Me: Sorry, for a late update on this. There were stories I wanted to complete so this took a while to come out. Hope you'll like it.
Natsu: Making it quick, Beatress doesn't own Fairytail. Blame her for all the mistakes in the plot.
Me: Don't be rude Natsu. How long do I have to tell you? Well, chapter ahead. Enjoy!
Chapter-10 Prepare for a war!
The dragon slayer woke up all of sudden. He could now see some wooden ceiling. His vision was still blurry. He rubbed his eyes to get a clear vision. Now he could see everything clearly. He sat up at once. Something pained him deeply. Unconsciously, his hand moved onto his stomach where he could now feel some bandages. His eyes got wide.
"Where am I?" he thought. Then, it occurred to his mind that Lucy was… bleeding. She was about to die. He couldn't remember anything other than that. He tried to get off his bed when a voice called him from behind.
"Gramps said not to allow you leave the bed. You worked enough," she said.
He knew that voice. It was Lisanna. She walked all way to face him. She stood in front of him, blocking his way.
"Stop it, Lisanna, Let me go!" he shouted, "I have to rescue her or she'll die,"
"Sure, Take care of yourself first. Can't you see your body is covered with bandages? How do you expect to protect her?" she shouted on top of her voice.
"I… I…" he again sat down, hopeless.
"How is she? I mean you guys rescued me means you must have rescued her, right? How is she?" he asked, sounding quite concerned about her.
"What do you think?" she replied.
"If it's you guys, I think she's fine," he replied, grinning. His grin was quite different now. This was something she longed to see. He was grinning whole-heartedly.
"The princess is just fine. Don't worr-" She couldn't even complete her sentence, he broke in between. "I want to see her…. Right now,"
He was quite worried about the little princess he knew. Lisanna just smiled at him. She knew he was worried but to let him out was one big risk for himself. He hasn't recovered yet. She didn't knew what happened there but whatever happened, deprived him of all his strength. She tried to stop him but knowing Natsu; one can easily predict the outcome. He forced her to take him to her. For the first time in her life, she saw him so longing to see someone.
She guided him to the room. He entered while she preferred to stay out not to let anyone enter the room.
He saw the blonde sleeping. She had a bandage on her waist with a red spot at the centre. Tears now began to surface his onyx eyes.
"What a fate? I have her in front of my eyes and I cannot tell her who I am. What a pain? I'm so close to you and yet I cannot tell you about my existence. My princess, I'm really sorry," He said.
The blonde seemed to get conscious now as she slowly moved her fingers. Then, she opened her eyes with difficulty. When something struck her mind, she sat up and began searching for it. Obviously her eyes were searching for her friend. She could only see Natsu standing in front of her.
"Natsu, where's Kai?" was her first question, her eyes still searching for the black haired mage.
"Kai?" he thought.
"No way! He doesn't know him, does he? Wait! Kai did tell me that he met him at the battle. So, I guess he'll recognize him. That's not the point here…" she thought.
"Wait, do you remember the man who sent me with you during the fight? Where is he?" she sounded serious.
"You mean Spiky?...uh..um… I mean to say you mean Prince Kai. I'm afraid…." He said.
She was now holding his arms, looking him in his eyes. She wanted to know the truth. She was crying for him. It hurt him so much. He knew they both shared the same feeling for her. But still, his woman was standing right in front of him and he couldn't even tell her who he was. That was paining him the most.
"What happened to Kai?" she asked one more time. Tears falling from her eyes as she now lost all the hope of his very survival. She now slowly rested her head on his chest, crying.
"Why did he have to do this? He told me he'd not die. He'd live with me. But still…." She sobbed.
"Princess Lucy, I want to inform you that…"
"Natsu!" shouted Lisanna from outside.
"Natsu, Come immediately to Grandpa's chamber. Dark Oasis kingdom is coming to seize ours…," she shouted before she left.
The two mages were left in shock.
"Is it because of me?" she thought.
Natsu hurried to a large chamber where all the other mages were gathered. Lucy followed him and she stood in the corner. She could see different kinds of mages. One was a red-haired mage who was in her armor. She was too scary. Then she saw a black haired mage who was talking to the red haired one. Similarly, there were many. She even saw Lisanna, standing with another two white haired mages. She was feeling quite lonely. She knew no one there. She wished if Kai was there. He was her only friend.
She shook her head sadly. The very thought of the fire mage made her sad. Natsu saw her and walked to her.
"Lucy, are you alright?" he asked worried.
"Kai…" she said, clenching her fists tight.
"Lucy, Kai is…" he was cut off in between when the king arrived taking his place on the dice. Everyone alerted.
"All my children, it's an emergency. I never expected this. As you all know, we hold the Princess of Heartphilia. She is a kin of mine and hence has to be protected. She is the only hope of the Heartphilia people for their kingdom's restoration. So, I want you all to protect her no matter what," he said.
"Grandpa, She's not only your kin but also our nakama. We're not going to give her up, so easily," the red haired mage said.
"Erza's right," the black haired mage supported. Everyone cheered.
"This was what I expected from you guys. However, in this battle I don't want anyone to die. I'm making it clear. Live for my sake, for the kingdom's sake, for your nakama's sake," the king, announced.
As soon as the announcement ended, the mages were preparing for the great battle ahead. Lucy saw in awe as everyone were engaged in their work preparing for the battle, though they didn't know her any better. Natsu was there beside her. He looked worried.
"Lucy, I want to tell you something," he said.
"What's the matter, Natsu? You look worried…" she asked.
"Lucy…" Natsu was again cut off by the red haired mage, who walked in their direction.
"Natsu, Grandpa wants to talk to you," she said, not noticing the princess.
"Okay, Erza…" he said, saluting her. He left for the king's chamber. It was only after he left that she saw the princess standing.
"Oh, It's the princess. Pardon me. I didn't take notice of your presence. I'm Erza Scarlet, the commander-in-chief of these forces. How is that your feeling now princess?" she asked, introducing herself.
"Please, you can call me Lucy. I'm just a normal girl like you. I'd prefer it that way. Can you be a bit informal? You're way too formal for me. Anyways, I'm quite fine. You said you were the commander-in-chief, right? Can I ask you something? Can I fight along with you guys?" Lucy asked, smiling at the commander.
"What are you talking about Princess? We intend to save your life. You on the other hand ask me to put it in danger. I can never let you do that," Erza replied. She must say Lucy sounded like a nakama when she said that but she couldn't risk her life.
"You don't want to change, do you? It's Lucy. I don't like it when someone calls me Princess," Lucy sighed. "Fine then, I go ask Grandpa, himself,"
"Wait, Lucy, you cannot go on the battle field," Erza said. Lucy ignored it and continued on her way to the King's chamber.
~0~
"Why is it that you called me, Grandpa?" asked the dragon slayer.
"How are you feeling my child? I got news that you again used the Dragon Flames… You know you still cannot control it and yet you use it. It severely damages your body, I must say, rendering you weak," the old king said.
"I'm fine, Grandpa. Dragon Flames, huh? It just came out without any control. I couldn't control my body. It just felt like it was ten years back. The same thing happened… the same pain… I couldn't help it, Grandpa… Knowing that it was she… I couldn't help it….It just came out…." The dragon slayer said, looking at his hands.
"I can understand my child but the things are different… Not to mention the Spell… She only has eight more days remaining… Things can't get back to the way they were after these eight days," the old king replied.
"I see," Natsu said in a low voice. Silence engulfed the chamber. Neither of them spoke. Then, they heard a knock.
"Who is it?" the old man asked.
"It's me, Grandpa, Lucy. I want to have a word with you," she said.
"Then, come in, my child," he replied.
The door opened revealing the blonde celestial mage. She walked to the table and stood infront of the king.
"Grandpa, I want to participate in the battle," she asked, making the two in the room jaw drop.
Me: Sorry for a short chapter! I'll make the next one long enough.
Natsu: She's right. I'll see that next chapter would be long enough. Please post your suggestions, comments and opinions in the box below. You can even pm her if you want.
Me: Yeah, Well, the next chapter- Fire, shall reveal more secrets for you guys. I'm looking forward to it.
Natsu & Me: Arigato and Bye for now!