Oh the love is most definitely in the air. As well as some other things, but hopefully love. Who knows what is in store for these adventurers? I do. And you will soon. I'm hoping that this chapter goes out an earlier hour. I'd like to say that at least once I did something AFTER the chapter was posted besides sleep. Usually I'm up late and this is the last thing I do. Hopefully not today.
I've got so many ideas for the next story, yet so many are missing. Things are confusing, but I don't have to worry. There is so much time until this story ends, I think. I'm not sure though, we'll find out as we go. Eternal mystery as they say. Please do not let this reflect my intelligence, I'm smarter than these paragraphs suggest.
And wow, we're so close 100! Thanks a lot to all of you!
Thanks to Disney lovers 101, Ice and Thunder, bluerainst0rm, the guest, IndieScent, and Esme Alexis for reviewing.
After we left Levy and Gajeel, we didn't run into many familiar faces for a while. I'm pretty grateful for that, since I still had a lot on my mind. Every time someone new showed up, they always left me confused about where I stand on certain issues, especially love. While I admire their attempt to help, it really does confuse me a lot. I'm still deep in thought about Lucy.
I know for a fact that I'm in love with her. How do I know that she loves me back? Is there some kind of sign, or hint? It's so confusing. I know that I don't want to tell her if I know she doesn't love me back. It'd just make things worse, so I need to be careful. Yet it's this carefulness which is making so frustrated. Why can't love be simpler? I'd love to just know who my mate was before I went through all of this shit.
There's a strong hint that Lucy is my mate, however. I never really noticed beauty in anyone else, and Igneel always told me that my mate would catch me by surprise. Sure enough, Lucy did exactly that. I can't think of any other girl that has ever caught me by surprise or any other girl that I've fallen in love with. It's just Lucy.
Of course, we weren't just sitting around. For three months, we continued on our way home. Well, we spent most of those three months on our way home. Some crazy things happened, and we weren't entirely sure what to make of it. We still have a little bit left to go, but most of it is done. There's not a lot of the adventure left. The castle is so close, and Lucy is so excited.
Yet, we can't overlook those three months like nothing ever happened. It was full of happenings, and new things would arise as older ones settled. It was a crazy time, and I'm glad that we managed to survive it.
The first thing that happened was when we reached our first mountain since before meeting Happy. We had already walked about 2 months of our journey. Our journey had actually been delayed by several months because of previous mountain chains we had to cross. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything at all that we could have done about it. So instead, we decided that we might as well tough it out.
It wasn't a surprise that we made the same decision here. We were strongly influenced by Happy's flying ability, which we thought would be extremely useful to the benefit of the group. Whenever we used to come upon steep ledges that were not easily climbable, we'd try to find a way around, which would take so much longer. To our good fortune, Happy has wings and can fly us over these cliffs. Using him, I was sure we could cross these mountains in a fraction of the time it took us to cross the previous mountain.
Happy told us that it wouldn't be a problem to carry Lucy up these edges, since I'm much more acrobatically enabled than her. Happy managed to get her above several cliffs, but something that I didn't notice was that he was shivering. Apparently, his breed of cat, whatever it is, is not supposed to get cold. Happy later told me that it was because he was still a kitten that it didn't work out exactly how he wanted, even if he was a full size cat.
On one cliff, the cold became too much for Happy, and while carry Lucy over a cliff, his paws slipped and Lucy fell. She would have most likely been injured had I not caught her before she hit the ground. With a reassuring smile, I told her that everything was okay. Yet I failed to pick up one of the most important problems at this altitude: body temperature.
I should have known with Happy what exactly I was getting into. Happy was cold, and so he laid down on my head to keep warm. Yet Lucy never indicated she was cold. Sure, I asked her a few times, but she never said that she was cold. She didn't want to hold me back, and I should have known she was hiding it with that personality that she had.
After Happy had long fallen asleep clung to my head, Lucy and I were walking through a snowstorm. There wasn't much in the way of shelter, and I was worried for Lucy's sake. The last time she had a thick coat was when we crossed the previous mountain, which was a year or two ago. We hadn't thought to buy a new one since there was no need for one, so we continued on without one. So Lucy must have been absolutely freezing in this weather.
I blame myself entirely for letting this go unnoticed. It wasn't until she sneezed that I picked up on the fact that she's probably going to get sick. Immediately stopping in my tracks, I run back to keep her warm. When I hug her, I picked up on the fact that the temperature on her skin is much colder than usual.
"You should have told me you were cold." I told her.
"S-sorry." Lucy apologized, her voice giving away that she was cold.
