since he back was against a stall. "Alright, Natsu, what is the best approach in a situation like Hey again. Last chapter I got 3 reviews, about 2 favs, and 1 person that is on story alert. So this will become the second chapter and this is my first time uploading a second chapter, so I really hope this works. To answer some questions 1- Yes, Crime Sorceriere snuck in 2- So far Lisanna will die and Wendy will live. Also, chapter will be used to introduce the characters of this specific fairy tale and describe the setting so it's kind of like a filler chapter. Now for the usual….
DISCLAIMER: EVERYTHING ABOUT FAIRY TAIL BELONGS ENTIRELY TO HIRO MASHIMA. I OWN NOTHING!
CHAPTER 2: The Hard Life
"Lucy, it's time to wake up! We have to tend to the farm!"
Lucy stretched and yawned before rubbing her eyes. She got up from her bed, which really just was an old burlap sack covering the hard dirt floor, and dusted herself off, not that it really helped. Looking down at herself she saw that she was still covered with dirt. Her bright blonde hair seemed to be a very dirty blond color, she had smudges of dirt all across her body, specks of dirt were layered under her fingernails, and she had shadows under her eyes not from lack of sleep, but from lack of food. Sighing inwardly, Lucy tried to sound cheerful when she yelled back, "I'm coming, mom! I would just like to brush my hair!"
"No worries, sweetheart! Just meet me in the fields in a few minutes!"
Sitting down on the rough dirt floor, Lucy began brushing her hair with a brush made out a decent sized smooth stone and withered grass. Once she got her shoulder-blade length hair as untangled as she could with a brush like that, Lucy stood up and walked to the window of her family's beaten down wooden house. The sun was just rising over the horizon, shining its golden light on a country of famine, poverty, and despair. The country of Lur Bedeinkatzeko, (Land of Blessings in Basque) , a country that hasn't had the blessing of rain in over seven years.
Grumbling, Lucy looked down at herself yet again. She was stuck in shabby revealing clothes ever since the famine stuck, like a faded blue mini skirt which reached her knees when she was ten, but now it barely reached her thighs. Also, her shirt showed a great amount of her stomach and didn't cover her shoulders because it was an orange t-shirt she had ever since she was nine, but now it was more brown than orange. Thinking back to her mother's earlier words, Lucy mumbled, "Tend to what farm? All crops have been dead for years and besides, we have no water to even keep alive any seeds or crops that have made it this frickin' far."
Walking out of her room and into the kitchen Lucy ran into her father. "Ohio, father," she said stiffly. She doesn't know why, but her father always seemed to despise her. She thought it was maybe because she was just an extra mouth to feed.
"Lucy, why aren't you out there helping your mother? Children are supposed to be useful to their parents, but you act like a slutty whore!"
After her father had said that, Lucy's face turned into a deep shade of red. "It's not my fault I look like a whore! We don't have any money to money to buy clothes! This is the only outfit I've got, so shut up! I'm going to help mom right now!" With that Lucy ran out of the house.
The farm the Heartfillia family owned was two miles away. Lucy considered herself to be in pretty good shape since she seemed to be able to make it there in ten minutes. When she got there she saw her mother kneeling over a patch of withered cabbages. Or was it pumpkins? Lucy shook her head. It didn't matter because either way it was dead.
"I'm glad to see you finally made it," Layla Heartfillia said with a smile Lucy thought shined even brighter than the sun and all the stars in the sky.
"Glad I can be here with you, mom," Lucy whispered with a shy smile. "Why are youlooking over that plant? It's dead."
"It might have seeds clinging to it and the roots might be edible," Layla explained with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
All Lucy could say was, "Oh." She watched as her mother slowly checked the dead plant for seeds and when her mother found nothing Lucy felt her spirit drop, but her mother still had a determined look on her face to find something. Slowly maneuvering the dirt out from around the plant, Layla picked the plant up carefully. The roots had already spoiled and dried out.
Lucy felt like crying. "Oh, mom. What now?" Layla placed the dead plant back onto the ground.
"We get another plant and try again," she responded. It took them two hours to get past just that one row of rotten crops and at the end of that row they still had nothing. Lucy shaded her eyes with her hand and looked toward the sky. The sun made the temperature blazing and there was no cloud in sight. Lucy remembered when she was a little girl and her mother told her that when you wish upon a star it comes true. Truthfully, she had been wishing on these celestial orbs ever since then, and the wish was always the same: rain, water, and the end of the drought causing the famine. Well, that isn't true. That has been her wish ever since the drought started, but before then she wished to meet a funny prince that would play with her when she was bored. She chuckled at her own stupidity. "What was that, Lucy?" her mother asked.
