Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail

The one thing that at least made this meeting a little less uncomfortable to Levy was the fact that she had already heard a little bit about Princess Hisui. Technically, they'd never exactly met directly before. Lucy was the one who did the most with the princess, and from there, it extended that her team had likely met the girl too. Yet, all Levy managed to hear were rumors. The girl was level-headed and kind, and apparently a celestial wizard like Lucy. She was fairly close to her guard, Arcadios, and she seemed to follow her heart more than anything else when it came to leading.

As a result, Levy didn't quite believe that Hisui wanted to continue the war. With that mindset, she could be relatively calm as she followed Dimaria towards a large room in the castle. It looked like it was designed to be a ballroom of sorts, with a grand chandelier hanging from the ceiling and casting a dim yellow lighting on the white walls around them. The floor itself was glossy, made of some sort of natural wood it seemed. There were no tables or other furniture, but the room was spacious and wide. Inside, Levy saw a small gathering of individuals, most of them dressed in armor with weapons sheathed somewhere on their person. In the center of the soldiers, a young girl stood, looking to be about Levy's own age.

"From the intelligence I had gathered, your emperor is meant to be far younger than him." Hisui glanced at August, frowning. "This matter is of utmost importance, and it is insulting for him to refuse to—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, you wanted Emperor Spriggan. Too bad, he isn't here right now, so you'll have to settle for his partner instead." Dimaria gestured towards Levy, before shaking her head and crossing her arms across her chest. Slowly, Levy stepped forward, giving Hisui a small curtsey. "This is Empress Levy. While we have yet to make the official announcement, she has recently gained the same amount of influence as his majesty. Given your wording, and his majesty's little trip away from Vistarion, I thought that this would be an acceptable alternative."

Hisui glanced towards her guards, before slowly turning back towards Levy with a frown. "I wasn't aware that Alvarez had an empress. To my knowledge, Emperor Spriggan ruled alone."

Dimaria shrugged, and August watched silently, observing the situation for now. Taking a deep breath, Levy nodded, trying to hold her head tall. "He…until recently, he had." She couldn't reveal his situation, not now. Swallowing, she forced herself to smile, trying to ignore the tension in her body. "As Dimaria said, not even Alvarez knows. I…I sorta wanted to keep our relationship private, for as long as we could manage."

"Avoiding the public eye?" Levy slowly nodded, and Hisui smiled faintly. "I suppose I can understand that. There is a lot that is expected of someone in charge, no matter who they are meant to lead." Hisui paused again for a moment, before stepping forward. "Regardless, that is not what we came all this way to discuss. Would you be willing to relocate somewhere more comfortable? I think this may take a while, and I'd prefer to sit as we speak."

"Oh, yes!" She blinked, turning around. Zeref had offered that immediately with the guild masters, so she should have realized to do the same. Shaking her head, Levy began walking back through the castle, towards the room she remembered Zeref using before. "I…don't think there is quite enough room for everyone." She glanced over at August and Dimaria, hesitating. "If…if it makes you feel any better, I'd be fine going in with just August for now, since you'd have to leave behind some of your guards as well."

Hisui shook her head. "That won't be necessary. I can't see this breaking out into a fight so directly, not when Alvarez has shown patience when implementing their strategies." Levy didn't quite know what to say about that, but only nodded as the girl moved inside. Hisui took a seat, and one of the larger guards sat next to her. The rest…it seemed the rest remained outside.

"Sorry, I'm not in the mood to sit through boring debates. If you need me, I'll be out in the training fields." Dimaria waved, walking off. Levy nodded, taking a seat with August instead. She didn't have time to wait for Invel to return to have someone else that could help with advice, so instead, she took a deep breath and met Hisui's gaze.

The girl smiled at Levy, shaking her head. "No need to be so worried, you know. I can tell you are not used to meetings such as this." Levy felt heat in her cheeks, and she lowered her gaze. "I imagine your husband usually deals with diplomatic matters?" That only made it worse…her heart stuttered, and she felt her breath catch. Zeref…she never even got the chance to consider if that was a future she wanted. No, she'd dismissed the arranged political play from Kagura, and hadn't thought much on it since then. Still, she forced herself to slowly nod. "Well, I assure you, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just need someone who is able to make changes without being rallied against, due to the nature of this discussion."

