AN: Hey guys, Jay here and whoa. No hostages today. You're lucky.
I'm so sorry for this late-ish update (I have no schedule anyways). I've been sick for the longest time and then I finally landed in the hospital for a few days. And then after that, I was resting for a few more days. So, as you can see, little to no writing happened on my end and I am so sorry. From this point on, updates will be slower because school is coming back for me soon and I also have a part time job.
Anyways, thank you for all the support you've given me! It's the reason why I haven't abandoned this story yet, despite my interest in Fairy Tail going down. Thank you for voting on my pole, for the 80+ followers and 50+ favs, and all the reviews (positive or negative). It means a lot to me.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail nor do I claim to.
Without further ado~
The Celestial Mage
Chapter 7
The Mentors
It felt strange for Lucy to be back on these familiar Heartfilia grounds. Last time she was here, she was adamant on never returning. She had thrown away all the wealth and luxury and security the Heartfilia name brought to them. What else was she to do then? Allow her Father to use her as nothing more than a pawn to build his empire? No thanks, she thought.
The celestial mage lead the exceed through the front gates of the estate. It had only been a few months since her father had lost all of his fortune, leaving the grounds un-maintained. The once trimmed grass grew tall, reaching the blonde's ankles. When she pulled open the old metal gate, it let out a horrific screech that told her of it's unused state.
She frowned.
"I can't believe this place feels so.." She couldn't find the word to describe it.
"Abandoned?" Happy supplied.
Lucy nodded her head, deciding that it fit. "Yeah. Abandoned."
Her father never told her why he lost the Konzern. Lucy guessed it was because she refused to be married off to some son of one of his business partners. He must've lost their support and watched helplessly as the Konzern's profit dwindled until it was nothing. Not a penny left to the Heartfilia name. Lucy could only feel lucky that she wasn't there when the family business failed.
The estate laid on the Heartfilia's 50 acres of land. Layla and Jude had bought it shortly after the business boomed. Lucy was only a year old when that happened. Because of the stretching lands the Heartfilia's owned, there were plenty of buildings on the property. One of them was the main building, the structure that seemed to tower over Lucy and Happy as they stepped towards the door. It was where Lucy and her parents' quarters resided, as well as the multitudes of guest rooms. For now, Lucy would have to treat her old prison as home.
The blonde twisted the doorknob open, revealing the shadows that once was the Heartfilia's glittering home. Most of their things and furniture were still there, Lucy noted. From the crystal chandelier that hung over the foyer to the tiny candle wick that Lucy remembered burning her finger on as a child. It looked exactly the same as when she last saw her old home, save for the dust and the cobwebs that seemed to collect over the past few months.
"Is this your old home, Lushi?" Happy asked as he circled the foyer. At Lucy's nod, Happy smirked. "You sure were loaded. Can't believe you keep struggling with rent."
"Shut up, cat!" Lucy bonked him on the head.
The cat ran away, squealing. "Natsu, Lushi-!" Happy stopped mid-sentence.
Happy must've forgot.
Lucy walked towards the exceed and picked him up, watching as he rubbed the tears from his eyes furiously with his paws. It was always Natsu who Happy ran to whenever Lucy was 'being mean' to him. And now... Lucy frowned.
"I-It's okay, Happy," Lucy muttered quietly that she doubted the exceed heard.
She wasn't quite sure if she was lying to herself or Happy. She knew just how much the dragon slayer meant to him and she knew it hurt to know that Happy was no longer his best blue mate, side-by-side. The heiress ached to comfort him, but she could find no words to say to him.
The exceed mutely walked towards the coach and sat there in silence, looking down at the ground with a contemplative expression on his face. Lucy bit her lip. It would seem that he didn't want to speak to her, or anyone at all. She wouldn't force her presence upon him and decided to seek for answers instead.
From what Happy told her, it would seem that whatever Hildegard did to Team Natsu made them that way. How, she didn't know. She didn't even know that Team Natsu took the mission, though she could recall something Mirajane said before that would have implied that they had.
Shaking her thoughts away, Lucy grabbed Crux's key. "Gate of the southern cross, I open thee! Crux!"
The spirit appeared before her in a puff of smoke. "You called?"
"I need more information about Hildegard Rosenberg," Lucy said. "Her past, her magic, family. Everything you can find out about her."
"Lucy-sama, that may take a while." The giant cross told her.
