To keep up the suspense, you won't know who entered the bar to find Natsu and Lucy until next update! For now, this is a special chapter on Wonderland Cana. I'll be including special chapters on the AU main characters. Although Cana isn't directly in the action all the time like Natsu and Lucy, she's pretty important.

Special: Tyche, the Goddess of Fortune

Gildarts grimaced as his wife practically squeezed the life out of his hand. He endured it as he knew the pain she was in was much bigger than anything he would ever feel. Although he was sure their child would safely see the light, there were whispers in the back of his mind that his wife wouldn't make it.

After a long struggle, their daughter was born.

"Cana. Name her Cana." His wife whispered. She was quiet after, taking deep, labored breaths. She gently held her husband's cheek.

"I love you. Please protect her."

Gildarts held her hand. "I will."

Cana's mother stopped breathing.

Alone in the small cottage with no one but his baby daughter to hear him, Gildarts wept. He wept for the death of the love of his life, and he wept for the inevitable pain his daughter would know. For now, he would hide her away to make sure no one took her away from him.

7 years later

Cana was used to being alone. She was forbidden from leaving their home, and she had to stay in the basement if there were guests over. Luckily, her father brought her books from the mainland. He travelled between the Kingdom of Hearts and Galuna often, since he started a new life as a fish merchant. When she was younger, he told her stories of the adventures he had as a bounty hunter that sailed the ocean far and wide on the hunt for runaway magicians. He stopped telling her those stories a while ago, when the visions started coming more frequently. She had the sense that he was scared of what she had become.

At dinner she would suddenly black out, and without control over her own voice she'd speak of ominous prophecies for people she didn't know and places she'd never seen. He would kiss her forehead and put her to bed, shushing her.

She had magic coursing through her veins, but no way to control it. She fantasized about leaving her home behind and exploring the world for a teacher that could train her. Cana wanted a life in which Gildarts didn't keep her locked inside. She was beginning to feel like this cottage was really cramped.

The visions were coming more often lately. She often felt like she was being taken over. Her body would become tense, and suddenly she'd speak in a language she didn't know, or some strange premonition would wash over her before telling the future.

Tonight she sleepwalked. It was the first time something other than her voice was controlled, but this only spelled danger for her as it meant her magic was becoming stronger. Cana was vaguely aware of what was happening, but could not find the strength to stop it. Cana turned the handle and left her house.

Galuna was a small island, mostly just jungle. The port town was located on the coast, since their main export was fish and tropical fruits. It was also anti-magic. You might think it's strange, considering that the mainland Kingdom was a place full of it. But it was banned on the island, as the native islanders had a grudge against the magicians who colonized their home. Gildarts, her father, was like that too. Until he met Cornelia. She was a travelling fortune teller, who happened to convince her father to get a reading at a bar he went into with some friends.

They fell in love, and he was as blinded by the beauty of Cornelia as he was the beauty of magic. With this change of heart they married on the mainland and became Gildarts and Cornelia Tyche. After settling down at Galuna, Gildarts' home, Cornelia stopped practicing magic for fear of persecution. But she could not sever her connection to the universe. She became sick from repressing her magic, and when she finally gave birth to Cana, her body could not handle it anymore. Thus, Cana inherited an uncontrollable magic, cursed with a third eye and haunting flashes of the future.

Cana marveled at the size of the town. Any traveller would call it small, but it was so much bigger than the two room cottage she and her father lived in! She wished she could stop herself and admire it. She walked into the town square. People were whispering and pointing at her as she stood up on a platform.

"Heed my warning, or you will all die." Her words were not her own. She tried to cover her mouth, but found that she could not move her body.

"Three nights will pass. On these three nights, the moon will be full, and you will collect its moonlight." What was she saying? A crowd began to gather.

"To collect the light, you shall conduct a spell-"

"A spell? She's a witch!" Someone shouted. Some people gasped. Others yelled obscenities.

"Get out of here! Stupid mage!"

Cana could not move her body, she could not stop her voice. But tears were streaming down her cheeks as she spoke and raised her arms, explaining the ritual they had to perform. Of course, they would not listen. They threw random objects at her, but she could not cover her face.

