Act 3

Please excuse the late update. Mslead fell into a coma after finals.

40

Dealing with Dragons

"No proper princess would come out looking for dragons," Woraug objected.

"Well I'm not a proper princess then!" Cimorene snapped. "I make cherries jubillee and I volunteer for dragons, and I conjugate Latin verbs- or at least I would if anyone would let me. So there!"

― Patricia C. Wrede, Dealing with Dragons

A week later found Lucy scribbling at her desk, Natsu dozing in the corner of their room with Happy snuggled in the crook of his neck.

After the battle with Motherglare, which had been annoying, something within Natsu seemed to relax. It was almost as if one more piece of himself had become whole again.

It was Lucy. whatever she was doing, it seemed to be working. No matter how he looked at it, she was doing an excellent job at rearranging the jagged pieces of his heart, sculpting it back into something comfortable and solid again.

His eyes drifted upwards, where she swept a long curtain of her hair back from her shoulder to tuck behind her ear. Natsu swallowed, eyes following the gentle slope of her neck and shoulders.

A familiar curl of heat licked at his insides. It was ridiculous. All she was doing was sitting at her desk with her hair pulled from her face.

So why did the sight of her fill his stomach with a coiling pool of nerves?

She was sitting.

Doing.

Nothing.

Ugh, how pathetic could he get?

She was like a snake charmer to his reptilian heritage, and he did not mind at all being taken under her control. After all, it would be willing.

"Natsu," Happy's sleepy voice murmured in his ear, a wet nose pushing lightly into his cheek, "You liiiiiiike her"

The weird trill made Natsu blush, but he rolled the bundle of fur over to set him in the cushions. Happy didn't mind, falling back fast asleep within seconds as Natsu got up to walk behind Lucy. Well the furball wasn't wrong. Had he been hanging out with Virgo again?

After that shared night, not much had changed between them. They acted exactly the same as they had before, the only difference being that he got to kiss Lucy now. Sometimes, when they were alone, even more than that. And each time it happened, it made different flutters spill in his ribs. Sometimes it was awkward and rushed, sometimes it was wet and a little messy, but every time he got to feel her smiling lips against his, it was like Natsu's brain stopped working.

Every encounter they had, whether it was hand holding or a small kiss to the cheek, Lucy gently initiated. It was almost as if she was aware of how much hesitation Natsu held. And as grateful as he was for her, and the consideration - Natsu wanted to make it up to her.

There was only one thing he could do for Lucy. Something she never asked for, not even once. But it was something Natsu found he wanted to share with her. Just her.

His heart jumped to his throat nervously, setting his hands nervously on her bare shoulders, "Ah... Lucy..." He murmured against the back of her ear, "Wanna see something fun?"

Lucy shivered in surprise at the feel of his hot breath brushing against her, and the tone of his voice. This sounded curious.

She smiled as she shifted to look at him, "What did you have in mind?" She murmured, distracted from her writing.

She'd been happy to take the lead in their relationship so far, to show him what to do, but from the look on his face he was getting ready to start something on his own.

She set her pen down and leaned into his hands, looking up at him with a grin, "I hope it involves more of your hands rubbing my shoulders."

Natsu chuckled softly as he tugged her gently out of her chair, "No, but I'm sure we can pick that up once we get there."

Now that caught Lucy's interest.

"Where are we going?" She asked, and he grinned broadly, absurdly pleased that it was going so well so far, "It's a surprise." He whispered and moved towards the door, "C'mon."

Completely intrigued by now she followed his lead and quietly tiptoed out of their apartment and down to the street where he promptly picked her up bridal style and grinned, "Hold on. We'll get there a lot faster if I carry you."

Lucy nodded and snuggled close as he took off at a fast run.

Natsu laughed as fire ignited under his heels, rocketing him forward. Happy would be fine for a little while by himself while Natsu showed her something special. It was meant only for her eyes right now. He was showing it to her before the rest of his nest after all.

He ran past the guild, and Natsu could practically feel her natural curiosity mounting with each passing second. Shifting her head back and forth every now and then, she was occasionally looking over his shoulder to see if he went down a familiar street she would recognize.

