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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
- 40
- 41
- 42
"As I saw the morning star come up over the mountain, I realized at last, that life is simply a collection of memories...but memories, my friends, are like starlight, because memories go on forever." - C. W. McCall

Chapter 41

Memories Are Like Starlight

Loke leaned against satin pillows as he stared at bright swaths of shimmering cloth pulled into puckered billows across a dark wood ceiling. The shadows in the room melted in shades of pink and purple. The sun rose early this far north, casting golden streamers through the room that was already feeling warm with a late season heatwave. The dawning Daystar's glow and bleeding shadows of dying Night enhanced the trumpeting reds and fanfares of noble gold that filled the room in royal abundance. The whole procession of colors as the sun rose reminded him of throne rooms from the past, the marching to-and-fro of dignitaries, with an occasional peasant bold enough to approach the monarch, streaking the otherwise shimmering hall with brown mud and green stains.
He closed his eyes against those ancient memories. Best not to fall into the seductive pit of past glories. He opened his eyes once more and tried to focus on the present.
Lying there, staring at the ceiling, he realized it was the tenth of September. One year ago today, Lucy learned she was pregnant. He would never forget that day, not in a million years...and that was no exaggeration. He remembered how happy he felt, and how terrified. So many thoughts ran through his head that day, and so many fears. Memories he had tried to suppress were forced back up from their ancient depths. A life he had tried to ignore, a love he had hoped to forget, fears of all that grief happening a second time...it all crashed onto his shoulders that day. Still, he was silly with joy, filled with hope. He remembered being stunned, thinking it could not have been possible, not a second time.
Other Celestial Spirits had Human lovers in the past. Why had he been the only one who ever sired a child? Not once, but twice. And not just with any woman, but with Naomi and now Lucy.
There was movement beside him, someone stretching and rolling over, then a hand drifted over his bare chest. He glanced down at the pale skin and blood red nails, then with a sterner glare, he stared straight up. Kefira rolled over to her side, flipped back some of her lengthy black hair, and smiled at his noble profile.
"Sleep well?" she asked tiredly. He did not reply. She smirked at such an austere face and twisted her fingers lazily through Loke's orange hair. "What doth my Lion think about that troubleth him so?"
He reached up and slowly brushed her hand away from his head. "I am not your Lion."
His soft growl did not affect her pleased look. "Thou art with me now."
"I taught you how to speak in modern words."
She chuckled softly and decided to appease him. "If you wish, Leo, then I will speak how your Fiore friends do." She inspected the distant look in his green eyes. "You're thinking of her again. You should forget about her, Leo. She's naught but a greedy and thoughtless woman who betrayed you."
His frown pulled down tighter. "She did as she thought best."
"She's holding your son hostage despite knowing it could mean his death. I saw with my own eyes, she already has that other man."
"Gray's my friend," he shouted. "I was his partner."
"Yet when I arrived," she spoke fast, "you were fighting him."
Loke turned his head away from her and looked to the corner of the bedroom. Kefira rose up onto her elbow and climbed on top of Loke's body, straddling over his hips. Her thin fingers gently tugged his face back to look up at her.
"Leo," she said sadly, feeling sorry for him. "You probably realize it by now, don't you?" She pouted sympathetically, as if she truly pitied him and his choice in women. "She's Naomi."
"She's not..."
"Is reincarnation really so hard to believe?"
Loke's brow tightened hard, and his eyes closed against a truth he had been telling himself was impossible. Still, since that day a year ago, he had begun to see the similarities between Lucy and Naomi: the phrases they used when talking, the way they laughed, little things like the pull of Lucy's lips when she pouted and how her eyes twinkled in the starlight. Plus that one damning similarity: of all the women he had known over the centuries, those two somehow managed to conceive a child from him.
He said in a low voice, "Even if the soul is the same, Lucy isn't Naomi. Naomi was shy, whispered everything, too weak to lift a sack of flour, scared of a field mouse. Lucy is outgoing, noisy, a little grumpy sometimes..." He had to smile and laugh. "...likes to think she has a lot of sex appeal and use it to her advantage. She's fearless, even if she freaks out a lot, and she's been in many battles. She never hides behind her Spirits. She fights beside us."
