"Hello, Prince Natsu. How do you fare?" Natsu looked up at the green-haired tall man named Fried, face stretching out into a grin.
"I'm good. Could I ask you a favour?"
Lucy's breath hitched when the footsteps stopped, a few metres from where she stood. She couldn't see the person, hidden behind the suit of armor and pressed up against the wall, but suddenly, he or she turned back, scaring the hell out of Lucy, who thought that the person had seen her. Luckily, the figure just moved on by.
The bandit relaxed, slipping behind the small crevice and finding her way back downstairs. Now for the hard part, she thought as she inspected the disorganized line of people trying to get the good seats before anyone else did. Already, the room was warm from the body temperature and only just under being stuffed to the brim.
Lucy focused her Magic into one point, trying hard to what Mira told her. She was only capable of doing 1st Level transforming at first, but to get in safely she'd need to skip a level and do 3rd level Transformation Magic. Mira said it was almost impossible; but to watch this event, the bandit would need to do it.
She held her breath and focused hard, but nothing happened. She huffed and tried again, her face turning purple in her effort. A few seconds passed and Lucy gasped, trying to regain air in her shriveled lungs, noting that there were only a few more people waiting in line before the doors would close and she'd be stuck here.
Think of Natsu, think of what it would mean to him, think of wanting to change for my sake! She thought hard once again, and a few seconds and a cloud of smoke later, a little black-furred, brown-eyed cat appeared where she once stood. And let's just say the cast, being too big for her Magic to reach out to, clattered to the ground, so Lucy walked forwards, thinking her limb was alright, and yowled loudly.
That hurt!
Unfortunately, her front paw was still sore, so she ran up to the doors, limping slightly, and slipped through before any of the guards could catch her. They turned around at the last moment but Lucy Cat had already faded into the crowd.
She waited until everyone was seated, and all staring intently at the stage, where Igneel, Grandine, and Metalicana, sat on the right side of the stage, and Gajeel, Rogue, Sting, and Natsu sat on the left, all in that order.
But the others didn't matter. Lucy's gaze fixed on the pink-haired prince and her heart squeezed. But in a good way. Nobody else in the room was of concern; it was like it was all empty, just pink-haired human and bandit-turned-cat. She snapped out of her stupor in a snap, scolding herself for zoning out. She inspected the people on the stage.
Gajeel seemed brooding, Rogue was calm, Sting was smirking, and Natsu seemed... cocky. Lucy mentally frowned, ears unconsciously moving back a bit.
Was it that he chose a bride that he liked? Lucy thought. Did he find someone? Natsu didn't seem to be one for being cocky, and Lucy knew. In fact, after only knowing him for two weeks, she felt as if she knew him like the back of her own hand.
He was up to something, definitely.
She slipped between legs and moved to behind the stage, returning to her normal form when she noted no one was there. The bandit sighed in relief, looking beside her at the rack of dresses next to her. Lucy blinked; these were the clothes in her drawer, back when she was still in the competition. Her eyes widened a fraction and she searched through the rack for the one dress she wanted especially, smiling when she found it.
It was the midnight-black dress, with a starry night sky design. The fabric of the skirt bunched on the side and cascaded down like a Celestial Spirit waterfall. It wasn't too fancy, nothing like the frilly, poufy dresses others were wearing, but Lucy wouldn't want to wear them anyways. They were too girly, and Lucy didn't feel they suited her just as well as this one did. The bandit stepped into a change room, stripped off her clothes, and slipped the dress over her head, adjusting it so the fabric was on comfortably.
Lucy changed her hair colour to blue, hoping that the guards wouldn't peer at her too closely. She didn't want to see in someone else's eyes, so she went outside, wearing the nice dress. Her hair was down and none too formal, but it curled around her shoulders slightly, which was good enough.
The bandit sat at an empty seat in the far corner, avoiding the guards. She spotted Mira and Lisanna, close to the front. Their backs were to her. Everyone started to take their seats as music started playing. Quiet, excited chatter filled the air. The lacyrima lights dimmed.
