I DID IT *THUNDER BOOMS* WOW, it has been too long darlings. Sorry about that, life. Yuck. Can I just say how grateful I am that none of you gave me crap about needing to take a break? Greatly appreciated :D Longer than most, and a new character is introduced but other than that this chapter is pretty laid back. Hope you enjoy still!
Marvin stared blankly down at the floor. He shifted his position on the cold stone, hoping to find some measure of comfort. Marvin grimaced as the chains connected to his wrists and ankles clinked loudly. The air smelled of dried blood and dirt. Marvin, despite his grimy appearance, wasn't all that injured except for a long cut on his forehead. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Silence echoed in the cell. Everyone had gone. He vaguely wondered why they had left him all alone but he supposed it was assumed that he was too weak to move and wouldn't be able to unlock the chains binding him. Marvin supposed they might be right in that area.
His entire body ached with pain that had long since been stopped but he could still feel the after effects in his flesh. He was exhausted. What that man could do was beyond terrifying. The fact that someone could use magic like that, so dark and dangerous, caused shivers to run down his back.
Still, Marvin did not falter. He refused to tell the man anything he asked, no matter how strange or irrelevant the questions seemed to him. He brought up his right hand to scratch his head, the metal dragging on the floor. Marvin wondered how he had gotten into this mess in the first place. He winced as the memory assaulted his mind.
No, it didn't matter now. What mattered was finding a way to get out of here. He had to warn the Prince of the traitor while he had the chance. So with gritted determination he began to work on his chains.
Lucy resisted the urge to roll her eyes as Natsu grinned at her from where he sat. He was leaning back in his chair, his feet propped up on the table, hands resting behind his head. Natsu's grin only widened as he saw her scowl slowly slip away and morph into a small smile.
They were sitting in Fairy Tail, both enjoying the rowdy atmosphere of the bar. Natsu's eyes glinted in mischief as he dropped his feet back onto the floor and leaned forward.
"Come on Luce, it'll be fun," he said.
"Seems like a waste of time to me," she muttered. Natsu pouted playfully,
"Aren't you just the teensiest bit curious?" he asked. "Just in the slightest?"
Natsu knew he won when her shoulders sagged. "Fine," she sighed. "Though I still think it's just a little silly," she added.
"Yes!" Natsu crowed in excitement, ignoring her last statement. "Cana, come over here!"
Just as Natsu had said before, no one in Fairy Tail seemed surprised about the Princes appearance in the bar. When he walked through the door they greeted him like old friends instead of the Prince that he was. Natsu did the same and even got in a fight with Gajeel, and Gray, who also seemed to hang out around here a lot.
"Eh?" Cana called from her place at the bar. "What do you want? Can't you see I'm doing something?"
Cana was in fact downing a beer at the moment while Mirajane tried, and failed, to get her to slow down. Cana scowled at the older girl. "I'm legal, so it's pointless to try and take my drink from me!" she snapped.
Mira's eyebrow twitched in annoyance but she said nothing in response. Cana grunted, swallowed the last bit of her beer, and then sauntered over to the two.
"What can I do for you?" she asked as she sat in between the teenagers. Cana was a beautiful woman with long brown wavy hair and a very attractive body. She was currently only wearing a blue bikini top paired with red pants and a feathered purse over her shoulder.
Natsu grinned impishly at her. "Can we get a card reading?"
Cana chuckled. "I should have known that's what you would want Natsu," she said. Cana turned her knowing eyes to Lucy. "You, though, I would have guessed wouldn't care very much for this."
Lucy pouted slightly. "Well it's not like I don't want a reading, it just seems like I should be training instead of relaxing."
Natsu frowned at her. "You can't train all the time, Lucy. You need to take a break! Plus, it's boring without you here."
Lucy felt her last defenses deflate. Eyes softening she sighed, then threw up her hands. "Fine, I give in!"
Cana's smirk widened as she watched the two.
"Alright," Cana said, clearing her throat. "You should know that reading cards is not a final thing, and it can be interpreted many ways."
Reaching into her purse she brought out a stack of cards and splayed them across the top of the table. Lucy and Natsu leaned forward curiously, eyeing the cards. The tops of the cards had vines of all different colors intertwined together, the result making a dizzying image. "They're beautiful Cana," Lucy breathed.
