Heartfilia Manor Arc

Chapter 1
Coming out from the Dark and into the Wind

"Go away you disgusting little shit!"

I take a shower everyday.

"You're the reason my baby died!"

I don't even know you.

"Why!? Why must you be in our town!?"

What do you mean? I was born here.

"You should never have been born!"

I'm sorry, I wish I wasn't born here as well.

"Killer!"

But I've never killed anyone.

"Monster!"

Okay, I'm a monster.

"Get out of our precious town!"

I don't want to be here anyways.

"No one loves you!"

Okay.

"Disgusting demon."

Thank you for reminding me I am an insolent being.

"Don't you come near my family again!"

I promise I won't.

"You murderer!"

I'm sorry for killing.

"Go away scum!"

I will do as you wish.

A gasp escaped thin lips as water splurged out, sharp almond shaped grey-blue eyes widening in shock as they saw a blurry figure above them. A light splutter wretched out of the girl's mouth once more as water was spat out. A blurry figure made it's way to the young child's sight as she opened her eyes, a muffled voice most likely belonging to the person being heard as she felt her senses come back one by one.

"-ey, are you alright? Pl-Please don't die. Wake up, A-Aquarius-san said she's getting M-Mother, so wake up, okay? Help will be here soon." The figure started to become clearer and clearer to the nearly drowned child, showing a blonde girl no older than herself, maybe give or take a few months. Large innocent doe-brown eyes stared down at her with tears falling down her red cheeks and onto the ripped blue shirt that had been worn and ripped to barely cover her chest. She clicked her tongue. Like there was anything to look at.

She saw the girl turn relieved and smile at her, "Thank the stars, you're okay!" The mysterious girl brushed her cheeks with the back of her small fists as the tears kept pouring, "I-I was outside and playing with Aquarius-san whe-when I saw something-something shining and ran to f-find you. A-Aquarius-san go-got to you th-hough and," She took in a breath, "Thank the stars you're not gone!"

The girl looked at her with wide eyes. A girl, her age, that she didn't even know, helped he- Ah, that must be it. Her face turned blank once more. She didn't know her. She didn't know anything at all so she thought she was drowning on accident. She would've left her to rot if she knew what she had done, who she was

ButIhaddonenothingwrongsothereshouldn'tbeareasonwhyshewouldhateme. ImeanI'mnotthebestpersonouttherebutIneverhurtanyoneonpurposeexceptforbeingborn. Whowouldblameherforbeingshocked(andslightlytouched)bythisgirlwhodidn'tevenknowherwantingtosaveher-

She stopped her thoughts abruptly as she mentally frowned. She shouldn't be happy at all. The town wanted her dead, so she should have died. Why was god being an asshole now of all times? Maybe he/she/it didn't want her to go to Heaven and Satan didn't want her in Hell either (it's a long shot, but it's possible. Hell is for demons and sinners, not monsters… or so she had heard the townspeople say.) so they left her here to rot in misery before one of them reluctantly took her. Hell, she bet even Death didn't want to be near her, 'But that's the only thing that I know will be there for me during my life so I shouldn't be sad about it or anything.'

A moment later, she heard rustling in the bushes and shrubbery, but she didn't bother to try to get up as she heard two footsteps as she walked. "Lucy!" A light tilted woman's voice came from her right, as she quickly walked over and hugged the girl next to her that had moved to be out of her vision, "M-Mother!"

'Shit,' She felt her consciousness coming to and fro from her, making her feel slightly nauseous as her eyesight got blurrier as the seconds passed by, 'I'm going to pass out. Maybe I'll die this time.' Her heavy eyelids closed on her, her hearing already disappearing once more.

…

'My head feels like shit. If I'm dead, I shouldn't feel pain, so why the fuck am I feeling it right now? Where the fuck am I?' A giant migraine was placed upon the girl as she woke up, a grunt escaping her lips as she tried to open her eyes, only to be greeted with bright artificial lights. She shut her eyes tightly. This wouldn't do. She couldn't see at all and was wondering what the soft, fluffy feeling under her body was. It felt like a cloud... Maybe whoever was up there was giving her a chance to deem herself worthy of Heaven and that was why she was laying down on what was most likely a cloud and was blinded by light that made her head feel worse. Maybe the headache was from when she died.

