A Smile In The Embers

Imaginary

They thought Lucy had made him up. The first night had been magical for her. Talking to Natsu through the flames, staying warm and getting to know one another. The small girl would have stayed up all night if not for the embers dying down to the point she, excitedly, thought they would be able to see each other with ease. Only to be met with disappointment.

Once the fire was a mere licking of flames, the room she could see disappeared, bricks reappearing piece by piece to separate them. Both children had stared in horror when this occurred, terrified the mystical night was over. That they had lost a friend the moment they had made one. The tears she had shed once she had gone to bed made her eyes puffy the next day.

Lucy chose to try again the following night, ecstatic to find that with the fire roaring, Natsu could be seen once more. The moment the clock struck twelve. It was hard to stay up so late for one as young as she, but they both managed it. Until one morning came to find the little blonde, fast asleep on the floor, fingers clinging to one of her special books she wasn't allowed to read.

"What were you doing down here, my lady?!" Miss Spetto, one of the maids, had asked her. Without any hint of guile, Lucy answered honestly.

"I was reading to Natsu." Beaming, she pointed to the fire place. "He likes to hear them- oh! Can you please not tell Papa?"

The maid huffed in amusement, stating that Lucy shouldn't read to her imaginary friends in the foyer. Especially on cold nights and sent her back to her room to change. No amount of arguing could convince the woman that her friend in the fireplace even existed. Weeks passed, and by the end of the month, all of the servants knew of the 'boy in the chimney' - laughing when Lucy corrected them, but never truly believing.

It was frustrating. Absolutely maddening, and Lucy wanted to prove them wrong!

The day she made her decision to find proof, little Lucy formulated a plan and almost had herself caught by her father in the process. "You should be focusing on your studies, NOT doodling!" He had practically snarled, merely walking into the foyer to glower at her tutor for a few minutes. The small man had stumbled frightfully over his own apologies, quickly grabbing whatever papers she had been using and quickly replaced them with blank ones.

"Now Lucy, you heard your father," The pudgy man began, eyeing the imposing figure of Jude Heartfilia with a gulp, "you need to focus on the notes before you and then we'll get you back to the keys!"

"- but I needed those..." She began, eyes widening in frustration as she watched all her hard work get wadded up into the nearest trash bin. A grunt from her Father had her settling right back into position, tiny hands picking up the music sheets as a small pout formed. "Yes, Father."

By the end of her lesson, Lucy made sure to leave last so no one could see her rifle through the small bin for her 'tossed out' doodles. They were crumpled and hard to view, but she cried in exultation upon their retrieval, rushing out of the room so she could continue with her plans.

Unfortunately-

"You can't really think that's gonna work."