Hello readers! Whether you've read my other stories or not, I just want you to know, I appreciate you taking the time to read my work. I'm currently still in my 'down time' but while I was feeding our daughter yesterday, I was scrolling through my Pinterest Writing Prompts board and one stuck out to me so I had to write it. If I write any more oneshots, they'll probably end up here, so make sure to follow if you're interested!

Happy reading!

Prompt: You're a dragon who enjoys living a peaceful life away from humans. One day, a princess shows up asking you to kidnap her so she doesn't have to get married.

Lucy lengthened her strides even more as she ran.

We're having company tonight, Lucy.

She barely skirted a large root poking out of the ground. As she made it passed, she fought to keep breathing.

It's a rather good friend of mine and his grandson.

The skirt of her dress caught on a pricker bush, but she kept running, ripping the fabric without a care.

I've been thinking it's time for you to settle down.

Lucy's foot caught on a small root, hidden by some brush, and tripped. Unable to catch her balance, she rolled down a steep incline. She rolled to a stop in a large clearing, where she curled up and tried to catch her breath as tears filled her eyes.

His grandson will be a good match for you.

She'd stopped listening then. She didn't care whose son he was, or how much money he had, or how good a match he was for a princess. She didn't want to marry him.

She didn't want to marry ever.

Lucy had never enjoyed being a princess. Rather, she hadn't enjoyed it since her mother passed away. As a little girl, she'd enjoyed the stories about white knights saving the princess from the dragon. She'd enjoyed the tea parties and balls she'd hosted in her room. She'd enjoyed listening to her subjects, her stuffed animals, as they'd told her their troubles, and enjoyed telling them how she would help. She'd enjoyed dressing up in her extravagant dresses with her mother and learning how to be a proper princess.

So for a while, she had enjoyed being a princess.

But not anymore.

Especially not since her eighteenth birthday. Her father had introduced her to suitor after suitor, agreeing, after a lot of negotiating, to allow her to meet them before having her choose one to be her husband.

That had been almost six months ago, though.

Now her father was refusing to give her anymore time, and Lucy had yet to meet a man who captivated her enough that she wanted to marry him. They were all either too old or too young, too stuffy or too arrogant, too cold or too chauvinist. Not one had been even close to what she wanted in a husband.

That could be her fault, she supposed. She was hoping for something very rare, something she wasn't likely to find, no matter how hard she looked.

She wanted what her parents had had. She wanted mutual caring and trust. She wanted someone she could talk to and would talk to her in return. Someone who would value her input- someone who would even seek her opinion on occasion as they ruled over Fiore together.

She wanted love.

But that wasn't to be.

She didn't know much about the son of her father's advisor, but she knew he wasn't her type. His grandfather had always been kind to her, acting more like family than one of her father's advisors. She'd always enjoyed seeing him, but that wasn't enough to convince her to marry his grandson.

She'd seen Laxus a few times at the castle, but she'd always avoided talking to him. Sure, he was handsome and very physically fit, an uncommon trait among the hierarchy, but he always sported a frown, and walked around like he owned the place. Not only that, he had his own bunch of followers who worshipped the ground he walked on, and they were constantly at his side. She didn't want a husband who needed that constant ego trip at his side.

Lucy finally released her legs and then sat up, rubbing the tears from her eyes as she did so. Her guard would no doubt find her soon, and it wouldn't do for him to see her in this state, no matter how loyal he was.

If only she could marry Loke…

Not that she liked him in that way, per se, but he was a better choice for her than any of the ones her father had presented. She enjoyed Loke's company, and while he was a little over the top, she knew he at least wouldn't try to trap her into the traditional role as queen. He would talk to her and consult her when making plans for the kingdom, and would treat her well, not just as a trophy wife.

The hair on the back of her neck suddenly stood up and she slowly dropped her arms as she looked around. At first she didn't see it, hidden as it was in the shade of the thick trees, but once she did, she couldn't look away.

A dragon…

Natsu stared at the human as she stared at him, surprised she had noticed him. She'd been making so much noise with her running and wailing, he thought for sure she would move on without ever seeing him there.

Not that he couldn't still erase himself from her memories, he'd just been hoping he wouldn't have to bother. He had a reputation to protect after all, being what he was…

"You're a dragon," the human whispered. Her voice washed over him, surprising him with its lack of fear and hysteria. Most humans who saw him ran for cover, or begged for their lives.

But not this one. She sounded almost… hopeful.

He shifted a little, sinking into the shadows a little more, curious how she would respond.

She surprised him yet again.

"Wait!" She slapped her hand over her mouth as she scrambled to her feet, her eyes darting around the clearing in search of something. "Please wait," she said, her voice much quieter.

Obviously she knew he could hear her, but why was she talking so quietly? Was she being chased? Is that why she was so upset when she'd first appeared?

"Please, don't go," she said, her steps slow and careful as she approached him.

Natsu, still not sure how to react, moved forward, pushing his head past the line of trees into the light. The human's eyes widened as he revealed himself, but still she didn't run.

"I always thought you guys were a myth," she breathed.

"A myth?"

Her eyes bugged out of her head. "You can talk."

Natsu chuckled, amused by this strange human. "You're weird, you know that?"

"I am not!" she argued.

"Really? You're talking to a dragon. A human's usual response would be to run or at least try to hide. Not only are you not doing that, you actually asked me not to leave. I'd say that's plenty weird."

