Natsu slowly stepped downwards, his fingers starting to bleed. The spaces between the rocks had been easier to climb with since he had a knife. But now, that annoying lady claiming to be the princess had confiscated the knife saying how he might use it to harm her. As if Natsu would do that! Mostly because she was a woman (Erza would never forgive him. She might even accidentally kill him) but also because of other things.

The tiara... Natsu had seen it before. It was the real. An exact replica. Unless it wasn't a replica. You see, Natsu didn't believe Lucy was the princess but he didn't believe that she wasn't either. There was a small chance that she was indeed the princess. If she was, then it was good for Natsu. Maybe he could convince her to join the rebellion.

"Let's go!"

Hearing a scream from above, Natsu looked up. Lucy had hooked part of her long hair onto a latch above the window. Taking a deep breath, she jumped.

Natsu watched as she went past him, hanging onto her hair. Within moments she had reached the ground.

'Seriously?' Natsu thought. 'I have to hurt my fingers and move like a snail while she gets to jump down a tall tower and have fun?!'

Sighing, he continued downwards, his fingers swollen.

Meanwhile, Lucy hadn't stepped down to the ground. She was still hanging by her hair, refusing to let her feet step onto the earth. She hung there so long that Natsu had made it and was standing beside her.

Are you going to come or..." Natsu asked.

"I... what's that?" Lucy asked, pointing to the grass.

Natsu looked at where she was pointing. "Umm... grass?"

"No, not that," Lucy rolled her eyes "The thing on top of the flower?"

Now, Natsu knew what she was talking about. Among the tiny flowers strewn actoss the grass, little butterflies were drinking nectar. One of those tiny insects was lying still on tope of a pink flower. It amazed Natsu how it managed to balance on something so weak.

"It's a butterfly," Natsu waved his little finger over the grass and the insect fluttered away. Inside his brain, Natsu was quite concerned. How could one not know about butterflies?

Now that the butterfly had flown away, Lucy slowly stepped onto the grass. She was barefoot - living inside the tower with smooth tiles meant she never needed shoes. Even though she had stepped outside now, she wore no shoes. She had decided to experience the world as it is, without any barriers. Besides, the only shoes she owned were high heel ones. Those weren't very comfortable.

"Have you lived in this tower all your life?" That question had been sitting on his tongue for a long time. Natsu wanted to know more about her life, maybe that would help him determine if Lucy was indeed the princess. At least, that's what he told himself. In his heart, he wanted to get to know her better.

"From the age of six, yes." Came the answer.

"How old are you now?"

"I'll turn eighteen in three days. Hang on, doesn't the kingdom celebrate my birthday?" Lucy asked, turning around and looking at Natsu.

"Uh..." Natsu racked his brain for an answer. Was there a festival of some sort coming up in a few days? Natsu rarely spent time in the town as it was dangerous. From what he knew, the only festival around this time was the Floating Lights, where every citizen lighted lanterns and let them float away into the sky. It was one of the few fun things that Acnologia allowed the populace to do. Natsu didn't know why the lanterns were lit, though.

"You know, the floating lights..." Lucy prompted.

"That is celebrated on your birthday?!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Which rock have you been living under? First, you don't know who Gray is, and now this?"

"I didn't understand when you said Gray!" Natsu defended, "if you had said Ice-Hearted prince, then I would have understood." Then he realized what he had done.

"Ice-Hearted prince?" Lucy asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "You call him that? Why? What..."

Before Natsu could even start to think of a lie, someone came up from behind the two.

"THERE HE IS!"

Natsu turned around. Royal soldiers. Damn, how had they found him so quickly?

"Who are they?" Lucy asked squinting her eyes.

"No time to explain! Come on!" With that, Natsu grabbed an armful of her hair and grabbed her small hand, and started to run. Lucy followed him, even though she had no idea what was going on. If she had managed to see the emblem on the soldiers' clothes, then she would've realized that they were from the royal house.

But, as fate would have it, she didn't. Looks like the gods want her to stay with Natsu for now.

"Is it just me or have we passed that tree before?"

Juvia and Gray have been walking for more than ten minutes and they were getting nowhere. Juvia was certain that she had passed those bushes, those trees, and those logs. Why that was the place she had treated Gray's wound! She was sure that they were going in a circle. She was also sure that Gray had no sense of direction despite being the prince of Fiore.

"Can't you be a bit more positive about this?"

"Okay, fine!" Juvia said cheerfully: "Isn't it great that we're going in circles on such a beautiful day!"

Gray rolled his eyes at her sarcastic comment. How was it his fault that he had never traveled away from the castle? His father had not allowed him to even visit the royal gardens. He had, with the help of Jellal, sneaked to the gardens once or twice but that was it.

"Let's go that way," Juvia pointed to the right. Gray had been sticking to the left so he knew which way was the way back. Apparently, that had no results.

"Okay."

For a few minutes, there was silence. That is to say, the silence between Juvia and Gray, for the forest was bursting with sound. Birds singing, crickets chirping, wind blowing - it was a fountain of sound.

Juvia spoke first. "Why is your sister in the forest?"

At first, Gray didn't answer and Juvia began to wonder if she was prying too much into his life. As she began to withdraw her question, Gray started talking. Except it wasn't an answer.

"I have no idea."

"What- But- she's your sister!" Juvia stammered.

"I've known her for but six years," Gray looked at the ground. "She was taken away from me, by my own father." Gray said 'father' with such hate that Juvia was stunned. What could that man have done to make his son despise him this much?

Juvia did not pry any further.

Meanwhile, Gray was thinking. He had only known Lucy for six years. She was a child then and now, she would be a grown-up. Turning eighteen in three days. What if his father had turned her against him? Surely, spending all those years with that cruel man would have changed her personality, right? Why was he even searching for her? What if she didn't want to come back - if she did not want to see him?

If she did indeed love him, then she should've at least tried to come back, right?

For the millionth time in his life, Gray felt helpless. Like there was no purpose to go on. He was sure, sure that Lucy wouldn't want to see him, for if she did, then she wouldn't have stayed in the forest for this long. For the second time in his life, Gray felt his heart break, a thin line through the middle of his heart. No bigger than a strand of hair, the line crushed his heart, his dreams, his hope.

And with a cry, he fell to the ground, clutching his heart, tears falling from his dark blue eyes.

And, for the first time in his life, he felt a person hug him, caressing his back, whispering sweet words in his ears, not once looking at him with pity or disgust.

And, at that moment, he fell in love with Juvia.