**I don't own Fairy Tail, or the characters. Those are all Mashima's.

So... the promised last chapter of Fiery Jade. Please review! I'll be working on finishing "The Size of His Heart" next. Have the next chapter of that almost done.

Since these stories are both close to being finished, please remember to vote on which story you'd like to see next!

'Natsu… Come back to us Natsu…. We need you…'

He opened his eyes slowly, then immediately shut them against the bright light that stabbed into him. He slowly forced them open just a crack, allowing them to adjust to the pain before opening them further. But nothing seemed to change. Why was it that nothing but blinding whiteness greeted his eyes? Even opened all the way, it was like looking into the heart of the light.

"What's going on? Where am I? Why does it feel like every atom in my body is screaming in pain right now?"

Nobody answered. Ok, seriously? This was bullshit. At least somebody could have the decency to talk to him when he asked a question. He was clearly awake, and he wasn't in the castle. At least, not anywhere he'd ever been before in the castle.

Wait. Was he dead? Is this what the afterlife looked like? Just endless white light? And if so, what was with all the pain? Sure, he was a little dense in life, but he was pretty sure he hadn't been that bad…

"This is your subconscious."

Finally, Igneel decided to have pity on him and answer—

Wait. "IGNEEL?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD YOU BASTARD!"

"No need to yell, Natsu, and I'm technically not here." Igneel seemed to think about that for a minute. "Let me rephrase that. I'm technically here, but I'm technically not Igneel."

"Huh?" Ok, now he was confused.

"Look – this is your subconscious. I'm a reflection of Igneel. A memory, if you will."

"You mean I'm talking to my memories?"

"NO! Eh…. Well, I guess in a manner of speaking."

"If I'm not talking to my memories, who am I talking to?"

"I'm you, smart guy. Your mind is just putting me in this form to make talking to yourself seem more reasonable."

"Wait… you're me?"

"Wow – someone catches on fast."

"If you're me, that means you just insulted yourself…"

"No, I insulted you!" There was a pregnant pause. "Oh…"

"Yeah, now who's quick to catch on?"

"Look, we don't have time for this. You need to wake up."

"I'm trying! You should know that if you're me!"

"Yeah, well you need to try harder. I've had just about enough of listening to you."

"You wanna' fight flame brain?"

"Any time you think you can take me match head."

"Bring it on dipshit."

"After you numb-nuts!"

"Fire Dragon's…"

"Fire Dragon's…"

"ROAR!"

"ROAR!"

"YEAH! I'm finally equal to Igneel in strength!"

"That might be true if I were actually Igneel…"

"Yeah. Been nice knowing ya, but I think I'll wake up now."

"What, just like that?!"

"Yep." Natsu opened his eyes. Not his dream eyes this time. I mean, how many times can you really open your dream eyes? This time there was no bright, stabbing light. Only darkness. Darkness that slowly came into focus as a drab room, illuminated only by starlight. He was in a bed, with some kind of glowing barrier around him. And his body ached all over.

Physically he felt very weak. But in terms of magic power… Wow, what a difference! It was like he could punch out a hundred Fire Dragon King's Roars and not even be tired.

Wow. It's like I'm bursting with magic power… If only I could use it to heal my body…

With a groan he sat up, the motion sending jolts of pain from his core to all parts of his body.

"Natsu?" The voice ached with uncertainty and dripped with hope. Even as Natsu turned his head toward the sound, she was on him. He fell back to the bed, suppressing a cry of pain as he landed. "Natsu! You're really awake!"

"Not for much longer at this rate…" Natsu groaned playfully, returning the embrace he found himself wrapped in. Hot tears soaked through his vest on his shoulder, and green hair brushed against his face.

"I was afraid you were never going to wake up…" Hisui sobbed into his shoulder, her arms circled tight against his waist. Her fingers dug into his back, her arms pressing tight enough to squeeze his chest and make breathing more difficult.

"Aw, come on. I wasn't out for that long, was I?" Natsu was pretty sure it hadn't been more than a couple days.

"It's been 3 months baka…" The princess whispered into his chest, adjusting her body to a more comfortable position on top of him.

"3 months?" No wonder his body was so sore and achy. All his well toned muscles were just laying there in disuse for 3 whole months. But how was that even possible? He'd only been in that white subconscious thingy for a few moments!

And what about Igneel?! The thought suddenly occurred to him. Was he walking yet? When did babies start walking anyway? What if he was already learning magic and Natsu missed it? Or reading? What age did that start anyway? What if his kid was already a better reader than he was?!

