Chapter 5: The New Queen

Less than 24 hours had passed since the ball, and rather than helping the King the event seemed to have affected him for the worst. Or, more accurately, his selection had backfired.

See, even after the ball, just about nothing had changed. As usual, Natsu sat in his cold throne room all alone, tapping away at his armrest with a fearsome scowl on his face and two guards by his side. Today, however, the tapping was much more incessant, and you could practically hear his teeth grinding. It took everything in Gray's power not to snap the damn armrest off. The knight's own agitation was amplified because he knew the exact cause of the King's strife—her.

Yes, her as in the new Queen, Lucy Heartfilia. You see, Lucy was less than enthused about being selected. She was so against it in fact that she literally passed out on the dance floor after Natsu made his declaration. All the other women were cleared from the room as the castle staff tended to Lucy—some of which who were less than pleased with the circumstances. They calmed down once threatened with the dungeon, but that was beside the point.

When the new Queen finally came to that night, she cried in silence for hours. It certainly didn't help that Natsu was laying in bed beside her when she woke up. That was a terrible idea on his part, and the entire castle heard the scream resulting from that discovery. Afterwards, she refused dinner, peace offerings and presents. Worst of all, she refused to speak to anyone, especially if their name was Natsu. In fact, she refused to see him at all. Surprisingly enough, Natsu chose to sulk rather than punish her.

If the King had been in his right mind, retribution for her insolence would have been harsh and swift. It seemed like the "ruthless" king was going soft, and it was all thanks to one woman. Not only was Gray questioning Natsu's mental state, but he was questioning Lucy's as well. Her reaction was almost unfathomable, and it took a courage—or perhaps a stubbornness—he couldn't dream of having.

Although Gray was surprised by her actions, he couldn't blame her, now could he? He, too, would be quite upset if his entire life was turned on its head in an instant. Even still, he wished she would just get over it. The situation certainly had benefits, and surely she'd realize that if she would stop pouting for just five minutes. Seriously. After all, not just anyone was able to call themself a queen in a non-arrogant way. Sure, Natsu had an awful reputation, but Gray could tell he was really trying.

He just wished she would give him a chance.

Needless to say, the King wasn't the only one in a terrible mood. Aside from dealing with Lucy, Gray was made to arrange all the women rides back to their homes. This, thankfully, was pretty uneventful, as only a select few were disenchanted with the King's choice. The most eventful moment of his day was throwing those two witches in the dungeon—Natsu's orders. They were to stay there until he deemed they had served an appropriate amount time for being rude to him and his bride to be. Unsurprisingly, they kicked and screamed Gray's ear off the entire way. The satisfaction he got from locking them away was incredible. Honestly, the dungeon wasn't a strong enough punishment for them in his opinion, but who was he but a knight in the castle?

All in all, Gray had already had a long day and the day had barely started. He was certain Mard stuck him by Natsu's side today just to irk him. It wouldn't be so bad if he would just stop that fucking tapping.

To Gray's great relief, the tapping was finally halted by the sound of the throne room doors opening. The three sets of eyes locked onto Mard Geer, who wore his usual tight smile as he strolled across the room. Natsu's eyes flashed with hope so briefly that the expression was easy to miss.

"How is she?" Natsu asked. It was painfully obviously he was trying to sound uninterested.

"Still not a word from the maiden." Mard answered as he bowed.

Natsu suppressed a growl as he clenched his jaw.

"How dare she refuse to speak to me..." Natsu said, gripping at the arm rest so tightly Gray swore it really would break off.

"She will come around, sire." Mard assured him. "I could try to persuade her further, if you wish?"

Natsu shook his head. "Just... just let her be. I will go see her myself later."

"As you wish, your majesty." Mard said with another bow.

Natsu sighed. "How is that rebel town doing?"

"No new developments, King Dragneel. The rebellion has still been effectively suppressed."

"Excellent." Natsu said, stroking his jaw. "I'm in such a bad mood, I may have razed the whole area if your news had been less than pleasing..."

Gray shook his head but kept his tongue. Mard remained expressionless.

"One more thing sire," Mard began, "It seems she is on her way back from that mission."

"Already?" He asked, his face growing serious. "I'm anticipating her report."

Mard bowed deeply. "I'll have it to you no sooner than she sets foot on the castle grounds. Do you have any tasks for me sire?"

"No Mard, thank you."

"If you'll excuse me."

Natsu watched as he exited the throne room, the door thudding shut behind him.

No more than a few seconds later, the tapping started right back up again.

Lucy sat in the corner of her bedroom, staring blankly into space. She'd long since stopped crying, but her bedspread was still slightly damp with tears and her eyes and nose were red. This was the worst thing that had ever happened to her since her mom died—even worse than when her father got remarried to her witch of a stepmother.

After the king uttered those damning words, she literally passed out. When she finally came to, the glitzy ballroom was replaced by a huge, posh bedroom and a pair of strong arms wrapped around her—the King himself. She shrieked so loudly that she was sure she almost frightened him to death. Though he tried to speak to her and perhaps apologize, she promptly kicked him out of the room. Surprisingly, he didn't put up much of a fight.

