Hey, guys! I am not in a really good mood today, even though I am officially a high school student (I managed to make it into the high school I wanted with pretty excellent results :) ) because I'm super lonely. Thus, I am not sure this chapter is so promising. Sorry. So anyway, here's the next chapter: Oh, wait. By the way, so sorry for the late update, I wasn't really… inspired.

Lucy was starting to get used to waking up in strange places while before her eyes was a dark ceiling. This time, she couldn't remember anything for a couple of minutes until a red-haired woman showed up above her, running her hand trough her hair and keeping it from blinding her sight. Lucy studied her a little before she moved. The woman's beautiful eyes were filled with surprise and a little worry. She opened her mouth and said something, but Lucy couldn't hear her for some reason. Then, a pretty old man dressed rich showed up out of nowhere and also bended above Lucy. Erza's attention was drawn towards him and she looked at him, exchanging a few words. She then nodded and got further. The man touched Lucy's forehead with his cold hand and then her neck. The girl felt her head fall to one side and she closed her eyes, feeling how she was getting dizzy again. A wave of sweat covered her body even though she felt cold. The man rose up, engendering a downwind with his long coat and making Lucy fell the chill in every inch of her body. That was when she realized she was partly naked. There was only a thin white under-dress covering her white, sweaty body.

She remembered how she had felt before she had fainted. She was feeling a lot better. She took a deep breath trying to calm down her dizziness. As soon as she felt well enough to concentrate on what the people around her were talking and well enough to hear them, she heard the old man telling the queen how she was well and she only needed some rest. The queen didn't reply, but once the man announced his leaving, she thanked him quietly and surprised them both.

''I-It was my pleasure, Your Highness.'' After a little hesitation, he continued: ''Am I wrong to deduce Your Majesty is quite close to her personal maid?''

Erza let a whole minute pass without her being able to reply in any way. She wasn't obligated to, but for some reason she didn't feel the need to reject this poor question.

''I do believe I have somehow got attached to her, but do not misunderstand. She is nothing but a mere maid in my eyes.''

She turned her back and added, flushing: ''Maybe just a little more.''

But how? was all the surprised Lucy could think that moment. How? Everything she has done all this time was just arousing the woman's suspicion about herself. In addition, she was always clumsy and lying.

But the next moment, it hit her. A small smile bloomed on her white lips despite her sickness and she felt like crying. Erza was lonely. She has been so lonely that even the will of a bare maid to stay by her side made her feel happy deep inside. A little sad laugh escaped her mouth, gaining the queen's attention.

''Sketchnik! You were awake?''

''I just came back moments ago, Your Majesty.'' Lucy smiled kindly, managing to turn her head the other way in order to face the woman. Erza eyed her with surprise and the man, the doctor, left.

It was dark outside. Lucy noticed this detail while trying to calm her aching head.

''It seems I have been out quite a while…'' she pointed out to the woman. She nodded and responded:

''It's been 36 hours since your lose of conscious.''

Lucy widened her eyes in surprise and rose up in her elbows, staring at the woman. A day and a half! She regretted her action immediately as her sight got blurry because of the immense amount of pain in her head. She fell back down moaning through her gritted teeth.

''D-Don't make sudden moves!'' Erza alerted thrusting her hand forward too late to be useful, letting go of her tough mask only for this second. Lucy was in too much pain to notice anything.

''The doctor said you should rest.''

Even though Lucy was still laying on the ground on the exact same spot where she had fallen, Erza still dared to tell her to rest. She kept giving her maid looks that she herself couldn't understand. Somehow, she felt real compassion for this young woman, but she didn't know why. She had no reason to like her –she was a liar and maybe somebody dangerous for her position. But thinking about it, Erza had to acknowledge Lucy was really bad at whatever she was doing. That meant she couldn't really represent danger. This girl is full of mysteries, Erza thought, but that didn't mean she was a bad person. Maybe just her presence; maybe she only liked her presence. Nevertheless, it was a fact that…

''…I am glad you are back, Lucy.'' Erza whispered with a smile and she couldn't believe she just did what she did.

