Chapter 1
A young blonde stood in the centre of the hall, gazing at the expectant eyes of the spectators. Today she had to choose – or more correctly- she would be chosen. The Elders observed her with all their knowledge and wisdom, murmuring amongst themselves before reaching a conclusion. A short man rose from his throne to make the announcement.
"We present to the Gods! Lucy Heartphilia, the Daughter of Hera!"
And that was last thing Lucy heard before her fate was sealed.
A bluenette shuffled into the hall, quietly, her head bowed in a symbol of respect. She waited patiently, shoulders quivering, for the Elders to decide. She felt glances scrutinizing her, pulling out her deepest secrets. She heard hurried whispers and then nothing; silence. It was decided. She did not look up.
"We present to the Gods! Juvia Lockser, the Daughter of Poseidon!
Juvia felt nothing.
Lucy sat on a luxurious seat in the waiting room. Tears were biting the corner of her eyes and yet she couldn't cry. Everything that had happened till now - The Choosing, her waiting- were all just a splendid act put together for satisfying mundane human fears.
In a world where fate was decided by people who knew nothing of your past or your present, this was the only choice people like her had. Her enter life was a joke; a Hobson's choice. Of all the Gods she could have been presented to, why Hera? Lucy remembered what her mother had told her about the Queen Goddess.
"She's beautifully cruel Lucy." She'd said. "She's cunning and manipulative. She offers much but always requests the price. And if you object..." her mother's voice had trailed away, but Lucy had heard the unspoken words; If one dared object the queen, they'd suffer the same way her mother, Layla Heartfilia, had.
Lost in the whirlpool of her thoughts, Lucy failed to hear the sound of the strong and steady footsteps echoing in the marble room.
"Welcome!" The voice was loud and firm, but simultaneously cheerful. Nevertheless, the sudden greeting startled her. She looked to her right and saw the short man from earlier who had announced the decision of the Elders. His height surprised Lucy now, as she hadn't cared much for it earlier.
As if reading her mind, he smiled. "Not all Elders are that tall." And even though Lucy's situation was grave, she felt a small smile tug at her lips. It wasn't until then that Lucy noticed that the man wasn't alone. A few steps behind him stood two girls. The first, Lucy noticed, was her age. She had blue hair tightly curled at the ends and deep blue eyes that didn't betray any emotion she felt. But the redness in them told Lucy more. One glance at the second one, and Lucy felt her heart stop. She was young, too young, and probably not even in her adolescence. She too had striking blue hair, but it was long and straight. Her eyes were a delicious shade of brown and it too, was tinted with red. For a moment, Lucy wondered if this was how she appeared to them; a seventeen year-old girl with blonde hair tumbling down her shoulders and chocolate brown eyes. Was that all they were now?
The man looked between them before clearing his throat to draw attention. All three pair of eyes fell on him.
"I am Makarov Dreyar, son of the Titan."
Lucy's eyes widened in man who looked so frail and fragile, a son of the Titan?
"As you are already aware, I am one of the ten Elders. But I am also your guardian from this day forward. There are many things to be said, but for now this is most important. From this moment forward you are no longer just humans. You are the children of the Gods and you are family. You will love each other and be kind and considerate. Any misconduct will be punished. Also…" he looked at the girls with fierce eyes. "… if one of us hurts another one of us, consequences will be severe. That is all."
The three exchanged worried glances. What were they getting into?
He smiled again, as if he hadn't said anything that was out of the ordinary. "And now, if you would introduce yourselves."
The three girls looked at each other. After a moment of silent contemplation, the young one spoke.
"My name is Wendy Marvel, daughter of Apollo." Lucy faintly remembered that Apollo was the God of music and healing. She wondered which gift the girl would receive or, if fortunate, would choose.
She bowed politely at Makarov and graciously smiled at Lucy.
Lucy looked at the other girl expecting her to speak out next but she stood still eyeing Lucy carefully and Lucy came to the conclusion that the other one was well guarded.
Lucy took a step forward. "I am Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Hera."
She then looked at the last girl wistfully. The said girl eyed the floor and then looked at Makarov as if seeking his permission. He nodded encouragingly and the girl spoke, once again looking down.
