Lina: Growing Up

Heyas! You know, after I rewrote "Zelgadis: Growing Up" then I decided to do one for Lina, too! She's got kind of a hazy past... I'll use as many facts as I can or know, but most of this is straight from my imagination, and, like with my other story, this isn't fact. No one knows how Lina's childhood REALLY was, except maybe the people that came up with Slayers. So, read on! I don't own Slayers or Lina, but I own my ideas and my original characters. So NYAH!!! I DO own stuff!

Lina Inverse was about six years old. She had shoulder-length red hair that she liked to wear in a ponytail, and usually had on anything but a dress. Her parents would beg her to dress like a girl, but Lina refused. She explained to them that she couldn't do anything if she was wearing a dress. She couldn't climb trees or do cartwheels or go swimming in the creek or anything. Then her parents would reply, "You shouldn't be doing anything you can't do in a dress! Be more ladylike! Be more like your sister!"

Her sister. Luna Inverse. Luna was the perfect little girl. She was about nine years old, and was a true lady. She wore a dress and shoes at all times, let her hair loose, and had the politest language found in a child. She had long purple hair that usually fell down over her eyes. Lina complained that hiding her eyes couldn't be ladylike, but her mother said that lowering your eyes before a man is a sure sign of being a lady. Covering your eyes was one step above that.

All anyone ever talked about was "Luna this" and "Luna that," never "Lina" anything. Lina admitted that she was a little jealous, but mostly she wanted attention. And she also wanted to be different. She wanted to be as different from Luna as it was possible to be. That's why she didn't wear dresses or act ladylike. She didn't want to be anything like Luna, because she was so special and important. Lina hoped that if she were different, she'd be noticed because she'd stand out. But, no, everyone just wanted her to be just like Luna.

Due to this, Lina was often very sour to Luna. Generally, Luna had a kind word to say back, which spoiled Lina's bad mood, but one time Lina had done the extreme, and Luna hadn't taken it very easily. After that, Lina's life became hell when she was in the presence of her sister. Now she avoided Luna whenever possible, to the extent of hiding in the ladies' powder room.

One day, Lina had run away, and was hiding in some bushes by the road, when she heard the sound of hooves on the dirt road. She looked between the branches, and saw a horse-drawn wagon driving past with two men in it. One of the men had long blonde hair and a beard, and looked very old. The other was shorter and younger, and had black hair and a goatee. To Lina's shock, the wagon slowed, and then stopped right in front of their house.

Momentarily forgetting about Luna, Lina dashed over to the house, shouting, "Some guys are here! Some guys are here!"

Her mother came out and berated her for running and shouting like that. "Act more like a young lady should. Just do what Luna does."

Lina grumbled, and followed behind her mother, who was going to greet the two men. Luna appeared as well, and stood beside their mother. She curtsied, and hello, "Pleased to meet you."

Lina was ushered out beside her as well, and her mother told her to greet them. Lina smiled, and waved, saying, "Hello." Her mother quickly pushed her back behind her skirt, and started talking to the men.

Being the curious six-year-old that she was, Lina peeked her head around her mother's big skirt, and paid very close attention to what they were saying.

"We are scouts for the High Order of Ciepheed," the older man said. "We are sent to collect youngsters with the potential to become Knights of Ciepheed."

Lina covered her mouth so she wouldn't gasp. Could she be the one they were talking about? She could be a Knight of Ciepheed? She could work for the Gods and use magic? She could do all that?

The younger man said, "We have scried, and found that your daughter, Luna, has great potential to serve the Gods in such a way."

Lina's hopes dropped down to the pit of her stomach. It wasn't her. It was Luna. It was always Luna. Everything was about Luna. Never Lina. Lina felt tears slide down her cheeks. Ashamed to be crying in public, Lina turned around and ran for the creek.

When she got there, she sat down on the bank, and stuck her bare feet in the cool water. She tried to tell herself she was happy it was Luna. She wouldn't have to run away from her if she wasn't here. Luna could go away and be a Knight. Knights weren't ladylike, though. Maybe Luna wouldn't go? Maybe they'd take her instead?

Truth be told, Lina loved magic. She loved the idea of it, she loved the stories behind it, and she loved the prospect that she might use it some day. She wished every night that there was some way she could learn magic. Then maybe she could turn Luna into a frog, or make her disappear or blow up or something. She could fly away from her family, and be a sorceress for hire.

But Luna was the one they were asking to use magic, not her. It was always Luna, always. At dinner parties, Luna went down there and had fun, but their parents made Lina stay upstairs unless she wore a dress, which she obviously refused. Everyone would coo over how ladylike Luna was, and how she would go far someday.

Well, she was going far, all right. Far away. For good. Lina would never see her again.

After a while, Lina's tears went away. She's almost hoped someone would come out to help her say it was all right, and there was nothing to cry about. Her mother hugged Luna and helped her tears stop, but she'd never done that with Lina. Line had learned that if she wanted anything done, she had to do it herself, and her way. If she did it their way, then they'd do it for her, but she didn't want to do it their way. She wanted her own way. Lina's way.

When it started getting dark, Lina heard her father call, "Lina, get in the house!"

Lina stood up, and wiped off her face. When she got to the house, she dashed up the stairs and went into her room so her parents couldn't see that she'd been crying. "Aren't you coming down for dinner?" her father called from downstairs.

Lina had to debate about that. Her empty stomach won, and she went downstairs to the dining room. "Is Luna gone?" she asked when she got down there and her sister wasn't.

"Yes, she is," her mother said proudly. "She went off to be a Knight of Ciepheed, you know! A Knight of Ciepheed! I always knew she was special! Luna, my daughter, is going to be a Knight of Ciepheed!"

Quietly, Lina whispered to herself, "I'm your daughter, too..."