Royal Legacy

A/N: This chapter will be the start of the Royal Capital Assault arc. It will probably end up being two chapters, three at most. This chapter will just focus on the meeting in the royal capital and the revelations to be had.

After the events in the dungeon, everyone managed to escape, although Mars's fate is unknown as his unconscious body was lost in the rubble. When they got back, Asta was immediately sent to the infirmary of Porlyusica, a local nurse that lives in the middle of the woods. Thankfully, he was gonna be okay because of Mimosa's healing.

Noelle and Mimosa are walking back from Porlyusica's house after trying to stay and watch over Asta. Unfortunately, the old woman just kicked the two out, annoyed that they were distracting her work. Noelle grumbles about the harsh treatment they received. "How dare she just kick us out like that! We just wanted to make sure that idiot was okay. Hmph, if she knew what family we were from, she would never do that." Mimosa then looks at her childhood friend with a nervous smile on her face. "Well, I don't think that she's the type of person who cares about that kind of thing. Also, we talked about this already Noelle; No revealing our family names to try and gain favor in the guild." Noelle groans at Mimosa's words. "Come on, we're royals, we should be treated like such! This guild is full of ruffians and drunkards, they would be groveling at our feet if they knew that. Well, everyone except for that Lucy girl, I still can't figure out where she came from."

Mimosa has an inquisitive look on her face as she tries to figure out how they would know Lucy. "Hmm, she's blonde… uses Celestial magic… and she has a lot of magic for someone with little training… Oh!" Mimosa gasps as she realizes who Lucy is. "I figured it out! I can't believe we didn't recognize it until now, it's so obvious in retrospect." Noelle looks at her expectingly, curious at her revelation. "Come on, spill the beans, who is she?" "She has to be related to the Celestial Queen!" Noelle has a shocked look on her face at this revelation. "You mean, the Celestial Queen?!" Mimosa nods her head, "Wow, now that you mention it, it's so obvious in retrospect, they have such similar faces. A blonde woman with several golden gate keys must be related to her in some way. Though, why is she in a place like Fairy Tail?" Mimosa gives her a simple response. "Probably the same reason we are."

Back at the guild, while everyone else is enjoying themselves, Makarov is sitting at the bar getting the report from the other mages that went on the dungeon mission. "Hmm, very interesting. One of the Four Great Spirits and an angel? I've never seen such an impressive haul out of a dungeon mission. Thankfully, Lucy and Asta are fine after fighting an elite member of the Diamond Kingdom. If I knew that someone like that would be involved, I would've had Erza tag along." Natsu puts an arm around Lucy with a big smile on his face. "Nah, don't worry about it, Gramps. The newbies were great in that mission, especially Lucy. She fought that shiny asshole all by herself. I bet once you figure out that new book of yours, you could beat him easy."

Lucy has a blush on her face at his words and looks at the five-leaf grimoire in her hands. "I can't believe I have something like this. I've never heard about something like angel magic, so I'm kind of worried about it." "I'm sure you'll figure it out Luce," Natsu says to reassure her, "If you need help then me and Happy will help you out, right Happy?" The winged feline then pops up with his catchphrase. "Aye, sir!" Makarov takes a swig of beer before he addresses them. "Well, you all should take a good long rest after that mission. The Wizard King asked me to send you to give him a face-to-face report once you finished the dungeon, so tomorrow you'll be heading to the royal capital."

Lucy flinches at hearing Makarov's words. "Do we all have to go? Can't I just stay behind?" Makarov shakes his head. "No, he asked to see what we obtained from the dungeon, so he'll want to look at you and Yuno's grimoires. If Asta is feeling better tomorrow, he can come with you. I'm sure he and Yuno here are excited to see the Wizard King in person." Yuno thinks about what he imagines the Wizard King to be like. 'I'm sure he's probably pretty intense. His magic might be so strong that standing next to him is dangerous. No matter what, I want to know where my goal ends.'

The Next Day…

Asta, Yuno, Natsu, Gray, Noelle, Lucy, Happy, Nero, and Mimosa all arrive in the capital via portal. "WOOOOOOOOOW!" Asta exclaims with stars in his eyes once he sees the capital. "I can't believe I'm actually in the royal capital! I bet everyone here has insane magic! Not to mention we get to see the Wizard King! This day ruuuuuuules!" Noelle annoyedly scolds him, "Stop being so nosy, you're embarrassing us!" She then groans before contemplating her own issues. 'Ahhh, what do I do?! What if my siblings are here? No, they're probably busy, and we're just here to see the king. There's no way that they we'll meet each other.'

