Here is the start of my submissions for CoLu Week 2018. Still not sure if these are going to be connected or not, we'll see what the muse gives me. Also totally LATE start, but oh well.

Enjoy and let me know what you think in the reviews!

Day 1: Defect

AU where Magic is a defect

Lucy sighed as she gazed at the pretty night lights, laughter and music surrounding her room from the vent. She remembered a time when she was allowed to attend the parties. She remembered the dresses, the happiness at being acknowledged as the center of the festivities. No matter the age, Lucy had never been denied anything.

Until her magic came.

It had been a well-hidden secret, the dormant magic that flowed through her mother's people. Back when magic had been openly embraced, they had been well regarded as children of the stars. Lucy wasn't quite sure what that meant, but it had caused a rift between her parents; their open affection for each other slowly diminishing until there was nothing but darkness where their light should have been. The one thing they did agree on nowadays was that Lucy could no longer be seen in public, was no longer the heir to the Heartfilia name, and her father needed to discreetly have another heir by someone with no magic tainting their blood.

That had been five years ago. It was now Lucy's sixteenth birthday. It was ironic really. The celebration outside was in her honor, a remembrance of the beautiful Heartfilia pride and joy now thought dead. That bit of information had been carefully crafted on her father's part. One of her first lessons as an heiress was that nothing was impossible with the right amount of money. The money flow was so generous, only one servant of the entire staff at the mansion knew of her continued existence.

"That's not true. Everyone is just too afraid to speak out."

Lucy gave a startled scream, turning quickly to face the voice that had invaded her prison. The man was leaning against her door, the elegant suit he was wearing clashing with the spiky maroon hair and sharp features. He only had one eye, the other lid closed forcefully by a scar running down his face. Lucy bit her lip, thinking of his last statement. "What do you mean?"

He studied her, his gaze roaming down her body, taking in every detail. "The people who work here. They know about you but pretend not to. They get paid too much to look the other way, and most think what your parents are doing is right."

She looked down, not surprised by his words. Didn't the one servant who tended to her tell her every day what an abomination she was? "Silence is not hard to buy." She looked up. "Who are you?"

"You can call me Cobra."

What an odd name. "Alright Cobra. What are you doing here? The festivities are in another part of the mansion. No one is allowed in this corridor."

He didn't answer her for a while, instead choosing to walk entirely into her room. He took in the small bedroom, the simpleness of the small bed and dresser the only additions. A pile of books on the table were the only things he could see that could be a source of entertainment. It boiled his blood, especially as he'd seen the other rooms in this massive place, but cases like these always offended him. How could they not?

Finally, he looked at her, honey brown eyes staring at him in question. He said, "You know, wrangling an invitation to this gettogether was not easy. Had to grease a few palms myself, but I couldn't leave you here. I heard you calling from the next town over; your magic is strong."

Lucy gasped, understanding washing over her. "You have magic?"

Cobra nodded. "Yes, and I haven't felt a call that strong in a while. I recognized your type immediately." He looked around in disgust at her lodgings. "It's a shame that someone as rare as you is being treated this poorly. I'll never understand this country."

Lucy looked away, torn between wanting to know more and telling him to leave her be. He clearly knew more about her than she did, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know more. She still loved her parents, even if they'd all but left her here to slowly die from loneliness and depression. A part of her, the little girl that had been the light of their lives, still wanted to please them.

Consorting with another magic user would displease them greatly.

Cobra made a disgusted noise, forcing her to look at him in surprise. "Oh come on, Blondie. How can you have any loyalty to these fuckers? They're supposed to love and protect you. Instead, your mother is drowning away her sorrows in alcohol, and your father is checking out every blonde that can give him a normal magic-less heir."

Tears sprang in her eyes, the reality of her failures hitting her. "It's all because I couldn't keep the magic under control. It would have stayed dormant if I hadn't been curious."

"Bah," Cobra growled. "Is that what your mother told you? Magic is a part of who you are. You can't just keep it restrained. Just because it's skipped a couple of generations, doesn't mean that crazy woman knows what she's talking about. It's been far too long since one of your kind has graced the world."

Lucy couldn't help herself. "You know what I am?"

Cobra shrugged. "Sure, it's fairly obvious. As I said, you're rare." He turned the full force of his stare on her. "I can take you away from here. There's a country that's a safe place for Mages; the Emperor is a magic user himself. There are guilds and opportunities that would blow your mind."

She knew the place he was talking about. Alvarez was well known to the magic-fearing people of Fiore. They were the only country hers refused to trade with, not that it was a significant loss on either side. While Fiore was heading the race on technology, Alvarez was a hotbed of magical power. It bled from the place, lending to its dangerous reputation as a territory where only Mages were welcome.

Reading her mind, Cobra continued. "You can grow into the woman you're supposed to be." He held out his hand. "What do you say, Blondie?"

Lucy looked at his hand for a long while, weighing her options. If she left now, she would be truly dead to her family. Then again, her parents had taught her never to let her light die and isn't that what they'd all done?

She took it.