Lucy Heartfilia's Notes and Recollections

[Heartfilia]

(( This is a pretty old story at this point, but I finally finished it! Part 1 copied over from an RP thread ))



"I want to see the sun."

The message, scrawled on the first page of an otherwise empty tome would cause Lucy to think of that fateful day. She left the town through its northern gate, her excitement building as she approached the wilderness...

Suddenly it began raining again, though lightly. With a sigh she looked to the clouds and drew her hood forward. As she crossed the bridge over the small river she came upon two armored figures fighting with a goblin. As they dispatched the vermin easily enough, she immediately moved forward, her adrenaline flowing, to see if either of the men had been injured.

Suddenly, though she could see nothing, she was almost knocked over by something, or as she would realize after a few moments when she saw the footprints seem to appear magically in the mud, someone. One of the armored figures approached her in her confusion, yelling "Goblins!! Behind you!" As the blonde Elf spun on a heel, suddenly the armored figure crushed its shield into the back of her head. Delirious and disoriented she turned, trying to fight her assailer, but the armored one struck her in the face with the butt of their sword. Just as she was falling, she had one last waking thought and manage to unhook the clasp on the mithril chain she was wearing around her waist, letting the treasured and valuable chain pool in the grass near her feet as she collapsed.

The armored figure drew back its hood, revealing long hair and skin dark as night. Looking at the unconscious Wood Elf with a wicked smile. She looked to the other one with her, speaking quietly in the rain, "Part two complete, prisoner taken." The strong Drow woman scooped the surface elf up off the ground with ease, slinging her over a shoulder.

"This Elf will be key in helping us get across the Dukes' lands."
Laughing, the Drow removed a few herbs from her pack and began stuffing them into the Wood Elf's mouth, to ensure the woman could not move or fight back when she finally came to.

All they left behind as they marched off was the mithril chain, and enough footprints to account for an entire column of soldiers. After an indeterminate amount of time, she would awake in a small, dank cave, the sound of waves crashing against the rocks. But it would not be a peaceful wakening.

***


"Wake UP!" the voice yelled angrily, and a harsh slap across her face caused Lucy to open her eyes as consciousness flickered in around her.

"Shh...sh...you're in good hands.." she heard a voice say, though it was filled with malice and not comforting at all. As her face fell on the woman above her and the woman's skin, black as night, all composure left her and she was filled with fear. Her instincts told her body to run, but try as she might she could barely lift a muscle.

"How much longer until you are prepared!?" the woman barked at another Drow, this one a male.

"Time, I need time.. not yet."

The female seemed angry and sneered at her companion, turning back to Lucy nonetheless. Lucy's voice quivered and words were hard to form, but she managed to get some out: "What..what are you doing? Where are we?"

The Drow woman smirked, "You saw something you were not supposed to see, and allowed us to move freely. You did us a great favor, ELF.." Her voice dripped with venom as she emphasized the word 'Elf.'

The male Drow cooed, "You are safe.."

"I sure don't feel safe," Lucy managed to mumble.

The female Drow smirked, "You don't? I am sorry n'srii'tel'quessir. One of the soldiers bumped into you, and as soon as you felt it, your fate was sealed. Now you will come visit our home until I decide exactly what to do with you." Lucy felt a deep pit in her stomach. 'So this is how I die,' she thought to herself, grimacing. Instead of showing her fear she remembered her teachings, her meditations, and steeled her face with bravery.

"That's not gonna happen. You're dead. You're both DEAD," she cried with as much volume in her voice as she could muster.

The Drow brought an armored backhand across her face, bloodying her nose. "How about shut your mouth, and speak when I tell you to speak?" Blood dribbling from her nose, Lucy looked up coolly, and could already feel the rage building inside her. She could not find her center, this time, and with a sort of mental snap, Lucy's feral side won.

"How about you choke on your bloated blue tongue, dirt Elf?" she growled at the Drow, spitting at her.

"Now listen here you stupid little wh**e of an n'srii'tel'quessir, if I want you dead, you will die. If I keep you alive for the time being, it is a mercy, stop spitting blood in my face or I will change my mind!" the Drow barked angrily, sending her gloved hand across Lucy's face several more times. She finally turned to her companion. "How long til the spell is ready, jaluk?"

It was that moment that Lucy saw a man behind both of the Drow, a figure she had not noticed slip into the cave. As she realized who it was, a glimmer of hope entered her mind for the first time. "Oh thank the Gods! Send for backup, call the Shield! Kill these b--" Her words were cut short however as the female Drow began stuffing some more herbs in her mouth.

The Drow turned to the man now, speaking rationally and without fear. "How many men are with you? ...If you will entertain this Illythiiris question." the second part of the sentence seemed almost an afterthought.

Instead of answering, the hooded man turned to the Drow, speaking just as coolly, "I suggest you and your companion make yourself scarce immediately. The rest will be here any moment and I will not be held responsible for what may happen to you then."

The man cleared his throat, "What is the meaning of this? What business do you have with her?"

"She was our ticket to moving our troops through Gate territory. The movements are complete, and now she is a trophy. N'srii'tel'quessir are our enemies." the woman replied, sounding almost amused.

"Find another trophy," the man replied bluntly.

Finally the herbs took effect, and the world blurred around her as she lost consciousness again.

The next time she would awake, it would be in darkness. Still bound she floated a few inches above the ground, presumably some kind of levitation magic used by the male that paced ahead of her.. the same male Drow from before. She still felt weak, but oddly she no longer felt the herbs in her mouth.

