A/N: I'll be posting my author's notes at the end of the fic from now on, so that you can start reading right away. Anyway, keep in mind that this is an Alternate Universe fic, so details like the age of the characters aren't exactly like the manga/anime.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. All recognizable characters belong to Hiro Mashima.
On with the show! :D
"GOOD MORNING FIORE!"
All the servants in the Saurian Citadel flinched at the loud voice and hurriedly scrambled to their places. They stood protectively in front of various precious antiques, vases and glassware and others. They were armed with various cleaning tools and buckets of water.
Not this time, laddie, they all thought.
The source of the noise was none other than prince Natsu, followed by Happy, his blue winged cat(Exceed, to be exact). He was on his skateboard, which is the only mode of transportation the prince enjoys riding because of his motion-sickness. God-knows-where the prince gets all that energy from. All they know is that when the young prince was this fired up, it meant a week's renovation and repairing. The servants didn't hate their prince, in fact they were rather fond of him, watching him grow into a fine young man. But the young prince was too destructive for his own good. Heavens, all the antiques he's broken cost a fortune!
"Good morning, everyone!" he greeted as he passed by. "Why so tense?"
As the 15-year-old manoeuvred his way down the vast corridors, his every move was heavily guarded by thorough eyes. He was practically all over the place, so they watched the speeding prince very carefully. Every time he got to close to the wooden shelves, cabinets, or any other valuables, they nudged his board away with a broom or a mop. They were ready to use the buckets to douse fire, which comes from the prince's magic. The prince wasn't bothered at all by this and kept skating, his pale scarf flying behind him.
But the servants missed a tiny detail; the prince was approaching a tiny puddle of water that probably spilled from one of the buckets. The wheels reached the liquid, and the prince lost control of his skateboard.
"W-whoa!" the prince shouted. "Watch out!"
"Prince Natsu!" the servants cried.
The servants tried to chase him, but he was too fast! He was about to crash into one of the century-old urns...
Then as quick as lightning, a figure stepped in front of the speeding teen, stopping him completely. He gripped the groaning boy on the back of his jacket with one strong hand, his skateboard on the other.
"Natsu," growled a deep voice. The maids and butlers heaved a sigh of relief, wiping off sweat from their foreheads. Lord Igneel could take care of this better than anyone. They bowed their heads as the large man with crimson hair and a long flowing cape passed by, still holding his son by his clothes. He gruffly put his son back down on the floor. "How many times have I told you to STOP SKATING AROUND THE CASTLE?!" He whacked the boy's head. "You're 15 for crying out loud!" He forgot to mention 'early in the morning'. The sun had barely risen.
"Ow," The young prince winced in pain as he rubbed the back of his pink head. "Sorry, dad. I lost count after 705."
"I think this is number 734," remarked Happy. Happy has been with Natsu since he was 6, when he found an egg in a cave during one of his and Igneel's hiking trips together.
The Noble sighed. "What am I going to do with you?" he murmured to himself. "Natsu, I have just one favour to ask of you," he said. He lowered his voice, and placed a heavy hand on his son's shoulders. "Very important visitors are coming today. We surely wouldn't want to give them a foul impression of ourselves. I need you to be on your best behaviour, and you know what that means."
Natsu rolled his eyes. "I won't run around, I won't shout, I won't eat all the food, and I won't damage the palace," he deadpanned. Sheesh, I feel like a 4-year-old.
Igneel smiled. "There, not that hard is it?" he patted his son's shoulder. "Happy, make sure he does what he just said to do."
The Exceed saluted. "Aye, sir!"
"Good," Igneel straightened. He returned the skateboard to his son. "Run along now. Your mother and I will see you this afternoon for lunch." With that, he walked away.
Natsu huffed, put down his skateboard and he crossed his arms over his chest, his scarf ruffling. "Hmph. The old man still thinks I'm a kid."
"You've just gotta show him you're responsible enough, Natsu," said Happy, alighting on Natsu's shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah." Natsu stood for a moment, thinking up things he could do to pass the time. He picked up his board, and after handing it to one of the butlers, started walking. "Come on, Happy. Let's go see Wendy and Gazille."
"Aye!" Happy gleefully cried.
