The royal ball room couldn't have been more lavish, yet also the exact thing that Kai expected out of the Fiore royal family after wandering through the castle a few days ago. It'd probably taken a few days just to set up all these incredibly decorations.

All of Fairy Tail, and several other wizards who participated in the Grand Magic Games, had been cordially invited to celebrate both the end of the games and the Eclipse victory a few days following the massive battle.

Kai, in the intervening time, spent most of his time with Erza and Iggy, just to recuperate himself. He'd made sure to avoid contact with anyone outside the guild who may have any remarks for him. Nobody would bode him ill-will, he hoped, but he just wasn't quite ready to see others.

He knew he couldn't convince Erza and Iggy not to have him tag along to the party once he got the invitation, and was indeed greeted warmly by the others.

Part of him hoped to find Crime Sorciere there as well. Cobra had been taken the night of the battle by Doranbolt and Lahar, naturally. Kai wished to admit to Lahar the great deeds that Crime Sorciere went to in order to prevent disaster. But, seeing him at the party, Kai couldn't help acknowledging that it would only lead to tension, as even if Lahar accepted Jellal didn't fight for evil, other guilds may not have the same impression.

Millianna still attended, sad that she didn't have a date. She walked in with Kai and Erza, but was immediately distracted by some of the friends she'd made from Mermaid Heel. Erza let her go, and was herself summoned by Kagura to see her. Kai wandered around alone for a bit while the Exceeds played in the skies above, now including Lector and Frosch, whom had made up with the others after the battle of the Dragon Slayers.

Kai stood alone for maybe a few moments before being summoned by a suspicious man in a mask pulling him into a separate room. However, waiting for him there was Queen Hisui, aided at either side by two guards.

She sat in a small throne rather comfortably, and tilted her head at Kai.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she said as a guard closed the door.

Kai didn't have his sword on him; not that he was concerned about fighting off there guards and Hisui.

"Thank you," he said.

"I'm sure you'll be frustrated in me for even asking this, but did you know of his alliance with Rogue at all?"

"No. And, don't worry, I'm not frustrated at all. I was asked that enough by my guildmatest that I'm basically used to it."

"We've tried to keep things hush about your relationship." Hisui folded her hands. Much as the first time Kai saw her, Hisui embodied a true, if young, ruler. "So you'll avoid further confrontation about it. Needless to say, though, what he did will not be forgotten."

"I know."

Hisui sighed and shrugged. "But at least we learned our lesson not to trust time-travelers."

She giggled and Kai cracked a smile at that. "I'm sorry all this happened to you."

Hisui waved him off. "Yes, well, what matters is that we evacuated everyone. What's a bit of property damage to the cost of lives, right? In any event, a weapon too dangerous to be kept around has been destroyed. Thank goodness for that."

"I'm also sorry for spying on you that first night."

"I was curious about that."

"I wanted to know more about why Lucy had been kidnapped. I found out and more, but, it doesn't excuse what I did."

Hisui rose from her seat, the eyes of her guards following her as she approached Kai. "Nor does it excuse what I've done to you and your friends. Fairy Tail has the trust and backing of the kingdom. Your Magic Council may say things about you, but I've seen you all on the frontlines when it matters. You put everything out there." She held her hand out to Kai, but for a kiss, for a handshake. "And in some ways you lost quite a bit."

Kai clasped her hand and she had a firmer grip than he anticipated, probably flexing a bit to project her fortitude.

"Thank you. Fairy Tail is a great ally to have."

"I know."

She released Kai's hand and nodded to the guards. "Now go! Enjoy the feast. Send for Lucy to come in, now, I'd have some words with her as well."

Kai nodded, then, realizing he didn't do it before, went to bow, but Hisui held her hands out to him.

"We don't do that here," she said. "Not among friends, anyway.'

"I'll tell Lucy that as well."

Kai backed out of the room and scuttled back into the main ballroom area. A symphony had arrived and took up residence in one of the balconies up above while tiny lacrimal in the rafters sprinkled down some light sparkles to give the room a brilliant look and atmosphere.

