Well, I'm baaaaack! :D AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! So, here's a present for all of you! I did have a different multi-fic I wanted to post but I'm not satisfied with it just yet so until I get there you will have to put up with my love for kingdom AU's! I hope you guys like it! Don't forget to review/comment!

P.S This is just a chapter to set the scene for what's to come!

The day was perfect in every way. The sun was shining brightly casting its warm glow down upon the open field below, wrapping every creature, plant or otherwise in its warmth. Fluffy clouds scattered throughout the pale blue sky preventing the sun from being too overbearing. Excited squeals and giggles could be heard if you were anywhere near the two little girls that ran through the open field of wild flowers and daisies.

"I'm gonna get you!" The blonde haired girl giggled as she ran after her blue haired friend.

The little blue haired girl squealed with excitement as her friend nearly caught her in her grasp. They ran around chasing each other until the blue haired girl tripped and fell face first into the soft grass.

"Levy! Are you ok?" The blonde asked kneeling beside Levy as she sat up rubbing her forehead pushing her shaggy bangs around.

Levy's hair was a wild blue mane that framed her chubby cheeks with bangs that fell to her eyes, blocking part of her view. Stray pieces of green grass clung to her pale yellow dress and blue hair.

"Yea, I'm ok, Lucy. My hair gets in my eyes sometimes," she smiled softly at her worried friend.

"You sure?" Lucy asked moving Levy's bang to the side to examine the slight bump that was forming on her forehead. "Your moms here, she can look at it."

"No, she's looking after your mom. I don't want to disturb her." Levy said softly.

The two went into a brief silence, an unspoken understanding hanging between them. Levy's mom was a doctor, best in the entire world according to Levy and Lucy. Since Lucy's mom get sick a lot, Dr. McGarden is the only one Lucy's dad approves to help his dying wife. It also helped that the doctor had a daughter around the same age as Lucy. Lucy and Levy's friendship has flourished since their first meeting. They were practically sisters and family according to the Heartfilia's and the McGarden's.

Returning her gaze to Lucy, Levy shot her best friend a wide smile, placing her hand over hers.

"It'll be ok. No matter what happens, I'll be here." Levy spoke using her free hand to move her bangs from obscuring her view.

Lucy shot her a wide smile, nodding her head. "And I will too." She said untying the blue ribbon that held her side ponytail in place. Pushing Levy's bangs back, Lucy placed the blue ribbon on her friends head securing it at the base of her neck with a knot.

"There, that's better! Now come on! Let's go find Capricorn and see if he'll play with us," Lucy stated grabbing Levy's hand pulling her up.

Another set of squeals and giggles could be heard as the two young girls ran from the field into the Hertfilia mansion.

With them not being able to find the dapper guard and teacher, they took to playing hide and seek in Lucy's ginormous bedroom. Levy was in the middle of looking under the bed when a loud boom shook the entire mansion. Books rained down from the bookshelves, stuffed animals fell off their chairs and the windows shook with such intensity that it nearly shattered. Lucy scurried from her wardrobe running towards an equally frightened Levy.

"GIRLS!" Capricorn yelled as he ran into the room causing them to jump.

"Capricorn!" They yelled in unison running towards him. The tall athletic male wore a suit and glasses with his natural white hair disheveled from running around trying to find the two little girls.

Another load boom shook the mansion but this time shattering the bedroom windows. Capricorn quickly snatched the girls up into his arm darting out into the hallway. They held on tight with their faces buried in his shoulders as he ran through the mansion. He finally stopped when they were in the kitchen.

"Oh! Levy!" Dr. McGarden cried out reaching for her daughter who greatly accepted the invitation as she released her hold on Capricorn and nearly leapt into her mother's arms.

"Sagittarius prepared a horse for you two. Don't worry about your equipment, we'll keep them safe or replace them. Now go before it's too late!" Capricorn spoke in a hush tone as he guided the mother and daughter to the back door.

"Thank you so much!" Dr. McGarden said quickly waving bye as Lucy and Levy shot fearful smiles and hesitant waves to each other.

With the horse received, Levy's mother had one arm around her daughter and the other holding tightly on the reins as the horse raced to their home on the other side of the town.

The noise of metal clanging against metal peeked Levy's curiousness as she peeked past her mother's arm to look behind them. All Levy could see was men fighting to the death as an even bigger man sat upon his black horse, clothed in black and teal blue armor. His black cape behind him draping onto the back of his horse with a fierce teal blue dragon embroidered on it. He looked like death itself.

His wicked gaze flickered from the battle onto her and her mother. His grin nearly split his face as Levy coward in fear closer to her mother. He pointed towards them, causing Levy's mom to dig her heels into the horses ribs causing him to surge forward increasing his pace.

