Hey guys. Here is the second chapter of my Fairy Tail fairy tale. I'm really happy with the way this turned out, and I hope you guys will be too. I think I did a good mix of the Disney story and my own twist on it to make it enjoyable for everyone. I hope it doesn't feel too rushed and that Natsu and Lucy don't feel to OC.

Lucy groaned as she sat up. She blinked a few times to clear her vision and looked around the small room. It had a dresser and a small vanity on the side of the room across from her and a small bookshelf on the wall to the side of the room with a comfy looking rocking chair next to it, as well as a small side table with a lamp. When she looked down, she noticed she was sitting on a twin sized bed, the same kind she had in her own apartment, and a blanket covering her lap. "Where am I?" She moved the cover and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "And what am I wearing?"

She was wearing a long blue dress that went down to her ankles, a long sleeve, white blouse, and a white apron that tied around her waist and was the same length as the dress. She stood up from the bed and walked over to the mirror at the small vanity. She saw her golden hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, but other than that she looked normal. She glanced at her hand when she caught a glimpse of pink and sighed in relief when she saw that she still had her Fairy Tail symbol. "Ok," she said as she looked around the room again. "Wait, where's Natsu?"

She went over to the open door and walked into what looked like an entryway living room, but still didn't see her pink haired companion. "Natsu?" she called out, but no reply came.

She saw a small book on a side table next to the door and a thought suddenly popped into her head. "I need to take that back to the bookshop in the village." She paused after she finished the sentence. "Wait, what village?" She slipped on the black flats that sat next to the door, picked up the small basket with the long handle, sat the book in the basket, and walked out the door and down the road.

'Ok, where am I even going? It's like my body's moving on its own.'

After walking for a while, she made it to a small village. "It's a quiet village," she said.

"Bonjour!"

Lucy jumped when a woman popped her head out of the window and yelled. "Huh?"

"Bonjour," a man said to her as he walked past.

"Uh, bonjour?" she said uncertainly. She wasn't sure what he just said, but figured it was some kind of greeting.

She continued through the quickly crowding street, dodging a man carrying a tray of bread. 'Well, there goes the baker with his tray like always.' She shook her head. 'How did I know that?'

"Good morning, Belle," the baker said as he passed her.

"Huh?" Lucy asked as she stopped to look at him. 'Belle? Wait, that means...'

"You ok this morning, Belle?" the baker asked when she didn't answer.

"Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought. Good morning," Lucy said with a smile.

The baker smiled. "You're always zoned out because of those books." He turned to the window in the building they were standing next to. "Marie, the baguettes! Hurry up!" he said to a woman in the building.

'Ok, I guess that's all he has to say,' Lucy thought as she turned and continued to the shop. 'But it makes a little sense now. That white light, it had to be a spell that was placed on the book, and it activated when I opened it.'

She passed by a few more stalls and shops, only half listening to the vendors talking with their customers. 'So if I'm playing the role of Belle, does that mean Natsu is at the beast's castle playing the Beast?'

She realized that she made it to the bookstore when she found herself stepping through the shop's door. "Ah, Belle," the old male shopkeeper said.

"Good morning. I've come to return the book I borrowed," Lucy said. 'Might as well play along. That is what we came here for.'

"Finished already?" he asked.

"OH, I couldn't put it down," Lucy said as she handed him the book. She then walked over to the wall of books and climbed up the rolling ladder. "Got anything new?"

"Not since yesterday," the shopkeeper said chuckling at the girl's eagerness.

"That's ok. I'll borrow..." Lucy looked at the books in front of her, the title of the book she was supposed to grab popping in her head, "... this one."

"That one?" the shopkeeper asked after she handed it to him, "but you've read it twice."

"Well, it's my favorite," she said then swung her arm out, which caused the ladder to roll to the side. "Far off places. Daring sword fights. Magic spells. A prince in disguise."

The shopkeeper laughed as she got down from the ladder. "If you like it all that much, it's yours," he said as he handed the book back to her.

"But, sir," she said surprised as they walked to the door.

"I insist."

"Why thank you," she replied as she pushed the door open. "Thank you very much." She then opened the book as if to read it. 'Ok, this is weird. I know exactly what to say as if I'm reading it... from the book we were pulled into. So that means the next thing I'll do is...' she thought and then found herself sitting on the edge of a fountain. 'Yep, just as I thought.'

A sheep walked up to her. "Isn't this amazing?" she said to the sheep, showing it the book. "It's my favorite part because you'll see." She turned the page. "Here's where she meets prince charming, but she won't discover that it's him till chapter three." She pulled the book away from the sheep when it tore the corner of the page.

Once the sheepherder moved the sheep along, she got up and continued on her way to the edge of the village to head back to the cottage she woke up in.

She looked up from her book for a moment when she heard a gun go off and sighed. 'Great, I forgot I have to deal with him.' She heard a few people say something about her being odd and that her nose was always stuck in a book, but ignored them. 'I do have to say, though, Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale. For some reason the beast always reminds me a bit of Natsu, though I'm not sure why.'

From the corner of her eye, she could see a large man in a red shirt trying to push his way through the crowd, which she didn't realize until now that it had doubled.

When she finally made it outside of the village, the man who was pushing his way through the crowd stepped in front of her.

"Good morning, Belle."

"Bonjour, Gaston." Gaston reached forward and took the book she was reading out of her hand. "Gaston, may I have my book back, please," she said as she tried to get it back.

Gaston turned the book sideways. "How can you read this? There's no pictures."

"Well, some people use their imaginations," she answered as she gave up on trying to grab the book and crossed her arms. 'Man, I don't like this guy.'

"Belle," he said looking over at her, "it's time you got your head out of those books and focused on more important things..." he threw the book over his shoulder and into a mud puddle, "... like me." He gave her a grin.

Lucy felt a chill go up her spin when he grinned at her. 'As if, buddy,' she thought as she picked her book up out of the puddle, shaking it to get the mud off.

"The whole town's talking about it. It's not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting ideas, thinking..." he said with a grimace on his face.

'This creep,' she thought bitterly, but forced a smile on her face. "Gaston, you're positively prime evil.

"Why thank you, Belle," he said sauntering over to her. "What do you say you and me take a walk over to the tavern and take a look at my trophies." He slung an arm around Lucy's shoulders and tried to lead her away, but she pushed him off her and backed away.

'He better be glad Natsu's not around. He'd turn this guy into ash.' "Maybe some other time."

Just then, an explosion went off in the distance in the direction of the cottage. 'Oh yeah, Belle's dad.' "Papa!" she exclaimed before running off. 'At least this gives me a reason to get away from him. He's the one thing I don't like about this story.'

Before she got to far away from Gaston, she faintly heard him talking to someone about making her his wife. 'Ugh, I am not looking forward to that part.'

FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT

Natsu opened his eyes and quickly sat up. He looked around the dark room and saw he was no longer in the little library. "Lucy?" he called out. He got out of a bed and saw that it was shredded up. He looked around and noticed everything in the room was either broken or shredded. "Why is this room destroyed?"

He reached up and scratched his head, but quickly plled his hand back when he felt something hard. "What the?" He found a broken mirror on the side of the room and ran over to it. When he looked in it, his eyes widened. Besides his usual outfit, he saw that on top of his head sat two horns which stuck up and curled around a bit on top. They reminded him of Igneel's horns but smaller. He then noticed the red scales that covered the outside of his face, arms, and chest, as well as the two large wings that were folded closed behind his back. He turned his head to look at them and opened them wide. "Holy cow!" he shouted with a grin on his face. "I have dragon wings!" Something hit his leg and when he looked down, he saw a red tail. "And I have a tail? This is so cool!"

He turned when he felt a slight breeze hit him and saw a balcony. He grinned, ran over to it, then jumped off, opened his wings, and sore into the air. "Yahoo!"

"The master is in a good mood today."

He looked down and stopped flying, hovering in the air, and finally realized that he was over top of a huge castle. He looked down and saw someone standing at an open window. "Wait, is that a talking clock?" He angled himself down and flew to the open window, and when he got closer, he saw that it was a walking, talking clock, and a candelabra too. "Who..." he began to ask, but the names Cogsworth and Lumiere popped into his head. 'How did I know their names?'

"Master," the candelabra, Lumiere, said, "why are you in such a good mood today? Have you finally found a woman who can break the curse?"

"The curse?" Natsu asked very confused, but before he could ask the two household objects anything else, images and words popped into his head. He saw himself answering a door only to see an old woman dressed in a black cloak, offering a rose as a payment for shelter from the rain. He was surprised when he saw himself batting the old woman's gift away and hearing himself be very rude to her, getting a bit angry with himself for that. He then saw the old woman transform into a beautiful woman who glowed and looked like an angel, but said that she was an enchantress. He fell to his knees begging for forgiveness, but the enchantress refused and said that he and all those that lived in the castle would be cursed until he could learn to love another.

The last thing he saw was himself in his half dragon form staring at a rose that was covered in a glass domed case and he could feel all the anger that he saw his memory self feeling rising up inside of him.

Natsu opened his eyes and grabbed his head from the pain of all those memories coming to him at once. He also saw that he had dropped a bit and looked up when he heard the clock and candelabra calling out to him.

"Master! Are you ok?" Cogsworth asked when Natsu few back up to them.

"Fine," Natsu bit out then flew back to the balcony that connected to his room. When he landed, he grabbed his head again. "Why do I feel so angry?"

He looked up and saw the covered rose on a small table and walked over to it. He reached out and touched the glass, just now noticing that his hand looked different. It looked more like a dragon hand with red scales covering it and black claws instead of fingernails. "What is going on?"

He lowered his hand and turned back to the balcony. "I have to find Lucy."

