~ Ch. II ~
~It's Her~
(Warning: Bad Chapter - Read with an open mind. Thank you.)
"Natsu, wake up!"
A sharp pain in Natsu's stomach sent him curled up into a ball, holding his stomach and groaning in pain. Through his onyx eyes, still blurred with sleep, he saw an all too familiar head of red standing over him. He groaned once again and whined, "Did you have to go as far as to kick me in the stomach?"
"Of course," said the red-headed woman. She flipped her scarlet hair over her shoulder and in a more serious tone she added, "I know the war's over, but you can't let your guard down like that. You're the next heir to Dragone, the notorious kingdom that has sent over 100 castles crumbling and broken apart nations. Do you know how many people are out there who would do anything to have your head?"
Natsu replied in a blunt tone, "Countless. But remember that I'm also named the War God. I'm sure with that title comes with some sort of danger radar or something."
A frown formed on the lips of the scarlet-haired woman. She wasn't amused by Natsu's joke and eyed him dubiously only to have her gaze falter when she noticed the intensity of his gaze.
Natsu's mouth opened. "Come on, Erza. Have some faith in me."
Erza swept some strands of her scarlet locks out of her face and sighed. "Hurry up and get ready. Once we pack, we're marching straight back home," she ordered abruptly.
"Aye, sir…"
Erza took one last glance at Natsu before ducking out of his tent. Natsu watched his general leave and groaned again. He touched the purple spot on his stomach and winced.
She didn't have to kick me that hard, Natsu thought to himself.
Using his hand to prop himself up, Natsu yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. From where he was in the corner of the tent, he could hear busy-making noises going on outside. The clatter of kitchen utensils passed by his tent and the gritty noise of something heavy being dragged followed. Sunlight was shining through a crack in the flaps Erza exited through. Dark shadows darted past, carrying or dragging boxes across the thin ray of pure, golden light.
Roughly scratching his head, Natsu got up from the thin sheet of cloth laid out as his bed and walked to his chest where he put on a white button shirt and a black coat. He grabbed his belt that had his cherished white scarf tied next to the buckle and looped it around his waist.
He grabbed his bed cloth and stuffed it messily into the chest. Gripping the handle on the chest, Natsu ducked out of his tent and yawned. He squinted at the bright light and dragged the chest out of the tent, heading towards the middle of the camp. He suddenly stopped when he accidentally bumped into someone's back. Natsu recoiled and was about to apologize when he noticed who he bumped into. He bit back the apology and instead glared at the raven-headed soldier in front of him.
"What? You're not going to apologize?" the soldier sneered, dropping the box he was carrying with a thick thud.
Natsu did the same and let go of the handle on the chest. With the same intensity of the soldier Natsu retorted, "Not to your ugly face."
The other soldiers carried on with their business like normal, as if the tense atmosphere between the two was nothing out of the ordinary. With a fistful of the other's shirt and a fist reeled back ready to strike, a fist fight was about to break out when someone stepped in between the two.
"Oh, is that Erza?"
The boys stopped their fists midair and quickly released each other's collars. They frantically searched around them for the fiery red-headed general, but only found a small, blue-haired girl standing between them smiling a cheeky smile.
Natsu narrowed his eyes at her and hissed, "Wendy."
The girl ignored her brother and pointed towards the middle of the camp where a large wagon was being loaded full of boxes and chests. "Gray, it looks they're having trouble. You should go help," she addressed the raven-haired soldier.
Gray raised an eyebrow and glanced to where she was pointing. "It looks like they're fine…"
Just when he said that, a stack of boxes and chests collapsed into itself causing the soldiers around it to cry out. Gray stared dumbly at the panicking troops and sighed. He walked away from the siblings and went to go help.
Natsu stared at his sister accusingly and asked, "What was that all about?"
Crossing her arms, Wendy said in a displeased tone, "I'm tired of treating your wounds when Erza beats you up for fighting again. You should be thanking me."
