Nobody's P.O.V

It's been about three days since the whole incident in the medical room, and by Wendy's request, everyone got settled in in their own rooms in the palace, although Wendy kept her original room in the tallest tower. Zancrow and Rustyrose tried to escape once, so they were confined to the dungeon, proving to be untrustworthy.

Arcadios, Chief of the Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadron, and Darton, Minister of Defense, knocked on the doors of everyone (besides Wendy, although they somehow snuck Carla out) and called them into the dining room, where the king, Toma E. Fiore, waited for their arrival, Arcadios and Darton taking their places by his sides.

"Welcome, everyone. Please accept my apologies for calling you all out so unexpectedly," he said, once everyone had taken a seat. "I have called all of you out here for a meeting about a very important matter concerning Wendy." He cleared his throat, a sense of forbidding filling the air. "Now, I know that some of you cannot remember much about Fiore, but over these last few days, I have deemed you all to be trustworthy and think you have gained enough information on the now-a-day world to be trusted with this information." A pause. "My daughter, Princess Hisui E. Fiore, was struck in battle and received life-threatening wounds during Alakitsia attack."

Everyone in the room sucked in a breath, while the king, Chelia, Arcadios, and Darton looked down mournfully.

The king continued, his voice sober. "She will live, but her time will be confined in in a hospital bed. Not even sky magic can heal her wounds, for they are too deep. She also has severe damage to the brain, so she often faints and her body is unable to function correctly. I am afraid that she is unable to fulfill her duties as princess confined in a bed. I am getting old, and need a heir to assist me as I rule over Fiore, and eventually tale my place on the throne."

As one, everyone's eyes widened in realization of what he was saying, but only Natsu had the gut to put their suspicion into words. "Wendy," he whispered.

The king nodded grimly. "That's right. Wendy spent a lot of time caring for Hisui when all the other attendants were busy due to having to assist with reconstruction for the several cities that were damaged during the war, so the two got to know each other quite well. I asked Hisui herself who she would decide as her replacement, and she choose Wendy without a int of hesitation. I think that it's a sign. Although Hisui barely knew Wendy, she had such trust and confidence in her, to which I personally feel the same way. She had for Hisui relentlessly, and obviously cares for her friends, by the way she so strongly requested the the search parties for you."

"I understand your decision, as she is certainly a very kind and loyal girl, but why call us all the way here so you could tell us this without consulting her?" Orga asked.

The king sighed. "Arcadios. Would you please explain why I have gathered them here?"

"Yes, You Majesty," the knight replied, turning his attention to the group of mages. "As Chief of the Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadron, my duty is, not only to lead the royal army, but I am also the protector of Princess Hisui. Even with her current state, my devotion, nor my loyalty to her, has not changed. Because of this, I am unable to manage the knights, are for Princess Hisui, and guard Wendy-dono at the same time. This is why I request that you all, who are the only ones who know Wendy-dono and are the ones she trusts most, protect her at all costs. There are few who will accept a new princess, especially one who nobody knows about, and there will likely be rebellion against her."

"We realize that we are asking you the unreasonable, but I believe that Wendy-dono needs protection now more then during any other time, since her magic power is mostly depleted, as she has spent a majority of her time with the princess, trying to numb her pain," Darton added.

"Please," the king said, standing on his chair and bowing, Arcadios and Darton doing the same from their positions on the floor.

"I accept," Chelia and Carla said in usion, Chelia standing up almost immediately after they stated their request, lifting Carla into her arms in the process.

"Really?" the king asked, lifting his head in surprise.

"Yeah!" Chelia said, her voice determined. "I'm Wendy's best friend after all. If I'm not going to protect her, then who do you expect will?"

"Hmph. Of course I'll protect Wendy. She raised me after all. Who else am I supposed to partner with if net her? We're friends after all," Carla declared.

"If Chelia's in, then I'm in too. We're cousins after all," Sherry said, standing up as she hair-flipped.

"Carla... Sherry..." Chelia breathed, voiced both awed and relieved.

"Hell yeah!" Natsu exclaimed, pouncing up as he pumped his fist into the air.

"Aye!" Happy agreed, jumping up.

"I'll do it if Natsu-san's in," Sting said, also standing up.

"We'll protect Wendy-kun, yes," Lector declared, hopping onto the table.

"Fro thinks so too!" Frosch said, raising his hand as he joined Lector.

Rogue nodded, pushing his chair back as he stood up. "We promise to protect her."

"Lily and I are doing it too!" Gajeel announced, knocking his chair over as he stood.

"Yeah," Pantherlily agreed, joining the other cats.

"Let's do it too, Laxus!" Bickslow urged.

"Yeah!" Evergreen pushed, "Let's protect Wendy!"

"Guys, you're being rude!" Freed interjected.

