Natsu, in contrast to having woken up to the next chapter as he had before, found himself falling from the middle of nowhere and into a crowd of people who jerked, startled.

The dragonslayer took a moment to rub his sore bottom (cobblestone was not exactly the most comfortable surface), and looked up to meet the curious gazes of the surrounding villagers.

If Natsu had taken the time to notice the village, he would have seen it was quite homely, if not quaint. However, his attention was drawn by the clamoring people surrounding him.

"Wow! Look at his clothes-!"

"Hey, doesn't he look a lot like the-"

"Pink hair...?" (He chose to ignore this comment.)

Natsu experimentally flicked his fingers- a snap of clawed nails revealed no visible spark, and Natsu deflated.

No powers, again? And just when he had gotten them back, too...

And Lucy- she was separated from him again? Natsu stumbled to his feet, ignoring the gaudy clothes that adorned him, and pushed the people aside.

"Ah, excuse me young lad, but how did you-?"

"Hey, old gramps," Natsu cut off the man addressing him impatiently, invoking a flinch and a glare that he ignored. "Have you seen this girl? I, uh, I need to... do... something...?"

Well, it was halfway believable.

"What does this girl you speak of look like?" The man responded stiffly; Natsu couldn't help but bite back a retort at the formal way of talking he had. Sheesh. Lucy wasn't this stiff.

Right. Lucy.

"Well... she's got these huge..." Natsu helplessly made round gestures from his chest, and man rolled his eyes- young people these days. Figured that would be what they noticed first.

(However, if he had met Lucy firsthand, he would have seen that they were impossible to miss, and Natsu was simply stating the facts.)

"We don't really have anyone quite like that," the man said as the crowd dispersed, uninterested in the topic. "But we do have someone rather like that. Quite pretty, too."

Lucy was pretty... right? Had he ever even paid attention to that kind of thing? "Yeah," Natsu bobbed his head excitedly, his face lighting up. "Can you tell me where she is?"

The man mumbled something that sounded a lot like, 'oh, the glories of youth', and directed Natsu to the town's library.

Natsu, busy with thoughts of Lucy, didn't hear the man wonder aloud why the rumored wandering Prince had fallen from the middle of the sky into their village.

_____________________

The dragonslayer barged into the small, musty library, ignoring the outbursts of the bookkeeper. Mustering his voice as loud as it could go, Natsu roared, "LUCCYYYYYYY!" In the process, the fire mage managed to nearly knock down several bookshelves. (As it was, Natsu tripped over the library's rug and hit his head on the edge of the bookkeeper's desk.)

"And what do you think you're doing?"

Natsu's eyes strayed upwards to meet inquisitive green ones that, to his disappointment, were definitely not Lucy's. However, he wasn't too far off.

"Levy!" Natsu grinned, glad to see a familiar face. "What're ya doin here?"

Levy quirked an eyebrow; any normal person would have shied away, but Natsu simply laughed at her expression.

"I don't know what you could possibly want in this library," Levy shrugged. "Have you given up on your quest to search for a nice book instead?"

"Quest?" Natsu tilted his head, confused. "What quest?"

Levy offered an incredulous stare, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards. "You're kidding me," she said teasingly. "The Prince himself has forgotten about his quest for the lovely maiden of the hidden tower?"

"Wuh?" was Natsu's intelligent reply.

"I suppose you're here to do some research then," Levy nodded, sure she had hit the mark. Natsu gave an agreeable shrug as she continued, "if you're looking for some information on the Golden Maiden, then I can help you."

"Who're you talking to, Beauty?" The bookkeeper came up from behind the two, his eyes widening in recognition as he met Natsu's gaze. "Oh, excuse me. Was I interrupting you?"

"I told you not to call me that name," Levy said lightheartedly, though upon closer scrutiny, Natsu saw her lips twitch down in modest distaste. Beauty? That rang a bell...

In any case, Natsu saw that Lucy wasn't in the library; in fact, Levy was the only one who seemed to be there.

"Ah, well. Thanks anyway, I guess." Natsu pushed out his lower lip, and then tacked on, "scratch that. You were no help at all."

"Would it kill you to be a little grateful?" Levy said, her scathing tone marred by the friendliness in her voice. "Well, in any case, you might want to head West from here. I heard that's where the Golden Maiden's tower was, but you never know about rumors... I'd try there, anyway." Levy shrugged, and wandered back into the shelves of the room.

