UP THE TOWER WE GO \\ A Fairy Tail Fanfiction : NALU

Chapter Two

Chapter Two:

The gang was slightly squished due to Erza's stuff. They had hailed a city cab to the royal palace. Erza's other stuff (most of them) was being pulled in a wagon that was attached to the cab's bumper.

Natsu taken some anti-motion sickness pills before riding. He didn't feel any wooziness as of now. But the others were still cautious of him. They didn't want any puke fiesta happening again.

Erza was also infamous for wearing clothes that people don't dare to wear at this age. She donned a vintage Heart Kreuz armor, blue skirt and knee-high boots to resemble a knight. Gray and Natsu were rather dressed casually in pants and t-shirts.

The cab zigzagged through the village of the country's higher-ups. The trio were amazed with the grand mansions, plush gardens and expensive facilities. The driver noticed their fascination and decided to give them a tip. "If you were impressed by that, just wait for the palace." He winked at them in the rear-view mirror.

"S-sugoi." Erza stammered "I can't wait to set my feet on the royal grounds." She said while preparing her camera. "You know we're not used with this kind of stuff. The only thing I saw that was close to this was college." Erza was a scholar in her own right. She was an incoming graduate this school year in Fiore's most prestigious college, UF.

"Man, I thought this kind of homes were scarce. I didn't know there was a whole village." Gray muttered.

"I BET THEY HAVE A LOT OF GREAT FOOD!" Natsu howled in delight. Erza and the driver laughed as Gray 'lectured' Natsu on how stupid that was.

They were soon nearing the imposing gates of the palace. Uniformed guards stood infront of it. They signalled 'halt' and the cab obliged. They had a fair-view of the garden. It was way better than what they expected. With artistic formations and landscapes plus rare astonishing plants really took it off. It had some enchanted glow to it.

A guard tapped on the driver's window and the driver rolled it down. "State your business here." He said in a gruff commanding voice. The driver looked expectantly at the gang. Erza rummaged her sling bag for the request and squished to the front.

"We're the ones accepting the mission."Erza held up the paper. "Fairy Tail?" The guard inquired. "Yep" they said in unison popping the 'p'. "Prove it." He smirked. Bastard, Natsu thought. They shoved their guild marks proudly up his face.

The guard's face fell. Natsu and Gray were caught snickering. He turned away instead and nonchantly pressed the talk button in the speaker. "Sir, Fairy Tail is here. Should I grant access?" Pause. "Okay sir." He turned to his fellow guards. "Let them in!" he commanded. The gates opened at the second the syllable ended. The cab rolled in the grounds.

The way to the palace's front steps were still a few miles away. The trio decided to have a small talk. "Who was that bastard of a guard?" Natsu demanded. The driver looked at him with crinkled eyes. "That was Cobra. He could be rude at times. You see his group of 'friends' look on their position in a different way than the others."

"You seem to know a lot, old man." Gray said. "I was a palace guard three years ago. I'm on retirement now." He looked plainly outside the window. They decided to ask no more.

Silence engulfed them. Erza was sitting prim and proper, Gray was fidgeting his necklace and Natsu was teasing Happy with a fish. They were nearing the main palace's entrance. They came to a full stop and everyone went down in sync.

As they finished piling the luggage on the wagon, they bid their farewells. "It's nice knowing you, youngsters. My name's Steve by the way." He offered as he closed the trunk. "Nice knowing you, Steve." Erza shooked hands with him. Gray and Natsu clapped him in the back. "You could hang out sometimes in the guild." Gray said. "Yeah! You could fit right in with the old guys!" Natsu laughed. Steve chuckled. "Thanks but I rather spend time with my family."

