Chapter 44
Mira stood staring in shock at the couple looking into each others eyes and immediately began to get excited as she pointed out the scene unfolding to anyone around her, when she had enough eyes looking at the couple, she couldn't hold herself back anymore and rushed to the couple with Natsu still looking at Lucy like she was the only person in the world, while Lucy had a shocked yet amazed expression on her face and that did it Mira immediately approached the couple "So…you did it…?" she questioned pushing herself closer to the couple in the process pushing apart the other couples with them.
Natsu stared at her confused he was still holding onto Lucy's hands but Mira had interrupted them, "how did Mira know ?" he wondered "Yes…I guess…" he answered. "You….guess ?" Mira asked "Who…am I kidding, that's the best we can expect from you" she answered her own question, she turned to Lucy "So…did you say yes…?" she asked eagerly. "I don't even know if he's serious…Mira-san, but how did you know?, did he tell you…?" Lucy asked her. "Lucy…Natsu would never joke around when it comes to you, you know that" Mira replied. Natsu tried to interrupt them "Shhh…Natsu, I'm trying to help you out here" she replied. "Are you sure…?" Lucy asked Natsu, who looked at her smiling "Trust me Lucy" he replied as Lucy replied "Alright….Okay".
The commotion that Mira had caused had attracted the attention of the whole guild as Laxus stormed towards them "Alright…I've had it with the two of you, what in the world is it this time…?" he demanded glaring at the two of them "Well….Natsu…is pretty sure he knows where Aquarius' key is located and he was suggesting he would accompany me to the location" Lucy answered. Mirajane froze when she heard what Lucy had said, "Are you ok Mira…?" Laxus asked her as the colour slowly returned to her face "Yeah…I'm fine…" she answered.
"Mira-san, how did you know about Aquarius' key…?" Lucy asked her, Mira stood silent not answering Lucy's question, when Cana walked into their midst, staggering a bit as Lucy caught her "Let me answer that Lucy, my dear Mirajane over here thought that Natsu was proposing to you" she declared as suddenly Lucy could feel the whole guild's sights trained on her as she turned red. "I've got to give it to you Mira, you just don't quit do you" Laxus mocked her as Mira frowned.
"Really..guys after all the things I did to tell Lucy how I felt, don't you think the Proposal would have to top that…?" Natsu asked casually as Lucy looked at him with her mouth open in a comical 'O'. "You've been thinking about Proposals ?" she asked him surprised. "I mean I was just stating that it should be better than you know the previous one…" Natsu replied flustered. "You think you'll beat me to the Proposal as well, do you Gajeel…?" Natsu questioned trying to divert the attention away from Lucy and himself. "Is that even a question Salamander,I'm pretty sure…" Gajeel froze midway realising Levy was now staring at him in shock. Gajeel corrected himself "I mean looking at your track record, I'm pretty sure it's safe to say many of us would be married before you propose Salamander". Levy's expression didn't change as she smiled at Gajeel "So…when can I expect the Proposal, I need to practice my surprised look" she teased him as Gajeel scowled "Stop it Levy…" he replied moving away from the group as Levy followed him "Gajeel you don't have to tell me the exact date..".
"Hey..Natsu….you don't think I could Propose to Juvia before you…?" Gray demanded. Natsu looked at him aghast "Why…would I propose to Juvia…?" he demanded. Lucy facepalmed herself as Juvia whispered to her "Lucy, I think Juvia just became your love rival…I'm so sorry" she replied with the most sincere expression on her face,as Lucy tried her best to ignore her. "That's not what I meant, I meant you Proposing to Lucy, Flame for Brains" Gray remarked a sweat drop forming on his head.
Brandish, Larcade and Dimaria walked upto Lucy "Hey Lucy…" Brandish greeted and to Lucy's surprise she actually hugged Lucy, Larcade and Dimaria stood to the side looking at Brandish with their eyes wide with wonder. Brandish glared at them "Are we now on hugging terms…?" Lucy asked her, "I just thought we could let bygones be bygones and try to form a friendship like our mothers did you know, not to mention the fact that the Emperor and you are a thing, so we would be spending quite a while together. So I thought a fresh start would do us good" Brandish replied. "And a fresh start is a hug to you…?" Larcade questioned as Brandish smacked him on his head.