Natsu looked away as if to think about it, then bluntly shook his head no. Before Wendy could argue back, Natsu quickly changed the subject. "Did you hear from Dad yet?"
Wendy remained silent until she realized he was talking about the letter they sent to the castle a little over four weeks ago. "Ah, yes! It just came today actually."
"What did it say?"
"I don't have it with me…" Wendy said sheepishly.
"Then where is it?" Wendy eyed the collapsed pile of crates and spotted a corner of her rustic blue chest buried underneath making Natsu sigh and say, "I guess it can wait until we get home." He ruffled Wendy's hair as if to say that it was okay and walked off.
Wendy watched her brother walk away before she let the mischievous look in her eyes show. She patted a neatly folded up letter in her pocket, the seal already broken. Giving into the urge, she took out the letter and read it once more.
Dear Natsu,
We are glad to hear from you and to know that you are well. News of a new city brings us great happiness and we will hold a grand celebration. Your mother and I are elated to hear that you have finally reached the point in life where you wish to wed. If you don't mind, in addition to the celebration, your mother has also made it to double into a matchmaking ball to aid you in finding a fair maiden. The ball will be held the day after you return home.
Return safely, King Igneel
The small smile growing on Wendy's face could not contain the joy she was feeling. Hugging the letter tight to her chest, the blue-haired princess skipped away as she sang about a love story unravelling before her.
Eyes narrowed and lips curved down to a deep frown, Natsu pushed away from the balcony he was leaning on and dismissed the chorus of protests from the group of girls trying to flirt with him. The prince leaned against the opposite wall and sighed heavily as Wendy approached him, asking the question floating above her head. A glare was thrown in Wendy's direction and she shivered.
"What's wrong?" Natsu repeated in a seething tone. He gestured roughly at the indistinctive hum of chatter and laughter flooding over the railing. "What's wrong is the day after my return home, I was suddenly tossed into this convention of women suddenly wanting to wed me! It's disgusting!"
"Is it too on the nose for you? Mom did kinda go all out on this…" Wendy glanced over the balcony, at her mother who was calmly sipping a cup of tea in the corner of the room. Spotting her daughter staring at her, she waved with an extended arm and a bright smile. Pursing her lips, she looked back at Natsu and suggested, "Well, you should at least make the most of it. Come on, go mingle with some girls. It's better than moping around here."
"I'm not moping, I'm sulking," he corrected. "There's a difference."
Wendy rolled her eyes, said yeah, and followed up with, "Is there anything that'll make you cooperate? Food? Some sort of show?"
The prince looked away and held his chin as if to think of something. An idea popped into his head and his eyes lit up. He smirked and looked down at his sister.
Once the words left his mouth, Wendy immediately objected. "Of course we can't do that! It'd be too dangerous!"
"That or I'm not coming down."
Unsure what to choose, Wendy pressed her lips together and stared at the empty space in front of her as she thought over each option. At times, her eyes would flicker to Natsu then shoot back to the floor, heavily pondering about her choices. Finally coming upon a decision, Wendy sighed loudly and said, "Fine, you win! But if anyone gets hurt, it's your fault!"
Natsu smiled victoriously at Wendy's departing figure and now smiled at himself as he leaned against the wall.
A flash of blue rushed past Igneel as he tried to exit his study. The hand that was about to scratch the back of his neck stopped midway and his eyes widened slightly. Confused about Wendy's urgent pace, Igneel tentatively called out to his daughter making her stop and double back on her steps. Without a word, she bowed in front of her father and continued down the hall.
Igneel followed curiously and eventually caught up with Wendy. "Sweetie? What's the rush? Did something go wrong at the ball?"
Wendy didn't respond, she was too busy mumbling to herself. "For goodness's sake, I'm already going through a month's worth of gauze… He could've at least gone a bit easier on the poor girl… Hopefully the medical supplies are unpacked."
Igneel's forehead creased. "What? Did someone get hurt? Wendy, sweetie, what happened?"