Gildarts pushed his way through the crowd and up onto the platform. He stood in front of her, shielding her from the violent words and actions. "Everyone, stop!"

"Eh? What are you doing defending a mage, Gildarts?"

Out of respect for Gildarts, people momentarily quieted down.

He sighed. "She is my daughter. I've kept her hidden from everyone because I was scared that you all would hurt her."

Galuna's chief, an older man, stepped forward. "I am sorry Gildarts. She may be your daughter, but we can not allow witches on this island."

"Please Chief Moka! She is only seven years old!" He pleaded. The chief only shook his head.

"It is forbidden." Two of the chief's sons picked Cana up, pushing past the crowd. Her father's face became unrecognizable in the sea of villagers. They forced her onto a small, one person boat.

"You are hereby exiled from this island." Chief Moka declared. "If you attempt to return, you will be struck down on sight."

"No!"

Cana cried out for her father, but he could not catch up to her. The crowd that had formed was too thick, and even though he pushed everyone away, the boat was far away before he reached the shore. The last she saw of Gildarts was him screaming as the chief's sons held him back. He mouthed something to her, but she could not make it out.

She curled up in a ball, sobbing under the moonlight. It would take several days to sail to the mainland kingdom from Galuna, and she had never been on a boat before. She considered herself a goner. Why was life so unfair? This eye took her mother and father away from her, and left her stranded in unknown waters. She didn't ask for this! She didn't ask for the visions and the nightmares, and least of all she didn't ask for her death. Out of all the deaths she had foretold, she never could have predicted her own.

The people of Galuna had called her a witch, but she was anything but. She was just a little girl with a curse. A witch would use her power to navigate in this sea. She would use the stars or the moonlight or conjure up a map to guide her way. A real mage would know what to do. A cursed girl like her would just cry until her eyes were puffy. A few sniffles and deep breaths later, she stopped her crying.

Come on eye, Cana thought. Open! If only this eye would open, then maybe she could use her powers for good. She pleaded for the universe to bend to her will and show her the way.

"Old friend." A deep voice boomed in her mind. Cana flinched, but listened. "You can not control the stars. Listen to them instead."

Listen to them… Cana rubbed away a stray tear and closed her eyes. She slowed her breathing and counted the beats of her heart. She focused on the waves, gently rocking the boat back and forth.

Breath in...out…and in again…

She effortlessly opened all three eyes and found herself not in the ocean, but on the surface of a planet's rings. There were colors surrounding her that could not even be seen by a regular human's eye, and hundreds of floating particles of stardust. Oddly shaped spirits drifted in and out of view. Her head pounded as she saw the true nature of the universe, and closed her third eye.

Cana exhaled. Thank goodness. The vision was beautiful, but too much for her to handle. She walked on the planet's striped rings, listening to all the different voices that called out to her. The deep voice from earlier had told her to listen to the stars, but the jumbled murmuring was confusing, and she couldn't make out anything in particular.

Continuing on the path, she noticed a constellation that shone brighter than all the others. Six stars spoke in unison, and she reached out to hear their words.

"Hello."

Cana turned to see a young woman with horns and pink hair, shyly smiling at her. She knew at once that this was the physical form of Aries.

"Hello?"

"I was sent here by the Spirit King. I'm here to help you, sorry!"

"Help me how?"

Aries smiled, her physical form disappearing. Cana blinked, and she found herself back in the boat. When she looked up at the sky, the six stars from before were reflecting in the water. The golden lights lit up the way to the mainland, and Cana eagerly picked up the paddle and adjusted the boat's course.

"Thank you." She whispered. She did not know who this "Spirit King" was, or why the stars had decided to help her, but she would not forget this favor.

The stars were able to show Cana the way, but they weren't able to make food out of thin air. Cana was tired and hungry, unable to sleep as she had to fight against the currents and a small storm. With her luck, she also hadn't seen a single boat nearby, fisherman, passenger, or otherwise.

Four days from her exile the stars twinkled out of existence at sunset. Cana sat up, shocked.

