I am sure you guys will love me... and then hate me this chappy
Natsu sighed, looking at the outfit placed neatly on his bed. He had just finished the day with Lucy, and, thank the lord, no embarrassing [or painful] situations occurred after his dad came into his room. At first, he hadn't gotten what was wrong, so the golden-haired bandit wracked him on the head and explained to him, using as little details as possible. He swore he could still see the bump on his head.
The prince looked down at the clothing he was forced to wear. It was a grey and red outfit, with no sleeves, some black trousers, and a belt. The shirt had no sleeves, showing off his Dragneel mark on his right shoulder. It was a small dragon, and he'd had it ever since birth. It was always put on the right shoulder, and it was every Dragneel's right to display it proudly.
Natsu slipped the outfit on with little difficulty. Luckily, Grandine put in mind that he would be wearing the outfit for most of the night, making it loose and comfy. The prince wrapped his scarf around his neck as a guard knocked on his door.
"The ball is starting in an hour, Prince. I advise you to hurry." Natsu rolled his eyes but called to confirm. The guard shuffled away.
Lucy went into her room, closing the door shut behind her and collapsing into her bed. Despite herself, she didn't have a bad time spending the day with Natsu. They explored the castle and chat for a bit. Soon, it was going to be the Ball, but Lucy wasn't going. It was stupid and pointless for her to be there.
So, she decided to take a nap.
.
Lucy stumbled around in the darkness. "Mom... Michelle! Lisanna, Mira, Elfman? Where are you guys?" She screamed. She was cold, so cold.
Suddenly she could see. A brilliant light lit up the space, but Lucy couldn't see the ends of the room. It was endless, making the light pointless. Lucy looked down at the source, which was coming from her hands. It was a heart, covered in ice, floating a centimeter from her palms, glowing a soft silvery light.
The bandit blinked and inspected it. The thing was cold but ever so fragile. It was beautiful too. So much so she wanted to lock it up forever to make sure nobody stole it or broke it.
Suddenly, she saw a shape running towards her. She blinked, peering at the figure in the darkness. She could only make out the details when the male figure came close.
"Hey Luce. I'm here to help." He snatched her oh-so-delicate heart from her hands and proceeded to burn all the ice off.
"No! Natsu, stop!" Lucy reached out, but the figure changed. Lucy swallowed a scream.
It was her mother. But it was like she was paralysed in the last moments before her death. "You betrayed me Lucy..." she murmured, and the dream shattered.
Knock, knock, knock.
The bandit woke up in a cold sweat, the blankets on the floor, panting heavily. She took in a deep breath or two, trying to dispel the images from her mind.
Knock, knock, knock.
Great, so it wasn't her imagination...
Lucy groaned, hearing the knock on the door. "Yes?" she moaned, putting on her Lyra disguise. She stopped it when a silver-headed mage popped in, noticing the hole in her door that Lucy had covered with a dress to get her some privacy.
Lisanna noticed Lucy's drab clothes immediately. "Why are you wearing that to the ball?" She demanded, putting her hands on her hips. The bandit looked over at her, still trying to push the memories of that dream away.
"What? These? I'm not going to the stupid ball. It's a waste of time." Lucy retorted. Lisanna marched up to the bed, wearing a shimmery white dress that seemed to sparkle with rainbow colours if the light was right. There was a slit on the side, showing off a creamy leg and the dress was strapless, showing off her pale shoulders.
"Lucy Heartfilia, you are going to that ball!" Lisanna rumbled loudly.
"Who are you, my mother?" Lucy snapped, rolling over to avoid the mage.
"Yes, I'm your guardian right now even if I am younger than you and I'm telling you, you are going to that ball." Lisanna ordered her, hauling her up onto her feet. Lucy glared irritably at her.
"I'm gonna be your Fairy Godmother," the white-haired mage told her, spinning on her heel to look in Lucy's clothes drawer. "And here I am with a dress." Lisanna held up the gorgeous black starry one that Lucy was looking at earlier. She squealed.
