Here it is, chapter 4 :D (also I know ending it with her fainting was a bit cliché but I honestly couldn't think of anything else XD).
~Chapter Four~
Lucy stirred in her sleep, her body waking itself up, unsettled within the strange environment. Her eyes blinked open to reveal she was inside a dimly lit cave, courtesy of a burning fire a few feet away from her. She propped herself up and scanned around, trying to familiarise herself with her new surroundings. There wasn't much there that was out of the ordinary, just plain rock. She sighed in relief when she eventually saw her rucksack only an arm's reach across from her. 'Thank god, I wouldn't want to lose that.' She thought, grabbing it and pulling it closer to her. She stood up, looking around once more to be safe.
It wasn't until she heard the jingle of her keys as she stood that she realised a certain energetic fox was no longer with her. 'She probably got sent back to the Spirit Realm after I fainted.' She thought to herself, hoping that was the case. Then she remembered why she fainted and grimaced. 'Oh dear god, there's a dragon in here with me!' She knew she had to leave before she'd become that thing's dinner. She threw her rucksack onto her back and decided to head towards her right; both sides seemed like an empty pathway but she hoped this one would lead to the exit. After a few steps she could see that it was an opaque darkness so she went back and grabbed one of the burning sticks to use as a light.
Her steps were small and slow, cautious of the unknown. She waved the stick from left to right, allowing her to see all of that was in front of her, which was nothing. After a few minutes of mindless wandering, she came to a dead end. Lucy groaned, turning around but caught a glimpse of movement ahead. She waved around the stick to try and get a look at what lurked in the shadows but it was too far away for her to see. She tip toed forward, hoping it wasn't the humungous beast looking for it's next meal. "Hello?" She called out, her voice shaking from fear. It returned with a growl and a few steps toward her. Her legs began to quiver, barely supporting her weight. With that, she knew that the monster was indeed preying upon herself and there was next to no chance of escaping.
The pounding of it's feet moving closer to her caused her to fall back onto the ground, staring up into the abyss to find the dragon. There was a final growl and a few more footsteps until it was right in front of her, inches away from her face. She was able to stare back into it's glowing eyes before it blew air from it's nostrils which caused the fire to extinguish and encasing the pair of them in darkness. "Please don't eat me." She whimpered pathetically, holding the stick in front of her face as she squeezed her eyes shut, hoping it was all a bad nightmare.
There was a moment of silence before a chuckle spread across the cave. She heard the dragon puff what sounded like fire out of it's mouth but she didn't feel any burning sensation or pain of any kind. Slowly, she peered her uncovered eye open to see the dragon standing before her with now lit candles along the sides of the caves. She could feel it's eyes burning into her soul as she remained cowering behind her measly stick. "Child, if I wanted to eat you, I already would have. I'm not one for theatrics." It spoke, shocking Lucy into a frozen state. "You...can talk?" She whispered, mostly to herself to try and get her brain to comprehend the situation that was unfolding. The dragon rolled it's eyes. "You're not that quick are you?" It mused, lowering it's head down to her.
"I'm not going to harm you, pull yourself together girl!" It huffed, standing back upright. Lucy nodded her head in obedience and stood up, straightening out her clothes under such a powerful presence. Lucy stared awkwardly at the dragon, not quite sure of how she was supposed to react, only knowing that deep down she wanted to scream and cry and run away from this surreal experience. "Good. Now, I assume you have questions, I'll give you three." Lucy opened her mouth to speak but closed it straight after, finding it too hard to pick just three questions from the havoc going on inside her head. "Who are you? Why are you here? How come you're not eating me? What did you do to Vulpecula? Are the other dragons-" Lucy's ramblings were interrupted. "I said three!" The dragon sighed, shaking it's head at Lucy's nonsense.
Lucy tightened her lips, not wanting to anger the very intimidating creature before her, feeling lucky just from the fact that it didn't chose her as it's next meal. "My name is Demeter. I am a dragon of royalty and I am here because I have chosen you, Lucy Heartfilia, to be my successor." Lucy went stiff. The new information was baffling to her. Demeter didn't give her time to process and continued speaking. "You were foolish to assume that I was going to eat you, silly child. As for your other questions, I shall be generous and answer them. Your spirit, Vulpecula returned back to the Spirit Realm just as you lost consciousness. I carried you further into my cave to keep you safe from the cold night and made you a fire. I waited for you to regain consciousness so I could explain everything to you." Lucy just blankly nodded as she took in the information.
