"Because it hurts.

It hurts for me to see you now,

and know exactly what will happen.

It's even worse,

when I can't do anything about it."

The prospect of magic excited me.

As a young girl in a world filled with strict adults, the idea of magic made me feel free.

Now that I could actually use magic, I was definitely going to.

It was a sunny day. The sun was shining down onto our wide garden and the clouds floated above our house, leisurely. Although it was perfect to play outside (Something which I badly wanted to do), I opted to continue learning Kanji.

Sitting on our tatami mat, which was in our living room, I picked up my brush and continued to write. Now, while I and excelled at most of the Science, Math and History that was taught, writing was the only thing I struggled on. Honestly, the writing system here was ridiculous! Why in the world, would you need more that one way to write something. Between Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana, I often got confused.

So while I practiced my writing, okaa - chan came into the room and chose to sit on the sofa near me. After a half an hour, I gave up and placed my brush down, sighing. My brain was packed with information and my mind hurt too much to go any further.

Oh, how I wished to use a pencil or even a pen, instead of a stupid brush.

Taking in a deep breath, I decided to asked a question, one which had been in my mind for a short period of time.

"Kaa - chan?"

"Yes, Lucy - chan ?" Layla asked, as she paused her reading to stare at me.

Pausing my writing, I turned towards her. "What's the date?"

While I already knew that the plot line hadn't started yet, I had realized that I didn't quiet know, what time period I was in. I wanted to know how many years I had left to prepare.

Humming slightly, okaa - chan replied, "Hmm, I believe it's July 4th."

"No, I mean the year."

"Oh, I believe it's X771...why do you ask, Lucy - chan?"

Quickly grinning, I cheerfully replied, "Ano, I was just curious!"

Chuckling slightly, kaa - chan put her book down and asked if I wanted to take a break. Nodding vigorously, I stood and stretched, before following her out to the garden.

Pausing to take a look at the flowers, I tried to remember what Sayu - sensei told me about them.

So a purple Iris, means wisdom and complements; A yellow iris, means passion and a blue iris means...

"Lucy - chan?"

"Hmm ?" I respond, looking up at kaa - chan.

Smiling down at me, her brown eyes lit up in concern. "Is there something that's bothering you? You've been quiet after your little mishap earlier this week."

I honestly expected it. Kaa - chan, always knew when something was wrong.

Biting my lips, I fiddled with my fingers, something I did when I was nervous, before sighing slightly.

"Yeah, there is."

Pursing her lips, kaa - chan smiled at me, before saying, "Remember, i'm here and you can always come to me if you need anything."

A feeling of peace entered my mind and I weighed the pros and cons, of asking my next question. Finally I spoke, my voice softer than I would've liked it to be.

"Okaa - chan...can I learn magic?"

Kaa - chans' hands froze and her pink lips parted, in shock. Her brown eyes flashed in confusion, but quickly she composed herself.

"Where did you learn about magic, Lucy - chan?" She asked, her voice shaking ever so slightly.

Summoning up my courage, I raised my head and clasped my hands tightly together, then I repeated the story I had made beforehand. "I heard one of our maids muttering about it. I got curious so I went to the library and decided to research it."

I felt slightly guilty that I was lying to kaa - chan, but I pressed it down and looked up towards her. A long silence came after that and soon my cheeks turned red in embarrassment, hastily I tried to correct whatever I said.

"I - I mean, i- it's o - okay if yo - ou ! - I!"

Kaa - chan's laughter cut me off. Her mouth was twisted upwards and her eyes danced with mirth. Slightly mollified I sighed in relief and instead acted upset.

"Kaa - chan!"

Pressing her handkerchief to her face, kaa - chan smiled, before speaking the next few words that would soon change my life.

"Alright Lucy - chan, i'll teach you magic."

...

Of course that wasn't the end off it.

The first step was talking to okaa - chan, but the next step I had to do was even more serious.

I had to bring up the topic with otoo - chan.

Dear Kami.

I loved tou - chan, I really did, but that man was hellbent on me running the company. Being the only child of Jude Heartfilia meant that I was the heir of Love and Lucky; hence the reason of my early lessons.

It took me four months to convince tou - chan. It was the first time that we had an argument and it was most probably one of the most of the most horrid things that had happened to me so far. It ended in me yelling right to his face, something which I've never done before, and storming out of the room.

...

"I apologize."

He walked in, right when I was wiping my tears coming from my puffy eyes. I'll admit, I was albeit shocked, (After all, a Heartfilia never apologizes). It took a while, but we both agreed that I would be able to learn magic, as long as I could keep up with my etiquette skills.

Apparently, otoo - chan was worried that if I learned magic, I would start to become more like a boy. Although I was peeved at this statement, I laughed and patted him on the head, before stating that I would always be a girl, no matter what.

That seemed to reassure him, as he kissed me on the head and left the room, bidding me goodnight.

I loved my parents.

I didn't immediately start on learning magic.

I had to build up my strength first.

It wasn't that I wouldn't be able to survive in this world without strength, but it would make a lot of things easier.

My regime was hard and rigorous, often times I would collapse in exhaustion after doing so. Otoo - chan inquired about me daily and okaa - chan made sure that I ate the proper nutritions. It was extremely annoying though, considering the fact that I had to build up my previous strength, from scratch. The fact that I was four didn't help in itself either. It took me three months just to harden up my excess fat, and another two to tone them. I felt like Rock Lee and Maito Gai, from the amount of work I did and I still wasn't where I wanted to be, but I decided that it was time I continued on.

It was time, to learn magic.

...