Lucy as well reflects on the meaning of her presence in the capital. 'I wonder why the Wizard King asked for me specifically on that mission. Could he have known about Celeste's existence beforehand?' Lucy's words are interrupted by Natsu patting her on the shoulder. "Come on Luce, you keep being so distracted, I'm gonna start drawing on your face." Lucy sighs at Natsu's antics and brushes his hand aside. "I'm fine let's just get this done with." Lucy then begins to walk off, leaving Natsu confused and worried.

Gray then walks up to the dragon slayer and asks, "What's going on with Lucy? She's been really quiet ever since she heard about us coming to the capital. Did you piss her off or something?" Gray's words aggravate Natsu, but he manages to contain his anger to give his response. "No, I have no idea? I hope that Wizard King jerk isn't the reason why." Gray looks at Natsu, shocked at his response. "Dude, you didn't even know the guy existed last week, why are you so angry?" Natsu just grunts before saying, "I'm only angry if he's the reason Lucy's upset." Natsu then walks off with Happy following after him, leaving Gray bewildered at their conversation.

Meanwhile, Mimosa drags Noelle into their own little discussion that the rest of the group can't hear. "What is it, Mimosa? I told you I'll be fine as long as my siblings don't show up." Noelle complains. Mimosa shakes her head nervously before bringing up the topic of their conversation. "I just wanted to ask you how you feel about Asta?" Noelle gets flustered at Mimosa's words as she responds. "W-w-w-what do you mean? I mean sure he it was really impressive that he beat Erza, and maybe it was really cool that he beat that Diamond mage, and maybe I was scared half to death when he got impaled, and maybe I stared at his muscles a bit while waiting for him to recover, and-" Noelle stops herself once she realizes the words coming out of her mouth. "I-I-I-I mean, he's still just as stupid as ever, I don't know what you see in him!"

Mimosa laughs at Noelle's words. "Oh Noelle, you've been like this since we were kids. You never wanted to talk about your feelings, even when they were really obvious." Noelle then gets angry at Mimosa words and whisper-shouts at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about! We are royals, he is a peasant! Something like that could never happen!" Noelle then walks off to in the direction of the royal capital, leaving Mimosa to give a sad look in her direction. 'Noelle, I hope you can be honest with yourself soon. I know you can do it.'

'That's part of the reason I came with you…"

A Few minutes later…

The Fairy Tail wizards are all walking around lost, unable to find the place they're supposed to meet the Wizard King. "Geez, you would think after being brought here so many times for damages, me and Natsu would have memorized where everything is." Gray says before they hear a voice call out to them. "Over here!"

They all turn to see a blonde man in fancy robes with a star shaped mark on his head. "Hello there, young ones. Come on in!" Asta, Yuno, and Natsu look confused at the man who garnered their attention while the rest get down on one knee and kneel in front of him. "Who's the fancy guy?" Asta asks. Gray gives the three a weird look before answering. "You idiots! That guy's the Wizard King, Julius Novachrono!" Even the cool-headed Yuno can't keep his surprise in check, as he and Asta look at the man in awe. 'That man is the current Wizard King!' Natsu just looks unimpressed at the reveal.

Julius leads the group to a small room overlooking the city for them to show off their findings from the dungeon. He starts off looking at Yuno's grimoire with stars in his eyes and gushes over it. "Wow! I can't believe one of the four Great Attribute Spirits chose someone so young! Can you show me her please?!" Yuno apologizes to the Wizard King with a small frown on his face. "Sorry, but I haven't been able to get a response from her or use that spell since. I must not be strong enough yet."

Julius's face becomes comically sad at Yuno's response. "I see… well that's a shame." He then recomposes himself before handing it back to Yuno. "All I can say for now is that spell will grow with you and become an extraordinary power. Make sure that you take good care of it. Now Ms. Lucy, let's see what you've obtained."

He then turns to Lucy, who pulls her grimoire out of her new side pouch to show him. "Sorry, but I haven't gotten mine to activate either since the dungeon either. But besides that, why did you ask for me to go in that dungeon?" Julius gives her a sad smile before giving her a shocking response.

"It was Layla's last request."

Lucy gasps at his words, unable to comprehend them. "You mean… my mom knew about that dungeon?" All of her friends but Noelle and Mimosa look at her in confusion. Asta's the one who asks the question on their minds. "How did your mom know the Wizard King?" Lucy turns away nervously, before giving her answer. "Uh, well she was actually a really strong wizard before she died. She was actually a wizard saint."

All the guys except Yuno gasp at the reveal. "Wow Luce, why didn't you just tell us?" Lucy gives a half-truth in response. "Well, I didn't want my mom's legacy to influence your opinion about me. I just wanted to be a normal wizard in a normal guild. Also, I don't like thinking about it too much." Natsu then pats her on the head before giving her a goofy smile. "You don't have to worry about that Luce. Fairy Tail accepts everyone, no matter who they are." Lucy is about to give Natsu a heartfelt response - before Asta ruins the mood.

Asta pushes past everyone to push his grimoire at Julius with stars in his eyes. "Wizard King! I also have a five-leaf grimoire too, and mine has a demon!" Liebe then pops out of the grimoire again, giving off a big yawn. "What do you want runt, I was taking a nap?" Julius looks at him in excitement. "Oh, a real demon! I've never met on in person before, not to mention that he seems so nice. What kind of power does he give you?!" Asta pulls out the Demon Dweller sword from his grimoire while giving Yuno a cheeky grin. 'Heh, I got mine to come out and impress the Wizard King.' He then turns back to Julius. "I have Anti-Magic swords that negates magic. They're super cool!"

"Anti-Magic power," Julius says in awe, "Can I touch it?" Asta kneels to hand him the sword. "Of course!" When Julius first grabs the sword, he realizes that it is super heavy and struggles to lift the weapon up for a second. "Woah, this weighs a ton! I'm impressed that you can swing a sword like this casually." He then realizes that he feels himself growing weaker before realizing what is happening. 'It's absorbing my magic?!'

He then smiles before handing it back to Asta. "This sword is unique in that it can only be wielded by one who can't use magic. It's a strength that is only able to used because you're weak, so use that to become as strong as you want. There will probably be people that think less of you for that and your use of demonic power, but don't let that bring you down. Remember that this power is yours." Asta's eyes sparkle at getting a speech from the Wizard King before looking at Yuno. The two then ask in intense unison, "How does one get to be the Wizard king?!" Julius gives a shocked look before giving a soft chuckle in response. "I see! You want to be the Wizard King, huh? All wizards should be that ambitious!"

"I bet you be the strongest guy ever to be Wizard King, huh?" Natsu says with his usual meathead energy. Gray immediately retorts, "No way, Flame Brain, I bet it's because people like and respect him, kind of like Gramps."

"It's merit."

Julius interrupts the argument with a harsh look on his face before continuing. "You can't protect people with pride alone. Trust comes after you've built up your reputation. People want just one thing from the Wizard King. Achievements that mark you as the strongest. Produce results. Devote yourselves to building a reputation. That's everything. No one who's unable to do that could ever stand at the top!"

Yuno and Asta's hands tighten before they respond with intense smiles. "Bring it on!" Julius has a satisfied smile on his face at their answer. 'These newbies have some determined eyes, Makarov and Yami.' He then gives another cheerful laugh, dispelling the tense atmosphere. "Great answer! You know, we're holding a ceremony for guild wizards who've had outstanding performances lately. Why don't you come and join us?" Yuno and Asta are confused by the offer, until Julius leads to them a room with several people inside. He then looks back at the two of them before asking, "Now then, can you give me better results than they have?"

Unnoticed by the guys in the group, the girls all flinch once they notice several figures in the room. Mimosa's looks away after noticing two men with orange hair, while Noelle and Lucy look at the group of silver haired wizards with fear on their faces. 'No! Why did they have to be here?!'

A Few minutes later…

The ceremony was under way as the Wizard King gave awards to the different wizards. From the Crimson Lion Kings was Leopold Vermillion, a man with orange hair who was the younger brother of the guildmaster, being awarded the rank of B-class. From the Blue Roses was Sol Marron, also being awarded the rank of B-class. She has a dislike of men and an infatuation with their guildmaster, who she insists on calling Sis. From the Silver Eagles were the two younger siblings of the guildmaster, Nebra and Solid Silva. Nebra was being promoted to A-class, and Solid to B-class. Both have snide, arrogant smiles on their face when rewarded. Finally, from the Golden Dawn were Alecdora Sandler to A-class, Shiren Tium to be B-class, and Hamon Caseus to B-class.

Once the awards are done, Julius leaves the Fairy Tail mages to enjoy the rest of the reception, saying that he had business to attend to, leaving the room with an awkward atmosphere. Most of the Fairy Tail group tries to be quiet and not draw attention to themselves, especially Mimosa, Lucy, and Noelle.

Emphasis on most.

"THIS TASTES SO GOOD! MAN, FANCY FOOD IS GREAT!" Asta cries as he, Happy and Natsu are stuffing food into their mouths. Lucy walks up to Natsu and Happy with a nervous smile on her face. "Man, you two are eating more than you do at my house. I wish I could take this home so you two wouldn't eat my funds too." Natsu doesn't stop eating when he answers her. "Don't worry, me and Happy will still have plenty of room left for when we get back." Happy gives his catchphrase while chewing on a fish. "Aye sir! The fish at Lucy's place tastes way better!" Lucy then yells at the two of them with comedic anger. "That was not an invitation to eat more of my food!"

Mimosa abashedly walks up to Asta before asking, "Um… uh… Asta! May I join you?!" Asta stops eating before gladly letting her join him in the fancy dinner. "This stuff's great! Can you believe that people eat like this every day?!" Mimosa gives a nervous laugh in response. "N-no, I wouldn't know anything about that, heh, heh!" While the idiots were busy stuffing their face, several of the noble mages began talking about them in hushed (read 'not at all hidden') tones.

"Vulgar peasant!"

"Why would the Wizard King invite that Fairy trash?"

"I can't sense magic from one of them. That dungeon capture was a fluke."

"They even brought in animals. Look at that bird on the boys head, and the talking cat."

"Those brats think they're so good just because they're popular. They're presence is unnatural."

Mimosa, Gray, and Lucy look at Natsu and Asta in worry about how they'll handle the comments. Natsu has an annoyed look on his face while Asta simply keeps eating. "Man, they're really tearing into me, huh? Well, I expected that much." Asta says while eating his food. Mimosa covers her mouth in shock while thinking, 'How magnanimous!', and Yuno just stares comedically at Asta's nonchalant response.

Lucy and Gray are shocked that Natsu's use of restraint. Lucy is the one who asks, "Who are you, and what did you do to the Natsu Dragneel I know?! I've seen you start guild brawls with people over a plate of food, much less insults!" Natsu grumbles out his response. "Well, I'd really like to punch them, especially for what they said about Happy, but I don't care what these guys have to say with their fancy words. I'm technically more important than all of them!"

Lucy looks at him in confusion over his last comment, before it gets interrupted by Leopold, who is walking towards Mimosa. "Hey Mimosa, so this is where you ended up!" Mimosa looks at him in shock. "Oh, um, hey Leopold. Long time no see." "You know this guy, Mimosa?" Asta asks with his cheeks stuffed. Leopold looks proudly at him. "Of course, she knows me, peasant! We're cousins!"

Asta, Natsu, Happy, and Gray all do spit takes when they hear this. "Wait! Mimosa's related to a noble?!" Asta exclaims in shock. "Did you not know," Leopold asks cockily, "Her full name is Mimosa Vermillion. She's part of the royal Vermillion branch family while I'm in the main family. I'm shocked they didn't tell you where they came from." Asta looks at him in confusion in his choice of words. "What do you mean they? Are you saying there are more royals in Fairy Tail?"

A sleazy voice is the one to give Asta his response. "Of course, there are. To be honest, I'm not surprised that those two didn't tell you. They didn't want to bring attention to themselves with it." The voice comes from Solid, who looks down on them with an arrogant smile. "Though one of them, doesn't even deserve the right to use it. Isn't that right, Noelle?" Noelle has a frightened look on her face when the royal turns to her. "Big brother Solid…" Nebra also comes into start taunting Noelle. "I'm shocked you had the nerve to return to the Noble realm. You, a failure who is unable to control their own magic."

Noelle turns away to cower in fear, only to see the oldest of the Silva siblings, Nozel Silva, walking towards her with an emotionless look on his face. "You do not belong here. Leave this place and give up on being a wizard!" This sets Asta off as Noelle turns around and starts to storm out of the room – only for Asta to grab her wrist before she can leave.

"You don't have to run from these jerks!"

