A/N: The characters of Fairy Tail are creations of Hiro Mashima. Levy's parents are characters I made up specifically for this story.
The kingdom of Magnolia was a lovely and joyous place, filled to the brim with magic. Today was a particularly special day to celebrate. Magnolia had lived in peace for over a decade, but the king and queen remained sad. The two had yet to have a child to inherit the throne and continue the reign of peace. Nine months ago, their wish came to fruition. Today was the birthday of their daughter.
Everyone in Magnolia cheered when the news came out. Their king and queen were so kind and generous with their people, and it lifted their hearts to see the monarchs with a happy, healthy little princess that they quickly named Levy.
To celebrate the joyous event, the king and queen held a grand party for all to meet their daughter. The news had quickly spread to two neighboring kingdoms, Sterling and Flare.
Their kings, the silver-haired Metalicana of Sterling and the fiery Igneel of Flare came to congratulate the king and queen, their old friends. Despite the crowded aura of the room, the two quickly found their old friend by his strange, clear river blue hair. "Stephen, It's so good to see you again," Igneel came up and shook the king's hand. After they released grips, Igneel pulled Steven into a tight hug while roughly patting him on the back.
Metalicana easily split the two apart, "Control yourself, Igneel," he said dryly. "You're going to crush the poor man."
Stephen cracked his back, proving Metalicana right. The queen stepped forward with her golden hair flowing off her shoulders, "It is a pleasure to see you both again," and gave a small curtsy. "Same to you Joanne," Igneel replied as both he and Metalicana bowed to the dainty woman.
Stephen wrapped an arm around his wife and brought her closer to him. Metalicana and Igneel lightly smiled. It had been a very long time since they had last seen their friends this happy. Their new babe not only meant Magnolia would continue to live in peace, but that would have another reason to fight for that peace. Metalicana coughed lightly, "Steven, I would like to speak with you and Joanne in private."
Before Stephen could reply, the conversation was interrupted by a brawl near the main door. The four rushed to the location where Igneel and Metalicana were able to break up a fight between two boys no more than four years old. One had choppy, jet black hair and terrifying blood red eyes and the other one was slightly shorter with a head of spiky, pink hair and a scarf around his neck.
The monarchs glared at the children as they continued to flail their arms. "Natsu," Igneel seriously said to the pink-haired boy. "What in the blazes is going on here?"
"He started it," Natsu answered, pointing at the other boy. Metalicana's grip on the boy's shoulders tightened as he attempted to charge at Natsu. "No, I didn't, you liar!" he screamed, attracting glares from a few party goers. "Gajeel," Metalicana began in a rough, steely tone. "This is an important occasion. If you two won't behave, we'll have to come up with a special punishment for both of you when we get home." Gajeel didn't reply, but he did calm down slightly. His father released him and returned to his conversation with Steven and Joanne. Gajeel pouted and walked off to the other side off the room with Natsu behind him.
Usually, Gajeel would have told his pink-haired companion to scram, but he made an exception since they were the only children at the party. It didn't take long for Natsu to open his mouth again, "I still don't get what your problem is. I get along great with my dad. Well, most of the time anyway." Gajeel groaned, "You wouldn't get it." Natsu really won't understand. Being a king took up a lot of time, but Igneel still made time for just him and his son. Metalicana was a different story. Gajeel could only barely remember the last time he was alone with his father.
The two boys reached the front of the grand hall where a little ivory bed was on display. "I don't understand what the big deal is," Gajeel said as he lifted Levy out of her cradle. He examined the tiny person in his hands and found nothing of interest; she couldn't walk, couldn't talk and could barely lift her chubby, little arms. "Well, she is pretty cute," Natsu bluntly replied, wiggling his fingers in front of the giggling princess.
As dense as the fire prince was, Gajeel couldn't argue with him. The Magnolia princess was possibly the tiniest, softest, most adorable thing he would ever hold. Even though she was a mere few hours old, she had already had traces of lovely, light blue hair. Her eyes were a beautiful honey color, full of joy and innocence.
Levy quickly got bored of Natsu and began to tug on Gajeel's nose roughly. Natsu wholeheartedly laughed at his friend's obvious discomfort. "Look at that. I think she likes you."
"Shut up and get her off of me!" Gajeel yelled although nobody in the room, not even the baby, seemed too fazed by the volume of his voice. His yelling must have been what drowned out the footsteps behind them. "Excuse me, gentlemen," someone said. The boys almost screamed before turning to see the person behind them.
She was a tall woman with long, red hair tied into thick braids. A long black cloak completely covered her body and a large, wide-brimmed hat rested on her head. "May I please have a look at that darling little girl?" the woman asked politely, but her eyes and smile carried a hint of mischief.
"Knock yourself out lady," Gajeel answered with a mix of relief and terror. With the princess in her arms, the woman almost looked as if she was a doting mother. "There's a lot of magic in this one. I can tell," she chimed as she gently tapped Levy's little button nose. The two boys swore they saw small, glittery sparks come from the woman's finger, but they didn't say anything.
Finally away from the crowd of smothering adults, Gajeel and Natsu headed for the tables full of rich, lavish food. As the two stuffed their faces, they gazed across the ballroom. They didn't enjoy the party, but they were still fascinated by the way all the grown-ups in the room crumbled before something so small and powerless.