"No," Laxus said, silencing the trio. "We'll do it."

"Laxus!" Bickslow and Evergreen exclaimed in relief.

"Are you sure about this?" Freed asked.

"Yeah."

Orga smirked. "I'm not going to be losing to Laxus anytime soon. Rufus, we're in."

"Was there even any question?"

"Nope."

"I'll do it," Gray said, shrugging as he got up.

"That's the spirit, Gray," Lyon smirked, also standing up.

"Let's do it, Jellal," Meredy urged, getting up.

Jellal nodded. "I don't see any harm in it, and plus, I still owe her a favor."

"That's love, yes?" Hot Eye exclaimed, raising to his feet.

"What are you guys going to do?" Midnight asked Cobra, Racer, and Angel as he got up.

"You're doing it?" Angel asked in surprise.

Midnight nodded. "And you?"

Angel sighed. "Fine," she groaned.

Everyone stared at Cobra and Racer, who remained seated.

Racer sighed as well after a while. "What a pain," he complained. "Cobra, you might as well."

"What do I get from it?"

"Well, Midnight, Angel, Hot Eye, and I are all doing it."

Cobra clicked his tongue. "Fine."

"Thank you," the king sighed with relief.

"Don't sweat it. We would have protected her anyway. After all, she's one of the only people we- or at least I- can trust," Natsu said work a grin.

"Aye!" Happy one again exclaimed, jumping up from his stance on the table.

~*.*-*.*~*.*-*.*~*.*-*.*~

"Father, I did not expect your visit. So, did it go well?" Princess Hisui asked, wincing slightly as she changed into a sitting position on her bed. Her head, arms, and legs were wrapped in white bandages, covering the majority of her pale skin.

"Quite well, indeed. They took it much better than I had thought," the King replied, taking a seat on the stood next to the bed. "They all agreed and it went smoothly, although it did take a bit of convincing for Cobra. I do believe that he will be loyal to her, though, so I assume this will go without incident. How did I go with her?" the king asked, referring to how he had tasked his daughter with telling Wendy about her new position as princess.

Hisui chuckled warily. "She was very flustered and at first denied her capabilities, and deemed herself inadequate for the position."

"So did she consent, or not?" the king urged.

Hisui hesitated, before answering, "In the end, she concurred, but wasn't exactly keen on announcing it to the public..."

"Meaning?" the king asked, getting slightly impatient.

Hisui sighed. "She doesn't want to make the coronation public- in fact, she doesn't want this to be revealed to the public all together."

"What?!" he exploded. "The point of her ruling was for her to be able to take over your duties and take part in meetings and-"

"Father!" Hisui interrupted, seeming to somewhat calm the king down. "She can still do those things. Even as princess, I often rejected going out in public as many times as possible, so it shouldn't be a problem. She will also still be able to take part in meetings, for that will not require her to appear in front of the people."

The king took a deep breath."I suppose you are right. Now, I must go," he said, standing up. "I advise that you get some sleep. You seem quite weary."

"You're right," she agreed, laying back down. "I am quite a bit worn out."

"I shall see you later then, my daughter," he said, and with a whoosh of his cloak, he stalked out the door.

After the king had left, Hisui smiled to herself. A sister, huh?

~*.*-*.*~*.*-*.*~*.*-*.*~

Wendy started out the window, peering down at the wide expanse of red roofs below her, beyond the maze of hedges and flowers that made up the gardens. But she wasn't focused on the city. Instead, she looked off to a certain direction, over the hills and valleys, to a place that was once her home.

Wendy heard footsteps approaching the door with her dragon hearing, and then the sound of the door opening, just by a crack.

"Wendy?"

"Do you need something, Natsu-san?" She asked, not turning around to face him.

"No. I just wanted to check up on you," he replied, joining her by the window.

For a moment, the two of them stood in silence, watching add the palace attendants helped the construction workers as they rebuilt all the damage done to Crocus from the Alakitsia Attack, add the people called it.

"Hey Natsu-san," she asked hazily, "Have you ever heard of a place called Magnolia?"

"Magnolia...?" he pondered. "Come to think of it,  I do recall Igneel once telling me that we were training in a forest near a town called Magno-something, so it was probably Magnolia."

"Really?" she asked excitedly, turning to face him, her face lighting up in a smile. "It's over there," she said, pointing in the direction she was gazing at before Natsu had come.

"Over there, huh? I'd sure like to go there again. Maybe after we all regain our memories. Then we could all go together." He grinned at her, watching as her once excited face turned into one of pure terror. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Wendy immediately composed her face. "Nothing," she said hurriedly. "You're right. It would do us good to visit sometime, but not now. Maybe not for a long while," she whispered the last part, so quietly that Natsu wasn't able to hear, not even with his enhanced dragon hearing.

