I'm not entirely sure what my brain was thinking when I got the idea for this story, I wanted to do something different from my other two stories for this fandom. I don't write AU's often as I can't quite seem to get my head into a different world other than the fandom I am writing about. This is another case of the story idea woke me up in the middle of the night and I had to get the plot written out before it was forgotten. So please enjoy this product of my whimsical mind!

Chapter one – Star Flower and the River of Stars

Magnolia.

Three days by rickety cart ride, due east of the grand capital city of Crocus, through the mountain of central Fiore; and the charming merchant town of just seventy-thousand people was slowly coming into view. Stood quaintly on the shores of the vast and crystal clear waters of the stunning Lake Scilliora, the town looked unassuming in it's size comparison to the great capital.

Three long days of being cooped up in a stuffy and overly fancy box on wheels with the man whom Lucy Heartfilia privately noted had all the personality of a damp sock.

Seventy two hours of listening to her father droning on about his company's plans to extend the rail network from the capital city, through the mountains to join western Fiore to the east of the continent. Plans which would greatly increase tourism and commerce and bring about a drastic reduction in the journey to just six hours. It would also give the company a nice boost in profits.

Lucy however spent much of the time wondering if pushing her father from the carriage would bring about a drastic increase in her sanity.

Jude Heartfilia was a stern faced man with silver hair, wrinkled eyes behind wire rimmed spectacles wearing a silk suit that Lucy believed was the height of fashion somewhere around the time of the birth of civilisation. With the view that his money made him better than everyone else and travelling by horse and carriage was beneath him, his daughter often found his archaic views clashed with her own.

"Sit down and stop gawking out of the window."

Nearing the entrance of town, a pair of wondrous big brown eyes took in the vibrancy of the multi-coloured stone buildings, quaint cafes, shops and homes perched in the shadow of the magnificent Kardia Cathedral in the center of the long stone causeway that split the town right down the middle.

Blond hair the shade of gold spun thread whipped around her face as nineteen year old Lucy Heartfilia ignored her fathers' orders to stay seated and poked her head out of the window for another look at the town that the young woman would be calling her home for the foreseeable future.

She had been raised her whole life in a grand and opulently furnished five story townhouse in one of the most sought after postal addresses in the capital city. Her days consisted of rules and regulations, being constantly told how to dress, how to act and what was expected of her. Her father worked away most of the week at Heartfilia and Everlue Railways while his only daughter was catered for and followed by several maids, nannies and bodyguards.

And Lucy had hated every second of it.

She made it a daily habit to see how often she could run from the hired help, and escape somewhere for a rare few moments alone.

So when the teenager had turned eighteen, finishing with straight A's from one of Crocus's most prestigious Academic institutions; she suddenly had a new found freedom to do whatever she wanted with her life.

Several things over the years had led her up to this point, sitting here in a stuffy carriage, rolling her eyes as she switched between watching her father thumbing through paperwork and taking in all Magnolia had to offer.

Her brown eyes caught the sight of flags of various patterns and colours that were almost gaudy in appearance were being strung up between the long line of lampposts lining the main road, it seemed this little town was preparing for a big celebration, or a festival of sorts.

"This place is awesome!"

"What a dilapidated old dump...are you really insistent on turning down a four year training program at Crocus Academy of the Arts –" Lucy's strict and very opinionated father looked up at his daughter through thin spectacles to glare disapprovingly at her 'unladylike' outburst.

The proud and successful businessman looked sorely out of place with his pressed grey suit of the finest silk and black leather loafers so shiny Lucy could see her face in them. The two sat on opposite sides of a sturdy but basic carriage that the railway entrepreneur had forked out a handsome sum to ferry his daughter, himself and all of her belongings to her new home on the other side of the country and then take him back to Crocus (after once again giving her his disapproval on her life choices, Lucy scoffed internally).

Lucy rolled her eyes out of view of his gaze and opened her mouth to interrupt him, as she had done many times before when he had tried to force his opinions on her over the years, much to his exasperation.

