Hello everyone. This is only my second story on fanfiction. I am also working on another one, but that is for Naruto. Anyways, this is just an idea that came to mind. I hope you guys like it. :)

Chapter 1: Island in the Sky

Neo Verona. A land full of promise, beauty, and peace. A land where the citizens reside without fear of dying from starvation, or being taken as prisoner by the once infamous prince. A place where the nobles respect and are even friends with their fellow non-nobles, with the common men and women of the village. Really, there is no shortage of wonder that can be found in Neo Verona. From the beautiful dragon horses that soar through the cloud-filled skies to the fields of flowers that bloom in the spring, it truly is an extraordinary place.

But, of course, it wasn't always like that. In fact, just a month ago, all of Neo Verona was in havoc. The cries and panic stricken screams could be heard for miles across as the ground began to shake, to split into a million pieces until this mystical land would become nothing more than the fine dust of crushed and crumbled rocks being carried by the wind. And what was to blame for all this pain and suffering? Well, it was none other than Escalus – the tree by which Neo Verona is able to remain afloat in the sky. Yes, it sustains the land with the precious gift of life, but does not give it freely. Yet, at the same time it does not ask for much in return, for all it needs to survive is love. And so, perhaps it is not truly Escalus who is to blame for the near downfall of Neo Verona but Montague, the cruel man who ruthlessly claimed the title of prince as his own, the man who deprived Escalus of love because he himself did not know how to obtain love, let alone be the one to give it.

And so, there was nothing left to do but to save Neo Verona. And as fate sometimes works in cruel and mysterious ways, there was only one person who could possibly save Neo Verona from despair. And that person was none other than the Red Whirlwind herself, the one woman who would ever hold Romeo's heart, Juliet Fiammatta Arst De Capulet.

But Juliet was not a fool, for she knew it would be hard. Hard to let go of all the people she cared about, of the ones who had risked their lives to save her, of the people who were and always have been her family - maybe not by blood but in her heart, which was all that mattered. But most of all she could not understand how she would manage to sacrifice herself when she was so close to finally being with Romeo. So painfully close to staying by his side, to waking up every morning to see his face, to having children of their own. Yet she knew she must give her life for the people she loved, for the doctor who had fearlessly given his life in the hopes of giving way to a brighter Neo Verona, and for Romeo, her one true love.

But, to her dismay, it was not her choice alone, for Romeo did not care if she felt it was what was necessary to do, if it is what would ultimately save Neo Verona. By his life and his love, he swore he would never let her suffer alone, to have to bear this burden by herself.

And so after a great struggle, after all the agony and pain and bloodshed, Romeo had managed to save Juliet from being forcefully absorbed by Escalus. But not without paying the price of his own life. And with the cards having been dealt the way they were, how could Juliet possibly let the land fall to ruin, how could she ever let Romeo's sacrifice go to waste? For even though he died in order to protect her, she would die anyways as it was only a matter of time until Neo Verona fell to pieces. And did she not promise to her love that she would always be with him, no matter how far apart they were from each other, in life and in death?

And so, Juliet stared into the eyes of those who had come to her aid. She looked to the pained face of Curio, to the regretful gaze of Francisco, and to the solemn gaze of Tybalt. And she smiled at them. Because she knew it was alright. She was no longer being forced to give her life to Escalus. Now she was more than willing, as she held Romeo in her arms, to give her life for Neo Verona and all those who lived in it, because the one person that had the strongest pull on her soul and heart was gone from this world. And she would not only save Neo Verona, but she would keep her promise to Romeo, to be with him always, in life and in death.

And as Escalus absorbed both Romeo and Juliet as they lay in each other's arms, Tybalt watched, his soul feeling like someone was using it as a play thing, stretching and tearing at it, leaving it tattered and full of holes as what was left of his family, people who he was bonded to by blood, disappeared from this world, never to be seen again.

"Grandfather, it's wonderful!" Florem twirled in her new dress that was the colour of cherry blossoms. Today was her eighteenth birthday, and being surrounded by her grandfather and little brother, she couldn't be happier. They were her family, the only family she had, and she loved them more than anything.

Florem's grandfather, Miles Amoris, gave a hearty laugh. He was a good humoured, old man. But he was not a scrawny old man, oh no, not him. He had a larger frame, with skin the colour of tan leather from all the days he spent working out in the field during his youth. Ah yes, with a lean figure and dark hair he used to be quite the charmer with the ladies. That's how he caught the attention of Mrs. Amoris. But his glory days were over and what used to be a toned stomach was now a beer belly, and although his hair was still thick it had now taken on the hue of the sky on a rainy day – all you could see was grey for miles and miles. "Thank goodness you like it. You know how I am, I have little sense when it comes to women's clothing. It's a miracle I ran into Cecilia while I was at that little shop. Lord knows, she saved you from a terrible fate of a "horrid red and yellow sweater" – Cecilia's words, not mine – which I thought would look quite nice on you dear."

"Florem, Florem! Open mine next, my gift next!" Ensis Amoris bounced up and down excitedly on the balls of his feet, his little hat falling off his head revealing messy chestnut hair. He was eleven years younger than Florem, and to him she was a cross between an older sister and a mother. Florem's mother had died when Ensis was very young and their father died two months after her mother found out she was expecting. Florem didn't blame him for not remembering their parents. How could he when he lost them at such a young age?

