Fire is catching
Chapter 19
Authors Note: Lucy is trapped by Milliana, being unable to move or fight back, her life depends on the actions of the cat girl, how will she get out of this dangerous situation?
Please do keep in mind that this story isn't set in Fiore, but in the hunger games, in which the tributes have to fight to the death. Therefore, their actions may include more violence and may have more dramatic effects than they would have in the original story.
I would use my knife to free myself if it weren't lying on the floor, inside my backpack which of course is out of reach.
Milliana is standing right in front of me now and as she bends down I see a dangerous smirk on her face.
"Oh my…what a catch" she says slowly circling around me, observing me from all sides.
"I was actually just looking for some food, but this…" she bends down "is even better".
A thick crust of blood covers Millianas arm, a deep wound. I bet she wasn't as lucky as I was yesterday. Well my lucky streak clearly ends here.
The girl fishes a long blade out of her pocket and holds it close to my neck, I hold my breath feeling the cold metal pressed against my skin.
This can't be happening, this can't be happening.
But then Milliana lets the knife down and looks at me with an unreadable expression. "Lucy from district 8, right?" she purrs.
I give her a quick nod, figuring it would be safer to answer her question.
"You know Lucy, I don't think I'll kill you straightaway because, believe it or not, I hate killing. But I think you understand that I can't let you stay alive." She gives me a questioning look and I slightly nod again.
"I'm not in hurry…, so I have some time to play with you"
In that moment I realize that Milliana really is like a cat. And right now I'm a trapped mouse and she's playing with her prey, knowing that I can't escape her sharp claws.
She steps closer, bends down so that her mouth is directly against my ear. I feel her hot breath on my skin as she whispers "I'm sorry, please understand". She pulls out her knife again, observing it carefully as if checking whether it's still sharpened.
She's still walking around me slowly and I follow her with my eyes, observing her movements.
"You know what Lucy? I'm from a poor family. I have six younger siblings and I have to work all day just in order to get some food on the table. My mom is already exhausted and fragile from all her work and my dad died in a working accident. I am the one in charge of the family. Do you know what that means?"
A shiver runs over my body as I see Milliana looking at me with wide, teary eyes.
"I can't just leave them! If I die, they're all dead because there will be nobody to take care of them, understand that? I can't die, even if I wanted to. I don't have the chance to choose, I simply have to win, there's no other possibility." Her eyes are full of despair and tears are running down her cheeks as she struggles to bring the knife down on me and slicing my throat. Her hands are shaking badly and I almost start crying with her. "Please don't think I'm a monster. I hate doing this but I have to go home" she sobs and her mask of toughness falls down, the graceful cat women is gone leaving a crying little girl that wants to protect her siblings.
"You don't have to justify yourself for killing me. This is how it works, just do it." The words came out harsher than I intended them to be, but I simply can't be understanding while she tries to kill me.
Of course I feel bad for her and I understand her motivation, but my empathy isn't stronger as my will to survive. While she was talking I had carefully slipped my hand into the pocket of my skirt and grabbed the roll of magic coins.
My fingers frantically try to get one of those stupid coins out, but I'm way too frightened.
As Milliana slowly brings down the knife it's like time slows down. I see her trembling hands, the hurt expression on her face, the glittering tears, the flash of the blade and waves of pure fear run through my body.
I don't want to die, I don't want to die! All I see is the silver blade racing toward me, aimed directly at my heart.
At least it will be quick and not that painful.
I close my eyes and mumble some last words even I can't hear.
An instant before the weapon cuts through my flesh I manage to insert the magic coin and the events come thick and fast.
Pressing the coin into my arm sends a spark of energy through it. Without hesitation I grab one of my golden keys and scream "Open up, gate of the crab. Cancer!" My spirit appears instantly and knows what to do immediately. I hear the cutting sound of his scissors, feel the rope around my ankle loosen and crumple to the floor.
I gasp for air as relief floods me and I look at my hands, not being able to believe that I'm still alive.
"Be careful ebi" Cancer says and disappears into the spirit world again.
I wanted to save the coins for emergencies, but I guess that situation counted as one.
Millianna looks at me incredulously, still holding the long knife. "How did you…?" Then she spots my keys and it draws on her.
"You…" she stammers but she doesn't finish the sentence. Her face hardens and she grabs her knife, putting it in front of her defensively. "This isn't finished yet" she squeaks, insecurity filling her voice. My hand wanders to my golden keys but I hesitate for a moment, waiting for Milliana to make a move. Rage rushes through me making my blood boil. Saving siblings or not, that girl almost killed me and now she dares to threaten me? I won't leave it at that, even if it would be the smarter thing to do.
"You can have that" I grid my teeth and run at her. I grab my key belt as a stirring pain goes through my left thigh. I see in surprise that Milliana laid her hand on a whip which she seems to control as if it was her claw.
I catch a glimpse of the wound on my leg. The area where her whip hit me is red and feels hot. Thin streams of blood run down my thigh but I try to ignore the pain.
"Open up, Gate of the Maiden…Virgo!" with a flash of light Virgo stands in front of me, dressed up in her usual maid costume. "Did you call me in order to punish me princess?"
"No. But you should punish her, Virgo." I point a finger at Millianna and all the color drains out of the young girl's face.
