Chapter 5

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo

"I look ridiculous." Natsu complained, looking down to examine the clothes he was wearing, clothes that were not too much better than the outfits Sting and Rogue had left to go to the ball with. Strangling his chest was a gold embroidered jacket that was far too tight and shiny for the wizard's taste. The black pants and silky shirt he also wore were okay, but still the whole getup was far too stiff and shiny for his ordinarily simple taste.

"No, you don't. You look absolutely handsome." Wendy gushed from her spot on her cot in the tiny third floor loft of the family ranch house. She wore the same bland and slightly dusty brown dress she always sported for doing housework, but her brother looked fit to attend a Royal Ball. His hair was freshly washed and shampooed, his skin was completely clear of the usual smears of dirt and he was dressed in nicer clothes than either of them had ever seen before. His suit was probably more expensive that the ones Igneel would wear to business meetings in town before he disappeared.

"I can't believe people actually wear this stuff on a daily basis."

"You better start believing it, your majesty." The girl giggled playfully at her older brother.

"Don't call me that!" He immediately protested, earning a bombardment of even more laughter.

"You're going to marry Princess Lucy and become King! Everyone's going to call you "Your Majesty" one day. It's destiny."

"I think a lot more people would be Kings if destiny worked like that." Natsu ran a hand through his hair, trying to mess it up a little to offset the pristine ambience of his clothes. "Besides, I bet there are going to be hundreds of dudes at this place. I may not even get the chance to talk to her."

"Promise me you'll at least try to go on to the next round." Wendy replied.

"I promise, but I can't guarantee much more than that."

"Come on, Natsu, I thought I had you believing a little more in destiny."

"You do, squirt." He lied easily as he sat down next to her on the cot, placing a comforting arm around her shoulder. "I just don't think you should be getting your hopes up on this Ball."

Wendy nodded her head once and let out a small sigh.

"Alright, but there is still one more thing you can promise me."

"And what's that?"

"Promise me you'll have fun." She said and for the first time Natsu could detect a small amount of jealously in her voice. It was almost undetectable, but the protective older brother couldn't help but notice the heaviness in her voice that wasn't there before. "I wish I could go to a Royal Ball dressed up in a fancy outfit."

"I wish you were the one that got to go too. Are you sure you don't want me to hang back? We could sneak out into the woods and practice our magic like we used to. That'd be fun too-"

"No way! You are going to the Ball no matter what! If I can't go, I want you to be there so that you can tell me all about it when you get back. I want to hear every detail, right down to the color shoes the princess is wearing."

Natsu laughed, feeling a little bit of his guilt float off his shoulders. "You got it, squirt."

"Alright. Sting and Rogue already left for the Ball a while ago, so Eldia should just be downstairs in the parlor." Wendy said, snapping into a more serious tone as she ran through the plan once more. "If you sneak out one of the windows on the east side of the second floor, you'll have a straight shot to the barn. Steal one of the horses and you'll be on your way to the castle. It should be about a forty-five minute ride to the north."

"Got it." Natsu nodded. "I'll be going then. See you later, Wendy!"

He kissed the blue head of his little sister and sprung up to make his way for the door.

"You know, you never actually agreed to my second request." The girl said right before he could leave. That got Natsu to break into a small smirk.

"I'll have fun." He said. "I promise."

XXX

Natsu landed lightly on the ground after jumping out of a window on the second story of the ranch house. Absorbing the impact smoothly with bent knees, he sprung back up to begin running as quietly and quickly as he could beneath the star painted night sky.

His journey, however, did not go unnoticed. He heard a soft fluttering approaching him from his left and glanced over to see a small blue cat gliding towards him with magnificent feathery white wings outstretched.

"Hiya, Natsu!" Happy chirped, much too loudly for the covert nature of his friend's mission. "I can't believe you are actually going to this Ball thingy."

"What are ya, crazy?" Natsu hissed, keeping his voice soft but fierce. "Put those wings away before someone sees you! Jeez, I thought I was the reckless one."

"You are." Happy said, allowing his wings to disappear as he landed squarely on Natsu's head, returning to the image of an ordinary (albeit blue) cat. "This whole sneaking away to the Ball thing is pretty stupid. There's no way Eldia isn't going to find out."

"So long as she finds out after it's over, I don't care." Natsu huffed as he pumped his arms along with the stride of his run.

