I do not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter 22

Natsu was coming to when he felt himself being lowered to the ground. The click of a knife and the sudden release of tension along his legs had him opening his eyes. The sky was starting to darken, the sun was setting behind the trees in the forest, how long had he been out. Finally released from the bindings of the vines, Natsu tried to sit up but immediately regretted it, as he groaned from the head rush, the vertigo made his head spin and he felt his stomach lurch, the bile wanting to climb up his throat and spill out.

"Whoa there, your highness. Take it easy, you were upside down for several hours. Just lay down for a bit, we're not going anywhere just yet." Loke said, pushing the prince back down.

Natsu felt himself splay out on the ground, he didn't care that there was dirt covering him, that his hair was full of twigs. All that mattered was that Lucy and his family and friends were safe. Wait…Lucy!

The prince jolted upwards, immediately regretting it but somehow was able to stand. "Lucy!" He yelled frantically. He clumsily stumbled his way to the carriage she was in. Feeling his stomach lurch, he held back the bile that rose into his throat and swallowed it down. Looking in the carriage, he found her shoes laid neatly in front of her seat. Realizing she could have escaped, he looked behind him. He deduced that she had probably tried to head west in the direction of the Dragon Kingdom to get helped. He started to walk towards the woods but something shiny caught his eye. Looking at the setting sun between the trees, he looked for the shiny object again. Locating it he stooped down to pick it up. He felt his face pale, it was Lucy's locket.

Clutching the locket in his hand, he ran towards the woods looking for her tracks. He saw a set of small ones, those must have been Lucy's but behind them were a pair of very large ones. And then he saw the what looked like drag marks but they ended abruptly.

She wasn't able to get away. She's been kidnapped.

Natsu felt his face grow very hot, his hands were shaking in anger. His very blood was beginning to boil.

"Your highness?" Loke inquired, the temperature around them starting to rise at an alarming rate. Loke felt a sheen of sweat cover his brow.

Natsu was so angry, he didn't know what made him react that way. Call it instinct but he need to punch something. Punching a tree, his hand caught fire. The fire so hot, his punch burned a hole into the tree. He was astonished, looking at his hands, he fisted them again, willing the anger to come back. Both his fists flamed.

What was happening to him? He had always been hot natured, but how could he do this.

Igneel gasped, seeing his son emanating with power, fire on his hands. "So the books are true."

"What books? What's true?" Natsu asked, the flames on his hands going out.

Makarov chucked, "My boy, did you not ever wonder how our kingdom got its name?"

"I assumed dragons used to be real, but they're long gone. What does that have to do with me?"

"Each Dragneel and their descendants carry within them a dragon. Sometimes they lie dormant within us all our lives and then in cases like yours they come alive when something precious to them is taken. It seems, Lucy being taken from you has awakened yours. Come, we need to get back. Make plans. Start training. We don't have much time."

So many questions ran through Natsu's mind. But one thing he was certain of: The only way to truly hurt a man is to take away everything that he values and remind him of it every day. By doing this, they have created a monster and they will regret harming that man. Because he will become your greatest horror.

Natsu didn't need a kingdom, a castle, jewels, or gold. All he wanted was Lucy. Whoever took her was in for a world of pain. "I'm all fired up now." He grunted darkly as he got into the carriage.

Lucy was groggy when she awoke, she was lying on the floor and the only light she could make out came from the bottom of what she thought was a door. She shakily sat up, she felt like hell. Her head felt like it was splitting in half and it pained her even more when she tried to remember what happened before she lost consciousness.

She remembered trying to escape…and then a big and disgusting oaf of a man grabbing her…and then choking her. Lucy went to touch her neck and hissed at the pain that even a feather touch caused. No wonder her throat hurt so badly.

She crawled her way to the door, princess attitude be damned and laid on the floor. She tried to peer under the door to see what she was dealing with. She couldn't make out much, but it looked like there was no one around.

Feeling for the doorknob, she found it. Might as well try, maybe she was kidnapped by idiots. She turned the knob and pulled and it refused to budge. She tried the other way and still no movement. It was still really dark, so Lucy went and felt for a keyhole. She almost cheered when she found one. Reaching into her hair, she thanked her lucky stars that Aquarius had insisted on putting her hair up that day. She pulled a bobby pin out and got to work. Surely, the door couldn't be that difficult to open.

She was well on her way, listening to the gears click as she slowly got the door unlocked when she heard the sound of a metal door opening. Stopping what she was doing, she shoved the pin back into her hair and ran to where she woke up at the back of the cell. She assumed it was a cell, since she was locked in. She laid down and pretended to be unconscious still.

Hearing the lock click and the door squeak open, Lucy shut her eyes tight, laying motionless.

"Ultear, she's still not awake," said a young girl's voice.

"Oh really? She should have been up by now," a woman's voice joined her.

"I told you Kain was too rough with her!" the girl said in alarm.

Lucy heard two sets of footsteps walk into the room and come close to her. She had a choice, she could jump up and make a run for it. The downside was she didn't know if these women were armed and she also had no idea where she was at. She couldn't just blindly run through the halls in hopes that she gets out. And even if she did, she'd have to figure out how to get back to the main road and to the Dragon Kingdom. Surely they weren't too far away from them.

Lucy felt one of them nudge her with her toe, she squeezed her eyes shut tighter.

"She's bluffing," state the woman.

"Ooh! The master will be thrilled!"

