Hi everybody! I cannot believe it has been so long! So sorry! Please don't kill me! I have to have fun on my vacation too ya know! Now I sound like Naruto... Awesome! OK, enough of my craziness. I was going to upload this three days ago, but we suddenly arranged to go to a friend's chalet in the mountains and to my knowledge there was no wifi, and I wasn't allowed to bring my computer with me anyway, sooo yeah. Oh, guys, would you guys be interested in a sasusaku vamp fanfic? If you are, please let me know in the comments or by messaging me. Anything works. If so, I'll work on that immediately. Now, without further ado, on to chapter 29!!

          After Lucy got cleaned up and Aquarius reapplied her makeup for her, they went to join the others in the big salon they were seated in. It was an elegantly furnished salon with rich red couches, gold-bordered white curtains and a mosaic floor.

          As soon as they walked in, all heads turned to them.

          "Well it's about time you two got here! Loke wouldn't tell us how he became prince until you arrived!" Gray exclaimed.

          Erza promptly smacked him over the head, hard.

         "Ow!" he yelped. "What was that for?!"

          "For being insensitive," Erza said icily as she gave Gray a withering look.

          Gray immediately retreated and cowered behind Cana who was doing her best not to laugh out loud. Then Erza turned to Lucy and Aquarius with a gentle smile on her face.

          "So, is everything okay between the two of you now?" she asked.

          "Everything is just fine," Lucy said, smiling at Aquarius.

          "Good because you took my babe away from me for too long. We are!" said a man as he walked up to them and snaked an arm around Aquarius' waist. Aquarius made a small squeak sound and blushed.

          Lucy's eyes widened as she took in the gesture. The newcomer was tall; just a bit taller than Aquarius, with slicked back hair that was red on one side and white on the other. He had tan skin with strange white triangles under his onyx eyes. Lucy could tell he was quite muscular mostly because he wasn't wearing a shirt, and his pants were sort of baggy, like Natsu's pants, with a red zigzag running along the sides. He had two pistols hanging from his belt that had some sort of cool design etched into the metal. Over all, he looked badass, totally matching Aquarius in that area.

          "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name," Lucy said politely as she couldn't help but grin like an idiot because she saw that Aquarius had found someone.

          "Scorpio's the name. One of Loke's appointed guards. Great to meet ya, Lucy. I've heard a lot about ya. We are!" Scorpio said amiably.

          Lucy's smile grew at the informality; she liked him already.

          "Scorpio!" Aquarius hissed, clearly embarrassed that Lucy now knew that she talked about her.

          Scorpio just laughed and pulled Aquarius closer. Lucy couldn't help but start squealing at the cute couple.

          "W-What is that sound? Stop it at once, Lucy!" Aquarius said flustered.

          Lucy started laughing and everyone else's laughter seemed to mingle with hers. As everyone was laughing at Aquarius' expense, Lucy noticed a woman who was quietly laughing to herself that she hadn't noticed before. She guessed that that was Loke's third guard. The woman had bubble gum pink hair that curled at the end and was held back by a cream colored headband, and doe brown eyes. She was wearing a long sleeve beige shirt that had a small black design along the neckline and cuffs, and she was wearing black pants along with black ankle boots. Lucy thought she was very beautiful.

          Lucy quietly made her way to the pink haired woman, going unnoticed by the other as they were teasing Aquarius. She sat down next to her on the couch and said, "Hello. I don't believe we've met. I'm Lucy."

          The pink haired woman started a little and bowed her head quickly as she said in a soft voice, "O-Of course I know who you are, Lucy-hime. My n-name is Aries. S-Sumimasen."

          "Why are you apologizing?" Lucy asked confused.

          "Excuse me, Lucy-hime, I tend to say that a lot. S-Sumimasen," she said again.

          "Oh, well, that's all right I guess," Lucy smiled, thinking that her verbal tick and stuttering was cute. "But please don't call me Lucy-hime; I don't like the title."

          "But it wouldn't f-feel right," Aries said, squirming a little bit.

          "Please? I would really feel strange with you being the only one to call me hime out of the rest of them," Lucy said, gesturing to the rest of the people in the room.

          Aries squirmed a bit more before asking, "L-Lucy-sama then?"

          Lucy still didn't like it very much, but seeing that it really made Aries uncomfortable she agreed.

          As soon as everyone quieted down, Erza spoke to Loke, "So, please do tell us, how did you become a prince, Loke?"

          "Well," said Loke, clearing his throat. "For the benefit of Lucy-hime, I will shed some light on the past Erza, Gray, and Cana know first."

          "Thank you, that's very kind of you," Lucy said with a polite smile.

           "Why of course, milady," he said, flashing her a dazzling smile. "Now, where to begin? Ah yes, you see, I wasn't always a prince."

          Scorpio and Gray simultaneously snorted. Loke shot them a glare, but immediately went back to his cheerful demeanor.

          "As I was saying, I actually wasn't a prince to begin with. I was actually an orphan, just like Erza, Gray, and well, sort of Cana I guess," he said.

         Lucy looked at Cana and back at Loke.