"You would look perfect in this dress!" Lisanna said, voice a tinge high pitched. Lucy rolled her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest.
"But I'm not going to the ball, so I don't need a dress." The bandit told her. Lisanna growled. Yes, actually growled.
"Lucy Heartfilia, I will get you in this dress and to the ball, even if I have to drag you there."
Lucy smirked. "Bring it on, cat lady."
Lucy had severely underestimated Lisanna and her want for her to go to the damned ball. First, she'd stolen the bandit's Keys, then tied her up with her own whip, somehow gotten the dress on without shredding it, convinced Cancer to do Lucy's hair nicely, and brought her singlehandedly to the ball without letting the guards see that Lucy was going against her will.
"Ha, if you don't go, and stay," Lisanna warned, tying Lucy's belt around her waist under her dress and clipping her Key ring to it, "—at this ball and actually ask a guy, I'm not necessarily saying Natsu, a guy our age, to dance, you'll never see these Keys again." The Take-Over mage looked down at the dancing girls and boys downstairs, preparing to descend the stairs and make an entrance. Lucy swallowed when she saw a fierce gleam in her eyes.
"Yes, ma-am..." Lucy grumbled.
Lisanna went down the stairs slowly, the heels making it harder to walk. Lucy's feet ached already, as Lisanna forced her into a pair of low heels, because she'd never actually worn them before. She wanted her boots back!
"Don't forget to smile!" Lisanna cried behind her cheerily. Lucy grumbled in response.
She waited a few seconds and was about to walk slowly down the stairs when, just her luck, a voice spoke up behind her.
"Hey, Lu— Lyra." She turned around slowly. It was Natsu, of all people. He was looking down at her attire; mouth opened slightly, his eyes wide. He snapped his jaw shut, [Lucy could hear the sharp clac as he did so,] and looked back at her face. She was wearing the disguise of Lyra, but he seemed quite impressed.
"How did Lisanna manage to get you in that?" he laughed at the end of his words, and Lucy hit him. she meant for it to be hard, a possible punch, but strangely, her hands disobeyed and gave him a light tap on his shoulder. She pouted, which she never did.
"She forced me." the bandit admitted quietly. WHY DID I SAY THAT? Lucy felt the words slip off her tongue. She was supposed to be guarded and not confess anything! She felt like putty, soft and easily pushed around. And vulnerable, and it was such a foreign feeling that she found her face burning.
"I... uh... gotta go! L-Lisanna's waiting!" She rushed down the stairs as fast as possible in her heels, leaving Natsu wiping dust from his eyes.
Lisanna was around in the ballroom, flirting with some guys and having fun, but Lucy was on the other end, sitting in a comfy chair and insulting the Take-Over mage with every not-too-insulting insult she could think for her, bringing the bandit to the ball.
She is such an idiot, I'm not going to ask any guy, young or old, for a stupid dance because I don't dance and I never will. Lucy thought angrily. I am going to stay here and sit until the thing is over and wkjhgwiytgnf..!
Most of the guards were allowed free-time and bring one person to the ball. Lucy spotted Princess Wendy talking to a dark-haired boy about the same age as her, with a little tuft sticking on the top of his head who reminded her of Macao. Wendy was blushing, but trying to hide it by turning her head slightly while they talked together. A blue-haired man she didn't recognize was talking to Erza. A lot of the guards were wearing formal attire that wasn't their constant red or blue uniforms, walking around and chatting with the ladies in the marriage competition.
Lucy had a prickling sensation on her neck; but every time she spun around, it would vanish. It was unnerving her because she couldn't see whoever was watching her. A voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Hello. How long have you been sitting there for, young lady?" She cocked her head to look at the person who spoke. It was a small, very small, Lucy thought amusedly, old man, with a bushy moustache and white hair, leaning on a cane.
"Awhile," she answered honestly, turning back to stare at the wall.
"May an old man sit and chat next to you lovely lady?" He asked.
