Rain continues to fall outside my window when I wake up the next morning. My eyes feel swollen and grainy from all the crying I've done, and my body aches with every move I make. I stay motionless as I watch the rain through my bedroom window, the streaks the water makes down the foggy cool glass leaves me feeling a bit calm. Beyond the streaks of water, I can see the light gray clouds rolling through the sky lazily.

Our mortal problems are of no consequence to them after all.

Sighing heavily, I stare up at the canopy over my bed feeling my temple throb from the little sleep I've gotten. My aching thoughts quickly go to Natsu and the scene I had witnessed last night in the library. My heart aches once again with disappointment from believing that Natsu had remembered me at all. However, with what he had said last before I had left the library, I do believe that Lucy Heartfilia remains wedged deep within his mind. Even if he doesn't fully remember her, she's still there waiting for him to call her back to his side.

Chapter 36 - Finding Strength in a Storm

POV: Lucy

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

I take my time getting ready after I finally get out of bed. My movements are slow and sluggish as I pick rout a random outfit for the day and don the stiff clothing along with a fresh new pair of gloves. I then brush my hair up into its usual tight bun while making sure that there is no stray hair to be seen. When I look in the mirror it almost looks as if I were transported back to the summers before my father and I had reconciled with one another.

A knock at my door allows me to tear my gaze away from my somber reflection. I call for the person who knocked to enter and am not surprised to find Gray peeking his head through the door that he opens.

"How are you feeling?" he asks in a careful tone. It almost seems as if he's afraid that I'll lash out at him like I had at Natsu the day before, but why would I? He wasn't the one who had broken the hearts of the innocent like my father and Natsu had.

When I don't answer, Gray walks further into the room while closing the door behind him. He looks pained and at a loss for what to do as he surveys the neatness of my room with conflicted eyes. I can tell that he wants to tell me something from the way he rocks on the balls of his feet, but he still can't seem to find the right words.

"Where are the children?" I ask him before standing from the seat in front of my vanity so that I can straighten out my skirts.

Gray winces from how my cold tone cuts through the awkward atmosphere. He's uncomfortable and I can't blame him, but that doesn't mean I don't sympathize with him.

"In their room," he finally replies when I make a move to leave the room, "They're with Mira. She said that she could take care of them today while you have a day off to yourself. I'm sure that there's a lot that you want to think about…"

"If you're implying that I should think about my actions from yesterday, you're wasting your time. I know what I did was wrong, but I don't regret hitting him," I admit, because I don't regret hitting Natsu when I had.

I did feel guilty for needing to result to violence and I felt horrible for what I had told Natsu, but that did not mean I regretted every part of it. I'd do it again if the issue ever arose once more, but next time I would not be so lenient as to just giving the infuriating king just one good hit.

"Lucille… I know what he did was wrong, but…"

"Are you defending him?" I ask, but I don't mean to accuse him. Why wouldn't Gray defend his longtime friend? He knew the adult Natsu better than I ever could, and only he knew the reason for Natsu's outburst, but that didn't mean I accepted it any less.

Taking my hand, Gray sits me on my bed before taking a seat next to me. He keeps his despondent midnight eyes trained on me as if worried I might attack or break down. I'm not even sure myself which one of the two I would even try to do. My mind is a mess and all I want is to be left alone.

"He's been through a lot. More so than most of us," Gray explains while urging me with his eyes to understand, but I do understand because I've heard Natsu's story from those around him, "It's hard for him to cope with his feelings. Ever since we were little Natsu has never had a good grip on how to express or hold onto his emotions. He'd always lash out whenever he felt threatened, or laugh manically when he was happy, and sometimes he would even hold in his emotions until he exploded like he had last night."

"But what reason could he have to lash out the way he had yesterday? In the days before you and Mira got here he was fine," I argue, trying to see how Natsu could have changed from one day to another.

"Was he?" Gray asks, the skepticism in his words leave me to know what I've been trying to deny. Natsu's been hurting this whole time, and I've blinded myself to his pain as he held in his emotions.