"Yeah Dad...you never did tell me how I was accepted to join the place that at first told me I was 'Too fat to be a true ballerina of the standard befitting the prestigious Royal Ballet of Crocus and would be needed to loose ten pounds before I was even considered'..." Lucy raised a sceptical eyebrow at her father.

"I did nothing but offer gentle...persuasion...to get them to change their minds." Jude offered simply, thumbing nonchalantly through his morning paper that one of the carriage footman had bought off a local street vendor; unbeknownst to his daughter that her father had actually paid the snotty academy not to accept her.

Lucy had actually been offered a place based on her talent alone, but that was a story for another time.

'Heaven forbid my old man has to touch a 'lowly commoners' hand' Lucy had thought disdainfully as she watched her father hand a single gold coin to the footman to pass to the vendor, who looked as though his dreams had come true when told to keep the change earlier that same morning.

Jude Heartfilia had once been a warmer and more loving father to his only daughter, but since her beloved mother had passed away when Lucy was just seven from a long suffering illness; his vibrant blond hair had turned white, wrinkles had marked his overworked face and he became a strict and calculating father with a barbed tongue who expected Lucy to be a prim and proper young lady of the highest standard.

Lucy had shared many things in common with her beautiful mother, Layla. Her looks, kind spirit, a love of adventure, the stars, reading and among Lucy's personal favourite – dancing.

Oh how she wished she could have seen her mother dance.

Layla Heartfilia had once been a famous and celebrated ballerina with her whole career ahead of her when she met and fell in love with a young and ambitious insurance broker from Clover Town at twenty years old. Jude and Layla married a few years later, moved to Crocus to pursue both of their careers, when the surprising and wonderful gift of a daughter put a spanner in Layla's dream of becoming a dance teacher, just a year later. Jude had tried to convince his beloved wife to keep dancing, but when he saw how well she took to motherhood, how happy she was; he accepted her decision to give up on her dreams and instead take on a new dream of raising their bundle of joy.

Lucy grew into a kind, happy and confident young girl who shared her mothers' interest in Astrology, reading and dancing. But their little happy family sadly wasn't meant to be, when at the age of twenty eight; Layla Heartfilia collapsed in the middle of watching their daughters' summer dance recital.

After a whirlwind few hours of her being rushed to hospital, a five year old Lucy sitting for hours (still in her pink tutu and brand new pink ballet shoes) in a hospital waiting room with tears streaming down her little face; the young girl was guided into a hug by her solemn father who told his daughter than mommy was not well and would no longer be able to watch her dance.

Lucy's dancing slowly wilted away and she lost her love of dancing altogether when her mother eventually lost her battle with her long illness, a few short years later.

Jude, blinded by his grief, slowly drifted away from his young daughter. The days, months and eventually years passed of father and daughter barely speaking to one another. Jude threw himself into his career, working long hours and leaving Lucy under the care and guidance of hired help and nannies.

Lucy would bury herself into her books, stargazing and learning about how and why the world worked; until one day, at age twelve, Lucy, while reading her mothers favourite book, happened upon a envelope folded carefully in the back of the book. The looping of familiar handwriting had caused the young girl Lucy to gasp, a glittering gold key that fell out of the letter and on to her lap caused her to tilt her head in confusion as she turned her attention towards the letter.

It was from her mother.

'My little star flower, if you're reading this then I'm afraid it has come my time to join the night sky and watch over my little ballerina as she grows up and becomes the young woman I always hoped she would become. Your father and I knew the moment we gazed into those big brown eyes, tuft of golden hair and button nose that it was no longer our dreams we had to pursue; but yours. You were born always looking up, finding out the next new adventure. My dearest Lucy if I can offer you just one piece of advice, it would be to listen to what your heart tells you. Please try not to be too hard on your father, Jude is a strict man, but he loved me unconditionally, as he does with you. I asked him if he could only do one thing, it would be to let you follow what your heart tells you to do. That is your inner star that will guide your way in all the wonders your life is destined to become. This golden key I have left you was passed down from my mother to me, it opens that box in the attic you once found while exploring and you so eagerly asked me about. Do you remember, that I simply smiled and told you my little star you would know when you were ready to know?

Well you are now ready, but never forget that I am always with you, and I love you very much my little star flower.'

