There was no magic Lucy abhorred more.
Curses—their foul bitterness permeated the air, so unlike the warm, caressing magic that filled her and Natsu's bones. Perhaps only a mage with such acute sensitivity could feel the malevolence and smell the tainted scent of copper pennies. She missed the comfort of her keys' magic, which was kind—golden tendrils that begged to be called upon. She had faced her fair share of curses in these fairy tales, (although Natsu had taken the larger burden). And she would be lying if she claimed curses didn't remind of her another time, another enemy…and the most painful sacrifice of her life.
She could certainly use some of her keys right now, she mused, staring down at the jeering man in front of her. His robes stank of that filthy, dark magic, and the greasiness of his unkempt beard—
It was far too unpleasant for her.
"Are you not content, girl?" Ivan smirked. "Or should I say, Queen?"
"I?" Lucy said drily. "I am about as satisfied as a wolf without prey—which means not at all".
"A wolf, darling? How indelicate…would you not prefer the word 'swan'?"
Lucy swore silently, glaring at the golden feathers that had sprouted down her arms.
"You should be simply delighted!" Ivan continued. "The ugly princess of the faraway isles has transformed into a beautiful Queen of Swans. Certainly, it is an upgrade." He raked his eyes up and down, admiring Lucy in all her feathered glory.
She refused to shiver under his leering glance. "Oh, I find such delight in transforming day and night. The whole swan look is quite fashionable these days, I'm sure." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
"You would not have to suffer from my curse if your irritating family would just give up Lumen Histoire!" He suddenly snapped, his eyes bulging out in anger.
"My kingdom has protected its light for centuries, Rothbart. For this reason, our kingdom's girls would gladly bear this curse." Lucy raised her chin high, daring him to defy her.
"And bear it you shall!" He hissed. "A pity that swan feathers are high in demand among huntsmen these days. True beauty lies in fleeting lives…and the sight of your noble white feathers soaked through with red, an arrow piercing your snowy chest…it will all be beautiful to my eyes."
"Leave, Rothbart. You are not welcome here." A new voice had entered the fray, and Lucy breathed a sigh of relief.
Mirajane stood next to Lucy, steely cold with resolve. Her own arms were gracefully adorned with feathers, albiet so white that it could almost pass with silver.
"Ah, it's you. Save for this girl—" Ivan gestured at Lucy. "You were the one I wanted to capture the most. The filthy consort of my son."
"You won't touch Laxus. The Master won't allow it." Mira said fiercely.
"As if that sniveling coward could ever stop me!" Ivan spat at the ground. "My son is mine to do whatever I want."
"You would kill him just for another taste of power?"
"I installed that power in him in the first place!" He roared. Suddenly, he stopped, although it was clear his tirade had been unfinished. "Daybreak has arrived, dear swans." Ivan gave a strangled, hoarse laugh, vanishing in a whirl of black fabric.
"That smell—" Mira wrinkled her nose.
"Curse magic." Lucy explained. "It—"
She was abruptly cut off, her mellow voice transforming into a loud squawk.
Indeed, daybreak had arrived, the apricot-colored light slowly filling the sky with golden warmth.
Her feathers began to appear in earnest, and Lucy's neck grew slender and curved. She saw the sky expanding larger—no, she was shrinking. Her arms grew heavy, embellished by golden plumage that glittered in the slowly brightening sunlight. A beak replaced her lips, and her fair hair had transformed into a tiny gilded circlet that rested upon her head.
It was done.
She had returned to being a swan.
Her arrival into this new story was certainly quite jarring.
Lucy had awoken, still disorientated from the dizzying journey of the lights, floating in the middle of a crystal-clear pond. When she had shakily stood, she had seen the curious feathers that coated her limbs, but otherwise, she had been unharmed. Err—almost. She had immediately been tackled back into the pond by several other girls, all sprouting feathers just like her (despite Levy's tiny size, she could still deliver a bone-crushing, bruising hug).
"Where have you been, Odette?" Levy had pointed an accusing finger at her. "You've been missing for days!"
