Natsu Dragneel POV

Have we picked up her sent yet? I groaned out to the beast. We had been searching through the forests surrounding the Kingdom for the past week with absolutely no luck and I was a far cry from just 'cranky'.

Do you think I would have kept it a secret if I had already picked up her scent, Cretin? A low, frustrated growl sounded deep within my mind. I grimaced. Guess I'm not the only one who was beyond cranky.

Well, why is this taking so long? Is it 'cause you're out of practice? I slowed my pace to a walk and crossed my arms behind my head. Normally it never took the monster this long to locate someone. Especially if we knew them.

Another frustrated growl sounded. I think she has some sort of spell cast upon her that prevents me from locating exactly where she is. I can only get glimpses of her and then it's gone completely with huge gaps between each location. I can't get a clear reading on the Neonate for more than a second. I sighed. If the Methuselah gene couldn't even pick her up, who possibly could?

If you were whole again do you think you could find her? I asked, honestly curious. Maybe this would be a good time to get him to talk about his past.

The monster sighed, agitated at the predicament we were in.

I'm not sure. I believe this is a very ancient magic and is enough that even if I was whole I would still have problems. I would most definitely be able to find her more quickly, but even with the full power, it would just take time. I nodded in understanding. I relied a lot on the monster's power. If I was just a normal Ancilla, there would be no way in flying hell I would be able to find Erza.

Do you just need time to focus then? Somewhere that's not in the guild hall with so many distractions or me running around waiting for you to pick up something. The monster hummed thoughtfully.

That may help. Sit over by that tree and I'll be able to concentrate on her motives more. I complied and sat back against one of the many old oak trees. A light breeze rustled the branches above me and ruffled 1r57y hmy salmon locks. I ran a hand through my hair to make sure there weren't any leaves in it from the wind.

I wish we could just find Erza already. I really would love to go back to the guild and just stay there for longer than a couple hours to rest. Happy and I were supposed to be starting training again. I grimaced. Romeo was supposed to come to. I sighed heavily. This was so boring: Hunting down a Neonate who obviously wasn't wanting to be found. I thought about it. That would explain why she had a cloaking spell on her. She knew for certain that Makarov would send me, his 'valent servant', after her since she had been acting suspicious for the past couple of days.

I growled low. It was so frustrating living in the guild. I was definitely no servant to some ancient Elder. I was the Prince for fuck's sake! Erza had always treated me like some punk little brother that needed to be scolded all the times I would cause a little mischief or cause a ruckus in the hall by fighting my brothers. I wasn't twelve. I knew much more of the real world in my short life span than she did.

Backtrack to the part where she obviously didn't want to be found. I raised my brow.

So you were listening to my private conversation with myself? I tsked. That's not very nice you know.

A sinister growl sounded. I flinched slightly. Stop being such a dumbass, Dumbass!

Jeesh, keep your pants on. What did you want me to backtrack to? The monster sighed, aggravated.

The part about how you were saying that she didn't want to be found. You said that she knew that Makarov would send us and that is why she has a cloaking spell cast upon her. Then you went into your little childish rant so please, go back to being semi-smart. I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

Well, it is extremely obvious that she doesn't want anyone to know where she's going since she put the cloaking spell on her. I just want to know why she doesn't want to be found is all.

The monster began speaking in his ancient language, probably cursing me to a thousand years of bad luck for what he called my stupidity. Even though I'm highly intelligent compared to everyone else in the world, he liked to get frustrated for my ignorance. I'm eighteen! Well, technically speaking I'm ninety-one but who's counting technicalities?

Are you done with your little tantrum? It hissed. I crossed my arms.

What have we talked about you listening in on my private conversations with myself?

I'm over this conversation. I smirked.

Too bad, you're stuck with me, baby.

Will you just stick to one topic?

Sure! What topic are we gonna stick on? The one about how you continue to listen to my private conversations with myself or the one with Erza?

The ancient creature sighed, defeated and irritated with me.

The latter. I scoffed.

What's the magic word? A feral roar pierced through my head causing me to jump and cover my ears. I shook my head at myself. Covering my ears with my hands would do so much since the noise that hurt my ears was coming from inside my head.

