Chapter 12

Woohoo! I'm over halfway done! I'm pretty surprised that I actually went through with this.

Just a random plea for advice: I'm catsitting a devil cat who literally hisses at me if I go near his food or touch him wrong. I have to get a collar on him and it is not fun. By any chance, are there any cat experts out there? Help!

Speaking of cats, I love it when my cat 'helps' me work on this. He's sitting right here as I type.

But you aren't here to hear about cats. Here's the next chapter of Dragon's Blood! Let the Nalu commence!

Love. Is this what it does to people? Is this why my father never wanted it for me? Because it brings so much strife? Because it risks lives and forces people to make impossible choices?

I place a hand on Natsu's cheek, which has cooled considerably after its blazing fever from last night. I guess he fought through it pretty quickly, because right now, he's sleeping peacefully, eyelids fluttering softly now and then.

I've been sitting on the edge of the bed for a while, waiting for Natsu to wake up. I should be doing other, actually productive things, but I'm so concerned that the fever will come back or that he'll wake and panic.

His chest rises and falls steadily. I cleaned, stitched, and wrapped his injuries. The only major wound was a deep gash in his stomach, which I've come to realize is not as serious for a dragon as it would be for a human.

My father's words have been bothering me all day long. I look down at my hands, where I'm fiddling with the tiny glass fairy. Fairies represent hope. They represent innocence, kindness, so many other things that seem to be missing from my childhood. In a way, the little fairy seems to embody everything I never had as a girl. Things that many other children also had to go without.

Things that Natsu and his friends have given to me.

The thought surprises me as I consider it. Fairy Tail has been so kind to me. The girls visit once a week, and I can't express enough how nice it is to have female company. Erza swings by every now and then to check up on us. The one person from Fairy Tail that I have yet to meet is the mysterious Gray, this boy who grew up to work with Erza in the palace.

What is it like back there? Is it chaos? Or has my father cracked down and enforced more rules? It's hard to predict what the man is doing.

I hear a slight exhale of breath. "Lucy?"

Startled, I lift my head, pleased to see that Natsu is awake and looking at me with bleary eyes. "You're awake! How do you feel?"

I place a hand against his forehead, checking the temperature, but since he's a fire dragon, I guess that doesn't really work.

He grunts as he tries to move himself into a sitting position. "Like I could run ten miles."

"Sure you do. Lie down, you'll make your injuries worse." I tell him sternly, placing a firm hand on his chest and pushing him back down.

"It's fine, Luce. I can walk around without doing any damage, can't I?" He protests.

I shake my head. "You shouldn't be up on your feet too much. You need to heal and the only way to do that is by resting up. Here, drink this."

I hand him a mug of hot tea, and he gulps it down with a grimace. "One of Porlyusica's drinks?"

I nod. "She gave me some to take with me when I was under her care."

Natsu leans his head against the pillow with a reluctant sigh. "What happened?"

I don't respond at first, not ready to recollect yesterday just yet. After a few moments, I compose myself. "You transformed."

"So they all died?"

"Hades and a few of his men got away."

Natsu narrows his eyes. "That means they'll be back soon."

I don't confirm it, because I don't want it to be true. Before I can stop him, Natsu throws the quilt aside and swings his legs over the side of the bed.

"I'm getting up. I can't stand lying down when I could be getting my strength back." He growls, ignoring my protests.

The blankets slide off of him as he gets out of bed, landing in a heap on the floor. He grunts a little as his body sways back and forth, having to grab the bedpost for support, and I let out a short complaint as I follow him downstairs, not happy about the situation.

I'm not happy about any of this. My father told me his soldiers would be back in a few days time, and we can't stay here waiting for them to come just so I can watch another bloody brawl. But with Natsu in this condition, I don't know where else to go.

We can't travel far without being spotted. We could use the tunnels, but I don't know that they would be able to take us to a safer spot, not with Hades' tracking magic. The castle is big enough that we can hide, like we did in the past. Now that they know where we are, however, I doubt it would fool them. They would tear the place apart brick by brick.

Then again, Natsu did beat them up pretty bad. I doubt the general and his men will be able to fight again anytime soon, and it will take a few days to assemble another force. So I guess we have a day or two to figure things out before they come again.

Natsu stumbles in the hall, and I hurry to slip his arm over my shoulders, taking some of his weight. "Easy there. You aren't strong enough yet."

He scoffs, trying to stand up straight, but wincing and gripping his torso. "Sure I am. I don't need anyone's help."

With a sigh, I roll my eyes. "You need rest."

