Salamander and his thieving buddies, Sting and Rogue, run across the castle rooftops in search of the valuable crown.

"Wow. I could get used to a view like this." Salamander sighed on the edge of the roof.

"Come on!" Sting whined impatiently.

"Hold on. Yep. I'm used to it. Guys I want a castle." Salamander grinned.

"We do this job, you can buy your own castle." Rogue smirked as he grabbed his collar and lowered him into the crown room with a rope.

"Achoo!" One of the guards sneezed.

"Eugh, hay fever?" Salamander asked, blowing his cover on purpose.

"Yeah." The guard said, unaware of that he's about to steal the crown. Realization struck the guard and he looked back to see Salamander being pulled upwards and running away with the crown. "Wait! Hey wait!" The poor guard yelled after them. Sting, Rogue and Salamander ran away from the kingdom, the crown in Salamanders satchel.

"Can you guys imagine me in a castle of my own? Cause I certainly can!" He smiled. "All the things we've seen and its only eight in the morning! This is a very big day!"

Lucy arranged her paints in her box.

"This is it! This is a very big day Happy! I'm finally going to do it, I'm going to ask her!" She informed her blue buddy.

"Lucy!" A faint voice echoed throughout the tower room from the window. "Let down your hair!" Lucy ran to the window and let down her hair, pulling up Minerva. Minerva stepped inside, while Lucy caught her breath. "Oh Lucy! How you manage to do that every single day without fail! It must be absolutely exhausting darling."

"Oh its nothing." Lucy smiled, still panting lightly.

"Then I don't know why it takes so long!" Minerva jokes, Lucy's face drops immediately. "Oh darling I'm just teasing." Lucy chuckles a little.

"Alright. So mother, as you know tomorrow is a very big da-" She was interrupted by Minerva pulling her into the mirror.

"Lucy look in this mirror, do you know what I see? I see a strong, confident and beautiful young lady. Oh look you're here too!" She joked and laughed again. "Lucy, mothers feeling a little run down, would you sing for me dear?"

"Of course mother!" Lucy instantly bought a chair and a brush and stool and really quickly sung her song.

FlowerGleamAndGlowLetYourPowerShineMakeTheClockReverseBringBackWhatOnceWasMine.

"So mother." Lucy instantly went to Minerva's face. "So as I was saying tomorrow is a really big day and you didn't really respond, so I'm just going to tell you… Its my birthday!" She laughed.

"NoNoNo, can't be. I distinctly remember, your birthday was last year."

"That's the funny thing about birthdays, they are kind of an annual thing." She sighed and sat back into her stool. "Mother… I'm turning eighteen and I wanted to ask… What I really want for this birthday… I wanna see the floating lights!" She gasped out.

"Uh… What?" Minerva put down the apple she had picked up.

"Well… I was hoping you would take me to see the floating lights." Lucy drew back a curtain showing a picture of her on a hill looking at thousands of lanterns.

"Oh. You mean the stars."

"That's the thing! I charted stars and they are always constant, but these lights they appear every year on my birthday, only on my birthday. Its like they are meant for me, and I have to see them mother… Not just from my window. In person. I have to know what they are."

"You want to outside?" Minerva shut the only window. "Look at you Lucy! Fragile as a flower. Still a little sapling, just a sprout. You know why we stay up in this tower…"

That's right, to keep you safe and sound, dear
Guess I should have always knew this day was coming
Knew that you'd want to leave the nest
Soon but not yet…

Mother knows best, listen to your mother
It's a scary world out there
One way or another
Something will go wrong I swear!

Ruffians, thugs, poison ivy, quicksand
Cannibals and snakes…
The plague!

"The plague is gone." Lucy stated.

"Mother knows best! And it's wrong to leave this tower. Don't ever ask me to leave this tower again." She stated firmly. "I need to go, I'll be back soon my flower." And Lucy helped her go down.

Sting, Rogue and Salamander run in the woods away from the guards when suddenly Salamander stops a tree and rips off a wanted poster of himself and panics immediately.

"Oh… Oh no! No No No this bad, this is bad, this is very bad, this is really really bad!" He panicked, Sting and Rogue just panted and looked at him, "They just can't get my hair right!"

