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Lion's Pride	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 10067 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima. I make no money writing this. I do it for my own pleasure. Any lyrics are my own or I received permission from the artist.

Chapter List
- 31
- 32
- 33
"Delay in justice is injustice." - Walter Savage Landor
Chapter 32
Injustice
Finally, Leo the Lion was brought into the courtroom by Canes Venatici, the Hunting Dogs, two lean, black canines marching under the orders of Boötes the Herdsman. Leo's orange hair was more disorderly than normal, his tie hung loosely around his neck, and he had small rips in his dark suit coat. His hands were cuffed in glowing crystal, a special form of restraint that prevented him from using his magic so he could not open his own gate and try to escape. His eyes were narrow as he was brought in, and they glared straight at the Celestial Spirit King. He was shoved over to a stand before a large desk where the mustached monarch sat. To the Spirit King's side was Libra, who always provided balanced judgment in legal matters.
"Leo-sama!" one of the female Spirits in the audience shouted. He gave a wink in that direction but could not make out which adoring fangirl it was. Still, it gave him a little encouragement. At least some of the Spirits were rooting for him.
Leo took his stand in a defendant box and faced Libra and the Spirit King silently.
Libra began in an unemotionally flat tone. "Leo the Lion, A.K.A. Loke, A.K.A. Al-Asad, A.K.A. Shishiza, A.K.A. Leontos, A.K.A. Aslan Takımyıldızı, A.K.A. Lejonet, A.K.A.—"
"I think we get it," Leo snapped, sounding anything but regal. "You don't need to list every name in every language I've ever been called. Can we hurry up?"
Libra waited a moment, then continued undauntedly. "You are hereby charged with the following crimes: ninety-three counts of disorderly conduct with your owner—"
A mischievous smirk came to Leo's face. "Did we really do it ninety-three times? Hey, wait, who the hell was watching us and keeping count?" he yelled.
"You are out of order," Libra warned. "Continuing. One count of resisting arrest, two counts of aggravated assault against a Celestial Spirit—"
"Taurus and Capricorn accepted my apology!"
"—one count of attempted murder of a Celestial Spirit—"
"What?" Leo bellowed. "Who?"
"Piscis Austrinus."
"But he's a criminal," he exclaimed. "He was banished from the Spirit World centuries ago."
"He is still a Spirit," Libra said sternly.
"It was self-defense," Leo tried stubbornly.
"That is to be examined and decided upon at this trial. Now please stop interrupting this court. Continuing. One count of treason against the Spirit World, twelve counts of—"
"Are you seriously going to list them all?" yelled Leo. "All these counts aren't why I'm really here. I fell in love with Lucy, we had sex—ninety-three times, apparently—and now we have a child. I admit I'm guilty and accept mortality and being stripped of my magic as punishment. If you want to stack all those other so-called crimes along with that main one, I think a fucking death sentence should balance out every sin I've ever committed. Let's hurry it along."
"You are out of order," Libra said stolidly.
"Out of order? I was kept waiting for half a day." Those in the courtroom saw the panicking desperation in the Lion's eyes. If the Spirit King had waited in hopes of taming him, he did precisely the opposite. "I know you just wanted to torment me, and you did, okay? Half a day of pulling at my hair, scared to death for Lucy, counting the minutes while calculating whole days, thinking about how an entire month has passed in the Human World. It's torture! So please, I beg of you, get this punishment over with and send me back to Lucy."
The Spirit King looked unconcerned and unaffected by his pleading. "Leo, old friend, do you really despise being the Lion so much? Do you hate the Spirit World so intensely?"
His eyes narrowed behind his blue shades. "I have never hated my home nor my position. I am proud to be the Lion and Leader of the Zodiacs, just as I was and will forever be proud of the station I used to hold...old friend. But I need to get back to Lucy. That is the most important thing to me right now."
"You shouldn't worry," the Spirit King told him. "Lucy Heartfilia has already gone back to her duties, doing missions for the Humans."
