A/N: I don't even know what to say to you all. Everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed this story means so much to me! I have loved hearing what you all think, the good and the bad, and I hope I haven't disappointed any of you throughout the entirety of the story. This is the last chapter, and I'm extremely sad over it. This was my first fanfic story, and I really will miss it. ::cries::

"Let her go."

Lucy stared straight ahead at Natsu, his determined face a welcome sight in this nightmare of hers. He was staring at her father behind him, who was starting to breathe slightly faster against Lucy's back. She could feel his body moving slightly from side to side, and knew that he was turning his head in each direction, looking for the guards that had been hiding behind the foliage for so long. Something inside of her told her that he wouldn't find them. Natsu had come with a plan, and his looked to be much better than the one her father had tried.

"I won't tell you again. Let her go." Natsu was fierce; his voice was threatening, his eyes dangerous. Lucy blinked away her tears and looked up behind her at her father. She didn't know if she was expecting panic, but the look she received still took her by surprise.

Her father's face was calm, almost expectant. There was no sweat beading on his forehead, and his face was clear of stress lines. It was almost as if he had figured this would happen.

She heard a growl, and turning her head back towards Natsu, she saw him starting to walk forward.

Suddenly, a cold, sharp piece of metal met Lucy's throat, a deep breath away from cutting into her skin. For the first time since this morning, Lucy met Natsu's eyes. The ferocity drained away from them, taken over by shock.

"Did you really think I would ever let her walk out of here with you?" Her father's words were calm, and that only sent more fear down Lucy's spine.

Natsu looked away from her, back into the eyes of her father. "You're fucking crazy."

A small chuckle escaped him, and Lucy struggled to stay still against the knife still held to her throat. "I might be. But that is why I am the King. That is why my country has been prospering for the last decade. I know what needs to be acquired, and what needs to be let go."

"What does that have to do with your daughter!? You're own flesh and blood!?"

Her father tightened his grip on her arm, and she had to fight back a groan of pain. "Do you know what would happen if anyone knew that the Princess of Magnolia had fallen in love with a dragon? My country would be ridiculed; my kingdom would be a joke."

Lucy watched as the anger returned to Natsu's eyes. "So you're ready to kill her to save your reputation..."

Her father chuckled again. "I do not wish to kill my daughter. I wish to initiate a trade." Both she and Natsu stood in shock. A trade? What the hell was he talking about? Seeing the confusion on Natsu's face, her father continued. "I know you have help here with you. Call them out. Tell them to disarm. And then I will trade my daughter's life and her safety...for yours."

Lucy gasped. No, no, no, no, no. She tried to move, but her father only pressed the blade against her harder. She tried to meet Natsu's eyes, to show him that she didn't want him to do it. She knew she would never be safe with her father, not if he was already willing to go through all of this, and he had to know it too. Giving his life would be letting a tyrant win. Natsu, however, would not meet her eyes. His face had become blank; his eyes seemed to be losing their fight.

"Gajeel. Gray."

Lucy panicked as she watched two men emerge from either side of the clearing. On her right was a tall man with long, black hair, red eyes and metal dotting his face. Behind him, huge black wings fluttered menacingly, the tips of them sharp and slightly metallic looking. The sight of another dragon-born assisting Natsu should have surprised her, but as she looked to the man on the left, she couldn't believe her eyes.

Gray. Her 'fiancé'. The man who had found Natsu's home, and tore her out of it. He was here, helping him as well.

He father hummed behind her. "Well, well. I should have known when I had your servant detained that you would be a part of this. I believe it's safe to say that the negotiations between our two countries are off."

Gray stared straight at her father. "Trust me, your majesty, there are many things that will be ending tonight."

Lucy closed her eyes against the sight in front of her. Natsu was ready to take her father's deal. He was ready to tell them to disarm, and then he was going to hand himself over to death just for her.

