Natsu began to relax as soon as he got on his horse, Happy. He'd raised the chocolate mare since it was born. The stable master, Gildarts, had said he wasn't going to make it, but he defeated all the odds and survived. Natsu had named him Happy because the prince couldn't stop laughing at the look on the old man's face when he saw the little horse running around.

Happy knew exactly what his owner needed, and he started off at a full gallop as soon as the prince climbed on. He vaguely heard Gray and Gajeel's cries of outrage, but they were carried away by the sound of the wind. Eventually Happy slowed down, allowing Rave and Lily to catch up.

The ride into the forest was calming. Natsu enjoyed the sense of freedom Happy gave him and let his worries slide away. For as long as he was within the line of trees, thoughts of marriage and kings were beyond him. It was his own little slice of paradise, although he knew he couldn't stay there forever.

The scent of greenery and pine trees filled his nose. Natsu breathed it in deeply, cherishing the fresh breath of air.

Gray sighed beside him, smiling. "Nothing like the forest to cool you off, huh Hothead?"

"Trees are calming," Natsu replied, smirking. "I want to go fishing, too."

"Sure, Salamander. Whatever ya want," Gajeel agreed, chuckling at the prince's childishness. Despite being jerks most of the time, Natsu really cared for his guards. He considered them friends first, and they always knew what he needed. They weren't afraid to push his buttons, which was fine by him, but they knew how to soothe him as well.

They ended up swimming in the stream, not fishing. Well, really Natsu got bored when no fish bit his line so he decided to tempt them by putting something shiny in the water—AKA Gajeel. The metal head hadn't been very happy at his surprise bath and decided to take revenge by throwing water at the prince. Unfortunately he missed and hit Gray, causing a full on war. Eventually Gray and Gajeel teamed up against Natsu and picked him up, tossing him deep into the river. The prince was thoroughly soaked by the time the sky was dark.

Gray created a campfire for his royal highness to dry off while Gajeel cleared a small area of sticks and branches. When his pants were dry enough, Natsu decided to ditch the shirt and crawl into his blankets. Gajeel followed suit. Gray chose to stay and relax in the cold. What a freak. 

Sitting around the warm campfire, Natsu was reminded of his younger days. He was surprised by how much his mind was turning back. He wasn't much of a man of the past, so it was curious that so many memories had been plaguing his mind.

This memory was nice, though. He remembered a time before Gray and Gajeel, when Natsu would ride into the forest behind his father on his trusty steed Atlas Flame. They would go deeper than the trio was now, to the densest parts of the forest. There they would fish and swim, hunt and gather for their food. They would even lay on the forest floor, no blankets, and gaze up at the stars. His dad would name all of them for him, although Natsu couldn't remember them for the life of him. He was surprised his dad knew so much, but when he asked, the king told him that an old friend of his had been obsessed with them.

Natsu looked up now, but he couldn't see a bit of sky through the leaves. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine them, picturing the white dots decorating a dark sky with light. His imagination took it a step farther, creating pictures with them and making them dance before his eyes. He saw horses and lions, birds and flowers. He even thought he saw two people dancing.

"You asleep, Salamander?" Gajeel wondered. Natsu opened his eyes, ripped from his revere.

"I was," he said sarcastically, but his voice was soft, still filled with wonder. Gajeel only laughed, which made the prince smile. "I wonder what Wendy's doing," Natsu mused into the silence. His sister hadn't been thrilled at the idea of him riding away from his problems, but she didn't stop him. She even promised to cover for him if his dad came looking. "I hope she's not in trouble."

"Real trooper, that kid," Gajeel hummed. He treated Wendy like she was his own sister, which Natsu found amusing. They were quite the duo; the metal faced guard and the innocent princess.

The air filled with mindless chatter as they began to talk. They were careful to keep the conversation free from the mention of marriages or brides or queens. Instead they talked about their latest trip to the capital, where Natsu got bombarded cats. He didn't know what their fascination was with him, but cats had always loved him. Gajeel mentioned that he had heard whispers of a war going on, but there weren't enough details to keep to topic going. Gray was just informing them that his twin brother, the third person of Natsu's guard, Lyon, was going to be returning when a scream filled the air. The three jerked to attention, their hands gripping their weapons. Nastu slipped out of his bed and unsheathed his sword silently. His eyes peered into the forest for any signs of movement.

