Chapter 4 Two Years
"You want me, someone you've barely met, to teach your daughter-" Lucy held up a hand to stop the objection on Sid's lips. "Adopted daughter then; how to use magic?" Lucy was incredulous. It was obvious Sid cared about Yukino as much as any parent. How could he just try to foist her onto someone he barely knew? Horror stories plagued the magic world of people who offered to teach children magic only to make experiments out of them. Now Lucy would never do something like that, but how was Sid to know?
"Yup." Sid answered blithely. The two blankly stared at each other, Lucy out of astonishment and Sid because blank seemed to be his default expression. "So will you?"
"Hold up, hold up," Lucy said calming herself down. "You do know what you're asking, right? Teaching someone magic isn't something you just do in a day. It can take years of studying and hard work to learn."
"I'm well aware." Sid answered. He stood and walked over to the cabinet on which the picture sat. Lucy watched his back as he opened and rummaged through it, searching for something near the back. She heard him grunt in satisfaction as he pulled something out from its depths. He turned and walked back to his chair, plopping down with a groan. In his lap he held a medium sized black box, dusty from its stay in the cabinet.
"What's that?" Lucy asked with a pointed stare at the box.
"Memories," he grumbled. "And ones that I've done my best not to think about for long enough. Open it." Lucy was surprised at the strain in his voice. Whatever was in the box was clearly something he wasn't comfortable with. Carefully dusting it off with her hand, Lucy opened the box and found it contained two things. Another, smaller box rested on one end, clamped shut with what appeared to be a magic lock. Small dots of golden energy danced around a keyhole holding the little box shut. A strong temptation to try an open it washed over her. She moved her hand towards it, building up a bit of magic in her palm.
"The pictures," Sid said forcefully, breaking her concentration. Shaking her head in embarrassment, Lucy rummaged around the rest of the box, seeing a large collection of old photographs. A quick scan through the box showed a younger Sid with a pretty girl on his arm, both smiling. Here at a restaurant, there in the very room she sat in, and finally at a wedding.
"Your wife's beautiful, Sid? Is she here now?" Lucy asked as she continued flipping through the pictures.
Sid sighed at the question and Lucy saw the first hint of real emotion on his face. He looked incredibly sad, but only for the briefest of moments. "She passed about ten years ago."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize." Lucy said, unconsciously crowding further back into her chair. Even if she felt sorry for him, she'd had enough death in her life to not want to deal with it anymore.
Sid waved off her condolences with a massive hand. "Thanks, but I'm not showing you those pictures for pity. Look under the other box."
Lucy did as he asked. She lifted the smaller box out, handing it to Sid. Underneath were more pictures, though only of Sid's late wife. Lucy picked them up and began to flip through them before snapping a double-take at the one on the top page. It showed the young woman, all smiles with her arm around a man. However it wasn't Sid, but someone Lucy was incredibly familiar with.
"Is that Cancer?" Lucy whispered as she looked closely at the picture.
"Cancer the Crab." Sid confirmed with a nod. "Keep going."
Lucy eagerly flipped through the photos, hungry to find pictures with other spirits. There she was in front of Mercurius Castle with a Plue of her own. Then her reading on a porch next to a goat-like spirit she'd never seen before. "Capricorn?" Lucy asked Sid curiously.
Sid nodded. "She was quite the Celestial Mage, Lara. She was training to be a military mage while I was still a private. We met on a joint-exercise and the rest is history. But what you need to see is this." Taking the stack from her, Sid quickly leafed through it and pulled out one near the bottom. Handing it over, Sid gazed at her impassively. "Recognize someone?"
On first glance, Lucy couldn't quite understand what she was seeing. It was Sid and his wife, who she now knew to be Lara. Both looked slightly older than the earlier pictures she'd seen, though the smiles hadn't aged a day. But the strangest thing was that someone else was standing with them in this picture. Not a spirit, but a young girl with shocking blonde hair and large brown eyes that smiled right along with them. It was Lucy, right about the age when her mother died.
"What in the… Why the hell do you have a picture of me as a kid?" Lucy asked, slowly reaching for her keys. Sid had seemed like a nice enough guy, but this was getting all too strange for her liking.
Sid seemed to find her reaction priceless, judging from the slight chuckle he let out at her question. "I guess even you can't tell the difference, huh? That makes me feel a little better." Sid said looking at the picture with a fond look. "When you walked through my front door I could've sworn little Layla had come back to pay old Sid a visit."
Now that blew the business right off Lucy's face. Thoughts careened inside her head as she tried to process the fact that she'd been working for a man who knew her mother as a child. Frankly, Lucy knew next to nothing about her mother's childhood. Every story about her parents began with them meeting. They never talked about what happened before that. As a child Lucy remembered asking Layla about her grandparents, but nothing about an answer. After Layla was gone, Lucy could count on one hand how many conversations she'd had with her father that weren't ice-cold and all business. Needless to say, her family's past hadn't come up. But some odd twist of fate had landed her here. And she wasn't going to miss-
"So back to my question." Sid said, cutting through Lucy's thoughts like a knife. "I'm assuming Layla was the one who taught you to use Celestial Magic, right?"
"A little, yeah, before she passed away but just a-" Lucy tried to bring up her questions about her mother but was stopped as Sid continued on.
"And Lara was the one who taught her. Even gave her a couple of those zodiacs that you're carrying now. So that's why I'm asking you to teach Yukino. I know she's gonna try summoning someday. You should see the way she looks at the keys in my shop here. So, I want her to learn from someone who treats their spirits how Lara did."
Lucy considered her position. The burning desire to learn more about her mother's childhood sat at the forefront of her mind. However, she was also one to consider the big picture. Accepting the offer would let her show a young mage the proper way to treat her spirits. She'd watched Yukino interacting with her spirits, and it was obvious she'd try summoning one day whoever taught her. The world didn't need more Karens or Angels running around. And the idea of showing someone who loved spirits how to meet new ones and make friends with them sent a feeling of warmth coursing through her that nearly had her jumping at the offer immediately.
But to train someone in magic was a… daunting prospect to say the least. She'd improved since joining Fairy Tail, but compared to those who'd practiced magic since they were children she still considered herself a novice. Plus, she was only nineteen! Teaching should be left to people with more, well, she didn't know what exactly but something that she didn't have. Lucy's teachers after her mother died had all been kind yet wizened elderly tutors brought in to raise her into a perfect heiress. They weren't successful but the matter still stood in Lucy's mind. Maybe that something she was missing was wrinkles.
Lucy was so absorbed in thought that she didn't notice the slight heat starting to grow at her hip. Oblivious to the rising heat, she continued to deliberate.
Training Yukino from scratch would take a lot of time. And time wasn't a luxury Lucy was afforded much recently. If she wasn't out on a job she was looking for another one, trying to help with Fairy Tail's astronomical debts left over from certain more destructive members. She and other members had managed to make a dent in them, but without any members capable of completing the higher paying S-class quests Fairy Tail's financial standing was flimsy at best.
But her guild was also desperate for recruits. And Yukino definitely seemed promising if her attitude was anything to go by. A young new mage would probably brighten up the guild a lot. Financial stress and the loss of so many friends had plummeted morale, and it wasn't anywhere close to recovering. Her train of thought was interrupted by the heat on her hip, as it quickly rose to an intense and painful burning.
Her shout of pain was lost in the sound of a bell and a blinding flash of light. Before she could even consider what was going on, she was unceremoniously grabbed by her collar and hauled onto the shoulder of a very pissed off mermaid.
"Aquarius?! What the heck-" Lucy's question was literally drowned out as a flood of water smacked her in the face.
"Quiet brat!" Lucy's bad tempered spirit shouted, shutting off any objections from Lucy. Obeying an angry Aquarius was the best way to avoid a sudden and unfortunate end to one's life. The sudden appearance of Aquarius in his parlor didn't make any sort of noticeable impact on Sid. Apparently he'd learned the same lesson as Lucy during Layla's time with him. He seemed to accept the sudden water damage to his house as though it were perfectly expected.
"Aquarius," he said, nodding his head in greeting.
"Sid," she acknowledged curtly. "I have no idea why you'd ask this little idiot to do something like that, but she says 'yes'."
"Excellent." Sid answered as though the matter were settled.
"Wait a minute!" Lucy spluttered through a mouthful of water. "Don't I get a say in this?!"
"Sure brat. You can say 'yes' or 'yes'. Which one do you pick?" Aquarius said as she shifted Lucy on her shoulder, eliciting a squeal of pain.
Lucy was used to Aquarius suddenly appearing to yell at her. As scary as her spirit was, it had been one of the few constants in her life before Fairy Tail that she didn't particularly mind. For some reason Lucy always ended up feeling better after her spirit had lectured her about her unending stupidity.
"Why do you want me to teach her so badly anyway?" Lucy asked.
"Why the hell would I give a damn?" Aquarius groaned, rolling her eyes.
"But-, but you just said." Lucy stammered out, trying to figure out what had enraged her spirit so much.
Aquarius palmed her face in annoyance. "Honestly, this little…" she said under her breath as though Lucy couldn't hear her. "You want to teach her, not me."
