notes: I totally didn't forget to update.
notes2: Okay, I did.
notes3: But I'm updating now, so no biggie.
notes4: You people may be tired of seeing this, but thank you to those who put this story in their Favorites and Alerts list, and to those who reviewed (Djinni Rakkety Tam, KawaiiOdango, GoldenRoseTanya, IamaPegasusDEALWITIT, Suilen, LuckyLifeSmile, and km28ave)!
notes5: (7/25)
notes6: Just a heads-up, it's an AU (and if you haven't found out from the previous one, my AUs are a little sad).
notes7: Pretend Maleficent wasn't the dragon (and here I am, spoiling stuff already. Way to go, Hikari).
disclaimer: Nope. That last Fairy Tail chapter was far too awesome to be made by someone like me.
summary: Because looking at it from a different view changes everything.
EDIT: My brain was too sleepy yesterday I forgot to put certain things in italics. That's kinda like not being able to put the title for a story (okay, not exactly, but it was pretty vital). So, sorry for the confusion! Fixed it as soon as I woke up (like, right now).
The bottom of her pink dress rustled as she padded across an endless forest, the click-clack sound of heels echoing within the tall, dark trees. Her curled, blond hair brushed against bare shoulders with every step, but she had been so used to the sensation that she barely felt it. For days she had walked through the same forest, saw the same trees, heard the eerie breezes of wind. The surroundings never changed. Nothing changed. She could only look down her path with blank, glossy eyes.
But up ahead, amidst the unchanging forest, stood a boy which could only be a little older than she was. A shock of pink hair was atop his head, spiky and going in all directions yet seeming soft to the touch at the same time. A white scaled scarf hung around his neck, and the scaly attire he wore fitted him well enough for her to see the toned muscles underneath. But what puzzled her, what drew her into him, was the bright, friendly grin on his face.
"Who are you?" she asked, in awe of seeing another living being in the realm that she thought only existed for her.
The boy's grin only became wider, jovial and energetic that seemed to bring life to the seemingly dead surroundings.
"I'm the one who's going to protect you."
"Get the princess!"
Her eyes refused to open, and although she was awake, she found herself completely immobile, conscious enough to know what was happening outside her body but not enough to interact with it. The linen she was lying on was soft, the pillow comfortably cushioning her head, and she realized that she didn't want to get up either way. In here, she could settle being a silent spectator.
"Everyone, try and breach the castle!"
She heard heavy, armored footsteps running against stone, yells and commands of men in different volumes, and metal clashing against metal. Despite not being fully aware of the surroundings, she knew there was a conflict occurring outside her body, but she didn't know about what.
The screaming and the metal-clashing went on for a few moments, getting closer and louder to her. Anxiety started to claw its way to her head as the sounds ensued. Who would guard her from them if they came close? There was nothing she could do to be able to do that by herself.
When she had near accepted the fact that her death was coming, something she didn't expect happened. There was a roar of a dragon, loud, mighty and frightening, silencing every noise there was.
Oddly, instead of feeling terrified, a serene calm filled her, all the fear and anxiety disappearing into nothing but silly worries. She slipped back into unconsciousness, thinking that with that mighty dragon near her, she was safe.
Poke.
"Luce."
Poke.
"Luucee."
Poke.
"Luuucccyyyy~"
Irritated, her eyes snapped open, immediately directing a glare at the grinning boy. "What is it this time, Natsu?"
"You fell asleep again."
She only realized then how close they were sitting together, their shoulders and knees bumping. One of his arms held her close. "I can't help it!" she whined, "Your shoulder is such a nice place to lay my head on." Her head nuzzled the crook of his neck for emphasis, earning a stammer from the boy.
"But do you know why that happens?" Natsu asked after her fits of laughter finished, "Why you suddenly just collapse and fall asleep? I know it's not normal, Luce. . ." Just barely, she caught his soft, mumbled sentence. "It makes me worry, too."
"I guess that's what a witch's curse does," she said, a faraway look on her eyes, "Putting you to sleep even if you don't want to."
"Don't think about it, Lucy." The reassuring grin of his was back, and it had an effect on her that made her doubts and worries disappear, like his simple presence held every certainty of a happy ending. "I'm here to protect you, remember?"
His words became less audible, and she didn't know if it was him softening his voice or her ears toning his voice down. Her eyelids felt heavier, and Natsu's voice lulled her to oblivion.
"I'll always be here."
Her fingers twitched, but that was all she could do. She had come back to this state for more than she could keep count, but with every return, she felt like she lost a period of time. The castle walls were beginning to rot and weaken, evident from their creaks and rumbles. The rustle of leaves sounded closer with each return, new trees growing near the castle. The forest outside could've already been filled with overgrown trees. Days, weeks, months, years could have gone while she was there, yet she only knew that she had been there for a long time.
The fighting outside happened less frequent. There were a couple few full-on surges towards the castle, but their numbers became less and less with each, until only parties of one came. But, in her mind, she knew that the reason the onslaughts didn't reach her was because of the dragon outside her castle. A mighty roar always followed every clash of metal, then it was always silence that remained after. She was being protected by the dragon.
"Hello there, my dragon."
She stiffened. She had heard that voice before.
"How are you doing?"
It was the witch's voice. And the dragon's master.
Cold dread flowed through her, freezing and numbing every part it passed. At the same time, disappointment and betrayal burned inside her. She became a mixture of hot and cold as she contemplated on the possibility that if the dragon was the witch's pet, then it wasn't there to protect her. It was there to keep her from going.
But instead of the submissive growl, a load roar came from the dragon, hostile and not a hint of the you-are-my-master obedience. She heard a swipe of air, and knew that the dragon clawed at the witch. It was going against its master.
