The trip to the Magic Council was not an easy one, Sting was held under tight restraints and they were ready to put him back to sleep once the medicine wore off. And in order to ensure he didn't fly off the handle even for a second, Lucy had to sit in his cell cage with him. The road was bumpy and she swore she was gonna bruises because of it.

Much to her friends' protests no one else was allowed inside the Cell with her except save for the council man who ensured that the dragon slayer stayed subdued. The council man seemed to prefer silence over Lucy, who wished she could talk with someone to distract herself.

Instead she used this time to study Sting and genuinely think what it would be like to be his mate. She didn't know the man personally, and that made her uneasy the most. From what she's seen so far he was handsome but she could sense a look of arrogance in his facial expressions.

"I hope you know Miss Heartfilia…" Lucy blinked as the Councilman broke the silence. "Sting is not a criminal… he would never do something like this willingly." He didn't look at her, and didn't move. Lucy almost wondered if the man had spoken at all.

Who was Sting that he was able to have a council Mage stand up for him? Such a concept was foreign to the Fairytail mage.

Lucy had always loved the concept of soulmates. That someone was out there in the world who was your perfect other half, someone you knew you could love wholeheartedly. It sounded terribly romantic, and she was a sucker for the myth. She used to dream of meeting her soulmate, or at least Prince Charming. Instead she met a bunch of lunatics who destroyed more than they helped. And Sting… well looking at him chained up and unconscious, he was probably the craziest one yet! Maybe she attracted crazies..?

Why was she so hesitant about accepting Sting as her soulmate? Was it because it was so sudden? Lucy didn't feel a spark when they spoke or touched… but he was attractive… if he had been any uglier Lucy would have given him a "Lucy Kick" long ago.

Was it because it's such a life changing subject? Lucy's never even had a boyfriend before but if she accepts being Sting's mate she's practically agreeing to marriage! Lucy felt oddly reminded of the time her father had wanted to orchestrate an arranged marriage for her. She shook her head at the thought, but this was different, she reasoned.

Lucy worried about having to be separated from her friends and Nakama. She loved them oh so dearly, and from their latest intense battle with the Oracion Seis, it's clear they loved her too. They jumped through so many hoops to save her from getting absorbed into that clock. Lucy never felt happier to see Natsu's face when he flashed her a toothy grin after she fell out of the sky. If she went with Sting did that mean leaving them behind?

What about her life here? What about her apartment? What about her friends? What about Team Natsu? What about Natsu?

Lucy fiddled with her keys, touching each of them gently as she counted all 10 of her zodiac keys and all 5 of her silver keys.

Natsu.

Lucy couldn't imagine a day when she didn't walk into her apartment only to find him lounging around eating her food. His teasing and playfulness. He always gave her a sense of hope, even in the bleakness hour. Natsu didn't know the meaning of "give up". He'd never stop fighting for their family. With Natsu by her side Lucy felt unstoppable. She felt the courage to stand up taller and walk forward a little bolder because of his contagious bravery.

He was annoying. Obnoxious, loud, immature, dense, reckless, and just Natsu. He was her first ever and best friend, the whole reason she got to join Fairytail. Lucy trusted him with her life because he's saved it one too many times to count. Her friendship with Natsu was precious, Lucy was afraid to damage it.

He was really upset when they argued last... and he hasn't spoken to her since they left the cave. That worried her. It hurt more that Natsu of all people would yell at her.

Honestly? Lucy would never admit it out loud and she would adamantly deny it if you asked, but if Natsu ever asked her out… she didn't think she'd mind… But of course he'd probably end up being a terrible boyfriend and act as dense as he usually did. It was hard picturing him as a romantic.

Lucy didn't quite know how she felt about Natsu, but she wasn't eager to change anything. Again, her friendship with the arsonist was precious. All she knew was that he held a special place in her heart and his approval meant a lot to her.

Lucy barely noticed that they had arrived until the cell doors opened. She took a deep breath before hopping out. Happy flew over to her immediately and landed on her head.

"Are you alright there Lushie? That guy didn't hurt you did he?"

"No Happy, I'm fine. He was asleep the entire time. Honestly though I wish I could have said the same." Lucy picked up the cat off of her head and held him in her arms. She gave him a smile that was hopefully reassuring. However Happy wasn't too convinced.

"Come on let's get this over with!" Lucy shook her head to clear her mind and looked at the council building with determination. She's survived monsters and creepy villains-She will get through this.