"So, uh… Does that mean Igneel's reading now?"

Uh oh. There was not immediate response. Natsu looked down at Hisui, wondering what she was thinking. Her body was shaking softly against him, her hold on his waist loosening a bit. Did he say something wrong? Oh no! Please don't let Igneel be—

But wait. The sounds coming from her weren't choked sobs, but barely restrained laughter. Soon it was unrestrained as his wife clutched him, her face still buried in his chest as she giggled uncontrollably. "You wake up after 3 months and that's what you're concerned about?" She gasped out.

Natsu felt a familiar rumble in his abdomen. "Well, that and I could eat, like, a mountain of horses."

There was a long pause as Hisui fought to gain control of her laughter, during which Natsu realized the other thing that was on his mind. "Oh yeah, and what's with the magic barrier anyway?"

"Oh, that was in case you… Well, you know… exploded…"

"Exploded?" Natsu blinked, more than a little surprised to hear this.

"Yeah. Porlyusica said if you couldn't absorb the magic you ate your body would explode. So dad had them put a barrier around you that would keep the explosion contained if that happened."

"How can you come through it then?" That didn't make sense to Natsu. If the barrier was strong enough to block an explosion, why didn't it block everything else coming through as well?

"They were able to create a barrier that would allow living people through, but not anything violent, like an explosion or a direct attack."

"Cool," Natsu grinned as his stomach roared in aggravation. "But I think I need to eat something now."

"I'll get you something," Hisui said quietly. "Just, don't disappear or explode while I'm gone."

"I'll still be here," Natsu promised. He then suppressed a grimace as she gave him one last squeeze before pulling back and departing, leaving him alone with his thoughts again.

It was about 10 minutes later when Hisui returned with a large platter of assorted meats. And this time she wasn't alone. Behind her was a familiar young girl with blue hair accompanied by blue and white exceeds, who all dashed for the bed as soon as they saw Natsu, who was sitting up again.

"Natsu!" They exclaimed, tackling him back to the bed. Natsu groaned as the three, even Carla, embraced him for several long moments.

"Hey Wendy. Hi Happy, and Carla," Natsu grunted. The savory aroma of meat drifted from the plate Hisui held, tantalizing him with the promise of deliciousness. His stomach roared indignantly at having its favorite pastime withheld a little longer.

Carla recoiled from the sound, a severe look on her face, but Wendy and Happy didn't even seem to notice. Hisui just giggled as she continued to hold the plate. "Oh my," she said. "Perhaps somebody would like to sit up so he can eat?"

Blushing slightly, Wendy let go of her grip on the older dragon slayer, allowing him to sit up again. His third time raising his body to a sitting position was easier. Either the pain was getting less or his body was used to it to the point where he was barely noticing it anymore.

