Chapter Four: "No, thank you Miss Lucy..."
Lucy felt ridiculous, but she knew it was the right thing to do. Asking Mirajane if she could take three orders and drinks to go was embarrassing, especially when she figured out Lucy's motive. She could still hear her words of encouragement and enthusiasm; "Bring it back when you're done, and be sure to tell me all the juicy details when you come back." Mirajane handed Lucy the basket along with a wink. Now she was carrying a large basket of food and was heading to the blacksmiths.
If the rumours were true and that the blacksmiths have been working around the clock then they would need a proper meal and drinks to rejuvenate. And if the rumours were false, well Lucy doubted Natsu would refuse her offerings… or at least she hoped not. The other worst outcome was to walk all the way to the blacksmiths and find it's closed.
When the blacksmiths was in sight, walking to the door felt longer than the walk from Fairy Tail's. The blacksmiths was a stoned building, with an enormous chimney. The sign swinging back and forth had, 'Igneel's Fire Lair' written in metallic silver. Her fears and worries grew bigger and more ridiculous as she approached the half opened door. Through the opened part she could see two shirtless men…. Lucy's head was spinning, and was feeling faint. Was it from the massive heat wave coming from the blacksmiths? Or the sight of shirtless men? Lucy tried to force herself to get up and to get a grip. She came here for a reason. "Excuse me Miss are you all right?" Lucy turned around and saw Igneel looking out at her.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, I heard you were extremely busy so I brought some food and drink. Please help yourself if you want."
"Thank you so kindly, I would be honoured to accept. I'm afraid my apprentice will not be joining because he insisted on me taking a break. Is there enough food for all of us?" Igneel led her to the backyard.
"Yes, Natsu can eat his share later." Lucy began spreading a blanket on the lawn.
"How very thoughtful of you. I'll fetch him as soon as I'm done." Igneel helped Lucy. "Are you Lucy?"
"Yes I am."
"So you're the mysterious girl Natsu mentioned the other day. I thought he made you up. Glad to see you're not." Igneel laughed and Lucy gave a little laugh. "Smells delicious. Is that Hot n' Spicy Apple Cider?"
"Yes, I brought two in case you both like it." Lucy said handing Igneel a bottle.
"Excellent. I love the burning sensation, it feels like there's fire in my belly." Lucy handed Igneel a drink bottle. Igneel gulped nearly half of his drink in one go. "That hit the spot!" He gave a satisfied sigh. Lucy handed Igneel a beautifully wrapped plate. When he opened it, steam was pouring out, and he looked at a full plate meal of ribs, and roasted root vegetables.
"My-oh-my, I wasn't expecting a feast."
"When I heard how busy you both were, I thought a proper meal would help in sustaining energy… I hope it's not too much."
"Well I can't go back on my word, how much did this cost?"
"Think of this as a small token, so don't worry about the cost. Please dig in." Igneel obeyed Lucy's words. Igneel and Lucy exchanged some small talk. Although Igneel had questions, he thought it best to leave Natsu with them.
"That was delicious. Thank you Miss Lucy for bringing such a treat. Now I'm all set to work. It's been a pleasure meeting you. I'll go fetch Natsu." Igneel went back to the blacksmiths.
Lucy waited a few minutes while sitting on the blanket. The sun was attempting to beam through the clouds. She could smell the ashes from the building. "Hey Lucy, Igneel told me it was you. Haven't had any troubles with the guards today?" Natsu came and sat next to Lucy.
"No, I haven't seen a guard at all. Natsu! What on earth happened to your arm?" Natsu's right forearm was smudged with soot and ash, but it also had a nasty fresh burn.
"It's nothing, just a little accident. I guess it's from the lack of sleep… wait, what are you doing?" Lucy ripped a bit of material from the bottom of her dress, uncorked a bottle of water, and then dampened the material with the water.
"You can't leave a burn like that untreated! It needs to get cooled down with water, or the skin will continue to burn and get infected!" Lucy remarked while patting Natsu's burn with the wet material. Once the cloth no longer felt cool or began to dry, Lucy poured more water on the material and reapplied on the burn. She redid the process until the burn looked a little less swollen and red. She then tied the material around Natsu's forearm, "You'll need to visit the pharmacy and purchase a cream that will help to heal the burn." Lucy instructed.
"You're amazing Lucy, I didn't know you knew medical stuff. Are you a nurse?"
"Thank you, although it was a minor case." Lucy paused, "No, but if I did have a choice I would consider it."
"Why can't you? You're smart."
"My duties and choices were already given to me, the moment I was born into the world."
"I'm still not fully understanding what type of lifestyle you have, but it sounds depressing… is it a family business?"
