Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail in any way, shape or form.

This is just going to be a little three-shot. The idea came to me a little while ago, and I couldn't help but start writing it. I hope that you can all enjoy!

The Fire Juggler

Come one, come all! Come to the new fantastic and fantabulous circus tent in the town's square. Be amazed, be mesmerized; for we are the Dragon Graciana Circus, and only those who see can believe the magic...

She stared at the bright poster that had caught her eye, curious about the new attraction in their town. Lucky was she that it was one of those days she was allowed to go outside of her home. The lively town brought energy and vigour to her, and curiosity would always find a way to trap her in its hold.

Reaching her small hand out, she managed to catch the tip of the poster. Yanking, she took it away from its place, where it was stuck up against the wall with weak tape. She scanned it over once more, smile widening at the prospects.

A familiar voice called out to her. Stiffening, she turned to see the maid that had been escorting her through the day. Only minutes earlier had she managed to escape the woman's eye, but unfortunately, she would never truly get away. The maid caught up to her, brown hair flying out from under the white bonnet atop her head. She was tempted to laugh at how messy the older woman looked, but kept her mouth shut.

For a girl of only eight, she believed herself to be smarter than most kids her age. She was well educated, her father hiring the best private tutors for her, and she was versed in the proper etiquette of how to live within society. But, other than her occasional excursions to the city, she never had any type of fun.

She waved the poster in her hand, drawing the maid's attention. The maid took the piece of paper, reading over the information written across. Once done, she peered at her young mistress, who was batting her eyelashes frequently. She sighed, knowing exactly what she wanted.

"Miss Lucy," the maid began, sounding exhausted from the little girl. "I believe that we will not be able to go see this circus. I do apologize, but your father will want you back home shortly, and we won't have any more time during the day to come back to the town. We can come another day."

The young girl named Lucy pouted, shying away from her carer. She knew that she would get extremely bratty if she didn't get what she wanted, but the circus seemed to emote from her more than what materialistic toys would. She lowered her head, trying to cover up her forming tears. She didn't know why, but it was as if something in her needed to see the circus.

"Miss Lucy!" the maid cried, clearly in shock by her young mistress' reaction. The maid surged forward, hand out to bring the little girl into a hug. The cries from her didn't cease. "Please Miss Lucy, don't go into such a fuss. It's simply a little show. There's nothing important about them, okay?"

She shook her head, surprising the maid. "No," she mumbled in a muffled tone. "There is something important about it. I wanna go. You were lying when you said we can go back another day. We won't. You know that, but you still lie... Please Miss Cecilia, let me go. You can come with me! I–I really want to go..."

The older woman looked at her, an unreadable expression on her face. After a few moments, the maid asked. "Miss Lucy, do you want to go to this circus more than anything?"

Lucy retracted back, eyes shining bright. She couldn't stifle the grin that was creeping onto her face. "Yes! I want – no – need to go to this circus. More than anything Miss Cecilia!"

Cecilia gave an affectionate smile, patting Lucy's head gently. "Alright, we can go tonight. But we have to keep this a secret alright? That means that we can't tell your Daddy or any of the other servants, okay?"

Lucy nodded diligently. She then grabbed a hold of Cecilia's calloused, but warm, hand. Cecilia smiled at her as they both began walking towards the town square, to a place that neither had ever gone before.

..O..

She was most excited for the next and final act of the show. From eavesdropping on small conversations as they approached the tent, she overheard that the fire juggler was the best performer. His act was pure magic.

Just being there was magical enough to her.

She glanced at Cecilia, the woman still charmed by the magician beforehand who had tossed a rose and given her a wink at the end of his act. She remembered the maid spluttering intelligibly, confused on whether the circus was all a dream or not. Giggling at the faint thought, she turned her eyes towards centre stage, where a small mysterious figure padded onto the floor.

The ringmaster - a senile looking old man - cued for a drum roll to begin. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you our final act for the night! The ever mystifying fire juggler, Salamander!"

The spotlight shone on him, and Lucy stifled a gasp at seeing a young boy, not much older than her, standing with his eyes closed. He seemed to be concentrating hard. Unconsciously, she began leaning forward, very glad to be at front row.

She squeaked and flinched back when the two clubs in his hand lit up in less than a second, as the boy began to twirl and toss them around. She had blocked her eyes with her hands, afraid of seeing the boy get hurt. But, at hearing some of the exaggerated sounding 'oohs' and 'aahs', she opened the gap in her fingers a bit to peek.

The boy was spinning on the spot, throwing and twisting the two clubs all the while. His movements were so quick and agile that the clubs were almost non-existent - the boy simply juggling the fire. As another, lit up club came out of nowhere, headed straight for the Salamander, she gasped, almost crying out. Her reaction was mirrored by most in the crowd.

The boy caught it effortlessly, thus beginning to juggle the three clubs. Lucy noted the large, aloof grin that was on his face. It was as if juggling the fire left him in a state of absolute bliss. She envied his happiness a bit, but was more in admiration of his passion.

The act continued on, each move seemingly more spectacular than its predecessor. She couldn't help but elicit impressed gasps. The boy appeared ethereal in the glow of his fire. The spotlight had dimmed as he performed, so that his act was all the more amazing.

With a final twist and turn, he caught the three clubs and bowed his head down, before placing the fire near his mouth. He took a breath and blew. Like a dragon, the fire expanded into a large trail, one that appeared untamed. The fire swirled and curved, before disappearing into black smoke. Salamander bowed his head down, his well-earned cheering resounding throughout the tent. She cheered as well, hopping out of her seat to join the standing ovation.

