lucy stretched her arms out wide and yawned. the sun was out and shining already, and she rubbed her eyes.
she wasn't woken up this morning. that's odd. usually, atlas flame or celeste will wake lucy.
today, lucy sat up straight all on her own. she cocked her head both ways as if she was about to cross a street. it was all too quiet. all to hear was the light wind swaying the leaves of the trees.
total silence.
lucy was confused. where was everyone? were they playing a game? and what happened to igneel? why did he even come up here?
lucy's mind wandered elsewhere as she slowly stood up. she walked over to the castle and took the handle of the door, yanking it open.
"guys!?"
no answer. still, silence. this was so unlike them. "please answer!"
she then tripped on absolutely nothing. she felt the tears rising. "please, guys! come out where ever you are!"
why did she have to be so unlucky?
that's when she noticed a little piece of paper lying on the ground. a note?
she crawled over toward it and snatched it up.
dear lucy,
not again. not another one of these letters. did she kill them?
you're doing well & you will continue to do well. you still have your whole life ahead of you.
everything will be fine
we will meet again someday—
igneel
lucy couldn't help but cry. was this a goodbye letter? but what about the others; zerconis, celeste and atlas flame?
she shakily stood up from the ground, the note still in hand. she searched every bit of the castle and there was absolutely nothing.
"please don't be gone. . ."
she ran outside, hoping she'd find them outside waiting for her.
but when she opened the door, nothing changed. the vast green area remained alone and still.
"how could you?. . ."
she was once told by celeste, "if anything were to happen to us, or if we ever wanted to go to earthland; all we need to do is jump. i'll be waiting right there."
so lucy did it. she jumped.
all on her own.
with no one waiting for her.
no one to swoop in and fly her down.
she was by herself now.
lucy hasn't felt so alone in years.
and as lucy was falling, she didn't scream. she stopped crying and wiped away the remaining tears in her eyes. she wasn't going to cry anymore. not over anyone or anything. another loss? she's not having it.
all of a sudden, lucy's world went black.
—
lucy's eyes opened slightly. she didn't bother to move or see where she was; or bother to even know what happened.
her left hand laid at her side and she balled up her fist. she felt the dirt beneath her.
her eyes widened and she glanced around.
a forest.
the same forest,
when she met zerconis.
it just had to be this one. it does make sense, though; to be dropped back here.
she then felt the pain of her old injuries, when her father beat her, and how zerconis and the others were like the bandages.
but the wounds remain, scars now.
she now felt new injuries. not just mentally, but physically. her lip was bleeding and busted. as well as her elbow. everything else seemed to be fine, for the most part. her clothes were covered in dirt too but that didn't seem to bother her either.
that's when she stood up. she exhaled loudly and shrugged away the pain.
deciding that since she was back in earthland, —somewhere she no longer considered home— she would go to the mansion.
not for her father, but for spetto. she had promised to meet her again, and unlike everyone else lucy has met; she doesn't break her promises.
her little legs went and went, as fast as she could. she got there in five minutes.
it looked the same. a big, plain and boring mansion. there was truly nothing no longer special about this place.
she opened the oversized door and quietly walked inside.
she was greeted by silence. again.
"spetto?" she whispered.
footsteps approached.
as they got closer and closer, lucy no longer felt afraid if it was her father.
"hello?" a small, girly voice asked.
the footsteps stopped and there stood, a little old woman. "lucy?"
lucy turned toward her. "y-yeah. spetto?" spetto had looked so much different, but so did lucy.
without a second thought, the little woman ran at lucy, pulling her into a hug. "oh, dear! you have grown so much!"
"yeah and look at you, spetto!" lucy put on a fake smile. she was happy to see spetto, but she knew she couldn't truly bring herself to smile for real.
"h-hey! what happened?" spetto grabbed a hold of lucy's hand and ran into a room.
spetto picked up a bandage and wrapped it around lucy's elbow. she tried to clean up her bleeding lip, but it was no use.
"thanks," lucy said. "i'm fine, though. where is jude?"
spetto's eyes' slightly widened. for a few reasons. spetto stayed silent for a moment before speaking.
"come with me."
spetto got up and began to walk. lucy followed.
spetto led lucy to the backyard. she continued to walk toward the little graveyard where her mother —layla— was buried.
"why'd you bring me here, spetto?"
spetto said nothing as she looked at the graves. there was two more than the last time lucy had seen.
lucy squinted her eyes and walked toward them. there was layla, and beside her was none other than, jude.
she winced. did she kill him, too? he may have deserved a punishment, but death? that's another loss.
but who was beside jude? lucy was afraid to ask. but she did it anyway.
"who's this?" she asked as she caressed the gravestone.
"y—your father, he got an older woman pregnant. . . and the child d—didn't make it."
lucy hugged the gravestone right then and there.
spetto sighed heavily. "he wanted me to give you this before he died." she pulled out an envelope.
lucy kept her arms around the gravestone as she turned her head to view what spetto was talking about. her eyes widened when she saw it.
lucy pulled away from the gravestone and took the envelope.
should she read it?
lucy shook her head and stuffed it in her pocket. her pocket was nearly full, carrying igneel's letter, layla's letter, two keys and now another letter.
spetto noticed this. "would you like a bag?"
"no thanks. can i meet her?" lucy blinked up at the old woman standing in front of her.
"who?"
"the lady who was pregnant."
"oh! yes, of course." spetto began to walk inside with lucy following behind.
lucy didn't bother to tell spetto jude was not her father, but maybe she already knew that? who cares, anyway? it wouldn't make a difference.
"she doesn't live too far away from here," spetto said as she collected a few papers from an oak desk.
"she lives in magnolia— well, in the east forest. it's just outside of magnolia."
spetto handed lucy the papers. they were directions and it had some information about the woman, not much though.