Solitary Princess - Nalu ✔️

Chapter 5

Lucy's arm was immediately yanked down by her father, so she sat down again, not being able to break her eyes away from the pinkette. Lucy was sure that was her childhood friend.

The king hissed at his daughter, "Lucy, what did I tell you about keeping yourself in check? You are not here to gain any attention. It's not proper."

Lucy absentmindedly nodded, not breaking her focus from Natsu.

Jude growled but didn't try anything as they were in public.

Lucy felt sure he was there to see her. She hoped he was there to see her. The lonely princess wanted- no, needed to talk to him. It had been so long. But how could she get away from her father? Lucy just sat on the throne, not willing to get up and risk her father's anger.

...

Throughout the rest of the day, Lucy watched fights. But she was always distracted. Her eyes never stopped scanning the crowd, and her mind never really left thoughts of him. Natsu had disappeared almost immediately after the fight, and Lucy wondered where he went.

Lucy's mind raced, trying to come up with a way to leave the throne and speak to him. She knew she would never get another opportunity like this. She glanced around, desparate for an idea.

Lucy would have to wait for nightfall to try to see him. It was a miracle her father was willing to allow the competitors to stay inside the castle grounds. There would surely be guards at all exits, but Lucy could manage to climb out of a lower window. She knew it was risky, but she was determined to talk to her long lost friend.

...

Night finally came, and the group of competitors was now split in half leaving only 140 people remaining to compete.

Natsu being one of them.

Lucy hurried to her room so she could pretend to be asleep. The sooner she went in her room and blew out the candles, the sooner she could leave.

Her plan was to go through a window of one of the abandoned hallways. Even if she ran into a servent, they would not tell. Everyone was much too fond of Lucy to get her in trouble. The same could not be said for the guards, though, as they strictly served the king. But Lucy would steer clear of any of those. She knew the guards that normally watched her own door at night would probably be stationed outside to protect the castle in case of a riot. This would be almost too easy.

Lucy layed in her bed for an hour before she quietly got up and checked under her door for any passerbyes outside. Seeing none, she pulled a dark, hooded robe out of her closet. Lucy also pulled her hair back so people wouldn't see the rare bright blonde color from under the hood. She stuffed her blankets with pillows so it looked like she was sleeping in bed, and grabbed a small knife she had been given a long time ago- just in case.

Lucy walked to the door, listening for sounds again. Hearing none, she slowly opened it, grateful for the silent hinges.

The whole castle seemed to be holding it's breath as she crept through the hallways, alert and ready to hide.

Lucy didn't run into anyone and she was able to reach the small window hidden by the leaves of a great oak unnoticed.

She would sneak out through here when she was younger and needed fresh air. She hoped nobody still knew about it.

The window opened willingly and Lucy reached out for the nearest branch. All lower hallways would be patrolled for intruders, so this was the next best bet for the princess.

Lucy easily climbed down the tree, loving the feeling and memory of the bark. Everything seemed to be going too well as her feet slid safely to solid ground.

The princess let out a beath she didn't know she had been holding when she heard no shouts of alarm. She looked around, still in the shade of the tree.

Hood up, Lucy carefully followed the shadows through their winding path in order to keep her stealth. If she stayed in the darkness, nobody would see her. But it took longer than she thought it would, and, when she finally reached the camp, everyone was asleep. How in the world was she going to find Natsu? The camp was completely empty around the dying fires and thin tents.

Just as she was about to give up and turn to go back to the castle, Lucy heard soft whistling. She stopped and listened to it for a second, looking at the tents around her. She knew that song. The Dragneel family loved belting it drunkenly after dinner by the fire. It was also a tune Layla herself picked up and used to sing to young Lucy.

She followed the sound in a daze. It brought back a strong sense of nostalgia that made Lucy wanted to laugh and dance around the leftover embers.

The girl felt in her bones that it was him. She prayed it was him. She needed it to be him.

And, as if God above was guiding fate;
there, sitting by the last tent in the shadows, was Natsu.