Chapter 3
"Lucy! LUCY!" Lucy snapped out of her daydream to her the unpleasant sound of her stepmother's shrill voice. "Lucy! Get our dinner up here now!" Crap the dinner! Lucy franticly heaved the smoking pot of vegetable soup of the fire. She plopped it on the table and hastily fanned the steaming pot with a cloth. "LUCY!" "I'm coming now stepmother!" Lucy called up the stairs. She quickly ladled the soup into three bowls and flew up the stairs. She hoped it wasn't ruined.
"Here ma'am" she gasped, setting the bowls in front of her stepmother and stepsisters. "What took so long" her stepmother snapped at her. "Yeah I'm hungry, you selfish like brat! You were probably stealing some soup for you!" Beatrice shrieked at her. "You miserable, stupid, grubby little wench!" Claudia snarled. "Can't you do anything right!" she said and struck Lucy across the face. Lucy stumbled backwards with a cry of pain. Her stepmother stood up, her chair screeching on the wooden floorboards and stomped over to Lucy. She grabbed a fistful of Lucy's hair and wrenched her head back.
Lucy bit her lip to stop herself from crying out at the sharp pain that shot through her scalp. Little tears beaded in the corners of her eyes. "You useless piece of filth!" her stepmother screamed in her face. She threw Lucy onto the ground and kicked her in the side hard. "You're lucky we still put up with your lazy pitiful existence! Little worthless pieces of dirt like you should be dead!" She kicked Lucy again. Her stepsisters chortled in glee. "I don't want to see your ugly face for a while! Get out!" Then she stopped and placed a finger on her chin, reconsidering. "While you're gone, we might as well make some use from you little disease" she snapped. "Go collect the girl's new dresses from the shop. If there's even a speck of dirt on either of them I'll cut your fingers off. Now get out!" she roared. Lucy scampered out the door. "Try to get yourself killed! You'll be doing the world a favour!" her stepsister's voices came after her. Then came the loud laughter.
•••
The little bell tinkled overhead as Lucy left the dress shop. She sighed, as she walked along the street, being very careful to balance the two large packages in her arms. She could just barely see over them. Her face still stung a little from Claudia's slap. She sighed again. Surprisingly, occurrences like that were pretty common for her, daily almost. She was used to it by now. The town was even busier than normal today, because of the Summer Festival was in full flow (PS it's three days since Natsu and Lucy first met). It was a festival for the lower and middle classes, although mostly the lower. Only the poorest in the middle classes joined in.
The upper class had their own festival in the palace, in a few weeks. This festival here in town took place over a course of two days. There was the market today, which was taking place right now, when the locals and travellers were selling their new products, all sorts of little trinkets and clothes and jewellery. Their little stalls were set up at the sides of the street. Colourful flags had been strung up overhead in honour of the occasion. Tomorrow night was the dancing part, which took place in a huge field not far from the outskirts of town, when all the lower class got together and played guitars, violins, piano, banjos, flutes, basically any instrument anyone could play, and everyone had great fun dancing, and playing games. There were stalls selling food and drinks, and there was always a huge bonfire which everyone danced around. Usually the festivities lasted well into the night.
Unfortunately Lucy had never been able to attend. Her stepmother always made sure she had some horrible task to do. Lucy sighed again. Then her mind drifted back to the reason she had got in trouble, the reason why she almost burnt the soup. She'd been thinking about the pink haired man. She hadn't been able to get him out of her head for the past three days. She wished she knew his name. And that they would meet again.
As she was walking past the jewellery store when something caught her eye. She shifted the packages a little to the side and moved forward so she could see better. There were lots of different bracelets, earrings and necklaces on display, but there was one in particular that caught her eye. It was a necklace, with a fine silver chain that was holding a diamond heart. It glittered in the sunlight that was streaming through the glass window, a rainbow of colours danced across its surface. Her mouth dropped open. So beautiful… Of course there wasn't a hope in hell of her owning it. It was one million jewels. It must be made from real diamond. But she could still look.
She was so captivated by the necklace that she didn't notice a certain someone creeping up behind her, until a loud "BOO!" burst out right beside her ear. She shrieked, almost dropped the dresses at whipped around to see the culprit. Her heart skipped a beat. It was the pink haired man. He had one had over his mouth and was trying hard to muffle his snorts of laughter. He was failing miserably. Soon he gave up and bent over, gasping because he was laughing that hard.
He was dressed in a much thicker white shirt this time – unfortunately… - white a scruffy brown leather jacket, brown trousers, and old scruffy brown leather boots. His jacket and shirt were both rolled up to his elbows, showing his muscular arms. Lucy felt a little bit of cold sweat trickle down her back. "It wasn't that funny" she said rolling her eyes.
