Chapter 2

Lucy X784

Lucy sighed as she wandered the streets of Hargeon looking for the small magic shop that she heard about. She never thought that she would end up in this situation when she was younger. She was now a homeless wanderer, going from town to town, looking for stability, and a life away from her oppressive father. While it wasn't her ideal life, she was now free. Free to make her own decisions and live the way she wanted to. Free to join her favorite guild, Fairy Tail, that is, if she could find her way there and be accepted.

She didn't always live like this. In fact, she was the daughter of a very successful business man. However, despite the lavish life she was living under the care of her father, all she felt towards her previous dwelling was hatred and sadness. She hated the control her father had over her. She spent her days learning about business and how to be the "perfect lady" and was forbidden to continue her studies of magic, the one thing she currently cherished the most. She hated that she felt lonely in her previous home that once was filled with warmth and love. But most of all she felt sad for her father, who was not even a shadow of what he once was, a loving father.

The only good memories that she had were of the few moments that she was able to summon some of the spirits that her mother left behind with her and the late night ours where she was able to read the book on celestial magic that her mother left behind. The rest of her memories consisted of lonely meals, failed attempts of trying to bond with her father, and those horrid meetings with arraigned suitors. She was glad that she had the courage to one night sneak out and leave the life that she abhorred.

She had made little progress with her mother's book. While she could grasp the simpler concepts and execute a few of them, the rest were confusing with her small knowledge of magic itself. The older passages that were written on old, crinkled pages were even more difficult to read due to the shifts of modern language to the older, almost ancient dialect. There were few diagrams also included in some of the lessons, she could only imagine what power the spells held.

She entered the store and went straight to the clerk at the front desk. Most store owners kept the keys behind the counters. Due to Celestial magic being a rarer form of magic, the keys are valued at a higher cost due to their accessibility and fewer buyers. She had yet to encounter any golden keys at a store, most only containing silver keys. "Hello sir, do you happen to have any Celestial Gate Keys?" she asked kindly.

"You're in luck, we only have one key left. I'm not sure which spirit it is since I don't know any constellations, but this one is valued at 20000 jewels." The clerk replied.

Lucy looked at the key and was shocked to see one of the most common keys priced at such a high price. "Come on sir, surely you could give me a deal?" Usually she would try to use her sex appeal to try and get lower prices, but a big part of what contributed to it was her cleavage.

She was rather old fashioned when it came to her soulmate mark. Most of her generation would flaunt their marks, trying to show off how beautiful they were or make it easier for their mate to see it. The older generations felt that their marks were more intimate private, sort of like a little secrete between lovers. She felt that the latter was more romantic and decided to cover up her mark, which happened to be right in the middle of her chest, where her heart was. Because of this, she now always wore shirts that would cover her chest and showed no cleavage.

She didn't worry about not finding her mate, like most people questioned her when they find out about her mark coverage, as fate would somehow always find a way to unite soulmates. There were few cases where mates were never found, most of which were due to their death. She was excited to meet hers. She didn't know what to expect when she met hers, she had no clue who he was or his personality. However, she did know what she did not want from her many suitors. The biggest characteristic she wanted was respect. Many of her previous suitors disrespected her, only using her for the possibility of inheriting her father's company. Many times has she been ignored, leered at, and sometimes groped by men trying to win her father's favor, which had been rewarded by a punch to the face or kick in the gut. Her father clearly did not agree with her methods of self-defense.

In the end, she only got a small discount but still decided to buy the key. She was excited to meet her new friend. Unlike the few other Celestial wizards that were around, she viewed her spirits as friends and not slaves like most due. Which was why she internally vowed to get as many keys as she could to save spirits from the fate of getting a bad summoner. She continued to wander the streets as she decided whether or not to rent a room for the night or get a train to the next nearest town.

As she walked down the current street she walked, she noticed a group of girls crowding around something. Being the curious girl she was, she decided to check it out and immediately regretted it. The man that was being crowded by girls was using the illegal charm magic to attract girls. He even started to hit on her! She was only saved when a man who wore a black cloak walked through the crowd of girls and bumped into the charmed man who claimed to be Fairy Tail's Salamander. While "Salamander" started to try to complain to the man she slipped out of the crowd, which had grown to block the whole street, and waited for the man who saved her from the magic and embarrassment. Subconsciously, she noted how none of the other girl's charms were broken as well.