Virgo does as she's told to and I try to ignore the painful screams of the cat girl that cut through the air like swords. She tries to fight back, slashes at me with her whip, her movements fast like a cat's, but I sidestep the attacks, duck under them and concentrate on my magic power which is slowly decreasing. She's a fighter though, always standing up although she's clearly injured and suffering. The girl from 11 keeps coming at me, attacking me with everything she's got. Virgo leaves me with a sad smile as I use up all the magic power the coin provided. I don't want to use a second one though, I'll have to handle this with my own physical abilities.
I slash my whip at the cat girl, targeting her arms and legs in order to make her immobile, not thinking about the harm that is done to her. Of course I can hear her screams and I see the blood running down her limbs, but in the heat of the battle I just don't care. Although it may sound cruel, this is what the hunger games are: you either beat or you'll be beaten, and I want to avoid the second option at all costs. I duck under Milliana's slashes, try to sidestep them, but she gets me sometimes as well. My legs are both injured and the pain jolts through me with every step I take.
Our skills are approximately the same, the question is which one of us will last longer.
But after some time her power leaves her before mine does and she can't fight any longer. In a last effort she throws her knife at me and it brushes my arm, slightly cutting me and I grid my teeth.
With another high pitched scream Milliana breaks down on the floor und curls herself in a surrendering position.
After a while I can't stand it anymore and I let my whip drop to the floor. Hurting people isn't what I want, this feels so wrong!
I have to sit down for a moment, catching my breath, exhausted from the battle. All my muscles hurt and the adrenaline that made me go on and forget the pain is slowly vanishing, making me feel every injury.
Milliana is lying on the floor, looking like a mess. Her arm wound reopened, soaking her in her own blood. She's covered in bruises and her chest rises and falls way too slowly. She is breathing though; she's not dead, just very, very beaten up.
I cover my mouth with my hands to prevent myself from screaming. Did I just do that? Was that really me? I stare at my hands through my tears, trying to blink them away. With those hands I almost killed somebody…what have I done?
I stumble towards her, my knees trembling and again, just like yesterday, all I can do is apologize. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry", I whisper like a mantra.
"Don't be" the other girl says "We're all sitting in the same boat. I did the same. It's just that you're stronger."
My body is shaking uncontrollably. This isn't what a mage should do. Celestial spirits magic is all about the bond, the trust, the friendship between humans and spirits, not about killing people.
"Don't justify yourself for killing me. This is how it works" she repeats the words I said earlier.
Automatically, I go through Millianas pack, she doesn't even try to fight back. I steal some of her food supplies and one of her whips, grab the long knife and an extra blanket and stuff it all into my backpack.
Like in a trance I turn away from her and start running. Run, as fast as I can, trying to escape from the guilt that's overwhelming me.
I can't believe what I've done.
I knew that I would have to fight somebody in the games sooner or later, but I didn't expect it to be that easy. In battle I didn't wonder whether this was right or wrong at all, not one split second. I just let my instinct work; my will to survive turned me into a barbaric animal. I didn't hesitate or question my actions at all, it was only after the fight, when I saw Millianna's bleeding body that I realized what I'd done.
Sounds funny, right?
How quickly you can lose yourself and all your morals, your idealistic thoughts, your humanity when it comes to your own survival.
There are no heroes.
Heroes don't exist.
They are just an invention, a creation of humans to hide our true nature.
We're all egoistic, barbaric animals that only care for their own survival once it comes down to it.
It's true and I know it. I won't be a hero either. I will fight for myself, but I'll still try to keep some of my old self.
The friendly and helpful one. The girl I left in district 8. I want my family to remember me as that girl. Lucy with the bright smile, Lucy with the kind heart, Lucy with friends she loved more than anything.
I don't want them to see me as the brutal monster that the games made out of me.
But I guess this is what they'll have to look at on the screen, when they're forced to watch the hunger games back home. I hope they'll understand.
A canon goes of which makes me start. I can't help but wonder whether it was because of Milliana. When I left her back there in the deadly woods she looked in so much pain. Her wounds wouldn't stop bleeding and she winced and cried and I couldn't stand looking at her, so I took her stuff and left. I left her behind without looking back, but a part of her is still with me, haunts me even though I keep running, trying to put more distance between us. Every time I blink, I can see her in front of me, her twitched face, made unfamiliar by the pain written on it.
I can't get away from her.
Authors Note: Ugh that chapter was pretty brutal…sorry, I hope that you liked it though, tell me what you think. Well, that was the first real fight Lucy got in and although it was a really hard one and she's struggling with her feelings and accepting herself, at least she's still alive. But as we are in the hunger games, there is no such thing as relaxing or peace, new dangers wait around every corner…
Natsu: Hey Author, why didn't you tell the readers wha really happened when Milliana challenged Lucy to fight her…
Author: I did…Lucy won…that's all that's important *nervous smile*
Natsu: But you changed the whole battle part. Lucy never faught with a whip, she simply threw a ball of wool at Milliana and while that girl was playing with the wool like a cat, Lucy tripped her up. That's how she really won.
Lucy: You make it sound as if this is a pathetic way to win.
Natsu: Well, that's because it is!
Lucy: Hey! Just because I don't always violently destroy everything without thinking!
Natsu: What are you trying to say?
Natsu & Lucy: *start bickering*
Gray: It's always the same with those two… *rolling eyes*
Author: It's impossible to work with you guys! All I wanted was to write a fan fiction but you are SO ANNOYING! I QUIT! *runs away*