Natsu's senses were on high alert; he knew as soon as another person stepped into their tunnel. His fires blazed brighter with barely a thought and illuminated everything within range. Rats squealed and fled and larger things, too, slinking down into the muddy waters to escape the brightness.

His fires touched silver and it turned brilliant. He paused, his eye on the glittering tip of a sword. Then the light moved on and gold flared against the bland concrete, ribbons of it, streaked with dirt. Natsu recognized that colour anywhere. It haunted his dreams and his waking life.

His heart beat against his ribs like a prisoner trying to get out and the blood rushed in his ears and it was almost like he couldn't think anymore. Lucy was here for him. He didn't have to hunt her down and string her up in front of everyone, she would suffer in the darkness for her betrayal. She would flee this world forgotten by all. She would—

She locked eyes with him. There was soot on her cheek and her knuckles were roughed, split in places and bleeding. Her clothes were filthy and there was a man by her side Natsu didn't know. He eyed Natsu like he was the threat and Lucy was the innocent.

Natsu stepped forward, a snarl on his lips and his fists bunched. He had no weapon but his magic. It made fiery tornadoes around his fists and it felt like he was going to burn alive. "You."

He expected Lucy to brandish her sword, at least to protect herself, but she dropped to her knees and the sword clattered on the ground beside her. She bowed her forehead to the ground and her hair slithered out around her, garlands.

"Please, Your Majesty, I ask for amnesty." She spoke to the ground. Her voice broke.

That was not the greeting he'd expected. Natsu ground to a stop and stared. "What?" he asked dumbly.

Lucy lifted her head just enough that she could see him. Her cheeks were wet. "Lady Eileen's ordered your death and intends to use me as a weapon. I—I don't want this. I've never wanted this. I just want my people to be safe."

"Lady Lucy, please," Juvia tittered.

Lady Lucy. Natsu's thoughts tripped, fell, had a hard time rising again. He wheeled on Juvia. "Speak. Now."

Juvia looked to Lucy instead of answering Natsu immediately, which only served to further his ire.

"I'm the only daughter to Duke Heartfilia, who is brother to the King of Fiore," Lucy said in a rush like if she didn't get it all out now, she wouldn't have an opportunity. Which wasn't at all unreasonable, Zeref had cut throats for less, why shouldn't his brother? "I am third in line for the throne," Lucy continued, and Natsu's thoughts scattered all over again. She cast her eyes to the ground. "Lady Eileen is using this information and my convictions against me."

Natsu was struck silent. Juvia fretted beside him and Gray just crossed his arms and stared at the opposite wall. Then, out of the darkness, someone new growled, "Liar!"

A pale figure lurched out of the shadows toward Lucy with a ferocity that surprised Natsu. Happy, Natsu thought a split second before Lucy's spirit spun on Happy and forced him back with a heavy hand to the centre of his chest.

Happy sprawled onto the filthy ground with a wet thump. He got right back up and lunged again, slipping by the spirit's guard by some dumb luck. Lucy jumped to her feet in time to deflect Happy's next attack, barely. She caught his thin wrists in her hands and rolled him into the wall. He jarred. Natsu's fires bounced off something silver in Happy's hand.

He has a dagger, Natsu realized. He was trying to sink it into Lucy's heart. Was practically frothing at the mouth for it, sweet Happy, who'd never hurt anyone, was doing his best to end Lucy's life.

"You're a charlatan," Happy seethed. "And I won't suffer you to live!" He brought his knee up and connected with her stomach. She curled and released him and Happy brandished his dagger again, two-handed. He brought it down with force. Lucy's spirit moved in a golden blur. Light flared, blinding everyone for a millisecond. Natsu smelled blood. He blinked his eyes clear in time to see Lucy fall to the side, clutching her chest, too shocked to cry out and Happy crumpled against the wall, burned from belly to throat by the spirit's magic.

"Happy!" Natsu yelled. He spun on the spirit; fists raised.

"Close, Gate of the Lion," Lucy ordered, and the man faded away with an indignant look on his face.

Natsu reeled on Lucy. "How dare you?"

Lucy looked up at him from her spot on her knees. Blood trickled through her fingers. She'd been struck in her collarbone. Any lower, she'd be dead already. There were more tears in her eyes. "It was an accident."

"Your spirit attacked him." But he knew in his heart, Lucy's spirit had been protecting her. Why was Happy in the sewers? Why was he trying to kill Lucy?

