The Dragneel Angel [SEQUEL/Nalu Fairy Tail AU]

Chapter 12: Goodbyes

-No One P.O.V-
"Lady Camellia requests your presence, your highness," Sebastian informed Nathaniel at seven o clock in the morning. He was barely awake, his arms stretching over the edge of the bed. Only when he lifted his head from the unnecessary pile of pillows beneath him did he see Camellia looming over the posts at the end of the bed.
"Mia," he mumbled, still half asleep.
"Erza will require you for training in two hours, your highness. I will be just outside if you need my assistance," Sebastian informed, as he bowed his head before leaving.

"So why are you here?" Nate asked her. She remained quiet, tugging nervously on the sleeves of her gown.
"If you don't talk I'll get pretty bored, you know," he continued. "You're still not yourself and it's really getting on my nerves."
"P-Prince Nathaniel..." she stuttered. "Can I stay with you today?"
He gave Camellia a puzzled glance.
"Do you miss your parents?" He asked her. She nodded her head in return.
"Well I can't bring them back, you know."
"But...I don't belong anywhere," she began. "I miss that too."
"The feeling of belonging, then. The desire to feel loved and needed." He explained. "I can't make you feel like that."
"You did!" She answered back. "When I called you and you came I felt like that!"
"But I'm younger than you. And you're not my family," he argued. "You're a bit stupid, you know."
Those words hit Camellia too hard; like a the last touch against an already crumbled wall. She began to cry, the tears sinking into the cream carpet, just like the way her father's blood had done. She lowered to the floor, a hot mess.
"Mia! Stop crying!" Nate shouted angrily. "Mummy's going to tell me off again..."
"M-Mummy?" She whispered. "I...I want my mummy to tell me off..."
Nate could do nothing but watch his friend, helpless before him at such a young age. He wondered, for a moment, if he could be the one she claimed him to be; if he could replace the family she had unfairly lost, and save her from her own destruction.

He net down next to her, and laid his head on her lap.
"You woke me up, Mia," he started. "Now I'm tired. You mind if I sleep on your lap?"
"Prince N-Nathaniel?" She murmured through her tears. "Why are you-"
"Wow, this is really comfortable!" He interrupted. "Now be quiet and let me sleep."
Camellia couldn't understand this at all. He was in his bedroom; if he wanted to sleep so badly, there was no need to use her. Yet he snuggled himself against her knees, and she found herself enjoying his company next to him.
"Thank you, Camellia."
For some reason, the tears stopped after that point. She sat in silence with his head in her hands, and even found herself smiling. This was the feeling she couldn't understand, the feeling she had fallen in love with.

-Lucy P.O.V-
"We are gathered here today to commemorate the loss of Niska and Ekiro Raze, a beloved couple and cherished friends to all who knew them."
They lowered the coffin into the ground, both bodies laying peacefully inside, wrapped in each other's embrace for eternity.
"We commit their bodies to the ground, to the goddess Deivina. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust."
Midori held my hand as the coffin was lowered.
"Wait," she muttered, stepping forward. "Mama, can I fix them? Like I fix the flowers?"
My eyes glossed over with tears.
"No, Midori," I answered. "No one can change this."
She looked up at me with wide eyes.
"But Mama...everyone's sad..." she continued. "Does that mean they not coming back? Nini's gone forever?"
I leaned down next to Midori, to see tears in the corners of her eyes. I placed my hand on her cheek, with a pitiful smile.
"I don't understand, Mama," she said. "They...were with us... were laughing with us..."
It was torture to watch her innocent mind try to comprehend death.
"Midori, it's hard to-"
"Your majesty, you must speak your eulogy to the country. Please come this way," Clara informed.

It turns out that we have a palace graveyard. We hadn't even known it existed- and the fact that Toma, the previous king, had been buried there and we hadn't gone to visit him, well...it only added fuel to the fire of our grief. Personal members had gathered so that Niska and Ekiro could have a peaceful funeral, however due to their popularity with the public we had to make a tribute to them, for the country as well.
"But Midori..." I humbly rejected, although Midori was already being taken away by Alison.
"Um, uh...alright," I mumbled, following Clara to the courtyard balcony.