Prologue
Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Fiore, the Heartfilia family ruled the kingdom with kindness and understanding as the kings and queens did in the past. A joyous blanket covered itself onto Fiore.
Queen Layla Heartfilia sat by her windowsill looking over the land where she and her husband ruled. Their kingdom prospered and their people lived a joyous life. Layla could see many of the children running around the grounds, men working hard for their family, and women talking to themselves with their babies in hand. A smile formed onto the queen's lovely face as she walked to the crib where her daughter laid sound asleep.
Her daughter's eyes started to flutter and revealed big hazel eyes. When the daughter laid her eyes on her mother, she started to giggle and reach up to her mother. Layla giggled and reached into the crib.
"Good morning, my little princess," Layla cooed. "How is my Lucky Lucy today?" Lucy gurgled back an answer and squealed to her mother. Layla laughed at her daughter's silliness. "I hope you know what today is."
Layla started to dress Lucy into a pink puffy gown and finishing with her tiny silver crown. Lucy started to wiggle which resulted in the silver crown being lopsided. Layla laughed before fixing the crown. Layla carried Lucy and took her out to the dinning room.
Pink flowers decorated the halls as the mother and daughter walked closer to the throne room. Lively music and the sound of laughter could be heard throughout the halls. "Let us hurry," Layla said. Lucy only giggled in agreement.
After they announced Layla and Lucy's arrival, Layla made her way towards her husband who was sitting on his throne. Layla smiled and thanked the guest who greeted her and Lucy.
King Jude Heartfilia got up from his throne and made his way to his queen and princess. He opened his arms and took his family in a huge. Jude gave Layla a kiss on her forehead and rubbed Lucy's cheek.
"She just woke up," Layla informed.
"That is good. Our special friends have yet to arrive," Jude said as he directed his wife to her throne that was slightly smaller than his own.
The announcer cleared his throat and all attention was directed upon him. "May I announce, the Fairies of Fiore." A fairy garbed in a light pink floor length gown flew through the opened doors and gracefully landed in front of the crowd. "Rose." Another fairy dressed in blue halter-top knee length dress flew in and landed beside the first fairy. "Crystal." The last fairy wore a green strapless floor length dress landed beside the second fairy. "Jade."
The crowd simultaneously bowed down as the fairies made their way toward the king and queen. King Jude and Queen Layla welcomed the fairies with a bow. "I welcome to my daughter's birthday party, fairies," Jude greeted.
"Thank you for inviting us," Rose said. She noticed the bundle Layla was carrying. Her face softened and smiled at the bundle. "Is this the new princess?"
"Yes, it is," Layla answered. She walked up to the fairies and presented Lucy to them. The fairies crowded Layla to take a look at the new princess. The fairies took a glimpse at the baby and they were hooked.
Jade laughed. "Well, it looks like she does not need the gift of beauty with those looks," she joked. The other fairies nodded and in agreement and Layla thanked her.
"Why don't we give her the gifts now?" Crystal suggested.
"Let's do it," Jade nodded.
"I guess I will go first," Rose said. Crystal and Jade took a step back as Jude joined his wife and daughter with Rose in front of them. Rose cleared her throat and looked at both parents. "Now, I do not want both of you to complain about the gifts we are about to give your daughter. These gifts are final and cannot be returned. These gifts will benefit your daughter in the future. I assure you." Rose waited for Layla and Jude to agree towards the terms that Rose presented. Jude nodded and Rose started the gift giving.
Rose placed her hands above Lucy and the pink glow started to appear. "I, Rose, present you with the gift of Celestial Magic. May these friends guard and protect you as it did to your mother." Twelve golden keys started to circle around Lucy; three of the twelve keys came from Layla's key ring. As the spell finished, three rings went back to Layla, but the other nine disappeared. Rose smiled down at Lucy's shining brown eyes that held curiosity for knowledge. "I can already see you becoming a powerful mage with those eyes full of knowledge." Rose grinned and made her way to Crystal as Jade walked up to the couple.
"My turn," Jade said. She started to stretch her arm muscles before placing her hand above Lucy just like Rose. A green glow appeared this time. "I, Jade, present you with the gift of bravery. May this gift provide you strength and courage to the difficulties you face in life." A green orb surrounded Lucy and suddenly disappeared into a magical dust. Lucy giggled at the sparkly dust. Jade laughed with the princess and placed a hand on her cheek. "Have fun in life and keep your friends close, 'kay, kid?" Jade smirked at the princess and stood beside Rose.
