Chapter 3

You Don't Know What she Wants

Fresh from a visit with her mother, Lucy was beginning to feel more confident about her recent decision. The ailing Queen of Fiore had been visibly pleased by the knowledge that her daughter would take her place after she passed and was more animated than she had been in quite some time. Gesticulating with a surprising vigor in her hands, she told Lucy a little about her own experience with the Coronal Contests, even going as far as to say that it was one of the best times of her life. The young princess was still slightly skeptical, but seeing that joy on her mom's face was more than enough to reassure herself that she was doing the right thing.

Of course, that moment of reassurance faded away as quickly as it had come when Lucy walked through the main doors of the Grand Hall of the castle and saw the chaos swirling around her.

People were briskly pacing back and forth around the hall, carrying papers, floorplans and a variety of messages. Some held measuring sticks while others had bottles of soap and polish as they scrubbed furiously against the rosy marble floor, buffing it to shiny perfection. Furniture was being moved, paintings on the walls were being meticulously examined and then replaced by even more luxurious masterpieces, and even the grand chandelier hanging from the 50 foot-tall ceiling was receiving new candles from a man standing on top a very wobbly looking ladder.

A few passing servants would bow upon seeing her presence before scurrying away, but for the most part, Lucy's entrance went unnoticed as everyone in the room was so utterly absorbed with their individual tasks.

The Grand Hall was the largest room in the castle and was where all the largest balls and events where held. Opulent and spacious, the hall represented the finest luxurious Fiore had to offer and perhaps most importantly, it was going to be the location for the Ball celebrating the beginning of the Coronal Contests in just a few days. Lucy thought that was plenty of time to put a dance together, but judging from the tizzy everyone was in, she was clearly mistaken.

Emerging from the chaos and standing out with collected serenity, a tall woman with startling red hair strode straight towards Lucy. The woman was clearly all business with her locks tied back into a high pony tail and a simple blue dress that brought out the oceany hue of her eyes. Even though Lucy was the princess, she couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated by this woman's professional ambiance and effortless beauty.

"Greetings, your highness. If I may introduce myself, I am Erza Scarlett and I will be your Coronal Contests Coordinator." She said with a bow, speaking in a hurried tone ripe with zealous fervor.

That's a lot of C's… Lucy said to herself, a bit taken aback by this woman's enthusiasm.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She said instead politely. "Thank you in advance for your services."

Lucy gestured to a nearby table and sat down across from her new acquaintance. Immediately, the redhead pulled a massive binder out of her bag and plopped it down loudly on the table with a resounding thump. Mouth gaping open at the sheer size of the binder, Lucy estimated that it was five inches thick and filled to the brim with papers, pictures and other information that she couldn't phantom was necessary for the upcoming events.

"Let's get right to business, shall we?" She said brusquely with an eager smile, not noticing Lucy's reluctance. "First of all, I am here to assist you throughout the Contests so that all you need to focus on is finding the right husband. My job description includes organizing events, overseeing contestants, and overall to keep the Contests running smoothly. That being said, my primary service is to you, so if there is anything extra you need, don't hesitate to ask because I am equipped and ready to help you with any problem you may have, including but not limited to anxiety, contestant management, amending contests, adding or negating rules, and general guidelines. Any questions so far?"

Lucy wasn't sure what to say. Erza had said everything so fast and the blonde honestly didn't think that this would be made into such a big deal…

"That's a big binder." She finally ended up saying, not removing her eyes from the overflowing notebook.

"Indeed. It's filled to the brim with everything I need and more to make the Contests the best experience of your life. I have it all: dress designs, rule manuals, contest descriptions and even a detailed catalog on specific food items to include on dining menus. I can assure you that I have accounted for every possible necessity."

"I see…" She replied. "That's wonderful. You are very skilled at your job, Erza."

"Thank you, your highness, and furthermore-"

"Lucy." She corrected the coordinator. "If we are going to be working together, I'd like for you to call me Lucy."

"As you wish." She replied, dipping her head. "Now, onto the first matter we must discuss. As you can see, I've already begun to prepare the Main Hall for the first Ball and will continue to do so unless you have any specific request regarding the theme or decoration of the hall?"

"I trust you judgement."

"Very good." Erza flipped open to a page in her binder and scribbled something down furiously, before moving on to the next item of discussion. "As you know, at the end of the upcoming Ball, you will select a certain number of gentlemen to proceed to the official contest portion of the Coronal Events, commonly dubbed "Stage Two". Historically, anywhere from five to fifty men are selected at the Ball, although the exact number will be decided by you."

