"Sometimes it is difficult to get old." Makarov looked longingly at the boy kneeling in front of him. "I miss the time when I could decide my future based on a beautiful smile." Despite everyone looking at him in confusion, no one dared to say anything. Makarov blinked quickly, returning from his reverie. "Stand up boy, we have to say hello to the Queen." Romeo stood still, confused, looking at everyone for help. "Use this. "He went back to the carriage, and took a cloak, with Stella's shield embroidered on the back, the standard cloak of soldiers." Gildarts, please guide us. "
"Yes, Master."The Fae went towards the doors of the castle, and opened them, the two other councilors right behind him.
Romeo stayed on Lucy's left side, while Makarov was on the right.
The interior of the fairy castle was almost entirely decorated in red and blue, with pictures of important people that nobody even cared to remember hanging on the walls, flowers of the most diverse colors and types.
"How is everything going?" Lucy did not ask a specific person, but all counselors looked at her at the same time. "In the letter Erza sent me, there were mentions of kidnappings at the borders."
"Things just got worse." Gildarts looked ahead again, guiding them down the corridor. "Five days ago, Hargeon became a ghost town, I sent a contingent of my Best soldiers to investigate, but they also disappeared."His words were void of any emotion, but His eyes revealed pain"Two days ago I went personally, the place is intact, with no signs of struggle or a fight, It's like everyone was living their lives normally, and in the next second they disappear without a trace."
"Anything else?" Lucy looked worriedly at the old man beside her, the situation was worse than they imagined.
"Yesterday at dawn, Cana had a vision of Magnolia on fire, the streets taken by the monsters of the Black King feeding on the inhabitants." Cana was Gildarts only daughter, and the only Oracle on the continent of Ishigar, since she discovered her powers, she had never been wrong about a prediction. "She doesn't know when it will happen, but she believes It Will be soon."
After almost ten minutes of walking, Gildarts stopped in front of a double door, made of bronze, with the image of two warrior fairies staring at each other carved in high relief, one with a sword and the other with a shield.
Two guards, which looked more like statues, were the only protection, as soon as they saw Gildarts approaching, they opened the doors, revealing a huge, practically empty hall made of white stones, the only decoration was a red carpet, and the throne of the Queen of Fairies.
Sitting on the throne, with a stack of paper on each side, was one of the most beautiful women in the world, Erza Scarlet, Queen of the Fairies, her bright red hair was tied in a braid, dressed in pink armor, she was the perfect representation of all the peoples that constituted her kingdom, she had the wings of a butterfly, the ears of an elf, and immortal grace of the Fae.
Erza looked towards the doors, and like a shot arrow, she ran towards Lucy, happily seconds before hugging her, her armor disappeared, being replaced by a low-cut black dress.
"Lucy" She spun around the room, still holding the Queen of Stella, regardless of the shock of the others. "I'm glad you're here."
"Erza, I can't breathe." With a little difficulty, she managed to separate from the Redhead. "One day you will end up killing someone with these hugs" Lucy was a little hunched, breathing hard, Erza was watching her with a little guilt, which was overshadowed by the immense smile on her face. "I'm also happy to see you"
"Hello, Makarov" Erza inclined her head to him, coming from a warrior Queen, that was a deep show of respect. " And you, I don't know." Romeo tensed at the Queen's gaze, who was analyzing the boy as if he were juicy prey. "This is the armor of my army, but why are you wearing a cloak from Stella?"
Makarov motioned for Romeo to be silent.
"His name is Romeo." Lucy approached the boy, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Makarov wants him as an apprentice." Erza looked at him even more intently, trying to see what Makarov had seen in the boy, but for her, Romeo was just a normal kid, and if his magic hadn't deceived her, he was a half-breed, just half a Faerie.
Yet her first instinct was to refuse, despite being a Queen, Erza was still humble enough to accept that Makarov was much more talented than she was, when it came to finding talent, and taking into account his last two apprentices, Romeo had unimaginable potential, and she was honest enough to admit, just for herself, that despite not knowing why, she wanted that boy for her Kingdom.
"It was never the custom in my family to refuse a request from Makarov, I will not start now." She looked back at the boy, pure greed shining in her eyes. "I just ask you Romeo, that when you finish your training, think about returning home."
Romeo was silent, he did not want to offend the Queen of the Fairies, despite not knowing what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, he was sure of two things, one that he wanted to be with Queen Lucy, and the second was that he would not return to the fairy kingdom.
