Hi there, slightly early with this chapter as I'm going to be busy with work for the next week or so and I have no idea when I'll be able to get the next chapter uploaded! Loving the great responses to this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Dragon Souls – Chapter three – The Prince's Bodyguards
It was of sound logic that since the dragon could speak like a human (albeit in her mind) and that he could think like a human, logic would dictate he could become a human.
But all the logic in the world seemed to fail Lucy at the sight of the man who had been almost snuggling up to her as she slept. Her leg automatically swung into the side of the strangers head with a thwack and a loud groan of pain from the male as she scrambled away to the far side of the now extinguished fire, letting her wide brown eyes take in the form of a very much awake, completely butt naked and an incredibly handsome man.
His wild pink hair was tousled and unruly, spiked haphazardly in every direction with strands of salmon falling into his eyes, two thin braids tucked behind his ears, which were pointed slightly at the end. Amber eyes were glaring at her warily, his face smooth save for some morning stubble at his jawline, nose sharp and lips quirked in a smug smirk at her surprise at finding him there. There was a jagged pink scar across his right cheek but if anything, it added to his appeal, along with several more large scars dotted across his chiselled and finely honed muscles, six pack and the sculpted 'v' of his abdomen –
'No...bad Lucy!'
Her cheeks flushed and she quickly averted her eyes from the beautiful male Adonis in front of her and she quickly crawled towards her backpack, ignoring the scraping of dirt on her knees in favour of hunting for something useful to use as a weapon, against this cuddly intruder clad in nothing but his birthday suit. She noted in the back of her mind that her first aid kit and extending hiking stick was gone along with most of her granola bars, but this information was pushed aside as she found her hands grasping the familiar red multi-tool that was stored in one of her front pockets, shakily opening one of the many silver tools and holding it aloft in front of her; a corkscrew of all things, but it was pointy enough to...well...get her point across.
Whether the naked man was here to rob her or cuddle her to death, Lucy wouldn't go down without a fight!
With a raised eyebrow broken down the middle with another scar, the handsome male got to his feet, Lucy felt her eyes widen and her jaw drop open in surprise as his entire body was engulfed in flames, warming her body to an uncomfortable level for a few seconds until the flames disappeared and there now stood the man fully clothed.
Her brown eyes took notice of the broken fiberglass pole and bloody bandages at his feet, along with empty wrappers which once contained her snacks.
The male was now almost entirely dressed in black, a sleeveless and very tight woven tank top edged in gold spun thread, real gold thread by the way it gleamed; the top extended to mid neck and showed off his pectoral and abdominal muscles perfectly. The hem of the top tucked into a thick belt made of corded brown leather, finely and intricately woven with flames, white baggy pants sat at his hips and were tucked into black lace up boots with gold toe caps and buckles. Around his left bicep was a brown woven leather band, an intricate red tattoo of a family crest of a dragon breathing fire upon his upper right arm. Black wristbands and a single black studded dragon head piercing to his left earlobe completed the look.
"S-Stay back, I'm not afraid of you...you fiend!" Lucy exclaimed shakily, trying to appear taller and more imposing than her five foot six frame, the man in front of her wasn't more than a head taller, but he was obviously a warrior.
The pinkette folded his arms, raising his right hand and lighting his hand on fire, not seeming to mind the fire so close to his handsome face.
"I think we established last night that you aren't afraid of me, Blondie."
His voice was smoother and clearer to her than last night, the familiarity of it taking a few seconds to process in her mind as beautiful red fiery scales shimmered hazily across his face; left eye turning into the slit of a dragon. Her jaw dropped open comically as she finally figured him out.
"YOU! You're the asshole dragon!" Lucy pointed at him, the pinkette smirked darkly before her, the flames in his hand dying as he stalked menacingly towards her.
"That's being a little harsh considering you booted me in the head, since I'm in a pretty good mood for finding medical supplies and some food in that pack of yours I guess I won't roast your hair off." Natsu sniped at her glare.
Lucy realised that this man dragon must have turned human during the night and had an unwelcome nosy through her backpack!
"Excuse me! Those were my supplies, who said you could use them?" Lucy shrieked.
Natsu grimaced at her volume and used a finger to dig into his ear before slowly towering over her, she might have swooned over his close proximity did his attitude not make her skin crawl, she tried to back up but he kept stepping into her personal space.
