Author's Note: Yuuki~desu! I felt bad about forgetting to tell you I would be leaving for another vacations, so I've decided to upload this chapter as a 'I'm reeeeeally sorry' gift. I will be away for ten days, but don't worry, as soon as I come back, I'll update. That's about it. Enjoy!

Chapter 9: Troubled Welcome

Usually, I don't jump off the cliff in my human form, but I impulsively thought it might be exciting, so I did it.

I might be an idiot... Really, why is it that I keep having these unsettling (and unfortunately mostly truthful) thoughts today? I would have sighed if it weren't for the wind whipping my face.

I opened my eyes and squinted to see how high I exactly am. Despite how it may seem, I don't plan on killing myself. So after I made sure I still had enough time to let the free fall continue, I let myself submerge into my inner thoughts.

I thought it wise to start from the moment I abandoned my old identity.

I was in one of my true forms, which was both good and bad. Good because along with it I gained enough strength, confidence and knowledge to protect my beloved ones. Bad, because at the same time, my responsibilities (along with number of my beloved ones) grew astronomically.

But that was only tip of the iceberg.

There were more detailed problems going hand in hand with my transformation. For example, that dream vision I had earlier that told me Fairy Tail members were sitting in a train and on their way to this realm. It wasn't hard to guess they weren't only looking for Igneel. That tattoo I gave Natsu was also a clue to find me. If no one else, Levy must have surely thought of that. Not like I intended for them to think of that possibility...

After thinking of our future and inevitable meeting, I realized one important thing. I just can't let them know I'm Lucy. No matter how much I wished it was otherwise, it wouldn't change. If I told them who I was, they either wouldn't believe me or would try to make me come back to Magnolia with them.

I frowned. I was lying to myself. There were other, really miserable outcomes. I didn't want to think of them, but lying wasn't going to prevent them from actually coming true. They could come to hate me. Hate me for not telling them truth about myself (which, frankly, even I didn't know at that time); hate me for keeping from them location of dragons; hate me for not protecting them better from Acnologia; hate me because of my blood relative... I couldn't bear to think of any more reasons so I considered other possibilities.

The Magic Council might find out about me and then there would be hell to pay. Endangering myself would also mean endangering people I swore to protect. The Council would, without doubt, be very interested in existence of my people and me. They would stop at nothing to find out as much they could and even try to use us to their convenience. I shivered.

That was the moment to ask myself the big question. Am I capable of abandoning my best friends to protect people who don't care about me, despite living with them for the last 3000 years? I chickened out - I've decided not to answer. Better said, I still haven't found the right answer.

My thinking was interrupted by a persistent thought that wouldn't leave me alone. What is it? … Then it hit me. I'm still falling down! I quickly opened my eyes. Shit. The ground was closer than I hoped. While sending a silent prayer to whichever god listened, I transformed. I was furiously flapping my wings to avoid becoming a bloody pancake and somehow managed to save my ass.

My heart was beating frantically and didn't seem to plan on stopping any time soon. I started whipping my tail angrily in air to get rid of the adrenaline and after a few minutes, I was relatively calm. Of course, flapping my wings helped considerably.

I let out a satisfied low growl and continued on my way to the portals.

There are only two portals that lead into this world. I wouldn't even think twice about betting my life on it, since I was the one who created this realm.

Portals were normally the size of a human even though none of the humans were allowed to enter, and the portals were invisible. They weren't closed down permanently for one simple reason – to serve as emergency escape routes.

To make sure no one unwanted got in or any one left without my permission, I had to give permission for someone to pass through.. Only then would the portal open. That way I could protect my people even from themselves.

And they hate me for it. I ignored the thought and continued my journey to check the portals.

I landed elegantly on ground near the first portal. It looked alright, though it was waning a bit from the lack of magical energy. I suspected as much, that's why I've decided to check on them. After I was fatally wounded by Acnologia's roar, I unintentionally sucked out magical energy of portals. It was part of my survival instinct and I was angry at myself for it. It had severe side effects on the portals. They opened enough for my siblings to go through and find me floating in the ocean. That meant one important thing - portals at that time were broken. I was glad to find that my regeneration also meant their regeneration. The last thing I wanted was to leave this world vulnerable and open to trespassers.

