~Act 2~

~Of old castles and mysterious inhabitants~

Part 1

Look at me Father, I'm a knight!

Lucy dear, ladies like you can't be knights.

Why not?

Because this is not proper. Ladies like you wear dresses like your mother; they marry Lords, raise their children, and organize balls.

But… That's so boriiiing…

…

'Blondie… Wake up…'

…

Of course fairies exist! They're evil creatures that murmur insane things in your ears while you sleep to give you nightmares! How could you not believe it Lucy?!

I believe what I see, Lydia.

...believe what I see…

...what I see...

That's a big bat…

Did you know what you just saved, Lady Idiot?!

…

'Weirdo… Wake up!'

…

Did you know Lady Lucy is almost twenty-two and still not married? She's such an old maid…and she doesn't believe in monsters…and doesn't like balls and gossips. Who would marry such a boring person…

Yes, I decided to stop talking to her… Shush she's coming!

Such dark eyes… Calling to her…

Are y'all insane?!

…

"...WAKE UP OR I'LL BITE YOU!"

Reality seemed to snap back into place as Lucy stirred, her senses cloudy while her visions from slumber faded away. Her whole body felt heavy and somewhat weak; it was hard to move, and yet still she insisted on adjusting herself to properly wake up.

"Ugh…it hurts…" Lucy mumbled during her attempt to move. She hissed as a sharp pain coursed through her side, and next thing she knew, she was flat on her back again, forced to face the dull-colored ceiling overhead. With a groan her eyes slipped shut once again, her entire being going limp.

Why was she hurt in the first place? Her head felt dizzy; she slightly opened her eyes again, grateful that the room wasn't too bright. She didn't have time to wonder what was happening to her, as she caught sight of an enormous shadow getting closer to her face without any warning.

"You have to stay down!" Happy exclaimed, flying over to nuzzle his head into her shoulder. "If you move too much right now, you'll open your wounds again! At least wait a few hours…"

"I…what?" Lucy stammered, grabbing her forehead and turning in the direction of the rather loud and high-pitched sound.

When she found a large blue bat grinning innocently back at her, she nearly tumbled off the couch again. Lucy scrambled as far away from the creature as she could get, biting back a scream. It was one thing to be caught off guard, but by a flying rat with wings...?!

Happy huffed at her less than pleasant reaction, resorting to puffing his tiny chest out.

"Hi!" He chirped as he unfolded his wings and spread them widely, as if he was presenting himself for an audience.

Panic overtook the delusional girl. One word from the bat was more than enough to send Lucy into wild hysterics, completely losing her composure and flailing her arms around in terror.

"...Kyaaaa!"

In the midst of her deliria, Lucy slapped the startled animal, knocking him to the floor. He then rubbed his head with the claw of his left wing as the tantalized woman's jaw fell open in astonishment, her voice robbed of any intelligent words. Every inch of her shook as her brain tried to process what just talked to her.

"What in the world are you?! You can't…you can't possibly be a bat!" She screamed when her voice came back to her. "You're big…you're blue…YOU'RE TALKING!"

"Of course I'm not a bat- I'm a Happybat!" the flying animal declared as a matter of fact, grinning cheekily. "And rude much, but I suppose I can let you call me Happy for short…"

"Well sorry I'm not used to waking up to flying creatures in my face!" Lucy shot back instinctively before reality washed over her once again. She was arguing with a blue bat in a…in a…

She glanced around- where the heck was she?

"Wh-where am I?" she suddenly stammered with fear, pulling the blanket she was wrapped with up over her shoulders. Happy fluttered in front of her, watching curiously as Lucy tried to make sense of her surroundings.

It looked like a castle, with its regal dressings, huge spacious rooms, and walls made of brick, but it was just so dark…not even any candles were lit to provide some illumination. The only source of daylight was coming from the large window behind her.

As she continued to glance around with shaky breaths, something caught her eye in her peripheral vision. Whatever it was glowed from the depths of the perpetual darkness of the room. She could see two glimmering pinpricks from the shadows, like predator's eyes, hiding before it pounced on its prey...

Lucy stopped breathing; the glow began to move, advancing towards her and narrowing the space between them. The trembling woman couldn't force her body to move nor her voice to scream.

"...you were gonna die."

The dark figure finally came into the limited daylight, taking care not to approach her too quickly.

"But you helped me out, so I just returned the favor."

He stopped in a place where she could observe his traits, close to the couch, but deliberately not too close. Lucy's fuzzy memories started to clear, and as she eyed his pink hair and dusty cloak, it suddenly clicked that he was the savior from earlier.