He walked over to the stone railing, placing both hands on top of it, and took a deep breath as he closed his eyes to try and get a wiff of Lucy's scent, but he couldn't find it. He opened his wings and jumped back into the air and flew toward the edge of the property. However, once he got to the gate, he slammed into an invisible wall, causing the half dragon to fall back a bit.

He shook his head and glared at the space in front of him. "Let me out!" he shouted before he let out his Fire Dragon's Roar. The flames shot through the air, but never connected to anything. He growled, lit his fist, and threw a punch that successfully hit the invisible wall, but no damage showed itself on it.

He threw a few more punches before finally giving up, letting a loud roar escape his throat. Now the anger he was feeling was not only from the memory created feelings.

He quickly made his way back to his room again, and threw a few punches and kicks at the already destroyed furniture, then fell on his bed heaving. "I hope you're alright, Luce," he said as he looked at the ceiling.

Later that day, Natsu found himself wandering through the castle. He knew where everything was thanks to the memories he got earlier, but he still wanted to see some of the rooms himself. As he wandered, he could feel the anger inside of him growing. He even noticed that, on occasion, his fire had started rolling over his body and he would have to stop and focus to get them to subside.

He opened another large door and entered into the room he knew was the library. He stood there wide-eyed at the book covered walls that went all the way up to the three-storied ceiling inside a room that could easily fit two houses in it. He knew from the memories that this room was big, but seeing it was another thing. It impressed even this non-reader. 'Lucy would love this,' he thought with a smile on his face.

He continued to explore the castle until it got dark outside. He sat in his room on his bed and stared at the covered flower. He saw another petal fall from the flower. He didn't really care about the curse or if it got broke or not, all he wanted to know was what was going on, where was he, and where was Lucy?

He laid back on his bed and closed his eyes. 'Why can't I leave this place? Does all this have to do with that book Lucy opened?'

He let out a sigh and listened to the rain that was pouring down outside. His eyes snapped open when he heard the front door open downstairs. He sat up and made his way out to the hall and to the railing on the second floor to see a short, old man walk in.

"Hello?" the man asked as he walked further in the room. "Hello?"

"The fellow must have lost his way in the woods," Lumiere said.

"Keep quiet," Cogsworth hissed through clenched teeth. "Maybe he'll go away."

"Is someone there?" the man asked looking around for whoever was speaking.

"Not a word, Lumiere. Not one word," Cogsworth warned.

"I don't mean to intrude. I've lost my horse, and I need a place to stay for the night," the man called out.

Lumiere gave him a sad look. "Oh, Cogsworth, have a heart," he said placing one of his candlesticks on Cogsworth's side.

"Shhh," Cogsworth said as he covered Lumiere's mouth, but Lumiere just used his other candlestick to burn the metal hand away. "Oww," he cried out as he shook and then blew on the red hand.

Natsu chuckled.

"Of corse, monsieur, you are welcome here," Lumiere said loud enough to get the man's attention.

"Who said that?" the man asked as he grabbed Lumiere and turned around to look for the person.

"Over here," Lumiere replied.

The man spun around. "Where?" he asked raising Lumiere above his head. When he felt a tap on the top of his head, he looked right at Lumiere's face.

"Hello," Lumiere said with a smile.

The man gasped and dropped Lumiere, who grunted as he flames went out. "Incredible," he said as he bent over to look closer at Lumiere.

"Well, now you've done it, Lumiere," Cogsworth said as he jumped down from the table they were on and bounded over to the candelabra, who was now standing up, his flames going again, and brushing himself off. "Splendid. Just peachy," the angry clock said as he crossed his arms. He screamed when the man picked him up.

"How is this accomplished?" the man asked as he looked Cogsworth over. He turned the clock over and unknowingly started tickling Cogsworth's feet, then shook him, then twisted the knob on the back of Cogsworth's head which made the hands on Cogsworth's face turn, unknowingly hurting the clock, and finally opened the glass door on Cogsworth's front to mess with the golden pendulum.

Cogsworth, fed up with the man-handling, slammed the glass door shut on the man's finger. "Sir, close that at once. Do you mind?"

The man pulled his finger back and shook it. "I beg your pardon," he said looking at the angry clock, who now had his arms crossed. "It's... It's just that I've never seen a clock that..." he started, but a sneeze overcame him. He sneezed right in Cogsworth's face.

"Oh, you're soaked to the bone, monsieur. Come. Warm yourself by the fire," Lumiere said as he pointed down a long hallway that had a roaring fire at the end.

The man sat Cogsworth down and followed the candelabra down the hall.

"No, no, no!" Cogsworth cried out as he followed the two down the hall.

Natsu watched them disappear down the hall, a low growl coming from him. He had no idea why, but this man made him angry. He quickly made his way down the stairs and stalked toward the room the intruder was in, and looked through the cracked in the door. The man, who he heard was named Maurice, was sitting in his chair, drinking his tea, and warming up near his fire.

The doors burst open, the wind from them putting out the fireplace and blowing the blanket that was around Maurice almost off. "What is going on here?" Natsu bellowed. He was now covered in his fire, making him look like a demon.

Maurice coward in the large chair, pulling the blanket around him more to try and protect himself.

"Master, allow me to explain," Lumiere said. "The gentleman was lost in the woods. He was cold and wet, so..."

Natsu glared at him, letting out another growl and let out a big puff of air that put Lumiere's flames out.

Cogsworth, who was hiding under the carpet, stood up, keeping the carpet in front of him. "Master, I'd like to take this moment to say I was against this from the start. It was all his fault. I tried to stop them. Would they listen to me? No, no..."

Natsu let out another growl, this one a bit louder than the last. He looked over at Maurice, who was looking for him on the right side of the chair, and smiled as he stepped up to the left side of the chair and crouched down, so when Maurice looked his way, he was right in the man's face. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" he asked in a deep, rough voice as he crawled over the armrest, making Maurice crawl backwards out of the chair.

"I... I... I was lost in the woods and..."

"You are not welcome here!" Natsu interrupted him, stepping off of the chair and walking towards the man.

"I... I'm... I'm sorry," Maurice said backing up, raising his arms a bit in front of himself like a shield, sweat rolling down his face from the heat Natsu was giving off.

"What are you staring at?"

"Nothing," Maurice said shaking his head and closing his eyes.

"So, you've come to stare at the Beast, have you?" Natsu said more than asked, the flames around him getting brighter and hotter.

Maurice turned and tried to run away, but Natsu sprinted over and blocked him. "Please, I meant no harm! I just needed a place to stay."

"I'll give you a place to stay!" Natsu replied walking toward him. He grabbed Maurice by the front of his shirt and lifted him up with one hand.

"No, no, please!" Maurice begged as Natsu carried him out of the room. "No! No!"

FTFTFTFTFTFTFT

Lucy woke up the next morning and stretched as she sat up in bed. She blinked a few times before she remembered she wasn't in her apartment. She got up and got dressed in the same blue dress, white shirt, and white apron as before. 'Is this really the only outfit I can wear?'

After fixing her hair, she went over to the bedside table to grab her keys, but when she got there, there was no keys. "What?" She got down on her hands and knees to look under the bed and side table, but still didn't see them. She sat back on her legs and thought for a moment. 'How did I not realized they were not here yesterday?'

Her mind played over yesterday's events. After she got back from the village, she checked to make sure "her father" was ok after the explosion and they talked for a whiled until they realized the machine he was working on actually worked. They then packed everything for him to take his new invention to the fair, and she made him a meal before sending him off.

After that, she took a walk to explore the area a bit, but ran into an invisible wall that she assumed was placed there so that she wouldn't change the story too much. By the time she got back to the cottage, it was dark and she had a light dinner, took her bath, and went straight to bed.

"Well, I guess I was pretty busy," she said as she stood back up, brushing her dress off a bit. "But where in the world are they?"

After searching for a while, she determined that whatever spell that brought them here decided not to bring her keys along. She paused as a worrying thought crossed her mind. 'Could that mean Natsu might not be here either?' She walked into the kitchen, but didn't feel too hungry, so she walked back into the living room area and sat a the end of the mall table in the middle of the room where she left her new book that she got. She was actually really enjoying the book and wondered if there was a book like this in the real world.

She started reading it, hoping that the disturbing thought of her being alone would go away, she heard some commotion outside. She got up and walked over to the door and cracked it open a bit to look out. A small crowd was gathered there and the area was covered in decorations. 'What the?"

A large man with black hair tied in a low ponytail, wearing a red-tailed coat, white pants, and black hunting boots, stood in front of them. "Gaston," she said with a groan.

"I'd like to thank you all for coming to my wedding. First, I better go in there and propose to the girl," she barely heard him say.

She heard most of the people laugh at what he said, and a few girls crying, and quickly shut the door. She leaned up against it. 'Great. Now I have to deal with him.'

a knock sounded loudly on the door, which made her jump a bit, and she pulled down the visor thing she knew would let her see outside, even though she already knew who it was. A small vision of Gaston grinning met her eyes and she looked away and groaned as she pushed the visor back up. 'Why me?' She opened the door. "Gaston, what a pleasant surprise," she lied as he pushed his way through the door.

"Isn't it, though?" he replied, completely missing the lie, and walked toward her. "I'm just full of surprises. You know, Belle," he said as he leaned on a small dresser that was near the door, "there's not a girl in town who wouldn't love to be in your shoes." He leaned down a bit. "This is the day..." he started, but stopped when he saw himself in the mirror that was sitting on top of the dresser. He ran his tongue over his teeth.

Lucy internally groaned.

"This is the day your dreams come true," he continued as he stood back up and lunged toward her.

Lucy quickly took a few steps back so that the table was now in between them. "What do you know about my dreams, Gaston?"

"Plenty! Here. Picture this," he said as he sat down in the seat she was previously sitting in and put his mud covered boots on top of her open book, getting mud all over the pages.