"Sure, whatever." She didn't care, actually, she did a little, she was bored and this old grandpa was someone to talk to. He sat down.
"My name is Makarov, but everyone calls me Gramps." He told her. She fought the urge to roll her eyes.
"Lyra."
"So, why are you in this competition?" Makarov asked, leaning back in the comfy chair.
Lucy almost struggled spitting it out. "To marry prince Dragneel." She said, putting on a warm, fake smile and looking at him. The man chuckled.
"Ah, young love these days." He sighed, and Lucy bit back what was about to be a slip. She caught her hand, which was inching towards her damned heels; similar to hitting two birds with one stone, getting rid of the old man and her shoe, but the consequences of doing that would be severe.
"So, do you think you'll win this competition?" he asked, amused. Lucy decided to answer honestly.
"No." Because she didn't want to. "Because there are a lot of pretty ladies here that are much more appealing to him rather than me." she said. This was hurting her pride, lying through her teeth like this. "I don't think the prince will choose me."
He hrmed thoughtfully, then whispered, "Look directly behind you, a tad to the right. Do it fast." Before she could retort, he egged, "Quickly!" So she did what the old man said.
She whipped her head around. She saw pink hair and focused on the face. She caught Natsu's gaze for a moment; instantly, when he noticed she was looking at her, he flushed a bright red and turned back to his plate, stacked high with food. Happy the blue horse was behind him, freshly groomed, and whispered something in his ear. Lucy saw the rolling of the tongue, but couldn't make out what he said. Natsu turned even redder, if possible.
Why was he staring at me? She thought angrily, about to stand up and stomp over to the prince, screaming 'pervert' and whacking him repetitively with her shoe. The man chuckled, and Lucy whipped her head around to face him.
"Not a chance, huh?" Makarov grinned. "I'm a friend of the Dragneel family. I've talked with all the girls, and despite you wearing that ridiculous disguise for some reason, I think you'll have the best chance." Lucy's jaw went slack. "Don't worry, I won't tell. You obviously have your reasons, and yet your prince doesn't seem to have a problem with it." He stood up, looking at the younger girl, who was shell-shocked into silence.
"Have a nice day." He walked off, and Lucy scrambled to her feet to find this mysterious man, but he disappeared into the crowd, and Lucy could no longer find him.
Lucy shuffled through the crowd, looking for the shockingly short man, wondering, one, how the hell did he know she was using Transformation Magic, and two, why did he think that she, of all people think she was good with Natsu. She hated him, for god's sake!
Suddenly, she bumped into someone, and she, on her unbalanced heels, fell to the ground. She 'ouffed' and looked up, surprised.
"Hey Lyra." Natsu greeted, holding out a hand. It was only from his tan that she didn't see the strong blush on his face. He could certainly feel it, but he held out his hand anyways, trying to look normal.
She swatted it away, getting up herself. She inspected his face for any sign of... embarrassment that she caught him staring. Lucy huffed and gave up. Stupid Natsu. "Hi."
"So, what are you looking for?" He asked, out of politeness. [Oh, who was he kidding, he knew she was looking for The Old Man.]
She didn't want to mention her meeting with Makarov, and she didn't think he noticed the elderly man because he practically disappeared in the chair he was previously sitting on. "Food. I'm hungry." She replied hastily.
Natsu inwardly grinned. I caught her lying to me! "Well, it's on the other end of the room," he said, pointing over to the described area.
Lucy caught the jealous looks around her from other females. She blushed, only noticing now of her predicament. She didn't want a dozen jealous girls after her, so she tried to pull away. "Yeah, thanks!" She exclaimed with false cheeriness, turning around to go to the buffet table.
Natsu followed her. The bandit inwardly deadpanned, but let him tag along. They got their food, and Lucy went to return to her set, but Natsu stopped her. "Not there. Come with me." he said, a large grin on his face. "It'll be quieter."
