'Where am I?' She questioned, bewildered. Finding herself standing upon the surface of the cerulean-blue ocean undisturbed by the faintest ripple, she couldn't help but feel a sense of anxiety washing over her. Casting her gaze downward, she met the unexpected sight of her own reflection, now a girl with light blue hair, mirrored on the glassy surface of the water. Her brown eyes widened in astonishment as her fingers trailed along the length of her long, flowing hair. Instead of the golden yellow color, her hair color matched that of the girl in the reflection.

"Hi there," a gentle voice greeted her. Then she saw a golden figure appear in front of her, before her bare foot gracefully descended upon the water surface, coming to a motionless standstill. This girl seemed to be in her teenage, had a long, wavy, pastel yellow-blonde hair that reached down to her feet, wearing a pink layered dress with a red ribbon tied in a bow around her neck, and wing-like adornments around her ears and small hoop earrings. Her green eyes shone with excitement, as she smiled at her.

"May I know who you are?" she asked with a polite smile, "and what is this place?"

"I'm Mavis Vermillion," the girl said cheerfully, "This place is my eternal time rift I created."

She looked at the blonde in disbelief, "Excuse me? Did you just say... Mavis Vermillion? The saintess who slayed the most powerful demon E.N.D and sealed the demon gate?" She was just dreaming, wasn't she? She didn't expect that she would meet THE Mavis Vermillion.

"Yes, I'm that Mavis Vermillion," the youngster giggled, "Hehe, I didn't expect that humans made up these heroic stories of mine. I was just sixteen years old at that time. Oh, don't be confused. My appearance may look like a thirteen-year-old girl's because of a curse. I cast a forbidden black magic spell to defeat the demons when I was thirteen, and as a result, I wasn't able to grow."

Hearing this, the first thought that appeared in her mind was if she was really dreaming. Most importantly, why was she in Mavis Vermillion's time rift? All she remembered was that she felt so sleepy when she was talking to Imitatia.

"I'm a spirit," Mavis answered her as if she could read her mind, "I connected this place with your dreamland," she danced in a circle twice, spinning gracefully before stopping and pointing at her, "which means, this is also your dream. You were kidnapped by your guard, and they brought you to the Celestial Village shrine."

"My guard? Imitatia?"

"I think so. I don't know her name."

"But why... why did she harm me?"

"I'm willing to tell the truth, but it's a lengthy story. Good for us, the time flies very slow in this place," Mavis said, as she retold her story.

"It all began two hundred and fifty years ago, a time when Fairy Tail and Sabertooth Kingdoms had yet to come into existence. At that time, the mayors governed the territories, and conflicts over territory were raging non-stop. To exacerbate the situation, the Earthland was invaded by demons, led by three Demon Lords."

"My mother was a maid working at the mayor Everhart, and my father was a gardener there. I grew up with two young ladies, serving them. I was closer to the eldest lady, Filia Everhart, who was two years older than me... I was her maid. The second daughter, Freya Everhart, was four years younger than me. Oh, there was a guy who was like my brother, Yuri Drey... He was three years older than me. He was an errand boy at the manor."

"Master Everhart ordered everyone not to tell the children, including me, about the chaos outside the manor. However, me and Yuri-kun learnt about the demon invasion. When I was twelve... when I sneaked out of the manor to help the citizens, I accidentally met a young man who was an expert in magic. I asked him if he could teach me magic, and he agreed. Later, Filia-chan and Yuri-kun joined me. He taught us magic for half a year."

"At that time, magic was rare. Magic types were much fewer than now; Four element magic wielders, Nature magic users like plant magic and thunder magic, summoners and healers. Light magic Lia-chan learnt, and black magic I learnt from our teacher were the rarest of all. Trainings after training... trials after trials to get approval from Master Everhart, me, Lia-chan, and Yuri-kun formed a good team and killed the demons which invaded our hometown. Being backed up by Master Everhart, we allied with the neighboring regions and fought together. When I was thirteen, we could slay the Blue Skeleton, who was one of the Demon Lords, but it cost my growth."