Lucy clenched her fist at her side so Gaston couldn't see it. 'This jerk. I'm just about done with him!'

"A rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill roasting on the fire,..." He kicked his boots off, which splattered mud everywhere when they hit the floor. "... and my little wife massaging my feet, while the little ones play on the floor with the dogs."

Lucy cringed at the smell coming from Gaston's feet, holding her nose. 'Gross.'

"We'll have six or seven," Gaston continued as he stood up and pushed his face in her personal space, forcing her to look at him.

She plastered a hug grin on her face as she lowered her hand. "Dogs?" she asked hopefully.

"No, Belle," he replied backing away. "Strapping boys, like me." He banged his fists on his chest to emphasis his point.

Lucy quickly grabbed her book. "Imagine that," she said then walked away from him, wiping the book with a cloth she had in her pocket before placing it on the bookshelf.

"Do you know who that little wife will be?" he asked as he followed her.

"Let me think."

"You, Belle," he said before she had a chance to think, caging her in between himself and the shelf. He stretched his arms above her head, one hand grabbing the shelf while the other hand rested on the wall.

She quickly turned around, pushing herself as far back into the shelf as it would allow. "Gaston, I'm..." She ducked under his arm and made her way quickly to the door, leaning her back on it when she got there. "I'm speechless. I really don't know what to say."

Gaston shoved a chair out of the way and quickly made his way over to her. "Say you'll marry me," he said as he leaned in close to her, his hands on either side of her head on the door.

"I'm very sorry, Gaston, but..." she started, talking very timidly. She moved her hand in search of the door knob and clasped it. "But I just don't deserve you."

He leaned forward, his lips puckered up to kiss her.

Lucy tuned her head. 'Oh heck no!' She twisted the knob of the door and quickly shifted to the side so that Gaston fell through it without taking her with him. She heard a weird version of the wedding march as soon as she opened the door and watched as Gaston cried out, flailing his arms, and land face first in a huge mud puddle. She went over, grabbed his boots, and tossed them out the door before slamming it shut.

She rested her head on the door and let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "Too close." She moved to go back to the seat she was sitting at, but instead found herself moving toward the back door of the house. Her body was moving on its own again.

She walked out the door, glancing around to make sure Gaston was gone, and made her way to the side where a few chickens and goats sat waiting to be fed. "His little wife. Can you imagine," she said as she grabbed a basket with chicken feed in it and spread a couple handfuls on the ground. She placed the basket back where she grabbed it from and walked toward a large clearing. 'Wow, this would be a perfect spot to watch the stars,' she thought as she made her way through the clearing.

She stopped when she reached a cliff and sat down, gazing over the valley below. There was a river that cut through the land and it was surrounded by hills that were littered with trees of green and red because of the changing weather. "This is breathtaking. I wish we had something like this near Magnolia."

A loud whinny and the sound of hooves coming toward her broke the mood and she turned around. A brown colored horse with cream colored hair ran towards her, a cart carrying a covered item behind it. "Philippe!" she cried out and stood up. She ran to calm the horse down. "What are you doing here? Where's papa?"

She looked the way the horse came from. 'Time to meet the Beast. I really hope it is Natsu... Not that I want Natsu to be my secret prince charming.' A blush creeped up her cheeks. She turned back to Philippe. "Take me to him," she demanded, unhooking the cart from Philippe's saddle and jumping on the horse's back.

Philippe raced off, following the path that he came from until he made it to the large gates of the castle grounds. "Whoa, it's bigger than I imagined." When Philippe started to jump around, she quickly got off, raising her hands to try and steady him. "Whoa there. Easy." She petted the horse's snout and then turned to the gates and walked through.

The grounds were massive. 'It almost reminds me of the gardens we had at home when I was younger.' She looked around and saw the scattered leaves and dead plants, as well as the crumbling stone structure that looked like an old fountain.

She soon found her way to the front door of the massive castle and pushed on of the doors open enough to squeeze through. "Hello?" Her eyes went wide when she saw the size of the entrance. Her eyes fell on the staircase leading to the second floor. She carefully made her way up the stairs and turned left. She went down the long hall, keeping her guard up. "Papa?" she called out.

She turned down another hall. 'This place is like a maze.' "Papa?" She stopped when she heard a door creak open and saw a light coming from it. She hesitated. 'The last time I went into a dimly lit room of an old house, I got sucked into a book.' She sighed and knew that this door was the way she was supposed to go.

She walked over to the door and glance in the room. "Hello?" She saw a light disappear behind the wall going up the spiral staircase. "Is someone there? I'm looking for my father," she said as she climbed the stairs. She stopped near the top when she no longer saw the light. "Hello?"

"Belle," an old, weak voice called out.

"Papa!" she exclaimed as she ran toward the door she heard the voice come from.

FTFTFTFTFTFT

Natsu was sitting in one of the dead trees behind the castle, half slumped on one of the branches, with one hand raised as he made a small fireball dance around his fingers. He was bored. Without any of his friends around he had no one to talk to or to fight with. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath when a familiar scent hit his nose.

He jolted his eyes wide open and sat up, losing his balance and falling out of the tree. "Oww," he complained as he rubbed his head, but quickly forgot about the pain when the scent hit his nose again. "Lucy," he said with a wide grin on his face.

He shot into the air and made his way around the castle until he saw the gates at the front of the property. He scanned the area and saw a figure walking up to the front doors of the castle and push their way through.

A sudden surge of anger overtook him and he felt his mind go blank for a moment. He shook his head and closed his eyes. 'No! Not again!' The stupid memories that his him when he first woke up here, for some reason, had been making him black out. The last time it happened was when Maurice had come into the castle. Something inside of him pushed him down after he felt that surge of anger rise up in him.

After he had woken up, he heard Maurice whimpering and calling out for someone named Belle. 'I won't hurt Lucy!' he yelled at whatever was trying to take over.

He opened his eyes and flew to the closest open window, which was a hall window on the second floor. He dashed in the direction Lucy's scent was coming to as soon as his feet hit the carpet and it led him to the cells. He grabbed his head again as he felt his mind fogging over. "Lucy," he said, to quiet for anyone to here, before his mind went blank.

FTFTFTFTFTFTFT

"Belle, I want you to leave this place," Maurice said. He was peeking through the small barred window at the bottom of the cell door.

Lucy reached out and grabbed the torch that was near the door, crouched down, and grabbed his hand that he stuck out of the window. 'He's as cold as Gray.' "Who's done this to you?" she asked ignoring him.

"No time to explain. You must go. Now!"

"I'm not just going to leave you here."

"What are you doing here?" a deep, rough voice said as the person grabbed Lucy's shoulder and harshly spun her around.

The torch Lucy was holding flew out of her hand and landed in a small puddle, putting it out and plunging the room in darkness. The only light source was the sunlight that came from a crack in the ceiling. Lucy cried out as she landed on her hands.

"Run, Belle!" Maurice exclaimed.

Lucy looked up at a dark figure, but couldn't make out any of his features. 'That voice almost sounded like Natsu's,' she thought a bit hopeful. "Who's there? Who are you?"

"The master of this castle," he said then moved to the side away from the light.

"I've come for my father. Please, let him out. Can't you see he's sick?" She squinted in the dark trying to see anything, but the lack of light prevented her from doing so.

"Then he shouldn't have trespassed here!"

Lucy's eyes went wide when flames covered the figure and heat hit her full force. "Natsu," she said quietly and stood up. Now that the flames where all over him, she could now get a good look at him.

She stared into gold eyes and then looked down and saw the scales that now covered his body, as well as the wings on his back, horns on his head, and the tail that swayed in the air behind him. 'What did that spell do to him? Is this even Natsu?' "P-please, I'll do anything," she stuttered a bit. She hated herself for it, but the Natsu in front of her scared her a little.

Natsu narrowed his eyes, the flames around his body dying down, but not going out completely. "There is nothing you can do. He's my prisoner."

"There must be some way I can..." She watched him move away from her as if to leave. "Wait!"

He turned to look at her and gave her a glare.

"Take me instead."

"You?" he asked turning fully toward her. The flames died down completely. "You would take his place?" he asked a bit calmer.

"Belle, no! You don't know what you're doing!" Maurice cried out.

Lucy looked down at him then back at Natsu. She could see Natsu's eyes flickering a bit from the gold she saw earlier to his normal black as if he was fighting himself. 'Could that be it? Could something have taken him over? If so, then what?' "If I did, would you let him go?"

Natsu crossed his arms. "Yes. But you must promise to stay here forever."

"No, Belle!" Maurice yelled reaching out for her. "I won't let you do this!"

Lucy ignored his words and stepped closer to Natsu. "You have my word."

"Done," Natsu replied and pushed past Lucy.

Lucy turned and watched as Natsu unlocked the door, and when he did, Maurice rushed over to Lucy. "No, Belle, listen to me. I'm old. I've lived my life," he said placing his hands on both her arms.

Natsu grabbed Maurice by the back of his shirt and dragged him out of the room.

"No! Belle!" Maurice called out before the two men disappeared.

Lucy rushed into the cell and over to the little window, and after a minute, saw Natsu roughly drag Maurice down the steps in front of the door and throw him into an old, wooden carriage. The carriage then got up on its own and made its way to the gate and off the property.

Lucy had her hand over her mouth and tears stung her eyes. 'Natsu.' She rushed out of the cell, down the stairs, and met him as he was walking down the hall. "Natsu!"

Natsu looked at her, his eyes turning back to black again. "L-Lucy?" He feel to his knees and grabbed his head as she reached him.

"Natsu, are you ok?" she asked as she knelt down in front of him. "What happened?"

Natsu looked up to her. "I got these memories not long after I woke up here, and now I get these surges of anger that make me black out." He looked her over. "I didn't hurt you, right?"

Lucy smiled at him. "I'll admit, you did scare me for a moment, but no, I'm fine."

