A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you for all the lovely reviews. I'm really happy that you find this story cute and am loving it. So here's my next update. I know my other story is left with the last chapter but I'm currently drafting it so you can read this story while I try to upload the last chapter as fast as I can^^

The Princess and the Dragon Slayer

Chapter 3

I walked through the castle in search for Lucy. I have to repeat again that it is damn huge because I couldn't remember where I have walked for the past few minutes. When I turned to a certain corner, it was a dead end then when I turned into another corner; it was a long walkway which it was the same on every other floor. I wouldn't be shocked if I got lost! Okay, actually I think I'm already lost.

That idiotic dude, he should have given me some clues on where she will be before asking me if I was going to follow her or not. I was on the verge of giving up when until I heard a beautiful humming. I stopped so I could figure out on where it was coming from. It looks like it was coming from outside so I decided to walk towards the window. The moonlight was shining in on every window that trails along the corridor castle. I looked down and saw Lucy.

She was sitting on one of the benches that lay in her garden. I remembered earlier she was showing it to me when we walked past it to enter the castle. She was telling me that here was the back entrance of her house. Now I wondered why Lucy didn't enter from the front of her castle. I brushed the question off and ran along the corridor to head below.

When I reached the garden, she stopped humming and instead she had her right elbow plopped on the side of the bench as she lay majestically on the wooden chair sideways. I think she felt my presence because she turned around and looked at me.

"Oh Natsu what are you doing here?" She quickly sit back right up. I walked towards her so that I was standing in front of her. "How's your ankle doing?"

"I was looking for you and yes, it's fine now."

"That's great!" She clasped her hands together in front of her. "Sorry about earlier, I was just being crazy and maybe emotional." She looked down when she continued.

"You want to talk about it?" I took a seat beside her as she brought her knees up and hugged it against her chest.

"I hate being a princess. Only when father is not around, I can be normal and I thought my friends knew that."

"Where's your father now?"

"He's off to catch dragon slayers." Oh shit, I felt the world stopped for a moment. "Which it's good because he won't be around for a while..." Phew, thank God.

"Well Lucy, I think your friends didn't mean to treat you like a princess." I started as I placed my hands on my thighs. "I think they are just used to it and also because they really love you that's why they treat you as a princess from their heart and not because of your status."

Lucy brought her legs down and looked at me. "Really?"

"Yup. Just from the conversation you were all having from the dining table, I could see. Furthermore you didn't call them your helpers or servants. You called them your friends." I finished and decided to look at her. Lord heavens, she was so pretty. The moonlight shining on her face was adding to her beauty. I think I ended staring at her because a sudden hand was waving in front of my face.

"Hello, earth to Natsu? You there?"

"Oh yeah, yeah I'm here. Sorry got carried away looking…" Oh shit, I shouldn't have said looking.

"Looking at what?" Why did the curiousity have to get better of Lucy?

I looked around and decided to use the flowers to help with my answer since it was behind her. "The flowers." I pointed to them and she turned around. "They're beautiful."

"Yeah… because Aries really takes good care of this garden and I'm happy she did because my mom was usually the one to do it when she was alive." Lucy spoke as she stared into the garden.

"Sorry." Was all I could say.

"No don't worry Natsu!" She turned back to look at me. "She passed away when I was really young anyways." Lucy stood up once she was done talking. "Anyways I'm beat what about you?" She said as she stretched her arms and yawned.

I looked at her with one of my eyebrows raised. She looked back at me as if I was dense.

"It's night so let's turn in for today?" She used her right hand to exaggerate her words as she explained to me.

"Oh it's alright." I stood up as well. "I will leave the castle. Thank you Lucy for the hospitality and everything but I think I should really get going."

"Go where?"

"Somewhere."

"Oh come on. You obviously don't have anywhere to go so why not just stay here? Heck you can live here with you want."

"I don't like to take advantage of people's kindness." I looked back at Lucy and she had her arms folded across her chest as she pout at me. She better stop doing that. It is just making her even more cute.

"Then why not work here?"

"Work here?"

