A/N:

Hope you like this chapter, still a little short since I'm still getting over being sick, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to prolong the journey a bit! Hope you guys don't mind meeting Sabertooth for another chapter or two! I wanted to develop the character more before I started introducing new ones! But they're coming, maybe next chapter! Hope you enjoy it! Please review, I read them all and I'm so so glad you guys are liking it! Between this fic and writing my actual book my fingers might fall off! Also I'm trying to work on the breaks in the stories, I just realizing going back through that for some reason the breaks aren't showing up even though I typed out the lines and everything? It's odd so I decided I'm going to break the perspectives up by just a few indentions of blank space? I hope that's alright, let me know if it helps!

~Ally

They rode for hours, the bright light of the morning was soft on their skin and Lucy wondered if it were a good omen. Spring was finally winning against Winter's strong chokehold and the flowers were slowly coming back to life. Birds sounded in the tree canopy far above them. Swallows, chickadees, and bluebirds all flew around them. Lucy watched the small animals, these birds didn't know what they were doing. There was no deception, no fear, in the little creatures' features. Lucy shook her head. They were birds, not people. Birds didn't lie, birds were just there. They just existed. She focused back on the road in front of them.

They all rode large quarter horses that Makarov had arranged for, but they would only take them as far as the Fiore border and no further. Then the mages would be on their own to walk by foot. The company had been silent most of the way, focused on the trek they were embarking on. Occasionally Gray and Natsu would start to bicker, but a piercing glare from Erza was all the duo needed to be best friends again. Natsu had not tried to talk to Lucy about their fight and Lucy was content with it. She told herself that keeping him at arm's length would be best for them both.

He led the line of mages, Lucy thought he looked like a king. His cloak's embroidery shot the light glittering into the forest and his hair caught the rays from the sun, turning it a hazy baby pink around the edges. His stance was tall in the saddle. He had told Lucy once that he often got sick on long carriage rides, but never on the back of the horse itself. Lucy suspected it had something to do with the grounding the creature gave him, like when she'd woken up and his hand on her shoulder had been the only thing that kept her sane.

Lucy vaguely recalled the road they followed, she had followed it once that time she had ridden to Makarov. But she supposed she had ridden it a second time when her prince had stolen her from her own bed. But both times had been at night, and she supposed the fear had made the ride seem faster. Lucy looked down at the map she held in her fingers, positioning the reins of her horse so she could pull the paper open. They were close to the border now, where there was a checkpoint full of guards.

Makarov had procured them false documents saying they were merchants heading to some far off city that Lucy wasn't sure even existed. There were so many cities in Fiore and it was a large trading country. She prayed the guards would not look too closely at her, they wouldn't recognize the Fairy Tail mages but she was their princess.

They stopped near the border, but close enough to not be seen. They took a few moments to let their horses drink and eat the grasses along the road. Lucy felt the weight of her legs come back to her as she lugged herself from her saddle. The others followed suit. From her pack she pulled a small knife, it opened like a butterfly. She had seen it at the market and purchased it with money Makarov had given her. It was silver with an inlay of stars on the handle, it had been much too expensive but she couldn't leave it at the stand, her heart wouldn't let her. Now she took the knife and put it under the ponytail she had made with her long blonde hair and began sawing away at it. Natsu gaped, "Lucy! What are you doing?" he fumbled with the words. The others turned to stare at her as she continued to cut.

"They'll recognize me with my long hair, I can't risk it." She told him as Levy walked over. Natsu didn't look happy but he didn't protest. She was a dead girl, no guard would be looking for a dead princess. But Lucy didn't want to chance it.

"Lucy sit down, let me do it," she told her, Lucy handed the small girl the knife. And Levy set to work. Soon the dirt around her was littered with blonde hairs. Levy cut inches off, leaving her hair to meet her shoulder, then braided what was left into a crown around her head. Natsu thought to himself that she would look better with an actual crown on her head, but hair would have to do for now. She'd look best in red jewels. Natsu blinked. Why had he thought that? Red was his country's jewels, red rubies. He shook the thoughts away. Blue, his mind convinced itself. Blue were Fiore's royal colors, not red like his.

And so they continued on foot, leaving the horses to find their way back to their masters. The checkpoint was anything but impressive, merely a stone tower in the middle of a field that went on for what felt like miles on either side. At night it had been easy to sneak around the field but in the daylight, it would be too troublesome and they were sure to get caught. They couldn't risk getting arrested here, not at the start.

