WARNING: I HAD MAJOR WRITERS' BLOCK SO THIS MIGHT BE A CRAPPY CHAPTER!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail

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Ravens and Fairies, Dragons and Princesses (Ch. 21)

"I…am…dying!" Natsu banged his head on the wooden table in the guild hall. The thump was so loud, you'd think he'd get a concussion, but Natsu is Natsu and he'll be just fine.

Mira the Matchmaker shook her head. "He's totally head-over-heels for Lucy! They've been sending letters back and forth for at least two weeks now, but it seemed to help Natsu function more…but he's still lovesick. He and Lucy are so cute!"

"I was talking to Lucy a few days ago before she left," Lisanna, who was standing next to Mira at the bar, spoke while looking at Natsu. "She really likes Natsu, but she doesn't think she has a chance with him."

"She likes him back?!" Mira glanced at her sister with wide eyes.

Lisanna looked back at her before gasping and slamming her hand against her mouth, "o-oh crap! I promised Lucy I wouldn't tell anyone! M-Mira, please don't tell her that I told you!"

Mira desperately wanted to shout it out to the world, but a request from her sister was never ignored. "Of course, Sis! You're secret is safe with me."

Lisanna let out a sigh of relief.

After her sister calmed down a bit, Mira pressed further, "what do you mean she thinks she doesn't have a chance with him?! He obviously likes her and they've been so close for the entire time she's stayed here! Why would she think that?!"
"She's a princess, Mira."

Mira grew silent, giving Lisanna a chance to continue:

"She told me that she would end up married to a foreign prince or some rich man because she was a princess. I asked her if that was really what she wanted. Of course, she said no and I told her to do something about it. She told me she didn't have the authority, but I said to get her parents to do something about it. She didn't get a chance to say something back though because Natsu asked her if she was ready for a mission they were going to go on."

Mira bit her lip and looked down at the counter she was currently wiping down. It made sense though. "Well…when you think of it that way, she really doesn't have a chance with him…"

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The redhead was able to open her eyes now, but she had to blink more often than normal because they would sting if she kept them open for too long. Since there was no one in the room, however, she decided to keep them shut so they could continue to heal.

The redhead didn't want to look down at herself because she knew she had horrible wounds all over her body; she wouldn't be surprised if she had scars. Her body hurt everywhere and hanging from the ceiling didn't help at all.

But she would gladly go through this everyday, all day, if it meant protecting her guild…

The redhead prayed that all her friends were okay. She had no idea what was happening because she never got to leave the room. She hasn't even seen the sunlight in days; she has no idea what time it was.

As she struggled to break free from her chains (since it was the only thing she could do to keep herself from dying of boredom), the door suddenly opened. She opened her eyes to see who was entering:

A girl.

The redhead growled immediately. How many times did she have to tell her?! She wasn't going to give them any information! She could torture her however she liked, but she'd never betray her family.

The girl was a lot prettier than her voice gave away. Her voice sounded almost like nails-on-a-chalk-board. Another way to describe it was on the edge of insanity. The girl, however, had long, beautiful, curly pink hair reminding her of Natsu. She was short, but busty and wore a short, red dress with a blue cape.

As the girl approached her, the redhead opened her mouth to snap at her, telling her that she wouldn't say anything, but the girl spoke first:

"Are you Erza Scarlet?"

Erza's eyes widened (despite the pain). This was not the girl with the insane voice who's been torturing her. She was a different girl and her voice was just as pretty as she was. She stuttered in shock before answering:

"Y-yes."

In a blink of an eye, Erza's chains holding her to the ceiling were broken and she was on her knees. Oh man! Did her forearms hurt! With her arms hanging like that for days put cramps in them!

She felt something drape around her naked body and saw that it was the blue cloak the girl was wearing. Erza met her eyes and the pink haired girl smiled as she helped her up.

"My name is Meldy and I'm a friend of Jellal's. He asked me to come save you."

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Lucy wiped sweat from her brow even though she wasn't tired…well, actually, she was tired…mentally tired.

The number of hours she's been cooped in her mom and dad's office helping out with the duties was beyond her. It seems she got up, had breakfast, worked on anything her mom needed help with, and the next thing she knew, the sun was going down.

She was beyond exhausted…

"Lucy, Sweetie?"

Lucy looked up to see her mom standing in front of her, wearing black. She gulped as pain hit her. She had stopped wearing black the next day after her dad's funeral because it reminded her of what she wanted to forget and besides…she didn't like the color black.

Lucy shook the painful thought off and gave her mom a supportive smile, "hey mom! I finished that assignment you gave me." Lucy stretched and swallowed her pride before asking, "is there anything else you need me to do?"

"No, there is nothing."

Lucy couldn't hold back the sigh of relief that escaped from her lips.

Layla laughed, "I know this is tough, but I really do appreciate the help."

"No, it's fine. I love to help!"

The widowed queen smiled at her daughter before sitting down in front of her. "Lucy, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh no," Lucy thought before sitting up nervously. "What is it?"

"Well…the people have been complaining since your father's passing…" Layla had to pause to swallow thickly. "…and guess what they've been saying."

"That they don't want a widowed queen and her inexperienced daughter to rule over them. They want a king."

"Exactly…This leaves us in a corner. I need to make a decision before any rioting starts. I don't have a male heir to take the place of your father and the people have been demanding…"

Lucy's heart began to pound with panic "Whatever she's going to say next…I'm 100% positive that I'm not going to like it…"

There was a pause before Layla continued, "they want you arranged in a marriage…and not just any arranged marriage with a prince…they want you arranged to be married to Advisor Ivan…"

…

"What?..."

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The. Most. Disappointing. Chapter. Ever. *bangs head on computer keyboard*. YOU ALL HATE ME RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF IT WAS TERRIBLE, SHORT, AND HAD A CLIFFHANGER! DON'T WORRY! I HATE MYSELF TOO! *bangs head again* SOMEONE KILL ME!

-zEllie