Hey guys~! Kytrin here with your Wednesday update! No announcements this chapter, so I will let you all get on with enjoying the story!
CHAPTER 1
Flibustier
Pirates of the Golden Age
400 years later
Deep, deep in the ocean blue laughter echoed around ivory walls. On the ocean floor stood a magnificent palace, home to a royal family of merfolk.
A blur of pink and red shot past a thick column, a black blur following close behind and shouting incoherent protests.
"Natsu! Wait!"
"Come on Zeref you slowsnail! We're going to be late!" Natsu laughed in response. He paused only long enough to wait for his companion, a powerful red tail flexing from his waist down. His eyes flashing with humor as he flicked his tail back and forth against the water currents.
"Natsu you're a prince, and I'm the king. We can't be acting like a bunch of guppies! We aren't kids!" Zeref protested as he caught up to the other.
"Well I can't ever remember being a kid bro, so I gotta make do wherever I can!" Natsu laughed, his tail flicking up to slap his brother in the face.
"Oh you're going to pay for that!" Zeref growled, and pounced on his adopted brother. An action that resulted in howls of delight from Natsu and a rather comical floating ball of limbs and tail.
"Is that all you got?" Natsu cackled tauntingly as he wrestled with his brother, the need to hurry immediately forgotten by the more demanding need to win. However, before Zeref could reply a smaller white tail knocked them both across the head.
The pair looked up to find the queen floating there with a stern expression that was utterly spoiled by the way her lips kept twitching, "Would you two cut it out? We're going to be late to the festival opening!"
"Sorry Mavis!" Natsu grinned, not looking at all repentant. Particularly over how ruffled his brother now looked.
Mavis rolled her eyes and huffed slightly as she helped Zeref tidy up, "You two are so alike you really should've been born brothers!"
Natsu's grin just widened. Zeref had been his one constant since that day centuries ago when he'd awoken in the palace's medical wing without any memory of who he was, where he'd come from, or how he'd gotten there. The sea king had been with him through the shock of his amnesia, and the even bigger shock of what he had been when his heritage had been discovered.
Prince Natsu. Son of the fire dragon king Igneel.
He still didn't remember much about it honestly, but it had been pretty hard to deny when the great red dragon had landed on the shore nearest the palace and requested an audience to see his son. It had been even harder to deny when the moment he'd laid eyes on Igneel he'd happily whined out a greeting no ordinary throat could make.
That had been when he'd learned what he was, and how, improbably, he'd been saved by the sea goddess Juvia. It had also been the moment when Zeref, who had already become a friend, had declared that no matter how it had happened Natsu was now as much his brother as the dragon's son, and would be made eternally welcome in the sea kingdom.
The anniversary of which was today. And was the whole point of the festival celebrating the alliance between dragons and merfolk they were now late to.
He glanced up towards the surface, suddenly aching to see his father, and flicked his tail impatiently, "C'mon you two! Hurry up!"
"Alright! Alright!" Zeref laughed, taking his wife's hand as they zoomed up to the surface as quickly as they could. Accompanied by a number of Zeref's other laughing subjects eager to enjoy the festivities.
Natsu's head burst the surface, his expression bursting into a wide smile as he caught sight of the cove where a massive dragon was seated with groups of others of a variety of colors. Kicking his powerful tail, Natsu made his way over to the fire dragon king and lifted his arms. Igneel let out a booming laugh, dipping his massive head into the water where Natsu's arms grasped around his snout and lifted the merman clear of the water.
Natsu laughed in glee over being brought wholly into the warmth of the sun. His tail glimmered with dark ruby scales, patterned in intricate waves with darker ones. It looked almost like a living flame the way it kicked through the air, which wasn't helped by the way Natsu took in a deep breath and flames burst out from his mouth.
Zeref and Mavis joined them at the surface, smiling as they watched Natsu laugh with his father while they approached the shore. As they did, several of the other dragons dipped their heads obligingly to help lift their watery visitors up onto the shore, and once they did it wasn't long before their tails began to dry and flake away, exposing very human looking legs.
Natsu's tail, however, remained the same. It had since the beginning. The merfolk magic that allowed his adopted family to walk on land simly did not work for him.
The cackling prince didn't seem to mind though. Even as his tail dried out, he stretched out from his perch on his father's head to enjoy the festival with his family and nest. But despite his joy, there was an aching hollow sensation in his chest. One he had difficulty ignoring.
Whenever he saw the sun or the night sky, that feeling returned. It was an aching pain near his heart, constantly throbbing as if never whole.
He ached to go find the missing piece of himself, often wondering if his missing memories held the key. Sometimes he wished he could find Juvia herself and ask her about it, but since the day she'd saved him four hundred years ago she had made her presence scarce.
