A Fairy Tail Fan Fiction

Written by NewMusic098

Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

ROYAL ACADEMY

Summary: Lucy would never have dreamed of being a noble, given that she was just an average, teenage girl. But after winning the lottery things get a little too big for her to handle. Will she be able to get use to the life of a royal, or will she seek help from someone she wouldn't expect?

Chapter 6:

;- Friends! -;

==== -3- ====

"This is amazing!" Lucy exclaimed, her voice echoing throughout the quite halls of the school grounds. Once she heard her own echo, she blushed and covered her mouth in embarrassment as Mira giggled her girlish giggle.

"I'm sorry about that..." Lucy muttered, looking at the white-haired girl. The latter shook her head and smiled, making the blonde smile as well, turning back to get a better view of the school, the new home she will be living in for a year.

The floor was shimmering marble, and decorated with red carpeting with golden trimmings. The ceilings held a pair of chandeliers illuminating the whole floor in a soft, yellow-orange glow. There were ivory columns lining up the halls, embedded with gold linings and red gemstones. There was a giant staircase leading to the second floor with two separate wings. The ground floor, the first thing people see when they arrive, has an inviting atmosphere to it, and is actually more comfortable than what Lucy thought it would be. She thought that the mere presence of her inside the school would make her quake in her shoes, but she's surprisingly calm about the whole thing. A statue of the insignia of Fairy Royal Academy was in dead center. It was like a fountain but without the water. Most of all, the shimmering arcs around each entrance, almost entrancing Lucy as she looked at their golden glow. All of these were amazing, and the blonde couldn't believe that she was going to live there for an entire year. The two girls walked along the red carpet and made a left, where they happened upon another hallway. The walls along this hall were lined up with different framed portraits, each of which holding the image of the Headmasters of Fairy Royal Academy. The very first Headmaster was a kind-looking lady with light-gray hair reaching down her waist. Her beauty has not been sullied, even under the light of the lady nobles and princesses coming and going to the school. There was a reason why she was the very first Headmaster of the Academy, after all. The following framed portraits reveal lady after lady, each more beautiful than the last. Lucy was astounded to see such dazzling maidens headed a prestigious academy that trained the sons and daughters of royalty and saw to it that they were best-fitted to lead their country or city. Lucy was getting nervous just thinking about being put in the same situation as them. She doesn't know how to lead a cat to an alley, let alone lead an entire city by herself! The tension was once again getting to her, her palms clammy and sweaty from overthinking. The blonde took long, deep breaths to calm herself down, and eventually succeeding in it. Afterwards, she felt a light tap against her shoulder. Turning around, she was greeted by Mira's smiling, yet worried, face.

"Feeling nervous?" The white-haired woman asked. She reached her hand back and folded them neatly just above her stomach. Lucy nodded with a weak smile, her brown eyes finding the nervousness hard to hide.

"Yeah..." She replied. "I guess I'm just not used to this kind of pressure... Just thinking about what's going to happen if I fail is making me worried sick..."

"Don't think about those kinds of things now, Lucy." Mira said with a slight wave of her hand. The smile never left her face as she added, "No one is certain about the future, so why should you worry when things have yet to be determined?"

"Yeah..." Lucy responded, her smile widening. "Yeah, that's right! I shouldn't let myself down with all this negative thinking! I'm going to make sure that the decision I made is the right thing to do, and I won't let anyone down! Not the town, not Mom, not my little sister, and especially not me!" She raised her hand and clenched it into a fist as she said this, her determination rising back up. Mira was nodding to each word, happy to hear that the blonde held so much determination even though this was her first time, and she doesn't know the very basics of handling such a big responsibility.

"I'm glad you got your groove back, Lucy~" Mira chimed. "We'll be meeting the current Headmaster of Fairy Royal Academy, Headmaster Porlyusica. She'll see to it that you are properly welcomed in the Academy, so don't worry..."