"You came because of what happened with Fairy Tail."

Hisui nodded, folding her hands together on the table. "Well, I guess you already know what has happened." The princess sighed, looking away for a moment. "The people in that guild, they are good friends of mine. Kind people, who defend each other and their friends, regardless of the cost to themselves — it is those sorts of people that I hope my leadership will be able to protect one day." She focused more on Levy again, her smile lingering. "You invaded our country, seeking to target them. While you may not have been aware of this, it does not change the truth; Fiore owes much to Fairy Tail, for the things they've done for our country. If it were not for them, we would have found ourselves destroyed by dragons a little more than a year ago. As such, any act against them is considered an act against our country."

"I know." She wrapped her arms around herself, lowering her gaze. "Fairy Tail was involved in stopping the Eclipse Gate, after the Grand Magic Games."

"Well, it seems as if you are at least aware of the reason for our anger." Levy nodded, and Hisui frowned. "I don't mean to say that we want war, but this isn't the sort of action that we can let pass by without consequences."

"The guilds have already come to meet with Ze—Emperor Spriggan." She didn't know if Hisui had identified his true self yet, but it would be best to keep it hidden in case she wasn't aware. "August had worked out a treaty, along with them, on what Alvarez had to do to obtain peace."

"Yet the country you invaded, they were not privy to these discussions?" Levy took a slow breath, while Hisui shook her head. "Sorry, I know you said you were new to these things. Likely, you do not even realize how impolite that is, to leave a wronged party out of such a debate." She paused, glancing over at her. "And you knew we were wronged as well, didn't you? If you were aware of Eclipse…" She trailed off, her brow furrowing. "How were you aware of it? To my knowledge, news of that event was kept contained, isolated to Crocus."

Smiling faintly, Levy shrugged. She rose to her feet, pulling some of her hair aside before turning around. With her second hand, she pulled down on the fabric of her dress, until the back of her shoulder was visible. There, a white Fairy Tail mark still remained, displayed for the princess to see. "I was there, watching the games." She dropped her hands, turning back around and taking a seat. "And my friend in Fairy Tail told me that you were the one responsible for opening that gate in the first place, so really, there would have been no need to be saved if you'd just left that spell alone."

She sounded like Zeref for a moment. Yet, rather than making her pleased, the thought just left her feeling hollow. "You're one of their wizards? But then…" Hisui frowned, glancing between her and August. "I fail to understand why you are here, allying with the nation who wronged you and attempted to harm your comrades."

"Because Alvarez has good reasons for the things they do." She paused, taking a slow breath. "Just like Fairy Tail, Alvarez' emperor was fighting on behalf of his family. While it isn't exactly easy to see how, I know for a fact that his motives were to protect the family he loved, in his own way."

"And you forgave them, just like that?"

"It took time, but lingering on what has happened in the past doesn't benefit anyone." She shrugged. "The war happened, and I can't say I'm happy about it However, Emperor Spriggan regrets what he did, and has promised to not go that far again. So, you can at least be fairly confident that Fairy Tail won't be at risk of war with Alvarez again for a while."

"And I doubt you'd approve of such an action yourself." Levy nodded. Hisui sighed, scratching her neck with her eyes closed. "That makes things more complicated, I think." She paused, frowning towards them. "Please forgive any offense this might cause, but I have to ask…was your marriage a political move? Part of the arrangement made for peace with the guilds?"

She had to be careful about this. Legally, she had never married Zeref. Yet, who really knew that was the case? Only the people who lived within the castle, really. So, it was quite possible to keep things calm by maintaining this illusion of a marriage that was never real. It wasn't that wrong, was it? Zeref didn't have anyone else, and nor did Levy. With him gone, she liked to think he'd be strangely happy, hearing her refer to herself as his wife, as his empress. "It…Kagura made a strong argument for it, during the negotiations. She seemed convinced that creating a bond like this would negate any further concerns of future conflict." She smiled faintly, shaking her head. "She even suggested that she'd drop all other demands, if we agreed."