Natsu let out a breath in relief and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry."

Lucy hugged him back. "You have nothing to be sorry for." She pulled away to look at him. "But I think we should compare notes."

Natsu nodded and stood up, taking her hand and helping her up too. He then led them down a few halls until they reached his room. He shot a fireball into the fireplace to light up the dark room as he walked over to his bed and sat down.

Lucy stood there a moment and took in the sight of the destroyed room. The broken and burnt furniture that lay next to the walls, the torn curtains over the windows and bed, and the loan picture on the wall that had slash marks on it. She walked over to the picture and lifted one of the hanging strips to see that it was Natsu's portrait. "Did you do all this?"

"No, well, not all of it," he said as he watched her move around the room. "The furniture and stuff were broken and torn up when I woke up, but I did burn and throw a few things when I got angry."

"Mad cause you ran into an invisible wall?" Lucy asked with a smirk as she finally made her way to the bed.

Natsu smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah."

Lucy rolled her eyes and shook her head before her eyes landed on the rose in the glass case. "Is that the enchanted rose?" she asked as she walked over to it.

Natsu got up and walked over to it too. "You got the memories too?"

"No. I read the story, remember?" she said as she studied the flower. "This is actually my favorite story out of the collection."

"Why's that?"

Lucy looked at him and was thankful for the low lighting as a light blush adorned her face. "Uh, because it's all based around a magic curse and that fact that only true love can break the spell."

"Oh," he said and placed his hand on his head and closed his eyes.

"You ok?" she asked taking a step closer to him.

When he opened his eyes and saw her so close, he jumped back.

Lucy was startled by this and frowned. "Is it the anger?"

"Yeah. It's like it doesn't like you in the room, especially by the flower."

Lucy looked back at the flower. "Well, Belle isn't supposed to see the flower until after dinner and the little tour Cogsworth and Lumiere take her on."

"The clock and the candle guy?"

"Yeah," she said looking back at him. "I'm actually really surprised I was even allowed in here." She walked past him and sat on the bed.

Natsu followed her and sat next to her, his tail brushing her back before sitting down on the bed behind her.

Lucy looked back at the tail then over to his wings. "The story said the beast was some kind of hairy monster, but you look more like..."

"A dragon," Natsu said happily. "I remind myself of Igneel."

Lucy chuckled. "It actually looks good on you."

Natsu gave her a large grin. "Thanks. It's actually really fun to fly around on my own instead of having to rely on Happy."

"Are you saying you want to stay like this?"

"Well, maybe not constantly like I am now, but..." He grabbed his head again. "No! I have to break the curse!" he said in that deep, rough voice again. Flames licked his skin as he stood up and took a few steps away. "I'm a monster!"

Lucy stood up. "Calm down, Natsu. You're not a monster."

Natsu raised his other hand to his head and let out a shout.

"The spell's trying to put the story back on track," Lucy said as she walked over and placed her hand on Natsu's shoulder.

Natsu slapped her hand away and turned toward her. "What are you doing in here?" he said angrily.

She took a step back and stared into the golden eyes again, fear creeping up inside of her. "I..."

"You don't belong in here!" he said as he took a threatening step towards her.

"I... I'm sorry. I just..." Lucy said backing away from him with her hands in front of her.

"Get out," he said a bit calmer, almost pleadingly. His eyes had a splash of black in them before turning back to gold. "Get out!" he yelled as the flames shot from him.

Lucy screamed as a flame shot across her arm, burning a hold in the sleeve and hitting her arm, and stumbled back. She glanced down and saw a dark line where the flames hit. She looked back at him, fear in her eyes before she turned and ran out the door and down the hall. She made her way quickly to the front door, hauled it open, and ran out, jumping on Philippe's back when she saw him standing near the door.

At her kick, Philippe dashed down the path to the gates. She had tears in her eyes as she glanced again at her arm and then back at the castle when she heard a loud roar.

Philippe went through the gate and down the road that would lead them back to the cottage. It was now dark outside and she couldn't see anything, and low tree branches hit her in the face. She almost fell off when Philippe suddenly stopped.

Five wolves slowly made there way toward them. "And me without my keys," she said annoyed. She pulled on Philippe's reins and got him to turn away from the wolves and gave him a kick to run, which he did.

The wolves dashed after them, jumping, clawing, and biting at the two.

"Natsu!" she cried out, hoping they weren't too far away from him to hear her.

One of the wolves managed to get in front of them and caused Philippe to whinny loudly and rise up on his hind legs, throwing Lucy off.

She landed face first in the dirt and looked up when she heard a growl right next to her. She tried to scramble away, but the wolf grabbed the bottom of her dress and pulled her back. "This is why I hate long dresses!" she yelled as she kicked the wolf in the face.

The wolf whined and backed away, but quickly recovered and started growling again, looking mad and even more fierce than before.

"Ahhh!" she screamed when another wolf slashed its claws across her back. When she turned to look at the second wolf, the first one jumped on top of her, pinning her to the ground. It snarled at her, drool dripping out of its mouth. "Natsu!" She closed her eyes and turned her head when the creature lunged forward, but nothing came.

She opened her eyes and saw that the wolf was gone. Whines and growling was heard a little ways from her and she looked up to see Natsu fighting off all five wolves. They bit his tail and slashed at his wings, causing the half-dragon to cry out. When he knocked one of them away and it landed next to her unconscious and a bit singed, she snapped out of the shock she was in and stood up.

"Lucy! Get out of here!" Natsu said as he punched another wolf with a flaming fist.

"Not gonna happen!" she yelled back as she ran over and grabbed a sturdy stick. She ran over and bashed the wolf that was clinging onto Natsu's right wing in the head, sending it to dreamland with the first wolf.

After another minute of flames and stick bashing, the remaining three wolves growled as they backed off and then turned tail and ran.

"Yeah!" Lucy cried out and turned to Natsu.

"You ok, Luce?" Natsu asked before he collapsed face first into the dirt.

"Natsu!" She dropped the stick and ran over to him, rolling him over. She saw deep, bloody scratches on his chest, arms, and neck, as well as several places where a few scales were torn off. His right wing where the wolf had clung to it was ripped, and his tail looked like it had a good chunk taken out of it. She finally looked at his face and saw a set of scratches, thankfully not as bad as the ones on his chest and arms, going down his left cheek from right below his eye to his mouth.

She reached up to brush a stray strand of hair away from his face and he groaned, squeezing his eyes even more as he slept. A tear ran down her face. "You're always there to protect me." She then wiped away the tear and looked around for Philippe, whistling when she saw him grazing near the treeline for him to come over to them.

She carefully draped Natsu over Philippe's back and made the journey back to the castle.

By the time they reached the castle, Natsu had started to stir. When she pulled him off, he was groggy, but he could stand. She placed his arm over her shoulder, being careful of his injuries, and helped him walk to the sitting room.

She saw Lumiere lighting the fireplace as she placed him in the chair, and the teapot she knew was called Mrs. Potts, was pouring some warm water into a bowl while Chip, a little teacup that had a small chip on the rim, bounced over with a rag. "Thank you," Lucy said as she took the rag. "Do you have some bandages I can wrap his injures with?"

"I've brought some for you," Cogsworth said as he handed her a large roll.

"Luce?" Natsu said quietly.

"Try not to move to much," she said as she dipped the rag in the water. "You got hurt pretty badly out there. This will probably sting a bit," she said and placed the rag on the gashes on his arm, wiping the dirt from the wound.

Natsu hissed, but the pain quickly disappeared. "Are you ok?" he asked looking her over.

Lucy smiled. "Yeah, I only got some scratches compared to you." She reached over for the bandages that she placed on the floor and winced.

"Scratches, huh?" Natsu said when he saw her wince.

"I'll be fine until I get you fixed up. Like I said, compared to you, my injuries are nothing." She rolled out the bandages and wrapped the arm tightly and tied it off before grabbing the rag again to clean the bleeding scratches on his chest. "We'll need to get that vest off."

Natsu nodded and moved to remove the vest, but hissed when he tried to flex his wing.

"Careful. One of the wolves managed to rip your wing pretty bad," she said as she stood up and moved to the side his hurt wing was on. "Thanks for saving me, by the way."

Natsu smiled at her. "You know I'll always protect you."

Lucy smiled down at him and carefully lifted his injured wing. It took some finagling, but between the two of them, they managed to get the vest off without hurting him too much. After cleaning the scratches, she wrapped his chest and shoulder, which she found out had a large bite mark on it, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see the three adult castle staff smiling at them.

"I'm really sorry, Luce," Natsu said looking down at his feet.

"Don't worry about it," she replied tying off the bandage. When she saw that he was about to protest, she put a finger over his mouth and to to their audience. "Do you think you could make us some tea?" she asked as she carefully pulled the wing out to look at it. She saw the flap of skin and carefully pulled it up to see how much was missing. Thankfully it covered the hole and only needed to be stitched. "I'll also need some thread and a needle to stitch this wing."

"Of corse, my dear. Come along, Chip," Mrs. Potts said happily as she made her way out of the room, Chip following.

"He's going to need some different clothes," Lucy said to the other two. "Could you find him some?"

"But of corse," Lumiere said.

"I'll also find some different clothes for you too," Cogsworth added.

"Thank you," Lucy replied. When the two left she turned back to Natsu. "Sorry, but they don't know we're already friends."

Natsu nodded. "I should've been able to control myself."

"Natsu, whatever spell that brought us here is controlling the story," she said as she walked over to the bowl to rinse out the rag. She rung out the rag and reached back up to clean the scratches under his eye. She was also going to have to ask Mrs. Potts for some fresh water and a clean rag before she could take care of her own injuries. 'Although, it'll be hard to clean the ones on my back.' She blushed at the realization that Natsu would have to help her, which meant she would need to be bare backed for him to do that.

