Two days slipped by almost without Natsu's notice. He slept through most of the first and signed his way through most of the second, swearing oaths to serve and protect his nation. When that was done, he and Lucy were put on display for the kingdom to see. They stood on the south-facing balcony, Lucy in his mother's crown and Natsu wearing the one Zeref had inherited. It was heavy, the jewels, the gold, the responsibility. It gave him a headache and enraged some small demon in his chest that cried for freedom but could only feel chains.

He gritted his teeth and sat through the long, formal ceremony with his eyes on the horizon. The archbishop presided again. His voice so wispy, he needed to magnify it with magic so people outside the gates could hear. He spoke of Natsu's coming reign, peace, and lastly, of Zeref's impending funeral.

The sun was getting low by the time it was done and Natsu was starving. He let Lucy into the castle first, though he hardly felt chivalrous enough for that and entertained bowling her over in a rush to get to the kitchens, she moved slow and careful in the gown made by the seamstress Zeref kept on retainer.

"Where are you going?" Lucy asked when he didn't join her down the corridor to their newly shared room.

"Kitchens," Natsu said impatiently.

"Dinner is soon."

"Not soon enough."

Lucy opened her mouth to respond but whatever she'd been about to say got lost in Natsu's hurried footsteps. Two of his guards broke away to accompany Lucy and two stayed with him. Their ongoing presence was annoying. He never realized just how much so. Zeref must have always had an audience. How did he stay sane?

Then he remembered the ominous aura Zeref always seemed to be toting around, and the wild, violent displays of magic, the fear and awe in people's eyes when they'd look at him from afar—always afar, because while distance didn't necessarily keep you safe, it added an extra bit of protection.

Thoughts of his brother stuck in his mind like a splinter and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get them out. Not even the sausage roll he charmed from a flustered cook and stuffed himself with made him feel better. Natsu kept coming back to one thing: he hadn't been to see Zeref's body. Whenever the thought crossed his mind, he would think I'm too busy, but the reality was he was too scared. He didn't want to see Zeref picked apart by Eileen's mysterious mage, he didn't want to see Zeref pale and lifeless.

And yet, now that he was thinking about it, Natsu couldn't get the thought out of his head.

He'd been returning to his rooms but now he turned on his heel and regarded his guards. They were keeping a respectful distance, hands resting loosely on their swords.

"Take me to Zeref."

They shared a look between them then bowed shallowly. "This way." The taller of the two waved his hand down a hallway that led to the eastern wing where medical supplies were kept.

Natsu trailed between the two guards with a great feeling of unreality. This was the castle he'd grown up in, but in the span of just a few days, everything looked different, the stone where his ancestors walked, the walls their voices once echoed off. Even the paintings on the wall seemed to have more significance. Most were of family he'd never met, but a few closer to the end were dedicated to his parents and their children.

One mural caught his eye—it was almost as old as Natsu was. In it, his family stood in front of a bed of snow. He remembered that day, vaguely—he was bundled in wolfskin and his mother cradled him in her arms but still, the wind bit at his nose. They took breaks for hot apple cider and Natsu chased Zeref through the snow, both laughing maniacally.

The next mural was of him and Zeref. They were a few years older and time had made them much more sombre. It was painted in the comfort of the Throne Room and the crown had transferred from their father's head to Zeref's. Natsu's own was on his temples, tipped at the impertinent angle he preferred. To avoid headaches, he'd tell Zeref when he was scolded.

Natsu swallowed the lump in his throat. He'd been full of conviction just a moment ago, but now he wasn't so sure.

The guards didn't think about things like can you, Majesty? They just walked on, steady. What choice did Natsu have but to walk on with them? Past the examination room and the infirmary where a man was sitting on a cot, holding the side of his head, dripping with blood. It occurred to Natsu he needed to talk to Lucy about remaining their healer. He hadn't heard word from Miss Porlyusica and had to assume she was still ill. The nurses did a good job, but none of them had healing magic.

The floor sloped and the air turned cool and Natsu's stomach went for a steep plunge. He almost stopped twice and had to do something with his hands to expend his nervous energy. He tapped them incessantly on his legs. The noise echoed down the stone corridor, announcing their presence to the dead. Every other scone was lit; they made golden halos on the floor. The shadows in the spaces between were deep, deep dark that Natsu didn't like to look at.