Natsu and Gray were in a heated debate and Brandish was lecturing Larcade, when the doors flew open, the whole guild was confused as to who would visit the guild this late in the night. Mest froze as he recognised the familiar face, right there in front of them was one of the Rune Magic Knights Lahar, an old friend of Mest along with a group of Magic Knights standing guard behind him.
Natsu recognised Lahar as the guy that arrested Jellal and so he stopped his argument halfway as Gray looked furious but noticed the atmosphere of the room change, with the appearance of the Magic Knights and so he stayed silent. Mest was the one that walked forward greeting his old friend and hugging him. "Lahar…what are you doing here…?" Mest enquired watching the Magic Knights behind him. "I'm sorry old friend, but I'm here on official Council business" Lahar answered. "Council business here in Fairy Tail…?" Mest wondered.
"We are here to make an arrest" Lahar stated. Laxus who had been silent all along walked up to them his aura blazing around him as he glared at the group of Magic Knights, the guards behind Lahar moved back a few steps, but Lahar stood his ground staring blankly back at Laxus. "As the Master of Fairy Tail, I would expect to be intimated about such actions, before blatantly walking into my guild and trying to arrest one of my guild members" Laxus growled as the Magic Knights apart from Lahar flinched. Lahar stood his ground, "Are you saying that you would harbour criminals, just because the Council didn't intimate you beforehand…?" he questioned. "See…you keep saying criminals but I don't see anyone of the sort you mention" Laxus replied smirking a little. "Really anyone…?" Lahar questioned as his eyes fell on Larcade,Dimaria and Brandish.
Natsu frowned as Lahar and the Magic Knights walked past both Laxus and Mest, who were confused by Lahar's claim. As the group of Knights approached the Spriggan, Natsu stepped between them "And…what do you think you're going to do ?, if I may ask…?" Natsu demanded glaring at the Knights. "I'm sorry Natsu but…" Lahar began but he was interrupted by Dimaria "That's His Majesty to you, you will respect the Emperor of Alvarez, when you address him" she stated. Lahar grimaced at Dimaria before addressing Natsu once again "My apologies Your Majesty, Emperor END, I am here on orders from the Council of Ishgar, I have orders to apprehend the criminals Larcade, Brandish and Dimaria of the Spriggan" he replied bowing respectfully as he said this. "And what are the crimes that the Council thinks they should be indicted for…?" Natsu demanded. "For Crimes against Ishgar during the invasion of Alvarez, for the deaths of many of our soldiers and Mages, not to mention for the death of your previous Guild Master Makarov Dreyar" Lahar replied.
Natsu's aura blazed around him as this time the whole guild backed away, "So…you're telling me you're going to apprehend them for something that they did as part of their role and duties to Alvarez, how many deaths of the Soldiers of Alvarez are the Council and Mages of Ishgar going to take responsibility for…?" Natsu demanded. "Your Majesty with all due respect, it will do you well to remember you were once a citizen of Ishgar not to mention, you fought against the invasion of Alvarez" Lahar replied politely. "Your Queen and me, we are trying to form a better relationship between both our Kingdoms and the first chance your Council gets, they try to arrest my Spriggan…that have come here as my guard…?" Natsu demanded his aura still blazing around him.
"The Council doesn't answer to the Throne, Your Majesty. I am so sorry, but your Spriggan will be allowed to defend themselves in the presence of the Council" Lahar replied a solemn expression on his face. Emboldened by Lahar's boldness, the guards moved forward to place the Magic Sealing Stones on Larcade, Brandish and Dimaria, Brandish began to look at Dimaria and Larcade scowling "Seriously, are we going to let them do this…?" she demanded. "I am not interested in fighting these Council members" Dimaria declared, "Oh…sure now you decide you don't want to fight" Brandish huffed in annoyance. "Brandish…" a voice chimed in her head, she turned her head to look at Larcade who was looking straight ahead but she could hear his voice in her head "Don't retaliate please I beg of you, the way we behave with these guards and the Council of Ishgar, might very well decide the future relations between our countries, not to mention us attacking them might be taken as a sign of war, so please don't fight back" Larcade pleaded with her. Brandish wasn't completely convinced but the desperate look on Larcade's face made her decide against her judgement.
