I Leave You, My Pride

The Lioness and Her Master

Many Years Later ... but only a few months in the Spirit World

Lucy fumbled with two knitting needles. "Like this?"

Aries had her own knitting in her lap, and she reached over to help the blond Lioness. "No, like this. Through there, over, and..."

Lucy dropped her stitch. "Oh shoot! I'll never get this scarf done before Erza's party."

Virgo walked forward. "Leader, I have taken the liberty of making a gift you may give to your friend." She pulled out from behind her back a gorgeous scarlet scarf made from shimmering silken yarn dotted with silver sparkles like stardust.

Lucy's mouth dropped. "How did you...? No, never mind." Somehow or another, Virgo always seemed capable of making anything. "I guess I just don't have talent in this."

"Oh, Leo," Aries giggled. "You're still just learning."

Lucy still inwardly flinched when someone called her that. She only heard that name here in the Spirit World. Back in Earthland, they called her Lucy. That was the name her mother and father gave her. Leo was the identity she had to assume as a punishment. Hearing that name always reminded her of the previous Leo.

... of Loke.

There were days when she still cried for him. She supposed that no amount of time would ever fully heal that wound. She would recall his smile, his voice, his flirtatious teases, the powerful gleam of his eyes that his blue shades barely held back, and those memories were like acid to her heart. She looked down to the rings on her fingers as she followed Aries' directions on picking up the stitch. The rings were dainty to match her petite hands, but she still thought of them as his rings.

All but one ring: a gold band on her left hand, with a diamond sparkling on top. It wasn't really a wedding ring, it had a few magical properties of its own that were useful when she fought enemies, but the sentiment was the same. The man she loved gave her that magic ring, slipping it on her finger while silently kissing her. His pledge of fidelity was in his heart. They did not need a ceremony, no need to break rules that separated the two dimensions. She had worn that diamond ring for months.

Or had it been for decades?

Just as she was thinking about that bond, there was a flash of gold in front of her, and an archway formed.

"Ah, gotta go," she said hurriedly, shoving the failed scarf aside. "Virgo, I'll use your scarf. Thank you so much."

"It was my honor, Leader," the Maiden said with a bow.

"Have fun, Leo!" Aries called out. Then Lucy passed through the gate and vanished. Aries let out a long sigh. "And off she goes again. It's just like how the old Leo was, spending all of his time in the Human World and never here."

"The Leo before Brother was the same," Virgo recalled. "It might be part of their nature."

"She's rarely in the Spirit World these days."

Virgo sat down and took up Lucy's knitting. It really was a mess. "Leader is punishing herself."

In walked Capricorn, carrying a tray of refreshments for the ladies. "Leo-sama knows full well that her time with Gray-sama is brief, a single lifetime, so she's doing all she can." He set the tray aside and gazed at the lingering magic of the Lion's Gate. "I admire her for that, and I truly admire Gray Fullbuster-sama. Despite the rules that separate us from Humans, he has stayed loyal to her all this time."

Aries pouted. "It's a tragic romance, though."

Capricorn had a secretive smile. "I don't think it'll be tragic for long."