Outside the deep forest, there lived a village where civilization resided. Within the beautiful civilization, lived a young woman who left her home for a daily round through the little town to sell her flowers that she always kept in a straw basket. Today, she was happily selling away petunia's and bluebonnets, and the price was a single dime. It made her smile to find that her flowers were healthy as ever, and it made her day even better when interested customers would ask for one or two of the flowers she would sell for the day. Knowing that they would be well in a nice home or in the heart of a maiden whom a gentleman will offer.

After a moment of fixing her bright green hair into a ponytail, she left with her basket in hand and made her way to the town with an optimistic smile on her face.

Though she got along with anyone who would talk to her and tried to make friends with any of the other townsfolk, she found herself astray and much different from the others. For her interests in flowers and nature itself contrasted heavily to them. She knew she was a little different, it was mostly by the color of her hair that stuck out from the crowding marketplace like a sore thumb, but their opinions didn't stop her from doing the things she loved. And that was selling the flowers she would grow herself to make some earnings to help provide for both herself and her father. She hummed softly as she made her way through the familiar streets of the little town, giving a smile to anyone who would walk past her.

"Good morning Stella!" A young woman called, earning a happy smile from the flower girl.

"Good morning Mrs. Baker!" She replied with a happy tone in her voice before continuing onward to the busy streets of the marketplace.

"Ah! Stella! Where are you off to?" A young man asked, earning an excited smile from Stella. She couldn't help but grow excited at finding a person who seemed interested.

"Oh! I'm off to sell flowers! I'm selling blue bonnets and petunia's today! And they are a dime each!"

"Well now, that sounds like a good deal! I'll take two!"

And like that, Stella felt her mood soar when she made her first sale of the day. Two dimes now resting in the pocket of her slightly dusty apron that she wore over her dress. Her mind went up into the clouds in wonder. She wondered if the man would give the flowers to a beautiful lady he admired, or if he would plant them around his home, or maybe even put them in a beautiful vase full of water. So many wonderful possibilities. If there's one thing she knew and loved about flowers, is that each and every flower has a purpose, a name, and a meaning for themselves. Just like living creatures, flowers were very much the same. They give life for other living creatures, give the world it's color and beauty, and they always give off a sweet smell to give anyone's heart a swell of happiness and comfort.

Yes, Stella loved flowers like no other, and she hoped to someday open a flower shop of her own once her father became a world famous philosopher.

"Stella!" A woman called, earning the said girl's attention. It was the lady who ran the pottery shop a little outside the marketplace. Most of her pottery was made for decorative reasons, but she also made flower pots where Stella could grow her plants. She happily stepped in and looked around to find her inventory had changed once again. The flower pots were still for sale, and what confused her is that the pots seemed like they haven't been sold ever since she made them.

"Good morning Mrs. Evergreen, how's your husband?" She politely asked.

"Oh, Elfman is doing just fine dear," Evergreen replied, her eyes instantly catching the basket full of petunia's and blue bonnets all in a presentable fashion. "Oh my, and what have we here? Selling flowers again dear? Blue bonnets and petunia's even!"

"Yes! And they're a dime each!"

"Oh darling, you should raise your prices if your flowers mean so much value to you…'

Stella grew confused at the concerned tone in the woman's voice.

"But why? I don't want my flowers to seem like such a steal.."

"But you grew them yourself right? Outside your home? You're giving your beautiful flowers too much credit. I would say..sell them for at least a quarter."

Now that she thought about it, a quarter doesn't sound as bad as she thought it did.

"Oh...well I suppose a quarter doesn't sound all that bad!"

Evergreen gave the flower girl a smile, happy that she was willing to take her suggestion before taking three blue bonnets and giving Stella three quarters.

"Wow...it's a lot more money than usual…even better than a dime or nickel!"

"Well, I hope your sales go well today."

"Thank you ma'am!" Stella happily said before leaving the pottery store and continuing her way to the marketplace. When she got there, she felt a familiar air bustle around her as she avoided bumping into anyone who was walking the opposite direction as her.

She held her basket in front of her and kept the smile on her lips. So far, the morning had been wonderful with her making two sales before reaching the busy market area. It must be my lucky day she constantly thought as she made another sale. This time asking for a quarter which was happily received. She watched with a happy smile as the man who Stella just made a sale with gave a beautiful woman one of her beautiful petunia's and grew even more happy to find the woman accepted and absolutely loved the gift she received so early in the morning.

'Even though I wish someone would give me a beautiful flower to symbolize their undying love for me, just watching others receive the flowers I worked so hard to grow is more than enough.'

With that thought, Stella made her way through the busy crowds to look into other shops. There may as well be more things to look at with the money she has now with a dollar and 20 cents.

