Lucy twirled around in a circle letting the long blue gown fan out around her, white scarf once again tied around her waist. Many of her spirit friends where there eyeing her critically. Her hair was longer than it usually was (Thanks to a special potion Cancer had) and fell around her shoulders in soft waves. The girl looked every bit the part of a beloved princess.

"I don't know, maybe we should go with the pink one, ebi- It goes better with your hair" Cancer suggested. Lucy groaned in frustration. "No way! I'm not changing again! This will just have to do. Now all I have to do is pick out a mask." She walked over to the table, trying a couple on before selecting a beautiful black one that hid her nose and cheeks, but left her mouth revealed. Aries clamped her hands together in excided approval.

"You look beautiful Lucy." She said, happily hugging her pretty friend. Lucy smiled and felt a rush of gratitude that they were in her life. But she still felt like something was missing.

"Are you nervous?" Leo asked, noticing her mood.

"Of course not, I've been to hundreds of Balls" Lucy scoffed.

"Maybe Princess is nervous about the wedding tomorrow" Virgo said, eyeing Lucy mischievously "Or rather, tomorrow night" Lucy paled a bit as she realized what Virgo was talking about. Truth be told, she was nervous about her wedding night.

"Okay, I think it's time for some girl talk." Aquarius announced, pushing and shoving the males out of the room. Leo tried to protest, but he was still feeling a little nauseous as he too thought about what would happen tomorrow night. When they were gone, Aries, Virgo and Aquarius crowded around Lucy, who felt very uncomfortable being the center of attention.

"L-Lucy, you know how Celestial m-marriages work, right?" Aries asked, her own face on fire as she stumbled on the words.

"Of course I do!" Lucy said embarrassed. "The couple has to exchange declarations of love in front of dear friends or family, but in order to be considered legally married by Celestial law, the union must be c-consummated and they have to mark each other." She wasn't really worried about the marking. It would be a small brand of his choosing on her skin telling the world that she belonged to Azazel, and probably wouldn't hurt for more than a few minutes.

"The exchanging of marks is an ancient practice. Some say we learned it from the dragons." Aquarius said and Lucy let out a laugh, surprising everyone.

"Don't be silly, there's no such thing as Dragons."

The three spirits exchanged a sad look between them that Lucy couldn't help but notice and be curious about, but before she could ask about it Aquarius made her blush come back in full force.

"Anyway, about the wedding night" The mermaid started. "Since you're such a prude and haven't even kissed a guy before, maybe we should give you a few pointers…."

Lucy paled, looking trapped between her three spirit friends. "Oh come on! It's not like I don't know anything about…..that." Lucy said, trying not to look so innocent. She failed miserably. The girls started to talk about their prior experiences while Lucy listened, the tips of her ears even turning red. She was a little chagrined to see even Aries had more experience than she did.

Finally after about a half an hour of a very…..descriptive discussion, Leo came to her rescue. The four girls giggled as he entered the room and he self-consciously rubbed the back of his head. He hoped nothing had been said about him personally.

"I think that's enough for today, maybe we should allow the princess time to rest before the ball." He herded the other girls out and Lucy shot him a thankful smile.

"I'll be back in an hour to escort you down to the Ball" Leo told her, causing her to frown.

"I can find my way downstairs by myself you know." She told him. "It's not like I'm going to get lost in my own castle!"

"I'll be back in an hour." He said in a tone that meant he was hearing no arguments. Before Lucy could protest he ducked through the door and she was annoyed to hear the key turn as he locked it. He was just so overprotective all of the sudden! Didn't he think she could take care of herself? The idea of spending the entire Ball with Leo looking over her shoulder made her roll her eyes in frustration. Suddenly she had a stroke of brilliance.

She smiled, calling forth the spirits who would act as her accomplice and quickly explained the plan.

Natsu was irritated as he tugged at the collar of his long tunic. The three of them were waiting in line to get into the main gate of the castle, security stopping everyone that passed. He just wanted to storm in and find the spirit bastard Loki, but instead he had reluctantly agreed to do things Mavis's way. For now.

