Chapter 7

Aftermath

After the titanic battle between Natsu and Sabertooth's Twin Dragons ended, the members of Fairy Tail settled in at the Honey Bone Inn to congratulate not only his single-handed victory, but also their lead in the Grand Magic Games. Many of the spectators who jeered and ridiculed them both on the street and in the stadium were now applauding the guild for its spectacular performances in order to take first place. The thunderous applause that followed Natsu's victory made each member swell with pride. That pride would carry on when the whole guild broke out into celebrations with many of the members drinking, playing games, or just conversing lively with one another. Even the occasional fight would break out between members who had too much excitement and energy to burn off after today.

Joining in on the party were Lucy and Elfman, both cleared by Porlyusica to be injury free and fully healthy. Team Natsu, the Thunder God Tribe, the Strauss sisters, and Shadow Gear all converged into the infirmary directly after the match and received the news. Immediately the place was filled with uproarious laughter and a few tears. After all the hugs were given, Elfman and Lucy were escorted out of the infirmary and into the hallway to be greeted by the whole of Fairy Tail who broke out in cheers before they ventured out to the inn, elation flowing through everybody for today had been the day that everything fell into place for them. So excited, many didn't even realize that tomorrow was the final day of the tournament and that they had steep completion gunning for their position.

Upon sitting with his usual group of friends consisting of Lucy, Wendy, Gray, the Exceeds, and the occasional inclusion of Juvia, Natsu found himself surrounded by members who were curious about his new lightning enhanced powers. Never one to shy away from questions involving his 'awesomeness', Natsu gladly regaled the them on how obtained his power. With his teammates and Max as his witnesses, he left many of the members gaping in awe. Hearing and witnessing the already powerful mages rise in strength had most members swoon in admiration and envy at becoming so strong so young, but it also had others shaking in fear as well. Being observers, and Max a potential victim, of Natsu's final spell against Sting and Rogue had many cringe at the destructive and earthshaking might in the reckless man's possession. Restraint wasn't a word in Natsu's limited dictionary, so the idea of fighting him when the possibility of being both burned and electrocuted was very high, made many guild members hesitant. Though when Natsu declared that the power was draining and he would only call upon it during emergencies had the whole inn sigh in relief, most notably a short, balding Wizard Saint.

After answering all the questions, Natsu enjoyed his time with his team except for the absence of Erza who was busy eating strawberry cake and conversing with the Master and Mirajane. Still reeling from his win, the fire dragon slayer continued to boast about his match, even adding in more than enough exaggeration, animated hand gestures and bad imitations to have Lucy, Wendy, and even Juvia laugh at his goofy behavior. Gray on the other hand was seething while listening to his rival gloat about his win. Having had enough, Gray rose out his seat; his actions shocked Juvia, Lucy and Wendy at seeing the normally calm ice mage look so heated.

"For the love of God, shut up! We get it, you won, let it go!" he shouted fed up with hearing Natsu talk. A sneer spread across Natsu's lips, something that pulled on Gray's last nerve. "Ohoho, sounds like somebody's jealous! What, you mad that I beat Sabertooth's best while a guy in a funny hat and tights beat you without even breaking a sweat?" Natsu mocked. Juvia moved to defend her beloved but a fist to Natsu's jaw bit her to it. Not letting up on Nastu, Gray dove from his seat and tackled the Salamander to the ground. Quickly recovering from the blow, Natsu dodged Gray's jab to his head and retaliated with one of his own to the ice mage's stomach, knocking the air out of the Ice Make wizard. In a matter of seconds, the two were a dust cloud of flying fist and kicks. To those who weren't on Tenrou Island, watching the scene brought tears to their eyes at its nostalgia. Many of them thought that they would never see the sight again. Even though the group that was in stasis for seven years had returned some months ago, the feelings of never seeing them again were still there but slowly, they were dissipating and being replaced with happiness. As the two fought, everyone laughed and cheered together, all the members awash in joy.