Leo's mouth dropped in astonishment. "She...she is? So soon? But the two of us agreed that after the baby was born we'd wait a year."
"And with your son growing at thrice the speed, she only needed to wait four months," the Spirit King pointed out. "Perhaps Lucy put her life on halt because of you. Obviously, she was eager to get back to her usual routine and did so as soon as you weren't there to suffocate her. It might be she's more happy living the normal life of a mage with her friends instead of having you tell her what's best. Consider that as a possibility before rashly giving up your power."
That angered Leo. Was he really saying that Lucy would be better without him? How dare he! Still, he bit back the arguments he wanted to shout and lowered his head humbly. "May I make a request, my king?"
"You are not in a position to request anything."
"It was Lucy's desire to be brought into the Spirit World to witness the trial. After all, she stands to lose a Gold Key. That's a huge blow to a Spirit Mage. Her request was that she and our son may be granted the right to witness the trial."
"Request denied," the Spirit King answered. "Now, stop interrupting or you will only delay your sentencing further. Libra, continue listing his sins."
The Lion tensed his fists and toned out the words. He needed to stay calm. It was all formality. He might not like it, but he understood the purpose. After all, he had overseen trials like this in his day. Even if some parts were tedious, they were necessary for the sake of being thorough.
As Libra continued, Leo glanced over to a section in the crowd where he saw all of Lucy's Celestial Spirits gathered to watch. So, she was on missions, huh? The Spirit King likely knew this because Lucy had summoned one of her Spirits. Had she been in a fight? What if she was hurt? How did Luke look now? Was he talking more? Had he taken his first step? Was Lucy still living in the dorm, or had she returned home? Why did she need to go on missions? How much could have changed in the month he was away?
All these questions and worries made him want to scream!
To his right, too fast to pinpoint, there was a silver flash. Some Celestial Spirit had just been called through their gate. Of course, not even a trial like this would put a hold on everyone's lives. They had owners who needed their help.
Another flash, this time gold, and Leo sensed a more powerful gate. He looked over quickly and saw the arched Gate of the Goat shimmering in front of Capricorn.
"My apologies, Leo-sama," the Goat said in excuse as he walked through the gate.
"Wait!" Leo yelled, leaning forward as far as he could in his defendant box. "Is Lucy okay? Tell her I love her!" Without a reply, the gate shut.
"Leo," the Spirit King warned.
Libra had paused at the interruption, but although Leo was facing the vanished gate, the Spirit of the Scales continued to read off mandatory introductory parts. Leo vaguely heard that this section of the trial depicted the punishment in detail.
In summary, I'll be a Human without magic. It boils down to a death sentence, but also liberty. Hurry up, already!
Boötes tapped his shoulder, and only then did Leo realize he had been growling lowly.
Capricorn returned soon. Again, Leo ignored the trial. "How is she?" he shouted.
"I didn't see much," Capricorn answered. "Her train was attacked by a group of weird bandits with jiggling butts. Lucy-sama and Luke-sama are safe."
"What?" Leo roared. "She's taking Luke on missions? That's insane!"
"Leo!" the Spirit King shouted.
"Virgo, go to Lucy and tell her to leave Luke with Bisca," Leo requested. "Tell her I do not want him going on trips to—"
"Enough!" The King's voice boomed so loudly, Leo was forced to his knees, as were many others in the room. "I know you think lightly of the gravity of your situation, but to interrupt the wheels of justice like this and frivolously dismiss your own trial is intolerable. If you are so set in ignoring us for the Humans—"
"Make me one already!" Leo yelled with wild desperation. "You've planned to do that from the beginning anyway, right? So do it! Let me go back to Lucy."
"Not until you acknowledge the importance of the Spirit World," the King said deeply. "I at least have pride in what I am, and I honor the laws of this land. Even if you're not destined by the stars to be the Lion for much longer, I will at least make you acknowledge us."
