Hello all!
I can't apologise enough for not updating. Life is kinda hectic right now. But, as of today, updates will be weekly on a Friday, unless I have a note in my bio that says otherwise. I don't know how many of you actually read author bios, but there you go.
Thank you for the lovely reviews and I promise updates will be regular from now on!
~AndsotheTardisdisappeared
Chapter 2- Deliveries
Natsu woke up the next morning the same as he had for seven years now; to the smell of the cider Cana drank, to baking bread, to the smell of the smoke rising through the chimney into the sky. The fires of the forge burning bright as ever, the coals heating up for the new day ahead, and the ash flickering into the air, sparking and cooling as it pleased.
This day, however, something felt different- a feeling in his stomach, one that he was sure wasn't simply the undercooked porridge he had eaten for dinner the day before. He lifted his eyelids groggily, the criss-crossed wooden beams of his roof as familiar to him as his own hand, and sniffed. The air felt thicker then it had the yesterday.
He yawned on impulse, unable to help himself, and listened intently. The busting noise of the markets and streets seemed normal enough. He could hear the bargaining yells, Juvia's excited squeal as she saw Gray for the first time that morning, Mirajane's angelic voice as she sung casually while making her rounds with the grain for the serving staff, Erza's barking orders, the librarian Levy reading softly to Gajeel as he polished armour in the armoury.
It was the usual working class buzz, but with an underlying tension.
He ignored the knot in his stomach as he pulled on his clothes and pushed out the door.
'Good morning,' Gildarts greeted from behind his porridge.
Natsu beamed sleepily at him and mumbled something that was supposed to be "morning" and sounded more like "murder". Cana gulped back her warm drink and gave him a nod over her mug.
Gildarts pushed a small box from the edge of the table to the centre and gestured for Natsu to open it. The groggy boy accepted and flipped up the metal latch, flipping open the wooden lid.
He brought out the small glass key with care, holding it up to the light.
It was rather heavy for such a small object, and the flat of the key was carved with a small circle that lead off to a loop up and around.
'The Queen's, before she passed away,' Gildarts clarified. 'The King needs it sent to Clover.'
He set the key back down in the box and closed the lid. 'But Clover's miles away.'
'Exactly,' Cana grinned over her drink, 'The sort of job a young, fit boy could do easily.'
Realisation crossed Natsu's face. 'You're kidding. No way!'
Gildarts let out a chuckle and Cana smirked. 'Why not? It should be an honour to carry the Queen's possessions to such a place as Clover.'
'That's a week's journey there and back!'
'Cana and I packed some rations for you. Think of it as an adventure.'
Natsu pouted and sunk into the dining room chair. 'Some adventure.'
'Come on, hot head, it's just trip into the forest,' Cana teased. 'You scared of the guards?'
'No!'
Gildarts sat back in thought. 'They would be rather harsh if they caught you beyond Magnolia's borders without accompaniment...but we can't risk trusting anyone else with the Queen's possessions.'
The brunette girl took a swig of cider. 'So you have every right to be scared.'
'Shut up!' Natsu growled. 'I ain't doing it!'
...
'Stupid Gildarts,' he muttered under his breath childishly, pushing twigs out from his face. 'Stupid Cana.'
His boots crunched against the fresh autumn leaves scattered around and his socks felt damp. Being usually surrounded by the warmth and smokey atmosphere of the forge, the moist, spongey air of the forest was unwelcome to say the very least. He didn't much care for the slugs trailing across the soggy branches, and he certainly didn't trust the suspicious looking mushrooms dotted colourfully around, the mere sight of which gave him a headache.
He twisted to avoid another protruding stick covered with an almost slime like moss and stumbled across the foot of a log. Cursing under his breath, he righted himself quickly, pulling his vest back into place as he straightened. He glanced down at the offending log with an accusing frown.
The ground under the log was beginning to tremble, a steady shake rocking the log back and forth, back and fourth. The leaves above it swayed and shifted, the grass disturbed and the shrubs in disarray.
He listened carefully, his sensitive ears picking up subtle noises that weren't natural. It sounded like two dozen horses, perhaps three. Barking orders accompanied them, Royal guards ordering flanks left and right. Natsu's heart struck suddenly against his rib cage and he bolted through the undergrowth.
Ignoring the twigs that grabbed at him from all angles and inventing a new form of running that completely ignored the basic rule of balance, Natsu ducked and weaved and dodged, his chest heavy. Should he be caught this far North of the Kingdom without guard supervision, he would be punished. Penalties in Magnolia were among the harshest is Fiore; disobedience could lead to loss of livelihood or even life itself if you had little regard for rules.
Adrenaline sped him up, the warmth he felt from running fuelling him rather than slowing him down. He trampled through the thicket while he pulled brambles and blackberries from his scarf, beginning to run on automatic, ignoring his surroundings. His foot caught a sudden drop, pitching him over the edge, his body crashing down onto the slope and thrashing wildly in the prickles and spikes threatening to poke out his eyes as he rolled. The impact of the ground knocked the air from his lungs. He gasped for oxygen and flailed, grabbing for a hand hold on the steep incline, smashing through bushes, cutting his arms and legs on plant stingers. Pain hissed through his hand as he grabbed at a rock. His hair fell into his eyes as the ground threw him upwards again and he rolled flat onto a gravel surface, slowing and eventually coming to a stop staring up at the sky through the cracked clouds.
