The start of a fic has begun! As a head's up, this is Lucy-centric. Meaning, in other words, a Lucy harem. This is my Lucy appreciation fic, and for a while have been to scared to touch on. But now, I'm back! So with a further ado, here you go!
All rights go to Hiro Mashima, the creator and lord of Fairy Tail.
Lucy stood there in awe. As of late, the turn of events within her life had made her confused with her emotions. But to top it all off, here was her most loyal companion claiming things so boldly it made her cringe. Not only was her loyal spirit staring at her with such amazement that it caused her, Lucy Heartfila, someone who grew immune to his gaze filled with emotions that were unnameable, to feel shocked. Surprised even.
No one and she meant no one, thought of her as powerful. But he did, he thought of her as more than just powerful. He described her as godly! As if!
Baffled, all she could do was blush, the intense heat causing a hazy hue of pink to dust her cheeks.
Her fingers fiddled with her golden key, who remained silent but aware, in anxiousness of her response. She couldn't picture herself as a force to be ranked with, no, maybe a small obstacle compared to her teammates. With the bitter thought, the compliment washed over her head.
Her team- no family was advancing without her. The thought gloomed over her for months, causing her to slowly dull from the once filled with sunshine to the now cloudy and always deep in thought. It wasn't like they purposefully made her feel weaker than them, no, they all but encouraged her to jump in and beat any opponent up to a pulp. But the need never came over her. The soul of a warrior was not matched to Erza, Natsu, or even Grays.
But she couldn't help but overhear what people commented, who they made her out as a person, a weakling. A tag-along. The replacement.
Of course, if her team heard any of these rather insulting names, they would be burnt to a crisp before becoming a popsicle and then sliced as if a fine piece of meat. As amusing as watching the whole episode play out, she just couldn't let them know how much it hurt her. Or haunted her. Never.
She wanted to show her worth, even if it sounded self-pitying. To her, it would show how mentally strong she was, to be seen as confident. That's how most Fairy Tail mages held themselves as. Most had full rights to, the mages in her guild were insanely powerful! It scared her to imagine going against any of them, as all of them seem to have their crazy power-ups every month.
But, the thoughts still came to her when she was all alone in her bed, gazing at the moonlight that shone into her room, getting rid of the shadows.
Was she good enough?
If she asked anyone in her guild, they would reassure her immediately and turn the conservation to a different direction.
Now, if she asked herself, she would say no. She wasn't. Compared to Natsu as he grew by the love of his family, his long life goal of finding his dragon father which kept him motivated to train constantly. Or Gray as he wanted to avenge his foster mother who taught him his magic, to grow stronger as he wanted to rival his brother. Even Ezra had goals of being stronger, all to help Jellal become a free mage and start a future with him. She was nothing compared to them.
What was her goal? To have stronger bonds with her celestial spirits obviously. But how? She never thought of the aspect until recently, deciding enough was enough. She was done hiding in the shadows, everyone constantly looking out for her if she had a paper cut. No. She wasn't fragile. Not anymore.
It was hard to come to the fact that she was slowly, but surely, falling behind everyone else.
It was bitter, seriously bitter to come to face reality. How did she let it happen? When did they all become so powerful that it seemed almost impossible to catch up to them at this rate? She had no idea how it was unnoticed till now, but she had let her guard down.
Maybe she was too focused on everyone moving on with their own lives? For better or worse, she was too safe for her to grow up, magically and physically.
Somehow, there could be a change. She just knew she could, no, she could do something about it. How though? To be matched to those powerhouses seemed impossible, scary but true. And she could only dream to overpower them at any given rate.
She knew she had to get rid of the depressing clouds that loomed over her, things would never change if she didn't. It would be hard, yes. Though it could be good to move on and get ready to kick ass.
Of course, she decided the best way to do that was Natsu's way. To take a mission that seemed crazy and then train like hell. Now that she could do it, without a doubt. Just steady thinking was her main goal. And of course, she chose a mission that just left her baffled in shock that she was currently in.
It was to get rid of the high pressure coming from a nearby forest, scaring away anyone passing by, that seemed to be no problem. However, the catch that was not added to the mission flier was that it was a celestial spirit. Not only a celestial spirit, a free one. No master in sight.