I shouldn't have ignored the faraway looks he would constantly give when his attention was not on us. They had started when we had arrived at the island and only seemed to progressively get worse, but I was blind to it. How could I have paid attention to the signs when Natsu would bounce back from his reveries and smile along with us as if he was the happiest man on earth? Maybe he was trying to distract himself while deluding us to think that he was fine.

Dropping my gaze, I stare at my glove clad hands and focus my attention to the slight sting on my knuckles. I feel even worse now for what I had done, but even then, I still did not regret my actions. Hurt or not he still should not have said the things he had.

"You all acted as if this wasn't the first time he's been like this to the children," I state after a long pause of silence with the only background noise being the soft rain still pattering my window.

Gray tenses beside me, my left hand still in his grasp as his fingers tighten around my own, "It's never been this bad," he admits, his voice an embarrassed croak, "He's yelled at the kids before, heck, who hasn't he yelled at? But I will admit that this is the first time he's ever said anything so horrible. Maybe something changed this time that made him explode far worse than before."

I don't know why, but the kiss we had shared comes to mind and I can't help but feel like it had something to do with that. Including me wearing that dress.

"Why did you never stop him?" I ask, wanting to know what reason the children have had to go through a similar torment as last night's when there were so many people who loved them back home, "Why have they had to continuously suffer the way they have all these years when you or the others could have stopped him?"

Gray opens his mouth to say something, but it opens and closes as if he were a fish out of water with no words coming to his aid. It was because he had no excuse to give me, just like no one back at my father's home could ever give an excuse of their own.

Slipping my hand from his, I can't help but feel a bit disgusted with Gray, and not just him. Everyone back at the castle has lost a considerable amount of respect from me. How could they all be so cruel?

"You're just like them, you know?" I state while feeling a dull anger warm my body up once again, "Like my family back in Magnolia," I clarify at Gray's questioning look, "You're all caring and loving, trying to make our world a little better with endless smiles and warmth. However, once the head of the house snaps at the youngest and most defenseless, you all cower in a corner until their rage has been satisfied. You leave us, thinking that we'll be ok, that we're strong enough to endure the hate, when we shower you with our smiles the next day, but we're not… we're not ok. The demons… they follow us everywhere. They torment our dreams, and haunt our days while we try to contain them with smiles to appease you all when you don't listen to us. How can you all ignore our cries for help?"

Without warning, Gray pulls me into his arms, holding my head to his shoulder so that I don't try to escape, but I'm too tired to fight. I can feel his chin shudder over my own shoulder as he continues to hold me tightly while I grasp onto him, seeking the comfort I had not known I needed.

"I'm sorry we failed you," Gray apologizes while his voice cracks with the emotion he is trying to hold in, "This wasn't supposed to happen. I had promised Loke that you wouldn't go through any more heartache, and look what I've allowed to happen. Neither you or the children should have had to go through such horrible experiences."

"It's not too late to save them, you know. We can keep them from a future of heartache and bad memories if we get Natsu to finally open up. He needs to stop distancing himself from them and needs to stop blaming them for something they had no control over. Everyone needs to move on, and the only way we do that is by helping each other out," I pull away and take his face in my hands to convey to him my feelings and thoughts, "And you need to stop running away. What's the worst thing he can do to you ice princess?"

Gray chuckles from the use of his nickname as I let my hands fall to my lap. As he composes himself, all I can think about is finally talking to my family back in Magnolia. Something I should have done a long time ago so that we could all get past this dark stain in our lives.

Before either one of us can say anything more, Mirajane bursts through the door. Her panicked look has both Gray and I standing up from our seats to stare at the worried looking cook and all I can think is that something happened to the children.

"Natsu is missing," Mira tells Gray before I can even ask her what had happened, "I went to give him breakfast in his room, but it looks like he hasn't been in there since the night before. So instead I went to see if he was still in the library, but all I found was the mess he had probably made last night," she continues to explain, looking almost on the verge of tears.

