Celestial Fire (Nalu)

Chapter 36 - Natsu

A/N As a reminder all of my NaLu stories take place after the series ended. After the war with Zeref. It does not include Fairytail 100 years quest, So Spoilers! 💃Updates will be every Tuesday now! Sorry for the delay but life happens and all of my inspiration was for another fandom which only made writing this harder but I'm pretty sure I'm fine now. I'm all fired up! 🔥

Luce is amazing, even now standing in front of Igneel she hasn't even so much as flinched. I will admit that I was surprised about the eggs though, I mean I know when I was younger everyone thought I was stupid because I believed babies came from eggs but I just figured that was because dragon babies DO. I really didn't think that my babies would after Erza "taught" me.

We talked for a little longer and it was nice, but before long Igneel suggested we head back. Luce had been getting sleepy and was half asleep in my arms. I think her magic is supporting us to be here like the training realm, but if that is the case we should probably go home sooner than we planned.

"Don't worry, your mate is strong and she can rest without worry here. She is the new queen, or she will be soon enough." Igneel told me as we were flying back.

"What do you mean she will be?" I growled in response, she is my mate. No one else can be.

"I see your still a hot head even though you've grown up. That's good, keep that, it will keep you strong." Igneel laughed as we were finally landing in the palace courtyard. It wasn't until we had landed that I saw a large cushion and I jumped up and laid Luce on it while making sure her cloak was tucked around her.

"Luce will be my only queen," I turned back to Igneel determined that he understand that, only for him to laugh.

"Of course!" He spent a while laughing but when he was finally done he explained, "Natsu she has to earn the title of queen as of now I have never seen a human more powerful than her before. Not without discarding their humanity."

Thoughts of my brother, Zeref, came to mind. He was human, then I died. That still seems so unreal to me, but it's true. I died. Then in his grief he brought me back, then with Igneel's help I grew up. My life is so weird but, I look at Luce's peaceful sleeping face, my life brought me everything.

"Then what do you mean?" I was starting to get frustrated by all of his round about answers.

"She has to fight the dragons first," I rolled my eyes and huffed at his answer.

"You all died," I crossed my arms. Then he told me the amazing story of dragon spirits. "You're saying that even after you die you can all fight?" I mean I know I can be dumb but I'm not that dumb.

Igneel threw his head back laughing, "Natsu, only here in the dragon realm and only if we died on Earthland," I was still looking at him in disbelief. I mean that basically means that dragons are immortal right?

"But enough of that, first she needs to defeat all of the slayers currently on Earthland before she could even think to challenge a dragon, let alone me." Igneel was still laughing but I bare my teeth, he wants to fight my mate?

"Luce will win," I ground out and Igneel picked me up and I stared into his golden eyes.

"I know, I am only a shadow of who I used to be but even if I wasn't I can still see the difference. I don't know how you two became so strong in such a short time but that doesn't change the fact that you have." He looked at me sadly before continuing, "Natsu once she defeats me, I will become even weaker, my strength will become a part of her, a part of you. I won't disappear again. I will forever be bound to you both." His words seemed so heavy and sad. But now I'm even more confused.

"Then why are you so sad?" I stood there on his palm waiting for an answer.

"Because that means that I can't protect you any longer. You will have to grow up and protect all those under you, you will have to build from the ground up a kingdom all your own since the one I ruled has long since gone. I can only give you the land but you will have to fight wars to reclaim it. I never wanted that," I cocked my head looking at him before I grinned.

"Dad, I am a Fairytail wizard. There isn't anything I can't do, not so long as I have Luce by my side," I laughed and we talked for a long time afterwards. I'm not going to pretend to understand everything but I'm pretty sure that Luce will have a better idea on the things that I don't. Besides if I think back there has to be several dragon slayers that I don't even know about yet. I demanded help and all those dragon roars could not have belonged to just the ones I know.

"Dad, how many dragon slayers are there?" I asked and he had stopped his laughing and looked at me thoughtfully.

"You found more than the chosen?" He asked as if he were on guard and I told him about when I was chained to the bottom of the sea and everything that happened. It took a while but he slowly just nodded his head yes.

"I see, that means the babies have already started to recognize you. They will start coming to look for you now. When we sent you all 400 years into the future you were hardly more than babies but there were several more that were nothing but infants. They would have had no instruction at all." He sounded so sad again so I asked him about it.

"Natsu, to send a toddler out is a disgrace among dragons, we are fiercely protective our young so to send such a young child to fend for themselves is only done when the child would have only suffered more if we hadn't. But to send a baby out into the world? One that can't even talk or walk yet? It would have been a pain worse than thousands of deaths piled on top of each other. Thier dragon parent would have suffered extreme pain even as they stayed within their bodies to create the antibodies. They would still protect them as best as they could but the fact would remain, their baby would not have felt the love of their dragon parent." Igneel's words seemed to stab into my chest and it was almost like I could feel a shadow of the pain he was talking about.

If something would have happened to Happy what would I have done? How would I have coped?

"Yes Natsu, I see that you understand what I mean. Enough of this though, sleep my son we can talk more in the morning when you are rested. I'll tell you anything that you wish to know and don't worry, I'll be here."

I held Luce and Happy close to me and closed my eyes looking up and the stars above us in the palace court hard. So much has changed in such a small amount of time. Yet, somehow I don't feel overwhelmed or afraid in the least.

I feel...

Alive.