They covered a good amount of distance that as the landscape slowly changed below. From steep hills and heavy spruce forests the ground flattened out the further east they got, until the rise and fall of green ridges became gentle as the bobbing waves on a lake, draped in lush leafy groves and interspersed with towns and scattered farmlands. At some point during the day Natsu changed the course and brought them gradually more towards the north, intending to bring them towards the borders of Isval as fast as he possibly could.
When they stopped for the night it was outside the largest town they had come across so far, a sprawling mass of houses that resembled a small city with it's stone buildings, shingled rooftops and an actual wall around its perimeter, even if it was just a crude stock palisade. Lucy was able to walk by herself as they entered along a paved road but despite her insistence that she was feeling fine, it was a relief to sink down in a chair at the new inn they had found. Bruises might not be as bad as broken bones, but the pain of them was still intense enough to leave her pale and trembling. She knew that Natsu was watching her with mounting concern, so the girl kept her voice even and the smiles bright - though the latter was decidedly less convincing since her cheek was swollen and bruised, the lip cut and prone to bleeding if she stretched it too far.
Still, she was grateful that the dragon let her keep up the charade of strength and bravery, because Lucy desperately needed to hold herself together. The thought that the whole incident was her fault - for being naive and careless, for being too weak to defend herself - just wouldn't leave her alone, though she was wise enough not to let Natsu hear about it. Two scoldings on the subject was plenty to go around, the princess was not going to subject herself to another.
They ate in silence and kept shooting wary looks at the other customers that frequented the inn, vigilance doubled now that they knew for sure that they were targeted. Once she was finished Lucy retreated to the baths to clean herself up - "No Natsu, you don't get to help!" - and after spending a painful hour scrubbing herself and examining the blackened bruises on back, face, torso and arms in a tall mirror she dressed and returned back to the dragon.
Only to find that he wasn't alone and bored as she had expected, but wrapped in cheeful conversation with a young woman that had sat down by the table.
Lucy eyed her in mingled surprise and suspicion, a sudden sinking feeling in her stomach that she didn't have name for. The girl was incredibly cute, short and lithe with a doll-like face and short hair that sprawled in a bluish-black mane, kept away from the eyes by a headband. Her clothes were neat and simple, Lucy noted with some surprise that she was wearing slim cloth pants rather than a skirt, along with a light blouse and a sleeveless vest that made the arms seem even thinner.
There was a natural grace to the spirited movements of her hands, and as the blonde hesitantly approached the table she became all the more aware of her own height, the width of her hips and bust - weren't they a bit too big in comparison? - and the ugly bruises on her face.
Natsu didn't seem to notice her awkwardness. He was smiling widely as he looked up and waved her over with an enthusiasm that made something roil in her gut as she sat down beside him, something ugly and slimy and...
"There you are! You won't believe this Lucy, guess who this is? It's Levy, a friend from home! Talk about coincidence, right?!"
The tentacles froze in startled hesitation and Lucy blinked as she turned to look at the girl, who was even cuter up close. A dazzling smile brightened her face as she leaned forward over the tabletop, a hand reaching out in a greeting so cheerful and unabashed that Lucy suddenly felt ashamed.
"Hi, I'm Levy! Natsu told me what happened, are you feeling alright? Those bruises look painful Lu... ah, can I call you Lu?"
It was hard to remain suspicious in face of this bubbling enthusiasm and honest concern. As she accepted the small hand in greeting the tired girl found to her own surprise that she was returning the smile, albeit more hesitant and shy.
"Uh, sure, I don't mind. I'm alright, a bit sore but... How come you are here, Levy?"
"Interesting coincidence, isn't it!? I was really surprised too - I'm here on a job, someone wanted a text translated but wouldn't send the original to me, so I had to come all the way here."
"On your own?" Lucy said in surprise - she couldn't believe that someone so small and pretty would be left alone on the road.
"Oh no, I've got my team with me - they're over there, Jet and Droy." She pointed at a nearby table where two slender young men sat slumped, looking exhausted. The blonde one looked like he was about to fall asleep on the table, while the other was busy stuffing his face with food - they looked up when they heard their names but just nodded in greeting before returning to their own thoughts.
"Looks like you've had a rough time" Natsu commented with a grin. He seemed extraordinarily pleased with himself, eyes roaming from Lucy to Levy and back in hopeful expectation.
"Yeah, well. Apparently there's a rumor that the text will reveal the location of a hidden treasure, so we have been pestered by bandits every day for the past week. The translation is taking more time than I'd hoped too so it will be a rough few days before we are finished... But what about you guys? Did something happen on your job, Natsu?"
"Nah, I finished that alright. Took a detour on the way back and decided to bring Lucy along." There it was again, that smug self-satisfied grin that wouldn't have looked out of place on a cat that'd just caught a mouse. Lucy rolled her eyes at him and swatted away the finger that teasingly prodded her good cheek.
