Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail nor Walt Disney's "Aladdin".

In the heart of an enchanted city, a commoner mage named Natsu Dragneel and his mischievous blue-furred flying feline companion, Happy, battle to save the free-spirited Princess Lucy Heartfilia from the schemes of the evil Lightening Dragon Slayer, Laxus. Natsu's whole life changes with one rub of a magic ice lamp called the Ice of Wishes as the level-headed, cool-tempered Gray appears and grants him three wishes, setting him on an incredible journey of discovery. However, the relationship between the kind Princess and protective Dragon Slayer are tested as the two mysterious people watch them, hoping Lucy and Natsu are ready for an enemy that cannot be seen...

Aladdin's Fairy Tail

by

Magnafeana

Chapter Three:

Lucy Runs Away

The sun, tired of its long day, stalked off in the sky in search of another place to enlighten. While the sky seemed empty and lonely, the moon slid into the sky, covering for the sun's abandonment. One by one, stars speckled the clear night, illuminating Fairy Tail in a divine way. Time seemed to slow as the mages and regular people of Fairy Tail walked back to their respective homes to be with family or to rest in a blissful sleep, alone.

In the palace courtyard, a stranger concealed in a brown cloak glanced around, keeping a close eye out for the night guards. She snuck across the white pavement, gazing at the intimidating palace walls with a sense of purpose and determination. I've got to find a way, she thought.

With the tension that the night guards were absent leaving her body, she scrutinized the layout of the garden for any way out of the palace. She looked at the trees, pleading to Mavis for some way out of her imprisonment. Unfortunate for her, she could not call out her celestial spirits. Her father had kept them for ransom: if she chose a suitor, her keys would be returned to her.

She growled at the thought of the childish, backhanded way her father used to persuade her. The only spirits she had out was her loyal companion, Loke, and Plue, who had disappeared some time ago, which caused her to worry. Her hands itched for her whip, but the guards had repossessed it as a precaution so she would not whip her potential fiancé. She had done it once when her suitor attempted to kiss her after touching her rear end and "accidently" groping one of her breasts. She had whipped the poor boy away and Loke roared at him, which frightened him and caused him to leave the palace after unceremoniously cursing her and her "stupid cat."

She had found her moment of liberation. A lanky tree leaned against the palace wall, reflecting the moonlight handsomely. She looked up the tree with flickering hope. She could finally be free!

She grasped the wide tree and climbed up the tree as she gritted her teeth. Climbing was harder than she anticipated and she couldn't get a good hold of the tree to climb to the first high branch. Her cloak was suddenly pulled back down with great force and she let out a startled gasp. She looked back, waiting to see the furious face of her guard captain Erza. However, all she saw were the sad gaze of her loyal golden-furred lion.

Sighing, she slid down from the tree, getting a sharp cut on her palm. When she landed on the ground, she turned her hand over, and gazed at the gash on her soft palm with a disheartened frown. The wound nauseated red vomit that pulsed out of her hand.

The lion stepped toward her and licked her palm. She watched, a sense of calmness enveloping her body as the rhythmal laps soothed her and the pain that gnawed on her hand. After a while, the huge feline stepped back and looked at her with a glimmer of pride in his eyes masking his sadness. She inspected the injury and gaped in wonder. The cut seemed to be missing from her palm as though its existence was never born into the world and onto her hand.

She looked back at the handsome lion, gratitude swirling in the swirls of chocolate. He healed her with his magic… She was at a loss of words for his selfless act.

"Thank you, Loke," she managed to say after several moments of silence.

He lowered his head in response, gesturing he heard her, his eyes never leaving hers. She could see the anguish in his blue regard. Tears began to form in her eyes as she gave her friend her gratitude. A great grief murdered the appreciation that once filled her heart and laughed as it claimed her emotions to be depressed and dejected.

She sank to her knees and cried, the cold air of the night aiding her into deeper sadness. Loke stepped toward her with the slightest hesitation, then pushed his doubts aside and nuzzled his master. He licked her and purred, but he could not get her to stop shaking and sobbing.

