Hello, everyone !

Happy new year !

I'm back with the fourteenth chapter :D

I've plotted for a few more chapters ahead, and by rough calculation, I think this fic will probably be as long as or even longer than my first English fic of Fairy Tail a.k.a. 'Feelings'. But I'll do my best in writing the best of it in every chapters :D

And so, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter.

Disclaimer: I only own this plot

The carriage to the Sand Country was prepared by the time the sun rose. Gray and Jellal helped putting both Natsu and Lucy's things into the carriage.

"There." Gray said. "Are you ready, Lucy?"

Lucy nodded.

"Where's Natsu?" Jellal asked. "It's almost time to leave."

"I'm here." Natsu said and popped into view.

Lucy stared at him. It was thanks to his onyx eyes that Lucy was still able to recognize him. From his hair? Not anymore. Since Natsu's hair was blond.

"Dude!" Gray yelped. "Is this that Natsu?"

"Whatever." Natsu said and walked to Lucy. "Mornin'."

"Good morning." Lucy replied as her eyes were fixated on Natsu's hair. "Is this… wig?"

"Yep. I have some of them." Natsu said.

"You love to wear wigs?"

"Sometimes." Natsu shrugged. "When I want to supervise the towns without being recognized as the second prince."

Lucy smiled. "If Zeref-nii and Mavis-nee has a son, you'll look exactly like him."

Natsu smiled back and took a few strands of Lucy's hair to his hand. "I chose this color because it reminds me of your own hair."

Lucy blushed.

"Okay, that's enough fluff for this morning." Erza cut. "You should leave now or you'll be late. You have to greet King Scorpio first, remember? The king won't wait for you all morning."

"You're right." Lucy said and turned her attention to Igneel and Grandine. "Father, Mother, we'll be leaving now."

"Oh, be careful there!" Grandine hugged Lucy. "Don't skip your meals, okay?"

"I won't, Mother." Lucy smiled.

Grandine smiled back and Lucy held back her tears of happiness. After all these years of being abandoned, she finally had parents. A proper parents.

Igneel also hugged Lucy. "Remember, you have to be back before sunset. Both of you, but Lucy is more emphasized."

"Thanks, Father." Natsu scoffed.

"Be careful you two." Grandine said as both Lucy and Natsu entered the carriage.

"We will, Mother." Natsu kissed Grandine's cheek before he closed the carriage's door.

Natsu sat in front of Lucy as the carriage started to move.

"Rogue will miss you a lot." Lucy said. "With this project underway, you'll be busier."

"I think he'll miss you more than he misses me." Natsu laughed. "He already thinks of you as his own older sister."

"He reminds me so much of my own brother." Lucy smiled. "They have different hair, yeah, but he's as cute as Sting is."

"Now that you mentioned it, I'd like to meet Sting as well." Natsu said. "When will he visit here?"

"Can he come here?" Lucy asked back.

"Of course." Natsu raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think he can't?"

"W—well, we are not exactly m—married yet, so…"

"So? Sting can't visit his own sister just because we're not married yet?"

"Don't I need the king's permission first?" Lucy asked. "I can't ask him to come without the king allowing it, right?"

"Lucy, it's fine." Natsu held her hands. "Sting can visit here anytime he wants to. Rogue will be happy to have a friend of the same age."

Lucy stared at her hands but she didn't pull them back. Natsu's warmth were so comfortable, she just wanted to stay this way. "You're right."

"And I'd also love to meet him as well." Natsu also stared at his hands and smiled. Lucy's hands fitted in his own so perfectly, he wanted to keep holding them. "Don't I need his permission to marry you?"

Lucy looked up to Natsu and blushed. "W—what?"

"Don't I need his permission?" Natsu asked back as he smiled. "He's your brother and as far as I know, brothers are protective. Who knows what your little brother can do to me if he doesn't allow me to marry you? Maybe he'll smack me with his ball or haunt me for the rest of my life."

Lucy laughed. "I'm sure Sting will like you."

"But I gotta make it official, don't I?" Natsu said.

Just then, the carriage stepped over a huge stone and the carriage shook. Natsu toppled over, his face turned pale so fast.

"I'm sorry, Your Highnesses!" The horsemen shouted.

"Natsu? Are you okay? Why are you so pale?" Lucy asked in worry as Natsu clutched his stomach while his other hand covered his mouth.

"W—Wendy's medicine r—ran out." Natsu croaked.

"Medicine? Are you sick?" Lucy asked.

"T—transport—I—I can't. S—sick. I—I'm about to—UMPH."

Lucy took a few more seconds to translate what Natsu had said. "You have motion sickness?"

Natsu nodded weakly, fighting so bad not to throw up. He couldn't exactly throw his guts in front of Lucy, right? That would be so embarrassing!

Lucy smiled. She moved to Natsu's side and gently placed his head on her lap. "Sleep. You won't feel too sick if you rest."

Natsu's sickness died down the moment Lucy massaged his scalp. Lying down with his head on her lap felt so comfortable.

"Sorry." Natsu croaked. "I'm so uncool."

