Keys, Magic, and Dragons… Oh My! Chapter 1: People

(Lucy's POV: Rational Thought Process)

Wet. Slimy. Disgusting. Basically everything I have ever hated. So why would I be in such a place one might ask, and I would reply that I was not exactly here by choice. In fact I had never agreed to anything faintly similar to what I am going through now. I am only so calm because I know I have a few of my best friends at beck and call, my keys. Well, they're not exactly keys, but my celestial spirit friends from the Celestial Realm. Pretty cool right? Pity I just realized that they're not there.

(Also Lucy's POV: Panicked Thought)

Where am I?! Where is this place?! Natsu, Erza, Gray, Happy? ANYBODY?! Oh my Mavis HELP ME! Ah! Wait, I have my keys. I could ask Virgo to go tell them where I am! Or maybe not. Checking my belt, I only find empty air where my keys usually live. Uh oh. This is not good. I need my keys! Some of my closest friends are celestial spirits! If I were to lose them it would be devastating! On my other side I check for the whip Virgo gave me. Not there either. Oh great, what am I to do NOW!? Ok Lucy, just calm down, no one is here, I don't have my weapons or keys, and I am in a swamp. I took in a deep shuddering breath and released it slowly.

(Lucy's POV: Now Almost Recovered)

Almost completely recovered I stood up from my previously sitting position, on a conveniently placed log no less! I looked up at the sky and saw the night sky, but no moon. The horizon in the East, from what she could see of it, was rapidly growing lighter. Taking another deep breath, I reluctantly plunged into the cold and sopping mud. Looking at the surrounding swamp, I see a small glint of metal in the thick slime. After five feet of trudging I knew this outfit was completely destroyed. Oh how I wished Virgo was here when I really needed her with a new outfit, or any of the other spirits for that matter. I finally reach the glint, only to find my key for Horologium. What a treasure! Now how will I find people? The thought struck me with an almost physical effect. I stopped and thought. Nothing came of it, so I sighed and trudged on. For about three, miserable might I add, days I finally found someone.

The first time I saw him I thought it was a trick of the light, and began to move on. Until he groaned that is. I came to a complete stop, looked both ways, and crossed over to the tree. The boy lay sprawled across several branches. Two huge white glittering wings spread out of his back, though they were horribly mangled, most likely from his fall. I clambered up the tree and gasped. This was the most beautiful boy I had ever seen. His hair was as white as bone and had eyes as red as blood, but currently clouded by agony. The thing that caught my attention most was his ears. They weren't round, but pointed! Well, that and the fact that his blood was silver. Oh, and did I forget to mention that his wounds were healing before my very eyes?

I scrambled to get closer towards him, drool falling out of my mouth. He groaned again and sat up, most of his grotesque wounds healed. His wings folded into his back fitting perfectly into the curve of his back. Looking up, he saw me looking at him, drool hanging out of my mouth, and raised one delicately curved eyebrow and said, "Well, my morning is ruined. I woke up expecting a wonderful beauty tending to my wounds, but what do I find? That the beauty I expected is actually a scary old hag. Does Fate really hate me that much?" By the time he was finished with his small tirade; my mouth had been stretched to its limit, almost touching the ground. Suddenly his hands were around my waist, and I gasped as the cool skin of his arms touched my stomach. I struggled for a second until I noticed a rustling and sliding sound behind me. Whispering past my nose, his wings unfurled to a wingspan of about twenty feet, though they looked cramped in the small space of the tree.

With two powerful strikes we were up in the air, skimming the tree tops. His powerful arms held me steady against the formidable wind. I looked behind me, looking at his wings they gleamed now in the sun, rather than the dim glow of the swamp below. Looking ahead again I saw a small village on a small patch of dry land. Slowing down, he hovered ten feet above the ground, me in his arms. He lowered us slowly, wings sweeping up a gale, and deposited us onto the nearest tree.

"Maybe I was wrong. You're a better flyer than I thought you'd be. I was afraid you would struggle and I would have to 'accidentally' drop you." Looking at him, I huffed and slithered down the tree, earning myself a few scrapes and bruises along the way. He followed and talked along the way "My name is Niro, and you are quite rude. Maybe I will call you Rude. Earlier when you were all but drooling on me I asked your name. What is it?" "Lucy." "Oh very nice I like that name. Pity it suites you so poorly."

At that I stopped walking, turned to him, and LUCY KICKED HIM IN THE BALLS! With him writhing on the ground I told him "You may insult me all you like, but you will NOT insult the name my mother gave me. Wretched bastards like you don't deserve such a pretty face." Looking at the small figure on the ground, I then realized something was wrong. I knelt beside him, finding it wasn't a him but a her! What had happened to Niro? The strange girl sat up and blinked against the dim sunlight. Her sapphire eyes almost seemed to look inside of me, not at me. The girl smiled and stood, offering a helping hand to me. I took it and she helped to haul me up out of the sticky mud. The girl's hair had changed from Silver to Silver-Tinted Blue in the sunlight. Still smiling, the girl said to me "Hello. My name is Nira Dracoria. I'm Niro's sister."