Her eyes closed themselves tight as she latched onto her faithful celestial lion, seeking his warming comfort. How could she leave him and the rest of her spirits?

Maybe I should stay…

The thought blared out among her doubts. Leaving home like this turned her stomach and the thought of her father's pained look when he would find out his own and only daughter had left without a trace merely killed her. How could she do this to him?

Even without her eyes opened, she could feel more warmth emit from her friend and felt that it was getting lighter outside. The light grew blinding; even within the darkness her closed eyes gave light dimmed as though a conductor suddenly hushed his orchestra with a single of a large, gentle paw on her back, there was a delicate hand in its replacement. Instead of feeling soft fur in her hands, she felt smooth fabric. Instead of a muzzle nuzzling her cheek, there was another face near hers.

Opening her eyes and blinking away straying tears, she saw the sad face of her lion friend, Loke, in his human form. He gazed at her through his translucent sunglasses with an expression of bittersweet happiness as he embraced his master.

"Loke…" she murmured as she choked back sobs.

He smirked when he heard his name. "Well, princess, it's been a while since I've seen you in my human form. I've missed being able to hit on such a gorgeous master. It feels good when you moan my name."

The princess blushed at his remark and smiled as she gazed at him with sparkling eyes. "I don't think my father would approve of me having a guy who isn't my fiancé being around me twenty-four-seven," she joked.

Loke chuckled and stood up, offering his hand to help her stand. She took it and was pulled up by the strong spirit. Immediately, she was forced to stare at him, his eyes looking serious with all playfulness gone. "Lucy, I know what you're about to do. Anyone could see that," he commented as he scanned her appearance. The blonde opened her mouth to explain, but closed it when no words dared to come out. "I will miss you," Loke confessed, "but it's not right for you to be forced into something like this. Marriage isn't something you should be forced into at all."

Lucy's eyes began to brim with tears as she realized what he was saying. "Loke…"

He silenced her with an index finger to her lips. "I'll make sure to stall Erza and the guards for a while, but they'll notice soon that you're gone."

The princess nodded in agreement, feeling relieved Loke understood her goal. "I'll make every day count," she promised.

She saw him grin at her with a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. "Y'know, if you can't find a suitor, you could always marry me," the lion spirit proposed. "After all, you could be more than my master and command me to do all sorts of things." A suggestive tone laced his playfulness.

Lucy laughed, mirth combined with happiness gleaming in her once-despondent eyes. She pushed him away and felt a heated blush on her cheeks, hoping he couldn't see it due to the darkness. "You're such a pervert, as usual." The blonde flipped her blonde hair over and took his hand, giving it a dainty squeeze. "But thank you."

He pulled her into an embrace, regardless that they knew they'd meet again.

Loke pulled away from her and took a step back from the disguised princess. "Well, back to being in beast form. It was nice seeing that body with my human emotions. And feeling it too," he added with a flirtatious wink.

The princess rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips, yet amusement was written in the smile that contradicted her irritated stance as a calming, rose-colored blush lit her cheeks. She averted her eyes and mumbled, "J-Just shut up and go back to being an animal."

Loke chuckled and his body turned into a blinding golden light. The light morphed into the form of a powerful lion before leaving the body. There stood a proud, golden-furred lion with concerned dark blue eyes and a handsome orange mane. Lucy got down on her knees and stroked her celestial spirit. He nuzzled her neck and licked her cheek once more before stepping back and giving his master a sad stare.

Holding back tears, the seventeen year-old girl gripped the elongated tree and struggled to climb up to the branch as she neared it. She felt something push her upwards and glanced back down, only to see Loke nudging her forward with his head, his help making her heart melt.

She scrambled up the tree without the assistance of her feline friend and climbed onto the ledge of the wall. She stood, looking at the great kingdom in awe. The moonlight danced around on the roofs of buildings and houses and golden light seem to spec the city in such a way that the area seemed breathtaking.

Before she jumped from the tall wall, Lucy looked back at her celestial lion spirit. There he lay on the luscious grass, looking up at her with cat eyes and flicking his tail back and forth in anticipation.

"Goodbye, Loke," she whispered to him.

With those parting words, she leapt over the edge and landed without a sound. She scampered across the palace lawn, avoiding guards on the night shift and keeping an eye out for Erza or night guards.

As she hid behind a tree, waiting for a guard to walk back and report to his superior she heard a voice echo in her mine. A voice that made her smile with happiness and lingering sadness. As she sprinted away, out of sight, she could still hear the voice, clear and calm in her mind:

Goodbye, Lucy... I'll wait for you forever…

The market place was packed with mages and non-magic folk as loud chatter filled the air of Fairy Tail. The sun, back from its few hours of absence, smiled brilliantly at the people, feeling gracious today. Children laughed, merchants yelled in advertisement, women tittered, men drank – Cana drank more than the men – and life was back to its normalcy.

Natsu looked at the bustling crowd from his view on top of a merchant's watermelon stand with Happy by his side, a shimmering river flowing in-between the mainstream market. He watched as boats sailed back and forth on the waterway, shouting words of greeting towards one another. Natsu could hear the merchant of the stand he was on top of shout that his watermelons were of the best quality and went for five jewel apiece.

Five jewel… Natsu snorted. Don't think so.

Natsu turned to the blue-furred feline with his signature grin. He whispered, "Okay, Happy, you know the plan."

Happy saluted. "Aye!"

Happy moved towards the far left of the merchant stand roof. Peering underneath, he could see how focused the merchant was on making a sale. Happy brought out his wings and levitated himself so he was exposed to the merchant's eyes. He called out to oblivious salesman. "Hey, lookie over here!"

The merchant turned around and narrowed his eyes when he saw Happy shaking his rear end at him and making a face.

"Nyeah, nyeah, nyeah, nyeah!" Happy taunted, sticking out his tongue to the watermelon salesman. Happy wrapped his long tail around one of the spherical green fruits and waved it.

Feeling hot with indignation, the merchant prowled towards him, shouting harsh words at the cat. "You filthy cat! Get out of here!" he spat as he tried to swipe the watermelon out of Happy's tail's grasp. Happy merely flew away, provoking the man.

As Happy distracted the narrow-minded dealer, Natsu reached his hand into the stand and grabbed a plump watermelon before reconcealing himself from the people's line of vision. When Happy saw that the mission was complete, he dropped the watermelon and flew out of sight and out of the reach of the furious trader.

The man stepped into quick action and caught the watermelon, relieved. He walked back to his stand and placed the melon where one of his watermelons should have been before gasping in shock at the realization one of his watermelons was gone.

Above, Natsu and Happy sat on the blanketed rooftop, in-between them a scrumptious looking watermelon. The pinkette rubbed his hands together with a wide smile and grabbed the watermelon before easily breaking it into an easy half. Inside, red juiciness overflowed the green shell, with black specks splattered inside.

"Breakfast is served," he declared as he gave one half to Happy. Hungrily, the two began to chomp on their watermelon halves.

Farther down the same street of the two poor friends wandered a girl cloaked in brown sheets. Her mind struggled to grasp the wonder sites she was seeing. All around her, people were gossiping, chattering, laughing, persuading and flirting! Not gaping at her, bowing in respect, offering her free items and telling her what she wanted to her.

This… is… amazing! Lucy breathed as she drank in the market place's fused scents. The aroma of flowers, the odors of fish, the scents of wine, the muskiness of the commoners… To her, it seemed better than the overwhelming stench of the palace: interspersed fragrances of hundreds of different perfumes.

As the disguised princess walked down the street and maneuvered through the pedestrians, she glanced at all the stands with voices all shouting out to her, beckoning her to them.