———

Lucy stood in front of the "New-and-improved" Magic Council alongside Master Makarov. He was silent and stern, eyeing the 7 years aged Council Members. Sabertooth's leader Jiemma Orland stood a few feet away from them. He was a large man. His very being spoke; "power" and "authority". Master Jiemma looked on with a nasty scowl on his already intimidating face.

None of her friends were allowed to join them inside the meeting room, but Lucy kept an eye out for peeking eyes just in case.

Sting was in the infirmary, still fast asleep and in no condition to speak.

"From what we've gathered from our reports, the infamed Light Dragon Slayer of Sabertooth has declared Lucy Heartfilia as his life Mate." A council member began the proceedings.

"It was made known to Miss. Heartfilia immediately that she was not to leave his side or there would be unpredictable consequences." The nasely voice droned on. Is he being serious right now?! Was he really going to blame the destruction of Mongolia on her?! "However Miss Herfillia chose to ignore these warnings. Resulting in Mr. Eucliffe to-"

"Now wait just a minute you sad excuse for a kazoo!" Lucy snapped at the council man. "It's not like I knew he was going to destroy the town just because I left for a couple of weeks!"

"SILENCE!" Another Council member bellowed. "Proceed." He nodded to the speaker who gave Lucy a mocking smirk. Lucy stuck out her tongue at the high and mighty man.

"As I was saying, Mr. Eucliffe became panicked and worried for his mates safety. His fears manifested into the destruction you've all witnessed in Magnolia today. This all could have been prevented however if only Master Makacrov handled his guild with more care and ensured Miss Heartfilia stayed with her mate." Lucy's jaw dropped at their blatant biases. She knew the Council hated Fairytail but to shift all the blame onto them?! That's absurd!

"We had no idea if what Sting was saying was the truth! It's never even been heard of before! " Lucy interrupted the Council man again.

"The girl's right. Out of the seven Dragon Slayers on record only one of them has ever found a mate." One Council Member reasoned before Lucy was yelled at again.

"That's not so surprising- imagine how difficult it would be for normal people to find their soulmate. This was a one in a million chance for the dragon slayer." Another spoke up bitterly.

"Regardless- the damage has been done. It's clearly unintentional as Mr. Eucliffe had no control over himself due to the dragon instincts of his powers." Yet another Council member brushed off the mumurmers that began to grow.

"To prevent such devastation from happening again, the Council will hereby order you to Stay by your Mates side and live with him. You must not let him run rampant again-"

A voice bellowed as the order was echoed out.

"I oppose!" Master Makarov finally spoke up, his anger manifesting into that of magical power that radiated off of him. "I see all of my guild members as my children. So believe me when I say Lucy didn't ask for any of this. I will not allow you to force her to live with a man she doesn't know who claims to love her. No young lady should."

"Gramps…" Lucy looked at Makarov with surprise, sometimes the old pervert was amazing.

"You old fool." Master Jiemma laughed loudly, the floor rumbled as his voice echoed throughout the room. "She's clearly a big girl Makarov- she needs to accept her responsibilities and do as the Council says. That's the least she should do for having put Mongolia through hell with her thoughtless and selfish actions."

Lucy looked down at her feet as she trembled with anger. The Council Members murmured in what sounded like an agreement. Was it really my fault? But…I didn't know this would happen..

"You better watch yourself Orland." Master growled "Before I do something I'll regret, I'd rather not deprive Sabertooth of their first Master."

"Oh yeah old man?" Master Jiemma barked out a laugh again. "What is Fairytail gonna do? Disappear off of the world map for another 7 years?"

As the Council Members began talking louder the tension between the two Guild Masters increased. The power emitting from both men was heavy and intense.

"Someone has to take responsibility." A council member announced. "Fairytail Lucy Heartfilia needs to comply with our wishes. If she refuses to do so then we have no choice but to have Fairytail disbanded. They're too much trouble for what they're worth, and seeing as how far they have fallen from Friore's strongest guild. There is no way for them to pay back the damages that have been inflicted onto the city.Thus the resulting action will be disbandment."

Several council members murmured loudly in agreement. The floor almost shifted out from under Lucy's feet. Disband the guild?! They wouldn't!

Lucy felt the threat of tears forming as each noise surrounding her blasted against her eardrums. Bitterness and fury boiled underneath her skin.

Why?

Why is everything so unfair?

"THATS ENOUGH" Lucy shouted at the top of her lungs. The Council members stopped babbling and eyed the blonde beauty. Master Makarov and Master Jiemma didn't stop their stare down.

