Wow, it's been two months. Anyway, college is in a few months, so I better finish this before heading off. Expect rapid-fire chapters. All the chapters up to 15 are old, form last year. 15 begins my recent work.
Date: 12005 B.C.
The light shined brightly on her face, and in this way she woke. Looking at her surroundings, Lucca found herself back in her room. She had no idea how she had gotten there; only that she had expended ridiculous amounts of mana to both cast and destroy that ball. That would total to her fainting, what…four or five times? She was getting sick of waking up groggy and exhausted, drained of what little energy she has to begin with. Ever since the strange occurrences with the hair growth, strength, and the newfound potency of Lucca's magic, the slightest thing would fatigue her, and she couldn't keep her powers in check well enough to not lose consciousness after every other spell. Her reason told her that Queen Zeal's training would remedy this problem, while her brain told her to stay away, because the heavy-duty training Khadgar had told her about would just make her comatose more often.
"Ugh…my aching head." Lucca muttered to herself aloud. The artificial ceiling let vibrant light strike her visage once more, reminding her to get up.
"Next time, go easy on the demonstration." Lucca's sensible side chimed in unexpectedly. Lucca growled.
"I'm not in the mood for your machinations. Go back to your corner." Lucca said. Her alternate sighed and did as she was told. "What time is it, anyway?" Lucca asked herself, walking to the small pool at the bottom of the enchanted waterfall. She saw her reflection in the clear blue water; purple eyes, purple hair, a pale and tired face. The sun shone in the reflection, making it hard for Lucca to see anything clearly besides her dark eyes and hair. After splashing water on her face, she quickly changed into one of the blue robes she had recently picked up (there was no need for money, as everything was either made magically or by volunteers), which fit perfectly on her flimsy shoulders, unlike Khadgara's. Rubbing her temples, Lucca walked towards the door. Her head still ached painfully, even though it had dulled compared to before. She would need to ask the next person she crossed by what time it was.
"Excuse me, miss. Do you know what time it is?" Lucca asked a somewhat elderly lady. She smiled warmly and answered.
"Why, it is 2 o'clock." She answered. Lucca blinked. Two o'clock in the afternoon, since the sun was out. She rarely slept that late.
"Oh, aren't you the dear girl that her Majesty is expecting?" the lady added. Lucca nodded, though she didn't see how she was "expected". "Well then, good luck, and don't end up like the princess!" She said, walking away. Lucca shivered. More talk about the detriments of Zeal's training. She walked towards the closest cafeteria (it was more of an extremely giant restaurant; there were 30 located all throughout Kajar, used to service its thousands of people), when she stopped in mid-step and cringed. The books. She had forgotten the reading. Now, it was the next day. She had three days left.
"Oh, for the love of God…" Lucca muttered, turning around and rushing towards the desk where she had left the large volumes. It would be a trip of about 20 minutes running at the pace she was now, but added on to her hunger, it would not be a pleasurable experience.
"Lucca!" A voice called out about half-way through her sprint. Lucca jerked her head in the direction of the voice. It was Schala, walking energetically towards her in her milk-white silk robes. Her light blue eyes shone vibrantly and her equally flamboyant hair bounced up and down on her shoulders. She lifted one of her frail and delicate hands and waved at Lucca, who walked towards the Princess.
"Lucca, you're OK!" Schala chirped, sighing as if a great load had been taken off her shoulders. She gave the inventor a tight hug, releasing her embrace only after she had assured herself that Lucca was really standing there.
"Erm…of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Lucca asked in confusion. These Zealians always overdramatized things. Schala frowned, then grinned when she understood what was happening.
