Hello, everyone !

I'm back with the twenty-second chapter :D

I know I made Lucy's life so miserable in here, but just let my imagination roams free :')

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as well !

Disclaimer: I only own this plot

Gray replaced Natsu as the mining supervisor for the rest of the day. When Gray informed him of Lucy's condition, Natsu rushed back to the palace as fast as he could. Gray took his job right away and even made sure Lisanna was there with him and not bothering Natsu. Natsu didn't know how Gray convinced Lisanna to stay at the mine, but he didn't care. He ran to Lucy's room right away and when he entered, the royal doctor was there. Scorpio and Loke were there as well.

"Doctor." Natsu ran to Lucy who was sleeping on her bed. "How is she?"

"Your Highness." The royal doctor bowed down in polite. "Princess Lucy is fine."

"If she's fine, then how come she fainted?" Natsu asked.

"Exhaustion, Your Highness. I think the princess still having a bit difficulty in adapting with our harsh climate." The doctor said. "And she might be stressed out lately."

Natsu's eyes fell. All this problem with Lisanna must have taken its toll on her.

"But she will be fine, Your Highness. I will ask the royal cook to make her some camel porridge. Camel is really good to warm and strengthen one's frail body." The doctor smiled.

"Thank you so much, doctor." Scorpio said.

"Here's a vitamin for the princess." The doctor handed out a small vial to Natsu. "Make sure the princess drinks it every morning. A full teaspoon will suffice. It'll help her to get used to the climate better as well."

Natsu took the vial. "Understood. Thank you very much."

The doctor stood up. "Now then, please excuse me, Your Highness. The princess should be okay by tomorrow, but if she still feels unwell, don't hesitate to call me."

"Will do. Thank you very much, doctor." Natsu bowed down politely. "And thank you to you too, King Scorpio."

"Oh, don't mind about it." Scorpio smiled. "Both your and Princess Lucy's health is my responsibility as well. Along with Lord Gray's and Lady Lisanna's."

"Thank you very much, King Scorpio." Natsu repeated and the king gave him a smile. Scorpio patted Natsu's shoulder softly before heading out of Lucy's room along with Loke.

Natsu looked down at Lucy's face before sitting down on a chair beside her bed. His eyes twitched as he could see her pale face clearly now. He cupped her cheek and smiled weakly.

"Stupid. I almost got a heart attack when Gray told me you fainted." Natsu whispered.

He gave her cheek loving strokes as his mind took him to the memories of these past few days. They've been here for about a week already and it must have taken everything Lucy had to adapt. This was the first time she ever came to the Sand Country after all. Plus, she had to deal with Lisanna every single day.

Natsu took one of her hands and intertwined their fingers as he closed his eyes and laid down his head on the bed. He then closed his eyes and slipped into slumber.

Ten years ago…

An eight years old Lucy sat up on her run-down bed groggily. Her legs had been whipped for the entire night yesterday because she had accidentally made a small hole on Jenny's stockings. Her legs hurt so much but Lucy knew she would just get another beating if she skipped her morning chores, so she forced herself to get up. Luckily, her also run-down dress was long enough to hide those whipping scars.

Lucy tried her best to do her chores and her hard-work paid off. Well, the royals didn't pay attention to her actually because Jose was visiting the country and the royals were busy in welcoming them.

But she made her first mistake when it was lunch time.

Lucy was helping the maids in serving the lunch when Jose took a notice of her.

"Jude, is that the girl?" Jose asked as he peered from the table.

Jude glanced back and scoffed. "Please don't look at her, Jose. You'll ruin your eyes."

Jose chuckled. "Hey, you can't say that, can you? Doesn't matter how embarrassing she is, she's your daughter."

"Oh, please don't use that word to describe her." Eileen smiled. "My husband and I only have one daughter."

"That's me." Jenny added.

Jose rubbed his chin as he stared at Lucy. The latter of course didn't dare to raise her head and just went out of the dining room with the other maids after they had served all the meals.

