Hi there! Good to write again! I've been in a camp the past week so I'm late with the update somehow.

Sorry.

And oh my dog! Gosh, thanks so much for reviewing! You guys are so wonderful! I totally didn't except you to like the past chapter, at least not so much as you did!

P.S.- I do NOT care what you say, for me Sting has white hair. You'll see why in this chapter.

Now let's smile together and start reading the following chapter!

3…2…1…GO!

Michael was having a wonderful day.

His wife had cooked for him a new recipe of potato salad that morning and his two kids woke up earlier to kiss him goodbye as he was leaving to work. The weather was sunny and warm and he was already making plans to have a picnic with his family that afternoon in the public park of the west Kingdom of Dragons. It was said to be a beautiful place and Mary, his daughter, has always wanted to go there because of the white bunnies. In addition, his neighbor Joe O'Halley had just finished repairing his carriage and his horses were strong and healthy.

Now, he was happily walking down the lonely and dusty road under the rays of the sun. The view of the mountains was stunning. On each side of the path, green and tall bushes were shadowing the rocks, separating the road of the forest.

He started whistling along with the song of the birds.

Suddenly, he heard someone running towards him from behind. He turned around taken by surprise and widened his eyes. He only had time to see pink hair before the person jumped on him with a fighting yell. He was punched in the face, surprisingly pretty lightly and then in the stomach. The person rose up and Michael managed to see a very good looking young man with pink hair search in his bag. He rose up as well clinching his teeth feeling pain and rushed over to the young thief.

''Hey! What do you think you're doing?!''

The teenager couldn't get the time to actually find anything, so he backed up and let the bag fall in the dust of the road. He easily dodged the man's weak fist and prepared his own for a punch.

In a glimpse of a second, he threw a look in the woods waiting for something. And as if his call would've been answered, a young woman showed up from behind the bushes and thrust her hand in the air.

Her face was frowned and a little nervous.

''S-Stop, you thief!''

She ran to the pink-haired guy who had stopped his fist and drew out her sword. Michael looked at her with surprise. The young man slowly nodded to her without the older man noticing and the beautiful blonde let the weapon run his way. He drew out a sword as well and dodged her strike.

Michael knew not much about swords and sword fighting; he had learnt the basics when he had been young. But watching the two younglings in front of him fight with the swords could easily assure him none of them knew a thing about having skills. In a word, they sucked.

The guy seemed a little more experienced than her, though. Even so, the girl somehow managed to (or he somehow let her) throw his sword away. She was lightly panting.

She raised her weapon in the air above his head and he whimpered a fake scream. He then ran off like a coward, leaving a confused man and a victorious girl behind.

Michael was pretty much frozen. The blonde turned around and looked at him with a grin.

''Are you alright, sir?''

''Y-yeah…'' he muttered. ''Thanks to you, I guess.''

''You don't have to thank me! Are you hurt in any way?''

''N-No, I think I'm alright, except for those punches from earlier.''

''Do you need help to reach your destination?''

''No, I already told you I'm alright!''

He immediately regretted raising his voice at her. She saddened and looked at the ground.

''Then I guess I should be leaving…'' she slowly got further, but the man hesitatingly stopped her:

''W-Wait! I didn't mean to sound like that! Thank you for rescuing me! And sorry for being ungrateful! Actually, I am grateful, but…''

She turned her head around and looked at him with puppy eyes. She was dressed in some rags and her dirty face and hands told the wealthy man about her poorness.

''…but… But nothing! Here, to show my gratitude, I will reward you!''

He pulled out three golden coins and gave them to her. She received them with teary, thankful eyes. The man couldn't regret his act of kindness; she was too much of a child you would refer to as a ''poor thing''. He immediately left ignoring her cries of thanks and getting away from her and from any other sign of trouble.

As soon as the man was out of her sight, the grinning blonde threw her fist in the air and jumped, screaming:

''HECK YEAH!''

The pinkette came out of the bushes, his hiding place, and looked at her with a wider grin.

''Three golden coins, Natsu! Three!''

''Four, Lucy. Four.''

He opened his clinched hand and revealed another coin. Her eyes were glowing with happiness, but it all suddenly vanished when a frown took over her face.