"Do not."

"Yes, you do."

"No I don't."

"Don't be difficult, Natsu." I groan, stepping away and crossing my arms.

"I'm not being difficult. Look, I'll be fine. I'll beat up anyone who tries storm this castle." He scowls dubiously. At this rate, I realize, he'll drive himself to his own grave.

"You are being difficult." I prod him in the chest, wishing he would just go back to bed. I try to control the wavering in my voice.

"Am not." He shoves my hand away.

I toss my arms in the air with a heavy exhale, shaking my head. I need him to be better, for both our sakes. If we can't figure something out within the next day, it's all over. As soon as the thought really hits me, a lump of dread starts to form in my throat. "Why do I even try? You're injured, you idiot. You aren't invincible."

What if it's too much? What if Natsu gets himself hurt even worse? What if—I don't even want to think about what might happen if they figured out our connection to Fairy Tail. Everything could come toppling down.

He smirks, to my great annoyance. "That's debatable."

That's the last straw for me.

"Ugh! You're so hopeless. Well you know what? Fine, be that way. See how you do without me around to patch you up!" I shout, which I'll probably regret doing later, but at the moment all I can think of is the fear that I'm so desperately trying to conceal. Natsu backs off right away, surprised, confused and looking a bit concerned. My eyes are starting to fill with tears, and I turn away so he can't see. "Stupid dragon!"

"Wha—Lucy!"

I ignore him and storm away, feeling my throat constrict as I try to keep it all in. I can't let him see me like this; especially not when there's more important matters at hand. I need to get away, get some fresh air. I need to clear my head and think, since I'll clearly have to do that for both of us.

I know exactly where I need to go. I dash through a wing of the castle, tears streaming off of my cheeks. I can't bear to watch another battle. I can't bear to watch his injuries get worse with each fight, until one day he just can't do it. Until he keels over and becomes the loser. The one who never gets up.

No. I won't let that happen.

I climb a spiral staircase, the one that Natsu led me up ages ago. I open the little door, stepping out onto the roof, with the view of the valley. I smile sadly, remembering the times we used to sit up here and watch the night pass by.

It's silent, no one here but me. Peaceful. I plop myself down against the wall with a sigh. The tears are still coming, and I just wish I could forget about this whole thing. I wish we could somehow be two normal people, meeting for coffee, going on dates, not caring about the rest of the world. But we can't be that, can we? I'm a princess, and he's a dragon prince. Normal was never part of the deal.

But still, can it hurt to wish?

At Crocus, the capital of Fiore…..

"Your Highness, a report on the missing princess." The guard states. He stands straight; his uniform is perfect and clean, and he wears the look of someone who's never seen battle.

The king perks up, his blue eyes narrowing in anticipation, cold as ice. "Yes? Go on."

I hold my breath as the guard clears his throat, unsealing the report and unrolling it with a painstakingly slow crinkle.

"Well?" The king snaps impatiently.

The guard looks up briefly, his eyes wide. His eyes scan over the page for a moment, and he pales slightly. "Your highness, it seems—"

"Just read it, you imbecile." The king sighs.

"R-right." He stammers, lifting the page to eye-level. "General Hades, first officer, reporting from the west. After apprehending the dragon, we succeeded in injuring him several times. However, he depleted my forces, killing fourteen of my twenty men. We nearly managed to retrieve the princess, but were forced to retreat when the dragon transformed into his true form. We request backup immediately. We have the castle under close watch, but we have reason to believe that the kidnapper is not working alone."

I breath a sigh of relief. So my sister is okay for now.

"What? Gah, I should've sent more soldiers. I want that dragon dead!" My father sneers, pacing back and forth in the war council room. "The sooner Lucy and Cobra are married, the sooner I can clean up this mess with Bosco."

I narrow my gaze in thought, catching the eye of Captain Fullbuster from across the room. He is good at making his face completely blank, as if he is just another indifferent guard.

I tilt my head slightly, and he nods, understanding. I then return my attention to the king. "Father, if I might suggest sending in the Monster Regales? They would no doubt handle the dragon without casualty."

The king runs a hand over his stubbly beard, which has emerged recently as a result of stress. The man barely remembers to eat anymore. Not that I'm complaining; if he would starve himself to death, it would make things easier for us.

"They're currently at the border. It would take an extra day for them to reach the Dragneel Estate." He states, pausing for an irritated puff of his cigar. "But I suppose it would be better. More efficient than Hades and his rabble."

