When Lucy came to, she was sitting in the middle of a lush forest, a peasant dress adorning her body as she sat comfortably in a clearing.

And if she hadn't yet gone insane, there seemed to be birds perched upon her lap. Surprised, she jumped up, startling the birds away with a squeal.

"A forest... could this be Snow White?" Lucy bit her lip, trying to recall the tale. "Ah, wait... it couldn't be. I probably wouldn't still be dressed like a commoner if I were." Lucy wrinkled her nose; her recent experience while wearing rags hadn't been a pleasant one, certainly.

Then this was... Sleeping Beauty?

Lucy glanced warily at the assortment of animals surrounding her, who seemed cautious now that she was hopping around like a maniac in frustration. Singing, the blonde thought. Shouldn't there be singing?

Opening her mouth shakily, Lucy let out what she thought to be a few notes.

Instead, what came out was something akin to a dying cat's screech, or perhaps a baying donkey. The animals, who had gone from entranced to cautious, immediately scrambled away to avoid this clearly insane madwoman.

"H-hey," Lucy growled. "I'm not that bad-!"

"Not that bad?" A deep voice groaned from behind her. "Woman, even my horse could sing better than you."

Turning slowly, expecting a Prince Charming (or perhaps just a very, very amused Natsu), Lucy instead saw Gray, who was wearing clothes for once, and very fine ones at that.

Upon looking at her, his eyes widened slightly. Lucy blinked and assumed a pose.

"Now what are you doing?" Gray deadpanned. "First you're wailing away in the forest while I'm trying to nap, and now you're pretending you're a..." he glanced at Lucy's lips, which she was trying to push out in what she thought to be a cute pout. "Fish?"

"You idiot!" Lucy seethed. Of all the princes to be stuck with, it had to be Gray? Even Loki would have done better. And where the bloody hell was Natsu?

"Oi, oi," Gray seemed affronted now. "What did I ever do to you?"

"Exactly," she shot back without stopping to think of a proper comeback, and stomped away into the forest, leaving an incensed Gray behind. "Get lost."

So what if he was the Prince? Surely she could find Natsu and they could tweak the ending like they did in Cinderella... she pushed a few bushes away huffily, surprised that her feet seemed to know where she was going.

Which was good, because she certainly didn't.

She knew nothing of her surroundings as the forest grew thicker, but Lucy found herself feeling as if she had walked this path a thousand times before, and found herself in front of a cottage. Almost hidden by the trees, and covered in moss, it exuded a rather fairy-tale feel, which Lucy thought was entirely appropriate.

Sleeping Beauty. Lucy cocked her head, cranking the gears in her mind in an effort to recall the tale. If I'm not mistaken, this must be where the princess was taken by the good fairies?

Taking slow, hesitant steps, the young wizard slowly walked forward and gently nudged the door open.

"WELCOME BACK, ROSE-CHAN!" A small, blue girl tackled Lucy, and Lucy barely had time to recover before two other dainty figures had pinned her against the wall of the cottage.

So it was Rose, huh? Briar Rose, the Sleeping Beauty. Well.

Looking around in mild surprise, Lucy found herself greeted with what seemed to be Juvia, Levy, and Mirajane- all three sporting small, wooden wands twisted with age, and large, ethereal wings.

"Oh, uh, I'm back. Hi." If these were her, ah, good fairy godmothers, then surely she was on the right track. All three of the women smiled, and Lucy allowed herself to relax under their warm gazes.

"We were so worried, Briar Rose!" Levy sobbed theatrically. "When you hadn't come back when you said you would, we-we-almost burnt the place down!"

(Taking a look at the mess around the cottage, Lucy didn't find that hard to believe.)

"Juvia thinks you should pay more attention to your curfew," Juvia instructed kindly, and Mirajane giggled in agreement.

"S-sorry," Lucy chuckled awkwardly at the attention. "I'll keep better track of time, next time around..."

"What's with all the racket?"

All four women froze at the deep, masculine voice that had sounded from the door. Lucy had to resist the urge to go pound her head against the wall.

Oh, of all the fairy tales to go wrong, it had to be-

Gray stepped into the threshold, looked around, and promptly settled himself on the first chair that he saw, which also happened to be covered in several shirts and a lacy bra.

"Don't just walk in and make yourself comfortable!" Lucy shrieked, as Mirajane, Levy, and (especially) Juvia eyed Gray with interest. "How did you even- why are you here?"

"You seemed to know where you were going," Gray raised a shoulder and let it fall. "And I needed someplace to stop and finish my nap, which you so rudely interrupted with your squawking."