"I can heal him," she said. "Please…" she fumbled through her keys for the healer.

"No," Natsu barked. He didn't know why Happy was there and he didn't trust Lucy. Or anyone but Happy, he thought with a wary look at Juvia and her lover.

She ignored him and her magic filled the tunnel, as overpowering as a tsunami. Ophiuchus loomed over them all, cold in the way a statue was. She reached out to Happy without an order from Lucy and Natsu's skin crawled all over. She was so powerful. Lucy was so powerful. It occurred to him that she could be doing anything to Happy, anything at all, and he was just standing there, letting it happen.

"No!" He ripped the keys from Lucy's hand. She fell. Natsu resisted the urge to catch her and to focus on what seemed to be the biggest threat—Ophiuchus.

But aside from looking at her master with that same blank expression, the spirit did nothing. It was eerie, almost like they were having a silent conversation. Then Lucy shook her head minutely and the spirit vanished.

Natsu held Lucy's keys tightly. They burned in his hand like metal warmed on a fire. He was a fire mage, though, and wouldn't be bullied into dropping them that way. He pocketed them as he stepped over Lucy for Happy, who still lay on the ground, skin charred.

Admittedly, he looked better than he had a second ago. Like he'd been healing for days. Most of his skin was pink and raw, but it hadn't blistered or burst. His breathing was ragged, as though he'd run a few miles to get there. His eyes were closed, and his mouth was parted.

Should you have let Ophiuchus continue? Natsu wondered.

He didn't know what the right answer was.

He reeled on Gray and Juvia. Juvia's eyes were on Lucy and her expression was pained. Gray's was like it'd been carved from ice, unreadable.

"Now is the time to make your allegiances," Natsu said. He again channelled Zeref's air of authority. He sounded haughty. Princes turned kings were used to being listened to.

Juvia looked up from Lucy, faltered briefly. "We're loyal to you, Your Majesty."

How many people said that to Zeref and never meant it? How many times did he know that but let them close to him anyway? Did Eileen make such a shaky declaration? If Zeref had been just a bit more ruthless, would he still be alive?

Can you be that ruthless? Natsu asked himself. He could cut them down here and then…? How would he take his kingdom? By storm? He and his army of him against Eileen and her force of traitors?

Sometimes, you just have to work with what you have and figure the rest out later.

Natsu made his shoulders straight. "If that's so, restrain her."

Despite his earlier proclamations, Gray moved forward without hesitation. He cuffed Lucy's hands with bands of ice. She winced against the cold but allowed it to happen without complaint. She stood when he helped her, and even managed a few steps with his guidance. Her wound was shallow.

Natsu crouched and got Happy into his arms. His servant was lighter than he had any right to be and thin. These last few days had clearly been difficult for him. Natsu's eyes burned infuriatingly. He would destroy Lady Eileen.


The ground sloped upward. Now and again, Natsu's fires would land on something unsavoury, dead animals, empty coin purses, a spider too big to be anything but sorcery-born. He'd never been superstitious or suspicious about much of anything, but when he saw that eight-legged monstrosity, he thought of Eileen, and he burned it to a crisp. He wasn't going to take the chance of her spying on him.

The tunnel split yet again. Natsu led everyone to the right where a grate was inlaid into the wall. He placed his hand on the wall and felt magic rumble through it as it recognized his blood. The lock on the grate sprung open and the metal slid back silently, granting them access to the tunnels under the castle.

"Why didn't you use this way when you were escaping into the city?" Lucy dared to ask.

Natsu considered ignoring her but didn't want it to seem like she had any power over him. "Its entrance is guarded." That was one of the first things Zeref did when he realized Natsu had a penchant for escape.

The tunnel got narrower the closer they came to the castle until they had to walk single-file and bent over. To prevent anyone from storming them unawares, Zeref told him once when he asked. This way, they'd have to come one at a time, single-file, and the guards could cut them down almost tirelessly.

Cobwebs caught in Natsu's hair and stuck to his fingers as he pushed them aside, revealing a rickety ladder. His stomach was a ball of nerves. He was banking on social niceties to keep Eileen from striking him down just as soon as he showed his face. The kingdom still believed him to be the rightful ruler and a lot of them would stand behind him, he was (almost) sure of it. If only he could survive the night.

He took off his jacket and passed it back to Lucy. "Cover your hands," he ordered. "No one is to know you're my prisoner."

