A dusty wind whipped through the deserted stadium, the rubble of the morning battle still strewn all over. Only the royal viewing box, situated slightly above the stands, brimmed with beings. Gray, Juvia, Chelia, Lyon, Gajeel, Levy, Lily, Carla and Happy lounged about the spacious area, chatting idly with each other as they waited for Lucy and Sherry to enter the field.

Natsu stood a little apart from the others, his stance rigid and unwelcoming. His gaze was locked on the field below and he wore a fierce scowl that belied the worry and hurt that echoed in his expressive emerald eyes.

Happy drifted to his side hesitantly.

"Why'd you act so mean to Lucy down there?"

Natsu did not respond, his form becoming even more rigid. Happy frowned, crossing his stubby little arms across his chest as he hovered beside his friend.

"There was no need to feel jealous. Lucy obviously doesn't like that silly human more than you. You overreacted…"

Natsu let out a frustrated hiss, his expression morose when he turned towards the stern feline.

"I know, Happy. But that knowledge doesn't help me calm down every time I see one of these bastards sniffing around her - I'm just so scared I'll lose her before I even have the chance to admit my feelings…"

"Then why not just tell her how you feel right now?"

"I want too." The fire dragon whispered, a frown gracing his lips and his look of worry deepening. "But… something is telling me not to. I've noticed that despite how easily we've returned to our close friendship of yore, Lucy is still not fully comfortable with me. She hides many secrets… and I fear that her reluctance to confide in me may be because she does not care for me as much as I care for her. To admit the depth of my affection may make it awkward and uncomfortable for her - I dare not risk our friendship for the sake of my own selfish heart…"

Happy groaned, slapping a paw on his forehead.

"Honestly, the pair of you drive me insane! How can two beings so obviously in love with each other be so immensely dense?! Natsu, haven't you been keeping secrets from her? Is it because you don't care for her?!"

Natsu directed a wounded glare at his familiar.

"You know that's not why, Happy! The only 'secrets' I've been keeping from Lucy are details about my demon magic and its effects on me. And I'd never find a good enough reason to tell her those - what if she started to fear or hate me? I-I couldn't stand that…"

"So, basically you're afraid she'll react negatively in some way?"

"Y-yes. I don't want to diminish her opinion of me…"

"There you go. Maybe these secrets Lucy keeps are those that she thinks would diminish her in your eyes. Maybe she's scared you'll like her less once you know them."

Natsu blinked before scowling at his friend, frustration writ on his face.

"How silly! I could never think less of her! Ugh. This is so complicated…"

Happy snickered. "Tell me about it!"

Natsu dropped his stern expression, a wan smile making its way onto his visage. He reached out and ruffled the fur on his friend's head.

"Thanks Happy. That actually makes sense. It's exactly the strange way she would think, so I believe it."

Happy rolled his eyes. Before he could respond, a telltale click of locks indicated that the combatants had emerged from their respective training rooms, prepared for battle.

Natsu's eyes were immediately drawn to the svelte form of the human maiden as she strode confidently to the middle of the field, halting a few meters away from her opponent. She was dressed in black breeches paired with tall, brown boots and a black, long-sleeved shirt. Her golden hair was tied up in a braided bun. Around her slender waist, she sported a belt from which dangled a whip and two daggers - one which Natsu recognized as a gift of his to her on a past birthday. Around her neck she proudly sported his medallion - the sight of which both calmed and excited Natsu as his intense gaze bored into her. Lucy stood proud and tall, ready for battle, her pose and demeanor greatly different from the previous day when she had battled against Happy. The fierce and confident aura she emanated would have caused any foe weaker than a dragon to quail in fear.

Even as it was, Sherry looked far less arrogant than before as she took in the young Princess's stance.

Natsu was distracted by a soft, tremulous gasp from one of the occupants of the box. He scanned his friends from the corner of his eye, his gaze finally landing on Juvia who looked horrified and shaken as she stared at something on Lucy. She was being comforted by a worried and mystified Gray, as he tried to console her and ascertain what was troubling his beloved at the same time. The Fire Dragon Prince looked away, confident that his surrogate brother would get to the bottom of that mystery soon enough.

Natsu cleared his throat, stepping forward towards the edge of the box to address the combatants.

"This is a challenge issued by the fire dragoness Sherry to the Princess of Pergrande - one which she has accepted. As per our laws, Sherry, you may fight this battle in your true form but you may not use magic since your foe is non-magical. Commence the battle at my signal. Fight fair and true. May the bravest heart emerge victorious."