"Well… it is… strange, I suppose-"

"Strange is just another word for weird."

"-but I have a good reason for it!"

Natsu snorted, causing clouds of smoke to surround Lucy. She coughed, stepping back to avoid breathing in too much. "Hey!"

"Not my fault you were too close." He continued before she could argue with him. "So, do you wanna tell me why you're out here? Humans don't generally venture this far out into these woods. And they definitely don't just stand around when there's a dragon present so they can be eaten."

"Well I was…" Her eyes widened. "Eaten?"

Natsu grinned, displaying his sharp teeth. "What did you think dragons did with humans?"

She gulped, the noise clearly audible to him. It was almost too easy to tease her. When she took a small step back, his grin increased. Somehow, his reaction caused her to lose her fear. She straightened her spine and stepped even closer, a determined glint in her eyes.

"I know you don't eat all the humans you find. Some of you kidnap princesses and hide them in your towers or your nests as part of your hoard."

Natsu was surprised to hear that. It was true the dragons continued to encourage the rumors that they ate humans in an effort to keep them away, but he'd never heard anything about them capturing humans. "We do, do we?" he said.

"Yes, and that's exactly what I want you to do."

Natsu was surprised by the odd request. "You want me to capture you? Why would you want that?"

"Because then I wouldn't have to marry my father's stupid suitor."

With a frown, Natsu finally studied the human more fully. Her blonde hair was filled with leaves and small sticks from her tumble down the hill, but it had obviously been put up in some elaborate fashion prior, and there were even small pearls hanging haphazardly from the loose strands. Not to mention her dress was made of very fine material and covered in more pearls and small gems. She was probably a princess, wearing all that finery.

The gold at her throat and on her hands caught and held his attention. The desire to take them burned, but he held back. At the moment, he was more interested in the human than he was the gold, which might have been the biggest surprise of the day.

"You want me to take you so you don't have to get married?" He chuckled, the noise making the ground around them shake. "You really are a strange one, human."

"My name is Lucy."

"Okay Luigi."

The human frowned and planted her hands on her hips. "It's Lucy!"

"Alright, alright." Natsu stood and moved fully into the clearing. He was so large, he had to arrange himself in a circle, filling almost the entire outside of the clearing. Lucy moved into the middle of the space, her eyes so wide Natsu could clearly make out the color of her eyes. She fiddled with her rings, finally appearing as scared as she should have from the beginning. "I have a question," he asked as he finished settling in.

"What is that?"

"What was the plan, exactly, when you ran out here?"

The human looked even more uncertain as she fiddled with her fingers. "What do you mean?"

"You ran into these woods," he said with a tilt of his head. "The most dangerous place for humans for a good distance, with no horse and no help. What were you hoping to find out here?" He squinted at her. "Did you really come out here trying to find a dragon?"

The human lifted her chin but didn't meet his eyes. "Not exactly."

"Hoping then?" The human didn't respond, but he could hear her heartbeat increase. "That's pretty stupid, human."

"Lucy." She tilted her head to meet his gaze. "And what if I did? Death would be preferable to dealing with my father's current plans."

"Oh really?" Natsu couldn't help himself as he opened his mouth, saliva dripping from his maw as he grinned at her, his teeth fully exposed. He leaned down towards her, stopping before he dripped on her dress. "Would you like me to take care of that for you?"

"I'd like it if you'd stop doing that."

"Doing what?" Natsu studied her carefully as he spoke. She was looking rather fierce at the moment, and he found that he enjoyed it. Humans never stood up to him.

"Trying to scare me," she answered with another lift of her chin. "If you were going to eat me, you would've done it already, so I'm not scared of you anymore."

Natsu squinted at her as he lowered his head. "Liar." He could tell she was still a little scared, but she was being brave despite that.

He was rather impressed.

"I can hear your heartbeat beating too fast and your breathing is too shallow, which means you're still scared."

"That doesn't matter," she said furiously. "Either help me or eat me. I don't care which anymore."

Suddenly, Natsu began to laugh. He was so loud, Lucy had to work to maintain her balance as the ground shook. When he fell onto his side, rolling and knocking over trees, she also ended up on the ground. "Why are you laughing at me?"

"Because you look so serious!" His laughter slowly died off, and he turned his head towards her to watch her get back up to her feet. "Are you going to leave now?"

She glared at him with her hands on her hips. "Why won't you just answer me?"

"That wouldn't be any fun," he said.

"If you won't help me, I'm going to leave." She looked around once more. "My guard will catch up eventually."

They stared at each other for a long moment before Natsu rolled back onto his stomach. "What do I get out of it?"

"My gratitude?" He scoffed, and she began to wring her hands again. "What do you want?"

"Well, I'm not used to having company in my nest. Although… I suppose there is that little tower nearby you could stay in." Suddenly, his whole face lit up. "And you're a princess! Which means people will be looking for you and that'll give me someone to fight!" He leaned forward so that he was inches away from her. "Give me that necklace you're wearing for my hoard and you're on, human."

"Lucy," she said again as she unclasped the chain from around her neck and held it out. He took it eagerly and then carefully picked her up and held her to his chest.

"I'm Natsu," he said before taking off. Her sudden cry was short lived as all the air was sucked out of her lungs and he headed for his nest, his newest acquisition firmly in hand.

As they flew off, Lucy felt all her fears and doubts fall away as quickly as the ground below them, making her feel free for the first time.

How ironic that she only felt that way while being kidnapped by a dragon.