Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Scarlet Heart Ryeo
"Hey! Stop!" Jellal hurried across the porch, grabbing Lucy's shoulder and roughly spinning her to face him. "What the hell are you doing?"
"W-what?" the girls eyes were wide as she stared up at him.
"How could you do that to Yukino?" the prince ground out. "You know what kind of person she is. You know her feelings for Sting," his voice rose in volume with his anger. "Who are you to behave to this way?!"
"What…what did I do for you to act like this?" Lucy stammered out, genuinely confused.
Jellal scoffed, "You want to know what you did? He steals glances at you. If you were to accidentally brush hands, Sting would reflect on it for days on end. He fusses over you constantly, and now you've only encouraged it's continuation by responding to his confession! Did you think that no one would find out? I know…and Yukino knows. Yukino knows everything."
Lucy's eyes widened in realization. It all suddenly made sense. The reason why everyone had been so adamant about her understanding the meaning of the poem. The reason why Jellal had been so angry and Yukino's eyes had been pained when Lucy told them that the Eighth Prince had given it to her. The reason why Sting had been so eager to get a response. It was all because he had confessed his love to her through that poem.
Tears started gathering in the blonde's eyes. She felt awful. Her ignorance had undoubtedly caused Yukino a lot of pain. And now Sting had the idea that she felt the same way.
"Listen carefully," Jellal started viciously. "All she has is Sting. She's only ever had eyes for him. But if you…if you hurt her anymore…I won't stand idly by."
Having gotten his message across, he stalked away, leaving Lucy frozen in place. Tears streamed silently down her cheeks as she stood alone.
'I promised that I wouldn't be a burden…but now look at the mess I've caused.'
King Igneel carefully removed the lid of the box that a servant had placed in front of him. He laughed happily as he caught sight of the item inside.
"I thought that it was time for a new pillow," Minerva explained sweetly from her place before the throne, "so I made one for you."
The King smiled graciously at his daughter, "I must be the King of Heaven to be able to sleep on such a luxurious item."
"My skills are still lacking," the princess laughed modestly.
"They say fathers with daughters can easily become fools. I am certainly one of those fathers." Igneel sighed as he gazed at his daughter, "You are such a beautiful young lady. Who could I possibly marry you off to?"
The princess smiled warmly up at her father, "I'm sure that you will choose well for me, Your Majesty."
"I want you to live happily, like my elder daughters. Though I don't get to see them often."
Minerva's grin faultered, "Does that mean you wish for me to live far away from the palace?"
Ingeel hummed in thought, "Why? Do you not want to?"
"If it is a place you choose for me," the princess' sweet smile returned full force, "I will be happy wherever I go. I'll wait patiently for you to find a good match for me, Your Majesty."
The King chuckled, "Minerva, how is it you only say things that bring me joy? You are one of my greatest pleasures in my old age."
"Thank you." She bowed to the King before exiting the throne room, her sweet smile dropping as soon as she was out of his sight.
It quickly was placed back on her face when she caught sight of her fourth brother taking a walk nearby.
"Natsu!" she called as she made her way over to him.
"Oh, hey," he calmly greeted her.
"I'm still not used to seeing you in the palace."
"And I'm still not used to these clothes," he said as he looked down at his outfit. He had been given a hanbok that had a gold, red, and green version of the royal family's crest on its front, one that matched the design of the ones that the King and the other princes often wore. While the King's was pure white, the rest of the princes' were various vibrant colors. But there was no color of the rainbow left for Natsu to pick that hadn't already been taken by one of his brothers, so he had asked for his to be made in black.
"Did you come here to visit the King?"
"Yes," Minerva responded politely. "His Majesty must be planning to marry me off soon."
"Oh, really? Has he chosen someone?"
"I don't think-"
"Why?" a new voice cut her off. They looked over to see Laxus approaching them, a sneer on his face as he stared at Natsu. "You don't think it's you, do you?"
The salmon haired prince scoffed at his assumptions and Minerva bowed to the blond prince as he came to stand with them.
"Don't bother having such useless expectations," Laxus continued. "It was a surprise that the king allowed you to stay in the palace. But he'll never let you have someone so precious like Minerva."
Although he had no desire to marry the princess, Natsu played into his game, just to get under his brother's skin, "Do you want to see and make a bet on it?"
"Are there fools who make bets on such obvious things? Then let's ask Minerva. Does she have the confidence to live looking at your wretched face forever?"
The princess softly laughed to herself, "I'm not looking for a handsome man. I'm waiting for a man who will cherish me. Someone who will treasure me."
Laxus raised a brow, "He must know your value in order to treasure you." The blond prince looked to his brother, but addressed the princess, "Minerva, I would treat you like this nation's queen."
The dark haired woman glanced to the other prince, waiting to hear his offer, "What about you, Natsu?"
The salmon haired man was uncomfortable with the conversation he had found himself in, slightly disgusted by the fact that Laxus wanted to argue over Minerva like she was something to be won. But the woman didn't look like she minded. He might even say that she looked to be enjoying herself.
Natsu sighed, "You're not asking me to put a value on you, are you?"
Minerva's smile fell.
"Rather than a woman of high value, I want one who will treasure me just as much as I treasure her. Someone who would not be concerned about this ugly face of mine."
Wanting out of the conversation and having nothing more to say on the matter, Natsu stalked away.
"He's just saying that," Laxus said as they watched him walk away. "He's always trying to show off. Yet, he is still nothing more than a struggling animal."
The wet snow continued to fall steadily, so Yukino pulled her stool closer to the fire she had built outside her home in an attempt to keep warm. One of her hands clutched a handkerchief, and she used the other to throw various items of clothing and accessories into the blaze.
Lucy watched the solemn woman from afar, afraid to approach her cousin after the pain she had caused her. But the blonde was suddenly rushing to kneel by her side as the woman started coughing violently into her handkerchief.
"Yukino!" Lucy caught her cousin as she began to tip forward with her hacking. Her eyes widened as the silver haired woman briefly pulled the handkerchief away from her mouth. Blood soaked the cloth and coated her pasty lips, dripping down her pale chin in a thin line.
"L-Levy," the blonde shakily called out as Yukino resumed her coughing. "Is anyone out there?! Levy!"
"Lucy," her cousin rasped out. "C-could you…do my ma-makeup for me?"
"W-what?" the blonde was taken aback by the question. There were more important matters at the moment, so she was surprised that her cousin would bring up such a thing at a time like this.
"It's for h-him," Yukino choked out. "I want him to re-remember me looking b-beautiful."
"Yu…Yukino…"
Lucy failed to restrain her tears and stop the shaking of her hands as she did her cousin's makeup. She did her best to softly smile at the woman as she applied the various pastes and powders to her pale face.
Yukino gazed fondly at her the entire time, a gentle smile never once leaving her face.
'Lucy…You have a fiery spirit that makes you prone to getting in trouble, but you're also surprisingly sensitive. You live in close quarters of the royal family, so please be careful with your words and actions. I'm always worried about your temper...And about Prince Sting…I want you to be there for him. He has many burdens. I would like it if he could always be comfortable in his life. I want you to take care of him. Always.'
"Sting! Sting!" Lucy finally let her sobs loose as she ran through the snow towards the prince. She was lucky to have found him so quickly.
"Lucy?" his brows furrowed when he saw her tears.
"It's Yu-Yukino," the girl choked out. "You need to go to her! Quickly!"
Sting wrapped his arm around his wife as they moved through the snow. Despite his protests, Yukino had wanted to take a walk around the estate. She gazed at everything fondly as they passed, almost as if this was the last time she would be able to see it.
Lucy silently followed a short distance behind them, her hands clasped solemnly in front of her.
"Yukino," Sting started worriedly. "It's cold out here, I think we should head inside."
