Author's Note: Thanks for the awesome reviews. I really appreciated it and it pumped me up to write the next chapter. However, I had a manga to draw so it took me a while to finish both this and the manga, but I did it and here it is. Well, actually I decided to use the manga as my excuse to be lazy, so…yea. This is a continuation of 'Children of Lightning' to finish off the last bit of her eventful past and you're going to find out why she's afraid of lightning. I thought I would have been able to cap off her past around the middle of this chapter, but it ended up being longer than I thought,… so… yea. Enjoy, R&R!

Chapter 6
The Curse Called Lightning

By the time my eyes opened the night had already fallen. I had no idea of the time, I just felt myself drifting over the calm waters. It could have already been days since that merchant's boat blew up, but for some reason I'm still alive, so it couldn't have been too long. The only thing I could do was lay back, floating, and look up at the open, night sky and the glowing crescent moon to think, hoping that everything would just get better. I kept trying, but the more I tried to forget what happened, the more tears seemed to roll down my cheeks. The brother whom I barely knew for a day, whom I anxiously waited for months for him to arrive, was killed on that boat. I would watch the sun rise for the morning and seagulls would fly just above my head, screeching as if they were mocking me. I watched the sun go down and the moon rise for his nightly shift as those same gulls flew home, leaving worthless me behind, with no way of returning home. This same routine repeated itself three times, for three days and three nights. My body was numb from being pinched all over by small fish and pecked continuously by tormenting birds. My vision was blurred as my body was weak from starvation. I barely ate as a slave, so I knew it wouldn't take long without food for me to reach a breaking point. I was near starvation at the R-System, near death even, from being whipped and being thrown into the torture room but I would still rather go back than have to put up with this suffering any longer.

As I floated closer to land, I felt something press against my back. Out the corner of my eye, I could see rope, the type typically used in fishing net. Although my body was numb, I still felt myself being tugged out of the water along with a few large fish. As I drew closer to shore, I felt myself slowly losing consciousness. When I finally hit the shoreline, I closed my eyes and let myself fall unconscious. I'm not sure if it was a reaction to the sudden change in pace and environment, or if my body was attempting to shut down. In either case, I was happy, even if I couldn't express it on my face, inside my mind I rejoiced before blacking out completely. My body could rest assuredly and at ease in these serene surroundings. I could die in peace here, I thought and so I let my body go.

Surprisingly, I didn't die. My eyes peeked open as my nose caught the aroma of something cooking. I only smelt aromas this good when the guards back at the R-System were eating their feasts while we ate whatever leftover scraps were thrown aside the day before. My body quickly sat up on its own, if only to intoxicate itself and make believe my belly was being filled. Even though I was sitting up, my body was still sore and it was painful to move, but it was even more painful to die of starvation while savoring this divine scent of food. I forced myself to crawl on all fours in order to locate the food, in high hopes that I could get even a tiny morsel. The faster I moved the quicker I would get there, so I moved as swiftly as I could, ignoring the jabbing pain from my salt covered wounds.

What I stumbled upon was an open fire with a stand above it that held a large iron pot. I went closer to see a stew of some sort cooking with fish, possibly the ones that got dragged in with me. There was no one around and some bowls stacked on the ground with some spoons in them, so I helped myself to the stew, hopefully I wouldn't get caught. I overflowed my bowl with stew making sure to get some fish, too and I immediately starting to chow down. As I ate, I looked around myself. I wasn't on the beach anymore, it was more like the middle of a forest, surrounded by tall trees. It was night, so it was hard to see, and behind the trees just looked like one big shadow. I finished my stew, licking away whatever stray drips found their way out and thought to myself, I don't think I've ever eaten this much! I'm so happy! I was definitely overjoyed with the way things were changing for me, I even felt a smile curl itself on my face.

Suddenly I heard a rustling in the bushes. A lot of possible things it could be raced through my head, but no matter what it was I was prepared. Something small and brown, with unruly and fuzzy hair peeked through the bushes, so I thought it was either a big monkey, or a small bear. Slowly it emerged, or should I say he. A tall man who stood about six foot nine came out of the bushes. The small, brown, unruly fur was his hair. He was smiling for no apparent reason and just stood there. He seemed young, around the age of twenty four, maybe.

"So, this is the girl she was talking about." he said.

"Who are you?"

"Eh, its mean to ask that after you ate some of my food without even asking. I should be the one asking you that."

Again, I heard another rustling in the bushes, but this time it was a woman holding hands with a little boy, probably her son. He had short white hair and so did she. Their eyes were the same misty blue as well. There was no mistaking they were related. Looking at him reminded me of what happened to my little brother and sadness overwhelmed me, but I still tried to force the tears back that were building up in my eyes. I always tried to look strong in front of others, and even though I don't know these people, I can't let them see me cry.

The boy tugged on his mother's sleeve, pointed at me, and whiningly asked, "Mama, mama, who is that?"

She looked at me and smiled. Then, she looked back at her confused, young son and said, "Tanzeru, go with your father to get some water, please." The little boy ran to the man with bed-head, wearing a big smile on his face and they disappeared heading towards the mountains further up. Now, it was down to just me and the lady.

With her head tilted, she placed her hand on her chin and jokingly said, "I never expected to catch a little girl in my net. I was so surprised when I saw you literally 'sleeping with the fishes'." ending with a slight giggle.

I felt myself relax a bit. I thought I was about to be in some trouble or something, but she seemed nice. Embarrassed, I responded, "Thank you for saving me, a little bit longer and I might have been done for." I scratched the back of my head and glanced up at the stars, thinking about what I would do from now on.

She giggled again, this time concealing it behind the hand that crept its way up from the chin to cover her mouth. I never saw someone seem so happy before, (probably because of where I grew up), so it seemed sort of weird to see someone laugh so much. But, somehow, she reminded me of my mother every time she smiled.

She smiled and said, "Sorry, but, I was wondering if I could ask you some questions?" Curiously, I nodded, surprised that she was getting more and more excited with every passing second.

"Where exactly… is your family?" she asked innocently, unaware of how much pain I felt when she said it.

Attempting to stay strong, I felt my body begin to tremble and I was stuttering. "Wha… What exactly… do you mean by… 'family'?"

"You know! A family. Like a mom, or dad, or sister, or brother!"

Trying to think of how I could answer her, my stuttering became more severe. "That's right. Uh,… uhmm… my fa… family. Bloodwise, I only have… a mother, since my… little bro… little brother… is dead. I never knew my dad,… 'cuz he died a few months after I was born. My mom… is a slave, in a place pretty far from here. It took me days to drift here." I put on a faux smile in an attempt to trick her into thinking I didn't mind talking about it, but I could see she wasn't fooled. Her face turned serious and her smile was gone.

"Then what is your name?"

"It's Karina. I'm five."

"Karina what, don't you have a last name?"

I nodded to say no. "My mother just said that I was a 'Child of Lightning' and told me a story. None of the slaves who grew up there knew their last names."

I noticed the woman flinch a bit after I mentioned being a child of lightning. She seemed really serious now, it was almost scary. She murmured something under her breath. I couldn't quite make out what she was saying, but it seemed like she was arguing with herself. It seemed like she finally came to a decision with herself as she walked towards me. She put her hands on my shoulders and kneeled down to look me in the eye. Her serious expression, suddenly changed into a happy one as she smiled at me and asked, "You said that you're little brother had passed away, right. How would you like to have my son as a little brother? Tanzeru has always wanted an older sibling. I'm not trying to replace your little brother or anything like that, but it could help you fill the void and also make Tanzeru's dream come true."

I could even feel the puzzled look on my face, trying to piece together what was going on. "You're asking me… what?"

"I'm asking you to become a member of our small family. To become Karina Van Kreizer. Please don't refuse. We'll raise you as our own!"

Still a bit confused, I agreed to her offer. She jumped up and started cheering like an energetic child who was finally allowed to get something they wanted. It was awkward, but funny so I laughed. That was exactly how my mother acted before she became ill. It was impossible for anyone around her, whether guard or slave, to be sad while she was in their presence.

After the guys came back, they sat down and ate. They talked and laughed together like a family should, it was what I had always wished for. After everyone was full and cleanup was done, we headed for the mountains, which is where the family's home was located. It was no wonder Tanzeru wanted an older sibling, living in the mountains, there was no one he could play with. It reminded of how I would wait for a kid my age to play with, before Eru-chan came along. I could understand his lonely feeling.

While we were walking, it felt a bit awkward. I could feel Tanzeru staring at me the whole time through, and every time I looked back at him he would just smile at me. It was beginning to be creepy. When we reached to the front of a large wooden house, the boy tugged on my shirt and said, "Hey, when are you going back home, mountain girl."

I thought to myself, Did he just call me a mountain girl? But, what could I expect, I just wore a shirt and shorts, and even those were torn, ripped, and stained. I wore the same thing for as long as I could remember.

"Tanzeru, that's no way to talk to your big sister." his father said in a playful tone.

It felt weird being called a big sister since the only person who ever called me that was Erza, and even that was only on occasion. But seeing the boy smile actually made me feel happy, too.

…

About two uneventful years went by and it was Tanzeru's fifth birthday. We had traveled to Harujion Town. It was the only place my dad would take us since it had the least amount of mages and magical merchandise. There was one rule in that house that always stood stern to my father, and that was rule number 1, No magic or anything that has to do with it. For some reason, he hated mages, even though my mother used to be one. She had to quit her guild after they got married and she never used magic again, she retired as a mage. I couldn't tell him that I was secretly practicing my newly found lightning magic, and Tanzeru knew too, since he would watch each of my practices. It was a secret between us. We rented an inn to stay in until we went back home after the vacation week. After Tanzeru's birthday party, mom and dad went out and left Tanzeru and I back at the inn.

