Prologue
The Kingdom of Celestial Lights
Once upon a time, there was a glorious kingdom in the heart of modern day Fiore that was home to four lovely princesses. So pronounced were their virtues that their father, King Lucien, had banners hung from the great walls of the castle close to boast them.
To the far left was a royal blue pennon with angel wings to represent the majesty and heavenly wisdom of Sorano, the eldest and heir apparent.
The next was pink with the image of two intersecting wands for the unrivaled beauty, compassion, and magical prowess of Mirajane, Grand Duchess of Magnolia province and the southern isles.
Next, the banner of Princess Yukino was crafted from the purest white silk in all the land and embroidered with a blue rose for her innocence and grace.
And finally, the light green banner of Princess Lisanna, the youngest, held the symbol of a paw print to represent her love of nature and all living things.
One day, during her eighth year, Princess Yukino ventured into the enchanted forest outside of the castle close hoping to find the rare flower shown on her emblem.
The trees, which stood dozens of feet tall, blocked out the sun with their thick foliage, making the afternoon look like late evening. Still, despite her better judgement, the young royal went deeper into the woods than she'd ever gone even with her horses and chaperones.
After a certain point, the scenery began to change. The leaves turned from an earthy green to a pure, glowing white and strange but beautiful flowers blossomed in glorious fields.
"Who goes there?" a voice called to her, just as her eyes locked onto her coveted blue rose bush.
"I-I am princess Yukino of the Kingdom of Celestial Lights," trying to remember her manners despite her nervousness. Sorano would chide her for being timid. "Might I ask who addresses me?"
Just then, a blond boy who looked to be about her age stepped forward, scowling menacingly. He had piercing blue eyes with a scar above the right one. "You don't look like a princess. Ya sure talk funny, though."
Yukino could do nothing but stare at him indignantly. No one had ever spoken to her that way. Although, looking down she realized that in her plain chemise shirt, tights, and riding boots she could have been anyone.
"Well," She met his eyes, reminding herself to be confident as her sisters always advised. "I suppose you'll just have to take my word for it."
He began walking closer to her, slowly and deliberately, watching her fidget and squirm. "If you were actually a princess, your royal pops would've warned you to stay out of Weisslogia's forest."
"Lord Weisslogia?" Yukino questioned, her eyebrows knitting together in thought. She had heard that name before. She was certain. "I apologize, my lessons seem to escape me. Which province does he rule?"
At this the boy laughed, actually laughed at her. "He ain't a lord. Weisslogia's a dragon."
Then it was Yukino's turn to laugh. "You mean to tell me that you've seen a dragon and lived to tell the tale?"
"Of course!" A small winged cat flew down from the treetops. "Sting-kun's a dragon slayer, after all."
"I-it speaks!" she exclaimed. Lisanna always claimed she could talk to animals, but this was something entirely different. "Your cat-"
"He's an exceed," the boy, Sting, said with a hint of an amused smirk. "Jeez, don't you know anything?"
Yukino crossed her arms, growing quite annoyed with his teasing. "I know that you're a liar," she shot back. "Only the strongest knights can slay dragons, and you're barely old enough to be a page."
"Hey, take that back!" the cat exclaimed. "Sting-kun's no liar!"
"Relax, Lector," he said. "We don't have to prove ourselves to a fake princess who thinks some stupid knight can slay a dragon. She's probably never even heard of magic before."
Yukino's cheeks grew hot with frustration. "That's not true!" she shouted, for once casting aside her courtly speech. "I am a princess, and a wizard for that matter."
Sting narrowed his eyes at her. "Prove it."
"Fine!" She whipped out one of her zodiac keys. "Open: Gate of the Paired Fish. Pisces!" Two fish spirits, only the length of her forearm, appeared before them floating around in the air. "There!" the girl proclaimed proudly.
"Boring," Sting looked at them, thoroughly unimpressed. What kind of parlor tricks did people get to pass off as real skills in the city? "I guess you are a wizard, kind of. Now let me show you some real magic."
"And what, exactly, would that be?" Yukino questioned with the meanest glare she could muster. She was quite miffed that he hadn't been more impressed.
"White Dragon's Roar!" He blasted a laser that felled a row of ten trees on the spot.
"Woah!" Yukino stared on in disbelief. She'd never seen magic like that before. Even her teacher, Lady Layla, couldn't do anything similar.
"Sting-kun," Lector whined. "Won't Weisslogia get mad if you keep destroying the trees like that for no reason?"
"Dammit, you're right!" He'd gotten so caught up playing with Yukino that he didn't realize. "Well, it was only ten this time. He won't miss 'em. I hope." He turned back to the girl, smiling this time. "Wanna play tag, Yukino?"