"I have been watching you of recent Lucy, I needed to make sure you would reach me in time for me to teach you my magic fully with you being able to master it. I suppose you must recognise me and be angry at first reaction but I assure you I mean no harm." Lucy stared back into her eyes and then it all clicked. "You!" Lucy glared at the 'woman' who gave her a scarred eye. Her first thought was to attack her but she knew that she wouldn't stand a chance. "How can you expect me to forgive you for what you did to me?!" Lucy yelled, anger bubbling up in her, her fists clenched tightly. Demeter sighed, her shoulders slouched a little. "I don't expect you to forgive me for my past actions but you have to understand that my time is running out and I need a successor otherwise my magic will die out and so will other forms of my magic. I only did what was necessary for the future and I hope you can look past your anger and accept my offer." Lucy's glare softened slightly, her forgiving heart crippling at the thought of such a large and powerful beast asking for forgiveness.
"I'm listening." Lucy folded her arms over her chest, still holding a firm gaze. Demeter straightened up her posture and smiled softly. "I understand that you came to Clover Town to train to become stronger, well allow me to teach you the strongest magic known to mages across history." Lucy raised an eyebrow, her curiosity peeked. "Allow me to make you an Elemental Dragon Slayer." Demeter grinned at Lucy's amazed expression. She couldn't believe her luck; she was offered an opportunity of a lifetime. While she was still angry at the woman for her scarred eye, her promise of immense strength would, without a doubt, even the balance and give the two a clean slate.
Though the whole situation was quite bizarre, Lucy could tell that Demeter was desperate and in dire need of a 'successor'. Lucy quickly reviewed the pros and cons of the offer in her mind and came to the conclusion that is was very beneficial to the both of them. "Alright, I accept." Lucy grinned up at Demeter. The dragon returned it with a softer smile. "Thank you, Lucy." They shared a moment of forgiveness and peace before Demeter turned around, walking in the direction Lucy came in and gestured for the blonde to follow her.
"I have another question." Lucy said, her eyes looking at the floor in thought. "And what would that be?" Demeter asked, leading them throughout the large cave. Lucy looked up at the dragon. "Why me?" Demeter looked down at Lucy, glancing briefly at her concentrated face before turning back. "As you should remember, when you discovered me, I used the shadow element, and you are a mage of light. I must admit, you fought well enough against me which already gave you a leverage not many previous mages had. You were able to catch me off guard for a split second, which is a hard thing to do." She boasted, knowing she had Lucy's full attention. "When my attack caught your eye, your body had absorbed my shadow magic. Naturally, for a light mage with shadow magic in their system, it is repelled and quite fatal to their bodies but you seemed unaffected other than the flesh wounds. Because you were able to absorb magic of the opposite element, it showed that you had the potential to obtain Elemental magic." Lucy kept a straight face despite her shock at her own hidden strength.
"You may not think so, but you are already a strong mage." Demeter looked down to see Lucy giving her a shy smile and a muttered thanks. "But I'm going to make you the strongest." Demeter smirked at Lucy's growing smile. They then walked in silence until Demeter lead them into what seemed to be an empty room. "Why are we-" Demeter raised her arm to shush her. Demeter placed a claw onto the wall and turned it as though she was unlocking a door, before she blew out a puff of smoke onto the rocks. Lucy watched, full of curiosity. In seconds, the dull rock wall was replaced with a colourful portal, leading to a place unknown to Lucy.
"Climb on my back." Lucy didn't hesitate and complied immediately, climbing up onto Demeter's back, careful of her spikes and held on tightly. Once she knew Lucy was secure, Demeter moved into the portal, opening her wings and shooting through the swirls of vibrant colours. In the same time it would take for someone to click their fingers, they had entered a land of beautiful scenery and magic. They were flying high about the ground, allowing Lucy to see almost everything this new realm had to offer. "This land is home to many kinds of creatures, but most importantly, it caters to dragons. You're in the Dragon Realm, Lucy." Lucy gasped, after hearing Natsu's nonsense about Igneel for so long, she began to doubt whether he was real up until this point.
"That area there is where the faeries nest, along side them are the Pegasus and Unicorn. Most creatures that reside there are creatures of light and purity. Whilst we do have creatures living here that are not pure in the technical sense, we cannot allow those corrupted with darkness to reside in this realm. They are banished to the Demon Realm." Lucy nodded in agreement; this land was so beautiful and serene that it would be a terrible shame if darkness took over it. "Do you see that castle up ahead, Lucy?" Lucy squinted and was finally able to see a blob that resembled a castle. "Almost, why?" Demeter smiled at the girl. "That's where you'll be staying throughout your training." Lucy's eyes widened. She had prepared herself for rough nights outside or camping in caves, not living in a luxurious castle fit for dragons.
