With enough incentive, Natsu could walk a hole through any floor. He paced like a circus bear, stressed out and anxious while August sat on a plush velvet seat and stared at the treasury door with so much concentration, Natsu half expected his eyes and ears to start bleeding. But they didn't.

He looked out at the stormy sky. At first, it was just dust and debris in the air, but now storm clouds gathered, and thunder rumbled in the distance as though it strove to mimic his mood. A good rain would flood the dungeons. People would take sick, shivering and suffering until the very end.

He hated the dungeons but found he didn't have much of a stomach for beheading, either. It was foolish to abolish both when he had no other incentive for his people not to commit crime.

He wondered if Zeref ever thought about this stuff in his time as king.

There was a pop like the air rushing from a balloon. August gasped and pulled away. Natsu was by his side in a second, peering over his shoulder at the magical vault his brother had installed in the treasury. It was a simple box in every regard, except it looked as though it were made of gold. It had no turning mechanism to open the door. It needed to be opened by magic, nothing else would do.

"Did you do it?" badgered Natsu.

August cradled his hands to his chest; they were starting to blister. He pinched his eyes and shook his head. "I don't have enough magical energy left, Majesty. The spell has recoiled on me."

Natsu entertained grabbing his thin shoulders and pulling him aside. August adjusted and Natsu saw the blisters were moving up August's arms, glistening, threatening to pop, and surprised himself by thinking better of such harsh actions to save himself some pain. Perhaps all the years listening to Zeref telling him he was too rash were starting to catch up with him.

"Leave it with me, Majesty. Once I've recovered my magical energy, I'll open it and you'll have your records," August promised.

Natsu cast a glance outside to the ruined dungeons. It'd been hours and the excavation was well underway. Bodies lay side-by-side, a score of them so far. Far too many. He couldn't help but feel responsible for their demise. To keep helpless anger at bay, he clenched his fingers tight, nails biting holes in his palms.

"Tell me what you saw, August, when you were out by the dungeon." He'd been avoiding asking for as long as possible.

August sighed as though the truth weighed heavy on his shoulders. "As I was returning to the palace from the gardens, I saw your wife, the queen, standing beneath the dungeon. She was drawing magic circles on the brick. She was using a great deal of magical energy, the air was burning with it, which is what called me that way, to begin with. It is not the most direct route to my quarters, as you know." He cast a tired look at Natsu. "She's a powerful mage."

He knew that; he just thought her power was restricted to her spirits. A magic circle. Where did a duchess learn such tricks? Where did she have time? All his royal life he spent learning all the things he was told were important to learn. Manners. Swordplay. Appropriate ways to smile and greet foreigners. The right way to woo a potential suitor. Useless things. All of it.

"Then?" Natsu urged.

"And then the stone started fracturing, Majesty, and I realized she was trying to release the beast," August answered. "I tried to stop her spell, but it was too late, the dragon was breaking free and the tower was crumbling and crushing everything in its path. Both her Majesty—" he almost tripped on the formality, but August was a stickler for titles "—and I, we ran for our lives. The dragon went after her. I thought it would take her for certain, and I couldn't let that happen. She had to answer for her crimes, so I intervened." And saved Lucy's life. Natsu was torn between thanking him for it and demanding to know why. Now instead of simply hurting, he had confusion to deal with, too. So far, he did not enjoy being in love.

Natsu turned on a man in a guard uniform, one of the many that were trailing after him like lemmings. "Are the archers on the roof?"

"As you requested." It was Dimaria that answered, stepping out from behind her guards and crossing to him. Her armour was filthy, streaked with dried blood and caked with dust. "We've made it through the rubble by the wall. We can start to patch it up." She looked to August expectantly and Natsu felt even worse as the old man tiredly lifted himself out of his seat, intent on expending magic he didn't have.

"August is exhausted. Find someone else," Natsu protested.

"There is no one else that can do the warding spell, Majesty," August said heavily and hobbled to the door.

Natsu grit his teeth, realizing he'd lied to himself; he was still massively impulsive. He breathed deep, determined to live with the consequences. It was better August expire building and reinforcing a wall to keep Eileen out than to have her muster her strength again and destroy them. They were too-easy targets. He turned on Dimaria. "Brandish?"

Her eyes flashed like medallions. She was furious, though whether it was about Eileen destroying a large chunk of the palace or Natsu's resistance, he couldn't be sure. Zeref trusted in her loyalties, but Natsu was under the impression that she was a thorn, looking to stab whoever came too close.

"I found her in the rubble," Dimaria explained. "She has injuries, but I'm told by the infirmary apprentices that she'll survive."

He wished he could tell her Lucy would heal her, but he was afraid any mention of his rebellious wife would send Dimaria into a rage that would only end when Lucy was short a head. "Put guards here, too," he said instead, earning himself an inquisitive glance from August. "In case Eileen decides she'd destroy this place as well. We need to protect what funds we have." And our assassins list. He looked meaningfully at the old man, trying to convey his words without giving away any pertinent information in case one of these people were Eileen's people.

