Hello, my lovelies! It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about keeping you held in suspense, but I promise the heartache of their story is soo worth it!

What's that saying? "It's always darkest before the dawn"?

Anyway, as always a disclaimer must be told, Hiro Mashima owns everything but the storyline. That's mine lol

All the love,

BlackRose999

The Star Queen

Chapter Twenty-One: Conviction

In the Celestial World

Lucy stared over the battle plans, not listening to the babbling of Hydra as he tried to tell her advisors of Viktorian's plans for war. She waged war within herself, desperately fighting the urge to shred curtains, dismantle chairs and shatter windows. Her children… locked away like rats. Stolen from her by a tyrant with no morals. She was angry, furious, and vengeful. Natsu sat quietly by the fireplace, his dark eyes narrowed as he shook with rage. She didn't dare allow anyone but her around him, he would never hurt his Nakama unless he saw no other choice, but the kidnapping of his children was a hell of a push. And in truth, she feared what his draconic side would unleash if someone came at him the wrong way.

Levy had tried to wheel her way over to him once, but a singular look from Lucy told her that it wasn't a good idea, and without words, Gajeel pulled her away and into the safety of his protective bubble.

Natsu was a time bomb now, and they could all hear his ticking.

"Wait a second… Hey Bunnygirl, your new law allows keys to abandon their contracts if their Holder is abusive right? Doesn't that imply that he now has no Keys in his control?" Gajeel asked softly as if afraid his normally loud tone would be the trigger to Natsu's fury. Levy thought this over, mulling the implications and possible scenarios in her head as if she were the reincarnation of Mavis herself. And in most cases she was, Mavis had been the pinnacle of tacticians, but Levy was closing in on her as the years went by. She would never be her equal, but she was a damn good successor.

Reluctantly, she answered him. "Yes… and no. He doesn't have to have total control over them to use them in battle, he just has to have their faith in him. Leaders of all kinds have won battles based solely on the belief of those fighting for what they're trying to accomplish. And from what Leo said, plenty of Keys were furious over the line of succession being ignored and Lucy being placed as their queen well before they deemed it to be her turn."

She paused and looked over at Lucy, her eyes scrutinizing the young queen's emotional turmoil, before turning back to address her husband. "If he could get enough Keys to believe in his cause, in his attempts to overthrow Lucy and 'restore order' as he wants, he could easily gather an army against her."

"It won't matter how big of an army he gathers…" Natsu snarled from behind them, scales slowly receding from his skin as he regained control over his maelstrom of anger. "Taking them was a death sentence, there's nothing he could say or do to save himself."

Leo sighed to himself, racking his brain for other options besides mass murder, he could find none. Then it hit him. "Your gate… She could use her gate!" Everyone looked at him in shock, and Natsu stood with hopeful purpose. "What gate? I thought only Keys had gates." Leo looked around the battleplans wildly, mentally calculating the risks and the benefits. As he did so his eyes darkened.

"She can't… It wouldn't work."

Lucy looked up at him and frowned, she didn't like this melancholy of his. "Explain, thoroughly." Leo sighed again and ran a hand through his purposely wild hair. "Everything in this world has a gate, the Starglass connects solely to Earthland and allows the user to view and interact with Earthland undetected and indefinitely as long as it's in the palace. The Zodiac, Myths, Monsters, and the Silvrine Keys all open specific magic-based gates that allow only one spirit through at a time. However… There are two other Keys in the Celestial world that only the current ruler may use. But… But they're extremely dangerous." That got the attention of everyone in the room, including her Heralds and their mates who had been absent-mindedly discussing their own strategies.

Natsu moved to stand behind his mate, feeling the sudden inexplicable need to protect her and hold her at this moment, when he reached her he wrapped a singular arm around her waist. He would guard her, he decided then and there, through this war he would fight for her and their children. Earthland didn't matter to him, he loved his Nakama but he could live without them, but Lucy and their children were everything to him. They were life itself, the very air he breathed. Without them, he was nothing, a monster waiting to be put down.

"Why are they dangerous?" Levy asked as she looked between Natsu and Lucy, feeling the tenseness that was shared amongst themselves. "Yeah, I thought the Keys were safe for Celestial Wizards to use as long as they had the magic to back it up," Gajeel growled from behind her.

"That is generally true, however, the other two Keys defy the rules. Opening one Key allows the other to open, but with a heavy price… By opening that Key, Lucy could very well lose her life. It would sap every ounce of magic she had, and when she ran out it would take years off her life to compensate. A unison raid may prevent that, but it would be impossible to gather that much magic and hold it long enough for her to open His Key."

"His Key? Who are you talking about?" Erza asked softly as she stepped forward from her place against the wall, her dark eyes narrowing in confusion. The other Heralds exchanged a nervous look, while the other mages began to look concerned. Leo walked over to the bookshelf, grabbing a white-covered book with gold inlays and the Royal Seal on the cover. "Lucy, place your hand on the book, you have to open it." Frowning, she placed her hand over the seal and felt her magic respond to her will, golden tendrils gently penetrating the golden seal and opening the cover. With its own volition, the pages turned to the depiction of a dragon bearing the Royal Seal on its brow.

