I'm back with another chapter!

Chapter 36: Old Acquaintances

Fairy Tail's Hotel

After settling Wendy into one of the beds so she could rest, Natsu rejoined the rest of the Guild downstairs. "Where does that put us for tomorrow?" He asked hoping to get the discussion going as soon as possible. A few eyes turned to him, but no one offered any words to answer him.

Finally, with a sigh, Master Makarov spoke up. "After Wendy and Laxus managed to take Fourth place while Gajeel and Bickslow took First place, we are lucky to be where we are in the standings. That isn't to say that things will get easy from here on out because from the looks of things, everyone is saving at least one of their members for a specific event." He gestured offhandedly at the sheet of paper that was in front of him. "Tomorrow will be a one on one battle between two teams, with four battles overall."

"So who does that leave us fighting?" Erza asked folding her arms across her chest.

Makarov looked down at the paper and smirked to himself. "Well, we aren't getting off easy. With our B Team taking first, that leaves us against Blue Pegasus for the first round."

"So either Eve or Ren." Erza deduced. "Neither of which can be considered easy by themselves…"

Natsu stopped listening to his allies ramble on about some sort of plan or something like that. He fell forward and dropped his head to the table with a small thud. Seeing his obvious disinterest in the discussion, Mirajane scooted closer to him on the bench so that her left leg pressed up against his right leg. Unbeknownst to the others at the table, Mirajane initiated her plan to distract him by running her freshly shaven leg against his. Natsu couldn't help but groan excitedly.

A few heads turned to him, but Mirajane played it off nicely by running her fingers through his hair. She kept in the conversation however, throwing in her ideas and thoughts whenever she had a chance. Lucy, however, was sitting just to Natsu's left on the bench, and she knew exactly what was going on. Not that she would openly admit it, but from experience she could tell that these groans were entirely sexual in nature, not boredom. Aside from that, the rapid fire signals he was sending through their bond were a dead giveaway. Lucy opted to slip out of the conversation to assist her ivory-haired lover in tempting their mate.

Leaning close to his side she wrapped an arm around his back and playfully ran her fingertips over Mirajane's side to let her know she was on board. Mirajane glanced over at the blond and gave her a small seductive smile. Lucy could only watch as Mirajane leaned down and whisper something in his ear, and judging by the fact that he stopped breathing, he must have really liked what he heard.

Lucy chose that time to bring her other hand over to his leg, sensually slipping her hand closer to her destination. She inched forward, keeping her gaze on whoever was talking so she could continue her ministrations without any prying eyes.

Natsu kept his head on the table with his arms hanging by his sides uselessly. He refused to move. Any outward sign of what was going on would draw attention to them and his mates would have to stop in fear of being caught. He didn't want that, no he wanted them to take this as far as they could.

Meanwhile, Mirajane had stopped stroking his hair, forcing him to keep quiet. She trailed her hand up the inside of his right leg towards her common goal with Lucy. Both of their hands slipped agonizingly closer, but never touching his ever growing erection.

"Natsu, I know you're bored…" Erza said with a sigh. "But we need to get this done. Our team is ready for whatever Blue Pegasus can throw at us. What are you doing to ensure your team is ready for your own fight?"

Said Dragon Slayer lifted his head up slowly and leaned his elbows on the tabletop. "I don't see what you are worried about." He clenched his teeth to prevent himself from moaning at the feeling of both of his lovers continued to rile him up.

"We need to consider everything. Bacchus is a tough opponent in his own right. No matter what his team is capable of, he isn't one to be underestimated. Nobarly… I don't even know what to say about him. I can't say he is weak; he wouldn't be here representing his Guild if he was. At the same time, I know he can't be too strong because we haven't heard much about him." Erza explained while gesturing with one of her hands in the air. "If you go into battle expecting to win, you could be caught off guard and lose all the same."

Natsu scoffed at the idea. "You act like you expect us to lose. I went into my fight knowing I would win. How is this any different?"

