Chapter Two
"What do you think you're doing?" A male voice said from behind her, making the girl jump in surprise, "I told you you were mine."
A faint shade of pink appeared on Lucy's cheeks, though disappeared as soon as it came, her expression becoming very serious.
"You can't be here." The blonde said in a stern whisper, "You need to leave."
"Wha—? And here I thought you weren't scared of me anymore. What's up with you, Luce?"
Luce?
"It doesn't matter." She said, turning her head away from him to hide another blush, "Just leave. You don't need to worry about me."
"Who said I was worried?" Natsu defended, crossing his arms as he peered down at the girl, "I just came down to take back what's mine, is all."
"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means exactly what it sounds like."
"You're acting as if I'm some sort of pet! I'm a human being, ya moron."
"And what difference does that make? You're still part of my hoard." He reached down and picked her up, building up fire underneath his feet and using it to project himself into the sky. His human form disappeared, replaced with his true dragon form. He lifted the blonde and placed her on his back, looking at her through the corner of his eye as they flew onward.
"Look guys, there she is!" A young woman said from below, "And what the hell is that? Is she seriously riding a dragon?"
"No matter." Another man said, a creepy smile forming up his face as his magic built up, "Take her out."
Shots of magic power were quickly aimed at the blonde, and she pulled herself up with great caution. Natsu watched the sight in horror, wondering if she had some sort of death wish.
Lucy pulled out a golden key from a leather pouch that rested on her belt, "Open, gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!" She shouted, a magic circle appearing above the tip of the key.
A man wearing a horse costume materialized, "How-de-do, My Lady!" He greeted, raising his hand in a salute.
"I'll do it in a jiffy, missy!" He raised his bow and aimed it at the ground, shooting countless arrows at the Phantom Lord mages until the blonde was out of range from the attacks.
"Thanks a lot, Sagittarius!" She said, "Now, why don't you head back to the Spirit Realm."
"Yes-in-deedey! It was an honor serving you, My Lady!" Raising his hand in salute once more, he vanished. Lucy exhaled in relief, and sat back down on Natsu's back, who was staring up at her in awe. He had no idea that she was a mage.
They reached the cave a minute later, and he set her down on the rocky floor. Natsu's form changed once again and he took a seat right beside her, "Are you hurt?" He asked, looking her up and down, "Take off your clothes so I can see."
The only response he got was a hard slap across the face, "Pervert! How could you ask me that? Don't you have any common sense?"
"I could ask you the same thing." The teenager answered, "Runnin' off like that, you could've gotten injured!"
"But I didn't, so just shut up and let it go, would ya?"
"Not until you apologize!"
"Why the hell should I apologize? I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Yes, you did!"
"No, I didn't!"
"Just go ahead and admit it!"
"Admit what?"
"That you were stupid for running away!" He shouted, "You nearly scared me to death." He said, suddenly sounding calm as he wrapped her in a hug. Lucy was surprised and not quite sure how to respond to the hug, so she just sat limp in his arms. She felt her hair suddenly being lifted, and something being fastened around her neck.
"Here." Natsu said, "Wear this, and I'll never lose you."
Lucy looked down at her neck, gasping at the sight. A red stone with an engravement on it lay perfectly against her skin, tied by a golden string. She lifted the stone up to read it and gasped at the text.
-Lucy-
Property of Natsu Dragneel,
The Fire Dragon.
"You're kidding me." The blonde said in an angry tone, "Is this a friggin' collar? I told you, I'm not some sort of pet!"
"It'll keep you safe, though." He answered, "It'll burn anyone who dares to touch you. Then, you'll be able to make your way back to me."
"And what if I don't want to find you? What if I want to leave and never come back?"
"Then I'll find you."
She blushed at that comment, and sat up straight, "I am going to leave this place, though." She said, "You can count on that."
Natsu just rolled his eyes and watched her eyes droop closed. He had forgotten it was nighttime, so of course she must've been tired. Lifting his head up, his skin slowly became scales and he quickly grew larger. Gently, he lifted one of his wings and draped it around the girl for comfort. He saw a smile on her face and he quickly curled his body around her.
Lucy woke up the next morning feeling refreshed, like she had just had the best sleep in the world. When she tried to get up, though, her head hit against something heavy and she raised her head to see one of Natsu's large wings.
"Oh, Miss Lucy!" A small voice called from just a few feet away, and the blonde smiled happily when she met the eyes of an energetic bluenette, "Wendy." She greeted, stepping out of the fire dragon's grasp and running over to greet her, "It's good to see you."
