Hey guys! So I know it's been a while and I know you guys are super patient with me, so I am ecstatic to share the next chapter of The Star Queen with you! I want to clear up the air a bit though, a certain review caught my attention and the detail in question is so big that I HAVE to address it, Levy is NOT pregnant anymore. She gave birth to their son, Laurie, a few chapters back and shared his birth with her husband. I have no intention of being rude if it comes across that way, I merely want to make sure the story is clear for my readers. Let me know if anything else is unclear for you guys!

As always, Hiro Mashima owns everything but the storyline and SOME of the characters.

Much Love,

BlackRose999

The Star Queen

Chapter Nineteen: The Liar and The Thief

In the Celestial World

Lucy and Natsu looked over the maps of Fiore, pouring over nooks and crannies, using a Tracking Lacrima to try and find Levy. So far, they'd come up empty. The crystal kept coming back to one particular spot, but it would bounce away after a moment. She frowned, angry that she'd come up so short. Levy's predicament made her anxious, she didn't know what horrors the poor woman was being subjected to, nor did she like the ideas her dreams brought up. She grew irritable over the slightest things, her food was too hot, her bed too firm, and her gowns too tight.

Natsu put a stop to her behavior as soon as they grew out of hand.

"Lucy? What are you doing?" He asked upon seeing Lucy pace around her rooms in a rage. Her blonde hair bounced gently with each step, and her hands were clenched. She wore a white gown today, fitted with a military-style corset and long billowing sleeves made of sheer material. She stopped pacing at the sound of his voice, eyes ablaze with fury.

"I can't think, Natsu I can't get past what he might be doing to her! I can't think of anything but her in his clutches and the cruelty that was so potent I could taste it!"

He narrowed his eyes, taking in the ruin of her bedchamber. Chairs toppled, curtains yanked from their rods, and bedsheets tossed haphazardly around her bed. It appeared she'd woken in a frenzy and had no inkling or will to stop the destruction she'd felt.

"And tearing your room apart helps that?"

Her brow furrowed, not liking his tone, she straightened. An air of power filled the room, and she felt her body tighten as her mind emptied.

"It does. Does that displease you?"

Staring, he looked at her with incredulity, she'd never spoken to him that way. Her tone full of venom, she stepped forward.

"Does it displease you, husband?"

"Lucy that's enough, this isn't like you. You've never spoken to anyone, especially not me, this way. It's not fair and it's not right."

She rounded on him, fury in her eyes and hate in her voice.

"Not fair? Not fair?! What's not fair is me being unable to save my best friend, my most trusted advisor, and my confidant! What's not fair is Loke kidnapping my entire family line to be rulers for his world, what's not fair is losing the only chance I had to see my children and hold them before I was whisked away to perform a job I never wanted!"

Tears dripped down her face, hurt and anger raging in her eyes and soaring through her blood. She put a hand to her mouth, hoping to quell the storm by forcing herself into silence. Natsu, sensing this, walked forward and gripped her by the shoulders. Forcing her to still and calm, he spoke softly. "I know, baby I know. It's ok to be angry, it's ok to be scared."

Just like that, with his permission she broke down and dropped to her knees, knowing he'd fall with her. She fell apart in his arms, weeping as though her very soul was shattered. He held her tightly, loving her pieces back into her body, as though his heart alone could be used to fix her.

She was calmer now, her eyes still puffy from tears, though they now shone with purpose. She wrote down each time it passed over the specific point, and finally, she grinned. Holding a different stone than the scrying glass she'd used originally, she clutched the glowing purple rock tightly in her hand.

"You can use magic to hide yourselves, but you can't hide Celestial Magic!"

"What's going on? You find somethin'?" Gajeel asked, perking up from his seat by the fire, his ruby-red eyes glimmering with something akin to hope. She smiled, holding up her vibrant purple stone.

"I did! I know where they're holding Levy!"

Levy was broken, in more ways than one.