No. It wasn't going to happen this way. All her life, she had been subject to everyone else's plans, not having a choice or even a say in how the plans were carried out. She wasn't going to let this happen anymore. She refused to let even Natsu decide for her anymore.

Lucy opened her eyes and stared ahead of her. The three men were still standing in their positions, staring at her father. Her father was still holding the knife against her throat, although he had loosened his hold on her arm. The plan formulated in her head quicker than she ever thought was possible, and strength suddenly filled her. She could do this. She was going to do this. She was already tired of being the damsel in distress, and this wasn't like any of her novels. Everyone was not going to live happily ever after by default; she had to start taking charge of her own life.

She faintly heard her father speaking, despite the fact that he was directly behind her, and she barely paid attention to the sound of weapons dropping. No, the only thing she could concentrate on was the hold her father had on her. Whether tactically or unconsciously, he was slowly starting to loosen his hold on her, slowing removing the knife from against her neck. Lucy took a deep breath, then focused her eyes on the scene in front of her. It seemed to be happening in slow motion: Gray had dropped a bow and a couple of arrows, the arrows bouncing off the ground slowly. The man to her right had dropped a sword, then after a few words from her father, his wings disappeared. Natsu was still, staring straight ahead with a scowl. Then, within a split second of the wings disappearing, of the arrows finally settling on the ground, and of Natsu lifting his foot to start his path towards her, Lucy felt the knife barely leave her throat.

The action couldn't have been noticed by anyone that wasn't her, and she probably wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been concentrating, but it happened. And in that split second, she made her move.

Lucy twisted to the left, straightening the arm that was being held behind her back at such an odd angle that she felt her shoulder start to pop out of place. As she turned, she dipped low, using the shock of her father to twist the held arm out of his grasp, then used her complaining shoulder to barrel into his chest as hard as she could. As he faltered, she heard her name being called out behind her. Lucy spun so fast, her bare feet slipped beneath her, but she didn't let that deter her. She had gotten away, and now the only thing left to do was to run, run far away from here.

As she started to pick herself back up and run towards Natsu, who had the most amazing look of shock and pride on his face, she heard the sound of metal against leather. She saw Natsu starting to run towards her, but the sound distracted her, and she looked to her right once more. The black-haired dragon-born had unsheathed another sword, and was heading towards her father.

In front of her was Natsu, who was starting to run towards her with open arms. Behind her was her father, who had fallen completely backwards, eyes focused on Lucy, not seeing the attack that was making its way to his side. In front of her was freedom. Behind her was captivity.

Without a single thought in her head, Lucy took one more look at Natsu, then spun back around to face her father. The dragon-born was almost there, but she didn't back down. Her name was shouted out behind her, but she ran forward anyway.

Her father was sitting, his hands supporting his weight from the ground, and he looked over just in time to see the sword being raised above his head.

Lucy threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around her father's neck, and closed her eyes tight.

"Lucy!"

A sharp intake of breath.

"Gajeel!"

Time started to catch up with itself in that moment. She could feel her father's quick breathing beneath her, could hear the faltering footsteps of the attacking dragon-born as he stopped his movements, could feel the fear behind her as Natsu watched her throw herself on her father, in front of a sword.

Lucy opened her eyes and leaned back, coming face to face with the man she had just tried to escape. His eyes were wide, his mouth open. Disbelief radiated from him as he sat stock still, staring at her. She tried to swallow, finding her throat thick and heavy, and then stood up. She turned and looked straight at Natsu.

"He is not to be harmed." The three men surrounding her and her father stared at her in shock, completely silent. She met each of their eyes confidently.

After a few seconds, Gray was the first to speak. "Lucy...he was just ready to kill you."

Lucy raised her chin. "I said: he is not to be harmed." She wouldn't let the three of them stoop down to her father's level of insanity, and she sure as hell was not going to be a part or a witness to it. Yes, her father needed to be punished for everything he had done, but murder was not the answer.

