A/N: Hello-o! This is very long. =) I hope y'all like it. I am so sorry for the very long wait. I have a life too, y'know and in that life I have workshops and summer reading projects. ^^
It was one hell of a dream, I told myself, The Lorien, the ships, the shrine… and Aaron. All was just my imagination
My eyes fluttered open. I blinked for a while and I realized I was clutching Aaron's shirt. I let go.
"Good Morning" he chuckled, sounding a bit muffled. Maybe we woke up a bit earlier than me. So it wasn't a dream. All I saw; everything. They were REAL. Amazing.
It took me a while to recover. "You didn't leave" I said, looking down at my hands, there were no lights.
"Why would I?" he asked, patting my head, "You wanted me to stay here, right?"
"You sound strange" I said slowly, "Were you able to sleep well?"
He laughed before answering, "You bet. You were talking while you were sleeping"
"You mean before I woke up?"
"No, after you fell asleep again"
I shrugged, I don't remember having a dream again and waking up. Nor did I remember talking in my sleep. "You're making things up" I frowned, moving away to the wall
"Nope" he chuckled, crossing his arms in front of him, "You said some things…" he murmured cautiously
"Would I want to hear it?" I raised my eyebrow
"Probably no" he grinned, shifting his weight to his side and curled his arm behind his head, he faced me. We were just spaces away; I could literally feel his breath.
"Hey, Lucia" he pressed the back of his hand against my forehead, "Are you sick or something? You're all red"
I felt my face go warm. "Ah. I'm okay. No need to worry" I lied, trying to make him change the subject as I stared into his mesmerizing gray eyes.
He pouted and ran his hands through his hair, "Do you remember? You have a new Legacy"
"What is it called again? Lumen?" I asked, looking down again at my hands. I flexed them, they looked normal. No lights, no sign of abnormality.
"Yes" He watched me close my fists again. "Lumen can be triggered by emotion, Lucia."
"So I'll just be a human slash alien flashlight?"
He laughed, "Well, yeah. But there are still more to that" he continued, "Fire is a strong element, Lucia. The opposite of Fire is Water"
"Isn't it Ice?" I asked out of curiosity
"Ice is a form of water" he sighed
I nodded for him to continue, slightly embarrassed to miss the obvious
"I fear that the two elements might repel each other. Contradict each other. It's not good"
I understood. Fire cancels water and so does water cancels fire. It's neutral.
He sat up and shrugged, "I have something to show you. But not here in your bedroom. You follow, okay?" he murmured. He exited the room.
I coughed a little, trying to relieve the silence he left in the room. I know he's not supposed to stay with me like that. It's against the rules. But he still did, for me.
I changed my clothes at once. I wore a white T-shirt that had this big cookie design and says 'Eat me'. It was childish, but somehow, it appealed to me. I slipped into my other pair of jeans and my trusty sneaks. I remember the last time Aaron came home carrying a bag of new clothes. I guess I was 8 or 7 and he told me it was for the future. Still, I didn't know how he got his hands on them.
I brushed my hair. I never did have patience in improving my looks. I easily get angry if my brush got stuck in my impossibly tangled hair. However, today, my hair cooperated and I'm very thankful.
I half dragged my feet to the living room. I settled myself in the couch and Aaron came back with the chest in his arms. I felt my lips twist into a smile.
"Finally!" I said as he dropped the chest on the table. I reached over and traced its lock with my fingers, "We'll open it again, right?"
Aaron sat down beside me, "Yes"
It has been years since we opened the chest. Aaron explained that the things he showed me before were not part of my Inheritance. They were just items he slipped in before we left Lorien.
"Well? Let's open it" I said with exasperation and reached for the lock but Aaron stopped me. I turned to him with a questioning look. He held my left wrist firmly and I saw that he was holding a lit lighter. He moved it to touch my finger with the flame. I pulled my hand free.
"What are you doing?" I gasped.
"Some trust, Lucia" he mumbled with a slight grin
I gave him back my hand but held a direct stare at Aaron's eyes. I heard the lighter flick on as he brought it over to touch the skin of my fingers. He held it just below my index finger. My eyes widened and instinct made me jerk my hand free. Aaron chuckled as he watched me rub my finger. It felt no different than it did before.
"Did you feel anything?" he asked and I shook my head. I was stunned.
"Give me back your hand" he ordered. I followed and handed him back my hand. This time, I watched him flick the lighter on and drag it over my skin, from my palm to the back of my hand and back to my palm again. I felt a slight tickle in the area where the flame touches my skin, nothing more. When the flame reached my wrist, I felt the burn. I pulled my arm away.
"Ouch"
"Lumen" he said, putting the lighter on top of the table, "You're going to be resistant to fire and heat. For now, only your hands are resistant. I have to train your body" he gestured over to the chest.
I reached over and held my palm against the surface of the lock. The surface used to be cold but now, it was warm. Aaron held his against the other side and interlocked our fingers together. A second passed and I heard a click.
One thing I learned from Aaron is to wait. Good things happen to those who wait.
He opened the chest and removed a scarlet rock that is probably six inches long, two inches thick. He relocked the chest and sat in front of me, handing me the stone. As my fingers came contact with the crystal, my palms lit up. The cloudy center of the crystal stirred in a circular motion and the stone began to warm. I spun it in my fingers, fascinated.
"What is this?" I asked
"A Loric crystal that would help you develop the resistance to heat and fire"
I watched the cloudy center swirl and turning it on itself like a wave. I never had been so thrilled before.
"What is happening to it?" I asked
"It is tied to your Legacy. If you weren't developing Lumen, the rock would light up the way your hands does. But this time, it's the other way around"
I watched the crystal's center glow. The fact that I am almost on my way in achieving my third Legacy excites the hell out of me. I wished that the grin on my face doesn't betray my efforts to stay cool.
