Disclaimer: I do not own any of the songs in this FanFiction, all songs are owned by their respective authors.
Chapter two, hope you like
Let me know what you think :)
Human
I can hold my breath
I can bite my tongue
I can stay awake for days
If that's what you want
When Lucy woke up again, she was not on Ur's back. She rolled over, looking around the room, taking in everything around her with uncertainty. Was this the new home? The room was spacious, and there was another bed in front of her; the sheets were dishevelled, suggesting someone had been sleeping there. In front of her bed sat a wooden dresser, surrounded by wooden walls and wooden flooring. She heard noise from under her, and concluded she was upstairs.
She pulled the covers off herself, putting her foot down on the floor and shuddering at the coolness of it. There was a lacrima clock on the dresser that read 10:03. She moved to the door, wrapping her arms around herself as she tip toed down the stairs, only to be met with rambunctious laughter and noise.
On the last step, her foot made the stair creak and all heads turned to her. She paused, looking first at Ur, then the boy from the night before – clean of the soot and dirt – and another boy with lighter hair and darker eyes.
"It's good to see you're finally up," she looked back to Ur and smiled faintly.
She looked around the room, more wooden furniture, more wooden floors, more wooden walls. On the table they were seated at, lay a number of breakfast dishes. "I didn't know what you two ate, so I cooked everything." She laughed, and Lucy allowed herself a small smile. "Come on, sit down,"
The two boys dug in without hesitation and Lucy made sure everyone had food before she took her own. She stared at the one from the night before, blinking warily at the food coming out of his mouth. She turned her attention to her food, trying to ignore the off-putting slobbery. At least Ur knew what a knife and fork was.
"I'm Gray!" he yelled through a pancake. Lucy nodded, smiling as friendly as she could muster.
"Lucy," she made a display of cutting a pancake and putting it in her mouth with a fork. Gray seemed fascinated by this.
"I'm Lyon," she looked at the other boy, this time smiling more of a grimace.
"Still Lucy."
Ur smiled at her bacon, holding a large piece with her fork and chomping down heartily. She swallowed. "Lyon and I are going to be training for a little bit of today, is that alright with you two?"
Lucy put down her fork and Gray took the cue to gulp down his food. "What are you training in?"
"Well," she tilted her head. "I'm a wizard and Lyon is my disciple. I'm teaching him magic!"
Lyon burst into a grin. "Ur's the most powerful wizard ever, and one day I'll be even stronger than she is!"
Ur chuckled, "Now, now, Lyon."
Lucy was staring at Ur, she concentrated, then she could feel that same feeling her mother had. The one that was deep within someone's heart. Her mother had taught her how to feel it, and as Lucy looked at Ur, she could certainly feel it.
"What kind of magic?"
Ur took another bite. "It's called ice-make magic. It's a style unique to the user. So I have a type, Lyon has a type, Gray would have a type and you would have a type."
Lucy nodded; she could certainly sense the coolness radiating from her. Not a cruel cold.
"Would you teach us then?" Gray's tone was overly enthusiastic, his tormented eyes holding a spark of excitement.
Lucy felt for a moment as though she was looking down at her body, rather than being in it.
"You have power in you, Lucy, the kind people get hurt for."
It was her mother's voice, the sweet, soothing one she would always remember.
"You can't let them see it. Not until the time is right."
When would that be? She found herself thinking.
"You'll be tested, Lucy. That's when you'll know."
Then, all at once, she was thrown back into her body, Ur's strong voice replacing her mother's.
"I have to warn you, though; training with me will be hard."
I can fake a smile
I can force a laugh
I can dance and play the part
If that's what you ask
Lucy's teeth were chattering, the snow clung to her boots, and the wind slapped against her face. She knew her hands were red under the gloves Ur had given her – her nose felt as though it would snap off. Lyon seemed to be doing better in the cold – his shaking was still apparent, but he handled it better. Gray, on the other hand, was much the same as herself, clutching his jacket tighter around himself.
Lucy had never been around cold this intense. Sure her village had some very icy winters, but this cold made her bones ache. If it weren't for the layers Ur had rugged her up in, Lucy was sure she would have frozen half to death already.
Ur stopped, putting her hands on her hips and looking over the endless white snow. She turned back to them, grinning. "The first step to training with me," she ripped her jacket off, followed by her pants, "Is to strip."
Gray stared dumbstruck at Ur, his mouth wide open, and Lucy stared at the dark-haired woman, blinking several times before frowning. Ur presented herself in a meagre bathing suit.
Gray cried out in outrage, "You've got to be kidding me!" his cheeks were stained with red. He looked over at Lyon, to gauge his reaction. Lucy followed his sight, feeling her own cheeks heat up. "Now you're stripping too?!"
Ur laughed, and Lucy stared at her boot covered feet, wanting to smack herself in the head for agreeing to this. "If you want to control the cold, you need to become one with it."
"This is insane," Lucy whispered mostly to herself, but Gray nodded anyway.
"Fine," Gray mumbled, pulling his shirt over his head. "But this better not be some kind of joke!"
When Gray finished shredding his clothes, he wrapped his arms around himself, staring at Lyon who smirked.
"I already can control the cold."
Gray pointed an accusatory finger at him, the other wrapped around his torso, trying to gain some semblance of warmth. "You're shaking just as much as I am!"
Lucy felt Ur's gaze on her and sighed, peeling the jacket from her shoulder, then the long sleeved shirt, leaving her with just the singlet and pants she was wearing. Ur raised an eyebrow at her and Lucy ignored her warm cheeks, sliding the snow pants off, ignoring the sting of the snow. She pushed on the back of her ankle, watching her shoes slide off her feet.
