Once Upon A Time

Chapter 33

Princess Lucy was leading yet another search for Natsu and she was out for blood. His blood to be exact and words could not describe how much she wanted to see it stained on the ground but he just kept alluding her at every turn. Recently she had heard news that he had been staying in a local village but by the time she and her goblin like minions had arrived he had fled. It infuriated her but she didn't just leave the village. Oh no she stayed behind to ask the villages questions.

"I am looking for Sir Natsu!" She said as all the villagers were brought before her. "Now I know he has been living here and I'm certain at least one of you know where he's gone to. I order that one of you step forward and disclose to me where he is."

The villagers just looked at her in fear. They were terrified of her but apparently not so much that they would give up any information to where the young knight went.

"Whoever tells me where he is will be richly rewarded." She said trying a different approach. "It is usless to protect him because he is not the noble hero he presents himself. He has committed unforgivable sin, one that ruined the life of an innocent. You cannot possibly imagine the evil the secretly resides in him."

But still none of them would talk.

"If no one comes forward then there must be consequences." She said. "I will raise the taxes on this village until you all having nothing left to do but starve! Or better yet maybe I should just enslave you all! Feel like talking now?"

But not even that could break their silence. A lot of them truly did not know where Natsu was and the few who did were just too loyal to be bribed or blackmailed. This infuriated Lucy greatly and in response she declared that every man from that village be taken from their home and forced to be a slave to her.

When she returned to her castle she was seething with rage, it was like her entire face was burning like fire. And her anger only grew when she returned to her castle to vent to her minions.

"It's incredible!" She screeched. "Not a trace of him in this entire land! He couldn't have just vanished into thin air! Are you sure you searched everywhere?"

"Yes everywhere." One of her guards said. "We all did."

"And what about the town? The forests? The mountains?"

"We searched those too. Towns, forests, mountains, and all the bean plantations."

"Bean plantations?"

"Yes. You said he once owned a magic bean. We figured that if we found a magic bean then we'd find him."

"Fools! Idiots! Imbeciles!"She thundered.

She grabbed her scepter and blasted each of her guards with a blast of painful lighting-like magic.

"Get out of here! All of you! Before I turn you into newts and sell you to witches!"

They ran out of her throne room like a stampede, desperate to get away from the enraged woman before she really lost her temper. When that was settled she retired to her bed chamber and sat by window, stroking one of her pet ravens in attempt to calm herself.

"Oh they're hopeless." She said. "A disgrace to their profession Now wonder my father killed off one of them once a month."

Knock-knock!

"I thought I told you fools to leave me alone!"

"Relax your majesty it's only me."

She huffed in agitation when she saw that the person entering her chambers was Gray.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"I heard thunder and there wasn't a cloud in the sky so I figured that must mean you were having another tantrum. I guess a bad temper runs in the family yes?" He said. "Anyway I thought maybe talking someone would make you feel better and since you can't destroy me for running my mouth, I figured who better than me to be the talker?"