Summary: The first time Lucy summons Aquarius…
Pairings: Parental Layla/Lucy, Lucy/Aquarius friendship, and Layla/Aquarius friendship.
YouTube Prompt: A Lucy/Aquarius centric video to the song 'Aquarius' by Within Temptation, and not just because the title is Aquarius name but because if you listen to some of the lyrics really carefully you would have thought it was written for them after the Tartarus Arc.
Today was the day.
The biggest step in her child's life and it took all of her strength to get up, get dressed, and take her child by the hand, before she led her out into the gardens. Christ! It hurt to think it has to take that much to do what everyone else can do with their children.
"What is it Mama?" her child asked eagerly. Her wide eyes shining with excitement and her whole being unable to stay still as she jumped up and down impatiently. "What are we doing today?"
"Today, Lucy" she took a deep breath and relished the suspension as her child scowled up at her and pouted. God, she was so cute. "You are going to summon your first ever spirit."
And with that, she held up the gold key for her daughter to stare in awe.
Was it the most reckless, stupid, thing in the world to start her daughter with a zodiac spirit instead of a silver key?
Yes.
But Layla could feel her time run out each and every single day, and Jude just kept on making enemies, and there was that nagging feeling that one day Lucy will end up in a world of danger.
If Layla isn't there to protect her child then she wants the one person that she trusts the most in both worlds to take her place.
It would probably take months and years but if it meant Lucy could summon Aquarius then it was time well spent.
Lucy gasped excitedly and clapped her hands. "Yay!" she cheered. "Let's begin! Let's begin!"
"Patience," Layla chided her child gently, "summoning a celestial spirit is never easy. It takes a lot of concentration and focus."
"I have lots of concentration and focus," Lucy said solemnly, "I'll do my very best to summon my new friend."
Layla smiled.
She had told Lucy many stories about the spirits and always emphasised how important they are, how lovable they are, how they would be such good friends.
Layla wasn't a stranger to the horrors spirits had suffered at the hands of humans. Even she had treated them like objects occasionally.
She wanted Lucy to never do that.
"Come and sit by the fountain," Layla commanded gently as she patted a space next to her, "This is Aquarius' key, and she's a very special spirit that needs her key to be dipped into water first," Layla explained as she handed the key to her daughter. Lucy held it with such care that you would think it was as delicate as a crisp and would break if she applied so much as a little pressure. Lucy's thumb automatically moved the stroke the warm gold and Layla smiled sadly. "You must never put it in dirty water though."
"Why not?" Lucy asked.
"Because she'll get cranky," Layla explained with smile. "Don't…."she added anxiously as she realised what she said, "Don't tell her I actually said that. She'll drown us both," she shuddered.
"Aquarius won't do that!" Lucy protested. "She's too nice!"
Oh you sweet naïve child, Layla sweat-dropped, one day you'll realise there were stories I couldn't tell you because of your age….
"Right then," she said instead, "I want you to dip the key into the fountain," Lucy obeyed instantly, "close your eyes," her child's large, brown, eyes fluttered to a close. She looked all the more delicate and fragile than ever before. Layla resisted the urge to claps her to her chest and never let go. "I want you to focus on your magic. Imagine it as a small ball of light in your chest and then push it down to your hand." Lucy frowned hard, her little face all scrunched up as she was obviously trying to do what Layla instructed her. "Now push it all into the key and say; Gate of the Water Bearer, I summon thee – Aquarius!"
"Gate of the Water Bearer," Lucy repeated firmly, "I summon thee – Aquarius!"
Nothing happened.
Lucy looked down disappointed but Layla wasn't surprised at all. This was going to take months if not years. "Don't be disappointed," she murmured comfortingly as she stroked her daughter's soft, silky, locks, "it takes practice. Lots of it. I wasn't able to summon my first spirit for two whole months and that was a silver key, you're trying with the hardest, most powerful, spirit. It's going to take time."
Lucy nodded as her eyes glittered with determination and stubbornness (she gets that from her father who just would not take no for answer when it comes to business) and with her little mouth set firmly, she pushed the key back into the fountain and tried again.
And again, and again, and –
DING DONG!
Layla's eyes popped open at the familiar sound, no! She thought half hysterically, this cannot be possible! The water rose up before it splashed down around her and there, in her usual furious glory, hovered Aquarius.