"Find a new toy?" Lucy heard a new voice ask. The voice sounded almost.. motherly. She looked up to see a tall Drow woman standing over her, white hair cascading down her shoulders.

The male looked at the woman, speaking plainly, "Her hands and feet are bound. Check to make sure she cannot slip them."

"Are you telling me what to do again? Do you remember how that ended last time, Jaluk?" the Drow woman responded to him, her voice still sweet. Lucy could feel the woman's eyes on her. "You look healthy for a prisoner. I'm sure we can make your stay more comfortable. Tell me, how did you end up here again?"

"You tell me," Lucy sputtered, trying to sound defiant. "They knocked me over the head on the road and next thing I know.. I'm.. here.." She took a moment to take in her surroundings, as best she could from her half-seated position. Strange furniture.. and spider webs? It was at that moment the male released his levitation spell and she hit the ground with a thud, immediately springing onto her feet as best she could in spite of her bonds.

"The one who was with me.. she won't make it." The male Drow said to the woman.

"Vith her," the woman replied curtly.

"Your partner?" Lucy smirked. "She's probably already dead. I have no idea how you got me out of there but they'll come for me.."

The woman regarded Lucy coolly, showing no sign of outward emotion. She spoke sweetly again, "I've been instructed to make sure all prisoners feel welcome here."

"Well, maybe you could untie my hands and feet? It's gonna be hard for me to use the bathroom otherwise, and I really, REALLY need to go.." Lucy squirmed, trying her best to complete the ruse though she had little hope that they would fall for such a basic trick.

The male Drow called to someone outside.A second male entered and the woman looked at him, barking an order. "Make sure it is impossible for this one to escape."

"Xas, Jabbress," came his reply.

Lucy remembered the second male, garbed somewhat like a jailer, locking her in the stocks.. what came next, she remembered in bits and pieces.. The damage they did to her ears caused her to pass out, but they used some kind of magic to keep her awake. The woman kept asking her for secrets, and Lucy kept refusing. Lucy remembered the shadow of that woman's hammer as she raised it above her head.. the sick sound it made when it came down.. and her hands were ruined.

***

The rest was a blur. In and out of consciousness she faded as the torture continued. Hours, days, she was not sure. The next lucid memory was the woman who captured her using magic to heal some of her injuries.. She instinctively looked down at her hands. Just as she remembered they lay useless and disfigured.

"No more.. just kill.." Lucy could not even get the rest of the words out.

The woman that had captured her then looked at the other Drow female, speaking curtly. "She was in the wrong place at the wrong time, yet she is needed alive. You've had your time to enjoy her. She has been granted immunity.. diplomatically."

"She is granted immunity by whom? You?" the white haired female asked, still sounding motherly.

"Yes," Lucy's captor snapped back. "Release her."

The two would argue for some time, but Lucy could hear little of it. She simply stood, staring at her hands, and after a while she realized that her initial captor had released her from her stocks. She was ordered to put her clothes on and marched through the underground city.

"N'srii-tel'quessir. One wrong move in this city and you will die," the Drow woman barked at her, and Lucy quickly averted her eyes to the ground beneath her feet.

"You are releasing me?" she finally managed to sputter.

"It is not my choice. Now shut up. We will be there soon." The Drow woman wordlessly led her out of the city and through several caves to a masked man, whose voice and demeanor Lucy recognized almost instantly. For the first time since being locked into those stocks she felt hope bloom inside her.

Lucy heard little of the words that the two exchanged, and understood even less, but she did remember hearing the man speak firmly to the Drow woman.. "I will say this one more time in case it did not get through your thick skull. You will NOT lay a hand on her."

Eventually the Drow woman would shuffle away, leaving her with her freedom, just like that. Lucy immediately flung her arms around the man in an awkward sort of hug, wincing in pain as her hands brushed against each other behind his back. He was taken by surprise and went for his weapon at first, almost instinctively.

"Lucy, listen to me carefully," the man began to speak, pulling his mask down. " Do not ask me of things I can only assume you found out tonight. Do not look at me strangely when I tell lies to others. If you do, I am a dead man one way or another.The debt I have taken on myself to get you out of this hellhole I would not wish on my worst enemies."

"I.. won't... what debt? What did you give for me?" After a moment of awkward silence, a sad smile would cross her face and the question would go unanswered.

After a while, the man would finally speak again. "I... I do not know what they did to you. And I will not ask, but expect others to do so. When they do ask, do not..."

She cut him off, holding her hands up. "My hands.. take my gloves off."

He seemed confused, but grabbed her gloves by the fingertip and pulled them off. Pain racked her being when he did so, and Gods did she scream. He looked at them in horror, "Those spider-worshipping wenches.. what did they.."

Tears welled up in Lucy's eyes, and the man let go of her hands, taking her head between his palms. "Don't cry. Instead remember that pain and that shame they brought on you. Carve it in your memory. Turn it into strength instead of despair. Do not think about vengeance, as I doubt you will ever get your chance. But be prepared in case you do."

"I do not.." Lucy shook her head. "You're right. I'm happy enough to be leaving with my life.. please, take me home."

Her green eyes looked up at him, pleading.

"I want to see the sun."

Exhaustion setting in again, the man took her by the arm and chanted softly. As the world shifted around them, she looked up at the sky, and tears filled her eyes again at the sight of that bright, glowing orb in the clouds, as she slowly faded from consciousness. The next thing Lucy knew, she awoke in the Temple of Ilmater. The sight of her disfigured hands still filled her with despair, but in time, as they healed, it would be replaced with a sense of determination.

[Heartfilia]

Character retired/deleted

(( <3 you all, may you always find water and shade ))