"Yeah," Lector agreed. "Stay and play with us!"
She smiled back shyly. "I do, but I have to return to the palace. I've been gone too long already, and I'm sure my ladies will start to worry."
"Nee, Sting-kun," Lector started. "Why do all your friends like to say that they're royalty? First Rogue, now this girl."
The young blond's eyes turned downcast at the mention of his fellow dragon slayer. Yukino noticed this right away.
"Rogue," she repeated the name. "Your friend. Did something happen to him?"
He hesitated for a moment, but then decided that she was harmless enough."We were sparring one day and then he got really sick. After that, his dragon took him away." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I don't know what happened to him."
Lector nodded. "We're really worried."
Yukino smiled at them gently. They were good guys after all. "My mother also gets sick a lot but she's always fine in the end. I'm sure your friend will be, too. Just have hope."
Sting only smirked. She was starting to sound a little bit like a princess. The storybook kind. Maybe she had been telling the truth.
"Would you mind if I took one of these?" She pointed at the rosebush.
"The blue ones?" Sting questioned.
She nodded eagerly. "It matches my emblem."
"Those are enchanted. They don't grow outside of this forest, and they'll die right away if you take them out of here."
"Better if I just leave them alone, then." Yukino looked down dejectedly. "At least I know they really exist. Well, I suppose I'll be going now."
"My god, you get depressed easy." Sting noted. Wasn't she the one just going on about hope, of all things? "Just wait a minute." He plucked one of the flowers from the bush and charmed it with the same white light that emanated from the trees.
The young dragon slayer then walked over to the princess and placed the blue rose in her hair. "There. I charmed it with holy light. Now it'll never die no matter how far you go. Well, actually, it'll die when I die but that's gonna be a really long time from now so…"
"Thank you!" She kissed his cheek. "Thank you so much! I'll never forget this."
Sting looked down, blushing faintly. "Yeah, well…you better get going. Your ladies, remember?"
"Right!" She quickly started running back the way she came. "It was nice meeting you, Sting!" the girl called over her shoulder.
"Anytime. See ya around, princess," he teased.
"Come back soon!" Lector encouraged.
"This time tomorrow!" she promised.
But a decade would pass before the two crossed paths again.
"Princess! Princess Yukino!" Her handmaidens flocked to her side as soon as she returned to her rooms.
"Yes? What is it? What is wrong?" Yukino frowned, an ominous feeling rising within her. All their faces were creased with worry, their eyes tinted with sadness.
She hadn't been gone for that long, had she?
"The queen's condition has taken a turn for the worse," one answered.
"You must go to her immediately," another added. "Your sisters have already gathered."
"I understand." With that, she dashed to the queen's quarters. As she'd been told, Sorano, Mira, and Lisanna were already at her bedside.
Though bedridden, Queen Alina looked stunning in her crimson and silver gown. Her tiara sat proudly atop her long, silvery waves of hair. Only the beads of sweat that dotted her face, and the violent cough that never seemed to leave her served as clues of her true condition.
"Mother!" Yukino exclaimed. This couldn't be. She had thought she was getting better.
"My beauties," the woman breathed. Emotion clouded her deep amber eyes. "You four hold the light that will," she paused to cough. "L-lead this kingdom. Know that no matter what happens, I love you...more than anything. Now, I need to tell each of you something in private. Lisanna, darling, you're...first."
The three older sister then retreated into the drawing room so they would not be tempted to listen in.
"Mommy," the six year old whined, leaning over the queen. "You have to get better."
She cupped the child's cheek tenderly. "I am trying, my heart. But even if mommy doesn't get better, not even that will stop her from loving you and your sisters."
"Elfman, too?" the youngest princess questioned with wide eyes.
The queen gasped at this and tried to guard against a coughing fit. "E-Elfman is...special," she managed to choke out. It was the only tender way to describe her only son's deformities. "And I love him no less for it. You are always so k-kind to him. Never lose that kindness, Lisanna, no matter what happens."
"Yes mommy," the tiny royal replied. "But if you love Elfman, too, why do we have to hide him away all the time? Why didn't daddy hang up a banner for him?"
The queen forced herself to sit up, with much effort, and ran her slender fingers through Lisanna's hair. "Because, my heart, some people might not understand what your brother is, and they might...t-try to hurt him. That is why we must keep him hidden."
"But-"
"Please, no more questions, Lisanna." She could feel that she was running out of time. "Just...promise me that you will always love him."
The princess held out her little finger. "I pinky promise."