"What do you mean?"

She placed the rag in the bowl when she was finished and winced again as she sat in front of him, the material from her shirt, that was now stuck to her scratches with dried blood, pulling on the wound.

Natsu carefully moved to the floor behind her as a tall coatrack with a green scarf came in with a new bowl of water, a clean rag, and the needle and thread. "Thanks, he said to the coatrack before it made its way out of the room again. He turned to Lucy and used one of his claws to carefully rip the back of the shirt so he could get to the wound.

Lucy placed her arms over her chest to keep the shirt from falling.

"You were supposed to take me to another room, invite me to eat with you, and I wasn't supposed to go, you would get mad, and I would've ended up eating by myself before wandering into your room. Because we skipped all that, the story was trying to correct itself by making you lose control and jump ahead to us going up against the wolves."

After cleaning the scratches on her back, he tried to pull down the shirt so he could wrap the bandages around her, but she grabbed the bandages from him. He sighed. "Luce, you're not going to be able to wrap that with the shirt over you."

Lucy blushed. "Close your eyes then."

"You can't wrap it by yourself either, and I won't be able to help if I can't see," he said a bit annoyed.

Lucy's blush deepened as she realized he was right. "Fine," she reluctantly said as she handed the bandages back to him and lowered the shirt.

"It's not like I haven't seen you without a shirt on before," he said reaching around her and wrapped her chest.

She felt her entire face heat up at that. "Pervert."

Natsu just chuckled, but a frown quickly dawned his face when he remembered what she said. "So we would've had to deal with the wolves one way or the other?"

"Yeah. In the story, the wolves scene is what makes the Beast start to think differently about Belle because she helped him instead of running away. Which means you also shouldn't lose control anymore... I hope."

Natsu tied off the bandage and moved the bowl over a bit so he didn't accidentally dump it. "You're not sure?" he asked a bit concerned.

Lucy looked down and noticed that the bandages covered her good enough and turned around to face him, then grabbed the needle and thread and moved over to him to stitch up the wing. "Well, after that he doesn't really have any bursts of anger like before, and the two start to become friends." 'Though they eventually become more than that, but Natsu doesn't think of me like that.' Natsu hissed and flinched away when she started sewing. "Sorry, but I need to get this stitched up."

Natsu nodded then glanced over at the fireplace and saw that they were close enough that he could reach it. He reached over and grabbed a half burnt log and pulled it out to eat the fire off of it to distract himself. "So, we're getting to the end of the story then?" he asked around a mouth full of fire, flinching a bit as she continued to stitch up the wound.

"Well, not really. We're more in the middle, but it looks like we can change the story a bit to speed it up."

"Good," he said as he threw the now burnt out log back into the fireplace, "because I really want to get out of here and give that client a piece of my mind."

Lucy chuckled. "Yeah, me too. Especially since they didn't let me bring my keyes with me. They better not have done anything to them."

"You don't have your keys?" he asked surprised. "So that's why you didn't call on one of them to help you with the wolves."

"Yeah," she replied. She sat back and nodded when she was happy with how the stitches turned out.

The door opened and Mrs. Potts came riding in on a rolling cart. "I have your tea for you," she said as she filled up the two cups next to her.

As Lucy and Natsu took the cups, Lumiere and Cogsworth came in with the new clothes. The coatrack also came back, this time carrying a large blanket, and stood in between Lucy and Natsu as they stood up.

Once they were both changed, the two humans continued to talk for a while longer, eating the snacks that Mrs. Potts had brought with the tea, before they retired for the night, Lumiere showing Lucy to an empty room.

FTFTFTFTFTFTFT

The next day, Natsu woke up, stretching as he sat up, forgetting that his wing was still injured. He carefully stretched out the injured wing before pulling it back. 'Well, no flying for a while.' He got up and got dressed, grabbing a white fancy looking shirt and a black pair of pants. 'Why do they only have fancy shirts?' After struggling to get the shirt on without jostling his wing too much, he made his way down to the dinning room and saw Lucy already there.

"Good morning," Lucy said as she sat her coffee down.

"Mornin', Luce," he replied happily as he sat down next to her.

She leaned over to him. "Generally, the master of the house sits at the en of the table away from the guest," she said quietly.

"Why?"

She sat back. "Not really sure, but that's just how upperclassmen dine."

"Did you like living like this?"

Mrs. Potts rolled up on the rolling cart with a plate piled high with food, a big grin on her face at seeing him sitting next to Lucy. "Good morning, Master."

The plate and cup carefully made their way to sit in front of Natsu. "Mornin'," he said, staring at the food. He grabbed the fork and shoveled the food in his mouth.

"Did you need anything else?" Mrs. Potts asked.

"No. The food is great by the way," Lucy said.

"I'll be sure to let Chef Boche know," the teapot said happily before rolling back to the kitchen.

"I liked it when mom was still alive, because we didn't really follow that rule. It was more relaxed, but after she died, dad got more strict and the house felt more like a prison than a home," Lucy said answering his question.

"I'm sorry," Natsu said not really sure what else to say.

Lucy waved her hand. "It's fine. I have a new home and family now, and I couldn't be happier."

Natsu smiled. "Yeah."

After breakfast, Lucy decided to go out and check on Philippe, while Natsu was pulled away by Cogsworth. When he was done with his business with the clock, he stood out on the balcony that was attached to the room. He was surprised with how much snow was on the ground when there was none the previous night.

Lumiere and Cogsworth jumped up onto the stone railing.

"Quite a bit of snowfall, we got," Cogsworth said.

Natsu just nodded as he watched Lucy walk by with Philippe. "I want to do something for her, to thank her for helping me with my injuries... But what?"

"Well, there is the usual," Cogsworth said. "Flowers, chocolates..."

"No, no, no," Lumiere interrupted. "It has to be something special. Something that sparks her interests."

Natsu looked down in thought. 'Her interests? Well, she loves her spirits, but they didn't get set here with us.' He looked down at Lucy who was laughing at the antics of a red foot stool, which he knew from the memories was once a dog, who was shuffling around in the snow. 'Wait a minute. She likes to write, and when we entered that room full of books back at that house...' "I got it!" he said slapping one of his hands into the other.

Before Lumiere or Cogsworth could ask him about it, Natsu jumped over the railing, cringing as bit when he landed and jostled all his injuries.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out and ran over to him. "Don't be so reckless. You're still injured."

Natsu ignored her, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into the castle.

"Natsu, where are you taking me?" she asked trying to stay on her feet as they ran through the halls.

Natsu just looked back at her and smiled. When they reached the room, which was the large library, he turned to her. "Ok, close your eyes."

Lucy looked at him, a bit suspicious, but did as he asked.

He waved his hand in front of her face and smiled. He then turned, opened the door, and pulled her into the room. He stopped her in the middle of the room, then ran over to the large windows and opened the curtains, letting the light of the sun light up the room more and more as he did so.

He ran back over to her and saw her smiling. "Ok."

Lucy opened her eyes and they went wide when she saw where she was. She started to walk toward one of the many bookshelves, but stopped and turned back to him. "It's way bigger than I ever imagined."

Natsu frowned. "You already knew about it?"

Lucy looked at his pout and smiled guiltily. "It's in the story. It's one of the things Beast shows Belle to try and get her to like him." She walked over to him and grabbed his hand. "But this is still amazing. Thank you."

Natsu smiled at her.

"Would you look at that," he heard Mrs. Potts say.

"This is very good," he heard Lumiere add.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked when she noticed he was distracted.

Natsu tilted his head toward the library entrance without looking away from her. "We have an audience."

Lucy turned enough so she could see them, but not enough for them to tell. "Well, they are hoping we become close so we'll break the curse."

"How does the story end, anyway?"

Lucy turned and pulled him to the arm chairs by the fireplace so they could sit. "Well, Belle and Beast do end up breaking the curse, but..." she looked down, "... the Beast almost dies."

"What? I'm gonna die?" Natsu exclaimed.

"Shh!" Lucy looked over at the door and sighed when she saw it was no longer occupied. She looked back at him. "I said almost. They end up breaking the curse in time and it saves him."

Natsu sighed in relief. "Good. So how do we break the curse again?"

Lucy blushed a bit. "The Beast has to learn to love another."

"So I just have to love someone? Then we'll break this curse in no time," he said with a smile. "I love all my Fairy Tail family."

Lucy smiled. "Well, it's a little more complicated than that, but..." she said then stood up, "we'll worry about that later." She walked past him and toward one of the many bookshelves. "I want to see if this library has the book I was reading when I was at the cottage. I really want to know how it ends."

Natsu frowned and looked down at the floor when she didn't explain what she meant by "complicated." 'She's avoiding something. Is the love I have to have different than the love I feel for my family? Is it that love? Do I have to love her as more than my family?'

"It would have been the perfect job to tell him how I felt about him," Levy's voice rang out in his head.

Pink slowly appeared on his face as he looked up and watched Lucy climb a ladder that was at one of the bookshelves. 'Does she mean romantic love? If so, then did she avoid it because she really doesn't feel that way about me?' That last thought mad him sad.

FTFTFTFTFTFTFT

Over the next several days, Natsu and Lucy spent a lot of time together. They had every meal together, Natsu making sure to sit next to her so that she would get the same feeling she had when her mom was alive, they took walks together, Natsu instigating several snowball fights, which made both of them laugh and almost forget they were trapped in a book, Natsu talked Lucy into sparring a bit so she could work on improving her hand-to-hand combat skills, and he even asked her to read to him when he found a story with a dragon as the main character.

The castle staff would always be close by, happy to see their master getting along so well with their female guest, and were hoping that it would be enough to break the curse soon, because time was running out.

After lunch on the fifth day, Lucy decided to head to the library to read and Natsu started to follow her, but Lumiere stopped him. "Master, if I could have a minute."