"Yes it was!" Natsu replied, still gasping. He pointed a finger at her. "Your face!" he said before bursting into peals of laughter again. Lucy huffed slightly, pouting adorably. Natsu straightened up and grinned at her. He couldn't believe his luck once he saw her outside the jewellery shop. Her eyes were wide as she stared intently at something that must have been extraordinarily interesting in the store window. He felt his heart rate speed up, and he was again caught off guard by how beautiful she was.
She was staring at the window so hard she didn't even see or hear him walk up behind her. He stood there and stared at her for a little bit, still marvelling at her angelic face, before turning to see what she was staring at. It was a diamond heart necklace, which even he – who knew nothing about jewellery – had to admit it was pretty nice. Miss Mystery certainly seemed to think so. (Remember they still don't know each other's names) Then he had the brilliant idea to yell in her ear.
She was currently pouting at him. He just grinned and shrugged, "What?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Meanie" she hissed, before turned on her heel and walking on. "Hey, wait up!" Natsu called, running after her. He turned so he was walking backwards in front of her. She refused to make eye contact. "Oh come on, it was just a joke" he pleaded. "It wasn't a very funny one" she huffed, finally looking up at him. His grin grew wider once he saw those beautiful chocolate eyes again. "Will you forgive me" he said giving her the cute huge-watery-eyes-pouting-face look.
Lucy grinned slightly, but remained silent. "Pweaseeeeee" he begged. Her face split into a big grin. "Only if you tell me your name" she smiled. "That's it? No you have to get down on your knees and beg?" Natsu asked with a raised eyebrow. She smiled wider. "I didn't think of that…Good idea". "No, no my name is fine!" Natsu said flapping his hands. He extended a hand and said "I'm Natsu" with a grin. "Natsu" she said. Damn, he liked the sound of her saying his name.
Lucy turned the name over in her mouth. Natsu. She liked it. "Hello Natsu it's nice to meet you. I'm Lucy" she said taking his hand. Her hand tingled when it touched his. "Lucy" he said. She nodded. "Mhm". Lucy. Natsu liked her name. It was nice, he liked how it sounded. "Lucy. A beautiful name for a beautiful young lady" he said grinning. Crap. That just came out. In fairness it was true but was he moving too fast? What if she got scared or ran away? A fierce red blush glowed on Lucy's cheeks. He thinks I'm beautiful? She laughed and shook her head. "You must have mistaken me for someone else, I'm not beautiful".
"No I don't think so" Natsu said grinning. Then he realized they were still holding hands. She had clearly noticed too. They both quickly let go, blushing. Natsu scratched the back of his head. "Aren't those heavy?" he asked pointing at the large packages in her arms. "Huh? Oh these! Nah not really" she replied. "I'll carry them for you if you want" Natsu offered. "Oh no! Its fine I can handle them". But Natsu had already taken them out of her arms. "Tough, I'm carrying them" he said, turning to walk beside her. "So where are we headed?" he asked. Lucy was still a little stunned at his insistence to carry the packages, which was really sweet of him.
"I was just going to take a look around the stalls for a bit before I head home" she said. "Great! Where do you live?" he asked. "In the suburbs" she answered. "I work as a maid in one of the houses" she added. He nodded, smiling. Despite being a Prince Natsu didn't really care for social statuses. A friend was a friend, end of. "What do you do for a living?" she asked, turning her curious eyes to him. "Oh, I…work as a stable boy in the palace" he said quickly. Her eyes brightened in curiosity. "Oh! What's that like?" He shrugged nonchalantly. "Meh. Hay, hay and more hay". She laughed loudly. He couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face at the sound of her laugh.
Her entire face suddenly lit up. She let out a squeal and raced past him, leaving him standing slightly and confused he turned to see her leaning on the counter of a stall selling books. Lucy couldn't believe it. It was actually here! The actual real life thing! AHHHH! It was Moonlight Shadows, the next book by her favourite author that had just been released last week! It was here! "Mr Green!" Lucy called out to the book seller who was standing with his back to her in the stall. He turned around saw her and smiled. "Hello Miss Lucy! I see you've seen our latest edition!" he laughed twirling his grey moustache. Lucy nodded franticly. "Can I see it?" Mr Green nodded and lifted the book of the shelf and handed it to her.
She took it from him gently and ran her fingers down the black cover. The title was written on the top in white writing, and the cover was completely black, except for a curl of white mist on the bottom right hand corner. The snow white pages were pristine in their hardback cover. "How much is it?" she asked looking up at Mr Green her eyes shining. "Um…" he said pulling hid golden rimmed monocle off and cleaning it before putting it back on. "20,000 jewels" he muttered. Her face instantly fell. "20,000!" she gasped. Most books were around 8,000 or 9,000. "Yes, since it's just been released it has a rather high price. I'm sorry" Mr Green said. He knew she didn't have that kind of money – heck she had no money – and it was in the stall at the market, not his bookstore, so she couldn't borrow it. She shook her head. "No, don't apologize, it's not your fault" she said gently, handing the book back.
