Second chapter! :D Meant to have it out a bit sooner but then laziness and procrastination got in the way... Anyways, it's out now so... enjoy!

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Lucy stood there, stunned. Words failed her for a short second, and then she found them. "My room!" she yelled, before her sat the Celestial King drinking a cup of tea and waving at her. In her room. "What is my room doing in the Celestial Spirit realm?" she yelled in utter confusion. ""How did it even get here!" she exasperated.

"Well don't just stand there, come in." The King called to her from his seat while waving her inside. Lucy felt a bit of agitation as she was invited into her own room. She knew standing in the door wouldn't get her any answers though, so she obeyed.

"It's a nice place you have here." The King remarked.

"How did you send it to the Spirit realm?" Lucy asked, taking a seat. She decided being annoyed wouldn't get her any answers, and figured she should be used to people breaking into her house. Natsu had done it often enough.

"Do not worry; your house is not in the Spirit realm."

"What? Then are we back home?" She asked, feeling herself getting a bit excited to be reunited with her teammates.

"No, we are indeed in the Celestial Spirit realm. This room has a spell on it that makes it capable of changing into whatever environment I want. I thought you might be more comfortable in a familiar setting, so I changed the room to make it look like your home. Go ahead and get yourself comfortable, this will be a long talk."

"Talk? I thought I was here for breakfast."

"Yes, but I have something important to discuss with you while you eat." Just then, almost as if on cue, Virgo walked in with a large covered platter that Lucy assumed was breakfast. "Princess, your Highness" Virgo said while nodding toward each as she said their name. She set the platter down on Lucy's table, and then took her leave. As she left another spirit, unfamiliar to Lucy, walked in and set down a plate and silverware beside the large platter. The spirit left and then returned with a pitcher of orange juice and a glass. She set that too, on the table. Finally, the spirit bowed toward the king. The King thanked her as she left.

Lucy got up to examine what had been left on her table. "They only left one plate..."

"That's okay. I won't be eating with you."

Lucy sighed, and then lifted the cover from the platter. Underneath was a stack of steaming pancakes that smelled heavenly to Lucy. She served herself, and got a glass of juice. She reseated herself and began eating as the King began to speak.

"I trust you were comfortable in the hospital suite and feel fully rested now."

Lucy remembered the chaotic morning for the first time since entering the room. "Ah, yes. Thank you for taking such good care of me." She replied. "But why am I in the Celestial Spirit realm in the first place, and how did I get this bruise?" She showed the King the large bruise on her rib cage.

The King seemed taken aback. "Don't you remember what happened?"

Lucy swallowed a sip of orange juice and blinked. "Remember what?"

Now the King sighed. "It seems I must start from the beginning. What is the last thing you do remember?"

"I remember… being in Mercurius. I think it was collapsing. I was really badly injured and oh! That must be where this bruise came from. Anyway, that's the last thing I remember." Lucy said.

"Well, I suppose it makes sense that you wouldn't remember events after that. You did fall unconscious. When you became unconscious, one of your guild mates, Natsu, came to rescue you from Mercurius. It was indeed collapsing. He saved you from the castle, and met up with a few other members from your guild who were out looking for you both. You were dying Lucy. They thought you had already passed away. It was then that I realized I needed to step in, so I sent your body away from them and to the Celestial Spirit realm. I let them know what was going on and let you recover in the hospital suite. You rested for a full day, and woke up today. I'm sure you know what happened once you woke up better than I do."

Lucy felt guilt for making her fellow guild members worry. Another thought came to her then: "A full day? That means it's been three months since I've been home! I have to get back now! They must've been so worried about me!" Lucy stood up abruptly. The empty plate that had been on her lap fell and smashed on the ground. The sound caused Lucy to jump. She looked at the smashed pieces of plate for a moment. "I'm sorry; I'll get something to clean it up." And she scurried off to find a broom to sweep up the mess. When she came back, the King hesitated, and then spoke.

"You… can't go back. Not yet anyway."

