Love Against All Odds

Chaptet 53.5 : Switch of Fates

June 13th, X524 (11: 30 PM)
[the night before Lucy's dream]
Queen's residence, Royal Palace, Crocus, Sabertooth Kingdom

      In one of the small rooms inside the Queen's residence... its walls were painted with light-yellow, and the decoration lacked of luxury items. It was a restricted area, only Her Majesty Empress could enter it.

     Inside that room, Anna was kneeling on the floor, as she prayed silently. On the middle of the table near her were two small boxes with opened lids. One box contained a cracked bracelet, and another contained a broken long silver scepter. The bracelet and the scepter were once the holy staffs that belonged to the leader of the Sacred Celestial Clan. Beside two boxes was a folded blue cloak, and a broken silver key.

      The blonde woman wearing a white gown opened her eyes slowly after she had prayed for her people who died seventeen years ago. "Nee-chan, don't worry. I'll protect your daughter. We will revive our Clan and revenge for everyone. Our Lucy will be the most powerful celestial mage."

"The true saintess will reborn when twelve stars shine together. She shall be the ruler of all realms." It was a prophecy of the Celestial Clan only known to the elders. It was rather like a myth, because no one in the history had ever owned twelve zoadic keys. Moreover, the Heartfilia family and the Aguria family were always in harmony.. but... not anymore.

"Twelve zodiac keys will belong to our little Lucy Heartfilia. Whoever wants her zodiac keys, I'll kill them all, including Hisui Blaise, and a fake one," A vicious smile crept on her lips, "This is my vow to our family... Scared Celestial Clan will shine again."

• • • • •

      That night... her arrival was too late, her village had already fallen when she reached there.

     The queen, in her armor suit, with her high ponytail, looked at the scene with terror. What she found were the burnt houses covered in flames, and the dead bodies of the villagers and her clan members, including her brother-in-law's.

       She ran towards the shrine with much panic. There, she saw her sister and Hannah-chan lying lifelessly on the ground. A few distance away, a baby girl in a white dress was sleeping inside a pillar of the golden light. That pillar was familiar... of course, it was a rune art from the celestial clan.

     Anna undid the rune and carried the baby girl in her arms after the light faded away. She looked at her sister sadly, with tears in her eyes... Her sister was smiling, even in the last breath of her life.. 'Why was she smiling?'

"Don't worry, nee-chan. I'll take care of little Lucy as my own daughter."

      Before she stepped out of the shrine, she could sense a fade of pressure calling her. She turned around... she didn't take too long to realize that something was hidden in the secret passage of the shrine. The woman activated the entrance quickly  and entered the passage with caution.

      There, inside the secret tunnel, she found another blonde baby wearing a dark-blue dress lying on the floor... two golden keys were attached to her dress.

      Anna... was shocked, because the baby lying on the floor was exactly identical to the baby in her arms... two babies? The only difference was two zodiac keys... Among them, was the lion gate key... and it always belonged to the Heiress of the Heartfilia Clan.

      It was the moment Anna realized everything. Her sister predicted that Little Lucy would face danger, so she cast an ancient spell on another baby who also had the celestial magic.

       An ancient spell that could transfer into one's appearance in the sacrifice of the casters' magic and lifespan... the change of appearance would never be undiscovered unless its duration was over, and the spell wore off. The baby was undoubtedly from the Aguria family. The sole reason was that baby Aguria could live as baby Heartfilia, thus ensuring the latter's life safety.

     Thus, Anna sent the baby with two keys away, with her trusted maid. She adopted the baby with no keys, and gave her two zodiac keys that she owned so that no one would suspect their plan. Anna simply walked on the path that her sister paved...

     Everything was in her control... until her husband ruined her plan.

"No matter what had happened in the past  there is only one Lucy Heartfilia, the heiress of Sacred Celestial Clan in the future."

^_^