"Clearly she's been searching for a little fun." Cana had drawled. "Secret liaisons, rooms of sin, a couple drinks—"
Lucy had just blinked blearily at them, coughing up copious amounts of pond water.
Through careful questioning, she had discovered that Odette, princess of the isles, had been cursed along with the other women of her kingdom. Swan by day and human by night, the swans had been living in this hidden grotto for several weeks.
"It's the hunting season." Wendy had warned her. "And which hunter wouldn't like to take home a swan?"
Lucy then learned of Rothbart, the cruel sorcerer who had stormed her kingdom (well, Odette's kingdom) to find the isles' secret.
"He had hoped his son would aid him, so he abandoned Laxus at a young age to stay with Master Makarov. When he returned, however—" Mira's face had been uncharacteristically blank. "Laxus refused to help his father, and Rothbart tried to kill him."
Lucy was no fool—she could see the ferocity in Mira's eyes and the way Mira's lips trembled as she spoke. Laxus was clearly dear to Mira, which only strengthened Lucy's resolve to finish this story and give all the characters their well-deserved Happily Ever After.
"But what does Rothbart want?" Lucy had persistently asked.
Mira reluctantly had told her of Lumen Histoire (a term that immediately struck both alarm and terror in Lucy's heart). "It's never been revealed to any of us, but Ivan claims it holds only darkness."
"But what appears dark may be light, right?"
Mira had looked strangely at Lucy. "You would do well to remember the opposite holds true too." Then she shook her head and smiled. "I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me. For some weird reason, those words just seemed to appear in my head…"
With those ominous words in mind, Lucy crawled into the comforting coolness of the pond. Her encounter with Rothbart last night had only revealed her suspicions—Rothbart was indeed Ivan, just as she had guessed.
This was certainly a strange fairy tale…and sadly, she was quite unfamiliar with it. Curses and transformations into various creatures were common tropes in fairy tales…but which story was this one?
Her mind dredged up one last memory of her conversation with Mira. "Can we break the curse?" She had asked hopefully.
Mira sighed. "It takes a vow."
"A vow?"
"Of eternal love." Mira confirmed. "The princess must receive a vow from a prince to release all the swan-maidens from our curse."
"Basically, Rothbart is taking advantage of Odette's lack of sex appeal." Cana said teasingly. Was it possible for a swan to sound drunk?
Lucy mock-glared at her. Then, a jolt of surprise ran through her nerves. "Wait…Odette? Me?"
Cana winked. "You're the princess, aren't you? So, where's the prince?"
Lucy had opened her mouth, and then closed it again. This was quite the role reversal…
If the prince was who she was hoping fervently it would be, well—she still remembered the fiasco that was Beauty and the Beast. Yet another time they needed true love to break a curse (at that time, Natsu's curse)…and it had ended with only a grant of more time.
Would they finally be ready?
"This is stupid." Natsu grumbled, adjusting the ill-fitting formal apparel with disgust.
"You mean your face?" Gray chortled, yanking the crown off of Natsu's head and tossing it in the air.
Natsu only grunted, his hand instinctively reaching out to catch it.
"Is Natsu really not retorting back?" Reedus said in interest, leaning forward to watch the spectacle.
"It's the third time today that he's just ignored Gray…is our Natsu growing up?" Macao chuckled, taking a long swig of ale.
Natsu ignored their taunts, resting his cheek on the silken tablecloth. Why had the lights taken him to such a gaudy, overly decorated palace like this?
"Are you not enjoying yourself, son?" A terrifyingly loud voice boomed in his ear.
He immediately sat up straight, pasting a smile on his face. "Hi, err—Mommy!"
Natsu was doomed, wasn't he? If the only mother figure in his life was Erza Scarlet—well, he would definitely not recover from these scarring memories.
Erza nodded approvingly. Strangely, she had insisted on being called 'Mommy', which Natsu had been reluctant to say at first (all reluctance flew out the window when suddenly, a sword was sticking through his arm). "Son, it is a glorious day—the day that you were born!"
