A/N: Hello there to all of you! I'm really excited about this fan-fiction and would love any and all input that you have for me. I don't have an editor so some of the writing might be pretty raw. Let me know how I'm doing with the characters! But for now enjoy chapter two! I'm hoping to update once a week.
Chapter 2
-Aboard the ship 'Happy'-
Natsu sat hunched over the desk in the captains' quarters with his head in his hands, elbows grinding into the cedar finish. He lifted his head slightly to the side to look at the woman sleeping in the cot by the wall. She was sound asleep, softly snoring as the boat rocked gently against the dock. Expelling a heavy sigh, he slowly stood from his chair and walked to the door to allow her rest. Natsu took one more look at the princess to make sure she was still asleep and then crept out the door.
"Ah man, what am I gonna to do? I can't believe I got myself in this situation…. Natsu… you sure did it this time. One of these days, your curiosity is going to get you killed if you haven't sealed that deal already..." He continued grumbling in indistinguishable tones as he headed to the side of the ship and leaned over edge. He contemplated how he was going to deal with this while watching the waves roll off the side of the boat.
"Why can't you just leave people alone...?" he sighed to himself as he took off his cap releasing the pink locks from underneath allowing them to stand up in every which way. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as he ran his fingers through his hair pushing his bangs back and out of his face. He took his cap and placed it into his back pocket.
"What am I going to do about this? What will the others think?" Suddenly Natsu got a sick feeling in his stomach. "Gaaaaah, the others! What am I going to tell them?" The pressure started to take its toll on Natsu's psyche. Upon hearing his master, a young blue cat stretched its legs and began to rise from his perch atop one of the many barrels on deck. After landing on the floor and performing a short limbering walk to gain his sea legs again, he bounced on over to greet Natsu.
Natsu looked down and smiled. "Thanks buddy. You're always there when I need you, but what do you think I should do Happy?" he asked as he picked up the blue cat and brought Happy to his shoulder to sit. "What do you think I should do Happy? This puts a huge dent in our plans. Besides, I can't get the rest of the guild mixed up in this. If word gets out, we'll all be in trouble…" He looked over to his cat that had rested his head by Natsu's ear, attempting to comfort his friend.
"It's alright, I have you under contract. I can't sell you out unless you betray, abandon, or leave me in a situation I might not be able to find you again." Lucy's voice came from behind them. A jolt was sent up Natsu's spine, shocking him to the point where he spun around and sent Happy flying from the position on his shoulder. With one arm to catch his feline companion and the other to grip the rail, Natsu stared with wide eyes at the princess before him.
"Uhh… sorry!" She stammered apologetically. "I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that."
Natsu merely closed his eyes and straightened up, cradling Happy in his arm. He let his companion go as his protests were getting more persistent. The cat gingerly landed on his feet and made a quick dash for the other side of the ship. Natsu watched Happy scamper away for a minute, then sauntered across the deck, up the small set of stairs leading to the helm and leaned gently against it. Lucy watched him and waited for a response from him but soon realized he wasn't in the mood for talking.
Lucy shrugged it off and made her way back to the captain's quarters only to find that the door had locked behind her. Lucy's stomach dropped. 'Oh great, now I'm stuck out here with him.' She peered up to the helm to see him, leaning against the rustic wheel with his eyes still closed. 'It wouldn't be so bad being locked out if his remorse wasn't so apparent.' She winced from the tension that was suffocating her. It was then that something caught her eye she hadn't noticed before. Maybe it was the morning sun just starting to peek over the horizon casting light on the ship, but his right arm was entirely bandaged to just under his shoulder. This is where she noticed what looked like a tribal tattoo, a brand. It was red like fire and looked like a small… bird?
'I want to ask him about that but maybe he's sensitive about it.' Natsu looked down and smiled at Lucy. 'Probably best to leave it alone for now, I'll have plenty of time later to ask him about it' she thought.
"Hey if you don't want to get noticed by the royal army you should stop spacing out and stay in the captain's quarters." He laughed while swinging the key around in a circle on his index finger. Lucy eyes narrowed.
