Chapter 2

King Jellal was touring the gardens' construction site and was chatting with his staff. Erza Knightwalker was with him and stayed no less than three steps away from him, keeping a watchful eye on everyone around them. She was incredibly vigilant, but it wasn't entirely necessary at the moment. They had received reports of some rebels who wanted to return magic to Edolas and had been stirring up some trouble. Thus, Erza had been assigned to go with him wherever he went.

It felt slightly strange as previously he had done everything he could to avoid Erza Scarlet in Earthland, even by causing his guildmates to fall asleep before he had even entered the guild hall to get a new mission. Now he was glued to her side and grateful for her presence. Even without the ability to use a magical weapon, she was an incredible fighter. He had earned her respect by showing how hard he was willing to work to improve the lives of everyone in Edolas.

After a tour and discussion about the next month's worth of work from those in charge of the construction, he and Erza headed back toward the palace. They were almost finished for the day, but there were a few more things to do. He had another meeting with some merchants in town to discuss some of the imports and exports from the Royal City to rural areas of Edolas.

When Pantherlily had suggested he stay and rule, and offered to become the 'villain' in his place to the people of Edolas, Jellal had been shocked. Not that he doubted Pantherlily's dedication; he knew how loyal the Exceed was. He had planned on making himself appear the bad guy, sucking out the magic from the world and returning it to Earthland after years of Faust stealing it. It had occurred to him that this plan may not go smoothly, but he had no intention of taking over. Despite being a member of the Royal Family, he hadn't ever expected to come to power.

His fight with Natsu before they left Edolas had shown him that Fairy Tail had given him all the strength, compassion, and willpower to do the job and do it well. Even though it was tiring and stressful, he knew he was in the right place. He felt it every morning when he got up and was happy at the end result of everything that had happened.

In fact, Jellal found he enjoyed the hard work when he saw that he was making a difference in people's lives, improving them. People were thriving in the Royal City and looking happy as they went to work and went about their daily lives. It had taken some time for everyone to adjust to the lack of magic in their daily lives. Things were looking up, though.

He and the merchants discussed some options to allow for more trade routes to less populated areas and spread another few kilometres outwards to reach outlying villages, towns and small farms. They would meet again in a month to check progress, and he suggested hiring some of the guilds to assist them with creating the trade routes and making them safe. There were plenty of guilds that could help with transporting goods and security as well.

Usually, that was something that the Army would be able to do, but he had been forced to downsize them after things calmed down, being unable to afford to keep a standing army of that size. Now that the economy had stabilised with businesses booming again, it would be okay, but to recall everyone from the lives they had now established was unfair. He was also more than happy for the guilds to be used, as they would continue helping the economy by paying rent to places where their guild met, buying food and other goods to feed those in the guild, and then getting paid for the work they did. Ideally, it would work out for the betterment of everyone.

Since all his meetings were now done, he had organised to train with Erza, Sugarboy and Hughes, as they all wanted to keep up their skills, especially now they had to fight without magic. They would meet regularly outside the palace in the extensive training grounds set up for the Royal Guards. At times like these, he wished Pantherlily was still here in Edolas, but he knew that he would be okay in Earthland. His friend had more than likely found a home in Fairy Tail and would fit in nicely with the crazy bunch. He was certainly strong enough to hold his own in such a guild.

They usually focused on swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat without their magical weapons in their training sessions. Jellal supposed that he would never get used to fighting without his staves and without magic. It had taken him a while to feel normal without covering most of his face after spending such a long time keeping it hidden. Some part of him wondered if he shouldn't have continued keeping it hidden since he was pretty popular among the population of his subjects due to his looks.

That made him feel quite awkward. He had plenty of propositions from various families asking him to marry their daughters, primarily those that were politically inclined and wished to increase their standing by a royal marriage. Jellal had no interest in such a bond but still felt somewhat bad about rejecting every proposal he received. When he found someone to spend his life with, it would be by his own means. It would be someone who cared about him and gave him strength and someone who he did the same for. He supposed it might be wishful thinking to find something so perfect, but he wasn't in any rush. Such a thing would happen naturally; there was no use forcing it.

It seemed the other three had noticed that he wasn't precisely in reality right now and begun warming up without him. They knew he was a busy guy with a lot on his mind, so sometimes he simply needed some time to think and make sure he could finish his thoughts. Once he'd snapped out of it, he joined them in their session, and they all worked each other hard, fighting one on one, in pairs, and swapping to put themselves at advantages and disadvantages.

Jellal couldn't focus but tried his hardest for the sake of his training partners to make sure they all got something out of the session. Hughes complained about being tired about an hour into it, and Jellal felt that he did it for his sake, to end their training a little earlier than they would usually have.

Afterwards, he returned to his chambers to clean up and rest for the night…

Meanwhile...Serana was getting ready to settle in for the night and was plaiting her hair to keep it out of her way as she slept. It usually reached the top of her butt when it was out, but having it up in a plait was more comfortable through the night. She brushed the lengths out after getting halfway through the plait to ensure there were no knots. When she was finished, she wiped her face with a towel and ensured she didn't forget to use a moisturiser to keep her skin healthy and bright. Her usually pale complexion had darkened since she had been working outside with Fairy Tail so much. Also, she had gotten physically stronger, and her muscle tone was more defined than before she joined. She hadn't been in a fight in a long time and planned to keep it that way. When she was in the Army when Faust was ruling, she had done things that she considered morally wrong, but she couldn't do anything about it. Now that things were better, she hadn't worried about keeping herself in shape like she used to while serving. Fairy Tail had kept her fit and active.

Aside from that, she was fairly typical in appearance. Her long hair faded from black at the roots to blonde at the ends, and her eyes were almond-shaped with grey irises. They had a silvery hint sometimes but were more the colour of slate. Fitting in well with the other woman in Fairy Tail, her figure was curvy, but she was a little shorter than the other girls, being around the same height as Levy.

When Fairy Tail finished work for the day, they usually all conked out pretty early, but Serana had stayed up to help tidy the guild hall after everyone had eaten dinner. It wasn't too bad since everyone pitched in to tidy up, but she'd offered to sweep the hall, wipe down the tables, and wash the dishes.

She had a lot on her mind and knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep straight away, so doing something constructive would help her wind down. Cleaning was perfect since it was somewhat of a mindless task and would allow her mind to wander and take whatever paths it needed to, so she would be mentally and physically tired.

The rooms in the Fairy Tail guild hall weren't spectacular, but they had improved before Serana's arrival. Since they'd been able to continue to be a guild after Jellal removed the disbandment law, they could stay put and had intended to remain where they were. Gone were the days when they had to pull up their roots and run away, barely able to stay in one place for more than a few days to avoid being caught.

Now that she was finally lying down, her physical exhaustion began to take over, and her mind was following behind quickly. She'd always had trouble sleeping, and it would take her a while to truly feel comfortable in the guild hall. It had only been about 3 months since she'd joined Fairy Tail after all, so she was still settling in. Her welcome had been overwhelmingly kind and warm, and she knew this could be her home if she chose it to be.

However, there was something that just wasn't sitting quite right. Something lingered in the back of her mind, and it had come to the fore when she met the King. The others in the guild had mentioned he usually came by every month or two, but to actually see him in person was shocking. He just seemed like an average guy, but she couldn't help the feeling that his cozy relationship with them was odd. Even though guilds were permitted by his decree now, maybe there was something to do with his being from Earthland that would explain his comfort with Fairy Tail's members.

Tucking herself up in bed, she allowed herself to be lulled to sleep by the sound of the other girls sharing the room with her. Their even breathing and soft snores and the rhythm they played allowed her to shut off her thoughts and finally drift off...