Sorrow and bitter reluctance, Lucy had left the comfort of Magnolia after a month since Master Markarov had disbanded Fairy Tail for no reason. Then Natsu had left her behind, had left her a letter saying that he needed to go train to become stronger. For a month she had spent crying, a month that she spent mourning Aquarius, a month she spent feeling sorry for herself, a month of worrying her spirits regarding her health. A month of heartbreak as everybody had picked up and left, leaving her behind as she was forgotten.
Loke and the rest of her spirits had enough of watching her declining health, the lion spirit had gone to visit Yukino and told her everything that happened. The next thing she knows is that Loke had kidnapped her and dropped her off in front of the Sabertooth guild, where Yukino took her straight to her apartment and gave her a lecture to get her act together and to move forward in her life.
After spending a long week at Yukino's she left with the promise of a visit, to where she had immediately gone home and packed her things and left. Her landlady had been sad to see her go, but she was very understanding about her wish to see the world, with the promise to keep in touch she had left in search of a new adventure. Lucy had moved to Crocus where she got a job as a reporter for Sorcerer Weekly, after Jason had immediately hired her on the spot.
It wasn't until a month and a half into her new life that she had finally unwrapped the gits that her Father had sent to her every year on her birthday during the seven years she had been gone. It was mostly jewelry, perfume, a silver gate key, and with each gift was a letter addressed to her. The last gift contained a letter that left her confused and in need of answers and inside the envelope were four tickets.
Dressed in denim shorts and a pink tank with black hiking boots, Lucy stood in front of the large guild hall that was surrounded by mountains. She had been here twice before to visit Yukino since she had moved to Crocus, they'd had even grown closer since the disbandment. Guild Master Sting, had invited her to join their guild to which she politely declined as she wanted to use this time to get stronger and learn more about herself.
The large building had a large banner that bore the guild's symbol, held up by a horizontal staff secured via a chain to a metal ring, adorned by fang-like protrusions. Sabertooth's guildhall was very complex as it consisted of several structures connecting together, with some of them even sitting on top of the others, generating an imposing and intimidating look. Topping the whole structure is a massive statue of a saber-toothed cat with its jaws wide open bearing its teeth.
"I can do this," Lucy reminded herself as she took a deep breath, before pushing open the large doors of the guild
The guild was nothing like Fairy Tail, the wizards were composed, quiet and a bit more reserved compared to Fairy Tail's formal members. Everything about their guild was the opposite to Fairy Tail, which is why Lucy had found it easy to decline their offer of joining Sabertooth. She would only be reminded of everything that was different with Fairy Tail and she didn't want that, it was unfair to everyone.
"Lucy-san!" Someone called out for her, snapping out of her musings she immediately smiled as she watched Yukino run towards her and enveloping her in a hug "I didn't know you were coming to visit"
"I'm sorry for not informing you ahead of time of my arrival," they pulled away only for Lucy to wear a solemn expression "but I have a favor to ask of you and I was hoping we could talk privately"
"Of course, follow me"
Following the white haired wizard, she felt a bit of weight had already been lifted off of her shoulders just stepping into the guild. Lucy was grateful that Yukino and her had become close friends and allies since their meeting at the Grand Magic Games, their bond had grown when the Eclipse Gate and the Celestial Rebellion had taken place not too long after.
"Is there anything I can get you before you start?"
They stepped into a small meeting room that consisted of a table with six chairs, taking her seat she just shook her head as she knew she was too stuck in her head to eat or drink anything right now.
"It happened a week ago," Lucy started. "I opened the gifts my Father had left me along with the letters. The last birthday gift had a letter." Pulling the letter out along with the tickets, she slid them over to Yukino with a sigh
"May I?"
"Go ahead"
Setting the letter down, she now understood why Lucy had come to her with the letter, "This is very vague, what are you going to do?"
"I plan on going, I need to know why my Father would send me four tickets to Valentine along with this," pulling out the small file she passed it over to the other celestial mage
In the file contained several profiles with the basic information and pictures to match, except two of the profiles didn't contain photos. To which Lucy found strange, but it wasn't the strangest as she was a wizard and she had seen plenty of things on her adventures. She was cautious about following the letter's instructions since the last time she got involved with family business had led her to merge with the Infinity Clock.
"This is indeed strange, but why four tickets?"
Lucy tensed but relaxed, "I assume it's because my Father knew that I would bring my team with me" Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Happy… "I came here to ask you if you would join me on this mission to travel to the other continent and help me figure everything out"
Yukino smiled "Of course Lucy-san"
"Thank you Yukino, this means a lot to me"
"I'll have to inform Sting though so he doesn't worry,"
"Inform me of what?" Snapping their heads towards the entryway where Sting Euclife stood grinning with Lector on his shoulder, Rogue stood a ways behind him holding Frosh. "Lucy-san! Yukino didn't say anything about you coming to visit us today!"
Barging into the room, he came over with a big grin on his face as he fell into a seat beside her as Lector hopped onto the table.
"I apologize as I hadn't told anyone about me coming to visit as I had came to request Yukino to join me on a personal mission"
"No need to apologize Lucy-san, it's always good to see you" Rogue interjected with a small smile
"Rogue's right, you have a home here Lucy-san" Sting grinned before noticing the several papers and tickets on the table "Might I ask what kind of mission is this?"
Yukino looked to Lucy who immediately nodded before she turned to both slayers who waited for an explanation. "Lucy-san's Father left her birthday gifts every year she was gone when she was stuck on Tenrou island, the last gift contained a letter, profiles, and four tickets." she gestured to all the papers "Lucy-san came to ask me to join her on this venture to understand what her Father was trying to tell her before his passing. I accepted her offer and was going to inform you that I will be on leave and I have no idea how long I would be gone."
Sting thought this over as he looked at each profile with a serious expression to which he looked over to Rogue, who nodded to him. Handing them over to Rogue, he began to study them as Sting faced Lucy.
"We'll be joining you on your mission Lucy-san"
"Sting-san!" Yukino shouted in disbelief "You can't just invite yourself like that! It's up to Lucy-san if you will join us or not"
Staring blankly at the white blonde dragon slayer who began to argue with the other celestial wizard, Lucy felt her heart swell as she could feel tears beginning to surface. Covering her mouth, she let out a shaky breath. Lucy felt immense gratitude towards her friends. Her heart may belong to Fairy Tail but she knew that Sabertooth could be a new home for her.