Her jaw dropped as all the recent events came back in her mind; the village, Capricorn, her savior being chased; her carelessly jumping in the way of that attack…Oh, Capricorn…

Tears gathered in her eyes, and the emotional girl grabbed her heart, causing Happy to look at her with concern.

"Augh!" Lucy shrieked as the tears flooded down her cheeks. "Oh no, I can't...what am I going to do...I shouldn't...I mustn't...I...what will I…"

Seeing her suddenly crying tugged at Natsu's heartstrings, but he remained silent. His grim gaze didn't show any compassion to the despairing young woman, as he tried hard to lock his feelings and desires in his heart.

Lucy bent down during her internal crisis, and whimpered when her wound hurt her as a result.

"I healed you. But you really should be careful with it."

She looked up at him with some confusion, then pulled the blanket from down around her and reached down to caress the bandage wrapped around her abdomen. Natsu winced slightly when he saw her porcelain skin through the torn dress, but shook it off.

The staring man eventually stopped studying her; he sighed and rolled himself up in his cape.

"So, yeah, thanks for helping me out," he added quickly with a cough. "...but as soon as you can walk again you need to leave."

The man's words echoed in Lucy's head, but she couldn't decipher the meaning, as she was lost in her despair and exhaustion.

"This is not happening… This is a dream… A nightmare… I'm going to wake up..."

She felt feverish and couldn't help shaking. Suddenly strong arms grabbed her shoulders and pushed her delicately back down on the couch. Lacking the strength to resist, Lucy did her best to get comfortable again, her eyes fluttering shut.

Natsu frowned and walked away from her as fast as he could, not wanting to be near her longer than he needed to. As he strolled away, he bypassed Happy and gave him a slightly bothered look.

"You shouldn't have awoken her Happy, she still needs to sleep."

"Oh… Sorry…" The bat answered guiltily, glancing back at the injured girl. "But she was having a nightmare…"

Natsu inhaled sharply at that; he knew precisely why Happy disliked watching people have nightmares, and he could understand why he acted.

"That's okay," Natsu assured quietly, still eager to leave. "Come on now, let her rest."

"I'll let her rest, I promise! I just don't wanna leave her alone…" Happybat explained. "I swear I won't wake her up again, even though she was being a meanie…"

Natsu appeared satisfied by this and nodded, vanishing from the dark room while his exhausted guest again entered a dream world where bats could talk among other fanatical things...

"I just had to play the hero…" Natsu grumbled to himself, leaning over the second story balcony and observing his slumbering unwanted guest. It hadn't been very long since he made her fall back asleep, and yet to him, he had been standing there for hours. "…as if I could ever be seen as anything other than a creep."

He pouted slightly as his thoughts traveled back to his time spent in the village. The little free town was a rather boring place if he was honest, but just the same, people buzzed about busy with their lives, and it broke up Natsu's monotonous routine. He had his own secluded spot picked out among the rooftops, allowing him a great vantage point.

And as long as he didn't move, no one ever saw him.

…but then again, he had moved for her.

That fancily-dressed lady was the first interesting sight Natsu got to lay eyes on in a while. From the sight of her carriage, he was certain some snobbish noble resided inside, but after getting that first glimpse of her face, she immediately had his attention.

She didn't carry that air of stuffiness so many others of her kind possessed. Her wide brown eyes gazed out the window with a sense of longing, which was something he himself could relate to, yet such an expression was foreign on any other member of her class…

She didn't even appear the least bit hostile, waving kindly at those she passed and wearing a smile that somehow got his heart to race. Luscious lips were pulled into a gracious grin that he just couldn't keep his eyes off of…

She was definitely something else at first sight. Something new and refreshing; something he wanted to catch and keep all for himself.

But then, the villagers lashed out at her with an unfounded rage; she hadn't even done anything wrong…and they attacked her.

Really, it was his disgust at the villagers' actions that spurred him to move in the first place, because how could so many people be collectively cruel?! He failed at keeping his temper in check, but thankfully he did well in not lashing out… All that blood, from the lady's servant...then his own…even some hunters were bleeding, but not because of him… This could have ended badly. He was the monster they made him out to be…

"And yet still she came back to save me," Natsu sighed, his gaze never moving from the sleeping blonde. "Happy's right…such a weird girl…"

That girl had the chance to escape, and yet she didn't take it, instead nearly getting herself killed for his sake! Such a foolish move, but still he felt grateful to her, because someone had cared just enough to even bother to do that for him. Her voice had been strong with conviction and unwavering resolve, and he'd just been so mesmerized that it stunned him for a moment. No one had ever gotten a reaction like that out of him before.