She watched as the man conversed with Salamander and after a few sentences, left the man with a small look of shock on his face. He then pushed his way out of the crowd of girls and walked passed her. She then started to follow him and tried to catch up to his faster pace of walking. "Excuse me!" she tried to call out. He stopped and turned to look at the person who was trying to get his acknowledgement and raised an eyebrow in question. "Hi! I just wanted to thank you for helping me back there with that "Salamander" guy. I don't know what you did but his charm wore off when you bumped into him. How about I take you out for a meal in return?"

He seemed to think about the offer for a little bit and nodded his head. He motioned her to lead him to a restaurant as she was buying. She smiled and walked to a small family owned restaurant that she had heard from others was a good place to eat. When they arrived at the restaurant, they were seated at a booth and the man ordered two plates of their spiciest meals.

Natsu

Natsu sat quietly across the girl who treated him to his current meal. He was walking around the town, looking for a place to eat while returning from a long mission that he took to destroy some monster in another country. He had mostly survived off of flames and small snacks that he had been able to find along the way and was in need of some regular food to get some nutrients in his body. He small quest for food was over when a girl that he had somehow unknowingly saved from some sort of charm magic decided to treat him as a form of thanks.

Despite not being one to pay close attention to women, as he had a mate, he had to admit that the female in front of him was a beautiful one. Blond hair that seemed to shine in the sun light, a good figure that showed some athleticism, and a kind smile that seemed to even put him at ease. He even had to say that she was more beautiful than the girls in his guild, which was an impressive statement to say. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard her starting to speak.

"So…what's your name? I'm Lucy" she asked.

"Natsu."

"What are you doing in town?" she asked, trying to make small talk rather than sit in silence.

"I'm returning from a mission that I had." He replied, trying to keep the responses quick and simple.

"Cool! Are you a roaming mage or a guild mage?"

"Guild."

"What guild are you from?"

"Fairy Tail."

"No way! I was hoping to join Fairy Tail, but somehow no one I know or talked to really knows the location of their guild hall, only of the places that they have destroyed." She commented with a little laughter in her voice. "Can you tell me where the guild hall is?"

"It's in Mongolia." He responded as he noticed the food arriving.

"Oh! Just the town north of us!" He nodded for conformation.

The rest of the meal was spent with the girl's attempt at small chatter and comments on how and why she wanted to join his guild. Normally, he would ignore other strangers and their attempt to speak to him unless he needed some of their information for the mission he was on, he seemed to be drawn to the female that sat in front of him. A small feeling of hope sat deep in his stomach, but was unable to conform it as her chest was covered up with her shirt. When he finished his meal he let the girl pay for it and they split ways at the door of the establishment.

He walked to a nearby hotel, deciding to stay for another day, his instincts were telling him that something was going to happen that night and rented a room. One thing that he knew to do after so many years of experience was to follow his instinct. After renting a room at the hotel, he decided to wander around town, having nothing better to do until he can go back to the guild and get a job that Happy could accompany him on.

Happy was a strange creature that he found one day as an egg while he was building his home in the forest. Being the recluse that he was, he wanted to have a place outside of the city and in a private area so he can relax when he wanted to until he found his mate. He decided to keep the egg and soon enough, Happy, an eccentric cat like creature with wings and blue fur, hatched out of the egg. Being the one to hatch the cat out of the egg, the creature recognized him as his guardian. Overtime he grew to enjoy the creature's company with his cheerful attitude and habit of teasing others. He was a little disappointed that he could not bring him on all of the missions that he took as they would be too dangerous for the flying cat to be a part of. For those missions, Happy usually stayed at the guild hall and stayed the night with Mirajane, the guild hall's bartender and former S-class mage.

While wandering the streets he saw the same girl, Lucy again, talking to that man who was using his not so well known nick name that was given to him by some of the people who hired him. They seem to be arguing about something before the blond stormed off and sat down on a nearby bench. Not being one to meddle in others business, he just walked off.

Later at night

Natsu was walking to his hotel after eating dinner. While he was walking, he heard some kind of commotion coming from a boat that had recently left the dock and was starting to go into the sea for travel. Once again, his instincts were telling him that something was off about the boat that was making its way to sea. Following his instinct, he decided to board the boat, and used his flames to board the boat. Not really caring about destruction, as all of the members in guild, he crashed through the roof of the boat and landed in what seemed to be a horrible situation.

