All Rights to Hiro Mashima

Thank you to all the reviewers, followers, and favourites. You all give me the warm fuzzy feels right in the heart. I love you all. I was so excited that I just had to get one more chapter out for you all to peruse.

BEWARE THE ANGST!

Chapter 6: Jade

Stone that calms; guards from illnesses, and soothes the nerves; said to quiet fear in patients of hospitals

"Mavis? It's me…Zeref."

Shallow breaths were the only thing heard in the white room. The colour was supposed to be calming, but all it did was make everything feel unreal and utterly sterile.

"I've done it, Mavis. It's finally finished. Look! I'll show you. Listen closely."

Two healers stood outside the door of the long-term care room. They listened to the hushed voice of Zeref talking to his blonde friend. They whispered back and forth, making sure that their voices weren't loud enough to disturb the visitors.

"The poor dear…"

"Does he realise that she's in a coma?"

"…They say that people can hear their loved ones when they are like that."

"She's almost completely brain dead! How is she supposed to hear anything?"

"Is it likely that she'll wake?"

"…No. It would take a miracle. There is only so much magic can do, and it has hit its limit with Miss Vermillion."

The healers shoot sympathetic looks towards the black haired Prince and quietly walk away.

Zeref slowly strokes the back of Mavis' cold, unmoving hand. "Don't worry love. This will work. I know it. I will experiment on myself, and then…then I will try it on you should it be successful. Then we will never be separated again. Please, just hang on a little longer."

-ooo-

Five months after Natsu's birthday, an ordinary day came around for Lucy.

She awoke, ate breakfast with a silent and surly King, and then went off to her tutors for an extended morning of torture courtesy of embroidery lessons.

How would she ever apply embroidery to real life? The little Princes didn't know what went through people's heads sometimes. Whoever thought up the fact that royalty needed to know how to create a flower out of thread on a pillow case were either drugged or fairly stupid. As if the kingdom could be saved by embroidery.

However, she didn't say a single word to the eagle-eyed Madam who oversaw her.

Nor did she say a word when her lute instructor actually sneered at her finger placement.

Stupid lute.

It was the deal she had with the Colonel. She was to do her regular Princess duties, then, and only then, would she be allowed to train with her sword.

In that aspect, her life was going smoothly. The Colonel had advanced their swordplay to include hand to hand combat that incorporated her spirits. He had her summon Leo, a master at fighting at close range, and they would spare for hours until her little legs could barely hold her up.

The afternoon was crisp and clear, a perfect time to wedge in a moment of training, but today she would be only practising with her bow. Apparently, there was big news from another kingdom, and all the knights and mages of the Royal Army were occupied with the unusual situation.

She finished her light session, pleased with the placement of her arrows on the bullseye and started back to the hidden pond to cleanse the sweat off her body. A contingent of mages marched passed her hiding place as she was tying up her corset, and she shrank down so that the tall grasses could cover her frame.

"…-ill they do? Appoint the older boy?"

"Apparently, but he barely has any experience. I've heard that he would rather play in his laboratory or deal with intellectuals than rule a kingdom. This could mean trouble for the alliance that has held for hundreds of years. How will it affect us all? Especially because Ignis is so influential."

"Do you think it will be temporary? Do you think the King and all those Lords will be found?"

"Only time will tell. Igneel was a just leader. The fact that he is missing could shift the balance of power in the whole of Fiore."

Of all the things that Lucy was prepared to overhear, those words were almost last on her list. If she took them at face value, it meant that Natsu's father was missing and they were prepared to appoint Zeref as the stand in King.

Lucy knew that Natsu was a Prince, but they didn't really talk about all that. When they were together, there were no constraints on each other to act in the 'proper' way. She was just Lucy, and he was just Natsu. Best friends. Nothing more. Nothing less.

The Princess panicked a smidge. She felt horrible, she was all the way in Astralis and Natsu was in Ignis, all alone with only his much older brother for company.

Well…he did have Happy. The thought of the little blue cat being able to hopefully keep Natsu from doing something rash was a great comfort.

Until she remembered that Happy was just as crazy as the pink haired Dragon. Getting into trouble and playing pranks were their speciality after all.

Lucy could almost taste the tension in the castle and realised that with Igneel gone, Ignis would be forever changed. Whether the change was for good or bad was up to Zeref, apparently.

But Lucy had a feeling that something was going to happen that would upend their lives completely.

-ooo-

"LUSHY! HELP!"

A bewildered blonde caught the flying feline in a tight hug as he barreled into her chest at a very high speed. "Happy? What's…What's going on? Is it Natsu? Is everything alright?" Lucy had been standing on her balcony, hoping and praying to the stars that Natsu would come to her for comfort and strength instead of becoming almost catatonic like she had.

Big wide eyes stared up at her as Happy caught his breath. "Lushy, I can't get Natsu out of bed! It's been a week since Igneel went missing and I can't do anything. He doesn't smile anymore, and he doesn't talk! He doesn't even give me fish!"

Lucy finally understood. She had the same feeling when her mother died like she just couldn't be bothered anymore because the one that she loved was no longer by her side.

Natsu pulled her out of that funk and dusted her off. He sent her on the path that she was following and she was eternally grateful that he had been around to take her mind off of losing one of her best friends.

She knew what she had to do.

"Happy…take me to him. He needs my help, I owe him my happiness, so I'll help him find his again."

"…Alright. Can I have a fish first?"

-ooo-

Princess Lucy was pleasantly surprised with how much Happy had grown in the almost year since they had found him. He was able to carry her back to Ignis, and almost all the way to the castle before his transformation magic ran out, and his little white wings disappeared.