The air developed a metallic, sweet stench, like the smell of the city in the middle of the summer when it was hit with another bout of cholera. The smell of death.

"Are you alright, Majesty?" prodded the guard at Natsu's back.

His steps were so small, he almost wasn't moving at all.

"Fine," Natsu lied. "It's just dark down here." Magic wicked at his fingers and coiled down the face of the wall, sparking more scones to life. Spiders recoiled from the light and warmth and cobwebs blistered into ash.

"There." Natsu was impressed by how sure his voice sounded even as his legs shook. "Continue."

They walked for another moment, and then the guard in front stopped in front of a heavy wooden door. Natsu was thrown back in time. After his parents died, he caught Zeref down here every night until their funeral. He would sit in the doorway, looking into the morgue at their parents' bodies with a blank expression. Natsu could almost see the spot where his fingers curled on the doorframe.

There was nowhere to hide in the morgue, it was just a square room, no windows, no other doors, and five tables where one could lay a body. It'd been enchanted with Invel's magic ice to be kept cool. The walls were thick with it. Scones jutted out from the layers of ice and flickered weakly in the breeze that seemed to swirl through the room, caressing everything it touched.

Natsu's eyes were drawn to the centre table where his brother's body lay. His head was wreathed in a crown of white roses instead of gold, the colour stark against his raven wing hair. His eyes were weighted with silver coins so they couldn't roll open again. Someone had dressed him in his best doublet. The clothes looked cheap now. What good did gold thread and inlaid rubies do him?

Natsu felt a frustrated scream trying to tear its way out of his chest but it hinged in his throat and would go nowhere.

He reached out his shaking hand and touched Zeref's fingers. He was cold, cold, cold. Too cold.

"Master Invel recreated much of his body with ice."

Natsu spun. Sorano stood outside the door with her hands clutched in front of her. She was dressed for work in her maid's uniform and there was a duster in her hand. Natsu's guards made no move against her yet, but their body language made it clear she was not to enter. She studied Natsu from afar, her gaze probing like she was trying to see Zeref in his eyes.

"He was very badly injured…" she trailed off and pressed her lips together.

Natsu turned back to Zeref. Invel's work was good, but now that he knew, he could spot the places where Zeref's natural skin was met by moulded ice. The lashes on his left eye didn't fall gently against his cheek and the curve of his top lip was hard. His one hand. Natsu touched the other to make a comparison and felt smooth skin, cold but not freezing. Just dead.

He felt sick to his stomach.

"Who did this?" Who could do this?

Sorano took an experimental step forward. The guards came together to block her way.

"Move," Natsu ordered.

Neither one of them looked back to question his command, they slid aside like two stone slabs, reluctantly, and Sorano brushed by them to enter. The guards followed close behind.

Sorano stopped close enough that Natsu could see the wear of the last few days on her. She hadn't been sleeping, there were deep circles below her eyes and her skin was paler than usual. She wetted her chapped lips before speaking. "I can't say for certain, but there's whisper that Lady Eileen hired an assassin. His magic ruined half of the slums."

Natsu was again standing in the crater where Zeref's body was found, feeling the air prick with residual magic. "Who?"

Sorano shook her head. "I can't say."

"Then what good are you?" he hissed.

Sorano looked shocked; Natsu was, too, momentarily, but then he was angry. "Get out."

She didn't immediately move. "There are only a few assassins capable of this kind of destruction, and most of them are in service to Alvarez royalty." Then with a contemptuous look, she spun on her heel and scurried away without another word.

"Would you like her arrested for her disrespect, Majesty?" rumbled one of the guards.

A part of him wanted to say yes but that was a small and mean part that Natsu didn't have much use for. "Leave her." That way, he didn't have to admit he didn't know what she was talking about.

Admittedly, it wasn't a complete surprise that Zeref kept assassins on retainer. It was just disconcerting. And something Zeref never spoke to him about. Natsu didn't like the idea that Sorano knew things he didn't.

Natsu pushed the scandalized part of him aside. He knew his brother was no saint. He vowed to find who Zeref hired to perform his less chivalrous deeds. That list might contain his assassin or lead to them, at least.

Natsu returned to his brother in hopes that his corpse might reveal some telling detail about his attacker but Zeref was just a body and the dead didn't speak.

He squeezed Zeref's cold hand once and imagined for a second that he felt it squeezing back in silent encouragement. He had all the resources of the kingdom to figure out who was brazen enough to accept a contract to murder a king. Especially one like Zeref.

