The carriage bumped along the torn road, Lucy clinging to her mother's side as they rode through the rural village of their kingdom, sky gray and melancholy. The guards helped herself and the queen down their small flight of steps, leading the two towards a dripping cobblestone building, the little princess' eyes gazing towards the people peeking out of their homes to see the royal family. She waved with a smile to the kids who were quick to hide again, Lucy shivering as they entered the cold house.
"Mama, why are we here?" She asked as they walked down a creaky staircase, her mother turning to her with a smile.
"To find you a new friend, Lucy, dear." The two came across leaky cobblestone walls and creaking floors, almost snapping under their weight. There were swinging cell doors and old bones in corners, Lucy shivering at their scary sight. She yelped as someone at the end of the hall held up a lantern and showed their face, beckoning for they and their knights to continue forward. In another spacious room with sacks of grains, obscure weapons on the walls, and old chains rusted in odd corners. There stood four children about her age, all dirtied and yawning, smiling as the queen waved.
"There ya go, princess. Have your pick." The old man by their side grinned, Lucy still hiding behind her mother's ballgown. "Don't worry, they're plenty nice."
Lucy eyed the strange boys, curious as she had never met one her age. One with raven hair had stripped to his undergarments, wiping his nose and eyeing her with a bored look. The other sneered and had many piercings, red eyes and sharp teeth that frightened the poor girl. Another with a strange lightning scar, a bit older and both scary and bored looking. The last met her eyes, lighting up with a sheepish grin, pink cheeks to match his wild pink hair. He waved, and Lucy smiled, his grin spreading wide.
"I like pink...a lot...! It's my favorite color," She mumbled as she approached him, curtsying her greeting.
"Natsu, it is." The old man smiled, coming to pat him on his back and turned to the queen.
"Thank you again, Makarov," She bowed and he as well, Natsu quickly following lead.
"He's got a lot of power, enough training and he'll be the fiercest protector Fiore has ever seen." Makarov smiled, pushing the boy to follow as the knights led them out. Natsu waved to the others who did nothing but stick their tongues out, goodbyes already been shared the night before.
"I'm Princess Lucy Heartfilia of Fiore," The little blonde properly greeted the boy as they walked back upstairs.
"Natsu Dragneel, Fire Dragon of Atlas,"
"Natsu is going to be your personal guard from now on, he'll always be with you," The queen smiled.
And from then on, he was. Learning princess duties was only ever done so quickly for Lucy to spend her extra time playing around with Natsu. He had his own list of things to begin learning as well, ones the king would ensure a strict following if they were to fully accept this boy into their palace.
When she wasn't studying, and he wasn't endurance training, the two would play all they wanted in the gardens outside, run and make flower crowns, sit indoors and read books. Natsu had never even seen a book until he came to Fiore, Lucy teaching him every word she knew and continued to learn herself. They laughed and ate together, played with their magic together, so often falling asleep together in the library.
Her choice told tale of her destined friendship with the dragon, happy she had chosen right and found the friend she had wished for all her life. They grew up together, distance never growing apart, the death of the queen truly bringing them together.
The king made little of Lucy's grief, expecting her to continue the life she led even without her mother's wisdom to follow and live by. She would limp through classes, couldn't even be bothered to find the strength to listen. Natsu held her in the evening when she cried, rubbed circles onto her back until she was fast asleep. The king observed this one night, almost throwing the boy beyond castle walls.
