Natsu and Zeref stood in silence for a moment, preparing themselves for what was about to happen. Natsu's eyes darkened as he began to remove his scarf and shirt. Zeref walked over to one of the bookshelves in the room, pulling out a book before the two exited the room and headed towards the dungeon. The Spriggan made sure to leave August with Anna, his son not ready to experience something like this just yet.
They were quiet, more and more servants coming into view the further down they went. No one dared to get in their way, knowing exactly what was about to go down.
The sound of chains clinking together echoed through the dungeon, the only occupant leaning against his restraints.
Jackal slowly looked up, already knowing his fate as the brothers looked down at him.
"Explain yourself." Zeref asked as he opened the book in his hand, already starting to write something.
"I… I was only trying to defend my king's honour. I misjudged the angel… I'm sorry…" Jackal's voice was hoarse, he'd been locked down here for 6 weeks as he awaited his punishment.
"You entered the king's room, and hurt the king's squire. Regardless of your intentions, the way you went about it was completely unacceptable."
"You touched her." Natsu's body began to heat up as he was surrounded by black smoke, his teeth sharpening and his pupils narrowing. Zeref did not stop him as he activated his END form.
"No one touches her."
Jackal's skin felt as though it'd melt right off as END approached him. He couldn't move his body, whether this was the effects of Zeref's writing or the fact that he's frozen in fear, Jackal didn't know.
Zeref closed the book, his work complete. Jackal will not be causing any more harm. The Spriggan smiled darkly as he watched his little brother give him what he deserved.
-
Lucy carried Happy as she strutted down the halls, her smile wide and fake. She knew the servants would be in the courtyard- that's where they went whenever Natsu asked for them to be off duty.
She opened the back gates, breathing in the crisp, early March air. The staff were all sitting along the grass and statues in the yard, glancing up when they heard the sound of Lucy's heels approaching.
"Hey guys~" The blonde waved, holding in her laughter at the shocked and horrified expressions the staff wore. They all began to whisper amongst themselves, not bothering to hide their panic.
"L-Lady Lucy…" One servant finally spoke up, kneeling before her. "We're so sorry… please spare us."
The rest of the staff began to bow and kneel, and Lucy felt her resolve faltering. She felt pretty bad, it didn't sit right with her to see them so afraid, but as she glanced down at Happy, she changed her mind. These servants made her entire stay here a living hell, they bullied and sometimes even hurt her. They had no respect, and a little apology wouldn't make up for all that they did. Happy glared at them, and rightfully so, these guys were a bunch of assholes!
"Remember what you all told me? That Natsu only wanted me for sex?" The servants kept their heads down. "Well, you were wrong~"
"We're sorry… Please forgive us, my queen." Another one spoke up, and Lucy scoffed.
"You aren't sorry, you'd do it again if you could. I don't know why you all act this way, apparently you treated Mavis like shit, too?"
They looked up at her in surprise, not having heard of Queen Mavis in a long time. "We… were jealous. Both of you came as servants, and even though so many of us had more experience, the kings chose you…" A servant confessed, the others nodding in conformation.
"Jealousy…" Happy scoffed. "That's not a very good excuse…"
"Well, you won't have to be jealous any longer. Natsu and Zeref will find a proper role for you all, since you cannot handle being in this castle." Lucy tried to hold back her sympathy as she began to walk back inside, the staff all interpreting her words as if they would be executed. Employing them somewhere else wouldn't be as cruel, but she figured she'd let them freak out for now.
She nearly ran into Mavis as she walked back into the castle, laughing awkwardly at the fairy's knowing smirk. "I actually did the same thing when Zeref and I got engaged, though it didn't have as much of a satisfying end." She giggled, leading the way out of the castle.
"I couldn't help myself." Lucy smiled. She hadn't realized just how much she had in common with her sister-in-law.
"Let's go out into the town. We can go shopping! We'll have to be back in time for dinner, of course." The blondes were both giddy as they walked towards the front gates, but they froze when they realized the crowd of people were still there, taking videos and pictures.
Mavis puffed her chest out and placed her hands on her hips, putting on a stern expression and deep voice as she commanded, "Leave at once."
The crowd of people broke out into a fit of shouting, laughing and cooing, Mavis pouting at her blatant fail. "I'm too small to be intimidating." She whined, and Lucy panicked when it looked like she was starting to tear up.
She looked up at the crowd, taking in a deep breath. "Um… could you guys please leave?" The crowd silenced, staring at her in amazement. Lucy felt like a zoo animal with the way they were making comments as if she wasn't right there.
"I thought the people here were supposed to respect us." She groaned.
Happy sighed. "Well, the paparazzi is always like this. Even Natsu has trouble with them. They only really respect Zeref because he could kill them at any moment."
Mavis perked up, scurrying backwards to the front of the castle. Lucy watched in confusion as the fairy's hands began to glow before a figure formed in front of her, looking exactly like Zeref.
The Zeref walked forward, and the moment it reached the castle gates, the paparazzi quickly back away. Mavis giggled and grabbed a hold of Lucy's arm, rushing through the gates and out of sight of the crowd.
"Um… what was that just now?"
Mavis smiled cheekily. "An illusion!"
Lucy's eyes widened, in the 6 weeks she'd been in the fairy kingdom, she never witnessed Mavis' magic in action. "That's really cool…"
"Thanks! I haven't really been using my magic since I got pregnant, I'm glad I haven't gotten rusty." The fairy queen's giggles continued as they slowed their steps, passing through a clearing to get to the town.
"We should go to the small shopping district in the next town over. It's not too far and there won't be a bunch of people, so you won't have to worry about annoying paparazzi again." Happy flew ahead, guiding the girls through the land.
"I haven't shopped in this kingdom in so long!" Mavis raised her arms as a breeze blew by. "I wonder what the demon fashion is like now!"
"I actually have never gone shopping myself before." Lucy began to feel giddy as she thought of actually walking into a store and picking out clothes.
Mavis stopped to gape at her. "Wait… you've never gone shopping?" She gasped when Lucy shook her head. "What!?"
"Well, I never really had the opportunity to. Natsu gives me everything I wear."
"...Natsu got you the dress you're wearing right now?" Mavis quirked her brow as she examined Lucy's clothes. Since when has Natsu had a sense of fashion?
"Yeah… if you've seen me wearing something that's, err, seductive, blame him."
Mavis grinned, nudging Lucy on the shoulder. "You two are so cute. Y'know, Zeref picked out this dress for me. I guess those two can't help themselves." Lucy looked over Mavis' outfit, the deep v-neck of her black evening gown definitely out of character for the fairy.
"I help Natsu when he picks out most of your clothes, Lushi. Especially the underwear!" Happy snickered, and Lucy hoped he was just kidding, not comfortable with imagining the exceed picking out lingerie for her.
Once the shopping district came into view, Lucy gasped in amazement. The scenery looked like it came out of a movie, and the sound of people going by with their shopping and the smells of food from the many restaurants were all but overwhelming. It felt so unreal yet so natural, and Lucy couldn't believe she'd been missing out on all of this.
They entered a store, the employees greeting them for a second before freezing up. Mavis and Happy didn't seem to mind as they continued to stroll through, but Lucy was a little concerned. It looked as though none of the other people were breathing…
"You're… You're the queens…" A worker mumbled, giving a shaky bow.
"Do you have petite sizes?" Mavis smiled as she spoke to an employee, seemingly not noticing how shocked the woman was.
"Y-yes your highness!" The worker bolted up and towards the back of the store, Mavis skipping behind her.
"Is this how citizens always react when you're in public?" Lucy awkwardly walked beside Happy, not exactly sure where she was going but afraid a worker would faint if she spoke to them. "Well, duh." She rolled her eyes at Happy's comment.
She followed the cat's lead as he stopped in front of a rack of clothes, smiling at the way his tail wagged back and forth as he shuffled through the clothes. "Look at this, Lushi!"
Lucy tilted her head as she stared at the blue halter dress. "That's… actually pretty cute…" She took it from his paws and folded it in her arms. "But, I don't want to keep getting dresses. And we should probably get something to accommodate my body right now…" She smoothed a hand over her very obvious baby bump.
"Why don't you ask one of the people who work here..?" Happy turned to look for someone, but he shook his head when he realized everyone was still either frozen or avoiding their gaze. "Nevermind, c'mon."
They walked towards a section filled with skirts and pants, and Lucy wondered just how big this store is before Mavis came rushing towards them. "Hey, come see me try this on!" She pulled Lucy along with her towards the changing rooms.
Mavis practically hopped into the stall, very excited about having a shopping date with her sister-in-law. As she waited for her to change, Lucy noticed the worker from earlier continuing to bow at her.