"Let's go check the library again. He's probably hiding somewhere where you missed," Gray soothingly tells the older female before following her out of the room.

I follow close behind, worried that something might have happened to Natsu. The last time I had seen him I had left him surrounded by the destruction he had made. The memory of his sobs still made my heart squeeze painfully. I shouldn't have left him alone.

Oh please Mavis, let nothing bad have come to him.

The three of us race down the hall after ordering the kids to remain in their room before heading downstairs in a hurried line. We reach the library quickly and I am once again greeted with the destructive sight of the ruined room.

Where the windows had been broken, rain had seeped into the room turning the royal blue carpet a dark navy and soaking the pages of paper still littering the floor. Even the long-shredded curtains are a shade darker from having absorbed the rain as well. I even notice that one of the curtains is missing, allowing more rain to filter in through the broken windows. Glass glitters across almost every empty space along the floor and crunches beneath our feet when we walk into the room.

Beside me, Gray curses under his breath as he walks further into the room and runs a hand through his hair. Mira and I stand by the door, and as I look into the room I have the nagging suspicion that Natsu isn't here anymore.

Looking back the way we had come, I find a wet stain on the floor just outside of the library's door. Curious, I walk out of the room and look down at the wet spot we had missed when entering the room and look up to my right. At the end of the hall is a sun room that overlooks the forest behind the manor. We've only ever been inside the sunroom a handful amount of times since arriving to the island since it tends to get a bit hot in there during the day.

"Gray," I call out as I make my way towards the room when I realize something.

The door in the sunroom that leads to the back yard is slightly open with a puddle on the floor from where the rain must have seeped in through.

When I reach the door, swing it open to find muddy footprints that lead towards the forest. Except that now the footprints are a bit less visible from how hard it had rained last night as well as the continuing shower that still soaked the ground.

Mira gasps when she and Gray finally reach me and look out at the uneven puddles littering the muddy ground, "Gray, you don't he…"

"I know he did," Gray somberly sighs, effectively cutting Mira off.

I stare at the two and watch as they silently interact with one another about something an outsider like myself would not know. Their silent glances don't last long before the raven-haired male jumps out into the soft shower and sinking a bit into the squishy mud.

"You both stay here in case his royal pain in the ass comes back. In the meantime, I'm going to go look for him," Gray orders, already making his way down the slippery path towards the forest.

"Where?" I don't realize I've asked the question until Gray looks back at me with a pained smile nearly hidden behind his sodden hair.

"The cemetery."

Neither Mira or I move from our spot as we watch Gray disappear behind the tree line, down a path I had never even noticed before until now. Come to think of it, on the few occasions in which we would play in the back yard, Natsu always made it a point to keep us away from that area. I had not thought anything about it since he said that the forest was much thicker in that part of the forest and he didn't want any wild animals catching us off guard.

"We should head inside," comes Mira's voice, as soft as the rain pattering against the room's roof, "The children haven't eaten yet, and I don't want to leave them alone for too long."

I nod, and she takes my hand in hers. I turn to follow her when something in the distance catches my eye.

On a rosebush, not too far from the side of the house, I notice something pink seemingly stuck on a thorn. Releasing my hold on Mira's hand, I move down the steps that lead outside into the rain. Once I step onto the muddy floor of the garden, I quickly make my way through the downpour towards what had caught my attention.

"Lucille! What are you doing?!" Comes Mira's voice from behind me. It's nearly drowned out by the sound of the rain in my ears, but I hear her and even then I refuse to deviate from my path.

The cold rain hits me and makes my clothing and hair stick to me. It settles a chill over my body and almost blinds me as I trudge through the muck beneath my feet which makes it almost impossible to walk through without falling. However, I don't walk far before I snag the dark, pink object of my interest to realize that it is a torn piece of thick fabric.