Cana's grin widened. "Yeah, got 'em from the old man."
Natsu instantly perked up. "Gildarts gave them to you? When?"
Shrugging, she answered, "A year ago I think."
Instantly, Natsu's shoulders slumped in disappointment. Pouting he glared moodily at the women. "Why can't he be here now?" he whined.
"How should I know?" she snapped angrily. "You know that Gildarts, he's busy! He can't be here to deal with your mopey ass all the time."
"What'd you say!" he growled angrily, instantly rearing his head up in anger. "I'm not mopey!"
"Could have fooled me!"
"Um, guys?"
"You're the mopey one!"
"Do I look like I'm moping, bastard?"
"Uh, guys, can you not-?"
"Shut up, pinkie!"
"It's not pink, it's salmon!"
"Guys! Get down right now!"
Everyone in the room froze at Lucy's shriek and slowly turned to stare at the blonde. The aforementioned girl did not notice this though, as her furious gaze was directed at the two standing on top of the table. Both looked like they were about to attack the other but they weren't looking at each other. Now they were staring at Lucy's red cheeks and furious eyes.
"Get down!" Lucy hissed again. Natsu blinked, cocking his head. Cana let out a breath of air, scowling.
"Whatever," she said casually as she climbed down from the table. She shot a glare at Natsu before stalking off into the masses of the people, quickly being devoured. Natsu glared at her as he climbed down as well, while muttering under his breath, "We didn't even get a reading."
Once he stood directly in front of Lucy he turned his eyes to her once again. His brows furrowed. "Why's your face all red Lucy?"
Well, the answer to that question was very simple to everyone but the oblivious Natsu. Natsu now stood very close to Lucy and his vest, usually clasped shut, had popped open giving her a good view of his chest and abs, and during his yelling match his pants had slipped a little lower then they usually rested, giving her a pretty good view of his V shaped muscle and his tanned skin.
"N-nothing!" she squeaked, quickly looking away.
"You're weird," Natsu stated after a moment. Her eyes widened in anger, head whipping back to glare at him.
"I am not!" she growled. "You're the weird one, picking fights everywhere you go!"
He looked confused. "But picking fights is fun. I don't see how that's weird."
Lucy sighed in exasperation, shaking her head. "Never mind Natsu, it doesn't matter."
She sat back down in her chair, already exhausted. She had planned on her day of break from training to be relaxing but that was a foolish dream, she knew. You could not relax when friends with Natsu. She had come down to enjoy a meal when Natsu sauntered in and immediately found her. The rest of her time was spent being dragged around to meet his friends and watching him pick fights with everyone in the vicinity. It was exhausting to say the least.
Even now Natsu was caught in an argument with Gray and Gajeel that looked not too far from escalating into a physical fight. Lucy groaned in exhaustion, eyes closing. After a moment, someone slid into the seat next to her and she peeked open an eye to see who it was.
Levy smiled happily at the girl and immediately the blonde brightened. She hadn't had much time to spend with Levy lately.
"Hi Lucy," Levy said. "Are you alright?"
Lucy puffed out her cheeks. "I know Natsu is energetic but does he always act like this at Fairy Tail?"
Levy grimaced in apology. "Yeah, I'm afraid so."
"How does he manage that?" Lucy exclaimed in exasperation. It seemed near impossible to continue bouncing around like he did. Levy giggled.
"Well, he's Natsu. That's all the explanation you need."
Lucy shook her head. "He's going to make an interesting king."
Levy's lips twitched into an amused smile. "Yes, it will definitely be interesting to say the least. But," she hesitated, her face clouding over. Lucy stared in surprise at the sudden change of mood. "I can't help but wonder what that means for him…"
"What do you mean?" she asked with a frown. Levy pursed her lips, watching Natsu.
"I just mean, what do you think will come of him? Natsu doesn't like all the responsibility that comes with the title, or even the work it requires. And when he becomes king, will he be able to visit Fairy Tail? I don't really believe he could – he'd be so busy. How would that affect him?" Levy's frown deepened. The worry was clear, written so plainly across her face.