"Pots! No better pots in brass or silver!" a man called out. She turned to scan him. His violet-blue hair and smile seemed friendly, contradicting his rugged appearance. She smiled at him and shook her head as she continued walking.

"Sugar dates! Sugar dates and fish! Sugar dates and pistachios!" a raring voice shouted. Lucy analyzed the man. Desperation was evident in his tone, and his eyes seemed to not stare at her face. Her stomach rolled in disgusted as she walked on.

However, a man that gave her chills stopped her. He eyed her and held out a golden necklace chain to her. She glanced at it, already knowing it was a fraud. "Would the lady like a pretty necklace? A pretty necklace for a pretty lady," the unnerving male persuaded, grinning at her and running his eyes slowly up and down her body.

Lucy shook her head and refused, sidestepping the man. He could feel her eyes on her as she walked away. Disgusting pervert! she huffed. A princess should never be treated–Right… I am not trying to be a princess right now, she reminded herself. Though, if Loke were here he would've bitten that guy till he was begging for death.

As the secret princess smiled to herself while thinking of her celestial lion spirit's protectiveness of her, she heard the sing of knife as it slammed down near her. She turned her head and saw the head of a fish being cut off, exposing its interior flesh, nerves and veins. Lucy shivered. She didn't expect that on the streets of the Fairy Tail. Slightly alarmed, she moved towards the river and walked close to its edge. She saw her reflection, noticing she couldn't recognize herself in her costume. And hopefully, no one would recognize her as well. She didn't want Erza to be sent after her.

Lucy shuttered. The captain of the royal guard frightened her in more ways than one.

The princess readjusted the scarf concealing her hair and hid her face as she could imagine the horrors Erza would do if she found out Lucy was in the streets of Fairy Tail instead of behind the palace walls.

"Hey, you better be careful, miss!"

"Don't go falling in the river!"

Lucy looked up to see two men in a small, wooden-carved magic boat smiling at her from their position in the glistening river. She returned the smile, warmed by their warning. "Don't worry! I'll be fine!" she shouted back in assurance and waved goodbye to them. They bade her farewell and continued down the river on their merry way.

Such nice men, Lucy commented as she balanced herself on the edge carefully, taking into consideration of the men's warning.

"Gajeel! I'm trying to read here!"

Lucy looked around, suddenly fearful.

Gajeel? Oh no…

Lucy began to panic. Gajeel was one of the superior guards for the palace, as well as an apathetic Iron Dragon Slayer. With his sensitive nose and acute hearing, he could expose Lucy's ruse in a heartbeat.

As Lucy's panicky brown eyes flittered to find the rough man, she spotted him leaning over a girl who sat on a bench. He shook his head, his long black hair waving in response, and crossed his arms, his muscles clenching. The girl glaring up at him from behind her red-framed glasses.

Gajeel took off her glasses, raising them out of her reach. He grinned down at her, amused by her adorable pout. She stomped her foot in anger and jumped for her glasses, yet could not reach them. She turned her back on him and stooped to get her tower of books Lucy didn't notice until she narrowed her eyes to focus in on the interesting pair. Before the petite girl could reach them, Gajeel swiped them and balanced them on the other hand concealed in brown gloves. Lucy held in her laughter as she watched the girl glare at him.

"You stupid iron-eater, give me my books back!" she growled in frustration.

Gajeel shook his head and snorted. "That's not a nice way to ask, shrimp," he teased as he held them higher, out of her reach.

She puffed out her cheeks and argued, "It's Levy, not 'shrimp'. Now, give me my books and my Gale-Force reading glasses! I need them!"

Lucy laughed as she witnessed Gajeel and Levy's bickering, and walked away. She didn't know Gajeel actually had a soft heart.

I wish I could live this freely forever, Lucy wished.

Lucy slapped her cheeks, reminding herself that she had to leave Fairy Tail as soon as possible and not dawdle. People around her gave her strange looks, wondering if she was all right. She saw their looks of concern and reassured them with a smile.

As they carried on their way, the princess glanced into the river, seeing her reflection.