It certainly didn't look like a beast, not at all. It looked like Crux too much for her liking. He was after all a cross, easily identifying him as the northern cross, Cygnus. It did seem off at the first encounter.
She was shocked, but noting the intense aura around the spirit, she was on edge.
All that happened was for them to have a stare off when she stumbled on him in the forest, his complex features all sharp and squinted eyes bore into her. Then the tension had lifted once his eyes widened, realization hitting and his once hardened stature, if you can even call his cross form that, loosened up.
Somewhere in between the stare off, Loke appeared to woo her. No one noticed him, but what did end the stare-off was his comment, he out of all people called her a goddess of war from how fiercely she looked onto the spirit.
Her eyes squinted in concentration, eyebrows knitted together which left the two spirits to remain in silence waiting for a response. It wasn't long before she snapped out of her frozen state, her eyes looming over the lion.
"As much as I want to lecture you, it can wait," she mumbled, knowing Loke would catch the almost silent words before she turned to the cross once more. "May I ask some questions, Cyngus, the northern cross?"
The spirit gave her one more glance over before responding, "Yes blondie, get on with it."
"Where is your celestial holder?" She decided to go straight to the point, noting how Crux and Cyngus were personality-wise very different much to her dismay.
Crux is a gentle but wise spirit, as he always had her back when she needed to know anything. However, the northern cross seemed polar opposite. Snarky from what she could tell.
"I have no celestial holder, I'm more of a freelance spirit compared to your pet cat over there." He sneered at the lion, receiving a growl of warning. This only boosted the spirits' confidence.
"I never knew a celestial spirit to not have a celestial mage but be in the human world besides Leo, how are you still out with so much power?" She pondered, this spirit had to be a silver key, so how come he is so strong to stay out for this amount of time? More importantly, did the Spirit King know of this? Was Cygnus banished like Leo?
A golden light appeared between the cross and celestial mage, causing dirt to circle around the wave of magic before it diminished, another cross taking its place. Crux looked for once, more awake than ever, now staring longingly at the other cross. Lucy could only guess they were siblings or even father and son, she soon awaited to find out the truth of their unnamed bond.
"I can answer that for you princess," his soft voice cooed. "He is not a silver nor a gold key, rather a stone one."
She could only gasp. A stone key?
Loke reached down for her hand, slowly intertwining their fingers together. With a reassuring squeeze, they returned their attention to the cross.
Taking note, she knew what he said with the soft gesture. To wait and listen because she was about to get mind fucked. Even as the soothing circles that were drawn onto her hand by Loke tried soothing her, she knew that he was also as anxious as her.
"To start off, there are more than just the commonly known silver and gold keys. No, there are many different key collections that can be collected, however, some have different rules that apply to the various sets." He started, and for the first time Lucy had ever seen the older spirit, he seemed unsure of his words.
"As you now just encountered my younger brother, Cygnus the Northern Cross," she knew it, "he is a stone keyed spirit, as for the stone spirits are allowed to roam the earth without a master due to the familiarity they have with modern human times, in fact, they hold their own key till they find a mage worth giving themselves to."
He paused, knowing the questions circling her head in a frenzy.
"So what are the stone keys supposed to represent?" She gave Loke his own squeeze, noting how he sent her a soft purr in happiness in response.
"The stone keys represent antiques, more commonly known as objects. Such as Circinus the compass, a spirit that specializes in locating anything at any given time, with the power to transport if unlocking her full potential. Of course, being a compass can tell which direction you must go and where the north, south, west, and east are located."
Blown away, she could only gasp.
"With my brother, he is a combat spirit among his key set. He has a human form where he is specialized in close combat while also utilizing a hammer if he pleases. This however is only unlocked when contracted to a celestial mage, such as yourself, as he can agree to hand over his key by deeming you worthy or fighting against him for it.`` He sent a fond smile over at the younger sibling, receiving a soft but loving smile of acknowledgment.
Instead of Crux, his brother resumed for him.
