Long long chapter guys ! 8500+ words ... *sweatdrops* -.-'
This took a while... sort of~ But it was fun to make this chappy! Dedicated too.... Sheepgirl418, Crystalmy188, MoonstoneAlchemist, SissiT927, XxAnnaDragneeLxX, Stella_Villiana, Illuminated_Moon & ArielLux! <3
Enjoy the chappyyy ~~~

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Cynthia's POV

"Cynthia! You have to put this one on! It would match your dazzling purple eyes!' Mira squealed.

"Maybe a red one?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"No no. I think a pink one!" Lisanna giggled.

"I um... g-guys...?" I mumbled bringing up my hands in defense, as I was being crushed by the three squealing girls holding out dresses for me to wear.

"I... I think w-we should let Cynthia-sama choose..." Yukino said shyly.

"Thank you Yukino-chan!" I sighed in relief as the three girls took a step back.

"N-No... it's no problem." she muttered as a blush crawled onto her cheeks.

"So, Cynthia-chan?! Which one?!" Lucy beamed.

"Well... I'm not too fond of dressing up... and I don't like the color pink. No offense Lisanna!"

"None taken. Thought I would let you try." she grinned in my direction.

"Then which one?!" 'This one?!""That dress?!", they pointed out in many directions towards a huge rack of dresses that were hanged on a dress stand. All I could do was sweat drop as they bombarded me with questions and tried to make me fit in many random dresses.

It's been a few days after the battle with the Dragons and the Grand Magic Games. Here we were now, in the palace of Fiore getting dressed up to get ready for the Grand Ball by the King of Fiore. The ball was at least 5 hours away, and I don't understand why we need to get ready so early. There's no need to rush.

"Minna... I think we should reconsider about what Yukino-san said... Cynthia-chan... is there some type of colors you prefer?" Wendy asked softly who noticed me in trouble by the two sisters and blonde.

"W-Well... I do like blue, gold, silver and purple..." I said trying to think of my top favorite colors.

"Any type of style?" Lucy asked.

"Just something simple? But let me look if there's anything that catches my eye." I smiled while walking towards the rack of dresses but before I could, something in the corner of my eye caught my attention.

"Cynthia-chan...?" Lucy asked.

"Is there something bothering you?" Mira asked.

Ignoring their questions absent mindedly, I walked up slowly towards this elegant and the most beautiful dress I've seen. As I got up to it to see it in a better view, my eyes were tracing every pattern and inch of the soft fabric.

"I think she found it." Yukino said.

"Is that the one...Cynthia-chan?" Wendy asked in a soft tone.

Gently placing my hand to feel the soft fabric to dance around my slender fingers, a smile tugged onto my lips. It was absolutely stunning. I turned to face the four girls who were waiting for my response and gave them a huge grin.

"This is the one!" I said happily.

"It's gorgeous!" Lucy chirped.

"You have a good eye!" Lisanna added.

"Go try it on Cynthia-sama!" Yukino urged.

"That's right go go!" Wendy exclaimed excitedly.

"Wait! First we need to do you hair and makeup!" Mira protested as she held her index finger up making all of us to stop in our tracks.

"But.. Can't the hair and makeup wait?! Besides, I don't think I need makeup. I hate putting random stuff on my face." I said in slight disgust.

"No butts!" Mira held a stern look.

"Please?! Anything else, just no makeup on me!" I whined.

"No way, you need to look your top best!"

"There isn't anyone to... please." I say softly looking around to room to avoid Mira's face.

"Oh please, Cynthia-chan! We all know there's a special someone." Lucy retorted.

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"No!"

"You two should um.. calm down." A nervous Wendy spoke and Yukino, who looks uncomfortable.

"That's right. You can whine later but right now, we need to get ready!" Lisanna added.

"Fine! But only mascara." I sighed in defeat.

"Mascara, eyeliner and lipgloss." Mira strictly said.

"But that's too m-" I stopped midway only to feel a powerful and evil demonic glare from the Satan Soul woman. I gulped nervously as sweat beads formed on my face, along with all the other girls who look as terrified as I was.

"Now what were you saying, Cynthia?" she smiled wickedly.

"Okay okay! Mataku..." I sweat dropped in defeat.

Moments later, Mira and the others were finally placing the finishing touches for my 'makeup' for at least thirty minutes now. How long does it take to put on makeup?! I sighed in annoyance, but I didn't want to anger Mira anymore so I just let them do whatever they wanted to do.

"Okay! It's finished!" Mira squealed.

"You look really pretty!" Lucy smiled.

"Really? Can I look...?"

"Not yet! It should be a surprise." Mira clasped her hands together in excitement.

"Surprise...?" I squeaked.

"That's right! Now we need to do your hair. Lucy!"

"Leave it to me! Gate of the Giant Crab, I open thee! Cancer!" I heard Lucy say as she summoned her celestial crab stylist.

"You called for me? Ebi." Her spirit said in a pose.

"Do your thing! Make Cynthia-chan beautiful!" Lucy said smiling.

"Ebi."

In a matter of 10 minutes, the crab was already done styling my hair and before I could even say anything, I was pushed into the dressing room to try on my dress. Wow, they must be really excited to see me dress up. Huffing in defeat, I slipped on my gown for the ball, then my heels. Thankfully they weren't too high. I didn't even get a chance to pick which one I wanted these were actually really nice, so no time for me to waste my breath.

