Hey people! It's been a while…a very long and very unpleasant week of studying T^T I actually found that I spent more of my time writing my story than doing schoolwork. It's just so distracting :P oh well, school's over now! Anyway back on topic, as I'm sure most of you have noticed, my way of writing is pretty progressive…It's my particular style of writing. I don't like the stories I write to progress too slowly but if they are too fast, I usually lose interest in them more easily so please be patient =) Hope this chapter is to your liking.
Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima is awesome and Fairy Tail is the result of this awesomeness. I just mix things up a bit ehehe ;)
Previously: The blushes and playfulness on their faces were replaced with serious looks as they faced the demons and began chanting together:
"Measure heaven, open heaven. Make unto my body as to shine with the radiance of the countless stars. Tetra Biblos, I am the ruler of the stars. Aspect, cast open the gate of perfect malevolence. The 88 Stars of the Heavens. Shine! Urano Meteoria!"
Chapter 4: Remembering the Past
Normal POV:
For Sting, the next few seconds after the chanting made him feel ecstatic. In those short moments when the attack was launched, his own soul was joined with Lucy's. One could not explain the overwhelming joy of this effect. For a few mere seconds, everything felt so perfect for him. His burdens, his heartbreaks, absolutely everything was lifted from his mind. His memory had been wiped clean from him and he was floating in an empty space. Everything around him went black.
Sting found himself standing on a crystal black surface. When regaining the memories back which he had lost, it didn't slow down to match the rate at which he could process things. It was like experiencing every single emotion all at once; happiness, pain, sadness, confusion, anger, anxiety, lust, guilt, loneliness, regret … Sting dropped to his knees and clutched his head. "N-no! Stop it! MAKE IT STOP!" he screamed, shaking his head. Boredom, excitement, hatred, pity, courage, distrust, embarrassment, fear, shock, jealously… "A…A…ARGH!" Sting was in so much pain. He pulled on his hair. He was sweating profusely. He had his head on the scorch black floor beneath him …Curiosity, hope, hostility, arousal, gratitude, shame, interest, love…and the emotions coming back to Sting after that became less intense. The whole experience had made him realise just how strong emotions could be. Every emotion, feeling it for the first time feels extreme, but this was just incredible. He recalled one of the more pleasurable emotions. What kind of emotion was that? It made my heart stop for a millisecond and I couldn't think straight, but I was extremely happy…Weird…
He looked into his reflection against the acrylic black surface beneath him. Then he saw it; the face of the girl who he didn't know the name of and had only known for a short few months in the past. She was absolutely beautiful; a vision of hope and sincerity. She had hair flowing down to her mid-waist; they were like delicately woven golden strings of spiders' webs. She sparkled with a radiance so bright even Sting was no match for her.
It all started outside a small market stall ten years ago…
*Flashback *
Sting POV:
"Hey kid! No stealing from my stall! You better give that back or I'll make you work for me for weeks!" the shop keeper yelled while grabbing the back of my collar. Back then, I lived in the slums; the poorest parts of town. This guy needs some mouthwash! I thought. I struggled and strained my body to loosen his grip, but to my disappointment, it only made the man grip tighter. "Let me go you mean old man!" I struggled more and eventually the man let go, amused that I had hurt myself in the fall. "Don't let me see you back here kid," he spat. Angered, I ran up and kicked him in the shin before grabbing a bag of rice and running off. "Why, you little-! Get back here!" I ran as fast as I could, but the bag of rice was heavy and I was starting to lose speed. I looked back at the man but ran into someone in the process. It was a girl about twice my height with the shiniest, golden hair I had ever seen. I stared at her in wonder for a few moments before remembering my situation. "I'm sorry!" I said, bowing before picking up the bag and running again.
Normal POV:
The bag limited Sting's line of sight. He felt his foot catch onto something and landed face first into the hot, hard gravel. The man had caught up to him; there was no escape. Sting sat frozen in his place horrified at the cold eyes staring at his. The man lifted an arm and Sting flinched, waiting for the impact. He heard a huge crack which made him jump slightly. To his surprise, he didn't feel any pain. He opened my eyes to see the same girl who he had run into before. She was holding a whip in her hands and facing the shop keeper who was now lying defencelessly on the ground. "You there," she said in a stern voice, pointing her index finger at the man, who flinched babyishly. "What do you think you're doing to that kid? I hope you have a good explanation for this." The man got up abruptly, still shaking and said, "That little shit over there attacked me and stole from my shop! He needs to be taught a lesson!" The girl looked back at Sting and stared for a few seconds. He looks really skinny. He's wearing nothing but rags too, the girl thought. Sting was confused. The girl who was staring at him looked like she was deep in thought. She turned away again to face the old man. "How much?" She asked. The old man looked at her and tilted his head. "What exactly do you mean by that?" he asked. The girl sighed. "How much for a bag of rice and treatment for your wounds? I'll cover the expenses." The people around gasped and whispered among themselves. The girl sighed again and walked over to the old man. She placed a small sachet in his hands and turned around again in the direction of Sting. "That should be more than enough. Don't bother this kid anymore, got it?" she said, lifting Sting up by the arm and brushing the dust off his clothes. The shop keeper bowed and left and other people around left as well.