It was barely past noon but as they neared the large tower they could already smell the alcohol. The guards were inside, guns leaned up against the stone walls, playing a game of blackjack. The hooted and hollered as they won and lost. One had folded his cards, as Lucy peered in she suspected it was not on purpose as he was faced down on the table snoring loudly. The remaining guards looked too like they were well on their way to whatever dreamland the other was already visiting. Natsu crept up beside Lucy as she looked in through the open door.

The guards were making quite a ruckus but they were woozy in their seats, their visions thick with the best gin they could acquire the night before. Natsu waived each of his companions through, putting a finger to his mouth in a sign to be as quiet as possible. Each slunk past the tower and into the woods on the other side, sprinting to the tree line once they were out of site. Just as Levy disappeared into the thick woods of Fiore and Lucy was walking past a guard yelled "Who goes there?!" scaring her stick straight and to a halt.

He was staring at her, fumbling with his open uniform jacket, trying to put it on and look authoritative. He failed completely. The others at the table were not so easily roused and kept going with their game and their sleep, too inebriated to care.

Lucy could see Natsu tense beside the door, ready to spring. Lucy waved a finger at him behind her back, "Go, go now." she tried to tell him, but he didn't budge.

She straightened her cloak around her and smiled at the guard who was still staring at her. "Oh darling," she drawled and puffed out her lip, her eyes widening. "You're dreaming, don't you know?" He blinked at her, his eyes were glassy. Her heart pounded as she walked to him and laid a hand on his chest. He stared.

"Dreaming?" he stuttered, the word feeling wrong in his mouth. She was so pretty, he thought as the girl in front of him nodded.

"Dreaming. Go back to your game, and if you win," she moved her mouth to his ear and breathe, "you'll get a fine reward." the blonde pulled back. Her voice made his knees feel like they were buckling, it was sweet sweet honey. He wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, the dream, or the anticipation that hung in her words that made his knees quake. His whole body heated. He nodded at her and opened his mouth, she put a finger up to his lips, shushing him. "But, you have to win to get your prize." she guided him to the table and sat him down. She had him wrapped around her finger. He picked his cards up- it was a losing hand if she'd ever seen one. And he watched her go, a deep fire burning in his eyes against the cloudiness. She slipped from the tower with a wink and a blown kiss as he finally succumb to his drunk state. She was nothing but a figment of his stupor.

As soon as she was out of sight of the guards she bolted, Natsu fast on her heels. He was staring at her like he'd never seen her before. And there was something in his gaze, she thought she saw hunger in it, but then a moment later it was gone. The others were waiting in the trees for them. They huffed as they stopped, catching their breaths from their sprint to safety.

"Darling?" Natsu chided as he gulped for air.

She laughed, "It was all I could think of! You should be thanking me for getting you out of there!"

Natsu elbowed her with a grin, "We're lucky he didn't swing the other way!"

"You're right, I don't think you would make a good seductress even if you tried," Lucy called to him as she skipped ahead of him down the path.

Natsu pouted, "I could too!" his arms crossed over his chest as he walked.

From ahead of them further Gray called, "No you couldn't, but you're doing a pretty good child act right now!" Natsu ran ahead, yelling something about Gray having to watch his back before he ended up with a knife in it. They bickered back and forth for a while longer.

Lucy slowed her pace to stand with Erza, Levy, and Gajeel. The two boys' teasing lightened the mood and Lucy was thankful for it, though Gajeel was muttering something about "idiots, both of them" under his breathe. Levy had just playfully slapped his arm, telling him to be nice, to which she got an exaggerated eye roll out of the Iron Dragonslayer.

Lucy pulled the map once again from her pack, they had a day before they would reach the capital of Fiore and meet up with the merchant who traded with Sabertooth. From the border to the capital it was all forest and foliage, a single small road ran straight to the capital from the borders of the dragon lands. As they walked Lucy remembered the small villages and towns of mages that used to pop up on the single road. Years ago it would have been a traffic jam of horses, carriages, and people, but now it was empty. They walked past large expanses of open fields dotted with houses in ruin. Grass was poking up through the ruined brick and dark dirt. The whole walk was a ghost of another time. Lucy had once seen these people smiling, had visited the outlying villages.

And then her father had burned it all to the ground.