Igneel stood up from his chair on the stage. "Hello, ladies and gentlemen! We welcome you all to the Dragneel Redfox's marriage ceremony, where the princes and future kings of the kingdoms will choose their brides today!" The Dragon Slayer's voice was loud enough so everyone could hear him clearly. While everyone seemed thrilled, Lucy, in the background, smiled sadly.
"I hope every prince had chosen. We'll start with the Redfox's." Igneel sat down as Metalicana stood up.
"Well, I'm proud of my little kiddies, they're all grown up and today, they're gonna choose their Mates. I'm not very talkative, but I wish them..." Metalicana's red eye shifted to his hand, which he opened slightly. He scanned the hand and started up abruptly, "Luck. I wish them luck." Lucy couldn't help but snicker as Sting, the youngest, stood.
"Well, you are all beautiful ladies," The bandit rolled her eyes as the blonde prince turned and winked at the females, making the row squeal like little girls. "And I love you all, but one girl had caught my eye particularly. She was quiet and didn't talk much, but you're cute and a nice person to be around. I've decided."
"Yukino, may I have the honor of being your husband?" A white-haired girl stood up, seemingly surprised. The other females glared at her.
"M-Me?" Sting laughed, beckoning her up to the stage.
"Yes, you." The girl walked up, and Sting kissed her softly. They took the seats on the other side of the room. Sting whispered something in her ear, and she giggled. She pecked him on the cheek sweetly.
"Rogue." The dark-haired man walked up to the stage. Everyone was curious to who the Shadow Dragon Slayer would pick. Lips were bitten in anticipation and people leaned forwards...
"I choose no one. Sorry girls." And the prince swiftly walked off. Everyone blinked, including Lucy. What? There was a long, awkward silence, until the eldest Iron Dragon Slayer spoke up.
"U-Uh... Gajeel?" Everyone on the stage seemed confused, but Metalicana called up the next person.
The scruffy-haired man walked up. Lucy guessed him as a brick-wall-nothing-can-touch-me type of guy, but he seemed quite... fidgety. He was looking up at the wall on the opposite side of the room, instead of the waiting crowd.
"Don't get me wrong, but I'm not marrying anyone, yet." He walked off the stage. Everyone's eye twitched. Seriously, this was an event to see the princes get married! So far, only one actually chose a girl!
Igneel finally spoke up. "And finally, my son, Natsu Dragneel." Natsu stood up, and walked up to the stage, grinning slightly. Lucy peered at him, trying to see what he was up to. He looked over at the girls beside him.
He took a deep breath in before speaking. "Hey, girls. What I'm gonna say to you all is this; You guys are all awesome people, and deserve someone great. But I'm not that person. Sure, I'm awesome—" Lucy rolled her eyes at this, " but I'm not your prince. There's someone out there that's meant for you, and it isn't me. Sorry guys." Lucy stopped. She didn't get it. Natsu didn't choose someone?
The bandit's lips upturned in the slightest unknowingly. She noticed that while Igneel's eye was twitching in irritation, Grandine was smiling softly.
"I'm in love with someone else."
Suddenly, the floor lit up with blue light. Everyone stood up and gasped, looking down. Lucy's eyes darted around, when Runes started typing themselves out on the wall.
"ALL MAGIC EXCEPT RUNE MAGIC IS NULLIFIED IN THIS ROOM." The bandit read aloud. She blinked, then her mouth fell open when her blue hair slowly faded away, revealing the bright blonde. Lucy jumped, trying to find a way to stop it, but slowly, she returned to normal. All the people inside the room gaped at her, including the Strauss's, the Dragneel's, the Redfox's... and the guards. Lucy caught Natsu's cocky gaze.
He was giving her a look, that said that he did everything. He gave her away.
Something inside her broke. She was betrayed, by all people, Natsu Dragneel. Tears pricked at her eyes. Not wanting anyone to see her tears, she turned and fled. Igneel, seeing her run, started charging, but his wife held him back, frowning. He looked at her in disbelief, but grudgingly stayed back.
"For my wife, I choose the Golden Spirit, Lucy the Bandit." Lucy heard the words and stopped, turning around to stare at the prince. She swallowed roughly, still not getting it. First he was betraying her... then..? More glowing blue Runes started typing themselves up, making a tiny road.
