Guys, I ask you to forgive me for some spelling mistakes, English is not my first language.
A blonde woman, with brown eyes was seated on a throne, in the middle of a huge hall decorated in gold and silver, soldiers armed with spears and swords were lined up against the walls of the hall, supernaturally focused on a single man kneeling in front of her, watching every move the man made, every breath, the contraction of every muscle, ready to attack if the man even thought of threatening the woman.
The woman, Lucy Heartfilia, was completely oblivious to what was happening around her, since she couldn't believe what she was reading, not that she thought it was a lie, without a doubt it was true, and it was also something she always imagined would happen sooner or later, but still couldn't believe it, or rather, didn't want to believe it.
The messenger who had brought the letter was still kneeling in front of her throne, his head bowed, his pointed ears protruding from his long hair, marking him as one of the elves of the forest.
"Summon, Lord Makarov" She didn't say to anyone in particular, but one of the soldiers lining the wall of the hall, slammed his fist on his chest, bowed in awe, and left the hall with determined steps, she turned her attention back to the messenger , who from the moment he delivered the letter had not made a single sound. "Your name is Max, right?" The messenger looked towards her, but not in her eyes, and nodded in confirmation. "Tell me, what is written here, is true?"
"Although I do not know the contents of the letter, madam, I have a good idea of what it is, and yes every word is true, since last winter, the situation at the borders has worsened more and more, at the last count we had more than one hundred dead , and three times that number of missing persons. " His face was filled with sadness. "A third of the missing are children who did not reach the first decade." Max looked away, and wiped a lonely tear that had escaped with the sleeve of his shirt, the only feeling he had shown since arriving at the castle"The Queen is gathering soldiers from all over the kingdom, ordering that all the inhabitants of the borders go to the capital, or seek shelter in the fortresses."
"My Queen" The soldier had returned, accompanied by a small man completely white, hair, beard and clothes, the only sign of color being his dark brown eyes.
The soldier bowed again, and returned to his position on the wall, the lord walked until he was beside the messenger, and stopped, without bowing to his sovereign, a right he had won with the long centuries of service to the kingdom, and the fact that he had held her in his arms as a child.
If the messenger was bothered by it, or his informality, he didn't show, he just looked impassive, without saying a single word, the Queen held out the letter to the old man, watching while he read it.
"What is written here is true?" The Queen nodded in confirmation, Makarov didn't let anything show. "My Queen, can we talk in private?"
"Gentlemen, I ask you to leave us alone." The request was simply a courtesy, for everyone in that room, her words were an order, the soldiers lined up on the walls moved in synchronized way until they formed a line on either side of the messenger, who had stood up and made another bow to her, Lucy watched as they left the room, as the last soldiers in each row closed the doors of the hall, she leet a tired breath escape her lips, and relaxed her posture on the throne looking worriedly at the old man.
"Lucy." Makarov had put aside any formality, his voice had taken on a warm tone, like a loving grandfather talking to his granddaughter. " I hate to say this, but if what is written in this letter is true, which I personally believe it to be, we will have no choice but to get involved. "He approached the throne, and took her hand, holding it between his, trying to reassure her.
"I know Makarov, since I took on my parents' burden, I knew that this moment would someday come." She put his hand against her forehead, seeking comfort in the one who had been a guardian since the day her parents left her. " I just didn't imagine that this day would come so soon, nor that she would be the one responsible. "
"What will you do now, My child?" Even if he did not want to, Makarov showed all the insecurity and concern he was feeling, not for him, who, after more than fifteen centuries of life, would probably not be in this world to suffer the consequences of what would happen, but for this young woman, whom she had raised as if she were her own granddaughter, who had forced herself to carry a very heavy burden for anyone, especially for a child who had not even turned two decades, who had not experienced the good things that life had to offer.
"I have no other choice Makarov, even though my Kingdom has not yet suffered the consequences, I cannot risk the future that awaits us if I decide to ignore what is happening." She straightened up on the throne, releasing his hand, Makarov felt a twinge of deep sadness dominating his heart, the little girl with golden hair he had created, who was more radiant than any star in the sky, had grown up, and had just made a decision that would haunt her to the end of her long life. "Ask everyone to return. "
Makarov did as requested, sending a telepathic message to the soldiers waiting outside, they entered in the same way as they left, marching synchronously in two rows, the messenger between them.
