"Jude Heartfilia received our acceptance of the request," the wizard told his companion.

"Shouldn't be a challenge," another wizard said, grinning. "Fetch a blondie, get paid, huh?"

"Perhaps there is more to her than meets the eye?" a third wizard said, peering at the dossier provided by their new employer.

The first wizard looked over at the packet. "Her father claims the only magic she knows is weak, as most magic is compared to the great-"

A fourth wizard stood, halting conversation. "Let's go," he said gruffly. "I want to get this over with."

The other wizards readied themselves in an instant, used to going on last-minute missions. They were in high demand due to how they completed jobs quickly and efficiently. The third wizard, a woman with rectangular glasses, halted all movement with a quiet gasp.

"What?" questioned the fourth wizard, annoyed.

"It's a competition," she seethed, insulted. "He also hired a wizard from Phantom Lord! Whoever returns her first gets paid."

Surprising the others, the fourth wizard laughed, deeply amused. "Finally, something interesting," he said.

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Lucy heaved a breath. "Okay, one more time," she said, touching two of her keys. She felt their agreement. Summoning Libra and Taurus, Lucy felt her stomach cramp at the magic drain. She was calling out these spirits for the fifth time today, focusing on holding them for longer and longer.

Over a month, she had made much progress in growing her magic container. Before her sojourn to the forest around Clovertown, she had only been able to hold a zodiac spirit for half an hour. Now, her record for a single zodiac spirit was four hours; after much practice, she could now call out two spirits at the same time for at least an hour.

"Ready?" she asked the two spirits. Libra nodded and Taurus enthusiastically agreed. "Okay," Lucy whispered to herself, running a finger along Aquarius, her most powerful spirit. "I can do this!"

She called out Aquarius. Immediately, she felt a dramatic dip in her magic, the muscles of her abdomen clenching in protest. A bright flash marked the appearance of the mermaid spirit, arms crossed in annoyance.

Lucy trembled, struggling to keep the three gates open all at once. Cold sweat slicked down her back, soaking her combat leathers until she felt cocooned in a damp prison. Panting, she tugged down her vest's zipper, allowing blessedly cool air to cool her down. Distantly, she heard Taurus exclaiming over her body; it was testament to her intense focus on maintaining her magic that she didn't even bother to shut the perverted spirit up. Usually his comments were met with rolled eyes and a withering response, but she refused to shift her concentration.

After fifteen minutes, Libra looked worriedly at her master in concern as the wizard shook with exhaustion. When Lucy began to pale rapidly, Libra stepped forward and braced the girl before the fell forward. "Close the gates before you faint," the spirit advised calmly.

"I won't get stronger if I don't push myself harder," Lucy whispered, still fighting to keep all three gates open.

"This is enough for today," the spirit said gently. "Three gates is much improved over one."

Lucy's trembles increased, causing her teeth to chatter. Finally, she nodded, releasing the magic that held the three gates open. The spirits disappeared in a flash and Lucy slumped to the ground, body slack with exhaustion. Although her lips were too tired to even twitch, she was suffused with satisfaction. Her mom had been right; she was going to be the most powerful celestial mage in centuries. No one had ever held open three gates before, and she had accomplished the feat, however briefly, after a month of constant training. I'm doing exactly what you said, Mom, she thought, mind slowing as sleep began to take hold. I'm going to do it for you. But mostly, I'm doing it for me.

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She slept right there on the forest floor, light spinning down lazily as the sun nearly set. She awoke slowly just as day turned to evening, lavender spilling over her face as the sky blue faded into midnight and stars began to pepper the sky. Her body ached in places she didn't know had muscles; everything felt the strain of holding three gates open. She could have sworn the tip of her pony tail throbbed in time with her heartbeat, each thud filled with pain.

Slowly, she levered herself to her feet and haltingly limped to her campground beneath the shade of the trees. She had spent two weeks walking from Hargeon, traveling by foot so her father couldn't track her on the trains. She had even avoided main roads, depending on small game trails, until she had lost herself deep within the woods around Clovertown. While being lost wasn't her original intent, it meant she could avoid useless distractions and the temptation to head back into town for a real shower and bed. And the temptation was very, very strong. Creek water just didn't do it for her, no matter how clear and soothing. She wasn't even going to think about the pallet she had made on the hard ground; comparing it to a real bed would bring only misery.