I let my magic power flow to the portal until it regained its previous shape. Fortunately, I didn't have to use much of it, so I was done within 5 minutes and took off to check on another portal.

Second portal was on the other side of this world, which meant at least 6 hours of flying at my full speed. When I finally got there, I almost overlooked the portal. It was in such a bad shape that the human world on the other side wasn't even visible. This one will be more of a hassle to repair... It took me long 20 minutes to stabilize the portal and get it into its original form.

When I was finished, I started wondering what was Grandine doing in the Wolds. After all, it had been 6 hours and 27 minutes since I last saw her and told her to go there ahead of me. I bet she's dying of boredom.. I smirked, then took off towards the meeting place.

Much to my dismay, it seemed like Grandine found something meaningful to do while I was gone. She gathered everyone around large crystal throne in the middle of Wolds of Origin. Even though I told her not to... There was no way helping it now and I just couldn't turn around and leave so instead, I landed right in front of the throne, turned to see everyone's faces and was relieved to see approval in them. Then I looked back to the big piece of crystal, walked up to it and slowly sat down on it. I was now in my rightful place – the Throne of Truth.

Suddenly all around me erupted cheers. Confused and more than little surprised I found out that I was the cause of it. They are cheering because I have returned. flashed through my mind. They are welcoming me. Even after I left them, they still accept me. Tears were now forming in my eyes and started to roll down my cheeks. After seeing my reaction, they all went quiet and were now grinning at me, understanding written all over their graceful lizard-like faces. It took me a while to suppress my emotions, but I managed.

"Thank you all for welcoming me back so whole heartedly. I really didn't expect you to be glad to see me. You even made me cry!" that made the dragon audience laugh. I grinned and continued.

"Really, guys, sometimes you are so unpredictable..." "Says the Dragon of Fate!" one of them shouted and made them all giggle in a dragon way. I childishly stuck out my tongue at the dragon who said it and addressed him. "You want me to predict your future, Sirial?" I could see him gulp and shake his head in a way that unmistakably said 'no'. I ignored it and dramatically closed my eyes. "I can see it. I can see that your future will be full of painful experiences." I peeked at him and was satisfied to see him paling considerably. Oh, but I wasn't finished yet. "Your life from now on, will be full of physical pain and suffering," I took a big breath, "if you don't stop making fun of your Queen!" I opened my eyes and laughed at his stunned expression. You get what you deserve.

It took a while for the dragons to quiet down, but I didn't mind. If I had known it would be this lovely when I return, I would have left long ago... Really thinking about their attitude towards me 25 years ago made me a bit depressed.

Some of my thoughts must have shown on my face because everyone was now peering at me with serious expressions. I smiled at them to let them know I was fine and slowly let my expression mirror theirs. Now, they were waiting for me to begin. "I have gathered you all before me for a reason. I have come to tell you I've decided to once again uptake the task of a Guardian and Queen of the Dragon Race. That's why I ask of you, people of the Dragon Race, are you willing to accept me as you ruler once again?" With that question, I handed my future into their hands. I knew that technically, they couldn't take away my title as the Queen because it was given to a dragon with extraordinary intelligence and power, but they could make it so that they were watching my every step.

I didn't dare to even blink. The tension was becoming unbearable when suddenly, all of them lowered their heads to the ground, accepting my authority over them. "Thank you." I whispered, my voice shaking.

I took a few cleansing breaths and made myself continue my speech. "Most of you, I suspect, know where I was these past 24 years. I am not going to hide anything of that 24 years from you and I am willing to answer any of your questions regarding that part of my life, but there is something you must know before that." I could almost feel mischievous thoughts forming in some of the dragons's heads when I mentioned that 'willing to answer any questions' part, but they quickly faded when I finished my statement.

Attention they were giving me now was more than a bit uncomfortable but I had to deal with it. "Seven years ago, I gave one of the humans I ultimately trust, a clue how to find this world as a gift for his endless friendship. Then today, I had a vision. I saw him and his nine friends making their way here. In fact, they should be here-" I didn't finish my sentence. I just flew off the throne as fast as I could and used Dark Passage to teleport me to the second portal as if my life depended on it. In truth, it wasn't MY life that depended on it. It were THEIR lives that were in danger.