This feels rushed somehow, but here y'all patient readers go

Hope you like it though,

soon we'll get more plotty

(not really edited, apologies in advance)

When Erik woke up again, Macbeth's hands were on his back, the girl who stared at the window, as well as the other kids in the cell were all staring at him with pity. He felt the sting of water on his back as his wounds were cleaned – he listened but couldn't hear anything but muffles.

Erik passed out with the knowledge that he was alive – that was enough for the moment.

Lucy wasn't crying anymore. She felt numb. She watched the mahogany casket as it lowered into the ground. She could hear the workers of the estate crying; mourning for her mother. Lucy's tears stopped, she didn't speak. She couldn't.

She could feel her father standing next to her, could feel the warmth of his body. But she had already seen the cold in his eyes. The disinterest. Lucy could understand it. Her father was the King and he had lost his Queen. Sure, he had his Princess, but he needed the Queen or the Kingdom would collapse.

Lucy didn't dare to look at her father. She didn't know why she couldn't, just that her body was telling her it was a bad idea. That it wouldn't be a smart move. Something in the way he had distanced himself from her and the maids.

Lucy had never seen her father cry. This day was no exception.

When the last shovel of dirt had been put over her mother, Lucy paid her respects and went inside. From her window, she could see her father still standing there. She watched him turn and move back inside. His face was cold, his eyes tired. He disappeared from her sight and a few minutes later she heard the doors to his study close.

Lucy took a book off her shelf. She opened it up and waited for her brain to catch on to what she was reading. It didn't, and instead she spent the hour flipping pages upon pages.

She hadn't heard Erik in two days. She felt like she had been betrayed. Then she realised he was probably imaginary – while the thought struck her with sadness, Lucy dropped the train of thought and put the book on her table. She fell asleep holding her mother's keys and wishing she wasn't alone.

"Open gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!" Lucy waited. Nothing. She still wasn't strong enough. Still, after six weeks of continuous practice, she couldn't open a gate. How was she supposed to be a strong Celestial mage if she couldn't even do this?

She hadn't seen her father since Layla's funeral. He had buried himself in his business, and Lucy was under the impression that he hadn't wanted to see her. She wanted to see him, though, she wanted to hug him and tell him she was still here. That he hadn't lost her. Lucy often got the courage to do such things, and found herself at his study door, poised, ready to knock. Lucy would walk away before she had the chance.

Erik was gone. There was no more voice, no more words to cling to, no more warmth from him even though it was freezing wherever he was. Erik himself was warm. He was what Lucy needed – a friend. Someone that could make her feel like she wasn't the only person in this mansion. That's what Lucy needed.

But he wasn't there. Hadn't been since the day her mother died. In the same day Lucy felt like she had lost everyone. Her mother was dead, her father was not who he used to be, and perhaps, Erik was dead too. Or, worse, maybe Erik hadn't even been there at all.

Lucy focussed on the key in her right hand, imagined the magic flowing through her arm and into the key, then into the cup of water it was touching. "Open gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!" She watched in fascination as a light appeared, a door, and then the woman Lucy had grown up with was in front of her. Blue hair, blue outfit, blue eyes. Aquarius scowled.

"I was on a date, you brat, you can't pull me out whenever you want."

Lucy's eyes watered. "I'm sorry… I just—was lonely."

Aquarius tsked. "Don't you have friends to go play with? Go meet with them."

Lucy looked away from the spirit, "I don't have any friends. I had Erik, but now he's gone."

"Call him then, kid, I'm sure he'd love to catch up."

Aquarius didn't hide how little she cared. It hurt Lucy. She had wanted a friend, someone she could talk to, and instead she had summoned a cold-hearted mermaid. Lucy wondered how her mother had been friends with this spirit. Her mother was always kind though. She always treated her spirits as people; as friends – could Lucy do that? She didn't want to be cruel and nasty, she wanted to be an even better celestial mage than her mother.

She would be nice to Aquarius, even if the Water Bearer didn't like her, there was no point in fighting with her for friendship. Lucy would be the kind girl her mother wanted her to be and she would be a great mage by doing so.

"I don't know where he is… he's—gone." Lucy shook her head of the tears, her mind catching up to speed. This was about a contract, this was about her future career as a mage, and Erik couldn't be a stopping her from that. "I called you hear because I would like to make a contract, if you would accept me as your key holder."

Lucy didn't meet Aquarius' eyes. She didn't want to. She was scared that the Water Bearer would reject her offer and she would be lose yet another piece of her mother.

"Look at me, kid."

She peaked up slowly. Aquarius still looked angry, disinterested too, but Lucy held her eye wearily.

"Ask again. This time look at me."

Lucy made sure she held eye contact. "I would like to make a contract." She swallowed. "If you would accept."

Aquarius was silent. "Fine." Her mood shifter, her eyes glinted as she stared up dreamily. "But I'm not available all the time, I have a boyfriend."

