A/N: Well, Natsu is passed out, and Lucy is feeling guilty. What do you think that's going to lead to?
This was quite possibly the scariest thing that she had ever done. And wasn't that sad? It wasn't like she was jumping off a cliff into a large pool of water, that she didn't know the depth of. Or hunting a huge beast that had been terrorizing her family, in the dark of night, with only a small dagger. Or running through the darkened woods, away from palace guards who were chasing her. Oh wait; she had already done that last one.
Still, this was much more terrifying.
Lucy had no idea how far Natsu's cave was from the town, but she was hoping that if she took the path that he had been obsessed with getting back on, then she would eventually find it. All she had to do was go the opposite direction, right?
The sun had come up only a short while ago, and Natsu had passed out. He told her that when he had to hold back his wings, it exhausted him, and he had been holding them back way longer than he ever had before when he saved her last night. She was counting on that exhaustion as she formulated her plan right before he fell asleep, and as soon as he had, she jumped up and went into action.
Now, she was wrapped in his heavy cloak, the hood covering her hair and shadowing her face, traveling down the path back into the town.
He had helped her in ways he didn't know, so she had to do something for him. And getting the supplies he desperately needed that he had left in order to help her seemed like a good trade.
For a long time, Lucy walked. As she walked, she realized that she was seriously delusional about what "in shape" meant, because even though she was slim and had been running through the palace and the gardens all her life, her legs and feet were still killing her and her breath was coming quicker. Looking down, she saw that she still had her ball shoes on, the strappy, open-toed heels that she had had made specifically for last night. Well, that could be the reason her feet hurt.
As she slipped them off, she felt as if her feet were crying out in relief. Sighing, she looked at her shoes, suddenly wishing she had brought a bag with her. She couldn't go carrying a pair of expensive shoes into town; people would either think she had stolen them from, well, herself, and reveal her identity, or they would automatically assume who she was. Either way ended badly.
Lucy looked around, trying to find a good place to hide them. Just barely off the path, there was a patch of high foliage between two towering trees. Perfect. She ran over, hid her shoes, and then continued on to town barefoot.
The sun was about halfway up into the sky when Lucy caught sight of the bridge. Her sigh of relief came with a rush of nervousness, but she didn't let it slow her down. Her bare feet crossed over the stones, and she tucked her head deeper into the large hood as a cart passed by her.
She remembered Natsu slowing down to look at a merchant's booth in the main square, but she didn't exactly know where the main square was. Hopefully, she could just follow the traffic of people.
Lucy started towards the center of the town, trying to follow the traffic and stay to the side. She passed many shops: one that sold clothes, another that fixed shoes of all kinds, a book store. There were so many people around, and if this were any other time, any other situation, she would have been in heaven.
But she had to get to that merchant, and she had to get back to Natsu.
Lucy kept her pace steady, trying to stay inconspicuous, and finally the main road opened up into a big circle. She stopped and looked around, thankful that she was able to navigate here without any trouble. She saw many booths set up around the perimeter, each one occupied with a merchant shouting his wares or bartering with the townsfolk.
They all looked the same to her. Trying not to panic, she started on the right, slowly checking out the booths as she passed. She remembered the two candle lanterns hanging off the sides, and she hoped that it was the identifying mark of the booth she was looking for.
Passing all of the merchants on the right, she started going back up the circle on the left. As she was about to lose hope, she spotted the two candle lanterns, and an older balding man standing inside, folding cloths.
Lucy made her way up to him, her hands on her hood to keep it in place. The man looked up, and instantly his face showed surprise.
"Is that you!?" He leaned forward and whispered hard, and Lucy stood shocked for a second. She had actually done it: she had found the merchant that Natsu had been bartering with, and he obviously recognized his traveling cloak.
"No, I'm...a friend...of the man you usually do business with."
The poor old man started to show panic, leaning over the counter of his booth. "Is he alright? I don't know what happened; I went to gather his supplies, I was only gone a couple of moments. Then I heard shouting, and when I came back out there were palace guards running through the streets, shouting, and he was nowhere in sight."
Lucy pulled the hood further over her face. "He is fine. Don't worry." She watched the merchant's face relax in relief, a deep sigh escaping him. His concern of Natsu was sweet. "I came on his behalf to gather the goods he couldn't leave with last night. He's...otherwise occupied."
The old man sprang into action, a smile blooming on his face. "Of course, of course. I'm just glad that he has a friend that would do this for him. I've been worrying about him ever since I first sold him wares. It was pure luck that he found me, actually. I don't normally stay to sell late, but I had a rather large order to finish. He came by and asked if we could trade. As we finished, he asked if I was usually open this late, and I couldn't find it in me to say no. He just seemed so anxious, slightly scared. I figured it was hard for him to find a merchant to sell to him late at night, and I had an overwhelming urge to help him. I've been looking forward to seeing him every month ever since." He reached under his table, and then laid a heavy pack on top of it. She could see that it was packed tight, absolutely full. "I've added in all the extras that I possibly could. I hope it helps in making up for the month he missed."
Lucy eyed the pack, noting how big the thing was. She hoped she would be able to carry it back up the path, otherwise Natsu was going to find her collapsed in the middle of nowhere with all of his stuff laying around her.
"Also," Lucy looked back up at the merchant, who had placed a small pouch on the table. "I need you to take this back to him. I can't take this much of an overpayment. He wouldn't accept my refusal last night, but if you take it back, he won't have a choice."