"Absolutely nothing," Lucy responded. She then noticed that as she had been remembering her childhood her mother kept working so that Lucy was left behind. "How good is her hearing?" Lucy thought, sprinting to catch up. She then tripped on a stone making her crash ungracefully unto the ground. "Ow, ow, ow, ow," she muttered with her eyes squeezed shut. She opened them slowly and what she saw in front of her eyes widen. In front of her was an almost dead strawberry plant. Keyword: almost. It had no strawberries on it and parts of it were brown, but some parts were green and the roots weren't totally dried out. "Mom, come here! It's-it's green!" Whenever a farmer said "green" in these times it meant something was alive. Layla quickly ran over.
"Oh my goodness. It's alive," Layla said, hands covering her mouth. Lucy noticed she was shaking. Layla bent down and with the most delicate touch separated the parts that were edible from the dead. It was only about once a week they found something alive, which meant something to eat. Sometimes it took longer to find something alive. Like this time, Lucy hasn't seen something green in almost three weeks. Her mouth watered, but looking at her mother's bony, frail figure Lucy decided to say this-
"Hey, mom, you look hungry, you should probably eat it now before it goes bad." Layla considered thoughtfully the tiny amount of greenery in her hands.
"I have to make sure Jude and you get some first," Layla said after a few minutes. Lucy bit her lip. She had forgotten about her father, but that was only because of her mother. Although Layla tried her best not to let it show, she was terribly sick. The drought and lack of food wasn't helping her, and they also couldn't afford any medicine. It has been Layla's willpower that has kept her alive this long. Looking at the meager amount of food in her mother's hand Lucy knew it wouldn't be able to feed three people. Barely even two could take a small bite of it. Lucy decided to do the only thing she could think of, lie.
"Mom, I found a small root yesterday I ate because I thought I would find more, but I didn't. The point is I've already eaten this week. Also, I think dad would want you to have that." Layla looked at her doubtfully before finally giving in and eating the leaves and roots in her hands. Lucy let a small sigh of relief escape her lips. She knew how desperately her mother needed that. "Now let's keep looking," Lucy said cheerfully as she energetically pushed herself off the ground. She really hoped she could find more greenery to satisfy her mother's hunger.
Layla chuckled. "What has gotten into you?" Lucy pretended not to hear her and kept walking further. Her mother followed after her. Now Layla's thoughts drifted to a time before the famine and drought where she and Lucy used to pick strawberries all day long. Strawberries where Lucy's favorite fruit and probably still are. That's why she was so energetic and joyful while looking for them. Those were the last times Layla saw her daughter as happy as she looked right now. "Lucy, you find anything else yet?"
"Not yet, but I'm sure we'll find more."
"Is that a promise?"
Lucy expression darkened. "…No. I-I don't make promises I can't keep. I also won't believe people who won't keep their promises." The joyous atmosphere disappeared. Suddenly, a shadow covered the fields. Both mother and daughter looked up to see the Metal Dragon, Metallica. "Look, it's Metallica. One of the four dragons who live in the sea that is so far away from here. What is he doing here?"
"Lucy, he is checking over the people. The Jade Emperor requires this of them at times."
"I see." Lucy responded watching the dragon fade from view. She assumed it was going back to his home, since nobody is ever allowed to disturb the Jade Emperor or his family. Once the Metal Dragon had entirely vanished, Lucy turned to her mother. "Should we start working again?"
"Yes, I think we should," Layla said, feeling faint all of a sudden. Lucy turned and looked at her , noticing the vagueness in her voice.
"Mom, are you okay?" Layla then collapsed. Lucy's eyes went wide and she ran to her mother's side. "Mom, mom! Wake up! Wake up, please!" Lucy ordered desperately while frantically shaking her mother in hopes of waking her. Layla's breaths were shallow. Another shadow crossed the sky and then the ground seemed to shake and there was a strong gust of wind. Lucy looked behind her and saw that the Fire Dragon, Igneel had landed a few feet away from her.
Igneel immediately saw the blonde girl's tears. He had been flying over and saw a woman lying on the ground with a girl acting worriedly near her. He landed to see what was going on. "What has happened?" Igneel asked with a rumbling voice that reminded Lucy of the sound of thunder she heard when she was a little girl.
"My-my mother… Sh-she collapsed. She has been sick for a while now b-but she had to work in the fields with me to get food. A-and we can't afford medicine or anything because of the drought and famine." Lucy was shocked that one of the four great dragons that lived in the sea addressed her about her dilemma. Igneel looked at her and seemed to be considering something. Then pity filled his eyes.
"I'll see if I can help. Take your mother back home and see if you can get her any food or water."
"We-well, the nearest place to get food or water is the Jade Emperor's palace, which is a week away, and he hates being disturbed," Lucy said, clearly distressed, but then she clenched her fist and said, "Alright, I'll do it, if it can help her." Lucy then picked up her weak mother who was very light and started running at full speed towards home. Igneel spread his wings and took off into the sky.
When Lucy burst through the door her father seemed like he was about to yell many profanities at her but his jaw froze in place when he saw his dearly loved wife, Layla. "What happened!" he finally boomed. He snatched Layla out of his daughter's arms and place her on top of her bed (which was just like Lucy's only the sack was larger).