Feeling ready and perfected, I stepped out to see that everyone was gawking at me. It was silent... no one said a peep. This was making me nervous, did they like it? Did I look that horrible? Maybe I shouldn't even attend the ball. I mentally sighed as I fidgeted at the hem of my dress standing there awkwardly.

"Do I look that bad...?"

"You're so beautiful!" Mira cried as she brought up her hands to her mouth with slight tears coming out of her eyes.

"You look really different! In a good way." Lucy beamed.

"So stunning!" Wendy added.

"You look lovely." Yukino shyly spoke.

"I agree! You're so radiant! All the guys would drool for you!" Lisanna giggled making me to blush.

"Go see yourself." Yukino smiled as she gently pushed me towards the full body mirror.

Looking into the mirror, a reflection of a girl with purple dazzling eyes was staring back that I have never seen in my life. She was absolutely gorgeous... I couldn't even recognize that it was me! Eyeing myself from head to toe, I could see that my long brown sand hair was ironed into loose curls, but held up in a side ponytail that was wrapped by a beautiful light blue bow. My bangs were sifted to the right side with a small curl at the end showing my sculptured heart face. My purple eyes were glistening, long dark eyelashes were contrasting perfectly making my eyes to pop out more and a hint of eyeliner was shown to have an even more effect. My lips were soft and full, leaving a hint of a rosy pink color.

The dress that was wrapped around on my body was making myself even more stunning. I loved it. It was a silver halter dress that hugged tightly on my small waist that was showing off my curves and my chest just perfectly. On the left side of the dress, was a small light blue star diamond that seem to hold up the slit on the side of my silver dress. The slit had another layer showing off of a light blue silk that hung down in a flowy appearance.

Turning slightly to see the back of the dress was that it was showing off my smooth soft skin. But noticed that I had a matching silver choker on my neck that seemed to be attached with two light baby blue shawls that were hanging and attached to my wrist cuffs that was also a matching silver. My dress reached the floor in a flowy matter and I lifted the bottom of my dress to reveal my strappy silver heels.

All in all, I was satisfied and breathtaking of my own appearance. Never thought I got to actually dress up like this fancy. Thankfully remembering of the intimate contact with Sting earlier at the games at their inn... My hickey was slowly vanishing but was covered up by the choker to hide its slight marks. I sighed in relief.

"Oh! I almost forgot something. A finishing touch." Mira commented as she walked up behind me. I felt something cold contacting my skin. I looked to see thst it was my gold chain necklace with the blue gem to hang around my neck, under my choker. I still didn't know where I got this necklace from, but maybe from someone special and important to me. Either away, the necklace gave it more of a beautiful look.

"So beautiful." Wendy chimed with sparkles in her eyes.

"Cynthia-chan you're gonna make me cry!" Lucy cried.

"I agree!" Lisanna said as Yukino shyly nodded.

"Aw I love you guys! Thank you!" I bawled as I walked over to all of them and embraced them into a huge bear hug. "You're welcome!", "It's no problem!", "After all we need to look our best!", were the responses from my lady friends that were letting go of each others hugs.

"Now, girls. It's your time to get ready! Chop chop." I clapped my hands with a smug grin.

"Already on it!" Mira winked as she got dresses for everyone.

-

Time Skip - 6 Hours Later~

We actually arrived late at the ball and I don't even know how. One hour late. But that didn't matter any more the Grand Ballroom was absolutely amazing. It was huge and many people were already dancing, everyone was dressed up so fancy from each guild and I am even more excited to taste the yummy desserts! Not too mention, there were guys from the sidelines who had hearts flashing in their eyes.

"Wow!" was the first word that came out from Wendy.

"This is really breathtaking!" I smiled with a faint blush on my cheeks.

"Hey, you came!" Elfman said who had his hair combed back and wearing a green, gold and red attire.

"You're late!" Cana slurred and poured some booze above her face towards her mouth.

"Sorry. They got... caught up in the moment." I sweat dropped while pointing the the girls behind me.

"You should never wear a suit." Gray commented to Gajeel who looked really different with his hair swept back into a low ponytail.

"Say's the Ice mage who isn't wearing his suit." I nonchalantly said.

"Exactly what Cynthia said. And you should've worn somethin'." Gajeel said.

"Over here. All of the other guild members have gathered, too." Erza came up to us with a wine glass filled with alcohol.

"Woah. Erza-san! You look beautiful." I smiled.

"Thank you Cynthia. You too. Are you trying to impress someone...?" she smirked.

"Wha-What do you mean by that....?" I blurted with blush pressing on my cheeks.

"Oh I know exactly who." she winked.

"Don't push it..." I mumbled rubbing my arm.

"Hai Hai. What ever you say, love bird." she snickered.

"Huh? Natsu's not with you?" Gray asked.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen him." Gajeel lifted his thumb and index finger, placing it under his chin in wonder.

"He'll probably come... soon." I softly said.

"Ne, Cynthia-chan!" Wendy looked up to me.

"What is it?"

