Hello and welcome! The title of this project comes from the song "The Minstrel's Prayer" by the band Cartel.
This story is actually a collection of interconnected stories with an overarching plotline. Some of the stories are loosely based on fairy tales, while others are just written in the style of a fairy tale. I'll also be paralleling the canon plot so vague spoilers I guess?
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.
Once upon a time, a princess was born and cursed to die.
In an age long forgotten, in a land that no longer can be reached by mortals, there was an island in the middle of the sea, and it was home to a peaceful kingdom called Tenrou. Ruled by a King with kind eyes and a Queen pure of heart, the kingdom was surrounded by a thick jungle abundant with magic. It was said that a tribe of Fairies lived deep in the heart of this jungle, though none of the people living in Tenrou had ever seen one. Still, their Magic could be felt everywhere, so it was generally accepted that Fairies indeed lived on the island somewhere.
One summer day, beaming with pride, the Queen announced she was pregnant. The news quickly spread and the people rejoiced. A blessed day the child's birth would be, and everyone began preparing for it with glee. But alas it was not meant to be, for the Queen fell ill.
For seven days, she battled a fever. She could not eat. She could not drink. And she bled so much that the King was certain she would die, but on the morning of the eighth day, her fever broke and her bleeding ceased. The Queen had survived.
The child, however, was lost.
Heartache reigned throughout the kingdom. Every citizen of Tenrou grieved with their rulers. Men dressed in black sacks. Women pulled out their hair. Children cried so loud that their wailing was said to be heard on the Mainland. Even the animals seemed to mourn as many of them refused to eat and died.
In sorrow, the King shaved his beard and broke his crown. He sat on his throne in nothing but black ashes and drank only his own tears. The Queen locked herself in a tower and refused to show her face.
Despite the loss, Spring arrived, and with it rain that washed away the ashes from the King's skin. Flowers bloomed, and their scent was so sweet that it drew the Queen from her tower into her garden. Life continued and hope returned.
A year later, the Queen again conceived, and again the Queen fell ill.
Another year passed, and the cycle repeated.
Again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
With each loss, the Queen grew grayer and thinner and more withdrawn, until she was nothing more than a shadow of her former self.
The King, unable and unwilling to watch his wife fade, traveled into the heart of the jungle in search of a miracle. For a fortnight, he sat alone on a rock with a satchel filled with gold, playing a song on his lyre that went like this:
"Gather, great Spirits, hear my plea
Admire the riches I offer thee,
With a song bittersweet
I bow low at thy feet
Answer me Spirits, and I'll pay any fee."
On the fifteenth day, the King heard a voice, gentle as an ocean breeze.
"Stop playing, Great King, and put aside your gold," it whispered in his ear. "I have no desire for such things."
Was this a Fairy? Or perhaps it was something darker?
The King did not care so long as his wife was saved.
"You must make a wish, Your Majesty. I can only help your wife if you make a wish."
So wish the King did.
One year later, the Queen gave birth to a girl with soft blond hair and bright green eyes.
Soon after, on the day the Princess was given the name Mavis, three Fairies arrived at the gates of the palace. They were greeted immediately with song and dance and were invited to join in the festivities. The King and Queen treated them as honored guests, and the Fairies were so flattered that they bestowed upon the Princess one gift each.
The first Fairy, a wise man with a beard made of fire, placed his hand on the Princess' forehead and said,
"I grant you, Mavis Vermilion, the gift of Wit. May you outsmart your foes and charm your friends so long as breath fills your lungs."
The second fairy, a fair woman with eyes like the ocean, kissed the Princess on the cheek and said,
"I grant you, Mavis Vermilion, the gift of Kindness. May you provide warmth to all around you so long as blood fills your veins."
The final Fairy, a young girl with hair the color of oak, took the Princess' hands in her own and said,
"I grant you, Mavis Vermilion, the gift of Companionship. By your side, I will remain until the day you banish me."
While the people cheered, and the Queen dabbed away tears of joy, the King felt a darkness freeze his heart. Into the hall strode a cloud of black smoke.
Everyone fell silent in an instant, and the Fairies dropped to their knees against their will.
"I too have a gift for the Princess." The cloud spoke, and its voice was familiar to the King.
"Demon," whispered the first Fairy.
"Monster," hissed the second.
The cloud ignored them and glided towards the Princess' crib. It hovered above her, a tendril reaching down to caress her face. No one moved. Time appeared to have stopped moving. If someone were to drop a pin, the sound would echo as loud as thunder.