"Max" The elf was surprised by the Queen's voice, she was completely different from the gentle voice from before, when each word invoked in his mind the starry sky on a summer night, it didn't exist anymore, it was filled with an authority that made him tremble.
"Return to your Kingdom, tell your Queen to wait for me, I will arrive in ten days."
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty." Max bowed deeply, showing his gratitude. "I ask that you grant me permission to leave immediately, the sooner I inform my queen the better."
"Granted, I wish you a safe trip."
That night, Lucy went to a place she had not entered in the last fifteen years since the day her parents left this world, leaving her alone to carry a burden that was too heavy.
Their room continued exactly as she remembered it, even the messy bed, just as they had left, she went to her mother's closet, and from there she took out a single chest with the twelve zodiac constellations carved in the wood, and put it on the bed.
"Father, Mother, if you really are with the stars, I ask you to give me a little bit of all the courage and strength that you had, help me to overcome the trials that are surely waiting for me in the Future." She opened the chest, and took out of it a single golden ring, with twelve keys made of the purest gold, each carved in the shape of one of the symbols of the Zodiac. "And you too, I ask you to help and guide me in the difficult times that are coming." Each of the keys shone golden, as if they had a star inside them."Thank you."
Natsu knew he was dreaming, but still he couldn't force his body to wake up, he was on a field every inch of ground covered by countless corpses, dipped to the waist in spilled blood, he could smell burned flesh, bodies in decomposition, intensified by the infernal heat of the sun that shone in the most beautiful blue sky he could remember.
The only thing he could hear in that dream was a desperate laughter, mixed with the sound of crying sobs. He wanted to tell the person responsible for that sound to shut up, but he knew it was impossible, because he couldn't stop laughing long enough to say something.
The world was filled with darkness and he tried, with all his considerable strength, to wake up, he knew exactly what would come next, the image that had been burned into his mind so deeply, that he could see even awake, it was only necessary close his eyes, but even if he didn't want it, hated it from the bottom of his corrupted heart, the light came back into the world.
Now he was in one of the rooms of his house, looking through one of the infinite windows that covered it, a giant body covered with red scales was stretched against one side of one of the nearby mountains, it was possible to see a being of the same size covered with black scales and blue runes, feasting on the corpse.
The red creature was his father, while the black creature was his killer.
Again the world was filled with darkness, but this time he was anxious about what was to come, he could feel the same excitement he had felt that day, the same uncontrolled bloodlust.
When the light came back he had his claws deep into the black creature's chest, delighting with every second of the suffering he could see in the enemy, letting his face form a smile of pure pleasure as he saw the light of hope escape his eyes. He brought his head close to the enemy's, letting hell form in his mouth, when he was close enough he let the flames explode outward, turning his worst enemy into ashes, and with it all the little humans that ran from one side to the other trying to escape from their pathetic city.
Beings who had committed the only sin of building a life in that place, of trying to survive as best they could, turning to ashes, while he laughed.
Again the darkness came, drowning out the sound of the cries of the innocent, of their crying babies, of their bodies that hissed as they turned into nothing, of their lives that were taken unfairly.
When the light came back, Natsu knew that he was close to waking up, and that the next part was the worst of all, he was in a city surrounded by walls that seemed to shine when reflecting the sunlight.
He stood up, and looked around, knowing exactly what he would find, to his right was a small, charred female body, the only thing that had survived were a few strands of blue hair, to his left, a male body, completely shattered and practically unrecognizable, were it not for the pieces of iron that had melted and stuck to what was left of the skin, there was one more in front of him, but this one was unknown, and practically unhurt, were it not for the deep cut in the neck, the hair that looked like rays of the sun that had taken on a physical shape were stained with blood, and brown eyes that must have been beautiful once, looked at the emptiness.
He knew that these people were his family, the only reason his rotten heart kept beating, and that there was no one in the world he could blame but himself, he looked down at his own hands, where blood-dripping claws had taken the place of his nails.
Natsu looked up at the sky, and screamed, until his throat ached, until the sound he made became the roar of the beast he had been trying to keep under control for so long, until what echoed around the world was the first sign of the end of the times.