Natsu then saw something, or rather someone, out of place. "Who's that guy?" Gajeel quickly noticed him too. He wore a tattered, black cloak. The hood was down, displaying the man's wild, dark blue hair and the tattoos circling his face. No one had heard him come in since he wasn't wearing shoes.
As he entered the crowd of people, it didn't take long for people to take notice. A baroness from the far west dropped her glass before she fainted at the sight of the terrifying man. Everyone began to slowly back away towards the walls, and a single word whispered throughout the room.
Acnologia.
Both Natsu and Gajeel recognized the name and ran back to their fathers. According to legend, Acnologia was a wizard who lived over 400 years ago. He practiced forbidden magic, which turned him into a dragon and gave him an insatiable appetite for destruction. He alone demolished the kingdom of Dragnof along with the rest of the dragons.
His lack of appearances in the last fifty years made everyone in the area to believe he had finally met his end. It turned out they were wrong.
"What are you doing here?" Stephen asked, more with fear then authority. Given since the man before him was the reason that dragons were now extinct. Acnologia smiled wickedly, "Can't I simply come by to see a child."
Acnologia walked toward Joanne, who was now holding her daughter. As the man closer, Levy shrieked at the top of her little lungs. Acnologia backed away, scowling at the baby's ear piercing cries. "Everyone loves this child. Then she'll be the death of you all."
He snapped his fingers, and a cloud of black smoke hovered over Levy. It disappeared as soon as she let out a series of little coughs. "What have you done?!" Stephen asked both astonished and terrified. Acnologia gave a wicked grin, "I haven't done anything yet. But when the princess reaches her eighteenth birthday, she'll prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel, and she will see her entire wretched kingdom take its last breath."
Joanne held her baby tighter and closer. Stephen quickly broke the silence, "Guards, seize him!" Four palace guards surrounded Acnologia, but he sneered and snapped his fingers again. Thick smoke swirled around him, and when the guards tried to take him, he was already gone.
A cold, harsh cackle echoed through the hall. "So long, Stephen," Acnologia was no longer in the room, but he made his voice present in the castle. "I look forward to seeing your darling little girl again. As she weeps over your lifeless body," he laughed again until his voice faded away.
Frustrated, Stephen kicked a small table over. He would have done it again if Igneel hadn't held him back. That second, someone came forward. A woman with long golden hair and chocolate brown eyes. She wore a white bodysuit with a matching cape that gave off a feeling of power. "My name is Anna, and I believe I can help your majesty," the woman said in a soft, delicate voice.
Stephen escaped Igneel's restraints and went up to the woman with his face full of relief, "You can remove the curse?" She shook her head, "Anyone but the caster can't remove a curse." Stephen's smile started to fade away. "But nothing says I can't alter it." The blond woman approached Joanne and Levy. She waved her hand lightly over the girl and left a trail of golden glitter that floated down to the princess.
"She will still prick her, but no one will die because of it," Anna began, announcing for the entire room to hear. "All residents of Magnolia will simply be put in a deep sleep. They will only wake up ounce Acnologia is dead."
The room became silent. Acnologia was both a powerful wizard and a dragon, killing him would be nothing short of a miracle. But they understood the woman's intentions. Acnologia was no longer a man but a literal monster, no kingdom would be safe as long as he was still breathing.
Stephen walked towards the woman and, unexpectedly, embraced her with a hug and began to cry into her shoulder. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
No less than an hour later, the palace was nearly empty. What was supposed to be a joyous occasion had quickly turned into a harbinger of future tragedy. No one in Magnolia would die, but the kingdom would still be vulnerable to that accursed monster, as well other villains who would be more than willing to slaughter an entire sleeping town to rise to power.
"There is no need to worry," Stephen heard as he sulked on his throne. He looked to see Igneel and Metalicana still standing before him. "If such a thing does happen, you will have the aid of both Sterling and Flare." Stephen stood up and shook their hands. "Thank you both," he said, "Now, please return home. It's been a long day for everyone."
The monarchs nodded in agreement and left the room, leaving Stephen alone. For only a second.
"I heard of what you did," Stephen heard someone say. Startled, he turned to see Anna standing tall and statuesque beside him. "You confiscated every spinning wheel in Magnolia," she explained. "That will do little to stop Acnologia."
Stephen slipped back into his throne and began to sulk again. After the party, both Joanne and he figured that no one would be in any danger if Levy didn't have a spindle to prick her finger. But if that couldn't stop the curse, what could?
"There is no way to prevent the curse from happening," the woman said as if reading his mind. "All we can do is prepare her for it."
Anna told the king about three other influential users of magic that could help prepare Levy for her fate. She knew they wouldn't need much convincing and that they didn't live too far away. "A letter from me and they should be here before dawn."
"That wouldn't be necessary," they heard echoing throughout the room. The redheaded woman appeared from the shadows with her cloak open to reveal her clingy black bodysuit. Anna smiled lightly, "So good to see you again, Irene." She walked towards the woman and gave her a small hug. "Will Mavis and Zera be joining us tonight?"
Irene shook her head, "I just sent them both a message, they'll be here by morning." They both turned to Stephen, who remained confused. "Don't worry, your majesty. Your daughter is in capable hands." Stephen thanked the two women before heading towards his chamber as tears of joy fell from his eyes.
The king and queen of Magnolia have the same names as famous authors, Steven King and J.K. Rowling. It seemed appropriate with Levy being a bookworm. Please follow and review if you enjoyed this story.