"The course of true love never did run smooth."
William Shakespeare

Once upon a time, there lived a king and queen who ruled the small but prosperous kingdom of Darya. They had a happy marriage full of love, friendship and trust, and ruled over the land with a fair but firm hand. However, they desperately wished for a child to call their own and so far, the queen had been unable to conceive.

Then one day, after years of trying, they got their wish. The queen was finally pregnant and the kingdom rejoiced knowing there would now be an heir to inherit the throne. Many days and nights were spent celebrating and preparing for the upcoming birth of the royal child.

However, three months before the child was due, the king came down with a sudden fever and passed away during the night, leaving the heartbroken queen all alone to take charge of the kingdom and prepare for the birth. Despite being very sad, the young queen took comfort in the fact that she wasn't entirely alone; she had a castle full of people who loved her dearly and her child, whom she already loved more than anything, growing inside of her.

Eventually those three months passed, and the queen gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with the creamy, pale skin and button nose of her father and the same cerulean blue hair and deep blue eyes of her mother. She was given the name, Juvia.

One month after the birth, a ball was held inviting royals and nobles from kingdoms all around to celebrate the birth of the little princess.

Of those invited, one of the queen's most trusted friends, King Silver of Fiore, also recently widowed, brought along his 14 month old son Gray to meet the princess with a special gift from the both of them.

"Silver, how good of you to come," The queen looked up from the large, golden crib she stood beside, smiling at her old friend.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world, Nerida," The king returned the smile, holding Gray up a little higher as they approached the crib.

"He really is the perfect balance of you and Mika," Nerida said softly, admiring the small boy with dark hair and equally dark eyes.

Silver chuckled, "Hopefully he's got more of her in him than me, for both of our sakes."

The queen simply rolled her eyes and smiled at the comment. Then they looked down at the young princess in her crib as she peeked up at them through long eyelashes.

"Hello Princess Juvia," Silver smiled warmly at the young girl. "You certainly are a beauty. Your mother is going to have trouble keeping those pesky suitors away." He winked and his smile grew larger as the child giggled.

"I honestly hope she gets lots of suitors… I wouldn't want her to be left all alone if anything were to happen to me." The queen smiled sadly at the young princess.

"You shouldn't say such things," Silver admonished, his tone still light. "And besides, if anything ever does happen, which it won't," He added with a look. "Gray and I will be there to give Juvia whatever it is she may need. Whether it be good company or assistance in running her kingdom."

Queen Nerida smiled, "Thank you Silver; that means the world to me. I hope the two of them do become friends though," She added, looking between the dark haired boy and blue eyed girl. "It would be great for our two kingdoms."

"That's true, it would," He said, looking thoughtfully at his son. "In fact, it would be even better if these two ended up together and joined our two kingdoms."

"Yes," Nerida nodded, considering his words. "That's very true. With your army and crops and our ports, we'd have one very powerful kingdom indeed."

Silver paused and cleared his throat, "I have a proposition." He stated, setting the small boy in the large crib next to the girl. Neither made a sound as they sat there staring at one another with large eyes. "How about every summer, you bring Juvia to stay at our palace in Fiore. That way she and Gray can get to know one another better and she'll get the chance to explore and learn about my kingdom in case she ever inherits it."

"I think that's a great idea," Nerida beamed, "But they're too young right now… Maybe when Juvia turns five? I could bring her to Fiore that summer?" She offered, looking fondly at the two children in the crib. Gray was waving a small blue rattle at the young princess as she giggled.

"That sounds like a great plan to me," Silver grinned. "I'm sure we'll see each other between now and then anyway, but that'll be when we really get down to business with these two."

The queen nodded and looked back into the crib with a smirk, "Not that they'll need our help. Look at them getting along so well already," She gestured towards the two giggling babies. "Getting these two kids together should be a piece of cake."

"So long as Gray doesn't inherit his mother's stubborn streak." Silver laughed, reaching into the pocket of his coat. "Before I forget," He added, pulling a silver chain from the pocket of his coat. "This is a present to Juvia from Gray and I," He held out the silver chain to the queen. As it dropped and pooled in her open palm, she noticed a heart shaped locket with a snowflake design on on the front was attached.

The queen gasped, "It's beautiful Silver," She held the locket up, admiring it from all angles. "A snowflake…the symbol of your family." She held it closer to her face to get a better look at the design. "And it's been engraved on a heart shaped locket?" She looked up at the king with a smirk.

Silver raised his hands in mock defense, "Hey, Gray chose the heart design, not me."

"I'm sure your one year old son did," She chuckled. "It seems you want this union more than I thought."

The king laughed, "We had three options and he pointed at the heart. I'd say that was Gray making the decision. Anyway, you can't back out on me now Nerida, we made a deal."

Nerida smiled, "Yes we did." She held the necklace out to Gray, who grabbed it in his small hand. He took a moment to admire it, then turned to the small princess and dropped it into her waiting hands.

Juvia gazed in wonder at the object she held in her small fist, then held it up to her mouth and took a bite.

The queen giggled, "She definitely likes it. For a baby, she's surprisingly fussy about what she puts in her mouth."

"Well I'm glad she likes it," King Silver smiled softly as he pulled his son from the crib. Gray let out a noise of protest, looking back at Juvia who had begun crying, still clutching her locket.

"I'm sorry to separate you two, but you'll see each other again real soon," Silver chuckled.

And with that, the king and queen exchanged goodbyes and King Silver left the palace with a renewed vigor. No matter how many summers it took, he was determined to have the young prince and princess fall in love.

Little did he know, this task would turn out to be far more challenging than he had anticipated.

A/N:

Yes, the queen is an OC... but she'll be a minor character as the story progresses so hopefully you won't stress too much over that. Juvia's mother's name has never been mentioned before so I had to come up with one.
(The name 'Nerida' has Greek origins and means 'mermaid') (The kingdom name 'Darya' is Iranian for 'sea')

The story will take place in Fiore so don't mind those too much.

Also, this story is loosely based on The Swan Princess movie, if you've ever seen it. It'll be a very different take on it though. The beginning will definitely be similar but I plan to make the story it's own as it progresses.