After fighting off the dark guilds and wiping them off the map of Fiore, the party members began making their way to the Kou empire. Lucky for them, people of the past had created a road that directly lead from Fiore to the Kou empire so all they had to do was follow along that path. It's been fifteen days since their journey.
"This forest just keeps on going doesn't it?" Minerva said, looking far out into the distance, only to see trees, trees, and more trees.
"Not many people go to the Kou empire these days," Lucy said. "Back then, merchants traveled these roads to and fro."
Minerva mused in understanding. "How do you know that?" she asked.
"Huh?" Lucy suddenly said, startled. She laughed nervously. "It's just something that I know."
Everyone, including Nagi, looked at her suspiciously. She was definitely hiding something. But they all knew not to ask anything since she said that she would tell them about her secrets one day.
"Are there any enemies ahead?" Gray asked.
"No," Lucy replied.
During these past few days, Fairy Tail and her had been getting along oddly well. Well, most likely because Natsu was remaining silent for the past five days.
"How long until we reach the Kou empire?" Sheria asked.
"At most five days," Lucy said, turning around to look at her. "The Kou empire had begun traveling, too, and soon, we'll meet them along this road."
Sheria nodded and turned back to talking with Lyon. Lucy had continued to stay in her divine form for the remaining of the trip just in case anything suddenly happened. Happy and Lily were sticking with Nagi, desperate to avoid the advances of Natsu and Gajeel. For the rest of the five days, they camped outside on the roads. After much traveling and resting, the party finally arrived in Kou empire territory. In the distance, they could see other people along the road.
"How many people are there?" Sting said, trying to look farther.
"A hundred people?" Rogue replied.
"No..." Lyon said. "That looks more like a thousand people!"
The members looked startled and bewildered upon seeing the approaching company of people. Suddenly, Lucy shone in her divine form and her clothes changed into more sophisticated ones. One befitting the ruler of the universe. She wore more jewelry and she wore a cape like jacket with a golden phoenix as a pattern down the back. Like always, her clothes were golden and white. Lucy smirked.
"It's the Kou empire."
They all looked at her in shock as she began to walk forward in her newly changed divine form. She shone to the point where it became hard to look at her, but soon, the light only surrounded her body. Seeing Lucy changed, Nagi also began to glow a golden color. His khaki pants and black vest with a collared white shirt changed to a chinese imperial gold and white garment with a small dragon patterned cloth hanging from his obi. He looked like a small chinese prince. The members continued to look on in shock even when the Kou empire people arrived.
"State who you are and your business!" the two guards in the front shouted, blocking Lucy and Nagi from the person in the carriage from behind.
"Are you saying that the Kou empire has forgotten me?" Lucy said behind her fan.
Suddenly, a person from behind stepped forward, his eyes wide. "A-Are you..." he gulped. "Lucy-sama?"
Lucy smiled and closed her fan and smiled. "Precisely. It's been a long time, Ren Koumei, former second imperial prince of the Kou empire."
He kneeled on the ground upon hearing her answer. "This humble servant welcomes Her Majesty!"
Seeing the general kneel on the ground before the person, the other fellow soldiers and maids did so, too. The thousand man company all bowed in respect. The people behind Lucy could only watch with their mouths gaping open.
"Is your dear brother of yours not willing to come out and meet me?" Lucy asked.
Koumei glanced back in hesitation before a loud commanding voice boomed from behind. "Who ever said that?"
From the carriage appeared the famous Ren Kouen, Emperor of the Kou empire. His scarlet and golden clothes blowing from behind him as he stood upon his carriage and came walking down. They all bowed even lower, including everyone from the guilds upon seeing the Kou Empire's Emperor. Even Nagi paid his respects by bowing to him.
"It's been a long time, Lucy," Kouen said with a straight face. "A hundred years has it?"
"Still the same as ever," Lucy smiled in reply.
With no suspection from anyone, Kouen walked up to Lucy and pulled her into a hug. Koumei had his mouth on the floor as everyone else looked on with wide eyes, sweating bullets. Lucy laughed and hugged Kouen back. As Kouen released himself from her, he noticed an angry stare from Nagi.
"Who's this kid?" he asked, bending down to his level.
"Nagi Heartfilia. My son," Lucy replied. Kouen shot his eyes up at Lucy and looked at her, unwilling to believe it.
"You mean you had a son with him?!" he screamed.
"He's not so bad, Kouen. I don't get why you guys don't get along. Though Nagi's indirectly related to him, he's my son only. I used the ancient blood magic," Lucy said, pouting.
"He and I will never get along!" Kouen practically screamed, releasing some of his magic.
As the two continued talking to one another with the interference of Nagi and Koumei from time to time. Hibiki finally decided to speak up.
"Lucy, you know the Kou Empire's Emperor?" he asked hesitatingly.
The two looked at him with obvious looks. "Well yeah I know her. We're childhood friends. Right?"
Lucy nodded her head in agreement.
"Lucy-sama is renowned as the Empress of our Kou Empire despite Kouen-niisama still not being married," Kouemi said looking towards his brother. Kouen looked away as a sweat appeared on his face. "Not like it can be helped though. Lucy-sama is the only one deserving of our Kou Empire's Empress title."
Lucy laughed. "Thank you for the compliment but I'm not going to be Kou Empire's Empress. I've already agreed to marry him."
"You cannot be serious," Kouen said.
Lucy only smiled. "I'm serious."
Kouen was now flaming and on the verge of bursting. "You're still going to be Kou Empire's renowned Empress. I hereby decree that title to you even if you're not willing to become my wife."
Lucy sighed. They had been dragging this whole marriage business out for too long between she, Zeref, and him. Going against Kouen could only mean dragging it out even further.
"Just consult him about it and see if he agrees to it or not," Lucy said.
"I don't care about his opinion," Kouen said.
Lucy looked long and hard at him, the two not batting a single eye at one another. "Do whatever you want. We have to be on the road soon."
Kouen nodded, satisfied. Lucy was about to walk away before Kouen called out to her. "You're not riding in the carriage?!"
Before Lucy could refuse, she was dragged onto the carriage by fellow soldiers and soon, she found herself sitting side by side with Kouen. Nagi who was unwilling to be separated from Lucy, sat with the driver of the carriage. The others continued to walk outside, knowing they shouldn't disrupt the two of them after a sharp glare from Koumei.
"So how's it going with him?" Kouen asked, his eyes closed.
"Two more years left until we return to the Alvarez Empire," Lucy said.
"Hmmm," he said. After a long silence, he spoke up again. "I heard about what happened from that guy. Are they the people that did that to you?"
Lucy remained silent. "The ones with the Fairy Tail mark except the white-haired girl."
Kouen wanted to stand up abruptly. When Zeref had contacted him, he thought that he was going to talk about useless nonsense again but surprisingly, he didn't. Rather, he showed him a recorded lacrima vision. Upon finishing it, Kouen was at a loss of words but didn't want to believe it. So he decided to consult Lucy to see if it was really true or not and now hearing her answer, his already stern face appeared to be more clouded and he had a deadly aura coming from him.
"I'll make sure to kill them in the most painful way," he murmured.
Lucy looked at him and looked back down. "Sorry..."
He looked up at her. "Why do you say that?"
"If it wasn't me for disappearing those several years back...this wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't have caused all of you to be caught up in my mess..."
Kouen looked at her and held a hand towards her chin, lifting her face up to meet his eyes. The two locked eyes and stared at one another.
"At least you're happy, are you not? You have a wonderful son and new friends. You even got reunited with Zeref and I. What matters is the present, without the past, you might've not had those people from your new guild or your son."
Lucy looked at him and suddenly chuckled. "You're right. You spoke the same exact words as Nagi."
Kouen softly smiled at her before looking away and falling into a slight nap. Lucy closed her eyes, too, and the two sat next to each other with soft smiles on their lips. After several years of being gone from another, the two friends finally reunited.
Meanwhile, outside of the carriage~
"Did you guys know anything about the relationship between Lucy and that Emperor?" Hibiki whispered to Minerva, Sting, and Rogue.
"Nope. She just told us that it was a secret," Sting replied.
"I heard them say 100 years but maybe my hearing was wrong," Eve said.
"There's no way it's 100 years, they're only mortal," Sheria laughed.
"But what about her form? Didn't you see Lucy-san all powerful like a goddess?" Ichiya said.
Jura looked at them and remembering back to what he had promised Lucy. He spoke up.
"That was just a requip. She told me herself," Jura said.
The others looked at him with suspicious eyes but soon, their mouths changed into an o-shape and thought it made perfect sense.
"So that's why~" Sting said. "Well duh!"
"Why didn't we think of it sooner?" Lisanna said.
"We're so stupid," Rogue muttered as they all began chatting happily again.
Not minding Lucy and the Emperor. Jura sighed and relaxed, Lucy, I kept your promise. Without further questioning, the group began heading along the way down the path they came from, back to Fiore's castle where His Majesty resided.
Fiore~
With the arrival of the Kou Empire, the citizens cheered and waved and as they neared the castle gates, they were greeted by the Rune Knights as well as His Majesty himself. Kouen got out of the carriage, Lucy following behind him. Kouen stepped onto the ground and turned to help Lucy out, holding her by the hand. This earned quite a few jealous stares and squeals from the guild members. Koumei stood behind his brother whereas Nagi went to Lucy's side, taking ahold of her hand.
"We welcome you, Emperor of the Kou Empire!" the king said happily, bowing to him. As he bowed, his subjects bowed likewise.
"Rise," Kouen said in his commanding voice.
The king gulped as he saw the fierce and stern emperor before him. Noticing Lucy and how he had never seen her before, he decided to ask a question.
"And this is?" he said, motioning towards Lucy.
"I'm Lucy Heartfilia. A member of Sabertooth," she said smiling.
"And also our Kou Empire's one and only Empress," Kouen and Koumei said at the same time.
"But we're not wedded," Lucy added quickly, earning a silent glare from Kouen.
"Lucy Heartfilia?!" he said. He quickly bowed towards her, even lower compared to when he bowed to Kouen. "I have so many things to thank you for, if it wasn't for you helping me that time, I would have long been dead."
"Your Majesty, right now you stand before the country as a King. You're no longer the insufficient boy that I used to know. Seeing you lead such a prospering country is more than enough as a gift," Lucy said, smiling behind her fan as she lifted the tiny old man up.
"Shall we go in?" Lucy asked.
He nodded and everyone walked into the castle whereas the soldiers and maids that had accompanied Kouen and Koumei here retired to their own quarters within the palace grounds. Jura and Minerva walked in easily but the others could only feel out of place in the presence of such high ranking people. They never would've thought that Lucy held such a high position in the king's heart and would be friends with the great Kou Empire's young Emperor. Nor did they expect that she was the "Empress" of the Kou Empire.