Everyone wore their finest outfits to either impress one another or just appear as if they belonged in the royal court. Kai approached one of the many food tables, which had been surprisingly left intact.

"No sign of Natsu?" Kai asked Makarov, who nibbled away at some crackers.

"It's concerning, isn't it?"

"Quite."

Makarov gave Kai a curious eye, then said, "I never did properly thank you for saving the queen."

"You don't have to."

"As a citizen of Fiore I do. And as Master of Fairy Tail, I also wanted to thank you on your patience with me."

"Again, you don't."

"Clover Town happened seven years ago for the world, Kai," Makarov said. "And only a few months for us. But in that time I've seen the wizard you can become. I was wrong to reduce your privileges because of what you once believed, not what you believe now."

"We're the sum of our past."

"Not always."

Kai smiled from behind his glass, chilling the content of it with his icy grip. "Fair enough. Apology accepted, then."

Makarov chuckled. "Only thing about all of that is since we're back to being top guild the Magic Council will watch us just as much as before."

"That's fine."

"Not to mention our new relationship with Crime Sorciere. I'm also to blame for that one."

"And myself."

"And Erza."

"Basically we're only going to get to celebrate tonight before everything hits the fan again."

"You know why?"

"Why?"

"Because nobody knows where Natsu is."

Makarov folded his arms behind his back and approached some members of Lamia Scale who called for him. Kai finished his drink and handed it to a passerby waiter.

Kai clung mostly to the walls of the party until more and more people gravitated toward him, in quite an odd way. At first some did so sheepishly, but the more familiar among them idly chatted with him.

Most, though, circulated around a single topic: Kai and Erza's relationship…

And how long it would take Kai to propose to her.

Each time someone asked Kai blushed and couldn't do anything to hide it. Nobody in Fairy Tail asked, though he was certain several wanted to know (and perhaps some had been sent by members of Fairy Tail to weed the truth out of him).

"I think it'd be super cute," Sherria Blendy, Wendy's apparent new best friend, said. "You guys are cute together."

"You are quite formidable a warrior," Kagura of Mermaid Heel said. "Though I'm not sure you are entirely deserving of her, you were also once a friend of my brother's. Marriage is acceptable, but your offspring will need better training than you can provide."

"I'm mostly asking because some of the guards wanted to check if Erza was still single," Yukino, now back with Sabertooth, inquired.

"Frosch wants to know if he can be your flower cat," Frosch of Sabertooth asked. "Frosch loves weddings. Maybe one day Rogue will get married."

"You gonna marry that beauty Erza?" Bacchus, quite drunk, asked. "Sonny, you'd be one lucky man to take that home every night, I tell you what."

"Yes, two mighty wizards such as yourselves would be an excellent pairing," Iron Rock Jura said. "And your children would be the stuff of legends!"

Kai could barely take it anymore and had to step outside to one of the many balconies overlooking the city just to get a break and some peace. He sighed, bowing his head.

Proposing to Erza was something that often crossed his mind but he wasn't sure if she were ready to settle down yet. He didn't even think about going ring shopping until a little after the S-Class wizard trial.

Granted, he did have some time while they were away in the Celestial Spirit World, but it'd been a bad time, and he had training to do for the sake of the guild.

Kai leaned against the railing a bit more, staring out into the beautiful Crocus sky. Decorations from the Games were being slowly taken down and the city was returning to normal.

How would he even do it? How could he even afford to buy a ring after the two bought a home together? It'd rendered him practically broke. Maybe there was someone in Magnolia that would offer him a deal—guild wizards often got discounts at some places—or maybe he could have someone in the guild craft one.

She'd probably like that—the fact that they would be forever bound by a creation of the guild. Erza had a rough exterior, but was a definite softie for a good romantic gesture and some cake. Oh maybe a ring with a bit of cake in—

No, stop, that's just stupid.

