Summary: Her mother gave her a scroll signed in blood and bound with magic. Both a blessing and a curse. Years flew by and she soon became something that monsters, even demons, feared. Lucy Heartfilia – Keeper of the Stars.

Keeper of the Stars

Part One: Childhood

Chapter Ten

When Arcutures had led Lucy to the room in which Virgo had taken Layla, Spetto, Lucy's personal maid intersected them before they could enter.

"I'm sorry Miss Arcutures but Lady Heartfilia can't accept any visitors at this moment." Arcutures raised an eyebrow at the maid before nodding her head and peered down at Lucy.

"Mrs Spetto, I was merely escorting the young miss here, you see. I shall leave her in your care now then." Spetto grimly smiled at Arcutures before turning to the little blonde girl at her side and began to usher the child into her mother's room.

"Good day to you Miss Arcutures." Spetto bowed her head at the red headed woman who in turn nodded back at her.

Arcutures turned and began to walk away just as Lucy turned to smile big and bright at the woman.

"It was great meeting you, Miss Arc!" Arcutures felt her gaze soften at the sight of the bright child and she smiled back at Lucy.

"It was my pleasure, Miss Lucy." And with a wink, Arcutures disappeared in a shimmer of light, startling Spetto and making Lucy giggle in surprise 'I knew Miss Arc was special, just like Aquarius and them!'

"Come now, young Miss, your mother awaits you…" Spetto opened the door and ushered little Lucy inside the darkened room before she opened the door again and showed herself out, knowing that the Matriarch had wanted to spend her last moments alone with her daughter and husband.

'It's a shame…a damn shame indeed.' Spetto thought to herself as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, sending one last glance over her shoulder as Lucy made her way to her bedridden mother. 'I pray to the Gods above that they allow Missus Layla to get better…despite all odds…' Sniffling quietly, Spetto closed the door as gently as she could.

Hearing the door click shut, Spetto couldn't hold herself together anymore and found herself sitting on the ground, as a torrent of tears flowed down her face 'No, I mustn't cry, there is still hope left! I'm sure of it…I better check on the rest of the household to see if they've gotten a hole of Master Heartfilia…I fear his reaction should he come home too late…'

And with that thought in mind, Spetto stood up and straightened her uniform, wiped her face and marched on towards the lower levels of the house, setting out to complete her own little personal mission.

When Miss Spetto had left Lucy in the room, her previous happy mood had vanished when she noticed the multiple floating lacrimas, each a different colour, above the bed that had been placed near a pair of open side doors that led out to a balcony.

When Lucy caught sight of the Celestial Spirits on either side of her mother's bed, her heart jumped in excitement before quickly stuttering to a stop at the solemn silence that hung thick in the air.

'That's unusual…Normally everyone is rowdy and-and…happy…' At that thought, Lucy noticed the distinct smell of blood in the air.

The closer Lucy got to the figure lying in the bed, the stronger the scent of blood got in the air. A sharp, piercing scent that she'd never ever forget, sparked fear in her little heart and as she realized that, she also realized that none of the celestial spirits were hurt so that only left…

"M-Mama…?" Fear gripped Lucy's heart so tight she thought she might suffocate.

"L-Lucy…" her mother's voice called weakly from the bed.

The rooms occupants turned to face the child as her eyes perked up and her pace quickened towards the bed.

"Mistress! You should be resting right now, please! Don't speak!" Virgo exclaimed as Layla fought to sit up in order to see her daughter.

"P-Please, Vi-Virgo…I just…want to *ack!*…see my daughter…*coughcough*…One last time…" The pink haired celestial spirit nodded reluctantly and helped the sickly woman to sit in a better position and indicating to her fellow celestial spirits to give the pair some privacy.

"Mama…? What's…what's wrong Mama?" Lucy's eyes started to water as she stopped at the foot of her mother's bed and finally took in the sight that was Layla Heartfilia.

The young girl felt her heart clench at the sight of her beloved mother looking so slim and frail, a complete contrast to how the woman had looked only an hour or so prior.

"Layla…" Aquarius, the only celestial spirit remaining in the room, seeing Layla attempt to move but struggling to do so, quickly grabbed her best friend by the shoulders and stopped her from moving closer to Lucy.

"Tch, get over here brat." Lucy barely registered Aquarius' presence as she quickly scrambled up and on to her mother's bed.

Crawling forward, carefully so not to jostle her sickly mother, Lucy's breath hitched in her throat and her vision started to blur as tears filled her eyes.

She could clearly see that her mother was pale, clammy and shivering. Even young Lucy could tell that something was severely wrong with her mother.

"Mama? Do you ha-have a f-fever? Be-Because *sniff* Sp-Spetto ca-can make y-you some ch-chicken soup! And it'll ma-make y-you all be-better! *sniffle* I promise!" Lucy rested her forehead against her mother's, in reminiscent of the way Layla would lay her own forehead against Lucy's whenever the child was sick with fever herself, as she blurted out her rushed words.

Aquarius only watched in silence as she could feel her own heart twinge at the childish words before she too, quietly dismissed herself from the room, deciding to give the mother and daughter some privacy.

Though if she was honest with herself, she'd admit that she wouldn't have been able to hold her tears at bay, and so she left, back to the celestial world to seek comfort from her beloved Scorpio.

Neither mother nor daughter took any notice of the mermaid leaving.

"L-Lucy, baby," her mother spoke softly and Lucy flinched as she heard the scratchy voice of her mother "Listen." Layla continued.

Lucy nodded her head, eyes on her mother's in full attention.

"M-Mama is going t-to leave so-soon, little st-star" Layla wheezed slightly, gently nudging her daughter back as she laid back against the pillows behind her.

"Le-Leave? To where Mama? Why…?" Lucy wondered, worried that she had done something wrong.

"To *ack! * he-heaven," Lucy's eyes widened at her words, she hadn't heard of this 'Heaven' place before.

"B-But before I g-go, you ha-have to d-do something f-for me…okay, my little st-star?" Lucy nodded her head in child innocence, unsure but willing to do anything her mother asked.

C.C.

A/N: Thank you to Mavis Senpai, safarikasolomon and especially IceHuntress for the kind reviews! I appreciate them, so much. Thank you to everyone else who have added this story to their favourites and following lists. Part One is almost complete, and I hope you enjoy the ride on the feels train.