aaaaah I won't keep you waiting! please enjoy!

The sun beat its heat down on him and the other spectators on the training ground, Igneel grinning brightly as his sword clashed against Natsu's.

The sound of metal clanging together paired with their excited grunts made for a healthy afternoon of sparring on the royal grounds. On the northern side of the castle was the knights practice area, everyone gathered around for the day's training. The captain of the guard sighed and rolled his eyes, the day's plans never went accordingly. Once Natsu barged in on the king's demonstration, he knew they wouldn't get any proper training done.

The dirt and sand of the rougher terrain kicked up and bloomed in the air, tickling under the noses of the spectators. Natsu could taste it on his tongue, only pushing himself harder as the heat of the sun spurred him on.

"Get 'em, Natsu!" Gildarts cheered for his student, some of the knights on his side, while the others cheered for the king. "That old man has nothing on my prodigy!"

"Watch what you say to my son!" Igneel laughed as he guarded the sword Natsu thrusted in a downward strike.

"Really think you can beat me? I've got you five to three already!" The prince grit as he held his stance, a droplet of sweat falling from his brow and streaking down his face.

"Don't you know it's only fair to let little kids win? I'm only doing you a favor!" He shot back, jumping back to put some distance between the two of them. Twisting his arm, he looped the sword in a circle before gripping the hilt with both hands, holding it firmly as he pointed the tip toward Natsu. "Come at me!"

"You asked for it!" His wild grin had the knights in an uproar, their prince running forward, a trail of smoke at his heels.

But before Natsu could follow through on meeting his father's sword in the air, a bolt of cold lightning ran right through him, chilling his every last sense and turning his stomach in absolute circles.

He lost his footing and immediately fell to the ground, his eyes wide and bulging as he dry heaved. Natsu's hand shot to clench over his heart, his stomach unloading its contents in one swift motion. It would've been alarming to see anyone throw up all of a sudden, but they could tell he hadn't unloaded the contents of his stomach. It was an inordinary color, resembling more of a congealed concentration of magic that only a few of them standing around could recognize. It singed the ground and melted slightly into it, creating a dim crater that the substance bubbled in.

"Natsu!" Igneel dropped his sword and Gildarts ran forward, someone shouting for a knight to retrieve the castle's doctor.

He heaved again and choked on the pain radiating throughout his body, his eyes still wide and his teeth gnashing together. He grimaced and would have sunk further into the ground if not for his father holding him steady.

"I…It's—" The words themselves hurt to say, his throat raw and sore, grating with every vibration. Natsu strained himself, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. "It's Lucy…oh, oh god, Lucy…"

"Lucy?" Gildarts raised his head to meet Igneel's panicked and confused expression, swallowing the anxious lump in his throat. "What are you talking about? Is something wrong with her? How can you tell?"

His heart felt like it was tearing apart, the half of Lucy's soul crying out for his, dragging in all sorts of directions looking for help. His body burned in an unfortunate way, like poison filling his veins and constricting every muscle. He could hear Salamander trying to tell him what was wrong, but the magic that forced itself out of him weakened his inner flame. The connection with his sprite was fading, its energy being forced back inside of him to preserve energy.

His pain continued to grow and silenced his voice, his mouth hanging open as he struggled to keep himself from falling apart.

"What is he talking about?" Igneel knew by the guilty look on Gildarts face that he was hiding something, and this was no time to be holding back secrets. "She's in Crocus…they've never met, what is he talking about?"

"I kind of...showed the kid how he could go see her without anyone finding out," His own stomach sank at the sight of Natsu shaking, the usual strong sense of his magic wavering and diminishing right in front of them. "He's been opening portals...every so often,"

"What?!" Igneel's voice roared out, smoke naturally curling at the corners of his mouth.

"Well what was I supposed to do?! He was begging me to let him go, as if any of us could deny him wanting to see his mate!"

