The Tale of Tales

Chapter 6

Juvia hummed to herself as she sat by the window of her bedroom doing her knitting and sewing. It was one of the very few things she could do to occupy herself. Whenever her father went away her stepmother hardly ever let her leave the castle so the young lady had to keep herself busy by knitting, sewing, reading books, and working on her lessons. Her only friends were the birds who would occasionally come to perch on her window sil and Lucy one of the castle servants. However Lucy was always so busy that the two hardly ever saw each other.

"There this one's finished." She said when her knitting was done.

She looked out the window of her room and a smile graced her face when she saw her father arrive on his horse.

"Father's back."

She quickly hurried downstairs to the castle entrance.

"I'm so glad that you have returned my dear." Minerva said kissing her husband.

"As am I my queen." Hector said.

"Father!"

King Hector's face lit up like a thousand stars when he saw Juvia running toward him with open arms. He embraced his daughter and spun her around joyfully.

"Oh my little Juvia you're getting so grown up."

"I thought that you weren't going to be able to come."

"Now what kind of father would I be if I were to miss my daughter's seventeenth birthday? Now then today is your special day so we will do whatever you want to do."

"Oh Father can we play in the snow today? Like we used to do when I was younger?"

"Of course my little princess."

Much like her mother before her, Juvia loved the snow and the rain. The whole day she and her father walked together in the falling snow and later took a sleigh ride through the kingdom. In the afternoon Juvia laced up her ice skates and began to skate across the frozen lake while Hector watched her from a distance. It wasn't long before everyone in the kingdom took notice of the young princess and stopped to watch her.

"Princess!" Cried a little girl who walked toward her on to the ice only to slip and fall. Juvia quickly skated over to the little girl and picked her up.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Uh-huh." She nodded.

Juvia recognized the little girl as the daughter of the miller Alzack and his wife Bisca. Her name was Asuka. She skated over the edge of the lake where her parents were and handed her to Bisca.

"Are you alright Darlin?" Bisca asked her concerned.

"I'm fine Mommy."

"Asuka you know you're not allowed to walk on the ice. You could have been hurt." Alzack said.

"I'm sorry Daddy I just wanted to give the princess a birthday present."

"You got me a present?" Juvia said.

"It's just a little thanks for giving us the money we needed back when Asuka was sick." Alzack said.