Lucy - POV
There are days when I wake up and think, "Today is going to be a normal day."
And then I remember that I'm a member of Fairy Tail, and the word "normal" simply doesn't exist in this guild's vocabulary.
"GRAY, YOU BASTARD, GIVE ME BACK MY FOOD!"
"WHAT FOOD?! I DIDN'T TAKE ANYTHING!"
"YOU'RE LITERALLY CHEWING WHILE YOU'RE TALKING!"
I sighed, watching Natsu leap over a pile of wooden beams to try and strangle Gray, who was somehow already shirtless at nine in the morning. NINE IN THE MORNING. How does someone lose their shirt at nine in the morning?!
That's something I'll never understand. Like, is there a specific moment when the shirt just… evaporates? Does he notice when it happens? Is it conscious? Unconscious? A curse?
…Why am I thinking so much about this?
"Lucy, watch out!"
I jumped to the side just in time to avoid a flying plank that whizzed past where my head had been half a second before.
"WHO THREW THAT?!"
No one answered. Of course not. Because in this guild, flying objects are as common as 'good morning'.
The site where we were rebuilding the Fairy Tail headquarters looked like a war zone, which, technically, made sense, considering it HAD been a war zone a fortnight ago. Piles of wood, bricks, scattered tools, metal frames waiting to be assembled… And in the middle of it all, makeshift tents where the members gathered while the construction was going on.
The current "bar" was basically a larger tent with a few rough wooden tables and a counter that looked like it was about to collapse at any moment. But, somehow, Mirajane managed to make it look almost welcoming.
Speaking of her…
I squeezed between piles of building materials and working members (or pretending to work, in Natsu and Gray's case), until I reached the main tent.
"Good morning, Lucy!"
And there she was.
Mirajane Strauss.
Smiling at me with that smile that ought to be illegal. Seriously. There should be a law against smiles like that. "Article 47: It is strictly forbidden to smile in a way that causes other people's hearts to stop functioning correctly."
She was behind the makeshift counter, polishing glasses as if this dusty tent surrounded by construction chaos was the most elegant establishment in Fiore. Her apron had sawdust stains and she had a band holding her white hair back.
Still, absurdly beautiful.
Life isn't fair.
"G-good morning, Mira!"
Brilliant, Lucy. Stuttering. Very natural. Nothing suspicious.
"You look tired," she said, tilting her head in a way that made a lock of her white hair fall over her shoulder like a cascade of— FOCUS. FOCUS, LUCY. "Did you sleep well?"
"Oh, yes! I mean, more or less. Natsu broke into my house again last night and slept in my bed. With Happy. Who drooled on my pillow."
Why am I telling her this? Why can't I just say "I slept well, thank you" like a normal person?!
Mira laughed, and it was like little bells. Pretty, melodious little bells that did strange things to my stomach.
"That sounds… lively."
"That's one word for it." I let my head fall onto the makeshift counter, which creaked dangerously under the weight. "I just want one night of sleep without waking up with a blue cat drooling in my hair."
"Hmm, I can make you a coffee. To help you wake up." She gestured to the portable stove they had set up behind the counter. "It's not as good as it will be when the real kitchen is ready, but…"
"Anything would be great, thank you!"
She turned to prepare the coffee, and I absolutely DID NOT stare at her while she did it. Nope. I was looking at… the building materials. Yes. That very interesting pile of bricks over there in the corner.
Outside the tent, I could hear Elfman shouting "CARRYING BEAMS IS A MAN'S JOB!" while literally carrying five beams at once. Further on, Erza was coordinating a group of members with the intensity of a war general, pointing in different directions and making grown people tremble with fear.
It was absolute chaos.
It was Fairy Tail.
"Here you are."
A steaming cup appeared in front of me (one of the few that had survived the destruction), and Mira's fingers brushed mine as she handed it over.
It was a touch of maybe half a second.
My entire face caught fire.
"Th-thank you!"