She put her pointer on his chest and hissed:

''Don't dare to think I am happy because we stole from that man. I'm only grateful we now have money to buy food for ourselves, but I'm still mad at you because you made me do this.''

Natsu approached his smirking face to hers and spoke quietly while he was admiring the redness in her cheeks get more obvious.

''I'm telling you it's not stealing. This world took us by force, so we take this world by force. We can't the world as a whole, so we take it piece by piece.''

''In other words, stealing!'' she shouted widening the gap between them and trying to calm the beatings of her heart. Natsu was getting more and more aware of the fact that she was starting to like him more than a friend. And, you're probably wondering… wait, friends? And I'm telling you yes, they no longer saw themselves as enemies. They were aware that they needed each other in this world and this fact had drawn them together. Yes, they considered themselves as friends.

Natsu smirked watching her get embarrassed and all flushed. He enjoyed making her suffer this way.

''Anyway, let's go get something to eat. I'm starving!'' she escaped.

They walked into the nearest town. Lucy was fascinated by the place and people. Some were from the Kingdom of Dragons, some from the Kingdom of Skeletons, some even form the far Kingdom of Fire. But most of them were from around the place, from the Kingdom of Frozen Roses.

Yes, they had entered the Kingdom of Frozen Roses a few days ago. And not because Lollipop had told them to. They had entered it accidentally while going straight the road.

The kingdom was wonderful. They had only seen a small side of it, but they were already in love with the view. Well, more like only Lucy did. Natsu was just smiling at the sight and saying it was 'acceptable'. The two had just entered the smallest town in the Kingdom of Frozen Roses, known as 'the smallest town in the Kingdom of Frozen Roses'.

Lucy saw a young mother with her daughter carrying a bag around the counters in the market. She was so beautiful and the little girl just as cute! She let out a small 'kyah' and bit her lower lip. Natsu was a lot more bored and he was just gazing at the delicious looking fruits, vegetables, bread and even living birds that were for sale. From what they had learned, a gold coin equaled one hundred silver coins, also one thousand copper. And the best bread was ten silver coins at most; it usually cost two silver coins. He grinned thinking about what a feast they would have that morning! Well it was almost lunch and that made him droll at the thought that they would be eating breakfast plus lunch!

He noticed Lucy's attention was drawn by something else. He saw she was talking to a young woman and probably her daughter. There were hundreds of people in that market, why did Lucy stop to especially talk to her? He approached them with boredom and began listening to their conversation. The young mother laughed joyfully.

''No, you're mistaken. The Kingdom of Dragons is in the west, like two miles away from here. Actually, some people say this town sets the border for the Kingdom of Frozen Roses. The capital is not that far away, it's just a matter of time to reach it, for the road is clear and beautiful. But cold, that is.'' She let out a giggle confusing Lucy.

''Well I'm glad, we intend to head to the capital, but… did you say cold? Why's that?''

''Oh, you didn't know? Why, you must be travelers that come from far away then. By the way, are you travelling on foot? It had caught my eye a while ago, but I wasn't sure…''

''Well we had horses, until somebody wasn't careful enough and lost them along with all the food and clothes we had.''

She gave an obvious look in Natsu's direction. The beautiful woman continued with a soft smile on her lips.

''I understand. Well, I should answer your question then. You see, the kingdom is not called 'Frozen Roses' for nothing. The capital is said to be the essence of beauty itself. The beauty of ice, that is. I've never been there myself, but I've heard the entire place is made of ice. And the only flower that can be found is the rose. The prince loves blue roses, you see? That's why he got thousands of white roses frozen up and surrounded his palace with them. They are never-dying roses! Such a beauty!''

Lucy was delighted. She could easily picture the sight and she shared the woman's dreamy aura. She could imagine the prince as a very romantic and handsome young man.

Natsu looked at the two dreaming women and got even more bored. He was hungry. He needed food. Foo~d.

That was all he could think about.

Then, the little blond and overly cute girl drew his attention. She was curiously looking at him with big, brown eyes. He looked back at her. He then smiled at her and she smiled back. He lowered his body to her level and grinned wider.

''Hi there!''

She shyly backed up behind her mother's skirt but didn't let go of his sight.

''What's your name?''

''L-Luna…''

Inside his head, he was screaming ''Cuuu~te!''.

