I used to run past the road, paper lantern in hand, body clad in white robe with pattern of soaring crane. Air puffs escaped my lips and cobble stone felt freezing against my bare feet. The sound of water drops became clearer, grew nearer, and I made a sharp turn around the corner. There was something I couldn't miss, and that was something worth the risk of being punished.

A small puddle of water was formed inside a wide leaf. It was crystal clear, and with each ripple, a picture was formed slowly. And by the thirteenth ripple, the picture became visible, showing the holder of half of my life.

It was stupid, but I fell in love with his smile.

A Tale from Thelua

[2] obligated

"Is it love?"

Lucy's eyes swept to the girl hidden behind the blanket, holding a stuffed blue dragon pressed against her cheek, with eyes shut as if sleeping. She pulled her eyes back to the embroidery, making sure she stitched them right and answering her question with silence. Wendy's eyes cracked open and she knitted her eyebrows at Lucy's direction, obviously showing her displeasure from the lack of reply.

"Or is it obligation?"

Lucy's eyes swept back to the girl once again, a little bit faster than how her brain worked to think of any appropriate answer. Wendy was, as usual, expecting an answer and she knew how stubborn the girl could be. Her stitches continued without her looking. Maybe her hand was off on its own creating some pattern she had long thought but never realized. Maybe she was creating a mess that would make it ended up in a pile of trash. She exhaled quietly, feeling the cold wind brushed past the slightly opened window. It carried the distinct scent of wildflowers and night. The night in Thelua was different from Feliose, indeed.

"Sis?"

Wendy was stubborn if she was worrying over something. Sometimes in the past, Lucy told her that she felt like a mother hen worrying over its chicks.

"Neither," she said. She didn't even know the answer herself. She never thought something such as that before. She didn't have the time to think about it, nor did she have the energy. "Or maybe both," she said again. Wendy gave her a frown and Lucy smiled. "I wonder which."

Love was a word just too strong to describe how she felt and obligation was too weak. There was something more than just 'obligation' and something less than 'love'. Something in between. Something vague and uncertain, but existed nevertheless.

Lucy threw her gaze to the crescent moon and it stared back at her coldly. Had it been one week already since she came here? One week since she gave her farewell to Feliose? One week since Thelua accepted her?

Tomorrow. Tomorrow would be the day. A big day. Maybe that's why she couldn't sleep. Maybe that's why Wendy became restless and asked such question. Maybe because tomorrow was the day where she finally wore the gown with fabric she had chosen with Wendy on the very first day she arrived in Thelua. Maybe that's why she was doing embroidery.

Tomorrow was the day where she would exchange vows. To be together with him, through the happiness and sadness, until the end of their lives.

Lucy glanced at Wendy, already asleep with stuffed dragon beside her. Wendy was a worrier and was mature for her age. Indeed, she was no other than the sister of her fiancé, but the fact that Wendy spent her childhood with her more than with her own brother was confusing her. She even lived in Feliose with her for almost seven years.

Why?

Lucy remembered well how the situation between the two countries was. It wasn't in the best condition; it was far from peace, but it wasn't a war either. Territorial dispute was common for Feliose and Thelua since both country was small. No agreement set in a stone for the matter of territory which made it harder not to start conflict. And in the middle of the conflict, Wendy arrived in Feliose.

A shy girl with no one coming with her, with just a few bags containing her needs. A bashful girl who apologized more than necessary. A little girl who stuttered whenever she talked to her.

The king never said anything about her, but it only took Lucy a couple of weeks to discover who she really was. Princess Wendy Dragneel, second in-line to the throne of Thelua. Of course, she would always deny her title and saying that she had no interest in becoming the queen.

"Brother excels in politics and other studies. It's wiser for me to be brother's support rather than being his rival."

Wendy always said that and "I want to be a doctor someday, that's why I came here" whenever Lucy asked about her reasoning to come to Feliose. While she didn't know about Thelua, she could tell that Feliose had richer plant diversity. The girl was smart and patient. Lucy was glad that the kingdom's doctor, a woman called Porlyusica, agreed on having Wendy under her wings.

Although ever since they made it in Thelua, Wendy had been feeling down. She also openly showed her disapproval on tomorrow's event. Wendy didn't want her marrying her brother and unlike what Lucy thought of it as a simple over-protectiveness between siblings, Wendy, in reality, had sworn that it wasn't the case.

"He doesn't deserve sis!"

Lucy wished that was the case. In all honesty, between love and obligation, she could positively choose obligation. But she didn't want to think much about it – she has had enough of thinking of it – and there existed something called rational cause. Because the peace was more important than her personal feelings. Because the people of Feliose was her priority as the princess. Because love could eventually grow and if it didn't, well, she had to make sure that it would.

Prince Natsu Dragneel of Thelua had a handsome face. He had the title, power, and his country was prosperous. Marrying him was just a strategy of hers to secure the peace between the two countries. Marrying him was just a strategy of the king to gain technology that Feliose didn't have. Marrying him was just a fact, a must; an obligation.

Because she simply had no other choice.