Author's Note:

Hello peeps! It's time for a new chappie! ;D

As always, HUGE thanks to all my AMAZING reviewers. Big hugs and kisses to: savwafair, stranger1999, Bugseey, sakshishetty3003, SistershoOk, ABT4Life, valerioux, BlazingFringe, Starstruck-MJ, AshleighLeeann17, , Jedi Jelsa777, and NarukoSon.

Alrighty, on with the show!


As usual, Natsu had been able to bring Lucy out of her funk last night. He'd told her amazing stories that captured her imagination, and she ended up coming home late because of it… and of course got thoroughly scolded by Aquarius. But it had been completely worth it. For a while at least, her mind had been taken off her troubles and she'd been able to forget all the sadness that had been plaguing her.

She was able to stay happy for the rest of that night and most of the next day… up until her father summoned her to his study and told her that he had planned another private dinner with a suitor for the following day.

"Tomorrow?" she'd weakly repeated, feeling disappointment settle heavily on her shoulders.

Naturally, that was when she'd planned to meet Natsu and hand out food, so once again she would have to miss those things and spend a miserable evening with people she hated.

"Yes, and I expect you to be on your best behavior. Prince Doranbolt could prove to be a very good match. I'm sure a political marriage with the kingdom of Saffron would greatly increase our trade in magical items."

"I see. Is there anything else?"

His lips pinched together but he didn't say anything about her slightly rude response. "No, that is all. You may go."

She spun on her heel and marched stiffly out of the room without saying another word. Her father was such a jerk and she was happy to get away from him.

For the rest of Monday, she sulked and thought about how she was going to deal with tomorrow's dinner.

The plan she eventually came up with was simple and affective… essentially she just wouldn't talk to whoever showed up. She also didn't intend to stick around after eating. There was no way she was going to be trapped in that parlor again, waiting by herself while her father and suitor were in another room haggling over the price to marry her.

It was something she'd never had the guts to try before, but now things had changed. Making up her mind to leave had given her a major confidence boost where her father was concerned… maybe to a level that wasn't technically smart. She recognized that it had made her a little cocky, because she knew that soon she wouldn't ever have to see his face again… so it didn't really matter anymore if she made him angry. It was also probably only natural that a rebellious streak had come awake alongside her newfound self-assurance, and it wasn't exactly a surprise that she found herself wanting to fight back against him.

All the anger she'd bottled up over the years was finally coming out, and now she was overflowing with resentment for everything he had put her through. It was all his fault that her life had been miserable up to this point, and now she had to leave her friends and family behind because of him… why the hell would she want to do anything that would make that man happy? She was done playing along with his games and pretending that any of it was her choice.

Day 23 (Tuesday)

Her irritation lasted late into the night as well, making it difficult to sleep and definitely not doing her temper any favors. The next morning, not only was she still unhappy and angry, but she was also tired.

That really didn't put her into the mood to socialize, and she was even more determined to not go along with her father's arrangements.

As such, when dinner finally rolled around later that evening, she put her plan into action and refused to interact with her 'guest.' Instead, she just smiled politely and stayed quiet as she watched him flounder around by himself. It wasn't her finest moment… she didn't like being rude and making Prince Doranbolt feel uncomfortable. He actually did seem like a decent guy and she felt bad for him. If given the chance, she would have liked to apologize and explain that he was just unwittingly caught up in the middle of a battle of wills between her and her father, but she doubted she would ever see him again.

Eventually, his awkward attempts to start up a conversation with her trickled to a stop – at which point her father engaged him, after shooting her a furious glare.

The atmosphere at the table was tense and uncomfortable for the rest of their meal, and that tension only increased as she continued to ignore any attempts to get her to talk. It was almost unbearable by the time the last course was placed in front of her, and at that point she couldn't stand it any longer.

She stood after barely touching her dessert and forced her voice to sound completely calm as she stated, "If you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I'm afraid I have other business to attend to."

King Heartfilia's eyes were wide with shock and mounting rage as they met hers. "Lucy, sit back down this instant. Dinner isn't over yet, and I insist that you entertain our guest afterwards."

"Unfortunately I must decline."

Lucy's heart was racing in her chest as she said 'no' to her father for the very first time, and she was a little worried she might pass out from hyperventilation. That would be a fine way to stand up herself… not.

The unbridled fury in her father's eyes rose to a level she'd never seen before, and she almost buckled under the fear that tried to pound her into the ground. Thankfully the adrenaline that flooded her body made her a little loopy and helped keep the terror down to a dull roar.

"Lucy Heartfilia…" Jude growled, his voice trembling and low with malice.

Somehow, she managed to paste a smile on her lips, despite them feeling somewhat numb. And then, she curtsied and turned, walking out of the dining room with her head held high.

"GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"

At the bellow, she barely suppressed a flinch and refused to look back at what was probably a terrifying sight. Instead, she kept walking and exited the room with all her dignity intact. As soon as she was out of sight though, she nearly collapsed, panting hard for breath and feeling sweat trickle in thick lines down her neck and chest. Her legs felt wobbly and weak, and she almost had to sit down right then and there, but a quick hand to the wall helped her regain her balance. The stone was cool against her skin as she pressed her forehead to it, taking some deeper breaths to steady herself.

So much for being cocky…

Everything was trembling inside her, and she couldn't tell if she was giddy, terrified, or numb. A small giggle escaped her throat, quickly followed by a snort as she realized that she probably sounded unhinged.