"Yet who is she standing beside now?"
Loke swallowed bitterly and looked straight ahead. "I trust Gray."
Kefira had to titter at that. "No you don't. If you did, you wouldn't look so worried when you talk about him. You think you've already lost her to him. It's understandable; he's good-looking." She leaned on top of Loke's body and stroked her fingers over his naked chest. "You know...Naomi remarried."
"I heard about it," he muttered bitterly.
"Accept the harsh truth, my overly-proud Lion," she frowned, stroking her fingers over his face. "The body may change, even the personality, but the spirit within stays the same. Both Naomi and Lucy waited less than a year before replacing you. But Leo, my dear Lion..." She pulled his face back over to her and gave him a kiss. Loke did not even close his eyes as he coldly let her do it. "I have waited four hundred years for you. I can love you through eternity. Once we find the Regulus Key, we can go back to how we were, you as King of the Heavens, me as Queen of Kohinur."
He finally pulled away, shoved her off of him, stood up, and glared down at her. "That's only if I use Regulus to defeat Kohinur's existing government and subdue their armies."
"A mere skirmish for the great Lion," she said in placatory tones.
He lashed out, "I don't fight those sorts of wars anymore, Kefira!" Loke looked aside to calm himself. "Besides," he said in a smoother tone, "first you have to get the Regulus Key."
"And you're lying about where it is."
Despite himself, Loke jolted at her keen observation.
"Don't think I'm a foolish newborn kitten, Leo. I've been around for four hundred years. I've heard men tell many lies. You're taking us to the Kingdom of Setareh in the east, yet they had the Antares Key. Now, why would Regulus hide his Lapis Lazuli Key in the enemy's land?"
"Regulus considered no land of the Humans his enemy nor ally."
"Regulus was also worried about keeping a balance of power amongst us Humans. He would not tip those scales by giving Setareh two Royal Star Keys."
"The Antares Key was destroyed."
"I would bet my nobility the Regulus Key remained in Kohinur, likely on Hoshinoue Island. I always wondered why Zeref set up his base on such a remote island. Which means Lucy has likely found it by now." She rose up, naked and breathtaking in the morning sunlight, and slithered up against his body. Her long finger painted with blood red enamel tapped under his chin, annoying him. "You're a bad boy, Leo."
He gritted his teeth that she had figured it out too soon. He had hoped to delay Kefira for a few more months, long enough for Lucy to sort things out with Luke and hopefully find a way to save him. "I wanted my son to be safe. I had no guarantee that if I gave you the Regulus Key, you wouldn't kill Luke."
"Protecting your pride and family? Very well, I forgive you. However, as punishment, you have to take the Regulus Key away from Lucy. Haftorang and I can distract the others, but we might accidentally harm your former lover or child. If you wish to ensure their safety, Leo, then it must be you alone who handles her. Otherwise, how many Earthland months do you have before the Spirit King demands your son?"
"Four left," he glared. "I can't even return home to beg for an extension since I'm now outcast for joining you."
"Fear not about yourself just yet. The seirei tea and my magic will assure you can stay in Earthland for many years, but I doubt your son has four months. My magic can keep him in Earthland for a few years, but I need Zeref's notes in Kohinur Keep if you wish to keep him here indefinitely. While you're lying to me and wasting our time, your son is dying. Even if Lucy hands him over to the Spirit World, your only hope for being reunited with him is the Key to the Heart of the Lion. It'll mean war. You know that, right?" she asked, looking worried and pawing at his arm to soothe his troubled face.
He nodded sadly. "I knew when I joined you, there was no going back."
"I cannot fight the Spirit King. Haftorang might be able to match him, but the other Zodiacs would be there too. How many could you defeat?"
Loke hummed as he considered it. "If I took on Scorpio, Gemini, and Capricorn, Haftorang can easily defeat Aquarius, Taurus, and Pisces...Virgo, Aries, and Cancer are weak in battle, but Sagittarius and Libra... What the hell am I thinking?" he roared and stormed away from her in fury.