"It sounded like a girl," Gajeel murmured. He had his own sword drawn and was standing. His back was turned toward the prince, protecting him from the front, while Gray was behind Natsu, safeguarding his back.

"It sounded like she was in pain," Natsu observed.

"Shit," Gray cursed, gritting his teeth and leveling his sword towards the black forest. "The village was talking about some bandits near this area, but I didn't think they'd have the gall to camp here." He turned to look at his companions. "We're leaving."

"No way," Natsu denied, standing up and walking toward the forest. Gajeel tried to grab him as he passed, but the prince evaded his reach.

"Salamander!"

"There's a girl in there, probably being tortured or worse. I'm not going to leave her," he fought.

"We're not fighting a group of who-knows-how-many bandits to save one girl," Gray refused. He sheathed his sword and started toward the horses, who'd began trampling the floor since the scream. He soothed his black mare, Rave, turning to look at them when neither joined him. "No, Natsu "

"I'm not asking you to fight them," the prince assured him, turning his body toward the trees. "But you are trusted with keeping me safe. And if I just so happen to wander into a group of bandits, it'd be your duty to fight them off and save me." He sighed dramatically. "If you come with me now, it'll save you the trouble of having to track me down later."

It was tense for a long moment as the two boys glared at each other, seeing who would break first, but Natsu didn't worry. He knew as soon as Gray had looked at him that he would be the winner of this battle. Gajeel seemed to realize it as well, because he sighed, relaxing and sheathing his sword.

"All right," the black-haired guard sighed. He stepped between the two boys, looking at the both of them. His gaze lingered on Natsu. "Lets go save the freaking girl."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The only sounds in the clearing was that of the crackling fire and muttered conversation between men. Groups of tents surrounded the clearing, forming a sort of perimeter. Shadows flitted across the ground as people in black patrolled the line where the glow of the fire met the darkened forest.

Lucy sat next to the fire, yet she barely felt the warmth it provided. Her eyes were too focused on the man sitting on the log next to her to notice the flames, even when she was so close that the embers would land on her and burn her skin. She couldn't move even if she wanted to; the chains around her ankles and wrists made mobility impossible. She didn't notice them either, although they dug harshly into her soft skin. One began to get used to such pain after a few days, and Lucy had been in chains for weeks.

It felt like weeks at least. She didn't know where it all went wrong. One moment she was leaving behind her old life with Laxus, setting out to find help for her kingdom, and the next she was being shot down from the trees.

It had been her idea to rest in the forest. Days on Plue without rest had caused her thighs to blister and had pushed the horse past its limit. Laxus hadn't wanted to; he'd said that he felt bad presences nearby. Lucy hadn't wanted to be rude, but she'd said that Plue wouldn't be able to take it anymore and they'd have to risk the bad voodoo vibes he was getting. She regretted her decision now.

The first night had been fine, great even. She'd finally gotten a full nights rest for the first time in a week and felt fully charged. Laxus was the opposite. He'd become sick from spoiled meat, or so she'd thought. In truth, a pair of bandits had snuck into their camp and poisoned his food.

The bandits had been tailing them since they'd left Heart. Laxus had tried to insist on continuing. Lucy refused. The man could barely stand, let alone ride a horse for another four days. So they stayed another night, and that's when they attacked.

They were quick, quiet, and efficient. Laxus was the first to fall, thanks to the poison flowing in his veins. The bandits slices him up good, and then dragged him away.

Lucy had held them off as long as she could, but it was 12 on 1. The bandits took it as a game. They circled around her and made her fight them one at a time. They tossed the princess around, cutting her and bruising her all over her body. The game had ended, however, when Lucy had killed a man.

She hadn't meant to, not really, but she was in no state to say she regretted it. It was probably the only thing from that night that she didn't regret.

The man was being particularly harsh to her, kicking her when she fell, refusing to give her time to catch her breath. It wasn't even his crude threats of deflowering her that made her break. It was what he said about cutting up her boyfriend and making him supper for the rest of the group.

That's when she snapped. She could handle the threats and the beatings and the language as long as it was directed at her, but as soon as he began to talk about Laxus, she lost it. Laxus, who had given up comfort and security to follow his duty and protect her. Laxus, who had given up his job. Laxus who had just given up his life to protect her.