"I don't want to go back," she murmured to her reflection. I just…want freedom…

Natsu surveyed the area as he munched heartily on his almost-gone watermelon. He watched as the people carried on to their destinations without a care in the world. None of them understood what it was like to fend for themselves on the streets. They all had money to pay for a house and food and water... While Natsu and Wendy, along with their feline companions, had nothing.

But we're doing the best we can, the Fire Dragon Slayer acknowledged as he gulped down another bite of the red, tender sweetness the watermelon had to offer.

Natsu sniffed the air, bristling slightly. There was no sign of Erza or her dumb guards in this part of the market, but he picked up the scent of another Dragon Slayer. He smelled the air and it confirmed his suspicions: it was Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer. Natsu had a metallic taste in his mouth as he identified the cold-hearted superior guard. By the whiff the pink-haired boy had gotten, Gajeel was downstream and upwind and wasn't a threat. Still a little apprehensive, Natsu's onyx eyes wandered around, listening to everything.

He heard an apologetic voice. "I'm so sorry, sir. Please, I really am very sorry."

He found the face it belonged to and saw a teenage girl wrapped in brown, tattered sheets apologizing sincerely to a glaring man she had just crashed into. However, her brown scarf had fallen to her back and exposed her blonde hair to the world. Her brown eyes looked pleading at the man, and eventually the man gave her back a warm smile and rubbed the back of his neck shamefully. The girl thanked the man with a sweet smile and glanced around before bringing the light brown scarf over her head once more and walking away.

Natsu gazed in interest after the young girl. There weren't too many blondes in Fairy Tail. He would've recognized her if he had seen her before, definitely. Inhaling the air, he picked up a sharp scent among the muddle of blended-in smells. Sharp, yet sweet. The tantalizing smell of vanilla with the addition an angelic-like scent of a warm meadow. He cocked his head to the side as she maneuvered his way through the street, coming towards his way. For some reason, he had a strange feeling about the girl. She seemed so…different from the others he had seen.

Maybe she's just weird, he figured. Her heard a loud booming sound and saw the girl gaping, dumbfounded, as a man banged a drum happily. She watched the man as he marched away and slapped her cheeks before walking away. Natsu smirked at her reaction and nodded in agreement to his aforementioned proposal.

Definitely weird, he concluded.

Lucy made her way down the street, ignoring anyone that pleaded for her to come by his or her stand. As she neared a stand that offered vegetables and fruits to customers, she saw a poor young bow with spiky black hair stretching to reach one of the apples on the stand. She gazed sympathetically at him, watching as he struggled to grab one measly apple. Yet no one would help him! The concealed princess got down to eye level with the young boy.

"You must be hungry, huh?" she enquired in a kindhearted tone.

The young boy nodded, pointing to the apples with hunger written on his face. She reached up and grabbed a juicy red fruit from the stand and handed it to the boy.

"Here you go," she said, offering him the apple with a warm smile.

The boy took the apple and embraced her with a wide smile. He fled the scene after flashing a smile back at her. Lucy watched him disappear into the sea of people, feeling elated. When she began to walk away from the stand, she felt a rough hand grab her arm and yank her back. She came face-to-face with an irate man who snarled at her in an inhumane way.

"You better be able to pay for that!" he growled as he held her wrist, crushing it slowly.

Lucy looked at him, a flash of panic in her brown eyes. "'Pay'?" she echoed.

The man glared at her and a magic circle appeared underneath them. Princess Lucy looked down at the golden circle in disbelief, then back to the furious man. This man was a mage?

"No one steals from my cart," he hissed as the circle began to light up.

The blonde royal mage's eyes widen in fear. "P-Please," she stuttered. "I-if you l-let me go to the palace, I-I can some jewel f-from the master!"

The man narrowed his eyes, not believing the sincerity and honesty held in her voice. "Thief! You should know the penalty for stealing, little girl."

