When he first awoke the only thing that filled his mind was confusion. Natsu blinked sleepily as he sat up with a yawn.
"Wow… that was the best nap I've had in like… forever!" he grinned, still not completely awake, "I haven't felt this good in years!"
He took a moment to let his eyes adjust to the brightness of where ever he was. Looking around he realized he was sitting on a soft patch of grass in the shade of a large magnolia tree in some kind of clearing. As he looked around he took in the five, decently sized cottages surrounding the Magnolia in a circular pattern. There were also several gardens and trees littering the area and to his right was what looked like a freshwater stream and to his left was a large well.
"Dang.." he thought to himself, "Am I still dreaming?"
That's about when he noticed the shackles binding his hands and legs, as well as the faint murmuring of voices over the smell of delicious food.
"Crap. Nevermind." Natsu groaned.
His head shot up as he heard the sound of someone walking towards him. His eyes went wide with surprise and awe before quickly narrowing in distrust. Quietly approaching him was a beautiful girl, with long, golden hair that flowed behind her like a river of stars clad in a royal blue gown that hugged her full chest before flowing simply to her ankles, the sleeves puffed slightly before ending just after her shoulders. As she came closer, it became evident to Natsu that she was not human as he studied her delicate and angelic facial features as well as the warm, brown eyes that looked past him into his very soul. That, and the beautiful pair of folded wings that arced behind the halo of golden hair decorated with long, white feathers that looked softer and more pure than the clouds in the sky. As she came closer to him, his heart began to beat faster as he became more and more nervous. Once she'd reached him and knelt in front of his face he was practically sweating.
"So, you're the first to awaken," his angel gestured to his sleeping, bound brothers with a soft smile decorating her face, "How are you feeling?"
"Um… good? I think?" Natsu stammered out before coming to a conclusion, "Am I dead?" only in heaven should he see an angel.
"No, you aren't dead," she let out a laugh akin to tinkling bells, "I can see how you might think that with me hanging around. My name is Lucy, by the way. Lucy Heartfilia. And this is my home." she, Lucy, smiled indicating that she was talking about the area surrounding them.
"Oh… well, I'm super confused Luigi, why am I tied up?" he pondered, "Oh! And my name is Natsu. Natsu Dragneel." he added as an afterthought.
"Lucy, actually, and you're tied up because how are we supposed to know if you're a threat or not?" Lucy grumbled at the offending name he'd called her.
"Oh well I guess you don't huh… but it seems to me that you'll never know unless you decide to trust me." Natsu grinned.
"Like that's ever going to happen," Lucy rolled her eyes in humored annoyance, "Trust is earned, not given."
To that Natsu only grinned sheepishly before slumping forward onto Lucy.
"Whoa there!" she jumped, pushing him off of her chest and holding him up, "HE PASSED OUT?!"
"I'm starvin'..." Natsu mumbled, making Lucy jump again, almost dropping him.
"Oh… oh!" Lucy exclaimed, "I'm so sorry! Dinner is almost ready!"
Immediately Natsu's head perked up. Lucy could practically hear his stomach rumbling with hunger. So, she unlocked the binds on his legs and helped the young man to his feet. Deciding that, at the very least, everyone deserves to eat.
When the pair arrived to the area by one of the vegetable gardens, the large, wooden table was already set with exactly nine place settings. Decorated with beautiful magnolia flowers, and the tree stumps serving as chairs at the table were polished beautifully. Natsu let out a small gasp in awe at the handsome scene before him, it had been a long time since he'd seen such a comforting place. Looking about the scene he noticed one small girl washing and cutting fresh vegetables and produce from the garden next to them, which was then passed to another, taller, girl who added it to a cauldron hanging over a fire. Another girl, tall with scarlet-hair, was helping a young girl carry water from the well nearby to the table, pouring the glasses with cool, fresh water.
"This… it's so happy here," Natsu observed, "I don't think I've seen anything like this for a very long time."
"Well, now you will be able to enjoy it to the fullest!" grinned Lucy, before she lead him to a seat.
After making sure that Natsu was comfortably positioned, she walked back to the large magnolia tree to retrieve the other… guests. When she arrived there was one more sitting up, a bit groggily but alert for the most part.
"Hello, my name is Lucy Heartfilia. Your… brother?... Natsu is already awake, it is good to see you up in good health," this man was not a harm to her, she'd already read his soul and saw the deep peace within him.
"Thank you, Ms. Heartfilia. My name is Jellal Fernandes, I am a bit confused with the situation. Are we prisoners?" he gestured towards the shackles on his feet and hands, "Or guests? Seeing as you mentioned that Natsu is awake, but he is not anywhere within sight."
"I'm sorry, Jellal. But as of right now we have not determined whether you or your family is a threat to us yet, so while you are not hostages, you're not exactly friends either." Lucy sighed.
"I see." Jellal murmured.
"Well, beyond that little situation, would you like to go eat something?" Lucy asked.
"Yes, I believe I would like that. Is that where my brother is?" Jellal nodded in affirmation, standing as she unlocked the shackles around his ankles.
Lucy led her guest with the cobalt blue hair and the strange red marking on the side of his face over his eye to the dining area. Once they reached the table, Jellal had a very similar reaction to Natsu, though more subdued than his was, and was delightedly startled by the image. And in one of the chairs at the table sat Natsu, currently stuffing his face with soup, bread, and water to his heart's content. Lucy gestured for Jellal to sit next to his brother and left to retrieve the next to wake up.