(Thinking of this prompt led me to a possible fanfic, so I guess this is a snippet to the bigger fanfic that I may or may not write. ^^)
"Mama! Papa! Story time!" little Asuka begs her parents. It’s 9:30 in the evening, rather late for a child to still be awake. Then again, most children don’t live in the loudest magical guild in Fiore.
Asuka looks up at her parents, and seeing they are busy talking to Tiger Lily about the latest weapons, decided that she’ll get her story elsewhere.
"Gramps! Can you tell me a story?" Asuka pulled on Makarov’s white sleeve. “Asuka, the Master has a bad hangover right now, so you should probably ask someone else for a story tonight," smiled Mirajane. “Okay, Mira-san," Asuka said dejectedly.
Waddling about, she stumbled upon Lucy, who is counting her celestial keys alone at a table. “I wonder if Lucy-san is busy," Asuka whispers to herself.
"Ne, Lucy-san? Are you busy too?" she asks the blonde mage.
“Nope. I just finished counting my keys! I have a lot, you see," Lucy says, flashing a set of golden keys with symbols inscribed upon them. “What do you need, Asuka?"
“Um, Lucy-san, can you tell me a story? Mama and Papa are still talking and I’m sleepy now."
“Sure, why not? Umm, let’s see… Ooh! How about Cinderella?"
“I heard that one before," pouts Asuka.
“Okay… How about… Beauty and the Beast?"
“No, I already know that one," Asuka shakes her head.
“Pinocchio?"
“I don’t like that one."
“Rapunzel?"
Asuka raised her brows and suggests, “Lucy-san, you write, right?"
"… Yeah."
“Can you just make up a new story for me? Please please please?" pleads the girl. She pulls out the old puppy dog eyes that even Lucy couldn’t resist (and she’s a master at puppy dog eyes herself).
“Okay, Asuka. Hmmm…"
"Once upon a time," Lucy begins, when Natsu plops down on the seat next to her.
“Hey, Asuka, what’s goin’ on?" grins the pink-haired wizard.
“Lucy-san is telling me a story! Shhh!" Asuka places a finger to her lips.
“I’ll help ya, Lucy!" winks Natsu.
Lucy clears her throat, and starts again.
“Once upon a time, in a far away land, lived a princess. She has hair the colour of gold, eyes as brown as chocolate, and pearly, smooth skin. She lived in a castle with her father—the king—and with many servants who tended to her every need all the time. But, the princess is not happy in the castle. Her mother—the queen—died when she was young. Ever since, the king travelled all over the kingdom. He always ignored the princess."
“Does the princess have a name?" Asuka wonders.
“Yeah! Her name is Luc–Lucinda!" Lucy expresses. “Lucinda planned to run away from the castle and find her own prince. She didn’t want her father to find her prince for her. You see, back then, people can’t choose who they love. Their parents picked for them. So Princess Lucinda didn’t want to marry someone she didn’t love; someone that her father only chose for her. One day, Lucinda… sneaked out of the house with all of her things. She didn’t tell anyone about her plan, but she left a letter on her father’s desk to tell him where she went and that she’ll be alright."
“This story’s boring," yawns Natsu.
“Eh, Natsu, who asked you to listen!?" Lucy retorts.
“Natsu-san, I like Lucy-san’s story! Shh!" Asuka scolds the fire mage.
Lucy continues, “So Princess Lucinda travelled by foot to find a new home. Then, she met a beautiful wizard boy. He said that he was Sala…din—Saladin, the most powerful wizard in the kingdom. The princess believed him, but she didn’t know that he was wearing a charm on his fingers to make her believe this. She almost fell in love with him, too, because he also wore a love spell ring. Until—"
“Hey Lucy this story sounds familiar!" Natsu interrupts. “It’s like the day when we first—"
Lucy shoots Natsu a deadly look. He takes the hint, and decides to spice up the story.
Natsu jumps into the storytelling, “Lucy’s told me this one. I know what happens! Here, I’ll help her tell it. Let’s see… Oh! Yeah, so the princess met this evil guy Saladin. He’s uglier than Ichiya-san! Saladin trapped the princess in his ship by sending one hundred ninjas dressed in purple to steal the princess." At this, Lucy shakes her head, knowing that Natsu is completely making the story up, but it amuses her, so she lets him continue.
