With different eyes

Things that have happened

Lucia's POV

I fall into bed exhausted, my idea, which was supposed to just annoy Marco a little, has turned into a whole evening's activity. I bury my face in the pillow and keep giggling. "Tired?" I hear Ace ask and feel the mattress lower. I nod languidly and yawn. Satisfied, I munch a few words and hear Ace say something else, but I'm already half asleep and don't understand the meaning.

Narrator's POV

Ace sits down with Lucia on the mattress and asks her if she is tired. She still nods and snuggles deeper into the pillows. "You'll suffocate if you keep this up!" laughs Ace, but gets no more response except quiet breathing. Gently, Ace brushes a few strands of hair from Lucia's face and sees that she has already fallen asleep. He tries to wrest the pillow from her so she won't suffocate herself with it, but she clings to it as if her life depended on it. "Then don't!" mumbles Ace, letting go of the pillow again. Lucia presses it back against her with a beatific grin. "Ace...!" she mumbles. Ace grins at the fact that she talks in her sleep and he is part of her dreams. Carefully he pulls the blanket from under her so he can cover her up, because he has noticed one thing: Lucia is a frostbite. He covers Lucia as there is a knock on his cabin door. "Come in!" says Ace to Marco, who recognises this knocking everywhere. Marco enters the room and looks at the sleeping girl. Shaking his head, Marco mumbles something and goes to sit next to Ace on the bed.

"It's getting crowded in here!" laughs Ace loudly and gets a smack on the back of the head when Lucia grumbles about the volume. "Keep it down!" hisses Marco, glad that his problem child is sleeping peacefully and not spreading terror. Well one of his problem children, the other grins at him. "Ace we need to see how far your skills and connection go. Maybe you can train them!" explains Marco. Ace stops grinning and looks at Lucia. He would be more than happy to have Lucia somewhat protected by his firepower. "How are you going to try this out?" asks Ace of the phoenix. "First we'll try to get more information, then we can look further." says Marco, watching Lucia critically. "But she'll still go through with her normal training. Vista says she's not completely untalented with the sword. A miracle, I would have rather suspected that she is a danger to herself and her surroundings." the phoenix laughs softly.

"She's not stupid!" defends Ace laughing at Lucia. "Yes, that's the bad thing, she's running into disaster with her eyes wide open, even though she's intelligent enough not to. You're rubbing off, Ace!" grins the commander of the first division lazily. "HEY!" enthuses the fire fist, but again only gets a headbutt. "Now keep it down, don't want the ship's demon waking up and spitting through the corridors!" grumbles Marco at no small volume. Ace rubs the back of his head and grumbles, "But yourself!" Lucia moves uneasily and Ace can feel fear. Worried, he turns to the little dark-haired girl. She whimpers and tosses her head back and forth, Marco has also noticed and turns worriedly to his little sister. "Probably a nightmare, not surprising after what she has experienced!" he says and shakes Lucia by the shoulder so that she wakes up. But Lucia simply does not wake up.

Concerned, Marco leans over her, the nervous Ace behind him. Marco puts a hand on Lucia's forehead, but she has no fever. "Ace...!" he hears Lucia whimper. What is she dreaming and why isn't she waking up? "LUCIA WAKE UP!" yells Marco now to no avail. But she just continues to sleep. Marco quickly checks her body to see if there are any black veins, but he can't find anything. "Marco why isn't she waking up?" asks Ace in panic, looking at Lucia. "Can you reach her?" he asks, but Ace shakes his head. Sweat has formed on Lucia's forehead by now. "I can feel she's scared!" says Ace seriously. Marco has had enough, he lifts Lucia in his arms and makes his way to the infirmary. Ace runs alongside him, still seeming to want to reach her. Arriving at the infirmary, he gently lays Lucia on a bed while Ace fetches the Doc. "You little disaster!" Marco murmurs and carefully reaches for Lucia's small hand.