A/N: You wouldn't believe me if I told you Sarah isn't exactly one of my favorite characters. I try to remain objective (otherwise this would be a Luc/Sasarai yaoi fiction o.x...) when portraying these sorts of things... So, don't throw rotten paopu fruits at me for not having Luc bashing Sarah's head in (like we all would like to do, I'm sure).

========== FOREIGNER (and the resulting accommodations)

Evidently, my lady did not find out about the incident that occurred in Harmonia.

It had been nearly a week before she had even spoken to me apart from dictation of chores.

I had remained mostly in my chambers, lying within the embrace of my cool sheets as emotions and memories stirred inside me. As often was the case, whenever someone mentioned Sasarai's name, I could not help recollecting our past and it had always put me in a sour mood. So naturally, when my mistress stepped into my quarters, I did not regard her as well as a student should.

"Hn."

"...Luc? Are you feeling ill? It is not healthy to stay within the confines of these walls; the sunlight is essential to all living beings, my son..."

"I'm fine," quickly throwing the covers off my pajama-clad body, I sat up rather stiffly, "I am fine. What is it, my lady?"

"Come... to the main hall. I will explain on the way. Oh, and do try to comb that hair of yours. Not very becoming, I would say."

"Yes, yes..."

"Let me see if I had understood you correctly... You have obtained a child? A child that you plan to not only house permanently, but intend to teach as well?"

The tap-tap of my bare feat resounded louder against the marble steps as I attempted to keep up with the seer. While I had the decency to comb my hair, the matter was hardly worth my time to change into 'more suitable attire.'

"That... is what I wished to discuss with you."

The blind woman halted at the end of the staircase, turning to face me. Her features remained calm as always, yet perhaps more cautious then before. Patiently, she waited for me to descend the last few steps before shortening the distance between us.

"You are growing into a such a fine young man..."

I was unsure of what she was pursuing and I did not like what the phrase seemed to insinuate. Raising a thin brow, I snorted, "If you think I intend to do anything to deflower this child, then you have evaluated my nature incorrectly."

"...And you have learned many things from not only my teachings, but also your own experiences."

Well. It had seemed as if she was saying something else at the time...

"What are you trying to say?"

"I could not handle another apprentice. That is why I would prefer it if she was... your student."

It had certainly not been anything I had expected, so it took a few moments before I was able to conjure a response. "Why? How am I qualified for this? I do not work well with others."

"She is not unlike you. Only your experiences could teach her many things, lessons the greatest academy could not teach. ...Please do take some time to consider this, Luc. If not for me, then for the child's sake."

With that, Leknaat shifted her direction away from me and opened the large doors at the end of the staircase. The wider the opening became, more of the main hall became visible. Much like the rest of the tower, the walls were a serene white, trimmed with elaborate designs at the baseboards. The foyer itself was rather bare, containing no more than doors to other chambers and the exit from the tower. However, one more object took up space in the hall that day than normal. A small child donned in a cerulean dress trotted curiously about the atrium, taking little glimpses into forbidden rooms. Her hearing must have been astute, or she was more cautious than she let on, for she immediately shut the door she had left ajar. Quickly turning around, her wide blue eyes announced her nervous state.

"Come here dear, come here," Leknaat stepped towards the middle of the room as she motioned the girl over, "I wish for you to meet a new friend."

At that moment, I could not understand why the child seemed so terrified. My stomach twisted into a knot, as it seemed she was regarding me with such fear. (And I hardly considered myself threatening, wearing nothing more than a thin shirt and a pair of green and white striped shorts.)

Her trembling figure was reminiscent of my own first arrival to the Magician's Tower. Instead of the blonde girl, I now could imagine an older, albeit still young, brunette boy. His royal garb was scuffed and torn and his fingers played absently with the oversized jacket cuffs. Delicately examining his surroundings, the whelp placed one small foot in front of the other in a quiet, calculating manner. He slunk across the entrance hall before stopping abruptly before a partly open door, hearing two voices drift through the air.

"Why would you do such a thing? Are you trying to start a war against Harmonia?" The voice was decidedly feminine, yet he could not place it.

"... I merely wished to save the child." Now he noticed the airy cadence as that of his captor and responded with a step back. Fearful of her perhaps seizing him a second time, he stamped across the room to further distance himself from the lady in white. The center of the hall became his hiding place as he crouched down and covered his dark eyes, feeling as safe as an ostrich.

"No need to be afraid, Sarah. He will not hurt you, I assure you."

Blinking a few times, I was able to refocus on the Sarah-toddler I had forgotten in the midst of my memories. Slowly, almost hesitantly, she tiptoed forward. Her fingers wove around each other anxiously and her eyes could not bear to peel away from the floor. Iridescent platinum blonde locks fell across her face in an attempt to form a barrier of protection from the unknown she was seemingly about to encounter. Yet, with every swish of her dress and clink of her shoes, I could sense her childlike curiosity to glance up, yet too afraid of what monsters may confront her if she did so. I knew what it was she was feeling... the terrifying loneliness of being thrust into a strange world and forced to adapt. I was able to imagine the young Lucas approaching his new mistress, filled with an immature turmoil of contempt and confusion. Of being torn from a familiar existence and the only life one had known, and having to toss away the past to start anew -- completely alone. It was nearly unbearable to part from an identifiable adult for even a brief time and perplexing to a youngster to do so forever. I recalled wanting nothing more than to sob, kick, and scream until I awoke next to my Nii-chan, even if the possibility became more distant as time passed. Part of the reason for my distaste for my elder brother had come from the horrors of adjusting to my new life, and the last thing I wished at that point was for anyone else to suffer the same.

"Sarah..." I whispered quietly.

Upon hearing her name, she glanced up at us both. The panic in her features only augmented when I came closer and knelt down to her eye level. With each twinge of fright and every wince of fear, someone clenched at my heart -- an organ I had not known I had even possessed at that point. The strong urge to calm and assuage anyone's soul had been absent since my childhood and now with its sudden awakening, I felt just as fearful as she did. Not many had considered me someone who cared about anything or anyone else before, that was for sure. That did not mean I was about to march to Rokkaku village and hand Sasuke a bouquet of forgiveness flowers because of this sudden revelation. Nor did I intend to leave this child to suffer such as I had, so I did what I felt was right and took a small, shaking hand into mine.

"Sarah. My name is Luc."

Shocked, her eyes did not tear away from our hands and eventually the terror drained from her pale skinned face. While her eyes still contained traces of discretion, I felt an adequate amount of acceptance from the tiny squeeze of her fingers.

"S-so... you're my new friend?"

"... Yes, yes I am."

For the first time in a large span of my life, a warm feeling of... happiness swelled in my chest as the four-year-old girl turned her face up with a toothy smile. I had done something right for once and as I looked at my lady, she seemed pleased as well.

Perhaps this will not be as horrid as I had prior imagined.