"Say, Jude, how did you discipline that worm?" Jose asked.

"Whipping." Jude replied as he started eating.

"Oho, I bet you whipped her a lot." Jose's eyes seemed amused.

"Of course. But not too much because I don't want her dead. She'll be my toy for the rest of her life." Eileen added.

"Didn't you lock her up and let her starve to death?" Jose asked.

"Only if I were in the mood for it." Jude shrugged. "Most of the time, I chose whipping because I just like to torture that worm."

"The same as her slut-mother." Jenny giggled.

"But that's not enough, Jude." Jose said. "You have to pressurize her more than that. You know how emotional scars worked much, much better than physical ones."

"Emotional scars?" Jenny raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. For example… Stalking?" Jose smirked.

Jenny scoffed. "Why would you stalk an eight-year-old like her?"

Jude laughed. "I know you're a pedophile but don't tell me that worm caught your attention!"

"She seems so much fun, isn't she?" Jose smiled at Jude. "Can I borrow her?"

"Go ahead." Jude permitted instantly. "But return her to me. My wife needs some entertainment after all. And my children need some stress relief."

"Absolutely." Jose smiled widely. "I'll take care of her very carefully. Sol."

"At your service, Your Majesty." Sol stepped forward and stood beside Jose.

"Take that… What's her name again?"

"Lucy." Jude snorted.

"Right. Take Lucy back into our palace and prepare her for my return." Jose said. "Do not let her leave your sight."

Sol bowed down. "Understood, Your Majesty."

He then went out from the dining room and found Lucy who was helping the maids doing laundry. Sol told Lucy that the king had called her and she followed him in fear. Right when they arrived at the dining room's door, Sol punched Lucy's stomach to knock her out. Sol then called Jose's carriage and put Lucy inside. He told the horseman to bring Lucy back and put her in the king's chamber before going back to the Celestial Country's palace to pick him and the king.

When Lucy came about, she almost yelped as she saw Jose's face was hovering above her. It took her some seconds to realize that she was on a bed. And not only that, she also saw a young girl—probably just one or two years older than her—who was… doing some… explicit things with the king.

"NO!" Lucy shut her eyes tight as her stomach churned.

But Sol thrusted his hands and forced Lucy's eyes to open wide. Jose's face was still hovering above her, grinning so wide as he asked the young girl below him to fasten up her pace. Lucy's small body couldn't move as Jose had pinned her down.

"You're quite pretty." Jose licked his lips.

"N—no!" Tears started to form in Lucy's eyes. "Let me go!"

"Eyes wide open, mademoiselle." Sol said. "You have to watch the king's special performance until the end."

Lucy's tears fell as she screamed in pain when Jose dug his nails onto her skinny hands when the young girl finished her… whatever task that was. Jose lifted his hips as the young girl toppled over and tried so hard not to throw up.

"Drink all of that." Jose ordered, his eyes were still plastered on Lucy. "If you spit even a drop, I'll lock you down in the dungeon for three days straight."

"Nice show, eh?" Sol chuckled. "How do you like it, mademoiselle?"

"P—please… L—let me… UMPH!"

Lucy couldn't bear it anymore and threw up.

"You dare throwing up?!" Jose gave Lucy's cheek a hard slap. "After that good performance I showed you?!"

Lucy's tears fell again as Jose gave her small face a harsh pinch with his hand. He bore his eyes straight into her. "You'll be enjoying this performance for a week and don't you dare throw up. Sol will make sure that your eyes will never be closed for this performance."

And thus, Lucy spend a week in King Jose's chamber to see his special performance. She only got one meal per day and she could only sleep for a few hours. When Lucy came back to the Celestial Country, she couldn't sleep a wink because whenever she closed her eyes, she could feel both Sol and Jose's stares at her.

That was the first time Lucy had ever thought that the whippings she got all this time were so much better than what she experienced in the Phantom Country.

Natsu opened his eyes slowly as he could feel Lucy's fingers twitched. He quickly sat up when he felt the twitching once more and he looked at Lucy.

