AN:

So...where have I been? Well, I've been busy with a lot of things and last time I wrote on this website, it didn't save so I got pissed at that and held off on writing for a while. But I'm not here for excuses, I'm here for a delivery. And by delivery I mean this chapter, baby :')

We hit 100 follows and 50 reviews while I was gone and I honestly...I can't even put into words just how thankful I am. Special thanks to Kori Grayson and TsukiChanChan, my biggest source of support! Thanks you to for being the reasons why this story is still going *heart*

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail nor do I claim to own it.

PS: The next chapter is being held hostage. It's in my basement right now, unfinished. If I don't get 59 reviews, it's gonna get shanked *-* like a lamb.

Without further ado~

The Celestial Mage

Chapter 9

The Stars

Just as Lucy guessed it, she didn't get to eat dinner. Come to think of it, she hadn't eaten since she was kicked out of Fairy Tail and that had been, what, a day or two? S many things have happened since that she lost track of time. But she hadn't lost the hate and anger she held towards Fairy Tail.

It was Team Natsu who framed her, who made her life hell. If they hadn't called her weak then maybe she would've have gone on that mission to prove herself, and maybe Aquarius would still be her spirit. While they were possessed by this enemy her mentors had told her about, the others weren't. Lisanna, Master Makarov. They weren't possessed, yet they took Team Natsu's words over hers.

But could she blame them, she asked herself. They had been part of the guild for a longer time than her. They were part of the Fairy Tail family longer than her. Of course they would trust them more than they would trust her. Time built that foundation. But that wasn't an excuse for what they did. They kicked her out, didn't notice that Team Natsu were possessed, caused her so much pain. If anything, Team Natsu was as much of a victim in this mess than she was.

Sighing, Lucy began her slow trek towards the greenhouse in the Heartfilia grounds. Her mother loved the stars so much that she had a greenhouse built for her to gaze at them and remain undisturbed. If her memory was reliable, she remembered her mother's trusty telescope residing in that greenhouse.

As she walked under the canopy of the night sky, she couldn't help but wonder what Andromeda would teach her. According to myth, she was the beautiful princess chained to a rock to be killed by the monster known as Cetus because her vain mother had upset the gods. Of course, she was saved by Perseus who used the gorgon Medusa's head to defeat the sea creature. Is that why the two of them seemed close?

Lucy pushed those thoughts aside as she entered the greenhouse, ignoring the growl of her stomach as she closed the door behind her. In the center of the dome structure was Andromeda, standing beside her mother's familiar telescope. Lucy couldn't help but smile at the sight of it, glad to see it was still alive.

"Lucy," Andromeda greeted.

Lucy replied with her a nod of her head.

"So," the blonde nervously shifted, "what are you going to teach me?"

Without hesitation or pause or even a blink of an eye, Andromeda responded, "I shall teach you about the stars."

"The...stars?" Lucy asked, unsure. "But I already know plenty about the star-"

"But do you know anything about the power they hold?" Andromeda interrupted her. "Do you know how to handle their power or channel the power of your spirits? Do you know the story of each star and what their stories really mean? What they do to the spirit and the stars behind them?"

This shut Lucy up.

Andromeda let out a 'hn' as Lucy was put back in her place. She turned her attention to the telescope and grabbed something from the long sleeves of her dress. It's a...Lucy wasn't quite sure what it was. It was a hexagonal shape with it's rim lined with gold. The middle of it looked like clear class. Andromeda put it on the viewing end of the telescope and suddenly the night sky was projected into the air.

Lucy held her breath.

It was beautiful. It reminded her of when she first met her mentors a few hours ago, but she never really had the chance to take in the beauty of it all since she was so busy with the four intruders. But seeing the night sky again in this way as if she were swimming in space made her feel so giddy. It was like how her mother would describe the stars for her, or when her mother would let her peek through the telescope when she was younger.

"Do you know any spells, Lucy Heartfilia?" Andromeda asked.

"Uhm, I know the summoning spells of my spirits." Lucy answered her.

"Aside from summon spells." Andromeda pressed.

Lucy thought for a moment, and sighed. She only knew one spell outside from summoning her spirits. If she knew that she wasn't just a celestial spirit mage then maybe she would have done something about that. But no one really told her that there was more to her than she thought. Sometimes you need an outsider's perspective on things.

"I only know Urano Metria," Lucy confessed as her hands began to nervously play with the hems of her skirt, afraid that maybe Andromeda might call her weak of pathetic.

After all she's been through the past week, it was a legitimate reason. The only reason why she wasn't crying or breaking down was because she didn't have the time. She was too busy trying to better herself to mope around. But oh how she wanted to.

Andromeda didn't smile or blink when she nodded her head. "Good. It means that you have at least one powerful spell in your arsenal." She turned her attention back to the telescope. "How much do you know about stars, Lucy Heartfilia?"