"Who do you think you are –" Lucy jabbed a finger into his solid chest to emphasise her point.
"Natsu Dragneel, second son of Dragon Lord Igneel, Prince of the Fire Lands." An amused smirk pulled at his lips, causing her expression to darken. "And you are?"
Lucy scowled and her cheeks burned...he may be a Prince, but he was still an asshole.
"Lucy of none of your damn business, Pinkie."
In the early hours of the morning, the pains in Natsu's arm had become unbearable, having exhausted all of his energy to maintain his Dragon-Form, the second Prince had shifted back into his human form in order to ease the healing process. He had no doubt that his two bodyguards would soon find his location, their charge hardly ever stayed away for extended periods from the castle at Ignis.
His amber eyes had eventually fallen upon the blonds pack, and, not being able to help his natural curiosity slid it towards him; opening it after a moment and riffling through it as the blond slept in his arms.
Inside were several wrapped food items, a box which contained what looked like bandages and a vial of ointment of some kind, a rectangular black box with a shiny front he could see his reflection in that he had not a clue was for, among other odd and mysterious items. He found a container clipped to the side of the pack and after a few moments trying to figure out how to open it, found it to contain water. How the liquid was ice cold without the use of ice was a mystery but it quenched his dry throat so he didn't question it.
Humans were certainly resourceful if anything.
Natsu set to work dismantling a pole he found made of an odd lightweight material that extended to form a cane of some sort, it was sturdy enough to create a make shift splint for his broken bone, after tearing open and unravelling a roll of white gauze he managed to use his teeth to position the splint as he wrapped the bandage around his broken arm so it would set correctly in place come morning. Natsu tore open one of the food wrappers to find several oat snacks with what looked like dried fruits within, he grimaced as he took a bite (humans called this food?) but forced himself to chew and swallow the dry snack.
He has finished his third bar when his sensitive ears picked up on a sound, the scraping of boots on rock, his nostrils recognised the familiar scents of his two guards making their way towards him on foot as men.
Checking to see that Lucy was sound asleep, he focused his mind and allowed the dragon to speak to his brothers in his own tongue, something only Shifters could do.
'Why are you here?'
'Prince Natsu, you're wounded. Who is the woman, she smells divine.'
'You are laying with a human? Did she attack you, Salamander?'
'No, she is not a threat. A rock hit my wing in dragon-flight and tore my wing and my arm is broken, can you return to Ignis and tell my father I am bringing the human to him? She seems to be connected to this world but I don't know how, I will try and get more information from the woman. She may be snappy and rude but no harm will befall her do I make myself clear?'
'If you were more polite and approachable and not a raging ass with other people, Salamander, she might treat you better...who insulted who first?'
'Get lost Lug-Nuts and take Gingerbread with ya...I've had enough shit to deal with today without you two starting.'
'And this is why you have no ladies of the Royal Court willing to become your Empress...your charming personality leaves much to be desired.'
'Lets leave him to sulk. See you back at the castle, Salamander.'
Natsu out of reflex checked to see if the blond was still sleeping, not that she would have heard anything other than the fire crackling merrily before her. The Dragon-Shifters were communicating with one another via a low based hum, inaudible to the human ear, it was mostly used during hunting or mating by shifters to announce their location to one another.
He nodded his head even though Gajeel and Loke would not be able to see it, his ears honed in as the two men shifted into their Dragon-Form and set off into the night with a strong gust of wind that was enough to ruffle their hair and the fire. His eyelids began to droop as he looked into the flames, feeling its energy healing his bones slowly.
Best to get as much rest as possible, not that the tired Prince knew it, but he was about to get an extremely loud and painful awakening...
The enchanted flames had been extinguished long before they had left the cave that morning, Natsu simply beckoning her over his shoulder to follow him like an obedient dog; Lucy following hesitantly with a scowl on her face, backpack hastily being refilled and slung over one shoulder as he stalked off without her.
He tsked at her lingering with his arms crossed before he pointed to a valley just beyond the crest of the nearest hill.