"Hey… you don't have to do that…" She slowly placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "It's fine…"
"I… I do not want to offend you, your highness." The woman's eyes flickered between Lucy's hand and the ground.
"We'd prefer it if you treated us like any other customer, really." Lucy smiled warmly, hoping she was properly conveying her sincerity. The worker nodded quietly, her eyes wide.
"Check me out~" The changing room door swung open, Mavis posing dramatically. Her eyebrows raised when she saw the way Lucy was talking to the worker, but she made no comment on it.
"Aw, that's so cute on you!" Lucy clapped her hands together. "Ruffles really suit you!"
"Yeah, it's kind of my thing~" Mavis bragged smoothly, the girls falling into a fit of giggles. "Do you need help? You've never done anything like this before, so…"
"Well… yeah… I'd like to find something that'd fit me…" the blondes slowly turned to the employee, the woman saluting dramatically.
"Right this way!"
~
"I honestly can't believe how different these citizens are. I mean, I'm not even the queen yet!" The three strolled down the streets on their way back to the castle, bags around their arms as the girls ate frozen yogurt and Happy nibbled on a fish kabob.
"They think they have to address us like that or else they'll get executed or something, I'm not really sure. I've never been able to convince them to stop, though, so good on you for doing that!"
Lucy blushed at Mavis' praise. They'd gotten closer lately, but Lucy still admired the fairy queen, and it was very fulfilling to know she had her approval. "I'd love to go out here with Natsu someday, but I'm pretty sure the townsfolk would die if me and him went shopping together."
"Oh, you should've seen them when Zeref and I would go out! Actually, you probably wouldn't have been able to see them, everyone believes that looking Zeref in the eyes will result in immediate death or something, so they'd always sort of hide from us."
Lucy bit her lip in thought. She'd been awfully curious about the past, but she didn't want to be offensive. As she thought of a subtle way to ask, her eyes lingered downward. "Hey, Mavis..?"
"Hm?"
"How come you don't wear shoes?"
"...I don't want to."
It looked like Mavis was holding back, and Lucy didn't want to pry, but… "Has Zeref never tried to get you to wear some?"
"Nope, he's always known why I don't wear them." Mavis sighed, understanding Lucy's curiosity. "...I don't remember the last time I wore shoes, growing up I couldn't afford them. I've just gotten used to being barefoot."
"Right… You were a servant before..."
"I served in the elf kingdom for my childhood until I was sold to the demons." Lucy nodded, hoping she wasn't crossing any lines. Happy didn't seem concerned at least, the exceed licking his kabob stick clean.
"How'd you go from a servant to a queen?"
Mavis laughed under her breath as the memories came back to her. "It's a long story, but Zeref and I became friends while I worked for him. He helped me establish the fairy kingdom, and a few decades and a war later we were finally together."
"A war..?"
"Like I said, long story." The fairy queen shook her head to clear her mind. "We were already an 'item' before I left to become a queen, but it wasn't anything serious until after the war. That's why the demons didn't really like me- we made it official the day the war ended."
Lucy was a little surprised with exactly how much she related, it was almost uncanny. "How'd you manage 300 years of a stable marriage?"
Mavis smiled as she was reminded of how long her relationship has lasted. It felt like just yesterday she and Zeref had their first kiss, and now they have a precious baby boy. Time really does fly. "I'd say communication is the best factor. We've also learned to understand each other with non-verbal signs, it works wonders when we're in public. Oh, and," She leaned into Lucy's ear to whisper, "a healthy sex life is very important, too."
Lucy tried not to imagine Mavis and Zeref like that, focusing on the first things she said. It sounded simple enough, she'd like to think her and Natsu already had good communication, but there was always room for improvement. Before she could make any comment, the sound of Happy's whining caught her attention.
"Can we stop one more time and get another kabob?" Happy leaned on Lucy's shoulder, his eyes big and glossy as he begged.
"No."
"Please?"
"You'll soil your dinner." Lucy chided, the cat falling out on the ground dramatically.
"But I can't wait for dinner! I'm sooo hungry~"
"You can wait. Now stop whining, unless you want to lose your desert privileges."
"Wahhh! Lushi wants me to starve!"
Mavis giggled as she watched Lucy lecture Happy, the sight just too adorable and resembling a mother scolding an unruly child. These two made such a sweet pair, and she was glad that Lucy was growing more and more at ease with her, albeit warranting her having to talk about some long-suppressed memories.