Lucy was determined to continue training until she could hold all of her available zodiac spirits out for at least an hour. After that, she would begin collecting the rest of the zodiac keys, and then look into joining an official guild. Loneliness was a sharp ache in her chest. While her spirits were her closest friends, they couldn't sit with her through the night and share her human worries and fears. She wanted to join a guild to feel that closeness. Other wizards would understand her need to keep growing magically. Her determination was deeply rooted in an obsession to fulfill her mother's prediction, because her mother's words were all she had left.

Layla Heartfilia and her daughter had been carbon copies of one another, down to the natural platinum highlights the sun gilded their blonde hair with. When Lucy had looked at her mother, she had seen everything she wanted to be that a small child could understand. Layla was beautiful, strong, kind. She treated her spirits like cherished friends, deserving of all the love and respect she had to give. As a child, Lucy believed her mother was perfect.

Lucy was older now, hardened by years of living with a cold, distant father. She thought of her mother often, remembering warm hands and love so thick it cocooned her in a soft blanket of happiness. But Lucy had shed her childlike wonder. Her father had made sure of that when his hands remained by his side and his love had been withheld.

Lucy had realized her mother had been an ideal, unobtainable perfection. Because Lucy was not Layla Heartfilia, no matter if they looked like sisters or used the same, ancient magic. The daughter no longer desired to be the same as her mother; she found more contentment in being herself. That was why Lucy had run away. She knew Layla would have stayed and done her duties to her family, even if it made her sick and miserable inside. Lucy could not give up herself for her father's profit. She refused to relinquish any part of herself; she would no longer be the pretty ornament to dangle like a treat before noblemen.

The anger she needed to make her final stand and leave the Konzern had been sudden and devastating. Jude Heartfilia had confiscated her keys, the keys her mother had entrusted her with, intending to break Lucy's link with magic and form her into the perfect, proper lady. "Ladies do not play wizard," he had said once she realized her keys were nowhere to be found.

I wasn't playing at all, Dad, Lucy thought angrily. But you realize that now that I'm gone, don't you?

She had snuck into his office after midnight, ransacking his desk until she found her keys. Jude would have never expected her to dare step foot in his private office; she had always been obedient, other than insisting on keeping her spirits close. So Lucy had reclaimed her keys and immediately fled the Konzern, catching a train from the closest village until she was far away from her father's influence.

Remembering the night she had run away, no, escaped, caused the remembered anger to heat her face. Grumbling, she stomped to the nearby creek just out of sight and knelt, refilling her canteen and splashing cold water over her face. The bracing cold, likely from melting mountain snows, cooled her down. She had to control herself better. Being angry was useless; she had escaped, her father could never force her to do anything again. Maybe meditation would help? She vaguely remembered her mother mentioning meditation as a good exercise for young wizards to help hone their focus.

I'll try meditating tomorrow, she decided. But for the moment, her body ached for a quick bath and a meal. She retrieved her supplies from the campsite and stepped into the shallow pool the gentle current of the creek had created. Whirls of fine sand and small rocks spiraled through the flowing water with each footstep that disturbed the sediment.

Filth sloughed from her body. Her dirt nap had done awful things to her sweaty limbs and hair. If she pretended hard enough, she could almost act like she was simply having an expensive spa treatment, like one of those mud masks or body scrubs. It took a short eternity to comb all of the knots from her long hair, fingers tracing each lock with soap to try and coax dirt from the strands. It would probably be a good idea to cut the length shorter so it couldn't be grabbed during a fight, but Lucy couldn't bring herself to do it. She loved the way her unbound hair swished around her back and upper arms. It reminded her of Layla.

After washing and a quick meal of fish over the campfire (it had taken days to convince Aquarius to help her fish for food), Lucy stretched her sore muscles and climbed into her bed roll. A thick pad of straw and leaves she had harvested from the forest floor provided some cushioning from the hard ground, but not enough that it was easy to ignore. Her first week in the forest had been the most painful, getting used to rationing what food she had and adjusting to sleeping on such a hard surface. But it would all be worth it once she achieved her goal.

After bidding each of her spirits goodnight with a brush of her mind, Lucy settled in to sleep once more, except this time within the comfort of blankets and a campfire. The sounds of the forest at night lulled her into a deep slumber as her body gave in to the exhaustion of the day.