Title: The Highwayman

Summary: Ever since the death of her mother, Princess Lucy has yearned for adventure. So when adventure offers an outstretched hand, Lucy jumps in with two feet. But with the royal guard searching and the anger of her father looming over her shoulder Lucy begins to fear more than just herself.

Pairings: (will be) NatsuxLucy

Authors Note: I'm sorry for neglecting you minna! School got out over a week ago and I haven't updated in forever! So here you are, a part of a story I'm planning on posting separately, so go read that if youre interested. Once again, I'm sorry, and I hope you enjoy!

xx

She hadn't started out as she was now. No, if she were to honestly trace back to the day she was born, to the point in which her mother had died, she had been the perfect daughter. She dealt with the stuffy dresses she was forced into at a young age, and kept quiet about it (she especially kept quiet about the fact that on some occasion, she actually enjoyed wearing the high necked dresses and elegant pearls) she sat up straight at dinner, didn't bother her father when he worked, laced cheerful humor into her conversations, and was an all around good daughter to have.

But after her mother's tragic death, it was as if something inside of her had snapped. Before, she was able to convince herself that she enjoyed the lifestyle she lived, enjoyed the servants at her beck and call, enjoyed knowing that she could never really leave the castle's walls, enjoyed knowing that she would have an arranged marriage. In fact, she was able to convince herself that she didn't have to convince herself to love her life.

When her mother had closed her eyes for good, however, Lucy then realized that she wanted freedom. Her mother had been the sliver of freedom, of happiness she was allowed in the dull castle walls, but once that was gone, Lucy realized that she needed more than just a sliver. She needed it to be raining down on her in sweet rays.

So she went outside constantly. Practicing anything that was un-lady like, like learning how to use a whip with Aquarius or how to splinter arrows with Sagittarius. It made her feel more alive, more like she wasn't just the princess of Frenland, but that she was her own person. Sometimes, while the servants were asleep and her father was knee deep in taxing and papers, she would crawl out of the castle walls and slip through the forest. Her bare feet would earn scratches from the dead leaves and broken branches, but she would ignore them in favor of feeling the fresh wind against her free-flying hair.

It had been 7 years since her mother's death, and Lucy had snuck from the castle walls for the 5th time that week. Her arranged marriage loomed over her shoulders, causing her to feel very stressed, let alone the stress she always felt due to her father's cold, disapproving glare and the sharp flick of his wrist across her... So she blindly ran through the thick forests that surrounded the Heartfilia land, nearly avoiding trees that she didn't notice until she was inches from hitting them.

She ran until she started to see purple tints in the sky, which is when she plopped onto the cold ground and looked at the beauty of morning. But the more she sat there, the lighter the sky got and the more she panicked. If she wasn't home by 9 (at most) she would surely feel Aquarius' rath. Lucy shuddered at the thought before hopping up and running in the direction she assumed would lead her home.

It wasn't until she had reached an unknown road that she realized that she was lost.

Lucy let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes, in attempt to calm her nerves.

This is a road. Road means civilization.

So following her instincts, she began walking along the endless dirt road.

.~*~.~*~.

"No! Please! I'll do anything!" A woman shrieked. Lucy's head snapped up, the head which had started to droop with the need to sleep. She slipped her whip from it's 'sheathe' and fingered the sharp arrows on her back, a small, comforting movement that gave her a burst of confidence. Using that burst, she took off running towards the source of the voice, not even bothering being stealthy.

Just as she turned the corner on the gravel road, her eyes met the source of the screaming and whimpering. There was a carriage, obviously someone's of the upper class, a woman standing next to it, also someone of the upper class, and a man completely covered in black, cornering her at sword point. The only thing that really stood out about him was strange pink hair, which jutted out in some places from underneath his large black hat.

Lucy froze, her eyes turning angrier by the second. "A highwayman" Lucy hissed under her breath before cracking her whip to catch his attention. Agreeing to her silent wishes, the man turned towards the source of the noise.

"Let her be and take me instead, you thief!" She yelled out to the highwayman, taking long strides towards him and the shaking woman. The man grinned, his black mask not containing the amused sparkle of his dark eyes, or was it thankful? Lucy couldn't tell, she was too tired and needed sleep, but there was no way she would abandon someone like this.

"What could you have that I would possibly want?" He yelled in return, his toothy grin not faltering.

Lucy froze once again, realizing how she looked. A short, mid-thigh dress was in place of her elegant gowns, leather gloves instead of the silk white ones, a black choker resting where her jewels would normally sit. But she did have one thing. Lucy had her name, and she most certainly wasn't going to use it in vain.

"Trust me," She said, her own smile stretching across her features, "Once you know who I am, you will toss that young maiden aside like rodents in the attic."

The highwayman tossed a quick glance at the woman he was stealing from, and if Lucy wasn't as tired as she was, she could've sworn she saw his concealed eyes soften. "Fine then," He started as he sheathed his sword, "but if you disappoint me, there will be hell to pay."

Lucy nodded and sprinted to the woman, who looked like she was about to faint.

"Thank you, my dear." She whispered softly, touching Lucy's arm. Lucy nodded and smiled in return before turning back to the highwayman, who was staring at the ground and kicking the air.

"Well, almighty highwayman," Lucy said with a smile, her words catching said man's attention, "shall we get going?"