''Your Majesty…'' Lucy stared at her with shock. She then smiled sadly. ''It's good to be back.''

Needless to say, Lucy had forgotten about the diary.

That was the reason why she felt warm inside her heart because of this woman that, even though she was cold, cruel, rough, strong and hateful, had managed to let go of a little of this winter inside her soul.

Without knowing it and even without actually doing anything, Lucy has managed to break a little piece of that thick wall that has been surrounding the bloody queen's heart.

''I have to admit I have been quite worried for you.'' Erza smiled kindly – which was a pure miracle – making Lucy's heart beat faster and her smile grow wider with love and compassion. ''It would have been amazingly troublesome if your father would be greeted with the news of his daughter being dead.''

…Aaaaaaaaaaand her smile disappeared while Erza continued grinning wonderfully not knowing herself what was up with her. Maybe those extra four flagons of wine were at fault for her unreasonable joyfulness. She let out a heavy laugh and then sighed out of the blue. Lucy was more than surprised as a witness to the queen's overly odd behavior. She watched the mighty woman space out as her smile slowly disappeared. The following move was staring at Lucy.

Said girl looked back at her with patience and somehow nervousness. What could be on the queen's mind?

''Say, Sketchnik…''

She only called her Sketchnik when she was going to say something important with seriousness.

''I've been thinking. Mostly about your strange behavior.''

'My strange behavior?' Lucy thought only to realize the next second what she was talking about.

''It's more than obvious you are stressed. Nervous and afraid. And you keep lying about the reason you are so.''

The blonde could do nothing but dodge Erza's eyes and sweat. But even so, the queen didn't seem to want to continue any soon. Thus, she raised up slowly and eyed a comfortable looking coach starting to walk towards it.

''You made me suspicious ever since you stepped into my view. I've been thinking so much about you that I can't really concentrate on my paperwork anymore. To be honest, Sketchnik…'' and here she looked at her in the eyes. ''I can't even sleep without you entering my dreams and troubling my rest.''

''I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I had no intention of such thing happening.'' Lucy mumbled playing dumb, but Erza waved it off.

''I know. What I am trying to tell you is that I've been searching for an answer of truth ever since the first moment. Lucy Sketchnik, I have never faced a person whom I could not read through in my entire life, but you. I did my best, and I am not used to failing. Nor giving up. But today you will have to clear my doubts and decide whether my thinking results are true of not. You will have to tell me if I failed reading you or if I succeeded pointing to the source of your nervousness.''

At first Lucy understood Erza surely didn't find out she had read the diary, but now she was starting to shake hands with her old friend, the fear.

Erza looked at the girl and, for the blonde's surprise, in her eyes could be read compassion, not accusation. The queen approached the girl and sat on her knees in front of her. She took Lucy's hands in her own and looked deeply in her eyes. She was definitely drunk – who was she and what had she done with the Bloody Queen everybody knew?

''Tell me. Is it because of the kidnapper?''

.

.

.

Lucy stared at the woman for a long time, a big question mark raising from her head. Who?!

''I see.'' Erza sighed, taking Lucy's confusion as a hesitation. ''It's alright. I already noticed there is no way you would hate the Mysterious Prince. In fact, I might be wrong, but I think you might have feelings for him. So, what I am asking you is, have you been nervous because the day of the prisoner's execution is drawing close?''

Natsu? Lucy's mouth opened to say something, but she couldn't find her words. She was too surprised by what conclusion the queen could've drawn from her uneasiness. But yes, she had to agree. The woman was making the story, the rescuing story, herself.

''Am I right?'' Erza said. Lucy nodded softly.

''Then am I also right when I say you, as a responsible princess, were doing your duty to punish the ones who had to be punished even though your heart cried because your loved one had to die?''

Lucy couldn't believe it. Who was this woman?!

''Could it be that you two had had a secret love for each other so he couldn't take it anymore and kidnap you so you two could live together against your father's will?''

