~The Princess,
a Hurt Dragon,
Ice,
& Herbs~
When she was little, Lucy Heartfilia's
beloved mother used to read her bedtime stories. Beautiful, erratic stories that left her breathless. Tales of Knights, Dragons, Princesses, Fairies, a hidden world, and Magic. Who would have thought that she would be sitting right next to a real life Fairy Tale? A Fairy Tale, that was bleeding and gasping and dying in her arms.
What a twisted Fairy Tale.
As soon as she had dragged the abnormal boy into the Greenhouse, she had gotten to work. Ripping into cloth, that she had found, into trips to help her bind the wounds closed. Lucy tied it tight to stop the flow of blood. Her hands moved at the speed of light. Flashing this way and that. Grabbing and snatching at things she thought would help. Her pale hands were sticky with the herbs she had used. The herbs that could either save his life or end it.
Depending on whether Lucy remembered what Droy-the gardener-had told her about each herb.
Lucy, however, was sure that she had remembered correctly. She was good at remembering things...even the things that she wished to forget. As she hurriedly crushed the herbs she needed, she whispered their uses.
"Borage Leaves; good for fevers..." Lucy crushed them and set them aside, the boy felt like lava, he would need them.
"Chervil Root; Keep away or treat infections." Lucy's eyes trailed to the many cuts and slashes that she had cleaned.
She went back to crushing.
"Celandine; To ease pain." He will need a lot of these roots.
"Comfrey; To help mend broken bone." The oddly bent wing flashed through her mind.
"Goosegrass; To stop the flow of blood." Her trips of cloth hadn't been enough. The greenhouse's floor and her pants were soaked and streaked with the crimson liquid.
"Nettle Leaves; Keep down swelling."
Lucy had to chews these to make a plump to slather onto the wounds.
"And Poppy Seeds; To numb pain."
He's going to be in a lot of pain when he wakes up.
Soon Lucy had broken leaves and roots scattered around her. Waiting to be picked up and used. Sweat trickled down her face as she used the herbs to the best of her abilities. The sun had long since risen. Bringing with it the sound of birdsong. Sunlight streamed into the greenhouse, the heat flared up, making her skin boil.
She wiped the glistening droplets from her face, curling her lip at them in distaste. She then moved her long hair away from her sticky neck. Lucy sighed as she got temporary relief from the hot temperature. Her eyes fluttered open to look down at the softly breathing boy. Lucy needed to get the Dragon Boy out of the greenhouse. The heat was doing nothing to ease his fever.
It's only going to make you worse.
She needed to get him somewhere cool. Somewhere isolated. Safe...
Then it struck her like one of Captan Erza's swords.
Her room.
It was isolated, cut off from the castle, located on the far side. Nobody entered her room anymore, not even her maids, except on special occasions. Lucy had long since informed them that she could do things herself. That she didn't need them to do everything for her. For the most part, they left her to herself.
Only Levy came inside to visit.
The King never came anywhere near her part of the castle. He didn't visit. He rarely spoke to her. And he never really looked at her. He acted as if she were invisible. A ghost of the castle.
Nothing more.
Lucy should consider herself lucky.
Anyone who snagged the King's attention, even for a moment, would meet Death sooner then they had previously thought. Lucy swallowed thickly. Even though she was the Princess, her father would not give any mercy to her. No mercy for your daughter. Lucy Heartfilia sighed as she refocused her gaze upon the winged boy.
No mercy for you either.
She didn't even dare to think of what her father would do to him if he ever gained the knowledge of the boy's whereabouts. Don't worry, I'll keep you hidden. Lucy thought quietly to herself as she rubbed at her aching fingers. Her thoughts drifted to her white dog. Worry began to cloud her mind. "Plue will be alright," she assured herself. "He will come back shortly." She prayed he would.
Lucy didn't want to be alone.
Lucy refocused her gaze upon the shallowing breathing boy. She needed to get him out of here. Now.
Already she could faintly hear the Guards making their morning rounds. They would be here soon.
If not the Guards finding them, then Lucy's Personal Guard would.
She cringed.
Lucy really did not wish for that to occur. Her Guard could be a little...'extreme' when it came to her safety. Or when it involved her at all.
If only he knew what I am doing now. Lucy sniggered, He would choke on a hair ball. An image of her orange haired, cat-like Guard flashed through her mind. "Now," Lucy stood up and went over to the Dragon Boy. "How am I going to get you away from here?"
Then, a thought struck her. It was a simple thought, that quickly morphed into an image of a person. A devious smile formed on Lucy Heartfilia's face. It just so happened that she knew the person well. A person as cold as the ice he worked with.
With the image still fresh in her mind, she set out to find him.
A boy with ebony black hair and dark blue eyes danced in her mind's eye.
A name came with it.
Gray Fullbuster...
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"No."
"Please."
"No."
"You must!"
"No. No, no, no, did I mention? No?!"