"You too, Lucy! I came to check up on you this morning, I hope you don't mind." The small girl asked shyly, shuffling her feet, "I hope you're doing well. Are you feeling better?"
"Great, actually. You're a lifesaver, Wen—"
"What's that?" The young girl asked, her eyes locked on the stone hanging on the older girl's neck.
"Oh, this?" She said, raising it up for the sky dragon to see, "Natsu gave this to me yesterday. Kind of annoying, really. I'm not a dog, I don't need a collar."
"Oh, wow." She gasped, "I can't believe he would do that so quickly. You must be very important to him." Noticing the look of confusion on Lucy's face, she decided to explain it further, "That stone around your neck is actually one of his scales he has merged with a rock. It's a mark that shows that not any of the other dragons or humans can take you. It proves you're his prized property. It's never been used on a human before, so I'm just surprised is all. You barely know each other and yet he's already given you one." Looking up, she tilted her head in confusion when she saw how red the blonde's face has gotten, "Lucy? Are you alright?"
"Y- Yeah." She muttered, "Just peachy."
Wendy suddenly turned her attention to Natsu, who was just now waking up. A bright smile appeared on her face, "Good morning, Natsu!"
"Oh, hey there kid." He mumbled, "What're you doing here?"
"I came to check up on Lucy, if you don't mind." She said, "Though I certainly wasn't expecting to see the mark on her. Does this mean I won't be able to heal her in case she gets injured again?"
"Nah, don't worry 'bout that. You're healing magic will work just fine, you just can't touch her." His attention turned to the blonde, who was facing the other end of the cave trying to hide her red face, "What's up with you, Luce? You alright?"
"Y- Yeah, I'm fine…" She reassured, even though she was feeling anything but.
Important to Natsu? Please. She scoffed, absentmindedly twirling the chain of her collar around her finger.
She felt something touching her skin and looked down when she noticed that Natsu's arm was wrapped around her shoulder. She raised her head and stared into his onyx eyes, trying to fight a smile. Somehow… his embrace seemed so comforting to her and managed to wipe all her fears and worries away. A surprised gasp escaped her lips as he pulled her closer to his side, his eyes suddenly softening into a look of worry, "You're not afraid of me, are you?"
"What?"
"Lucy… are you scared of me? I understand if you are, I mean, I basically kidnapped you and forced you here."
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she let out a light giggle. He stared down at her as she laughed, not quite sure what to think.
"Scared of you?" She laughed, "Why in the world would I be afraid of you, Natsu? I- I mean, I was at first." She admitted, watching as he turned his face away, "But it's not every day you meet a dragon, y'know?" The blonde laughed again, "After everything you've done for me, why would I ever be scared of you?"
A smile crawled up the pink-haired teenager's face, "Well, that's good to hear." A thought crossed his mind and he pushed the blonde away from him, "Wait, if you weren't afraid of me then why the hell are you so set on leaving?"
"It's nothing personal." She shrugged, "I'm just going through some stuff now, alright? I guess I thought that if I continued to stay here than I would only bring trouble to you guys."
"Seriously?" Natsu shouted, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! Bringing trouble to us? Please."
"So… you don't believe me?" The blonde said sadly, tears welling up in her eyes, "It's just as much."
"What? That's not what I meant at all." He reassured, "I know those people were looking for you and there's no way I'm letting them take you away from me. If they come knocking, we'll take them down. Nobody's taking what's mine without a fight." He said sternly.
"Oh, Natsu." Lucy said, tears streaming down her face as chocolate met onyx. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his chest and hugging him tightly. The pink-haired teenager was surprised at first and wasn't sure how to respond. He looked down and saw her lightly nuzzling his chest and gave in, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Do I…" She mumbled, looking up at him through blurred vision, "Wendy told me… what this means." She said, lifting the stone up for him to see, "I guess I thought you really did think of me as a pet… but now I understand." She mumbled, "You really are trying to protect me, huh?"
He ruffled the girl's hair and smiled at her, "Of course I am."
"Um… uh…." Wendy piped up suddenly, her face growing red as she watched the scene in front of her, "I don't think I should be watching this…"
"Huh? Whaddya mean?" The fire dragon asked, his arm around Lucy's shoulder once again, who looked just as confused as he did.
"We-well… you two were having a moment."
The blonde's eyes went wide in shock and her face flushed red, "It's not what it looks like, I swear!" She defended. Natsu just tilted his head to the side, wondering what the two were going on about. He was just as clueless as ever.