"Acknowledge what? That I'm a Celestial Spirit?" Leo snapped. "Why should I when you want to take that away from me just because I fell in love? Or do you mean I should acknowledge the laws? You do realize, Regulus and I were the ones who wrote those laws...all but the few you added after I stepped down. According to the laws set down by the Royal Stars, I did no sin at all. Or shall I quote the original law book for this court?" he smirked haughtily. "I know every paragraph and subclause by heart, since I'm the one who wrote the damn thing!"
"Enough!" the Spirit King boomed. "Canes Venatici, Boötes, return the Lion to his cell. This trial will resume tomorrow."
"Wha-? No!" Leo screamed, and his voice cracked under the terror. Immediately, his fingers clutched the railing around the defendant box to prevent himself from being dragged away. "Please, you can't do this."
The Spirit King stared hard at him while Boötes and his Hunting Dogs came forward. "Perhaps a night of reflection will help you to understand that, although you may not want to be a Spirit anymore, as the mate of a Celestial Spirit Mage you must still show respect to us. After all, I consider Lucy Heartfilia to be a friend. I would not want Lucy's mate to influence her into becoming a mage the Spirits in this domain fear."
"I beg of you, don't delay this any longer," Leo protested while Boötes tried to loosen his gripping fingers. "Spirit King, please. If we wait even one day, three months will pass for Lucy. If you think of her as a friend, you must know that this is torturing her far worse than it is me."
The Spirit King folded his arms and would not be budged. Boötes finally yanked Leo's cuffed hands away and dragged him toward the exit doors.
"Lucy will find out what you're doing," he yelled, his voice edging toward a threat. "This is the sort of cruelty that very well could make her hate you. Please reconsider, for Lucy's sake."
Orion came forward to help Boötes pull the prisoner away. The two large men worked together to force Leo forward, despite his heels digging into the floor to slow down their progress.
"Please, Spirit King!" he pleaded, writhing in desperation as he was dragged past row after row of Celestial Spirits. "I just want to be with my family. I swear, I won't bother the Spirit World again. I'll live with Lucy and raise my family. I was fine with the arrangement I had, returning to my cell. I'll continue like that, if you want. Or if I have to be Human to be allowed that sort of life, then I'll accept it. I'll accept any damn punishment you want! So why are you keeping us apart? Just let me go to her. Let me be with Lucy and my son. All I want..." He struggled more as they opened the courtroom doors with a loud creak. To Leo, it sounded like a banshee cry threatening disaster. "All I want is to be with my child and the woman I love. How is that a sin? Answer me that! How is it a sin to love a woman?" Realizing his pleas were not making an impact, he thrashed wildly. "Spirit King! I swear, I will not let you stop me from seeing them again. Just let me go back. For the stars' sake, please!" The courtroom doors shut, but the Celestial Spirits inside could still hear his protests.
The Spirit King sighed and shook his head. "I hate to do this to him, but I had truly hoped my old friend would reconsider. I don't want to lose him like we lost Piscis Austrinus. It might be cruel to Lucy, but I hope in the long run that it will save Leo's life. He may be an unscrupulous troublemaker, but the Spirit World needs the Lion. Crux!"
The Southern Cross woke up with a pop from his snoring bubble. "Hooo? Yes, my king?"
"Come with me. There is one possible route that we might use to save Leo's life, but we need time to research it. Hurry, for our time is short, and I won't torment my old friend longer than necessary." The large Spirit King and floating Cross left the courtroom. Libra dismissed the rest, and everyone began to head home.
"See," Aries smiled timidly. "The Spirit King is trying to save Leo's life. He wants to protect all of us. That's his job as king, after all."
Taurus looked angry. He tapped his bell, glaring at the spot where the Spirit King and Libra had been sitting. Due to the king's massive size, it was hard to tell that the judicial bench was not built for only a judge and bailiff; it was meant for four judges. Where Libra sat was where Taurus had once sat in ages past.
