Several mages of Fairy Tail were selected to act as body guards in a sense for Hisui and Toma while the International Relations meeting: Erza, Mirajane, Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Gajeel Wendy, Carla, Cynthia, and Gray. The group was a little larger than intended for several reasons, but in the end it wasn't so big a deal. The meeting had yet to officially begin, so there was time for everyone to sight see around town until then. They were in Joya's capital: Forte. The largest city in the country.

Erza was standing in front of a dress shop, brown eyes sparkling in delight as her gaze was solely focused on a wedding dress plastered in the display window in one of Joya's shops. "Oh my goodness…." Erza's jaw was hanging open at the dress; it was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever laid eyes on. "It's magnificent…I must have it."

Mirajane waved her finger in front of Erza's face to gain her attention. "Now, Erza, remember, we're not here to spend so much money. Do you even have enough money to afford that?" She asked because she saw the price of that dress. Erza may have made a lot of money on missions, but there were a lot of zeroes on that price tag...

"Of course I…" Erza opened up a lacrima screen that presented all of her funds. Compared to that of the dress…it was quite abysmal. "Don't…" Now that she thought about it, this dress was extremely expensive! And she brought a lot of money!

Mira felt a small twinge of sadness for Erza and merely patted her on the shoulder in a comforting manner. "Come on, I think it's almost time for us to meet with the others…" Mira then began walking only to pause and look over her shoulder, seeing the shock-stricken Erza still in place. "Oh dear…"

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Natsu, Lucy, and Happy took a small walk around Crown City. It was crowded and and lively. "It kinda reminds me of Crocus." Happy said while looking around. This city had a different vibe than Crocus, but it was similar due to the busy atmosphere.

"Yeah, but something about it feels different." Lucy wasn't sure what was sure what it was, but it kept her on her toes. As they walked, they encountered a pair of familiar faces. "Oh! Hey!" Lucy called out to them. Ace and Tia turned when they heard Lucy, and decided to approach her.

"You guys are here too?" Ace quirked a brow while looking at the trio.

"What are you doing here?" Tia asked.

"We're accompanying the King and Princess for this meeting." Lucy explained. "You guys?"

"Same. We came here with Queen Vena." Tia nodded. "It's rare that a the leaders of Ishgar all get together like this..."

"I don't really care about that stuff." Natsu said while placing his hands behind his back. "But if anyone tries something funny, I'll be sure to kick their ass!" That's what he was here for after all.

"Just be careful of who you throw a punch at." Ace warned. "You're not in Fiore anymore. You punch the wrong person, and suddenly everyone's gonna look at your King with a skeptical look."

"Yeah yeah! Gramps already told me to be on my best behavior!" Natsu said with an annoyed expression. He heard similar words from everyone else.

"You are the one who needs the reminder the most!" Tia and Lucy said at once. Natsu's presence meant anything could go wrong if he got ticked off enough, even if it was just a result of his heart being in the right place.

"Glad he's not my headache." Ace took out a snack bar and began to chew on it. The way he did so was obnoxiously loud as ever. Tia's eye twitched in annoyance.

"Well, what a friendly gathering we have here!" A strangely familiar voice caught their attention. The group turned around, only to see Brax of Pergrande approaching them. Right at that moment, everyone got on guard. Natsu and Tia stood in front of Lucy, while Ace was ready to switch into his armor at a moment's notice. "Whoa! What a hostile greeting!"

"Brax of Pergrande..." Ace narrowed his eyes.

"Hey hey! So you did memorize my name! Good to hear it!" Brax placed his index finger against his temple, giving an annoying grin.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Natsu said while glaring towards Brax. "If you're here for Lucy again, I'll kick your ass!"

"..." Lucy stiffened up a bit. Brax looked right past everyone else and right at her, which reminded her of what happened on the Isle merely a few weeks ago.

"Relax, relax!" Brax threw his hands up. "I'm not here for a fight. I'm here for the same reason as all of you, I'm accompanying my liege. I don't have a reason to pick a fight with any of you."

"Then why did you show up?" Tia said with a glare.

"I saw a familiar face and thought I'd say hello!" Brax replied while leaning forward. "It doesn't benefit any of us to fight in the middle of a foreign country. Besides, I came with an offer for you, Lucy."

"Me...?" Lucy wasn't sure where this was going.

"I'm sure you have plenty of questions about what happened on the Isle a few weeks ago. King Ashnard himself is here and can answer any question you may have. You just have to come with me." Brax said with a smile, but there was a thick tension in the air.

"..." Lucy thought about it. She did come to Joya specfically because she knew Ashnard would be here. She had so many questions, and they could all be answered today. And yet... "I..."

"I wouldn't take that offer." Ace said while narrowing his eyes. "Making a deal with Pergrande is like making a deal with the devil."

"Yeah. I still owe this guy for what he did." Natsu said while cracking his knuckles.

"Hm? But I haven't done anything to you or Lucy." Brax tilted his head.

