Inspired by my childhood books Moss Gown and Her Stories, and these fairy tales, Maid Maleen and Diamonds and Toads.
When people told themselves their pasts with stories, explained their present with stories, foretold the future with stories, the best place by the fire was kept by the storyteller Makarov Dreyar. A wise, clever, and mystique old man who had spent countless years traveling the world, using magic, and telling the most captivating stories. Stories that no mortal could resist listening to. Stories that he had seen and heard from the many places he been to and the many people he had met during his travels. His greatest stories were always the ones he told of his grandchildren.
Makarov was the father of eight children; four sons and three daughters. Metalicana, Ivan, Jiemma, Irene, Dinah, Gildarts, and Katsumi. Each child was born with great power and Makarov did his best to bring them up to use their abilities to help mankind but unfortunately not all of them chose to be guided by goodness.
Now his first born son Metalicana, his youngest son Gildarts, and his daughters Dinah and Katsumi followed in his benevolent footsteps. They found great pleasure in using their gifts to aiding those born without magic. Healing illnesses, providing shelter from natural disasters, making farmland fertile, causing the sea to be bountiful with fish, sometimes they would even serve as allies in wars.
However his other sons Ivan and Jiemma were cruel and malevolent. They believed that because they were born with power, they should rule over all the earth as gods. They even attempted to accomplish such a dreadful thing but using their magic to torture and/or enslave the average humans. Such wicked behavior resulted in Makarov and his other children sealing them away underground so they would never be able to harm another innocent soul again.
His eldest daughter Irene was a very interesting woman. She was not completely benevolent nor was she completely malevolent. She could be cruel but she could also be kind. She loved and respected her family dearly but would find their views foolish. She would help others and she would harm others. It all depended on her mood.
Anyway each of Makarov's children gave him a grandchild. Metalicana, Dinah, and Ivan gave him grandsons. Gildarts, Irene, Katsumi, and Jiemma gave him granddaughters. Makarov adored his grandchildren and they in turn adored him. All his grandsons and three of his granddaughters grew up to be good like him but his other two granddaughters grew up to be wicked but luckily neither one of them had done anything to such an extreme degree that they had to be sealed away like Ivan and Jiemma.
Though good or wicked, Makarov loved all his children and grandchildren, and he enjoyed telling their stories. Like today for instance.
Today he was visiting a plantation. A plantation that he had visited many times before. A plantation where he had told stories to children and again to their children's children. Nearly all on that plantation knew of his amazing story telling skills and nightfall, just as he had gotten his firing going, the local children of this generation gathered around and asked him for a story.
"Please tell us a story Makarov." Asked a boy. "My father says you tell the best."
The old man smiled at the eager children.
"You must be Macao's boy." He said. "You're just as he was as a young fellow. Excited and cheerful. Lord the kind of trouble he and his friend Wakaba would get into back in those days. You'd almost swear that they were little devils."
"Really? Are you going to tell us about that?"
"No. I can't. Your father invited me as a guest and I wouldn't want to put him in a bad light."
"Then what story are you going to tell us?" One girl with pink pigtails asked.
"I'm not certain yet. I know so many but I can only tell one."
Makarov began to search his mid for whatever story would be just right for this occasion. What tale would suit this atmsophere, of a warm Summer night on the fields with a crackling fire, a starry night, crickets chirping, and fireflies blinking in the dark.
"Sorry I'm late everyone."
His thoughts were then interrupted by a little girl with long indigo colored-hair rushing to join them.
"Hello everyone." She said. "I hope you haven't started story telling yet."
"Wendy where have you been?" Romeo asked her. "We agreed to meet him right after supper."
"I was on my way but I saw some flowers and I wanted to give them to him. My mother says that you love flowers, Mr. Makarov sir."
She presented him with a makeshift bouquet of daffodils and lilies. Those exact flowers helped Makarov decide on the perfect story.
"Thank you Miss Wendy." He said accepting them. "You've just reminded me of a story, and it's this story that I'm going to tell you all."
"What's it called?" Wendy asked.
"Golden Daffodils and Silver Lilies."
At once all the children sat around the fire and directed their attention to Maakrov as he proceeded to tell his story.
"Now a long time ago, long after a war had ended there was a plantation that was a lot like this one and this plantation in particular was where two of my granddaughters were living. Erza and Minerva. Both were incredibly powerful, incredibly clever, incredibly beautiful, and incredibly mischievous. However while Minerva was impulsive, selfish, and mean-spirited, Erza was wise, generous, and good-hearted. Minerva would use her magic to cause others harm but Erza would use her to help others. And one day two men on that plantation came to Erza for help."
"Who were they?" Romeo asked.
"The landowner and his servant. Though different in background, both were hard-working and honorable men who had both taken beautiful and loving wives. But most important was that they both had the same problem. They both longed to have a child and both their wives were declared barren. When an old aunt had told them of Erza, each man paid a visit to her house in the bayou and asked for her help. The landowner offered her a small fortune and the servant offered her his life savings. But her reply to both men was this;"
"I want no money." He explained. "Money is of no importance to me. But I am a lonely woman. My cousin Minerva bears me no good will and the rest of my family is far off in the world with no time to visit me. I also have no children or siblings to call my own. If I grant you a child, I wish to be made Godsister to the child and that I be allowed to serve as the child's teacher. If your child visits me often I will not be so alone as I am now and I shall teach your child to be wise and good. With my lessons your heir will benefit you and do you proud in ways you could not even imagine."
"That's not really asking much." Wendy said.
"You would think but a lot of people on that plantation had certain reservations about people who could do magic. In fact a lot of them thought Erza be to a witch who would only bring bad luck and misfortune. Yet the servant and the landowner wanted a child so very much that they agreed to her conditions. So Erza threw a number of foul-smelling things into an old pot, and stirred them, and spat on them, and muttered, and chanted, until a very putrid tea was brewed from that pot. She poured equal amounts of the tea into separate flasks and added something to each of them. She dropped a gold piece into the flask she gave to the servant and she dropped a silver piece into the flask that she gave to the landowner. Then she said;"
"Before you officially sleep in your bed, be certain that your wife drinks every last drop of this tea and when she is finished, plant your seed immediately. Come the next morning, she shall already be with child."
"Uh...What does that mean?" Romeo asked.
"Yeah what does gardening have to do with having babies?" The pink-haired girl added.
"Oh...Um..." Makarov blushed when it occured to him that his audience was under age. "You'll find out when you're older. Heh, heh. Anyway both men thanked Erza for her help and they did exactly as she instructed them to do. Within a year, the servant's wife and the landowner's wife both gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The servant's son was called Natsu and he was said to be as pure as gold. The landowner's son was called Gray and he said to be as bright as silver. Both boys were loved and well cared for by their parents and, true to the words of their fathers, Erza was made their godsister and teacher. She loved them like brothers and she taught them magic. But best of all she helped them find reach the one thing they desired most."
"And what was that?" Wendy asked.
"Well upon becoming two young men, they naturally fell in love with two young women. One who was like a daffodil and one who was like a lily. Both maidens were different in culture and rank but they shared much in common. Both had lost their mothers young and both had fathers who made very poor decisions that led to them being trapped. And those young men who's hearts were captured by them, would help them gain the courage and strength to break free."