"Got it..." The blonde replied. They continued walking in comfortable silence. She was not nervous anymore, and she was not going to let her worries get the best of her in this situation. Not anymore. The hall was not that long, and a few steps further, she saw a large pair of red doors with gold rings for doorknobs. The doors themselves were bolted with golden piercings, and more golden trimmings lined the edges of them. As they neared the entrance to the Headmaster's room, the doors opened, making them halt their movements. Out walked the Queen of Fiore herself, Queen Miranda Strauss. She was wearing a large light-purple gown with a long trail of cloth just behind her. Her slender arms were covered by the same colored gloves, and for a woman of her age, she has a wonderful figure. Her face looked younger than she seemed to be, but she is very beautiful nonetheless. Sapphire eyes shone brightly as she took quick, regal steps out the door, a blank expression on her face. Her long, white hair was adorned with a golden crown adorned with many small jewels on the sides, and a giant diamond in the middle made the queen shine more due to the lighting. Lucy didn't notice that and just continued to stare at the queen, her brown orbs fixated on her natural beauty. Mira, who was beside Lucy, showed a more neutral expression, just like the queen's. They were passed by Miranda, who stopped a few inches after passing them, turned their way, and looked at them carefully. Mira did a polite curtsy and greeted the queen with a smile.

"Good morning, Your Highness." She said her voice as elegant as ever. The queen smiled gently at the white-haired woman, and turned to Lucy, scanning her from top to bottom. For a split second, the queen frowned, but her smile was quickly put back into place and she extended her hands sideward.

"You must be Lucy Adams," Miranda stated, bringing her arms back to her and clasping her hands together. "As you may know, I am Queen Miranda Strauss, ruler of Fiore."

"Y-yes, Your Highness..." Lucy replied, stuttering a bit as the nerves took her again. "It's an honor to meet you in person, My Queen..." The queen looked pleased as Lucy bowed her head and made a polite curtsy, symbolizing that she knew at least how to greet someone of royal status.

"I hope that your time here in the Academy will be... fruitful." The queen said in her regal voice, pausing for a moment as she searched for the right word. "Well, I shall take my leave, ladies."

"Have a good day, Your Highness." Mira said, her smile unwavering. "I shall meet you back in the castle to submit my reports for today."

"See to it, please..." Miranda stated. "Lucy, please feel free to contact Mira from time to time. Who knows, you might learn something from her." The queen had a smile on her face as she practically implied that she was looking down at both of them, turning away and making her quick leave before Lucy could make any kind of rebuttal.

"That was rude..." Lucy whispered to herself. She recomposed her mood as she turned back to Mira. "She's really the queen, isn't she?"

"Why yes." Mira answered. "She is also my mother, but we prefer to keep our relationship on a professional level..."

"I see..." Lucy muttered. The white-haired woman smiled at her and gestured to the doors, saying that it was their time to enter through it. Lucy was really nervous still, but she had to push them down and try to act as calmly as possibly so she could get used to this kind of lifestyle.

The moment the two of them walked into the room, however, they were greeted with a pair of brooms travelling at high speed aimed for their faces. Lucy panicked and dropped to the floor to try and avoid getting hit by them, while Mira just calmly strode to the side and let the brooms pass outside.

"Get out of here, you stinky humans!"

==== -2- ====

Lucy picked herself up from the floor and dusted herself off; she was still very surprised at the form of greeting they received. The room inside was a lot different from the outside. While the walls and ceilings from the lobby and the halls outside were an inviting peach, the inside of the Headmaster's Office was pure gold. The entirety of the floor was covered with the red carpet similar to outside, but the walls and ceilings were glittering gold. It's as if they entered a new world. There was a small shelf by the end of the room across them filled with old and new books to the brim. A single, red sofa and a glass, round coffee table were beside it, a giant oval window on the other side and in the center was a large wooden table painted white, the golden nameplate of the Headmaster printed and put on the center of the table. An old-looking woman with pink hair tied in a tight bun wearing a grumpy expression was sitting on the red office chair on the table, her slanted eyes directed towards the two of them.

"What do you two want?" She growled. "Mira, I thought I told you not to bring anyone here unless it's important! I hate the smell of humans in the morning..."

"A good morning to you as well, Porlyusica-san…" Mira greeted with her normal tone, ignoring the foul mood of the Headmaster. "Yes, I remember that, but this is an important matter, and it's almost noon..." She took Lucy by the hand and gently escorted her to the Headmaster. They stopped right in front of the table where Porlyusica got a better view of the both of them. As Porlyusica stared at them, examining the blonde, Lucy did the same to her, trying to get a better image of her. She was wearing a long, red cape reaching past her ankles with a golden pin with the Academy's symbol on it keeping it together. Underneath the cape was a white blouse with long cuffed sleeves, tucked neatly inside a

"Well?" Porlyusica pressed. "What is it? Who is she?"