"Oh yes, because breaking into a castle is only a slight detour" she quipped. "Which makes all that happened so far nothing more than a minor setback, right? The running and hiding and..."
Natsu caught the hands that had begun to count off their numerous troubles and waved a placating hand, grinning like an idiot.
"Yeah yeah, so we've had some problems..."
"Still have them!"
"...but it'll be fine! We already agreed on a plan, so..."
"What kind of plan? What are you talking about?" Levy leaned forward again, looking eager and curious as her eyes moved between the two.
"He told you what's happened, right?" Lucy waited for a nod before continuing. "Well, there are people trying to take me back to Firoe, but I figure that if I learn magic..."
"Oh, they'll have to stop looking, won't they!"
Lucy nodded and smiled back at her, pleasantly surprised by how quickly the girl caught on - she was clearly intelligent.
"That's a great idea! If you want to I can try to help, I found some really interesting books the other day and I'm sure they'll be useful!"
"Really!?"
Any suspicion or hard feelings that might have lingered within the fair-haired woman disappeared completely in face of this offer. Bubbling with excitement the girls got up and headed off towards Levy's room and the waiting books - Lucy threw Natsu a quick glance but saw him wave her off with a grin, already moving over to sit down with Jet and Droy. So she quenched the guilt before it could grow and turned her attention back to her new friend, eagerly sinking down on the bed while she began to rummage through a big bag filled to the brim with heavy tomes.
"What kind of magic are you looking for?" the slender lass asked absently as she brought out volume after volume and stacked them on the floor beside her.
"I don't really know... Levy, I have no idea if I can even learn in the first place."
"Then, something simple and effective that you can develop gradually... Aha!"
Picking out the biggest book of them all she brought it along as she joined Lucy on the bed, opening the cover and paging through until she stopped on a chapter that was titled 'Summoning spells'.
Accepting the book as it was handed to her, Lucy skimmed through the pages with mounting concern, her enthusiasm fading whenever she stumbled on a complicated diagram or extensive calculation.
"This doesn't seem simple at all" she mumbled absently as she tried to understand the numbers, frowning slightly as she pushed a lock of hair behind an ear. "The theory alone is..."
"The theory is complicated, yes, and it takes some preparation, but summoning in itself is really easy. Look here." Levy pointed at a section of the text that seemed to be about star summons. "This part especially; you just draw the symbol of the constellation on something, like a piece of paper or wood or... and then you channel magic through it to call the spirit, and it appears. Piece of cake!"
"How do you channel magic?" This was the part that Lucy was most uncertain about - she had no idea what something like that would even feel like.
"It's... uh... Let me get another book!"
They spent several hours pouring through texts in search for the very basics of basics, and when Lucy finally returned to her own room her head was buzzing with instructions on meditation, channeling practices and information on stars. Her hands clutched around the book filled with star charts and astrology terms she had been given, so wound up by the prospect of learning magic that it took a long time before she could get to sleep.
She wished that they could have stayed and talked more with these friendly people, but Levy and her team had work to do and Natsu and Lucy had to keep going, the faster the better.
"Don't worry Lu, I'll see you when we're all back home!" the small young woman promised when they said goodbye the following morning, embracing the princess with fervor - only to let go with a flustered apology as Lucy winced in agony. "You'll probably get there before we do - show me your new skills when I get back, alright!"
"Mmh, it's a promise!"
"You guys better be careful for a while" Natsu warned as he pocketed his hands, far more rested than Lucy was. "Trackers might show up around here if they think we're still around, and Gajeel is among them, so..."
"Oh. Yeah, we'll be careful. Maybe changing inns..." Levy's face suddenly fell at the mention of the name, a sadness in her eyes that Lucy didn't understand. The girl rubbed a sleeveless arm for a moment, then perked up again and broke out into a new smile - it just wasn't as unrestrained as before, and made Lucy want to ask what was wrong.
"Alright, we need to go. Take care Lu, Natsu! See you later!"
She took off with her partners dragging after in her wake. Lucy watched her go until they disappeared in the milling crowd, then turned to Natsu as they too began to walk, heading for the outskirts of town before they took off.
"What was that about?" she asked curiously, still feeling that twinge of concern as she thought of Levy's downcast expression. "Does she know Gajeel too?"
"Yeah, in a way... They had a run-in about a year ago that didn't end well... I don't know the details of it, just that Levy was beaten pretty badly." There was a scowl on his face as he walked, the subject of the metal dragon enough to make him seethe with pent up anger.
"I see..." Then maybe it had been fear, not sadness she had seen. Lucy certainly couldn't blame the girl, she wasn't exactly eager to face off against the bushy-haired man herself.