"Look! Look Mummy!" Lucy babbled excitedly. "It's a siren!"
"A siren?!" Aquarius squawked indignantly. "I'm not a siren!" she growled. "I'm something far superior to one of those harlots, I'm," she flipped her hair back, "a celestial spirit, a Zodiac in fact."
"I know!" Lucy clapped her hands in joy. "We're going to be the best of friends! I'm going to take care of you and your key and love you lots. We'll play lots of games, do each other's hair, and I'll even take care of your tail for you so you won't get scale rot."
"EH?!"Aquarius snarled furiously, her face had gone purple, her jaw set in that angry manner as she bared her teeth like a ferocious dog. "What do you think I am? Your pet toy to play when you're bored? Why you insufferable brat!" Lucy whimpered fearfully and clung to Layla's skirts. "I'm a celestial spirit. I have a life even if you humans are too selfish to see it! I have a boyfriend and friends and things I'd much rather do that braid some brat's hair to satisfy her need to be served!"
"I-I-I only want to be friends!" Lucy stammered, tears fell down her cheeks rapidly. "I didn't mean any harm!"
"Yeah?" Aquarius barked. "Well I don't want to be passed round like some object."
Layla winced and tightened her grip on Lucy's shoulder.
Aquarius had been in Layla's family since there was an Aquarius' key. They were a long line of Celestial Mages who handed down their treasured keys to their daughter when they were the right age. Layla, and her mother, and her grandmother, and her many other female ancestors may have loved Aquarius, may have treated her better than most would treat other spirits…but it didn't change the fact they treated her as a treasured heirloom rather than a treasured friend.
Layla had promised to not do that.
She and Aquarius were going to be together until Layla died, she had promised this…..but then she got sick, and for a time she thought she would never have children, and she gave Aquarius away to a close friend.
And then Lucy came into Layla's life, and there was nothing more that Layla wanted than for Lucy to have her keys.
She got Aquarius back but not to renew their contract…..just to palm her off to her child just as Layla's mother had done before her.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Aquarius," Layla said softly, "I am sorry but Lucy is only five and-"
"Five?!" Aquarius repeated, dumbstruck. She then turned her eyes onto Lucy and examined her carefully, taking in Lucy's short, golden, hair, her big, wide, brown eyes, her tiny, fragile, body dressed in the best that money could buy, her childish pout, her innocence, and everything softened at once. "Rather impressive," Aquarius admitted grudgingly, "even better than…." She trailed off and refused to continue. Layla knew though, better than you that was what Aquarius was going to say. Better than you. Layla had summoned her first spirit, Crux, when she was thirteen, and was considered a prodigy. Lucy had trumped that within a space of an hour. It terrified Layla, the thought that the Gods decided to grant her such power and no clear reason as to why. What have they got planned for her?! "Fine then!" Aquarius snapped, pulling Layla out of her thoughts, "You want me to be yours, little brat? Then you can call me on Wednesdays. Only on Wednesdays!"
And with that she returned to the spirit world, defiantly splashing both Lucy and Layla with the fountain's water on her way out.
"You were wrong, Mama," Lucy coughed, "Aquarius isn't cranky when you use dirty water to summon her, she's cranky all the time!"
"Lucy, that's not very nice," Layla chided her daughter gently, "Aquarius is just cross because I broke a promise. That's something a Celestial Mage should never do but sometimes it is impossible to keep them."
"I won't!" Lucy said fiercely. "I never will! I promise from now on, I will keep all of my promises so people like Aquarius will never get hurt again."
"That's nice, dear," Layla smiled as she pushed Lucy's fringe away, she frowned slightly when she felt the slight fever. Lucy had worn herself out already. Layla will have to spend their next lesson on lecturing on the dangers of overuse of Celestial Magic. "But if you are going to make a promise like that then you should never make promises so easily or be very careful what you promise. Otherwise you'll be in a world of hurt."
"Doesn't matter," Lucy yawned, "because I have Aquarius to look after me. I love her, Mama," Lucy mumbled as her eyes fluttered to a shut, "I love all the spirits."
"And I'm sure they love you too," Layla murmured, refraining from pointing out that Lucy had only met one spirit, "and I love you, my little star."
And I have no doubt, she added silently, that Aquarius will take good care of you….