It's been almost a year since I updated anything [/hangs head in shame]. But I hope I still have some people who like this story! :D Here is the second out of three parts Cinderella crossover. Its kinda the middle of it so some plot moving and whatnot, the next one will be the good one I promise! I also promise not to make people wait a year for it. I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I really, really don't own Fairy Tail. Nor do I own any form of Cinderella. I just like writing crossovers!
The Sweetest Sounds II
Natsu had reentered the castle with as much difficulty as when he left. He sometimes wondered if his father purposely didn't have the guards up to par so the palace could be more laid back. There was only one man Natsu had to watch to look out for; he could catch the young prince at anything, every single time. The pink haired boy learned quickly though to run off when the Captain was either asleep or talking with women. Natsu rolled his dark eyes at the thought. He walked down the empty halls with his hands in his pockets, waiting for anyone to just come out and catch him. His mother and father surely knew he was missing by now and the clothes he was still wearing gave him away completely.
As if on cue a small voice squealed around the corner. "There you are, my prince."
Natsu looked down the hallway he had just past to see a young maid holding a large basket of various clothes.
"Your parents request your presence. We've all been looking for you," the girl bowed slightly.
"Thank you," he answered with a sigh before she scurried away down yet another hallway. The young man continued on his original path; he had already been on his way to his parent's quarters. The instant the guards saw Natsu approach the ornate doors they automatically stepped aside and swung the doors open with no questions. The young prince nodded his thanks to the two guards he considered to be at least useful ones, before stepping inside the large room.
"Well, look who is back from their daily escapade," a deep voice chuckled through the room.
"It's not daily," Natsu grumbled, crossing his arms stubbornly at his father's voice. He was the only one who could still make him feel like a little boy.
The mighty Igneel was sitting comfortable in an arm chair with a large book in his lap. His long legs were reclined in front of him, red hair sticking up at all angels as if he had just rolled out of bed, an amused look on his face as he arched an eyebrow at his son's response.
"More like monthly," the boy shrugged, a small smile gracing his lips.
Igneel laughed aloud, shaking his head before picking up his book once more. "You are going to give your mother a heart attack one of these days, Natsu."
"Natsu!" a female voice called from the next room the instant she heard Igneel say the name. In a flash, long blue hair flew through the air and the boy found Grandine holding him tightly. "You have to stop this!" the Queen cried pulling herself away but keeping her hands on his shoulders. "Something could have happened to you!" her deep blue eyes were full of concern as she looked up slightly at Natsu who was getting to be taller than her.
"Ma," Natsu muttered feeling embarrassed as her eyes continued to scan over him to make sure everything was okay. "I'm fine. I'm always fine." He tried to move away but her grip was far too strong. The prince could hear Igneel still laughing over in his chair.
"I don't know why you feel the need to put yourself in danger. Why don't you just take some of the guards with you? It would make us all feel so much better."
The pink haired prince resisted, very hard, not to roll his eyes. "I don't need them. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. In a market place."
"Mind your mother, Natsu," Igneel, without actually looking up from his book, cut in before Grandine could go off once more about saving their children from the dangers of the world.
Grandine let out a deep sigh before letting Natsu out of grasp. "I suppose it's okay. Just be careful, dear, or I will have the guards come after you," she turned away from him like she was heading back out of the room.
The young man gaped after his mother. Not once had she ever expressed her blessing with his adventures into town. Something was up. Even Igneel had to look over with suspicious eyes. "Who are you and what have you done with my mom?"
The Queen didn't answer; she simply ran her hands lightly over Igneel's leather chair. She was never good at keeping anything herself. The guilt was practically glowing from her body.
"What aren't you telling me?" Natsu crossed his arms across his chest knowingly. He had seen thins face many times.
Grandine turned back to face her son and opened her mouth but closed it quickly, second guessing what she should say.
"Just tell him, Grandine," the red haired king cleared his throat turning back to his reading.
"Tell me what?" Natsu arched his eye brows at his mother.
"Well, you see," the blue haired Queen started, her voice not as strong as normal, clearly giving away she was indeed hiding something. "We are just worried about your age. You are turning eighteen this year, Natsu, and-"
"No, Ma, we've been over this," the pink haired boy threw his hands up in exasperation. "I don't want to get married anytime soon."