To keep up the charade being a normal, magicless cat, Happy lived in the barn along with all the other animals. Natsu was glad his little buddy was here to see him off.

"You're funeral." Happy shrugged as his ride slowed down upon reaching the entrance to the barn.

"That's a little dramatic, don't you think?" Natsu replied as he undid the latch that locked the barn doors closed at night. "You knows? She may never even find out."

Natsu was forced to eat his words the second he pushed open the massive wooden doors of the barn.

Eldia was standing directly inside, standing erect and waiting stiffly with her bony arms crossed menacingly across her chest.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked, her voice ringing out callously through the night, slicing through the air, sharp as a broken dream.

The pink haired boy froze in his tracks, his dark eyes wide with shock as a startling jolt surged through every fiber in his body.

"What are you doing here?" He stammered out. Happy jumped off of his head and sat down on the ground, licking his paws, pretending to be a normal cat once more.

"I believe that was my question to you." She said back slowly, drawling out her words with a vindictive sneer.

"I'm going to the Opening Ceremony Ball at Fiore Castle." He said firmly, standing his ground with a resolute glare in his eyes. There was no way he was going to let the witch stop him, not when Wendy had so much hope riding on tonight. He made a promise and he was going to keep it.

"I don't recall giving you permission to do so."

"I'm not surprised since I don't recall asking." He shot back without missing a beat. The eyes of his stepmother were the coldest he'd ever seen, beady and black they were like two pits reaching down to the depths of hell.

Just when Natsu thought that he couldn't hate the woman more, she let out a harsh cackle of laughter.

"I assumed you'd be greedy and idealistic." She said. "It's no surprise that you would want to try and compete for the Princess's hand in marriage. What is positively hilarious, however, is that you'd think you actually have a shot. Royalty would never associate with the likes of you. The inclusion of all social classes in the contests are merely for good press. The real contenders are noble gentlemen, just like my two boys, Sting and Rogue. They will do whatever it takes to earn the princess's hand. Scum like you have no chance."

Natsu felt a growl rumbling that the back of his throat. He was angry- livid even, but there was nothing he could say in retaliation. What she said was true. He didn't have a chance with the princess and they both knew it.

"I don't care." He said. "I'm still going."

"No. I can assure you that you aren't." The twisted smile corrupting her face made Natsu feel sick to his stomach.

"Give me a reason why not." The boy challenged. Eldia acquiesced with ease.

"The pigs' stable needs cleaning." She said lightly with a casual confidence.

"I cleaned it earlier today." Natsu shot back.

"Check again."

Unable to resist, he strode over quickly to the Pigs' stall, his jaw dropping open in disbelief at what he saw.

While the stall was usually filled with a dry and light brown dirt covered with piles of hay that the pigs loved to build nests inside of, it was now flooded with water, creating a muddy and soupy mix of mud and hay that the four pigs inside were wallowing and rolling around in, dirtying the area even more.

Nostrils flaring and eyes bulging in anger, Natsu realized that his stepmother must have purposefully flooded the pigs' stall. All so that he wouldn't be able to go to the stupid dance.

"What the hell did you do?!"

"Nothing." She replied with pure evil in her eyes. "You're the one in charge of the barn's caretaking."

"Liar." Natsu hissed back at her.

"Better get started on the cleanup. Looks like that is going to take a while."

Natsu turned back around to more closely examine the mess he would need to clean up. The stall was saturated with mud and looked like bubbling brown swamp. First he would have to move the pigs- which was always difficult- then he would need to somehow get all the mud out and replace it with fresh dirt and hay. Bare minimum it would take an hour and a half. The Ball had already been going on for a while now. Would he be too late by the time he finally got there?

Then he felt a hard shove on his back.

He fell face first into the muddy mess on the floor of the pigs stall, crashing into a soft yet grossly moist cushion of watery soil.

The pigs around him squealed as Natsu's entire body submerged into the pool of mud. He quickly sat back up and stared at his stepmother with pure unadulterated rage. She towered over him, casting a dark shadow on his mud stained face.

"Feel free to attend the Ball after you finish cleaning up the stalls." She said, pretending as though she hadn't just pushed Natsu into the dirt. "Of course, I wish you the best of luck trying to win over the princess looking like that."