"The form I hold currently is my original form, to represent human history and literature. I have what is known of human history in my archives, unlike my older brother. However, from my knowledge of you blonde, you seem too odd for a mere celestial mage."
The comment made everyone look at him in question, confused expressions dawning over them. This made Cygnus scoff before continuing.
"If you didn't notice, your magical pressure is way too much for a celestial holder. Otherwise, you would have been dead by now." He glowered.
"Gee thanks," she sarcastically replied, rolling her eyes at how blunt he was.
"No, I'm implying there's something much different. It is another form of celestial magic you have not tapped into." He suddenly became serious, sharp features once returning. The air stiffened from his reveal that had both Lucy and Loke surprised.
"Cygnus, I don't think-"
"Crux," he paused, looking over to his brother, "She has the right to know."
Loke seemed distressed from her quick glance to see if he was catching all of this, at least someone was as confused as she was. Another magic? How can that be when it never awakened after so long?
"It's called Star Dress," collective gasps came from the group, "It is where you the celestial holder can wield the power of any spirit you possess, being able to use their magic as a form of requip. It will be challenging if you do decide to tap into it, counting the amount of keys that hang in your pouch, you would need training."
Loke, the one who quickly came to his senses faster than the other two, took a challenging step towards the cross. "How come I, the leader of the zodiac, never heard of this? And more importantly, why has no one told Lucy about this hidden magic within her?"
"You annoying lion, only the stone-keyed spirits such as myself have knowledge of this. In direct orders of our king, he does not want any human-bound keys to have this knowledge due to the high amount of abusive celestial mages, they could easily make the purest form of celestial magic into dark magic." He snapped back, his floating form now more visible as he also took his own stand against the demanding man. "As for no one informing her, it is up to the King to decide whether she is able to hone in on this magic. I'm assuming that he was waiting till she realized she had it to announce anything."
Looking questionably towards the two, Lucy didn't know what to do. She wanted to relax Loke and reassure him it was okay, but to know that he had no clue of what this was in order of the king? She knew he was panicking. Then again, it wasn't Cygnus's fault either as he was only knowledgeable of this information from orders from the King.
Lucy still didn't know how to feel. How long has this magic been within her? Did she always have this magic? The thought angered her. She could have used this to help her nakama. All of this time felt wasted as she had to helplessly watch people save her time and time again.
As the reality began to sink in, so did the realization of if she didn't do something about this magic. Magic isn't meant to be steady, no, if this magic has been untouched for years then she needed to stabilize it with training and adjusting her body. Startled, she closed her eyes. If she didn't do anything, it could kill her.
The thought of it possibly killing her if she didn't find a way to handle this magic scared her. She had to figure out a way to use this magic, and fast. If Cygnus knew anything else about this "star dress", then she needed to pry more information from him.
As Loke and Cygnus continued bickering, she let her eyes analyze the cross in thought.
He was slightly bigger than Crux, rather than the gray that his brother was, he was an obsidian black. Irritated golden eyes stared at the lion in annoyance, as Lucy could only stare in awe of the now noticeable but beautiful marbling that completed the spirit's eyes. She never knew for a spirit to have such marbling that was so dark compared to the light of the celestial realm.
In awe, she took a few steps forward, unnoticed by the two-heated spirits. As she got between them, before hesitantly raising her hand to feel the cracks and marble as if in a trance.
Cygnus was taken aback, almost yelling at the blond for being foolish and to learn about personal space, before a sense of comfort washed over him. What was this feeling he could only ask himself before enjoying it as her slim fingers began tracing every line her eyes could muster. They didn't feel the stares of the others, rather having a silent conservation with the tracing, as his guard had finally slowly cracked down.
Crux could only smile, lip trembling at the sight of his younger brother finally connecting with someone other than him. After years of war and hatred for humans, his brother grew distant each time they somehow met. Yet, his princess had gotten under the brick walls, had made herself at home, and got him to smile.
She was one of a kind, that was for sure in his eyes.
The only one who didn't find this happy was the lion, who growled in annoyance of his princess touching the spirit, even if he was in that cross form. He knew better than to swat her hands away and throw a mighty regulus punch at Cygnus like his instincts wanted to, if only she wouldn't get mad and lecture him to be nice and force his gate closed would he have done it. Irritated, he forced himself to look away.
