The Fairy-Tail Bride

Chapter I, part two: The Captain's Wife, a Visit, and a Revelation

I am so sorry, guys. I gave myself a super long update period, and I still managed to be late. In my defense, I would have had this done on time, but then my computer decided to start PMS-ing or some crap. I could turn it on and get to my desktop screen and... NADA! But I digress.

I am so glad that so many of you have enjoyed my story. As my way of saying sorry, i give you this 5,260 word update. I hope you like it. On with the show!

DISCLAIMER: Yep, I just checked... I'm still not Hiro Mashima... or William Goldman... but I'll keep you posted...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Kingdom of Saber was fixed in the same area where the nation of Florin would eventually settle, some place between France and Germany (this was prior to Europe). By all accounts, it was ruled by King Jimmea Orlando and his second wife, the Queen. In reality, the King was barely hanging on. He could hardly tell the difference anymore betwixt the day and the night, and most of his time was spent in mumbling or sleeping. His age was nearly beyond reckoning, his body had long since betrayed him utterly. The only thing that bothered him now was that he could no longer taste many foods.

It was Prince Sting who truly ran things. If there had been a Europe at the time, it wouldn't have wanted to mess with him. And the captain of the guard was his only confidant, so no one wanted to mess with him either. His name was Rogue, but he rarely had to use it. He was the only captain in the whole nation. The Prince had promoted him to this rank as a birthday present. The happening taking place, obviously, at one of the Captain's wife's many parties.

Minerva was slightly older than her husband. She had been married to him for three years, but before she was the Captain's Wife, she was Princess of Saber. Prince Sting was her younger brother, but Minerva had been passed over for the throne, being that the laws of Saber stipulated that a daughter could only inherit the crown in absence of a male heir. As a princess, Minerva had developed high standards when it came to her apparel. All her clothes came from Hargeon, (this is after Hargeon) and she had superb taste. (This is after taste, but only just, and Minerva seemed to be the only one in all of Saber who possessed it. She was one of the pioneering forces behind the concept of glamour. Without women like Lady Minerva, there would have never been such a thing... or a need for it, for that matter.) The lady's passion for the glamour and class of all fashion and fancy would lead her to one day leave Saber and move to Hargeon on a more permanent basis. There, she would go on to own the finest magic shop in the whole nation.

For the time being, she tried to content herself with sleeping on the finest silks, wearing the finest gowns of satin, silk and other precious fibers, eating the richest foods off of gold plates, and being the single most loved and feared woman in the whole country. Yes, yes... she led a hard life, indeed. In all, Rogue and Minerva Cheney were Couple of the Week in Saber, and had been for many years. (Anyone who had the guts to say differently soon found his guts on the floor before him in the middle of the night.)

This is MwaliTatu. Don't worry, there is more chapter still coming. Any time that I interrupt the story, I'll use this fancy italic font, so you can tell the difference. My intrusion here is to address Mashima's use of parentheses in the original text of the FairyTail Bride. Dumamoja, my partner/editor of this work, was constantly asking about the timing of this story. "How can this be before Europe, but after Hargeon?" (Hargeon is still a bustling port town today... if you know where to look for it...)

Or he might ask: "how is this before glamour? It's an ancient concept... see? Glamour, right here in the oxford dictionary...." And finally, he just broke down and sobbed beside me at my desk. "I'M GOING CRAZY! WHEN DOES THIS STORY TAKE PLACE?! HELLLLPPPP!"