Fear took root into Levy causing her to shake violently and tears form, spilling silently from her eyes. Am I going to die? Are we going to die? I hope dad made it back home safely. Her young mind ran in circles as a picture of her father swam in her head. He was a professor and tutor to children of future rulers as well as the poor children in their town. He received payment from the wealthy but refused payment from the poor, sometimes sending the kids home with a few coins in their pockets. He did it for fun and she enjoyed helping him with his lesson plans.

When their small town was within sight, the seed of fear grew as billows of smoke rose to the darkening sky and the sound of villagers screaming filled their ears. Soldiers could be seen yanking villagers from their homes and even killing them with one single swipe of their swords. The sight was too much for both of them to handle so the doctor started to turn around but a man in black armor trotted in front of them causing Dr. McGarden to yank the reins back nearly throwing them off. Looking around, men in black armor surrounded them, blocking any means of escape.

"What is the meaning of this? Let us pass!" The mother demanded her arm wrapping tightly around Levy.

The men disregarded her question, the man in front of them, who seemed to be in charge, looked behind him asking, "is this them?"

As if appearing out of thin air, a man walked from behind the soldier's horse with Levy's Father, holding him at knife point. "Yea that's them," the other soldier spoke removing the tip of his blade from the father's neck pushing him towards the middle of the circle the soldiers formed. Hurriedly his wife and daughter unmounted the horse, running to his side.

"Oh, Honey, are you ok?" Mrs. McGarden asked examining her husband for any further injury besides the obvious gash on his head and nick at his throat.

"I'm fine. Levy, my sweet child, are you ok?" Her father asked pulling her into his arms hugging her closely.

Levy could only nod, her fear trapping her words and wanting to also be brave for her parents.

"Sorry to break up this little family reunion, but you two will be coming with us," a soldier said with a sickening smile as he placed a hand on her parent's shoulders.

"But what about, Levy!? She's our daughter, we can't just-" her mother protested but was interrupted by one of the soldiers grabbing her by the arms yanking her up and another doing the same to her husband.

Levy was frozen with fear as her parents fought back against the soldiers, yelling for them to let them go. Her mom bellowed her name causing Levy to snap back to reality. Scrambling to her feet she ran towards her parents reaching out to them. Her mom got a hand free reaching out towards her sobbing child.

"MOMMY!" Levy cried, grabbing her mother's free wrist trying to hold on tight. But the contact didn't last long as a soldier pulled her from her mothers, the bracelet her and her dad made for her mother's birthday, being pulled off into Levy's grasp.

"What should we do with her," the soldier asked trying to hold the defiant girl as she fought against the soldier's tight hold on her arm.

"Put her with the other children to be sold off." The commanding soldier spoke with a shrug of his shoulders as the girl watched her parents be dragged away from her into a smaller circle the soldiers had formed a few feet away.

She was short enough that she could see in between the soldier's legs and at that moment she knew exactly what was going to happen. Her resistance stopped as she stood in a trance as if the world stopped and moved in slow motion. The couple was pushed down onto their knees and a sword pushed through both of their backs exiting their chest. Their limp bodies fell to the ground with dull thump, when the soldiers yanked their swords free.

A gust of air was sucked in by the little girl as she stared wide eyed at her dead parents, blood pooling around them. A loud cry tore through her as multiple emotions washed through her small body. Fear. Anger. Grief. Sadness. She fought against the murderers of her parents and her many friends in the village. She screamed, fighting with every ounce of strength she had.

"Someone fucking shut her up!" The commanding soldier yelled over the roar of the small child. A soldier tacking initiative struck her across the face, knocking her unconscious.

Bolting up, panting, Levy frantically looked around as she surveyed her surroundings clutching the edge of her thin blanket. She took a few deep breaths attempting to calm her heart rate as she relaxed back into her twin sized bed.

"Levy," a voice whispered in the dark. Looking over to the bed to the right of her, she saw the bright eyes of her roommate, Faye. "Was it the dream again?" She asked with a worried look.

Levy simply nodded her head breathing out a whispered, yes. She's been having that dream or nightmare almost every night now. At first it seemed like a terrible bad dream but as more and more of her memory pieced together the events of that day, she simply couldn't seem to shake it off.

After waking up after that soldier knocked her out, she was already sold as a child laborer, but was deemed unsuitable due to her size and stature within a few weeks. A sex worker eventually paid a very low price to have her as maid until she came of age. She came of age years ago but lucky for her she haven't been bought yet. That didn't make the fact that she had to be still put on display whenever a man came to her Master's, 'House of Purity'. He had a specialty in virgins if the name wasn't a big enough hint. Some of the girls are either sold as maids or concubines to wealthy lords or royalty. Some lucky ones have been sold and given their freedom after years of service but that's very few. But no matter how Levy looked at it, all she saw was that she will forever be a product for someone else.

Every day she came to terms with that as she woke up sweaty from her usual nightmare, seeing that she was in her small bed with her other three roommates. Each bed was equally spread out from each other in the wide white room with the room door closest to the last bed and a small trunk at the end of each bed containing personal items and clothing of each girl. The room was fairly plain with Levy's bed pressed against the wall where the only window was held.