His guards flanked him as he exited the morgue and returned to the warmth of the living. Very few people were in the halls, most had gone to dinner already. Natsu's stomach grumbled at the thought but he pushed on, through the discomfort, and out into the gardens.

When he wasn't casting world-shaking spells, August was quiet and reserved. One of—if not the most—powerful mage in Alvarez preferred to spend his magic on dazzling plants than dazzling humans. He was Natsu's opposite. Conservative, well-spoken, polite.

He looked up when he heard Natsu's feet crushing over the gravel pathway and his face settled down into an unreadable mask. He stood from his filigree bench, bones audibly protesting, and bowed at the waist. "Your Majesty. I hear congratulations are in order."

At first, Natsu thought he was talking about his ascension to the throne. "I would rather have remained prince and had my brother alive."

August arched one thick brow. "Of course. I simply meant your unarranged marriage."

Natsu opened his mouth for an apology but didn't know how to word it. August, who had never had his heart broken by cheap words, didn't seem to mind.

"I needed to renew the wards of Cthulhu's Palace last evening and I'm worn out. If I may?" he pointed back to his bench and Natsu felt his face flush for his thoughtlessness.

"Of course."

"Sometimes, I forget how old I really am," August said on a sigh.

"How old is that?" Natsu had no idea. All his hair was grey and there were deep cracks at the corners of his eyes, but his skin often had a healthy flush. Except today, he looked chalky.

"Old enough to know it's rude to ask such a question," August chastised, but he was smiling, just a small amount. Honestly, it was so miniscule, it was hardly worth mentioning.

"How are the wards now?" Natsu sat next to August, the space of a man between them so he could see the old man without having to lean back.

"As good as they've ever been." August reached toward a rose bush and Natsu watched it flourish. He wanted to tell August not to expend any more energy but telling August not to do something was like telling a boulder to dance. It just couldn't be done.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Natsu listening to the birds twittering and August looking to the blue and grey sky. Clouds were rolling in.

"Did you come for an update on Silver?" August asked.

Natsu startled. "Have you received one?"

August pressed his thin lips together. It was clear he thought Natsu just as immature and petulant as he'd ever been. "Your servant has details for you."

"I've been so busy…" Natsu tried to shove his hand through his hair and almost knocked his crown flying. He righted it, embarrassed all over again.

"That's part of the job."

Natsu waited for his guards to offer to arrest August for his rudeness but they stood nearby sweating in their uniforms, pretending they couldn't hear the details of their conversation.

"I'm going to get a report from him this evening," Natsu decided.

August waited for him to stand but Natsu dithered.

"What's on your mind?"

"I need a list of people Zeref kept on retainer."

August cocked his head to the right. "Your brother paid many people. What kind of person are you looking for?"

"One that might…" Natsu had trouble moving his mouth around the words. "One that might silence someone troublesome."

"I see," came August's questioning reply.

"Do you know?"

August looked at the church he spent much of his time in and Natsu's body got hot.

"I just thought… you were one of his closest advisors."

"You're right," August said. "I was." He rolled his shoulders back. "Your brother was very meticulous. He kept records on everything. The more unsavoury ones he sealed away in the treasury. It would take some time to break the seals, but I could do it for you."

"Thank you."

August looked at him quizzically when he still didn't stand. "Is there something else on your mind?"

"The day Zeref was killed."

August dropped his eyes to his roses. "Yes."

Natsu was glad August wouldn't look at him; everything felt so raw when he scraped out, "Do you know what happened?" It was all he could do to keep his throat from closing.

"We were returning to the castle and we were attacked," August said simply. "We were well away from the riots; I suppose none of us were as wary as we should have been. Zeref's guards didn't even have the opportunity to defend him. The explosion shook the ground."

And rattled the water, and the ship, and blew his brother to pieces.

"I couldn't even erect a barrier around him," August remembered. "By the time I thought to act, Zeref was gone."

"But you were with him?"

August finally lifted his eyes. They were so pale they were almost no colour at all. "I was."

Natsu bit his lip hard, hoping the pain would clear his head.

"Speak your mind, Majesty, it's just us here," August prompted.

"You're strongest mage in Alvarez." Maybe the world. "And you're here. And Zeref isn't."