Lucy shook her head from her memories and smiled to herself, a silent tear trailing down her cheek as her hand felt for the golden key that she had wore on a golden chain around her neck for the last seven years.

That day had been a turning point in the young girls life. Upon reading the letter, she had grabbed the key, which was a beautiful ornately carved gilded metal, the symbols of the zodiac set into the handle with what looked like gold enamel.

Running to the attic, ignoring the tears streaming down her face, Lucy had spent twenty minutes searching high and low for a long red box with the same symbols set into the lid with gold as her key. Finding it eventually in a secluded corner, under a stack of newspapers she was sure were older than her father, Lucy took a deep breath, wiped away the film of dust that had settled on top and shakily inserted the key into the small lock in the front of the box; the metal rattling against each other in protest of her nervous quivering.

Taking a deep breath to steel her resolve, the blond wiped away her tears and determinedly turned the key; allowing the box to swing open.

Lucy felt her eyes widening at what, to her, looked like an elaborate but beautifully woven whip. With hesitant hands, she picked it from the red velvet inlaid box, feeling the comforting weight of the handle; she got to her feet, letting the long strands of intricately woven gold and blue silk fall to the ground.

She had seen whips in the past, but this one looked more like the ribbons that Lucy had once used to dance with for a Maypole celebration festival in Crocus. The strands had to be at least ten meters long. There were twelve of them, six of blue, six of gold, each with a small gold coin of metal set into the end with an elaborate knot. Holding some strands in her hand to examine a few, saw several zodiac symbols etched into them.

Aquarius, Taurus and Cancer.

Lucy smiled to herself and took the handle, feeling the inexplicable urge to twirl over and over in a tight circle, the silk ribbons flowing with her in perfect unison, the coins clinking together into a light carefree melody.

"Lucy? Where are you and what are you doing?" came the stern voice of her nanny Aquarius.

With a gasp, she quickly folded together the strands of the whip and placed them quietly back into the box, seeing another note in her mothers familiar handwriting. Grabbing it and locking the box before her grumpy nanny could find her in the attic, Lucy closed the door quietly behind her and rushed back to the library on the third floor. Smoothing down her petticoat over her fancy summer dress, Lucy tucked her mothers golden key into the pocket of her skirt, left the book on her stomach and pretended to be asleep in her favourite armchair by the fire. Seconds later, the library door sharply opened and Lucy pretended to be startled awake to the stern scowl of the blue haired woman barking at her to stop snoring like a congested boar and to wash before coming down for dinner.

Her father was home.

Lucy waited until the scary woman had left the room before bringing the note out from her pocket. Unfolding it eagerly, her curious brown eyes took in the words her mother had written for her.

'Lucy, my gift to you is this Zodiac whip. It is called 'Fleuve d'etoiles' which means 'River of Stars '. My mother passed the legend down to me that it was once used long ago by a beautiful maiden to summon the spirits of the zodiac in an elaborate dance. The coins created the melody as she danced and in turn, summoned the spirits. The legend says one day that fair maiden will return to dance for the spirits again. I was hoping to learn to dance for the spirits, but my mother told me when you were born that it was not my destiny but that of yours. So I put the letter and key where you might find it, ready for the day your grand adventure could begin. Keep dancing my little Lucy!'

Lucy had folded the letter into her pocket, wiped the fresh tears from her eyes and gone down to dinner. Not one word was spoken to her father about what she had found that day, but strangely, he had asked how her day had been.

Something he had not done for months.

So she told him she had decided perhaps it was time to start her old ballet lessons once again.

And her father had simply smiled at her, before he picked up his knife and fork and started eating.

Lucy spent the next five years devoting her time between school, dance and pouring over every single book in their vast library, trying to find some clue of how exactly to use the 'Fleuve d'etoiles'; but once or twice a month she would sneak out of her bed at night and once again take the whip from that red box and twirl with it. Letting the tinkle of a broken melody play softly, before returning it to its hiding place and going back to her bed without a sound.