After a short rest, she shook herself back together and hastily headed towards her chambers. The last thing she wanted right now was for her father to find her so easily if he came looking for her. He would have to summon her if he wanted to speak to her, and she intended to refuse his summons… at least until she was sure that their 'guest' had left.

When Aquarius finally did come to her room several hours later, Lucy had already asked Brandy to help her out of the fancy dinner dress and take down her hair. She wore a simple shift dress instead and was comfortably curled up on her chaise lounge reading…. not that she'd been able to get fully engrossed in her story, since her stomach kept trying to tie itself into knots.

"Lucy… your father wants to see you."

She looked up, noting Aquarius's unusually solemn and tight expression.

"I'm sure he does," she replied evenly, forcing her voice to stay level. "Is Prince Doranbolt gone?"

"He just left a few minutes ago."

"Good." Her book snapped closed and she lightly placed it on the spindly table next to her lounge as she stood. "Then I'll come talk to him."

Aquarius nodded and accompanied her to the king's office. The doors were open for once, and his eyes snapped up to meet hers as soon as she stood in front of him. He silently waved for Aquarius to leave, and the guards closed the doors behind her. Then Lucy was left alone with her father… who was more furious than she'd ever seen him.

There was a long moment of silence so cold that she wondered how the temperature in the room remained survivable. It took all of her new strength to keep looking calm in the face of his piercing glare, and she latched her fingers together in front of her to keep them from trembling. Right now, she was very glad that looks couldn't kill, otherwise she would have been dead the instant she walked in the room.

"You wished to see me?"

He made no effort to respond and launched into his own conversation without acknowledging her question. "What precisely were you thinking?"

His tone could have cut her to the bone if it was even a tiny bit more substantial.

She took a quiet deep breath and braced herself. "As I said, I had other things to do with my time."

"What things could possibly be more important than properly courting your suitor?!" he asked, only a hair away from shouting. She also noticed that his hands gripped the edge of his desk, and it was probably the only thing keeping him in his seat.

"You've made it abundantly clear that I have nothing to do with the process of finding a husband. In fact, you essentially told me to 'butt out' the last time we conversed about it. So, as far as I'm concerned, it's a waste of my energy to have anything to do with the matter."

She was downright stunned that she'd managed to get those words out while still sounding calm. It was an incredible rush… but also terrifying.

When he abruptly stood and slammed his palms into the top of his desk, she flinched but held her ground and kept eye contact with him, even though she desperately wanted to look at anything other than his furious face.

"How DARE you be so DISRESPECTFUL?!" he roared, a blood vessel pounding in his forehead. "WHAT has gotten INTO you?!"

There wasn't really anything to say to that, so she kept quiet and just watched him heave for breath and glare at her.

After a heated moment, he snarled, "You WILL entertain the suitors I choose for you. None of them will make marriage proposals if you don't woo their interest. As I've repeatedly TOLD you… it's your DUTY to act the perfect wife… converse with them, attract them with your wiles, play music for them… whatever it takes to make them want you."

There was another poignant pause as she considered his words, and then she licked her lips and cleared her throat to make sure her voice continued to come out even and calm in the face of his fury. "Why should I? There's nothing in this arrangement that benefits me. And I'm tired of pretending that any of this is what I want."

His eyes very nearly bugged out of his head as he silently mouthed some of the words she'd just spoken. Implosion was inevitable, and she could see it coming from a mile away… building under his skin and making him nearly vibrate with rage until his blood vessels all stood in stark relief. He was out from behind the desk and stalking towards her so fast that she couldn't properly process it. Without meaning to, she began to back up, her feet registering the danger before she could make the conscious decision to hold her ground.

Halfway across the room, her brain finally kicked back into gear, and she realized that she was letting him intimidate her – which was precisely what she'd decided wouldn't happen again. So, despite her muscles shivering with fear, she dug her heels in and met him head-on. He stopped inches from her, looming and leaning in much too close.

"You think you can disobey me?" he hissed in her face, his voice soft and deadly and more chilling for the change. "I am your father and your king. My word is law. You have no power… no say in any of these matters."

Though her knees felt weak, she held his lethal gaze and somehow managed to say, "Perhaps not ultimately, but I can still refuse to attend whatever functions you arrange. Unless you plan to have the guards physically drag me to the dining hall or ballroom."

That seemed to be the last straw, and she saw his control snap a second before his hand lashed out and cracked solidly across her cheek with a sound that nearly deafened her. She hadn't anticipated the blow, much less the strength behind it, and she was caught off balance and unprepared. Pain snapped through her cheek, lip, and jaw where his hand had landed, and she felt as if a bomb had exploded in her face. Her head whipped to the side and her body followed, sending her staggering a step before falling – until he yanked her to a halt by grabbing her forearm. She still went to one knee though and cradled her burning cheek with her free hand, making sure to turn her face away from him to hide the way her eyes welled up from pain.

He didn't allow that though, and yanked harder on her arm, setting her shoulder and elbow on fire as he twisted. The way he pulled made her joints scream in protest and the only way to relieve it was to stand. But even after she stood, he kept her arm at an unnatural angle, making her cringe and hunch her body to try and reduce the tension in her muscles and tendons.

It was designed to force her to cower in front of him.

