Chapter Two: The Magnolia Carnival
Fairy Tail Fanfiction
Characters owned by Hiro Mashima
Alternate Universe

….

Lucy's nose twitched as the smell of violets and daffodils tickled her nose. She was reminded of her mother's beautiful flower fields that spread throughout the Heartfilia territory. Opening her eyes, she allowed her chocolate orbs to adjust as she tried to recognize where she was. She knew for sure that she was no longer in a forest for, her feet stood on hardwood instead of grass and swing sets replaced trees. From what she could see, she was at a park and the Heartfilia daughter was under a gazebo.

"How did I get here," she questioned, feeling confused as she rubbed her eyes, only to feel soft satin make contact instead of soft human hands. Wait, satin? She looked at her attire felt her eyes bulge and threaten to leave her eye sockets.

Instead of her tank top and skirt she was wearing a gorgeous white wedding dress with a long train trailing from the back. The bodice was designed with beads that were carefully stitched and her skirt puffed, making her look like a human marshmallow. Adorned her feet were glassed slippers, which made Lucy feel like Cinderella as she tried to shake them off. What was going on? Who dressed her in this fashion and what kind of sick, elegant prank was this?

"Lucy."

Lucy immediately spun around, the tiara on her head glittering as she turned. Standing in front of her was her father, with Prince Sawalu standing next to him wearing a fitted tuxedo that had evidence of heavy perspiration. She felt her lungs tightened, staring with disbelief as Prince Sawalu slowly approached her, his hands shaking before touching her with his clammy hands. "M-My lovely bride!"

She slapped his hands away, ignoring the Prince's protest as she narrowed her eyes at her father. "What is the meaning of this? Why am I here? Why have you dressed me like this?" Her father chuckled, closing and re-opening his eyes as he took a step closer. "Lucy, you look so beautiful," he murmured, stroking her cheek as he looked at his daughter up and down. He paid no attention to Lucy's heated glare. "You really are a perfect bride. Perfect for marriage."

Marriage? "I'm not getting married to anyone!" she exclaimed, trying to make her escape until she felt something attached to her ankle. She gasped, almost losing her step as she looked behind, hiking up the wedding skirt as she tried to eye the weight. Jiggling her ankle, she realized she was attached to a ball and chain and felt her anger spike up. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, resisting the urge to jump on the floor and gnaw on the chain. Wasn't this what she was running away from? Why was she here?

Reading her mind, her father laughed, his voice filling up the air as he shook his head. By the way he was acting it was as if Lucy had just asked a stupid question. "Why Lucy, today is your wedding day. Why would you try to escape?" In a darker tone he leaned down, his mouth near Lucy's ears as he whispered, "You can't run away from destiny. I thought I told you this multiple times. You are a Heartfilia. This is your future."

She pushed her father away, forgetting respect as she tried to run, making an attempt to drag the ball and chain with her. She could see a priest slowly walk towards the gazebo, reading the bible as his spectacles drooped to the bridge of his nose. He was walking at an incredibly slow pace and it tortured Lucy, who felt trapped in an open air prison. She felt Prince Sawalu eyes on her, violating her with his gaze as he licked his thick lips. "L-Lucy, m-marry me!"

Lucy shrieked with disgust, fighting away Sawalu's lecherous hands as she heard her father roar with laughter. No, no, no! This was all wrong! This was not how she was going to live her life! She was supposed to be free, free from this!

"Stop! Stop!"

….

"STOOOOOP!"

Lucy gasped, a trickle of sweat dripping down her forehead as she wobbled on her chair. She placed a hand on her chest, feeling her heart beat furiously as she tried to shake the perverted thoughts out of her mind. Was that a dream? It had to be a dream! Patting her body, she realized she was in her normal clothes and sighed with relief. Thank goodness. She also noticed that there was no gazebo in sight, which made the young girl happier.

However, she was still not in her forest, which continued to arouse her suspicions as she tried to stand up. Her left leg was propped on a box, and when she placed it down to walk, she tumbled to the ground. "Aah!" she yelped, holding onto her foot as she tried to stop the stinging. Ow, why did her foot hurt so much?

Feeling helpless, she aimlessly looked around, trying to understand her new location as she saw herself surrounded by a red circle of walls. Sawdust penetrated her senses as Lucy tried to ignore the strong smell, making her conclusion that she was in a circus tent. It must have been the janitor's closet as miscellaneous cleaning utensils laid messily around the grassy floor. There was a pile of wooden planks lying together on one side of the room, and a small cot on the other. The flimsy tent door was rolled up, and as Lucy crawled, she gasped when she saw an elephant walk by. Where in Magnolia was she?

"Oh, are you awake?"