But he couldn't imagine himself become a lollicon, so he got a grip of himself.

Lucy and the young mother were now paying attention to the two. The sight was adorable and Lucy couldn't control herself not to blush. She has never seen this caring side of Natsu around kids.

''I'm Natsu.''

Lucy hit him hardly with her elbow, still smiling.

''I-I mean I'm Ustan!''

The reverse of Natsu, Ustan, was his nickname for this world. It was too dangerous to show off their names in public. Just as well, Lucy's name was Culy, since Ycul couldn't be pronounced so easily. The two had started a fight about how Lucy's name was a lot better than Natsu's and about how that can't be helped, but they had made peace fast. Why not just adopt another random name? No idea. They had been fixed on the reverse of letters.

''Well nice to meet you, Ustan! I'm Jane and this here is Luna.'' Luna's mother said.

''And I'm Culy.'' Lucy said friendly.

They all smiled at each other except for Natsu. He just remembered about food and there was no longer a reason for him to be joyful until he ate something.

''Culy.'' He exigently said to Lucy. ''I think it's time for us to go.''

''Oh, right. Thank you for the information, Mrs. Jane.''

''Please, call me Jane. And it has been my pleasure. If you ever need anything, like a shelter or food, you are always welcomed to me and my husband's house. We live in the Red Town, which is very near to the capital. Ask for the name Jane Habbit and you will be lead to my house immediately.''

''Thank you for everything! Goodbye!''

And so, they left searching for apples and bread in a delightful mood for Lucy and a not-so-delighted mood for Natsu. They walked through the crowd, careful not to lose their few belongings, and judging the food with their hungry looks. Lucy almost immediately stopped at a counter with fresh bread whose smell had the power to make you droll that whole 60% water in your body. While she was ordering for two huge loafs of bread, she began a friendly conversation with Natsu.

''I saw you were quite fond of that little girl, Luna.''

She was smiling softly and a slight flush covered her cheeks.

''That's because I think she is just how our kid would look like.'' He grinned and she blushed a deep shade of red finding herself frozen in her place.

''Didn't you see how much she looked like you? And her name is Luna! Lu, Lucy, na, Natsu! See the connection?''

The next moment he was slapped with the bread in the face and the precious aliment was ripped in two.

''Y-YOU IDIOT!''

Lucy was as red as blood itself and little steam clouds could be spotted above her head.

''Don't go around saying stupid stuff!''

He started laughing and slapped her butt in amusement.

''Why? There's nothing stupid about an innocent child!''

She screamed at the touch of his hand and she couldn't find her words of anger and embarrassment.

''Talk about innocence!''

She then ran away from him and away from the town. She climbed a hill and sat at the shadow of a big tree, away from the killing rays of the mid-day sun. She was panting heavily, so she let her body fall on the soft grass and tried to calm down the redness in her cheeks and steady her breathing.

''That idiot, pervert, stupid….GRWAAAH!'' she burst.

Her chest filled with air and let out an annoyed groan.

''Who's the idiot?! You ripped the bread and dropped a golden coin!'' Natsu shouted from behind her. It seemed like he had been running alongside with her all that time. She screamed surprised and kicked him in the face.

''Get lost!''

She got on the other side of the tree and kept silent a while.

''Besides, I didn't drop any golden coin, they're all here.''

Natsu looked with surprise at the little yellow thing in his palm.

''Guess it's our lucky day, then.'' he muttered.

He put it in his pocket fast.

''Anyway! Why are you so embarrassed about, seriously! You're just overreacting!''

''And you're much too perverted!''

They kept silent and then sighed at once.

''Guess it's just because we're both hungry.'' Lucy said and Natsu agreed with her.

''So what've we got?'' he asked and they opened the bag in which they had placed the food.

And that was how their precious lunch had started.

It was a hot but beautiful day. They had both fallen asleep at the shade of the tree after the eating and the hours were passing fast. The buzzing of the village slowly faded away as soon as the evening was approaching. The sun sat, but neither of Lucy or Natsu woke up until the following morning.

The night had been cold and Lucy woke up in Natsu's arms. Even before she opened her eyes she could feel his hands hugging her back and the air between her and him was warm. His shirt was stinky, but he was comfortable. Just like the old days, she thought. This wasn't something unusual for her, but it still felt a little awkward. Thus, she tried to slowly back up from his warm and protective shelter without waking him up. It was funny. Somehow, she could easily imagine him being her bigger brother. Even if they were the same age. She giggled softly and then yawned.

Some birds were singing joyfully above her sleepy head despite the bad weather. Lucy looked at the cloudy sky and wondered if it was going to rain that day. She yawned again and rose up, stretching her bones. The bag they had used the previous day was well-hidden under the tree roots so that no thief would take them over the night. But even so, the money was in Natsu's pants pocket.

Lucy discreetly let her hand slip inside it and took a golden coin. She was going to do a little shopping for their breakfast.

The market was already filled with people at that early hour (judging by the sun, it was somewhere around eight a.m.). The blonde lazily looked among the goods until some certain stuff caught her eye.

After half an hour, she was happily humming while climbing up the hill. The bag was filled with a bunch of fruits, a loaf of bread, a flask of milk, a small package with cereals and . . .

A sublime blue dress covered in macramé's, ruffles, pearls and all those wonderful ways of stitching that made a girl go crazy! Those magnificent shades of blue that she loved so much could tell anybody how the dress was made for the wealthy. She had found it at the impossibly cheap price of two golden coins! Also, she had bought a comb and some accessories that matched with the dress.

She knew Natsu was going to burn in anger, but she hadn't been able to control herself! Just thinking about the dress made her eyes glow in excitement! She couldn't wait to try it on!

She held a 'kyah!' from escaping her mouth and then she got close to their 'camping' place and took out her breakfast. Natsu hadn't woken up yet, so she ate all alone fast and impatient to go and dress up. She wanted to admire the view, but the sky was grey and the clouds were threatening with rain. Nevertheless, it was still beautiful. She wondered how the weather could be like that when the previous day it had been sunny, hot and beautiful.

She took a last gulp of milk and rose up, taking the bag with the dress with her. She skipped all the way to the forest and found a good place to change.

Oh, how well the dress fit her! And the pearl bracelet was so adorable! She spun around giggling with happiness and even though she couldn't admire herself in the mirror, she somehow knew she was beautiful. Her cheeks flushed and she was so overjoyed that she didn't even give a thought about the reason for buying this dress in the first place.

I mean, she wasn't going to travel with it, was she? And there wasn't any special occasion she could attend to wearing it, right?

I thought she knew better than this.

She was humming a Christmas carol without realizing while she arranged her hair wishing she had a mirror.

This was one of those rare moments when she thought about herself being beautiful, but she has been almost always haunted by a complex. Not a specific one, but she was used to think about herself and ugly and unattractive, as people used to see her.

Never has she thought that they might see her that way only because she felt that way. But then again, it's like that thing with who came first, the chicken or the egg.

So now she was joyful to look beautiful. She wondered if Natsu was awake yet and if she could randomly go back at him to show him the dress. Maybe he would also like it and forgive her for using the money they had earned. But she felt it would be a little awkward to suddenly show herself looking like a rich lady in front of everybody. Maybe she could call Natsu over just to show him the dress and then she could change back. But could she know he was awake and how could she call him over in the first place?

She thought for a while until she eventually decided to wait. If he was awake and saw she was gone, he would most probably start looking for her. She only hoped he wouldn't get too worried.

She didn't want to sit down on the ground; she didn't want to dirty her brand new dress. So she started walking around and admiring the forest view.

Lucy was never known as a patient person.

It wasn't like she would suddenly become one.

And she would get bored really fast.

As well as she was doing right now.

…

She sighed and began thinking for a new plan.

Sting Eucliffe was starting to get bored. His missions as a pirate were something already too easy for him. He was told the Kingdom of Dragons would be filled with treasures and wealthy people walking on its lands like insects, but all he had seen were a bunch of poor peasants who were crying for food.

There was nothing left to steal.

So he had returned to the 'big ship' at the Frozen Roses' shore, where he could spend some time with some old friends that couldn't keep up with him anymore. That week he had pilled two generals from the Kingdom of Weed who were travelling on the sea towards the Kingdom of Dragons and he and his little team killed an entire crew of a foreign ship from the northern Snow Kingdom named 'Katherine'. The previous day, his team had covered the elegant black writing 'Katherine' with a white 'Sting'. This was their brand new ship and he was pleased with it.