"Lucy-san needs friends to be there for her!" Sting argued "We're her friends and I'll be damned if I let Lucy-san go through this alone!"
She was crying now "Arigato Sting, Rogue, and Yukino" she sniffed "It makes me happy that you would be willing to join me on this journey"
"It'd be an honor Lucy-san" Rogue had stopped reading the papers to look at the crying blonde
"It's decided then, I will make preparations and we shall leave first thing tomorrow morning" Sting nodded as he stood from his seat
"Would you like to rest at my place Lucy-san?" Yukino offered to which Lucy was grateful as she hadn't even thought of where she would stay for the time being. She had been so wrapped up in the letter that she completely neglected herself.
"That would be great as I forgot to book a room at an inn" she laughed nervously as the other three sweatdropped at how unorganized Lucy seemed to be which was a first
Standing on the boat, Lucy leaned up against the railing as she stared out at the crystal blue waters, clear skies and the salty sea breeze. It had been a few hours since she woke up this morning, they boarded the train which resulted in both dragon slayers being motion sick before they had got off and boarded the boat that would take them to the other continent.
Lucy was using this time to reflect and clear her thoughts. It had been almost three months since Master had disbanded Fairy Tail, three months since she had sacrificed Aquarius in order to save everyone. Yet in those three months, she had spent picking up the pieces of her previous life and worked on herself. She had taken the time to learn basic spells to use in case she was separated from her keys, she had trained a little everyday to get stronger. Spending the first month mourning had given her a chance to read books that Capricorn had given her on how she could get stronger.
She was strong.
Compared to her life before Fairy Tail, she never thought she'd be as strong as she is now at this point in her life. Being an heiress to a wealthy company had given her sixteen years of pretending to be happy in a life that she didn't want. Meeting Natsu and Happy in Hargeon had been fate as he had broken the love spell that Bora had cast on her. He gave her an opportunity to be a part of the guild of her dreams and she let him drag her out of the harbor as they were being chased by Rune Knights.
Lucy prayed that wherever Natsu was that he was happy.
"I figured you and Rogue would enjoy walking after spending all morning on the train and the boat so I didn't book a carriage for us" Lucy explained once they had stepped off the large boat and onto the pier where the two slayers were currently stretching
"That is much appreciated Lucy-san" Rogue spoke after he had collected his wits
"Frosh thinks so too!"
"So what do we do first?" Yukino asked
They began to walk off the pier, as soon as they had stepped foot onto the land a wave of tranquility, harmony and ease made the four relax. Sharing looks with one another, they saw that the fishermen weren't bothered by it so they shrugged it off as they began walking into the large bustling town of Xeplia. The first thing they did was find a restaurant as they were all hungry from travelling, the dragon slayers more than the girls were.
"Where do we start our search?" Yukino asked as they had just finished ordering
"I studied the profiles and found that it's an entire family," Rogue spoke up as Frosh sat on the table in front of him coloring "The two profiles that are missing photos are the daughters of this man and this women" Rogue pulled out two profiles
The first profile was of a rather tall, muscular and bulky frame of a man that wore a shining suit of armor, his unruly dark red hair kept partially hidden under a helmet with dark blue eyes peeking out.
The next one consisted of a tall, thin, voluptuous women with tan skin, stark black hair kept in a neat bun, red lips and striking blue eyes. She wore a deep purple gown that signified her of importance.
"Octavius and Griselda" Yukino hummed as the profiles didn't leave them with much information
"How would we find them?" Sting asked and to their luck a waitress was passing by their table, stopping she was about to ask them if they needed assistance only to see the photos that laid on the wooden table
"That's the King and Queen of Valentine" she stated with a smile
"Where could we find them?" Lucy asked feeling hopeful that they already had a possible lead
"You're not from around here are you?" She eyed the four wizards with curiosity only to see them shake their heads in responses "They were both murdered almost a decade ago by an assasination attempt to overthrow the royal family"
A respectful silence fell over the four wizards before Lucy spoke up, "Who has taken over the throne now?"
"Queen Annabella, she lives in the capital with her Uncle and his family" she smiled but her attention was pulled away because a group of people had walked in, excusing herself as she left them to process the new information.
"Why would your Father want you to meet with the royal family from another continent?" Sting leaned back in the booth
"It does explain the other profiles though," Rogue pushed three new profiles into the middle "This must be her Uncle, Aunt, and cousin"
"We'll need to travel to the Capital and ask for an audience with her royal highness"
"How do you suggest we do that Lucy?"
"Fiore and Valentine are great allies as during the Great War that took place a little over two hundred years ago had forced both continents to put their differences aside to come together and bring peace" Lucy explained as she knew it wasn't common knowledge "I can ask Hisui to grant us an audience with the Queen"
With her companions in agreement to her small plan, Lucy felt happy that she was already making headway with the small mission her Father had left her. Looking at the profiles of the Royal family, especially the King and Queen and knowing their fate made her stomach turn in great discomfort.
For the last six hours, the four sat in the large but comfortable carriage that Yukino had arranged to take them to the Capital where the Queen lived. Sting and Rogue slept the entire trip while the exceeds played cards with one another. Yukino was talking with Rufus, who was acting as Guild Master while Sting was away about guild business since he was out of commission. Lucy was sitting and staring out of the small window as they passed small towns, farms, green fields, and woods on their way to the castle. They were to arrive at the Capital late.
Queen Hisui had said that she had granted them an audience with the Queen once they arrived as they were to go straight to the castle. Lucy was grateful that the mission was off to a great start and that maybe by the end of the week she would be back to Crocus and working as a reporter once more. Yet, she still felt unease about what was to come.
Following the guards, the four mages were making their way down several corridors after they were given a chance to freshen up after travelling all day on train, boat and then carriage. In all frankness, Lucy felt tense as something was rubbing her the wrong way and she couldn't put her finger on it. Her thoughts immediately went to Natsu, her heart clenched as that familiar feeling that wrapped around her heart.