She squinted, and in the distance she saw the docks in the distance, parked boats, lights, and best of all: magic! She excitedly paddled faster with all her strength. A two story fisherman's boat approached her starboard. The captain, an old man in a yellow outfit called out to her.

"Need any help?"

Cana graciously accepted, and she abandoned her tiny worn down watercraft for the fish boat. He took her to the shore and she ran into the city, delighted at the sights of the markets and people and colors and magic.

Past the dock were busy streets leading into a central market. Her stomach rumbled and she remembered just how hungry she was. Without any money, she would have to beg for something to eat, and she wasn't the only kid eyeing the fruit stands. She moved away from the bustling market full of beggars and onto a side street.

Maybe the mainland wasn't so glamorous after all. Even though she had read about the Kingdom of Heart's glory and the royal family's so called Golden Palace, she was not prepared to see the peasant women splitting a singular loaf of bread into bite sized pieces for their seven children. Or the orphan kids who approached her, asking for money and disappointed to find she was just like them. She was sure that not everyone lived like this, but the fact that there were people who did was an injustice.

Cana sat down in the narrow street next to a parked horse and empty cart. She clutched her stomach and willed it to quiet down, hoping that a vision wouldn't come any time soon.

A drunk woman stumbled out the door of the shop she sat in front of. She was a middle aged woman with her head covered in a colorful blue and purple scarf. Leaning against the cart holding an empty bottle, she giggled, then turned to Cana.

"Oh, it's you! I forgot this was today." The woman slurred.

"Me?" Cana pointed to herself in shock. What could this woman, who she had never seen before in her life, have to do with her?

"Me?" She mocked in a high pitch tone. "Yes, you! Come in." She entered the shop again, leaving the door wide open. Cana didn't think it wise to follow a drunk woman into an unknown place, but she was hungry, and she could never return home. At this point, she had nothing to lose.

She peered into the open doorway, finding a quaint shop with messy stacks of books, papers, and a curtain in the back. A large fireplace roared on the left wall. The warmth coaxed Cana further inside, and a bell chimed as she passed the door. She approached the fire and vaguely noticed the door closing on its own behind her. The woman was nowhere to be seen.

The weird sensation Cana had when she was connected to the universe was present in this room. She swore that she could hear the stars again, louder and clearer than ever. She felt the room growing darker. This was horribly unfortunate timing to have a vision.

A silhouette in golden armor stood side by side with three other figures. Two were identical, one seemed to be a man. A blinding light grew from their center, until her vision was dominated by it.

Cana opened her eyes again, grateful for the short vision.

"Ooh, what'd you see?" Eyes wide, Cana turned in shock to see the drunk woman standing behind her with her hands on her hips. She didn't seemed scared at all by Cana's short black out.

"Close your mouth, you'll catch flies." She teased as Cana gaped at her. She stammered, searching for an explanation.

The woman hiccuped. She gestured for Cana to sit, then sat down across from her. They sat in silence for a moment, and the woman stopped smiling. Seriously she said, "My name is Ursula. Ursula Alberona." Alberona…. Her mother's maiden name!

She removed her scarf, letting her long brown hair flow free. Her uncovered forehead revealed her own third eye, dormant but definitely present. "Cornelia was my sister."

Cana laughed. This must be some dream, she was still on the boat having a fantasy about finding lost family after the trauma of losing her father… "This is some crazy coincidence."

Ursula laughed too, her rosy cheeks glowing brighter. She was crying. "This is no coincidence. I saw this day coming about seven or maybe eight years ago, although back then it obviously didn't make sense to me. My sister ran away to marry some guy she met, and had cut off all contact with me. Until she sent me a letter."

Ursula stood up and scavenged through the messy papers on the desk. She threw some aside, declaring them to be unimportant and handed Cana said letter. Cana recognized her mother's handwriting from notes and letters her father had hidden away.

She gulped. Carefully opening the letter, her eyes scanned the page.