Something inside Lucy suddenly snapped. This was it! This was the perfect moment to plant the story! She remembered how Natsu used almost the exact same lie for that Macao guy and it was the perfect one. It was the most believable one and the easiest one. It was perfect! And now, she suddenly let go of her fears and nervousness. There was still a little error she needed to clear and then everything would be fine. Everything would flow just according to the plan.

''Yes, Your Majesty. It's just as you said, but there is something you are mistaking. You see, he kidnapped me in the day that we were supposed to marry. I had run away that day because I knew he didn't want to marry me.''

Her voice was soft, gentle and somehow hurt. She looked in the queen's eyes and saw her plan was touching her aim. The woman was being fooled. And now, she didn't hold back her surprise.

''He didn't want to marry you? But I thought you loved each other.''

''We did, Your Highness.''

Lucy looked away and squeezed the saddest memories out of her brain to make herself look sad and tears appear in the corners of her eyes.

''We truly did.''

Erza was already fooled. She looked at Lucy's sad face, ready to burst into tears, and in her drunken heart, a mix of compassion, pity and surprise showed up.

''But we loved each other with different kinds of love. I loved him like a wife loves her husband, how a servant loves his master and how a bird loves the fresh rays of the morning sun.''

Erza doubted the second example, but ignored it.

''But he loved me like a child loves chocolate, how a hungry dragon loves his food and how… a man full of passion loves a fair maiden.''

Little tears fell down her cheeks.

''I am sorry…'' she whispered closing her eyes shut and turning her head away, this had a huge effect on Erza, for her own happiness.

''No, please continue!'' the queen encouraged her.

Lucy let a dramatic break of silence fill the room.

''He did not want to marry me as he knew he would someday get bored of me and would find his pleasure in another woman's arms. I was heartbroken for I knew a love between us would be impossible.''

She took a deep breath and continued:

''One day, my father decided to have a contest. He was willing to give my beautiful sister as the wife of a worthy man. He named it The Princess Hunt. My… my dear prince thought it would be… fun to have her… so… he…''

Erza stared at Lucy and it was so obvious she was falling for the dramatic love story. In her mind, Natsu was as good as dead for being such a trash. Lucy knew the deal about her 'sister', but let's just hope Erza never saw her.

''… So he participated as well. . . And he won. But what he didn't know was that meanwhile, my father changed the prize and it was me who was going to be given as a wife. Your Majesty knows the rules; if he wins, he is to hake her by wife, if not, he is going to be executed. But nobody said anything about the case in which the princess is absent. I knew, as I already said, that a love between me and my darling would be impossible, even though my heart was screaming for him. I didn't want him to hate me because he would have had to marry me while he didn't want to; so I ran away. I took a secret passage in the castle while my tears were falling like rivers and my heart was dying with the pain of the fact that I will not see him ever again.''

Lucy looked back into the woman's eyes and another wave of tears fell from her eyes. This might have been the beginning of an acting talent.

''But he still loved me. Even though his love was something forbidden for me and even if we both knew we will never be real . . . he let his passion win him over.''

She looked away and a small smile bloomed on her lips as she gave the image of thinking about him while she was actually thinking about a cherry cake with lots of cream she would love to eat.

''And he stole me.''

She placed her palms on her chest and looked in her eyes with emotion.

''It wasn't enough that he had stolen my heart; he also stole me.'' she said looking once again away. ''He is and will be my thief forever.''

Another short break of silence and then she continued:

''However, I knew it was wrong and he knew it as well. What he was asking from me, I could not give him. . . ''

After a while, Erza asked:

''And? What did he do? He didn't just accept your will, did he? He still loved you, right?''

''Yes.'' Lucy answered in a whisper, her sad eyes spacing out. ''But he didn't. He didn't do anything to me.''

She knew in their own reality this would have been an impossibility, but she just ignored the fact.

''He didn't do anything to me. . . We faced many dangers together . . . It was an adventure, but only because we were together. . . '' she started talking to herself, hoping that the woman won't ask about these adventures as well. For now, she didn't know what was the best to say about Lollipop and the rest.

