The Present

Princess Lucy of Heartfilia dashed through the hallways of warm, dark castle that had been her home for the past seven years. Her lungs ached and her muscles strained with every slap of bare foot on obsidian as she ran so quickly she almost lifted off the ground. Her long, sunflower hair streamed out behind her in a tangled wavy mess as she whipped her head around and stared behind her with wide, swirling coffee-brown eyes to see if her chaser was still in pursuit. She couldn't see him, and she let out an involuntary, triumphant giggle before clamping her hands firmly over her mouth. She had come too far for his damnable hearing to catch her now.

Swinging her head from left to right, she surveyed her options. She could walk along the walkway to the atrium, the stairs down into the ballroom, or right to the armory. Thinking that she heard a rustle not too far off, she turned and bolted into the armory, closing the door behind her with a soft click.

Her eyes adjusted to the musty dark to observe racks of swords, bows, daggers, maces, and just about any other weapon you could imagine that suitors past and future could use against the Protector of Fairy Tail Keep if they could find it. She walked back to the corner, jamming herself gently into the space between a rack of broadswords and the wall of javelins. Her hips had started to widen out gently two or three years ago and now gave her the hourglass figure of a woman that also made it harder to fit into her old hiding spaces as easily as she used to.

She tried to slow her breathing down because she was panting pathetically and almost begging to be caught. As she did, she could make out a triangle of light on the ceiling that grew with a small creak of the wooden door as the armory opened. Her heart started fluttering even faster, and she wished that she could stop it. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, clenching her whole body as though it would make her tinier or invisible.

Natsu often thought these days that maybe they were too old for some of these games, but it was rare for Luce to be in a playful mood anymore. She had gone from his tomboy-ish playmate to a real princess over the short years, and now it was responsible and "Madame Aquarius said this" and "A princess mustn't do that." Any opportunity he got to see his old Lucy back, he'd seldom waste, slipping into a devilish little boy in a heartbeat.

He didn't know why she thought that she could win this game. She never had. Though her scent laced the whole castle in its floral delicateness, he could still follow the freshest trail with his eyes closed. He could hear the slap of her feet in the halls, the small squeaking laugh that she let out, and the open and close of the armory door.

He walked down the halls calmly after her. There was no need to rush this part. Much like he would a child, he gave her time to hide because it made the game that much more fun. These days, Natsu felt as though he had grown into the castle. He was now at nearly six feet tall, with a lean but finely muscled frame that reflected the years of intense training that he hadn't failed to neglect since Igneel had left. His pink hair stuck up in all directions, only managing to stay trimmed so often by the volunteered efforts of Cancer, the princess' scissors/stylist who couldn't bear to look at Natsu's hair falling to shambles. As he often did, he wore only his white scarf from Igneel, a vest, and loose pants to allow for him to transform at a moment's notice.

He paused in front of the armory door, inhaling deeply. Lucy smelled like lily-of-the-valley from the perfume that her feather duster/maid Virgo kept stocking in her room seemingly from thin air. As it always did, it swirled around his nostrils and up into his sinuses, leaving him dizzy and dazed for a moment. That scent was a comfort and constant reminder that the princess was still here, and he had not failed her.

He pushed the door open with a small creak, and his sensitive ears perked as he heard the steady beat of her heart go double time, beating against her ribs like it was trying to escape. He smiled almost ferally, letting his dragon instinct guide him as his pupils narrowed to slits to allow his dragon vision to take over and give him perfect sight in the dimly lit room. He meandered over to the corner where she was hidden with his hands in his pockets, his footfalls completely silent.

She was balled up in a space to small for her, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Two roses of color spotted her cheeks from the exercise, and her body trembled slightly from residual adrenaline coursing in her veins. He leaned over silently until his lips were almost level with her ear.

"I think that's one-thousand three hundred and twelve for me, Princess," he purred.