Behind her, a soft and brief choke of relief sounded. "Lucy, my daughter, you are trying to save me!" Lucy tried to resist turning around to face her father, but she could not. Turning, she looked him in the eyes once more. His face was struck with relief, his body slightly relaxed, but his eyes: his eyes were still the empty pits of brown that they had been her entire life.

Her father extended his hand, but Lucy stepped back from him. A feigned look of hurt crossed his face for a brief second, and Lucy steeled herself up. Her strength was waning, and she would still get her freedom from this place, from him. But there was one thing left to do.

"I renounce my title as Princess." Her father's face fell into shock once more, but she continued. "I renounce my duties to the kingdom of Magnolia." Lucy stepped backwards a few more steps, and finally met the arms of the man that would take her away. "And I renounce you as my father. I am no longer your daughter. I am nothing to you."

She felt Natsu wrapping his arms around her, and as she stared at her father, she knew this was the only way. No matter what, he was her father. He had helped make her. She would never wish death upon him. Even as his face became angrier and angrier by the second, she did not want him hurt. Not by her hands, not by Natsu, or Gray, or the other dragon-borns hands.

She just wanted to get out of here.

Lucy turned into Natsu, taking comfort in his chest and the feel of his arms wrapping around her. Faintly, she heard the dragon-borns voice behind her. "Get her out of here; I'll make sure this piece of shit doesn't move a muscle."

"Gajeel..." She felt the rumbling of Natsu's voice in his chest, and suddenly she felt the rest of her strength bleed out of her. Seeming to sense this, she felt him sweep his arms under her legs, and she kept her head in his chest as he situated her completely in his arms.

"I know, I know. The bastard stays alive. Just get out of here."

She wasn't sure what happened after that; all she knew was that she was floating. Away from her prison. Away from her old life. Away from everything she had ever known.

She cried for days. After Natsu carried her out of the gardens, through the palace, and out of the palace gates, he wasn't sure where he was going to go. The moon had almost disappeared in the sky, and the sun had yet to paint it with its golden rays. Nothing seemed real. The confrontation in the garden seemed like a dream, and Lucy felt so light in his arms he had to keep looking down at her to convince himself that she was still there.

Gray had been walking behind them at a distance, completely quiet and lost in his thoughts. When they reached the main square, a figure had emerged from the alleys and headed towards them.

Gray's female, the witch Juvia, had met with some bookkeeper and had taken a man named Loke to her store. She guided them there, and a small blue-haired librarian met them at the back door and rushed them upstairs. The upper part of the building was set into a three room apartment, and Natsu claimed one for him and Lucy. He had laid her down, and as soon as his arms released her, she started crying.

After periods of restless sleeping, crying, clinging onto Natsu, and crying some more, he watched her body finally relax in a deep slumber.

He knew they couldn't stay here for very much longer. Gajeel had caught up with them shortly after they had arrived, able to follow the smell of another dragon-born. After Lucy had finally fallen asleep, the two of them had talked briefly about what had to happen next. He knew everything Gajeel had said was true, but it didn't make things any easier.

Fortunately, the small librarian, Levy, had mentioned a bookstore that had recently been given to her in a town many miles away from here. She had been looking for a reason to move, and, being the same kind of kind-hearted person Lucy was, she was more than happy to accept Lucy in her plans.

That didn't solve his internal turmoil, but there was no fixing that.

A few days later, Lucy stopped crying. Gray, Juvia and Loke had already departed; there were many things to discuss with his father, the King of his country, and Gajeel had stayed behind. It didn't take long to convince Lucy to go with Levy, and as soon as it was dark again, Natsu and Gajeel "borrowed" four horses from the Royal stables, and the four of them made their way out of the town.

Lucy never looked back. She hardly even said a word as they crossed the bridge that led out of town, and it wasn't until the palace was out of sight and a couple miles behind them before she seemed to breathe again.

Natsu tried to comfort her, but he didn't know how. Her entire world had changed in the matter of days, and now she was embarking on a journey that was going to take her places she had never seen. Alone.