But not just any fabric…

Looking up over the other side of the manor, I notice indents in the usually even ground heading towards a different part of the forest. A part of the forest I have only visited once and have never seen again.

"What is it?" I hear Mira call out again, and when I look at her I can see her watching me from the safety of the open doorway.

"Natsu isn't at the cemetery," I yell over the roar of the now pouring rain, "But I think I know where he is. Stay here and watch the kids, I'm going to go look for him."

"Lucille, no! It's way too dangerous!"

"Find a way to contact Porlyusica!" I yell out to the older female before turning and trudging through the sinking mud while clutching my sodden skirts in my hand to make it a bit easier to walk.

Mira continues to call after me, and at some point, I can hear the kids calling me as well, but I can no longer see either one of them. Instead, I keep my mind focused on Natsu while praying that nothing bad has happened to him. I'd never forgive myself if something terrible were to have happened to him. I'd never forgive him either.

I'm not too fond of forests…

At the memory from his words that he told me around the days when we first arrived to the island, I push myself to walk faster. I slip and slide with every hurried step I take, but by some miracle I remain standing.

It feels like a lifetime before I reach the tree line that leads to a familiar trail covered by the canopy of the thick trees lining either side of the path. The dirt path isn't as muddy as the garden behind me due to the cover the canopy above provides, but this also means that it is dark and hard to see where I'm going.

The first time I had seen this place, it had held a magical and welcoming feel to it. Now, however, it looks almost threatening. Almost as if the forest did not want me to enter it and retrieve our lost king, but I'm not scared. I have faced monsters much more terrifying than anything this forest could ever conjure up for me.

Pushing forward once again, I can see much better now that the rain isn't blinding me anymore. There's also a cool breeze blowing through the trees making me shiver, and my clothes and body have begun to feel much heavier with each step I take. Even then I ignore my increasing exhaustion as I race through the trees, following the footprints that are now clearly visible for me to see.

I almost cry in relief when I finally reach the curtain of vines that lead into the old ruins of the island. I ignore the fact that a few of the vines are missing or shredded as if someone had fallen through them. I push the remaining vines away to reveal the crumbling buildings of stone on the other side. I walk onto the cracked stone path of the town and look around, wondering where I should look first. Natsu could literally be anywhere.

Walking closer to the center of the small clearing between the forest and the town, I spot something through my peripheral vision. When I turn left I find a bundle of sodden fabric precariously near the edge of the rock ledge Natsu, the children, and I had had our picnic when we had come here last. When I get closer to the ball of dark pink fabric, I notice the tell-tale sign of Natsu's bright pink hair sticking out from one end of the ball.

Gasping, I rush over and pull away the top part to reveal Natsu's unconscious face. Natsu groans and curls deeper into the sopping curtain he has wrapped around himself and shivering from the apparent lack of warmth the cloth provides.

"Natsu," I call to him, but he doesn't seem to acknowledge me as I peel more of the fabric away from his face so that I can see him better.

Once I can see the tip of his nose I quickly try to shift his head so that I can fully see his face. Immediately I feel the burning sensation of a fever heating up my cold hands through my soaked gloves. It almost feels as if I had stuck my hands over an open fire from how hot his face is burning, which is beyond the consistent warmth he usually provides. Natsu has caught a horrible fever, and I know it's because of being out in the rain and wrapped in a wet blanket all night.

"Oh Natsu, what did you do?" I groan to the unconscious male, "What should I do?" I desperately ask while looking around and realizing how alone and helpless we both were, "We need help… I need to go get help," I say more to myself than to Natsu as I begin to stand up, "I need to go get Gray!"

"D-Don't g…go," Natsu pants as his hand suddenly shoots out from the blanket and grabs a hold of my wrist, stopping me from leaving his side. His voice is hoarse and it sounds like he's having a really hard time breathing. His grip on my wrist is also weak and shaking slightly, "Don't leave… leave me… don't leave me alone."

