All Rights to Hiro Mashima

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Chapter 3: Tanzanite

Dispels lethargy and helps to bring out a true nature; fosters trust and openness

Natsu kept his promise.

At least twice a week, he would push off his own balcony just after the dinner hour and land on Lucy's at twilight. The days would vary, but the time was usually the same unless he got held up by Igneel.

Lucy, in turn, would never fall asleep until the moon was high in the sky. She would wait up, hoping that her best friend – for that is what he truly was – would whisk her away into the cool night air, off to another of his special hair-brained adventures that more often than not, resulted in her arriving back to her home dirty and dishevelled.

But the sparkle in her normally dull brown eyes had come back. Even her mother, who usually wasn't awake for more than an hour or two at a time, noticed that her daughter had found some sort of happiness.

Her father still didn't see anything different with her countenance, but she didn't mind. If Jude knew that she was acting differently, then he would become suspicious, and then have a guard with her at all times, even when she was asleep. Which would make it impossible for her to escape the confines of this wretched fortress.

During the day, while her teachers would impress upon the young Princess the importance of cross stitch, math or history, and 'proper lady' lessons, Lucy would tune them out and revel in her memories of all the fanciful excursions with Natsu.

By this time, Lucy had almost turned seven – tomorrow was her birthday after all – and Natsu had already turned nine. The little girl had taken to writing down everything that had happened to her and her adventures with Natsu. She hid her stories under her mattress to hide them from the servants who would undoubtedly blab to the King that she was doing something weird.

At the moment, while she was glaring daggers at the stupid lute in her hands that she hated with her entire being, she remembered a special day, just last week when Natsu had flown her to a new clearing in a nearby forest that had a small waterfall and crystal clear pool off to one side. They had splashed and played for hours, diving for smooth shining rocks that lined the hole until the chill air had made her shiver. So they had opted to explore between the trees, the only light being the fire that Natsu had conjured above his palm.

Out of nowhere, something large and heavy had fallen onto the young Prince's head, giving him a nasty lump underneath all his pink curls. It turned out to be a gigantic white and blue egg. Neither Lucy nor Natsu had ever seen something like that before, but seeing as Lucy was sure that her father would despise anything that would hatch out of this egg, she had told Natsu to keep it with him and to make sure that it was always safe and warm.

"Oi, Luce. What do you think it is?"

"Dunno Natsu. Could be anything really."

"You think it's a Dragon?"

Lucy had only shrugged her shoulders and given Natsu a wide smile. "Maybe…You'll have to wait until it's hatched."

His pout was infamous and completely adorable. Lucy laughed at his face and told him that he looked like a little baby. He had proceeded to chase after her as she ran away from his hands – poised to tickle her sides – while she screeched and shrieked. She knew that Natsu was an impatient person, but there was nothing that either of them could do to speed up the process of figuring out just what was inside that egg.

She smiled at the thought of her friend. He was really the only thing that kept her happy these days. He always had a new place to show her or something new to do. He was keen to learn about the stars and constellations – even though he couldn't remember them all to save his life – and listened to her stories that she would weave with unwavering attention, even though most times he would fall asleep as she told them. The stone walls of her palace didn't seem so cold anymore, and Lucy was thankful for that.

Her lute instructor, another person who thought that she was someone who should be seen and not heard, let her know that she was finished for the day and was displeased with the amount of mistakes that she had made that afternoon. He would be telling the King about her lack of progress.

Lucy had huffed and flounced out the door without another word. Which was completely unladylike but she couldn't care even a little bit about what he father thought about whether or not she could play the stupid instrument correctly.

It had been almost a week since Natsu had come to get her from her room, and a restless energy, full of anxiety was creeping up into her limbs. She wanted to move, to do something that would get rid of all her nerves. She was almost worried that Natsu had grown tired of her, but that thought was always discounted because he had promised.

An idea lit up her mind. She needed to get to the back of the grounds. Hopefully, the Colonel would be willing to spare some of his time.

-ooo-

Parry, block, strike, block, strike. Uppercut. Parry again. Dodge.

It was like a dance, the fluid movement of the deadly art of swordplay.

Two months ago, after the bow Master had let her know that she couldn't advance until she had more height and strength – something that would happen when she grew up apparently – Lucy had begged and pleaded for the head of her father's army, a Colonel with a large white bushy mustache and a straightforward sense of justice to teach her how to properly handle a sword.

He had asked why she would like to learn to wield a war weapon.

She had simply said, "Because it is my duty. I must protect the people of my Kingdom."

The Colonel had taken almost two full days to give her his answer, as it would most likely end his career if they were ever caught practising. He had finally let her know that he would teach her, but that she was not to neglect her other duties to learn to fight. This would arise suspicion and attract unwanted eyes.