"Natsu, that isn't what she meant." Gray said quickly. "With you, your win was a guarantee. You've changed over the years; you're stronger than you have ever been. There was no way that you could have lost."

The Dragon Slayer raised an eyebrow at that. "What happened to you thinking I was still weak for leaving like I did?"

"I hate to admit it…" Gray started with a sigh. "But you have gotten stronger, and as much as I want to say that you were lucky when you took on Erza, Gajeel, and I… I don't think I can think that way any longer…"

"Speak for yourself." Gajeel growled. "I know I'm stronger than this runt. He just caught me off guard when we fought."

Before Natsu could rise to the taunt, Erza slammed her fist down on the table. "This is exactly what I'm talking about. We all underestimated how much you had grown so when you tried something we weren't used to seeing, you easily took the win from us."

"I know that, I'm not stupid." Natsu grumbled. "I have been watching the games each year I was gone you know… I do have a plan for Bacchus… He needs to drink to attain his real power. While he isn't a slouch when it comes to fighting without it, with it he can be an entirely different force. Take away his source of power and he is as good as done."

Natsu gestured to Lucy with a nod of his head. "Lucy has particular abilities when it comes to fighting from distance. He can't win if he can't hit her. Not that I'm worried even if he could, she hasn't been sitting around while the rest of us have been training for this. She's too smart to fall for his tricks and…" Natsu froze when he felt Lucy slip a hand inside of his shorts, his whole body locking up for a moment. He glanced at her to see that she appreciated his words and that she knew the sincerity behind them.

Natsu smiled and gave her a small wink, earning him another particularly joyful squeeze. "Besides, there are a few tricks of our own that we have come up with. Lucy has her own technique for her spirits… and Mira here…" He cast a sadistic smile over at his ivory-haired mate. "Let's just say I pity the one that has to fight her."

All eyes looked between the three curiously. "Just how far ahead have you all planned for the Games?" Master Makarov finally asked speaking up.

Natsu cast a look over at Mirajane once again, but the woman shook her head. "Oh no, you dug your own hole here. Get yourself out of it."

His head drooped slightly. "You all remember Mirajane's Take-Over where she looked like a Dragon?" Everyone nodded. "Let's just say that we did a little training of our own with it and found out a few things that are particularly scary. You can't keep a living being inside of you without unforeseen circumstances."

"A-are you saying that the Dragon that she absorbed is… alive?" Gajeel asked excitedly. Mirajane nodded with a small smile, knowing what was coming next. "Then she should know where Metalicana went!"

Natsu, Mirajane, and Lucy were silent for a while. They had talked about what they would do when this time had come around and had talked with Wendy about what they would have to say when he asked. "It isn't a secret that all of the living dragons, other than Sekena, disappeared all those years ago." Natsu said in a low voice. "Aside from Weisslogia and Skiadrum who we know for a fact are dead by Sting and Rogue… Every Dragon in existence left us so that they could complete a dispute that was coming between them and their respective children. Sekena decided to stay behind not just because she didn't have a child to pass her abilities on to, but because she didn't agree with the king."

"I thought you said that Igneel was the king and that she claimed to be his mate." Gajeel asked confused.

Natsu nodded. "That is true. The king is decided through blood and ability, not through choice. One particular Dragon, the same one that attacked us on Tenroujima, claimed training humans was making it easy for all Dragons to die and it was ruining their kind. Igneel ordered all Dragons to leave their children so they could come to a consensus about how to proceed in the future."

"Then where did they go? And why haven't they come back yet? It is obvious that Acnologia decided not to continue with the discussion and came back on his own."

Natsu nodded sadly. "We don't know what they decided, but it is obvious with Acnologia here that they have come to a consensus. Not even Sekena knows what that is, but if we look at the facts that we have… It would look like they decided to leave us."