The break of dawn peered through the thin white curtains, signaled that she had another hour before she needed to be up. But sleep refused to take her under once again, so she got up walking softly to her trunk. The pale yellow paint was starting to peel and a piece of paper with her name scribbled on it was tucked in a faux gold tiny frame by the lock was fading. Unlocking it with a key that she kept around her neck, she reached in under her sparse clothing gently pulling out a small tin box. Sitting cross legged on the hardwood floor, she slowly took the lid off staring at the blue ribbon and bracelet.

Taking out the ribbon she tied her bangs back, being gentle with the slightly frayed ends. She wore it a lot when she was a kid but now she tries to limit her use in order to prevent it from tearing on her. Once her blue locks were secured out of her eyes she traced the outline of the bracelet left in her tin box. The orange and yellow waxy cords twisted together tightly, secured by an intricate knot. It was the only thing she had left of her parents besides her faint memories and their fading faces. When she finally tore herself from the bracelet, she got dressed in her usual faded blue dress that stopped at her ankle and dirty boots, locking the trunk when she was done.

For the duration of the girls stay in the 'House of Purity,' each of them have separate chores maintaining the house and the grounds. For Levy, it was running errands for the Master into town, getting supplies and being in charge of the girls in her shared room since she was the elder of the three. So if any of them got in trouble she was liable for them and got the worst punishment. He doesn't hit them, he doesn't want to scar or bruise his merchandise. He punishes them in ways that makes them want to die. But, so far the other girls have been good and she haven't got in trouble in the past few months.

Grabbing a biscuit from the kitchen along with her list of items to grab from town, she munched on it while reading her masters terrible handwriting that she became accustomed too over the years.

"Good morning, Levy. Up early as always," Joy smiled as she kneaded a pile of dough on the counter. "I packed you a lunch for your walk. It's in your bag."

"Thanks, Joy." She smiled back at the girl as she snatched her bag from the wall near the back door. Taking a gulp of water, before leaving, she waved bye as she headed out the door with her droopy bag hanging on her shoulder.

Stuffing the list into her bag, she greeted all the shop owners that were opening early. Some of them greeted her back, while others sneered at her. The locals were fairly nice to the girls of the, 'House of Purity,' but there are some that will rather see them burn in hell than let them walk their streets.

The 30 minute walk to the bigger town gave time for the sun to dissipate most of the darkness and the usual heat of the summer increase the temperature. She was excited to go to the town, where no one cared who you were or what you do, always made Levy smile. Even the people she regularly visits for supplies knows who she is, always treats her with the same respect as any other paying customer. She felt normal during her times shopping in the big town but when she was done she knew she had to go back to reality.

Even with it being so early in the morning the town was already buzzing with people buying, trading and haggling prices at the stores and open market that took up the sides of the roads. She marveled at the multitude of selections the vendors held at their tables and wished she had the money and time of her own to buy what she wanted. Often enough, she would slip into a fantasy world where she would take on a different personas. Whether it was a traveling doctor looking for new herbs and methods, a professor wanting new study material or even a cook searching for new ingredients for her dishes. She adored the times when she was someone else but also liked who she was. Of course she had insecurities but she knew her parents would want her to love herself more than anything.

"Mom…Dad…I'm really trying," she whispered up to the sky as their hazy smiling faces appeared among the clouds.

"Good morning, Levy!" A voice cheered, breaking her train of thought.

Smiling at the familiar florist, she greeted him. "Good Morning, Droy. How is everything?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he smiled wildly, "good, now that you are here! H-Hey, I-I was w-wondering, i-if you would-"

"Droy," she sighed with a sad smile cutting him off, knowing where he was going with his question. "You know I can't. It's against the rules of my house."

A small chuckle could be heard as a door to the Cobbler's store opened. "Asking her out again, Droy?" Jet asked with a sly smile to his old friend. "You know she could never date us. She told me that when I asked her out years ago."

"Good Morning, Jet."

"Morning, Levy. Here are the shoes your master asked to be repaired." He smiled handing her a brown sack heavy with at least four pairs. Accepting the bag, she thanked him, before saying her goodbyes to them and putting the shoes into the bag she carried.

Skipping along the street, she went from vendor to vendor getting everything she needed off of the list from her master. It was everything she sent two weeks ago to get repaired or re-stitched. With her bag and arms full of items, she made her way to her favorite shop. Entering the book store, she was greeted by one of her favorite people.

"Need some help there, Levy?" the man chuckled taking the items from her arms and placing them on counter.

With a sigh she thanked him, plopping the heavy bag next to her items. "Thanks, Warren that stuff was getting really heavy." She said bending and twisting the stiffness from her back.

"I'll send you back with a small cart to pull to help. Now, what would you like to read today?" he smiled with his hands on hips.

Perking up, she quickly said, "Have anything in Dragonic?" She was ecstatic when he nodded his head leading her to the foreign language section.