"Go to hell." Natsu spat, although it did little to affect the smug demeanor of his stepmother.

With one last sinister cackle, Eldia turned around and strutted out of the barn, high heels clicking on the ground beneath her as she closed the wide doors behind her, latching them shut. Despite her previous words, she locked Natsu inside.

"Damn it." He cursed, still sitting in the pool of brown sludge. He tried rubbing some of the mud out of his eyes, but it did little good as his hands were caked with the grime as well.

It didn't matter that Eldia had locked him inside. There was no way he could still go to the Ball like this. His pink hair was weighed down by clumps of brown and the suit Marla had bought him was completely ruined. He wasn't an expert on clothes, but even he could tell the massive mud stains would prove to be irremovable as they coated his entire outfit in a thick layer of brown.

How was he going to explain this one to Wendy? She was going to be devastated…

"Natsu! Natsu, are you okay?" Happy squealed as he hurried over to his friend. He stopped in his tracks just outside the stall and gasped when he saw what had become of his pal. "Oh boy."

"I hate that woman." Natsu hissed. "I hate her so much."

"Hey Natsu." Happy said quietly.

"What?"

"You got a little mud on your face." The little blue cat covered his mouth with a sheepish paw, giggling in an otherwise very tense situation.

"I KNOW!" Natsu roared. "What the hell am I supposed to do now? Wendy was so looking forward to me going to the Ball…"

"We'll figure something out."

"Like what?" Natsu huffed, crossing his arms in frustration.

"Perhaps I can help." An entirely new voice rang out inside the barn. Natsu looked towards Happy, but the little blue cat clearly hadn't uttered a word. He looked just as surprised.

To both of their disbelief, a new figure had appeared inside the barn. It wasn't his stepmother. It wasn't even anyone that Natsu had seen before.

It was a young girl, not too much older than Wendy. She was dressed in a strange dress, pale and full of ribbon and frills, as her long blonde hair fell in wavy cascades on top of it.

"Hello, Natsu." The girl said in dreamy sing-song tune. "I'm Mavis, your Fairy God Mother."

XXX

"Sup." The prince said with a nonchalance that went along perfectly with his messy dark hair and disinterested dark blue eyes. "I'm Gray. Gray Fullbuster."

Lucy was momentarily taken aback by this informal introduction, but quickly regained her composure as she pushed her shoulders back and straightened her neck.

"You have no idea how excited I am that you are able to attend, Prince Gray. I look forward to getting to know you."

"Right." Gray said slowly, raising an eyebrow as he stared at her with unblinking eyes, noticing her stiff muscles and forced smile. Finally, he let out a sigh and then, to Lucy's shock, reached out and placed a friendly hand on her shoulder as if they were old friends and not royal acquaintances. "Look, I'm gunna make this easy on you, Lucy. I'm only here cause my father wanted me to be and I'm pretty sure the same goes for you too so there's no need to try and impress me or nothin'. What do you say we drop the awkward pretenses and make this night a little easier on both of us?"

Lucy was lost for words. She didn't know what she was expecting when her father was telling her about the prince from Minstrel, but it was definitely not this. Unsure of what to do with her hands, she held them stiffly at her sides.

"Sure?" She said, her voice squeaking into something that sounded more like a question than an answer.

"Cool. Oh, and call me Gray. I'm not a fan of when people put a "prince" in front of it."

"Why?" Lucy asked, the question coming out before she could stop it. "It's what you are, after all. You are a prince, aren't you?"

"That's what everyone tells me." Gray shrugged. "Personally, I never bought into the idea. My dad always tries to get me to do all this princely stuff, but I've never been too interested. "

"But you agreed to come here."

"Thought a new country might be interesting to see. And my dad really wasn't about to take no for an answer." He said and then shot a narrow glance at the blonde. "I bet you know all about that."

Lucy took immediate offense to his statement.

"I don't actually." She said. "My father would never make me do anything I didn't want to do. That's why he's such a great man and an even better King."

"Easy there." Gray said, throwing his hands up in defense. "I'm not trying to argue. I'm sure he's a great guy."

"He's the best." She said definitively with a satisfied nod. She let out a breath and then shook her head in confusion. "So what do you want from me? Normally, I'd automatically put you through to the next stage of the Coronal Contests because our marriage would be so advantageous for Fiore, but if you're not interested-"

"Which I'm not."