"Might as well wake up, girl! We know you're faking it." She went to nudge Lucy with her foot again but was surprised when Lucy grabbed her foot and pulled it forward knocking the dark haired woman to the ground.

With no time to spare, she jumped and decided to make a run for it.

"Meredy! Get her!" the woman named Ultear yelled.

But it was too late, Lucy shut the door on them, locking them in the room. Upon further glance, she recognized where she was. It was a dungeon and not just any dungeon! They were in the Celestial Kingdom! Lucy made a mad dash for the main door, the cries of the women in the cell trying to alert their comrades.

Walking through the door she began to run up the stairs but then was thrown off when she came across the open sky. "What the hell?" she asked herself. Where did the castle go? She was right out there in the open for all to see. It was now or never and she needed to make a run for it. She ran as fast as her legs could take care, making a break for the trees when she felt the wind get knocked out of her and she flew backwards. She tried to get back up again and started to run when she felt her arms get forced to her sides and her legs were stuck together. It felt like someone was holding her down but there were no restraints.

"Hehe, what do you think 'bout my cursey doll?"

Lucy heard the thunderous footsteps coming towards her, she rolled her eyes when the big oaf made his appearance along with another man she didn't recognize. He had dark skin and a cool attitude about him.

"Oh, look…it's you again…" She said rolling her eyes.

"Thanks for letting me borrow one of-of your hairs for my Mr. Cursey." He said shaking the doll in her face. She noticed a strand of her golden tresses was stuck in the top of the ugly toy. She gave him a look of disgust.

"I don't know if you should consider it "borrowing" when you didn't ask for my consent. You lousy piece of-" a vine came up and wrapped around her face.

"Kain, I don't know about you but I thought princesses were supposed to be seen and not heard." Azuma said slinking toward here and then poking her forehead. "Come on, Hades said to bring her to him unharmed."

Kain laughed as he picked Lucy up and threw her over his shoulder. She grunted angrily at him, trying her hardest to kick her way free. She soon gave up and took the moment to look around. This was her childhood home alright, and it was completely gone. She saw the skeleton of the castle and its charred remains as Kain brought her into what used to be the throne room.

The throne was still there, burnt and deformed, the metal that adorned the seat was twisted and unrecognizable. And upon that throne sat a man who looked vaguely familiar. He had grey almost white hair that was long, and he had a beard that was long and pointed. He had an eyepatch and an evil look in his eye, not to mention his smile. It was the man from her dream! She knew nothing good would come of this.

Kain set her down on her own two feet, "Okay, I'm going to let you free now but if you act bad…Mr. Cursey is gonna come out to play." He warned at her, shaking the doll in her face. She was seething, if looks could kill. When she was free, she had already decided he'd be the first to pay. And she would use his beloved "Mr. Cursey" doll to do it.

Hades stepped up, a sickening sweet smile on his face. He reminded her of a cat that had eaten the canary. "Ah your highness, so glad for you to join us!" he clapped his hands together in delight. Lucy glared at him. "Oh, I see…you're angry." She rolled her eyes.

Lucy glanced around, Hades noticed her taking in her surroundings. "Don't worry, we'll fix all of this in due time. It'll be good as new!" He said, "What do you think of that?"

He waited for her to answer and she gave him a look. "Azuma, will you remove the vines, please? It's rude to not let our guest talk."

Lucy felt the vine slip away and she took a deep breath. "It's your fault this happened in the first place!" She leaped forward, her arms reached out to claw at his face, but her arms and legs were quickly forced to her side.

Hades laughed, "Oh, this? I didn't do this! I'm so sorry, my friend Zancrow got a little carried away. The poor man doesn't know his own strength. But not to worry, it'll all be fixed soon. The kingdom will be just like it was a month ago, but there's one slight little problem." He walked towards her, grabbing her chin to look at him. "Do you think you could help me with the little problem?"

"Rot in hell!" She angrily spat, fire in her eyes. Hades liked it.

"My, my you've got fire and spunk! And you look just like your mother, Layla. Beautiful, so stunning. You are just what I need to make my plan come to fruition." Placing his hands behind his back he began to pace, "You see princess, no one in this kingdom will accept me as their king unless I have you by my side."

"What kingdom?! You either killed everyone or they were evacuated because of you!" She yelled.

Choosing to ignore her statement he kept going, "So I have a proposition! Be my queen, I will make sure you will have everything your heart desires and more! Marry me."

It wasn't a question, it was a demand.

"No." She said simply, her eyes full of hatred.

"No?" He said, his eyes darkened. "No." He cackled evilly. "NO?!" He raised his hand and slapped Lucy in the face. The sound like a cracked whip. She slowly turned her face back to look at him. Her cheek was red, you could see his handprint on her face, if looks could kill, Hades would be dead.

"You may have the looks of your mother, but you have the stubbornness of your father, Jude. But don't worry, my pet, I'll break that in you soon enough," He walked forward and grabbed her face to make her look at him. "You. Will. Marry. Me." He seethed.

Lucy gritted her teeth and glared. "I. Will. Never. Marry. You. You, Bastard." She said and then spat in his face.

Hades wiped her spit from his face and slung it off his hand. He raised his hand again and Lucy braced herself for the slap she knew was coming. This time it was harder than the last one and then he grabbed her by her throat and he hissed in her face, "Such dirty words from such a pretty mouth."

Hades then threw her backwards and she stumbled, falling onto her back. "Take her away. A few days in the dungeons will break her."

Kain nodded and grabbed her by the back of her dress and dragged the seething princess away.