I do not own Fairy Tail. This is an alternate universe from Hiro Mashima's work.


Chapter 3:

The next night when Igneel was out getting food, Lucy approached the mouth of the cave looked out at all the mountains as the sunset consumed them. She felt the cool wind on her face and smiled at the feeling of the breeze. Her messy, blond hair tickled her face as it flowed with the wind.

The pink-haired boy approached her but just stood near her and watched. He smiled and sat down at the opening of the cave with her.

"It's a beautiful sunset, isn't it?" Natsu asked her as he leaned back on her palms.

The blonde looked over at him and nodded her head before returning her gaze to the mountains. She noticed her castle was to the east of them and pointed it out to Natsu.

"There is my kingdom. Well, my father's kingdom but that is where I live." Lucy said to Natsu as she stared at her kingdom with a bit of homesickness in her voice. Her brown eyes looked on with sadness in them as she sighed.

He noticed the change in her voice as she spoke and kept his onyx eyes on her.

"You miss your father?" The pink-haired boy asked as he looked up at the sky.

"No!" The blonde shouted at the boy and clenched her hands. "I hate his guts..." She said before lowering her head.

"But…I miss my mother and that castle has all my memories of her." Lucy brought her knees to her chest and sighed before looking at the sky.

Natsu looked at her as she spoke and remained quiet for a few moments. As long as he could remember, he had Ingeel so being alone was never a problem. But if Ingeel ever left him or died…had never crossed his mind.

"Have you ever thought that your memories of her are always with you? Not just in the castle? I mean…you are thinking of her now, right?" He asked before looking over at her and smiling.

The princess looked at him with surprise in her eyes before smiling.

"You're right, Natsu. Thank you." She said to him. They continued to sit there long after the sun went down and it got colder.

Lucy shivered a little and rubbed her arms. The night would only continue to get colder as they sat together at the entrance of the cave.

Natsu stood before walking to get Lucy a light blanket. He handed it to her before leaning against the opening of the cave.

"Something is up. Igneel always comes back after the sun goes down." The pink-haired boy said with some frustration in his voice as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Lucy looked at Natsu as she listened to his words and started to worry. Wait, worry? Was she worrying about a dragon that kidnapped her and is holding her in a cave high on a mountain? But as she noticed the look on Natsu's face…she accepted the worry as for her pink-haired companion rather than the dragon himself.