Meanwhile, a pair of men were walking through the marketplace in hopes to find a good bar and an inn to rest in for a couple of days. They were travelers who simply had a dream of traveling the world to look for a sort of life to live in. One wished for a life of luxury, while the other wished for a life of peace and quiet. One was flashy in his style of clothing, but has gained attention from the women around him whom they all described him as handsome and gorgeous to look at. The other simply kept to himself, wearing a black cape over his clothes and kept most of his dark hair over one of his crimson red eyes. Though the second male has gained attention from the women as well, the flashy male had gained much more.

"Come on Rogue, you should definitely show yourself off a little more. You'd win more hearts that way."

"Unlike you, I'm not a womanizer."

"Youch, 'womanizer's' a harsh word. I'd much rather consider myself...a lover," The first male said, giving a single wink to a group of women gawking at the two travelers and were left swooning after.

"Stop messing around Sting. We'll only be here for a couple of days. And we don't need you having a two day girlfriend that will be given an empty promise of you returning."

"Hey! I only say that as to not break a woman's heart."

"You do realize that's a cruel thing to do. For a guy who claims to be a lover, you sure know how to break fragile hearts by telling lies that I woman will hold onto for years."

Sting flinched a bit at Rogue's harsh words and nervously laughed it off.

"Dang man, you don't hold back at all do you..?"

But Sting quickly stopped in his tracks when steel blue eyes landed on Stella, who was happily making yet another sale with her flowers. She couldn't help but feel extremely lucky that she was making more sales than usual. At this rate, the basket will be empty by early afternoon when it's supper time. She gave a bow and a happy 'thank you' before resting her basket within the crease of her elbow and counting the amount of quarters she had earned. Blue bonnets were the most popular as of now, but the Petunia's have also gained some attention with their beautiful violet color.

"Sting…?" Rogue asked, snapping his traveling friend back into reality.

"She's gorgeous…" He whispered, earning a groan from Rogue.

"Sting...we've been over this-"

"No! I really mean it this time! I've got my sights set on that pretty little thing right over there."

"I don't think you're really her type."

"Now don't say that Rogue! I swear with all my heart she's the lucky girl I'm going to marry! I've told you many times that I will someday marry the most beautiful woman in all the world, and that makes her the best!"

"You're getting ahead of yourself again Sting...you need to keep in mind that it's not all about the looks. You don't even know the woman, and she doesn't even know you exist."

Sting grew a wide smirk and chuckled; wrapping an arm around his companion's shoulders.

"She will know soon enough, and she'll fall head over heels once she gets a good look at me..~"

"I really doubt that."

Farther away from the two men, Stella had given a little girl a petunia to give to her mother, watching with a happy smile as the two hugged with joy. The flower girl grew more happy to see others happy, and the happiness was caused by the flowers she would grow. She felt as if every wish was granted whenever a flower was sold. The stronger the wish, the most likely to come true. Though she found it a little farfetched, she decided to make a wish herself when her forest green eyes landed on the town's center fountain.

She set down the basket next to the fountain and reached for a quarter in her pocket.

'I wish, for a life of happiness..filled with flowers, beautiful nature...and….a very kind gentleman…'

A moment later after finalizing her wish, she watched it drop to the bottom of the fountain before taking back her basket and starting her way back home. She was hoping that on her way, she'd sell all her flowers and have plenty of earnings for the days ahead.

"Excuse me, miss."

Stella blinked and looked over towards the call of her name, finding Sting who held a tiny grin on his lips. She didn't really think much of his intentions, but she could tell he was new and was most likely a traveler with all the satchels he held on his hips.

"Oh, hello there," She said politely, watching him come closer to her. "I've never seen you around before, are you a traveler?"

"Why yes I am. You're quite the observant young lady."

"Oh, thank you."

Sting quickly noticed the basket of flowers held in her hands and grew a wide smirk.

"Oh? What have we here?" He asked, teasingly taking the basket from her hands and looking over the flowers with a small grin.

"U-Uh..may I have my basket back please sir..?"

"Please, call me Sting~"

"S-Stella..A-Anyways, Sting, can I please have my flowers back?"

With a teasing dodge, Sting raised the flower basket out of Stella's reach and looked each of them over with a curious frown.

"Honestly, how can you grow these? They take forever," Sting complained, rolling his eyes and finding how half of the flowers were gone. Both blue bonnets and petunia's.

"There's a thing called patience…" Stella mumbled under her breath, her eyes glancing away from the man. She wasn't one for snide remarks or side comments. But when she felt the need to, she would mumble them under her breath and hope that the person she was getting smart with didn't hear her words. It was a way of giving herself patience when she ended up talking to people whom she considered intolerable. And so far, Sting is the one person whom she was starting to think was a bit annoying.