Natsu strolled out, wondering exactly who the Prince he supposedly was, was looking for. His ears twitched as he left, catching the bookkeeper's address to Levy.

"Beauty, don't tell me you're reading yet another story about that dreadful Beast in his enchanted castle."

"You never know," Levy laughed. "They may be true."

______________________

As Natsu traveled down the dirt road, he came across a few travelers who gave him inquiring looks, occasionally asking if he had made any progress on his search for the rumored girl who lived in the tower.

Well, that certainly sounded familiar. Natsu gave a nonchalant shrug, and waved the irritated travelers goodbye as he continued down the trial, wondering why he couldn't have Happy with him to fly him faster, or at least his dragonslayer magic to give him an extra boost...

Or Lucy, to keep him company. Natsu scowled, kicking the ground irritably as the hours wore by.

The next town Natsu passed through was small and quiet; the people who lived there crowded him curiously, and Natsu was able to pick out yet a few more familiar faces. Pushing his way excitedly through the sizable crowd that had gathered around him, picking at his royally decked clothes (which had become worn through his poor treatment of them) and wondering why he had traded his original, royal silk shoes for ragged, leather sandals. Natsu paid them no heed.

"Mirajane! Lisanna! Elfman! Nice to see you guys!" Natsu cackled boisterously, enveloping the three siblings in a wide hug. The small crowd gave a start, and began to murmur all at once.
"Why, I'm honored, Your Grace," Lisanna gave a small bow, her eyes teasing. "That someone as great as you has heard of us, who are from a town so small."

"Don't be too modest," Mirajane teased, stepping forward to bow next to Lisanna to the bewildered Natsu, unused to the treatment. "We are the best herbalists in the area. In any case, I'm honored to meet you, my Prince. What brings you so off far your course?"

"Off course?" Natsu scowled. "I was told to go this way to look for Lu- the Golden whatchamacallit."

"A real man should have a sense of direction," Elfman snorted. "Hadn't you already known that the tower was supposed to be hidden in the Forbidden Forests?"

"Forbidden Forests?" Natsu echoed. Lisanna giggled.

"Of course," she cooed. "Even we, who live far from the main kingdoms, have heard of your quest for love." Lisanna giggled, and Natsu felt his face flush slightly. "It's so romantic."

Lucy? Love? He hadn't thought of Lucy like that before, not in that way...

The pink-haired boy's thoughts backtracked to the accidental kiss in the previous chapter. It wasn't that Lucy had been particularly pretty or anything- well, no one could deny that she was attractive, but she'd always been Lucy to him-

"Aarrgh! What am I thinking?" Natsu seethed, smacking his own head. Lucy was Lucy. It was silly, to think of his friend that way, even if it wasn't like she was bad-looking-

"And he's already daydreaming about his true love," Mirajane sighed- aw, crap. He'd forgotten they were there. "It's so adorable!"

"Like a true man!" Elfman bawled agreeably, and Natsu definitely felt his face heat up past normal temperatures.

"And he's already red with embarrassment," Lisanna pointed out in a sing-song voice. "He's so innocent~"

"Am not," Natsu protested hotly. "Just tell me where I can find this chick." If this girl wasn't Lucy, he was going to smoke someone to ashes. Burn them to a crisp. Maybe turn red in girly embarrassment and hide in shame like a-

"Imagine what he'll be like when he actually meets her," Mirajane continued, much to Natsu's embarrassment. "He might actually faint from the sheer joy!"

"I've already met-!" Natsu bit his tongue to prevent himself from continuing. If Lucy caught me ruining the story, then she'd kill me. (Natsu shuddered at the thought of the feisty blonde, and her violent tendencies.)

At the thought of Lucy, the boy's head began to spin again. Eager to be rid of the completely, utterly, random, out-of-character thoughts, Natsu repeated his query.

"Well, no one knows where the Hidden Tower really is, but we've heard of its general vicinities. I'm sure you're not the only one who's gone looking for it, you know, and rumors spread like the most contagious of diseases." Mirajane paused thoughtfully, a finger delicately tapping against her chin.

"Why don't you come by our herbal shop to rest for the night? You must be tired." Lisanna smiled, and Natsu smiled back in response. These people were different, but they were still clearly his comrades.

But Lucy...

"Thanks, but I'll pass," Natsu grinned toothily. "Something tells me that this chick is waiting impatiently for me, ready to kick my ass if I'm a second late and stamping around like a brat."

