Authors note: So, first story, I hope you like it :) I got originally inspired by nocturna131 and her story "The Iron King", check it out if you're interested!

The line spacing is kinda too small, I'll fix that in the next chapters, promise. Also, some lines just keep being italic and I can't change that .

I'm new to writing and still have trouble with consistent storytelling and POV changes, please go easy on me ;)

Have fun reading 3

Molten Steel

Chapter 1 - Terya

Behind the mountains of Hutlhur lies the Kingdom of Terya, stretched from the imposing figure of the jagged, grey twin peaks of Gthar in the northwest to the azure sea of Mesirae in the southeast. Albeit small and harsh, it bears a certain beauty, fresh and reborn in the spring of life, after war ripped deep wounds into its earthly flesh. Deep lush green forests hide small clearings full of vitality, the mountains let the highest waterfalls of the continent descend into cold rivers that tirelessly carry life towards the sea; filling old scars and covering them in little riverbanks, colourful heathlands and moors. It's a wild landscape, sheep and other cattle left to roam the spare grasslands, abandoned when villages were left in a flash, never to be returned to. Wildlife rules most of the forests the hills and valleys of the northern regions, as humans have retreated towards the sea, near the capital of Terya, Farkesi.

The Castle of Farkesi can be seen from afar, resting near the shore of Mesirae, on the only hill in a radius of many miles. The tall library tower, as well as the numerous smaller towers and half-timbered upper levels with their rather large windows add a certain delicacy to the otherwise sturdy block of stone. Mirroring the kingdom, it presents itself as modest, yet proud and particular in its own way.

These days, the King of this proud old kingdom faces a few particular Problems.

The last visitor from town had just left and the audience was officially declared over, but the king hadn't left yet. The decorative armor he wore shone occasionally, as the light that filtered through the coloured glass streamed into the room, illuminating the throne and the ruler of Terya on top of it. The King sighed and shifted his hand from under his chin to the side of his face, twisting his mouth into a sullen scowl. The rumors from around the kingdom spoke of wariness. The citizens knew him only as the warrior Kurogane, one of their strongest fighters, not as their leader. No one was expecting him to become king when he made a name for himself during the war. But now he had to be a leader without any experience and almost no advisors and the people were worried. And the damn Flame Emperor had announced his visit for tomorrow.

His scowl deepened. He had an entire kingdom to rule, he couldn't waste time in this crucial period of rebuilding it. And for what? Natsu, as always. He sighed yet again and stood, the familiar "klink" of his armored boots on the stone floor filling the throne room. He went outside and waved his guards off to release them from their duty before he headed down the corridor towards his chamber. He passed a few maids on their way to the kitchen, who immediately shrunk away from him and bowed down. Hm, must be new he thought and waved them off. Gajeel was rather relaxed when it came to respect towards himself, but the rumors from his time as prince and his appearance did their own to scare anyone who wasn't already intimidated by his title.

He reached his chamber and slammed the door shut behind him. Although he liked to be in the throne room to think, the privacy and quiet of his chamber were a welcome change to calm himself down and relax. He removed the large ceremonial crown from his head and put it in its rightful place in the show cabinet beside his armor stand, before he peeled the rest of the ceremonial armor off his body and slipped out of the red undergarments and into a lighter, dark grey tunic.

He did not feel the need to wear more armor than necessary when staying in the castle, but the ceremonial armor was required for audiences. At least it was lighter than a regular one, and he had to admit that he liked wearing the obsidian scaled gloves. They were strong, dangerous pieces of armor, but they had been crafted masterfully and allowed for very free hand movement. Not being required to wear his armor everywhere pleased him greatly, as it was a constant reminder of the peaceful times in his kingdom. It hadn't been, not too long ago the whole kingdom had been swallowed in a brutal civil war and he had fought alongside his father, making a name for himself as the warrior, Kurogane.

He looked to a different set of armor just as intricate as his but even larger than his own. It clearly was not in use as dust had gathered in some places. "What kind of smartass advice would you give me?"he asked the empty room, red eyes skimming over the old armor. It used to shine in the light but years had gone by as it stayed unused, its previous owner gone too long. Gajeel smiled as he imagined the gruff voice of his father, teasing him about one thing or the other. His expression turned sullen as he remembered the reason that he would never hear that voice again. "Metalicana…." He shook his head to clear it and returned to the problem at hand. His father was no longer here and that was that. The past is in the past.

He turned, walked through an open doorway and slumped down on the huge bed, letting himself fall backwards. He turned his head towards the huge windows, behind them the lush castle garden and the sea in the distance. The beauty of the view wasn't lost on him, in fact he had envied his father for it and the opportunity to visit the garden so easily. His eyes closed as he folded his arms behind his head and inhaled the fresh breeze from outside.

Natsu, the Ruler of the neighboring country of Chrate. He was quite flashy for a King and had last visited in an ungodly red outfit that should have no place to exist. Gajeel opened an eye only to have it twitch at the memory. Chrate had come to aid the royalty of Terya in its fight against rebels, supported by several other kingdoms. Metalicana fell because a particular bad conflict from which he could not recover, making Gajeel King at only 19 years old. Natsu had shared a similar fate, becoming the rightful king with 18, but Igneel, the old King of Chrate had passed away far sooner when the boy was only eight. Nevertheless, he turned out to be quite the good ruler, his kindness and willingness to help his people were greatly appreciated by them. He and Gajeel shared a long friendship paired with a playful rivalry, so it was no wonder that Natsus next visit was, again, merely to shove his wife, Lucy into Gajeels face and show her off. While he was happy that Natsu found a woman who was intelligent and kind, on top of being able to deal with his antics, he didn't appreciate the interruption during these important times.