Lucy clenched her fist tight and spoke. "I don't care! If you can't find answers about her past then find out how she managed to turn Team Natsu!" Her voice was harsh and commanding, making Lucy feel a twinge of guilt within her heart.
"As you wish, Lucy-sama."
The last time she had sought the help of Crux was when she was trying to find out who Loke really was. It had taken the ancient spirit hours to find even a little connection, a clue for her to follow. But the clue, no matter how insignificant and small it was, lead to her saving Leo's life. And that was more than enough for her. If she needed hours to wait for an answer, she would wait.
Looking around, Lucy couldn't help but bite her lower lip. There wasn't much to do in the Heartfilia Manor. Even when she was a child with imagination reaching the skies, there was very little to do within the ground. She turned to Happy and saw that he had now fallen asleep on the coach. Perhaps she should go train whilst she let Crux do his research.
She exited the main building and headed to the nearest open space which wasn't too far. She looked down at her keys and contemplated. Which spirit should she train with first?
The image of a familiar pink haired maid popped into her mind made Lucy's decision for her. Virgo it was. The spirit excelled in hand-to-hand combat and had displayed the strength she possessed more times than she could count. She didn't want to continue hiding behind her spirits as if they were nothing more than shields. No. She would learn how to fight beside them, and hand-to-hand combat seemed like a place to start.
"Gate of the maiden, I open thee! Virgo!"
Virgo appeared before her, curtsying. "Lucy-hime." Lucy acknowledged her presence with a nod and a smile. "Punishment?"
"Not this time, Virgo," Lucy told her. "I summoned you because I want you to train me in hand-to-hand combat."
"Are you sure, Lucy-hime?" Virgo asked as she tilted her head to the side. "It is not that I doubt your capabilities, but I am concerned about your mental state. Are you sure you want to train after recent events?"
"Yes, Virgo." Lucy answered, brushing off the concerned frown Virgo had directed at her. "I want to be stronger. Not for Team Natsu, but for myself."
Virgo nodded. "Very well."
The spirit began to glow as a giant magic circle appeared on the ground. Virgo walked towards the center of it and turned her attention to Lucy then went to her fighting stance.
"This magic circle shall ensure that any and all damage stay within the circle," Virgo clarified after seeing the confused look on Lucy's face. "Your first lesson, Lucy-hime, will be to try and hit me."
Lucy blinked once, then twice, then three times before she finally nodded. The blonde approached the pink haired maid. As she took her fighting stance, she felt a surge of insecurity. Was she in the right position? Were there any openings or weaknesses with her stance? Was she doing this right? Was she doing anything right?
Virgo must've sensed this and dropped her arms to her sides. "Lucy-hime, you should not feel insecure with your stance. Insecurity means that you aren't prepared, and enemies will take that advantage." Virgo told her as she approached the blonde and placed her hands on her shoulder, feeling the tension the muscles lax under her touch. "Be confident of your stance, even when you are weak. The strong and the weak are distinguished in how they face their adversaries. The strong will face you in your confidence, the weak will run. Avoiding unnecessary confrontations will conserve your energy until you face a worthy foe."
Lucy nodded, understanding Virgo's words. Her nervousness she felt was gone, though the niggling thought of insecurity still lingered. She refused to let such a feeling reflect her fighting.
Her feet was planted to the ground like a tree. Her muscles were more relaxed and less tense. She didn't think about whether this was right or wrong. All she focused on was her 'enemy' ahead and her goal. Hit her.
Lucy let her fist fly towards Virgo who easily dodged it. Jab, cross, jab, jab, cross, uppercut. No matter how strong or how fast Lucy thought she was, she still wasn't able to hit the spirit. The pinkette weaved through her punches with ease until Lucy pushed her near the edge of the magic circle. The next jab Lucy sent her way, Virgo caught it in her hand.
"Try harder, Lucy-hime."
The blonde hissed as she and Virgo made their way back to the center. "I am trying! Hard!" She argued like a spoiled child.
The maid raised an eyebrow. "Hime, when faced by the enemy do you use your hands to fight?" She asked. Lucy nodded. "Do you use your legs and feet?" Lucy nodded. "Then why do you only use your fists? You're limiting your chances of landing a hit when you use only your fists and leaving the rest of your body vulnerable. When fighting for your life, you use your entire body. Not just one or two parts of it."
Lucy nodded as she prepare herself to fight again. She began to list the parts of her body she could possibly use against her enemy. Her shins, her legs, her feet, her knees, her fist, her elbow, her shoulder, her forearm. Virgo was right, when fighting for your life you use your entire body. She had seen Natsu, Erza, Gray, and many other mages do so in order to survive. She clenched and unclenched her fists as she got ready to launch another flurry of attacks.