Lucy laughed. "No. You're cute."

Then they both blushed.

"J—just sleep for now." Lucy said and kept massaging his scalp. She also hummed to shake her embarrassment away.

Natsu's eyes were droopy the moment her soft hum reached his ears. He closed his eyes as he enjoyed her voice and her massage. A thought came to him as he quickly slipped into slumber.

Having Lucy as his wife is not a bad idea. Not at all.

Back in the palace of the Dragon Country…

"Erza!"

Erza and Jellal stopped walking and they turned around as Lisanna walked up to them.

"Hey, Lis, what's wrong?" Jellal asked.

"Where's Natsu?" Lisanna asked. "I can't see him anywhere."

"He left already." Erza said.

"Left? Where to?"

"The Sand Country." Erza said. "He's going to supervise the railway project there."

Lisanna widened her eyes. "He really went there? By what? Don't tell me… Carriage?"

"Obviously." Erza said. "This is a formal trip, so he can't just go there on Sagittarius. Besides, he's with—"

"But you know Natsu can't handle transportations!"

"He'll be fine, Lis." Jellal said. "Knowing Natsu, he'll just sleep through the entire trip."

"But he doesn't have me with him!" Lisanna said. "Natsu can only sleep if his head is on my lap!"

No, he didn't. He slept on your lap because you dragged his head., Erza and Jellal thought inwardly.

"I need to go to him." Lisanna huffed. "I have to be beside him."

"Whoa, chill, Lis!" Jellal put his hand on her shoulder. "Natsu will be fine. Lucy's with him."

Erza nudged Jellal with her elbow but it was too late. Lisanna glared at the Fernandez heir. "He's with whom?" she hissed.

Jellal gulped down. Uh-oh. He made a mistake, didn't he?

"With Lucy." Erza took over and sternly said. "Lucy's supervising with him."

"THAT BITCH!" Lisanna screamed. "I need to give her some lessons!"

"LANGUAGE." Erza glared at Lisanna. "You're a lady of one of the nobles, Lisanna."

"Whatever!" Lisanna ran away in anger. "Wait until I have you in my hands, you fraud! I won't let you touch Natsu!"

Jellal looked at his fiancée. "What did I just do?"

Erza sighed. "Let her be. She'll most likely changed her mind in the middle of the trip anyway."

"Natsu." Lucy called softly. "We're here."

Natsu opened his eyes groggily as he could feel the carriage was slowing down. He sat up.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah. Thanks, Lucy." Natsu smiled.

Lucy smiled back and Natsu peered outside the carriage's window. He could see the Sand Country's entrance gate, signaling that they were almost arrived.

"I think we're lucky." Lucy said. "No sandstorms."

"Let's hope the same way on our way back." Natsu said. "Are you okay? I must be heavy."

"I'm fine." Lucy smiled. "Have you always been like this? Your motion sickness, I mean."

"Born with it." Natsu shrugged. "I inherited it from Father. Mother also has it but she rarely steps out from the palace so it isn't a big deal. Wendy and Rogue have it too. Lucky Zeref-nii."

"So… Father also has motion sickness?"

"Yep. That's why unless he has a very important meeting, he prefers to stay inside the palace." Natsu scoffed. "The only 'transportation' I'm not sick of is Sagittarius, but I don't think him as my transportation either."

"Then… How did you manage all of your travels all this time?" Lucy asked.

"I slept it through." Natsu grinned. "And I always take Gray or Erza with me as well. They took care of me."

"I bet with Lisanna as well." Lucy mumbled under her breath.

"More like, she forced herself to come." Natsu unexpectedly heard that and smirked. "But from now on, I'll be taking you with me."

Lucy blushed but shook her head lightly to keep her mind straight. Honestly, Natsu had been giving her mind and heart a bad influence. "Aren't you mad, Natsu?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "And why would I be mad?"

"All about this political marriage…" Lucy shrugged. "And our countries have been enemies for a long time."

"And?"

"And… I don't know. Don't you have any doubts or dislike about this whole political marriage?" Lucy asked.

Natsu didn't answer right away and instead stared at Lucy for a few seconds. He then smiled and lifted Lucy's chin with his hand. He leveled her chocolate orbs with his own dark green eyes. "Have you been thinking about this?"

Lucy gulped down nervously. Natsu's eyes had always managed to send her heart into running so fast. It was drowning her, but she wouldn't complain.

One of many reasons of why Lucy was sure she had fallen in love with her betrothed.

"I—I have. Since the first time I came?" Lucy squeaked.

"And you never told me before?" Natsu asked back.

"I—I just did. Right?"

Natsu let out a small laugh. "If you're Jenny, then yeah, I got a whole lot of complaints about this political marriage."

Lucy blinked her eyes in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Natsu leaned in closer and Lucy froze. Their noses were in the verge of touching and Lucy could smell Natsu's smoky scent. It made her head spun harder and Lucy felt she was about to pass out.

Not to mention her heart that was beating so much faster than its usual rate. Could falling in love with someone caused a heart disease?