Looking at him and then looking up at the way I had come from, I feel suddenly conflicted. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help him without going back and getting help, but I also can't leave him by himself. What if something worse happened to him while I was away? What if he fell over the ledge and into the lake below? He could hurt himself even more and with his lack of strength I doubt that he would be able to swim to safety.

Throwing my head back in defeat, I stare up at thick canopy of leaves that block out the rain keeping us remotely dry.

"I can't give up."

Removing Natsu's hold from my hand, I quickly unwrap Natsu from the wet curtain he is still shivering beneath. When I finally get him out of the cold cover, I crouch down and lift his arms high enough so that they hang over my shoulders. With great difficulty, I start to heave him up and once I'm finally standing I take a moment to try and catch my breath. I then twist myself around, nearly toppling over from Natsu's weight, until Natsu is resting on my back with his arms hanging limply at my front.

Panting from the exertion, I take a moment to try to get my bearings. My legs are shaking from under the king's weight and the exhaustion of having trekked through thick mud to get to here. I try to take a step forward, but my foot almost slips on the slippery rock. In that moment I realize that I can't do this. The ground is much too slippery for me to move through and Natsu keeps sinking behind me making it harder to adjust him so that I don't lose my grip on him.

I can't do this…

Don't worry Lucy! Everything is going to be ok! I've got you, so hang on just a bit longer!

I stop Natsu from slipping off my back at the memory that suddenly emerges.

It was a long time ago, a memory from when I was about nine or ten, but I remember it as if it had just happened yesterday.

Natsu and I at the time had been playing at the lake deep in the woods that had surrounded a bit beyond the land that my father owned. No one, except for Natsu and I, ever went near that lake, and that day had been no different. It was our secret spot. Our adventure headquarters. Our corner of the world that was never disturbed. It was a place where we would slay the evilest of tree monsters, or steal previous jewels from the mermaid's cove deep within the lake, or climb the rock cliffs nearby to touch the elusive heavens. It was always just the two of us, braving our own imaginary world with no one to tell us what we could and couldn't do.

Thinking on it now, if my father had ever discovered the unladylike things I was doing, he probably would have burned the whole forest down with Natsu in it…

At the time, Natsu and I had been relaxing in the forest when I had decided to climb the tree that contained his tree house. Natsu had built it himself and for a nine-year-old he was very adept at carpentry. He wasn't the best by any means, but he was skilled nonetheless and he was always happy to boast about whatever he built with his own hands. However, as good as he was at building things, he was even better at breaking them if he wasn't careful. Which, unfortunately, was all the time.

The small tree house was still a work in progress since Natsu had yet to install a proper ladder or stairs that led up to the small dwelling. He had installed a rickety rope ladder he had found in a trash can the other day, but it was old and frayed with it threatening to snap any day. In fact, all of the materials he used to build his treehouse were objects he would steal from town, a feat I would constantly berate him for, but what choice did a penniless orphan have?

I wasn't too high up in the tree before one of the boards beneath my feet on the rope ladder snapped. It had happened so fast I hadn't even held onto the rest of the ladder to stop myself from falling. I tumbled down the tree in a heap of broken branches, leaves, and torn up skirts before landing on the ground a few feet below.

When I reached the bottom, all I could assess through the disorientation of my mind was that my knee had been scathed, and that I had twisted my ankle making it hard to stand up. Pain radiated up my leg from my quickly swelling ankle and before I could start crying, Natsu was by my side. He had run towards me from where he had been fishing a few meters away and after checking my injuries, had hoisted me onto his back while assuring me that everything was going to be alright. He then went on to carry me through the forest towards my home that was a good distance away.

Teetering between consciousness and unconsciousness, I had stared at the back of Natsu's head the whole trip back to my house. I can distinctly remember Natsu's faint scent that radiated off him as my head rested on his shoulder. Coincidentally enough Natsu was not a dirty boy, at least not in the aspect where he smelled and produced a foul odor like most kids that lived on the street did.