"You've considered it." She followed after him, not ready to let him escape yet. "You've probably thought a lot about it, Leo, and long before you returned to me. How many of them could be swayed to our side? Taurus might like the Royal Stars back. Aries was always closest to you. Scorpio? Maybe Pisces?"
"I don't like the thought of fighting my friends," he snapped, trying to escape from her.
"Yet you knew it was inevitable."
"I don't want a civil war," he shouted.
"And I don't want to lose you again," she yelled right back at him. Kefira threw her arms around Loke and held him tightly with her cheek against his bare chest. "After I've waited so long, I can't let them kill you."
He stood stiffly and stared forward. "Kefira."
She eagerly looked up into his face. "Yes, my Lion?"
He frowned, but he had to ask. "Would you make Lucy immortal?"
She pulled away fast with a disgusted look.
Loke stared down at her unemotionally. "I know you can do it. You never did while you were queen, but your bloodline had that ability. Considering all the forms of magic you've mastered, I bet that was one you at least studied. I won't go a step farther with you unless you swear not to hurt Lucy and to make her immortal. You can be the Queen of Kohinur if you want, but I want her to be my Queen of the Heavens."
Kefira's fingers drifted up to her mouth, feigning shock while really hiding a sneer. For a while, she debated it, although her face kept returning to a snarl. She swallowed back disgust and betrayal, but finally firmed up her determination. "If that's the only way, then yes," she decided. "But not until she hands over the Regulus Key and I get my kingdom back. After you do that for me, we'll discuss it. If she wants it, then yes, I know how to do it. If she doesn't want it, I won't bother."
"Blood oath," he demanded.
She chuckled and walked over to her desk. "Feeling nostalgic? Blood oaths were quite the trend in old Kohinur." She picked up a dagger with a bejeweled handle and held it aloft in the dawn glow. "I, Yamataikoku No Kefira, Shaman-Queen of Kohinur, hereby swear unto Leo the Lion, Leader of the Ecliptic Zodiacs, my oath to make Lucy Heartfilia an immortal Celestial Spirit upon the conditions we have thus laid out." Then she grabbed the blade and slid the dagger fast, slicing her hand. Her face winced at the pain, and thick droplets of purplish-red blood dripped to the floor. "Satisfied?"
Loke gave a silent nod, wrapped a robe around him, and stepped out of the bedroom.
She stood naked in the doorway watching him until he turned down a corridor. "Foolish Lion," she smirked. "Hast thou forgotten that I excelled in twisting my way out of blood oaths? I'm no longer the Shaman-Queen...not until thou makest Kohinur bend its knee to me once more. I refuse to surrender thee, Leo. Thou shouldst know that by now. I need not worry about that blonde bitch if she is dead before I ascend the throne once more."
She chuckled, but winced at the pain in her hand.
"A bloody hassle, these blood oaths," she muttered, then left to search for something to bandage her hand.
Loke strode through a hall, passing old paintings. They were still in Kohinur, right near the eastern border, in a house that had once belonged to Clan Yamataikoku's royal family. He paused by one portrait. The slanted eyes, the long raven hair, the alabaster skin and dangerously beautiful smile: it was Kefira, a picture painted of her the year she was crowned queen, a young lady, barely old enough to be called a woman. In her hands were two items, a massive scarlet stone cut into the shape of a heart and a blue key. Loke recognized the Ruby Silphium, considered the greatest gem in the world at one time. Legend said that the gem was a heart from a god or ancient spirit. Clan Yamataikoku believed it was the Lion's Heart in terrestrial form. It was said that the person who owned the Ruby Silphium was destined to rule without knowing the heartache of defeat.
All three of those rumors were wrong. Loke remembered the day he gave the massive stone to a friend, who had it cut and polished into this shape. The idea that the ruby was Leo's heart was foolish. And obviously the Ruby Silphium did not stop Kohinur from falling into enemy hands.
Loke reached up to the painting and touched the blue-colored key. "Regulus," he whispered wistfully. Then his finger went up to Kefira's face and caressed the portrait's rosy cheeks. "Silly girl. When did you turn from such an idealistic noble into...this?"
He turned away from the painting and strode into the mansion's library. The walls were filled with books and ancient tomes. Lacrima lights brightened the reading area. There he found Haftorang reclining on a couch reading a book. He nodded curtly in greeting, then went to a table with a carafe of wine and poured himself a glass.