Natsu hid his smirk and merely continued on.

He let out a rough laugh as he sprinted out of the Magnolia limits. It was then she finally snapped, unable to help herself from asking, "Natsu where are we going?"

Honestly he was surprised it took her so long to ask that question, but Natsu flashed his partner a roguish smile.

"It's a secret!" He sang out.

Twisting and turning, occasionally looking over his shoulder every now and then to ensure they weren't being followed, Natsu made his way into a thickly shadowed meadow. Light pierced like beams through the canopy overhead, leaving wooded patterns over the grass and a curiously flat looking cliff-face.

Natsu set her down, his cheeks flushed and a happy grin on his face.

"Just wait here a second," He promised to her, whipping back around to the wall and feeling against the rocky surface, "Now where did I leave that- aHA!"

His arm seemed to sink into the stone itself, dropping all the way down to his elbow. Lucy almost screamed in fear for his arm when there was a loud 'click' and a massive hole appeared in the previously flat wall.

"What was it? A barrier?" Lucy breathed.

Natsu grinned, "Something like that. I gotta keep it protected while I'm away, right?"

He slid his hand into hers once his arm was free, a smile on his face, "Now come on Lucy! I want to show you my hoard!"

Lucy's eyes widened in shock, "Really?"

She'd never asked to see his hoard even though she'd been somewhat curious about it and it's rumored size. She knew without looking that it wasn't something you just asked to see. That would be like someone randomly asking if they could pretty please see your personal journal or something equally intimate.

Natsu, however, just laughed, "Well yeah! I wouldn't have brought you out here if I didn't! Duh!"

He tugged gently on her hand, pulling her inside past the entrance. Lucy gasped as the barrier re-applied itself once they were inside and the lights started to come on.

Beautiful did not even begin to describe it.

The magic lights he had floating around were a sort of reddish-gold that, honestly, reminded her a little of tiny fires. Overall they weren't very bright, but they didn't really need to be. Their light caught and bounced off piles of gold coins, precious gems, and other treasures worth who knew how much.

Most of it was piled into a gigantic mound in the middle that, hilarious as it sounded, Natsu probably had slept on when he was in his dragon form. As tough as his scales were he probably wouldn't even notice if he rolled over on a diamond or something.

"Natsu... this is amazing!" She breathed in awe, just taking it in, and fighting back the urge to giggle as stories about dragons and princesses and adventurers finding treasure popped into her head.

She knew, realistically, that most of it was stolen, but at the moment that didn't matter. And it probably wouldn't later either. Whatever, whoever, had owned it in the past was probably dead and she just didn't have the heart to scold him about his pride and joy.

Natsu beamed at her, entirely pleased by her reaction, and led her further inside, "C'mon!" He cackled, "I didn't bring you here just to gawk at it!"

Lucy laughed as he grabbed her by her hand and ran through the dancing lights. Their flame-like caresses were warm, but didn't burn Lucy as they burst past them. It was a massive hoard, with a lingering, smoky smell and a permanent warmth that radiated from the walls.

Natsu dragged Lucy up a mountain of gold coins, nearly busting a gut when she slipped on a stack of gold and slipped all the way down, shrieking.

He laughed so hard, he didn't notice when he stepped back onto a plush rug and his feet fell out from underneath him, causing him to slide down right after her, face first.

"This place is a mess!" Lucy laughed as she watched Natsu slam into a tottering pile of paintings, all of which crashed down and buried him.

He popped his head out with a broad grin, even as a corner caught him on the temple, causing him to swear at the frame.

"Is not!"

Lucy grabbed his arm and helped him free himself. Really, it was as if they had dropped into the Cave of Wonders itself. His hoard was just as vast as he always bragged.

"You just got buried by early century classical paintings after I slipped down a slope of gold bars," Lucy smirked at him, "What exactly would you call this?"

He looked up at the ceiling for a second and tapped his finger against his chin.

"Awesome!"

His simple answer made her smile, and she took his hand when they continued their journey anew, up another slope, around a pile of precious stones, through an underpass of ancient artifacts, and skirted across a bridge encrusted with bronze.

Organized chaos was perhaps the best way to describe the glittering landscape they were crossing. Further and further they ventured into Natsu's hoard.