However, it would all come to a halt when the front door opened with such force it created a deafening crash when colliding with the wall. Everyone inside stopped and braced themselves to see who would enter, but a wave of relief swept through them when they saw Gajeel standing in the doorway. The scowl he had told them that he was in a bad mood but everyone in attendance immediately figured that his hostile temper directed towards the pink haired man on the floor. Not looking to be victims in another dragon slayer bout, the members went on about their business, but the serious look on Gajeel's face caught the attentions of the master, the whole of Team Natsu and Levy. Walking to the two mages still scrapping on the floor, Gajeel slammed his foot down near Natsu's head. Looking up, obsidian met crimson.

"I should have smashed your head through the floorboards for that shit you pulled in the coliseum, but I need to show you something. Now! Oh and there's somebody waiting for you outside." Gajeel stepped aside revealing Yukino in the doorway. Dressed in her casual teal tank top, miniskirt, and heels she meekly waved at Natsu, a barely noticeable blush on her cheeks. Seeing the other celestial mage, Natsu shoved Gray from on top of him and grinned ear to ear in her direction.

"Oh hey Yukino what's u-UUUUH! The fuck man!" Natsu yelled in Gajeel's face when the older man pulled him up by his collar.

"Stop flirting with your girlfriend and come with me! What I have to show you may be important. You too kid, this concerns you as well," he said turning to the still seated Wendy. Dense like a brick, Natsu completely ignored the fact that Gajeel such called Yukino his girlfriend. However, those around him took notice of the iron dragon slayers comment and the silver haired beauty in the doorway. Catcalls and wolf whistles resonated throughout the hall with Natsu and Yukino being the unfortunate victims. All the unwanted attention and increasing embarrassment caused the silver haired young Celestial Mage to turn an unhealthy shade of red. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Yukino turned her head to see Lucy giving her a supportive smile.

"Don't pay these guys any attention. They're just messing with you. Give it another minute and they'll stop. Erza will make sure of it," Lucy her fellow Celestial Mage. Sending a quick glance to her left, Yukino followed her eyes and saw the shivering form of Erza. The woman's bangs hid her eyes but the malevolent aura seeping out of her made understand just what Lucy was talking about.

"Come on you two, we got to make this quick!" The two females jerked their heads to see Gajeel turn on his heel and leave for the door.

"Hey, wait a minute Gajeel! What are you talking about?" Ignoring the busty blonde's question, the iron dragonslayer left the in without a word, not even acknowledging Levy's presence which concerned the small bookworm and her best friend. Glancing at Wendy out the corner of his eye, Natsu saw that she held the same inquisitive look in her eyes as he did. Giving her a grin, he nodded his head at the door. The youngest dragon slayer smiled warmly in return with a soft blush on her cheeks and chose to trust her brother figures judgement. Scooping Carla in her arms, she jogged towards the door, Natsu by her side. Before they left though he stopped in front of Yukino and Lucy.

"We'll be right back," he informed the two. Lucy nodded in confirmation, a warm smile on her flawless features. Slowly but surely, Yukino smiled back as well and nodded, her small hands fiddling with the hem of her skirt as her eyes met his.

"Salamander!" From outside they heard Gajeel yell Natsu's nickname, annoyance and a lack of patience evident in his tone.

"I'm coming you scrap metal jackass! Come on Wendy." Natsu said, walking out of the inn.

"H-Hai!" the young sky maiden squeaked before rushing out. Lucy and Yukino watched the two walk on the sidewalk through the window but turned around when the saw the reflection of Gray. The older mage had a sly smirk on his face as well as the tiny blue haired script mage beside him.

"You two wanna follow them don't you?" he asked. Caught like deer in headlights, the two females blushed. Looking at each other and back to the two in front of them, they both produced shameful grins on their faces and nodded their head.

"Good, because we were going bring you guys with us even if you said no," Levy smiled.


Exiting the inn, the two dragon slayers found their surly comrade leaning against a light pole. Crimson eyes shot daggers filled with murderous intent toward the son of Igneel who returned his glare with a nonchalant look of his own and a pinky in his ear. "What?" the son Igneel questioned unenthused. Not receiving an answer but rather a narrowing of the eyes, Natsu felt his temper flare at Gajeel's expression, not at all liking the mean mug his fellow dragon slayer was sending his way.

For a few seconds the two stood in an awkward silence, both wishing the other to throw the first punch or lob the first insult to ignite the powder keg. Stuck in the middle were Wendy and Carla who eyed the two temperamental males warily, fearing that the two might destroy the block if they were to fight. Snorting in disdain, Gajeel whipped his head away and began walking towards the direction of the coliseum. "Come on." He grunted.