"Do you wanna come with me and Cheria to look at the desserts?!" Her eyes twinkling in excitement.

"I thought you'd never ask!" I beamed as we walked over to Cheria and then towards the dessert stand. The whole table was filled out with so many yummy treats. I couldn't wait to try a bite out of all of them! I grabbed a plate that has this delicious custard fruit tart. Taking a bite from it was absolutely delicious. The most delicious thing I have ever tried!

"Oishii!" I beamed with stars glittering in my eyes.

After finishing up at least five different platters of dessert and now finishing up my sixth plate, I wondered where Wendy and Cheria went. Thinking that I should walk around for a bit, I saw the two Sky Mages peeking over a stand and staring at something with amazement. I wonder what. Stepping behind them, I noticed this delicious orange glassy jello that was shimmering in the middle on a plate.

"Check it out, Cheria! It looks like a jewel!" Wendy chimed.

"Beautiful, isn't it? I wonder what it tastes like." Cheria added.

"Taste it and you will find out!" I chuckled making the two to stare at me in surprise.

"Cynthia-chan! You scared me!" Wendy noted. "Ah gomen, gomen. Didn't mean to scare you both."

"How long were you watching us?" Cheria asked.

"Just to see that the both of you were fascinated by this pudding." I confessed.

"Do you wanna have a bite with us?!" Cheria asserted with a smile.

"Sure!"

The three of us took a spoon and grabbed each of our own plates with the pudding and took a small bite. It was so good! It melted in my mouth and the flavors and texture were really contrasting well. Just perfect!

"Oishii!" The three of us sighed in a bubbly feeling.

"It looks so delicious." A familiar voice spoke. Wendy and I gazed to see that it was the first Master who looked at us with a envious look.

"Stare..." she mumbled.

"First Master!" Wendy and I spoke in unison.

"Is something wrong?" Cheria looked over to us with concern.

"Oh no, it's nothing." Wendy said.

"Nothing you have to worry about." I ushered with an reassuring smile.

Poor Master Mavis, she was a ghost and she can't even taste or eat any other these really good desserts! I feel bad for her. Noticing the blonde who came closer, she held a finger close to her mouth and stared at my jello dessert.

"I want to eat that, too." she said.

"Please restrain yourself. You're a ghost, remember." Wendy interjected.

"But I feel bad! I would be frustrated if I couldn't eat anymore sweets. Think about it Wendy-chan! What if that was us soon?!" I faked cried and saw Wendy in slight shock as for Cheria who was in confusion at our conversation to a ghost that she can't see.

"Well then, I'll be getting some water. My mouth is full of sweets and soon cavities! See you later, Master Mavis."

"Alright." Wendy smiled as Master Mavis was still drooling over the pudding in Wendy's hand.

It took me a good five minutes to finally find some water as I gently brought up the cup to my lips and drank it in satisfaction. Placing the cup on the table, I watched the whole room being unfolded in front of me. People were having fun and laughter filled the air, many dances were being graceful in the center of the ballroom, some are snacking and just having long talks.

I can't believe that we were just fighting off the dragons, and now here we were... dancing together in Fiore's castle as everyone mingled together and felt like the aftermath of the dragons was years ago. We made it alive. I'm glad that we are all safe and sound. But that vision though... it still bothered me. It was like my death was suppose to happen but here I am alive and that's all it matters. Trying to not look like a loner anymore, I wandered around trying to find someone to chat with but heard a familiar voice near by.

"Natsu-san! Have a drink with me!" the voice followed by a sound of glass being clinked.

"Come on, Natsu-kun!" another familiar voice cheered. Wondering who it was, I turned slightly around to see that it was Sting and Lector who were asking Gajeel instead of Natsu. Were they blind to see that it wasn't Natsu? Or were they drunk? I giggled at the thought.

"The Salamander ain't here." the Iron Dragon Slayer said after he took a bite from his drumstick.

"Huh? And I was thinking we could make a toast to friendship..." Sting said in disappointment.

"Looks like your plan didn't work." Lector added as he crossed his arms.

"Fro thinks so, too." I heard the little Frosch say.

"Raios." Gajeel said as he looked over to Rogue.

"Don't call me that. It's Rogue." he remarked.

"Do you know about the guy who came from the future?" Gajeel asked.

"Yeah, I do. Even though he's me, its pathetic. But I'm not gonna become that guy, ever!" he said in determination as he rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

"Fro thinks so, to!" his partner smiled.

"Gehe."

"I'll make do with you, Gajeel-san! Let's have a drink!" I noticed Sting went up beside Gajeel as he brought up a bottle of alcohol.

"Y'know, you're outright rude!" Gajeel spoke.

"He just has no social graces, so please become friends with him." Lector sweatdropped, trying to defend his best friend.

"Maybe he's tipsy." I blurted with a small giggle behind them, making them to stare at me in return.

"Who said that?! I am not tip-" Sting was cut off midway as he turned to face me, whose eyes now went as wide as dinner plates and a huge red blush that lingered on his face.

"Yo, Cynthia!" Gajeel said with a small wave.

"Hey there." I smiled at him and Sting then looked over to Rogue who had a faint blush on his cheeks.

Gazing my eyes back to Sting, he looked paralyzed and in shock to see me. Was he getting sick because of the alcohol? Or did I look that bad?

