The human mind was truly the scariest thing of all. Humans could lie and cheat and betray each other without a second thought, making and breaking one another like it meant nothing. It was so different from his own principles, from how dragons were. Dragons were so loyal, only mating once in their lives; trusting few because trust was valuable. Loyalty meant everything to a dragon, it meant everything to him. Natsu didn't understand, he didn't want to understand.
Natsu was afraid of Lucy, too. Although, not for the same reasons. He was afraid of the idea of losing her, because she was human. Lucy wasn't like most humans, of course, but she was still human. Lucy was his best friend, his only friend (bar Happy, of course). He'd given too much of himself to her to just let her go.
"How much longer Nat? I'm so tired." Lucy groaned, snapping him out of his thoughts. "It's been three days already; shouldn't we be there by now?"
Natsu sighed, a long, exaggerated sigh that left smoke pooling from his lips. "I don't know Lu, smells pretty close." he shook his head in frustration, "But I can't be sure, these fucking flowers are messin' up my senses."
Lucy giggled slightly, "I think they smell great." She bent down, picking one of the purple flowers from the ground, "Like lavender and fresh blueberries."
Scoffing, Natsu wrinkled his nose. "'Course you think they smell good, you gotta weak human nose. What are those useless things even for?" The blonde glared at him, grabbed his ear and yanking him to her height.
"I'll have you know that I, for one, have a perfectly nice-" A voice interrupted her.
"Identify yourselves."
Natsu reacted instantly, holding his arm in front of Lucy and staring at the intruder, Happy standing faithfully at his side. "Who are you?" he growled, scales creeping up his arms. Flames flickered at his fingertips as he stood his ground. Lucy wacked his shoulder lightly, pushing herself in front of him.
"I apologise for my friend, he lacks people skills." Lucy took this moment to turn and glare at Natsu, before swivelling around to smile at the man "We didn't know this area was restricted, I mean, it is a forest and it didn't have any warning signs or anyth-".
"Identify yourselves." He spoke again, and, although calm, a slight edge had crept into his voice.
Lucy gulped, "Uh, my name is Lucy and this is my friend Natsu. But as I was saying, we didn't know about-"
"Permission to speak has not be granted. You shall be apprehended and await trial by the law of the great Queen Titania, refrain from any speech before said period." The man scowled, lifting his hand to straighten his tie and run a hand through his shaggy, grey hair.
"Well excuse you," the blonde began, hands tightening into small fists, "I'd have you know-"
A dart suddenly shot from the man's brief case, cutting through the air and heading straight towards Lucy. She didn't even have time to flinch.
"What the fuck," Natsu seethed, dart perched between his fingers, "do you think you're doing?". The man looked shocked, the corners of his eyes wrinkling and his glasses falling to the bridge of his nose.
"I- um- how did you- that's not meant to be possible-" he cleared his throat, "I mean- resisting arrest can result in a harsher sentence, please refrain from any speech before trial period."
Natsu stalked forward, scales covering his entire form as flames scorched the grass behind him. "Listen you fuck," he jabbed a thumb into the man's chest, "no one cares about that shit. What I want to know is why the fuck you thought it would be a good idea to shoot a tranquiliser at my friend here." He gestured to Lucy, scales disappearing from his hand as he did so.
"Wait," Lucy chuckled, Natsu's scales flickered away at the sound, "we didn't even do anything, why did you try to tranquilise me?"
"I did what I had to for my Queen, I will not apologise for my actions. Especially to a dragon." He spat the word out like it was acid on his tongue, "I didn't realise at first, but now I know. What is the princess doing with a beast like you?"
The blonde visibly shivered, lifting her scarf so it covered her face, "How did you know about that?"
"Oh come on Lucille, you're the spitting image of your mother. How do you expect to go anywhere-"
"Leave her the fuck alone you dick!" Natsu lifted his fist and wacked him in the face, his form crumpling into a pathetic heap as he let out a painful whine.