He was the most wanted pirate in the history and he was oh-so-proud with it. And he wasn't only wanted by the armies, kings and queens. The ladies were falling for him as easily as he wanted. His looks could dry any girl's neck.

That night he had been sent in another easy mission by 'the boss' to rob a Frozen Roses vase. He had taken control over it in a couple of minutes and the 'merchandises' he got a hold of were spread through the kingdom, being sold on the black market in each village and town at extreme cheap prices. Some expensive and rare women clothing had been sent to a familiar stand in the smallest town of the Frozen Roses' market. He was bored and a little sleepy because of the lack of sleep he had had the previous night. He decided to laze around the market and see with his own eyes how the goods he was stealing were being sold.

He had met with his old friend, Goof the black hustler, and sat beside him in the back of the counter. At first, people barely approached his stand; everybody knew he was selling stolen stuff and they really didn't want to mess with the laws.

A few hours after the sunrise had passed and a pretty blond lady's look had been drawn by their counter. Sting had been surprised and so had been Goof. The shop assistant had begun telling the lady about the advantages of buying a dress and the young woman had been easily tricked. She had bought it fast and happily.

The girl had disappeared in the crowd leaving behind two confused and hungry wolves. They had seen how easily the girl had pulled out the two precious coins.

That could only mean she had a lot of those.

And the rags she dressed could only mean that she wanted to give the impression of 'poor' when she must've actually been rich.

Goof looked at Sting for a long time. Sting looked back at him.

A big grin slowly bloomed on his beautiful lips.

He got the message. She's rich.

Rob her.

Lucy had eventually decided to head back to Natsu. She was more embarrassed of waiting for him in the woods than walking in a beautiful dress among people.

She packed her old clothes neatly and began walking through the forest back. She was going to wheel a little through the woods in order to avoid the civilization. Hope she didn't get lost.

It was pretty quiet if we exclude the noise of the dry leaves being crushed under her steps. She started listening to them until she noticed something weird. There seemed to be one more pair of steps aside hers. She turned her head around fast without stopping from her walk.

There was nothing.

She continued walking thinking it was probably the wind. She forest was a little dark. The clouds were shadowing everything making it look like it was evening and the trees were darkening the view even more. But it was alright, she was going to reach the separate tree on the hill any second now and she wasn't going to be scared anymore. Wait, scared? She was scared? Well, she had to admit her heart was beating a little faster and she was listening a little more cautiously now, but was she, indeed, scared?

She suddenly stopped walking and turned around. She wanted to make sure nothing was following her. She searched through the trees with her eyes until she was positive there was nothing. Nothing she could see, anyway.

She gave a last search just in case and nodded to herself. It must've been her imagination. She slowly turned her head back around, when-

She flinched and kept from letting out a scream. Inches apart from her face, a white haired young man grinned devilishly. She stepped back. Her heart was running and her eyes were wide opened. The man grinned wider.

''Hi there, princess. How about you and I make a little trip together?''

Change of plan. Steal her. She might be as valuable as a whole Kingdom.

He caught her wrist when she had the intention to run away. He studied her fast with a critical eye. He grinned even wider. She was beautiful and delicious.

Lucy opened her mouth to scream for help when he stopped her fast. His mouth hit against hers and he took delight in her lips somehow with amusement.

He punched her in the stomach extremely hard, having her relaxed in his arms. She had fainted. He parted his mouth from hers and ran the back of his hand over his mouth, wiping the little spat he had from his kiss.

He rose her in a princess carry and ran as fast as the wind through the forest and towards his ship. He grinned to himself.

For the first time in ages, he felt like he had got a hold of something precious for real.

Natsu opened his eyes slowly. He rose in his butt and yawned. He stretched his arms and looked around. It was a cloudy day.

He frowned, feeling a little weird. Something was off.

He looked beside him and saw the breakfast neatly prepared probably for him.

But it was somehow too quiet.

He looked around once again.

.

.

.

''Lucy?'' he whispered.

There you have it! Cliffhanger? No? Okay…

Lucy's been kidnapped! What will Natsu do? Don't miss the next chapter to find out!

And also don't forget to review!

Bye-bye!