The Tale of Tales

Chapter 35

When Lucy finally awoke she found herself lying in a bed next to a fireplace with a warm fire was going. She didn't know how she got there, the last thing she remembered was trying to keep up with Natsu and the others when the snow storm appeared then suddenly she had tripped and fallen down into a world of cold darkness.

"Are you feeling better?" Natsu asked her.

"What happened?" She wondered. "Where am I?"

"You passed out during the storm and you probably would have frozen to death if Levy hadn't of led us to this place."

"Where is Levy?"

"Her wings were starting to freeze so she had to fly off to a warmer climate where they would thaw properly. She said that she would be back in just a few short days."

"I've never been so cold in all my life. My body hurt so much that I couldn't even move, I was sure that I was going to die."

"Well looks like it wasn't your time to go doe eyes."

"Where's Erza?"

"She's out with the dwarfs looking for your friend Juvia. The storm has settled down now and I think that it will stop very soon."

"Dwarfs? So is this where Juvia has been living?"

"Yeah but apparently she disappeared with Erza's huntsman friend a couple days ago."

"Oh I hope she's not hurt."

"You and the princess seem to be very close."

"We were childhood friends and she was the only person in the whole castle to show me kindness. We bonded over the fact that we had both lost our mothers at a young age and that we had to deal with Minerva's cruelty. Whenever Minerva wasn't trying to work me to death I would come visit her in her bedroom and we would spend hours talking and playing. I remember one time when we were nine she let me try on one of her dresses and some of her jewelry. Quite unorthodox for a princess to let her servant wear her jewels and garments but she didn't care."

"If you don't mind me asking how old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Huh most women your age are already married."

"I take that as a compliment. Princess Juvia and I had many things in common but we had totally different dreams. Her dream was to find that one special man who would love her while my dream was to escape my life as a servant and try to create a new, better life for myself."

"So you don't ever want to get married?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I've never met a single man who's peeked my interest and I've given up believing that there's any man out there for me. And maybe the girl you're chasing feels the same way. Maybe she doesn't want to get married either."

"I'll never know until I find her."

"But what if she's like me? What if she's given up on true love?"