"You can't do this to yourself, Lucy. You could die if you don't get warmer." I said.
"I w-won't. S-sorry, Natsu." She responded.
"Let's go look for somewhere to sleep. I don't think this snowstorm is passing through anytime soon." I instructed.
"O-ok." She says.
Our walking pace is reduced severely since I have to keep her close to my body. She was pressed right up against me, with no room for anything between. She needs to stay as warm as possible or else I might not be able to keep her alive. Her temperatures felt dangerously low. It was definitely not something I'd ever be smiling about.
For twenty minutes, we continued looking around the side of the mountain, until we found an under hang that the wind was not blowing into. The entryway to the under hang was considerably small, so exposure to the snow and wind is basically nonexistent. Of course, temperature was still a major concern.
I sat down against the wall. Lucy tried to sit down next to me, but I refused. I put her on top of my lap, facing me.
"N-Natsu!" She shrieked.
"You'll thank me later." I replied.
"This is so awkward! Let me go!" She demanded.
"No, not unless you want to die. I'm doing this to keep you alive, Lucy." I answered.
"Oh." She responded. "Sorry."
"It's okay. Just don't do that again. You have me so worried about your health right now." I said.
"But I didn't want to hold you back..." She said.
"I don't care if you hold me back a hundred and one years. I don't want you to die on me Lucy, understand? I would never sacrifice you for anything." I replied.
"I'm glad I have you, Natsu." She said, making my heart race.
"I'm glad I have you, Lucy." I replied.
Despite how intimate this position could be described, I really didn't care. I knew that I love her, and I wouldn't have ever minded being with her like I was then.
She fell asleep very quickly. I stayed awake a little longer to make sure that her entire body was of a healthy temperature before I too fell asleep.
When we woke up, there was no longer a snowstorm raging outside. Lucy was still warm.
"Wow, that was a great night's sleep." Lucy said.
"Yeah, for you at least. Those rocks really hurt my back." I complained.
"Are you okay?" Lucy asked.
"Of course I am." I replied. "Let's get going. I want to get to a town rather quickly. The sooner we're off this mountain, the better."
They agreed with my decision, and began to move as quickly as we could down the mountain. Of course, I still had to make sure that Lucy was warm so that she wouldn't get sick.
The travel on the second day was not nearly as bad. For whatever reason, we lucked out and had little difficulty getting off the mountain. Though there had been quite a bit of snow to traverse, and some steep cliffs to go down, we had gotten past the worst of it. And best of all, there was a sign that indicated the next town being a mere 3 miles away.
Since it was already pretty late at night, just after sunset, we decided that we'd sleep outside before going to the town. We wanted as much time as we could get to enjoy any form of civilization before we had to leave once more.
Deciding not to stick it out and keep walking was probably the biggest mistake I made all journey long. For starters, the temperature dropped 20 degrees that night (Fahrenheit) and we were out in a cold field. With nothing to protect us from the harsh change in temperature, we all experienced the effects of it. When I woke up the next morning, I saw Lucy's body shivering. She was dangerously cold.
Responding with my instincts, I quickly grabbed her in a strong embrace. I heated my body to higher temperatures than I had ever done before. I could even see fire coming off my body as I tried to warm Lucy up. Thankfully, she wasn't hurt by the fire, but her body was still in critical condition.
I adjusted her in my arms so that I could run, and I woke up Happy, who had kept warm by lying on top of me. I ran as fast as I could to the town. I couldn't even begin to think of what my life would be without Lucy. She was the reason that I had a place to call home after Igneel left. She was the reason that I'm not a criminal of the land. She's the reason that I met so many of these wonderful people on my journey. She's the reason that I discovered the meaning of love.
And I knew fully in that moment, while I carried her seemingly lifeless body to the town that I loved her to the point where I could tell her and still be happy if she didn't love me back. I knew that I needed her more than anyone else. I was able to cope with Igneel leaving, but I don't ever think I could cope with Lucy dying. No, not in a million years.
I pushed my body as hard as I could. With the town in sight, I ran as fast as my body would take me. I scanned the streets for the town's infirmary. I stopped once I found it and brought Lucy inside.
I shouted for help, and several people rushed over to get Lucy to whatever medical attention she needed. They put her in a bed, and wheeled her to an empty room. They took quick observations of her pulse and other small signs of life. From the looks of it, she was definitely alive. I wished that I could have helped her get better. This was all my fault that she was sick.
"We need a fire mage!" One of the doctors shouted.
"I'm a fire mage!" I replied, desperately hoping to be of some use to Lucy.