"This is Lucy Adams," Mira answered. "She is the lucky winner of the lottery in the city of Magnolia and has received invitation from the Queen herself to attend the Academy of Royalty."

"Ah, so you're Lucy..." The pink-haired elder scanned the blonde from toe to head. "Her Majesty was just here not moments ago, asking if I had already received your presence here in the Academy. Surely, you must have come across her before coming here, correct?"

"T-that's right..." Lucy stuttered, trying to sound normal but failing to do so. Porlyusica gazed at her a second time, then huffed, turning her chair to the side.

"Send her back!" She said, not looking at them. Despite this, the weight of her words drew both Lucy and Mira back a bit. They must have heard her wrong, they thought.

"Come again, Porlyusica-san?" Mira asked.

"Send her back." She repeated, a little more slowly. "She's just a normal girl who got a lucky break by winning a lottery. I don't need anyone here if all that brought them to this place was the money in their pockets. The moment you leave this place, you learn discipline and earn respect in a royal scale of learning. I do not need some commoner who cannot handle the responsibilities..." She still hasn't looked at them, so she couldn't see Mira's shocked face and Lucy's miserable look. It was all true, everything that she said. If it weren't for her winning the lottery, then Mira would never have come to meet her. Then she would never have had the chance to enter this school. All of that was true, but she couldn't afford to give up now. She had to try and convince the Headmaster that letting her stay here wouldn't be a mistake.

"E-excuse me…!" The blonde yelped out, the nervousness clearly present in her voice. "Excuse me, Headmaster Porlyusica, but I simply cannot go back to Magnolia. I have already agreed to become their lady noble, and I promised myself that I will not let them down. I don't want to be thought of as the girl who got her lucky break because of money… No, I want to be recognized as a proper lady, deserving just as much respect as any lord or lady in this school!" She began to feel more confident as she continued speaking, but the Headmaster still wasn't turning around. Lucy bit her lip, thinking it was not working. She had to try harder it she was to convince her in order to stay.

"I...I will accept any and all responsibilities in becoming a lady noble, Headmaster Porlyusica. I'll prove to you that a commoner like me can stand side by side with the royal elites of this country. So please, I beg of you, let me stay here in the Royal Academy!" Lucy bowed deeply after saying those words, her eyes closed and her lips quivering. She seemed almost in the verge of tears, but she had to stay strong and stand by her words. Saying those kinds of things was certainly not on her list, but she had to stay there no matter what. She had to do it not only for her family, but for everyone else at Magnolia, as well.

A moment of silence has passed before she heard footsteps approaching her and Mira. The white-haired woman stayed silent the whole time, but she did not leave Lucy's side. The footsteps crept closer to her, and she could hear the heels clicking on the floor. The blonde prayed in her head that Porlyusica would listen to her plea and let her stay. The worst that could happen is that her family would be evicted due to her rough words earlier. She certainly hoped it wouldn't come to that. A few seconds later, the footsteps have stopped, and Lucy saw a pair of red flats just beneath her face. The moment she realized this, however, she was hit with a broom on the head. She yelped in surprise and shock at that and took a couple of steps back. Her eyes were wide in fear and dejection as she saw Porlyusica wearing the same grumpy expression as she did earlier.

"How dare you speak to me like that?!" Porlyusica growled. "Do you have any idea how angry you've made me, girl? Do you?!" Lucy began to cower under the angry Headmaster, her eyes on the verge of tears. She expected to be hit with the broom again, but she heard a sigh instead.

"You're the very first person to ever enter this room with the conviction of becoming a lady…" The pink-haired woman sighed. "Well, technically, you're the second one… The first one is Erza Scarlet."

"Ah yes… Erza…" Mira sighed blissfully. "We used to play in the castle gardens as children. Such wonderful memories~" She giggled, seeing Porlyusica's irritated expression.

