AN: So like I said last chapter, you find out what the first fairy tale in the book is, but we aren't starting that arc yet! Enjoy this chapter! :D
Chapter 4
Shirotsume
Lucy squealed as she felt something brush against her ankle. The distraught blonde jumped feet away, looking for whatever fiend touched her skin. To her surprise and irritation, it was merely Happy's tail after he rubbed it on her once again in order to scare her. Apparently teasing her was fun to the two she was traveling with. Part of her wanted to go her own way but knew she wouldn't survive a day without them.
The trio had been traveling for nearly half an hour. Lucy stayed silent for the most part, still caught up in thought after what happened. First she teleported to some strange world, then she met a guy that breathed fire and a talking cat, and to top it all off, she found out that she was apparently some savior to save a bunch of fairytale characters, who just so happened to be real. Her day was pretty hectic so far to say the least.
At least Lucy was in good company. Though she quickly found out that they could be annoying, Natsu and Happy were probably the only things keeping her sane. They were playful towards each other and for some reason that calmed her. It made things more approachable.
"How much longer do we have to keep walking?" Lucy whined, grabbing onto the back of Natsu's coat so he could drag her along.
The boy sighed and answered, "Just a little longer. Sheesh, Luce. We've only been walking for half an hour and you're already tired? Do the people in your world not walk or something?"
"Well, we have cars to drive us around. So no, not really."
"What are cars?" Happy questioned, glad that the blonde they were now travelling with seemed to come to terms with everything.
"Oh right, you guys don't have that much technology. A car is a vehicle that operates on gas and you drive it around! It's convenient and makes travelling faster!"
"Sounds like a magic mobile to me!" the cat replied.
Suddenly, Natsu collapsed onto the ground in front of them, clutching his stomach in pain. Lucy squealed and kneeled beside the boy, turning him over to inspect his face. His cheeks were puffed out and his face was drained of color.
"What's wrong with him, Happy!?" Lucy frantically asked. There was no way her guide was going to die on her now.
The exceed shook his head and answered, "Nothing, Natsu just has motion sickness."
Lucy stared at the pinkette in confusion. "Motion sickness? But we weren't even in a vehicle!"
"Just the thought of one makes him sick."
"How pathetic."
"Aye!"
"Shut up," Natsu groaned.
Lucy shrugged and laid on the grass. She wanted to get to Shirotsume as quickly as possible so that she could wash up. Suddenly the girl jolted into a sitting position with fearful eyes, frightening the two with her.
"Please tell me you guys have showers!" Lucy exclaimed.
Natsu and Happy breathed a sigh of relief, knowing now that there was nothing serious to worry about.
"We aren't animals," Natsu said, narrowing his eyes at the blonde. "Well, I guess Happy is. But yes, we have showers and tubs and toilets."
Lucy sighed in relief and laid back down. The three relaxed in a comfortable silence for a while until Natsu got up, telling them it was time to go.
The rest of the walk was easy after Lucy had some time to rest. After about fifteen minutes of walking, the girl smiled seeing lights up ahead along with the ending of trees. With a newfound excitement to see the world she was currently in, she pushed Natsu and Happy to go faster until finally they were in Shirotsume.
Just as Natsu said, Shirotsume was a small village. Most of the cottages were small and run down. The streets were nearly empty, and those that were outside were clearly underfed and covered in dirt. Lucy felt bad for the townspeople. There were plenty of times she feared she wouldn't be able to pay her rent but she never struggled that bad financially.
Lucy followed Natsu and Happy, who seemed unfazed by the poverty-stricken citizens. She made sure to keep her gaze glued to the ground, not wanting to offend anybody, especially since she was clearly not poor.
Something latched onto her leg, causing the girl to squeal. Turning her head, she found a little boy holding her leg, tears welled in his eyes. He was in tattered clothes and had dirt covering his hands and face. His hair was even matted with grime. Lucy frowned for him in pity.
"Please," the boy began, "I'm so hungry… Please, Miss. If you have any food…"
Tears pricked Lucy's eyes as she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't have any food at all. If I had some, I would surely give it to you."
"Lucy, let's go," Natsu said with hard eyes. He seemed so unsympathetic, it surprised Lucy.
Lucy apologized to the boy and reluctantly followed her new comrades. Now she felt hesitant about being around them. How could they turn away from a boy in need so easily? Then she saw Natsu dig through his bag to fetch an apple, handing it to Happy. The cat nodded and flew to give it to the boy, who smiled and ate the fruit with such speed, it was clear he hadn't eaten in days.
Finally, the three found an inn, just as rundown as the rest of the village. Lucy was hesitant about staying there but knew she didn't have a choice. Staying in the woods would be much worse in her opinion and it wasn't like she was paying for the place.
"Beggars can't be choosers," she thought as she smiled to the lady at the front desk and accepted the key. She led the way towards their room, which was on the top floor, reminding Lucy of her apartment in Seattle. She missed home dearly and couldn't wait to be back.
Their room was indeed shabby. It was small and there was only one bed and a chair. Lucy didn't mind though seeing that there was a bathtub. It was small but it would do.
"Lucy," Natsu began as he closed the door behind them and stared at her with hard eyes, "you need to learn something. You can't talk to the townspeople here."
