Dragons are better than Princes

Turn fate into a pile of ashes

I stared at the boy that had saved my life. He'd walked up to me as I was passing out from blood loss on the roof of the high school. He had pink hair, a color that I hadn't seen in a while. At first, he hadn't seen the blood steadily pumping from my wrists, but when it started staining the ground beyond where I lay, as well as my uniform, his kind onyx eyes had widened in shock and fear. Tears had welled up in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks as he knelt down, holding my pitifully thin wrists, trying to stop the flow of blood, but I didn't want it to stop. I wanted out. I didn't want to be saved. "Wait a minute." I croaked, and he stared at me expectantly. "I don't want you to save me. l'm ugly, weak, useless, pitiful, and a puppet. I don't want you to save me. I want release." I'd said, staring deep in his eyes, willing him to understand, to let me have this one thing that i'd wanted for years.

"Yeah? Well screw that. You think you're ugly? You're beautiful. You think you're weak? You could learn to fight. You think you're useless? You made it this far, didn't you? You think you're pitiful? I say differently. You think you're a puppet? Learn to take a stand for what you want. You've got years and years to live, so take a stand for what you want and what you believe in. Take fate, turn it into a pile of ashes, then create your own ending. You wanna be the princess that gets rescued by a prince? Great, get a castle. You want to save the prince? Even fucking better. You wanna fly away from destiny on a god damn dragon? I'd fucking join you. Point is, this life you're living is yours and nobody fucking elses, so do with it what you will, but at least try to experience something outside of another persons' control before you go offing yourself. Okay?" I'd stared at him stunned, feeling a will to live I hadn't felt in years. And as my eyes started to drift close from blood loss, I felt myself for the first time in months.

"I've always wanted to ride a dragon." I managed to croak out before passing out. I'd woken up in the hospital, the deep slashes in my wrist bandaged. The boy that had saved my life looked like shit, but he grinned widely at me as my eyes slowly adjusted to the light of the hospital room. "Thank you." I said, for the first time in forever and a half.

"Yeah, sure thing. Now, you said you wanted to ride a dragon? Let's go find us a fucking dragon." I laughed, and he blushed. "I'm Natsu Dragneel, by the way. I was a new student, by my dad Igneel let's me decide how my life goes, only interfering with that when he tries to guide me down the path or light, so I thought I'd give you that chance as well. You're name's Lucy Heartfilia? I can see why you felt like a puppet. Your dad is a major douche, Luce. Not gonna lie, it took everything in me not to punch his nose in when he slapped you and demanded that you get up. You must have the patience of a saint." I flinched.

"Yeah, dad of the year award goes to him, 10/10 would recommend." I said sardonically. He laughed loudly. I smiled as my eyes started to drift close, and Natsu brushed hair out of my face with a gentle touch, his hand was warm. I grabbed his hand with one of my own, right before letting blackness take over again.

A month later, I was at home, in the middle of a meeting to decide if I was to be some important douche's wife and bearer of his children. I shuddered at the thought. The man in question was twenty five years older that me, fat, greedy, ugly, a complete douche bag, and he seriously needed to brush his teeth. I could practically smell his breath from the couch opposite him. I also saw with my own eyes how he ate like a slob, his eyes kept straying from my face to my enormous rack, he had no sense of humor, and he seemed to think he was God's gift to the world, or some shit.

The house shook suddenly, the only signs being the crystals of the chandelier shaking gently and the tea cups from France rattling on the tray they sat on. There was a giant roar that came from outside, and I picked up my dress, running out of the room so I could see what was causing the ruckus. It was Natsu Dragneel, and he sat on the back of a real life dragon, that full blown grin on his face. He laughed at my stunned expression, but as the dragon blinked and leaned down to look at me, I curtsied. "Hey! You're a princess locked in a castle right? You want to get out of here and fly away on the back of a dragon?" Natsu called out, sliding down one wing, then holding a hand out for me to take or refuse as I saw fit.

I laughed. "Natsu, I don't think that's how fairy tales go." He shrugged.

"So what, Luce? I got a dragon, and the deal of a life time. Igneel here has agreed to fly you away from this shitty place, as long as you keep the existence of dragon's a secret." I looked back to see my dad staring at the dragon in shock. He glared at me, but I grinned. I took off the fancy shoes, lobbing one at my father, the other at the fat man that I wouldn't be marrying. I kept my jewelry on, so it could be pawned for money later, if needed. I hugged Natsu tightly.

"Forget the fat prince." I said, pulling back. "This princess doesn't want to be one anymore. Dragons were always more her thing anyways. Nothing is better than a dragon." Igneel huffed as if to say: 'That's right, and don't you forget it.' Together, Natsu and I climbed up onto Igneel's back, my father shouting threats, but the three, no four of us ignored him. I noticed that there was a blue haired boy with periwinkle eyes also sitting with us, he sat behind me, his arms wrapped tightly around my middle. He grinned at me, and I smiled back.

"You're going to love flying, Luchee. Flying is the best thing ever! It makes you feel like nothing else in the world exists except you, Igneel, the clouds, and the ground thousands of feet below. I'm Happy, by the way. Natsu's my big brother." I grinned bigger as we took off into the sky, Igneel flapping hard, the wind bending the trees, blowing a toupee of the fat prince's head, and my father fell on his ass. And then, we were off, and Happy was right. As the wind tore through my long blond hair, I knew that nothing in the world could compare to the joy of flying. I let out a scream of joy as Igneel dipped towards the ground, and Happy joined me. Natsu laughed at us, but I didn't care anymore. For the first time ever, I felt free.