But to the surprise of the three members of Spriggan as the guard moved closer Natsu stood between them once again "I dare…you to arrest them, go ahead….and see what happens" he growled as the guards backed away once again. Larcade stepped up to Natsu "Uncle…please don't fight them, if you think we did our duty…then they are just doing their duty, it would be quiet hypocritical of you to harm them, while defending our motive" Larcade stated. Lucy stepped beside Natsu "Natsu…we will talk to the Council and get this sorted out, but I think Larcade is right, you need to let them go, atleast for now" she replied. Natsu didn't respond but he didn't make a move either as the guards moved forward carefully still afraid of Natsu as they applied the Sealing Stones on the three Spriggan before asking them to move forward towards Lahar, still scared.
As the guards guided the Spriggan behind Lahar, Natsu stepped forward, even though Lucy tried to stop him. "Your Majesty…?" Lahar questioned confused by Natsu's move. "I am going to join you people, I would like to have a word with your Council as well, personally " he replied, to the horror of the Magic Knights. One of the Magic Knights though moved forward holding the Sealing Stone for Natsu, as Lahar reprimanded him "Are you out of your minds, this is the Emperor of Alvarez, regardless of the objective of his visit to the Council, it would do you good to remember that" he turned to address Natsu "Your Majesty, if you will I will escort you to the Council myself, you could ask any of the Fairy Tail members to accompany you, if you have any apprehensions" Lahar replied humbly. "Yeah like you could do anything to me, let's get this over with" he replied addressing the Magic Knights.
As the whole entourage left the guild, leaving the members shocked at what had just transpired, Happy began to try and follow Natsu, but Lucy held him back "Happy I need you to take me somewhere, we'll meet up with Natsu later" she stated as Happy stared at her in shock. "Look I'll explain it to you on the way, let's go now" she replied dragging Happy outside as the duo disappeared into the night sky. As the guild was even more shocked at that scene playing out, Laxus looked at all of them "Shouldn't we keep a safe distance but make our way to the Council as well…?" he suggested. The guild agreed with him as those that didn't have kids or didn't think they could be of any influence or help to Natsu made their way back home as the rest began to follow the Magic Knights on Magic Vehicles keeping a safe distance.
As the Knights guided Larcade and the others to a caravan cell, Lahar guided Natsu to a personal caravan waiting for his arrival. "Natsu…I hope you understand that I have nothing against you or the citizens of Alvarez…" Lahar began but Natsu interrupted him "It's Emperor…Natsu to you, Lahar" he stated. "Forgive me Emperor END, but with all due respect, I hope you do understand I have no grudges against you or Alvarez" Lahar reiterated. Natsu ignored him "So…what does the Council plan on doing with my Spriggan…?" he demanded. "Your Majesty, I can't speak for the Council, but I'm sure it's just a formality to appease the citizens that are worried" Lahar answered. Natsu knew for a fact that it had nothing to do with appeasing the people as the arrest had been done in the dark of the night and not in broad daylight, "Lahar, I'll say this….for the sake of your Council, you better hope they don't harm a single hair on my Spriggan or forget war, it will be annihilation" Natsu threatened as the atmosphere in the caravan became even more tense.
As Larcade, Brandish and Dimaria sat looking out through the gaps in the caravan, they hadn't been out here in Isghar much, but Brandish certainly didn't expect to travel in Ishgar in such a predicament. She glared at Larcade who looked back dumbfounded at her "What…?" he demanded. "Really…we could have taken all those guards out easily and you decided not to do it" she retorted. "Brandish…" Larcade replied placing his handcuffed hands on her shoulders to comfort her, she shrugged him off "Listen to me any other action that we would have taken at that point would only result in a fallout between the small resemblance of peace that Alvarez and Ishgar have managed with each other" he pleaded. "Put aside your frustration Brandish and you'll realise that Larcade is right" Dimaria stated. Brandish turned glaring at Dimaria "You…shut it" she declared glaring at her "You haven't even said or done anything since we got here, I expected you to be on my side on this one, never thought you would be a fan of this" she said raising the cuffs at her. "I'm not…" Dimaria replied "It's just Larcade's right and I don't think there's any point in having meaningless fights" she finished. "Our lives are meaningless to fight for…?" Brandish demanded. "We're alive" Dimaria retorted.