As soon as she perceived that, a fire sparked to life inside her spirit. Her wavering strength returned, and though the fear and pain were still very present, they were dominated by her desire to win. For once in her life, she was finally taking a stand, and she didn't want it to stop here. She'd come so far… and she was terrified that if she broke now, she would never try again. That thought was more frightening than anything he could possibly do to her right now.

She yanked her head up and locked eyes with him, gritting her teeth against the pain. There was nothing she could do to keep tears from spilling down her cheeks, but she could still glare at him through them. He met her stare and his eyes widened again before narrowing back into a glare. His lips pinched into a thin severe line as his grip tightened even more on her forearm.

Instead of letting the pain force her body into a bow, she slowly straightened her back as much as she possibly could and strained against his hold.

"I'm surprised you're willing to damage the goods you're trying to sell…" she managed to grit out between her clenched teeth.

His eyes burned and for a long moment he held her there, both of them suspended dangerously in a frozen moment. And then, with a disgusted sound, he threw her from him, which sent her tumbling into a nearby table that held a large decorative vase.

She, the table, and the vase all crashed to the ground.

More pain shot through various parts of her body as she landed on the piece of furniture. The rounded edge broke her fall by slamming into her ribs, and she couldn't help but cry out at the blow that nearly winded her. The brief thought that she was very glad it didn't have any corners shot through her mind, but she didn't have time to think about it for long. A zap of quick agony shot through her hurt arm as she tried to stop her fall with both hands, and she ended up tumbling to her side. Her hip protested as it hit the ground, but most of her momentum had already been blunted by the table and her hands.

After everything settled and the last tinkle of broken ceramics stopped, a thick suffocating silence settled over the room. Lucy lay still, listening to her breathing and pounding heartbeat as she took inventory of the various aches throbbing throughout her body in the aftermath. She didn't think her arm was broken, but it definitely hurt, and she was going to have some fantastic bruises on her side.

When she gingerly raised her head to look at the situation, she noted with relief that the vase had been thrown far enough away that its broken remains hadn't sliced her up. Unfortunately, when she gingerly pushed herself into a sitting position, one lone shard cut her palm. She hissed and flinched a little at the unpleasant surprise and jerked her hand up to eye the thin line of blood oozing there. After staring at it blankly for a moment, she sighed and dropped her palm back to the ground as she carefully maneuvered her legs under her so she could stand.

She stayed facing away from her father for a moment after getting to her feet and took the time to shake any remaining debris out of her skirts. Then, with a deep bracing breath, she turned to face him… the sound of one ceramic shard crunching under her shoe echoing eerily through the quiet room.

Jude Heartfilia still stood in the same place, glaring at her and huffing puffing like a train.

His face was just a tight mask of anger at first, but as his eyes darted from her to the table and broken vase, shock and disgust took over his expression. He visibly wrestled his temper back under control, obviously not happy about losing it like that.

For a long moment, they faced off across the distance that he'd thrown her… the silence between them thick and uncomfortable. At this point, there wasn't much for either of them to say.

With a few light tugs, he had straightened his clothes and put himself back together, and then his face turned into a mask of cold, angry stone. He spun on his heel and returned to sit behind his desk, once again looking the part of a king ruling his kingdom instead of an out-of-control parent raging at his child.

"It seems that I've wasted my money on tutors, since you apparently don't have the mental capacity to understand basic things. Such a shame… your mother had both beauty and intellect. It's unfortunate you couldn't be more like her. She fulfilled her roll with grace and dignity."

Her heart clenched at his carefully tailored barb, and she barely controlled her wince. Before she could say anything in retaliation though, he was continuing.

"Let me make this simple so that you can understand it. Everything you have is something that I've given to you. Your freedom to come and go at will from this castle, your monetary allowance, your current accommodations, even your maids… all of that can be revoked. I can make it so that you never leave your chamber again until your wedding day. If pressed, I might even lock you away in a cell."

The thought of being imprisoned sent a splinter of fear through her, and she tensed, realizing that there were lines here that shouldn't be crossed. And yet, somehow it got even worse.

Her father leveled an even and confident stare at her, one smug enough that she knew he had an ace up his sleeve. "And, as I understand it, you are quite fond of certain staff members. None of the people who work in this castle are irreplaceable. With just a few words, I can have anyone dismissed and make it very hard for them to find another job in this kingdom. Do you understand?"

Ice settled in her chest, and she gritted her teeth, knowing that this round went to him. There was no way she would risk what he was currently threatening, so she would have to tread more lightly around him.

Frustration coated her insides, making her stomach feel sour with it, and her nails bit into the cut on her palm as she clenched her fists. Though she had spent most of her life angry at this man, right now she couldn't remember a single time she'd hated him more fiercely.

"I see," she snapped, her voice tight and clipped.

He smiled, though there was nothing pleasant about the expression and it quickly melted back into his normal carefully controlled mask. "Good. I'm glad we understand each other."

She glared at him for a few more seconds and then spun on her heel, sending a few ceramic pieces skittering across the floor.

"Then, if that's all you have to say to me, I'll be on my way."

"Very well. Just remember this conversation for the future."

"Oh, I will…." she hissed under her breath as she finished stalking out of the room.

Aquarius and Brandy were both waiting for her on the other side of the door, and she saw their eyes widen when they spotted the bruise already turning dark on her cheek. Without saying a word, they sandwiched her between them and walked her back to her room.

