Hey guys, I'm finally back, and I'm truly madly deeply sorry about not updating. As some of you know I took down the last chapter because it just wasn't flowing well. Like ThatWeirdGirlOverThere said, something was missing. The thing is I had writer's block for the last chapter and I couldn't figure out what to do with it. I've had this idea for a while, and I know what I'm going to do with it, so stay tuned! Here it is: Chapter 9.

The queen sat by the window with her needle on a cold winter evening. The snow fell in small flakes, whitening everything around her. The queen sighed to herself. "If only I had a daughter as beautiful as snow itself."

A few months passed, and the queen learned she was pregnant. It was a girl, she knew it was, and she would name her Sorano, because she was a miracle from the sky. Unfortunately, it was a miscarriage.

Some time passed, and the queen learned yet again that she was pregnant. The king and queen were both overjoyed at the news. Sorano was dead, so she would have to pick a new name.

As the days went by, the queen grew ill, so ill that she was unable to leave her room.

Then it was the night. The coldest winter's night of the year, where snow fell to the ground from a blizzard.

She screamed for what seemed like hours, until finally, there was silence. A baby's crying filled the night and the queen took the baby in her arms. A girl, as pale as the winter moon, and hair as white as snow cried.

"Yukino, "she said. As the queen went limp, the sound of crying filled the night. The king ran in just as the queen named her daughter. All he found in the room was a tiny baby. He picked it up and carried it out of the room.

X

"Whoa!" Yukino tripped over a rock and went tumbling down a hill. Snowflakes were stuck in her white hair, but she quickly shook them out. She was out getting some fresh air and enjoying the afternoon sun.

The king would be home today from one of his royal trips, and Yukino was overjoyed. Her father loved her and would always come home with stories for her.

More than eighteen years had passed since her mother, the queen had died. Tomorrow it would be Yukino's eighteenth birthday, and she couldn't wait. The king was throwing a large ball in her honour, and would be inviting many young bachelors from across their small kingdom.

Yukino shivered a bit from the cold and went back to the castle.

She warmed herself by the fire.

A carriage stopped at the entrance, and Yukino rushed down the stairs. Her father stepped out of the carriage and greeted her with his arms out. Yukino ran to him and hugged him tightly, while the king smiled.

The king and the princess walked into the castle together, and sat by the warm fire.

X

Yukino sat in front of her mirror, getting ready for her ball. She wasn't used to such extravagant parties, and preferred simple company.

She slipped on a dress in her signature colour, blue. The hem of the dress went just above her knees, while it was longer around the sides so the back could trail behind her. Yukino pulled the thin straps over her shoulders as she studied herself.

One thing was missing though. She grabbed a blue rose from her dresser and fastened it in her hair.

As she walked down the stairs, heads turned at the princess's arrival. Many people gasped at her beauty, as they had never seen her in person. She really did have skin as fair as porcelain and hair as white as snow.

Yukino, being the modest person she was, blushed and smiled politely.

She quietly went over to the dessert table and stood by, encouraging the guests to return to their mingling. They did, and she sighed loudly.

"YES! I'm so hungry!" A loud voice called from across the room. Yukino turned her head toward the source.

A tall, blond young man was enthusiastically making his way to the dessert table by Yukino. Whispers started around her and silent snickers.

The boy began filling his plate with every sweet thing he found, all the while laughing to himself. Yukino let out a silent laugh at his childish antics. He came to stand beside her as he ate, watching everyone else.

"Hey." Yukino turned. "You're the princess, right?"

She nodded and smiled. "Just call me Yukino."

"I'm Sting," her enthusiastic companion said, "Sting Eucliffe."

This made the young princess think; that name sounded familiar. The king of Kingdom Sabertooth was Weisslogia Eucliffe. She decided to ask. "Eucliffe? Like King Weisslogia?"

Sting grinned pridefully. "Yup, he's my old man."

Yukino raised any eyebrow. So this was the reckless prince of Sabertooth everyone was talking about. He did seem kind of nice, though.

