Chapter Two: The Game

It was another great day in Magnolia, the air was crispy with a nice gusting of winds; it was fresh and cool. There was a lot of kids playing outdoors. And there were many children playing at the playgrounds.

Natsu and a group of his friends were running around the park playing tag or any fun games to their liking. They took turns selecting what game they should play next. They played a variety of different fun games which involved a good exercise for their physical body. Most of them involved running a lot! Basketball, Baseball, Football, Soccer, Tag, and etc. There was Gray, Sting, Rogue, and Gajeel once again with him.

Lucy was under the tall slides with her group of friends; Yukino, Cana, Levy, and Juvia. She was in deep thought at the moment. Thinking what suitable game that she and the girls could all play together. It was her turn to think of one this time. The girls were patiently waiting as they exchanged conversation with one another. "Oh I know!" Lucy exclaimed as she finally thought of an idea.

"Why don't we play princesses?" Lucy asked the girls. They all nodded their head. "Sounds like fun." Levy smiled with glee. "How do we play?" asked Yukino. They all focus their attention on the blonde as she gave them a brief explanation.

"Well pretty much we pretend to be princesses from a royal family of course…" she sheepishly chuckled, "We have our own titles and we are trying to run away from the bad guys!"

"Who are the bad guys?" Juvia raised her hand. "Yea!" Cana said. A sweat drop came running down their cheeks when Lucy shrug as her response to them. But now that they had an idea of how the game goes, they predicted that they were running away from an invisible crazy mobs chasing after them.

Lucy pretend that there was people coming after them close by, "Eek!" she screamed, "Come on guys! We have to escape immediately! We can't be caught or else we would be held captive!" Lucy ran out from under the slides and began to make her way over to the small stairs of the playground that will lead her to the bridge. "Quickly, we must cross over to the other side of the volcano!" she motioned her hands at them. As they all followed her lead.

"Oh no, hurry up guys!" Yukino said a worrisome face. She was now at the front leading the way. With Cana following behind, "We need to hurry up!"

Levy pretend she was afraid of heights and dramatically made a scene, "Eeek! This is far too scary for me to go across!"

"Don't look down Levy! You could do it! This is for our safety!" Juvia reminded her.

Then suddenly Lucy let out a loud scream, making everyone in the playground snap their attention towards her. "NOOO!" she yelled out, she made it looked like someone was grabbing a hold of her. "They caught me! You guys have to go on without me!" Lucy said full of emotions.

"LUCY! NO!" The girls simultaneously shouted in vain.

"Go to the slide! The boat will be there soon to your rescue! Go now!" Lucy ordered.

From a few feet away Natsu and the boys' were watching everything. They were wondering what the girls were up to this time. "What the heck are they doing?" Gray snorted holding the basketball in his hands.

"Why are girls so weird?" Sting wrap one arm around him and scratch his head with the other. "Beats me." Rogue shrugged, "I never really understand how they function at all."

"I seriously think their just drama queens." Gajeel groaned, rolling his eyes.

Natsu then called out to Lucy, "Hey Lucy!" he shouted out, with his hands on both side of his face. The blonde girl turned her head towards him, "What're you playing?" he asked filled with curiosity.

"Princesses!" she responded back.

The boys' had a grimace look. Of course they would play a game like that they were girls! What a dumb question to ask Natsu… But if Natsu haven't asked, they would have thought they were finally going insane. Since they were making a big ruckus of someone following and trying to capture them alive. When clearly there wasn't anyone playing that role!

Natsu made a big grin, "Let me play!" he insisted. "Since you are the princess I am the dragon! And every princesses needs a dragon!" he walked away from the boys who was taken by surprise that Natsu was ditching them to join the girls.

"Not all princesses needs a dragon, Natsu!" Lucy protested. "We were doing fine by our own."

"Fine by your own? You look like a lunatic earlier!" Natsu boldly admitted to her. "Come on, let me be the fire dragon!" he came closer to the bridge and looked up at her.

"I am not a lunatic Natsu! We were just playing!" she grumbled, "And I don't know how things will work out. Besides, I am the princess who could handle herself." Lucy placed her hands on her chest.

