Howdy! How was everyone's christmas and New Years? Sorry I haven't updated before now, but I literally have NO computer. My loyal netbook died of old age a couple of weeks ago, along with the next ten chapters of this story and the rest of Charcoal Heart. A moment of silence, please.

...And now we all shake our fists angrilly at the fact that I don't back up so now I have to re-write EVERYTHING. on my PHONE. yes. You're lucky you're getting this at all.

Thanks to the follows and the faves and the reviews! This story is like my holiday from Charcoal Heart, that's why the chapters aren't as long, I never intended on posting it but I'm glad to see some of you like it.


Little feet pitter-pattered along the wooden floors until the creaking of beds could be heard. The two children giggled as they tucked themselves in, having a little trouble. Their mother walked in, and had to blink when she saw them. She couldn't believe they were already in bed!

"I've never seen you two ready for bed this quickly or this early! Who are you and what have you done with my little monsters?" she asked and pretended to growl at them. The little girl just laughed while her brother growled back.

The man walked through the doorway into the kids' room and smiled. "What's with all the growling? Sounds like there's a dragon living in here!" This made the little boy cease in his growling competition with his mother and smiled brightly at his father.

The little girl sat up a little more, her eyes shining brightly. "Tell us more of the story, daddy! Please, please, please, please please!" she started bouncing in the spot, impatient to hear more of the tale.

"So that's why you two are in bed so early," the woman mused while her children nodded in response, "We should have told you this earlier if we knew it'd get you to behave better!"

The man sat down on his daughter's bed and smoothed the covers down, the little girl looking adorable with her stuffed princess and her covers up to her chin. "So where were we?"

"Natsu broke into Lucy's house!" Aiden piped up, eager to share what he had learnt, "He tried to steal the sapphire but Lucy found him and tried to stop him but they dropped it and there was a flash of light and then you stopped!"

"Breathing is important, sweety," his mother reminded him and he grinned just like his father. "So there was a flash of blinding white light..."


Natsu and Lucy blinked furiously to regain their lost sight. The adventurer's instincts kicked in and he stood in fighting stance, shielding Lucy with his own body so that the girl wouldn't be hit by whatever might come at them. Neither had a clue as to what was going on, but both were expecting the worst. Lucy was panicking on the inside, the poor girl definitely not expecting this of the jewel her mother had kept all of these years.

When the light cleared, the two realized they were no longer alone in the room.

In front of them one of the strangest women Lucy had ever seen. She was dressed in a maid's uniform but the chains hanging from her wrists made her look like an escaped slave. Her wide, blue eyes stared out at the two underneath spiky pink hair, not entirely different to Natsu's own. Her expression was completely neutral, giving nothing of her personality or intentions away. She was positioned in a slight bow with one of her hands over her heart, ready to serve.

"Good evening, Princess," the woman spoke, her voice clear but subdued.

"Who are you?" asked Lucy, stepping out from behind Natsu to look at the woman/maid properly.

The pink haired man quickly stood in front of her again. "Stay back, blondie, it could be dangerous."

This infuriated Lucy. "Blondie? Who are you calling Blondie? Besides, I don't have to listen to you- I don't even know your name Pinky." Natsu turned from his position facing the maid to give Lucy a cold look.

"Pinky? Is that the best you can do? Che, figures," said 'Pinky', scowling disappointedly. Honestly, pinky? How unoriginal. At least 'Blondie' described the girl's general appearance and her personality (that he had seen so far).

"FIGURES? Why I outta-"

"Princess? I'm sorry to interrupt, but this important," interrupted the maid before Lucy could make any real threats towards Natsu. "You can always punish me later." She added the last part like an afterthought, and Lucy was snapped out of her grumpy mood and thrust into a more uncomfortable one.

"Ah, that won't be necessary..." she said, facing the maid. The heiress was starting to feel hysteria bubbling up within her. She honestly had no idea what was going on. First she tries to run away, then she bumps into this pink-haired weirdo who's trying to steal her mother's sapphire, and then another pink-haired weirdo appears in a bright flash of light calling her 'Princess'. It was more than the girl could handle. Too bad that's the tip of the metaphorical iceberg.

While Lucy was trying to suppress her feelings, Natsu had turned away from her to study the maid intently. His nose twitched at the scent- it was... different. Not like anything he had smelt before. "Hey maid- what's your name?" he finally asked her, coming close and poking her side as if checking that she were real and not just some illusion.

"I am called Virgo," the maid, Virgo, responded. "I am one of the twelve Guardians."

"Guardians? Guardians of what?" Natsu asked eagerly, thinking it was some kind of major treasure.

Virgo looked straight past Natsu and into Lucy's eyes when she replied. "The Guardians of the Asteron Pazl."

'Asteron Pazl?' Thought Lucy, 'I've heard that before... but where?'

"What's the Asteron Pazl?" the heiress asked when she couldn't figure out where she had heard it from.

"The Asteron Pazl-" started Virgo but was cut short by Natsu.

"Is a magical jewel made up of twelve pieces scattered across the land." Lucy looked at him in surprise while Virgo nodded in confirmation.

"How do you even know that?" she asked, confused as to why this pink haired idiot knew something she didn't. Perhaps she had doubted him. After all, he was a jewel-thief.

"My dad told me about it when he was still around. Said something about it being protected by spirits and how all the pieces haven't been reunited since the rise of the Black Dragon." explained Natsu, ignoring Lucy's shiver when he mentioned the dark horror that plagued the lands of Fiore. Every citizen of the country knew of the Black Dragon and its cruelty and power. Many people were deathly afraid of even its mention, in fear that it would swoop in out of nowhere and kill them all in a heartbeat.

"It is important you reunite the pieces, Princess," added the maid, her eyes staring into Lucy's own.

"W-what? Why?" spluttered the girl, "Why me?"

"Because, Princess." stated Virgo, giving no other reason.

Natsu looked between the jewel, the maid and the girl, making a decision then and there. He was, after all, infamous for making quick but generally stupid choices. "I'll help you!" he exclaimed, excitement growing in him. "I mean, it'll just be like my other adventures, just with guards thrown in! Hey Virgo, are all the Guardians as nice as you?"

The guardian shook her head. "I'm sorry. But I imagine to collect the other 11 pieces you will have to win over the other guardians."

Natsu's excitement grew. A fight! It had been a while since he'd fought anyone, and now there were eleven people... beings... whatever, lined up to fight him, and all for getting jewels! It was like a dream come true. His reptilian-like eyes had fiery look to them, determined now to see this thing through to the end.

"WAIT!" shouted Lucy, unable to comprehend everything that was happening, unlike Natsu who was taking it all in his stride. "Why do I have to do this? And why me?" Virgo didn't answer, but the girl didn't care, as she was still firing off questions. "Did my mother know about you? Is that why she didn't sell the sapphire? Where are the other jewels anyway? And how will we know what they look like? Just answer me!"

Lucy winced after shouting the last part. As one, the three occupants in the room froze. There, they could all hear it. The sound of guards rushing towards the room. Lucy cursed herself and bit her lip, now unable to meet Virgo's piercing gaze or Natsu's accusing one.

"Princess, I must go," stated Virgo, her form shimmering, "If you ever need me just call my name while holding onto that shard, and I will answer." The spirit gestured towards the sapphire clutched in Lucy's hand before shimmering a bit more and completely disappearing. She stared at the gem which was glowing with a bright intensity, not believing what had just happened.

Something banged against the room's door, snapping Lucy out of her daze. Suddenly, a warm hand gripped her empty arm and dragged her along to the open window. Before she could realize what was happening, Lucy was already flying through the air, hurtling quickly towards the ground. A scream didn't even get its chance to leave her throat before she landed on top of the pink haired man into the flower bush which was under the window. She was pushed out of the shrubbery and the man followed, grabbing onto her empty hand and started to run, pulling her along with him.

"Wait!" cried Lucy, tugging her hand back and bringing them both to a stop. "I don't..."

The pink haired man seemed to sense what her hesitation was about. "Haven't you always dreamed of an adventure? I mean, being stuck in a house like that for so long would suck! Don't you want to see the world and actually do something?"

His words were true, completely and utterly true. All her life, Lucy had wished for a prince to take her away from her home and everything she knew. She dreamed of adventures in distant lands, with mountains and rivers and forests and seas. In fact, isn't that why she was in the room with the jewel in the first place? She had been running away, well, planning to. Things just never seemed to go to plan. Not without a few bumps, anyway. But, she mused, wasn't an adventure all about the bumps? Wasn't it about not knowing what would happen the next day, or even the next minute? Wasn't it all about new experiences, being taken out of your comfort zone? An adventure was something that books could be written about, songs to be sung about. It was what she had wanted.

"I... Yes. Yes, I want to go on an adventure," Lucy stated, her resolve firming with each word. The pink haired man grinned a huge grin, flashing his sharper-than-average teeth at the girl.

"Great!" he exclaimed, starting to pull her along again at a run, which she happily followed. "Let's get going!" Lucy laughed and followed along, taking the lead as she knew the grounds much better than the pink haired man.

"Do you always go on adventures with girls you don't even know?" she asked while running, curious. It had occurred to her that she didn't even know her 'prince's' name. The man gave a short laugh.

"Nah, never make a habit of it, really," he commented, still running with her, "My name's Natsu. Natsu Dragneel."

Lucy felt she should respond in kind. "Lucy Heartfilia," she told him, then winced. She told him her last name, and now he was going to stop and take her back.

To her surprise, he just smiled. "Well, c'mon Lucy! We have an adventure to get to! An adventure, for you I think, which is long overdue!" he laughed, mimicking the pompous talk almost perfectly.

Lucy then knew that she would follow this man, Natsu, anywhere. He treated her like a person, smiling at her and encouraging her, reminding her of her dreams. She didn't care about the jewels they were supposed to collect, or what would happen to them after they did. As long as Natsu continued to smile at her, and promised to show her something new everyday, she didn't care about where they went or why. She was on an adventure, and adventures were all about not knowing what would happen next.


Tada! Not my best work, 'cause I've been in a hurry to re-write everything that I've lost. And if you've seen my stories folder, you would understand. There was literally over 100 files in it at last count. I know. I have no life outside of fiction. But who cares!

I'll try to update Charcoal Heart this afternoon, so if you're also waiting for the next chapter of that, wait no more!

Till next time!

-Greentree Frog.