An uncomfortable silence took over the room, Erza was waiting for an answer from Romeo, but the boy refused to speak, knowing that if he answered positively, he would commit himself to her, and negatively he would insult the queen.
"Erza, could you ask someone to show us our rooms? I have been traveling for over a week. I would like to take shower. "Lucy looked at her friend, transmitting a silent message,' Don't push. '
"Of course Lucy, but I would like the three of you to join me for dinner." She smiled, she knew when to admit defeat. "Levy, could you please guide them, and ask Evergreen to prepare a room for the boy."
"Yea"
"I liked your old room" After dinner, Lucy was invited to tea in the Queen's chambers, a place that was the definition of the word ostentation, with silk sheets, priceless paintings, windows with solid gold frames." This one looks like a museum "
"I also preferred the old one, but they said the Queen cannot live in a 'poor' room." Erza took a teapot encrusted with diamonds, and poured two cups of tea." For the first few nights I couldn't sleep a second. " She picked the cup, and guided her to the porch, where she sat on one of the wooden chairs. "I missed you, Lucy."
"Me too, Erza." Lucy sat in the next chair, looking up at the stars, "After I took over my parents' throne, I didn't have time to come back here."
"There is no need to justify yourself, if there is someone who understands the difficulties of being a Queen, it is me." Erza took her hand, and squeezed it.
The two were silent for a few minutes, enjoying that moment of simplicity, where they didn't have to worry about responsibilities, where they were just two friends, admiring the beauty of the Moon.
Lucy released her friend's hand and took a deep breath, assuming her role as Queen.
"Erza, I need to make one thing clear." Lucy stood up, moving away from the other woman. "Despite our friendship, I am here as a Queen, with the life of my subjects on my shoulders, I promise to listen to you at the meeting, but as for participating in this war, it will depend on your arguments, I won't put my country at risk based on our friendship. " Erza let a breath of admiration escape, lit up in the moonlight, with eyes shining like stars, and her hair streaked with gold, Lucy looked like an exact copy of her Mother Layla Heartfilia, a unique Queen. "In our meeting keep one thing in mind, who is participating is Lucy Heartfilia, Queen of Stella, not your friend, if you can't convince me of the reasons for this war, I'll be the first to abandon you. "
"Don't worry, Lucy, as I said before, if there is anyone who understands this burden, it is me." Erza smiled, she was not offended or bothered, after all she knew that everyone who attended would have similar thoughts.
Lucy sighed with relief, and went back to her place, that was a burden she was more than happy to take off her shoulders.
"Anyone else replied to your invitation?"
"Everyone intends to attend, the humans and the northern wolves must arrive in two or three days, the dragons must be here tomorrow morning." Ezra was smiling nostalgically, as if remembering a distant friend. "A Dragon arrived a few hours before you, he said the King would leave Dragnof today at dawn."
"WHAT?" Lucy let out a cry of surprise, the dragon kingdom was in the southern islands, more than a month of traveling with a fast horse, she knew that dragons were fast, but traveling a distance of more than five thousand miles in a few hours was ridiculous. "That's not possible, Erza."
"Yes, even among dragons, it would take at least three days, but Natsu is not normal, he can fly continuously, without rest." Lucy recognized on her friend's face the difficulty in believing. "Once when we were younger, Natsu flew for three days in a row, to attend my father's funeral, it was the last time I saw him. "Erza spoke with affection, and longing.
"So you are friends?" Lucy looked at her friend maliciously. "Should I tell Jellal to be concerned?"
"Yes, you should. If he is concerned about it, he will come live here." The two laughed, Jellal was the love of Erza's life, but unfortunately for both of them, he was loyal to the point of being an idiot, the day he ended his training with Makarov, he swore to the stars that he would only leave Stella when someone capable appeared to take his place. "I've known Natsu since we were kids, I was in love with him for a long time, but after we got older, I understood that I didn't have a chance, I started to see him as a brother. "
"How come you didn't have a chance ? He is blind or something?"That would be the only explanation for anyone being able to resist a woman as beautiful as Erza. " Or is he an idiot? "
"Although he is an idiot, that's not the reason, dragons see love in a very different way."
"Even though he's an idiot, I'm still very excited about seeing a dragon up close, my mom used to tell stories about them." Lucy was practically glowing with excitement.
