Last Winter's Gift

Chapter II

Dove fell limp onto the cold floor and everyone was just staring at her in shock.

"Onii-Chan?" Erza questioned, "Who's her Onii-Chan?"

"I don't know..." Levy trails off.

The doors burst open and a certain blonde walks in smiling, obviously not reading the atmosphere. "Ohayo Minna!" She looks at the huddle of people in the middle of the guild and uses her small body as an advantage by squeezing through the crowd and her eyes widen in shock and fear at what she sees. "Oh my god!" She exclaims, covering her mouth with her hand.

"What happened to her?!" Lucy exclaims again, running over to the passed out girl, lifting her head off the ground and onto her lap. Lucy placed her hand on the girls forehead to feel for a fever.

"Wendy! Come over here a second!" Lucy shouted to the young healer. Mira and Erza were now at Lucy's side.

"Where did you find her Erza?" Mira asked the requip mage.

"At The edge of town, she just appeared behind me. She asked where she was and started panicking when I told her she was in Magnolia. She then asked me where the guild was, so I took her here. She introduced herself as 'Dove' but I know that isn't her real name." Erza explained, "She'll need someone to watch her, she looks younger than Wendy."

"I'll watch her, I have an extra room she could use and anyway, I am sure she could help out on missions, if she's a mage." Lucy suggested.

Wendy raised her hands over Doves chest and a blue-ish green glow eminentes from her hands.

Suddenly, Dove jolts awake, screaming at the top of her lungs. She begins thrashing about under Mira and Erza's strong hold. She thrashes about for a while until she calms down, her sobs racking her body. Whimpering and sobbing, she turns to Lucy, hugging her as tightly as she possibly could.

A surprised Lucy, gently hugged back, rubbing Doves back to calm her down. Dove flinches at the touch and backs away. "W-Where's my Onii-Chan?" She begins to shake. Her eyes cloud over, memories of her parents death replaying over and over again in her mind. "N-No! Leave them alone! O-Onii-Chan! We need to g-go back..." there was a short pause, a silence. "GRAY!" She screams, eyes widening in shock.

"M-me?" The raven haired boy asks.

"G-Gray?" Doves eyes widen. "Is it you?"

"W-Who are you?" Doves heart shatters. Obliterates. It breaks into millions of pieces. 'H-He doesn't remember?' Tears stream down Doves face. 'Stupid girl, of course he doesn't. Your just a nuisance, a burden. A waste of space. No one would notice if you died. Not even your brother.'

"S-Sorry, I just mistook you as someone I used to know." She mumbled.

"Hey Dove?" Lucy said cheerfully, "I am Lucy, and if you would like, you could stay with me? And you could join our guild! Are you a mage?"

"Really? You wouldn't mind if I stayed with you?" Doves eyes lit up. Someone cared for her! Even if it was just for a minute, a moment, she wanted to bask in this happiness. "A-And yes I am a mage..."

"Of course I wouldn't mind! Now come on! We can go shopping for some clothing for you!" Lucy smiled at Dove.

Dove pounced on Lucy, thanking her over and over again.

"It's fine really. Now let's go home." Lucy smiled brightly at the little girl who nodded enthusiastically and bounced to her feet.

Lucy reached out for Dove's had to take, and Dove happily complied.

"L-Lucy-San?" Lucy hummed in response, "I-Is your real name L-Lucette-San?" Lucy's eyes widened in fear. 'Who is this girl, and how does she know my real name?'

"What gave y-you that idea, sweetheart?" Lucy asked nervously.

"I-I am so sorry Lucy-san!" Dove panicked. She just got someone who cared about her, and she didn't want to blow it.

"Oh, Dove! Don't apologise, it's fine really!" Lucy smiled, waving her hands to dismiss it. "I was just wondering how you knew that! Now, let's go home and we can talk about this."

"O-Okay Lucy-san," Dove muttered. She followed closely behind Lucy, her head hung low.

Eventually, the duo reached Lucy's apartment, and that's when Dove finally looks up.

"We're here!" Lucy states the obvious. She walks in, with Dove following. She stops infront of her door to make the entrance a bit more dramatic.

"Wow..." That's the only word Dove could mutter upon Lucy opening the door. The room was medium sized. Quality over quantity in this case. Lucy guided Dove though her small apartment, showing her the bedrooms (Lucy's and Dove's), the bathroom, the 'living room', and the kitchen.

After Dove had settled in a bit more, Lucy sat her down in the living room. Lucy had a serious face on.

"Whats wrong, Lucy-san?" Dove asked. Lucy merely looked at her, she then turned to the window above her bed and locked it. "D-Did I do something wrong?"

Lucy's stone hard face softened a bit at the little girl's innocent reply. "No sweetheart, I just want to talk is all." Lucy sat back down next to Dove and sighed. "How did you know my name was Lucette? No one knows that, except my parents, my brother and my sister..." Lucy trailed off. "Wait... Are you my sister?"

"That's the problem, Lucy-san." Dove looked away with tears pricking her eyes, "I have a type of amnesia." The atmosphere in the room stilled, making it tense.

"You don't have any memories?" Lucy asked a bit shocked.

"No, no, no, I do! B-But not many."

"Could you tell me your memories? Or anything that you remember at all? It might trigger something."

"I'll tell you what I remember, but it's not pretty.." Dove took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Blood, pain, screaming...Fire." Lucy's expression became horrified, how could a young child have such vivid memories. "My parents are dead, my brother is missing, I know not of a sister. I am thirteen years old and on a mission, a mission I will complete even if it kills me..."

Dove took a pause, closing her eyes. Loose tears fell from her eyes. She opened her mouth once more but said nothing. She opened her eyes and her once golden eyes were now an ice blue. Lucy gasped in surprise at the words that escaped the young girl's mouth.

"I will kill Deliora, even if its the last thing I do. For I am Lilith Lux Fullbuster, an elemental dragon slayer and the tenth wizard saint.

"Deliora parare mori."

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Word Count : 1136