Previously:

As I dozed off, I could've sworn I heard a voice.

"You were never weak."

Now • The Next Morning:

"Lulu, wake up!" A female voice giggled as I felt a vigorous shaking. 

"1 more hour..." I grumbled, tossing and turning, though the shaking didn't stop.

"Unfortunately, we can't afford another hour. If you want to train as soon as possible, you need to get up now," another female voice explained in an unchanging monotone voice. My eyes fluttered open to see Callista's hand on my shoulders, shaking me, and Cassandra behind her, a notebook and pen in hand.

"Alright, alright. What's first on this schedule of yours?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. I look over to see Plue wide awake, now being squeezed to death by Callista.

"You're so adorable!" Callista squealed, hugging the small creature even tighter.

"I'm giving you an hour to get changed for the day and eat breakfast. I'll meet you downstairs in the dining room. Callista will stay here to show you the way," Cassandra told me as she looked at a sheet of paper in her regular black notebook. She glanced at me as I nodded, turning heel afterward, towards the large white doors.

"What time is it?" I questioned Callista, dragging myself out of bed. 

She looked at a clock that hung on the wall then brought her gaze back to me. "6:00 am!" She grinned, making my eyes grow wide.

"Why did I have to wake up this early?!" I groaned, looking at her with eyes full of annoyance.

"This is what you have to do if you want to train as soon as possible. You also have princess responsibilities as well as the upcoming coronation that you need to deal with," she simply replied, holding Plue out for her to admire.

"Ugh. Okay," I mumbled as I walked my closet. I glanced around, thinking of a quick outfit. I see a black long sleeve crop top with the front crossing over. I grabbed it and looked through some drawers to find bottoms. I find a short, yellow plaid skirt, so I grabbed that and pushed the drawer box back in. I took a little look at the jewelry table. I may be tired, but I will always have time to accessorize. My eyes landed on a golden, layered butterfly necklace. I carefully took it off its stand and I put everything I gathered into the curtained changing room, continuing to look for shoes afterward. 

I look at the table that held shoes on its shelves. On the top shelf held a pair of tall, black, heeled boots. I grabbed it, placing them on the ground next to the clothes that resided in the changing room. I went over to the drawer next to the silk curtain, opening two drawer boxes to get a change of underwear and bra, and another drawer box to get some plain socks. I soon pushed those drawer boxes back into the drawer and walked into the curtained area. I changed out of my pajamas and into my new clothes, setting my pajamas off to the side to wear later. 

I held the necklace up to my neck, making the necklace's golden clasp close on one hoop, allowing the necklace to dangle on my neck freely. I then go back to Callista, who was still playing with Plue. She reminded me of both Wendy and Erza's friend, Millianna. 

"Wendy and Erza..." I think back to when they followed Callista and I to the forest to try and stop me from leaving. "Don't worry. We will be reunited soon enough." 

I grab my belt that held my celestial keys and I wrapped it around my waist, buckling it to fit snuggly on my waist. I walk over to my vanity and I pull out the standard white chair to sit in. I look at the overwhelming amount of makeup and decide to go with a natural, light look. 

Once I finish up, I stand up and push the chair back in, lifting it slightly so it doesn't scrape against the marble floors. "You look so pretty Lulu!" Callista exclaimed, making me glance up towards her due to her voice causing me to flinch. And that nickname reminded me of Levy...

"Haha, thank Calli," I giggled, my hand immediately covering my mouth after what I said. I looked at Callista, who looked as if she was gonna burst into tears. "H-Hey, are you-"

"You gave me a nickname! That means you're starting to warm up to me!" Callista exclaimed, tackling me into a hug. I was surprised at first, but I quickly accepted the hug. 

"So where's the dining room?" I asked as we parted from the embrace.

"Just downstairs!" She responded, skipping towards the door with Plue in her arms, looking exhausted. I follow close behind her, mapping the hallways so I can get around by myself. We turn to the left immediately after leaving my bedroom. We walk forward until we reach a long, curved staircase with a small balcony overlooking the inside of the entrance. There was another staircase of the other side of the balcony, curving inwards, both stairs facing towards the front doors.

 We walked down the stairs, the sound of my heels clicking against the marble stairs. I never really took the time to notice my surroundings when I first arrived. I guess I was too distracted with all the people running around. In the middle of the ceiling was a large chandelier, that reached to the third floor. The ceiling had a little gap in the ceiling, showing another balcony that resided on the third floor. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I looked behind the staircases to see another hallway to who knows where. Marble pillars were holding up the second story floor and a small table stood underneath the chandelier, a glass vase holding the same golden orange flower that I had in my bedroom. The flower must be a symbol of some sort in Aecronica. (here's a pic if you're confused cause I suck at describing).

Just next to the foot of the stairs, near the front entrance, was a doorway leading to a large dining table. That must be the dining room. Callista and I walked in with Plue still being hugged to death. 

"Good, you're here on time," Cassandra said as she stood next to the chair that was at the head of the table. "Come sit. Pisces will bring out your breakfast personally. They wish to greet you."

Pisces? The zodiac. I'm not contracted with them so I'm excited to meet them! If I remember correctly, there's two of them. A mother and son. 

I sat at the head of the table, next to where Cassandra stood. Callista sat in the chair closest to me, placing Plue on the table. After a few seconds of waiting, I hear a door swing open behind me, causing me to look in that direction. Out came a woman with long, dark blue hair and pale skin. She had blue sapphire eyes, light blue tattoos under both of her eyes, and what looked to be fish fins coming out of her hair where her ears were with a silver headpiece with a black gem in the middle. She wore a white chef outfit while carrying a plate of pancakes and a glass cup of strawberry smoothie. Soon following her was a man with golden brown skin and untamed, long light grayish-blue hair. He had the same fins coming from his hair where his ears were with the same silver headpiece. He had the same sapphire blue eyes, black tattoos under each eye. He was carrying another plate of pancakes and held a glass cup of what I think is a blueberry smoothie.

"Hello! We didn't know what her royal highness wanted so we went with our best guess!" The female smiled warmly, placing the plate of pancakes and strawberry smoothie in front of me. The male placed the plate of pancakes and blueberry smoothie in front of Callista.

"Y-You don't have to address me with such formality," I stammered, sweat dripping from my forehead with everyone addressing me with such a title.

"Don't be silly. You're royalty so we should treat you as such," the male responded. He didn't seem anything like the other half of Pisces.

"Can I call you Akachan?" The female gasped, excitement written on her face.

"Mom!" The male exclaimed, facepalming.

"Um... Sure?" I replied, not knowing what that meant.

"Yay!" She cheered, embracing me tightly. "You're my child now."

"Huh?" I questioned.

"Akachan means baby in Japanese," Cassandra sighed as she facepalmed as well.

"Oh, I didn't know that," I confessed, still being hugged to death by female Pisces. I guess this is what Plue felt.

"I think it's cute!" Callista giggled, smiling at me and female Pisces. "Pisces-chan treats everyone like her children."

As I continued to be squeezed to death by female Pisces, I realized I don't know what to call either Pisces. How would they know who I'm referring to?

"So uh... What should I call you guys so you know who I'm talking to?" I asked as female Pisces continued to smother me.

"You can call me Momma Pisces," female Pisces giggled as she hugged me tighter, barely allowing me to breathe.

"You can just call me Pisces-kun like everyone else," male Pisces explained as he crossed his arms. "Now come on Mom, we need to set up the meals for the staff," he sighed as he tore Momma Pisces away from me.

"But my baby!" Momma Pisces cried as she was being dragged away by Pisces-kun. Jeez this is gonna be confusing.

"Pisces-sama is the head chef while Pisces-kun is the sous chef. As you saw, Pisces-sama can be a little childish at times while Pisces-kun is more mature." Cassandra explained as I started eating my breakfast. She must be referring to Momma Pisces as Pisces-sama. That's a little weird considering Momma Pisces is the mom and Pisces-kun is the son. "Despite their eccentric personalities, the true power of the constellation Pisces is quite overwhelming with it being 1 of the 12 zodiac."

Callista and I continued eating as Plue started dancing on the table while Cassandra told me the schedule for the day, looking at her notebook. "7:00 am - 9:00 am, we need to plan your coronation. Figure out who to invite, how to decorate the ballroom, etcetera. 9:00 am - 12:00 pm, we need to go to Aecronica's capital to announce your return. We'll tour around, seek advice from the citizens and you'll learn about your subjects. 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm, we'll return to the palace so you can eat lunch, rest, and change your clothing," Cassandra explained.

"Why do I need to change?" I asked as I stuffed my face with a few more bites of my pancake.

Cassandra glanced up toward me and eyed me head to toe. "I don't think you'd want to be wearing that for training." 

I then nodded and kept my mouth shut as Cassandra continued to tell me about today's schedule. "1:30 pm - 3:00 pm, you'll train your magic abilities with Asher, a descendant of the constellation Andromeda, which makes him my cousin. He'll test your abilities to see where you stand right now. 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm, you'll have combat training with Commander Leo and Heaven, a descendant of the constellation Hercules. They'll also test your abilities and see where you stand. 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm, we'll continue to plan your coronation so the coronation can happen as soon as possible. 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm, you'll have dinner and rest some more. 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm, we'll meet Capricorn in the library so he can teach you about the constellations as well as Aecronica's history," Cassandra concluded as I sighed. This is going to be a long day.

Callista and I finally finished up our breakfast and Cassandra quickly ushered for us to move quickly. "It's currently 6:58. We can leave the dishes for the kitchen staff to clean up. If we want to keep up with the schedule, we need to move to the next destination. Lucy's office," Cassandra explained as she lead us up the curved marble stairs from before. She immediately moved to the left, opposite direction of my bedroom, as Callista, Plue, and I struggled to keep up. She continued walking forward until we reached white double doors. All these doors look the same. How am I supposed to find my way around?

Cassandra pushed open the large wooden doors to reveal something Cassandra wasn't very happy about.

"What the hell?!" She thundered as I peered into the room to see nothing but piles of paper on the ground, shattered glass, and furniture out of place. Books from the shelves scattered on the floor while the bookshelves themselves laid on the ground, some destroyed or on the verge of shattering. One of the windows in the room were completely shattered, leading me to believe it was a break-in. 

"Who could've done this?" I muttered to myself, eyeing the large broken painting of my mom that laid on the floor next to the golden desk. The painting had a huge punched out hole in it, though I could tell it was my mother because her face was left unscathed. The frame was cracked, looking as if it would shatter at even the slightest touch.

"How could we not hear them enter and create such a mess?" Callista faltered. I could see that her usually bubbly personality was replaced with sadness to see an important room in such a state.

"We need to hurry up with the coronation. The longer we wait, the more we have to endure this hostility," Cassandra proceeded as she started searching through the desk drawers.

"What does this have to do with me becoming queen?" I questioned as I observed Cassandra frantically search for something.

"Everyone in Aecronica is equal except for the royal family, the constellations themselves, and the gods," Callista explained as she petted Plue's head. "So without someone on the throne, we don't have any power nor authority. Many people realize this and take advantage of not having a hierarchy."

"So Aecronica's been a place of disorder for years since my parents died? That must suck to try and keep order while knowing you still can't do anything about it," I thought, glancing around the room. If you pictured the place without this mess, it would look prestige and elegant. Golden desk and glass shelves. Marble pillars and velvet curtains. Leather chairs and marble floors. I was soon brought back into reality by Cassandra cursing to herself.

"It's gone," she blurted, grabbing her hair in anger. "They took it! It's gone!"

"Cass, calm down! What's gone?" Callista asked as she placed Plue on the ground, running to Cassandra's side to calm her down.

"The folder and the scepter! They're gone!" Cassandra bellowed, anger evident in her voice.

"A folder?" I questioned as I brought Plue into my arms.

"It has every single detail for the preparations of the coronation. It was kept here for safekeeping until the time came for a new ruler," Cassandra responded, sitting down in a leather chair.

"And the scepter?" I asked, noticing Cassandra and Callista tense up.

"It's a special staff created by the 3 god-kings of their respective religion. Zeus of the Greek Gods, Amun-Ra of the Egyptian Gods, and Odin of the Norse Gods. It was a present to Aecronicans for what we have done. Well, it was more of a present to the royal family. It's called the Scepter of Divinity. If someone else were to have it, it will anger the gods," Callista explained, avoiding eye contact with me as much as possible. "It's passed down from one ruler to the next during their coronation. It has amazing, overwhelming power, that of which could compete with even the strongest of constellations, but it's useless in the hands of someone who isn't of royal blood."

"What use would the scepter be to someone who's not a Heartfilia? Why would they take it if they can't use it?" I questioned, my blood boiling. That scepter is a Heartfilia heirloom! That thief had no right to do such a thing!

"Someone's trying to stop the coronation," Cassandra speculated. "And with the scepter gone, I'm afraid we'll be powerless with what's to come. Even the constellations themselves will cower in fear."

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I had no idea what song to put for this chapter so I just put a song that had lyrics that had like very little to do with this chapter. only the title connects to the chapter :P