"My Magic is tricky." The cloud hovered closer to the crib as it spoke, black lightning beginning to escape it. "It demands more than Life. It demands more than Death. You should not have promised me any fee, Your Majesty." The lightning grew.
"Here is my gift: Princess Mavis Vermilion will live a full life, loved and adored by all who meet her, but on her sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning will and die."
The lightning struck the crib, and the cloud vanished without a trace.
The Queen's shrill cry of, "NO!" was what broke the silence and started the flow of time and panic. The Fairies rose and surrounded the crib, each of them laying their hands on the Princess. But they were unable to help.
"There must be something we can do," said the King.
"Destroy them," whispered the Queen. "Every spinning wheel, every spindle. We must destroy them all."
"That won't help, Your Highness," warned the second Fairy. "Magic will find a way. Magic always finds a way."
The King grabbed his wife's hand and gazed at his daughter. She opened her eyes and her tiny lips formed a toothless smile. At that moment, the King was decided.
"We have to try."
And so they gathered every spinning wheel in the island, locked them away in the tower the Queen once isolated herself in, and set them on fire. The Fairies helped, using their magic to keep the flames from spreading. For three days, smoke could be seen escaping the window.
When the fire finally died, and all that was left in the tower were ashes, the King and Queen breathed a sigh of relief. The door to the tower was sealed off and covered with brick. The two older Fairies returned to the jungle, but the third remained as promised.
This Fairy came to be known as "Zera."
The Princess grew to be bright and beautiful. She was often found in the castle's library among an enormous pile of books or running around the courtyard without shoes. She easily made friends with all of the servants, and all who knew her cared for her dearly. Always by Mavis' side was Zera.
Over the years, Mavis began to notice how she never left the palace grounds. Guards even seemed to be placed around the border wall for the sole purpose of keeping her inside. Once she brought this issue up with her parents, but the King and Queen seemed to panic, making the girl promise to never try to leave. Mavis agreed, and it was thought that the situation was resolved.
However, the great Wit Mavis was gifted came at an unknown price; the Princess was insufferably curious. Every day that she saw the surrounding jungle from her bedroom window, her desire to explore it grew. Soon, shortly after her fifteenth birthday, her curiosity overcame her and she all but forgot about the promise she made to her parents.
Late at night, she draped over herself a dark coat and turned to her companion.
"Zera, my friend, cast me a spell that will allow me to sneak past the wall unseen."
The Fairy, whose gift made it impossible to deny the Princess, cast the spell with a shimmer of magic that tickled Mavis as it washed over her. As Mavis began to leave, Zera followed her, but the Princess once again spoke to her.
"Zera, my friend, remain here at the castle. Take my place in bed so that anyone who searches for me will see your silhouette and think I am asleep."
The Fairy reluctantly obeyed. As she lay down, she spoke to Mavis.
"Please return in an hours time, my Princess, or I will believe you've met your end, and my heart shall surely stop in sorrow."
Mavis promised and slipped out of the castle and into the jungle undetected.
She did not know the terrain, nor did she have a map, so for several hours, the Princess wandered aimlessly, making note of prominent landmarks so that she would be able to find her way back.
Mavis had brought with her a leather-bound journal, and she wrote down everything she saw from the animals to the plants to the tiny bursts of magic that seemed to erupt from the ground. So caught up in her observations was she that she didn't notice she stumbled into a clearing almost entirely void of life until she walked into the back of another person.
She apologized, stepping back and gazing up into a pair of eyes the color of dying embers.
Before her was a Fairy, for that was the only the young man in front of her could be. His hair was black as pitch, his ears pointed ever so slightly. He smiled at her gently, and she could see a hint of sharp teeth. He was beautiful, far more handsome than any human man Mavis had met, and Magic gathered freely at his feet.
"No need to apologize Mavis Vermilion," the Fairy bowed. "I was standing here in hopes that you would find me."
"Why?" She asked. If her mother could see Mavis' manors, she would have a heart attack, but the Fairy did not seem to mind.
"I've had a dream about you Mavis Vermilion," his smile widened, and Mavis received a glimpse of his needle-like incisors. "It seems I am to teach you Magic. Would you like to learn?"
Mavis wanted to learn desperately. There was nothing in the world she desired more. But the moon sat high in the sky, and Mavis knew she had to be leaving soon.
"Someone awaits me," she said. "I can not stay any longer."
"Then return to your bed, my Princess, but promise to meet with me again tomorrow."
Mavis was surprised that the Fairy knew who she was, but did not let it show on her face. Smiling at the young man, she took a step towards him.
"I will return only if you give me your name."