"Okay… wait you mean I have to decide the number right now?" Lucy asked, suddenly very startled.

"Yes." Erza nodded. "It is common curtesy to announce the number that will be selected at the beginning of the night so that the men will know their odds and therefore act accordingly."

Lucy closed her eyes to think for a moment, contemplating the answer she would have to give. She definitely didn't want too many men to juggle throughout the contests, but at the same time she wouldn't want to narrow down her selection to quickly… What if she rejected the perfect man on the first night simply because there weren't enough available slots? It was crazy how anxious she was getting over this simple question. How was she going to handle larger decisions if she couldn't even make up her mind about this?

"Ten." Lucy answered finally, spitting out the number rather than actually deciding on it.

"Very well." Erza nodded and scribbled the new information down onto one of her many sheets of paper. The redhead flipped another page over and went on to the next area of interest. Lucy inwardly sighed as she realized just how long this meeting was going to take.

XXX

It was getting late in the afternoon by the time Erza finished hammering her with questions about the Opening Ceremony Ball. Lucy was mentally exhausted and she truly did not feel like attending the history lesson she had scheduled with one of her tutors in half an hour. He muscles were tight with stress and her head was overloaded with anticipation.

Acting off a whim, Lucy changed direction and headed downstairs and out of the Castle onto the sweeping grounds that surrounded it. She was going through the Coronal Contests. That was definitely a good excuse to suspend a good portion of her other responsibilities. Striding confidently to the Royal Stables, she ordered one of the workers there to saddle a horse for her. Furthermore, she grabbed a wide brimmed hat to conceal her hair and face from any onlookers who may wonder what the Princess of Fiore was doing on her own.

She made up her mind; she was going for a ride and was just going to let the wind take her wherever she wanted to go. If the rest of her life was going to be dictated by the needs of others, then she was going to enjoy what little bit of freedom she had left.

XXX

One of the things that Natsu loved most about his occasional trips into Oakdale Town was the cornucopia of smells, sights, and sounds that surrounded him like an extravagant feast of sensation. He loved hearing the chatter of children running through the cobblestone streets as well as the more serious discussions held among consumers bargaining for better prices at the vendors in the center of town. His eyes were delighted by the variety of colors dancing around him- brightly colored dresses, rich browns of wooden storefronts and the clear sky that he swore was bluer here than it was back on the farm. Most enjoyable however was the symphony of smells that engulfed him such as the perfume of freshly baked breads drifting out of a small corner bakery, meats cooking over slow roasting fires, and the fragrant array of seasonal fruits displayed in the farmer's market.

He had just dropped off his final supply of pumpkins from the most recent harvest. For every new crop of fruit, he would drag several wagon loads of the harvest to town and sell them to the market for a reasonable price. On the way back he would use the money his stepmother gave him to buy different groceries for household meals as well as other necessities that his "family" demanded. She made sure to only allow him the exact amount of money necessary to buy everything on the list and not one item more. Natsu was still waiting for the day that she overestimated and he would be able to buy a trinket or delicacy for Wendy. He felt slightly guilty that his baby sister was stuck doing her usual household chores at home, but it couldn't be helped. She was too young to make the trips into town and besides, it was his job to bring the harvests to the market.

There were two main parts of Oakdale Town. Front and center of the town featured a buzzing and colorful epicenter of commerce that featured a fresh farmer's market, a collection of diverse stores, and trading posts all of which contributed to the lively economy of the place. However, on the edges of the town were less consumer-friendly residencies that consisted of worn down houses grouped in cramped neighborhoods that featured muddy potholes and dark alleys that you wouldn't want to be caught in alone come sundown.

Not ever having the need to venture into those parts of town, Natsu stayed within the commerce center to go about his business. Parking his wagon beside the road that led to town, he began walking back to the marketplace where he would become a buyer and not just a seller.

A paper flapping about in the wind from where it was nailed to a lamp post caught the boy's eye.

Come to the Opening Ceremony Ball of the Coronal Contests as Princess Lucy Heartfilia begins her search for her husband, the next King of Fiore. It read in large fancy calligraphy. All men between the ages of 16 and 30 are eligible and invited.

That made Natsu chuckle a little bit. He couldn't imagine a scenario where hundreds of guys were fighting over marrying the same girl. To top it off, the winner would become King. That was bound to be a dirty fight and Natsu wondered what self-respecting guy would go through it.

It wasn't until he tore his eyes away from the advertisement that Natsu spotted something almost as unusual out of the corner of his eye.