"She fainted from her sickness and exhaustion! I'm going to the Jade Palace to see if he'll have pity and give us food, water, or medicine!" With that Lucy snatched an old tattered cloak and dashed out the door. All Jude could do was hold and stroke Layla's hand.
Meanwhile….
"What are you doing in my palace? You should stay in your ocean home unless you're keeping the people under surveillance like I've ordered you to " the Jade Emperor said coldly from his throne at the Metal Dragon, Metallica, the Wind Dragon, Grandine, the Apocalypse Dragon, Acnologia, and the Fire Dragon, Igneel. Now even the dragons feared the emperor because he had enough power to rule the Heavens and the Earth.
"We have come to ask you to send rain to the people of Lur Bedeinkatzeko. They barely survive in this drought and some can't. I myself saw how hard some of their lives can be," Igneel pleaded.
The Jade Emperor frowned slightly at this before having the corners of his mouth twitch upward. "Of course; I will send rain to my people tomorrow." The dragons thanked him and flew off. Now while the meeting was going on a certain salmon haired prince snuck out of the imprisoning castle.
Natsu yawned as he walked down the empty streets of the town the Jade Palace led into. All shops were closed and dust clouded the air. "This isn't as much fun as I expected it to be," Prince Natsu grumbled as he trudged down the streets. He had been expecting to see colorful lights and fabrics, hear people laughing, smell and devour food his father thought a prince was too worthy to have. In his opinion all food was worthy. Natsu sniffed the air and his signature smile lit up his face. He smelled what he loved most in the world: food. He ran into an old abandoned fabric and linen store walked in front of a wall. It looked just like every other wall in that building and nothing seemed weird about it. Natsu stared at it in confusion before getting an idea. He punched that part of the wall and when he pulled his arm back a rickety door came with it.
"Crap. I didn't plan on my arm getting stuck in a hidden door." Natsu struggled for ten minutes with the door on his arm before giving up. He decided he would just walk around with a door on his arm. "It shouldn't look too strange," he thought. He then walked through the hole in the wall and down a stone corridor for what felt like forever (an hour) and he emerged out of that corridor in an empty alley. "Empty again?" Natsu moaned, but then he noticed he could actually hear voices. He walked down the alley toward the voices and nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.
Children sat against walls looking half dead, parents were begging for food from the street vendors (since there were no stores, only stalls, like you see in bazars), but the vendors angrily swat them away, and there were brawls all over the place. Natsu took a deep breath and took a step forward into the chaos. He continually looked from left to right. Everything was awful and nothing like he imagined it to be. He flinched every time he heard a scream of pain and tried to drown out the noises. He tried to casually walk up to a food stall to see what was for sell, but when he got close enough to see, Natsu was shocked. Everything looked fairly spoiled and barely edible, and there were such little of the rotten plants available. There wasn't any meat anywhere.
Natsu felt eyes watching him and he turned around. He was right. Everybody was watching him with greedy eyes. Even all the brawling stopped. It was then Natsu noticed three things. One: everyone looked like they were starving. He could clearly count every rib in everybody's body, if they were male. Two: They were all dressed in dirty rags that barely covered anything. Three: He stuck out like a sore thumb.
Natsu gulped and looked around nervously. Everyone started approaching him slowly and he started to feel like he was being hunted like a piece of prey. Everyone surrounding him were the predators. Natsu tried backing away slowly, but he had nowhere to go this? Um, um…. I know! Humor" Natsu thought.
"Hey, everybody, how are ya doing? Which day of the week is most hated by fish? Fry Day? Haha…" Natsu glanced around to see if it worked. The people just looked angrier. Natsu looked at his clothes and thought, "Why didn't I wear something less noticeable?" (* Natsu is wearing the celestial spirit clothes he wore in the Oracion Seis arc). Natsu decided to go with the only thing he could think of. Run through the crowd and keep on running for my life. So he did just that, while screaming.
So what did you guys think? I decided to try and make my chapters longer. Do you think this is long enough? Also, the fairy tale should be obvious even if it isn't well known and even though I totally massacred it. Never thought I could ruin a fairy tale this much. So I think you can figure out the couple this fairy tale focuses on. Each story will be 2-4 chapters long I estimate, depending on how long I make my chapters. I might not be able to update as soon as I hoped because I have some major tests tomorrow that I DID NOT STUDY FOR and a major poetry paper due soon. Wish me luck. And I'm still taking suggestions for what you want to happen in my stories. What couple do you want me to do after NaLu by the way? There's Gale, Lana (LaxusXCana), Hapla (HappyXCharla), Frira (Freed/FriedXMirajane), Jerza, Romendy (RomeoXWendy), Everman (EvergreenXElfman), Gruvia (but I'm trying to save 'em 'till towards the end since they're my fav), So pick your fav.