Chapter Three – Lucy's Fairy Tale
"Ah, Natsu. Nice to see you submerging from wallowing in self-pity," Erza clapped the Fire Dragon Slayer on the back.
Natsu nearly choked at the strength that was applied by her hand, gratefully accepting the cup of water that Mirajane offered him sympathetically.
He coughed and turned around to face the scarlet-haired mage.
"I wasn't wallowing in self-pity," he muttered.
"Yo."
"Gray, Romeo!" the pink-haired teen's neko companion exclaimed, relieved at the welcoming distraction, stopping Erza from elaborating on her observation.
"So flame-brain's finally out of his hidey-hole?" the Ice Make wizard remarked dryly.
Natsu glared at him indignantly.
"You don't looks so good, Natsu-nii," Romeo said worriedly, scrutinizing him slowly.
His face was pulled with fatigue, dark bags under his eyes, which were no better; they were rimmed with red, slightly puffy and swollen (most likely due to his almost constant lamenting), his usual sparkle of excitement dimmed in his charcoal-coloured orbs.
The Fire Dragon Slayer's normally cheerful and animated demeanor was reduced to a miserable gloom.
"Well, at least he's out of her home for once," Gray muttered.
"Natsu, Gray," Levy approached them briskly.
"Hey Levy," Natsu said wearily, flashing a half-hearted smile.
"I finished Lu-chan's novel a few days ago, and she wanted me to show you guys this section," the Solid-Script mage explained at the two male's curious stares.
She held a thick, leather-bound book, which she deposited onto Mirajane's bar as she seated herself on a stool next to Natsu.
"Wait a second, if you read it a few days ago, why show us now?" Gray asked suspiciously.
Levy blushed. "Um, it was really good, so I kinda … read it a few more times before I remembered what the letter said," she mumbled sheepishly.
"What's going on here?"
Happy brightened at the sound of a certain white-furred Exceed.
Carla crossed her arms as she floated next to an embarrassed Wendy.
"Sorry," the timid Sky Dragon Slayer murmured. "I saw you guys huddling here, and I thought I smelled Natsu, so I wanted to come over here and—"
"Come sit," Levy interrupted the rambling mage, smiling, patting the seat next to her.
"Ooh, is that Lucy's story? I wanna hear too," Mirajane squealed excitedly, leaning over the counter of her bar.
"Oi, what's with all the commotion?" a disgruntled voice called irritably.
"Get outta here, metal mouth," Natsu mumbled.
Gajeel glared at the salmon-haired male. "Wanna say that again, flame-brain?!"
"Stop stealing my lines," Gray complained under his breath.
The Iron Dragon Slayer swung his intense stare over to the Ice mage.
"Gajeel, calm down," Levy rolled her eyes.
"Waddya doing, shrimp?" he murmured somewhat awkwardly.
Mirajane perked, eyeing the two skeptically. Lucy's letter!
(Well, she presumed, anyway, considering that pretty much the entire guild knew of Gajeel's not-so-secret infatuation with the bluenette, and the only person besides the white-haired Take-Over mage herself who attempted to play Cupid with Levy, was Lucy.)
"I was going to read Lucy's novel to Natsu and Gray," the Solid-Script mage said slowly, glancing at the tall male strangely.
"What's this about Lucy?" a new voice asked.
Natsu bit in a groan of frustration when the S-Class swordswoman re-appeared beside Gray.
"Oh, Juvia too! Juvia wants to read Love Rival's story with Gray-sama," the Water mage materialized next to the Ice-Make wizard, clinging to his arm.
"Juvia …," Gray gently pried the blue-haired, emotional female off of his limb, shaking it to help the blood re-flow into the numb area.
Soon enough, the whole guild was crowded around Levy and the heavy book she cradled to her chest protectively.
"Guys, give the girl some space," Gajeel snapped at the attentive gazes of his guildmates.
They automatically took three steps back, cowering at the ferocity of the Iron Slayer's glower.
"Okay," Levy took a deep breath.
"The Princess knew of the stories she was told as a child.
Of the brutal and vicious Dragon who lived in the North, who came and preyed on the women of the Kingdom once a month.