Lucy threw a first towards Virgo who ducked it with eased. The blonde followed it up with another punch with her other fist before attempting to kick the pinkette. Virgo noticed this and jumped out of the way, dodging Lucy's elbow as she landed. The former heiress continued to throw a punch, a kick, an elbow, and knee at the spirit, yet Virgo dodged them all. Minutes ticked by and Lucy could feel the fatigue catching up.
When she couldn't throw another punch, Lucy fell on her butt and began to pant in exhaustion.
"That was good, Lucy-hime." Virgo said.
"Not good enough," Lucy replied with a scowl. "Until I can hit you, I haven't made any progress yet."
"You shouldn't push yourself so much, Lucy-hime," Virgo frowned. "Progress is slow and gradual, you cannot expect it to be so sudden and fast."
"I know that, Virgo. But still. I still have so far to go. Until I can actually hit you, I'm not seeing any progress at all."
The maid hummed in amusement. "In order to hit me, you must be faster. When you punch me, your fist must be light. And only at the last second do you add enough force to hurt me." She looked at the fatigues blonde and tilted her head. "But we will worry about that later. Perhaps we should focus on your speed and endurance for now."
Lucy chuckled. "Yeah, I think so too."
The blonde got up as Virgo began to let the magic circle down. She followed Virgo as she walked towards an even bigger open space.
"Do you have enough magic to summon Scorpio, Lucy-hime?" Virgo queried.
At this, Lucy nodded her head yes. "Yeah, why?"
"May you summon him for me?"
The blonde obliged and, in a few mere seconds, a familiar scorpion tailed spirit appeared. Virgo walked towards him and began whispering in his ear. This must've entertained Scorpio who smirked as he turned to look at Lucy. The former heiress could only guess what they had in store.
"Lucy-hime, for your next exercise you shall run around the Heartfilia grounds." Virgo told her. Simple enough, Lucy thought. "While Scorpio shoots sand in your direction." Lucy paled at this. "Your job is to dodge them. Each time you are hit is 7 push-ups, each time you dodge deducts 3 push-ups."
Before the blonde heiress could protest, Scorpio shot a blast of sand in her way. Lucy barely managed to dodge it and was about to scream at them before Scorpio shot sand at her again, this time hitting her.
"That's four push-ups, Lucy-hime," Virgo reminded her with a smirk plastered on her face.
Lucy pushed herself up, groaning loudly. She cursed a them inwardly before she began running away from the sand flying towards her. Hours passed and it was eventually 2 pm. Lucy was hit 37 times, dodged 14 times. That was 217 push-ups! Just the thought of it made the heiress dizzy. Maybe she should take a break. That sounded like a good idea.
She turned to Virgo (seeing as Scorpio had returned to the spirit realm a few moments prior) and saw the maid looking at her. There was this strange inquisitive look on her face, and something else. Something Lucy couldn't really put her finger on. She brushed it off and walked towards Virgo.
"Virgo, can I take a break?" Lucy said, still panting lightly.
"Of course, Lucy-hime. I shall return to the spirit world for now."
Before Lucy could respond to Virgo, the spirit had disappeared, leaving Lucy alone in the open field. She should probably go check up on Happy. It had been hours since she last saw the blue cat.
The former heiress made her way back to the main building, trying her best to wipe the sweat that clung to her body off. She'd been training for almost four hours straight, no break, no mercy. And whilst training she realized a few things. One being that Virgo is not just a masochist asking for punishment, but a sadist willing to dish out the punishment. The image of the pink haired spirit looming over her made Lucy shiver and march faster towards the main building.
As soon as she neared the building, she felt a burst of magic hit her. What was that? Her thoughts suddenly went to Happy and she gasped. He was still in the building. The magic that surrounded the building was thick and heavy, menacingly so.
"Fuck."
Lucy ran and banged her shoulder against the mahogany doors. The brute strength broke the doors and revealed Happy, floating and encased in an orb. Lucy's breath caught in her throat. She took a shaky step forwards and touched the orb, hissing as the magical energy stung her fingers. It was pure magic. Pure, unfiltered, dangerous magic.
She felt the presence of five other people in the room, one of which was Crux. Who were the other four? If they were the ones behind Happy's imprisonment then Lucy would bring them a world full of hurt. Just the thought of them made her body shake in rage.
"Who are you?" The blonde demanded in the darkness.
She heard a crackle. Fire. Magic. She didn't know.
She turned around slowly. In front of her were four hooded figures with Crux in the middle. It wasn't their hoods that uneased her. It was their magical signatures. It felt so...similar. So familiar. As if she had felt it somewhere before. But she couldn't let her guard down. They were behind Happy's imprisonment, without a doubt.
The figures slowly took off their cloaks and threw them aside. In front of Crux was a woman with long, raven hair and golden eyes. She wore a silver circlet on her head and a white dress that seemed to flow behind her. Her lips were in a firm line, eyes trained on the celestial mage. Lucy couldn't read the woman.
To the left of Crux was a man with wild brown hair and blue eyes that seemed to have a mysterious glint about them. His skin was tanned and he wore armor that she'd only seen in the books about ancient Greece. Strapped to his side was a sword, and to his back was a bow.
To the right of Crux, standing closest to the woman, was a man with black hair and green eyes. He wore an armor similar to the other man, but his was silver. Tight within his grip was a sword that shined. It looked more than sharp enough to cleave a man in half. He looked more than intimidating.
And finally, the person behind Crux didn't look like a man at all. He was a centaur. Horse tail and all. He wore a softer expression than the rest, gentle brown eyes on her. His curly brown hair reached just above his shoulders, and to his side was a...horn?
Who were these people?
"We are your mentors," the woman said, as if hearing Lucy's thoughts.
The blonde couldn't help but take a step back from them.
"I am Andromeda. Princess of the skies." 'Andromeda' said as she and the others took a step near Lucy. "These are the rest of your mentors: Orion," the green eyes man winked at her, "Persues," the black haired man grunted, "and this is Chiron."
"What do you want from me?" Lucy managed to ask out loud. "Why are you here?"
Crux took this opportunity to stand from his sitting position and stood in front of Lucy, holding her hands. "You have been chosen, child."
"Chosen?" Lucy gasped out. "What do you mean chosen?"
"You, child, are no celestial summoner," Andromeda started.
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Of course I'm a celestial summoner!"
Orion snickered. "You're narrow-minded, that's what you are. You're limiting your horizon by saying that you're just a celestial summoner. That's not the only thing in your artillery, y'know."
"You are a Celestial Mage," Andromeda continued. "Wielder of the power of the stars. Link between the heavens and the earth. You are not just a celestial summoner, Lucy Heartilia."
Lucy's eyes widened. How did she know her name?
"You are The Celestial Mage."
Recovering from her shock, Lucy moved pass Crux and to Andromeda. "You said that twice now, but I still don't know what it means. What do you mean I'm the celestial mage? What do you mean by chosen?"
"It means, Lucy Heartfilia, that your life is no longer as simple as you make it. It means that someone out there is out to get you and it's our job to make sure you're strong enough to live and get them." Perseus said, breaking his silence. "We don't have time for questions. You want to know what being chosen means? It means exactly that. You were chosen. By us. You want to know what being a Celestial Mage means? It means you're a goddamn Celestial Mage. Stop being an idiot and start using that Heartfilia brain of yours and think."
All Lucy could think of at that very moment was 'Damn. Harsh.'
Mirajane's Shipping Corner~
Mira: AUTHOR-SENPAI-SAMA-CHAN-HIME, ARE YOU OKAY?! WAS THE HOSPITAL NICE? DID YOU EAT FOOD?
Jay: Yes, yes, yes. And don't you have a show to run?
Mira: Who cares about the show?! You disappeared! You wenT TO THE HOSPITAL.
Jay: Which is a perfectly normal thing.
Mira: Disappearing isn't normal.
Jay: Going to the hospital is. Anyways, since you won't run your show, I guess I will. Welcome back everyone to Mirajane's Shipping Corner!
Mira: *whispering* you didn't do the dramatic turn to the camera while the theme song plays.
Jay: I've seen the reviews and I looked at the poll. It would seem that you guys have a favorite for Levy. And, let me tell you, they are like two peas in a pod. Goddamn.
Mira: why don't you just tell that that it-!
Jay: *covering Mira's mouth* You still have until chapter 10 to spam my reviews and to vote on my poll, so be sure to vote for whoever you want Levy to end up with. *puts Mira to sleep* If you don't like who you voted for on the polls of previous chapters, then you sure as hell can spam my review with your new ship as a guest. (I'd prefer it if you don't)
