Hello my dearest friends! Glad to see you back after such a long break! I must apologize, I recently started a new job and between work and class I have almost no time to write, and most of the time I do have goes toward my Collaboration with Longclaw1-6. So I apologize. I love you all and enjoy the reviews I get, they make me feel accomplished and hopeful, please keep them coming!

As always, the beloved Hiro Mashima owns all, and I am left with the storyline.

Have a great day guys!

Much Love,

BlackRose999

The Star Queen

Chapter Eighteen: Coming Clean

In the Celestial World

"You're real…" She said lazily as he kissed the barren flesh that covered her back, not once commenting on the mark that no longer showed. She laid there in her bed, naked as the day she was born with him, letting her body remember who she belonged to. He loved her, letting his love be spoken through his fingertips that ghosted down the curvature of her spine, like the day he'd marked her.

"I'm here Lucy… I'm real."

They stayed that way for some time before she slowly forced herself to stand, and make her way to her vanity. She looked better than she had in a year, for time made things difficult to track the differences if you weren't absolutely sure of how long you've been in the flux.

"How long have we been here?"

"A week our time, a day your time."

He leaned back onto the pillows, his mind traveling back to earlier that morning.

They watched her warily, the other slayers and their mates, as she fell apart in Natsu's arms. She took turns hugging her Nakama, until everyone, including Gajeel, could feel her reality. Gajeel was terrified when Levy's predicament was mentioned and had to be stopped before he went after Viktorian himself. Such war crimes had to be avoided, for war was what he wanted, and what she could not allow. She found her hand in Natsu's until her Queenly duties could no longer be ignored.

"I require your aid, for my remaining heralds can not kill in my name. Will you be my hidden sword, glinting in the darkness?"

Natsu was the first to agree, his eyes teary and so full of love she nearly broke down in tears again. Then it was Gray, Gajeel, and Laxus. Laxus was the last to agree, his bond with Clara being the deciding factor. For her anger and fear sang volumes through him.

"So we kill, is that all you need?"

"I need guardians with no names, no ties to me, and no ties to this world. I've chosen you to be my knives in the dark, my silent sentinels. If you agree to this, there is no turning back. You will be my sword and my shield, my life, and my undoing."

Natsu felt anger simmer through him, but it was not toward her. He knew, he understood, but he did not try to hide his rage. How could he? The man had stolen his friend, tried to off his wife, and promised undying pain to her. He intended to bring a world of hurt to Viktorian, whether it caused his own death or not.

Blinking back into reality, he looked over at the figure of his wife in a billowing white silken nightgown on the balcony, watching the sea of lights below her twinkle and flicker out of sight. It was always night in the Celestial world. Always dark and brooding. But with her, it almost felt like a living world. He could almost see her nestled into this world like a bird in its nest. She was at home here, and that disturbed him. How could she not miss the real world, her husband, or even her children?

"Luce... We gotta talk."

She nodded, her head bowed low, and turned slowly. She met his gaze with pained eyes but did nothing to close the distance between them. He stood, eyes on her with a broken expression.

"Why did you not try to come back?"

"Natsu I-"

"NO! No more lies Lucy!"

She stepped back, wounded, then enraged. She stalked toward him, pressing a finger into his chest. Her dark eyes lit aflame with fury.

"I have NEVER lied to you! Not once! Never!"

"Then why didn't you fight to come back? I needed you! Our kids needed you!"

"I know that! Do you think I never tried to find a way back to you? I tried everything! And every step I took, I was brought right back until my time as Queen is over until they send me back to Earthland!"

He paused, unsure of what to think. Could she be telling the truth? But if she was, did that mean she was trapped here? Trapped in the Celestial world, like he was trapped in a world without her?

"You… You can't leave?"

She bowed her head, feeling tears rising unwittingly in her chocolate orbs. She stepped away from him, suddenly feeling shame creeping up into her veins.

"I'm trapped… My family has served as the female rulers of the Celestial world for generations. Millennia after Millennia. And now it's my turn… Just like one day… It'll be Layla's."

Her words made his heart stop, and slowly, he looked at her. She shook with quiet tears, her eyes burning with agonized rage. She felt nothing but pain, the knowledge that her own child would one day follow in their family's suit was nearly too much for her to handle.

"What do you mean, it will be Layla's?"

She sighed softly, deciding the truth was easier than a half-truth.

"She will one day be forced to take this life, to become a queen like me. We had no say, no warning, no chance was given to allow us to say no…"

"Us?"

"My ancestors and I…" She said quietly, a gentle expression on her face. She touched her stomach, wishing once more to feel the warmth of her children inside her again. She missed them, almost as much as she missed the feel of her husband's embrace outside of the Celestial world. He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she leaned into him, and kissed her shoulder blades. She let her hand reach up and cup his face, sighing softly.

