Reversed Sleeping Beauty AU- First chapter was posted a week ago on tumblr and made enough notes for me to decide to make it a full blown story. Updates for other stories coming soon!
"Give him a kiss, Lucy- wake the stone guy up!"
"Excuse me? Why don't YOU give him a kiss, huh?"
It was a legitimate question, one that made Gray Fullbuster, friend and coworker to Lucy Heartfilia, grimace, gaze turning back through the old relic of a room as he strove to find some apt response that didn't result in more teasing. His first dare had been a joke, considering their predicament. Why did she have to go and make it awkward? "- cause the Fairy Tale doesn't account for same-sex romance and I ain't looking for that kinda thing, am I?"
"Oh, and I am?" Lucy, exasperated, though her smile said others wise, couldn't hold back her amused laugh. It was dreadfully hot that day and the rotted ceiling was giving just enough space for the light to hit them to make her consider diving into the nearest creek. Fanning herself, she continued,"Seriously, we don't know how long that statue has been here, I'm not putting my lips anywhere near that thing!"
That brought their attention back towards the object of their conversation as Gray tilted his head, slightly baffled. "Yeah, are we sure it's a statue? Seems a little weird to put some stone carving into a perfectly good-" one quick glance of the rotted, decayed wood frame and moth-eaten mattress made Gray quickly amend himself, "- used to be good, bed."
"Well, I doubt a sleeping guy would look so frozen in place, and a dead one would be…" Lucy grimaced, stepped further into the room with careful steps in case the stone floor had become weakened by time, "- … a skeleton by now." Which would have been extremely gross, she had to thank her luck that the entire crew hadn't come across any through their current expedition. Her voice trailed off, not noticing if Gray had responded, eyes exploring the rest of the room in interest.
"Is it just me- or is this decaying castle not so decaying?" Even she felt the question was stupid. She could smell the mold and grime of the old bed and mattress from a distance and the forest surrounding the structure had done it's best to grow and take over what was left of it. "Like- it's obviously an old relic, but it hasn't actually gone so far as it should for the time it's been sitting out here?"
A few seconds of silence passed and she wondered if Gray had simply left her alone in the room. The thought caused a nervous chill to tingle up her spine while she quickly cast her eyes back towards the broken, petrified door. Relief flooded through her when his gaze met hers, and the man shrugged.
"I was thinking the same thing," He mumbled, scratching the back of his neck in thought, "Wanna keep looking around here while I check on the others? If there's an empty room near by, we can probably set up a base there."
Lucy waved him off, "Just as long as there's no chance the floor or roof will cave in on us, sure- would be better than outside at any rate. I'll be fine here."
Her friend's noncommittal reply was all she needed before resuming her exploration of the room- saving the stone elephant in it for last. It was obviously the main attraction, which meant proper study of the room was essential before getting herself distracted by the so-called sleeping beauty at its center. Gray's footsteps tapering off joined her own tip-toes as she slowly made her way around roots, debris and other brambles, towards the open window of what used to be artistically styled stained glass.
Much like the rest of the room- the window had been breached by the elements, and what pieces were left of it were faded from all its previous glory. It matched the rest of the Castle she and her Colleagues had ventured to weeks ago- a strange combination of decayed and sturdy that by all rights, wasn't normal. For 500 years and still standing, it was structurally sound in the most obscure of fashions. It left a surreal charge to the air that tickled on the back of her neck that brought a curious thought into her mind, could magic be real?
A day ago, she would have said no, but the castle was breaking through all her long-held beliefs. Her team often studied and explored recently discovered ruins- gathering old relics for study in the hopes of preserving the history of her country. A castle of this size should have been one of the first out of many to be discovered through the generations- or at least well known in the general area, but the sudden rumors that sprung up months ago spoke of new events. Nothing Lucy had heard or gathered spoke of a known ruin or Kingdom of old. It was, as if, the entire place faded into existence, towering over the forest.
Sprung out of the mists, one of the locals had said. Lucy had been far too excited to explore it's depths when the job had come to her desk. Her crew, all interested in seeing the ruin for different reasons, had been easy enough to gather together. - but the moment they had come across the grounds, it had been obvious they were looking at a historic marvel.
