Rescuing a princess
It was dark. Night had fallen, and the stars were out. Princess Lucy sat in front of her vanity in her pyjamas, in a turret of her Father's castle.
All things considered, Lucy thought as she stared at her reflection, she supposed she didn't have a bad life. The glass showed her brushed out, golden locks and a pretty face. She winked at herself, gave a sexy pout and then stuck out her tongue. It made the corners of her mouth twitch in a private smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. Her eyes, she decided, were traitors. They gave far too much away. How was she supposed to pretend she was happy when they glared at her accusingly like that?
She huffed and rested her chin in her hand. The room behind her, in the reflection, was fit for a princess. All four poster beds, plush carpets, and wardrobes overflowing with silken dresses. Decadent. Spoilt. They were all bribes, buying her silence over an absent father, keeping her materially happy so she wouldn't notice the emotional absence. There were only a few items in the room that Lucy truly cared for, even if she did enjoy wearing the dresses. Her fingers reached out and lightly traced the first of seven keys that lay on her desk. It was cool to the touch and thrummed with a low buzz of power. Magic. Her magic. Her secret. She let her skin dance over the ornate curves of each, learning their feel, whispering their names. She looked at her reflection again and glared. Had her father really believed he could keep her locked up forever? Unaware of the world? She was going to leave, and these items of magic were going to help her…once she got out of here of course.
"Tallest bloody room in the tallest bloody tower," Lucy muttered to herself. "Where is a dragon when you need one?"
She stared at her reflection again, suddenly intense and got up close to the glass. Was that a spot?
"Sweet digs you've got here."
"Aye!"
Lucy shrieked and jerked back from the glass, twisting to face the spiky pink-haired youth sitting on the window seat. A blue-winged cat perched next to him.
"Who the hell are you?" she bellowed scarily. "You can't just go sneaking into people's bedrooms like that!"
The two intruders flinched a little at her shouting and cowered back.
"I thought you said this would be an easy job," the pink-haired youth muttered to the cat.
"Only if she were asleep," the cat responded in a stage whisper.
"What job?" Lucy snapped and automatically closed her hand over a key. "You here to steal something?"
"Actually, yeah," the intruder grinned, ignoring her look of fury. "A princess."
She gave a small start, face emptying of anger.
The cat flew up into his face. "Natsu! You aren't supposed to tell her that!"
"Really?" he looked bewildered a moment. "Why not?"
The cat gave a frantic gesture. "If she doesn't want to be stolen she might call the guards."
Natsu's eyes tracked past the cat and met Lucy's wide, startled ones.
"You mean, she's the Princess?"
Lucy felt a stab of annoyance boil instantly to her head.
"What do you mean, 'She's the Princess'?" she shouted angrily.
"I dunno Happy," he said, ignoring her. "I guess I was expecting a princess to, you-know, be wearing a pink dress and be all simpery and stuff."
The cat floated next to Natsu and nodded sagely. "She does make an awful lot of noise for a princess. You're probably right."
Lucy fumed.
"I am the Princess, you stupid cat!"
Happy looked wounded. "Hey! He's the one who doesn't think you're a princess. I got the right room."
Lucy sat back down and rubbed at her head.
"Why are you here to steal me?" she eventually asked wearily.
Natsu and Happy looked at each other.
"We're responding to a request." Natsu dug in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "Says here that a princess needs kidnapping. There's a reward."
Lucy felt her pulse throb in frustration and tried not to scowl.
"Can't you read?"
"Huh?"
She marched over and snatched the request out of his hands, pointing violently at a line of text.
"It says here that a Dragon is needed to kidnap a princess."
Natsu and Happy peered at the paper.
"So it does," Natsu murmured and looked at Happy accusingly. Happy's eyes wobbled with tears.
"I'm sorry. I guess I just thought that it said dragon, and you're a Dragon Slayer, so I didn't read any further."
Lucy was standing in shock, staring at Natsu. He was a Dragon Slayer? They were powerful wizards.
Natsu sighed and shrugged. "Never mind Happy." He cast a cursory glance at Lucy. "Sorry to disturb your evening." He stepped back towards the window as though to leave.
Lucy came out of her shock and gave a little gasp.
"No, wait!" She dived forwards and grabbed the sleeve of the would-be kidnapper. "Take me with you. I'll give you the reward."
"What?" Natsu was frowning in bewilderment. Lucy pointed at the request again.
"This. I wrote it. Its my request." She straightened up. "I need you to get me out of here."
Natsu was staring at her like she was crazy. Happy just came right out and said it.
"She's weird."
"Shut your face, cat!" she snapped, making the blue creature cower.
"Please," she said to Natsu again. "I can make it on my own once I'm out of here, but I need help getting out."
Natsu rested a hand on the back of his head.
"Why do you want to leave? I would have thought it was a cushy deal being a princess n'all."
Lucy clenched her hands into fists and looked away, teeth gritted. "Nobody gets it!"
"Try me," Natsu challenged.
Lucy squeezed her eyes shut. "Being a princess is a job you don't get to choose. You have to look a certain way, and do certain things. I have to wear pink and simper and do sewing." She swung her eyes back up to Natsu's, passion making them dance. "I hate pink. I'm rubbish at sewing. Do you know what I want to do?" She stalked back to her desk and scooped up the keys, suddenly gentle, voice softening as she gazed at them. "I want to join a guild and be a wizard."
"You're a celestial wizard?" Natsu gaped. Lucy twitched and put a finger to her lips out of habit.
"Shush. No one is supposed to know." She grimaced. "It isn't Princess-like behaviour to be cavorting with spirits. My father made that quite clear."
Natsu and Happy exchanged a meaningful glance.
"Well, you're not like any princess I've ever met, which probably means this isn't where you belong." Hope flared in her chest. "You must be pretty miserable here. We'll get you out."
"Thank you!" she gasped and grabbed him in a hug that brought colour to his cheeks before she abruptly let go and zipped around her room.
She disappeared into a bathroom and emerged minutes later fully dressed in a short blue skirt and a sleeveless shirt.
"Dresses can be for special occasions only," she said with a wink.
She gave a quick tug at something under her bed and a pre-packed duffel emerged.
"Wow!" Natsu commented. "You weren't kidding about wanting out of here."
Lucy went quiet for a moment, the smile disappearing from her face as she fastened the keys to her belt.
"No. I've been very unhappy here. This has been a long time in coming."
Natsu examined the bag and blinked back. Startled.
"How long…?"
Lucy tugged the duffel over a shoulder, out of his reach, and tried to shrug carelessly. "Since I was ten."
Natsu glanced at Happy again, unspoken communication passing between them. The cat nodded.
"We're Fairy Tail. If you want to, once we're outta here, we can take you there. You could join…"
Lucy blinked back sudden tears. "Really?"
Natsu grinned. "Sure."
"Let's get out of here then," she returned his grin and marched to the window.
"Whoa!" he halted her with an arm. "Where are you going?" She pointed at the window and Natsu shook his head. "Happy can't take us both."
"Then what…?" she trailed off at the slightly manic edge to Natsu's grin.
"The door."
"What?" she exclaimed.
"Hey, you're paying a Dragon to kidnap you," he grinned, and she leapt back as his hands burst into flames. "Let's make them think that's exactly what's happening."
With that Natsu blew the door out of the wall and Lucy felt the first taste of freedom – tainted as it was by smoke, and the uneasy sensation that he maybe hadn't needed to use quite that much force.
Instead she laughed,
"Let's get out of here."