"You're welcome." She smiled again. "If you need anything else, just ask."
She moved away to serve another member who had just arrived covered in sawdust, and I stood there, holding my cup of coffee and trying to remember how breathing worked.
Okay, Lucy. You need to get a grip. She's just a guildmate. A very beautiful guildmate. Absurdly beautiful. With a smile that—
NO.
I drank the coffee too quickly and burned my tongue.
Instant karma for inappropriate thoughts, apparently.
"Yo, Lucy!"
I nearly choked when Loke appeared out of nowhere, sliding onto the makeshift bench beside me with that charming smile of his.
"Loke! You startled me!"
"Sorry, sorry." He held up his hands in surrender, but the smile didn't waver. "Just wanted to see how you were doing. You know, after everything that happened…"
"Oh, I'm fine! Really. The guild is being rebuilt, the Council didn't arrest anyone, and I've only been kidnapped once this month. Everything's great!"
I was being sarcastic, but honestly? By Fairy Tail standards, this WAS a quiet month.
Loke laughed, but there was something… off about him today. I can't explain it. It was as if the usual glint in his eyes was a little dimmer. A little more distant.
"Hey, Loke, are you alright?"
"Me?" He seemed genuinely surprised by the question. "Of course I am. Why?"
"I don't know, you seem a bit… subdued?"
For a second, a very brief second, I saw something cross his face. Something sad. Something heavy. But then it was gone, replaced by his usual seductive smile.
"Subdued? Me?" He placed a hand on his chest dramatically. "Lucy, you offend me. I am literally the brightest person in this guild."
"Cocky."
"Confident. There's a difference."
I rolled my eyes, but I was still worried. There was something wrong with him. I could feel it.
I reached out to touch his arm, a gesture of comfort, nothing more, and Loke moved away so fast he nearly fell off the bench.
"Loke?!"
"Sorry, I— I just remembered I have something to do." He was already on his feet, moving away. "See you around, Lucy!"
And then he was gone among the tents and piles of material before I could say anything else.
What… what was that?
I stared at the empty space where he had been, a strange feeling in my chest. Loke was always so… Loke. Flirtatious, confident, always with a joke on the tip of his tongue. But lately he seemed to be avoiding physical contact with me. And that sad look…
There's something going on with him. Something he doesn't want anyone to know. But before I could think about it any more, a shadow fell over me.
"You've got a strange expression, blondie. Thinking too much can cause brain damage, you know?"
I looked up to find Azra'il standing there, a cup of tea in her hand and an expression of supreme boredom on her face. She had sawdust in her white hair and a smudge of something that looked like paint on her shoulder, signs that Erza had managed to drag her into helping with the construction at some point.
"Ah! Azra'il! Good morning!"
"Is it?" She looked around, observing the chaotic construction site with ill-disguised disgust. "Natsu just set fire to a pile of planks. Gray is naked on top of some scaffolding. Elfman nearly knocked down a wall we JUST put up. What exactly is 'good' about this morning?"
I… didn't have an answer for that.
She sat on the bench Loke had just vacated, which creaked dangerously, and sipped her tea with the elegance of someone who was completely out of place in this environment, and knew it.
"Shouldn't you be helping with the construction?" I asked, pointing to the sawdust in her hair.
"I was. For fifteen whole minutes." She said it as if it were an eternity. "Now I'm on a strategic break."
"…Does Erza know about this break?"
"Erza doesn't need to know everything." She took another sip of tea. "Besides, I'm much more useful in a supervisory role. From a distance. Preferably seated."
I couldn't hold back a laugh.
Azra'il raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Nothing, nothing. It's just…" I gestured vaguely at her. "You're so… you."
"That is generally how it works, yes."
"You're staring at me," she said after a moment.
"Sorry!"
"No need to apologise. I'm just pointing out a fact." She finally turned her golden eyes to me. "Something on your mind, blondie?"