"Not get married!" Grandine reached out to him till her hand was back on his shoulder. "But you have to at least start looking! Just listen, dear," she begged him with her eyes.
If there was one thing the prince couldn't do, it was say no to his mother. "Fine," he grunted, his arms crossed once more, and dark eyes narrowed.
The Queen brought her other hand up to his shirt to smooth out some of the wrinkles he had caused. "Well, we sort of planned a ball for you. The entire town is invited and debutantes from surrounding towns as well," she looked away from Natsu's stare. She really didn't like to make her son upset with all this talk, it's not like she wanted her only son married away but it was something that needed to be at least thought of, for the sake of the country. Igneel had curiously looked over to see how the always dreaded talk was going.
Typically, Natsu would be sulking out of the room right about now. If there wasn't anything he hated more than talking about marriage it was balls. Talk about the most boring thing of his life. It was the "entire town" part that caught his attention. "All of the town is invited?" Natsu asked in a surprisingly calm voice shocking not only his mother but his father as well.
"Well, yes," Grandine blinked, scanning his face for any sign of impending outburst. "Are you…are you okay with this, Natsu?"
The pink haired prince shrugged slightly, his mother's hands falling to her sides in surprise. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."
For once in her life, Grandine was stunned into silence. She opened her mouth a few times but nothing was coming out at all. She was saved by the doors slowly opening, signaling the entrance of only one person.
"Your Majesties," a deep voice rumbled through the room. "I hope I am not interrupting anything."
"Of course not, Gildarts," the King was the first to response to the man bowing to them from the doorway. "Grandine was just talking with Natsu about this coming weekend."
Captain of the Guard, Gildarts Clive raised his head with a devilish smile right at the young prince. "There you are, Prince! Just the man I was looking for."
Natsu couldn't help but grimace. His parents wouldn't punish him but Gildarts sure would. It was his favorite thing in life.
"Ah, so you told him about the ball," the red haired man was smiling at the king and queen but the prince knew far better than that. He was up to something for sure. "Well, since he is so eager to be one of the village folk, I bet he would just love to help with all the preparations. Aye, Prince?"
"What a wonderful idea, Gildarts," Igneel winked at his son, knowing far too well the cat and mouse relationship Natsu and his Captain had.
Smirk still in place, the red haired captain gestured for the boy to move out of the room in front of him. Natsu had no choice but to oblige by his parent's wishes. With hunched shoulders, the boy slowly made his way to the door.
"You seem to keep forgetting you can't outsmart me, kid," the captain of the guard chuckled ruffling the prince's pink hair as the large doors shut behind them.
Natsu begged to differ.
Lucy loved her room more than any other place she had ever known. The lock on the door was also a plus. It was her place to escape from the world around her and just be and feel like herself for once. Her notebook was open wide on her small desk; a breeze blew through the open window bringing in all the fresh smells of spring into her room. With a content sigh, Lucy tapped her pen and gazed out the window with her chin propped up in her hand. She still couldn't stop thinking about her encounter in the marketplace. The blonde knew she was being stupid by not letting it go but it was hard not to when such a kind person had crossed her path. She wanted nothing more than to be able to see him again, to talk to him, to learn his name but her heart sank at the realization that would never happen. It was bad enough she only got to leave the house to go shopping with her stepmother but this country was a large one, who even knew where he lived.
She shook her head as to chase away all thoughts of the pink haired boy. It was useless to waste her time day dreaming away.
"Okay!" she encouraged herself, turning her eyes back to her notebook.
It wasn't until she put her pen down on the paper that a knock sounded at her door.
"Lucy! Lucy! Open up! Quickly!"
It wasn't uncommon to have one of her stepsisters pounding at her door for refuge but Mira sounded far too excited for wanting simply just to hide.
The girl walked the short distance to the door before flipping the lock and opening the door. She nearly got run over by her two excited sisters in the process.
"What is going on with you two?" Lucy laughed as Mira and Lisanna danced around her room holding one sheet of paper in the air.
"The prince is having a ball!" Mirajane sang happily. "And all the unmarried girls in the town are invited!"
"Imagine the dresses we will get to wear to go!" Lisanna grabbed onto Lucy's hand and pulled her into their dancing circle.