"Would you like to start now?" Aaron asked
I nodded my head rapidly, "You bet"
I stared at the blue ceiling while I lied down on the coffee table. I listened to the calm 'sshh' of the wind and our shallow breathing. The sleeves of my white shirt were folded and my shoulders were exposed. Aaron hovered beside me, making sure that the flames in the cauldron and pots were in control. He kneeled in my right and pulled my arm towards him. I could feel the intensity of the heat. I was like being baked alive.
Aaron pressed the Loric crystal against the palm of my hand. Its warm feel made me tense.
"Relax" he whispered, brushing his free hand against my forehead, "Close your eyes. Go where you need to go"
I did what he told me to do. I let my mind drift away.
When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in the reservation.
Instead, I was back in Lorien. Everything seemed kind of familiar to my eyes like it was just a distant memory I never remembered. Except now, there was no chaos. Only peace and serenity.
I realized that I wasn't in my 14-year-old body. Instead I was in my 5-year-old one. I looked behind me to see Aaron trailing from behind. I smiled.
We searched the tangle of sweetbrier in the yard. I was the first one to see a turtle peeking from one of the tangled areas. I don't know how it got here and I was too excited to care. I called Aaron to come see. He nodded with a smile at my discovery. I heard myself say I want the turtle. Aaron shrugged and said my father won't like it. I heard myself start a tantrum. Aaron shrugged again and tried to calm me down; he said he'll get it for me. The frown in my face turned into a smile. He reached over and pulled the turtle free but his attempts failed. He whispered it was no use. My little self didn't like the easy give up. I pushed my little hands through the tangles and got my hands scraped and scratched. Aaron gasped and told me to stop. My father would kill us. I didn't care because I was able to untangle the sweetbrier and was able to pull the turtle free. Despite Aaron's disapproving frown, I knew he was excited as I was. I convinced Aaron to stop acting like an adult because it doesn't fit him. His lips twisted into a smirk. We painted its shell a bright red, Aaron's idea, so that we'll never lose it. We pretend that we're daredevil explorers who set foot on a distant forbidden forest and captured a prehistoric monster. Behold its ferocious monstrosity! We placed the turtle in a wooden wagon and pretended it was a cage. Aaron pulled it behind us as we went marching around the yard, pretending that everyone was cheering for us. We are Aaron and Lucia, superior Lorien explorers!
Our fun stopped when I heard a booming sound. I felt my little self shiver and hid behind Aaron. It was my father. Aaron greeted him but my father seemed to not care. He was glaring at Aaron with disgust. He told Aaron to move away. He did and I greeted my father. I could feel myself being scared. I hid my hands behind my back. I knew that Aaron and I would be dead if he saw. My father must've seem me hide my hands so he ordered me to show it to him. I was trembling when I showed him my hands. My father quickly grew angry and bellowed, blaming Aaron for not watching over me. I was crying and screaming back, telling him that it was my fault but my father did not hear anything that I've said. Aaron just stood there, head bowed down and fists curled into tight balls, accepting everything thrown at him. I wanted nothing but to fight for Aaron but I knew I was powerless.
My eyes snapped open. I was back in the reservation, back to reality. Aaron was sitting in the couch, sweat beads on his forehead. I looked at my sides; my whole arms were submerged in flames. I pulled them out. I felt nothing. Amazing.
I turned to Aaron who was wiping his brow. He had this small smile playing around his lips.
'Was it possible that he saw the same thing? Isn't that our memories are tied to each other?'
"My father did hate you, right? I could feel it" I said, rubbing my arms
"Yeah. Hate is an understatement. Despise is more proper"
"Why?"
He sighed, "I said this before… I am the youngest of all Cepan, right? Maybe he thinks I am unreliable"
"I don't see that. I'm sure there is something else"
He bit his lip, deciding either to say something or not.
"Your mother… is an avid fan of fairytales. She has this making of a hopeless romantic. I know why she forced your father to let me become your Cepan. She thinks I am the one for you"
I laughed at that. Aaron looked at me sternly and I blushed,
"Sorry" I mumbled
"Your father isn't much of a lovey-dovey person. He doesn't like me to be the one for you. He thinks there is someone better than me"
"No one is better than you, Aaron. No one" I smiled. He grinned back.
"Still, I don't really think I'd be the one for you" he helped me out of the coffee table
"You must remember that it is also our duty to regenerate and repopulate our planet" I said with a chuckle. Maybe I could push him…
"Love between a Cepan and a Garde… It's illegal" he smiled but the smile was faked. I could feel his regret on saying that.
"I don't care" I whispered, wishing that I hadn't start the conversation
"I wouldn't say that if I were you. Your father won't like it"
"There aren't many Loric boys available for me" I mumbled, sitting down on the couch and unfolding my sleeves. Aaron sat beside me and shook his head. He said no more. I swear I could a faint pink blush in his cheeks.
I changed the subject. The air around us started to get tense and awkward.
"Why do you always remind me of my father? I know he doesn't like you but you always look at him fondly" I asked
He stood up and lifted a cauldron. I knew he was glad that I changed the subject. "I guess that your memories are not returning to you yet. Your father is a great man. His name is Loridas. He was the one who placed a charm on you and the others"
Loridas. The name sounds very familiar.
"Does it ring a bell?" he asked
I shook my head, he chuckled.
"Maybe tomorrow, when we train again, the crystal may reveal more of your memories"
I smiled at him and helped him carry the pots to the kitchen. That ended our training for the day.
A/N: Woot woot! I smell romance! Hee hee. This is for some people out there who would probably kill me if I kill Aaron in the story. Peace! ^^