Tracing his face and down to see what he was wearing.... he looked really handsome and hot, which I am not going to lie about. His formal white tux made him look exquisite and really good looking. The colors of his tux were just like the colors of his usual attire... royal blue, gold, white and black. But even so, he looked like a perfect gentleman. His bangs were spiked in another style and it still made him look so charming and handsome. I felt a blush coming onto my cheeks just by thinking about it and tried to look somewhere else but it didn't really seem to work.

Instead, I felt a smirk near me and saw that it was none other than Gajeel. I puffed my cheeks ignoring the smirk as I walked over to the red scarlet faced Sting, and placed a hand on his forehead and felt his skin to be really hot. I too, was slightly blushing to see the really handsome Sting in front of me, but I pushed my embarrassed thoughts away and worried about Sting.

"Sting-kun. Are you okay? You're turning really red and burning hot!" I exclaimed as I looked closer to his face and he turn a darker shade of red.

"Y-Yeah... I-I'm f-fine." he gulped thickly, trying to gaze away from me as I stepped back.

"Cynthia-chan! You so pretty! You look different and I didn't even noticed that it was you!" Lector beamed from the ground.

"Thank you Lector. You're so sweet! You look handsome in your suit. Any feline cat would be drooling for you." I winked followed by a giggle, to see him turn red.

"Fro thinks Cynthia is really beautiful!" she ran over to me and tugged at my dress.

"Aw, you're adorable Frosch! Thank you!" I beamed as I picked her up in my arms and kissed her forehead, then back to place her on the ground beside Lector.

"Ahem... you do look lovely, Cynthia-chan." Rogue smiled with his cheeks being rosy pink.

"Arigato! You look good in your tux!" I smiled in his direction.

"T-Thanks..." he muttered shyly.

"So... I got all of the compliments from these three... How do I look, Stin-stin-kun?" I smiled and emphasized his nickname as I did a little twirl in my dress in front of him, only to see that he placed a hand on his collar and slightly fidget with it. His cheeks still had a slight tint of redness and saw sweat beads forming on his face.

"Y-You... l-look be-be-bea-beautiful..." he stuttered in an embarrassed way as he scratched his cheek while his blush deepened in color, making me to blush red and chuckle nervously.

"T-Thank you... you look h-handsome..." I mumbled looking away from his gaze and heard a few chuckles from Gajeel, Rogue and Lector, while Frosch was standing there smiling at me and Sting. This made it even more embarrassing! I hung my head down and stared at my flowy dress below me, trying to hide my red face. It was quite awkward for a few seconds, until I broke the silence.

"I... I think I'll go sit down... These heels are killing me.." I muttered a half lie, trying to escape this awkward tension between us. But before I could even move, I felt a hand on my wrist and looked up to see that it was Sting. He looked troubled with a frustrated expression on his face.

"What is it Stin-stin-kun?" I asked softly, my blush slowly disappearing.

"Would you... um... would you like to... to..." he slowly stuttered as his face became red again.

"Hm?"

"A drink with me? That's right! Would you.. like to have a drink with me Cee-chan?" he chirped up as he held out a bottle and wine glasses in front of my face. I noticed that Rogue and Lector face palmed themselves, Gajeel rolled his eyes and Frosch had a worried expression.

"Maybe in a bit. I promise." I gave him a soft smile.

"O-Oh... is that so? Alright." he smiled sadly and went back to face Gajeel with a smile as he poured the alcohol in Gajeel's wine glass. I could tell by his tone and expression that something was wrong. I'll probably ask him what is on his mind later. Not wanting to ruin his cheers with Gajeel.

"A toast to friendship between fairies and tigers!" I heard Sting cheer before I could leave, soon followed by a cute childish laugh of his. I noticed that Mira, Lucy and Yukino were walking almost towards us but stopped midway and heard a slight gasp from Yukino. Making me, Rogue, Gajeel, Sting, Lector, Frosch and Sabertooth's members to turn in her direction.

"Yukino?" I softly said.

"Yukino!" Frosch smiled bringing her arms up in the air.

"I-I'm sorry!" she fumbled and turned to run away but was stopped by Sting's outburst.

"Wait! I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were here. Master and his daughter have disappeared. We're going to start over. We're gonna remake Sabertooth form the ground up!" he said, making her to face him in slight surprise.

"We were, um... far from kind to you. But I wanna make a guild that treasures its members." he nervously said as sweat beads appeared on his face.

"And why are you telling me this?" Yukino said sadly as she looked away from him.

"I want you to come back... although that might be asking too much." Sting answered. Making me to smile at his request. He really did want to change the ways of Sabertooth, and I'm even surprised that their master and Minerva disappeared right after.

I smiled at the sight and proud that Sting was going in the right direction. I walked over to his side and gently placed my hand on his arm which he seemed slightly startled but gazed at me with a small smile. Before he could even speak to me, a female voice interrupted us... more like this person was drunk..

"Of course! That's asking for so much, it's ridiculous!" a drunk Kagura slurred her words in front of us, with her comrades behind her.

"Kagura-sama!" Yukino said.

"Yukino's life belongs to me. She's joining Mermaid Heel, and I'll brook no objections!"

