Summary: Continuation of my Battle of Rose's series. Natsu and Lucy struggle with the divide between York and Lancaster at home.
Pairings: Natsu/Lucy, implied brotherly Natsu/Gray, implied Aquarius/Scorpio, implied Lucy/Aquarius friendship, and a few other Lucy/Celestial spirit friendship feels.
YouTube Prompt: There are so many opening mash-ups where the fandom is mashed up with the opening with another fandom. The most popular opening to mash-up with is The Tudors….I would really like to see a Fairy Tail/The Tudors opening mash-up.
Natsu struggled to rule the lands Gray decided that he had to have. They were a nightmare to deal with and he was beginning to suspect Gray did this to him to make his life hell. That would be just the sort of thing that snowflake would do. He could really live without this trouble. Okay, that was weird. If Gramps heard him say that he would think the world would end any minute, but Natsu liked trouble he could resolve with his fists or sword, not the trouble that needed words.
He was always useless with words.
And it didn't help that no one in the local area liked him.
The glares, the whispers, and the rude gestures he could cope with. Hell, he could even cope with outright insults and violent attacks, but he didn't get that. Instead he got people deliberately working against him or without him. Capricorn, Lucy's man servant and the main steward of all her lands never reported to him. He would only speak to Lucy. Taurus, the captain of the guard, would sharpen his axe while staring at Natsu, he would never arrange the appropriate security unless Lucy asked him to.
The people were like that to. They didn't petition him, they petitioned Lucy, they ignore any ruling he made unless Lucy agreed vocally in their hearing, and he was certain some of the servants were deliberately dropping his plates and spilling things on him.
It was wearing him out. He wanted to so badly punch something but he couldn't because that would make things worse. If he proves them right, that he is a violent tyrant, they would feel justified in keeping their Lancastrian allegiance and he would have failed Gray.
That icy git annoyed him but he didn't want him to go through what Henry and Richard II had gone through before him.
Another day, and another difficulty. This time was an argument tha grew violent over a small parcel of land, Natsu went down to resolve it and it escalated into his direction.
"YORKIST SCUM!"
"DOWN WITH THE WHITE ROSE!"
"TRAITOR!"
Natsu felt his eye twitch and he ached to fucking punch the ones that were mouthing off but he knew it would be no use. Worst of all he knew Lucy would be disappointed and furious if he hurt her people. He didn't want that. He caught a glimpse of her temper when he accidentally ruined one of her books….it was nearly as scary as Erza's.
Natsu's thoughts were cut off when a tomato smashed into his face. This set off an attack of rotten vegetables and fruit. He shook but restrained screaming at them. He wasn't some ponce. He could handle all the mud-slinging there was….but he didn't want the mud-slinging, he wanted them to respect him, like him even, and he wanted….
"Stop this behaviour this instant!"
Natsu's eyes widened in horror. What was she doing here?! She could get hurt, these people were so angry with him and Gray for overthrowing Henry, for taking their duke away, and for marrying their precious girl into the Yorkist family, that they could hurt her as well….
But they didn't.
They all stopped at the sight of Lucy. They dropped their vegetables and fruit, and then many of them bowed so deeply you would have thought she was a princess not a duchess. Though Natsu couldn't help but think she looked like a princess. She held herself tall and proud like one and she shone under the sun.
She wore white.
Yorkist white.
Her hair was hidden under a tall white cone headdress, which had thin trails of lace blowing in the wind, but he could see the strands of gold glimmering beneath. Her underskirt was silver and white silk and her overdress was pure white decorated with lace. She wore pearls round her neck and in her ears, he had never seen them before but he suspected they were her mothers. Apart from the ring he had given her all her jewels seemed to belong to her mother.
"You shall not harm my husband and lord," she said commandingly, "he is your lord as well and such behaviour could be considered treasonous. The world has changed. Our country has a new king, a new royal family. My family. I am their loyal lady and as my loyal people you should have the courtesy to allow them to prove their worthiness to you."
They all seemed humbled by her. He was humbled by her. She seemed to have all the grace of a queen herself, and instead of ruling in her own right she is directing her people's love to him and his own.
For one brief moment he honestly thought Lucy's words reached these people but then one peasant stood up and shouted;
"GOD BLESS THE RED ROSE!"
And then another, and another, and another all joined in until the whole crowd was cheering for Lucy and her previous Lancastrian allegiance.
"LANCASTER! LANCASTER!" the crowds seemed to roar. "LANCASTER! LANCASTER!"
"BLESS YOU, LADY LUCY!"
He saw Lucy's face fall. It didn't matter to him though, she was on his side, she was supporting him, she was his wife and partner in all of this, and that was what mattered.
FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT
Outside the estate it was a war in trying to win approval but inside it was like a paradise.
Lucy tried her best to forget her troubles when the sun shone over the grass making the luscious green shimmer, and the breeze rustled the trees in a quiet harmony, and the blue sky was so bright it would become a relaxing distraction just to lay on the field and stare at it.
Her husband was not so easily distracted and got restless if they laid there for more than two minutes. Lucy found herself devising small, childish, activities to distract him (she had blushingly thought that these could be the games their children would play one day), and on this particular day they played a game of tag in which they spent the whole afternoon chasing one another until Natsu finally won by tackling her to the ground.