She draped the coat over her hands. Natsu checked his pocket to make sure he still had her keys. They were still scalding hot, trying to burn his skin, but they were safe.

"Should I go first?" Juvia offered.

"They might cut you down if you do," Natsu said. "Stay where you are and be ready for resistance. Protect Happy." He set Happy down against the base of the ladder and then started to climb.

It wasn't far, ten metres at most, but Natsu felt exhausted by the time he reached the top. He hadn't had much food since being in Jose's care, and his muscles were shaky. He cast aside those thoughts of weakness and listened through the trapdoor for any movement above. All seemed to be quiet.

Natsu made fire spark on his finger and kept it burning, hoping that would help identify him if things got hectic. Then he pushed the trapdoor up and looked about Zeref's solar room.

Candles burned in scones and made the red walls glow, almost like they were soaked in blood. The painting on the wall of the royal family had been taken down and now leaned against the hearth like its future had been drawn out already. Goblets sat on the small table, empty, next to an empty decanter that once held wine. Its astringent scent was still on the air.

But no guards.

"Hello?" Natsu whispered.

"What's happening, Your Majesty?" Juvia quietly called.

"There's no one here…" Natsu pulled himself out and stood. He made his fire blaze brighter. Four empty walls, windows cracked to the brisk night air, fluttering curtains, and shadow. But no guards with swords ready to cut down delinquents.

Is it possible Eileen pulled them off duty here? Did that mean she was unaware of the escape route? He thought all Zeref's close advisors knew of it, but perhaps that was a secret he kept from her. Which meant Silver kept it from her, too.

He smiled and split his chapped lips.

There was a whoosh behind him and a wet splat. Natsu turned and found Happy dripping water all over the floor. Juvia had used her magic to push him up. She followed closely after, looking determined. Next came Lucy, awkwardly pulling herself up with her restrained hands, and then Gray.

"Where is everyone?" Gray whispered.

"I—"

The door burst open and for what felt like the hundredth time that day, Natsu looked down a narrow, smooth blade. It looked sharp enough to slice hair and was—he'd been on the receiving end of its wicked slices one too many times.

"Dimaria," Natsu blurted before he could be skewered.

She kicked the door open with the toe of her boot and raked him over with her eyes. "Hello, dead prince."

She usually made him uncomfortable, but just then, he felt the sweat soaking his back. "Stand down."

Another tense moment passed, where Natsu thought she'd poke him to see if his blood ran blue, but then the tip of her sword sagged. She looked past Natsu to his band of miscreants. "I never knew dead men to walk. This should be an entertaining tale."

"Clearly, I'm not dead," Natsu jabbed impatiently.

"Yes, well, that's what most of the city is saying, and Lady Eileen has made a public display of begging for your return. You should see the reward she has out for you."

"I bet," Natsu muttered, earning himself a peculiar look from Dimaria.

Her eyes again travelled to Natsu's company. They lingered on Lucy. "You found the healer."

"He found me," Lucy acted like it was a happy accident. She added a smile; a lesser person wouldn't see beyond it, but Dimaria took in the blood on Lucy's shoulder and Natsu's jacket over her hands; her suspicion was clear.

She asked no questions, though.

"Come," Dimaria ordered. "We'll get you situated."

Gray picked up Happy and Juvia fell into step beside Lucy and they all trailed after Dimaria.


The castle was eerily quiet. Usually, there was always something going on, but Natsu couldn't hear any servants sliding around in the servants' corridors, or chatter from one party or another, or the boisterous calls of drunk nobles.

It was like the whole world had gone still.

They approached Zeref's rooms. Natsu expected Dimaria to go past them to Natsu's own, but she stopped in front of them and opened the chambers. They still smelled like Zeref's pomade and the fresh wound in Natsu's heart opened right back up again. It felt like he was going to exsanguinate right there on the floor.

"Your Majesty." Dimaria waved him inside.

"I can't stay here," Natsu objected.

"It's the safest room in the castle. Kings sleep here." She left very little room for argument.

Reluctantly, Natsu stepped in and wondered if Zeref felt the same when he became king. It must have been strange taking over the room from their parents. Did it smell like them, too? Was Zeref overrun with sadness, lying in the too-big bed? Was he suffocated under the weight of his new responsibilities?

"I'll send for guards," Dimaria added.

"No," Natsu said. "This is fine." He looked to Juvia and Gray, hoping that he wasn't going to be overrun and stabbed through the heart.