"Juvia is Juvia Lockser, daughter of Poseidon."
Lucy was confused for a minute but soon realized that the girl was speaking in third person. It was odd, but not lunatic. She also remembered that Poseidon was the God of the Sea, one of the Big Three wondered if the façade of this girl had something to do with the same knowledge; whether she knew the extent of her power and the terror she could cause among Outsiders. She wanted to find out more but she knew that she would have to wait.
"All right then." Makarov stood proud. "Let's go home."
Juvia was furious. She was angry with the Elders, her country, the Gods and herself.
She had to be chosen as the daughter of Poseidon, she had to be among the Children of the Gods. She hated it.
The only person with luck worse than hers was the girl, Lucy. She was the daughter of Hera. Hera was dangerous and everybody, even the Elders, knew that. And yet they continued to offer Hera children.
The minute her fate had been decided, Juvia had known what she was walking into. And that made her very disappointed with herself. She could have chosen to end everything; this life and the future it held her. But she hadn't, solely because she couldn't find the courage to do so within her.
And even though Juvia was immersed in her own despair, she felt sympathy towards the young child, Wendy. She was much too young for this life of torture. But at least, she was presented to Apollo.
This whole system was crooked. Innocent people were presented to the Gods for the sake of others who were selfish and ignorant. The Outsiders, as everyone else was called, would do worse upon bad with no remorse and expect to be saved by the prayers of the Children of the Gods.
And now, Juvia was one of them too. She was now fated to pray for others, to please her 'Father', so that he would take pity on the Outsiders and let them be. She was no longer the cheerful girl who used to love the rain and the sunshine, who wanted to fall in love with a man, who wanted a romantic proposal, who wanted a grand white wedding, who wanted children and a home, who wanted to grow old with her love and die in peace because she would have been sure that people would still remember her. She would now wither into oblivion, unknown, and that was what she would be blessed with for praying for others.
Juvia Lockser was no more who she used to be.
As they neared the so-called 'home', Juvia came to the realization that it was anything but that. 'Home' was a huge building that reminded her of witches' towers from stories. It appeared neat and calm from where she stood, but the commotion from inside told her otherwise. She briefly closed her eyes, and out of habit grabbed the hand next to her. She looked to her side and found Wendy smiling at her as she clasped Juvia's hand in her own. Juvia smiled back at her, thankful for the kind gesture.
She noticed that Wendy had also locked hands with Lucy, who looked very grateful about it.
Makarov turned around to face them.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail." He said.
'Fairy Tail' Juvia repeated in her mind. Maybe, just maybe, it would be better than she hoped.
As the doors were pushed open, Lucy braced herself for whatever it was to come. She was petrified a couple seconds later when she saw, or rather caught, what was actually going on.
She had never, ever heard such lame insults.
"Your belly is as stupid as your ice is!"
"Oh yeah? Your hair is as pink as candy!"
The brawl was taking place between a half-naked guy with spiky black hair and a well-tanned boy with pink hair.
Lucy glanced at Makarov who looked quite sheepish.
It was soon replaced withan expression of anger and she was tempted to step back. Makarov was an Elder. And he had already told her that misconducts were punished. And that people who hurt another one of their own would face severe consequences. And what was happening inside was misconduct and on a certain level, they were also hurting each other by physically fighting.
Suddenly she didn't want to watch anymore. But before she could shut her eyes she saw Makarov being surrounded by a strange yellow aura. She gasped.
Lucy had heard about the Aura. She had spent months in her family's library studying about it. The aura was a symbol of strength and the high amounts of the magic gifted by the Gods and the Titans. Only the best of the best had visible auras.
Lucy felt her throat tighten. Visible auras contained memories. Her mother had had a visible aura. When Lucy was five years old she'd been mesmerized by her mother's aura. She still was. Her mother had looked like a Goddess in her aura and Lucy had always wanted one too, so that she could be like her mother.
"I want to be just like you, mother!" Lucygiggled as her mother spun her around, the aura encircling them both.
"And you will be." Her mother smiled, pressing a kiss on Lucy's temple. "All you have to do is believe in the magic that you bring."
