Okay, so the backstory on this little project is it's been in my drafts for a while now, and at one time it was my baby. My first Nalu chapter-fic that I had all planned out and fallen in love with. Though, due to junior year living up to it's reputation of being the toughest of high school years, the process is moving at a much slower rate than I would like. However, I'm still going to post what I have written so far in parts, hoping that maybe finally posting it will encourage me to complete it.

Finally moving this little project away from tumblr and posting here!

disclaimer: I don't own a darn thing.

Preface

There was a time- so long ago that some of the younger generations are skeptical if it isn't just something their parents made up for a bedtime story- when mages and mortals lived together happily.

Such a thing could only be scoffed at now- merely rumors with no valuable sources.

To young, mortal children the very thought of crossing paths with someone capable of magic was enough to evoke nightmares. Meanwhile, in adults it only elicited sneers and looks of disdain and disgust.

A lot could be, and was, said when comparing the two, but harmony was a word long forgotten.

For many long, peaceful years wizards and mortals shared the same green earth and walked along the same paths. They shared the water and resources, lending a helping hand to the other party should it ever have been needed. Peace was apparent.

But then, one day, things weren't so simple.

It started small, a tiny seed planted by lack of trust in a villager that soon spread throughout. If there was a bad harvest, then the rumor in that particular village was someone had upset a mage and caused a draught.

This was ridiculous, of course, because wizards have to eat too.

Or, if there was a flood, then a king might send out a formal apology, begging the mages to stop their nonsense; nonethewiser that magic had nothing to do with the bad weather.

Then, after many years, it became more than just rumors.

It became more than just innocent speculation, and things turned dangerous.

Scientists in labs around the world, backed up by countless, power-hungry moneymen worked around the clock trying to understand why some humans were born with powers while others weren't. Despite their long, dedicated hours and all the hard work, they were coming up with little to no results.

That's when the experimenting started.

Horrible, inhumane experimenting that was very hush-hush for years and stayed out of the headlines- until they made a breakthrough.

What that breakthrough was, most civilians still don't know.

But, whatever it was, made wizards public enemy number one, and forced those with powers into hiding.

Until now.

"Damn it," the girl slammed the metal lid back into place, moving on to the next dumpster in the dimly lit alleyway. Her nose wrinkled at the putrid smell, and wondered if she would ever grow used to it. She was elbow deep in day old banana peels, greasy food containers, and empty water bottles- much to her parched throat's dismay- when she finally found something of value amongst all the trash.

It took a little effort to retrieve due to it being near the very bottom, and thus didn't exactly smell the greatest, but it was something. Smoothing down the material, the once-upon-a-time heiress examined the slightly faded fabric, pursing her lips as she tried her best to suppress the small part of her that missed the expensive silks and exotic furs- hers had all been faux, of course, her father was a different story- that she had once taken for granted.

Tying the flannel around her waist, she carefully replaced the lid as she tried to make as little noise as possible. She propped the medium-sized box back up against the silver canister and tried to make it look as if she was never there. It wasn't technically illegal to go through someone's trash, but that didn't mean people were fond of others sifting through their skeletons in the closets. Besides, this was a more high-end part of town where the residents get a little antsy at the thought of people rummaging around in their garbage like a bunch of raccoons. If the girl wasn't careful, then the building might do what the last place did and call the cops to "watch the area" and that just wouldn't do.

If she were smart she would go ahead and take refuge in the more wooded areas away from the city, but due to being by herself kept her in the more populated areas. It was true that she was at a higher risk here in town, but city life- even living it on the streets- was more home to the used-to-be privileged girl than the woods would ever be.

Regardless, she would have to move soon. If the cops found her, especially now... a sharp, sudden shiver traveled south along the girl's spine, and though it had nothing to do with the evening chill she still found herself untying her newly found treasure from her waist and wrapping it around her shoulders.

She tugged the baseball cap down farther on her face, adjusting it on her self-done haircut that she had cried in the process of. Long gone were the long, beautiful golden tresses that she had been so proud of. Now, she was left with choppy, uneven layers that only just touched her shoulder blades.

Upon further inspection of her new shirt, she noticed that there was a small hole in the left sleeve, right along the seam. Knowing this part of town, that tear was most likely the reason it was thrown out in the first place. Heaven forbid that anyone actually try to fix anything, instead why not just throw out what no longer fits in?

Images of her father's face flashed in the girl's mind, but she was quick to dismiss them. She returned her attention to the rip, and figured that she had enough needle and thread left to spare on such a little repair. She only had the color purple left, however, so it would surely show up against the red fabric.

"Okay, Lucy," she mumbled underneath her breath, speaking to no one but herself. "Time to get back."

Slowly, carefully, she poked her head around the corner of the apartment complex and saw that, thankfully, the streets were clear. The last thing she needed was to run into a group of drunkards on their way home from the bar, or have to avoid a scuffle with someone much like herself.

Both had happened before, and each time she'd had no one but herself to depend on for help.

Stepping out onto the streets, the girl turned left and followed the path of streetlights in the direction she now knew as "home," though it wasn't much to brag about. "Home" to the ex-heiress was an abandoned mattress that she'd found outside of a house with a for sale sign. The residents had been in the middle of the moving process and the sidewalk was littered with the things they were throwing out- the mattress being one of them.

There were plenty more things that the blonde could have found useful, but the mattress was already more than she could carry alone.

It'd taken an entire night to drag the old, stained thing to an ally where there seemed to be little to no traffic. Before, there was an old fire escape that led to the roof of an empty bank building. That was were she originally slept, off of the ground and away from the public, but knowing she wouldn't be able to get the mattress up there by herself, she decided the ground would have to do after all.

She knew that it would probably be safer to find a place inhabited by others like her, but she also knew the risk of being robbed was higher and felt it wasn't worth it. A shelter was out of the question as well, seeing as how she was under age and the workers would probably try to hand her over to social services.

Then, after the night long excursion of transporting the mattress, it had taken the entire next day to set up a tarp that she'd found in the dump above said mattress for rainy nights. Underneath the bed she kept various sheets of newspapers and a little tin box with only four matches left. It was going to be a cold winter if she didn't figure that one out soon.

It wasn't much, but it was as close to a home as a runaway could get.

With every step in her old boots- where the worn leather was beginning to flake off- the key ring on her hip jingled. It was dangerous, being out in the open with her keys like that, but Lucy didn't trust them to be safe anywhere else.

The keys were her prized possessions- the literal key to her powers. Three of them- Aquarius, Cancer, and Capricorn- had been passed down to her from her deceased mother. The blonde had two more, one being a dog spirit who, due to a language barrier, was currently without a name. Then there was The Gate of the Lion, which had been a present from both of her parents long before her mother had become sick.

The girl didn't like to have favorites among her spirits, and if it were to ever come up in conversation she would fervently deny such a claim, but she had to admit that Loke had a special place in her heart. Though, it had been a long time since she'd last spoken to him. The last time she had summoned him was the night that she'd been forced to run away, and though he had the ability to appear without being called upon, he hadn't.

But that was okay; she assumed he was just giving her some space.

She had five gate keys in all, which in itself was quite the feat. Nowadays one could only find available keys in the black market or from shady dealers, and even then they were only low caliber, as all of the top notch ones had been long confiscated by the government. Supposedly, anyway, the girl wasn't so sure.

Lucy wrapped her arms tighter around her middle, shivering. Though it was still only mid-September and the days were quite warm, the cool nights often left her freezing.

She'd lost count of how long she'd been by herself, and while traveling alone didn't really bother her, she sometimes really missed the company of others.

The idea of a friend was almost as foreign to her now as the concept of peace in Fiore.