The way he held his ego so high and was bursting at the seams with confidence, his use of flirting was a little uncalled for, especially when he just randomly taken the basket without any form of permission. To Stella, Sting even had the audacity to question how she could have the patience to grow her flowers, and that alone insulted her.

"Well y'know Stella, I've been going around town asking about you, and they said very good things about you...the only thing I have to wonder, is why even bother opening a flower shop?" Sting asked, shrugging and keeping his grin in place. His head made him think that Stella was secretly swooning over him due to the lack of reaction, but in reality, Stella felt the need to stay away. "I mean, come on, women don't know how to run businesses all the well like men do..and even if they did, they'd just end up with lacking success…"

So he even questioned opening a flower shop and owning a business. An even bigger insult.

"Besides, I think it's about time you got your head out of these daffodils and all the other sorts of flowers," Sting began, tossing the basket aside and causing Stella to instantly panic in worry as she quickly went to the basket and began picking up the remaining flowers that were still well and not a loss of petals. "And..maybe worry about more important things…"

Stella grimaced when she watched Sting kneel down and felt the traveler's fingers gently take a hold of her chin; lifting her vision up towards him till green connected to blue.

"Like me~"

An instant shiver ran through Stella's spine. But it wasn't a shiver of love or excitement, it was a shiver of disgust. This wasn't exactly the gentleman she wished for in the fountain, and what he considers to be his 'charms' is not winning her heart at all.

Stella took a moment to quickly stand and organize the remaining flowers in her basket. She felt sadness that she lost at least a dozen of her beautiful flowers thanks to Sting and his immature way of flirting, but at least there was plenty left for anyone who was willing to buy. The flower girl gave an upset frown towards the blonde before looking away with hopes he'll take it as a sign of disinterest.

"Sting..you're very primeval.."

"Why thank you Stella!"

Stella grimaced, now even more annoyed. "That wasn't exactly a compliment…." She mumbled under her breath before stiffening when he felt a strong arm wrap around her smaller form.

"So, what do you say I take you out on the town for the day? We can find a place to meet and more," Sting asked, his feet already leading Stella away despite her slight resistance.

"U..Uh...maybe some other time okay?"

"Sting!" A gruff voice called, and it made Sting himself frown in annoyance next. "I thought I told you not to run off like that!" It was Rogue, and he seemed quite upset to be suddenly abandoned by his traveling friend. He also seemed tired out from running around the entire market place just to look for him. Instead of a happy greeting with the bragging success of seducing a woman, Sting gave Rogue an annoyed frown.

"Rogue, I'm kinda busy taking Stella out on the town."

"Are you kidding me!? You left me alone in a crowded market for a woman whom you just met!?"

The distraction was enough to get Stella loose from the blonde's hold as she quickly got away and held the basket close, thinking quickly of an excuse to go back home despite wanting to sell a little more.

"P-Please Sting...I can't..I...I have to go home to help my father...have a good day.." She said, still wanting to be polite despite being rather annoyed with him.

"You mean that crazy old man who makes up those stories he calls philosophies!?" A villager called, snickering. "That guy needs all the help he can get!"

Sting felt his laughter couldn't be contained after the comment, finding himself reduced to hearty laughter.

"D-Don't talk about my father that way!" Stella shouted, now deciding that Sting wasn't worth another chance to redeem.

By the expression on Stella's face, Sting could instantly tell he messed up by laughing about her father.

"Y-Yeah! D-Don't talk about her father that way! J-Jerk!" He shouted towards the villager, giving Stella the quick chance to escape from the traveler's attention.

A big sigh of relief left her lips as she finally came home. She felt so drained, and walking around certainly tired her feet. As usual, the home was quiet. Sheets of paper strayed about the floor, and it made Stella smile a little to find that her father was certainly working his all to get his book of philosophies published. Deciding to help out, she gathered all the papers in her arms and made her way to his office; rasping a couple knocks before stepping in with a tiny smile. She new better than to disturb him, but she felt the need to do so to turn the papers back to him. Instead of a scolding, she found her father, sleeping soundly upon his desk. His head was resting comfortably upon the inner spine of the book and his snores were quiet.

"Oh father…" She murmured, letting out a silent chuckle as she set down the blank pages before taking off her apron and gently resting it upon his shoulders. She knew it wasn't much of a blanket, but it was something that she hoped would give him comfort.

A single kiss on the top of the head, and she was out of the study to let her father sleep in peace. She may as well tend to her small garden before preparing supper.

Her reflection glowed in his magic mirror. His only looking glass into the village outside of the thick forest that thankfully hid his haunting castle. Deep ember orbs watched the very smile she made when she found her flowers were as healthy as ever, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of hope when he watched her rest her thin and slightly tattered apron upon her father's shoulders.

He never met her, nor was he daring enough to leave his castle to find her. Not while he was in this hideously scaly state. But something inside him made him believe that she could be the one to break the spell.