"What?!" The seven Sabertooth members yelled in unison in shock, only making me to laugh and Yukino who was surprised at the sudden outburst.

"You're drunk!" Sting angrily said as he walked up to Kagura.

"Shut up! Yukino belongs to Mermaid!" She angrily refused as the two bared their teeth at one another and I tried to stifle a laughter. Just then another voice spoke up and turned to see a few of my fellow guild mates all in a single file.

"Wait! We can't stay silent in this matter, either." Erza said who crossed her arms under her chest.

"That's a Man." Elfman said.

"That's right! The way things have been going, it's natural for her to join our guild!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Yeah!" says Gray.

"Juvia doesn't need any more competition to be Gray-sama's bride, but..." the jealous water mage interjected making me to sweat drop.

"We have similar characteristic, but..." says Lisanna. Now that you think of it, they do seem to be super familiar. Just like what Romeo said. Short hair and a shy personality!

"Even everyone in Fairy Tail..." Yukino said making me to walk up to her.

"Of course! You're always welcome to be in our guild." I winked, but was interrupted by Blue Pegasus who joined in the argument, soon with Lamia Scale then Quatro Cerberus. Yukino looked really startled and confused by their sudden proposals which I giggled at her cute defense.

In a matter of seconds later, all of the Masters of each guild, even invaded in on the offer for Yukino. 'This was not good. This was going to be a troublesome ball...' I groaned in my thoughts. Based on my instincts, I hid behind a marble pillar from everyone with Lector and Frosch by my side and I laughed at how this was natural for Fairy Tail, but I didn't know this would happen between all of the guilds together.

"This is so nostalgic." I wholeheartedly laughed wiping a tear from my eye.

"Cynthia-chan? What do you mean?" Lector asked worriedly.

"This is natural in Fairy Tail... but who would've thought, everyone... all of the guilds, would do it here in the palace." I smiled.

"Fro thinks it's like this everyday in your guild?"

"That's right! Everyday this happens." I smiled at the memories of our guild back in the days. I turned to see that everyone was brawling and sighed but held a smile as I told the two exceeds to stay there for safety, and walked over to Yukino and Mira. But I was pushed by someone and landed onto someone's back. Hard.

I felt the person to slowly turn around and gripped their hands tight on my shoulders.

"Oi! Who the hell-" I heard their voice cut off and felt their grip on my shoulders to loosen up. "Cee-chan?" I heard my nickname being spoken out of his mouth. I glanced up to meet his soft blue eyes peering down at me and I gave a small smile.

"H-Hey... Nice bumping into you." I joked.

"S-Sorry! I didn't know it was you." he scratched the back of his neck nervously with his cheeks tinting pink.

"It's okay. Don't worry about, I'm sorry that I ... Ah!" I squealed as I was being pushed towards the ground waiting for the hard contact to come, but felt a warm grip on my small waist and looked to see that it was Sting whose eyes held affection and worry.

"Are you okay?" he softly asked, helping me to stand in a proper position and still kept his arms wrapped securely around me.

"I-I'm fine... Thank you." I blushed.

"That's good. I don't want you to get-" he was cut of by a a chair that seems to have hit his back as he yelped in pain. Boy did he look ever looked pissed off. I gulped nervously and gripped onto his white tux, holding myself for support as he unwrapped one arm off of me.

"Who the hell did that! Dammit! I'll make you eat that chair!" he stormed as he brought up a fist in the air and still kept his other arm around my tiny waist, protectively hugging me closer to him.

I snuggled my face onto his chest to feel his warmth and to hear his heartbeat beating every second. I could feel his chest to vibrate by his outburst making me to smile into his chest. His scent was intoxicating, it was really attractive. Realizing that I was still in his arm, really close to him... I can slightly feel his hard musculed chest being pressed onto mine. I blushed slightly at the current situation I was in, but I didn't mind.... it felt comfortable and I felt safe in his strong hold.

"Everyone! That's enough!" I heard a loud voice booming within the Grand Ballroom followed by a huge thump. It seems that everyone stopped in their tracks and was dead silent. I looked up to see that it was the personal knight for the princess of Fiore.

Still in Sting's arms, I felt him to slowly relax and looked down to see that I was still in his possession. His face grew a pink blush and slowly let go of me which I did too and felt the cold air brushing against my skin, but I honestly didn't want him to let go. I wanted to stay longer in his arms. I didn't know why... I just wanted to be held by him, even more.

"Sorry..." he grumbled.

"N-No.. it's fine. Thank you for protecting me." I shyly said.

"It's n-no problem..." he stuttered.

"You showed great valor during the Grand Magic Games, and your efforts saved the country. His Majesty would express his appreciation directly, so take heed!" the knight said.

"King!" I heard little Asuka to yell happily making me to smile at her cute voice.

We all stood there, looking up at the balcony waiting for the King's arrival and speech for us. I was truly grateful for the King's kind offering for all of us guilds to celebrate for the Grand Magic Games and the battle of the Dragons. Come to think of it, there was one person who seemed to be missing all of the action a little earlier. I wonder where Natsu is. He would always started with the brawls but where could he be? As if right on cue, a familiar salmon haired teen, shocking all of us in spot.

