The Dragneel Affair | NaLu

Chapter 4 - New Years Feast

It had been a week since Natsu was appointed Lucy's protector. And he has continued to call her, "Miss Lucy," much to her dismay. She has tried to tell him to stop, but he wouldn't listen.

"Why do you have to call me that?" Lucy asked hours earlier.

"What's wrong with it?"

"It is too formal."

"Miss Lucy is too formal?" He asked. Lucy rolled her eyes. Calling her that was a proper title but it seemed cold to her.

"Please, call me, "Lucy," I would prefer hearing that."

"I am not sure if your father would let me. If you catch me calling you, "Lucy," by accident, I will start to call you that."

"Promise?"

"What?"

"Promise. You swear you will call me Lucy if you accidentally do so?"

"Oh, yes."

It was now an hour away from the New Years Feast. Every year, the town held a banquet in the town hall as a party to celebrate the new year. Lucy sat at the dinner table, listening to her father and his business partner talking about their plans for 1806. His partner Count Eucliffe, was a wealthy man. The two went to school together and had been close friends since childhood. His son, Sting, was nuisance. He and Sting would visit every New Years, and every year Sting would insult Lucy in some way. The previous year Lucy had greeted him by opening her arms and saying, "Go ahead! Insult me!" This year Sting didn't come. Over the year he had been in Japan for a trading opportunity and met a girl named, Yukino. He refused to come back for the holidays.

Lucy stared out the window and watched small balls of light walk down the streets. Families were already starting to head down to the town hall. She could barley see the shadows of young children being held by their parents, who were also holding the lantern. She caught the smile of a baby, wrapped up in it's mother's shawl.

"Lucy," her father said. Lucy turned her attention from the window to the man sitting in front of her.

"Yes?"

"Take the rest of the food down to Makarov and his men, there's too much for just us in the kitchen."

"What about the servants?"

"Lucy, please just go," he father said annoyed. Lucy nodded and left the dinning room. "Where were we?" He asked Count Eucliffe.

"The arrangement of our children's marriage," he said as he set down his wine glass.

"Right,"

• • •

Lucy would have taken the advantage of visiting town hall while bringing food, but both objectives were on opposite sides of town. She decided to skip the feast and head to Natsu's troop. The walk there was difficult. Walking in a direction that was against the force of the wind usually made it difficult. She found the troop's camp on the edge of town, buried inside a forest. There was a fire lit in the center of the camp, one of the soldiers was telling a story, and he seemed to be doing a good job at it. He had the full attention of all the soldiers huddled around the fire, even Lucy, who couldn't understand a word he was saying. The soldier noticed he and stopped with the story.