Hello everyone! CeruShimRu here and like I promised, I would get this chapter up by today. I don't think it's my best as I feel like it's rushed O_o I have to get back into writing again so the next chapter will be better, I promise! And here's a disclaimer as I haven't did one in a while...

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail nor do I own any of it's characters. If I did, I wouldn't be putting stuff here and I'd be rich. They belong to Hiro Mashima so make sure to send him some love you guys :3

For Lucy, waking up the past few mornings had been rough thanks to their last run in with Prince Laxus. She and Igneel hadn't heard anything else come from the dragon slayer but she was still worried nonetheless. At night her dreams were always interrupted by the blonde man returning and killing Igneel in cold blood. This would only cause her to wake up in a cold sweat, gaining some comfort from Igneel, if he was aware of her nightly torments. Now she laid in her bed, staring up the ceiling. She didn't want to get up from her warm covers of her bed for as long as she lived.

Nice to see you're awake, Princess.

Lucy sighed. Igneel, she whined, pulling the covers over her head. Can't you let me have just a few minutes of alone time?

Igneel chuckled. As much as I'd like to, I'm afraid that I cannot allow it. You have a visitor.

A visitor? Lucy sat up in her bed in astonishment. At this hour?

Princess, it's the afternoon; but yes, it's that pink haired lady that visits…uh what was her name again? Victor? Virginia?

Virgo! Lucy exclaimed, realizing the name Igneel was trying to come up with. For some reason he wasn't good with them which she never understood. Ignoring the fact she was still in her pajamas, Lucy leaped from her bed and raced to her balcony. Staring down below, she saw her servant standing with her dragon protector. At once she waved which caught the eye of Virgo. In a matter of minutes, the servant made her way up the stairs of the tower and entered Lucy's room. The blonde raced over, hugging her dear friend.

"Virgo! I'm so happy to see," she said, smiling widely at her.

"It's good to see you too, Princess," Virgo replied, returning the hug. "I have something for you." She removed a bag from behind her, pulling out two books, one with a golden cover while the other with a navy blue cover. Lucy's eyes followed them with curiosity. "Happy Thanksgiving, Princess."

"Thanksgiving!" Lucy shouted in alarm, taking the books from Virgo. "It can't be that time already…." Her mind raced over how long she had been in the tower and it was matching up. She sweat dropped at this. How could she have forgotten what today was? Better yet, how could she even accept this gift from Virgo? "I can't accept this Virgo, besides I'm not the one who's doing any work."

"You must take it, Princess for it's what you requested, but other one I picked up myself. Without you, I wouldn't have any work to do."

The princess smiled at this, before hugging the books to her chest. "I guess I never thought of it in that way," she replied. She walked over towards her bed, patting the space beside her to welcome Virgo to sit with her. She spotted something sticking out of the woman's bag and pulled it out; amazed to see it was the plush lion she had left behind. She had completely forgotten about it. "You brought Leon?" she questioned.

Virgo smiled. "Yes, Princess. Master wanted me to bring it. He didn't like the fact you had left him behind."

A smile came to Lucy's face. She knew who she was talking about; Virgo and the others always called him their master as he was head over them all. The boy had given her Leon when she was younger, saying she would always have him watching her as long as she had the toy. She had left it behind because she thought his promise was silly now since she was being protected by a dragon now. "Give him my thanks, will you?" Perhaps he would help her with her ongoing nightmares.

The pink haired woman nodded. "But of course. Now…you really should take a look at your books."

"Right," she chuckled, placing Leon on her pillow. Her hands moved towards the blue one, letting out a gasp. She knew this book from her childhood but had never expected to see it again. "Virgo, how did you-"

"I sent out a request to a guild, Princess," she explained. "That was the only way I could find this and the other book on magic you requested."

Lucy froze. "I was only joking about that! The cookbook was fine! Virgo, don't you know that's against father's law?"

"That I do. Do you wish to give me punishment?"

"Not a chance," she said, waving her hand. Sighing, she began to look at the book of magic again. Well, perhaps it wasn't that much of a bad thing to have. She could learn more about Igneel now without asking him so many questions. As for the constellation book…it would bring back memories of her mother.

"Well I must be going," Virgo announced standing up from the bed.

"So soon?" Lucy trailed after her.

Virgo smiled before hugging the princess again. "I'll be back in another set of weeks. I must go attend to our meal after all."

"That's right…the harvest festival too."

"I left some stuff for you as well," she replied, opening the door to leave. "Farewell for now, Princess."

The door closed behind her, leaving Lucy to stare in confusion until it finally clicked in her head. She quickly rushed downstairs, stopping by the kitchen. Peeking in she saw Virgo had left out supplies for her to make a harvest meal of her own. She wandered into the room, spotting the cookbook left open to a certain page. Reading it over, she couldn't help but gasp. It was one the family always had in celebration of this day. The princess smiled softly, walking towards the door of the tower just in time to see Virgo had reached the other side of the bridge.

"Have a Happy Thanksgiving Virgo!" Lucy yelled, waving towards the woman in the distance. Virgo turned to look at her once before continuing with her walking. The princess sighed contently, happy to know her servants still did care. Suddenly, a cold nudge against her arm caught her attention.

