Chapter 5

"...Aries?" That was all Lucy could say as she stared rather dumbfounded at the Spirit who had approached her. The Ram was skittishly picking her way through the sand to meet her master. This was TWICE now, that one of her spirits (and one of the 12 principal ones, at that!) had summoned themselves on their own power, without her permission.

Aries frowned with worry. "I'm...I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I know I came without being called! Should I call you Master? Virgo says I should call you Princess or maybe-" Her words came out in a rush as she wrung her hands in distress.

"Aries, Aries, calm down," said Lucy in the most soothing voice she could manage, "Come, sit down and you can tell me what this is all about."

"N-no, I can't stay for long, a couple minutes maybe?," said Aries, but at Lucy's beckoning, she timidly came into the shelter area, awkwardly bending to kneel on the blanket. "It's just, you've been so nice to us! I just felt like I should tell you..."

Lucy paused. "Tell me what?"

Aries immediately became alarmed. "Nothing! Well, I'm-not-supposed-to-tell-you, since-you're-our-owner-and-we-keep-it-between-Spirits-but-I-think-you-should-know-"

The frightened spirit abruptly came to a stop. Lucy said nothing-instead, she slowly reached over to place her hand over Aries' gloved one. "It's alright," said Lucy, in a soft voice that rang with concern, "Aries, its fine. You can tell me."

Very meekly, Aries raised her gaze from the sand to meet Lucy's. "Well, it's about Loki."

"Loki? about him? Is ?" asked Lucy. Warning bells began to sound in her head but she impatiently shushed them.

"Oh, yes! He's fine, it's just that." Aries struggled but managed to take a deep breath. "It's just, we love you! You're amazing and..we don't want you to get hurt."

"Wait wait, I'm confused," said Lucy, taking Aries' hands into her own, "What does this have to do with Loki?"

"We.I.I don't want him to break your heart," whispered Aries. She looked up at Lucy with puppy dog eyes, her lips pulled into a frown.

Lucy could feel her heart throbbing as she pulled Aries into a hug. In her mind, she could see a big neon sign that flashed 'heartbreaker' in angry red, capital letters. "You're sweet, Aries, but why-"

"It's not only that, it's the boundary limits! And the commitment and the bond and." Aries bleated, her face was contorted in worry.

"Limits? Commitment, bond, what? What is all of this?" asked Lucy, who couldn't help but bite her lip . Her internal alarm was almost deafening now.

"You know, it's the-" Aries eyes suddenly grew big like a deer in headlights. "He's coming, I feel him! Oh, I've got to go, I've got to go!" she squeaked, scrambling to stand up, the tips of her horns and toes already beginning to vanish.

"Aries, wait-" Lucy struggled to stand before she was caught in an awkward embrace.

"Just be careful for now, okay?" whispered Aries, as the last of her fleece disappeared with the breeze.

Lucy stood on the beach, facing the wind. Alone.

Loki found his master sitting cross-legged in the sand, staring blankly at the water as she listened to the waves crash into the shore. He had left their breakfast in their shelter and said nothing as he silently sank down onto the ground beside her.

A minute passed until he finally asked, "What's wrong?"

Finally turning to look at him, she flashed a half-hearted smile. "Nothing. I'm fine."

Experienced in defense against the subtle art of female irritation, he didn't answer in fear of provoking her. Her posture seemed relaxed but he could see the tenseness that practically radiated from her. He honestly had no clue what was wrong, she seemed so comfortable this morning! Did something happen in the mean time?

"Well, are you hungry? I brought breakfast, it's back up by the tree," he gestured.

"Mmm, maybe later. I'm good for now, thank you though," she said, the fake smile still on her face as she turned back to the ocean.

Loki was quiet for a moment. Sensing that she wanted to be alone with her thoughts, he squeezed her shoulder before wordlessly getting up.

The return was uneventful.

Lucy eventually came back to the shelter with a smile, consuming the same amount of food as she normally did with the same amount of gusto. She was friendly and neatly packed up their supplies. She stood before Loki with her hair tied back into a messy ponytail, smiling-but it felt like a mask.

As he performed the return-his arms wrapped around her and her face pressed into the folds of his jacket-he could feel the tenseness she carried in her shoulders. He closed his eyes, inhaling one last breath of salty air as he focused on his master's apartment. He felt something of a popping in his ears and then they were there. Lucy was home.

"Seriously! Who exactly does she think she is?" exhaled Lucy, holding up a horrendously hot pink package that her landlady had left on her kitchen table. Lucy's address was there, written with a messy scrawl as it had been forwarded from the guild mailroom.

"Mmm, a princess," said Loki, who didn't have to guess who the package was from. He took off his pack and handed Lucy a pair of scissors, "What did the lovely Brooke send you? One of her extra tiaras?"

Lucy quickly cut open the box, tossing around garish tissue paper and bubble wrap until there-there was something black at the bottom, slightly shiny.

"Ah!" exclaimed Loki, who couldn't help but feel gleeful. He reached into the box, pulling out his sunglasses and sliding them on over his nose. "Much better."

Lucy rolled her eyes but grinned anyway. She felt tired, drained. For one, she had just completed a mission. Two, she just couldn't shake Aries' 'warning' out of her head. What did she mean? Lucy took a deep breath, imagining the nice hot, long bath she'd have later that night. On the exhale, she felt his fingers on her body.

Loki stood behind her, his hands snaking around her waist, ignoring the fact that her shoulders jumped up before she forcibly relaxed them. "You alright?" he asked quietly, speaking into her hair.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired," Lucy answered. She felt torn-part of her loved the closeness, the other part of her was guarded.

"Alright then," he said, pulling her in a little closer, "If you need anything, just call. Okay?"

As Lucy nodded, she closed her eyes. His touch felt lighter and lighter; she was already missing it! But by the time she opened them again, he was gone and the only golden dust that was left was floating away with the breeze.

Lucy brought her hands up, scrunching up her hair and exhaling loudly. It almost felt like a sob! She hated feeling like this, stressed out and ready to either eat a tub of ice cream or take a crazy 3 mile run. STRESS. Lucy was now pacing between her closet and her kitchen, wailing about how stressed she was when from the back of her mind, a voice (her subconscious. Who else? Lucy knew she didn't hear voices on a regular basis.) mentioned, "Stressed? Why don't you do anything about it?"

Throwing her hands out, she asked to no one/herself, "What? What can I do?" Now, she felt a little crazy. (She was talking to herself?) She stopped pacing, taking deeper breaths to stabilize herself. She had stopped right in front of bathroom door.

10 minutes later, Lucy had her tub filled nearly to the top. However, she wasn't soaking in it, her feet were planted squarely on her bath mat. Throw in the towel, curl up into a ball and sob? Ha. Lucy couldn't help but grin a little, although it was a little grim. How could she forget who she was? She was a Heartphillia, for one. And a darn good stellar spirit mage at that. Why not play to her strengths? Lucy wanted answers and there was only one place to get them. With determination, she raised a golden key. "Open, gate of the water bearer. I summon you, Aquarius!"

A/N: I feel like...idk. I was going to make a morbid "I'm not dead" joke, but by the date of my last update, I don't think I'm allowed to, haha. This sat in my draft folder forEVER. Everytime I touched it, idk. I have direction! Hopefully, xcrossing fingersx, the next one comes way easier.