Dear Ursula,

I am so sorry for not contacting you at all these past few years. Life has been more difficult than expected. I fell in love with a bounty hunter of all people, and I moved to his island home called Galuna. It's a beautiful place, but it's a shame. You could never visit. They hate mages like you and I, and so I've stopped actively practicing magic for the sake of love. You know just as well as I that it's impossible to drown out the voices of the cosmos, but with this letter I am sending you my cards and some astronomical and astrological reference books. I can not risk being found with magic items, or my husband and I will be ostracized- or worse.

I am having a baby daughter. I am naming her Cana. I would love for her to meet you someday, although I am afraid for her that I will not be there when that happens. I cannot take this any longer, Ursula. My body is growing weak from my repression of my magic, so strongly bound to the stars. At this point, even if I meditate in hiding it won't have any effect. The damage has been done. The voices are getting stranger, and the colors are duller. My eye won't open at all.

This letter is both a greeting and a farewell. I love you, my sister Ursula Alberona. I hope you will forgive me for not writing you sooner, but now my days are numbered. Please seek out my little Cana and help her with her magic.

Love, Cornelia Tyche

Cana covered her mouth, holding back a sob. She looked up at Ursula, staring at her sincerely. This really was her aunt… Although she had never met her own mother, she recognized the same brown eyes and dark hair she saw every time she looked into a mirror.

Ursula handed her a wooden box. Opening it, she found a pack of tarot cards. Just looking at them she could already feel the magic rolling off of them.

"That box wouldn't open for me," Ursula explained. "Your mother meant them for you."

"But I don't know how to use these." Cana closed the box, doing her best to drown out the voices calling to her from them.

Ursula winked. "I'll teach you."

3 Years Later

"C'mon girl! You've gotten good at reading them, but not so much fighting with them!"

Cana panted and drew another card from the deck. The one she had in mind somehow always found itself at the top. Two of Swords. She had stuck to summoning minor arcana cards, the majors took magical energy she didn't quite have. A blindfolded woman in a white dress appeared before her, dual wielding swords.

Soundlessly, the woman lunged at Ursula, who was holding a sword of her own. Although she shared Cornelia's same psychic powers, she was never interested in fighting with the cards. She said she'd rather depend on her strength than her magic.

The card's manifestation blocked Ursula's strike, pushing back with an even greater force. Ursula ground her teeth and dug her feet into the ground, planting herself in place. The card jumped back and prepared another attack. Ursula sidestepped and quickly stabbed the card in the side before she could turn. The woman disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Cana whined.

"Don't worry, you're getting stronger. One of these days you'll summon a major." Ursula patted Cana's head (despite her complaints, Cana secretly liked it) and passed her a cup of water.

Cana had quickly learned to read the cards. Through meditation, she became in tune with the universe to the point where it didn't sound like gibberish anymore. The cards became a great tool to understand the visions, which stopped coming randomly and instead started coming at will. About a year ago, Ursula thought she was ready to learn to fight with them too. Cornelia had been a prodigy; a natural born fighter. "Basically a show-off." Ursula said.

She often dreamt about the vision from her first day in Crocus. A silhouette in golden armor, side by side with three others. She figured that they were summoning something, but whenever she consulted the cards, she never got a clear answer. Ursula told her that it was something too far in the future for her to understand just yet.

Ursula sat Cana down at the shop's cluttered table. Cana organized the cards as Ursula nervously played with her hair.

"What is it?"

"Do a reading right now for yourself."

Confused, Cana shuffled the cards. "Past, present, and future?"

Ursula shook her head. "3 cards, yes. But think of it more like asking for guidance for coming challenges."

Cana took a deep breath. Opening her third eye and tuning in to the voices of the universe, she placed her first card down. The King of Cups. A figure of authority with wisdom to spare- in short, a teacher. Cana assumed this must be referring to Ursula.

She drew the second card. Cana gasped upon seeing the Empress' face. Usually this card was positive and typically described a maternal figure or nature, but in this spread the queen was a challenge. Her unblinking dark eyes stared into Cana's, sending shivers down her spine. Her scepter was not just a show of wealth, but a show of power.

The third card was meant to be an answer. However the Empress challenged her, this card would be her guide. The third and final card was the Knight of Pentacles. The knight was kind, patient, dependable, and strong. Although, drawing this card was confusing. Cana pursed her lips in thought. This card might mean that she was the one who possessed these traits, or that some other person might and they would guide her. It could also be that she must continue her habits, like training and meditating to defeat whatever challenge the Empress brings.

The knight is looking off to the side, sitting on a horse posed in front of a golden sunset… Her mind flashed back to the golden armor from her vision. Golden armor, golden sunset, a golden knight.

She was meant to find the Golden Knight! The one from her vision! But the King, her teacher Ursula would not be there? Before she could talk to Ursula about her reading, there was a knock at the door.

The older woman stood up. "Coming!"

The knocking turned to pounding. "I said I'm coming!" Ursula peered through the hole in the door. Her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hands.

"Cana, you have to go. Take your cards." She whispered.

"What?" Cana couldn't understand what was going on. Who was at the door, and why was her aunt so scared?

"Just go! Please, find the river in the forest and keep walking until you reach the Kingdom of Diamonds. Oh please, I wish I had more time to explain this to you. This is actually why I had you do a reading just right now, so you would understand." Ursula stuffed the box that held the cards in a bag, along with some other random items. She pushed the bag into Cana's arms and led her to the back door of their shop and home.

Something clicked in Cana's mind. Did this have to do with the Empress' challenge?

"Ursula?"

"Hey, we're coming in if you don't open the door!" A male voice boomed.

Ursula hugged Cana, a few tears escaping her tightly shut eyes. "I love you, my niece. These past three years have been some of the best in my life. I've been getting these visions for a while, about today. I've been planning for you to leave this week. They're coming for me and you because neither of us will be affected. Our third eye allows us to see the true nature of things."

"What? They? Affected by what?"

"You'll understand soon. Just do as I say!" Ursula spoke seriously. Cana didn't realize she was trembling until Ursula put her hands on her shoulders. She was so used to seeing her drunk aunt laughing and joking with customers, slurring her words as she sung while preparing their evening tea. The mischievous glint in her eye when they fought and trained. She even smiled when teaching Cana the meanings of all the cards. Her aunt had never, ever looked so scared.

Everything that happened after seemed to be in slow motion. Cana left through the back door, her feet soundlessly hitting the floor as she sprinted down the alleyway. She looked back at the shop and her home these past few years and made eye contact with her aunt. It was uncomfortably similar to when she last saw her father, Gildarts. This time, her aunt wasn't swept away by a sea of people but restrained by a pair of men.

Ursula didn't fight back. She just continued staring as Cana ran away, clutching the bag to her heart. Reach the river in the forest, and escape to the Kingdom of Diamonds. "Just do as I say!" Her aunt had said. It was also a goodbye.

Once Cana was far away from the city, there was a strange pulse of magic coming from the castle. She stopped running for a moment, before shaking her head and pushing on. Although whatever just happened had no effect on her, it was clearly a strong magical spell meant to cover a large area. She just kept running, not dwelling on what happened.

At sunset, she reached the forest. Exhausted, she slumped against a tree and tried to catch her breath. Ten year olds only had so much energy.

"Hey there."

She yelped at the sudden greeting. She looked for the source and found a flying blue cat floating above her. The cat landed in front of her.

"Relax. Can't a cat catch a chat?"

"Who the heck are you?" She had no time for shenanigans with random forest creatures. She had to find the river.

"Me? I'm Happy! Happy as can be!"

"I said who, not how."

The cat waved her off. "I can help you find what you're looking for."

She perked up at the offer. "Yeah? I need to find the river that leads to Kingdom of Diamonds."

"Just follow me."

Cana reluctantly followed the blue cat through the forest. Cana Tyche didn't have the best luck. Even so, as long as she had her cards, her aunt, father, and mother were right behind her. She had left behind a life on Galuna, and she could leave behind the Hearts too if she tried. For the rest of the trip, she only faced forward to the Kingdom of Diamonds. Somewhere out there was her third and lonely life.

"You have me, you know!" The cat spoke up. Cana rolled her eyes. Alright, maybe this life wouldn't be so lonely. It would be annoying.

Cana laughed at Happy's glare.