There were probably many other questions the queen had, but she was too caught up in Lucy's story to remember them.

'Ok, now is probably the best moment to snap' Lucy thought. And, indeed, she suddenly flinched and turned around, facing the queen alarmed.

''But Your Majesty! Please, I am begging you! I still love him with all my heart! I would die as well if he would lose his life! My heart is already broken in pieces-''

This time, she had to be careful. She had to think fast of something to make her cry like she never did. She searched he mind for something extremely sad and heartbreaking, but she managed to find nothing that would make her burst into tears. She kept her eyes wide opened so they would dry soon and let tears fall.

But suddenly, something happened inside her. An image of Natsu beaten up showed up. The sound of herself screaming blue murder and she could feel two men's nails jabbed in her flesh, keeping her from running forward. Running for what purpose? What was happening? She couldn't see Erza anymore; she could only see with her eyes kept as big as she could have them, Natsu. He was thrown on a wooden stage and his head was placed on a rock. He wasn't moving. The crowd was screaming with enthusiasm. But she was screaming harder than everyone. She was fighting like her life depended on it. Why? She watched horrified as somebody raised a sword above his head. One more scream out of her lungs, a scream that made the whole crowd shut their traps. She finally managed to free herself from the men's grip and ran forward; ran towards him… only to arrive too late. The sword fell down with speed. But no matter how fast it had happened, Lucy saw it all in slow motion. She saw his finger move and his dark red face look at her. His eyes seemed as big and fearless as a dragon. A fire was burning inside his pupils. A fire of love. He couldn't smile and tell her it was all right, but she felt it in a shiver that travelled through her body. He loved her. She knew it. She felt it. There was no doubt about it. He had shown it to her as well as he could, but now it was over. His fire was shut once and for all. The sword struck the rock and a light bump started echoing in Lucy's ears and she knew it will be for the rest of her life. She felt his hot blood shower her skin. Her cut breath made the beatings of her heart ache her chest. Ah… ah… ah… It hurt. By the time she realized he was dead, she had fallen on her knees. She stared at his lifeless eyes that only seconds ago looked at her with more life that she could ever feel. Because you only feel like you are living for real in the last moments of your life. She ran her hands through his red hair that once had been a cute pink. And then she felt it. She felt her heart ripping in two. That was when she realized one half it was hers and the other half was his. He left and took half of her heart with him.

She opened her eyes and realized the hot blood were actually her tears. She was on the floor, crying like crazy. She had probably fallen the moment when, in the thing that apparently had been a vision, she had run forward. She felt her heart beat really fast and it still hurt her. Her shoulders were shaking and the tears wouldn't stop falling. She didn't know what just had happened, but she knew it worked – her wish of bursting in tears had been fulfilled. And it felt extremely real. That was why she cried in unison with her heart when she said:

''Please don't kill him!... Please don't take him away from me… ''

She couldn't see Erza's reaction. She couldn't see anything, actually. Her eyes were too full of tears. She covered her face with her hands and started crying in her palms.

As for Erza, I am going to tell you what her reaction was. Now, she was standing a few steps away from the girl. Her eyes were wide with a feeling between surprise and shock. It had almost scared her; that was why she had jumped back when the girl's eyes had widened and had looked at her with a monstrous blood-thirsty glare, only to fill with tears the next moment. She was able to feel the girl's heart crush. Now this had an impact on her.

''Lucy…'' she whispered watching surprised as the girl was crying her heart out. How could somebody not be touched when they saw such a scene? How could they not believe it was honest?

She thought for a moment and then decided she could let her pay a normal visit to him, after all. It wouldn't be such a big deal. But this girl was heartbroken! Couldn't she do better than that?

''W-Would you like to see him? I could arrange for you to meet him in one of the rooms of the castle. I will let you two spend some time together before he…''

For some reason, she couldn't say it. This would be shocking for anybody, to watch the toughest person in the world get sensitive in front of a young girl. Oh, and besides, she knew what she was offering Lucy would only hurt her even more, but then again, she was getting sensitive and weak. She just let this generous side of her show off and then she would just forget about everything. Maybe she would actually be able to finally finish those plans for war!

