"Say, Father," Lucy asked at breakfast the following morning, feigning interest. "Where are you keeping the dragon?"
He placed a mouthful of eggs into his mouth gracefully, taking his time to swallow. "That is none of your concern, Lucy. Just trust that he cannot harm us where he is now."
Lucy played along. "But how are you keeping him locked up? Can't he just use his powers to fly away?" she asked innocently, twirling a strand of her hair.
"You've been reading too many fantasy stories, daughter. He can't fly when he's trapped in a cage that takes away his magic," Jude scoffed, silently daring anyone to even try and break the magic around the cage.
She leaned in closer. "Oh? But can't someone break the spell and set him free, then?"
The king dismissed the idea with a shake of his head. "Nonsense. Only the person who set up the spell is able to break it. And I've paid him a too handsome amount of money for him to even consider disobeying me, so rest assured that we will not be having a dragon in our castle anytime soon!" He chortled with laughter, but Lucy didn't find the situation funny at all.
That just meant more work for her. How was she supposed to find someone when she had no idea where to start?
"Oh, I see," she said, her appetite gone. She played with the eggs in her plate, knowing that other princesses would cringe at what she was doing.
"By the way, I forgot to let you know that your cousin Hisui will be visiting in a few days. She'll be helping you set up your wedding," he continued, not at all suspecting that his daughter was on to something.
Lucy nodded glumly. "I'm not hungry, Father. I'm going out for a walk."
"Very well. But please do be careful. Loke mentioned that you tripped just yesterday when you went out."
Lucy wanted to punch something in anger. That jerk just had to mention her escapade to her father, didn't he? "Of course. Don't worry about me, Father. And Happy will be watching over me, so I'll be fine."
She stopped by her room for her blue-gray furred cat, who practically pounced on her when she announced that they were going to visit Natsu again. She laughed, trailing her finger along Happy's fluffy fur. "You're excited too, huh?"
She noticed something sparkly was tied to his neck, and a smile spread across her lips when she saw that it was the necklace that Capricorn had made for her, with gold threads wrapped tightly around the scale. He had managed to get it to her in the most discrete way possible, and for that she would be forever grateful.
"Let's go see our friend," she said, and made no more delays in picking her way through the trees in the forest. She wished that Natsu could be storming their castle, so that she wouldn't have to walk so far to see him.
Natsu greeted her cheerfully, but unlike before, was careful not to get too close to the cage again. Lucy hoped he was doing better after what had happened yesterday, and couldn't shake off the feeling that him getting hurt had been her fault. She sat down at her usual spot close to his snout.
"Are you doing okay, Natsu?" she asked worriedly. He was noticeably thinner compared to the first time she had met him. "Are they feeding you properly?"
Judging by how empty and clean the cage looked, she knew that they weren't really giving him anything to eat. She would have to see to it herself. "What do dragons eat, anyway?"
Natsu sighed forlornly and shrugged his powerful shoulders. Lucy made a mental note to research what dragons ate when she got back to her room.
"You must be so bored," she fretted, patting his paw as Happy snuggled against him. "I'm bored, too. There isn't anything I can do in the castle."
He whined at her and moved his head in the direction of the town.
Lucy's eyes widened. "You're right, Natsu! I can go out and see if there's anything good in town!" It would also help in her search to find out who was responsible for setting up the cage, she realized. Besides, her father hadn't exactly forbade her to go out, only that he preferred her to stay indoors.
Why hadn't she thought of going out before?
Maybe it was because she hadn't had an actual purpose for going to town. But with Natsu's life on her hands, she would do whatever it takes to help him go home. And maybe his dragon friends would accept her, too.
She closed her eyes and told him more about her childhood, the time she had gotten lost in her own castle when she was playing hide and seek with her servants. It had gotten both her and everyone else in trouble, but it had been so much fun to run around and sneak into rooms that her parents usually didn't allow her to go into.
She laughed at the memory.
"I'm talking too much, aren't I?" she mused. Natsu rumbled in protest, and showed her his teeth in a goofy smile. She giggled again. Natsu had made her laugh more times now than she ever had in her life.
"Thank you for listening to me, Natsu. I wish you could talk to me," she admitted, leaning back so she could watch the clouds float lazily across the clear blue sky. She imagined the shadow of a large pink dragon flying among the clouds, too. "I wish you were small enough so that I can sneak you into my room..."