For the next few moments he forgot everyone and everything around him as he immersed himself in the heavenly food placed before him.

~~~~~~Outside of Crocus~~~~~~

"Hey you, hurry up with that feed!"

Darton groaned. His second day on the job was even worse than the first. How had it come to this anyway?

Stupid question. It all started when his idiot grandson allowed himself to be caught by Wendy without even finishing the job. Then word got out to the people of Crocus that he'd been fired because he was plotting to kill the prince, who the people apparently loved. How was that even possible anyway? Who could possibly respect a simple-minded buffoon who couldn't do anything well except fight?! His grandson should've been the one to marry the princess! If the king wasn't going to give her to one of the foreign princes to gain new allies, he should've at least given her to someone deserving of the crown!

At first Darton reveled in his genius. Since the king, and even Hisui and Wendy, couldn't prove he'd been part of the plot, they couldn't imprison him. Of course the king fired him, but he should've been able to live well off his savings.

But that didn't last. Oh, no. Because the people weren't content to just let him live the life he was supposed to live. They had to do everything they could to make his life miserable.

~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~

Darton stepped out from the palace seething. This wasn't how it was supposed to be! That fool of a grandson failed him again, and this time the cost was too great. Instead of a secure position as the trusted advisor, Darton now faced something he hadn't experienced in a long time.

Putting a name to it was hard, though. There wasn't really a good name for the state of being without title and authority. Of course, it's not like anyone else knew that yet. Maybe he could use his reputation for at least a few days before the word got out.

"Hey! It's the EX Minister of Defense!" The voice of a 10 year old dashed that hope mercilessly to pieces before it even had the opportunity to fully manifest.

"Now, now Jeletto, it's not nice to tease the traitor," a woman's voice, most likely belonging to the boy's mother, chided. Darton was somewhat shocked at the treatment. Just how had they gotten the word out so fast anyway?!

"Yeah, you should beat his ass instead." This sounded like a teenager. Some tough guy no doubt, but at his age Darton was in no condition to challenge anyone. It took every ounce of his will to ignore the growing crowd and their mocking, turning instead toward the road that led to the northeast of the palace, toward his large home.

But as his gaze fell upon the beautiful mansions that defined his neighborhood, his mouth dropped open. It looked like a natural disaster hit the place! The once stately mansions were reduced to piles of rubble, bits of walls standing here and there amidst the ruin. Some were burned or destroyed entirely, with no sign of anything but a crater where they used to be. And as he drew closer to where his mansion once was, he saw an enormous crater, almost the size of the entire neighborhood.

Darton fell to his knees, tears coming to his eyes at the sight. It was all gone. His 5 story, 16 bedroom manor. His exquisite rare flower garden and courtyard. His stables with the fastest steeds in the kingdom. Even his private stash of jewels that were hidden in the safe. Every one of them was gone. All he had left were a couple hundred thousand jewels he carried with him for an emergency!

The former defense minister cursed his luck. If only he'd been outside the castle since the fight, he could've demanded that the king reimburse him for the damage. He could still try, but he knew well enough where that would lead now. He ground his teeth as he cursed Natsu, the 'prince' of the realm. He could only hope the dragon slayer succumbed to the magic's destructive power and died a very painful death. Maybe he could take the damn princess and the blue-haired slut with him. He was still pretty sure there was more than a "brother-sister" relationship going on there.

He soon found that in the area around Crocus, his emergency reserve of jewels would only buy a cheap hovel or a couple months of rent. And everywhere that he tried to get work turned him away. Despite his years of experience in leadership, management, planning, and negotiating, everyone gave him a response that could be summed up in a single sentence:

"Sorry, but we don't hire traitors here."

~~~~~~END FLASHBACK~~~~~~

Now, three months later, ragged and dirty from having lived on the street for the last month after his rent money ran out, Darton tried to work the only job he was finally able to find, as an extra hand on a farm a few miles outside the city. It was a job someone his age shouldn't even think of taking. His body wasn't built for this kind of rigorous work anymore. But he was desperate. It offered a roof over his head. A bed, even if it wasn't entirely a clean one, regular meals, and some jewels. Given enough time he could save up, maybe get a ticket out of Fiore and find somebody who would appreciate his skills instead of calling him a traitor for trying to do the country a service.

"You there! I said hurry up old fart!"

Darton gritted his teeth as he did his best to move faster with his load. His back ached as he carried the burden, his shoulders and legs throbbed from the excess of exercise. He cursed Natsu again under his breath. Exploding was too good for the dragon slayer. He hoped the 'prince' died a slow and painful death.

~~~~~~Back in the castle~~~~~~~

Natsu rubbed his eyes as the sunlight poured in the infirmary windows. After a meal and a good night's rest, most of the aches were gone from his body. He could still feel the increase in magic power, and he really, really wanted to test it out. He was itching to fight Gray, or better yet Erza, or Laxus, or maybe even Gildarts. Hell, maybe now he could take all of them at the same time!

Just then his eyes fell on Hisui, who was sitting in a chair near the bed. In her arms was a young baby, still just an infant, with the shortest little light green hair ever. The baby's onyx eyes sparkled like the smile his little lips were pulled into, and as he saw Natsu sit up he reached for him, making little cooing noises.

All thoughts of fighting fled from Natsu's mind as Hisui brought Igneel closer, laying him on his father's lap. The dragon slayer gently traced a finger through the light green hair, which wasn't rough and scratchy like stubble but rather soft and gentle, almost soothing to the touch. The little button nose crinkled up as the baby reached for his finger, grabbing it and immediately pulling it to his mouth.

It felt a little weird, the strong lips and gums wrapping around the finger with no teeth. And damn, Igneel had a powerful bite for a baby. If he did have teeth, Natsu was pretty sure his finger would be gone by now. But after a couple moments of sucking, Igneel pulled the finger out of his mouth, looking disappointed. He then reached for Hisui, who took him back. He fussed at her, rubbing his face against her breast.

"Looks like someone wants his lunch," Hisui said with a giggle as she offered the breast to him. Soon he was sucking down milk like a champ.

"You should probably eat your lunch too," Hisui said. "You've got a big day ahead."

"What?!" Natsu groaned, laying back down. "I don't want to do anything except sleep today…"

"Sorry, but you're a prince," Hisui said. "And a lot of people want to see you. As soon as they found out you were awake, my father and your little sister put together a party for today. Almost all the legal guilds in Fiore will be there, and as many citizens as can be packed into the palace at one time."

"They could've at least given me a couple days to recover," Natsu groaned again.

"They did," Hisui said with a quiet giggle. "But you slept off your recovery time."

"Huh?" Natsu stared, his mind not 100% comprehending what she was saying.

"You slept for 2 and a half days since your awakening," Hisui said. "We were starting to think we'd have to postpone the party."

"2 and a half days?!" Natsu sat up again. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?!"

"Nobody would let us, for one. The palace healers said your body still needed more rest to help you recover faster. And it seems to have worked," she added with a twinkle in her eye. "We'll find out just how recovered you are tonight."

Natsu blushed as Igneel suddenly decided he was done nursing for now, releasing Hisui's breast and turning back toward him. As soon as Hisui was covered up again, she left Igneel in Natsu's arms and headed out to get him some food. Natsu spent the next half hour getting reacquainted with his son before going and getting his attire for the party.

~~~~~~Later that evening~~~~~~

"Gray, if you take your clothes of in the palace I will personally castrate you," Erza was saying to the ice mage. She'd just caught his hands as they started to cast off the white suit coat he was wearing.

"Hehe – I wouldn't do something as stupid as that," Gray said a little too quickly, his hands jetting away from his coat.

Before she could formulate a response, Erza noticed that the boisterous conversations that filled the room had all suddenly come to an abrupt stop. She also noticed that Yukino, Lucy, and Mira were all staring toward the room's north entrance with a faint blush on their cheeks. She quickly turned to see what had captured everyone's attention.

She felt her jaw drop slightly as the heat rose to her own face. Descending the stairs at the north entrance was a man who was so familiar, but whom she'd never seen in this light before. His perfectly fitted crimson suit rested well over his broad shoulders, the black shirt accenting it well, unbuttoned just far enough to hint at a strong, muscular chest. His crimson pants hung perfectly above a pair of black shoes, but what drew her attention the most was his face.

No longer was Natsu's face a picture of childish exuberance. He still wore a wide smile, but it was set on a face that spoke of experience in battle and life. The baby fat was gone from the corners of his smile. His jaw line was slightly more accentuated. His figure stood more erect, his shoulders held high and his eyes always looking forward with confidence.

In summary, everything about Natsu Dragneel screamed sexy.

"Presenting the heir to the throne, the three-time savior of Fiore, and conquerer of Acnologia, his royal highness, prince Natsu!" One of the palace guards announced his entrance, bowing before him as he came to the bottom of the stairs. As Erza saw people lowering themselves around him, she quickly wiped the trickle of blood from her nose and bowed as well.

"Everyone rise, please." Natsu said, his tones deeper and richer than the last time she'd spoken to him. It was hard to imagine this man before her as the boy she used to frequently punish for his shenanigans with Gray.

"Juvia, would you stop drooling?" Gray sounded a little annoyed.

"Juvia is sorry Gray-sama!" The water mage exclaimed with a yelp. "Juvia's eyes are only meant to be for Gray-sama! Gray-sama must punish Juvia-sama for her unfaithfulness!" She quickly bent down, wiggling her butt at him.

"I'M NOT INTO THAT!" He yelled, backing away from her.

Erza made her way toward Natsu, who was already surrounded, this time by the first generation dragon slayers.

"Natsu," Sting said, inclining his head to the pink-haired mage. The other dragon slayers, except Wendy, followed suit.

"You guys don't have to do that, really," Natsu protested.

"If you didn't want this, you shouldn't have taken down Acnologia," Gajeel smirked at the prince. "You knew it was coming."

"Why is that?" Erza asked, curious as to why they were now deferring to the pink-haired dragon slayer, if there was a reason beyond him being prince.

"It's a dragon slayer thing," Gajeel explained, not really looking at her. "Natsu was already the alpha, but by killing the most powerful dragon and absorbing his power he's elevated his position. Although he's not a king, like he would be if he were a dragon, he's basically the unchallenged alpha slayer now, and it's in our natures to defer to him as a result."

"Then why isn't Wendy acting that way?"

"Ge he. Wendy here is his adopted little sister, which essentially means she gets special privileges." Gajeel chuckled, causing Wendy to blush.

"I see." With that Erza moved forward and pulled Natsu into a hug. "I'm so glad you survived, Natsu. We were really worried about you…"

"I've survived worse," Natsu replied with a grin.