He boldly navigated without ever having to double check himself or glance around. Aside from his first slip, his footing was sound even on the most slippery of surfaces. This was his home.

While all of the south was Natsu's territory, his hoard was where he slept and rested. Lucy felt a sudden thrill over the fact he was sharing it with her.

And as they walked on, Lucy realized after a while, things were getting smaller. There were still piles of gold and the like, but everything seemed to shrink. Almost as if they were stacked not by a dragon, but a human.

"We're in a portion of my hoard from my early years," Natsu said as way as explanation before Lucy could ask. Sure enough, there were items of less value, but of more comfort in this section of his hoard. Meant to sustain a human life instead of the scaled, hardy body of a dragon.

There were furs and pillows, fine fabrics of linen and silk draped from the ceiling and stacked in corners. Soft cushions and blankets, rugs and clothing.

None of which she had seen Natsu actually wear before, but she figured he hadn't cared. From what she could see, there were a few fine, royal gowns encrusted in diamonds, along with a king's crown.

It seemed he didn't care what kind of clothing it was. If it had enough shine to it, he wasn't picky.

Natsu let go over her hand and looked around, "I haven't been in this section of my hoard in a very long time."

He reached out to take some of the fabrics in his hand, rubbing the finer silks together, "I'm surprised these held up. It's been a while after all."

"I think it's beautiful." She replied honestly, glancing around and unable to see a hint of dust or smell a trace of mold. How that was possible was beyond her, but the likely answer was some kind of magic since it wasn't likely Natsu had any idea what polish or dust rags were.

Natsu flashed her a proud grin and began rummaging around through the dresses and things, "Go ahead and look around." He invited as he stuck his head and shoulders into a wardrobe, an idea tickling his brain now that he had her here.

It was silly, and maybe a little childish, but he'd read all those stories about princesses and dragons and while most of them were stupid he remembered chattering at Igneel when he was a hatchling about how he was going to have the prettiest princess ever to be part of his hoard.

Now he had Lucy here, and as far as he was concerned she was definitely the prettiest princess he'd ever seen. And he wanted her to dress the part.

So he carefully shifted through the various gowns until he found one he thought was her size and set it carefully aside before he started sifting through some of the other piles of things for jewelry.

There was no way he was going to let his princess have anything less than the very best.

He peeked over to where she was admiring a pile of furs and silks, running her hands over them in obvious appreciation, and made a mental note to bring some of them back too. The furs especially would be a nice addition.

Once he was done he managed to unearth a mannequin and slipped behind a screen to arrange everything on it.

Perfect.

He tried to swallow back his sudden nerves as he studied the finished presentation. He really hoped she liked it.

Well, she as a girl right? That meant she liked dresses! ...Right?

A terrifying image of Erza slashing through her enemies with a sword and donned in a wedding dress sprang to his mind. He swallowed tightly in fear, suddenly grateful Lucy was not a requip mage like her.

He fingered the fluffy gown, encrusted in jewels and dripping with rare laces. Honestly he had no reason why he kept it. And at the time when he had stolen it, all he had been thinking about was stripping it of its rare stones.

He was glad he hadn't though and his natural laziness had kicked in, leaving it intact.

Would she like it? Or would she totally hate it? Natsu didn't know a whole lot about Lucy's life back at home, other than the fact she had been her world's equivalent of royalty.

And she hated it.

Perhaps she wouldn't like it after all?

"Oh crap, I'm an idiot," Natsu muttered and began to try to shove the dress, mannequin and all, into the wardrobe.

He nearly felt his spirit leave his body when a gentle touch rested on his back and Lucy's scent returned to his senses.

She was setting her chin lightly over his shoulder, looking at the flowing dress in curiosity.

"What's this?" She asked, ducking under his arm to trace her fingertips along the embroidered bodice.

"Ah... Uhm," Natsu swallowed, "That is-"

"It's beautiful!" Lucy exclaimed as she tried to get a better look at it, "Why are you hiding it in the wardrobe?"

She shot him such a confused look that he couldn't help flushing guiltily, "I thought you wouldn't like it." He mumbled, and her confused expression deepened.

