Natsu and Happy were whipped around inside the portal like rag-dolls. All around them lights flashed and everything spun, making Natsu feel nauseous. He couldn't remember their last journey to the spirit world being this turbulent. He had to close his eyes and concentrate on not throwing up.
They both hit the ground hard enough to leave two craters in ground. Their landing was on a floating piece of clear crystal that was covered in blue grass. All around them the night sky extended 360 degrees.
"Ouch!" Happy moaned rubbing his backside. "Hey Natsu? Let's not do that again, okay?...Natsu?" Natsu hadn't gotten up, and had a strange expression on his face.
"Ha-ppy!" He gasped holding his throat. His face went from red to blue as he clutched at the air trying to breath.
"Help! Somebody help!" Happy screamed. Natsu wanted to kick himself. Of course he had forgotten that humans couldn't breathe in the spirit world without the help of spirit clothes. Happy was probably alright because he was an Exceed. The edges of Natsu's vision started to go dark and he stared up at dark sky splattered with stars.
I'm sorry Lucy he muttered to the sky without the sound leaving his lips. He was sorry he hadn't gotten to Loki and he was sorry that he had so carelessly thrown away his own life. He knew Lucy would have been mad at him for that. However, it suddenly occurred to him that he might see her again in some kind of afterlife, and he smiled. Maybe death wouldn't be that bad.
It was his last thought before everything went black.
Lucy felt herself slowly regain consciousness and tried to fight it, squeezing her eyes so they would stay closed. Please, just ten more minutes she thought. Ten more minutes, then I'll get up.
She had been having a very good, but totally bizarre dream. In it she was in Earthland as a human, a celestial wizard in fact, that had run away from home to join a guild. On her way she had been captured by an evil wizard and then rescued by a pink haired boy who ate fire and his talking/flying blue cat.
With a smile, she shook her head. She really had to stop eating right before going to bed, her dreams just kept getting weirder and weirder.
Opening her eyes she looked over and saw an orange head resting on the bed beside her.
"Leo?" She questioned confused. Why in the kings name would he be sleeping in her room? She blushed slightly at the thought of anyone getting the wrong idea about the two of them. For goodness sake, she was engaged!
Leo's head popped up when she called his name and he looked groggily at her from behind his glasses.
"Lucy! You're okay!" he crushed her into his chest with bear hug, making her feel even more embarrassed.
"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" She comforted him by patting her old friend on the back. Looking around, she noticed they weren't the only two in the room. All around the grand bedroom stood her oldest and dearest friends, all looking at her with a mixture of relief and sorrow. Aries, Virgo, Taurus, Sagittarius, Lyra, Cancer, the Gemini twins, Crux, Horologium and even little Plue. She glanced around to each of them, now truly bewildered. Even Aquarius and her boyfriend Scorpio where there looking at her with concern.
"Um…Why is everyone in my bedroom?" She questioned the group, opting to head straight to the point. Leo pulled away from her.
"Everyone was very worried about you, my darling" Cooed a smooth voice. Lucy gave a start of surprise as the silver haired prince walked into the room and over to her bedside.
"Your majesty!" She cried, alarmed and turning bright pink. She was suddenly hyperaware of being only in her low-cut night gown and Leo's intimate proximity.
Lucy saw Leo's jaw clench when the prince entered and took a puzzled note of it. Why would Leo be angry at Prince Azazel? Everyone in the realm, including Lucy, loved the prince because he was a fair and kind ruler. He had saved them all from his tyrant of a father. What could he have done to have made her oldest protector so angry?
Azazel came to kneel at her bedside and took her hand in his.
"My love, you may not remember, but there was a terrible accident. You were reaching for a book in the library and the whole bookcase toppled on top of you and you hit your head, knocking you unconscious. You've been asleep for almost a week"
Lucy felt the back of her head, but it didn't seem hurt of damaged. Then what the prince said sunk in and her eyes budged out in shock.
"A week!" She exclaimed "That means the weddings is in less than three days!" Azazel laughed joyfully.
"Yes, and tomorrow night is the Ball that is being held in your honor. We can always postpone it until you're feeling better?"
Lucy shook her head, disturbed at the though. She had been looking forward to the Ball for such a long time and she knew many of the other spirits had as well. There was no way she was going to disappoint everyone.
"Very well, I'll leave you in the very capable hands of your servants" He said reaching over and planting a loving kiss on her forehead. Lucy noticed something odd in his voice, almost like it was a warning. Leo had not looked at the prince once and only glanced now at the door to make certain he was gone.
"Leo, what's wrong?" She asked her friend. Now that she looked at them, all of her friends still had worried expressions on their faces. "I really am fine." She tried to assure them, but they kept the unhappy expressions.
"Would you guys quit that!" she snapped at them "Jeez, you're acting like somebody died!"
The spirits looked shocked, then there was a collective sigh as many let out the breath they had been holding. They were relieved to see Lucy back to her old self shouting at them.
Many of the spirits then excused themselves from her presence, reassured that she was indeed alright. Leo, Aries and Virgo stayed behind and Leo's gaze never left her face, making her feel slightly uncomfortable.
"Leo, do I have something on my face?" She asked him sweetly.
"No, Why?" He answered confused
"Then why do you keep staring at me! It's rude you know!"
"Shall I punish him princess?" Virgo asked excitedly. Lucy laughed and eyed her old fiends warningly.
"Maybe later. Right now I have so much to do! I can't believe the wedding is in three day's! I haven't even tried on my wedding dress yet!"
Leo watched as she bounded up and went into the large walk in closet with Virgo and Aries trying to decide what she would wear that day. He had thought it would be hard to lie to her and see her without her memoires of Fairy Tail and being human. But she seemed so happy gushing over her wedding dress and gossiping about the guest list with the other two girls that he found himself settling into an uneasy smile. Yes, this new life was a lie, but if it made her this happy, was it really a bad one?
Then out of the corner of his eye he saw her look away with a distant look.
"Leo, you've known me the longest. Have I ever been to Earthland?" She asked him while modeling a long blue dress. She was running her thumb and forefinger over the white checkered scarf that she had tied around her waist like a sash.
"N-No. Why do you ask?" He stuttered. She brushed it off with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just a dream I had…" She muttered so softly he almost didn't hear her. Then Cancer appeared and she got distracted talking about hair styles for the wedding. Leo was left watching her as the guilt ate at his soul.