“The purple ninjas have magical—"
“Lucy-san, I thought you’re making this up?" Asuka questions the celestial spirit mage. “How come Natsu-san knows it?"
“Yeah… Um, I made it up long ago, but I guess I told Natsu before," is Lucy’s unsure answer.
Natsu returns to the story, "—magical powers. Some of them can shoot darts through their mouths and have fingers as sharp as swords and some of them even have eyes that can turn you to ashes! But before the evil, fake Saladin guy can hurt Princess Lucinda, a good-looking and super powerful—"
“Dragon with pink scales and a big mouth swoops in to save the princess," Lucy interjects and then continues, “The dragon is loud and he breathes fire. He is actually a human, but he can transform into a dragon. The dragon’s name, Nato, is actually the real Saladin. Nato had a pet cat with him when he saved the princess. The cat was blue and his name is Sad. Nato and Sad fought all the purple ninjas. Nato was hit with many poisonous darts, but his pink scales protected him. They punched and kicked and head butted their way to save the princess."
“But Lucy-san, how come the dragon saves the princess? I thought it was the prince who saves the princess?" Asuka asks.
“But this is a different fairy tale, Asuka. The dragon saves the princess," Natsu responds, a surprising gentleness in his voice. Lucy smiles, “Yeah. I’ll keep going with the story, okay?" Asuka nods.
"So, after all the purple ninjas, Nato finally faces fake Saladin. But Saladin was so scared that he—"
“Pooped his pants and ran away screaming like a chicken. Nato roared and returned back to being the handsome human he is. He offered his hand to the beautiful Princess Lucinda and asks her if she is okay. Princess Lucinda nodded her head, smiled, and told him she is fine," Natsu intervenes. “Then–"
“Then Nato and Sad ask Lucinda to go home with them to their wonderful palace in the sky. Nato and Sad lived with fairies, that’s why. Lucinda agreed, and they lived happily ever after. The end," Lucy concludes.
"The end? But don’t Nato and Lucinda fall in love? What about that? That’s how all the fairy tales Mama and Papa read me end!" Asuka complains.
“Ehh, Asuka…" Lucy stammers, her face two shades of pink darker.
“Um… I gotta go," Natsu, also pink, stutters.
“But Natsu-san! You know this story, too, right? Can you finish it?" begs Asuka, again using the puppy dog eyes move.
Both Natsu and Lucy sigh because of the awkwardness of the situation, though both also succumb to Asuka’s killer move.
Lucy starts, “Well… Lucinda thanked Nato for saving her and for showing her his palace. They go on more adventures until… Until… Lucinda finds herself… Falling in love with Nato. He is kind to her, and he always cheers her up when she’s sad. He protects her from bad guys and is always there to catch her—literally—when she falls. Everyday she feels more strongly about Nato, but she doesn’t tell him because she’s too afraid to ruin their friendship," Lucy explains. Natsu glances at Lucy, looking a bit pained. He takes over the story, “Nato feels the same for Lucinda, though. He always teases her and maybe sometimes she gets annoyed because he sleeps in her apartment all the time, but he likes her a lot. He felt himself falling slowly in love with her, too… Nato felt weird tingles in his tummy whenever she smiles, and he can’t stand it when she cries. Lucinda is so important to him. He never wants anything to hurt her, and being with her is what he wants to do for the rest of his life—but he doesn’t want to ruin his friendship with Lucinda, because he’s scared that she’ll hate him."
Natsu and Lucy stare at one another for a moment. Asuka breaks this when she says, “Oh… I like them together!" Asuka beams sleepily and urges them to continue the tale, as she rests her head upon the wooden table.
Lucy begins, “Well, uh, Lucinda finds the courage of telling Nato of how she feels and… and she finds out that he feels the same way about her. They—"
Natsu interrupts, “Kiss and get married and have four children, two boys and two girls, and they—"
“Live in love, happily ever after. The end," Lucy and Natsu whisper together. They smile at the little Asuka sleeping on the table, drooling a bit.
Looks like Asuka wasn’t the only one who needed to hear a fairy tale today.