"Why wouldn't I like it?" She asked and when Natsu just shuffled his feet she shook her head and gently pulled it out of his hands so she could pull it out and properly look at it.

Her eyes widened as she took in the full splendor of the dress and the jewelry that was with it. She didn't know if it was meant to be a matching set or not, but it was a beautiful combination regardless.

"Natsu..." She breathed in awe, gently caressing her fingers over a creation that looked like it was meant to adorn a royal's back on her wedding day or coronation, "This is exquisite!"

She wondered what it would be like to wear such a thing, and knew immediately it could only be for special occasions. Not even she had enough money for something like this to be worn only once.

But at the same time it was far too fine to wear regularly.

"You... like it?" Natsu asked hesitantly, wanting to be sure, "I thought you didn't like royal stuff?"

Lucy shot him a confused look again, "Where did you get that idea?" She asked, but immediately her own confusion cleared as she realized what he must be thinking.

"Oh! No." She grinned at him, "It's the stuffy manners and lifestyle I don't like. And I like being independent too." She turned her attention back to admiring the gown, "Objects and money don't buy happiness." She explained, and flashed him a slight smirk, "But I don't mind appreciating the finer things in life sometimes."

She gently ran a hand over a jewel encrusted hem, "And this is about as fine as you can get. Really. It's a work of art."

"Then you can have it!" Natsu found himself blurting out.

A wide smile had raced over his face, especially at the absolutely dumbstruck look on her face. Which made it all the more rewarding.

He didn't blame her, Natsu had made it clear he hated sharing any portion of his hoard with anyone. And he had just given Lucy a very expensive trinket from it.

"You want me to-" She stared at the dress, her jaw dropping open in shock at the fine fabrics rustling against her fingertips. Really, it was too pretty for her to just wear it. She couldn't do that, could she?

"Yeah, why not?" Natsu flashed her a bored look, as if already done with the conversation, He walked over to the jewelry accompanying it and placed a tiara on her head.

His finger circled the golden band and he grinned at her crookedly, "Don't look too shocked."

He pouted at her fish-eyed expression, a little offended himself for her utter disbelief, "It ain't like I'm going to be wearin' it any time soon."

"Any time soon?" Lucy smirked at him, which caused him to growl at her.

Natsu crossed the space between them in a second, dropping his chin heavily on the top of her head and propping his elbows on her shoulders as he used her entire body as his personal rest.

"Laugh it up Lucy," He purred happily, and she couldn't help but sink backwards into his chest, his smoky scent filling the space around them, "You're not going to deny a gift from a dragon."

"You know you can't keep going back and forth between calling yourself a dragonslayer to dragon whenever it's convenient for you," Lucy complained.

"Watch me," was his smug response.

Lucy rolled her eyes at him, but leaned over and pulled him into a sweet kiss, "Thank you." She murmured, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

She'd found that the smallest touches and gestures seemed to mean the most to Natsu. Something she could fully understand. After all, it was in the small ways that the most was said, even if he was still a bit hesitant to accept the gestures for what they were and not blows.

She smiled when he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her as well, something he hadn't actually done very often so far, and hugged her back.

"You're welcome." He murmured into her hair with a smile, "I'm glad you like it."

It was hard for him to describe how he was feeling at the moment, but he knew it was good. She was here, in his arms, and she liked his present. He didn't know why, but that meant a lot to him.

He pulled back after a moment though and grinned at her, "So are you gonna try it on or what?"

Lucy blinked a little in surprise, "What? Now?"

"Well sure now silly!" Natsu cackled, "You can't be my captured princess until you dress the part right?"

Lucy gaped at him, not sure how to respond to that, but the broad grin, with almost child-like eagerness, on his face had her caving in an instant.

"Fine." She grinned as she gathered the mannequin and sashayed behind a privacy screen that was probably worth as much as her dress, "But no peeking!"

Natsu snorted back as he watched Lucy's attempt at being cute fail as her heel caught on some gold and she nearly fell over on her face, dragging the dress with her.

Her face bright red as she scurried behind it, Natsu fell over in a peal of laughter, momentarily distracting himself from the thought of Lucy changing not five feet away.