"What are you talking-" Lucy tried to answer, but another blast of water cut her off.
"Are you forgetting I can read your feelings, idiot? I know you want to teach the kid so just do it!" the spirit shouted again as her temper rose.
"But I don't think I-"
"Enough with the damn buts! Any more and you won't be sitting on yours for a month!" Aquarius screamed, emphasizing her threat with a painful smack on Lucy's rear. "What would those stupid friends of yours say if they saw you whining like this?"
Aquarius's bluntness shocked Lucy, as even the mermaid normally refrained from talking about her dead guildmates. Maybe it was the anger that she said it with, or maybe just years of obeying the spirit's orders asserting themselves, but Lucy did exactly as Aquarius demanded. With surprising ease she conjured up her memories of her team, imagining how they'd react to her doubt.
I think you'd make a fine teacher Lucy. Your bond with your spirits is truly something special.
Hey, do whatever you feel like. We've got your back.
I- I think you'd be great! I've already learned a lot from everyone here.
What the hell are you talkin' about? If you want to do it then go for it. Anyone tries to get in the way I'll kick their ass for ya!
Every one of them told her to just go with her gut. But going in blind like that, not knowing how her decision would affect the guild… it was just reckless.
Something clicked inside Lucy. Reckless and stupid, she thought as a grin burst out across her face. She felt the stress of the decision fall away and couldn't help giggling to herself at how simple it all was. Her voice swelled into a joyful laugh that echoed around the room. Being reckless and diving in headfirst on pure emotion; that was what Fairy Tail was all about. Lucy had taken it upon herself to maintain Fairy Tail's status, but in doing so forgotten what made her guild so wonderful. Fairies didn't give a damn what others thought. They just did what they felt was right by themselves and the rules of the guild. And right then, Lucy felt like teaching a young girl how be a mage.
"All right, all right," Lucy laughed from Aquarius's shoulder. "I'm pretty stupid, aren't I?"
Being held backwards, Lucy couldn't see the smile playing across Aquarius's lips as the spirit roughly set her down on the floor. "As dumb as they come. Glad you finally realize that," Aquarius said with feigned curtness now that her point had been made.
"So," Sid asked drawing out the word. "Can I assume you'll teach her?"
"You betcha!" Lucy happily answered. "I'll go ask her know right now." Lucy began walking towards the door with a skip in her step as she began thinking of how she'd go about teaching Yukino. As she reached the door she realized she'd forgotten one important thing. "Oh, by the way. If she says yes she'll have to join Fairy Tail."
"Just bring her around to visit every now and again." Sid answered as Lucy left the room, slamming the door shut in her excitement.
A comfortable silence encompassed the room with the mage's departure, leaving only Sid and Aquarius. "She's a good kid, that one. Not quite as put together as Layla was, but she's got a real fire in there."
Aquarius gave a short derisive laugh at that. "Fire's just another word for stupid. And Lucy's got that in spades."
"Lucy?" Sid observed nonchalantly. "Not 'brat'?"
"Oh shut it, old man," Aquarius said with a pointed glare. Her body glowed a brilliant gold, and with a blinding flash of light she disappeared back to the Spirit Realm.
Author's note time!
Hey there folks! Guess it's finally time i do one of these author's note things. To those who've read so far I hope you're enjoying my little story. Apologies for the irregular updating schedule; real life's been busy. Anyway thanks a bunch for the reviews, follows, favorites, etc. It means a lot to get some feedback on my first attempt at a story. In the future I'll be trying to maintain a more regular release schedule, probably on weekends. Maybe make the chapters longer, idk. I'm just gonna have fun writing this and I hope you guys come along for the ride! Now let's address the some of the reviews so far.
Lucy Heartbreaker- Thanks a bunch for being my first review ever! Hope you enjoy wherever i take the story from now on :D
laurajustin- Glad you liked it. Sorry 'bout the weird update times. Hopefully they'll get more regular from here on out.
mynameisshelby- Aww shucks, glad i got you to smile! And about why Lucy wasn't on Tenrou, it'll come up eventually. Just later. So, you know, keep on reading. Hehehehe.
Guest- Glad you picked up on the 8 gold keys thing. In the Canon Lucy should have 9 right now shouldn't she? Boy I do wonder why there's only 8. Someone should really get around to explaining that in the story shouldn't they?
Anyway we're gonna cut it off there so the author's note isn't a whole extra chapter here. I'll address more reviews in the coming chapters so if you don't see yours here don't think I've forgotten you!
Also I should probably mention at some point that I obviously don't own Fairy Tail or anything associated with it. I'm just a fan with way too many headcanons running around up in my noggin.