As Lucy gibbered wordlessly, Gray nonchalantly stripped off his uniform, shirt, and proceeded to undo his belt. Mira had something along the lines of a minor heart attack- Levy cackled, and Juvia practically soldered herself to Lucy.

"Briar Rose," Juvia squeaked breathlessly. "Juvia thinks that... that man is the most attractive thing to ever walk the planet!"

"Hey, Gra- you. Put your pants back on." Lucy glared; Gray looked down in surprise, cursed, and pulled his pants back on as Juvia fell into a dead faint. Lucy caught her, and fixated her eyes on Gray.

"You need to leave," Lucy stressed. Where the heck was Natsu when you needed him? "Now would be a good time. I'll show you the door."

"Sheesh, you're such a pushy woman." Gray yawned. "And a terrible singer, at that." An eye cracked open and looked at her lazily. "It's a good thing you're cute- otherwise, you'd have no redeeming features."

Juvia instantly revived from her faint, shot up, and dragged Lucy aside, glowering.

"Rose," Juvia said menacingly. "Does he mean to say that you, Briar Rose, are my rival in love?"

Lucy shrank back immediately under Juvia's menacing stare, and whimpered, "No, no! H-he's all yours; you can have him! He's not even my prin-"

All of a sudden, something in Lucy's mind clicked. If she wanted to find Natsu (and somehow, she had no doubt that the sudden plan that had formulated in her mind would work), then all she had to do was play her cards right.

"J-Juvia," Lucy looked up eagerly at the now-placated Juvia, as Mirajane and Levy poked and prodded Gray. "If you do exactly as I say, then in the future, I promise that he'll be yours. Okay?"

Juvia nodded, her expression comically changed and her face stained red, as Lucy began to fill her in on her plan.

_______________________

When Lucy stepped into the castle under the careful watch of Levy, Mirajane, and Juvia (who had vehemently disagreed with her choice to visit the castle until some persuasion), a strong sense of déjà vu momentarily overwhelmed her- she staggered, stopped for a moment to assure Levy, Juvia, and Mira that she was okay, and stepped into the lavish halls.

"B-Briar Rose, is that you?"

Steeling herself at the sound of the voice, Lucy looked up to meet the eyes of her father, so familiar back from Magnolia.

What she didn't expect from the man, who was as elegantly dressed as ever, was the sudden uncharacteristic bear hug. What she didn't expect was the nostalgic wave of emotion she got when her long dead mother appeared, a crown on her head, and joined the two.

What Lucy didn't expect was the tears, abrupt and overflowing, because...

...if only my real family had never been so broken... she'd have to leave this. She'd move on to the next chapter, to get on with her life...

But as Lucy spent what seemed to be Briar Rose's birthday (the staff were bustling, the court was crowded, and the food was plentiful as were the decorations), she felt a sense of closure. These were her parents; this was what could have been.

There were ribbons thrown absolutely everywhere, with bouquets of sensual flowers crowding the halls with a relaxing scent that she couldn't name. Her parents led her with homely smiles that were so warm and comforting that she almost collapsed with the happiness.

It was almost as if she had been in this castle in her entire life; Lucy chatted with the staff nonchalantly, laughed with her parents, entertained the nobles with witty quotes from some of her favorite authors they had never heard of...

That was why when it came to be half past noon, Lucy turned her face when she excused herself from the table, so the King and Queen would not see her tears.

Picking up the royal skirts she had changed into upon arrival, Lucy stepped pass the stairs, two at a time, her small shoes clacking against the stone as she reached the tallest room in the tower, situated nicely away from the crowd that was celebrating the now absent Princess's birthday.

Pushing aside the room's door and entering the low-ceiling room, Lucy was greeted with the sight of a spindle. A sense of shame bubbled up, and she mentally apologized to the people she had been conversing with for what she was about to do.

Juvia, Lucy thought, not without some dread as she approached the craft, I'm counting on you.

One second was all it took for the blood to begin rolling down her finger, and another three for her to slump to the floor, her eyes already drooping shut. The last thing she saw were the frantic Mirajane and Levy fluttering over her.

Natsu...

...I'll be waiting.

______________________

He couldn't explain the feeling- it was like an inescapable chain was bound to his chest, forcing him to its desired destination.

Natsu had spent the last few hours searching for Lucy, climbing up trees and scaling buildings. His efforts had definitely proven fruitless- not only was there no screeching blonde mage, but he also had no idea what fairy tale they were in.

(Which really pissed him off.)