"Stop pulling on it, you'll stretch the fabric." Mavis muttered disapprovingly beside him. She felt very proud of her disguises for the Fire wizard and little cat. Natsu was dressed in a long black tunic that buttoned up the front and had bright red embroidery. His signature pink hair had also been died black, making him next to unrecognizable. Happy looked very dashing with new black fur on his back and face while a white apron covered his front. He looked like he was wearing a tuxedo and was enjoying playing his roll of "spy".

Natsu grumbled and stuck his hands in his pockets, staring at the floor. He had already begun to feel his magic drain and he knew he only had two days left before the spirit world deprived him of magic completely. He felt weak, which only served to make him grumpy.

After what felt like forever, they finally reached the ornate golden gates that led into the castle. Natsu and Happy stiffened when they saw who the bouncer was.

"Name?" Taurus asked when they approached him, not looking up at from the sheet of paper he was holding.

"Mavis Vermillion, and…um….My grandsons Billy and Bobby." Mavis told him. Natsu and Happy shot her a look. No one would believe that they were her grandsons? Also, Billy and Bobby?

Taurus blinked, leaning in to get a closer look at Natsus face. Natsu's fist clinched and he glanced at the enormous axe on Taurus back, preparing himself for a fight. Something appeared to click in the Bull man's mind. He glanced thoughtfully back and forth from the castle to the three before him.

"MooOOOoo. Okay, you guys are good, Have fun at the Ball!" He told them, ushering them past so he could meet the next group. Mavis raised an eyebrow, calculating and logging the behavior into her head. Natsu on the other hand grinned triumphantly and slapped high five with Happy.

"All right! We're in."

Inside there were hundreds of spirits all dressed in their very best clothes. Natsu's heart fell as he realized the majority of them were wearing masks. Finding Loki seemed like it was going to be harder than he originally thought.

"Let's split up, we'll cover more ground that way." Mavis suggested.

"Aye sir!" Happy chimed and Natsu nodded with determination. Once Mavis had disappeared into the crowd, he turned to the cat.

"Happy, if you see Loki or that Azazel guy, come find me as soon as you can." Happy noted the serious tone in his voice, and gave an equally serious nod. His face was as determined as Natsu's and all the silliness drained away when he remembered why they were there.

Don't worry Lucy, He darkly thought to his dead friend Natsu and I will avenge you.

Natsu made his way through the crowd, making sure to hide his face when someone who might recognize him passed. He almost bumped into Aquarius and Scorpio, who glared at him. Suddenly everyone stopped and looked to the top of the stair case.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the guest of honor; your future Princess!" Natsu didn't have time to look up like everyone else as he continued to scan the crowd for Loki's orange hair and glasses. All around him people were whispering.

"Oh, she looks so beautiful!"

"It's too bad she's wearing a mask!"

"The prince sure is one lucky man!"

Finally Natsu turned to see what everyone was talking about. He briefly noticed a beautiful blond woman in a blue dress and black mask, but was quickly distracted by the figure with whom her arm was linked. The man was escorting her slowly down the stairs, his eyes scanning the crowd while Natsu's narrowed into slits. The cold hatred seeped through him.

Loki.

The pair glided gracefully to the bottom of the stairs where the girl detached from him and started greeting her guests. Loki didn't stray far from her, but instead went to stand at the wall where he could watch her like a hawk.

"Keep a watchful eye on her tonight" Price Azazel had order him. "I'm counting on you." Loki slammed his hand against the table.

"Everything thing I do is for her, not you." Azazel just smiled, undisturbed by the outburst.

"Fine, I don't care how you justify it. But I have received word my father's supporters will do anything to try and stop me from marring her and becoming the Spirit King. This includes harming Lucy." He looked Loki straight in the eyes "Make sure that doesn't happen."

Loki was constantly scanning the room for potential threats while keeping Lucy within his field of vision. Suddenly two hands shot out from behind him, one clamping down over his mouth, and dragged him into a deserted hallway. He spun around to meet his attacker and as was greeted by a flaming fist to the jaw. The impact knocked him to the ground.

