Note: Yeah, I have no excuses lmao, I just got busy with college and stuff.

Lucy slumped under a tree, looking out to the city lights of where her home was. This was it, she was truly running away. There was no turning back now, and she knew it. As she relished in the freedom of making it out of the city, it dawned on her. Where would she go next? Everyone knew her face, she was royalty. She also had to be careful, what if she was found by her father's guards?

Lucy stood from her spot under the tree, and looked at the sun. It was about noon-time. She needed to get somewhere safer by sundown. Taking one last look at her city, she sighed, and turned her back and got ready to move out. She followed the main road from a distance, she couldn't risk being caught by some traveler.

After what felt like hours of walking, Lucy saw a few cabins in the distance. Maybe if she disguised herself, she could get a map. She knew that it would be risky, but if she knew where to go, she'd be better off than wandering around helplessly. After a few minutes of internal conflict, she approached the cabins.

"Why is this hill so steep?" Gray huffed, and leaned against a tree on the outskirts of the city. His partner Erza stayed quiet. Gray looked around, and groaned angrily. "We're never going to find this princess! We should just let her go."

"And disobey the king?" Erza didn't even bother to look at Gray, focused on this tree. Something felt off. That's when she noticed it, a piece of cloth dangling off a branch. Erza grabbed the cloth, and pulled off her armored glove, feeling the cloth with her hand.

Gray looked over at her, and walked over to Erza, observing the garment in her hand. He knew where it was from, as it had part of the royal insignia. His eyes widened and he and Erza looked at each other at the same time.

"The princess was here!" They both said simultaneously. The two soldiers took a quick drink of their respective drinks, and began heading back on the main road. Erza had been quick to point out how it was stupid to follow the main road, but Gray had assured her that no one would be foolish enough to stray too far from the road.

"Besides, we get to go and see some friends out at the border camp! We haven't seen them in ages." Gray pushed ahead quickly, and Erza sighed, following him. She knew they would be distracted at the northern border camp, but she did agree with her partner, she did miss some of her friends who were stationed there.

"Come on Lucy, you're brave. Just knock on the door and ask for a map, and maybe some food. It's not that hard." Lucy was pacing in front of the biggest of the cabins. Upon closer inspection, she noticed there were four cabins, the big one, one with a big red cross, which she assumed to be medical. The other two were just smaller versions of the big cabin. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the cabin door.

"One moment. . . No, I don't know who could be at the door. . . Maybe it's an update on the news." Lucy heard a feminine voice coming to the door. Wait, did they know about the princess? Panic began to set in. She couldn't compromise her identity. As she backed away from the door, it opened, revealing a short girl with dark blue hair, which was down. Lucy cleared her throat and readjusted her hood.

"Hello ma'am, I am just a traveler, but it seems I have lost my map, do you have one to spare?" Lucy prayed that she wouldn't be recognized. The lady in front of her looked her up and down, raised an eyebrow, but didn't question her.

"Let me go check the cabin, we might have a spare." The girl walked back inside, but left the door open, just enough so Lucy could peer inside. It was very cozy looking, all she could see was the main room. It had a large fireplace, and there was another woman sitting inside as well as a man. The man was huge, super muscular, and had white hair. He was joking around with the other woman, who had long, brown hair, and a tankard in her hand. The two seemed to be having a drinking contest. Before Lucy could peek more, the blue haired girl returned, holding an old piece of paper.

"Here's the map, but I really don't think you should head into the wilderness, the next town takes a full day to travel to, and it's nearly sundown. The woods are dangerous at night. We have a cabin you can stay at. We don't mind sharing some food either." The girl said, and Lucy hesitated. She couldn't risk being caught, but what good was she if she were dead. If she wanted to die, she didn't have to run away.

"Oh, I'm not sure if I could ask you for that. Maybe I can set up right by the cabins and if I need help, I'll holler." Lucy was hoping to be able to get help from these people, but knew she couldn't be too risky. The blue haired girl smiled at Lucy.

"Well, I suppose that works. Since you'll be in our company for a little while, I'm Wendy. There's two other people who live here, but we get a lot of travelers." Wendy turned back towards the big cabin for a moment. "Cana! Elfman! We're gonna have a guest for the night!"

Lucy heard two slurred "okay"s and Wendy sighed. Lucy smiled and backed away, going to set up a little sleeping area. She didn't have much, but she could set up a small fire and get cozy by a tree.

"Here we are Gray, are you happy? We made it, and it's only a little after sunset." Erza and Gray finally made it to the cabins, being a few hours behind the runaway princess. Gray mumbled an agreement, and walked over to the main cabin, knocking on the door, and being greeted by their dear friend Cana.

"Well I'll be, what brings you two royal guards all the way out here." Cana looked around. "Looking for your runaway princess?" She snickered and Gray walked inside with her, the two catching up. Erza decided to walk around and go to one of the smaller cabins. She opened the door after unlocking it.

"They never did change the old locks after I left." She chuckled lightly, and set her bag down. She removed her armor, and set it on the floor across from the bed. She lit the fireplace, and changed clothes into a much simpler outfit. After washing her clothes in the creek nearby, she began hanging them on a tree right by her cabin to let them dry.

As Erza finished hanging her clothes, she stopped to admire the ambient sounds of the forest. However, while she did hear the crickets and birds, she also heard the crackling of fire. Extremely concerned that the forest may be on fire, she grabbed a pail, got water from the creek, and ran towards the cracking. She didn't find any huge fires however, just a small campfire.

As she investigated the fire, she heard the crack of a stick, and looked towards it, and her eyes met another pair of eyes, ones that she recognized from anywhere.

This was tough to write, as I had to reread this story and figure out where I wanted it to go. Next hopefully within two weeks.