Then again he can't really get mad at the small girl, no matter how protective he got over the blond beauty that made his summons all the more special. No, he couldn't.
She was charming in her own way, drawing any type of crowd to feel her kindness and see her radiant beauty glow among them. To be her spirit, he felt honored. And now this man was already adoring her, damn her for being so kind.
He already had enough to worry about when her idiotic team would hover over him as if they were literal dragons, and to make her fall in love with him was becoming a challenge that he didn't want to fail. No, he would keep trying till she felt the same way. Even if it took years for her to realize. He could wait.
Loke was pulled out of his thoughts when that damn cross sent him a smirk as if Cygnus could read his thoughts. He wanted to snarl at the cockiness the spirit began radiating but he knew to keep his jealousy intact. Lucy wouldn't appreciate him ripping the cocky look off her potentially newest spirit.
He wasn't the only one to notice the look, Crux only chuckled in approval. He was outnumbered...
"Sorry to ruin the moment but we should wrap this up," He all but growled, his canines revealing slowly. He could all but feel his upper lip twitch in annoyance.
"Ah yes, you're right for once fur ball," The northern cross drawled.
With a more agitated growl, he was so close to ripping the damn smug look off his face.
"Now blondie, I am offering my key for only three reasons so listen up because I will not repeat myself," he huffed. "One, you're going to need my help if you want to harness that power within you, I'm the only one who'll be able to truly help you. Secondly, I miss my human form very much so expect a lot of it. And lastly, I need to catch up with my brother, so interrupt my time with him and I'll make you regret it."
She all but cheered, and before Loke knew it, she hugged the spirit tightly. This was cruel.
"Of course! Thank you so much Cygnus, I'll make sure to train my hardest," she pursed her lips, as if thinking for a quick second. "Oh yes, as I already know your magic, when can I summon you, and is there anything else I should know?"
The spirit chuckled, already enjoying the blond.
"Do not summon me on the weekends. Other than that no," was all he said.
Before Lucy responded back, Cygnus lifted an arm to his forehead, where a key began to form, the stone branches wrapping around each other eagerly before completing its shape and coming out. Cygnus handed the key over to Lucy who only stared at it in awe.
The key was obviously a dark stone, with different cracks that created patterns that were uneven before becoming evened out when it came towards the end, taking the shape of a cross. There was a small gem as if a sapphire was glued to the forehead of the cross, which was surprisingly now there once the key was gone. The stone was black, but glistened under the sunlight, seemingly being able to thrive under the stare of moonlight that kissed its tiny form.
Cygnus watched as Lucy analyzed the key, truly appreciating what it was and who it was to open, and he couldn't help but stare at her too in wonder.
Letting her eyes take in the delicate detail etched into the key, appreciating just how much it told about her newest addition to her family. She geeked over the key, slowly coming back to reality and placing the key among the others, seeing a soft glow radiating out.
"As far as I know, I and your lion spirit will set up a training schedule for you to excel at both summoning and wielding your spirit's powers, while also training your body to keep up with the magical source inside of your tiny frame," Cygnus explained.
Lucy nodded her head in excitement, not taking his words to heart.
"While we train both your body and magic, we will also be looking for the other key sets, all of that will be explained later when we have an actual plan to follow by. Other than that, you and the maid spirit will need better clothing than that."
His eyes skimmed over her body, and quickly made it's way to make eye contact with her, "This would absolutely not do for the training i'm thinking of blonde!" He all but laughed in his obnoxious voice that Loke was on the verge of making shut up. He could not wait to go to the celestial realm and teach this guy a lesson for messing with his princess.
"That's fine, anything else before we set out?" Was all she said, not noticing the intense aura coming from her side, the cat all but gripping his glasses a little too hard, when the spirit made his move to speak once again, his grip broke the pair of shades into two accidentally.
"Now, now Leo, how about we leave the two to finish their contract?" Crux said with an all-knowing smile, clearly seeing the scene play out with glee. Before being able to tear the man to shreds, Lucy placed a hand onto his shoulder, embracing him with her sweet scent of vanilla and strawberries, relaxing his frustrated nerves.