"You look weary. Has she entice you to her bed finally?" the fishman asked.
Loke glared down at the red wine. "She tries. She's good at it, but I'm holding her back...barely. I've not embraced her, if that's what you mean."
Haftorang looked aside. "Impressive. I thought for sure she'd make you into her lover within days-s-s."
"As I said, she tries. There's only one woman I want, and that's Lucy."
The massive mouth tweaked in a smile. "That girl must be a talented woman to have tamed the Lion."
Loke scoffed at that and took a drink. "More like I had to tame her."
"A wild one, huh? Do you remember that girl...oh, it must have been eight thousand, no, ten thousand years ago. The southern girl who ran around naked."
Loke laughed into his goblet. "Isis?"
"That's the one! Isis-s-s. She was a wild one."
"Her beauty was notorious in five kingdoms! I have no idea how you tamed her. I sure couldn't, and believe me, I tried! Did you know that a few thousand years later, they made an entire religion based upon legends of her?"
Haftorang hummed with a massive smile. "I believe it. She was a goddess-s-s!"
"Perverted old Fishy!" Then something dawned on Loke. "She was the one who..."
"Yes-s-s." Haftorang nodded nostalgically. "Not all Celestial Spirits are born into the Spirit World. Some of us earned our right to become immortal. You did too, Lion."
Loke looked aside thoughtfully. "That was...a really long time ago. Even for Celestial Spirits."
"Isis-s-s," Haftorang sighed nostalgically. "I saved her life. We had one beautiful night together. Then she offered me a choice: I could be king with her as queen, or I could be immortal. I was a poor fisherman, I knew nothing of nobility nor did that sort of thing interest me, so of course I accepted eternal life! I didn't think I'd end up looking like this-s-s," he pouted. "She lived in the southern desert and owned Fomalhaut's Lapis Lazuli Key. She delivered me right to him, then I was taken to the Spirit World to be his host and the Spirit of the Southern Fish. A year later, Isis bore my daughter Pisces, who had a son. Isis changed them both with her magic too, so that I could have something to remember her by. They sure did grow huge!" he chuckled.
Loke thought back to ancient times, a time long before Kohinur and Fiore even existed. "Do you ever regret it?"
Haftorang jolted at the odd question. "Regret what? Making love to her? Hell no! She was amazing."
"Choosing immortality?"
Haftorang let out a sharp laugh. "Hah! That's insane, of course not."
"You could have stayed with Isis. She was the most beautiful woman in the world at the time. You could have married her, raised your children together, lived a happy life..."
"Leo, I was an unwanted man, ugly and undesirable. I didn't have anything worthwhile in that life. I didn't know Isis well enough to love her."
"You could have gotten to know her," he insisted. "She turned me down, yet she took you as a lover and offered to marry you. She must have been interested."
The fishman shook his head. "Leo, you were born with the face of a noble. Women flock to you. You don't understand what it's like to be so undesirable. Isis likely made love to me out of pity. She would not have wanted a lowly creature like me as her king. Besides-s-s, that was thousands of years ago. I can barely remember what she looked like, or her name, or exactly what I did that saved her life. We forget such foolish details-s-s."
Loke stared down contemplatively into his wineglass. "I don't. I remember everything. Every woman I ever truly loved, every detail of the romance. I can remember their favorite colors."
"You're the Lordly Lion; you're supposed to remember things-s-s. I'm just the Southern Fish," he said with a shrug from his translucent fins. "But it's good you remember so well."
"I often wish I could forget," Loke muttered bitterly.
"I bet you still remember how you became a Celestial Spirit."
His green eyes tightened thoughtfully. "Like it was yesterday."
"Those of us who become Celestial Spirits through our deeds-s-s, it's said we can still have children but only with the woman we loved in life. I never had a lover but Isis-s-s. Were you married when you were a Human?"
"No," Loke whispered. "Marriage as a concept didn't exist back then. Like I said, it was a really, really long time ago. But there was a woman," he said softly, and his face looked sad with ancient memories. "She gave me a stone, I gave her the skin to a lion I had killed barehanded. That was good enough to make us a couple. She died bearing our first child. The baby died that winter. I couldn't handle the grief, so I took both the stone and the lion skin and left our tribe. I wandered the frozen wilderness alone, looking to die.