Instinctively, Lucy reached for her keys, but was rudely reminded her father had her celestial keys and her whip. Loke… Please help me! she called as the circle continued to grow white. The blonde glared at the man, ready for whatever he was going to do. She wasn't going to be that helpless princess her father and her servants obviously thought she was.

She was going to fight back.

"Swords of—"

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

The hold of Lucy's wrist ceased to exist and a low moan could be heard a little ways off. Lucy sharply opened her eyes and gasped in shock as she saw the man a few yards away from her, grasping his cheek and gritting his teeth as he withheld a painful moan. Surprised, yet relieved, the celestial mage turned her head to see a young man with pink hair ready to fight as he grinned at the man, showing his protruding canine teeth. Behind him was a blue-furred cat with pure white wings, giving the trader a dirty look.

Lucy blinked.

Wait a minute…

Wings on a cat?

The merchant stumbled to his feet and glared at the young man with pink hair. "This girl is mine to deal with, street-rat!"

The boy didn't show any sign of anger, yet something dark formed in the onyx eyes of his. He cracked his knuckles. "Well I don't think this young lady right here wants you to deal with her. So why don't you let her go?"

The blonde looked at the man with widened eyes. He was…defending her? But he didn't even know her. She narrowed her eyes slightly with a hint of irritation. Defending her was chivalrous of him, but she wasn't helpless at all. She could take down this guy. She was taught to defend herself because her father was overcautious.

The burly man eyed the pinkette fire mage in disgust. "Get out of here, boy," the trader warned with an unveiled hint of a threatening tone, "before I give you a real fight."

The blonde thought for sure the teenage male would back away, but he just snorted. His left hand burst into fiery orange flames. "Now I'm all fired up, old guy," he declared.

He's a fire mage? Lucy thought, forgetting her irritation and staring at him in amazement. She had never seen a fire mage! The only element mages she's seen were Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer, and Juvia, a skilled female water mage that's talent was unmatched by any other.

The merchant's eyes twitched at the sight of the boy's fire, but did not back down. He sneered at the bold teenager. "You'll regret those words soon."

Lucy saw that teen shrug and his right hand went ablaze. She blinked her eyes in disbelief. Fighting here? If he fought, guards would take notice of the gathered crowd, become suspicious and arrest them!

And with Gajeel so close…

Lucy shuddered. He'd break up the fight without sparing for details, arrest the merchant and the pinkette then drag the princess home while complaining that he was looking for some real action. She silently pleaded to the fire mage to stop provoking the trader and give up the fight.

"Do you even know this girl?" the merchant questioned, half-fuming, half-suspicious.

The man with his right hand on fire surveyed Lucy with searching onyx eyes. She hoped that he could see the desperation, fear and pleadingness in her eyes, because if not… She shuddered once more.

Erza and Gajeel…

The boy's onyx eyes returned to the merchant. His hand ceased to flame and he lost his provocative stance. The pink-haired boy strolled over to the rather obese merchant with such a poker face that Lucy was sure he was about to punch the food dealer in the stomach. To her relief, he didn't.

"Sadly, yes," he answered to the man in a grave tone. He glanced at Lucy and gave her a sympathetic look. "She is my sister."

The merchant had a suspicious look in his eyes, yet lost his fighting stance as he eyed the boy and the concealed princess.

The pink-haired teen whispered to the man, yet loud enough for Lucy to her, "She's a little looney. A complete weirdo."

To that remark, the blonde huffed and crossed her arms as she narrowed her eyes with a flicker of irritation. What is he doing? she wondered as she glared at the unnamed fire mage.

"But she said she knew the master," the merchant insisted.

Lucy watched as the young male let out a sigh and responded, "She thinks the cat is the master." He pointed to a blue-furred tomcat, which stood beside Lucy, reaching his paw out for an unguarded silver-scaled fish. As soon as the tom realized that the focus was on him he safely retreated his paw.

The seventeen year-old celestial mage furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She was the daughter of the master! That cat looked nothing like him! Once she saw the glint in the boy's eyes, she understood what he was trying to do for her.