"Tch, this better be good metal head," Natsu barked stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Trust me Salamander, it's something definitely worth seeing," the gruff male responded vaguely. Not too far away from the trio, a small group followed them into the city.

Unknown to either party, two shadowy figures stood atop a nearby building, watching them from afar.

"They are on the move. Shall we proceed, Hime?" one figure asked, their voice soft with an undertone of mirth. In one hand was small red piece of paper and in the other was a crystal ball slightly bigger than her palm that held the image of a beautiful young woman with jade green eyes that matched the color of her wavy hair. Sitting atop her head was an elegant tiara.

"Yes, but do not engage. Not until we have separated the celestial wizards from the others, especially the dragon slayers."

"Ufufu, understood Hime." Bowing gracefully, the figure cut the transmission of the orb, putting the lacrima into their robes. A duplicitous smile etched across their face when glancing at their partner who donned a similar smile. "Ready?"

"Such an ugly question. As if you need to ask." A mysterious golden mist appeared around them before they shot off into shadows.


"Are we there yet?"

"For the last time Salamander, no! And quit asking already! You've been driving me nuts with your constant whining and I'm getting sick of it!"

"Then get us there already and I'll stop asking! All I've seen is rocks, rocks and more fucking rocks! If this is some bad prank Metal Face I swear I'll…!" Slamming their heads together the two dragon slayers pushed each other back, angry scowls on their faces and their magical auras surrounding them.

"Eh! You'll do what!? You trying to start something?!"

"If I am, I'm going to finish it!"

"Enough!" The eloquent voice of Carla forced the two to turn to her in Wendy's arms. The cat had a vein pulsing on her head, no doubt caused by their insufferable bickering. Her charge was blushing lightly, giggling nervously at the two's childish antics. Just a few steps behind them was a small group of tagalongs. Taking all but five seconds for the dragon slayers to notice their presence via their scent, the group consisting of Gray, Levy, Lucy, and Yukino pleaded for Gajeel and Natsu to let them come. The two stood their ground but when the two best friends fired back with their cold and unrelenting glares, Natsu and Gajeel quickly caved. Obviously the two had taken a page out of Erza's personal handbook. Though the second party was happy they could join, they quickly cursed coming as the only thing remotely interesting that occurred on their trip was finding out how long Gajeel's finite amount of patience could hold against Natsu's infinite whining.

Hearing silence for the first time in who knows how long caused the three females to sighed in content, relieved that they would no longer have to hear Natsu's incessant whining or Gajeel's crude and deplorable language. The lone ice mage stood in the back, smirking. Letting somebody else put up with Natsu's idiocy was quite the show and he was enjoying every minute off it, even if it was grating on his last nerve.

"Natsu, Gajeel has said time and again that we were getting close so for the love of all that is good, please, shut up! Moreover, Gajeel, although I hate to admit it, Natsu is right, we've been walking for what has felt like hours and we have yet to see anything remotely interesting that would compel you to bring us here. Now I hate to sound like a certain pink haired annoyance but are we there yet." Carla said, breathing deeply after her tirade. Glancing at the other, Natsu and Gajeel separated themselves, arms crossed and noses in the air. The whole group sweat dropped at their actions, questioning as to why they chose to follow these two in the first place.

"We're not that far away. It's at the end of this chamber." Gajeel explained.

"Thank you~! Bout damn time you said something useful!" Natsu griped.

"I'm getting tired of your mouth Salamander!" Groaning in exhaustion the group decided to leave the dragon slayers behind and let them hash out their anger towards each other. Walking through the vast chamber, Yukino looked over her shoulder to see Natsu and Gajeel pummeling each other. Feeling a gentle tap on her shoulder, Lucy smiled when turned to see Yukino.

"Whats up Yukino?" she beamed.

"I know this is none of my business but…are those two…alright? I've seen everyone in Fairy Tail get along so well but those two seem to hate each other." She pointed to the duo behind them. Lucy took a glance to the brawling dragon slayers wrestling on the ground and scoffed.

"Oh, don't worry about those two; this is just any other day for them. Let them have their pissing contest and they'll be back to normal soon. Or as close to normal as possible for them," Lucy sighed. A small body bumped into Yukino's which grabbed her attention and when she looked down to see who it was, she met the bright brown eyes of Levy McGarden gazing up at her.

"As sad as it sounds she's right. Though Natsu and Gajeel may not see eye-to-eye most of the time, they're still comrades. I would even go as far as saying that they have a bromance between them, but don't tell them I said that," Levy said in a hush tone, her eyes mischievous. A furious blush coated Yukino's face at the mental image of Natsu and Gajeel half-naked, arms wrapped around each other, their eyes fondly gazing into the other with a pink and red background strewn with roses. Despite her attempts at a whisper though, the keen hearing of the two dragon slayers easily picked up Levy's statement and they blanched in horror.

"Oi! Levy/Shrimp! What the hell are you saying about us?!" the two yelled in tandem while on their knees, stopping their fists mere inches from their respective targets. Yukino's face became scarlet red at seeing the two look so similar to the image in her head and quickly turned away, steam emanating from her ears. Lucy and Levy looked at the poor girl and giggled.

"Hey, I was just joking but looking at you two now…I think my theory holds some merit," Levy snickered. Gajeel and Natsu narrowed their eyes at the script mage.

"She's right! You two are awfully close with one another," Lucy added.

"I always knew you were a flaming queen Natsu," Gray laughed, hands wrapped around his stomach. The two dragon slayers looked to the other for answers but were shocked at how close they were. Hesitantly they looked down and saw how close they were. Pushing each other aside, they stood and pointed at the other accusingly with their eyes wide and teeth taking on the appearance of spikes.

"What the hell are you trying to pull on me you bastard?!" Laugher filled the cave as the Fairy Tail mages and Yukino watched the two glare at each other with a pink hue on their cheeks.

"Shut up! This isn't funny at all!" the two yelled in a rage, cheeks flushed out of anger and embarrassment.

"Uh guys, hate to spoil your fun but I think you need to come see this." they heard Gray say up ahead. When the rest of the marry band of adventurers caught up to him, they, like himself, were rendered speechless at the image before them. As far as they could see, bones lined the cavern. Massive bones. Far larger than any other creature they knew about. Taking a close look at the skeletal frames of what looked to be wings and the features of the creatures' skulls, Natsu and Wendy finally understood why Gajeel brought them here.

"What is this…some sort of…graveyard," Lucy muttered, ice water in her veins at seeing so many corpses in one place.

Natsu's eyes scanned over the cavern, his dark gray orbs taking in every corpse he found. A since of dread swept over him along with fury. Fists clinched by his side, he registered Lucy's comment as being only partially correct.

"Not just any graveyard, Luce. A dragon's graveyard."

"Wh-what?! Are you serious? Like Acnologia!" she asked timidly.

"The very same." Gajeel answered her, arms crossed over his chest.

"Wait, you don't think our dragons are in here, do you?!" Natsu questioned him fearfully. Gajeel shook his head and looked on at the mass amount of dragon bodies in front of him. "I highly doubt it. From the looks of things, these dragons died out long ago. Our dragons have been missing for fourteen years, including the seven we were on the island for. These dragons have been dead much longer than that."

"He's right. Just by looking at them, I assume the dragons in this cave have been dead for some hundreds of years. If you're dragons were in here, which I'm not saying they are, their bodies wouldn't have been this decomposed," Levy informed them. Trekking through the graveyard, the group spread out, each wondering how so many dragon remains littered the ground under the Crocus coliseum.

"I don't get it. Why are there so many dragons in here? What the hell happened to them?" Natsu questioned, gently running his hand on a rib the size of his body. Happy stood by his foot, a somber expression on his face as he gazed up at his best friend. Lucy, Wendy, Carla, and Yukino stood off on the other side of the rib cage, their brown eyes analyzing the carcass.

