Irene was standing at the top of a hill. Looking down at the town that could be seen in the distance while holding her staff in her right hand. Looking from the outside it was the image of an ironclad Queen looking down at her people from the top of her mile-high castle with a strict, judging expression.

No sane person would dare to approach her like this. Without even saying a word it was crystal clear that she was in an entirely different league than a regular human being. An aura of power and intimidation was surrounding the godlike figure of a woman but there was still one certain person that approached her from behind.

A man with pink spiky hair, a brown coat and a white scaled scarf around his neck made his way towards the so-called Queen of Dragons with no care whatsoever. He was holding something in his hand. It was clad in a warm blanket and held protectively close to his chest.

"What brings you here, brat?"

Irene's voice sounded rough and cold but there was no real hostility towards the man. They were well acquainted with each other after all. The man was called Natsu Dragneel, the partner of her daughter. The daughter she just recently came back in contact with. Not like they had a touching reunion though. They were enemies on the field in the war between the Alvarez Empire and Fiore's strongest guild Fairy Tail. They didn't think of each other as enemies anymore but there was still distrust amogst the two scarlet haired beauties.

"I thought you would want to see her."

Natsu said, unfaced with her attitude, came closer and showed her what he brought with him. He delicately pushed the blanket aside and revealed the face of the cute infant in his arms. The little bit of hair the baby had was scarlet in color and a bit spiky. A bit similar to Natsu.

Irene turned around with a curious look on her face that she couldn't conceal. She took a quick look at the little girl and immediatly knew what was going on. The last time Irene had heard from her daughter was when Erza told her that she got pregnant recently. Erza and Irene didn't really form a bond at all in all those years but Erza thought that it was too big of an information to hide from her mother.

"'Her'? So it turned out to be a girl."

Irene's usual cold eyes, her lips, and her spirit all at once smiled slightly at the sight of the girl. It reminded her of a special feeling she had many years ago. A memory of the girl she too held in her arms. It was the birth of a very special person. The same memory was the turning point in her final atonement that gave her the final push out of her insanity.

"Yeah.. We named her 'Satsuki'. She got one month old yesterday."

The fatherly smile of Natsu was radiating pride and joy at the sight of the daughter in his arms.

"Satsuki is indeed a beautiful name. It was probably Erza who chose it, right? Someone as simple as you could never come up with a name like this."

Irene teasingly mocked Natsu.

"Ehehe you guessed it. Erza chose the name"

Even Irene was a bit surprised at Natsu's reaction. The old Natsu would probably get angry and reply something like 'Huh? I can come up with cool names too, ya know'. This just showed how mature Natsu got once he finally started going out with Erza. 'My daughter actually managed to make a decent husband of you. That sure is a remarkable feat.' Irene jokingly thought to herself. Even if her first impression of Natsu was that of a mindless brute who happened to be a dragon slayer but the more she got to know him, the more she started to understand the extraordinary qualities of that man. Irene was glad Erza managed to drop the pathetic excuse of a man she had a crush on before and noticed the person that has always been by her side.

"So, what did you bring her here for?"

The scarlet beauty asked trying to conceal the overwhelming joy she felt at the first sight of her granddaughter. After everything that happened with her and Erza, Irene never dared to imagine that she would one day stand here with her son-in-law carrying her granddaughter.

"Oh come on. I came here so you could see your cute little granddaughter for the first time, of course."

Never, not even once has Natsu's smile left his face. He was holding his biggest treasure in his arms. So fragile, yet worth more than anything else in this universe to him. His greatest pride and neverending love in his own arms.

"Satsukii~ Look, that's grandma over there~"

Natsu playfully said to his daughter in his arms and pointed towards Irene. He turned her a bit so she got to see the whole picture of Irene in front of her. Reacting to her father's word she curiosly looked at her newly met grandparent.

"Is it really alright to bring her to me? Bringing her daughter to me behind her back?"

Irene faced Natsu again with a sad look on her face. She knew that there was still lots of tension between her and her daughter Erza.