This was the weirdest thing that had ever happened to him (this was definitely beyond Lucy Heartfilia weird...), and he still hadn't quite recovered from the fact that Erza was his mother. Erza…was his mother. Oh Mavis, Erza was his mother! (Natsu still hadn't come to terms with the fact that Jellal was his father. His brain was processing the Erza fact extremely, extremely slowly).
A sword suddenly appeared right next to Gray's neck. Erza had requipped back into her armor. "Err—Happy birthday, Prince Natsu!" He shouted cheerfully, eyes wide with fear.
"Yes, happy birthday!" The men all chorused, each one terrified of Erza's blade.
She sheathed it, satisfied. "As you know, you are to be married soon."
Natsu spluttered. "Actually, I didn't know that."
Erza sighed. "We have gone over this, you insolent child. It is your duty to marry an eligible bride at the upcoming ball, and you have now turned twenty." Her eyes suddenly filled with tears. "Twenty!" She howled, smashing Natsu's head painfully against her armor. "My son has grown so much!"
There was no shame in admitting how much Natsu wanted to cry. Gray winced in sympathy.
Jellal instantly appeared, slowly coaxing the bawling Erza away from Natsu. "Let's not quite kill our son yet, Erza." He smiled down at Natsu. "We have yet to give you a present, right?"
Erza wiped at her tears. "Hold on." She quickly requipped back into her queenly robes, holding a large gift in her hands.
"For you." She handed it to Natsu, who eyed the Heart Kreutz wrapping suspiciously. Would this be more stuffy, itchy clothes? (He was secretly hoping for Lucy in a maid outfit…curse his perverted mind).
He cautiously opened it. Inside lay a gleaming new crossbow, its body made of the finest oak and its trigger glimmering with the shiniest silver steel.
Natsu blinked in surprise. This gift…was not entirely horrible.
"Do you like it?" Jellal prompted. "I hear that the swans are quite populous these days…it would be perfect for the hunting season."
"It's great." Natsu smiled at his parents, which was…still a weird thought.
"Then you should promise to pick a bride at the ball, hmm?" Erza said triumphantly.
Bribery, huh? He was way too clever to fall for such—"Sure." He quickly grabbed the crossbow. "Come on, Gray." He pushed his chair away, standing.
Gray blinked in surprise. "What?"
"Let's go hunting." Natsu waved the crossbow at him. "I'm tired of this whole birthday thing, anyway."
Gray, to his credit, took things in stride. "I bet I get the bigger haul today, flame-brain!"
"You wish, ice prick."
Natsu kicked absentmindedly at the bushes, lost in thought. The day's sunlit hours were slowly passing by, for he could already see the sky darkening with a purple haze. They had wandered down into the castle's hunting woods, searching for a chance to use Natsu's new crossbow.
"Stop that, idiot! You're scaring away the prey!"
Natsu opened his mouth for a biting retort, and then closed it. "Gray."
"Yes?" Gray stared at him, wondering why Natsu was acting so strangely.
"What's marriage like?"
Gray gaped. "I'm not married, you fool!"
Natsu held up his hands. "I know, I know. But what's it like?"
"Hell." Gray said solemnly. "I hear it's like hell."
"Well…that's depressing." Natsu had actually thought it might be slightly nice…if it was with the right person. He found his mind wandering back to the topic of Lucy Heartfilia for the hundredth time today. Before the lights had taken them away, he had finally summoned up the courage to—his heart clenched, and he forced himself to pay attention to what Gray was prattling about.
Slowly, it dawned on him. "Oh, you're talking about what Queen Erza wants, right?" Gray prompted.
"I hate being a prince." Natsu grumbled. "Responsibility and I don't go well together."
"You don't want to rule?"
"Are you kidding? Can you imagine me King?"
Gray shuddered. "Frankly, if you ever succeed the throne, I'm moving out of this kingdom." He shared a rare smile with the pink-haired mage.
"Thankfully, Erza doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. She's about as invincible as a twenty foot steel pole."
"A steel pole wearing Heart Kreutz." Gray laughed.
"Careful. You know what'll happen if she hears that." Natsu raised an eyebrow, but his lips quirked into a half-smile.
"What's the worst that could happen?"