She didn't know whether or not she imagined it, but when the boy stood up, she could've sworn that their eyes met. Even from far away, her heart thudded loud because of the single action. He then looked away, offering a grin at the crowd.

Lucy tried to hide the embarrassed smile that came onto her face. Cecilia was staring at her oddly, the woman wondering why the girl suddenly seemed bashful. The maid looked up, and was surprised to see the Salamander turn his head towards them, or more specifically, Lucy. He then reddened quickly and ripped his gaze away. Her young mistress never noticed any of the actions. She had an inkling of what may have occurred in the short time span, but stayed silent. That didn't stop her from smiling knowingly.

She nudged the little girl, successfully gaining her attention. Crouching down, she let her hand drift to the blonde's head. "Miss Lucy, I believe that we might have overstayed out visit to town this time. Are you ready to go home?"

Lucy attempted to inconspicuously glance at centre stage, the Salamander long gone already. The little girl bit her bottom lip, thinking hard. Cecilia sighed, standing up full form. Lucy stared at her imploringly. "Miss Cecilia. I –"

"I'm going to see if I can find some food for the both of us now. Will it be alright if I leave you here Lucy?" she asked, Lucy quickly understanding the meaning of the odd statement.

Lucy nodded, affirming her answer. Cecilia smiled dotingly before heading off, leaving her in the stands. Knowing that Cecilia was doing it all for her benefit; she couldn't have asked for a better companion.

..O..

When the tent was next to empty, she bolted to the tent flap. There, she knew, were where the performers had come through when it was their time. Creeping slowly when she was near, she crouched at the foot of the tent flap. She then moved her head a smidge, just enough so that she could peep through.

All the performers were there, packing the things that they had needed for the show. Her wide brown eyes scanned the area, looking for the familiar face of the boy that entranced her with his skill. She recognized the notable performers, such as the metal eating boy, and the girl who had a way with swords.

She felt something brush up against her leg and yelped, feeling ticklish. Looking down, she saw a peculiar-looking, blue-furred cat. The cat looked up at her and 'meowed'. She was alarmed, afraid that someone might –

"Hey! What are you doing here?" a youthful sounding voice questioned.

Find her...

She put on an innocent façade, spinning on her heel to face her inquisitor. She nearly toppled at seeing a pink-haired, scarf-wearing boy, arms folded across his chest defensively. "I–I g–got lost!" she stammered out, suddenly nervous about the meeting.

The boy clearly didn't believe her. "Right... Lost? Well," he pointed her to the direction of the main tent flap. "Exit's that way weirdo."

She huffed, not at all expecting him to be so rude. So much for admiring him. Being the stubborn and honest little girl that she was, she replied back snappishly. "Actually, for your information, I wasn't lost! I wanted to see the performers because there was one person that really caught my eye, and I wanted to praise them! Guess that won't happen now! Goodbye."

The boy's eyes widened, as he frantically tried to catch up to the quickly pacing Lucy. "Wait! Wait! If you tell me who you wanted to meet, I can figure out a way to get them for you! I'm a performer for the circus, if you didn't know that already! I'll help you!"

Lucy stopped in her tracks and pouted. "Why do you want to help me now? You didn't wanna earlier."

He cracked a grin, one which made her little heart flutter excitedly. "Well, I wanna do something helpful for someone! And you seem like a nice person, so I'm gonna help you!"

She flushed, hiding her face quickly behind her palms. She was embarrassed at his sudden want to be kind. "!" she cried out quickly, cupping her mouth soon after that. The boy tilted his head to the right, trying to understand what she had said. She sighed, resigning to tell the truth. "T–The performer that I wanted to see was y–you..."

The Salamander's face immediately reddened. A small smile formed on her face at seeing him become flustered. "Y–You wanted to see me?" he questioned disbelievingly. She nodded shyly in response, and if possible, he reddened further.

"Your performance was amazing! It made me... It made me so happy to see you happy. It made me forget about all the bad things, when I saw your smile," she ducked her head down when she realised that she was commending him to the point of strangeness.

"Well... uh... I–I wanted to see you as well..."

Her head flew up. "Really?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Y–Yeah... I saw you in the crowd. You were in the front row and you were cheering loudly. And you... you kinda looked pretty."

Her blush came back in the next second. She looked down once more, finding the ground quite interesting. Her toe drew circles as she spoke quietly. "Th-Thank you."

"Natsu! Where are you! You haven't finished packing up your stuff yet!" a fearsome female voice cried out from the performer's area. The Salamander quickly put on a face of panic, torn between staying with his new friend and going back.

He looked at her regretfully. "I'm sorry. But I have to go and –"

She smiled widely, cutting him off from any excuses that he would've thrown at her. "It's alright! I met you already, didn't I? You have to go back now, don't you? Well," she put out her right hand, waiting to accept a handshake. "It was nice meeting you, Natsu."

His hand met hers. There was a small jolt for both of them, but they kept the fact to themselves. "Nice meeting you..."

"Lucy."

"Luigi!" he answered back. "Nice meeting you Luigi! You know what! I promise that this circus will come back here one day, to this exact same place on this exact same day! Be prepared to meet again Luigi! And when we do, I'll never leave your side!"

With that, he took off, leaving her behind in the dust. "Hey! My name's not Luigi!" she called out, but to no use. She huffed and began walking for the tent's exit, knowing that Cecilia was probably waiting for her there. Reminding herself that she had met who she had wanted to, she smiled softly. "You better keep to your promise Salamander, or I won't ever forgive you."