"Metalicana would never leave me!" Gajeel roared pushing himself back from the table. "He had never cared about what was right and wrong, he did what he wanted and that was all that mattered to him."

Mirajane and Lucy had stopped in their respective attempts to distract their mate and had instead taken up one of his hands in theirs to show him support. "I said that is what it looks like… but I believe something else is happening with them. I can't say for sure… but I think something is happening at wherever they disappeared to. We know they aren't in Fiore anymore, Sekena was able to tell us that much. I think they went back to their land and are stuck there until we can figure out how to get them back."

Gajeel growled darkly. "If Igneel is the so called King of Dragons, then what could possibly be keeping him from letting the rest of the Dragons return to us?"

Natsu shook his head. Whether it was because he didn't know, or didn't want to say, no one knew. Silently he stood up and leaned against the table, trying to gather his thoughts. Finally, after an uncomfortable silence Natsu shook his head again and stepped away from the table. "I don't know what's going on with them, but it's obvious something isn't right. We know few things about Dragons, and from what I can gather, Acnologia is not like the rest of them. He is behind it somehow."

Mirajane and Lucy shared a look with Mirajane nodding gently before following Natsu out the front door, running to catch up to him. When Gajeel, still angry from their talk, tried to follow him, Lucy grabbed his wrist to stop him. "I know how you feel right now, but you can't try to force answers out of him when he doesn't know them."

Gajeel turned his glare down to the blonde below him. "Then Sekena has to know something, I'll force it out of her."

Lucy let go of his wrist. "Natsu thinks Igneel is dead." Lucy said finally. "Either that or he is really going crazy and is just hearing voices."

"What are you talking about?" Gajeel asked worried about his own father.

"I can't answer that, only Natsu can. It doesn't matter how close he gets to us, he has a few secrets that he can't tell even us."

"That's stupid. I tell everything to Levy, there isn't a person alive that could understand me as much as her. He has the three of you, how stupid can he be if he doesn't think you can take whatever he has to think about…" Gajeel grumbled.

"I didn't say he hasn't tried to tell us, he just can't explain it to us so that we understand it." Lucy said sadly. "He isn't as easygoing as he used to be. After learning about what was going on with the Dragons he feels he shoulders their burdens from this side."

"If Igneel is the King and Natsu really is the... Prince of Dragons… then I can see why he would think he has to fix whatever is happening on this side…" Levy said after a few seconds of thinking. "But he should know he can rely on the rest of us."

Lucy nodded and looked out the door where Natsu and Mirajane had disappeared. "He does, as much as he can anyways. He knows that all of us have lost loved ones one way or another… but I don't think any of us have been the reason for their deaths."

"I don't follow you." Erza said, surprised by the implications of Lucy's claim. "How can Natsu be the reason for his families' death when he doesn't know his real parents, nor when he isn't he around Igneel?"

Lucy shook her head and looked over at Gajeel. "How did Sting get as strong as he is?"

"He killed his father. Everyone knows that. When a Dragon dies, their strength is passed down to…" His words died in his throat when he saw what she was trying to say. "Are you saying that…?" Lucy nodded and he dropped back down into his seat. "That would make…" Lucy nodded again. Gajeel let out a long breath and looked down at the table in front of him. "That's rough…"

"Now you understand why he hasn't come to any of us for help." Lucy stated quietly. "Give him some time… He'll come around and answer what questions you have, just give him time."

1 Hour Later with Natsu and Mirajane

"So when do you think we should head back?" Mirajane asked while skipping happily next to Natsu. She knew he wasn't too unhappy. He couldn't be after the hour that they had spent together. First, after she had caught up to him, they had walked together until he had pulled her into some restaurant for something to eat. Not that it should have surprised her. She knew that whenever he was upset he would get hungry and, though she would have preferred if he had talked to her about it, she knew that it was a way of coping.

Natsu let out a long breath of air and wrapped his arm around her waist to draw her against his side while they walked. "Is it wrong that I don't want to go back tonight?" He admitted hesitantly.