What a terrible way to live, he thought morosely. If they made it out of this, how would he ever trust any of his people again?

"Wise, Majesty," August said at last and exited the treasury.

Dimaria stood at attention, obviously waiting for Natsu to make a command of her. He had no idea what to do next. He wasn't a tactician, he'd never fought a real battle, the storming of the Fernandez fief the closest he'd come. He scoured his thoughts, vying for something useful.

"We should know where Eileen is," he decided. "And if she's a dragon or a woman. Take a group of your best and find her. She can't have gone far."

Dimaria lifted her eyebrow. "She can fly." So full of scorn, this woman who'd blackened his eye more times than he could count and showed him how to fling around his sword with at least some skill.

"Yes, but she's been wronged, and everything she wants is here," Natsu reasoned. Or hoped he reasoned. "She'll be back. We'll need warning for when the time comes. Tell your people not to engage."

Dimaria swooped into a full bow in front of Natsu for the first time ever. He was so shocked, he had to take a moment to understand what was happening.

"Thank you," he murmured foolishly, feeling his neck heat.

Dimaria's eyes still flashed like shattered glass, waiting to cut anyone ridiculous enough to get close, but her lips twitched in amusement. She turned with a flourish and cut her way through the guards. Natsu remained in the treasury for a moment, glaring at the safe. It held important answers. He just needed to figure out a way to get through it. That seemed impossible now, so he turned his thoughts toward something he hoped was a little more productive.

As he walked, Natsu meticulously turned Lucy's keys through his fingers. The metal was warm and hummed with magic and feeling. If pushed to name it, he'd call it annoyance. Her spirits were unhappy with him. He squeezed the burning metal tight and stepped through the dungeon's entrance monitored by the stone guards. The scent of death and unwashed human swaddled him with each step down the stairs.

The first time Lucy had been brought to the castle, she'd been left here amongst the rats and the death.

She was in the same cell, sitting in the corner on a thin pile of hay with her filthy skirts fanned out around her legs.

She looked up when Natsu approached but her facial expression never changed. She looked hollow and sad. The only clean places on her face were left from tear tracks. Someone had bruised her cheek. Seeing it put cold rage in Natsu's heart. He was so full of emotions, he didn't know where to start or end, or how he was expected to feel them all.

"Leave us," Natsu said to his guards with no idea if they were going to obey him or not.

"She's dangerous, Your Majesty," said the guard on the right.

"She's bound in magic-sealing cuffs and is locked in a cage," Natsu reminded him. "I'll be fine. Leave us."

He didn't bother looking back to see if he was obeyed, just expecting it to be so. After a prolonged moment, Natsu heard their retreating steps. He and Lucy were alone. "Stand," Natsu ordered of her.

She turned her dead-eyed stare on him and obeyed, using the walls to lift herself. She winced against the sting of her wounds.

Natsu held out his hand to her in a silent command. She stepped toward the cell door with the air of a lady stepping up to the gallows. She'd probably heard tales of Zeref's madness all her life; why should she think his brother would be any different or better? But Natsu was not his brother, and when Lucy was within reaching distance, he lifted his hand to her cheek and gently grazed the raised lump. She grimaced but did not pull away.

"Which guard?"

"Slaying your guards won't earn you any political favour, Majesty," Lucy said in a voice roughened by dust.

Natsu simply stared her down. She cast her eyes aside. "Brennan, I believe his name was."

Natsu was familiar with the guard. He whipped his horse raw and had made some enemies of the women around the castle. Zeref had never been able to get one of them to speak out against him, so he remained unpunished.

No longer, Natsu thought.

"Tell me why you were beneath Cthulhu's Palace."

Surprise danced in Lucy's eyes, lighting them up for the first time in hours. It died into petulance. "I thought it was to break the seal and let Lady Eileen out. That's what they say."

Anger sped through Natsu. "My advisors are calling for your head. Don't play games."

"I'm as good as dead anyway," she whispered. Natsu could feel her breath against his palm, fluttering as weak as a dying heartbeat. He told himself to stop touching her, but his traitorous fingers had moved from her cheek to her filthy locks and now he was sliding the knotty strands between his fingers. Lucy lifted her big brown eyes to his, wet all over again. Tears streamed down her cheeks and dropped on the filthy floor. Natsu felt his heart wrench like a fishhook had been lodged in its soft flesh. If he pulled it out, some would tear with it, certainly.

Lucy said, "Lady Eileen is going to kill me." She looked slightly faint. "Even in here, she'll find me, and she'll kill me." Her breath hitched. "Please. If you're going to take my head, do it. I would rather it be you. She's awful."

Natsu's fingers tightened in Lucy's locks, making her wince and her eyes focused on his, steadier. "You're not doing anything until I understand. Why did you release her? Answer me."