"You can call it that."
"Maybe she's a farmer. Nah, a cow would run her over." There was a minute of silence, then all at once Lucy burst out laughing. Natsu realizing he said that out loud joined in.
"So what is it about me that doesn't reach a farmer's standard?" Lucy asked with some mischief in her voice.
"Well a farmer girl would not budge if the guards tried to drag her."
"Do you know a lot of farmer girls?"
"No just a few, I only know them because they're customers and they are a lot stronger than they look." Natsu laid on his stomach, and he propped his left arm up in the air while his elbow was touching the ground. Lucy watched him in puzzlement. "What are you doing?"
"If you go in the same position facing me oppositely as I am, and raise your right hand we can have an arm wrestle." Lucy put herself into position, "That's how I know how strong the farmer girls are… I always win, but they do put up a good fight." Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand noting this time how soft it felt, "Now when I count to three, try to push my hand before I push yours to the ground. I promise to go easy. Are you ready?" Lucy nodded though looking apprehensive. Natsu started the countdown, and he watched Lucy trying her very hardest to push his hand… although it wasn't budging. He then slowly pushed hers to the ground. Lucy looking defeated rolled over on her back. "You weren't bad." Natsu lied.
"You should eat, and then get back to work."
"Being coldhearted are we?" Natsu laughed, "Actually, sir Igneel saw the burn and he ordered on me taking a break for the rest of the day. I tried persuading him I would be fine, but he wouldn't hear of it. I kind of wished he didn't always treated me like child." Natsu got back into a seating position, and started opening his plate package and drink.
"I've been meaning to ask, why are you and sir Igneel working nonstop in recent days?"
"Sir Igneel… received a…. rushed request to make… a sword… in five days…. Now two." Natsu said in between chewing and swallowing.
"Is possible to make a sword in that short amount of time?"
"It is pushing it…. Normally a sword takes… about a week or more… and since this is a special request… from a prince or something…. Sir Igneel is feeling the pressure."
"Wait… what do you mean by a prince?"
"I'm not sure… something to do with a neighbouring prince coming to visit… I don't know why… except it was a rushed and an important decision."
"Prince Sawarr Junelle?" Lucy said almost in a whisper.
"Yeah… the name rings a bell… how do you know?" Natsu asked, believing Lucy knew everything.
"I read his name somewhere in the 'Royalty around the Globe.' It was a lucky guess." Lucy gave a small chuckle. The conversation died out as Natsu was devouring his meal, and Lucy had something heavy in her mind.
When Natsu finished his meal, he insisted on carrying the basket back to Fairy Tail. "Come on Lucy, it's the least I can do since you brought us a feast and tended to my burn. Besides, what I'm I suppose to do the rest of the day?" Natsu gave his signature grin which Lucy wasn't immune to.
"Fine, we also should get you the cream while we're at it." So, she and Natsu headed together. They first stopped at the Pharmacy where a young girl with blue hair in twin pigtails nervously served them. "Wendy! Where's the old woman?" Natsu asked in a rather loud voice.
"Hi Mr. Natsu, Ms. Porlyusica went to get some medical herbs, she left me in charge of the shop. She thought I needed more experience with costumer service than identifying herbs." Wendy said shyly endeavoring to make eye contact. "What can I help you with?"
"We would like some cream for a burn, please." Lucy said sweetly, noticing how hard Wendy was trying.
"Oh, Wendy this is Lucy, Lucy this is Wendy. She's the old woman's apprentice." Lucy with a smile gave Wendy a hand to shake which Wendy reciprocated in return.
"I'll go make the cream."
"Would Lucy be able to watch you? I heard that she's interested in pursuing the medical field." Lucy gave Natsu a look.
"You are?" Wendy asked with some hope in her voice.
"Well… err… it was a thought I had while growing up… but if you're busy I…"
"No, I'll be happy to show you." So, Lucy followed Wendy at the back leaving Natsu in the other room. Wendy's nervousness faded as she explained the properties of the ingredients she was using to make the cream, and then the procedure of turning them into a dark sludge consistency which will help heal burns. Lucy was attentively listening and asked questions on things she didn't know. She was amazed on how much the young girl knew, and she looked only twelve.
When the cream was made, Wendy wrapped it neatly inside a large leaf. "So, how did it go?" Natsu asked as the girls emerged from the room.
"Very informative and interesting experience. Thank you Wendy for teaching me, I learned a lot."
"No, thank you Miss Lucy. Come anytime if you want to learn more, Ms. Porlyusica is a wonderful teacher and can teach you more than I can." Natsu paid for the cream, and they all said their goodbyes.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, it respectively belongs to Hiro Mashima