"She was really worried about you though," Gajeel confirmed her words, making her blush slightly. "She wouldn't even take a simple request till we received news of your imminent recovery."

"Haha! That's Erza for you!" Natsu said, his grin widening. "But I need to get some of that food before I starve. You'd think they would treat a guy better after he's been asleep for over 3 months."

"Oh, of course!" Erza quickly let go of Natsu, pulling back as he made his way toward the table. She then watched as Lucy stepped up to the dragon slayer, also giving him a big hug.

"Thank goodness you're alive, Natsu!" She said loudly enough for Erza to hear. "We were really worried when we heard you fought Acnologia."

"Of course I'm alright Luce. It would take more than an overgrown lizard to bring me down," Natsu replied. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm trying to get to the meat table…"

"Oh, of course," Lucy let go of him and stepped out of his way as Erza watched. Natsu proceeded a few more steps before he was wrapped up by a white-haired demon.

She heard Mirajane speaking but couldn't make out the words. Natsu offered her a reply, and moments later she let go of him, stepping back with a faint blush on her cheeks as Natsu continued on his way toward the table.

A couple steps later he was met by Gildarts, who pulled him into a hug that was, at least from the dragon slayer's body language, quite uncomfortable. Not surprising, considering the crash mage's considerable strength. They exchanged a few words. Gildarts let go. Natsu continued toward the meat table.

No sooner had Gildarts let go than Makarov came up to Natsu to give the pink-haired dragon slayer a firm hug. Natsu disengaged himself from that conversation and took a couple more steps toward the table before being hugged by Yukino. This continued for quite some time till the dragon slayer prince finally got to his destination. He was just reaching out to get some meat when…

"Natsu, please come forward!" King Toma Fiore stood at the head of the ballroom, a medal and a scroll in his hands. Natsu sighed, pulling his empty hand back away from the table, and headed up toward where the king was standing. Along the way Hisui joined him, coming forward at his left side.

"Natsu Dragneel, prince of Fiore, for saving this country 3 times and ridding us of the threat of Acnologia, I hereby bestow upon you the further title of knight protector of the realm, and present you with this medal and this certificate."

Natsu bowed, allowing the medal to be put around his neck. When he rose, he turned back toward the audience, who all bowed to the prince and now knight protector. Erza smiled as she watched him, knowing how rare it was for this title to be given to anyone. It was said by many that it was more meaningful even than the title of king or queen.

After the ceremony ended, Natsu started making his way back toward the meat table again. But it seemed the stream of people wanting to have a quick word with the prince was never ending. He struggled through one conversation after another, till Erza finally decided it was time for someone to intervene.

"Alright everyone," she said, coming forward with her sternest expression. "The prince is trying to get something to eat! He's famished from his 3 month coma, and you're all keeping him from enjoying this delicious banquet we've already been eating. So everyone out of the way! Now!"

Everyone around shrank back from her stern outburst, and she dutifully led the way to the table. She congratulated herself on a job well done when he reached his goal without any further interference, and soon he'd collected a plate of food and was sitting at one of the many tables to enjoy it.

The rest of the night went too quickly for Erza, as she suspected it did for the rest of Fairy Tail. But all too soon they were on their way out of the palace, back to the hotel where they would be staying one more night before the trip back to Magnolia.

~~~~~~Much later that night~~~~~~

"Mmmm…" Hisui snuggled against Natsu, feeling the warmth of his skin against hers. They'd spent almost an hour testing the extent of his recovery, as she'd promised, and now both were ready to go to sleep.

"Hisui…" She caught the serious tone to his voice and turned to look at him. "Everything was really busy before, and I don't feel I ever said this properly. But I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not trusting you enough to treat you as my equal in our marriage. I'm sorry for being more loyal to your father with my word than to you. You're an amazing woman, Hisui, and you're every bit as strong as I am in your own way, and definitely a lot smarter. I know our marriage won't ever be perfect, but from now on I swear there will be no more secrets. Everything we do, we do together. Because I love you, Hisui."

She buried her head in his muscular chest as tears formed in her eyes, a small smile on her lips. "I love you too, Natsu Dragneel. And whatever the future holds we'll always be ready for it – together."

After that no words were spoken. None were needed. The quiet, steady breathing of two souls. The rhythmic beating of two hearts in perfect harmony. The night was a perfect epilogue to their journey toward each other. When the sun rose, it would dawn on their first steps into their true marriage journey.

And whatever happened they would always push toward the future... together.

So there it is. Hopefully the ending isn't too abrupt. I didn't feel like it was. Read and review please! And don't forget to vote on which story you want to read next :)