"I'm too old for games, Majesty. I don't have much time left. Are you wondering if I killed him?" August said bluntly.

Natsu decided, too, to be blunt. "You don't have a mark on you."

"I'm almost always shielded by my magic."

"It was your job to protect Zeref." Zeref should have been shielded, too.

August tipped his face to the sky, eyes closed. "Your brother was proud. He liked to protect himself when we were in the city. He said it sent a message to assassins—the king wasn't weak, and if he wasn't weak, he wasn't an easy target."

Natsu stood because if he didn't do something with his body, he would be overcome by rage. He could only repeat, "It was your job."

August met Natsu's eyes steadily. "And Silver's. And the rest of his royal guard. We all failed him. Every one of us. We were foolish and full of hubris. Will you punish us?"

It felt like his blood was boiling. His magic pushed at his skin, escaping in fits and spurts. Around him, August's garden withered, petals burning, leaves curling. August looked on steadily as though he would not fight back, as though he believed himself worthy of this punishment.

This punishment. Natsu considered what that meant. Was he going to char August to death? He remembered the man in the cell that Zeref killed with a cold thought. And the lives he'd snuffed out before that. His brother was no saint. It generated fear, which generated respect, but Natsu didn't want to be that kind of ruler, not if he could help it.

His fires cooled. Most of the damage was already done, August's garden was ruined, and August's robes were toasted, too. He hadn't even tried to protect himself.

Natsu let out a quavering breath and smoothed his own smoky clothing. His maids hated caring for his belongings. They used to complain about it more when he was a child; now they had come to expect clothing riddled with burn holes and doused in the scent of smoke that would not come out.

"I forgive you."

August bowed his head. "Your first few days in charge have shaped you to be far more benevolent than your brother."

Natsu ground his teeth together, once. "No more talk of Zeref."

August bowed his head further. "As you wish, Majesty."

"And find those documents."

"Of course."

Natsu turned from August and sought out his next target.

It took a solid two hours of searching, but eventually, Natsu found Happy in the Sunroom, overlooking the river, and watching the sun settle on the horizon. He had papers spread out beneath his hands and a quill pressed to his lips. There was a blue stain on his chin and his hair was in disarray. His doublet hung off his frame and he looked peaky. When was the last time he'd eaten?

Happy startled upright when Natsu entered, getting to his feet so fast that he dropped his papers all over the ground. "Your—"

"Just Natsu today, Happy," Natsu drawled and fell into the seat across from Happy. He wasn't supposed to slouch so much in these clothes, the threads would pull, and the fabric was prone to staining. How useless. But he was tired. Being a king was hard, though he didn't feel like he'd done very many kingly things just yet.

"Sit."

Happy settled down again and pressed his lips together. After a moment, he reluctantly said, "Natsu. Some servants are maimed for their lack of respect," he added under his breath.

Natsu chose to ignore the last. "Tell me about Silver."

Happy's back got minisculely straighter. "He's arrived in Fiore. There was a pickpocket at the docks that tried to lift the message he was sent with, with its royal seal. Silver thinks it could have been sabotage."

"Did they get it?"

"No."

Natsu dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Then has he met with the king?"

Happy cast his eyes aside. "He's sent word of his intentions and is awaiting the king's response."

Natsu drummed his hands on his knees. "What do you think?"

"About which part?" Happy was careful to ask.

"About the king's coming response?"

"I think…" Happy trailed off. Natsu gave him what he hoped was his most stern look. "I think marrying the Heartfilia girl will see you with a dagger in your back," Happy said, stronger. "I think her father is not much better. It's a country of swindlers and though you're bound by marriage now, I'd be monitoring my soup for foxglove."

"Isn't it always monitored for foxglove?"

Happy blushed. "You know what I mean."

"I know you're talking about my wife." Wife. How strange. He never wanted to be married before and now…

In an uncanny show of bravery, Happy stuck out his chin. "She is your wife, sire, but your wife also tried to shoot me from the rooftop."

"I might try to shoot someone from the rooftop if they were following me, too," Natsu pointed out. "Wouldn't you?"

Happy looked rightfully indignant. "Afterward, her spirit tried to kill me."

"You were trying to stab her with a dagger."

Happy made a noise between a laugh and a muffled yell.

"I'm not asking you to trust her." Natsu leaned forward and met Happy's eyes. At first, Happy tried to look away, but eventually, he gave in and returned Natsu's steady stare. "I'm just asking you to keep the peace," Natsu finished. "I have a plan."