"Then I met a man dressed in clothes we didn't have in the far northern tribes. He said he was Uyuh'cluh, Chieftain of the North. Apparently he and his army had come to kill us barbarians. I thought of the other families in our tribe, and I didn't want any of them to suffer through death like I had. So I fought him for the pride of my people.
"It was the hardest fight I had ever been in. I was only a hunter, but he was a trained warrior. At one point, Uyuh'cluh brought his spear down on me, and I used the stone to block him. The giant spearhead almost chipped it in half. I was saved by the stone, but I laid on my back at his mercy. Uyuh'cluh was shocked to see the stone, the largest ruby he had ever come across. He gave me an offer. He said my fighting ability so impressed him, he would call off his troops if I gave the stone to him. I figured it was useless chipped like that; still, he took it, carved it, and made the Ruby Silphium from it, utilizing even the massive chip he put in, making what would later be called a 'heart shape.'"
"That must have been Kefira's ancestor," Haftorang realized.
"One of her earliest, a time when most Humans still dwelt in caves and mud huts. Then Uyuh'cluh told his troops not to attack any of us, and he sought out a peaceable solution. He asked for my name, but we didn't have such concepts in our tribe. He said that with my long hair and animal skin clothes, I looked like some wild beast, so he gave me the name Tlu'datsi, meaning Lion. It was the first of many names I went by over my existence. Then Uyuh'cluh asked what I desired most in the world. I told him I just wanted to live happily with my woman, but since it was impossible, I wanted nothing. He said, 'What if I can give you everything, including the chance to find your woman again?' I thought he hadn't understood what I meant, since our dialects were different. Suddenly, Uyuh'cluh pulled out a blue key, there was a huge flash, and Regulus—known by his ancient name Venant back then—stood before me. For my heroism in battle and proving myself a man of pride and dignity, I was made into Leo the Lion." He laughed wryly at that fateful day. "I was actually upset at Uyuh'cluh. I had left the tribe looking to die, and instead I ended up immortal."
Loke's eyes squinted and his brow tensed in bitter memories. He looked either ready to cry or snarl, and Haftorang kept silent to watch how he would react.
"I thought I could forget about my life as a Human," Loke said softly, "but I never did. I remember how I felt when Uyuh'cluh gave me that name, Tlu'datsi. It was like, for the first time, I was more than just a tribal hunter. I was a person, an individual. I remember...the pride I felt. I felt like I owed him a great debt for giving me that name, and I swore to watch over his family throughout the generations. Still, I wanted to forget everything from before the day I met him. I tried to forget my home, my tribe, that woman. She didn't even have a name, but I never needed one for her," he said with a smile that hid tears he might have shed in private, but he refused to give into them now. "Naomi...she must have been the reincarnation of that woman. Lucy too. That's why I could have children with them."
"So it seems-s-s." Haftorang smiled with wary hopefulness. "The same soul of who you loved most in life. Even though you are the Lion now, your soul is connected to her."
"And what a sick joke from Fate that with all three, I lost the woman in only a few years...and my sons."
"You haven't lost Lucy yet," the fishman said with a smile of encouragement. "Third time's a charm, as they say. I'm glad you found her again. When we see Lucy in the future, I will protect her if I can."
"I'm honestly shocked you bothered to protect her all this time. She told me that you gave her food while a prisoner of Kefira, and you didn't attack her on Hoshinoue Island. You could have easily killed her and all the others while leaving Luke alive. Instead, Kefira had to bypass you and call out Fomalhaut."
"Those people were your friends-s-s, and since I still consider myself your friend, they are in turn my friends-s-s. I might block their attempts to stop me, but I won't kill them."
"I noticed that. You left Gray alive. I thought you were toying with him, but I realized how hard you were concentrating on each attack."
"Yes-s-s, predicting his moves so that I would not deliver a fatal blow. Not an easy way to fight, especially with someone so strong."
Loke refilled his wineglass. "For what it's worth, thanks."