He could picture the four of them now: the great Lion in his full power, a glorious creature to behold, not the playboy he now was; the Southern Fish always at Leo's side, his partner and closest companion; a different Golden Bull sitting beside the High King, one who was respected for his few but wise words; and to the opposite end, the Scorpion, Guardian of the Eastern Skies. They four had reigned over justice in the Spirit World. Only when a tie-breaker was needed would they call in Libra. She always saw both sides of an argument rationally and weighed laws justly. Those had been good days. No one left this hall feeling like they had been treated unfairly.
Taurus tried to think back to those times. How would he have handled a case like this? What would he, Scorpio, Piscis Austrinus, and Leo have done differently to ensure justice?
What would Aldebaran do?
Cancer grabbed Taurus' wrist. The Bull had not realized that, instead of tapping his cowbell, he was now gripping it tightly. His thoughts had focused on his Royal Star, and it was showing. Taurus muttered an apology and moved his hand away.
"Why not let Leo be with Lucy and still be the Lion?" Lyra asked, strumming in a sad C-minor chord.
"He's merely following the law," Capricorn sighed.
Lyra pouted. "But he was the one who made up that law."
Libra walked up to them. "He had his reasons," she told them. "Back then, the Spirit King felt angry at Leo for letting the Royal Stars go. He blamed the Human wife he had taken."
"Naomi?" asked Aries. She had briefly belonged to Naomi as well after the Spirit Mage and Leo escaped Queen Kefira.
Libra nodded solemnly and adjusted her veil. "Because Leo's reasoning involved his trouble with women, the Spirit King made that law so such conflicts would never happen again. He tried to delay punishing Leo for his marriage to Naomi, but there were other Celestial Spirits who were forced to break up with their Human companions, and they protested against such favoritism. The Spirit King had no choice but to force Leo away from his wife in order to keep justice balanced. Even after that, Leo broke that law numerous times. It's truly unfair and unjust that the Spirit King has let the issue slide for four hundred Earthland years. This case pushed his benevolence beyond hope. With another half-Spirit child in existence, the Spirit King has no choice but to deliver the full punishment that Leo should have received long ago. Still, despite all that, he's searching for a way to save him."
"We still don't like it," said Gemi.
"Don't like it!" pouted Mini.
"It's not right," Lyra added in.
"Puun!" Plue agreed.
Libra shrugged her shoulders at their protests. "Perhaps it seems unfair to those with eyes clouded by loyalty and friendship, but as they say, 'injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' Just because he's the Lion and Leader of we Twelve Zodiacs, it doesn't mean Leo is above the law. Even he must follow our justice system, or it shall breed anarchy."
She turned aside and strode out of the massive doors. Not liking to stay in the courtroom after such depressing drama, the others eventually also left.
The courtroom was nearly empty. Taurus began to walk out, yet he paused. He stood alone in the room, and he looked around at how massive the place was when not filled with Celestial Spirits. This building was older than Human civilization, and in all that time, this was the first day the Bull had ever witnessed an injustice being committed.
"If I thought they were dead, I would say, 'The Royal Stars must be rolling in their graves,'" he joked to himself. He looked down at the cowbell once more. "I wonder what they'd think of all this. Foolish to ask that, isn't it? Still."
He forced the thought away and hurried out of the doors before darker thoughts took hold. Someone needed to calm down Leo, and of everyone in the Spirit World, the Golden Bull was the last one left who knew what was running through the Lion's mind.
End of Chapter 32
Rhov's Corner:
In astronomy, Canes Venatici are the Hunting Dogs of Boötes, the Herdsman. That's why I have Boötes and his dogs "herding" Leo into the courtroom.
Have I said before that I think the Spirit King is a douchebag? He got redeemed in Chapter 262. He was cool through the party, but he didn't warn the mages that a day in the Spirit World was three months back home, and that led to another mini timeskip. Dooooouche! George Takei-like voice: "Spirit King, you are...a douchebag! That's right, a douchebag."
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Lion's Pride