"In any case, I'm forced to accept your pitiful speech for now, Lucy…" She said. "I had no intention of sending you back even if you wanted to since the queen wanted to personally see your progress…"

"Eh?" Lucy asked, now confused. "T-then—"

"Did you really think I'd send a girl stinking with confidence back out without learning anything?" The pink-haired Headmaster smirked. "No, no, dear… When you leave this school, I'd expect you to ditch that cowardly attitude of yours and be a leader worth respecting! But I have to warn you, if you can't keep up with training and fail any major exams, I'll have no choice but to expel you. Are we clear on that?" The blonde looked at Porlyusica for a moment, then tackled her into a giant hug. A giant grin was equally present on her face as tears began to freely fall down her cheeks.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you…!" She exclaimed. "Oh, you won't regret this, Porlyusica-san! I'll be sure to do my best, so I can come home to my family and everyone in the whole town could be proud of me!"

"Let go, girl! I can't breathe…!" The old woman gasped, still trying to sound irritated. In the end, she had to smile while being crushed by the power hug the blonde was giving her. On the side, she could see Mira nodding at her with a smile, and she responded with a huff and rolled her eyes. Porlyusica forced her way out of Lucy's grip and straightened her clothes out. She looked at the hopeful Lucy, her brown eyes very determined as she was.

"Your room is on the second floor to the west, three doors down." She said, turning her back on them again. The pink-haired Headmaster returned to her seat and faced the two once more, her elbows on the table and hands folded together. "Just to inform you, Lucy… You'll be having two other nobles-in-training with you in that room."

"What?" Lucy asked. "But I thought I'd get a room of my own…"

"Some of the previous rooms are being used as storage due to the increase in broken materials inside the school… Some misfit princes are having a hard time following the rules. So for now, we apologize for the inconvenience, but you'll have to share a room with total strangers…"

"No, no, it's no inconvenience…" Lucy replied, waving her hand. "I don't mind sharing rooms. Plus it'll be nice to make some friends on the first day so I wouldn't have to be so alone..." She giggled. "Of course there's Mira-san, but I wouldn't want to bother her always…"

"I'll be available any time, so long as I'm not giving reports, Lucy." Mira said with a smile on her face. "Call me any time when you're feeling lonely. I'll accompany you, and maybe we could go shopping for some new clothes~"

"Oh, yeah!" Lucy exclaimed. "Maybe once I settle in, we could go out and look at some shops so you could try more casual clothes on. What do you think, Mira-san?" When she asked this, Mira's eyes sparkled like the night sky, brimming with excitement.

"That would be perfect!" She said. "Oh, I should be going back to the castle to report to the Queen, but I'll see you later. Okay, Lucy?" Mira asked the blonde.

"Mm~" Lucy nodded. "Sounds great, I'll see you later!" Mira also nodded, looked at Porlyusica once more, did a curtsy, and then turned heel to leave the room. The blonde watched as the white-haired woman's figure slowly disappeared from her view, but the cough the pink-haired Headmaster faked caught her attention.

"Now Lucy," She began. "When you go to your room, be sure to be at your best behaviour… You'll be sharing rooms with princesses and ladies, and you'd want to make a good impression on them if they were to approve of your particular arrangement on becoming a lady."

"Huh?" Lucy asked. "What do you mean particular arrangement?"

"Everyone who has ever come into this school has royal blood within them," Porlyusica answered. "Everyone except you, Lucy… Your acceptance here was out of sheer good luck from the lottery, so it would be natural for some to suspect your coming here." At that, Lucy's eyes lowered a bit, her nervousness creeping back.

"I see…" She muttered. "I'll try my best, then…"

"Don't feel so down, child." Porlyusica sighed. "Only time can tell if you're really fit to becoming a lady noble or not… I'm the Headmaster, so I have to tell you all of these things, but I would also be supporting you from the side lines as an observer. So don't be so quick on giving up, okay?" For once since she saw her, Porlyusica formed a sincere smile on her face. Despite her old age, she was brimming with beauty and radiating an aura of royalty. Lucy guessed that she would also be beautiful if she was the Headmaster of Royal Academy, but she still looked stunning.

"Right!" Lucy said. "Thank you so much, Porlyusica-san!"

"It's my pleasure…" Porlyusica chuckled. Seeing her happy like that made Lucy feel a little ashamed at what she first thought of their Headmaster. She thought she was just a grumpy old hag that ran this school, but she should know better than to judge a book by its cover.

