LUCIA

12 Training: The Unnamed

Rose petals and a faint oxblood light, fluttered under the moonlight before gathering at one point on a tree branch. The woman who had always worn a hood and had even transformed herself into a man, sat quietly while getting a view through Lucia's window. She had no alms as to showing her face ever since she transformed into a man.
'Like I thought. He wasn't happy...that nephew of mine. An emperor, but also a child' she thought 'Compared to him, the seal on Lucia is holding on, quite well. Though, I am just a guarantor of 'just in case' '
She stared at Lucia who was letting out steady breaths, 'My extra powers are gotten from the heart crystal embedded in my actual body's forehead. Given by my dear friend, to protect her son' she thought 'Among those powers, is the power my dear friend got, after copulating with that descendant of Asmodeus. Asmodeus' seal: Crimson Garden. It doesn't appear on any part of the body but, on a certain organ which not only moves blood round the body but also moves magic'.
"It was the right choice seeing as one of her bloodlines have already been tainted by Asmodeus' curse. The seal should not be a problem" she said "The magic types won't clash and everything thereafter will make it seem like the sealing never happened"
'The question is, how long will it take before she realises she's different?' she sighed 'That's none of my business'
******
"Little one, did you know...mum can tell how special you are" a beautiful but monotone voice said. Her caramel hair swaying in the wind and mystic neon blue eyes looking out the window as she gently caressed her belly
"Pamela, you should be careful. It's pretty cold" a man said as he draped his coat over the woman. If anyone had seen him, they would have realised that it was Melvin. He lowered his head and rested it on Pamela's belly
"Melvin, I want you to love this child as much as you love me" Pamela said as she played with Melvin's almost golden hair
"You're a cruel woman as always" Melvin said as his tears dropped on Pamela's belly "Always ignoring my feelings like they don't matter. Sometimes it makes me wonder if you really love me" he tightly held the hand on his head
"And you're still a very shameless man" Pamela said as she lowered her head and kissed Melvin's forehead "You always tend to hit me with those words. You mean a lot to me, Melvin"
"Not once have you told me you love me. It's always the same thing"
"Cause if I told you, you knowing I'll be dying in two months time, won't be able to hold you emotions. For sure, you'll cry more than me, who's leaving their own child and going to the afterlife" she said in a jokingly manner and Melvin looked back at her with reddened eyes
"You're right. So don't tell me until later" Melvin said "I truly won't be able to handle it. But I will promise you one thing, I will love Lucia"
"Lucia? She has such a beautiful name"
"Light. You always said our baby girl would be born special and with a bright personality" Melvin said as he took one of Pamela's hands and kissed it "I prepared that name with your choices in mind" he said and Pamela smiled warmly at him.....
.....Lucia blinked a couple of times and held her head. It was already morning the next day and her head felt like it was about to explode, while her eyes felt sore from crying through the night 'Seriously....what is with these dreams?' she wondered as she turned to the side and held the sheets tightly, "My eyes hurt" she mumbled
'That time in Neinhart...when I saw mum at dawn, holding me as a baby, she looked so sad, as she had to hand me over to dad, before disappearing without a trace...that was probably the time she died...did she ever get the chance to tell dad she loved him?' she thought, "Yesterday, it was Jane. I was so focused on her eyes in my dreams...did something possibly happen to her eyes?" she murmured but then, the door to her room swung open and Marcia entered inside with a cherry expression
"Good morning, Luce" Marcia said as she dropped a tray of food by Lucia's bedside table and Lucia sat up
"Good morning" Lucia said
"You alright? Your eyes are puffy"
"Aunt Marcia, what happened to me?"
"Yesterday, after Lu-Lu opened up your pathway by a tiny gap, all of your mana began to corrode Lupin" Marcia said "I had never experienced that much magic power before. The force was so heavy but, Lu-Lu somehow manage to shut the gap" she sighed "That was pretty dangerous. I can see why the Queen of hearts was able to build herself a kingdom out from the ocean"
"I did all that?"
"Yeah. Lu-Lu even said we'd try again today" Marcia said "I somehow get the feeling that things will work out this time. By the way, how are you feeling this morning? You fainted yesterday" she placed her right hand on Lucia's forehead
"Lighter. Like a heavy load has been lifted off me" Lucia answered
"From how much magic power you released yesterday, I'd say that that's a good thing" Marcia said as she dropped her hand "So eat up. We'll be trying again later"
******
Lucia stepped outside as soon as she finished eating. To her, there was no point in changing out of yesterday's clothes as she quickly freshened up. Unsurprisingly, Luke was already outside waiting for them. He was facing the bright sky, as the wind blew and ruffled his hair. For some reason, he seemed to like keeping his eyes closed, as he was currently doing that.
