"Tell me a bedtime story, mommy!"
"It's late, sweetie. You should focus on getting some rest."
"Pretty please?!"
The weary woman sighed and stroked her daughter's bright red hair. "Ok. Ok." She pulled the covers over the girl. "But you have to promise to go to sleep right after. Can you do that for me?"
The child nodded happily. "I promise!"
"Then when have are in agreement."
"Yay!"
The mother thought for a moment of what story she could tell. After a few seconds she cleared her throat and began.
"Once upon a time there lived a boy who raised by a ferocious dragon. Orphaned at a young age, the boy was placed in the care of the dragon by his elder brother."
"Why didn't his brother keep him?" the child asked.
"Because he was cursed."
"Cursed?"
"Yes. A vengeful god placed a curse on the young man that made it impossible for him to come in contact with any living thing, for fear that he would kill it. That included his younger brother."
The child frowned. "That's really sad."
"The dragon raised and nurtured the boy for many years; teaching him how to read and to write. He also taught the boy how to control fire."
"Wow." The child gasped.
"The boy was happy, but that joy was abruptly cut short for an evil dragon with scales as black as night was roaming the land. It destroyed everything in its path, man and dragon alike."
The child pulled the blanket over the bottom half of her face. "Did the boy and the dragon get away?"
"They did. The boy's older brother and a young woman with unimaginable used a magical gate to whisked the boy, his dragon, and others like them far, far away to escape the clutches of the evil dragon. However when the boy arrived in this new place, he realized his dragon father had gone missing."
"What happened to him?"
The woman shushed her daughter. "Don't be overeager, honey. You'll ruin the story." The child quickly covered her mouth and her mother continued.
"The boy searched far and wide, but no matter where he looked he couldn't find the dragon anywhere. Lost and alone, the boy eventually found a new place to call home. A magic guild by the name of Fairy Tail."
The child's eyes widened. "Fairy Tail?! Is it the same one that's here?"
Her mother nodded. "Something like that. The boy met a lot of strange new people in this guild: a trio of siblings who could shapeshift into animals and demons, a girl who could tell the future using cards, an old man who could grow one hundred feet tall, and a boy who could control ice but had a peculiar habit of taking his clothes off."
The child laughed.
"However even with all of these new people, there was one person in particular that caught the boy's eye. She was a couple of years older than him, but her demeanor made her seem much more mature for her age. She had long red hair, piercing brown eyes, and wore armor wherever she went. Actually she kind of looked like you." The woman poked her daughter's nose and the girl giggled.
"Why did she wear armor, mommy?" she asked.
"To protect herself."
"From what? Wasn't she safe in the guild?"
"She was, but the armor was not for physical injuries but emotional ones. When the girl was very young, she was forced into slavery by a group of evil men who worshipped a false god. For years she toiled and worked inside a stuffy tower, hoping for the day that she would be free. Eventually she got her wish, but at a great cost."
"What cost?"
Her mother paused for a moment. "That is a story for another time."
The child pouted. "That's not fair."
"Perhaps, but I only have time for one story. May I continue?" Her daughter nodded – though her lips were still pursed. "Thank you."
"When the boy and the girl first met, they didn't like each other very much. The boy would always start fights and break things in the guild, and she would always have to stop him. She thought he was obnoxious, and he thought she was scary.
Despite this, the rivalry between the pair eventually formed into a friendship. Over the years the two would go on numerous adventures together, meeting new friends along the way. A talkative blue cat, a girl that could summon spirits from another world, a young girl that – like the boy – was also raised by a dragon along with her own talking cat, and hundreds of others. The boy even reunited with his dragon father and his older brother.
Through all of this the friendship between the boy and the girl slowly blossomed into love. Under a starry night much like this one, the boy confessed his feelings to the girl. She graciously accepted them with a tear in her eye. Eventually the two were married, and had a child of her own."
The woman stood up from the bed. "That's enough for tonight. Time for bed."
"What? Really? I want to hear more."
"I'll tell you more tomorrow night." Her mother reassured. She bent over and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Now get some rest. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow."
"Ok." The child accepted. "Goodnight, mommy."
"Goodnight, honey."
Erza slowly closed the door to her daughter's room. When she walked to the kitchen she saw Natsu and Happy both sleeping on the table. She moved over to them and kissed Natsu on the cheek.
"Our story isn't over just yet."
It's a been awhile since I've done anything strictly Natza-centric, and it just happened to work out that this week is in fact Natza week! I was honestly surprised that the ship had it's own week, but I'm grateful for it. I'm also a day behind haha.
To be honest I'm not on hundred percent satisfied with this (drabbles were never my strong suit), I kind of wrote/typed it on the fly but on the whole it came out somewhat coherent.
As always leave a comment/review letting me know what you think! Thanks for reading :D Happy Natza Week!