Brandish looked like she would murder Dimaria but then a smirk appeared on her face "You know what I think the problem is Dimaria…?" Brandish asked as Dimaria didn't react she continued "I think you're afraid you'll disappoint dear God Chronos if you do fight once again" Brandish scoffed as Dimaria's calm expression turned into a frown as she growled at Brandish "Oh…you want me to fight, how about I fight you" she retorted. "Good let's do that, help me break out of these cuffs and we can settle this" Brandish stated. "Guys would you two stop this right now" Larcade intervened pushing Brandish and Dimaria aside as they begrudgingly sat down staring anywhere but at each other. Larcade turned to the guard with them inside the caravan "What were you supposed to be doing..again…?" he questioned smirking as the guard had sweat dripping from his forehead "Relax, they can't get to you when I'm here" he stated as the two girls glared at him.
Happy flew as fast as he could towards the Capital "Hey…Lucy, why are we going to the Capital instead of following Natsu ?" he questioned. "We're going to talk to Queen Hisui" Lucy answered. Happy didn't know what Lucy had planned but they were approaching the Castle now and the guards wouldn't appreciate it, if they tried to get into the palace directly, so Lucy suggested landing and requesting the guards.
As the duo landed infront of the guards they immediately held their weapons in their hands in a defensive stance. "You two stand right there and state your reason of arrival" they demanded. "We are from the Guild Fairy Tail and would like to meet the Queen, it's urgent" Lucy stated showing the guards the guild marks as proof. "Yeah…well the Queen is busy serving and protecting our Country so why don't you two try again tomorrow" they mocked.
Happy glared at the guards "Alright look here buddy, my best friend is the Emperor of Alvarez, so if you don't let us meet the Queen now, I will have him come here and personally kick your ass" he growled. "Yeah…sure Mr Exceed…" one of the guards mocked him "The nerve of this guy, says the Emperor of Alvarez, is his friend" the other roared with laughter. "Actually, now that I think about it, I do think the Emperor of Alvarez is one of the Fairy Tail members, Salamander, if I'm not wrong" stated the first gently nudged Happy as the two of them slowly slid past the guards.
But as they found out, this was definitely a wrong move to make as a Siren blared out behind them, Happy tried to fly holding onto Lucy about to take flight, they found themselves surrounded by guards all holding their weapons trained on Lucy and Happy. "Alright who do we have here….?" came a familiar voice as Arcadios came into Lucy's view his eyes falling on Lucy and Happy who was clinging to her but had his arms out, trying to protect her.
Arcadios raised his eyebrow in question, but the soldiers began to close in on both the Fairy Tail members. "Men….stand down" Arcadios ordered as the men froze in their spot "But, Sir Arcadios…" they began to argue. "That was an order Soldier, so stand down and go back to your places, all of you" he ordered. "But Sir, the intruders…?" one of them asked him in surprise. "They are guests of the Throne, the Queen has ordered, that they could come visit whenever they wanted to, so go back to your places, before I take this as insubordination" he stated in a calm yet eery tone. The soldiers apologised to Lucy, Happy and Arcadios as they went back to their places.
"Did…Hisui really, give out that order…?" Lucy enquired. Arcadios' expression didn't change "Not exactly, but you and your guild members have protected Ishgar plenty of times, I think Queen Hisui will let this slide" he replied. "I think you should let the Queen decide that, Arcadios" Hisui replied walking towards the group. "I'm sorry, My Queen" Arcadios apologised as Hisui smiled at him "It's alright Arcadios" she replied, turning to address Lucy and Happy she continued "So…you've made quite the entrance, you two" she replied chuckling as Lucy blushed and Happy had a proud expression on his face.