"Now get out of my office, you stinky human!" The pink-haired Headmaster suddenly roared. "I don't like humans! You stink! Get out, get out, get out…!" She was waving her broomstick as she approached Lucy. In a panic, Lucy yelped and ran out the door. While she watched the blonde's humorous display of panic, Porlyusica smiled as she slowly closed the door, wishing her a silent good luck.

==== -1- ====

Lucy panted as she reached the end of the hallway. She had only realized that there was supposed to be no running in the halls. Good thing Porlyusica didn't chase her all the way, so she guessed she didn't like people staying at her office for too long. As she walked back to the lobby, she spotted a guard carrying her luggage. He informed her that Mira asked him to carry all of her stuff to her room where she would lead. She forgot she also had three suitcases at the back of the limozine, and now this guard had to carry all of them to her room. Wanting to do something for him, she took one of the suitcases to at least lighten his load. The guard thanked her for her kindness and they proceeded up the stairs to the direction of her room. The room wasn't all to herself, and she'll be sharing with two other royalties, but she didn't mind. At least she could make some friends before the start of the school year.

As they passed the long hallway, she spotted a man looking no younger than her staring out the large window. He had rose-colored hair in spikes, wearing a red coat that hid a black polo. The coat reached all the way down his waist, partly covering his black pants. His tan skin was lightened by the light coming from the window, and she didn't realize she had stopped and stared at the man until the guard coughed to call her attention. Unfortunately, the guard also caught the attention of the person she was entranced with, and onyx eyes turned their direction.

"Oh, hi…" The rose-haired man calmly said. "I didn't see you there, sorry about that."

"N-no, it's okay…" Lucy muttered, slightly stuttering as she tried to hide the faintest blush on her cheeks. She didn't know if he was royalty or not, but his presence was making her feel giddy for some reason. Not only that, she found him rather really attractive, almost dreamy. Brown eyes steered carefully to look at the man's face again. He was wearing a wide grin that Lucy thought was cute, no matter how you slice it. They stared at each other for quite some time until an alarm sounded. It was coming from the man's watch, and he groaned at being informed of the time.

"Damn it…" He whispered. "Oh, I'm sorry… But I have to go now. It's nice meeting you, by the way. May I know your name?" He said with a smile. Lucy contemplated a little bit at telling him her name, but she was also curious about his name.

"My name is Lucy…" She said, blushing even further as his smile turned into a grin again. "M-may I know yours, as well?" At that, the man nodded, chuckling a little. He walked closer to the blonde and gently took her empty hand. Lucy's eyes widened in surprise when he knelt down, brought her hand closer to his lips, and gently kissed it. He stared up to her, those onyx eyes examining her blushing face.

"My name is Natsu." He said. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Lucy… I hope we can meet again sometime soon…" Wide eyes stared at Natsu as he stood up and grinned before walking past her. She stayed like that for a moment, still very much surprised at the encounter she had with the rose-haired man.

'Natsu, huh?' She asked herself, holding the hand he just kissed. It was only her first time here, but she could tell that she wouldn't forget their encounter. A few seconds later, she moved again towards the door to her room. She could just see it, and it was at the end of the hallway. There were other rooms further in, but hers was on the third room. The oak door was styled in old times, having a slightly serene feel to it. She opened the door and stepped inside with the guard. But she was greeted not by two royalties, but a giant book smacked against her face.

"Give it back!" A petite woman with blue hair exclaimed, reaching for something that a scarlet-haired woman was holding above her.

"I only want to read it, Levy…" The woman told the blue-haired woman. She chuckled when the other couldn't reach her precious book, but dropped it when she saw Lucy staring at them as she lied on the ground, her face red from having a book hit her face. The other two present in the room also stared at her for quite some time.

This awkwardness was going to be the start of their year here in Fairy Royal Academy.

T.B.C.

Okay, okay! I updated! Hurray for meeeee~ XD Hiya, did you miss this story? I sure did! I sure missed Fairy Tail! :3 It's a weekend today, so I have lots of free time before I get to be devoured by the treacherous life of college… =-= Ugh! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as I did! I do apologize for making you all this while, but I hope the wait was worth it! :)) Well, I'll be seeing you again SOON!

Ja Ne~