Lucy raised her eyebrows in surprise and then bit her tongue in irritation at his blunt statement. She understood that he wasn't a fan on all this whole royal courting scenario, but didn't common courtesy demand a little bit of politeness? She always appreciated honesty, but it was in situations like this where a little white lie would be far more appropriate!

"Then should I just send you home now?" She asked, letting her frustration bubble to the surface.

"That's pretty harsh. You don't even know me."

"You said you aren't interested in marriage!"

"Damn straight. I'm like 18."

"I'm 17." Lucy retorted, not sure what the point of this conversation was.

"Then maybe you should hold off on the whole marriage thing too."

"That's not exactly an option for me." Lucy huffed, deflating for a moment as she remembered her unfavorable circumstances.

"Didn't think it was."

"Why are you so extraordinarily unhelpful?"

"Was I supposed to be helpful?"

"You're supposed to want to marry me!"

"Yeah, sorry about that."

Lucy broke off their banter by breaking eye contact and rubbing her forehead to soothe the headache quickly developing inside her skull. Was this guy being serious? This was supposed to be the biggest and best night of her life and Gray was taking it like it was some joke. Sure she was being whiny and acting just a tad like a spoiled princess, but he was supposed to be acting like a prince!

Alright, well the way he viewed the whole situation made it all seem rather ridiculous, but that was still no excuse. He hadn't made things easier on her by dropping the "pretenses", he made them a million times harder.

"What am I going to do?" Lucy said out loud. Even though she didn't voice her question directly to the dark haired boy, he answered with a voice much more sympathetic than it had been before.

"Hey, I didn't mean to offend you or anything like that." He said. "I just know that the only thing I'd be worse at than being a husband is being a king. Me on the throne would not be a pretty sight."

That got Lucy to smile a little. Looking at Gray's messy locks of raven black hair that fell over his dark pools of blue and his other handsome features, she couldn't help but think that Gray sitting on the throne would be a very pretty sight indeed. She could almost imagine the crown of gold shining like a halo on the top of his head.

Gray returned her smile briefly before he turned his head to look to his left. He chuckled slightly.

"On the bright side, I did bring someone with me who I think would be very interested in being your husband."

Lucy had just enough time to fret over the mysterious wink Gray offered her before she saw the person approaching them with a certain swagger in his graceful steps. With mounds of orange-ish brown hair and a confident smirk, the princess knew she was about to meet yet another larger than life character.

"At last." He said, stepping in front of Gray to stand between him and Lucy, his face so close to the girl's that she had to pull back a little bit to preserve her personal space. "I've searched far and wide for you tonight, Princess Lucy. I find it incredible that something so stunning could have evaded my eyes for so long, but now I see that Gray is the culprit for keeping you all to himself. What a crime."

"Smooth, bro." Gray said with a laugh and then spoke to Lucy. "That's Loke. He's my best friend from back home. He's like this with all the girls."

"None of which are as deserving as you, princess." Loke said, recovering flawlessly with an effortless smile to boot.

"Nice to meet you." Lucy said, taking a step away from him as discretely as possible.

"The pleasure is all mine. Now, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?" He asked, clearly not considering for a moment that the girl would say no. He was definitely not the type to get rejected often.

"Sure." She said, forcing a smile onto her face while she inwardly let out a massive groan.

This was quickly turning into the longest night of her life.

XXX

"You're my what?" Natsu blurted out rather rudely, not believing what his ears were telling him.

"You're Fairy God Mother." The dainty girl in the frilly dress responded cheerfully, emanating a peaceful glow that lit up a spot in the dark shadows of the barn. "But you can call me, Mavis."

"Fairy God Mother?" The boy echoed. "But you're younger than me!"

"Am not!" She responded indignantly, her childish protest contradicting her message. "I'm older than I look. Fairies don't age, you know."

"Natsu, why is there a pretty girl in the barn?" Happy whispered slowly to his friend as he glanced over at the aforementioned girl with suspicion.

"I can hear you!" She pouted, stamping her foot with a half-hearted frown. "And I told you. I'm here to help. That's my job as a Fairy God Mother."

"I don't know, you seem pretty suspicious to me." Natsu replied, scratching his head.

"I suppose I'll just have to prove myself." She said with a smile. "Get up out of that pool of mud."