"Who cares?" Sting asked annoyed.

"Well its easy for you to say!" Salamander pointed at their wanted poster, "You guys look amazing in yours!" Suddenly the horses neighed and they ran away, Salamander stuffing his wanted poster into his satchel "Give me a boost, and I'll pull you up." He offered and Sting and Rogue just looked and each other and then back at Salamander.

"Give us the satchel." Rogue demanded.

"Wah? I… I just… I can't believe that after all we've been through together you don't just trust me?" They just looked at him sternly. "Ouch." And he handed them the satchel, whilst they proceeded to boost him up the hill.

"Now help us up, pretty boy." Sting held out his hand.

"Sorry." Salamander held up the satchel. "My hands are full." And he ran away from the duo.

"SALAMANDER!" Sting and Rogue yelled after him. But Salamander continued running away from the guards and horses. The main guard was on his trusty steed.

Jellal.

Jellal, had a blue mane and was a very trustworthy horse. They almost had Salamander until he kicked the guard off Jellal and got on him, Jellal stopped and tried to get the satchel.

"No... No! Stop it, stop it now!" The satchel went flying off onto a tree hanging off a cliff, both went to retrieve it, as Salamander grabbed it, the tree snapped and they fell down the cliff, holding onto each other. But they were broke apart and landed in different places, Jellal immediately went searching for the bandit.

Salamander, was hiding behind a rock by a large sheet of moss hanging from a sturdy, thick tree branch. He was going to lay down on the 'moss wall' but found out he could go through it. Curiosity overtook him and he went through it. He carried on walking through, and saw…

A large tower by a waterfall. He got out his arrows and climbed his way up to the window and immediately shut it closed, he leaned against it and gave a breath of relief.

"Ah, alone at last." Suddenly a frying pan overtook Salamanders head.

BANG

And he dropped to the floor unconscious, with his satchel.

"Eep!" Lucy hid behind a mannequin after knocking the man out, and peeked over to see a man lying face first on the floor. She used her pan to tilt his head to the side, seeing his face. She saw a handsome man with striking pink hair, and saw he had sharp canines but the rest of his teeth were fairly normal. She flicked his hair and saw an even handsomer man. He suddenly opened an eye, and she knocked him out again.

She used her hair to take him to her closet and she hid him in there, breaking his fingers in the process. She bought a chair up to it and held her pan.

"Okay… Okay okay. I have got a person. In my closet…" She looked at her mirror. "I've got a person…. In my closet…. I have got a person! In my closet!" She squealed happily, "Too weak to handle myself, eh mother? Tell that to my frying pa- Ouch!" She hit herself with the pan. Suddenly, she saw a brown satchel, with something shiny poking out. She went down to inspect it, and saw… A crown? Lucy enjoyed reading and she LOVED writing her own novels so she had read about crowns and things but had never actually seen a crown in person. This crown, was exceptionally beautiful. She looked in the mirror and placed it on her head, with Happy on her shoulder.

Happy and herself gasped at the sight. Something felt familiar to her about that crown, suddenly she heard Minerva.

"Lucy! Let down your hair!" She sung delightfully. "I have a surprise!"

"So do I!" She yelled back.

"I think mine is better!" She boasted.

"I seriously doubt it…" Lucy whispered to herself. Minerva sat on the ledge.

"I bought back parsnips. I'm going to make hazelnut soup for dinner! Your favourite. Surprise!"

"Well mother there is something I need to show yo-" She was once again cut off.

"Oh you know how I feel after leaving you after a fight, especially when I've done nothing wrong!"

"I thought about what you said earlier and…" And she was for the THIRD GOD DAMN TIME CUT OFF.

"I hope your not still talking about the stars."

"Lights and yes… I'm going up to that. You se-" GOD DAMNIT MINERVA HAVE SOME MANNERS… Anyways, Lucy was for the forth time cut off.

"I really thought we dropped that earlier."

"No you see, you think I'm not strong enough to handle myself."

"Oh darling I don't think, I know."

"But if you just-" ok seriously Minerva if you keep this up me and you are gonna have a serious problem

"Lucy stop, talking about that."