Eventually, they made their way to the entrance of the castle and Lucy was able to study it better. It was an incredibly tall building and that was just from the outside view, it could look a lot more spacious inside. The castle appeared to be built out of marble, but it was in such pristine condition that it gleamed as the sun hit it. Lucy slid off Demeter's back and stood staring at the castle in awe. "Enough gawking, come inside." Lucy turned to see that Demeter had changed into her human form, her appearance unchanged from the moment they had originally met.
As Demeter stepped up to the front doors, two guards appeared from thin air. They were both in dragon form with a mixture of white and gold scales and bright blue eyes. There armour was made out of silver and outlined with copper. There armour covered the tops of their heads, chests and legs and carried matching katanas, blocking the entrance. "Your Majesty." She smiled at them. They bowed in her presence and removed their weapons from the doors, granting entrance to both Demeter and Lucy. The blonde was going to question it but then realised that she had already mentioned that she was royalty. 'But wait, they said majesty. That would mean...' Lucy pondered. "Are you the Queen?" She asked, quickening up her walking pace to look at Demeter in her eyes. She smiled at Lucy and nodded. "I am yes, and you are to be my successor." Demeter carried on walking, leaving Lucy stood to her spot.
She quickly caught up. "But why am I your successor? Don't you have children?" Demeter rolled her eyes at the girl. "Surely you can answer that question on your own." Lucy frowned. 'If she doesn't have any children, then who is going to inherit her throne? Perhaps a cousin?' Lucy was about to ask her but decided not to and leave it for another day. They were walking at such a fast pace, Lucy was unable to admire her surroundings. Demeter led Lucy up a few flights of marble stairs before stopping at a white door. She turned to Lucy, gesturing to the door. "This will be your chambers during your stay, I'll leave you to get comfortable and rest, I assume you are quite tired after today." It was only then that Lucy realised just how tired she actually was and nodded at Demeter's words. "Rest, I shall have someone collect you in the morning for breakfast and further information." Lucy nodded yet again and entered her room as Demeter left.
She was in awe at the décor of the room, it was fit for, well, a princess. The walls were green with swirls of red and gold. There was a very large bed which completely surpassed the size of a king bed, with heaps of white and red pillows, the quilt matching the swirled pattern on the pillows. To the left of the bed was a stunning stained glass door leading to a large balcony that overlooked most of the dragon kingdom. After Lucy stared at the glass longer, she realised that the pieces of red, white, gold, green and blue glass were in fact in the shape of a woman stood in front of a dragon, a gold halo behind them. There was a desk of oak wood just next to the balcony with a large mirror, she guessed it was for makeup. There was an identical desk opposite the first, on the other side of the room, she assumed that would be for writing purposes as she glanced at the pots of ink and stacked parchments.
Across the last wall were two doors; one white and one gold. Lucy opened the white door to reveal a very large bathroom. The bath appeared to be made out of marble and big enough to fit in 5 people. Beside it was a slightly smaller walk-in shower, both already supplied with luxurious toiletries. Across from the shower was a larger than average sink, a mirror above it, holding toothbrushes, facial scrubs etc. Lucy left the bathroom and opened the gold door, admiring what awaited behind the second door just as much as the first. The gold door revealed a very large walk-in wardrobe, already fully stocked with just about any clothing item Lucy could think of and more. At the very end of the room there was a full body mirror, in which she was able to see her shocked expression. She circled around, looking at all the clothes that were there and was only able to see a blend of vibrant colours.
She left the wardrobe and walked over to shut the main door of her bedroom and walked over to the balcony to catch the last glimpse of the sunset in the Dragon Realm. She carefully pushed open the glass door and walked across to the edge, leaning on the ledge. She sighed contently, the result of her journeys was one that she could never have imagined. The world had a funny way of balancing out things. She smiled as the soft glow of the sun was warm against her face. It was a strange concept, but Lucy had always thought of the sunset as a resemblance of her mother's presence. It was warm and bright, spreading joy until it had to go and all that was left was darkness and a coldness that was hard to get rid of.
With that thought, the sun had finally set and soon the sky was embellished with bright twinkling stars. Lucy shivered at the sudden cold breeze, clutching at herself. She looked up at the gleaming constellations with a small smile before returning to her room, shutting the balcony door behind her. Lucy didn't bother with a wash just yet, far too tired. She was sure if she did she may just fall asleep in the bathtub. She took off her shoes, belt and jeans and placed her belt with her possessions onto the nightstand next to the bed, opting to sleep in her hoodie.
'Tomorrow should be fun.' She thought wishfully before tucking herself under the comfy quilt and rested her head against the soft pillows. It didn't take long before she drifted off to sleep and awaited for the sun to rise in the morning.
Another chapter down and yes obviously I made Lucy sleep in her hoodie cause who doesn't? XD