Erza's POV
I was lying on the bed when the doors opened, revealing Lucy carrying a sleeping Wendy and Carla. She carefully tucked them in bed, a slight, but yet genuine smile on her face. "I think that is the first time I've seen you actually happy for any of us to be here." I blurted out before I could stop myself. Lucy tensed, but soon relaxed. "Wendy is one of the few people who still stuck around. One of the only friends I still had left. Something that you weren't." She hissed. Her extremely long hair bounced about as she moved towards the door, and for a split second I saw the scar next to her left eye. I quietly shuffled after her out the door. "Lucy, wait!" I called. She stopped, glancing at me for a second before turning away. She was about to leave again but I grabbed her wrist, forcing her to stay. "I know that I abandoned you, and I know I let them take you away. I know that I called you weak, and I know I kicked you off the team. I know that there is no way to make up for the pain that I, no, everyone in the guild caused, and we have no right to ask for forgiveness we don't deserve. But at least tell me what I can do to try."
Lucy turned to face me, clutching something in her hand. "For months I wondered, what would have happened, if I never joined Fairy Tail. What would have happened, if I didn't let Natsu take my hand. What would have happened, if I never gave up Aquarius for the guild. The answer is simple, really. Nothing would have changed. Nothing would have happened." Lucy said. "That's not true, and deep down you know it! If you never joined Fairy Tail, Loke would be dead. Your spirits would still be contracted to horrible mages, and Natsu would probably have been arrested by the magic council for destruction of property. The world would have ended more times than I can count! Lucy without you Fairy Tail wouldn't have been brought back together. Without you Laxus would have destroyed Magnolia, Cana would have left the guild, and Romeo would be fatherless. Fairy Tail would never have been the same without you. So don't you ever tell yourself that your worthless!"
Lucy's POV
"Why now? Why do you care now? Is it because I'm useful to you, or maybe I have something you want?" I asked. I could feel the tears threatening to fall. Before I could say anything else, I was pulled into a hug. "The only thing I want from you...is to be your friend again." Erza whispered. "Alright...I'll think about it." I mumbled, breaking the hug and walking away. "But I must warn you. There is a dark side to every person, even in mages of the light. And if she comes out again, she won't show you mercy. So when the day comes, don't hesitate in stopping her." I said. "Is that a threat?" Erza asked. "Nothing of the sort. Its a warning, and you'll understand the meaning when it matters. Now get some rest...Erza." A small smile formed on her face as she went back into her room.
"Hey Igneel...why does it feel like I've been missing something important?" I asked, tilting my head to look said dragon in the eyes. Whenever I needed someone to talk to I came to one of the dragons, but I preferred Igneel's advice. "How should I now? I'm a dragon!" Igneel said. "I know! It's just that I thought you might know what it meant, since it all started after I woke up in your pyro for a son's lap!" I exclaimed. "Why were you sleeping in his lap?" Igneel asked with a sly smirk. "Nothing that you're thinking of! The black blood acted up today, but she was dumb enough to eat a purification flame that your son attacked us with." I said. "He was smart enough to think of that?" Igneel asked sarcastically. "No, I had to tell him to use it. But, at least it worked." I sighed. "And?" He asked, nudging me with his wing. "And...I may have resonated with him today...and thought his smell was intoxicating." I said, trying to look anywhere but at him. I could feel the intense heat on my face. "Well now it makes sense!" Igneel mumbled.
"What makes sense?" I asked with a yawn, shifting to lay down. "Your scent's different. Its a subtle difference, but its there. Like a way of saying, 'back off, I'm taken!' to other dragons." Igneel answered. If my face wasn't red before, it was now. "S-so then, I found a mate?" I asked. "You already had one, more or less. You just didn't know it yet. But cinnamon somewhat makes sense. Its the scent of a spice, right?" Igneel asked. "Yeah, why?" "Simple. You'll figure it out. But I think you'll find that there's a reason you favored..." Igneel's voice sounded distant. Favored what? I guess I'll just have to ask him another time.
Natsu's POV
I couldn't sleep, so I decided to explore. I found training rooms, a library, several meeting rooms, and several other boring places. But what really got my attention was the room in the center of the palace. There were designs of dragons on the walls, and the ceiling seemed to light up with constellations. Yeah, I actually paid attention to Lucy's explanations whenever she dragged me star gazing. I remembered every story she'd ever told me, and I can point out and name any constellation I see. But I wouldn't tell anyone else that. I'm not that dense! There were floating platforms scattered about below me. I was standing on one of the levels of balconies. But the weird thing was there was no way to get to the platforms, and they had strange dome-like barriers over them.
After leaving the weird room I found myself outside. The plants in the gardens were well cared for, and the trees were free of dead branches. There were fountains and stone statues in some of the gardens. One of the statues looked a lot like Lucy wearing a fancy dress. The words carved into the base read: "Layla Death Heartfilia, X748 – X777. Loving mother, wife and Celestial Spirit Mage." It was a dedication to Lucy's mom. Lucy never really said anything about her mom, other then that she was one of the greatest Celestial Spirit mages in history, and that she died when Lucy was little. Shaking the thoughts out of my head I found Igneel looking out at the stars. "Hey Igneel." I said. He turned towards me with a grin on his face. "Hey 'pyro for a son'." Igneel chuckled. "Hey! Did ice princess tell you that?" I exclaimed.
"Shh! Lucy's asleep!" Igneel hissed, lifting up his wing to reveal said person. She was curled up in a ball using Igneel's tail as a body pillow. Her blonde hair had turned black, and three white streaks circled halfway across the right side of her head. She seemed content with her position next to Igneel, and it reminded me of how she used to look when I would break into her room back in Magnolia. "She always like this?" Igneel asked as Lucy unconsciously moved closer to him. "All the time." I mumbled, but sadly he heard me. "And how would you know?" He asked with a mischievous smirk. I could feel my face heating up, if that was even possible for me. "I-I used to break into her room and sleep next to her." I stuttered. Igneel's smirk widened.
"Is that so?" He asked as I sat down beside Lucy's sleeping figure. Her nose wiggled slightly, before she sighed happily and half-crawled onto my lap. "Spices..." She mumbled. Now I was confused. "Spices? What does that mean?" I asked. Igneel was stifling a laugh. "Tell me Natsu, what does she smell like to you?" He asked. "Strawberries and vanilla...why?" I asked. "Because to Lucy, you smell like cinnamon and smoke. And according to her, she found it intoxicating." Igneel said. Red as a tomato didn't cover the shade my face was...and I was glad Mira wasn't here to see it. "Intoxicating has a lot of different meanings, she could have meant anything!" I said, slightly regretting the words. But why?
"I suppose you're right, but you really should apologize to her, otherwise she's just gonna push you away, and let me tell you, getting on the bad side of a Celestial Dragon is not a good idea!" Igneel said with a shudder. But now that he mentioned it...dragon or not Lucy could be scary when she was mad. I ran my fingers through her strange but beautiful black-and-white hair. The lines seemed familiar to me, but I couldn't think of why. I frowned when I saw the scar hidden behind her bangs. It was long and jagged, beginning behind her ear and then stopping above her left eye. I carefully traced my hand over it, thinking about how she had gotten it in the first place. Then I remembered seeing a similar scar going over her stomach that was larger in size. And then the one on her hand...
I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt a hand over my own. Looking down I realized that Lucy had woken up, and was staring me in the eyes. Instead of being emotionless her blood red eyes were full of wonder, confusion, and several others. I found it hard to look away until I heard Igneel's telltale snoring. I glanced at the snoring dragon behind me and then back at Lucy. She was about to get up until I pulled her into a hug.