A warm hand slipped into hers, "Everything will be okay, I'll be here to protect you Lucy-san" Sting whispered to her
A blush slowly crept on her face as she could feel the light dragon slayer had moved to walk a bit closer to her. His hand brushed against hers which made her smile slightly.
"You really must stop calling me Lucy-san, you're older than me"
"Only technically, as you're actually older than me by five years"
"But now you're older than me by two years."
Sting laughed, "You have me there"
They were led outside by the guards, as soon as they stepped out of the castle and into the royal gardens. Just like when they stepped off the boat and into the harbor town they had felt this sensation envelop their body that gave them a feeling of warmth, comfort, and tranquility. The four wizards shared looks with one another again but they continued on as it seemed that everybody was used to this feeling.
"Right this way" The guard led us through the maze garden before stopping in a clearing that was filled with roses, as a woman was sitting at a table with her back turned to them. A book in one hand and a flower crown of pink and white roses sat on the table, two grown wolves laid at her feet protective over her. "Bow before Queen Annabella" he spoke as he bowed while the wizards did as they were ordered
"Leave us please," her soprano voice spoke, as she didn't even move from her spot. The guard bowed and quickly left them with the young women "Lady Lucillia, Mr. Euclife and Mr. Cheney and Miss Agria…"
Standing from her seat, the two wolves perked their ears up as they immediately stood at attention waiting for her. A young woman with dark red hair pinned into a bun, her silver crown glistening in the moonlight along with her silver metal mask that covered half her face only showing dark blue eyes and dark red lips smiling at them. She wore an off the shoulder gown, the top consisted of a corset with a long train.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, your royal highness" Lucy couldn't take her eyes off of her as well as the others
"Stop bowing" the Queen commanded with a soft yet demanded tone, the four wizards did what she commanded as she silently eyed the four of them with curiosity "Queen Hisui called me asking for a favor in which to grant you four an audience with me, so I ask what can I do for you?"
Lucy took a deep breath, "My name is Lucy heartfilia and I am-"
The Queen interrupted the blonde wizard "I know who you are Lady Lucy, it's nice to see you again"
Furrowing her eyebrows, she glanced at the others before turning back to the Queen "I have no intention of being disrespectful to you your highness but do I know you?"
She looked conflicted, "I have other important matters to deal with, so please I ask that you not waste my time"
Pulling out all the folded papers from her coat, she stepped forward and handed them out to her, "Please look over these your highness"
Stepping forward, she took them from her with hesitation and slowly unfolded the small stack of papers. As she turned her back to them, Lucy and the others exchanged looks before they turned back to see she was shuffling through papers before she stopped with a deep inhale. Picking up the flower crown of roses, she stared down at it.
"Your Father brought you to me after sixteen long years," she spoke up "or should I say nine years if you factor in the time skip for the both of us?"
"Both of us…?" the Queen glanced over her right shoulder as she threw the papers onto the table with a shake of her head, hugging herself with one arm she fiddled with the locket around her neck as she turned her body to the side.
"I guess it's true, I really did quite a number on you didn't I?"
She mused with a tilt of her head and then she waved it off with not even a second thought and walked further into the clearing. The four exchanged confused glances but followed as the peacefulness made their bodies relax, as they complied to her orders. Turning she led them to a different part of the clearing where there were only dead flowers, but once she stepped foot into it. It was as if she breathed life into them, they glowed a bright white and flourished once more.
"What do you mean by your highness? Have you spoken with my Father?"
The Queen ignored Lucy's questions "It's a shame people don't appreciate the beauty in the small things. No one appreciates the beauty of Mother Nature and I can't think of an answer as to why..." She stated, walking over to me she placed it on my head and pulled away
"Queen Annabella, I'm sorry to interrupt you but I really need answers. Why did my Father want me to find you out of all people? How do you know me?"
Turning back to the four of them, she silently walked towards Lucy. Stopping in front of her, she placed a glass pink heart to her forehead.
"You will know the answers in just a moment"
Queen Annabella closed her eyes and began mumbling what seemed to be a spell and all Lucy could do was allow her to finish her spell. Within a few seconds, Lucy stumbled back as the glass heart sunk into her forehead as it glowed a bright white light. Sting along with Rogue and Yukino watched the entire exchange with confusion as they didn't know what to make of the scene. Anna stopped the incantation as the light died down, with bated breaths they waited for Lucy to open her eyes.
Opening her eyes, Lucy stared back at Queen Annabella in silence before she bursted into tears and tackled her into a hug.
"Annabella!"
"What is going on here?" Yukino whispered to the two skaters as she watched the Queen hug Lucy back "I'm not the only one who is missing something here am I?"
Both women heard this, pulling away from another they turned to the others as they had forgotten about their small audience. Lucy, wiped her tears away as she knew that they didn't know what had just transpired.
"Etto… Queen Annabella returned my memories to me. I now realize why my Father sent me that letter or at least I now understand part of the reason why I needed to find the Queen of Valentine."
Lucy then realized the tidbit of information she had learned today at the restaurant, turning to Annabella she felt sorrow for the younger girl.
"Your parents...they were killed"
Giving her a soft smile, Annabella knew that she would have to explain everything that happened in her absence.
"I think you deserve an explanation," she spoke "I believe you all do since you came to assist Lucy in her venture to seek out the truth of her past, present and future"
"Would it be too much to ask if we could eat?" Sting's stomach growled
"I already took the liberty of having dishes prepared ahead of time when Hisui informed me of your impending arrival"
Annabella walked back into the clearing that they were in previously with the four following her, once she took her seat did the two wolves finally lay down. The table was covered in lavish dishes of meals along with ale and wine glasses.
"Please eat all you want," she smiled once they had all sat down, she gave each of them a once over with interest before setting her gaze back towards Lucy
"I guess I should start from the beginning" Anna said more to herself then to the four wizards "Your father, Jude Heartfilia asked me to take your memories right after your Mother died as he wanted to give you a life of ignorant bliss after everything that happened and I don't blame him. A few months after that Emma disappeared, she and my Mother were always fighting with one another before her disappearance. My parents believed her to have been kidnapped, but I knew better as I knew she ran away because she no longer wanted to be Queen." Anna explained in a professional tone that made Lucy silently wonder if that is all that happened
"Why would she run away? When we were children all she talked about was becoming Queen. It just doesn't make sense."
