Chapter 16

Lucy was in slow-motion. She was caught in a lunge, frozen in the moment. Drops of blood glistened in mid-air as she pushed herself forward, never getting any closer to Loki's falling body. The ebony arrow embedded in his shoulder gleamed brightly as she blinked.

Suddenly, she gasped and things started to move again; except this time things were happening way too fast. She didn't even realize that she had screamed until she heard the echo off the stone walls. And now, her hands were sticky with golden blood.

Big hands pulled her away; Ren's hands. In an instant, Stella swooped into the vacant space next to her son's body. With a quick, practiced motion, she snapped the end of the arrow off, murmuring powerful words. Lucy snapped back to reality as Stella's hands began to glow. One hand seemed to cauterize the wound and the other screwed the arrowhead out. Loki was conscious during the entire process. His limbs flexed and he gasped in pain but he somehow managed not to move.

"There," said Stella, holding up the two halves, "It's done."

The arrowhead was long, sharp, and serrated while the black shaft was fletched with raven feathers. Lucy had never seen a more sinister looking weapon. But perhaps the most sinister part of it was the faint trace of a liquid on the metal. It was mixed with Loki's blood but Lucy could make out a bright green, sickly looking substance on the arrowhead's edges. As she curiously extended one hand towards the arrow, Ren quickly pulled her back.

"No, Lucy. The arrow was poisoned. The effects are extremely painful to Spirits but it would be fatal to a human."

Timidly, Lucy looked up. "So they were...aiming for me?"

"Most likely, my dear," said Stella with a tired sigh. "This kind of arrow is used by only one House; that of Hydra. They would be the only ones stupid enough to accept a contract to kill off a Celestial Spirit mage. At the House of Leo, nonetheless."

Ren clenched his fists. "Who would hire these fools to attempt such a thing?!"

Wincing as he propped himself up, Loki spat. "Oh, I think I could think of someone."

Lucy quickly moved to help him up. To her surprise, he stood up, although he still needed to lean on her for some support. She glanced at the wound and exhaled in relief as she saw that it had been closed. There was a faint x-shaped scar on his skin; it looked like Loki would have it forever. Even now, she was still amazed of the wonders of Celestial magic...and the durability of her Spirits.

"So, what do we do now? Track this guy down?" said Lucy.

Ren closed his eyes and Lucy felt a pulse of power roll off of him. "He's not in our territory anymore. Son of a bitch's probably light years away if he knows whats good for him."

Smiling warmly, Stella strode forward to squeeze the shoulders of her son. "Loki, your father and I will handle the assassin," she said. Her words were cheerful but her eyes were as sharp as steel. "I think you and Lucy have something better to do. Don't you?" She winked.

"Why yes," said Loki, a faint grin on his face. "...I think we do."

Thankfully, Loki had the strength to pull the pair to the far reaches of Leo territory. There were halfway up a mountain and she could see the House silhouetted by the setting sun in the distance. Lucy still wasn't used to phasing in and out of space; the feeling of her heart plummeting to the ground still made her uneasy. She willed herself to suck it up as two of them hobbled up a hill.

"Your mom reminds me of Mira," said Lucy, who watched twin comets shoot up from the Leo complex. They streaked off into the distance before she could take another breath.

Loki chuckled. "Yep, they'd definitely hit it off. My mother is probably one of the nicest people I know, but like Mira, she's also one of the fiercest. In battle, she uses a broadsword. It's very fearsome."

"She's definitely a good person to have in your corner," said Lucy as they came to an offshoot of the path. 20 or 30 feet down the way, there was a nice, comfortable nook in the rock that seemed perfect to kick back and relax on. She was surprised to find cushions and blankets already tucked into the space.

"This is another place where I go to just...get away," said Loki, easing himself down with Lucy's help. In response to her teasing expression, he said, "Yeah, I needed space to think. A lot. I was a...very volatile kid. My childhood was rather dramatic, if you can't tell."

Lucy snorted as she settled herself down. Dramatic? That was a bit of an understatement. "Yep, I definitely get that."

