Chapter 3
'Well, at least...I have a tan,' thought Lucy, forever the optimist as she clambered down from the driver's seat.
The coach driver, noticing that they were at the halfway point of their journey, had pulled over at a cliff-side lookout which doubled as a rest stop for the hungry and the road weary. It was about 2 or 3 in the afternoon, Lucy figured, strolling towards the guard rail to admire the view. The deep blue ocean was bordered by a thin strip of golden coastline, trailing out into the horizon. She took a deep breath, inhaling the salty air, reveling in the--
"OH LOKI, TEE-HEE, YOU'RE SO adorable," obnoxiously screeched Brooke, the almost-princess, as the pair emerged from the "royal" coach. Brooke had attached herself to Loki in a way that strongly reminded Lucy of...leeches. Blood-sucking, tiara-wearing leeches.
"...Ah, ha," said Loki, who had thankfully mastered the art of unattaching fangirls from his person, "I'm going to check with my partner, alright? Wait in the carriage, I'll be right there."
"Of course, my love, anything for you," Brooke fawned, tee-heeing herself back inside.
Lucy very much wanted to puke, but she resisted, rolling her eyes instead as her spirit partner met her at the look-out railing. "So. How was the ride?"
Loki took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "It was...alright. Not pleasant, but it was alright." He paused, running a hand through his hair. "How was yours?"
"I listened to an idiot giggle uncontrollably for two and a half hours, while the outer layer of my skin fried off," she replied as dryly as she could, "How do you think it was?"
He grinned, extending a finger to tuck her hair behind her ear, "Well, I must say, love. You look especially beautiful with that bronzed skin."
Lucy snorted, blushing only the slightest. "Oh really."
"Yeah, really."
She tore her gaze away from the water to look him in the eye. He was leaning, ever so casually, against the railing. The dark shades hid his smiling eyes but dammit, she thought, her eyes zeroed in on that stupid carefree grin that just made her want to lean over and--
"LOKI-BEAR, It's time to goooo~," squealed Brooke, leaning out the window of the coach, impatiently waving her handkerchief.
Lucy sighed futility. The moment was ruined. "Loki-Bear" shrugged, snatching and kissing Lucy's hand before she had the chance to snatch it away. "Don't worry, we'll have plenty of...bonding time after we drop her off," he grinned, as the pair trudged back to work.
Her brain was a bit rattled, Lucy couldn't think of anything clever to say. "Oh really?"
"Yes ma'am. It is a 5 hour ride back home, after all. And this time, we can ride inside the carriage."
Hmm. Lucy made sure she had climbed back into her seat before betraying the tiniest amount of glee. 5 hours didn't seem so bad, after all.
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Ah, this is the life!, thought Lucy, who was still on top of the coach. This time, instead of the sun blazing right above them, it was slowly setting in the distance, washing the region in beautiful tones of orange and red. The salty air felt cool upon her tan skin as the horses pulled the carriage down the path carved into the cliff-side.
Thank the Spirits that stupid Brooke had fallen asleep, it left Lucy to admire the view in peace. She leaned back in her seat, thankful that she could hear the gentle lapping of the waves upon the rocks, the soft calls of the gulls flying in, the deep rumble of the rocks shifting...
...Oh, wait a moment.
Lucy's eyes grew wide as she quickly glanced towards the tall wall of rock to their side. And there, near the top she saw it: A shower of large boulders was tumbling down the mountain...right onto the path.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," she swore under her breath, pounding the roof of the carriage as loud as she could. This was ridiculous! "Loki! Loki, we've got to--"
The driver was frantically trying to rein in the horses, but the frightened animals were confused. They kept running towards their impeding doom, ignoring the commands of their master.
Loki nimbly pulled himself out of the carriage, maneuvering himself until he was crouched on the roof. He sighed deeply when he saw rolling boulders, mentally charting their course in his head. "Alright, we've got to be quick."
"You can't do anything to calm them down?" Lucy wailed, fumbling for her keys. She knew she had to summon someone, but who? Not Sagittarius, maybe Aquarius, to wash the boulders into the sea? The water was quite a far ways down...could she make it in time?
The driver, grimaced, "Miss, I'm trying but something's gotten into them!"
"Lucy, listen," said Loki, speaking quickly, "I'm going to cut off the harnesses, you're gonna have to--"
"Summon Taurus," she said, without hesitation. She was already forming the gate. "To stop the coach."
There was a split second when time seemed to slow, and their eyes met. Lucy felt a rush of adrenaline spread throughout her body as she slowly exhaled. It was as if they were on the same wavelength--how else would she have known the details before he had even told them to her? As partners, they were the perfect match.
Quicker then she liked, time sped up again, and her next intake of breath was rapid and harsh. Lucy's vision flashed golden light for the brief moment that the gate was open, and she saw Loki dash forward, cutting the horse harnesses in quick slices.
Once the horses were free, the carriage was noticeably less stable. Lucy almost fell backwards as a wagon wheel caught a boulder, and now she could hear Brooke screaming from inside the coach, clawing at the windows. With a grunt, Taurus leapt off the roof, took hold of the steel undercarriage, and groaned as he dug his heels into the coarse gravel. Almost instantly, the coach began to slow. With just a bit more muscle, Taurus was able to stop the carriage. Unfortunately, it was a bit too close to the edge of the cliff for Lucy's liking...but she was just glad that there were no casualties.
Lucy let out a deep sigh of relief as she smiled at Taurus, who gave a snappy salute before fading back into the Spirit World. The impromptu rescue mission had gone off without a hitch! She could see Loki, in the distance, safely leading the calmed horses back.
"WHAT the hell is going on out there?!" suddenly squealed Brooke, pushing a window open and sobbing as dramatically as she could, "I could have died, don't you peasants realize this?"
"Miss, they just saved our lives," stammered the driver. The poor old man's glasses were askew as he still gripped the wooden railing so hard, it was sure to leave an impression.
Before Lucy could make a (sarcastic) remark, Brooke cut in again. "Loki darling, are you alright?!"
"Yes, I'm good," said Loki, unfazed as he tied the horses to a branch jutting out of the rock, "Are any of you hurt?"
Lucy was sure that the party was unharmed. "Nah, I think everyone's al--"
"MEEE, oh Lord, my head, I think I hit it. Loki, I think you need to kiss me to make it all better," Brooke wailed, literally throwing herself out of the window.
Suddenly, the carriage made a loud, ominous creak. Lucy swore even louder this time, she should have seen this coming--apparently all it took for the coach to move was a change of Brooke's tiny weight. She swung out her keys, ready to summon Taurus for the quick rescue.
"Brooke, look at me, don't panic," said Loki, who was already helping the driver out of his seat. One of his arms was stretched out for her to grab, b]ut the closer he got to the girl, the more she began to needlessly flail...and the more the coach began to move. Quicker then an instant, one of the wheels was teetering off the edge.
"Damnit Brooke, stop moving!" Lucy shouted. Sweat rolled off the tip of her nose as she concentrated, trying with all her might to block out distractions. The drain of having two spirits out at once was beginning to hit her, it was affecting her ability to summon. "Loki, I don't think I can--"
Oh no. She wasn't going to make it. As the last of her energy reserves evaporated, she felt something in her chest drop to the bottom of her stomach. If she didn't do something, Brooke--no matter how irritating she was--was going to die. And that wasn't something Lucy could live with.
Lucy dropped the Key to the Bull, letting it dangle around the thick ring around her wrist. The coach was hanging precariously off the cliff now, and Loki was in the process of heaving the driver off his seat. Without thinking, Lucy rushed to Brooke, and pulled the girl to safety with one swift twist.