"It's not funny!" Lucy protested. Natsu's laughter increased in volume, the silliness of the mental image jumping to his mind, along with Lucy's offended voice.

"B-But y-you-!" Natsu wheezed, curling down to rest on his calves, wiping tears from his eyes as he giggled hysterically.

"You were trying to look so smooth!" Natsu snorted, but yelped as one of Lucy's boots dropped onto his head out of nowhere.

He blinked, staring up over his head at the sight of a small, circular gate just large enough to drop her boot to nail him in the face.

"Looks like I'm getting better at this, huh?" Lucy said triumphantly, and Natsu could catch a sight of her smirk from the other side of the gate.

He just shrugged and took the boot, giving the portal a baleful look.

"I can see your panties," Came his dry response to her bragging.

Predictably, Lucy let out another shriek, even despite Natsu's bold-faced lie and the gate snapped shut in his face. All it did was encourage him to start laughing anew.

"J-jerk!" Wow, Natsu could practically hear the blush on her face. It was incredible.

Sliding up to the screen, but not peering around it despite how he was tempted, Natsu rested his hand against the frame. He cocked his head, not quite able to understand her 'no peeking' rule.

She stared at him all the time, right? And they had done...things together. A blushed worked over his cheeks at the memories.

Really, Lucy was so weird with her rules sometimes. They didn't make any sense.

Lucy spotted his silhouette on the other side, but didn't argue about it. As long as he didn't come peeking it was fine.

Personally, she wouldn't mind him seeing her sans clothes again, but she wanted him to see the full effect of her change. It was a kind of surprise. One she wanted to put as much effort into as he had putting together her present.

Because even if he thought it up thirty seconds before he did it he'd still gone to the trouble of putting it together, and she found that incredibly sweet. Especially since it meant so much to him.

Even if she didn't really understand why that was as he'd probably forgotten it was there.

So she carefully slid the magnificent creation on, grateful that at least it wasn't the kind that required help getting into or out of, and put on her jewelry. For a mercy, there was a gold and jewel encrusted comb not too far away so she was able to comb her hair out a little before she placed the crown on and stepped around the screen with as much poise and dignity as she was able to muster.

She held her chin high, the very image of the proper young lady, and smiled at him, "What do you think Natsu?" She asked.

Natsu was pretty sure his brain had melted and was dribbling out his ears.

When he'd put the whole thing together he'd somehow failed to think about what it would look like on her outside of the vaguest terms. Now he knew, and the sight was enough to stun him speechless.

"Whoa Lucy," He finally managed to find his tongue after several seconds of mindless searching. Natsu's throat worked hard, swallowing thickly.

"You look super-..." Natsu stared at her, "-weird..."

He mentally slapped himself, because even he knew that wasn't how he wanted his words to come out.

"Wow, thanks," Lucy's eyebrow ticked with the beginning signs of her all-consuming temper rising to the surface. Her fingers gathered around the folds of her tulle filled petticoat, hiking the skirt up high enough to expose her legs.

Natsu took a self-preserving step back, knowing the preparations for a Lucy-kick when he saw one.

He tilted his head at her and crossed his arms over his chest, trying best to find a way to soothe her before he inserted his entire foot into his mouth.

"It's just- I'm not used to seeing you like this," Natsu admitted. He began to approach her again, his fingers sliding into the dress next to where her hands were gathering fabric.

"When I first met you, I thought of you like some kind of frilly, helpless princess," He flashed her a crooked grin, "But seeing you like this is totally weird."

She was unmistakably beautiful. There was also no denying the grace and pose she held herself was someone of noble upbringing, however the fierceness in her warm eyes-

It was more suiting for a mage than a princess. Although he supposed there was no harm in her being both.

Still, Natsu was positive like this, Lucy could swindle a hundred men out of their jewel in seconds.

Lucy eyed him for a moment before deciding this was probably his attempt at giving her a compliment. It looked weird because it wasn't how she normally looked, and if he didn't see her as the frilly, useless, type to wear stuff like then that meant he thought she was strong?

It was an odd game of connect the dots, but that was often what she had to do with Natsu. He never said stuff he didn't mean, but figuring out what he really did mean by what he said was tricky sometimes.