His body reacted before his mind could fully wake up, he took the hand that touched his shoulder, and pulled the intruder, pinning him against his bed, digging his claws into the mattress inches from his cousin's fragile neck.
"NATSU" Wendy looked at him worriedly, her whole body trembling with fear.
"How many times do I have to speak, for you to understand Wendy? never come into my room "He was furious, not with her, but with himself, for everyone who existed outside the walls of his Kingdom, his name was synonymous with power, feared as a natural disaster, but for his family it was the other way around, it meant security, it meant having nothing to fear in this world, and now one of the few people he cared about, looked at him as if he were a monster to be feared. he jumped out of bed trying to put as much distance as possible between the two.
"I apologize Natsu, I know I shouldn't come in here while you are sleeping, but it is an emergency, next time I will send a telepathic mess..."
"NO !!!!" Again he shouted at his cousin, but that was a message that had to be made very clear, he felt a twinge in his chest when he saw her expression, there was no fear, but an endless concern. "My mind is a place you should never venture, Wendy, the things I have in here. " He touched his temple with two fingers. " I don't want you to see them. "
"Okay." She went to one of the chairs in his room, took the clothes that were on it, and trowed them at him. " We can talk about this later, Natsu, but now I need you to come with me, Gajeel captured an intruder, he is waiting for you in the throne room. "
The change was automatic, Natsu put everything he was feeling in the same place in his mind that he kept the memories of his dreams, his expression of guilt, gave way to indifference, his eyes became cold and distant.
"Come on Wendy."
Gajeel could feel his cousin and King approaching, the fury emanating from him could be compared to the eruption of a volcano, the castle walls creaked with the pressure of his magic, the guards that lined the walls of the hall, the elite of the dragons looked concerned at the doors, the intruder seemed to sense the threat that was coming too, the man was shaking, the acrid smell of urine had plagued the room.
The immense doors of the hall opened, and Natsu entered, with each step he took, the hall seemed to diminish, as it was dominated by the overwhelming power that emanated from his body, the fact that his face was completely indifferent made everything even more frightening, he continued his silent walk to the top of the altar where the throne of the dragons stood, a seat forged from the heart of a mountain, when he sat, red veins of magma that came out of the throne, running through all the walls of the room lit up, illuminating the huge wings covered with red scales protruding from his back, the huge black horns like the night on his forehead.
Gajeel reacted in time to grab the intruder who had lost consciousness from fear, Wendy watched the scene with concern, but did not leave her place to the right of the throne.
"What's going on Gajeel?" He had not yet gotten used to the different faces of his cousin, when they were alone, he was kind and warm, a male who cared deeply about his family, but when he was in public, mainly sitting on that throne, Natsu became a being completely different, created by nature itself to invoke the fear of most living beings, the predator that occupied the top of the food chain. "Who is this pathetic excuse for a male who dares to pollute the air in my hall, with this smell of urine ? "
"I haven't found out yet, my King, our soldiers found him unconscious on the northeast coast." Gajeel shook the intruder, trying to wake him up, the man opened his eyes, and looked around disoriented. "There was no belonging with him, but he is too well dressed to be a simple tramp."
Natsu looked at the cousin who was on his right. 'You speak Wendy, or that useless person will pass out again', it was not always that he used telepathy to communicate while in his human form, which yielded a surprised look from the girl .
"My name is Wendy Dragneel, I am the princess of this country." Her voice was like a breeze on a hot day, reassuring to everyone in the hall, the prisoner looked at her as if a goddess of compassion had taken shape in the world to save him from the terrible dragons. "Tell me stranger, what brings you to gwlad y dreigiau? "
"My lady ..." Encouraged by the princess, the stranger disengaged himself from Gajeel, trying his best to try to pass some dignity, he tied his hair in a bun, revealing long, pointed ears, elven ears, and bowed deeply to Natsu. "My lord, my name is Jet, I am one of the couriers of Queen Titania's court, I came to your land to deliver you a message of the utmost importance." The messenger took out a single whithe letter
"Gajeel" The general took the letter, and took it to the King. "Guards, take him to one of the rooms on the first floor, prepare a bath for him, I can't take this smell of piss anymore." Natus watched the messenger bê escorted out of the hall, and even after the doors were closed, he waited in silence for a few seconds, until he could no longer hear the guards. "What does Erza want?"