"I'd like to think I'm knowledgeable," Lucy replied honestly. Her mother had spent so much time teaching her about stars, and when she was gone, Lucy took it upon herself to learn on her own. "Why?"

"You're a celestial mage. The stars are one of our sources of power." Andromeda answered plainly. "Now, tell me what the stars mean."

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows, confused. "Uhm, each star has a different meaning, but they vary depending on the constellation in which they are found in. Li-"

"If I wanted a textbook answer, I would have went to the library," Andromeda interrupted, narrowing her eyes at the blonde as Lucy shrunk back. "I don't need to know the meaning of every star your mortal mind has managed to remember for I already know them all. No," Andromeda eyed Lucy carefully, "I want to know what the stars mean to you."

Lucy blinked. "The stars..."

No one has ever asked her this question before. Not even her mother. There were so few celestial mages left in this world that no one really questioned Lucy or pried for more information. The few who do pry for more answers searched for more textbook answers. Practical answers that Lucy expected from people.

But what did the stars mean to her? They were the source of her power, the thing that kept her fighting against all odds.

"The stars to me mean memories," Lucy answered after a short period of silence. "Mama used to take me here when I was younger to look at the stars. I was so small that she had to lift me off of the ground to look through her telescope. She used to speak of the stars and their tales with such passion and interest." Lucy smiled at the memory of her mother smiling as she spoke, her happiness evident in her voice as she spoke about the heavens.

"But that is not the only thing your mother left you," Andromeda pointed out. "You have her keys, her looks, her brains."

"There's no certainty that I'll get to keep these keys forever. When I fought Hildegard, I lost Aquarius. Who's to say that I won't lose Cancer as well? And her looks and brains may be with me, but people change with time. We don't remain constant or the same. One day, if I'm lucky, I'll end up as the shell of my former self. Old and hollow and wrinkly, and my brain will not be as sharp as it used to be." Lucy's hands instinctively went to hover over the key of the crab. "When Mama was younger, she used to say that people who died went up to the stars. I like to think that she's there like she said. Live or die, the stars are still in the heavens above. And they'll always be there. It's the only constant thing I know of."

The room was silent.

Lucy was on the verge of tears as she remembered her mother and envisioned her future where would be only a shadow of herself now. She remembered Aquarius' sacrifice that she had yet mourn for properly. She hadn't had the time to cry and mope about the mermaid who she lost. But now that she was spilling all of this to Andromeda just to answer a simple question, she wanted to let her walls come down. Just for a second. Just so she could find release in the tears she held back for far too long.

But she knew she couldn't do that. She had to be strong. For her mother, for Aquarius, for Natsu, Erza, and Gray who have been bewitched. But most of all, she had to be strong for herself. She refused to be the weak girl anymore, refused to hide behind anyone else. She was going to be stronger so nothing like this would ever happen to anyone ever again.

"Very well," Andromeda smiled and moved around the telescope. "We shall now learn about the constellations."

It didn't shock Lucy that Andromeda would immediately jump back to the lesson, even in her emotional state.

"As you know, most constellations have stories. Cancer was the crab that pinched Heracles, Gemini are the brothers known as Pollux and Castor, and Argo is the ship that the Argonauts sailed in." Andromeda waved her hand and the projection of the skies immediately zoomed in on Leo. "You are a Leo, yes? Tell me the story of the darling lion."

"Leo is the Nemean lion that Heracles was tasked to defeat during his twelve labors."

"And what are the twelve labors?"

"Tasks given by the gods so that Heracles may be redeemed for murdering his wife and children under the manipulation of Hera, his spiteful step-mother who despised all of Zeus' bastards." Lucy answered.

Andromeda raised an elegant brown eyebrow and nodded. "You know your myths."

"I'm a celestial spiri-" Lucy stopped before correcting herself. "I am a celestial mage. I needed and wanted to know about the stars."

"I'm guessing you know the zodiacs and all the famous constellations, though I wonder if you know about the lesser known constellations."

"Such as?"

"Ara, the altar; Corona Borealis, the northern crown; Corona Austrina, the southern crown," Andromeda enumerated. "Constellations that seem like they don't have a lot of power, nor are they like the zodiacs where their spirits are living beings."

"There are spirits that aren't alive?" Lucy blinked back her shock.

"Yes. I'm sure you've encountered one before. Caelum, yes?"

Lucy bit the inside of her cheek as she was forced to remember Caelum and how close she was to death during that fight with Angel. "I always thought it was alive. Like Crux."

"It is, in a sense. It can move, it can fight, it disappears like any spirit when they've been injured too much. But Caelum...it incapable of thought of emotion, incapable of making its own decision. It relies too much on its master for orders and instructions." Andromeda hummed. "And that lack of freedom to think on its own, to make decisions on its own is the reason why it is not alive. Value that freedom you have, Heartfilia. To be chained is a terrible thing that weighs heavy on the heart."