Lucy turned to study Natsu as she did. Though he was yelling insults at Gray, his face contorted in annoyance, there was still a slight twitch of his lips that told her that he was enjoying himself. It was the same with Gray, though Gajeel just looked annoyed.
Lucy hadn't really thought of it like that before. It was true, once you became king everything else became second place compared to your duty to your country. Her heart started to ache at the thought of Natsu's future. She tried to picture him sitting on a throne or at a desk, hunched over papers. It just didn't fit. She defied her father so Natsu could stay the Prince and become king eventually; stay alive. She had no doubt that she made the right choice, but still, what did the future spell for him? She was starting to regret not getting a reading from Cana.
Natsu smirked at Gray as he sailed through the air and hit a wall. "Ha!" he crowed in victory. "I knew I was stronger then you, ice-princess!"
His bragging was interrupted though when a strong fist connected with his stomach, sending him to the ground, gasping for air. Gajeel grinned down at him.
"Gihi, don't let your guard down, little princess."
"Why you!" Natsu growled lowly. Without another word he launched himself at the man, and the only thing that could be seen from their fight was their limbs kicking out in random directions.
Gray stood up, rubbing his head, and wincing in pain. "Damn, that one hurt."
He glanced up and narrowed his eyes. The two idiots were absorbed in their own fights. He smirked as he took a step forward to join the fun when he heard a small voice speak. He stopped.
"Um, excuse me?"
Gray glanced around and finally realized he had landed near the front door of the inn. Peeking through the door was a girl about his age with long blue hair curling at the ends with a hat sitting on the crown of her head. Her entire dress was a dark blue and her dark blue eyes stared at Gray uncertainly. The first thought that popped in Gray's head upon noticing her was 'blue'.
"Yeah?" Gray replied, slightly impatient to go join the fight.
"Juvia is sorry to intrude," she said quickly, a light blush forming on her face, "but is Gajeel-kun here?"
Gray's eyes widened in surprise. "Gajeel? Yeah, he's over there." He pointed behind him. The girl's eyes widened as she stared at where he pointed. Without warning tears started to stream down her eyes as she cried, "Gajeel-kun!"
She launched herself into the guild and at the man, slamming into his back, wrapping her arms around his form.
"Juvia missed Gajeel-kun so much! She was so worried when we got separated!"
Gajeel froze and twisted his head around to get a good look at the person who clung to him. "Juvia?" he grunted in disbelief. "What the hell are you doing here?"
By now the entire guild had turned to stare at the couple; even Natsu had stopped attacking to watch curiously. Slowly, Juvia unwound her arms from around Gajeel and smiled up at him.
"After the attack, when we all got separated, Juvia looked everywhere for Gajeel-kun, and Juvia finally found you!" she exclaimed happily.
"Juvia, you've been searching for me for a month?" he asked in disbelief.
Juvia nodded enthusiastically. "Juvia really was worried; it's such a relief to see Gajeel-kun alright."
He grunted awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, why don't we go talk in private?" he suggested, finally noticing the stares they had attracted.
He sent glares at anyone who continued to watch them as he led her to a secluded corner. They began to talk in low whispers. Natsu frowned, watching them.
"Natsu," Lucy hissed, suddenly near him. "You're listening to their conversation aren't you? Don't do that, that's rude!"
He pouted. "But Lucy!" he whined. "You're no fun," he grumbled.
Lucy put her nose in the air, sending him a scowl. "And you lack manners for a prince."
He stuck his tongue out at her before turning to Gray and yelling, "Fight me you ice-prick!"
Sighing she turned back to Levy who was staring at Gajeel and Juvia with a slight frown on her face. "Hey, Lucy?" she said, not taking her eyes off of the two.
"Yeah?"
"What do you think that girl meant when she said attack?"
"No idea," Lucy answered. "Hasn't Gajeel told you anything about it?"
Levy sighed, resting her head on her hand. "No," she paused. "Gajeel hasn't been here very long you know."
Lucy blinked in surprise. "Really? It seemed like he's known everyone for a really long time, with the way he gets along with everybody."
