Chapter two

The dark haired man, that was now holding onto Lucy's waist was tall and lanky, and a good foot taller than Lucy. Even though there heights didn't match, they looked very good together and very happy. They had an aura around them that made Natsu not want to interrupt.

"Lucia darling, I'm back. Thank you for waiting for me," Said Takeo as he brushed a few strands of hair that had fallen from the loose ponytail at the nap of Lucy's neck.

"How was the job? You didn't get hurt did you?" Lucy questioned the man with concern in her eyes.

"No, but I am tired. Why don't you walk me home, and we can talk about how wedding preparations are going." Takeo said this as he grabbed Lucy's hands and pulled her in the direction Natsu was in.

Natsu's heart sank a bit after hearing about the wedding plans, but he couldn't take his eyes away from Lucy. Something wasn't right. Natsu could feel it in his bones. He was sure that it wasn't the fact that Lucy was going by Lucia, but something else. As the couple walked past, Natsu's eyes met Lucy's and she didn't even seem to recognize him, or she just ignored the pink haired wizard. Either way, his heart sank even further.

A mix of anger, sorrow, and disappointment made its way through Natsu, but he still watched, and followed the two as they walked down the busy market streets. Listening to every word, Natsu found that the two were to get married in one month, but when he listened to Lucy, she sounded excited about the marriage, but also a bit unsure.

Takeo also noticed the uneasiness from Lucy, and his expression hardened for a second then went back to what seemed to be his normal smiling face. "I know I made you wait, but everything will turn out for the best."

"Yeah, it's just the pre-wedding getters. Everyone get's it before the big date. July first will be here pretty fast."

After a few minutes they reached their destination, and walked up a set for stairs to an apartment. The two said a quick good buy, and Takeo grabbed Lucy's waist and bent down to give her a kiss goodbye. Natsu couldn't watch, and turned his eyes to look down. While looking away, he missed a small scared expression on Lucy's face, but she quickly adjusted it back to a shy smiling face.

Takeo also didn't notice because his eyes were closed as he kissed his fiancé. When they were done, he went into his apartment and closed the door behind him and Lucy left quickly, making her way back into town.

Natsu kept stalking her from a distance, and watched as she bought food and window shopped at the street vendors on the main street of the town. Lucy seemed a bit more like her old self when she was away from Takeo, but she was still very different from the Lucy he remembered.

It wasn't until he saw Lucy holding a necklace with a key dangling from the bottom of it, when Natsu got the courage to walk over to her.

"That's a nice necklace." He told her from behind.

Surprised, Lucy jumped and gave a small squeak, then turned to face the pink haired wizard. His dark eyes looked intensely at her, but she wasn't uncomfortable with it. Instead she said with a small smile, "Yeah, for some reason I like keys. Ever since I can remember I've collected them. There is something about the key being able to open any door you just have to find the right one."

"Well, you are celestial wizard, I understand why you like keys." Natsu said.

"I'm not a wizard, just a regular person. Though it would be fun to travel the world, having adventures and to part of a guild might be like having a family," Lucy said, and she put her hand out to shake her hand. "By the way, my name is Lucia Ingeel."

Natsu was taken back, not only by Lucy greeting him like it's the first they have ever met, but also because her name changed. He didn't know what to do, so he grabbed her hand and introduced himself as he shook her hand, "Nice to meet you. I'm Natsu."

"I've never seen you in this town. Are you just visiting, or did you just move here?" Asked Lucy.

"I'm here on a job."

"A job, are you a wizard?" That's when she noticed the keys around Natsu's neck. "Oh silly me, so you're a celestial wizard. I see you like keys also."

"No, I'm not a celestial wizard, I'm a fire wizard. These belong to someone special to me. She's been missing for a little over three years."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to butt in," She said empathically.

"No, it's okay. I think I've found her actually. That's what I'm doing in this town. You wouldn't mind showing me around the town would you? That would be a great help on finding her, and if you do, I will buy that necklace for you as payment."

"I'll show you around, but that necklace is way too expensive Natsu. I'll show you around. It's nice to have another key enthusiast in town, plus it would be sweet if you could find the person your looking for."

"Well if you insist."

Lucy walked home first, which wasn't far away. She lived in an apartment over the clock repair shop she worked at. After dropping off her food, the two walked around town for a few hours. Lucy showed Natsu all of the sites, and rambled off about the history of the town, and Natsu listened carefully to each word. It was finally getting dark when Lucy had left for the evening. Since she wasn't able to show Natsu all of the sites, they had agreed to meet up the next day to see the rest.

Natsu was too excited to sleep. Instead, he walked around to think for a bit about what had happened. He had found Lucy, and he was excited about that, but she didn't seem to remember him. He would need to bring this to Master Makarov, but he would wait until tomorrow to go back to the guild.

On his way back to the hotel he was staying at, Natsu noticed that the street vendor he was at earlier was still open. The necklace Lucy had admired was still on the table where she had placed it.

"Hey, how much for the necklace," Natsu asked the Vendor.

"I'll cut you a deal Mister, since you got rid of Adleburt and his thugs. 20,000 jewels, and free reading." The female vendor said.

Natsu looked at the 30,000 jewel price tag, and he wasn't going to object to saving any money at all.

"You've got yourself a deal!" Natsu replied to the vendor, and pulled out his money pouch to pay the woman. When that transaction was done, she bent over the table, and pulled a piece of hair out of Natsu's head.

"Ouch! Why did you do that," Natsu exclaimed.

"I need it for reading your future. Now be quite, so I can do this spell." The vendor said.

She grabbed a box from underneath the table and when she opened it up, Natsu saw an old looking crystal ball. It was old magic that she was using. She dropped the hair on the crystal ball, but it didn't land on the crystal ball. It sunk into it until it was in the middle. After a few seconds, the strand of hair disappeared with a flash. Natsu looked at the vendor, but her eyes seemed to be foggy with a black mist in them.

After a few minutes, the vendor finally blinked, and her eyes returned to normal. She still stared at the crystal ball, not taking her eyes away or speaking one word until it was placed back in the box and underneath the table.

Turning to face Natsu, she said, "These past three years have been tough on you. You have found what was missing, but if you can't find the right key to open the door to her memory, you will not be able to get what was missing back."

"What do you mean by key! Where is it," Natsu said reaching across the table grabbing the vendor's robes, and pulling her across the counter threateningly.

"I don't know any more than what I've told you. The spirits have shown all that they will. I will warn you, do not tell her of her past. You must find the key to unlock it."

Natsu loosened his grip. He knew the vendor had been telling the truth. Fortune telling was a tricky art that never gives the full future. It gives a small amount of information and lets people try to interpret it for themselves.

Natsu made his way back to his hotel room. After everything he was exhausted, and wanted to get some sleep. Opening the door to his room, he saw a blue cat with white fluffy wings on lying down on his bed with a stuffed fish in its arms, whispering about how Charlie was going to love this fish. Happy stopped by for a visit it seemed.

Instead of going to the bed to sleep, Natsu let his dear friend take claim to the bed, and he grabbed a pillow and fell asleep on the floor. It was the first time he seemed to get a decent night's rest in three years. He didn't have nightmares of Lucy dying, disappearing into the night, or of her being tortured. He had a dreamless night as he was sprawled out on the floor with his pillow. Natsu even drooled a bit in his sleep.

That is the end of the story for today. Thank you for reading. I hoped you enjoyed the story so far! I want to hear your opinions on it, and if you like it or not so please review!

I will try to publish a new chapter every week on Monday. If I don't, I do apologize in advance.

Disclaimer: I do not receive any profit from this story, and all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator.