A/N, Hey, guys! I kinda got sick, and then got even more sick, and then one of my besties moved away, so I decided to work on this chapter finally.
Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all of it's characters (except for Lillia and Brian), not me!
~X~
"Mama, where's daddy?"
A woman turned her gaze to her, maroon eyes shining between curly purple locks.
"Far, far away," the woman responded curtly. The room they were in was cramped, and smelled of candlesmoke and various herbs.
"Why isn't he here with you, like Mickey's daddy's with his mama?"
Maroon eyes glistened as a sharp intake of air was heard.
"Daddy said that I was all he needed. He said that he didn't want you. I wanted you, I wanted everyone, and he said that he would leave if we kept you. I sent him away so you could stay." she quickly wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. There were counters littered with various objects that weren't easily described.
"Mama, what are you preparing for? We never turn on the big furnace."
The woman didn't respond, but turned downcast eyes to the aforementioned furnace, which was being tended to with a sharp rod. The woman had ivory skin, and was wearing a modest, yet dark dress.
"Why is the furnace on?"
She still churned the ashes in the oven, and then set a small brand into the fire.
"Mommy needs to protect you, mommy needs to make it so that nobody can send you away the same way mommy sent away daddy. Don't worry, the spell is almost set."
Silence loomed in the room as fairy tales coursed through whatever state of mind there was. The king always left the queen, though. The queen was always alone in raising the heroes or heroines of the stories. Before it was hard to figure out why, but maybe there was a reason for that.
"Mama, how did you send daddy away?"
The woman pulled the brand out of the fire, glancing at the white hot tip momentarily, before setting her gaze forward.
"Mommy used magic. Mommy wants to make sure that you always have a shield, and that nobody leaves you. Now don't move, a little star will be part of you. A little star will be your shield."
In a whirl of smoke, Lillia was aware of herself again, and all she could see were the cloudy shadows on the wall. One resembled the purple haired woman, and there was another. A child, sitting in a chair as the woman stalked closer to them. A shrill scream pierced the air.
Lillia covered her ears, and just as quickly uncovered them as she peeked one eye open to a much more quiet atmosphere, and a more airy smell flooding her senses. It was the same room, although the door was opened, letting the smell of spring flowers create an intoxicating mask in the air. The girl turned around in a slight crouch, and firstly noticed the purple haired woman standing in the doorway, fists planted on her hips. The next thing she noticed was a small girl with short, glacier blue hair, wearing a cream dress, small, navy blue stars adorning various places. The most prominent thing about her though, was the large, bloodstained bandage that covered part of her forehead.
"No, you can't go outside. You already opened your scar again just by doing housework inside," the woman stated sternly. The girl stood her ground firmly, placing her feet apart and crossing her arms with a determined look on her face. The child couldn't have been more than six at this point.
"Mickey said that he would play with me, though." Lillia found herself saying the phrase at the same time as the young girl.
"I said No, so stay inside. Mommy doesn't want you to get hurt."
"Mama, please?" there was a desperation underlying the girls tone that Lillia felt too. The need to go outside and see someone.
"No, everything that mommy is doing for you is so that you don't get hurt," the woman's eyes scanned the young one's face, but she quickly turned away when they landed on the bandage.
"Mama, do you want me to be sad and alone?"
The woman's face flickered guilt, and something else before she let out a long, drawn out sigh. She didn't say anything, but stepped aside and let the girl through.
The scene changed again, to a green field filled with wildflowers. The girl from before was there, and a boy who looked about her age stood facing her. He was thin, with straight brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing some brown pants and a tan shirt. He had suspenders that were a dark brown. He was holding a flower crown, and walked up to the girl in the tall grass, placing it on her head. She and Lillia laughed at the same time.
"So, do you want to be the ruler for once?" the boy asked with a wide smile. Again she was laughing.
"Nope, I still want to be a knight," was her response. The boy chucked, taking the flower crown and dropping it on the ground.
"You know Lil', I think I want to be a mage. You know, work magic and stuff. Save people," he sighed.
"But you don't have magic." The boy's smile dropped.
"I could be a holder type," he commented.
"Mickey, you know that also takes magic. My mama told me that," she said.
"Of course you would know about magic, your mom's a witch," he mumbled.
"No she's not. Anyhow, let's go find a dragon to defeat," was her response. The boy chuckled again.
"Whatever you want, Lil'."
Yet again, the entire world changed around Lillia. She was standing at the top of a grassy hill, and it was dusk. She noticed two figures at the bottom, and started a slow descent down the loose slope. She withheld a gasp at the scene before her. One of the figures standing at the bottom was a boy who looked like Mickey, only older, and facing him was herself. She looked exactly the way she did when she woke up without her memories. She was even wearing the same clothing.