"She can beat me up all she wants afterwards, I don't care. I think it is important for you to see Satsuki once in a while. Erza may be a bit stubborn but just like me she will eventually see that you two can reconcile. It may be a little silly but my biggest wish is that we can become one big family together… I mean look at this cute little thing. This girl is so amazing that she probably has the power to be the catalyst for you and Erza to get along like mother and daughter should."

Natsu once again showed of his daughter in his arms. He undoubtably belived that this small girl was destined to do many great things. One of those was the form a bond between Irene and Erza.

Irene was truly fascinated by the genuine words of the man in front of him. He may still have a lot to learn but he was truly a remarkable man. A rare great person in this world that was supposedly filled with selfish monsters and warmongers.

"Here, you can hold her if you want. Be careful, though"

"Wha-"

Not even leaving a tiny bit of room for negotiations Natsu gently pushed Satsuki into the arms of Irene.

Irene was stunned by Natsu's rash action but protectively held Satsuki in her arms. She could feel the little heartbeat in her arms. As if catching on her grandmother's feelings Satsuki smiled brightly and playfully raised her tiny arms towards Irene.

"Why are you smiling?.."

…

"Why are you smiling?"

Irene mumbled, no longer having the power to surpess her tears. Streams of tears made their way down her cheeks as she looked at the little girl in her arms. So many positive emotions that built up until now could not be contained any longer and bursted out in a colorful explosion. The relief and joy she felt could not be described by mere words alone. Satsuki didn't care for any of it though. She just continued to laugh and smile as she was held by the arms of Irene.

That smile on Satsuki face was bright enough to chase away every bit of darkness that built up after all of those traumatic experiences in the past. Just like the moment she held Erza in her arms for the first time Satsuki's laugh alone was able to send the merciless Queen of Dragons, a former Spriggan, through a roller coaster of emotions.

No longer caring about the facade she always put up she look up to see Natsu who was still now triumphantly. That was what he had in mind from the beginning. As Satsuki's father he never doubted her ability to find a way right inside Irene's locked heart.

Natsu was such an astonishing man. Not just being the protective husband to her daughter Erza but also being able to give Irene a chance for a happy ending as well.

"Satsuki… she truly is a lovely child"

Was the only thing Irene could say right now. She was still crying but she didn't really care at this point. It was impossible to hold back these tears of joy now anyway. Together with the birth of Erza, this was one of the dearest moments in her life.

"She sure is. Just you wait and see, she will grow up to be the strongest girl in the entire world~"

Yeah, that's right. This child had a bright future. A future Irene now desperately wanted to be part of. She may not have been there when Erza grew up but Irene would make sure that Satsuki would only get the best of this world. Never in her life Irene wanted to support and be part of someone else's life as much as now.

"Indeed, she is my dranddaughter after all. A marvelous future is already guaranteed at this point. I will accept nothing less."

Irene now regained a fraction of her usual composure but a rare prideful smile could still be seen on her face.

Natsu gently took Satsuki back from Irene's care.

"You really should come by and visit us sometime soon. We could show everyone in Fairy Tail how great and powerful Satsuki really is. Nobody will doubt it if you and Erza are there to prove it, hehe"

This was the first step. Natsu was able to build a seemingly impossible path to a happy family that involved everyone. Even Irene herself. The first step towards the happiness of Erza, Irene and Satsuki. Who would have expected that there would be a happy end like this for each and everyone of them?

Once again Natsu did the impossible and showed Irene the way towards a happy future. A future that doesn't involve any pain or tragedy. Just one big family.

Natsu and Satsuki took their leave for now. But Natsu and Irene both knew that they would see each other again fairly soon. Satsuki's high pitched laughter filled the air around them before she left with her father. It was a laugh that symbolized that it wouldn't take long now, Erza's and Irene's tragedies were finally coming to a happy end.

Author's Notes:

Yeah, it's a short one-shot again (for now at least). This time it is not as depressing and angsty as the ones before so there is that. I promise that at least one of my previous one-shots will be continued but I am not so sure which one it will be. But for now I really wanted to write something with Irene in it. She doesn't get the attention she deserves in my opinion and I do think that she too deserves a happy end.

It may have been short again but I still hope you enjoyed it. See you next time :D