So yeah, she lost it.

It took ten seconds. Five seconds to slip the dagger out of her boot, the dagger Laxus had given her. Two seconds to stand to her feet. Another two seconds for the rest of them to realize what was happening. One second to slit his throat.

She didn't think the man even saw her coming. She hoped he died oblivious, but only for her own sanity.

They'd disarmed her quickly after that, slamming her into the ground and tying her arms behind her back, but the damage was done. The floor was painted with the red pouring from the man's neck.

Lucy didn't really know what happened after that. There was a lot of yelling and someone put a bag over her head. She was injected with some sort of drug, and it only took a few minutes for the world to go black.

When she woke up, she was with this small pack of bandits, tied up and locked in a crate with other women. She felt like hell, and she'd known right away that they'd done things to her. She didn't know what, but she knew they did things. She felt different. 

They traveled for a few weeks before stopping here, back in another forest. She'd tried to ask where they were, but every time she spoke, she was beaten. She was eventually left under the gaze of the man she was glaring at now. Jose. 

Jose was the crudest of all the bandits. He always talked to Lucy as if she was completely unable to understand him. He talked very slowly, with a lilt to his voice, not unlike the kind of tone one takes on when talking to a baby or an animal. It was the kind of tone that made it appear as if she was some idiot, completely incapable of understanding anything he said. She hated him for it, but she never voiced that aloud. 

Other than his patronizing tone, Jose was also the most physical of the bandits. She was beaten so often that she was sure her bruises had bruises. They continued to inject her with drugs, forcing her mind into a loopy state of colors and swirling masses. She tried to fight against them, but resistance was met with more beatings, and the princess' body could only take so much. 

There were four other woman with Lucy, as well as a little girl a few years younger. Lucy couldn't believe they would have such a child with them. It made her chest swell with anger. She noticed there were only women prisoners, and she didn't need to wonder why. 

Two of the women in the group were pregnant, and a third had been. When Lucy dared to ask what had happened to the baby, all the woman said was 'Jose'. One of the men affirmed to her later that day that all the children were Jose's—even the little girl—and that she should buckle up, because now that they were stationed, it would be her turn soon enough. 

The thought of Jose touching her like that, let alone impregnating her, made hot and terrible anger run through her body. It was the ultimate driving force behind keeping herself alive and sane. 

But her anger was running out, replaced by helplessness and distress. Her body wasn't trained to keep up with such harsh onslaughts. She had the beatings attacking from the outside, and the drugs tearing her up from within. She could feel it as each day passed, the instability slowly creeping in. Which was why she was going to escape tonight. 

Lucy didn't know how she was going to do such an impossible thing, but she knew she was going to do it. She had to. Despite the drugs and the abuse, she didn't forget why she was there. She was looking for help, for someone to save her people, and she wasn't going to be brought down by a group of men. Her mission wasn't complete yet. She could succumb to anything after she knew her people were safe once again. 

"Your staring is flattering," Jose spoke suddenly, making Lucy jump. "But if you don't stop, I'm going to stick one of these logs to that pretty little face of yours." 

She didn't doubt he'd do it. He was known for his unusual and harsh punishments over the slightest, simplest things, but for once Lucy didn't care. Let him burn her. It didn't come close to what he'd done to the other women around her, to what was going to happen to her people if she failed. 

He frowned when she didn't look away. Jose turned to look at her, glaring. "I said look away," he hissed slowly. His tone was warning, filled with venom, but Lucy just continued to stare at him. She held his gaze. Maybe it was the drugs or some unseen force helping her, but she felt filled with courage. She felt like she could take him on herself and, for once, she didn't feel afraid of him. 

The newfound courage didn't last long. Jose frowned at her display of rebellion, looking up to see that the other men were watching them. He felt very troubled by her sudden spark, so he knew there was only one thing he could do. Snuff it out. 

He reached into the fire, grabbing one of the red logs. He didn't even seem to notice that he was burning himself as he approached the blonde girl. Lucy tried to back away, the fear returning to her stomach once again. Fear and hate, always battling it out within her. This time she didn't know which one would win. 