Natsu threw his head back and released a feral roar.

The battle had officially begun.

Sherry and Lucy prowled around in a wide arc, each gauging the other. Sherry's lips curled into a more pronounced snarl with each measured step she trod. Lucy's expression was guarded and calculating, her own tread light and smooth as she judged her foe.

At last, it was Sherry who broke the silent staring contest with a battle cry. She lunged at the human maiden, her clawed fingers outstretched as she intended to wrestle her way into an easy victory. Lucy stood her ground, dancing out of the way at the very last moment and flinging a stray blob of iron with her whip into the vicious dragoness's path. Sherry tripped over the unexpected obstruction, falling into a tumble that she neatly rolled into, landing gracefully in a crouch a good distance away from the Princess. Lucy, in the meantime, had made her way deeper into the metal strewn portion of the field, her gaze taunting and her voice mocking as she addressed the scowling dragoness.

"Is that the best you can do? My, my, how embarrassing…"

Sherry screeched, becoming livid as she jeered at the arrogant human.

"You insolent weakling! I will wring that pretty neck of yours, just you wait…"

With another war cry the fire dragoness rushed her opponent, only to be sidestepped again - this time with a heavy piece of shrapnel to the gut to show for her efforts. Sherry gaped - she had barely seen the clumsy human move! How was it possible that she so easily avoided her attacks?

Lucy smirked at the sight of Sherry's stunned expression.

"I've fought demons for years now, Lady Dragoness. Fighting a dragon is a piece of cake in comparison."

Sherry bristled, resenting the comparison to a race so despised by her people.

"How dare you compare a demon's blasphemous ways in a fight to the honorable battle techniques of a dragon!"

Lucy nimbly twisted away from yet another blow, this time kicking up a cloud of metal shavings into her foe's face. Sherry shrieked in fury, clawing at her eyes as she cursed her opponent.

"You fight like a coward!"

Lucy snorted in response.

"I'm merely using my knowledge of your 'honorable' fighting techniques to my advantage. I must use every tool and trick in my arsenal in order to survive this battle. I'm a weak human, remember?"

Lucy uttered the last sentence with an accusatory glance towards the royal box.

In the raised and covered platform, Natsu hung his head guiltily. He watched as Lucy danced out of the way of yet another straightforward attack, using her wily whip to impede her attacker's progress whilst she riled her foe with taunting words in a clever bid to distract her. Natsu couldn't help but feel ashamed for his previous thoughtless words, uttered in a weak moment of jealousy and rage. As much as he had known that they were untrue at the time he had uttered them, the proof of his wrongness was even more stark the longer he observed her in battle. Lucy did not possess the strength or speed of a dragon, but she undoubtedly possessed the raw passion and energy of one. She utilized her existing assets to the max to gain an advantage in battle. Her cleverness and quick reflexes helped her anticipate her opponent's moves and invent ingenious ways to counter them. A dragon's style of fighting was very direct - they believed in showing off their strength with simple yet effective attacks - and Lucy shamelessly exploited this predictably to evade her increasingly frustrated and desperate foe.

Natsu watched in awe as Lucy executed an almost perfect flip, landing neatly on her feet, facing her raging opponent with a smirk.

"You're getting sloppy, Lady Sherry. Tiring so soon?"

The enraged roar that Sherry unleashed would have caused the stoutest of hearts to quiver in fear.

Lucy barely blinked.

Sherry lunged at her foe, feinting to the side at the last instant as she desperately tried to get a hit in. Lucy was quick to retaliate - she drew Natsu's dagger from its scabbard, making a few focused swipes at specific points on Sherrys arm. Sherry fell back, clutching her now incapacitated arm in horror.

"What have you done?!"

"I've studied the anatomy of a dragon." Lucy responded grimly. "With the help of my friend Cana, I've identified the spots in your physique I can use to temporarily paralyze you. I always make it a point to study the physical and mental makeup of my enemies - that's the best way to strategize in a battle."

The Prince of Dragons felt a shock at the realization that hit him and his familiar at the same time. Lucy was quite capable of holding her own against a skilled warrior - albeit in her own creative way. That had to mean… She had been going easy on Happy the previous day! Happy pouted, muttering about a rematch, whilst Natsu returned to examining the human maiden - a surge of affection flowing through him as he studied her lithe form.