Okay, okay. Obviously, roaring is the magic word. Good job! You got it right on the first try! A warning growl sounded letting me know he'd be even louder if I continued to piss him off. Okay! So we were talking about how… I paused. What were we talking about again?

The reason why the red headed Neonate would want to keep us off her trail.

Oh, yeah! I'm pretty sure that she doesn't want to be found cause she's doing something that would probably get her in trouble with the guild or worse… Makarov.

And what could she possibly do that would get her in that much trouble? I pondered for a moment. What could she do that could get her in so much trouble that she was risking everything by keeping it such a secret? I thought back to the days when I first joined the guild.

Do you think maybe she's going around and killing humans? I asked. The monster hummed in thought.

I don't think she would go to such drastic measures for something so little. Makarov forgave us so willingly in the beginning and our mishaps in the past few years. I don't think it's something as insignificant as that. I racked my brain for more possible ideas.

Maybe, she's stealing human children and selling them to Isenberg as slaves for extra money.

Be serious, Cretin! Do you honestly see the Neonate doing such a thing? I sighed. That was true. Erza couldn't even harm a fly unless it was hell-bent on destroying Fairy Tail. A sudden thought hit me.

"No fucking way."

"Gramps, I need to talk to you ASAP." I really hoped he could hear me from this far away. I was three days' time away from the guild even with the over-the-top speed of being the Prince. Gramps was old, he should be able to hear me by now, I just wasn't sure who else would be listening as well.

"I'm here my boy, what is it you need?" I breathed a sigh of relief. At least he could hear me.

"Is there any chance anyone else will be able to hear this conversation?" I heard the master hum, deep in thought.

"I'm in the castle at the moment about to have a meeting with the King. They'll hear me." And with that, I knew Makarov would stay completely silent until I finished telling him everything I had just figured out. I took a deep breath.

I hope I'm right about this.

"I think Erza is going after Saber Tooth. I'm not sure what her plan is, but I don't think it's very good. I've spent the last week hunting her and have absolutely no leads. She has a cloaking spell on her. An ancient one that is too hard to crack, even for me.

"I know Saber is in the ruins of Acalypha, but I feel like that isn't where Erza was wanting to go. If she ended up going to Saber I feel like they aren't going to be staying there for very long.

"I know that Acalypha is supposed to have magical properties, but I feel like it was just a legend or it's faded out over the last hundred years or so. The reason I feel so certain for this is because when the boys and I were there, I didn't feel a single thing that was magical. If this lake used to be there it was dried and dead about sixty years ago." I thought about it for a few moments; Hunting through all my memories of when we were the feared Strigoi brothers instead of Fairy Tail vampires. A light came on.

"I don't know if I'm right or not, but I remember when we were in Cedar there was an 'off' feeling about the place that I felt deep in my gut. I think that the legend has it mixed up or maybe someone changed it a long time ago to keep their secret safe. I really think Cedar is the one that has the magical lake instead of Acalypha."

My mood darkened. "And I think Erza figured that out." I heard Makarov's breath quicken in a slight panic. I really hoped I wasn't right. Even though Erza was annoying as hell, I know Makarov cared deeply for her and so did many of the other guild members including my brothers.

"The few days before her disappearance, I remember her hiding out in the guild's library researching. I think that's what she was researching. Now, I have no idea whether or not she found anything but my bet is she did. I need to get back to the guild as soon as possible and find the books she had looked at before her scent fades away."

"So, what are we supposed to do about her?" Gramps asked. I heard the tremor in his voice. He was upset. I closed my eyes and sighed. It really killed me to see him like this. I may be a heartless bastard when it came to everyone, but Makarov was the closest thing to a father my brothers and I had.

"I don't know what she's planning right now." I quickened my pace toward the guild. "Let me do some research before we make any assumptions. I really don't believe Erza would betray us like this."

"I hope you're right, my boy." And with that Makarov dismissed me to put full focus into his meeting. I groaned loudly.

Why do I always offer to be the detective?! The monster chuckled.

It's because you care too much. You need to be more like me! I rolled me eyes.

Then I'd be lonely and bitter forever! A deep growl rumbled.

I'm not lonely and bitter! I'm perfectly happy right where I am. I raised a brow.

Oh, yeah? Think about what you're saying. You're inside my head. The deadly silence that followed my comment made me chuckle loudly.

I'm going to bed. And with that I was alone. I sighed. I hate being alone. I relied a lot on the monster to keep me company, especially on long journeys like this. And it's why I relied so much on my brothers. I don't understand how my father does it. How can he hide away from the world for years upon years without contact with anyone? I highly doubt he has the voice in his head like I do. And I highly doubt he has any sort of 'friends' to keep him company.

I thought about it for a moment. Maybe he did have the voice like I did. Maybe he relied on the voice so much like I did he wasn't afraid of ever being alone. I sighed again. I would never know.

I scoffed at myself. Why did I care about anything that had to do with the bastard? I hated him. I despised him. If I had enough power to kill him I would have years ago. I would never forgive him for what he did to my brother's and I. Blood or not, he was nothing to me; just another heartless nuisance that needed to disappear from the world forever.

I sighed again. Sooner or later he was going to show up and find us or die. Maybe after I got done with all of this nonsense I would go hunt him down. It was better than sitting around here and doing nothing but training. I needed some real battle again. All of this peace was driving me crazy. I could become the feared Prince everyone was worried about. I could wreak havoc like I used to; When I was happiest in my life, but my brothers would never join me again. They were far too happy at the guild with new friends, new journeys, new lives.

I needed to focus on the task at hand, Erza was most important right now. I'd just have to throw myself a pity party when I had time. Now just wasn't the time.

General POV

Max and Joey stepped lightly into the King's military room, Max heading straight for the seat beside a grim looking Makarov and Joey gazing around the room in childlike wonder. Wan chuckled slightly at seeing his partners' face.

"Kind of a lot to take in, huh?" Wan's voice was the only one speaking regularly in the quiet room. Joey looked around the massive room. They had been at the castle for a week now and this was the first time he was allowed inside. The others had always needed him guarding the door or looking after Lucy. Those tasks seemed to be easier than this.

The large oval table stood menacingly in front of him. He felt odd and out of place, completely out of is comfort zone.

"I don't think I should be here." He whispered. Wan raised his brows in confusion.

"Why not? You need to know what happens at these meetings as much as Max or I do."

Joey gazed at the four people sitting around the large war table. Makarov stared darkly at the desk in front of him while Max, the King, and the Queen spoke in hushed whispers, the King frantically writing in a big red notebook.

"Everyone is just so serious in this room." Joey's voice remained low as he spoke to Wan. The short haired man pushed his sunglasses up farther on his nose.

"It is a serious situation, Joey. You didn't expect this to be a walk in the park, did you?" Joey shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

"I didn't expect it to be easy, but I certainly didn't expect it to be this hard." Joey's broad shoulders slumped forward and Wan placed a large, slim hand on one in comfort.

"It's all going to be okay, Joe, I promise." Wan grinned at his friend and Joey smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, man."

"May I please have everyone's attention?" The King's voice boomed in the empty room. All eyes focused on the ruler except one distracted Elder. "As Mr. Alors and I have been discussing this past week, you vampires need to be in a rotation when protecting my daughter, instead of this 'everyone at once' thing we've been doing." He picked the notebook off the table he was just writing on and began to read. "Each shift will be in twelve hour intervals so Joey and Wan, you two will be watching my daughter from 7am until 7pm and Max will be guarding her from 7pm until 7am, do you understand?" The three Neonates nodded in understanding.

Jude continued, "There will also be a half hour of patrolling the grounds of the castle that is to be done every four hours. Joey and Wan may switch during the day shift and Max is to wake Goldmine to watch over Lucy while patrolling."

"Of course your majesty." Max stated. "I will tell Goldmine of this after you have adjourned the meeting." Jude gave a curt nod.

"I have two groups of thirty-five guards patrolling the grounds at all times as you may have noticed, please familiarize yourself with all of them to ensure one of Saber Tooth's spies do not infiltrate our ranks."

"How in the world are we supposed to familiarize ourselves with seventy different humans?" Wan whined. "All you humans look basically the same to us."