"Please, Loke? I would like to get to know my newest spirit without you growling in my ear," she joked, giving him her best smile.
His sweet princess was going to be alone with this creep…
"I'll take you to that new sushi restaurant if you behave!" She tried cheering him up, already noting the older cross went back to the Celestial Relam already.
Quickly taking her into his embrace, he rubbed his scent onto her head to calm him down once more. "Summon me if anything happens, I care for you too much princess".
The words went unnoticed in her dense ears, not realizing how he put affection in them, even compassion was laced thickly when it came to times to leave her. However, the other spirit did notice and had a soft frown, clearly not enjoying the scene.
As he took his leave, he missed the warmth of her embrace that still loomed onto him.
She glanced at her newest spirit in curiosity, already excited about the new bond she can make with the mysterious cross. He was clearly nothing like his older brother, no, he reminded her of Laxus with the snarky comments or even the aura of Gajeel. Then again, he was unique in his own fiery way.
She began to wonder what this shield he put himself in was for, and why he seemed to be rather snarky when his brother was kind and lighthearted. But how to put it into words was her problem…
"Blondie, you're staring." He commented, his eyes lazily taking notice of her form, already able to read her easily. "Not that I care."
Weirdly enough, she giggled at how weird he was. "You're a cross Cygnus, and a spirit nonetheless".
"You'll see," was all he said before returning to silence, waiting for her to make the next move once again. He was rather awkward when there wasn't always a challenge to put him off foot, which was interesting.
He yawned, obviously teasing her.
"Well Cygnus, do you know what the Star Dress for you will look like?" She asked curiously, one of the questions that had been eating at her since they mentioned the hidden magic.
With an amused grin, he wagged his eyebrows and that she needed to know without further questioning the spirit. It was interesting learning about his true personality even if it was very well hidden from most who wouldn't take time off to spend with the spirit. He was very different from her spirits, he was cocky, confident, and a bigger goof than her lion.
But that was okay. It was perfect.
She could already tell that this spirit was going to lead to something crazy, and she was more than ready to face them. Excited even if she had to be honest with herself.
"I'm taking it as I don't want to know yet?" She questioned only for an all but eager nod was her response. Laughing, she sat next to his floating form, taking in the comfort of being next to him. The two remained in silence, enjoying the other's company.
She knew that her life was about to change, maybe more than she wanted. But it was fate in a way. This cross had changed her whole life, claiming she had the purest form of celestial magic, and she was all but excited to see the changes in her life. If anything, she had to thank the cross that floated beside her.
He seemed lost in thought, possibly enjoying the breeze that flowed between the trees, the crisp smell of dirt and flowers laid over them as she sat on the flower patch, and or even the sight of the horizon being masked by the trees that spread for miles and miles. It was a beautiful sight. As she took a soft gasp of awe at the sight she once failed to notice, she felt a gaze looking upon her, only to make eye contact with the cross.
"Lucy, opening this power may be dangerous," he mumbled as if conflicted about his words.
"What do you mean Cygnus?" She said after a pregnant pause, now nibbling her lip in worry.
"Even with your celestial magic, you must have attracted attention as it is a very rare magic. Now knowing of your full potential with Star Dress, the attention will become worse and we must act quickly to combat this," Cygnus seemed wise for a minute, almost a look-alike with Crux.
She hummed for a second in acknowledgment.
"This also brings the eyes of dark mages among the attractions you will gain, either wanting to recruit or use you due to the mass elemental and physical power you can gain if you go through with the training," he became more troubled. "I worry that this could lead to a path of destruction and death knowing mankind…"
As he trailed off, Lucy gently grabbed a hold of his hand, giving him a reassuring squeeze to show that it'll be okay in the end. At least she hoped it would be.
With a heaved sigh, he decided to continue his train of thought.
"Even though you are a strong mage, even though I could feel the magical pressure you radiate off naturally, I have an odd feeling you can handle what life throws at you," Cygnus whispered out.
"That might be from always getting kidnapped, heh," she tried musing him, to which he rolled his eyes at her.