Jose stepped on her chains and jerked her back, causing her to fall on her back. He climbed over her, a cruel smile on his face as he positioned the log above her face. Lucy squirmed to get away. Tears filled her eyes from the smoke and the heat of the flames still alight on the wood. 

Suddenly he changed his mind. Internally, he had imagined that she wouldn't be all that pretty anymore if he burned her face, and that would be a shame since she was so pretty indeed. So he decided to burn something else. 

"With this," he hissed with a purely evil smile. "No man will ever want you." 

Lucy screamed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Something was wrong. Natsu noticed it as soon as he approached the edge of the camp. For one, no one was patrolling. The prince was able to step into the space clearly, his two guards right behind him. 

They eyed the area carefully, but there were no sign of the bandits anywhere. Natsu knew they were there, however. The tents said it all. 

"Gajeel check the forest, Natsu you look through the tents. I'll check over there," Gray commanded. He was looking up in the trees as if he expected them to jump down and attack, but the firelight revealed there was nobody. 

A noise made them all jump; the clanking of chains. They looked up, swords drawn, as a woman came running towards them. Natsu put his weapon down almost immediately, taking in the appearance of the woman. She was younger, but it was hard to tell with her dirty face and round, pregnant belly. She stopped when she saw them, tears coming into her eyes. 

"It's like God is here himself," she whispered, falling to her knees and clasping her hands together in prayer. Natsu noticed that her chains were broken, cut. 

Gray and Gajeel glanced at each other before both of them sheathed their swords. They moved towards the woman cautiously.

"Where are the bandits?" Gray asked, just as Natsu said, "Are you alright?" They looked at each other with a glare. 

"How did you escape from the bandits?" Gajeel asked, moving between the childish two. The woman stopped praying, looking up at them with a huge grin on her face. 

"She did it, she really did it," the woman laughed, her hand touching her belly unconsciously. "That little girl did it. She killed them all. I knew she was special."

"Little girl?" Gray asked, not following. Natsu blinked in surprise. The woman shook her head, laughing. 

"Goddess, that girl. She was a goddess." She clasped her hands again, bowing her head in prayer. Tears were falling from her eyes. 

The three men looked at each other, uncertainly. Gray turned back to the woman. "Ma'am, we want to help you, but you have to tell us what happened. Is there any bandits left?"

"No, she killed them all."

Gray paused, shaking his head. "Is there anyone else still alive?" 

The woman looked up with a smile. "The goddess freed all the prisoners. They might still be back there," she turned to look back at the clearing, farther back. "She might still be there, too." Suddenly the woman frowned, looking at her stomach. Tears of sadness filled her eyes. "I want to go home to my mom and dad." 

Natsu felt his stomach clench. He had been right, the woman couldn't be older than nineteen, and yet here she was, looking as if she'd trekked across the world, a baby in her stomach. He felt anger flood his veins, and vowed to kill all the bandits. 

"Ma'am, if you stay here, we will get the other prisoners and bring you back to my kingdom. You will receive the best care and I will ensure that you will return to your home," Natsu swore, standing up. "I swear on the name of Natsu Dragneel of Draconia." 

The woman acted as if she didn't hear him. She was back to praying, smiling at the ground as tears leaked from her eyes. Natsu was unsettled by the sight, but Gajeel sighed. 

"She's drugged, heavily," he said, pinpointing the source of her odd behavior. "I wouldn't be surprised if all the prisoners were." 

"Who was that goddess person she was muttering about?" Gray wondered, rubbing his arms. 

"Only one way to find out," Natsu said, turning to where the lady had pointed. He started forward, pausing to look back at his still guards. "Come on, don't you want to meet a goddess?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Natsu nearly tripped over the first body. It was darker over here, and he'd almost missed the long shape in the dark. If it wasn't for Gajeel he probably would've ended up face-first in guts. Not the most pleasant idea. 

Gray grabbed a piece of broken wood and lit it on fire from the other campfire. It lit up only a small area around them, revealing hell. 

Bodies were strewn across the floor, all of them men in black. Bandits. 

The prince gagged without meaning to, turning away from the carnage. Even Gray stifled a groan, covering his mouth from the smell. Gajeel turned away, looking grossed out. 