Anna paused, "In the months before her disappearance she had spent training both magically and physically, my parents thought it would be best if she were to spend this time in another realm where she could train without distractions."
"Another realm…?" Yukino asked meekly
She nodded. "You're a celestial wizard so I believe you've heard of the celestial world where your spirits live when they aren't called to Eathland right?"
"Yes, of course" Yukino and Lucy shared looks with one another as they both remembered back to the celestial rebellion right after the Eclipse Gate incident "Lucy-san and i have visited there for a short time along with other wizards from Fairy Tail."
"There are other realms besides Edolas, and the Celestial realm. Those that know of their existence are those in high power such as the royal families, the magic council's and former members of them along with Zeref, Mavis Vermillion, and Acknologia" She answered solemnly "No one can enter these realms unless you have a personal connection to their rulers. Which is where my Mother sent my sister and I to train after you had left Lucy."
"Why would you need to train if you were just going to keep your title as Princess once Emma was coronated as Queen?" Lucy watched as Anna had looked away briefly before answering
"My parents noticed that Emma was beginning to act strangely so they believed that I should be trained as well in the case if something were to happen to them, her or both and to my surprise they were right in their suspicions." Anna took a deep breath "It was my sixteenth birthday, my parents had hosted a ball for me and invited nobles and commoners alike. It was a huge celebration. I had just went to bed when the first bomb went off, I thought it was still the fireworks so I thought nothing of it until another went off that shook the entire castle. My Mother had found me when I had run out of the corridor to find servants running, screaming and crying. She took me to the safe room that was built for the royal family, she told me that we would be safe there. Hours ticked by with my Mother holding me as I tried to block out the screams and the cries-then everything was quiet. My Father found us and told us that we were safe now...except we weren't as a masked assailant had stabbed my Father right through the heart in front of my Mother and I. She used her magic to put me in a magic induced coma. The last thing I saw was him killing my Mother as she screamed and cried. When I finally woke up, my Uncle informed me that I had been asleep for the last six years."
"Six years…?"
"Uncle had informed me of what happened in the six years that I was in a coma, he told me of where my parents were buried and how he had taken over as ruler until I woke up. I also learned that your guild was still missing when I woke up as I had only been awake a few months before you woke up yourselves."
"You've been asleep all this time?" Lucy whispered
Annabella smiled but it wasn't happy "unfortunately yes I have"
Lucy placed a hand over Anna's hand as she stared her head on, tears were welling up in her eyes "You've been alone all this time while I've been wandering around blissfully unaware of your existence…"
"Don't blame yourself Lucy, I knew that you had no memories of your true childhood. Jude and I stayed in touch, he came to my parent's funeral and paid his respects. He also came to see me as well as talk with my Uncle."
Lucy gave her a sad look, "My Father...he passed away a few years ago"
"Since I woke up from my enchanted sleep of sorts, I've hired people to watch over you and report back to me on any connection you have with other wizards, clients, guilds, and enemies."
"I guess that is to be expected from you," Lucy laughed sheepishly "I truly do feel horrible that I had forgotten your existence until just twenty minutes ago."
"There is no use in feeling apologetic towards something you couldn't control, it's in the past and that is where it shall remain." Annabella spoke leaving no room for an argument to which Lucy resigned as she was just happy that she had lost everyone in her life
"There must be something I can do to make up for it at the least."
The Queen paused. "Actually there is something I would like you to lookover if you're not in a hurry to get back home that is."
"Anything."
"It can wait until tomorrow as you four must be exhausted from travelling all day, we can meet tomorrow as you are invited to breakfast with my Uncle, his wife and I." she smiled "I already took the liberty of having rooms prepared for the four of you, from my understanding you are all unattached to one another so you each have your own room."
"Thank you," Lucy murmured to which the others thanked her for her hospitality as well "You've already done so much for my friends and I and I feel like I will never be able to repay this debt."
"You're apart of my family Lucy," she turned to the three other wizards "and I consider you all as friends as well."
"That's very kind of you, your highness" Yukino wore a blush as she had grown flustered by the kind words the Queen had offered her
Standing, the Queen clapped her hands and immediately they cleared off the table and left in seconds. Before an older women walked into the clearing with a smile as she bowed.
"Marian please show our guests their rooms in the east wing as I have a matter to attend to before I can retire to bed."
"Yes ma'am" she bowed. "Please follow me right this way."
Lucy couldn't sleep.
After Marian showed her to her room, she had thanked her after having a small tearful reunion with the much older women now. Annabella had given her the same bedroom she used to occupy during her various visits… it looked the same and in a strange way it had brought her a sense of comfort. Heaving a sigh, she leaned back in the plush chair as her book laid forgotten on the table along with her now cold cup of tea.
Since she had opened the letter it seemed like her life was turned upside down but in a good way this time as it had given her hope. Her father had given her that hope. It made losing him all that more hurtful as he had given his daughter a new sense of resolve. A resolve that she desperately needed after the loss she had been suffering from since everyone left her.
Lucy was able to return to a family she had forgotten about and the memories of all of it overwhelmed her slightly but that feeling was overpowered by Annabella's look of resignation. Compared to the girl she had grown up with, it was like looking at a completely different person but not as she was still reserved. It was expected as she had lost her older sister, watched her parents die, had time stolen from her only to wake to find that several years had gone by and the only person she had left was wiped off the face of the earth at the hands of a dragon.
She was just grateful that her Father had given her the birthday gift of finding a rather large piece of her past. In the form of a woman who ruled a country by herself. They could be a family again though.
"Thank you Father," she murmured. "You've given me the best gift...a familiar security."
Closing her eyes with a smile, she laid back into the seat as the day's events finally caught up to her as she slept soundly. Lucy wasn't sure how much time had gone by before she was woken by a rather loud scream across the hall where Annabella's room was.
Swiping her ring of keys, she threw the door open to see Sting along with Yukino peeking their heads out of their rooms. They all exchanged looks with one another before the sound of glass breaking and thumps were heard in the same direction. The three rushed towards the Queen's room with haste. Grasping the knob, she threw it open to find a panting Annabella on the floor surrounded by broken glass while Rogue stood in the open balcony doors with a scowl. The two wolves from earlier were growling, baring their teeth as they crouched slightly.