I wait patiently. Gray shoots me an alarmed look, but I shake my head. Trust me.

"Yes, I suppose we can afford one day. You, contact them immediately. Tell them they have orders to pull back into Thorpe as fast as they can get there. I want the princess back here the day after tomorrow." He barks.

"Yes sir." The messenger salutes, exiting the room.

"Father, if I may, I have other things to attend to…" I state.

"Yes, yes, you may go." My father replies gruffly.

I leave the room, well aware of Gray following close behind.

"What was that?" He whisper-shouts, looking behind his shoulder at the closing doors.

"Don't worry, I've got this under control." I respond, not bothering to look back. "I bought them time, that's all. Two days. They can get to somewhere safe by then."

I hope.

"And what if they can't?" He hisses.

"They will. And even if they can't, a dragon is a formidable opponent, even for an elite team like Monster Regale."

"Not an injured dragon." Gray growls, crossing his arms. He walks alongside me, matching my stride. "Natsu is impulsive. I don't know that he has enough self- control to worry about his own well being."

"Lucy won't let him. She's a smart girl." I murmur. "If anyone can outsmart my father, it's my sister."

She was never one to be obedient.

"Won't let him what?" A female voice joins our conversation, and we both turn to see Captain Erza Scarlett strutting towards us, decked in full armor.

"It's Natsu." Gray narrows his eyes. "Did you hear the news?"

She nods. "He's gone and dug his own grave. He'll take the princess right along with him."

"That's for sure. The king is sending in the Monster Regale, on Malachi's suggestion." Gray informs her with a grunt. "Supposedly, it will buy them time."

"Time is valuable. But Natsu can handle them, no problem." She states.

"He's injured." I add, watching her confidence falter. "Hades and his troops did a number on him before he went full form and nearly wiped out the whole regiment."

"That's not good." She admits. "Do we have the preparations for plan C ready?"

Gray and I exchange a glance. "It seems that way. The way things are going, it might have to come to that."

"I don't like it. It's too much of a gamble." Gray says.

"Neither do I. We'll just have to hope that the two of them can work this out on their own." I say.

Late that night, I am awoken to a summons from my father. I'm not sleeping, of course, but it still irritates me that my father would get me out of bed for something that can probably wait until morning.

When I arrive at his study, he is sitting in an armchair by the fire. I clear my throat to announce my prescence.

"Ah, Malachi. Good." He gets up out of the chair with a wheeze and a cough, stepping towards me with the regality of an emperor. He stops in front of me, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. It takes some self control not to shove it away. "I have something to show you, my boy."

"Do you?" I say, feigning interest. To be honest, I could care less about whatever it is.

"Hrmph. Come." The King makes his way outside, and I follow.

We walk in silence. It seems like a good half hour, but we finally begin our descent into the prison levels of the castle. The prison. What on earth are we doing here?

My father leads me through the winding, mildew-covered corridors, stopping at one of the very last doors.

With a loud clank, the door opens slowly, like it isn't used very often. I wave a hand in front of my face to disperse the smell.

The room is pitch black, with only the light from the dim torches in the corridor. I step inside after my father, squinting through the dark. "What is this? Why did you bring me here?"

My father strikes a match against a flint stone. "This is one of the most well-kept secrets of the military."

I stare, confused. He lights a torch, which takes a few moments to begin blazing. As it lights the room, I make out the outline of a really, really big cage.

He moves to light the second torch, talking as he works. "You know the reasons behind the Great Dragon Purge, years ago. We wiped out all the dragons from Fiore."

The match fails to light, and he strikes it again. "Well, that was what we had thought. Until Lucy was kidnapped, we had no idea that there were any left in the world, at least, not in the wild. Not roaming free. The one who kidnapped the princess was obviously well hidden from us. Lucky Bastard."

He holds the match up to the fabric of the torch. "Fire. That was it, wasn't it? His element. I heard he barbecued a hundred men that first night. Roasted em, right in their armor. A dangerous thing, this dragon. So of course you understand why he must be stopped."

"And why is that, father?" I say, beginning to get an idea of what might be in that cage.

The torch blazes up, illuminating the other half of the room. "Dragons aren't meant to roam the earth alongside us. They are meant to be tamed, and if not tamed, exterminated. Which is exactly what I plan to do."

He pauses, lifting the torch into the air with a manic grin. "Isn't that right, Igneel?"

Lucy's POV

In the past hour, I've been able to somewhat organize my thoughts. The tears have stopped coming, but the ache in my chest is still threatening to suffocate me. Still, I know what I have to do. I've made up my mind.