"Then when?" he asked. 

"I don't know. All of Ishgar is currently in a mess due to all the destruction, and I imagine that magnolia must be in pretty bad shape as well. I hope that we will be able to go once all the chaos has settled down, but that won't be for a while- not with all the riots happening in the other continents. The citizens there are quite unhappy about being taken over by Fiore- even if it's for the best. They would have eventually collapsed and fallen if e hadn't done it," she sighed.

"Now," Natsu said, looking at her with surprised eyes. "You really know your politics. No wonder they chose you to be the new princess. I bet that all of Ishgar will be pleased to have you rule them."

Wendy winced at the reminder. "You don't know yet, do you..." she whispered, loud enough for him to hear.

"Know what?"

Wendy hesitated. "My coronation... It won't be made public. In fact, the royal family and trusted palace attendants will do their utmost to make sure that the fact that a new princess was crowned will not be made public."

By this point, Natsu was fuming. "Why?! The public should be able to know about their new princess! It's their right to be aware of what is happening with the royal family that rules over them!"

"Calm down, Natsu-san!" Wendy pleaded. "It was my request! None are allowed to know about this confidential secret- for it would cause an uprage on top of the already out-of-hand riots. Even the royal army would be unable to contain angered citizens, even with the help of the guilds. In fact, I doubt that even the guild would not be the least bit angry. Even though they were once our friends, which you don't remember, they don't remember us either. They currently think that we are unknown strangers, and are probably wary of us. They probably wouldn't like the prospect off someone who is untrustworthy to them ruling the land they live in," she reasoned.

Natsu took at deep breath, calming himself. "I suppose you're right," he admitted.

She gave him a small smile. "Don't worry. Anything that I need to publicize will be put under the name of 'the princess,' so I assume that most will think 'princess' refers to Hisui-hime, for the public does not know about her current condition either."

Natsu keeled down so they were at eye level and peered into her eyes, face serious. "I know. I won't worry. I trust you- we all do. Even Cobra, no matter how reluctant he seems. We have faith in you and will follow you in whatever path you choose. We are the only ones who know and understand each other- the only people who are there for each other. We won't abandon any other, even in the most dire of situations, besides Zancrow and Rustyrose, of course. If we don't have each other, there will be know one else who knows us, who can confirm our identities. Always remember that: we will always be there for you, just as you will always be there for us, so don't try to handle the burden all alone. We're with you."

And with that, he left.

"Yeah, I know. Thank you."

~*.*-*.*~*.*-*.*~*.*-*.*~

"Wow! You're so pretty, Wendy!" Chelia fawned, watching with Sherry, Evergreen, Meredy, and Angel as Wendy twirled in her striking blue coronation dress (multi-media).

"R-really?" Wendy stuttered, flustered from all the attention.

"Of course you are! We picked it out for you, after all," Sherry assured confidently.

"We should have added some feathers," Angel muttered to herself.

"It looks good even without the feathers," Meredy said.

"Thank you everybody, but you don't need to make suck a big fuss. Not many will be attending anyway," Wendy reminded.

"Don't sweat the small stuff. It doesn't matter how many are attending. What's important is that you look your best for your coronation. You only become crown princess once, you know," Chelia said.

Wendy sighed. "I know, but I can't help but feel like I'm stealing the position from Hisui-hime. It was originally gets to begin with. It's like I'm taking her right, her future."

"Oh, stop being such a worrywart," Sherry scolded. "She gave you the position, knowing fully well what would happen. In fact, it's probably for the best. She can't do anything while being cooped in her bed while randomly having seizures, now can we?"

"I guess you're right," Wendy admitted, looking down shamefully. "But still, is this really a need for putting the Great Hall into use? I know I'm being crowned princess, but why do we need to use it if there are so little people coming at it won't be made public?"

Angel sighed, placing her hand on her forehead as she shook her head. "You don't get it, do you? Listen. This is going to the be most important moment of your life. Even if you were doing this all alone, there are certain requirements that need to be fulfilled. Just because this is a private ceremony doesn't mean it should be a dull one."

Sherry, Chelia, and Meredy all nodded in agreement. 

"Girls, hurry up," Carla scolded, coming into the room. "They need you in the hall."

"Okay. Well, we'll be going, Wendy. Good luck," Chelia said, and with that, they were gone.

"Geez," Carla said, hopping onto one of the chairs. "They really need to have more precision on their timing. You're up in five minutes, okay Wendy?"

"Yeah. I just hope I won't mess up."

"What's there to be worried about? Everyone there is your friend. You have no reason to be embarrassed. And besides, I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Carla."

"Of course. What are friends for? Now come on. It's almost time for your coronation, Princess Wendy Marvel E. Fiore."