"The war against the demons continued for three years. One day, we were contacted by Amelia Orland, the leader of the demon army, who came to Earthland five months ago. She suggested a deal; she would tell the information that would eliminate the demons, in exchange, she wanted a territory in Earthland for her and her subordinates to live," the blonde paused for a while.

"And, did you agree it?" she asked.

"Yes," Mavis continued, "Only if Amelia Orland and her group agreed to live secretly, and never appeared before human."

"Why did you agree to her deal? Weren't you afraid of being deceived?"

"This was the decision made by all alliance leaders. Besides, since their arrival, Amelia's clan demons never participated in human hunting," Mavis replied, "Because of her, we found out about the portal where the demons came to the Earthland. If we destroyed it, new invasions were ended."

"A group of seven; including me, Lia-chan, Yuri-kun, Amelia-san, and three knights, were sent to seal the gate. When we arrived there, we faced E.N.D, the remaining Demon Lord who started the war five years ago... also the leader of all demons."

"Our team defeated E.N.D., and Amelia sealed his soul in a book. There was one problem though; we didn't know how to destroy the gate. We tried all ways; the magic spells, the physical attacks, and even my black magic... In the end, we decided to seal the demon gate. Among us, the most suitable person was Lia-chan, who had much magic power compared to us. And we assumed that her Light magic might win the dark," Mavis stared at the empty space longingly, which confused her.

"Lia-chan sealed the gate. I still remember... before she closed the gate, she turned around and smiled brightly at us. She told us that she was glad that we could end the demon war. She gathered all of her magic... Her body glowed in yellow light, which matched her golden hair," Tears flowed down her eyes, "After she sealed the gate, she collapsed... she was still breathing, but she was unconscious. We returned to the town, Master hired the physicians and healers to save Lia-chan. But, they couldn't. Three days later, she left us forever."

"Lia-chan's mother, Madam Fia Everhart, was once a summoner who summoned creatures from other realms. Sir Everhart forbade his daughters to use the summoning magic because it harmed the summoners. We found out from Freya-chan that Lia-chan secretly learnt summoning techniques before she learnt Light magic. Lia-chan knew that her Light magic couldn't seal the gate, so she used her summoning magic to do so."

"Amelia and her fellows bid farewell, as they headed to their new home. The Everhart Family left the town after Lia-chan's funeral because it remained so much of their deceased daughter. They left their properties to both locals and refugees. For some reason, they didn't want people to know that their daughter was the one who sealed the gate. People started to see me as their Saintess who saved millions of lives, so... this was how the story about the Saintess who killed E.N.D and sealed the demon gate started."

"I died seven years later, because of the curse that took my growth away. I became a wandering spirit and traveled across the land. Three years later, I reached a hidden village. There I saw a young woman who I knew before... Freya-chan... Freya Everhart, Lia-chan's younger sister. Master and Madam Everhart had already passed away. Freya-chan, who had never abandoned her summoning magic even though it was what took her sister's life, had been researching her magic. She told me that she discovered a new and easier way to display her summoning magic... which was by using the gate keys to open the realm."

"No way," she claimed in awe.

"I didn't know how. Freya-chan said that she accidentally met the Spirit King of Celestial realm, and suggested her idea. The Celestial Spirit King agreed and made the keys for the summoning magic to summon easily. Freya-chan loved her sister so much, she changed her name to Freya Heartfilia... she wished that her descendants would remember Filia-chan who was kind-hearted, noble and brave. The hidden village was named Celestial Village. Over the century, the summoners around the continents fought each other for the gate keys. However, they couldn't compare the Heartfilia Clan in terms of magic power."

"The reason why the dark guild invaded seventeen years ago, and why you were kidnapped... is because the celestial spirit magic aka the summoning magic that Lia-chan used is the key to open the demon gate... which means... they need the Celestial Spirit magic of the Heartfilia Family who are the descendants of Lia-chan."

"How much do you know about that invasion?" Mavis asked her.

"Seventeen years ago, the dark guild invaded the village. My mother and her clan members lost their lives while protecting me."

"Layla Heartfilia had a best friend named Hannah Aguria, who was also a celestial spirit mage. She had two daughters; Sorano Aguria and Yukino Aguria."

"Yes, I know. Royal Mother told me about them. They died in that battle."

"Layla Heartfilia and Hannah Aguria switched the babies," Mavis looked at her, sadness tilted in her green eyes, "I'm sorry to say... You are Yukino Aguria, who has been living under a transformation spell for seventeen years."

"No, it is not true," she raised her voice.

"Yukino-chan, look at the reflection, it's your true appearance, the spell has worn out, this is why I came here to meet you," Mavis said quickly, "Among these dark guild members, there was a man who could control the spirits. The souls that lived in this village under Layla's protection had perished because of him.. except for a young spirit named Eclair. She had been living here for all these years and didn't leave this village. Yesterday, she came to me and begged me to save you."

"Your mother, and your sister, loved you so much. Your mother had no choice but to sacrifice you to save Lucy Heartfilia. If they got her, they could easily control her, make her stronger, and demand her for their own good. The worst was, they could use her to open the demon gate. They knew that Anna Heartfilia would come to save you, and thus ensuring your safety. All they did was to stall the time. Your elder sister was still alive."

She could no longer stand, as she knelt on the water surface, crying. She didn't know why she cried... was it because she wasn't Lucy Heartfilia? or was it because her mother didn't value her life? She didn't know how long she cried... until Mavis Vermillion disappeared from her sight, and her surrounding slowly faded away.

• • • • • •

June 15th, X524 (Midnight)

Celestial Village, Sabertooth

"Master Caprico, you need to come to see this quickly," Imitatia rushed to her leader who was patrolling outside. A look of fear was written on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"Princess Lucelia... she"

Without asking more, Caprico went back to the shrine, followed by Imitatia.

There... the girl whose right leg was caught by an iron chain and her wrists were tied together to the pillar... was still in her unconsciousness... leaning against the pillar in the sitting position. However, the obvious change was her hair... her golden hair was now replaced by very long light-blue hair.

"IMPOSSIBLE," Caprico claimed, not believing what he had seen, "WHAT HAPPENED? WHO CAME IN?"

"No one came in, Master. I've been guarding this area the whole time, and the room was locked. Then I felt a strong magic aura inside. I came inside to check..."

"Transformation spell... Imitatia, do the Eucliffes know your identity so they take preparations? No. No.. I can feel the celestial spirit magic from her. The Eucliffes activated a transformation spell on another celestial spirit so that they could confuse us." At the moment, this was the most possible option he could think of. Since the Eucliffes could send the fake princess to Fairy Tail to deceive the Dreyars, then they could use the same method to fool them.

"Master... Compared to Princess Lucelia, her complexion was closer to medium, and this girl... she is less curvaceous."

"I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO DESCRIBE THEIR DIFFERENCES. WHERE IS PRINCESS LUCELIA? IMITATIA, YOU'RE BRINGING THE WRONG PERSON."

"I'm sorry... Master Caprico... I don't know when they switched them. I swear I don't know... I've been guarding her..."

But, something's wrong. Why did they resort to such extreme measures that they gave the golden keys to this light-blunette, leaving Lucelia Eucliffe without zodiac keys?

"WAIT.." He paused as if he realized something. "HOW COULD IT BE?" He screamed angrily.

Indeed, he had been fooled not just for a couple of months, but for several years. He recalled the Celestial village raid, and how two celestial spirit mages appeared so weak, "How many years have it been?? Sixteen? Seventeen? HAHAHA," He whispered and laughed like a crazy person, "A transformation spell that was activated seventeen years ago... only Layla Heartfilia and Hannah Aguria could do it. This is the reason they were so weak in that battle. I thought it was because they faced me without their keys...I realize now, that it was because they used their magic to cast this spell... HAHAHA, what a pretty trick." The realization was still late, dragging his plan a step behind.

"Master, then who is this girl?" the young woman pointed at the unconscious girl, "and where is the real Princess?"

"This girl is from the Aguria Family. To think I've been tricked by those lowly women, I feel disgust. Imitatia, how much do you know about the girl who was sent to Fairy Tail?"

'The girl who was sent to Fairy Tail?' Imitatia thought, 'Is she the real Princess?' "She is a maid from Dragneel Family. Natsu Dragneel brought her to the Manor since they were kids... and she owns four zodiac keys."

"That's the situation."

"What do you mean, Master?"

"The real Heartfilia is the one who was sent to Fairy Tail. Inform it to the Guild Master. Then assembly the members," Kingdom of Fairy Tail was their territory, not like Sabertooth where they couldn't carry out their mission freely. Grimore Heart had sent countless assassins to Crocus palace to assassinate Lucelia Eucliffe. If it was in Fairy Tail, then their action would be easier than before, "Our next target is Lucelia Dreyar," he smirked.

• • • • •

"Come on, girl. I know you're awake," He approached her and knelt beside her. He pulled her chin, forcing her to wake up, "Did you enjoy the story I told just now?"

The girl opened her eyes, and looked at him angrily, "Get your hands off me." Mavis was right, the dark guild was after Lucy Heartfilia.

"Haha, you still have the energy to shout at me," Caprico stated, as he withdrew his hand, "I want you to become my disciple."

"I don't accept an offer from someone who imprisons me."

"You should call me someone who killed your family, girl," he smirked, "How amusing, let me see how long you can keep your calm," he forced her to look at him, "You know... you are not the Royal Princess... You are substituted so that the real Heartfilia can live her life peacefully. What about you? You grew up in the palace with full of dangers. Did the assassins come for you to take your life, didn't they?"

"STOP IT." the girl shouted. 'Is he using the sound magic? He talks normally, but his voice, when it reaches me, intensifies more and more.. and pressures me. My head aches.'

"Your biological mother abandoned you... pushed you into the hell with her hands. Your mother didn't want you. You're just a tool to protect her honor."

"I SAID STOP." Every word he said was pure torment, causing pain to her... 'No, he is telling this to torture me. I shouldn't fall for his trap.'

"Your adoptive mother also used you too. Do you still think she is sincere to you? She is a Heartfilia... she knew you are not her niece, yet she kept you by her side. Do you know why? She just wanted to take your golden keys and give them to her niece."

"YOU'RE TALKING NONSENSE," she shouted, struggling between the headache and the sound pressure, "Royal mother loves me so much."

"LOVE? Do you forget that, for the celestial spirit mages, there is neither love nor friendship between them? 'If you don't kill them... they will kill you.' Layla Heartfilia didn't kill your mother but forced her to submit her loyalty... What is the result? The person who suffered the most is you. If you don't kill Lucy Heartfilia... she will kill you someday and get your keys. Don't you hate her? She stole everything from you. Come on girl, I can help you."

"Follow me...be my disciple, and get your revenge on Lucy Heartfilia... She caused your mother's death. Lucy Heartfilia will die soon, then you will be the strongest celestial spirit mage."

'No, you're lying. You just want to use me. You guys will never kill Lucy Heartfilia... You need her power.'

"I will never surrender you."

"Master Caprico... Guild Master Hades ordered us to return to the base immediately," the voice from outside interrupted, causing the dark guild elite to turn around. "Call our members," he ordered.

After the signal, five people, each wearing a black-hooded robe and a black mask, assembled in front of their leader.

"You guys will continue spying on Eucliffe Imperial Family, and other nobles."

"At your command, Leader Caprico," the members said in union. Caprico just nodded and exited the room, as Imitatia followed him.

He activated a magic portal which would directly transport to the guild base.

"Master, what about that girl?" She asked.

He wanted to see this girl turned into darkness and fought Lucy Heartfilia for revenge. He wanted Anna Heartfilia to witness this girl being corrupted by hatred and harming Lucy Heartfilia. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time to manipulate her. On the other hand, the existence of Anna Heartfilia, the Queen of Sabertooth, was a threat to him. He knew she would try to get the golden keys no matter what.

"Aguria... I've never thought we've been tricked for many years... It's time for your death," he said... "KILL HER NOW AND TAKE HER KEYS BACK."

He stepped into the portal, and after transportation, the magic portal disappeared.