I'm going to persevere. I won't abandon Natsu, because I know he'd just come after me. I can't imagine my life without him, either. As selfish as it may be, I want to stay with the crazy dragon-boy. He lit up my world the moment he flew in to it.

That aside, we need to get out of here. It's a matter of time before they come back with reinforcements, and Natsu is hurt.

The situation isn't the best. But then, haven't I been in tough positions before? We can get through this together.

"Luce." Natsu's voice sounds quiet behind me. I guess he decided to come find me after all. "You okay?"

I turn to look at him. He doesn't look me in the eye, instead casting his gaze across the valley. His cheeks carry a tint of red, obviously not comfortable.

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Sorry for storming off on you earlier." I say with a smile.

"It's okay. I wasn't thinking." He rubs the back of his neck, still not quite meeting my eyes.

There's an awkward silence between us that wasn't there before. There are so many heavy thoughts on my mind right now, and I feel so alone with all of it. Natsu can't seem to understand that he's not invincible.

"How's your, you know…" I ask, the lump coming back.

He gives a start. "Oh, what, that? Not any better than it was earlier."

"But you aren't in any more pain than earlier?" I ask, concerned.

"No, I guess not. I haven't thought about it." He shrugs, sitting down on the roof next to me with a grunt. "Okay, maybe a little bit."

"I thought so." I say quietly.

"I'm fine, really Luce. Don't worry so much. A little scratch never hurt me." He says with a grin. "I don't think Hades will be feeling this good, though. I'm all fired up for a rematch!"

My heart drops into my stomach. "So not happening."

"Aww, come on Lucy, I could totally—"

"Natsu, stop." I say abruptly, cutting him off. I'm not in the mood. "I need to talk to you about that."

His green eyes go wide, caught off guard. His surprised expression turns sheepish when he hears the serious tone in my voice.

I take a shaky breath. "They'll be back really soon with more soldiers. It'll be the same scenario, maybe worse. But you barely made it through yesterday."

Natsu narrows his eyes. "I could take 'em again. They had the element of surprise, that's all."

"No, Natsu." I sigh, exasperated. "You can't. You're hurt. And I don't want to sit by and watch you get yourself killed."

He opens his mouth to reply, but I hold up a hand. "We need to leave here. For your sake, mostly. I know you don't want to back away from a fight, but it's the only way we can stay out of my father's reach."

"I can't leave!" He protests. "This castle is the only thing left from my father. Leaving it behind would be like setting fire to everything that my family ever worked for."

"What's more important? Your family? Or your life?" I murmur.

"We can stay here. I can protect us." He insists.

"If you weren't injured, I'm sure you could. But for how long?"

"As long as I need to."

I turn my face away as the tears come again. It doesn't look like I can convince him of anything. This whole damn thing is just so hopeless.

"Lucy?" Natsu says quietly, unsure of himelf.

I try to wipe the tears away, before he sees them, but he catches my hand and turns my face back towards him. His breath hitches in his throat. "Don't cry, Luce. We'll be fine."

I shake my head. We aren't fine. We are anything but fine. Instead of speaking, I just let him pull me into his arms. He's everything warm and safe, as if nothing bad will ever happen to us as long as we're here together. How tragic, that as long as we're together, we'll see only hardship until my father goes to the grave.

I put my head on his shoulder, and we just sit like that for a good long while. I guess we're both thinking the same thing, that we'll only get so much time together.

The town looks so far away and tiny. Like a little toy town with little toy people. It's noon by now, and the sunlight glints off of each roof. All the people down there are just going about their everyday lives, never stopping to think that the two most wanted people in Fiore are here, right under their noses.

The two most wanted people in Fiore. I never thought I'd bear that title. I brought it on myself, though. I brought it on Natsu. And now, I'll have to fix it. How, I don't know. But I will set things right once more.

Malachi

"Igneel?" I gape in shock. "The dragon king?"

Sure enough, the torchlight flickers off of a slumped figure, looking right at me with eyes that remind me of burning coals. The cage itself is giant, half the size of our ballroom, and he sits in the back corner, far away from us. Judging by his scraggly beard and wild hair, he's been down here for years.

"Jude." He drawls quietly. "Decided to show me off to your bastard son, eh."

The king stiffens, but laughs it off coldly. "Not quite."

I wait for an explanation, but it doesn't come. My father appears to be examining the dragon king—who looks no different than a human—with a calculating frown. "Have you heard the news?"

The man gives a cynical chuckle. "Is that supposed to be funny?"