Lucy didn't know if it was just her or if Andromeda's words echoed the contents of her heart. The way she said it, so raw and so full of emotions made it seem like she had been through it before. Lucy dismissed it, thinking of the time Andromeda was chained to be sacrificed to Cetus. That was probably it.

"Now, Ara and the two Corona constellations are not like Caelum. They cannot move and cannot fight. They are simply objects, items that make a mage stronger..."

The rest of the night went on without a hitch. Lessons of the stars, constellations, and magic that Lucy didn't even know she could possess was laid out before her. She felt like a child in a candy shop, overwhelmed at all the choices. Although when the clock struck 3 o'clock and Lucy found herself away from the greenhouse and in the warmth of a bed in one of the many guest rooms her old home had, she felt empty. Like the weight of her new mission and the weight of her mentors' expectations of her were only crashing down on her now.

Carrying the heavy weight of her body in her exhausted state, Lucy walked towards the desk in the room and turn on the lamp. She pulled out her diary from one of the drawers and began flipping through the pages, trying not to cry as she read about her own life since after her mother died. From how she felt during the funeral to the very first time she step foot in Fairy Tail's guild halls. It felt surreal reading it all. To think so much could change in the span of a year.

Her shaking hands reached out for a pen and held it tightly in her grasp as she began to write her last letter to her mother.

Dear Mama,

It's me, Lucy. I haven't written to you in a while, I'm sorry for that. I've just been going through a lot. Remember when I told you that I dreamed of becoming a Fairy Tail mage? I lied. Maybe I didn't lie to you when I wrote to you about it years ago (back to a time when I genuinely wanted to be a part of that guild), but I feel as if I'm lying to you now about it. I don't want to be a part of that guild anymore. Not after all that happened.

Every time I look down at my hand I still expect to see a pink mark there. But there isn't anymore. Instead all I see is this ugly black spot. I've tried to erase it, tried to wash it off. I've scrubbed the piece of skin so hard last night that my fingers bled. And the mark is still here and it still hurts. It has become something that I can't get rid of. And now, every time I look at it it becomes a reminder of how I failed and how weak I was.

You're probably rolling in your grave when you heard me say that, but it's the truth, Mama. I am weak. I did fail. If I wasn't weak then maybe I could have saved Aquarius, maybe I could have saved Team Natsu before they got swallowed and possessed by this...this beast that I am apparently supposed to hunt now.

But I'm not going to continue to be weak. I'm going to get stronger. For myself, for Aquarius, for Levy, Juvia, and Wendy, for Happy, for my mentors. But, most of all, I'm going to be strong for you.

I've found a new duty and purpose, Mama. A duty that is different from the duty of all the Heartfilias before us. I wish you could have told me about it before. Until now, even with my new mentors teaching me so many new things, I still have so many questions that need answering. And I know I won't get all of it from them. There are some questions I can only get from you.

It's a difficult road ahead and I don't know what lies before me. I've sacrificed so much already and I know there are more sacrifices I need to make. But with my new duty, I feel as if I've started over. Like this is my new life. And I can't let my old life hold me back.

Mama, this is going to be the last letter I ever write to you. I've been writing letters about my life, practically romanticizing it this entire time, to you.

Mama, the path I'm taking now is dangerous and I can't risk anyone finding this diary or the letters I have written to you. I'll always think about you, always remember you, but this will be the last letter.

Goodbye.

Lucy stood up and closed the journal, holding it close to her heart. She glanced at the fire place in her room, its embers slowly dying. She looked at the journal once more before chucking it in the dying flames and headed off to bed without tears.

She refused to cry now.

Mirajane's Shipping Corner~

Mira: Welcome back everyone to *dramatically turns to the camera as the theme song plays* Mirajane's Shipping Corner~! The first one in months. Can you believe it?

Jay: I can.

Mira: We're here today with the lovely, magnificent, benevolent, beautiful, ego-hungry Author-senpai-sama-chan-hime. And our lovely bachelorette, Levy McGarden!

Levy: These are kidnappers.

Jay: *drinking Gatorade* sup.

Mira: Can you believe it?! LEVY'S FUTURE HUSBANDO IS GOING TO BE REVEALED NEXT CHAPTER. I CAN'T WAIT.

Jay: Mira, we already know who it is.

Mira: Yeah, but that doesn't take away form the excitement! Am I right or am I right, Levy?

Levy: Save me.

Jay: While the readers here are speculating as to who the lucky person that Levy is gonna date is, I wanted to ask a question.

Levy: I've been here for months now.

Jay: Do you guys want Eclair, from Fairy Tail's Dragon Priestess movie, to be in the story?

Levy: Call the police.

Mira: I personally want her to be. Maybe we can ship her with someone too! And bring her into the show!

Jay: Same, Mira. But how would we add her here?

Mira: Let's leave that for the readers to decide. LEAVE A REVIEW, TELL US HOW WE COULD ADD ECLAIR IN. MUCH LOVE AS ALWAYS.

Levy: DON'T LET THEM NEAR ME.