The curious blond had a million questions still whizzing round in her mind, brown eyes curiously glancing at the handsome pinkette as he easily marched down the side of the mountain and towards the flatlands to the front of them. As Lucy took more notice of the ground, trees and valleys surrounding them, she began to see tiny shoots and stems of greenery sprouting from the dust and within the branches of the trees, even tiny streams of water could be seen meandering through the divots and channels in the landscape where lava once flowed.
"Ask your questions...I can tell you're curious." Natsu tried to keep the mockery out of his voice, taking his guards words to heart by trying to be more courteous; it was hard to do something that didn't come naturally to him due to his confrontational nature.
"What happened here?" Lucy asked carefully, choosing her wording as not to sound insensitive.
"War...years of it. With a tyrant Dragon Lord on the throne with a thirst for power and complete control, the Fire Lands were turned into his base, fortress and weapons forge. Fields were burnt, trees were felled and the sky scorched. Our people suffered and starved, my father, with help from an old friend eradicated Acnologia from this world, a trick, but we were desperate. The lands were returned to their Lords and we began to rebuild."
"And the lands are beginning to flourish once again." Lucy smiled, not at the sombre Prince, but at a single tiny white flower swaying in the breeze in the shade of a nearby tree.
Natsu was standing close enough that the same gust of wind caused a strand of her golden hair to lift and tickle his scarred cheek, his nostrils flared at the light and sweet scent and the beast inside him purred contently, causing the pinkette to shake his head and look away.
Where had that come from? The dragon had never purred before...
"I'd hardly say we flourish, after years of war we are merely surviving." Natsu grumbled at her optimism.
Lucy looked over at Natsu, not with pity...but understanding.
"Well your kingdom is obviously doing something right, it may not look like much now, but in five years or so these saplings will be rooted to the ground and as tall as you, these tiny blades of grass will become a lush carpet and these trickling brooks will become rivers once again."
The look the pinkette was giving her was unreadable, but he then surprised her by looking down at the green shoots beneath his boots with a small and genuine smile.
"What does your world look like?" He asked quietly, this time staying level with the blond as they walked.
"Crowded...there are still a few small towns but most live in large cities in tall buildings on top of one another. There are artificial lights and mechanical noise everywhere, I live in the largest city in Edolas, it's like living in a theme park without the rides...only everyone rushes about their day never saying hello to another. There money is more important than character and sense of self. It's very lonely." Lucy grimaced.
"What's a 'theme park'?" Natsu tilted his head and raised an eyebrow in confusion.
He looked so adorable like that that Lucy suddenly found herself giggling uncontrollably, Natsu watched how expressive her face was, the wide smile and the tears rolling down her cheeks, he was quiet, stunned even. At first he thought there was something wrong with her, the red cheeks, shortness of breath...was she having a panic attack or something?
"W-What's wrong?" Lucy laughed at his blank expression.
"Are you sick?"
"No! Have you really never seen anyone laugh so hard it makes your sides hurt?"
He'd only wanted to know what a 'theme park' was, she didn't need to make fun of him for it...he'd never seen a woman erupt into a deep bellied laugh before, the women he'd been around were all quiet, graceful and dainty with elegance and poise, quite frankly, he found Lucy refreshing.
"You're a weirdo alright...the women I know don't laugh like that...and you never answered my question."
"Maybe the women you know don't find you very funny." Lucy grinned cheekily, whooping in triumph at getting one up on the aloof Prince, until he smirked at her and folded his arms.
"Does that mean you do?" His condescending expression caused her to frown, for a brief moment she thought she had gotten to see another side of him, but he was obviously mocking her.
"Actually no...I think you're rude, arrogant and a complete jerk...I don't know what happened to you to make you this way but there is nothing wrong with –"
Natsu snarled and got into Lucy's face, his eyes narrowing to slits at her surprised expression.
"Acnologia killed my mother in front of my very eyes...he blinded my older brother, scarred me for life and almost tore my Fathers heart into shreds! So excuse me for being a little difficult to get along with...life isn't all sunshine and rainbows Princess, I wasn't raised in a life of luxury and privilege, my father was forced to raise us in a tiny stone house with no windows, skipping meals to make sure we were fed, working long hours to make weapons that would kill his own people if they refused to submit. We were taught to survive and fight at an early age in a cruel world, even when we got our home back, we did everything we could to help the people, we sold our gold, exchanged our fine treasures for sacks of rice and grain...so tell me, how should a Prince behave in a world he's unsure is going to survive the winter?"
