They flew for a good portion of the night but it was still a few hours until dawn when Natsu circled down and landed on top of a steep hill crowned with tall grass and big rocks that rose high above the surrounding ridges. Lucy was relieved to feel solid ground beneath her feet and slumped down on top of one of the boulders that lay strewn into the grass like a giants discarded toys, too shaken by the sudden turn of events to even fully appreciate the strangeness of the situation.

Gazing out into the night she eyed the lights that gleamed some ways off in the distance. It was hard to fathom that it was the glow of the city where she had spent her entire life. Those lights seemed so very distant from here, even further away than the stars that glinted through the racing clouds, growing clearer and more widespread as a cold wind scattered the gray blanket that had rested over the valley for so long. Persistent gusts blew through the thin fabric of her nightgown and made her shiver, goosebumps running up and down every inch of her skin.

She could feel the dragon's eyes on her as he stretched and rubbed his shoulders but didn't turn, unsure what her expression might tell him if she looked at him now.

Accepting that she had actually left the castle was easy compared to the mess of tangled thoughts and emotions she felt when considering the revelation of Natsu's real identity. A dragon! It was like a fairy tale, a story come to life before her very eyes. Lucy was as thrilled as she was terrified, because without exception the tales she had been told were ones of violence and death, of dangerous magic and ferocious wrath that destroyed everything in its wake. That the smiling, playful idiot that had come sneaking through her garden actually was a dragon was just so hard to believe, even when she had the evidence right before her eyes.

"You okay, Lucy?"

The young woman turned her head slightly and nodded, though not entirely sure that it was true.

"I think so" she amended when she saw him raise a skeptical brow. "Just a bit... overwhelmed."

"Heheh, s'all good" Natsu grinned as he pulled himself up beside her, eyes darting quickly between the distant city and the girl. "We're not really safe yet, but by the time they realize you're gone we'll be far away."

He looked so pleased with himself that Lucy felt her mouth twitch from the desire to smile back. His words only reminded her of another problem however, one that made her sigh and shift uncomfortably on the cold, hard rock.

"I can't believe this is actually happening" she mumbled, leaning her chin against a knee as she pulled the legs up towards herself. "Closing my eyes is scary, I don't want to look up and realize it's all a dream."

"It's real!" the man assured immediately. "If you really think you're dreaming I can pinch you to prove it."

He tapped long, sharp claws together with soft clicks and chuckled when the girl immediately shook her head, a bit more vigorously than what was necessary. Swallowing slightly Lucy eyed the hand nervously, a lot more unsettled by the red scales and tapering talons than she wanted to let off. Not only that, but the horns on his head and the wings and the tail too. They were hard to look at, and yet the gold-haired girl found her eyes returning to them again and again, unable to keep herself from staring.

"What?" Natsu seemed very amused by her scrutiny and made no attempts to hide it. Of course he had to notice it, even a blind person couldn't possibly miss her anxious fidgeting.

"Sorry" Lucy mumbled and snapped her head away, a slight blush creeping along her cheeks. "I just... I didn't know that dragons were... real."

"You scared?"

"No!" She spun around so quickly that she almost lost her balance, somehow able to steady herself before she slipped off the rock. The gaze she met was unexpectedly serious, far from the teasing mockery she had expected and it startled her almost as much as the new additions to his features. Lucy ran a tongue quickly over her lips, eyes moving unbidden to the crimson scales that lined his eyes, forehead and jaw, along the curved horns and back to the wings that twitched and shifted like they had a life of their own.

Under Natsu's steady, knowing eyes she found herself faltering, neck bending so she wouldn't have to meet his gaze.

"M-maybe... a little."

It galled her to admit it even to herself. Lucy thought she had gotten past fear once she had calmed down back at the garden, but this man was so full of surprises that she found herself reeling with alarm, fright and unease more often than she was calm and relaxed.

He managed it again by simply nodding when she had expected a look of hurt or a stream of reassurances. Those would have been understandable, but the easy grin he offered? Not so much. Didn't he care about being scary, or was it that he enjoyed having her on her toes?

"You'll get used to it" was all he offered, stifling a yawn behind a hand. "The world is big and full of strange things - if you really want to go hunting for fairies you'll stop being surprised after a while."

