Trapped in The Labyrinth

Chapter One: A Harmless Job Gone Wrong!

Chapter One: A Harmless Job Gone Wrong!

"Lucy! Would ya hurry up already?" Natsu Dragneel yelled to Lucy Heartfilia's apartment window. They were supposedly going on a job, but with Lucy taking so long, they'd never make it to the client on time!

"Okay, okay! I'm almost ready!" Lucy yelled back out the window. Before she could even put her skirt or shirt on, Natsu jumped onto her window sill.

"Hey! Lucy! Are you-" Natsu started.

"KYAAAAA! Natsu get out!" Lucy shrieked, blushing.

"Oh... Sorry! I-I didn't know..." Natsu mumbled as he jumped to the sidewalk.

"Natsu! Is Lucy ready?" asked Happy.

"S-She's almost ready," Natsu said, recalling once again how he loved her sweet vanilla and cherry blossom scent, which brought out a light magenta on his tan cheeks.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Happy rolled his tongue and said, "You liiiiiike her!" Natsu's face darkened from a light magenta to a crimson red.

"N-No I don't! Lucy's just my friend, my nakama," Natsu said, sounding as if he were trying to reassure himself rather than the furry blue Exceed.

"I'm ready!" said Lucy, who crept up behind Natsu and heard everything he said. So what if he only thinks of me as his nakama? Lucy thought. She tried to hide her disappointment by changing the subject. If it was one thing she knew, it was that the pink-haired Dragonslayer would sense her disappointment, as if he could smell it radiating off of her. "So where does this client live?" Lucy said quickly.

Natsu eyed her for a moment, and then replied, "The request paper said that the client lived in a town called Kota. Happy, ever heard of that place?" he asked his companion.

"Nope!" the hyperactive blue cat responded. "Doesn't ring any bells! Lucy, how about you?" he inquired.

"Kota... I think I've heard of that place..." Lucy trailed off, trying to remember. It almost came to her, but she realized what time it was. If they didn't leave now, they would be late! "Come on, or we'll miss the train!"

"Blergh.... Not a train..." Natsu moaned as the motion sickness overtook him before he set foot on the transportation.

"Never again am I riding a train!" Natsu grumbled to the sky.

"You say that every time, Natsu," Happy replied to his best friend.

"At least we made it to the town before dark," Lucy said. "Let's find a place to sleep, and then meet our client." After setting their things down at the inn, the team went to the client's address. The name of their client was Aleris. Aleris was a magic herbalist, according to the request paper.

When Natsu, Lucy, and Happy arrived at Aleris's house, they found it overrun with plants of all sorts. The yard was overgrown and looked like no one had cared for it in years. Vines were creeping up the side of the dusty red brick building. Some of the windows were blown out, as if someone had smashed them.

"Lucy, are you sure that this is the place?" Natsu questioned his blonde pal.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Lucy retorted back. "This is the only house on this block with that address..."

The door of the house suddenly opened, and Team Natsu entered cautiously, unsure if it was a trap. Surprisingly, the inside of the house was the total opposite of the outside. Everything was clean and orderly kept, from the chairs and tables to the silverware.

Natsu noticed the faint sound of singing coming from one room, and they all decided to follow it. The singing led them to a room with rare and common plants strewn about and big glass windows that let in the last of the sunset's golden rays. Sitting at a wicker table with a tray of tea and two chairs across from her was a woman with long, orange hair, piercing, emerald green eyes, and soft, tan skin. The woman continued singing softly, and the plants seemed to relax at her voice. Lucy assumed that this was Aleris, the magic herbalist.

"So you finally come, Fairy Tail mages," Aleris said in a soft tone. "Sit, and have some tea with me."

"Yes, we're here for the job you posted," Lucy replied as she sat down. Natsu followed suit, and sat down also. Happy sat down on the table and began eating some fish.

"I hope it does not prove difficult. All I want is the rare Anamosa flower," Aleris quietly requested. "But the twist is that it only grows in the desert, and is very small." She stopped talking and fished out a folded piece of paper. She handed it to Lucy and said, "Here is the picture and last location of the flower."

"If we find it, you'll pay the amount posted of the request paper, right?" Lucy questioned, thinking only of her rent.

"Of course I'll pay the amount," Aleris responded in a whispered tone.

"Yes! I can pay my rent!" Lucy said gleefully. "Natsu! Happy! Let's go! We have a big day ahead of us!" Just as they finished their eighth cup of tea, Lucy grabbed both of them by the collar and dragged them out of Aleris's house.

As soon as Aleris heard her door close, she chuckled to herself and said, "A big day, indeed."

"Luuucy! We've been looking in the same area for hours! I'm hungry!" Natsu whined. From the beginning of the day, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy had been searching for the Anamosa flower, but had not made any progress in finding it. Happy got tired of searching, so he decided to rest on Natsu's head.

"Don't give up now! I need that money for rent!" Lucy wailed. She was already beginning to lose hope, too.

Natsu had been silent for too long, so she turned around to see what was wrong. It was then that she realized he was gone. She didn't realize that she had walked away from him, nor did she realize that someone had put a magical barrier that blocked sound and touch around her.

After realizing that Natsu was gone, she felt afraid, and began to walk around quickly, but it was hastily replaced with anger, disappointment, and betrayal. She thought Natsu had left her to find something to eat, when he had actually been trying to get her attention from a distance.

"The nerve of that guy! He left me out here because he's hungry!" Lucy seethed. She stopped walking abruptly and began to think about him. She thought about the way his lips curled when giving his signature smile, the way his eyes would light up when he saw her, how he always seemed to be there to protect her (even though she didn't always need it), how he always warmed her up at night... Wait, what? Lucy thought.

All these things made her cheeks flush, and she immediately told herself to stop. I don't like him that way! She told herself.

"Lucy!" Natsu yelled at a distance. All at once Lucy turned to face him, the sand around her feet began to swirl, and Lucy started to sink rapidly. Lucy's chocolate brown eyes widened in fear, as did Natsu's onyx eyes. The sand around Lucy formed a vortex, and obscured her from Natsu's view.

"Natsu! I see her!" Happy yelled from the sky. But the fire Dragonslayer didn't need his sight. He immediately ran to Lucy's location using his sense of smell. When he reached her, all that was left was her head and an outstretched arm.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried before her head disappeared under the yellow sand.

"Lucy! Hold on!" Natsu screamed while he dived for her rapidly sinking hand. He barely touched her fingertips as they disappeared under the hot sand.

"Lucy!" Natsu roared as he stared at the spot his blonde companion had been moments ago.