All the members of the Dragon Family lived in Saurian Citadel, the Royal Palace, which is located in Fiore's capital: Magnolia. The Dragon Lords were of royal blood, and have governed the Kingdom of Fiore for centuries. Natsu's father, Igneel, is a Dragon Lord, along with Grandine, his aunt, and Metallicana, his uncle. Legends say that Dragon Lords were descendants of dragons themselves, having the powers comparable to the serpentine beasts of legend. Each of the families lived in separate sections, or wings, of the castle; Igneel's family in the East Wing, Metallicana's family in the West Wing and Grandine's family in the North Wing. There are 4 Wings in all, meant for 4 ruling siblings, the other wing being the South Wing. However, the Dragon Lords that preceded the present died before all siblings were born.
Natsu had always enjoyed spending time with his cousins. Natsu has known Wendy and Gazille for as long as he can remember. Gazille was a year older that him, while Wendy was younger than him by 3 years. They never failed to see each other everyday.
Their usual meeting place was at the Royal Greenhouse, which was separate from the castle. It was connected to the castle by a long bridge leading to the hill neighboring the one Saurian Citadel stood upon. There they would play under the sun, run around with the animals and sleep in the trees. They shared good memories in the glass house. When he finally arrived, he found Wendy sitting quietly on one of the stone benches, reading a large book. Gazille was nowhere to be seen, so Natsu suspected he was sleeping in. Natsu had an idea. He tiptoed to the side until he was behind Wendy.
"Hiya, Wendy!" Natsu shouted.
The blunette jumped in surprise with a squeal, her book falling to the ground. She puffed her cheeks as she slapped Natsu's arm. "Don't scare me like that, Natsu-nii!"
"Hahaha! That look on your face never gets old!" Natsu was laughing as he gripped his stomach.
Wendy was Grandine's daughter. Grandine is Igneel's and Metallicana's younger sister and the Wind Dragon Lord. Her father, Arthur Marvell, was a cartographer and always travels around the world to draw his countless maps. Wendy wants to travel the world with her dad too, which is why when she's not playing with Natsu and Gazille, she always has her nose in almanacs and encyclopedias, reading about faraway lands.
"Natsu, you shouldn't sneak up on Wendy like that," a voice behind him scolded. Natsu turned and found Charle, Wendy's Exceed. She had white fur, and always wore a ribbon on her tail. Wendy found her on the streets when she was a kitten.
"Hi Charle!" Happy greeted. "Here, have some fish!" He pulled out a sardine from the green sack he always carried.
Charle crinkled her nose at the fish and looked away in disgust. "I already told you that I don't eat fish."
"You won't know until you try it," Happy kept pushing the fish towards the white Exceed.
"I don't plan to, thank you very much,' Charle responded, pushing the fish back to Happy.
Ignoring the two's conversation, Natsu turned back to Wendy. "Hey, where's Gazille? Haven't seen him around."
The princess pouted and shook her head. "Me neither."
As if on cue, Gazille entered the greenhouse. "Hey, the coach's here," he pointed behind him with his thumb.
Gazille was Lord Metallicana's son, the Steel Dragon Lord. His mother, Sarah Redfox, was murdered when Gazille was 8 years old. A spy disguised as a butler attempted to poison Metallicana, but ended up killing his wife instead. Gazille has always been easily angered and overprotective since then.
Gazille looked like he hadn't had any sleep for days. His long dark hair was spikier than usual, his voice was rough and his expression was... scary, to say the least.
"Why the long face, Gazille my boy?" Natsu swung an arm around Gazille, a wide grin on his face. "Got up on the wrong side of the bed?"
Gazille roughly shook Natsu's arm away from his body. "Just get to the damn gym."
Natsu backed away with a low whistle. Wendy giggled. The two of them decided not to touch Gazille for a while.
Pantherlily, Gazille's black Exceed, hovered beside Wendy .
"Don't mind him. He's just hungry and throwing a tantrum," he explained.
Too bad we need to get to the gym first.
A vein popped in Gazille's head but he kept his temper in check. Damn training. All he wanted was a decent meal. The sooner he got it, the better.
The training gym was a large room located in the East corner of the castle, so that the morning sun shone through the windows. It was the only room in the castle with no ornaments. It had a field for running, a center space for sparring, and there were magical tools used for workouts and exercises. But the special feature of the gym were the equipment built for training the young mages.