'Straight out of a Fairy Tale.' Lucy had meant to keep the thoughts to herself, but the words had come out in her awe at the sight, and the rest of her team readily agreed, immediately setting off to explore the massive Fortress. The hired excavation team would be quite disappointed at the lack of dilapidation they would have to dig through.
Lucy found it a beautiful miracle that sat within her chest like a gift, and she took in the sights through the window as if she were seeing the view of the forest for the very first time. Brown eyes closing as she imagined what the view must have looked like ages ago, when the Castle was in its prime and was constantly bustling with courtiers, royals and nobles going about their day to day business.
The moment was ruined by the sounds of conversation echoing down the halls, pulling Lucy's mind back into the present as she turned back to face the rest of the room. Right, Gray was waiting on her to finish examining this space, wasn't he? Finding nothing else of importance - minus the intricate carvings on the old window frame- she finally turned her attention back to her supposed elephant.
The would be statue…
"Sleeping Beauty wasn't even a man-" She mumbled, thinking back towards Gray's earlier jibes towards kissing the figure. "-stupid."
Though, now that she kept her attention on it, she did notice just how, unlike a Statue the body truly was. A flush of pink along the skin, resembling the blood flow any human had on their cheeks, with wispy pink hair that seemed to rustle in the slight current of air in the room. Or was she seeing things? Lucy blinked and the moment was lost, with the hair looking as frozen in place as ever. Her eyes must have been seeing things.
"All right, let's see if I can figure out who you are." Advancing towards the former opulent bed, the surveyor was stunned to see the threads of the mattress were still tightly woven together- with pieces of old, festering goose down poking out in odd places. There was mold and grime, obviously- but it felt like the decay of only ten years, rather than the absolute amount of time this structure had been standing. "Five hundred years…. Whatever did they do with you?"
Perhaps it was strange for a woman to talk to nothing, but air, but Lucy found it helped her think, looming over the bed as she continued to look for further explanations. The Body was covered in the threadbare blanket- revealing bits and pieces of the legs and feet- covered in shoes. (Another reason to believe it a sculpture, who lays in bed with their shoes on?) Dust and cobwebs covered the entire thing, leaving the worst of musty smells- she almost coughed when a patch of dust flew into the air from her movements.
Her gaze, moving from the legs of the 'sleeping' figure- trailed up to its face. All things considered, if the man was based off of any real person, he certainly had been a looker from way back when. The circlet upon his brow spoke of his lineage and she considered the possibility of him being a representation towards a fallen son to whatever King had ruled the land.
"A memorial, then?" She wondered, while curious hands finally moved to touch the smooth cheeks of the figure- eyebrows raising in surprise at a sudden warmth she felt against her finger tips. "Was the sun beating down in here or something? Sheesh, you'd think sculpted stone would be colder, and how is this thing not even chipped anywhere? What master made you, huh?"
Whatever skills had been used to keep this figure in perfect form, Lucy could bet her paychecks that modern artists would love to know the secret. Unfortunately, much like the rest of the room, she couldn't find much else to explain why he was there. Pulling her hands back, she prepared to leave- intent to regroup with her team and return later with proper tools. A misstep, however, left the stone beneath her feet- pieces loose with gravel, slipping loose as the woman attempted to step back. Arms raised to regain balance, she waved them back and forth and tried to step again, only to over compensate, her second foot landing just right to slip over. "Wait, no, no, no- no-!"
A crash, thump and surprised shriek left dust and other moldy things, dancing into the air and Lucy's eyes watered, coughing and sneezing profusely in bursted as her body landed upon the mattresses' remains. Her body sank into the damp fabric, surprisingly not falling through, while her torso pressed against the upper half of her sleeping statue.
Eyes blinked- hands splayed out about the figures shoulders to keep herself above it, chest throbbing in the pain of her fall. Irony was a cruel mistress and through her coughing fit, Lucy laughed. Just inches away from her mouth was the tip of her sleeping man's nose. She'd almost done exactly as Gray had dared her to.
"Yup," She wheezed, "Still not wanting my lips anywhere near that. Ugh, I'm going to be sick." The smell was atrocious. A wave of nausea struck her as she struggled to push herself away, eyes catching against a glint of metal just beneath a fallen piece of the headboard. Freezing, she moved to brush the cobwebs away- nose scrunching as she held back a sneeze while her body screamed in protest, still against the hard figure that seemed frozen to time beneath her.
A name. The engraving, hidden from view, held only one hint, but it was enough to light a flame of hope in her chest. She could study a name! She could find information from that! Through books, old myths, stories, whatever she had to, a name was an open door! Eyes squinting, she struggled to make out the words and huffed,
"His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Natsu- what sort of King names their child Natsu?"
Apparently it wasn't just the castle that was strange..
Regrouping with the rest of her team took longer than necessary. Escaping the confines of the former, four-poster bed had led to the blonde historian shrieking for assistance. Her voice echoed down the halls for minutes before a couple of her team members finally came to retrieve her, laughing at the sight of her poised over the statue.
"Did you actually try to kiss it?" Gray had joked, smirking as her face flamed in indignation, snapping at him to help her out quickly before she threw a piece of the bed frame. He was more than happy to oblige, alongside their coworker Freed- who seemed as perplexed as he was amused by the entire spectacle.
"Certainly not what I had expected to see out of you Lucy-" He murmured as they both worked to pull her to safety. "You could have taken it out to eat first."
Lucy swore she was going to kick the both of them, but her violent threats went unheard as both men pulled her from the debris, helped her brush off the dust and cobwebs, and carefully lead her back towards their base of operations. It had taken them some time to decide on location- many preferring the safety of the outdoors over the aged castle. Others argued that staying within a building that seemed far more stable than it should have been was a once in a lifetime opportunity. And why not have extra coverage from the elements?
Especially if the weather took a turn for the worst. Sunny skies did not always ensure safe studies. In the end, they found a somewhat cleared out room on the upper floors- close to their sleeping statues, and right across from what looked to formerly be the castle library.
Another one of the surveyors, a short girl named Levy Mcgarden, had to be dragged from the area to keep from burying herself under old and dusty, long-forgotten tomes. 'We'll look at that later AFTER fully assessing the age and stability of this place!' The pout on her face was still there, even after Lucy returned, patting her on the shoulder with promises to explore the room together later.
"Look at this way," Lucy said, seating herself down to relax for the night as they all dug through their packs for snacks to eat. None were quite in the mood to pull out their travel grills for cooking just yet, but the pallets and makeshift tents set up for privacy were littered all over the former study. - At least, that's what they assumed it was for.- "We can finish setting up our communication desk and you can tell Jet and Droy all about it."
"But what if it's Warren who answers?" The smaller girl asked, frowning lightly, "I mean, he's nice and all, but I can't gush about the library to him like I do those two!"
Lucy had to hold back her laughter, assuring the other that there was no way her two best friends wouldn't be ready and waiting to hear from her. After all, they had taken the job just to keep an eye on her, hadn't they? The conversation dwindled to tired yawns and sleepy comments for excitement between the entire group. A small one, but a survey team wasn't meant to be large. They would save that for the excavation team.
As time passed and the night skies grew dark, leaving on the small lanterns and flashlights to be their light- the small team put off their work for the morning- all sleepily clamoring to their designated sleeping spots for the night. The castle had given them plenty to be excited for and many mysterious to uncover- and while Lucy's "statue" was still a main topic of conversation- their jabs about 'kissing the man awake' had finally died down as well.
Except, the moment Lucy found herself alone in her tent, listening to the sounds of wind howling through the broken roof and rafters of the castle and the groan of stone or scuttling of other creatures left her unable to think of anything else. Sleep was almost impossible to gain. Hearing the others rustle in their own places, she knew it would be the same for them.
"Come on guys-" She mumbled after a time, amused when she caught the sudden appearance of dim light appearing from both Freed and Levy's tents. "We can finish working in the morning."
"Why wait for what can be done right now?" Freed answered- though his light flickered just so as he positioned himself. "I'll rest soon- I'm contacting Evergreen and Bickslow before they worry themselves too much and come after me."
"Jet and Droy are texting me," Levy whispered back, much in the same boat, but the entire room could hear her guiltily close a book she had brought with her. "I wasn't doing anything else!"