A few minutes into the walk, Lucy's rage turned to tears, and she was desperately grateful that Aquarius's glare could scare off anyone who stared too long at her.

.

Meanwhile, Natsu was sitting on her balcony again, waiting impatiently for her to get back to her room. He was cross-legged and his knees kept bouncing as he silently hurried her up. Since she hadn't shown up today, he figured she'd probably had another situation with her father and/or one of the jerks that wanted to marry her.

It made him antsy and itchy.

So when the door opened, he shot to his feet and almost barreled into the room without thinking. He skidded to a halt in front of the glass door with a cuss though when he saw Brandish and the blue-haired maid with her.

"Damnitall…" he hissed as he skipped back a couple steps.

Lucy shouted, "Damn it!" at the same time, and he twitched and stared through the glass in surprise.

For a crazy second he thought she was answering him, but then he quickly realized that she had other stuff on her mind.

Every muscle in his body tensed up as he got a good look at her, and his palms became dangerously hot. She had a huge shiner on her cheek where someone had obviously hit her – hard – and her clothes were all fucked up and ripped in a few places. A red stain on her skirt got his attention real quick, and then he saw the nasty black and blue bruise on her forearm in the clear shape of a hand.

She was crying and her eyes were wild as she screamed, "Damn it!" again. Her sobs looked downright painful, and she obviously couldn't catch her breath because she was gasping for it.

The two maids let her go when she yanked away from them, and she staggered over to the chair in front of a table piled high with makeup and other girly shit. Her hands clamped down on the back of the chair and she leaned hard against it, nearly bent double like she was gonna puke. Then she flinched and yanked her bruised arm back against her.

After a second, she seemed to lose her strength and sank to the floor behind the chair as her sobs got even harder. She ended up on her knees with her arms wrapped around her middle like she was trying to hold herself together… or like her ribs were killing her.

"Shit," he spat, and as soon as the shock wore off he started moving.

He busted through the glass doors and was halfway across the room before he'd decided to do it.

"What the… who are you?!" the blue-haired woman barked.

"That's Natsu… he's Lucy's secret boyfriend," Brandy replied, and he didn't bother to correct her.

"WHAT?! She has a boyfriend?! And he's been sneaking into her room?!"

He ignored all the screeching, because his attention was totally focused on Lucy. He reached her in a few seconds and immediately slammed down on his knees next to her.

"Lucy … hey … what happened?" he asked, trying to make his voice gentle even though he felt like committing murder.

She just shook her head, so he turned to the other two and demanded, "What the fuck happened?!"

The blue-haired one was shooting him super nasty looks, but he didn't even give a damn.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you're trespassing in this castle, and if you don't leave immediately I'm going to call the guards."

"Don't."

Lucy's soft voice drew all their attention, and the crazy one pursed her lips like she'd just sucked on a lemon. Then she shot Natsu a disgusted look and sighed, "Fine. I'll deal with you myself then."

With a wave of her arms, she summoned arcs of water outta nowhere, and Natsu felt his eyes widen with surprise. Before he had time to dodge, a jet of water punched him in the face and knocked him away from Lucy. He managed to flip around and land on his feet, but immediately had to throw himself to the side to avoid the next shot.

While he was still on the ground, another bullet of water hit him, this time in the stomach, and it sent him skidding right outta the door onto the balcony. He slammed into the stone railing and his head cracked back against it, making him see stars.

He was really tempted to fight back, but he knew that Lucy wouldn't like it if he hurt her maid so he held back.

He dodged again as another shot of water came at him, trying to knock him right over the balcony probably, and he sent the crazy woman a nasty look. This psycho water mage better ease up a bit, or shit was gonna go down. His body temperature was already dangerously high and he was having a tough time keeping it under control.

Before he could make a stupid mistake, Lucy interrupted them again. "Stop! Both of you… just… stop fighting… please."

The water mage scowled at her. "Either I get rid of him, or I'm calling the guards, and you already said no to that. So make up your mind!" she snapped, and Natsu growled, wanting to tell her to leave off. Lucy already looked like she was broken, she didn't need anyone yelling at her right now.

"Fine…" Lucy grumbled, and then she looked at him and he felt himself shudder at the sight of her puffy wet face. "Natsu, please just go. We'll talk tomorrow."

He gritted his teeth, fighting down the urge to tell her, 'no way in hell.' But it was obvious that he was causing her problems, and that wasn't what he wanted to be doing right now. She looked miserable enough as it was.

So he backed off, even though it was the last thing he wanted to do.

Throwing his hands up to show he surrendered, he grumbled, "Alright, alright… I'll leave."

He shot another nasty look at the blue-haired mage, and then turned and hopped over the balcony.

"Hmph, good riddance," she said from above him and he heard the glass doors close.

"Yeah right… like I'm just gonna up and go like that…" he muttered under his breath, and eyeballed the scenery for a place to hide until the maids had gone.

As far as he could tell, the only place to hide from the guards was on her balcony, so he turned back around and climbed up the wall again. Before he jumped onto the actual balcony though, he carefully poked his head over the railing to see if anyone was near the doors. He grinned when he saw the closed curtains and thought to himself that the crazy maid had done him a favor.

Without wasting any time, he heaved himself over the railing and snuck up to the doors, listening close so that he could jump off the balcony again if he heard anyone coming. Thankfully their voices were muffled – which told him they were away from the glass – and that made him feel like it was safe enough to get right up against the doors.

