy would stroke the dragons face when he arrived and then she would read to him all of her favorite books that her mother read to her as a child. One day when she got to the part where the knight killed the dragon she got quiet and shut the book. The dragon looked at her curiously, wondering why she had stopped. When the princess rose her head the dragon saw the tears that were flowing down her face.
"Why must the dragon always die in the end? Can the dragon never be good? Can the dragon never have a happy ending like the rest of us?"
For the first time in his life the dragon felt the warmest sensation spread throughout his body. He had never felt anything like it before, but he knew that the reason for this strange warm feeling was the princess that was crying in front of him. No one had ever though about the dragon before and what the dragon was really like. It was the first time that someone had ever cried for him.
The princess stood up and walked over to the dragon before throwing her tiny arms around the dragon. Her tears dropped unto the dragons skin as she pushed her face into his neck. For a second time that day the dragon experienced something that was new to him, tears. He could feel something welling up in his own large eyes and slide down his face and unto the princess's shining blonde hair. As the princess started to pull away the dragon was engulfed into a mist not allowing her to see him. After a few moments though the mist cleared and it revealed a handsome teenage boy with pink spiky hair and onyx eyes. The boy smiled at the astounded princess.
"My name is Natsu." He said.
"Natsu... are you the dragon that has been visiting me every day?"
"Yes, I am." He replied.
"Then how are you in this form?"
"I have this body because every year I am allowed to turn into a human for one day." He replied.
Lucy seemed to process everything in her mind before looking up at the dragon turned human. Slowly she smiled at the dragon/human named Natsu.
"Welcome to my tower Natsu. My name is Lucy."
"I know." He smiled.
That day and night Princess Lucy and the dragon Natsu talked about everything and anything that they could think of. Their life stories, their fears, their hopes and dreams, everything. It was the most talking that each of them had done in a very long time and it made both of them feel not so lonely anymore. But the hours were passing by fast and as dawn drew closer they knew that soon they would not be able to talk like this anymore. After one long silence Natsu drew closer to Lucy and wrapped his arms around her pulling her close to his body.
"Thank you Lucy, you taught me what it was like to be a human and have human emotion. You were the first person to ever care about the dragon and I will never forget that."
"Why are you talking as if this is the last time we will meet? You can still come to my tower whenever you would like. Natsu, ever since you first started visiting me the loneliness in my heart has disappeared. Please continue visiting me, I don't know what I would do without you anymore."
Natsu could feel the tears starting to fall again from Lucy's eyes and he hugged her even tighter. Right then the light of dawn reached into the room and Natsu's body started to glow. He softly pushed Lucy off of his body and stepped up onto the window sill. And before he jumped out he smiled at the princess.
"I will always be with you Lucy."
Lucy ran to look out the window and sighed in relief as she saw Natsu in his dragon form starting to fly off into the sky. Unknowingly to the princess and her dragon but, today was the day where Prince Dan Straight was going to kill the dragon that had kept appearing on the kingdoms grounds for Lucy's hand in marriage. So as the princess was watching the dragon fly off something flew up into the sky and hit the dragon in its wing causing the dragon to crash to the grown. The princess was completely shocked and adrenaline kicked in as she stepped onto the window sill then scaled the tower using the ivy that had grown there over the years. When the princess got to the scene of the fight though it was to late. Natsu's eyes caught hers as the tip of Dan Straight's spear plunged into his stomach. Lucy gasped as she ran over to the dragon and threw her small body onto his large one. Sobbs racked her body but she faught through the tears and climbed over to Natsu's face. She stroked his face just as she had done a thousand times and whispered the ending to a story where the princess and the dragon lived happily ever after. As the dragons breaths started getting slower and longer she bent down and pressed her lips to his forehead then smiled through her tears and she looked into her dragons eyes for the last time. She could see the tears forming in the dragons eyes and the smile that reached his eyes. Just like how a princess would fall asleep the dragon blinked a few times and then closed his eyes. But Lucy could tell what Natsu had wanted to tell her in those last minutes because its exactly what she said to him through their eyes.
"I love you."
After watching the heartbreaking scene between the dragon and the princess the Dan Straight left the Kingdom of Magnolia and left never returning for the guilt of killing someone who the princess loved was to much. King Jude was furious that his daughter fell in love with a dragon and locked the princess up in her room for the rest of her days. But to Princess Lucy the lonliness that she had once felt did not consume her because she knew that there was a dragon watching her from where he flew in the eternal sky and that one day that dragon would come down from the skies and carry her with him to that endless deep blue sky.
The End
That is the story of the princess and the dragon. Two people who were never meant to meet but surprised us all with their undying love. Next time you read a story of sacrifice, love, and courage remember the princess and the dragon. Remember their story and tell your friends because if the story of the princess and the dragon are forgotten then their story ends and the dragon will be forevermore looked upon as a evil creature and not a creature that just wanted to keep the princess safe and loved the princess with all of its heart. So remember and never forget the tale of the princess and her dragon.