And he wouldn't be a part of it. Couldn't be a part of it.

The four of them had traveled for the entire night before they reached a fork in the dirt road. To the left, they could see the town of Hargeon, where Levy's new bookshop awaited them. To the right, more dirt road, that seemed to be endlessly leading to the north.

Gajeel and Levy were riding ahead of them, and as Gajeel split off onto the path heading north, Natsu closed his eyes.

"Are we saying goodbye to you, Gajeel?" Lucy's voice was innocent as she stopped her horse, turning towards the black-haired dragon-born. Gajeel turned his head to face her, nodded his head, and then looked at Natsu briefly. He started riding again, stopping only when he was a mile from them.

Natsu hopped off his horse and nodded at Levy, who gave him a weak smile before starting to lead her horse a few feet away from them as well. "Well, that was some goodbye." Lucy looked down at Natsu, who had walked up to her horse to help her down. She allowed him to pull her off the saddle, "What's going on? Are we resting?"

Natsu gathered her in his arms, trying to memorize every inch of her face. She wrapped her arms around his neck, tilting her head in confusion as he just stood there, staring at her. After a few minutes, Natsu reached up and tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear, lingering his touch on her cheek. The instant his fingers made contact with her skin, however, her eyes immediately turned somber.

"No, no. Don't even say it. Don't even try to tell me you're leaving." Her voice started breaking, and Natsu could feel his heart tearing to shreds.

"Lucy...I have to." Natsu's hand was shaken from her cheek as she started to shake her head back and forth.

"Natsu, you can't leave me. Please. I need you."

He gripped her tighter, trying to stay calm, stay strong. "I have to learn about who I am, Lucy. I need to learn how to control this, how to be stronger, better. I have to do this. You're not safe with me as I am now. I refuse to force you to live in the shadows with me. You've just been freed; you deserve the world. And as I am...I can't give it to you." He watched tears begin to fall from her eyes, and his strength wavered. He pulled her against him, hugging her tightly against his chest. "Remember-...remember how you said that my father left me...because he loved me so much, and the only way to help me was to let me go?"

Lucy started crying even harder into his chest. He held her against him, trying and failing to keep his own tears at bay. After a few minutes, she pulled back from him, looking up into his eyes with her own water-filled, chocolate brown ones.

"I understand, Natsu. I don't like it...but I understand."

Extreme sorrow filled his body, and he forced her against him once more. They stood embraced like that for what he wished was hours, until a horse neighing in the distance brought him back into the cruel reality.

Lucy was the one to pull away from him, but before she could get too far, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back, and he could feel every ounce of emotion flowing from her lips into his. Natsu released her, pressing his forehead against hers.

"I will find you again. It doesn't matter where you go, I will come back for you."

Lucy inhaled a shaky breath, dragging her fingertips down his cheek one more time. "I know."

Without another second to try to convince him otherwise, to convince him to stay, Natsu jerked away from Lucy and swiftly jumped onto his horse. He couldn't look back, his heart couldn't take it, and with one hard flick of his wrists, the horse jolted into a run, veering onto the worn dirt path that would lead him to the next chapter in his life.

Lucy stood at the junction of the two roads, staring into the distance at the horse that was taking away the reason for her new life. She knew he was right; and she knew this was what was best. They both needed to grow on their own in this new world they had discovered together. They both needed to discover themselves.

After a very long time, the tears stopped rolling down her cheeks, and her breath began to come a little easier.

Lucy climbed back on her horse, then steered it towards where her new friend Levy had been waiting patiently. Together, they headed into Hargeon, towards their beginning, towards her new freedom.

She believed him when he said he would find her again. Until then, she vowed to live. Live fully. Live freely. Just...live.

I AM WRITING AN EPILOGUE!

I AM WRITING AN EPILOGUE!

But please, tell me what you thought! About this chapter, about the story, about anything! I love you all!