He often wondered why, but all he could glean from Zeref and the chronicles of the time was that for a time the goddess had been so full of joy and light that for months at a time her seas had sparkled and not so much as a single gray cloud could be seen. However, those days were now long gone, and more often than not the sea was dark and forbidding outside of the places the locals worked to keep light. If it was a reflection of her mood, it was a telling one.
And one that left him feeling a guilty twinge in his chest.
He blinked a little as a movement of bright white scales crossed his vision, pulling him out of his reverie.
"You're looking particularly vacant today brother." Sting rumbled teasingly, "What are you thinking about so hard?"
"Oh nothing special." Natsu grinned back, "Just the way Rogue won your last match by sitting on you!" His grin turned wicked, "I still remember the squeak you made!"
"I did not squeak!" Sting huffed indignantly while Rogue snorted out a laugh.
"Yes you did." The dark dragon smirked, "I remember it too."
Igneel rumbled out a laugh as the three nestmates began arguing about it and looked at Zeref, "I fear food will be their only distraction now."
"Food?" Natsu perked up at once, instantly distracted, "Aw man... tell me you brought some human food today?"
Zeref snorted and rolled his eyes, "You would know we did if you'd bothered to pay attention in our council meetings for the last three moons."
That sent Igneel and the other dragons chuckling, but Natsu was no longer paying attention. A movement in the distance had caught his eye as he'd shifted position, "What... is that?"
The question caught Rogue's attention and the shadow dragon shifted for a closer look, "Looks like a human ship." He replied with a shrug, "Not a very big one."
No, it wasn't. But somehow that didn't make Natsu relax at all.
He wasn't sure what it was, but something about the size of the ship, the shape of her sails, and the way she glided through the water had his gut screaming at him. Something was very, very wrong.
A flash of memory invaded his sight for a moment. Of a beautiful ship, and a hand, his own, grasping the rigging as he hollered in joy. However, before he could do more than grasp the memory the ship shifted and the feeling in Natsu's gut tightened.
"We have to leave!" He cried to the others, "Something's wrong!"
"Natsu, it's just a pleasure ship that wandered into these waters." Zeref chided lightly, "That happens from time to time. Don't worry about it."
The feeling wouldn't go away despite Zeref's assurances though and Natsu desperately scrambled through his memories as his father turned away from the sea after depositing Natsu on some rocks on shore. His tail flopped uncomfortably and his fingers flexed.
No memories would come though and Natsu stared out at the sea, assessing the small ship. No doubt the others weren't concerned. Even if it did pose a threat, the dragons could crush it. And if not the mermaids would use their magic on it to keep it at bay.
But that won't work.
Small ship, quick and speedy, capable of making sharp turns. It was a vessel made for pursuit and battle. Magical defenses and offenses to neutralize enemy spells.
Small and uniform which meant...
"It travels in a fleet!" Natsu shouted, just as a small battalion of similar ships crept up from where they were hidden by the coves natural cover.
The ships opened fire on those gathered, Natsu letting out a shout as a metal net locked itself around him and he was dragged by a heavy chain away from the others.
Thick looking harpoons were aimed at the dragons, meant to damage their wings and force them to the ground while Zeref and Mavis were forced into the water to try and free Natsu.
Natsu roared furious jets of flames into the netting, digging his fingers into the special fibers that refused to melt. He used as much of his strength as he could, but they wouldn't yield. Roaring in rage, he was dragged through the water and slammed into the side of the sleek ship. Jostled, and head pounding, he almost didn't notice his brother's glowing red eyes as he summoned the pitch darkness of his magic.
He and Mavis raced towards the ship, but they were too late as Natsu was reeled up onto the deck and unfamiliar hands began to grasp at his body.
"Let me go! I'll fry ya!" Natsu snarled out a flame to set the man touching him on fire. It merely glanced off his clothing though, inhibited by the net.
"Looks like we've got a live one boys!" A rough voice cackled, "Let's be sure and take real good care of him!"
Natsu struggled against the metal net a little more, but there must've been some sort of enchantment on it because all he succeeded in doing was flopping over by the guard rail in time to watch the surprised dragons rally and Igneel turn the remaining ships into torches. He watched as his furious brother finally swim to a halt, gasping for air as the ship did what it did best and sped out of range, and fleetingly met Zeref's gaze.
It was a gaze that promised retribution and rescue, but though Natsu knew Zeref would keep his promise it was little consolation as he was hauled roughly away from the rail.
He could only pray to Juvia, or any gods that would listen, that he survived whatever his captors had planned long enough to be rescued. Or escape.
-::-
Several days sail from Natsu, a small blue haired bookish looking woman looked up alertly from where she'd been pouring over maps and navigation charts.
"Something interesting Levy?" A blond asked curiously, looking up from where she'd been writing in her log.