A polite knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and he heaved himself off the bed, placing a thin iron band on top of his head, his "casual crown" as he liked to call it and opened the door.

The large figure in front of him gave a small bow, and Gajeel chuckled a bit "Come on Lily, you know I don't give a rat's ass about that, especially when it comes to you." "Well if you don't do it, then at least I have to keep myself in presentable shape" Lily replied and grinned at his best friend. Gajeel stepped aside to let the castles sword master into his chamber. Lily was what some people would call a relic, residue from old times, when magic and magical creatures were more commonplace. He combined the aspects of both humans and large cats, in his case giving him the appearance of a large panther on his hind legs. His race, the Exceed was one of the descendants of the ancient fauns, mythical creatures who ruled over the large forests long before humans appeared in Fiore. His animalic instincts and strength helped him to become one of the best warriors in the kingdom and a gifted swordfighter at a very early age.

Gajeel walked past the armory and into his living chamber where he sat down in a large armchair. He gestured for Lily to sit down on his usual spot on the plush sofa by the fireplace. "Something's biting you, I can see it" the large cat stated and looked at Gajeel expectantly before he sat down.

"Well it seems a certain pink haired King is arriving tomorrow to show off his Queen and pester me with dumb questions. He also wishes to have a duel." Gajeel sighed and Lily snickered at the exasperated tone. Despite having partaken in a few rough battles during his time as king, Natsu was never tired of fighting and Lily knew quite well how energized the Flame Emperor could be, even more so compared to the Iron King. "Doesn't he get enough when he quarrels with Gray all the time?" Gajeel moaned and Lily just gave him a sympathetic smile.

Gajeel took off the iron band adoring the mane of his black hair, setting it down on the table beside him and stood up "Are you up for some practice? I need to stretch my muscles before all of this madness" "Sure, but I did have something in mind when I came here" Lily answered and Gajeel turned to him and nodded for him to go on. "Ahem, you see, there is this other Exceed who just arrived in town. You know it's gotten harder for us these days, with people becoming suspicious of other races, especially the more magical ones." "Spit it, Lily" Gajeel was curious as to where this was going. "I talked to her and she told me she was looking for work and a place to stay. Can I tell her that she'll get that here?" he finally asked. Gajeel didn't have to think very long about a simple request like that "Sure thing, just make sure that the other staff knows, especially Kofu, she needs to oversee the process after all." "Thank you Gajeel, that means a lot!" Lily smiled and gave his King another small bow "Stop that or I might change my mind" Gajeel gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder as they started making their way into the castle yard.

"Don't get too cocky, apparently his new Queen is bringing a friend along with her and depending on how it goes, you might need me" Lily shot back "Oh? Who would this friend be?" Gajeel squinted at the bright light and adjusted his tunic to allow him more movement freedom. Lily went towards the sword stand at the practice grounds and picked two wooden practice swords from it, tossing one at Gajeel who had followed him to the sandy area.

He caught the sword and did a few swings to warm up while they both took their stances.

The Exceed grinned. "Why so curious?" Gajeel scoffed at the question. "Just spit it out." He rolled his shoulders in an effort to loosen them up.

Lily rolled his eyes at his impatient Majesty. "Fine. Her name is Lady Levy McGarden, I don't know any more either" then he suddenly rushed forward, swinging the sword down towards Gajeels head. His sword clashed with Gajeels with a loud wooden knock and the Iron King pushed him back. "Now, time to get serious my friend." Lily grinned and charged again.

After they were both sufficiently powered out and sweating profusely under the afternoon sun, both said their Goodbyes for the day and headed to their respective chambers. A servant had noticed the men practice and Gajeel requested his bathtub to be filled with scented water to scrub himself thoroughly before the next day. When he was finished, the giant tub was simply wheeled out of the large glass door, where the water could be released into the garden. Gajeel told his servants that he would be finished for the day and they left him to his businesses. Someone had already arranged the clothing he had picked out for the festivities that would start the next day and Gajeel let his hand brush over the soft fabric. Of course it was one of his finest Garments, fit to welcome the king of a neighboring country, and also in a rich dark green to give some contrast to Natsu, who would undoubtedly wear something red again. Gajeel frowned at the thought and wandered over to his writing desk. He still had orders to give out after today's audience and he knew he had to do it before the Flame Emperor arrived. The whole country had been preparing for his arrival, the town was beautifully decorated with flowers and colourful banners, showing off its rebuilt vitality. But as such, any orders had to be delivered before the festivities began in the castle and the city of Farkesi.

Gajeel had to light a candle while working and when he was finished, the moon cast a silvery glow over the garden outside of the windows and onto the large bed. He blew out the candle and stacked the papers for his servants to take when they started their daily duties. He laid his evening robe over a chair and laid on the bed, leaving the covers untouched. Terya might have a cooler climate than the other countries, but Summer would always bring heat, especially near the sea and Gajeel was glad that his undergarments were made of thin linen. Still, it took him some time of rolling around and staring out into the dark garden before the steady noise of waves crashing on the shore finally lulled him to sleep.

Aaand, it's done! First chapter!

I'll have the next up either tomorrow or the day after.

Please leave a review and tell me what i can do to make my writing better 3

Hope you liked it, have a nice time!