That was why Natsu didn't bother protesting when the tugging feeling in his gut led him to what appeared to be a deathly quiet town, despite the fact that it made him uneasy. The dragonslayer said nothing, just followed his instinct until it led him to a castle, whose guards had apparently fallen asleep on the job. Natsu approached the vine-wreathed gate, ignoring its squeaks when he burst through and confronted the guards.

"Oi, wake up. Dumbass. Don't fall asleep." Natsu lit one of his fingers (he momentarily reveled in the warmth of the flame- in the last fairy tale, all of his magic had been null), and poked a guard's armor. His nail poked a tiny hole into the dented metal, but the guard said nothing, simply giving a snorting sort of snore in return.

Closer inspection, Natsu found, revealed that the entire court was in fact, asleep. The pink-haired boy found particular glee in this, momentarily distracting himself in the search for Lucy by eating all of the court's food, playing dress-up with some of the people's robes.

Needless to say, Natsu discarded the robes in favor of his regular tunic and scarf (both which had oddly turned a deep onyx, and unsettled him slightly, though he chose to ignore it), and left the nobles naked where they lay.

Natsu had gone back out to the courtyard to start eating some of the flames from torches that had been set up prior to his arrival, when a shout bellowed from the front of the cobblestones.

"Hey! What the fuck are you doing, punk?"

Natsu heard the sound of a horse's hooves on gravel, and sent a sidelong glance to find Gray, dressed up in a gaudy mix of riding trousers and princely uniform.

"I could ask the same thing," Natsu replied immediately, not liking how Gray seemed to be the Prince. Then Lucy..? Natsu refused to entertain that notion. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"None of your business, you freak. Were you... eating that fire?"

"So, what?" Natsu cackled, tossing a fireball into his mouth. "Dude. Put your shirt back on."

"What the hell you talkin' bout? My shirt is- aw, fuck!"

"Who sent you here?" Natsu growled again as Gray dismounted, his hand frozen between taking his shirt off and putting it back on.

"I'm not answering that," Gray replied coolly, and having decided to leave his shirt off, he drew his sword. "I don't like the looks of you."

"Could say the same thing," Natsu grinned in response, and allowed the feeling of fire to consume him. The heat was a warm welcome from the lack of Lucy's absence he'd been feeling; despite the fact that he was never cold, Lucy seemed to-

Whatever. Natsu narrowed his eyes, allowing himself to concentrate on Gray, who appeared to have the same stripping problem as he did outside the book- his pants were somehow already off, and he was backing away, eyes wide.

"Y-you're on fire. What kind of demon-?" Then, having apparently remembered something important, the ice in his eyes returned, and Gray let out a battle cry, charging with the sword.

"I'm not a demon," Natsu snarled. "I'm a dragon." Ignoring the- what was that, recognition?- in Gray's eyes at the word, he continued, "and what kind of gay fuck are you supposed to be? A pansy stripper?"

The two stopped in their assault, offset by the glares the other was giving.

"Your hair is pink, man. You don't have a right to say that."

"Yeah, well," Natsu prickled, "your... butt is showing. Jeez, don't you wear underwear?"

(There was a pause in their pseudo-fight as Gray struggled to put his pants back on.)

"Fuck off," Gray said lowly, readjusting his sword to a more comfortable grip. "I need to get to that castle behind you. If you would just be as kind as to move aside..."

"What's in the castle?" Natsu felt his voice become rough, gravelly. "And how is it your business?"

"I know it's not your business," Aggravation seeped into Gray's tone, and he leapt forward bravely, even as Natsu let his hands form a fist, dirty nails digging into his palms as the skin lit.

Natsu could barely hear his own roar over the din of battle, but he knew it sounded like a dragon. Limbs alight, he met Gray fist for fist.

A quick jab to the stomach made it clear that this world's Gray wasn't shabby, despite the fact he was buck-naked. Natsu feinted a left hook, barely avoiding the metal's sharp sting, and crouched down low.

The gravel crunched as Natsu let his body draw back. "Fire Dragon's..."

Wait.

Natsu, for the first time in any battle, hesitated. This Gray, despite his intentions, was still his nakama, but lacking the magical resistance and abilities. Any hit, any scratch from Natsu could prove fatal.

Fairy Tail members did not kill.

The movement, no matter how short, was quick and intense. Natsu snapped back to attention in time to deftly deflect the sword; this Gray's swordsmanship was not bad, but nowhere near Fiore's Erza. Natsu swatted away the flat of the blade, kicked it up, and grabbed the worn hilt before it could impale him.

Gray, who had shot up to grab the weapon, froze. Natsu swung the tip of the gleaming blade against Prince Gray's jugular.

"Now tell me," the Dragon told the defeated Prince. "Why are you here?"