Levy flushed a little and shook her head, "No Captain." She replied a tad sheepishly, "Just thought I heard something strange."
Her captain, the fearsome Lucy Heartfilia, snorted a little and glanced wryly up at the ceiling where they could hear clomping and a male voice shouting orders among the myriad other sounds of the ship.
"All things considered I should probably consider it a miracle we can hear anything over this noise." She grinned, "Never mind figments of our imagination."
She closed her book and carefully tucked away her quill and ink before standing, "C'mon. Let's go check on the ship before Gray shouts himself hoarse again."
"Right," Levy smiled at her captain and stood up after her. She scooped a compass up and stuck her tongue out to mark out the next paths for them to take, "Alright our route is planned for the trade port..."
"But captain, I was wondering..." Levy started, unsure how to broach the topic. She bit her bottom lip as Lucy's attention fell to her, calm and patient.
"There's a path we can take that will go right by the library and temple of the goddess of knowledge and navigation," she gave Lucy a hopeful smile, "I was wondering if I could go pray there, it's right on our way if we change our course a little!"
"It's a little out of the way, but we have the rations to make the stop, I'll be keeping on the ship with Gray though if you don't mind, the seas haven't been kind and I'm concerned we'll run into a crew looking to disrupt us," Lucy smiled at her, "the crew will be happy for a bit of shore leave."
"Awe Lu, I bet everything will be safe! What could go wrong? It's an island with the worlds largest collection of knowledge," Levy practically drooled, a dopey smile drifting over her face.
"Should I extend the shore leave to give ya a lil' time alone with your library?" Lucy smirked at Levy who went red faced at the implication.
"Gods only know Ive seen that look on your face when you're chasing after Gajeel in his forge," Lucy snorted at her, "I'm actually surprised you want to make a pit stop instead of going directly to him. It's been a good while since you last saw him."
Levy sighed and tapped her fingertips together, "I know, but I'm hoping to get a scroll for him..." She mumbled.
Lucy let out a loud "aweee" and hugged her navigator before dragging her up to the deck.
"Alright ya bilge rats!" Lucy called out to her crew, causing he chaos onboard to come to a halt, "Our beloved navigator is on a noble quest for the sake of love!"
The cheers and whoops chorused back at them and Lucy let out a cheerful giggle at the murderous expression on Levy's face.
"Let's set sail! Gray?" She called up.
"Aye captain?" Gray remained where he was manning the helm, cool eyes drifting down towards the two women. He was smirking at Levy, clearly amused even if he didn't show it.
"Set sail to Crocus, we're going to get some shore leave!" Lucy crowed, causing her crew to practically scream in joy.
Lucy grinned a little as Gray snapped to and expertly twirled the helm, but there was no mistaking the look of satisfaction on his face. Whether he would admit it or not, he was clearly pleased with the idea, and was probably already plotting the letters he was going to write to his family back in the mountains.
She was just glad that they could afford to make the stop. The pickings had been slim as of late, and though they weren't shy of money by any means if they didn't find a nice fat merchant ship in the relatively near future there would be problems.
She knew it was, in part, the season. The sea goddess had been relentless this year, and a number of folks had been left in dire straits thanks to the hurricanes that had torn through all season long.
The relief ships had been moving fast and furious as a result. Prime pickings one would say, but she'd declared they would not line their pockets at the expense of some poor bastard's suffering.
The only ones she wanted to see pinched where it hurt were the fat cats like her bastard father.
She shook off the thought of him before it could properly take hold and began moving around the deck on inspection.
The Fairy Tail was a beautiful ship, modeled and christened after the depictions Levy had found of the ship of the most famous of ancient pirate kings, and Lucy was proud to see her gleaming from port to stern.
There was certainly no other ship like her in the modern era.
A fact that Lucy thought was rather a shame as it seemed the ancient shipwrights had some rather ingenious ideas, and combined with modern magic The Fairy Tail was fast and agile enough there were times Lucy swore she could feel her flying.
Lucy took her spot next to Gray who steered with quiet and resolve. Her first mate insisted his life was cursed, a fact Lucy could easily relate to, and many times had offered to take himself away from her ship. But Lucy had refused each time. She had learned his story early on, and knew he only found peace while at sea. Which was something else they had in common.
And the sea truly loved him. Even at its worst storms, he was the only one Lucy trusted to steer her beloved ship. Even over herself. He just instinctively knew the ocean better than anyone she had seen. Through the thickest tempest to the calmest of sails, he could do them all.
And though no one else could claim his mystic connection to the sea and her goddess, everyone on the Fairy Tail ship knew bad luck and misfortune of some kind. However when they were all together, it seemed to negate all the bad in their lives. Something she would not deprive anyone.
Even when the bad luck caught up with them, Lucy knew they would overcome it without fail.