"You attacked Elfman and Lisanna. You even killed your own comrade. There's no way in hell I'd ever let you near Lucy." Natsu stepped forward, chest to chest with Brax. "I don't care where we are. Get any closer and I'll punch you."

"Natsu...!" Happy was panicking. This was precisely what he was afraid of!

Brax leaned down, matching Natsu's glare with a whimsical smile. "I like that fire in your eyes, Natsu Dragneel." And then, he stepped back and threw his hands up. "I'll see you later then. We won't be after you anymore, Lucy. You have nothing to worry about." With that, he made his exit.

"The Pergrande Kingdom..." Lucy rubbed her arm as Brax walked off. "What did they want with me?"

"Whatever it was, it probably wasn't good." Ace crossed his arms. "I've heard a lot about King Ashnard. It's for the best the target on your back is vanishing..."

"Mm..." Lucy nodded. Knowing that Pergrande would stop coming after her was nice, but that didn't exactly quell the questions she had. There was still a chance...

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Wendy and Cynthia were touring Crown City with Carla right alongside them, in her human form. They stopped by a bakery to observe the local delicacies. Wendy and Cynthia's eyes sparkled when they saw two delcious pieces of lemon sponge cake. "Ooooooh!" The two of them said in unison.

"That looks delicious!" Cynthia said with widened eyes. "Let's get it!"

The clerk behind the counter smiled at their excitement. "Ah, that's a great choice. It's the last we have for today as well. That'll be 3,000 jewel for each slice."

"E-Eh!?" Wendy's eyes widened at that price.

"Really?" Carla nearly recoiled from that information.

"T-That must be some good cake..." Cynthia said with a sweat drop. She checked her funds and proceeded to sweat some more. "A single slice is almost everything I have..."

"We can pool our money together?" Wendy suggested.

"Then you both wouldn't have anything left." Carla shook her head. She couldn't abide by such a choice. "We're going to be here overnight. I can't let you blow all of your money within 20 minutes of being here."

"Awww..." Wendy and Cynthia said in unison. They knew Carla was right...

"I apologize." The woman bowed apologetically before them. She knew the prices were high, especially for tourists who were aware of Joya's ways.

"Then let me." Said Gaia, as she walked through the door and placed a small bag of jewel on the counter. "Let the girls have their cake."

"Gaia!" Cynthia said with a surprised smile.

"Alex isn't here with me, but I'll tell her I ran into you." Gaia answered the obvious question Cynthia was going to ask.

The clerk was also surprised, but she smiled as well. "I'll get it ready right away."

"What are you doing here?" Carla asked while Cynthia and Wendy got their cake. They took to a table nearby and proceeded to enjoy it together.

"I'm here to bodyguard King Ceros." Gaia explained, her eyes glancing over to Wendy and Cynthia with a fond smile. "He's hardly got anything to worry about with a dragon protecting him."

"That makes sense. We're here with a few others for the same reason." Carla replied while crossing her arms. "Pergrande is here. I don't feel pretty great about that."

"I agree." Gaia frowned a bit, glancing out the nearest window. "I don't have a good feeling about it. But all we can do is watch and let Ishgar's leaders do their thing..."

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Some time later, it was just about time for the meeting to begin. Crown Castle, standing tall right in the middle of Crown City The castle interior was quite nice and large, spanning with several large corridors that led to various locations. Fiore's representatives walked into the castle; Cynthia and Wendy stared around with widened eyes. "Whoa…" Wendy's brown eyes were sparkling with delight. "This place is huge…!"

"This might be nicer than Fiore's castle…" Cynthia mumbled, but it seemed Hisui overhead it and took the slightest bit of offense to it.

"Natsu, please…" Lucy turned to Natsu while puffing her cheeks out. "Whatever you do, do NOT destroy any part of this castle, okay!?"

"I'm not gonna do anything!" Natsu replied defensively while digging in his ear. "Best behavior or whatever Gramps said, yeah?"

"Aye!" Happy chimed in.

"This just goes to show how much they've been listening…" Carla crossed her arms and shook her head a few times. This was going to be a diaster and she knew it.

"I'm not gonna be held responsible for whatever that idiot does…" Gray shrugged before pulling out a fresh water bottle. He opened it up and the water literally flew out of the bottle. "W-What the?!" The water then took the shape of Juvia, who wrapped her arms around Gray. This surprised everyone present.

"Ahh, Gray-sama!" Juvia squealed.

"W-What the…!?" Gajeel's jaw dropped upon seeing Juvia arrive so suddenly. "Juvia, how long have you been…!?"

"I don't think I want to know, honestly…" Hisui said while pinching her nose.

"Oh my…" Mira couldn't help but giggle at it all, which was a strange reaction.

Toma wasn't even going to comment on this situation. He just kept silent as the Fairy Tail members were freaking out over Juvia's sudden arrival. "…Ah…"

A few moments passed and a young male was soon to arrive. This male was clad in dark purple royal attire, had short blond hair that just reached to the back of his next and purple eyes to match his clothing; to top it all off he had a large crown sitting on the top of his head. "I see Fiore is the last one to arrive." He stated with slight boredom to his tone. "I was wondering what the holdup was all about…are you always this slow?"

"Who's this asshole…?" Natsu grumbled though he had no issues raising his voice to show his complaints, which is why Lucy slapped her hand over his mouth to keep anymore comments from spilling out.

"Natsu! Shush!" Lucy said with widened eyes. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the man standing before them was royalty.

"Count Waltz, please forgive us." Toma gave an apologetic nod. "Fiore is quite some distance away, as you know."

"I don't care much for your excuses." Waltz waved a hand dismissively before shifting his gaze to Hisui. "My, you've certainly grown, Princess."

"Ah…it's good to see you too, Count Waltz…" The Jade Princess awkwardly laughed before glancing away. "Is there any chance you can forgive us for being so late…?"

"Of course, Princess." Waltz nodded slowly before snapping his fingers. Upon that cue, a large male wearing a thick coat walked in. This male had an eyepatch over his left eye and white hair in the form of a Mohawk and a mustache on his upper lip. "Tuba, would you mind taking Fiore's little entourage to the guest area while I escort the Princess and King to the meeting hall?"

"Of course, Count Waltz." Tuba nodded, gesturing for Fairy Tail to follow him. "This way, please. And don't touch anything with your grubby little hands, are we clear?"

"Crystal." Erza responded before anyone with a short temper could reply. They weren't there to pick fights, even if Tuba's attitude did irk her.

.

"Hurry up, get in there." Tuba said while shoving a few of the Fairy Tail members into the guest area.

"Hey, watch with the pushing…!" Lucy huffed as she stumbled forward.

"Shove me like that again! I dare you!" Natsu yelled, getting all up in Tuba's face.

"Natsu-san, we're not here to pick fights….!" Wendy reminded Natsu but he was starting to get a little too fumed to listen.

"Natsu!" Erza's voice boomed out, causing Natsu to halt. She then glared at Tuba, who just wore a smug grin on his lips before walking out.

"You can watch the meeting from this room." Tuba explained, pointing to the lacrima screen with the meeting displayed before shutting the door behind him.

"I am not a fan of him." Mira gave a slight nod, lacing her hands together. "Too brutish."

"I wanted to punch him." Natsu grunted before sitting on the floor cross legged.

"He was a bully." Cynthia sat next to Natsu and crossed her arms, now glancing at the lacrima screen. "Whoa…! We really can see the meeting here…! So many big wigs…" Before they could all really settle down, there was a gentle knock at the door.

"Hello…?" The voice was female, a little hesitant at that.

"Come in!" Mira chimed.

And so, the door opened slowly. A young girl with bleach blonde hair stepped in, wearing a somewhat poofy dress, long socks and pretty big shoes. "Hello, my name is Polka, and I'll be your maid for this evening…!"

"Maid service…?" Gray tilted his head. "At least that king is hospitable."

"Count Waltz is a fine ruler…" Polka's voice trailed off midsentence. "A lot of the people here get sick, so he's reduced the taxes on the medicine!"

"Is that so…?" Erza quirked a brow.

"Reduced taxes?" Lucy blinked. "Everything here is so expense for a visitor, though..." Or just in general. She tried to buy a snack and it nearly took half of her trip funds!

"Mhm!" Polka nodded. "He really does for his people. But aside from that, I saw Tuba leading you over here. I apologize for his behavior…"

"I wish I could've punched him, grinning all smugly like that." Natsu waved his fist around with a comical angered expression.

"Well, technically, you could have and not gotten in trouble." Polka explained.

"Eh…?" Everyone's head tilted at this news.

"I see he didn't tell you." With a sigh, the blonde walked to the center of the room and waved a hand, bringing up a lacrima screen blueprint of the castle. Several sections were color coded and she pointed to the area they were currently in. "For affairs like this, Count Waltz has to ensure all countries stand on equal footing. So, several areas of the castle, the rest areas to be precise, are considered the territory of those countries. So, since we're technically in Fiore territory right now, you could've punched Tuba and gotten away with it. Though we'd rather not have castle damages…then it gets a little technical…"

"So he was just gonna let us go without knowing this!? Bastard." Gray scoffed. "I bet he was afraid of a fight." Gray was certain he could kick that old guy's ass. But that wasn't what they were here for.

"Well, next time he pulls that crap, I get to punch his lights out!" Natsu had a wide, menacing grin appearing on his expression. Brax still had him all riled up from earlier, so if anyone from a different country wanted to step up...

"So a fight started here in… 'Fiore' would be fine…? But what if a fight crossed over to another country's area…?" Lucy asked.

"Ah…" Polka paused. "Then…it would be in that countries jurisdiction. There's also the neutral area, like where the meeting is being held…then it gets really complicated. Oh, speaking of the meeting, it's about to finally begin soon!"

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Next Time: The International Meeting.