So here she was on a cool afternoon, trading blows with a man twice her height and considerably stronger. Lucy wouldn't back down, though, she gave every strike her all, and the Colonel had complimented her on her tenacity after her first lesson all those weeks ago.

"Faster Lucy! You must anticipate your opponent's moves before they even know that they will make them. You must be faster than them to have the upper hand. Again!"

So they struck out at each other again, and more than once she had landed on her rump in the dirt, her training outfit – consisting of trousers, strong leather boots, and a white blouse – rumpled and dusty. The Colonel gave her no quarter, even though she was a child, and she loved that. She was treated like another person by him, like another human being with her own beliefs and dreams. She looked forward to the hard work of swordplay with him, even if it made her filthy and sweaty.

"Oof." She was knocked down again by an uppercut of his own that she had failed to block, his sword came down to point directly at her neck. It was a death move. In a true fight, she would be dead. Lucy laid back on the ground and indicated her surrender. Her hands balled up at her sides. She still had yet to return the favour to her teacher, and she was angry at herself for her inability to catch him off-guard.

"Lucy. You are improving by leaps and bounds, and you are above all others in your age group that I have ever taught. You are small and lithe, swift and fast. Your strength comes from your brain coupled with your abilities. I have been fighting for many years, and I am a good deal stronger than you. I am proud of you, Princess. But it is time that you return for dinner. Come back again when you have time, and we will try again. Who knows, I might just teach you the beginnings of hand to hand combat."

"Really? You would do that?"

"I would. As it is your duty to protect your people to the best of your abilities, it is my duty to prepare you to the best of mine. Now run along to the pond and stash your clothes and wash off. You know the drill."

She hugged the Colonel swiftly as he chuckled and rushed off to the secluded body of water on the palace's property. Lucy disrobed and scrubbed her sweaty skin. She hid her training outfit after washing it as well, donning the ridiculous – in her opinion – fluffy dress that was standard for a Princess to wear.

She couldn't wait for her next lesson.

-ooo-

Natsu glided down from among the low clouds to alight on Lucy's balcony, positively vibrating with excitement. He hadn't seen his best friend in a week's time, and there was so much to show her.

He frowned at the image that graced him. An empty balcony, an unlit fire in the grate, and no Lucy anywhere to be found. Granted he was a bit earlier than he usually was, but who could blame him. Natsu was just too excited to stay at his home any longer.

He sat on his bed to wait for Lucy to return, swinging his legs to rid himself of some of his nervous energy.

He didn't have to wait long. Not five minutes later, a golden-haired blur burst through the wooden door to her room and ran right passed him onto the balcony.

He could hear her grumbles from inside. "Darn! Did I miss him? Did he not come again?"

Natsu cleared his throat, startling Lucy who gave a cute little squeak. He surprised expression morphed into one of exuberance and joy when she realised just who was in her room. "Natsu!"

He jumped off her bed and pulled her into a swift but heartfelt hug, crushing her smaller form to his torso. After he had learned that she hadn't received hugs from her family or friends, he had made an addendum to his person mission.

One: Make Lucy smile as much as possible.

Two: Make Lucy laugh as much as possible.

Three: Protect Lucy the best of his abilities.

Four: Hug the living daylights out of her as much as possible.

Natsu took his mission very seriously.

"Hi, weirdo. I have so much to show you! Come on!" And without another thought or proper shoes on Lucy's part, Natsu had unfurled his wings and flown away into the dimming twilight with his best friend clutched in his arms.

"Where are we going this time?"

"It's a surprise."

"Really? So you won't tell me?"

"Nope!"

Lucy watched the boy above her in surprise. Not counting the first time that Natsu had stolen her from her room, he had never not told her where they were going. It had never been a surprise before.

She was excited now. Her bones hummed with all manner of possibilities. But she was content to just wait and watch her surroundings there in Natsu's grip.

-ooo-

Their destination was finally revealed as the stars started to fully shine. They had flown for almost three hours, in a direction that Lucy wasn't familiar with.

What she saw made her gasp. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen, and Natsu had brought her to too many unusually pretty places to count, so that was saying something. They dropped down onto the soft grass, and Lucy just stared, too entranced to say anything. Natsu let his Dragon form fade away into nothingness as he watched Lucy quietly, trying to silently understand what she was thinking.

She had only read about this in books, she never thought that she would have the privilege of seeing it.

The ocean.

Vast and undulating, beautiful and mysterious, black as the night sky that it was reflecting. She could faintly hear waves crashing in the distance, but they were too far away for the noise to really break her unwavering concentration.

Natsu had brought her to the most amazing place on the planet, of that she was sure. She was standing on a high cliff made of pure white stone, gazing out into the distance where the stars touched the water.