Igneel whirred with the new information, cringing as his son weakly confirmed what Gildarts said with a nod. They helped him onto his back and away from the muddled pool of vomit, waiting frantically for someone to return with help.

He would have been able to tell if Natsu marked her, but his scent hadn't changed from his original chemistry. Being away from a truly marked mate would have driven Natsu towards madness, not magic sickness.

"There are rules for a reason," Igneel clicked his tongue, struggling to force his concern in one direction. "Natsu, what did you—"

"I—" He took in a sharp breath, squeezing the hand his father offered him for comfort. "The...eternal flame…I gave her, ngh—a ring…"

Natsu curled in on the pang in his stomach, fighting against the absence of his flame, wishing everything would just stop. Was Lucy experiencing a pain like this too? He wanted to see her, to make sure she was safe. But the unimaginable was becoming the reality he feared would happen in their time apart.

"A ring?" Igneel looked to Gildarts again, about to ask another question, before they heard Mavis calling out.

"I'm here!" The knights made a path, stifling their worried expressions, hoping they would be given some task to aid their ailing prince.

She was quick to fall to her knees, a semi-large brown satchel crunching against the dirt. She waved a hand over him without a word, a green magic following to spread across his body. Her expression tightened, Mavis concentrating as she rifled around in her bag of medicine.

"What happened? His fire is almost out, his soul is trying to pull itself apart," Her words sat heavily in the air, Igneel's eyes wide as his son's hand weakened its grip. "I need an answer!"

"Natsu told me he was giving her a ring that harbored part of the eternal flame," Gildarts confessed, his fists tightening together. "He was worried, he could feel how unstable Lucy was getting the longer they were apart. But…"

"You know how dangerous it is if someone takes away that ring," The king grimaced, watching as Mavis pulled out a syringe filled with a flame colored liquid. Helping part Natsu's lips, she injected the fluid and waited, relief washing over them as Natsu began to calm down. "Putting it on connects her to the flame and taking it off pulls her along with it,"

"We should have gone to see them sooner," He shook his head, brushing fingers through his son's hair as Natsu slipped into slumber. "I'm not blaming anyone, you're right. As if any of us could stop him from wanting to meet her."

"The serum I gave him should keep the last of his flame stable, but not for long. His bonded soul is in danger, it's not wise to keep them apart for much longer," Mavis sighed, turning towards Gildarts as she continued. "You have to go get her, he won't survive a trip out of Tartaros. She needs to be close to the eternal flame and he can't leave it."

"If they care at all about their daughter, they'll let you bring her here,"

~000~

Jude paced slow circles in Lucy's room as priests and healers gathered around the princess, their low murmurs proving to make him worry more.

As far as they could tell, it wasn't anything he hadn't heard before. She was asleep, lost, and now broken, even worse off than the confusing state she was in as a newborn.

They made a mistake, a grave one that would undoubtedly cost Lucy her life. He wished he had been a part of the conversation Lucy and Layla had, even Loke too late to really know what was going on. He could see enough to know she was broken and that there was some turmoil over a ring, but what it meant, neither had any idea.

Layla was too distressed to talk much more, the doctor making her some tea to help calm her down and rest. He wanted to ask her more questions about the ring he now held, but stressing out his wife wouldn't do anything to help.

A priest slowly approached him with a forlorn expression, but Jude only waved him away. He knew what they were going to say and he didn't need to hear those words again.

Loke sat beside her bed as the others were eventually dismissed as they were only able to help her stay comfortable. The golden band sat heavy in his palm, and the guilt from knowing his choice put her in this state. If it wasn't him, someone else would have forced that ring off her finger, that was all he could think about. What then? He would've been thrown in the dungeon for being insubordinate and Lucy would be suffering all on her own.

"I thought she'd hate us," Jude spoke mostly for himself, but Loke was listening as he watched over the cold princess. "If I told her that she was destined to be with a demon, I thought she'd hate us. I…I had a choice, I didn't have to rely on them for help. But there was no one else who promised that Lucy would wake up. He gave me my daughter and I promised to give her back…but how could I?