"Oh don't be that way; you know they only want to help. Besides, we can't leave Wendy and Lucy alone for long or they may grow suspicious of what we left to go do." She said teasingly, drawing a fingernail down his neck hard enough to leave a small trail of raised skin, but not hard enough to actually draw blood. "Not that I'd be complaining."

She smiled happily when Natsu started to chuckle, and gaining a devious idea, she pulled him over to a bench and pushed him down onto it. She sat down sideways on his lap so her dress wouldn't ride up her legs and wrapped one of her arms around his neck. She could feel his hunger for her through their marks and knew that the other two women would feel it too. Immediately, a sharp sense of jealousy struck through her nerves to indicate that they had indeed felt it. She however, didn't expect Natsu's lust to immediately die out and drop his forehead to her shoulder with a sigh.

"I hate this…" He whispered in regret. His feelings were so strong that Mirajane had trouble seeing the difference between his and her own. Hatred, regret, fear, and pain flared into their link.

Warning signals flashed through Mirajane's brain and suddenly Natsu had once again blocked them from his feelings. Though they were nearly across town, Mirajane could feel the presence of the other two women approaching as fast as they could. They were nowhere near as fast as Natsu, but they were fast enough in their own right.

"Do you ever regret this?" Natsu asked quietly, still not moving from the spot on her shoulder. "I can't give you what you want…" Mirajane opened her mouth to refute his claim but stopped when his arms circled around her and hugged her tightly. "Don't tell me it isn't true. You are good at hiding your feelings, but I've spent the past seven years learning how to differentiate between what they mean. You wish you could have me all to yourself."

Mirajane sighed and smiled, bringing up her other hand to thread it through his pink strands. Absently she admired how soft and smooth his hair was. "I told you when you gave me my chance to be with you. I'll take anything that you are able to give me, no matter how little it is. You don't understand, when you came back and told me that you would always love Lucy, I was ready to just sit back and watch you beat yourself up. I was ready to give you everything and receive nothing in return.

"But you were too stubborn to let it happen like that. You gave me everything, you are my everything." Mirajane said sweetly, no venom or hatred behind her words. "Not only did you give me your heart, but you made it so I have to other hearts to care for. Wendy, Lucy, and I… we knew what we were getting into when you asked us to be with you. Do I sometimes wish that I could have you all to myself? I won't lie, there are times that I can't look past it, but then I look at the whole picture. You try as hard as you can every day to protect us, you get stronger every day."

Natsu pulled back from her slightly and looked deep into her crystal blue eyes. "What about the time we spend together? I know what it looks like. I know what it looks like from the outside… This…" He gestured to the two of them and how they were sitting. "This is nearly the only thing we do besides train. I want you to know that it isn't the only thing I see you as, Mira."

Mirajane smiled and laughed quietly to herself. "I don't think you understand Natsu. We know that you need to pass your abilities on to your child. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can assure ourselves that you won't need another mate."

Natsu cocked his head to the side. "What is that supposed to mean? You make it sound like I'm actively searching for another woman to bare my children."

Mirajane giggled to herself. "That's what I'm talking about. I know where your heart lies. You don't want anyone else, you just want us. We all know that, so you can stop berating yourself for all of this. We don't like when you do. As much as we are yours, you are ours."

Natsu nodded slowly and gave her a small kiss before pulling her into a tight hug and laying his head on her shoulder again. "That being said, things still need to change."

"Is that why you are blocking your feelings from us?" Mirajane asked.

Natsu shook his head. "I don't want you to feel my regret, but no it isn't."

"Then why?"

Natsu smirked to himself. "Because it's the fastest way to get them here and away from the rest of the Guild."

"You're an ass you know that?" Wendy grumbled coming to a stop next to the two. Lucy slowed to a stop next to her, slightly out of breath. "If you wanted us away that bad, why didn't you take us with you in the first place?"