Haftorang chuckled with a relaxed smile. "Talking to you like this-s-s, it's like the old days when you were king. We could speak of anything. I thought of you as my brother."
Instead of drinking his wine, Loke set the glass aside and glared at the fishman. "I never had a chance to ask you, but...why did you betray us back then?" he asked in anguish, feeling those old emotions all over again. "Why did you leave the Spirit World and join Zeref? Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to fight not only my son, but my best friend, the Spirit who was closer than a brother? Why did you do it? And why did you join Kefira again now? I would've thought you'd learn your lesson the first time."
Haftorang sighed in sadness to see the pain in the Lion's eyes. "I suppose saying 'I'm sorry' won't work, nor am I sorry for my actions-s-s. You deserve an explanation."
The fishman rose and walked over to a bookshelf, staring at it so he did not have to see the anger in his friend's face.
"Fomalhaut was the only Royal Star who did not want to leave, but since the other three did, he was out-voted. Because of his reluctance, Regulus decreed that his key would be hidden without telling me where it was-s-s. Before Zeref's birth, Kefira obtained my Silver Key and said she was looking for the Lapis Lazuli Keys-s-s. She wanted my help to search for the Regulus Key. She claimed she would bring you back into power, and that became my goal as well. For that reason, I joined her. Since I would be banished if anyone found out what I was doing, she used her magic to allow me to stay in the Human World longer than normal. No one in the Spirit World noticed my absence since, after all, I am called the Solitary One for a reason.
"We were supposed to track down where you and Naomi ran away to. Instead, Naomi fled with her son, we pursued, and we caught her. Kefira was outraged that Naomi kept saying she couldn't call you out. Since I had not returned to the Spirit World in many years, I didn't know you had been kept prisoner by the Spirit King. I was the one who sensed your magic within Naomi's child. I convinced Kefira that, as your son, Zeref would be able to find the Regulus Key once he grew up a little. She spared him and took him with us.
"After that, I stuck by Zeref, hoping he would know where the Royal Stars hid their keys-s-s, and wanting to protect him from Kefira. I wanted Zeref to succeed so he could one day free you from your prison. However, I suppose Kefira's influence over the boy was too great. I didn't approve of her way of training him, yet I admit I turned a blind eye when they taught him such horrific magic, like how to kill effortlessly and create demons-s-s.
"When Cheveyo attacked and burned Kohinur Keep, we fled south with the boy. It was Zeref who led us to Hoshinoue Island. I suddenly felt the key's presence, but Zeref never took it. I thought maybe he was holding onto it in secret, keeping it away from Kefira so she would not try to reclaim it. Maybe he was. However, he couldn't use it without you. He told me we had to lure you to the island so he could use your ring, make the Regulus Key whole, and then summon the King of the Heavens once more. I had hoped that when that happened, Regulus would rejoice at returning and would tell me where he hid the Fomalhaut Key. That was all I wanted: my old power back and you reinstated. I'm useless without Fomalhaut, called the Solitary One because no one wants an ugly fish like me. As I was rejected in life, so I am in the heavens-s-s."
"You were never rejected, Piscis Austrinus," Loke insisted passionately. "You had your two sons, the love of Aquarius, our friendship!" he shouted, still bitter with a sense of being betrayed. "You were not alone. You didn't need that power."
"Fomalhaut didn't want to go," the fishman yelled back. "If the other three wanted to transcend, that was fine, but they could have left Fomalhaut to remain."
"It would have been an uneven balance of power and led to wars with the other..."
"I don't care!" Haftorang bellowed. Catching himself in such an undignified outburst, he covered a fin over his wide mouth and reined in his emotions. "I just wanted to be strong like you, Leo. I wanted to remain as your equal. Without Fomalhaut—as nothing more than Piscis Austrinus-s-s—I'm pathetically weak. There was no way I could match you. You're the noble Lion and leader of the Ecliptic Zodiacs-s-s. I'm nothing but the Southern Fish." His massive mouth pouted downward. "The distance between us was so far apart, I couldn't even look at you. And...I admit I was angry at you. You, Scorpio, and Taurus are good fighters on your own. What was I? I was a Silver Key, good at navigating fishing boats, but people preferred to use Pyxis for that. I was antiquated, unwanted. All I wanted was to feel like I could be your equal again."