"Not to mention that smell of hers!" Natsu complained in a nasally whine, flushing as he instinctively pulled his scarf over his face once more. It had been quite some time since he had been so close to anyone, but never had any given off an aroma like she did.

For centuries he had learned to get used to the attractive smell of humans, allowing him to walk among them without fear of losing control…as long as no blood was involved of course. But her smell seemed to invite him to come closer, to lose the control he struggled so hard to gain…

Even from the rooftop back in the village, this bewitching scent assailed his nose, and he could see the pulse on her immaculate neck… How would it feel to sink his teeth in that tender flesh, to feel the hot fluid pour into his mouth… How would it feel to caress the beautiful skin of her stomach he had gotten a sneak peak of earlier...

"Waaaake up Natsu!" He forcefully hit his head against the edge of the balcony on purpose, yelling at himself to get a grip.

He inhaled deeply to calm his raging instincts, but the strong amount of feminine flavor that came from the room didn't help to extinguish his inner desire. He couldn't believe he had had the strength to make it through healing her wounds- without Happy, he certainly would have crossed the line of sanity and caved to his craving.

…Ugh, now that he thought about it, his favorite place to sit was going to utterly reek of her intoxicating scent for ages now. Wonderful.

"Baaaaah…"

Natsu began to leave his perch, taking a few moments to glance over his shoulder and steal another look at the beauty of a woman napping on his couch. She remained unthreatening even while she slept, the features on her face having softened considerably and making her look almost…vulnerable…like he could swoop down there in a single bound and pounce-!

"Nuh-uh, nope," Natsu immediately denied himself, sweeping his cape out behind him as he officially took his leave. He'd seen enough, and lingering any longer would have his mind dancing with sinful thoughts again. "Tch…if she knows what's good for her, she'll just get out of here…and quickly."

He vanished back into his room, hoping that when he came out again, that girl would have the sense to make it so that he'd never see her again.

Lucy cracked her eyes open once again, blinking several times as her recent memories returned to her mind. This was the second time she woke up, and she felt much more refreshed than before, ready to confront her new situation. She shifted under the blanket, finding that she wasn't nearly as sore as before, and that both bat and strange man were nowhere in sight.

"Huh," she mused, rubbing at her eyes. "Perhaps all of that was nothing more than just a dream…"

That was the only plausible explanation. She had been hallucinating because of her trauma.

"Pffft, a giant talking bat… I read too much." She face-palmed, a weak smile blooming on her face for the first time since her disastrous encounter with the villagers.

"Mother would love to gossip about this new monster." The girl yawned then froze all of a sudden.

A snore emerged in the silent room and echoed on the walls, but Lucy could hear the source was extremely close to her…

She frantically turned her head to the left and right, but nothing was on the floor, nor on the couch with her. Another louder snore reverberated through the room, right behind her head lying on the pillow.

Lucy bent her head backwards, causing her spine to arch painfully, and saw it. The bat. Snoring on a table beside the couch. The prudent young woman spun herself around silently, trying her best not to awake the incredulous creature. She used her forearms to raise herself just at the level of the animal.

It was a blue and enormous bat; she certainly didn't dream that part…

'Since when can bats snore?!' was her first startled thought. The bat turned in its sleep and scratched its belly. That was even weirder. It really reminded her of the mystical creatures all her friends, family and servants always talked about…

"No." She couldn't help but whisper, a frown on her face. "Those sort of things don't exist. There must be a logical explanation."

"Oh hey! You're awake!"

"Kyaaaa!" Lucy jumped from her spot and crawled to the other side of the couch, eyes widened and jaw dropped.

"Do you always scream like that when people talk to you?" The thing flew off the small table and landed on the girl's lap.

"People?! You're definitely not people!"

"I thought you'd be less rude after you rested…" The bat pouted.

"I can't believe it…" Lucy, forgetting about her first instinctive fear, gawked at the talking animal with inquisitive eyes.

She very slowly reached out a hand to touch the amazing creature her mind still couldn't accept the existence…

"Oh you want to pet me? Ok!" The bat grinned joyfully and almost hit the approaching hand with his head, eager to feel the caress of the weird lady.

Lucy jolted but didn't pull her hand away. She cocked her head to the side in bewilderment, as she saw the cute bat snuggling in her hand and…purring.

"Are you…some sort of cat?!" She asked, still searching for a plausible explanation.

