Back at the palace, Wendy was fixing her hair as she hummed the song she and Romeo had been singing.
"Your Highness?" a voice called. Wendy turned to see Carla standing at the double doors, but she failed to notice that Carla was hypnotized.
"Oh, Carla," Wendy said happily as she twirled around, walking over Carla. "I just had the most wonderful time! I'm so happy! I've never been this happy in all my life!"
"I'm glad you're happy, Wendy, and you should be," Carla said in a monotone. "I have already chosen a husband for you."
Wendy was confused, "What?"
The other door opened, revealing a smirking Brain with Cobra (in snake form) on his shoulder. Carla continued, "You will wed Brain."
Wendy gasped in horror. Brain smirked even more, "You're speechless, I see. A fine quality in a wife."
"Look, if you're asking me to marry you, forget it!" Wendy spat. "I'd never marry a jerk like you!"
"Yes, you will," Carla said, still hypnotized. "The preparations for the wedding ceremony will commence… right now. You will be married in a few days."
"But the law said—" Wendy tried to talk some sense into Carla.
"The law does not matter," Carla deadpanned. "You will be wed to Brain at once. And then, Brain will be king and you will be queen."
"No, seriously!" Wendy protested. "I can't really marry you, like right now! I'm twelve years old!"
"That's alright," Brain assured. "I've always liked women younger than me." He then purred in a romantic tone, raising his eyebrows with a devilish smile.
"No! I told you! I don't wanna marry you, and you can't make me!" Wendy shouted, before she turned to Carla. "Carla, I want to marry Prince Romi!"
"Why, Prince Romi left," Brain lied. "He left a bit earlier without saying a word."
"You might wanna check the crystal ball in your staff again, Brain," a voice echoed.
Everyone turned. To Wendy's happiness, Brain's shock, and Cobra's anger, Romeo was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed near the balcony entrance.
"Prince Romi!" Wendy exclaimed.
Brain gasped in the sight of Romeo. He thought to himself, "How is he still alive?!"
"HOW IN THE HE—" Cobra began, before he said, "Uh, I mean…" Then he hissed as a snake should.
"Tell them the truth, Brain," Romeo glared in Brain's face. "You tried to have me killed! You sent a bunch of wizards to attack me and my friends, royal chump! Or should I say, 'leader of the Oración Seis?'"
"What?" Brain exclaimed. He turned to Carla, "Ridiculous nonsense, Prime Minister. He is obviously lying."
"Obviously… lying…" Carla repeated in a trance.
Romeo then noticed the staff with the skull's glowing eyes. He immediately realized what's going on.
"Carla!" Wendy cried. "What's wrong with you?!"
"I know what's wrong!" Romeo shouted, snatching the staff from Brain and smashing it on the floor, making Brain flinch. The skull holding the crystal ball on its mouth broke into pieces as a result.
Carla quickly snapped out of it, meaning she was out of Brain's spell for good. She exclaimed, "W-W-W-What? What's going on?"
"Prime Minister, Brain's been controlling you with this!" Romeo said, presenting Carla with the broken staff.
"What?! Brain?" Carla said, registering what Romeo had told her.
"There's more! He's the leader of the Oración Seis!" Romeo added. "The six bad wizards who attacked Magnolia a few times! He sent five of his other goons to attack me. I saw it with my own eyes!"
"Is it… Is it true?" Carla asked shockingly. "You're the one behind all this?!" She glared at Brain, "Brain! You traitor!"
As Carla said this, she, Romeo, and Wendy began to advance on Brain, who backed away. He nervously tried to reason with them, "My lady, I can explain everything."
But Carla would have none of it. She called, "Guards! Guards!"
"Well, that's it," Cobra said sarcastically. "We're dead, forget about it. Our plans to take over Magnolia are ruined, boss man. You might as well begin digging a grave for all of us. We're dead."
Brain felt that he has lost. Just then, he sees something familiar from Romeo's pocket: the dragon scale! Realizing who Prince Romi really was, he tried to grab it, but was grabbed by the guards Alzack Connell and Bisca Connell.
"Arrest Brain at once!" Carla ordered. "And find his other conspirators!"
"Not so fast, Brain," Bisca said to Brain. "We're takin' ya to the slammer."
"You're spending the rest of your life rotting in prison," Alzack glared. "The rest of your band will soon follow."
But Brain wasn't willing to give up. He pulled out a green vial and shouted to Romeo, "This isn't over yet, boy!"
Romeo saw this and rushed towards Brain, but the evil wizard threw the vial onto the floor. A large green cloud appeared. When it disappeared, Brain and Cobra were gone, leaving the guards holding thin air.
"Find him! Search everywhere!" Carla ordered the guards.
"Yes, ma'am!" Bisca saluted. "C'mon, Alzack!"
"You got it, partner!" Alzack nodded. "He won't run forever!"
"YEE-HAW!" they both shouted as they rushed off to find Brain.
"Are you alright, Wendy?" asked Romeo.
"Yeah," Wendy smiled.
She and Romeo were about to hug, but Carla barged between them with her wings. She ranted, "I can't believe this. Brain, my most trusted advisor, plotting against me all this time. He is the ringleader behind Fairy Tail's sudden disappearance, the destruction of several locations all over Magnolia, attempted assassination, and the hostile takeover of the throne! Just horrible! How will I ever—" It was in mid-sentence that Carla finally noticed Wendy and Romeo embracing each other. Beaming with hope, she gasped, "Can it be true? The Princess has finally chosen a suitor?" Wendy smiled and nodded. Carla laughed happily, "Praise be to Heaven! You brilliant boy, I could kiss you! No, wait. I'll leave that to your future fiancée. In the coming six years, you two will be wed immediately. You will be happy and prosperous. And then, my boy, you will become king!"
"King?" Romeo said, alarmed.
"Yes," Carla nodded, not noticing the concerned look Romeo was getting. "A fine upstanding youth like yourself, a person of your unimpeachable moral character is exactly what this kingdom needs!"
In the Oración Seis/Brain's lair, Brain and Cobra (reverted to his human form) managed to escape the guards. The other Oración Seis members saw that Cobra isn't happy.
"Let me guess," Hoteye guessed. "Did we lose a bet in getting rid of Prince Romi? That's a total rundown for our money! Oh yeah!"
"We gotta get outta here!" Cobra shouted frantically. "Prince Romi survived and exposed us! We can forget trying to take over Magnolia. They could be anywhere, I can hear them!"
"And you two were doing so well," Angel sighed sarcastically.
"We gotta start hitting the road," Cobra suggested. "Only the essentials." He began to throw things out of his tank when Brain suddenly smiled broadly. "Travel light! Bring the guns, the weapons, the knives." He stopped and takes out a picture of himself, Brain, and the other Oración Seis members. "And, uh, how about this picture? I don't know. I think I'm making a weird face in it." The other members simply rolled their eyes.
Suddenly, everyone heard laughing and looked down to see Brain cackling like a maniac.
"Oh, boy," Racer groaned. "Brain's gone nuts. He's cracked. He's gone o'er the finish line."
Cobra jumped down and began knocking on his head, "Hey, Brain! Nirvana to Brain! Brain? Brain! BRAIN! GET A GRIP, BRAIN!"
Suddenly, Brain stopped laughing and grabbed him ferociously by his neck.
"Good grip," Cobra commented. "And I didn't hear that coming."
"Cobra, you snake!" Brain snapped. "You were more than right about the boy being an imposter! That 'Prince Romi' is nothing more than that ragged urchin, Romeo Conbolt! He has the dragon scale!"
"Why, that miserable—" Cobra began.
"And you are going to relieve him of it!" Brain demanded Cobra.
"Me?" Cobra asked.
"No offense, Brain, but ever since you and Brain were hanging around with the Princess, we never get to do anything," Angel interrupted. "I think it's our turn to do the job."
"What do you propose?" Brain asked.
"I'll get the dragon scale for you," Angel offered with a smirk. "My little friends have their way of disguises…"
In the shadows, two voices uttering 'piri-piri' could be heard.
The next day, outside the palace, Romeo was walking through the gardens, thinking over Carla's decision. He was glad to be with Wendy, but he doesn't really want to be king. The only reason he wished to be a prince is to get to Wendy. But now, things are getting worse, and he still hasn't told the truth to everyone, but mostly Wendy.
"King?" Romeo questioned himself. "They want to make me king?"
Just then, Natsu came out of the dragon scale, shouting, "Huzzah! Hail the conquering hero!" He turned into a one-man band and began playing 'Stars and Stripes Forever,' but Romeo sighed sadly and walked away with his head hung. Natsu was puzzled at first, but he came up with another idea and flew over to Romeo.
"Romeo!" Natsu said, "You've just won the heart of the princess." He held his hands up like a director scoping a picture of him. "What you gonna do next?"
Romeo just looked at him, before he walked over to his bed, falling on it with another sad sigh. Natsu was once again confused. With another idea, Natsu came over to Romeo and pulled out a script labeled 'Romeoladdin.' He whispered to Romeo, "Psst, your line is 'I'm going to free the genie.' Anytime."
"Natsu… I can't," Romeo confessed.
"Sure you can," Natsu said. "You just go," He grabbed Romeo's head and used him as a mock ventriloquist's dummy, "'Natsu, I wish you free.'"