"Good. Now, send Yukino to me, my heart."
Minutes later, Yukino shuffled back inside feeling quite ashamed of her casual attire.
"What a pretty rose that is," the queen complimented. "Where did you get it?"
"The forest," the young celestial mage replied. "Mother, when will you be well again?"
"I don't know, sweetheart, but I must tell you this. You are far stronger and more talented than you think. That is why I am giving you this." The queen reached under the wide sleeve of her dress and pulled out a celestial gate key with what looked like a black snake coiled around it. "It is the thirteenth gate of the zodiac, Ophiuchus. He is now contracted to you."
Yukino stared at the key in confusion. "The thirteenth gate? But Lady Layla said it didn't really exist."
"Lady Layla knows a great deal about magic, but she doesn't know this." She placed the key in Yukino's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You mustn't tell anyone you have this—not even family. Only use it to protect yourself and the people you love, do you understand me?"
"Yes mother."
The queen squeezed Yukino's hand again. "Never lose sight of how wonderful and powerful you a-" she started coughing again, pressing her handkerchief to her face praying that her daughter wouldn't see any blood.
"Mother?"
"I'm...fine," she coughed out, eyes beginning to water. "S-send Mira."
When the second eldest entered, the queen's fit was only starting to die down. The ten year old frowned. "Mother, I think I know what's making you sick." She was sure of it.
"You are," Alina wheezed, "adorable, Mira, but the doctors don't even know."
"It's dark magic," the princess insisted. She tapped the center of her mother's chest. "Right there. Demons are doing this to you. I can feel it with my magic."
The queen's expression faltered. She couldn't have known that. She was only ten. "Mira-"
"Who cursed you, mother?" Mirajane's eyes welled with tears of frustration. "I can fight them, I swear! Please, just tell me who!"
"No one is cursing me, my darling. Though, many have tried and failed." She grasped her daughter's hand. "You have the strongest magic in our lineage, Mira. You are a prodigy. I know that you will do great things." The queen absently rubbed at her chest. "But be judicious with your magic. Do not use it to impose your will upon others."
"Of course I wouldn't."
"I know. Though mischievous, you have always been good. Like your father, the king, yours is a noble...heart. But try not to quarrel with Sorano so much. As you get older, she will need you more than her...pride will allow her to admit. Will you lend her your strength?"
Mirajane sighed. "But she's so bossy and annoying-"
"Mira." the queen chided.
"I will," she conceded."But only if she asks nicely."
"Mira."
"Alright, even if she doesn't ask nicely."
The queen gave a genuine, radiant smile. "I love you so much, Mirajane."
"I love you, too." Her tears dropped heavily onto the duvet. She hugged her mother for a full minute before finding the strength to unlatch herself. "G-goodbye, mother." She wiped at her eyes, worried that the others would know she'd been crying. "I'll send Sorano in."
"When I first held you in my arms," Queen Alina began before her eldest could speak. "I knew that you would be a leader and not just a ruler. I knew you would be brilliant."
The twelve year old looked down glumly. "Mira is brilliant, mother. I was only born first."
"That is nonsense," the girl's mother decided. "You have what it takes to rule."
"And what is that?"
She managed to sit up fully, her back resting against the headboard. "The will to do what is necessary, even when it may hurt you. Mirajane is much like your father. But you, Sorano, are like me."
"What do you mean, mother?"
"Do you know who we are, Sorano? Why we are royals instead of peasants?"
"Because we have magic," the girl replied.
"Yes, my child. And what gives us the right to rule is also a mandate to protect. At any cost." She pulled a scroll out of her other sleeve. "If the kingdom is ever attacked during your reign and the people are in danger, this spell will allow you to make a contract with angels. You will be able to summon them to protect our people."
"Real angels?" Excitement danced in Sorano's eyes as she reached for the parchment. "Like my symbol?"
Alina held the scroll away from the eager princess. "Yes, but the cost of this magic is great." Her expression grew severe. "I hope you will never have to use it."
"What is the cost, mother?"
"It takes years," she began to cough again, "f-from your...life."
Sorano's eyes narrowed as the pieces clicked into place. The last war against King Erebus had ended quite abruptly. "Mother?" she questioned. "Is that what is happening to you? Have you sold the years of your life for victory?" Had she traded away their time with her for a few acres of land?
"Sacrifices...must be made," she breathed. "Someday, when you are queen, you...will understand."
The Land of the Dark
Prince Gajeel sighed as he entered his palace's grand library. Lord McGarden, his and his brother's teacher, had assigned him a research project. Words could not express how much he hated this half of the year. When he was away in the mountains, learning magic from Metalicana, he never had to think about stuff like politics and etiquette.
