A/N: 

I left hanging on Lucy's end in the last chapter so let's fix that real quick. Also! After this chapter, the epilogue is the only thing that's going to be left and I'm assuming it's going to be shorter than this chapter, but I'm not sure yet. I've also been getting into anime again, Haikyuu!! and My Hero Academia are what I've been currently watching. I'm wanting to write more as well, but as we all know, I think I should steer away from writing novels for now. I was thinking about doing one-shots? What are you all interested in seeing? I could do character x character one-shots or character x reader as well. Let me know what you're interested in if you'd like to read my writing that's (hopefully) improved with my experience from college. I hope you enjoy the chapter and thanks again for sticking with me despite everything:)

LUCY'S POV

I was silent as Loke lead me down one of the hallways in the palace. I had to think of my next moves carefully. They won't go after Gray again now that I made the 'agreement' of marriage with Loke. Gray being here gave me hope. Breaking into the castle wouldn't be a lone mission, so some of others must be here too. 

A rush of excitement ran through me at the thought of Natsu being here. He wouldn't not come to get me back. I wondered where he was right now. I was hoping that Loke and I were going to run into him on our way back to my bedroom. I needed to figure out a way to find him, and a way to separate myself from Loke. I had an idea.

"You know, Loke, if we are going to get married, you're going to have to do an official proposal to ask for my hand. I am a princess, you know." I said, looking up at him with a teasing smile. Even though Loke was smart in some ways, I knew that he would believe anything I told him if I batted my eyelashes and smiled pretty. He, like most men, couldn't resist my charm.

Loke looked down at me and smiled warmly. "Of course, darling. But I'm waiting to advance this relationship until everything is settled and back to normal. I don't want to do much to excite you after your procedure is done, you'll need to have your rest. We couldn't ever hope to have a family of your own if your womb was somehow damaged after the procedure if you got yourself too worked up." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in close, rubbing his hand reassuringly down my arm.

My blood turned cold at the mention of the 'procedure.' I wouldn't let anything happen to Natsu and I's child. "Yeah about that..." I started, pulling on the sleeve of his coat so he would stop walking. "Do you have an appointment for that yet? I've been trying catch up with everyone around here and I don't want anything to have anything conflicting in my schedule. You know how busy a princess can be, right?" I asked him.

Loke suddenly, he shifted my shoulders to where we were facing each other. My "knight in shining armor" put his finger under my chin, tilting my chin up until our eyes met. "I haven't had the time yet, but I'll be in contact with the royal physician as soon as possible. I can tell you want things back to normal more than anything." Loke pulled me in for an embrace. "I am so sorry that you were gone for so long. I promise that nothing like that will ever happen again and soon we will be happy together. Every day you were gone was the worst day of my life. I'll never forgive your father for letting a princess as beautiful as you go. "

His attempt at being comforting made my stomach flip. I forced myself to smile back at him. "I'm so glad I have you with me again. I don't know what I would ever do without you." I put my head on his chest so he couldn't see my face and squeezed my eyes shut. This would all be over soon.

Natsu's POV

"I'm all fired up now." My fists engulfed in flames as I got ready to fight my way out of this. I had to fight my way to Lucy and our baby.

The color drew out of the king's face as his fear sat in. "You wouldn't do anything to harm me. I'll have your head if you so much as get one step closer to me." His voice shaking as he tried to put as much distance between us as possible.

I chuckled, slowly stepping towards him. "Do you think I'm scared of you? You rely on your guards and your high walls outside of the castle to do your bidding and keep you safe. You can't do anything to me. Go ahead. Try to hit me, you won't take another step without feeling the wrath of the dragon."

"He can't, but I sure can." A voice said from the dining hall's doorway.

I froze. I knew that voice anywhere. I turned towards the sound of the voice and confirmed what I already knew.

Loke.

He stood leaning against the doorway all smug in his hideous powder blue and white suit. "I thought I'd have the pleasure of never seeing your ugly mug ever again. It seems that I was mistaken, but no matter, you won't be around for much longer. Every trace of you will be gone from this castle soon, that includes that wretched fetus you forced into my darling Lucy." The grin on his face could be classified as nothing less than sadistic. 