"For Lucy, for a princess, for a human to have to give up everything they know and be forced to move to a place, with beasts and monsters that roam every forest. Their magic must be really amazing if he was coming to see her all these years without us ever finding out. Lucy probably kept every moment between them a secret because…we were lying to her…and we didn't trust the demons."

"Not to be rude, but you sound a little hateful saying that word," An unfamiliar voice flew into their ears, Loke quickly reaching for the hilt of his sword, Jude turning with a startled look in his eyes. "Just saying. Demons aren't all that bad, really. But humans really have a problem giving us a chance."

"Who are you?" Loke rounded himself to the other side of the bed, standing in front of Lucy with his sword pointed justly. "Why are you here?"

"No need to wave that thing around," He held his hands up in peace, his eyes moving toward the king standing in still shock. "I'm here for the princess. Our prince isn't doing so hot without her."

"...And you are?" Jude asked carefully, relaxing his body from his initial surprise. "Did King Dragneel send you?"

"My name is Gildarts, I'm an aid among other things for Igneel," He shrugged, looking between the both of them. "We don't have long to talk, both of these kids are going to die if I don't take her back to Tartaros with me."

"How am I supposed to agree to something li—"

"Who took the ring off her, huh? I'm sure that poor girl struggled to keep it and knew what it meant to take it off. The moment you brought her to us for help she wasn't human anymore, she needed magic to help her live and you idiots stole the eternal flame that was keeping her together. You should've taken their bond more seriously and now look what's happened. You want another minute to think about things? To stand here while Natsu dies and takes her with him?"

Loke lowered his sword, a cold sweat dripping from his brow as he waited for his king to answer. Jude tightened his lips and hung his head, gathering his face in his hands before he sighed and spoke.

"Will…we get to see her again?"

"Did you think she was going to be a prisoner once she came to live in Tartaros? Humans, I swear! No shit you can come to see her, learn to trust someone once in a while." Gildarts rolled his eyes, grumbling as he started toward Lucy. "We'll send for you once she's better, geez, and you think kings are smart people,"

"I want to go with her," Loke said as he stepped aside, allowing Gildarts to stand at her bedside. "I'm her personal knight, I can't leave her alone."

"Sure, sure, the more the merrier. I would invite you along too, but I think the King would burn you to a crisp for what you've done."

Loke lifted the princess into his arms, holding her carefully against his chest as Gildarts drew a jagged line in the air. Reality cracked before their eyes as a portal opened silently in the air, faux walls stretching apart to create an opening they could all see through. Across the way was a gaudy adorned room, red and gold features on the walls and furniture. Jude only caught a glimpse of a couple people gathered around a bed before they stepped through, the portal closing as quickly as it opened.

~000~

Gildarts and Loke stepped foot into Natsu's room second after leaving Fiore, the lion feeling his body adjust to the mana in the air. It was stifling, like wearing a turtleneck in hot weather. But he could already feel a strange surge of his own strength, akin to the way he felt in the Celestial Kingdom.

Torn from his thoughts, Gildarts motioned for him to set the princess down, next to a boy with familiar pink hair.

"Oh…I've seen him before,"

"Really?" A man with red hair and a tired expression lifted his head to inquire.

"The princess and I were out shopping in the market when we got separated by a crowd. I saw her get pulled down another street, but I never saw who took her. Only their pink hair."

"Rascal," He sighed as Lucy was laid beside him. "Mavis, will he wake up soon?"

"He should," She nodded with a look of relief, waving her hand over him once more to check his vitals. "His body should know to bring in more fire now that these two are together."

"Natsu just had to fall ill the day his mother is traveling, we'll get an earful when she returns," Stroking Natsu's hair one last time, Igneel forced himself to rise and motion to the others. "We'd best leave them alone. There's nothing more we can do."

