A/N: Hi guys - this chapter might not strictly adhere to the canon timeline, but this was how I always imagined it.
"A mermaid! A mermaid!" Six-year-old Lucy Heartfilia shrieked, jumping up with her hands up.
Aquarius turned one corner of her mouth up in disgust. "This is the daughter?" She asked, turning to Cancer. "You've got to be kidding."
He shrugged. "She has nice hair."
"Tch. That kid doesn't even have enough magic to fulfill the contractual condition of my summons. She'll never be able to open my gate."
"She'll grow." Cancer snipped his scissors. "And yours is the first key she'll receive."
"Tch." Aquarius took one last look at the bubbly girl, splashed her in the face, and returned to the spirit world.
Four years later she got the chilling news.
"Layla? Gone?" She felt tears forming in her eyes. Layla had gone into retirement years before, but knowing she still existed in the world was comfort enough for Aquarius. Without Layla, everything seemed so final.
The other spirits bowed their heads in respect of her grief. Scorpio came forward and put an arm around her.
"I can't believe this…" She said, nestling against him. "I can't believe I'll never see that woman again…"
"But isn't your key going to be passed down to the daughter?" He asked, trying to comfort her. "So she'll still be with you."
"That brat is nothing like her mother," Aquarius snapped. "She doesn't have any of the power, the grace that Layla does…that Layla did…" She suppressed a sob. "She can't even draw me through the gate."
He squeezed her. "She's just a kid. She'll grow."
"She'll never be Layla…"
Three years later, Aquarius was enjoying dinner with Scorpio when she felt a twinge.
"I can't believe this," she muttered, throwing her fork down.
"What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"My gate's being opened," she snapped.
He blinked, then grinned. "Well that's great! You'll finally be able to serve in the human world again like you did for Layla."
"It won't be anything like Layla," she said, crossing her arms.
He opened his mouth to respond, but she slipped out the gate before he could get the words out.
She blinked, adjusting to the harsh sunlight in the human world.
"Oh my god, I finally did it!" A voice squealed. "You're really here!"
Aquarius glared down, expecting to see an insignificant blonde mouse. But she had to do a double-take.
"Layla?" She whispered. But she immediately realized her mistake. The girl standing before her was only thirteen – maybe fourteen. But there was no doubt that this was Lucy – she was the spitting image of her mother.
"I can't believe you're finally here!" Lucy was saying, doing a ridiculous victory dance with her hands in the air. "I've been trying to open your gate for a year!"
"Tch."
Lucy's face fell, along with her wild arms. "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?"
"You summoned me while I was on a dinner date," Aquarius told her, crossing her arms and tapping her fingers on her elbow.
The girl's eyes widened. "But the contract says I can summon you anytime there's water and I can conjure up the power and –"
"I don't care what the contract says," Aquarius cut her off. "Don't interrupt me when I'm with my boyfriend, ever." She glanced around. "And never summon me from this ridiculous fountain again."
Lucy's lower lip quivered. "I'm sorry…but I first met you in the fountain…"
Aquarius sighed. It was true Layla often used to summon her in one of the fountains or pools around the property, and she'd never complained.
"Stop sniveling," she finally said. "I don't want a snot-nosed brat as my master. And stop hunching your back – you'll never get a boyfriend with that posture."
Lucy immediately stood straighter.
"That's better, but not great," the spirit said. "So, why did you summon me, anyway? I'm here to serve you." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and even smiled.
Lucy looked startled at the change of demeanor. "Uh…well I've been training, and I was hoping you could give me some advice."
Aquarius raised an eyebrow. "Lose the headband, wear less pink, and for god's sake learn to apply lipstick."
Lucy automatically raised a hand to her lips, then jerked it away. "That's rude – and I didn't mean that kind of advice!" She snapped.
Aquarius chuckled. "Then what kind of advice did you want?"
"I want to be a stronger mage," Lucy said. "And you were so close with my mother, I just thought –"
Aquarius lifted a hand and cut her off. "I'm not going to spoon-feed you just because you're Layla's daughter. A celestial spirit mage has to earn a spirit's loyalty of her own strength."
"But your key was passed down to me…and I finally managed to open your gate…"
"Tch. Don't whine. It's annoying." So far Aquarius wasn't the least bit impressed with little Lucy.
"But you can't break the contract you made with my mother…"
Aquarius winced, knowing the girl was right but resenting her for it. "I came when called," she retorted. "And I won't let you die in battle…unless you really piss me off." She looked her up and down. "Not that you're really the battling type…"
"Battle? Like…fighting?" Lucy's voice went high. "I didn't think my mom did things like that."
Aquarius sighed again. Layla had the grace and poise of a society wife, but when the need came, she was tough as nails and a brilliant strategist in a fight.
"Uh…duh. How stupid are you, girlie? What do you think celestial spirits are for?"
The girl shifted a foot around in the dirt. "Um…friends…?"
That was not the answer the water spirit had been expecting, and the way the girl said it was so sincere she was slightly humbled.
"Keep training, kid," she said. "Here, I'll help you." She grinned and lifted her urn. Her water began to swirl, and she blasted the blonde.
"Heyyyy," Lucy gurgled. Aquarius laughed and returned to her world.
Scorpio was waiting for her. "So, how was it?"
"Oh, it was fine," she told him, forcing a smile. "Let's get back to our date."
