ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO HIRO MASHIMA, THE GUY WHO CREATED THE AWESOMENESS THAT IS FAIRY TAIL.

Italics – will be used for emphasizing words, flashbacks, Bickslow's babies repeating him, and 'thoughts'

A little more from Dragon Cry is mentioned, but not a lot. I apologize since it could be a spoiler for some.

This is going to be a very long chapter compared to the others. There's going to be a lot of information thrown Lucy's way. I made it all up and I'm hoping it makes sense. There are tiny tidbits of truth to it. I'm not sure if the numbers are realistic but hey you know what? Fuck it, it's a fanfic lol

Chapter 10

It's Friday night and the main women from the guilds are at the castle for a sleepover with Hisui who wants to spend a night like any regular person. Like Lucy, she didn't have many friends growing up. Though, the difference between the two is that her dad was always there for her. It was difficult but he made it work being a single father as well as the king. She wishes she could have gotten to know her mother but unfortunately, she died during childbirth. Hisui shakes her head. 'Not the time.' She looks around the ballroom, the place she thought would best accommodate all of them. It's filled with sleeping bags, food, alcohol, and loud chatty women. She smiles and is filled with so much happiness.

Hisui sees Lucy by the food and sneaks up on her. "Hey, Lucy!"

Luch chokes on her food, "Dammit Hisui!" Lucy covers her mouth for swearing in front of the Queen.

Hisui laughs at her friend, "It's okay, please act like you would around anyone else."

Cana comes up behind Hisui and wraps her arms around her and acts as if she's going to fondle Hisui's breasts.

"What the-" Hisui turns a bright shade of red.

Cana laughs, "Are you sure you want us to be ourselves?"

Lucy slaps Cana's hands, "Stop it! I'm sorry Hisui, she gets to be a bit much after she's drank a lot."

Hisui nods her head, "Yeah, I can get a bit tipsy after 3 glasses of wine."

Cana walks around to Lucy and throws her arm around her, "I think I'm on my third bottle." Her hand slides down and fondles Lucy's breast.

Hisui's jaw drops. 'Three bottles and she's still upright and talking coherently? What's Lucy doing letting another woman grope her like that? Doesn't she have a boyfriend?'

Lucy sighs, "You do know your boyfriend is going to get shocked for your actions right?"

Cana shrugs, "How's he going to find out?"

A bunch of swords are then pointed at Cana causing Hisui to gasp.

"I will. How many times have you been told to stop sexually harassing Lucy!" Erza scolds Cana.

Everyone turns their attention towards them and Hisui isn't sure what to do. She looks at Lucy who just seems to be calm, like this is normal.

"E-Erza, jeez." Cana squeaks.

Erza continues to stare at Cana causing the woman to sweat bullets.

Then Erza laughs. "Relax I am only kidding."

There are collective sighs throughout the room. Wendy, Carla, and Lucy can't help but wonder if Erza has been hanging out with Warrod.

Erza picks up a pillow and grins evilly. 'Shit.' Lucy knows that look.

Holding the pillow in the air Erza yells, "PILLOW FIGHT!" Then hits Cana in the face knocking the woman out.

Hisui's hand is grabbed by Lucy's and they hide behind a pillar. "What's wrong Lucy? It's just a harmless pillow fight."

"Ow!"

CRASH!

"Oh, you're going to get it!"

Wendy, Carla, and Chelia dash their way and hide with them. "I love Erza, but she can get a little too rough with a simple pillow fight."

"No kidding," Carla says in her human form. She wants to be prepared to fight, even though she doesn't really stand a chance against a lot of them.

A body goes soaring through the air next to Hisui and the others and hits the wall.

"This is another kind of love though." Chelia declares.

"I'm coming for you Erzy Werzy!"

"Chubby Power!"

SMASH! Glass shatters.

"Satan Soul!"

"Animal Takeover!"

"Wood Make!"

"Territory!"

Hisui looks around the pillar and sees women scattered along the floor, knocked out. Tables were overturned, food and drink spilled over, and some of the pillars were destroyed. It's down to Erza, Minerva, and Kagura. 'This brings back memories but instead, pillows are their weapons.'

"Oh no," Lucy whispers when she sees the three women circling each other.