"Wait a minute". Lucy looked beside her where Natsu had suddenly appeared. He was balancing the two large packages with one hand, and had reached the other one out and stopped the book. "Did you say 20,000 jewels?" he asked Mr Green. He nodded. "Could you hold these for a minute please?" Natsu asked. "Of course" Mr Green replied taking the packages and setting them on the counter behind him. Natsu reached into his pocket and pulled out two gold coins. "Here" he said, handing them to Mr Green. "That should cover it". Lucy gaped at him. "Are you serious?" she spluttered. He grinned. "Of course I'm serious Luce" he said cheerily, handing her the book which Mr Green had wrapped up and put in a bag.
"A-are…are you sure? I can't accept this" she stammered trying to give him the book. "No Lucy, I got it for you. Just take it ok? Lucy looked at the book, then at him, then at the book, then at him again. She bit her lip. "Are you positive?" He sighed. "I'm completely positive Lucy" he smiled. Her face broke into a grin that stretched from ear to ear. "Thank you!" she cried, flinging her arms around his neck and squeezing him in a tight hug. Natsu blushed faintly as his heart hammered, but he grinned and wrapped his strong arms around her. She was so soft, and warm. And she smelt really good. As a dragon slayer he had heightened senses, so he could see, hear and smell better than the average human. She smelt like strawberries, honey and vanilla. "No problem Luce" he whispered as he nuzzled his face into her golden locks and inconspicuously breathed in her scent. Yep, this was his new favourite smell. Lucy thought her heart was about to jump right out of her chest. She was positive her cheeks were on fire. He was really warm, and she could feel the hard muscles of his chest on her stomach.
Mr Green watched them and sighed, smiling. Young love… It's about time Lucy gets herself a man to take care of her. Someone who treats her right, and loves her. She deserves as much, poor little lamb. And who better, than a prince… Mr Green had been in this kingdom for a long time. He knew exactly who Natsu was. He grinned as he had a brilliant idea. "Ehem…" he coughed lightly. Natsu and Lucy let go of each other and stood there blushing awkwardly. "If you two want, I can keep these packages here. I'll keep them safe for you and you two can go have a look around and come back and get them when you're finished". Both of their faces lit up. "Really?" they said in unison. The looked at each other grinning. Mr Green chuckled. "Sure, you two kids go have fun" he smiled. "Let's go Luce!" Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand and yelled out over his shoulder "I owe you one!" "Thanks Mr Green!" Lucy yelled as she was dragged off. Mr Green chuckled again. "Good luck Your Highness…You better treat her right" he whispered before turning back to his customers. But Natsu's sharp ears still heard him. Thanks old man…you can count on it. He grinned.
•••
Neither Natsu nor Lucy could wipe the huge grins from their faces for the entire market. They didn't buy anything, but they ran around like lunatics, trying on silly hats and making silly faces at each other, then laughing so hard they were both wheezing and had tears running down their faces. He had given her a new nickname, Luce, which Lucy really liked. No one had ever been close enough to her to give her a nickname before. Well, except her mother, who used to call her angel. But she guessed that was a motherly thing.
"So Lucy… Are you going to the dance tonight?" Natsu asked, blushing a little. He had wanted to ask her all day, because he was going and he wanted to know if she was too. He wanted to spend some more time with her, and it would be no fun without her there. Even though it had only been for a few hours, today had been the most fun he had had in a really long time. He smiled softly as he watched her tuck a loose strand of gorgeous blonde hair behind her ear.
"Um…Probably not" she said quietly, biting her lip. She really wanted to go, and she really wanted to spend more time with Natsu. Ever since her parents died, every day was the same torture after another. Today, she had really enjoyed herself. Her face hurt from smiling so much. Thanks to him. But she knew her stepmother would never let her. Natsu's mood instantly dipped. She wasn't going? But she had to go he wouldn't have any fun if she wasn't there!
"But Luce! You have to come! It won't be any fun if you don't!" he whined, pouting. Lucy blushed at that, biting her lip harder. This just drew Natsu's attention to how plump her lips were, and how soft they looked. He wondered what it would be like to kiss her…Wait what?! Ok, he was thinking of kissing her. Great. Not that that won't be nice, because he would REALLY like to try it… Ok stop. Stop being weird Natsu you don't even know if she likes you like that!
"I…I'll try, but I can't promise anything ok?" Lucy said, twiddling her fingers. Natsu sighed, and nodded. "Ok. I really hope you can make it" he grinned. Lucy grinned back. "Me too" she smiled. Her eyes drifted slowly from his adorable idiotic grin to his chest, his extraordinarily muscular chest…Which she really wanted to drag her fingers down right now…NO! Stop! Bad Lucy! Stop being perverted Lucy!
She flicked her eyes back up to his lips – his soft, kissable lips – and smiled widely. "Thanks Natsu, I had a really good time today. I hope I'll see you tomorrow night!" she laughed joyously and waved at him as she took of down the street. "Goodbye Luce, you better show!" he yelled after her.