"I'd prefer if I could stay and watch over Lucy, she's—" Gildarts let out a heart laugh as he clamped his hand down on Loke's shoulder.

"Trust me, kid, you don't want to see what might happen once he wakes up," He said, the knight taking a reluctant look at his charge before agreeing to leave. He didn't want to get in the way of whatever might save Lucy. "He'll take care of her, don't worry."

Time seemed to stand still in his room, Natsu's chest slowly rising with his gentle breaths, Lucy's still and shallow.

His brows knit together as he began to stir, woken by the slight comfort settling into his body. He was uncomfortably weak, the lack of fire in his body tugged at his muscles and weighed him down. But Natsu could feel a worse ache in his heart, an intense worry for Lucy's wellbeing plaguing his thoughts.

He could feel her in his soul, her troubled voice crying out, confused and lost. He attempted to reach out to her and there was no answer, her voice still echoing.

Natsu finally opened his eyes as he acclimated to Mavis' serum, a small bit of strength offered back to him. He stared wearily at his familiar ceiling, a whine in his throat as he slowly sat forward.

He groaned and nursed his head, feeling dizzy and unlike himself, cringing at his lack of magic. He readjusted his vision and sighed, groaning again with every slight move he made.

"Ugh…where's dad…" His voice was cracked and sore, Natsu turning to find a glass of water on his nightstand. Taking the glass, he allowed himself to swallow in big gulps, though that only made him feel a bit better.

Resolving a plan in his head, he needed to find Lucy. With his magic diluted and Salamander out of commission, he couldn't sit still until he knew she was safe. For now, that meant in Tartaros. He knew it wouldn't be safe for her if she continued to stay in Fiore; if anything, Gildarts could open a portal and take her by force.

She needed to be with him…and the eternal flame…

"Lucy…?" His stomach felt heavy again, sick enough to turn itself inside out, dread seeping through every end of his body.

Why hadn't he noticed her there? Why didn't she smell like the warmth he'd come to know and crave? She didn't even look like herself; her skin lacking its familiar brightness, blonde hair dull and almost white. The cold air that rose from her skin almost reminded him of that freaky ice prince, how he smelled like the breeze but not in a good way.

Lucy didn't even smell one bit like himself, how their halves were euphoric and inseparable. Her scent was missing…lost…like that small voice had been telling him.

"Hey," Natsu's voice cracked, noticing his tears as he turned to lay beside her. "Took you long enough to get here, huh? Can't believe you're in my room, Luce. I think I should've snuck you in at least once since I know what your room looks like. But dad would've figured it out right away, I didn't want to break too many rules, y'know?"

"I knew it would be dangerous if I gave you that ring…but you needed it. It felt like this too, but just a fraction of the pain. I could feel you pulling away and I…how was I supposed to leave you alone?" Natsu pressed a shaky kiss to her temple, letting his forehead rest against her own.

"I think it would've been easier just to take you. I thought about that a lot, what it might've been like if I kept you during your coming of age ball. I just…didn't want to let you go without me. It's been so hard, Luce, so hard feeling you so far away from me."

Resting his hand on her decolletage, he closed his eyes and felt the pain of her broken soul. He let out a choked sob, his nose pushing into her cheek as he looked for her scent to comfort him.

"You'll be okay, Lucy. Please trust me…when you wake up, I'll be right here." He spoke softly into her ear before dipping into the junction where her neck and shoulder met. Taking in a deep breath, he searched for his connection with the eternal flame and drew a line to siphon with.

Natsu reached for Lucy's hand and helped her fingers thread with his, focusing on the little magic he had left.

If she wasn't in crisis, this could have been a romantic moment for them. Aside from dreaming of the day she came to live with them, Natsu dreamed of the day they could share the intimate moment of offering his mark.

While binding souls was a way to create an everlasting bond between demons, marking was a whole other arena. And since Lucy was human, he couldn't wait to offer his magic to her.

