"This is highly disturbing," Kagura stared at the report in disbelief. "How would anyone have gotten into the palace to do something like this? I understand she has a pattern of reckless behaviour and has ended up in situations before that would be considered...perhaps unusual, but I doubt this could be something she did to herself. I do, however, recall last year, that incident where she and Bickslow were caught trespassing. Didn't the two of them end up setting off coloured smoke bombs in downtown Crocus? I certainly remember the retired king being rather entertained by the spectacle."

"That was only one time," Lyon said, shrugging. "And has nothing to do with this. Consider that Jadelynn Caitlin Annelise Norwich-Fernandes is not by any means weak as a mage. She has always been able to use her magic to a reasonable extent, such as when she used it to distract from her escaping her mother's home the five years ago during the assassination attempt. While I do think she could be defeated in a fight, and probably fairly easily, the amount of magic energy that had been drained from her was not conducive to what she would have lost fighting someone."

Erza frowned. "That's true," She agreed. "And, from what we have heard so far from Princess Mirajane and Prince Freed, neither her highness nor Norwich-Fernandes know what happened. And, by the sound of it, her highness is sick. As for Norwich-Fernandes…"

"The fact Siegrain put in for a leave of absence immediately after is evidence enough that his wife isn't well," Sting said, shaking his head. "He hasn't said anything on the subject, but I don't think he would have done that unless something were seriously wrong."

"That I would agree with," Mest said, frowning. "Has she regained any of her memory? Or has Princess Mirajane?"

"Not that we know of," Meredy said, swallowing hard. "But we aren't entirely sure what happened still. Really, none of it makes sense right now. I know it has only been a few days, but it's deeply concerning. It seems obvious they were attacked down there, but who would have done that while also being able to get into the palace?"

Evergreen's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. "I can think of a person who would have that capacity, would be more than willing to do it without hesitation, and would then be capable of escaping undetected," She said coldly, a hiss to her voice. "Ivan Dreyar."

Kagura's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "He's a fugitive, Evergreen," She reminded her. "I doubt that he would take that risk. I know there have been rumours that he had attempted to harm the Queen about a month or so ago, but I don't think he would be so stupid as to take that sort of risk. If he had already attempted to do something in the palace, he would know how much security would be around the royal family, and especially because Queen Hisui is with child. He's cruel and arguably mad, but I don't believe he is stupid enough to attempt to do something that reckless."

"It's not reckless if you know you can get away with it," Evergreen irritably replied. "Keep in mind that Princess Mirajane was in such a state of shock that she couldn't recall what happened and Norwich-Fernandes was completely unconscious. Based on what the doctors told us, and given how much of her magic energy had been drained, she would not have been aware of what was happening."

"That's true," Erza mildly agreed. "Besides, she's a celestial spirit mage and none of her keys were with her at the time she was found. She wouldn't have been able to do much even if she had wanted to fight whoever attacked her and Princess Mirajane."

"That doesn't mean it was Ivan Dreyar who attacked them," Sting uneasily said. "And, besides that, we have no idea where he is. Even if we did know where he was, there's no guarantee that we would be able to catch him right away, let alone pin him for this."

"But Ivan Dreyar is a person who would definitely want to harm the royal family," Meredy shook her head. "He's the only one with a motivation to do something like this. I would have no hesitation charging him with two counts of violent assault and one count of conspiracy to overthrow the government."

"That can't be determined yet," Mest said, sounding rather detached. "But this does align with some of what we have already heard of the woman who had been giving him harbour. Let us be cautious...because we have no idea how serious this could be."


"Where is she?"

Belno breathed a sigh of relief the second she stepped into the room to find her daughter conscious, albeit looking rather sick and laying in bed. She and Sieg had been moved just down the corridor from Laxus and Hisui's suite, and both the king and queen were there now, along with little Lana Marie who was curled up against her mother, babbling to her. Siegrain, next to her, kept his hands tightly intertwined with his wife's. Hisui was pacing, looking particularly nervous, and Laxus watched her, trying to process through what they knew now himself. Lacey was sleeping on the sette next to her father, occasionally rolling over in her sleep but safe. Laxus hadn't let her out of his sight since what had happened just two days before, and he had no intention of starting. He hadn't left Hisui's side, either, terrible fear for her and their children pervading every aspect of life.

"Good Lord, Jade," Belno looked at her daughter, her brow furrowed in concern. "Are you alright? You don't look well at all."

"I still have a fever," Jade pushed her glasses up to rub her eyes. "And I can't walk very well right now. I'm rather dizzy whenever I stand up."

Siegrain squeezed her hand. "We're here for you," The forty three year old Wizard Saint murmured.

"It's been snowing, mommy!" Lana Marie added, bobbing her head excitedly. "Daddy took me and Lacey out with Laxus and Hisui! It was fun!"

Jade managed a small laugh. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Lanie."

"And Lacey says she's going to have a little sister!" Lana Marie went on, jumping up and grabbing her mother's arm. "Can I have a little sister too? Please….."

"I'm not sure that's….likely to happen, Lanie," Jade said, loosely wrapping an arm around her daughter, who looked down in disappointment.

"Also, we're having a son," Laxus put in, giving Hisui an affectionate squeeze. "Don't look at me like that. You know I'm right."

"You still have a month to go!" Hisui exclaimed, blushing. "I have no idea whether or not you or Lacey are right quite yet!"

"I'm going to assume Laxus will be right," Siegrain said, looking rather amused. "I insisted to Jade through her entire pregnancy that we were going to have a daughter, and it certainly looks like I willed Lanie into being a girl."

Lana Marie grinned at her parents, squeezing her mother's arm tighter.

"He's not doing quite that," Hisui giggled, leaning into her husband's embrace. "Don't deny it, Laxus. You're still trying to prove a point to my father."