"And just who might you be? Inviting strange girls into the captain's quarters? I thought that it was reserved for the captain and trusted associates only." She replied coldly.
"Well we really don't have a choice now do we?" He smiled while jumping down from the helm and landing square in front of her. Lucy's face filled with shock as she took a step back from the impact of his landing.
"Besides, captain says it's ok." He winked, dangling the key in front of her face. Finally Lucy understood.
"Ah, you're the captain of the 'Happy'." she said feeling the blood rush to her cheeks.
"What was your first clue?" He laughed stepping passed her and opening the door. Lucy glared at him. She did have her suspicions but she didn't want to assume anything and call him the captain when he really wasn't. Mostly though, she was confused, he didn't seem mad at her. Just moments before she overheard him talking about how much of a bother this whole situation was to him, his personality wasn't very consistent. One moment he acted like a real pirate, another moment he acted like a gentlemen. 'Was he luring her into a false sense of security? What did he have planned?' Lucy thought as she looked him over cautiously searching for any clues from his actions.
"Best stay in the captains quarters exclusively while we're docked." He said closing the curtains tightly on the windows, causing the room to grow much darker. Natsu lit the oil lanterns again so that they could see each other in the small cabin. "Your little adventure would be over before it even began if you were spotted from the dock. There's a washroom past that door there, it's not up to par with the palace, but you know, it's cozy." He grinned. "You'll be able to freshen up and do your business either way, as long as you don't mind sharing with me."
Lucy shrugged. "Well I suppose beggars can't be choosers. Obviously while I'm staying here in the captain's quarters, I'll be sleeping here as well. So I suggest we make sleeping arrangements." She folded her arms across her chest looking at Natsu as though waiting for a response. The captain looked back at her confused with his head slightly tilted like he was trying to think really hard.
"I don't see the problem with sharing a bed." He stated flatly. Lucy's face went pale.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T SEE THE PROBLEM!?" She roared from across the room. Natsu flinched and waited for her to get her composure, but she continued.
"It's indecent for a man and a woman to share the same bed!" Lucy's anger was causing her to get a headache as she placed a hand on her head. "… I don't have the energy to explain this to you but at least acknowledge that you realize this much…" She looked up at Natsu hoping for confirmation that he understood. However, his face looked blank. Lucy groaned, 'Apparently he could also act like a child…'
"I guess I can see that," he nodded "I'll make myself a futon on the other side of the room. Don't worry princess your chastity will remain safe on this ship if that's what you're worried about. I'm not the kind of guy to take advantage of a woman." He gave her his signature toothy grin and even though the comment made her feel embarrassed and was completely inappropriate, she felt better nonetheless.
"Besides, you're not really my type. If I were to go after a princess I'd pick one much more beautiful and more elegant than a run-away!"
Something inside Lucy's mind snapped.
"What… did… you… say?" She said through gritted teeth, slowly turning so that she looked Natsu directly in the eyes. She didn't wait for him to respond, Lucy was already behind him with a knife held to his throat. Natsu swallowed hard.
"Ah, so the princess can fight eh?" He said mischievously.
"I might be a princess, but I've been training with the head guard of the royal army since I was six and he taught me extremely well," She said though narrowed eyes. "If you ever say such unkind things to anyone, not just me but anyone, I'll bleed you dry and take your ship for my own, do you understand!?" Lucy knew she wasn't the most ladylike of princesses but when people made a point to remind her it made her furious. Natsu nodded as he pushed her knife away from his neck with his hand, and turned to face her.
"As much as I am a traitor to the crown of Fiore by your doing I might add dear princess, I do stand by my country. This means that I would give my life for the protection of its future. Princess," he said with those determined eyes. "I don't know much about you but, I do know a fair amount about this country. Your father, the king, is a wretched man. He punishes without trial and lets himself be a puppet for whoever is paying him the most money. I d…" His voice cut off and looked at Lucy. Her face was solemn and downcast. 'Crap,' he thought.