Her breath expelled and with it some of her manic fear. It was replaced with something much worse. Helpless laughter tinged with madness. It bubbled out of her and set Natsu's rage on fire. It took all his will to breathe evenly, to not scream in her face, to not melt the bars between them and demand that she give him her answers, or he'd burn them out of her.

Lucy abruptly sobered. Her gaze fixed on his, and she must have seen the rage there, but amazingly, she did not flinch away. She stepped into it, into him, as closely as she could. She pressed her face against the bars, her mouth inches from his ear. "I watched your man August lay a self-destruction circle on the brick. I was trying to break it. That's why I was there."

Natsu breathed too heavily. His thoughts entangled, one after the other as their stories conflicted with each other. "Stop lying."

"I'm dead anyway," Lucy said into his ear. Her voice was flat and empty. "I have no reason to lie."

"Lying is what you do," Natsu reminded her. "You can't help it."

She laughed and sobbed at the same time, reaching for him desperately with her sealed hands. Natsu's immediate reaction was to pull away, but Lucy captured his face between her hands, her movements awkward with the bars between them, and pulled him in so she could put her mouth against his and he was paralyzed. It was the most contemptuous kiss Natsu had ever had the pleasure of experiencing. It left him frustrated and distraught, at a loss of what to think or feel or say. So, he did nothing but kiss her back.

Lucy released him too soon and stepped back. "Just burn me up, Natsu. Do it now, before Eileen comes for me and punishes me for betraying her." She raised her chin and stood straight, proudly waiting for his fires to consume her.

"Lucy…"

"Before I lose my nerve."

Her gate keys were thrumming in Natsu's pocket, her spirits righteously angry. That's how he knew she was serious. She stood with her face tipped to the stony ceiling, lashes resting against her pale and bruised cheek, hopeless and expectant. Natsu felt sick, imagining burning her to ash. Zeref wouldn't hesitate. He would have killed her the moment he saw her at the base of Cthulhu's Palace. He still wasn't his brother.

"If you think I can do that, you don't know me at all," Natsu wrangled out.

A pregnant pause, then Lucy let her shoulders drop and her eyes open. It was hard to say if she looked disgusted or relieved. She was crying once more, harder than before. "Deep down, I knew you were too good for it."

An insult, or a compliment? Again, he couldn't tell.

Natsu swallowed the lump in his throat. "No one will touch you in this cell. You're safe."

"Against a dragon?" Lucy whispered. She brought herself back to her corner and settled into the corner once more, where she returned to staring at the old blood stains and scratch marks on the cell wall. She was a woman convinced she was going to die in a prison. Maybe they all would, in their own way.

Natsu drifted away from Lucy's cell, feeling like a ghost. His guards waited for him against the wall by the stairs leading outdoors. Natsu said, "Find August and tell him I require an audience. Now." He didn't know who to believe anymore.

One peeled away from the wall to do his bidding. Natsu supposed it was too much to ask to be rid of them both after what happened earlier that day. It was a hard battle to convince bedridden Happy that he didn't need an army at his back, that the threat of Eileen was in the air, likely thinking of ways to storm the castle and roast them all alive.

She probably would use fire, too, Natsu thought. Eileen was spiteful like that, using the one element that wouldn't hurt Natsu but would wreak havoc on his charges. Just so she could isolate him, make him feel alone before she slipped a knife across his throat.

Natsu turned away from the guards, heading deeper within the dungeon and was thankful when he wasn't followed.

Lisanna Strauss's cell was smaller than Lucy's and darker. She wasn't a queen, after all, and didn't deserve any special treatment.

She stood against the back wall, watching Natsu as a rabbit might watch a fox. All her senses were alert, and the cuffs on her wrists were cinched tight so she couldn't get an inch in to use her magic to escape.

"We haven't formally met. Lisanna, I presume," Natsu said.

Lisanna curtseyed one-handed. It might have been mocking. "Crown Prince. Or is it Majesty now?" She had a voice like a bell.

"Majesty." The word felt weird in his mouth. "I am the new king."

"Very well, Majesty." She smiled a smile he wasn't sure he liked. It was a little too knowing. "Am I here until Cthulhu's Palace is rebuilt? I hear nothing remains." Just stones stained with blood.

"You're here until you tell me about the relationship between you and my brother, and you and Lucy Heartfilia," he added, remembering the way Lucy called out Lisanna's name at her trial, looking horrified.

"Lucy was my friend when we were both hostages of Bora's fight ring. And your brother… he doesn't want me speaking of our agreements."

Natsu's eye twitched in annoyance. "My brother is dead, and whatever deals you had with him are void."

She still just smiled that same knowing smile and once he identified it for what it was—surreptitious, duplicitous—Natsu was hit with a wave of hope that made him feel sick.

"Tell me what you know."

"Release me from this cell."

He barely had to think about it. Without a key, he used his magic and melted the locks.