"- Mickey, I'm all alone now. Why have you been avoiding me? You're all I have left!" Mickey didn't meet her gaze, but stared intently to the side with a scowl on his face.
"That's why you wanted me to come here?" he sneered, causing the younger Lillia to take a step back.
"Yes, you're my only friend in the world, or at least were," her younger self muttered.
"Oh, yeah? Your magic's not enough for you in this world now?" Mickey spat.
"What? Is that what this was about? So what if I'm a lousy re-quip mage. My mom is gone-" she faltered as she she felt her throat close and eyes heat up.
"Lil', you know a mage is all I've wanted to be since we were kids! You stole that from me!" the boy hissed.
"I never did anything like that! It wasn't my fault that my dad was a mage!" Mickey scoffed.
"And all you've done since you discovered your magic is flaunt it like a toy! It's a gift, you don't deserve it if that's how you treat it!" he lashed out at her, and in the shadow of the hill, all details were black and fuzzy. Suddenly, a blade flashed in the girl's hand and she pushed it through the boy.
Lillia watched as the morbid silhouette tumbled to the ground, and her younger self took a horrified step from what she had done. Glowing fractal patterns spread from the body like a spiderweb of ghosts, and the air became cold suddenly. She opened her mouth to scream as they laced her skin, crystals forming like knives all over her. Mickey stood with rasping breaths, taking the sword from her hand, and slashing a line from the star on her brow.
"Always… Remember what you stole from me…." his voice raggedly echoed. "Never forget."
The blade dematerialised in a flash of yellow light, and so did the dream.
~X~
Lillia woke up in a cold sweat. The room was too bright to be any time before six, so she pulled the blankets off of her, and got up. The re-quip mage felt like pottery, dry and stiff, and ready to crack at any moment. She knew that she had gotten these dreams before, different situations, but somehow she always forgot that it was her and not somebody else. She went over to the bathroom and ran a shower, ignoring everything else as she locked the door behind her.
Half a wet hour later, she stepped out of the shower and towelled herself off. Picking up a hairbrush as she re-quipped into some sundress with stars on it, she started to work on her hair.
"If only your hair was brushed when you re-quipped, too," she muttered as she entered the other room. Wendy was already blearily heading down the ladder on her loft bed, and Charla was walking on the counter and making something along the lines of coffee.
~X~
Breakfast and a walk through the rain later, they were at the guild as usual. Everything was normal, except Cana wasn't there. Jellal and Erza were sitting together at one of the tables, Mira jovially talking to them about their wedding plans. Gajeel and Levy weren't anywhere to be seen, though. Now was probably Lillia's best chance at telling Mira about the two's engagement.
The girl started to make her way over to the older mage, shaking her head swiftly to clear any doubts. Polished wood and rain didn't mix very well, and she realized that all too late as she collided with the floor. Blushing and thanking whatever god there was that her dress didn't flip up in front of everyone, she stood up hesitantly, wondering if the floor would betray her again.
"Have a nice trip, sparkles?" an all too familiar voice jeered.
"It was pretty nice, the floor was happy to see me. Not like you could, four eyes," she replied, all though there was still a bit of a pang at the jab about her scar. Lillia brushed invisible dust from her skirt and turned around to find Brian standing too close behind her. In her face… Again.
He looked over her face, eyes scanning quickly and something seemed to glint in them that the girl couldn't quite place. She quickly retreated to a safer distance, uncomfortable with their proximity. He was actually getting on her nerves. He took a step closer, and she quickly and loudly slapped him. Brian gingerly touched his cheek, but didn't take a step closer again.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have some important business to attend to," she said a little too loudly as she walked away.
~X~
There really was something interesting going on, Brian considered. He took joy from seeing the slight bluenette flustered, and better yet angry, and he couldn't place his finger on the reason. Her comebacks were amusing, and the way she was always tripping over things was humorous.
His favorite part, though, was how she would get so flustered when he got close to her. He supposed that it was ordinary for anyone to get annoyed and uncomfortable when he got into that range without permission, but her response had been worth it so far. He supposed that the fact he didn't get upset, and vaguely enjoyed this was a mild form of masochism, but as long as he considered it as self defense and not some fallacy, he wouldn't be going too far.
Besides, he got a better look at her face when he got that close. Although his glasses helped, there was always something that he missed from a distance.
'Her eyelashes were blue,' Brian mused, 'Cute.'
A/N, Alrighty, Minna! I've had this in my mind for a while. I know that there was a lot of Lillia and nobody else in this chapter, but there's stuff happening that's gonna help the story along. Dang it, Brian! I had other ideas for you, but nooo, you decided to be sappy! What am I supposed to do with you? Lillia, you need to react more, and everyone else, you need to be more prominent!