The three siblings blinked at his carefree attitude, but bade the dragonslayer goodbye as he set off once more, despite the fact that the sun's vivid hues had turned into rosy shades as it began to set. Natsu, used to training for long, hard hours, found this walk a piece of cake.

It was still boring, though.

"Jeez, Lucy." Natsu let out an impatient breath as he turned away. "Where are you?"

_______________________

"Jeez, Natsu. Where are you?" Lucy huffed, slamming her head into the pillow with a soft poff. She had a major headache.

Lucy had woken up, covered in spreads much too like the ones from the Heartfilia mansion for her liking. There was a lacy, frilled canopy that was draped frothily over the large bed that Lucy pushed away in distaste.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Lucy stepped off the mattress, her voice echoing, her bare feet pushing into the plush carpet of the room, and suddenly tripped over something. Nearly biting her tongue, Lucy hissed in surprise and looked down.

"What the-? No way," the Spirit mage gaped as her eyes trailed to her feet; entangling them were long, ribbon-like locks of gold hair, the strands woven around her body like thread. And her hair trailed around the entire room.

"Rapunzel," Lucy's mouth dropped open. "I'm in Rapunzel. And my hair's long."

A pause as she considered the situation.

"What a fashion disaster! Who would be crazy enough to let someone grow their hair out so-"

"Oh, you've woken up, my dear," a high tremolo sang through the room, and Lucy's nose wrinkled at the oddity (so this was who had let poor Rapunzel grow her hair out so long. Somehow, she wasn't surprised), "and you've tripped over your hair once again. You simply must stop that."

From the rafters of the room, a lanky man hopped down easily as Lucy's mouth opened slightly. Long robes fluttered around his stick-like body; his grimy mouth twitched downward in a disgusting grimace.

"M-Master Jose?" Lucy stammered as the man tsked. "Y-you-!"

"Now, now, my dear. Haven't I told you to call me Father?" His laugh rang into Lucy's ears, and she had to resist gagging.

"Ah- Father." Lucy grit through her teeth as he moved to spread the window curtains aside; it was the only window in the cramped room, as lavish as it was decorated. Lucy felt almost claustrophobic. "You don't suppose I could... step outside for a bit? I feel it would... do me good to get some fresh air."

The atmosphere thickened ever so slightly- Jose's eyes narrowed infinitesimally. "Is that so, honey?"

Lucy felt almost naked with the absence of her keys; she missed the weight of their security, and would have gladly traded her clothes for them, if it meant being able to defend herself. "Yes, Father," Lucy murmured. "Don't you think that a girl like me could use some space to stretch out?" She stretched her arms to emphasize her point; Jose didn't look convinced.

"Don't be silly, honey," Jose said with what was probably meant to be a placating tone; Lucy shuddered. "Why don't you just stay here? You'd get lost so easily, sweetie, and heaven knows what I would do if you got lost."

Lucy turned away, her brown eyes tracing the outlines of the room as Jose watched carefully.

"Now, just you wait. I'll bring back some cookies for you, alright?"

"Yes, Jo- Father," Lucy murmured.

She'd find a way to escape.

_______________________

Natsu ventured through the overgrowth, grumbling the entire way.

It wouldn't have been so bad if there were monsters to battle, Natsu mused as he imagined what it would be like to just burn the forest down clear. If only his dragonslayer powers were still intact.

(Somehow, Natsu found himself thinking that if Lucy were there with him, he would have gladly waited a day- or chapter- or two for his magic... but of course, that was a silly thought.)

(It-it wasn't as if he missed Lucy. That was just stupid.)

"Graah! Where are you, Lucy?" Natsu groaned irritably.

There were several moments of silence; Natsu banged his head against the trunk of a tree.

As if in response, the image of the smiling blonde popped up in his head- Natsu scowled.

When had he started thinking about Lucy so much? Sure, they were stuck in the book, and sure, they had to finish the chapter to move on, and so far it seemed that he needed Lucy for that, but she was popping up so much in his head that he was going insane.

Lucy had always talked about things like 'destiny' and 'true love', but of course that was utter nonsense. The only thing Natsu had to do with destiny was finding Igneel and having found Lucy-

No, no, no.

Lucy was a friend. Like Erza was a friend, and like Gray was a friend, and like Mirajane was a friend, and like Lisanna was a friend, except Lucy was just his best friend.