She took out the quill and paper she had sneaked out with her, and scribbled down more ideas for her novel. Natsu gazed at her intently as she worked, making her blush. "I don't want to read my story to you," she mumbled. "It's embarrassing when people you know read your work."
The look he gave her told her he thought otherwise.
"Oh, fine. But promise you won't laugh," she begged, thinking of one of her earlier stories and cringing at the her childish writing.
She cleared her throat importantly and began her tale.
Making sure that she had a few coins and the map of the town stashed properly in her pouch, she slipped the elegant black cloak over her head and carefully moved out towards the city. This was the first time she was going alone, and the thought was both exhilarating and daunting.
Lucy told herself she should probably should have come up with a better plan, but she had been too excited about searching for information in town. She figured the best place to gather intel would be at the local bar, so that was where she turned toward. Hopefully one of its usual customers would be able to slip something to her.
"What can I get for you?" The bartender, a short, chubby man, asked her cheerfully as she walked into the old bar.
A girl with wavy brown hair sat in the seat closest to him, drinking out of - to Lucy's utmost horror - an entire beer barrel. She had never seen a sight so barbaric before in her life, and for a few moments could only watch the other girl with shock. She snapped out of her daze and contemplated ordering just water, but decided against it. That would be way too suspicious.
"I'll have whatever she's having," she said weakly, nodding to the barrel in the girl's hands. How did she even manage to lift up such a heavy load?
"Cana, there? Are you sure?" The bartender shrugged, and not waiting for her answer, brought out a glass for her.
The girl, Cana, paused to wipe her mouth. "You can just have some of mine. I'll be getting another barrel anyway," she said, pouring out her alcohol into Lucy's glass. Lucy didn't know how she could still speak soberly when she obviously had too much to drink.
"Thank you," Lucy said, taking the glass and giving it a careful sniff. She would be in so much trouble if her father found out.
"You're too polite for your own good," Cana said, tutting disapprovingly. "You're new here, aren't you? Haven't seen you around before."
"Well, yes, you can say that," Lucy murmured vaguely. She took a sip and wrinkled her nose at the burning bitterness in her mouth. "Cana, right?"
The girl nodded and grinned. "Yup, that's me. What about you?"
Lucy almost told her her name, and then realized how stupid that would be. This was also why not having a plan was a very bad idea.
She said the first name that jumped into her mind. "V-Virgo."
"Virgo? What a weird name," Cana said. To Lucy's relief, she didn't question the matter any further. "Doesn't matter. Everyone here is weird."
"Y-You think so?" Lucy asked nervously.
"Of course. That's why we're here, right?" Cana smirked, then proceeded to drink out of her barrel again.
Lucy took another sip from her glass. As she stared at the dark red liquid, an image of a drunk Natsu blowing out puffs of alcohol-scented smoke from his nostrils filled her mind, and she couldn't stop a giggle from escaping from her lips before shaking her head. She really had to control herself, she groaned. If she was already thinking silly things now, who knew how she would act when she was drunk? "Say, Cana, have you ever seen a real dragon before?"
Cana looked at her incredulously. "Dragon? Ha, I wish. That would make those dragon slayers' lives a lot easier, that's for sure," she mumbled, more to herself than to Lucy.
But Lucy had heard anyway. "Dragon slayers?" The first name that popped into her head was Loke. "Like...someone who defeated a dragon?"
"No. They're mages who were once raised by dragons." There was a hint of proudness in Cana's voice. "We have a lot of them in our guild."
"Guild?" Lucy was puzzled.
Cana rolled her eyes. "You really don't know anything, do you, Virgo? Guess you can't use magic, huh?"
Magic...
Did Cana know something about the man who trapped Natsu in a cage?
"No, I can't," Lucy said sadly. If she did, perhaps she would be more useful to Natsu.
"Would you like me to do a magical card reading for you? I'll give you a discount," Cana offered with a sly smile.
Lucy nodded, taking out a few coins from her pouch. Maybe it would tell her what she had to do to help her friend...
Holding her breath, she waited patiently as Cana began to set up her cards.
A/n: Oh wow, 7 reviews for chapter 3! I'm all fired up! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, you're all so sweet and amazing :D
Can anyone guess who the guy Lucy is searching for is? ;)
don't forget to leave a review! Or Natsu will roar at you 8D