Cross my heart…
They meet among the crisp white roses that make up her garden.
She sees him in the shadows of the apple tree, her soft pink lips parting in surprise when she sees the quiet teen with hair as rose-colored as the sky as the sun that sets behind him. She asks of who he is; he answers that he is the King of Demons, dubbed such by the brother that loves him enough to bring him back from the dead. He tells her that he doesn't really have a name anymore, that many call him by the hair-raising title his brother has given him, one that she knows well.
When he returns the question, she replies with simple words: "I am Lucy. I'm the woman who lives in this place, alone, because my father is away with my mother, working on their company to try and get us more money so that we may live in a nicer home. One that isn't falling apart."
He replies, "Why wouldn't you leave?"
"Because it's my home and I must wait for Mother and Father," she replies calmly. She tucks a lock of blonde hair behind her ear, her actions thoughtful. "Mother told me to beware the man who goes by E.N.D. But I don't believe that you're someone to fear...you look tired. Why?"
He bares his teeth almost playfully, showing their sharpness, and Lucy notices the black markings that creep up his face as he does so before fading away again. "I'm tired of having to kill. I don't like it. But I have to."
She questions why he has to; E.N.D. holds no answer.
So she asks him another question, a secretive smile on her gentle face. "Well?" she urges. "Tell me your name. Not your title, but your name."
He is honestly startled by this. "You want to know the name I had before?"
"The one you were given by your parents, yes," she confirms.
"...Natsu," he says hoarsely, unable to believe what this kind girl is saying. Her blonde hair glows like that of a fairy's as she smiles, her dark eyes delighted. "Natsu. My name is Natsu."
Hope to die…
Her parents are horrified when they learn of who she has spoken with. Her mother is understanding, though, recognizing her daughter's ridiculous need for kindness. Her father is less understanding and screams at her, threatening to disown her should she do such a thing again.
"Do you not understand who that bastard is?" he shouts as she presses a hand to her mouth, hiding her sobs. She's never been shouted at before, doesn't understand why he is doing so. She is the precious heiress to the company he has worked so hard for; she is the princess among his world, where female heirs are so hard to come across. "He is the definition of evil! He is the one who killed your mother's parents!"
Her mother is fierce and swift in her defense. "That's not true," the older woman argues. "Zeref ordered such, that evil man. He is the one who ordered their deaths - E.N.D. was merely the one who did as he was told, like you did in the war. That is like accusing you of being a murderer. And I won't allow such flying accusations."
"I will not have her conversing with demons," he warns.
She doesn't listen.
Because dancing with the devil is far more interesting than her previously dull life.
_________________________________
Stick a needle…
He finds her again, sitting among the flowers of her garden.
Her mother's garden, she corrects him when he reluctantly joins her under her demand. He doesn't know why he's come back; he only knows that he has, and that she is determined to befriend him. He doesn't mind. It's a nice change of pace from the daily life he goes through on a usual basis.
