• (Lucy's POV) •

I saw it all. I was only 10 years old. The opening door, the man, the knife. Then my father on the floor, lying in a pool of his own blood. That week I cried myself to sleep every night, devastated that my loving father was not here to comfort me.

When I reached 13, there was a break in at our mansion and half of our belongings were stolen. My mother feared for my life, so she invested in a protector that would 'keep me safe'. I protested, but my mother said that she would re-marry so we had enough money to get by. Me and her went into our basement and my mother chanted a Celestial spell, holding my hand. I saw nothing but white.

A few seconds later I found that we were in a different world, filled with flames and lava.
"Follow me Lucy" My mother said. I followed her into a giant castle where two dragons stopped her.
"State your business, humans" One said.
"I, Mrs. Heartfilia, have come to speak with Igneel." My mother replied. Instantly the two dragons bowed their heads and apologised, leading her to this Igneel. Turns out he was a big scary dragon just like everyone else.

"Igneel?" My mother said.
"Ahh, Mrs. Heartfilia, what a surprise to see you here. Who's the little one?" Igneel asked.
"This is my daughter Lucy." She replied. "I need a word with you Igneel, it concerns a protector."
"Ooh, I see. You want a protector?" My mother nodded in reply. "Well, what rating would you like?"
"10. The best protector you have."
"Hmm, that's going to cost quite a bit, since he's my own son, Mrs. Heartfilia."

"How much?" She asked. It was stiflingly hot in here, so I wish mother would hurry up with this Igneel.
"1 million jewels" Igneel said.
"How about 900,000 jewels and a kiss off me?" I stared at my mother in disbelief.
"Hmm, okay then." Igneel replied. Suddenly he burst into flames and disappeared, in his place was a man with dark red hair and a cheeky grin on his face. My mother slowly walked up to him with the bag of money.

"Lucy, don't watch." My mother said, casting a blindness spell that lasts 30 seconds. Suddenly I heard an evil laugh and a stifled scream. My mother sounded like she was in pain.
"Mother?" I asked, worried. Then the blindness spell wore off and I saw that man eating my mother's neck. I stood there in shock.

"M-mother?" I said, not believing my eyes. The evil man glanced up at me and then released my mother, who had bite marks on her pale flesh. She handed him the bag of jewels and walked away, eyes downcast.

"Natsu! Come here for a moment!" Igneel called. Suddenly a dragon, who looked slightly smaller than the others, stomped into the room.
"In human form you maggot!" Igneel yelled. Then this dragon went up in flames and turned into a boy, a year or two older than me, and he had pink hair and a toothy grin.
"So, Mrs. Heartfilia, I'm guessing this is for your daughter?" Igneel asked. She nodded and turned to me.

"Lucy, go up to the man. He won't hurt you, it's okay." She reassured. I ambled up to the man and the pink-headed boy stood next to me.
"Both of you, hold out a finger" Igneel said. We did so, only to be pricked in the finger by his claw. My finger was bleeding.
"Now, both of you touch this paper with your finger." He continued. Once we touched the paper, it disappeared into thin air. Then Igneel whispered to the smaller boy. Luckily, he was a bad whisperer, so I heard what he said.
"Now kiss her, just like you practiced, and we're done." I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

This boy took a step closer to me, so our faces were nearly touching, then he softly held my head with his hand and leaned in to kiss me. I was so worried, I didn't know what to do. When I felt his lips touch mine it felt wonderful, and I started to kiss back. I felt his tongue on my bottom lip so I opened my mouth slightly, letting his tongue into my mouth. He explored every inch, not leaving anywhere unexplored.

Eventually, he broke the kiss as we caught our breath.
"Was that your first kiss by any chance?" Asked the boy. I looked down, blushing, then nodded my head slightly.
"Not bad for a first time." He snickered. "The name's Natsu, by the way. What's yours?" Natsu asked.
"L-Lucy.." I replied, still a little confused about what was going on.
"Nice to meet you Lucy" he smiled. I smiled back.

"You too."

My mother then clapped twice and everything went white again. I found myself back in the basement, but Natsu was here too.
"Lucy, this is Natsu, he is now your protector. He will be living with us now, so get used to his company." My mother said.

I am now 15 years old, and it's my 16th birthday in a week. Natsu is 18 and we are the best of friends now. Ever since the day my father died I've been living in misery, but ever since I've been with Natsu, he's always been there to cheer me up, and I'm thankful for it.

Word Count- 917