Lucy, dumbfounded, found her evil, traitorous feet following him, pushing through the crowd and chasing a bobbing head of pink hair.
A few minutes later, they were standing on a large balcony. Natsu locked the doors from the outside, so Lucy could take off her disguise.
The balcony's layout was simple; a single iron/glass table, two chairs, a potted plant, but when Lucy looked forwards, she gasped.
It was the perfect timing; the sky was painted orange, the sun disappearing over the horizon. Distant clouds were a soft baby blue, but the ones closer to the ground were pink and lavender and orange. It was a beautiful sunset, that was warm and relaxing. It was gorgeous.
"Lucy... Luce!" she snapped out of her daze, taking a seat next to Natsu.
"Wait a sec, what did you just call me?" she demanded, glaring at the pyromaniac.
"Sorry. I meant Spirit." He sighed, getting tired of it. The name 'Spirit' didn't feel right. Lucy noticed his downcast expression and asked about it.
"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, frowning.
"It's your name!" he burst out, surprising her. "Spirit doesn't feel right!" he growled.
"Then call me Lucy." She told him. Natsu blinked, looking up at her. "It's not a big deal."
"So, what's your real name?" Natsu asked, swinging himself on the horse too, behind the Golden Spirit and Michelle. Lucy was in front, Michelle sandwiched between them, and Natsu in back.
Lucy decided to give up hiding it. "My real name is Lucy. It's Spirit to you. Only Michelle calls me Lucy."
Natsu recoiled at her snappiness, but called to Happy, "come on Happy! Max Speed to the castle!"
"Didn't seem like 'no big deal' then..." he muttered. Lucy stared at him oddly.
"What?"
"Nothing." Well, he was happy he could stop with the 'Spirit' stuff. Spirit was the cold bandit, but Lucy was... someone else entirely. He felt as if Lucy and Spirit were two different people, and now he should call her 'Lucy.'
He just confused himself, but that was what his brain was telling him. So don't ask.
"Okay, Lucy." He liked that he could say it without the fear of getting hit with a shoe. "What 'cha wanna talk about?" he asked. Natsu just happened to notice how the setting sun made her golden hair shine; he shook the thoughts away violently.
"You are a weirdo." The bandit stated dully, staring at him shake his head like he had tics or something. He looked up at her sheepishly.
"Naw, it's nothing, but if anything, you're the weirdo." He said. "You're the bandit."
Lucy nearly burst out laughing. "You have pink hair."
"It's not pink, it's salmon!" he growled playfully. She giggled, but shut herself up.
God, I feel... loose. Lucy thought, ducking her head. Carefree, not how I should be. I'm acting weird; I'm freakin giggling for God's sake... Even so, she couldn't stop herself from saying a sarcastic remark. "Right."
"And, you used to live in the middle of a forest!" He cried. "You are obviously the bigger weirdo."
"Uh, says the man with the blue horse who likes to eat fish, lives in a castle, has supreme Dragon fire powers, enjoys flaming, quite literally, barbeque... I could add a lot more to that list. Oh, yeah, trusts a bandit and teams up with her to break her sister out of prison..."
The rest of her words were said on deaf ears, as soon as she said 'Trust.' Natsu blinked, realizing the answer to all of his problems, all those little blanks that he couldn't answer for these last two weeks.
'Trust.' Natsu trusted Lucy, probably more than he should, but he would put his full faith in her. The prince swallowed, taking in the new information. His throat went dry.
"Natsu?" Lucy asked, noticing the dull expression on the pink-haired boy's face.
"Uh, yeah?" he murmured. Lucy waved a hand in front of his face.
"Yeah!" He looked up, beaming widely. Lucy leaned back, slightly worried for him.
"Are you okay? You spaced out a little there." She told him. Suddenly he noticed her wide chocolate eyes, her smooth lips, her curvaceous figure, and how she was staring at him with a gaze full of concern. He swallowed.
Lucy stared at him. That wide smile seemed false to her. Lucy pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. She pulled back quickly, yelping. Natsu stood up.