Of the Knights of the Golden Crown, who protected the Royal family and the Empire's inhabitants.
When her mother died on that cold, chilly night, the Princess felt anguish that threatened to consume her, the pain and agony that never seemed to end.
She knelt at her mother's grave, praying that it was a dream.
She was shunned, ignored by her own father.
She was lonely.
As the sole Princess and heir of the Celestial Kingdom, Lucinda was restricted from interacting with the outside children.
As time passed, the Princess grew to be a fine woman.
With locks as golden and radiant as the sun, soft and unmarred skin that was pale due to lack of external exposure, and curves that would befallen any man.
Yet she longed for more.
She would gladly trade her standard of living, her world and her body, for a life that was filled with excitement and adventure knocking on her doorstep at every turn.
She left that night.
Neglected by her father and friendless in the castle, the Princess fled the grey surroundings she'd survived in the last seventeen years of her life.
She was packed and ready, having planned her escape a month prior to her flight.
She wore a thick, woollen jacket made of wolf fur, stolen from her father's hunting storage, and trousers that were skinny and clung to her legs like spider webs, but kept her relatively warm.
She shouldered a knapsack, crammed with the little amount of books she had (her father forbid her from reading 'childish fairytales,' deeming that because she is to be the next Queen, she must brush up on her Kingdom history) savaged from her mother's library before it was burned to the ground, extra clothing, and hiking boots.
It was still the middle of winter, the wind blowing fiercely into the night.
When the Princess finally made it to the border of the Celestial Kingdom, a mysterious voice stopped her.
"Oi."
She jumped in surprise, whirling around to meet thinly obscured curiosity that simmered in dark irises.
The Princess was astonished by the stunning features of the male.
He was tall and lean, wearing only a pair of slacks that were forest-green (possibly used to camouflage in his environment, she mused), a strange-looking metal chain attached to the right side of his pants.
Waist up, he was bare. She could clearly see the toned muscles that contracted as he breathed.
On his right pectoral there was a dark stamp that somewhat resembled a fairy.
He wore a necklace that looked like what seemed to be a metal sword with a stone fastened in the middle.
His most prominent feature was his navy-coloured hair.
She flushed at the indecency of his attire (or lack of).
The man noticed her ogling and smirked.
"See something you like?" he said, amusement palpable in his tone.
"N-no!" the Princess stammered.
"Aren't you cold, just standing there without any … er, upper clothes on?" she changed the subject hastily.
"Nah. M'used to it," the dark-haired male replied.
She stared at him.
"What?" he said uncomfortably, noticing her gaze.
"Ah!" the Princess clapped her hands together, eyes twinkling with recognition. "You must be the Winter Sprite!"
"How'd you figure that out?" he asked, surprised.
"Well, what other idiot would come out at midnight, in the middle of a killer storm, in nothing but pants, and not commit suicide by lack of heat?" she answered dryly.
A pause.
"Okay, point taken," he sighed reluctantly.
"I'm Lucin—Lucy," the Princess corrected, extending an un-gloved hand, giddy at the aspect of gaining a friend, pixie or no.
He hesitated.
"Gray," the navy-haired male responded finally, reaching forward and taking her hand firmly.
Lucinda was surprised by the cool sensation that seeped into her warm palm.
Well, she considered, he is a winter fairy, after all.
"So, Lucy. What're you doing here?" Gray retracted his hand, stuffing it in his pocket as he repeated his previous question.
"I'm looking for the Dragon of the North. Have you seen him?" the Princess asked excitedly.
"Oh, you mean Natsu," the cobalt-haired spirit leaned against a tree.
"Is that his name? Natsu?" Lucinda echoed eagerly.
"Yeah. He's an idiot friend of mine," Gray sighed.
"Could you take me to him? Please?" she pleaded.
The handsome male contemplated the concept, observing the lively female.
"Fine," he decided, "but you're gonna owe me big-time for this. The journey won't be easy, so when I say 'stay back', you stay back, got it?"
"Yay," the Princess cheered.
And so the two unlikely of companions set off to find Natsu, the Dragon of the North."