Anna smiled as she watched her great-granddaughters do their homework in the garden, while going back and forth in conversation. Sometimes cracking jokes and laughing. It pleased her so much that the three of them had gotten along so well. Part of her feared that maybe Lucy and Erza would particularly like Juvia very much due to them both being raised by a parent with prejudices toward mortals. But thankfully that wasn't the case at all.
All three girls were the spitting images of their mothers and that probably made them the most beautiful women in the world. Now every woman who descended from the Fiore line was born a great beauty, but the Scarlet Sisters were said to be the loveliest of them all. Irene's silken red hair, Ondina's eloquent blue eyes, and Layla's flawless facial structure, no other female mortal, witch, or monster could ever compare with them. And they passed down their perfect beauty to their own daughters.
Not just their beauty though, Erza, Juvia, and Lucy had also inherited their mother's personalities. Like Irene, Erza was studious, diligent, and loyal. Like Ondina, Juvia was kind, warm-hearted, and romantic. And like Layla, Lucy was creative, friendly, and high-spirited. Sometimes Anna found it hard to tell the difference between the older and the younger generation.
But other times she could notice aspects of Erza, Juvia, and Lucy's personalities that they couldn't have possibly gotten from their mothers. Irene had a habit of being very prideful, deceptive, and she always believed that she was right about something regardless if she was or not. Whereas Erza tried her best to humble, honest, and could admit when she was wrong about something. Ondina had been graceful, confident, and well aware of her charms. Juvia however was clumsy, shy, and didn't seem to believe that there was anything remotely special about her. Layla had been very mature, reserved, and at times submissive. Lucy on the other hand was rebellious, care-free, and pretty much did whatever she wanted.
"Similar." She said to herself. "But definitely not the same. Looking after them will definitely be a whole different experience. I only pray that they won't make as much mischief as their mothers did. Or that very least not almost expose us."
When the girls finished their homework, Anna allowed the girls to take an hour long break before she got them started on their first magic lesson. Lessons would be taught in a secret room hidden in the attic upstairs. When Juvia was younger she had never been allowed to go up there because that's where Anna had kept all her magical secrets and such a place was far too dangerous for a half-mortal child to have free access to. But now that Juvia was older, she would be permitted to see the secrets kept up there.
It was a very interesting and peculiar looking area, not at all what one would expect to find in an attic. There was a desk for Anna, a large black cauldron that hung at the center of the attic, a table on the left where a crystal ball was perched, a chest on the right which contained all sorts of charms, talismans, magical stones and crystals. A hanger to hang cloaks on and next to it a holder for broomsticks. The entire room was lined with shelves containing spell books, potions, and apothecary bottles that contained the most bizarre ingredients such as Worm's Wart, Frog's Breath, Snake Skin, Toad's Blood, Newt Eyes, Bat Wings, and Rat Tails.
"What do you do with all this stuff?" Juvia asked reading the label on one of the bottles.
"Usually I use them for witch's brew." Anna said. "But we won't start making that until you're more experienced. Today we'll start with something simple."
Anna snapped her fingers and three rocks appeared on her desk.
"I want you three to turn these rocks into a symbol of your power."
"What does that mean exactly?" Juvia said.
"Well my power is rooted in nature and the earth so I would turn this rock into leaves, a pine cone, a tree perhaps." Erza explained. "Lucy's power is over astrology and fortunes so a star or a crystal ball would be a suitable symbol and yours is based on love and emotion so I would say a rose or a dove for you."
"And how do I do that?"
"First you visualize the rock." Anna instructed. "Then you think about what you want the rock to become, you let your magic build up inside of you, and when you feel it ready to burst, you give a little twitch to let it go."
"I'm sorry Nanny Anna but I didn't understand any of that."
"Allow us to demonstrate." Erza said referring to herself and Lucy.
Erza looked at the first rock, did as Anna instructed, and with a twitch of her nose, the rock was instantly transformed into a Bonsai tree.
"Excellent work Erza." Anna praised.
"Thank you."
"Now you try Lucy."
"Do I have to?" Lucy asked. "I've done this countless times."
"And you still haven't gotten it quite right." Anna said.
"What do you mean? I always successfully turn that rock into something else."
"But you always turn it into stardust."
"So? Stardust is a symbol of my power."
"But you can't just keep turning something into only one other thing. That limits your potential. Now don't misunderstand Lucy, you're a very talented witch, but you're still struggling to break through some barriers. Hence why you have to keep practicing. Now try to turn that rock into a star."
"Okay." Lucy said rolling eyes.
She visualized the rock and tried to picture it as a star but all she could think about was how sick and tired she was at having to constantly practice spells like this over and over again. And when she wiggled her ears, poof! The second rock was transformed into bits of stardust. Again.
"Well it looks like you need more practice than I thought." Anna said observantly.
"I'm doing the best I can." Lucy said.
"You most certainly are not." Anna argued. "I can tell by the way you're looking at me. It's the exact same look your father gives me whenever I try to give him advice. He thinks I don't know what in the world I'm talking about but tries to humor me by acting like he's listening. As if I'm some deluded old woman. What your mother ever saw in that man, I'll never know. He was always far too arrogant and pretentious for my liking, and I certainly hope you don't turn out the same way Lucille."
"I'm sorry Nanny but you've been having me try to learn this same spell for as long as I can remember and the results are always the same. Maybe that's just the best I can do."
"If that were true then I wouldn't be teaching you. This is not the best you can do Lucille. You are capable of so much more but you won't achieve that unless you put forth your best effort." Anna insisted. "We'll discuss this later, Juvia why don't you give it a try now?"
"Alright."
She visualized the rock and thought about turning it into a dove, but truth be told Juvia wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to do this. As fun as riding around on broomsticks was last night, she felt like that if she kept up at this magic then she would only become a bigger freak than she already was. What good could possibly come from this?
"Nothing's happening." Lucy said after watching Juvia just stare at the third rock for five minutes.
"Well I'm doing everything Nanny told me to do." Juvia said. "I'm looking at it, I'm thinking about what I want it to be, but I'm not exactly feeling any magic build up inside of me."
"Maybe you just need a little boost of energy?" Erza suggested. "Dragonfly Coffee always helps my magic get recharged and ready to make sparks fly."
"I'm afraid it goes much deeper than energy Erza." Anna said. "Juvia's magic isn't working because she doesn't want it to work."
"What do you mean?" Juvia asked. "I want them to work."
"No you don't. You're still scared and unsure about whether or not you want to be a witch and that uncertainty has put a block on your powers. And until your uncertainty is resolved, you won't be able to use magic."
"So how does she resolve her uncertainty?" Erza asked.
"I can't tell her how. It's her feelings, her emotions. Only she can resolve them."
Anna then proceeded to gently take Juvia's hands into her own, looking at her as lovingly as possible.
"Juvia as I told you before, if this is something you don't want to do, I won't make you do it. I only want to help you, not force you. So you better tell me, is this something you want?"
Juvia made an anxious look.
"I don't know. I mean it does seem pretty exciting but what if it just makes life harder for me? What if I do something weird in front of people and they start to bully me worse than ever before? I don't know if I could bear that."
"I understand." Anna assured her. "Tell you what, why don't you take some time to really think about what you want. Take as much as time as you need and remember that whatever choice you make, I'll support you."
"Thank you Nanny."
"In the meantime, you can just sit here and observe the lesson. See what learning magic is really all about and if you really would like to learn it for yourself."
"Okay."