"Nobody must have told you yet. You fainted after that whole spectacle," Lucca nodded, still perplexed, "and you were knocked out for four whole days! We took you to the House of Healers, where we cast cure spells and fed you ether water constantly. You had lost so much mana that your body overheated and the blood ran too loosely." Lucca stared in amazement. Had it been that bad? She simply woke up with a headache and assumed that is was a simple case of overexertion that rest cured in a few hours. Lucca stared at the ground, thinking. If she tried a stunt like that one more time, they might now be able to revive her. And since when did people overheat from a simple spell? She had used it in her adventures with Crono and Marle countless times!
"Something's really wrong with me…" Lucca muttered under her breath, but Schala seemed to have heard her.
"What do you mean?" the princess asked with concern.
"I've used that spell more times than I can remember, but it never grew that destructive. And I never fainted. Now, I faint every other time I cast something!" Lucca mumbled in frustration. Schala nodded in understanding.
"Mother will help you with that. I had very much the same problem, and a few weeks of training remedied it easily. Speaking of which, she's waiting for you right now." Schala said. Lucca's eyes shot open. In addition to forgetting the book, she forgot what her books were in preparation for! Without any delay, she bid Schala farewell and darted towards the exercise fields a few miles outside the city where Queen Zeal would be waiting for her.
This place was a good ways from the city, with grass that was much shorter than the greenery in the courtyards and such of Kajar. This was probably because extremely tall grass would be an encumbrance to those that wanted to train. The blue hair and annoyingly confident and self-possessed smile easily separated the Queen from the rest of the people that trained in the part of the fields. That, and the fact that everyone bowed when the Queen came near them. She was pacing back and forth, apparently deep in thought, though she still smiled slightly. The wind was blowing lightly, and it must have been about 4 o'clock.
Lucca pondered the course of action. She could approach the Queen and act like she was still weak from the exhaustion; that would certainly invoke some pity. However, Lucca couldn't bring herself to acting as pathetic as was necessary to fool her majesty. Another possibility was to nonchalantly greet the Queen as if nothing had happened and she missed the previous day's lessons from forgetfulness. The confidence would be a good first impression, but the act altogether would be insolent and could strike the Queen as lack of interest rather than absentmindedness. Or, she could always run back to the surface, hop in the Epoch, and fly back. That was a last resort, though.
"Good afternoon, your Majesty." Lucca said humbly, bowing as was customary. Queen Zeal's back had been turned, but she acknowledged Lucca completely. Turning around, Lucca noted, quite relieved, that the Queen did not appear the least bit angry at her tardiness today and complete absence the day before.
"Good afternoon, Lucca. You are late." She answered prosaically, her tone remaining the same. Lucca nodded slightly, but did not speak as she wanted to. She was about to scream out, "I WAS ALMOST DEAD, STUPID!", but that would be bad.
"I will allow for it today because of the predicament you were in, but any more tardiness will count greatly again you, understand?" Queen Zeal said, already sounding like a schoolteacher. At least she knew what had happened. It would save Lucca to time of explaining.
"Yes." Lucca answered, standing up straight. She waited for Queen Zeal to speak again.
"First, you will be tested on the books you were assigned. First question-" Queen Zeal stopped when she saw Lucca fidgeting. She eyed Lucca curiously but with an expression that one wears when they've asked a question but know the answer. Lucca sighed and stared at the ground.
"I never got to finishing those books, your Majesty." She didn't bother mentioning the whole episode with the fireball and such. She was gulping inwardly, awaiting what evil thing the Queen would do as a penalty.
"Your very first day, and you haven't even finished the first assignment. I expected more from you, Lucca." Queen Zeal said calmly, though her uncaring tone kept Lucca on edge. She thought the monarch would be angry, or at least annoyed for having her time wasted. "You do realize that you will be punished?" She asked, again as if knowing the answer. What other answer could Lucca give, anyway.
"Yes…" Lucca said, her voice trailing off. Of all the bad things in life, getting punished by Queen Zeal would probably be the worst. Not that she had gone through it or anything, but the Queen's lunacy, especially after Lavos' awakening, suggested that her "punishments" would be particularly gruesome.
"Well, you're not." Queen Zeal said in the same tone. Lucca wasn't sure she had heard right.
