Ch. 5 — Anywhere, Everywhere

Day: 5

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL!

Genre: Family, Hurt/Comfort

Summary: A young Lucy runs away from home as soon as she hears of her mother's death. She wanders into a forest, and there she meets everyone's favorite dragon slayer, Natsu Dragneel!

Lucy walked down the hallway of the manor that she called home. Outside, she was the picture of class. She held her hands clasped neatly in front of her. Just like her tutor had taught her. Her blonde hair was done up in a bun, and she was dressed in a frilly pink dress with lace trimmings down the sides. But inside, she was ecstatic. She was going to have another lesson with her mother!

Every Wednesday, after all of her dull 'etiquette' classes, Lucy went to her mother's room, where the older woman would teach her daughter a little bit more about the art of being a Celestial Mage. And today, she had even been released from her classes early! Usually when that happened, it meant that Layla wanted her daughter to attempt to open one of the Golden Gates! Hopefully that didn't mean she would have to open Aquarius' gate again… That memory was something that the young heir would rather forget. Cancer was nice — he did her hair for her, and was fun to talk to.

Lucy itched to break into a sprint, but managed to restrain herself. She never knew when her father might be watching from one of the offices lining the corridor.

She stopped when she came to a door with 'Layla' scrawled onto the wood with light blue paint. She raised up a hand, and knocked lightly.

"Come in," a weak voice called out from inside the room. Lucy reached for the doorknob and stepped into the room. Immediately, her breath caught in her throat. All of the happiness and excitement drained out of her as quick as it had come. She knew that her mother hadn't been doing well lately, but this wasn't what she had expected.

Layla Heartfillia lay prone on her bed, skin as pail as soiled milk. Her brown eyes stood out startlingly in her sunken face, and her blonde hair hung around her limp around her face. Lucy could hear her harsh breathing from across the room.

"Mom?" She gasped, and rushed to the bed. "Mom, are you OK?"

Layla smiled, but it seemed like an effort. "Hello sweetie," she rasped.

"Mom," she said, more demanding now. "Are you OK?! Please tell me you are OK."

"Lucy, honey, do you have your keys?" The woman ignored her daughter's plea.

"O-of course I do. Why? Mom, what's wrong?" Unconsciously, Lucy grabbed the five keys that hung around her neck. Aquarius, Cancer, Lyra, Pyxis, and Grandpa Crux. Their warmth seeped into her hand.

Layla coughed, covering her mouth with a single hand. When she moved it away, Lucy could see blood dripping from her fingers. A cold filled her up, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

"Mom?" she whispered.

"Promise me you'll take care of them?"

"M-mom?" Lucy asked, the words barely passing through her numb lips.

"Promise me, Lucy. Promise me."

"I-I promise. Mom, please tell me what's going on. Please." The small girl was trembling now, eyes shining with the ghosts of tears.

Layla raised a bony hand to her daughter's face. "Don't you cry over me, sweetie. I'm not worth it." Lucy shook under her touch.

And then her eyes closed. Lucy would never see the warmth in those chocolaty brown eyes again.

The girl's pupils dilated. "Mom?" she whispered, and put her hands on her mother's shoulders. "Mom, wake up." Her voice was soft. "Mom. Mom! Mom mom mom mom mom MOM!" She was shrieking now, shaking her mother's cold body back and forth.

The door opened. It was Sarah, Lucy's nanny. She spoke softly, as if her charge was a wild animal. "Lucy, you need to come with me." Lucy backed away, towards the window next to her mother's bed. She was shaking, uncontrollably shaking. Her breath came in short gasps. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

She looked towards the dead woman in the bed. She looked at Sarah.

And then she jumped out of the window.

The ten-year-old girl landed awkwardly on the ground. Lucy cried out as her ankle twisted. Still, she gritted her teeth, and staggered back up.

Her feet pounded the dirt as she sprinted across the castle ground. Away, away, away, was the mantra in her mind as she ran, fists clenched, towards the forest that bordered the mansion.

Her dress was torn on the branches, but Lucy didn't care. She just ran, and ran, and ran. Her shoes were pierced on rocks, but she just shook them off and kept running. Running and running and running. Lucy never was the most athletic girl, but she ignored the pain in her side.

She didn't know how far she had gone when she finally collapsed in the dirt, but she knew she was somewhere been before. The heart of the forest, maybe. The heart of the wild, ruthless forest that she had been warned of. Her maids said that roars emanated from the forest. A wyvern, they said, or maybe even a dragon.

Lucy let out a breath as she closed her eyes. Her body ached, and her eyes stung with still-flowing tears. Her dress was ripped to shreds, and her shoes were lost somewhere in the forest.

Here, with no one to see her, Lucy let herself truly cry. Great big sobs forced their way out of her chest, and she screamed with the anguish of it all. Her body shook with the force of the pain that she felt.

Then she heard a cracking of branches. She pulled herself into a sitting position and, wiping her eyes with a ragged sleeve, looked up. A boy with shaggy pink hair, a huge scarf, and a pair of trousers held up by nothing more than a length of string stared back at her.

His eyes were rimmed with the pink of tears, the same pink that she was sure her own were.

He blinked. She blinked.

"Hi." He said.

"Hi."

"My name's Natsu."

"Lucy."

"Why are you crying?" He asked, in a voice so soft that Lucy had to strain to hear it. Something in that voice made her want to trust him.

"M-my mom," she hiccuped.

Natsu tilted his head, as if he was examining her from a new angle. "That's weird. I'm was crying because of my dad." Lucy was confused. She had never heard a boy so easily admit he was crying.

"W-what was your dad like?" The boy's eyes narrowed at Lucy's words.

"Is. My dad is. He disappeared a few days ago." He said, a bit harshly.

"Oh," Lucy felt a bit bad.

"He's a dragon." Natsu stated, as if having a dragon for a father was the most normal thing in Fiore.

"A DRAGON?!" Lucy squeaked.

He nodded. "Yep, and not just any dragon, but the strongest dragon of them all. NOTHING could take down Igneel!" Though he said it with his chest puffed out and a huge smile on his face, Lucy could see that he was trying to convince himself as well as her.

"Then why aren't you a d-dragon?" The blonde asked, a bit of a shakiness still in her voice.

Natsu looked thoughtful. "I guess you could say Igneel adopted me."

"T-that's nice…" He did nothing but stare in reply. Lucy's skin crawled. "W-what?"

"Why are you here in the forest?" Natsu asked.

Lucy thought for a moment. Why had she come to the forest? She blinked, realizing. "I-I… I have nothing left." Her father had been gone since her mother got sick. Even if he was home in flesh, he wasn't in mind.

Natsu nodded. "Why don't you come with me?"

"W-what?!"

"I said, why don't you come with me?"

Lucy stared at him. They had just met a few seconds ago, and this kid was basically asking her to run away with him. She should say no, she knew that. But instead, she just asked, "Where would we go?"

"Anywhere. Everywhere." He replied, holding out a hand.

Lucy stared for a moment, then took his hand and stood up. "OK."

Natsu smiled at her. "Good."

Cuties :3 I have to say, this might have been the funnest chapter to write so far. I realize the timeline is somewhat incorrect, but it needs to be for this story. I might make a second part if you guys want it :) Same said for F.A.I.R.Y. T.A.I.L. and Fro Thinks So Too! Please review — any feedback and/or suggestions are appreciated!

Natsu: I am friggin adorable.

Erza: …

See you guys tomorrow!