Asta then jumps onto the table before he starts yelling at the rest of the room. "Since they called you guys here, I figured you must be pretty awesome, but I guess I was wrong. You think you're so much better than everyone else?! Well, let me tell you, assholes like you can be found anywhere, you're not special! I don't care if you think we belong or not! Just you watch! I'm gonna-" Before Asta can continue, Alecdora opens his grimoire and surrounds him in his Sand Box. "Silence you gnat, you don't deserve to speak, much less hear our words!"

Asta breaks out of the spell by pulling out Demon Dweller and slashing through the sand, shocking Alecdora. "I'm not shutting up! Listen up dickheads!" Asta shouts while pointing his sword at the assembled nobles. "I'm gonna pile up the results, become the Wizard King, and shut your mouths!" Nebra, Solid, and Alecdora respond by using their grimoires and launching attacks at the magicless swordsman. Asta slices at Solid's Sea Serpent Coils and Nebra's Mist Spider Web, only to get grabbed by Alecdora's Sand-Armored Guard, restricting his sword arm.

Alecdora scolds Asta for his outburst. "You should be ashamed of your behavior during a festive occasion. I'm sure you'll face some kind of penalty." Solid then steps up next to him. "I didn't know the Golden Dawn was so soft? Anyone who's that high on himself needs to be taught a physical lesson. Water Creation Magic: Holy Water Bullet." Solid summons a giant water bullet to shoot out at Asta.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" A torrent of dragon fire cancels out the water, leaving smoke in the aftermath. "You know, usually I would let people settle their own fights, but if you're teaming up, so will we. Besides, you were looking at Lucy in a weird way, so you've made two of my guildmates upset." The sand golem holding Asta is frozen and shattered in an instant by a now shirtless Gray. "Yeah, ganging up on people is pretty pathetic. I guess even highborn people like you can't beat a single kid without magic." Asta then pulls out his Demon Slayer sword and points it at Solid. "Apologize for what you said to Noelle! I may not have known her long, but I know that she's way better than you jerks!"

Suddenly, an immense aura pushes down on Asta, Gray, and Natsu, who all get a chill down their spine. The presence comes from Nozel, who is ready to attack the Fairy Tail mages. "Solid, don't use your magic so frivolously against peasants like them!" Asta has a tough time standing up to the pressure. 'I can't feel magic, but I but that he's at least as strong as Erza in her Purgatory armor!' The atmosphere is interrupted by arrival of Fuegoleon. "That's enough! All this over one lone boy, aren't you embarrassed!"

Leopold then walks up to Asta with a smile on his face. "Hmm, you must be pretty interesting if Mimosa wants to hang out with you." He then holds out his hand before proudly declaring, "Rejoice! I, Leopold Vermillion, declare you, my rival!" Asta just looks at him in confusion, while Yuno spits out the wine he was drinking, although his expression does not change. Lucy looks at him in shock at such a reaction. "So that's what you have to do get you show any emotion?!"

Meanwhile, the standoff between Fuegoleon and Nozel continue. "Lord Julius allowed him to be here," Fuegoleon states, "He may be a peasant, but that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve some credit." Nozel responds with his usual emotionless tone. "I never thought I'd hear such words from a royal. The house of Vermillion has gone soft. What sort of credit is an Eagle supposed to give to insects?" Intense auras surround the two of them, one of a silver eagle, the other a fiery lion. However, before the two can come to blows, someone bursts through the door.

"EMERGENCY! THE CAPITAL IS UNDER ATTACK!"

Pretty light chapter this time, just set up for later things. If you couldn't tell, I'm making Layla a bit more of a big deal, but the explanation will probably have to wait until Phantom Lord.

There's not really much I want to comment on this chapter that's not spoilers for later. It went pretty much the same as in BC but with FT characters too. This is a part that I wish I could skip, same with the Midnight Sun Encounter arc later, but they introduce important villains for later, so I can't.

I'll also mention now that I'm skipping the Sea Temple arc. I don't like the fight against Vetto very much, and the fight wouldn't change much if I wrote it. It will be happening after Phantom Lord and at the same time as Tower Heaven, which will have some new changes.

There will be one VERY important change in the Sea Temple arc that I'll either cut to during the Tower of Heaven or flashback to it afterwards, so look forward to that.

Other than that, the 100-year quest chapter was super good this week. I didn't expect to get a Jellal flashback of all things, but it was pretty cool. I'll try and take parts of it for this that don't conflict with my plans for him and Siegrain already.

Next time: "Corpse Party"