In an alley way leading to the bad parts of town, a group of three rowdy and rough-looking men were standing around a much smaller girl who was wearing an expensive-looking dress. The girl wore a cloak over her gown and had tucked her hair beneath a wide brimmed hat that covered most of her face when she looked down. Her delicacy was sharply contrasted by the dirty and unreasonably smelly piles of muscle that were cornering her against the wall of the alley where nobody would notice. Of course Natsu was unusual in the fact that his senses were greater than an ordinary man's.

"Come on, lady, I happen to know a great tavern downtown. Don't you want to come with us and have a little drink?" The largest of the three men leaned towards her with a devilish smirk that showed off a yellowed set of crooked teeth. His bald head was covered by a white bandanna that had seen so many stains and sun that it was the same color as his teeth.

"Thank you for the offer, mister, but once again I must decline." She replied, speaking with an odd authority in her voice, attempting to stay polite and calm despite the fear Natsu smelled radiating off her skin.

"Look, boys, she's playing hard to get." The bandanna guy replied, prompting his two beefy friends to chuckle. One of them had dark skin that helped him blend into the shadows while the other sported a shock of goofy blonde hair that just seemed strange and out of place on top his mammoth body. "I like that."

"I'll be going now." The young woman said firmly, pulling her cloak tighter around he shoulders. She tried to push her way through the wall of muscle that was surrounding her, but it was to no avail. One of the men merely stepped in front of her to block her getaway.

"Not so fast, Missy. The fun is only just getting started." Yellow-haired brute grunted at her, causing the girl to flinch.

Natsu resisted the urge to roll his eyes, resenting the fact that he would probably have to jump in and save her from the thugs. This chick was clearly not from around these parts. Not only were her clothes expensive and pristine, but any woman from Oakdale would to stick to the main roads and avoid all the unwanted men. And even if a woman from around these parts did get caught in a precarious situation with a group of thugs, she would know how to handle herself. At this time of day (late afternoon) all it took to get rid of perverts like that was a few curse words and a simple threat to let them know you aren't to be messed with. Sometimes if they were extra creepy it would take a scream or solid kick, but that was only in rare cases. He had gone through all this with Wendy if she ever ended up in town by herself, but this girl clearly never had those lessons. She was undoubtedly some snotty rich noble girl who wanted to be adventurous by wondering into town. He never understood wealthy people and their constant dissatisfaction with their perfect lives….

Just as Natsu mustered up the motivation to walk over and intervene, the rich girl started complaining again in that pompous voice of hers.

"Don't you dare touch me!" She shrilled as one of the men reached out to grab her wrist. The men barely even noticed her protests as she continued to speak in a soft tone. "I'll have you know that I am not someone you should mess with. I happen to be-"

"Yo!" Natsu called out with a casual hand raised in greeting. The gang looked over at him with a mixture of surprise, irritation and confusion. Natsu ignored that. "Yeah, I'm talking to you guys. How about you leave the girl alone? She's clearly not into you."

The woman with the hat breathed a huge sigh of relief as she relaxed her features upon her apparent rescue. She looked at the pink haired boy as if he were her knight in shining armor. Natsu resented that.

"Oh thank you so much! These men just assaulted me and-"

"How about you let me do the talking?" Natsu cut her off, not caring to do the whole gratitude thing.

"And what the hell does this got to do with you, pinky?" Bandanna-head grunted, turning away from the girl to size up the nuisance face on.

"Nothing at all, I suppose." Natsu shrugged. "I'm just trying to do you a favor, pal. Look at the girl's clothes. She's a noble. There's no way this will end well for you."

"I'll take my chances." The man answered with a positively disgusted grin on his face. "This one's worth the risk."

Natsu let out a sigh. This was going to be more difficult than he thought. He was never good with verbal negotiations and always preferred to use his fists while settling disputes, but he didn't want to cause a scene and risk word getting back to his stepmother…

"Come on, just leave her alone. I don't have time for this." He said instead.

"I think you're the one who needs to scram, pest."

"I'd love to, but not before you take your greasy fingers off the girl." Natsu replied shaking his head with his arms crossed.

"Hey boss I think he just insulted you!" The stereotypically accurate blonde goofball declared with a rare stroke of sudden realization.

"I think he did." The leader grunted cracking his knuckles. "And that means we need to teach this punk some manners."

"Don't you usually need know a little bit about the subject matter in order to teach it?" Natsu said with a sly grin and glistening eyes, feeling his skin start to tingle in anticipation. He wasn't about to go around starting fights, but he wasn't going to say no when one came to him either. It had been far too long since he used his muscles for something other than farm work.