Sting continued to grin at Yukino as he put an arm around her shoulder. "So it's your birthday, huh? Well happy birthday! How old are you anyway?"

"Uh, I just turned 18," Yukino replied as she tried to squirm out of his grip.

"Eighteen! Hey you're just a year younger than me!" Sting threw his head back and laughed as people began to stare. He loosened his grip, letting the princess stand a few feet away from him.

The blond prince continued laughing as he went to get more food, leaving Yukino to stand by herself, beet red from being so close to a man. And a handsome one at that too.

She stood by herself for a few minutes when a man approached her. "May I have this dance, Milady?"

Yukino nodded and took his hand, letting him guide her onto the dance floor.

They danced in silence, until the man spoke up. "You truly are beautiful, princess."

Yukino blushed. "Thank you."

He smiled. "Any man would be lucky enough to have you…" His hand began snaking up her waist, up her back. He brought it up to touch her cheek, letting it slide down.

"You would make a man very happy," he whispered in Yukino's ear as he brought his hand down to touch her chest. Yukino tried pushing him away as he tightened his grip, looking around for someone who noticed her distress. No one did; they were all too busy dancing or talking amongst themselves.

The man's grip grew tighter on her waist.

"Please stop," she squeaked, but his grip was iron hard.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" A male voice said. Yukino looked up and found herself looking at Sting, except this time he wasn't smiling. In fact, he looked mad.

Sting walked up to the man. "You heard me, now what the hell are you doing?"

The creep began stuttering under his penetrating gaze. Sting growled as he threw his fist back and punched the offender in the face.

He bent down, and in a deadly voice, said "Don't you dare touch her again."

Yukino just stood there, shocked, and not knowing what to do. Sting Eucliffe had just saved her from potential rape.

Sting glared at the man on the ground then turned his gaze back to Yukino. He offered her a hand, concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

She nodded as she took his hand. He stood idle for a moment. "Hey Yukino. Do you want to dance?"

Yukino smiled as she let Sting put his arm around her waist; she placed her hand on his shoulder. Their other hands were clasped together as they swayed gently to the music. Yukino laid her head on Sting's shoulder, and he held her close.

Everything was peaceful for a moment until the King, from the stage at the front of the room, tapped a glass with a spoon. Everyone quieted down immediately. Sting and Yukino broke out of their embrace.

"Greetings, my wonderful people. Thank you all for coming to my daughter's birthday." He found Yukino in the crowd and gestured for her to come to him. Once she was beside him, King Aguria raised his glass.

"To Princess Yukino. Happy Birthday, my darling." The crowd followed him, all raising a glass for the princess.

But the King wasn't finished. "As for my daughter, I know she has been without a mother for quite some time. Now that she is 18, she is on her way to becoming a woman. Who better to guide her than a mother?"

He gestured for someone to stand next to him. A young looking black haired woman smiled and took his hand. "This is Lady Minerva, my wife to-be and the future queen."

Yukino's father leaned over to her. "I hope you liked your birthday, darling."

Yukino forced a smile to hide her uneasiness. "Yes, thank you, it was wonderful." He squeezed her hand and told everyone to continue socializing. She smiled at him, but when he was out of sight, she ran outside.

Sting saw her and followed her.

Yukino put her hands on the frozen wall of the fountain and leaned on it, taking a deep breath. Her father was marrying again. And to a woman who didn't look much older than herself. This couldn't be happening.

"Yukino!" She found Sting running to her, looking concerned.

She stood up straight and smiled at him. "I'm okay, Sting. No need to worry."

He gave her a look that said 'bullshit'. "You sure don't look okay. If you're so 'okay' why did you run out of there?"

She sighed deeply and sat down. "She's barely older than me, Sting. How would you feel if your father was marrying someone your age?" Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "I'm just not sure if I'm ready for someone else in the family. All my life it's just been me and my father."

Sting watched her, listening intently. Yukino wondered how someone so reckless one moment could be so caring the next. She decided to continue. "I know I'm being selfish. And childish. But I can't help it. I can't control my feelings."