Lucy couldn't help but laugh even more as she got twirled around by her sisters. She managed to snag the paper out from Mira's hands before her eyes quickly skimmed the invitation. It was indeed inviting all the unmarried girls in the town to come to a ball for the prince. It was to find a wife for the prince, but all the unmarried men of the town were also encouraged to come to escort the women through the ball. Lucy's heart raced in anticipation. That could mean, her mysterious boy…he could be there.
Suddenly, the blonde really felt like dancing with her sisters.
"What in goodness name is going on in here!"
That one voice halted all their festivities.
"Look, mother!" Mira gestured for Lucy to hand her the invitation. Being the eldest, she was the one who typically dealt with her mother. "There is a ball, and we are all invited!"
Mrs. Heartfilia looked over the paper before a surprising smile crossed her lips. "Come along then, we must get you girls ready. If anyone is going to marry the prince it's one of my daughters."
Mira bubbled excitedly as she followed the woman out of the door. Lisanna linked arms with Lucy to bring her along with them to pick out ball gowns and prepare for the ball which would take place in just one day, the first day of the weekend.
"I never said she was coming now did I?"
The cold tone shook Lucy out of her excitement as she looked over at her stepmother's harsh face. A silence settled down among the girls.
"But mother, Lucy is unmarried, she is invited to go," Mira spoke softly trying to get her to leave the girl alone for just one day.
Mrs. Heartfilia looked back at the Lucy, who was still arm and arm with Lisanna. The younger Strauss sister held on tight, refusing to let her stepsister go. "Well fine, if you two want to be seen with her that's your own problem. But," she snapped before the girls could breathe a sigh of relief. "I will have a list of chores for you to do, Lucy. And I expect a satisfactory job before you go anywhere."
Lucy merely nodded as she tried to hold in her excitement. It wasn't until the women was gone into her room that Lisanna and Mirajane screamed to loud in happiness that even Elfman had to stick his head out of his room to see what the fuss was about. He could only see Lisanna and Mira hugging Lucy tightly and laughing. With a sigh of "Girls", he shook his head and went back to his room.
The list Lucy got handed later in the day was about as long as she expected to be and by all means almost impossible by the size of the house. Yet that wasn't going to stop her, she was going to that ball by whatever means she could.
Her stepsiblings were in on it as well. They snuck a peak at the list and helped cross of things where they could, as long as their mother wasn't nearby. Lucy cleaned almost every inch of the house, with her siblings cleaning their rooms and other rooms they could clean behind closed doors. She was up late into the night mending clothes, preparing food to freeze, scrubbing places that hadn't been cleaned in years; she even managed to clean the fireplace by herself.
By the time morning broke, Lucy had been sound asleep from exhaustion and still had more to do. Yet when her eyes cracked open she saw the most gorgeous ball grown hanging up on her closet door, no doubt chosen by her sisters. They believed in her and there was no way she was giving up.
Hour by hour she trekked across the house doing laundry, folding towels; she also worked around outside where she watered the flowers, trimmed bushes, planted new flowers, raked the leaves, and weeded the garden beds. The moment finally came just before sunset when she stepped into Mira's room where the two girls had been getting ready for the ball.
"I'm finished," she sighed.
It only took a few moments for her sisters to get her showered and in her dress. While it was clearly not made for her, Mira added ribbon where it needed to be tighter and gave Lucy high heels so it wouldn't be so long on her.
Lucy had never felt more like a princess than when Mirajane stepped aside so Lucy could see herself in the mirror. She had to suppress a giggle. Her mysterious boy wouldn't even recognize her now.
By the time they heard their mother's call to go, Lucy had her blonde hair done up with blue flowers, a full ball down fixed as best they could to her figure, and her little strappy heels so she wouldn't trip. The two sisters were done up similarly in a pale red and dark green. With excited hearts and nonstop chatter the three girls made their way to the carriage where Elfman was waiting. Mirajane skipped out the door, followed by Lisanna, but when Lucy went to walk through, her stepmother blocked the doorway.
"You missed something, young lady," the woman held up Lucy's crossed off list yet there was one thing written at the bottom which clearly was written in haste after Lucy had finished the list.
Anger swelled inside the blonde. There was no way she was letting this get ruined for her. "Now wait just a second, I finished that…" her words were cut off as her heart sank. The carriage holding her sisters was long gone. There was no way she could get there now.
