"Give me one reason why I shouldn't have my guards lock you in the dungeon and throw away the key?"

Lucy Heartfilia looked down from her plush chair at the pathetic looking boy, kneeling before her. The boy raised his head, his onyx eyes flashing with anger, giving them a lively look that contrasted with the rest of his appearance. His ill-fitting clothes were mere rags, full of holes and reeking with the stench of the slums. His body was frail looking; his grimy skin was pulled taunt against his bones and his unwashed hair was clumped and matted, resembling the shade of dirty cotton-candy. From what Lucy could tell by his half-dead appearance, life had been unkind to him.

Her guards had found him stealing food from the kitchens. Normally, she would overlook something like this and send the perpetrator on his way. However, the boy had injured one of her staff members as he attempted to flee. That was something she couldn't overlook.

"I don't have a reason." The boy responded.

"What?" Lucy arched her eyebrow. "You're not even going to try to beg for your life?"

"I don't care what happens to me, so there's no point."

Lucy paused. She wasn't expecting this. Crying and begging was what usually came at this point. Followed by curses which led into promises to turn over a new leaf, or join the church, or seek an honest profession. More groveling came after that, with pleas for mercy and stories about a starving family at home. Her receiving room was always covered in tears and snot and the stench of desperation. But the boy did none of that. He simply glared at Lucy, like she was the one who had done something wrong. Staring back at him, her features remained calm, collected, and apathetic. Yet, inside, her curiosity was growing.

"Is your life worth so little to you that you are resigned to spend the rest of it rotting away in my dungeons?" She asked.

He didn't respond. Annoyed, Lucy tapped her manicured nails on the arm of her chair as she narrowed her eyes at him. What is with this boy? She thought. If he wanted to get thrown in my dungeons, it's not really much of a punishment if I send him there.

"Tell me," she said, trying to keep her voice leveled. "Do you have any family? A wife? Children?"

He took a moment to part from his usual glare to give her an exasperated look as he rolled his eyes. Okay that's a no….

"Well, do you have a name at least?" She asked.

"What do you care what my name is? I stole from you. That's all you need to know. Now let's stop with this mock trial and I'll go start rotting in your dungeons."

Lucy looked down at him, filled with pity. He truly has no value in his life. Does he? Her decision was made then. She stood from her chair and descended the steps towards him.

"I care because I need to know the name of my new grounds keeper," she said, stopping in front of him.

"Your what?" The boy's eyes widened, shocked. He shook his head as if to knock some dirt from his ears to try and hear her better.

"As you attempted to flee, you injured one of my grounds keepers. Due to the injuries he sustained from you, he will be out of commission until he heals. Until he can return to my service, you'll be responsible for maintaining the grounds of my estate in his place," Lucy explained.

"Are you crazy? I don't know the first thing about grounds keeping. Besides, I'd rather rot in your dungeon than work for some spoiled rich heiress," he sneered.

The guards stationed in the room stepped towards the boy, but Lucy held up a hand, halting them.

"You'll be working under the instruction of the head grounds keeper of course. You'll start in three days time, after you've been properly bathed and fed. I won't have you collapsing on your first day. You won't receive any payment for your labor, just 3 meals a day and place to sleep."

"Oi! I told you I'm not-"

"And I'm telling you," she interrupted. "You will work to pay off the debt of your crime. You said that you didn't care what happens to you anymore. That there was no point. Fine. Since you obviously don't care about your life, I'll claim it. So whether I decide to throw you in my dungeon or have you work as my grounds keeper shouldn't matter to you. Right? "

He didn't respond. The boy glared at her instead, his onyx eyes cold and hard. She held his gaze, not backing down from its intensity. A flicker of emotion, she noticed, flashed across his eyes before he quickly looked away.

"Natsu" he finally muttered. "Natsu Dragneel….that's my name." Lucy smiled down at Natsu, before turning to a man dressed in a smart butler's tux.

"Capricorn, please show Mr. Dragneel to his quarters. He is to have a meal and a much needed bath and fresh clothes prepared for him. Also, have the doctor look him over to make sure he's fit to work. I'll introduce Cancer to his new subordinate in the morning."

"As you wish, my lady." Capricorn bowed.

With things in order, Lucy turned back to Natsu. His gaze was downcast, so she couldn't see his expression. Remembering the slight emotion his eyes revealed, she knew that her decision to make him a grounds keeper had been the right one. She could tell that he had lived a harsh life, which led him to steal from her in the first place. There was no excuse for his actions. Yet, he wasn't tying to steal her jewels, or the priceless artifacts hanging on the walls, or even the silver utensils that were stored in the kitchen. He had broken into her house merely for some food. He wasn't stealing for greed; he was stealing to survive. Lucy wondered about the harsh life he had lived that would lead to this event. It doesn't matter. She scolded herself. That's all in the past.