"Last gift." Crystal smiled. As she made her way to the princess, a loud boom was heard. Everybody turned to look and saw the worse.
Standing at the top steps was the worst fairy. She was dressed in a long sleeved purple floor length dress. "Hey people! Guess who decided to crash the party?" Her wicked laugh resounded throughout the room.
"Eris! What are you doing here?" Rose shouted.
Eris looked at Rose. "Why, hello there Rosie. I didn't know you were also invited," Eris sneered.
"You were not invited, Eris." King Jude's voice boomed through the room as he protectively hides his wife and child behind his back.
Eris placed her gaze onto Jude. "Greetings, my king. I'm sorry if I'm late. But I hope the party hasn't ended yet." Eris moved her way closer to the family with an evil glint in her eyes.
"I said, you were not invited," Jude growled.
Eris faked a surprised look. She gasped. "I wasn't. Oh my. That just won't do. Eris always gets invited to a party. No questions asked. Now, where your little brat?"
Jude unsheathed his sword, ready to guard his family. "You will not take a step further."
"Eris, stop this at once," Jade shouted. Jade stepped in front of Eris, blocking her path towards the royal family.
"And what are you doing, Jade? You think you can stop me?"
"I will if I have to," Jade said firmly.
Eris laughed haughtily. "As if." Eris suddenly conjured up a purple glow and pushed the fairies away, effectively trapping them onto the wall. "Now let's see that baby."
Layla suddenly felt pain throughout her whole body. She screamed but refused to let go of Lucy. Then her body went rigid. She took one step, then another, and another until she was in front of Eris.
"Layla, what are you doing?" Jude shouted. He couldn't attack Eris with his wife and child in front of her. This would only cause harm to Layla and Lucy. He noticed his guards getting ready to attack, but he held up his hand as a silent order to stand down.
"Oh, don't get your panties in a twist, Jude," Eris said. "I just want to take a look at the baby." Layla fought with her body but she wasn't strong enough to stop herself or move away from Eris. Layla could feel tears forming in her eyes as she feared for her daughter's safety.
Eris placed her hands on top of Lucy and a purple glow appeared. "Here's my gift. I, Eris, present you with the gift of death. On your eighteenth birthday, you will be punished for your parent's faults. You will prick yourself fall into death's hands." Eris's laugh boomed through the room until she disappeared in a purple smoke.
When Layla was released from the spell, her body became weak and fell on her knees. Jude immediately ran to her side and found his wife clutching her child to her chest and crying her eyes out. She looked up to her husband and pleaded, "Please, help her. I don't want her to die."
"Um, beg your pardon, your majesty," a soft voice said. Layla looked up with tearful eyes. Crystal stood in front of them with a soft smile. "May I remind you that I have yet to give her a gift?"
"That means?" Layla gasped.
"Yes, I can change Eris's curse but not all of it."
"What do you mean?"
"Gifts from fairies are absolute, so it cannot be fully changed. But I have enough power to rearrange the curse. Eris's magic is very powerful so I'll only be able to change a little."
"Please, please do. I don't want my daughter to suffer with this curse."
Crystal nodded and placed her hand above Lucy. The blue glow appeared and enveloped itself around Lucy. "I, Crystal, present you with a solution to the curse you were given. Instead of death, you will be put into sleep. You will awaken when a kiss is given by a powerful mage with bravery, determination, and the will of fire." The glow disappeared and Crystal gave a low sigh. She gave the princess a pitiful look. "May you live a joyous life and become a lovely woman."
"It is time for us to leave," Rose said. She came up behind Crystal with Jade behind. She looked at the sorrowful parents. "Rest assured that your daughter will be protected at all time. She will experience difficulties in life that only she can conquer. We wish you luck, King Jude and Queen Layla. And we give Princess Lucy our blessing and the guidance of the fairies."
With that the fairies turned into pink, blue, and green orbs and started flying out of the windows. Layla looked up and silently thanked the fairies. She sniffled and forced a smile upon her face. "You know what I noticed, Jude." Layla laughed at her husband. "Lucy didn't cry once. She's such a brave girl." Layla grinned and leaned into her husband's arms, exhausted from the day's event.
A few years passed and Lucy grew into a beautiful little girl. She was the spitting image of her mother and also held a curious heart. She was kind, caring, clever to the core, intelligent for a six year old, and brave. The princess always held a smiling face wherever she went which brightened the spirits of many people. Even with the curse Lucy lived with, her mother made sure that Lucy could live her life to the fullest without worries. In result, it was made a law that no one should know about Lucy's curse except for her parents, the fairies, and Lucy's future spirits.
