At some point during the stroll, Natsu caught sight of a man feeding bread crumbs to the sea gulls and thought it to be a most intriguing sight. So he pulled out his sketch book and started to draw the scene. Lucy sat next to him and watched him work, they way his pencil drew each line and angle had her mesmerized. His work was so natural and simple yet it told so much without even speaking. She could see the inspiration in this eyes and the passion in his movement. She could tell that he was putting everything he had into each sketch he made. He was being driven by a desire to take something common and make it beautiful. What she wouldn't give to have talent like that.
"You know, my dream has always been to just chuck it all and become an artist." Lucy told Natsu. "Living in a garret, poor but free!"
Natsu chuckled.
"You wouldn't last two days. There's no hot water, and hardly ever any caviar."
Anger flashed in Lucy's brown eyes.
"Listen buster, first of all I hate caviar and I'm tired of everyone dismissing my dreams with a chuckle and a pat on the head."
Natsu quickly realized his mistake and corrected it.
"I'm sorry. Really, I am."
Lucy calmed down upon hearing the sincerity in his voice.
"You know there's something in me, Natsu. I feel it. I don't know what it is, whether I should be an artist, or, I don't know... a dancer."
She leapt forward, landed deftly, whirling like a dervish. Then she saw something ahead.
"Or a moving picture actress."
"So why not try to be one of those things?" Natsu asked. "Or all three?"
"Dan would never allow it and neither would father."
"Do you always do what they tell you to do?"
"Isn't that how it works with women around here? She obeys every command given to her by her father and her husband."
"Not according to my mother. Originally she supposed to marry the owner of a winery, courtesy of my gold digging grandparents. But she loved my father too much to go through with an arranged marriage, so my parents eloped."
"That's pretty bold. Probably the boldest thing I've ever heard a woman do. Did she ever regret running off with your father?"
"She and my father died when I was too young to remember them, but Zeref always said that they were happily married so I guess she never had any regrets."
"Even your mother, a woman in situation similar to mine, had more guts than me." She sighed in disappointment. "Why can't I be like you Natsu? Just head out for the horizon whenever I feel like it."
"Probably because it's not as easy as it looks."
"Looks easy for you."
"Yeah it looks easy. But it's not. My life comes with freedom but also a lot of struggle and many nights of going hungry. Of course it doesn't bother me now because I've grown accustomed to it, but to be honest, if God gave me a second chance to decide what kind of life I'd be born into, I can't say for certain that I would choose this one again."
"I'm not saying that there isn't anything good in my life, things that I should be grateful for. Because there is."
"Oh so you're life isn't one of complete misery and agony." Natsu said. "You have known some happiness, care to tell me about the rare, joyful aspects of your life?"
"Well one of them was my mother. A wonderful woman, the best woman I ever knew. I loved her so much and I wouldn't trade my short time with her for anything in the world. She always encouraged me to be myself and follow my dreams. Then there's Levy, she's my maid servant but she's also the only real friend I ever had. The only person I could ever talk to about anything. I could tell her all my secrets and how I really felt about something. Oh and of course there's Gray."
"Gray...That name rings a bell. Who's he? An old sweetheart of yours?"
"No. We're just old friends who were born into equally rich families. He's usually the only one I can talk to whenever we have to attend banquets and grand parties. We often like to mock our fellow rich associates who pretend that they're btter than everyone else."
"So you get along with him pretty well?"
"Yes I do. He reminds me that no everyone rich man is a snob or a chauvinist."
"Quick question then, if he's as rich as you and you two get along so well, how come you two didn't end up engaged?"
"Well when we first met at sixteen and fifteen, my father tried to arrange for us to marry in the future but Gray wanted to marry for love and unlike most parents in our social class, his father respected his wishes, and said no to any form of a forced union."
"And this Gray guy was never in love with you? Or even had a crush on you?"
"No. I did ask him about it once and he told me that I was a wonderful girl and that he cared for me deeply, but we could never be happy as a couple. He said that he could tell that I wanted so much more out of life. That I wanted to travel the world, explore, meet new people, and find myself. He just wants to become a simple writer and build a peaceful and quiet home, with a good woman. Gray said I was a good woman but he knew I'd never be satisfied with that kind of life."
"Sounds like he knows you pretty well."
"Better than my father knows me, that's for sure. He constantly expects me to be submissive and quiet, to marry who he chooses and be satisfied with it. And Dan is even worse, at least Father believes he's doing what's best, Dan just wants me to be some emotionless doll for him to control."
"Those are some pretty big issues you have there. Ever thought about telling them how you really feel?"
"What's the point? They'd never listen. Dan will just get angry and Father will just brush off my words and say that my mother was happy being a proper and obedient wife, so I will be too. But what he doesn't understand, is that Mother wanted to be proper and obedient, and that she was genuinely in love with my father. I don't want to be proper and obedient, and I'm not in love with-"
She quickly stopped herself from finishing that sentence. However it was too late, Natsu already knew the truth. Just as he had suspected, Lucy was not at all in love with this so-called fiancee of hers. In fact if her frustration was anything to go by, she downright hated the man. But he couldn't really blame her for not breaking the engagement. He knew for a fact that in this day and age, if a woman refused to go through with an arranged marriage, she could lose everything and end up rotting away in some gutter on the streets. Or worse, pimping herself out to any man in order to eat.