Reluctantly the prince stepped over the body. The went towards the center of the area, frowning as the bodies became more condensed the deeper they went. When they reached the exterminated fire, they stopped. Gray threw the torch into the pit, letting the embers rekindle. 

It was like a horror movie coming to life. The fire caught immediately, fwooshing to life and lighting up the whole area. All the bodies became visible, probably thirty in total. It was the sight a few feet away from them, however, that made even Gajeel gasp. 

A girl was standing among the dead, a man in her grasp. She was wearing a torn up white dress, now stained red by the blood of the men. The dress was short on her, barely covering mid-thigh, and the top was nearly gone, doing a poor job of covering her large chest. But it wasn't the revealed clothing that made Natsu stare. 

Her face was relatively untouched, but pulled into a cruel look. Her brown eyes looked gold in the firelight, matching her chopped up blonde hair. Dirt painted her cheeks and decorating her chest, almost like tattoos, were a series of blistering burns. They went all the way from her collar bone to her waist, and who knows how much deeper. Each burn was circular in shape, some longer, and bleeding profusely. The flesh was angry red, but the girl seemed immune to the pain.

The man in her hands was alive, much to their surprise, but just barely. He had a dagger sticking out of his gut, and from the blood gushing out of his mouth, Natsu couldn't imagine he had much time left. 

The girl turned when the fire lit the area. For a moment she stared at them, her eyes uncannily blank, and then she blinked. It was like she became a totally different person. Her eyes filled with life, staring at them, and she released the man with a gasp. She stumbled away from him, covering her chest as tears began to flow down her face. The sword she'd had in her other hand fell to the floor, just as the woman buckled to her knees. His guards were still stuck in shock, but Natsu seemed to have snapped out of it. He raced over to her and managed to catch her before she hit the floor. He held her gently, trying to avoid touching and irritating her injuries. The prince couldn't stop staring at her. The girl, the goddess, who had just wiped out an entire bandit camp. Alone. 

"Salamander," Gajeel said, gently touching the prince's shoulder. Natsu jumped at the contact, his hand flying to his sword. He shifted, but froze when it was only Gajeel. His guard looked at the girl in the prince's arms uncertainly and then back at his face. "I'm sorry to say, but we gotta cut our camping trip short. There are more women, and blondie is in pretty bad condition." The two men looked down at the girl, who was groaning slightly in her sleep. Natsu could see her burns even clearer now, and they only looked more gruesome.  

"How is she even still alive?" He wondered, and then his eyes caught on something shinny. He spotted the chains around her wrists. He reached out and touched them gently, the metal feeling smooth and cold under his fingers. "She was a prisoner?" 

"I managed to talk to one of the women," Gajeel said, nodding towards a small group of females off to the side. They were watching the girl, tears running from their eyes and smiles on their faces. "The blondie saved them all. The head of the group had been especially crude to her for a while, always beating her and sticking poison in her. It's a miracle she survived, and then the woman said she just broke." 

"The head guard was burning her with a log, that's who we heard scream. He was about to do it again when she reached up, grabbed the log, and slammed it into his face. It was chaos from there. Somehow she managed to get her hands on a sword and that was it, it was all over," Gajeel got quiet, shaking his head. "What I wouldn't give to have seen that little girl slit these bastard's throats." 

"Yeah," Natsu muttered absently. 

"She's a hero to these people," Gajeel stated, noticing the lack of emotion from his charge. "I know it seems bad, but what else was she to do?"

"It's not about the killing," Natsu said gently, his eyes still locked onto the girl. "How on earth did she manage to do it with those wounds?" 

"Desperation," Gajeel said instantly. Natsu looked at him questioningly, but his guard was turning away. "Come on, let's get these women back to Draconia."

Natsu lifted the blonde girl up gently, carefully settling her head into the crook of his neck. She was light, worryingly so, and barely moved. If Natsu didn't know any better, he'd say she was dead, but he could feel the light dusting of breath on his neck as she breathed in and out slowly. The feeling of her breath made shivers run up his back, but he kept her like that, even when he climbed onto Happy and began to ride back to Draconia. 

Just a side note, when Natsu found out about finding a wife and all that, it wasn't at the same time Lucy was leaving her castle. It was a couple of weeks after, when she was already with the bandits. Just wanted to clear that up.