She cried herself to sleep after that, and when she finally woke up, she was shocked to see that scary man staring at her. The thin one, not the excessively muscular one. If she wasn't mistaken, his name was Mard. She promptly booted him out of the room too, but he did not go without resistance.

It was strange how much Mard disturbed her, more than Natsu or any of the other guards for that matter. He just had an off air about him, not to mention his creepy perma-smile.

Lucy drew invisible circles on her damp bed spread with her fingers. No matter how hard life got, this always seemed to calm her down. She wasn't entirely sure what time it was, but she knew she'd missed the offering for breakfast and lunch. Not that she had an appetite anyway.

Of course, Lucy was quite aware she was being difficult, but she could not care less. Perhaps, if she was difficult enough, they'd send her back home—or perhaps they'd throw her in a tower and lock away the key. In her honest opinion, she might as well be locked away right now. There were guards stationed outside her door so she could not escape unnoticed and, judging by the view from her window, she was pretty high up.

Of all the beautiful women last night, she just wanted to know what the King saw in her. And then, she wanted him to unsee it. Expeditiously.

Three quick knocks at the door caught her attention, but she couldn't find the strength to acknowledge them. Though she didn't answer, the door opened up anyway.

"Coming in." Gray said in a sing song manner. Right behind him was a woman in a maid outfit with light pink hair. Most notably, she had chain like bracelets on her arms. Lucy gulped.

"Pardon me, Queen Lucy," Gray began. The words turned her stomach.

"I'm no queen." Lucy spat, forgetting about the woman's concerning attire.

"Ah, so you do still remember how to speak." Gray said sarcastically. "I've brought your personal attendant, Virgo. She will be asking care of you. Also, the King has requested your presence in the dining hall this evening. You will attend." The last part was stated matter-of-factly. No room for argument.

Lucy bit her tongue. "Okay."

"If there's nothing else, I will go now. Virgo, I leave you to it."

"Of course, Gray-sama." Virgo responded robotically.

No sooner than he left, Virgo's eyes locked intensely onto Lucy. She gave her the shivers.

"Um... nice to meet you?" Lucy said nervously.

Virgo bowed deeply. "I am happy to serve you, my Queen."

"Just Lucy is fine..." The blonde assured her.

"Just… Lucy?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she clamped her hands over her lips, wide eyed as if she'd committed a terrible sin. "Forgive me, Queen Lucy." She began. "Calling you by first name is disrespectful."

Lucy sighed. She supposed she would need to get used to this.

Noticing her displeasure, Virgo added, "Will you punish me, Queen?"

Lucy scrunched her nose. "Punish you? Absolutely not. Why would I—" She shook her head. This was King Dragneel's castle after all. "This place is scarier than I thought."

"Let's get you ready for dinner." Virgo said creepily, her demeanor changing drastically.

Lucy stumbled off the bed as Virgo stalked closer and closer to her with a devious sparkle in her eyes. She was practically drooling. Lucy shook her head as she backed further and further away until she the cold wall pressed against her back.

"This will be quick, my Queen." The pinkette assured her.

An earsplitting scream echoed through the nearby hall. Outside, Gray shook his head. Virgo was still Virgo.

Lucy eyed herself as she turned from left to right in front of a gold rimmed mirror. She would be lying if she said she didn't like the dress. The billowy dress was an extremely pale yellow, so pale that it almost looked white. It made her feel like a Queen.

"Is it to your liking, Queen?" Virgo asked, her head cocked to the side in curiosity.

"Yes, yes, it is." Lucy admitted. "Thank you."

Virgo bowed. "I'm glad to be of service, my Queen." She walked to the door. "I will be back this evening to escort you to dinner."

Suddenly, Lucy was feeling sick again. "Of course."

Virgo bowed again before leaving the room.

Lucy stared at the door for a while, unsure of what to do next. She turned to look at her appearance in the mirror and frowned. She was beautiful, but the longer she stared, the more she felt the dress did not suit her. It was then she made a decision.

She would not be attending dinner after all.

xXoO0OoXx

Anddd finished! Lucy's giving them a run for their money, huh? This chapter took a little longer than expected (I rewrote it a couple times) but I'm glad I have finally finished it. And great news, chapter 6 is done too! Will be out next Sunday :)

Thank you all for your encouragement and reviews. They truly encouraged me to keep pushing with this story even with hefty course load. Even though this took a little longer than I expected, I'm just happy I managed to update. I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations, and if not please let me know how I can do better next chapter lol.

For my WYNM readers, that chapter is like 95% done I just need to edit and add some finishing details but hopefully I can get that up by Sunday as well. MLM is in progress, but it's probably at a 30%. Also, I finished a quick one shot that I think you guys will enjoy, I just need to edit it :) And, if anyone read my M story Dangerous Affair, it has been reposted with the name The New Hire.

Thanks for all your support! See you next chapter, or maybe in a different story.

Much love,

AF1

P.S. I hope Virgo wasn't too OOC it's been a minute since I've watched Fairy Tail/written her character.

P.S.S. I will be responding to all reviews and PMs in the coming days. I'm quite overwhelmed with school rn lol, please forgive me.