Finals are over, darlings! I am a free bird! At least until next semester, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it ;)
Anyway, I'm super excited about where this story is heading! Expect a bit of a time jump in the near future because our babies are not going to stay babies forever, no matter how much we'd like them to.
I hope you all have had a pleasant week and an even better weekend! You deserve it!
Anyways, here is chapter ten of My Guiding Flame!
Enjoy!
(Or not…It's your choice.)
Chapter 10:
It's hard to remember
Summer or winter
When she hasn't been there for me
A friend and companion
I can always depend on
My mother
That's who I mean
"My Mother" -The Chipettes
The day was going rather slowly for Lucy Heartfilia.
It began the same as any other day. She was awoken quite rudely by Aquarius, bathed, prepped, and dressed by Virgo, had her hair done up expertly by Cancer and was down in the dining hall where she was forced to eat alone due to her father being far too busy to join her.
It was nearly noon and she was in the middle of her piano class. She usually loved it since she had a deep affection for the large instrument and all of the pretty sounds it produced, but she was simply unable to focus that day.
Natsu was at the forefront of her mind, as he usually was nowadays, and Lucy had no idea what that meant. Over the many months he had spent in the castle, they had obviously grown very close and she could trust him with anything and she hoped he felt the same way. Only, there was something else. Something much bigger than a friendship between two children with their own little problems. Lucy just couldn't figure out what.
This was one of those times when she wished she could speak to her mother. Lucy had read many books, a few of them allowing her to build up her own perception of what a mother is supposed to be like based on the characters in said books. Mothers were beautiful, wise, kind, and nurturing creatures that are very protective over their children and would do whatever it takes to make them happy including putting aside their own happiness or even putting their lives on the line.
This was Lucy's image of her own mother since she didn't have much else to build off of.
A loud snap caused Lucy to jump and pop her thought bubble she was stuck in. The looked up shyly to her irate instructor, giving him a tiny smile.
"Your Highness, with all due respect, you have been pressing the same key for the past five minutes. You're not distracted, are you?"
Lucy shook her head. "Oh no, sir! I just…really enjoy the sound of this particular key."
The instructor raised a single eye, but figured that it was best not to push the subject. He cleared his throat and continued on with the princess' lesson. Lucy sighed and attempted to focus on the sheet music set up in front of her.
FTFTFTFTFTFTFT
After the piano lesson was over, Lucy had decided to go in search for Natsu while she had time on her hands just in case he was feeling lonely or bored now that Gildarts was gone.
Her search, however, proved to be fruitless. The courtyard was devoid of any pink-haired boys as was Lucy's meadow. Lucy could waste her time going from room to room in the castle, but knew fully well that Natsu was smart enough not to venture through the large building with the risk of either getting lost or caught by guards, or worse, the king.
With her head hung low, Lucy returned to her room to re-read one of her many books. She had an entire room with nothing but bookshelves filled to the brim with textbooks, novels, poetry, and various forms of literature. She looked up and down the shelves in search for something decent to read. She finally decided to pull out something random which turned out to be her complete set of poems by none other than Edgar Allen Poe. (A/N: I know he's not in the FT universe. Just go with it!) He was one of Lucy's most favored poets despite his deep and often depressing tales of woe, but could appreciate his inner turmoil and his ability to write out his saddening events onto paper for all to see. She could only dream of ever being that courageous.
Lucy jumped on to her too large bed and settled into the fluffy pillows, flipping to one of the middle passages in search for her favorite poem, Annabelle Lee.
Instead, she found something else that caught her eye and caused to her to pause to read.
"Because I feel that in the heavens above
The angels, whispering to one another.
Can find among their burning tears of love,
None so devotional as that of "Mother,"
Therefore, by that dear name I have long called you,
You who are more than mother unto me."
Lucy slammed the book closed and tossed it aside.
She raced back over to her shelves to pull out another book and flipped through it without looking at the cover.
"The mother who lay in the grave, was the mother of my infancy; the little creature in her arms, was myself, as I had once been, hushed for ever on her bosom." (Charles Dickins, David Copperfield)
Growing frustrated, Lucy pushed that one aside as well and grabbed another.
"As mothers and daughters, we are connected with one another. My mother is the bones of my spine, keeping me straight and true. She is my blood, making sure it runs rich and strong. She is the beating of my heart. I cannot now imagine a life without her."
Lucy groaned, falling back and looking up at the ceiling.
What are the odds?
It was hardly fair. Lucy had never even seen a picture of her mother. There was enough portraits of her father and herself lined up along the castle walls, but not a single one of Layla Heartfilia. Lucy wondered why that was, but already knew that she wasn't about to get her answer even if she asked every single being in the kingdom.