"And that's that," Natsu snarled at his own thoughts. "Lucy's my best-friend-weirdo, and that's that."

There was no response besides the unsatisfying twittering of birds.

"Right, Natsu nodded sagely. "And that's all."

Silence.

A sigh.

Seeing as how much it was hurting his brain to think (and he totally wasn't in denial or anything. Denial? Pfft. What was that? It sounded yummy), he evaded his thoughts. "I'll find you somehow! Tower or not." Nodding his confidence, the boy proceeded into the thick undergrowth, never noticing the dark eyes that followed him.

______________________

When Jose had left, Lucy had scrambled to the towering bookshelves that covered an entire side of the room, and after an hour or so, her searches proved fruitful.

Leafing through a few pages showed the many different dialects of Rapunzel- in many, the girl let down her long hair so that the visiting Prince as well as tower-keeper could climb up her hair like a rope, but Lucy immediately winced at the thought- whether it was fifty feet or five inches, the blonde was tender-headed through and through.

But that wouldn't be a problem, right? Lucy tried to reassure herself, tracing the book's edge with thin lips. He could just jet himself up the tower with his fire magic, or something.

One of the adaptations made Lucy blush from her head to her toes: Rapunzel, giving her secret away to the evil witch (or in her case, Jose- Lucy rather thought that the difference wasn't really that big) by accidentally revealing a pregnancy from the visiting Prince when asking for a sating for her odd cravings. Lucy listlessly fiddled with her fingers.

Imagining Natsu as a lusty, hormonal, normal teenage boy was like trying to imagine... an Aquarius that wasn't moody. But once Lucy (who, as usual, had quite the overactive imagination) had the image in her head, she couldn't get it out.

Natsu, his warm body over hers... his lips tracing hers tenderly... his eyes tender as he-

"GAAH!"Lucy smacked herself. "What the hell are you thinking, Lucy?" Natsu wasn't like that at all. The closest thing he'd probably ever come to a kiss in his life was eating something. The last time Lucy had seen anything close to lust in his eyes was when Natsu was eyeing a fireball.

Still... putting the dusty volume back on the shelves, Lucy fingered the hair at the nape of neck, the strand trailing long past her legs and pooling around her feet. If she were to follow the regular fairy tale to the letter...

Lucy grabbed one of the ribbons that adorned the multiple dressers in the room, and began the long, arduous process of braiding her hair, imagining how different the silence would be if Natsu were there.

"He'd probably burn the whole place down from the lack of space," she snorted. "Or maybe he'd burn my hair. Perhaps he'd rummage the place for food like he does in my apartment." Her mouth twitched upwards in a fond smile as she braided down the trial of golden locks.

"What was that, Rapunzel?" A voice abruptly reached Lucy's ears, breaking into her thoughts; Lucy yelped and quickly finished the braid.

"N-Nothing...?"

"Rapunzel! Let down your hair!" The shrill voice of Jose rang up the stone tower. Lucy flinched with a pout, and peeked timidly over the blocks of the window.

"Wait. Are you serious?" Lucy whined. "But my- my hair! Think of the pain!"

Jose looked at Lucy uncomprehendingly- "But my dear, you've done this a million times before-!"

Lucy looked at him, and couldn't really see anything more than the long-gone leader of Phantom and her captivity in the tower, and blurted out the first thing that came to her mind:

"Uh, I... have to... go to the bathroom. Sorry!"

Ew. Was that the best she could come up with? With a squeal, Lucy pushed herself away from the window, leaving a flabbergasted Jose to gawk at the tall tower.

Beady eyes narrowed; Jose's memory trailed back to the odd, pink-haired boy from the forest. Perhaps he was the 'he' that his Rapunzel was referring to earlier?

Jose smiled sadistically and decided to himself that good things came to those who waited.

_______________________

Natsu pushed aside yet another branch and was finally rewarded with the sight of a huge, rather lopsided tower that hung over a glade, a small, grassy field surrounding its edges. Moss had laced itself between the cracks; as Natsu approached the tower, he picked at it with a nail, not amused.

The grass was long overgrown, with weeds poking out through the strands. It was obvious that the place was poorly taken care of- it seemed at that the famed tower hadn't been used for years.

So. He was finally here. Then-

"WHERE ARE YOU, LUCY?"

"N-Natsu?" Came a high-pitched squeak. Natsu jumped back in surprise, eyeing the tower- the source of the noise- carefully.