"No," Levy shook her head. "He doesn't talk about his past much, and he's never mentioned Juvia before. Maybe… Juvia is his old girlfriend?"
Lucy's eyes widened as she sat down next to Levy. "No, I'm sure that's not it! They look more like close friends to me," Lucy said hurriedly. Levy eyed the two sadly before turning back to Lucy with a brave smile plastered on her face.
"Oh well, it's not my business to wonder. And I'm sure he'll tell me about it eventually."
Nodding uncertainly, Lucy settled back into her chair. Her eyes, as always, wandered over to Natsu, and they stayed there.
Comments, suggestions, reviews? Yes, no, maybe so?
SO I went back and edited chapter 1-6. No big changes except in the John Lorne chapter, I realized Lucy just suddenly had the poison with no explanation so I added a scene where she went to a store and got some. Nothing that affects the plot majorly so don't worry about it. Um okay so I got most of my shit done for school except for a few projects that I need to get done and then I am free! Bad news: I cannot update any time soon. It was a struggle just getting this chapter out, sorry lovelies. Soon, in just a few days, I am going to Europe... YUUP THAT'S RIGHT I'M GOING TO EUROPE HELLO I am sooooooo excited! But I can't take my computer which means no writing future chapters for this story, sorry. I'll only be gone a month though and then it's summer and I will be able to continue my regular schedule :DDDDD Sorry again but at the same time not! GOING TO EUROPE HOLY SHIT YES
Natsu, The Friendly Demonby Akela-Nakamua : Okay so on tumblr a while back there was this thing going around of an idea of a demon writing messages in blood on a persons mirror in blood except they were messages like "Don't forget yoga tonight at 6" and someone on the fandom turned that into a nalu thing and she wrote it as a one-shot but then it escalated into this whole story and there are 13 chapters so far and it is REALLY good. Seriously. Like, it's awesome. I am captivated by the plot-line and there is so much mystery its just like damn girl, you can write. *explodes* Check it out.
A Taste of Fireby Mooifyou'recows : This author is a genius in my opinion, I love everything she has written so far. LIKE DAMN. Okay, this one is 33 chapters long so far and it is amazing. Lucy goes to a school after meeting Natsu and it just kind of blows my mind. Lucy's father is hilarious and has a gun on him at all times and sometimes I'm in tears at how funny it is but it is also really serious because there are moments where it's just like Lucy is all "I have a responsibility" and it ROBS HER OF HER HAPPINESS LIKE IS SHE CRAZY?! Sometimes I just wanna slap her across the head (thank goodness it got resolved though) To be honest if the author hadn't said so I would have been sure that it was done but she says there is going to be a lot more (NOT THAT I MIND HOLY SHIT I DON'T WANT IT TO END)! I can't wait. Really, read it!
Smokin' Hotby feari teiru : this one is Gajevy. Because it needs to be done. Alright, back story time. This is one of the first ever fan fictions I read. I was scrolling through the website, observing the stories, when bam I clicked this beauty. Thank goodness I did or else I might not have started writing fan fiction at all. It is completed and has 20 chapters. Levy is an awful cook in this story which cracks me up to no end. Such an awful cook that she burns down her apartment. And Gaejeel just happens to work for the fire department. COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT! Anyway Levy moves into an apartment above a bar called Fairy Tail and it JUST SO HAPPENS thaat Gajeel and his fire buddies hang out there too. Again... COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT! Safe to say things happen (in fact this one also got me wanting to write some nalu because, though it is not the main focus, it is very apparent and adorable and ugh. I would love for this author to write nalu. GAH. Anyway the development is amazing for their relationship and it is so adorable and realistic adn there is some angst and Gajeel being all protective and annoying people being annoying and I LOVE IT READ IT
Okay, I suggested 3 because I'm going to be gone for a while. READ THEM PLEASE THEY ARE SO GOOD
Alright lovelies, I reallly am going to miss you. I will still be active on tumblr because luckily my phone gets internet for this trip so you can message me there. Name is: tale-of-the-fairies Icon is Natsu with fire lol. But, I will be gone. Sorry you don't deserve this but when I get back in like a month I will continue updating like regular! Thanks for reading! Really! I love you!
Wish me luck in Europe! *squeals*