"What's going on?" Sting was the first to ask as he stood in front of both celestial wizards in a protective stance
"Someone tried to kill the Queen." Rogue answered with his back still turned to them
Lucy immediately ran to her side as she saw that the young woman was in shock as she hadn't blinked yet nor did she seem to breath which worried Lucy. Before she was about to have Sting to go fetch the guards, Anna snapped out of her momentary shock. Clearing her throat, she avoided all of their gazes deeply inhaling in hopes to calm herself knowing that she was in the room with two dragon slayers.
"I'm alright now," she went to stand only to stumble causing Rogue to rush over and help her up as she leaned on him for support "um...thank you"
Rogue silently helped her to take a seat on the edge of her bed. Swallowing her embarrassment, she ignored the twisting in her stomach as she avoided the stares of the other wizards.
"Annabella...you can't expect me to think that this is nothing right?" Lucy asked once Sting had helped her off the floor
The Queen stayed silent.
"This is what you wanted to discuss tomorrow wasn't it?"
The Queen nodded.
Yukino handed her a glass of water as well as Lucy, as she was sure that they'd both need it as the tense atmosphere signalled that they probably wouldn't be sleeping much tonight.
"Start from the beginning." Lucy gave her no room to argue as she stared her down
"When I woke up two years ago it was a surprise for everyone, my Uncle and Aunt included as they believed my prolonged sleep to be on my part of trying to cope with seeing my parents murdered in front of me. My Mother was very powerful and she used all of her magic on that one powerful spell to protect me, to give me a chance to fight back against their murderers. It wasn't supposed to last years. I was encased in this protective shield that prevented from letting anyone use magic on me while I was asleep. I was kept in my room where I was monitored daily for six years." she paused to take a sip of the cool water that Yukino had given her as she thanked her "When I woke up I was immediately coronated as Queen. It wasn't until a few weeks after my coronation that the death threats started. I took them with a grain of salt as I was too busy growing accustomed to everything that changed in the time I was asleep. I wish I had taken them seriously as they had quickly escalated to actual attempts on my life."
"Annabella!" Lucy snapped "Why not have guards posted to watch you when you sleep?"
She stayed silent. "I can't trust anyone. The same thing happened to me last week as it was my wolves that had saved me that time. Instead of the guards who were supposed to be watching me, they had abandoned their posts leaving me vulnerable to an attack."
Lucy shared looks with the others as they all seemed to silently communicate with one another. They all came to a conclusion.
"Rogue will guard you tonight and tomorrow we can come up with a better plan to protect you until we find the threat and eliminate it." Sting spoke up as he glanced at said slayer before turning back to the slightly trembling women in front of him.
"That isn't necessary as I don't believe that he'll come back now that he knows that wizards are staying in the castle as well."
"There isn't going to be any arguments on your safety," Annabella opened her mouth to argue but stopped and took a deep breath. "Rogue will stay with you throughout the night. Tomorrow we will come up with a plan to meet and discuss what our next course of action will be."
Lucy hugged Annabella and then left Rogue and her alone as Sting and Yukino followed behind locking the door behind them. A pin drop could be heard in the lavish bedroom as there was silence between the two. Swallowing thickly, Anna took another deep breath before getting up and moving towards her desk.
"Your highness," Rogue didn't know what to do as he stood near her bed in just sweatpants "I suggest that you get some sleep."
" …" she paused from her writing "you don't have to watch over me tonight as I intend to not sleep until this threat is vanquished."
"If you truly believed that they won't return you wouldn't stay up then."
Biting her tongue she sighed. "I have my reasons for not choosing to sleep."
He walked closer to her. "It's because you were asleep for so long."
She swallowed. "You're right."
Dropping her pen, she leaned back in her chair as she was suddenly aware just how scared she actually was. Just how shopkeepers up she was by the attack. She'd be dead right now if it weren't for Mr. Cheney to save her.
"How did you know I was in danger?"
Rogue stayed silent.
He had been in his room, Frosh was sleeping soundly on his bed as he had been taking his time to get ready for bed. His thoughts were on the Queen that ruled this small continent. Since he had laid eyes on her three hours ago, he couldn't stop staring at her. She had enraptured him. It wasn't until she had turned to face them when his mouth had gone dry and his stomach twisted in knots.
She looked the part of royalty.
He already knew why he felt this way but he couldn't just blurt that out to her. They had only just met and knew close to nothing about each other. Tomorrow after their talk with the Queen, he was going to talk to Sting and hope that he could give him some advice.
He went around the room taking his time to turn off each light in the room he was staying in. It was a simplistic but lavishly furnished room. He assumed it was for personal guests of her royal highness that she trusted enough to stay in the same wing as her.
He debated on whether to keep the balcony doors open or not as the cool air blew in. Deciding that it would probably be safer to close that as he didn't want Frosch to catch a cold he went to close them.
Only for his nose to pick up on an unfamiliar scent as his ears could hear the growls from the wolves from earlier. He could feel that someone was off. Trusting his instinct as it had never let him down before, he blended into his shadows and travelled to her balcony. Both doors were open.
The once growling wolves were silent as they slept on the balcony instead of her bedroom. He found that peculiar but didn't say anything as they were now sleeping soundly.
Something was still off.
Using the advantage of night, he stayed in the shadows of her bedroom. He glanced around the entire room to find nothing amiss. Maybe he was wrong and was overthinking. Settling his gaze onto the bed of white silk sheets, fluffy white pillows laid the women that had been on his mind.
Annabella is beautiful.
The moonlight from the open balcony doors flowed into the room and rested on her. She slept on his stomach, her left cheek pressed into the pillow. It offered him a perfect view of her face that she had kept hidden under that mask she wore. Her long eyelashes made crescent circles appear on the top of her cheeks. Her hair was in a loose braid rather than the tight updo she had earlier. Her plump pink lips were in a small smile. It made him wonder what she was dreaming about.
Shifting slightly in her bed to readjust her position, a barely audible pretty sigh left her lips. He smiled. Rogue moved to leave as he felt like a pervert for watching her sleep.