"One by one, day by day, we all find ourselves here. It's my turn, but the promise of a life after this is what keeps me going. Leo told me when I finish being Queen, when I've fulfilled my obligations, I can go back to my life before this, as long as my body is kept safe and pristine."

He tensed, and she found herself turning to face him.

"What's the matter? Something wrong with my body?"

"We put it in Master Mavis's lacrima coffin, where we can keep it safe and I can visit you any time."

She frowned, suddenly unsure of herself. Would the lacrima prevent her from returning to her body? Not liking the answer her brain gave her, she produced a key from midair, and quietly clutched it in her hand. Leo appeared, his expression somber. This was out of character for him, the flirtatious lion within him subdued and silent.

"My queen?"

"Will I be able to return to my body if it's placed in a holding-lacrima?"

Standing tall, he met her nervous gaze with a steadfast resolve.

"Yes, as long as your body has been perfectly preserved. If I remember correctly, Master Mavis was held in that same lacrima for several decades, yet her body never deteriorated or showed any signs of aging," She breathed a sigh of relief, then stilled as Leo went on. "However, your magic may be a problem."

"I… I'm sorry?"

"Your magic, it comes as a part of this life. You are a Celestial Mage, your magic comes from the stars above you. If you really wanted to, you could even become a Dragon Slayer in your own right."

She stared at him, dumbfounded, and slowly turned to look at Natsu.

"Could I be your mate, and be a dragon slayer too?"

He looked at her, really looked at her, and then looked to Leo. "Could she?" He looked at them and smiled softly. "Of course she can, if you can marry the Queen of the Stars and still have your Mate Mark, then she could transcend her powers and be an unstoppable force of nature. And with Draco's Key, she would technically be a Dragon Slayer when she uses her Star Dress magic."

Those words made them both still, and slowly, tears welled up into her eyes. She walked to her mirror, turning this way and that, hoping to see the familiar shimmer of her Mate Mark. She saw nothing. Wounded, she looked at Leo with heart-broken eyes. "I don't… I don't understand… I can't see it. B-But it's there?"

Natsu looked at her with tears welling in his eyes, for her back was bared and no glimmer of their mark showed. He went to her, letting her keep herself steady in his arms. She stared at her back in the mirror, hope slowly beginning to rise within her. If Leo could see it, then it had to be there, right?

"Reach for your Celestial Magic, let it burn bright inside you, and then open your eyes and look for yourself."

She steadied herself in Natsu's arms, then reached hard for the golden energy that flowed through her veins, she let it fill her up like an empty glass. And she opened her eyes. There, glowing as bright as the sun itself, was her Mate Mark.

In Earthland

Levy had never felt so broken. Her body ached where he'd struck her, and blood oozed out of her numerous cuts. She laid in a filthy cell in a building she didn't recognize, with smells she didn't dare identify. She laid there, body bruised and beaten, but she was not idle. Her mind worked overtime, calculating what she could use as her advantage, and what she could rely on for her escape.

She worried for the child that grew within her, knowing that such knowledge could end her life or the baby's life. Or perhaps both. She dared not think such things, for stress would hurt the baby more than a kick to the stomach now.

"Oh herald… Are you ready for me?"

She resisted the urge to vomit, knowing what would come to her with his sickness. She trembled and felt tears rising as she tried not to think about it. She needed strength now, how would Gajeel feel if she gave up so easily? Gajeel… Her heart ached for him. Viktorian stalked forward, his eyes shimmering with malice, and slowly, he drew her chains upward on the steel spikes that held them in place, forcing her to stand on her tiptoes.

"Oh little Herald… Did you miss me?"

She made no sound, intent to ignore his attempts at conversation. She wanted her husband, her grounding rod. But he was nowhere near her, she would have to deal with this herself. He touched her face, almost in a loving fashion, and forced her to look at him. "No? Then I guess I'll have to try a little harder."

Letting the chains drop, he removed them from its hook, and dragged her toward a latchable table, forcing her to lie upon it so he could restrain her. He picked up a hammer, toying with it a little. He let her watch his every move, fear, and disgust on her face. What man would abuse and break a smaller being than himself? She grimaced as he pulled the metal cuffs tighter, not knowing that the real pain would come to her mere seconds later. Without warning, he slammed the hammer down on her feet, earning a resounding crack and a shocked scream of utter agony as her foot broke. He brought it down another two times, ensuring the shattering of her bones.

She knew nothing but pain, tears streaming down her face and insane babbling erupting from her lips, begging him not to do it again and promising him anything if he'd leave her alone. He smiled, enjoying her pain, and brought it down again on her other foot, repeating his previous motions. He did this until she stopped howling and blacked out from the pain that assaulted her mind, then, when she came to, he assaulted her himself. Using her until she could take no more.

He left her shackled to the table where she could scream and weep.