Not having realized that he was still squatted down in the dirt with the pigs, Natsu didn't mind doing as he was told. Carefully, he stood up and exited the stall as he walked over to stand next to the new girl, noticing that he was a solid foot taller than her.

Mavis, raising her hands and closing her eyes, concentrated with intense focus. Suddenly, what appeared to be a stream of starry glitter erupted from her fingertips and began to swirl around the pig stall in a flurry of gold and silver. When the magic disappeared, the pig stall was back in pristine condition, mounds of dry hay settled on light brown dirt with the only trace of water residing in the feeding trough along the wall.

"There." Mavis said proudly, admiring her work. "See? I'm here to help."

"What, no Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo?" Natsu said, pretending to be unimpressed.

"That's only in the fairy tales!" The girl exclaimed, clearly taken aback by the lack of appreciation. "Look, if you aren't going to be grateful, then I might as well go-"

"No!" Happy and Natsu shouted at the same time. Then Natsu rubbed the back of his neck apologetically and wore a smile that was more than capable of melting hearts.

"I was only teasing yah. I really am grateful." He said. "It's just I've never seen magic like that before. What kind is it?"

"It's Fairy Magic." She replied, pleased once more. "It's different than the magic you wizards use and doesn't have nearly as many limitations."

"Wait how do you know I'm a wizard?!"

"For goodness sake, I am your Fairy God Mother. I wouldn't be very good at my job if I didn't research a little about my clients before I met them." She giggled, the laughter ringing like bells throughout the barn. "I know all about you, Natsu. I know about your father and step family. I know about your adorable little sister and how much you love her. And I also know about your plans to attend the Ball and since it is very important for you to attend, here I am!"

"Even if the pig stall is clean, I still can't go. Not when I look like this." Natsu told her, gesturing to his mud stained suit and dirty hair.

"What did I just tell you about Fairy Magic?" Mavis said with a sneaky smile. "You're right. That suit is ruined and won't do at all. Luckily I have something else up my sleeve."

Mavis waved her hands in a graceful circle, closing her eyes once more. This time the bright glitter that exploded from her finger tips moved and swirled around Natsu, concealing him in a vortex of gold and silver.

"Whoa what going on?!"

"Oh, relax." The girl said.

When the magic disappeared, Natsu reappeared looking better than ever. His dirtied clothes from before had all but disappeared and were replaced by sleek black pants with a matching black vest over a crisp white shirt that felt much softer and smoother on his skin that the itchy gold jacket he had been wearing before. Not only had his clothes been replaced but his hair had also been cleaned and styled to perfection as well as every ounce of mud being removed from his skin. He felt squeaky clean and could barely even recognize his own smell since he was currently more sanitary than he'd probably ever been in his life.

"Damn, not too bad." He commented, inspecting himself carefully.

"Whoa Natsu actually looks presentable." Happy chimed in with a mischievous giggle. Before Natsu could protest against that statement, Mavis's face suddenly lit up and she clapped her hands together, remembering something very important.

"Oh my goodness, I almost forgot the finishing touch!" She said, raising her hands in the air to perform one more spell. This time her magic came and went with a flash and suddenly, Natsu felt a distantly familiar warmth wrapped around his neck.

It was a scarf. Snowy white and unique with its scaly pattern, the garment swirled around Natsu's neck before both ends of the scarf dangled down behind his back. Natsu ran his fingers along the silky soft material, feeling the cool fabric slip beneath his fingertips like the sweetest honey.

"This is the scarf Igneel gave me." He breathed out slowly, straining to remember the last time he saw his most prized possession. "After he left, Eldia took it from me. I never thought that I'd see it again."

"I thought it was about time you got it back." Mavis smiled fondly.

"Thank you." Natsu said, not able to remember a time when he meant those two little words more. "Alright, I'm sold. You're definitely my Fairy God Mother, but I still think it's weird that you're so little."

"I've already told you that fairies don't age!"

"So you've always looked like a twelve year old?" Natsu asked with a quizzing stare. Happy slapped him on his head for being rude, but Mavis didn't seem to mind this time. She started staring at her feet and twiddled her fingers together in a nervous tick.

"Well… not exactly."

"Aha! I knew it."

"If you must know, I haven't always been a Fairy God Mother. I used to be human… until I died."