Carrying the blue talking cat in her arms, Lucy walked down what she was sure would normally be a very busy street, but was almost deserted at the moment. Everything seemed melancholy and bleak, a great contrast to all the stories that Natsu had shared about his great Kingdom.

She trekked towards a towering building made completely of brimstone and volcanic rock. It gave off the impression of strength and solidarity. It was imposing and solid, dominating the landscape. Lucy was curious about how it was made but held off her questions until a better time.

As she entered the castle, she was greeted by silence. No servants bustled about, and the guards were absent from their posts.

"Happy…where is everyone?"

"Out searching."

His answer did make a lot of sense. Igneel was loved by his subjects and servants alike, and they would undoubtedly want to lend a hand when they could. "Where is Natsu's room?"

As an answer, Happy jumped out of her arms and padded up to a winding staircase towards a tower that sat a ways away from all the other rooms. He pushed a large wooden door open with his tiny paws and ushered her into a large circular suite.

A large bed dominated the room, dark red bedding rumpled and creased. Drawings and paintings of Dragons and fire were pasted to the walls and hunks of metal and forged weapons laid on almost every surface. Strangely enough, there were only three walls to Natsu's bedroom. One – the farthest one away from the bed – was a gigantic hole that opened up onto a large balcony that had no railing.

Even though it was open to the elements, the air inside was still a pleasant warmth that she immediately knew was because Natsu was here. He always ran a hotter temperature than most regular people because of the raging inferno in his belly.

Happy pointed to lump on the king sized bed that was slowly shifting up and down with each of Natsu's breaths. His job done, the cat jumped onto his luxurious pillow and settled down with a nice red snapper freshly stolen from Lucy's kitchen.

Cautiously she strode towards the end of the bed as if she was approaching a frightened animal. She scooted herself onto the bed as close to her best friend as possible while silently cursing her large poufy dress as it got in the way of her movements.

Lucy wrapped her arms around the boy, well, as much as possible. Natsu was laying scrunched in a ball, curled in on himself.

He jolted from the contact. He didn't hear the door open and close, too focused on his own grief. He knew immediately who it was. No one smelled like the little golden girl after all.

"Luce…you came here?"

"Happy brought me."

Natsu shifted around so that he was facing her. His nose was red, large dark circles under his eyes marred his usually jovial face. He couldn't sleep, no matter how hard he tried. All he could think about was the fact that his father was gone.

"He's gone, Luce."

"I know, I'm here now, just like you were there for me. Just sleep Natsu."

Nothing more was said that night, as tears tracked down his face. Lucy didn't comment on them. She knew that crying was sometimes necessary. Her mother used to tell her that crying didn't mean she was weak, it just meant that you had been strong for too long.

The sun rose once more as Lucy and Natsu huddled close. Natsu took comfort in his best friend's arms and finally fell asleep. Lucy laid awake for hours, her mind turning hundreds of questions over and over in her mind until she too fell unconscious.

-ooo-

It was midmorning before Lucy awoke again to a slight prodding. "…five more minutes…" She tried to swat the offending pressure away from her side. It kind of tickled.

"Luce! You fell asleep! It's almost time for lunch, people will be looking for you!"

That exclamation from her friend woke her up instantly as pure terror ripped through her body. Lucy sat up straight so quickly that she startled Natsu – who was bent over her – into falling off the bed. She missed her daily breakfast with her father. The servants would be searching for her. Lucy knew that she was in so much trouble already, so she just slumped down onto the bed again and groaned. Nothing to be down now, it wasn't like she could just turn back time.

"Ugh, Natsu. I need to get back to the Palace. People will be searching for me." She looked around the room and spotted something that wasn't there before. A backpack, obviously freshly packed and waiting for Natsu.

Natsu noticed her gaze. "I'm going to search for him. I decided after I woke this morning, I can't just stay still. Zeref knows."

She only nodded. Truthfully, she knew this might be the outcome. Natsu had been abandoned once before by his parents before Igneel found him and Zeref, so she understood why he was set to search for his father.

It didn't mean that she had to like it.

"Are you sure Natsu?"

"Yeah. I am. Happy will come with me, though. So don't worry."

Don't worry? She would always worry, no matter what. "…How long?"

"A month or two. I have to do this Luce, his magic is a part of me know and it's telling me something bad happened. I'll go to Domus first to see if King Makarov knows anything."

She blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "Take me with you! Please!"

The blonde already knew his answer before he said it, the look in his eyes was enough, so she didn't really need the words as well. "Lucy, you have to stay in Astralis. Your father needs you, even if he is still cold towards everything. Your kingdom needs you, Luce."

She sighed and nodded, knowing that what he said was the truth. "I know. But I had to ask, didn't I?"

A small smile crept onto his face. He really did have the most amazing friend.

Natsu flew Lucy back to her balcony, setting her carefully down on the stones. He gave her a giant warm hug, trying to convey all the feelings that he had for her in that one motion. "Thank you, Lucy. For everything, coming to help me last night, for just being there. You're the best friend anyone could have. I'll see you soon."

Happy gave a tearful farewell before Natsu squeezed her once more and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Be safe Natsu, and you too Happy. Come back so you can tell me all your adventures."

"We promise Luce."

Then they were gone, scouring the Kingdoms for Igneel.

-ooo-

Lucy stepped into her room filled with trepidation about what her punishment would be for staying out all night and most of the morning.

However, there were no one waiting for her, so she ventured out into the castle.

No one came up to her asking where she had been. No one worried about whether she was alright or not.

She laughed bitterly and shook her head before heading out to find the Colonel. Hopefully, this day wouldn't be a total waste and the training would keep her mind off all the sadness she was feeling.

Lucy had been forgotten.