I growled, slamming my fiery fist down on the large dining table. "If you think you're gonna lay another finger on Lucy or our baby, you got another thing coming! I am going to find Lucy and we are gonna get out of here with all of our friends. We are gonna get back on Fairy Tail and sail far away until we never have to see the shores of Magnolia again, but first..." I paused to look up at him and grin just as crazy as he was earlier. "I gotta stomp your ass into the ground first."

The orange-haired man scoffed. "You're pretty confident, sea scum. You might be able to beat me in a head-on fight, I do admit that, but you're still extremely outnumbered. We have guards lined up outside this room and outside the castle. Even if you do manage to get ahold of the princess, there's no way you'll make it your pathetic ship with the rest of those scoundrels. Admit it, Dragneel, you're defeated no matter which way you look at it."

I made my way towards him, taking my dear sweet time doing so. Despite his words, I kept that awful grin on my face. "You don't get it do you, Loke? I don't care how many people are around. I'm still gonna kick your ass into next week. Go ahead, send your guards in! You can watch me take down all of your guards and then you're next." Loke took a step back for every step I took forwards. I smirked, it's obvious that he was getting a little scared at this point. That's good. "I guess you're the one that's actually defeated, huh, Prince Charming?" 

Loke was getting too frustrated at this point. I could tell he was starting to get careless when he dropped his cool reserve and tried to take me out with a big right hook. I could see his punch from a mile away. What an idiot, I chuckled in my head. I crouched quickly to duck his punch, jutting my leg out to sweep him, making him crash to the floor. Before he had time to react, I was on top of him. I landed punches left and right on his face, he was too focused on the pain to defend or counter attack.

Jude was still in the roof, but he was stood horrified on the other side of the hall, frozen to his spot on the floor. Too frozen to call for the guards to help. Good, I thought, one less person that's in my way, at least for now. 

Loke's nose was already turning purple and crooked. I refused to let up on my attacks. He deserved everything that was coming to him and worse. He would pay for ever abducting Lucy from her home with me. He finally gathered enough strength to grasp my arm. "Please." He croaked. It was a pitiful, raspy sound. "You'll kill me." His lips were busted and bruises were already starting to form.

"Good!" I yelled, landing another punch on his cheek. "You know you deserve this. You know Lucy was happy with me, and you know she will be again. You know I won't stop until you can't move anymore." 

Once I pummeled Loke to the point of losing consciousness, I decided that it was in my best bet that I move to my goal of finding Lucy. I stood up and looked to the king, who was still frozen in the corning of the grand dining room. I brushed my bloody knuckles off on my pants. "Get in my way and I'll do worse to you." Jude nodded furiously. "I-I think I'll s-stay right here, i-if that's a-a-alright with y-you."

I nodded at the pathetic man and with that, I turned to leave, pushing the oversized elegant doors open.

Lucy, I'm coming to get you.

Lucy's POV (time to switch it up again)

Loke had left me in one of the drawing rooms to wait for him. He said he was going to go make the appointment for the procedure, but since everyone from Fairy Tail was here, I had a hard time believing that excuse. I had already tried to open the doors, but he had locked me in here. This particular drawing room was on the second floor, so it's not like I could just jump out of the window. I'd risk hurting myself, or worse, the baby. 

Come on, Lucy, think! I racked my brain for strategies on escaping. I knew Loke probably had guards posted outside, so it's not like I could just bust out of here and make a run for it. I ran my hands through my hair as I slumped back in one of the cushy chairs. I was getting anxious for Natsu, anticipating him to ram in through the door at any moment. I don't know what I will do if he gets worse for trying to save me.

I snapped out of my thoughts when the door opened, in came Virgo. My mouth gaped at the sight of the lavendar-haired maid. "Virgo?! Thank Mavis you're here!" I jumped up to run to her. Virgo would help me, help us. She could get us out of here. I spoke to the baby.

"Shh!" Virgo hissed, putting her hand over my mouth to silence me. "Princess, you must be quiet." She said in hushed voice. "I convinced the guards that Loke authorized your procedure, so they believe that I'm preparing you."