"I-I'm not?" Lucca asked. Her Majesty shook her head, and smiled warmly.
"I knew you wouldn't do it. I wasn't expecting you to either. I didn't give you enough time. No one can read that fast, not even me. Besides, this class isn't about where magic came from or who was the first to use it for this or that. So, you can say I assigned it for fun, just to make you stressed." She answered. Lucca smiled slightly at her good fortune. Maybe, just maybe, the Queen had some decency in her. Or maybe it was just a plan to lull Lucca into burning Earthbound homes. SHE DID NO SUCH THING, Lucca's sensible side screamed out of nowhere. It was promptly silenced.
"Well then…from what I've seen, your main fault is that you spend too much energy pointlessly. You are still inexperienced, and as such, don't have a vast supply as Schala or myself do. So conservation is essential." Queen Zeal said. Lucca growled slightly at being called inexperienced. Little did Zeal know that she would get her butt kicked by the very person she called inexperienced, sometime in the near future. The degradation was unbearable, but so ironic it was almost laughable.
"Right."
"The first way to do this is to spend small replenishable amounts slowly over a long period of time rather than one large expenditure all at once. This way, it is easier to stop and conserve whatever mana one has left. We'll be practicing that first." Queen Zeal stated simply, as a schoolteacher would do. Lucca nodded and rolled her eyes lightly. This was obvious, and there was no need to "review". A reprimanding glance from the Queen made Lucca stiffen and stand at attention again. Why did she have to be here? It was a warm and sunny day, complete with a light breeze and a cloudless sky, and Lucca would have much rather been enjoying herself, frolicking in the long grass of Kajar's fields, or even better, sleeping for days in her warm, forested room. She hadn't had any time to relax ever since she had come here, what with the huge elephant, saving Exholia from it, fighting that insane guard, trying to read the books for nothing, fainting more times than she could count. Just one day of sleeping, dreaming of anything she wished. Dreaming of home, dreaming of her parents, Lara and Taban. Dreaming of Marle, Melchior, Gato, and all her friends. Dreaming of him-
"Are you listening?" Queen Zeal said angrily. Lucca blinked a few times before realizing she had been daydreaming. Her Majesty was clearly vexed.
"Lucca, I will tell you this now, and not once more. All of this is for your own good, and not mine. I am doing you a service, and I hope you will appreciate it enough to pay attention when I am talking!" She said, emphasizing the last few words so harshly that Lucca skulked backwards slightly. Queen Zeal returned to the stoic tone in which she was previously speaking. "Now then. For the next few weeks, you will go through the most intensive training you have ever experienced in your life. For the first few days, you will barely be able to walk, you'll be so drained. However, it is a small price to pay for the benefits of all of this. Understand?" Queen Zeal asked.
"Y-yes…" Lucca said reluctantly. Queen Zeal had been looking directly into Lucca's eyes as she answered, scaring the girl out of her wits. Of all things, Lucca hated lethargy and exhaustion the most. It simply detracted from life, made things sluggish and unbearable. Simply put, it was a waste of time. Thus, Lucca had been greatly angered after wasting nearly a week worth of time being unconscious and whatnot.
"Good. Remember, now, that your magic is like a muscle. You must constantly stretch it beyond its limit for it to improve, but not working it will make it stagnate and become weak." Queen Zeal said. Lucca nodded. "And now, for your first exercise." Lucca hadn't been paying particular attention, but she felt a small wave of mana flickering above her. When Lucca looked up, a sheet of ice was rising from the ground. It was blue and clear, flawless, but certainly not natural. Lucca couldn't tell, but it was at least 12 feet high, a foot thick and perhaps 6 feet wide. The wall was hanging in the air, swaying up and down slightly as if it was bored.
"What the…?" Lucca asked. Queen Zeal didn't answer. Instead, an ice block flew out of the wall and blasted Lucca with right in the chest, knocking her off her feet and into the soft grass. "What the hell…" Lucca muttered. Queen Zeal grinned slightly, stepping back to allow Lucca to deal with the large wall. Another chunk of ice, this time a spike, flew out of the wall towards Lucca, who was still on the ground. Lucca rolled to the side, missing getting impaled by a few centimeters.
"Come on now Lucca. Surely you can defend yourself better than that." Zeal said mockingly, looming over Lucca with her hands on her waist. Lucca got back on her feet and shook her head. A block of ice flew out once again. Lucca cast a small fire spell, and the resulting antipode dissipated both.
"Your objective is to break this wall down. Use whatever means necessary. As soon as you crumble it, you have the rest of the day off. However, you will not be dismissed until you destroy it." Queen Zeal said matter-of-factly. Lucca nodded, slightly disgruntled at being caught off guard by the various dangerous blocks of ice. The sheet of ice continued to float to and fro in the air. Every so often, a bit of its essence detached itself, formed a random shape, and flew at Lucca. This did nothing to harm the wall's integrity; it was still the exact same.
Lucca brought her hands together, muttered under her breath of a few seconds, and propelled a blast of flame towards the wall. Likewise, she grinned at how easy it was. Was Zeal so dull that she overlooked Lucca's adeptness with fire? The polar opposite of ice? After the flames at dissipated, the wall stood firm. A spike of ice came out of it and dove towards Lucca, who dodged it easily. Not even 3 seconds later, a second spike launched itself towards its target, slashing Lucca across her right forearm and piercing a vein. Blood trickled off her skin and dyed the grass under her crimson.
"What is this!" Lucca screamed at no one in particular. Queen Zeal was standing a ways off, watching Lucca stoically, yet analytically. Another burst of flame flew from the student's hands, scorching the wall for almost a minute, but not even a single drop of water had been shed. Lucca growled, dodging a set of four consecutive spears. The last one barely scraped her left leg. Giving one last effort, Lucca let all her mana converge inside her. She glowed red and slightly lifted off the ground, as was customary during such an incantation. A few blocks and spears of ice flew at her every so often. Most melted before they reached her, and others simply missed. Her arm drawn back, Lucca dug her foot into the grass, keeping her leg stiff and anchoring herself to the ground as she thrust her hand forward and doused the ice in a continuous jet of flame. The spell was so hot that the air around her and the wall crackled and smelled of smoke, though nothing was burning. Yet, the wall was unscathed.
"Take your time…" Queen Zeal shouted from a distance.
Date: 12005 B.C.
Lucca could barely walk. Literally. She had to settle with squirming on the ground while her legs regained substance, trying to inch herself closer to her bed, which was easily a four mile distance.
It was around dusk when Lucca had finally bested the wall. It seemed that every time she cast a spell, more and more spears of ice would fly from it and dive toward her. By her tenth spell, Lucca was so busy dodging hurtling lumps of frost that she couldn't focus long enough to cast a spell, and it still took more before a single crack resulted. From there, she had to use a combination of fire spells and kicking to try to topple it. The latter was highly ineffective; it only made her feet number, even through her shoes. But, it was the best she could manage, since attempting to cast a spell often led to a spike gashing her across a limb.
And so, the exhaustion that normally overwhelmed her after heavy magical exertion lately was combined with too much running, jumping, and getting chased by spears of ice. True to her word, Queen Zeal had left Lucca unable to walk, though she had promised to bring someone to help Lucca back into Kajar. That had been about 30 minutes ago. Certainly, such a walk didn't take THAT long! Lucca groaned slightly. She had a sharp pain in her shoulder from getting heavily scraped by a spike, and her feet felt like rubber. I just feel like sleeping…
"Lucca? Luccaaa…" Opening her eyes slightly, Lucca saw Schala, the Grand Princess of Zeal Kingdom and potential successor to the throne, staring down at her. She appeared the way she always did: bearing a kindly smile, thin and frail as always. The sun had almost gone behind the horizon; sunsets were different in Zeal because of its altitude, so a clear horizon wasn't visible, but the principle was the same.
