Guess who got a new beta! K. A. Carlyle kindly agreed to beta for me, so now my stories would look a whole lot cleaner and such. I'm excited and so thankful for the help. Course, keep in mind, she(I'm assuming she's a she) doesn't read/watch Fairy Tail, so character and story wise, that would be all on me.
Lyra threw open the large doors with almost a flourish as a wave of dust tickled Natsu's nose, causing the mage to sneeze loudly.
"Oh dear, we must have not taken care of this area all too well. No one in the castle was much of a reader, so we forgot to clean this area everyday like most of the castle," Lyra giggled as she shifted towards the large glass windows and pushed them open, letting in a refreshingly cool burst of air that helped clear out the dust.
"Well, I'll try cleaning and dusting this place out while you do what you have to," the auburn haired girl announced, pulling out a feathered duster before trotting off to the nearest corner of the large room, leaving Natsu and the trembling blonde practically all alone.
"So," Natsu laughed awkwardly, avoiding eye contact as he scratched his cheek, "Do you know what this place is called?" Lucy shook her head slowly before glancing upwards, craning her neck so she could continue to look at the rows and rows of books in mixed wonder and curiosity.
"What is it called," Lucy asked with a shaky breath, glancing at the mage every now and again.
"Uhm, I think it's a library. Yeah! Levy likes going to these all the time, even makes Gajeel go with her sometimes," Natsu said with a laugh as he pulled Lucy towards a row of books, their bright pictures still strangely intact. "Try reading those," he said, pointing to the row of books as he almost immediately plopped himself down. Looking at the books, Lucy shook her head negatively as she moved closer to a corner, her eyes downcast sadly.
"I-I don't remember how to read," the blonde mumbled, twiddling the hem of her dress sleeve. Wide-eyed, Natsu took hold of Lucy's hands, causing the her to jump before regaining her standings.
"You don't know how to read? Even I know how to read. Igneel taught me," Natsu shouted, his voice ringing in the large room, making his words echo. Lucy couldn't help but feel more embarrassed about the situation, her brown eyes glancing down at the tips on her pink velvet shoes.
"Well, reading is so much fun! Why don't we help the princess re-learn how to read," the chipper voice of Lyra chimed as she skipped over to the two.
"Yeah, I guess we can do that," Natsu grumbled slightly, obviously not loving the idea of reading for fun. Lucy nodded slightly, dropping her hands from Natsu's hold before looking critically at the books.
"How about this one?" Lucy murmured, her fingers trailing along the spine of a fairy tale.
"Ooooooohhh, I love that one," Lyra cheered as the pink haired mage began to groan loudly.
"Alright, now you read it back to me," Natsu probed the blonde, resting his head against the top of his arms in a comfortable position. Lucy nodded hesitantly, having never read a book in the majority of her life.
"T-th-ee-rree w-once was a g-girl with long blonde hair, who was l-locked up in a tall tower," Lucy read, growing more confident with each passing word as she let them start to flow off her tongue.
"Wonderful, Princess," Lyra praised, her face beaming with obvious happiness for the princess.
"Yeah, yeah, wonderful. Can we do something more fun now?" Natsu groaned. Frowning slightly, Lucy placed the book down without a word and looked ready to leave the vast library and do something 'fun' until interrupted by Lyra's comment.
"Aw, but look how much fun the princess was having. Can't we say and read some more," Lyra pleaded, causing the mage to actually look over at the slightly downcast princess.
"Hey, Luce. Do you actually like reading?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow in the process.
"I-I think so."
Natsu nodded almost unconsciously before pushing himself upward and giving a slight stretch. "All right. Let's stay until you feel done. Hearing you read isn't too bad," Natsu said as he continued his mini stretches. Feeling herself go red in the face, Lucy averted her eyes and continued to read the fairy tale as best as she could; Lyra's cheers chimed in every now and then.
""For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo."" Lucy's words echoed to an end, her voice lulling a certain pink-haired mage to a serene state of consciousness.
"How lovely," Lyra sighed, bringing her hands to her cheeks, "You didn't even stutter once, Princess. Isn't reading so much fun!"
"Yeah, tons. Now, can you read another? I like hearing you read," Natsu admitted, resting his chin against his hand.
"Or better yet, why don't you make up a story? They're super fun to do," the auburn haired girl squealed, her body trembling with excitement.
"How do you make a story? How would I even start one?" Lucy questioned quietly, her voice trembling slightly as a newfound fear started to chum in her stomach.
"That's the greatest thing about making a story; you can do whatever you want!" Lyra said in glee, her hands clapping to an unheard beat.
"Yeah, like a story about me. Or Igneel! Oh man, Igneel use to tell the best stories, about dragons and how they saved people from the evil kings and princes," Natsu said, perking up at the very thought. With eyes shining with new vigor, Natsu grabbed hold of some loose papers and thrust a pen in Lucy's face.
"Here, we can write your story so you can remember it and tell it whenever you want. I'll help you!" Natsu shouted, now feeling excited about the whole situation. Taking hold of the pen, Lucy cautiously twirled it, trying out the weight and feel, feeling a sense of confidence slowly fill her being as she gave Natsu a shy smile.
"All right, let's do this," Lucy breathed, smoothing out the paper and drawing a few experimental strokes, the letters messy from disuse and hesitance.
"How about a dragon rising from the fire and rushing to the town?" Natsu shouted, shaking with obvious excitement as the pen in Lucy's hand swirled in quick delicate strokes.
"And we can have the villain start his spell on the tragic heroine. Oh, and the town can be frozen in ice!" the princess said with a smile, her words flowing quicker and quicker from her mouth as a look other than fear started to shine in her eyes.
In the background, Lyra sat contently in a chair away from the duo, her presence practically unknown to them as they immersed themselves in their story-making. Little by little, light started to overcome Lyra's body, starting from the tips of her shoes until it completely enfolded her in a warm golden glow. Feeling a sense of uncontrollable joy burst from her chest, Lyra was stunned into silence as her eyes filled with unconstrained tears.
It was a happiness unfelt by the auburn-haired harp, one that exceeded her usual bursts of minor excitements and thrills as the usual feelings of joy and exuberance that made her want to jump and shout. No, this feeling was calm and warmed her very being, making the harp-like humanoid want to hum in simple content as the feeling began to feel almost eternal.
Once completely covered by light, the harp started to shimmer and change, shifting to a condensed ball of light, floating and sparkling as it slowly bounced towards the distracted blonde. Finally making contact, the ball of light slowly merged with the princess, spreading its light from Lucy's head and traveling to her heart in its slow journey. After the glow started to fade, Lucy looked up from her written work, tears shimmering down her rosy cheeks as a bright smile slipped from her mouth.
"It's all done. My first story is all done, Natsu!"
And again, I really want to thank K. A. Carlyle for beta-reading for me! I also want to thank you guys for staying with this and giving really kind feedback, it's super appreciated. So, what do you think? Leave me a thought before you go. I own nothing. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and Romeo and Juliet belongs to William Shakespeare. Oh, and please don't forget to vote for the story that ends up getting most of my attention until completed. This means the story that ends up winning will most likely get updated more often. You can find the poll on my profile and are able to vote a total of two times. Voting ends in December so get your votes in before then.