"I wanted to come out to see the snow." His wife smiled at him softly, "Do you remember when I first saw you? I snuck away from my lessons when I heard that a prince was going to be in town. I followed you everywhere, and I knew that you found me to be a burden. But I still stubbornly pushed for marriage. It was after your mother had passed and you left the palace for a short time. I wanted to help you get back up with my own hands."
"Lady Yukino…" Sting breathed out as memories of the beginning of their relationship surfaced in his mind. He slowed to a stop and turned to face her.
His wife shakily brought her hand up to cup his cheek, tears gathering in her eyes as she stared at him fondly, "I want you, Your Highness, to watch over Lucy. That girl…" the woman's voice faded as she grew faint and collapsed into her husband's arms.
"Yukino?" he asked her worriedly.
She only let out soft whimpers in response.
Lucy rushed forward to help Sting place his wife on his back and hook his arms under her knees before they continued forward. He walked very slowly, careful not to jostle the woman he was carrying.
The blonde girl resumed her previous distance and matched his slow pace.
After a short while, Yukino had come back to herself and loosely wrapped her arms around her husband's neck, her handkerchief clutched in her hand. She lightly rested her chin on his shoulder, gently leaning her head against his.
"Yukino," Sting started quietly. "What you said before…I cannot forget it. You said…that I do not love you."
His wife closed her eyes and swallowed lightly.
"Yukino, I…"
"You…" she weakly said, her voice quiet and raspy, "do not have to say anything."
"But…"
Yukino shakily sighed, "I was able to…love you as your wife. That was enough for me…"
Sting stopped when her head slumped against his shoulder and her arms dropped from their loose hold around his neck to hang limply at his chest, her bloody handkerchief slipping from her hand and fluttering to the ground. Tears gathered in his eyes when he realized that he could no longer hear her labored breathing.
Yukino had passed.
He was vaguely aware of Lucy falling to her knees behind him when she realized what had happened. She tried in vain to stifle her sobs with her hands.
Sting turned over his shoulder to shakily hush the girl before he choked out, "Let us not wake my wife."
That only made Lucy cry harder, and she leaned forward to bury her face in her knees, paying no mind to the cold snow beneath her.
The blonde prince swallowed heavily and silent tears streamed down his face as he began walking numbly forward, his hands clutching beneath his wife's knees and her limp body slumped against his back.
White banners strung on poles fluttered as a man sang a sorrowful hymn, his rough voice carrying on the wind.
The field's occupants were all dressed in white for the funeral ceremony. Lucy was amongst the group of princes and Sting's servants, silent tears carving down her cheeks. They all bowed solemnly to the pyre in front of them as a drum began beating.
Sting stood numbly at the front of the crowd, his right hand clutching a torch. As Yukino's husband, it was his role to light the fire that would cremate her body. It lay in a decorated coffin atop the pyre. The sheet over it was vibrant red, a stark contrast to the pure white clothing of everyone in its proximity.
Lucy lost herself to weeping as the coffin was set ablaze, clutching her hands to chest desperately to try and ease the pain in her heart.
AN
This chapter was a bit shorter than the others, but I wanted to leave Yukino's death as the main event in this chapter and carrying on with the story wouldn't have done so. The Eighth Prince's wife's death is one of the most emotionally invoking moments of the show and had me bawling the first time I watched it.
Also, I think it's time that I mentioned another one of my favorite songs from Scarlet Heart Ryeo's OST. It's called "Will Be Back" by Im Sun Hae. It plays during both her death scene and the funeral scene and it is beautifully sad.
Two quick notes:
-I know that Minerva marrying one of her brothers is really strange and gross for us to think about, but remember that this is 1000 years ago and back then royalty normally married royalty to keep the power in the family. And not that this really makes it any better but keep in mind that Natsu and Laxus are her half-brothers, not full brothers. Sting is her only full brother.
-Although I think Koreans may use black now, white was the traditional funeral color of the Goryeo dynasty.
Thank you so much for reading!