"My subjects! Make yourselves comfortable! Ha-ga-ga-ga" he said in a cocky manner.

"Give it back-kabo!" The pumpkin said, whse is actually the King.Everyone's eyes went wide as Happy's and were frozen in spot. I groaned and face palmed myself at his usual childness and being a troublesome Natsu he is. Master won't be very pleased. I looked over at Sting whose face held with shock making me to giggle as soon as everyone yelled in confusion.

"I'm the king! I became the King! Ha-ga-ga-ga-ga" Natsu said proudly with his hands on waist.

"Natsu..." I sweat dropped at his acting.

"Garou Knights, if you would..." I heard the knight say.

"W-We can't beat him..." the leader muttered.

"Give it back-kabo!" the King jumped beside Natsu, trying to reach for his crown.

"Oh, come on! We won, right?" Natsu looked over to the King.

"Give it back-kabo!"

"Let me be the King, too! You're all my followers!" Natsu grinned.

"Geez, he should really stop messing around." I laughed but heard no reply from Sting instead he was still in shock. I poked his cheek with my index finger making him to stare at me with a small smile and I already knew what was going on his mind.

"He's always like this... That's Natsu for you." I laughed pressing a hand to cover my mouth.

"Really?" Sting asked in bewilderment.

"Yup! He's the troublemaker in our guild. Well the main one... everyone else are also troublemakers at some point, but it's really fun."

"Including you?" he smirked this time.

"Uh... sometimes?"

"I'd like to see this with my very own eyes someday." he laughed.

"Not a chance, Saber."

"There are plenty of chances, Fairy."

"Well too bad, I'm always the good girl." I beamed proudly.

"Good girl my ass."

"What was that?" I glared over to him to slightly flinch.

"Err... nothing Ms Cocky Pants." he mimicked my nickname earlier the first time we met and I playfully roll my eyes at him. Before I could even make a comeback, everyone was dancing in partners around us and I noticed that the music was starting to play. It was Sting and I who were the only ones left on the dance floor standing there amused and awkwardly. None of us dared to say a peep, but I broke it trying to break the tension between us.

"Sting-kun."

"W-What is it Cee-chan?" he asked nervously.

"I-I think I'll go sit down..." I said before turning on my heels to walk.

"Wait!" he blurted and held my wrist once again in his warm big hands making me to face him.

"Y-Yes?" I squeaked as a blush appeared on my face.

"W-Would... you um... like t-to dance?" he averted his gaze away from me as a blush appeared on his cheeks and sweat beads formed on his face making me to chuckle.

"I would love to."

"R-Really?!" his face written in shock.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

"I just thought..."

"Thought about what?"

"Oh... never mind. It's nothing." he smiled at me with a soft expression.

"Alright."

"Shall we have this dance?" he slightly bowed and offered a hand to me which I gladly took it in mine. "We shall!" I placed my other freehand on his shoulder as he wrapped his free hand on his tiny waist and soon, we were enveloped in a couple's dance. It felt so nice, like it was only the two of us and nothing else mattered. That is until he stepped on my foot.

"Owie!" I winced as he took his foot off of mine quickly while letting me go and tried to comfort me.

"S-Sorry! I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Does your-"

"Sting-kun. I'm fine. No worries. It's by accident." I cut him off as I tried to reassure him with a soft smile. He still looked troubled and upset of what he did. Not knowing of what I was thinking, I reached for his cheek and gently caressed it. He lifted his gaze onto my face and we locked our eyes for who knows how long.

"Sting-kun. I'm okay. Don't be so upset about it." I smiled.

"Are you sure? I feel guilty." he ushered. Shaking my head I beamed a grin on my face.

"Don't feel guilty. We all make mistakes."

"Cee-chan... I..I...I'm not very good at dancing to be honest. Just like what Lector said... I'm not that great at socializing." he hesitantly said while scratching his cheek.

"Then let me teach you. I sucked at dancing too at one point, but it's really easy to learn! and of course you're great at socializing! You even talked to me when we were kids... even if I don't remember." I softly said while taking my hand away from his cheek and hugged around his torso which he stiffened but slowly relaxed.

"Cee-chan..." he mumbled as he snaked his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to his chest.

"I promise to get those memories back for you. It's an absolute promise from me to you. I swear it on my life." he murmured against my hair.

"I know you will. I trust you."

"I trust you too Cee-chan." I felt him to smile against my hair and I wrapped my arms around his neck this time making him to pull away slightly and face me.

"I'm glad you do... now let's get back to dancing. Shall we?" I winked at him, making him to blush lightly but nodded at my request.

Now everyone, almost all of us were dancing in the middle of the Grand Ballroom and Sting was pretty quick on his feet. He managed to learn how to dance in a few minutes and I was pretty proud of him. He was such a good dance partner that I actually let him lead me now this time and leaned my head against his chest which he didn't object to. We stayed like that for a few minutes, just until the song was over and soon we pulled away from each other's grasp.

"Thank you for the lovely dance and teaching me, Ms Adara." he bowed and looked up to me with a passionate look on his face that got me to smile and giggle at his gentlemanly act.

"And thank you Mr Eucliffe. It was a joy to be paired up with you and teaching you at the same time." I gracefully bowed in return making him to grin.

