Chapter 1: Gifts for the Princess

A long time ago, in a faraway kingdom, there lived a queen who went by the name of Blue Diamond. She was beloved by her people and had everything that her heart desired. All that was, except for a child of her very own. One day, the queen was quietly sitting by the pond in her castle garden, twirling a beautiful red rose in her hand and looking quite melancholy.

"Oh, how I wish I had a child of my own," the queen said to herself sadly. "That would bring me nothing but great joy."

Just then a pink figure suddenly appeared in front of the queen, much to her surprise. It was none other than Rose Quartz, or Rose for short, the queen of all the fairies who resided in what has been called the Rose Kingdom, located within the farthest reaches of Blue Diamond's kingdom. She had heard the queen's cries and decided to visit her.

"Please don't be sad, Your Majesty; for I can assure you, that you shall be blessed with a child," said Rose in a soothing voice. "To which they shall bring great happiness to the entire kingdom."

And with that, the fairy queen disappeared, leaving a mesmerised Blue Diamond to wonder if what she saw was real or merely an illusion. "If what Rose Quartz said is true," she thought. "Then this makes my life feel like more than just a fairy tale."

Many months went by, until one day, much to the queen's delight, what Rose Quartz spoke of was true. She had given birth to a beautiful baby daughter with sky blue skin, whom she named Lapis Lazuli, or Lapis for short. As a token of happiness, the queen along with the help of her most trusted partner, the Duchess Yellow Diamond, held a grand celebration in honour of her daughter's birth, to which everyone in the kingdom was invited. Many kings and queens, dukes and duchesses, lords and ladies, and even those of varying estates came far and wide to give their blessings to the newborn princess.

The queen and duchess were astonished by the number of gifts that Lapis received and by how many of the kings and queens gave out future proposals for the princess to be engaged to their sons. Whilst Yellow Diamond was optimistic about this idea, Blue Diamond was heavily against it, for the time being, stating "My daughter shall be wed when she is ready, and it is likely to be with someone of her own choice."

Suddenly the court fell silent as the trumpet fanfares started to play. The kingdom's royal advisor, Zircon came forth with an important announcement. "Behold, the most honoured and exalted of excellencies, the fairies of the Rose Kingdom," she shouted with a high amount of praise.

Much to the amazement of the court, a group of five fairies appeared. All of them were faithful followers of Rose Quartz and were assigned by the fairy queen to present special gifts to the child. Once their feet had touched the ground, they all gathered around to observe the newborn princess, who was fast asleep in her cradle. The fairies were all smitten.

"Aw, isn't she adorable," said an ivory-coloured fairy with peach hair.

"I bet she'll grow up to be a fine princess," added a hefty-looking periwinkle fairy.

They soon came forward to greet the queen, to which they introduced themselves with a faithful and graceful curtsy. Garnet, a tall magenta fairy who was put in charge of this visit, spoke first.

"Your Majesty, each of us have come on behalf of Rose Quartz to bless the princess with a single gift. No more, no less," she explained, to which she went back to the sleeping princess to bestow her gift first.

"Little Princess, the gift I give to you shall be that of beauty," she stated as she waved her wand. Suddenly, a stream of magenta fairy dust filled the room and a vision appeared, projecting how Lapis would grow up to be a fair maiden with short yet fair ocean blue hair and deep blue eyes that shone like sapphires.

Next, it was the ivory fairy's turn. Her name was Pearl, and she was a wise and motherly fairy, who would occasionally come off as a nag to others despite meaning well. "My gift for the young princess shall be that of song," she declared, and with a wave of her wand showcased a vision of Lapis singing to all the small birds and animals in the castle garden.

Up next was Bismuth, the hefty fairy with periwinkle skin, who had the most extravagant rainbow-coloured hair. "I give you the gift of grace," she proclaimed, projecting a vision of the princess dancing within a grand ballroom, with everyone present watching in awe.

It was then Amethyst's turn to bestow a gift. She was a lavender-coloured fairy, who had a habit of being an occasional troublemaker to the other fairies and used her magic to entertain others, much to the displeasure of Pearl. She made her way to the sleeping princess and spoke, "The gift I give to the princess, is that of laughter."

A lavender-dusted vision soon occurred, exhibiting Lapis chuckling at one of the royal jester's jokes, even if it wasn't particularly funny.

Lastly, it was Peridot's turn. She was a bright green fairy who was quite intelligent but also had a habit of being quite bossy at times, especially when celebrations were involved. "Tiny Princess, I shall bestow you with the gift of intellect," she stated. A string of green fairy dust appeared, projecting Lapis reading a book in the castle library, with her expressions showcasing a sense of fascination with the contents that it presented.

With all the gifts given, the entire court applauded and cheered the magnificent presentations that the fairies bestowed. Taking great pride in their work, the fairies curtsied to them in response. The queen soon made a valiant speech. "I thank you all for presenting my daughter with such wonderful gifts," she announced. "Long live Lapis Lazuli."

The court's second round of cheers followed, proclaiming the wonderful future of the baby princess. Unfortunately, this joy would soon turn into great despair.