Chapter Two: Dragon's Treasure

Lucy stared up in terror, unable to respond to the shadowing beast. Her muscles locked up and she couldn't find the power to even scream. Her breath froze, unable to conjure up any emotion beside fear.

The towering figure however, fell backwards, snorting puffs of smoke through its nostrils while exhaling choked laughter. The dragon flopped on its back, releasing garbled howls through the chortling.

"So funny!" it howled. "The way you just fell into the water! Hilarious!"

By then, Lucy had found her bearings and had a well set mind to actually comprehend the dragon's figure. As he- or what Lucy presumed was a he, ceased his hysteria and began looking down at the princess, Lucy could easily tell that the "oh so terrifying" dragon was only a few heads taller than herself. His scales were that of a brilliant scarlet, the edge of each scale tipped with a bright fuchsia. A pair of deep onyx optics bored into her brown, his tail thrashing to the side like a playful puppy. The set of wings on his back shuffled, equally excited and full of energy. The only thing out of place was a black and white checkered scarf that wrapped loosely around his neck. Lucy thought it odd but remained quiet about it.

"You're a dragon," Lucy finally choked out, staring up into the dark abyss which quickly displayed amusement.

"Duh," he snorted, eyes rolling. "Weirdo. What- have you never seen a dragon before?"

Lucy slowly shook her head, furthering the dragon's excitement and amused sense. The scarlet scaled dragon then shrugged, as if losing interest. He suddenly regained it with; "So what's your name? And what brings you into dragon territory?"

"Dragon?" Lucy found her normal voice, sizing up the beast. Raising an eyebrow she scoffed, "More like overgrown lizard."

The "overgrown lizard" twitched, obviously fuming at the name. "I. Am. A. Dragon." he spat evenly, staring into Lucy's eyes with inky black pools. Lucy couldn't resist laughing as he furiously tried to defend himself. When the dragon gaze her a weird look she smiled, "Sorry, I'm Lucy. Princess Lucy Heartfilia."

"And I am Natsu the fire dragon," the red scaled lizard replied with a proud puff of his chest. He then paused and stared her down, tilting his head. "Did you say princess?"

Lucy nodded, unsure.

The recently named Natsu gave a dragon grin with fangs protruding from his jaw, laughing inwardly before snagging ivories into her dress scruff. "Then you and I will get along perfectly." He said through the cloth. Even though Natsu seemed to be a few heads taller, he still had enough height to keep her legs from touching the earth as she struggled in his grip.

"Let me go, you overgrown lizard!" she spat, wiggling in a futile attempt to break free. Natsu only replied with rumbling laughter. "Feisty, aren't we?" he teased, crossing the faintly sloping earth. "Stop struggling and you can ride on my back."

Lucy debated this in her head, being carried around like this wasn't exactly pleasant. She allowed herself to fall limp, gently swinging with the back of her dress firmly clamped between the dragon's teeth. A second later, the red scaled lizard swung her swiftly to the side and let go. She nearly screamed but was caught safely on his back, between the wing joint and neck. The dragon was trotting at a leisurely pace, the soft slope of the grassy mound slowly flattening out to reveal a large plot of untouched grass. Taking in the view through marveled brown eyes, Lucy was absently stroking Natsu's scarlet scales, subconsciously finding them extremely soft rather than hard and tough.

"Hey, overgrown lizard," Lucy spoke, her hand continuously running down the scales on his neck. "Where are we going?"

"Just a little place I like to call home," Natsu replied, his pace quickening against the grass, claws tearing up scattered patches. His wings slowly unfurled, giving Lucy a sickening feeling lodged in her stomach. He wasn't going to...was he?

With a roar and a squeak, Natsu's wings flared open to their full extent, taking a graceful bound from the earth before finding feet no longer touching solid ground. Lucy clung tightly to the dragon's neck, her eyes glued shut as she screamed. Her stomach churned as Natsu took her disdainful feelings further, maneuvering several loops in the air. Still shrieking her discomfort, Lucy continued clinging tightly to Natsu, unaware they had abruptly stopped moving and were now perched on a protruding ledge of rock.

"You can stop screaming now," came Natsu's slightly irritated voice. As Lucy ceased, he muttered, "Weirdo."

The princess took in her surroundings. Obviously they were on ground, elevated ground technically speaking. As Natsu allowed her to slide off, she was met with a hollow tunnel leading into the cliff- presumably his lair. She walked ahead a few steps, not knowing whether to be comforted or scared as Natsu padded beside her. He was currently snorting harmless sparks from his nostrils, the faint light brightening the cavern as the duo trekked further.