Her eyes flew open, and she instinctively (and not very royally) fell backward, raising her hands in defense. Her huge brown irises were almost swallowed up by her pupils as her eyes strained to see in the darkness. They were framed by lovely, long dark eyelashes that fluttered from his closeness.

He almost immediately fell back with a guffaw. "Aw, man, you should see the look on your face!" he cackled. "Classic!"

He heard her inhale deep as she stood to her full height, still a good six or seven inches shorter than him. "Well, you try doing any better when a dragon sneaks up on you in the dark! And anyway, we haven't even played hide-and-seek a thousand times so how could you win over that?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

Out of habit, his hands rose in case she tried one of her signature Lucy kicks and he continued laughing. "Lighten up, your Highness. It's only a game. Just one you're not very good at."

"Tch," she growled, pouting. "We can't all be dragons. And what are you calling me anyway, Natsu? It's just Lucy, you know that."

"And I just want to keep my head… which won't happen if Master Makarov catches me calling you 'Luce' again."

"Well, it's just us in here," she said. He could swear the color was rising in her cheeks again, probably residual from the exercise.

"Fine. Then let's go get some breakfast… Luce," he said with his signature grin.

She smiled warmly at that, leading the way out of the armory. As she walked in front of him, he felt the smile slip off of his face as he remembered her wide eyes and how close he was to her face… it would have been so easy to steal a kiss from those perfect rosebud lips while her eyes were closed…

He could never do that though. Let alone the fact that he was her Protector and would never be a suitor for her hand. Let alone the fact that they came from different class stations. Lucy didn't see him that way. She never had, and she never would. If he did something like that, everything would change between them, and she might never forgive him for that. He needed his best friend more than he was willing to risk damaging their relationship. Besides, he didn't even know what he felt for Lucy.

Inwardly, he sighed. He didn't know when or why things with Lucy got so complicated; he only knew that it wasn't just duty which bound him to defeat the thirty-four suitors who had tried to fight him in his time guarding Lucy… it was also an unspoken wish deep inside of him to keep her here with him forever.

As they settled down at their places at the small table used for breakfast, Mirajane the pitcher poured out water for them to drink. "Did you sleep well, your Highness?" she asked sweetly, hovering over Lucy's glass.

"Yes, thank you," Lucy said, nodding politely. Normally, servants wouldn't speak to royalty at all out of turn, let alone with pleasantries. However, as much as Madame Aquarius and Master Capricorn tried to drill royal aloofness into her, Lucy had always had familiar and close relationships with those who served her and had sacrificed their lives with their family and their humanity to live as her enchanted servants.

She looked up at Natsu as Mirajane finished, but the dragon was deep in thought as he scowled outside of the window which showed two stories below the glowing, scorching lava moat which was still impressive even during the day. She took the time to admire that even as he scowled, his face as still so handsome. It was as though it had been drawn with strong sharp lines to give him a powerful jaw and square face that made him look downright terrifying when his pink eyebrows met in the middle to glare at you. But as soon as he smiled, all of that melted away into a face as sweet as a puppy's that could cause the most stone-hearted person to smile back. His obsidian irises were small and pointed as he looked off, as though he wasn't lost in some daydream but focused intensely on a line of thought.

Mavis only knew he wasn't the sharpest knife in the kitchen, but he had emotional intelligence to spare. When it came to her, fighting for her and defending her against suitors, he got this serious and intense. Then was when he felt more mature than her and so far away that she couldn't reach him. Unfortunately, it had been happening more and more.

Lucy looked down sadly at her oatmeal, turning it over with her spoon. She wasn't really interested in eating. Then again, she hadn't had much of an appetite the past few months since she discovered that she was in love with her Protector. To be fair, you wouldn't be hungry either if you had feelings for the one person in the world you could never be with - who would be undoubtedly injured or maybe even killed by the one you had to marry.

Lucy was in love with Natsu. That much she knew for sure. The rest of it only served to cause her heart pain as she considered a future she could never have.