He looked towards the doors and thought that closing them would give him a sense of relief. Right as he was about to step out of the shadows was when he had seen it.
It was a small movement in his peripheral that halted his movements. The unfamiliar smell wafted his senses causing him to realize that his instincts were right.
There was an intruder.
Before he could find them though, with quick speed they had ran to her bedside. It looked to had been a man of incredible build as he wore a simple plain shirt with pants and mud on his boots that seemed to have been dried.
The silver metal of the small dagger caught the moonlight as it gleamed brightly. Rogue quickly wrapped his shadows around the man's legs and arms as he had only nicked her throat when he had pulled him several feet away.
His leg had tripped slightly into the bedside table causing the glass of water to smash into the floor thus waking the princess.
Sitting up out of bed on full alert, she let out a scream. Immediately she brought her right hand in a grabbing motion towards the intruder. Raising him up into the air, she threw him against the wall as she quickly got out of bed. Only for her to scream again when Rogue had stepped out of the shadows. Losing her concentration, she let him slip out of her invisible grip.
Falling back into the ground, he used a spell to throw Rogue back up against the wall. Using his shadows to cushion the blow, he had inadvertently released his grip on the assassin. Using his speed to dash out of the room and out onto the balcony as he disappeared into the night.
Growling Rogue ran to the balcony only for him to stop when he heard the doors being slammed open.
"I'm a dragon slayer, I felt that something was off and used my senses" it was the only explanation he could give without going into detail.
He'd rather die than tell her he watched her sleep and that she was beautiful. Yeah that's a hard no.
"Don't you have a small creature with you? An exceed is what they're called correct?"
"Yes, I left her in my room"
"Since you're to be watching over me, why not bring her to my chambers?"
"I really shouldn't leave you al-"
"I'll be fine for a few minutes" it was all she said as she had stood from her desk and walked into the hall to flag down a servant
"Have Marian bring peppermint tea to my room with two teacups." was all she said before coming back to her room to see that Rogue had already left
Taking a deep breath, she immediately threw a few pieces of wood into the fireplace. Using the simple fire spell she knew, the fireplace began cracking as it lit up her entire room. Gingerly, Annabella took her seat in the plush armchair as she wrapped her arms around herself.
"Would you like me to close the balcony doors?" Rogue asked aloud as he startled the young Queen slightly
"Yes, I'd be very grateful" she murmured knowing that he'd hear her clearly
Rogue made his way towards the Queen, who sat with a straight back and her hands in her lap now as she looked into the fire. He cleared his throat which caused her to snap out of her musings.
She smiled politely. "Please take a seat, you can lay your exceed on the bed."
Annabella watched with interest as he set the small pink ball with a tail on the end of her bed with a pillow. She assumed so the small creature wouldn't fall off the edge. Flickering her gaze back to him as he took his seat on the matching armchair that sat a few feet from her with a small table in between the two of them.
"Thank you for your kindness your majesty," Rogue had put a shirt on not wanting to look indecent in fron of the young women
"Please call me by my name as only my servants and guards call me that."
"Yes Anna,"
Her gaze settled back onto the fire, the shadows of the flickering flames dancing across her face. Her hair was still in its braid, and she was still without the mask. He wondered why she wore it in the first place. Rogue let his eyes wander down as her locket had caught the light of the fire. But that wasn't what Rogue was staring at. No it was the small cut on her neck along with the blood that trailed down her collarbone.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
Rogue reached over causing her to flinch slightly as his thumb grazed the cut. Her slender pale hand wrapped around his wrist causing his gaze to slide up to hers. There was a flicker of interest buried underneath the insecurity and fear.
He coughed. "He managed to graze you. I just noticed and I deeply apologize for not acting sooner."
Understanding replaced the fear and insecurity that once was there as she smiled at him. "You saved my life Mr. Cheney, I am deeply appreciative of what you have done for me. I owe you a great debt that can never be properly repaid."
Her grip loosened around his wrist, as the air between them grew thick with lust. Rogue could feel her heartbeat quicken ever so slightly under his hand. Letting his hands feel the smoothness of her skin, he let his gaze wander towards the nightgown she wore that was white, silk and very thin.
"Anna…" his voice dropped an octave causing her to whimper slightly
The young Queen felt a fog settle over her mind. It seemed as the longer she stared into the gorgeous red eyes of Mr. Cheney, the farther she felt like falling. Whatever it was caused her to let go of her control and slip into the dreamlike state. Her blood grew hot and her pulse spiked as his rough hands grazed the exposed skin of her collarbone.
Her breath caught in her throat.
"Call me Rogue," he ordered gruffly as she felt her heart grow soft
"Rogue...please…"
Flicking his gaze towards her, his wandering hand grabbed her check a bit roughly. His instincts were screaming for him to let go, to give up control. It didn't look like he was actually fighting his dragon side to not jump the unsuspecting women. It took every bit of his control to not grab her nightgown and rip it to shreds.
The way she was currently looking at him made the blood rush to his groin. Nor did it help that she was biting her bottom lip and almost moaned his name out.
Fuck.
A knock at the door brought the two to snap out of their stupor. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on the two. Blushing, she avoided his gaze as he retracted his hand.
"Please come in" Annabella called out not bothering to glance at Rogue
The women from earlier, Marian walked into the room with a cart. Silently she paced the large teacup down on the table, that separated the two, along with the teacups and a few pastries.
"Is there anything else Miss?"
"No, thank you Marian. You're free for the rest of the night, I apologize for fetching you so late."
The older women smiled. "I've known you since you were a baby, I'm accustomed to waking in the middle of the night." she bowed her head "If there isn't anything else, I shall take my leave now."
"Thank you Marian," the women took the cart and left the two alone once more in almost complete silence except for the cracking of the flames "I had her make peppermint tea, you're free to have tea with me."
"I'd love a cup."
Annabella poured two tea into the plain white teacups, she stared at the cup as she handed it to him as she didn't know what would happen if she looked into his eyes. Nor did she know how to address what had just happened. It was as if a spell had been placed on the both of them.
