• (Lucy's POV) •

We arrived home and I got out of the carriage.
"Natsu?" I asked. He was still in the carriage and looked rather pale.
"Just give me a minute!" He said, so I walked into our mansion.

I was halfway up the stairs when I heard someone call my name.
"Luce?" Natsu asked.
"Yeah?"
"What about those etiquette lessons that you were going to give me?" He smirked. I smiled back.
"Ahh yes. I almost forgot. Let's practice in the garden." I started walking down the stairs, expecting Natsu to run to the door, but instead he waited patently at the bottom and offered his arm for me to take.
"Like this?" He asked.
"Haha yep!" I replied, a big smile on my face.

• (Natsu's POV) •

Lucy linked her arm around mine and we walked to the garden. I have to tell her. I can't not tell her, she needs to know.

About Dragon Mating Season.

Dragons all find a mate and, well, you know. But if this dragon is in a contract, it only has eyes for the person it's protecting, so for me, it's Luce. It's in a week, it starts the day after her 16th birthday, as it has every other year. It didn't affect me until I was 16. And for two years I've had to suffice with cuddling her in her bed. That's not enough for a dragon, but she was too young! Luckily, this year, she will be old enough, and if I miss out another year my health will deteriorate and I will die.

Yeah, it sounds pretty drastic. I just don't know how to tell her.

"Natsu~" Luce said, waving her hand in front of my face.
"Oh, sorry Luce." I said.
"Hehe, you were daydreaming!" Damn she's so cute.
"Okay, so first...." So she tells me everything I need to know, and it's really confusing.

"That's a lot of stuff to remember Luce, you'll have to keep reminding me!" I smirked.
"Oh, and one last thing..." She said.
"GENTLEMEN DON'T SLEEP IN THEIR LADIES' BED!" She yelled.
"But your bed is more comfortable than mine, and how am I supposed to keep you safe if I'm not in the same room as you?" I pleaded.

If she makes me sleep somewhere else I would probably enter some depressing state, as does every dragon when they can't see their 'mate'.
"Jeez, you're like a stalker." She said.
"Well, that's basically what the contract says!" I laughed. She stared at me, but then started laughing too.

It scares me that I don't know how to tell her. I don't even think her mother knows about it either. I'm terrified for her mothers reaction, what she'll say or do to me.

I'll probably just end up dying and Luce will go and marry that rich Sting guy.

"Natsu~" she sang again. "Stop daydreaming!"
"O-oh, sorry." I smiled.
"Princess Lucy! Master Natsu!" Yelled one of the maids. Her name was Virgo. "The dinner is ready! Please come to the dining room."
"We're on our way!" Replied Luce.

I was so lucky to live here. I'm treated like Luce's brother, welcomed into the family on the day the contract was made. I'm one of the lucky ones because most dragons are kept as slaves, and they end up mating with a maid of the house during mating season. I don't want to do that to Virgo, so I have to tell her.

"Luce?"
"Yes?"
"Can I speak with you after dinner?"
"Sure."
"Alone?"
"Um...yeah, okay."

Word Count- 595