"And so you rejoined Kefira after she broke out of her prison?"
"No," he admitted. "I was the one who freed her."
Loke opened his mouth to ask how, but he closed his lips fast with a disapproving scowl.
Haftorang laughed gently. "How did small, weak, pathetic Piscis Austrinus manage to break the seals imprisoning her? That's what you want to say, but I bet the answer came to you instantly, yes-s-s?"
"You found the Fomalhaut Key," Loke whispered. "But how if he didn't tell you where it was? And how did you escape death?"
"Simple, really. I escaped because the Humans and Spirits both underestimated me. The Spirit King figured that if I stayed trapped in the Human World, I would die within weeks-s-s. Banishment is a death sentence, after all. You know that too well, my king. However, we who were blessed by the Royal Stars can last longer than average Spirits-s-s."
"I lasted three years," Loke muttered.
"Without aid, I wouldn't have faired even that well. A year after Zeref's defeat, everyone thought I was dead...even you. Luckily I have some friends in the Spirit World who don't mind getting their hands a little dirty, and they helped me to hide from the Spirit King. Hydra gave me seirei tea and provided me with these celestial clothes-s-s." He pointed to the loincloth with the symbol of a fish on it. "It strengthened me enough so I could track down the last king of the South, the son of the final owner of the Fomalhaut Key. He took pity on me in memory of his father and pointed me in a direction. I used my own sense of navigation from there and found the Fomalhaut Key. However, we Spirits cannot use those keys-s-s. I needed a Celestial Spirit mage, and they have always been rare. Naomi was dead, Zeref was gone, Kefira was imprisoned, of course I couldn't turn to Cheveyo, and all the other Spirit mages were under Cheveyo's control, flocking to him in hopes that he would grant them a Gold Key upon his retirement. Finally, I found a child with potential, although he was too young. I trained him. It took four years-s-s, but finally he was just barely strong enough to use the Lapis Lazuli Key. Sadly, it used up all the magic in his body and he died. Still, I merged with Fomalhaut and took on my stronger form, as you see now." He stretched out his fins to show off the huge body with firm muscles and massive face.
Loke sneered. "You killed a boy to do it?"
"I honestly didn't want that to happen. I loved that boy. He was a war orphan, so I raised him as my own son. I told him to stop when I saw it was too much, but he knew I was dying. He understood, if he did not call out Fomalhaut, I would fade away. He said, 'What's the point of magic to begin with if I can't use it to protect my friends?'"
"I've heard those words too," Loke realized, remembering the day Lucy saved him.
"I watched helplessly as he drained himself, and I decided not to let his death be in vain. I wanted to continue Zeref's will, to find the Regulus Key and bring my old king back into power. Since I'm now merged with Fomalhaut, I don't need to worry about returning to the Spirit World. Time was of no issue, but I still worried about how that dictator was abusing everyone back home."
"It wasn't that bad," Loke insisted in a soft mutter. "The Spirit King is a good guy...usually."
"How many times has he imprisoned you? He even banished you, Leo, and all because you tried to protect Aries-s-s. I heard about it all thanks to Hydra."
"You used Hydra as a spy," the Lion realized.
"I'll use anyone to meet my goals-s-s. That's why I freed Kefira a hundred years ago. I've been searching with her ever since. We heard Zeref was back and residing in a place called Tenrou Island, but he was deemed too unstable for us-s-s. Then we heard more and more rumors-s-s. Kefira had a book of prophecy written before the War. There was a line that went like this-s-s." With numerous hisses, he recited, "The son of the Sun sign shall secure safety amidst the slayers of serpentines, soaring Exceed, and sorcerers sublime. Several sorties shall succor the son of the stars. So sayeth this soothsayer."
"Awkwardly poetic, particularly when you say it," Loke chuckled.
"Awkward, yes-s-s, but prophetic as well as poetic. Now the Exceed are back, dragon slayers are once again in this world, and the Lion—the Sun sign—has a son. It was the sign Kefira and I were awaiting. We knew you would never disobey the will of the Royal Stars-s-s, so we hoped your son would assist us to fulfill Zeref's will. That's all I really want, after all. When this is over, if Kefira tries to harm your woman or corrupt your son like she did to Zeref, I will simply do away with her."