"I… no, nothing. I mean, yes, but it's nothing important. I mean—"
"Do you always talk like this when you're nervous?"
"…Yes."
"Hmm." She went back to drinking her tea. "Irritating, but tolerable."
I don't know why, but that almost sounded like a compliment coming from her?
We were silent for a moment. In the background, Natsu had somehow set fire to Gray (HOW?!), and Erza was marching towards them with a murderous expression, holding a beam as if it were a sword.
"YOU TWO!"
"Erza's going to kill them," I said casually.
"With any luck."
I looked at Azra'il, surprised, and she gave the slightest of smiles. Almost imperceptible. But it was there.
"AZRA'IL!" Erza's voice thundered from across the site. "I KNOW YOU'RE HIDING OVER THERE! GET BACK TO WORK!"
The smile vanished instantly.
"…How does she always know?" Azra'il muttered, getting up with all the reluctance in the world. "Does she have some kind of radar?"
"Probably."
She sighed dramatically and walked off, dragging her feet, muttering something about "redhead tyrannies" and "immortal labour exploitation."
I laughed again.
A strange person, that Azra'il Weiss. Frightening, sarcastic, apparently allergic to work and social interaction.
But sometimes, just sometimes, she was almost… funny?
The rest of the day passed between helping with the construction (carrying light things, because apparently I don't have "adequate strength" according to Elfman), dodging flying objects, and trying not to stare too much at Mirajane.
I failed miserably at the last part.
But as the sun began to set and the members gradually left, I found myself sitting on a pile of bricks, looking at the skeleton of the new guild without really seeing it.
My thoughts were elsewhere.
At the Heartfilia mansion. With my father. With the cold man who had sent an entire guild after me as if I were a lost piece of property.
I almost died. My friends almost died. The Master almost died.
All because Jude Heartfilia wanted his daughter back. And I highly doubt it was out of love.
"Lucy? Are you alright?"
Mira's voice pulled me from my thoughts. She was standing in front of me, no longer wearing her apron, her loose hair falling over her shoulders. The orange light of the sunset made her look even more… no, focus, Lucy.
"Ah, yes! I'm fine! Just thinking."
"Heavy thoughts, by the look of it." She sat beside me on the pile of bricks, and I tried not to freak out at the proximity. "Want to talk about it?"
Yes. No. Maybe. I don't know.
"It's just… family stuff," I said finally. "Nothing important."
Mira didn't press. She just sat there, beside me in a comfortable silence, looking at the construction site with me.
"You know," she said after a moment, "family is complicated. Sometimes the people who are supposed to love us are the ones who hurt us the most."
I looked at her, surprised. There was something in her tone that suggested personal experience.
"But also," she continued, smiling softly, "sometimes we find family in the most unexpected places. With people we choose, not the ones we're born with."
Fairy Tail. She was talking about Fairy Tail.
"Yeah," I said, feeling a lump form in my throat. "We do, don't we?"
We stayed there until the first stars appeared, and for the first time in days, I felt at peace.
But I knew what I needed to do.
That night, alone in my flat (miraculously without any nightly invaders for the first time in weeks), I sat at my desk and took out a pen and paper.
I needed to go. I needed to face my father one last time. I needed to close this chapter of my life once and for all.
But I couldn't just disappear without a word. Not after everything that had happened. My friends would freak out if I just vanished.
So, a letter.
"To whoever breaks into my house first (probably you, Natsu),"
No, that's too aggressive. I crossed it out and started again.
"Dear friends,"
Too formal. I crossed it out.
"Hey, everyone,"
Better.
"Hey, everyone,
If you're reading this, it means you've broken into my house again. Seriously, guys, we need to talk about boundaries.
Anyway, I had to go away for a few days. I'm going home, my old home, I mean. The Heartfilia mansion. There's something I need to sort out with my father.
Don't worry, I'll be fine. It's nothing dangerous, just… personal. I need to do this alone.
I'll be back soon. I promise.