"Right." I whispered back. That was pretty stupid of me. I could have ruined the entire plan. "So what are we doing, Virgo?" 

"Put this on." She handed me a hospital gown. "I'm gonna tell them that I'll be walking you to the clinical wing to get started. They'll likely escort us under the guise that they'll be providing protection since they know that Natsu and the others have infiltrated the castle. Once we are inside, you can go out on the balcony that comes out of the patients' recover room. There's a ladder hidden on the side that you should be able to climb down. You have to be careful and you have to be quiet. If you're spotted, this is all over and Loke'll have my head for it."

I nodded as I began stripping out of my clothes to put the hospital gown on. "I understand, Virgo. Thank you for everything. I don't know how I can ever repay you for helping Natsu and I find each other again." I jumped when I had a realization. "That's it! You can come with us, Virgo! I couldn't bear to leave you here with Loke and my father. I don't even want to imagine what they would do when they find out that you're the one that helped me escape."

Virgo smiled sadly at me. "I appreciate your offer, but this place is my home, Princess. I don't think I could ever leave this place. Besides, I don't think I could ever live my life on a ship. I know that's where you have found your happiness, but I just don't think I could there."

"Virgo, please!" I begged, tears welling up in my eyes. "At least come with us so you don't have to stay here any longer. We can find you a nice villager far away to live in! Please, Virgo! You're my friend. You're the only person who has every truly cared for me after my mother passed away. If being with Natsu and the others have taught me anything, it's that I can never leave my friends. Let me help you."

Virgo sighed and place her hand on her hip. "I guess I should know better than to try and change the mind of a particularly stubborn princess." Her lips turned up in a smile. I couldn't help but smile as well.

"Let's get out of here." I said, tying the gown in a bow, ready to leave. Virgo threw one of the folded up blankets from the back of the couch to me. "Cover yourself up with that. We can't have a lady roaming the halls indecently."

I wrapped the blanket around my waist to cover up my underwear that was exposed out of the back of the gown. "Alright! Ready to go." Virgo nodded and held out her arm for me to grab. We went to the door and she knocked to let the guards know we were ready to leave.

They opened the door to let us out. It took everything in me to stick to the plan instead of just running away as fast I can. I knew I wouldn't make it very far on my own, I had to stick to Virgo's plan because that was the strategy that was mostly likely to succeed in both of us escaping.

"Ladies, we will be escorting you to the medical wing. We have to make sure both of you are protected since there could be those sea urchins roaming the hallways." One of the guards said.

"You know, I find it odd that Loke would want to go ahead with the procedure with everything that's going on. I also figured that he would want to be there to support the princess." Another guard said, scratching his head with his heavy, metal shield in confusion.

Virgo scoffed. "You think Loke would want to see the princess in that state? Of course not. Also, it's a precaution just in case Princess is captured, at least he would have killed that captain's child. It doesn't matter what else has come up, Loke insisted on Lucy having the procedure performed today. You can go take it up with him if you like, but the princess and I cannot be late. This musn't be delayed any further, excuse us." She pushed past them, pulling me along with her. I'm surprised she didn't crumble with the pressure, if she would have said the wrong thing, we would have been goners.

"O-Oh." Said the guard who had questioned us. "Of course, ladies. There's no need to go see Loke, as long as the procedure is completed, that's all that matters. We will head there now. Come along, men." He ordered.

"Sir!" They said with a salute. Half of the men walked in front of us and the other half followed behind us, that way we would be protected on all sides. 

My anxiety grew with each step we took towards the medical wing. I was so afraid that something was going to go wrong. I'm not as brave or as strong as Natsu, I thought to myself. But I have to be, for our baby. I brushed my hand over my stomach, I was already a few months along. The baby was growing. I itched to find out the sex of the baby. I had a feeling that we were having a girl, but there was no way to know for sure until I could have some sort of ultrasound. 

Once we finally made it to the medical wing, the guards started to try and follow us into the room. "Uh-uh!" Virgo scolded, shaking her finger at them. "I cannot allow you all to come into the room with us. This is a sensitive procedure and we need our privacy. You all can guard us just fine from outside the door. If you have ears, you'll be able to hear if we get into any trouble or if someone breaks in."