She truly was magnificent.

Sherry glanced around frantically as she stumbled back, still clutching her useless arm. Lucy watched her every move with a blank, expressionless mein, standing stock still a few feet away. Sherry looked obviously disturbed and fearful - gone was the haughty arrogance and blind rage she had sported before. She looked far more like a cornered animal, one that would lash out dangerously at the slightest provocation.

"It's ok, Sherry." Chelias soft voice from the royal box carried on the wind. "Admitting defeat against a hard foe is honorable too. Please surrender."

The words seemed to snap Sherry out of her moment of self doubt.

"NEVER!"

Sherry lunged forward again, but instead of aiming for Lucy she feinted to the side again, getting a good grasp on Lucy's whip. With a strong tug she yanked the sleek weapon out of the human's hands. She whirled on her heel, a maniacal grin on her face.

"Let's see how you fare without your precious tool!"

In an almost lazy gesture, Sherry snapped the whip once in the air, the resulting twang echoing in the empty stadium.

A pained scream, the likes of which had never been heard of in the stadium that was accustomed to the heart rending cries of battle, rang out in the quiet air.

Lucy fell to her knees, a glazed look in her eyes and a horror filled expression on her face, her mouth still gaping after the wretched sound had escaped her. She let out two more piercing screams in quick succession, curving in on herself into a fetal position on the dusty ground of the battlefield. She writhed with a phantom pain, her sounds of acute distress quickly petering off into whimpers.

Natsu hurled himself out of the box, snapping out his wings as he dived to the ground, stumbling his landing in his haste to reach her. Before he could collect her in his arms, a dainty yet firm grip yanked him backwards. Natsu snarled, whirling instantly on the being that dared to stop him, only to be greeted by Juvia's frantic and livid expression.

"Stand down, Sir Natsu! Juvia knows what to do - she will ask for your help when it is needed."

Before Natsu could protest Juvia shoved him aside, kneeling down on the ground beside the monarch, her voice soothing yet firm as she addressed her human friend.

"Lucy? Can you hear Juvia's voice? You are not in Pergrande... not in that place. You are in Alagesia, in the battle stadium."

Juvia reached out, carefully grasping Lucy's hand and guiding it to the sandy floor of the stadium.

"Feel the floor. How does it feel?"

Lucy's pitiful whimpers slowed, as she struggled to control whatever was haunting her, clutching desperately at the gravelly floor to ground herself. Juvia waited patiently, rubbing Lucy's forearm soothingly. At last, the golden-haired girl croaked out a response.

"W-warm. S-sandy."

Juvia sighed with relief. She glanced behind her, indicating to Natsu to join them with a nod of her head. The fire dragon approached them slowly, kneeling beside Juvia and gazing down at Lucy's prone, shivering figure with fear and worry rampant in his eyes. Juvia grabbed his hand, guiding it to clasp Lucy's free hand.

"Feel this hand. Whose hand is it?"

Lucy's breathing steadied even more, the glaze in her eyes reducing as she gazed upon the warm, clawed appendage trapping her own.

"Natsu's…"

Juvia smiled.

"Good, Lucy. You know he was not there that day. So, now tell me - who are you, and where are you?"

"I-I am Lucy. T-the Princess of P-Pergrande. And… I am in A-Alagesia. With Natsu… And Happy… And all my friends. I am safe…"

With a final, deep shudder, the young maiden stilled. Natsu gasped, lunging forward in a panic only to be once again pulled back by the patient mermaid kneeling next to him.

"Do not worry, Sir Natsu." Juvia soothed him in her melodious voice. "She has only fainted. It happens almost every time she has one of her panic attacks."

Natsu could not wrench his eyes away from Lucy's unusually still form. He could hear her steady and strong heartbeat - proof that Juvia had spoken the truth - but he was still too shaken by what he had seen to be able to demand the answers he so desperately craved.

"Juvia - what do you mean by 'every time'?! How many times has this happened to her?!"

Gray's gentle yet strained voice reached Natsu's ears, the dragon relaxing a little as the question registered in his sluggish brain.

Juvia looked up at her beloved, her expression apologetic.

"Juvia has lost count…"

Happy, who had followed Natsu almost instantly after he had dived, whimpered in distress. Gray patted the exceeds head absently as he addressed his fiancé with a concerned frown.