"Will Sabertooth be participating in the Grand Magic Games this year?" she asked him
"Yes, as they'll be taking place at the end of the year" He took a sip of his own tea
"I can't wait to see them once more" it was all she said but the simple answer had Rogue snap his gaze to her
"You've watched the Grand Magic Games?"
"Of course, Princess Hisui always invites me so I may watch Lucy"
Staring at the young women who silently sipped her tea as she kept her gaze on the flames, Rogue wondered if she felt lonely. Having to watch a loved one from a distance because said loved one had no idea of their existence. There was also the fact that Annabella checked on Lucy quite often that made him wonder if she was content with just watching from a distance.
"Does it hurt?"
She stopped mid way lifting her teacup. "Pardon?"
"Watching Lucy-san from a distance—does it hurt?"
She swallowed nervously before setting the teacup down as her hands began to quiver. "I've always kept an eye on Lucy as she is my family. Her Father had given me a choice to set Lucy free, to give her a life of adventure and happiness even if it cost me my own." she paused "So yes in a way it does hurt having to have kept my distance from her all this time. Regardless, knowing that she is making memories, good or bad, is completely worth that pain."
Rogue stilled. "You truly love her."
"Of course, we grew up with one another."
The rest of the night was spent drinking tea and eating the pastries that Marian had brought. They discussed books that they had both read as they had figured out they shared a love of literature. Annabella couldn't stop thinking about the way Rogue had looked at her, the way his hand felt on her skin. It was too much for her as her mind kept straying to that heated moment.
"Rogue...what happened?" it was an almost silent question
Pausing, he wasn't expecting her to have brought up that topic. As he wasn't sure what to say or how to explain it to her without her freaking out. Taking a long sip of his tea, he racked his brain for answers only to have his inner dragon laugh at him.
Tell her the truth you fool
We just met
And?
I'm not going to ruin this because of your filthy desires
We share those filthy desires or do you forget that we are one in the same as I'm merely the side of you that is a dragon?
Go back to your cage
Tell her the truth
Rogue felt his inner dragon go back to his cage with a chuckle to which made his roll his eyes in response as he found it hard to believe sometimes that his dragon was crude and very mouthy.
"Rogue?"
The way her name rolled off her tongue in such a pretty way that had his gaze shift to her pink lips that had been slightly chewed on. His gaze slowly wandered a bit further down that made his lower half remember just how good she looked in her very thin nightgown.
Rogue coughed. "I don't think I should tell you." He murmured
Cocking her head to the side, she wore a confused expression. "Why not? Don't I have a right to know as it was you who had initially started it?"
Annabella moved as if she were about to get up and walk away but Rogue was already a step ahead of her as he sunk to his knees in front of her. Placing his hands on the arms of her chair, he trapped her with his body. She grew only more confused at his actions.
Being in close proximity of the young women made it that much harder for Rogue to focus as he took a deep inhale of her scent. Vanilla and roses. It was as if it were wrapping around him like a vine and he found it rather difficult to stay composed. He had inadvertently gotten himself in a position between her slightly patted legs. Luckily for him, the princess wore the kind of nightgowns that reached the floor.
"Rogue, what are yo—"
"I'm afraid to tell you what happened as you'll grow scared of me." he managed to choke out as he looked at her necklace and not into her eyes. "I don't want to change your opinion of me." Rogue was scared that if he did look at her then everything would be ruined and he'd lose control
"I'm not following Rogue as I don't believe you to do something rather harsh enough to push me away or change my view of your person."
"I'm a dragon slayer."
"I know. I've read the file of your person that I had drawn up."
He scrunched his nose. "My file?"
Annabella scoffed. "Of course I have a file on you. You really believe me to let you around Lucy without knowing a single thing about you?"
There it was again. Her devotion and loyalty for her family. The way she watched over Lucy had his heart grow soft again. The quantities that she has displayed since their first meeting made been ones that he didn't think he'd see in royalty. Especially in a woman with her past.
"Dragon slayers are essentially a lot like dragons as we share a lot of the same similarities such as heightened senses and as we grow stronger we develop more dragon-like appearances." Rogue wanted to ease her into it as he wasn't sure how much she knew about the art of dragon slaying. "We also share their traditions, qualities, and rituals."
"Whatever do you mean, I've watched Natsu Dragneel as I've only really seen his dragon side show when it comes to fights." she paused "and possibly with Lucy."
Rogue nodded. "Natsu and Lucy are a great example to explain this as they are partners, best friends, and guild mates so their relationship is very unique in the way of him being the sole reason that she came to join Fairy Tail."
Annabella looked away briefly before turning back to Rogue with a nod to continue.
"Natsu displays a dragons sense of protectiveness when it comes to those close to him that he considers to be family and friends. As he would do anything for them if it meant that he could see them smile and be happy. But when it comes to Lucy, it's a lot different as he is willing to push past his morals and boundaries if it meant that he could protect Lucy from everything. Especially when she's in trouble, has been kidnapped or stolen from him."
"Why is it different with Lucy?"
Annabella looked genuinely curious as she knew what Rogue spoke of, as she had read the many files that she was given from her source.
"It's only a theory but I have complete faith that she is his mate."
"Mate..?" the word felt foreign on her tongue not to mention the fact that she in a way knew what the word meant but couldn't wrap her head around it for some reason.
Rogue nodded. "A mate is a dragon's significant other that are already chosen for them. There's a thing inside each slayer regardless of what generation you are that tells you when you've found that mate. That mate is everything that the dragon or dragon slayer needs as they were chosen solely to fulfill the purpose of filling in the dragon's purpose of living."
"Purpose of living?"
"Yes. We have these urges to protect what is ours and sometimes we act on these urges without intention as it's in our nature to do everything in our power to make our significant other happy."
Annabella slowly soaked up the information that Rogue had given her as she guessed to why Rogue was telling her this. Yet it still didn't explain what had happened earlier between the both of them and why her mind immediately shut down.
Rogue picked up on her confusion and silently debated on whether he should leave her be with the information he had just given her. Or to just tell her what happened and let her chew on that until she was ready to talk to him.
"I take it from where this conversation is going that I am your mate." he finally looked up into her eyes to see she had arched a thin eyebrow at him as a ghost of a smile danced on her lips "am I wrong?"
