Solitary Princess - Nalu ✔️

Chapter 22

Lucy was woken up a few days later to a quiet knock on her door. She glanced out and saw it was time for her to wake up anyways, but she wondered who would knock on her door so early. She slowly stretched her legs and slid out of bed.

The princess walked to the door and opened it to find a pale strawberry haired woman in a maid outfit. Lucy had never seen her before, and her maids usually only appeared if she called for them.

The woman had her hair cut short and her emotionless face was a bit off-putting as she greeted, "Hello princess, I will be serving you for a while. My name is Virgo." She bowed deeply and Lucy blinked a few times.

"O-okay. Nice to meet you," she paused thinking for a moment, "Who sent you here?"

The woman looked up and tilted her head, "The new general. He thought you needed a... friend."

Lucy's heart thumped loudly and she offered a forced smile, "Oh- yes, haha."

Her mind was racing though. She hadn't told Natsu that she wasn't allowed to have friends. Even without her own insecurities, her father wouldn't allow someone to become her maid that she would get close with. Most of the people that worked directly for her were warned to only do their jobs- nothing more. Her father was too paranoid to allow people to surround Lucy and didn't want her trusting anyone because that 'might put the kingdom in jeopardy'.

All this quickly passed through Lucy's mind as she turned on her heel and walked to the bathroom. At least the maid didn't follow her there. The strange woman stayed positioned next to the closed door after she entered the room.

Lucy sighed as she looked at the tub. It had several confusing knobs she had very little idea how to work, and the water had to be heated up by furnace- something her maids usually did without her asking.

She didn't want to approach Virgo and ask though, so she simply got dressed in a pale blue day dress with few ruffles. She would ask for a bath that night. Lucy didn't want to ask for the new woman's help at the moment.

...

At tutoring, Lucy told Capricorn about the strange new worker. The white-haired man looked contemplative as he listened and when she finished, he asked, "What did you say her name was?"

Lucy tilted her head slightly, "Virgo, I think."

The tall tutor nodded as a confirmation to his thoughts, "I used to be pretty close with her. We were in a group of sorts while we served your mother. Virgo was a maid for a while but joined a special sector of the military when Layla passed," his eyebrows furrowed, "Maybe the new general saw her serving and fighting capabilities all in one. He probably wants someone who can protect you and serve a purpose while being discreet."

Lucy,raised her eyebrows, " Why didn't she just tell me that was her purpose then? I don't like the idea of friends being forced on me and I don't think I need any extra protection."

Capricorn sighed, "General Natsu probably told her to tell you that so you weren't suspicious. He's a smart man and seems to know you pretty well."

"Not well enough." Lucy mumbled under her breath.

...
Natsu's pov:

Natsu hadn't seen Lucy all day and he was beginning to worry he had upset her by sending Virgo to guard her.

He had met the fierce fighter when he was meeting the rest of the elite forces. She stuck out to him. The general wasn't sure why until he remembered he had seen her around the Fairy Tail bar a few times. When he watched them spar, he saw she was very skilled yet still managed to look rather unthreatening.

He approached her afterwards and asked if she would be interested in guarding the princess. Virgo told him she served the queen as a maid previously and Natsu thought she was the perfect woman to serve the princess.

He sent Virgo to be Lucy's maid to guard her during the night and mornings when guards weren't constantly patrolling around her.

Now that he thought of it, Lucy might not like the fact that he sent someone to be her 'friend'. It was the only excuse he could think of at the time because he didn't want her to worry about her safety. That was his job- as general of course.

Natsu sighed as he sat in his new home. He couldn't join her for breakfast because Gildarts had awoken him at the crack of dawn to work out and train some of the men he would serve over. The brute of a man was one of the only people who Natsu believed had a chance of winning against him in a fight. He may be nearing old age, but Gildarts had not lost any speed, strength, or pure skill. Not to mention he had way more experience in battle than Natsu.

While Natsu was lost in thought, the hairs on the back of his neck rose and he felt a familiar presence nearby. He knew who it was even before he heard a knock at his door. He quickly opened it to let Gageel in.

"Any news?" the pinkette immediately asked. He wanted to know what kind of danger Lucy was really in.

The dark haired man grunted, "Hello to you too," but quickly added on, "We looked into the gang, and they're definately plannin' more than we originally thought. I came in person to tell you 'cause we can't have any messages gettin' stolen from Pantherlily- wonderful as he is..." he paused to scratch his chin and Natsu was beginning to get impatient, "But... this bunny girl of yours... She's probably gonna get kidnapped."

Natsu's jaw locked in place, holding back any anger. He didn't want to kill the messanger.

Gageel, sensing his impending doom, continued, "Course, it's no guarentee, but this gang is the most powerful in all of Fiore... I mean- ours is strong, but we got less members and less ferocity. Natsu, we're not sure why, but they want that princess at all costs. They might even be plannin' the death of the king. It would be that easy to take over the kingdom," he sighed, rubbing his neck, "I know you don't, wanna hear this... but that princess is in some real danger with these guys. They're not playing any games and she's on the top of their priority list," he looked at Natsu warily, "As for the evidence you asked for, there is none. They leave no traces behind. The only reason we know about all this is cause Mira is great with those disguises and snuck in."

Natsu suddenly slammed his fist on the table. Gageel didn't even flinch and sighed as he continued, "I know... They're really good at what they do. You're going to have to tell the other generals and hope they will listen to you even without evidence. In the meantime, we'll send some members in for backup for a while and just hope they don't get found."

Natsu leaned against a wall and thought for a minute, "I already sent a soldier to guard Lucy without her knowing, but that's not enough. I appreciate the help. Tell everyone I said thanks."

Gageel nodded, "You should probably tell bunny girl though. She won't be happy if she wakes up somewhere else with no clue what's going on."

Natsu clenched his fist. Yes, he wanted Lucy to be as prepared as possible, but he didn't want her to constantly be worried for her own safety.

He could really use some evidence to convince the other generals of the evident danger, but he knew the black wizard's gang was experienced and frighteningly good at what they do.

After a few more words were exchanged, Natsu agreed to tell Lucy, and Gageel headed off to give everyone the ok to enter castle grounds to act as workers.

Natsu was grateful to his family. They were always willing to do the right thing even while getting little to no reward. Sure, they were doing this for him, but the entire kingdom was in danger as well. If the wrong people ended up on top, everything could fall to ruin very fast.