By: stupidsmelly-seigaku
"Mama! Papa! Story time!" little Asuka begs her parents. It’s 9:30 in the evening, rather late for a child to still be awake. Then again, most children don’t live in the loudest magical guild in Fiore.
Asuka looks up at her parents, and seeing they are busy talking to Tiger Lily about the latest weapons, decided that she’ll get her story elsewhere.
"Gramps! Can you tell me a story?" Asuka pulled on Makarov’s white sleeve. “Asuka, the Master has a bad hangover right now, so you should probably ask someone else for a story tonight," smiled Mirajane. “Okay, Mira-san," Asuka said dejectedly.
Waddling about, she stumbled upon Lucy, who is counting her celestial keys alone at a table. “I wonder if Lucy-san is busy," Asuka whispers to herself.
"Ne, Lucy-san? Are you busy too?" she asks the blonde mage.
“Nope. I just finished counting my keys! I have a lot, you see," Lucy says, flashing a set of golden keys with symbols inscribed upon them. “What do you need, Asuka?"
“Um, Lucy-san, can you tell me a story? Mama and Papa are still talking and I’m sleepy now."
“Sure, why not? Umm, let’s see… Ooh! How about Cinderella?"
“I heard that one before," pouts Asuka.
“Okay… How about… Beauty and the Beast?"
“No, I already know that one," Asuka shakes her head.
“Pinocchio?"
“I don’t like that one."
“Rapunzel?"
Asuka raised her brows and suggests, “Lucy-san, you write, right?"
"… Yeah."
“Can you just make up a new story for me? Please please please?" pleads the girl. She pulls out the old puppy dog eyes that even Lucy couldn’t resist (and she’s a master at puppy dog eyes herself).
“Okay, Asuka. Hmmm…"
"Once upon a time," Lucy begins, when Natsu plops down on the seat next to her.
“Hey, Asuka, what’s goin’ on?" grins the pink-haired wizard.
“Lucy-san is telling me a story! Shhh!" Asuka places a finger to her lips.
“I’ll help ya, Lucy!" winks Natsu.
Lucy clears her throat, and starts again.
“Once upon a time, in a far away land, lived a princess. She has hair the colour of gold, eyes as brown as chocolate, and pearly, smooth skin. She lived in a castle with her father—the king—and with many servants who tended to her every need all the time. But, the princess is not happy in the castle. Her mother—the queen—died when she was young. Ever since, the king travelled all over the kingdom. He always ignored the princess."
“Does the princess have a name?" Asuka wonders.
“Yeah! Her name is Luc–Lucinda!" Lucy expresses. “Lucinda planned to run away from the castle and find her own prince. She didn’t want her father to find her prince for her. You see, back then, people can’t choose who they love. Their parents picked for them. So Princess Lucinda didn’t want to marry someone she didn’t love; someone that her father only chose for her. One day, Lucinda… sneaked out of the house with all of her things. She didn’t tell anyone about her plan, but she left a letter on her father’s desk to tell him where she went and that she’ll be alright."
“This story’s boring," yawns Natsu.
“Eh, Natsu, who asked you to listen!?" Lucy retorts.
“Natsu-san, I like Lucy-san’s story! Shh!" Asuka scolds the fire mage.
Lucy continues, “So Princess Lucinda travelled by foot to find a new home. Then, she met a beautiful wizard boy. He said that he was Sala…din—Saladin, the most powerful wizard in the kingdom. The princess believed him, but she didn’t know that he was wearing a charm on his fingers to make her believe this. She almost fell in love with him, too, because he also wore a love spell ring. Until—"
“Hey Lucy this story sounds familiar!" Natsu interrupts. “It’s like the day when we first—"
Lucy shoots Natsu a deadly look. He takes the hint, and decides to spice up the story.
Natsu jumps into the storytelling, “Lucy’s told me this one. I know what happens! Here, I’ll help her tell it. Let’s see… Oh! Yeah, so the princess met this evil guy Saladin. He’s uglier than Ichiya-san! Saladin trapped the princess in his ship by sending one hundred ninjas dressed in purple to steal the princess." At this, Lucy shakes her head, knowing that Natsu is completely making the story up, but it amuses her, so she lets him continue.