Lucy got on her knees and bowed to the feline. "Oh wise and powerful master!" she praised. She could see amusement flicker in the black eyes of the cat as it reached out on of its forepaws and patted her blonde hair.

"Good dummy," the cat said in an entertained mew.

No one saw Lucy's eyes widen in surprise. A talking cat? First, a pervert harasses her. Then she sees Gajeel teasing a girl named Levy. Next, some guy with pink hair saves her. Now, she is bowing to a talking cat with wings that called her "weirdo."

Lucy's first hours on the streets of Fairy Tail had been the weirdest ones of her life.

She heard the voice of the young male speak to the merchant in such a convincing manner. "Tragic, isn't it? With her weirdness she'll never find a guy to like her," he went on in a solemn tone.

Lucy could her murmurs of sympathy from passersby who witnessed the encounter on the way to their destination. She bristled, irritated. She wasn't that weird. And she just had about twenty guys head-over-heels for her attempt to marry her!

A hand roughly helped Lucy stand to her feet and before she saw the face of this mysterious helper, she saw his parachute pants, worn black sandals and the bottom of his black vest. Meeting the eyes of her guide, she stared into friendly onyx ones.

He turned her around and shoved her away from the site as he told her in a loud voice, "Come on, sis, we need to go to the doctor."

Luck blanked, putting on a straight face as she stopped near the face of a chewing camel. "Hello, doctor. How are you?" she greeted.

She could feel the boy's head close to hers as he murmured loud enough for the merchant to hear, "No, no, not that one." He paused and called back, "Come on, Happy!"

Lucy glanced back. She only saw the faces and bodies of people walking through the streets. Happy…? Must be the cat, she concluded smartly. She saw the feline with his paws full of fish, eyes wide. The merchant looked at the cat and reached to grab it. The cat then unfurled its hidden wings and began to take flight, avoiding the clutches of the man. Lucy couldn't believe it. A flying and talking cat… A guy with pink hair who starts fire like it's nothing…

Who were these people?

"What's going on over there?"

Both the boy pushing the blonde and Lucy froze in their tracks. The voice belonged to Gajeel! Lucy would recognize that sneering tone anywhere. Panic electrified her body and rendered her paralyzed. If Gajeel found out her whereabouts, he'd drag her back to the palace without being… friendly. Escaping his nose now was nearly impossible now that he was closing in on them. What was she going to do?

"Oh shoot," she cursed herself. She could hear Gajeel's footsteps coming closer. It's too late running now, she told her panicked self. He's coming and he'll know it's you by your scent.

Lucy waited nervously as Gajeel continued to make his way towards her, waiting for him to come and take her away…

Lucy was picked up off the ground and thrown onto the back of someone, her head banging on the black fabric that concealed their hard back. She twitched and squirmed, angered by her captor. She wasn't going to get kidnapped. Not now. Not ever.

"Well? Anyone want to tell me what's going on here?" Gajeel's voice rang. The sea of people seemed uneasy to answer in fear of him as they continued to walk.

Lucy shut her eyes, waiting for Gajeel to find her, grab her, and drag her away. The sensation never fell upon her, however. Instead, she felt a breeze rattling her disguise. She opened her eyes and saw that the street she was previously on was now vanishing from her vision, and rapidly at that.

"What the…?"

She twisted her head, hoping to catch a glimpse of her captor. All she saw was a flash a pink hair.

Pink hair?

The boy that saved her! Now he had saved her twice! Lucy grumbled. She did appreciate the boy's help, but couldn't he put her down? She could run just as well.

"What are you doing?" she hissed into his ear, still twitching.

She may not have been able to see it, but she could hear his smirk as he answered as though the answer was obvious. "Saving you, of course!"

Stopping her fidgeting, Lucy huffed and shook her head. It was nice to know that when she left the palace to do things on her own, some random marketplace boy saved her…

Mavis, please let this boy not be crazy, she prayed as the boy continued to sprint away.