She nodded her head and took the pouch, sliding it into the folds of the cloak. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate your kindness. He definitely needs it." Keeping her head dipped low to make sure the hood did not fall, she slipped the pack over her shoulders. Holy crap, this thing was heavy.
"Take care, miss. And let him know that I look forward to our next meeting!" The merchant smiled broadly at her, waving his goodbye, and she set off, trying her hardest to keep her back straight and make it look like she wasn't struggling with the weight.
He had better kiss her damn feet after this.
As she passed through the town again, she just happened to look up and see the library. In the window, there was a book with an illustrated cover that stopped her in her tracks: a dragon. Her father never allowed her to read any books about dragons that were based on fact, and honestly, since she was kind of staying with a man who had dragon qualities (literally), she thought maybe factual information would come in handy.
Natsu was probably going to sleep a long time anyway.
Lucy pushed through the doors, and a sweet little bell announced her arrival. It was empty, save for a little blue haired woman. She had her arms full of books, and it looked like she was methodically placing them back on the shelves.
Her face turned towards Lucy, and she smiled. "Hello! Can I help you find anything today?" The librarians face was friendly, her large hazel eyes practically sparkling. She had her blue hair tied back from her face with a ribbon, and her dress was modest, flowing freely down to her knees.
"Actually, I just had...a couple of questions." Lucy slid the pack off her shoulders, instantly feeling relief. The woman smiled and walked over to her, placing her books onto a table nearby.
"Sounds great! What can I help you with?"
"What do you know about dragons?"
The blue haired woman raised her hand to her chin, "Well, there's not much that we know about them, besides the fact that they're incredibly intelligent, fearsome and brutal. We know that they're capable of magic, but each one is different so there isn't much else known on that subject. Also, there are tribes of dragon slayers that hunt down the dragons that aren't content with their isolation, but we don't know much about the tribes themselves because they, too, prefer to live away from everyone else."
Her curiosity peeked. "Dragons have magic?"
"They do; they use it to keep humans away from their nests, to create snowstorms or torrential rain, even to curse people."
Curses, huh? "Are there many instances of dragons cursing people?"
"Oh yes, it's actually a very common thing, especially among the dragon slayers." The woman started to walk towards the shelves, and Lucy followed obediently.
"What kind of curses do they give?"
"Oh, there have been many different kinds of curses. Curses of bad health, bad fortune, curses of infertility-"
"Infertility!?"
The woman laughed. "Yes, infertility. If a dragon cursed a slayer with infertility, then the slayer would have no way of producing any heirs, effectively ending his bloodline and ruining any chances of another generation of slayers. Dragon slayers are not recruited, but are born into the role, trained by their fathers and brothers, you see." She began to read through the titles, obviously looking for something in particular, but Lucy was too transfixed to notice.
"What about a dragon cursing a slayer with...with a dragon son?"
"Ah," the librarian sighed, looking back to Lucy. "Yes, there have been stories passed down of slayers hunting the fiercest, most tenacious of dragons, and being cursed with an abomination as an offspring. It is the cruelest joke among them, because a dragon's curse does not take effect until the dragon is killed. The idea is to haunt the slayer for the rest of his life; a kind of 'you kill me, and I will be reincarnated into the thing you will love most in the world'."
"That's awful..."
"Truly. But it is proof of how dangerous the creatures are. Curse a dragon slayer with a dragon son, and he will have no choice but to kill his own legacy with his own hands. Or, he will watch as his tribe does it for him." She turned back to the titles, using her finger to scan through.
Lucy could do nothing but stand there. Natsu had said that his only family had been his father, but he had abandoned him when he was a small boy. Could that have been why, because the man's son had been cursed with dragon qualities?
"Ha! Here it is!" The woman's exclamation startled Lucy. She saw her picking out a weathered, leather bound book and carrying it delicately over to her. "Here, this is the most compiled and factual information that I have on dragons."
Lucy took the book from her, and marveled at the beautiful designs. There were dragons dancing all over the front cover, each cut into the leather with precision.
She looked back at the woman, who was standing in front of her smiling. "Thank you so much, miss."
The woman waved her hand in the air. "Oh no, none of that 'miss' stuff. My name is Levy. And it's not a problem at all. It's not often that someone comes in and asks of dragons. I, myself, am fascinated by them."
Lucy smiled at her, wishing she could do something for her in return. Suddenly, she recalled the merchant telling her to take Natsu back some of his money, and she reached into the cloak to retrieve the pouch. Levy watched the action and started to back away.
"Oh no, it's alright. This is a library, not a store. Just return it when you are finished, that's all I ask."
Lucy ignored her and opened the pouch, tipping it upside down and shaking the coins onto the table next to her. Except it wasn't coins that fell out.
They both gasped. "Are those...dragon scales?" Levy reached forward slowly, lightly touching one of the shiny red scales.
Lucy regained herself, realizing that it would look odd if she acted like she hadn't known they were there. "Y-yes. And I'd like you to have them. As payment for your help."
Levy stared at the scales, mesmerized. "I couldn't possibly...these are incredibly rare."
Lucy slid the pack back onto her shoulders and held the book protectively in her arms. "I insist. And don't worry; I'll bring your book back as soon as I am able."
She bowed her head and turned to walk out the door. As she stepped through the frame, she turned her head and saw Levy holding a scale in her hands, her eyes sparkling like she was holding the greatest treasure.
Smiling, Lucy continued out into the town, making her way back across the bridge and onto the path that would lead her back to Natsu.
Hopefully, he would still be sleeping.
How sweet! She traveled all the way back in town to get the supplies he had left, and even met Levy!
=)