He got as close as he could and hunted all over to find a little crack in the curtains that he could peek through. When he finally found one, it was kinda close to the ground and he ended up in a really awkward crouched position, but he didn't really care as long as it let him look into the room. All he could see were the lower half of their legs as they walked around, but it gave him something to do as he waited for Lucy to be alone.

He also strained his ears to try and hear what they were talking about, and from what he could tell, it sounded like that blue-haired maid was giving Lucy some kinda intense lecture. Damn, that woman was scary… she was almost as fierce as Erza… and he felt bad for Lucy and kinda pissed at the maid for fussing at her right now.

He caught most of what she was saying, because her voice was so freakin' loud, but he couldn't hear a lot of what Lucy said in reply.

"- isn't your boyfriend then who is he?!... … … What?! You mean he's not even from around here?! … … … Well who is he? Where's he from? What's he doing here? … … … You haven't asked him for details?! … … … That's no excuse! How do you know he's not here to kidnap you?! … … … You don't know that! He could be playing you! You're an easy target because you're so inexperienced! … … … All of that could easily be lies … … … I don't trust him! … … … Be quiet, Brandish! … … … Of course I don't trust him! I don't know him! … …. … Are you sure? He didn't seem like he was acting? … … …"

Apparently Brandy was speaking up for him, and he thanked his lucky stars that he'd met her. The fussy one seemed to believe her more than Lucy, which kinda seemed unfair. But he wasn't really angry with her anymore, 'cause the longer he listened, the more he could tell that she really did care a lot about Lucy and was just worried about her. Again, she reminded him of Erza and all the times she'd scolded him when he messed up.

When he actually thought about it, he finally figured out that this had to be that cranky aunt person… 'Query Oz,' or whatever her name was. She fit the bill perfectly: pissy, bossy, and weirdly caring.

After a while she calmed down a little, and he had to really struggle to keep listening in. Eventually it bugged him enough that he very, very carefully reached up and cracked the door just a hair so he could keep eavesdropping.

"- both sure that he's someone who can be trusted… then I suppose there's nothing more to say. But you should still be careful."

"I know, I know…" Lucy mumbled, sounding super tired.

There was a pause, then he saw her dress drop to the ground and she stepped out of it. The silence after that was so thick that he could feel the tension from outside, and he figured she must've just uncovered another bruise. He desperately wished he could see higher up than her knees so he could eyeball it too, but since he couldn't do that, he got even closer to the crack and strained even harder to hear what they were saying.

Brandish was quiet, but after a second Aquarius hissed, "What happened?"

She sounded like she wanted to do some serious damage to whoever hurt Lucy, and he was right there with her.

"I fell."

"Onto what? It looks like someone took a bat to your ribs."

Natsu winced in sympathy and felt his rage reach an all-time high. Someone had really beat the shit outta Lucy and he desperately wanted to do ten times as much damage to them.

It took Lucy a second, but she finally said, "I knocked over a table and landed on the rim."

"Ah, that explains it."

Then things went quiet again, and he figured they were probably bandaging her up or something.

That hunch turned out to be right when he heard Aquarius ask Brandish to get her a poultice.

"Um… we're running low, Mistress… should I make a note to buy more?"

Natsu's eyebrow cocked at the way Brandish talked to the older woman. That definitely wasn't something he'd expected, but he shrugged it off and kept focusing on the conversation.

"Of course!" Aquarius snapped, and then fussed at Lucy, "If you'd just let your wrist heal, we wouldn't have used so much!"

Lucy immediately protested. "I didn't have a choice! Father insisted that I keep playing violin, and I couldn't just stop handing out food!"

"Pushing that heavy cart around with a sprained wrist was just idiotic."

"But I didn't! Natsu has pushed it for me ever since we met."

"Hmph… well at least he's been useful for something."

A second later, she added, "And how long have you known him exactly?"

"Three weeks now."

"Tsk, and you think you're in love with him already? A few weeks isn't long enough to tell the difference between infatuation and lasting love."

"I know the difference between a crush and love," Lucy snapped, actually sounding irritated.

He blinked and then grinned, now even more interested in this conversation. He was eager to hear what she thought about him.

"Oh really? And exactly how do you know such a thing when you've never experienced either before?"

"I have experienced both! I had a crush on him first, and then it deepened into love!"

"And how do you know it didn't just deepen into a stronger infatuation?" Aquarius scoffed.

"Well maybe it did, but it would have to be a very strong infatuation if that was the case."

"I'm still unconvinced. Infatuations can be very strong."

And then Lucy launched into a list that had Natsu's eyes nearly popping out of his skull and his heart racing.

"I can't stop thinking about him… and when we're together, I'm so aware of him that I feel tingly all over. Sometimes it feels like I can't catch my breath or my heart is going to explode because it's beating so fast. And I blush and get flustered at the smallest things – he can just touch my hand and I'm a complete mess."

"That all sounds like infatuation. I haven't heard anything that suggests love yet."

Lucy made a frustrated sound that would have made Natsu laugh if his heart wasn't pounding in his ears.

"Alright! Then how about this?! He makes me happier than I've ever been! He makes me laugh! Really laugh! And I haven't laughed like that in what feels like forever. I love being around him, because he's always happy. He's always smiling and laughing…. The only times I've ever seen him really upset are when I've been hurt or upset by something."