ONLY A FEMALE NICKNAMED THE GOLDEN SPIRIT CAN WALK ON THIS PATH. Lucy blinked, looking down at the floor in shock. Her gaze followed it, all the way up to the stage. Natsu beckoned her, beaming widely. She blinked.
Slowly, her foot outstretched and she moved up to the stage, still feeling betrayed, simply staring up at the cotton candy-haired boy.
He noted her hesitance and beckoned her once again, the large grin turning even wider, if possible. Lucy hesitated before grabbing the fabric of her skirt and escalating the stairs, looking down at the floor. No words were exchanged, but Lucy felt very, very uncomfortable. Everyone's eyes were on her, inwardly she was panicking, because she was a bandit, and she wasn't supposed to be stared at.
She squirmed, silence filled the room and every pair of eyes were on her. But suddenly, Natsu did something unexpected. He literally swept her off her feet, caught her, and bent down to press his lips against hers. The bandit's eyes widened in surprise and shock. Slowly, Natsu pulled away, addressing the crowd below them, all stunned into silence.
Seriously, Lucy swore she could hear a cricket chirping.
Natsu looked over at the bandit's red, red face. She seemed unable to follow the fast events leading up to that moment. He looked over at her, beaming widely. "I don't like seeing you in a disguise, or feeling the need to hide. Sorry if I scared you a bit there. I'm happy that I could melt your ice." Lucy took a split second to comprehend his word.
She smiled, flinging her arms around him and kissing him fiercely. It didn't matter how it happened, how she got up here on this stage, how she was kissing Natsu, it just did. She smiled against his lips, heart soaring for the sky. How could she have thought Natsu would betray her? It was impossible.
"Go Lucy!" Someone, their voice startlingly familiar, made Lucy's eyes widen and break away. Her eyes swept across the room, finally noticing the hawk perched on the upper window. Her eyes narrowed.
"Go Lucy!" The bird repeated again, in Michelle's voice. Noticing Lucy staring at her, Michelle's bird head ducked down. "Hey Lucy, how are you?" She asked sheepishly. Everybody, except the couple, on the stage seemed dumbfounded by the talking bird, wondering just what in the hell was going on?
"Michelle, what are you doing here? Where's Elfman?" The bandit demanded.
A white-haired head appeared behind the bird, and the Strauss sisters inside the room facepalmed. "Mira said that taking care of children was Man, and watching Natsu turn into a Man is Manly, so I, the Manly Elfman, have decided to do both! MAN!" Lucy's eye twitched.
"You are now a Man in my Manly book, Natsu!" the white-haired Take-Over mage cried.
Even Natsu seemed confused by the sentence of Manliness. "Uh, thanks?"
Igneel, behind Lucy, spoke up. "N-Natsu, are you saying... you want this bandit to be your wife?" Igneel knew his son was crazy, from the very beginning. How could he have—
Natsu pulled the blonde close, hands tugging her to his chest. She looked down at the floor, blushing furiously.
"Yeah Dad. This is who I want to be with."
*Sighs* I'm sure all of you don't appreciate me not updating in... a week and a half. I apologize. Thing's have been happening a lot lately, I have homework, school's starting, shiz has been happening, my own costume, I just haven't found enough time to type. I'm sorry. (I'm also REALLY tired. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have liked the random stuff I was typing. this thing has been half-completed for awhile.) God I'm so tired. So many reviews! Thanks to; Fairy-Tail's-Dragon, Melime14, 1fairytaillover, TheGrammarQueen, LiLyRoSe, BlssomsCherry, paniccatthediscofreak, Sofia3, MythandFairyTailLover, and (I'm espiecially sorry,) Talia!
Elodie: Heh, I just thought that would be the PERFECT disguise to creep someone out. XD Glad you liked it!
PrettyKitty: HRMMM. *evil glint in eye* Interesting... interesting... sorry it took so long for an update.
BitterMondays: DON'T CRY! I-I-I uh... JUST DON'T CRY! HERE'S AN UPDATE!
HikariYume: #4 was closest. :D I MADE IT ALIVE SO I CAN GET YOU MORE UPDATES!
FTastarossa: Natsu says "Hehe!"
ERG... gotta go finish those digitigrade legs... ARG save me. (with reviews.)