I walked over towards the doctor. He pointed right over Lucy's heart and told me, "Apply heat directly over the heart. If there's any chance for her to live, it needs to be a strong burst of heat. Her body has frozen itself in place from the cold temperatures she was exposed to."
I did as I was told, and after several minutes of warming Lucy, she slowly opened her eyes. Elation coursed through my veins. Signs of her recovery were well underway.
"I... feel sick." Lucy mumbled out. She looked sick, but she was alive. And whatever sickness there was, I'd make sure she'd conquer. As long as she was alive, everything would be okay.
"She has a really bad fever." One of the doctors said, "She's going to be in the hospital for weeks. If you could, we'd like if you'd register her here."
"Sure." I replied. "Just give me a moment. Is she in any critical condition of dying?"
"No. If we treat her properly, her disease should pass in a few weeks. Whatever made her temperature decrease so much is something you should definitely avoid in the future." The doctor informed us.
"Understood. I'll be out in a few minutes." I said. Respecting my wishes, all of the workers left the room.
"Natsu, where are we?" Lucy asked with a sick voice. The sound of her voice tainted by sickness was unbearable.
"The hospital Lucy. And it's all my fault. I should have known that it was still too dangerous to leave you outside in the cold. I should have kept you closer. It's my fault Lucy that you're sick in the hospital. I almost let you die from my stupid carelessness. How could I do something so horrible?" I asked.
"Shh... Natsu, it's not your fault. You didn't know that it was going to be cold that night. It was bad luck." Lucy responded.
"Yeah, but I'll be damned if bad luck alone takes you out of my life. I was so scared Lucy. I was so scared. I ran to the hospital as fast as I could. Did you know that I forgot my shoes? They're still back where we slept last night. I don't even have my shoes, Lucy." I said.
"You might want to go get those shoes." Lucy suggested with a laugh.
"Yeah, I will. I just wanted to make sure you were safe, that's all." I said.
"I'm always safe with you, Natsu." Lucy replies.
"I hope you do. After all, I might as well be useful if I'm going to be with you forever." I joked.
"You really do mean forever, right Natsu?" She asked.
"Of course. I wouldn't leave you for anything." I told her.
"Good, because I don't want you out of my life." She replied.
"Well, I'm going to have you checked into the hospital. You just get some rest, okay?" I suggested.
"Okay." She replied. "Come back soon, it'll get lonely in here."
"As soon as possible, Lucy." I said.
I left the room and walked down towards the front desk of the hospital. When I reached the front desk, I asked for a card. I received one, and filled out the information. I didn't know everything, but I got most of the stuff. When I went up to ask the lady if I had filled it out right, she stared at the paper before going wide-eyed.
"Mister, you said the patient is Lucy Heartfilia?" She asked.
"Yes. And I'm Natsu Dragneel, her bodyguard." I answered.
"Is she the daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia?" She asked.
"Yes, she is." I replied.
"We have to notify the castle immediately!" She declared, before getting up and leaving.
I didn't know at the time that they were contacting Jude Heartfilia to tell him that Lucy and I were at this hospital.
The last three weeks of the journey were definitely the toughest, and I'm glad that they're over. Even though we aren't adventuring anymore, I still get to spend a lot of time around Lucy. Our story isn't quite over yet. We still have all of our lives to live out together.
And so now, at this present moment, I'm with Jude Heartfilia, the King of Fiore, in this hospital, waiting for Lucy to heal. She's almost ready to leave the hospital, fully recovered, but the doctors want us to wait until there is absolutely no trace of the disease left. We're sitting in Lucy's room right now. Tomorrow, we head home for the castle.
"Oh Natsu, it's still so amazing to see the two of you again. I thought I never would see the day again." Jude says.
"Don't worry, I would never have let that happen. I'm sorry that Lucy ended up in the hospital like this." I apologize, staring at the shoes which I did recover a few days ago.
"It's alright, we all make mistakes. I'm just glad that you're both okay. Layla would have killed me if I didn't get you two home safely." Jude responds.
"Dad you've gotten so soft over the years. Where's the guy who would get mad if we skipped our tutoring sessions?" Lucy asks.
"Still here! You haven't escaped those you know!" Jude jokes.
"Aww, but Natsu and I learned so much throughout our adventures." Lucy complains.
"Yeah, well if you want to learn how to rule the kingdom, you'll have study." Jude explains, before mumbling something I wouldn't have heard had I not had my dragon hearing, "...especially you, Natsu. Take care of Lucy."
"I just can't wait to be home. It's been a long time." I say.
"Yeah, it sure has." Lucy agrees.