Chapter Text
Natsu slumped his shoulders; his battle stance vanished completely. His expression shifted to one of utter concern as he realized the danger wasn’t an external enemy. He hurried over to his daughter, knelt on the carpet, and wrapped his big arms around her, holding her close to his body to share all his warmth with her.
“Hey, little dragon,” Natsu said softly, stroking her hair. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“Dad…” Nasha sobbed, clinging to his neck and seeking comfort. “Why do they write mean things about dragons?”
“Mean things about dragons?” the Dragon Slayer exclaimed, confused.
As he looked around, he spotted the storybook lying on the floor. When he picked it up, the first thing he saw was the illustration of the defeated dragon as the princess walked away with her supposed savior. Natsu clenched his teeth, irritated by that ridiculous version of events. It was true that evil dragons existed, but it wasn’t fair that in every story they were portrayed as beings destined to die at the hands of a knight. Especially if that unfair ending was what had broken his little girl’s heart.
“I don’t understand, dad” the little girl continued. “The knight is the good guy, and he kills the dragon. He says the dragon is a monster that doesn’t deserve to live, and that’s a lie. Dragons aren’t bad. You’re a dragon. Grandpa Igneel was a dragon. You saved mom, you brought her to the guild, you take care of all of us...”
Nasha looked at him with such anguish that it broke Natsu’s heart in two. He wiped a couple of tears from her face and brushed aside a few stray strands of hair so he could look at her:
“Don’t worry about that story. I’m sure some silly guy wrote it. That doesn’t…”
“What about mom?!” the girl exploded with such force that it startled the Dragon Slayer a little. “If a knight comes and does that to you, Mom’s going to have that bad dream again. I don’t like it when dragons die just because the book says so.”
The mention of Lucy’s nightmare made Natsu adopt a serious expression. He remembered how long it had taken her to wake up and how hard it had been to calm her down at the time. Although she had said she was fine and then spent most of the day writing a new story, he’d been by her side long enough to realize that the whole incident had stirred up complicated emotions in her.
Natsu let out a long sigh, exhaling a wisp of smoke through his lips, and slowly broke the embrace; however, he kept his hands firmly on Nasha’s shoulders and forced her to look him straight in the eyes.
“Listen to me carefully, Nasha,” Natsu said “Those stories are written by people who are afraid of things they can’t control, like dragons.”
“But you defeated a dragon,” Nasha interjected, skeptical of her dad’s words. “People should already know that dragons are awesome!”
“That’s true, it’s just not that easy!”
“And why isn’t it?”
“Because it isn’t,” Natsu declared with a huge smile, thanks to which his confidence returned to his face completely. “Since some people are so afraid of what they don’t understand, the first thing they do is call what they fear a ‘monster.’ Only when they face it will they see what it’s really like.”
Nasha’s expression grew even more confused, and her dad couldn’t help but laugh. Soon, he raised his right fist, and fire burst from his fingers, lighting up the entire library. To Natsu’s delight, his daughter stared intently at his hand, fascinated by the heat of the flame.
“Grandpa Igneel taught me everything I know about my magic and dragons,” Natsu continued, his eyes shining with pride.
“That’s why Grandpa Igneel is the best!” Nasha interrupted enthusiastically. “I’m sure he’d burn those silly people who hate dragons.”
“No.”
“Huh?”
“Your grandfather told me that a dragon’s true power isn’t meant to destroy things or spread terror. A dragon’s true power is used to protect its friends and family,” Natsu emphasized as he put out the fire and lifted his daughter into his arms. “That’s why you shouldn’t worry about what a story says, Nasha.”
Nasha looked at him suspiciously, her brow furrowed, an expression that reminded Natsu of his wife; because of this, he knew his little girl wasn’t yet convinced by his words. Inside, he sighed, finally realizing what Igneel had had to deal with on a much larger scale.
“But what about mom?!” Nasha protested. “You saved her in Hargeon and brought her to Fairy Tail. No knight in armor did that a dragon did!”
“When I found your mom in Hargeon, she wasn’t sitting around waiting for some boring prince to lock her up in a castle,” Natsu assured her “She wanted to be free and have adventures. It was just a coincidence that a dragon like me brought her here.”
“So you’re not a dragon who saved his princess?”
“I am, but with one difference: she saved me, too. We saved each other,” declared the Dragon Slayer. “In Fairy Tail, we carve out our own destinies with our own fists. No one dictates the rules to us, and nothing will change who we are.”
Slowly, Natsu watched as the mistrust on Nasha’s face faded, giving way to a look full of emotion. It was impossible to feel lost when you were standing beside the dragon who had defied the entire world for the sake of the people he loved.
“Are you really never going to disappear?” Nasha asked.
“Are you crazy?!” Natsu blurted out with a loud “That’s impossible. Besides, I’ve got the strongest Celestial Mage on my side, and I’ve got you watching my back. Who on earth could beat us?”
With a nimble movement, he grabbed Nasha by the waist and lifted her into the air to sit her on his shoulders; at that moment, the little girl let out a hearty laugh at feeling so tall.
“If an ugly knight comes, I’ll bite and burn him too!” exclaimed the little girl, fully regaining the spark she’d inherited from her dad.
“That’s the spirit!” Natsu celebrated proudly, patting her on the legs. “That’s the true spirit of a Fairy Tail dragoness!”
Nasha finally smiled from ear to ear, nodding with renewed energy. Natsu couldn’t have been happier with that outcome; it was time to head home and meet Lucy for dinner.
“Although…” Nasha exclaimed “I didn’t find a book to give mom as a gift.”
“Forget that lousy book,” Natsu told her as they strode down the stairs. “If you really want to give mom a great story for her birthday, why don’t you write it yourself? A story that’s truly real.”
“And what do you think she’ll like?”
“Of course! Grab some paper and write about a fire dragon, a princess who summons stars, and their daughter, who’s going to be the strongest mage in the whole guild. I promise she’ll love it a thousand times more than anything else!”
“You’re right, I’m fired up!”
“Me too!”
Nasha laughed and hugged her dad, resting her chin on his tousled pink hair. Meanwhile, Natsu started complaining that the conversation had made him hungry and that they needed to cook something huge before Lucy returned from her own mission.
The trip home was peaceful, and it stayed that way while Nasha worked on her story alongside Happy, who was offended at not having been included as the magnificent flying cat. However, when she happened to lock eyes with her dad, she said:
“Thanks for telling me the truth.”
“Huh?” said Natsu, confused by her thanks. “The truth about what?”
But Nasha didn’t answer him and kept working on her story, focusing on the most important: the dragons didn’t actually die at the end of the story. They actually won and stayed forever to protect the people they loved just like their princesses.