And all throughout the seventeen years of her life that was what she had done and yet this was what she had reaped. She was chosen as the daughter of Hera and was at a place called 'Fairy Tail' where she had no knowledge of what awaited her.
Makarov's Aura was growing stronger and brighter and Lucy was getting smaller.
No. She corrected herself. Makarov was growing taller and broader, no longer the small man he was moments ago. It dawned upon Lucy all of a sudden that Makarov was indeed the son of a Titan.
Makarov was casting his shadow into the guildhall and from the corner of her eye she caught the boys who had been previously caught up in their petty fight break away. She nervously anticipated Makarov's reaction but was left open-mouthed when the boys started at each other again.
"Enough!" Makarov bellowed before picking up both boys in each hand. "We have new members, so behave!" The boys looked at him with new-found fear and frantically nodded. How she was able to see what they were doing so high above the ground, Lucy didn't know.
Makarov set both boys back on ground before shrinking back to his normal size and turning towards the girls. "Come on inside!" he sounded cheerful again and Lucy wondered if this was how her life here would be; rowdy one moment but calm and insightful the next.
The hall Juvia had entered into reminded her of the pub she used to work in. The only possible difference between the two places was that this hall was much better kept. Large tables lined either side with generous space in between to traverse. At the end of the room was a bar with five stools lined in front and an enormous shelf behind, holding a wide range of bottles and crystal glasses.
Behind the bar stood a friendly-looking woman with flowing silver hair and a charming smile. Juvia realized that the smile was directed at them, but made no effort to smile back.
Makarov led the way and the girls followed. Juvia peeked around the hall and noticed that the people inside had stopped all activities and were now peering at the girls as if they were queer creatures. Juvia hated people staring at her as a general rule.
She was led to the woman at the bar alongside Lucy and Wendy. Now that Juvia could really see the woman, she was stunned. The woman was breathtakingly beautiful, more than Juvia thought was possible. She had soft, wise eyes and her smile broke into a grin. "My name is Mirajane Strauss, daughter of Hades and gifted by the Furies." She introduced herself. "You may call me Mira."
Juvia felt a sudden panic. This woman was a daughter of Hades? She had the gift of the Furies?
She made a mental note to herself to not get on Mirajane's bad side.
Mirajane turned to Makarov, frowning. "We have three new members? That's unusual."
Juvia quirked her ears when she heard the word 'unusual'.
"Ah, yes." Makarov 's face was grim. "I too was surprised. But there's no speaking against decisions, is there?"
There was silence for a few seconds as both Mira and Makarov seemed to remember something unpleasant.
"I must get going now. There's a meeting scheduled for the Heads of the guilds today." Makarov sounded serious. "I leave the girls to you Mira." He added. "Make them comfortable." And with those words he disappeared through a door.
Mirajane beamed at Juvia and the others. "It's a pleasure to have you all at Fairy Tail."
"And it's a pleasure to be here as well." Lucy spoke out of her habitual courtesy.
Wendy smiled at Mira and Juvia gave her a small bow.
"Now if you would all tell me your names?" Mira asked, reminding Juvia that they still hadn't introduced themselves.
Juvia rolled her eyes, pondering over how many times she would have to do the same thing.
"I am Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Hera." Mira's face was quick to cloud up, but equally fast to clear. But both Juvia and Lucy had seen the change in her expression.
"I am Wendy Marvel, daughter of Apollo." Mira generously smiled at young Wendy, although her eyes held pity and Juvia wondered if Mira was truly oblivious to Wendy's age.
"I am Juvia Lockser, daughter of Poseidon." Mira's face flared up in utter shock. After a few seconds, she regained her composure, but the surprise was evident in her tone.
"A daughter of Poseidon?" Mira questioned, an eyebrow raised.
"Yes." Juvia looked at Mira, confused. "Is there something wrong?"
"Oh no! Nothing's wrong!" Mira cleared up, understanding that her reaction may not have fared well with Juvia. "It's just that the Elders never do this."
"This?" Lucy asked, reprovingly.