"But why?! Why did that whip cracking sound pull such an extreme reaction from her?…"

Juvia shook her head morosely.

"Juvia is not at liberty to answer that. The story is personal to Lucy, and only she can tell it."

Juvia glanced at Natsu. "Sir Natsu, your chambers are the closest to the stadium, are they not?"

Natsu responded with a jerky nod, still not tearing his gaze away from the young maiden's form.

"Then please take her there to rest."

Natsu rose slowly, gathering the human maiden in his arms reverently. He whipped out his wings, and with a solemn glance at all the concerned faces of his gathered friends, he launched into the air - cradling the small, delicate form of his precious, unconscious bonded.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An angry wind whipped the cloaks of the two shrouded figures as they hastily made their way down the deserted corridor. The pair made a sharp turn at the end of the hall, brushing aside a thick, luxurious curtain to enter a spacious chamber. Making their way through an ornate archway, they entered a smaller sized boudoir in which a luxurious bed was arranged in one corner. Upon it, the slender form of a maiden lay, a rigid, distressed, pink-haired dragon man sitting by her side, stroking her cheek with a tender, featherlite touch.

"Natsu. Step away from Lucy for a moment."

The Prince instinctively growled, clutching the unconscious maiden's hand tighter. He glanced at his visitors over his shoulder, his hold relaxing the moment he took in the pair.

"Mother? Wendy?"

Grandine sighed, unfastening her cloak and laying it to the side as her daughter did the same. She approached Natsu cautiously, laying a soothing, light hand on his shoulder.

"You must truly be distressed if you did not register our entry into your chamber sooner, my son." Grandine intoned softly, her eyes filled with concern as her gaze flitted between her boy and the unmoving form of the beautiful human girl.

Natsu hung his head.

"It's all my fault. I goaded her into this fight… Put her in a position she obviously should not have been in. If anything serious has happened to her, I don't know what I would do…"

Natsu bent forward, brushing his lips tenderly against the golden-haired girl's forehead, struggling to contain the tears threatening to fall free.

His mother and sister watched him in mute silence, a look of understanding passing between them as they took in the tender scene.

"Sir Natsu?"

The soft voice laced with compassion addressed the distraught fire dragon from the entryway to his bedroom. Natsu reluctantly pulled away from the sleeping girl, rising from his spot to face the newcomers. In the doorway stood Juvia - Levy and Yukino standing a step behind her. With his sharp eyes, Natsu could make out the figures of Gray, Gajeel and Sting in his antechamber, murmuring in low voices amongst themselves.

"How fares Lucy?"

Juvia's gentle voice forced Natsu to pull his eyes away from the prone form of the young maiden on his bed.

"I can't tell. She still seems unconscious to me, but I don't think she's in pain. Then again, I am not a healing dragon…"

Natsu turned beseeching eyes towards his mother and sister, both of whom gave him a reassuring smile.

"Her breathing seems normal, Natsu. I daresay she has slipped from unconsciousness to sleep." Grandine said softly.

The fire dragon let out a huff of breath, both relieved and irritated.

"That only partly reassures me. What the fuck happened out there?"

Natsu directed his glare at Yukino and Levy this time.

Levy bristled, matching his fierce look with a withering glance of her own.

"I wish I knew! Gajeel and I have only heard others speak of her attacks - and whenever I asked her about them, she would always evade the conversation with some clever quips or teasing banter! I-I had no idea they were truly this awful…" Levy's voice trailed off, unshed tears glistening in her eyes as her gaze drifted to the fair haired maiden on Natsu's bed.

Natsu let out a hiss of frustration, his attention diverting to the pale and trembling human beside the petite fairy of spirit. Yukino refused to look him in the eyes, her expression closed and her gaze downcast.

"Well? You act as Lucy's servant in the palace, do you not? Surely you would know the full truth behind her affliction?"

Yukino shook her head slowly.

"Y-your m-majesty, I-I c-cannot speak of what l-little I k-know…"

"Stop it, Natsu." Sting moved with unerring grace, promptly standing behind the pretty human mage as his Prince continued to stare at her. The light Dragon's actions distracted Natsu, Sting's pointed glare only serving to rile the incensed fire dragon.

"I WANT ANSWERS, DAMMIT!"

"THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO BULLY MY BONDED MATE, NATSU! LEAVE HER ALONE!"

Natsu halted his tirade abruptly, a surprised expression creeping up on his face.

"Your bonded?"

