Hisui greeted them at the door with hugs, "Natsu. Juvia. Levy. It has been far too long."
"It definitely has," Levy agreed as Hisui led them to the couch. Levy and Juvia sat together on the couch, Natsu and Hisui taking the two plush chairs on either side.
They were in Hisui's private chambers to give them privacy. Hisui had asked the guards to leave.
"How is your father?" Juvia asked.
"Oh, he's fine. You know my dad," Hisui rolled her eyes, "Pumpkin season is coming. He's away right now, selecting the finest pumpkins to pick when it's time to take them off the vine."
Natsu let out an audible sigh of relief. The King was away.
Hisui glanced at him, a gleam in her eyes, "Don't worry, Natsu. He's forgiven you…for the flames on our castle and also the crown incident."
Natsu turned red, "I knew I was forgiven for the Fairy Tail calling card, but I didn't know you knew about the crown."
She laughed, "It was kind of obvious when it was returned in the general mail with the return address of 'Natsu Dragneel'."
"Oh," Natsu said dumbly.
"Anyway, I know why you're here, so let's get down to business."
"You know?" Levy asked.
Hisui nodded, "I've been waiting for 2 years for this visit," she admitted, "You're looking for Lucy's key."
Natsu's eyes brightened, his earlier embarrassment forgotten, "What can you tell us? How do we find Lucy's key?"
Hisui smiled again, "Well, as you know, I'm a Celestial mage too."
"Did your spirits tell you like Yukino's did?" Natsu asked. He was excited now. The trip to Crocus on that god-forsaken train might have been worth it after all.
"Kind of," Hisui said, "I have a bit of a confession to make."
The three looked at her expectantly.
"I am a Celestial mage," she said slowly, "But I'm also a Celestial being."
Natsu's mouth dropped open, shell-shocked.
"You may have noticed I don't really have all that many spirit keys."
Levy nodded, not actually remembering Hisui summoning anyone the entire time they'd known her. However, she'd had access to the keys that forced Lucy's spirits back to the Celestial Kingdom during the Celestial Rebellion. Even Lucy had never heard such a type of key existed before visiting Hisui that time.
"That would be because Tomo is not my real father."
She took a deep breath, rather enjoying their shocked faces.
"In truth, I am the daughter of the Celestial King and Queen."
"No way," Natsu breathed, "How is that even possible?"
She leaned in like she was about to reveal an even bigger secret. Subconsciously, the other three leaned intoo, "I am a lot older than I look."
She giggled, enjoying the reactions of her friends.
"Fiore needed an heir. You might have noticed the lack of family resemblance. Anyway, after my mother was trapped into the egg, my father also didn't want to take the chance that something would happen to me. So he sent me here with Tomo as my guardian. Every 50 years, our appearances change as do our names so it's not obvious to our kingdom. Nobody has ever questioned it. Two birds with one stone."
"So what can you tell us about Lucy?" Natsu pressed.
"Lucy's key is not in Crocus. I'm guessing you already knew that."
Juvia nodded, "We didn't think it was, but wanted to come here to talk to you."
"So where is it?" Natsu asked again, clearly impatient.
"I would suspect Lucy's key is somewhere you've been recently…as in, the last 10 years. Even I don't know the exact details. When a key is re-born, it is the spirit's choice where it gets hidden, so I'd say your best bet is to look at places that meant something to Lucy."
"We were already thinking the same thing," Juvia said, "To look in familiar places, I mean."
"Can you tell how I will know if I'm on the right track?" Natsu asked.
"The heartbeat," Hisui said, hand over her heart, "You'll know you're close when you hear the heartbeat. Much like Lucy heard my mother's from inside the egg."
"Okay," Levy grimaced, "We already knew that too. Natsu has been doing his research."
Hisui raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.
"Do you…" Natsu paused, looking at his hands to avoid eye contact, "If you're a Celestial being, do you talk to Lucy?"
Hisui shook her head, "I'm contracted to Earthland with Tomo. I can't come and go freely."
She noted the distraught look on his face and knelt beside him, taking his hands and resting hers in his lap, "Natsu, what I can tell you is that she wants to come home. She loves my parents and everything in the spirit world, but her place is here with you."
"If I could call Loke, could he talk to her and deliver a message from me?"
"In theory," Hisui agreed, "but I don't think Loke would be all that easy to summon. He's the leader of the Zodiac and as such, he uses an immense amount of power."
"One more thing," Natsu said awkwardly, "When I find the key and I summon her, what happens if her key breaks?"
"Well, that probably won't happen. It takes a humongous amount of power to break a key. However, if it were to happen, her contract to you would be broken, just like her contract with Aquarius was broken. She'd be between a rock and a hard place…literally. Because by coming to you, she's breaking her contract with Queen Atria, she won't be able to return to the Celestial Kingdom. She also wouldn't be able to stay here. She'd be in limbo."
"So, make sure nothing happens to the key," Juvia stated.
Natsu nodded, somewhat comforted, "And what about her spirits? Will they remain contracted to her?"
"Yes," Hisui said, "She'll remain a Celestial mage. If anything, the entire ordeal will leave her stronger. Since she was contracted with my mother, a part of my mother's strength will always reside in Lucy. Much like you," she pointed at Natsu, "END resided in you. The evil part of him is gone, but there will always be a part of him inside of you. Possibly his immortality, possibly his strength. Nobody really knows. The point is, you can't really get rid of what composes you."
"Anything else you can tell us?" Levy asked.
Hisui nodded, "Everyone is rooting for you, Natsu. My parents, the Zodiacs, every other spirit. We all want you to find Lucy. You've come a long way in the last week. Don't give up. Take the time to listen to your heart."
"I tried meditating," Natsu sighed, "It wasn't effective at all."
"Thank you," Juvia said, bowing.
Natsu was deep in thought.
"Natsu!" Levy called. The girls were already up and headed for the door.
Natsu gave Hisui another hug and left the room, deep in thought.
You can't really get rid of what composes you.
Shoving the thought out to pasture, Natsu followed the girls back to the gate.