Her body was riddled with bruises, her feet swollen as her bones tried to heal in their shattered state. She shook now with every breath, it was cold in her prison, frigid and she wore naught but a simple white shift, courtesy of her jailor. Every movement caused her to nearly shriek in pain as the vibrations sang through her shattered feet, she could do nothing but pray he would not visit her again. She clung to her body, shivering with the frigid air of the cell she was currently residing in and blew warm air on her hands to try and relieve the biting numb feeling.

She felt tears rising, her body beginning to quake as more of her hope was whittled away by the passing days. She'd been trapped here for three long days, weeks passing in the Celestial World, and wished with every fiber of her being that Gajeel would somehow come for her. Her mark was silent, but every now and again she'd feel despair and anger sing through the mark, reminding her that she wasn't totally alone. She bit back a sob, anger-pain-fear-hopelessness tearing her soul apart from inside. Suddenly her mark flared to life, causing her to gasp and cry out in pain as the sudden movement raked her feet across the gritty floor.

Sadness-anger-fear-HOPE scorched through her mark and made her grit her teeth in the hopes that he'd come for her. That they hadn't forgotten about her as her vicious jailer claimed so exuberantly. The walls began to shake, and then there was a portal open before her, like the one she'd stepped into when she'd been chosen as a Herald. She stared hopefully at the portal, and nearly whooped for joy when a familiar pierced face stepped through. She struggled to stand, to run to him, to do anything to reassure herself that it wasn't a hypothermic hallucination.

"Easy Shrimp, I've got you."

She wept, tears falling like rivers down her face, and when he picked her up she buried her face in his neck and breathed in his scent. Iron dust, her favorite smell. He held her tight as he stepped through the portal, her feet bouncing with every step he took. She shook with agony but said nothing as protesting would do her no good, this was a rescue mission, not a leisurely stroll. The smell of rot and grime vanished, replaced by the gentle scent of vanilla and honey, and she knew she was safe.

"Levy! Oh, gods… What- What did he do to you?"

She looked at her friend, her queen, and smiled softly with fresh tears cascading down her face as she was eased into a wheelchair, thoughtfully provided by Loke and her friends.

"I'm ok Lucy… I'll be ok."

She hadn't the heart to tell her the truth of what had transpired those days spent in his "care". And as she looked at her husband, the one true love of her life, she suddenly felt herself shrink away from him, and horror washed through her. How could she shrink away from a man who never raised his voice at her, never lifted a finger to strike her, never even offered her a harsh word? What had that monster stolen from her? And the answer ripped through her like a page torn from a book, he took her securities, her comfort around men. Pain blossomed through her soul as her memories were shoved to the surface, and before she could stop it, it rippled through her mark with such potency she could taste it. Gajeel stiffened, and slowly looked down at her, his eyes wide and his heart breaking in two.

"Levy?"

She felt her hands cover her mouth, and suddenly she couldn't bear to look at him.

"I'm sorry… Oh god, I'm so sorry Gajeel…"

He dropped to her level immediately, kneeling before her and taking her hand in his with such care, and slowly he brought her head up to look him in the eyes.

"Don't apologize to me, you've done nothing, and I mean nothing wrong, Levy… It's ok to be broken, it's ok to be scared and guarded, but just promise me you'll let me love you one day at a time."

Lucy watched the couple before her with a heavy heart, knowing she'd need her friend sometime soon. Viktorian Maldrake waited for no one, and she would lose if she allowed even this tender moment to still her hand. She needed to plan, strategize and think ahead of him, and while she desperately wanted to hold her friend she knew it would do no one any good if her inaction caused the downfall of the Celestial World.

Turning away, she looked over at the broken form of her friend and smiled as her husband, a thief in the night, gathered her up into his massive arms and looked at her in such a tender way that Lucy could hardly believe the man had once been Fairy Tail's enemy. She remembered the hanging form of Levy and took a deep breath as the stark contrast of that day compared to this one. Lucy felt Natsu's hand in hers and sent her emotions through the bond. His breath caught, and his own eyes watered as he too remembered that day.

He placed his hand on her back and led her away from the couple behind them, giving them the space and privacy that they desperately needed.