Solitary Princess - Nalu ✔️

Chapter 26

Natsu's pov:

Natsu had been training the princess for the past few days, and while the process was slower than he hoped it'd be, he was impressed by how hard she pushed herself. She'd learned how to properly throw punches and kicks without landing on her butt every other time and her fighting instinct was starting to kick in more and more with every lesson. Natsu was proud of her for giving it her all.

He was walking to Gildarts' small hut for afternoon training. The bright sun did little to warm the cool air, but Natsu payed no mind to the chilling breeze as he watched the grass sway and observed the leaves that were starting to change colors.

Gildarts was sitting outside his front door smoking and completely ignored the approaching pinkette. Natsu sighed and sat beside him, appreciating the calm before the storm.

Gildarts puffed out a cloud of smoke and leaned forward, "How's it goin' with the princess?"

Natsu thought for a moment, replaying her determined face in his head, "Ah, she's stubborn but that works for the better in this case," they sat in silence for a moment, "she's doing good."

Gildarts nodded, giving Natsu a knowing side glance, "What's on your mind kid? You've been worried about something and don't think I haven't noticed the night meetings with those new friends you work so hard to hide."

Natsu froze for a moment but forced himself to relax. If there was one person from the castle he trusted as an ally, it was probably Gildarts. The pinkette had a way of judging people and the brute of a man reminded him of his own father. Not to mention he was Cana's old man. The clever general had done nothing but good for Natsu even if he had a round about way of doing so.

The pinkette simply chuckled, "You're even better than I thought you were," he paused, his smile fading a bit, "I'm worried about the princess."

"Ah, young love."

Natsu ignored the man's comment, "I saw some suspicious behavior from some soldiers. Long story short, pretty sure they were some gang members trying to capture the princess. That's why I brought some friends in and convinced the king to let me train her."

Gildarts choked a bit on his smoke, "You're trying to tell me you convinced the king with no evidence that his precious daughter should learn to fight from a complete stranger?"

Natsu nodded slightly, still not sure how he did it himself.

"Wow the power of teenage hormones is stronger than I thought it was..." Natsu's eye twitched as Gildarts continued, "I've noticed a few strange things but I knew if I brought it up to the other generals, they would probably just accuse me of trying to start things. As crazy as it may sound, I'm not exactly the model knight around here."

Natsu hummed in thought, "What type of things have you noticed?"

"Ah, little things. Besides your friends trying their best to fit in, I've seen a few soldiers walking around in the middle of the night or meeting up one on one beside the forest. I can't be bothered to search through my memories for more, but you get the idea."

Natsu sat there, sifting through his thoughts for a while before Gildarts stood, "'Kay kid, time to get to work. Someone's gotta be the grown up around here."

...

Lucy's pov:

The whole day had been packed with lessons for Lucy. Now that she had training for a few hours a day, she had to work much harder in her studies to keep everything on track.

She had quick meals at her desk and the only free time she had was late at night. Lucy usually spent it either going over fighting skills or wandering to the library to see Levy. The tiny bluenette was a spark of joy for Lucy and the two got along so well together, it was a miracle she hadn't gotten in trouble yet from how loud their laughter was.

The princess didn't really mind being busy at all though. Now she got to train with Natsu. She felt much more successful after working hard with him than alone in the garden thinking sad thoughts like she used to do. She felt all around much happier. 

Lucy had just finished dinner and was starting on the final lesson of the day when Capricorn walked up to her desk, "Good work today, you can leave this one for tomorrow. I have a meeting with the king tonight and as such, you should just go to your other lessons now. I can tell how eager you are to get out of here." He gave her a knowing smile and shooed Lucy out of the room.

She quickly changed in her bedroom to one of her new pairs of pants and fitted sleeveless shirt, appreciating how quickly her new maid was able to make them.

Lucy usually waited for Natsu to get her, but she knew where he'd be after asking a passing soldier who'd seen the pinkette sparring in the fields.

Lucy met the chilling outdoor air with a shiver and briskly walked to the training grounds to find Natsu clanging swords together with Gildarts himself. Lucy watched from a distance for a bit. She could see how much Natsu held back with her.

Lucy already knew she was no match for him, and yet she was entranced by the sight of Natsu nearly giving the battle his all. She watched his muscles flex, glistening with a sheen of sweat, delivering blow after blow as he moved gracefully around his teacher.

Even though his movements were a blur to her, Lucy could see Gildarts wasn't feeling threatened at all as he parried every swipe Natsu tried to give him with ease.

The two broke apart for a break. Natsu drank hungrily from a water canteen and Lucy started to approach him. His eyes met hers and he finished a last gulp before greeting her with a husky voice, probably worn from a long day, "Hey Luce, come to watch?"

Lucy smiled in return, "I guess so. Not that I can even keep up with my eyes."

Natsu chuckled a bit, "You'll get there, don't worry. Maybe it'll be good if you watch us fight for a bit." He studied Lucy for a second before adding, "Just try to pick out main hits and ignore any tricks or feigns that we make for now."

He turned to Gildarts who was watching the two silently, "Have you had enough rest yet old man? Or should I go easier on ya?"

The brunettes eyebrows furrowed and he mumbled something about cocky teenagers and girlfriend distractions before joining Natsu in the middle of the clearing again.

And just like that, the two were at it again and Lucy was trying her best to focus on the big picture and not all the little movements Natsu made. But it was hard not to see the way his lips smirked or his eyes gleamed as his muscles flexed.

She leaned on the fence, feigning nonchalance as her heart beat a little too fast to be normal. Her eyes studied Natsu, pretending to be learning from the fight. That stupid vest he wore didn't help either. He'd worn a sleeveless black top most of the days they'd trained so far, but today he went back to his carefree look. And it sure was freeing.

Lucy tried hard not to look at his chest, but when he spun, it fluttered and revealed way more than a shirt was meant to reveal. That useless piece of cloth was not helping Lucy learn at all.

She tried her best to not gawk at Natsu, reminding herself it was just her childhood friend, but he'd really changed so much.