NaLu- "The Princess and Her Dragon Knight"

Part 3 - Where Did He Come From?

Lucy was watching Natsu from her bedroom window, just like every other day. She watched as he dueled another trainee in swordsmanship, Rouge. Natsu had gotten much better and was already at the same level as many of the other dragon slayers. She watched as his muscles tensed with each block and stretched with each swing. There was sweat glistening off his body, reflecting the sunlight. Lucy thought he looked like the sun itself. Blazing with fiery light each time he moved. She watched the fire in his eyes that sparked each time he was fighting and her heart quenched with longing.

"What are you looking at, Lu-chan?" asked a voice suddenly from right behind Lucy.

"Ahhh!" Lucy jumped, blushing madly, "L-Levy-chan! Please don't sneak up on me like that! I-It was nothing."

Levy is Lucy's personal attendant and best friend. Lucy spends most of her waking moments with Levy. They both enjoy reading together and talk about everything. Levy is the only person in the world who Lucy could talk to about anything. Levy also has a huge crush on the dragon slayer, Gajeel, and tells Lucy all the time about their secret meetings

"Uh-huh!" Levy laughed and walked beside Lucy, looking down at the courtyard where the knights were training. "Oh hey, look, there's Natsu. He's the new knight that Gajeel was telling me about." Lucy blushed harder, and Levy noticed. This was the first time Levy has ever seen Lucy blush. "I've heard a lot about him," Levy continued, peaking Lucy's interest. An evil grin came over Levy's face as an idea popped into her head. "Anyway, Lu, I've gotta go." She turned around and started to walk out when suddenly she felt Lucy's grip on her arm, stopping her. Levy mentally gave a triumphant hoot.

"Wait!" Lucy said frantically. "How, um, I mean, w-what kind of things? About N-Natsu, I mean?" Her eyes were sparkling and her cheeks were flushed. Levy had never seen Lucy like this before.

Levy led Lucy to the edge of Lucy's bed and they sat down, facing each other. "Lu-Chan, do you remember hearing stories about the noble family, the Dragneels?" Levy asked.

Lucy said, "Of course, my grandfather talked about them all the time. They were led by Igneel, who was the strongest Dragon slayer of the time. Some even called him the king of dragons."

"Lu, in a way, Igneel Dragneel was the king of dragons," Levy said, and Lucy looked at her, dumbfounded. Levy continued, "there were many dragons who gave their powers to the noble families. The dragons each chose a boy or girl who was worthy and gave them their powers. The powers would then be passed down to each generation in that bloodline."

"Levy-Chan, I know that, but what does that have to do with Igneel?" Lucy asked.

"The dragon who passed their powers to the Dragneel family, to Igneel's bloodline, was the king of dragons." Levy said.

Lucy looks at her, surprised. "Oh, okay." Was all she managed to say.

Levy asked, "What else do you remember about Igneel?"

"He and my grandfather were best friends." Lucy said, "Igneel practically worked side-by-side with my grandfather. 35 years ago, another of the noble families became jealous of the close relationship between Igneel and my grandfather. They gathered their army and attacked Igneel's home, slaughtering everyone there. There weren't any survivors. When my grandfather found out, he had that noble family executed." Lucy paused and looked annoyed. "What does this have to do with N-Natsu," she asked, turning slightly pink just mentioning his name.

"I was getting there," Levy said. "Anyway, everyone thought that was true until two years ago when they discovered that Igneel had an affair which produced an heir, although they couldn't find the heir until recently. You see, Igneel was forced into marriage with his wife at a young age and he didn't love her. They had a son together. Both his wife and son were killed in the attack, though. However, what nobody knew, is that Igneel had fallen in love with a maiden who worked for him. He kept it a secret, but they had an illegitimate child together. A daughter."

Lucy was surprised by this new information and very curious. "What happened to her, Levy-Chan?" She asked.

Levy continued, "Igneel loved his mistress and the daughter that they had more than his wife. When Igneel's home was attacked, she was the first person who he wanted to protect. Their daughter was three at the time. Igneel managed to get his mistress and daughter out just before he was killed. Since it appeared to be just a girl and her daughter leaving, the attackers didn't pursue them. After all, nobody knew of Igneel's affair. Igneel's daughter grew up and had a son when she was nineteen, which was nineteen years ago." Levy paused and looked at Lucy, making sure she was listening. Lucy was practically on the edge of her seat.

"Then what happened?" Lucy asked.

"Her son grew up, possessing all the dragon slayer magic that was his grandfather's. His existence was still kept a secret most of his life. He didn't know who he was. When his mother became ill, she told him who his grandfather was and where his powers came from. She told him that he was the last in their family line with those powers. The last fire dragon slayer," Levy said.

Lucy's eyes widened. Fire?! Lucy thought. Natsu uses fire dragon slaying magic.

Levy continued before Lucy could say anything, "About four weeks ago, the boy came to the royal palace in order to expand his powers and support the royal family. His name is-."

"Natsu," Lucy said, her voice filled with awe. Levy smiled and nodded at her. Lucy asked, "but how did you know all that, Levy-Chan?"

Levy wiggled her eyebrows. "I know everything, Lu," she said. "Why are you so curious about Natsu, anyway?"

Lucy's face turned red again. Why does this keep happening?! "I-Well I-H-He's strong," Lucy stammered, unable to think of anything logical to say.

"Yeah he is. Gajeel said that even he may not be able to stand his ground against him in a fight, and Gajeel is one of the strongest dragon slayers," Levy said.

Lucy found her salvation. "Speaking of Gajeel," she said, "How has it been going with him?"

This time it was Levy's turn to flush red. "I-uh-it's been going fine!" She said.

"Have you told him of your feelings yet, Levy?"

"Lu! Of course not! He-He's a noble. There's no way he would want to be with a servant girl like me!"

"Levy don't say that about yourself! After all, you have powerful solid script magic, and you're training to be a scholar, Levy, and that's amazing. You're so smart! Gajeel would be an idiot not to be in love with you," Lucy said.

Levy smiled lightly and hugged Lucy. "Thank you, Lu-Chan," she said.

"You're welcome, Levy-Chan." Lucy said. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Lucy sighed. "Who is it?"

"It's Spetto! Your father wishes to speak with you, princess." Spetto said through the door.

"Tell him that I'll be there shortly."

"Yes, princess," Spetto said and Lucy listened as she walked away. Once her footsteps were gone Lucy turned back to Levy. "I'll see you later?" Lucy said.

"Of course," Levy smiled at Lucy as Levy got up and walked to the door. "I have work to do anyway. See you!" With that, Levy left the room.

Once Levy was gone, Lucy put on her usual veil in order to hide her face from wandering eyes in the hallways of the castle.

Lucy sighed and took one last look out the window at her fire dragon. My fire dragon, she thought, and blushed lightly before getting up and going to speak with her father.