She paused to take a huge breath that even he could hear outside the door, and then she kept at it, apparently trying to list every single thing she felt about him in one go.

"Sure, he annoys the heck out of me sometimes… he can be insanely dumb and impulsive, and he has the patience and attention span of a gnat… but I can't ever stay mad at him for long, because then he'll do something ridiculous that makes me smile. He just says whatever pops into his head and does whatever he wants. It's so refreshing to be around someone who's completely honest and just themselves. I love that about him. I love that he doesn't have any frills and doesn't try to hide who he is or what he wants. You know exactly what you're getting when you deal with him."

She laughed breathlessly and then gulped in some more air before continuing her rant.

"It almost feels like we've known each other for years. Being with him is as easy as breathing, because I totally trust him, and just being around him makes me feel comfortable and safe. When we're together I feel like nothing can hurt me. I can't explain how right it feels to be with him… like we were meant to be together. I've never put much stock in soul mates, but that's literally what it feels like. I just… if I don't love him, I don't know what's going on, because that's the only possible explanation I can come up with for how I feel about him."

And then she finally seemed to be done, because she stopped talking and started panting.

He guessed that she really cared a lot about Aquarius too, because it was obvious that she wanted the grumpy woman's blessing or something.

As for him, he also felt a little out of breath, like she'd just winded him. He didn't really know what to think about some of the things she'd said about him… he kinda felt like he should be insulted about her calling him dumb and stuff, but somehow he wasn't. Mostly he just thought it was funny because she'd nailed him down perfectly. It was pretty impressive how well she knew him already.

But overall, he was just blown away by how she felt about him. Hearing that he made her so happy – and all the other awesome things she'd said – made him almost wanna cry, and he didn't even know why. He wasn't really used to tearing up over good stuff, but right now he was definitely a little wet around the eyes.

His attention snapped back to them when Aquarius sighed and said, "Alright… you've convinced me. It really does look like you've fallen in love with this man. I just hope he returns your feelings and doesn't betray you."

"He won't. He's not that kind of person."

"If you say so."

There was another awkward pause, and then Aquarius suddenly asked, "I suppose you intend to run away with him before your father marries you off?"

Natsu jerked, shocked by how perceptive this woman was.

"… yes." Lucy finally responded softly. "He's told me that he can take me somewhere where I'll be safe from my father."

"Anywhere outside of Lampro Capnia would probably work… but if anyone found out who you really are, you could be in danger of being caught. The king will likely put out a bounty for your return."

"Yeah… I'll have to be very careful, that's for sure."

"You definitely will. But for now, you should go ahead and rest."

Apparently they'd finished dealing with Lucy's injuries, because he saw the bottom of her nightgown drop down to her ankles. And suddenly Natsu was very antsy and eager to get in there and talk to her himself. He held his breath as the maids fussed around for a little while, and then everything in him tensed up as he saw their feet head towards the door. It was out of his sight though, so he had to wait and listen hard for the click of it opening and closing.

As soon as he heard it, he cracked the balcony door open a little more and peeked through the curtains, checking to make sure they'd actually left. He launched into the room when he decided that the coast was clear… and that startled a yelp from Lucy, who'd already gotten in bed. She sat up super-fast and then winced and groaned, grabbing her side where he'd bet she had that big bruise Aquarius was talking about.

"N-Natsu!? What are you doing back here?!" she hissed, her eyes shooting to the closed door.

"Come on, Lucy, I wasn't just gonna leave without finding out what happened," he snorted, thinking she was weird for thinking anything else.

She sighed and gave him a look that was equally tired, pissed, and amused. "You're such a handful…"

He grinned and shot back, "But that's what you love about me right?"

For a second she started to laugh, but then her eyes went wide and she choked. "Uh… how long have you been outside? Did you hear us talking?"

Ah. That explained why she looked so freaked out. She'd just realized that he overheard her little rant.

He huffed a breath and rolled his eyes up to check out the ceiling for a second, wondering if there was any particular way he should say this. Coming up with nothing, he shrugged to himself and figured he'd just say it and see what happened.

He dropped his gaze back down to her so he could watch her reaction and said, "Yeah, I heard you."

She immediately turned bright red and her eyes flicked off to the side as she bit her lip.

"… oh…" she finally squeaked, and he felt his lips twitching with a smile that he figured was a little inappropriate right now.

Instead of chuckling, he cleared his throat and said, "If it makes ya feel any better… I feel the same."

Then he quickly checked himself and tacked on, "Well, except for thinking you're dumb and impulsive and stuff."

She turned even redder and her big eyes shot back to him as she started waving her arms around. That made her flinch though and she quickly stopped and cradled one arm against her chest.

"I didn't… I wasn't… I didn't intend to… I didn't mean that you…. I… uh…" she stammered, obviously freaked out, and this time he couldn't hold back his snort of amusement. She was just too damn silly.

"Yeah you did, and I don't blame ya. I know I can be real stupid sometimes, so it's cool."

He shrugged and smiled, and then he let his grin get wider and impulsively added, "Anyways, you've got your bad habits too, ya know. Like…. you overthink everything and make stuff way too complicated. And you blame yourself for everything even when it's not your fault – you gotta stop doin' that by the way – and you beat yourself up way too much. And uh… let's see…. Oh yeah! You've got a violent streak, but I kinda like that so I don't really think it's a bad thing.…"

He trailed off and squinted, trying to think of anything else to add.