"Lucy?"

Lucy opened her eyes wide and sat up. Her eyes were wide in fear and she panted. The memory she had of Phantom Country when she was eight years old were one of the memories she tried so hard to forget. Why did that memory suddenly replay itself in her brain?

"Hey." Natsu softly touched her long strands of hair as his eyes scrunched in worry. Did Lucy just have a nightmare?

Lucy glanced at Natsu's hand on her hair, then his worried face, and then their intertwined fingers. She looked back at Natsu's face, her brain was processing.

"Nat…su?"

"Hey." Natsu let out a small smile. "How are you feeling?"

Lucy blinked her eyes then took a good look at the pink-haired man in front of her. "What… What are you doing here? I thought the one that came to me was Gray?"

"Yeah. But then you fainted and he told me. So I rushed back as fast as I can." Natsu answered. "How are you feeling? You're not as pale as before but I guess you just had a nightmare?"

"I… It—it's nothing. Just… Just a memory." Lucy softly shook her head. She then looked at the windows and gasped upon seeing the sun which was pretty low already. "What time is it now? We have to go back!"

"Hey, calm down." Natsu smiled as he cupped her cheek, softly turning her head to him. "I'll let them know that we're not going back today. We're staying here tonight."

Lucy stared blankly. "Stay… Here? Tonight? Why?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I'll let you take a ride back home when you had just fainted?"

"I—I'm fine." Lucy said.

"No, you're not." Natsu said. "Even if you're fine, I don't want you to force yourself. We're going back tomorrow."

"B—but, I—"

"For now, you have to eat." Natsu cut as he placed a bowl on her lap. "Here, eat this. This is a camel porridge."

Lucy stared at the bowl then back at Natsu's face. "Natsu, I'm really fine. A—and besides, you're not supposed to be in here. High Court Lady—"

"I'm here." Natsu cut as he tightened their intertwined fingers. "I'm always here."

"N—Natsu, I—"

"Lucy." Natsu cut again. His deep green eyes which were staring at her made her felt like she was drowning. She unconsciously tightened their intertwined fingers even more, as if she was afraid he would leave. As if she was afraid of losing him. "We'll talk about anything else some other time, okay? For now, you have to eat. I don't want you to faint again. One time fainting was more than enough for me."

Natsu then put a few strands of Lucy's hair behind her ear. "And like I said, I'm always here. I won't leave you, you don't have to be scared."

Upon hearing it, Lucy's chest tightened as her consciousness melted. How could she ever stop falling in love with the guy in front of her if he kept acting this way? Natsu was so sweet and kind, and Lucy could see his sincerity very clearly. It took everything she had to stay away from him when all she ever wanted was to be beside him. Her heart didn't even care if Lisanna objected, but her brain was still taking control of her body.

But now, with their close distance between each other and how warm Natsu's eyes were, even her brain didn't care about anything anymore.

"I—I want you to stay." Lucy croaked.

Natsu was taken aback slightly but he smiled instantly. "And I will. Now finish up your porridge, okay?"

Lucy nodded and started to eat as she asked him about the mining progress. Natsu told her about the progress so far, their intertwined fingers were as tight as ever.

Knock, knock.

Lucy's room door opened softly as Gray peeked his head inside. He caught Lucy's figure who was sitting on the bed and smiled as he stepped in and closed the door. "You're awake?"

Lucy nodded. "Thanks for taking care of me, Gray."

"Don't mind about it." Gray stood beside her bed and glanced at her empty bowl. He nodded in satisfaction. "Yes, yes, an ill patient should eat a lot."

"So, how is it?" Natsu asked.

"Lisanna's back home." Gray grinned. "Well, she wanted to stay—obviously—but I told her that her sister would drag her back home if she stayed. After a few of my arguments here and there, I managed to force her go back home."

Natsu grinned back. "Thanks."