"YOU'RE DEAD?!" Happy and Natsu shouted at the same time, both their faces resembling jack-o-lanterns considering how wide their eyes and mouths were stretched open in shock.

"Technically." She replied sweetly, not at all disturbed by talk of her death. "But I was given the chance to come back and help people as a Fairy God Mother."

"So you're a ghost?"

"No of course not!" Mavis clenched her fists together in a pout once more, all gentleness gone. "I'm a Fairy! Is it really that hard to understand?"

"Don't listen to Natsu." Happy said with a shrug. "He's always been a little thick."

"Have not."

"Have too." The cat returned ready to play that game all day, but Natsu had other things on his mind.

"I just don't get how this whole Fairy God Mother thing works." He reasoned. "Isn't it pretty dangerous for you to go around flaunting your magic like this? It's illegal, you know."

"Unfortunately, yes. Practicing magic has become extremely dangerous around these parts, but I am more capable than most magic users at remaining covert. In the past I would cater more towards regular people, but these days it's the wizards who need the most help."

"These days?" Happy questioned. "Was magic ever not outlawed?"

"Well of course!" Mavis replied. "Back when I was alive, magic was everywhere and wizards were not only plentiful in numbers but also highly respected. They would even form magical Guilds and help people using their magic."

"I knew it!" Natsu said, his eyes lighting up. "I knew that magic wasn't evil. Igneel always told me that the King was spouting nonsense about it being dangerous and dad was right!"

"Your father was a very smart man." Mavis agreed.

"So what happened?" Natsu asked. "How come everyone hates magic these days? I hear things about that EIV disease thingy. What is that all about?"

Mavis giggled. "I'd be more than happy to tell you all about it one day, but there simply isn't the time now. You have a Ball to attend."

"Oh, right! I almost forgot about that." He said, slapping his hand to his forehead. The next moment he glanced towards the firmly latched door and a grimace of realization lit up his features in worry. "But wait the door is still locked! How am I gonna get out of here?!"

"I don't think that'll be an issue." His Fairy God Mother replied, still laughing. With another wave of her hands, a shot of her magic surged towards the exit, and an audible thump was heard as the latch broke off of the door from the outside and fell to the ground.

"Oh right." Natsu said, rubbing the back of his hair in embarrassment. He snapped out of it quickly, however, and ran over to one of the horse's stalls. He grabbed a chestnut brown mare and expertly saddled her and got her ready to ride. Swinging up onto the horse's back with effortless agility, he was ready to hit the road.

"Have fun, Natsu!" Happy cheered as he zoomed over to push the barn doors open for his friend. "I hope you fall in looooove."

"See yah later, little buddy. I'll be sure to bring you back some snacks if there is sushi."

"Ooo I hope there's salmon!"

"See yah, Mavis, thanks for your help!" Natsu rose a hand in farewell at his new friend.

"It was my pleasure. I hope you have the night of your dreams, Natsu."

That got the pink haired boy to laugh.

"It will be if the food's good." He replied and was about to spur the horse to ride away before he remembered something important. "Hey, is there any time limit of how long your magic lasts? Like do I have to leave the Ball for midnight or something like that?"

"Of course not." Mavis giggled. "That would just be silly."

"Sweet." Natsu replied and just as quickly as she had come, Mavis left, disappearing into a puff of smoke and golden glitter.

With one last wave to his little friend, Natsu followed in suit, racing his horse out into the night and turning quickly down the road that lead to Fiore castle, his newly found scarf whipping behind him in the wind.

XXX

Fiore Castle glimmered like a glamorous lantern, its illuminated silhouette standing out brighter than the moon against a black and starless night sky. As Natsu rode his horse up the long cobblestone driveway to the castle, flying past parked carriages and antsy stallions, he attempted to count the number towers that grew off the massive building like the branches of a tree. Even more difficult would be quantifying the number of Gothic styled windows that decorated the silvery gray stone walls of the buttresses and baileys that adorned the castle, giving it a unique structure that countless architects undoubtedly slaved over for years.

The driveway ran into a round-a-bout once it neared the castle entry. At the center of the circular drive was a magnificent bronze fountain that featured a statue depicting several people in long cloak-like garments that Natsu didn't know the significance of. He shrugged that detail off as he finally allowed his mare to halt.

"Thanks, Presley." He told the horse as he leaped off her back and landed lightly on the ground. He patted her long snout and she snorted back at him with affection.