"This your lair?" she asked cautiously, peering around in the darkness as best she could. She heard Natsu snort.

"If you want to be dramatic then yes; although I prefer the simple term of 'home'."

Lucy fell quiet again, the tunnel branching off into a larger chamber where in which it was a cluttered mess. Wooden scraps lay about the corners; most likely some form of structure at one point, tattered cloth hung from the walls and lay on the floor, and the whole place smelled faintly like fish. "This is your home?"

"Yup!" Natsu answered cheerfully, leaving Lucy's side and plopping on a clump of wood and possibly a mattress meaning at one point it was a bed. The "bed" sagged in the middle as the dragon flopped on his side, painfully creaking as if would splinter and any moment.

Lucy's brown optics floated about the cavern, tensing up immediately as something landed on her head. Natsu could sense her discomfort and laughed, tail tip twitching. Lucy nearly screamed, catching herself as she stared into the eyes of a bright blue furred cat. The cat tilted its head with a small mew before sliding down onto her shoulder. Lucy's anxiety faded and was replaced with warmth as she laughed, stroking the oddly colored cat between the ears. As she looked further though, she noticed the cat had a set of white feathered wings.

"Hey lizard," Lucy called over uncertainly. "You know this cat has wings, right?"

"Course I do!" retorted Natsu. "And his name is Happy by the way. He gives me company."

"You mean you're all alone up here?" Lucy questioned, stroking Happy under his chin as she stared at the red scaled dragon. She felt rather guilty when she received a nod in response, the dragon's onyx eyes becoming very familiar with the stone floor. She walked over slowly, settling herself on the clump of wood frames and pillows before gently running a hand down along one of his wings, at peace with the warmth radiating from his body.

"That why you kidnapped me?" she asked, looking at Natsu's inky optics for a response. He looked at her incredulously.

"I didn't kidnap you!" he shouted in defense but then gave a half nod of reluctance. "Living here forever with no sense of company other than a cat can really make you lonely. I guess it really didn't matter if you were a princess or not I just needed someone to talk to that would answer back. If you really wanted, I could take you back to wherever you came from. And I'd never return to 'kidnap' you."

Lucy felt really guilty now. "I'll stay," she answered with a small smile. "Besides, I don't want to return anyways. My father would insist I go stay with that stuck up prince in the Ice- damn it!"

The dragon gave her a look through narrowed eyes. "Princesses shouldn't swear. But what has you all riled up?"

"I was supposed to be in the Ice Kingdom by this evening. Once they find out I'm missing they'll stop at nothing to return me home!" Lucy hissed, throwing her hands up in defeat, causing Happy to flee from her shoulder. "I'll be forced back home and into this stupid marriage!" She slumped over once releasing the anger, now turning into sadness as she began sniffling.

Warmth wrapped around her as she found a wing held around her frame, Natsu staring her down with anger and determination. "Princess," he began sternly. "I won't let anyone force you into something you don't want. If that means fighting, then I will fight on your side for your beliefs and needs. I don't want to see you unhappy."

Lucy looked up with tears in her eyes, forcing Natsu to recoil as he suddenly sputtered, "Ah! What did I do? What did I do? Don't cry! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

The blonde shook her head, now smiling with water streaming down her cheeks. "You haven't done anything but make me happy. I'm feeling nothing but joy to know that you're looking out for someone as insignificant as me."

"But you're crying," Natsu pointed out, staring at her with uncertainty.

"Tears can also mean joy, Natsu," Lucy answered, finally using the dragon's real name instead of "overgrown lizard". Water continuously running down her cheeks, she leaned against the dragon's side, feeling protected as his wing wrapped around her and pulled her close. His head rested atop her messy patch of blonde, eyes closing while releasing a content rumbling sound. Lucy would have described it as purring. Happy somehow wriggled under the dragon's wing and placed himself on Lucy's lap. His wings folded neatly at his sides as the feline dropped into sleep.

"A dragon protects his treasure," murmured Natsu, already half asleep with his eyes closed. As if to emphasize his point, his tail wrapped protectively around Lucy; his newly captured treasure.

Shorter than my last chapter and less thrilling but rest assured, there will be more action next chapter. Remember to read & review! I like hearing your comments!

-Snarky