Lucy was taken aback at the anguish in his voice, ashamed of herself for her assumptions he was raised to have everything he ever wanted in life.
"I-I'm sorry I –"
"I don't need your pity." Natsu snapped, turning sharply on his heel to stalk off towards the clearing ahead of them.
"It's not pity, it's respect." Lucy whispered, her words causing him to stop in his tracks, before he turned his head to glance at her over his shoulder.
"Why? I've been nothing but an asshole to you..."
"Yeah, you've been a butt-head right from the get go...made a lousy first impression and an even worse second one. However I think I understand you a little better, you may not be nice but you're kind hearted." Lucy cleared her throat and ducked her head, sniffling quietly.
"I had the best mother in the world, she raised me by herself while working three jobs, we never had nice things, our house was a little shack we rented on a dirt track just outside of town, no heat, no electricity but we had food on the table. Mom spent years saving every spare penny she earned for my future, I miss her terribly. I worked hard to follow my dreams, becoming a writer, always remembering where I had come from to get where I am."
"To think we were raised to believe all humans were greedy, selfish people and had no care for the consequences of their actions. I guess not all humans are that bad."
Natsu might still be wary of the human race, the underlying distrust of their selfish need to claim themselves the superior species were what, ultimately, forged their banishment to another dimension. A small group of a few hundred humans who sided with the dragons had chosen to remain in the Dragon lands, some becoming trusted allies and protectors of the Dragons; in return they were gifted in return the ability to shift or to learn magic.
"Do you have humans here?" Lucy asked curiously.
"Yes, when the vast majority of humans were banished eons ago, some stayed behind. Dragons taught some of the early humans to shift, but those who stayed entirely human began to over time revere us as something like royalty, worshipping dragons as gods, who returned to live off the land in freedom. Mostly they keep to themselves, some are still afraid of humans but they are worshipped as they should be. This is their land, we have to respect and honour it, it's why we are so invested in it's restoration and rebirth."
"My mother mentioned a land being ruled by dragons in her stories, do you think she could have been here?"
"Who knows, if you wound up here then maybe she did too?"
"My mother was special, I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. She was beautiful, kind, men would constantly shower her with compliments and attention" Lucy then giggled, remembering something. "Layla wasn't just a pretty face, she was very clever, headstrong and confident...nothing got passed that woman!"
Natsu huffed in amusement as he turned a sardonic grin on the blond.
"Sounds like you turned out pretty much the same...only difference is you're sassier and nosy."
"Hey! Is it a crime to be curious?" Lucy demanded with her hands on her hips haughtily, tapping her foot impatiently at the pinkette.
"No...I'm just not used to a woman being so..." Natsu began but the glare he was on the receiving end of was nothing but downright terrifying, he thought only one woman he knew could give him a look so stern that his warm blood ran cold.
Apparently the great Erza Scarlet of the Knights of Valour, the most formidable woman in the Dragon lands, had some competition for scariest glare of death.
Natsu shuddered at the thought.
He thought very carefully about his next word...forceful? No that wasn't it...pushy? Nope, he didn't want another kick to the head, the blond may look delicate but she had one hell of a kick!"
"Condescending? Smart-mouthed?" Natsu waited for his impending doom but Lucy merely grinned evilly at him.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Scary woman." Natsu mumbled to himself.
"So...if you can turn into a human, why didn't you when we first met? Surely if humans are banished from these lands and haven't seen dragons in centuries, wouldn't showing your dragon form be a huge mistake?" Lucy asked curiously.
"I was wounded, my injuries don't hurt as much in dragon form as they do in my human form. Dragons run on only the basic of instincts, to hunt to feed and to mate and to defend their territories. You showed no fear or ill will towards me so I felt more inclined to stay a dragon, I was simply trying to get you to leave me alone."
"You could have just told me to get lost instead of dangling me upside down and burning a hole in my top..." Lucy moaned, crossing her arms angrily.
"I was having a bit of fun...anyway what would it matter if I had spoken to you from the start? I was and still am distrustful of humans and while you may be one of the few decent ones I'm not one to reveal all of my secrets to someone I've just met. You need to be prepared that if you linger too long in this world you will find others that wish harm upon you, dragon and Shifter alike who hate or are afraid on you." Natsu told her firmly.
