The Magic of Three

Chapter 2

Ten years later...

A meeting with the witch's council is hardly ever called if there's good news. They were a seculded bunch who prefered not to get involved with the lives of other witches and warlocks unless it was absolutely neccessary. And when they had to get involved, they would be in rather cross mood because again, they did not like to be called away from their private lives to deal with foolish matters.

The so-called foolish matter at hand, were two young witches. Lucy Heartfilia and Erza Scarlet, cosuins who were related through the maternal side and apart in age by two years. They had attended the same magic school since Lucy entered her first year, and being older, Erza thought it best to look out for family. To be Lucy's immediate first friend and guide through their peer group, try to keep her younger cousin out of trouble. But that did not end up being the case.

Lucy was blond, her hair shined like a thousand suns and her skin was like the light tan that the sun could leave you with during the Summer time. Her eyes were wide, the color of a deep brown, and if you looked into them you could see countless stars sparkling. The instant the girls hit pueberty, the boys couldn't keep away from Lucy and she enjoyed the attention. Boys looked at her and got so dizzy they had to be rushed to the emergency room for a hit of oxygen or a pint of new blood. Men who'd been happily married, and were old enough to be her father, suddenly took it into their heads to propose and offer her the world, or at least their version of it. Needless to say, she was an awfully pretty thing and she knew it.

She knew the effect that she had on boys and she liked the attention. Probably because since the passing of her mother at age five, her father had pretty much forgotten she even existed. The man was desperate to escape his grief, that he buried himself completely in his work and did no more than say hi to his daughter or buy her an expensive gift to keep her occupied. This gave her a very lonely childhood and she made up for it by causing trouble as a teenager. Not only did she run around breaking hearts, but she also would stay out for hours in the evening partying or casting wicked spells on other magic users and monsters. But you couldn't exactly call her a bad girl because despite her rebellious nature, Lucy was a very sweet, cheerful, and friendly young lady. She was not bigoted against non-magic users like her father and she didn't let their wealth or their status define who they were. And if you were ever to become a friend to Lucy or if you were family, she'd stick by you til the end.

Lucy also had a strong passion for the night. She didn't just stay out late too cause mischief or to attend a wild party, she did it because nothing made her feel more alive to dance underneath the starry night sky. Obviously because she was a witch of astrology and forutne. She knew every constellation, could communicate with astral spirits, would occasionally have a quick vision into the future, and once she had fully matured in her powers, she would be ale to actually travel into the astral line. See the world that existed beyond the stars and how she eagerly awaited that day.

Erza was quite different. She had long, stunning, blood-red hair and that looked like fire in the light, and soft, freckled skin like a peach. Her eyes were a sharp and serious hazel that would sometimes flash to the shade of green like leaves and grass, or brown like trees or the earth itself. Like many of the women in her family, she was gorgeous and could have her pick of any man. She even had a few admirers and a few dates, but nothing serious. She wasn't ready for a really serious realtionship and thought it best to get her schooling out of the way first. Now she would have long lasting friendships and she looked after Lucy like she was a sister rather than a cousin, but men? No she would go slow and be wary of men.

She was mature, studious, and nurturing. She always had her nose in a spell book or in a cauldron, trying to learn how to master each and every spell possible. And when she wasn't praticing and learning magic, she was cooking nutritious dinners or taking care of the marketing or cleaning the house. Her mother tried to encourage her not to be so good. Goodness, in her opinion, was not a virtue but merely spinelessness and fear disguised as humility. Perhaps this was because she had allowed herself and her daughter to live under the wretched thumb of her abusive husband for eight years and was trying to make sure Erza wouldn't become anyone's doormat. In the end her mother left her father and was able to support herself and her child, but there were scars left on that woman that would never heal. No matterh ow hard Erza tried to help her heal from them.