"Gajeel!" a small voice piped up. "You're back!"
The prince had to look incredibly hard to find the tiny girl among the seemingly endless stacks. "Yeah, I'm back," he affirmed once he reached her. "And already your pops assigned me a stupid research project."
"My father just wants you to be well educated so you can rule us well someday," she defended, with a small smile. "What place are you gonna write about?"
"The Flame Kingdom," he decided.
"That's obscure," the eight year old noted. "Very few people ever go there."
"I did," he informed. "Metalicana took me there to spar against the dragon slayer his friend Igneel was training. I have to say, though, it wasn't really a fair fight. He's only Ryos' age."
"Igneel!" Levy repeated. "That's the dragon king, isn't it? Is it true that humans and dragons all live there together? And they get along?"
"Yeah. It was weird, but I kinda liked it." It was nothing like home.
"I wish I could go there someday!" the blue haired girl gushed. "I've read so much about it."
"Calm down, shrimp," he laughed. "I'll take you there when I'm king. Now, what are you reading about this time?"
She had an assortment of books open in a semicircle in front of her, and she had jotted down pages of notes on parchment.
"Books on astronomy and calendrics. I'm trying to find out when the next heart sacrifice to the great god will be."
Gajeel snorted indignantly at this. "That's just a bunch of stories, shrimp. We don't sacrifice our own people. The gods feed on the blood of our enemies, if anything. I don't even know if that part is true. Metalicana thinks it's just an excuse my pops uses to wage war against the celestial pansies."
"My father holds the same view, especially since…" Levy's voice faltered.
"Since what, shrimp? What happened?"
She looked up with him, fear beginning to show in her wide hazel eyes. "Since, according to the calendars, the next sacrifice is going to be...me." That was why she was checking. To see if somehow her father had miscalculated.
Gajeel patted the top of her head in what he meant as a comforting gesture. "Don't worry, shrimp. The heart sacrifice is just a legend. Nothing's gonna happen to you."
He sincerely hoped, for her sake, that he was right.
"Well," Queen Nyx prompted as she entered her younger son's sickroom. Her flowing raven hair was slightly mussed, revealing the haste she must have made to get there. "What is it? Will he live?"
The pink haired physician met her gaze unflinchingly. "Do not rush me, human." This was exactly why she hated their kind.
"How dare you speak to me that way?" her voice quivered with elegant fury. "I am a queen."
The older woman remained placidly unimpressed. "Be that as it may, your majesty, I am a healer. And your son's life is in my hands. Now let me work." She didn't go around telling royals how to run their bloody kingdoms, so the reason they thought they knew medicine better than her was a mystery.
"The child will live," Porlyusica announced after a few more minutes of deliberation. "But he cannot continue to wield dragon slayer magic. His body cannot sustain it."
"That's impossible. The blood of dragons runs through his veins."
The healer only shook her head dismissively. "Majesty, your kingdom's superstitions and folkways are of no consequence to me. I've said what I must. If the boy continues to practice such strong magic, he will die. Now I must take my leave." With that Porlyuscia disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Impossible!" King Erebus roared after the queen told him the healer's verdict later that afternoon. "Such frailty doesn't exist in my lineage. Since the founders of our clan we've all been powerful dragon slayers. It has to be your blood, Nyx. Too many scholars and poets on your side. At least Gajeel takes after me."
The queen grew vexed at this, digging her nails into the armrest of her throne, but she managed to reign in her tongue. "Even so, what will we do husband? Ryos has always been sickly. If what the healer said was true our son will die if he continues his training."
"It can't be helped," Erebus said after a pause. "We'll give him over to the shadow."
"That vile entity!" the queen was horrified.
"It is the only way he will grow stronger," her husband dismissed. "I will not have a weak son. I'll have him dead before that. JOSE!" he bellowed for his advisor.
The lanky man appeared before them. "Yes, your majesty."
"Have the mystics prepare a sacrifice of the prisoners captured during the last battle."
"I'm afraid I cannot do that," Jose said in a rather unapologetic tone. "There are no prisoners. We lost the last battle against Lucien's army."
"What? Our men outnumbered theirs by at least five hundred."
Jose sighed inwardly. The king would not like his response. "According to the men who returned, there were angels on the battlefield."
"What?" Nyx looked at the man incredulously.
"White, winged celestial beings, your majesty," he clarified with a bit more sarcasm than was appropriate. "Sometimes wielding weapons. A sacrifice will not be possible at this time."