"Then...why are you helping me? Why didn't you just –"
"As I told you, your scent confuses me, you seem to have a connection to this world and I can see by your curiosity that you want to know what that is."
"I've been misjudged and criticised by others for most of my life. Trust me, I can handle it."
Grumbling to himself at her naivety, Natsu stalked off towards the route to the capital, Ignis was a days walk on foot, but he would use up too much energy to shift into his dragon form and carry Lucy the rest of the way. If she thought for a second he was going to permit her to ride on his back like a obedient horse, she was sorely mistaken. The pair settled into a stony silence for what felt like hours as they passed forests, dusty plains and the like, the blond obviously occupied with the many thoughts now drifting around in her mind; to be honest, Natsu was enjoying the silence, her presence had become tolerable, but he could feel his dragon becoming attached to the beautiful blond and her cheeky but kind nature.
Lucy was eager to go to the capital of his homeland, but if his suspicions of just who she might be connected to, which his father would be able to confirm or deny, he was worried about the outcome and what it could do to her conviction about returning to Earthland.
There seemed to be a great deal of loneliness within her, she had briefly mentioned having a cousin back home but from the absence of any further information, Natsu surmised that they weren't close. The words that she spoke of her mother never telling her who she really was, or where she had come from, only added to the Princes suspicions.
Natsu didn't want to have to build up his defences against her, he fully believed she had appeared in his world quite by purpose, but if she did learn that she was half human and half from the Dragon lands, Lucy would be refuelled in her desire to learn everything she could from him, regardless of his willingness to cooperate to incessant questioning.
If Lucy learnt who he thought she might be, the powers and strength she could possess, she would want to remain here, Natsu didn't want to think what that would mean for him, considering he could feel his dragon wanting to stay close to her, to protect her.
And that terrified him.
So, steeling his resolve and keeping his distance, Natsu swore to keep Lucy as far away from his heart as he possibly could. Maybe he would allow himself to come to consider her a friend, but he flatly refused to even consider thinking of her becoming anything more than that.
His dragon was mocking him in the far reaches of his mind, telling him to pay attention to this woman, she was special, but Natsu simply shook his head and lead the silent Lucy across the dusty flatlands towards his home.
Several hours later and the two of them had reached a small lake, glowing red and orange in the shifting aurora of the fiery sky above them, Lucy had noticed the ground begin to soften underfoot from sporadically growing thickets of grass, even some leaves to be growing in the trees; they had even seen some small wildlife, mice, birds, rabbits and even a buck. Had Natsu been back at full strength he would have caught the deer with a spear of his dragons tail and prepared a large meal for them. After then pointing out some fish swimming in the lake, Lucy had promptly shrieked and quickly averted her eyes as Natsu's clothes magically vanished and the pinkette waded into the water to go fishing.
Instead of allowing herself to let her traitorous gaze linger on his muscular tanned shoulder blades and gloriously peachy ass the aloof man possessed, the blond scarpered off towards the trees to collect some rocks, sticks and something to spear the fish on to cook.
She hoped it wasn't trout...or eel...she really hated eels!
Her nerves rattled her out of her mental musings when a sudden clearing of a man's throat made her jump, Lucy turned to yell at the exhibitionistic Prince for sneaking up on her; when her eyes fell on the form of an entirely different male.
A tall, thin man around her age was stood grinning at her, with spiked orange hair to his crown, which turned into a bushy ponytail that fell to his shoulder blades, bright green eyes and he wore a black and gold suit of armour with shoulder guards, gauntlets and knee braces of sharp claws. A long black cape and a pair of daggers at each hip, this man was not built for power, like Natsu, but speed.
He was certainly good looking, with his charming grin, but Lucy could feel the familiar sensation of a cold shudder sliding down her back as his green eyes raked up and down her form.
"Hello beautiful...I knew you were exquisite when I first picked up your lovely scent."
Lucy scowled at the male stranger and tightened her hold on the largest rock in her hand, making sure to get a good grip to launch an attack should the need arise.
"I see the Prince has finally left his charge alone, I had to meet the most ravishing woman in the entire world!"