"What do you thi- whoa? Why are you crying?! Did something happen? Is this not a good idea?" Natsu, bless him, was a bumbling mess when it came to her tears. More often than not, he couldn't punch the thing that made her cry. So he was slightly out of his depth when her emotions got the best of her.

Lucy touched her face to find that yes, she was indeed crying. But she knew it was out of pure joy. She choked out a wet laugh at Natsu's flailing. "Natsu! It's alright. I'm just really happy. Thank you for this. This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"

Natsu huffed in confusion, but his smile was back. "You are such a weirdo, you know that? Who cries when they're happy? Oh, wait! I have more to show you, this isn't the whole surprise."

Leading Lucy along the cliff, Natsu stopped in front of a tiny hut, made of twigs and leaves and long grasses. He ducked down into the small opening and brought a small bundle, the size of a baby.

It was blue.

It was blue and furry.

"Luce…Remember that egg that fell on me? This is what came out! Luce, meet Happy."

Sleepy eyes blinked up at Lucy. A tiny blue kitten looked her over and let out a small mewl that sounded suspiciously like an "Aye."

Lucy smiled down at the small fluff ball. "Why did you name him Happy?"

Natsu rolled his eyes and answered like she should have known it already. Like it was obvious. "Because he makes me happy. Duh. Just wait, he'll make you happy too!"

He placed the cat into her arms, stroking Happy's head a bit. "Happy, meet Lucy. She's my best friend. But she can be yours too."

To Lucy's immense surprise, the kitten jumped out of her arms, while small white wings unfurled out of his back. He flew up into the air and twirled around smiling widely.

And then the flying, blue, kitten that was hatched out of an egg spoke. "Hello, Lucy! Natsu's told me all about you!"

Lucy was honestly bewildered, but took it in stride, laughing along with Happy and Natsu. Who was she to judge another being's appearance? Natsu was a Dragon half the time for goodness sakes.

So their little group grew from being only two to three. Lucy was delighted to have another best friend, and Happy was more than comfortable acting like she was an older sister to him.

They found that he had a sharp tongue, always ready with a witty comeback or a silly insult.

Suddenly, Natsu's demeanour changed from his usual happy go lucky, bounce off the walls to one filled with sheepish nervousness. Lucy knew right away that he was acting strange, so she only cocked an eyebrow and waited for Natsu to get out whatever was on his mind.

"I have one more thing for you Luce. It was actually the reason that I didn't come around this past week."

Once again, Natsu dove into the opening in the diminutive hut and pulled out something shiny and long. He hid it behind his back before she could get a good look at it.

"You told me that you were being taught with a sword, which I think is awesome, and Igneel just started my lessons on bending and shaping metals with my fire, so I thought I would make you something."

Natsu pulled out the mystery item from behind him as Happy chuckled at the small blush on Natsu's cheeks. Lucy audibly gasped for the second time that night.

It was a sword.

A short sword to be precise. It was obviously made by an amateur, but it was also obviously made with a lot of care. Lucy reached out for it and grasped the pommel, marvelling at the shiny silver colour and the way it felt so right in her hand like it was an extension of her arm.

"Igneel helped me put some magic into it. It won't ever get dull and if you activate some of your magic…yeah there you go…it will burn with Dragon Fire."

Lucy looked at the end of the sword as it burst with orange fire, close to the cross guard and where her hand was sitting. A large gem was sitting there proudly, a brilliant red colour swirling with golds and pinks.

Natsu noticed her starring. "That's a Fire Opal from my Kingdom. It's supposed to bring the person who wears it good luck or something like that. So what do you think Luce?"

She had no words. It was the most amazing thing anyone had ever given her. How could she express just how happy she was? The only way she could.

Lucy jumped into Natsu's arms, tipping him over onto the ground with the force of her hug, making sure to keep the pointed end of her present well away from them both. Her eyes were squeezed shut to keep the tears that threatened to spill over onto his vest behind her eyelids. She didn't want to cry for the second time that night, even if both times it was because she was just overwhelmed with good feelings. "Thank you so much, Natsu. It's beautiful!"

He only chuckled and hugged her back just as fiercely. "Happy Birthday Luce." Happy dipped down and sat on her head, crowing his own well wishes to her.

Lucy's smile didn't leave her that night.

-ooo-

The next morning, even though Lucy was truly tired from her lack of sleep, the little Princess stole out into the castle grounds with nothing on except her nightgown holding her precious sword in gentle hands. She was determined to hide her new treasure somewhere that no one would ever find it, close to the pond where she hid her training clothes so that she could show the Colonel the next time they clashed weapons.

A hollow trunk of a long-dead tree caught her eye. It was the perfect spot to sequester her present away from prying eyes.

As she walked away from the small glen – without the sword in hand this time – Lucy felt colder somehow, but her next training session pushed its way to the forefront of her mind, and she beamed with happiness. She hoped that the Colonel would appreciate her new sword as much as she did.