Natsu shrugged and leaned back against the bench, dropping one arm from around Mirajane's waist to hold it out to the women that had just shown up. "I didn't think that far ahead. When I left it was more to get away from everything than to get you three out of there." When neither of the two women moved any closer Natsu sighed and picked Mirajane up off his lap and set her on her feet before getting up himself. He quickly made his way over to Lucy first and put a hand up to her cheek. "I know the situation between us isn't ideal for the typical woman, but I want you all to know that I will work harder to give you what you deserve. That means something needs to change between us."

Lucy stepped into Natsu's grasp and pushed her lips into his gently. "And what are those changes supposed to be?" She asked once their kiss broke.

Natsu smirked and kissed her again briefly. "We need to spend more time one on one." He admitted. "I don't mean as a group, but one of you three and me. I need to prove to each of you that you are irreplaceable in my heart."

"And how do you expect to be able to do that?" Wendy asked as Lucy and Natsu broke out of their hug, watching as he stepped up closer to her.

"Oh I have a few plans on how to do that." He said with a wink, earning him a blush from the younger Dragon Slayer. It made his heart smile that even after their mating that she hadn't changed all that much. She was still hesitant on showing her feelings in front of others, especially of ones that didn't know of her combined relationship with her three mates. He bent down and gave her a kiss as well, but wasn't expecting it when she kissed him back heatedly, forcing her tongue into his mouth.

Just as he was getting into the kiss, Wendy pulled back and grinned at him. "That's all you get for worrying us like that."

Natsu nodded with a sigh and released his mental block on their link. His fear was still there, but gone were his hatred, pain, and regret. "First off, you have all been asking me how I am able to block you out like that. It's easy… What holds our bond?"

"Our love for one another?" Lucy asked.

Wendy shook her head. "Our Dragon Slayer magic. Without it, we would just be another couple."

Natsu nodded. "Specifically, Wendy and I will be able to block out our feelings from the link. Not that you won't be able to, but we can do it easily. Repress the magic within you going to the mark and everything outgoing stops. I say it will be easier for Wendy and I because we can concentrate on expelling magic out of a certain part of our bodies."

Wendy sighed and shook her head. "Now how did I not expect something as simple as that to be how it's done…?" In an instant her feelings were gone as well, her mating mark dimming slightly.

"How are we supposed to do it then?" Mirajane asked somewhat irritated. "Lucy and I aren't used to commanding our powers like you are."

"Think of it like repressing your darkness magic and focus on drawing all power out of the mark on your neck." Wendy answered letting her hold on the link go so that her feelings would go back to the others.

Natsu turned to Lucy. "How do you force your spirits back into their realm?"

"I take all of my magic out of the key and it forces their gate to close and they dissipate back to their own realm…" Lucy said, linking the two ideas together. "Oh, I see…"

Together, almost at the exact same time, both Lucy and Mirajane blocked the others from their links. The two looked at one another and smiled before letting it go once again. "This will come in handy when I don't want to be found."

Natsu cocked his head to the side. "You really think you can hide from me?" He smirked. "I don't need the mark to find you two, but you can't hide yourselves that well from the link. How did you think you found Mirajane and I?"

It was the women's time to look confused. "What is that supposed to mean? We found you because of Mirajane's link to us."

Natsu shook his head again. "I blocked hers out as well, are you telling me that you didn't realize it?"

Lucy and Wendy looked ashamed slightly. "Well after the influx of emotions and the sudden disappearance of them, we weren't thinking about who we were feeling and just followed what our hearts were telling us where to go."

"Now you realize that you can't hide yourselves from the link completely. You can block it out a little, but only to an extent."

"How do you know so much about mating marks? If you knew this much, why didn't you tell us earlier?" Lucy asked while crossing her arms.

"I've had seven years to lean everything about the mark. Sekena told me a bit of it, but for the most part I pieced it together myself." Natsu said with a shrug.