"Just as well," Nyx released a sigh of relief. She didn't want that thing of darkness anywhere near her child.
But then the king questioned, "Jose, which of the smaller peasant villages paid the least in tribute this past year?"
"Well, that would be the Rosemary Village, my king. A place that poor never produces much."
"We will reap the sacrifice from there," Erebus decided. "Send a division of the army."
"Monstrous!" the queen protested. "Our own people?" How far would this man go for power?
He raised a hand to silence her. "It will be done."
The Sea Kingdom
Ten year old Minerva Orlando stood out on the docks, holding back tears. Her father refused to allow her back in the house until she'd mastered the advanced spell. It was negligence like hers, he always said, that put their family where it was now—paying tribute to a fish.
But it was hopeless. She was never going to get it.
"Minnie!" a voice sounded.
The young wizard just ignored it. It had to be the wind.
"Minerva," It said again, sounding much more impatient.
She looked around, startled. "Who's there? Where are you?"
"Juvia is down here! In the water!"
She looked over the edge of the dock, and sure enough Princess Juvia of the Great Sea was in front of her, swishing her tail side to side impatiently.
"You swam all the way here? What are you even doing?"
"Juvia is bringing you to the ball." She prepared a sizable oxygen bubble that would let her friend breathe during the journey. "Come on, or we'll be late."
Minerva sighed. "I can't go. My father forbids it. He said I have to train."
"As princess," the blue haired child began, "My will outranks his. And besides, I promised my brother Neptune that I'd bring you. And you know Juvia never breaks her promises." She extended her hand to her friend.
Minerva sighed, flushing slightly at the mention of the prince's name. She knew there would be hell to pay for this later. But...she was already locked out, after all.
After kicking off her shoes, she plunged into the great sea and grasped her friend's hand as the young mermaid guided them under the water.
Even among the merfolk, few could swim as far and as fast as Juvia. They glided past the coral reefs and schools of fish in record time, into the underwater city, and did not stop until they reached the palace which was half submerged within the deep and half above land.
As they hastily dried themselves and dressed for the ball, Minerva couldn't help but feel that she could become part of their world—that special sphere of love and excitement that was the Lockser family's rule.
However, as always, her father was nursing wicked plans that would snatch away her tiny wedge of light.
The Northern Empire
Here rests the bones of Silver the Conqueror
The royal family, dressed in their finest attire, had taken a trip to the fallen emperor's grave.
"Why have we come here, mother?" the grand duchess fidgeted under the weight of her kokoshnik tiara. "It isn't one of the scheduled mourning days."
"We are here because I have a lesson for you three." Empress Ur smiled sadly at her children. "It has come to my knowledge that King Lucian, the man who killed your father, has lost his wife."
"What's that got to do with us?" Gray questioned. The youngest prince started fidgeting, uncomfortable with all the layers of clothing.
"Gray, pick up your cape!" Ultear admonished. No one thought this...habit would be the result of him starting to train as an ice mage.
"Ah! When did I take it off?"
"Idiot," Lyon sighed.
"What is the lesson, mother?" Ultear questioned, putting the conversation back on track.
Ur sighed, turning her diamond encrusted wedding band around on her finger. "To rule justly and with kindness, as all of our actions come with a price. Just as Lucian Strauss took your father from us, his queen has been ripped from his side."
Lyon made a face, realizing something. "If that's true...what did you do to lose our father?"
"Lyon!" Ultear snapped, ever the disciplinarian older sister. "You cannot say that. Apologize!"
"It is alright, darling," her voice was far away. "In time each of you will bear the weight of empire. Before he married a celestial queen of the Aguria lineage, your father and I annexed that man's kingdom. It was the last monarchy of the north to fall under our rule."
"You waged war against them for no reason?" Ultear questioned. That seemed so unlike her mother. The empress today was an unabashed isolationist.
"None," she admitted, dark eyes glazing over as distant memories flashed before them. "But we were young, and ambitious-"
"And the two strongest ice wizards in the world," Lyon added. Even at nine years old he could tell that was part of it.
"There was also that," Ur admitted with a small chuckle.
"Was it worth it?" Gray questioned. Though he couldn't remember much about him, was nothing he wouldn't give to have their dad home.
"Of course not," she admitted. If she could take it all back to have him, she would. "But letting all of this go would mean your noble father died in vain."
Yes, she had traded home for hegemony. But now that their parents had laid the foundation, the grand duchess and princes would never have to make the same choice.
Author's Notes: Hey, everyone! This is gonna be a Medieval-esque AU. Lots of drama and war, all that good stuff lol. I just wanted to say, thank you for reading! Reviews are much appreciated.