Was this how Mirajane felt? The exhilarating thrill of power coursing through her veins, the sheer anticipation of watching a beautiful plan unfold to perfection?

Lucy, it seemed, had let the matchmaking go a little too far to her head.

"This is stupid." Natsu complained, watching as Lucy scurried around, hastily calling servants or contacting others via the magic mirror (who was really only helpful in this aspect—otherwise, it seemed constantly rant about the perks of being evil).

"Can't you just let it happen like the story?"

Lucy glared at Natsu, who instantly became a meek, nodding mess. What? That dress made her look terrifying!

"The story was the least romantic story ever! Look, Natsu, until I've located a scenic location with the perfect ambiance and seven adorable little dwarves, this entire plan will go down the drain. Do you know how hard it is to find a romantic place with dwarves in it?"

Natsu gave a noncommittal shrug. Personally, he thought she should just let it happen naturally, but hey, it was funny watching Lucy run around in all her evil Queenness. He decided to just settle back and relax.

"Natsu!" A large flower pot suddenly began tottering towards him. Lucy's muffled voice appeared to be coming from the large bouquet of flowers that had completely enveloped her. "A little help?"

Grinning at the ridiculous sight, Natsu reached forward and took the flowers from Lucy (no, he did not stagger a little at its weight, no matter what Lucy says). "Where do you want em?"

"Over by the throne." Lucy said, breathing heavily. "We'll have someone ship them over to the dwarves."

It was endearing to see just how absorbed Lucy was in her task. Snow White would never lay her eyes upon her "surprise" until Lucy had deemed everything beyond satisfactory.

"Alright! The arrangements have been made, a message was sent to the prince, and twenty seven servants have constructed suitable living quarters for our hired dwarves." Lucy clapped her hands, as if signaling the end of a very long, very grandiose opera.

Natsu wiped a bit of drool off his face, yawning. He had dozed off ages ago…had Lucy only finished now?

"Now, let's run through the plan!"

"There's a plan?" Natsu was surprised at just how much he had missed during his short nap.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Look, idiot, all we need to do is lead her down to the dwarves, where the prince will "coincidentally" meet up with her. We'll have to play it by ear, but that's all we need to do, okay? And remember—stick to the story the best you can!"

Natsu nodded sleepily.

"I'm going to call her down now!"

"Snow White!" Lucy called out gaily. "Come down here, please!"

Natsu coughed in his fist. He gestured at her to act more evil—after all, he knew she was capable of it after getting kicked one too many times.

"Err, get down here this instant, peasant!" Lucy rearranged her features into the resemblance of a scowl—really, it only made her look dazed and bewildered.

Natsu had to physically restrain himself from smacking his forehead.

Suddenly, a loud clang echoed in the large, elaborate room. It was the sound of metal clashing discordantly against the marble, a fierce noise that sent alarm bells ringing in Natsu's head.

The doors flew open, revealing a tall, broad shouldered figure clad in armor. He—no she! swept down onto her knees, sinking into a deep bow.

"You called, Your Majesty?" Although her face was obscured by her long hair, the trademark red locks could have been recognized anywhere…

"It's the monster!" Natsu yelped.

Lucy had to comfort a quaking Natsu, as she tried hard not to cry. Her plans had gone to ruin, her crazy shipping dreams ending…

This was terrible.

Erza…was simply not a damsel in distress. No, she was the dragon watching the tower, the knight heroically saving the day—the utter opposite.

Yeah, she probably wouldn't appreciate Lucy's flowers.

Lucy made a mental note to cancel the message she had left for Prince Loke, knowing that he and Erza would never hit it off. Unless by "hit it off", you meant an honorable duel to the death, which in that case, Erza would most happily oblige.

So a change of plans was clearly needed. And Lucy was more than willing to make a few sacrifices to guarantee her princess had her "Happily Ever After"…

Lucy hopped onto her throne, hoping Erza didn't catch her slight stumble on the steps. She reclined on it in what she thought was very intimidating manner, her lips pursed.

"Snow White, dearest, come stand closer to me."

"Yes, Stepmother!" Erza shouted. Her tone of voice was probably more appropriate for the military than her current situation. She marched towards Lucy with perfect precision, stopping at the foot of her throne.

"I wonder, when was the last time you had some fresh air? The castle can be so stifling at times."

And Plan B is now in action!

Erza frowned. "It has been three months, Your Highness. I apologize for my lack of awareness for my physical health. Please, hit me in retribution!"

Lucy sweated nervously at Erza's quirkiness.