Gray's exasperated sigh echoed from his own pallet, his body shifting under what little blankets he had brought as he mumbled, "We'll believe that the day pink prince down the hall wakes up."
Laughter, soft chuckles and giggles followed as Gray grew silent, succumbing to the sleep he wished for while Lucy curled up into her blankets, quietly wishing she had brought herself a book to read as well. (Perhaps she could borrow from Levy later-) Silence fell among them at a slow, steady pace until only the wind howling through broken crevices and the moon's soft glow illuminated their small tents and cots. It was a brightly lit sky, perfect for stargazing: magical.
As Lucy and Gray's soft breathing joined the night air, the surveyors seemed to finally calm down for the night. Right until the slight shifting of a book and it's pages being opened skittered its sounds into the open air and another, amused chuckle arose from Freed's tent.
"Go to sleep, Levy."
"You first."
For the two night owls, morning would come far too late. In fact, they both would miss it. Lucy met the morning with a quiet yawn, slight crick in her back, and a smile to greet the sun and it's multitude of colors just rising over the horizon. She had always been an early riser and expected Gray to be the next to join her once the stirrings of hunger struck him. Until then, she had the morning all to herself- stretching as she rolled up her blankets, humming softly when she pulled out her small pack of toiletries and began the process of brushing her teeth and fixing her golden hair into a quick and easy ponytail.
She winced when a few items clattered to the stone floor, but breathed in relief when the others did not rise from the slumber. Forgoing makeup, deciding to work with it later if the summer heat wasn't too glaring, Lucy maneuvered her way through their makeshift camp- picking up fallen items, taking care of all morning duties- and finally pulling out their travel grills.
They hadn't cooked last night, but she knew it was near impossible to awake in a bad mood when pancakes, eggs and bacon were the smells of the morning. Casting a sneaky glance back towards the other three tents, she ticked off the ways each of her companions preferred their morning meals and got to work.
Minutes passed by and soon the sizzle of grease and sweetened bread filled the air. Lucy wasn't the greatest cook by any means, but she certainly new how to work a simple breakfast. Even her own stomach gurgled in complaint towards it emptiness, impatient for the meal she was preparing. It was calm and peaceful: quiet- and she considered having her meal while the others slept. If they refused to wake when she was done, that meant more for her after all. Every man for themself!
Except, so in tune with her own humming and focused on her task- Lucy's attention missed a few things. The strange rumbling through the castle- shimmering light suddenly running along the walls like a wave of reflected water- a shift in the atmosphere as if something in the universe had changed. She took no mind to these things, the view from her peripherals merely noting that the morning sun reflected strangely on the walls and nothing more.
Even the sound of feet tapping against the floor, shuffling in movement as they approached the room, went below her notice. Animals rustling from their nests and little homes made throughout the castle, no doubt. They wouldn't come so close to humans, so why should she worry? Her hum rose in volume, finishing the last of her pancakes - piling them on a nearby plate- and beginning to finish with the eggs.
A shadow, larger than an animal, cast itself slightly into the room, faded, but noticeable enough for her eyebrow to quirk. Had Gray woken after all? "- it'll be done in just a few minutes, you don't have to get up yet.-" She began- but the reply she heard in turn was not the gruff voice of a sleep-addled Gray.
"Kitchen maids cooking in the upper wings is unheard of: what are you doing? And why wasn't I roused earlier?" The voice that reverberated through the walls was hoarse from sleep, lilted with an accent Lucy couldn't place and her body froze within a second, then melted into action within three more.
Whirling her head faster enough to gain whiplash, the air in her lungs dissipated as quickly as she inhaled- brown eyes landing on Dark Hues and messy, pink hair. His body looked less like stone, far more tinged in pink and life while he stood in the broken entryway, brows crinkled in curious wonder while his nose twitched. He barely seemed to realize the state of his own quarters, gaze shifting from her and towards the plate of pancakes held off to her right.
"What's wrong with you, maid?" The man who should have been stone, spoke out- rough voice growing gruffer, "Aren't you going to offer food to your liege? I feel I haven't ate in decades and that smells like heaven. Well?"
Food. He wanted food.
Lucy screamed.
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