3 years later.
The kingdom was as beautiful and happy as it always was. Nothing bad had happened. Yet.
The glowing sun was setting in the blue sky, turning it into an ombre of colors - red, orange and yellow. It was when the shopkeepers closed their shops. When mothers sang lullabies to their babies. When everyone returned home from work. When they had supper as a family and told their family the events that came along after they left home.
Meanwhile, in the castle, things were not much different. Queen Mavis, King Zeref and their four sons were currently having dinner too. Each one of them had grown, for years have passed since they've been adopted. Jellal is now seven, Gajeel is six, and Natsu and Gray are three years old. Natsu and Gray have recently begun their studies. Learning manners. Table manners are not their favorite.
While the king and queen had many issues to discuss, they never did it in front of the children. They would talk about it when all of them were above sixteen. Until then, both of them had agreed that the children should lead a life free of problems. Instead, they would talk about the children's day. How life was for them.
"How was your day, Jellal?" Zeref asked first.
"It was alright, father," Jellal replied. Jellal was a lot like Zeref and kept things a secret until they needed to be seen.
"What about you, Gajeel?" Mavis questioned.
"Oh, you won't believe what happened, mother! While we were combating using wooden sticks, Sir Larcade slipped on his robes and fell, causing me to gain victory over him." Gajeel on the other hand was more like Mavis, he was talkative and usually came up with nicknames for people. His nicknames were usually accurate.
Natsu was shoving all the broccoli to one side and eating the rest of what was on his plate. Natsu liked vegetables but he hated broccoli. He hated it so much.
"Natsu. Eat your broccoli." Mavis said, sternly. She didn't like wasting food.
Natsu pouted and proceeded to stab the broccoli really hard to show his anger. Unfortunately for him, the broccoli jumped away from his stab. He stabbed again. The broccoli jumped again.
Natsu furrowed his eyebrows.
Oh, the game was on!
So their extravagant dinner was ruined by Natsu following the broccoli, trying to stab it, and ending up spilling water everywhere. He even got on the table and crawled, dragging the table cloth, causing everything to fall. Gray, liking what Natsu was doing, also got on the table and both of them caused havoc on it.
To say Mavis was angry would be an understatement.
"I'm sorry, Mommy."
Mavis puffed her cheeks out and refused to succumb to Natsu's adorable, puppy eyes. She had forgiven Gray earlier when he gave her a rose to say sorry. She would forgive him too.
"Alright," she sighed, "but, do it again and I will make sure to punish you!"
"Okay, Mommy!" Natsu grinned and hugged her.
"Can you tell us a story?" Jellal asked. He was reading by the lamp, ignoring both his foster mother and brother's drama.
"A story?" Mavis tapped her chin and thought. "Oh, yes, I have a story. One that has been passed down in generations in our bloodline. A tragic story of four, young women."
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Gray climbing over the bed sheets to get closer to her. Gajeel came in eventually and proceeded to sit in the corner. Mavis was used to that, though. Gajeel was an introvert. Natsu, on the other hand, was not. He had come in the closest to her side and climbed on her lap. He even grabbed her hand and made her pat his head!
"Alright, so, it goes like this..."
This story is set a long time ago. A very long time, before Fiore was formed - before any kingdoms were formed, there was a small place in the middle of the world. At that time, there was no oceans, no stars, no forests. The world was a barren place, and yet, people found happiness in it.
In this particular place, lived four, young women. They were all orphans and had lived together since they were very little. They were the most kind and compassionate people you would ever find on this planet.
(Gajeel had interrupted at this point. "Orphans? Like us?" He had asked. Mavis looked at him, hurt. "You're no longer orphans," she said firmly and continued with the story.)
These women were loved by many. Which was only to be expected as they had no bad habits or bad table manners. (Mavis glared at Natsu and Gray) But, they were also envied and hated by many. This was also expected as with love comes hate. One cannot exist without the other. These four women had special traits too.
One whose beauty knew no bounds.
One whose voice was so sweet that it could wake the dead.
One whose intelligence was unparalleled in that universe
One whose strength was unimaginable.
These four women loved each other dearly. They were practically sisters. They did everything together and kept no secrets.
As everything was going well, something dark arose from the starless sky. A huge, dark non-human thing that roared and devoured everything in its way. The four, young women watched in horror as their beloved home got destroyed, as the people that loved them and those they loved were killed right in front of them.
"We must do something," said the strongest one, "we can't let this monster kill us all."
"But, what can we do?" Asked the beautiful one, "It is too strong!"
"There is a way, my friends." The intelligent one spoke, "But, there is no assurance that we will survive it."
The four friends agreed that it didn't matter whether they were alive or not. All that mattered was that the monster died and that humankind was still alive.
The intelligent one's plan was simple. They would use a spell. A magical, ancient spell to kill the monster. This spell would give each of them special powers. Powers enough to take down the monsters. But, it was certain, that they would all die.
They took the risk.
"Alright, it is ready," the intelligent one looked at each of her friends, tears in her eyes, "who will go first?"
"I shall," said the beautiful one, bravery dancing in her eyes, "I shall go first and weaken the monster."
And so, the intelligent one cast the spell. It caused the beautiful one to glow. A light, yellow and goldish glow all around her body. People watched with admiration and jealousy as she grew more and more beautiful. Her eyes were closed and when she opened them, there was a huge burst of light.
The monster roared in pain.
The beautiful one fell dead.
"No!" Cried the one with the sweet voice, "No, no, no..."
Before any of them could do anything, the beautiful one's dead body turned into a ball of light and rose above, to the sky. There, she burst into a thousand little lights that scattered all across the dark sky. She created stars.
Meanwhile, the one with the sweet voice was crying so hard. She had lost one of her sisters. She was in great despair. At that particular moment, the magic began to flow towards her. She began to cry rivers, lakes, oceans, and seas. Water surrounded her, the whole place, the entire world. She created all the water around us. And she drowned in them. Her cries muffled.
"The monster is drowning!" The intelligent one exclaimed, "But it is not yet enough!"
"Enhance me with magic!" The strongest ordered, "I shall destroy it!"
The intelligent one hesitated. She didn't want to lose all of them. But, the monster would kill them all if she didn't do anything. Sacrifice one or sacrifice all. That was how the world worked. She knew that. So she did it.
The strongest woman growled, a thousand swords appearing in the sky. With a snap of her fingers, she too turned into a sword. Within seconds, all the swords had pierced through the monster's skin, his blood falling into the world in great big droplets.
And those droplets created the forests. Huge, dark, green forests where people would get lost.
("The droplets are huge!" Gray commented. Mavis only nodded.)
One of them landed right next to the intelligent one, engulfing her inside it. The people of the land were thankful for the sacrifices made by these four women. But, soon, they would all forget the courageous choices made on that fateful day.
("And the intelligent one?" Gajeel asked.)
She roams. She cries and roams around the forests, even today in the hope of ever reuniting with her sisters. She cries when the stars come out, when she sees water, and when she or someone else bleeds. She is reminded of all the tragic deaths that have befallen her beloved sisters. And she wonders why she was left alone in this world.
Mavis sighed and tucked Gray, the last one, in. They had all slept (Natsu cried because of the story and she had to sing) except for Jellal. He was in deep thought.
"It is just a myth!" He exclaimed, "So why was it passed down in our family?"
"Myths are lies," Mavis agreed. "But, some of them have a bit of truth intertwined between the lines. Now, go to sleep!"
And Jellal slept, the question lingering far behind his small head.