Lucy dropped the rest of her haul of sticks and stones and held up a hand to try and stop the advance of the flirty carrot-top before she drew back her arm ready to hurl the stone at his head.
"S-Stop! Don't you dare come any closer or I'll be forced to attack you!" Lucy stammered, trying to get rid of him by voice alone.
"Ooh...feisty too!" He grinned, walking himself forwards and the blond backwards into a nearby oak tree, she squeaked and darted sideways, but every time she stepped one way, the man would block her exit; she grimaced at the way his eyes roamed over her once again, widening as they settled on her ample chest.
"You don't need to do that, my love! I know Natsu has his charms but I can give you so much more than –"
The way the orange haired male spoke the Princes name with such familiarity had her thinking the two were at least acquaintances, maybe even friends, but as he stepped too close into her personal space, she decided to attack first...ask questions later.
Obviously, from the way the mans eyes widened, he didn't expect her to actually follow through with her threat, so the thud and sickening crunch to the side of his head caught him entirely by surprise, so much so that he immediately fell to his knees and slumped to the floor with a metallic clang from his armour ringing out into the forest.
She was about to whoop for joy at her victory when her defeated assailant suddenly groaned in pain and reached his hand out towards her, causing her to shriek in surprise and hit him once more for good measure; his eyes slid into the back of his head and he was finally unconscious.
"Wow...not only are you a complete slime ball...you also have a really hard skull!"
Upon hearing heavy footsteps behind her, Lucy turned sharply, pulling her arm back ready to strike another intruder when a familiar pinkette rounded the corner, topless save for his usual white pants and boots thankfully covering his lower half.
Natsu stopped dead in his tracks, holding four large silver fish by their tail ends in one hand, his eyes widening at the rock in Lucy's hand and the body of his second guard Loke who was slumped unmoving at the blonds feet.
Natsu groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"What did Loke do to you?" From the pinkettes reaction, Lucy seemed to be correct in her assumption that they did indeed know each other and was very familiar with this behaviour to not automatically blame her for it.
"You know this sleaze ball?!" Lucy demanded.
"Yeah...he's one of my bodyguards...Loke."
Lucy froze, all the colour draining from her face as she dropped the rock and leant down to pat the injured male on the head in apology.
"He tried to hit on me, he wouldn't take no for an answer!"
Natsu could feel his dragon demanding that Natsu battle with Loke's golden dragon to claim Lucy as his, but the pinkette stamped that feeling down immediately, now wasn't the time for silly ideas like that...
"Geesh...remind me never to hit on you if that's how you react..."Natsu jested, he then paled when he realised what he'd just said. "N-Not that I ever would!"
"Don't get any ideas Pinkie!" Lucy huffed, offended at his words, she crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air.
"Don't flatter yourself, Princess."
With that, Natsu began to gather some of the rock and stick collection that Lucy had gathered and then dropped, motioning for her to do the same and to follow him towards where they had decided to make camp.
"What do we do with Casanova here?" Lucy nudged Loke's hand with the toe of her boot before looking over at Natsu.
"Cassa-who? Just leave him there, he's woken up hungover in far stranger places, no doubt Gajeel is nearby to drag him to camp, I'm more interested in dinner than dragging his sorry ass around."
Lucy had a rather...interesting introduction to the two new members of their duo, now quartet.
Loke had been thoroughly enjoying poking fun at the scowling Prince about Lucy, who was sitting nearest the campfire to try and warm herself, not realising just how chilly the evening was going to be in her thin clothing.
Natsu had stalked off to his tent, returning a moment later to fling a blanket at her to stop her shivering, he couldn't see her glare as it landed on top of her head; giving the three males the impression that she was a ghost.
"Unfortunately, for some reason Gingernut here is loved by women of the royal court, he's an annoying pretty boy with a sweet tongue so women fawn all over him...he's too immature to realise when a woman genuinely isn't interested in him, so don't take his flirting personally, Bunny Girl."
Lucy, while finding Loke extremely forward and at times rather annoying, privately found the sardonic and dry humour of Prince Natsu's first bodyguard to be extremely entertaining.