There was a brief pause, in which Cygnus sighed at the silence of the field.
Copying his sigh, she got more comfy by completely laying on the grass, feeling her blond hair frame her heart-shaped face. The grass tickled her exposed skin, but she didn't let it bother her. Lazily staring at the soon-to-be starry sky, she let herself relax.
"Lucy…" Cygnus whispered, barely catching her attention. Turning her head to look at him, she saw his soft gaze linger on her form. His eyes were softer than usual, a soft smile almost matching his brothers. She fidgeted under his stare, noticing he took a while to respond.
"Do you like that lion spirit of yours?" As soon as he said it, he turned away, his eyes fixed on the tree in front of them as if it were an enemy. He thought she liked Loke like that? Why?
"Well no, I haven't really looked for a boyfriend in a while since I have been so busy," she admitted, still waiting for his gaze to match hers. It wasn't long before he turned back, another staring match until he only chuckled.
Raising an eyebrow, she was confused.
"You're more innocent than I thought you were blondie," was all he said before fixing his gaze once again to enjoy the beautiful display of nature around them, and Lucy honestly did not mind having more questions left unanswered. It could wait till the morning to harass the spirit who was so transfixed by the scenery, his composure now relaxed as he slowly moved to the floor.
But she ignored the ignorant man, deciding to copy him and fully relax once again, even if it was harder than she originally thought it was.
He was tough to read, but it made her want to crack the code and figure him out completely. That however could be postponed for another day, maybe even a training day. Now she was getting more pumped for the exciting parts of her training.
Once she returned back home, she will be stronger. She can promise that to herself and her family, that she will be a force to fear one day, a title like that would be compared to Gildarts hopefully. All she wanted was to be able to stand by her team's side and feel like a powerhouse among them, to feel like one of them. If only, then she will finally be at peace.
However right at the moment, she was with this new spirit filled with mysteries and secrets, and she couldn't wait to make him comfortable enough for his tough guard to come down. Once confident and fiery, now he was openly showing his worry and care over her.
Was she mistaken? Maybe it's just her eyes…
"Lucy, you're going to get wrinkles if you keep doing that." The cross stated.
A heated blush heated her cheeks, and she immediately threw a shoe at him. "Shut up!"
He only dodged and chuckled, his eyes lingering on her before returning straight forward, masking in silence once again. How could he go from joking to so gloomy and dark so quickly? Now that was a mystery on its own.
She wanted to know this spirit, something about him drew her to him for a reason, and she was determined to figure out what it was. No matter what!
With the initial thought, she decided to have a good look at him. Of course, she recognized the obsidian color he held, along with white marbling going in unpredictable zig-zags around his body. When not angry or sneering, his eyes seemed soft, the golden orbs looming over the trees. They reminded her of the stars, and it only made sense because he knew all about them by heart. It complemented the obsidian color, making it pop even more than it originally would.
With a gentle hand, she went to go feel the marbling, earning a curious look from the spirit. "What are you doing blonde?"
"Are these supposed to represent scars?" Was all she could muster. It was a loose thought, one that came to mind and escaped her mouth before she realized what she said.
He nodded, as if pained and it hurt her to know that he had so many. Even if they were beautiful, it must kill him to have been through so much. And with a determined look, she decided that she would make him feel secure, to get rid of the scars that lay mentally in his head. As if she made herself a promise to do so, she continued feeling the scarring on his arm, showing him that it wasn't bothersome.
"Well they are very beautiful," she complimented, running her dainty fingers to feel the scars, not minding the rougher feeling. If anything, it gained her more respect for the spirit.
He looked at her in shock, maybe even awe, who would've known that he would find someone so caring… Kind in other words, she seems to be one of a kind.
If only she saw the real human scars that he held in his human form, then things could change, thankfully she seems unbothered at the moment. Enchanted by it maybe. It blew him away at how comfortable she made him feel, no human has done that before, especially just meeting for the first time.
"I know I'm beautiful, blonde, you're already fawning over me!" he laughed at how flabbergasted she looked before laughing along.
"And you're crazy," she snickered before letting herself doze off to the sound of the breeze.