"No I told you! I'm a Happybat!"

"I still don't get what that means…" Lucy sighed.

"Well I don't know how to be clearer than that!" Happy answered, puzzled. "What's your name anyway, strange lady?"

Lucy blinked before sitting up a little straighter, a small smile creasing her cheeks. "My name's Lady Lucy Coralie Astrid...unfortunate heiress to the House of Heartfilia…"

"Wow that's a mouthful!" Happy gasped as his eyes bugged out. "I'mma just call you Lucy for short~"

"That's just as fine," Lucy laughed gently in spite of herself, inwardly gasping at the sound. It had been awhile since she'd had a reason to laugh at all, and doing so again...it felt nice. And Happy wasn't half-bad either...

"...so do you...live here, Happy?"

"Aye sir!" the bat declared proudly. "I lived here my whole life, ever since I was a little Happybat!"

"You don't say," Lucy mused with palpable interest, now taking a more attentive look around the castle now that she wasn't bogged down with drowsiness and exhaustion.

Perhaps, upon second inspection, if the atmosphere hadn't been so bleak and foreboding, the place could have been considered homey. Ancient-looking pictures hung from the walls, though the colors of what they were supposed to depict had faded with time. The furniture was arranged in a neat way, as though it was meant for company, but random piles of clutter dotted the floor and took away any possible appeal. Lucy crinkled her nose at that- not even she was immune to the repulsiveness of a mess.

"I seriously doubt anyone could live here," she remarked, ignoring Happy's presence for the moment. "It's so empty...and almost lonely…"

"Well, it might not look like much, but it is home," Happy defended without missing a beat. "And I guess it's pretty empty, but no way is it lonely, cuz for a really long time it's been me and- oh HI Natsu!"

Lucy jolted at Happy's abrupt outburst, the bat now looking somewhere up above her and eagerly waving a wing.

"Natsu?" she whispered, testing the name on her tongue as she followed Happy's stare. At first she didn't see anything, because it was so dark, but a shadow shifted as she pronounced the name… The moment she locked eyes with the man peering down at her from above, she saw more than ever before.

His pink hair was blazing in the firelight, pointing in every direction around his angular and perfect face. Straight nose, a large forehead, flawless tan skin, and such deep sparkling eyes... Lucy felt like she could sink in their darkness. This exceptional face was mesmerizing in a supernatural way… If he wasn't several feet above her, she would have tried to touch it, like the moth obsessed with the flame… Only the fear of being burned would retain her hand.

He was still wearing his dusty cloak, but it wasn't hiding his imposing and strong physique, and Lucy could easily imagine the well sculpted body he might possess… If only he could remove it… She just wanted to see…

Lucy blushed at this inappropriate thought… What was wrong with her, all of a sudden? She never thought of a man like this before, and yet she had met very handsome specimen of the opposite gender.

Upon noticing her checking him out, Natsu couldn't resist shooting a prideful smirk her way. The sudden twitch of his lips pulled Lucy out of her awestruck trance. She hastily turned away and scolded herself for getting so absorbed by his charms. Savior or not, she still had no idea what this guy was like…

"Natsu, how come you keep slinking around up there?!" Happy shouted obnoxiously. "You should come down here and talk to Luuuucy! She's weird but kinda funny!"

"Why? There's no reason to get to know her," Natsu retorted in a strained tone. Lucy actually felt a small stab of offense at that. "She'll be leaving soon enough…"

"But I like Lucy!" Happy insisted with wide eyes. "Can we keep her?! Please?!"

"What? No! We're not keeping anyone!"

"I'll feed her, I promise! And I'll take her for walks and keep her groomed-!"

"I'm right here you know- stop talking about me like I'm a pet!" Lucy interjected. They were acting like she wasn't even there! She threw skeptical look at Natsu, frowning at him. "You were so quick to come to my rescue and now you're trying to kick me out to the streets."

"Kick you out to the- what gives?! You're a noble, ain't ya?!" Natsu hissed, clutching the railing of the balcony and narrowing his eyes. "If by 'the streets' you mean that fancy-pants mansion you probably have filled with all those servants catering to ya, then so sorry for my lack of tact!"

"Don't act like you know anything about my life," Lucy shot back with a narrowed expression. Natsu tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.

"Then tell me I'm wrong. Tell me there ain't nobody waiting for you back at your place."