"All your plans start in the same way," Happy bemoaned. "You rush into them and things fall apart, and then you rush out and I'm left to clean up the mess."

There was no sense denying After all, in his most recent plan, he'd galloped into a political marriage with Lucy. "This one has more finesse."

Happy looked at him skeptically. "I don't believe you." Natsu opened his mouth to protest but Happy cut in with something more interesting. "Your guards found the Strauss girl. The one your brother was using."

"Lisanna." Natsu grinned for the first time in days. "Where is she?"

"In the dungeons, awaiting an audience."

Natsu stood. "You should have led with that. Let's go—"

Suddenly, a huge explosion rocked through the castle, the force of it breaking all the glass in the Sunroom. It sent Happy and Natsu both to their backs, and all Happy's papers scattered across the floor.

It was hard to breathe at first like there was no air in the room, or he'd had the wind knocked out of him, but long seconds passed and gradually, Natsu's lungs inflated. He squinted through the dust. Happy lay just two feet away. He was bleeding from a cut over his eye and from a million places on his arms and his cheeks. He was covered in dust and the table they'd been sitting at had fallen half on top of him.

"Happy!" Natsu felt his mouth moving but couldn't hear a thing he said, it was just blankness in his ears and dull pain. He touched his warm cheek and felt blood.

The only reason he knew there were others in the room was that he felt their footsteps on the ground. One of his guards came into view and crouched in front of him. Natsu prepared himself for violence, but the man only looked him over without drawing his sword.

He's trying to help, Natsu realized when the guard said something repeatedly. The ringing in his right ear dialed down to the noise of the ocean crashing against shore. His left remained dead.

The guard's voice came through the buzz. "Can you hear me? How badly are you hurt?"

Natsu pushed him back. From this position, he could see the ruined spire of Cthulhu's Palace and the dark-winged shape rising from its innards.

Dragons were fearsome creatures. Anyone who didn't think so would be a fool. But for a moment, Natsu found himself almost paralyzed. In his mind's eye, his parents' blood was spilling across the snow and steaming, and the dragon was reaching for him and Zeref next.

This dragon tucked its powerful wings into its side and lunged toward the ground after a figure with golden hair. Even from so far away, Natsu knew it was Lucy. He dived to the broken window but was too far away, he could do nothing but watch as Lucy threw herself to the ground, out of reach of the dragon's piercing claws.

The dragon reeled back around, close enough to the ground that its wing burst through one of the ramparts and sent stone scattering. Lucy was still on her stomach. She was searching for something at her neck and Natsu realized sickly that he still had her keys. She had no way to protect herself. He could see the moment Lucy came to the same conclusion; her muscles tightened with desperateness but the only thing she could do was tuck her head into her arms and hope for the best.

The dragon was on her, about to swipe her up in its claws, a move that would probably tear her in half or break her neck and back, or both when Natsu saw a bright blast of magic. It hit the dragon square in the chest and pushed it back from Lucy. It was hit again, and it listed dangerously in the air, off-balance and on the brink of falling. The dragon cried, shaking the already unstable castle and a part of the north wing collapsed to rubble. Natsu hoped there was no one there but doubted it.

The dragon flapped its powerful wings and took off into the sky.

Natsu pushed away from the window and away from his guards, too, who kept trying to hold him up whenever he'd list dangerously. He felt sick to his stomach, and part of it was fear and distress, but a lot of it had to do with the equilibrium in his head. He felt dizzy and strange. He ran for a hundred metres, then swerved badly and had to push away from the wall. It felt like he was drunk.

Outside, the air was cool and the sky was darkening. People were yelling and crying, some wailed at him as he went by. He should have stopped to make sure they were okay, but he didn't.

There was a mountain of rubble that he had to scale to get to where Lucy still sat on the ground, dirty and bloody. Her cheeks were wet with tears; she didn't even seem to notice she was crying.

August stood over her, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Natsu worried about his health; he looked pale but alert. His eyes tracked to Natsu as soon as he scrabbled over the debris. "Lady Eileen's escaped." His voice was muffled against Natsu's ringing ear. "She had help from the outside, I suspect." He looked directly at Lucy as he spoke, and his meaning was clear.

Lucy said nothing, just stared at August, even when the guards moved forward and wrapped her wrists in chains.