Lucy stopped cleaning the mess and looked at the King. "What do you mean I can't go back yet? I have to!"

"I can't let you leave just like that. You almost died before and that cannot happen. If I hadn't intervened you would be dead right now."

Lucy had now finished cleaning the mess. She looked at the King. "What do you mean I can't die?"

"I've already said too much. All you need to know is this: I cannot simply let you go. If you want to return home, you must face a trial. If you pass the trial, it will be enough to prove to me that you have gotten stronger, and that it is safe to let you leave."

Lucy was agitated now. She just wanted to return home so she could see her friends, to assure them that she was safe and that she was back for good. At the same time, she knew the trial was necessary. She knew she was weaker than all of her teammates, and maybe she held them back sometimes. If this trial that the Celestial King spoke of would make her stronger in some way, then she wanted to face it.

"All right then, where's this trial that I have to face? I'll do it and pass. I'll prove to you that I'm strong enough and return home." Lucy said with determination radiating off of her.

"Let me explain the trial to you first. If you still want to face it after, you can head off to face it at noon."

Lucy sat patiently and waited for the King to gather himself enough to continue explaining.

"There are… consequences to this trial Lucy. I need you to understand that. You want to head home as soon as possible, but if you fail this trial, I will not allow you to leave until you have proved yourself. Also, I will not allow you to retry the trial immediately. If you fail, I will penalize you for one week. That time will be spent training you to become stronger."

"One week! That's almost two years back home! There's no way I can wait that long!" Lucy exclaimed. The determination that had once radiated off of Lucy now wavered. If she messed up, it would be almost two years' worth of time that would have passed on earth.

"Alternatively, you can wait a day or two, surely a more reasonable amount of time, and spend that in training and face the trial in a day or two."

Lucy gave it a moment's thought. "No, I still want to face it today." She said stubbornly.

"Wait, before you decide, let me explain the trial to you. The basic objective of it is to obtain a scale off of the water snake Hydra. It sounds simple, but it is not so, for Hydra is a surly spirit who dislikes to be bothered, especially if he is sleeping. He will most likely attack you to scare you off, but you cannot be intimidated. You must defeat him in a fight and obtain the scale. Then you must travel all the way back here. If you cannot make it back, or if you lose in your battle against Hydra, you will fail the trial. Also, since this is a battle to prove your strength, you will not be allowed to use any of your spirits for any kind of help. You will be allowed to use your fleuve d'étoiles though. Now, what is your answer?"

Lucy thought about it for a minute. She was deeply intimidated by the thought of not being able to call on her spirits. A full week was a long time to have to wait to go home. She thought about it for a moment, and decided it would be best if she waited a day.

Before she could tell the Celestial Spirit King her answer, she thought about her guild. She saw everyone from Fairy Tail in her mind. Natsu flashed before her eyes. C'mon Lucy! I know you can do it! She heard him say to her in her head. Smiling pictures of Happy, Gray, Erza and Wendy quickly followed. She knew what they would tell her. Fairy Tail was not a guild to wait around twiddling their thumbs. They were a guild of action.

"I still want to face the trial today. I know I can beat it, because I am a Fairy Tail mage!" Lucy said with conviction.

The King smiled. "Very good. You have passed the first portion of your trial."

Lucy almost fell over as the King said this. "Eh! What do you mean I passed the first portion of the trial?"

"The first portion was a verbal test to see your conviction to your guild and friends, and how much you believed in your own strength. By still wanting to attempt the trial, you have shown that you have grown spiritually. Think of the girl you were when you first joined you guild. Do you think she would have answered me so surely?"

Lucy thought about it and realized the truth in the king's words. She grinned; proud of the person Fairy Tail had turned her into. "I will pass this trial. I'm not doing it just for me; I'm doing it for all my friends who are waiting patiently for me return. They are my strength. They are the reason I am who I am today."

"Very well. Let us finish discussing the trial, and you may head off to face it at noon."

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End of the second chapter! Hope you enjoyed reading it, I'll try to have the next chapter out as soon as possible.