Fairy Tail's Hotel

After the sudden departure of Lucy and Wendy, the rest of the Guild had decided that they would just wait for everyone to come back before coming up with a plan for the future of the Games. Everyone had spread out to converse amongst themselves while they waited. Master Makarov, Gildarts, and Cana were the closest to the doors while competing once again in a drinking contest. A few members decided to surround them and cheer them on to pass the time a little faster.

Clank!

Three mugs of beer slammed down in front of each of the contestants. Makarov snatched his up and started to swallow it down while Gildarts and Cana snatched one up in each hand, tilted their heads back, and just let the liquid rush down their throats. In a matter of seconds the two slammed their first mug down and started to down their second one while snatching the third one up in their free hand without even looking. The cheering erupted even louder when, seeing that he was falling behind rapidly, Master Makarov called upon his Titan Magic and increased the size of his body, draining two of the mugs in a single swallow.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Cana called out while she took a breath of air. Gildarts, deciding that if they were going to play dirty then he was going to as well, grabbed ahold of his Guild Master's chair with his free hand and channeled magic into the legs of his chair. Makarov fell out of his chair and spilled alcohol over his face and chest with a cry of surprise.

"Sorry, Master but you're disqualified for spilling…" Levy whispered quietly much to Makarov's displeasure. Standing up, Makarov let his magic die out and took up another seat near the competing father and daughter. He called out for another drink knowing that if he couldn't be in the contest then he could at least enjoy the alcohol. That didn't stop him from cheering the two remaining contestants on though.

The contest continued for a little while, most of the guild having surrounded the competing father and daughter. They were so enticed by the contest that they didn't notice a small contingent of soldiers enter the front door. They only stopped cheering and making bets when one of the soldiers made their way over to the group of mages and cleared his throat.

Everyone instantly stopped what they were doing and turned to the newcomers. "What can we do for you gentleman?" Master Makarov asked, his voice commanding respect despite the obvious blush on his cheeks from the sheer amount of alcohol he had consumed.

"Natsu Dragneel. Where is he?" The soldier asked roughly.

In a flash of movement, everyone stood as one and turned on the soldiers. With Natsu's brief brush of imprisonment, none of them were going to take any chances with him being taken away again. "Who wants to know?" Erza growled ex-quipping one of her swords into existence.

The soldier narrowed his eyes and the small contingent reached for their weapons. "Learn who you are speaking to commoner. You will give respect to your betters. I won't ask again, where is Natsu Dragneel?"

Makarov stepped away from his Mages and started to increase his size with his Titan Magic again. "Who are you to talk down to my children? I do not recognize your uniforms as those of Rune Knights. Now I will not ask again, what do you want from Natsu?"

The soldier took a step back in fear of the approaching Titan, unable to find words. In a rush of movement a woman pushed her way through the soldiers and stepped up next to the one that had been demanding for Natsu. "Please, forgive this man's words. He is not used to talking to people of this kingdom."

Seeing the woman come to the soldiers rescue, Makarov let his magic dissipate and shrunk down to his normal size. He took a moment to eye the woman up and down, liking what he saw. "That still does not explain what you all wish from one of my Mages."

The woman squeaked and bowed her head in shame. "Forgive my rudeness. I am looking for Sir Natsu Dragneel so I can thank him for all that he has done for me and my country."

Casting a look over at the soldiers behind the woman, Makarov gestured for his Mages to lower their guard. "I don't know where he is right now, he left a while ago with his wives. Why don't you and your men come and sit down and have a drink. We can have a little chat while we wait for him to come back."

The woman nodded politely and followed Makarov over to a couple of unused bar stools with the soldiers taking up places around the doors, a few of them refusing to remove their hands from their weapons in case the Mages decided to try anything. "Please forgive our rude welcome, but you understand that we worry about what people want with our Mages, especially when we do not know who they are."

