Crystal: Well it's been some time since I put this specific story up and decided that I needed to update this now! Sorry for the wait and here's the chapter

My Husband?!

Lucy felt herself floating. It was the only way she could describe the sensation. Well maybe it actually wasn't like that. She only felt as though she wasn't on the ground, but she had an unpleasant feeling at her waist as if she'd been laying incorrectly that made her waist slightly hurt. She blinked awake, her eye fluttering open until the events from before filled her mind. Was she being taken captive? She couldn't let herself be taken. Now that she was awake she was more aware of the galloping taking place in which she could only assume she was also on a horse.

She wasn't about to let herself be damsel in distress. She always felt irritated when reading books were most female protagonist put themselves in needless danger and then didn't even have the strength or knowledge to defend themselves. She decided she wasn't going to be same. She didn't even know what happened to her mom and by the looks of the area it seemed they weren't in the kingdom of Alvarez.

'It's now or never!' she urged herself as she took the chance to suddenly wriggle wildly in the hands of whoever was taking her. She managed to hit said male in the face who cursed under his breath. "Fuck! Ouch", the man mumbled as he let her go suddenly making her fall on her bottom. She was frozen in place as he regained his strength and slid off the horse. 'Idiot, don't just sit here, run!' she finally got her thoughts together as she swiftly picked herself up and ran.

"Hey, where are you going?!" he called out to her seemingly worried, but she continued to run that is before the wave of flames blocked her way. She was going to run in a separate direction, but the flames had spread to form a perfect circle around her. She gulped heavily, knowing well she had messed up her only chance of escape and that she was at the complete mercy of the man who she finally saw clearly as he passed by the brush of tree.

She felt herself blush. This man was quite handsome and even his garments were that of nobility. His hair was of such a vibrant color she'd never seen before. It was pink and styled in a spiked fashion. His face had sharp eyes of the most beautiful emerald she'd ever seen. He looked at her with relief and wondered why he didn't seem angry at her for trying to escape. As he finally got to her the flames extinguished. "What do you want from me? Why is the king trying to take me?" she questioned him, her voice shaky with fear. At that, he looked at her knowingly, finally understanding something.

"Oh you have misunderstood something, Lady Lucy. I have actually saved you from being in the hands of king Zeref. I just need you to promise you won't be escaping once more so that I may fully explain the situation just as your mother was going to before she was taken captive" he explained cautiously. She perked up suddenly at the mention of her mother. "Wait captive? What's going to happen to her?!" she begged to know.

"Again please calm down, Lady Lucy. I will explain everything", he said as he motioned for her to follow him. Having no other choice, she nodded as he guided her back to their said transportation. Her eyes widened realizing that the horse was blue. "Excuse me, but has that stallion always been of that strange color", she questioned shocked. He ignored her as he lifted himself up onto the strange creature and offered his hand to her. She took it gratefully, as she accommodated herself sideways since her slightly tattered gown was in the way.

"Well Happy here is originally a cat. However, since you must not be very familiar with such matters, I'll tell you now that magic is very much existing in this era. Its usage is only forbidden in Alvarez. However, where we are headed, magic is a style of living", said stranger which she realized she still hadn't asked his name explained. "Magic? Certainly you must jest, sir or duke, perhaps?" she questioned leading to asking him his name. The handsome stranger seemed to be debating something before he drew in a breath. "Magic does exist, Lady Lucy. You saw it before your eyes in the King Zeref's castle and when I blocked your escape", he finally said still not answering to reveal his identity.

Lucy nodded still feeling overwhelmed by even just a little information he revealed. "Please, do tell me who you are. I cannot trust someone who knows of me but is not willing to reveal himself in reciprocation. I'd also like to know where it is we are headed for", she pouted slightly and it seemed as though he gave up from the soft sigh he gave. "Yes, that is quite unfair. But if you must know I am Natsu Dragneel, king of the country of Ishgar", he explained. Her eyes widened immediately as she tried to excuse her earlier behavior.

