Pretend Princess | A NaLu Fan Fiction

Celebrations of Grandeur

hello lovely people! finally back with another chapter~ it has been too long, way too long. i am so happy to be back to writing because lord knows how much i have missed it. ive missed all of you as well! how has everyone been?

anyway, i am super excited to be back. leave suggestions in the comments, say hello, anything! 

love you all, 

kels ★

The morning light was bright, blindingly so. I stood numbly beside the bed the held the battered Lisanna. My body trembled as I thought about what she had endured. A doctor was tending to her but even though she was conscious her eyes held a faraway look. She might as well of become an eloquent doll.

"Lucy... we should get ready for the day," Natsu says in a gentle voice. I don't move. I refuse to move. I waited three days for her return. For three days I holed myself up in Natsu's bedroom, hardly eating and managing only to sleep when he forced me to close my eyes and relax beside him. It was shallow sleep, scraping the surface of keeping me awake. My prayers to my mother had been answered, at least in bringing Lisanna home alive.

Someone cleared their throat. "Princess," I turn my head toward a well-dressed man who stood beside Natsu. He looked stoic, his back was stiff and he seemed out of place within the atmosphere of the room.

"Under the sixty-third decree of Lyonidas, you are not to speak of or otherwise reveal the events surrounding Baroness Lisanna Strauss and the Kingdom of Crossbern." I stare at him with widening eyes. They meant to tell me I had to pretend this never occurred. I had to keep it all under wraps. My gaze darts to Natsu and he is solemn, his hands folded behind his back. "That is all." The man finishes and turns, leaving the room with a flourish, an icy breeze settling in behind him.

"We need to leave," Natsu moves towards me after a few more minutes. When he attempts to grab my wrist I pull it from his grasp. "Lucy." His tone is hard.

"No," I burst out sharply. "She suffered alone for too long."

"There's nothing you can do for her now. You have other responsibilities." He gently tugs me close, cradling my head and kissing my temple. "Act like you can set this aside," he whispers, "they are watching to see if you are capable."

I turn myself away from Lisanna, thus burying myself further into Natsu, ignoring now all these things I had sworn to myself to never do. One of those being to accept comfort from someone like him. "How? How can I?" My voice is considerably softer at this point. It's the most I can manage as raising it would simply evoke unwanted tears.

"Just keep her in your thoughts, remember she is in the best care the kingdom can offer," he cups my face in his hands, making eye contact with me. His eyes search mine, seemingly for something to grasp onto. "She is going to be alright." He affirms and my heart flutters. This moment, brief as it was, felt real. I nodded slowly and he then grasps my hand and leads me from the room, beginning already to tell me about the preparations we still had to complete.

"Your gown has to be fitted, Aries already has that in progress and she wants you to be ready for that soon. We have to practice speeches and you–" he abruptly turns to face me, almost causing me to collide with him, "have to finish learning how to dance, as well as learn about all the current events going on in the kingdom."

"By when?" I ask tiredly.

"Tonight."

"Tonight?!" I exclaim and he cups a hand over my mouth and scowls at me.