The woman bowed her head slightly and nodded. "No, there is nothing to forgive, I understand your worries. Allow me to introduce myself; I am Cecilia Rantel, Princess of the Country of Seven."

Makarov's jaw dropped openly and he stared openly at the Princess in front of him. "Forgive me Princess, I did not recognize you. It has been several years since I saw you or your father. I must ask you though, what do you mean by saying you need to thank Natsu for all that he has done for your country?" Cecilia flashed a genuine smile and proceeded to explain her relationship with the Dragon Slayer while they waited for Natsu and the others to return.

Two Hours Later

Wendy couldn't help but giggle from her place on Natsu's back. The four of them had decided that it would be good to go out and have a few drinks amongst themselves to ease themselves a little from their tense discussion. They hadn't meant to get this drunk, but a combination of Wendy's lack of experience and the necessity of letting loose, Wendy and Lucy were now hanging off Natsu and Mirajane's backs while they trudged through the town towards their hotel.

"Natsuuuuu." Wendy whispered seductively from his back, wrapping her arms tighter around his neck. "When are we going to get back? I can't whait to get you aaaalllll alone and show you why you are mine."

Natsu sucked in a sharp breath through clenched teeth at the feeling of her lick up the side of his neck. "Wendy you're drunk." He whispered, not entirely trusting his voice any further than that.

Wendy merely giggled and continued to whisper sexual promises to her mate. Natsu, in his tipsy state, had the decency to blush despite the fact the fact that no one around them could hear her whispered promises. Mirajane could only giggle perversely to herself at the mixed look of excitement and embarrassment on Natsu's cheeks. She could openly admit that many of Wendy's drunken ramblings were directly from her own dark fantasies that, after realizing that she was going to have to share Natsu with others, were now possible with multiple lovers.

Their brief discussion was cut short when they were blocked from entering their hotel by a large group of soldiers. "What business do you have here?" Natsu noticed that this shoulder had golden lining around the edges of his crimson suit of armor.

Not wanting to start a fight with someone with two obviously drunk women and a group of soldiers, Natsu sighed. "We are staying here. I might ask you what business you have with us."

The soldier's eyes narrowed on the four Mages. "You four are from Fairy Tail? I find it had to believe they would stoop so low as to employ drunks."

Natsu sighed again and dropped his head. He didn't want to force his way past the soldier, but he wasn't giving him much choice. Wendy tightened her arms around his neck, knowing what he was thinking, but Mirajane beat him to it and deposited Lucy into his arms so that he now held Wendy on his back and Lucy in his arms.

"Look here. Either you are going to let us pass or I'm going to make you let us pass." Mirajane growled.

The soldier smirked and brought his axe around from behind his back. "I'd like to see what a wh-"

He never finished his threat. Mirajane had stepped forward and kicked him in the chest, effectively launching him through the closed doors of their hotel. The other three guards immediately brought their weapons around on her. They released a battle cry and made a move to launch themselves forward, but they weren't prepared to take on a Mage of Mirajane's caliber. Three soldiers followed their leader through the open doorway.

Natsu carried the two drunken women and followed Mirajane into the hotel while she stomped forward, glaring daggers at those that she had kicked inside.

"Care to explain why these soldiers were preventing us from entering?" Mirajane growled at those that were standing inside the doors.

"About time you four decided to show up, we have been waiting on you." Master Makarov said dismissing her question with a wave of his hand. "Natsu you have a guest."

Said Dragon Slayer perked up and stepped around Mirajane to see the woman sitting there next to his Guild Master. "Cecilia?" He whispered to himself, slightly confused. "Why are you here?"

Cecilia turned to smile over at him and gave a slight nod of her head. "It's good to see you again Natsu. How have you been these past few months?"

Natsu couldn't seem to summon any words to explain what had happened. It wasn't just that he was surprised to see her, but that combined with his tipsy demeanor, he had a hard time coming up with any words. Wendy however didn't have any trouble coming up with a response. "You're the one that Natshu told us about!" She exclaimed pointing an accusing finger. "Don't think you can take him for yourself! He'sh mine!"