"Oh, what honor, please excuse my rude behavior from before", she muttered. "Please, don't change your attitude, Lady Lucy. I refrained from revealing myself for the same reason. I'd like to be acquainted with you since we shall be doing much traveling together", he explained and she could of sworn he blushed. "Very well. I wouldn't want to against your wishes, but since you have given me such liberty then might as well not to refer to me as Lady Lucy. I very much dislikes titles and since I will not be in my own country just call me Lucy and I shall call you Natsu", she smiled as he seemed taken aback by her sudden boldness.

He nodded almost bashfully since well he couldn't dare tell her what that meant in his country, but then again he had to explain to her or she could end up in many misunderstandings with others. However, he liked the sound of the naming. She squealed when she finally saw the huge town spread before her and the enormous castle in the middle of it all. She was in awe at the magic that pervaded the whole town as even the small children seemed to know how to perform small tricks with it. "Amazing", she sighed as her eyes lighted up and Natsu couldn't help, but smile at her child like excitement.

She was so refreshing in comparison to others he'd met before. A completely different woman as well. She was shy when greeted by the townspeople who welcomed her warmly. However, they were suddenly attacked by a group of men when a small girl was giving Lucy a flower. "Such a pretty lady", one of them muttered huskily as they tried pulling her off the horse. She held tightly onto Happy as another pulled at her leg. "Release her at once!" Natsu's voice boomed as the men seemed to retract as if coming out of a trance.

"P-Please e-excuse us, Your Majesty! We d-don't know w-what we were doing", they mumbled in fear. "Do not fret. All is well", he nodded to them as they nodded in appreciation and stumbled away. "It seems the situation is much worse than I expected", Natsu mumbled almost to himself as Lucy wondered what that could possibly mean for her. The male slapped the reins on Happy who sped through the town quickly riding past the gates of the castle. He urged the blonde to get off all while refraining from making contact with anyone as he pulled her into one of the rooms.

"What's going on?" she questioned a bit scared. "Look, it seems that you are in much more danger than your mother and I had expected", he mumbled as he guided her to a chair and sat across from her. "What situation?" she asked. "You read the book, right?" he questioned her seriously.

"What book?" she blinked in confusion. "Before you headed of, in the carriage you rode. I switched out a book you had under the seat without your mother's knowledge. Pandora", he explained as she seemed to suddenly recall the name. "So you put it there? The one about that enchantress and the goddess who sealed her? But in what way is she relevant?" the blonde mused. "Look, as very extravagant and far-fetched as this must sound you have to believe what I'm about to tell you. Alright?" he muttered very gently.

She seemed nervous, but nodded after a few seconds. "It is of my knowledge that you, Lucy, are that goddess reincarnated every four hundred years. And as you know from the book you've read, you as the goddess's reincarnation are known as Pandora's box", he began to say motioning with his finger to where her heart should be. Her eyes widened then. He couldn't be serious, right? There was no way she could be that goddess or any goddess in general. Lucy didn't want to believe it, but she had promised him that she'd listen and given that she'd promised to believe him, she decided to take his words into consideration.

"I know it is very overwhelming, but I only speak the truth", he voiced as if making a vow. "So what does King Zeref want with me. Is it because I'm this so called goddess? Does he want something with me as Pandora's box?" she questioned. "By the looks of it, you must not have managed to read the whole book, but I shall explain what would happen if in any case Pandora's seal would be released", he hummed in thought.

"It could go two ways if the seal is broken. If it is tampered with and forced to open, a plague will escape from your heart killing you instantly and wiping out humanity along with you thereby leading to a repetition of history until it is properly opened or disposed of. However, if opened with the ancient relic of Fairy Heart and the 12 golden keys, Pandora will escape and have complete control of your body and use it as her own. Tragic enough, she will be forced to serve whoever opens the seal. King Zeref, wants this power because he wishes to wipe out humanity using Pandora's great sorcery magic that is almost an equal to that of the goddess", Natsu began to explain very cautiously as if fearing she would overreact.