"Well I did had the greatest teacher and a g-gorgeous partner..." he blushed making me to blush as well.

Hearing a conversation that Sting and I seemed to have eavesdropped, we looked to see that it was Lucy, Natsu, the Princess of Fiore, the King, and the knight talking about the Eclipse Project and a punishment. That caught both of our attention which we nodded to each other and walked over to the commotion to help the Princess.

"That's not all! She did her best to protect the future of this world!" I heard Lucy say as we got closer towards them.

"Yes. The princess is not at fault here." Erza agreed who was standing near Lucy. Soon a few others stepped in from other guilds to help and interject about the Princess saving the world.

"I say let it be water under the bridge! Thanks to her, we wizards came together as one." I heard Natsu say while munching on his drumstick.

"Aye, sir!" Happy chimed.

"Yeah, you can say that again." Laxus said joining in.

"If it weren't for an occasion like this, we may never have united." Jura spoke.

"Everyone..." the the Princess said in surprise as she brought up her hands to cover her mouth with slight tears coming out of her eyes.

"Juvia and Gray-sama also united!" Juvia happily said as she hugged an arm of Gray who seemed troubled. Making me to sweat drop. Poor Juvia.

"I'm grateful for it all, too." Sting said who stood beside me with a smile on his face and slowly reached for my hand to be in his. Which I allowed and he gave a gentle squeeze for comfort and warmth. I smiled gently at him and blushed as our hands interlocked once again.

"Yeah. I feel like I received something valuable." Rogue added who was on my left side. So now I was standing in between the Twin Dragon Slayers.

"Fro thinks so, too!"

"Thats right! The unity within Sabertooth is stronger than before!" Lector said proudly making me to grin at him.

"We all become together as one and help to fight for our comrades, for our country's safety. For our future. The princess didn't mean any harm." I spoke with a gentle tone gazing over at the King and noticed that the Princess smiled at me. I felt a gaze on me and knew that it was Sting. I gave another small squeeze in his hand in which he returned one.

"Exactly! And so, I'll render our verdict! Princess Hisui is innocent! I shall brook no dissent!" A drunk Kagura said as her comrades backed her up from behind her, but later turned out to be a slight argument between them with Erza and Gray but was stopped by the knight whose name that I've heard was, Arcadios.

"I understand how all of you feel. However, I must put my foot down." The King spoke.

"Your Majesty, punish me!" Arcadios stepped forward.

"No, it is I who deserve punishment!" the short man beside the Princess also stepped forward.

"In that case, we all do!" Lucy added.

"Right." Erza hummed.

"I agree. It is not fair if the Princess is the only one who gets punishment. In fact, all of us were brought into this situation. So it's fair that we all get punished." I stated. The King looked towards me as I held a determined look on my face and felt Sting to squeeze my hand which I returned, and saw that the King was looking at all of us.

"I deem Arcadios's sense of loyalty to Hisui, and Darton's loyalty to the nation to both be wonderful. And most wonderful of all... is you wizards who love peace throughout this world." the King spoke.

"Your Majesty..." Princess Hisui said in slight surprise.

"Therefore, the punishment for my daughter, Hisui..."

Waiting for the King to say his answer, I was slightly tensed up by the answer of what he was going to propose. Sting felt that I was slightly quivering and gave another squeeze for reassurance and I nodded in his direction with a small smile on my face. Once I looked back to see a pumpkin head on the Princess' head, I was slightly shocked but happy that her punishment wasn't anything too serious.

"... is wearing that for one week-kabo!" the King answered,which the Princess squealed in surprise and I smiled at the scene. Before I could say anything, I felt a tug on my hand to see that it was Sting who wanted to take me somewhere.

Reluctantly following his lead, we stood outside of a balcony outside from the Grand Ball room and gazed up at the night sky. It was silent between the two of us. Not an awkward silence but a really calming and soothing one.

"It's a beautiful night, don't you think?" I softly said in an amused tone gazing at the stars shining brightly.

"Cee-chan." I heard him say.

"Yes Sting-kun. What is it?" I gently asked while facing him, as he placed a hand on my cheek that I slightly shivered at his warm soft hand.

His gaze was intense, but still held softness. The moon shone down at him that made his blue eyes even more mesmerizing which got me to slightly blush at his handsome appearance. I noticed that he gazed from my eyes to my lips, then my neck. He brought his free hand and placed his slender fingers gently on top of the my treasured necklace, hanging on my neck. His warm touch gave me a warm tingly sensation, forming goosebumps on my skin.

"That necklace... It makes you look even more stunning with that beautiful dress on you." He said with a slight blush.

"T-Thankyou... It's something that I treasure and value a lot in my life... even if I don't know who gave me it." I said sadly.

I felt him to cup both of my cheeks. His eyes locked with mine once again.

"It was I who gave you that. My present to you when we were younger. The first day that you left to go back home after your two month stay with me and Lector since we've met. You loved that necklace so much that you put it on everyday and never once , took it off. Even when you came to visit us sometimes, it's never been out of your sight." He chuckled remembering our past that I have no clue or remember. It pained me that he knows all of our times we shared but I didn't. I felt terrible.