Natsu had begun to sidle closer in, entirely willing to take Erza up on her offer. Lucy glared at him, but was suddenly hit by a spark of inspiration.

"I will choose to punish you differently. You must go to the woods, accompanied by him, the huntsman. He shall supervise you." She nodded her head towards Natsu, who frantically tried to run away. He widened his eyes at Lucy, wondering what he had done to deserve such a cruel fate.

Erza grabbed him by the collar tightly. "As you wish, Stepmother."

Lucy wanted to cringe at the strange thought that Erza was technically her stepdaughter.

"We will make this outing a time to form new companionships and learn to shoulder life's heavy burdens together." Erza declared dramatically, her eyes shining.

"Is he to be my Stepfather?" She added on innocently.

Natsu made a strange noise in his throat (although that could have originated from Erza's tight chokehold), as Lucy immediately began to protest.

"N-no!" Lucy managed to say, her face strikingly similar to Erza's scarlet hair.

Erza suddenly glared at the boy she was holding. "Is he threatening your most honorable virtue, Stepmother? I will not settle for anything less than marriage!"

Lucy opened her mouth, burning with embarrassment. But Natsu cut her to the chase. "I have honorable intentions, I swear! I'll marry her!" He choked out.

Was it even possible for Lucy to turn any redder? Although, she noted suspiciously, the fire mage looked a little flushed himself. But it didn't mean anything, she told herself. He was only saving his own neck…

Erza looked satisfied at his response. "We will return when we have finished." She bowed at Lucy, turning around and dragging Natsu's flailing limbs behind her.

"I won't forgive you for this." Natsu mouthed as he was forced to submit to Erza's strength.

Lucy flashed him a guilty smile. "Take one for the team?" She mouthed back. "Remember the plan!"

As Natsu left the room against his will, Lucy spun around in her throne, turning to face the mirror.

"Now, where was I?" She mused. She had had to make some changes to her strategy, but this was still doable!

"Mirror, could you send a quick message to Prince Jellal?"

Oh, Lucy was evil. But she would swear later on that it was out of her duty as a fellow female to bring in Erza's love interest into the mix—really! It wasn't because she was secretly eager to see her matchmaker dreams come true or anything!

Mirajane would be so proud.

The mirror had suddenly become much more helpful after witnessing Lucy's sudden stroke of evil. It had proceeded to offer her a chance to view everything that was going on in the comfort of the castle.

"And I have optimized viewing features in high definition, Your Majesty." It babbled on. Images of Natsu and Erza in the woods appeared in the mirror, complete with sound and clarity.

Lucy nodded absentmindedly. She was more curious to see whether her plans would come to fruition. Of course, she had left Natsu to start the story, which was probably not one of her greatest ideas, she thought in hindsight.

Settling back in her throne, Lucy watched as the story began to proceed…

The woods were rather lame, if you asked Natsu. The trees allowed in plenty of sunshine, basking his surroundings in a warm, innocent glow. Beautiful flowers dotted the ground like confetti, and the delightful weather would have led any normal princess to immediately burst into song. He preferred a little more danger in his woods, thank you very much.

"Uh, aren't you going to admire the birds or something?" Natsu prodded. Thank goodness he had remembered this cheesy story—Snow White was said to have a kind heart, and was caring towards all wildlife.

Erza was a different case, for sure. Her dramatic waving of her sword, the clanking of her metal armor—all those had scared away even the bravest animals in the woods.

Natsu dropped that idea rather quickly. "Err, how about picking some flowers, actually?"

Erza just looked at him. "Why?"

"Uh, never mind." Natsu shrugged. He had tried, at least. "Guess there's nothing left for me to do, except—"

He launched himself at her in a crazy tackle. I gotta scare her or something, so she runs to the dwarves!

Erza immediately kicked him into submission. "What are you doing?" She roared.

Groaning, Natsu clutched his stomach. The real huntsman would have never succeeded if he had been fighting Erza…

He valiantly tried to give it another shot. "The Queen ordered me to kill you!" He babbled, but Erza didn't hear him in her furious rampage.

This proceeded until Natsu had sprawled out on the forest floor, utterly unconscious.

Back in the castle, the evil queen sat there, horrified. The mirror had perhaps shown too much detail.

"Oh my lord." Stunned, Lucy placed a hand over her heart. "My stepdaughter's a barbarian!"

On the opposite of the mirror, Erza sheathed her sword, breathing heavily. She glared down at the boy who had attacked her randomly. "Sweet Mavis! My stepmother's marrying a barbarian!"

Lucy sighed. This story's Happily Ever After was sliding further and further away...

Looks like this one might take a while.