There. That was her good deed of the day, Lucy smugly thought to herself as her feet searched for stable ground. But crap, the twisting motion had given her body momentum. Lucy frantically windmilled her arms for balance as her foot missed the cliff edge by inches.
The last thing she heard before she entirely lost her footing was Loki shouting her name...and then she was falling.
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Free fall was a curious thing, Lucy thought as she dropped through the air. She could feel nothing besides the pull of gravity and the wind slapping her cheeks. She had already tried, one last agonizing time, to summon a spirit for her rescue, but the energy required just wouldn't come. She was finished.
Dammit, she didn't want to go like this. She had always wanted to go out with a bang! At least people would remember that Lucy Heartphilia died saving (an ungrateful) someone. Lucy's eyes stung but she kept them open. At least, before she died, the last thing she saw were the rays of a sunset as beautiful as this one.
Dammit, she could feel her heart wrenching. Wasn't it ironic...that it was in the moments before her death that she felt so alive? There was still so much she wanted to do with her life! Images of her family and friends flashed through her mind. But if there was one thing, just ONE thing that she had wanted to do...it would have been to experience what it felt like, to be held in Loki's arms.
A sad smile crept onto Lucy's face. "There. I admit it," she whispered to no one in particular, watching a single tear fall upwards, "Happy now?"
Lucy closed her eyes. She felt at peace with herself. Was she ready? Definitely not...but she was as ready as she was ever going to be. She took a deep breath, readying herself for the impact at the back of her skull, when something solid collided with her chest. Lucy's eyes flew open as the wind was knocked out of her.
And then everything went dark.
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Hmm, thought Lucy, I must be dead.
And hm. For another reason, Lucy just couldn't manage to...move. Oh dear, she couldn't really feel her arms OR her legs. That wasn't too good.
But ah, the feeling was slowly returning to her limbs, one sensation at a time. She could feel the moist sand around her legs, and the heat of the bright sun tickling her skin. Gentle waves lapped at the soles of her feet.
Well, at least if I'm dead, I'm at a beach. For some reason, she could just tell...that she was on island, very very far away.
Hmm. An island? How did she get here? Lucy strained to remember. The details were fuzzy, but if she concentrated, she could make out a carriage, lots of rocks. And a cliff?
There, now Lucy could wiggle her pinky toe. Haha, success! Why couldn't she move her head? She could feel something, perhaps a tangle of seaweed, wrapped around her middle and she would really like to see what it was. But hmm, it was a rather pleasant sensation. It felt like there were two arms: one which fit under the small of her back, the other draped over her abdomen.
With a bit of effort, Lucy wiggled her nose. And then she willed herself to bring her head up.
Lucy's lips instantly formed an "o," as she blinked at the sight in front of her: There were a pair of arms wrapped around her middle. They belonged to a young man with bright hair, who was passed out in the sand besides her, looking rather out of place in a dark suit. That's funny, thought Lucy, he looks awfully famil--
The memories hit Lucy in the gut, just as hard as she remembered Loki slamming into her torso. She had been exhausted, falling helplessly, when he had thrown himself over the cliff after her. He had hurdled towards her like a missile, praying that her outstretched limbs provided enough drag for him to catch up. Then, impact. The sensation of the wind whipping at Lucy's face had been replaced by a feeling so cold, it felt as she could feel it in the cores of her bones. And then, darkness...and the beach.
Lucy cried out in alarm. Her body was instantly thrown out of shock, she sat up so fast, the blood rushed from her head. She leaned forward, shaking the limp body. Oh no, oh no, why wasn't he breathing?
Lucy's heart lurched painfully in her chest. He had saved her...but was she too late to save him?
A/N: Wah, I owe all of you pretty people the deepest of apologies. I am SO TRULY SORRY that I took forever with this one (but hey, I graduated! Hooray!). I'm sure the next ones won't be so far apart? But if you stuck with it, thank you. I owe you all one (in the form of wonderful LokixLucy).