Lucy blinked, looking up to find a beautiful platinum haired girl staring down at her. In her hands was a first aid kit, and she smiled as she offered Lucy her hand. Sheepishly, Lucy took the hand, a warm blush coloring her cheeks as she mesmerizingly stared at the girl's beauty. This girl looked strangely familiar, though Lucy had no idea where she spotted her. "U-Uhm…"

Lucy dumbly followed the girl as she led Lucy back to her chair, propping her leg on the box and popping open the first aid kit. The blonde watched with curiosity as she saw the brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide, and squeaked when she felt the medicinal liquid burn her skin. "C-Can I ask what you're doing?" Lucy whispered, trying to cover up her pain as she squeezed her arm. Her foot stung and the pain was two times worse from before.

"I'm sorry." The girl turned her blue eyes to Lucy and gave her an apologetic smile. "I know this is sudden, but you have a deep cut on your foot and it needs immediate cleaning. Please don't freak out."

'What makes you think I'm not freaking out now?' Lucy thought, watching the girl carefully swab her foot before placing a band aid on it. The girl was really nice, Lucy decided, and she felt bad that she wasn't saying anything. "T-Thank you," Lucy replied, after a few minutes of silence before awkwardly looking away.

Mirajane giggled, finding Lucy's shyness cute as she placed the hydrogen peroxide into the kit. "Don't worry about it. I would have treated you sooner but I only found you sleeping here today. I'm Mirajane by the way. You don't need to be shy, I promise I won't bite."

Lucy couldn't help but laugh as she smiled at the girl. "I'm Lucy by the way. Lucy He-" She stopped herself, realizing that she was about to say her last name. The one thing she tried to run away from. "I'm Lucy." She re-stated, hoping that Mirajane did not catch her hesitation and gave her another smile. "Uhm… can I ask where am I?"

Mirajane hummed as she put the box of bandages away, placing the first aid kit on her lap as she tilted her head to the side. "Why, you're at the Magnolia Carnival! Well, at least a part of it. You're in one of the Fairy Tail Circus tents right now." She all of a sudden leaned closer to Lucy, as if ready to tell her a big secret. "It's the most wonderful place in the world."

Fairy Tail Circus? Magnolia Carnival? Why were those words familiar? "A-Ah… I see. Who brought me here? I don't recall being in a carnival when I went to bed…"

She was about to continue when she saw a scarlet haired woman poke her head inside the tent. The girl looked young and it seemed that she was trying to look for something. Her eyes brightened when she laid eyes on Mirajane and Lucy. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a top that showed her mid drift, revealing her toned stomach as her long legs swiftly took her to the direction Lucy was in.

"I see you're finally awake," the girl stated, placing her hands on her hips. "Did you sleep well?" Although she was asking out of respect, Lucy found it oddly endearing that the girl was treating her like a highly respected guest. She imagined the situation as if she was in a five star room, but then grimaced when the smell of elephant dung wafted in her nose. She wasn't used to such terrible smells, for her father and mother made sure that everything in their household smelled like roses and vanilla. Mmm…

"Erza, this is Lucy." Mirajane introduced, snapping Lucy out of her thoughts as she turned to the redheaded girl. "She just woke up. She had a big cut on her foot, so I came to clean it. She wants to know who brought her into our carnival. It was Natsu right?"

Natsu? Who the heck was that?

"I think so," Erza mused, rubbing her chin in thought as she tried to recollect last night's events. "Yes, I think he and Happy brought Lucy in when the construction workers were still setting up. He said he found her sleeping in a forest as they were walking home." Lucy blushed, feeling embarrassed that her situation was spoken out loud. She wasn't in the mood for questions, in fear that she was going to spill out her life story. It was going to start with "I was in the forest because…" and end with "I hate him so much."

Mirajane's eyes widened. "Really? Natsu baby found her? Well that's a surprise…" The white haired girl giggled, and Lucy caught the twinkle in her eyes as Mirajane brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Damn, why was Mirajane so pretty? "A-Are you a model or something?" Lucy asked, not being able to refrain herself as she immediately clasped a hand over her mouth. They gave her amused looks, which made Lucy wish she could disappear. She sounded so stupid right now.

"Actually, Mirajane was in a few issues of the Cirque du Fame magazine." Erza explained, grinning at the girl as the addressed woman began to blush, feeling shy about her accomplishments. The light bulb clicked inside Lucy's brain as the pieces finally came together. Lucy was in the famous Fairy Tail Circus! No wonder everything sounded familiar!