"I shall take your horse to the stables if you so desire, sir." A teenage boy, presumably hired to attend to the horses and carriages of the Ball attendees, said. Even more strangely was that the boy gave him a short bow.

Natsu had never experienced that before.

"Um sure, thanks a lot!" He replied, handing the boy the reigns.

"I'll have her ready for you at the end of the night." The boy assured him and led his horse away.

That was weird.

Nevertheless, Natsu continued to make his way up the wide stair case that led to the entrance of the castle. He passed several guards who made no motion towards him as he entered and it wasn't until he was inside the Castle that someone stopped him.

"Welcome, sir." An older and finely dressed gentleman greeted him with a respectful smile. "Here for the Ball I presume?"

"Yep. Sure am."

"Right this way, sir. I shall lead you to the Grand Hall."

Stiffening slightly at how everyone was calling him "sir", Natsu merely nodded as he followed the butler up yet another stair case. This one was made of marble and after two flights, the pink haired boy saw his final destination, walking inside with a natural hesitation.

The large and unnecessarily tall doors were permanently swung open, revealing the inside of the Grand Hall. Natsu's eyes widened in shock. He was expecting this place to be luxurious, but seeing the Ball in full swing completely annihilated any expectations he may have had.

Eyes jumping from the crazy intricate chandelier, to the paintings on the walls, to the walls themselves that were adorned with gorgeous patterns and designs, to the glimmering marble floors, to the tables with bouquets of exotic red flowers he'd never seen before, to the long table of fancy appetizers and delicacies, to the tall crystalline glasses, to the variety of dresses and suits that attendees were wearing, Natsu was completely flabbergasted upon entering the Ball.

However, despite the unending opulence and dense crowds, Natsu's sight automatically rested on the most beautiful thing in the room.

She was wearing a bright red dress, a shocking crimson that held the tenacity of flames and the delicacy of roses all at the same time. Her blonde hair looked softer than silk, her skin was radiating with youth and vigor, and her brown eyes sparkled brighter than the castle itself.

Wait Natsu thought suddenly. Is that..?

"Marla?" He asked out loud, casting his voice over the buzzing crowd and ringing orchestra music.

Several people stopped their dancing to cast curious looks at the newcomer, but quickly looked away after seeing he was no one of consequence. Marla, however, froze in surprise and turned her gaze directly to him as she quickly excused herself from the dance she was sharing with some brown haired guy.

She picked up the skirts of her dress and rushed over to him with an enthusiastic thrill in her eyes. Ripples were sent down the bulk of her gown and the untamed fringe of her hair bounced beneath her quickened pace as well, but Natsu was no longer looking at her.

He was staring at the glimmering jeweled tiara that encircled her head like a crown.

No. It wasn't like a crown. It was a crown.

"Natsu!" She said after reaching him. She was breathing hard but was clearly pleased to see him. "I'm so glad you could make it."

For a moment Natsu merely stood still in a mixture of confusion and wonder as he slowly started to put the pieces together in his head. Marla was rich. She was dead set on him coming to the Ball. She was here in a stunning red dress more expensive than his entire ranch. She was wearing a tiara.

She wasn't Marla at all. She was…

"You." Natsu stammered, raising a finger to point it at the girl. "You're the-"

"Oh, yes." She let out a small laugh as she tilted her head in good humor. "I guess the secret's out, huh?"

"You're the princess. You're Princess Lucy Heartfilia."

"The one and only." She replied, suddenly appearing slightly worried at his not so positive reaction. Natsu's mouth dropped open and all of his facial features went blank.

"Oh, shit."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I don't know which is sadder, the fact that the only time I have to write this chapter is Saturday night, or the fact that I spent my Saturday night writing this chapter. Ah well, who am I kidding? This was totally worth it. I struggled at times to write this, but I really enjoyed reading it back and I hope you guys feel the same way. So much happened! Wendy and Natsu continue to be adorable together, Gray and Lucy are bantering, we meet Loke and his playboy self, Eldia becomes even more evil, Natsu meets Mavis who just happens to be his Fairy God Mother, and Natsu realizes that the rich girl he met is actually the Princess! I can't believe I crammed that all into one upload, but what's done is done.

Oh and I couldn't help but title the chapter Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo. No regrets.