“The purple ninjas have magical—"
“Lucy-san, I thought you’re making this up?" Asuka questions the celestial spirit mage. “How come Natsu-san knows it?"
“Yeah… Um, I made it up long ago, but I guess I told Natsu before," is Lucy’s unsure answer.
Natsu returns to the story, "—magical powers. Some of them can shoot darts through their mouths and have fingers as sharp as swords and some of them even have eyes that can turn you to ashes! But before the evil, fake Saladin guy can hurt Princess Lucinda, a good-looking and super powerful—"
“Dragon with pink scales and a big mouth swoops in to save the princess," Lucy interjects and then continues, “The dragon is loud and he breathes fire. He is actually a human, but he can transform into a dragon. The dragon’s name, Nato, is actually the real Saladin. Nato had a pet cat with him when he saved the princess. The cat was blue and his name is Sad. Nato and Sad fought all the purple ninjas. Nato was hit with many poisonous darts, but his pink scales protected him. They punched and kicked and head butted their way to save the princess."
“But Lucy-san, how come the dragon saves the princess? I thought it was the prince who saves the princess?" Asuka asks.
“But this is a different fairy tale, Asuka. The dragon saves the princess," Natsu responds, a surprising gentleness in his voice. Lucy smiles, “Yeah. I’ll keep going with the story, okay?" Asuka nods.
"So, after all the purple ninjas, Nato finally faces fake Saladin. But Saladin was so scared that he—"
“Pooped his pants and ran away screaming like a chicken. Nato roared and returned back to being the handsome human he is. He offered his hand to the beautiful Princess Lucinda and asks her if she is okay. Princess Lucinda nodded her head, smiled, and told him she is fine," Natsu intervenes. “Then–"
“Then Nato and Sad ask Lucinda to go home with them to their wonderful palace in the sky. Nato and Sad lived with fairies, that’s why. Lucinda agreed, and they lived happily ever after. The end," Lucy concludes.
"The end? But don’t Nato and Lucinda fall in love? What about that? That’s how all the fairy tales Mama and Papa read me end!" Asuka complains.
“Ehh, Asuka…" Lucy stammers, her face two shades of pink darker.
“Um… I gotta go," Natsu, also pink, stutters.
“But Natsu-san! You know this story, too, right? Can you finish it?" begs Asuka, again using the puppy dog eyes move.
Both Natsu and Lucy sigh because of the awkwardness of the situation, though both also succumb to Asuka’s killer move.
Lucy starts, “Well… Lucinda thanked Nato for saving her and for showing her his palace. They go on more adventures until… Until… Lucinda finds herself… Falling in love with Nato. He is kind to her, and he always cheers her up when she’s sad. He protects her from bad guys and is always there to catch her—literally—when she falls. Everyday she feels more strongly about Nato, but she doesn’t tell him because she’s too afraid to ruin their friendship," Lucy explains. Natsu glances at Lucy, looking a bit pained. He takes over the story, “Nato feels the same for Lucinda, though. He always teases her and maybe sometimes she gets annoyed because he sleeps in her apartment all the time, but he likes her a lot. He felt himself falling slowly in love with her, too… Nato felt weird tingles in his tummy whenever she smiles, and he can’t stand it when she cries. Lucinda is so important to him. He never wants anything to hurt her, and being with her is what he wants to do for the rest of his life—but he doesn’t want to ruin his friendship with Lucinda, because he’s scared that she’ll hate him."
Natsu and Lucy stare at one another for a moment. Asuka breaks this when she says, “Oh… I like them together!" Asuka beams sleepily and urges them to continue the tale, as she rests her head upon the wooden table.
Lucy begins, “Well, uh, Lucinda finds the courage of telling Nato of how she feels and… and she finds out that he feels the same way about her. They—"
Natsu interrupts, “Kiss and get married and have four children, two boys and two girls, and they—"
“Live in love, happily ever after. The end," Lucy and Natsu whisper together. They smile at the little Asuka sleeping on the table, drooling a bit.
Looks like Asuka wasn’t the only one who needed to hear a fairy tale today.
By: stupidsmelly-seigaku
