Leave feedback and whatnot. This chapter was kind of rushed a bit, because I'm trying to get into writing again and I just wanted to put something out to hopefully get me motivated again.
Chapter 2
Darkness.
Pure darkness.
The Ring has chosen. The Ring has chosen. The Ring has chosen.
An heir has been found.
The Ring has chosen.
Lucy awoke in a cocoon of sweat and panic. She glanced out the nearby window as the morning sun intruded into the modern room. She sighed, letting the strange dream overcome her pondering thoughts.
What was that?
Shaking her head, she decided to shower and let the steam and water vanquish her worries.
Once she was fresh under the near-burning liquid, she allowed herself to be free from the dream. She ran her fingers through her long blonde hair, massaged her head and then washed her now vulnerable body. Even after the water stopped falling, she stood in the shower for an extended period, the clarity of mind proving a delightful escape from the dangerously recurring thoughts of the night.
THE RING HAS CHOSEN.
She collapsed on the ground, the sharp image of a white ring menacing her mind. Apparently, even the solitude of the watery escape proving futile against the vision. Sighing once more, she quickly dressed in a tartan skirt and loose black blouse, deciding to tie her hair in a quick bun. Speedily clutching her reliable leather key pouch, belt and whip she exited the apartment and begun the painfully lonely walk to the guild of Fairy Tail.
Lucy opened the large wooden entrance and waltzed inside the large guild hall. Numerous welcomes and greetings bombarded her as soon as she stepped through. Lucy winced, still feeling exposed. She managed a swift smile in response. She had no energy for verbal responses today. She headed immediately to Makarov's office, almost desperately. Her dream could not wait.
Bursting through the door, an unsettled Lucy met Makarov's gaze. Concern soon covered his face as he observed the almost-hysteric girl.
"Lucy, my dear. What's wrong?" Makarov inquired worriedly.
"I-I don't know," Lucy responded distantly.
Makarov furrowed his brow. "What do you mean you don't know?"
Lucy merely shook her head. Her thoughts were a mess.
The ring has chosen. An heir has been found. The ring has chosen.
"Lucy, perhaps you should sit down?" Makarov suggested.
The blonde just stared back at Makarov. Could he be trusted? She didn't know. She couldn't know. She didn't even know why she was here. What led her to the Guildmasters office, of all places? Of all places, why here?
"Yes, maybe I should." Lucy sat on the offered chair.
"You're not acting like yourself, Lucy," Makarov said.
Lucy smiled. "I know master. Although, who's to say I'm not? Who honestly knows me? I don't know me," She replied ominously.
Makarov gasped. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
"Lucy. You stay right there. I need to fetch someone. I'll be right back," Makarov said as he rushed out the room.
"Wendy, I hope you're still here," he breathed.
Lucy looked down the hallway that the master had just run down. She felt incredibly lightheaded. She wondered what had made her say all those things.
"You can hear it too? Can't you," said a voice from behind her.
Lucy looked behind her, where an inky darkness greeted her. The room had disappeared and replaced by oblivion. Lucy felt a single finger slide across her cheek.
"But you don't know much about The Ring, do you? Of course, you don't. Layla sure made sure that little secret laid buried forever," the voice continued.
Lucy's eyes widened.
"Layla? My mother!?" She exclaimed.
Where was she? Who was this man? How did he know her mother?
"Yes. Layla Heartfilia. What a fabulous woman. Too bad she had to give her life. But that's another story entirely, isn't it?" She felt the voice smile.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" Lucy screamed.
A face appeared before her. Handsome; rugged; powerful. "My name is Saede."
The name Saede touched a faint memory in the back of her mind. She couldn't place how she knew, but she could tell that Saede was bad news.
"Don't worry, my dear. Soon I will be free from The Abyss Room. Then; I'm coming for you," He whispered into her ear.
Lucy shuddered as Saede began to fade away. Soon after, the darkness began to waver, until eventually, Lucy was right back in the master's office.
The Abyss Room.