          "What do you mean sort of?" she asked, confused.

          "It's a long story, I'll tell you later," Cana said with a wave of her hand as she took another swig of her hidden flask.

          "Ok then. Please continue," Lucy said.

          "Right, so I was an orphan, and I lived in Fairy Tail just like those three, without a care in the world. Fairy Tail was my home and family like I'm sure it was for the rest of you. Eventually though, everyone started getting jobs, and I stayed behind. I'd always dreamed of traveling the world, so I rounded up what money I could and started traveling. By the time I made it to Celestial, needless to say, I was in pretty bad shape. I had no money, no food, and I was pretty disappointed at how my voyage had turned out. Obviously, I probably shouldn't have decided to travel the world as a kid and on my own. Master warned me, but I didn't really listen, as always. When I was in Celestial, the King happened to be doing an inspection. He took me off the streets, cleaned me up, and graciously asked if he could adopt me as his son as he had no heir of his own. I was thrilled to accept, and I found myself another family in addition to Fairy Tail. Thus, I became the proud prince of the Kingdom of Celestial!" he finished with a flourish.

          As soon as he finished, someone started clapping. Everyone turned to look at Aries who was clapping excitedly with a light blush adorning her cheeks. When she noticed all the eyes on her, Aries immediately stopped and flushed red.

          "S-Sumimasen," Aries said immediately.

          "It's quite alright. Thank you very much for your enthusiasm," Loke said with a genuine looking smile.

         His eyes lingered on Aries for a bit longer than they should have and Aries gave him a timid smile in return. Oh? This is interesting, thought Lucy to herself, I may be reading into things, but those two seem to really like each other.

          "Well," Lucy said, clapping her hands once and standing up. "I have been a terrible host, now haven't I? Sobbing in front of Prince Loke and running off, so why don't I make up for it by taking you on a tour of the castle grounds, how does that sound?"

          "D-D'ont worry, Luyc-sama; you haven't b-been a t-terrible host. S-Sumimasen," Said Aries.

          Lucy smiled warmly at Aries in thanks before Loke perked up and kissed the back of Lucy's hand, "We would be honored if you showed us around, my angel."

          Lucy quickly withdrew her hand and laughed. Nice try, she thought to herself.

          So Lucy went ahead and showed them all around the castle. During that time she was able to learn a lot more about Prince Loke and his attendants. He had insisted she not call him Prince and was very friendly with her, and Lucy was very happy to be able to confirm that what Virgo had said was true, he was a genuinely nice person and not like the other suitors, even if he did use a pick up line every five sentences. They had both become fast friends. She had also taken the time to talk to Scorpio, Aquarius' boyfriend, and found him a very loud and outgoing person who loved Aquarius very much. Lucy could tell that Aquarius also loved him very much and was very happy for her mother figure. She was already secretly planning their wedding. She also got to know Aries a bit more and instantly loved the shy girl. She still had a feeling that she liked Loke, but as long as there was no solid proof, Lucy wasn't going to make assumptions. Now all that was left was the ball. 

So, how did you guys like this chapter? I know it was a little boring, but we need some backstory ya know? And a little speculation on Lucy's part about Loke and Aries' relationship. Who knows? Now then, as always it's time for our next guest! Welcome....Aquarius!

Aquarius: What the hell is this shit?

Meena: Aquarius! Language! We may have young readers! Not that I know for sure but still...

Aquarius: What do I care! Let me out of here! Why can't I go back to the spirit world?

Meena: I am in control of this space. Will you just answer a couple questions for me and then you can go home?

Aquarius: Are you saying that there is no way I can get out of here until I answer your questions?

Meena: Absolutely.

Aquarius: Fine... Make it quick!

Meena: What do you think of Lucy's love life?

Aquarius: *snorts* She doesn't have one.

Meena: *rolls eyes* Please be serious! Or I'm not letting you out of here.

Aquarius: Fine, that Natsu guy that's always with her seems good for her.

Meena: Waaahhh!!! I love you even more now!!

Aquarius: I'm not really into that... I have a boyfriend!

Meena: Not like that! Anyway, can you just read the disclaimer?

Aquarius: Why do I have to read the disclaimer? I am one of the golden zodiac keys!

Meena: You're not getting out of here.

Aquarius: Fine. Meena doesn't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. If she did, there would be a lot more Scorpio and Aquarius moments, and Scorpio and Aquarius would have loads of children and... oh...my... *turns as red as Erza's hair, starts fanning herself* This is... I would love a life like this *and wobbles before falling*

Meena: *fist bumps the air* Yes! I even made Aquarius faint! This is why I didn't choose Scorpio to interview because I am sure nothing would make him faint. I didn't know about Aquarius either, but it worked! By giving her her fantasy life! So guys, hope you enjoyed. Starting next chapter, things are going to get dramatic people! What is going to happen at the ball? What is going to happen before the ball? What is Natsu and Lucy's future looking like? When will I stop asking questions dramatically? Now. So, sasusaku fanfic anybody? Vote, comment, follow, and I will see you next time. Ciao!