Sure, his clothes were a bit worse for wear while also stained with the constant splatter of mud and dirt as well as the occasional grass stain, but that didn't mean that he didn't take care of himself. In fact, I honestly believe that Natsu was much cleaner than the snotty rich kids my father used to force me to hang out with. The only time Natsu would be dirty beyond recognition and smell as bad as people claimed he did was usually when he was working or playing around places he shouldn't be near.

Natsu's natural smell was earthy, like the forest he lived and spent all his time in. He also smelled like a warm smoky fire as well as the occasional spice he no doubt picked up from raiding bakeries in town. It was a smell I had gotten used to when spending all my free time with the enigmatic boy. It was the smell of home that calmed me as Natsu carried me home.

Shaking my head from the warm memory, I feel the heat emanating from Natsu and nearly burning my back return me from my reverie. I find it ironic how the tables have turned in this situation, except Natsu hadn't hesitated to help me like I was hesitating to help him in return. He had immediately taken me into his arms and rushed me back home whereas I was stuck in believing I was powerless to help him.

I am so utterly useless!

Grinding my teeth, I take a deep breath in through my nose. Instantly, beneath the smell of rain and wet soil, I can smell Natsu's smoky scent of spices that reminds me of our childhood. In the few times that I had been near enough to smell the familiar scent, I had opted to ignore it out of fear from our past. Now I let it register in my mind and how, after all these years, he smells just as I remember. The only difference is that now his earthy aroma from the woods has been exchanged for something much more refined. He smells of mud, of course since he's practically covered in it now, but that woodsy smell of sawdust and pine is gone. Instead, the regal fragrance he emits is something befitting a powerful king rather than an orphaned boy who lived in the woods, but this change didn't make this man any less of the Natsu I knew and loved. He was just as different as I had become.

He had just grown up.

Taking another deep breath, I brace myself as I take Natsu's arms and try to fix him onto my back so that he doesn't slip off. I'm sweating and gasping from the heat that burns my back, but I simply push my bangs and stray hairs away from my face while looking towards my goal. I needed to stop acting like a damsel in distress and take action for once rather than wait for someone to rescue me. I needed to stop doubting myself as well as cease to believe that I was a weak and helpless like Jose Porla had once told me that I was.

I needed to stop being the scared little Lucille Ashley my father, Loke, and I had invented.

I needed to be Lucy Heartfilia again. The Lucy that Natsu had always taught to be strong, resilient, and fearless.

The Lucy I thought had died long ago.

"Don't worry Natsu," I grunt as I finish fixing my hold on the unconscious male, "Everything is going to be ok," I then murmur before kicking off my shoes so that I have a sturdier ground to walk on as my sock clad feet press against the smooth rock beneath me, "I've got you, so hang on just a bit longer." And with that I push my war forward with all the strength I can muster up.

So I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. You can see Lucy's constant growth, and having her come out of her shell is really satisfying for me to write. This chapter is a total contrast from what I had written the first time around, and I'm much happier with the new product. What do my old readers think? Do you all prefer the old or the updated version? Give me your thoughts.

Also, bonus info: Lisanna, Igneel, and Mavis (as well as most of the royal family) is buried on the island's cemetary. Yes, it is the very place in the anime/manga where Mavis' tombstone lies and that's where Gray and Mira had thought Natsu had escaped to. Now tell me, why do you think Natsu went to the forest instead?

Anywho, since I'm back in school I took this week to get a feel as to how my free time is going to work out so that I can update more chapters, and I think I'll be keeping my posting schedule for the weekend. If my chapter is ready I'll most probably aim for updating on Fridays. The latest would be Sunday, like technically today, but lets see how well I can squeeze in a little writing during the week. If anything tampers with my new updating schedule I'll make sure to let you all know.

Also, look forward to our next chapter because a few more memories and maybe a few more reveals will be coming out. Chapter 37 - Confessions From a Broken Heart should hopefully be up by February 2, so look out for that.