Dimaria lifted a pale eyebrow. "And Happy?"

"Leave him here with Lucy. I want to oversee his treatment," Natsu said.

"This is highly unusual," she pointed out.

"And these are highly unusual times," Natsu added.

She quarter bowed. "Very well."

"Dimaria." Natsu made his voice authoritative again. "I forbid you of speaking of this until the sun has risen."

She got still and looked up at him through a fringe of blonde hair. "That's a peculiar request. Alvarez will want to know their king has been returned to them."

"Obey it or be hanged." Dimaria knew he wasn't that cold-blooded, Natsu thought. But to his surprise, she deepened her bow. "As you command." There was a half-smile on her mouth. There was nothing Dimaria loved more than chaos.

"That woman is strange," Juvia said once the door was closed.

"She will report to Lady Eileen," Lucy said.

"Dimaria is loyal to Zeref," Natsu ground out.

"Dimaria meets with Lady Eileen every evening and gives her reports on your movements," Lucy returned.

Natsu curled his lip and spun on her. "I suppose you would know."

She stuck out her chin stubbornly. "You're the one that denied your own guards. It's clear you know the treachery runs deep."

"To an outsider, it would seem outrageously careless to surround yourself solely with Fiore's people," Juvia added, earning herself a glare from Gray.

"It's a good thing we're not enemies," Lucy soothed. She looked like she wanted to reach for Natsu. The coat had shifted on her hands and he could see the cold blisters up and down her arms. Guilt chewed at him.

"If you try to summon your spirits, I will burn you to a crisp," Natsu threatened.

"I can't without my keys," Lucy admitted.

He suspected as much. "Release her."

Gray's ice broke apart. Lucy winced; the only outward sign that she felt any discomfort. Her wrists were red and chapped and it must have been painful.

"And set Happy on the bed," Natsu said. Gray did as he commanded. "Now…" Now he didn't know what to do. The only one with any healing powers was Lucy but he was reluctant to give her any key back. She was too powerful with them.

"We received some training in the army," Juvia spoke. "I can clean and dress his wounds with the right supplies."

Natsu pulled open Zeref's drawers and took out shirts. "You can cut these for bandages."

"You can use the tea tree oil in his pomade as a disinfectant," Lucy tacked on. Natsu scowled but Lucy didn't wither beneath it.

"She's right," Juvia said. "It can be used as such."

He waved her on, trusting Lucy knew what would befall her if she lied then.

Juvia got to work. Natsu took a seat on one of Zeref's armchairs. His legs gave out on him halfway down. He tried to cover it up, but Lucy was looking at him closely. "You're tired."

"I've been a prisoner for days and running for my life for most of the evening."

She took a step closer to him. "Natsu—"

"You don't get to call me that."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "Your Majesty. Please. Let me explain."

Natsu looked over her shoulder so he wasn't taken in by her large doe eyes. "All you've done is lie to me."

Lucy stopped in front of him and dropped to her knees, giving him no choice but to look at her. Her shoulder was wet down past her breast now. "Yes. And mislead you. But I've been risking my life for so long, I… it's difficult to learn to do any differently. Please, just give me a few moments of your time."

"Very well, Duchess," he sneered. He didn't have the capacity to make himself sound impatient and aristocratic like Zeref, but furious, yes. "Speak."

Lucy launched into her tale. "It is as you say, I am the daughter of Duke Heartfilia. I'm third in line for the throne if my cousin doesn't marry and have children. I've always wanted something more, though. Adventure."

Just like me, Natsu thought unwillingly. He didn't like drawing parallels between him and someone like Lucy.

Lucy said, "When my people started disappearing, I thought I could use my gift with magic, play my part and help solve the mystery. Earning my father's respect and the trust of my people. He wouldn't allow it, though. Not even when our house healer went missing.

"She's just a child," Lucy said; torment laced her voice. "That was the last straw. I stole away in the middle of the night and hunted the places Wendy frequented, hoping to stumble on a clue.

"I was gone for weeks and was starting to lose hope, but one night, I passed by a tavern by the docks. There was a brawl outside and a man had his eye cut out with a broken piece of glass. I summoned Ophiuchus and healed him as best as I was able. Before I was finished, I was approached by a man named Bora and offered shelter. At first, I thought he was just being kindly, but there was something off about his persistence. I decided anything was worth investigating at that point and went with him to his ship."