"I see." Hisui nodded, sighing. "It did seem like the sort of strategic move this mysterious emperor would make. He never shows his face, never handles matters in person, and peacefully spends his time building an army. That army had been training for centuries, and growing for even longer; it was clear that it was there to simply exist, and nothing more. Yet, it still happened. Suddenly, he declared war." She shook her head. "The lull was meant for a sense of false security, planned out precisely to the moment he wished to strike. And now this. He seems to be moving, knowing I'd have mixed feelings on doing something potentially harmful to an individual from Fairy Tail."

Levy shifted in her seat, glancing towards August. The elderly man was still silent, observing and letting her take the lead right now. So, she focused back on Hisui. "So, what exactly were you hoping for then? Because there are other things, that I need to deal with. I don't want to bring back the war, just because you can't see that it is best for both of us just to move on."

Hisui seemed to nod, staying silent for a moment. "Perhaps. Are you able to fight against your husband's policies?" Well…he wasn't around to make them anymore, or to fight for the ones already in place. Swallowing, Levy nodded. "Excellent. Then maybe this will be a simple matter after all. I'd like to see an honest effort to reduce your military. It has been a threat to us before, and given your recent actions…" She sighed, lowering her gaze. "I'm sorry, but even with your political alliance, we just can't trust an attack won't come again."

That was already in the agreement with the guilds. So, Levy slowly nodded, taking a deep breath. "I will do my best."

"Good." Hisui rose, glancing towards her guard. "Arcadios, I believe we have work to get done back home. I think I've already given this girl far too much stress than I intended with this meeting, and now I've set her against her own husband."

"Alvarez doesn't need more war." Levy spoke, while Hisui smiled, shaking her head.

"Oh, I meant nothing by that! Just that I am causing you unneeded stress, stress that I wish I didn't have to inflict upon you." Hisui turned towards the door, lowering her head. "Sadly, I don't think we have other reasonable options. I've not heard of you within your guild, and as such, your influence there is as limited, if not more so, than your word here. Still, I hope you can accomplish your goals. If you can, maybe there could be more of a future between Alvarez and Fiore after all, without the fear of retaliation for the actions of the other."

Smiling, Levy nodded. "I think that would be great, being able to be allies after this conflict."

"Well, that is some good news at least." Hisui smiled, before nodding towards her guard. The man leaned down, whispering something into her ear. The princess frowned, before shaking her head and moving towards the door. The two of them left, and Levy was glancing back towards August with a small smile.

"Did that really end so quickly? I thought it would take longer."

He nodded. "Typically, it does. However, you managed to obtain peace without offering anything new in return. It seems as if our agreement with the guilds was satisfactory to her after all." She nodded, yet August frowned, glancing towards her. "You…did not correct her assumption, about you and my father." Levy shook her head. "Is there a particular reason for withholding such information?"

"Because one day, we may have been like that." Years from now, likely, but still somewhere in their lives. "And it just seemed easiest, you know? Trying to hide what has happened to him, while naming a stranger to be Empress…it just doesn't make sense, to think he's just fine. At least, not unless Zeref was hiding someone away someone who had only recently…" She trailed off, sighing.

"I see." August nodded, smiling faintly. "He would have been pleased, to have you by his side for however long you were willing to stay, Levy. Regardless of if marriage was ever in your future or not, he was happy with whatever you were willing to provide."

She nodded, staring at the table. Levy knew she should get up, but the castle still felt too much like Zeref's home, and part of her just didn't want to move. With a slow breath, she gradually pushed herself to her feet. The meeting with Hisui was done with, and now that the brief moment of stress was gone, she was back to feeling like hiding away and crying. Despite knowing she had to focus on her plan, she just couldn't. Being hopeful that he'd somehow come back to life was nearly impossible, even though she knew that magic could be created. It just wasn't a sort of task she had any idea on how to approach, and each passing day just seemed to waste more potential time to find an answer. If she didn't move faster, maybe she'd just waste the rest of her life, seeking an answer. It wouldn't be so bad, but it still was a numbing future to consider, one where she was just as alone as Zeref had always been, living and ruling over an empire he had never truly cared for.

This chapter is a bit short, so much like yesterday, I plan to get a second one posted later today. For now, I don't quite have time to work on it, so please enjoy. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!