Gajeel Redfox was almost the entire opposite of Loke in both appearance and character, with very long spiked black hair, blood red eyes and a build of powerful muscles, it was clear he was a warrior of brute strength. With as many metal piercings as weapons he kept hidden on his person, Natsu had joked 'Lug-Nuts' knew more ways to kill a person than had ever been invented, his wild and untamed appearance was matched with a stoic personality, he was the epitome of the 'strong and silent' type of male, with a few wise cracks thrown in for good measure.
Lucy had immediately warmed up to the scary male when he announced that watching her thwacking Loke on the side of the head with a rock, twice, was easily the best entertainment he'd had in months.
Loke was still sulking while quietly eating his fish, to the left of Natsu, who had taken to sitting nearby the blond in case his flirty guard tried to woo her again...his dragon still wanted to tear his limbs off for even touching the pretty blond.
His suspicions had been proven right when Loke had suddenly tossed aside his mostly eaten fish, gotten to his feet and bowed before the bewildered woman, who eyes him warily.
"My darling Lucy...please forgive my brutish behaviour –"
"Get up you idiot." Natsu groaned with a roll of his amber eyes.
"B-But, I must offer this delicate vision of feminine beauty my sincerest apology so I can profess my undying love for her!" Loke spoke with a dramatic flair.
"You mean the 'delicate vision' who knocked you unconscious with a rock?"
Natsu laughed at Gajeel's burn and turned to a confused Lucy, he could see from her expression she wasn't sure how to react to such a confession.
"Is he alright? I know I hit him rather hard but I don't think I did that much damage." Lucy side whispered to an amused Natsu.
"Nah...he's always been a bonehead...you probably helped to knock some sense into him."
Lucy giggled and tossed her finished meal into the fire to burn, along with the stick, she lifted her arms over her head and arched her back, yawning quietly; unaware of two pairs of eyes on her as she got to her feet.
"Well...if you don't mind, I'm going to get some rest."
Gajeel and Loke had set up several simple cloth tents not far from the campfire, one for each of their group.
"If I find you going five meters of my tent, Loke...I won't hesitate to give you matching lumps to the other side of your head!"
Gajeel guffawed while Loke let his mouth drop open comically at her threat, the three men watched as the blond disappeared into her bed for the evening, before they struck up a conversation about their plans for the remainder of their journey.
"So you never did confirm if you followed my orders." Natsu asked.
"We shifted and flew to Ignis to inform our Lord Igneel of your whereabouts, he was pleased you were only mildly injured but asked us to return and escort you home."
Natsu nodded in approval at Gajeel's words, glad his father hadn't sent a scolding at his reckless behaviour. So maybe he got a little close to an active volcano for comfort...he had paid the price for it, the Prince had been on the receiving end of far more lasting injuries in the past, the jagged scar on his cheek among many others littering his body.
"I'm twenty five...I don't need a babysitter like a youngling." Natsu grumbled.
"What do you plan to do with the girl if Lord Igneel doesn't know who she is?" Loke asked, showing a rare flash of the serious side of his personality.
Lucy couldn't help but listen in to their conversation as she lay in her simple roll up cot and thick woollen blanket, she tried to slow her racing heart to stop the nervousness that clawed through her body like a wild animal tearing into a carcass.
"Then she is to be returned home. She has a whole life ahead of her, a job, there must be people who miss her...she has no place in a cruel world such as this." Natsu whispered.
"Would she be okay with that? What if she wants to stay?" Gajeel asked.
Natsu sighed and tossed his fish bones into the spitting flames of the campfire. He wasn't sure what would happen if Lucy decided she was going to stay, it was difficult to relax around her as a man, when his dragon had rapidly become attached to her. He had to remain on his guard, had to stay aloof and indifferent around her, lest his human emotions get the better of him and allow his mind to fall down the same path as his dragon had. The blond beauty was noticeably more relaxed and content around his dragon, her soft hands calming his animalistic instincts, easier to please; his inner beast relished in her attention and care, sought to protect her and cherish her.
Almost as though it wanted to be tamed.
Natsu refused to allow it.
"What could possibly make her want to stay in this desolate place?"
Both Gajeel and Loke looked at the normally aloof Princes dazed and faraway expression and chuckled.
"If you haven't figured it out yet, then you're an even bigger idiot than I thought, Salamander."
Well thats it for this chapter, please remember to tell me what you think, I love reading your comments! See you hopefully soon for chapter 4!