Hello, my lovelies! Welcome back to the eleventh installment of The Star Queen, I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am! I'm having a difficult time keeping my fingers off the keyboards now that my stories are being read more and more, so let's keep it up! I greatly appreciate you guys and I love the reviews I've gotten! I take every review into consideration and work hard on making you guys happy!
The song she sings is called "Cost of the Crown" by Mercedes Lackey
As always, I own nothing but the story. All characters, locations, and powers belong to Hiro Mashima!
Much Love,
BlackRose999
The Star Queen
Chapter Eleven: Dark Tidings
TimeSkip: Five Months
Natsu had been relentless, hunting and tracking the mages who'd stolen and beaten his beloved wife. His bond always held an acidic burn of hatred now, no matter how hard she tried to soothe him. He didn't want to hear any reassurances until the culprits were caught, and dealt with. It took him four months to even come close to catching their leader, and then he announced that he'd been going alone to defeat them. Lucy did not take it well.
"You're leaving me? Now? Of all times, you choose now?"
Natsu winced at the pain and fear boiling in the mark, his own anger and remorseless bloodthirst battling her emotions like that of a war front. He moved to touch her face, cupping it as she leaned into his touch, and his eyes softened.
"I don't want to leave you, but you can't come with me now, I forbid it."
She looked up, fully aware that he had no intention of taking others with him, and scowled.
"That's a dirty trick Natsu, you plan on going alone, take at least Gray or Erza with you! Please! I can't bear the thought of you coming home in pieces…" He sighed, knowing she'd never relent if he went alone as he wanted. His forehead touched hers, willing calm and love into the mark.
"I'll take Erza, she's already bloodthirsty for them. Gray had his own wife to think of, so he's not a great choice."
Lucy smiled, her hand guiding him to feel the kicks in her womb, and watching him fall in love with the babies all over again. He was so protective of her now, she had an escort everywhere she went, and as often as she could stand it more training with Erza. At only seven months, she was already rather big, and she had a difficult time getting comfortable. Levy was at her side through most of it, her pregnancy advancing just as fast. The running joke was that they'd both go into labor at the same time.
Quietly, Lucy ran her hands over her belly, humming a lullaby softly and grinning when the babies kicked in tune. They had an ear for music, she decided. She began to sing, softly.
"The stars are very beautiful above the palace walls, they shine with equal splendor still above far humbler halls. I watch them from my window, but their bright entrancing glow reminds me of the freedom I gave up so long ago."
Unaware that the entire guild had fallen silent when she began singing, she began the next verse as if in a trance.
"The royal circlet of bright gold rests lightly on my brow, I once thought only of the rights this circlet would endow. But once I took the crown to which I had been schooled and bred, I found it heavy on the heart though light upon the head."
People in the guild began to feel her voice, the emotion so raw it left them speechless and teary-eyed. Still, in her trance, she ran a hand down her belly lovingly, smiling at the feeling of them moving so much. The movement telling her they were healthy and well.
"Although I am the head of state, in truth I am the least. A true queen knows her people fed before she sits to feast, the good queen knows her people safe before she takes her rest. Thinks twice and thrice and yet again before she makes request."
Weeping, the guildmembers silently sniffled and shushed each other as to not alert Lucy to their watchful gaze. To some of them, she began to glow a soft golden hue, as though she was made of starlight itself.
"For they are all my children, all that I swore to defend. It is my duty to become both queen and trusted friend. And of my children high and low, from beggar to above, the dearest are my heralds who return my care with love. The dearest are my heralds swift to spring to my command, who give me aid and fellowship, who always understands."
Natsu quietly entered the room, shushed quietly, and made to look at the glowing form of his wife sitting alone by the bar. He eyed her with awe and quickly stamped out the notion to send said emotion through the bond to her.
"That land and people first have needs that I may not deny, so I must send my dearest friends to danger and to die… A friend, a love, a child, it matters not I know indeed. That I must sacrifice them all should there be the need. They know and they forgive me, doing more than I require, with willing minds and loving hearts go straight to grasp the fire."
Quietly, he made his way toward her, stopping halfway as she began what appeared to be the final verse.
