Chapter 8

'I've bought you a gift,' Goth Monkey said harshly, slapping something down on the table in front of me. I saw the tell-tale glint of gold between his fingers and my heart fluttered.

Goth snorted and walked away. I just sat there.

Toby placed a hand on my shoulder and Eva, who had been sitting opposite me, leaned over.

'This is it...' I whispered.

'The last key,' said Toby.

He and Eva shared a look.

I closed my hand around the handle and felt heat course up my arm.

'That means it's nearly time,' I say, breaking the silence, 'nearly time to fulfill what was expected of us when we were kids...'

Clouds of white smoke billowed out of the memory ball as Makarov took away his finger. They filled the room, stretching as they obscured all the nooks and crannys, making it impossible for them all to see their surroundings.

'Wh-what is going on?!' Grey started, whirling around.

'Grey where's your top?' Mira asked curiously. He blushed and started raving.

'What are you doing master? What is this?' Erza cried fearfully.

'I am showing you the truth,' Makarov said.

As they watched, the clouds slowly became figures, narrowly missing them as they squealed and chased eachother around the room. Natsu stared as he saw the young girl beside him, blonde hair sticking to her forehead, call out, 'Eva where are you going?'

'To my mother!' a green-haired girl replied. With that she ran off and out of sight. The blonde girl was now left with a young boy with shaggy brown hair, trying to knock him over, both gasping with laughter.

The scene changes...

'That girl,' Wendy said, 'was that Eva? The friend Lucy said she found while out in Magnolia?'

Makarov nodded solemnly.

Now they were standing in the midst of a festival. People milled around, talking cheerfully to eachother and exchanging greetings and gifts.

'Hey look at this!'

'Slow down or you'll hurt yourself!'

Both girls were walking together, laughing as the boy pranced around all the stalls.

Makarov turned and closed his eyes. He knew what would happen. And sure enough there came the screams of carts on the track, shouting men, a girl crying out, people gasping.

The scene changed.

Now there was a somber faced man dressed in navy robes talking to the young, blonde-haired girl again.

'Is that Lucy?!' Grey finally asked.

'It has to be, these are her memories,' Erza replied.

The girl, Lucy, had tears running down her face.

'What's happening?' Mira breathed.

A short woman dressed in a maid outfit reached out to Lucy, but she pushed the arms away and ran, the adults calling after her.

Through several sets of doors Lucy went, her eyes screwed shut, her whole frame shaking from the sobs racking through her body. They all watched her, confusion mixed with sadness on their faces.

The scene changed...

Two girls were standing alone in the middle of a sun-baked street. One was Lucy, looking shocked, the other was Eva, who was looking sad.

'I don't know if I'll see you again,' Eva whispered, 'so...here.' She handed Lucy a small token, then walked away down the street towards a piled cart. She hopped on the back, settling herself down beside all the suitcases and furniture. Lucy watched, her eyes shielded by her free hand.

Eva waved sadly as the horse's clopped off, pulling the cart away and out of sight.

Lucy opened her palm and looked at the little carved tree there.

The scene changed yet again...

Now rain was lashing against a large window, the flashes of lightning lacing the sky throwing light upon the dark room.

They all started when they saw what was in the room.

A woman lying motionless in a large bed, a girl kneeling beside her, Lucy.

'Who is it?' Erza whispered. Lucy was stock still, her hand clasped in the woman's. Her eyes were wide.

'Lucy,' a middle-aged man whispered, motionless by the window. Lucy stood and pushed him away roughly, then rushed out of the room. All of them moved with her, watched her barricade herself in her bedroom.

'What is she doing?' Mira asked hysterically as Lucy started roving around the room, throwing open cupboards and grabbing fistfuls of clothing. She hurled it all into a bag, along with a hairbrush, toiletries, everything. Finally, after carefully placing a photo frame on top, did she zip it up.

Her keys were on her bedside table. She picked them up and held them to her heart, tears overflowing down her face. She was still for a precious moment.

Lucy then quickly wiped her face and hurried past the others, who were watching with their mouths and eyes wide, opened the door and ran along the corridor.

Cries echoed through the house. Natsu moved over to the window and saw a figure run out of the front doors and into the night.

The room blurred like a painted canvas smeared with water. It fuzzed, then disappeared completely. Natsu, Mira, Wendy, Grey and Erza stood completely still, shocked at what they had just seen.

'Well,' Makarov said, 'now you know.'