"No, you aren't"
She hummed in thought. "What happened earlier…"
Rogue cleared his throat as he now get exposed at how to go about telling her what had happened as he did t want to make her afraid of him and his instincts.
"Our inner dragons act as a personificated conscious that we can talk to for advice. They are the being that chooses our mates for us without us even knowing until we meet them in person ourselves. Which explains why I had rushed to protect you from the assassin without a second thought."
"I see."
"What happened earlier was my dragon attempting to take control of my body in order to bed you immediately." Rogue viewed to see that she had grown flushed at his rather polite way of saying a part of him wanted to fuck her. "It's a test that we are put through to demonstrate and prove to our inner dragons that we can control our instincts and the dragon side of us. If we fail to do so, it ends in us taking our mates, consent or not, before brutally killing them and then ourselves. As we are unable to live with the guilt of our actions."
They sat in silence for a long time as Rogue waited for her to digest the information he had given her. It was a lot of information and he didn't want her to feel like she was forced to be with him in fear. Rogue was about to distance himself before her hand fell over his that was on the armchair. Snapping his face to Annabella, she kindly smiled at him. He took it as her way of giving him the green light to continue explaining.
"Our intendeds aren't forced to be with us if they choose not to as they can decline. Our dragons will try and find another companion that is suitable for us but statically it's a very low percentage of it happening. As we follow the courting ritual that takes place before the mating ritual that binds the two together until the end of time. I won't get into that until much later as I don't want to overwhelm you with all this information and have you feel like you have to."
"That's very kind of you Rogue as I'm just appreciative that you are taking the time to talk and explain to me the ways of your kind."
Annabella's patience and compliance with him made the dragon side of him purr slightly as she was very open minded. Not to mention how calm she was being at him telling her that she and him were connected with one another.
"Until we are properly mated, these moments will happen rather frequently as it's our dragon instincts needing to have our other half as quickly as possible. I don't want to scare you in the future as these will happen."
"What should I do in these moments? As it was like a spell was being casted over me. My mind had shut down and my body acted on its own."
"The safest thing to do is to just act on these instincts but if you don't want to then you shouldn't as I just want you to be comfortable and happy with whatever decision you decide to make."
Shechanged the topic as she could feel desire begin to creep up on her again. "How long do these courting rituals take place?"
"It's different for each of us as it all depends on the circumstances as well as the discussions and communication of each couple. They usually leave it up to their intendeds as it's their choice when they want to bind themselves as it's our instinct to do it immediately upon meeting them."
Humming in response, she flicked her gaze to the slowly dying fire before turning back to Rogue as she had been given all this material. She couldn't deny that she held attraction for him but she had pushed it away as she had other matters to think about like Lucy. Her duty was to protect and watch over Lucy and she couldn't become distracted by possible romantic interests.
"So what does this mean?"
Rogue coughed again in an attempt to clear his throat and hide his embarrassment as he wanted to talk to Sting about this before asking her but alas here he was.
"Miss Valentine, would you do me the honor of allowing me to court you?"
Annabella flushed as Rogue took her hand and kissed the back of it, an innocent gesture that turned into a heated moment as the air grew thick again as her blood became hot. Swallowing nervously, she found it hard to breath again when he placed another kiss on her hand before flipping it over and placed a small kiss on her wrist.
"Rogue…" she murmured
"I need an answer before I'll touch you again." his voice had dropped an octave which made her insides squirm
"Yes, you have my permission to court me as my mate."
Annabella smiled but grew confused when Rogue smirked at her before yanking her into his lap, she let out a soft gasp only for him to wrap his arms around her waist as he pulled her flush against his body. She ran her long, slender fingers through his hair tugging and pulling at it as he placed a soft kiss on each corner on her mouth before placing a soft but hard kiss on her lips. Rogue could tell that she was nervous as her hands were shaking, in an attempt to calm her down he made sure the kisses were soft and gentle.
Rogue nipped at her bottom lip asking for entrance as she immediately parted her lips. Allowing him to explore her mouth as he coaxed her into playing with him. Their tongues fought for dominance, in the end the Dragon won. The girl felt her whole body temperature rise dramatically at how heated and passionate the kisses from her Dragon became. The dragon was internally fighting against his dragon that fought for the girl they were both currently taking their time with.
He allowed the kiss to last a few more minutes before he slowly winded it down as he didn't want to risk damaging anything. A trail of saliva connected their lips, giving her one more kiss he waited patiently for the princess to regain her composure as her arousal could be smelt deeply. There were things he needed to discuss with her before they did anything else, he wasn't going to let his desire for her screw it up before it even began. As the girl in his lap finally regained her composure she blushed at how easily her control was broken and couldn't help biting her lip at the Dragon's effect on her. Grinning, she looked at him with the innocence and happiness she held, the Dragon inwardly groaned.
Annabella had to stop looking at him like that if she didn't then his already lack of control would surely snap and he'd do something he'd regret. No he wouldn't regret pleasuring the beautiful princess in his lap. No he'd regret letting his desire control him and not show her the way he wanted to properly court her, to get to know her, to cherish her and show her the world that she desired to know and just give her everything she wanted before making the final step to make her truly his.
"That was my first kiss." she whispered
Rogue smiled. "I hope it was everything you imagined." yanking the ribbon out of her hair, he brushed his fingers through it.
"Everything more." his gaze flickered down to the heart shaped locket that she wore.
"It's a very beautiful necklace, who gave it to you." Annabella guided his hand to the necklace and watched as he ran his thumb over the small cursive engraving.
Annabella.
"My parents gave it to me as a birthday gift the day they were killed." was all she said causing Rogue to snap his gaze towards her to see she was on the verge of tears. He let his arms snake around her small waist as he pulled her into a hard but comforting embrace. Annabella tensed for several moments before relaxing into his arms as he buried his head in her neck. His breath fanned over her skin, as he tangled his hands into her hair.
Silently tears cascaded down her face as she tried hard to hold her feelings in but the way he held her so close and didn't offer excuses of "I'm sorry for your loss" instead he just held her. Overwhelmed, she allowed herself this brief moment of weakness. It was behind closed doors that she felt like she could breath, but with Rogue it felt right. She assumed it was because of her being his mate.