A.N. sorry it's been so long since my last post but thank you all for reading and thank you to xLeTal for following. Now given the most recent chapters of the manga a few things have both been cleared up about Rakheid and a few things have been thrown out the window. In order to keep going with this story I'm going to try and incorporate the canon story with my own headcannon, if you have any questions about details I may have missed please feel free to leave them in a review and I will try to answer it as best I can (please note this offer is not extended to flames). Now without further ado, please enjoy the latest chapter.

He'd always known of the peculiarity of his birth, that the way he came into the world wasn't like other children his age.

He was a little bit older now, starting to leave boyhood behind but with a ways to go before he could call himself a man. His father had allowed him the gift of his company, the emperor was a busy man, but for a little while in the old days his father would stand by the balcony in the gardens while Rakheid sat on the other side of the veranda.

His training in magic was coming along and he was beginning to show power and promise, he realised that was the reason for his fathers visits, it was a status report, and despite how hard Rakheid tried not to think about it, an incentive to keep getting stronger.

But regardless of his ulterior motives his father was here with him, that was all that mattered. Zeref would ask him about his training and his studies with a stoic face but a voice that wasn't unkind, Rakheid would tell him in detail about his progress, about how he was finding magic that could manipulate emotions very interesting, and sometimes he was able to slip in small details about his day so he could pretend they were having an actual conversation, how Lady Eileen had been speaking with God Serena in a tone like a disappointed mother, or how Brandish was now spending all her time with Dimaria and that bothered him for reasons he didn't quite understand.

But his favourite part of these meetings was when his father allowed him to ask questions, about his past or his current affairs, sometimes these would lead into stories. Mostly they were either about how he met the other spriggans or about his deceased family, there was something about the way his fathers voice softened when he spoke of his little brother Natsu that set a spark of envy blooming in his chest.

One day without really thinking he asks "Father, why don't I look like you?"

Zeref goes very still for a few heartbeats, you'd almost think he'd left his body. But then he stands abruptly and moves towards the door, Rakheid has learned that this means their time together is over and he probably won't see his father for a long time after this, but then something so foreign to all their previous interactions happened,

"Come with me, Rakheid." Zeref ordered without turning.

It took Rakheid's mind a moment to process what he'd just heard before scrambling to catch up with his father.

Rakheid followed him through various halls doorways until arriving in a lavished bedroom which he eventually realised belonged to the emperor himself. Zeref moved to one of his bedside tables and opened its drawer, he pulled out a single rectangular card and held it at arms length in front of Rakheid.

He recognised it as one of the cards from a rejenca deck, it depicted a young woman with a serene expression and her hands clasped together over her heart while the rest of the picture was taken up by her long, flowing blonde tresses, the goddess.

"This picture is based off the visage of a girl I once knew." Zeref began to speak, but this tone of voice was something Rakheid had never heard before, like his father was speaking of something reverent.

"Her name was Mavis Vermillion, she was a brilliant wizard and founder of a Fioreian guild called fairy tail. This is your mother Rakheid."

All the breath left Rakheid's lungs and his vision narrowed down to that single card. Had the picture always been this detailed?

This was his mother? How could he have a mother when he was one of Zeref's demons? Father said 'was' did that mean she was dead? Had fathers curse killed her?

The questions ran through his mind like river rapids and he was trying to try and decide which one to ask and how to make his tongue work again. But then his father did what an emporor does and demanded the rooms attention.

"I can't love you Rakheid." A simple statement, something they were both well aware of. But it still sunk in his chest like a stone.

"Lest you fall victim to my curse, I never will. But I made you in the image of someone I loved, someone who was a much better person than I am, that is the greatest affection I can give you."

And with that his father left him alone, alone with a painted image of his dead mother.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Rakheid was unique in comparison to his other demons.

More powerful obviously, but there was also this slight evolution in consciousness, all the members of tartoros were single minded in their dedication to fulfilling their purpose of killing him, and they looked on him in awe as their creator.

Rakheid thought of Zeref as his father, despite knowing his true nature, despite knowing that having any love for him was a death sentence. This served as the basis for a wholly different but just as devout dedication to Zeref, but Rakheid was growing up, becoming an actual person, and with that came the risk of independent thought. He had realised a while ago that little motivations like this helped keep things in order. Like over sips of water to a man dying of thirst.

Telling him about Mavis may have been a bold choice but if he was going to create a fake mother for this fake son it could only have been her. Mavis was the only one.