They settled in to a comfortable silence. Loki's good arm leisurely rested on her shoulders as the other lay propped up by spare cushions. Lucy listened to his heartbeat. It may have been a little too much love story cliche but Lucy really did enjoy the sound that it made. It was strong and even. She sighed contently. Why couldn't every day be just like this? The sky was painted in deep oranges and reds from the sunset while the stars were just starting to twinkle; it was beautiful. She wished she could hold onto this moment forever.

"Did you know," said Loki, breaking the silence, "...that the first time I saw you, I felt three very distinct things."

"Three things?" said Lucy, turning to look at him quizzically. "Let me guess." She held up three fingers and with her best impression of love-struck Loki, she said, "Enthralled at my beauty, captivated by my personality, and awestruck by my amazing talent with Celestial Keys. Am I right?"

"No. I was terrified and I felt rather panicked." He was very matter-of-fact. "But yes, rather awestruck at your potential. Even then, I could tell you'd be a great mage. You just didn't know it then."

Lucy's face dropped. "That's not very romantic at all! But I guess I'll take the third one." She made a face. "Anything else you remember?"

"One thing: I knew you'd play a role in shaping my future. I was sure of it, but I just didn't know how." He grinned, his lips grazing the back of her palm. "And I don't think I ever expected to fall irrevocably in love with you."

Lucy couldn't help but blush yet she playfully fired back. "What about me? I never thought that I'd fall for you either, Mister-Clammy-Hands-When-He-Gets-100-Feet-Of-Me. And then you turned into lovesick over-the-top stalker boyfriend."

It was Loki's turn to make a face. "Ouch. That stings, you know."

"But," said Lucy, holding up her hand, "From the first time I saw you, I knew you were good. Even with the harem of girlfriends, the nonchalant, too-cool behavior. I knew you had a good heart."

"...I wonder how they're doing? Leslie and Mika. Jamie, Aya, Sydney...Maya and Jordan..." Loki counted off on his fingers, absent mindedly. "Oh! And you can't forget about Lara and Jennifer. Twin redheads and both of them were gifted with the best r- - -"

Lucy's glare was so concentrated, it was practically a laser beam trained right between his eyes. Yet, from years of honing, Loki's girlfriend defense was strong; It barely affected him.

"What?" He held his hands out. "It'd be a crime not to appreciate their blessings."

"Are you kidding me?" she deadpanned.

Loki burst out laughing. "Well obviously! But not really, those two. Perfection. And 100% natural too. You could squ-" A pillow hit him squarely in the face.

Lucy was not amused.

"Alright, alright. It was a joke! But it's not funny. I got it." Loki gingerly slipped his arms around her waist, his defense effectively negating the daggers that her glare continued to throw at him. "So to cheer you up..."

With an exaggerated flourish, Loki produced the ancient contract; rolling it out in front of her. He kissed her cheek as he presented her with a fountain pen.

"What. No fireworks?" playfully teased Lucy.

"Nah. Then you would have known. I thought girls like it better when these things are a surprise," He said, winking. He put the scroll down to take both of her hands in his. "Lucy, dearest. I promise that I'll always have your back, no matter what. I promise - -"

Lucy's eyes teared up as she smiled. "Loki, stop. You don't have to, I'll sign it."

"Wait, hear me out," he said, grinning as he squeezed her hands. "We're partners and we were made to become a pair. It might have taken a couple centuries for us to find each other, but it was meant to be. I know it. I promise that I'll be there for you, whether it be an alleyway of thugs that need taking down or your crazy hormonal mood swings. I'll be there for you no matter what. With ice cream, since that's the only thing that helps."

"The thugs will get ice cream too?" Lucy laughed. Her face was starting to hurt from smiling so much but she didn't care.

"Of course! Everyone loves ice cream and I'm a generous guy." Laughing, Lucy shook her head at his audacity. "But anyway, all I'm trying to say is...Lucy, I love you. If you'll have me, my heart and soul are yours. Forever. Will you sign this contract with me?"