Loke glanced around nervously, realizing he should not say such things aloud, but he realized they were very much alone in this library. "You'd kill her after you've spent so long working beside her?"
"So long?" the fishman asked in confusion. "It was only a few years long ago, and it's only been for the past hundred years that we've lived together. That's not too long for Spirits-s-s. She means nothing besides a way to make you king again, old friend."
"But..." Loke's face tensed up. "She promised to make Lucy immortal. I know she can do it. She's the last of that bloodline, the descendant of the same man who made me into a Celestial Spirit. She has the ability within herself. That's our agreement for me helping her to get back Kohinur."
"That woman would give up her right arm to regain her ancestral lands-s-s," Haftorang realized, "but...would she be willing to share you with Lucy for all eternity?"
"We took a blood oath."
Haftorang laughed with his massive mouth. "How old-fashion! Well, if you wish to make her keep her oath, I won't kill her yet. However, if she causes trouble, I will be at your side, chamberlain to my king, just like the old days-s-s."
"Thanks," Loke mumbled, troubled by something else. "Look, I...I need to be away for a week or two. There's someone I need to talk to, someone I should have visited a long time ago."
"Not a Celestial Spirit, I hope," the Southern Fish said worriedly. "Unless you're asking to recruit someone to our cause, and even then you should take me along so they can't simply capture you. I can protect you until we get the Regulus Key back. Then you won't have to worry about anyone, not even the Spirit King."
"Don't worry, it's not a Celestial Spirit," he assured. Then Loke walked away and mumbled under his breath, "He's half-Spirit." Loud enough for Haftorang to hear, he shouted back, "I'll return in a few weeks. Tell Kefira not to do anything until I get back. With any luck, I'll have the perfect person to help us." Then after he left the room, Loke's face sank darker. "Although I doubt he'll want to help a deadbeat dad like me."
End of Chapter 41

Rhov's Corner:

These back-stories were something I had planned since Haftorang told Lucy that a Celestial Spirit's ability to have children depended upon how they became a Spirit, way back in Chapter 9. I never had a good opportunity to explain what I meant until now. I had this idea that the Constellations got their place sort of like how mythology explains, just...different.
Isis - an Egyptian goddess, patroness of nature and magic. According to Egyptian stories, she placed Piscis Austrinus and his children Pisces (changed to mother and son in the manga) into the heavens as thanks for rescuing her. I changed the myth a little. After all, legends are mere embellishments of past events.
For how Leo got into the heavens, instead of the Nemean Lion which Heracles killed, I wanted something older. Sadly, I couldn't find any Egyptian or Babylonia stories for how the Lion Constellation came into being, so I made up something. Still, at its heart it's a story about a warrior battling a "Lion." Since the Lion constellation has been noted since ancient times, I aimed for something very old, with tribes and chieftains, hinting that this happened at the very dawn of Human civilization. We're talking cavemen! Loke is ancient!
Uyuh'cluh - a close approximation of pronouncing the word u-yv-tlv, the Cherokee word for "north."
Tlu'datsi - (tloo-DAH-chee) based on tlu-da-tsi, Cherokee word meaning "mountain lion."
Why did I pick Cherokee names? I dunno...for the same reason Cheveyo's name is also Native American. It sounds cool and has an appropriate meaning behind it. And my mother's family is Cherokee. ^_^
Ruby Silphium - I said in Chapter 34, I'd explain the Ruby Silphium. In 34, Kefira gives her full (and lengthy) title including "Protector of the Ruby Silphium." It's common for royalty to hold many titles, and even in modern times, some royal families own a gem that represents their leadership. I had this idea of Loke's fight that led to him becoming immortal through some great feat, and I thought it'd be cool if it was Kefira's ancestor, tying them together. So I wanted something physical, like a legendary stone, to show how Loke has been tied to her family since ancient times.
Maybe all of this is a bunch of useless detail, but I liked inventing these back-stories, so forgive me if it slows down the story. In my head, laying out the past for these characters is important.
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Lion's Pride