Present

"Lucy, stop this madness this instant," Natsu insisted as she faced him with only a chest plate and her whip. She had had on a helmet that was almost comically large before she took it off, opting to face him with the protection.

"Silence," she said in a steely voice, staring him down from twenty paces away. "The rules of your father's spell and my father's orders are clearly outlined. Anyone who bests you in battle earns the right to the hand of Lucy of Heartfilia. I may fight for myself for the right to decide who I may marry."

"I can't hurt you!" he growled. "In these fights, I gravely injure men - even kill them!"

"Well then," she said, glaring at him and tensing up, ready for battle. "I suppose you'll just have to beat me without laying a finger on me. But then, didn't my father decide that you were the best?"

He transformed into a huge scaly beast still glaring at her. "Stop this nonsense. Three suitors are on their way. Three! We don't have time to fool around like this!"

"I am dead serious!" she grunted, running at him and managing to wrap the whip around his front foot, yanking hard and causing him to stagger. "I'm giving you the chance to fight for yourself. I could've easily slit your throat in your sleep!"

He roared at that. "You would never!" he shouted, swiping at her shield side. It scraped off the metal with a hideous shriek.

"Who says I wouldn't?!" she cried back at him, pulling her whip from his grasp. "I'm sick of you controlling my destiny! That is in my hands!"

"I thought you loved me," he said, a hint of hurt in his voice as he walked around her. She swiveled to keep track of his movements.

"Of course I do," she grunted, wrapping the whip around his tail and pulling hard enough for him to roar as he yanked her off her feet and sent her sailing.

She hit the wall with a small yelp and crumpled to the ground. Immediately, he transformed back, rushing to her side as she pushed herself up. "Luce!" he said, collapsing beside her and reaching his hands out.

She shoved him away, standing and breathing hard, determination in her brown eyes. "This isn't over," she said, dropping the whip and sending a fist sailing his way instead.

He swerved to dodge it, dancing back as she advanced. "Stop! STOP IT!" he begged her.

"Fight me!" she ordered him, throwing punch after punch which he simply deflected or dodged. He ignored the open spots she left, too afraid of hurting her. "I told you this wasn't over!"

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, putting up his forearms to absorb the barrage of hits she was dealing.

"I told you," she grunted, putting all of her strength into every swing. "I love you, and I'm tired of you having to make sacrifices for me!"

"I would die for you."

"That's kind of the problem!"

She sent him staggering back with an unexpected kick to the ribs that left him breathless and open. She pounced on him and the went rolling on the stone floor of the atrium like two wrestling bear cubs. Lucy landed on top, locking her knees around his arms so they were stuck at his sides and drawing his own dagger to hold to his throat. He stopped squirming, looking up onto her face with tears forming in his eyes.

"This isn't fair," he fairly whispered. "I can't fight you. You know that. Luce… you have to let me protect you. It can't end like this."

She had to control her own breathing, fighting tears as she looked at the hopelessness in his eyes. "You always want to find someone strong for me, but I already have someone strong," she said, holding the dagger just a little tighter to his throat as she leaned over him. "It's my turn to protect you. It's my turn to look for someone strong… someone who's worthy to be by your side."

"Luce-"

"Submit."

"I-"

"Submit or I will… I'll do it!" she threatened him. "I'll do it and then nobody will be here to help me when those suitors come. The first one to pick me up and carry me off will be my husband, and nobody will stop him, dragon."

Natsu growled deep in the back of his throat, tensing. He searched her eyes for some sort of yield - some sort of end to this madness that seemed to consume her. There was none. His whole body relaxed in defeat. "I… I submit."

The whole castle seemed to sigh in response as Lucy was lifted to her feet and Natsu beside her. "N-Natsu?" she asked as a warm yellow light surrounded both of them. "What's happening?"

"I don't know," he said, scanning around.

Very suddenly, the yellow light dissipated, and Lucy felt something tenuous and magical break within in her. She doubled over with a gasp as the light faded, clutching her chest tightly.

"Luce!" she felt warm hands go around her. Somehow… it felt different. Everything felt different.

"We aren't bound together anymore," she said, standing in his arms, her brown eyes searching his onyx ones.

"The spell is… broken," he said, his eyes looking sad. "You're free."

"I'm free," she repeated.

He stepped away from her, forcing his eyes down and falling to his knees. "Long live Queen Lucy. Now you will go to reign your kingdom?"

"No."

"No?"