Lucy slowly stood up, brushing nonexistent dirt off of her gown and sauntering out of her room just in time to run into Aquarius who was preparing to lecture Lucy on hiding away in her room.
"There you are." Aquarius barked. "You're late for your history lesson. What have you been up to, brat?"
Lucy looked back into her room where the books were scattered about on her bed and floor. Typically, she would never treat her lovely books with such contempt, but they had betrayed her today. They had broken her trust with their simple words that cut through her very soul like a knife and twisted it.
She looked back at Aquarius and lifted her mouth into a crooked smile. "I'm sorry, Aquarius. I got a little distracted with my books and lost track of time."
"Humph. Well, pay better attention next time. Also, be sure to pick up those books once you get back. I'm your nanny, not your maid. Got it?!"
Lucy nodded quickly. Aquarius turned on her kneel, not waiting to see if the little princess was following or not. Lucy had to jog to catch up, but managed to fall into step behind the temperamental blue-haired woman.
After a couple turns and dips into various hallways to get to the classroom, Lucy cleared her throat.
"Aquarius, may I ask you a question?"
"You just did." The nanny snapped.
"Oh…May I ask you another? Besides the one I just asked, of course."
Aquarius sighed. "If you must."
"It…It's about my mother."
Aquarius halted quickly in her steps. Too quickly for Lucy sine she ran directly into the older woman's legs.
Aquarius whipped around, looking down at the blonde-haired little girl. "I thought I told you-"
"Everything that you could." Lucy interrupted her brazenly. "I know, but I don't believe you that's true."
Aquarius' eye began to twitch. "Are you calling me a liar?"
"No! Of course not! I am only saying that you are not entirely telling me the truth. Don't you think I deserve to know?" Lucy stomped her foot. "She was my mother, after all! Mine! I should know more about her! It's not fair! It's simply not fair! Why is it such a huge secret?! Why am I not allowed to know who my own mother is?! Why?! Why?! Why?!"
Lucy finished with her stomping. She panted, her cheeks reddened with both anger and breathlessness. Her eyes stung with the familiar prick of oncoming tears, but forced them back by blinking rapidly. She bunched her hands in her skirt to keep them from shaking.
Aquarius remained standing before her with a neutral expression, seemingly unimpressed by the princess' tantrum.
"Are you finished?" She asked monotonely.
Lucy gritted her teeth, not answering the question.
Aquarius let out a deep sigh. To Lucy's surprise, the older woman knelt down so she was eye to eye with the child.
"You want to hear something about your mother?" Aquarius questioned, staring into Lucy's large, doe eyes.
Lucy gasped then nodded eagerly.
Aquarius reached over, grasping a lock of Lucy's hair and running her fingers through the silken, golden strands. Lucy watched her nanny's face as she did so, watching the whimsical, almost nostalgic expression that crossed her face.
"You look exactly like her." Aquarius whispered, almost to herself.
Lucy's eyes widened.
Aquarius let go of the strand of hair and stood up straight. She turned back around as if nothing had happened, leaving Lucy standing alone and confused.
Aquarius paused and, without turning around, said, "That's all I've got to tell you today. As long as you don't do that stupid, bratty stomping thing you just did ever again, I might tell you more tomorrow."
With that said, Aquarius flipped her hair over her should and began strutting off once again.
Lucy watched for a long moment before a large smile replaced her confused frown and she raced after her nanny excitedly.
FTFTFTFTFTFTFT
Later that night, two certain boys were lying underneath the stars; scraped up and panting after hours of fighting that was only meant to take out their individual frustrations. It had worked, but now both possibly had some explanations to give once they return to their homes.
"So," Natsu panted. "A mage, huh?"
Gray rolled his eyes and resisted slapping some more sense into the fire mage. "Yup."
Natsu grinned. "Cool. I guess I can't tell anybody else about this?"
"Nope."
"Cool. Wanna go again?"
Gray shrugged. "Sure."
"Cool."
We finally get a little something something about Layla!
Huzzah!
It's not much, but it's made Lucy happy.
Natsu and Gray just can't keep their hands off each other, can they?
(Here comes the yaoi train! Choo choo!)
Just kidding. This is a Nalu fanfic, after all ;)
So, is Natsu going to be forgiving Erza anytime soon?
What about Gray's sudden powers?
What else is Aquarius going to tell Lucy about her mother?
Find out all of this and more in the next chapter of My Guiding Flame!
Until next time, my lovelies! Kisses!
(I do not own David Copperfield, Annabelle Lee, To My Mother, or anything else I might've referenced in this chapter. Also, I do not own Fairy Tail. It would be cool if I did, but you know…)