P.S.: Natsu, if you're eating my food while reading this, at least do the washing up afterwards.
P.P.S.: Gray, put a shirt on.
P.P.P.S.: Happy, don't drool on my pillow this time.
With love,
Lucy"
I reread the letter three times. It seemed right. It explained enough without going into details that would make me cry.
I left the paper on the kitchen table, in plain sight. Knowing Natsu, he'd come in through the window at some point to steal food and would find it.
Now for the hard part.
--------(*)--------
The next morning, I woke up before the sun was up.
I packed a small bag with the essentials, a few clothes, my celestial keys, a little money. I wasn't going to be long. Just long enough to say what I needed to say. But before going to the train station, there was one person I wanted to see. One person I couldn't just leave a letter for.
The construction site was empty at that hour. Almost empty. The bar tent was already open, a faint light glowing from within.
Of course she was already there. Mira always arrived early to get everything ready.
I took a deep breath and went in.
"Lucy?" Mira seemed surprised to see me so early. She was organising supplies behind the counter, her hair tied up in a loose bun. "Is something wrong?"
"No, I just…" I swallowed hard. "I wanted to talk to you. Before I go."
"Go?" She frowned, and then noticed the bag on my shoulder. "Are you going somewhere?"
"Yes. I… I'm going to visit my father."
Her face softened with understanding. She knew. Everyone in the guild knew, about José and Phantom Lord and the reason for it all.
"Lucy…" She came out from behind the counter and came towards me. "Are you sure you want to do this alone?"
"I have to." My voice came out firmer than I expected. "It's something I should have done a long time ago. I ran away from that house, but I never really… said goodbye, you know? I never said everything I needed to say."
Mira studied me for a moment. Then, to my total surprise, she pulled me into a hug.
Oh.
Oh no.
She smelt of vanilla and something floral I couldn't identify, and she was so warm, and my brain was definitely short-circuiting—
Right. Okay. Mirajane Strauss is hugging me. The Mirajane. Hugging me. ME. This is happening. Right now. At this moment.
What do I do with my hands?! Where do I put my hands?! Are they just… dangling here?! Should I hug back? Should I—
"You're braver than you think, Lucy," she said softly, still hugging me.
She's speaking. She said words. What words? I didn't register them. My brain is too busy processing the fact that I AM BEING HUGGED BY MIRAJANE.
"Th-thank you," I managed to stutter.
Thank you?! THANK YOU?! Was that all I had to say?! Months of etiquette lessons at the Heartfilia mansion and the best I can manage is "thank you" in the voice of a suffocated mouse?!
She pulled away, too soon, WAY too soon, why did she pull away, come back, and smiled at me. That smile. THAT smile.
The smile that did illegal things to my cardiovascular system.
I was probably red. No, I was DEFINITELY red. As red as Erza's hair. As red as Natsu's flames. As red as—
Stop thinking about shades of red, Lucy!
"Wait here a second."
She went back to the counter and started fiddling with something. I stood there, probably still red, trying to remember how normal people behaved.
When she came back, she was holding a small package wrapped in cloth.
"It's some sweets I made yesterday," she explained, placing the package in my hands. "For the journey. Trains are boring."
"Mira, you didn't have to—"
"I know." She smiled again, and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. Casually. As if she hadn't just stopped my heart. "But I wanted to."
I swallowed. Hard.
"I-I'll be back soon," I said, because I needed to say something before I did something stupid like confess inappropriate feelings. "It's just a day trip."
"I know you will." She tilted her head, still smiling. "And when you get back, will you tell me how it went?"
"I will."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
We stood there for a moment, just looking at each other. The morning sun was beginning to stream through the opening of the tent, creating a golden halo around her, and seriously, this wasn't fair, how could she look ethereal at six in the morning?!
"I… I need to go," I said finally, before I lost my courage. "The train…"
"Of course." She nodded. "Good luck, Lucy. With your father, I mean."
"Thank you. For everything."