Lucy grinned, a little impishly. "Wait, now it's my turn. Loki...I promise that I'll look the other way when your tie is extremely unfashionable - - -"

"What? Me, unfashionable?!"

"And I promise that I'll be patient when you take three times as long as I do getting ready."

"It was only. Thirty. Minutes."

"I promise that I will be respectful of the fact that you have way more shoes then I will ever have."

"...now you're having too much fun."

Lucy's smile was angelic. " Before you, I never really believed in 'soul mates.' I thought...you just go out there, find someone you get along well enough with and that's all there is to it. But with you, Loki, it's different. We click and it feels...it feels wonderful. I haven't felt this about anyone else, human or spirit, and I know that I'll never feel this way about anyone else. You're my soul mate. I love you too."

Without another word, Loki signed his name in a graceful flourish. As he handed the pen to her, the brief contact of skin was electric and Lucy's mind did a quick flashback of their history. Awkwardly meeting in the guild hall. Their first embrace at that inn. United before the Spirit King. Washed up at the beach. Holding hands at the lake.

Her eyes found the dotted line where she'd sign her soul away and her heart fluttered. Without any hesitation, she began to sign. Just as she signed the last letter of her name, the golden text on the paper began to glow brighter and brighter until she could barely stand to look at the shining document. Loki's hands found hers as Lucy felt a warmth blossom in her chest. The warmth spread until she felt it tingling in her fingers and toes- - -it was painful but it was strangely pleasurable at the same time. Just as the feeling threatened to overwhelm and consume her, it suddenly shrank; throbbing three times in her heart before fading out into nothing.

Lucy gasped, her hand flying to rest over her heart. "Wow," she said, breathing heavy, "What was that?"

Loki was also breathing hard. "That, my dear...is power." He slipped the heavy ring off of Lucy's finger and stood up before she could protest; his injury had seemingly disappeared all together. He raised his jeweled fist to the sky and softly uttered, "Regulus. Adtono."

Light burst out of the ring and traced the seal of his House into the twilight sky. It was mesmerizingly beautiful yet Lucy could feel the sheer pressure exerted by such a powerful spell. Suddenly, the seal turned bright white, exploding with a deafening boom. Lucy shielded her eyes...but the booms continued. Peeking out behind her hand, she saw that the night sky was full of...fireworks for as far as the eye could see.

"Well, you did want fireworks, didn't you?" said Loki, easing back into his seat. "And now, thanks to this power of this contract, I can do crazy big things like this! Aren't you excited?"

"...No comment," said Lucy, who already knew where this was going. She was caught halfway in a wincing expression when Loki snapped his fingers and the words "LOKI AND LUCY FOREVER XOXOXOXOXO" traced themselves in shimmering gold and silver. Each letter was at least three stories tall.

"...You and I are going to have a little talk."

Priscilla leisurely took a sip of a White Lily martini as she lounged in her open-air Commander's tent. Soldiers from her house milled around her as they prepped for battle yet even in a long, shimmering, low-cut white dress, Priscilla did not look out of place.

"My lady, the first wave is approaching. ETA 2 hours," said one of her Captains as he knelt before the tent. The coiled horns of his helmet glistened in the sunlight as he gave his report with purpose.

"Are the outer barricades up?" she sighed. She sounded bored but the Captain was smart enough to ignore it.

"Yes, my lady. I'll send out the perimeter teams to set up the shrapnel traps."

Draining her glass, Priscilla stood up and strode out of the tent. Her dress glistened in the light also; the Captain noticed that she was not wearing cloth but instead, his Commander wore a dress of extremely fine chain-mail. The links were smaller than the size of a pea. "No. You will do no such thing." Her tone had suddenly turned steely and authoritative. "Instead, you will accompany me to the front lines."

"...The front lines, my lady. It's dangerous! For your safety, I can't - - -"

"That is an order, Captain," barked Priscilla. Her features were as cold as ice. "The front lines. Immediately." Her lips curled up in a cruel smile. "I have work to do."

A/N: Adtono. Blast. I know it may not be 'canon' with the FT story, but I rather like it when he uses Latin for his spells! ^^