So regardless of what kind of meddling was done with her, then she'd be a goner regardless. Her eyes wanted to tear up. Why had she been the one chosen for this fate. She felt lightheaded by the situation as she rose hand to rub at her temple. She felt a hand grasp her free one as she looked up to find Natsu looking at her with such a gentle expression. "Rest assure, Lucy, my purpose is to protect you. I live for you. It is my duty and I will take it on fully even at the cost of my life", he whispered reassuringly.

"But how can a king like yourself devote his life to a simple noble woman like myself. I am not princess and you do not know me", she muttered as her eyes finally gave way to a wave of tears. "You may not remember, but we have met. We've met when we were just children. Your mother was well aware of your situation and my father had known that you were the one we were looking for", he explained with a light smile.

Although she blushed then, she still felt sort of disappointed when he'd said it was only because of duty. He wasn't doing it because she was someone he treasured even if they had met. He was given that mission even when he was younger. So what was the difference between protecting someone out of responsibility to forcing someone to guard her? Every step of the conversation, it seemed she was becoming more like a helpless woman needing to be protected. "I don't need anyone to protect me", she whispered voice barely audible.

"I'm not doing this because it's my responsibility, if that is what you are thinking. I wish to protect you. Do not frown as such. I much rather see you smiling", he explained as she looked up in shock at his words. "So how does my mother know of this?" She quickly changed the topic in embarrassment as he seemed to recall he was still in the middle of trying to simplify the situation for her.

"Ah, you see your mother is what they call the Zodiac guardian. The twelve keys in which Pandora's servants were sealed in were entrusted to your mother to avoid them from falling into the wrong hands. She is one of the three people able to use them and of course, one of the three the servants will obey. You, are their priority and exist to be of your service. I am the third person able to control them because I too have a purpose for my existence. The part of the prophecy which is only known by few", he breathed as he sat back in his chair.

"Wait I have sort of recalled a dream I had. A women of blond locks and Jade colored eyes appeared before me. She was desperate and said I had to be the last 'maiden' and that I should not let 'him' have the 'zodiac servants'. She said something about the seal having been tampered with before I was born and that I had to find the goddess's guardian", she explained in thought. "That was the goddess speaking to you", Natsu deadpanned as the blonde looked taken aback.

"She is, of course, correct. The seal had been tampered with before you were born and as a result, if we do not collect all twelve zodiac keys then the seal will be broken regardless. Pandora will not have a master to control her and she will only bring misfortune and destruction. Which is why we will take the time now to train you here at the castle before we set out on our journey with a few of my most trusted friends", he continued to say. "I understand. So is that why the men from before attacked me? They didn't seem to remember what they were doing", the blonde motioned as she leaned her hands on the table before them.

"That is correct. Pandora was known to captivate and seduce men to abide to her whims like the perfect slaves. In your case, the seal is slowly releasing Pandora and as of now you are realizing a heavy load of pheromones that make any man unable to resist you", Natsu blushed slightly at having to say such embarrassing situation. The blonde also felt herself blush as she sat back awkwardly. "Oh, I see, then how are you able t-to uh…r-resist me t-then?" She mumbled in curiosity.

"It has both to do with what I am to you and slightly because of some magic I used to repel those pheromones", he mumbled sheepishly. "What you are to me?" She mused as her eyes blinked in confusion. "Like I said there is another part of the prophecy. That I wanted to explain to you", he coughed trying to compose himself after revealing such shameful actions on his part.

"You see the goddess is known as the goddess of life and she was destroyed by Pandora's betrayal that she escaped the heavens to mourn on Earth in the form of a human woman. There she met a man who without hesitance comforted her despite not knowing why she was so saddened. Little did she know, that he was the god of death in disguise trying to deceive her so he could rule the heavens instead of her. She fell in love without a second thought until he finally revealed his intentions to her and attempted to take her life", he almost said as if he himself were recalling the event.

The blonde was puzzled by it, but remained silent to continue listening. "She escaped and promised herself that she'd never be deceived or hurt again and almost decided to kill herself, but she was stopped by another man. He was an actual human in the flesh. He had fallen in love with the goddess at first sight and convinced her to stay alive. For days, she didn't speak or eat, but the man did everything in his power to ease her sadness. And slowly but surely, she began to accept his advances and even helped him out at his farm. And before she knew it, she had fallen in love with him", he continued as the blonde wanted to cry at such a sad story.