She opened her eyes once more, this time albeit more cautiously than the first time. When she finally managed to, she struggled to get out of the softness underneath her and the heavenly silk on top of her. Her eyes scanned the room as she did so. It was blank with white walls and a curtain around her bed, herself wearing a strange piece of clothing that showed the bottom of her butt when she stood and tied around her neck to be held securely in place, the sleeves only going to stop an inch into her arm with a light blue color that seemed to match the atmosphere of the quiet room.

She felt the cold floor touch her feet and shuddered. Maybe she really wasn't in Heaven. The townspeople always did say she would never go there. She ran a hand through her hair and froze. It was cut short and didn't even touch the base of her neck, bangs barely there on the right side tilting to that side. It felt smooth and soft, but there was a lot of it. She sucked in a breath.

Someone had touched her. It felt like someone had splashed a cold ice bucket of water on her after being warmed up by the sun to crumble her as realization started to sink in. Someone had touched her and brought her to this place after she nearly drowned and took care of her of all people and thought it was normal to do so. They saved her, even though she didn't want to be saved.

Her eyes hardened. They were going to get hurt if they kept doing this. She was a monster. She didn't need any of this.

So why did she want it so much?

She didn't know the answer to that, but she knew she should stop. She'd survived without people around her that were actually with her instead of against her and that had made her stronger. It would start to weaken her if people started to do what she did on her own.

The girl didn't know how long she stood there for until she heard loud footsteps coming to her. She looked over to see the same girl from before, but more clearer.

She was right about the innocent looking doe-brown eyes that seemed to shine and turn a lighter shade in a certain angle in the light, short blonde hair that seemed to have a small halo above her head from the artificial lights that tried to deceive her brain, and a bright smile on that childish face that made her feel as if she was an entirely different species.

That'sbecauseyouare. You'renothinglikeher. You'reamonster,discrace. Ibetyourparentshadkickedyououtbecauseofhowangeredandfrightenedtheywereofyou,adisgustingmonster, beingtheirchild. Whowouldwanthatanyways? Amonster,bakuman,adiscrace,athingwithnodignitywhatsoev-

She stopped her thoughts and looked at the girl who was still looking brighter than the artificial lights that hung around the room from lacrima all over the ceiling. The girl looked excited, relieved, and happy to see her and ran over to give her a hug, making her freeze stiffly at the foreign affection.

She didn't want to push her away because she might take it the wrong way and think she wasn't appreciative of her saving her (she really wasn't), but didn't know what to do either so she just stood there like a rock, "I'm so glad you're okay! Mother said that you weren't hurt too bad and only had a little bit of boo-boos so I didn't have to worry, but I couldn't sleep a lot because you might be in pain or leave after you wake up. Oh! I almost forgot, Aquarius was the one who saved you by the way. She's really nice and cool, even if you don't see it at first. She's really a big softie on the inside, but she's scary when she gets mad-" "Lucy, I don't think that you should talk so quickly to the poor girl like that. She might run if you let her go."

They both turned to see a woman whom Lucy seemed to recognise immediately, grinning broadly at the woman, "Mother!"

The girl definitely saw the similarities, the girl, Lucy as her mother had called her, looked like a younger version of her mother, who seemed to have the same features, except more mature and slightly wiser eyes.

Lucy had ran over to her to hug her by the legs as she spoke slightly less rapidly, making the woman smile, eyes ever so slightly crinkling as she did so, compassion hidden deep in her irises that rose when her daughter had moved to greet her. She pulled her arms around her shoulder and hugged her back as much as she could without leaning and the girl finally figured out what was nagging slightly at the back of her mind when she saw her.

She's the one who saved her. And both mother and daughter were fucking rich considering the way the mother held herself and- is that satin she's wearing on her dress?

The grey-blue eyed girl's posture became even stiffer, if possible, and turned away from the heartwarming scene. It felt almost private, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that they would most likely kill her by a flick of their finger if she even breathed the wrong way.