She had read an issue about them once, when she was at the doctor's getting her daily check up. The doctor's room had been stuffy and only had two year old fashion magazines for patients to read. She stumbled across Cirque du Fame by accident, attracted by the bright costumes that each of the members wore. "Omigosh, you're the Mirajane! A-And you must be…" she gasped, suddenly feeling awestruck. "Ezra, the toughest girl in Fairy Tail!"

The two Fairy Tail members looked at her questioningly, confused by her change of attitude. Erza smirked, feeling flattered that she was being recognized and closed her eyes, allowing the compliment to wash her. "Why, thank you Lucy, I didn't expect you to be so kind." She then placed her hand on Lucy's shoulder, about to say something but decided against it. Why she was in a forest was Lucy's business. Spotting a backpack and a pair of shoes near the cot, she turned Lucy to that direction and began lightly pushing her towards it. "I hope you don't find me rude, but Mirajane and I are quite busy. We still have to go through our routine before the show tonight."

She then picked up Lucy's shoes, handing them to her as Lucy struggled to get them on. It seemed that whoever brought her here was kind enough to take off her shoes as an attempt to make her comfortable. "You can explore the carnival if you wish, I'm sure that this is your first time being here." Seeing Lucy meekly nod, she smiled softly as she patted the girl on the shoulder. "I'll leave your stuff here, so don't get lost and forget where you are." Erza, heading towards the exit, looked back to turn to Mirajane and stated, "Mirajane will help you find your way out of the circus. It's quite large and easy to get lost in."

After putting on her shoes, Mirajane kindly took Lucy's hand and led her out of the tent. Lucy noticed that there were colorful tents scattered in the area, each one having its own purpose and importance. Her mind drifted as Mirajane began to explain each tent, watching as a short white-haired girl washed an elephant and another white-haired man scrub the elephant's body. She saw several members dragging costumes in one tent and a couple arguing in another, hearing bits and pieces of the conversation such as "You're suppose to go left!" and "You're doing it wrong!"

Before she knew it, she was at the entrance of the circus, underneath a sign that was decorated with fairies and trees. In bold red letters, the sign said "FAIRY TAIL" and the flag fluttered right beside it, waving the Fairy Tail insignia for the whole world to see. "This is the entrance to our Circus," Mirajane explained, stating the obvious as she watched people crowd around game booths and line up for rides. "You can go walk around, perhaps get a bite to eat. Do you have money?"

Lucy automatically felt her pockets and mentally sighed when she felt crisp bills in her sweater pocket. She nodded, which Mirajane took as a sign to leave and began to walk away, waving goodbye to the girl before going inside a tent. As Mirajane's figure swished, Lucy slowly began walking through the carnival, pretending not to be a tourist as she eyed all the stuffed animals that were hanging from the shelves. She had never been to a carnival before because her father believed that it was the poor's way of having fun. Watching as children ran around with cotton candy in their hands, she suddenly felt sad as she watched families laugh and hold their children tightly in their arms. It reminded her of her mother, who used to hold her before she passed away.

Too preoccupied with her thoughts, she didn't see the figure that stood before her and 'oof-ed' as she lightly bumped into it. "S-Sorry." Lucy mumbled, apologizing as she tried to see who she bumped into.

"Oi, watch where you're going!"

Lucy blinked and noticed that it was a clown standing right in front of her. His dark, charcoal eyes glared at her as his white painted face sketched into a scowl. The clown had rose colored hair and his red nose was urging her to squeeze it. On his waist was a fanny pack, filled with un-blown balloons and treats for children to enjoy. She realized he was scowling at her, which made her scowl back as she placed one hand on her hip. "Hey, I said I was sorry! You don't need to be rude!"

A blue cat wearing a tacky tie floated beside the clown, his face painted white as he sucked on a lollipop. Recogizing Lucy, his eyes widened before he eagerly patted Natsu on the face. "Look Natsu! It's the girl from the forest! Look!"

"Damnit Happy, quit smudging my make up!" He tried to smack Happy away, who easily dodged as the cat named Happy floated towards Lucy, eyeing her curiously. Natsu tilted his head to the side, trying to remember where he had seen this blonde and smacked his fist in an open palm. "Ah! You ARE that girl in the forest!" He exclaimed, revealing his canines as he broke out into a grin.

Lucy quirked an eyebrow, having no idea what the clown was talking about and slowly nodded. "Uuh… right. Anyways… nice meeting you." She mumbled, trying to run away before she felt the boy grip her arm. His hands were calloused, she observed, and it felt very weird when his fingers grazed her soft skin. "Hey, where are you going?" he asked, his big shoes flopping after her as she smacked his hand away. What was this guy's problem, why was he so curious about her?

"Uhm, away from you?" Natsu was about to chase the girl when he was suddenly interrupted by a small girl with blonde ringlets. It reminded him of curly french fries, which made his stomach gurgle as he put on his big, clown smile. "Hello, what can I do for you? Hyuk, hyuk!"