Contrary to beliefs, I didn't start learning magic with an hand on hand experience right away. Instead I had to spend hours pouring over textbooks (Ick!), and memorizing different terms. I really didn't understand what this was for, a textbook wouldn't help you in the real world; but, since okaa - chan asked me to do it, I had to comply.

"Before you learn how to use your magic, you need to understand exactly what it is," Okaa - chan stated.

"Magic is the drift of energy throughout you nerves that can be molded into whatever shape you bid it to be. Every person has it, but some are born with an excess amount, this can be used as natural power. Usually, natural power comes from a bloodline of some sorts, but people without bloodlines can use magic as well. Natural power is usually an element of some sort, but occasionally can be something else."

Okaa - chan frowned at me and a weird emotion flashed in her eyes; but as soon as it came, it left. I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong, when a smile pulled at her lips and she spoke. "An accurate, but textbook description of magic."

I deflated at this and crossed my arms over my chest.

Sighing, okaa - chan continued onwards. "While it's good that you memorized that, it won't help you when learning about magic. So now tell me, what do you think that magic is ?"

"Magic is just energy, right?"

I was bopped on the head.

"Okaa - chan !"

"Wrong again." Okaa - chan teasingly smiled. "Magic is not only the flow of energy in the body, it is also a side effect that makes up life itself. "

My eyebrows shot up at this.

This is new.

None of my books had stated anything like this, so naturally, I was confused. Ignoring my confused look, okaa - chan continued onwards. "Your body runs mainly on your Hato (Heart), your Ketsueki (Blood), your Nō (Brain) and your Shinkei (Nerves), but what's the thing that keeps you alive ?"

"Oxygen?"

"Nope!" Kaa - chan said cheerfully, causing me to frown.

How she stayed so cheerful was unknown to me.

"It's your Raifufōsu or Life Force. "

Huh, Wikipedia didn't tell me about this.

"Life force?"

"Yes, yes." Kaa - chan said quickly. "Your life force is what is actually flow throughout your body and nerves. It's what keeps your body from shutting down and your heart from stopping."

Like Chakra? From Naruto?

"And, magic is a part of that ?" I questioned.

"That's right!" She nodded.

Hesitantly, I started to speak again. "So basically without this 'Life Force', we would drop dead?"

"Yes."

After pursing my lips, I replied. "Well that's rather inconvenient."

Okaa - chan seemed to be taken aback.

"Why's that Lucy - chan?" She asked.

Taking in a deep breath, I began to speak. "Well if you think about this statistically, it is a major downfall. What if you overuse your magic? You would die, so therefore you not only have to monitor your amount, you would also have to control the amount you would put in each attack."

"That's not true. While magic is part of the Raifufōsu, it's not the one that detriments your life or death. If you do overuse it however, you're more likely to fall into unconsciousness, and in worst cases, a coma. Other than that, nothing that bad could happen." Okaa - chan said, a kind smile on her face.

"Oh," I muttered, slightly embarrassed.

"Anyways," Layla continued, "The second part of the Raifufōsu is the Sasutena (Sustainer). Not much if known about this, but it is a known fact that this part of the Raifufōsu is to ensure your survival ability."

Huh, so that's why Natsu never died. Although, the fact that he didn't die, could also be because he was - no I mean is, so stubborn.

The fact that these people were alive now, always shocked me.

"I see...do I have anything else I need to learn?" I asked, hopeful that there wasn't.

Kaa - chan opened her mouth to argue, but when she saw my expression, she sighed and shook her head. "No...we'll start training tomorrow."

I almost fainted with joy.

It never occurred to me that I would meet anyone from the Cannon!Timeline this soon.

Then again, fate loves to mess with me.

...

It was a sunny spring day.

The clouds were passing by me, in a slow drift and the wind swirled around my small white dress. My small, shoe clad feet, made tracks as I walked forwards in a small dirt road.

Normally, I wouldn't be allowed to leave the manor without kaa - chan or my maid Chiyo, accompanying me and even then, it was rare. The reason for this was because, Tou - chan had upset a few people and they would use me to their every advantage. If they could get their hands on me. I had accepted this and agreed to stay inside the manor at all times, but you must remember, while I had the mentality of an adult, I was still a child.

That was what brought up the question, one that made me take the current decision to explore the outside of the manor.

Both side of my brain argued. My mature one stated that if Otoo - chan wanted me to stay inside of our property, then it was probably for a good reason; no matter how much it felt like a prison. Yet, my younger half stated that nothing would ever really happen and I would never know until I tried it.

Surprisingly, my younger side won.

My plan was perfectly calculated; or so my child - like side was concerned. I assured myself it was foolproof, before slipping out of the house and running down the dirt road.

And of course, halfway through the road I realized that in my excitement, I had forgotten my shoes.

By this time I realized that 1, I was not prepared for this and 2, there was no way I could go back then; so shakily, I pursed my lips and pressed onwards.

By the time I reached the edge of our garden, my hands were beginning to tremble. That was when I truly realized how sheltered I was. With that thought I got a burst of determination and stepped forwards.

I picked up a few sticks in order to make a path back, before running forwards, the sticks trailing behind me.

The dirt road was long and twisted, while it's end was not in sight.

The grasses was green, it's small leaves were filled with drops of water - or dew and the trees surrounding it, were shaking slightly to the leaves. I winced every time my feet rubbed against a few pebbles or stumbled in the cracks of the road and while the skin hadn't broken through, a few bruises were assured to form at the hardness of the cuts.

After walking for a short time period, I decided to sit down and rest my sore aching feet, against one of the boulders.

That was when I heard it.

It was a soft, dejected sound. It's music echoed out quietly, and calmly.

It was the sound of tears.

It was when Lucy Heartfilia learn how alive she was.