"I'm really sorry, Your Majesty" Lucy began, when Hisui interrupted her "Lucy, you do understand this is not Alvarez, it's alright if you call me Queen Hisui, I wont mind" she replied. "You know about the customs of Alvarez…?" Lucy asked her amazed. "Yeah…Natsu and I have been trying to improve the relations between our countries, you know that right…?" she questioned confused. Lucy felt a small hint of jealousy as Hisui said the word our with Natsu in the context, but she tried to ignore it, "It's just Hisui, why am I so bothered by this…?" she wondered "Maybe, because Hisui has spent more time with Natsu, than Natsu has with you" she answered her own question.
She found Happy shaking her as she came out of her stupor. Arcadios and Hisui were looking at her with concern etched on their face. "Lucy…you said Queen Hisui would be able to help us, help Natsu" Happy groaned still shaking Lucy not realising that she had already broken out of her stupor. "Happy would you stop that" Lucy replied holding him once again as he stopped. Arcadios and Hisui hadn't said anything their looks of concern was slowly morphing into worry at the behaviour of the duo. "Emperor Natsu, needs our help…?" Arcadios questioned. Lucy nodded her head as she told Hisui about everything that had happened between the Magic Knights and Natsu.
"I'm worried if the Magic Council decide to impose a sentence on Larcade and the others, Natsu's going to go crazy and destroy the whole place in order to stop them" Lucy began to worry as Hisui approached her hugging her and comforting her "Don't you worry Lucy, we will do all that we can to make sure nothing happens to the Spriggan and Natsu". Hisui turned to address Arcadios "I still can't believe the Council would do something like this, knowing the fragile relations between our countries this could cause even more problems and potentially result in another war" Hisui remarked clenching her fists in frustration.
"What are your orders my Queen…?" Arcadios asked her. "We could potentially be making the Magic Council our enemies Arcadios, you sure you want to stick by my side for this…?" Hisui asked him. "You have been an exceptional Ruler Queen Hisui, even surpassing your father, dare I say, by extending a hand of friendship with Alvarez, you have for the first time bought a semblance of peace between us and Alvarez. If I may say so My Queen, your decisions have never been wrong and I trust your judgement so whatever you decide, I will be there serving by your side" he replied in a disciplined tone. "Thank you Arcadios" Hisui replied.
"Well..what's the plan, Queen Hisui…?" Lucy asked her a hint of hope in her voice. "I don't have one yet, but for now, let's make our way to the Magic Council Headquarters and confront Sir Hyberion ourselves" she stated. "Arcadios… prepare my transport and make sure it has enough room for our guests as well" Hisui ordered. "Queen Hisui that's not necessary, Happy and I can fly our way to the Headquarters" Lucy replied. "Don't be absurd Lucy, Happy would get tired making that journey" she replied playing with Happy as Happy smiled at Queen Hisui, "Thank you Queen Hisui…you have no idea what a pain it is to carry Lucy everywhere, especially because she's so…" Happy began to rant but he saw the glare that Lucy was giving him and he changed his speech "Queen Hisui, if I could have a fish as a snack for the journey, I would be grateful" he replied with the most polite voice that he could manage.
"Sure…Happy let me ask one of the cooks to set you up with whatever fish you like" Hisui said as she began to walk away. "No need I know my way to the kitchen, I'll tell them myself" Happy replied flying away as Lucy glared at him. "He get's on your nerves huh…?" Hisui asked her laughing. "Yeah, if Natsu didn't care about him so much I swear he would go missing" Lucy declared. "C'mon you know you love him as much as Natsu does.." Hisui suggested. "Yeah I think not…he doesn't try to get on Natsu's nerves like he does with me" Lucy stated sighing. "Well maybe that's because they've been together since they were kids" Hisui replied "I could take him off your hands, for a few days or month's it's not a big deal.." she replied. "As intriguing as that offer is….one he's not a pet, he's Happy you know, I can't just drop him off anywhere and go on a vacation or something and two Natsu would kill us if we gave Happy away even for a day" Lucy stated "And you really don't want Happy to be there all day pestering you trust me…" Lucy said. Hisui nodded "Yeah I'll take your word for it" she said as Happy flew into Lucy's lap like nothing had happened and Lucy didn't mind. "What are you two talking about…?" Happy asked them innocently, munching on his fish and it looked like he had more fish in his backpack, Lucy scrunched her nose not saying anything, Hisui and Lucy looked at each other and began to laugh as Happy looked between the two of them bewildered at their behaviour.