'Ew what a creep.' Lucy thought, feeling disturbed as she walked away. Things were so weird, why were random people approaching her? She suddenly heard the name 'Natsu' get called out, which made Lucy whipped around to face his direction. All she saw was the clown, stretching a long balloon before blowing into it. His name was Natsu? Was he the boy Mirajane and Erza mentioned? She turned her head, watching with amusement as 'Natsu' tried to make a balloon animal.

POP!

The balloon exploded, making Natsu panic as the little girl screamed. "My doggy!" she wailed, tears sprouting from her eyes as she started to cry horrendously. Everyone was looking at the two, and Lucy suddenly felt bad for the poor clown. Maybe this was his first time, and he didn't go to a proper clown academy to learn how to blow up balloons. Lucy started to make her way back, out of sympathy and curiosity at what 'Natsu' would do next.

"D-Don't cry!" Natsu exclaimed, running his hand through his hair as he tried to avoid the gazes of disapproving parents. "Shit! Happy! Do something!" The cat, panicking himself, randomly took out a pair of maracas, trying to sooth a girl as he started to shake them in rhythm, dancing to distract the girl. Ms. Curly Fries, not amused, snatched the maracas and threw them on the floor, screaming even louder as she stepped on Natsu's large floppy shoes, almost getting his toe. "I WANT MY DOGGY!"

"A-Ah… What the hell do we do?" Natsu muttered to Happy, getting ready to blow up another balloon. Damnit, he shouldn't have taken Levi's shift. The blue haired girl exclaimed that she was busy and could not patrol the carnival during lunch. Natsu, wanting to escape from Erza's totalitarianism, volunteered to do her shift. How was he supposed to know there was going to be crying kids involved?

"You can always try giving the kid some candy."

Natsu immediately dug into his fanny pack and handed the kid as much candy as she wanted. Ms. Curly squealed as she took two handfuls of candy and shoved it into her coat pocket. She then skipped giddily away, which made Natsu wipe away the invisible sweat that collected on his eyebrows. "Thanks a lot," Natsu mumbled, turning around to be face to face with the same blonde girl he just encountered a few moments ago. Feeling slow, it just dawned on him that this girl was pretty and it didn't help that she was tempting him with that small skirt. He flashed a big smile. "What brings you back here? Couldn't resist my irresistible charms?"

Lucy tried not to gag as she felt his ego swell and hit her on the head. She blushed as he wiggled her eyebrows, making Happy snicker as he mimicked his owner. Scoffing, she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, taking great interest in a man who was trying hard to shoot the wooden ducks in one of the booths. "No, why would I do that?" she replied, grinning as she watched the clown pout. "I just came to save you from that super embarrassing situation. You really suck as a clown."

Natsu rolled his eyes, not enjoying the criticism this girl was giving him. "Why don't you try being a clown for a day? Do you know how hard it is to make crowns and poodles out of balloons? Plus, you got to be so damn cheerful all the time!" He was soon interrupted as he felt his stomach gurgle, craving curly fries as he groaned. "Man I'm hungry," he whined, hearing Lucy giggle before her stomach growled as well. He smirked. "And it looks like you're hungry too."

Lucy could feel her cheeks turn pink as she invisibly tried to wipe the smirk off his face. "Shut up!" she exclaimed, not liking how much of a smart aleck this clown was being towards her. "I… I didn't eat breakfast," she explained.

"Happy and I were just going to take a break anyways, you can eat with us! I'm Natsu by the way. Natsu Dragonil! This is Happy." Natsu pointed to the blue cat, who in returned saluted Lucy and went "Aye!"

Lucy felt her happiness bubble as he confirmed her doubts. So this was Natsu! She wasn't just stalking a random clown! She stuck out a hand for him to shake. "I'm Lucy. Just Lucy. It's nice to meet you. I heard you brought me here from the forest and wanted to say thank you."

Natsu stared at the hand, startling Lucy as he grabbed it and began dragging her to an unknown place. Happy floated towards Natsu and landed on his head, curling up into a little blue ball. He was tired from flying and just wanted to rest.

"We'll talk later; I'm too hungry to make friendly conversation right now."

"Aye."

Lucy pouted but did not protest. She was also starving and could not stop her stomach from moaning out loud. All she wanted to do was eat and talk to Mirajane to find out more about the Fairy Tail Circus. She noticed couples staring at the three of them and realized that Natsu was still holding her hand. She blushed, for the umpteenth time, and immediately let go. In the back of her mind, Lucy had a strong feeling that blushing would become a very familiar habit to her.