She trailed off for a few moments, eyes focused far away on something only she could see. "That was the last thing I remember on the mainland. My next memory is waking up in a cargo hold, stripped of everything and dressed in rags. Bora was there and he told me we were bound for Alvarez. To a fight ring. I was going to be the incentive. He liked the way I looked and thought others would, too. Men that lost, I would heal so they could go on to fight again. It raised the stakes, he said, enticed deeper rivalries. I would get Ophiuchus back.

"I had no choice but to agree. And when I arrived, I saw many of my people had found their way there and had been made to fight. I couldn't believe my luck, especially when I found Wendy. They knew she had powerful magic and suspected she was a healer, but she hadn't come forward. So they made her fight with other girls and boys." She looked sick with the thought.

Lucy swallowed. "I begged her to stay silent about her magic, to hold out just a little longer, and promised I'd get her out of there. I didn't know who to trust, but I had to take a chance. I made a pact with Gildarts, who knew people in Alvarez with the means to help them escape, and would beg, borrow or steal money to pay his contacts to ensure safe passage for my people back home."

"That's why you wanted the gold coins," Natsu said after a moment. There was a small knot in his chest unwinding; mentally, he tightened the strings. He would not be led astray by Lucy again. Would not.

She looked up at him with her big brown eyes. "You saved a lot of lives."

"You could have just come out and said so," Natsu added a glare to sharpen his words.

Lucy looked contrite. "I wanted to trust you…"

"You just didn't."

She looked away again. "When the delegation arrived and I saw Juvia was with them, I thought things would get better, but they've only become more complicated."

Natsu looked to Juvia and she said, "We knew each other from social gatherings. I thought she was dead. Most of Fiore is whispering about it. I didn't even recognize her until she approached me and asked for my help."

Every time he turned around someone had a secret.

"Please, H—Majesty," Lucy corrected, "Please forgive me and Juvia, for not speaking the truth earlier."

"Don't grovel. It's unbecoming of a lady of your station." Natsu said, narrowing his eyes. He knew there was something about the way she carried herself, the way she spoke. He thought she'd be a runaway handmaiden, though, or a noble house's nursemaid or a shopkeeper's daughter.

Anything but royalty.

But now he had the King of Fiore's niece in his possession.

…He had the King of Fiore's niece in his possession.

"What does that expression mean?" Lucy asked warily.

It meant he needed his brother. Because he had a precarious position of power and the means to secure it, but he wasn't sure if he was audacious enough to follow it through.

You must be or be eaten alive.

Natsu shrugged on false confidence and lifted his gaze to Lucy's. "In a few hours, I'm going to waltz into the throne room with deserters at my side," he said, thinking of Juvia and Gray, "And lay public claim to my throne." He was about to become the most targeted man in Alvarez. Lady Eileen… he could almost feel the strength of her bitter stare. "You're going to stand with me, Lucy, and you're going to openly pledge your loyalty to me."

She blinked up at him, not comprehending.

Natsu smiled; it felt cold all over, translating the threat he didn't vocalize. "We're going to join our families in the eyes of the state." He wasn't sure bullying a foreign duchess to take his hand was what Zeref meant when he told Natsu to marry, but he figured now was as good a time as any to improvise. "It'll secure both of our positions and give us power over both countries."

Lucy laced her fingers together nervously.

"Can you do it?" Natsu whittled.

"Do I have a choice?"

"This is for the benefit of both our people," was his only answer. They were on the brink of war. No one wanted that. Fiore had an endless army, but Alvarez's navy was a brutal force. There would be no victor, not really.

Lucy turned his proposal over in her mind for a moment, then nodded once, firmly. "Okay."

He took Lucy's keys out of her pocket. He flicked through them until he saw the sign of the healer. He removed it from the ring and held it out to her. "I'll need my manservant."

"I can heal him."

He knew it was in her power, but still, the relief that flooded through him was staggering. Natsu cleared his throat; it felt as small as a pinhole. "Once that's done, I'll make sure you have what you need to be presentable." It would be a sparse ceremony, but everyone would whisper how lovely she was.

She nibbled her lip white and reached for her key. Natsu grabbed her wrist before she could close her fingers on it. He waited until their eyes were locked. "No more lies."

"No more lies." Her voice was small and threadbare, Natsu's implications weighing on her shoulders. "I will do what you say."

They would stop the coming war and then they were going to slay a dragon.


Today is the day of my birth. Another year older, another mystery unpacked.

Be safe. Be safe. Be safe out there.