"I'll go on ahead," Lucy said and walked out of the room.

"What is it?" Natsu asked, not completely happy that he couldn't go with Lucy.

"Sorry to interrupt your time with her," Lumiere said, "but I thought maybe you would like to do something special for her."

"Like what?" Natsu asked curious.

"You see, the others and I were talking, and we think she might enjoy it if we set up a dance."

"A dance?"

"Yes. Mrs. Potts saw her dancing around the library the other day and overheard her saying that being in the castle made her want to dance at a ball. While we wouldn't be able to invite anyone else, we can still set up the ballroom so you two could dance."

"I guess that would be ok, except I can't really dance," Natsu said looking dejected.

"Not to worry, Master," Lumiere said. "We can find someone to help you practice while we get everything set up."

Natsu still wasn't sure about it, but if it was something Lucy wanted, then he was willing to try. "Ok. Let's do it."

"Excellent. I'll let the others know and find you someone to practice with. I'm sure she's going to love it," Lumiere said happily.

The rest of the day, Natsu practiced dancing with the coatrack that helped them after the wolf attack and was now more confident about the dancing. Mrs. Potts informed Lucy about the dance, and he was happy to hear that she was excited about it.

He was now sitting in the bath getting scrubbed down by the coatrack. He didn't like someone else washing him, but they staff was very insistent on it, so he gave in. After the bath, the coatrack sat him down in front of a mirror and he pouted as the coatrack flattened his hair and made it slick backwards.

"No," he finally said, pushing the brush away. "I want to keep my hair the way it was."

"But, Master," Lumiere, who had been talking with him through the whole process, "you need to look nice for the dance."

"Lu..." Natsu started, but stopped himself when he remembered they knew her as Belle. "Uh, Belle won't care. She's used to me having my hair the other way. She'll think I'll look weird if it was any other way."

Lumiere smiled at him, happy that his master was worried about how "Belle" would think of him. "Very well, then. Go ahead and put his hair back the way it was."

The coatrack nodded and proceeded to fix Natsu's hair into its normal spiky way.

After finishing his hair and stuffing him into a red and black fancy suit, he was pushed out the door. He saw Lucy coming out of room across from him and his jaw dropped.

She wore a red, puffy ball gown that had yellow and orang along the bottom and gems scattered across them that made it look like it was on fire, and small gold gems scattered on the top half that mad it look like she was glowing a bit in the light. Her hair was pulled up half way into a high bun, that was wrapped in a see through, orange cloth that had strips hanging down to mingle with the hair that was draped over her back, to make her hair look like it was on fire too, and a few strands of hair hanging down to frame her face. She also wore long red gloves that went up to her elbows. She looked breathtaking.

He met her at the top of the stairs. "You look beautiful, Luce."

Lucy blushed, smiled, and turned her head away in embarrassment. "Thanks." She looked back at him. "You look nice yourself."

Natsu smiled and held out his elbow like Lumiere told him to do, and Lucy placed her hand on it, and they made there way down the stairs and into the ballroom. It wasn't too decorated, but it did have a large chandelier on the ceiling with little candles lit up on it, and smaller torches scattered throughout the room. The fire being the only light source made the room dimly lit, which enhanced the romantic atmosphere. In the corner of the room, they saw a piano, a violin, a base, and a harp who started playing when they got to the center of the room.

Natsu swallowed the lump in his throat and placed one hand on Lucy's hip and grabbed her other hand and raised it in the air by her shoulder. They moved around the room to the music, Natsu focusing on his foot work so he wouldn't mess up.

"Loosen up, Natsu," Lucy said calmly. "You're too stiff."

"Sorry," he said trying to relax. "I just don't want to mess up."

Lucy chuckled. "It's ok if you do. I know this isn't really your thing, but I really appreciate you doing this."

Natsu smiled at her. "It was actually Lumiere who suggested it. Mrs. Potts overheard you talking about it the other day."

"Well, you still went through with it, so thank you." She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes as they swayed to the music.

Natsu looked down at her. 'I think I am falling in love with her.'

They continued to dance the rest of the evening, laughing, talking, and just enjoying each others company. It was definitely a night both of them would remember.

FTFTFTFTFTFTFT

The next morning, Lucy woke up to the sun shining on her through the window. She sat up, stretching her arms above her head, and let out a contented sigh. She frowned, though, when all the worries that had been building up the last couple days ran through her mind. 'Are we ever going to get out of here? To break the curse, Natsu has to fall in love, but I've never even seen him interested in anyone, let alone me.'

She got out of bed and walked over to the wardrobe. "Good morning," she said with a smile.

"Ah, good morning," the large wardrobe said just as happily.

"What outfit do you have for me today?"

"Let's see here," the wardrobe said as she opened her doors and rummaged through the dresses. "Ah! How about this one?" she asked pulling out a long sleeved dress that was light green on the top and dark green on the bottom and sleeves.

"Looks great," Lucy said as she took the dress. "Thanks."

"Of corse, my dear."

Lucy pulled off the light purple nightgown that she was wearing as the wardrobe placed a pink lacy bra on the bed. 'It also looks like the story is trying to push forward too, because I've been worrying a lot about Maurice the last couple days. I'll have to ask Natsu to let me see that enchanted mirror.' She smiled as she pulled the dress over her head. 'I'm really excited to see it.'

After she was fully dressed and pulled her hair into a bun, she made her way to the dinning room to meet up with Natsu for breakfast. 'There's also the fact that, unless Natsu finds love, he'll die after that big fight with Gaston.' She stopped when she made it to the door of the dinning room. 'Do I love Natsu? I know he has to love someone, but now that I think about it, Belle had to say that she loved the Beast before the curse actually broke.'

She pushed the door open and saw that Natsu was already sitting at the table. 'He's actually here before me this time,' she thought, a smile coming to her face as she walked over and sat down. "Morning."

"Mornin', Luce," Natsu replied with a big smile. "We're going to finish that story today, right?"

"Huh?" Lucy asked, eyes going wide as she panicked a bit.

"You said we'd find out what happens to Drago today and that we should finish the book," Natsu explained, not noticing her expression as Mrs. Potts was bringing the food in.

"Oh, that," she said relaxing. "Yeah, we can finish that today, but there's also something I want you to do for me, too."

They both said their thanks to Mrs. Potts before she went back to the kitchen, and Natsu turned to look at her. "What's that?" he asked then took a bit of his food.

"I think the spell is going to try and push us to continue the story soon," she replied and took a bite of her own food.

"What do ya mean?"

"When I woke up this morning, I was really worrying about Maurice, and in the story, Belle tells Beast that and he shows her an enchanted mirror that lets her see him."

"So you want to see this mirror to check on him?" he asked and took another bite.

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure after I see it, I'll need to leave and go to him."

Natsu frowned. "You're leaving?"

Lucy looked over at him. "We can wait until we finish that story," she said misinterpreting his sad look, "but we need to continue with the story if we want to get out of here."

"When will you be back?"

"Not until your fight with Gaston," Lucy said grabbing her glass and taking a drink.

"Who?" he asked confused.

Lucy sat the cup down and scooped up more food on her fork. "He's a guy from the village that is dead set on marrying me," she said then took a bite.

"What?" he asked getting upset.

"Trust me. I have absolutely no interest in him. He's a self-centered jerk."

Natsu calmed down at that. "Ok. So, is it during this fight that I get hurt bad enough that I almost die?"

"Yeah," she said, the worry coming back to her. She glanced up at him, but quickly turned back to her food.

"Hey, don't worry," Natsu said giving her a big smile. "I can take out that jerk, no problem."

Lucy smiled. "Yeah." 'We have changed the story before, and Natsu can use his fire. Maybe he won't actually get injured after all.'

They spent the rest of the meal talking about what the guild could be doing and if they were worried about them, and then made their way to the library once they were finished. Lucy finished reading the story to Natsu, who was happy that the dragon actually won in the end. They then made their way up to Natsu's room.

Natsu walked over to the small table that had the covered rose and picked up the mirror. "This is it," he said handing it to her.

"Thanks." She looked at the intricate design around the mirror. It was all silver and had vines along the edge of the front surrounding the mirror and down the handle, and it continued to the back until it reached the center where a red rose was. "It's beautiful."

"You know how it works, right?"

"Yeah." She stared at the mirror. "Show me Maurice," she said. She wasn't sure if it would show Jude, her own father, if she had just asked to see her father.

The mirror sparked and glowed as a picture of Maurice struggling in the snow appeared, coughing. "I have to go to him."

Natsu looked at her sadly. "Luce..." He saw the worried look on her face, tears making her eyes shimmer in the light the mirror was giving off. He turned away.

Lucy looked up at him. "Natsu, I have to. He looks sick and could die if I don't. I don't know if where we are or if any of this is real, and if it is real, I couldn't live with myself if he died when I could do something to help." She put a hand on his shoulder and turned him back around. "I'll be back. I promise," she said, moving her hand to the side of his face.

Natsu placed his hand over hers. He knew what she said was true. She told him what was supposed to happen, but for some reason it hurt even thinking about letting her leave. Something in his head was screaming at him not to let her leave, that she belonged to him. He sighed. "Go," he said quietly.

Lucy smiled. "Thank you." She leaned forward and gave him a small peck on his cheek. "I will be back," she said trying to hand the mirror back to him.

Natsu gave her a small smile and pushed the mirror back toward her. "Keep it." She nodded and he watched her leave the room.

Cogsworth walked up to him. "Well, I'd say everything is going swell with you two," he said happily.

"I let her go," Natsu said turning to the rose. He clenched his hand on the small table and closed his eyes. That small voice was still screaming at him, telling him to go after her. 'No. She has to leave. We have to get this stupid story over with so we can get out of her,' he tried to convince the voice, but it wouldn't listen.

