Dragon's Love with Dangerous Letters

Chapter 15

"I know . . . you're there. Come . . . out." Artemis panted while using the tree next to her as a support.

The brunette was completely exhausted and her legs just couldn't move another inch. She collapsed to the ground and continued to supply her lungs with air that they were lacking at the moment. She knew that someone had been following her for some time which is why she had pushed herself to the point of not being able to move just in case it was a Phantom guard but if it was they would have already attacked her by now. They would have had so many advantages if they did attack her, a girl who had no strength to defend herself or run any farther.

"Well. . . I told you to come out!" She snapped.

The bushes a crossed the way shifted and swayed before a creature Artemis had never seen before flew out from behind it. She stared at the peculiar animal with a raised eyebrow, a blue cat with angel-like wings. It smiled and floated down to her, its black eyes looking over her slightly burnt skin and defaced clothing. The female leaned her body away as the animal hovered closer to her and smiled, its smile reminding her of the prince she left behind in that burning kingdom.

"W-Who are you? What are you?" She questioned.

"They call me Happy! I'm part of a race called exceeds!" the blue ball of fur answered.

"Ex . . . ceeds? W-What do you want from me? Why were you following me?"

"I was ordered to follow you and make sure you got away safely Artemis. Natsu ordered me to."

"Natsu? He's safe?" The brunette asked; hope bubbling up inside of her.

"Aye! Of course he is! He's a dragon slayer after all and my best friend!" The cat boasted.

". . . Oh yeah, of course silly me." She chuckled.

"Well you can't just sit there all day. The next kingdom isn't too far. We'll make there in no time if I fly you there."

The teen raised a slender brow at Happy questioning what he had just said. The blue exceed gripped onto the back of her dress with his paws and lifted her up into the air startling her. Being able to see a bird's eye view like this was amazing after Artemis was able to calm herself down to enjoy it. She could see mountains lining the horizon and from this height the trees looked like a plush green blanket since the pieces of nature were squished so close to one another. Behind them the female spotted a cloud of gray rising up into the blue sky and contaminating its beautiful color. She knew what that was and she wasn't surprised that she could see it from all the way over here. If you had a kingdom that big being burned down all at once it wouldn't be a surprise that it'd produce a lot of smoke like Pyre was, thinking about it now that name seemed to fit its current image, Pyre meaning large fire and now it was being consumed by a large fire. The guilt was eating at her greatly, she felt like this travesty was all her fault and she did nothing to prevent it. Those Phantom guards wouldn't of had to even think about going to Pyre if she didn't step foot into that place, they were there for her, not anything else but Artemis and Artemis alone.

"We're here! Prepare for landing!" Happy chuckled lowering both of them to the ground.

Artemis gently placed her feet back onto solid ground and looked up; two big wooden doors were looking back at her and a strip of metal coated in blue paint ran along both doors. She followed after Happy as the cat conversed with the guards on top of the wall. It seemed like they both knew who Happy was and gladly let him in, the excuses that Artemis was a close friend of his being used to allow the brunette to enter herself. Inside the wall was a cheerful milieu, people smiling as they walked by and kids chasing after their parents so they wouldn't get lost. Some would stop to look at Artemis from time to time but her ruined clothes and dirty skin were probably the reason for it. What really caught the teen's attention was the air; it seemed more pure if you'd like to call it that. It was as if you could actually feel the difference in how clean the air was from outside the wall compared to in here.

"Artemis, don't zone out or you'll get lost from me. We aren't here to sightsee you know, I brought you here to meet the princess. She'll be able to heal your wounds easily." The blue fur ball informed the girl who he was looking at over his shoulder.

"R-Right, sorry." She stuttered.

The brunette still couldn't keep her eyes from wandering off to other things that the two of them past but it wasn't hard for her to miss Happy within this crowd, he was a flying blue cat and she didn't think that there were many of those around here. Her green orbs wandered to her left and she spotted a couple, the male had his lips to the female's forehead. She quickly looked away embarrassed for staring at the two for as long as she did and her hand immediately drifted up to her own forehead, to the spot where she had been kissed herself. Artemis could feel her eyelids drop slightly, the guilt she was feeling becoming worse. Not only did she feel like it was her fault for what happened to Pyre but she also felt bad for not being able to return Natsu's feelings even after he had kissed her forehead. It just didn't feel right, she just didn't like Natsu, well in that sort of way at least but she wondered why. Even though Artemis wouldn't admit it out loud she was looking to find someone who she wanted to be with in that way when she was back home in Magnolia. She didn't want to be alone for the rest of her life so why was it that when that pinkette came around and clearly showed that he liked her in that way was it that she couldn't feel the same for him? She remembered the suggestions Igneel had given her about not being ready or having someone else in her life that may be the one she was looking for . . . someone else? An image of blonde hair flashed through the brunette's mind and she shook her head to get rid of it.

"I really shouldn't worry about it at a time like this." She sighed to herself.

"Artemis!"

She looked up startled to find Happy so ahead of her. She pushed herself into a jog to catch up with him and find him standing before two guards who stood before a gate. There was a castle just beyond the gate, the banners and little decorations around the windows and balconies were coated in different shades of blue while the rest of the bricks that made up the structure were white. There was a garden that lay before the castle entrance but not one nearly as big as the one back in Pyre, the one now destroyed.

"Happy, it's good to see you again. You've come to deliver news I suppose?" one of the guards asked.

"Aye! She's come with me too so it'll be alright if she comes with me too to see the princess right?" The feline replied with a question of his own.

"Certainly."

Both of them opened the gate and Artemis followed Happy through the garden and into the castle. There were plenty of maid and butlers at work within and none stopped to help direct them though they all gave a curt hello as they past the two. It didn't seem like they needed directions anyway with the way Happy merrily just floated about the castle like he lived here himself. Each hall they past seemed like the last one, long blue carpets and blue framed windows or white doors on the walls. Artemis had almost believed that Happy had gotten them lost until he made a stop at a set of white double doors, their handles made of gold and the pattern that swirled down them painted blue. Happy knocked on the door with his paw and a small voice answered from the other side telling them to enter. Upon the two throne's on the other side of the room was a woman and the other held a small girl about the age of twelve or slightly more.

"Artemis come on, they won't hurt you." Happy chuckled quietly.

The said teen nodded slowly and made her way to the other end of the room with Happy by her side. The older female stood from her throne, her dark blue hair shifting forward over her shoulders as she leaned forward to get up. A soft smile lit her face and the young girl gave off one of her own. Happy bowed his head politely and then looked up at her sadly.

"I've already heard the news Happy. There is no need for you to tell me since it must pain you to do so, but I will ask if the king and his son made it out of that fire safely." The woman said before Happy had the chance to open his mouth.

"I'm . . . not sure your highness but they seemed to have almost reached the kingdom's borders by the time I was ordered to come here." The exceed replied.

"I see. . ." She hummed as her dark eyes locked with the green hued ones of Artemis, "Happy who might this be?"

"My apologies! This is Artemis Elise a close friend of Natsu's and he told me to go after her to make sure she got away safely after he got her out of Pyre's boarders." Happy explained.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Artemis. I'm Cait shelter's queen, Grandeeny and this is my daughter Wendy Marvell."