"Just do your best, Wan." Max stated in a scolding tone. "You aren't expected to learn everyone's face in a day. It will take time but it needs to happen." Wan crossed his arms over his chest and grumbled.

"What happens if Saber has already infiltrated the guards? We don't know what anyone looks like now, so if they end up getting in the castle now as a spy, we would never know." Joey expressed his concern.

"We have already thought of that. Goldmine will be going through all of our guards tonight when shifts change, making sure they are all my men and will be doing so every shift change to assure that something like that does not happen for the next few months until you three have memorized my men." The guardians nodded and Joey let out a sigh of relief.

"Furthermore, meetings will be held fifteen minutes before each shift to strategize in case of an emergency. The guards on shift will also be coming so it'll give you guys a chance to help familiarize yourself with some guards and you may even recognize some of them already from previous meetings or just passing's in the halls." Jude sighed heavily. "This meeting was short, but it was important you know what is going to happen. Communication is key right now. If you spot anything out of place or even have an 'off feeling' about the day, it is to be expressed and we are to be alert and prepared for anything."

Determination filled the King's golden eyes. "My kingdom will not fall to these bastards." Max looked to the Queen and saw the same determination in her brown eyes. Hope filled the sandy-haired Neonate. They were going to take down Saber Tooth once and for all. They weren't going to let anyone take down Fairy Tail or the King of Fiore.

Suddenly something dawned on Max. He turned toward Makarov.

"Master Makarov, why have you been so quiet?" He asked honestly curious. Max had almost forgotten the guild leader was even in the room for how quiet he had been for the entire meeting.

Makarov slowly shook his head, worry radiating off of him in giant waves.

"I have a lot on my mind right now, son." His voice came out small and quiet. Nothing like the guild master's voice normally was.

"Is there anything we need to know about?" The King questioned the Elder. Makarov sighed heavily.

"I have a hypothesis that Saber Tooth is going to be moving to the ruins of Cedar in the near future." Gasps from the other meeting members filled the room.

"Why do you say that Master?" Joey asked, panic edging his voice.

"I have intel saying that what we thought was wrong. There is a legend that there is a lake with magical properties in the ruins of Alcypha, the reason we think Saber is there in the first place, but now we don't think the lake in is Alcypha but instead in Cedar.

"While we have already been worried about Saber finding the lake, they haven't yet. The reason we know this is that both Sting and Rogue are still alive."

"What does that have to do with it?" Max asked, interrupting the guild master.

"According to the legend of the Twin Dragons, once the two of them enter the water they will combine body and soul, activating the Witch's spell."

"What spell?" Layla finally spoke. "Witches have not existed in hundreds of years."

"You mean to tell us a witch casted a spell on these boys in the last eighteen years?" Jude continued his wife's thought.

"That is true. The witch we still have not found, and in all honesty, we don't know if the legend of the twins is even true or not. It is all uncertainty."

"What is the witch's spell?" Joey asked in a shaky voice. Makarov's eyes hardened.

"That they will be powerful enough to kill the Methuselah and take his powers." Makarov looked at each and every one of the shocked faces around him. He knew this news would devastate all of them.

"What about Natsu?" Max asked panicked.

"Who is Natsu?" The King and Queen asked simultaneously.

"He's the Prince of the vampires." Max answered their question.

"We don't know where Natsu is let alone what he even looks like, Max. How are we supposed to find a ghost?" Wan said exasperated. "Plus we don't even know if he's been born or has changed into a fledgling yet."

"Why is this Natsu character important?" The King asked raising his voice slightly to be heard. Makarov sighed.

"He is the only one who can defeat the Methuselah."

"How can he defeat Igneel? We thought he was all powerful and couldn't be defeated?" Layla asked the Elder.

"Because the Prince of the vampires has half of the Methuselah gene. Natsu has the more powerful half and can defeat his father to gain the whole Methuselah gene. That is how becoming the Lord of the vampires works." Max started.

"But if Sting and Rogue become one they will have enough power to defeat Igneel and take the Methuselah gene." Makarov finished Max's sentence. "And because of the witch's spell, they will take all of the gene, not just the half that Igneel has. The Prince would completely lose his powers and just become a normal Ancilla like the rest of his brothers."