"Trust me!"

"Lucy."

"I know…"

"Lucy!"

"Oh come on!"

"ENOUGH WITH THE LIGHTS LUCY! YOU ARE NOT LEAVING THIS TOWER! EVER!" She screamed. "Great, now I'm the bad guy."

"All I was going to say Mother is that… I know what I want for my birthday now."

"And what is that?" Minerva sighed.

"The special paint, the one made from the white shells you once bought me"

"Lucy that is a three day trip just to get there."

"I just thought, it was a better idea than the… stars." She looked up and Minerva sighed.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"I know I'm safe as long as I'm here." Lucy hugged her fake mother.

"I'll be back in three days' time." And Lucy let her down and Minerva disappeared. Lucy instantly went to her closet and the man, who was still unconscious flopped out.

Lucy pulled in the man, who was tied up with her hair, on a chair. Happy slapped him several times until he licked his ear, shocking the male and immediately waking him up. He stuggled in her binds.

"Is this… Hair?" He struggled around in it.

"Struggling… Struggling won't help." She tapped her pan in her hand.

"Huh?" He asked.

"Who are you? And how did you find me?" She asked the stranger.

"Aha."

"Who are you? And how did you find me?" She asked him again.

"Mm-hm." He inspected the girl. "I know not who you are, nor how I came to find you, but may I just say… Hi. How ya' doin'? The names Salamander. How's your day goin'? Huh? Got any food on ya'?"

"Ugh! Who else knows my location, Salamander?" She says in a mocking tone.

"All right, blondie-"

"Lucy."

"Gesundheit. Here's the deal, I was in a situation, gallivanting through the forest, I came across your tower and… Ho… Oh no… Where is my satchel?" He panicked for the second time today.

"I've hidden it, somewere you'll never find it."

"Its in that pot isn't it."

*cue her knocking out Salamander for the 3rd time*

"Er, uh. Huh?" He notices Happy's tongue is once again in his ear waking him up.

"Now I've hidden it where you'll never find it. So what do you want with my hair? To cut it?"

"What?"

"Sell it?"

"No!" He cried out in frustration and confusion. "The only thing I want to do with your hair, is to get out of it. Literally. Smells nice though, like vanilla. How often do you shampoo?"

"Dail- Wait… You don't want my hair?"

"Why on earth would I want your hair? Look I was being chased, saw a tower climbed it end of story."

"You're telling… The truth?" Happy shakes his head not agreeing with it. Lucy begins to talk to Happy.

"I know, I need someone to take me." Happy again motions his head in a strange way. "I think hes telling the truth too." Happy points to his teeth. "He has sharp fangs, but the rest of his teeth are normal, what choice do I have?" They hear Salamander struggling in the background again. She turns to him.

"What?" He asks her.

"Okay Salamander. I am prepared to offer you a deal."

"A deal?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Look this way." And she opened her artwork curtain. "Do you know what these are?"

"You mean the lantern thing they do for the princess?" He asked.

"Lanterns… I knew they weren't stars." She whispered happily to herself. "Well tomorrow night they will appear, you will act me as my guide to see these lanterns, and return my home safely. Then, and only then, will I return your satchel. That is my deal."

"Yeah… No can do. Unfortunately the kingdom and I aren't exactly 'simpatico' at the moment so I can't go taking you anywere" He said with a smug grin.

"Something brought you here, Salamander. Call it what you will: fate, destiny…"

"A horse."

"So I have made the decision, to trust you."

"Horrible decision really."

"But trust me when I tell you this." She pulled him closer. "You can tear this tower apart brick by brick. But without my help, you'll never find your precious satchel."

"So let me get this straight. I take you to see the lanterns, bring you back home and then you will return my satchel?" He questioned.

"I promise, and I never EVER break a promise. Ever."

"Alright listen, I didn't want to have to do this but you leave me no choice… Here comes the smoulder." And he looks up with slightly handsome grin. They just look at him. "This is an off day for me, this usually doesn't happen… Fine… I'll take you to see the lanterns!"

"Really!?" She yelled in excitement, making the chair drop on his face. "Oops."

"You broke my smoulder."