He tried to stand, but was knocked back down by another punch to the jaw, this one so powerful his head bounced against the floor. Someone kicked his stomach like they were trying to kick him across the room.

"Regulus impact!" He screamed, blindly aiming at the spot he thought his attacker was. A satisfying hiss of pain confirmed a lucky hit. But it must not have been too lucky because before he knew it his attacker was straddling him and berating him with a mixture of violent flaming punches to the face and chest. Then suddenly the attack stopped. Someone grabbed his collar and hoisted his face toward a heat source.

"Why?" Whispered a cold voice inches away from him. "Why did you take her away from me?" Loki's eyes where already starting to swell shut, but he forced them open and looked through the blood that was dripping down his face.

The sight before him was truly terrifying. A boy with black hair looked down at him. Green reptilian eyes held him in an icy glare and dragons scale framed his face. His fangs where bared and Loki could feel an intense and dangerous heat coming off his body in waves.

"N-Natsu?" He spluttered, blood spraying from his mouth. Loki looked up at the man he had once considered a friend, helplessly looking for the onyx twinkling eyes or the toothy grin. But there was nothing of the goofy boy he had known in the merciless monster that held him.

"You killed her." The monster said, and finally Loki understood. He almost smiled, relieved he was finally going to get what he deserved for his crimes.

"Yeah. I did" He whispered back. Natsu blinked, taken aback by the utter misery and guilt that plagued the face of the man under him. Tears leaked from Loki's eyes but they never left Natsu.

"WHY?" Natsu asked again angrily shaking him. Loki seemed confused.

"You…you don't remember?"

Natsu growled and gave the tiniest head shakes in response. Loki gulped

"Azazel." He breathed "He has a necklace, the amulet of Luna, which allows him to control spirits. He…..he forced me to do it."

Natsu stared down at the spirit in horror as he processed the words. It made sense, explaining why he'd been shot by Sagittarius arrow. But he wasn't prepared to let Loki off the hook so easily.

"You should have protected her" He spat venomously. Loki didn't even flinch, but closed his eyes acceptingly as Natsu raised a flaming hand high above his head.

"No!" Shouted a voice. The owner lightly grabbed at Natsus raised arm trying to stop him. Natsu spun around, dragon fury primed to unleash on the unlucky soul who interrupted him, but was stopped dead in his tracks.

She had removed her mask so that he could see her whole face. His first thought was that he was hallucinating, that his wishful thinking had finally pushed him to the point of insanity. But then he caught her scent, so essentially her but slightly different.

His body acted before his mind could even figure out what was happening. One hand wrapped around her waist pulling her closer to him while the other caressed her cheek then cradled her head. Her chocolate eyes flew wide with surprise and he tilted her chin up slightly. Closing his eyes, he leaned in and let his lips softly press against hers.

Then he pulled back, shock and disappointment ripping him apart as he searched the face of the girl he loved.

"Natsu…"She whispered apologetically. She looked away from him and he let her go, his arms numbly falling to his sides. He felt like his heart was shattering, which was funny because he wasn't aware that there had been any intact pieces left.

"Sorry, Gemini." He apologized to the spirit, not looking at her. The twins turned back into their original forms and hovered awkwardly.

Loki was shocked. If that had been Gemini the whole time they were at the Ball…then were was Lucy? Despite his injuries, he shot up and raced down the hall, determined to find his princess before she got herself into real trouble.

"Hey! Stop!" Natsu yelled, awakened from his heartbreak by Loki's departure. He ran after the lion spirit, not satisfied enough with the answers he'd received. But he added another name to the list of people he planned to beat them out of.

Azazel.

Authors note: In case that was confusing, Lucy's plan was to get Gemini to impersonate her so Loki would be distracted and she could go enjoy the party without him.

Anyway, feel free to tell me what you think! To confusing? To Dark? not enough angst? If you've got an idea on how i could improve the story, I'd love to hear it. Thanks :)