"I would be very careful if I were you." Erza smiled when she saw the concern on her face. "Natsu was deeply fascinated by anything golden, and quite capable of taking you away, and trapping you with the treasures."
"I want to see him try."
Romeo could not calm down, after the most hearty and embarrassing dinner of his life, he had been taken to a room larger than the home of many nobles.
A place decorated with ugly pictures, weird vases, and shaggy rugs, which were probably worth more than half the wages of the kingdom's soldiers for the next ten years,
And he, dressed in a old and dirty armor, which had been donated by one of the older soldiers, a cloak that was not his, did not belong there, he felt in a jewelry box, or rather, a street boy in a palace.
He let out a strangled laugh, he had always thought his life was a tragedy, his mother was a fifteen-year-old girl when he was born, thrown out of the house for being involved with a stranger before the wedding, forced to prostitute herself to keep him alive, dead when she was beaten by a drunk customer when he was only five, even though he was only fifteen, Romeo had done everything in this life, had stolen, killed, cheated, until Gildarts found him and turned him into a soldier, but now he had realized that he was living a comedy, and he was not amused, that morning he had woken up in a bed made of straw, and now he was going to sleep in a bed made of feathers, no longer a simple soldier, or a street kid, but the apprentice of one of the greatest legends in the world, at the service of one of the most powerful women alive.
And yet, none of those were the reason why he couldn't calm down, since the moment Makarov called him, his heart still hadn't slowed down, at that moment his instincts had warned him that his life was about to change, and now they said that tomorrow the changes would be even bigger, but he didn't know if they would be good or bad.
"Wendy." Her mother was standing in front of the castle doors, her white hair dancing in the wind, and a look of deep kindness and concern on her face. "My daughter, be careful and take care of your cousins, only the goddess knows how many different problems they will get into if they are left alone. "Natsu snarled behind her." Am I lying? "The Dragon King looked away." Take care of her Natsu. "
"With my life." Grandeeney smiled at her nephew. "We have to go Wendy, I want to arrive tomorrow morning."
A roar sounded just above them, Gajeel was circling the castle, a spot of light with the sun reflecting off his scales, waiting for them.
Natsu walked to a square just in front of the castle, and took his true form, Wendy had to control herself not to let her fear and admiration show, Natsu was the biggest and most frightening dragon she had known in her entire life. Even though he was crouched, waiting for her to climb on his back, he was bigger than the castle, and the walls that protected it, the sun shone on his scales and turned them into flames, highlighting the black runes that decorated his body.
Wendy felt her mother hug her from behind, and kiss her on the head;
"Goodbye, my daughter, may the winds lead you on this trip."
Wendy let her body change, and flapped her wings until she was just above her cousin, and landed on his back. Some onlookers seemed to be dissatisfied, but with just a look from Natsu, they fell silent.
Natsu looked at the blue sky, and roared.
The entire kingdom echoed, dragons of all kinds bidding farewell to their King,
Natsu spread his red wings, and took to the sky.
The first rays of sunlight on her face woke her up, Wendy was still on her cousin's back, lying comfortably between two thorns, the heat emanating from him, kept her warm.
Gajeel flew beside the King, his iron feathered wings glowing with the light.
Wendy climbed up on Natsu's head, and looked to the horizon, were the fairy kingdom was taking shape, she walked until she was between His wings.
'Natsu, can I fly the rest of the way?' The King twisted his neck, until he was looking her in the eye. 'Please.'
'Stay close.'
Wendy saw Gajeel approaching, and spreading his wings as far as possible, the two dragons froze, she walked over Natsu's wing and jumped into Gajeel's, crossing two of the most powerful dragons alive as if they were a bridge.
When she reached the tip of the iron dragon wings, Wendy threw herself, taking advantage of the wind that whistled in her ears as she fell, she spread her wings, and went up, doing somersaults and pirouettes around her cousins, she loved to fly, the feeling of freedom.
She even bit the tip of Natsu's tail, laughing mentally, when he grunted, they were close to the faeries' borders, she heard the sound of something whistling, then felt a terrible pain in her wing.
An arrow was piercing her right wing, and she was falling out of control.
'WENDY' She heard the scream in her mind, at the same time she heard Natsu's roar, her cousin had dropped the mask of indifference and was plunging after her, his huge red wings closed against his body, and for the first time Wendy saw in her cousin, her brother, her King, something she never imagined Natsu could feel, pure and uncontrollable fear.