Gray seemed unsure whether or not to answer; his coat was halfway off. Natsu blew out in irritation.

"I'm not your enemy! I'm... look," Natsu had to bit his tongue to stop himself from saying rival, nakama, or anything of the like. "I'm on your side, okay?"

"You're a dragon," Gray accused. "Or, whatever you are. Dragons are never..." His lips cinched to the side as his position slowly sunk in. His head shifted uncomfortably against the wet rocks.

Natsu cleared his throat impatiently; Lucy was waiting. As if in response to his thoughts, Gray looked flustered and admitted, "This weird blue chick told me that there was a girl asleep in this castle, and was some random spell that put the entire kingdom to sleep, too. Or whatever."

Asleep... the entire castle... Natsu was suddenly much more attentive.

"She's supposed to be blonde, with huge titties." Gray rolled his eyes.

That was Lucy, alright. "No way," Natsu blurted before he could pause. Lucy was asleep, here? And he hadn't even seen her? This was... Sleeping Beauty, wasn't it?

And the Prince was supposed to kiss her.

Gray misunderstood Natsu's reaction and guffawed. "I know, right? I saw her earlier today, she's pretty damn cute. But I can't help but wonder how the hell she got here- hey!"

Natsu had fisted his hand in Gray's shirt (which had miraculously managed to get on and stay on this time), and lit it on fire. It was only Gray's superb stripping skills that saved him before the cloth was completely gone.

"What the fuck?" Gray demanded, and Natsu had the urge to smack Gray upside the head, though prudence dictated against it.

He wasn't Lucy, though; so he did.

"Prince Gray," Natsu grunted. "You're not touching the princess."

"Princess?" Gray echoed. "You mean that blonde girl with the huge boobs is a princess?"

That was definitely the wrong thing to say; drawing his fist back, Natsu knocked out Gray with one clean bow to the jaw.

"Damn it," Natsu huffed. "If only you'd go down that easily back in Fairy Tail."

And speaking of Fairy Tales... Natsu slung Gray over his shoulder and headed off into the castle.

_____________

Natsu did not bother being gentle when he blithely deposited Gray into one of the castle's murky cells. A few tendrils of dust puffed upwards, but Natsu ignored the now hacking and coughing Gray, and slammed the door shut.

Ignoring the sluggish protests coming from Gray (who, in his panic, had stripped down to his pants for the fifth time that day), Natsu bound up the steps three at a time.

It wasn't like he was... particularly worried for Lucy or anything. He was Natsu, who just plowed ahead despite the odds, always protecting his friends.

(He hadn't been incensed at the idea of Gray kissing Lucy. At all. Just... yeah.)

He was just worried for the wellbeing of his nakama. Trying not to break the doors in the process, Natsu slammed each and every room open, checking for any hint, just some hint of golden hair, perhaps her pale skin, or just the sound of her breathing.

He found her in the fifty-seventh room he searched.

(It totally wasn't weird that he had been able to smell her within twenty feet of the door. Or that he even knew her scent.)

The young dragonslayer entered the bedchamber awkwardly, almost expecting Lucy to jump out of the large bed that dominated the room, and shout at him to respect a girl's privacy. There was nothing, except a tiny, girlish snore that made him crack a grin.

"Sheesh. You're so weird, Luce."

"You're one to talk," a familiar voice rang disapprovingly from behind him.

Refusing to be surprised, Natsu rolled a burly shoulder around in a noncommittal shrug, and grinned at Mirajane, who was standing behind the armoire with Levy.

(Levy, a fairy, Natsu snorted at the sight. She was so short that it actually... fit. Pfft.)

"Don't tell me you're the Prince that's supposed to save Rose-chan," Levy said condescendingly. Natsu prickled as she broke him down; "I mean, your hair is pink and dirty, your clothes are hardly fit for a Prince, your gait is about as nimble as an elephant's, and don't even get me started on charisma-"

"So what if I'm not the Prince?" Natsu interrupted cockily. "Who said it had to be a Prince who woke up Luc- er, Rose?"

"Briar Rose deserves a little better than a ruffian like you," Levy scoffed, and Mirajane rolled her eyes playfully.

"I don't know, Levy. If you look past those things, he's actually pretty good-looking..."

Natsu momentarily swelled with pride-

"Yeah," Levy snorted. "If good-looking could be considered as pleasant as a gnat's piss."

-and deflated instantly.

"Whatever," He pushed out his lip, refusing to become despondent in response. "Just tell me what I have to do to wake up Lu- the Princess."

Oh, wait. He already knew the answer to that. A kiss...?