Princess…what is with that weird face you're making?

Lucy opened her eyes to see Igneel staring at her with the expression, "you're such a weirdo". She frowned, before turning away from him. "It's not a weird face!"she retorted. "I'm just….overly happy and upset that I couldn't give my friends back home a gift for Thanksgiving."

Thanksgiving…? Igneel echoed. What's that? Some kind of party?

The blonde giggled. "No Igneel, it's a holiday."She turned around and began to stroke the snout of the beast before her as he settled on the ground, staring up at her with curious eyes. :Thanksgiving, or Labor Thanksgiving Day which is its correct term, is when we give thanks to all the hard work that has been done throughout the entire year. This is my first time not celebrating it at the castle and I normally make gifts for everyone…we also celebrate the harvest festival."

Sounds like a party to me if it has to do with a festival…and that means there's food.

"That's what a harvest has to do with!...Oh, never mind." She sighed, hearing Igneel let out a rumble of laughter. She figured he was only kidding. Who could ever take him so seriously? "But I thank you, Igneel."

You thank me? He questioned, raising his head off of the ground. For what reason?

"You work to protect me," she explained. "If it wasn't for you speaking out to me on my first day here, I might still be the lonely and frighten girl I was when I first met you. You're really a good friend."

Friend…..well, you're a good nakama.

"Nakama," Lucy whispered, staring out over the scenery. She had never heard that word before, but she could only hope it was good. The two sat in silence for a moment before the dragon broke it. His next question caught the princess off guard.

Princess…why exactly were you locked away? I mean, I know you must wait for a prince but….

"You just don't understand the ways of the humans?" Igneel lowered his eyes as his answer. Lucy chuckled before rubbing his snout again. She couldn't blame him. He was a dragon after all, so how could he understand how the kingdom was run completely? She let out a sigh.

"It's a long story, but I'll shorten it just for you, okay?" she said looking into his eyes. The dragon nodded slowly. "My father wants to expand our kingdom's territory. One of the solutions is for me to marry another prince, so he chose many suitors. However, I disagree with the whole idea as I believe marriage should be based off of love and fate. That's what mother always told me. So I ruined every meeting on purpose. Being in this tower is my lesson for rebelling." Her eyes lowered and could feel tears beginning to set in. At once Igneel noticed this and growled.

How does this teach you anything? Igneel demanded, getting to his feet. You're being locked away from all humans! This doesn't solve anything! He began to swing his head in frustration trying to make sense of everything he just heard.

"Don't blame father," Lucy whispered, doing her best to hold back the rest of her tears with no luck. "I have to blame myself as well for going against his wishes -"

Do not blame yourself, do you hear me Princess?

The girl froze as Igneel stuck his face into her own. She had never seen that fiery look in his eyes up close. She had only felt them when she was linked with Igneel and he had been looking at all the princes that had tried to rescue her. Was this how they all had felt while facing this dragon's rage? She did her best to hold herself together. Suddenly, Igneel sighed; the anger from his eyes dissolving and he lowered his head, looking away from the princess. Lucy stared at him in confusion.

I'm sorry, Princess, he muttered. I don't know what came over me. A tiny touch on his cheek caught his attention and he turned to look back at Lucy. You shouldn't be here, but out there with someone you love.

"Perhaps," Lucy replied, smiling. "But for now, I'll let fate take its course and enjoy my time with you. I'm pretty sure my prince will come one day." The dragon didn't reply. The princess sighed before doing her best to hug him around his muzzle in comfort. "Don't worry about it Igneel, I'm happy here. Now, let me go work on that Thanksgiving meal that Virgo left out. I'll bring you something when it's done, okay?"

As you wish, Princess.

Lucy said nothing more to this and made her way back into the kitchen. The first thing she would have to do was wash up before she started on the meal. There was no doubt about that. She wondered if Igneel would actually enjoy of the meal. What was she thinking? He was a dragon; she was actually worried about if a dragon would like her cooking! The princess wasn't even confident in her own cooking. She tried contacting Igneel through their telepathy only to feel a mental block. She scowled. Was he still upset about her story?

Pushing the thought away, she washed her hands. So what if he was angry with her father? There was nothing he could do; nothing could be done. She was here in the tower now so why did he even care that much? Igneel had always said that humans were strange creatures so why did he even care what they did to her? As she finished drying her hands, she realized something. The dragon was actually caring about her….A tiny smile formed on her lips. He really was a friend but he needed to know to stop brooding over her problems. Suddenly she felt a soft nudge in her mind.

So you return? She questioned.

I'm sorry for blocking you….but I had to think about something. Will you listen to me?

I'm listening….

Princess, I'm thankful for you. I'm thankful for you rebelling against your father or we might have never met. I'm thankful for you teaching me about this holiday. I'm thankful for you being my nakama.

Lucy had to steady herself in the room. Had she just heard him right? A concern roar in her brought her back to her senses. She had heard him right. She had to stop the tiny tears that were beginning to develop in her eyes.

Princess! Did I do something wrong? Is that not how the holiday goes?

No….everything you said….it was… "Perfect," she whispered, wiping at her eyes as the tears broke free. It was perfect.