"I never said that," He replied, pausing briefly to chastely kiss her. "If anything, Toma keeps suggesting that. He's never going to let it go."

"In fairness to Toma, I was almost certain Sieg was going to be wrong," Belno sent her son in law a pointed look. "He wasn't, but it was good fun irritating him about the matter."

Siegrain blinked, thoroughly embarrassed. "Was I really that insistent?"

"Yes," She told him.

"Absolutely," Jade agreed, smiling a little when he leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Is that an apology?"

"Perhaps," He replied, sighing when he saw their daughter starting to climb on her again. "Lanie, your mother is still sick. Try to be careful with her."

Belno nodded and finally sat down beside her daughter, loosely embracing her after a moment of hesitation.

"What happened?" She finally asked, looking rather worried when she saw how Siegrain tensed and tightened his hands around hers.

"I…" Jade looked away, blinking back tears. "I don't know."

"It was Ivan," Laxus said, looking between his wife, daughter, and his sister's family in concern. He pulled Hisui closer when he felt her tense. "I'm sure of it."

Belno turned to him in horror. "No. He….how would he have gotten into the palace?"

"I don't know," Laxus gently started to rub Hisui's arm, trying to reassure her. "But I'm almost certain it was him."

"Who's Ivan?" Lana Marie asked, her eyes wide and a little scared.

Jade bit her lip. "He's…."

"He's your grandfather," Siegrain told her. He paused when he caught the upset that flashed across his wife's face. "Well, your step-grandfather."

"This is because of me…." Belno probed her forehead in horror. "I...I'm so sorry, I always knew he was dangerous but -"

"Bell -" Laxus cut himself and swallowed hard. "Mom," He finally corrected. "It's not your fault."

"You misunderstand me," She shortly replied. "He found me the other day in Era. He was probably near me when I was with Jade and Lana Marie -"

"What?" Jade immediately pulled her daughter tightly into her arms and fought back tears. Siegrain wrapped an arm tightly around her and began stroking her hair.

"- Eventually he found me, and he certainly knows that none of you are….in the dark about what happened between me and him anymore," Belno sighed, looking completely exhausted. "And, frankly, I doubt any of us are safe anymore."


"Cana?"

"Careful! You've got a lady at work here!"

Mest ducked out of the way and quickly took and put on the goggles she threw his way. Seconds later, several firecrackers went off. He started laughing, not at all surprised. Silently, he cursed out Siegrain for what he had suggested, a bit of guilt starting to rise in him every time he remembered that he was keeping something so important from Cana. He had spoken with Cornelia twice since he had found out about her connection to her wife, and he felt sick to his stomach every time he thought about the things she had said, suggested, and even joked about. Something about her felt so wrong, so sadistic, yet so nonchalant. He had no idea what to make of her. The trial was a few weeks away, and the situation was still so confusing that he had no idea of what to make of it. Mest watched Cana continue to set off firecrackers, rubbing his neck in thought while she continued to excitedly set them off.

"How many of these have you got?" Mest finally asked, forcing a bit of a chuckle when she passed him a couple of shots. "And where exactly did you get them?"

"I bought them down at the market," Cana winked and turned around to kiss his cheek and then throw back a trick shot. "It was pretty damn fun. I got some doughnuts too. Thought you might want some sweets, you know?"

Mest jumped back when she threw back two at once. "Please don't set anything on fire."

"I'm not going to," Cana waved her hands dismissively. "I've been playing with explosives since I was a kid. You think we didn't have access to all sorts of shit in the guild hall?"

"I believe it," Mest took back a shot and let her wrap an arm over his shoulder. "But it sounds to me like you might have been more thrill seeking than some of the rest of them."

"Well, sometimes it got boring!" Cana smirked. "Even though Makarov has always been eccentric! He did let us run around and do all sorts of dangerous things."

"I don't want to know," Mest shook his head. "But, you know what? At least he hasn't ever gotten indicted on criminal charges."

"Wasn't he on trial just last year for shooting fireworks off the top of the guild hall?"

Mest managed to laugh for real, this time. "He got a heavy fine for disturbing the peace, but it was ultimately let go. On the other hand, Kagura certainly wanted to make things as difficult as possible for him. She was rather annoyed by Siegrain's amusement by the situation."

"When isn't Siegrain amused by us in the guild?" Cana shrugged and stretched out her arms. "He has been for years. Of everyone on the Council, he's always been the most lenient with them."

"You have no idea how many people were annoyed by that," Mest paused for a few seconds in thought. "The way I heard it, plenty of people could not believe it when he said things like 'I happen to like those idiots' and whatnot."

Cana grinned. "Well," She said, tickling his shoulders. "You have to appreciate that about us. You and I both know we've always been good at being charming."

"I'm not sure I would say everyone in the guild has gotten away with things because they were charming," Mest remarked, feeling guilty once again while she continued to tap against his shoulders. "But you all are definitely skilled at keeping out of trouble."

"We've gotten good at it over the years!" Cana wrapped her arms around his neck and winked. "You're pretty lenient for someone on the Council too, you know…..but I think you and I both know Siegrain has done….things with Jade when they've been alone in his office before."

"And who's to say we haven't done our own….mischievous deeds?" Mest smiled when she kissed his cheek. "Perhaps not in Era...but we definitely have during….well, didn't we almost get into trouble for starting a dumpster fire when we snuck off during the Grand Magic Games two years ago? We were definitely lucky they assumed it was Natsu."

"He probably would have helped us!" Cana laughed, finally starting to walk with him back to their apartment. "If he had known what we were doing, that is."

"He would have," Mest agreed, smirking. "Perhaps we should invite him next time…."

He barely heard her reply, his thoughts all but screaming in his head. I'll tell her soon enough, Mest told himself. Just not tonight.