Lucy looked at the little boy and gave him a warm smile. "Now, could you tell me your name little one?" Sting looked at the girl in surprise and started to tear up. It was the first time someone had shown him kindness like this since his dragon parent. "It's Sting. My name is Sting," he said. "That's quite a name," she giggled. "My name is …."
*Flashback ends*
Sting POV:
I couldn't remember her name. I opened my eyes and I was back in the forest. The blonde girl was on the ground unconscious and looking very defenceless. I gulped and went to pick her up. I slid one of my arms around her back and the other under her knees. I can't just leave her here. She's hurt and she could get attacked again, I thought. I cautiously lifted her up and examined her face. She looks a lot like that girl from ten years ago…but surely that girl would be in her 20s by now. I shrugged it off and turned back to look at the damage done by the spell. I smirked. The trees had all been knocked down for at least half a kilometre in the appointed direction. She's strong…very strong. But she also had my help. I turned around again to face the clearance leading back to the city. I stepped cautiously to avoid falling on any branches or stepping into holes on the ground.
As I reached the clearing, I remembered that I still hadn't found out the name of the girl in my arms. She smells like strawberries, and maybe vanilla. That's totally unrelated to the issue here! I shook my head in an attempt to clear my mind. What am I going to do with her? I can't leave her out here in the open. It's dangerous for a girl to be out at this time of night, especially a pretty, defenceless one. I sighed realising I only really had one option; I had to bring her to my dorm. It'll be troublesome if I'm caught…I could just leave her at a hotel and pay her expenses, but then I probably won't see her for a while and she still has some explaining to do.
Normal POV:
While Sting was thinking over what to do with the girl, he didn't notice her eyes flutter open and stare at his oblivious face. When Sting looked down at her and noticed her staring, he couldn't stop himself from turning a little red in the cheeks. Lucy was the same…only redder. "So you're finally awake," Sting started, trying to remain composed. Lucy slid out of his arms and landed gently on the ground, avoiding stepping with her left leg. "Sorry, I didn't think the spell would have such effects. While I was still awake you looked like you were in pain…then I fell unconscious. Anyway, are you okay?" asked Lucy in a sweet voice. "Yeah, I'm fine. Regaining my memories felt really extreme, but other than that, I was okay," Sting said, smiling. Lucy's eyes widened. "Wait. You…you lost your memories?" Lucy asked, horrified. Sting looked at her with confused eyes. "Yeah, for a second, but I got them back…so?" Lucy grabbed Sting's hands and closed her eyes. A small glow was visible between their palms for a second, and then it disappeared. Lucy sighed in relief. "Thank kami, you still have your magic powers." Sting frowned. "What do you mean by that?" Lucy turned away. "With great power comes great sacrifice…ever heard of that?" Lucy looked back at Sting to see his eyes staring attentively at hers. "Because that spell wasn't originally mine, it uses up a lot of magical power. The more power there is, the stronger the spell becomes…but the magic is greedy. The more magical power there is to be offered, the higher the risk of it being taken…do you understand so far?" "Yeah…but I don't see how that's anything to worry about. The spell work-," "Don't you get it?! YOU ALMOST DIED!" Lucy looked away, her bangs covering her eyes and hands shaking. "You know as well as I do that a mage's magical power is their life force. When you lost your memories, you were in the space between life and death. You were lucky to survive and you're extremely lucky to still have your powers…They're usually lost more easily than memories in that dimension."
Lucy's voice was shaking with distress and she flopped on the ground, lifting her hand to her face. "I almost killed you…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Sting," Lucy managed, sobbing and wiping her tears. Footsteps approached Lucy which made her look up. She was surprised to see Sting's face only inches from hers, moving her hands only to wipe her tears with his thumb. Sting shone a bright smile at her. "It's okay. Don't cry anymore. There's nothing we can do about the past, and nothing bad happened anyway, so it doesn't really matter." Sting held Lucy's face in his hands. "Now, I didn't catch your name. Would you mind telling me?" Between her crooked sobs and tears, Lucy smiled saying, "It's Lucy. Lucy Heartfelia."
Sooo, what did you all think? I know, Sting as a child was a little bit helpless (too cute) in this chapter and as some of you may have noticed, he didn't use his dragon slayer powers. This is not a mistake. The flashback goes for longer and it explains why he couldn't use his powers at the time, so be patient and keep guessing ;) adding mystery adds imagination and that means creativity! …wow, I sound like my art teacher :P anyhow, leave a review coz I love getting feedback to know what you guys think! Thank you all for supporting me so much and I will make sure to release faster from now on! Well, faster than this week's update anyway :D see ya!