Binding a demon with a human created a way for them to absorb the eternal flame, to better acclimate them to the dense magic in the air. But marking would give Lucy a piece of Natsu's own fire, a deeper scent, a deeper connection. She would be able to call upon Salamander herself and feel what it was like to have fire flowing in her veins.

He imagined it would be after their wedding ceremony, in the midst of their first night in bed as a married couple. Lucy would be adorned in white like an angel amongst the lesser, a nervous smile playing on her lips. He'd explain to her what it meant, how he wanted nothing more than to give more of himself to her. That he wanted her safe and protected and to live like one of their own.

And she would say yes, brushing her hair to the side to offer her nape for his approach. His scales would bristle and the urge to smother her in his love would be hard to ignore, but this moment would be the beginning of their forever.

Sinking his teeth into her skin now felt desperate and unknown, even the taste of her blood lacking any noticeable flavor.

His connection to the flame wavered with his weakness, but Natsu did his best to concentrate. He felt his magic leave and flow into her body, hoping there would be enough to reconnect the strings of her soul.

He weaved her link to the flame himself, opening up Lucy's pathway to be able to accept magic more freely. He sensed the flow of his fire under her skin, parting from her with the hope that she'd be okay.

Natsu rested his head on her shoulder and sighed, closing his eyes as his body became sluggish, listening to the calming pulse of magic that swelled between them.

~000~

Lucy woke up with a startled gasp, her eyes wide and her chest moving up and down as she panted.

It took her a moment to realize that she was no longer in her room, fully expecting to find her mother and Loke at her side. The last thing she remembered was the ring slipping from her finger; if she tried to think past that moment, her mind drew a blank.

Her breath hitched as she felt a warm puff of air grace her skin, a light moan sounding as someone nudged their nose into the crook of her neck.

She attempted to move, struggling as she noticed the weight of someone on top of the right half of her body. Lucy looked down and noticed the pink tuft of hair tickling her nose, a blush rushing to her cheeks as she began to put one and two together.

"...Natsu?" Her voice was hoarse and made her cough, Lucy covering her mouth as her body jumped with each exhale.

The demon prince was awake in a split second, quickly rising onto his knees the more Lucy coughed. He wiped the sleep from his face, her eyes closed, not noticing as he reached over to the pitcher of water set on his side table.

"Drink some water, Luce," He said as he poured her a glass, smiling as she nodded and let him tilt the cup against her lips.

"Thank you," She cleared her throat one last time as Natsu set the cup down, Lucy feeling her heart skip a beat when he turned his attention to her again.

"How do you feel? Are you okay?" He asked, taking her hands in his.

"I'm just fine," She nodded, taking a look around the room. The sun had long since gone down, the bright starry Tartaros sky with its red moon looming beyond the doors of his balcony. "Did Salamander tell you to come get me? I…don't remember what happened after Loke…took my ring."

"I'm not surprised," He let out a light laugh, a solemn look gracing his features. "Remember how I said it was bad luck if you ever took off your ring?"

She nodded as he continued. "Your soul was growing more and more unstable the longer you were outside of Tartaros, so I wanted you to at least have a part of the flame. It was too much for your body to handle once it was taken away…and you fell apart."

"I didn't know what was wrong until I woke up and you were here, but probably as soon as it happened, I could feel myself screaming out for you. My magic was really weak and I wasn't sure what to do, you were just so cold…well, I had to do something I would've rather had your permission to do."

"My permission?" Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat as he tightened his hold on her hands. If she didn't have a fever before, she surely had one now.

"It's something that demons do, like bonding souls, but a little different. Since we didn't have the option of deciding that moment for ourselves, I wanted to wait until after our wedding ceremony to ask you. It's…"

Lucy felt her heart beat faster as Natsu seemed to blush and clam up, his lips pursing together before finishing his sentence.