Lucy nodded, a smile stretching across her face that felt foreign. "Do you think Cancer would want to have a contract with me too?"

Aquarius scoffed, "Don't wear yourself out, brat, wait a day for your magic to come back."

Lucy nodded, still smiling.

Aquarius huffed. "I have to go back – to my boyfriend~"

Lucy rolled her eyes as the mermaid disappeared. Aquarius was probably going to be a handful, would probably never do anything she asked, but she was a celestial spirit mage with a contract to a golden key. That accomplishment was enough to make her put aside her worries about Aquarius.

Lucy felt closer to her mother than she had in days. She moved towards her window, looking out and to the statue above her mother's grave. I hope I'm doing you proud.

Erik woke up to a hand shaking him. The kid with the black hair was saying something. It took a few seconds for his senses to come back, when they did, he blinked, assaulted with sound. Still, it hadn't gotten any better, it hadn't improved. He was still where he was. Where he would always be.

"—get up now, you've been out of work for too long."

"How long?" He croaked. His voice sounded foreign to him, his throat ached. It must have been a while, he figured.

"A few weeks."

He blinked, feeling himself drift off before he forced himself awake. "Why didn't they kill me?"

That was the usual protocol; if you were too sick to work, you were of no use – if you had no use, you had no life, not that this one was much to live for.

The guy with the big nose cut in. Erik didn't know his name, had never asked for it because there was no point in friendship if they'd all die anyway. There was no room for excess hurt. "About a hundred or so people died in T area after a breach, someone escaped. We're under new leadership. He's good to us, gave us the medicine to get you better. He feeds us too."

Erik sat up, hissing at the pain in his back. He could feel the scars splitting, not used to movement and certainly not ready for the day ahead of him. Erik would have to power through though. If he didn't, he was just another corpse in the ocean around them. One upon thousands left to bloat and rot in the vicious waters.

Erik rose unsteadily. His hearing was returning, growing stronger by the second, and after a minute of stretching his muscles, he could hear everything. The girl with white hair was thinking of flying away, the boy with the big nose thought of running, Macbeth and the chubby kid thought about their respective families. They were a big bunch of kids with no hope in sight. Erik let himself relax.

The cage doors weren't locked, they were open almost as if tempting him to escape. Was it like it for everyone else? If what his cellmate was saying was true, then why would they want to escape? They were getting fed, had vaccines, were essentially free, but confined. When Erik really thought about it, they were better off here than on the outside.

What could orphans do on the outside – if they made it to the mainland at all? Starve, beg, and hope for the best. Erik was better off here.

He padded his way through the cells, watching people laugh as they worked, enjoying themselves. It was all too surreal. In a way, it was so unbelievable that Erik thought he was still dreaming. He picked up a pickaxe and got to work, his muscles already familiarising and remembering the motions to chip away at the stone.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Food. Where food? Erik frowned, looking to his right where the voice came from. Somewhere near, food. He picked up a rock and watched a purple snake slither it's way out. It seemed to freeze under Erik's gaze. Kneeling, he held out his hand.

Danger?

Erik shook his head, too amazed at this ability. He could hear humans, but never had he thought he would be able to understand animals. "I'm Erik."

No name.

He hummed, looking over his shoulder. "You can be Cubellios." He whispered.

Like Cubellios.

The snake hesitantly slithered onto Erik's hand, wrapping itself around his wrist as it arched to be level with him. He stuck out a finger and scratched under her jaw. Her tongue flicked out and brushed his nose.

"You need to hide, otherwise they'll take you from me. I'll make sure you're fed."

Erik was sure if a snake could nod, he had just witnessed it. Cubellios moved her way up his arm, under his shirt as she made her way to his pocket. He walked slowly at first, scared to disrupt her as he moved. He picked up his pickaxe once more.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Erik?" Erik's eyes widened. Lucy. He had forgotten Lucy.

"Lucy?"

"Are you okay? You've been gone so long."

Erik frowned, swallowing. "I got sick, but I'm okay now. I think things are going to get better."

"So much has changed, Erik. I contracted one of my mother's spirits, Aquarius. She's mean, but she's always there when I'm lonely and I'm sure if worst came to worst she'd protect me." Lucy hummed, the sound sent shivers down Erik's spine, over the scars and mutilated flesh, almost as though her voice was healing him. Her song was still deep and melodious, the faint tune he had first heard was still there somewhere; buried under her pain and sorrow.

"I found some good books you might like?" The offer was simple, Erik smiled. He listened as she began to read, something about a man name Jack and Giants that lived in the sky. He kept at his work, not stopping for a moment.

Cubellios hissed, not a threatening hiss, almost like a sigh, Lucy nice.

"She is, isn't she, Cu?"

I hope it wasn't too hard to distinguish Cubellios and Lucy? Let me know if it was and I can change some stuff so it's easier for future chapters.

Leave a review, they keep the fingies typing.

Hope you enjoyed :)

Until next time~~

~MyFictionalFantasy