The pair blushed, Sting coughing a little self-consciously.

"T-that is… we've been getting to know each other better whilst I showed her the sights of Alagesia… I knew what she was to me, and since it seemed hopeful she could return my affections, I told her…"

"Congratulations, you two." Grandine's warm voice interrupted Sting's stammered confession. The queen turned to her son, addressing him solemnly.

"Your brother in arms has bravely declared his love to his bonded - this act should be recognized by you, his Prince and idol." Grandine smiled encouragingly. "Take him and the others down to the kitchens and fix yourselves a hearty lunch. Do not worry about Lucy, she is in my capable hands."

Grandines no-nonsense tone was reinforced by a loud growl from Natsu's stomach. The Prince sighed, running a hand through his unruly locks.

"Is Happy down there?"

"Aye. After he told us of Lucy's predicament, he seemed so distressed that we left him in Carla's care."

Natsu rose mechanically, his body obeying his mother's demand.

"Oh and Natsu? Would you send a bottle of our finest healing wine to this room? I'm sure Lucy would enjoy a sip when she awakens…"

The soft, encouraging smile his sister shot at him after her gentle words forced a wane smile from the morose Prince in return. With a nod of acquiescence, and a formal bow to the ladies congregated in his room, the sober Prince of the Dragons swept out of his chambers, grabbing Sting by the scruff of his coat unceremoniously on his way out. Sting cursed as he struggled against the unexpected hold, the other males quietly following the quarrelling pair out of Natsu's rooms.

Grandine let out a sigh of relief that was echoed by many of the females in the room. She finally turned her complete attention to the still figure of the girl on the bed, stepping forward to better examine her pale face.

"You can stop pretending to be unconscious, Lucy, Natsu is no longer in the room."

Lucy's eyes shot open as she let out a surprised gasp.

"O-oh. H-how did you know, Grandine?..."

"Being a healer for so many years did give me a chance to learn a thing or two about human breathing patterns, and you were obviously feigning your faint for about five minutes after I entered this room." Grandine dead-panned.

Lucy gulped, the deathly pallor still evident on her face as she struggled to sit up in bed.

"I-I'm sorry… I just wasn't ready to tell Natsu about…" Lucy abruptly halted, a slight shudder wracking her frame.

Grandine sat on the edge of the bed as Wendy hurried forward to check Lucy's vitals. As the younger wind dragon gently conducted her examination of Lucy's state, her mother placed a comforting hand on Lucy's shoulder, giving it an encouraging squeeze.

"I understand. As caring as my son can be, when it comes to you he can be… overzealous in his protective instincts. And based on the description of your panic attack, I can only guess its cause would be terrible indeed…"

Lucy's gaze flitted between Juvia and Yukino, a hint of surprise coloring her features.

"You did not tell Grandine about the source of my attacks?"

"Of course not, Lucy." Juvia retorted softly, reproach in her tone. "It is your secret to tell. Juvia will not betray a friend's confidence."

"And I was not even there during the actual event." Yukino interjected gently. "I would not even know where to begin…"

Lucy nodded, a slight tremble in her willowy frame as she gazed out the window thoughtfully. A battle seemed to occupy her consciousness, as the young Princess gnawed her plush lower lip with vigor, ignoring Wendy's gentle words of remonstrance. After a few tense moments, Lucy turned back to her audience, her face still pale but set with grim determination. She pushed the sheets further off her form, dragging her sluggish body off the soft bed with Grandine and Wendy's help. She approached the full-length mirror leaning against the far wall of Natsu's room, taking a deep breath as she gazed back at all her friend's worried faces reflected in it. Wordlessly, she removed her black shirt, closing her eyes as the silky garment fell to the ground, exposing her full torso to the view of everyone in the chamber.

Her breath caught as she heard the loud gasps of shock and outrage that filled the chamber.

She knew the cause for it.

Her now exposed back was an ugly abomination of scars, the deep lashes creating a grotesque criss-cross pattern from the upper curve of her derriere to the base of her neck. The skin of her back was stretched in spots, tiny splinters of metal underneath adding strange bluish-black discolourations to her usually creamy complexion.

"WHO THE FUCK DID THAT TO YOU?!"

The booming roar of pure rage eclipsed the other voices in the room. Lucy's eyes shot open, her gaze instantly connecting in the mirror with the figure standing in the doorway of the bedchamber.

Lucy shivered.

"Natsu…"