"The god of death, no later, found them and threaten to kill her beloved if she did not return to him. At the time, she revealed herself as the goddess of life to the man she loved in hopes that he would hate her for having deceived him, but he simply smiled at her and said he cared not of that, but of their love. She explained the situation about Pandora in which he promised to protect her and the seal of her heart. The god of death was angered when she did not return and went to confront them. He was a magic user and with all his might defended his beloved until he was killed before her eyes. He had promised that if she were to give him as many lives, he'd love her for all eternity and would live to protect her", his voice had reached a whisper then.

Lucy wondered why he sounded so sad. "Are you alright, Natsu?" she questioned gently as he nodded to her with a sad smile. "Yeah. She had asked if he'd be willing to be with her forever and when he had not even hesitated to say yes, the goddess reached a choice then. She used a forbidden magic that clutched onto the souls of her, the god of death, and her beloved. She knew Pandora would surely escape if not continuously in a fresh vessel and so she had conjured a spell in which their souls would continue to reborn for all eternity until something was done with Pandora. The man the goddess loved was to be what you now know as the goddess's guardian. He was given power rivaling the goddess's in order to protect her reincarnated form from the hands of the god of death", he finally seemed to finish.

"The thing is that for the guardian to be able to protect Pandora's box, he must be able to love and be loved by her reincarnation. In other words, their souls have been spiritually bonded and are considered to be married. The guardian will eternally be in love with the goddess's reincarnation and will only ever be in love with her. Once he set his eyes on her for the first time, he'll know it's her. Of course, the bond is awakened once they begin they take the first step as lover which is a kiss", he finally finished his lips in a tight line. "And who might that guardian be. I d-do not like t-the idea of a s-stranger being my husband", she muttered.

"Well, please forgive me then", he had smiled sadly as he stood to walk towards her. He was suddenly very close to her and she felt her heat beat faster. "W-What are you d-doing? She questioned as her voice rose in a panic. "Lucy, I am the guardian of the goddess. And since the very moment we met, I have always been in love with you. As your husband, I will make sure to protect you with my life. Like I said before I do not do it because it is my duty to protect you, but because I love you", he explained his eyes almost seeming desperate.

"You're my husband?!" she squeaked. 'He loved her? Surely, it is not his feelings, but the feelings of the man who loved the goddess. "You don't love me. You love the goddess", she sighed. "You're wrong. It is true that I was supposed to love you, but even when I had grown up I had no sort of attachment to you when I saw you like it was said it would be. I dare say at first I found you a nuisance because I was not interested in girl or marriage at the time, but one time you came up to me and asked me to play when no one else wanted to because they deemed me dangerous and at that moment I knew I was in love", he explained suddenly bashful.

Her cheeks lighted up and she felt even guilty that she could not recall anything. "It's alright. You don't remember because your mother wanted you to live without knowing of Pandora if she could and so she erased your memories against my father's warnings that things would only complicate if she did that. You forgot about me, but I still always watched you, waiting for the moment I'd finally get to be by your side", he motioned. Her tears slipped past her cheeks as he looked at her confused.

"Why are you crying, Lucy?" he asked in confusion. "B-Because. All this time you had been waiting for me. And I can't even remember something that means so much to you", she sobbed as she wiped at her tears. He took her face in his hands, a gentle smile at his face as he wiped away her tears. "I don't like seeing you cry even if those tears are for me", he muttered as he leaned in to press their lips into a sweet kiss.

Crystal: Well…that was something. This chapter was very filler like with the whole explanation of the other side of the prophecy being explained by Natsu. If you guys are confused don't hesitate to PM me or review about any questions you have. Sorry if this chapter was sort of dumb and very quick paced, but the fact that he claims to be her husband means Natsu is already in love so please excuse if this is too fast paced. See you next time lovelies!