"She could make you get married." Natsu groaned. "You know how much she loves weddings." Still, his mind was elsewhere. He was still imagining soft lips on his, the warm familiar scent of Lucy wrapped in his arms…
Strange that marriage and Lucy had somehow grown synonymous in his mind. Yet another weird thought he couldn't quite confront.
Gray shuddered. "Yeah, never mind."
Suddenly, Natsu clapped a hand over Gray's mouth. "There!" He hissed. He leveled his crossbow at a flash of white swimming in the lake. They had wandered straight up to its banks, their toes growing wet from its rippling waves.
"A swan." Gray breathed. Prized for its feathers, a swan would fetch a hefty sum.
"A swan?" Natsu almost dropped the bow. "I don't know if we should—" Weren't swans too beautiful to be shot?
The sky was now streaked with rich navy and pink, as it were a watercolor canvas come to life.
"Come on!" Gray hissed, snatching the crossbow from Natsu's hands. "It's almost nighttime—we won't be able to see it again!"
"This doesn't seem right!" Natsu grunted, tugging at the crossbow.
"Think of the money!"
"Don't shoot it, Gray!"
Somehow, Gray had wretched the crossbow out of Natsu's grasp, and was preparing to fire. The sky dimmed, the midnight blue encompassing the entire heavens.
"Don't shoot!" A girl screamed at the same time Natsu tackled Gray to the ground, sending the bolt awry.
Natsu froze, rolling off Gray in an instant.
"Y-you!" He stared at the swan—no, figure standing in the lake. Suddenly, several swans swooped down from the sky and settled onto the crystal waters, each one gracefully tucking its wings away and transforming into maidens clothed in feathers.
"W-what is this?" Gray wondered, turning his head to face Natsu.
But Natsu had already disappeared, his shoes lying beside Gray. He was running as fast as he could into the water, ignoring its icy waters as if it were nothing.
Gray peered at the running figure. The dim moonlight was almost impossible to see anything! There was someone running towards Natsu as well…who on earth was that?
"Lucy!" He heard Natsu bellow.
Lucy could barely move her limbs, her water-logged feathers only dragging her down. (She was beginning to regret choosing to transform in the middle of the lake). But still, she pressed onwards. "Natsu!" She stretched her hand out, trying to reach for him.
They met in the middle, a fierce collision of limbs and feathers and lips that astounded them both. There was an undeniable attraction, a pull that would not be satisfied until both had fully submitted to it. There was laughter and relief, passion and joy—a swirl of emotions that had consumed them, swallowed them whole.
Natsu pulled away from Lucy's lips reluctantly, resting his forehead on hers. "You're here." He breathed, slightly out of breath.
"And so are you." She laughed.
There was a long pause.
"Oh! Erm—hi." Natsu shifted his weight awkwardly. "I think I forgot to say that." He would have never thought that they would greet each other with such fervor, especially with how they had left the last story. He had expected awkwardness, caution—yet this was none of those. This felt familiar, as if they had been doing this their entire lives.
He could tell Lucy was thinking the same thing, her cheeks slightly flushed under the pale moonlight. "About Sleeping Beauty and the latest story…we can talk about that later." She said quietly. "And…hi."
There was another awkward silence.
"Oh, fuck this." Lucy declared uncharacteristically. "Come here." She wrapped her arms slowly around Natsu, staring him at him passionately…and dunked him straight into the water.
He spluttered.
"Revenge!" Lucy snickered. "For all those times at the guild!"
He stared at her strangely, his eyes filled with something she couldn't quite discern. "Y-you!" He half-laughed in wonder. "How can you be so—Never mind! You're on!"
And if occasionally they drifted underwater for some privacy…well…
A/N: Apologies for the long wait! Those bonus chapters in a row definitely took a lot out of me XD I will be back in the swing of things soon, so no worries! It has also be determined that there is one more arc after Swan Lake wraps up :)
As always, thank you so much for reading and reviewing! You all are amazing, wonderful people, and I am so thrilled that you have stuck through so long on this story :)
Preview: Chapter 30: A Midsummer's Night