"By the way, I've sent a hawk to give a message to Juvia about our situation, but I think you should contact your family, Natsu. You know, in case Juvia doesn't have time to tell them herself." Gray said. "And in case my hawk is lost in a sandstorm."

"You're right." Natsu nodded and stood up. "Take care of her for me. Lucy, I'll be back soon."

Lucy nodded and Gray sat down as Natsu went out from Lucy's room.

"So, how are you feeling?" Gray asked.

"Much better. Thank you." Lucy smiled.

There it was again. That weird thump. Now Gray was sure of it.

"Hey, Lucy… I've got something to tell you." Gray's face suddenly turned serious.

Lucy blinked and a somewhat uncomfortable feeling seeped into her heart. "W—what is it?"

Gray took a deep breath then stared straight into Lucy's brown orbs. "Lucy… Be my sister."

Lucy stared blankly for a good few seconds before blinking her eyes. "W—what?"

"Be my sister, Lucy." Gray repeated, this time his tone was much firmer. "You know, actually I've had these strange thumps every time I saw your smile. A different thump than how I felt towards Juvia, but it was as warm. I thought about it a lot and I even discussed it with Juvia and my parents. Then I realized that I was interested in you. From the moment I saw you. Not as a love interest but as a sibling."

Lucy's brain shut down almost immediately.

What… What did Gray just say?

He… He wanted her to be his sister?

He… He wanted her to be his sibling?

Her, Lucy Heartfilia?

"W—what?" Lucy whispered.

"I know this is strange and a whole lot to process. And this is so sudden." Gray smiled. "But I mean it, Lucy. My parents have also agreed to adopt you. Especially my mother since she wants a daughter so badly."

"…M—me?"

"Yes, you." Gray nodded his head. "I don't know why or how, Lucy, but I pictured you as a part of the Fullbuster family and I really love that. And Juvia is so excited to have you as her sister-in-law."

A tear fell down from Lucy's eyes.

"H—hey!" Gray turned panic. "You don't have to say yes if you hate the idea! I—I'm just—"

"N—no, it's not that…" Lucy softly said as she shook her head. "I… I'm happy, Gray. I… I never thought anyone would ever want me as their sister, apart from Sting."

"Sting?"

"My little brother." Lucy smiled. "Now that you asked me to be your sister… I… I just felt so happy. I can't believe it."

A pang of pain struck Gray's heart. What kind of family did Lucy have back in the Celestial Country? Just because Jude didn't like her personality, she was casted out by her entire family?

But just then, Lucy thought about the adoption. Wait a minute. If she was adopted, did that mean she would carry the name of Fullbuster? No, no. She couldn't have that! She had planned to disappear after three years, after all! She shouldn't carry the name of Fullbuster!

"Gray, I'm so honored and happy if you think me as your sister." Lucy wiped her tears and smiled. "But I don't think the adoption is necessary. I mean… Just having your family thought me as one of you is more than enough for me."

"We can keep your Heartfilia name. So, it'll be Lucy Heartfilia Fullbuster? Or Lucy Fullbuster Heartfilia? Whichever." Gray said.

Lucy shook her head softly. "Your thought of me as a part of your family is way stronger than putting my name in your family register. Besides, I'll eventually drop that name as well when I got married, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Gray nodded. "Though my mother really wants you to carry the name of Fullbuster."

Lucy smiled. "This is way more than enough."

"So, it's a yes?" Gray grinned.

"I'll be more than happy." Lucy smiled back.

Gray grinned wider as he ruffled Lucy's hair. "Then welcome to the family, little sister."

Hearing that word—imouto—from Gray's mouth was enough to melt Lucy's heart once more as another tear of happiness fell down from her eyes.

Just for this once… Just for this one part of my life, let me bask myself in sunlight.

Done !

Whew, another long chapter !

I've been so itchy to write the part where Gray asked Lucy to be his sister !

What do you think ?

Don't forget to leave your reviews and/or flames :D

P.S. I know that part of Jose is… something else, but please bear with my imagination :') I won't go to that part in detail anyway because I… also don't know what to write ._.