"That was amazing Prince Natsu!"

"Could you teach me how to do that?!"

"Outstanding!"

"Hail the Prince of dragons!"

Natsu grinned sheepishly at the gaggle of hatchlings that were slowly converging on him. From past experience, he knew he had to get away quickly, else he would be detained for another hour at the least.

"His highness needs room! Stand back all!" A young hatchling named Romeo glared at the group, placing himself between them and Natsu. Romeo was a younger rainbow fire welding dragon who, for the past month, had taken upon the self-appointed role of Natsu's bodyguard. He had always admired Natsu and it was only his fear of breaking the code and disrespecting his drake that had held him back from being Natsu's friend.

He turned in place slightly to look at Natsu from out of the corner of his eye, the solemn expression on his face an act for the benefit of the other hatchlings. "Your father and Happy are waiting for you in the fire dragon training grounds. You will have to hurry if you wish to escape his wrath."

Natsu grinned. He knew full well his father's 'wrath' would be a good long guffaw and at least a quarter hour's worth of teasing over his newly acquired trail of followers.

"Aye! Thanks Romeo."

Without a backward glance, Natsu snapped open his wings and lunged into the air, gliding at a smooth pace towards his destination.


A few minutes later, he alighted softly before an imposing dragon man. The regal-looking dragon regarded his son with a stern expression, belied only by the mirthful twinkle in his eyes.

"You're late again, Natsu."

"I… I lost track of the time, Father."

"You know what this means though, son." A sly grin snuck onto the dragon king's face. "We will have an extra bout of dueling practice this afternoon. And I expect you not to cheat this time! You won't be getting out early, no matter how fast you win."

Natsu sighed, already afraid of this outcome.

The king's grin faded, replaced with a look of concern.

"What's wrong hatchling? No witty comeback about how you don't need to cheat to defeat an old dragon such as I?"

Natsu shifted in place nervously.

"Could I be excused this once father? I promise I'll make it up tomorrow…"

"I'm afraid not Natsu, you have already missed quite a few lessons over the past month, especially those I've held in the afternoons - and between my busy schedule and your… errr… morning fan club meetings," the dragon king's lips twitched, a smile threatening to break free "I believe you cannot enjoy quite as many of those lazy afternoons alone as you are used too."

At his son's despondent look, King Igneel knelt down on a knee and placed a comforting hand on his boy's shoulder.

"...Besides little one, aren't you having fun with all your new friends? It is not just the fire hatchlings who flock to you, the wind and ore hatchlings enjoy your company as well. Even those confounded water hatchlings now put up with you!" Igneel chuckled.

Natsu remained silent but chanced a glance at Happy, who looked just as downcast as he. The past month had indeed been a dream come true in many respects for Natsu and Happy. They had finally earned the respect of their fellows and had been fully embraced by most of the dragon hatchlings. The rule change Natsu had prompted in the fire hatchlings playnest proved to be quite successful, and the wind and ore hatchlings opened up their playnests to the fire hatchlings in a return gesture of goodwill. Many exciting and fun mock-fights between the hatchlings of these different clans took place on a regular basis. And all credit and thanks went to the dragon prince and his noble exceed. Natsu and Happy would've enjoyed all this immensely, if it weren't for the fact that their new celebrity status made it near impossible for them to sneak out every afternoon as they used to. They had not forgotten their little golden-haired friend who had made all this possible and it hurt them both to not have as much time to spend with her as before. Natsu couldn't help but feel that the company of all his dragon peers could not hold a candle to the company of that one tiny, spirited, funny, strange and pretty human girl.

The pair's sad faces did not go unnoticed by the dragon king.

"You wish to spend time with your friend in the enchanted woods, hmm?"

Natsu did not look his father in the eye. Neither he nor Happy had found the courage to tell the adult dragons about the little human girl. Even though Natsu trusted her with his life, he did not know if the adults would see her in the same light as he did. She was a human after all, and it would have been highly possible his parents would forbid him from ever seeing her again. And he could never do that! To protect her, Happy and he had invented an elaborate tale of meeting, fighting and then befriending an elven lad. Dragons were neutral towards the fae folk - he knew his parents would not mind an elf.

"Y-yes."

King Igneel sighed as he straightened up. He gazed up at the sky for a few minutes, his brow furrowed in contemplation.

"I guess… If I hold the council meeting today after supper instead of tomorrow morning, we could squeeze in our training session then."

Natsu and Happy brightened up in an instant. "So can we go?!" They chirruped in unison.

Igneel let out an exasperated chuckle. "Alright you two rascals, off with you! And on your head be it Natsu, if you are ever late for a training session again!"

The little dragon and exceed bumped fists with each other and whooped in victory. With an excited cry, the two leaped into the sky, twirling in mid-air in their glee as they sped towards the clearing in the enchanted forest.

From the ground, King Igneel watched the departing figures of the dragon and his feline with an amused smile on his face. A gentle hand on his shoulder interrupted his reverie.

"You've let our son play truant again, I see."

Queen Grandine's disapproving countenance did not fool her husband for an instant. He could see the smile threatening the edges of her lips.

"Ahhhh, he at least had the courtesy to ask for permission, my love. Were it me at that age off to see a girl, I would've snuck out without so much as a backward glance at my old man!"

Queen Grandine raised a questioning brow, while little Wendy who was clasped securely in her mother's arms and listening to the adult's conversation, voiced the question.

"A girl? But brother Natsu said he and Happy were going out to meet an elven boy, right?"

Igneel chuckled again, reaching out to ruffle his daughter's blue locks as she pouted and swatted his hand away.

"That boy isn't nearly as good a liar as he thinks he is. There is no boy, elf or dragon, that could make him blush so obviously."