The young dancer was unaware of the teary eyes of her stoic father sometimes watching her through the crack of the attic door, smiling at his little daughter twirling happily with gold and blue ribbons fluttering round her, the soft melody of the coins lulling him to sleep twice a month as he returned to his lonely bed. He missed his beloved Layla greatly, but watching Lucy twirling continuously, as her mother used to do with her family heirloom in the middle of the night brought happiness to his broken heart.

Maybe one day Lucy would be ready for the final gift that Layla had entrusted him to give their daughter when she was ready, before his wife had passed away in his arms.

Jude Heartfilia had insisted on accompanying his daughter to the next stage of her life to do two things. Wish her well of course (in his own way), and secretly place a worn out old book in her large trunk of tomes as instructed by his Layla all those years ago.

With a mental chuckle and a wry smile, he silently watched his enamoured daughter taking in the sights of her new home. It had been tough watching her grow without a mother figure, but he flatly refused to ever remarry.

Fatherhood hadn't gone quite as he expected, as he silently guided the young woman as best he could from the shadows. Instead of a prim and proper young lady, his only daughter had turned into an outgoing and strong willed young woman with a smart mouth and a consistent need to rebel against what he asked of her.

"Sounds more like you tried to use your chequebook to get me a place at that dance school..." Lucy sassed quietly. "That stuck up old bat can kiss my 'fat ass' –"

"What was that?" Jude turned the heat of his cold brown eyes on his daughter.

"Oh I was just pointing out how awful it is how cheerful and vibrant this 'dilapidated old dump' is...just dreadful!" Lucy put on her best snooty voice and draped her arm against her forehead dramatically.

A vein bulged in Jude's forehead but rather than answer his disobedient daughter, he turned the next page of his newspaper, crossed his pressed trouser legs and raised the paper to hide his face.

He missed the raspberry Lucy sent his way as he silently chuckled at his charming daughter behind his paper.

Some things never changed.

"See, with a bit of work this place will be great!" Lucy spoke cheerfully.

Maybe the one bedroom apartment on Strawberry Street could use a little...okay allot of cleaning but it was her own space. Something she had craved for months.

The footmen had swiftly carried Lucy's chosen belongings in from the carriage without fuss (Jude paid them handsomely of course) while Lucy and her father had toured the three roomed apartment. Lucy loved the light streaming in as it bounced from the canal running along the front of her building, there was minimal furniture, a basic kitchen and a small closet; but Lucy had squeaked in excitement when she saw the large rustic claw foot bathtub in the bathroom.

She couldn't wait to while away hours in that tub with nothing but bubbles and a good book for company.

"You'll be mugged within a week." Her father drew a single finger across some dust on the windowsill and shuddered in disgust. "At least let me have Aquarius –"

"NO!" Lucy pleaded. "That woman terrifies me..."

"You're sure?"

"Yes...I can take care of myself." Lucy grumbled. "I'll be fine Dad, I plan on spending the weekend settling in...then I'm planning on visiting the local arts center to enrol in any dance classes that take my fancy and after that I need to go out and find a job-"

"Here." Jude spoke simply, handing an envelope to his confused daughter.

Lucy looked down into the envelope and her eyes widened, gasping in shock at the bills inside. There had to be hundreds of thousands of jewel, all in thousand jewel notes.

"W-What's all this?" Lucy stammered, looking up at her silent father in shock.

Jude regarded her for a moment before taking a deep breath, knowing she would refute him as soon as he explained.

"That, would be every single thousand jewel notes of the ten thousand jewel you have refused to take as a monthly allowance since the day you were ten years old. The ones you have been secretly slipping back into my wallet the day after it was handed to you." Jude smiled warmly down at his daughter. "Since you decided you didn't want my money I decided to keep it in one place and put it towards something useful."

Lucy felt tears spring to her eyes and she shook her head vehemently as she quickly did the maths in her head (it was over a million jewel).

"Do not argue with me on this, Lucy." Jude commanded firmly. "You will accept this without question, do I make myself clear?"

"B-"

"You have never asked me for anything extravagant or beyond my means for nineteen years, you have never expected to be spoiled or pampered like most of the well off families I know. So you will take this and put it to use to give yourself a comfortable and secure start to your new life in Magnolia." Jude spoke calmly and without pause.