Wendy kept walking, oblivious to her father's presence and made a sudden left down the hall. "I should use my emergency stash just in case…"
Igneel gave up at the corner and decided to see the problem for himself, gripping the handle of his sword just in case he stepped into a bad situation.
Bursting through the ornate ballroom doors, King Igneel stared down at the crowd of people circling what seemed like a duel in the middle of the room. The clash of metal against metal bounced off the high walls, unnerving the king.
Guests and servants moved aside after noticing his presence, opening a pathway to the middle of the circle. Igneel strode past and was about to boom the question on his mind when he was interrupted.
Igneel cast a questioning stare at his wife covering his mouth. She gave him a mischievous wink and nodded towards the middle of the circle. The king, still confused, looked and found his son wielding a decorative sword that was supposed to be hanging on the wall. He would get mad if not for the longing look on Grandine's face suggesting he shouldn't interfere.
Believing in his wife's judgement, Igneel remained silent and let the battle play out.
The ring of iron striking iron rang loud in his ears as Natsu skillfully blocked each blow his opponent rained upon him. The girl he was fighting with was quick to recoil from each swing and refused to give him the chance to counter. The prince smiled amusingly and suddenly swung his sword upwards right as a blow connected, surprising the girl as her arm went behind her head. She was left wide open and Natsu leapt for the move that would win him the battle.
Seeing the pre-victorious look on the prince's face, the girl gritted her teeth and ignored the searing ache coming from her shoulder. Leaned back into a handstand, she kicked her feet over and did a full backflip. She smiled when she saw Natsu look at his empty hand, then at the sword spinning over their heads. It landed a few feet behind the girl and she smirked at the prince. Winding her sword back for her finishing blow, the girl saw victory within reach when a flash of pink slipped under the blade of her sword as she swung.
She whipped around to see the prince grab the grip of the sword right before he turned to face her.
"You fight pretty well for a princess."
The maiden's eyes widened slightly at the prince's compliment and she smirked. "Who said I was a princess?"
Natsu's eyes glittered as he lunged forward, swinging the sword down with all his might. The girl stepped aside just in time and the prince's sword slid down the length of her's, causing him to strike the tiled floors and ultimately creating a trap.
Seeing the prince having trouble raising his sword, the maiden leapt into action. Spinning on her heels, the woman swung her sword, intending to hit the back of his neck, but was instead surprised to be met by a sword inches away from her target, blocking her blow.
The prince looked over his shoulder and smiled at his own strength and swiftness. Whipping around to face the woman, the prince swung and trapped the maiden in a contest between strength. The swords between the two shook violently as each person pushed to come out on top.
"My apologies," the prince spoke between blades. "With that kind of face, anyone could easily mistaken you as a princess from a far away kingdom."
"Bringing out the pickup lines, huh? I do recall you insulting me before this battle even began," she retorted.
"That was before I witnessed your sword fighting skills. If it weren't for the sword, you'd look like any old maiden here."
"You compliment me claiming I have a face of a princess, now you're saying I'm average?"
"You know what I meant."
"No, please clarify for me."
The girl leapt back from the prince and lowered her sword. The two were about to lunge into another battle when someone yelled to stop them.
The attention was taken by the castle medic, looking annoyed and fed up as she carried her customized first aid kit to the wounded girl. Wendy took the girl's elbow and dragged away her from Natsu, shooting displeased glares at him as she walked.
The girl dropped her sword and followed obediently, leaving the prince alone in the middle of the ballroom.
Spotting the king approaching at the corner of his eye, Natsu quickly fled to follow the girls.
Igneel stopped midway and sighed. He turned around and gestured for the circle of people to continue with the party. Grandine walked up to him and smiled widely.
"Is there a reason why you didn't stop your idiot of a son?"
Grandine nudged Igneel's side at his comment and frowned, saying, "You saw it too." She glanced at the hallway Natsu disappeared into and her smile reappeared. "I haven't seen Natsu smile like that in years..."
The king followed Grandine's gaze and he couldn't deny it.