"Easy there, you little squirrel." Ensis scowled at the nickname his sister gave him. He was a very good tree climber, and whenever Florem saw him climbing to get apples or pears, she would always laugh. "Ensis, you're so cute! You climb those trees faster than a squirrel." Ensis crossed his arms over his chest and puffed out his cheeks like a chipmunk. "I'm not a squirrel Florem. Now hurry up, hurry up and open your present. It took me a long time to wrap."

Florem opened the messily wrapped gift to reveal a little box. She took off the lid and found a brass compass with a little flower engraved on the back. "Do you like it Florem? Ardentis helped me make it!"

"Ensis, how did you know? This is perfect! Thank you so much!" Florem gave Ensis a kiss on the cheek to which he stuck out his tongue and wiped his face with the end of her dress. "Grandpa, about the compass Ensis gave me, actually, there's something I want to talk to you about. Did you hear about the new island they found? The one that popped out of nowhere?"

Miles drank from his cup of tea and raised one eyebrow at Florem, making Ensis snicker. "Yes dear, I heard about that. Quite the mystery actually. I can't believe they managed to overlook that island all these years. I doubt it suddenly "popped up" out of nowhere. Unless it's Atlantis! You know dear, it could be Atlantis. Atlantis did sink into the ocean a long time ago. It must've floated back up!"

Ensis came running up to Florem. "Or, it could have fell from the sky! Like when Chicken Little said "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!" Maybe the sky fell Florem! And the island fell with it! "

Florem laughed. Both her grandfather and Ensis had wild imaginations, although for some reason what Ensis said struck a chord. "Yes, maybe. But grandfather, I am a woman now –" Miles choked on his tea, causing Florem's cheeks to turn red. "Like I was saying, I am a woman now and I was thinking it would be a good idea if I went out to this island. I don't think it's very far from us. Besides, you know our region is lacking some things. I mean, we have bountiful harvests of fruits and vegetables each year, but we lack animals. Sheep for shearing and work horses, we just don't have that anymore, at least not many. Not after that horrible disease spread." Yes, that was a gruesome time to remember. For a long period of time, a wretched disease spread across the region of Flores Caelum infecting not only humans but animals as well. As a result, much of the livestock was lost as well as many human lives. Florem's parents were among them.

"Anyways, I was thinking that if I went over there as a representative of Flores Caelum, maybe I could convince them to do trade with us. I already spoke to the Queen and she said it was fine. In fact, she was ecstatic. If this goes through then we have a solution to all our problems!"

"But sister, what does the compass have to do with this?"

Florem scratched her head and grinned. "Um, actually, nothing really, other than I'm going to use it to get to the new island. I just needed to bring up the subject of going there somehow, hehe."

Miles got out of his chair and marched up to the young girl. "Have you gone mad Florem? You have just turned eighteen! You may be of age but I assure you your mind does not think like a woman. You still wait by the hay field every Sunday for those horse wagon rides!"

"I do not wait there every Sunday! The hay field just happens to be my favourite place to think and if the wagon happens to come up the road then I get on it. Or else I don't. And I do think like a woman grandfather! I've been taking care of Ensis all this time, like a mother, grandfather. An adult, woman, mother."

"Well then dear, if you think you're such a woman maybe you should do what women do and get married. Do you think I'm going to be around forever? Because if you do, then you're wrong. I'm already old, and once I pass you'll need a man around the house."

Ensis ran up to Miles and tugged on his pants. "Grandfather, I'm a man. I can take care of Florem…. Grandpa you're not going to die soon, are you?" Miles stooped down to Ensis' level. "Of course not, don't you worry young man. It was just a joke. A manly joke between manly men – and your sister."

Florem went up to her grandfather and held his hands. "Grandfather, please. I have to do all I can to save this land. Please, just let me try. After this is over, whether I fail or succeed, I'll think about marriage then, okay? Besides, it's not like I know anyone I can marry." Or anyone that I have feelings for.

"What are you saying? Why, you have Ardentis!" Florem blushed and stared at the ground. "Grandfather, please. Ardentis is my friend. And don't say stuff like that in front of Ensis. You know he likes to spread rumours.

"I do not spread rumours, and I'm not a squirrel!"

"But my boy, no one called you a squirrel, did they?"

"Oh god," Florem groaned. "Grandfather, please don't get distracted. I'm begging you, let me do this. I want to help our people. Please."

Miles glared at Florem for a while longer, then let out a defeated sigh. He placed his hand on Florem's head, and ruffled her brass curls. "Alright, Florem. I will let you do this. But you must promise me one thing. You must stay safe, my little flower." Florem was so happy, she hugged her grandfather and made him a promise. "Don't worry grandfather. I'll be alright, I swear."

And as she was laughing with her grandfather and her brother, she felt guilty because she knew she was hiding something from them. She did not tell them the other reason she wanted to go to this island. She did not tell them that this Island brought up a story to her mind. A story told by her mother, about an island that floated in the sky.

Thank you to all those who decided to read the first chapter. I am hoping to update once a week, for now. If you'd like to leave a review then please go for it because I really love those, even if it's criticism it's fine too. I wanna know what you guys think about it. :)

Also, just a note on the character and setting names, and I will admit I used google translate for this from english to latin (sorry if translations are not accurate) but here are the names roughly translated to english.

Florem Amoris - flower of love

Miles Amoris - warrior of love

Ensis Amoris - sword of love

Ardentis Flammae (hehe i actually didn't mention the last name yet, but oh well) - Burning Flame

Cecilia - just cecilia ( i just randomly picked this one, it sorta sounds like cordelia :D

Flores Caelum - flowers of heaven