"Draco, the Celestial Dragon."

Natsu looked at the page, eyes roving over the colorful drawing of the face of the Celestial Dragon and the intricacy of its being. There were white feathers pluming out of the crest of its head, eyes the color of the dawn, and silvery-blue scales on its body. "And he's only summonable by Lucy?"

"Yes. Her Key will allow the use of his, but like I said it comes with a heavy price to the summoner. It's not worth her life."

For the first time, Lucy spoke. "I'll be the judge of that… When the time comes."

Leo shook his head, leveling her with a glare. "You don't understand, you need to activate the Spirit Gem to open your gate, and without the combined power of you and your Heralds, it won't work. You wouldn't have their strength to summon Draco with them giving you their magic power to summon your own Key. It's impossible."

Laxus stepped forward, "And what of our power? Couldn't she draw our strength instead of theirs to open Draco's gate? We've performed a unison raid before when we defeated Acnologia. We could do it again." Leo thought about this, brow furrowed in concentration. "You might be able to, but you'd have to be careful of how you did it, Lucy's magic is very different from yours, and in many ways stronger. You rely on your magic for brute strength, where she relies on it for steadfast control. Too much magic would destroy the Key, too little wouldn't open the gate. She has to channel enough magic and hold it to keep the gate open."

"So the question is how to keep our own magic in control so we don't override hers…" Gray broke in, "How am I supposed to perform a Dragon Slayer unison raid, I'm not a slayer!" Bianca answered him. "You won't, you'll likely act as a guard to keep the spirits off her while she opens his gate with their magic." This seemed to pacify him, for he immediately looked relieved and went back to brooding over the battle.

"Now understand you guys, once this gate is opened, it cannot be reopened. Rulers can only open these gates once during their reign. It happens so rarely I'd forgotten about it. I think this would be the second time since the First King opened his gate to forge the Spirit Gem and seal away the ability for dire need. So many Tribes were trying to steal his Key to force him under their control to regain power over the Celestial world… He had no choice really."

Lucy felt her resolve solidify, and as she did she felt Natsu tense behind her, understanding her decision. She would risk it all to end this Rebellion, for the sake of her people and her family. Without a word, she strode from the room and past the worried faces of her Nakama. Her feet led her to the Palace Gardens, where she could get lost in the beauty of the foliage around her and forget for just a moment about the War at hand. Natsu followed her, and when he found her kneeling before the pond and staring at her reflection he sat beside her without a word, knowing she'd share her burdens with him anyway.

"Would you be angry with me… if I did the right thing for my people… at the cost of our family?"

"I would… at first. But I've done the same before so I can't really say I don't understand."

She sighed, trying to come to terms with the idea of her permanently dying. Leaving Natsu to the same fate… and her precious children as orphans who never knew their parents. "I know what I'm asking… and I know it's not fair to anyone. It's selfish really."

Natsu shook his head. "It's not selfish to protect the ones who you love, and it's not selfish to sacrifice yourself for the greater good." When her eyes remained on the reflection before her, he gently pulled her into his lap and laid his head against hers as she nestled against his chest. A soft sigh escaped her as she reveled in the opportunity to feel his heartbeat against her skin. It was so hard to Feel him here, her Mark seemed less sensitive, stonier. Not like it was in Earthland, where she could Feel every emotion he felt, where he could simply send his thoughts through their bond. For the millionth time, she wished she was back home, in their house and their bed, going on adventures with their Nakama.

Natsu broke the silence, ignoring the clenching of his heart. "If you decide you need to use your Key, I will not stop you. But I will make myself very clear," She leaned her head back onto his shoulder to look at him, confusion on her face. "Where you go, I go. Children or no children, there is no me without you." She jerks away from him, shock and disbelief on her face.

"You would abandon our children?!"

He looked at her and watched as she slowly began to understand. He wouldn't willingly abandon their children, he was merely acknowledging that in the end, he would have no choice. He was telling her that he would rather die with her, than force their children to watch him wither away in agony. "You knew before we Mated that we could never outlive each other, that one day we would leave any children we might have as orphans at any time. You knew, and you accepted that. Why can you not accept it now?"

She leaned back against him and spoke softly. "I thought we'd have more time, that I'd be able to accept it after we'd been married and parents for a few years… I didn't think the time would come so soon… They're newborns Natsu… if I die here, and you die there, they will be forced to live their lives on stories of us. They'll never get to be held by their parents, be told they are loved by their parents… We're condemning them to a horrible life."

"You're looking at this all wrong Luce… Yes, they'll grow up on stories, the history of our love and tribulations, but they won't grow up thinking we didn't love them. Deep down, with time, they'll come to understand. And from what we've seen with Master Mavis and Zeref, two souls who belong together can be reborn to find each other again." He pulled her tighter, running his thumb over the smooth skin of her hand.

"And I'd bet the whole world that we'll always find a way back to each other."