"You what?" Cogsworth asked. "How could you do that?"

Natsu turned to look at him sadly. "I had to." He turned to look at the balcony. "You wouldn't understand," he said as he mad his way to the balcony railing and looked down. He saw Lucy putting a few things on Philippe's saddle.

"B-but the curse. She... Why?" Cogsworth asked again as he walked toward him.

Natsu growled, frustrated with the clock's questions, but calmed down when three words popped into his head. "Because... I love her." He wasn't sure why he just told the clock that, but when he watched Lucy jump on Philippe's back and move toward the gate, he knew that it was the truth. He could try and deny it all he wanted, but he loved Lucy Heartfiia.

He heard Cogsworth scamper off and let out a loud roar, letting his frustration and sadness out.

FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT

It took Lucy a while, but she finally found Maurice. He was cold and unconscious, but still alive. She grabbed the blanket off of Philippe's saddle that she brought from the castle, wrapped it around him, and managed to get the man up onto Philippe.

Philippe quickly, but carefully, ran back to the cottage, and the jostling from the ride made Maurice stir, which made it easier for her to get him in the cottage when they got there. She got him into bed and went to get a bowl of cool water and a rag so that she could try and bring down his fever.

It was several hours before Maurice woke up.

"Belle?" Maurice called out as he opened his eyes.

"Shh," Lucy said putting the book down that she was reading and leaned toward him. "It's all right, Papa. I'm home," she said taking the rag from his forehead and dipping and ringing it out before wiping his face with it.

Maurice smiled and sat up enough to lean on one of his elbows, reaching out to her with the other hand and pulling her into a hug. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"I missed you so much," Lucy said. She knew it was a bit of a lie, but also knew he needed to hear it.

"But the Beast..." he said pulling back and looking at her, both his hands on her shoulders. "Did you... How did you escape?"

"I didn't escape, Papa. He... He let me go."

"That horrible beast?" Maurice said with a bit of venom in his voice.

This made Lucy angry, but she pushed it down. "But he's different now, Papa. He's changed somehow."

Just then, a noise came from the end of the bed. She looked over and saw the bag she had brought back tip over, and the mirror Natsu gave her and a small teacup spilled out. "Hi," Chip said after the room stopped spinning. He then jumped over to the two and onto Maurice's stomache.

"Oh! A stowaway," Lucy said smiling a bit.

Maurice chuckled. "Why, hello there, little fella," he said as Chip jumped in his hand. "Didn't think I'd see you again."

Chip smiled at the older man then turned to Lucy. "Belle, why'd you go away? Don't you like us anymore?"

"Oh, Chip," she said giving him a small smile, "of corse I do. It's just that..."

A knock at the door cut her off. Lucy frowned and walked over to the door. 'Who could that be?' She opened the door to see an old, scraggly, but well dressed man standing there. He reminded her of a funeral worker. "May I help you?"

"I've come to collect your father," the old man said.

"My father?" Lucy asked. She was getting a bad feeling, and she finally realized which scene this was.

"Don't worry, mademoiselle. We'll take good care of him," he said as he moved to the side and pointed to a wooden wagon, that looked like a prison box, and had a sign on the side that read, "Asylum de Loons." She also saw a crowd of townspeople surrounding the wagon with torches to light their way and pitchforks.

Lucy opened her mouth in surprise, then glared at the man. "My father's not crazy!" The old man held up his hands in front of him and stepped back as she stepped toward him.

"He was raving like a lunatic," a short man named LeFou said. He then turned to the crowd behind him. "We all heard him, didn't we?"

The crowd all called out confirmations of this, some even looking angry.

"No, I won't let you," Lucy said taking a step toward the crowd as a man opened the back of the wagon and jumped to the ground.

"Belle?" Maurice asked as he came to the door when he heard the commotion.

"Maurice, tell us again, old man. Just how big was the beast?" LeFou asked laughing a bit.

"He was... I mean, he was... He was enormous!" Maurice said holding his hands out to emphasis what he was saying.

'Ok, compared to Maurice, Natsu is tall, but he's not that big,' Lucy thought in annoyance. She saw LeFou cover his mouth while laughing and glared at him and the rest of the crowd who were also laughing at Maurice.

"Id... I'd say at least eight, no, more like ten feet!" Maurice continued not phased by the laughing.

'Ok, he's definitely not that tall,' Lucy thought.

Everyone laughed louder. LeFou turned back to the crowd. "Well, you don't get much crazier than that."

"It's true, I tell you," Maurice said walking towards the till laughing crowd.

Lucy saw the old asylum caretaker wave his hand and two men come up on either side of Maurice and grabbed his arms.

"Get him out of here!" LeFou said.

"Let go of me!" Maurice cried out as the two men lifted him up and started to carry him to the wagon.

"No!" Lucy exclaimed. She saw the caretaker walk away from her and toward the wagon, and followed him, reaching out her hand to grab his shoulder. "You can't do this!"

The old caretaker just shook her hand off and continued to the wagon.

"Poor Belle," Gaston said as he walked over to her. "It's a shame about your father." He draped an arm around her shoulders.

"You know he's not crazy, Gaston," she said grabbing the front of his shirt.

"Hmmm. I might be able to clear up this little misunderstanding. If..." Gaston said with a smile and a glint in his eye.

"If what?" she asked.

"If you marry me," he replied.

"What?" she gasped out, trying to back away from him, but he kept his hand firmly on her shoulder.

He pulled her closer to him. "One little word, Belle. That's all it takes."

Lucy pushed him away from her, making him drop his arm. "Never!"

"Have it your way," he said a big angry and walked away.

"Belle?" Maurice asked and she turned to see the two men dragging him closer to the wagon again. "Let go fo me!"

Lucy ran back into the cottage, grabbed the mirror off the bed, and ran back outside.

"My father's not crazy," she said, "... and I can prove it." She looked at the mirror in her hands. "Show me Natsu."

The mirror sparked and glowed as Lucy turned the front of the mirror towards the townspeople. Natsu showed up on the mirror. He was roaring as flames danced over his skin. She glanced over at Gaston and saw a surprised look on his face.

"Is it dangerous?" a woman in the crowd asked.

"No, no," Lucy replied running down to the crowd. "He'd never hurt anyone." She pulled the mirror close to her chest and placed a hand over it protectively. "Please, I know he looks vicious, but..." she looked down at the image of Natsu and smiled, "... he's really kind and gentle. He's my friend."

Gaston, who moved up behind her to get a closer look at the Beast in the mirror, placed a hand on her shoulder. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you had feelings for this monster," he said as he grabbed her other shoulder and turned her so she was looking at him.

"He's no monster, Gaston," she said pulling herself away from his grip and stepping back, holding the mirror protectively against her chest, and glared at him. "You are!"

This enraged Gaston. He grabbed the mirror and ripped it out of her hands. "She's as crazy as the old man." He turned toward the crowd. "The Beast will make off with your children." The crowd gasped, woman pulling their children close to them protectively. "He'll come after them in the night."

"No," Lucy cried out, but no one was listening to her.

"Where not safe till his head is mounted on my wall!" Gaston continued.

Fear and anger rose up inside of Lucy. She knew how this scene was supposed to play out, but actually living it was way worse than just reading it. She was actually afraid for Natsu.

"I say we kill the Beast!" Gaston yelled out.

Everyone cheered, raising their torches and pitchforks.

"We're not safe until he's dead," one man said.

"He'll come stalking us at night," another man added.

"Set to sacrifice our children to his monstrous appetite," an older woman said to a younger woman with a baby in her arms.

"He'll wreck havoc on our village if we let him wander free," a third man called out.

"It's time to take some action boys," Gaston said grabbing a torch from on fo the townsmen. "It's time to follow me," he said then threw the torch at a pile of hey, setting it on fire.

"No! Please!" Lucy begged, but the crowd just ignored her, one person even pushing her and making her fall to the ground. She got up and pushed her way through the crowd and grabbed Gaston's raised arm that had the glowing mirror in that hand. "No, I won't let you do this."

Gaston grabbed Lucy's wrist and flung her to the side, not letting go. "If you're not with us, you're against us!"

'Well, duh,' Lucy thought as she tried to pull her wrist free from his hand.

"Bring the old man!" Gaston continued.

LeFou opened the doors to the outdoor entrance fo the basement, and the two men who were holding Maurice threw him down the steps.

"We can't have them running off to warn the creature," Gaston said dragging Lucy over to the entrance. He threw her in and slammed the doors shut.

Lucy turned and pushed on the doors, but they already locked it. "Let us out!" she cried out as she banged on one of the doors.

"We'll rid the village of this monster," she heard Gaston yell. "Who's with me?"

She heard several of the men volunteer and then heard them shuffling off down the path. "No!"

Maurice put his hand on Lucy's shoulder and she turned and buried her face in the man's shoulder.

'If only this basement had a door leading into the house.' Lucy looked up and saw a small window that led outside. She grabbed a wooden stick that was lying near and ran over to the window, jamming the stick into it trying to break it open, but it was really tough glass. "I have to warn Natsu. This is all my fault." When the window still wouldn't budge, she dropped the stick and fell back to sit on her legs and covered her face with her hands.

Maurice came up to her and raised his hands out to her.

She turned and grabbed his hands. "What are we going to do?" she asked desperately.

"Now, now," he said trying to calm her down. "We'll think of something." He pulled her into a hug and she just clung to him.

FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT

At the castle, Natsu sat on his bed. Ever since Lucy left, he just couldn't find the energy to do anything. He wanted to leave and go after her, to bring her back, but he knew that the spell that controlled this place wouldn't let him. He looked over to the balcony when he heard people coming in through the gate, but again, he just couldn't get himself to care.

"Pardon me, Master," Mrs. Potts said as she came through the door.