"That is unfair, dear husband. Could our Natsu not be fascinated by a male?

"Oh, that's always a welcome possibility, darling. However, his description of his… 'friend' leads me to believe he's hiding her gender… and maybe something more."

"Either way, we ought not to complain. Whoever he or she is, we owe them our gratitude. The speech Natsu gave Atlas after the hatchling's challenge was one of great vision and compassion - and as much as I love my dear boy, I know he could not have conceived it entirely on his own. Whoever could teach him to think that way is special… and a good friend for Natsu and Happy to have." She smiled wistfully. "I do hope we will meet them someday."

"Hmph, how long has that little fire-brat been able to hide anything? I daresay he will be caught in some silly boast at some point, and we can tease the details out of him after. My dear, I would like to hold the Dragon Council today evening after supper."

"Ah yes, I heard your promise to Natsu. Very well, I shall inform them of the change. I do hope you are ready for Lady Aqualine's tirade…"

"Blasted water dragons! Ah well, she would've found another reason to rant and rave if not for this. I suppose she thinks it a form of vocal exercise!"

"Honestly dear, she wouldn't have as much cause to rant if not for you. You do provoke her every chance you get! For the life of me, I cannot understand this rivalry between you fire breathers and our water cousins!"

"They started it!"

Little Wendy, who had been quietly attending to her parent's conversation until then, tuned them out as they continued their friendly bickering. Her thoughts instead drifted to her wayward brother and his little companion. Her father was right, Natsu was hiding something… or in this case someone. And she intended to find out what… and who.


Natsu and Happy landed in the secluded clearing with a flourish.

"Here we are!" The dragon and his exceed exclaimed together.

Silence greeted them.

Natsu looked around, frowning.

"Where is she?"

Happy shrugged, his little brow furrowing in thought.

"Perhaps she got lost on the way?"

"Nay, she's been here too many times to get lost! Even if she is strange. And besides, I can still smell her!"

"Let's follow your nose then!"

Natsu leaped into the sky enthusiastically, Happy close on his heels. After a few minutes of flight, Natsu veered to the left, swooping down from the sky and alighting nimbly on the branch of a tree. As Happy plopped down on the branch next to him, about to open his mouth to speak, Natsu raised a finger to his lips to shush him. He pointed to the base of the opposite tree with a playfully evil grin.

There, underneath the shade of a majestic willow tree, sat Lucy. Her little legs were curled up beneath her, and her full attention was absorbed by a thick book cuddled in her lap.

The dragon and exceed shared a look promising mischief before they flitted to a branch of the willow tree that hung low and close to Lucy's comfy spot. Seconds later and without any warning, the pair dropped down on either side of the girl.

"HEYA LUCY!"

Lucy screamed - flinging the book nearly a foot away and scrambling away from her spot under the tree. As she gasped for breath, the dragon and exceed rolled on the floor in laughter, tears brimming at the edges of their eyes.

"The… the look on your face!"

"Aye! You looked like a fish gulping for air!"

"Oh, I wish I could paint a picture to capture that pose forever, eh Happy?"

"Aye!"

Lucy glared at the two males, crossing her arms and waiting for their mirth to subside. A few minutes later the pair finally finished off their chuckles and grinned unabashedly at the angry little girl.

"So what were you reading, Luce?"

Lucy became far too flustered by the simple question.

"A… A book obviously. Just something informative, you and Happy would find it far too dull." She waved her hands dismissively, the gesture a little too nervous for Natsu's liking.

Natsu frowned in suspicion. Before he could question her further, she quietly added a thought.

"I was waiting for you and Happy for quite a while. This helped pass the time quicker."

Natsu glanced at Happy, guilt evident in both their eyes.

"Lucy, we're sorry…"

"Don't apologize you silly dragon!" Lucy giggled, "You have spent lots of time with me this past month, far more than I expected! I knew you would not have as much time to spend with me if our plan succeeded, in fact, I was worried you might forget me outright if it did." She worried her bottom lip with her teeth for an instant before giving Natsu a soft and genuine smile. "I'm so happy that you still go out of your way to come play with me. Thank you… both of you."

Natsu gazed at her, an answering grin slowly brightening his face. In the blink of an eye, he and Happy hurtled towards her, enveloping her in a crushing hug.

"We'll always make time for you Lucy!"

"Aye! You are our favorite human! Even though you are so strange!"

"Let...me...go...can't… breathe!"

The two males released her and stepped back as she coughed and scowled at them.

"Alright! I'm all fired up now! Let's play!"

"AYE!"


An hour and a half later, the dragon and his feline companion had finished their sojourn through the enchanted woods with the little human girl and had taken leave after hearty promises to see her again soon.

Lucy hurried them away, smiling and laughing at their amusing antics.

As the two males flew off into the quickly darkening sky, Lucy couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt.

She wasn't being entirely open with them. Although her dragon friend had done his best to make time for her, it still hadn't prevented many lonely afternoons, in which she had taken to exploring the wondrous magical woods. During one of her many trips through the forest, she had chanced upon one of its magical inhabitants with whom she had quickly become close friends. However, her new friend seemed to be extremely shy - and surprisingly suspicious of dragons. When Lucy had described Natsu, her new friend had seemed quite upset, prompting Lucy to promise to keep their acquaintance a secret from her dragon friend. Lucy felt very uncomfortable keeping this promise, unhappy that she had to keep a secret from the dragon who was her first and best friend. And Natsu's natural curiosity only made it more difficult! It had been a close call with this book, a complex and fascinating treatise on different magical communities, one that Natsu was sure to have known she had got from another magical being.

But if this was the price she had to pay to keep her new friend, she would gladly pay it.

For how many humans could claim to be friends with a real, live pixie!