"These tears that burn my eyes are all the tears the queen can't shed, the tears I weep in silence as I mourn my heralds dead. Oh gods that dwell beyond the stars if you can hear my cries, and if you have compassion, let me send no more to die."
A single tear slid down her cheek, and suddenly she became aware of the noiseless guildhall. Looking up, she smiled sheepishly at the astonished faces of her Nakama. She touched her belly once more and looked a bit afraid. A cheer went up among the guild, and suddenly everyone was talking at once.
"That was fantastic!"
"You never told us you could sing!"
"What else are you hiding from us, Lucy?"
She giggled and finally felt the awe through her mark. Turning she smiled warmly at her husband and reached for him, intent on sharing the joy in her body with him. He knelt before her, pressing his head gently on her stomach and his arms around her waist, awe, and contentment whispering through her bond.
"You never cease to amaze me, Lucy…"
"One day, when we're old and gray, I'll finally stop surprising you."
Natsu stood, kissing her gently, and pushing a strand of hair away from her face. He felt her joy and her unadulterated compassion through their mark. Silently sending his own feelings, he heard her breath hitch. She looked at him, silently questioning his motives. How could he want her, now, in her condition? But he did, and she reluctantly turned him down for fear of hurting the babies. She smiled at his childish disappointment, silently promising him release in other ways.
"Never. You will never find me not being amazed by you."
"Let me tell you a story, I once watched my father break his own heart after the death of my mother, and that was the day I swore I'd never fall in love with anyone because it wasn't worth the heartache." She touched his cheek, looking deep into his eyes. "You, my dearest love, are the only exception. And these babies within me will be physical proof of my love for you."
He kissed her deeply, then gathered Erza, the two of them making their way out the doors, leaving behind a wife that feared for her husband. She stared at the door for a while, praying that it would open and he would come back through them as he'd never left her. After a while, she asked Levy and Gajeel to stay with her, as she didn't feel safe in the house alone. They happily agreed, and the trio went to her house to make up the guest room and start a pot of stew.
She kept an eye on the forest as she cooked, fearing that one day she'd look up to see an unfamiliar face behind her in the reflection. Or worse, a familiar face behind the glass, waiting for Lucy to step outside to face her. As the stew finished, she grabbed the pot and set it down on a potholder on the table, ladling out savings for the three of them. As a side dish, she'd made spicy noodles for herself, knowing that the nature of her pregnancy demanded heat-flavored foods like Natsu.
"Where'd you learn to sing like that Lucy? I've never heard the song before."
Startling out of her mind, she regarded Levy with embarrassed shock.
"I don't know, I just knew it, like I had been singing it my whole life. It's weird, but I swore that I could feel the celestial magic in me surface as I was singing."
"Well, that would explain what we saw."
She glanced at Gajeel quizzically, silently asking him to clarify.
"You were glowing Lu, literally glowing with a golden light. The whole guild saw it. You're telling me you couldn't see or feel it?"
Shaking her head, she laid her head in her hand, the other stroking her belly protectively. This was not welcome news, it could mean a myriad of other things, like her losing the babies or giving birth prematurely. It could mean that one of them was a Celestial Mage like her, or it could mean that the pregnancy was interfering with her magic.
"I couldn't feel any of it, Levy, I could only tell that I was singing, but I couldn't hear the words. But what really concerns me was when I was kidnapped, I breathed fire at them. Literally."
Gasping, Levy looked at Gajeel for advice, though the look on his face offered none.
"Fire. You breathed fire at them?"
"I know it's out there, but I swear I did! It was white like it was superheated."
Gajeel sat back into his chair, racking his brain for any information that would ease her fear and shed light on the subject. She ran a hand through her loose hair, as her pregnancy advanced she'd lost the will to style in in anything but a low ponytail or untied, and sighed softly.
"I keep seeing Lisanna too… She was there when I was taken, the men said they had a female boss, and she showed up again in the woods by our house. Natsu doesn't believe me, he thinks that just because he doesn't smell her, she wasn't there. But I swear I saw her."
"He's still young Bunnygirl, he can't be expected to pick up every scent, especially if they are trying to hide their smell. Which is very possible."