"What are you doing?" He demanded, looking at her hand.
"Damn! You're hot! I was checking if you were sick!" she yelled at him. "but your skin is boiling!" She flicked her wrist repetitively.
Natsu sat down. "Are you okay?" he asked concernedly. It technically was his fault that she was hurt. Lucy nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just stings a little." She admitted, looking up at him. The sun had gone down all the way, the bare minimum light just disappearing over the horizon.
"Here, 'lemme see." He said, pulling her hand towards him. The move was unexpected and Lucy pulled away fast, blushing in the darkness.
"Err... sorry." She put her hand back into his. Natsu lit his other on fire so he could see.
"It's fine." He told her. Lucy pulled back, but was disappointed when the warmth faded too. She wanted it again.
The two looked down, blushing. There was a long, awkward silence, but they looked up and caught each other's gaze.
Natsu and Lucy found themselves leaning forwards, lips landing softly on one another's. Neither knew what was happening, but it felt really good. Sparks seemingly flew around them and they melted into the soft, sweet kiss. Natsu's hand lifted itself up and caressed her cheek, and Lucy's tangled in his hair.
Soon, they had to pull away. Both were breathing a tad bit faster than they normally would, a dazzling bright blush across their cheeks, bright enough to see in the darkness.
Lucy's eyes widened. "Natsu..." Flashes of the dream she had appeared in her mind. Her dead mother, saying she was a traitor. Natsu, taking her heart and melting the ice that had formed on it. "I'm a friend of the Dragneel family. I've talked with all the girls, and despite you wearing that ridiculous disguise for some reason, I think you'll have the best chance." Lucy shook her head, mouth pressed tight together.
"I-I... can't..." She bit her lip, but was overwhelmed with self-hatred and sadness. She stared back at Natsu, who was looking back at her with wide onyx eyes. Lucy stood abruptly, turning her face so the prince couldn't see the tears that had started to fall down her face.
"Lucy?" She ran to the doors leading to the castle, opening them a fraction and slipping through without another word.
"Hey Lyra, I was just about to look for y-you..." Lisanna started saying, but noticed the bandit crying. Lucy left her behind, bursting into a run and shielding her face with her bangs, crying but not caring as she ran up to her room, slamming the door behind her.
Mother, what have I done?
Do you hate me yet? I told you guys would! I'm sorry if the kiss wasn't... absolutely fantastic. I'm only 13, and I haven't had my first kiss! *runs away from a mob of crazy fans* "HELPPPP MEEEEE!"
Cool story; My first multichap [and first story in general,] got 36 reviews since now. [And now I realize that's a pretty crappy number, despite being my first try...] Well, in one review, I will be exactly 200 reviews away from my first story! Isn't that awesome! [Yeah, you guys probably don't care cuz you're too angry at me...]
Replies! So many! I was about to post yesterday night, but I deleted them all and there was no time to redo them! I'm sorry I may have combined your replies, some were very identical. [People, you may have twins on the other side of the world... XD ]
Rose, Sofia3, and 1FairyTailLover: Yep, you both got it right!
PrettyKitty: You are absolutely insane. "STOP CHASING ME!" I give you kitties, no? *diguises as kitty vendor, gets Exceeds outta nowhere* "here you go! you have kitty after kitty!"
AlyCat, GoldenRoseTanya and SnowDragonSlayerTasha: Here's your chappy!
JazzinAces: yes, there will be, and I'm trying to introduce them to this story ASAP. I'm not gonna tell you who though!
Hikari: Although, he 'only' came because Michelle whooped him on the head with a shoe... right, who are we kidding! ;3
Axlorg: yeah, you just HAPPENED to come in at all the right moments to give us a laugh... *grins deviously*
Annie Blackheart: STOP DISRACTING MEEEEEE!
hikari: Thank ya'll!
Aitanna: CAKE! I'm happy now. *sits down, starts eating with fork that came outta nowhere* "IZ GOOB!"
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