Lucy
She remembered blinding heat; it ran through her bloodstream and made her want to scream. She remembered the pale white walls, the pale white sheets, and her father's pale white face. She remembered hearing herself and her family crying; her mother in tears as she tried to charmspeak her better; he father holding her brothers as all three of them cried, sitting in one of the hard boring hospital chairs.
Most of all, she remembered that she had been six.
Standing at the gates of Elysium, she felt older, but not old enough to match many of the lost faces that she saw beyond those gates, and walking past her inside. She felt all the feeling in her legs leave, and then she collapsed.
Seven Years Later
It wasn't the first time she had been grabbed and it wouldn't be the last time either. Almost every night after she was done singing, someone would come after her.
The first time, she tried to push them off, scream, fight. Nothing worked. She stopped trying after then.
Until tonight, she didn't know if she was finally getting some luck.
The man, whichever one it was this time, had stopped moments after she told them to go away. Then she heard a sickening crack, followed by a high pitch scream.
The fallen soldier, still in his burnt army fatigues, held out his hand.
For the first time in seven years, she felt hope, warmth, and love.
The fallen soldier introduced himself as Frank, he told her about his wife and children –three sons, one daughter-, about his mother, about his friends –the ones he knew were alive, the ones that were lost and to never be found. He was a kind man, though a bit threatening with his size and the way he held himself, he had also told her that he was a son of the war god Mars, as if that made his appearance and size reasonable.
He asked her about her family, about her life before. She told him the little that she knew, that she remembered.
Her name was Lucy, but she liked to be called Louie. She had parents, but they fought often. She had two brothers, one older and one younger, Stevie and Mike. She also noted that her grandmother was a goddess.
He told her that she could pass off as a child of Aphrodite.
She asked him to never say that again.
One Year Later
She had seen them Friday night since she started her little tradition. They sat at the corner table, quiet and drinking beer as they people watched and listened to her sing.
Frank sat at a table closer to the middle of the room, but still off to the side.
"I see fire, feel the heat upon my skin*," I sang, just like I did every Friday night. The song was the only one that I remembered from before; it was the one that I felt confident enough to sing in public.
The tavern clapped and cheered, I took my bow and climbed off the stage.
"Sit with us," said the tan skinned woman. She had the same burn marks on her skin as Frank; she had the same death as him. The only difference was that her's were older, less noticeable than Frank's.
"No thank you," I told the pair, the paler skin woman rolled her eyes.
"We've been meaning to buy you a drink for years," said the tan one, holding up her beer, "we'll buy your friend one too."
"I'm underage, I can't drink." I went to walk away, but the pale one said:
"He's my son, Frank."
I found his eyes easily, he was ready to jump into action, but a simple shake of my head and a wave of my hand had him coming over to the table.
For the first time ever, I noticed that it was meant to sit at least six or eight people, but the two woman sat together with no one bothering them.
"Valdez." The first word to leave Frank's mouth once he came over, his eyes locked on the tan skinned woman. "What are you dragging me into Louie?"
"Their usual's, Frank. Listening to me sing for the last eight years," I told him, while the tan skinned woman laughed at Frank's question.
"He must have mijo, Leo, Em," said the tan one, "though obviously our boys didn't hit it off like we did."
"Anza," said Em, a smile on her lips. "They don't even seem to know who we are."
"Mom?"
For the first time ever, I saw Frank smile. A real smile, not one of his 'I'm-happy-for-you' pity smiles that he gave out like parents gave out candy on Halloween night. He sat down beside Em and gave her one of his signature 'bear' hugs.
"Sit Louie, it'll be okay."
That was easy for him to say, he had was with his mother.
Moving in with Esperanza Valdez and Emily Zhang was nice. They had a few spare rooms, though more so for the thought of their sons. I took the room that was meant for Leo Valdez, it felt weird seeing as I was sure I knew of a man name Leo.
Tìo Leo.
The only problem was James.
I couldn't sneak off and see him as easily before.
He was in a hard place, his father had died a year ago and he was still in pain. I don't remember when we first started meeting or how we started meeting.
But when I was with him, I felt like I was the right age for once. He was fourteen, so I would be fifteen. He was cute, though his attitude needed to change if he wanted his family to continue to love him.
But I didn't judge, as he never judged me.
Six Years Later
I stopped aging in the human world when I would've been twenty. That was a year ago, when I visited James and he was nineteen. He was twenty now, and so was I.
James was an officer for the United States Army Corps. He was also tall and handsome, with a beautiful smile and dark brown eyes that light up whenever he's excited. He was almost always in fatigues or camouflage, and he always wore think soled black boots. He was dark skinned with even darker curly hair, which he kept well-trimmed. And the way he had with weapons, he was true to the son of Mars motif.
"They ran off, Olivia and Nico. They're in Canada, they're getting married, Lou," he whispered to me, we were at one of the two camps, sitting up in the trees. No one could see me, no one except for James.
"You should be happy, they are."
"They're stupid, too young."
I sighed; James had given up on love a long time ago. Aphrodite had cursed him, told him that he wouldn't find love in this lifetime. I told him to have hope for the next, but he didn't listen.
Boys weren't very good at that as I had found out over the years.
"Don't give them a hard time," I told him, he sighed.
I returned to Elysium.
Three Years Later
Their names were Alice and Franklin. They could see me, but they weren't the ones that had called me.
"Hello little ones," I whispered, Alice had soft curls and her father's features, Franklin had wispy hair and his mother's features. Though I could only see Esperanza and Emily and Frank in them for some reason.
"She didn't want kids, but neither did my parents."
"Maybe that's a sign, James."
The last time I saw him was three years ago, but I felt honored to be here to see his niece and nephew now. I would never have children, but it was delight to see these two.
"Of course you would say that."
I didn't expect to see him the way I did when I turned around. Haunted. Scared. Lost.
That wasn't my James.
"What happened?" I whispered, I touched his uniform, straightening and smoothing down every sharp edge and corner. He looked much older than twenty-three.
When did he get older than me?
His forehead dipped and touched mine, our lips inches away.
"I missed you, Lucy."
Two Weeks Later
Hospitals didn't change in seventeen years, whether they were in California, New York, or China. They were still white, still painful, still filled with death and life; the never ending cycle of wounded coming in and going back out. And I still hated them.
James was fading in and out.
"Hi."
"You came."
I smiled, and then kissed him lightly as we both faded away.
Friday Night ~ Three Days Later
"I see fire, hollowing souls*," I sang, as the stranger in the army fatigues took a seat that Frank occupied so many years ago when he would wait for me. "I see fire, blood in the breeze*."
A/N: Part one of two of my Lucy Grace/James Zhang story. I obviously have an obsession with the Zhang family, as I did originally plan on writing an Olivia Zhang story. That didn't happen and now I have Lucy and James to keep me company.
*The lyrics are from the song: I See Fire by Ed Sheeran. He was the original inspiration for Lucy Grace, as I was obsessed with this song and Lucy when I first heard it. The song has a great meaning to Lucy, as it's her only real memory from her life 'before', Tristian –Piper's dad- would play it for Lucy and her brothers.