"What was that?" Lucy asked coming out of her thoughts. Natsu was now looking at her, but she had missed what he had said.

"What's your name?" He asked again. "If I'm going to be slaving away around here, I want to at least know the name of the spoiled rich heiress who owns this huge ass estate."

"Mr. Dragneel-" Capricorn began to protest.

"It's fine Capricorn." Lucy quieted her butler.

Grabbing the pleats of her dress, she dipped into a quick curtsey. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia." She straightened and smiled. "This spoiled rich heiress is pleased to make your acquaintance."

3 years later

Walking the grounds of her estate, Lucy twirled her parasol as she enjoyed the quiet spring day. That was, until loud voices interrupted her peaceful stroll. Following the voices, she came upon a familiar sight. Cancer was standing at the base of the ladder Natsu was standing on. He was waving his hands, shaking his fists up at the boy. In the past three years, seeing her head grounds keeper verbally discipline his youngest subordinate had become a common sight around her manor.

"What the hell did I tell you to do? Were you even listening to me, boy?" Cancer yelled.

"Why are you yelling old man? I did what you asked," Natsu shrugged.

"What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?" Lucy asked as she approached them.

Cancer bowed to Lucy and Natsu just nodded. If Capricorn saw him, he would have scolded him like usual for his lack of respect. Her butler was always trying to instill in Natsu some form of manners. Lucy didn't mind though. She found his lack of acknowledgement of her title, somehow refreshing.

"Lady Lucy. I apologize that you had to hear that. I'm afraid my subordinate lacks the capacity to comprehend basic instructions," Cancer explained.

"Lacks capacity? Why you-" Natsu waved the sheers he held in his hand down at Cancer as they began a new wave of arguing.

Lucy giggled. The bickering between the two of them was a daily thing. Lucy would be more concerned if a day went by and they hadn't fought. Despite how things seemed to appear, Cancer really did appreciate Natsu; and Natsu, though he would rather die than admit it, looked up to Cancer.

"What did he do, Cancer?" She asked, tilting her gaze towards Natsu.

Looking at him now, it was hard to believe he was the same boy that she had met three years ago. Working long hours on her estate under Cancer's instruction had given him an olive complexion and a lean, tone body. After several baths, his hair had returned to its salmon pink color, sticking out in pointy spikes all over his head. Lucy had commanded her maid to burn his old rags and he was always dressed in the various forms of his grounds keeper uniform. But it were his eyes, that held the true transformation. No longer were they hard and cold. Instead, his onyx eyes were filled with the flash of emotion she had seen that day so long ago.

"I did exactly as he asked," Natsu declared as he stepped down from the ladder. "Cancer told me to cut these hedges so they resembled animals. So I did." He gestured to the row of hedges behind him.

"I said animals not-"

"Dragons!" Lucy held her parasol to the side, so she could take in the full glory of what Natsu had created. In front of her, five dragons of various shapes and sizes and positions stood.

"Yep!" Natsu beamed. "I even named them too. That largest one there," Natsu pointed to a dragon in the center, its wing's spread and claws aimed towards them. "That's Igneel! He's my favorite."

"But they're not-" Cancer tried again.

"They're perfect!" Lucy giggled. This was so like Natsu. His interpretations of Cancer's demands had transformed the grounds of Lucy's estate over the years. She even remembered when he arranged the flowers to resemble a winged blue cat last spring. Lucy knew that her acceptance of Natsu's antics put a slight strain on Cancer, but he had long since grown accustomed to it too. In her opinion, he rather enjoyed them himself.

"But my lady, how are you going to explain these dragons when you host your annual garden party next week?" Cancer protested.

"It'll be fine Cancer," She assured him. "Besides, dragons are protectors. What lady wouldn't like the idea of being protected by such a creature?"

"Exactly," Natsu agreed. "Anyway, I made sure there were plenty of other things your richy friends can gawk at during your party."

"Other things?" Cancer's eye twitched. "What. Other. Things?"

Before Cancer could begin yelling again, Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand, leading her into the maze that was her garden. "Uh-oh. Let's go Lucy before he gives me another earful," he winked.

She laughed as she allowed herself to be led away; the pair leaving a fuming Cancer behind. She would never say this aloud, but Lucy was glad that Natsu had chosen her house to steal from. If he hadn't done that, then she never would have been able to see him like this. It wasn't just Lucy that appreciated Natsu's presence. He drove the whole manor mad, but he had warmed their hearts nevertheless. That flash of emotion he held in his eyes three years ago emitted out of him now, touching everyone around him. The boy who kneeled before her with such cold eyes and no care for his life had rotted away. In his place, stood a boy who made winged cats out of flowers and dragons out of hedges, and looked at her with nothing but joy in his eyes.