One of the men opened his mouth to argue but then changed his mind. He knew that it was useless to continue to argue. "Fine. But do not under any circumstances lock this door. We need to be able to get in as soon as possible if something goes wrong."

"I think we can do that." Virgo said, finally shutting the door. "Alright, Princess." She said loudly so the guards could hear. "I'm gonna have you remove the blanket from your waist and lie on the table for me. This shouldn't take too long at all."

"O-Okay." I said, letting the blanket fall to the floor. I wasn't just feigning nervousness for the procedure, I was still nervous that things were going to go wrong. I know it seems dramatic, but so much is at stake here. Any of us could get hurt and I could never forgive myself if people were harmed for my sake.

"It's time, Princess." Virgo whispered, leading me to the balcony doors. She slowly turned the lock to unlocked the door. Stealth was key at this point in escaping from the guards. Once she was the door was unlocked, next was the hard part. She had to push the door open without it creaking or making any sudden loud noises. We had to think, if they heard us opening any doors, they would immediately assume something was wrong and come in to see what was going on. 

"V-Virgo?" I asked, raising my voice to where the guards could hear. "Is there anyway that we could turn on the radio? I need to distract myself from what's going on. I can't jump or flinch because it might damage my womb. I'll need to be able to have children with my true love, Loke after we are married."

Virgo winked at me. "Good plan, Princess." She whispered, then raised her voice to say, "Of course! We need our sweet princess to be as comfortable as possible. I'm still so sorry this has to happen, if you had never been sent away, none of this would have ever happened." Virgo went over to the radio and turned it on and set it to a classical station. "How's this, Princess?"

"It's wonderful, Virgo, thank you. I'm just glad all of this will be over soon." I sighed happily, dreaming of being back on Fairy Tail with my real family and friends. 

With the music turned up fairly loud, Virgo went back to the door, slowly twisting the handle until she could pull the door open. Once it was pulled open enough for us to squeeze out, we hurried out onto the balcony. We figured to leave the door open in case they heard us shut it.

We crouched, crawling to the edge of the balcony in case there were guards in the courtyard who could see us. Virgo hurriedly pulled the ladder out from its hiding place next to the balcony. My father had these placed on each balcony so that people could escape if there was every an invasion or other situation going on. It also helped guards move around the castle without being spotted if there were people in the hallway. "You first, Princess." She whispered to me.

I nodded and climbed to the ladder. I wasted no time scaling down the building until I reached the ground. I ducked behind one of the topiary statues, waiting for Virgo to come down as well before figuring out where to go next. Virgo climbed down the ladder faster than me. She pushed the ladder back into its hiding position amongst the vines that crawled across the castle's bricks. She knelt next to me behind the topiary. Guards were mostly in the castle at this point, there weren't many on the grounds. 

Things were quieter than they were a few minutes ago. That made me even more concerned that I already was. Quietness more than likely meant defeat from one side or the other. Virgo and I racked our brains for a plan. We knew we still had to be careful. As far as we knew, the guards upstairs hadn't discovered we had escaped yet. We had some time to come up with a plan but not much at all. We needed to get moving or else the guards would easily spot us, all they would have to do is look off the side of the balcony.

"Lucy!" I heard a man shout. It was the voice I had been longing to hear for too long now. My head spun as I looked around to find the source of the voice. Tears welled up in my eyes as I saw him across the courtyard. He was running towards me at top speed, his fluffy pink hair was slicked back with sweat. There was blood on his knuckles and on part of his clothes. I was worried about his well-being but then I figured he must not be too injured if he was running at me as fast as that one time when I almost fell over on the Fairy Tail. I broke out in a grin and sprinted towards him. I couldn't wait another second to be in his arms again. 

"Natsu!" I sobbed as we finally caught up with each other. His arms squeezed me tight as we held each other. The impact almost made me lose my breath. I buried my face in his neck, savoring our sweet reunion. Neither of much had much to say as we held each other. Though he wasn't sobbing like I was, I felt the tears fall off his cheek and onto my shoulder. "I m-missed you so much." I managed to choke out between sobs.