"I don't know." Lucy spoke, arms crossed protectively around herself. Yukino's gaze drifted from the large dragon corpse to Natsu, his body standing between two ribs in her vision. A frown tarnish her bright features at seeing the usually energetic and upbeat mage look so melancholy. It pained her heart to see him like this, but she felt helpless to do anything. She was not, as close to him as the rest of the group was so she had no idea how to brighten his spirits like he had done for her so many times. Being the outsider amongst the party made her feel alone. It's true she was as curious as the rest regarding the mystery surrounding the dragon slayers as she had spent the better part of a year around two in Sabertooth, but she would have gladly let the matter go and stay at the inn with the rest. The only reason she was even with the party that followed the dragon slayers was that Levy and Lucy dragged her along so that they could uncover the secret of why Gajeel was acting so strange. Thanks to that, she now found herself in a dark, damp cavern under the Grand Magic Games coliseum in an area covered wall to wall in dragon bones feeling useless as she watched her first true friend become crestfallen. Clutching her hand above her cleavage, Yukino tore her gaze away from Natsu and fretfully studied the cave, anxiety consuming her. While noticing a rather large carcass some tens of meters away, a hand touched her shoulder causing a terrified yelp to escape her.

"Whoa whoa! Calm down Yukino it's just me." Turning her to the left she saw Natsu standing next her. Her heartbeat slowly returned to normal upon seeing him, her hands balled into fists at her chest. "You ok? You looked like you were spacing out there. Ouch! What the hell Luce?!" Natsu barked at his teammate.

"How many times have I told you not to sneak up on people? Are you trying to give her a heart attack?" the busty blonde retorted, fists on her hips and wearing a tight-lipped expression. Natsu opened his mouth to argue but the voice of Wendy made him pause.

"Guys I think I've found something."

Gathering around the smaller mage, the others eyes her with intrigue.

"What is it Wendy? Did you find something?" Levy asked, curiosity eating at her.

"Yeah brat, what have you got?" Gajeel grunted, his red eyes piercing into her wavering brown ones. Not used to being the center of attention, the young preteen felt her courage drop but a few supportive pats on her calf from Carla and Happy brought her spirits back up.

"I, uh, I didn't find anything per se, but…I do feel something. And I think I have a pretty good guess as to what it is. But first I'm gonna need you guys to take a few steps back. I have to prepare." The blue haired sky maiden spoke sternly. Wide eyed, the group looked to each other stunned at the young woman's pluck and took a step back simultaneously, compelled to see just what the normally docile child had planned.


High up on a ledge overlooking the young mages was a man dressed in glistening armor, no doubt a knight of the kingdom. Beside him were two other males dressed in the attire that signified them as being the castle guards with a few dozen other men standing behind them, armed with their weapons. The group peered down at the group of mages standing in the cave amidst the many dragon carcasses.

"Arcadios-sama, what do you want us to do?" a guard asked.

"We follow through with the princess's plan. We are to separate the two Celestial mages from the dragon slayer known as Natsu Dragneel. Only then can we proceed with the Eclipse Plan." The older man walked towards the edge of the cliff, his armor rattling as it moved along with him. Hands behind his back, he smirked down at the young mages, his eyes traveling between the silver and blonde haired females. "When we have them, this world will be forever changed. Thanks to them and their keys."

"Sir, I believe something is happening!" a grunt shouted.

"Look, the blue hair child has conjured some sort of spell! Shall we intervene?"

"No, stand your ground! I don't think it's an attack!" Arcadios ordered.

"Then what shall we do, sir?"

"We wait of course-!" A flashing light came from his gauntlet, interrupting him. On his gauntlet was a screen and in it was the princess, her expression stern and resolute.

"Arcadios-sama, the plan has been revised. Have you and your men retreat and return to the castle. I shall give them new orders." she told him, her tone stern and resolute. The knight, along with his men, grew wide-eyed.

"H-Hime, are you sure?"

"Yes, now do as I command."

"Yes, Hime. Men, retreat back to the castle and await your orders." Like the well-trained royal guards they were, the men saluted Arcadios and the princess and filed out of the cave in an orderly fashion. When the last one was out of sight, Arcadios turned his attention back to the lacrima orb.

"Hime, if I may, what do you have planned," he asked, sweat dripping down his forehead. The cunning smirk that came across the princess's face made his blood run cold. Having known the princess since she was a child, he understood that behind that smirk she had one hell of a plan up her white sleeves.

"It's simple; I'll take the direct approach and deal with them myself."


In the middle of a circle with a series of symbols etched into the dirt, Wendy kneeled with her hands clutched together. The group stood behind her eager to see what she was about to do. She had said that the one of the spells Grandine left her had not been for offensive purposes but rather for the summoning of a dragon's soul. Safe to say all those in accompaniment were stunned into silence. Raising her hands in the air, everyone grew alarmed when the ground began to shake violently. Before they could question her, a vibrant green light surrounded the kneeling sky maiden before shooting upward and forming a luminescent pillar. Soon after, the light split into individual rays and began to come together into a sphere above her head. The sphere floated harmlessly; that was until a large scaled hand tore from its center. After the hand, the gigantic form of a dragon burst forth, the green sphere it came from disappearing into thin air. With a mighty roar, the dragon shook the cave causing the ground and ceiling to quake to the point of collapse. Fear enveloped the young mages as they bore witness to the sheer might of the dragon with only a roar. The green dragon's gaze scanned the cave until he noticed an unfamiliar presence before him. Taking notice of the mages below, the creature smirked and flew towards them. The Fairy Tail mages, Yukino included, all screamed when they saw the dragon lunge towards them.

Having closed their eyes, they awaited for what was to come next but nothing came. Rather than pain, they felt nothing. The whole area was deadly silent until a hearty laugh coming from in front of him caught their attention. Hand over its eyes and its maw letting out a series of guffaws, the dragon laughed in amusement at their terrified expressions.

Gray, Gajeel, and Natsu grew tick marks at being played for fools by the large dragon.

"What the fuck was that?" they screamed. Wiping a tear from its eye, the jade dragon sat down with a large grin on its face.

"Ah, it never gets old scaring you pitiful humans. Seeing the terror in your eyes warms my soul." The dragon laughed mockingly.

"Oi! Who the hell are you?" Natsu screamed.

"I have no reason to answer to a lowly group of humans!"

"But I'm a cat." Happy clarified.

"Very well, my name is Zirconis, otherwise known as the Jade Dragon!" the now identified dragon spoke, its voice dripping with pride. The others sweat dropped at the dragon seemingly brushing them aside due to their race as humans but immediately answering Happy in spite of him being a cat.

'I really don't like this guy!' the Fairy Tail mages thought simultaneously.

"Hmmm, oooh! What is this, a bevy of cute females I see?" Levy, Lucy, and Yukino all cringed at the lecherous look the dragon was giving them. Gajeel, Gray and Natsu covered the three respectively and shot the dragon challenging glares.

"Ahahaha, defensive eh! I can see why," the dragon laughed while licking its lips. Slowly looking down, the dragon's eyes narrowed in hungrily on Wendy. "Oooh, this is interesting. I had thought that Grandine had summoned me as this is her spell but it seems this youngling has. An awfully cute one at that. Well, if I can't have your women, I guess I can settle for the little one!" Without the slightest bit of hesitation, the dragon dove for Wendy, its open maw ready to swallow her whole. The small girl was so focused concentrating that she paid no to the outside world.

"You leave Wendy out of this you lecherous bastard!" In the blink of an eye, Natsu stood between the dragon and Wendy.

"No way! I haven't eaten anything in over four hundred years! And since you won't let me have those delectable morsels behind you, I'm just going to have to settle for the little dragon slayer! Now move aside!" the dragon ordered, its massive head slamming against Natsu.

Defiantly Natsu stood his ground and glared the dragon down.

"Not a chance asshole!" Closing his eyes, the dragon named Zirconis leaned back and chuckled causing Natsu and his crew to looked at him baffled.

"Humans sure are an idiotic species! Even if I wanted to eat the girl, I couldn't! I'm an astral body boy, what could I possibly do to you, other than raise your blood pressure a little bit!" Zirconis laughed, playfully moving his large finger through Natsu's body. Everybody sweat dropped yet again at seeing a beast revered for its power and grace be so childish in the face of people.

"Oi, can you tell us why there are so many dragon remains in here?" Gray asked.

"The reason we summoned you is to learn the truth." Gajeel clarified.

"That's right." Lucy voiced out.

"Silence! I've told you before I do not answer to humans. Go away!" Zirconis shouted annoyed, his head turned away from the mages.

"But…I'm a cat!" Happy clarified once more.

"It all started over four hundred years ago…" the Jade Dragon started, acting as if he didn't just disregard the humans in favor of the feline Exceeds.