"We need to stop this." Wendy is worried, she may have improved with her magic, but she isn't quite strong enough to heal all of these women.

"I think the five of us can take them. I've been getting better with my magic."

Carla looks at Chelia like she's crazy, "You go right ahead. I however am staying right here."

"We can't hide here forever!" Lucy whisper yells.

Hisui gets an idea, but she's not sure if it will work or not. It's still worth a shot. She steps out from behind the pillar and shouts, "GOSSIP TIME!" She's surprised it worked. The women on the floor bolt up voicing their agreement. The other three women stare at each other.

"I'll get you next time."

"I don't think so Titania."

"This isn't over yet."

Lucy wipes her forehead, "Nice save Hisui."

Hisui giggles, "Thanks, Lucy. If there's one thing women like it's juicy gossip."

All of them laugh together as they work on setting the room back in order the best they can. It takes a bit but they manage to put it back in order... somewhat...

As they all get settled in their sleeping bags, Cana yells, "First Lucy is going to put on a show for us!"

Lucy looks at Cana in shock. She has just gotten comfortable and doesn't want to get up. She was also hoping the woman would have forgotten about it but no such luck.

Lisanna speaks up, "That's right! Back when we were all together during the 100-Year Quest it was brought up. We decided it would be done during a sleepover so the pervy men of the guild didn't see."

"Yeah, but the woman has been busy getting Laxus caught up on paperwork. So she hasn't had the time for us," Mira pouts.

Lucy protests, "Hey! The guild is now somewhat out of debt."

Hisui isn't sure if Lucy mentioned that she helped with that and is thankful she didn't bring it up because she just got a start on Sabertooth's. Lucy wasn't lying about Fairy Tail's destruction. So she goes back to the previous topic. "What kind of dancing did you do?"

Lucy gets up and summons Virgo. She was really hoping it would have been forgotten about and now she has to do it in front of the other guilds women. Virgo gives Lucy her outfit and puts up a sheet so Lucy can change.

All of the girls wait in anticipation. They all gasp when they see a scantily dressed Lucy.

"Lucy, you look hot!"

"It's so bold!"

"You're barely wearing anything!"

"What kind of mission were you on?"

"I, as well as Gemini who turned into me, was used as the distraction so Erza could grab Zash Caine's key for something that was locked up."

"Why was Gemini turned into you?"

"Uh, they did a bar dance specifically for the man."

"Oh, yeah. You dressed like that would distract any man."

Hisui gasps, "Wait! That was the mission I sent you on!"

Erza turns to Hisui, "It was the best plan we had."

"Alright! Enough of this talk and let's see Lucy dance!" Cana shouts.

As Lucy embarrassingly dances for all of the women, they can't help but think how bold she is for doing something so naughty/promiscuous/enticing/brave (along with many other adjectives).

After Lucy is done she gets back into her pajamas. "Are you happy now?" She settles in as the girls laugh. "So, Lisanna. how is dating Natsu going?"

"It's going good. He's clueless when it comes to dates, but he tries."

Hisui directs everyone's attention Lucy's way, "How about you and Laxus Lucy?"

"Paperwork aside, it's going really well. We've gone out for dinner a couple of times. He's even taken me out to a fancy restaurant, and we've spent nights together after work just watching a movie before bed."

Jenny quirks her eyebrow, "So, you two never..."

Lucy confesses, "We've fooled around, but other than that no. It's not without trying."

Leslie puts in, "Maybe he just wants to wait?"

Lucy sighs, "That's the thing, we had a talk about it. I told him life is too short and we don't know what tomorrow will bring. I'm ready and don't want to wait any longer. He said something about fast-tracking his plans."

Erza says, "You're right, life is too short. After all we have been through, we have to live in the moment." All of the girls look at each other and nod. "So, I wonder why he hasn't accepted your advances."

Mira speaks up, "That may be our fault."

When everyone aside from most of the Fairy Tail women looks at Mira questioningly Bisca informs them, "We may have stressed how important it was for him to not rush it."

"But our talk-"

Lucy is cut off by Evergreen, "Lucy that man loves and adores you." She pulls her glasses down and stares at all of the women, "this does not leave this room, understand?" Once she's received confirmation that they will not repeat anything she continues, "Even before we talked to him, he already planned on waiting and even had it all planned out."

Collective awws go throughout the room and a lot of them can't believe that Laxus has that side to him.

Evergreen continues, "You're his first girlfriend and he's afraid he'll screw up. So he wants to make everything special for you. Plus with you being inexperienced with everything-"

Lucy crosses her arms, "Not everything."

Screams of WHAT! echo in the room. Lucy shooshes everyone and asks Evergreen to please continue.

"It's been on his mind since you two made it official. He told us that the guys you tried to date were only out for one thing and he doesn't want you to think he's the same."

"But I know he's not."

Yukino pipes up, "Sting was the same way with me."

"WAS!"

Yukino blushes, "It was a few months after the war I finally confronted him about it."

Cana then asks Lucy, "How come after the war you didn't go after Laxus?"

"More importantly, why did you date?" Evergreen asks. She's been curious since Laxus told her. He was a little upset over it. He may be her leader but Lucy is one of the few friends she has, so she had told Laxus he doesn't have any room to talk. At least she wasn't sleeping with them.

Erza puts in, "I didn't understand why you did when you told me you like Laxus."

Lucy fidgets when she replies, "I was busy with a few projects. One being I had a meeting with Queen Hisui about pardoning Crime Sorciere."

Lucy is suddenly tackled by Sorano which is really out of character for her.

"Thank you! I still don't like you but thank you!"

Lucy sweat drops, "Umm you're welcome." Lucy continues once Sorano is off of her and back on her bed. "During my book tour, I would get asked out on a date. I didn't want to be rude so I accepted plus I was worried that maybe Laxus wouldn't want me."

"He would be a fool to not want to," Minerva says and then asks, "So, what changed when you made it official?"

"The 100-Year Quest was intense and once again I was in a situation that I may not get out of. If I could get through that then I could get through possible rejection."

Mira smiles at Lucy, "You know I heard something about what happened during the quest. Even though I can't talk about it because I don't want to spoil anything I will say that not many people can say they did what you did. He's proud of you, we all are." Mira then glares at everyone, "Don't ask, we won't tell you."

Lucy blushes, "thank you, Mira. So, Hisui."

Hisui has been having a great time being an ordinary woman but she's now nervous when Lucy puts the spotlight on her, "Yes?"

"What about you and Acradios?"

Hisui blushes and her mouth moves like a fish. All of the girls giggle. "There's nothing going on."

Lucy smirks, "But you want there to be."

"Well yes, but as Queen-"

"Fuck that!"

Everyone gasps at Lucy. Did she really?

"What? Hisui told me to treat her like I would anyone else so I'm going to tell her the same thing I would any of you." She stares Hisui dead in the eyes, "You and I both know that there are not many people in high society that will want to marry you for you. Those that would are either too old or too young. The others are a bunch of arrogant pricks. Arcadios on the other hand? He has always adored you for you Hisui. He's handsome, sweet as well as loyal, and devoted to you. That's exactly who you need in your life. He's also someone this country would need should anything happen to you. He would fit the role of king very well. Those arrogant pricks on the other hand would run the country to the ground. They will also bring back that law you got rid of."

Minerva asks, "What's that?"

"Arranged marriages are no longer allowed if either the man or woman declines."

Everyone gasps, "That was a thing?"

All of the Fairy Tail women look at Lucy and she explains to them most of her story.

"Well damn."

Lucy needs a subject change. "So, what's the craziest mission any of you have been on?" Lucy has told Laxus all of it except that she doesn't know if it was finalized or not. She never bothered to check and her father never said anything when she last saw him, or in his letter. She hopes that means either it was verbal or didn't have signatures on it when she put her father in his place. Hers wasn't needed and she wonders if there is a contract with both men's signatures, is it still valid even though Hisui changed the law?

After all of the women leave, Lucy, Hisui, and Toma sit down in the dining room. Only their most trusted guards are guarding the doors. Lucy however still summons Gemini to turn into Freed to put up soundproof runes to be on the safe side.

"So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"First I want to thank you, Lucy," Toma starts.

Lucy looks at him quizzically.

"Hisui has never been able to do girl things, such as sleepovers growing up. It means a lot to me that you and all the other women would take the time and spend time with her."

"It's not a problem, I would love to do it again although I must apologize for the ballroom. Things got a little crazy."

Toma laughs, "I expected it would. But I knew Hisui was in good hands and none of you would let any harm come to her. I also never got a chance to apologize for not keeping up with the orphanages in the country throughout the years. There was someone else who would do that. We'll get into that later. Right now I am interested in hearing how remodeling the Heartfilia mansion is going."

Hisui begins, "Well, it is now The Fiore Orphanage and School for Mages. It has been coming along nicely. The children that have settled in are adjusting well and Lucy made good choices for the caretakers and teachers."

"Some of them are the children and grandchildren of my former caretakers and teachers. They're all very sweet and kind just like their elders." Lucy smiles at the memory of them.

Toma looks at them seriously, "What about protection? It's a large chunk of land and it would be simple for anyone to infiltrate with the intent of harming the children."

"One of the things I plan on doing is asking my fellow guildmate, Freed, to put up protection runes along with alarms that will go off if anyone crosses with the intent to do harm. I'll need to help with Gemini. I may even ask Levy and Saberooth's Rufus for assistance as well. The same goes for the buildings on the property should anyone get passed the runes."

Hisui turns to Lucy, "Have you talked to those who you think might be interested in living there to act as guards?"

Lucy shakes her head, "No I haven't. I also want to talk to Master Makarov and Laxus about that. There are a few who I would like to ask from Fairy Tail so I'm curious if they would be able to keep their guild marks. I'm hoping seeing the Fairy Tail guild mark will deter anyone from causing trouble. The same with other guilds when I ask if anyone is interested."

Hisui cuts in, "It would basically be a long-term job for anyone interested, paid by me that comes with a home of their own. There are many homes on the property they can use. They would be allowed to come and go as they please, they would just need to notify someone of their absence."

"And do you think any of them will take you up on the offer?"

Hisui looks at Lucy wondering the same thing. She doesn't know these people as well as Lucy does.

"I think most of them will, others I'm not sure about. Either way, I'm going to encourage other guilds to visit the kids. Especially those who have similar magic so they can be trained. They will be compensated for their time as well. I know for certainty that Fairy Tail will object to payment because most of them had been taken in when they had nowhere else to go."

Toma nods, "That's all of the questions I have for now. Next, I want to talk to you about who would check on the orphanages and the rest of the towns in the country. The person I was referring to was your mother, Layla. You were young so you may not remember going with her."

"No, I don't," Lucy says solemnly. "But why?"

"First, I would like to tell both of you a story dating back about three hundred fifty years ago when we became the Kingdom of Fiore."

Both Hisui and Lucy sit up straighter giving Toma their full attention.

"As we all know Celestial Magic is very rare and back then there were four celestial families that all held zodiac keys." Toma looks at his daughter, "They were the Fiore's," He turns his attention to Lucy, "the Heartfilia's. As well as the Aguria's and Lilica's."

"Yukino."

"Sorano and Karen."

Hisui turns her head to Lucy, "I know who Sorano is, but who is Karen?"

"Karen Lilica was a mage for the Blue Pegasus guild."

Toma nods his head, "Just like the Heartfilia's, it was the woman's last name that was passed down. When it came time to decide who would rule this country everyone was in agreement that it should be a celestial spirit mage because everyone knew that they value their promises. If they promised the country something they would follow through knowing if they didn't they would lose their magic. It came down to Fiore and Heartfilia. Heartfilia wanted to focus more on their magic so the Fiore's were named the royal family and that's how the country got its name. The Fiore's named the capital Crocus and because of that towns and villages were also named after other flowers as well as plants."

Lucy chuckles, "I hate to think what their names would have been if the Heartfilia's ruled the country."

Both Hisui and Toma laugh. After they've all settled down Toma continues, "Fiore and Heartfilia were always closer with each other than the others. The Queen needed a second in command and asked Heartfilia to take the position. She agreed and that title made the Heartfilia's the most powerful and prestigious family under the Royal Family, it also bumped them up to the wealthiest when the Queen paid them, despite Heartfilia's protests. The Aguria's were fine with it, they were content doing their own thing. But it created animosity with the Lilica's because they felt they should be the second in command due to them holding the Leader of the Zodiac."

"Which keys did the families hold?" Lucy asks.

Toma takes a sip of his tea before he replies. "Fiore held Taurus, Sagittarius, and Virgo. Heartfilia held Aquarius, Capricorn, and Cancer. Aguria held Scorpio, Gemini, Libra, and Pisces. Lilica held Leo and Aries."

"Wait, Yukino has the fabled key, the snake charmer, Ophiuchus." Lucy puts in.

"Yes, Yukino found that herself. All of the keys were passed down through the generations. But the Fiore's lost theirs when Hisui's mother died during childbirth. The Fiore's never requested their spirits to always serve them, so when my beautiful wife died, the keys scattered."

Hisui reaches over to wipe the tears off of her father's face, crying herself.

Lucy also has tears running down her face sad for Hisui and Toma but she's also sad because Taurus, Sagittarius, and, Virgo is rightfully Hisui's. She whispers, "So they should be yours Hisui."

Hisui quickly turns towards Lucy, "NO!"

"But-"

Hisui hugs Lucy, "Yes they were my mother's keys but you Lucy are the rightful owner now." Hisui pulls away, holds onto Lucy's shoulders, looks Lucy right in the eyes, and says, "I will not fight you for them and I am so thankful they ended up with you."

Toma interrupts Lucy when she tries to argue. "If my wife could talk to us right now, she would agree with Hisui Lucy. May I ask how you acquired them?"

Lucy nods her head, happy she doesn't have to give up her friends but a part of her feels like they should still go to Hisui. "After I ran away I traveled the country. I did odd jobs here and there to make jewel. One day I was helping out on a farm, and the farmer's wife noticed the keys on my belt. She ran into the house and came back out with Taurus's key. Her son had found it in some manure while he was mucking the stalls."

"EEWW Gross!"

Lucy laughs, "Yeah, one of the cows must have eaten it while they were out grazing in the fields. I was reluctant to take it considering where it was found but she assured me she cleaned it very well. I made a contract with him in the meadow with the cows and a windmill. I got Virgo's on a job. Natsu, Happy, and I had taken a job to destroy a book that was in possession of Duke Everlue. Long story short, He got arrested and Virgo gave the key to Happy and told him to give it to me because she wanted me to be the owner. I was rewarded with Sagittarius's key when Natsu, Happy and I took an S-class Mission that Happy stole off of the S-Class board. Gray and then Erza followed us out there and with their help, we were able to complete the mission. Erza said we couldn't take the jewel reward but I could be given the key."

Toma smiles, "Everything happens for a reason. You are meant to hold those keys so no more nonsense about trying to give them to Hisui."

Lucy gives him a watery smile, "Yes sir."

"I had informed the magic council after my wife died and asked them to please keep an eye out for the keys. That one day they all might be needed and they would need to be accounted for."

"For when my mother opened the Eclipse Gate."

Toma nods his head. "They tried to pry for more information but gave up when I told them I had made a promise to my late wife. Which was to not say anything about the gate and should the time come in our time, I needed to trust her and Layla."

"Wait, my mom had eleven of the twelve keys to open the gate. I can see her paying Duke Everlue to borrow Virgo, but what about the others, Sagittarius and Taurus? I wonder who their owners were."

"I do not know who they were but they must have passed after the gate was opened since those keys too scattered somewhere on the continent. After your mother passed away, I heard that Capricorn went missing. I kept in contact with the magic council to track him along with my wife's two keys. They did not know the whereabouts of them."

"What were you going to do?"

"I was going to give them to Hisui." Toma holds his hand up, "I may not have known how you obtained them but I was really happy to hear that you Lucy Heartfilia were the one to find them."

"Capricorn was possessed by one of my parent's former servants. I got him back during the battle on Tenrou Island. He was a part of Grimoire Heart. Leo helped Capricorn get his body back. He however did promise to serve the Heartfilia's."

Hisui gives Lucy's hand a squeeze.

