Control

Ⅼ

Hundreds of people marched into Magnolia as a single unit. Their heads were held high and their faces held straight determination. In the front of the large pack was the strongest woman of Ishgar, her bruised hand held firmly by her blonde lover. She was excited. But she also feared the worst. Would the Spriggan Twelve continue to try and stop them from returning home or would Ajeel open a path?

    All the way from Hargeon, Fairy Tail trudged to their beloved guildhall to finally claim their victory over the war with Alakitasia.

    Rin would stop at nothing to return home, even if it meant opposing the Spriggan once more to do it. It would be hard, but she had faith that she could take back what was rightfully theirs.

    The streets of the town were quiet, seeing as most people had been evacuated for the oncoming war. It was an eerie silence that filled the air and sent shivers down their spines. But no matter, they pushed through. They could see it up ahead; The red, green, and gold of the building gleamed in the sunlight. However, almost half of the building had been completely incinerated. Most guessed it was due to Natsu and Zeref's battle. If that was the case, they couldn't even think of being upset.

    In front of the guild stood a collection of people of all kinds. Grandine and Makarov met up with the group from down the road, still awaiting the proper time to return. The only thing that blocked their path was the group of foreigners.

    Rin held her arm out to signal everyone to stop moving. People like Gray and Erza glared at the Spriggan, but Rin knew from the group before her that there was no fight left in them. She approached, leaving Sting to stand with the rest of Fairy Tail.

    She appeared angry which startled the oldest of the group, Yajeel who had stepped in front of his grandson protectively. Rin halted her approach, smiling slightly at the familial bond between him and Ajeel.

    "Remain calm, Yajeel-san. I would only like to speak."

    "She's okay, Gramps," the tan male relieved. The older man relaxed and calmly locked eyes with Rin's.

    "Young Rin, what is the next step in this war." Said girl pushed her hair behind one ear.

    "I would say that the war has been finalized and no longer needs to proceed further. The only question is: what will the Empire do now that the Emperor is deceased?"

    "The Empire will fall back under the normal ruling of the Imperial family. That being said, the next in line for the throne would be this one," he said as he jabbed his thumb back at Ajeel. The tan male was startled and simply stared at his grandfather with wide eyes.

    Rin couldn't help but snicker, the old man joining in with her. "We're doomed," he joked. She shook her head and approached Ajeel who teasingly glared at her. She placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to bite back her smile.

    "I hope we can be allies, Prince Ajeel—!" She burst out in a fit of laughter making the man's face burst in a wave of heat. His brows twitched as she lost her cool in front of him.

    "I hate you," he growled playfully. She smirked up at him.

    "We all know that's not true." He rolled his eyes and hit her gently on the head. Alarms began to go off in Sting's head as he watched this mysterious man—an enemy—dare to touch his woman. A low growl escaped his throat, catching the attention of his mate and her new friend. Ajeel locked eyes with him, shooting him a grin and a curt nod of respect.

    "That blondie is lucky..."

    "Hell yeah, he is," Rin added, shooting the now flustered blonde a wink. "But in all seriousness, seeing as you're going to be the new ruler of Alvarez, where does that leave us politically? The call is yours."

    "We agreed to end this war as peacefully as possible but there are surely people that will hold a grudge on both sides—"

    "It's not their decision. It's yours." Rin took a step back with an air of finality and stared him down. Some were mildly irritated at her sudden decision of forgiveness toward the enemy, but they also had to remember that she knew more about them than anyone else.

    Meanwhile, the remaining Spriggan were appalled that she'd even consider a pact among them. But most would gladly accept it for they'd rather have her as an ally than an enemy.

    "As next in line, Ajeel cannot yet officially accept any treaties until he has completed his coronation unto the throne," informed Yajeel. "But until then, I will accept in his place." Rin smiled down at the old man and outstretched a hand toward him. He shook it with a tiny smile. "Now, I believe it is best that we head back to our home. We have some cleaning up to do among the governmental system now that Zeref is dead." He took a step forward but was stopped by a purple wall that manifested before him.

    "Well, I believe that is all for politics. Now, as Rin of Fairy Tail, I offer you all drinks from the Fairy Tail bar as an act of peace." She looked at Ajeel playfully. "What do you say?"

    "I mean, the sooner I get back to Alakitasia, the sooner I have to worry about becoming king, so why the hell not?" Rin cheered like a child before running up to her boyfriend and grabbing his as well as Natsu's hand.

    "Let's go!" Everyone rushed into the destroyed guildhall and let their bodies relax. Though there was a lot of damage, a couple of barrels of wine and booze managed to survive, so they'd use it to celebrate. Although awkward at first, the Spriggan all managed to find someone to chat with as liquor began to flow into their bloodstream. Ajeel found himself sitting across from Rin and Sting who had his hand firmly latched to her waist.

    The two males continually stared each other down, knowing well of the other's intent.

    "Could you two stop?" They ignored her. Downing the beer in her stein, she used her magic to hit them both in the head with it. "Ajeel, we've talked about this before. Sting is my mate and that's that. Sting, stop being so overprotective, it's kind of annoying."

    "Like hell, I will," he snarled. "You died earlier. I'm not risking that again!"

    "Died?" Ajeel was startled. Rin simply laughed awkwardly and avoided any eye contact.

    "We were fighting Larcade and I took the hit for this one," she said pointing at the blonde. "It was either him or me and Sabertooth needs their Guild Master."

    The two males glared at her which made her roll her eyes. "You two don't get along because your similar personalities clash... I swear, the two of you together will kill me." Sting growled at her, not even liking the idea of her talking about death. "Sorry, sorry..."

    Suddenly, a rambunctious pinkette clumsily stood on top of one of the tables with Lucy at his side and Happy on his shoulders. He gave a lopsided grin as he lifted a glass high in the air.

    "For Fairy Tail!"

    Many cheers rang out after leaving a heartwarming sensation with everyone. This was home.

竜

Oh gosh I cannot believe we're at chapter 50 already! The support for this story has been insane. Buuuuuuuut, if you think it's coming to an end soon, you are absolutely wrong.

Did I set this up for one more completely original story arc?

Yup.