Lucy hummed but refrained from retorting, not quite in the mood to take the bait he so teasingly dangled at her. Clipping his jaws shut with a snap the dragon-man slipped down from the rock and began flattening the grass on the ground beneath his feet until a roughly circular patch had been drawn in the lush greenery, big enough for two to fit.

"Better get some sleep" the man suggested once he was satisfied, holding up a hand to offer Lucy help down from her perch where she had been watching him curiously. "Might be a few hectic days before things calm down, so take any chance you can to rest."

Graciously accepting his assistance Lucy nodded and slipped down from her seat, finding it very peculiar to lie down on the ground to sleep rather than crawling up into a bed. Settling into a comfortable position was hard, the ground was hard, the scent of grass and earth and wind was strong and foreign around her, and somehow she just couldn't ignore the reality of a man lying outstretched behind her back. The princess knew she should be tired after a long day and an even longer night, but though her eyes burned and her limbs felt heavy she was constantly interrupted by thoughts as clear and sharp as crystal. It certainly didn't help that the cold wind made her shudder, nor that the dragon kept laughing quietly at her restless tossing back and forth.

"First time sleeping outdoors?" he mumbled, sounding far more appropriately tired than she felt. Small wonder, considering how hard he must have worked to get into the castle without being discovered in the first place, the subsequent flight notwithstanding.

"Mmh. Ladies usually aren't expected to camp in the wild." Grimacing as a stone dug into her hip the girl shifted again, torn between the desire to stretch out for comfort and curl up for warmth.

"Better stop being a lady then. Sounds boring and impractical."

Lucy laughed quietly, quite agreeing. "Yes. I don't think I will ever get used to the cold though" she muttered, tucking her hands beneath the arms to stave off the chill of the wind. "A blanket now would have been...

...nice."

Even as she spoke she heard the soft rustle of grass as Natsu shifted behind her. Before Lucy could object he had inched closer and wrapped an arm around her while pushing her head down beneath his chin until the girl found herself quite trapped. She protested quite loudly with cheeks burning from shy embarrassment, but they were feeble at best and died away once his body-heat spread enough to make her shivers subside.

"Better?" Lucy could hear the amusement in his voice and would have squirmed with indignation if she'd been brave enough to move at all. It was undeniably warmer this way and having someone close by was comforting... the runaway just wished that the someone hadn't been a big, strange, uncouth and very male dragon.

She mumbled something indistinct and vaguely affirmative and puffed her cheeks in a pout when he laughed at her again.

"Good, now go to sleep. I'll wake you when it's time to leave."

"Mmh. Goodnight, Natsu." Saying his name was strange, though rather nice at the same time. Like a secret only she knew and wouldn't have to share with anyone else.

"Night, Lucy."

She felt him smile against her hair and quickly closed her eyes, wondering at the peculiar sensation that trickled down through her insides. Almost like a tickle but not quite the same, it left her with a lightheaded giddiness and a soft glow in the chest that warmed her almost as much as the dragon. Smiling timidly to herself the girl shifted slightly until she found a comfortable spot and allowed herself to relax, determined to get rid of as many ladylike traits as she could right away.

So what if the women at court would gasp and faint if they ever found out that she was sleeping on the ground next to a complete stranger, and so what if they would mutter with scandalized expressions if word got out that a man had slung a strong, warm arm around her waist and kept it there for a long while. So what if she herself was blushing until her cheeks bruised, not knowing where to keep her legs and arms or whether it was alright to turn around so she could shield her stinging cheeks from the wind against Natsu's neck. At least she was warm and safe and far away from the constraints that had tied her down all her life, free from the shackles that had nearly suffocated her will and broken her spirit.

And if she were to stop being a lady, then she would gladly let go of all rules and taboos that had been ingrained in her from the moment she was born.

Almost defiantly Lucy did turn around in the man's arms, and did press her cold nose into the burning heat of his nape. She was so pleased with herself and so busy sinking into relaxation that she missed the dragon's small intake of breath and a sudden but brief stillness. When his arms tightened a smidgen around her Lucy just sighed contently, already drifting off even though thoughts kept reeling through her head.

She probably wouldn't get a good nights sleep, but sleep she did. Afterwards she would never quite remember why it had been so hard to settle down in the first place.