"Sure, sure." Natsu said. Steve climbed in and drove away. They faced the frontway. They were a tad suprised when they saw the maids and butlers lined up in either side. God, they were so quiet. A man stood in the middle. He had an awesome moustache. He bowed. "You must be Fairy Tail. Come in.I'm Crux, head butler. The others will take care of your things. "

The three was not used to this kind this behavior but obliged. They were pleased to be treat as higher-ups. "Welcome to the palace." Crux said. As if on cue, two butlers opened the enormous doors. "WHOAAAAA!" Natsu said as they entered. "Whoa is the right word, indeed." Crux nodded.

The grand staircase was made of fine white marble with railings of gold. A grand chandelier hung in the middle. The windows were beautiful and had red velvet curtains parted. Space occupied the other parts of the room. Erza twirled around in the middle as if she was the princess. "It's so beautiful." She said breathlessly.

"Shall we go to the throne room?" Crux disrupted Erza's bliss. She blushed and follow them to another set of impressive mahogany doors at the end of the hall. "Wait for your cue to enter." Crux ordered and entered. They could hear him even outside. "Your Majesty, I welcome Fai-"

"OH WOW THIS ROOM IS SOOOO BIG. EVERYTHING IS SO BIG IN HERE. I BET THE BATHROOMS ARE BIG TOO." Natsu barged in apparently he did not listened to Crux's orders. Everybody in the room stared at him in horror. Erza hurriedly went inside and smacked his head upright. "Baka" Gray growled.

"Gumene sai, sire. My friend can be an idiot sometimes." Erza bowed repeatedly for forgiveness. Instead of reprimanding them, a deep laugh filled the room. "No need to apologize. That was quite entertaining for a person who does nothing but royal duties." The king's eyes shine with joy and wisdom like the sparkling jewels in his outfit and crown. The king is truly kind and down-to-earth as they say, Erza thought.

"Anyway to business." He coughed. "I'm glad somebody responded immediately to my request. I thought nobody won't want it but t'was a long-shot. The paper may say to find the sleeping princess and, yes you would do that, but there are certain details that makes the quest so hard."

Erza, Gray and,even, Natsu was intrigued. "What would they be Your Highness?" Gray asked formally. Erza was glad he wasn't stripping or there will be real trouble with the maids. "Oh you know, like typical fairy tales. Go through dark paths and defeat the villain. On which the villain, is a witch slash dragon."

Ehhhhh!?, they wanted to scream.

"Oh! We don't know exactly where the tower is located. I was hoping that you're reliable enough to locate it." King Jude II added. NANIIIIII!, they thought in unison. He smiled. "Any questions?" He asked like a teacher in elementary.

Erza decided to play along and raised her hand like a kindergartner. "With due respect, sire. Why have you only called now? I mean if she was real, why now of all times?"

The king grimaced. The question was personal but he did not want to rub it in. " You see...I got no heir to the throne. My wife and my first child is dead." He looked far away. "I wanted to keep the royal bloodline alive so Princess Lucy is my only hope."

"Lucy is the princess's name? Befitting." Gray muttered. "What's so befitting with Luigi?" Natsu asked. "IT'S LUCY" Gray said facepalming.

"You can count on us, Your Majesty." Erza curtsied. "I hope so." He looked at them intently. "You'll be resting here tonight. You'll need a lot of energy tomorrow." All three of them were excited of the idea in sleeping the palace. " Crux will escort you to your rooms."

After being dismissed, they felt happy that they get to know the king and get to stay in the palace. "It's so awesome, ne?" Natsu looked at his teammates.

"Hai, I feel like soldier with high respect." Gray grinned. "I actually felt like a higher-up for once." Erza mused. She was always discriminated in college since she wasn't rich like most of them.

"I feel like a badass knight who's going to save a princess and the kingdom!" Natsu exclaimed. In Fiore, most higher-ups were discriminating people in wealth. That's why people in guilds were always excited with missions of this kind.

"Don't be so sure of that." A cold male voice sliced the air behind them.

CLIFFHANGER! Anyway review. Tell me your opinions and suggestions so I could change things. But no haters. This was created for my own enjoyment. And , oh , I forgot. I DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL. IT BELONGS TO THE GREAT TROLL MASTAH HIRO MASHIMA