Lucy huffed, "Yes, you did in fact." She gave him a look that he returned. "Many times."
Gray Fullbuster only shrugged his broad shoulders. "Just had to make sure I got my point across. I did do that, didn't I?"
Lucy nodded. "You did."
The young man looked pleased.
"Good."
"Now do what I asked and help me."
Gray balked at her. It was quite comical. With his eyes as wide as dinner plates and with his jaw cracked open. Lucy couldn't help it, she chuckled, which only caused the shell shocked boy's irritation to rise.
"Lucy, I'm not going to help you do this." He stated, his words final. Said girl looked him over. He had lost his shirt somewhere between the time they had been talking. Honestly, Lucy was so used to his odd habit, that she rarely noticed anymore.
"Gray, you have lost your clothes once more," Lucy informed him. Gray only raised a dark eyebrow before looking down at himself. Only for him to do a wild dance when he saw the state of himself. "How does this always happen!" He grumbled under his breath as he went to work looking for his lost shirt.
You would think he would be used to it by now. Lucy thought, amused as her gaze followed his crouched over form.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of white peeking out of the grass. With a sigh she reached over and plucked the white material from the ground. "Gray?" He turned around to face her, his eyes locking on his shirt that was being waved in the air by delicate hands. Smothering curses under his breath, Gray stomped over, and snatched his shirt from her.
"That's no way to thank me, Gray." Lucy scolded him as he put his shirt back on. The black haired boy only rolled his eyes with a huff. "Still not helping you." Gray was still having a hard time believing her story. If he hadn't witnessed the source of her story-nah, he still couldn't believe it.
How could he? It just wasn't possible.
Not anymore.
Gray had nearly suffered a heart attack when he had first seen Lucy that morning. Covered in blood (that he later found out wasn't hers much to his relief) and wearing a hesitant smile on her face. He had taken all this in in a panicked frenzy. Only to get the second heart failing shock of his life when she had begun to tell her story.
Gray Fullbuster still could not comprehend the information she had given. That is, until he saw it.
"You have to help me with him, Gray, please!" Lucy was pleading with him now. Why are you trying so hard to protect him? Gray wondered silently to himself. There is nothin' to gain from this. "Why, Lucy? Why do you want to help a half dead, magical, Dragon!" His steaming words went unheard. Lucy had already moved away to enter back into the Greenhouse.
Gray watched her from the outside, he didn't want to be anywhere near that thing that wore a human face. "Lucy!"
He hissed, not daring to speak any louder for fear he would wake it up. "Don't get so close!" His words only met deaf ears. Lucy crouched down beside the Dragon Boy's head. A cut on his cheek was beginning to fester and turn red. It's getting infected. Lucy reached over and gently grabbed the herb she needed.
Within a few moments she had begun to reapply the Chervil Root. Making smooth circular motions with her fingers. Her mind had once again wandered, like it usually did. Questions began to swim in her mind.
How did you get here?
Lucy thought back to the crushed rocks and the deep grooves that marred the dirt. Then looked to his torn wing.
Crash landed then.
Another question flowed in, the most important.
Who did this to you?
Lucy's eyes turned sad as they swept over the many injuries.
Who are you?
"Oi!" Lucy was jerked violently out of her musings by Gray's sharp voice. "What?" Lucy almost growled, but stopped herself, anger would not get the best of her. "Lucy, come on, I don't want you near that...whatever that is." The black haired boy looked disgusted even breathing in the same air as the Dragon Boy.
Anger got the best of the Princess.
"Do not belittle someone like that, Gray." Lucy snapped. "Just because he doesn't look like us, doesn't give you the right to judge him in such an awful way." Like I did...Guilt began to eat away at her, but she pushed it back. She would tell the boy she was sorry if-when-he awoke from his slumber. Gray looked positively shocked. He wasn't even capable of speech at that moment.
Never had he witnessed his Lady so riled up. Gray crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at her. His eyes flickered from Lucy to the Dragon and back again. I don't know why you're doing this, Lucy. A scowl overtook his sharp features. But, I'll trust you for now. His eyes zeroed in on the one who wore a fake human face. Until he makes a mistake.
"Alright, Lucy...where do ya want 'im?" He sighed out, uncrossing his arms from his unclothed chest. Never had a smile so bright come to Lucy Heartfilia's face. She let out a happy laugh and began to instruct her friend on what to do.
Not even noticing his lack of clothing.
Not even noticing the stilted, onyx eyes that had been locked on them.
Only to slide back shut, for razor like talons to be sheathed, and for cracked lips to seal over abnormally sharp canines.
Both Princess and friend had no idea just how close to Death they had come...
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And so the Princess heals the Dragon, for she could not let Death take him so soon. A young man as cold as ice has now entered into the Fairy Tale. Who else will become one with the story?
What shall happen to the Princess & the hurt Dragon?
Only time will tell.
Let The Adventure Continue!
This chapter is for CarryOn221