Authors Note: First of all, a huge Thanks to everyone who reads my story!

It means a lot and makes me really happy to see that people like it enough, to follow/fav it :D

(EDIT: Something you might notice is that I changed Levys last name, since it was too modern for this setting in my opinion. Jardin means Garden in french, so it fits at least somewhat, but do tell me if it's too strange!"

Have fun reading :3


Chapter 2 - Stranger

A carriage rolled down the bumpy roads of Terya, while the king found himself stuck in the process of waking up. The tired man yawned and took a sip of tea before shooting a glare at Lily who was trying not to laugh at the bird nest of hair in front of him.

"How are you feeling, Gajeel?" he inquired and handed a plate of food over, a cautionary peace offer as well as a prod to hurry up. The sun was climbing fast and Teryas ruler was in no way presentable.

"I'm too tired for this crap. How am I supposed to last even one day with Natsu in this place? The only thing worse than him is a sneezing fire sprite, but at least they're less destructive and don't try to fight me every two seconds."

Lily grinned at the comparison, knowing full well that Natsu would start much bigger fires than any fire sprite if bored for too long. "I would think that Lucy has calmed him down a bit. At least I hope so."
"For the sake of everyone in here, I hope so too," Gajeel grumbled and wolfed down the rest of his food. High time to get ready.

...

Gajeel, finally dressed appropriately, received word of Natsus Carriage being sighted and the castle was preparing for his arrival. The Iron King put his ceremonial armor on and donned the official ceremonial crown of the royal family of Terya. A large silver band, adorned with carvings of the mountains and forest on top, decorated with emeralds and opals, an obsidian dragon, the ultimate symbol of strength, watching over all of it.

A weight and flash of green appeared on his shoulder where Kofu, the stern housekeeper of Farkesi castle and personal attendee to His Majesty draped more adornments over the black metal and gave her King a scrutinizing look.
"Well, am I presentable? Shall I do a pirouette for you, Kofu?" he snickered and shook his arms, making sure everything stayed in place.
"Albeit not blessed with the best manners, you do look quite nice, good choice with the green, your majesty."

"Why, thank you." Gajeel smiled at the old lady, who gave a quick bow and waited for him to leave the room. They made their way over to the throne room, giving them a chance to go over everything one last time, making sure that meals were prepared, pots and pans scrubbed and the maids ready for the coming week. Of course they were, Kofu wouldn't dream of leaving her beloved castle in any other shape then absolutely perfect.

"The room is the same as usual?"

"Rooms, your majesty. The additional guest will lodge in the same corridor as the Imperial Majesties."

"What additional guest are you talking about, Kofu? In Natsus letter it seemed as though only he and Lucy will be visiting."

"My deepest apologies, your majesty, but the steward of the palace of Rhyacus specifically requested preparations for another guest in his letter to me. I should have made sure that you were aware of such a thing, please forgive my carelessness."

"Don't beat yourself up, I will manage. Well then, are you prepared to welcome our guests?"

"If you are, then I am as well." Kofu answered and Gajeel nodded, which she took as her sign to position herself in the back of the room. He sat down on the throne and waited, watching the room fill with excited townsfolk who wanted to see the royal couple firsthand.

...

"So, Lucy. You and Natsu are the only royalty I know, I've never met a king. What can I expect?" One of said guests asked back in the carriage. Lucy nodded her head and smiled sheepishly "Not what you might think. He is rather…say, stoic if you will. Very withdrawn and sullen. Sometimes I think the life of a bandit or pirate would suit him more than that of aristocracy."

"A criminal life? I'm not sure if that is reassuring or not. Why do you say that?"

"Talk in town on our last visits had it he was known for being efficient and brutal in battle, as well as violent outside of it, on occasion. Many are still grieving for the former king, his father, as he himself undoubtedly is as well, but some are outright not accepting him. Our visit will hopefully show them that he has powerful support, but he really needs to prove himself as a leader before they trust his decisions."

"I see, tensions are still high. Should we be careful on our visit then? Do I need to be careful around him? He sounds dangerous to be frank."

The woman in front of her fell silent and it was quiet for a moment, mulling the situation over to choose her answer carefully.

"Teryans are cordial, sincere people, but they're weary of strangers. Even so, their tradition holds hospitality in high regard and no one would dream of even looking at you in any unkind way. If you are genuine and friendly they will warm up to you quickly, so just be yourself. The king is a different matter, but he's definitely not dangerous, don't worry. I don't know him very well, so I'd say…" her train of thought was interrupted by movement on her lap, where her husband had been sleeping for most of the ride.