"Listen I didn't mean for it to sound that way…"
"No, its ok…. everything you said was true…"
Natsu scratched the back of his head and looked back at Lucy. "All I meant to say was that it took a lot of bravery for you to run-away from a situation like that. A lot of people would have just tried to lie to themselves into believing what they were doing was going to be better for the country somehow, ultimately leaving problems unsolved and citizens suffering. I'm proud to have a princess like you, who's willing to get into the streets and see how their subjects function and live." He said comfortingly.
Lucy's eyes were filled with surprise as she stared at the man grinning like a fool in front of her.
"Listen I have to leave for a while to go get supplies and notify the crew that we're heading out soon. So be a good princess and stay here and wait for me to get back. I promise you'll be safe. I'm leaving you in the care of my most capable companion." As he finished his sentence a cat emerged from underneath the blankets tossed in the cot. 'Wasn't he just outside?' Lucy thought to herself immensely confused as to how the cat got in there without the door opening. "This is Happy! He's my oldest and best friend in the world!" Lucy grinned and looked at Natsu.
"Don't worry I'll be here, that is if cat is as capable as you claim." She said addressing captain. Natsu nodded in approval.
"Oh, one more thing before I forget." He said walking over to the cot. "There's a hidden trunk under here. Well not so much hidden as covered up." He laughed. He removed the blankets dangling from the side of the cot and placed them neatly on top. Sure as his word a trunk appeared from under his cot. "I put it there when I need something hard to sleep on. But there are some clothes in here if you want to use them. They might be a bit big for you but anything would be better than that." He said gesturing to her cloak. Lucy looked down at herself. She had hardly noticed that she had still been wearing it.
"… I guess it hadn't occurred to me to bring a change of clothes."
Natsu chuckled as he made his way over to her and stretched out his hand. "If you'd be so kind your highness, I'll take that satchel of money from you now that I've earned it an all." Lucy hesitated, but slowly pulled the purse out from under her cloak and placed it in the open palm in front of her. She held on for a moment and looked the captain in the eyes.
"I can trust you… right?" She murmured.
"What was that?"
"…. never mind, just be careful and come back soon." She rebutted bitterly.
"Will do." he reassured. Natsu took out his own purse and placed a few coins in it before replacing it back in his pocket. He then took the purse containing the rest of the jewel over to the safe and took a key from his desk and opened it. He carefully placed the purse inside before locking it back up and tucking the key back into the secret compartment inside his desk.
"The money will be safe in here, if you ever need any let me know and I can grab it for you. I'll let you know though, that the only person allowed in this safe is me, and I have the only key. There's a secret compartment in my desk that only I know about." He said winking as he made his way over to the door. Lucy stared at his back he cracked it open silently waving goodbye.
"I'll be back soon!" The captain gave one last wave before putting on his sailors cap and stepping out the door making sure he heard the click of the lock before going on his way.
"What an odd man, I still don't know what to make of him." She stated looking at Happy. Did he like her? Did he hate her, shielding his true feelings under that toothy grin? Or did he simply endure her existence while pretending to be friendly? Lucy sat down on the cot and leaned against the wall, pulling her legs to her chest she continued to wonder. 'Maybe he was just pretending to be nice because he thought it was in the best interest considering their contract.' The thought gave her a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. 'Could that be it? Was he just putting on a farce all the while secretly despising her?' Lucy tucked her head into her knees. 'Either way I guess it doesn't matter when push comes to shove. I got what I wanted, a way out of this city. That's all that mattered.' Happy looked over at Lucy and jumped onto the cot curling up beside her. The gesture was almost comforting. Lucy smiled and placed a hand on his back.
"I see your master was true to his word."
Natsu walked off his ship and on to the docks of Magnolia. He was careful to look around the area for any of the royal army, and his suspicions were confirmed. The royal army had swarmed the docks and as he peered down the street, it looked like they were harassing the entire city.
"Perfect…" he gritted under his teeth. 'What a great way to start the morning after a hectic night, and zero sleep to boot.' Natsu yawned and wiped the tears it caused from his eyes. 'Better make this trip a short one and get out of here as soon as possible before those cursed soldiers start searching the ships. Even the sailors wouldn't be able to deny the demands of the royal army.' He continued on to the unforgiving streets of Magnolia unaware of what the future would hold.