"So what you're saying is that we need to find Natsu in order to kill the Twin Dragons before they combine." Jude folded his hands together in deep thought.

"No, what I'm saying is that we need to find Natsu so he can kill his father before the Twin Dragons do." Makarov looked Jude in the eye, his gaze unwavering. "If Natsu has the entire Methuselah gene the Twin Dragons will not be able to defeat him."

"But won't Natsu become a threat if he has all of the power? He may not be like you Fairy Tail vampires and may have more dangerous plans than Sting and Rogue have." Layla rushed out. Makarov could sense that panic was setting in everyone around him. It was beginning to seem like a never ending battle.

"We don't know anything about the boy, your majesty. As Wan said before, we have no idea what he looks like, if he has even been born yet, or know if he's changed into his vampire state yet. We only know the prophecy." Makarov rubbed his tired eyes with his wrinkled hands.

"What exactly does this prophecy say, Makarov?" The king asked, his thinning face resting on his hands.

"The prophecy proclaims of Natsu Dragneel, Prince of vampire kind, to be the most powerful Methuselah that the world has or ever will see. Normally when a Prince kills the Methuselah, the Prince becomes stronger than the former leader, taking in his experience and developed strength. That is what Igneel did to his father before him.

"For some unknown reason however, the prophecy states that the prince after Natsu will not be able to defeat him. We don't know why but it is what is fated."

"That means we don't want Natsu to kill Igneel though!" The king exclaimed, eyes wide with terror. "If that monster becomes that powerful he may take out the entire human race! It's as Dragneel said when I spoke to him, 'He could take out every single living thing on this planet and still survive on nothing.' That means Natsu could as well, but survive even better. We can't risk it!"

"It is fated to happen, Jude!" Makarov suddenly yelled starling everyone in the room. "There is not a soul in this world, this universe, that can change the prophecy. It is to happen and no one can stop it!" Suddenly a thin, shrill scream sounded causing all the vampires to jump to their feet in unison, deciding where it just sounded from. Makarov's face paled.

"LUCY!"

Lucy Heartfilia POV

I stared at my reflection in my bathroom mirror, mind lost completely in thought. My protectors were at another meeting- Another pointless, stupid meeting. Not a single meeting they had the entire seven days they had been here had been of any use to us. I wondered if Makarov was even still coming to the meetings. He seemed like too busy of a vampire to be pothered by such pointless meetings.

Max never came back with a plan or good news and it was so frustrating. What did they even do in their meetings? Twiddle their thumbs and play cards?

I huffed and bent my face toward the sink to splash cold water on my face.

The worst part about it all was that I wasn't allowed at any of these meetings. I wasn't allowed to contribute to the planning process. I wasn't allowed to help.

I grabbed the white towel beside the sink and rubbed my face angrily. I looked back to my face to notice the redness that came with the violent action.

"I'm so tired of feeling like a helpless child." I voiced aloud, staring intently at my reflection. I noticed my face looked thinner than before, my cheeks sunken in slightly and dark bags under my eyes. I sighed. This wasn't good for my health. Pretty soon I was just going to be a bag of skin and bones.

Ugh.

I walked into my room, dragging my feet over to my bed and plopped down on the silky blue comforter. I stared at my feet, my pink and white stripped socks laughing at the pitiful expression that was surely on my face.

I just didn't understand. These meetings were supposed to be on better ways to protect me, so why wasn't I allowed to have any say in them? I understood my father not wanting to scare me, but I was already scared. Scared of the threat of Saber Tooth, scared of what was to come to the kingdom, scared of what was going to happen to all the people who swore to protect me with their dying breath.

I was so engrossed with my thoughts I almost didn't hear my door open and close silently. I sighed knowing it was either Levy or Goldmine coming to lecture me about how it wasn't fit for a princess to be sitting in her room pouting.

"You know, I really don't feel like hearing it right now-" I said as I raised my head to greet whoever was in the door but my words died on my tongue as who was standing in front of my door was neither Levy or Goldmine.

He was tall, handsome even with long golden hair, a flamboyant red hat sitting on top of his head, covering half of his face, but showing off one golden eye. I couldn't help but think that he would be an amazing specimen to paint but the thought didn't stop my blood from freezing in my veins as his eye stared deep into my soul.