"And I am the fire dragon who you can't handle by yourself! Since I am after you!" Natsu smiled. "It'll make sense, so people don't think you are going bonkers!" he pointed out to the people who were staring at her.

Lucy's annoyance was arousing, despite the fact that Natsu was involving dragons into her game, it was changing the whole setting in the story. "Okay, but, I am not the only princess here, so are they!" Lucy pointed to the girls.

The boys' walked up behind Natsu, they all decided to join in with the fun. "My pals, could join as well." Natsu pointed his thumb at them. "Doesn't seem like there will be a problem now."

"I'll be the iron dragon!" Gajeel snickered.

"The light dragon!" Sting raised his hands.

"Dark… shadow… dragon…?" said Rogue.

"I guess I could be the prince?" Gray frowned thinking about what role he should be. Juvia quickly jumped in, "Gray-sama, be Juvia's prince!" she squealed with joy.

"You aren't going to pretend you are the ice dragon, Gray?" Levy asked.

"I don't know. I don't like the idea of being a dragon like they are." Gray stated. Everyone suddenly shouted out Gray's name in unison. He jolt, completely startled by the sudden ruckus. "W-what?!" he stuttered. He wasn't sure if he had offended his friends but he wasn't sure why the girls were also screaming at him. He notice the girls' blushing or looking away. But Juvia couldn't kept her eyes away from him. The boys groaned, turning their heads to the other direction.

"Put your clothes back on you stupid ice block!" Natsu snapped at him. "Who could handle a pervert prince like you?!"

Everyone, excluding Gray and Natsu, eyeballed Juvia. Her face was flustered with a bright shaded color of red, her eyes were sparkling brightly when she caught the scene of Gray stripping in front of her.

Apparently Juvia could handle a prince like that they all thought. Gray just smirked and shrug his shoulders. "I guess they just have to be cool about it, with a guy like me." Said Gray.

"Juvia is definitely cool with it, honestly!" she raised her hands not afraid to admit it.

After Gray found his missing clothes lingering around somewhere in the playgrounds, the two groups started to play the new setting of the game. Gray being the cool, stripper prince, protecting the girls' and the other boys' as the dragons chasing after them.

"Alright Gray! Give me back Lucy! She is my princess!" Natsu chased after the ice mage. Right behind him was Gajeel; he was trying to decide which girl he should take to make as his prisoner. While he was running, he glimpse over at the shorter bluenette. He thought that she was more fragile and sensitive looking, making him come to a conclusion that she was more suitable for his kind of ideal princess. "Give me the shorty over there! She's my slave!" Gajeel shouted at him.

"Say what?! I never agreed to that!" Levy gawked. "Be quiet you little peasant! Since I am the dragon you'll take orders from me!" Gajeel snapped at her. The short bluentte grumbled, her expression easily showed that she was upset of what position she had under Gajeel's case. But half-heartedly she was pretty happy that Gajeel decided to make her as his princess in distress.

"Gray, give Yukino to us!" Sting demanded. Gray turned his back as he ran, "What do you mean 'us'?!'

Rogue was running by Sting's side also trying to chase after Gray, "As light and dark! We are needed together! So we are partners! Give us Yukino!"

"Wait until I kick your behind Gray!" Natsu shot profanity words at him. The girls watched the boys' run around in the playground, splitting in different directions. They were taking this quite too seriously that they were slowly reaching their limits. Gray had to figure out his own tactics whenever he found himself surrounded or in a complex situation.

"I just realized that Cana is the one that isn't chosen." Lucy turned over at the brunette. Cana was sitting on the swings next to the girls. This spot was their safety base, if Gray was not captured yet, the boys' weren't allowed to step in their territory and claim them.

"Actually, I'm alright with it. Since we aren't really doing anything yet." Cana smiled. "It's much more entertaining to watch the boys' make such a scene." The girls' nodded their head in agreement.

"We should look for someone who would be willing to be your prince in this game though." Yukino said. "Or dragon." Lucy added, "Since someone isn't really thrilled about sharing her beloved prince charming…" They glanced over at Juvia who was squatting down at the sandbox, doodling something using a twig. She was sulking down with great disappointment.

