Crumpled Thoughts
A/N Hey guys, this is a random idea that popped into my head one night so I decided to turn it into a one-shot for your reading. I do not own any of the characters or the series. A special appearance from Slaine Troyard from Aldnoah Zero. The story is loosely based on their actual respective stories so don't take it too seriously. Without further ado, please enjoy the story and don't forget to leave a review to tell me your thoughts.
The mahogany door creaked open as an elderly butler poked his head into the immaculate study room that resembled a Victorian style library. Long oak tables were placed side by side while a giant crystal lamp watched over the room's visitors from above. The shimmering rays of sunlight peeked through the glass windows and illuminated the floating dust particles, deceiving the eyes by casting a mirage through the walkway. The butler gave a small smile as he caught sight of a tall, beautiful blonde teenager waltzing through each aisle while adding an additional book to her already growing mountain of books being carried by her.
" Ms. Heartfilia, it is time for your Geography and History lesson as your tutor has already arrived," the butler announced as the young woman slowly spun around to face her butler. She furrowed her eyebrows and set down her pile of books.
" How could I forget, Oliver? Mr. Algernon would never miss a lesson after all," she replied dryly and awaited her tutor at the oak table. The butler merely nodded and went to fetch her tutor but was met with a pleasant surprise as he saw a young man who had white hair and a pair of teal orbs greet him at the entrance of the mansion. He was of average height, slim stature and had a boyish charm about him.
The butler merely looked in disbelief at him before swivelling his head to check and see if Mr. Algernon would suddenly stroll up and offer the longest of apologies for being tardy. He finally shifted his attention back to the nervous looking young man and pursed his lips.
"And who might you be, young man? The new post boy?"
He looked surprised and bowed. "No sir, I'm actually Mr. Algernon's student but today because he is unwell and unfit for his teaching duties. My name is Slaine Troyard and I'm supposed to be tutoring a Ms. Lucy this afternoon?"
The butler sighed and let him in. " I am rather sceptical about you tutoring Ms. Heartfilia but you must be of some worth if has taken you as his student. Slaine just smiled politely and resisted the urge to point out how rude the butler was being. He knocked on the study door and poked his head in once again. " Ms. Heartfilia, Mr. Slaine Troyard will be your substitute tutor today as Mr. Algernon is not feeling well. He proceeded to push the boy into the room without so much as a second look at him.
Lucy looked up and she looked pleasantly surprised to see a boy of around her age, approaching her with a satchel. Slaine cracked the slightest of smiles before extending his hand.
"Hi, I'm Slaine and it's a pleasure to meet you. I hope that I will prove to be an adequate substitute for my master today." Lucy just continued to look curiously at him before stifling her mirth.
" I'm Lucy and it's a pleasure to meet you too, Slaine. Do you always talk to girls in such a formal manner? Or is it just part of your special brand of charm?" she giggled as Slaine's cheeks were slightly tinged with a shade of pink. He looked away and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
" Uh…my way of addressing you is supposed to befit that of a noble or an aristocrat. After all, you are one of the richest families in Magnolia. I don't think that I can address you in the same casual manner that you demonstrated just now," he muttered as Lucy rolled her eyes and sat down.
" My house, my rules and I order you to drop the whole stuffy charade. I want you to relax and enjoy yourself while you're tutoring me. Mr. Algernon is way too strict and uptight that it actually kills my interest in his lessons," she shook her head much to Slaine's surprise.
He studied her face for a little while longer before letting out a small sigh of relief and breaking out the history textbook. " Alright, Lucy, shall we begin your lesson for today? I'm going to pick off from where left off- Machiavelli and the rest of the Italian aristocrats."
She perked up at the change in tone and body language and paid full attention to his lesson. The butler poked his into the room an hour later to check on their progress and a pleasantly surprising sigh greeted him. Lucy was assiduously jotting down notes and bombarding Slaine with questions regarding the opening of Venice, Florence and Naples as aristocratic cities It was a stark contrast to her usual lifeless and nonchalant attitude adopted during her regular classes. The butler could hear the both of them bursting into peals of laughter after she cracked a joke about pasta and its origins.
" No, Lucy, the Renaissance period did not bring about the extinction of dinosaurs," Slaine tried not to laugh as she folded her arms and huffed.