Princess Lucy ran through the palace courtyard. She was chasing after a blue bird while her nannies stood watch and the guards kept a fierce gaze around the courtyard.
Lucy pulled up the blue dress she wore which was stopping her from running with all her heart. She kept fumbling and tripping with the dress tangling around her legs. Lucy huffed and looked down at her dress. She wished she could just rip the dress up to her knees or at least make it a skirt. That should be enough to let her run around freely. But she could not. Her father would scold her for ruining her dresses. Her mother would not be able to say anything because she was bedridden with what her nannies explained a fever, but Lucy knew it was more than that but did not ask for more information.
Lucy decided to give up on running around in her current state and just relax in the courtyard. Lucy walked around until she found a patch of flowers surrounding a tree that provided shelter from the blazing sun. Lucy leaned against the tree as her nannies moved closer to her location.
Lucy walks up to her nannies. Their names were Rachel, Jasmine, and Cathy. Rachel always wore pink while Jasmine always wore green and Cathy would wear blue. "Will you help me make a flower crown for mommy?" she asks. Lucy could clearly see the pity that flew through their eyes, but it soon disappeared with a smile.
"Of course, your highness," Rachel said. Lucy grabbed Rachel and Jasmine's hand while Cathy happily followed and led them to the tree shade.
Lucy sat around the flowers and started to gather different flowers while her nanny sat waiting for a command. Lucy picked an array of flowers that were painted into different colors. When Lucy was satisfied with the flowers, she asks Jasmine to teach her how to make a flower crown.
"Well, first, we'll would need some string," Jade explained. Cathy gave Jade a piece of string. Jade thanked her and showed the princess a piece of string long enough for a crown. "After you have your string, poke the string through the flower without breaking the flower apart and pull. The string will hold the beautiful flowers together and keep them together like a strong bond."
Lucy listened intently at her nanny's explanation and watched her demonstration. "Do the flowers have to be in a certain order?" she asks.
Cathy giggled and gathered more flowers. "The fun part about making flower crowns is that there is no specific order or sequence. It's totally random and that's what makes it beautiful. It doesn't matter what sequence the flowers are as long as you have fun while making it."
Rachel agreed with Jasmine and Cathy. "Remember Lucy, it's not about which flowers you think would go with what other flower. It's about mixing different flowers and making a wide diversity. These flower compliment each other, which is why they don't need a sequence. They all work together to became a beautiful crown for you."
Lucy nodded and understood the explanation completely. Lucy was determined to create a beautiful crown for her mother. Jasmine gave her the already started crown and continued from there. Lucy didn't stop until she reached the end of the string. She gladly gave it to her nanny and waited for her to tie the strings together. When Cathy was finished tying it, Lucy jumped up and started running into the palace.
Rachel stood up and called her. "Princess Lucy, where are you going?"
Lucy stopped and turned around. "I'm going to Mama to give her new crown." Lucy bowed down. "Thank you for helping me!" Lucy started running towards her mother's chambers.
Lucy raced through the palace hallways and up a staircase. She greeted the maids and butlers that she passed by. She also made sure to keep the crown safe until she got to her mother's chambers. She turned left and right. Lucy was lucky enough to remember where each room was with all of these winding hallways. Five years of exploring did her good.
Lucy finally reached white double doors. She huffed and caught her breath for a while before she composed herself. Lucy fixed her flower crown's appearance and walked up to the doors. Lucy lightly knocked before entering her parent's chambers.
When Lucy walked in, she saw her mother's outline on the king size bed. A glass of water sat on the side table. Her mother was covered in layers of blankets, but Lucy saw that it wasn't even helping because her mother kept coughing.
Lucy lightly walked up to her mother. Queen Layla noticed her daughter walking up and propped herself up into a sitting position. It was tiring, but Layla made sure to hide it from her daughter. She flashed a smile at her daughter. "Hello Lucy. What brings you here?"
Lucy climbed onto her mother's bed and presented her with the flower crown. "I made a crown for you mommy since you're the queen. I made it pretty so that you can wear it all the time," Lucy said. Lucy grinned widely because she was proud of her hard work.
"Thank you, my lucky Lucy." Layla received the crown and placed it on her head. The crown fit perfectly. Layla rubbed her daughter's blonde head and smiled lovingly at her. "I'm so proud of you darling. I promise to wear it everyday. I love you."
"I love you too Mama!" Lucy said.
"Princess Lucy, I think it's time to leave and let your mother rest." The voice broke through the silence. Lucy turned to see her Rachel, Jasmine, and Cathy standing behind her. She didn't even hear them enter or knock the door.