"Lucy!" Natsu gaped. "You turned into a tower! What fairy tale is this?"

"I'm not the tower, you idiot!" Lucy's voice came again, and Natsu frowned in confusion. The voice was obviously coming from the tower. Unless...!

"Oh! You're up there!" Natsu's eyes ran up the ragged stones to meet Lucy's own warm, amber eyes, and suddenly, he felt all his previous tension and irritation fade. Well, that was weird. Natsu ignored the sudden warmth he felt, and grinned proudly. "As usual! I'm a genius!"

"Argh, Natsu, you're hopeless!" Lucy's blonde head poked over the edge of the towering... well, tower, and Natsu couldn't stop the huge grin that spread over his face.

"I'm better than you, you weirdo. Stuck in a tower. How'dya get yourself up there in the first place?" Natsu stuck out his tongue childishly.

"I don't know!" Lucy wailed, and suddenly looked bashful, holding her palm carefully to her stomach. "Hey, Natsu. Do I look... er, pregnant?"

Natsu blinked, the good mood vanishing in an instant. Who would have-? "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Ah, ah, good. Never mind." Lucy laughed nervously, and Natsu decided to brush off the matter. "So, can you get me out of here?"

"You weirdo," Natsu scoffed. "Just make like the fairy tale and use your suuuuuuper-long hair to get yourself out."

"But it hurts!" The girl whined, clutching at her head protectively. "Can't you come up with something else-?"

A bony hand suddenly clutched at Natsu's shoulder; Natsu, brash as ever, ignored the foreboding spreading throughout his body and flipped around, his arm drawing back for a punch.

Jose of Phantom met his gaze with a cool look (or at least he was trying- it came across as more of a half-flinch, half-pout) and deftly dodged the attack.

"So you're the one my Rapunzel was talking about?" Jose purred, stroking his moustache slowly. Personally, he thought it was very... evil of him. Very debonair, very-

"Lucy was talking about me?" Natsu sent a smirk up the tower, and was rewarded with the sight of Lucy as she turned tomato-red and vehemently denied the claim. "Seems like I'm so cool that you can't stop thinking about me! Gyahaha!"

(Natsu chose to leave out the part where she haunted his thoughts, as well.)

"Shut up!" Lucy pushed out her lip adorably. "It's not like that- watch out!"

Natsu turned around in time to push Jose's sword away and glared viciously. "Don't interrupt me! I was talking to Lucy!"

"You must be the rumored traveling Prince who was searching for my dear Rapunzel! I'll never let you have her," Jose hissed. "She's mine!"

Lucy looked doubtful. Natsu gagged.

Jose drew a sword from a sheath strapped to his thin back- Natsu ignored the whimpers from Lucy, and sidestepped the cleaving blows, ducking when called for and batting the flat of the blade with his palm.

"Hey, hey, are you okay, Lucy?" Natsu glanced up questioningly as he sidestepped yet another swing. "You're making these weird sounds... like Happy when he's hungry!" Natsu beamed and emitted a sound that sounded somewhat like eeek, eeek.

"I'm fine!" Lucy attempted to sound calm- her voice broke spectacularly over an octave or two. "More importantly- watch your head!"

"What are you talking about?" Natsu scowled, ducking a millisecond before Jose's sword brushed the top of his hair- a single strand managed to stray from his head, but Natsu was otherwise intact. "You should have more faith in me, Lucy! I've fought much harder opponents than this freak!"

Jose protested loudly, but the two ignored him.

"H-how can I not worry?" Lucy retorted hotly. "You're like, inches away from this ridiculous girly-man trying to cut off your head!"

"See, if I had my powers, this would be done already," he yawned as another blow missed him by centimeters. "But I don't. So I'll just wait until he gets tired and knock him out with one blow!" He cackled loudly.

"And what about me?" Lucy twitched. "Gonna forget about me or something?"

Natsu gave a pause at this, turning to face Lucy. "Well, I suppose I could just leave you here. I mean, I only came for a fight and everything..."

"NATSU!"

"I'm kidding, kidding!" Natsu laughed boisterously, and while still facing Lucy, avoided Jose's sword and delivered a backhand blow that sent the frail Jose back.

"You two argue like a married couple," Jose muttered. Lucy responded by flustered protest; Natsu, in turn, chose to ignore this. Sending a reassuring smile towards Lucy's way, Natsu lifted his leg and sent it backwards.

His foot met his mark.