I turned to leave before I said anything else embarrassing. I was almost at the exit when her voice reached me:
"Lucy?"
I looked back.
"Fairy Tail will be here when you get back. We'll be here." A gentle smile. "Your family."
The lump in my throat came back with full force.
"I know," I said, and for the first time in a long time, I really did.
---(*)---
Magnolia's train station was almost empty at that time of the morning. A few merchants carrying goods, one or two solitary travellers, and me, Lucy Heartfilia. Or was it Lucy of Fairy Tail now?
I bought my ticket and found an empty carriage. The train departed with a long whistle, and I watched Magnolia disappear through the window. The city that had become my home for the last few months. The familiar streets, the canal I almost fell into three times, the silhouette of the guild's construction site in the distance…
I squeezed the celestial keys in my pocket. Aquarius, Cancer, Taurus… My friends. My connection to Mum.
Mum.
I closed my eyes and let the memories come.
Layla Heartfilia had been everything my father was not. Warm where he was cold. Kind where he was harsh. She taught me about the stars, about the celestial spirits, about magic and dreams and all the beautiful things in the world.
And then she died.
And my father… he broke. Or maybe he had always been like that and Mum was the only thing that softened his sharp edges. I don't know. I'll never know.
What I do know is that after she was gone, the Heartfilia mansion became a gilded cage. Tutors, rules, expectations. "A lady doesn't do that, Lucy." "A Heartfilia doesn't act like that, Lucy." "Your duty is to the family, Lucy."
Family. As if that cold house had anything to do with family.
I opened my eyes and looked out the window. The landscape had changed, green fields giving way to rolling hills that I knew all too well. We were entering the Heartfilia lands.
My stomach tightened.
I took a deep breath. I could do this. I NEEDED to do this.
I took the package of sweets Mira had given me and opened it. Inside were little star-shaped biscuits, decorated with golden icing.
Stars. She had made star-shaped biscuits. For me.
My heart did that stupid thing again. I ate a biscuit (delicious, obviously, because Mira was perfect at everything) and tried to focus on what I was going to say to my father.
"Father, I've come to say goodbye."
No, too direct.
"Father, we need to talk about some things."
Too vague.
"Father, you sent a guild of mages to kidnap me and almost killed people I love, so I came here to tell you that you can go to—"
…Perhaps a little too aggressive. But honest.
The train began to slow down. I looked out the window and saw the station approaching.
It was now or never.
The walk from the station to the Heartfilia mansion took about 45 minutes. Forty-five minutes of well-kept roads, perfectly manicured gardens, and that suffocating feeling of excessive wealth that I didn't miss in the slightest.
The property gates appeared ahead, huge, wrought iron, with the family crest on top. Two guards I didn't recognise were on duty.
"Identify yourself," one of them said, his hand on his sword.
Seriously? SERIOUSLY?
"Lucy Heartfilia," I said, trying not to roll my eyes. "Daughter of the owner of this house?"
The guards exchanged uncomfortable glances. Clearly they were new. Clearly they didn't know what to do with me.
"Miss, you will have to wait while—"
"Lucy-sama?!"
A familiar voice interrupted the guard. I turned to see a middle-aged woman running towards us—Mrs. Spetto, the housekeeper who had looked after me since I was a baby.
"Lucy-sama, is it really you!" She was crying. Literally crying. "Oh, thank the heavens, you're alright!"
"Mrs. Spetto!" I couldn't help but smile. "It's so good to see you!"
She pulled me into a tight hug, completely ignoring the confused guards.
"We heard terrible stories," she said, pulling away to examine me. "About the guild, about the attack… I was so worried!"
"I'm fine. Really. My friends protected me."
"Your friends." She smiled through her tears. "That guild of mages, isn't it? Fairy Tail?"
"Yes." I couldn't hide the pride in my voice. "My family."
Mrs. Spetto studied me for a moment, and something in her eyes changed. Understanding, perhaps. Or acceptance.