Lucca could feel her legs now. She tried to get to her feet, and quickly fell back down. Schala had to help her up and hold her until she could get used to walking again. Who knew breaking a wall could take so much out of you?
"Mother sent me to return you to the city. How are you feeling?" Schala asked, speaking in a warm and soothing tone. She was a really sweet girl, considering who she came from. Here you go again… Lucca's kinder side peeped up.
"Dreadful…" Lucca muttered. She stretched widely and yawned. Schala grinned and chuckled slightly.
"You had to tear that wall down, right?" the Princess asked. Lucca nodded, and smirked slightly. Schala had surely gone through the same punishment, as her countenance suggested. "If it makes you feel any better, I was in worse shape that you were! Mother had to pick me up and carry me back."
"What I don't understand is the purpose of it all. What difference does it make?" Lucca asked. Schala nodded in comprehension.
"It might seem like overkill at first, but you'll feel much better by the time the whole thing is done. Believe me, you'll stop fainting every other day." Schala said. Lucca narrowed her eyes slightly, and started walking at a slow pace. She had been sitting down trying to shake her exhaustion off.
"So you were fainting too? I thought I was the only one." Lucca said stoically. Schala smiled and clasped her hand behind her back.
"Oddly, so did I. Maybe this is more than coincidence?" Schala asked in a slightly giddy fashion. Lucca was amazed that Schala wasn't far older than her. She always acted so venerable and royal when in the presence of her mother.
"Maybe…" Lucca said. She was fairly sure that the message had been conveyed; she had no intention of pursuing a conversation. Not that she disliked speaking with Schala; the princess was very pleasant to speak with, considering she spoke so seldom. The vicious headache pulsating in her head just made talking the bottom of Lucca's list of priorities.
"Lucca, I would like to find out more about you. You seem to be an intriguing person…and we have a lot in common. I would like to learn how to be as carefree as you are. So, how about it?" Schala said, smiling slightly the whole time. Lucca was perplexed at her blatancy.
"Erm…what do you want me to say?" Lucca asked. Schala giggled and stared at the setting sun.
"Your dreams. Your likes and dislikes. Your aspirations for the future. Your regrets. Anything, I don't really care." Schala said thoughtfully. Lucca nodded, and started thinking. Dreams? She had never really had any dreams or aspirations for the future. She really just aspired for the "now". Well, excluding the fantasies here and there about Crono. How she missed him-
"You could say…I don't exactly aim for anything. I just live life one step at a time. That's the only way I can keep myself sane, since there's always something crazy going on that would impede me." Good answer, Lucca thought to herself. It certainly made her seem prophetic. "I like machines and boys. I hate-" Lucca was about to be earnest and say Queen Zeal, but that wouldn't bode well. The fact was, regardless of how much she told herself that Her Majesty wasn't THAT bad, the evil things the Queen did could not be ignored. Sure, Zeal hadn't taken her turn for the worse yet, but she would, eventually.
Schala had laughed whole-heartedly when Lucca said she liked boys, and had overlooked her subsequent hesitation. "You like boys, eh? I would have imagined otherwise." Schala said, and laughed again. Lucca frowned slightly.
"What makes you think that?" Lucca asked.
"I've never seen anyone be so repulsed by Khadgar, and that never happens. Most girls melt to his advances. He's a player." Schala said. Lucca couldn't help but guffawing.
"Are you kidding? He's pathetic." Lucca said, smiling inwardly. It felt good to be chased by boys, even if it was only one. No wonder Marle flourished under all the stupid suitors.
"He's taken quite a liking to you, you know. I'm afraid he'll do something drastic." Schala said in a mocked threatening tone.
"Like what?"
"You won't see it coming…"
Alright, done, chapter 9 is now.