"A kiss," Levy echoed his thoughts, and cocked an eyebrow. "But I'll be damned if I let someone like you- hey!"

Natsu had approached the boudoir's bed, and bent onto his knees to stare intently at Lucy's sleeping face, leaning his dirty arms on the sheets. Ignoring the squawks of protests from Levy (though neither her nor Mirajane could quite dispel the silly grins on their faces), he licked his lips in anticipation.

With the same reckless abandon as he always possessed, Natsu leaned in to-

Wait, what the hell was he doing?

Jerking his head back so quickly he nearly got whiplash, Natsu considered- yes, considered- the situation.

Sure, it was easy beating up Gray or the random Dark Guild member, maybe a perverted ape or two. It was easy to ignore everything and just be Natsu, because what the hell, having no cares in the world? What a great idea!

But-and it scared him that he was actually thinking about something like this- romance? Most of the girls in his life were pretty damn scary; and S-Class missions had always been much more involving and interesting. To be frank, he'd never given the subject of romance a thought before, at all.

(Natsu considered the options; he could face the situation like it was just any other fight, and go along with the flow and wait to see what happened. Or, he could blush like a stumbling, idiotic teenager and-)

W-well, it wasn't like he particularly disliked Lucy. He just didn't have... experience?

(Stubbornly, Natsu brushed off any thoughts of maybe-jealousy that may or may not have included Loki, Gray, or- yeah. Whatever.)

Bolstering up whatever courage he had (or lack thereof- he would decide later) Natsu assumed what he thought to be a kissing face. However, within just an inch of Lucy's face-

"He looks like a... fish," the fire mage heard Levy whisper to Mirajane evilly.

With a twitch, Natsu made to turn around. "W-what the hell-?"

His lips brushed skin.

_______________________

Juvia nervously peeked around the corner, turning to eye the handsome Prince again.

(He probably would have been a lot more charming were he not nude, but Juvia wasn't complaining.)

Her fifth peek, however, he saw her, and immediately jumped to the cell's barred door.

"H-hey!" He grouched. When she didn't respond, he enunciated, "I know you're there! Don't pretend to hide! Why'dya send me here if-if you knew that I'd get captured?"

"J-Juvia did not know!" Juvia stepped from behind the moldy stone to retort hotly. "Juvia would have never sent you here otherwise! I was simply told t-to set you free!"

Gray blinked.

"W-who? Ah, never mind." He shook it off impatiently, and met her gaze. "Look, can you get me out of here?"

H-his gaze...

Entranced, Juvia flushed and with a wave of her wand, the door clanked open. He was too much to resist!

"Ah, thanks!" With a crooked smile, Gray stepped out of the dingy cell and met her gaze. "My name's Gray. So mind telling me what's going-"

He was smiling at her! The Prince Gray was smiling at Juvia!

Juvia melted into Gray's flustered arms.

"H-hey! W-what's wrong with you?"

...

"O-oi! Answer me!"

_____________________

In a dream, there was someone warm over her, breathing in as she breathed out, his lips brushing ever-so-slightly against her skin...

There was laughing in the background.

Lucy cracked open one eye, and then another one, distracted from her dream despite herself.. It surprised to her to see a- oh, my god, was Natsu blushing?- slumped Natsu, amused Mirajane, and a cackling Levy.

Her cheek was tingling.

Raising a sleepy hand to her face, Lucy was stunned to hear Levy snort, "I can't believe you. You missed!"

"Sh-shut up!" Natsu snarled viciously, and Lucy blinked. No, that wasn't right. He couldn't be blushing. That just wasn't a Natsu thing.

Mirajane had clasped her hands to her face, saying, "so despite all appearances, he really is just an innocent little boy after all!"

"I'm not a little boy!" Natsu hissed.

"Natsu," Lucy cut in, her eyes growing big. "You... you really-?"

There was that presence again; just like in Cinderella, there was the feeling of magic enveloping her soul, tugging at it to move on. One look at Natsu told her that he was feeling the same thing, too.

"So what if I did?" He pouted childishly, and Lucy had to stifle a giggle. "It's not like it meant anything!"

Her smile drooped, but she recovered quickly enough to tease, "is that so? Hmm?"

Natsu looked at her, his eyes softening infinitesimally when they met hers, and she felt her own eyes light up in response. It wasn't so bad, after all. Something inside her warmed; the secure feeling he gave her... it was better than a kiss, somehow. Levy and Mirajane watched, dumbfounded, as Natsu and Lucy were sucked into the next chapter.

Levy was the first to recover.

"Mira," she chortled. "Did you get a look at those bedroom eyes? They're totally together."