"You think I'm a coward, don't you?" Lucy asked.
"Of course not."
"It's alright, you can say it. I know I am."
"No you're not. You're not a coward, you're just trying to play the hand you were dealt with. Doing your best to survive in the circumstances you were born into. And I know it's not easy for someone to just say no and do what you want. You probably have to choose between marrying this Dan guy or spending the rest of your life in the workhouse, am I right?"
"Not exactly. It's either marry Dan or spend the rest of my life as a seamstress in a mill. And I know what you're thinking, working in a mill isn't the worst thing in the world but I don't know how to do manual labor. Nobody's taught me how to work a job or live on my own. Let's face it, you were right, I wouldn't last two days in the real world."
"Well I was just joking when I said that."
"But it's true. I don't know the first thing about relying on myself and earning my keep."
"Right now, maybe not. But you can learn to do it."
"No I can't."
"Yes you can. My brother always said that anyone can learn to do anything if they have the will to do it. I mean sure it'll be hard, exhausting, and sometimes even painful, but it's all worth it to reach your goal."
"But you need a teacher to learn how to do something right? Who would teach me?"
"I would."
Lucy chuckled.
"Sure you would."
"I would." He insisted. "I'll teach you how to get job, how to work a job, how to pay your own rent, and I'll go even further than that. I'll teach you how to drink cheap beer, how to play poker, how to ride horse."
"I know how to ride horse."
"Oh no, none of that side-saddle stuff. I mean real riding, like a cowboy."
You mean one leg on each side? Scandalous!" She faked a horrified look and then smiled. "You'd really show me?"
"Mmm-hmm." He nodded.
"Teach me to ride like a man? Drink like a man, play poker like a man, and what next? Spit like a man?"
"Oh didn't teach you that in finishing school?" He teased. "Here, it's easy. Watch closely."
Natsu spat and it arced out over the water.
"That's disgusting." Lucy said.
"Your turn." Natsu said.
"No."
"Come on, do it."
Lucy rolled her eyes then screwed up her mouth and spit. It was a pathetic little bit of foamy spittle that mostly ran down her chin before falling off into the water.
"Nope, that was pitiful." Natsu said shaking his head. "You really gotta hawk it back and then roll it on your tongue, up to the front, like this, then a big breath and plow!"
"I really shouldn't be doing this."
"Don't be chicken, you know you want to."
She really did want to. So she wnet through the steps. Hawking it down as Natsu coached her through it and while doing the steps himself. Then they let it fly. Two comets of gob fly out over the water.
"That was great!" Natsu said.
Lucy turned to him, her face alight.
"Hi Lucy."
Suddenly she became horror struck with embarrassment when she turned around to find that Gray had arrived at the scene witnessed the whole thing.
"Gray! Hello!" She waved to him nervously. When she saw the young woman standing next to her friend, she quickly used this as a means to possibly distract him. "Who's your friend?"
"My name is Juvia." She introduced herself. "I've very pleased to meet you Lucy, Gray has told me so much about you."
"Really? What has he told you."
"Oh nothing bad, I can assure you." Juvia said. "He says that you're a very bright and charming. And he also called you a spitfire."
"Heavy emphasis on spitting apparently." Gray chuckled.
"Oh now I know why you're name sounds familiar." Natsu said when he saw the dark-haired gentleman. "Nice to see you again fancy pants, and you too Juvia."
"Hello Natsu." They both greeted in a friendly manner.
"You three know each other?" Lucy asked.
"Not exactly. I met him yesterday and interviewed him for my journal." Gray said.
"And I met him this morning." Juvia said. "And I could be wrong, but think he wanted to draw me in the nude?"
Lucy and Gray both glared at Natsu and all the blood drained from his face. Lucy looked ready to slap him, while Gray instantly put his arm around Juvia in a protective fashion.
"Now hold on a minute." Natsu said. "Don't look at me like that, it's not what you think. I wasn't asking her to specifically do a nude drawing. I just asked if she'd let me draw her in general. Her brother jumped to the wrong conclusion."
"That better be the case." Gray practically growled.
"I apologize then Natsu." Juvia said. "I didn't mean to get you into trouble. Shall we all stroll together? Since we're familiar with one another now."
"Sure." Natsu said.
"That's sounds nice." Lucy said.
"I'd like that." Gray said. "But quick question, why were you spitting Lucy?"
Lucy blushed.
"I was just teaching her how to spit like a man." Natsu said.
"Oh, well then why didn't you just ask me to teach you?" Gray said.
"Yeah right." Natsu laughed. "You college boys don't know nothing about how to spit like a real man."
"Is that a challenge?" Gray asked.
"Maybe." Natsu said with a mischievous look on his face. "Right here, right now, spit off. Loser buys the winner a beer."
"You're on." Gray agreed.