Natsu has the Fire element, Wendy has the Wind element, and Gazille had the Steel element. These powers are all passed down from one generation to another.
"Natsu! It's your turn to spar!" came the booming voice of their coach; Ur of the Ice.
Ur is a retired mage, but in her days, she was one of the most powerful; one of the High Mages. She even served in the Royal Army for several years. Her magic dealt with ice, which she used to masterfully mould the cold shards into whichever shape she liked and manipulate them. Now, she works as the Martial Arts and Magic teacher of the Dragon Family's children.
"Hey!" Natsu cried. "It was my turn last week!"
"Oh, yeah? Last week was a complete failure! Come up here and do that form again!" commanded Ur. Her short deep blue hair was tied into a short ponytail, making her look fiercer than usual.
"Heh," snickered a dark-haired boy. "Bring it on, Squinty."
"I'd take you on any day, Droopy," Natsu spat back.
Gray Fullbuster was Ur's adopted son, and was just as old as Natsu. His parents died in a disaster that Ur was sent to prevent. Gray was the only survivor that day. The same day Ur decided to retire.
"Get ready," at this, the two took their positions against each other. Both were wearing protective gear, but even with all that, Ur needed to make sure that the boys didn't over-exert themselves.
She clapped, and the two boys sprang into action.
Natsu brought crimson flames to his fist and aimed at Gray, who dodged smoothly under the attack. Knowing that Gray would counter, Natsu crouched and sent a sweeping kick on Gray's legs as he landed, knocking Gray to the ground. Gray hit the floor with a thud, but quickly recovered with more punches, this time with shards of ice backing him up. Natsu was hit by a few flying pieces of ice, but dodged the rest. He jumped, avoiding an incoming wave of ice, and lunged a kick at Gray, which Gray blocked and countered with a punch. Fire and Ice were going all out on each other.
Ur smirked. Not bad. She loved to see her students improving everyday. It gave her the drive to teach them more.
"Natsu! Your defences are too weak! Keep up those blockings!" she commanded. "Gray! You're not using Natsu's movements to your advantage! Search for openings!"
This resulted in both boys punching each other in the face. They both fell to the ground with swollen cheeks.
Ur facepalmed. They still have a long way to go.
"Gazille!" Ur pointed towards the sparring space. "You're up against Lyon."
The light-haired lad stepped forward, waiting for Gazille to do the same. Lyon Vastia was another of Ur's adopted sons, and her first student. She found him abandoned in the snow, and took him in. He was as old as Gazille.
"Let's get this done," said Lyon.
The two sparred good-naturedly, biding by the rules. Gazille eventually emerged as the victor. Ur nodded in approval. At least these two are sane enough.
She turned, and saw Wendy and Ultear running around the track. Ultear was a meter ahead of the young princess.
"You can do it, Wendy-san!" Ultear encouraged. She was younger than Wendy by a year.
"I'm... catching.. up!" Wendy picked up speed and was now running by Ultear's side. Ur could hear the joyous laughter that brought a smile to her lips.
It took a while before Ur started training Ultear. Ultear was her only child. She had such a high amount of magical energy ever since she was little, and Ur had no choice but to keep her in bed until her body adjusted to the power. She had frequent fevers as her magic grew inside her body. When Ur adopted Gray and Lyon, Ultear admired their strength. This lead to her trying to use her magic. Ur saw that it wasn't as unbalanced as before, and took her as a student only two years ago.
"Okay, break time," Ur clapped her hands. She left the children to their own business as she went to get a drink.
Gray approached Natsu. "Hey, I hear you're getting visitors today."
Natsu was taken by surprise by this. In the 8 years he's known Gray, he was usually approached with a rude remark on his sleeve. But this is different. This was one of those rare instances that Gray had a serious conversation with him.
"Yeah, we are," he replied.
Gray looked thoughtful as Natsu said this. Then his face turned sincere. "Have you heard about the attacks up North?" he suddenly said.
Natsu racked his brain. "Now that I think about it, yes. I think I've been hearing rumours."
Gray lowered his voice. "Those aren't rumours. Something serious is going on. Natsu, listen. I heard my mom talking to Commander Gerard a couple days ago."