Lucy was looking at her with big eyes. Maybe she felt grateful, but something told Erza she knew as well as she did that this was only making things more difficult for her.

''Thank you, Your Highness, I am really thankful for your kindness.'' She rose up smiling sadly and bowed with her hands held together in her lap. Wiping away some of the tears that couldn't stop falling yet, she returned to being the maid. Erza hesitated and then straightened her back, bracing herself.

''Well then, I will have him come to your room in a few minutes. You can wait for him meanwhile. I free you from your duties for the rest of the day. I will have somebody else do them. No questions, please.'' she added as she saw the girl open her mouth to ask something. Lucy bowed once more and, as the woman sent her away with a wave, she left the office and walked to her room in silence. She wasn't happy. How could she be when the images of the execution were still stuck before her eyes? She felt how tears blurred once more her sight.

She closed herself in the silent room and sat on the edge of her beautiful bed. Somehow, thinking that Natsu will come made her a little nervous.

Natsu's body jumped forward the moment the walls of the cell were an inch apart from crushing his body. He was panting, covered in sweat and realizing it had been only nightmare. Great, the first time he managed to fall asleep ever since he found out about her death and it was followed by nightmares. He ran a hand through his sweaty hair and sighed. He still couldn't believe this was happening.

Suddenly, he heard steps approaching. Peter drew himself in the shadows like he did last time. It was his way of shielding himself. But, again, the soldiers had business with Natsu. Natsu recognized their uniform and wondered what could bring them in that place this time. They were three. One of them took a key from his pocket and opened the 'door' of Natsu's cell. Said boy was surprised.

''You're coming with us.'' Another one of them said as he gripped Natsu's arm and raised him up.

Were they going to execute him earlier than they were supposed to? It wouldn't be surprising. After all, Lucy's 'father' had no reason to come if his daughter was dead. So they would just get rid of him as well. He grimaced as he was being dragged out of the prison. He couldn't care less. He couldn't care less if they were going to kill him as well.

He had no reason to live anymore, anyway…

However, his surprise grew when he saw through the dark he was being lead towards the palace. He watched as the men opened door after door until they finally arrived in front of one specific room. Despite the weakness in his body, Natsu stood alert and ready for anything. If behind that door stood the queen, he would make sure she would answer a couple of questions before he would die. He waited, but nothing was happening. They just waited in front of the door, not knocking, not doing anything. But when a beautiful but fierce red haired woman showed up, he was left even more confused. She had no sword, no weapon to execute him with. Or was it that she would wait for somebody else to kill him? Like an executioner?

''Your Majesty.'' The three men bowed while Natsu stood there straight with surprise and confusion. Majesty? She was the queen? Totally not what he had expected.

''And I suppose you are The Mysterious Prince.'' She eyed him coldly. ''Mysterious, indeed.''

She let a silence break make the atmosphere feel heavy and then added before leaving:

''Don't you dare hurt her. In any way.'' she said through her teeth, concentrating a lot of hate and threatening in each word.

Hurt her? Who was this woman talking about? Weren't they going to execute him? Erza approached him and opened the door for him not interrupting their eye contact. Before she left, she gave a last nod to the soldiers, making it clear that she wanted them to be cautious. Natsu finally let his look slip from her image and looked with curiosity and not little confusion inside the big, richly decorated room. At first, he saw nothing. Or more like no one. But when he entered it and the door closed behind him, leaving him alone with the 'her' the queen was talking about, he finally saw her.

His eyes widened and his dry lips parted, giving birth to the first and only word that came to his confused mind.

''Lucy…''

Bwahahahah! There you go! Next time, Natsu's full reaction and their first proper talk after so much time! Don't miss it!

By3 by3 and please review!

~4ever-a-fairy …(this is sooo not original)

P.S.- next time, I will add something that already happened in the manga, but I'm telling you, I had that idea first! It's not fair, Hiro Mashima! (the back-hug)