"Alright!" shouted Gajeel. The girls' at the swings turned their heads back to the boys'. Gajeel finally got a hold of Gray's collar and drag him to where the girls' where. He let go of the ice wizard and looked at the short blue-haired girl standing by Lucy. Gajeel snickered as he grabbed the fragile girl's arms. Claiming back his rightful trophy. "Time to go back to your cage!" he told her. "I thought you were joking!" cried Levy, she tried to pull away from his grasp for him to let go, but she wasn't strong enough to break free. Levy started to whine and complain, annoying the iron-dragon slayer. He quickly turned around and let go of her, "Listen pipsqueak," he growled, "You seriously thought I was going to do such a thing?" he immediately facepalmed when she nodded her head. "It's just game…" he rolled his eyes.

Back to the boys, Gray was sitting beside Juvia as Natsu, Sting, and Rogue claim their princess. Once again, Juvia was back filled with happiness when she no longer had to share her ice prince with the other girls. "Oh Gray~" she swooned and sighed seeing him strip off his clothes. "Man that was exhausting." Gray grumbled.

As for Natsu, he was climbing on the highest part of the playground that had a roof hovering on top. "Come on Lucy, this where you'll stay!" Natsu looked down once he had made it there. Lucy frowned, she had forgotten that Natsu would pick the ridiculous choices out of all the boys'. She didn't expect that he would go to such lengths to find the greatest spot that no kid would dare do. The boys' were looking for a spot that they would take as their own territory protecting their princess. Sting and Rogue picked the monkey bars and they were hanging on top of it with Yukino.

Gajeel decided to pick the pull up bars, Levy was just standing beside the pole as Gajeel was hanging upside down. And for Gray and Juvia, they decided to stick with the sandbox since they were already there together.

"Come on Lucy! Hurry up!" Natsu persisted. Lucy turned around in annoyance, "Natsu… It's too high up! Why do you have to pick the crazy spot! Everyone else have the safest part!" she folded her arms in front of her. Natsu smiled, "Do you want to know, why I pick this spot?" he asked.

"Yes, I do!" Lucy responded.

"Are you sure you really want to know?" Natsu asked again.

"Yes I am really sure." Lucy replied.

"Are you sure you really really really want to know?"

Lucy rolled her eyes, "Yes, I am really really really sure."

"Are you positively ultra-sure?"

"Natsu!" Lucy stomp her feet and growled at him.

"That's because I don't want someone to take you away from me that easily! You are my princess, milady." Natsu grinned widely. Lucy's eyes widen, feeling her heart pounding from the inside, her face was turning into the color of a tomato. "What's wrong Lucy? Are you running a fever?" Natsu said in a worried tone, quickly coming down from the small roof of the playground. "I am fine." Lucy reassured him.

At Cana's perspective; she was smiling, seeing her other friends having a great time. She was still sitting at the swing, but this time by herself. She let out a deep sigh, envying them. She wish she could have her own dragon or prince. Like Juvia had Gray as her prince charming. Her expression turned to a frown, feeling left out in the group. Suddenly without her knowing someone softly pushed her. She was being pushed on the swing repeatedly. Cana blinked in surprise, she turned around seeing Bacchus.

"Wha-what are you doing here?" She wondered. "Well, I saw a pretty girl like you alone." He told her, "You were playing with your friends weren't you? Princesses and Dragons?" He asked her. Cana only nodded, feeling ashamed to admit that she felt like the outsider.

Bacchus grinned, "I may not be the type, but I guess I'll be the prince. Not a dragon. That is, if you are okay with that."

Cana's cheeks turned pink. "I wouldn't mind." She giggled.

The boys' and girls' were spread apart in their own territory. They were having a great time playing the same game without even thinking about trying something else to do. Once sunset came, everyone realize that it was now late and it was time to head home. By the time they all arrived home and went to their deep slumbers, they manage to still have a smile on their face.


[Author's Note: Thank you for the review LucyHeartfilia003 :)]