"Now," Natsu said with a sunny smile as Jose stammered wordlessly, flying back. "How will we get you down from there?" He stared at her- Lucy laughed sheepishly.

"Why don't you just-"

"No. I refuse to swing down with my hair." Lucy's smile vanished in an instant.

"But that's how she does it in the fairy tale!" Natsu moped, eager to be rid of and over with the ridiculous chapter- and hopefully, the ridiculous thoughts along with it.. "Can't you just, like... try it? Please?"

Lucy looked doubtful- (Natsu sighed and backhanded Jose once more as he stumbled to his feet, only to be hit down again) as she experimentally toyed with the edge, she shook her head fearfully.

"I-it's too high up, Natsu... I can't..."

Natsu let out a puff of air, and held out his arms towards her, his expression one of someone who was extremely bored. "Okay. Jump. I'll catch you."

"What?" Lucy screeched impressively. "But at this height-! N-no way! You wouldn't be able to catch me, and-!"

"Lucy," Natsu cut her off, and gave her a look so- so Natsu and trustworthy that she was stunned into silence. "I'll catch you. Trust me."

(Jose gave a moan at the corniness of it all- Lucy chucked a book out the window, and it bounced off of his head.)

"You... you promise?" Lucy gulped, lifting a dress-covered foot to experimentally tap the edge. Slowly, she lifted herself to sit on the stone's edge. "I... I'll kill you if you don't catch me, Natsu!"

"If I don't catch you," Natsu deadpanned as he picked up Jose's limp body and began to drag him towards the faraway glade, "you'll already be dead."

"D-don't be like that!"

"Oh, get on with it already!" Jose wailed theatrically. Lucy, startled, suddenly pitched over the tower's edge. Natsu's eyes widened. Shit-!

Dropping Jose to the ground unceremoniously, Natsu sprinted forward to meet Lucy's body, which was flailing towards the ground at top speed. Fuck, this was just like when she was jumping off the sky prison at Phantom...

Natsu could remember, in that split second he was racing towards her, the panic he had felt when Lucy was taken hostage by the Phantom guild, the anger he'd had when she'd been swiped from right under him, and especially the despair that rushed through like a shot of adrenaline when he saw her plummeting towards the ground-

He wasn't going to make it-!

"NATSU!"

Her scream knocked him back to reality. His teeth gritting together with the effort, Natsu mustered all of his strength, and collided violently with Lucy as she fell into her arms- cradling her in a protective cage with his arms because he'd be damned if she got hurt because of him. They tumbled several times, falling into the glade as her long hair billowed around them like a golden blanket.

The two came up, sputtering for air.

(Jose muttered something quietly about being a failure of an antagonist.)

"See?" Natsu laughed, quickly masking his relief as the atmosphere's tension ebbed away just as quickly as it had come. "I told you I'd catch you!"

Lucy came up, her long hair messily plastered all over her face, her clothes soggy and clingy. Natsu grinned foolishly- somehow, she was more... likable when she was like this, her face flushed with excitement and messy and comfortable, than when she was trying too hard to put on makeup, and-

"Yeah, yeah," Lucy grumbled. "Try saying something like that when you're the one fifty feet up in the air." She reached over to smack his head with a glowing hand- oh, her hand was glowing. The fairy tale was over so soon?

Natsu's lip wibbled at her expression. Yes, wibbled.

"Alright, alright. Thank you." Lucy gave a small smile, but it quickly faded as she sighed. The two began to become enveloped in light- but the blonde's mood was melancholy despite the fact that they had apparently finished the chapter.

"Lucy?" Natsu cocked his head. "What's wrong?"

"You're always... saving me." She seemed irked. "What's up with that? I mean, seriously, you and I both know that I'm perfectly capable of fending for myself!"

Natsu gave a huge grin that reduced the miffed Spirit mage to a stare. "Of course! Even the strongest people fall sometimes. I'll always be there to catch you when you fall!"

Blushing from the cheesiness of it all (because really, they were from Fairy Tail, and Fairy Tail members didn't do cliché), Lucy silently thought that perhaps, it wasn't that bad being the maiden-in-distress with a Prince like Natsu.

As they melted into the next chapter, Lucy turned to Natsu with those inquisitive eyes of hers boring into his.

"What do you suppose the next chapter will be?"

"Oh, I don't know," Natsu gave a lazy shrug, having completely forgotten about one certain blue-haired bookworm.