"But," Lucy started but was stopped by her mother.
"Listen to them Lucy," Layla said. Lucy had no other choice but to obey her mother. She sighed and got off the bed. She turned to her mother and kissed her on the cheek before running out of the room. Lucy was about to go to the courtyard, but wanted to wait for her nanny. She walked back to the doors until she heard voices. It was coming from her mother's room. Lucy slowly crept towards the doors.
"How are you doing Layla?" That was her Rachel's voice.
"It gets harder each day I'm afraid," Layla answered. What were they talking about? "How long?"
"Not long enough, my queen," Jasmine said in a sorrowful tone. What does she mean "not long"?
"How is Lucy?" Layla asked. Why would her mother ask that? They just talked a while ago.
"She is growing stronger and stronger each day. Her beauty and intelligence are growing like flowers blooming during spring. They just won't stop," Cathy's voice reassured.
"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the other thing."
There was a short silence until Rachel answered. "She knows nothing, but considering how clever she is, it won't be a while until she figures it out. Your daughter really is something else, my queen."
She heard her mother grunt in agreement, but started having a coughing fit. Lucy decided she didn't want to hear anymore. She started running towards the courtyard with questions running through her head.
The skies decided to mourn today along with all of Fiore. Today their beloved kingdom lost their queen. Last night, Queen Layla Heartfilia took her last breath. Her illness finally took her life, forcing her to leave her family.
By the Queen's coffin stood King Jude Heartfilia and Princess Lucy Heartfilia. Lucy stood bravely beside her father as tears poured out of her eyes. She clenched her fists on her sides and looked at her mother's coffin. Flowers surrounded the coffin. It was almost like her mother was in a meadow resting. This wasn't supposed to happen. Her mother was supposed to stay with her forever. Why did she have to die? Why did she leave her?
Lucy felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at her father. Lucy noticed his father wet face, but his eyes weren't puffy or red like hers. Lucy sniffled and wiped her tears away. "It's time to say goodbye to your mother Lucy," Jude said.
Lucy nodded and walked up to her mother. The guards made small steps for her. More tears poured down her face with each step she took. Her little body shook when she stood in front of her mother's sleeping form. Lucy closed her eyes because she couldn't take seeing her mother's body.
"Mama, I love you so much. I'm going to miss you. I promise to become a princess that's you'll be proud of. I'll also become a powerful Celestial mage like you. I'll write to you everyday and tell you everything that you've missed. Take care, Mama. Love you." Lucy let out a breath she was holding and looked at her mother.
Her mother looked beautiful even at death's bed. Her golden locks fanned around her head. Her white dress surrounded her body and turned her into an angel. But something was missing. Lucy looked at her mother's head and noticed that she didn't have a crown. Where was the crown? Her mother was the queen. Where was the crown Lucy made for her?
Lucy turned around and looked at her father. "Father, where's Mama's crown?" she asked.
Jude walked up to her side and took her away from the coffin. "She doesn't need her crown, Lucy."
"Yes, she does!" Lucy shrieked. "She promised she would wear it everyday! She would never break her promise."
"Lucy, compose yourself. This is not how a princess acts in public."
"Mama! You promised!" Lucy cried. Jude had no choice but to give Lucy to her nannies because he had to finish the funeral. Lucy struggled in her nanny's arms. Grief racked through her body as she cried louder and louder each time.
Rachel turned her away from the coffin and made Lucy look at her. "Lucy, you have to calm down."
Lucy hiccupped and rubbed her eyes. "But Mama isn't wearing her crown."
"What crown, Lucy?" Jasmine asked.
"The flower crown I made for her. She promised she would wear it everyday."
Her nannies were silent as it dawned to them. They smiled sadly at Lucy and embraced her. Rachel carried Lucy and walked over to the coffin. "Hey, do you wanna know a secret?" Rachel whispered.
Always the one to gain more knowledge, Lucy seized her sniffles and looked at her nanny. "What kind of secret?"
"Look at your mommy."
Lucy looked down and saw her mother wearing her flower crown. Now her mother was complete and perfect. She looked more like an angel now. Lucy gasped and looked at Rachel. "B-but... how?"
Rachel winked at Lucy and made a shushing noise. "It's a secret." Lucy smiled and thanked Rachel. Rachel took Lucy to where Jasmine and Cathy were. Lucy stood in front of her nannies as her father concluded the funeral and buried her mother into the deep ground.
"See you soon, Mama."