Girls were all passed out on the floor, while the blond that he met earlier was caught in the arms of another male, struggling with what seemed to be her keys in the imposters hands. For some reason, the sight of her being captured like that made him and his inner demon filled with anger. He ignored it while he assessed the situation, and stopped when he saw the imposter wearing a fake and botched version of his guild's symbol on his skin.

Despite not really associating with other guild members, he still really liked the make shift home that he had found himself at. They were all really welcoming and respected his boundaries. Seeing this man trying to associate his guild with kidnappings and possible selling to another countries slave market made his anger grow even more.

The men on the ship began to sweat, as the temperature began to rise on the premise, and their nervousness began to grow at the look his face. One of the men, who was tying up some of the females so they won't escape when they awoke, turned towards his boss. "Hey, boras, I don't think we should mess with this guy, I'm getting some really weird vibes from him."

"You idiot! Why did you say my name?! Never mind that, he insulted me earlier when he bumped into me and didn't apologize. He even had the gall to say that talking to me was a waste of breath. Attack him!" Boras screamed to his men.

Lucy

Lucy knew something like this was going to take place on the ship. After her lunch with Natsu, she passed a few girls gushing about the boat party that they were invited to. She then ran into Salamander who insisted that she join them as well. She heard his voice begin to harden and become crueler as she kept refusing to go to the party. She knew something was going to happen to the girls that were going to said party, and being a person who has had many sexual harassment cases, she did not want the other girls to go through the same and agreed to join with the intention of saving the girls who were going. What she didn't expect was her keys getting stolen or Natsu crashing through the roof.

She watched as he effortlessly fought off the lackeys of who she now knew was actually Boras. Seeing as Boras was now distracted by the defeat of his men and destruction of his boat, she kicked him in the stomach, making him drop her keys. She quickly grabbed them and grabbed the key to her oldest and most powerful key, Aquarius. She ran outside to where the closest and largest body of water was closest to her was, and called on her spirit. "Open, gate of the water bearer, Aquarius!"

Her spirit appeared in a golden light, and began to glare at her summoner once the light died away. "What do you want brat?! I was on a date!"

"Can you wash this boat on shore?" she asked her.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be able to?" she responded irritably.

Just as she was about to violently summon the waters do move the boat, Lucy spoke up again.

"Can you do it carefully? There are a bunch of girls who are passed out on the boat because they were drugged and was going to be sold into slavery. I don't want to add physical wounds to the mental wounds that they will already have." She told her spirit.

Aquarius seemed to soften after hearing the circumstances of her summon. She nodded lightly and the waters became calmer. She lifted her urn and commanded the water to do her bidding. The boat began to move to shore, when it landed on the shore, Aquarius then dowsed Lucy in water, soaking her. Lucy glared at Aquarius. "That's for not summoning me on my contracted date." Aquarius sneered at Lucy and disappeared in another golden light.

Lucy watched on as Natsu jumped down from the ship that was now resting on the beach and walked towards her now soaked form. Her purple dress clung to her body and chest while she shivered in the cold night. Natsu approached her and nodded at her. He looked at her shivering form and sighed a little. Not wanting to be blamed for any damages made, he walked away from the scene with Lucy following behind him. Beginning to feel annoyed at the noise of her teeth clanking together while she shivered, he turned around and took off his cloak and draped it around her shoulders.

Lucy felt warmth enter her body and sighed in content. She looked up at Natsu to thank him but felt her breath sharpen in shock in surprise at the sight of his bare chest. Although she didn't see it, he raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in demeanor. She stepped forward, now looking as if she was in some sort of trance, and traced the mark that laid on his chest. She heard his small gasp as they both felt warm sparks spread across each other's bodies.

Hello my readers, sorry for such a long wait for this chapter. If you read my bio, you would know that I am starting college this year and this past month has been crazy busy since I had to get dorm stuff, pack, move my sister to college as well, help my brother move into a new apartment, and actually travel to college which is across the country. I managed to find some time to finish this chapter, as I had half of it done before this craziness started, and am uploading it while I'm traveling to my school. Because I don't know my schedule yet an I am known for joining a lot of clubs, my updated will be mainly on weekends and possible weeks apart depending on how busy I am. All of these chapters are unedited so if you find any grammar or spelling errors (spelling is the bane of my existence), feel free to tell me and ill fix it when I can. There will be a time when I will go back and edit the chapters, but that will more than likely be when I already have a good amount of chapters posted. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!