Commander Gerard. Natsu thought. He was the Commander of Fiore's Royal Army. Sure, Ur used to serve in the military, but she's retired. Why would Commander Gerard visit Ur?
"What of it?" Natsu asked.
Gray stepped closer, his voice the merest whisper. "I think he's recruiting my mom," Natsu's eyes widened at this. "The army's making its move. I got that gut feeling that a war's coming up."
Natsu felt his heart stop. A war? Here? But how? When?
Gray stepped away. For a minute Natsu thought he was sobbing. But when Gray looked back at him, he had a smug look on his face. "Ha, don't you look like a wuss."
Natsu got the point. I said nothing. This is between you and me. He let a smirk cross his own features. "At least I don't look like a stripper."
Gray looked down, and realized that he stripped down to his boxers. A habit from one of Ur's unusual training techniques."Ack! Not again!"
The others started laughing. "At least I'm not like him," Lyon snickered.
"Uh, Lyon?" Wendy quietly said, looking away from the lad.
Lyon was in his boxers as well.
"NO! I've been infected with Gray Disease!" he cried.
"Heh, check out the pathetic idiots," Gazille said with a smirk.
Natsu reverted back to his thoughts. Is there really a possible war starting? Why didn't dad say anything? I'm his son, for goodness' sake! A prince! I have a right to know about these!
"I can't find them anywhere!" Gray yelled in frustration as he searched for his missing clothes.
"If my nii-sans are doing it, then so should I!" Ultear was taking off her jacket as Wendy tried stopping her.
"You're corrupting Ultear's braaaiiin!" Wendy cried.
Natsu decided to push all of his previous thoughts to the back of his head. He needs to stay focused on the present. There are other times to worry about those things.
He was about to kick Gray's butt when Gazille suddenly stopped him from behind. Natsu could feel Gazille's spiked hair on his shoulder as he whispered.
"Tell me everything. Don't think I didn't notice you and Gray's faces as you were talking. Looks to me it was pretty serious."
Natsu sighed. Gazille could be so overprotective at times. He had always taken the position of the 'elder brother' since they were little.
"Yeah, I will."
Gazille let go and cocked his head toward the others. "It seems we have other things to take care of."
Natsu turned his head and saw the rumble going on. Ultear was chasing after Gray and Lyon with Wendy desperately trying to keep them all in control. Natsu grinned and did a full body slam on the near-naked boys. Gazille proceeded to calm down the younger girls.
They punched each other, laughed, and punched each other again. Playing like they always had for years. Their loud laughter filled the gym until—
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU KIDS DOING?!" Ur demanded.
Looks like happy time's over.
After a good scolding, Ur had them do 'Punishment Squats' for ten minutes. Then they went back to training normally.
"Huddle time, guys," she called. Her students gathered around her. "Now, assignments. Gazille, I want you to work on your footwork. You have the offense and the defence going, but not the speed to execute them properly. Wendy, practice the breathing exercises I taught you. Your lungs are going to need some strengthening for the air I'm sure you'll be able to manipulate soon. Natsu, why don't you practice igniting fire in your arms and legs? You can do attacks with them, but your flames don't have consistency." Ur clapped her hands. "Well, that's all there is for today. See you all tomorrow."
Ur gave a short wave, and walked out. Her children following after. Natsu didn't miss Gray's glance as they left.
When they were alone in the gym, all three of them started walking back to the palace. Happy, Charle and Pantherlily were waiting at the lawn that connected the Palace to the gym.
"Hey!" Happy greeted. He flew and landed on Natsu's shoulder.
"How was practice?" Pantherlily asked. He was sitting on Gazille's shoulder.
"Same old, same old," Gazille replied.
Charle alighted on Wendy's blue head. "Breakfast's almost ready."
"Mmm... I can imagine all the food already," Wendy cooed as she drank water from her bottle. "Oh, Mom said that we're expecting visitors today. Do you have any idea who they are?"
"I heard that it was a family from another country," Gazille replied.
Gazille sent a glance over to Natsu. Remember what I said.
Natsu nodded in understanding.