"Show me your lightning magic again!"

"No way, I'm not risking it here. You know dad would freak out."

"Come on, its my birthday! Please!"

After he constantly kept begging me, I decided to show him the magic. I extended my arm as lightning flowed down it, and using my second hand, I shaped it into a ball. I felt proud that I could control it so well, I knew my real mom would be proud as well. Tanzeru watched in astonishment, because it was the first time he saw me do it. I was practicing the trick for months ever since I discovered my lightning powers. This was the first time I actually got it right. Suddenly the door opened and I heard my father's voice yelling, "I thought I said no magic! What are you doing?"

He surprised me and I lost concentration. The lightning ball was destroyed, and stray bolts flew everywhere. Most of them hit the ground and were absorbed, but one hit Tanzeru and one hit my father. A few of them hit me, but I was used to getting shocked by now after all that practicing, so it didn't really affect me. My father fell to the ground gasping for air and Tanzeru's shoulder and upper arm revealed the path the lightning traveled down before exiting out his elbow, leaving a path of ripped flesh and blood behind it. I began to panic after my father stopped breathing and Tanzeru was bawling on the floor, holding the open gash wound on his arm. I couldn't stop the tears that were flowing down like a waterfall as I cried, shaking my father's lifeless body, hoping to revive it. My mother walked in and gasped, dropping her bag. She ran to lift up Tanzeru and sat by her husband's side. She yelled to the owner of the inn to call an ambulance immediately. They arrived within minutes and took my father and brother to the ambulance. My mother rode in the ambulance that my father left in, while I went with Tanzeru. Tanzeru was silent, he fainted from pain already. I sat in the corner, remembering the story mom told me, 'The Children of Lightning'. More accurately I remembered the first line of the lightning dragon's message, "To the children of lightning, you will be cursed and tormented by your own element." I was slowly beginning to understand the message. I thought to myself, What had just happened was unavoidable, but no matter how much times I said that to myself, I still felt guilty throughout the whole trip to the hospital.

…

Three years passed since Tanzeru was released from the hospital and my father was pronounced dead. Both Tanzeru and my mother would try to convince me it wasn't my fault, but I knew that it was. We moved to Harujion Town since that day. We visited my father's grave every year, and I would apologize each time. As a matter of fact, we were just returning from visiting my father's grave. A thunder storm caught us and we were forced to rush through the rain, by the riverside. Tanzeru and I shared an umbrella and mom had her own. She kept yelling at Tanzeru and I to slow down and that's when it happened. Lightning flashed and struck right between my mother and I and she lost her footing. She slipped back and rolled into the river. The slope down was too far and we couldn't reach her, so she was swept away and swallowed by the river. Tanzeru was yelling and calling to mom, but she wouldn't come up. His tears seemed to flow endlessly, like the rain that harshly pelted us, but for some reason I couldn't cry. I wanted to, but it was like all my tears were gone and used up. I felt Tanzeru press up against my back, furiously wiping away tears and rain drops. He cried, "Karina! Mom's gone, she's not coming back up! We have to save her."

I clenched my teeth in disbelief of my own words as I said, "Don't worry everything will be just fine."

"Karina, how could you say that? If you won't go, then I will."

He moved back and was seriously about to dive into the river, so I held his shoulder. He whimpered in pain, so I pulled my hand back. I didn't realize it was the scar from when my lightning struck him. I told him in a stern voice, "If you go down there, what do you think would happen to you? I lost dad and just lost mom, I don't want to lose you, too! Especially not when I know I can avoid it. I promise, no, I vow, I'll protect you with all my might. So don't go." It seemed I convinced him as he came and hugged me with his head held low, trying to hide his tears.

I may have sounded strong, but in truth I had no idea of what I was going to do. We couldn't stay at the inn anymore, we were on rent. So I decided to learn wind magic from a mage I met. I believe his name was Erigor, or something like that. He said he was from a guild, but I don't remember it's name. He taught me as much as he felt I could do and then left and told me to take on jobs, any job I could get as long as I didn't have to sacrifice my pride as a mage. Since the day I turned thirteen, Tanzeru and I traveled all over Fiore, living in various homes only to leave in the next few weeks. I took on jobs from random people and paid for food and rent. I refused to use my lightning magic anymore, in fact, every time I see lightning now, I remember all the pain it caused for me. It struck on the day the merchant's ship blew up and my brother died, my lightning magic killed my father, and lightning caused my mother to lose her footing and slip into the river to drown. Lightning… is nothing but a curse for me.

Author's note: I didn't expect it to be this long, guess I got carried away with the details. Anyway after this, I'll definitely take off from where we last left off before I got into telling her past. Hope it didn't annoy any of you guys. See you soon!