"You've grown, Lucy-sama," she said softly. "Your mother would be proud."
The lump in my throat came back. "Thank you, Mrs. Spetto."
"Come." She held my hand as she used to when I was a child. "I'll take you inside. Aiko-san will want to see you, and old Bero from the garden too! He still looks after those roses you planted with your mother, you know?"
I let her guide me through the gates, ignoring the guards who still seemed confused about the proper protocol.
The mansion was exactly as I remembered. Large. Imposing. Cold.
But the staff… the staff were different.
Aiko, the cook who always hid sweets for me when Father wasn't looking, hugged me so tight she nearly broke my ribs. Bero, the elderly gardener who let me play in the dirt when I was supposed to be studying etiquette, took off his hat and bowed with tears in his eyes. The maids who had watched me grow up waved and smiled in the corridors.
These people. THESE people had been my real family in that house. Not my father. Them.
"Lucy-sama." Mrs. Spetto stopped before a familiar door—my father's study. "The master is in there. He… he knows you're here."
Of course he knew.
"Thank you, Mrs. Spetto. I need to do this alone."
She nodded, squeezing my hand one last time before moving away.
I looked at the door. Dark wood, golden handle, elaborate carvings. How many times had I stood here as a child, too nervous to enter, knowing I would only find coldness on the other side?
This time was different.
This time I was no longer the frightened Lucy who had run away in the middle of the night. I took a deep breath and opened the door.
The study hadn't changed at all.
Shelves of books that no one read, armchairs that no one used, and that huge mahogany desk behind which Jude Heartfilia commanded his empire. Portraits of ancestors looked down at me from the walls with eternal disapproval.
And there he was.
My father.
Older than I remembered. More grey. But the expression was the same—cold, calculating, looking at me as if I were a problem to be solved, not a daughter to be welcomed.
"Lucy." Not a "how are you." Not a "I'm glad you're alright." Just my name, stated as a matter of fact.
"Father."
He gestured to a chair in front of the desk. "Sit."
"I'd rather stand."
Something flickered across his face, irritation perhaps, but it was gone quickly.
"As you wish." He laced his fingers on the desk. "You've caused a lot of trouble, Lucy. Running away from home. Joining a guild of… mages." He said the word as if it were something dirty. "And now this incident with Phantom Lord—"
"Incident?" I couldn't help myself. "You call that an INCIDENT?! You sent an entire guild after me! People I love almost DIED!"
"I hired professionals to bring my daughter back." He said it as if it were perfectly reasonable. "What happened afterwards was… regrettable, but it was not my intention."
"It wasn't your—" I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Why, Father? Why now? Why after all this time?"
He leaned back in his chair, studying me with those cold eyes.
"You are a Heartfilia, Lucy. Whether you like it or not, you have responsibilities to this family. To this name."
"Responsibilities." The word came out bitter. "What kind of responsibilities?"
"I have arranged a marriage for you."
The world stopped.
"…What?"
"The Duke Sawarr Junelle." Father said the name as if he were announcing a business merger. "An old, extremely influential family. The marriage would unite our fortunes and expand our business to—"
"You're selling me." My voice came out strangely calm. "That's what you're doing. You're selling me to a duke."
"Don't be dramatic. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement."
"For WHO?!" The calm evaporated. "Certainly not for me!"
Father sighed, as if I were the irrational one in this conversation.
"Lucy, you are the sole heir of the Heartfilias. It is your duty to produce an heir. A son, preferably, to continue the line. The Duke Junelle is of good family, has considerable resources, and is willing to—"
"Produce an heir?" I was trembling now. With anger, not fear. "Is that how you see me? As a… a baby factory?! A piece of property to be traded?!"
"You are my daughter. You have obligations—"
"I have NOTHING!" I shouted, and for the first time, I saw my father look genuinely surprised. "You lost the right to demand anything from me the day you stopped treating me like a daughter and started treating me like an investment!"