"Ignore his attitude, he is no bad guy, just really grouchy, like an old man," Natsu mumbled sleepily, causing the two women to giggle at his description. They startled when he suddenly sat up, now wide awake.

"Alright, we're finally here!" he grinned broadly and put his crown on. Backwards maybe, but a step forward for the scatterbrained ruler. Fortunately, Lucy managed to hold him back long enough to put it on the right way, before they left the carriage together. Loud Cheers from the gathered townsfolk welcomed them and almost no one noticed the blue-haired maiden as she slipped out of the other side of the carriage and made her way into the castle behind the royal couple.

She marveled at the sturdy beauty of the big stone castle, a tall, white tower looming above her. The rural appeal of the half-timbered walls, paired with intricate coloured windows made for a certain feeling of restfulness. It gave her the impression of a giant who went to sleep some hundred years ago and allowed humans to live on him. The scars of war were almost invisible, metal reinforcement blending in with the stone foundations and the damages that hadn't been repaired yet were well hidden behind lush blooming bushes, and colourful overgrown window boxes.

She let out a small "whoa" when her eyes landed on the enormous wooden entry doors. Incredibly detailed patterns and depictions of nature and humans, the history of the kingdom maybe? What was the most surprising were the metallic inlays, incredibly detailed, almost fragile looking on this very sturdy door, made of a sturdy material.

Lucy noticed the awe of her friend and chuckled. "Pretty, isn't it? King Metalicana made it. The housekeeper told us he loved woodwork and was quite crafty, the people apparently still talk about his carving skills." She explained as the doors opened seemingly by themselves, revealing a decorated hallway and wide wooden stairs. "I have never seen a castle like that before. I can't wait to learn about its history!" The women behind her exclaimed excitedly.

"You'll have the opportunity soon, I think. Ready?" Lucy asked her best friend and received a smile and a nod. A last brush of her dress and adjustment of her headband, and they ascended the stairs together, Natsu and Lucy first, of course.

...

"Feeling alright?" Lily asked quietly, receiving a small snort "It's a state visit. We lived through a war, Lily." He answered before turning his focus towards the entrance of the throne room.

An announcer by the door named the guests entering. "May I present, His Imperial Majesty, Flame Emperor Natsu Dragneel of Chrate and Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Lucy Dragneel of Chrate." Both of them entered and walked towards the throne, the people gathered around bowing as they passed.

Whispers erupted around the room "That's the emperor?" "Wow, he's really young!" "But really cute, too!" "Wow, Empress Lucy is so pretty!" "They make a good couple!"

"Natsu, Lucy, It's good to see you again. Welcome to Farkesi. I hope you had a good journey" Gajeels booming voice shut the whispers of the townsfolk who hadn't stopped talking when he stood and everyone gave their attention to the two rulers shaking hands in front of them.

Natsu grinned "Good to see you too, Gajeel." Lucy curtsied and smiled at the Iron King. "We appreciate your hospitality."

The announcer spoke up again and everyone's attention went back to the entrance "May I present, Milady Levy de Jardin, head scientist of the Chrate Empire." The sound of soft steps echoed around the room as a petite, blue-haired maiden entered. She was first greeted by whispers as well, not helping to calm her nerves whatsoever.

"She's pretty, too!" "But she looks really young, almost like a child!" "How is she head scientist of a whole Empire already?" "She must be very smart!"

Again, the townsfolk stopped immediately when Gajeel made his move, walking closer towards his new guest. Teryan tradition required specific greetings for visiting guests if host and guest have not met before, and as such it was Gajeels task, especially as king and representative of the country to approach her separately.

"Lady de Jardin, I welcome you in the kingdom of Terya and in our capital, Farkesi." He greeted with a short bow of his upper body.
Levy curtsied before him "Thank you, King Redfox, it is an honor to meet you. I will not betray your kindness and hospitality."

"You are our honored guest." He answered with a nod and turned back to Natsu and Lucy, addressing all three of them. "You will find your usual rooms prepared. Kofu will show you the way to yours, Lady de Jardin. If any of you wish to speak to me, ask your personal servant, they know how to find me." He smiled and gave all of them a small nod, which were reciprocated appropriately, before Kofu came over to guide them out of the throne room.

...

Gajeel returned to his throne and addressed his people "In honor of our guests, a festival will be held in town, I'm sure you are well aware of that. Since I will be preoccupied, this is the last audience for the next two weeks. If you have an urgent request, speak now."

Fortunately, most of the townsfolk were too excited, so there were only two requests, which could be handled by his head advisor, so no one really noticed that the iron king excused himself early and seemed somewhat absent-minded. No one except Lily, of course. The large cat shook his head and followed his king out of the room.