Yukino looked up at Sting. "I'm so sorry for making you listen to all this."

Sting put a reassuring hand on her back and smiled sheepishly. "Hey, sometimes when you open up to people, you let the bad in with the good." He sighed. "Besides. You have every right to feel the way you do."

She smiled, this time for real. "Thank you Sting."

He grinned. "Any time." He sat down by the fountain, next to her as she shivered.

Sting took off his jacket and handed it to Yukino.

X

A week passed, and it was the day of the wedding. At her father's insistence, Yukino led the way with the bouquet. Monarchs from other kingdoms were invited as well, including King Weisslogia and his son, Sting.

As she walked down the aisle with the bouquet in hand, Sting caught her eye and waved. She smiled at him, relieved that he was here.

Yukino approached the podium and stood by as the bride entered. She moved aside as Minerva stood beside the groom.

The priest initiated the wedding, they said their vows, and the wedding ended. It was all a blur for Yukino, who was too engrossed in her thoughts to pay much attention.

The crowd applauded when the wedding ended, snapping Yukino back to reality. A feast was going to be held next, followed by a ball at night.

At the ball, King Aguria raised a glass. "To Queen Minerva." Everyone followed.

Night fell, and all the guests gathered in the ballroom for the ball. Musicians played lively music from the stage and the King and Queen greeted their guests.

Sting found Yukino and pulled her into an embrace on the dance floor as they danced. She laughed and he grinned, unaware of their fathers watching from a distance.

"My son seems to have taken a liking to your daughter," Weisslogia said to his close friend and ally.

"Sting has grown into a fine young man," Aguria started, "It makes me happy to see Yukino smiling so much."

The two men watched as their children danced together, smiling the whole time.

"Can we expect grandkids anytime soon?" Weisslogia asked.

Aguria turned to him, a smile playing on his lips. "Perhaps."

Yukino laughed as Sting told her stories of his adventures with his cousin Rogue. As children, they would always get into trouble together.

Sting watched her as she laughed. He enjoyed making her smile because it didn't seem like she did it often.

"You should smile more," he told her, "You look beautiful when you do."

Yukino blushed as she rested her head on his shoulder, just like when they shared their first dance.

X

The wedding celebration lasted for a week, to which the citizens were overjoyed.

Minerva couldn't take it anymore. It was about time she got rid of the old King. It was perfect; she would poison him, and then take over the kingdom. His pretty little daughter could easily be taken care of.

The night the wedding celebrations ended, she ordered her henchman Doriate to get her a vial of poison. As she waited, Minerva gazed into her mirror.

"Mirror mirror on the wall," she started, "Who is the fairest of them all?" She had cast a spell on the mirror to make it enchanted.

Every time she asked it, the mirror would say she was the fairest. Since the mirror could ony speak the truth, Minerva trusted it.

As she called upon the mirror, Minerva's reflection appeared. "Until today you were as fair as can be," it said, "But there has always been one who rivals you."

Minerva's eyebrow twitched. "Who is it?"

Her reflection smirked at her. "Skin as fair as porcelain, hair as white as snow…" It trailed off until there was nothing but an empty room behind her.

Minerva was furious. She knew who it was; hair as white as snow could only mean one person: Yukino. She sighed as she thought about how the little princess was going to have to die as well.

X

Jellal turned his head to face Erza. "You always end in a cliff hanger. Why's that?"

Erza looked at him, a small smile playing on her lips. "So you wouldn't kill me."

He smirked, turning his attention to the window. The sun was rising, casting a warm, golden glow on the horizon.

"Well you're my wife now. It's too late to kill you." If I did I wouldn't get to hear your stories. Or wake up to your scarlet hair every morning.

But Erza just smiled at him. "We'll just have to wait and see."

Jellal smiled back, enjoying the moment.

So what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Let me know by reviewing. Let see if we can get to 100 reviews!

P.S. I'll be taking down the author's note.