"I'm serious!" Romeo snapped, pulling away from Natsu. He began to pace back and forth, "Look, I'm sorry. I really am. But they want to make me king— no, scratch that! They want to make Prince Romi king! Without you, I'm just Romeo."
"But Romeo, you've won," Natsu grinned.
"Because of you!" Romeo shouted. "The only reason anyone thinks I'm anything is because of you! What if they find out I'm not really a prince?" He then said quietly, "What if Wendy finds out? I'll lose her." He then turned to Natsu, "I'm sorry, Natsu, but I can't keep this up on my own. I… I can't wish you free."
Natsu looked shocked for a second, and then he frowned as he nodded in understanding, so to speak. He said sarcastically, "Oh, okay. I understand. After all, you lied to everyone else. And here, I was beginning to feel left out. Now, if you'll excuse me, master…"
This last word was said with disgust, as he poofed back into the dragon scale. Happy and Asuka the Elephant were watching all this from the window.
"Ooh," Asuka said with a flinch.
"Poor Natsu," Happy said sadly. "How could Romeo do something like that to him? After he made a promise?"
Romeo picked up the dragon scale and said, "Natsu, I'm really sorry."
In response to what he said, Natsu blew a raspberry at him from the spout of the dragon scale.
"Oh, yeah?! Fine!" Romeo shouted angrily as he slammed a pillow on top of the scale. "Then just stay in there! Stay in there, for all I care! So much for me thinking you're my friend, you jerk! I don't care about your wishes, I don't care about your freedom, and I don't care about YOU!" His voice grew louder and strong, "YOU HEAR ME?! YOU'RE A JERK! JERK! JERK! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!"
His last words were said with much hatred he had ever felt before. He panted from all the rage and frustration on Natsu before he noticed his friends flinching at what happened. He snapped at them, "And what are you guys lookin' at? You got a problem with me?!"
"No, Romeo," Happy tried to reason with Romeo. "It's not like that—"
"Just leave me alone!" Romeo shouted in frustration.
"Are you sure you don't want any—" Happy said.
"I SAID GO!" Romeo roared.
At this, Happy's lips began quivering and his eyes are filled with tears. He responded with a scoff, "See you around, selfish jerk."
"W-Wait, guys! Guys! Look, I-I'm sorry!" Romeo tried to apologize, but Happy was the first to leave. "Happy, wait." Asuka the Elephant was the last one to leave. She, too, was offended by the way Romeo acted. How could Asuka's best friend be so angry and mean? "Asuka… I'm sorry. I didn't mean… c'mon." But it was already too late. His friends are already gone.
Romeo sat down at the bed, wallowing in remorse over his decision to break his promise of setting Natsu free. He thought he was a good friend to Natsu. But it seems he was just a coward to tell the truth. Only a coward would be greedy and lie to everyone else to get what he wants. And now, his lost his friends out of frustration, including the best friend he ever had in his five months of adventuring as a street rat.
He is now all alone. If he hadn't told the truth to Wendy and be at least open to her, none of this would've happened.
"What am I doing? I'm a total jerk." he sighed sadly. "Natsu was right. I gotta tell Wendy the truth."
Just then, Wendy's voice called out, "Romi, oh Romi, will you come here?"
Romeo sighed before his puts his crown on. He said to himself, "Well, here goes nothing." He walked into the garden and called out, "Wendy? Where are you?"
It was actually a flamingo that talked, imitating Wendy's voice. "Out in the menagerie, hurry."
"I'm coming," Romeo called as he passed the 'flamingo' without realizing it.
As Romeo left, the 'flamingo' chuckled sinisterly in a mixture of two voices, "Piri-piri."
The 'flamingo' turned back and looked into a face of another flamingo panting, "D'uh."
"What? You got a problem, pinky?" The 'flamingo' glared before it swept the other flamingo's feet. The 'flamingo' laughed again and ran into the palace. It found the dragon scale under Romeo's pillow. After discovering the scale, the 'flamingo' transformed into two identical blue small floating creatures. The creatures are actually the Gemini Twins, Gemi and Mini, Celestial Spirits currently under contract with Angel.
"Boy, Lady Angel's gonna be happy to see you!" Gemi cried.
"Yeah, I can hear her now!" Mini cried before he stretched his face like Angel's and imitated her, "Excellent work, Gemini Twins."
"Ah, go on," Gemi said, as did Mini, who went back to normal.
Mini imitated Angel again, "No, really, on a scale of 1 to 10, you are an 11!"
Mini went back to normal as Gemi said, "Ah, Lady Angel, you're too kind. As your Celestial Spirits, we live to serve and please you. We're so embarrassed, we're blushing."
As Gemi said this, he and Mini vanished with the dragon scale. "Piri-piri."
To Be Continued...