There were 3 dining halls in the Saurian Citadel. The first, called the Feasting Hall, was used for feasts, it could seat around 140 or so people. It was the most elegant in the castle, not to mention the largest. The second one, the Formal Dining Hall, was used for important guests, and it was big enough for 2 dozen people. It was elegantly decorated, but not as much as the Feasting Hall. The third one was simpler, and could seat a dozen people. It was the most casually used.
"Breakfast is ready, young masters," one of the maids said.
"About time," Gazille muttered.
They took their seats at the polished rectangular table. Wendy sat at her favourite place which was at the edge of the table. Gazille sat at the corner to her left, and Natsu sat at the right.
The delicious food was laid out on the table. There were hotcakes and toast, pastries and fruits, syrups and juices. Everything was fresh from the oven and orchards. Gazille was in a better mood after the hearty meal.
"I think we better dress up," Wendy said. They were walking back to their respective Wings. "I have a feeling that we're going to meet some really influential people this afternoon," her eyes sparkled. "Plus, Daddy's coming home today!"
"That's great, Wendy!" Happy exclaimed.
"It's been a long while since I last saw sir Marvell," Pantherlily said.
"Today's going to be a really extraordinary day. I can feel it!" Wendy said happily.
"You can count on that, Wendy," Gazille said. "Things could get interesting." He sent a quick look at Natsu. Natsu nodded in understanding. They reached the center room where the 3 Wings intersected.
"Come on, Wendy," Charles called. "We need to prepare your dress." Wendy ran after her. Gazille and Pantherlily were walking in the opposite direction.
"Okay. See you guys later!" Natsu called out.
"You bet!" Wendy shouted back.
They all went their separate ways, all wondering what was to come.
An hour later, Natsu was in his room putting on his best attire, which included a deep red coat and dark-coloured slacks. He combed his spiked hair down, which he only did on special occasions, so he looked neat and like the prince he is. His scarf never left its place around his neck. He took one last glance at the mirror, and when he was satisfied, walked out of his huge room. Happy was waiting outside, wearing a black ribbon instead of his green sack. They headed towards the Lobby, which was a large round room on the ground floor.
"I wonder who dad's meeting today," Natsu thought out aloud. His thoughts were racing back and forth in his head like they did a while ago at the gym.
"Maybe Gazille's right and they're from another country," Happy commented.
Or foreign warriors, Natsu thought. He shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking about these things.
"Anything wrong, Natsu?" Happy asked.
"Gah, walking is too boring," Natsu complained, masking his slight fear of what might happen from his friend. As his eyes scanned the hall in front of him, a grin made its way to his face. In a second, he was running.
"Haha, you're always—wait, Natsu!" Happy yelled as he tried catching up with the prince.
Natsu kept running. Surely no one's gonna see me do it, except Happy, of course.
"Come on, Happy!" he called behind him. "Just a little ride!"
His hand met the rounded top of the staircase newel, and he swung himself up so that he was sitting on the smooth wooden handrail. He felt like he was 5 again as he slid down the spiralling wood. Happy was following after him, sliding on the polished cedar as well.
"Weee!" Happy joyfully cheered.
"WOOHOO!" Natsu had his eyes shut and his hands in the air. The troubles he was fretting on were washed out completely from his head.
"Natsu, look out!" Happy cried behind him.
"Wha—?"
Natsu's eyes flew open and saw the shadow of someone he was about to crash into at the end of the stairs. He could stop, but he was already near the edge of the handrail. His hands automatically moved forward as he flew off the railing. His eyes shut themselves once more as he braced himself.
"KYAAA!" came a high-pitched voice.
"AAAH!" Natsu yelled as he slid off the handrail.
Natsu felt himself collide with someone, and instinct made him grasp the person to his torso before his back fell to the hard marble floor. Whoever he crashed into fell safely on his chest, held to him by his arms. He grunted; the person was surprisingly heavier than he thought.
But amidst the aching he felt all over his body, the sweet scent of roses filled his nose. He opened his eyes and saw bright blonde hair.
Chapter End
A/N: And Chapter 1 draws its curtains! The prince has met his princess. :)
I've been working on the second chapter, so I might be able to publish it on Saturday. Until then, patience! I haven't decided on regular updates, since we have a lot coming up in school(exams, organizing a party, projects, etc.).
Leave a little review on your way out, eh? I'd appreciate it. :)