"Happy?"
Ur nodded and grinned again. "Well, let's get started."
I can do it
I can do it
I can do it
Lucy had blue fingers by the time they stopped atop a mountain. She was thankful for the socks on her feet at first, but the more they ran and pressed themselves into the snow, the soggier her socks had gotten. Lucy panted, the cold air on her lungs stung, but it was better than nothing.
She tried warming her hands up, blowing on them and rubbing vigorously, only to see white puffs of breath come out. Ur frowned at her and Lucy rose a brow at her, wondering what the older woman was thinking.
She took Lucy's hands in her own and Lucy gasped at the warmth of Ur's hands. She was sure if they were somewhere with a standard temperature, Ur's hands would be icy, but to Lucy, whose hands were colder than cold, it felt like hot water.
"That's strange," Ur mumbled.
"What's strange?" Lucy asked quickly, growing concerned.
"You shouldn't be cold."
Lucy glowered up at the woman, "What do you mean I shouldn't be cold? It's snowing."
Ur shook her head, "You should be cold, but not this cold." Gray and Lyon, who were previously bickering, stopped, looking over in curiosity. "When a mage is in a place where the heat or cold is too much, there body takes in ethernano from the air and cools or heats the body. The stronger a mage is, the better they can do this."
She took Lucy's hands, lifting her arms and putting them under her armpits. "It doesn't matter how little magic you have, your body is still built to do this." She turned towards the boys. "give me your clothes, we need to keep her warm."
They boys did so hastily, and Lucy found her cheeks reddening with shame. "Sorry, Ur," she whispered.
Ur looked at her sadly, "It's not your fault, Lucy. Don't blame yourself."
Lucy kept her gaze down, to disappointed in herself to look at anything other than the old snow beneath her now covered feet. She put on the surplus of t-shirts and sighed, treading after Ur dejectedly.
"We should head back." Ur looked up. "There's a storm coming."
But I'm only human
And I bleed when I fall down
I'm only human
And I crash and I break down
The only thing Lucy felt was shame. It coursed through her being, and by the time they returned to the cabin, Lucy wasn't sure she was capable of feeling anything else.
The two boys continued their bickering, and Ur watched seemingly content, but Lucy could not bring herself to feel an ounce of happiness. She wanted to. She wanted to stay optimistic about the situation, but as she looked at Ur, really looked – the way her mother had taught her – she could sense the magic from within.
The worst part was that Lyon – whom she expected to have some sort of power – and Gray both had it. Gray had had the same amount of experience as her and the same amount of training, and yet she could still sense it from him. It wasn't anything in comparison to Ur's magic, but it had the same potential. What made her eyes water was when she looked in the mirror and could not find a thread of magic power.
She was laying in her bed when Ur walked into the room. She sat on the end of Lucy's bed in silence, possibly thinking about what to say. Lucy continued to stare at the wooden wall, focussed on the heat circulating the room. She did not look up when Ur began speaking.
"I had a daughter who was much like you, Lucy." She focussed on the blanket weighing down upon her chest. "Quiet, smart, didn't open up easily. But, unlike you, she had too much magic." Lucy moved her eyes to the mother, listening as she spoke slowly, "Her body couldn't support her magic, and despite all the help I got her, she was selected for a special facility, they told me they could help her. I believed them." Her voice died away, and Ur finally looked Lucy in the eye. "That was the last time I saw my baby."
Lucy saw the sadness, felt the change in the air as the room grew a degree colder. "What happened?" She wasn't sure it would help Ur, but her mother always told her to listen to others.
"Her body was too weak for the training and she died." Ur grew quiet, "I wasn't allowed to see her body." She wiped her tears quickly, before they could fall. She looked at Lucy with refreshed eyes. "The point is, Lucy, some of us are born with more magic and some with less. The amount you are born with does not determine your value." Her eyes were serious now. "But what you do with that power – that's what makes your worth."
"I don't understand."
Ur smiled. "You do not have to be the strongest mage if you have a heart that is pure. Power comes with risk, and having less power comes with a risk. Either way, there is going to be hardships. But, listen to me on this one Lucy; it is the intentions of the heart that determine one's strength."
Lucy did not understand most of what Ur had said, but she committed it to memory – knowing by the look in Ur's eyes that it was important.
"You probably won't get that now, but when you're older, I hope you look back and think, 'Hmmm, maybe that crazy woman wasn't too crazy after all.'."
Ur's grin was infectious and she found a laugh rumble out of her.
"You might not see it Lucy, but your magic is there."
"How do I know?"
Ur's grin turned into a tight lipped smile. "Well, I know one way."
I can do it
I can do it
I'll get through it
Lucy sat in the snow for hours, her eyes closed – waiting until she could see something in the darkness of her mind. The image arrived three hours later. Lucy couldn't feel the water in her clothes or how the speed of the wind picked up.
She saw a key. It was gold. In her mind she reached for it, feeling it burn her hand when she touched it. The hand jolted away from it, before reaching for it once more. She paused voluntarily this time, her eyes staring in wonder at a great door, frosted over with chains and a great lock holding back whatever lay inside.
Lucy opened her eyes, feeling the cold wind slapping her, swaying her hair and making her body shiver.
The storm hit eight minutes later, while Lucy sat in shock, tears rolling down her cheeks for no real reason at all. The snow hit her face brutally, but she found herself unaware of it. She could no longer feel the warmth coming from the cabin. She was connected to the world in a way she hadn't thought possible; the cold seeped into her bones, she felt her bones were leaking into the cold. For the first time in her life she felt frozen – truly.
She did not move.
I can take so much
Until I've had enough
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Until next time :)
~MyFictionalFantasy