'I really, really don't like this guy!' they thought in unison, all with tick marks on their heads, Yukino included. Their anger however would slowly recede as they listened to Zirconis go into great detail about the dragon civil war and how the age of the dragon slayers and Acnologia came to be.


After listening to Zirconis and his soul unexpectedly withering away of what was left of it, leaving more questions than answers, everyone exited the cave under the coliseum and made their way back to Honey Bone Inn. For the past few minutes, the dragon slayers attempted to make heads or tails of what they had just heard with the others throwing in their theories on the matter. Even the smartest and most logical of the group being Lucy, Levy, and Yukino couldn't come up with an indefinite answer and found themselves at a lost. As they came around the corner all conversation ceased when they saw the guards posted outside the inn and on the other side of the treat.

"Uh, w-whats going on?" Natsu questioned shakily. Given his history with the council, Natsu wasn't really a big fan of guards and authority and it safe to say the feeling was mutual.

"I don't know. Is Fairy Tail in trouble?" Lucy asked aloud. They met no resistance when coming to the door but before they could open it, they were beat to the punch by someone on the inside. Standing over them was a man with dark features, curly hair in the style of an afro, a long pointy nose, and what looked to be a permanent scowl. Dressed in a stainless and shiny suit of armor, the man stepped aside and rose his arm in a leading manner.

"Honor to meet your acquaintance members of Fairy Tail. I understand that you may have questions like your comrades but those can wait for the moment. The princess wants to speak with you," the large man said. Everyone's eyes grew to the size of plates at the mention of a member of the royal family not only being in the inn, but also requesting to speak with them.

"The p-p-princess?" Wendy stuttered, her timid disposition making her a shivering bundle of nerves.

"Of Fiore?" Levy added.

"That is correct." The knight confirmed.

"Oh shit! We are in trouble!" Natsu screamed on his knees.

"Dammit, Salamander/Flame Brain, what did you do?!" Gray and Gajeel screamed in anger.

"Fuck you guys! Why do you assume it's me?! You probably have as equal claim in this as I do you bastards!" the fire mage retorted.

"Like hell we do!" Lucy, Levy and Wendy tried to pry the three away from each other in hopes of keeping face in the presence of nobility but a charming giggle from the side of the inn caused everyone to become statues.

"Ufufu, I heard that Fairy Tail was home to some of the most lively and eccentric wizards in Fiore but I had no idea it was to this extant," a sweet voice said humorously.

"Hehe, yes, we do house some characters in the guild. Now! You brats better shape up because we are in the presence of royalty and I don't want a complaint over my head coming from the royal family itself," the master warned, his eyes glaring holes into Natsu who had the decency to blush.

"Uh, um, I'm sorry to ask this but w-who are you…exactly?" Lucy asked. She herself was raised and made to associate with those of high pedigree but she found herself sweating under the intimidating pressure of being so close in proximity to a woman no older than her but whose aura of regality flowed off her in waves.

A smile so elegant that it could challenge Mirajane's graced the green haired females face as she regard each mage, including the exceeds. Standing up, the princesses bowed in respect despite the fact that her caste status was clearly above their own.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I am Hisui Fiore, princess of Fiore. I have come to both congratulate you on your valiant efforts in the Grand Magic Games and also I wish to apologize to your guild as well."

Apparently, this was news to everyone else as their jaws hit the floor along with Natsu and his crew.

"Ehhh!"


[A/N: Sorry for the overdue update but I had to rethink on just how this story was heading. I wasn't sure on making this a romance piece or simply friendship with some unresolved feelings but I finally knew what I wanted. You guys as the audience will just have to wait until the end. This will go until the dragon invasion and the party and that is where the juicy bits will come. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter and forgive me for any spelling or grammatical errors. Also, this may upset some people but Rub a Dub Dub will be coming to an end shortly. Sorry about that, but there are about three chapters remaining left in that story. I intentionally was going to make it short but it lengthened to about ten chapters really fast the minute it got so much traffic. I thank you guys for reading more work, you're my inspiration when I feel like just giving up when I have a writer's block. Once again enjoy the chapter and keep a whether eye out for anymore updates. Like always you know the routine, read, review, favorite, follow, PM me, you get the gist. Blaccdragon out!]