The three men scowled in anger, wordlessly deciding to make their movie. Bandanna-head moved first, swinging an angry fist at Natsu's head, but the boy was able to dodge it easily with a swift sidestep before lashing out an elbow that landed square on the man's back, sending him flying forward to the dirt. The next challenger, the giant blonde with heaps of muscles bulking up his arms, took a less refined approach, throwing his entire body at the pink haired boy in a full force tackle. Not able to stifle his grin, Natsu jumped up into the air and landed neatly on the big brute's shoulders. Before the big guy could figure out what was going on, Natsu leaped off his perch to land in front of the third man, the quieter one with the dark skin, who at least adopted a semi-acceptable fighting position with his hands held out in front of him in tight fists.

The mere farm boy was the first to lash out against the larger man, throwing an easy straightforward punch just to see if his opponent was capable of blocking it. The man managed to protect himself by guarding his face with his forearms locked in a tight defensive "X", but was clearly shaken by the blow. Giving the man time to retaliate, Natsu waited for the counterattack and was slightly disappointed by how slowly the man moved. To Natsu it looked as if the oncoming fist was moving in slow motion, giving him days to calculate his next move. Realizing that this wasn't going to be as good of a fight as he hoped, he decided to not drag things out any longer than necessary and chose to stop the man's relatively heavy punch with a nimble hand, stopping all momentum and catching the fist in his palm. The man looked at the boy in disbelief. Natsu just responded with a flicker of a smile as he shrugged, clasping the man's forearm arm with his other hand. Now with a firm grip, Natsu spun the man around twice in a circle to gain some speed and then released, flinging the man with startling speed at his bumbling blonde comrade so that he crashed into him, sending both crashing to the ground next to their leader.

"Like I said." Natsu spoke in an even voice, not having broken a sweat. "There's no way this was ever going to work out well for you."

"Let's go, men." The boss spoke in an oddly high pitched voice, trying to mask his pain with a forced authoritative tone that came out all wrong. "This guy ain't worth our time."

"Yeah." The other two huffed as they struggled to stand before limping away as fast as they could manage, leaning the girl and the boy alone in the alley.

Natsu shook his head. The sad thing was that was the best action he'd gotten in weeks.

"That was incredible!" The feminine voice reminded him that the blonde chick was still there. He glanced at her over his shoulder and saw that she had her hands clasped over her chest, face gushing with gratitude. "Thank you so much! I've never seen anything like that out of a civilian."

"Yeah." Natsu muttered not at all liking the way she said 'civilian' as he started to walk away. "Whatever, just be a little more careful next time."

"Wait you can't go yet!" The girl called out, picking up the heavy skirts of her dress to rush over to his side, grabbing his arm with her delicate hands. "I haven't the chance to properly thank you."

"I think I've been thanked enough, princess." Natsu said as he stiffened immediately at the contact and to his surprise, the girl loosened her grip immediately at his words. For the first time he saw her large brown eyes beneath the brim of her hat. They flew wide with shock.

"You think I'm the princess?" She stuttered out nervously.

"What?" Natsu asked, shaking his head. "No- it's a figure of speech. You're rich so I called you princess, what's the big deal?"

"Oh right, I'm sorry." She laughed as her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. "Of course I know that-"

"Bye." Natsu said, turning around to walk away once more.

"Are you going to the ball?" The girl blurted out at him before he could get out of range. Natsu stopped in his tracks and sighed. What was up with this chick? Most nobles would just take one glance at him, write him off as scum and ignore him without a second thought.

"You mean that party the princess is throwing to find a husband?" He scoffed. "No I'm definitely not interested."

If Natsu didn't still have his back turned to the blonde girl, he would have seen her face fall a little in disappointment.

"Why not?" She asked. "I mean, every eligible bachelor in the country is allowed to attend… It couldn't hurt to try."

Natsu laughed harshly and the turned around to look at her, seeing all the oblivious naivety and blissful ignorance in her expression. Did she really think that stupid dance would be anything but a waste of time for him?

"Even if I did somehow manage to get away from my sadistic stepmother and find something halfway decent to wear, there's not a chance in hell a princess would go for someone like me."

"You don't know that. Maybe she would."

"And maybe she would want one of the thousand other princes and nobleman in this world. You know, the ones with the shiny armor, perfect hair and white horses? I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess she's going to go for a guy like that."

"You don't know what she wants." The girl insisted, shaking her head. "You don't even know her. She could be really kind and not care about things like that."

"You're right about one thing. I have no idea what she wants because I have no idea what you nobles think." Natsu said, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat, growing tired of this conversation. "All I do know is that our worlds don't belong together, so why don't you go back to where ever it is you came from and leave me the hell alone?"