"You wouldn't think you were the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk," Aquarius grumbled as she pulled out a stray piece of grass out of Lucy's hair. "The way you two behave, one would think you were peasant children."
"I think it is wonderful that Hime and Master Natsu play," Virgo spoke up as she brought in the towels for Lucy's bath, "feel free to punish me for having such opinion, Lady Aquarius."
Aquarius' forehead twitched at that. "Freak," she muttered. Lucy would have chided Aquarius for being so rude, there was nothing wrong with Virgo despite her unhealthy desire to be punished but that was no different for any other devout, borderline fanatic, religious person. She knew one of her distant cousins purposely damaged her knees with too much prayer and burned her arms in order to purge her sins out.
At least Virgo didn't seem to be doing that.
Anyway, before Lucy could actually chide her lady in waiting for being so rude, Natsu waltzed in already bathed, and carrying Happy in his arms.
"What are you doing here?!" Aquarius snapped rudely. "The Duchess is not decent!"
"Eh, she looks decent enough to me," Natsu shrugged, "I wanted some company before dinner."
"You have company," Aquarius scowled, "that mangy cat of yours is enough company. Get out and take that fleabag with you."
Aquarius wasn't a fan of Happy ever since he tried to bite her leg. Natsu said it was because she smelt like a fish…this really didn't endear him to Aquarius…..like at all. "I suppose I shall see what Scorpio is up to," Natsu grinned unbothered by Aquarius' aggressive attitude, "he mentioned picking flowers and-"
"Scorpy is picking me flowers?!" Aquarius cooed uncharacteristically. Lucy shuddered at the sight and sound of it, it was terrifying to see Aquarius so….so…well like a moonstruck milkmaid! "I must go and see him at once! You won't mind, will you My Lady? After all you have Virgo to take care of your needs?"
"Go ahead," Lucy said weakly.
Natsu cheerfully slammed the door behind Aquarius and then smirked at Lucy. "And me, you have me too," he said.
"Did you just lie to get rid of her?"
"I want to sit on our bed with Happy and watch you bathe."
Lucy flushed at that. She could hardly say something after all it was his right. He could put her in the stocks naked and no one could anything because he was her husband and could do whatever he wished.
Lucy ignored Virgo's own smirk and knowing look that she shot Lucy as she helped her into the bath. It wasn't so bad really, the water covered everything up, and Natsu seemed more interested in cuddling his cat while asking her what was best for the wool trade that their lands provided with their many, many, sheep. In fact he didn't even look at her despite what he said about wanting to watch her.
Lucy strongly believed he said that just to see if he could a reaction….and because he didn't want to admit he wanted to just sit there and talk to her.
It was times like this that she truly felt he craved her company as a person and nothing else. He wanted nothing from her but her opinion, her mind, and her friendship, and that flattered her more than any romantic gesture any other husband could try and make in an attempt to win some affection.
She didn't realise that Virgo had left them as well until she got out of the bath and it was Natsu that held out her towel. She timidly stepped into his arms and he wrapped it round her and rubbed her back. Her face was burning.
This was the closest they had been to physically intimate….well if you don't count snuggling in the same bed and him tackling her to the ground in a game of tag.
"Thank you," Natsu whispered into her hair.
"What for?"
"For standing by me," he murmured, "I know it must be hard. To see your people shout at us and throw things."
"I promised to stand by you in our marriage vows," Lucy said shyly, "and I always keep my promises."
That's grin at that was the most beautiful and wonderful thing she had ever seen in her seventeen summers.
FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT
Summer was drawing to a close and Lucy felt that she had built a strong foundation in her marriage. They had already been friends, best of friends, but now she felt even closer if that was possible. There was something else there that she couldn't quite put her finger on, and she eagerly looked forwards to the next step, and the next, into what shall be a great partnership, a loving marriage, and even parenting.
They were beginning to make preparations for going back to Court which of course meant spending a fortune of new clothes. The fashions had once again changed and it would cause some irritation if the ladies at Court thought neither Natsu nor Lucy could keep up. A good portion of politics was always appearances after all.
She was in the middle of a dress fitting when she saw a messenger rom the window run towards the entrance hall. It was a royal one, the livery was King Gray's, and mere minutes later there seemed to be a panic amongst the guards as they seemed to make preparations immediately.
Lucy made a move to leave and find Natsu but before she got to the door he already arrived, squinting at a piece of parchment in his hand with a look that suggested it was giving him a headache.
"What is it?" she asked worriedly. "Is everything all right?"
"There is an uprising," Natsu said tightly, "The people of Kent have started to march against Gray. What's worse they are joined by people from all over the kingdom with Lancastrian allegiances…including our people. "
"They plan to bring Henry back to the throne?" Lucy asked worriedly.
"Worse," Natsu shook his head. Lucy inhaled sharply as she wondered what could be worse than Natsu's family being overthrown in favour of their mutual, insane, Cousin Henry and his power-hungry tyrant of a wife. He finally looked at her, his eyes were blazing with fury…fury that seemed to be aimed at her. "They are naming us. Well that's not true, they are naming you," if looks could kill Lucy was certain she would be burned alive at that point. "They are proclaiming you Queen."
Lucy felt everything she had built since her world had been destroyed in the last battle, her own strength, her title and lands she barely managed to keep hold of, her marriage, her home she had built with her husband, but more importantly her friendship with her husband, all shatter.
Everything had been destroyed once more.