The Fairy chuckled, and the sound sent a bolt of lightning down the Princess' spine.
"Very well," he said, scooping Mavis' hand up in his own and pressing a kiss to it. "I am known as Zeref."
His lips were cold.
Mavis snuck out again the next night.
And the next.
And the next.
For almost a year, she met with Zeref, and he taught her a beautiful magic, full of light and power. Every time she used it, her heart filled with joy. But the Fairy did not limit his tutelage to Magic. He seemed to know everything about the jungle, and he shared his wealth of knowledge with Mavis.
One day, as Zeref was explaining to Mavis which plants would make powerful medicine and which would make lethal poisons, the Princess was struck by a sudden realization. She stood, dusting off her dress and approached the Fairy.
"I love you," she announced. "More than I should. More than I can bear."
"You should save your heart for someone else Princess." Zeref smiled at her, but the expression felt bitter and broken. "I can assure you that I am not someone you should desire."
"I'm afraid it's too late for that. My heart is already yours."
Zeref cupped the Princess' cheek and leaned down to place a kiss on her lips that felt like ice.
"I'm sorry," he said as he pulled back. His body started to fade, leaving behind only an echo of his voice. "But because of me, you are cursed, and soon you will die."
Three days later, Mavis' sixteenth birthday arrived. A grand party was thrown in her honor, but the Princess was unable to appreciate it. Her head and heart were muddled with unease as she tried to understand what Zeref had meant. So distracted was she by her thoughts that Mavis never realized that everyone around her was buzzing with anxiety and fear.
As day turned to night, the King and Queen, hands tightly clasped, announced that the party was over and bid everyone goodnight. The Princess was escorted back to her room by the faithful Zera, and a dozen guards were placed at her door. They were instructed to let no one in and no one out until daybreak. Zera cast a spell that allowed her friend to fall asleep easily and took post at her bedside.
Hours went by without a disturbance, but as midnight approached, the Princess felt a pull. She sat up in bed, eyes still closed, and spoke:
"Zera, my friend, cast me a spell that will allow me to sneak past the guards unseen."
"Princess no!" Zera cried, even as her magic granted the Princess' request.
"Zera, my friend, remain silent and in my room until midnight. Do not follow me."
The guards outside were all fast asleep due to Zera's spell, and the Princess was free to walk past them undeterred. She followed the pull until it led her to a wall on the far side of the castle. She placed her hand on the wall, and the bricks fell away, revealing a door covered in chains and locks.
Mavis grazed her fingers over the chains, and the metal turned to dust. The door swung open and a spiral staircase greeted the Princess. She ascended the stairs, slowly, quietly, following the tug that resonated in her index finger.
Before long, she reached the top of the stairs and found a room filled with ashes. Mavis approached a small pile near her feet. She bent down and gathered the ashes in her palms. She took a deep breath and blew the ashes in front of her. They gathered together a formed a spinning wheel made of willow, a shiny spindle gleaming in the moonlight.
Mavis, now understanding what the pull meant, pricked her finger on the spindle. A bead of crimson blood splattered on the floor as Midnight struck, and the Princess fell dead.
Zera found the Princess' crumbled form beside the spinning wheel ten minutes later. With a howl of anguish, the Fairy fell down on top of Mavis in tears. The Princess' skin was cold, and her lips were blue.
Just like sixteen years prior, Zera was not strong enough to reverse the curse, especially not by herself.
But, perhaps, she could change it.
"Mavis Vermilion, rightful heir of Tenrou and friend to Fairies and Magic, shall sleep, preserved in crystal until a child of Magic and Royalty revives her. Mavis Vermilion, rightful heir of Tenrou and friend to Fairies and Magic, shall sleep, preserved in crystal until a child of Magic and Royalty revives her. Mavis Vermilion, rightful heir of Tenrou and friend to Fairies and Magic, shall sleep, preserved in crystal until a child of Magic and Royalty revives her!"
Zera repeated the spell over and over again until Magic obeyed her. She gave everything, her body, her soul, her magic, and therefore her life, for her dear friend. As Zera faded away, her physical form morphing until she became the crystal that encased Mavis, her heart soared with relief and joy. She could feel the Princess' heart beating.
In the morning, the Princess was discovered. A funeral was held for her, and her crystallized body was placed in a mausoleum deep in the jungle. None of the people knew of Zera's sacrifice, and it would be a hundred years before the Princess would be awakened.
But that is another story.
I'm still planning out some of this, so let me know if you have any requests. I'll see if I can fit them in.
Thanks for reading! Please tell me your thoughts.
Up Next: The Lady and the Salamander
