Filling What's Missing

The tyrannical king of Magnolia, Natsu Dragneel, ruled his subjects with an iron fist. But even a king gets lonely. Faced with ever growing solitude, the beast of the kingdom hosts a magnificent ball to find his beauty. What will happen if the "lucky" lady doesn't feel the same? NaLu.

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A/N: Welcome to my newest story! I missed y'all a lot! I have a longer note at the end but I hope you enjoy, please review and stay tuned for an update from WANTED very, very soon : )

Ch. 1 - The Lonely King

King Natsu Dragneel had a reputation.

He was a cruel king; fiery and impulsive. The mere mention of his name inspired feared across his entire kingdom, and the threat of his appearance drove even the most dastardly to their best behavior. He was notorious for burning a city to the ground because some idiot looked at him funny—at least that was the rumor anyway. Nevertheless, he did not tolerate nonsense and dealt with those on his bad side swiftly and without mercy.

He was a "good" king. In fact, he was best king Magnolia had in a long time. After all, he had only burned down one city—allegedly—whereas past kings burned down a city or two every other year. Further, he managed to stop the devastating war that had been plaguing the country for generations. Despite his cruel reputation, there was no doubt he was leagues better than his predecessor, Igneel, and especially his predecessor's predecessor, Acnologia. He was the lesser of the evils inflicted on this kingdom, and that's what made him "good." In a sense, anyway.

He was a spoiled king. He did what he wanted; He got whatever he wanted. Jewelry, money, women, massages, gifts, food—you name it. He loathed the word "no" — no one dared utter that word in his presence.

He was an isolated king. Most days he sat in his throne room by himself, a smaller, empty throne at his side. His advisors only came when they had to. His cooks, butlers, and staff maintained a distance when they dealt with him, as his temper combined with his family's reputation had ensured his alienation. The only faces he consistently looked at were his bodyguards and his primary aide.

Up until now, the isolation did not bother him.

He was not sure when the feelings started. The tugging deep within his chest; the distant buzzing in his brain; the increasing void within himself. The king's irritation seemed to be worse than ever these days, and no one could pinpoint why—especially not the king himself.

Well, perhaps that wasn't entirely true.

Recently, he began having strange dreams. He was a young boy again, and his father, King Igneel Dragneel, was still alive. His father would try to force him to attend these loathsome palace briefings, and right as his servants came to drag him to the throne room, he would burst through his bedroom window and out to the vast world below. And each and every time he escaped, the same faceless girl would be waiting for him on the ground below, arms stretched wide.

Without a word, she would take his hand and lead him away from the castle. Her long, dirty white dress would flail wildly behind her as she ran, and her short blonde hair would bounce with every thump against the grass. Without fail, they would end up in a huge, magical forest full of exotic trees, pixies, and dragons. They would play together for hours and hours and hours and hours. He could not get enough of her aura; so warm, bright, and cheery. It was like the sun had touched down on earth just to be with him. Whenever he played with her, he felt important, needed, and most notably, whole.

There would always come a point in the dream where he realized he had never got a good look at her face. However, each and every attempt to discern her features brought the reverie to an abrupt conclusion, transporting him back into his darkened bedroom in the real world, cold and alone.

Truthfully, the dreams were beginning to get on his nerves. Like, how dare she tease him, the king? (Or rather the prince in his dreams?). Why couldn't he see her face? And why did these dreams always seem so real? It was almost as if he were reliving a distant memory, but Natsu knew better. Though he used to frequently sneak out, a commoner like that would never be allowed near the castle walls. If discovered, they would be in for a sentence worse than death.

An exasperated huff escaped his lips as he tapped the golden armrest of his gigantic thrown. His thoughts aside, these dreams were quite bothersome, and even worse, they always left him feeling a bit empty.

"Sire?" One of his guards inquired.

Natsu remained quiet, tapping away at his armrest. The guard dared say nothing else, despite the clear indication something was plaguing him. He didn't want to end up on his bad side somehow.

Suddenly, the chamber doors flew open. Natsu raised his head slightly, narrowing his eyes at the figure entering the room.

"Oh, it's just you, Mard." He mumbled.

Said man simply smiled tightly. His long black hair—half of which was tucked up in a lengthy ponytail and the other half was left down—flowed elegantly behind him as he walked. Mard Geer was the palace's top aide, as was his father before him and his father before him. It was his duty to keep an eye on the king and the kingdom and assist the king with anything he needed. He was a simple man who did not easily anger, yet beneath his calm demeanor was a frightening aura. Thankfully, he kept this aura locked far, far away.

"Hello, sire." He greeted once he got closer. "I've come with a report on the town you requested be repressed."

"Ah yes, those rebels." Natsu replied quietly, eyes showing disinterest.