"W-what are you doing, my dragon?" the witch screeched, narrowly dodging each swipe of the dragon's claws and tail.
A whiz through the air, and the dragon was roaring and growling. She could just feel that the dragon had been hurt. Worry made her nauseous and her head hurt so much she couldn't think of anything else but the dragon fighting outside.
"I was the one who put you here to guard the princess!" The witch was desperate now, desperate to reason with it that she shouldn't be killed. But the dragon was beyond listening to her.
I'm here to protect you.
A distant voice said, and it sounded so familiar to her, yet she couldn't place a name on the calming voice.
As the tendrils of sleep pulled her down, the witch's agonized scream was the last she heard, drowned out by the dragon's victorious roar.
"—Lucy."
Her eyes fluttered open, staring up at the very close face of a pink-haired boy. "Did you say something, Natsu?" she asked, voice soft from sleep.
He almost jumped, but stayed still and careful with her head on his lap. "N-no, I didn't." He turned his head to the side, pink dusting his cheeks.
What caught her attention was the now visible scar on his neck, glaringly prominent without the scarf that always covered it up. She reached up and brushed the rough patch of skin with her fingers, watching as a shiver ran down Natsu's body. Her eyes stayed drawn to the scar. "How did you get this again?"
An image of a witch sending a wave of black magic towards a dragon flashed in her mind, but it was gone as soon as it came. She shook her head at the peculiar thought and chuckled at Natsu's flustered expression, trying to come up of a lie to tell her about the injury. "I-I—" he started, "I tripped, then a thorn cut the side of my neck as I fell, so. . .yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
She saw right through his lie, but decided to drop it. She knew he didn't tell her the truth because he didn't want her to worry. He cared for her as much as she did for him.
Truthfully, she didn't know how she would be able to live without him.
"I don't want to go," she suddenly said.
"Where are you going?" Natsu asked, confused and alarmed.
"I-I don't know," she answered. It was weird, but she just had a feeling that she'll be leaving the place soon. Just the thought made her cry. "I want to stay here forever."
Tears were already streaming down her cheeks, and she didn't even know why. Sadness overwhelmed her so suddenly, something she couldn't comprehend. She just wanted to cry and hold Natsu and never let go.
She smiled up at him through her tears. "I love you, Natsu."
He embraced her tightly, briefly, before he mashed his lips with her, longing and wanting and possessive. "I love you, too, Lucy," he whispered, their foreheads pressed together, "I won't let anyone take you away."
She was just about to ask exactly who would take her away when Natsu's face contorted with pain, his body bent over as he clutched his arm. "N-Natsu!" she shouted, frantic.
She heard Natsu mutter "Too soon. . ." before pushing himself up and running away from her. Worried, she ran after him. "Natsu," she called, "Natsu, is something wrong?"
At that moment, gashes and cuts appeared on various parts of his body, on his cheek, his thigh, the back of his hand, everywhere. Her eyes widened. "Natsu!"
He smiled at her weakly, eyebrows lowered and mouth tight. Wounds continued to appear, blood trailing from them and coloring his skin crimson. To her, it felt like goodbye.
"Good night, Luce."
And she was out like a light.
The cracks of the unfamiliar ceiling welcomed her, and she realized it was the first time she ever saw the stone ceiling. It was the first time her eyes opened to see it.
Slowly, she got up, the mattress creaking with the motion. Looking around, she found that the room only contained the bed and nothing else. Outside, some of the trees have creeped into the window.
A roar ripped through her musings. The same roar that followed every charge, and the same roar that silenced everything. The roar of the dragon who always protected her.
She ran to the window, wanting to get a glimpse of it, when two pairs of arms circled around her waist, pulling her from the window before she could even see the dragon. The figure hoisted her on his shoulder, saying, "I got the princess!"
"W-what are you doing?!" she screamed at the boy with light brown hair who refused to put her down. "Let me go!" The boy ignored her requests, continuing to descend the spiral staircase and out the castle.
The sight outside almost made her cry. Puddles of blood pooled the stone entranceway, warm and crimson and once inside a living thing but now sprayed across the ground. But the source of the blood, the creature who lost all those blood, was the mighty dragon, now fallen on the ground laying on its own crimson blood. Their eyes met, and the dragon struggled to get up, only to fall back down, splashing the crimson pools. Instead, it let out a roar, pained and heartbreaking.
A smiling pink-haired boy appeared in some hidden part of her memory, and something wet was trailing down her face, because she loved him, and she was being taken away from him.
Because the dragon was Natsu, and he always protected her.
"Natsu!" she called out desperately, reaching her hand out towards the mortally wounded dragon. The dragon roared in response, equally desperate in its weak state.
"Lucy!" Natsu, in his human form yet nothing but a soul, ran after her, eyes wide with fear of losing her. But he was getting farther and farther away from her, and before he completely disappeared from her vision, he heard him scream her name, agonizing and pained, exactly like the fallen dragon's roar.
The wind continued to blow past the empty castle, the leaves of the overgrown trees rustling with the breeze. The walls were crumbling down, rotting. Everything was falling apart.
The pink-haired boy stayed trapped in the forest, running and running through the endless rows of dead trees. He continuously ran towards nowhere, desperately chasing after his sleeping beauty.
The End.
Lucy: Natsuuuu!
Some random guy: So, do we get married now?
notes: ^ That is the worst.
notes2: I love fairy tales. Who doesn't?
notes3: If I did put tail instead of tale somewhere (I'm not sure), I apologize for my super bad Fairy Tail addiction. I swear, it's happened before.
notes4: My brain's too tired to think of a witty remark for reviews. Can't I just normally ask for them? (Lol jk just say whatever you want on that very, very big review box)