Gajeel headed straight back to his room, Lily following him. "Gajeel, are you alright? You seemed really...not present right now."

"I'm fine, Lily, you can stop being a mama cat. I just didn't know there would be a third person until Kofu told me earlier."

"Oh, I knew I forgot something! Sorry I didn't tell you, I was too preoccupied with helping Shagotte."

"It's alright, I'll just kick your ass when we train the next time, but I'm good for now, just need some peace and quiet."

"Alright, tell me if something bothers you." Lily gave his friend a pat on the shoulder.

"Thanks for looking out for me. See ya at dinner." With that, Gajeel took a turn and soon reached his chambers. He took the large crown and Gauntlets off, before peeling out of the seemingly endless layers of ceremonial garments, leaving him in a still presentable, albeit much lighter outfit. He sat down in the armchair and looked out into the garden, mulling over how he would survive the next week.

He shared a strong bond with Natsu, so he wasn't worried about his behavior around him, Natsu himself wasn't exactly the definition of well-mannered either. Lucy was married to him, she was used to not having to follow protocol most of the time and they knew each other well enough. No, it was the scientist girl who was giving him a headache. The stranger.

The time of grief following his father's passing had left deep scars in his self-esteem, his outbursts and violent behavior leaving him deeply afraid of scaring people off, especially now when half of his citizens still didn't trust him. He stood abruptly, opening his windows and breathed the fresh air to calm his nerves, flash backs of the past war and his own, brutal self crashing down on him. Pictures of blood and red hot anger danced in front of his eyes while he felt his chest getting tighter with every, too fast heartbeat.

Since the window wasn't working well enough, he pushed the glass doors open and headed out into the garden, walked around the flower beds, through the herb gardens and passed the vegetable garden to get to his favourite spot.

The soft splashing of the stream guiding him, he brushed past a few low hanging branches and bushes. He finally reached the little clearing and sat cross legged down beneath the willow tree next to the small waterfall of the stream. The world went dark and clear at the same time when he closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the water mixed with the rustling of the trees, the panic slowly ebbing away, like waves on a beach, retreating back into the sea.

When he felt like he could grasp his thoughts again, he used some of the breathing techniques his father taught him during combat training until he felt calm again. "Thanks, old man." He mumbled and dipped his hand into the stream, feeling the cool water flow around his fingers.

When he looked out toward the sea, he noticed the colourful sky, beautifully painted in rosy orange and a subdued blue, it reminded him how late it had gotten already. A rustle in the grass alerted him and he snapped his head towards it, wondering what it could be since the servants usually stayed away from the brush.

A fluff of blue hair caught his eye, and the petite form of the Lady de Jardin appeared. As soon as she saw her host sitting right in front of her, she startled and stuttered "Oh, I'm, I'm s-so sorry for interrupting you, your majesty, it was not my intent to disturb you!" while bowing in apology.

Gajeel, albeit quite startled himself by her presence managed a reassuring tone. "You can relax, milady, I am neither disturbed, nor angered." She cautiously looked up at him and he felt his heart stumble for just a second when he noticed the anxious look on her face before remembering that she might just be surprised still.

"How did you find me? Not even all of the servants know of this place.", he asked, genuinely curious.

The woman in front of him smoothed out her dress and answered with a half-smile, still obviously somewhat nervous "Your head servant, Kofu was it? I asked her what I could do until dinner and she said that she wouldn't like me to wander around the castle alone, but that I could explore the gardens if I wanted to. So. I explored good, I guess?" she smiled sheepishly and Gajeel stood up shaking some dry grass off of his cape

"Seems like it." He chuckled and walked over to her "Would you like me to accompany you to the dining room?"

"A very generous offer, your majesty, but alas, in my haste to quench my own curiosity, I haven't had time to freshen up yet and would like to be presentable for dinner. I would take you up on your offer if it included accompanying me to my room, though, because as it stands, I'm not too sure where it was located."

Gajeel couldn't supress a chuckle at the sheepish look she gave him at this revelation and extended his arm.

"Well then, the offer stands."


/

End of the second chapter :)

I spent way too much time researching specifics of greetings between royals for this one, phew.

Also, this will be the last chapter to share any similarities with "The Iron King", I tried to change as much as possible and after this, it will be completely different.

To the lovely people who gave me reviews:

clem1415: Merci beaucoup!

DragonflyFriday: Aw, you're so kind! The energy is totally worth it, hope you like this one too :3

finch6: Satisfied? ;) Thanks for your review, I'm happy to hear it :)

And to the nice guest who also left a review: Thanks a lot, I hope I can fulfill that potential ;)

Again, thanks so much for reading, see you soon!