Natsu's hands rubbed up and down my back. "I knew I'd get you back, Luce. You're safe now. You don't have to worry about your father or that bastard ever again." He promised, reluctantly pulling out of the embrace to look into my eyes. "Saying that I missed you as well just doesn't feel enough for me." He said, cupping my cheek and going in for a kiss.

I moved my lips against his, tears still falling down my cheeks. Instead of tears of sadness and worry like I had been crying all this time, I was finally crying happy tears. When he pulled back, he brushed my tears away with his thumb. "I don't want to see you cry anymore, my sweet girl. I never want to see you cry for as long as I live."

I chuckled at him and sniffled. "I'm sure I'll cry again, but I know that you'll always be by my side to make everything better. Besides, I don't think I'll be able to stop myself from crying when I get to watch our baby grow up." I said, placing his rough hands on my belly.

"Oh, they've gotten so big!" Natsu exclaims, kneeling down until he was faced with my belly. "Hey there, little baby! Well I guess you're not so little anymore." He chuckled, putting both of his hands on each side of my stomach. "I'm sorry that I haven't been here for you, but I'm here now. I love you and your mom more than anything in this entire world. We are going to be the most perfect family. I need to get you a crib so you'll have someplace to sleep when you get here. You'll have so many friends too, I don't think you'll never be lonely. There won't be much peace and quiet, but I promise you'll get used to it, baby." Natsu rested my head on my stomach. I could feel his tears again, wetting the fabric of my hospital gown. Oh my god, I'm still wearing that hospital gown! I immediately got embarrassed, shooting my hands to my back to try and pull the gown together so my underwear was hidden. Then, I felt guilty for ruining Natsu's moment with our child. 

Natsu pulled back confused and then realized what happened. He chuckled, running his hand through his hair. "What's that outfit about?" Deciding it would be better not to explain that Virgo and I just pretended that we were going to perform an abortion on our child, I laughed nervously and said "Just a way to escape from the guards, had to find an excuse to get out of their sight. So I pretended to be ill and need to go to the medical wing."

Natsu nodded. "Oh! Good thinking, Luce." He slung his arm around my shoulder as we made our way back to Virgo, my hands still attempting to cover up my backside. Whew! I thought, that was really a close one. 

"Virgo, thank you for everything you've done for Lucy and the baby while she was here. I can't ever thank you enough for protecting my family." Natsu, pulled the maid in for a quick hug. Virgo blushed at the sudden affection.

"I love the princess very much. I always cared for her when she was younger, this was no different. Like you, I'd do anything for her." She explained with a bow.

"Virgo agreed to leave with us. We were hoping to find her a nice little village to live at since she doesn't really want to live on the ship with all of us." I told Natsu, looking up at him with a smile. 

"That's great! Welcome aboard Fairy Tail, Virgo!" He grinned with that big smile of his. That infectious smile that makes everyone around him light up to.

"Let's get out of here. Princess needs to rest after today." Virgo said, looking towards the large ship docked on the shores surrounding the castle.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." I yelped when Natsu swept me off my feet. "Your feet aren't to touch the ground anymore for the rest of the day." He laughed as the three of us made our way to Fairy Tail.

For what seemed like the millionth time today, I couldn't stop the tears from falling again. Fairy Tail and everyone in it was my home. I never would have to worry about my father or Loke anymore. I smiled as I rubbed my growing belly.

Who would have thought that becoming payment to a pirate would have led to all of this?

A/N (again):

That's it! Payment to a Pirate is officially over! I can't believe I've actually finished it after posting the first chapter in late 2015. It's been a long 5 years, but I knew that I wanted to give this story an ending. I knew the characters and you all, my readers, deserved it more than anything. There is an epilogue coming though! So be on the lookout for that. Baby Dragneel will be here and we get to see the final moments of everyone aboard the Fairy Tail ship. This chapter was the longest one I've ever written, so I hope that you all enjoyed seeing Natsu and Lucy's reunion. Also, please let me know if you have any requests on any new works from myself! I'm definitely interested in writing something My Hero Academia related. You can comment on this story or send me a DM if you have a request and I'll try my best to write it as soon as I can.

I'll see you all very soon with a much long-awaited epilogue and ending to Payment to a Pirate!

~ Death Pasta