Little did Lucy know that Natsu's own heart was beating like crazy itself. Lucy's sweet smell was intoxicating and her big chocolate eyes were so beautiful for him. Now Natsu really started to reconsider about his own terms of postponing the marriage for three years. With each day passed, his desire to have Lucy as his wife grew.

And he didn't even think of how much his older brother would laugh if he knew how much Natsu wanted to get married with Lucy. Lucy had taken his heart the moment he laid his eyes on her. Everything about her enchanted him.

"I don't have any complaints about this marriage because you are my betrothed." Natsu said. "I'm pretty sure I fell in—"

"Stop." Lucy put a finger on his lips. Fear flashed in her eyes for a moment but Natsu realized that. "Don't say that word. We—we still have three years to know each other better, right? L—let's just take things nice and slow."

Natsu blinked but then he let out a chuckle. He pinched Lucy's nose lightly. "Okay. But you get to hear what I have to say in the next three years."

Lucy let out a small sigh as her heart was back to its unusual rhythm. "Natsu, I—"

Her words were swallowed down as Natsu cupped her cheeks. He bore his eyes on hers once more and smiled. "I'm sure what I feel won't go away, Lucy. And I know it will grow. So, you owe me your ears in the next three years since you cut me off earlier."

Lucy forced down tears from rolling down. "Natsu, how can you be so sure?"

Natsu grinned. "I just do."

Lucy entered the automatic mode after that. She greeted the king and the queen of the Sand Country along with Natsu, but her mind wasn't exactly there. When she was brought into her room, her mind hadn't returned properly either. She couldn't shake away what Natsu had said in the carriage from her mind.

Lucy didn't exactly know what Natsu was about to say, but she didn't dare to hope either. She knew her feelings for Natsu, but she didn't have any courage to think that he felt the same. She was so scared Natsu would say the word of 'love' to her, because she knew Natsu would hate her for life when he knew the real intention behind the treaty offer.

When Lucy knew Natsu's intention to postpone the marriage, she was so glad she didn't have to marry him right away. Not when she had known him for all of his bad rumors. But Natsu caught her heart the moment she laid her eyes on him. He was so much more than just being handsome. You can say she was exaggerating, but to her, Natsu was her home.

Love could really mess someone's head so bad.

Which was why Lucy want to keep Natsu's intention to postpone the marriage. No matter how much she loved him, she realized she couldn't have him. Or to be more precise, she didn't deserve him. Natsu deserved someone so much better than her. He deserved a real princess. She was an unwanted child, hated by her family, and she didn't have any rights as an heiress. And she was here as a spy. Didn't matter how much she hated the idea and how she lied in her reports so far.

Lucy promised herself that she would cease the war between the two countries in the next three years and after that disappeared before the Dragon Country knew she was a spy. She didn't want to embarrass them when the Celestial Country hunted her down as a traitor. She wanted to keep the Dragon Country safe. She wanted to keep Natsu safe.

Which was why Lucy was so scared to have the thought of Natsu falling in love with her. He couldn't do that. She couldn't let that happen. She didn't deserve Natsu. For her, having a one-sided love was the best thing she could ever had in her life, for she knew she could keep Natsu safe that way. She mentally scolded herself inwardly every time she enjoyed Natsu's kindness to her. Or when she let herself drowned in Natsu's whole presence.

But you can be selfish., her inner self would sometimes contradict her logic. The Dragon Country is your home. You have real parents in here. A real family.

NO., Lucy debated. They are way too kind for me. Natsu is way too kind for me. I don't deserve any of this. I promised to myself that I will protect this country.

Lucy closed her eyes and sighed as the wind gently blew her hair. Natsu's words replayed itself in her mind.

I don't have any complaints about this marriage because you are my betrothed.

Lucy's heart soared when Natsu said that, but she forced it to go down immediately. She reminded herself over and over that she couldn't have her hopes up. That was not what she was supposed to do.

A thought of having Natsu marry someone else flashed in her mind and Lucy sighed once more. Pain stung her heart but she forced her tears to stay inside. No matter how long it would take for her one-sided love—Lucy was determined to keep it that way—to end, Lucy knew Natsu deserved someone else. Someone with a bright past and background, unlike her.

"I hardly recognized the second prince in his wig."

Lucy snapped her eyes open and turned her body around. Her breath choked when she saw Loke was standing there. In her room.

"W—what…"

"Easy." Loke smirked and walked closer to Lucy. Lucy's hands gripped the windows' sill tightly. "I'm just here to talk."

"S—stop." Lucy squeaked. Hibiki's face flashed in her eyes and Lucy's knees buckled. Fear sent shivers along her spine.

Loke obviously ignored Lucy's weak plea and put his own hands beside hers on the windows' sill. He was awfully so close to her, Lucy held her breath out of fear.

"So, tell me, princess." Loke licked his lips. "What should we do now? The bed is right over there and the second prince is still with my king."

Lucy widened her eyes as he could feel Loke's breath on her neck. Just like that time with Hibiki. Lucy closed her eyes in fear as she called a name in her mind.

Natsu.

Done !

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