"I marked you and gave you part of my magic in hopes that it would help put you back together, and it worked! I'm so glad you're okay, but I didn't want to—"

Lucy silenced him with a tight hug, wrapping her arms around him and snuggling her cheek against his.

"You saved me and thought I might be upset about it?" She let out a watery laugh, squeezing him until he let out an 'oof' and a laugh of his own. "I love you, Natsu."

"I love you too," He returned her embrace, the two soaking into the satisfying feeling of having more than a fleeting moment to see the other.

"But what does it mean now that I have your fire? Am I a demon too?"

"You were always kind of non-human since we bonded," Natsu explained, the two still absorbed in their embrace. "But now you have the potential to create a magic of your own and you have mine to protect you. Salamander won't need a candle or a fireplace to manifest himself if he ever wants to see you, or if you want to see him. You can call on him whenever you want,"

"Can you feel it? If you concentrate, it'll feel like a ball of warmth spreading throughout your body,"

Natsu's hand slipped to caress the surface of her stomach, Lucy ignoring the butterflies that danced around, trying to concentrate and see what she could sense.

Closing her eyes, she imagined the flame of a candle sitting inside her, gasping when she recognized the new sensation spreading through her. It made her think of Natsu and his endless warmth, like an enveloping awareness that smothered any lasting loneliness she might've had.

"I would have said yes if you asked," Lucy hummed, sighing as she felt it even in the tips of her fingers. "It feels like you."

"I'm glad you like it," He smirked, the two parting to share a longing look that built a swooning tension between them. "Um, I think we should tell someone that we're okay now,"

"Yeah," Lucy nodded, stuffing down the assumption that he was about to kiss her. He looked toward the door and back at her, swallowing before he spoke again.

"I don't want to do anything that might make you feel uncomfortable, you just woke up, y'know? But I…"

"I think I'll be okay if it's just one kiss?"

~000~

Following the safe return of Lucy's soul and Natsu's returned strength, Igneel had an insisting conversation with Jude and Layla to explain everything that had happened.

It wasn't safe for Lucy to leave Tartaros but they had the option to go see her when they were ready to accept that she and Natsu would be wed on the eve of the coming summer solstice.

There was nothing that could make them love their daughter any less, though they put off their visit worrying she would be upset with what they did to her.

They hid the biggest part of her life and almost killed her in their failed attempt to protect her from a truth she herself had accepted.

But Lucy greeted them with nothing less than an emotional hug that had all three of them crying until the sun went down. The red moon was surely a surprise for them too.

Lucy introduced them to Natsu and Salamander respectively, Layla shocked to see that he was more attractive than Mest. Not that looks were everything, but a handsome prince was better than the attractive son of a duke. She was imagining the worst; a bloodthirsty beast with a hunched back and jagged teeth that spewed fire with every word. Needless today she knew nothing about demons that didn't pertain to the awful stories she heard as a child.

Loke stayed with her in Tartaros, continuing to act as her bodyguard and faithful lion.

Natsu and Lucy grew closer each day, sharing stories from their childhood, wanting to know each and every detail they'd missed over the years.

He showed her the extent of his magic, his half and full dragon forms. He even showed her how to manipulate her own magic and learn how to call forth his fire.

They lived happily ever after, save for the drama that ensued with revealing Lucy's marriage to the demon prince. Her parents explained that it would unite their kingdoms in hopes of future peace, and hopefully they'd learn from their love and come to accept that demons weren't as bad as they thought.

I'm so excited I finished this story for y'all! truly astonished that I wanted to present this to y'all as a one-shot when I started writing it at 16,000+ words LOL

thank you so much for reading! I hope I can write more stories in advance to be able to share with y'all in a timely manner!

I have a few ideas for more stories in progress ehehehe

I'm usually always so impatient to be able to share something with you but my eagerness and focus has changed a lot recently, I don't think I'm much of a one-shot girly anymore

I hope you'll check out more of my stories, and thank you again!