She had been able to spare many of the townspeople, but some had rather burned with their homes than ever leave it. It was a blight on the country of Fiore, her father's whole reign and she wasn't sure she would ever be able to make it right. Even if the mages that left came back, would they be able to rebuild? Lucy had kept constant records of who owned what and where, they would be given their lands back and the rest would be auctioned or divided between the living relatives, but would the burnt land be usable again? It was a heavy burden on her heart, she had a lot to do once she was back at her palace. A lot of lost time to make up for.

They were silent as they walked past each deserted ruined town, every footstep felt heavier than the next as they walked closer to the capitol. It was hours again until anyone said anything and night was steadily starting to fall upon the group. Though the spring sun had warmed then in the day it was a chill in the air that brought them to make camp. They stopped hours away from their capital city target and set to work on preparing dinner. They were stopped in a half-burned town, a small church with a broken steeple made their home for the night. Gajeel, Natsu, Erza, and Gray went off to get wood to burn, while Levy and Lucy set about clearing away debris from the floor and settling their packs down. Lucy noticed that Levy had inched her's and Gajeel's packs closer together; far closer than they needed to be. In the dim light, Lucy smirked. They made a fine pair, she decided then.

Night settled quickly upon the group and they turned in early, each setting watch for the night in intervals. Natsu took the first watch. He kept his focus on the outside world, at the unfamiliar forests that lined the burned town, but he couldn't help but let his mind wander to the pretty blonde princess curled up just to his left. She was snoring slightly and murmuring something in her sleep in a fitful dream. Natsu could just barely make out a small whispered voice call for her father. Natsu had never personally met Jude Heartfilia and he wished he would never have to.

The air was damp in the night, it hung heavy with the scent of oncoming rain. A storm was brewing somewhere far off, Natsu could smell it and could feel the crackling of lightning energy in the air. It mirrored how he felt inside. His body was working up to something, he could feel it, it held his heart tight and squeezed the closer they got to Fiore. Apprehension maybe? he didn't want to think about it. He was a prince, there could be no hesitation. He was going to make his people proud, even if it meant they may never know what he had done for them.

Beside him Lucy bolted upright, her breathing heavy. She blinked blearily and smoothed her hair down, then noticed she was being watched. Natsu's golden eyes were luminescent in the darkness. "Trouble sleeping?" he whispered to her, trying to not wake the others.

Lucy scooted closer, pulling her thin scratchy blanket around her shoulders. "I had a dream that my father strung you up in the streets." She didn't look at him as she said it. He could see the shake in her shoulders. "He weighed your ankles down with bricks. I screamed for him to stop, but he wouldn't," she paused, "Are we doing the right thing, Natsu?" Lucy sounded so small, so afraid.

He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her to his side. She leaned her head against his shoulder as he gave her a squeeze. "Of course we are." His voice was finite. "We don't get to choose if its the right thing or not. It just is. There is no other choice." he tried to sound confident but instead it came off aggressive, forceful, a growl that came from somewhere deep within him.

She looked at his face, illuminated by the moonlight. "And after it's over? What will happen, Natsu?" I'll be alone again, her mind said, but the words wouldn't form in her mouth.

He was looking out onto the burned town that sprawled in front of them. "We'll come home. Start over. Try to make up for what your father has done. Fairy Tail will still be there when we get home and we'll have a pint, a meal, and start over." he sounded so sure. That's what would happen, Natsu thought. It would.

"I can't go back to Fairy Tail," she said softly. The words hit him like a bullet, straight through his chest and out the other side. Don't get attached, her mind was screaming. Don't get caught up with the dragon prince.

"Then Fairy Tail will go to you, Lucy." She looked at him sharply. "We'll move Fairy Tail closer, in the middle of our countries, we can use it as a meeting spot. Put it right on the border. Neutral territory," It was a good idea, she admitted, but it still didn't feel like enough. Though yes they were still two separate countries, would be even after Lucy was crowned Queen of Fiore, Lucy had thought maybe there would be a way to combine the two. Make one place where both their people could be safe and happy, taken care of. She knew it wasn't possible. The only way to do so would be by marriage and she didn't know how Natsu felt, but she doubted he would marry her to unite the two. She kept the thought to her self, knowing that they'd be apart. She didn't want to lose him or Fairy Tail, moving it between them would have to do.

"Okay, Natsu. We'll move Fairy Tail." And with that, she settled deeper into the crevice of his shoulder and fell asleep.