"Anyway, what was that about showing your skills? Levy taught you something?" They were both eager to drop the gloomy subject, so Lucy very willingly told her friend about what she had been doing the evening before.
".. so once I've learned how to manifest the energy I will try summoning one of the smaller signs and see what happens" she wrapped up, beaming at the prospect of it. "I can't wait, it'll be so much fun!"
"Heh, sounds interesting. You're really not trying fire then?" He conjured a small flame on a finger and wagged it back and forth before her, tempting her teasingly with the bright glow.
"Yeah, I think having one hot-headed idiot is enough" Lucy retaliated, grinning as she had the satisfaction of seeing him twist the face in outrage.
"What was that!? Who's hot-headed, huh?" He swatted playfully at her and Lucy ducked, poking her tongue at as she danced out of reach.
"Yup, definitely an idiot!" she laughed, then let out a startled squawk and began to run as the dragon growled playfully and tried to swat at her again.
Blue skies and a warm breeze made the following days more pleasant than they strictly ought to be. There no signs of pursuers, but this time Lucy listened readily to the dragon's words of caution, holding back her complaints as they spent hours detouring around settlements to leave as few traces of their passing as possible. Despite the constant vigilance, traveling was much more pleasant now than it had been in the wilds. They took the risk that came with the presence of people in favor of warm meals and comfortable beds, and as they closed in on the northern border their mood lightened considerably, to the point where they spent more time laughing and bickering than scouting for pursuers.
"Once we're in Isval they can't do anything!" Natsu assured her at one point as they stopped to let him rest, his spirits high despite the obvious tiredness that made his eyes droop. "The queen never agree to exchange of fugitives, once you're inside the country and want to stay you'll be considered a citizen."
"What keeps them from chasing after us anyway?" the girl wondered, thoroughly suspicious now that she had learned her lesson - being naive had gotten her in trouble before, no way it would happen again.
"They might try, but people are much more attentive than here" the dragon shrugged as he stretched out in the grass, yawning lazily beneath the warm sunlight. "If someone tries anything funny the army will be notified, the offenders caught and that's that..."
"Can they do anything against a dragon?"
"Hmm... depends." Natsu pondered for a while, eyes lingering on her folded legs and the long dark-blue skirt that covered them for a while before he, to Lucy's astonished embarrassment, dragged himself over and settled the rosy-haired head in her lap. "If they know what they're up against they might bring some Rune Knights... they're good, wouldn't want to fight them myself..." He yawned again, voice growing slurred and indistinct.
"Uhuh... hey Natsu, what are you doing? Get off!" Blushing furiously the girl tried to inch away from the dragon, only to find herself caught around the middle by a pair of stubborn arms as he turned around and whined childishly.
"It's fine, ain't it.. Stay still, don't take my pillow..."
"I'm not a pillow!" she protested loudly and tried to pry him off, with no success. The man muttered something incoherent but didn't move an inch. If fact, he was almost asleep already and didn't react in the slightest to her huffing or glaring.
"Oh come on!"
An exasperated sigh couldn't quite stave off the little smile that teased the corners of her mouth as she looked down on the man. How could she stay angry when he looked so peaceful, so very content? His sleeping face was almost cute when all the hard edges and frowns disappeared, the ruddy hair a tangled mess that where it poked up around his scarf-turned headband. Her scarf, come to think of it - for some reason he never took it off even though the cut on his forehead had long since healed, and she had gotten so used to the sight that Lucy didn't even question it anymore.
Realizing that she couldn't get away the girl sighed again and tried to make herself comfortable where she sat, as much as was possible with nothing to lean her back against. Slender fingers hesitated an inch from the dragon's head, then couldn't resist the temptation anymore as he seemed to be asleep and slipped down into the ruddy hair, carding slowly through the soft strands to sort out the knots.
"Even your hair is warm" she smiled quietly to herself, red-cheeked as the flutter of her stomach returned full force.
Why was it that this man made her so nervous, even without trying? It was so silly, especially after having spent so much time together.
"You're a strange man, I never met anyone so oblivious to personal space before... and you never stop teasing and get on my nerves. But... I don't think I ever met anyone I liked so much either..."
Nor anyone it was so easy to like. Oh, the man had flaws, plenty of them! It's just that he made up for each and every one with those bright, dazzling smiles and his honest kindness, to the point where it seemed perfectly alright to forget about the darkness that dwell behind. Her own desire to overlook that darkness was almost as frightening as the times when it took over and some day Lucy would have to find a way to deal with it... but right now she was quite content to close her eyes and see only what she wanted to see.
Thus she missed the sly smile that ghosted over the dragon's lips, and didn't read into the tightened grip around her waist, confident as she was in her assumption that Natsu really was asleep.
Really, the girl should know him better by now.