Toma smiles at them, it's like seeing younger versions of his wife and Layla. "I learned from the council that you obtained Virgo, Taurus, and Sagittarius, but they wouldn't tell me how. I also learned of Karen Lilica's death and the person who murdered her obtained Aries but Leo was unaccounted for until you all of a sudden had him in your possession."

"The person that murdered Karen was Sorano Aguria." Lucy goes into Leo's tale and how she got his key.

Hisui cracks up laughing, "I wish I could have been there to see his, along with Leo's reaction when you called him Stache face!"

Lucy laughs along with her, "Thinking back on it, it was pretty hilarious." After Lucy calmed down she explains, "I ended up acquiring Aries, Scorpio, and Gemini after my battle with Sorano."

"At least in the end, even with you losing Aquarius temporarily, they are in the hands of two of the four celestial families. Before I continue, I have this for you Lucy." Toma passes her documents, "It's information on your father's side of the family."

Lucy scans all of it and her eyes go wide. "oh wow!"

"I thought that would be your reaction," Hisui says with a smile.

"Jude was okay with taking the Heartfilia name when he married Layla but when it came time to name his company, he wasn't sure whether to use his birth name or his married name. Layla told him to use Heartfilia and when he tried it out on his tongue he liked the ring of Heartfilia Railways. He didn't learn until later on that Layla had said to use Heartfilia because the name carries power and prestige and it would help the business more. The Heartfilia's have always been wealthy but Jude's business made the family even wealthier."

"Then he lost it all."

"I want to answer your question about why your mother was checking up on the orphanages. As second in command the Heartfilia's would check on the townspeople making sure everything was going okay throughout the country because the Fiore's didn't always have the time. They would take on lots of responsibilities for the Fiore's. They would also advise when asked. Your father lost the konzern, yes, but that didn't change your status as a Heartfilia."

Lucy looks at him in shock. It wasn't even clicking in her head, she was more absorbed with everything else. "Y-You mean..."

"As long as you are alive, and the children you bear, the Heartfilia's will remain the most powerful and prestigious noble family, even without the wealth and business."

This must be what Hisui was talking about when she said the news was either good or bad, depending on the person. Lucy ran away because she wanted to be a working mage. "How would that work though? I ran away because I didn't want all of those titles, I didn't want to be a part of high society and attend balls and business meetings and everything else that comes with it. I am a proud member of Fairy Tail and I won't give up my family."

Toma holds Lucy's hand, "Dear, no one said you had to."

"We all know how the other noble families in High Society won't like this news."

Hisui agrees, "We expect there will be backlash. They also won't like that the Heartfilia's are one of the wealthiest families in Fiore."

Lucy's eyes widen, jaw drops. "But-but, how? Why am I now hearing about this? First I'm still considered a member of high society, now I'm wealthy?"

"I must apologize to you once again Lucy. It was my decision to wait to tell you. You were supposed to get your money when you turned twenty-one but with the seven-year gap, it became confusing on what time that should be. Technically you're twenty-six, but since time didn't pass for you, you're nineteen. I decided that I would inform you of both your status and wealth when Hisui became Queen. Considering the history between The Fiore's and Heartfilia's I figured that would be the best time. It would have been sooner than this but we've all been busy with other obligations."

"I don't get how I'm still wealthy. When my father lost everything, he lost everything my mother had too."

"When Layla was pregnant with you, she started an account for you and squirreled money away. I believe by the time she passed she saved ten billion jewel for you."

"TEN BILLION!"

"Plus an 8% interest rate, you have 27,000,180,548 jewel to your name."

Thump

"Lucy!"

A/N: There's a little more but I thought Lucy fainting was a good way to end the chapter.

Yes, I made Taurus's key found in a pile of shit. There's nothing said about where Lucy found his key, only that she made the contract in a meadow, filled with other cows and a windmill.

I was always under the impression that the Heartfilia's didn't become wealthy until Jude's business kicked off. He and Layla did meet and fall in love at the Love and Lucky merchant guild, a place where they both worked. So I assumed that Layla was middle class. After some research, the Heartfilia's have always been wealthy. It is shown that Layla retired her keys in a big mansion and apparently, that takes place BEFORE she meets Jude.

I know I gave Lucy an exorbitant amount of jewel. I almost changed it to make it smaller but decided to just go with it.