" To be fair, Renaissance does sound like some species of dinosaur and it was during the feudal era so….it was a fair guess," she grimaced.
The butler smiled to himself before leaving them to continue their lesson. Slaine stole a glance at his watch before handing her out a sheet of paper with ten questions written on it. She looked up at him in annoyance but he was unperturbed. " This is an end of lesson recap and as motivation, you get to pick a prize if you get at least eight out of ten questions correct."
Her eyes twinkled and she smirked. "Any prize that my heart desires?" Slaine was beginning to regret his choice of words and he nodded.
" Fine then. As a reward, I would like you tell me a story about an adventure or an interesting place that you visited. That to me, is even more valuable than any other kinds of rewards." She smiled wistfully. Slaine remained silent as he could see a brief look of pain flash across her face but it disappeared as quickly as it started.
" That would be an excellent choice of reward, Lucy. However, that request of yours all depends on how well you score in today's paper," he waved the sheet in front of her face. She snatched it from him and began scribbling her name on the top left corner. He just watched her intently as she completed the test. He couldn't help but admire her beautiful features and mesmerizing eyes- he wasn't going to admit it but he may have developed a slight crush on his student after those two hours.
She proudly handed him back his test and waited for him to complete his marking. She grit her teeth as she could see the outline of a cross for her third question. Slaine was in the same boat as her. He wanted her to score that eight because he didn't want his time with her to end just yet. He liked talking to her and felt as if she genuinely wanted to get to know him better.
The both of them heaved a sigh of relief as she only had one mistake out of ten questions. Slaine broke out into a warm smile and started packing his bags. " I'm really happy that you understood and enjoyed today's lesson. It wasn't an easy chapter but you did very well. Good on you, Lucy, you've made me feel accomplished as a substitute teacher," he laughed.
She couldn't help but blush as she caught him smiling at her. " It's not a big deal. You were a much better tutor than Mr. Algernon and this chapter was one of my favourites so far," she hummed. " Anywayyyy, it's time for you to fulfil your end of the promise so move it and join me on the couch for a little story-telling time," she grinned and patted the space next to her.
He took his place next to her and loosened his cravat. "You're going to love this story. It was when I was travelling to Tanegashima in Japan. My father is a renowned scientist so he's been doing a bit of research regarding the Aldnoah drives- a technology that was found to be discovered in ancient ruins on Mars. He's currently delving deeper into the Battle of Tanegashima to find out more about the war between the Martians and Terrans. Wait..you do know that there are humans who have colonised on Mars right?" Slaine paused and turned to Lucy who had to pick up her slacked jaw from the marble floor.
"Did you just say that Martians exist?!" she nearly screeched at the top of her lungs but the young boy quickly clamped his hand on her mouth and shook his head vigorously.
Lucy pushed him away and sighed. " Slaine, do you want to know why I asked for you to tell me a story of your choice? It's because my father locks me in this dastardly estate like a caged rat. I yearn to learn more about the outside world so, listening to the stories people tell me is always a valuable experience. If I can't explore the world, then at least I can derive some sort of pleasure from these stories," her quiet voice echoed. She clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white and punched the side of a bookcase.
" Lucy, don't do that or else your knuckles…"
" It's stories like that that make me feel as if I'm wasting all my years in this estate. My father doesn't even care about me anymore. All he cares about is his stupid business and wealth. And that translates into him ostracising and venting his frustrations on me! Although I did not understand a word that you said but I do know for a fact that you hate being a student under Mr. Algernon. It isn't your thing and its keeping you from venturing out into the world and doing what's best for you," she said loudly. Slaine remained silent and looked away.
"I want to run away from home. I want to do something with my life instead of living it as a caged heiress. I want to fight for the greater good rather than for personal reasons," she swallowed hard. Slaine walked over to her and squeezed her hand. " I'm fine with tutoring under Mr. Algernon because I get to meet people like you. But you're right about one thing though, my dream is to go to Mars and serve the Royal family as it would be an honour to my late father. That is my problem, but for you, running away from home won't solve anything. You might end up suffering without ever attaining your goals…"
Lucy turned away and glared at him. " That may be true but if I don't try I'll never know! Slaine, make me a promise. Five years from now, I want you to be doing something that you'll love because nothing bad comes out of it. And you'll see me as an author or globetrotter hopefully," she smiled sadly before placing a kiss on the back of his hand.
He opened his mouth to reply but the words were stuck in his throat. Who was she to force him to make promises? To lecture him regarding aspirations and goals? To criticise the way he did things or even make stupid suggestions such as running away from home. But somehow, there was something in her that made him say yes to that promise. He nodded and bowed.
"Come back next week and continue your story…tell me more about this Aldnoah and the Martians! You better not disappear just because Mr. Algernon is feeling better or I'll drag you out of your house by force!" she called out to him through the window as the butler ushered him out of the estate gates.
He never came back though as Mr. Algernon resumed his classes with Lucy. She persistently questioned and demanded him for Slaine's return but he refused to answer her until one day, she found out that he had quit his teaching job to fly to Mars to continue his father's legacy. She couldn't help but feel slightly liberated that he had taken her advice but she never heard from him again for many years until she became a member of Fairy Tail.
Five years had passed and the conversation that they had when they were sixteen had been nothing but quixotic notions, filling their heads with hopes and false dreams. Broad horizons that could never quite comprehend the complexity of their respective paths in life. Lucy was neither a novelist or an author but a mage. As for Slaine, she would never know, but she could never forget her time with him.
She did however receive a letter from Slaine later that year as he intended to keep his promise. He didn't leave much detail in the letter as it was mostly a letter asking how she was and her family situation. He did state that he's currently working under Count Cruhteoh of the Orbital Knights in Mars. She promptly replied him and wrote a two-page long response describing every event that took place leading up to her induction as a Fairy Tail mage. A single line of 'Please come back soon. I miss the warmth of your smile and your fascinating stories' concluded her letter. She was oblivious to the fact that her life had a much smoother path compared to his as she was surrounded by friends who could be counted as family while he was treated as a slave in Mars.
She soon began to forget about Slaine and her issues prior to joining the guild. It wasn't intentional but she had finally found a job that she loved and she was going on all sorts of adventures with her teammates. She had a boyfriend in the form of the famous dragon slayer, Natsu Dragneel and she was saving the world with Team Natsu. Negativity was slowly purged from her mind and with it, memories with Slaine were forgotten. Another year passed and she decided to visit her old mansion after learning about her father's passing. The place didn't evoke the most pleasant memories but upon entering the study room, she hesitated as vague memories of Slaine came rushing back to her. She called his name softly and traced the carvings on the oak table.
" I haven't heard from him in nearly six years. I guess he forgot about me," she sighed and was about to get up when she saw a crisp white letter sitting on one of the chairs close to the exit. It was addressed to her so she decided to open it. Her hazel orbs grew as wide as dinner plates as she found that it was a reply from Slaine dated a year ago. "He must have sent it to the wrong address," she thought and proceeded to digest every written word.
Her hands started trembling and her lips started quivering as her eyes scanned the last paragraph of the letter.
" I'm glad to know that you're enjoying your new life with your new friends. Taking your own advice was one of the best things that we could have done. Only difference is that you've found a new purpose in life while mine just vanished due to a planned assassination. Funny how things can change in six years. It is I who yearns for your stories since I've been locked up and tortured daily. Since I probably won't get to read your reply, I just wanted to let you know that some paths in life don't have happy endings. However, never let that deter you from chasing them as I have always held your words close to my heart."
Love, Slaine
There was a streak of dried blood at the bottom of the letter. Tears began streaming down her face as she buried her face in her hands and cried silently. The little girl who believed in fairy tale endings spoke to a smiling boy whose aspirations were at the end of a perilous road. Neither knew much about each other but they connected through emotional drive. She carefully folded the letter in half and kept in in her pocket.
" It's quite ironic that it was your story that filled my head with hopes and dreams, while my stories left you with regret and desire. You never did finish my lesson history either," she smiled to herself. A single tear slid down from her warm, butterscotch eyes, followed by another one, and another one, until soon, a steady stream of salty tears flowed its way down her pale cheek. He had left her life as quickly as he had entered it without saying goodbye. It was then that she realized that she fell in love with the white haired boy who saw her as more than just a rich heiress.
I wanted to explore Lucy's backstory a little bit so I decided to do something different and bring in another character from a different show to help with the story. It is not a crossover as these events do not affect both their worlds. I hope you guys enjoyed the story and don't forget to leave your comments below.