'Nailed it,' he wheezed, coughing lightly and slumping his head down onto the ground.
After a few moment of gathering himself, Natsu managed to roll onto his side and steady himself on his left palm to sit up. Pain sizzled through the right one and he bit his tongue in distraction.
Glancing around, he appeared to be on a gravel road; the hill he had been practically torn apart on rose behind him, in front of him a sizeably smaller drop into more forest. Over the top of the forest below him he saw mountains glowing blue in the distance, valleys cutting across them, dotted every now and again with livestock.
Natsu had never seen such a view in his life, not even from inside the palace walls, which just looked out over the city. The path he sat on cut into the side of one of the mountains, it seemed. It was a wonder he had never heard of it; he knew Magnolia folk had never been explorers, but he would have thought someone would have taken this back path, even just on a small journey.
His eyes still stuck to the view, Natsu picked himself up and brushed off his clothes, running a hand through his hair to release any sticks or stray insects. He seemed to be presentable enough, by some miracle, although his hand stung like mad.
'Damn it,' he hissed through his teeth as he wrapped it in his scarf, the skin sore and weeping.
A small voice in the back of his mind asked how he supposed they were going to get back.
He considered climbing back up the hill, and quickly vetoed to idea, knowing that even for him, that would be stupid.
The only option was down.
Carefully easing his way over to the edge, Natsu pulled the scarf tight around his hand and tied it as a makeshift bandage. He squatted and put his other palm against the edge of the drop, jumping over and aiming his feet downwards, sliding down the hill as if surfing. He stumbled slightly when he reached the bottom, but it was still a much smoother decent than last time.
A thought clicked in Natsu's head and his hand flew to the satchel at his side- the bag was torn, and the clasp's metal was bent, but it seemed to be holding everything in place. He let out a breath of relief.
He looked around; the forest seemed less dense here, and a small twinge of excitement made him crack a smile. He had never been this far down the mountain before- it seemed an adventure, and the thought of anything that broke the monotony of daily life was thrilling.
He gripped his scarf and held it against his injured hand, taking a few steps forward. Warm light spilled in though the tree tops and birds twittered in a way they simply didn't in the city. It was pleasant, and Natsu to a deep breath of thick, sweet air.
The moment was broken when his ears pricked and he jolted around, hearing the rushed footsteps of running. It sounded like a single person, puffing out harried breaths.
Natsu took off again, ignoring his muscle's complaints, to the source of the sound. It was only a few yards away, and he approached it quickly, quieting his footsteps as he grew close.
A small spring lay in a clearing ahead. A cloaked figure, the source of the panting and running, fell down gratefully at its edge, dipping pale hands into the water and taking long sips. Natsu ducked behind a tree, watching it carefully. There was something deliberate about the way it drank, trained and elegant. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
The hood drew back to lie against a trail of golden hair, and his mouth fell open in a gape.
Lucy took a deep breath in and let herself fall back onto the ground. Her eyes were closed, dark red circles underneath them, and her skin was a lighter shade than the day before, but she was still beautiful.
Natsu stepped out from the tree line and she started, hand closing defensively around a key pendant she wore around her neck Natsu had not noticed the first time he had met her. She stared confusedly at him and he blinked at her.
The air was tense for a few seconds until the boy managed, 'Uh, hi?'
'Natsu,' Lucy frowned. 'What are you...?'
His confusion deepened when he realised she remembered his name. 'I was just... running an errand.'
'An errand? This far North?'
'Things didn't exactly go to plan.'
Lucy stood gracefully, pulling her cloak out of the way. She pointed at his hand wrapped in the scarf. 'What happened to your hand?'
Natsu raised it, having momentarily forgotten. Slowly, he said, 'Things didn't go to plan.'
She folded her arms and frowned, but didn't press it. 'Who sent you out here for an errand?'
'The Magnolia blacksmith-'
'Gildarts.'
'...Yeah.'
She peered at him curiously. 'Are you working class?'
'Yeah. Aren't you?' Natsu scrunched up his nose. 'You were in the palace.'
A flush crept up her cheeks and she stammered, 'O-of course I am! I was just confused, that's all. No need to be pushy!'
'I wasn't being-'
'Never mind!' she snapped, suddenly flustered. 'I-it was nice to see you again, Natsu, but I have to be going.'
Natsu was struggling to keep up with her sudden changes of conversation. 'Wait- hey, wait a second-'
Lucy turned and flashed a glare at him. 'What?'
He raised his good hand and pointed at the key strung around her neck. It was crystalline glass, the same as the one he carried in his satchel, and was carved with two waves that were beginning to glow a luminous blue.
She glanced down and jumped, hooking her finger around the chain and holding it up. The glowing intensified as it grew closer to Natsu.
Lucy's eyes trailed down to his satchel, and she pointed wordlessly at it. He looked down and saw a golden glow shine from the broken cracks in the leather. He lifted the flap and dug out the wooden box containing the key, opening it carefully.
The symbol on it glowed yellow.
Lucy's eyes widened as she stared at it, letting her own key fall from her fingers as she reached for the new one.
The whoosh of air caught Natsu's hypersensitive ears and he shoved the girl backwards, a crossbow arrow impaling the trunk of a tree a few feet from where she had been standing.
Natsu snapped the box shut and threw it back into his satchel.
'Guards,' he barked at her, grabbing her hand and pulling her along as he pushed out of the clearing. 'Run!'