"Lucia...you should stop making direct eye contact with me" he said as he opened his eyes and glanced at her. However, like usual, she paid no heed to his warnings, and was staring straight into his eyes. 'Melvin, if I keep playing babysitter for this child, I might actually lose it' he thought
"Why should I stop making eye contact with you?" Lucia asked and before Luke said anything "Please don't give me another vague answer. I'm still getting used to this heart thing and your cold, one sentence words, just make things more complicated" she added and he sighed, before dropping his head
"The reason, is thanks to an innate magic related solely to the Sunshield family" Luke said, as he pointed at his eyes "The eyes of the cosmos, as they're called. Nothing can escape or deceive these eyes, and if you look into it for too long, you'll get pulled in and loose all sense of self. It's also related to the Sunshield family's bloodline magic, but you already know that me and you can't use it"
"I...have experienced that a couple of times" Lucia said while holding her chin
"The feeling of losing myself"
"It's good you understand. Now...back to training" Luke said sternly, and Lucia immediately sat on the floor before looking away from Luke with a frown. "Acting like a child doesn't work on me, Lucia. Now keep your back straight" he said as he walked towards her, before he knelt down behind her. And like yesterday, when his hand reached out to touch her back, it sank right through the fabric before landing on her bare back, making Lucia to flinch.
"Your hand is cold" Lucia complained
"Bare with it" Luke said while Marcia began to walk away from them
"Aunt Marcia...what are you doing?" Lucia asked as Marcia sat on the grass away from Lucia, but still opposite her
"Oh me?" Marcia smiled nervously "This is...just in case"
"Just in case?" Lucia repeated and Marcia nodded, before smiling
"In case you go out of control again, Lu-Lu will be the only one attacked" Marcia said with a clap of her hands and her head tilted to the side "I can handle corruption control from over here"
"Are you ready?" Luke asked and Lucia nodded
"I think" Lucia said, 'I wonder if he's fine with what Aunt Marcia said'
Luke gently pressed his hand further into her back and once again, a powerful gold energy released from her body. It was overpowering for Luke despite the fact, that once again, he had only opened up a tiny hole. However, compared to last time, Lupin wasn't reacting in the slightest and Luke actually felt like he could manage. And to top it all off, they could feel the amount being released, had significantly reduced.
"Hah.." Lucia let out a sigh
"Are you alright?" Luke asked
"I feel like a heavy load is being lifted off my body" Lucia said with another sigh
"That feeling you're feeling, is what you should try to grasp" Marcia said "Once you grasp it, you'll freely be able to control mana and use magic without any drawbacks. All that's left, is for you to imagine"
"Imagine. Huh?" Lucia said as she tried to grasp the feeling
"You might not get it on the first try, so don't be too disappointed" Luke said
Lucia paid no heed to her uncle's words, as she raised up one of her hands and branches of some flowered trees, along with several other flowers seemed to have sprouted out from thin air, above her hand. A stream of water began to flow around the flowers, along with small birds and butterflies which had been created from water.
"Like this?" Lucia asked
Luke slowly took his hand off Lucia's back, but the scene remained the same, as his expression, for the first time in a while, showed a sign of shocked. Marcia, also stared with widened eyes at Lucia. To say the least, the both of them were too shocked to believe what they were seeing.
However, they weren't the only ones staring at Lucia in open-eyed surprise, as the hooded woman, couldn't believe it too 'I only sealed her yesterday' the woman thought 'Yet she adapted to the seal in less than a day'
Lucia let out a warm smile as she stared at her hand, "So this is what magic feels like" she said "It's beautiful"
'If only you knew the other side of that beauty' the woman thought, before touching her head
{Aunt Yukia, how is the observation going?} someone spoke to her through her head. The clear yet seductive voice that could make any woman swoon, was clearly that of a mature male.
{I already told you to stop calling me 'Aunt'} the woman named Yukia, replied back through the telepathy. {You're an Emperor, remember? You promised me you'd let me handle this, not as your Aunt, but as Duchess Winston}
{What type of person is the Princess?} as soon as he asked that question, Yukia turned to look at Lucia. A person she had been sent to observe, after the Roosevelt twin princesses, had come of age.
{She has a kind and bright personally that can warm anybody's heart} Yukia replied and the telepathy went completely silent {...Hah. Once Neinhart has been recovered, return back home} the man said before cutting the telepathy
'I should have expected that reaction from him' Yukia thought as she stared at Lucia and narrowed her eyes 'After all, hearts that were just like his mother and Lucia, were always destined to a life of pain' she thought before being surrounded by oxblood light, and disappearing.
******
The Unnamed Empire
The night sky was covered by dark clouds, and the moon was not to be seen. Within the castle walls, a man sat in the darkness on a window seat, while holding a bunch of documents. His face and figure could not be seen, but what stood out about him, were his glowing Tyrian purple eyes and....
"Of all of the personalities for the Princess to have, she just had to be born with the personality that suffers the most among hearts" he said in a clear and seductive voice "I wonder how she's going to handle it" he said as he looked out the window
There was a sudden knock on the door before a woman with a pair of bright red eyes and pink hair, walked in. She hadn't shut the door completely, so some light from the gallery poured into the room. However, none of it reached the man on the window seat.
"Your Majesty, dinner has been served in the dining room" the woman said before looking around "Also, do try something called 'turning on the lights' when you work"
"I'm not in the mood to eat" the man replied back
"What a shame" the woman said "All that food will go to waste, again and my big sis will be pretty pissed to learn that you haven't eaten anything for ten days, and only buried yourself in paperwork. She'll be so worried when I tell her, she might have to come home ear..."
"I'm heading to the dining room" the man said immediately "Don't disturb my Aunt over some trifling matter" he dropped the documents on the window seat before getting up and leaving with the woman