"Why not?" the girl asked in confusion. "All he wanted was some food."
"Did you have any to give?"
"No, but-"
"That's why. These people are all starving and poor. If you can't give them anything, it's best not to talk to them."
"But you did have something to give! You have food in your backpack!"
"Which is for us," Natsu replied, unsympathetically. "Unless you can feed all of the townspeople, you shouldn't feed any of them. It isn't fair. Besides, we need this food for our journey. We don't have that much food in the first place and Happy and I aren't exactly rich."
Lucy frowned and crossed her arms. "I don't care. If I have to starve for a bit I will to feed someone else. I've had my fair share of food, I am fine with missing a meal or two. These people have nothing, the least we can do is share!"
Natsu narrowed his eyes at the girl and replied, "Well, when you get some food you can do that. But for us, we have a mission to do and no good will come out of it if we starve to death."
"You say that but you gave the kid an apple, so clearly you aren't as bad as you're trying to be."
The boy glared at Lucy before tossing Happy's knapsack at her.
"What's our first stop?" he asked, changing the subject.
Lucy's eyes widened as she forgot about that, her mission. Her mission to give fairy tale characters happy endings. She would never get used to that.
Flipping open the thick book, Lucy flipped to the first story. The blonde cringed at the title. Mulan. It wasn't that she didn't like the movie or anything, but the main character was in a war. Was she going to have to fight in the war with Mulan? There was no way she would live through it if she did!
"It's Mulan," Lucy finally told her travelling partners.
"Mulan?" Happy repeated. "I've never heard of that place before."
"It's not a place, it's a person," Lucy corrected. "Where I'm from, the characters in this book are just that, characters. To us they are fictional, made-up. Apparently here they are real people and I'm supposed to give them a happy ending somehow. The book doesn't care to explain in detail."
"So what is this Mulan person like?" Natsu asked.
"Well, where I'm from, her story is about a girl named Mulan, who isn't so skilled in her society. There's a war with the Huns and her father was forced to serve. The problem was, he was already injured in the last war, there was no way he would live if he served again. So, Mulan stole his armor and took his place, which was illegal because girls weren't allowed to fight."
"Really?" Happy questioned. "Why not?"
Lucy shrugged and answered, "Back then people thought girls were weak. Anyways, Mulan ended up being a great soldier. She made great strategies that led them to victory. But when they found out she was a girl, they kicked her out. Eventually she came back and saved the day and fell in love with the general and lived happily ever after. Well, there was a sequel, but they still had a happy ending."
"Apparently not," Natsu replied. "If those characters are from Earthland and are in Fiore, that means they were cursed by the King."
"Why would the King curse his people?"
Natsu shrugged and answered, "I don't really know the details but apparently he didn't like that everyone was happy after his wife died."
"That's terrible!" Lucy exclaimed. "There is no reason to take away other people's happiness! This king sounds like a total jerk!"
"Aye!" Happy agreed. "Now everyone in Fiore apparently can't have a happy ending!"
"Including you two?"
"Apprently," Natsu answered. "I don't like this curse. What if that's what is preventing me from finding Igneel? Finding Igneel is probably my happy ending, and until the curse is broken I won't be able to."
"That's terrible," Lucy repeated. "I-I don't know how to help, but if I'm the savior then I'll try my best!"
Natsu smiled at the blonde and nodded. She was whiny sometimes but it was clear she was determined. He liked the fire in her eyes.
"But first we're going to help this town!" Lucy stated with a smile.
Scratch that, maybe he didn't like her determination. Sighing, he told her, "We can't, Lucy! We are on a mission!"
"Exactly, on a mission to bring back the happy endings! These people deserve happiness too! Even if they aren't one of the characters in my book, they are still people with real feelings and I'm going to help them!"
Natsu growled and asked, "And how do you plan on doing that?"
Lucy shrugged and answered, "I don't know. But they couldn't have always been this poor. Something must have happened here."
"Aye," Happy said. "Shirotsume apparently used to be a thriving village!"
"There you go! If we find out what happened, maybe we can fix it!"
"You two are hopeless," Natsu muttered irately. All he wanted was to figure out where Lucy got her blanket from and help her break the curse so he could find Igneel again. He wasn't expecting to help a town with their economic problems.
Lucy caught the dragon slayer's sour attitude and glared at him. "If you don't want to help, that's fine. I will help them myself. But if you help, it'll go by quicker and you'll be able to see your dragon again."
Natsu glowered at the girl and sarcastically replied, "Alright, Luce. Let's save Shirotsume."
AN: So now you know the first fairy tale is Mulan, which is by far my favorite Disney movie lol. I used to watch it almost every week. :') And saving Shirotsume is their first mission! :D Hope you enjoyed and please review. :)
Lucydragneelft13: Hello again! :) And I don't know what you mean by account with google lol. I have an instagram and a tumblr! :)
Thank you to these lovely reviewers: Soul Eater Maka, Nalulove, Alexa60765, Lunahartz, LynsieTheBraveShadowHuntress, IndianaCombs, darkroses13, BloodedInk, lucydragneelft13. :') You guys are awesome. :) And those that follow and favorite. :)