Lucy started to answer, but she stopped herself, cringing. Sure, her parents still weren't back yet, but had they been, they'd be ready to scold her for her detour and supply who knew how many extra study sessions as a punishment. Not all of her servants were bad either, but they had an obligation to report everything to her parents…

So one way or another, the moment Lucy returned home, she would be shackled with the burdens of empty responsibilities…and treated as nothing more than an item rather than a human being.

Her stomach churned just at the idea of having to go back to that, especially after this little taste of freedom… Her savior wasn't being the most pleasant person ever right now, but he'd given her more selfless care and attention than she certainly would have gotten back at home…

"Thought so," Natsu grunted when Lucy fell into the silence of her thoughts, running his fingers through his hair. "Dunno why you're so adamant on staying anyway…"

Lucy glumly brought her eyes back up to Natsu, still not sure of what she wanted to do. He frowned at her a final time before making a move to leave, deeming the conversation over.

"Hey, I'm not done talking to you…"

"Yes, you are," Natsu finalized, whirling around and all set to march off once again. Lucy puffed out her cheeks in annoyance- how dare someone so blatantly brush her off!

"No, you are not!"

In a huff, Lucy sprang from the couch, gently clutching her side as she rose to her feet. There was a slight delay to her movements as she walked, but she was stubborn, managing to get all the way to the stairs in an attempt to catch Natsu.

Yet as soon as she lifted a leg to climb the first step, Lucy immediately realized that was not a good idea and backed off. She panted through the pain, glaring at the staircase that was keeping her from confronting that mysterious man…

"Oh, you wanna see Natsu? Why didn't you just say so?!" Happy exclaimed cheerfully. Before Lucy could even explain herself, the bat had glided over and latched onto her dress, lifting her off the ground and carrying her up over the staircase. Lucy screeched as she suddenly felt weightless, quickly clutching her dress.

"Aiiii, how are you even doing this?!" Lucy demanded. Last time she checked, bats certainly weren't able to haul people off whenever they wanted!

"Well your weight isn't it making it easy," Happy pointed out with a grunt. "How come your clothes are made of lead?!"

"They are not! It's a triple-layer of fleece sown under two layers of satin and silk and lace for-"

"Oh well if it's not the dress, then your body must be what's heavy!"

"Are you calling me fat?!"

"Well you're not a twig…"

Lucy groaned exasperatedly, having a feeling that she wasn't going to be able to win this argument. Once they reached the top of the stairs, Happy dropped her with an overdramatic gasp, causing her to make a face at him. Happy shrugged as best he could in response.

"So where'd your master go anyway?" Lucy inquired, looking in the direction Natsu had wandered off in. Happy blinked in confusion, then rapidly shook his head.

"Huh? Natsu's not my master, silly! He's my best friend!"

Lucy froze and stared at the bat incredulously. "You mean to tell me...that guy...thinks of a flying animal as his best friend?!"

"Well, yeah! He did raise me from an egg and-"

"...what?! That's insane! BATS DON'T COME FROM EGGS!"

"BUT I'M A HAPPYBAT!"

"Ugh, is that your excuse for everything?" Lucy grumbled disdainfully afterwards, dropping the subject as she cast her gaze at the floor. She was finding it really hard to believe that this so-called 'Natsu' was anything friendly. He might've helped her out, but his attitude was something less than pleasant… that alone was enough to make her rethink everything.

Happy seemed to sense her discomfort, as he chose right then to hover in front of her and stare innocently into her eyes.

"Natsu really is a good person...you just gotta get to know him!" he defended with a smile, trying to cheer Lucy up. "Now c'mon- I probably have an idea of where he went…"

Lucy had no reason to argue, so she nodded quietly and let Happy lead the way. For now, it seemed like the bat was the only one on her side, which would be just fine and dandy if she wasn't still trying to accept that fact that something like him existed…!

But still, her mind was far more full of questions concerning Natsu, and she refused to make another move until she knew more about his motives.

Something was definitely off about him, his castle, and his Happybat...and hopefully soon she could finally get some answers.

A/N:

Doublepasse: Hey Child! How would you sum up this chapter? ;)

CaHF: ...Long story short, Natsu's hot. :P

Doublepasse: Totally approve... Such a hot and sweet cinnamon roll... I'd gladly take a bite!

CaHF: He's being more of a sinnamon roll right now if you ask me. B)

Doublepasse: Perfect for a sinful squirrel hehehe... I wonder how Lucy will handle such hotness...

CaHF: Guess we'll have to find out next time, though she's certainly playing with fire~

Doublepasse: THIS GIRL IS ON FIIIIRRREEEEE- Ok I'm out. See ya guys!