I stood up straighter, looking at him directly.
"I am no longer your property, Father. I am not a Heartfilia to be sold to the highest bidder. I am a mage of Fairy Tail. And the only family that matters to me now is in Magnolia, rebuilding a guild that was destroyed because of YOU!"
"Lucy, you're being—"
"What? Dramatic? Irrational? Ungrateful?" I took a step forward. "I'll tell you what I'm being: honest. For the first time in my life, I'm telling you exactly what I think."
He opened his mouth to reply, but I wasn't finished.
"And I'm going to give you a warning, Father. A single warning." My voice dropped. "If you try anything against Fairy Tail again… if you send anyone else after me, or my friends…"
I paused, letting the words hang.
"Did you see what happened to José Porla?"
My father's face turned pale. So he HAD heard.
"One of the Ten Wizard Saints. One of the most powerful mages in the kingdom. And do you know what happened to him when he threatened Fairy Tail?"
Silence.
"One of our members tore his head off. Literally TORE IT OFF. And threw it at the feet of his subordinates as a warning." I tilted my head. "She didn't care that he was rich. She didn't care that he was powerful. She only cared that he had hurt her family."
I saw my father swallow hard. A drop of sweat ran down his temple.
Well.
It seems Azra'il's reputation had spread.
"I don't want it to come to that, Father. I really don't." I took a step back. "But if you force me to choose between you and my family… you won't like my choice."
We were silent for a long moment. My father was looking at me as if he were seeing a stranger, and perhaps he was. The Lucy who had run away from that house was not the same Lucy who was standing there now.
"Goodbye, Father."
I turned towards the door.
"Lucy." His voice stopped me. "If you walk out that door… there's no coming back."
I looked over my shoulder.
"I know." I forced a smile I didn't feel. "Lucy Heartfilia died the day she ran away from this house. I'm just Lucy now. Lucy of Fairy Tail."
And then I left.
I didn't look back.
I managed to get to the gate before the tears started. They weren't tears of sadness, exactly. They were more like… relief. Years and years of unsaid words, of swallowed hurts, of fear and resentment, it was all finally out. I had said what I needed to say.
It was over.
I was free.
I walked down the road back to the station, wiping my face with the back of my hand. The sun was already setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink, and for the first time since I left Magnolia, I could breathe properly.
Then I heard voices.
Very, VERY familiar voices.
"I TOLD YOU TO TURN LEFT!"
"AND I TOLD YOU THE MAP WAS UPSIDE DOWN, YOU IDIOT!"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN IDIOT, YOU—"
"You two, QUIET!"
Oh no.
OH NO.
I ran towards the voices and, rounding a bend in the road, I found exactly what I had feared.
Natsu. Gray. Erza. Happy flying in circles. And a little further back, walking with all the reluctance in the world, Azra'il.
All of them. On the road. Heading towards my father's mansion.
"LUCY!" Natsu was the first to see me, and his face lit up like a Christmas tree. "YOU'RE HERE!"
"Guys?!" I was in shock. "What are you DOING here?!"
"We came to get you, of course!" Natsu ran up to me, Happy flying right behind. "You said you were leaving!"
"I didn't say I was leaving! I said I was going to visit my father!"
"But the letter said—"
"You READ the letter?!"
Gray scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed. "I mean… technically…"
"We read 'I'm going home' and panicked," Erza admitted, having the decency to look a little sheepish. "We thought you were abandoning us."
"Abandoning you?! Why would I abandon you?!"
"Because your dad is rich?" Happy offered. "And you could buy a lot of fish?"
"HAPPY!"
"I TOLD you to read the whole letter." Azra'il had caught up with the group, her arms crossed and an expression of profound exasperation on her face. "I TOLD you she was probably just sorting something personal out. But did you listen to me?"
"You knew?!" Natsu turned to her.