During the pause, she huffily asked, "Anything else?"

At that, he looked at her and almost busted out laughing, 'cause she was pouting so hard he wondered how her cheeks hadn't exploded. She'd puffed them out and was pursing her lips at him. He had the sudden urge to lightly slap his hands on her cheeks and see if all that air would make a 'pththttoo' sound as it came outta her mouth.

But of course he wouldn't 'cause she had a big bandage taking up one whole cheek… and that reminded him why he was here.

When the smile dropped off his face, she stopped pouting and shot him a concerned look.

That was another thing about Lucy that he loved… she always seemed to be really in tune with his moods. He was kinda amazed by it actually.

"So what happened?"

She blinked, and then shook her head. "What do you – oh. You mean tonight?"

He nodded as she lightly touched her bruised cheek.

"I'd rather keep talking about my bad qualities than talk about that," she groaned, rolling her eyes. "Why the sudden change of topic?"

He shrugged, and then his feet had carried him over to the bed and he was plopping down on the foot of it. She flinched and pulled her legs up to sit cross-legged at the head so he had more room.

"I dunno. You were pouting, and your cheeks were all puffed up… and the bandage caught my attention."

She sighed and frowned, leaning her head back against the big-ass fancy headboard behind her.

When she didn't say anything for a while, he scooted closer to her and leaned in. "Well, how about who did this to you?"

Her lips pinched together and she glanced to the side again, like she couldn't hold his stare.

"Luuucy… please talk to me. I'm goin' crazy over here. Was it one of your suitors? Did someone try to force a kiss on you or something? Come on, please tell me what happened or I'm gonna explode."

At first he didn't think she was gonna respond, but then she took a breath and he leaned forward some more, listening close.

"… It was my father. He…" she winced and her hand came back up to cover her bandaged cheek, like she was remembering it.

Meanwhile Natsu was seeing red. The thought had occurred to him that it might've been her dad, but he hadn't wanted to think that she'd been dealing with physical abuse as well as emotional.

But he knew that getting mad wasn't going to make her wanna talk to him, so he forced his voice to stay steady as he asked, "What'd he do?"

"He backhanded me," she said simply, still refusing to look at him… like she was ashamed or something.

"And your arm?"

"He stopped me from falling by grabbing my arm."

Another little explosion went off in his head and he had to take a couple of deep breaths to keep his shit together. If she'd been falling, then that bastard had hit her hard.

After clearing his throat a couple of times, he risked asking, "And I'm guessing he didn't grab you just to keep you from falling. So what'd he do next?"

She sucked in a deep breath and then let it out in a quick puff that sounded really stressed. Her eyes met his for a few seconds, and then she leaned her head back against the headboard again and closed her eyes.

The next time she spoke, her voice was resigned but a bit steadier… like she'd decided that she was okay with talking to him about this.

"You would be right about that. He yanked me back to my feet and then twisted my arm, which kept me off balance."

Then she paused and her lips curved up into a smirk that surprised him. "He didn't win though."

He blinked, realizing he was seeing something in her he hadn't before. She'd definitely gotten a lot more confident, and he wondered if it came from the fact that she was finally planning to leave this hellhole. He was eager to see more of that side of her, but first he wanted to hear about what her asshole of a dad had done to her.

"So what happened then?"

She shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, but the way she crinkled up her nose said it was. "He threw me across the room. I crashed into a table, and it fell over with me on top of it. A huge vase fell too, but most of the pieces ended up away from me. I cut my hand on one shard though when I got back up."

She raised her hand and he eyeballed the bandage on her palm. Once again he could feel his temperature rising as he got madder and madder, but somehow he forced it back down.

"Did he do anything else to you?" he quietly asked, hating how his voice came out too tense. He definitely sounded like he wanted to kill someone, and that was kinda what he'd been trying not to do.

She cracked an eye to look at him, and then both eyes popped open and her head tilted down again so she could fully eyeball him. Her surprised and slightly frightened expression told him he needed to tone down the murderous vibe a bit, and he glanced away from her and focused on his breathing for a second to chill out.

A thought popped into his head while he was trying to calm down, and he almost asked if her hurt wrist had been her dad's doing too, but he stopped himself at the last second. With the way he was feeling right now, he figured he didn't need any more fuel for the fire. He was pretty sure he knew the answer anyways.

After chilling out a minute or two, he cleared his throat again and managed to ask pretty calmly, "So uh… what started this whole thing anyways? What got your old man so pissed?"

"Ah…. Well, Father decided to throw another dinner party, and I finally decided to stop going along with it."

Natsu whirled back around to look at her in shock, and when he saw her smug grin he nearly felt giddy. "That's awesome! Come on, give me more, what'd you do to fuck up dinner?!"

She snickered and the light in her eyes came back. "Basically I refused to talk. Prince Doranbolt didn't know what to do, and I just watched as he kept struggling to start a conversation…. I kind of felt bad for him actually."

He could just imagine it… some idiot making dumb chitchat and getting freaked out by Lucy's silence. The idea was so funny that he busted out laughing, and Lucy joined him.

She sputtered though her chuckles, "A-and then, at the end of the meal, I stood up and said I had other things to do. I thought my father was going to have a heart attack right then and there… he was so shocked and mad."

"Serves him right," Natsu guffawed.