She gave him a slightly exasperated look, "One of these days you'll tell me I look stunningly gorgeous or something instead of weird and I'll fall over in shock." She huffed slightly, but a fond smile kept tugging at her lips and making it difficult to keep up the appearance she was even a little angry.

Natsu folded his hands over hers, a crooked grin flashing over his cheeks and he gave her a smug look, "You look stunningly gorgeous." He parroted.

"Smug jerk," She shook her head a little, and smirked at him, "Alright, well now that you have your 'weird' looking princess... now what?" She grinned wickedly at his surprised look, "C'mon you must have more to whatever fantasy is in your head than this..." She wheedled.

He blinked and then grinned toothily back at her, a look that promised nothing but mischief, "Well..." He purred.

Natsu spun by her, wickedly and snagged the end of the gown, flipping it up playfully as he backed away. A growl came from him, dark eyes alight with something so silly it almost didn't look as if it belonged on his once-serious face.

Or perhaps it always had been playful, Lucy noted, squeaking as she jammed her dress back down around her legs.

"Let's see how quick the princess can move!" Natsu taunted and disappeared behind a large pile of gold.

He cackled like a child, and Lucy rolled her eyes at the sight of pink spikes poking out from the other side of the gold.

"So. It's going to be like that, is it?" Lucy smirked at Natsu.

Really, he wanted to play hide and seek? Natsu was truly a child at heart. Especially since he seemed to think it was appropriate for her to play in a gown as expensive as the one she was dressed in.

"Alright then Natsu!" Lucy challenged, a wicked grin following, "I bet you this princess is going wrangle herself a dragon!"

Gathering her skirts, she took off after him, a broad grin on her face as they played together in his hoard. Something so innocent and fun, neither of them even questioned it.

Unfortunately, it was not a fun felt through all of Magnolia.

-::-

Gray frowned at the mages laying at his feet. His arms crossed over his chest and he stared back at Magnolia. Frost still clung to his hands from where he was conjuring magic. and Juvia rose up from the river behind him.

"Naked mummy this time," Juvia noted with apprehension, "Aren't they-?"

"Yeah," Gray's teeth came together in a loud clack. It betrayed the storm of uneasy emotions coming to him, "They're a dark guild directly under the Oracian Seis."

Juvia went still and stepped out from the water. Her hand searched out Gray's who offered it freely. She took it gratefully and squeezed his wrist with her other hand.

"That was the guild which attacked Lucy," Juvia swallowed. Sure, Naked Mummy had not been a difficult guild to defeat, but they had come so close to Magnolia. The fact they had dared take such a risk was almost unheard.

"It's been pretty quiet as of late, but I don't think they've forgotten about her. Not by a long shot," Gray's eyes darkened, growing heavy with thoughts, "Looks like this was just the opening volley."

"You mean-?"

Gray looked at Juvia and nodded.

"They're about to make their move."

FINALS ARE OVAH. I AM FREE. Thank you everyone who reviewed! We didn't get enough reviews for a sneak peek, but finals are over so here you go!

Also totally haven't been around enough to do my review responses. ;3; I failed you, BUUUUT. AJDrakes drew some FANTASTIC ART for THIS CHAPTER.

Damn son, that was fast! HERE IT IS! You know the drill, replace the (x) with periods!

ajdrakes(x)tumblr(x)com/post/134976575971/oh-would-you-look-at-the-time-400-in-the-morning

This was her home. Her new world. It was everything her birth world wasn't and never could be. She would fight to stay here.

She jumped a little when she felt a warm hand land on her shoulder and looked up to see Natsu, his eyes locked fiercely on Erza, "We're not gonna ignore anything!" He snarled, "Those dark guild jerks want to fight then we'll give them a fight they won't forget!" He bared his fangs, "They're gonna regret ever messing with Lucy or Fairy Tail!"

Lucy couldn't help it. She really couldn't. A warm smile floated to her face at the sight of his ferocity. Even despite the direness of the situation and the threat to her life, his words made something in her heart float.

Not because of his declaration for her, although that was certainly part of it.

But because of his declaration to Fairy Tail.