Just who in the Hell was this guy? I tried voicing my concern but my voice died in my throat, pure and absolute terror freezing me in place. My heart raced so quickly in my chest I was sure I was going to have a heart attack, and my breathing accelerated.

I knew he was a vampire.

I knew he worked for Sting.

I knew he was here to take me.

But knowing all these things, I couldn't get my body to move. I sat there frozen in place, watching him as he watched me.

What was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to fight? Just, WHAT THE FUCK?

Suddenly I found myself standing, legs rigid with fear and my brain screaming 'Run you stupid moron!'

I knew I couldn't outrun him. Just the thought of even trying almost made me giggle.

I couldn't outrun him, couldn't outfight him, and definitely couldn't outthink him. My brain wasn't thinking logically, just telling me to get away.

I looked to the door behind him, hoping with all my might someone would decide to come check on me at that very moment.

"Escape is futile, Princess." He spoke finally. Goosebumps crawled down my arms and up my neck. Just hearing his voice had all the senses going into erratic overdrive.

The vampire slowly outstretched his hand toward me. "Please, make this easy on everyone and come with me quickly and quietly."

Finally I found my voice. "I know you're with Sting." My voice came out steady and cold, surprising me. A wicked grin settled itself on his face.

"That I am, your majesty." His hand dropped down to his side and he dipped into a slight bow. "My name is Rufus and I am third in command." So a high up vampire came to take me. Just what was Sting thinking?

Then, a sudden thought hit me. The window behind me was open. I had sneaked out of that window too many times to count, I knew every foothold and crack to make my way down the roof and onto the ground below. The only problem was that it was on the other side of my bed.

Think fast, Lucy!

"Why did he send someone so high in rank to come get me? Why not just another disposable dog? I'd like to think he'd be a little smarter than that." Get him talking, that was my only goal while he just stood there so I could make my plan of escape.

"My Master is very cautious, Darling." My body shivered.

Gross. The word felt dirty in my ears leaving his pale lips. I grabbed at my bed to keep myself from falling over and my hand grabbed something that wasn't my mattress.

A pillow. My distraction. I wondered how off guard he would be if I threw it at him.

Keep him distracted!

"What does your boss want with me, exactly?" I gripped the pillow tight in my hand, reading my arm to throw.

I really hope I don't miss him. I never was good at aiming.

A small smile played at the corners of Rufus' mouth. "He wants you as his wife, my dear." My pulse stopped and my grip on the pillow loosened.

"What?" A cold sheen of sweat formed on my arms and neck, feeling the need to throw up in the back of my throat.

"Just think about it," Rufus took a step toward me and my grip returned on the pillow ten-fold. "He wants your kingdom, but what is the kingdom without its infamous Princess Lucinda?" The way my name rolled off his tongue had all the blood rushing to my ears. I was gonna pass out.

"What would he do with me as his wife? I'm just a lowly human, he'd be bored of me within a day." Time to run.

"Ah, but that can be changed." Rufus took another step forward and my pulse quickened. "You see, Lucinda, it is very easy to turn a human into a vampire-" I threw the pillow in his direction, praying it would hit him enough to startle him, and jumped onto my bed, madly kicking my legs to get over and onto the other side where I sprinted to the open window. My fingertips just barely grazed the frame when I felt inhuman arms wrap themselves around my waist, pulling me violently against his cold, hard chest. The breath left my lungs either by the force of the impact or by the terror pumping wildly through my being.

"Bastard, let go!" I yelled through gritted teeth, kicking my feet frantically. He lost his grip momentarily, to which I took full advantage of, and turned around to face him, pushing with all my might. He grabbed my wrist in a feeble attempt to keep me from falling out the window and I used the momentum he gave me to punch him as hard as I possible could in the jaw. Excruciating pain leapt up my hand, but I didn't have enough time to think.

The surprise of my action made Rufus' hand slip from my other wrist causing me to lose my balance and tumble out of the open window.

A thin, shrill scream escaped my lips before blackness took over my senses and I fell.

I'm back?

Review! Bye, loves:)