The Light Within the Flame

Chapter 2

"I DO NOT own Fairy Tail or the characters" ^.^

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With that determination in mind Lucy got out of bed and started walking towards the bathroom. She never thought anything strange would happen to her. I mean sure she was surrounded by people who were animals and could talk and there were even some people who had the ability to use magic; but that was not something that ran in her family. Lucy lived in a town called Edolas. In this time magical abilities were something that you bought not something you were born with. If you wanted the ability to use fire, you needed to buy a lacrima stone and a blade to equip that ability. The same thing applied to other abilities.

Lucy was no stranger to people having money, her father, Jude Heartfilia, was an extremely successful business owner. Jude owned half of the magical shops and businesses in town. It was not for a lack of money that Lucy did not have any magical weapons of her own. It was just that whenever she had attempted to purchase a weapon or even a lacrima it would not work. It did not matter how much effort she put into the thing it just would not produce any magical spark.

"It's like I'm cursed", Lucy muttered aloud to herself as she brushed her blond hair out in front of the mirror. "Every single time I try to use one of the lacrima's the thing breaks or explodes or the weapon just stops working... and God help me if my father were to ever catch me using magic or attempting to use it anyway...".

Thinking about her father brought back other kinds of memories. Being the only daughter of a successful business owner was no small thing. She was expected to act the proper lady, which to others may not be a bad thing but to Lucy she just could not stand it, she was expected to always conduct herself accordingly and the worst part of all was that she was expected to marry some other successful business owner so HE could inherit the company. Something that drove Lucy crazy as if she was not smart enough to do things on her own.

Needless to say Lucy did not have a good relationship with her father, not that she didn't wish things were different. But, he never had time to spend with her or see what it was that she wanted out of life. It seemed like she was more of a chore than someone who he truly loved. Not that Lucy gave a shit, she thought to herself while she looked in the mirror, but still it may be nice to have someone love her for herself instead of because of who she is "meant to be".

Lucy sighed deeply, "thinking about this is making me miss mom", she whispered to herself while holding onto the bathroom sink. Lucy put her head down as she fought back tears thinking about her mother. She knows Layla would have helped her figure out what these strange dreams meant. She knew without a doubt that her mother would have helped her and even encouraged her to figure out the truth. Her mom was just like that, she thought to herself, her mom was filled with energy and life and loved a good story. That was most likely where Lucy got her sense of adventure and need to explore because it certainly was not from her father. Thinking about her mom reminded her of when she got sick. Even though her mother had an energetic spirit she was actually a very frail person and would often get sick, for as long as Lucy could remember. Lucy always knew that something could happen to her mother and it was not until Lucy was out on a hunt for a magical item that she got the news that her mother had passed. She remembers feeling s guilty because she was not home when her mother needed her the most. Lucy sighed but knew that her mother was not upset with her; after all she remembers her mother encouraging her to leave the house that day and try to find this lacrima that Lucy finally would be able to use. Lucy does not remember much about her mother's death as her memory is getting pretty hazy lately. She just remembers coming home and her father telling her that her mother had passed.

"Which is weird because I can't even remember the details, it's like the harder I try the fuzzier they become. Maybe I am just going crazy and my brain is fried," Lucy said to herself as she finished the final touches on her face.

"There all done, even if my dad tries to not see me today I will find him and ask the questions that I need to ask," said Lucy with resolve because she was not going to give up.

"Hmm... Now just to figure out what to wear" Lucy thought out loud tapping her finger against her chin.

"How about this outfit, princess?"

"Woah!" exclaimed Lucy as she stopped herself from screaming out loud. "Virgo! You scared me nearly half to death" Lucy yelled at Virgo as she clutched her chest. "Jeez! Do you ever use a door, it's like you pop out of nowhere!" Lucy looked at Virgo who was holding up two different outfits for Lucy to choose from.

"Is it time for punishment, princess?" asked Virgo with a smirk on her face as she looked over at Lucy who was still shaking slighty.

"NO! I swear you know I am never going to punish you but you still keep asking me," replied Lucy with a grin on her face. No matter that Virgo nearly scared the crap out of her, she still loved having the maid around even if she could be a little crazy sometimes. Virgo has been with her for as long as she can remember. As a matter of fact, all of the servants in her home where basically the only friends she had. Well that and her books because her father did not let her leave the house much, especially after the death of her mother.

"Well I keep hoping one day you will change your mind," replied Virgo distracting Lucy from her thoughts, "that will be the best day in my life when that happens" said Virgo smiling from ear to ear as if envisioning being punished by Lucy.

"Don't hold your breath" muttered Lucy as she left the bathroom with Virgo trailing behind her.

"Okay I think I will decide on the dress you are holding on your left, I need to have an audience with dad and I do not want him saying anything about the typical outfit I like to wear" said Lucy to Virgo as she thought about not being able to wear her blue skirt with her white sleeveless top and black boots. Lucy sighed as she started changing into the pink dress that her father had made for her. It was not that she did not like the dress she loved the color pink and she felt regal when she wore it, but the other outfit suited her style more.

"You need to get an audience with Mr. Heartfilia?" questioned Virgo as she handed her the outfit so Lucy could change. "Is it about the dreams you have been having?" questioned Virgo intently eyeing Lucy.

"Yea I need to talk to him about them, not that I think he will give me a straight answer, but Virgo it has been three days now. I have not ever had the same kind of dream for that long and you know that," she exclaimed. Lucy walked over to stand in front of the mirror to allow Virgo to button the back of the dress. "My father cannot keep giving me the run around, I need to know what is going on and I won't let him give me some crap story because I KNOW myself and this is not normal for me".

"You are right princess, you should get to the bottom of this, I do not like seeing you tormented, it makes me want to get punished" said Virgo finishing the final touches on her dress.

"Anything I say makes you want punishment," Lucy replied laughing because it really did not matter what she said Virgo would be Virgo.

"Alright! Let's head over to dad's room because I am not going another night without asking dad who is this cute pink haired boy and his cat in my dreams" Lucy replied as she pumped her fist in the air. Virgo smiled at her because if it was one thing she knew about her princess was that she was stubborn and would not back down from a challenge.