Shout Outs

I want to give a great big thanks to all my Fantastic Reviewers...

- InvisibleNobody269

- Kaytak1999

- nikkiw67

- Vinetta-Venture

To all of my Fabulous Followers...

- Kaytak1999

- Zygarde Dupain-Agreste

And to all of my Fantabulous Reviewers...

- stranger 1999 = I'm really glad that you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope that you liked this chapter as well!

- Guest = He did have it coming. There is no excuse for his behavior, but he'll definitely learn from this experience. The hater person is just under the bridge now. Also, I'm not sure how many chapters I'll be completing. I'm actually writing as I go, but if I were to estimate, maybe around fifty or sixty-ish chapters. I guess we'll find out when the end comes.

- XxTentenxX179 = I'm glad to see you're back and I'm also happy for your excitement for when I incorporated the idea you had suggested for me. Thank as always for the help, I really do appreciate it and I hope you also enjoyed this chapter as well!

- Littlest1 = Yes, memories that are buried within his subconscious that appear to be reemerging. And yes, Natsu is lucky that Lucy is there to put him in his place.

- MagicalFoxInTheWilderness = I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the chapter, and although Natsu wasn't technically talking to Lucy, that doesn't mean he isn't starting to remember. I'll reveal that, yes, the girl Natsu had been talking about leaving him is Lucy, but he just hasn't connected the dots yet.

- DecemberRome = *blows kisses* It's in the name sweetheart, and also I am now as fit as a fiddle! Thank you for the concern, it warms up my demonic heart. I also agree towards the hater, but that's water under the bridge now. Also, we'll have a bit of insight on how Mira is dealing in the next chapter!

- geekyglamour413 = Yup, we're closing in now. Many secrets will be revealed to us next chapter and in the chapters that follow as well, but until then you'll have to wait just a tad bit longer *swipes the twenty from the table* just a bit longer.

- MicroFire (Guest) = When I first wrote the slap scene, it had seemed like the right move to make at the time. In that story, Lucy was still somewhat secluded and not too close with the other members of the castle except for Mira, Levy, and the children. I had made her too vulnerable and isolated, so a slap had been the right choice. Now, however, Lucy isn't secluded and doesn't just have a handful of friends she can depend on. I made her more open, created more bonds, and have slowly been pulling her out of the shell I had once made for her. Lucy is more outgoing now than she has ever been in my story and she feels much more strongly and openly than before, so having her pour her emotions into a punch seemed like the better tactic this time around. Also, yes I did add the riceball because of inspiration from the anime, but also because it will tie in with a memory she will show us in the following chapters. I think it might be one or two chapters away, but I guess we'll see. Also, yes, Natsu is referring to Lucy when he says 'she' but he has not yet pieced together that Lucille is Lucy.

- Glass Dragon's Rose = I actually need maybe two chapters before I finally catch up with the original version. Well, at least two scenes. I'm also glad that you've been enjoying the updated version! Thank you so much for reading!

- sarara1.8 = All of our hearts are breaking, but we must hang in there!

- ChiliR612 = I'm really happy you enjoyed the chapter. Her reaction was somewhat based on what I would have done if I was in her situation, but the rest was just mostly what I would picture Lucy from the anime doing. Although she would have done a famous Lucy Kick, but kicking in a dress isn't easy, so we had to go with a punch. And yes, Natsu is talking about Lucy, but hasn't yet made the connection.

- nikkiw67 = I'm happy you liked the chapter. I can also picture Gray making fun of Natsu for that moment in the future. Who knows, your idea may have sparked more ideas of my own for the future! Maybe as an Epilogue, but we'll see what the future holds. What lies behind Lucy's hands will be revealed in the next chapter, as well as maybe a few more.

Well that's all the shout outs for today!

If you are enjoying my story so far please follow, favorite, and review - remember, reviews are a writers candy - and if you have any questions or ideas you'd like to see put into this story you can also PM me and I'll gladly add it in.

Until next time my lovelies.