"YEAH, AND STAY DOWN YOU- what're you doin'?" the dragon questioned. The man had reached inside his suit and pulled out a small tube of powder, sprinkling it across the flowers. "Bit of gardening there?" Natsu laughed. Almost immediately as he did so, the flowers began to react, releasing a thick, green gas.
"What is that!?" Lucy questioned, the gas haven already reached Natsu. Said dragon began to cough, hacking into his arm in short, gasping breaths. "Natsu!" Lucy yelled, running towards him, "Happy!".
Happy had also inhaled the gas, his blue body falling as he struggled to remain conscious. "Stay away Luce." Natsu chocked, clutching his throat.
"No," Lucy resolved, "no I won't do that."
The gas was everywhere now. Weaving between the trees and rising towards the canopy, the green fog spilling to all corners of the forest. Natsu and Happy were passed out, bodies slumped against the purple flowers. Lucy was also close to their fate, he eyes dropping heavily.
As she took her last glance around her, she could faintly see the blurry form of a man, with shaggy, grey hair and a dark suit, brief case still at his side.
"Goodnight Lucille. I hope you like fairies."
_._._._._._
"I FUCKING HATE FAIRIES!" Natsu screamed, pounding his fists on the bars of the cage. "WHEN I GET OUT HERE, I'M GONNA RIP YOU A NEW ONE, YA HEAR?"
Lucy shook her head, looking across her own cage at Natsu. "Come on Nat, let's calm down. Maybe this is just a huge misunderstanding? I doubt the Queen even knows we've been apprehended."
"Yeah right," Natsu groaned, dropped himself down on the floor of his cell, "I'm sure the Queen of the Faires has nothing to do with us being in a dungeon awaiting trial with thE QUEEN OF THE FUCKING FAIRIES!"
"The day you learnt sarcasm is the day I wish I died." The blonde said, lifting her sweaty palms from the bars. "We need to figure out how to get out of here, and we can't do that whilst you're being a sarcastic prat."
That shut him up. Lifting himself from the floor, he paced across the small cell, feet loud against the stone. His hair was dishevelled – even more so than usual – and his eyes were heavy with exhaustion. Lucy smiled sympathetically, he looked so tired and she wanted nothing more than to let him rest, but that wasn't an option at the moment.
They both settled into a comfortable silence, only the sound of Natsu's pacing echoing throughout the dungeon. And that was how it remained for a few hours, Natsu letting out the occasional whine of frustration and the odd 'you okay Luce?' or 'not you hurt anywhere?'. Lucy was too busy worrying about Happy, not haven seen any sign of their blue friend.
"There's someone coming." Natsu abruptly stated, turning to the entrance.
"What do you-"
"Good evening visitors." Said a voice, thick and heavy with resentment, "I do hope you have been making yourself at home." The woman was stoic and calm, scarlet hair fluttering down her shoulders, resting against her armour.
"Like hell we have!" Natsu growled, flinging himself at the bars, hands aflame. "Why did you bring us here?"
"A better question is - why were you in the Fairy Kingdom's Forest?" The woman questioned, resting her arms so they were knitted around her chest.
"We were on our way to Magnolia." Lucy answered, "We're looking for a dragon."
The redhead seemed amused, "And why is the missing Princess and a fire dragon looking for another dragon, may I ask?"
The princess suddenly became annoyed, brown eyes meeting the women. "I stopped being a princess the second I abandoned my country. A princess protects their country above all else," her eyes jerked to Natsu, "I abandoned that rule eleven years ago; I am no princess."
"Interesting," the woman quirked the corner of her mouth in mirth, "The name's Erza."
"What?"
"My name is Erza. My subordinate tells me you go by Lucy, Lucille? And this is Natsu." Erza gestured to the man, who had been strangely quiet during their ordeal. He stared at Lucy, his signature smirk never leaving his lips. Unspoken words were held in that smirk.
"Yeah, uh, my name's Lucy." she stumbled, "Do you mind letting us out Ms. Erza? We were meant to go on trial but we really need to get going." Lucy chose her words carefully, now realising that she just snapped at the person who was holding her captive. Not a great idea on her part, Lucy thought, but hey, you live and you learn.