Lucy grinned and nodded, but then she frowned a little and got a look that said she was thinking about something unpleasant… probably what'd happened after that.

"Once Prince Doranbolt left, Father called me to his office to give me a talking to, but he lost his temper when I refused to give in. I'm sure he expected a series of apologies and 'yes sirs' like I've always given him… but tonight I told him what I really thought."

"What'd you say?"

"I basically told him that I wasn't benefiting from this arrangement and I had no reason to continue. I said that he'd already made it clear I didn't have a say in any of it, so he could just find a husband for me without my help."

Then she sighed and drooped, and that new confidence she'd been radiating went away.

Natsu felt his eyebrows knot into a frown as he remembered how upset she'd been when she came into her room. Something had definitely happened to make her unhappy, and he had a hunch it wasn't just getting beat up.

"Did he do something worse than…" he gestured at her body, waving his hand up and down to get everything in the sweep.

"I handled the physical punishment fairly well actually." She paused and huffed a dark little laugh. "I even told him I was surprised he would hurt what he was trying to sell."

All the air in his throat somehow made a knot that he swallowed wrong, and suddenly he was choking on nothing as he tried to figure out what the hell his body was trying to do… laugh, cough, die, suck in air, or all of the above at the same time.

"Holy shi-it… tha-at's an awso-ome comeba-ack…" he sputtered around coughs and laughs.

Her lips quirked and he saw her eyes sparkle for a few seconds before they got dull again. "Thank you… though it was all pointless in the end."

"What do ya mean?"

"He had a trump card I wasn't expecting… though I honestly should have seen it coming."

She sighed again, and he wondered if that much sighing would hurt her throat or something. "I anticipated his threat to lock me up, but I was blindsided when he threatened to fire the staff I'm close to just to punish me. And not only that… he also said that he would make it so they couldn't get another job here… which means they would have to move to another kingdom just to make a living."

His jaw dropped, and for a second his mind went totally blank. Then he felt his brain go 'kaboom' and fury exploded in him as he finally absorbed the stunning information. What was with this guy?! Did he just like being a professional asshole?!

Natsu didn't think he'd ever met anyone who was so totally fucked up, and another urge to go find her old man and do some serious damage struck him upside the head. He'd give just about anything to punch the jerk's lights out… maybe throw him through a couple of walls… or just drop the whole fucking castle down on top of him… that might be fun. Violent fantasies of tearing him apart, pulverizing him, and burning him to a crisp warred in his head.

But then Lucy flinched back, and he realized he was giving off really bad vibes again. Eventually he'd have to show her the nastier sides of himself, but right now she didn't seem all that ready to see them. 'She's just been traumatized and fucked up by her dad,' he reminded himself sternly. 'The last thing she needs is for me to scare the shit outta her.'

So, with a crazy amount of effort that made him feel like he deserved a medal, he wrestled himself back under control. Focusing on her personal wins helped, and he decided he'd better just concentrate on how awesome she'd been instead of how sucky her dad was.

Once he'd calmed down a bit, he cleared his throat for the thousandth time and carefully said, "Let's get outta here, Luce. I can't stand you being around that guy even a second longer."

She blinked at him and gulped. "You mean… right now? This second?"

"Well yeah. Duh. Pack your bags and let's go!" he replied eagerly, more and more sure that this was the right thing to do.

His instincts were screaming at him to leave now, and they'd never steered him wrong before. It was always how he got out of the sticky situations he got himself into.

But Lucy didn't seem to be on board with the idea, because her eyes were plate-sized and she was staring at him like he was crazy.

"Are you insane? I can't just… run away like that! Not without planning! And I haven't even introduced Brandy to all of my contacts or shown her all of my routes! I can't just leave without at least making sure she's completely prepared to take over for me."

A nasty taste settled in his mouth and he felt his nerves tighten. This was a bad idea, but she looked super stubborn.

"Okay… how soon can you get ready? Can you just show her everything in one day?"

"No! You know how many people I get food from and how long my routes are! It would take all day and night to visit everyone and show her everywhere I hand out food."

"Then how long is it gonna take to get her ready?"

"Well… I've already shown her one of four routes, so I guess… three more days? IF I go into town every day… which isn't ideal."

"I don't like it."

The look she gave him was completely unmovable. "Well I'm sorry, but that's the soonest I can leave."

That was too long, but he could already tell he wasn't going to change her mind… unless he just picked her up and dragged her out. Actually, that wasn't an awful idea, and he gave it a good long thought, but eventually he decided not to. He'd wait… for now. But if that feeling in his belly got any worse, he was gonna throw her over his shoulder and get outta here whether she wanted to or not.

"Alright… fine. But as soon as you've shown her that last route, we're heading out. So be ready to leave Friday night."


Sneak Peek

"I…. see," she finally managed, though her voice sounded weaker than she would have liked.

It irked her to no end when her father's eyes glittered, like he was happy to see her distressed, and she realized that he was doing this to punish her for her little rebellion a few days ago. Steeling her spine into a stiff rod, she squared her shoulders and put her chin up, thinking fast. Panic was beating hard and fast inside her, but she caged it to the best of her ability so she could try to think.

Swallowing her pounding heart, she somehow managed to speak calmly. "And has the date been decided on?"

"Yes, we will be wed in three to four days, depending on how long it takes to get back to my kingdom."


Dun, dun, dun, DUN.

It looks like we've got a storm ahead of us folks, better buckle up.