Chapter 3 : Aries' musings
Disclaimer : The characters aren't mine but the plot is as well as the things I invent to fit the purpose of my story. Please enjoy the 5th chapter.
Back in the Spirit World, Virgo and Aries were watching the fighting scene. This pretty much convinced them that what Aquarius said was right about their leader: He was in love and his love was unrequited. Aries knew what Loki had suffered the past three years for her : he thought he could never return to their World. And now, he fell in love with his master, but Lucy Heartfilia completely ignored him. « Poor Leo…» thought Aries. She really didn't like to see her older brother like that. They must have their happy ending! She needed to do something to make Lucy see that he was worthy of her love, not just a flirt. At least she could do this much for him to repay his kindness to her. She knew why Lucy rejected his advances : he was a Spirit and she was human and she thought it was against the rules. And also perhaps because she thought he'd be the cheating type. But deep down, Aries knew that her brother longed for a constant lover too. She knew also that he'd be loyal to her since all Spirits had a soulmate and Lucy happened to be the special one chosen for Loki by the Gods. It is true that a Spirit couldn't be with a human in normal circumstances, but in this special case, it was allowed and said human would gain immortality to be with their other half forever. This kind of cases are however, extremely rare. And if their soulmate rejected them or chose to be with someone else, then they would fade and be forever forgotten in the realm of the stars. She didn't want that to happen to her brother since he had always looked out for her. And so, she was trying to think about what to do to help her brother and Lucy get together. It's going to be difficult since he screwed up pretty badly with that stunt of his. Dammit, her brother could really be a jerk sometimes.
Meanwhile, while Aries was musing, Leo had returned to the Spirit World. He looked like he was going to break down soon. Why? Why did his master defend Hibiki in front of him? Why did she protect him? She completely ignored him too… He didn't know what to do anymore. He tries hard to be what his master wants him to be: a good, loyal guy. Hell, he even abandoned his flirty ways for her. He rarely flirted with girls now that he found HER, that her being his soulmate. He didn't really need any of those girls now that he finally had his other half. He knew he would never crave for anyone else as long as they were together and that completely defied the nature of the male lion as they have a harem of females ready to reproduce with them anytime they had sexual cravings. It didn't matter now anymore because he knew that this wasn't how human females worked and he had come to accept that. If he were to be with Lucy, he knew he'd have to give up all this female attention he enjoyed so, but it didn't feel like a sacrifice at all. When you truly and deeply love someone, you'd give up anything just to be with them.
But she didn't love him back… or thought his love for her was a joke. She always dismissed him or completely ignored him when he declared his love for her or asked her out. He was always so sad when she'd repeatedly reject him. Was he not good enough for his master? Was he not attractive enough for her? He always thought he was... since so many women wanted him, but Lucy not wanting him that way filled him with self-doubt about his physical appearance. He would always feel badly about himself and blame himself when his master rejected him. He knew he screwed up pretty badly by doing what he did... but he couldn't help it, the Lion was after all, a possessive creature. He didn't know what to do to make up with her now. He didn't know what to say to her the next time he'd be summoned, or if he'd be summoned at all. Maybe Lucy would even release him of his contract with her. No, this could not happen! He would not let this happen. At least he could see her and be with her briefly now... but if she released him of his contract, he'd never be able to protect her again. He'd never be able to serve her anymore or be her knight in shining armour. With these saddening thoughts, Loki softly broke down again. He tried to retain those tears, but now he couldn't anymore, so he let them freely fall from his eyes.
After he felt tired of crying, and after he had no more tears, he started to wander endlessly and without goal in the forest. He hadn't realized that he was in a forest before since he was so depressed. He walked like a zombie through the woods... not feeding himself at all. Spirits needed to drink an elixir as well to maintain themselves from a specific source.
Aries was pretty worried about him... she hasn't seen him since or hasn't been able to find him. This could not last any longer; she had to something to help him... Slowly, a plan formed in her head. She would show Lucy Leo's loyal and romantic side and make her fall for him. She would not let her choose someone else than her brother... because a Spirit could not force their mates to be with them. Said soulmate had to be willing too.