Natsu chuckled slightly and walked over to one of the open benches to sit Lucy down on it. "I'm sure she isn't interested in that Wendy. As I remember, she had plenty of suitors chasing her around in our travels."

Cecilia smiled and gave a small nod. "I don't mean to impose. I was in town and saw your team fighting in the Games. I asked the King where you were staying so I could come down here and personally thank you for all that you have done for me and my country."

"You keep saying that…" Wendy mumbled while refusing to let go of Natsu's neck in an attempt to keep him all to herself.

"She's the Princess of the Country of Seven." Natsu said turning his head to look at Wendy over his shoulder while the rest looked on in surprise. "But What I want to know is why you had to come here to thank me. You already paid me for my work."

Cecilia shook her head with a small smile. "After my father found out that it was you that was escorting me, he nearly had a heart attack. After we found out that you were given a second chance by your Magic Council, he thought it would be a good idea to keep our options open. Initially he did want me to try and… spread our influence by offering a political marriage between myself and 'The Vigilante'…"

Natsu chuckled to himself, but his mates weren't feeling too excited about the idea of their mate being sold off in a political marriage to increase affairs between the two kingdoms. "You should get that idea out of your head as soon as possible." Lucy glared at the Princess. Politics be damned, Natsu was her husband, and mate, and he wouldn't be given away if she had anything to say about it.

Cecilia smiled and gave a curt nod. "You don't have anything to worry about Mrs. Heartfilia, or should I call you Mrs. Dragneel now? I merely came to do as I said, to thank Natsu here for helping me with what we have been working on for the past couple of years. He may not believe it, but after the months of him escorting me, he gave me the confidence to personally seek out Fiore's royalty to discuss possible trading routes. Thanks to the confidence he instilled in me, the economic growth of Seven has increased exponentially."

Natsu raised an eyebrow at that. "I gave you confidence by killing people?"

Cecilia sighed. "No, it was your determination to get stronger to save your loved one from something that they didn't have a choice of. And from what I can see, you not only made up for it, but you gave her something more to look forward to." The Princess gave a small perverted smile.

Natsu merely smiled, refusing to blush at her implications. Mirajane and Lucy stepped closer to Natsu while Wendy, still in her drunken state, kissed just below Natsu's ear, nibbling gently on his earlobe. "He already has more than he can handle." She said without looking at Cecilia.

Natsu sighed, seeing that they weren't going to let this go until he got them alone. "Well, I think that's going to have to be the end of my night. It was good seeing you again Cecilia, but maybe we should continue this discussion when some of us are a little less…" He let her fill it in herself, but Cecilia understood what he was talking about and nodded with a small smile.

"I'll talk to you after tomorrow's challenges. I hope you have a pleasant night. Do not worry either, I will make sure my soldiers understand the errors of their way. They will not disturb you again." Mirajane nodded happily at this while ushering her three lovers to the stairs, calling back behind them that they would see their Guild members in the morning.

Makarov turned to Gildarts with a perverted smile. "I don't know whether to pity the boy or be jealous…"

"I know what you mean… He's living the dream, but at the same time… I don't think he can keep up with those beauties. Maybe I should offer my services to them…"

SLAM!

Erza growled and stared down at the mess that was left of Gildarts after she had smashed him into the ground. "Stop your perverted thoughts about your own family! What they do is none of your business."

"Oh calm down Erza, you know you're only angry because you want to join them." Makarov said waving his hand and chuckling. It only took him a fraction of a second to realize what he had said. In a burst of speed that a man of his age wouldn't have been thought to possess, he was on the ground and running from the demonic redhead.

Well, expect the next chapter tomorrow, I already have most of it written up. I didn't want it to end here and I have more written, but I figured I had been away long enough from this story and you all deserved something…

Read and review please!