Lucy let out a shaky breath and nodded, throwing her arms around her father in gratitude.

"Thank you." Lucy kissed her father on the cheek and wiped a single tear from her cheeks, giggling slightly as she looked up at him.

"Careful there Pops, if I didn't know any better I'd say my stick in the mud, grumpy old man is secretly a big ole softy."

Jude raised a silver eyebrow at his daughter before folding his arms.

"Tell anyone that and I will personally send Aquarius to live with you." He jested. "I have a reputation to uphold."

Lucy suddenly paled and nodded profusely.

"My lips are sealed...that woman is my worst nightmare!" She shuddered involuntarily.

"Never met a woman more terrifying." Jude turned white and Lucy giggled. "By the way, you're mother instructed me before she passed to slip you a little something into your Book trunk when the time came for you to fly the nest, as it were; something called 'Star Flower'."

Lucy felt her stomach drop out from under her and her eyes widened.

"W-What?"

"I remember the day my dear Layla showed me 'Fleuve d'etoiles' and told me the legend her mother previous told her. I loved to watch her dance, and seeing you twirling and smiling in that attic when you thought no one was watching brings a joy to my heart I never thought I could feel again."

And so, with a nod, a brief pat on the shoulder and well wishes given to his shell-shocked daughter, Jude Heartfilia strode out of the little apartment and out of his daughters life until the next time they met.

After a week of unpacking, sorting through her belongings and eradicating ten foot dust bunnies from every hidden nook and cranny of her new apartment, Lucy could finally relax and sit at her new kitchen table with the first ever meal she had fully prepared, cooked and served herself.

It was quite something to wake up exactly when she wanted, do absolutely nothing for the first time in her life and go anywhere she wanted to go.

Magnolia was a wonderful town full of life, people going about their day with a smile on their face, stopping to talk to others in the street. Having several neighbours stopping her to welcome her to the town or to simply say hello had been something to get used to. Lucy had even enjoyed helping the little old lady who lived in the floor below her to carry out her garbage one morning after seeing her struggling.

One week had soon turned into two, Lucy having spent the next week reading through the book her father had given her.

'Star Flower' was a book unlike any book that Lucy had ever read before. Instead of words and paragraphs forming a story, each page was a series diagrams of intricate foot and arm movements much like she would learn the routine of a ballet dance. Separately the pictures were confusing, but once they began to piece together, a complicated tapestry of a dance began to weave itself together in her mind.

But there was one small problem, Lucy didn't have the room to try the dance with her mothers whip in her small apartment. So she had set out into the town to explore and try and gather information about a studio or perhaps a community hall where she could practice, unhindered by the confines of her small rectangular living room.

After hours of asking local street vendors, shop owners and even asking her scary landlady for options; Lucy began to give up hope.

The sky was turning to dusk when her tired and weary body carried her to a little cafe by the name of 'Strauss Coffee', which she had accidentally found one morning while looking for a quiet place to read her new book; bored and uninspired by the confines of being stuck in her home. The skies had turned from a glorious blue to a dull grey and rain had begun to pour down.

With a shriek, Lucy tucked her book into the front of her summer jacket and looked around for the nearest open shop door she could possibly shelter in until the driving rain passed.

Without looking at the name, the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted into her nose as she quickly opened and shut the glass door; the airy tinkle of a bell above the door caused the chatter from within to suddenly quiet and Lucy suddenly found herself at the center of attention from a whole myriad of strange and colourful characters.

Lucy simply stood there and blinked, her cheeks turning red as she suddenly found herself at the center of attention from catcalls and excited whispers from several of the men in the cafe.

"Wow! Hey there cutie!"

"Looks like our Mira's got some competition!"

"Oh my! You poor thing you must be drenched, please sit and warm up." Came the welcoming voice of a woman who Lucy briefly noted had long flowing hair of what looked like the purest white she had ever seen. "Lisanna would you fetch this young lady a towel so she can dry off?"

"Right away, Sis."

Lucy looked up into a pair of kind eyes as she was helped into an empty seat by the beautiful young woman who had told her to sit and warm up.

"My my aren't you stunning, what's a young lady such as yourself doing outside in this weather?" The lady asked with a motherly air to her.

"Well, I was actually trying to find a place to read my book until the heavens opened and decided to make my top see-through for a bunch of sleazy old men." Lucy turned to glare at the two men who were sitting playing a card game in the far corner of the cafe, who immediately shrunk into their seats.

"Holy hell, she's cute but nearly as scary as Erza!" Whimpered the man on the left with a pipe hanging from his mouth and a fur coat that looked as though it was crusted in pipe smoke.

Lucy jumped in her seat as the kind white haired woman suddenly turned on the two men with a look of unbridled fury.

"WAKABA, MACAO! YOU WILL APPOLOGISE TO –"

"U-Uh...Lu-cy." The blond whispered meekly in terror.

"-LUCY RIGHT THIS INSTANT OR SO HELP ME MAVIS I WILL SET ERZA ON YOU!"

It was quite something to see two grown men absolutely terrified of a single woman, and quite frankly Lucy too was quivering in fear of this she-demon in the package of who she assumed was a white haired angel.

It was when Lucy began to look around the strange little cafe that her brown eyes met the curious and heated gaze of a young man sitting alone in the back corner whom she had a feeling had been watching her since the moment she stepped into the cafe.

She felt her heart rate begin to speed up as she watched him smirk at her with a fanged grin. Lucy felt her body flush in a different way as his pretty eyes looked her up and down lazily, as though sussing her out.

His face was handsome, tanned and smooth except for the jagged scar marking his right cheek; there was something exotic about his pink spikes that fell around his face and Lucy felt herself dropping her gaze in appreciation of the open black vest showing a set of rock solid abs ending in a pair of white baggy harem pants slung low on his hips. A pair of black boots and matching black wrist bands completed the look.

Everything about the man screamed danger, but not in a bad way; it was the kind of danger that left Lucy feeling hot and bothered and achy inside.

She quickly shook her head and bit her lip to keep from moaning as his drool worthy muscles flexed with his husky chuckle and the dancer dragged her eyes away before she melted into a puddle of water on the floor of the cafe.

"My name is Mira, it's nice to meet you Lucy." The blond diverted her attention back to the kind smile of the terrifying she-devil who was now back to her sweet self. "I run this cafe with my sister Lisanna and my brother Elfman during the summer."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mira. I'm Lucy, I recently moved to town from Crocus."

And the rest was history.

Lucy had been welcomed by the strange bunch of people and she had returned to the cafe daily ever since to read her book. Once or twice she could feel the heat of those gorgeous eyes staring her down (not unwelcomed, she privately added) from his corner table. Never speaking, simply watching her.

The three Strauss siblings moved around each other with all the grace and poise of a well choreographed routine that had Lucy swearing they had to have some form of training in dance. They filled orders and carried trays laden with heavy plates and cups, never once spilling a drop or a single plate of food falling to the floor.

It was on the fourth day that Mira finally asked her about her book while whisking her empty plate and mug of coffee away gracefully, Lucy smiled and looked up at Mira.

"My that doesn't look like any book I have ever seen before, where did you get something like that?" Mira enquired with interest, casting a quick glance at the diagrams of footwork and hand movements.

"My late mother gave it to me, I'm a dancer and she left me this book, among other things. I've actually been looking for somewhere large an open to practice, would you happen to know of a place?" Lucy enquired.

Mira looked thoughtful for a moment before she smiled.

"As a matter of fact I do, but what would you be practicing exactly?" Mira tilted her head with a smile.

Lucy felt a little giddy bubble of excitement well up within her as she showed her new waitress friend the cover of the book. Her smile dropped however as Mira read the name of the cover aloud.

"'Star Flower by Layla Heartfilia'" Lucy felt the force of dozens of utensils, crockery and glasses hitting tables and the floor as every single person in the cafe stood quiet in a dead silence.

Lucy felt a strange sense of foreboding as a tiny, but neatly dressed old man with white hair and kindly eyes turned in his seat towards her.

"Now that's a name I haven't heard in twenty years."