"ILL DO IT OK?!" Lucy glared at the Council Members with anger. "ILL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY." She wanted them to shut up. To stop looking at her like she was a bug on their polished shoes. "I ADMIT IT WAS ALL MY FAULT SO DON'T YOU DARE DRAG MY GUILD INTO THIS."

——

Erza, Grey and even Wendy had to pin Natsu to the ground to keep him from busting through the Council hall doors. Intense anger broiled in his eyes as he struggled to stand up.

"NATSU! Stop!" Grey struggled against the heat that was intensifying by the minute. Wendy's face was filled with frustration as she could hear every word Natsu heard through the Council doors.

"If you burst in there right now you'll only make things worse!" Erza

"LET GO OF ME" Natsu was seething "Those bastards I should plummen all down a peg or two!"

"Calm down and just tell us non dragon slayers what they're saying!" Grey put Natsu in a headlock.

"The council is shifting the blame all on to Fairytail, and told Lucy that if she didn't agree to live with Sting then they'd disband Fairytail." Wendy's voice cracked as the anger and helplessness shone in her eyes. She stayed quite as she continued to listen in on the Council Meeting.

"That's absurd!" Carla sputtered in shock."All this for one Sabertooth member?"

Ezra let Grey pick up Natsu and she kneed him in the stomach hard. Natsu tensed up and fell limp.

"Sounds to me like the Council just wants an excuse to get rid of Fairytail once and for all." Erza sighed as she let Grey handle Natsu's unconscious body.

"How are Gramps and Lucy reacting?" Grey turned to Wendy. Her face fell and she looked at the double doors in surprise.

"Lucy's gonna do it!" She stepped towards the door anxiously. "Sounds like she doesn't want Fairytail to get disbanded and so s-she's gonna… she's gonna agree to the terms!" Wendy started crying quietly.

"What?" Grey's voice echoed in the long hallway "IDIOT! What is she thinking! She should have said no!"

"I'm glad we knocked out Natsu before he heard any of that." Erza was torn. On one hand she didn't want Lucy to leave Fairytail, this whole trial was unfair and infuriating. On the other hand what choice did they have? If the Council no longer recognizes Fairytail then they wouldn't have a guild anymore… that or turn into a dark guild themselves…

"Wait a minute- where's the Tomcat?" Carla was checking up on Natsu and noticed his blue friend's absence.

————

Happy was discreetly following Rouge as he walked through the Council Hall. The man gave him the creeps so Happy wanted to keep an eye on him. Knowing that Rouge was also a dragon slayer, Happy wanted to keep his distance and was following him from outside the building.

Rouge entered a room and Happy saw Sting in a hospital bed looking like he was sleeping. quickly he flew just below the window and listened in on their conversation.

A moment of silence.

"ACK ARRRH-" Sting cried out in pain. "Rouge! What the hell was that for?!"

"I know you have a job to do but you couldn't you have at lest held back a little?." the dark hired man hissed. "I don't like having more work to do because of your antics!"

"Hey! I made them believe me didn't I?" It sounded like Sting had smacked his partner back. "They needed to think the situation was desperate- anything less and they would have brushed it off."

An exasperated sigh.

"How do you think you're doing with Lucy?" Rouge finally asked. A smirk.

"She %100 believes me. You should have seen her face when she hugged me she was actually crying!" Sting sounded proud of his acting skills. "Those Fairies are so gullible. don't get me started on Salamander, I thought he was gonna kill me a couple of times. I'm looking forward to wiping that sneer off his face."

"Just try not to provoke him too much." Rouge was over this whole thing already. "And remember don't scare Lucy off- you nearly made me want to gag when I saw how you spoke to her."

Footsteps.

"Well I am supposed to be madly in love with her aren't I?" His voice sounded sarcastic and annoyed.

The feet stopped right above Happy and he claimed his mouth shut to keep himself from making any noise.

"Everything will be wasted if you don't convince her to trust you- I mean showing up at her apartment?! No wonder she ran off on a mission for two weeks-"

When Rouge suddenly stop talking, Happy felt his fur stand on end. Did he know he was there? Happy flew quickly away, but failed to notice the shadow dragon slayer smelling the air.

"What's wrong? Why'd you stop talking?" Sting looked annoyed "I mean not that I'm complaining."

"I thought I smelled something…" Rouge looked around and decided to poke his head out the window. There was an odd smell but Rouge couldn't recognize it among the millions of other things he smelled.

He narrowed his eyes when he caught sight of a blur of blue.