Natsu stood up and walked over to the table with the rose. "Leave me in peace."

"But, sir, the castle is under attack," she said. "What should we do, Master?"

"It doesn't matter now," he replied sadly and dejectedly, but he was actually seething inside. He hated that he couldn't go out and fight the creeps that were invading his territory. 'I want to fight!' he wanted to cry out, but all that came out of his mouth was, "Just let them come," again in a sad voice.

He heard the doors downstairs burst open and then fighting. He clenched his fist, but still his body did not move. 'Dang it! Let me fight too!'

FTFTFTFTFTFTFT

Back at the cottage, Lucy was sitting quietly by the window, trying to remember how she was supposed to get out, when she heard a loud whistle. She looked out the window and saw the invention that Maurice made, a wood chopping cart, coming toward the entrance of the basement.

Maurice looked out of the crack in the door. "What the devil?"

Lucy got up and ran over to him, pulling him away from the door. "Look out!" The dashed behind the table that was in the room and flipped it over and used it as a shield.

They heard the axe on the machine chop its way through the door and then the machine crashed after it fell down the steps and broke into pieces. They both looked over the side of the table to see the heap that was the machine, and Chip hanging from a wire by his nose, which was the cup's handle.

"You guys gotta try this thing," Chip said as he bounced up and down on the wire.

Lucy quickly made her way over to Chip, grabbing him before he fell, and handed him to Maurice before running to the now open entrance.

"Belle, where are you going?" Maurice asked before she got to the top of the stairs.

Lucy stopped and turned back to him. "I have to get to Natsu," she said, completely forgetting that he didn't know Natsu by his name.

Maurice scrunched up his face in worry, but knew he couldn't stop his strong willed daughter. "Be careful."

"I will," she said and exited the basement before he could change his mind. She ran over to Philippe and jumped on his back, and they raced off to the castle.

FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT

Natsu found himself sitting on a couch that was by the balcony, staring out the window at the rain that was now pouring down. He heard the fighting start to die down, then saw people running outside and toward the gate. The cheering of the staff that was fighting downstairs made him happy because they won, but also frustrated. 'I didn't get to fight at all.'

He heard heavy footsteps that he knew didn't belong to any of the staff, and then the door open. He looked over and saw a man pointing a bow and arrow at him. He wanted to blast the guy with a fireball, but he felt himself groan and turn back to look out the window.

He roared when he felt an arrow graze his right wing and bury itself into his shoulder. 'Come on!' he yelled at the spell in his head. Before he could glare at the man that shot him, he felt something hit him hard in the side, causing him to go through the window.

He heard the man laugh, and as he was trying to get up with the help of the railing, he saw the guy quickly make his way over to him, and kick him hard.

Natsu went over the railing and landed on the edge of one of the roofs of the castle. He couldn't move. 'Dang it! Let me get up and fight this jerk!'

"Get up," the man said as he landed next to Natsu.

'I'm freaking trying!' Natsu screamed in his head, but he just looked up at the man sadly. 'Wait, this must be that Gaston jerk Lucy said I was supposed to fight,' he thought as he got a good look at the man.

Gaston kicked Natsu again. "Get up!" he yelled as Natsu almost went over the side. "What's the matter, Beast?" He laughed. "To kind and gentle to fight back?"

Natsu was enraged by now, but again he only let out a sad groan as he closed his eyes and turned his head down. He heard Gaston break something off the roof and walk toward him. 'Come on! I don't want to just lie here and let this jerk kill me!'

"Natsu!"

Natsu opened his eyes and looked down to see Lucy sitting on Philippe looking up at him, fear very evident on her face.

"Lucy," Natsu said.

"No, Gaston, don't!" Lucy cried out.

Natsu' body finally moved and he reached up and grabbed the small statue that was coming toward him, lighting flashing and thunder cracking as he did. He smiled at the shocked look on Gaston's face. 'Finally!'

Natsu stood up, now glaring at Gaston as he pushed the statue toward Gaston. They both put their other hands on the statue as well to keep their balance as they both pushed on it.

Natsu growled, spread his wings, and fire started to make its way across his body. He pushed harder on the statue, causing Gaston to backpedal to keep his footing, before he finally ripped the statue from Gaston's grip and threw it to the side. He lit his hand on fire and smiled. "I'm going to enjoy this." The lightning flashed across the sky and the thunder rumbled loudly as if to emphasis his words.

Gaston backed up then ran and jumped to a larger rooftop so he could have a better advantage. He slipped on the wet tile when he landed, but caught himself in time to move out of the way of Natsu's flaming fist, which landed in the spot he just vacated.

Natsu lunged forward to throw another punch at him, but Gaston blocked it with one arm, which got burned by the flames, and felt Gaston's foot hit hard into his stomach, causing Natsu to loose his balance and fall on his back.

Gaston pulled a small hunting knife out of his belt. "Were you in love with her, Beast?" he asked as he watched Natsu stand back up. "Did you honestly think she'd want you when she had someone like me?"

A loud crack of thunder rumbled through the air and Natsu lunged at the guy, grabbing both of Gaston's arms and pushing him to the ground. A growl escaped his throat as he glared at the man below him. "She would never want you."

Gaston glared back and brought his knees up to his chest and pushed his feet into Natsu's stomach, effectively pushing the half dragon off him. He got up and ran over to Natsu, who was already getting back up, and swung his knife downwards.

Natsu grabbed Gaston's arm just before the knife made contact with his left shoulder and sent a flaming fist at Gaston's stomach.

Gaston grunted at the hit and doubled over, but quickly grabbed the wrist of the hand buried in his stomach. The glove on that hand burned away because of the flames that were still coming from Natsu's hand and hissed when he felt the skin of his hand start to burn, but still didn't let go.

The two struggled against each other until Gaston dropped down and knocked Natsu's legs out from under him, causing the half dragon to let go and fall on his back.

"It's over, Beast! Belle is mine!" Gaston said as he raised the knife over his head, lighting flashing across the sky and thunder quickly following.

Natsu narrowed his eyes and glared at him again. 'No, she's mine!' He shot forward as his flames shot out, knocking Gaston back and causing him to fall to the rooftop. He grabbed Gaston by the collar of his shirt and dangled him over the edge of the roof.

"Let me go. Let me go," Gaston begged as he grabbed Natsu's arm, fear very evident on his face. "Please, don't hurt me. I'll do anything." He struggled against Natsu's grip. "Anything!"

Lightning lit up the sky and thunder roared all around them as Natsu glared at the struggling man. He wanted to drop this creep and listen to him scream as he fell, the small voice in his head encouraging him to do so, but he realized what he was doing and relaxed. 'No. As much as I hate this jerk, I don't kill.' He stepped back, setting Gaston on his feet, glaring at him once again. He pulled Gaston close to his face. "Get out," he said in a deep, rough voice. He then threw the man to the side.

"Natsu!"

Natsu turned around and saw Lucy on a balcony above him and smiled. "Lucy." He saw her reach out her hand and he climbed up the roof since his wing was still sore from the wolf attack. Natsu grabbed her hand and then cupped her face. "You really did come back."

"I told you I would," she said with a smile of her own as she placed her free hand over his.

Natsu continued to smile at her until he felt a sharp pain in his side. He roared and flung his arm back, catching a glimpse of Gaston before the man lost his balance and fell off the roof, screaming as he fell fast towards the ground.

Lucy reached out and grabbed the front of Natsu's shirt when he started to fall back too, and pulled him forward, helping him over the railing.

They saw Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts running toward them as Lucy laid Natsu down on the balcony's floor.

Natsu gasped and grabbed his side, then looked up at her. "I'm glad you came back."

Lucy reached down and moved his hand so she could look at the wound. 'This is deep... And it looks like it hit a major artery.' "This is all my fault. If only I'd gotten here sooner."

Natsu reached up and turned her head so she was looking at him. He wiped the tear that was falling down her cheek away with his thumb. "Hey, don't cry, Luce. You warned me this was going to happen, but I was careless and let my guard down. I guess I'm gonna die after all."

Another tear ran down her cheek. "Shut up! Don't talk like that. You're going to be fine," she said sternly.

Natsu coughed, a little blood escaping his mouth.

"We'll find you a doctor and get you all patched up," she said still trying to convince herself that he would be fine.

"At least you don't have to worry about that jerk anymore," Natsu said, his voice getting weaker.

Lucy grabbed his hand that was still resting on her face, the tears coming in streams now. She closed her eyes and turned her face into Natsu's hand, but quickly looked back down at him when she felt his hand go lax in hers. She watched his eyes roll back in his head before they closed and he let out one more breath before he fell still.

Lucy dropped his hand and covered her mouth with hers. She shook her head as she reached down to him, the tears never stopping. "No. No! Natsu, wake up. Please, don't leave me." She lowered her head and buried it in his covered chest. "I love you," she said quietly.

The three castle staff members watched the last petal of the rose fall on the table and looked down sadly, a tear falling from Mrs. Potts' eye.

Lucy clenched Natsu's shirt as she continued to cry. 'Please. Please tell me he's not really dead. Please tell me he's going to wake up.'

She heard something falling around her, sounding almost like shooting starts, and looked up. What looked to her like shooting stars were falling around them. She sat back when Natsu floated into the air.

She backed away and watched in amazement as Natsu sun around in the air, smoke rolling off of him, and then light shooting out of his hands, then feet, then face, and finally his whole body. The light got so bright that it incased the entire balcony, and Lucy had to squeeze her eyes shut.

So, what did you think? Was it good? Did you hate it? Was it a good mix? Please let me know it a comment below. Also, let me know if there is a fairy tale, based off the Disney movies, that you would like to see Natsu and Lucy go through in a comment as well.

The next chapter will be The Little Mermaid as requested by guest reviewer Captain Imaginat from fanfiction dot net.

See you in the next chapter :)