The girl flinched at his harsh, unfiltered words. She probably had never been spoken to like that before and so she was hurt. However, instead of walking away or looking down, she kept those sparkly doe eyes firmly connected to Natsu's glare in a gaze that fell somewhere between angry and sympathetic. It was strange.

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you-" Natsu started to say, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to figure out a way to mend the situation. Too bad he was much better at breaking things than putting them back together.

"You didn't." She snapped. "You have an opinion that I don't agree with. It doesn't really matter, I just want the opportunity to properly thank you for helping me."

"You have thanked me!" Natsu exclaimed as he pushed his bangs back out of his eyes in frustration.

"Not properly." She replied, shaking her head. "You said before that you would have nothing to wear to the ball. I would like to thank you by buying you a suit so that you may attend."

He looked at her in sheer disbelief. His smiled was almost sadistic as he lost all control over his emotions.

"You know what? I'm just going to say it outright, because you clearly aren't taking any hints." He spat, taking a step towards the girl in the vain hope that she would finally understand. "I don't like nobility and I don't want to be one of them. I'm not entering that ridiculous contest and I'm not trying to marry a spoiled princess. There is no way in hell I'm going to that Ball, so you can stop trying to convince me."

Natsu was breathing hard as he finished his rant, still looking at the shorter girl that stood in front of him. He didn't understand completely why he was getting so worked up over this, but he did know that he hated the wealthy.

He had been well off when his father was still around, but ever since he left and his stepmother tuned him into a glorified slave, he might as well be considered among the lowest social class there was. He had lived that way for eleven years now and he knew what it was like to starve. He knew what it was like to work his ass off all day only to return to a piece of crap bedroom in an uninsulated attic. He knew what it was like to watch his little sister suffer beneath the hardship and not be able to do anything about it.

That was why he hated looking at nobles who had their lives all figured out as they slept in until noon, gorged themselves on gluttonous feasts, and allowed countless servants to do all their dirty work.

He had figured out a long time ago that that life wasn't fair and had grown to accept that some lives were simply better than others, but that didn't mean he should have to deal with a naïve rich girl who probably owned enough shoes to fill up the wagon he drug around to carry fruit that he could never eat.

"I feel sorry for you." The girl said simply and coldly.

"Not all of us can be rich."

"No. That's not what I meant. I feel sorry for you because you are so consumed by bitterness and hatred that you don't even realize when someone is being nice to you." She said as Natsu narrowed his eyes, surprised by her statement. She continued with her chin raised in the air. "I know this hard for you to believe, but being rich doesn't mean life is perfect. My life isn't perfect. But that doesn't mean I have the excuse to be rude. I'm offering to buy you the suit because my mother always taught me to be generous and kind. I'm aware that our worlds are different, but I was not under the impression that they diverged so far as to devalue common integrity."

Natsu didn't respond for a while, studying the girl with a quizzing stare. She definitely wasn't like most nobles. She smelt like them and spoke like them, but he didn't miss out on the hint of pain that tinted her deceivingly steady voice. It was the same tremor he would often hear out of himself.

Regardless, he couldn't deny that she was right. He was being a bitter ass and she did nothing to deserve the brunt of his anger and frustration. He let out a deep sigh, realizing just how much he screwed up.

"Sorry." He mumbled. "I guess I can be an idiot sometimes. I'll let you buy me the suit."

"Does this mean you are going to attend the ball?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, pleased that he was coming around.

"It means I'll consider it." He shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Good." She replied, gesturing for him to follow her as she led the way to the more expensive boutiques.

"I never got your name." Natsu said, figuring that he should know what to call her. The pause before she answered was a moment to long before she finally spoke.

"I'm Marla."

"Natsu." He huffed, sighing as he walked behind her with his hands shoved in his pockets. "Natsu Dragneel."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Natsu." She said with a cheery smile.

Wish I could say the same. He mumbled inside his head, this time managing to keep his thoughts to himself.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hey there. Sorry for the longer than usual wait. I've been crazy busy and the scary thing is that my schedule is only going to get even more crowded in the upcoming weeks. Despite having trouble finding the time to work on this story, I still enjoy writing it and will continue to update as often as I can. I wanted so badly to get this chapter posted that I completely lost track of time earlier today and was late for my volleyball practice because I was concentrated on writing (idk I get in a zone sometimes and everything around me just sizzles away). Anyway that wasn't one of my finer moments, but the point is that I just really want to keep making new chapters for anyone out there who might want to read them.

That being said, I hope you loved the chapter and are looking forward to what's next. Let me know in the reviews if my tardiness to practice was worth it!