A grin spread across Kai's face as butterflies formed in his belly. Marrying Erza. What a…dream. An absolute dream! He imagined them together when they were children, sure, but that was a naive childish fantasy. Growing up, he imagined them together and boy did he sure love it when they got together some nights.

But the Kai that understood the depths of his father's betrayal, the Kai that rose up and stood against Master Hades despite the promises of power, that was the Kai that wanted Erza to be with him forever because she completed him. He was just Kai; she was the one who gave him Hope.

Some light footsteps from behind almost sent him reeling, and he spun around to find Lucy, Happy, and Gray approaching.

Gray constantly checked over his shoulder. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"She's not going to follow you."

"Worried about Juv—"

Gray shushed him. Happy landed on the railing next to Kai.

"What're you hiding out here from?" he asked.

"Just everyone," Kai said, leaning and cracking his back. "Mostly everyone asking about me marrying Erza."

"You are?" Lucy burst.

Kai glowered at her. She shrunk back a bit.

"Trust me, I get it," Gray asked. "I don't know how many times I need to be asked if Juvia's my girlfriend."

"To be fair, she isn't helping stifle those," Kai said. Gray couldn't help nodding.

"Crazy that we're talking about it, though, isn't it?" Lucy asked. "People in relationships, getting married."

"Jealous?" Happy asked with a snicker.

"Shut up."

"It is crazy, though," Kai said. "What's funny is who's asking. All the people in there thought we were dead for seven years; now it's like we never left."

"Still have a lot to catch up on," Gray said.

"I know, we missed so much," Lucy muttered.

"We're making up for it," Kai said.

Lucy tried to raise a smile but couldn't. The mood fell a bit somber.

"What is it, Lucy?" Happy asked.

"Speaking of time, I guess, I just haven't been able to stop thinking about my ancestor and your dad, Kai," Lucy said. "What they were up to with Eclipse. I can't make any sense of it, and nobody seems to know or wants to tell me."

"I know what you mean," Kai said. "That whole time period is such a mystery. Four hundred years ago, Acnologia rose, dragons died, Zeref turned into the Dark Wizard, and your ancestor makes the Eclipse Gate to…what? Travel in time?"

"Had to be," Lucy said. "But all of the tragedies in the past happened in that time, so, they'd have to be coming to the future, right?"

"Right," Gray said. "But where in the future? Maybe we just haven't met some timetravellers yet."

"Or we have and they're hiding among us," Kai said, his mind flaring for a moment to his father. The man wasn't a time-traveller, but was of that time. Were there others like him out there?

Yes.

Two others.

Zeref. And Acnologia.

"And they have secrets about beating Acnologia, I bet," Gray said.

Kai nodded, then, to their surprise, smiled at the sound of the name.

"Yeah, I bet," Kai said.

"What's got you all cheery?"

"I don't know. We fought off dragons the other day. Yeah we couldn't kill any of them like Acnologia can, but…I think we may have sent a message to be taken seriously. That we aren't just a bunch of humans, we're powerful wizards.

"My father doubted us, doubted that I would ever be able to defeat Acnologia. But he died knowing that I would one day. Not tomorrow or maybe not even this year, but…he sees potential in us. I don't know how we'll get to the point of beating him, but we proved everyone that when we stand together, we can change the future."

"That definitely counts for something," Lucy said.

"I'd say," Gray said.

A loud roar and several cheers came from inside. Gray and Happy headed in. Lucy started in, then stopped, and turned toward Kai.

"I really do think you'll make her happy," Lucy said. "You'll be an excellent husband. You deserve one another."

Then, she jogged back into the room and, for some reason, screamed at Natsu. The butterflies returned in Kai's stomach and he balled a fist.

Not suggesting they get married, but, knowing that they would, and that they'd be happy. Lucy was the only person, outside of himself, Erza, and Iggy, who expressed that. He couldn't help the warmth in his soul spreading and forcing him to raise his head to the stars above, twinkling and smiling down on him.

Not today. Or tomorrow. Or maybe in a year.

But one day. He clasped his hands together, and when he let them go, a tiny ring formed in his hands.

One day.