"Oh, no need to worry." Erza reassured, "Your trial is complete. You can join me for tea and be on your way."
.
.
.
"WHAT?" Lucy and Natsu synced.
"I thought the name would give it away. Oh well," Erza sighed, removing her breast plate so that shimmering wings were visible, "I am Erza Scarlet, also known as Titania, Queen of the fairies."
Lucy was shocked, face twisted so that her mouth hung open, eyes wider than she thought possible. Her friend wasn't much better, eyeing the translucent wings in awe, the shape and texture so different than his own. His were so large and angry, holding strong against his flames. Erza's wings looked like tissue paper, so easily broken.
"Well?" Erza smirked, clicking their cells open, "Shall we leave?"
_._._._._._
The food was fantastic. Natsu and Lucy had been deprived of anything but fish and berries for the past few days, so the large beef roast tasted like nectar. The blonde, ever respectful, was eating calmly, cutting into the tender meat and chewing slowly. However, Natsu was a different story. The fire dragon ate like a starved animal, tearing into food with no regard for anything – or anyone – around him.
Happy had joined them as well, perched in the corner of the grand room, ravishing the large slab of meat almost as savagely as Natsu had.
"Thank you so much Queen Scarlet." The blonde grinned at the woman, "We haven't eaten like this since Clover Town, and we haven't been there in two years." Natsu nodded in agreement.
The queen dipped he gaze to her food, cutting her food and lifting it to her mouth, pausing, "It's okay to drop formalities, Lucille."
"Okay, thank you Erza. Natsu," Lucy nudged him, "say thank you to the Queen, she's done a lot for us."
"I don't see why," Natsu whined through mouthfuls of food, "we wouldn't be here in the first place if it hadn't been for- Ouch! What the heck was that for Luce?"
"For being rude."
"It's fine Lucille, I shall deal out my own punishment to those who defy me." As quick as lightning, Erza flew across the table, whacking Natsu swiftly in the jaw.
"HOLY MOTHER FUC-"
"Language!" Erza yelled, hitting him again.
Lucy collapsed to the floor, holding her sides. "This," Lucy gasped between heaves of laughter, "is the peak."
"Lucy! I thought we were friends." Natsu cried, holding both sides of face as they began to swell.
The blonde didn't even acknowledge him, "Holy mother, I think I'm gonna piss myself."
"LUCY!" Natsu wailed again, "WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE FRIENDS!"
"Okay, okay I'm done." Lucy wiped tears from her eyes, lifting herself to her feet. "I'm sorry Natsu. Forgive me?"
"Don't look at me like- ugh fine." He draped an arm over her shoulder, pinching her cheek so it turned red, "And Queen lady," He turned to Erza, "I'm not gonna let you hit me like that again." He clicked his tongue, "I let it happen this time cause kinda I deserved it-"
Lucy laughed, "Stop acting like you had a say in the matter."
"I let it happen."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night."
"I did!"
"This conversation is going nowhere. Anway, we should probably get going." The blonde decided, "Is there anything we can do for you before we leave, Erza?"
"Actually," Erza hesitated, "You said you were going to Magnolia, no?" Lucy nodded, "Do you might giving this letter to someone for me?" She pulled the letter from her boot, smoothing out the edges before handing it to Lucy, "His name is Jellal, Jellal Fernandes. He's a wizard and- he's really important to me." A tint of pink blossomed on her face.
"Consider it done."
And that was how they met Erza Scarlet, Queen of the Fairies.
_._._._._._
Hey everyone! Sorry for the shortish chapter, I've been super busy this week and didn't have much time to write But I hope you enjoyed anyway! I'm gonna try and stay consistent with my updates but it's a lot harder than I thought it'd be, so sorry if I miss a week.
Anyway, thanks again for everyone who reviewed. Reading them really makes me smile :) Feel free to point out any mistakes as well. Until next time,
-Jasper