"My daughters dote on you far more than they should. You need to remember your place," Mrs. Heartfilia reached out to grab the flowers from Lucy's hair causing the blonde locks to fall out of place. She grabbed the ribbons and all of Mira's handy working and pulled on it, making the dress once more too big for Lucy.
"Be a good girl and finish that list now, dear," she smiled at the young girl before slamming the door in her face to leave for the carriage that was waiting for her.
It was shock that hit Lucy first as she numbly turned and walked out to the back garden. The moon was high above her head but inside she felt such deviation that she fell to her knees and cried. How could one person be so cruel? Lucy couldn't understand what she had ever done to deserve this. While she always put up with her stepmother, she didn't think it seemed fair at all that she was degraded to a girl crying in a garden with an unwearable dress and no way to get to the ball. It was like all her hopes had been crushed. She would never get another chance to see the one person who had made her happy to be herself for once after all these years. She would be stuck in this house forever.
A small cry surprised Lucy enough to look up. Through her tear filled eyes she could see a small white cat looking at her. It was strange; she normally never saw animals in the yard. "Hello, kitty," Lucy called softly. Maybe a little furry animal to pet might make her feel not so alone and so helpless.
"I think it's time for you to get up on your feet, Lucy Heartfilia, and stop crying," the white cat responded.
Lucy let out a scream and fell backwards.
The cat titled its head at her. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Well, Charle," another cat sighed walking on both legs towards the other cat. "Normally humans aren't used to talking animals."
"Oh," Charle paused for a minute. "Meow?"
The blue cat shook his head but proceeded to walk towards the girl who still looked like she was in shock. "It's okay Lucy, I'm Happy and that's Charle over there. We are here to help you."
"No one in life should go through what you have," Charle nodded standing up to her own two feet. "You deserve your happiness, you have earned it."
"But…but…you…?"
"Are cats yes we know," Happy waved it off. "Just stand up okay?"
Lucy was incredibly skeptical of the strange animals that had wandered into her backyard but in all honesty, what else did she have to lose? She stood to her feet as she held the dress she was wearing up from falling right off her.
Happy reached up and held her hand giving the girl a strange sense of comfort, whatever was going on it was clear the intentions were only good. She shut her eyes as some tears fell down her face.
"It's okay, Lucy," Charle spoke before raising her hands slightly.
Wind blew all around the yard, so strongly that it nearly knocked Lucy off her feet but she stood tall. She felt her hair being thrown around before she felt it being placed tightly against her head. Even her dress got nearly blown off before it fitted to her body like it was made for her. The uncomfortable heels vanished and her feet felt at ease in shoes that fit her perfectly. When the wind died down she let her eyes flutter open. What she saw she couldn't believe. The dress was brand new, a sparkling blue with a strapless bodice that fit around her every curve. The dress flared out into a flowing ball gown without the poof it had before. The shoes were a light shade of blue, and completely made of some form of glass. Her fingers fluttered up to her hair that was done down all in curls. A crystal tiara held her hair back of her face, just a few strands falling forward.
"How did you…?" her hands slipped over her mouth in shock.
"Don't ask questions," Happy gave her hand a squeeze. "There is a carriage out front, just go!"
Lucy nodded, tears in her eyes but this time from complete happiness. "Thank you, thank you both so much." She turned to run but Charle's voice called after her.
"I can only hold this magic for so long! Be back before midnight because everything will disappear!"
Lucy was already out of the house and in the carriage before either of the exceed could say another word.
"Children," Charle sighed. "I just hoped she heard me." She eyed Happy who was now standing next to her. "You did get everything set with Natsu right?"
"Of course I did," he scoffed. "Led them right into each other yesterday. Why do you think she wanted to go so badly?"
"This is the last time I ever play matchmaker for you."
The grand palace of King Igneel and Queen Grandine lay right in front of Lucy's eyes. Lights were glowing from every end of the palace; she could already see the woman in fancy dresses, the men all dressed up in suits, and the music loud enough to hear even down the road. It had been an anxious ride over, but she was here. Her heart pounded inside her chest as she scanned every person she could see from the carriage, which was now slowing down as it approached the palace, for a head of pink hair.
Yes, the next is the ball. The part I've been wanting to write since I started this :3 I do hope you all still enjoyed this really late addition. Once I write the third part I have more NaLu fics to add to this collection. Thank you for reading and reviewing if you chose to, my dears!
-Lyssa