A week later, she was lounging when she felt a twinge. She sighed dramatically, then slipped through the gate.
"What do you want?" She said by way of greeting. Then she looked around. This time, Lucy had summoned her from one of the pools in the garden. Her favorite pool – the one carved out of marble and surrounded by willow trees. She had fond memories of visits with Layla in that pool.
"I'm ready for more training," Lucy announced.
Aquarius observed that this time Lucy was better prepared this time in a sporty bathing suit. She'd forgone a headband this time and instead wore her hair tied back in a simple ribbon. And her outfit was blue, with just a touch of pink on the edges. It was almost cute. But it didn't make Lucy any less irritating.
"I don't have time for this," Aquarius said, tossing her hair over a shoulder. "I need to get back to the celestial world."
"I only need fifteen minutes," Lucy said, crossing her arms.
"Tch. I don't have fifteen minutes for you." She turned her back so she wouldn't have to continue arguing with a child that looked so much like Layla.
"According to our contract, you have to help me when I summon you," Lucy told her.
The urn-bearing mermaid's eyes flashed dangerously as she turned back around. "Are you going to stop me?"
"I just want to be a better mage," Lucy said, planting her feet, steeling her jaw and staring up at the taller spirit. The determined glint in her eye was almost just like Layla.
Aquarius lifted an arm and sent a tidal wave over Lucy before returning through the gate.
It continued like that – every week Lucy would summon Aquarius from a different pool, fountain or pond on the Heartfilia property, Aquarius would soak her, and the moment was done.
But one day, Aquarius slipped through the gate to an unfamiliar spot. It was a river, it was raining, and she heard screaming.
"AQUARIUS!" Lucy was shouting. It was hard to hear her girlish voice over gale force winds.
"What the hell…?" The spirit turned a full circle, trying to figure out where she was. There were no rivers like this on the Heartfilia property
"AQUARIUS!" Lucy shouted again. "BLAST THOSE GUYS AWAY!"
"What guys?" She asked. But then she saw them – pirate types in a small boat, coming at her with swords.
"Oh hell no," she said, creating a whirlpool to catch the flimsy boat and send it flying.
"Not me too!" Lucy whined, grabbing a rock sticking out of the water and holding tight.
"Okay, where the hell is this – and who the hell are they?" Aquarius grumbled, grabbing Lucy by the collar. "And…what the hell are you wearing?"
Instead of a sophisticated Heartfilia ensemble, Lucy was wearing a tight denim skirt, clunky black boots, and a shirt so low-cut even Aquarius in her bikini top felt better covered.
"You look tacky. Jude will be horrified." Layla would probably be amused, she added silently.
"My father's not going to see this, so it doesn't really matter," Lucy said.
"He's got eyes all over the estate and the city, he'll hear about it." Aquarius wasn't particularly sure why she cared, but she felt the need to warn the stupid child.
"Well, we're nowhere near the estate, or the city, so it's fine," Lucy told her. "Now will you put me down so I can at least wring out my hair?"
"What?" Aquarius dropped her and looked around again. She didn't recognize anything around her, so she knew it couldn't be the Heartfilia estate, or anywhere near Love and Lucky.
"Well, I'm all set, you can go back now, since I'm sure that's what you want," Lucy was saying.
"No way, not until you explain everything, brat," Aquarius said.
Lucy looked surprised. "You actually care?"
"I haven't decided if I care yet. But I do want to know."
"Oh…" Lucy couldn't remember the last time Aquarius showed any interest in her. "You really want the whole story?"
"Yeah, get on with it already."
"Well…."
Lucy flipped through her suitcase with shaky hands. Everything she needed was in there – she knew that. But it was terrifying how her whole life was about to boil down to one bright pink suitcase. If her mother were here, she'd tell her to stay the course.
"Dong. Dong. Dong." The clock was going off. 3 a.m. It was time to go.
Lucy zipped up her suitcase and took one last look around the room that had been her home, and her prison her entire life. Then she took a deep breath, grabbed her suitcase by the handle, and hopped out the open window.
"Oww…" She said, rubbing her tailbone. She'd expected the bushes to cushion her fall, but no such luck. She blinked away tears. This was not the time to be a baby.
She stood up and glanced around to make sure no one had heard her. Then she started running.
There wasn't any reason to run – the guards at the Heartfilia estate were old and lazy and unlikely to find her. Even if they did, they would let her go. Everyone who worked at the estate knew how Lucy felt about her station in life, and they all loved her enough to let her go. But she also loved them enough not to put them in that position.
But not enough to stay. When her mother died, the spirit of the house died with her. There was nothing for Lucy here – no freedom, no adventure, no chance to practice her magic, to become her own person.
So she ran. Through gardens and fields and a path carved through the mountains until she was so exhausted she couldn't move. When that happened, she threw herself down on the cold ground and started laughing.
She was free.
She fell asleep there, in the dirt under the stars. It was the first time in her life she'd slept outside, and when she opened her eyes to the blue sky in the morning, she started giggling again.
But there was work to be done. Now that she was alone she'd have to train her magic, prove herself to her spirits, and become a mage in her own right.
"Hmmm…." Aquarius said when Lucy finished her flashback. "You're more interesting than I gave you credit for." She flicked her wrist and splashed Lucy in the face. "But you've still got a lot to learn, brat."