Lucy groaned, pushing her bowl of stew away from her. She was desperate wanting so badly for it to be just a hallucination but terrified of the possible reality. Steeling herself, her eyes narrowed and her spine steeled. She needed to know what was going on, and she was bound and determined to figure it out now. The night passed uneventfully, and with the morning rays came the smell of bacon and eggs. Stumbling downstairs in her pajamas, she smiled at the sight of Gajeel cooking for a hangry Levy.
"You sure it's ok if we cook her food? I could ask her and wake her up!"
It's fine Shrimp, stop worrying so much."
Groaning, she sat down at the bar, taking a plate of food for herself.
"If we get in trouble I'm-"
"We won't get in trouble Shrimp!"
"You guys are fine, thanks for the breakfast."
Two heads whipped around her stare at her, shocked at not being able to see her come in, let alone hear her. She was quickly made a plate, and she happily ate what she could while she could. So far no morning sickness had made its presence known during her pregnancy. No symptoms of pregnancy other than the confirmation from Porlyusica and Wendy.
"So what's on today's Agenda Lu?"
"We have yoga today and I have to practice my aim with my knives."
"You've gotten really good with those Lu, how can you get better with them?"
She smiled, taking a bite of bacon, and twirled a steak knife in her hand.
"You can always improve your skills Levy, it just takes time and practice. I have to get perfect with them, I need to hit the target every time. Moving or still."
They finished up their breakfast and made their way to the guild, meeting Mira on the training pitch. Lucy and Levy did yoga first, making sure their bodies were loose and un-strained. Then Lucy began to throw, she was scary accurate with her knives when the targets were still, but once they began to move she started missing more than she hit. Fury filling her, she spun and threw, cheering when she hit the target dead center.
"Finally! I know what to do to hit the target!"
"Fail. You can try again tomorrow."
Rounding on Mira, she glared fearlessly at the narrowed eyes of the white-haired Takeover Mage.
"What do you mean failed? I hit the target!"
"You hit it while you were angry, anger is a great tool for magic users, but not for those with weaponry. Does Erza fight with her anger? Or does she fight with calm in her soul and fury on her face?"
"That makes no sense Mira!"
"It does when your calmed enough to think. You think with your emotions, not your mind."
Snarling, she turned away and made her way home, leaving the white-haired woman on the pitch. She arrived home just after 2 pm, and immediately when to the training grounds with her knives. Intent on practicing until she was exhausted.
Behind her, on the roof of their house, stood the one who'd been stalking her. The click of a heeled boot caught her attention, and as she looked around, the figure vanished into the trees once more. She groaned, unwilling to believe this nonsense any longer. She went inside, taking a bath to calm her nerves. She found herself falling asleep in the warmth of the water.
"Lucy? Lucy…. Wake up!"
Startling awake, she looked around wildly for the source of the voice that woke her. Finding nothing, she stood and dried off, wrapping herself in a silken robe to hide her bare flesh. She looked around the house, finding nobody but herself. She tentatively stepped outside, scaring a flock of birds. They startled her, and she took a wary step back toward the safety of the house. Her eyes landed on the outer perimeter of their property, eyeing the figure who stood there in a cloak.
"Who are you!? What do you want!?"
The hood lifted a little as they looked up, and she caught the flash of cropped white hair and a lipsticked smile. They turned and left, offering no response. She touched her belly and realized her straight-on gaze hid the pregnancy well from whoever had just been in front of her, stepping back into the house she threw all the locks in place. Every door, window, and entry point locked tight. She slept fretfully that night, worrying over Natsu and Erza's mission. Dreams of their deaths, of her babies growing without a father, filled her mind and burned through the mark. She was woken at dawn by one of her keys vibrating on the bedside table, she picked it up tentatively, and Loke appeared beside her.
"Hello, Beautiful. I'm afraid we have some things to talk about."
She sat up uncomfortably, propping her widened frame on several pillows. She was exhausted, her paranoia growing with each encounter with the hooded figure.
"Like what? What's so important that it couldn't wait another five hours?"
Sitting in the chair beside the window, he regarded her with a pained expression.
"Your mother, and the Celestial World."
Propping herself up farther, she met his gaze with a wary one. What would her mother have to do with this? When she had been dead for so long when she held no other influence to anyone but the Celestial Mages.
"What does my mother have to do with me?"
"Everything, Lucy… She has everything to do with you."