The Fire Within (#Wattys2014)

Chapter 10- The Truth Revealed and the Prophecy foretold

When Natsu was freed, he wanted to rush to the castle and save Lucy, but Wendy and Loke told him that that would be idiotic since the castle was so huge. Loke convinced Natsu to return with them to the guild in order to come up with a plan to save Lucy.

As they returned to the guild, they found that the other members were already cleaning up the mess that Phantom Lord made of their guildhall.

Once everyone had a moment, they all assembled around the bar where master Makarov spoke. “My children I have not been honest with you. I have known Lucy all of her life because I was once a magical advisor for the royal family. Let me go back to the beginning. I met Lucy’s mother, Queen Layla, when she first came to Earthland. You see her mother was the daughter of the Celestial Spirit King and one day she decided that she wanted to see the world. It was then that he decided to take the Celestial Spirits and create the 12 zodiac keys in order to be her companions to travel with. I was part of a welcoming committee that the old King of Fiore sent to see if Layla would want to stay in Fiore. She declined and said that she wanted to explore a little bit. One day while she was travelling, she met a young prince named Jude Heartfilia and they fell in love. They would later marry and become the King and Queen of Fiore when Jude’s father died. The Queen soon became pregnant. She was afraid to tell the King because there is a rule in the Celestial World that there can only be one celestial princess at a time. Layla knew that Jude would never understand so she consulted with me in what to do. It was I who told her to tell him about the child and ignore the fact that she would inevitably die in the process.

“When Lucy was born, the King held her in his arms with love in his heart, but that all changed when he saw Layla beginning to turn into stardust. He was in deep mourning for the loss of his beloved wife and he swore to have his revenge on Lucy for being born. As time passed, the King began to console men from dark guilds like Phantom Lord. His lead advisor was a man named Hades, my former friend and a former master of Fairy Tail. I knew that Hades was jealous of my position so he decided to have me removed. I knew that I had to run away with Lucy to Fairy Tail because the night after Hades became the head magical advisor, there was an assassination attempt on my life. I was selfish and decided to flee, leaving Lucy in the clutches of her father. That was the biggest mistake of my life. We must get her back before it is too late and the chaos from the prophecy is realized.”

“Gramps, what is this prophecy and what does it have to do with Lucy?” Natsu asked puzzled after all that the master had just explained.

“I can explain that.” Loke stood as he began to speak. “In the Celestial World, before we became the 12 golden keys of the zodiac for Layla, there was a prophecy that read:

The maiden of the Celestial Realm

Born with pure light and love,

Yet who shows scars and sorrow,

Will make companions

With keys, dragons and fairies.

Darkness will descend like a fog

And chaos will rule.

Only through friendship and love

Will all the keys be found

And the fire within shall be unleased.

The battle over darkness

Shall be won through the

Ultimate magic of stars and flame.

Darkness will be destroyed and

Peace will cover the land forever.

“When Layla came down to Earthland, we all assumed that the prophecy was meant for her, but now we realize that it was meant for Lucy. She is the only one who can bring peace to both Earthland and the Celestial World. Her father must be keeping her from fulfilling the prophecy for some reason but I have no idea why.” Loke finished as he sat back down.

 “You are only half right Loke for I have looked into this quite closely as a magical advisor and there is a hidden danger within the prophecy that is not written. If Lucy is consumed by malice or fear towards anyone, the darkness will consumer her, killing her in the process, and the Celestial World will be destroyed. As for the part about the “fire within”, I am unclear of the literal meaning, but many believe that it contains the power to defeat any evil forever, including Zeref.” Boomed the master.

The entire guild gasped.

“So Lucy has the power inside her to destroy any evil once and for all? What would happen to her if she uses this ‘fire within’?” Natsu asked in a panic.

“It is unclear my child, but it is only passed through the royal lineage of the Celestial World. If Lucy is to become queen one day of both Fiore and the Celestial World, she must first acquire this magic. If she loses hope after we became her friends, then all is lost. This is why we must save her now! She is our nakama and we will not stand for any violence towards our family! For Lucy! For Fairy Tail and for the future!” bellowed the master as the entire guild erupted in a battle cry that would strike fear into the hearts of any enemy that passed them.

“Don’t worry Lucy. I am coming to save you!” Natsu screamed inside his head. It would be a battle between Fairy Tail and the Kingdom of Fiore to rescue a friend and for the safety of the entire world. They could not lose; they had to win at all costs.