"Ah, how rude of me. To not introduce myself at all," The anonymous girl looked over to see both the woman and the girl looking at her. She was giving her a warm smile, but one that didn't reach her eyes quick enough to show it was real, "My name is Layla Heartfilia. This is my daughter, who I assume you've met," an amusing glint sparkled in her eye for a second there and made her left eye twitch just slightly. She purposely left the girl to manhandle her before coming in, "Lucy Heartfilia."

Layla watched the mysterious girl to see her reaction to the names she just spilled in front of her. 'Not intimidated I see,' She gave her a quick check up and down to fully see the girl in front of her. She didn't look dangerous, but she could be from a black guild here to assassinate them and she didn't want the girl to have the upper hand if that was the case. 'She's either dumb, misinformed, uninformed at all of who we are, or isn't part of an organization. But she could be trying to trick us. She might be a spy or a mercenary. But that wouldn't make sense.' Layla tried to make sense of the tense girl in front of her, 'Was she fighting someone before she drowned, that would explain why she was so beat up when Lucy had found her. And her magic reserves are unusually large for a girl who's most likely only two year older than Lucy. She's only 7. Comparatively, the girl's reserves could be that of an average mage's.' She gave her a gentle smile, "So what's your name?"

The girl bit her lip unconsciously, but didn't tear away eye contact as she spoke in a tone that was rough and cold (most likely from minimal human interaction, Layla humored herself and shook her head mentally. Most likely not [how wrong you are].), her voice also a bit shaky from lack of use, "I don't have a name."

Layla blinked as she couldn't keep the surprise off her face, although it faded quickly, a smile that nearly showed strain appeared once more, "I see." 'This doesn't make sense. This child can't be lying, yet there are no signs of it. Even an average eight year old that is in a dark guild would look away or fidget, but she only looked slightly intimidated, but not by a longshot. And why was drowning when she had met Lucy? And she was trying to please me, but why? Did she know the Heartfilia name? She didn't react to when I said it so she shouldn't. She could have figured it out from my clothes or by knowing exactly where she was. Am I overthinking this? I can't let anata find out, he might make me kick the poor child out.'

"Then why don't we give you a name?" Layla was snapped out of her thoughts a she looked down at her daughter a bit too quickly, but it seemed to slip two the children's eyes as the girl in front of them looked at her with wide eyes.

Lucy fidgeted at the attention, but gave the anonymous girl a smile, "I-I mean, if you would like that. We could choose a name for you since you don't have one."

Layla smiled at her daughter. She was always a bright little one, "That seems like a good idea Lucy. Did you have one in mind?"

Lucy blushed as she was caught red-handed. She gave a small giggle. Honestly, her child was so adorable, "Claec."

She blinked, "Dark?"

The girl ducked her head, "C-Claec Niyol. Bec-Because he was in the dark before we found hi-her," She caught herself from calling the girl the wrong gender as her mother had told her he was a she and looked up to see the girl looking intently at her, not a bit bothered by the mess-up. Lucy bit her lip and looked at her shoes once more as she fiddled with the seam of her dress with both hands in front of her, "And she seemed like she was going where the wind took her so I t-thought of Niyol."

Layla smiled, "That's a nice choice, it also comes off the tongue easily. Claec Niyol." She looked over and the now stone-like girl who couldn't keep her eyes off Lucy, "What do you think anonymous-san?"

The girl snapped her gaze at her and as she took a good look, she was taken aback. She looked as if this was the most generous and thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for her, her eyes slightly red and her neck looking as if she was trying to swallow a giant bite she couldn't hold. The first smile appeared on her face ever since she got here, and even if was barely a twitch of her lips, it was one of the most heartwarming (and strangest) things she'd ever seen in her lifetime for some reason. Layla just felt as if she was... somehow relieved of something as she smiled, "I think it's very nice Heartfilia-sama." Her voice shook a bit violently and Lucy looked at the androgynous girl in front of her, eyes wide. She gave a grin, "I'm glad you like it Claec!"