My father orders a guard to fetch him a glass of wine, and coughs into his sleeve. "Ah, I'd forgotten. But surely, you must hear the gossip from the guards."

Igneel turns away. "Don't you have better things to do than bore me with your small talk?"

"Fine, fine. I shall tell you." My father smiles coldly, receiving a tall bottle of red wine from the guard. He pours the wine from the bottle into a goblet, taking his time to taste it. He sets the glass down on the table, marching right up to the iron cage bars. "I have good news, Igneel. You told us your entire family was dead."

I stare at my father, incredulous. Did he really bring me down here so I could watch him gloat in front of the former dragon king?

Igneel tries to hide it, but I see his left shoulder jerk slightly at the king's words. "They are."

"Apparently not." The king says. "There's a fire dragon that's been causing trouble in my kingdom of late. It kidnapped my daughter—the princess—and we've just now pinpointed their location."

"What of it?" Igneel is trying to keep his voice level, but the waver in his voice gives him away.

"This dragon, well, I think it has a name. What was it, Malachi? Lucy said it had a name." The king says, obviously setting me up to contribute to his cruel game.

I grit my teeth to keep calm. "Natsu. His name is Natsu Dragneel."

"Yes, yes. Natsu Dragneel." He takes a sip of wine. "If memory serves me correctly, then Natsu was the name of your youngest little lizard. Isn't that so?"

Igneel's shoulders tense. "Maybe."

"And that would mean that you've been lying to us, isn't that so, Malachi?" He sneers.

I don't reply, feeling a lump of anger form in my throat.

"Oh, well. He won't last long. I'm pulling out all the stops just to take this one down, so he might be joining you soon enough. Whether here, or in hell, I can't say."

"You bastard! If you lay one finger on my son, I'll burn you into a pile of smoldering ashes!" Igneel roars, rising to his full height. "You and your whole kingdom will feel the burn."

My father laughs manically. "If only you could use your fire, that would be a lot simpler, wouldn't it?"

That's when I snap and lose my composure. "Why are you doing this? You beat them already. Just let his son go free."

The king turns on me with eyes shining with a wild craving for vengeance. For the first time, I begin to question his sanity. "Because, my boy. They're monsters. All of them."

He takes a gulp of wine, spilling all over his white jacket. "It was their fault. It was a dragon who killed Layla. It was a mage who couldn't save her. They're all the same. They all deserve to die."

I flinch at the words. He's had too much wine. We all know that my mother died from a sickness. "That's not true and you know it!"

"It is! Tell him, Igneel. Tell him how it was your eldest son who poisoned my wife. Tell him why you couldn't even keep your own child in check. How you sat by and watched while she died and did nothing. You just watched. You never even thought to punish him for it."

I look, horrified, from my father to Igneel. But Igneel meets my father's angry glare with his own, and says nothing in his defense.

"That…can't be true." I say quietly.

"It is true." The dragon king says calmly, never once breaking eye contact.

My heart plummets. I've never heard this before—not even in my father's darkest moments has he mentioned anything. I've always thought that the dragon purge was completely unjustified.

Now, for the first time, a little seed of doubt niggles in the back of my mind.

"My son used poison to assassinate Queen Layla. His actions were not condoned by my authority, nor were they acceptable in any way. He was to go into exile for his actions, as according to ancient dragon law. However, you took it upon yourself to capture and execute him. Maybe he deserved it, maybe he didn't. But it doesn't warrant the slaughter of my entire people!" He growls. His voice booms through the stone halls.

My mother. He killed my mother. My loving, beautiful, always cheerful mother. Gone, because of that dragon's spawn.

Maybe he's right. Maybe it didn't warrant the killing of every dragon in Fiore. My father is an evil man; he authorized the holocaust of an entire species.

But still, this changes everything. Is it worth the risk? I don't want to trust Lucy's life to the brother of my mother's murderer. She's worth too much to me.

Something must be done. I narrow my eyes in thought, glaring at the man in the cage. Something has to be done, and I'll be the one to do it.

Dun dun duuun! Ok, so yeah Igneel is alive and in a prison beneath the palace. Natsu is injured and stubbornly refusing to leave, aaanndd we have the older brother/crown prince facing a serious change of heart. Uh-oh. Sorry Lucy.

I'm pretty excited for the next chapter. We are just now starting to enter the pre-climax of Dragon's Blood, so…ahem…(anchor-man voice) Stay tuned for chapter 13 of Dragon's Blood!

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you're thinking. See ya!