Mira laughed good-naturedly. "What I meant was that the Elders never usually place children of the Big Three together." She looked at the girls. "At the most, two children among them might end up together, but never all three. Surely you must have heard of that."
Lucy was quick to respond. "So there's a child of Zeus here?!"
Mira smiled. But this time neither Lucy nor Juvia felt its warmth. "Yes. The son of Zeus is one of us." She said. "Now, follow me."
The girls obediently trailed behind Mira, climbing a flight of stairs that led them to another large room with wooden paneling. The room was bare and ill-lit with only a large oval table at the center surrounded by a number of chairs. Lucy assumed that this was a conference room of sorts. Mirajane then proceeded across the room to another door. She opened the door and ushered in the girls.
"Please have a seat." Mira pointed to the chairs around a large coffee table. This room was the smallest one the girls had come across but it had a lovely feel to it. Mirajane inhaled deeply. "This", she informed, "is the ladies waiting room. Make yourselves comfortable. There's coffee and tea and some cakes and scones in the shelves. Help yourselves to it." She smiled. "You can use this time to calm yourselves. This…" she emphasized, "is always very hard. I should know." She smiled sadly. "Well then! I'll let you be." She walked towards the door before turning back. "I'll call you girls out in time."
"In time?" Wendy repeated. "In time for what?"
Mirajane grinned, a twinkle in her eyes. "You'll see."
And with that, she waltzed out of the room.
Lucy's heart was racing. She could not think of any sin she had committed that was bad enough for her to end up in the same guild as the son of Zeus. Mira's confirmation was her ticket to death.
Mira had told the girls to use this time to calm themselves and to prepare for their new lives, but each passing second added more fear in Lucy's heart. The only person who had actually taken Mira's advice was Wendy and she was gazing out of a window at the moment, lost in thoughts, a serene expression grazing her soft features. Juvia was more kinetic, pacing the room nervously with the heels of her footwear tapping against the wooden floor.
Lucy sighed.
Hera and Zeus may be married to each other, but that was a Godly affair. Hera's obvious dislike to the children of Zeus was well known. Most books said that Hera's hatred to Zeus' children came from the disrespect they gave to the Queen Goddess. Zeus' children felt it was perfectly acceptable to demand of Hera's children because she was Zeus' wife. The result was that enmity grew between the children of both Gods.
But what Lucy really feared was the power the son of Zeus would possess. Lightning magic was not to be misjudged.
Lucy knew that Juvia too was not passionate about meeting Zeus' son. Poseidon and Zeus may be brothers, but the rivalry between their children was well known.
Anyhow, Lucy took an undue pleasure in the knowledge that, if ever push came to show, at least Juvia and she would be on the same side. True, she and the bluenette were not more than acquaintances at the moment, but Lucy sincerely hoped that it would change for the better.
Lucy took the quiet moment she was in to ponder about what her own gifts would be. And that would be only if she proved worthy for such a gift. Lucy wished she knew what her mother had been gifted with but alas, her mother had never told her that, the reasons as to why still a mystery to Lucy.
She was once again drifting in her thoughts but snapped out of it when she noticed Juvia had slipped onto the chair beside her.
Silence reigned between them while Lucy speculated whether she should greet Juvia or stay silent.
"Juvia dislikes silence." The blunette admitted, although a bit awkwardly.
"I too dislike silence." Lucy smiled at Juvia, feeling at ease.
The latter smiled for the first time since Lucy had met her and she felt that Juvia's smile was both beautiful and gracious.
Juvia fiddled with her fingers as she began to talk. "How is Lucy-san faring?" Juvia looked her in the eye and Lucy could see genuine concern in them.
Lucy considered telling her that she was doing well, that she was all right, but that would be dishonest of her for she was not fine at all. She was scared of her current prospects and she didn't know when, if ever, she would be better. So she trusted Juvia with the truth.
"I'm learning to cope."
Juvia smiled apologetically. "Then Juvia will too."
And for the first time since the death of her mother, Lucy didn't feel alone. She could this. Juvia could do this.
They would endure, together.
A/N: Alright then! And that's the first chapter of The Greek Myth AU. Hope you enjoyed! Review! :)