Layla took back what she had thought before. This girl was one of the strangest abnormalities she'd ever seen as she could hold a nearly perfect poker face but couldn't control her voice easily and hide the fact that she was moved over such a simple thing, but she was an honest child. One that most likely would pledge loyalty unconsciously to someone who would save them from the dark. She gave her a genuine smile, the first one she'd ever given to her, "Well then Claec, I would like for you to answer one question."

Lucy and the newly named Claec looked at her, the former questioningly as the latter with a tense body, "Yes, Heartfilia-san?"

Layla's smile was still in place, her thoughts going wild as her heart beat quickly in chest, threatening to escape her. This was going to be a move she wouldn't regret, but would be a pain to deal with later when she told her anata what she had just done.

"Would you like to join our family?"

Lucy's eyes filled with excitement as Claec's filled with shock and small tears. Lucy jumped around, "Oh Claec, accept! It would be really nice to hang around, have fun, and play together! Don't you think so too Claec?" Layla chuckled at her daughter's enthusiasm but turned to the frozen girl, "Well, what do you say Claec?"

Something tugged at her chest as she heard her name, her name, spoke out of the older Heartfilia who looked slightly surprised at her slip of calling her by the name her daughter had gifted her with.

There was no way to ignore this question or dodge around it. Heartfilia-san looked genuinely hopeful and instead of the other smiles that didn't reach her eyes given to her prior to this moment, she was smiling at her as if she were her own. Her throat lurched.

Everything flew out of her mind. The names, the stones, the hurt, the pain, the past. Nothing was clouding her thoughts and her mind was clear except for the question and the scene in front of her. A giddy child who held her hand out almost immediately after meeting trying to kill herself and her mother who had a genuine smile on her face, waiting for her to pull her hand out and to grasp that hand, to finally belong somewhere, to be one of them.

She took a small shaky breath and brought a small smile her lips, marginally larger than the one before by an entire inch, "Only if you will let this being enter your life, I would like to humbly accept your offer."

Layla felt something tug at her heart as she saw Lucy run to hug Claec, who slowly, but definitely had rose her arms to grip on the other girl's dress, no matter how slightly. Tears welled up in both their eyes, but as they made eye contact, small silent messages were spoken across the two.

You're/I'm not alone anymore.

Thank you.

Just let me take care of you.

Lucy also had tears falling down her cheeks as grinned at Claec, "So, you're my friend right? Forever and ever?"

Claec looked at her with cleared eyes but she nodded, a twitch of her lips indicating a small smile, "Only if you will accept me Lucy-san."

Lucy's grin broadened, "Of course!"

(Note: Omakes can be part of the storyline or not. Depends on what you want them to be. Either separate or part of the ff.)

Omake: How old are you?

Layla blinked, "Oh, Claec, I forgot to ask you. How old are you?"

Claec was silent for a moment before answered honestly, "I'm 7."

The woman blinked, "And here I thought you were nine or ten. Also thought you were a boy, but not everything is as it seems, ne Lucy?"

The girl in question giggled, "Yep! Just like your magic Mother!"

She didn't say anything but retorted in her head with a blank face, 'Are those two serious or are they trying to mess with my mind. I can't understand what they're trying to say.'

Claec didn't dare glance at Lucy. If she did, Layla would be able to read her thoughts... again. Instead she mentally sighed as she was given clothes to wear, a white t-shirt and black slacks with socks and dress shoes. She looked at Layla as she slightly fidgeted, ignoring a slight tingling feeling on the base of her neck, "Heartfilia-san? I don't know exactly how these clothes go in order."

She mentally snickered as she helped the outright embarrassed girl as Lucy watched on curiously. Life was going to be more interesting now...

SoBB: Well that was heartwarming, wasn't it?

Ryuu: Sinner, you messed up the mood! *pouts*

SoBB: Stop being such a baby. Anyways, so this is going to be child arc. As you can see in this chapter, this will be the beginning of the 'Heartfilia Manor Arc'

Disclaimer is in the Prologue.

Reveiew/follow/favorite if you want more! And yes, we are shamelessly telling you to tell us your opinions. If you don't, then it's on you, but no harm is done. :P