Summary: When a cup that has the ability to make someone immortal falls into the wrong hands, Minerva and Morgause seize the opportunity to create an immortal army and attack Fiore.

~ ~ ~

"We've patrolled the northern border," Sir Macao said. "Let's go back."

"Yeah, I'm hungry," Sir Droy agreed.

It was a big patrol- Droy, Jet, Gildarts, Wakaba, Macao (and the rest of the senior knights)- but things turned upside down from there.

It started with a single arrow being shot somewhere from up in the trees, embedding itself into Droy's heart. Jet yelled out and climbed onto his horse, screaming for Macao to hurry out of the woods.

But soon enough Jet was shot and fell off his horse with a sickening crunch.

Several others slumped forward.

The thirteen knights had no idea where there attacker, or attackers where, but it was inevitable. There was no escaping. Soon enough, an arrow pierced Sir Macao Conbolt's heart.

All thirteen senior knights were dead.

~ ~ ~

"I'm getting married."

I nearly choked on the piece of apple I was eating.

"WHAT?!"

"Exactly," Jellal said sadly. "And I don't even know who she is."

"Arranged marriage?" I guessed.

"Yeah. Father says it will help secure an alliance with the country Stella. He says that he's really good friends with King Jude Heartfilia."

"Heartfilia?" I repeated. "I think their daughter is Princess Lucy."

"At least I know her name," he said glumly.

"She's known for her beauty," I told him, trying to cheer him us. 

"Great! Her beauty will prevent Fiore from being attacked!" Jellal said sarcastically. "We're all safe now!"

"She might not be a bad person," I said, smoothing out the blanket I had just washed. "Maybe you should talk to King Faust about it."

~ ~ ~

Macao opened his eyes. A young boy, no older then fifteen, was helping him drink from a golden goblet.

"He's awake!"

More people huddled around the senior knight, waiting anxiously.

Sir Macao shot up from the bed and looked around. "Bandits!"

"We're Druids," the boy said. "We found you and your comrades on the ground. The bandits are gone."

"Where are Droy and Jet?"

The Druids' looked around guiltily.

"They're dead aren't they?" he asked, lying back down.

"I'm sorry."

Macao squinted at the boy who had helped him drink. "..Romeo?"

"Father!" Romeo exclaimed. "You remember me?"

"Of course," the knight said smiling. "Have the Druids treated you well?"

"I've made tons of friends. I am half-Druid, after all."

Macao closed his eyes, remembering his wife who had passed away. She had been a Druid. A beautiful Druid. One with magic. And Romeo had magic too. Living in the castle was too dangerous for Romeo, and Macao's only skill was serving his king. The Druid's were accepting people and it had all worked out in the end.

"I was shot in the heart," Macao remembered. "How.."

"The Immortal Cup healed you," Romeo said pointing the golden goblet. "You came back to life."

~ ~ ~

I stood beside Jellal as we watched the small group from Stella approach. I could see King Jude, Princess Lucy, and a couple other knights.

"Jude!" Faust said, hugging the other king.

"Princess," Jellal greeted, helping Lucy off her horse and raising her hand to his lips.

Lucy nodded politely.

"Show her to her room," King Faust said. Turning to King Jude he announced, "We shall have a feast in honor of the Heartfilia family."

"I'm kind of worried," Gray whispered from beside me. "Sir Macao, Sir Droy, and Sir Jet haven't returned."

I shrugged. "They're senior knights. Try not to worry. They're fine."

~ ~ ~

"I'm sorry about your mother," Jellal said, breaking the extremely awkward silence between them. "She was a wonderful queen."

Princess Lucy sighed. "I've gotten used to it. Father helped me get through it."

"My Father did the same."

"May I ask a question?"

"Of course, princess."

"Why is magic banned here? Back in Stella, magic isn't banned. Same with Bosco."

Jellal shifted uncomfortably. "Magic is evil. And.." He hesitated. "..it killed my mother."

"Oh," Lucy said, picking up her spoon and taking a bite of the soup. "I see."

But Jellal knew she didn't understand at all. And he was getting anxious. Marrying a woman he didn't love was bad enough, but marrying a woman he didn't know was worse. Maybe he should talk to his Father..

~ ~ ~

The feast was going fine. It was quite fun actually. Yes, we were on guard duty. But that didn't mean we didn't fool around.

Gray, Natsu, Gajeel, and I were all playing Truth or Dare. Naturally, we all chose dare. Some of those dares included sneaking behind Prince Siegrain and tapping his shoulder, stealing food from the king's plate, and yelling, "I LOVE THE DREYARS'!"

So far, no one had gotten caught.

But when Sir Macao rushed into the room without his two companions, I knew something was wrong.

Especially when he said, "All of the senior knights are dead."

~ ~ ~

The music stopped. Princess Lucy gasped (which, I might say, caught the attention of Natsu) and King Jude patted King Faust's arm sympathetically.

The talking died down as Faust stood up and said, "Carry on. I need to see all the knights..the remaining knight.. in the Council Room. Jellal, Siegrain- come with us."

~ ~ ~

"These Druids..they made me drink from this cup."

"Was it a golden goblet?" Porlyusica asked.

"Are you positive you were shot in the heart?" Faust questioned. "I've never heard about anyone coming back from life before."

"All the legends are true, Father," Jellal muttered. "You told that to me last week."

"Why are you so grumpy?" the king snapped.

"Why do you think?!"

"We'll talk about this later," Faust hissed. 

Macao touched his forehead and whispered, "I feel dizzy."

"I'll take him-"

"No, I need to talk to you," King Faust said suddenly. "Tell Scarlet to take Sir Macao to the infirmary."

Great. Now I'm a trainee knight, temporary servant, and a temporary physician. And a sorceress who's in charge of the destiny of Fiore.

Yep. And I was only eighteen.

But today, pretending to be a physician would be okay.