Lucy's head burned with thousands of unanswered questions. Desperately, she quickly glanced around the room, desperate to find closure; to grasp her surroundings.
She felt hot. Like she was being set on fire, a million blazes scorching her exposed skin all at once. She couldn't breathe. It worsened. It was as if the very sun that heated this earth came upon her and swallowed her whole. She screamed. Everything became nothing.
All of a sudden, the pounding started to lessen, and her violent thoughts began to slow. Eventually, all the was left was a sense of mellowness and calm. Lucy slouched back into the chair, and let her heavy eyelids close. Until eventually, she became locked into blissful rest.
Lucy awoke. The warm scent of cinnamon and coconut wafted through the air, like a summer on the beach. She heard a song; the voice unfamiliar, fitting in perfectly with this new environment. Sitting up slowly, she recognised a sense of perfect calm, not a worry in her mind about this unfamiliarity. Looking around the room, she observed the soothing shades of cream decorating the walls and the small dresser tucked into the corner of the chamber. The bed in which she lay was quite narrow, like a child's. She barely fit in it. Letting her tense feet meet with the rough wooden boards, she got up and decided to investigate the singing.
"Oh! Good morning. I was wondering when you would wake up!" Remarked the woman at the sink. She was washing up dishes.
Her face was rosy, and her grey locks were held together loosely in a messy bun. She wore a loose green patterned sundress, which practically hung on her small and fragile frame.
"Oh. Um, hello," Lucy replied, unsure.
The woman smiled in response. "You must be confused. My name is Rosa. This is my little cabin. It's quaint, but it sure does the job," She began, turning back to the sink.
"Just yesterday morning, I found you passed out in my front garden. My word, I was surprised. It's not every day you find a lovely young woman unconscious on your lawn, that's for sure," she chuckled.
Lucy looked at her, shocked. Was she passed out?
"How…" she breathed.
The woman's smile faded. She sighed. "So, you don't know why; I'm guessing. Ah, a pity."
The blonde got up and wandered towards the nearby window. The wooden frame portrayed a visual masterpiece. Multitudes of colours spread throughout the seemingly endless garden. Daisies, roses, tulips, frangipanis and any other flower imaginable had its private bed in the florist's paradise.
"But… where exactly am I?" Lucy asked.
"You're just outside a town called Soe," she replied, curtly.
"Oh... I've never heard of it. Do you know where Magnolia is by any chance?"
Rosa jumped with surprise. "Of course! The home of the famous Fairy Tail guild! That's about a day train ride from here. Is that where you're from?"
Lucy laughed heartily. Of course, Fairy Tail's reputation spread all the way out here, even.
"Yes. In fact, I am a member of Fairy Tail!" Lucy grinned while flashing her guild mark.
Rosa's eyes glistened with awe. "Oh, my! That's terrific! To think little old me would assist such a powerful mage as one from Fairy Tail! Incredible! My word, that's exciting," She said gleefully.
Silence filled the air around them. As both of them remembered that an unconscious Lucy was left unexplainedly in Rosa's garden.
"How on earthland did I end up here?" Lucy said, taking a seat at the nearby dining table.
"What do you remember, dear?" Rosa asked.
Lucy thought back.
"I was in the guild master's office, just sitting there waiting for Master when suddenly I had this strange vision. It was all black. A man appeared to me. He said his name was… Saede. Then –" Lucy was interrupted by the sudden crash of the dish Rosa was holding hitting the floor.
Rosa stared in horror at Lucy.
"What name did you just say?" She whispered; afraid.
"Saede. Do you know him?" Lucy asked hesitantly.
Rosa nodded. She tried to open her mouth multiple times, but words would not form.
"Rosa. Who is Saede?"
"May the Lord have mercy on your soul, dear girl," she eventually said.
Lucy stared in confusion at the terrified woman.
"Because they say, whoever is visited by the evil that is Saede..."
Lucy gulped.
"They say that there will be death and misery for both them and everyone they hold dear."