Mard proceeded to fill him in on said situation. Approximately a month prior, the castle received word that the village of Hammond was arming themselves and preparing to secede from the kingdom. Sitting on a shared border between Magnolia, Bosco and Fiore, Hammond's succession certainly would have caused a territory war between all three countries. Wanting to avoid an unnecessary conflict and quell the insolent seeds of rebellion, Natsu arranged for a military base to take root in the town. Additionally, he cut a portion of their food supplies and ordered the seizure of all weapons in that village and the surrounding villages. Cruel? Perhaps. But to be fair, he could have done much worse. His predecessors would have razed the entire area.

Regardless of what he should've, could've or would've done, the measures seemed to have been sufficient, according to Mard's report. Though only partially listening, Natsu thanked him.

"Is something on your mind, my king?" Mard asked, looking up at him with curious eyes.

"Why do you ask?" Natsu replied, meeting his gaze.

"Well sire," Mard began, "You seem out of it today. Normally such news would have thrilled you."

Well, he certainly was not wrong.

"Well, erm..." Natsu mumbled. He once again launched into his incessant tapping—much to the annoyance of his guards. "I'm not sure how to even begin, honestly."

"Take your time."

Natsu ran his fingers through his unruly pink locks. What could he even say? Certainly, he couldn't admit that he dreamed of fairies and little girls at night. That would come off... very wrong firstly, but also quite unbefitting of a tough, no-nonsense king.

Mard continued to stare with his standard semi-arrogant smile. The air was growing uncomfortable. Natsu sighed.

After a moment, the right words finally clicked, but they were a tad embarrassing. The king cleared his throat before admitting, "I believe I'm... um... lonely."

Mard blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. "Come again?"

"I, uh, said that I'm lonely."

Mard stared at his king in shock. If he didn't know better, he'd swear there was a rosy hue adorning his tan cheeks. An awkward silence befell the room.

"Shall I spend more time with you, sire?" He said finally, cocking his head to the side.

"N-No!" Natsu deadpanned. His two guards almost fell over in surprise.

"Would you like more guards?" Mard asked.

"Absolutely not."

"Would you like a new pet? Or two? Or five?"

"No..."

"Are you sure? Because I can arrange for five more cats. Even a dog or two. Rabbits? Horses? Giraffes?"

"No, Mard, dammit. Why on Earthland would I want a giraffe, damn you?"

Mard looked up to the ceiling with furrowed brows, as if he were deep in thought. After a moment he hit his fist into his palm, as if he'd had a eureka.

"Shall I fetch you mistress?" He asked, a seedy grin on his face.

Natsu shook his head and waved the words away. "No, no, I've grown tired of that."

Mard sighed. "Perhaps you desire a more long-term partner?"

"A partner?" Natsu repeated.

"Yes, a queen sire."

Natsu sat up straight in his throne, eyebrows furrowed in thought. Perhaps... perhaps that made sense. As king he could have anything he so desired—riches, land, women, companions—but he could not barter true friendship, much less true love.

His eyes lit up ever so slightly. That was what was missing; that was the key to filling in that emptiness he was experiencing. It didn't quite explain the strange dreams to him, but that was a question for another day.

Natsu stood up from his throne and descended the small staircase, a serious expression on his face. His previously hidden robe train trailed behind him, covering the staircase in silken red fabric. Mard looked on silently as he approached him.

"Gather all the women in the kingdom. And I mean all of them. I'm hosting a masquerade ball."

X—/—/—X

Yooooo! Hey fanfiction, long time no see! I hope you are all doing well in the midst of the many, many events happening right now. Ironically, today is the 9-year anniversary of my first fanfiction, Fairy Fourth, so check that out if you'd like? Be warned, I was like 13 or so when I wrote it lol but I think it's kind of funny. Time sure does pass by fast…

Lately I've been trying to get back to my artistic side. I'm a bit rusty, so I'm easing my way back into writing. For those of you who follow my other stories, good news: I am currently revising and adding onto Super Secret Agent, Detective Lucy Heartfilia and WANTED! I wanted to work on them ASAP but this idea + like two more came to mind and I had to get them out. I am finished with the next chapter of WANTED(woohoo!) so stay tuned for that—I'll publish it once I finish cleaning up the previous chapters (I'm on chapter 3 now).

With that said, how did I do with this? Should I continue this story? I like the idea so I'll do at least one more chapter, but if there's not a lot of interest I'll prioritize my older stories instead because I really want to finish them. That's actually the main reason I came back; I really want to see WANTED and SSADLH all the way through. Flittering Misfortune too. Maybe.

Anyways please let me know how you're feeling about this story. I think it has potential, but again we'll see. I'm super nervous since I haven't posted/written in forever, so leave a review and let me know your thoughts. Love y'all always. Be safe and well 3

***Also I realize Magnolia is within Fiore but I like the idea of Magnolia being a large country. Lol

**** Also, if you have a better fic name please let me know! As well as anything you'd like to see in this story 3 Should I keep the rating at T, or bump it to M?

****** Review in honor of the modderlowd's 9-year anniversary? (cringy Fairy Fourth reference, haha).