"I READ THE LETTER. LIKE A FUNCTIONING PERSON WOULD." She massaged her temples. "But no, the genius here—" she pointed at Natsu, "read three words, spontaneously combusted with panic, and ran off. And you two," she pointed at Gray and Erza, "went after him without questioning."
"You came with us!" Gray protested.
"Because Erza DRAGGED me! And because CLEARLY someone needed to be the voice of reason in this group of brainless wonders!" She sighed dramatically. "Which, for the record, no one listened to. As usual."
I should have been angry. I mean, they had basically invaded my father's lands because they couldn't read a full letter.
But looking at them, Natsu with that relieved smile, Gray trying to look nonchalant but clearly happy to see me, Erza with that protective expression she always had, Happy flying in circles shouting "LUUUSHY!", and even Azra'il, grumbling, but there nonetheless…
I started to laugh.
And then I started to cry.
And then I was laughing and crying at the same time, which was probably a little unsettling to watch.
"Lucy?!" Natsu looked alarmed. "Why are you crying?! Did someone hurt you?! Was it your dad?! I'll PUNCH him—"
"No, no." I wiped my eyes, still laughing. "I'm just… you're all idiots, you know that?"
"Oi!"
"Idiots who came all this way because you thought I was leaving." I smiled, feeling my heart overflow. "Wonderful idiots."
"So…" Happy landed on my head. "You're not leaving?"
"No, Happy. I was never going to leave." I looked at each of them, my team, my friends, my family. "I just came to say goodbye to my old life. To tell my father that I'm not a Heartfilia anymore."
"And what are you now?" Erza asked softly.
I smiled.
"Just Lucy. Lucy of Fairy Tail."
Natsu broke into that huge grin of his, the smile that could light up an entire room.
"That's it!" He put his arm around my shoulder. "Lucy of Fairy Tail! Sounds much better than 'Lucy Heart-of-Stone' or whatever."
"It was Heartfilia, Natsu."
"Whatever! Let's go home!"
"Aye sir!" Happy agreed.
Gray rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. Erza nodded in approval. And Azra'il…
Azra'il looked at me for a moment, something almost soft passing through those blue eyes.
"Good choice, blondie," she said simply.
For a moment, something passed over her face. Something distant, as if she were seeing through me, through time. A flash of something that looked almost… wistful?
"Family isn't about blood. It's about who takes you in when you have no one else," she said in a lower tone, almost to herself. "Someone taught me that once. A long time ago."
The way she said "a long time ago" sounded strange, but before I could reply, she was already walking back down the road.
"Let's go. I missed my afternoon nap for this unnecessary rescue expedition. Someone owes me a cup of tea when we get back to Magnolia."
"No one owes you anything!" Natsu shouted.
"Erza owes me. She dragged me."
"I didn't!... Alright, maybe I dragged you a little."
We walked down the road together, Natsu's arm still around my shoulder, Happy on my head, Gray and Erza just behind, and Azra'il in front, grumbling about "hasty youth" and "a lack of basic textual comprehension."
I looked back one last time. The Heartfilia mansion was just a distant silhouette now, glowing golden in the afternoon sun.
Goodbye, Lucy Heartfilia.
I turned forward, where my family was.
Hello, Lucy of Fairy Tail.
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Author's Note 💛
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I made a point of writing this part from Lucy's point of view, because I didn't want this moment to be summarized or pushed off-screen. Lucy Heartfilia's farewell isn't a small detail, it's a turning point. It's her facing her past head-on and, for the first time, choosing who she is and where she belongs.
And about Azra'il…
When she says that family isn't blood, but the people who take you in when you have no one else, and mentions that someone taught her that "a long time ago," I intentionally left it vague. Azra'il isn't someone who openly talks about her past or explains her feelings, some things just slip out, almost unintentionally.
But for those who follow the Runeterra fanfic, you already know.
It was Morgana.
And if you know who Morgana was (and still is) in Azra'il's life, then you understand why that line, even though it's short, carries so much weight.