"I'm so glad to hear that from you Sting-kun. Even if I don't remember our times together, which I am really determined to find them.. That makes me really happy to have a friend like you! It makes me want to treasure this necklace even more. I love it so much. After knowing that it was from you, I'm so glad and thrilled!" I smiled making him to smile back.

"I... I am truly grateful for you to be in my life. I'm just really glad that I've found you, even if we haven't seen each other in three years or that your memories have vanished... Even so, I still want to keep you close and ... and I truly and deeply care for you." He confessed while using his free hand to tuck a stand of my hair behind my ear, to feel his warm tingly feeling of his slender fingers.

"Sting-kun..."

"I will become that light for you in your darkness. I will protect you from all harm. Whenever you need me, just call me. I will always be there for you. No matter where you go, wherever and whenever... I will always find you. It's a promise. Our promise." he softly said as he brought his face closer to mine.

"Y-You promise?" I choked on my words slightly as tears were starting to erupt at the corner of my eyes. Sting noticed this and caressed his hand against my cheek, using his thumb to wipe off my tears for me.

"It's a promise." he said confidently and our gazes were slowly being drawn closer by the second. I closed my eyes slowly as he did the same and brought his lips a few inches closer.

Now feeling that our lips were softly brushing against each other and I could faintly feel his warmth and smoothness of his gentle lips. However, before it could become more intimate and locked, we heard a door open beside us and we quickly stepped away from each other in embarrassment. I noticed that Sting had a slight scowl on his face.

"There you two are! We've been looking all over for you." I heard Rogue said as he walked a little closer.

"You've found us." Sting said looking away.

"Oh... Was I interrupting something?" I could tell that he was smirking with that tone of his, which made me to go even more red and I placed my hands on top of my face to hide my embarrassment.

"N-No..." Sting mumbled looking annoyed at his partner, but this only made his partner to smirk even wider.

"Sorry you two. But just letting you know that the Grand Ball is over in a few minutes. Anyways, I'll be taking Frosch and Lector back to the inn. Goodnight Cynthia-chan and Sting... use protection while you're at it." Rogue smugly said with a huge smirk.

"Wh-What?!" I blurted in shock and embarrassment as I stared over the to Shadow Dragon Slayer.

"R-Rogue!" Sting hissed at him with his cheeks turning red.

"Don't say I didn't warn you two. Night!" he turned around so that his back was facing us and waved a hand while walking within the room.

I just stood there stunned by what he said, and Sting clenched his hands into fists in slight embarrassment. It was quite awkward now between us two because of what Rogue said. The things that he had to say... Geez.

Since it was time to go already, I wanted to give him a gift but I didn't have one... until an idea appeared in my thoughts. I pushed myself to do it and not wanting to back down which was slightly hard for me to do, but I did it anyways.

"Cee-c-chan...!" Sting blurted out in surprise as I walked over to him and stood on my tippy toes, since he was taller than me by a few inches and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Slowly releasing the gentle kiss, I was now flat on my feet and stared up at his handsome face in front of me. He was stunned for a minute but quickly replaced it with a compassionate smile lingering on his lips.

"That's a thank you gift for dancing with me today."

"T-Thank you... Cee-chan... It felt so... how should I say this... familar." he smiled gently as he cupped my cheeks and placed a gentle tenderness kiss on my forehead, which I was slightly taken back.

"And that was my thank you gift for teaching me how to dance." he claimed.

"Familar? What do you mean by that?" I mumbled in curiosity.

"I'll tell in another time, I promise. Right now, it's getting late. Your comrades might be worried about you being missing."

"Alright. I'll remember on that promise of yours and I was missed out in action because of Sting Eucliffe of Sabertooth..." I said in a sassy tone with a hint of a joke, "who decided to take me away from the party and wanted to chat with me privately out here..." I retorted in a sarcastic manner.

"Oh ha ha, so funny Cee-chan. That's not nice of you to call me the bad guy here!" he whined jokingly making me to roll my eyes playfully.

"Whine all you want Spiky."

"Spiky?!" he gasped in a fake horrid expression which made me to laugh.

"Like the new nickname? It fits you perfectly!" I beamed.

"W-Why Spiky?!" he faked gasp.

"Cause your blonde hair is spiky... which reminds me... since you've told me that Natsu is you biggest idol when you were young... did you by any chance copied his hair style?!" I gushed cheerfully making him to have a slight blush on his cheeks.

"L-Let's not talk about that right now!" he stuttered.

"So it is true! That's so cute!" I beamed and ruffled his blonde spiky hair, but to which in my surprise... it was really soft and silky. Not the kind of thought that I had in mind. I noticed that he was smirking at me while I was lacing his smooth hair through my fingers.

"You really like my hair that much, Cee-chan?" he asked playfully while crossing his arms.

"Sh-Shut up! Let's g-go!" I protested at this remark and quickly removed my hand from his smooth hair. I speed walked myself out the balcony leaving a smirking Sting , who seemed to have catch up beside me already.

"Whatever you say Cee-chan." he grinned childishly as my crimson blush deepened in color.

"I-Idiot." I murmured which only made him to grin even wider.

'The things you say to me Sting Eucliffe.' I mentally groaned.

---

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So .......
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What do you think?
Darn Rogue xDD
Tata for now readers c: