"Though I am bruised
Face of contusions
Know I'll keep moving"
Cut My Lip / Twenty Øne Pilots
The night wasn't how it should be for Lucy. The glimmer of the stars that used to be up there in the sky to contrast the dullness of the dark is nowhere to be found.
For her, the night was supposed to be the most glamorous time of the day. This time, it isn't.
As Lucy looks up to the sky while praying to be given the hope she desperately needs from the only thing that makes her calm, a cold breeze made its way to hug her.
The air is cold, colder than the usual breeze of the night but never colder than the insides of her eyes. Sure, the chill from the cold breeze is still lingering in her bones and her frail arms and legs is still shivering but what she feels inside is nothing, nothing but anger and rage for the people who killed her family.
Family, she bitterly laughed. She hated that word, she despised it because ten years ago, she doesn't have one. But Luna, the only woman who patiently put up with her immature whims, took her in with open arms, and the first and probably the last person to love her like her own, adopted her and became the reason why she doesn't hate that word anymore.
But now, she's gone.
One minute, they were eating dinner, and suddenly there's a bullet in her chest.
One minute, Lucy was happy, and suddenly she's back to being the pathetic, unloved, and unwanted girl she used to be before Luna took her in.
"Go to the Academy," Luna's teary eyes as she tried to smile while saying her last wish with her breathless voice is still playing on Lucy's mind, "they'll protect you." she finished. And as she finish that sentence, her breath stopped and Lucy knew that sad truth, Luna is dead.
Lucy takes promises seriously so now, in the middle of the dull night, she's venturing to the place where her adoptive mother used to work as a teacher - the Magnolia Academy.
I will, Luna. May your soul rest with the Gods.
"What do you think you're doing?" Lucy froze. She looked up to the guy who just spoke who's currently eyeing her. Lucy immediately became conscious of how she looked; bruised, dirty, and worned out. In the past, those three words would never let Luna be used in describing her. She's a princess. Was.
"It's already past curfew, why are you outside?" another voice woke her from daydreaming, that was when Lucy realized that the guy earlier has two companions.
"Speak, child. Why are you so... dirty?" she paid no attention to the voice and looked around to see the trees dancing to the cold wind and the rustling of the leaves are making sounds as if they're telling her something.
The guy looked irritated because of her obvious ignorance and started throwing questions aggressively, "What is your business this late? Don't you know it's dangerous outside the Academy specially during the night?"
"You're an outsider." the third guy, who kept his mouth shut while the other two interrogated her like hell, said. It wasn't a plain statement, it's a conclusion and Lucy doesn't know how to explain her situation.
As if the third guy's statement is a trigger, all of them opted for defensive, "What is your intent, Normal?"
There it is again, the word Lucy hated aside from the word family — normal. It has been years yet she can't still accept the fact that she's a Normal, that she cannot use magic.
Damn it.
She can still remember how she blamed her bloodline, whoever her ancestors were, for not being the one blessed by the Gods to have magic in their veins.
Sure, being a Normal is a common occurrence for most people but Lucy is never one of them.
A gun pointed at her brought Lucy back to present. She scoffs, remembering the state she's in. "W-wait! I was told to come here," she said, frantically.
No matter how much of an emo Lucy is, she really fears death. Death, the one who took Luna away. Lucy fears it not because of the pain but because of disappearing without leaving a legacy. Maybe she'll meet Luna sooner than she expected because the guards don't seem to buy her excuses thus the gun remained pointed at her.
"What's the matter here?" a voice foreign to Lucy's ears was loudly heard. It is deep and rough and when she looked around to trace the source of the voice, her eyes landed to a man who is worthy of the said description.
A man, nowhere near 50s, walks towards them. He wears a cloak with torn ends and is carrying a travelling bag. Lucy felt a shiver down her spine when the man walked past her to greet the guards. The feeling stunned and left her intimidated because of the man's aura and stature.
Lucy's eyes widened, the guards aren't buying her excuses and now there's this man who can clearly snap her neck without a second thought.
She looked back to the group of men against her, particularly to the cloaked man. It was dark when Lucy first saw him but now that there is light coming from one of the light poles of the Academy. His body is hidden in his long, black and tattered cloak, has a slicked back shoulder length orange hair and a stubbly beard. As Lucy stared at him to take in his appearance, the man also did the same, but when she looked at his light blue eyes, she realized that he has been staring at her. She saw his eyes widened upon looking at her as his brows started to meet. It was confusion, there's no doubt about it. But what confuses Lucy more is the other expression that passed through the man's eyes, recognition.
Lucy's pretty sure that she never met the man in front of her. She took note that if she ever did, there is no way to forget him because of his aura which screams power and respect.
"Sir Gildarts, we are delighted for your return. Please come inside for you to rest."
'Gildarts' ignored the guards and continued his inspection as if she's a new specimen that needs to be identified, "You look familiar, kid."
Lucy knows, she already established that since the time when recognition flashed in his eyes but the question that is playing in her mind is how.
"Sir, we are sorry for the trouble here. We'll see to it ourselves," the guard, who seems to be their leader, spoke again, "No, what's the situation here?" Gildarts held his ground and the guards visibly gulped. In trouble, huh?
"An outsider, Sir. We found this Normal in the woods near the Crystal Lake."
Gildarts cocked his head to his left while the right side of his lips rose, "She's not a Normal."
Violently, Lucy turned her head to gasp at him. Cruel, she thought, humans are cruel.
Now tell me, child. Why are you here?" Lucy let out a long sigh, "I am the adopted child of Luna, a professor here in this Academy. She told me to come here."
"Shut up, you insolent child! Stop using a dead woman's name for your lies. There's no way a filth like you is Lady Luna's child." the guard who she ignored earlier shouted, enraged. Lucy would be lying if she'll say that the words didn't hurt her because it does, big time.
"Calm down, let the kid speak for herself," Gildarts said like some sort of a hero and turned to her, "Luna's adopted child, you say?"
Lucy just nodded while Gildarts spoke again, "So that's why you look familiar, kid. Saw you in one of the pictures in her desk, you were so little back then but I can never forget that golden hair of yours."
He immediately dismissed the guards and invited Lucy inside who remained frozen because of what happened.
That fast? Really? Just a while ago, she's near to pissing because of fear that no one would believe her for what she looks right now and now, this?
"I know it's late and all but my condolences," Gildarts said, surprisingly in a soft voice which brought Lucy back to reality. "Heard she's killed," he added while resting his eyes to the girl beside her carefully as if testing the water.
Minutes of silence past and Gildarts was pretty sure that he wouldn't squeeze any information from the blond girl but Lucy suddenly spoke, voice as soft as the wind, "She is."
Lucy rose her head to look at him, "I-I don't really know what happened. Everything was so fast and before I knew it, there's a bullet in her chest."
"And she told you to come here?"
"Yes, she said I'll be protected," Gildarts just nodded that left Lucy relieved, "But why do you look like... that?"
"After funeral, we found her will. She left all her properties to me. Her relatives found out and of course, they're furious. I am only adopted, after all." Gildarts was going to say something in return but Lucy's soft smile stopped him. In that moment, Gildarts can see his daughter, Cana, and realized that the vibe he can feel whether he's with Cana is similar to the vibe Lucy is giving him.
He's been a good friend of Luna for years and he's one of those people who she talked to about Lucy's adoption. Gildarts is never good with words but meeting Lucy, he can say that Luna picked a good child.
He turned his attention back to Lucy, who looks hesitant to say something, "I ran away."
Lucy gulped, as if gathering courage or simply buying herself time, "They're accusing me of being the murderer."