After all, it was just another adventure for them.
And mundane as it seemed, visiting Crocus was no exception. Because if there was one thing she'd learned over the years it was to always expect the unexpected with Fairy Tail.
She had no idea how prophetic her philosophy would turn out to be.
-::-
On a ship traveling directly on Fairy Tail's route, Natsu shivered, his body weak as he forced himself to flip onto his back. He moaned quietly in the back of his throat, tasting blood on his tongue.
He needed water, desperately.
They, his tormenters, had grudgingly given him a few sips of salt water after fresh water had been violently rejected. But they still limited his exposure for fear of strengthening him too much. They didn't want to kill him, but they had to keep him dried out so he couldn't use his magic. Of course, they didn't know his magic made the problem even worse.
Fire had a tendency of drying him out faster, and so it made him unable to use his magic at all when he had so little water in him. The irony was not lost on him. Though it did little to help lift his spirits.
They had been fascinated with him. Half dragon and half merman, apparently none like him existed. They had taken to pulling out his fangs, and they had been pleased when they saw how quickly they grew back, but that had been nothing to his tail. His tail had been scraped raw, scales plucked off and collected in jars to grind down into love potions and sold for profit.
They also grew back of course, but scales took a little longer to return, and his tail wasn't being given an opportunity to heal. A fact that was brought home to him every time he moved and a fresh wave of agony lanced up his spine.
Not that he expected they would give him time to heal. They'd made it very clear they fully intended to harvest him like an oyster, and only when he'd been wrung dry would they let him die. And even then they'd probably harvest his bones or something.
Miserable, and in pain, he tried to resist the urge to move into a more comfortable position too much. He'd learned the hard way over the past few days that aside from the pain, motion meant his captors would notice and decide that if he was lively enough to move then he was ready for another round of harvesting.
As it was, he had his eyes screwed shut against the pitiless glare of the sun, and as such missed the first glimpse of another ship approaching.
The sound of an alert being called and people rushing around him was much harder to miss however. He cracked his eyes open, wincing at how much the glare seemed to exacerbate his hurts, and watched blearily as the humans rushed around, drawing weapons and preparing for battle.
He wasn't able to follow it for long however. His head was pounding, and it was hard just propping himself up as much as he was. Making sense of the shouted orders was beyond him.
He watched dazedly as the invaders, who could only be pirates, launched their attack, and felt a dark surge of pleasure as several of his captors were immediately cut down when the first cannonball struck. He quickly lost track of the battle after that though. All he could catch were random flashes of movement and the sound of metal clanging.
The time slipped by crazily, and he thought vaguely that he must've blacked out at one point because the next thing he knew the battle was over and a worried looking female face was staring at him.
"He's badly hurt!" She exclaimed, and for reasons he couldn't fathom his heart clenched tightly at the sight of her blond hair. Who was this woman? He was certain he didn't know her, and yet...
He reached out to her, not certain what he was doing, and felt a surge of warmth when she grasped his hand in hers.
"Stay with us." She encouraged, "It's going to be okay. There's an island not far from here where we can tend your wounds. Just hang on a little longer."
Her voice was as sweet as a sirens, but not even it's pull could stop Natsu from succumbing to the darkness encroaching his vision. Blackness cloaked his senses and robbed him of the woman invading his sight.
As much as he tried to resist it though, he was swept under the current before he could stop it.
And that's chapter 1! I gotta say we are amazed and thrilled by the response we got on our prologue! I'm super excited by how pumped you all are for this story, and as a reward for your many responses you get an extra long preview! enjoy my loves and we'll see you again on Sunday! :)
Lucy's expression cleared, and though it looked like she wanted to ask for details she instead reached for an apple and held it up, "Would you like one?"
Natsu's expression lit up, and she laughed a little as she tossed it into his tank. However, the merman had done little more than grasp his treat before Gray came crashing into the room.
"Captain!" He cried in alarm, "There's a whole host of merpeople off the port bow, and none of them look friendly!"
All of a sudden there was a massive lurch in the ship, sending Lucy crashing against Natsu's tank, and screams erupted on deck.
"What the-?" Lucy gasped as she tried to find her balance only to pale as cries of 'Kraken!' filtered down, "You've got to be kidding me!"
"Lucy wait!" Natsu called as she made to dash out with Gray, "Release me!"
"What?" Lucy exclaimed, "Natsu we're under attack!"
"I know." Natsu replied, his tail flicking urgently, "But you gotta listen to me! My brother's been looking for me since I was captured. He's the only one who could command a kraken like that! Please. Get me in the water. I can explain things to him."
Gray stared at him incredulously, "Your brother commands a kraken? But the only one who can do that is the Sea King of Alvarez!" His eyes widened in shock as Natsu's serious expression didn't flicker, "You're Prince Natsu?!"