She drew him up, standing so close that their bodies nearly touched as she looked up at him. "The only reason for this… for all of this… was for you. I will not rule Heartfilia. I am free so now it is my time to decide what I do with my life. The only princess I wish to be is yours, my dragon."

"You're… you-"

"I love you," she said, standing on her tiptoes and pulling his face down to kiss him softly. "And we will be together always."

"Luce…" he sighed, putting his forehead against hers. He saw the steady red blush in her cheeks as she bit her lips and waited for a response. "You could have asked me on a date before you challenged me for your own hand in marriage."

She let out a small gasp of disbelief and and amusement, shaking her head.

"I love you," he continued, lowering his head again to kiss her, very slowly and deliberately. He savored the taste of her lips and only pulled away at length. "Will you marry me?"

It was her turn to smile coyly. "I don't know. Technically, I bested you in combat and won my own hand. I think you'll have to actually win against me for that right."

He growled, kissing her again. "You got lucky."

"Yes," she replied immediately, bringing up a hand to place on his cheek. He leaned into her touch. "I got so very lucky to have a dragon like you. But now I have to go see Sting."

He growled again, not releasing her. "Hey, I beat him! He can't have you!"

She batted his hands away, laughing. "Not about that! Someone does have to rule Heartfilia though… and I think he may be perfect for the job."

"I think you're right," Natsu responded. "But give it awhile. A few minutes won't matter."

"Why?" Lucy asked warily, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I have spent seven years loving you," he answered, drawing her tighter. "Believing that I could never have you and therefore never be happy. But now… because of how amazing you truly are - we can be together, truly, forever."

"Well," she said softly. "You did give me your word, dragon."

"Yes, princess. Yes, I did."

The breaking of the spell did much more than either the dragon or the princess could have possibly imagined. With their bond broken, the forbidding castle turned into a beautiful manor of light and life. The moat of lava disappeared, and in its place sprang forth a clear stream. The courtyard filled with a garden to rival any other in the kingdom, with all kinds of beautiful plants and flowers. Even the slick obsidian walls turned to a rosy quartz that now glistened in the sun with such warmth and invitation any visitor would know that he was welcome. But that wasn't all.

All of the enchanted servants were returned to their original form, albeit a little enhanced. Many retained parts of their abilities as objects. Juvia the water basin could now control water, and Mirajane could transform into much more than just kitchen odds and ends. Many returned to their lives from before, not having aged a day since they were first enchanted.

Captain Sting of the Sabertooth Regiment rode out two days later as the rightful King of Heartfilia. He has reigned for twenty years now and brought peace and prosperity to Heartfilia. He is beloved and fair, and he still sometimes sends messengers out to Fairy Tail Keep for advice. He refused to take back Lucy's title, insisting that she remain a princess of Heartfilia until the end of her days.

But you don't care about that. You want to know about Natsu and Lucy.

She wanted the adventure she never got contained in those four walls. She wanted to go places and see things, experience life in its fullest. She wanted to see if fairies really did have tails. She wanted to help those who needed it, learn from those who were wiser, and try to leave the world a better place. Natsu wanted nothing more than to remain by her side.

Those servants who decided to stay stayed on equal terms - no longer servants but comrades. Together, they formed a sort of band - a guild, if you will, that anyone could join with the right amount of heart, curiosity, and bravery. And people did. They came from all over Heartfilia to take jobs or request them, protecting the land that they all held dear.

And yes, after a year or so, Natsu did beat Lucy in battle. They married, and shortly thereafter… they had me, Nashi, daughter of Princess Lucy of Heartfilia and Natsu Dragneel, child of Fairy Tail Keep. I was the one who collected all of these stories and memories and wrote them down. There needed to be a written record of what happened here - how a princess loved a dragon so much that she fought him for her own hand, and how that dragon loved her so much that he lost.

We're still looking for answers - about fairies, about bandits, about Zeref, and about the people who took down Heartfilia to begin with. Together with my parents and my friends, we're looking for answers every day.

For now, we're living the best that we can. Adventure finds us, whether we like it or not. We'll work it out though, because we know that we'll always have each other.

A/N: Ahhhhhh thank you so much for always being here and getting to this point! I know it took forever, and I'm sorry. I hope you liked it and have a great rest of your day! I may write a follow-up to this because I was kind of a jerk to just dangle Zeref out like that, huh? But if not, I still really hope that you enjoyed it and it made your day a little brighter! Okay, I'm gonna go cry and eat some ice cream now. Much love. 3