"Ya! Capricorn or Loki needs an extra hand too!" I put a hand underneath my chin to think. If I stay here, it'll be very risky since her father wants me dead but he won't suspect that a dragon slayer would be working in his castle right?

"You get to live here for free if you work here." Lucy added.

I looked at her and she was giving me her puppy dog eyes. Argh, why is she so darn cute? I had no choice but to cave in and agree as I nodded my head.

"Yeah!" She actually jumped like she was celebrating. "Oops, sorry." She giggled. "So that's settled, let's head back in, call it for a night and discuss this more tomorrow." She moved behind me to push me again like how she made me go for dinner earlier today. We started to walk back to the castle while she started yapping random stuff to me. Little did I know, two individuals were looking at us from one of the castle windows.

"You sure we can trust the boy Loki? Loki leaned against the wall that's beside of the window as he looked at the opposite side of corridor's wall instead.

"Sure we can Capricorn, stop worrying." Capricorn looked down at the couple as Loki answered him. "So who is going to give him a job?"

Capricorn didn't answer instead he led himself in a deep thought.

I had to wake up. The lights that were shining in through the available openings of the curtains were blinding me. I grabbed one of the pillows and covered my face, hoping that I was able to go back to sleep but I thought wrong. Someone came busting in my room.

"Natsu, Natsu! Wake up!" Oh it's Lucy. She will be easy to ignore at. If I pretended to be sleeping, she will eventually leave the room.

"Rise and shine sleepy head!" Argh… I thought wrong. I could hear she was walking to the other side of the room and bam. She went to open the curtains wide and I couldn't help but turned away from the light.

"Go away Luce." Wait? Did I just call her Luce instead of Lucy?

"Luce eh? It's the second day already and you're off giving me nicknames." I could hear her smirk as she planted her hands on her waist.

Okay I had to sit up. "Sorry it was by accident, still sleeping if you realized." I answered her by emphasizing on my last word.

"Oh come on. The morning is bright and shining. You shouldn't miss it for a day." She spoke as she twirled around.

I couldn't help but to giggle. "Alright, alright I'm up. See?" I raised my hands up in reasons as I now stood away from the bed.

"Good so now go wash up then we can have breakfast together before you start your first day of work." Lucy said before she gave me one of her beautiful smiles. Sorry I got to admit, her smiles were very pretty.

The clothes I slept in were comfortable. That's what you get from royalty I supposed. I asked Lucy last night if she had clothes to spare me that I could sleep in and she told me that there were spare clothes including underwear in the drawers of the guest room that Virgo assigned me to. I was about to grab my previous day clothes that I laid them on the chair before Lucy shrieked.

"No!" I stopped and turned left and right taking precautions. If there was a monster, I had to protect her right? "What, what was it?"

"You can't wear those." I stopped my actions and looked back at her. "Seriously Luce? You screamed because of these?" I picked up the clothes and waved it in front of her.

"Yeah because firstly, it stinks." Lucy stated as she pinched her nose to prevent the stench from entering her nose. "Second, you can't wear those to work because we have uniforms for you."

Okay now I am confused. "Uniforms?" Lucy went to my doorway and shouted for Virgo. In an instance, she was now standing in front of my room. What the hell? Did she just teleported or something? She grabbed my clothes and passed them to Virgo.

"Sorry Virgo but could you get these washed and also give Natsu his uniform?"

"Including my scarf?!" I had to cut in. For God sakes, I didn't leave anywhere without wearing it!

"Yes Natsu. Stop acting such a baby." She had one hand of her hips as she turned back over her shoulders to answer me.

"Right away Hime!" Virgo bowed down before vanishing.

Lucy turned back to me. "Alright that's settled. You can go wash up and your uniform will be out on your bed by the time you're done. See ya at breakfast Natsu!" Lucy said before walking off.

I just stood there dumbfounded. So is this what it is to live in a castle?

A/N: And that's a wrap for this chapter? Ain't it cute that Lucy and Natsu are getting closer? So how did you find this chapter? Do let me know by leaving a review before you go! Thanks(: